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bonny-kookoo · 10 months ago

Text

Jungkook

YEARNING || Intro

Some meetings are nothing but fleeting coincidence- others are what we call fate.

Tags/Warnings: Dragonblood!Prince!Jungkook, Human!Reader, Angst, Some fluff if you squint?, Jungkook is emotionally constipated oops

Length: 4.8k Words

-> Masterlist

There is no taglist for this fic.

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It’s been a long time since you’ve been put in your cell, and yet, you don’t provide the castle guards with any answers they might seek.

The straw pinches and picks at your skin, but it’s warm and soft whenever you sleep. The food you receive is barely enough to fill you, but it keeps you alive, and gives you something to do during the day. The only sunlight you get is from a small, barred up opening far up on the back wall of your cell- one of many, placed in rows, but always with a wall in between each cage to separate the prisoners. Isolate them.

Today, it’s raining.

Two guards enter the hall underground you’re in, opening your cell. “looks like you’ll get a shower.” One chuckles, before he puts the shackles around your wrists, tugging you out by the chain that connects them to one another. This is also not new. Sometimes, they’ll put you out in the snow, or the wind, or today- the rain.

But you’ve got nothing to say.

The light stings your eyes as you can hardly see, stumbling more than walking after the guard who chains your hands to a large, wooden construct meant to hold onto the chain from your shackles. “Maybe it’ll wash the grime off.” The guard jokes to the one next to him, before he leaves your already shivering body behind.

As your eyes adjust to the brightness, you look up- finally able to see the flying dragons above clearly, their wings keeping them circling in the skies, colors mixing.

This is why you’re here.

Dragons are seen as dangerous, wild and violent creatures that humanity needs to be protected from. Therefore, dragon eggs and nests need to be reported, and any sightings too- so when you failed to do so, and even offered a once injured beast shelter, you’ve made yourself an enemy to the kingdom.

Especially because you refuse to reveal where it went after you’ve nursed it back to health.

And you will continue to stay quiet, because you know that dragons aren’t the vile beings they’re made out to be. No- the real beasts are the humans here, who enslave their own people just for choosing to help an injured creature that’s not of the same kind.

This isn’t fair.

And if that is what life is all about- you don’t want it.

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They throw a young man into the cell right next to yours, where you’re still laying on the floor, still recovering from the rain and cold from yesterday.

He can’t be just a normal human being- the jewelry he still wears on his face and ears distinctive, just like the ink beneath his skin. He’s probably one of the dragonblood people.

He watches you for a good while, before he actually speaks, quietly so. “what did you do?” He asks, and your eyes look at him from where you’re laying on the floor near the hay.

“…I hid a dragon from the kingdom.” You answer just as quietly, eyes closing again.

“Why?” the young man asks.

“Because it.. was hurt.” You simply offer the truth.

“Did they survive?” He questions further, and you nod, a smile tugging on your lips.

“Can you hear them?” the man asks, but you shake your head.

“I’m not one of them.” You answer. “I’m just.. human.” You tell him, and he falls quiet again.

Having nothing more to say.

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Today, they’ve taken you both out again. Him in the cage, you chained up near him, hands bound by shackles attached to a wooden post.

It’s nighttime, and they’ve not yet taken you back inside like usual.

“You cannot hear them..” Comes a voice from the side, the young man turned towards you, the fire of a nearby torch reflecting off of his dark eyes. You nod- he’s most likely been imprisoned for a reason regarding dragons as well. “and yet you helped them?”

You shrug, which is barely noticeable amongst your shaking body. “..it felt unfair t-to leave it and l-let it be captured.” You admit to him. “E-everything was fine.” You say, and he just watches you, only a few larger dragons now left in the skies above. “but- b-but then I fought with my brother. And so he wrote a letter t-to the court.” You giggle, remembering the poor writing of his. Frankly, you couldn’t write at all- but still. For someone who thinks so highly of himself such as your brother, he sure lacks in every task and talent.

“What did you fight about?” the young man wonders.

“H-he had told me I had t-to leave the house we inherited from our p-parents, because he’d found a potential woman for himself.” You say. “A-and I told him to at least let me stay in the c-cabin close by.” You explain, voice stammering due to the cold. “He said I couldn’t. So we fought. Because.. I had nowhere else to go.” You admit. “I was scared.”

The young man is silent at that.

“can you hear them?” You ask, eyes closed as you hear his own chains move around with him as he adjusts his sitting position.

“I can.” He tells you, and you smile.

“Do you think they know?” You wonder, an open question he interprets as you asking if they know of your past actions for them. “maybe t-that’s why they’re above..” you figure, and it’s quiet for a moment.

