#i missed being an angst queen uwu

[feelisia]

You're so close.

I crave for more,

But you're too far.

[ray-ray-writings]

My Cinderella AU with Schlatt

Welp... Who would have thought that Schlatt would be the one out of all of the MCYTs to NOT be outed as an abuser....

Anywho, I watched the Cinderella movie with Camila Cabello and instantly wanted to write an AU of my own of Cinderella but I didn't want to put in the work to create my own new characters and establish them and all of that fun stuff. So I did what I do best, toss already established characters into a storyline. What a weird piece of work to post on my blog after several years...

But here you go, 16.3k words of a Cinderella AU with reader as Cinderella and Schlatt as Prince Charming. If you read, I appreciate you. Consider leaving a like, comment, and/or reblog and tell me whatcha liked about it. No pressure tho <3.

Summary: A Cinderella AU in which reader is a baker and Schlatt is a Prince. the two meet in a market square where the reader in turns insults Schlatt to his face without realizing who they're talking to and the story of the relationship that then ensues.

Pairing: JSchlatt x Gender Neutral!Reader (I tried to keep in gender neutral but I may have slipped here and there, if you notice any parts that happens let me know and I'll fix it!

Mostly fluff with a touch of angst

Content Warnings: all warnings that typically come with cinderella: ie dead parents, shitty step family, reader being told she doesn't deserve good things, the word papi... like twice... you'll see. The use of "Jonathon" being Schlatt's "real" first name, Swearing, second person POV, when the text is in italics it's as if it's following Schlatt in third POV, i hope that makes sense, shitty writing at the end because I still haven't figured out how to end stories uwu.

Please let me know if I missed anything.

Once Upon a Time,

You lived with your stepmother and two stepsisters. Your mother died when you were young. She died after being thrown from a horse, hitting her head off the ground, and never waking up. 

Your father had remarried within a year, but had swore to never love again. He married simply because he knew he was sick and didn’t want to die and leave you alone if he were to die when you were a minor. Sure enough, he passed when you were 15. 

One thing your parents had gifted you before their passing is your love for baking. You could bake like nobody’s business. You had tried to get a job at the bakery when you had come of age but the baker didn’t appreciate your helpful tips on what to improve on and what would make his baked goods taste better. So you just bake and hang out in the square, selling to those that know you and know of your business. 

You did your best to spend most of your time out of your home as your stepfamily was not kind to you. They teased and taunted you and made your life hell. You would have left the moment you were of age, but you had nowhere else to go. This was your family’s home, you didn’t make enough money baking on the side to justify moving out. So you were just waiting to meet someone who would sweep you off your feet and carry you away from here. 

It’s not ideal, but that is the way that life is. 

Across the land, Prince Schlatt was born and raised in the castle. He was waited on hand foot, life served to him on a silver platter. But the boy grew to a man with a kind heart, even if it tended to hide behind sarcasm and taunts. His father, King Philza, had done his best to teach Schlatt how to be a great ruler while his mother, Queen Kristen, had done her best to teach him how to be a loving man. 

Schlatt loves his parents, but sometimes wanted to be his own man without his parent’s hovering over his shoulder telling him who to be. To be who he wanted to be, without the weight of the kingdom on his shoulders.

King Philza has been harping on him for rejecting so many marriage proposals, lecturing him on how important it was for him to find a suitable match before his coronation so that everything was in order before it was time for him to take over the throne. 

Schlatt has always given the same response, “I don’t to marry just anyone. I want to marry for love, father, just like you.” 

Philza would roll his eyes but say nothing more on the subject until the next day. Kristen was always proud of the way her son would respond, but never interrupted the two. The supportive smile she always sent Schlatt as he left was incredibly telling though.

One of the only good things about your stepfamily was that they stayed out of the kitchen. Your stepmother learned quickly about how well you could cook and bake from how you always made meals for your father that she never felt the need to cook herself. Instead, she found it easier to boss you around and force you to cook for her and her daughters. 

You found you didn’t mind it though, the kitchen was your happy place. It was one of the only spaces where you knew that you wouldn’t be bothered, that for a moment while you rolled out dough or poured some batter you could pretend like everything in your life was perfect.

You needed more ingredients. For baking and for dinners. You had left the house with the small amount of money that your stepmother had given you and made your way to the market square. In your basket, a number of sweet treats to sell for your pocket cash to your normal customers after you run your errands. 

The sun feels nice on your face. You’re used to heat pressing into the as you stand over a hot stove or an open oven, so the sunlight shining on you makes you feel slightly at home. Comfortable even. Maybe a bit too comfortable and unaware of your surroundings because it’s not too long while you’re lost in thought before you slam into someone. The basket flies out of your hand and tumbles to the ground, several of the treats falling to the ground. 

You let out a gasp as you fall onto your butt on the ground. The man you have bumped into lets out a quiet “oh shit,” before reaching down and picking up some of the treats that have fallen out. 

“Sorry about that,” he murmurs, reaching out a hand for you to take. You carefully take his hand, allowing your eyes to scan the stranger. The first thing that you notice is his eyes. They’re fucking beautiful. The pools of dark chestnut brown bore into yours so deeply it momentarily takes your breath away. You’re able to see the way they fill with concern all the while they flick down and examine you, if you were of more a mind, you would blush. 

The next thing you notice is the mask that covers the lower half of his face. You stop your brows from furrowing at the sight. You continue to observe him. You note the way that his brown hair is pulled back, which is what allowed you to see his eyes so strikingly before. His clothes are a bit on the fancier side of those that come to the market. He’s strong too, you can tell by the way he pulls you up from the ground with no real effort exerted. His hands are on the softer side. He feels familiar but you can’t place where you know him. 

Oh fuck. You’re the prettiest person Schaltt has ever seen. He’s been introduced to countless nobles, never ending royalty, long lines of commoners, but none of them could compare to how absolutely stunning you look right now. And he’s just made a huge ass full of himself by running into you and sending some of your baked goods AND you flying to the ground. At least he was smart enough to wear a mask to hide his face and therefore his identity. He knows his facial hair is incredibly recognizable. Even if he wasn’t presenting as the crowned prince, he better make this right. 

“It’s alright,” you respond once you’ve shaken yourself out of your stupor, reaching for your basket. He quickly hands it back to you. You do a quick inventory and note that about a third of your stock had fallen to the ground. “Great, just great,” you murmur quietly to yourself. 

“Again, I’m so sorry about that… let me replace what you’ve lost. Allow me to walk you to the bakery so you can buy more.” The stranger says, motioning toward the bakery, his eyes never leaving yours. 

The laugh you let out causes the man’s shoulders to deflate, causing you to clear your throat and instantly start explaining. “No, no, sorry. I’m not laughing at you. Rather laughing at the thought of me buying anything from that fucking guy.” 

His brows furrow as he looks at the pastries. “You didn’t get them from the baker? Where did you get them from then?” 

“I made them myself.” You answer simply, giving a small shrug. “The baker didn’t want to hire me and so I bake them at my house and sell them on the square to a few people.” 

His brows hit the top of his forehead. “Oh shit, really? I guess I just made you lose income then, huh? Let me pay for them then.”

“Oh, no really it’s okay. It was an accident. Don’t worry about it.” 

“No really. I insist. Please. It’s the least I can do.” He states before digging into his pockets and pulling out 5 gold pieces and pressing them into your hand. 

You stare at the gold in shock. “Sir, I can’t accept this. I only charge 2 copper for one cookie. This is far too much, please take it back.” 

Schaltt panics. It’s been forever since he’s had an economics class and he isn’t sure how much money is a lot of money to common folk. He realizes 5 gold is probably a bit too much, especially after you tell him of what you usually charge. It’s too late to back out now. 

“Nah,” he answers. “I guess it just means you have to give me the rest that’s in the basket.” 

Without hesitation, you hold the basket out for him to take. He’s surprised by your quick movement but carefully takes the basket from your hands. He grabs the cloth that covers the basket gently and carefully pulls it back, revealing a plethora of baked goods, the sight makes his mouth water. “Woah, these look professionally made.” 

You let out a huff and puff out your chest a bit more. “Well I am a professional. And they would look better, but someone caused the basket to hit the ground.” 

His laugh may be the most beautiful thing you have ever heard. It makes your heart flutter and you have to will the heat to not flood your cheeks. “I apologized for that already,” He teases. 

“Yeah well, it still happened didn’t it,” you shoot back. 

He laughs again, which surprises you. Most people would have called you rude by now and left you to stand here alone. But not this strange stranger. You don’t mind his presence though. “You’re funny…” He trails off

You realize he’s waiting for your name and you supply it to him. He echos it back, stating it slowly as if to savor every syllable, to test how it feels on his tongue and his teeth before he hums. “I’m charmed to meet your acquaintance,” He states, reaching out grabbing your hand, bending at the waist, and pressing the back of your hand to his masked lips. It takes everything in you to will the blood to NOT rush to your cheeks. 

He drops your hand before straightening up. “Now if you don’t mind, I will be trying one of these delectable looking desserts.” 

He reaches into the basket and pulls out a chocolate chocolate-chip cookie. “Oh fuck yes. These are my fucking favorite.” 

You can’t stop the grin and giggle that escapes you.

The stranger turns from you and for a moment your heart falls and your stomach turns as you think that he’s walking away from you. But you’re able to see his hand move up to the lower half of his face and you realize he’s pulling his mask down in order to eat. You quickly look away to give the man his privacy. You may be curious as to what he looks like, but you value respecting his choices above all else. 

Holy fuck it’s one of the tastiest things he’s ever eaten. His eyes close as he groans at the taste that fills his mouth. He’s glad he had the sense to turn around and his face and expression from you. He couldn’t imagine how embarrassing he looks right now. 

You hear him let out a groan of approval and you can only assume that something has hit his tongue. “This is delicious.” Your assumptions are confirmed as his voice comes out muffled from the food in his mouth. 

“Don’t speak with your mouth full,” you chide, looking at the bustling people of the market stalls.

Schlatt chuckles, pulling the mask back up and turning back to face you. He’s stunned for a moment to not meet your eyes. Realizing why you’re angled and looking the way that you are. His own heart skips a beat before he clears his throat. He takes a moment to chew and swallow before softly letting you know you’re good to look. 

You’re slightly disappointed to find the mask still in its place but you understand the want for privacy perhaps more than most. “So it was good then?” You ask. 

He nods enthusiastically. “It was fucking amazing. I can’t wait to get back to the castle and try the rest of them.” He says, realizing a moment too late his slip. 

Your brows hit the top of your forehead, “The castle? Do you live in the castle?” You can’t stop the question that falls from your lips.

“Yeah, I’m a guard. I live in the castle, and I’m a guard. Today’s my day off.” He explains. His words are rushed, but who are you to question a man you just met.

You give a couple nods, “I see,” you state simply, “That makes sense.” 

Internally Schlatt lets out a loud breath of relief that you bought the lie. The castle has been his home his entire life and he wasn’t thinking when he spoke so he’s glad you easily bought his excuse of being a guard.

“It makes sense considering you just handed me 5 gold like it’s not more than I will make in two months and King Philza makes sure that the guards get paid an excellent salary… not that he makes sure the rest of the citizens get paid the same. But that’s neither here nor there.” You huff. 

The stranger’s brows lift. “What do you mean by that?” 

Your face burns as you catch what you just admitted. “Oh nothing.” You rush. “Sorry you probably are more than happy with the decisions the king makes. Not to imply anything. Sorry.” 

“No, no it’s alright. I want to hear it.” 

And want to hear it, he does. No one has the guts to speak so plainly to him when they’re around him. So he wants to hear it. The good, the bad and the ugly. 

You clear your throat and square your shoulders. “Well if you insist. Often it feels like the king, the whole royal family really, doesn’t care about those that do not live in the castle. I can’t get a job because no one can afford to hire anyone because everyone is just barely scraping by. It’s like he can’t see past his own front lawn. Which sucks because everyone talks about what a great guy he is, but sometimes I don’t think he’s a very good king.”

Schlatt hums in acknowledgement. You bring up some really good points. He also sometimes feels like his father forgets he’s supposed to be ruling for the people and isn’t supposed to be ruling his son’s life… speaking of. “Well I’m sure you can’t wait for his son to take over the throne then? Schlatt?” He is instantly startled by the loud laughter that bubbles from your throat.

“Schlatt? That big, petty,  man-baby? Yeah. Sure. I’m excited to see how that big man-baby decides to rule the kingdom. You know, I heard that he grew those mutton chops to make himself more unattractive to potential suitors. I think he didn’t realize how fucking good he looks with them. At least from what I’ve seen from a distance. I think he makes them work, and I’m definitely not the only one in the kingdom that agrees. I think he just needs to bite the bullet and just… I don’t know. Do it.” 

Schlatt once again thanks his past self profusely for the idea of wearing a mask to hide his face because he can feel the way his cheeks heat up to what he is sure is a bright red. You’re not particularly wrong. That was the original thought. To make himself look unkempt and not put together in an attempt to drive away potential suitors but he grew to like how they looked and grew fond of the hair. 

“I don’t think he should just bite the bullet and marry the first person that asks for his hand” he defends, “I think he wants to marry for love. Not for some political alliance. I think that’s admirable.” 

“Oh I agree. My apologies. That’s not what I meant. I meant he needs to bite the bullet and be fucking honest with the kingdom. The news that we get from the castle is that he’s the one that’s been rejected. That he wants to find the perfect alliance. That he wants what’s best for the kingdom. And while I agree that maybe he does, he needs to be fucking honest with us and tell us the truth. That he’s looking for love. Not what would ‘be best for the kingdom.’ We don’t mind that’s what’s happening, it’s the fact we’re being lied to, ya know?”

“Huh, so that’s the news that is coming out of the castle… I’ll have to talk to someone about that.” 

Your breath catches slightly. “Shit. Sorry. I don’t want to get either of us in trouble. Forget me and my words. I know not of what I speak.” 

“No, sweets. You have valid points. They deserve to be heard. I won’t mention your name if you wish. But I will make them hear me. I’m actually rather close with the prince.” He can’t help but internally snicker to himself. Closer than you know. 

The blood drains from your face. “Of course you are. Of course I complain about the prince to someone that has direct connection with him… fuck. Okay. Cool. Good to know. Well… I have to go. I have to get my ingredients still and I must be home before stepmother gets there. It was a pleasure meeting you.” You state quickly before attempting to rush past him. 

You're stopped by his hand grasping your shoulder gently, causing you to turn around to face him. “Will I ever see you again?” 

The way he asks is so soft and gentle. It causes your heart to pound loudly and the breath to pause in your throat. “Maybe,” you breathe out. 

The two of you stare at each other for a moment more before it hits you. “I have a carrier pigeon. I’ll send it with a letter to the castle and we can talk like that. Maybe sometime we can meet again. Maybe on one of your days off.” 

The man’s beautiful brown eyes light up with delight. “That would be amazing. I look forward to hearing from you.” He allows his hand to trail from your shoulder, down your arm, to your hand, and he lifts the hand to his lips before placing a kiss to it. He gives you a soft wink as he drops your hand. You turn away as you blush, willing yourself to calm down. 

“Oh!” You startle, “I forgot to ask your name-“ the words die on your lips to find the spot next to you vacated with the tall stranger nowhere in sight. “Great. Just great… well. I better get going. Those cookies won’t bake themselves.” 

Schlatt has never felt so giddy. He can’t wait to hear from you. He also realizes he never gave you a name, he’ll just have to keep his eye out for a new and unfamiliar carrier pigeon.

 

You debate with yourself when you get home what the proper waiting time is for sending a stranger a letter with the pigeon. Because you wrote one as soon as you got home and it was ready to send within two hours of meeting him. Sending one that quickly may spook him. It could cause him to think you’re weird. 

You decide you’ll wait a couple hours, bake cookies and make dinner and then when your stepmother allows you to retire to your room, that is when you’ll send it. And so that is what you do. You check over the letter a thousand times before you tuck it into the envelope and hand it to your carrier pigeon. “To the castle pigeon, look for a man with brown hair and brown eyes… well that’s specific huh?... I really should have gotten his name. Okay… well… I guess we will half to wing it.” You scribble down something on the envelope and hand it to the pigeon who takes it with its foot and flies off to the castle. 

Schlatt is taking a stroll in the gardens, kicking himself for not asking for a better way to contact you. He hadn’t heard anything from you and at this point he’s worrying he never will. He’s spent most of his time analyzing the conversation over and over again in his head and realized that he probably came off too strong and too weird and he will be lucky to ever see you again. 

He jumps as a pigeon lands on his shoulder,to his head snapping to the side to meet the wide, vacant eye of the bird. It gives a soft coo before shaking and moving its foot, drawing attention to the letter in its grasp. His heart leaps to his throat in hope before he swallows and carefully takes it. 

He grins at the writing on the front of the envelope. “Sir Charmed, lover of chocolate chip cookies.” Instantly all his worries melt away as he plucks the letter from its hiding and he reads the words. Once. Twice. A Hundred times. Schlatt rushes inside to carefully compose his response. 

You don’t go a day without hearing from each other for the next couple of weeks. You exchange letters. You tell him about your life and how you got your love of baking, and your want of leaving the house. He tells you the pressures of his job and how sometimes he just wants to run away from it all and explore the world. You make him promise that if he does, he’ll take you with him. He promises. 

You forget to get his name and at this point you’re too embarrassed to ask him for it, instead electing to call him a bunch of nicknames, mainly being Sir Charming, hoping he never catches on. He never seems to. 

The two of you agree to meet up once more, somewhere a little more quiet than the market square, but still public (because you have to be proper.) You’re sure to wear the cutest outfit you can manage to put together and bake the best batches of cookies you’ve ever baked. 

“Where are you going?” Ted asks with his brow raised, watching Schlatt with his arms crossed as Schlatt sneaks through the castle halls. 

Schlatt freezes and slowly turns. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not going anywhere.” 

“Sureeeee,” Ted draws, not convinced at all. “You’re just creeping through the halls in one of your best outfits going… nowhere.” 

Schlatt sighs, not being able to hide from his best friend. “I’m going to meet them.” 

Ted raises an eyebrow. “Them? The one you’ve been writing all those letters to? Are you sure that’s a good idea” 

“I know that it is. Please. Cover for me?”

Ted sighs but can’t deny Schlatt has been happier in the past couple weeks than he has been for the past couple months. “Okay fine. But you’d better bring me back one of those sugar cookies.” 

Schlatt gives Ted a toothy grin. “We’ll see.” 

You give him a shy smile as he appears. “Hey, you,” you greet standing, wiping your hands on your pants. 

“Hey sweets,” he greets back, his voice muffled through the mask still adorned on his face. You didn’t mind too much. He explained that it made him more comfortable, especially because in his work he has to wear something to cover his face under the helmet, it’s just easier for him to wear it. As much as you want to see his entire face, you were willing to respect his choices. 

“How are you?” 

“Can’t complain, especially now that I get to see your beauty standing before me.” 

You can’t stop the blush that floods your cheeks. “Oh hush. Here. I’ve made you something special.” You tell him, turning and grabbing the special baked good that you made him. “It’s a chocolate chocolate-chip brookie. Or a double chocolate chip cookie baked inside a brownie. I remember you said that you loved brownies and cookies and sometimes can’t choose which to have so I made you both… well two in one.” 

You raise your hand with one of the treats toward him, facing the basket still, still trying to will down the blush on your cheeks.

“Well, don’t mind if I do,” you have to hold in the jump as you feel his soft breath against your hand. You will yourself to stay in place as his lips brush against your outstretched fingers as he gently takes a bite out of the treat in your hand. A loud groan escapes him, similar to the one you heard the day the two of you met. “Okay, I take back everything I’ve said… This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten.” 

All of your hard work is ruined as the blood rushes back to your cheeks into a blush. “What have I told you about talking with your mouth full?” You deflect 

The treat is removed from your hand, his fingers brushing against your palm. “My apologies, your highness.” His words are even more mumbled, telling you he shoved the brookie all the way into his mouth. 

You scoff. “Careful now, you’ll get me hung for treason with that nickname.”

His laugh garbled out around the baked good. “Surely the king isn’t that cruel.” His hand rests on your shoulder and turns you to face him, the mask sitting on his face once again. 

You laugh back and shrug, “I don’t know. I’ve never met the man.” 

“Well I have. So I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it.” 

“Is that so?... I guess I’ll just have to trust you then.” 

You stare into his brilliant and beautiful eyes for a while longer before he moves, clearing his throat and gesturing forward, “Shall we then?” 

“I am getting sick of these games you’re playing, Jonathan.” King Philza booms loudly. 

Schlatt rolls his eyes and crosses his arms in front of his chest. “I’m not playing games with you father, I’ve told you. I want to marry for-”

“For love. I understand. But how can you marry for love when you push away every single option I give you. You haven’t given yourself a chance to fall in love with anyone I have brought before you and I am growing tired of it. If you do not pick someone within the next month, I will be choosing someone for you. End of story. Am I understood?”

Schlatt internally panics. He knew this day was coming. He knew he was pushing his father too far. He had held out for too long. His stomach drops… There’s only one person he could see himself marrying at this point… 

Assuming he had been understood, Philza turns to walk out the door. “Let’s throw a ball,” the words tumble from Schlatt’s lips. 

Phil turns back around with an eyebrow raised. “A ball?”

“You want me to marry quickly. I want to marry for love. So what better way than to throw a ball, invite everyone in the kingdom, emphasizing the invitations for single people, and then I’ll be able to talk and dance with people all night. And I swear to you, if we throw this ball I will find a betrothed by the end of the month.”

Phil is silent for a while. Tossing the words over in his head for a moment before giving a single nod. “So be it.” He then turns and exits the room. 

Schlatt lets out a harsh breath. Well that was easier than expected. Now to convince you to come to a ball. 

It takes less convincing than one might think. 

You get a letter from your Sir Charming, who tells you there will be a ball and that he wants you to come as his guest. He tells you that you’d be able to bring some of your baked goods to give out to nobles to promote your baking, plus you’d be able to see him. You hate to admit how much the latter of the two sold you on the idea. You sent back your acceptance of the invitation. 

The money you’ve gotten from selling your baked goods is supposed to go to a moving out fund, but you can’t help but take out a couple of the gold pieces that he gave you in the first meeting, finding it only fitting that his money buys your outfit for the ball

It’s a really pretty outfit, it fits you well enough, you had to buy it a size larger because they didn’t have your size and you didn’t have enough money to get it tailored. But it didn’t matter that much to you. Your mystery man had seen you in grubbier garment, anything would be a step up from what you met him in. 

The news of the ball gets announced to the entire kingdom, and your stepmother is perhaps more excited than you are. She thinks at least one of her daughters will win the heart of the prince. When you voice your want to go, she forbids you. You tell her that you don’t even want to be in the presence of the prince, you just want to see the snack table, she sneers at you but says nothing further, making you believe that perhaps she will allow you to go. 

You find yourself in your kitchen, finishing up some of the baked goods you were to take to the ball tonight. The loud clacking of your stepmother’s heels echo on the tile, the door swings open, your stepmother enters in a rage. Your heart stops as you look up from your desserts and see your outfit clutched in her hands. 

“What is this?” She hisses, waving the fabric at you as she gets closer. 

“My outfit for the ball,” you answer as calmly as you can, speaking around the lump in your throat. 

“Oh!” She lets out in mock surprise, “Is it now? I thought you said you were not going to be trying to win the attention of the prince.” 

You furrow your brow and remain standing straight with your shoulders squared back, “I am not. I have no intention of wooing the prince, stepmother.” 

“Then why have you chosen to wear such an attention seeking outfit? Surely you were planning on going behind my and my daughter’s back. I should have known you were going to do something like this.”

“Please, stepmother. You must believe me. I have no--” 

“I do not believe you, you little wench. You’ve always have looked for ways out of this house, to one up me and my daughters. I will stand for this no more.” 

You want so badly to lash out, to rip the outfit from her hands, go running from the room, and get dressed. But you can’t move. You can barely breathe. You can feel your heart pounding in your chest, your stomach turning, and your body locking up. You can only watch as your stepmother glides over to the stove. Her eyes glide over the stove top before smirking. She dunks the outfit into the melted chocolate you were going to use to cover some of the treats. 

To make matters worse, part of the cloth flops over the edge of the pan and lands directly on the open flame that was on to melt the chocolate. Your stepmother lets out a triumphant laugh as the outfit catches fire, turning around and leaving the kitchen.

The sound of the door closing behind her causes you to leap into action finally. You rip the outfit out of the pot and toss it in the sink, dousing it with water, extinguishing the flame. The chocolate clings to the fabric, refusing to let go easily as you put your entire being into scrubbing the outfit. 

Sobs begin falling from your lips as you realize, even if you get all of the chocolate out of this outfit, it will never dry in time for the ball. Plus. you don’t have fabric to sew up the part where the flame ate part of it. Your outfit is ruined. Your plans are ruined. The night is ruined. 

You barely register your stepmother calling for your stepsisters, telling them it was time to go, and the door opening and closing behind them. The world seems to spin around you, sinking you to your knees as you sob loudly, clutching the soaking web fabric to your chest. 

The cool tile welcomes you, the warmth of the oven soothes you, and the wetness of the outfit grounds you. The sobs turn into soft hiccups then to silent sniffles as you stare in front of you. Mentally you begin to write your apology letter to Sir Charming about your abscess from the ball. How you were going to go, you really were, you just didn’t have anything suitable to wear. 

He’ll probably ask you why you didn’t plan better. He’ll probably be angry. He may not want to speak to you again. You’ll just have to deal with it and beg for forgiveness. And if he decides not to forgive you…. You’ll just have to live with it. 

A soft knock echoes from the front door. You’re so in your own head, you’re not sure it’s a real sound, but then it comes again, a little louder this time. You muse it may be one of your steps who forgot something and didn’t think to bring a key. 

In a zombie-like fashion, you let the fabric drop from your hands before standing up slowly. It almost feels as if you’re floating as you move to the front door. Your hand somehow finds the doorknob, unlocking it, before turning it and opening it up. 

You startle slightly at the sight in front of you. A frail looking older man stands before you. He has grey hair, a hunchback, and a shawl that comes up and covers the top of his head and shoulders. “Oh… hello. Can I help you?” You ask softly, looking out past him wondering where he came from. Your house wasn’t necessarily in the middle of nowhere, but you definitely had your privacy from neighbors. You lived on the edge of the kingdom, no one ever really comes out here. 

“Hello there, deary.” His voice is kind and his lips turn upwards slightly. “I am sorry to bother you at this time of night, but I was just on my way home and my stomach let out an awful grumble and I was just wondering if you could spare a bite to eat? I won’t take much, I promise, just something to get me home.”

You don’t know what made you trust this stranger, maybe it was just your deep need to help those around you, maybe you were still in shock from what your stepmother had done minutes… an hour? You’re not sure. But you give him a smile. “Oh yes, of course. Please come in sir. Lucky for you, I was just making something sweet. So you can snack on that while I make you dinner.” 

You move out of the way and let the man enter your house. 

“Oh, please deary, no need to make me a whole meal.” 

“Nonsense,” you answer, guiding him into the kitchen, “I want to make sure you’re well fed for your journey home.” You hand him some of the cookies from the counter. “Here, make yourself at home.”

The man takes the cookie from your hands gently before sitting himself down at the counter. “You are far too kind… I wasn’t even sure anyone would be home. I heard the royal family is throwing a ball, and everyone is invited.” 

You can’t help the laugh that falls from your lips as you begin making dinner for this kind man. “Yes, well, my stepmother believed me unworthy to attend… went as far as to destroy my outfit…” you take a moment to look down at the outfit, still soaking at your feet. You snap yourself out of the stupor, “Sorry. Not to dump.” 

The man hums as he takes a bite of the cookie. “I see…. Oh this is delicious. You should run a bakery.” He exclaims. 

A shy smile plays on your lips as you plate his food. “That’s the goal…One day. Thank you… Anyway, dinner is served!” You place the plate in front of him, your smile growing. 

The man instantly digs in and hums in delight at the taste. The two of you converse as he eats, he talks about his life and you give him more insight into yours. Telling him of how you got your love of baking and your hopes of owning a bakery, but not working for the baker in the village. 

Soon, he’s down to his last bite of dinner. He pops it in his mouth before leaning back into his chair. “Wow, that hit the spot. Thank you again deary, for dinner and the delightful conversation…” 

You give him a smile, “Of course, it’s my pleasure… I just realized I never got your name.” 

“You can call me Quackity…AKA” 

Suddenly golden light surrounds the man in front of you, forcing a gasp out of your lips. “What’s going on?” You exclaim as the light draws closer to the man, glowing brighter. 

Through squinted eyes, you watch the wrinkles fall from the man’s face. It’s as if an ink pot spills from the shawl the rests on his head, his hair turning black. The fabric morphs into a dark grey beanie that remains covering the top part of his hair. His spine straightens, his outfit morphing into a sharp tuxedo with golden wings protruding from his back. His piercing eyes, suddenly getting covered by black sunglasses. 

The golden motes of light fade from existence, the old man no longer in front of you, a young man now sitting before you. 

“Your fairy godmother…father…papi? Ah who knows.” 

You stare wide-eyed, mouth agape at the man that now sits in front of you. “What the fuck?” You whisper. “Who are you?”

The young man tilts his head and gives a playful grin. “I just told you, silly. I’m your fairy god-Papi. You can also call me Quackity. But I’ve watched over you, and I had to make sure you were still a good person. We don’t have time for the full backstory, we have a ball to get you too, dulces.” 

You stare at him, your mouth moving like a fish out of water. “What are you talking about? I can’t go to the ball, my outfit is ruined, I don’t have a way to get there. I can’t… Don’t you have to get home?” 

Quackity laughs causing you to pout to play on your lips. Quackity notices, “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh, you’re just too sweet. I know you think we just met, but you have to trust me. You’ve already let me in your home, you may as well trust me to do this as well.” 

You puff up your cheeks with air as you toss your thoughts back and forth, debating his words. Maybe you’re asleep. Maybe you crashed and fell asleep on the kitchen floor and this is all just a dream. At this point, that would make the most sense. You pinch the skin on your thigh, flinching but looking around. When nothing around you changes, you’re forced to take this situation as reality. Incredibly weird, fucked up reality. 

You meet Quackity’s bright eyes again, his kind smile never fading. “Okay.” You speak softly, letting your shoulders relax. “I trust you.” 

His grin grows bigger and he claps his hands once in delight, holding them in front of his chest for a brief moment, looking you over excitedly. “I knew I chose you for a reason. Let’s get this done then, shall we?” 

Quackity claps twice and the golden light fills your vision again, this time though, they’re surrounding you. Your clothes shift and change, the fabric changes and gets tighter to your body. Your hair moves around on its own, which feels weird at first, but then you realize that it feels like someone is doing your hair and you think back to your mother and father doing your hair when you were little. You feel the flour and the sugar fall from your face and your fingertips as the light cleans you up. 

Your gaze moves down to your feet and your breath catches at the shoes you now adorn. They’re breathtaking, literally apparently. They’re made of glass, the majority of the shoe being see through, but a gorgeous pattern of color, as if spun sugar swirled throughout. They’re insanely comfortable too. You’d think that shoes made of glass would be uncomfortable, but they’re not. They’re perhaps the most comfortable shoes you’ve ever worn. 

Soon, the light fades and you turn to find Quackity holding a mirror. The outfit is beautiful and truly made for a ball. It’s actually your size and fits you well in all of the right places. Your hair is beautiful as well, pulled back to show your face, but is done up in an intricate way. Your face, as you felt, is clear of the evidence of your baking. 

“I look good,” you whisper, turning slightly, examining yourself from different angles. 

“I know, I did well, didn’t I?” Quackity boasts, the feathers of his wings ruffling at the slight praise. 

You look from the mirror to catch his gaze. “You did. But I still don’t have a way there, I don’t want to walk.” 

Quackity shakes their head. “Oh yee of little faith. Grab those boxes of treats and follow me.” 

You whip around and find all of the baked goods you were working on packed neatly in your boxes. The magic must have moved them while you were getting dolled up. You blinked away the happy tears and scooped up the boxes and scurried out the door after Quackity. 

You stand back and watch as Quackity waves his hands around, the golden magic illuminating the dark night. It swirls around a pumpkin in your garden you were planning on using for a pie when it got ripe, making it grow larger and larger, changing from a thick orange pumpkin skin to a brilliant white carriage with golden details. 

The sheep that wanders your small farm gets surrounded by the light and is transformed into a beautiful woman who bends at the waist in front of you. “My lady,” she speaks. You curtsy back at her, giggling. You can’t believe this is real. 

Two field mice get transformed into a carriage driver and their assistant. Your carrier pigeon you’ve been using gets enlarged into a giant pigeon which the driver and assistant immediately move to get the pigeon hooked up to the carriage. Quackity moves over to stand by you, grinning as the golden light fades away as everything comes to order. “Ta da!” He says, holding his hands out and wiggling his fingers towards to new carriage and humans there to take you to the ball.

You can’t stop yourself from turning to him and throwing your arms around him, pulling him closely to you. He lets out a soft “oof” but wraps his arms around you, squeezing you tightly. “Thank you so much… fairy god….papi.” 

Quackity barks out a laugh but squeezes you tighter. “Of course, dulces. Now, this magic doesn’t come without a downside.” He says, pulling away and looking you in the eye. “Nothing too bad, but the magic will fade at midnight. The carriage will go back to a pumpkin, the footman back to mice and your sheep lady to a sheep. Your outfit will fade. It will all end at midnight. So, go, have fun at the ball, eat, drink, make friends, do it all. But when that clock strikes midnight, run like hell little lady.” 

You give him a short nod. “I understand… thank you. Will I ever see you again?” 

Quackity smiles softly, his hand moving to cup your cheek. “I’ll never be far away from you, dulces.” 

You know that means probably not, buy you decide to ignore it as you give him another hug. 

He hugs you back before  pulling away again. “Enough sap, you have a ball to go to. Go on! Get!” He pushes you toward the open door of the carriage. You giggle, gather the boxes of baked goods you had set down, and move to the carriage. 

Puffy, the lady in waiting, climbs in the carriage after you, closing the door behind her, before hitting the top of the carriage, causing the driver to give a shout and the carriage rocks forward. 

You glance out the window toward the house and find Quackity watching the carriage leave, his hands pressed to his chest. You bring your hand up and give a small wave. Quackity raises his hand and waves after you, until you cannot see him any longer. 

Schlatt was going a little crazy. It was as if the entire kingdom had shown up. Everyone was here. Everyone but you. You had promised that you would come in the letter that you sent a week ago, but maybe you had changed your mind. He hopes you hadn’t though. Afterall, he swore to his father he would be betrothed by the end of this night. 

He had met countless single village people, all trying to bat their eyes hard enough to make him take a second glance, but none of them were you. He found himself slumping down in his throne, brushing off the glare his father threw over his shoulder. Pretending not to hear the, “This is what you wanted. At least act like you want to be here.” He hissed over. Schlatt just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. 

It becomes apparent he has met everyone here tonight and still no sign of you. Until there’s a large commotion by the snack table. His gaze shoots over and his heart picks up at the sight. It’s you. You look so different from the other times he’s seen you, but it is you. He’s on his feet in an instant and rushing over. 

You arrive later than everyone else at the ball, but honestly you’re totally okay with that. Less attention to yourself. You give a small bow to your servants for the evening, giving your carrier pigeon a few scritches before ducking into the castle. You hope you’ll be able to find your Sir Charming quickly so you can stick to him for the entire night. You decide you’ll first hit up the snack table to set up your baked goods and sign for the other nobles to taste just like Sir Charming said to do. 

You find the table is already packed with baked goods from the bakery. You take it upon yourself to begin moving some of the treats over to make room for your treats. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” A familiar voice booms from behind you. 

You roll your eyes at the voice but turn around and face the baker, Mr. Lou Hamani. “I was invited to display my baked goods at this ball. So I’m simply making room.” You answer before turning back around and putting more desserts out. 

Lou moves to stand beside you at the table and begins to grab at your treats. “I think not you disrespectful child. I am being paid by the king’s advisor himself for these desserts. I will not have you screwing over my chance to impress the nobles that are here today at this ball. You will pack up and leave at once.” 

“I will do no such thing, I was invited to set up shop here by a castle staff member and I intend to do so.” You huff. Lou pays your words no mind and continues to gather up the things you’ve baked in his arms. “Hey, put those down. Give those back.” If he hears you he pretends like he doesn’t and cotiunes what he’s doing. It’s then you begin to try and grab your treats out of his hands. 

The baker snaps at you, “get your hands off of me.” 

“Give me my things back!” 

You’re so invested in what is going on in front of you that you don’t realize that the entire ballroom’s eyes are on you. 

In the middle of your squabble, someone loudly clears their throat. You then realize you’re in public and everyone can see you. You decide to still not care and face it with confidence. The baker looks over his shoulder and seems to pale at the sight. Your brow slightly furrows and you turn around. 

Deep pools of chestnut brown lock with yours and they’re just as fucking beautiful as the day you first met them. They fill you with a sense of calm, but at the same time nerves as butterflies fill your stomach. You think you will never tire of looking him in the eyes. 

You find your eyes drifting down and you feel your stomach lurch and your heart stop. You’re seeing his face uncovered for the first time. He’s so fucking handsome… 

So fucking handsome with those god fucking damn mutton chops. 

“Your highness,” you hear the baker greet shakily from behind you. 

Your thoughts are confirmed. The man you met that day in the market, the one you’ve been sending letters to, the one you met once more, the one you’ve been slowly developing feelings for. Is Prince fucking Schlatt himself. Of fucking course he never told you his name. Of fucking course he never showed his face. It’s been him this whole time. 

Oh fuck. 

You’ve shit talked about him to his fucking face. 

You’re fucked. 

Gods. You look beautiful. He didn’t know anyone could ever look this good. He’s so fucking happy you came. 

His eyes meet yours and he can tell you’re in shock. He was a bit surprised you figured it out, that your Sir Charming was actually the prince. The other part of him feels fuzzy that you can recognize him just from his eyes. He can only hope that you forgive him for lying to you. 

“Mr. Hamani,” He greets easily, his eyes not leaving yours. He’s trying to decipher what it is you’re thinking, but your shocked expression masks any else you may be thinking. “Would you kindly unhand my favorite baked goods from my favorite baker? You’ll have to forgive me sir, while I find your treats delicious, I find theirs simply irresistible. I invited them and told them to set up shop here. I apologize that no one informed you in advance.” 

The baker stutters but gives a quick bow. “Of course, your highness. No need to apologize to me. I was simply surprised at their appearance is all. They have always been rather disruptive and I wanted to ensure it wasn’t something of that sort happening again… I apologize, your highness.” 

Schlatt gives a simple wave of his hand. “Forgiven.” He speaks. 

The baker dumps the treats from his hands back on \to the table and scurries away. Schlatt strides over and snatches up a double chocolate chip cookie and takes a bite, moaning at the taste, before turning to face you. He gives a shy smile. 

“Hello.” 

“Hello,” he states softly as if nerves have invaded his entire stomach. As if he has a right to be nervous after the shit he let you get away with. 

“Hello,” You answer tensely. 

The two of you stand there, staring at each other for a moment. You haven’t even noticed that the entire ballroom is still at a standstill, staring. 

You’re the first to move. You charge forward at him, your finger rising in the air, pointing directly at him. “You. I can’t believe that you-” 

Prince Schlatt grabs your hand out of the air, bows, and brings the back of your hand up to his lips. The feeling of his soft lips on your hand sets the flesh there ablaze. You feel your face flush with searing heat along with the heat that floods your entire body. He mutters your name softly, lips still pressed to your hand, sending butterflies soaring in your stomach. 

“Prince Schlatt.” You utter, curtsying slightly. 

He stands back up to his full height and gives you a soft, lopsided grin. “May I have this dance?” 

All of the heated words you wanted to sling his way die on your tongue. You can’t help but wonder if this is all a prank. Like if you accept, he is going to laugh in your face and you’re going to be tossed in the dungeon. 

But then you meet his eyes. 

Those damn fucking eyes. 

They tell you so much, you’re surprised they didn’t tell you who you had been speaking to this entire time. 

They tell you to trust him. That he truly means what he is saying. That he wants nothing more than for you to say yes, because he wants to dance with you. Truly, deeply, wants to dance with you.

Hope. 

His eyes fill with hope. 

And how can you say no to hope. 

“You may.” 

Schlatt is probably the happiest he’s ever been when you accept his offer to dance. His grin widens significantly before he leads you to the middle of the ballroom. He bows to you and you curtsy. The band strikes up a beautiful waltz song and the two of you begin to dance. 

He notices that you’re working hard to follow his moves. It dawns on him that you are indeed a commoner and so you don’t have the dance training drilled into you as he has. He slows his pace down and smiles brightly as your shoulders sag in relief as you catch up with him. 

“Sorry,” you mumble for a third time as you step on his toes once more. 

“Please stop apologizing. I do not mind. Truly…” 

He stares at you beaming, trying to make you see the truth. You seem to only slightly believe him. He clears his throat and pauses for a moment. “Here, step on my feet. I’ll move us around the ballroom.” 

He smiles through you raising your eyebrows as if to ask if he was serious. He nods encouragingly. 

You realize that he’s not going to move again until you comply. So you do. You carefully step both of your feet onto his, praying the glass shoes are as comfortable on top of his feet as they are on yours. If they’re not, he makes no show of it. His smirk grows impossibly wide and begins to move around once more. 

The rest of the room fades away. He can see no others in the ballroom. His gaze is focused on you and you alone. He whispers jokes to you and feels his heart warm when you toss your head back in laughter. 

With you, he’s not the prince. 

He’s just Schlatt. 

He couldn’t be more thankful for you.

You couldn’t help but feel slightly embarrassed as Prince Schlatt dances you across the room. Your father always told you not paying attention to your mother’s dance lessons would come back to bite you. You never thought you’d see the day that would come to fruition. 

But he moved you around with such ease that it made you feel as if you were floating. It didn’t matter you didn’t know how to dance, he was there. He was helping you through. He was there for you. 

Your mind takes that thought and runs with it. 

You think back to you waiting everyday eagerly for his letters to arrive. The way you blossomed under his praise, both of you and your baking. Ever since the moment you met him, he always was there to catch you. You can’t think of a single moment in the past couple months where your mind wasn’t filled with the thoughts of him. 

He has always been there. 

The music ends and the two of you bow to each other. A round of applause startles the two of you out of your bubble. You look around and find several other couples had joined you on the dance floor, but most people had stayed pressed on the sidelines, watching the dances. Those are the ones that were now applauding. Your face flushes once more and you duck your head down as you step off of Prince Schaltt’s feet and away from him. 

If the prince notices you trying to put distance between the two of you, he doesn’t make it known. He instead grabs your hand once more, pressing another kiss to the back of your hand. 

“Come on, I must introduce you.” He states simply before moving towards the front of the room where his family sat. 

Your heart leaps to your throat, eyes widening as the royal family draws nearer and nearer. Somewhere in your brain had registered that if your Sir Charming was the Prince Schlatt, then his father would then be King Philza. But that didn’t actually click until now. 

Until the King, Queen, and other Prince were rising to meet you. 

“Father, Mother… brother,” Schlatt greets with a wide smile giving them a bow. “It is my honor to introduce you to my guest of honor for the evening.” You can barely believe it’s your name that then falls from his lips. 

Through the fog in your head, you thank yourself for remembering to give a deep bow to the royal family of the land. “Your majesties. Thank you for allowing me… everyone into your home. Everything about this ball is beautiful and perfect.” You give yourself a pat on the back for sliding in that compliment. 

“Everything except the pastries from the local baker it seems.” King Philza’s tone is so deep and regal it’s incredibly hard to register the joking tone. 

You swallow hard. “Forgive me, your highness. Mr. Hamani and I have never gotten along. I should not have brought our feud inside your home.” 

King Philza gives a dismissive wave. 

“It’s quite alright, dear.” Queen Kristen speaks up, her tone soft and gentle. “Sometimes men allow their egos to get in the way.” 

You can’t help but giggle along with her and nod along. 

“Dear!” King Philza lets out in a slight aghast tone. 

“Oh do not tell me I am wrong, my love. You should know this better than anyone.” 

The King does not have a response back for that. He instead turns back around and catches your eye. His gaze is so piercing you cannot help but look down at your feet. “We will not keep you any longer. Please, enjoy the ball.” 

“But I haven’t had a chance to talk with them yet!” Prince Tommy whines, stepping forward to stand with his father. 

The King rests a hand on his back and opens his mouth to speak but Prince Schaltt cuts him off. “Nor will you ever. We are off to enjoy the ball now. Farewell.” 

Before anyone in his family can get a word in, Prince Schlatt pulls you away. He beelines to the snack table, the people around it parting to allow him access to the table. Almost all of your baked goods are gone, stuffed in the hands of the attendees, all wanting to see just what made Prince Schlatt deny the local baker. 

Schlatt snaggs two of the double chocolate chip cookies and one of the brookies from the table and continues on his way, still pulling you away. Instead of stopping somewhere in the grand ballroom, he pulls you completely out of the castle and into the royal gardens. 

He stops in front of a bench in front of a fountain. He takes a seat and pats the bench next to him, silently inviting you to sit down. 

You do not sit down.

Instead, you take a couple paces back and forth in front of him, before you turn on your heel to face him. “I cannot fucking believe you!” You finally let out all of your nerves and frustrations into the sentence. 

Prince Schlatt startles slightly, coughing as a crumb of his cookies go down the wrong pipe. He clears his throat and goes to speak up but you don’t give him the chance. 

“You fucking asshole. You let me talk shit about your father… about you to your face the first time we met. Let me talk about your mutton chops. Never stopping to correct me or let me know who you were. You let me call you Sir Charming, never once stopping to tell me your name. How did I let this go this far? You let me write you letters everyday and you wrote me back! You told me so much about you and your life, but didn’t tell me this? This seems pretty fucking big, your highness. Oh my fucking gods. Oh my gods. I can’t fucking believe you. Holy fucking shit. You’re such a fucking asshole.” 

You can’t stop your hand from coming up and slapping his shoulder, pushing him back, not hard enough to push him off but hard enough to prove a point. 

He says nothing for a few moments, letting you breathe through it and calm down, before a grin splits his face. “Yeah. But it was hot. I liked being put in my place during our first meeting. It was interesting to hear your perspective. Someone talking to a complete stranger, not trying to kiss my ass and make me feel good about myself… though with the way you were talking about my chops, maybe you did just a bit of the latter anyway.” 

You let out a frustrated groan as the heat floods your cheeks. “Fuck you.” 

He reaches out and cups your cheek, bringing you down a bit to press a kiss to your forehead. “Yeah, yeah.” 

You take a few more deep breaths before allowing yourself to plop down beside him. You rest your head against his shoulder, forgetting your properness for a moment, taking another deep breath. “I can’t fucking believe you.” You mutter one final time. 

Schlatt turns and presses a kid to the top of your head before resting his head on the top of your head. He lets the silence sit for a while before he clears his throat and speaks again. “I am sorry, by the way.” 

You don’t speak, which he’s partially grateful for, it allows him to process his thoughts further. But on the other hand, he can’t see your face so he can’t tell if the silence is back. 

“I am sorry for not telling you. For lying about who I am… I… You didn’t know me and yet I wanted to know you…but I knew I wouldn’t get that chance if I was honest about who I was. You had a preconceived notion about who I am and I wanted a chance to show you that’s not all of who I am… I didn’t mean for the lie to go on this long. And I do feel back for lying. And I really am sorry.” 

Your silence kills him. His heart hammers in his chest. But then he feels you turn and nervously press a quick kiss to his cheek. “I forgive you.” The three words are the sweetest he’s ever fall from the lips of another. “I get it. I appreciate your apology and I forgive you, Prince Schlatt.” 

“Jonathon.” 

The name escapes his lips before he can stop it. 

“Hmm?” You hum, pull your head from his shoulder to look him in the eye, your brows furrowed. 

His eyes meet your and his heart pounds quickly in his chest. His stomach turning over and over again, churning with nerves. “Jonathon. My name is Jonathon. Call me Jonathon.” 

“Jonathon.” You echo. 

Schlatt takes back his previous thoughts. Several people have called him his given name before. But this? Now? When it falls from your lips? It is certainly the sweetest it has ever sounded. 

He gives a small nod with a shy smile. 

“I forgive you, Jonathon.” 

He could pass away right then and there. 

“I’m sorry I had to step on your feet so you could dance me around the ballroom.” 

“I forgive you… would you like me to teach you how to dance?”

“Would you?” 

“I would. I wouldn’t offer if I wouldn’t.” 

“I don’t want to dance in front of everyone.”

“Who said anything about going back to the ballroom. We can dance right here.” 

Schlatt leads you through several steps very slowly, picking up the pace only after he was sure you were comfortable with the steps. 

Soon enough you were dancing like a pro. So much so that you could focus on the conversation between the two of you rather than the steps you were taking. 

The two of you talked and danced privately in the gardens all night. You offered several times to go back to the ballroom, the man throwing the ball should at least be in there for longer than a couple moments. He ignored that and said he would rather spend time with the one he threw it for. You can’t help but blush at that. 

You’re having such a fun time that you almost forget about the magic’s stipulation. Almost. 

 Jonathon spins you around once more, and pulls you in close to his chest. When you look up at him, you see he’s suddenly a lot closer than you realized. “Oh!” you let out softly. “Sorry,” you apologize, going to move away. 

Jonathon’s hold on you tightens, keeping you in place. “No need to be sorry… I like having you close,” he whispers. Your eyes stray down to his lips as he speaks. They look so soft… so plush… so kissable. 

“I like being close to you,” the confession uttered before you can stop it. 

The corners of his lips up turn in a small smile. The two of you stand there, frozen in time for a moment before he begins to lean in. You move to meet him. Your lips are about to meet when the grandfather clock that sits across the garden echoes out a loud chime. 

It causes you to jump and turn to look at it. 

It’s midnight. 

“Oh fuck.” You let out. “Is that clock accurate?” You ask, pulling yourself from Jonathan’s arms. 

He frowns, brows furrowing slightly, following your gaze. “Oh that old thing? Uhhh, just about. It’s 15 minutes fast. Why?” 

You ignore his question and begin to move back toward the inside of the castle. “Fuck. I have to go. I’m sorry. I’ll see you later. I have to go.” 

“Wait,” He calls after you, calling your name. “Slow down. Come back. Please. You don’t have to leave.” 

“You don’t understand,” You call back, picking up your pace. “I do.” 

Without paying attention, you burst back into the ballroom. Several eyes falling on you, eyebrows raised. You pay no mind still and run, trying to push your way past everyone in the room, but people keep coming up to you to talk to you. 

A hand on your wrist spins you around and you lock eyes with those beautiful chestnuts you’ve grown so fond of. His eyes scream worry and panic, silently begging you to stop running. 

You yourself must look panicked and frantic in a different way. Like a wild animal that has been caged and is about to start lashing out. 

“Please.” You whisper. “Help me.” 

The grip on your wrist loosens. Schlatt may not understand, but he will always do everything he can in order to be the person you need at any given moment. 

“Everyone!” He calls out loudly, moving towards the refreshment table. “Please come over here and join me in a toast to celebrate this evening.” 

The crowd instantly leaves you, allowing you a path to exit the room and then the castle. You’ve never been happier to see the grass as you are now. 

“Stop! Wait! Halt in the name of the Prince!” You turn slightly and look over your shoulder and find a knight with fluffy brown hair and square glasses chasing after you. In the moment, you recognize him as Charlie, one of Schlatt’s best friends/knights. 

“Oh fuck!” You shout. The magic was starting to fade already, you can tell, because all of the sudden it was hard to run in your glass shoes. You bend down and kick them both into your awaiting hands. You turn for a sharp moment, throwing one of your shoes at the knight. He lets out a loud startled scream, stopping for just long enough for you to run to your carriage. 

“Go! Go! Go!” You shout at your footmen and lady. They waste no time before kicking up and bolting out and away from the palace. You look out the window and find Charlie has stopped chasing you, one hand on his hip, the other holding your glass shoe up to the light in an inspection. 

You slump back in your seat, letting out a deep sigh. 

“That was way too close.” 

After getting all of his guests to make a toast, Schlatt books it out of the ballroom. He races to the front lawn. His head whips back and forth, peering down the road to try and see any sign of a moving carriage. 

Footsteps sound from either side of him. His head turns and he meets the eyes of Ted who gives a pitying look and a shake of his head. Schlatt looks to the other side and meets Charlie’s eyes who also shakes his head. His eyes drift down to Charlie’s hands, and there was the shoe. Your beautiful glass shoe. 

Schlatt slowly reaches out and carefully takes the shoe from his friend’s grasp and clutches it to his chest. He turns his eyes back down the main road, staring off letting out a soft sigh. Hands clasp on both of his shoulders in a silent comfort. 

The magic faded when you were nearly home. You had to herd a sheep, two mice, and your carrier pigeon back home all while carrying your big ass pumpkin in slightly damp clothes barefoot as you had thrown your one shoe and taken off the other. Your shoe though did not fade with the magic, you weren’t sure if that made you happy or sad. By the time you made it back, you were exhausted. You quickly put everything back where it was supposed to go, taking a quick shower, tucking the shoe under your bed, and collapsing in your room. 

You’re not sure how long you were asleep for before the door to your room slammed open. It startles you awake from your deep sleep. You look up and in a silhouette from the hallway light, is your stepmother. Your heart leaps to your throat, trying to take deep breaths in through your nose trying to calm down. 

“Stepmother,” you greet groggily. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” 

“You insolent child.” She hisses. “I thought I made myself very clear. You were not to go to the ball. And what do you do, but steal the prince away for the whole evening?” 

“I do not know what you’re speaking about, stepmother.” 

She shoots a sharp glare at you. “You know exactly what I speak of… No matter. With the way you went running from the ball I’m sure the prince realized his mistake. Choosing you to dance and spend time with. With the way he let you go, I’m sure it’s that he realized you are not and will never be good enough for him. You? A low life orphan baker? Royalty? Never.” 

Her words sting like the venom they are. But you can’t help but realize she’s right. No matter what you do, you’ll always be an orphan that so happens to be good at baking. You would be an awful royal. 

Maybe that’s why he chose to help you escape rather than continue to chase after you. 

Maybe he realized it too. 

You will the tears to not fall as you stick your chin out a little further. “I do not know what you’re speaking about, stepmother. Now if you don’t mind I’d like to get some more sleep.” 

She is a touch surprised at your instance, certain that her words would break you. She gives you another glare, but grabs the doorknob and slams the door to your bedroom. 

You flop back on your bed and stare up at the ceiling for a long moment. You don’t realize you’re crying until the tears pool in your ear canal. You bring your hands up and wipe them away, rolling onto your side and clutching at one of your pillows. 

You had to end it… whatever it was. 

The clock on his wall warns him it’s 3 am, but Schlatt ignores it in favor of pacing back and forth in front of a table where the shoe was perched. Every so often he paused to look over the shoe before pacing again. 

“Why did you run?” He asks the shoe, staring at it as if it will give a response. “Where did you go… why did you throw this shoe at Charlie’s head?” A small smile breaks on his face as he pictures the scene Charlie described to him three hours ago. “I would have given anything to see it… to be there myself… to stop you myself.” 

He stands still for a moment longer before pacing again. 

“Maybe… maybe you found it all to be too much…” He speaks, slowing down his steps. “It all caught up to you… didn’t it. It all sank in. You realized truly who I was and you had to get out… You… you don’t want me.” 

He stops again, plopping down on the edge of his bed. “I suppose I can’t fault you… But I deeply wish you hadn’t run.” He flops backwards and stares up at the ceiling. 

It was going to end… whatever it was. 

Schlatt didn’t realize that he had fallen asleep until he wakes up. He spends a good amount of time staring up at the ceiling. Every knock on the door gets a “go away” as he lays in bed wallowing in his own self pity. The knocks stop for a couple hours. But then they’re back again. 

Schlatt startles out of his thought spiral and this knock on the door, this one louder than all the others. He groans at the sound, rolling over on his side and tugging a pillow over his head, blocking out most of the noise. “Go away,” He calls out, tucking himself into his bed further. 

The silence makes him believe whoever was outside listened to him. That is until the door opens and shuts behind him. He groans from the back of his throat, rolling himself over and sitting up. “I said, go away-- father-” He interrupts himself as his eyes meet his father’s green ones. 

Philza raises an eyebrow and the corners of his lips turn up slightly at his son’s behavior. “Good day to you too, Jonathan.” 

“Good day, dad.” Schlatt mumbles, sitting himself up properly. Schlatt moves his feet up slightly to make room for Philza as he moves and sits down on the end of Schlatt’s bed. 

Philza’s hand smooths over the blankets as he gives a glance around the room. His eyes catch on the shoe, still propped up on the table. “They gave you their shoe?” He asks, amusement lacing his tone. 

Schlatt huffs a laugh. “More like, threw it at Charlie’s head.” 

Philza doesn’t hold back and lets the laugh escape his lips. “Oh I knew I liked them. You picked well son. An excellent love match.” 

Schlatt sighs and turns to lay on his side, back facing his dad. “Apparently not. She ran away. I assume because she couldn’t handle me… who I really am. I don’t blame her after all the time I spent lying to her.” 

Phil furrows his brow and questions what Schlatt means by that. With nothing left to hide, Schlatt divulges the entire relationship. How they met and met again (which Phil was not happy about but decided now was not the time to bring it up) and how they sent letters to each other nearly everyday and how he knew they didn’t know his name but never told them his name or who he really is. How he had thrown the ball hoping they’d come and they did and how it has all been for them but it’s all been for nother. 

Phil nods along, listening carefully. He lets Schlatt take deep breaths after his rant. “I knew something was up.” Schlatt meets his eyes, curious but does not speak. “You’ve been so much happier in these past few weeks than I can remember… And you were so insistent on a love match. Deep down I knew… So my only question is why the hell are you moping around this room when you should be out there looking for them?”

“Didn’t you hear me, dad? They don’t want me. They ran away.” 

“Did they tell you they didn’t want you? Look you in the eyes and say ‘Prince Schlatt I do not want you?’”

“No but--”

“No buts, son. I haven’t seen you this happy in years. I know that you’re in love with them, whether you realize it or not. I know because you look at them the same way I look at your mother. And they wouldn’t have spent the whole night with you if they didn’t love you too. They wouldn’t have given you a clue telling you to come get them if they didn’t.” Philza motions to the shoe. “So again, I ask you. Why the hell are you moping around this room when you should be out there looking for them?”

The words resonate with Schlatt, filling him with hope, that maybe, just maybe you love him like he loves you… damn. Yeah. He loves you. 

“You’re right… I have to go dad, I have to…” Schlatt shoots up out of bed and digs through his closet and throws on a random outfit. “I have to get Ted and Charlie and a whole group and we have to go looking. Door to door. I have to find them. I am going to find them.” He runs a hand through his hair before whipping around to face his father with a grin. He rushes forward and presses a kiss on his father’s cheek. “Thanks, dad.” 

You sat staring at the blank piece of paper in front of you. What to say to the man that makes you feel everything. You twirl your pen in between your fingers a couple times. Letting out a sigh, you lean back for a moment, looking out the window. Your attention gets caught by the pigeon beside you who lets out a coo. You sigh again, reaching out and giving the bird scritches. “Hey there,” you murmur. The bird leans into your fingers, rubbing against you more. “Yeah… I know this letter won’t write itself.” The bird cocks its head and coos. “Yeah, just one more letter… a goodbye. I know you must be excited, you won’t have to carry my messages anymore.” Another coo. “Well, of course I’ll let you fly around outside. I’m not a monster.” It blinks at you. “Well I have to tell him something! I can’t just stop speaking to him. I need him to know… It’s quite literally not him. It’s me. I’ll never deserve him… no matter how much I care… for him.” The bird lets out a sharp and short coo. “Fucking hell. You’re right. I love him. Gods damn it I love him so much. Oh this is going to be a nightmare.” 

Schlatt sighs in frustration as he and his knights trudge to the castle. They’ve knocked on every single door in the kingdom and not a single one did you stand behind it. The sun was setting the knights stomachs were grumbling so Schlatt decided to call it a day and head back to the castle, determined to start again tomorrow. 

He picks at his dinner, tossing and turning it over with his fork, giving half hearted replies to questions that he’s really not paying attention to. He can’t help but replay every interaction he’s had with you over again, followed closely by several notable interactions he had throughout the day. One where the woman had caked her face in flour hoping to prove herself to be the baker. Another that when she answered the door said “I am not interested!” with a smug smile, as if she really did something, and then slammed the door in his face. As if he would be interested in her? He very clearly was looking for someone. 

His head is heavy with everyone he’s seen and spoken to today, he’s just ready to turn in for the night. 

And then he hears it. 

That beautiful coo he’s grown accustomed to listening for every day. The tell tale sign that you have sent him a letter. It’s Bob. Your carrier pigeon. 

And he has a letter attached to his leg. 

Schlatts posture instantly straightens and he holds out his finger, letting out a soft coo of his own. Everyone turned in confusion and watched Schlatt. Ted was about to speak before Bob landed on his fingers and stuck out his leg. Schlatt carefully took the rolled paper and fed the pigeon a couple nuts

Schlatt carefully unrolled the letter and began to read. 

My dearest, Prince Charming, 

I guess now that I know who you truly are it is only correct that I change the sir in your title to Prince. My prince… I had the most magical time last evening with you. Dancing around in your private garden is certainly something I will never forget and will always be grateful for. It was so incredibly sweet of you to give me your undivided attention. 

It unfortunately has come to my own attention that I am not good for you. I do not deserve you my sweet prince. I could never be someone that you deserve. I am a simple orphan that happens to be good at baking. No matter how hard I would try, you would always be way out of my league. 

I hope you find the love match that you seek. I hope you find someone good and kind, with a loving heart that will deserve you and be someone worthy of your love and care. Someone worthy of you throwing an entire ball for them. I don’t know how I ever thought I could be that person. I am so sorry…

I love you, Jonathon. 

But you deserve so much more than me. 

Yours, 

Your name is signed at the bottom of the letter as it always is. He reads the second to last line, once, twice, a thousand times, until he’s convinced himself that it’s real. That you really wrote that you love him. He didn’t care about the other stuff that you wrote. Well he kind of did. But he knew it was bullshit. If anything it’s him who doesn’t deserve you. 

If only he could find you to tell you this….

And then it hits him. 

He springs up from the table and rushes out, startling everyone in the dining room with him. The pigeon flaps its wings and lands on his shoulder, used to being carted around. Schlatt runs to his room where he grabs a pen and paper of his own. He scribbles “I love you,” before snatching the shoe off the table and rushing outside. Ted and Charlie rush out behind him, confused at the rush. 

“Schlatt, what are we doing?” They ask. 

Schlatt elects to ignore them as he hands Bob the messily rolled piece of paper. “Here, Bob. Show me the way to them.” Bob takes the paper, coos softly, and takes off. 

Schlatt instantly begins to race after the bird, Ted and Charlie following close behind. How relieved he was to finally find a way to find you. Bob would certainly lead him to you. He could only hope he could keep up with the bird. 

Schlatt was feeling winded by the time he reached the small house on the edge that borders the kingdom and the forest. He hadn’t thought to make his way all the way out here, thinking you lived closer to the village with the way you walked to the market. Obviously he had been wrong. 

Either way, he could only pray that Bob had led him to the right place. 

He couldn’t tell if the tightness in his chest and the shortness of breath was just from him running all this way or if it was his nerves. He decided to call it ‘a bit of column a and a little of column b’ and call it a night. 

The three approached the door, each taking deep breaths calming themselves from the journey taken to get here. Schlatt looks over his shoulder apprehensively at Ted and Charlie. He had knocked on over a hundred doors today, it didn’t make sense that this was the one he got nervous on. 

His best friends each gave him an easy smile and a kind and encouraging nod, eager for the prince to knock. Schlatt turned back to the door, letting out a breath, shaking his arms out, before reaching up and giving a sturdy knock. 

It’s silent on the other side of the door for a long moment. Schlatt’s heart pounds so hard in his chest he has to swallow hard to get it back down to his chest. The door know turns quickly and the door is pulled open and an older woman stands before him. He tries to not let his disappointment show, especially as surprise and utter delight paints her face. 

The woman drops to a quick curtsy. “Your highness,” she greets. Her voice sounds like nails on a chalkboard and it takes everything Schlatt has to not visibly recoil. “To what do we owe the pleasure?” 

A small bout of hope flutters down his spine causing Schlatt to stand straighter at the word “we.” “I am not sure if you have heard, but have been searching the entire kingdom for the one I danced with last night. Do you have any children, my lady?” 

The woman brightens up even more and squares her shoulders back. “As a matter of fact I do. I have two.” The woman turns and cups her mouth. “GIRLS,” She hollers, causing the boys to shutter at the loud call. 

Footsteps race across the wooden floor and two younger women appear. Schlatt feels a huge wave of disappointment was over his being as he looks at their faces and realizes they’re not you. He doesn’t hide his distaste as the girls push each other, trying to stand straighter and puff out their chest larger than the other.

“Neither of these young women are who I am looking forward… Does anyone else live here? A servant or a stable hand? Perhaps a cook?” Schlatt asks, taking a single step forward, looking around the room hoping for some kind of sign of you. 

The woman’s face sours at the question before her mask gets put back in it’s place. “No one else, your highness. Although I can assure you, my daughters are perfectly suitable--” 

“What’s that?” Schlatt interrupts as a noise sounds from one of the adjacent rooms. It sounded like metal being set down on a counter. “I thought you said no one else lived here.” 

The woman swallows harshly and moves to stand in front of the door. “That… that is just the cook your highness, they do not live here… or at least soon will not,” she mutters the latter part with venom before turning back to Schlatt, a perfect smile posing on her lips. “No one to concern yourself with, truly.” 

Any sense of trust for the woman is washed away when the scent hits his nose. He would be able to pick that scent out of a million different ones. It’s one of the best things he’s ever smelled. 

He would be able to recognize the scent of your double chocolate chip cookies. 

And he knows you’re in there. 

“By order of the king, I demand you step aside.” He barely recognizes his voice as it escapes his lips. It’s deep and authoritative… damn as each day passes he sounds more and more like his father… he’ll have to correct that. 

The woman opens his lips to protest. 

Deciding he wants to hear no more of his voice, he gently pushes the woman’s shoulder out of the way. His hand finds the door knob and he throws open the door without care. He breath is ripped from his lungs as he sees the person who stands in the kitchen… in front of those unmistakable chocolate chocolate chip cookies.

“It’s you.” 

The door slamming open scares the shit out of you. 

The entire day you had been lost in your own head. You finished the letter and gave it to your pigeon to take to Schlatt. As soon as it had left your sight, you made your way to the kitchen in a daze where you let yourself begin baking whatever your heart was feeling in the moment. 

It was only when you were beginning to clean up the batter dishes did you realize what you had made… and who you had made it for. You let yourself drift back into your head as you watched the cookies bake  through the oven window. You knew you would probably never see him again. Especially not after this letter. 

You took them out of the oven and let the pan clatter to the counter without much of a care. The soft cooing of your pigeon drew your attention away. You turned to greet it when you caught sight of the paper on it’s leg. Confusion fills you as you carefully take the paper. 

I love you.

It can’t be. 

The door bursts open, causing you to jump and whip around. Those damn fucking beautiful eyes. They always seem to follow you. To haunt you. Especially in your own house, those fucking chesnut brown eyes that say everything that you want to hear all without saying a word.

“It’s you.” 

Oh fuck he’s actually here. 

What the fuck? 

What is he doing here???

“What are you doing here?” 

His eyes don’t leave yours as he surges forward. One of his arms wraps around your waist, the other moving behind your neck, hand moving up to cradle the back of your head. “What are you doing here? Why did you run away?” 

You stare at him in disbelief, mouth opening and closing a few times. “Did you not get my letter? I’m no good for you, Jon--Prince Schlatt, I do not deserve you, your highness. You deserve someone much better than me. Surely you--” 

“Don’t you understand,” he whispers, cutting you off. “There is no one better.” 

“But your highness--” 

“Don’t call me that.” 

“What?”

“You know what. Don’t call me that. That’s not my name. Not to you.” 

You let out a sigh and rub your flour coated hands on your apron. “Jonathon.” 

The smile that spreads across his face nearly makes you melt into a puddle. “There it is.” He murmurs, drawing his face closer to yours. “That’s my name.”

“Jonathon,” You repeat, trying to pull your blushing face away from his to no avail. You clear your throat and continue. “As per my letter, you deserve so much better than me. I am sure you can find someone-” 

“Did you mean it?”

You look at him partly confused, partly annoyed at him continuing to interrupt you. “Mean what?” 

“Did you mean it when you signed that you love me?” 

Your heart stops in your chest. You forgot you said that part. You don’t think you would have said it had you known it would have caused him to come bursting into your kitchen. You look at him in disbelief, is he not hearing your words? He surely read the letter. Why is he being so insistent on this? 

You could never lie to him though. 

You clear your throat and move your shoulders back. You meet his eyes head on. “Yes. I did. But-” 

“I love you too.” 

The world stops again. “What?” 

“As per my letter,” he says, a shit eating grin playing on his lips. The shock flowing through your body stops you from rolling your eyes. “I love you.” 

You remember the small piece of paper that was surely on the floor now that you took from the pigeon just moments ago. Obviously that’s who the paper was from. You swallow hard. “Sure you can’t-” 

“But surely I can. I think I’ve been in love with you ever since you called me a big petty man-baby who looked hotter now than I did before.” 

“I… I…’”

“I love you,” He utters, moving impossibly closer to your face. “I always have. You are all I want. You deserve so much better than me… But I’m hoping you’ll lower your standards and settle for me anyway.” 

His eyes shine so brightly. Those damn, fucking, beautiful eyes. They stare at you, hopeful, waiting with bated breath for your answer. They stare so intensely at you… You never want them to look away. 

It’s you that closes the distance and presses your lips to his. He instantly responds, tugging you closer to his chest and kissing you back. The kiss makes your body sing in delight. The spark starts at the base of your spine where his hand connects to your body and shoots out, encasing you completely. From the tippity top of your head to the bippity bottom of your toes. 

He consumes you. Completely. Totally. Entirely. 

You pull away breathless from the kiss, meeting his eyes. “I love you, Jonathon. I want to be yours. Please. I want to be yours, if you’ll have me?” 

Jonathon lets out a breathless laugh and shakes his head once. “Oh sweets, you’ve always been mine. I’ve always been yours. From the moment I met you. I’ve been hooked, sweets. You’re mine, and I’m never letting you go.” 

He leans forward again and presses his lips to yours. You eagerly respond, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him closer. 

After you break apart again, Schlatt tells you to pack your things. You don’t have much here anyway so it doesn’t take you long. Your step family could only watch with crossed arms as you moved about, taking your things. You would miss the house you grew up in, but you were more than excited to begin your new journey. 

Schlatt made Ted and Charlie help carry your things. Ted cursed at Schlatt for not thinking to grab a carriage or at least a horse in the pursuit of you. That spun a whole argument between the two, leaving you to converse with Charlie. 

You gave the man a shy smile. “Sorry for throwing my shoe at you… I panicked about someone following me. 

Charlie gives a chuckle and a smile. “It’s no worries. I’m just glad you made it home safely.” 

“Yeah me too! The magic gave out and I was left carrying a huge ass pumpkin home… My back hurt like hell this morning.”