“They know.” He tells you, and you nod, accepting that answer. He’s most likely just trying to comfort you, and you appreciate that. Your shivering slowly stops, and you know it’s not a good sign.

“I’m glad.” You say to him, tension leaving your body as you open your eyes again- surprised to see him look at you still, but his gaze doesn’t unsettle you like it does the guards. Maybe because to you, he’s an equal. He’s just as much in this situation as you are.

“Hold on a bit longer.” He says, and you’re not sure what he means by that- when suddenly, something crashes down, sky darkening as it fills with dragons, fire filling up the ground for a moment as one of them shields the young man from the guards approaching. He’s saying something, you’re not sure what- as his cage is torn and bent apart, steel unable to hold it’s shape against the claws of the beasts claiming the skies and mountains as theirs.

A dark brown dragon approaches you, bites at the chains of your shackles, before they break and have you released- body falling to the wet ground, where it is picked up by hands to be placed on the back of the beast.

You’re not very aware what happens. You just feel cold- and oddly warm, all at the same time.

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When you wake up, you’re warm- and also, not alone.

There’s multiple little.. animals? All laying on the blankets that cover you- and as you look closer, you realize they’re young dragons. “Oh, you’re awake.” A man says, noticing your opened eyes. “I was worried you might need more time. My name is Seokjin.” He offers, before adjusting a pillow. “You’re.. somewhere safe. That’s all you need to know for now.” He kindly offers, when the door opens.

“Oh, she’s up.” The other man says, politely nodding towards you. “I’ll tell the kitchen that she’ll eat too?” He asks, and Seokjin nods.

“But only some soup for now, the same as the others we took in.” He explains. “and yes, that includes Jungkook. Make sure he doesn’t steal anything from the kitchen.” He says, as the man chuckles and leaves. “That was Taehyung, by the way. He’s mainly responsible for the young hatchlings- but he’s also in charge of handling the new Hiwerns we took in.”

“…Hiwern?” You wonder, and Seokjin nods.

“yes. Hiwerns- are you not one?” he wonders as be helps you sit up. “Jungkook didn’t tell us much about you, so I assumed you were- despite you being rather.. small.” He says, and only now do you notice how tall he is.

“Jungkook?” you ask, unsure. “the.. other prisoner?” You ask, and Seokjin smiles.

“Yes. He was taken after he got caught off guard.. but we all know what the prince is like.” He laughs, making your eyes widen. “Wait.. you.. seem confused.”

“I am.” You say. “I’m not.. I don’t know anything about a.. prince?” You question, when someone walks in-

The man you remember.

“Jin, why do I need to keep eating soup- oh.” He notices, looking at you before his face becomes more gentle. “Hello. It’s good to see you up.”

“She’s a bit confused.” Seokjin says, as Jungkook nods.

“I figured.” He simply sighs. “I’ll talk to you later. I’d like to talk to her alone right now.” He requests, and Seokjin leaves, while Jungkook stays behind to sit on the edge of your bed.

He looks different. Skin clean, and dressed in clearly well made clothes- fit for a prince, like Seokjin had mentioned. “ask away. You must have many questions judging by the way you look.” Jungkook says, and you look to the little dragon hatchling that curls up near your legs, continuing to sleep.

“Hiwern.” You begin. “What.. is that?” You wonder.

“I’m a Hiwern. So is he, and almost everyone else here.” He simply replies. “Hiwerns are.. people who have dragon blood inside of them. We’re like.. descendants of the more traditional dragons, so to say. That’s why we can hear them, and speak their language.” He offers as an explanation. “that’s a very simplified version of it all. But you don’t need to know much more than that.” Jungkook says.

“…and you’re a prince?” You ask a bit more hesitant, and he nods.

“I am. At least, for the Hiwern people.” He shrugs. “for your people I’m nothing more than a monster.” He says, and you shamefully look down.

“What.. what is going to happen to me?” You wonder, and he just smiles as he gets up, hissing a bit probably due to his injuries he sustained while captured.

“You’ll heal. After that, we’ll bring you back to your people.” He reassures you, as he opens the door to let Seokjin back inside-

Leaving you with a dark wish to never heal at all.

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The snow is deep, as you and Jungkook walk through the woods in the mountains together.

You’re humming a song that catches his attention, making him turn to look at you over his shoulder. “how do you know this song?” He questions.

“My mother hummed it often. I just.. picked it up.” You answer a bit hesitant. “I can stop if you want..” you say, but he shakes his head.

“its no problem.” He answers. “your voice is.. soothing to listen to.”

“What is.. the song about?” You ask, awkwardly asking your questions because you don’t want to overstep a line- but this is a unique opportunity to satisfy some curiosity you’ve always had.