Charlie tilts his head and gives you a curious look. “Not what I meant… but I do want to hear more about this magic.”

“What did you mean then?”

Charlie doesn’t answer, his head simply moves to where Schlatt and Ted were now in a physical altercation, Schlatt attempting to put Ted in a chokehold. 

A fuzzy feeling floods your chest.

He is your home… isn’t he?

Small Epilogue 

The two of you marry quickly. The royal family welcome you with open arms. They help teach you the ways of the royals but never make you feel less than for being a commoner before the marriage. You never stop baking, you think Schlatt would throw a huge fit if you ever did. He constantly blamed you for his “twink death.” And although you’re not entire sure what that means, you’re sure that happened way before he met you. 

You two love each other openly and loudly. It brings smiles to everyone’s faces to see the prince this lovey dovey with someone. There will always be those that disapprove, but Schlatt is there to hold your hand and tell them to fuck off. 

He reminds you he loves you every single minute of every single day… you think maybe he lays it on a little thick in particular when he wants you to bake something in particular. You never mind though. It’s your baked goods that brought you together in the first place. 

Who are you to deny your love the thing that the two of you bonded over first? 

Especially when he loves you with every fiber of his being… 

…and maybe even more so when you make him chocolate chocolate chip cookies…

And they lived happily ever after.  The End

As per usual, I am shit at writing endings. Thank you for reading my 16.3k word self indulgent fic <3

Leave a like, comment, or reblog if you enjoyeddddd

okay byeeeeeeee back to my several year hiatusssss

im still on tumblr even if i don't post my writing so you can always message meeeeeeee <3

byeeeeeeeeee <3

[jhuzen]

Helloooooo. May I request an angst fic with comfort with Kazuha? I find not much angst Kazuha fic so.... If it is too hard, you can change to another character (or if you like so).

The idea here is... maybe.... forget a special occasion? Im bad at idea lmao, so you can write any idea you want

Thanksss so much

-UwU anon-

esteemed guest [gn/m.reader]

yo boi’s here to answer some requests because i have been pent-up from my workload ughhh. thank u UwU anon for this lovely request, i have been meaning to write for our dearest samurai <3, also this was supposed to be a normal “i forgot your bday” trope… but… the drama queen in me could never live that down. so please… bear with this dramatic one-shot, i hope you don’t mind the drastic trope change (pls don’t be mad). definitely did not write this while listening to susato’s alt theme serenade. ugh. her chara theme song is too good.

𖦹 moderate angst, hurt/comfort, non-linear style story, descender reader (i kinda miss writing for an otherworldly reader, which i remember the last one was xiao’s), mentions of death, i heavily romanticized loneliness

To wait is to face the bittersweetness of the lonely company. It is to welcome the nights of coldness with no one to keep you warm. It is to embrace what little left of time in between your meetings, always often ending in promises that are to be kept despite the odds.

To wait is to painstakingly nurse the hope within you that he will come back.

And to you, Kazuha is worth the wait. He always will be — from the very first time you and him met until the last breaths that you could manage should he be there for you on your death bed. Though you had every confidence that death is something not to worry about, it does leave you relatively concerned at the prospect of passing without even having to chat with your most endeared companion.

Kazuha was your everything, he pulled you out of that loneliness that you were slowly sinking into, giving into the depths with a warm embrace as you resided in the desolate islands of this broken apart nation. He was just a wandering ronin, hiding away from the prying eyes of the shogunate, and you were quite literally not from this world, taking refuge in an unknown place in a world you only took a chance at to flee from the atrocities of your own home.

Quite frankly, you and Kazuha were both rifts adrift at sea, only to find solace in each other’s loneliness and somber company, both grief-stricken and exasperated after being trapped in the throes of your own lives.

Your status from your home meant nothing now, but even that was something that you can forgive and forget as long as the samurai in exile was by your side, visiting you every so often with a small smile on his face, offering you the company that you can only long for after having it so cruelly taken away from you in your isolation.

So to wait… to wait was nothing. It was something that you can bear through — dressed in your finest robes, under that familiar big tree by the shore where your lonesome house stood, you would wait for him to make good on his promise of companionship.

But never had you expected that it would be soon that he would break his promise, leaving you by your prying thoughts that were so needlessly merciless, undying and full of doubts that ate away at you. You figured it was the loneliness that was plaguing you that must have caused it. It was madness — pure, unadulterated insanity where you had no hopes of climbing out of. It felt like a vortex pulling you in.

However this time, your samurai’s gentle hands would not come to hold yours to the rescue.

The first time he’d forgotten your promise was when you finally mustered the courage to share him a piece of your home world — a mere recreation of a dish from your family, which was honored by most people as it was prepared and ate by people of your status back then, in a way it was as if to introduce him to the family you’ve deserted, the family that would have loved him so, so much.

You’ve foraged through the entire island of Tatarasuna on that day, waking up before the sun could make an appearance just to make the most of the day. It was often that Kazuha would arrive by the day to have as much time with you after all, and the thought was enough to make you feel giddy. You ought to create a good Teyvat rendition of your family’s cuisine and so went on a trip, trying to find substitutions to the entire recipe (you’ve yet to see which ones were poisoned, considering the fact that your body can be a little bit different compared to the residents of this world).

Your heart was filled to the brim with elation and excitement coursed through your veins as you prepared your proxy delicacy in hopes to share a piece of yourself to Kazuha. He had done so much for you these recent months, and cooking a favored dish of his was one of the gestures that you can hardly forget. And you ought to return it with the same amount of love and care as the one you’ve felt from him.

You finished your dish with pure satisfaction — now all that was left was to wait for him.

And so you waited, and waited, and waited. Until the night fell with no traces of the ronin, leaving you perplexed.

Your gaze drifted to the dish that you created, finally taking a spoon and taking a good bite out of it.

Your eyebrows furrowed — there was something lacking, “…Hm. Not sweet enough,” you murmured before getting up to write down the things you could improve on.

That day passed in the company of nothing and a not-so-sweet dish.

The second time he broke your promise was the day you ventured out into the city of Inazuma. Although exiled, Kazuha made no reservations in telling you about the city of his beloved nation — it was bustling with people in the day, yet as quiet as a ghost town at night. Everyone worked on clockwork and always seemed to have a tight schedule to follow. Kazuha was a free-spirit and often moved against it, following the wind’s will and his for the most part.

You remember chastising him about the importance of punctuality, but Kazuha managed to weasel out of it by serenading you with yet another romantic poetry that held no destination nor a dedication. You often told him that clothing told stories of different variations — some told tragedies, some with honor, and some with the fiery passion of romance.

“I’m rather curious about this new form of storytelling…” you could feel your skin tingle as Kazuha’s hand ghosted over the nape of your neck, gazing at you with something you can only decipher as a gentle adoration that left a feeling that stirred within your core. It almost rendered you tight-lipped, only to realize that he was implying something.

You remember almost losing the composure of someone of your status (no doubt your family tutor would smack your palms if they saw you), eyes blown wide as your jaw stuttered out an unintelligible gibberish before sighing as the ronin laughed, “You’re… you’re lucky I know how to sew.”

“Is that an acceptance to my request?”

“I’ll make you the finest garment.” You assured him that time and sealed your promise with a smile, much like how he also promised to come back the next.

Your hands skillfully wove a thread through the hem of the sleeves — you figured taking an inspiration from your good friend’s clothing would be a way to incorporate the interwoven stories that you and him now share in this world. You would have to thank the seamstress of your family, with enough of your curious and persistence, he gave in and taught you the basics of weaving and stitching certain patterns into the fabric with a clean finish.

A fond smile crossed your face, surely despite the fact that Kazuha wasn’t able to fulfill the promised meet last time, he would make it up to you this time.

However even your self-assurance was cut short when the monstrous doubt decided to claw its way up to the surface from the deepest pits of your form, its canines sinking into you like an unforgiving beast in your home. It had you writhing in agony as the thought of your esteemed guest forgetting his promise — clutching onto you like a needy child unable to let go of its parent. It was a seed of doubt that you refused to entertain, but it was a persistent and intrusive thought.

Your frown was evident that day when the sky had fallen into soft hues of oranges and violets, the clouds crowning the sky and the sun ready to slumber like almost everyone in this nation.

The night was catching up soon and your esteemed guest is not present. It didn’t take long before a heavy feeling weighed itself on your chest, pushing you down into a familiar twinge of disappointment that you felt on the first

You remember coming back inside your abode that night, eyes narrowing as your gaze lowered to the robes you managed to finish. You tilted your head, immediately pouncing on the chance to scrutinize your own hard work.

There was a dissatisfied look on your visage, “Not vibrant enough,” you turned on your heel, brisk and swift before marching down to a much different part of the house, unable to look at your craftsmanship anymore.

The third time he had forgotten to make good on his promise, you were certain that Kazuha had long forgotten about you just as much. But there was a sliver of hope that thrived within you, a tiny flame from what little spark you have left.

A soft croon left your lips as you looked up on the moon, bathing in its soft glow that oversaw the entire nation. Your feet dug into the sandy shores nearby your desolate home, as the gentle breeze caresses your face. It was bittersweet that the wind reminded you so much of him. He spoke so highly of it and the wind itself embodied the freedom that Kazuha shouldered on his own.

“Third time’s the charm!”

You puckered your lips and blew into the leaf, barely managing to replicate the ronin’s music. Kazuha’s laughter went unnoticed as you looked at him with disdain and a face that absolutely just gave up, “Are you sure this is not a jest? I am quite certain plants cannot create music.”

He plucked the leaf from your hold and flashed you a sweet smile with mischief at the corners of his lips, “Hm? You lack technique, I’m afraid. Watch and learn.” And what you failed to do, he did so with ease and class, only rendering you speechless. You always did appreciate people that have talent, they were the best kind of people and your adoration for them never was lacking.

You furrowed your eyebrows as you tried to make sense of his apparent technique, only to be startled when Kazuha barged into your personal space, his lips almost ghosting over yours with that unyielding grin of his — so sweet and so gentlemanly, always leaving you at the edge.

“Shall I show you how?”

Your eyes never failed to drift to your companion’s lips, tempting and supple, curved perfectly into a smile that can knock the wind out of your sails. And yet being reminded of it now… does not aid you in the slightest. He was always just a strand of hair away, it was always a paper thin distance, it was like being lured into a trap but you were far more aware than the usual, and you absolutely loathed it now.

But even under the daylight, you closed your eyes and blindly walked into it.

“…Sure.”

Third time’s the charm, indeed, you would desperately believe in it just to see your beloved ronin once more. The company that you sought after being lonely for so long. And yet, as the soft waves caressed your bare feet, even with the crows that you’ve domesticated, you found yourself wallowing in the grace of loneliness once more.

You leaned over to your rippling reflection in the water with a pout as you stewed in the growing emptiness in your heart. You reached out a hand to touch the reflection, watching yourself distort as you concluded your final thoughts.

“Maybe it’s you… who is not enough.”

That night, you never bothered returning to your home.

Time was against Kazuha as he itched with want and longing. You were just an island away now that he’s here in the city. He managed to aid the traveler’s quest and had done his friend good service as he fought against the very woman that took Tomo away from him. And now that everything quelled, he wondered if you were alright — if you were still around and still waited by him under that tree like you always did.

And even then, that was the least of his worries. You may be just an island away, but even that can’t stop anything or anyone to disturb you… or even potentially harm you in the first place.

“Kazuha! Let’s go cel— ah? Already going?” The tiny floating creature by the traveler turned to him, concerned and confused.

Kazuha only gave an apologetic smile, “Forgive me for not being in the celebration, I have to check on someone.” He couldn’t afford not having you by his side, not after having to leave you on your own. He didn’t forget, he could never forget; you were the beaming priority at the top of his head constantly.

“Must be someone so important if you’re leaving so soon! Okay! Bring them over if you have time!”

Lucky was he that he didn’t even have to ask the Alcor’s captain as she already hailed a the anchored ship for him to take. The captain might have managed to pry a thing or two about you from the samurai, after all. And for how much work he’s done in being one of the heroes in Inazuma, Beidou figured this was a reward Kazuha would be deserving of the most.

And it only took a good few hours, even less when Kazuha didn’t bother waiting on the ship’s anchoring, already jumping down from the deck to the sandy shores. Just over that cliff was your home, where you would be, safely waiting for him with that smile of yours that he hoped to dream of in every slumber of his.

“Did you know my people can die from loneliness?”

His head rose from your chest, opening an eye to peer at you (you were generous enough to lend him your body as his bed for the moment after his exhausting trip from Liyue). Your smile didn’t quite reach your eyes at that time, and he wasn’t too fond of that, “What’s with this topic all of a sudden?”

“Hm? Ah. No. It’s just a fun fact.”

“Fun…?”

“Mm… I take it back.” You sighed begrudgingly, “It’s not a confirmed phenomena, however. It’s still partly a hoax. But people have seen deaths that come from the inside of our bodies, born out of nowhere but the constriction of their heart. I feel so bad for them.”

Kazuha nodded in sympathy — there was always something far more heart-wrenching at the thought of dying from loneliness. Though bittersweet, he was far more thankful that his friend went with dignity and honor. He perched his chin on your chest with a small smile, “It’s a good thing you’d never succumb to that then.”

Right. He may not have told you out loud, but it’s another promise that he forged. He will never leave you alone, and he made that decision the first moment he laid his eyes on you on that one faithful day. And Kazuha can only hope that you can be forgiving in his absence. He will tell you everything and apologize a hundred thousand times if it meant he can finally whisk you away from this.

“Though it’s sad… our world has always valued death. It’s a beautiful send off, y’know? Once we leave the plane of existence, our body dissipates in the prettiest flowers.”

Kazuha’s pace picks up as he shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts, perishing any form of doubt that tried to chase him in this seemingly hundred mile run.

His breathing was ragged as soon as he reached his destination, only to face complete emptiness. There was no disturbance within the air but the winds howled and he could detect a faint smell of something new. It was fragrant, almost like flowers.

The wind blew harder and he was faced with petals swirling around. His heart stopped.

Spring is still a good few months away from now.

A lone petal draped itself on his shoulder and he could barely stop the dread that soon rose through his throat as a sick bile. Bitterness burned through his throat and he could feel his stomach drop by a mile. He stewed in the silence as desperation slowly curled around him, strangling him so mercilessly.

Far too late.

Much like him back when his friend was ripped away from him by the threads of fate and life.

He fell down to his knees, unsure whether it was the weight of devastation or exhaustion that prompted him so. Numbness was slowly spreading in his body, like a poison that cannot even be stopped in the first place. His mind raced with thoughts of ‘what ifs’ of what could have been and what should have been, of what could have happened if he risked at least a day to see you once more.

“…I never forgot… I hope you knew that. I could never.”

“Ah… that’s comforting.”

In an instant, the samurai’s head shot up as he briskly looked over his shoulder and there you were, standing with a basket in hand. No doubt you’d have been foraging at this hour.

Suddenly, there was ease in his heart as he quickly stood up and ran towards you, soon finding himself completely entangled with you.

Warmth flourished in Kazuha’s chest as he clutched onto your robes tight until his knuckles turned white. There was desperation in his eyes and even he couldn’t lie as he prayed that this wasn’t a hallucination of some sort, that you were here with him and only him. And perhaps it was because he was able to save his nation from falling into a miserable fate, as his prayers were answered the moment he felt your arms wrap around him, warm, gentle, and comforting, like always.

He could feel himself getting lifted up and he refused to let go — not even just to look at you. He wasn’t one to take things for granted, especially not after the scare he just got.

“Welcome home, my most esteemed guest,” your voice was music to his ears, far better than what he could have been hearing in that celebration by the city.

“I deeply apologize for my tardiness,” he murmured into the crook of your neck, lips pressing a ghost of a kiss on your exposed skin. “I hope there is forgiveness and mercy in store for me.”

You only laughed, squeezing Kazuha in your arms tighter, just as equally afraid to let go as he is, “Of course… patience is a virtue any good host must acquire.”

“I have so much to tell…” and finally did Kazuha open his eyes, only to see the crew a few meters back, waving at him. “…And a few guests in tow.”

He finally leaned back to gaze at your face that he missed so much. In his opinion, no amount of photos can capture the absolute beauty your visage held, you were his beacon in his darkest moments, and no other person can measure up to the company that you bring him.

And you could say the same for him — even with the traces of exhaustion on your beloved samurai’s face, he exuded that gentle beauty that no one could hope to imitate in the slightest. Oh how you truly missed him.

“I’d be honored to have you.”

Kazuha hopes that you mean it in more ways than one.

[butmakeitgayblog]

So I'm relatively new to the fandom, and during my stay in this rabbit hole, that is, Clexa, I've got a few questions that I'm hoping you could answer :)

Why is everyone here pro-Lexa? Like don't get me wrong I absolutely love Lexa as a character and Alycia is a queen, but why all the hate towards some of the other characters, like Bellamy? I've never watched The 100 the whole way through (literally exited outta the show the second Lexa died), even then, it's been years since I watched it. Did I miss something while I was binge-watching, or was my teenage brain at the time just too immature to realize he was a total jackass..? Also, it's not just Bellamy, I've also seen hate for Bob, the actor who plays him. Which brings me to another question: does this fandom not like Eliza? I always see so much support when Alycia has an upcoming project or is posting Instagram updates but nothing for Eliza? Again, no judgment for the Alycia love because I completely understand why everyone here is head over heels in love with that girl but I just wanted to know, has Eliza ever done anything wrong? Or have I just conveniently only stumbled upon Alycia stans on this app?

Anyway, a totally unrelated note but since I'm here… may I just say ma'am, your writing is the bomb diggity. Like the perfect blend of humor, sexiness, angst, and fluff, THE GODDAMN FLUFF. Genius, you're a genius, like a mad scientist of Clexa fanfic. Hope you keep doing what you're doing, my friend. Take your time though, and don't listen to those ignorant anons that are crawling around yelling "wHy ArE yOu TaKiNg So LoNg To UpDaTe?" Thank you for writing for the Clexa fandom! ❤️

First I wanna say thank you for the sweet words and reading, that means so much to me 🥹💕 not to be a nerd but I screenshot that for one of my worse imposter syndrome days lol

Long post so you can read under the cut. Long time clexas you can just skip if you want because honestly I got annoyed all over again just typing it and you know it all already 🥴

Now right off the top, you don't have to hate Bellamy if you don't want to. It's not like that's a prereq for being a clexa, so if you like him, like him and don't worry about what anyone says. He's a fictional character so anyone who gets intense over someone liking him I think needs to take a walk.

But the reason why a lot of Clexas, myself included, hate him is somewhat of a two part answer. The main reason being is that his character is trash 😅. I mean I'm not gonna dissect every little bit of canon but the main points for me at least, since I can't speak for anyone else, are that he was constantly fucking up literally everything. He gets to earth, proclaims "tHeRe aRe nO RuLeS" and then,,, immediately declares himself the leader and starts forcing people to follow what he says. He literally almost let Clarke fall into a pit of spikes, tried to handcuff her and keep her hostage "for her own good", he spearheaded the whole thing with taking off their wristbands, HE BACKED PIKE, participated in the massacre of a peaceful army sent to protect skaikru, he constantly shamed and blamed Clarke for everything that ever went wrong even when a lot of that stuff was either the best solution in a bad situation OR was an indirect fallout from something fucked up that skaikru had done. The sweaty little fucker was always trying to control/manipulate Clarke and skaikru and his own damn sister despite the fact that everything he ever planned himself turning out to be: A Terrible Idea. Basically the dude sucked but was held up on spindles of glorification as being this heroic uwu soft boy that wasn't actually supported by any one damn thing in canon when you actually look at it objectively. And I'm sure I'm even forgetting stuff. The dude just sucked.

Agian, that's my own two cents.

The other reason being, it's rollover from having to deal with blarks. Their constant harassment and shoving their fanon, non-existent ship down everyone's throat, while being entitled little brats throwing tantrums about them not happening at every turn has led from what probably would've been just a mild distaste for a character for most into loathing even the name. Understand I'm not saying the word harassment lightly. They were awful for years. Death threats and homophobia, spamming inboxes with hateful messages and sending awful pictures/memes etc. One even sent EJT a dick pic with Blark written on their penis. They sent memes non-stop about Lexa dying when people were still reeling from it. I'm not saying all Blarks are bad because they're not, but there was enough harassment and viciousness from a large enough and loud enough faction that at a certain point it becomes a blanket feeling of animosity toward the entire ship and everything that follows it.

As for disliking EJT. In reality, she used to be the fandom favorite. I mean she was our girl because she used to champion us and was hilarious about it. Go look up old cons and interviews with her. She was funny and great. Once upon a time E was our biggest cheerleader and dealt with A Lot of abuse and harassment from The Other fandom for it. I'm talking body shaming, slut shaming, comments about her intelligence, sexual harassment and trolling her about her boyfriends and very descriptive messages about how they wanted her to harm herself. The list goes on. And no one, especially not Bob who was the golden boy for The Other fandom, ever said a word in her defense. Never told his fans to stop or that he condemned it. Ever. Not once. That never sat well with clexas, but you can't control what other people do.

We had her back anyway. So, it was whatever. Gross, but whatever.

And then she married Bob. Which, and Blarks cannot seem to wrap their heads around this fact, literally no cared about. She could've just married him and kept being the same person and no one would've cared. In fact, the way this fandom loved her, at first everyone was like hmmm weird and sudden but good for her I guess! Be happy!

But then Bob's ex came forward with very serious allegations about her past relationship with him. She released a statement that you can easily find online and from that it painted a very dark picture of things that involved both him and EJT. As I'm someone who believes victims, I have no reason not to believe her, and since the very bizarre (non) rebuttal that EJT posted in reply made zero sense, that was that. It changed the lens of how a lot of people started looking at her.

Which leads me to the charities.

Hear a collective Clexa sigh.

They're a saga in themselves, but to sum it up as short as possible, EJT had been a part of a children's organization for YEARS that she herself helped set up. Clexas raised a lot of money for this charity through fundraising and selling fanart and we really cared about it. And literally within months of them being married, he became involved in it, and then shortly thereafter, magically they both had to "step away from it" for dubiously explained reasons. (Which, if you read his ex's statement, logical deduction of what probably actually happened will make more sense than what they claimed, and not in a good way.) Sensibly, they started recieving backlash from supporters because, again a lot of people had been helping this charity for years and all of a sudden she was just gone from it and all the projects were halted. I'm not blaming solely her for anything but to just cut and run like she did was sus to say the least.

So to steer away from that shitshow, they started another charity. With a bunch of right-wing MAGA nuts. Yeah. They weren't open or transparent about anything, no records of where any of the money was going, iirc no real legitimate charity registration/tax documentation that anyone could find (and in the US that's all public info sooooooo). It was a total clusterfuck that people started calling them out on from the start. At first they tried to ignore it and just keep collecting money by doing these ridiculous cameos as cash grabs, but just like the first charity, after a while (and a lot of initially unaccounted for money being raised) the poor little darlings just had to "step away for mental health reasons."

Which I would accept and support wholeheartedly because mental health is extremely serious... except funnily, they didn't stop doing the cameos. They kept doing those and charging their fans money to listen to them blather on about made up ~behind the scenes info~ about Blark stuff and it being super secretly canon but for a million reasons that they don't know and can't name, stopped it from happening. Claims of love scenes and kisses that have never been backed up by evidence (like a script) or corroborated by a single person involved in the show. But it's totally true guys, just trust them bro. So yeah, they've kept doing all that. Just... not giving the money they're charging for the cameos to their "charity."

So that's the meat of it, I might be forgetting things and smudging some finer details because it's been a long while ago, but I think you can get the gist. People don't like Bob because he was an ass to fans and EJT herself before them even getting married. He's said ableist things and quoted racists trying to sound smart and never once apologized for anything. He's been accused of abuse in his personal life and has never addressed it, only made his wife write a terrible fanfiction-esque response to appease his ardent followers. And frankly, she pissed off her fans. Once she married him, she completely flipped her personality from a funny charity doing, body positivity leading, cheerleading about "Clexa are soulmates" and "Lexa is the love of Clarke's life" girl, to doing personal cash grabs constantly while spewing all this made up Blark garbage that directly contradicts things they've both said in the past to please her faithful paying cameo fans (read his fans).

It's all left a lot of people with a bad taste in their mouth, to say the least.

And ya best believe if Alycia does some crazy shit, I'll turn on her too 🤷‍♀️ but honestly I'm not too worried about that cuz the girl is a cryptid who you literally can't pay to go to cons or do cameos

[saintobio]

sincerely not. (13)

↳ gojou satoru/reader

with an arranged marriage set in place, the sacred bond is doomed with a wife who wants to make the relationship work and a husband who’s ready to ruin it all. unbeknown to him, a tragic fate already lies within the pages of his romance book.

genre. heavy angst, unrequited love, arranged marriage, modern au, 18+

tags/warnings. profanity, explicit smut, physical abuse, violence, blood, strangulation/asphyxiation, mentions of past traumas, smothering, manslaughter, minor character death. please read at your own discretion.

notes. 13k wc. i tried to make it lighter bc the original draft was kinda heavy :(( but overall pls excuse my writing for this one. we’re gonna have one final arc until the series ends. beta read by my furrae @suhkusa uwu

series masterlist -> episode fourteen

FLASHBACK: The Gojou Mansion

“You made it, darling!” It was evident on the woman’s face that your arrival was anticipated with enthusiasm. Like a mother who adored her child, she treated you like her own and even kissed you on the cheek, praising you for your light blue ball gown as soon as you ran up to the older woman. “Our cute little Y/N has great taste in fashion.”

As you beamed towards Satoru’s mom, your own mother also smiled and embraced the said woman with familial warmth. They had been friends long before you were born in this world and watching how the two mothers naturally conversed with a sisterly bond reminded you of the same relationship that you had with Gen. It was a kind of bond similar to that of siblings that were bound by blood. They laughed together during their happiest days, cried tears in their loneliest, and even gave birth to two beautiful kids at nearly the same time.

“Sorry, we were stuck in heavy traffic,” your mother explained to the woman while your little hands carried the gift that you had chosen for your closest childhood friend. “Where’s the birthday boy?”

“Oh, he’s been pretty grumpy all day. He hasn’t smiled since the party began.” Satoru’s mom then led the way, guiding the mother and daughter outside to their spacious backyard that revealed an impressive medieval royal theme with castle turrets, large stone wall panels, hanging cloth pelmets, and funnily, a number of waiters hired to dress up as knights for the celebration. Everywhere you looked was a kingdom of your dreams. A peek into the past where kings and queens reigned supreme—where horses and carriages were the only modes of transportation, where having silk jacquard dresses signaled one’s nobility, and where swords, jewels, and crowns were considered the most prized possessions.

Being only seven years of age, Satoru was still considered a prince. His princess? It was no one other than you.

“There he is,” your mother pointed towards the birthday celebrant. “Go give him your gift, honey.”

The boy had a mantle draped around his shoulders as he looked around from his throne, scanning every kid that littered the area in this sunny afternoon until his eyes found you. Didn’t his mom say he hasn’t smiled all day? Well, right then and there, he was a grinning kid with sparkling eyes as he took off his royal cloak and rushed towards you. “Y/N, you’re here!”

Walking along the fresh ivy trails and garlands, you met each other halfway and the boy was looking at you as if you were the greatest gift he has received. The gleam in his eyes limned your cheeks incarnadine. “Happy birthday, Satoru.”

He took your glove-covered hand and placed a kiss on top of it like a true gentleman. The sweet act earned giggles from the older women who all cooed at the young lovebirds. “I thought you weren’t gonna come!”

“I won’t miss your birthday!” you offered a kiss on his cheek before you handed his present. “My gift.”

With curiosity dancing in his gaze, he took the box and tore the wrapping, opening it to see a 20-pack McLaren Hot Wheels set. It was impossible to find the best gift for a kid who already had it all, but you took the opportunity to choose a limited edition gift at the perfect timing because it was all he ever talked about for the past month. “Y/N… this is…”

“You said you wanna drive that car when you grow up,” you mentioned your previous conversations about his bucket lists, “so I gave you twenty of it!”

You could hear his mom and yours chuckling from a distance as they watched how their two kids sweetly interacted like a young couple. In this case, it was Satoru who was outwardly showing his keen interest towards you. It was Satoru who requested a medieval royal theme because he wanted to make you a princess. It was Satoru who took your hand, dragged you with him as he walked towards your mothers, and cleared his throat like he was an adult male instead of an innocent juvenile who had just turned seven.

“Auntie,” he spoke to your mom, hand clasped around yours as he continued, “I kissed Y/N.”

You restrained your breath and tugged his hand, cheeks reddening because you’ve fallen shy around the older women who expressed lighthearted squeals and exaggerated gasps at the little boy’s admission. Scared of your mom’s reaction, you looked away and hid behind Satoru while you could hear his mother scolding him for being a ‘naughty little boy’.

“Oh, you kissed our princess?” your mom played along, eyes showing a glint of amusement at the sight of you and him. At that point, you were trying your best to get the Satoru to stop talking but there was only so much you could do with a spoiled, stubborn kid.

Of course, he didn’t listen. He even became more confident in displaying his signature charming smile while facing your mother without a trace of coyness. “Auntie, you said Y/N can’t kiss anyone until she’s married, so I promise I’ll marry her.”

“Satoru!” His own mom felt a little embarrassed at her son’s blatant request. But since he was a child, everyone around the banquet found his words endearing.

“You’re gonna marry my daughter?” Your mom crouched down to pinch his cheeks. “Will you promise to take care of her?”

The little boy straightened his back and held your small, delicate hand tighter around his. “Yes. I promise.”

Gojou couldn’t think straight when he sped off the freeway nearing 200mph just to rush back to the penthouse. A word from his bodyguard gave him the knowledge that you ordered your driver to take you home and Satoru was certain that you would not stay with him tonight. Or ever. Perhaps he would come home to see you packing your bags, taking only what was necessary before you could completely walk away from his life. It would only take a few minutes to leave your shared home, but it would take a lifetime for him to accept that you would soon be gone.

He was crumbling into broken pieces. The thought of losing you was carving a painful stamp on his chest each time his mind repeated your agonizing words. ‘I want a divorce’, your resolute voice sounded like a broken record, making him wish that he could go deaf than hear you say those words over and over again. How did it all come down to this? What made you suddenly decide on a separation without telling him? Have you been planning it all this time? Or could it be that you have fallen in love with someone else? He felt undeniably stupid because he couldn’t find the answer to his questions. And he felt even more pathetic that he was once in a position swearing on his life that he would be the one to divorce you without regret.

Now that things have changed, now that you were the only woman he could see in a room full of people—it was beginning to hit him as though he was standing in front of a bullet train that was accelerating off the rail at lightning speed. His wife, his partner in life. He wasn’t ready to let you go and he would never even think of doing so. There was not even the tiniest scintilla of hesitation when he left the company’s celebration because nothing was more important than you. Who cares about the CEO position? Who cares about the merger? His thoughts were only filled with the thought of his beautiful, loving wife who owned every inch of his heart.

Call him desperate, but he was truly, genuinely scared. He was facing his biggest fears in life by thinking of how easy it would be for you to take the same path as his mother did. For him, seeing you leave will wreck him ten times worse than when his own mother walked out of his life. It was haunting to even think about and he was incessantly refusing the thought before he could lose his sanity. He could barely even breathe when he stepped out of the express elevator, immediately dashing across the corridor until he finally reached his destination.

Until he finally reached you.

In denial, in pain, and in sorrow was how Satoru found himself when he entered the penthouse and saw you walking out of the closet with a small bag that had some of your important items. His feet carried him to you long before you even got to notice his presence, only facing him after he already latched a hand around your wrist. “Baby… Don’t do this. Let’s talk.”

There was no change from the rigid expression on your face. You simply pulled your hand out of his grasp and walked past him, but he shamelessly followed your trail like a lost puppy begging for attention. “I’ve given you a chance to talk.”

“But…” Confusion then painted his face. Your voice, cold and toneless. Your face, stern and apathetic. For the first time in his life, Gojou was afraid of you because it felt like he was seeing a different person instead of his wife. “I don’t understand why you’d suddenly—”

With a heavy sigh, you dropped your bag atop the bed before you turned around to look at your husband. “Can you stop fooling me?” you raised your voice, eyebrows furrowing as you glared at him. “Stop acting like you care about me. Stop pretending like you… like you wanna be with me. I’m doing you a favor by setting you free, so go be with the person you love!”

“But I don’t want anyone else!” he countered, holding your arms and forcing you to look at his shiny blue eyes. “Y/N, I already told you I wanna be with you. I want you. Just you. I’m gonna lose my mind.”

“Stop. Stop it.” It was evident on your face that you had no intentions of listening to his truthful words. Everything that came out of his mouth must have sounded like a lie to you, but Gojou was willing to do whatever it would take just to get you to believe him. With this thought in mind, he pulled you for a hug despite your unwillingness to listen. He wrapped his arms around your frame and buried his face into your shoulder, but instead of softening within his embrace, you sighed and tried to push him off. “Get off.”

He refused and shook his head like a stubborn child. “No. Tell me why you’re mad first,” his voice cracked as he spoke, “T-Tell me why you want a divorce. You can’t just—”

“Because I can’t stay in this marriage with you.” Once more, you pressed your hands on his chest and separated yourself from him. Satoru didn’t expect to see your tearful eyes that mirrored his as you looked up at him. You were breathing through your mouth, chest heaving as you tried to refrain any tears from falling. “You’re having a family with Sera. Do you really think you can keep doing this to me? Isn't it enough that I suffered in this marriage with you?”

Sera? Satoru was stupefied by the mention of her name. But more than that, his heart was aching because he couldn’t handle seeing the painful look on your face. Your pain was his, your tears were his as well. You shared the same heart and soul. “I’m not having a family with her. I’d never do that to you,” he denied it like his life was on the line. “Please, Y/N. I already chose you. We’re married.”

“Married,” a laugh of disbelief flew out of your lips, “If you care so much about our marriage, then why did you go around and get someone else pregnant? I saw you in the hospital with her so don’t deny it! She has your baby.”

Putting the puzzle pieces together, his mind took him back to the time where he brought Sera to the OB-GYN and he could now understand where your anger was coming from. Fuck. He messed this all up. Of course, who in the right mind would stay with their spouse after they assumed that they had gotten another woman pregnant? Gojou was frantically shaking his head in realization. “No, no. Wait, it was a misunderstanding,” he pleaded, cupping your cheeks so you could only look at him. “She’s not pregnant and I just wanted to be sure. That's the only reason I took her there. You can even ask Ieiri if you don’t believe me, but… I promise. I already broke it off with Sera because I wanna be devoted to you. I wanna right my wrongs and I need you to trust my words, please.”

The revelation seemed to have surprised you because your eyes widened for a minute, stuck on his gaze while in deep thought. The disarray inside your head was reflecting through your perplexed mien and Gojou wished that he had the ability to read minds because seeing you internally forming your own conclusion was making him crazy. He was powerless when you had already decided on your own. How could he even defend himself if you refused to hear him out?

“Even if she isn’t pregnant…” You held your breath and suppressed any extreme emotions from coming out. “Even if she isn’t, I’ve already decided. We’re not meant together.”

Satoru ignored the throbbing pain in his heart. “Don’t say that. Don’t, please. We need to talk this out and work our differences out like a normal couple, I… I can’t live without you.” It must be shocking to hear your husband pouring out his feelings this much because it wasn’t something that he had done throughout the course of your marriage. And if only he had done it, if only he had communicated, this would have never happened. Now, he was at the edge of a cliff, ready to fall with just one word from you. How could he salvage his marriage when it was him who ruined it in the first place?

It appeared that you had the same trail of thought as you spoke again. “You made it clear from the very start of our marriage, from the very first night after our wedding, that you and I will never work.” As much as you tried to hold it in, tears spilled from your eyes while you gazed up at him. He couldn’t do anything but to press your foreheads together, holding your cheeks as he stared at your beautiful yet downcast face. It broke him. It painfully broke him to see you like this. “Satoru, d-did you ever stop to think about everything that you did to me while I was with you? I know that you didn’t want this marriage and I know that you wanted to marry Sera regardless of how you feel for her now. I know that you hated coming home to me and I know that you’ve been insulting me behind my back. I… I felt like I wanted to die, for many reasons, than to be with you. I felt like I wasn’t worthy of love, because you made me feel so. D-Did you ever think of my pain?”

Hearing the aftereffects of the things that he had done to you was not only devastating, but it also made everything feel like the Earth took a stop from spinning on its axis. Time has slowed down and restrained all of his thoughts, trapping his mind in an endless void where only pain was a sensation that dominated over everything else. His vision got blurry from the accumulation of tears that were pooling in his eyes because he could see how your own tears cascaded down your cheeks. “I’m sorry,” he couldn’t breathe一his voice quivered uncontrollably as he realized how much of a nightmare he had been, “Y/N, I-I’m sorry… I was a monster to you.”

It was excruciating to see his wife crying because of him. He had heard similar things from you when you had a falling out back in Bora Bora, but he was a different man back then. He was spiteful, unforgivable, and just plain cruel. Memories of the hurtful things that he did to you came flashing back right before his eyes, blinding him of the wounds that left a huge gash in your innocent heart.

“Even if you hated our marriage, I-I was not a complete stranger to you,” you cried, breathing through your mouth as your chest rose and fell. He tried to wipe your dampened cheeks with his thumb, but his own tears had fallen on your skin as he thought of the misery that he had put you through. “You’ve known me since we were born. Once in your life, you thought of me as a real friend. We were each other’s partners in crime. We supported each other’s dreams and made promises to be there for one another. I know that time separated us, that our experiences made us distant, but how could you hurt me this much? How could you treat me like a person you’ve never once cared about?”

Scars never leave, Gojou could see them now. He could see why一no matter how much he tried to make things work一you would always remember all the damages he had done. Those memories could never be erased. They have already imprinted a significant amount of pain in your most agonizing memories and the only way he could think of fixing his mistakes was to suffer the same. “I was blinded by rage,” he spoke softly, momentarily closing his eyes but keeping your foreheads connected together. “I thought Sera was the woman I could spend the rest of my life with, so all I did was blame you for trying to keep us apart. I-I used my anger as an excuse to detach myself from you because I was so fucking stupid… I’m damn stupid for thinking that my life should revolve around her. It doesn’t. My life is with you.”

“It’s too late.”

“It’s not.” He opened his eyes to see you wiping your cheeks while you returned to giving him an unforgiving stare. It was impressive how you managed to keep your emotions in check even after you released a bucket of tears—perhaps it was an acquired ability after having your own husband constantly neglecting and demeaning you. “It’s not too late. I’m willing to do anything for you.”

He was practically hopeless at this point, but even at that, you refused. “Be happy that this divorce will set you free—”

“I don’t want that!” Satoru had to pull away when his emotions got the best of him because he didn’t mean to yell at you. He was only distraught from how firm you were about divorcing him. His hands were shaking terribly because the traumatic memory of how adamant his mother was in leaving him was how he saw this situation in front of his eyes. It was history repeating itself—a sight that would blow his heart into smithereens.

Thankfully, you didn’t flinch from his loud voice. What you did do was take a step back, becoming more and more indifferent as if you were placing a wall between the two of you. As if you had prepared yourself for the paroxysm of emotions that would burst out of him. The lack of proper lighting made the atmosphere a lot more emotional than it seemed, but despite the dimness, your luminescence was brighter than the envious moon. “It’s what I want, not you. This divorce is for me and not for you. My decision is final.”

This can’t be… This can’t happen. He couldn’t afford losing you.

“Y/N… no, please.” Gojou had already bawled, weeping his heart out as he clung to your arms and forced you to look up at his pitiful face. He had no reasons to deny his feelings anymore so he had to say the words that were dying to pour out of him. “I love you. I-I’m so in love with you. I can’t think straight when I’m not with you. My heart feels lonely when I can’t see you. Y/N, you’re my life now and I’ll… I’ll do anything just to make you stay.”

‘I love you.’

You didn’t believe that you would ever hear those three words from him.

And you never thought that you would see this day. You never thought that Satoru, the man who always took pride in being superior among everyone else, would fall on his knees like a sinner begging for forgiveness. His crystal blue eyes were lachrymose as faint tears streamed down on his cheeks and he clung to your waist like a child grasping helplessly to stop you from leaving. “A-Anything you want… P-Please.”

You had to turn your face away because your ice cold heart was beginning to melt for him. However, despite your pretentious austerity, your guilt was eating you alive while you were seeing him like this. “Don’t do that. You look pathetic.”

“I don’t wanna lose you.” While his breakdown was already surprising, his desperation was what led him to further take your hand, placing it next to his face as if he was ready for any damages that you could inflict. “Please hit me. Hit me however many times you want. Slap me until you’re satisfied. Curse at me, scream at me, pour your anger out on me. I’ll take all of it. Just…” he squeezed your hand, chest heaving as he gasped for air, “just don’t leave m-me.”

It was for the first time that you actually felt your heart breaking in half, not because of your pain, but because of his. Seeing him willingly offering himself to physical abuse was not within your intentions and it tore you apart to see your husband projecting his own trauma after realizing that he was on the verge of losing you. How sad was it that he started viewing violence as a way to seek forgiveness? You never wanted to make him suffer to this extent. You never aimed to wreck his soul by using his own traumatic experiences against him, because no matter how messed up Satoru was as a husband, you cared for him as a person.

“Get up,” you ordered, pulling his shaking hands as you tried to blink your tears away.

He looked at the floor and shook his head. “No… I’ll keep begging on my knees if I have to.”

“I said get up and look at me.” As your tone became stricter than the last, he followed your instructions and slowly got up until his tall figure towered over you. He was squeezing both of your hands, tears streaming down on his cheeks as you leaned back against the wall and sighed. “So you love me now, but what happens when you find another reason to hate me again? What happens when you realize that I can’t fulfill the role you want me to have as your wife? You’re always indecisive. What if you wake up one day and suddenly wanna get back with Sera again? Or if you meet another woman?”

You could tell that your questions were sinking into him in a negative way and he was determined to reject every single thought. “Y/N, I won’t change my mind. I wanna keep loving you for the rest of my life. I-I know it’s hard to believe b-but….” It was instinct for him to hold your cheeks again, backing you against the wall and leaning in closer, “...but I’m being true. I’ll make it a lifelong promise to make it up to you.”

Truthfully, you didn’t know what you wanted. You were burdened by the conflict in your head and you found yourself stuck on your feet, unable to do anything but wrap a hand around his wrist as you felt him inching closer to your face. You broke me first, you wanted to tell him. He was the reason why you’ve become the way you were now一a cold, seemingly heartless wife who cared none for her husband’s emotional breakdown. Of course, it was just a front since the divorce was initially a result of a misunderstanding. However, because of the stockpile of misery that he had placed on your shoulders, you were able to open the bottle and spill your woes about this marriage.

You were no saint. You could forgive, but forgetting was not easy. It could take him months, years, or possibly a lifetime to try and remove all the heart-wrenching memories that were already engraved in your heart.

In the face of your inner turmoil, looking at your husband’s eyes was somehow calming. The vivid blues around his irises were sincere but lonely. You could feel the tip of his nose pressing against yours as he held your face with such yearning, unaware that you were longing for the same affection as him. Was it too wrong to let things slip for tonight? You allowed him to lean in and close the distance by pressing his lips on top of yours. Your emotions let your heart win over your mind as you kissed him with equal fervor, warm tears spilling from your closed eyes while Satoru tilted his head to deepen the kiss. He, too, was drowning from the surge of his own tears. There was saltiness that went with the taste of his tongue that was rolling against yours, breathing you in like suction as though this was the first time the two of you had ever kissed.

It was a shared burning desire that ignited flames in your respective hearts when you allowed more passion from the synchronization of your lips. Your back was pressed against the cold concrete while you placed a hand on his chest, fingers on autopilot as you reached to unbutton his shirt. He was breathing raspily from your mouth before he ran his tongue on your lower lip, sucking the plump flesh without any care of how you peeled the coat off his body. You watched him roughly pulling the tie off of his neck before he encased your lips back to his. The tips of your fingers were cold, but his chest was warm when you managed to undo every single button on his shirt.

Everything was passing through your vision in a complete blur because you had tears brimming under your lids. How long has it been since you last kissed him like this? You couldn’t understand why it hurt to love your own husband without any repercussions.

“I love you,” you could hear him say as he continued latching his mouth onto yours. “I love you. I love you.”

You’ve decided to hold back from responding for now. What you focused on was to relish the taste of his buttery soft lips. Your thoughts were on a hundred meter sprint and you were already stumbling in bed, back falling against the mattress with your legs wrapped around Satoru’s waist while he worked on unzipping your dress from the back. “This…” You looked up at him as he hovered over you. “This is just for tonight.”

Pain stretched into his face. “No…” He kissed you. “Don’t, please. I wanna be with you.”

Anyone would know that he was in despair. It wasn’t normal to see Gojou being this emotional in the middle of intimacy, but you allowed him to undress you, leaving you bare of any clothing as he pressed himself down on you. “Mm,” you couldn’t help but bite back a moan through his mouth, hands travelling down to reach for his fly. You were able to unbuckle his belt easily, unzipping his pants the next because the feeling of intense longing was spilling between you two. He was already trailing soft kisses along your jawline while cupping your sore breast to give it a wanton squeeze. His breath tickled your ear when he moved his mouth on your neck, sucking and nibbling until his kisses landed on your collarbone. At this point, you have already successfully released his aching member from the restriction of his underwear and he was gazing down at you with a glint of saddened lust.

Your husband’s cheeks were damp and your lips were moist when you kissed him again. You kissed each other to no end一your hand pulling on his mop of white hair, his hand kneading your bosom, and your folds gliding along his length as his hips undulated gently to garner titillating whimpers from you. “S-Satoru…” You felt the muscles on his back flexing when you dug your nails on his skin, gasping into his mouth while he continued to grind his hardened cock between your labia.

You were suppressing a moan due to the combustion of flames inside of you and he pulled away from kissing your neck by fondly staring at your face. “You’re so beautiful to me,” he whispered, planting kisses all over your face一cheeks, jaw, nose, forehead, “so… so beautiful.”

Hearing him say that did not earn your smile. In fact, it brought tears back in your eyes because you remembered just how much you wanted to hear those very words from him on your first night. Were you a masochist? You couldn’t fathom how you were able to last this long in your marriage without receiving those sweet words from your husband. And now that he said it, now that he allowed you to hear it, you were a weeping mess. “You didn’t e-even look at me on our first night together.”

“I…” He shared the sorrow in your eyes while wiping your cheeks. After resting his lips on top of yours, he then pressed your foreheads together so he could look at your face. The way he stared at you made you think as if he could feel your pain ten times worse. “I’m sorry.” Faint droplets from his eyes landed on your cheek. “Let me love and appreciate you from this day forward.”

You should have done it from the start. You couldn’t stop the searing pain in your chest, but you pulled him back so his kisses could distract your heartbreaking memories of Iceland. “Make love to me,” the request flew off your lips before you realized it.

He blinked slowly, attaching his lips on your cheek while caressing your skin. “If you let me… I’ll show you how much I love you. Just you.”

Your chest was a pendulum that rose and fell through heavy breaths. As you nodded to give him your consent, he gave you one last kiss before reaching for the bedside drawer. His movements confused you until you saw him pulling out a familiar square packet from a box, later ripping the wrapper between his teeth. “Satoru,” you stopped his hand, “no need to use a condom.”

He propped an elbow on the side of your head as a leverage to lift himself off of you. “It’s safer,” he spoke under his breath. “You don’t wanna get pregnant.”

You responded by snatching the packet out of his hand, flinging it back to the drawer before you pulled him down to kiss you again. “You can pull out.” It was tough to drag a heavy guy like him when you shifted positions so you could straddle his lap. You hadn’t realized that the both of you had cold sweats sticking on your skin until you were sitting chest-to-chest, meeting each other’s panting breaths while his hand held a tight grip on your buttocks. You let your own hands roam around his shoulders, feeling the softness of his lips on the valley between your breasts, soon rolling his tongue around your nipple to elicit a salacious mewl out of you. “Mmm.”

He released your tit from his mouth with a pop and placed his fingers on your entrance as if to test if you were ready to take him fully. You met his pleasurable actions by wrapping a hand around his lengthy cock, swollen pink head leaking of precum as you pumped your fist around him. “Ngh一babe, wait… I’m too aroused.”

Although you stopped doing the job on his member, he didn’t cease from doing circular motions on your clit, stimulating your cunny as your mouth parted open from the sensual gratification. “Y-You said… you told me before that you weren’t hard enough to have sex with me.”

Surely, he could remember his exact words from the night of your honeymoon because his guilt was oozing from his face. “It’s not true.” His voice was almost pleading, dewy blue eyes shining like diamonds. He raked his fingers through his hair as he glanced at your lips. “Just imagining you drives me crazy.”

You were holding onto his shoulders when he hoisted you up to place his tip on your entrance, allowing you to sit slowly and adjust yourself as his girth stretched you with a burning sensation. “A-Aah—! S-Satoru!” He kissed you to silent your whimpers—guttural moans falling out of his own lips at the feeling of your bodies connected again. Of him filling you up once more. Of you, shamelessly moaning his name until sunrise.

It had been a while. Maybe that was why the two of you were driven by overflowing passion and lust as you began moving on a slow rhythm on his hips. His cock was twitching while he penetrated your velvet walls and you were bending your back to look at the ceiling, soaking in every sensation that sent euphoric shivers down your spine. Your husband’s large calloused hands held your waist so he could thrust himself upward before he rested his back against the headboard. At that moment, he was looking at you like he was mesmerized. “I’m so fucking in love with you.”

How many times had he said those words tonight? You’ve lost count and you were not in the right mind because you were engulfed in the way his cock was going in and out of your core, your tender breasts bouncing as you rolled your hips on top of him. In the middle of your lovemaking, he strangely held your hand and intertwined it with his. “Mm—why—!”

“I can’t have this with anyone else,” he said, feeling every inch of you with glossy eyes appreciating your mere presence in his life. He kissed both of your hands and changed the control by flipping you over to return to your previous position, except your legs were now on his shoulders as he fervently fucked you. “C-Can’t have anyone b-but you—agh…Y/N...”

You gripped the sheets with balled fists as your husband continued to rut into your sweet pussy at a faster pace, and it was only until you started feeling a familiar clench on your chest when you asked him to decrease his speed. “Satoru, slow… slow down a little.”

You’ve consulted your doctor about it before and you were told that sex wouldn’t pose a big problem to your health. If anything, it was just the same as taking an early morning jog for exercise where you could release a few sweat without any worry. It was no threat to your heart and you had diligently taken all of your medicines this morning knowing that the events tonight would be stressful, but you still wanted to be cautious for your own sake.

“Am I hurting you? Look at me,” he worriedly asked, softly cupping your cheek. You immediately shook your head and urged him to continue snapping his hips into you at a gentler pace. His cock was already covered with slick when you took a peek to where your bodies were connected. “Baby.”

“It’s fine,” you reassured, looking back up at him and feeling a coil in your lower abdomen when he reached a certain spot. “A-Aah!” The more he hit it, the more you were clenching around him. And he continued doing so by thrusting into you at a slow, but consistent pace. You were getting sore at every slam of his pelvis because it had been sometime since the two of you were last intimate. Somehow, you assumed that your lack of sexual activity was also the reason why your stomach felt firmer than normal. Your body might have been adjusting again when you felt light cramps on your tummy. “I… I think I’m gonna cum.”

You appreciated the way he adjusted himself and dragged his length in and out of you with more passion and less roughness. The height of your orgasm made you see stars as you lay your hands flat on his chest, arching your back as you creamed all over his cock when he went deeper into your core. You were gasping for breath with eyes closed, recovering from your climax before you felt your husband’s lips reattached to yours.

And before you could open your eyes again, he had already pulled out and released his warm seed outside of your cunt. “You weren’t into it,” he stated with a voice laced with sadness, soon falling on top of you but kissing your temple nonetheless.

“We’re not exactly in a situation where I can fully enjoy it,” you replied, truthfully, “and it’s the last time we’ll do it.”

His eyes appeared even more downcast after hearing those words. The lack of color on his face was because of the realization that you were still pushing through with the divorce. His reaction was normal, but what he wasn’t aware of was the fact that you were simply afraid that you would put your health at risk if you’ve fallen deeper in love with him. It was a struggle enough to inevitably love him this way, how much more if you became emotionally dependent on him? He could easily take his words back and ruin you entirely. Unfortunately, trusting was an issue that you’ve obtained because of your complicated marriage.

“I’m sorry, I won’t sign any papers you give me,” was his response, burying his face into the crook of your neck with a deep exhale. It was also the last conversation that you shared until the both of you fell asleep after your emotional night.

It was such a night full of tears, heartbreak, and yearning. Your initial plan was to announce the divorce, take a few of your things from the penthouse, and come home to your father’s mansion. You were never expecting that your husband would sob on his knees and ask you to inflict physical damage on him just to make you stay. If he hadn’t told you that he loved you, it would have been difficult to soften your wounded heart around him, but after knowing Gojou since you were born, you knew that he wouldn’t carelessly throw I love you’s without meaning it.

At around quarter past three, you woke up again from your slumber to find yourself on top of your husband. His arms were tight around your waist as if he was certain that you would sneak out in the middle of the night to leave him. His brows were furrowed when you took a peek at his angelic face and deep down, you were feeling bad to see how much he had broken down in front of you just a few hours ago.

You would have easily returned to sleep so you could cozy up to your husband and enjoy the warmth of your skin against his, but the ceaseless sound of the doorbell that echoed through the walls of your home had long awakened you.

The noise even drew out a groan from Satoru’s lips as he shifted from bed, checking the clock and sighing heavily. “Who the hell’s that?” he murmured to himself.

“I’ll get it,” you insisted, moving out of his hold and swiftly wrapping yourself with a robe. Your husband was already getting up from bed, wearing his boxers while you were knotting the tie around your waist. “I said I’ll get it.”

He declined your offer and gently pushed you to sit on your bed. “It’s okay. Stay here.”

You understood that he was only being protective, but you were also curious to know who the late-night intruder would be. The last time such a thing happened, it was Sera who greeted you from the door with a piercing look on her face after labeling you a homewrecker for sleeping with your own husband. How much has time passed since then? You remembered having to suffer a lot that time. Gojou had never shown you any ounce of affection back then, but you have always tried to understand their side even to a point where you painted yourself as the villain.

Would Sera be showing up at your front door again? Because this time around, you would be standing your ground. You had not even asked Satoru about the scratch on his cheek, but you suspected that it either had something to do with Sera or he got it while he was out drinking all night. If she had found out that she wasn’t pregnant and Gojou had broken up with her, she would not have easily accepted that. There must have been a crazy argument that happened between the two of them.

With all these thoughts lingering in your head, you soon followed your husband who was standing at the door with a horrified expression. It seemed like he had frozen from the spot because of whatever was going on and you made a haste move of walking closer to see… Nana’s caregiver.

“Hey,” you greeted in confusion, holding your husband’s arm as you faced the woman. Her eyes were bloodshot from the tears that she appeared to have shed. “Wh-What’s going on?”

She swallowed hard before answering. “Sorry, we couldn’t reach Satoru all night, but… your Nana. She was rushed to the hospital.”

It was insane to see how much had happened in a span of one night.

You were partly to blame because you started all this chaos when you announced your divorce at the Gojou Group’s 50th Anniversary and everything else was a domino effect after that. The merger would not have pushed through and the reaction from your families must have been wild. It was only now that you finally had a look at the bigger picture and how things have affected the people around you. You didn’t mean for any of this to happen.

It was your selfishness to file a divorce that became the root cause of all this.

Although your husband had temporarily recovered from his emotional breakdown, there was no stopping the tears that gushed out of his eyes again. You could barely keep up when he ran across the hall, passing patient after patient, gaining the attention of curious doctors and nurses as the two of you rushed to try and find the emergency room. For his sake, you tried your best to ignore the nausea that you felt from the hospital’s olfaction. You tried your best to ignore the growing pain in your chest because of the amount of stress that would accumulate at the wee hours of the morning. You could only hold his arm as he approached the nurses station, taking the chance to use a GTN spray under your tongue to avoid an attack. Because Satoru was heavily distracted, he didn’t notice what you did and you were saved from the series of questions that he could have asked about your health.

You were not his priority tonight. His grandmother was on the median between life and death and all you had to do was be there to bring him comfort.

As he desperately uttered Nana’s name towards the nurse, he tapped his fingers on the counter and you saw how his hands were trembling again. “Where’s she, please? What room number?”

A head nurse soon came back to speak to your husband with a rueful expression. “Mr. Gojou?” Your husband immediately turned to her. “Your grandmother has been transferred to the mortuary.”

No way… Satoru had completely spaced out.

“M-Mortuary?” you asked again. This couldn’t happen.

“Yes,” the head nurse answered. “She was confirmed dead on arrival.”

Why and how did this happen? You’ve known Nana since you were a little girl and it devastated you to know that she passed away. The thought of her death reminded you of the trauma that you suffered when you lost your mom and it was a feeling that sent you into an abyss of melancholy. Losing a family member was your biggest fear in life and you knew that staying long in this hospital while engulfed with the miasma of death might end up giving you the most vivid flashbacks of your mom’s passing from when you were younger. You could just walk away and say that you couldn’t proceed going further to see Nana in the mortuary, but seeing the way Satoru shut his eyes in anguish, your care for his well-being dominated your fears.

At least, in your case, you had the chance to say goodbye to your mother before her demise. Satoru had to face seeing his grandma in her deathbed without even hearing any word from her before she departed from life. He was already racked with the pain of his mom leaving him and you could only imagine the amount of depression that would kick in after the other maternal figure that your husband loved so dearly was now gone. Forever. Nana was the one who took care of him after his mom left. Nana was the one who, despite her old age, protected Satoru from his father’s anger issues whenever she was within vicinity of his rage. Nana, the kind old lady who gave you the gold bracelet, was the same woman who wanted to see you and his grandson living a happy, married life.

It pained you to hear that she was deceased, but the bereft that Gojou was suffering was exceedingly torturous.

“Satoru, calm down.”

“Na...Nana.”

He was struggling to breathe by the time you reached the hallway outside of the mortuary where you saw Yuuta sitting on one of the benches, looking extremely traumatized and agitated from the very sudden death of his foster grandparent. He was quick to get up as soon as he saw his older brother and tried to console him by mirroring the same lamentation on his face. “Nii-san.”

“What happened?” Satoru was so close to falling apart. His voice was breaking each time he spoke and you had to be the one to hold his arm for support. “What...Why did this happen?”

Yuuta’s face was a contortion of ambivalence, seemingly wanting to speak about something but was deciding against it. His countenance was similar to a person guilty of a crime, but you did not place any judgement on an eighteen year-old who simply wanted to comfort his brother’s loss.

Unfortunately, before he could answer, Satoru’s stepmother came into view with a male doctor who was speaking to her about the process of Nana’s autopsy. She was initially calm and composed, but she suddenly burst into tears as soon as her eyes landed on you and your husband. She even had a handkerchief ready to wipe her tears as she began wailing. “This is all your fault!” she sobbed, mourning Nana’s loss while blaming your spouse. “She was shocked to hear the news of the divorce and because of that, she… she suffered from cardiac arrest.”

It couldn’t be. You refused to believe that Nana’s death was caused by the divorce because you knew that she was a woman who could contain her emotions very well. Could she really have taken the news so badly that it ended with such a tragic outcome? Your husband was already pressing his head against the wall, hands laid flat on the concrete as he shut his eyes in grief. “Nana,” he cried, shaking his head, “Nana… No, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, this is一this all my fault.”

“It’s not,” you teared up for your husband, soothing his back to reassure that none of this was your desire. “Shh. It’s gonna be okay一”

“Be swallowed by guilt for the rest of your life!” His stepmom yelled at Satoru from a mere six feet away. Yuuta was then trying his best to silence his mother to no avail. “You killed your grandma because of your incompetence! If you treated your wife well, the divorce would never have happened, the merger would have pushed through, and your Nana would have still been alive. This is all on you!”

Satoru sobbed against the wall, unable to separate himself from the cold concrete as he tormented himself with the undeserved blame. It wrecked you to see him crying helplessly, but it also urged you to stand up against his stepmom.

“It’s not fair to put the blame on him,” you responded in utter disbelief, “he didn’t want this and nor did I.”

The woman simply avoided your gaze and continued to glare at her stepson. “You should step down from your position in the company,” she suddenly brought up, prompting Satoru to turn around and look at her with a puzzled face, “Since you’ve given this family so much shame, it’s only right for you to do so.”

Why was she mentioning such matters of inheritance at a time of someone’s demise?

[warning]

As perplexed as you and Satoru were, his father suddenly walked out of the mortuary, wiping his eyes behind his glasses before noticing his son’s presence next to you.

“D-Dad.”

“You son of a一!”

Your father-in-law was seeing red. He didn’t hold back on throwing his fist across his son’s face, rendering him speechless with a busted lip as he continued to throw multiple punches without mercy. You were completely petrified at the sight of your husband willingly receiving the ruthless strikes until his nose started bleeding. No, the old man didn’t stop there. He even went as far as throttling Satoru on the neck, restricting his son’s breathing while he teared up from all the beating that he received.

“Stop!” you screamed, trying to separate the two as your hands began to shake. “Don’t hurt him!”

Yuuta helped you by grappling his stepdad away from Satoru, but the old man was far too absorbed in letting his own son have a taste of hell through his demon rage. “Dad, stop it.”

“D-Dad, I-I’m s-sorry.” Your husband was pressed against the wall, face turning red from the lack of oxygen before his father hit him across the face one more time without any remorse.

“You see what you’ve done?! Do you see?!” His growling voice echoed through the hallways and he was never going to let Satoru go until the nurses and bodyguards rushed to separate the two after seeing the entire scene before their eyes.

“Sir, that’s enough.”

“You’re causing a disturbance to other patients.”

Your chest was tightening from all the things that you’ve had to witness and you felt like throwing up from the nausea that the old man’s brutality had shown, but you had to gather yourself together to quickly take your husband in your arms. You had to be strong for his sake because God knows how much it shattered you to see his fists violently shaking after being thrashed by his own father. Satoru deserved none of this. He did not deserve to be blamed for the death of a person that he loved, he did not deserve to be beaten into a bloody pulp to serve as his father’s punching bag, and he did not deserve the pain of having no one else by his side to provide him even the tiniest bit of comfort.

This was the moment where you finally understood why Satoru had been desperate to make you stay.

“Hey,” you crouched down as he fell on the floor, pulling a handkerchief to wipe the blood on his nose, “It’s okay. I’m here… I’m here. I won’t let him near you again.” You let him rest his head on your chest as you silently cried together, embracing him with your warmth and allowing him to mourn for his loss. You had to get Yuuta to call for a nurse and give your husband some first aid treatment for his bruises while you watched how your father-in-law walked away together with his wife, stopping in their tracks as soon as they crossed another person’s path.

It was Satoru’s mother.

She was standing still like a statue, eyes widened in horror as she looked at him from a distance. She must have witnessed all the violence that her own son had just received. But because you were too drained, you did not have the energy to greet her and simply observed from afar how she slapped your father-in-law’s face. “How dare you hit my son!”

Was it the first time she had seen him hitting Satoru? Was she not aware that her son had been physically abused by his father’s own hands? With the way your mother-in-law was seething, it seemed as if she had no single knowledge that this wasn’t the first time that her own flesh and blood had to receive that much violence.

Satoru, while wrapped in your arms, weakly looked up to see his mother in a fit of rage in front of her ex-husband and second wife. “Mom…”

“Just stay here with me,” you told him, wiping the faint tears on his cheek. So many things were happening in a single day that you were so close to fainting. You couldn’t even properly grieve Nana’s death because of all the family conflicts that were ensuing. When will all of this end?

“Don’t you have any respect for your mother? This is how you grieve for her death?” The sound of Satoru’s mom’s voice rang in your ears as she yelled at her ex-husband. “You never changed! If I had known that you were hitting my son, I wouldn’t have left him with you!”

“It’s not the right time to discuss this bullshit with you. You’re not my family anymore,” was his response before he proceeded to walk out with his second wife following him behind—a subtle smirk visible on her face. She demanded for Yuuta to follow them despite the boy’s reluctance and left the place without even turning back.

This was a lot to process. Even Satoru himself was discombobulated as he heard the brief exchange between his parents, wincing as the nurse tended to the bruises that he obtained on his face. You squeezed his hand as you both looked at his mother who was now fast approaching together with Nana’s caregiver.

In an instant, she was sitting next to Satoru to carefully examine his wounds. “My son.” There was pain in her voice一not just simple pain, but an amalgam of sorrow, heartbreak, and regret. A mother’s love was unparalleled and you’ve had your fair share of receiving the same nurturing affection so you could understand why your husband seemed to have felt more relaxed. For Satoru, his mother’s presence was the most calming of all. “Are you okay? How can mom make it better?”

Instead of shunning her like he normally did, he allowed her to give him a comforting hug. “Nana, she… She must have been surprised.”

You exhaled and closed your eyes. “We weren’t expecting that the divorce would affect her this much.” It was physically, mentally, and emotionally draining. You haven’t even had the time to check your phone knowing that you probably had dozens of calls from your own family.

“I’m sorry to chime in, but…” the caregiver trailed off as you all turned to look at her, “I don’t think Nana died because of that.”

Sera was livid.

She couldn’t believe that you would have the audacity to say those things to her face as if you weren’t the one who stole Gojou away from her. Saying bullshit like ‘you seem to want everything that I have’ was such an insult for Sera to hear because why would she want something that was rightfully hers in the first place? Regardless if you and Satoru had been childhood friends, he never would have fallen in love with her if he truly loved you. Besides, he was only desperate to be with you now because he was striving to reach the CEO position, and by then, he would leave you to come running back to Sera.

She didn’t feel as angry when Satoru ignored her when she tried to stop him from chasing after you last night. She was simply surprised, but had let things be knowing that a conflict was arising between the two of you. More arguments would be a win-win situation for Sera because Gojou would soon realize how much of a deceitful, vile person you were.

She already expected prior to the celebration that you were going to parade yourself wearing a designer dress while walking around with your so-called husband to get everyone’s attention. You were an attention seeker so that was not a surprise. What shocked Sera mostly was how you pulled up in a sexy dress that made you look like a cheap whore. Maybe, that was the real you after all. All that elegance was just a facade to hide your true nature.

Still and all, that was not the main concern for today. The reason why she met up with Naoya was to ask him about the stupid dress that he made her wear. She was invited to visit their mansion so that they could have a private talk at their spacious outdoor patio and Sera had to refrain herself from becoming enthralled with the impressive architecture of their chateau. If she wasn’t too frustrated, she would have complimented how magnificent the Zen’ins’ property was.

“You set me up. It was her old dress!” she snapped, huffing as she sat at one of the chairs in the patio.

Imported English teas and biscuits were prepared for her on the table as Naoya himself then sat across from her. After hearing Sera’s accusation, he was quick to widen his eyes in surprise. “No way. Really?”

He had no idea? Sera reached for the huge paper bag that had the dress and handed it to him. “That damn dress. You knew she rejected it for her wedding, didn’t you?”

Naoya took a sip from his teacup, only smiling after he put it down. “How would I know that? I wasn’t even invited to their wedding.”

Right. But then again, that girl from Elie Saab was his friend so he could have an idea. Sera refused to accept his reason. “I’m pretty sure that Meredith girl told you.”

Under the sunlight brought by this clear afternoon, the guy’s hair was an ashen grey with dark tips that accentuated his golden saintly features. If Sera wasn’t so in love with Satoru, she would have openly expressed how handsome Naoya was. “Meredith told me that the dress was made for someone but she didn’t say who,” he explained, relaxed and unbothered. “Look, how would I know it was Y/N-chan’s dress if it was never specified to me?”

Sera considered this: if this man was lying, he would look unsettled right now. He would feel uncomfortable under her accusatory gaze and probably be guilt-ridden for trying to fool her. Naoya seemed like a genuine guy and Sera was a very perceptive person so she would have easily noticed from his body language that he was lying.

He showed none of those.

“You still made me wear a wedding dress, though.” She slumped on her seat and crossed her arms. “I mean, it was really gorgeous and all but I didn’t realize that it was fitting for a wedding until that witch pointed it out.”

The corner of Naoya’s lips upturned. “Witch?”

“Y/N.” Sighing, she rolled her eyes remembering how you looked that night. “Can you believe she wore that trashy dress? It was showing too much skin. Do you think that’s appropriate when she’s a married woman?”

“Ah…” The blond stared at her face as she talked, looking as though her face was too pleasing to gaze at. “Well, you do many inappropriate things yourself.”

Sera denied that straight away. “At least, I’m not pretentious. Everything about her reeks of entitlement and she’s putting on an act to hide it.”

Naoya propped an elbow on the table and rested his chin on his palm. “Her elegance isn’t an act, but you have a point there. It must be annoying to see that woman, huh? I always thought she’s a bore so I never really paid much attention.” Tilting his head, he scanned her face and smiled. “I bet people still found you more beautiful than her last night. You see the difference between you two? You were a pure flower dressed in a beautiful white dress while she's a try-hard vixen attempting to look high fashion with such skimpy attire. Poor Satoru-kun. He must have been so embarrassed for his wife.”

Every time this man spoke, Sera found herself agreeing with him more and more. He could understand her sentiments pretty well and he, too, was reasonably distasteful towards you. How could she suspect him when he had been nothing but helpful towards her? Sera decided to look past the wedding dress incident this once and gave Naoya a chance. “Rumors say that she announced a divorce that’s why the merger didn’t push through. I feel bad for Satoru.”

The news seemed to have intrigued Naoya even more. “Is that so?” he hummed, seemingly pondering at the thought of your divorce. “Y/N-chan’s pretty brazen, isn’t she?”

She thinks she’s all that. Sera couldn’t even begin. You must be in seventh heaven now that you prevented Satoru’s chances of taking over the company because of your selfish desire to monopolize him. Business was business—you should be a better wife to him and support his dreams instead of ruining all of his hard work. This was one of the many reasons why Sera knew that she would be a better wife than you would ever be.

“I really don’t understand what people see in her,” she mused, watching how the colorful butterflies flew above the perennial shrubs. “Aside from her money and status, of course. She’s never been with any other man except Satoru so maybe that’s why she’s being so obsessive. I’d be suffocated if I were him.”

Naoya listened to her as he grabbed a viennese whirl and took a small bite. To think of it, even this man’s casual clothes seemed too expensive. Do rich people really live like this? “The next time you see Satoru-kun, you should show how much you pity him for being stuck with his wife,” he advised, eyes trailing on Sera’s neck. “You have to sound genuine, though. If he feels that you care about his well-being more than your own, he would easily soften up. Say ‘I imagine it must be stressful to live with a toxic wife’ or something like that. Be convincing when you express your sympathy for his marriage and maintain your class while doing so.”

Maintaining my class. Sera looked down at her coordinated tweed outfit and felt strangely satisfied. Who knew that wearing these types of clothes could make her feel expensive? “That’d be easy.”

He gave her a look of approval. “Good girl. Now, do you know any dirt or rumors going around about Y/N-chan?”