“The song of the daughter.” He answers. “it’s.. a tale of the first Hiwern daughter of the mountains.” Jungkook explains. “according to.. tales, there were once four daughters born from a dragon mother. One in the mountains, one near the sea, one in the desert, and one in the woods.” He recites. “and they gave their gift of dragonblood to their children, and so on. That’s how.. we apparently came to be. Sons and daughter’s born and travelled, and we eventually formed our own society.” He shrugs.

“So.. there’s Hiwerns all over the world?” You ask, and he nods.

“But since the royal families have made the act of dragon-speech illegal, we have been hiding.” He explains. “where is.. your family?” Jungkook asks as he walks further down the mountains with you.

“My mother was hung a few years ago, for.. the same thing I was supposed to be hung for.” You say, walking next to him. “but.. they didn’t hang me, because they wanted me to tell them where the dragon went.” You explain. “so they could find the nest.”

Jungkook stays quiet for a while, before he speaks again. “You said you have a brother?” Jungkook asks, and you nod.

“I was living with him after my mother died. Until.. he sent a letter out that exposed what I’d done.” You say.

“He’s a human too, I assume?” Jungkook wonders, and you nod your head.

“though we are only somewhat blood related. We have the same father, but not the same mother.” You tell him. He nods, quietly, before he walks further.

“this is as far as I’ll take you.” He says, before offering the bag to you. “There’s rations in here, and something to help you on your way.”

“You didn’t have to do that.” You tell him, but he shakes his head.

“take it as.. me repaying the kindness you’ve shown before.” He offers. Under different circumstances, he would’ve let you stay with him- but he can’t simply trust a kind face and gentle hands in times like these.

You’re still human. And humans can’t be trusted.

So you nod your goodbye, quietly, as you walk away from him and towards an uncertain future-

Leaving the prince with a slightly bitter taste on his tongue.

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Jungkook knows what the dragons are doing just a few days after you left- but that doesn’t mean he quite understands their reasons for doing it.

Sure, you’ve helped a young dragon in the past. And sure, you’ve been very sweet to the hatchlings too for the very short time you’ve been here. But why do all dragons seem to have this.. strange interest in you?

“You seem in thought.” Namjoon asks, as he places his books back into their respective spots in his library.

“I am.” Jungkook’s responds, looking out the window. “There’s.. do the dragons seem to be acting.. strange to you?” He asks, and Namjoon turns around to face him.

“..You’re talking about her.” He says, and Jungkook nods.

“They’re not very clear in their reasoning as to why they seem so interested in her.” Jungkook says. “and it’s most certainly neither prey drive nor distrust.”

“Its curiosity.” Namjoon finishes, as he puts another book between two others to keep them all in order. “Maybe because she’s living out in the open. From what I’ve heard, she’s not gone to any villages yet.”

“No.” the prince denies. “they.. almost watch over her.” He shakes his head, arms crossed. “Feann keeps flying over the area she currently resides in. And Gowren apparently keeps her company at night.” He explains, remembering the things he’s heard from the wild dragons of the area. “But they refuse to tell me their reasons as to why.”

“protectiveness. Interesting, considering she’s got no Hiwern blood.” Namjoon agrees with the prince’s suspicion. “they should naturally be wary of her- but if you remember, the hatchlings didn’t mind her either.” He offers.

You definitely spoke the truth when claiming that you were human, that much he knows. So why this interest in you?

“Maybe you could send out someone to check up on her.” Namjoon says. “I know this is making you nervous.”

“I probably have to.” Jungkook agrees. “I don’t want them to become too friendly with a human. The younglings might misunderstand, and lose their natural fear of humans.” He worries, and Namjoon nods.

“How about you send out Hoseok? Yoongi might be human, but he would most likely just intimidate her.” He proposes. “and, Hoseok is faster.”

“You’re right.” Jungkook nods. “thank you.” He nods,

Walking out the library to find the man in question right away.

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“Oh.” You say, spotting Hoseok walking towards you. You’ve seen him before, fleetingly, but you can remember faces well.

“You’ve come fairly far.” The man tells you, before he nods politely, and sets down a small bag of things. “these are sent by Seokjin.” He informs you, and you accept the bag that’s filled with some foods for you to eat, as well as a blanket.

“I- I’ll be out of the area soon, I promise.” You tell Hoseok. “I’m just.. not that fast.”

“There’s no need to rush, really-“ He starts, when suddenly, a young but large dragon clumsily makes its way down to instead almost.. shield you from the man?

“Huh?” you’re caught off guard, and mostly confused.

“This is.. something else.” Hoseok says, before he says something in a language you don’t understand- and you take it as a message to leave, as you slowly get up from your spot, to bury the remnants of the little fire you made, so you don’t draw too much attention to your existence. “where are you going?” Hoseok asks.