Her thin lips stretched into a smile as they looked at one another with a gleam of curiosity. Was Naoya perhaps trying to read her mind? Well, as of now, her thoughts flew to the head of the Zen’in household. There were rumors that you were infertile because you hadn’t gotten pregnant even after being married for months, but Sera knew that this was because you were taking birth control pills so it was futile to use that against you. What she could think of, on the other hand, was your particular closeness towards Toji Zen’in who was a widower and of a slightly more powerful status than Satoru. Maybe you wanted to hit two birds in one stone. Sera spitefully laughed at the thought before she decided to share them with Naoya. “I think it’s weird that she’s very close with Toji, don’t you think? I mean, he’s your family and I’m afraid that she might drag him down if there are rumors about them having an affair. But then again, he isn’t married so he has no liabilities with anyone. It’s Y/N who will receive the public’s brutal criticism.”

She was hoping to see Naoya sniggering along with her, but she was taken aback when she saw how his expression became cold. “Don’t mess with Toji-kun,” he stated, firmly. “Or any of my family. You’ll regret it.”

The sudden change in his demeanor alarmed her. “Oh, I wasn’t trying to—”

For a minute, Naoya exhaled as if he was gathering his thoughts together before he returned back to his playful self. “If you’re so curious, Toji-kun just feels bad for Y/N,” he revealed, just as Sera had assumed initially. So she was right after all. “He feels some sort of responsibility over her because he’s great friends with Gen.”

“Gen?” Sera blinked as she asked.

“Y/N’s older sister,” he quickly answered while leaning his back against the chair. “You should be thankful that you haven’t met her. If she finds out that you’re having an affair with her brother-in-law, she might pull your hair until you’re bald.” He chuckled in between his words before adding, “Not gonna lie, women like Gen are sexy.”

Sera was about to ask more about your sister but a rich, manly voice interrupted her conversation with Naoya. She turned around to see Toji Zen’in stepping out of the patio with a phone on his ear and a gaze glued towards the horizon.

“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay?” His voice was full of worry when he spoke through the phone. “How’s your health? If anything bad happens, give me a call.”

Was he talking to a girlfriend? Sera frowned, but didn’t take her sight off him. She saw how he sighed after ending the phone call, sullen because of whatever the other person on the line said to him. Toji seemed so distracted by his thoughts that he started lighting up a cigarette without noticing Sera and Naoya’s presence to his left side.

“Toji-kun~!” the blond called in a sing-song voice. But before Toji looked at him, he first noticed Sera with fleeting surprise. “Toji-kun, is everything okay?”

The dark haired man cleared his throat and took a drag from his cigarette, releasing a puff of white smoke from his mouth. He didn’t even bother greeting Sera. “Yeah, I just heard some bad news.”

Naoya’s inquisitive self continued to ask. “Like what?”

“Like—”

“Dad! You said you’re not gonna smoke anymore.”

“Oh, what do we have here?”

Joining the patio were two familiar teenagers that appeared in countless magazines and media outlets before. The boy was a splitting image of his father while the girl had dark green hair that fell just a few centimeters shy from her shoulders. If Sera was right, this was Megumi and Mai. Both kids were known as popular heirs and heiresses to their rich family business and you had to be living under a rock to not recognize them.

“Just this once,” Toji said to his son, patting his back before putting the cigarette away from him.

Sera was about to introduce herself until Mai cut her off by scrutinizing her. There was sharpness within her gaze as she looked at Sera from head to toe, crossing her arms before turning to Naoya. What a rude, entitled brat. “Naoya, is this—?”

“Satoru-kun’s ex-girlfriend,” said the blond, sending a lopsided grin towards her. “This is Sera. She’s gorgeous, right?”

Megumi was polite enough to give her a respectful bow, but Mai refused to show any cordiality by simply rolling her eyes. Is this girl insecure? She must be. Sera was absolutely baffled at how such a young girl could act like such a snob. She wasn’t even that pretty in person.

“Hey, Megumi,” Sera decided to only greet the boy out of spite, disregarding any sort of acknowledgement towards Mai as she focused on Toji and his son. “You look really handsome. I guess you got it from your dad.”

Toji’s stoic visage didn’t change while Megumi let out an awkward laugh. “Thank you, Miss Sera.”

“Naoya,” Toji called for the blond’s attention who quickly looked up at him like an obedient puppy. “Go and prepare a plain suit after that.”

The guy raised an eyebrow. “Suit? For what?”

“We’re going to a funeral tonight,” said the older man, “Satoru’s grandmother passed away.”

At the revelation of the devastating news, both Naoya and Sera became tongue-tied.

Sera was rendered speechless at the realization that her one true love was grieving for his grandmother’s demise. Although she was not able to formally meet the old woman, she had heard enough about her to understand just how important she was to him.

Satoru. He was the only person on her mind. I have to be there for him.

FLASHBACK: The Gojou Mansion

Eula felt triumphant. It wasn’t like she was close to you, but she would definitely spoil you with compliments for being a complete genius tonight. She still couldn’t process that you would request for a divorce at the perfect moment before the merger was supposedly going to be announced to the public. You’ve far exceeded her expectations because she honestly believed that you weren’t capable of leaving her stupid stepson. Whatever made you decide to walk away from him, she would avidly support you.

The divorce must have been brought up because of something that Sera had done. After all, Eula was one to hear the poor girl’s pathetic stories of how she was suffering because of you, of how she was stripped off of her loving relationship because Satoru had to marry you. In all honesty, Eula couldn’t care less about Sera’s life. She only needed her to fuel her husband’s rage towards his son and ruin whatever thin string of a relationship they had left. As much as Eula could just directly speak to Shinzo about handing the company over to Yuuta, the old man was too adamant on passing down most of his assets to his real son. ‘The company will be Satoru’s,’ said her husband. ‘He just needs to prove to me that he deserves it.’

Well, now that Satoru failed at being a proper husband alone, he was causing his own downfall without Eula getting involved. It was only a matter of time until her husband would change everything in his Last Will and Testament and allow Yuuta to be the successor to the business empire.

With that thought, she laughed to herself and leaned against the glass balustrade, overlooking the view of the mansion’s grand foyer as she dialed a certain number. She just couldn’t wait to give him the news.

Fortunately, the young man was able to answer her call straight away, always eager to hear what she had to say. “Hey, party’s done already?” Naoya spoke from the other end of the line.

A smile tugged at her lips. “Guess what,” she began, “the merger’s not gonna happen anymore.”

There was silence that lasted for a few seconds but Eula expected that very reaction from him. “Wait, for real? What did—how did it happen?”

“Well… Y/N asked for a divorce in front of Shinzo and her dad before the merger announcement. How fucking hilarious is that? I was trying so hard not to celebrate right then and there,” she recounted the happenings with amusement filling her voice, “You should’ve seen the look on Satoru’s face. How pitiful. He’s completely ruined.”

As Eula tapped her bejeweled fingers on the handrails, she could hear Naoya sniggering from the background. “And where’s your husband now? Throwing a tantrum somewhere?”

“He’s trying to win Kenji’s favor and convince him to still proceed with the merger. He’s so desperate that he even asked him to not let their family matters affect their business,” she explained while she looked at her manicured nails. “I got worried at first because Shinzo might be able to convince that girl’s dad, but the man seemed resolute about not pushing through. I actually applaud him for his loyalty towards his daughter, you know? Shinzo is nothing but a scumbag who has no love for his own son and it’s biting him back on the ass. He doesn’t know that I’m his karma all this time.”

Naoya agreed with a chuckle. “Now that’s the evil woman I like.”

“Why don’t we celebrate?” She proposed the idea. “I’ll book us a presidential suite. It’s been a while since I saw you. Don’t you miss me?”

Eula got too excited thinking about the things that she couldn’t wait to do with Naoya tonight. It felt like she won the largest sum of money in a casino with how elated she was right now. A mansion, a company that was soon to be her son’s, and a handsome man like Naoya who would willingly kiss her feet when she said so. She was blessed like this because she deserved it. It was her own efforts and hardships that led her to this lavish life and no one could take this away from her.

“Yeah… Miss you, too,” he trailed off and sighed, “but I can’t really meet you tonight. I’m a little busy.”

Busy at eleven in the evening? Eula became suspicious but she didn’t try and push him further about their supposed rendezvous. In fact, she wished him a good night’s sleep before she ended the call and decided to enjoy the night on her own. Perhaps a bottle of Sauvignon blanc and a warm bubble bath would be the best way to enjoy this night.

Unfortunately, her mouth fell agape when she saw another presence standing by the door. Her heart stopped and her limbs were paralyzed.

“Nana?”

The way the old woman glared at her gave her an idea that she must have heard the entire conversation. Despite the wrinkles on her skin, Eula could see how Nana’s face contorted into anger and disbelief. “You wicked woman! You’ve been fooling my son and making my grandson miserable this whole time! My Satoru… he is suffering because of you!”

Eula was completely nonplussed, moon-eyed as she watched how her mother-in-law lifted her cane and tried to hit her with it. But before it could land on her, she was able to grab the rod and throw it across the floor. “It was a misunderstanding!”

“I heard everything!” Nana was panicking as if in hurry to let the whole neighborhood know. “You’re having an affair and you’re plotting my grandson’s ill-fate so you can have all the assets to yourself, you—! You evil woman, you spawn of satan!”

While the old woman’s accusations were right, Eula was breathing hard and trying to come up with an excuse before her plans would get ruined. No, she couldn’t let this old woman put all of her efforts to waste.

“I’m going to tell Shinzo…” Nana mindlessly mumbled, holding the door for support before she entered her room in a rush.

Eula’s own feet carried her to the old woman’s room, shutting the door as she watched how Nana dialed her son’s contact number. “No! No, you can’t tell him! Give me that!”

[warning]

She was no longer thinking straight when she pushed her mother-in-law towards her bed so she could reach for the phone, but the woman dropped it on the floor just when the caller ID finally showed that Shinzo answered the call. Eula’s eyes grew wide as she felt the intense wave of anxiety coursing through her entire body.

“Mom, what is it? I’m in the middle of something here.”

“Sh-Shin—!” Eula straddled Nana and pressed a pillow on her face. The latter tried to whimper through the cushion but the former placed more pressure on her face to suppress any noise from coming out. “Haaah! Hhh! Hhhng!”

“Shut the hell up,” she spat, glancing at the phone to see if Shinzo was still on the other end of the line. While Nana struggled to get the pillow off her face, Eula was too busy waiting for her husband to drop the call so she could finally release the old woman who was trying to flap around like a fish.

“Mom, are you there? I’m hanging up.”

Eula breathed deeply. ‘Hang the fuck up’, she silently thought and waited for a few more minutes as Nana eventually weakened underneath her. It was only until she was sure that Shinzo had already dropped the call when Eula released the older woman with a sigh of relief. “Nana, listen to me—”

‘No.’ Eula’s body went ice cold. Blood had drained out of her face and horripilation of dread tingled down her spine. She was stunned after looking at the old woman’s face in overwhelming fear. ‘No, no. This isn’t possible.’

“Nana, wake up!” Eula tried shaking the elder’s unconscious body as fright started filling her veins. The old woman’s mouth was parted wide open and her eyes were staring at her in a static but terrified way. “Nana… No, no. I didn’t… I didn’t do anything.”

She couldn’t stop her trembling fingers as they continued to shake uncontrollably and she was shaking her head in extreme fear, already running out of the door while Nana’s lifeless eyes followed her trail, making Eula lose her sanity as she stepped out to see Yuuta looking at her with a traumatized face.

“M-Mom, wh-what d-did you do?”

Eula’s supply of oxygen lessened as she grabbed her son’s hand and dragged her into the corridor. “I didn’t… I didn’t mean it. Listen to me.”

“D-Did you kill Nana?” Yuuta shuddered and moved away from his own mother who tried to stop him from saying anything by covering his mouth.

Somehow, Eula managed to gather herself together before anyone could see the way she was quivering with terror. She had to let her son know that this scene should never, ever be told to anyone else.

“If I go down, you go down with me.” She planted the thought inside her frightened son’s head. “If you don’t want mom to go to jail, you will not speak a word. You will pretend that you never saw anything. You will act like you have no idea that this happened. Erase it from your memory and everything will be fine.”

“Mom—”

“Pull yourself together!” And while Eula was waiting for her son to calm down, she decided to call for the maids who were now supposedly in their sleeping quarters. “Help! Help us! Something’s wrong with Nana!”

Yuuta, who stood like a statue for the longest time, had finally escaped his mother’s grasp and ran off to his room after having processed the disturbing experience with his own eyes.

‘I’m going to hell’, it was all Eula could think of. But if that was her destination, she might as well bring the whole family with her.

jjk general taglist: @kity @deeznutss @suhkusa @wonyoschubs @the-golden-jhope @6mattsun9 @hokageyamz @ermahgerd-larry-and-ziam @crashica @aizawap @juniorhooter @atsumusoup @gxtitobxby @strawberries-en-cream @dora-the-grownup @softy-woo @tsumume @kac-chowsballs @anime-nymph @kageyamakock @onlyonew @underratedmage @katsulovee @crapimahuman @alicia-1725 @fatal-impact @drippedcream

sincerely not taglist: @itsnotsoni @pluviophilefangirl @daphnxy @Icveaesop @choso-bee @sparklingblacktea @omisemi @captainchrisstan @http-strawbebbies @buttercups145 @xllance @jonsncws @and-you-found-me @tobiotetsu @jeonjungkookismyfuture @d-efend @honouredsatoru @my-reality-is-in-my-head @blueowl51 @misslovingpearl @cuteissei @japanesevenom @borpcorp @ushi-bakatoshi @idyllicodyssea

[sovasbussy]

at sixes and sevens

hehe i am back with angst uwu wrote this because pluto projector played in one of my spotify playlists so... as always, i recommend you to listen while reading this for that oompfh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fexiixR-0A&t=125s CW: major character death

Sova had been missing. For 6 whole months. You were getting frustrated at Brimstone’s reluctance to allow you to search for him. It was always tasks day in and day out, helping civilians recover from the chemical warfare that the mirror agents had inflicted onto your earth and the overall aftermath of a terrible fight. Every other agent had been accounted for except for your husband. 

“Brim, please. I need to find him.” Your voice laced with anger, only groaning when the commander gave you a firm, “No.” 

“Out of everyone else, I thought that you would care too, Brimstone!” You were tired of him not giving a single care towards one of his most important agents, not knowing how the man could just sit in his office without having the need to do anything for Sova. 

As you walked out of Brimstone’s office, Sage was waiting along the corridor and grabbed your hand before you could walk any further. With a finger to your lips, she gently pulled you away from the commander’s office, bringing you some place without others being able to eavesdrop on your conversation. 

Sage handed you a small usb stick, pressing it firmly in your palm. “This was Sova’s last known location.” She said softly, her eyes casted towards the floor. You clenched your fist and gave the woman a tight hug. “Be careful. We don’t know about the situation around his location.” Sage advised as she returned the hug, tightening her arms around you. 

“I promise, I’ll come back safe.” You reassured her while pulling away from her, giving her a light smile. 

___________________

You were on your way to the coordinates displayed on your phone, finding the area extremely familiar. It was the path towards the house you and Sova had bought right after you got married, a place to escape to when your breaks lined up, a sacred haven where the both of you could relish in each other’s company with no disturbances. There was a pit in your stomach as you trudged up the beaten path. 

Your gut was telling you that there wasn’t any good news in this place you once called home but you were holding, grasping on that thread of hope that Sova was still alive. There was no way that Sova wasn’t able to handle himself in such conditions, being an amazing hunter and knowing how to protect himself in dire circumstances. 

You exhaled at the sight of the dilapidated cottage, remembering how it looked livelier and warm. Now, it looked cold, desolate, far from the happy memories you had in your mind. You walked up to the door, hand just barely ghosting the knob. That sinking feeling never left your body even when you stepped into the house. Everything seemed so grey and monotonous, vines and overgrowth peeking over the wooden floorboards and wooden beams of the cottage. The floor creaked as you continued your path towards the bedroom, opening the door slowly only to find that your gut was right all along. 

On the queen bed lay Sova’s signature coat, untouched and coated in a light layer of dust. You kept trying to convince yourself that he was just out, hunting, doing something, longing that he would come back and pull you into that warm hug you so desperately missed. All hopes were quashed when you saw a skeletonised hand, tips of the fingers that were once Sova’s just on top of the fur lining of his coat. Your bottom lip quivered at the sight of the silver band on the ring finger of the hand, immediately recognising it to be Sova’s wedding band from the day of your marriage. 

You sat at the edge of the bed, hesitantly grabbing his coat and bringing it up to your face. Sova’s scent was barely there and you could no longer stop yourself. Tears just poured from your eyes, sobbing into the cloth when realisation finally hit you. Pulling the cloak away from your face, you noticed a yellowed letter on the bed as well with it addressed to you. You picked it up with shaky hands and opened the letter, covering your mouth with your hand to stifle your sobs.

 Even in his last moments, all Sova could think about was you and how sorry he was that he couldn’t be there with you. You folded the letter back up and looked at the ring, slowly sliding it off of the bone and slipping it onto your own finger. Your body racked with sobs as you clutched onto the very last belonging of your husband, still not able to cope with the fact that he was truly gone, out of your grasp. Long gone would be the days of the two of you living happily in each other’s company, his soothing voice whispering sweet nothings in your ear each night before bed.

 You no longer felt complete.

___________________

It was only days later when you returned to HQ. Everyone was in the common room, expectantly waiting for you and Sova to walk through the doors, ready to pull the both of you into a giant group hug but when only you appeared with his coat folded in your arms, the agents just knew. 

You cast your gaze towards Sage and Brimstone, eyes filled with tears, and all you could do was shake your head, turning down the hallway towards your room. 

Sova was gone. Forever. Nothing could bring him back.

[vivinightingale]

I really like your work! Would it be ok to request Yami/Atem losing his wife s/o in his past, and years later he meets the host of his wife?

Awww thank you 💕 also I saw this and I've been thinking about this. I really like this idea. Then again I'm a slut for angst uwu

!WARNING! Mentions of death

The day Queen (y/n) fell to sickness the kingdom mourned and wept,but none more then King Atem himself.

It was clear to anyone who was close to him that he was trying to keep it together for his people, but it was hard.

He felt his world crumble, as he had to make preparations for the Mummification process.

His heart shattered when he realized that he would be without you for the rest of his days. Though he found it hard to continue on he knew he had to. For you and for his people.

So as he said his final goodbye he promised to find you again. No matter what it took.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

Being with Yugi has been a wonderful experience for the young pharaoh. He learn of all the small thing he didn't get experience being a pharaoh.

He secretly hoped that he would be able to meet you again.

Ra must have heard his wish because there you were...dueling him.

Though you didn't have memories of your previous life, but you felt the connection the two of you had.

The rekindling was slow ,but Atem didn't mind. Anytime spent with you was the best.

He missed basking in your presence, he missed being able to hold you, to kiss you, to whisper sweetnothings in your ear as he takes you.

But he has waited this long for you, what is a couple more years! Besides he gets to know you all over again.

Bonus!

You memories of your past life came to you the day he had to leave. You were overtake with so much emotion You didn't hear yourself cry out for hi.

"Please my Pharaoh! I can't stand being away from you anymore!"

He is a weak willed man when it comes to you, and when he hears your cries he knows he can't leave.

So he begged Ra to let him stay with you. The God took pity on the young pharaoh and granted him his wish.

From that moment forward as he held you he promised to never leave your side again.

[goodieghostyarchive]

About the mlp thing... What happened to the prince Remus replaced? Is he trapped somewhere? Cursed? Did Roman accidently doom his blood brother to something terible because he wanted to be kind to the changeling? Don't get me wrong. Remus and Roman thing, super sweet. But the implications for this missing brother... I mean... The guy can't help it that he got kidnapped and is probs wondering why no one realized it's not really him yet.

Oh no, the blood brother is ded. Got lost while playing in the woods with Roman when they were younger. Remus-who saw the brother wandering around aimlessly-decided he'd take his place. Remus doesn't know that the brother eventually wandered off to his doom. Roman knew something was off by how Remus acted, that's certainly not how his brother acted. But Roman wouldn't discover the truth until a few years after that, when he finds the remains along with his brother's crown

Of course there's mixed feelings. Naturally. Remus' plan was to soak up as much love as he could by acting as the brother and then move on after he came of age and return to the hive that abandoned him. But then he came to enjoy his new lifestyle, and actually considered Roman his family.

Roman has read plenty about changelings, and well-at first he was angry and suspicious that Remus was planning something, but over the years he's come to realize that if Remus had wanted to do anything, he would have. They're brothers now. And he'll defend him with his life.

Roman, as the eldest, is preparing for his coronation and Remus has been locked away in his room because the stress-as well as the years of keeping this form going-is making it difficult for him to continue the charade. So he runs away to find a solution. Someone else has discovered that Remus is a changeling, and now the royal guard is after him as well. It's all hush hush, the current king and queen don't want this getting out. The coronation is going on, there's a big celebration in the kingdom

Roman leaves in secret to find his brother before the guards do. However, his cover is nearly blown when he runs into Patton and Virgil, who were enjoying the festivities. He can't have them letting it slip that the prince has run off, so he instead convinced them to escort him. Only, they're spotted and now everyone thinks he's been kidnapped, so now they're all on the run. All thanks to a misunderstanding.

Patton suggests they hide in a shop. It's Logan's. He's not very happy about being used as a hideout.

Anyways, somehow, they all end up outside of the kingdom, lost. And Roman is down a wing because the other one is wounded. And he kinda just snaps all "It would be my luck to end up down a wing, being escorted by two unicorns-one who can't use his magic and another who won't! Use! His magic! And a simple earth pony-no offense Patton. But how am I meant to find my brother in such a sorry state!"

Mmmm we love angst uwu

Anyways, Logan is the one who suggests they attempt to track Remus from the pieces of his exoskeleton he's left behind because he's molting. Patton is, oddly good at this. They end up at Janus' cave.

Remus is still there and attempts to flee. But Roman manages to get through to him and they have their heart to heart. It's nice-and then Remus ends up metamorphsizing. It's great. Cool. They still have to convince the king not to kill him tho

Everything ends up good. Happy endings all around.

[blueprint-han]

ex.

↪ so many what if’s. who would give you those answers?

— where in you stumble into your ex at a friend’s wedding, and the subsequent conversation leads to new hope blooming in your relationship.

pairing: chan x reader

genre: ex au; angst with a fluffy ending.

⇥ warnings: themes/mentions of break up/make up, mentions of alcohol, please let me know if I miss a warning. please note that i, by no means condone any toxic relationships. this fic here with bang chan and Y/N is NOT an example of a toxic relationship or an implication of bang chan’s actions in real life. please take it as fiction.

word count: 3.3 K

type: one shot.

⇥ disclaimer: this fiction does not represent the activities of the real Bang Chan, nor is associated with JYPE in any form. Events are pure fiction. ♡

↯ note: I decided to merge your request with the prompt because it’s angst and guess who’s the queen of angst? You !! 😌 This was picked up from ex, as you can see and again your url ~vibes~ so uwu hope you enjoy it, this is my first time writing angst tho so please go easy on me. <3 Love you mom <333  ⇥ dawn.☀️

The dance hall’s fairly crowded when you take another shot of your martini, drowning in its essence as you make a desperate attempt to disconnect yourself from your vicinity. You wanna believe you’re drunk, though it’s not true in the slightest — you can still feel, hear, see everything around you clearly — the alcohol’s clearly not having its effect today. You wish, oh so dearly wish it did, because the man standing about two tables away from you really doesn’t deserve the attention you’re giving him right now.

The last thing you’d expected when you entered the hall to attend your friend’s wedding was to stumble right into the one man you’d been trying to avoid for the past two months. At that very moment, you cursed all the odds for making you face the man of your nightmares, the one who broke your heart.

Bang Chan.

Sure enough, just like when he’d dropped the news on you, all the butterflies in your stomach drop dead one by one, gloom and desolation taking over. The mere sight of him is enough to send you into a frenzy of confusion — you feel the flutter in your heart to know that he’s doing okay, but you can also feel that pit of sadness, anger and heartbreak mixed to wash over as one of the most conflicting feelings ever.

“O-oh, hi there, Y/N.” Chan had waved a hand and bowed down, but you shakily nodded your head, not bothering to give him any words of acknowledgement as you stumbled into the hall. How is it that you didn’t notice him until half the wedding was over? How could you forget that he was supposed to attend, because he was the bride’s friend alike? 

Was it wrong that part of you still wished that you could be standing next to him, watching him as he introduced you to his friends, calling you “his girlfriend”?

You wondered what the look on Chan’s face would’ve been when you left his greeting hanging in the cold air like that. Was he broken on the inside too? Or did he simply not care? He’d been the one to end it, after all. He looks smart right now — adorning a luxurious black suit, his brownish hair slicked neatly to the side and parted. The delicate silver chain you’d given him on his birthday is oddly still on his neck — you promise yourself to not think about it much, because you know it’ll give you hope — and hope’s a dangerous feeling, at least for you.

When the music starts blaring through the speakers and the couple start dancing together, you sigh, straightening your posture from where you’re leaning against the shot table. Your friend has the prettiest smile plastered onto her face — it comes naturally to her, you figure, seeming as to how she’s married to the love of her life right now. They both seem lost — almost peaceful — as they stare into each other’s eyes. Soon, more and more couples join, until the whole hall is filled with everyone dancing on their heels, twirling and smiling and dancing gracefully. Everyone except you, of course.

You sigh, fixing the hem of your swan-white dress. Way to go for your mood to be ruined — all because you happened to stumble upon your ex boyfriend, and thoughts consumed you as a whole. Was it so wrong of you to wish that you could go back in time and change his decision? You’d moved on from this — you’d told yourself you’d moved on a month ago. You wiped him out of your memory — all the things that reminded you of him — but what if you’d only patched up the wound, not healed it in the slightest? What if the person who held the key to repair your broken heart was held by a person who you’d let go, and by all means, couldn’t reach out now?

So many what if’s. Who would give you those answers? He surely hadn’t, when all he did was just break it out to you over a meeting at the park that he’d fallen out of love with you. 

You never understood what happened. It just started with the less frequent messages and meet ups, the excuse of always being busy, and that slowly morphed into him ignoring you for days, until one day he broke the news and ended it, on good terms. Or at least you thought so.

You sigh again, asking the bartender to lend you one bottle of the drink — which he does without question — before you walk over to the staircase that seems to lead to the terrace. Away from the risk of your eyes landing on him and your thoughts going all over the place again. If only you could walk away from the pit of emotions in your heart the same way. If only.

When you kick the almost rusted door open, the fresh blast of cold air that hits you makes you sigh in relief. You tuck several strands of hair neatly behind your ear, walking to the edge as you glance at the view. Leaning against the concrete, you let the lights coming from the night cityscape blur your vision, along with the faint, distant echoing of horns coming from the roads fill your ears. It’s a distraction, after all.

You pop open the cork of the bottle, letting the fizz bubble down before pressing your lips against the rim. One gulp, two, you then gaze up at the night sky. Rinse and repeat, until the whole bottle is almost finished. You ignore the void in your heart, filling it with the essence of alcohol and ignoring the feelings bubbling in it right now. 

Chan was like a drug — so addicting and so hard to get rid of once you got into the habit of consuming it regularly. You wanted to reach out and hold onto those memories you shared with him — he was the first person where you let your heart do the talking, and all it took was a look at another person to change lanes, leave you alone in the dust of your crushed heart — only to come to the disappointing note that you’d lost those memories forever. They existed merely in a place you couldn’t reach, couldn’t see, but could only recall. It was pure torture to you, but you’d ignored it all for so long, certainly you could ignore it again.

“Need a refill?”

Your head snaps back in the direction of the voice. A familiar, one soothing voice that now brings pain to your heart, now threatens to bring back the wave of emotions you’d kept at bay. 

Your eyes meet the hazel brown orbs, and not diverting from their strong, fierce gaze; you scoff, turning back around to stare off into the distance. 

Chan frowns, tilting his chin as he tries to soothe the burn from your two reactions. He doesn’t back away though, because now he maybe understands what you felt like when it all fell apart, when he wrote your ending with a shaky hand.

He walks front to where you’re leaning against the concrete, silently drinking out of the glass he holds in his hand.

Should I say something? He thinks. He should, right? When you ended it, you did end on peaceful terms, even though your reaction felt like you were more affected by it. Even after three months, he still feels the warmth that flowed through him whenever he looks at you — you who clearly don’t want to speak to him. He feels crazy now, for wanting to let you go. 

You hadn’t even bothered to curse at him that day — just looked at him with eyes that honestly pierced through his soul, and hurt him more than any of your words could’ve. But maybe that was what he deserved, right?

“Why did you come here?” You ask, swirling the almost empty bottle in your hand. Oddly enough, you don’t feel like walking away, feet frozen in position. You’d ended it on good terms, didn’t you? You’d promised to each other you’d be good friends.

“I noticed you were alone.” The man feels himself say.

“Didn’t you bring your girlfriend along? Isn’t she alone right now?” You counter, taking another sip of your drink. Again, the alcohol is having no effect on you. Why did your tolerance have to be so high when you needed it to be low?

“I-” He takes a deep breath, tilting his head to either side to relieve the tension in his neck. “Broke up with her. About three weeks ago.”

You only chuckle. Somehow, your feelings are strong when he’s away, but when the cause is right in front of you, somehow they fail to make an appearance.

“Did you come here so you could win me back?” You ask, straightening up as you avoid Chan’s firm gaze on you, and his face goes gloomier and gloomier with every statement you spew at him. But then again, who could blame you for being angry? You had every right to.

“No.” He shook his head, fixing his position so his shoulders are about an inch away from yours. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m alright.” You say, softening at the edges at his concerned tone. You don’t know why you’re listening to him and not going back into the hall, but your legs are still frozen in place, something in you, your heart, doesn’t let you move.

Why do you feel like it’s your first time meeting him all over again?

He’s your ex, a part of your life you’re supposed to forget. Instead, you’re here, reminiscing it with the very person who left you in the first place. The situation you’re bound in is so weird — you almost don’t know what to do — but nonetheless, you just stand there, ignoring the slight flutter in your heart — just like the first time again.

“How are you doing?” You give yourself the liberty to ask him that question — just to know how he’s doing. Just another way for you to answer your countless what if’s, another method to try and fill the void in your heart.

Chan sighs, straightening up himself before looking at you. “I missed you.”

At the simple admission, you soften around the edges some more. It was wrong, so wrong that you were giving him to permission to get into your heart again — but what if you never wanted him to leave in the first place? 

Hope — the dangerous feeling — starts resonating through your chest. It’s the tiniest emotion, one you can’t quite sense, but still feel. You can feel yourself grow warm, feel his gaze burn into the side of your face as he awaits a reaction.

“I-I don’t know what to say to that.” You reply, tucking some of your hair behind your ear again, before curling it with your index finger. You don’t look into his eyes yet — you’re not so brave to do so — focusing your bored, almost sad gaze as you count all the lights flashing at you on a skyscraper. Anything to distract you from this feeling.

Chan notices your stare, and sighs again. He’s battling himself too, right now. Should I say it? He thinks.

“I-I’ll be honest and confess to you, okay?” Chan turns to face you properly, while you bite your lip, waiting for his next words. Oddly enough, you feel more nervous now than you felt that day when Chan ended it with you. It’s so weird to feel it all over again.

“I’ve missed you and… I truly regret what I did that day.” He runs his hands through his chocolate brown hair, which seems to look particularly soft today. It reminds you of when you’d casually back hug him when he was working, pecking the back of his neck as you’d comb your fingers through his hair. 

“Chan, no.” You feel your voice crack, the sadness overflowing out of its cup, spreading to all your senses as you close your eyes, letting out a single tear. 

“Y/N…” Chan places his hand on your shoulder. You don’t flinch.

“Y-You l-left me.” You feel your brain cloud over, having no control over yourself as the words start spilling out of your mouth, piercing Chan’s heart bit by bit. “Y-You l-left me when I thought you’d stay… And you left me alone.” You feel his thumb rub against the bare skin of your shoulder, and this time, you stare up, looking straight into his eyes.

“I loved you,” You stammer, inhaling deeply as you take note of Chan’s expression. Surprisingly, he’s crying too. The rims of his eyes are filled with tears, his whole face goes red as he tries not to violently sob. “I love you.” You correct yourself.

“But you left me. You left me when I thought all I had was you and - and, what? Three months later, you tell me you miss me? Is this because your girlfriend broke up with you? You wanna win me back?” You spew, slamming your hand against his chest as you shake in his arms. 

He wordlessly pulls you into his embrace, and you don’t complain — you don’t know if it’s because of your brain being cloudy and your eyes being all itchy from crying, or if it was because you missed his hugs, but you feel yourself clutch onto the material of your shirt as you cry, cry and cry until you feel like your tears don’t remain.

“I’m so sorry…” Is all he can say, wrapping his arms around your shoulders as he tries to comfort you.

“I hate you, Chan. I hate you so much.”

Something in him shatters when he hears your words. He wordlessly mouths “Alright.” and doesn’t bother controlling his tears anymore, letting them flow down his cheeks and settle into your hair, not bothering to hold back the sounds of brokenness he makes either.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N.” He pulls away, holding your chin to force your gaze into his eyes. “I shouldn’t have done that to you, it was so wrong of me. I regret it now, so much.” He curls his lips inwards, and watching him cry is soul-crushing. You should be hating him for leaving you, screaming, crying, but you hate yourself for reaching up to rake through his hair, sliding your hand down to his soft cheek before gently swiping your thumb against it. Wiping off his tears.

“We’ve already forgiven each other, right? It’s okay.” You take deep breaths to calm yourself down. Leaving him behind seems hard enough, but seeing him cry in front of you seems impossible. Are you still in love with him?

“I’m still sorry.” He mutters softly, gazing into your eyes as he takes hold of the hand that rests on his cheek. “I was so horrible to not know that I had you beside me all along, and instead I turned my back at you and left you. It was so wrong of me.” he breaks into tears again, and this time, before you can pull him into a hug, he grabs both your hands in his own. Holding them in between each other. 

Yep, you’re still in love with him.

You look at him, absorbing all his features, and suddenly you’re thrown back to the first time he ever asked you out. It seems all too familiar — all too real. You find yourself holding your breath once again, waiting for what he has to say. He rests his forehead against your grasped hands, sighing brokenly as he speaks up.

“I won’t ask you to accept me again, Y/N.” He says as a matter of fact. He understands that the things that happened may not allow you to let him into your heart again. “I won’t ask you to date me either, because I know what I did isn’t that simple to forgive.”

Chan feels so stupid now. You were there for him all the time, yet he left you for someone else. You were beside him to help him when he felt desolated, but somehow he became a cause for your desolation. It shocks, confuses him and makes him seethe in turmoil.

“But,” he begins, holding his breath. “I still want to try. I wanna try being the person I couldn’t be when I was with you. I-I wanna change and win you back, b-but…”

“But?” You ask mindlessly, totally overwhelmed and dazed out by his honest words, the newfound emotion thrums to your chest. It’s love, for sure. But it isn’t that special kind of love, at least not yet.

“But I wanna do that only if you let me. It’s your choice, Y/N.”

Your eyes widen as you try to grasp his words, noticing how his warm hands holding onto yours still, only grow warmer and tighter. 

“I r-really love you Y/N, a lot. And… well, I know you may not be able to make this decision soon. But please, just give it a thought?”

You shake your head, a soft smile tugging at your lips as you look up into his eyes again. They’re red and puffy by now, but they’re still gorgeous, they still remind you of the time you’d gently kiss over his eyelids whenever he cried like that.

You roll your eyes to the back of your head in deep thought, before tucking your bottom lip under your teeth and nodding. “Okay.”

“Okay…?” He asks, hopeful. You can almost feel his nervousness in the way his palms sweat, but you simply smile.

“We won’t date yet.” You said. “But I’ll allow you into my heart one last time. Don’t break it.”

And at your acceptance, Chan beams, feeling more tears roll down his eyes as he pulls you into a hug. This time, you don’t spare any restraint, wrapping your arms around your waist as you press your cheek against his chest. “Thank you, thank you, thank you…” Chan keeps mumbling and repeating, to which you only shush him gently, telling him it’s okay and he doesn’t have to thank him.

He still does. You only smile to yourself, and for the first time in three months, you feel somewhat at peace. There’s a long way to go — you have to adapt to this relationship, let your heart join back bit by bit and build each other’s confidence again. But you’re certain you can do it together. This story deserved a happy ending, and you were going to give it one, no matter how hard you’d have to try.

“Hey guys!” You hear someone walk through the door, immediately parting away and clearing your throats. 

“Yes?” The both of you say at the same time, tensing up and then laughing at each other. If Chan’s tears were crushing, Chan’s giggles were truly healing. The way his eyes would scrunch up into the cutest crescents and his dimples would make an appearance always made you want to peck his cheeks. Now wasn’t the time though.

“Dinner’s being served, so Y/F/N told you to come downstairs.” The person at the door says, immediately running downstairs, as if to not interrupt your moment any further.

“Alright.” You laugh, taking Chan’s hands in yours as you intertwine your nimble fingers with his long, slender ones. “Let’s go shall we?” You don’t bother picking up the alcohol bottles, because you’ll be coming back here with your friends later anyways — they can be tended to later.

“Of course,” Chan pulls you along with him, running to the door — both the ones that lead to the diner and the ones that signified your new start.

Curse at me all you want, as long as you let it all out, and we can go back to how we were.

*:･ﾟ✧ find the other fics here !

[hillariat]

Bubbline fanfic rec list

I did it. I made a master rec list of good Bubbline fanfics. Will keep updating this until I leave the fandom.

Grouped by setting (eg. Highschool AU, AT universe, Family AU etc.) in alphabetical order. They’re all romantic bubbline unless stated otherwise. This is a living document so I’ll be updating it every now and then with new fics and stuff. For any questions, changes or additions, please feel free to pm me on reddit/tumblr @hillariat

*SMUT = A significant portion of the fic is dedicated to SMUT

*some SMUT= A part of the fic has explicit smut, but it isn't a major part of the story

*UwU=personal faves

calamitous love

Author: lexaproeighty

Setting: Astronaut AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 1,173

Tags: Fluff, emotionally stupid PB.

Summary: Author’s summary: bonnie's in her feelings. oh, and about to go into space.

what was missing

Author: spookyscaryskeletons (Buttons15)

Setting: AT universe

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 8,678

Tags: Fluff, emotionally constipated PB.

Summary: Honestly the most solid, canon compliant take on their relationship. I loved this shit and half my headcanons are from here.

Author’s summary: In which Bonnie has feelings, she does, but feelings are hard and complicated and she rather ignore them until they punch her in the face.

Let you Lead

Author: purplebutterflies

Setting: AT universe

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 1,225

Tags: Fluff, Mild comedy,Marceline being an idiot

Summary: Marceline being a useless gay and Bonnie taking the lead. Writing gets better after the inciting incident, trust me.

After UwU

Author: 61wisampa

Setting: AT universe

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 23,888

Tags: Major character death, Grieving, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Moving On, Friendship

Summary: This shit be an intense feels trip yo. Like an "I stayed up ‘til 6am" kind of intense. I had to reread this fic twice in order to emotionally process everything. It definitely isn't your average bubbline angst.

Author’s summary: It was hard, having someone similar yet different. It kept Marceline stuck walking along the line that prevented her from moving on.

Everybody Knows Your Name

Author: Sunshine18

Setting: AT universe

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 8,671

Tags: Exes, Discussion of past abuse, past Ash being an asshole, pre-bubbline

Summary: Solid exploration of PB and Marcy as exes and how they started becoming "civil" post breakup. References to major events in early AT and how PB and Marcy were affected. Can be read independently of “Contact” even though it is a sequel of that.

Bitter Sugar UwU

Author: QueenOfTheRevue (on both Ao3 and FFN)

Setting: AT universe

Status | Wordcount: Discontinued | 72,000

Tags: Political drama, Arranged marriage, Political Conspiracy, fantasy

Summary:The plot's so intense it deserves to be in a goddamn Kdrama. Literally never read anything else like it in the fandom. A well done, intense drama set in a unique  political landscape. Hybrid democratic monarchies, Age old conspiracies, fandom references, Marceline in military uniform, c'mon just read it!.

Musicology series

Author: CountingWithTurkeys

Setting: AT universe

Status | Wordcount: Ongoing | 625,723 (as of 06/02/2021) 

Tags: Canon compliant, angst, fluff, mindfuckery, sociopathic people, some SMUT

Summary: Set in a possible but not probable AT universe. Darker and heavier overall tone. It's the kind of fic that will give your brain a workout. Dysfunctional Bubbline that becomes healthier. Solid portrayal of dysfunction with a believable interpretation of PB and Marcy

VR

Author: deltau

Setting: AT universe

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 7,004

Tags: Fluff, SMUT, virtual reality, shapeshifting

Summary: Bonnie gets her VR machine working and the couple delves into the realm of Marcy's mind. Bonnie makes some pleasant discoveries and afterwards they have some fun time. 

Our perfect disease

Author: JupiterDelphinus

Setting: AT universe

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 112,000

Tags: Non-chronological, anthology, some SMUT, fluff, hurt/comfort, canon divergent

Summary: Past, present and future scenes from the pair. Tone and ratings (G to EXPLICIT) vary according to the chapter. Each chapter is a self contained narrative that helps build the overarching Bubbline story. Very cute, very uwu feels.

Apples after Midnight series

Author: Xekstrin

Setting: AT universe

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 18,565

Tags: SMUT, feels, fluff

Summary: Starts off smutty but then has a lot of feels. Has a legitimate exes romance plot.

The One Where There's No Gunther

Author: ijemanja (on both Ao3 and FFN)

Setting: Coffee Shop AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 8,899

Tags: Comedy, Fluff

Summary: Has very good AT-esque dialogue.I can actually imagine the characters saying the lines.

Author's summary: All are welcome at the Coffee Kingdom, even pain in the ass vampire queens. (No Ice Kings, though.)

Double Sugar, Extra Whip

Author: amphitrite

Setting: Coffee Shop AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 4,067

Tags: College, Fluff

Summary: Classic coffee shop AU. Think a Vanilla latte. You know what you're getting

Palpitations

Author: ValhallaKoala

Setting: Coffee Shop AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 6,298

Tags: Comedy, College, Adorable af

Summary: Author's summary: Black coffee tastes just as good as a caramel macchiato, right? Right!?

Or

Bonnibel is socially inept and makes some questionable decisions.

Viscosity UwU

Author: The Denominator

Setting: College AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 9,049

Tags: Feels, non-chronological, sexual references

Summary: College AU but definitely not a classic college AU. It's one of a kind, makes you feel

C's get degrees

Author: megapidgeots

Setting: College AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 102,550

Tags: Comedy, fluff, feels, just college roomies getting along

Summary: Classic College AU, you get what you see. 

Author's summary: Bonnie has just started her first year of University, and finds she has a mostly neutral-verging-on-hesitantly-positive opinion of her new roommate, Marceline.

Cliché

Author: Abadeerly (on both Ao3 and FFN)

Setting: College AU

Status | Wordcount: Ongoing | 67,493 (06/02/2021)

Tags: Comedy, fluff

Summary:College AU but you try to cram as many tropes in as possible. It's fun

Five.

Author: Abadeerly (on both Ao3 and FFN)

Setting: College AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 7,883 

Tags: Fluff

Author’s summary:The other woman hesitated, eyes doing that thing where they narrowed and seemingly judged Bonnibel for existing, and then she sighed. “I don’t hate you,” She murmured and Bonnibel felt a weird feeling of what felt like relief come over her.

Escort

Author: breeeliss

Setting: College AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 21,058

Tags: SMUT, sexual tension, teasing, build up

Summary: Marcy is a tease and Bonnie is a thot.

Show and Tell

Author: Abadeerly (on both Ao3 and FFN)

Setting: College AU

Status | Wordcount: Ongoing | 1,527 (as of 06/02/2021)

Tags: soon to be SMUT, Camgirl, toys, strong sexual references

Summary: Character interactions (so far) are adorable and endearing. Really makes you ship them

Entry 38 UwU

Author: deltau

Setting: College AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 5,969

Tags: SMUT, sad feels, strap-on, car sex

Summary: Smut and sad feels

Happy Birthday, Kitten

Author: Abadeerly (on both Ao3 and FFN)

Setting: College Party AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 3,030

Tags: SMUT, car sex, praise kink, Top! Bonnie

Summary: Cop Bonnie and Party girl Marcy. That is all. Come get your Top! Bonnie smut

Coincidence

Author: mellish

Setting: College AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 5,932

Tags: Fluff, Angst, Break up, Sad ending

Summary: “It’s like holding a test tube and not knowing what’s inside it, not knowing how much damage will be done if it breaks apart.” Traces their relationship from beginning to end. Has my fave ending line of all fics on this list.

Groupies Wanna Get Fucked

Author: Abadeerly (on both Ao3 and FFN)

Setting: Concert, human AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 4,973

Tags: SMUT

Summary: Author's summary: Bonnibel's NOT a groupie. Except, she is because this is smut. Enjoy! :)

Chemistry

Author: laurenjauregui (Ao3) / we4retheincrowd (FFN)

Setting: Concert, human AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 2,784

Tags: First meeting

Summary: Very cute character interaction. Short and sweet.

40 Weeks

Author: Plesiosaur

Setting: Family AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 221,000

Tags: Pregnancy, Cavity inducing fluff, Slice of life, sexual references

Summary: Domestic grown adult bubbline? Check. Hella extra know it all Bonnie? Check. Snarky Marcy? Check. Some deep feels and backstory? Check. Tooth rotting bubbline fluff? Check. Why the hell aren't you reading this?? This story is really good, starts slow but really picks up after like chapter 12

Pray for the Preacher's daughter UwU

Author: reliquiaen (Ao3) / ArcaFeretory (FFN)

Setting: Highschool AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 232,197

Tags: Slow burn

Summary:THE fic for the Bubbline fandom. Its the fic that everyone knows and recommends and for good reason. Strong execution of the Punk x Goody two shoes formula.Just... read it if you’d read HS AUs

Anonymous UwU

Author: laurenjauregui (Ao3) / we4retheincrowd (FFN)

Setting: Highschool AU

Status | Wordcount: Ongoing | 229,681 (as of 27/03/2021)

Tags: Slow burn, fluff, TW for abuse

Summary:The second coming of Pray for the preacher's daughter. JK. Seriously though it's a good slow burn with quality that is as good, if not better than, Pray for the preacher's daughter. The bubbline duo in this fic are just,, pure. So pure I can feel the cavities. Also the author updates every week (as of 6/02/2021)

High School Confidential

Author: gloss

Setting: Highschool AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 1,085

Tags: Fluff, Flirting

Summary: Marceline never gets too attached to one place or person. In fact, it's probably for the best because her family constantly moves from place to place like nomads. She might stick around this time though. Cute interactions and flirting.

Variants

Author: laurenjauregui (Ao3) / we4retheincrowd (FFN)

Setting: Highschool AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 4,918

Tags: Fluff

Author’s summary:Every species has its variants. Bonnie's just trying to figure out which ones are good and which ones are bad.

A love like war

Author: laurenjauregui (Ao3) / we4retheincrowd (FFN)

Setting: Highschool AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 433,715 

Tags: Slow burn

Summary: Bonnie moves from New York to some tiny af town in the middle of nowhere. She is not happy.

Different UwU

Author: laurenjauregui (Ao3) / we4retheincrowd (FFN)

Setting: Highschool AU

Status | Wordcount: Discontinued | 25,022

Tags: Cavity inducing sweet Fluff, Autism, discrimination

Summary: Very sweet and fluffy. Like an I will need to go to the dentist level fluff. Characterisation is a bit OOC but it's a very well written piece. I would send this to people who aren't in the fandom and say it's an original piece. It's that good.It ends off in a good place too.

Tourniquet

Author: alizarin_scribbles

Setting: Highschool AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 7,883 

Tags: Mutual Pining, Angst, Sad ending

Summary: Star crossed lovers that were so close.

Author’s summary: How they were now was normal enough, not too intimate or indifferent in any respect. Back then, their relations simply didn't have any room for change. Now, Bonnie couldn't help but wonder exactly how such casual acquaintanceship had led to the ghostlike fire currently trickling through her veins.

Glandular Fever

Author: reliquiaen (Ao3) / ArcaFeretory (FFN)

Setting: Highschool AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete |3,740

Tags: Comedy, Fluff

Summary: Author's summary: In which I bundled all the awkward situations I could into a oneshot... and then made them worse.

the secret admirer

Author: laurenjauregui (Ao3) / we4retheincrowd (FFN)

Setting: Highschool AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete |4,724

Tags: Fluff, tooth rotting fluff, Bonnie being a disaster, Marceline being soft

Summary: Author’s summary: #ohsconfession220: To the girl who always hangs out in the library with the red hair and round glasses and freckles i think you’re the cutest person i’ve ever seen pls date me

Bonnie has a secret admirer... and she kind of hates it.

Will You Sign My Cast?

Author: bigpinkbaguette

Setting: Highschool AU

Status | Wordcount: Ongoing |22,122

Tags: Angst, slowburn, childhood friends, enemies to lovers

Summary: The slow burn that hurts so, so much. Otherwise known as Bonnie is too emotionally constipated to deal with the baggage she has with Marceline.

Slacker

Author: CandiedSweets

Setting: Highschool AU

Status | Wordcount: Ongoing |36,806

Tags: Fluff, angst, Bonnie being the most useful gay ever, Useless gay Marceline

Summary: *gasps, a multi-chapter high school AU that isn't a slowburn?! Yep you heard right!

Author’s summary: Marceline’s missed a few days of school and a certain pink haired classmate brings her the work she’s missed, but accidentally finds out something about her in the process.

Bass Guitars and Grandad's Ashes

Author: LastOneFromHometown

Setting: Road trip AU

Status | Wordcount: Ongoing | 41,448 (as of 27/03/2021)

Tags: Comedy, feels, trippy af, slight angst

Summary: Somehow makes even a funeral comedic. Has a very wild and funny charm to it whilst still having moments of feels. Trippy af, really has some AT vibes in it. Fun read.

Hooligans on the Highway

Author: Valverbek

Setting: Road trip AU

Status | Wordcount: Ongoing | 13,123 (as of 27/03/2021)

Tags: Comedy, fluff, established relationship

Summary: A lighthearted and fun read about the gang going on a road trip for Finn’s 21st. Cute & chaotic vibes.

Slaughterhouse UwU

Author: Plesiosaur

Setting: Serial Killer AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 6,846

Tags: Murder, police, gore

Summary: Who'd be the best match for our beloved serial killer? Why, another psycho of course. One of my personal favorites

The Prolific Works of the Arctic Butcher

Author: HaveFunStormingTheCastle

Setting: Working adults AU

Status | Wordcount: Ongoing | 40,627 (as of 27/03/2021)

Tags: angst, feels, exes, murder mystery,serial killer, slow burn, reunions 

Summary: Bonnibel is the mayor of Kingdom city. When seemingly unconnected and unsolved murders begin popping up left and right, Bonnie starts doing her own investigations, believing that there may be more than meets the eye. Somehow that brings her on a collision course with Marceline, successful rockstar extraordinaire and her ex. Circumstances force them both to examine their shared past and revisit the destruction they each left in their wake as they investigate a sinister killer with seemingly devious intentions for them both.

There she is (Or what to do when your ex is back in town)

Author: durantesknight

Setting: Working adults AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 11,586

Tags: Exes, feels

Summary: A fascinating translation of the Bubbline relationship into a modern setting. This shit legit got me feeling.

Author's summary: Its been seven years since the last time Bonnie and Marceline saw each other, things weren't okay back then, they're not better now.

40 Weeks prequel series (can be read independently of each other and 40 weeks) :

Author: Plesiosaur

Setting: Working adults AU

1)This Could Be The Start Of Something

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 8,214

Tags: Graduation, first meeting, mild homophobia, anaphylaxis

Summary:Marceline and Jake crash a graduation party for free drinks. An ambulance was called.

2)To Fall, Gently And Otherwise

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 4,628

Tags: Fluff

Author's summary: Set between chapters one and two of This Could Be The Start Of Something. After three years of sharing an apartment Marceline really should know better than to take Jake's date advice.

3)Counterpoint

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 3,065

Tags: Hurt/comfort, intellectual rivalry, differing opinions on alternative medicine, historical character death, feels

Author's summary: Even the most perfect couples can clash when they believe in fundamentally different things. But is Bonnie ready to swallow her pride and apologize even when she thinks she's in the right?

First and Last

Author: Plesiosaur

Setting: Working adults AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 15,351

Tags: hurt/comfort, feels, family, repressed gay

Summary: Just....intense feels

Orion

Author: NightBearrors

Setting: Working adults AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 8,750

Tags: angst, hurt/comfort, feels, exes, ambiguous end

Summary: Their reunion was like a tangent, colliding once only to depart again.

Dough

Author: ArrowOvis

Setting: Working adults AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 1707

Tags: angst, feels, exes, implied rape

Summary: Author summary: Dough can be a lot of things - wet, dry, fluffy, flat, pre-mixed, under-mixed...a lot. But most importantly, it can be shaped into something it wasn't before. Whether that is a good or a bad thing, only time can tell.

Alternatively titled: Bonnibel Buchman got screwed over and doesn't deal with it well.

Stripped

Author: Asharyn

Setting: Working adults AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 14,708

Tags: Fluff, some SMUT

Summary: Where Bonnie be whipped for Marcy. And vice versa. Honestly, just fluff and smut stripper AU.

End Of The World

Author: Plesiosaur

Setting: Zombie Apocalypse AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 3,465

Tags: Death, Gore, feels

Summary: zombie apocalypse AUs are basically non-existent for this ship, so here's a good one.

Experiments

Author: spookyscaryskeletons (Buttons15)

Setting: Zombie Apocalypse AU

Status | Wordcount: Complete | 9,194

Tags: Death, Gore, feels,angst

Summary: If you’ve ever wanted to read a zombie AU written by an actual doctor this is it. It's good. Set in The Last of Us (TLOU) universe though you can go into this without knowing anything about TLOU and still have a good experience. 

[luxekook]

zero gravity ✰ namseok

✰ pairing: namjoon x hoseok x reader

✰ genre: space au, f2l, angst, smut, slight crack & fluff

✰ summary: being the captain of a spacecraft is all fun and games until the only two others on board start hooking up and you start falling for both of them. it’s only natural that you act out - just a little

✰ word count: 11k+

✰ warnings: 18+, pre-established namseok relationship, mentions of throbbing disco sticks, jealousy, an unintentional viewing of dick pics, dom/sub themes (bratty sub!reader, dom!joon, switch!hobi), a bdsm club (reader watches a scene), grinding ft. jooheon from monsta x, smut (slight voyeurism, mxm, manhandling, spanking, threesome, unprotected sex (wrap it), oral (m + f receiving), double penetration, slight breeding kink)

✰ beta’d by: phia @meowxyoong​ | ✰ banner by: rose @jeonggukingdom​

✰ commissioned by: THE LOML ATLAS @miamorjoon​ I HOPE YOU LOVE THIS UWU

The blinking lights from the monitors adorning the walls of the control room of your ship - The Imperial Kween - illuminate your path as you make your way towards the navigation deck. It isn’t like you to be awake at this hour; you’re usually sound asleep by 0100, tucked snugly in your soft bed within your cozy captain’s quarters. Yet, here you are at 0300 after a late night of binging Tron and Agnate Plus Eight (Tentacles). 

As captain of the Kween, you are perhaps a tad bit overprotective of both your ship and your crew. You had won your ship some moons ago when you were on Xyreus - the lawless planet of the Huvian System. You had been on the run, having just recently fled the Space Force Academy where you had been a rising captain.

The Academy had seemingly been your only option as an orphan. Your years there had been heavy with intense physical, mental, and intellectual training. The strict regimen enforced by your commanders had almost crushed your spirit. Almost.

Instead, your path had crossed with Jung Hoseok and Kim Namjoon. They had been assigned to you in your last month with the Academy when you rose high enough in the rankings to begin training for captaincy. You had been designated as their tentative captain with Hoseok as your pilot and Namjoon as your first officer. Upon meeting them, you had been the perfect captain that your superiors had wanted you to be - cold, callous, calculating. 

But then you had grown to like the boys. Actually, it had more so been that they had forced you to like them. With the two of them surrounding you day in and day out, your walls had crumbled. Hoseok taught you how to be happy again, how to see joy in the little things, and how to share that joy with others. Namjoon made you see other options, futures separate from the rigidity that had been the only life you knew. 

It hadn’t been until you caught them whispering about wanting to leave the Academy that you realized that could be a possibility. And then that possibility became all you could think about. You had hacked into the Academy archives, taken inventory of the ships in the cargo bay, and carefully extracted information from your commanders. 

What you had found was not pretty. Yet, it had also been strangely unsurprising. Perhaps you had always known the Academy was built on corruption and oppressive tactics. Perhaps you had subconsciously chosen to ignore it until you couldn’t anymore - not when such pure souls like Hoseok and Namjoon had relied on you and still do.

You had laid out your plans to Hoseok and Namjoon at the last possible second, protecting them from anything incriminating until the end. Your heart had burst when they dropped everything, choosing to follow you, to stay with you, to trust you. You think that had been when you first knew you loved them.

Sneaking out had been easy. You had been scoping out a small ship in the cargo hold, tinkering with its systems to get it set up for your escape. The hard part had been staying out. You, Namjoon, and Hoseok had barely breathed sighs of relief before you had Space Force officers tailing you. While Hoseok worked on evading their grasp, you and Namjoon had decided to direct your course to Xyreus to ditch your stolen ship and to negate any authority the Academy might try to push on you.

The three of you had spent a year on Xyreus, trading the parts from your Academy ship for a tiny apartment. The Academy eventually had lost interest in you all, probably replacing you easily. You had obtained freedom by the pen of a freelance forger who constructed new identification cards for you and your crew. And you had won your ship.

It had been a particularly eventful night. Hoseok and Namjoon had dragged you out of your apartment and to the Snake’s Den - a particularly popular club within Xyreus’ gambling district. The boys had really been into the fight scene and the rapid betting that accompanied it. You, however, had found your place amongst the card players. Your game of choice back then had been and still is Queen’s Revenge - a vicious game of strategy and deceit. 

Amidst the haze of the club, you had located your people, settling into the crowded booth of players. Soon enough, you had picked your victim, a loud, obnoxious fellow from Gwexion who would not shut up about his ship. “She flies faster than any ship you’ll ever see!” He had cried, thrusting his stein of Xybrew in the air, “And she can vanish without a trace with the flick of a switch!”

You had wanted that ship. And you had gotten it.

About two hours after sitting at the table, you had made your move. “My ship for yours,” You had wagered, taking advantage of a lull in the conversation. The rest of the booth had laughed, only seeing you for your gender. Twenty minutes later, there hadn't been a sound other than the sobs of the man from Gwexion and the jingle of the ship’s control keys in your hand.

Hoseok and Namjoon had berated you for hours about your recklessness of wagering a ship you didn't have. You hadn’t cared; you had known you would win and finally be able to fly. The three of you had sold your apartment the next day, boarded your ship, and flew off. You haven’t looked back since. 

Now, two years later, you’ve made quite a name for yourself across the galaxies as a mercenary of sorts. Your trade of choice? Information. 

If something is going on in space, you’re likely to know about it; and, you’ll make people pay for that information to be shared or to be kept quiet. As captain of the Kween, you’re in charge of keeping the ship running - and that includes earning a profit.

Hoseok and Namjoon aren’t too fond of your enterprise of information because it often puts you all in danger. You can’t fault them for that. You know this venture is tricky, but it's also very lucrative and it often results in you screwing over bad people. So, you take that as a win.

You arrive at the navigation deck and sigh in disappointment at the absence of Hoseok who sometimes monitors the flight course during the night. Instead, you activate your ship’s Responsive Electronic Environmental Systems Engine - simply called R.E.E.S.E. for short. “Hey, R.E.E.S.E. Status report, please.”

“Hello, Captain (y/n). It is my esteemed honor to deliver a status update to you at this hour. I have been getting so lonely, you see. Usually Pilot Hoseok stays up with me, but tonight he has abandoned me for—”

“R.E.E.S.E.!” You groan. This is typical R.E.E.S.E., going off about something trivial in a dramatic fashion.

“Oh my. I have done it again. My apologies, Captain (y/n). All systems operating as normal. Shields activated and secure. Navigation set on nightly autopilot course.”

“Thank you, R.E.E.S.E.” You gaze out of the front windows for a moment; the view never gets old. Countless stars surround you with planets of every color scattered in between. Sometimes, you would see an occasional ship passing by, but right now there is not one to be seen. 

You deactivate R.E.E.S.E. and head back to your captain’s quarters. Walking through the control room once more, you pass through the common quarters and finally enter the hallway containing your shared bathroom, both Hoseok and Namjoon’s respective quarters, and then your own at the end. The hallway is dim, illuminated only by the slight glow of the floor beneath you. 

You move slowly, careful not to wake either of the boys.

And then you hear it.

Your first thought is porn as you pause in your tracks, standing stock still as the sounds of muffled groans and slapped skin seep through the sliver of space under the metal door leading to Hoseok’s quarters. Is he really jerking it right now, you think as you shamelessly creep closer to get a better idea of whatever - or whoever - is going down right now.

“Fuck, give it to me harder.”

Yup, that’s Hoseok all right. You place your palm on his door, dirty visuals racing through your mind. Who is he imagining? What you wouldn’t give for him to be thinking of you...

“Oh yeah, I’ll fucking give it to you hard, baby. Just how I know you like it.”

Your breath catches in your throat as you slap your palm over your mouth. Holy shit. Holy fuck. Holy hell in a handbasket. That’s Namjoon. Namjoon is there with Hoseok, fucking Hoseok.

Your imagination goes wild - as do your heart and your thoughts. How long has this been going on? How have you missed this? Are you that oblivious? Or are they just that good at hiding their relationship? Why haven’t they told you? Do they not trust you as much as they say they do? Do they think you won’t accept them if you knew?

It’s those final thoughts that hurt the most.

How is it possible that you know the intricate plans of an uprising occurring on a planet light years away, but you don’t know your only two crew members are hooking up?

You somehow manage to soundlessly continue down the corridor to your quarters. How does someone respond to overhearing the two men that you’re desperately in love with having sex? And just steps away from you at that?

All of your training never prepared you for this moment. You sit in your empty bed, gazing out the large window that takes up the majority of your quarters’ back wall. Emotions roll over you like waves. Arousal. Grief. Shame. Longing. 

It isn’t that you are upset at them for being with one another. If anyone in the galaxies deserves love, it is Hoseok and Namjoon. You are more upset with yourself for naively thinking that they might have had feelings for you, that they might have loved you back.

There had been that fateful night at a bar on Xyreus when the three of you had gotten just a little too drunk on Xybrew and had fooled around. You still remember the feeling of Hoseok grinding into you on the bar’s tiny dance floor, his hands wandering across your body, driving you insane. You still remember the taste of Namjoon’s lips as he pushed you up against the wall of the small alley behind the bar, his fingers digging into your ass as he pushed his hips into yours. You still remember how Hoseok watched you with fire in his eyes as Namjoon sunk to his knees and—

Fuck, you can’t go there. You can’t revisit that memory because it only ends in disappointment. 

“A drunken mistake,” They had called it the next morning before you could get a word in edgewise. “A threat to our crew’s dynamic.”

What a joke. It turns out that their only regret must have been including you. 

Your mind wanders to all of the small moments over the past few years. The hugs, the tender looks, the things that had made you question whether they actually felt more for you after all turned out to be just signs of friendship.

With all these thoughts heavy in your mind, you eventually fall into a restless sleep.

The next morning comes all too soon as you find yourself going through the motions of everyday life with much less enthusiasm than normal. You’re drained, both from your lack of sleep and from the onslaught of emotions that still riddled your body.

And so when Hoseok greets you in the ship’s kitchen with that beautiful smile of his, you can barely get your lips to even turn up slightly.

“(y/n), are you okay?” Hoseok’s eyebrows are drawn together and he looks concerned.

You sigh, grabbing the pot of coffee and pouring yourself a cup. “Yes, I’m fine, Hoseok. I just didn’t sleep very well,” You eventually answer him, refusing to meet his eyes and choosing instead to gaze into your coffee like it might tell you how to behave right now with the knowledge you gained last night.

Obviously, it does not. You only see your distorted reflection gleaming back at you from its brown depths.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Hoseok pouts, making his way over to your side, “Is there anything I can do?”

You try in vain to ignore the affect his proximity has on you as you flick your eyes across his form. Hoseok is tall and lithe with delicate features and the most beautiful heart-shaped smile you’ve ever seen. Though he may look slight, you know the lean muscle that lies beneath his oversized t-shirts from the early mornings you catch him roaming around shirtless and half asleep. You have first hand knowledge of how well he can move that body from the late nights at the clubs on Xyreus. You know how well he f—

Nope, not today. Instead of going down that dangerous path, you choose to be the little shit that you are when you feel like you are at a loss. “You can share your secret on how to be so well rested, Hoseokie,” You say, your eyes laser-sharp on his expression, “You’re practically glowing this morning.”

Hoseok’s cheeks flood with color as he laughs lightly and replies with a slightly wistful look on his face, “Maybe someday, (y/n).” 

You let out an unamused huff, which only makes Hoseok laugh again. You glare at the happy boy and then stiffen as arms wrap around your waist, tugging you back against a warm body. “Morning, (y/n),” Namjoon murmurs into your hair, his fingers leaving a blazing heat on your skin as they drag across the swell of your hips. 

He turns your body around to face him, and you hesitantly bring your gaze up to his. God, he’s just as beautiful as Hoseok. Namjoon’s height had been the first thing that you noticed about him in the Academy. The second had been his dimples. You have been a goner for him ever since. 

Your eyes drift up past his strong thighs to his tapered waist, his toned chest, his tanned neck, and finally to rest on his warm brown eyes. “Hi,” He grins, those godforsaken dimples popping out to greet you, too.

“Hi,” You manage to reply, your heart constricting painfully in your chest.

Always too smart for his own good, Namjoon catches your mood immediately, “What’s wrong?”

“She didn’t sleep well,” Hoseok comes up next to Namjoon, throwing an arm around his shoulders. His frown is prominent as he stares down at you. Namjoon’s expression quickly matches Hoseok’s as he brings his hand to cup your chin, lifting your face up to look at you.

“Baby,” He murmurs, “Were you dreaming of that damned place again? I thought that had stopped for you.” 

You bristle under the weight of their inspections and from the pet name you now know means nothing. Namjoon is, of course, referring to your recurring nightmares from the Academy, and he is also inadvertently giving you the perfect excuse not to come clean about the real reason for your fitful night.

And so you nod as best you can with Namjoon’s hand cupping your chin, and the boys exchange a long look. Hoseok turns to you, “Go rest today. Namjoon and I can handle things. Okay, lovely?”

You turn away, forcing Namjoon to drop his hand. “I need to plan out a potential deal on Naroxu,” You mutter in disagreement, “I’ll be fine.”

“Naroxu?” Namjoon bites out, “(y/n), we talked about this.” You pinch the bridge of your nose between your fingers. Sometimes it feels like you're not the captain of your own ship. And it is exasperating.

“You know what?” You grab your coffee, brushing past the boys, “I think I will go rest after all. Don’t disturb me, okay?”

“But (y/n)—!” You leave them in your dust. Of course you should have realized they would have a problem with Naroxu. It’s a planet just as lawless as Xyreus, but it’s focus is more on the carnal sort of chaos. You aren’t unaware of the dangers that lay within the pleasures on Naroxu; you’re just unfazed by them.

Apparently, Namjoon and Hoseok feel differently. Your boys can argue with you about anything in the name of “safety”. You’ll definitely need to make certain that you’ll have a foolproof plan which leaves them with no room to argue. But, that is a bridge you shall cross another day...

A few days later, you realize that you definitely must have been oblivious to the relationship occurring right under your nose. There are signs of it everywhere - in the way they speak to one another, in the way their eyes linger, in the way their hands brush as they pass each other by.

You have not dared to venture out of your quarters late at night ever since that fateful discovery, but that doesn’t help. Your thoughts are constantly plagued by the sounds of their desire, their intimacy. Your mind conjures images that you can’t forget. You crave that. You want to be part of that passion with a desperation you have never felt before.

And so, you have accordingly descended into internal chaos, choosing to throw yourself into your plans instead of joking around with Namjoon and Hoseok in the common quarters like you usually do in your spare time.

They know something is up. It’s not like you haven’t spent almost three full years together. Knowing each others’ tendencies and habits is second nature. Well, clearly that knowledge has excluded intimate relationships - at least for you. 

The tip of your pencil snaps under the strength of your grip; and, when you look down to assess the damage, you sigh. All you have written down so far is: “Plan A: Go with Joon and Hobi. Plan B: Go without Joon and Hobi if they don’t like Plan A.”

Pushing your desk chair back, you stand and stretch out slightly. The rest of the logistics for the meeting are set. Now comes the hard part - convincing the boys to come along. It’s not that you can’t go alone; it’s that you feel better knowing you have two people watching your back, no matter how frustrating they might be.

Walking out of your quarters, you make your way towards the sounds of laughter and low voices coming from the control room.

“We really do have to tell her soon, Hobi.” You hear Namjoon say as you draw closer. Are they talking about you?

“I know, Joon. I’m just scared. I don’t want to lose her friendship.” Hoseok’s voice is small, barely above a whisper.

“You won’t, baby. Just think of how free we’ll be to share our love…” Your ears strain to hear them now, even as you get closer.

“...Leaving her.”

Your feet stop in their tracks. Leaving? Are they really thinking of leaving you? Your body sags against the wall, sliding to the floor. What would you do without them?

You guess you could recruit a new crew, but no one could replace Hoseok and Namjoon. Not when they’ve been with you through everything. Not when they’ve accepted you for who you are. Not when they’ve become your life.

You allow yourself to sit for a moment. And then you collect yourself, shoving your useless emotions down to the pit of your stomach. You just need to move forward and enjoy every last second with your boys before they go. Because they would leave you, and you would let them go because you love them.

Standing, you make sure to make louder footfalls then normal to alert Hoseok and Namjoon of your incoming presence. Sure enough, the minute you step into the control room Hoseok tackles you in a hug.

“(y/n)!” He picks you up and swings you around, “I’ve missed you, lovely!”

You laugh despite your lungs being constricted by his tight embrace, “I saw you last night at dinner, you fool.”

Hoseok sets you down and jokingly pouts down at you, “But that was so long ago! You left me all alone with this one.” He juts his thumb out at Namjoon, “And you know how he can get.”

“Not as well as you,” You mumble under your breath.

“What was that?” Namjoon narrows his eyes, focused on you from his nearby stance leaning against the wall. His arms are crossed over his chest, the sleeves of his dark t-shirt straining against his biceps.

“Nothing,” You smile sweetly at him. “Hi, Joon, nice to see you, too.” 

Namjoon stares at you for a moment more and then sighs. Walking over to you, he pulls you close, “It is really nice to see you, baby.” That blasted nickname is going to lower you into an early grave. Indulging yourself with a short hug from Joon, you pull back and decide it's time to get down to business.

“Alright, let’s go over the plan for Naroxu.”

“(y/n)!” Namjoon shoves a hand through his hair, “I thought we scrapped that idea. That planet is on our ‘no-go’ list!”

“Naroxu is dangerous, lovely,” Hoseok’s wide eyes bore into you, “Please think this through.”