“Away.” You answer. “I’m not sure where to.. but I really don’t want to cause any problems for you or anyone else, really.” You explain yourself. “Prince Jungkook gave me the chance to be set free and start over- it would be ungrateful not to take it.” You tell him, and he nods.

It's not his place to question your actions.

And so he makes his way back, returns to the safety of his home and hidden town hidden by the high up mountains, where Namjoon already informs him that the prince wants to hear what he’s found right away.

“She gives her thanks. For the supplies I’ve given her- though I did not reveal the actual sender, like you told me to.” Hoseok says as he sits down with Jungkook, who’s just finished eating in his room.

“..was she well?” He asks, and the older Hiwern nods.

“She seemed fairly good given her situation.” He offers. “she is leaving the area as we speak.”

“I did not tell you to send her away.” Jungkook growls a bit argumentative, and Hoseok shakes his head.

“I know. It’s her choice she made herself.” He instead answers, though it doesn’t seem to pacify the prince very much. “why? She’s right in saying that it is for the best.”

“Id argue against that. Its for our best- but not hers.” Jungkook mumbles, understanding very well that you can’t just waltz back into the human towns as if nothing happened. You’re still wanted after all- and this time they won’t be so lenient, he’s sure of it.

“How come you’re so concerned, yet you sent her away?” Hoseok asks, curious. “We’ve taken Yoongi in, years ago. So it’s not like what she is could be the problem.” He almost teases.

“I don’t know.” Jungkook answers, leaning his chin on his hand. “I don’t.. I’m not sure about her.”

“You’re scared of a human?” the older dragonblood laughs, but the prince just rolls his eyes.

“it’s not fear. But.. uncertainty.” He admits instead. “The dragons are awfully attached. And so is my blood.” He says, referring to his inner dragon. “I’ve been.. dreaming of her.”

“Oh no, I’d rather not know.” Hoseok jokes.

“Trust me, I’d rather have simple desire filled visions than.. whatever it is that’s going on. If it was just sexual dreams I’d at least have a proper explanation as to what I’m supposed to do about it.” Jungkook shakes his head. “But instead, I just.. hear her sing.”

“Sing?” Hoseok wonders, interested.

“Humming, to be precise. The song of the Daughter.” The prince explains. “it keeps echoing in my head, and it’s quite frankly starting to drive me crazy.”

“And you think sending her away will help?” the older man asks without needing an answer. “it’s what you think you need to do, but what you actually need-“ hoseok stands up to place a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “-is an answer.”

“..You’re right.” The prince runs a hand over his face. “I’ll send out someone to find her, and bring her here. I can’t go on like this.” He says with frustration, before getting up to talk to Namjoon.

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Maybe, sending Yoongi was not quite the brightest idea the prince has had.

Because Yoongi notices quickly, that despite being on horseback, there’s no catching you. He’s spotted you already, has called out to you- but just like a freshly hatched dragon youngling, you seem to have an ingrown fear of anything remotely human. And the distrust is also clear, as you do not seem to care about his explanation of being sent by the Hiwern prince himself.

He can’t blame you. A former slave himself, he knows that his own kind is never to be believed.

There’s no arguing with you, as you play a game of hide and seek it seems like, and in a way, it’s almost an exciting change of pace for the usual slow and steady life in the mountains. “Please stop-!” He calls out again as he spots you once more-

But you’re running. And by the dragons above, you’re fast.

His horse is trying to keep up, even through the trees and bushes, but you’re at an advantage as you jump and duck your way left and right, until you find yourself out in the open, a river flowing past in quick motion. You would’ve had to cross it either way. There’s no way around it.

“Don’t do that!” Yoongi warns, well aware of the slippery stones and strong current most likely becoming a death trap if underestimated- and you seem to do just that, as you make your way through, legs soaking up the cold water. “stop- you’ll get hurt!” He calls out once more, but you just glare at him-

A fire equal to a dragon’s breath in your eyes.

And then, you slip, and fall right into the water, making Yoongi lead his horse as fast as it can run next to the riverbed, to keep an eye on you as best as he can- but the moment you seem to lose consciousness, he knows he’s lost.

“fuck!” Yoongi curses, horse refusing to move m as a dragon dives down from above to help- body blocking the river for a moment to catch yours against it, giving Yoongi an opportunity to drag you out and into the nearby grass.

The silvery dragon watches intensely as Yoongi helps you cough up the water swallowed, while others swarm the skies as if they heard the commotion and came to see for themselves. “can you hear me? What hurts?” Yoongi asks, concerned but also annoyed- and you just shiver for the moment, seemingly accepting whatever fate might fall onto you.