“You scrapped the idea,” You say to Namjoon, “I kept it. Besides, that ‘no-go’ list was all you and Hoseok.” Turning to the boy you just named, you continue, “And I have thought this through. Extensively, Hobi. Don’t worry. I’m a big girl, I can handle myself, okay?”

You can tell they are getting pissed; but honestly, so are you. 

“We know you’re a ‘big girl’.” You do not appreciate Hoseok’s use of air quotes, but you allow him to continue because you’re gracious like that. “But there are tons of bad people on Naroxu who would love to chew you up and spit you out - physically and metaphorically speaking.”

“Gross, Hobi,” You scoff. “And before you both cast judgement, why don’t you give me a chance to explain the plan? You don’t even know who I’ll be meeting for gods' sake.”

The boys exchange a glance. “Fine,” Namjoon bites out, “But this won’t change my mind.”

Obviously, you think to yourself. Trying to get Joon to change his mind is like trying to get R.E.E.S.E. to delete the overwhelming amount of data she has dedicated to some group of musicians from Earth. Impossible, but you would always try anyways.

“Okay, so the contact that I’m meeting on Naroxu is Joohoney—”

“What?!”

“Joohoney from Monsta X?!”

“Oh my gods, will you let me finish?” You roll your eyes to the ceiling and plead with any higher power to help you find patience, “Yes, Joohoney from the Monsta X clan. How many other people in the galaxies go by that name?”

Hoseok opens his mouth to answer, and you cut him off, “That was a rhetorical question, Hobi.” He blushes, bottom lip sticking out slightly. 

“Anyway, we’re going to be meeting up at this space BDSM type sex club called Throbbing Disco Sticks. I’ll tell Joohoney what he wants to know, he’ll pay me, and we’ll bounce. Got it?”

You get nothing but silence. Looking at them, you notice the tightness of Namjoon’s jaw and the darkness in Hoseok’s gaze. 

“Oh, now you want to be quiet?” You push them, “Well, you can both stay here. I made a separate plan to go alone so—”

“Not happening,” Joon grits out, moving closer to you. “We made a pact, (y/n). Or have you forgotten?”

“Together or never,” Hobi recites and you almost laugh. It’s absurd that they bring this up when they had just been talking about leaving.

“Fine,” You shrug, “Then we leave at 2200. Hope you have something tight to wear.” With that, you stalk out of the control room. Their shouts follow you.

“Tonight?!”

“(y/n)!”

You grin. Maybe this will be fun after all.

Update: it is not fun after all. You only have twenty minutes left to get ready and you’re panicking. You had just made the mistake of asking R.E.E.S.E. to bring up pictures of Throbbing Disco Sticks and immediately had regretted all of your life decisions.

Is that why they named that club what they did? You think both you and R.E.E.S.E. are scarred from the unexpected amount of male genitalia that the search produced. Only after you add the addition of ‘Naroxu club’ do you get the results you’re looking for - mostly. 

You had just wanted some guidance on what to wear. Instead, your thoughts are now full of images of chained leashes, silk ropes, and dark rooms with blinds raised to welcome an audience. You wonder what sort of things happen in rooms like that and if you’d ever get a chance to try those things out.

Your tablet beeps, alerting you of your upcoming meeting. Taking one last glance in the mirror, you assess the way your tight leather pants accentuate your body and your slightly sheer black crop top hints at your lack of bra underneath. Still, your outfit is missing something… You think it over as you tug on your pointy black steel-toed heels.

Ah, you stand and make your way over to your trusty jewelry drawer. Of course. Carefully pulling out your body chain from its place, you drape it around yourself. The chain clasps around your neck and then falls lower between your breasts, settling around your waist. The coldness of the metal causes you to shiver, but the way the crystals embedded in the silver glisten as you turn to admire your final outfit makes it worth it. 

You keep your makeup minimal - just a red lip and a slash of black eyeliner. You want to blend in, not make a statement.

Finally, you tuck the map outlining the information Joohoney wants into your back pocket. Any bag you might bring would be searched, so you can do without one.

You take one last calming breath and make your way down the hall to meet the boys. “Hoseok, Namjoon: Are you ready?” You call as you don’t see any sign of them out in the common quarters.

“Coming!” Hoseok’s voice calls back to you and then he emerges from his quarters. 

You have to use all of your might not to let your jaw drop. It seems like he also had searched up what to wear because he looks like he stepped right out of the pictures you had seen just a half hour ago.

Hoseok is wearing tight dark jeans tucked into black combat boots that buckle up to the middle of his calves. What he isn't wearing is a shirt. Instead, a deep red leather harness is strapped across his chest with a silver hoop in the middle.

Did he just have that harness lying around? Gods save you.

While you are busy ogling Hoseok, you fail to notice him doing the same to you - so much so that he doesn't move an inch from his spot until Namjoon bursts out of his own quarters and bumps right into him.

At this point, you begin to sweat because Namjoon looks just as lethal as Hoseok in his light jeans, a black leather thigh harness, and a completely see through tight mesh t-shirt. You watch as he fiddles with the two leather cuffs circling his wrists.

“Hoseok, what are you doing?” Namjoon scowls, dropping his hands to his hips. Hobi says nothing and just points in your direction.

“Why are you pointing at me?” You huff, “Don’t blame me for being an idiot and just standing there practically waiting to get hit.”

Namjoon stalks towards you, eyes blazing into you as he takes in your outfit. “Change,” He orders.

He’s giving you orders? A burst of heat flares within you that you try to classify as anger but fail miserably. 

“Don’t tell me what to do, Joon,” You fold your arms across your chest. Hoseok chokes as he comes up to stand next to Namjoon who is suddenly all up in your face.

“Go. Change.” Namjoon’s voice is deeper than you’ve ever heard it.

“No.” You stand your ground. Why is he trying to dictate your clothing choices anyway? He’s not your father or your boyfriend - not that you’d let either of those people tell you what choices to make with your own body.

Namjoon turns to Hobi, who still hasn't uttered a word to you, and says lowly, “Go set the course to land on Naroxu.”

Hoseok practically runs off in the direction of the navigation deck. You gape after his fleeing figure and then turn back to face the fuming Namjoon.

“Listen,” You shove your finger into his admittedly toned chest, “I don’t know what has gotten into you, Kim. This outfit isn’t even that bad. Besides, you’ve seen me naked before. Remember?”

“You’re really going to ask me if I remember.” Namjoon’s face is inches from yours. His scent wraps around you and you have to collect yourself for a second. His eyes drop to your lips for a second so brief you believe you imagined it. “You’re really going to ask me that as if the image of your body isn’t burned into my memory and as if every single time I close my eyes I don’t see you.” Namjoon takes in a shaky breath, “And so, (y/n), I’m begging you. Please go change. Not for you, but for me. And for Hoseok.”

You’re at a loss as your brain scrambles to make sense of the words Namjoon just spoke. Okay, he does remember... So, is he mad that it happened? Or is he mad that it only happened once? Must be the first, you think. He has Hobi, after all.

“Maybe you two should stay back,” You suggest, patting Namjoon’s chest comfortingly, “Then you won’t have to look at me while I look like this. I’m sorry it brings up bad memories.”

Namjoon looks completely baffled, “What? What the hell are you talking about? Stop trying to get us to leave you alone!”

“Please,” You laugh without humor, “Like I have to try.”

This time, Namjoon just looks pissed. “Baby, that’s the second comment like that you’ve made today. And I’m getting the sense that you have something to say. So why don’t you just say it?”

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He is so onto you. 

Namjoon’s presence looms over you, making you feel so small. Your gaze drops to the floor, “I don’t have anything to say.”

“You’re lying. Hm, what a bad girl.” Your head snaps up, eyes wide as you try to slow the pounding of your heart and the increasing pressure between your thighs.

“Do you know what happens to bad girls, (y/n)?” Namjoon croons, eyes dark and locked on yours. You don’t even have the ability to respond, and so he just continues, “They get punished.”

A small whine bursts from your throat before you can stifle it back down. Namjoon’s smile in response is predatory.

“(y/n)! Namjoon! We’ve landed! Oh—” 

You and Namjoon turn to stare at Hoseok whose face shows a whole number of emotions in the blink of an eye. Hurt. Confusion. Lust?

All of a sudden, the ship feels too hot, and you need to get off. Ducking around Namjoon, you head towards the ship’s main door. You can hear them murmuring behind you, but you ignore them.

You need to get your shit together. It’s not good to get distracted on a job. It’s even worse to get distracted before said job even starts.

Practically punching the exit button, you tap your foot and wait for the door to open and the ramp to descend. 

“(y/n),” Hoseok calls to you, “Slow down! We need to talk to you!”

“No time,” You reply, stomping down the ship’s ramp. Barely taking a second to appreciate the beauty that is Naroxu, you power forward through the landing site. Ships of all kinds surround you. The night sky is a dark inky purple and Naroxu’s famed twin moons shimmer with swirls of silver. 

“Then make time!” Namjoon’s growly response sends a shiver down your spine that has nothing to do with the crisp night air. You increase your pace, heading towards where you hear thumping music and peels of laughter and murmured conversation. 

“Namjoon, you of all people should know that’s against the laws of physics,” You retort as you finally burst through the end of the landing site and into the crowded street dotted with neon signs and vendors of all sorts. 

“She’s so infuriating!” You hear him spit out behind you to Hobi, and you can't help the smile that winds its way across your face. At least you aren’t alone in your anger.

Finding Throbbing Disco Sticks is the easiest part of your night. You simply follow what looks like cylindrical sticks of shimmering glass mirrors spinning from atop a building. There’s a line that winds its way from the club’s doors and down the block. You quickly realize that your outfit is on the conservative side and grimace. You settle for tying your crop top higher on your waist so it hits right below your breasts. This is the best you can do.

“(y/n)!” Hoseok gasps from beside you as he realizes what you’ve just done, “Why are you torturing us like this?”

“Not this again,” You groan and decide that - fuck it - you’re going to name drop to bypass the line. It’s totally tacky, but you’re desperate at this point. Ignoring the hecklers amongst those waiting, you come to a stop in front of the two burly bouncers who are clearly Naroxuin natives with beautiful lilac skin and curling silver horns.

“Can I help you, little lady?” The slightly taller one addresses you, and you immediately swoon at the depth of his voice as it flows off his tongue like chocolate. Damn these sexy Naroxuins…

“I’m meeting an old friend,” You flash them your best smile, “And he doesn’t like to be kept waiting. Would you be able to let us in?”

Blinking your wide eyes up at the two bouncers, you watch as they exchange a short glance and then turn back to you. “Who’s your friend?” The other bouncer asks you, his sharp eyes assessing your figure.

“Jooheon,” You say, shrugging, “He usually goes by Joohoney.”

Their eyes grow large. “We didn’t know Joohoney had a pet,” The first bouncer comments, eyes flicking over your form, “But then again, you are quite delicious, aren’t you?”

A hand slips around your waist and grips it firmly, while another settles on the small of your back.

“Oh, does Joohoney share?” The second bouncer grins, his eyes turning to crescent moons as he stares at the hand digging into your hip. “I never would have guessed. Keep me in mind, would you, pet?”

“Oh, shut it, Jimin,” The taller bouncer laughs, “Like she’d ever pick you over me.”

“Fuck off, Tae,” Jimin glares, stepping aside to let you through. “Have a nice night, pet. You know where to find me.”

“And me!” Tae calls, laughing again as Jimin shoves him. 

You move along, shaking your head at the oddity of that encounter.

“I thought you were supposed to be keeping a low profile!” Namjoon hisses over to you as soon as you’re out of earshot of the two bouncers.

“Yeah,” Hoseok mutters, “Flirting usually doesn’t fall under the category of ‘low profile’.”

“Oh my gods,” You tug out of their holds, “I barely said two words to them! And I didn’t realize that flirting at a sex club would be completely out of the ordinary. Wow, lock me up!”

“Don’t fucking tempt me.” Namjoon’s response is immediate. Your breath hitches as he corners you close, “Now, go finish your little mission and we’ll settle this back on the ship, baby. And, believe me, it will be settled.”

Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit. You watch as Namjoon tugs Hoseok further down the corridor towards the main club area. “We’ll be watching!” Hoseok calls over his shoulder and shoots you a look you’re not even sure you want to interpret. And you can’t - not when you have a meeting to attend.

After grabbing a non-potent drink from the bar, you make your way around the crowded club. The dance floor is packed full of people of all shapes, sizes, and skin tones. You even see a few Uyiths with their glowing gold skin in the far corner, practically providing light for their whole area. 

The majority of the clubbers here seem to be experienced in the lifestyle. Many are collared or are the ones leading the collared. Others are unclaimed and waiting to be approached or to approach. You, however, are just trying to not be propositioned for the fifth time in the past fifteen minutes.

“Well, aren’t you exquisite,” A low voice murmurs from your left.

“Not interested,” You say, sipping your drink and wishing you weren’t on a job so you could have something stronger.

“Your loss,” The man shrugs in your periphery before slinking away. At least this one had not been pushy like the last. You had to threaten to remove his balls using just the tip of your stiletto to get him to flee. You are so over it.

Hopping off of your barstool, you decide to explore the rest of the club while you wait for Joohoney. You try to ignore the heat from the two pairs of eyes glued to your every move. And then you duck into the dim hallway that you know leads to the individual rooms full of sin.

The first few have their blinds closed, much to the disappointment of your curiosity. However, the fourth room is fully on display. Only two others are gathered in front of the glass, paying close attention to the activities occurring on the other side. 

And what activities they are… You peer through the glass at the sight. A man is tied to a St. Andrew’s Cross, his arms and legs straining against the cuffs as a woman dressed in only a leather bustier runs her finger teasingly up and down his shaft. A second man lays beneath her, his face buried between her legs. Your attention returns to the man restrained.

What had he done to deserve such painfully pleasurable punishment? Had he done it on purpose?

As if he feels you staring at him, the man’s head lifts up and he meets your eyes. A small smile forms on his lips as he raises his chin to acknowledge you.

The woman turns to follow his gaze and raises an eyebrow at you. She hooks her finger in your direction, beckoning you to come inside. Almost subconsciously, you listen. But before you can take a step, a hand catches your wrist and tugs you back.

“What are you doing, lovely?” Hoseok’s voice jolts you from the scene that had captivated your attention. The woman in the room eyes you for a second more and then shrugs, returning to her other playthings. “You weren’t really thinking of joining them, were you?

“And so what if I was?” You reply petulantly. You cast a glance around you, noticing that the other couple watching had since disappeared and that there is no sight of Namjoon. “Where’s your other half?”

“My other half?” Hoseok’s nose crinkles adorably as he thinks, “Oh, you mean Joon? He’s taking care of something.”

Your eyebrows shoot up your forehead, “He’s taking care of something? Why does that sound so sinister, Hobi?”

“It’s nothing to worry about, lovely,” Hoseok grins and then glances over your shoulder at the scene you had been watching. “Fuck, that’s hot.”

You, of course, turn immediately. The man is still tied, but now the other is sucking his dick as if his life depends on it while the woman watches with a small grin on her face. She holds a small device in her hand and is fiddling with its buttons. Then you notice the glimmering jewel that winks back at you from the ass of the man kneeling.

“It is… What do you think is hot about it?” You ask, as the tied man moans, throwing his head back and baring his throat. 

“All of it. The way she commands the room, the way the men please her, the way she tortures them. I don’t know who I’d rather be,” Hoseok lets out a small laugh, shoving a hand through his tousled hair, “Do you?”

“I’d want to be tied up,” You blurt out before you can stop yourself. Hoseok’s breath hitches in his throat as his hands come down to clench your hips.

“(y/n), lovely, I’d want to see that, too,” His eyelids are heavy as he stares down at you. One of his hands travels lower on your body, palming your ass slightly.

“H-Hoseok,” You gasp, your back arching into his touch.

“Goddamn, lovely,” Hobi moans, “I thought I might never get to hear you say my name like that again.”

Your thighs clench as you vividly recall the memory not unlike this when Joon had eaten you out against the back wall of the club and then Hoseok had slid into you and fucked you until you couldn’t walk. You definitely had cried his name more times than you could ever count.

And this makes you so confused. Does this mean he had been wanting to hear you moaning his name again? That makes no sense considering he’s sleeping with Namjoon and planning to leave you.

Hoseok must read the thoughts on your face because he sighs, bringing your hand to his lips. “Later,” He promises - of what, you don’t know. He presses a kiss to your knuckles and then disappears back into the crowded club.

“Well, that was quite a show,” An amused man emerges from the shadows, “Just when I thought you might join the Mistress with Suga and Jin, you get caught up in another. How delightful.”

Sighing, you stick your hand out to greet your contact, “Hi, Joohoney. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Joohoney’s dimples flash at you as he grins and you internally melt. God, your thing for dimples is getting out of hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, too, pet. Please, call me Jooheon.” His hand grips yours firmly as he takes you in. You pay him the same regard, eyes wandering over his black long sleeve shirt with the sleeves pushed up his forearms. His shirt is tucked into slim fitting black pants and cinched with a belt that looks like it could also double as a harness. He looks expensive as hell.

And then what he says registers to you.

Groaning, you tug your hand out of his and grimace, “That wasn’t my fault! The bouncers just assumed, and I didn’t think to correct them.”

Jooheon’s grin turns wicked as he stares you down, “Oh, I’m not complaining. You can be my pet anytime you want, (y/n)…” He not-so-subtly flexes his wrist where a black choker with a silver ring in the center is wound around it twice, “This would look pretty around your neck, wouldn’t it?”

You struggle to find a response, your mouth opening and closing as you blink at the absurd turn your night has taken.

“Ah, don’t answer that. Let’s dance,” Jooheon smiles sweetly down at you like he hadn’t just asked to own you in every sexual way possible. 

So you agree, nodding slightly, and then he whisks you onto the dance floor. The music thumps through you as Jooheon drags you into the throng of the crowd. Looking around you, your eyes fall on your boys.

Hoseok and Namjoon are wrapped around each other, their bodies pressed together, hips grinding to the beat. Their eyes are both on you, their gazes absolute and piercing. Namjoon grasps Hoseok closer to him, his hands drawing the other boy further into his crotch. 

Are they really doing this right now? In front of you? While staring you down?

And so when Jooheon grabs your own hips to pull you back into him, you let him. The response from Hoseok and Namjoon is immediate. Namjoon’s nostrils flare as he watches you begin to shift your body in time with Jooheon’s. Hoseok’s tongue presses against the inside of his cheek as he glares over your shoulder.

“Looks like we’re making some people mad, pet,” Jooheon laughs, his lips brushing your ear. “Are you with them?”

You lean your head back to respond, “Technically, yes. They’re my crew.”

“Well, then why does your crew look like they want to fight me for putting my hands on you?”

“Oh, they’re just protective,” You reply, “They’re in a relationship anyway, as you can see.” You wave a hand over to where Hoseok and Namjoon are murmuring to each other, almost seeming to be mirroring you and Jooheon.

The motion of your hand recaptures their attention and you swear the movement of Namjoon’s lips produces the harsh phrase of ‘I’m gonna destroy him’.

You’re almost certain that Hoseok and Namjoon are about to blow your entire deal; you cannot have that happen. And so, you turn to Jooheon and ask if you can make the trade now. Luckily, he agrees and leads you through the crowd towards a door beside the bar along the far wall.

Before you step over the threshold, you turn back. Hoseok and Namjoon are steps away from you, looking pissed. And then you let the door fall shut behind you.

The trade deal goes down fairly quickly. You tug the map out of your back pocket; Jooheon places a few stacks of currency on the table. You count it first, of course. This isn’t your first space rodeo. 

Thankfully, Jooheon is true to his word and has the full amount ready for you. You then unfold the map you had drawn and begin to explain it in detail. “So the Alravi are planning to attack the Wyxian border here, here, and here.” You point out the spots you had starred. “My informant is certain they will strike at 0400 in two rotations.”

A scoff meets your ears. One of Jooheon’s partners stands. He’s handsome and tall with full lips and sleepy eyes. “How do we know that this information is even legit, Joohoney? She could be making this up.”

Jooheon shoots you a look and you step towards the skeptic. “Well, Chae Hyungwon,” You purr, “I can guarantee that this information is as real as the tattoo of your mother’s name on your left asscheek.”

Hyungwon turns fuschia as Jooheon cackles, “Is that true, Wonnie? Do you have that?” 

“Yah!” Hyungwon glares at you, “It’s not a tattoo of my mom’s name, it’s a tattoo of my ex-girlfriend’s name! It’s not my fault they happened to share the same one.” 

Jooheon wipes tears from his eyes as he hands you your money, “Please, pet, call me for a trade anytime. This has been the most fun I’ve had in months.”

“Will do,” You grin, sliding the money into your pocket. It barely fits, but you don’t care. It always feels good to secure a bag.

You wave at Jooheon and his crew as you exit the small room and re-enter the crowded club. No further than two steps out of the door, you are thrown over someone’s shoulder.

“Hey!” You pound on your assailant’s back, “Put me down!”

“Shut it, (y/n),” Comes the growled reply. 

You still for a second in an attempt to process what the hell is happening. “Joon?!” You cry, “What the fuck! Where’s Hobi?”

“Here.” Hoseok’s voice comes from behind you and it’s devoid of any of its usual amusement. 

You curse, trying to wiggle out of Namjoon’s hold.

Thwack. Your ass stings and you gasp. Heat floods through you as you realize that Namjoon just outright spanked you in the middle of a crowded club - in front of Hoseok.  

Damn you for even thinking a deal at a sex club would go well. No one even paid the three of you any mind as Namjoon sauntered out of the club and into the night with you hitched over his shoulder and Hobi trailing behind you both.

You even hear the laughing comments of the two bouncers from earlier as they yell over to you... 

“Have fun!” 

“Come back to visit, pet!”

You flip them off, but sadly Hobi obscures the gesture from their sight. 

“I can walk, you know,” You mumble, thoroughly put out by your situation.

“Yeah, we do know, (y/n),” Hoseok scoffs, “You walked away from Joon and I just fine a few minutes ago. What happened to having one of us in the room with you?”

“I can handle myself just fine,” You retort, turning your head to assess how much further you’re going to be left hanging. You’re probably almost at your ship if you had to guess. “Plus, it was good practice for when the two of you leave me.”

Namjoon halts in his tracks and slides you off his shoulder and onto the ground. You wobble a bit from the blood rush, but he steadies you.

“What did you just say?” Namjoon’s voice is deceptively soft, his hands grip your biceps firmly. You can feel Hoseok behind you, his breathing hard.

You snap. Honestly, you’re a bit shocked it took you this long when you’d been feeling like you might crumble for days. 

Your eyes glare back at Namjoon as your lips curl into a sneer, “Yeah, I know you’re leaving me, just like I know about you and Hobi. So why don’t you drop the act like you actually care about me and fuck off.” 

Namjoon’s eyes are wide as they stare down at you. Hoseok seems to have stopped breathing altogether and a slight whine sounds from him. 

“Hoseok,” Namjoon says, “Bring her to her quarters while I set the course.” He steps around you and stalks towards your ship which is only a few paces away. 

“Come on, lovely,” Hoseok grabs your hand but you just shrug him off. A flash of hurt crosses his beautiful face and you almost cave and hug him close. But you have to be strong - just like you always have.

You march forward, heading up the ramp and onto your ship. Hoseok closes and locks the door behind you; the ship lifts off immediately.

Laughing bitterly, you head towards your quarters with Hoseok in tow, “What’s the big rush here? Can’t wait to start your own life together without me?”

“(y/n), please. Let’s talk about this,” Hobi begs, for what you’re not sure. The quiet desperation you hear in his words almost drains the fight right out of you, but you’re in too deep to stop now.

“What’s there to talk about?” Your words sting with bitterness as you enter your room, “I know you two don’t love me, and I get it. Who would? You and Joon deserve a better life. I’ll be fine without you just like I was before you came into my life.” 

Hoseok shoves a hand through his hair as he gazes sharply down at you, “Lovely, no. Don’t say such things.”

Angrily wiping away a traitorous tear, you sink onto your bed. Just when Hoseok looks like he’s about to say more, Namjoon storms in. He takes one look at you and Hoseok and sighs deeply. “What are we going to do with you, baby?”

“She thinks we don’t love her!” Hoseok cries.

Namjoon blinks and then approaches you, “Is that what you really think, (y/n)?” He bends down, his face level with yours from where you sit on your bed. Hoseok sits beside you, and you watch as his hand slowly inches towards yours.

You tug it out of reach. “I know you don’t love me, Joon,” You shrug, “And that’s okay. I’ve always been alone; it's what I know best.”

Namjoon shares a long look with Hoseok and then he turns back to face you, “Baby, how did you get these ideas in that pretty head of yours?”

Your anger boils back up, “I got them from you!” 

You spring up, standing toe-to-toe with Namjoon, “If you really want to leave to be “free to share your love”, don’t let me hold you back. After all, I’m just a drunken mistake, aren’t I? Just a nasty little hiccup in your relationship. Just a painful memory that makes you cringe. Don’t you realize how much that hurts me? I fucking love you and you both can’t stand the sight of m—!”

Namjoon’s hand grips the back of your neck as his mouth slams onto yours. Your mind blanks as you gasp, his tongue sliding over yours. You kiss him back. Your hands wind up his chest, feeling his skin burning through the flimsy mesh of his shirt. You feel another pair of hands grip your hips and that jolts you enough to come to your senses.

“Wait, wait, wait,” You pull your mouth away from Namjoon’s, “You can’t just kiss me and touch me like I’m yours when I’m not.” 

“But, lovely, you are,” Hoseok tugs you back into his body and places a light kiss on your neck, “You always have been.” His mouth feels hot as it sucks gently on your skin, undoubtedly leaving marks in its wake. 

“I-I don’t understand,” You stammer, trying to wrap your head around everything that’s going on. “I thought you were leaving me. I thought you were ashamed of that night on Xyreus. I thought you didn’t want me when you so clearly want each other.” 

“For someone so smart, you sure draw some dumb conclusions,” Namjoon mumbles, his hands cupping your face carefully. “Number one: the conversation you overheard was about how we agreed that we would never leave you.” Your breath hitches as you feel Hoseok’s hands slip around your body to toy with the hem of your crop top right under your breasts.

“Number two,” Namjoon continues, recapturing your gaze, “We are ashamed of that night on Xyreus. But what we’re ashamed of is how strongly we came onto you, how we were so sure we felt more for you than you felt for us. We couldn’t lose you. If we scared you off with how much we loved you - and still love you - we would never live with ourselves. And so we cut it off.”

“You love me?” You breathe out, “Both of you?” 

“So much, baby,” Namjoon looks down at you like you’re the most cherished thing to him. 

“So, so much,” Hoseok growls in your ear, nipping at it slightly. You shiver, your body pressing back into his. You feel his cock hard against your ass and you press back even further, craving some kind of friction. “Fuck, lovely,” His head falls to your shoulder as he grinds into you.

“Hoseok,” Namjoon’s tone is hard and full of warning. It sends a rush of heat straight to your core. 

The other boy groans but pulls back from you just a bit. You frown at the loss.

Namjoon notices and rolls his eyes, “How did I forget that you’re just as insatiable as him?” Before you can even retort, he continues, “Number three: yes, Hoseok and I want each other; but, we also want you. We talk about it all the time. How your pussy tasted on my tongue. How you felt around Hobi’s cock. How it might feel to fuck you at the same time… 

His eyes are dark, his pupils so dilated that they encompass his irises. “I think about that, too,” You bring a hand up to hold one of Joon’s as he still cradles your face. “I think about how it would feel to be between the two of you as you pound into me, using me for your pleasure.”

“She almost joined a scene tonight,” Hoseok blurts. Your eyes widen as Namjoon’s eyebrows raise. 

“Is that so, baby?” Joon murmurs, one of his thumbs brushing over your lips. “What drew you in? Hoseok and I can give it to you in any way you want; you just have to ask.”

Your thighs squeeze together as your walls clench around nothing. Of course, Namjoon’s observant eyes miss nothing and he quirks a small smile. 

“I liked how they pleased their mistress,” You gasp out, “How they touched each other to make her satisfied. I want to do that. Let me do that for you.”

“Fuck, baby,” Namjoon groans, “You want to please me? Fine. Strip - both of you.” 

Hoseok immediately sets on unbuckling his harness. Meanwhile, your hands shake too much to be able to unclasp your body chain. 

“Leave it on,” Namjoon slips a finger under the chain between your breasts, “I’ve been dying to see you in this and nothing else.”

“But my shirt—!” Your protest is cut short as Joon grips the collar of your top and rips it straight off. “Namjoon!” You berate, shooting him a dirty look which he definitely doesn’t see since he’s staring at your half-naked body like it’s the sun in which he revolves around. 

“So goddamn beautiful.” Just as you think he’s going to touch you, he backs off. “Hobi, take her pants off, and then I want to watch you make her come.”

Hoseok moves to stand in front of you. You stop breathing as you take in his bare body - his cock already hard. He sinks to his knees in front of you, hands winding their way up your calves, your thighs, your ass. Hobi slowly tugs down the small zipper on the side of your pants and then pulls them off you.

He lets out a moan as soon as he realizes you aren’t wearing underwear. How could you have in tight leather pants?  

“You dirty girl,” Namjoon’s words reclaim your attention as you look up at him. He’s sitting in your desk chair, legs spread wide, making no move to hide his arousal. “Now keep your eyes on me when Hoseok fucks you with his tongue.”

You let out a moan both at Namjoon’s words and at the first brush of Hoseok’s tongue on your aching pussy.

“Gods, Joon,” Hoseok growls, “She’s so wet, so sweet.” His tongue flattens as it drags down the length of your folds before circling your clit.

You’re panting at this point, and when Hoseok lightly kisses your clit and sucks it into his mouth, your back arches. You grind your hips shamelessly down onto Hobi’s face, craving more with a desperation you haven’t felt before. 

Your eyes never leave Namjoon’s as he speaks to you in a low voice, “Fuck yeah, baby. Ride his face. Does it feel good?”

“So good,” You moan, hands winding into Hoseok’s hair as he slides his tongue inside you.

“Do you think you deserve to come, (y/n)?” Namjoon questions, his fingers steepled in front of his face as he leans forward. “Even after the stunts you pulled tonight on Naroxu?”

“Y-yes,” You answer petulantly and then jolt as Hobi spanks your ass. Your walls clench automatically around Hoseok’s tongue and he moans, the vibrations make you squirm. The pleasure builds and builds inside you, coiling in the pit of your stomach and spreading across your body.

You murmur Hoseok’s name like a mantra as your fingers dig into his hair, holding him against your pussy.  

“Stop.” Namjoon’s voice cuts through your impending bliss. Hoseok draws back and you whine at the loss of contact. 

“Joon, please,” You beg, “I’m so close!”

“I want to feel you come around my cock, baby,” Namjoon walks over to you, “Can you do that for me?” 

You nod furiously, and he smiles, his dimples peeking out at you. “Good girl.”

You watch as Namjoon strips, taking in the sight of the thickness of his thighs, the hardness of his cock. 

He kisses you swiftly and then turns you around. “I want you on all fours, baby. Go on,” Namjoon squeezes you ass and then pushes you lightly onto the bed. 

You shift onto all fours, all too aware of how much you’re on display for them. And you feel yourself getting even more turned on. 

“Damn, Joon, look at that pretty little pussy,” Hoseok groans, “It’s all ours. She’s all ours.”

You feel a finger slide into you. “Babygirl,” Namjoon groans, “When I wreck you, I want you to suck Hobi off, okay?”

“Yes, sir,” You pant, needing them both so bad. 

Namjoon chuckles darkly as Hoseok gets into position in front of you. He barely settles before you lean down to taste him. Your tongue swirls around the tip and then you take him into your mouth.

You feel Namjoon’s finger slip out of you only to be replaced by the head of his cock. As he eases into you, you groan around Hoseok’s length, making him twitch. 

Namjoon slowly begins moving in and out of you. “You feel so nice, baby,” He murmurs, gripping your hips, “So hot and tight around my cock.” 

You clench around him and Namjoon moans, “Fuck, baby, if you keep doing that, I’m gonna come too soon.” You clench again, because you’re a brat.

Thwack. Namjoon’s hand comes down hard on your ass and stays there, kneading the sting out slowly. His pace picks up. His cock slamming into you, his hips grinding into your ass with each thrust. Soon enough, you’re hurtling towards the edge once again. You release Hoseok from your mouth; and instead, you focus on moving one of your hands up and down his shaft as you lap at his tip.

You feel yourself gripping Joon tightly as you move your hips back to meet each of his thrusts. “You gonna come, babygirl?” Namjoon spanks you again as his other hand reaches around your body to rub your clit. 

You come with a scream, your vocabulary erased to the point where you only know the names of your lovers. Namjoon continues to pound into you, carrying you through your orgasm. 

But still, you’re not satisfied. “Hoseok,” You peer up at your sunshine, “I want you inside me, too.”

“Lovely,” Hoseok sighs, leaning down to press a sweet kiss to your lips, “Are you sure?” 

“Yes,” You nod emphatically, shaking your ass slightly.

Still inside you, Joon groans, “We’ve unleashed a monster, Hoseok. Go grab the lube from your room, yeah?”

“Why? I have some,” You point towards your bedside drawer. “It’s in there.”

Hoseok opens your drawer and curses, “Lovely, have you been fucking yourself with these toys?”

“No,” You retort, getting up from your bed and ignoring the noise of protest that Joon makes when he slips out of you. “I just stare at them for the aesthetic, Hobi.” You move him aside with your hips as you grab the lube from its spot.  

Hoseok bites down on your neck. “Such a brat,” He mumbles into your skin as he kisses the mark he just made.

They don’t know the half of it... You grin, “Now, are you both going to fuck me? Or should I go back to take those bouncers up on their offer?” 

No sooner had the words left your mouth than Namjoon grabs you, wrapping your legs around his waist and sinks his cock back inside you. “You think that’s funny, baby?” He growls into your ear, “You’re not even going to remember their existence when Hobi and I are done with you.”

You moan as you feel Hoseok’s finger teasing your ass, getting you ready to take him. The coolness of the lube sends a shiver down your spine as you eagerly anticipate being full of both your boys. “Please, Hoseok,” You whine, desperate for him. You grind your hips down onto Joon as best you can, and when you feel the first gentle touch of Hoseok’s cock against your hole, you throw your head back so it rests on his shoulder. 

Hoseok sinks into you inch by inch, torturously slow. You’re panting now as you are stretched around the two of them.

“Gods-fucking-damn,” Hobi moans, his hips meeting your ass as he bottoms out inside you. “Joonie, I can feel you. Gods, you’re so tight, lovely.”

“Please,” You cry. You need them to move, to fill you up with their come.  

And when they finally start moving in and out of you, you think you might be ascending into the astral plane. Namjoon’s mouth lowers to suck at your nipples. Hoseok’s hands roam around to flick and play with your clit. You’re so overwhelmed by the multiple sensations, your hands digging into Namjoon’s hair, holding him close to you.

“I’m gonna come,” Hoseok whines, his forehead dropping to your shoulder, his hips stuttering as he chases his high.

“Me too. Come with us, baby,” Namjoon orders, his own voice straining as he shifts your legs up higher to get deeper inside of you.  

Tears stream down your cheeks as his cock hits that spot inside you, and you’re coming. Your walls clench down around both of their cocks, milking them. Their cum fills you up with warmth as your pussy continues to pulse around them. 

“Oh, lovely,” Hoseok sighs, his voice breaking as he thrusts shallowly in and out of you, riding out his orgasm.

“You’re so perfect, baby,” Namjoon places light kisses all over your chest, “You were made for us.”

You can’t even find words as they eventually pull out of you. Cum drips down your legs as Joon sets you down. You watch as Hoseok swipes at it with two fingers and then brings it up inside you. “Want you to be full of us always,” He says, placing a swift kiss to your lips.

“My heart already is,” You murmur, your lips twitching as Hoseok groans at your cheesiness.

“Baby,” Namjoon sighs, his arms wrapping around you, “That was terrible.” 

“Please,” You roll your eyes, “You love it.”

“Yeah,” They reply, “I guess we do.”

© luxekook do not repost, edit or translate

[katsukis-sad-angel]

yes plz

omg can i plz get a scenario where some villains capture and torture (y/n) and then boom boom boi rescues them, but they still have nightmares about it so boom boom boi comforts them and cuddles them and tells him that he’ll protect them. sooooo swoony UwU

---

Absoultely!!! Thank you so much for the cute prompt, I actually had some fun with this despite the actual prompt lol. I hope it’s what you were looking for!!

warnings: heavy angst, heavy fluff, soft baku for the soul, mentions of blood, gore, abuse, vomit, panic attacks, character death, bakugou and the reader are married, my trash writing

word count: 1K

Seven months.

Seven months since your release from the year-long nightmare that continued to haunt you even as your husband held you firmly against his chest in your queen-sized bed.

It was hot. He was hot. There was just too much heat all over you, the weighted blanket, Katsuki’s muscled arms crossed over your heaving stomach, his chest pressed against your back for support, and the summer night outside… you felt like you were being suffocated in the measures taken to help you.

Katsuki immediately noticed your change in breathing and allowed you to squirm away from him and sit up before emptying the contents of your stomach into a preplaced bowl on the floor next to the bed.

He scrambled to sit up and grab your waist so you wouldn’t fall off the mattress in your lightheaded state. When you were finished, you started crying, the burning ache in your throat becoming almost too much to bear.

Gentle hands wiped your mouth and coarse thumbs wiped away your tears. He wanted to avoid a panic attack at all costs so he took you with him to get you a glass of water.

It must’ve been quite a spectacle, once a high-ranking pro-hero reduced to carrying his sobbing, mentally scarred wife into the kitchen of their apartment to get her a glass of water to soothe her protesting stomach and burning throat.

But if you could see his face, there was nothing but concern and determination in his now gentle vermillion irises. 

The images and words that flashed through your head weren’t helping either; a deeply scarred male pressing flaming palms to your skin, searing the flesh until it sizzled, no remorse, no hesitation, only ringing laughter while you screamed and pleaded for mercy. A small blond girl, nearly a child, dragging her knife along your naked body as she questioned you. But every time you refused to give her an answer, her wrist would flick and a cut would form on your thigh or your arm or your cheek and she would shriek with laughter at your cries. Being beaten with anything available until your bruised skin gave way and blood seeped out and puddled on the floor, dragging your body through pools of your own blood and vomit as you tried to get away from your next undeserved punishment, watching someone else use brute strength to break your fingers-

You tried to listen to Katsuki’s soft, encouraging words, you valiantly attempted to sip the water you were given, but the air pushing in around you was cold now and your tender scars weren’t having it.

“Come on babycakes, I know you can hear me,” Came his gruff, sleepy murmur, “Look at me, focus those pretty eyes on me honey, it’s just you and me.”

The heart beating rapidly in your ears, the bitter cold sinking hits claws into every pore on your body, the crushing thoughts of your woes… everything simply paused when you locked eyes with him.

Soon the warmth of his fingertips lifting your chin defeated the tyranny of the chill keeping you locked in place and a comfortable heat spread down to your toes. The cool water that seemed lodged in your esophagus, went down easily and you let him help you with another sip.

“Nightmare again?” He asked, pulling you into his lap, “What did the therapist tell you to do when that happens?”

His words weren’t hurtful or condescending in any way, he just wanted you to be able to know what to do while he was away. What if you had a panic attack while he was in the shower? What if he was at the store and your nap had taken a turn for the worst?

You wilted, guilt stabbing your heart as you noticed the bags under his eyes. “T-To look around, find all the things that are around me and compare them to the bad place. Then I’ll know I’m safe unless I’m not.” 

Your hoarse whisper and correct answer earned you a nod and a smile, “I know you don’t think about it, especially when you’re in the middle of an attack, but we need to work on them ok? That was the fastest time it’s taken you to listen to my voice and calm down though, I’m very proud of you.”

He squeezed your hands reassuringly, “You’re getting better babygirl, it’ll all be over soon,” He promised, “I’m so happy you’re here with me, I must’ve cried every day you were gone until I finally had you in my arms again. I love you so goddamn much, you don’t even know.”

“You’ve stayed with me, you gave up your dream for me, you haven’t given up on me and refuse to let me give up on myself… I never expected you to stay behind with me while your friends move up the ranks, I expected you to leave like anyone else with goals would. But you didn’t. And you’re here…” You said in a raspy murmur, arms locked around his neck.

“Sssh, don’t strain yourself bunny. Remember what the therapist said, breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth.” He responds, “Do three for me ok? Crying dehydrates you, you gotta stop.”

“I… I just love you so much.”

You miss the uncontrollable smile that pokes his mouth because he had your head resting over his shoulder, but you felt him squeeze you a little tighter, the simple action bringing a watery smile to your own features.

You spent the next half hour going through your breathing exercises, some physical therapy for your damaged muscles (also to help you sleep), and you watched a detective show in his lap on the couch while he braided your hair.

When it was over, your husband carried you back to bed and tucked you into his chest under a few sheets and settled down, thumb brushing your freshly washed cheek affectionately.

“Feeling ok?” He whispers and you nod, reaching up to twist your fingers into his hair and pull him down for a tentative kiss.

You giggle when he pulls away, cheeks tinted pink.

It had been so long since you shared an actual kiss.

“So cute,” He murmured, “I could never replace you, not for all the money Deku got when that All Might bastard died. You’re worth more to me than oxygen itself, got it?”

You nod and pull his pretty face down for another kiss.

Slowly but surely, you knew, but someday everything would be ok again.

[villainsblog97]

NCT as Your Boyfriend

This is gonna be the LONGEST BF scenario I’ve ever done!!! O.O

Warnings: Maybe some language? some PG-13 Content 

Scenario: BF, Romance, Angst if you squint -.-....fluffy (TO THE MAX) 

HERE     WE    GO! 

Taeyong

Our Brave leader!

Taeyong might look, tough, scary, and totally sexy and charismatic

BUT

He’s nothing but a big floof

Especially for you...his girl 

Taeyong would be nothing but a sweetheart to you!

He would be the kind of boyfriend to make cookies with you at 2 in the morning because you were hungry and had a sweet tooth. 

I also see him just melting over everything you do! 

EVERYTHING

He loves making you laugh, and you love making him laugh

He is always making sure you’re happy and healthy

Like one day he’ll make you some Ramyun, then the next day he’s making you some detoxing tea and a nice fresh salad

You are his world.

Fights happen, but oh so rarely

But when they do

Our lil Bubu is a mess

He can’t focus, he can’t think straight

All he can think of is how your face looked

He has to make things right with you

And of course he does.

Overall he would be the best Boyfriend ever! 

Kun

Kun is definitely more of your best friend 

But he gets to cuddle and kiss you too 

Kun loves you to no end

And he will let the entire damn dorm know about it

He’s the leader of WayV 

God help him

You’re the only thing that keeps him sane

But you can bet that this boy will hype you up on everything

He’ll stare at his phone, smiling like an idiot 

Lucas: what’s he all smiley for?

WinWin: What else??

He also loves his magic tricks on you

Pulls flowers out of a hat for you

Definitely 

Like Taeyong, fights rarely happen

But if they do

Kun is gonna do something totally hilarious to make up with you

Something you can’t help but laugh at.

I see Lucas and YangYang involved in it too

Once you two have made up, he’s glued to you

He just wants to love you and you alone

Taeil

Taeil is kind of hard to read, because we don’t see a lot of content with him

But I see him being a pretty chill boyfriend 

He supports you in everything 

and he loves to spoil you

Always buying something that reminds him of you 

He also loves taking you out to restaurants 

Like the ones you get all dressed up for

Taeil also loves you in dresses

He just looks like he would like dresses 

He also can do fun dates too

Like the amusement park

He just wants to see you happy

If you have fights 

It’s hella serious 

You guys need some time away from each other

Until about 3 in the morning when he’s calling you and pouring his heart out

You have no choice but to forgive him

Mostly because he hates sleeping without you

Like I said he only wants to see you happy 

Johnny

Our Chicago boy is DEFINITELY a romantic!

You are his girl

And he’ll make sure everyone knows that 

I get the feeling he would love holding your hand

Like everywhere

You are his queen 

He’s always gotta show you off

“Wow... who is that beautiful woman??? Oh right, that’s my girlfriend!”

He loves making you blush too 

Always giving compliments to you

He tells you he loves you 24/7 

Cuddling is his favorite 

and because he’s so tall 

(Yep you guessed it)

Lots of forehead kisses

It’s healing for both of you

I can’t see you guys fighting a lot

It’s more like little bickers and arguments 

He will do whatever it takes to keep that smile 

Your smile is his favorite feature on you

Johnny Suh is a 1,000/10 Boyfriend 

Yuta 

Much like Taeil 

He loves spoiling you 

Dates are mandatory for our Japan boy

He’ll do just about anything with you 

I feel like he would love buying little plushies for you

Don’t ask why

He’ll call and text you every chance he gets 

If he’s on tour

Video calls

Counts down the days til he get’s back to you 

Loves hugging and holding you

You absolutely love his smile

Who doesn’t???

Yuta doesn’t look like he would be too much into PDA 

but when you guys are alone

He’s stuck to you like glue

He can’t fight with you 

It’s just not in his nature

If you guys do

There’s gonna be tears 

From both of you 

He’ll just hold you and tell you how sorry he is 

He love you so much and never wants to lose you

Doyoung

I’m not gonna get into how he looked in this MV

Okay

Doyoung is precious

Doyoung is sassy

and he also has a really strong RBF (resting b*tch face)

So Dating Doyoung would be...... a challenge 

He would be the best boyfriend 

but at the same time you’re questioning it 

not in a bad way of course 

I feel like he would be very blunt with you 

You come out in a long yellow dress

“Doyoung how does this look??”

“You look like a banana” o.O

.....

But then! 

He would suggest his favorite dress that looks absolutely stunning on you

He would even pull it out of your closet 

“This one... you look so beautiful in this one”

He won’t apologize for the insult

but his eyes will make up for the comment

When he’s having a bad day he’ll just want to hold you

Doesn’t matter where 

He loves it when you hold him too

Running your fingers in his hair

Because he’s so savage, fights could be often

But he does make up for them and this time he will apologize 

He also loves slow and long kisses 

He loves to feel you 

He loves you.

Ten 

Ten literally bias wrecked himself into my bias list 

Now this boy is more than just a beautiful dancer 

He’s shown that in past couple years now

Ten is a total weirdo too

You love that 

He’ll make you smile and laugh on your worst days 

He loves making you laugh

but he can also be super romantic 

I see him being a flower petal guy 

Getting a hot bath prepared for you 

He’s just a gentleman 

He also loves cracking up jokes with you

Always calls you baby

and always telling you he loves you

if a fight happens 

I can see it going two ways

the first being very emotional 

lots of tears 

The other way

(PG-13)

An aggressive make-out session 

Like you two are so mad at each other that it becomes sexual tension

and you two have to get rid of it

Anywhooo

after your night (hint hint wink wink)

You both lay in each other’s arms, promising to not fight again.

Or maybe fight, if it ends like that

Jaehyun

My bias wrecker! 

Okay Jaehyun is already like the ultimate boyfriend material 

So you know he’s gonna meet all the qualifications 

Why do I see him loving to go shopping with you?

Any kind of shopping

Clothes shopping, grocery shopping, even shoe shopping 

like his hyungs

he too loves to spoil you

with everything

anything he buys you, you treasure it.

He loves taking you out and showing you off to the world 

He makes sure no guy even looks at you wrong.

He gets jealous really easy 

“I don’t like that guy...” *pouty face*

“Well that’s my cousin so you have to like him a little”

“.....”

If you two fight it’s for something serious

maybe he’s working too much

or you feel like you never get to see him.

He can usually stay really calm during the fight 

He tries to listen to you as much as he can.

When you’re standing there yelling at him out of frustration

He’ll just walk up to you and hug you.

“Let’s not fight anymore, let’s just stay like this for a minute” 

WinWin

Like Taeil we don’t get to see much of our boy

but he is still there!

And to you

He’s the only one

I get the feeling that WinWin would be a very shy and cute boyfriend

Like he asks you for everything he wants to do

Asks to hold your hand

He never wants to make you feel uncomfortable 

Always asks you where you want to eat

He takes his time learning all about you

He probably blushes more than you do

And he loooooves hugs

You in his arms is the best feeling ever! ^_^

I feel like it would take A LOT to make him mad 

so your fights would be almost non existent 

When he’s away from you

He’ll send you a ton of snaps!

Miss you so much beautiful

He’ll wait for hours until you reply 

“She’s not answering” *sad eyes* 

“Dude it’s like 3 in morning in Seoul! she’s probably asleep”

Lots of good morning / night texts

He would be an adorable boyfriend!

Jungwoo

Lord help me...

My bean!

Okay so Jungwoo is a literal squish

So being your boyfriend

Is like the biggest UWU fest ever!

He is so whipped for you 

All the members will give him hell for it

You aren’t just the love of his life

You are his EVERYTHING

My heart is gonna hurt

His favorite word to call you is Jagiya 

There it goes >.<

Can you actually pick a fight with this boy??

He probably would get seriously emotional

He is also one who gives you a lot of plushies and flowers 

Bubble Tea dates

Arcade dates

He loves spending time with you 

He pouts when you can’t go to shows with them

Because he wants you to how cool he is on stage.

Jungwoo would be the ultimate squishy boyfriend

Lucas

This little Sh*t... -_-

Okay so this boy takes pride in making you flustered AF

It’s his job

He’s a flirt

He’a tease

You’re constantly yelling at him.

“LUCAS STOP!” 

He just laughs it off

Okay now hear me out

This boy will kiss your neck and growl in your ear

Just to get a squeal out of you

You neck all cringed up 

But he can also treat you like a princess

He loves holding your hand in public areas 

He wants people to know who you belong to

He’s not afraid of PDA 

When you two fight, if can actually get a little scary

Lucas has a deep voice and it gets husky when he’s mad 

You’re not turned on by it at all 

That’s probably where it will end

“You really piss me off sometimes” 

“Yeah and you do too!” 

Boom... making out 

At the end of the night you two still love each other and would do anything for each other. 

Mark

My boy! Loved him since Cherry Bomb! (first MV I saw)

Okay so like Jaehyun

Mark is already boyfriend material

He loves you beyond words 

So Mark is definitely a cuddle bug

He will fall asleep holding onto you

and if you are having a bad day 

He’ll lay you down on his bed, sit beside you and play his guitar

He loves playing with your hair

He’s tried failed to put it in a ponytail 

Mark is always trying to make you laugh 

He loves hearing it

He definitely calls you babe a lot

He likes to show you his parts in his songs (127, dream, U and Super M)

Fights with him would be small

and short 

He would try to end them as fast as they started 

If he can’t he’ll wait til you’ve calmed down a little before coming into your room, playing your favorite song on his guitar

He never sleeps without you

That’s why he always gets a little sad when he has to go on tour 

So you two video call until one of you falls asleep

I need a Make Lee >.<

Xioajun

I’m becoming utterly whipped for this boy

Okay 

Xioajun is also a romantic 

He also looks a really good kisser

So with that said

He will kiss you every chance he gets

This boy will treat you like absolute royalty

He will also call you princess 

I mean Xioajun himself looks like a prince

He also loves back hugs 

Like while you’re in the kitchen and he just comes up behind you and wraps his arms around your waist

Lots of cheek kisses that would trail down to your neck 

(Deep inhale and exhale)

A fight would only happen if you initiate it

If you told him he did something he would run over a hug you before you could walk away

It would be like a scene from a kdrama 

He would hold you for a second before you turned around to return the hug that lead to a kiss and an apology.

Hendery

One of the biggest crackheads in NCT and WAYV 

So obviously 

You’re gonna have a crack head boyfriend

Hendery is more than likely from another planet

Or at least that’s what you feel like

You are his baby

He makes sure you know too

“My baby!!!” (He is so loud XD)

You’re always questioning what he’s doing

He loves making you laugh too

So he’ll be doing something totally weird just to get a giggle out of you

“Aha! you smiled!” 

I think it’s impossible to fight with him 

I think if it were to happen 

It would be weird

Like you two aren’t actually fighting 

and eventually you two would just bust up laughing 

he looks like the kind to always hold your face when he kisses you

like his hand on your face, or lifting your chin to kiss you

he also looks like a good kisser too

Renjun

I feel like Renjun would ultimately be an amazing boyfriend

So you are his first priority 

ALL

THE

TIME

He is so caring of you

and he loves being around you 

He could be practicing and he sees you coming into the room

Everything stops

“Hold up! my girl is here!”

He also loves taking you on dates 

Fancy dates

Movie dates are his favorite though

I can’t see you two fighting a lot but if it does

He is gonna cry

(Please no one hurt him)

He’ll go to his hyungs for advice 

Then he’ll show up in front of you

Face all puffy

Eyes all red 

(My heart is breaking)

He’ll apologize so many times 

You have no choice to hug him and forgive him

He’ll feel relieved when he feels your arms around him

Then he spendss the rest of the day with you

Ultimate boyfriend!

Jeno

Jeno is total baby

so granted

He’s your baby

I feel like is adorably clingy

Like always needs to be touching you

Holding you

Whines when you have to leave your cuddle fest 

Pouts when you won’t kiss him

but then 

He can take charge on you

He was the one that asked you out

He initiated the first kiss

But he just likes being all soft and squishy around you

If the day ever comes that you two argue or yell at each other

Its definitely short

He will return to his baby act and bat those little eyes at you until you give in to him

Much like Hendery, you two kind of just laugh it off

Then you two are back 

Who can resist those eyes

Lets be real

No one can

Haechan

THIS BOY

He’s obviously spent too much time with Doyoung

He’s savage 2.0

But he loves you to no end

You two definitely have video game dates

He gets mad when you win

“Psht! I let you win...”

*Dramatic eye roll* 

He doesn’t let you live any of your embarrassments down

He’ll tease the shit out of you

He is the most extra boyfriend ever

You literally cannot take him anywhere

But no one else gets to mess with you

That’s his job

If someone tries to prank you

It’s on!

“This is my woman, no one else messes with her but me!”

“...”

Now don’t get me wrong

He still takes care of you

If you’ve had a bad day, or a fight with him

He’ll hold you in his arms

Gently rock you back and forth 

Sing sweet ballads in your ear

(Writing this is making my heart ache!!!)

Maybe he’ll mess up the notes just to make you laugh

Start singing off key

“Haha! My baby laughed!” 

You love this dork to the moon and back.

Jaemin

(Lord give me strength)

Okay Jaemin is also the ultimate boyfriend

This boy would treat you like absolute royalty

He is so in love with you

It’s almost sickening 

He can’t go a day without you

If he does

It drives him crazy 

He’ll sends you so many pics and videos 

Telling you how much he misses you or loves you

This boy is a big lover

He will show you it 24/7

Kisses all the time

He can’t help it

He craves your taste, your touch

He craves you 

(This is making crazy O.O )

He loves it when you wear his hoodies

He melts with everything you do

He can’t help it

Jaemin can’t fight with you either 

He’ll just ask you to please stop fighting 

Also hold you in his arms until you’ve calmed down 

He also loves playing with your hair 

Loves the feeling of your soft locks

He will cuddle the hell out of you

I’m not saying I want a Na Jaemin

But that’s exactly what I’m saying.

YangYang

Our boy YangYang would also be a total goofball

He’s such a cutie

And he takes pride in that

Like Jeno

He is your baby

and you love it so much

But he’s more like a baby that flirts with you 

He’ll say little sentences in German too

and won’t tell you what he said

“Please tell me what you said!!”

“That ruins the fun” 

“Babe!”

He will love to tease you 

All the time

He laughs at you for everything too

You just make him giggle

Especially when you want to know what he said in German and he won’t tell you

Like a lot of the members 

I can’t see you two getting into a lot of fights

I just can’t 

If there ever comes a day where he does tell you what he said in German

Let’s be real

It’s probably dirty...

Shotaro

We don’t know much about Shotaro

Except that he’s FREAKING ADORABLE

But I feel like he would be very similar to Renjun

He just spoils you rotten

You are his princess 

He loves to hug you too

Lots of hugs

and cuddles

(Give me strength!!! >.<)

He is also loves shopping with you too

He looks like snackin boy! 

So lots of snacks 

and movie dates

Okay another ultimate boyfriend 

No one better ever hurt this boy

Or I’ll fight you! (ง'̀-'́)ง

So on that note

no fights

Because I can’t imagine his sad face

Please protect him

We must protect him!!!

Sungchan

I get the feeling that Sungchan would also be like a combination of Mark and Jaemin

He loves you like a best friend

but also like a queen 

And again

Because he’s so tall

More fore head kisses

And lots of hugs too

He loves putting his arms around you

He’ll put your arms around his waist and then wrap his arms around you 

Tall people just make you feel secure

He too is very difficult to fight with 

Its also more like bickers or arguements

(Ah Young love)

He loves movie dates too

Just curled up on the couch

Buried in blankets

Snacks all around you

He is just the best.

Chenle

First thing’s first

PREPARE YOUR EAR DRUMS

This boy is so loud

But he’s a giggle box

And he loves it when you make him laugh

He also loves to make you laugh too

He seems like a chill one too

and he’s always singing to you

Chenle looks like a cuddler too

and a tickler

He’ll do whatever it takes to hear your laugh

He is also a sweet heart too

Always buying you food, and snacks

He wants to keep you happy

I can see him loving picnics

But he’s very underrated 

So he needs reassurance a lot from you

You always tell him he’s doing well

No fights from you guys

But you guys can be away from each other 

Only for a little bit though

Then he has to see you

He’s been without you too long

Jisung

Our little baby

Ain’t so much a baby anymore ㅠ.ㅠ

So this boy 

You’re his first love

So he doesn’t want to mess anything up

He wants to only make you happy

But he’s never dated before

So he isn’t sure all the time on what you guys should do.

He’s got 22 hyungs

They’ll help him out

Okay maybe not Haechan...or Hendery...

He really like to hold your hand 

I feel like he wouldn’t be too much into PDA

He likes to be alone with you

If any of the members tease him

He’s gonna get flustered AF

Lots of facepalms when the guys are around giving him a hard time

He’s their baby, they aren’t use to seeing him with his arm around a girl

or giving her kisses

or cuddling her on the couch

If you guys get into a fight 

He’s gotta ask everyone how to make up for it

So there he is

At your door

Flowers and giant teddy bear 

He’s really shy and tripping on his words

So of course you forgive him shortly after he stars stuttering words out to you

He’s growing up too fast!!! >.<  

(WHEW! Made it!! hope you guys enjoyed it! let me know what group I should do next! Please support NCT in their new album and Stream their MVs!)

[fbfh]

three infinites and a reunion - sirius black x reader (gn)

pairing: sirius black x gn reader

wc: 1.2k

genre: ooh boy some hurt/comfort, moderate angst but it’s justified and quickly resolved, some trauma but what’s to be expected lol

warnings: spoilers for prisoner of azkaban sort of but most of it’s kind of common knowledge at this point, some fucks and other brief swears, post azkaban but the timeline is weird don’t come for me, reader is shaking cause of emotionally intense situation, mentions of bad mental health bc you know... dementors.... and uh, brief mentions of small stress induced weight loss (some promenent bones), sirius is king of consent, “you must be starving” then y’all eat some food, you get really fuckin determined to protect him who wouldn’t

summary: Holding out faith sometimes works out for the best, especially when the condemned love of your life is suddenly right in front of you, embracing you on the floor of your laundry room.  

requested: no i just have dogman brain rot

song I listened to while writing this: snow - ricky montgomery, the shipped gold standard - fall out boy, golden days - panic at the disco (bc it makes me think of marauders era in general lol)

a/n: as I have stated before I don’t know how numbers work or how to do basic math so I fucked with the timeline a little which should boil down to this: sirius was in az*aban for two years before he escaped making him around 23, while harry is maybe 3 or 4, don’t come for me if it’s off lmao

also this is what I imagine sirius to look like but like,, with the expressions and mannerisms in the viria fanart

I have at least two more parts planned out roughly so those should come at some point uwu

requests are open, here’s my kofi xo

Shaking. You’re fucking shaking, tremors wracking uncontrolably through your body as you stare through blurry, tear filled eyes already spilling, at the big black dog in front of you. You look up at your porch light almost instantly, squeezing your eyes shut. You can’t tell which is louder, the layered incomprehensible thoughts fighting and screaming every instinct, or your pulse hammering in your ears. This is almost too much to bear as it is, but right now what you need are some fucking answers. This is confirmed as steel yourself, looking back down at the dog before you can even finish the thought. 

You read somewhere that the more you think of a memory, the faster it fades. After almost two years of thinking of him, of those eyes that held such love and loyalty and courage, you were sure your memories of him must be worn out to near transparency. And yet you stand corrected right there on your porch after one year, eleven months, and two and a half weeks of repetitive, maddening remembering, looking into those eyes and knowing as clearly as you did all that time ago that this isn’t just a black dog.

You don’t even have to say anything, the message clear in those all too intelligent eyes being proof enough. Practicality snaps into place, and you hurriedly usher him inside, not knowing which felt longer - almost two years of painfully tested loyalty, or those fifteen seconds out on your porch. You secure the locks, pushing the foyer table against the door, and lead him into the laundry room and away from any windows or fireplaces. You press your back against the closed door, sliding down, trying to catch your breath, the dog sitting patiently across from you. 

You press the heels of your hands to your eyes, letting out a sharp breath, almost laugh, of relief. You take a few deep breaths, trying to center yourself before you work up the courage to look up. When you do, he’s sitting right there. He looks virtually identical to the last time you saw him, your memories once again stronger than the time trying to erode them. Those same eyes are latched onto yours, disbelieving and searching yours for any traces of hate or bitter judgement. 

He concludes there really is none when you throw yourself into his arms, holding him so tight. He chokes back a sob as he buries his face in your neck, arms wrapping around your back, hands clutching your shirt. You fight tears of pure relief, pursing your lips and letting out a few concentrated breaths. 

“Sirius,” you manage after yet another infinity, still shaking in his arms. His tears finally spill at the raw love in your voice, beginning the painful filling of the hole the dementors had been steadily carving for years. You feel the cool, wet droplets hit your shoulder, and you squeeze him even tighter. 

“I swear, I would never-”

“I know,” you cut him off, his voice tight, riddled with pain and the fear of being unjustly rejected and shunned again. One hand runs over his back in soothing, repetitive shapes, the other smoothing the back of his hair, “I’ve always known.” You repeat, your voice fierce with certainty, free of any trace of doubt. Your warmth almost burns him after all that time in the bitter cold, and he curls tighter into you, almost unable to breathe. 

After a while, you’re not sure how long, you finally pull away to look at him properly. It’s surreal, one moment he looks exactly like how you last saw him, the next he’s almost unrecognizable. His face is slightly more angular than you remember, the rosy glow to his cheeks all but gone, and you’re sure he’s lost some weight. His collarbones and spine are more discernible under your touch than they had been. At only 23, he holds a battered, beaten sorrow beyond his years, but a light lives in his eyes that will never go out. Who could blame him? You’re sure he’s in much better shape than anyone else in that hell hole. 

His hand caresses your cheek, memorizing every eyelash and freckle. 

“I missed you,” he brings his forehead to yours, “so much.” You feel the pain and emotion in his voice, and you remind yourself that it’s all over now. You’re not going to let him go back there. Ever. Your hand runs through his hair, and you bring your lips closer to his. 

“I missed you too,” your warm breath fans over his face, and his breath hitches, “so, so much.” Your words echo his, and his heart lurches, feeling like it’s beating again for the first time in far too long. You hover there for a second, and you feel his hesitance. With everything that happened, all the slander and lies, he doesn’t know how you feel. The last thing he would ever do is try to initiate unless he knows you want to as much as he does. His unbroken, unwavering respect makes you smile - he’s still as much of a gentleman as ever. 

You close the space between with no hesitation, and your lips meet. The corners of both your eyes are misty with relief and passion and everything left unsaid as he pulls you into his lap, as invested in you as ever. You kiss feverishly, his lips slightly chapped but still soft. You angle your head deepening the kiss, and his hands squeeze your waist. When you finally pull away to catch your breath, you pepper a few kisses across his face, trailing down to his neck before resting your head on his shoulder. 

“Does anyone know you’re here?” you ask quietly, already dreading an answer. 

“Not yet, I don’t think,” he answers, kissing the top of your head, “just got out.” 

You pull your head up, staring at him in disbelief, a smile tugging at the corners of your mouth. 

“You’re the first person I’ve come to see,” he continues, loving the look on your face, “though the whole world will probably hear in the papers tomorrow-” “Oh my god,” you mutter, gently batting his chest, pulling him close to you again, pressing more kisses to the side of his face.

“Well, who did you think I’d see, the Queen?” You laugh into his neck, and the sound sends warmth through his whole body, like someone finally turned on the sun. His chest aches, this time from being so full after so long, and his arms tighten around you again. You pull away suddenly, a few moments later. 

“God, you must be starving. Do you want anything to eat?” 

“Well…” he muses, and you know that look. 

“Come on Puppy,” you say, finally getting to your feet, and helping him up with you. 

Sitting at your kitchen table across from him, the love of your life, finishing leftovers and debating on certain wizard vs. muggle foods was something you truly, to your core, never knew if you’d be able to do. In a moment of warm, insurmountable determination, you know that you will let absolutely no harm come to this man. Your mind is made up, resolutely as you pour tea, plans already forming. He fought for himself and for you for so long, now it’s your turn.

And this is not a fight you’re capable of losing.

[toxic-lavender]

I love your story so far! Is there any stories you'd recommend?

AW,.., thank u anon ur very nice uwu and yes! there are a few stories i’d like to recommend! I’ve read a lot of good stories on Ao3, and I might not be able to catch them all, but I’ll list and describe as many as I can remember. fics under cut bc this list is kinda long ngl

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27424321 - To Defend The People to The Utmost of Your Power, by Divine_Knight - a really great, currently ongoing read! The story focuses on Snatcher maintaining the forest post-The Tale of Queen Vanessa storybook, learning to adapt to being a ghost while also protecting the ghostly survivors of Vanessa’s wrath. I find it to be very interesting, and I check in every time i hear of an update!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26665003 - Entangled Fates, by TidbitsandThoughts (Ahatintimepieces on tumblr) - A spectacular fic!! Its roughly based on Majora’s Mask, and features Luka discovering a child in the forest, which leads him to a new, strange world and a mask mystery. It’s a very wonderful story, filled with angst and fluff at just the right amount. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27977349 - Beyond A Shadow of A Doubt, by TidbitsandThoughts - Absolutely amazing. It features Hattie, traveling with a sarcastic and snarky Eevee, with whom she can speak to, in search of her missing father, while also trying to rescue shadow Pokemon being brought to the region. A blend of Pokemon XD, Detective Pikachu, and AHiT, i can’t wait to read more <3

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27153139 - Soul-Stricken, by Nosferatank (banyanas on tumblr) - The first installment of the Beingverse series, the fic features Snatcher, a Being who stalks the Subcon Forest, having to deal with an annoying new head-roommate after an attempt at a quick snack turns into a bit of an ordeal. *inhales* SNEATURE IS VERY GOOD AND SNOWL IS VERY GOOD PLEASE GO READ DXCFNHJKML<

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23553421 - A Bloom In Time, by Itshauntedtoon3 - Snatcher has been dead for many years. He deals with annoying kids, a spectral doppelgänger, and an annoying ice witch down the road. But when a familiar face Snatcher thought was long gone reappears, could it be possible to love once more? VGBHNJMK this is such a good flowercrown fic yes please go read if u like flowercrown :)))

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27767563 - Well-Adjusted, by lemonadesoda - Probably my favorite fic from the ‘And I don't think you hate this as much as you wish you did‘ series, it features @/doodledrawsthings’ OTH! AU. Snatcher, Moonjumper, Hat Kid, and Bow Kid all go on the Arctic Cruise! Snatcher is dragged along into mischief by the children, and learns to loosen up a bit. 10/10 please go read

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26907541 - Subcon’s Sirens, by TidbitsandThoughts - Snatcher is a lonesome siren who swims around the coast of Subcon after a heartbreaking transformation hundreds of years ago, leaving him as a soul-eating siren. Two kids wash up on his shore. Surely they won’t be a nuisance. Right? SDBHJNKM. rose. rose i swear. my favroite fic. i love this fic so much. i wan more. *grabby hands* gimmie. want draw siren man,,, please read this i love this so much

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24654493 - What To Expect When You’re On the Run ,by berryfartsart - an absolutely heartwrenching fic featuring Snatcher and Harriet, on the run from his insane ex. What are they going to do, starting over from scratch? WATFRGHYUJIKOL. ngl this fic kinda sorta inspired the gijinka au story dfcgvbhjnkmljhgf., i absolutely love this story and its very good!! love. read it pwease.,

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1884079 - The Song Fic Series, by Tidbitsandthoughts - I really love this series! Comprised of a whopping 13 fics, the song fic series depicts Snatcher and Hat Kid, each dealing with the sorrow of their pasts, regrets and missing pages... ASDFGH. this series gives me such joy when i read it,,. the sad and happy partts just. make heart and brain swell with wholesome vibes.,

edit: added one more!

[letshaikyuu]

hi! i rlly love your writings, so is it okay if you give some recs on other haikyuu hcs/scenario blogs? i especially love those about the reader being team managers/younger sibling of one the boys uwu

I am literally the worst person to ask for this because I hardly go on my dash- but I do have extremely talented friends and people I look up to (who inspired me to make my own blog are under I) so here we go:

also, my 1k special is basically ‘being their manager,’ so enjoy (x)

I People you can’t miss because they’re legendary

@mikwrites - I am blessing you with the whole masterlist. Enjoy <3

@briswriting - also blessing you with this talent and her masterlist

@starboybokuto - selling my soul to write like zade no shit (masterlist)

@imaginethathaikyuu - a queen idc (masterlist)

@hqprotectionsquad - Lara be overflowing with talent (masterlist)

@haikyuudreaming - also pouring out talent like it’s a buffet (masterlist)

@haikyuuwriting - chef’s kiss and more (masterlist)

@nekomas-kuroo - talent here as well (masterlist)

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

II My dumdum friends who are also legendary

@ukaiwachin - has very unique and specific content that I don’t see often and I love my hoe (masterlist)

@iwaixiumi - also a talent and you can’t tell me otherwise (masterlist)

@caxsthetic - go to bish for angst, making us cry in the fandom (masterlist)

@haikyuuopworld - so much quality content, I cry (masterlist)

@kashika - just a hoe. That’s all (masterlist)

@noya-senpai-imagines - bish I can’t find your masterlist T^T

@baby-boy-taichi - we stan people who stan underrated characters (masterlist)

@normiewrites - we still fighting over tobio (masterlist)

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

III People/friends whose works I have yet to read thoroughly (cause we be lazy), but know they’re good

@dear-green-tea - masterlist

@kaiwritess - masterlist

@akaashichigo - jem also be very talented (masterlist)

@dorkyama - Remy serving talent (masterlist)

@fireflywritingstories - also cute and nice and talented (masterlist)

@bokutokoutarou - we stan talent (masterlist)

@lceiji - the aesthetic we all want and need (masterlist)

@writeiolite - for someone who doesn’t know shit about astrology, she do be making it fun (masterlist)

@tobiosbabie - an adorable baby who we all love (masterlist)

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Watch me forget like 198194 more blogs and people I know and talk to, but I am dumb so excuse moi