The fellow human sighs, before he moves to his horse to fetch a blanket he packs for emergencies- wrapping it around you, before he helps you onto its back to bring you where Jungkook had requested you to.

He's holding onto you with one arm, your body leaning against his front as you sit in front of him. “…how will I die?” You ask with a hoarse voice.

He chuckles. “hopefully not at all.” He answers. “The prince will already scold me enough for having you fall into the river.”

You sleepily watch the dragons above follow hou both- and decide that you believe him.

“I’m sorry.” You apologize.

“no need.” The man denies. “I can understand. And I would’ve been just as wary if I was you.” He offers.

“Why.. do I have to go back?” You wonder. “did I do something wrong?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s nothing bad.” He reassures you, as he’s let through by the guards stationed a good while before the town begins. “you can sleep soon. Hold out a bit longer.” He requests, and you nod, trying hard to do just that.

But just as a concerned looking Hoseok and Seokjin help you down the horse, you can’t stay awake any longer.

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“She’s still asleep.” Seokjin says, as Jungkook stands in front of the door to your room, as he’s been told.

“It is almost noon. I need to see her-“ the prince argues, but the older man shakes his head as he takes the hand from the door.

“She needs to rest first.” He urges.

“Rest?” Jungkook questions. “What happened?”

“According to Yoongi, she was scared and did not believe him when he told her he was sent by your request.” Jin explains. “She ran off, and fell into the river close to the south border of the woods. Qen helped- if she didn’t block the river and catch her, we most likely would’ve lost her.” He says.

Jungkook stares at the door.

“I’d like to see her, still.” He says, unsure why he feels this urge. He really should let you rest, but he at least wants to look at you, for reasons he’s not sure of.

“But do be quiet.” Seokjin sighs, as he opens the door to the room you’re sleeping in, a hatchling having entered from the window, sleeping soundly on your legs.

Jungkook walks in with stealth, not wanting to disturb your rest.

He stays near the door, not walking any closer, and it helps his ache quite a bit already to just see you sleep there. Like his mind if finally reassured again that you’re close by and taken care of, his chest feels lighter, not as constricted as before.

This is wrong.

The signs all point to one simple answer, and he knows it, as does Namjoon, and most likely Seokjin and Hoseok as well. But a connection like that can’t be, isn’t meant to work and shouldn’t be condoned nor explored by himself. You do not belong in his world, and neither does he belong into yours.

He has to fulfill his own blood’s final task, after all- bring a Hiwern child into this world, to keep his people alive for another generation. Something that only a hiwern Mother can do for him, as dragonblood is only given to the child by the mother, not the father.

He would betray his entire kind if he was to give into whatever this sick and twisted joke of nature is.

And he can’t do that, especially not as a prince. He’s got a duty to fulfill, he’s viewed as a leader and example. Anyone else would most likely be looked past- but not him. All eyes are on him, at all times.

He can’t do this.

So he instead makes his way out the door again, to find Namjoon and cut this bond before it can get any tighter.

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“I do not care.” Jungkook argues, pacing from side to side in front of the window of his study, Namjoon sitting down with a troubled expression on his face. “Yoongis situation is not the same as mine. He will bring a Hiwern child into this world, I will not of I let this happen.” The prince argues.

“You don’t even know if she has any emotional connection to you.” Namjoon tries to explain. “If you would just take some time and-“

“And what? Let this bond grow until we both get hurt when we inevitably have to sever it?” The prince scoffs. “I will not be the reason my kind fails to survive.”

“You’re acting as if we’re on the brink of extinction..” Namjoon tells him. “What are you so scared of?” He worries, and Jungkook falls silent, as he looks outside the window.

“Of setting a wrong example.” He mumbles. “Even if the people accept it, what if it sets off a chain reaction I can’t control? Humans aren’t to be trusted, let alone get close to. The fear we teach our children has to stay intact.”

“And it will. Yoongi still can’t get close to any of the younger-“ Namjoon starts, but Jungkook snaps his head around, still upset.

“And yet she seems to be considered as a surrogate mother for the hatchlings. Namjoon, you’ve seen it too- I don’t know what sick joke they’re playing on me right now, but I can’t let this continue.” The prince says. “she will leave, after we separate the bond. And that’s final.”

“I hope you know that you’re asking a lot of me.” Namjoon lowly says, and Jungkook nods, serious.

“and if you can’t do it,” Jungkook says, before turning around again-

“Then I’ll find someone else who will.”

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#bts imagine #bts fanfic #bts fic #jungkook imagine #jeon jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook imagine #bts jungkook imagine #bts jungkook fanfic #jungkook fanfic #jeon jungkook imagines #jungkook imagines #bts jungkook x reader

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sanarsi · 4 months ago

Text

Girl Breakfast

Girl Meal Series <- masterlist

Frankie Morales x f!Reader

Summary: You wake up in Frankie's bed after a night together and he's hungry for you. Warnings: +18, MDNI, pussy eating, soft!dom!Frankie Wordcount: 1,5k An: We have our first meal. It was supposed to be Frankie but it's going to be you oops Music I worked with: Let Me - ZAYN

Masterlist

You went wild yesterday. One beer and gossip turned into a few strong drinks and... well, a night together. Neither you nor Frankie complained. It was fun and enjoyable. As always. And last night was really great. But the morning, not so much.

You mumbled in displeasure as the daylight woke you up. The large window in Frankie's bedroom had been your curse ever since you met. You cursed him for even not having stupid blinds.

You covered your eyes with your hand and turned it to the side. The clock on the dresser showed five in the morning. A fucking joke.

You closed your eyes with a grimace and yawned, turning onto your stomach. The bedding was pleasantly cold, so you purred with pleasure, snuggling closer into the pillow. But something was wrong.

Frankie loved to push and cuddle.

And you had a lot of space and weren't immobilized.

You lifted your head, squinting and looked around.

You were alone.

You groaned loudly, closing your eyes again and falling onto the mattress. Unfortunately, you weren't allowed to experience peace for more than five seconds.

Frankie entered the room, wiping his hair with a towel. You opened your eye, watching as he ran his fingers through his damp hair and a few drops of water ran down his chest.

"Well, well, look who’s up so early," he smiled widely when he noticed that you weren't sleeping.

"Frankie, I'm begging you. It's the middle of the night," you mumbled, pressing your face into the pillow. A quiet laugh echoed through the room.

"It's five in the morning," he noted, raising an eyebrow with a smirk. He dried his hair one last time and threw the towel on the armchair in the corner of the room.

"Yeah, you're crazy for getting up so early."

He laughed again at your words, slowly approaching the bed. He ran his gaze over your naked body wrapped in a sheet.

"Perfect time for breakfast," he said, placing his hand on your thigh. You shivered, feeling his cold fingers trembling against your heated skin.

“I’m not hungry,” you mumbled into the pillow, trying not to focus on how his hand was slowly approaching your ass.

“You might not,” he nodded and slid his hand between your thighs. “But I am.”

His fingers ran over your wet slit, making you moan quietly. You gripped the sheets tighter as he began to gently massage your hole.

“Frankie,” you whispered in warning.

“Yeah, I’m so damn hungry,” he said more confidently and grabbed your hips with his hands. Your eyes widened as he lifted your ass in one movement. Your pussy was fully exposed to him.

Your pulse quickened because all you could do now was feel. Feel everything he wanted to do to you. His fingers tightened under your ass, pulling at your skin to get a better view of your wet cunt.

“Fuck yes,” he moaned as he watched your hole tighten around nothing, waiting for something to fill her. You sucked in a breath and moaned as his tongue ran along the length of your pussy. You closed your eyes, relaxing the muscles under his mouth.

Frankie purred in pleasure, licking the arousal that had already leaked out of you. You moaned helplessly as he slowly ate your pussy. His fingers dug into your skin, holding you perfectly open for him.

With each stroke, his tendril teased your hole and his beard teased your clit. The perfect mix of pain and pleasure.

"Uh Frankie..." you gasped, burying your face in the mattress as his tongue focused on your clit every now and then. Your juices dripped down, hitting his tongue perfectly. He happily swallowed everything you offered him. You moaned quietly, feeling the orgasm building in the middle of the action. But his tongue disappeared for a moment.

You didn't even have time to miss his touch when you felt him press his lips to you again. But this time his tongue began to caress your hole. He slowly inserted his tongue into you, causing your insides to tremble. His tongue was soft and warm, fitting perfectly into your interior. He no longer waited for your arousal to leak out, he began to lick you from the inside. He had a damn good tongue.

Your increasingly louder moans bounced off the walls of the room as he licked your sensitive spot with the tip of his tongue every time. You moaned tearfully, feeling the orgasm approaching. And then his tongue disappeared only to attack your clit again.

He began kissing your slit until you came with a reported squeal. He held your hips in place as spasms of pleasure coursed through your body.

Frankie took care of you until he licked the last wave of your orgasm off of you. You panted heavily as he placed one last kiss on your pussy and pulled away, wiping mouth with his hand.

“Yeah, I love a juicy breakfasts,” he said happily and adjusted his semi-hard cock in his boxers.

You laughed, exhausted.

“Get up,” he smacked your ass, making you squeal and he smiled. “I’m going to make breakfast,” he announced before leaving the room and you helplessly fell back onto the mattress.

You took a hot shower, getting rid of the tiredness from last night. You were such a frequent guest here, that Frankie decided to buy you a toothbrush and other basic crap you used. He was always so damn sweet when it came to things like that. He took care of you like it was a habit. And he never wanted anything more from you than friendship. Sex every once in a while was a nice bonus. It suited both of you.

A pleasant sweet smell spread through the apartment. You were drying your hair with a towel, entering the kitchen as Frankie put another pancake on a plate. He glanced at you as you poured yourself some water and drank it all in one go. He snorted under his breath, focusing again on making pancakes.

"There are electrolytes in the cabinet if you have a hangover," he nodded towards one of the cabinets on the wall.

"It's not bad," you mumbled and jumped onto the counter. You sat comfortably and reached for one pancake, taking a big bite right away. You stared at the picture hanging on the wall opposite, eating your sweet breakfast.

Frankie didn't comment on the fact that there was jam lying next to it, which he was supposed to spread on everything, because you managed to grab a jar and simply dip the pancake in it.

"That painting is ugly," you commented. He glanced at you and then at the picture, then rolled his eyes.

"You painted it yourself," he noticed again, focusing on the pan. You grimaced and reached for another pancake.

“You don’t have to remind me of that.” He snorted at your words, shaking his head in amusement. “I’ll paint you a new one. Less…” you grimaced, searching for the right word, “depressing.”

“What’s depressing about it?” he asked, finishing his work and grabbing one of his own pancakes, turning around and leaning his back against the counter next to you. You raised an eyebrow at him, looking at him like he was an idiot.

“It’s literally a painting of a dead teddy bear,” you pointed out. He took another bite, looking at the picture before shrugging and looking at you.

“It has its own message.”

You both fell silent, then burst out laughing.

For the next two hours you sat in the kitchen talking about nonsense until you finally glanced at your watch.

"Oh my god, I'm going to be late," you said terrified and quickly drank the rest of your orange juice.

Frankie looked at his watch confused and then at you again but you had already run out of the kitchen to gather your things.

"Where are you going?" he asked loudly and continued to calmly drink his coffee.

"To the hairdresser!" you replied pulling on your jeans. You quickly adjusted your shirt and started gathering the rest of your things into your bag.

"Weren't you there last month?" You rolled your eyes hearing his words and went back to the hallway to put on your shoes.

"I was," you nodded leaning against the wall as you pushed your sneakers onto your feet. Frankie came out of the kitchen and leaned against the wall watching your clumsy movements. "I'll call you tomorrow" you said glancing at him.

"For?" he asked calmly sipping your coffee. You straightened up taking a loud breath.

"Because we're going to the shooting range this weekend?" you replied sarcastically and adjusted your bag on your shoulder.

"Oh right, okay."

You rolled your eyes at his poor memory and opened the door. "Bye!" you said loudly as you left his apartment.

divider by @adornedwithlight

#frankie morales x y/n #frankie morales x you #frankie morales x reader #frankie morales smut #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal x y/n #sanarsi fic

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lizzaneia-elizalde · 1 year ago

Text

Yandere! Sugar daddy x "pure"! Reader

EEEEEEEEE Time to write my baby, the fruit of my dark rofan loins (jk) Basically, this yandere is my first yandere OC and when I gave life (lol) to him in Char/ai yesterday, I just knew he had to be next.

Also, I contemplated what title to give him since he's also a mafia boss, but I decided to go with Sugar daddy since it's the most integral part of his story.

Also, "pure" just means that you dress light, really. But in Rowan's eyes, you were like an angel, a pure being that he needs to taint (oops spoiler)

Yandere! Sugar daddy name: Rowan Silas (Yes, he even has a last name)

notes: Rowan is not old, OLD. He's not a Dilf/Gilf level sugar daddy. In his lore with my other OC (his love interest), he's older by five years. Also, reader has a womb, due to mentions of pregnancy (why did I do this pregnancy shit twice? Dunno really.)

TW: noncon pregnancy, trackers, nsfw stuff

ALSO, REQUESTS ARE OPEN <3 (I don't even know if people will request but LOL just in case.)

The man only knew pain and crime all his life.

He never experienced anything good, apart from gunning down his enemies alive if that even means the same as what people deem as "good".

His life of crime was because of his adoptive father, who picked him up from the slums to become one of his personnel.

He was only seven by then. But his hands stained with blood as he killed the other kid who drowned his precious pet kitten in the lake. That's where his father knew that Rowan is not normal.

I mean, who would sport a smile while choking his fellow kid alive?

All Rowan said was "He deserved it though."

"He took what's precious from me."

That was enough to make his father set him straight to become the heir of the mafia family.

He grew up battered and bruised yet the vices he only knew is his smoking from his precious churchwarden pipe, and violence.

He told his father that it was enough for him.

Yet his body raged on, wanting more and more as greed consumed him for more.

Yes, he's a greedy man who wants more.

After all, he had nothing, then had one precious thing, then lost that thing. And then, when he eliminated the person who stole his precious thing, he got everything.

Did that make sense? To Rowan, it didn't.

He already got everything, but why does he want more?

So with a clean shot to the head, he killed his father and immediately inherited the family.

Now, he can spend the money and the resources as much as he wants. So he did. He went to casinos, brothels, luxury hotels and cruises. Everything he thinks that he needs.

But he still wants more. He still needs more.

And by god, he did get more.

He bumped into you one day, with you in your soft outfit of creams and pastels. Your pure, clean eyes made his heart skip a beat as you said sorry to him.

His greed triggered.

He wanted you so bad.

When he learned you needed a job when he saw your folder filled with resumes, he felt like he won the lottery.

"How about becoming my sugar baby? Don't worry, I won't ask anything. Much."

And as your cute figure pondered what to do, he smirked. You, in the middle of his dim office, in light clothing and an innocent face, was such a contrast in the dark office filled with his smoke from his beloved churchwarden pipe. You stuck out like a sore thumb, and he liked it.

He loved it.

And as your lips dropped the answer he wanted to hear, he shivered and gave you a lopsided smile.

"Good. Now, what do you want, love?"

Rowan sat down on his office chair, he cracked his neck and sighed.

He was bone tired. He just finished a cartel mission that he himself as the boss had to interfere. It was annoying because it was due to his incompetent new recruits.

At least they're sleeping with the "fishies", as what you call the finned sea creatures.

He grabbed something from his pocket and brought it up to his face. It was an intricate jeweled choker with a lot of rose gold arcs, jewels that match your eyes, and a diamond encrusted opal centerpiece.

He imagined you wearing it. Wrapping the choker on your neck himself, seeing your eyes flash in wonder and amazement. He imagined you also getting shy and saying that it was too expensive, and him saying that it was okay, and he wanted to give you this entirely by his own volition. And he got excited.

...In one way or another.

He chuckled and shook his head, swinging on his swivel chair as he dialed your number.

After two rings, you picked up.

"Love, come here. I got a gift for you."

You whined, getting shy again. He chuckled.

"You know what I say, I don't want to hear you say no. So come here now."

So you did.

Once you got there, he smiled and kissed your lips softly, bringing you close to him by your waist and lifting you up easily with his tatted arms.

"Come, I'll give you the present myself."

You got curious naturally.

He settled you in front of the floor length mirror which also saw... Much more intimate and sensual things you both did other than this gift giving thing he's doing.

Rowan slowly grabbed your hair and raised it, making you shiver with goosebumps from the action. He smirked, seeing you so flustered from the simple act of him grabbing your hair.

Well, that, and he also liked to grab your hair a lot while fucking you senselessly. There's that too.

You closed your eyes when he told you too, and you felt the familiar cold sensation of jewelry resting on your neck. But this time, it hugged it, making you open your eyes. It was the beautiful choker he was admiring earlier.

"Do you love it?" Rowan asked, looking at you through the mirror as he rested his chin on your shoulder. You nodded enthusiastically and said yes. He smirked.

This was the first time you didn't say to take the gift back with such a flustered apprehensive look. You're starting to get greedy.

He loved that. A lot.

"Now, how about you kiss me in return, hmm?" You rolled your eyes and gently kissed him. You know this day is not just going to end in a kiss.

But you didn't mind.

And he knows that.

You went home that day with Rowan driving you. He gave you more gifts that you shyly accepted once more, making Rowan shiver in glee. Again, you didn't reject them at all.

You're slowly getting tainted by his greediness.

And hopefully, you will be greedy enough to bring up your relationship to him, and tell him that you wanted more to this.

That you wanted his love.

Oh, he trembles at the thought.

It's not a question of if, but when, after all.

But now, he's just slowly moving forward with your relationship. Slow and steady wins the race, after all. Despite him living such a fast paced life, he knows he's patient enough to wait for you.

But if you backtracked and got out of his tight grasp...

Let's just say that the tracker he planted on your laptop, your phone, and now your precious choker will help him find you if you ran away.

You were the light to his dark, dreary life.

He'll be crazy enough to let you go.

And he's already crazy about you.

That's why he's making you addicted to him also. Showering you with gifts and love. Praising your body, worshipping it, pleasing it until you reach the heavens like the angel you are.

And if you still didn't want him... Let's just say the condoms with holes in them that he himself poked will do the trick.

It was a dirty tactic. But who cares? He's a mafia boss for god's sake. Dirty tactics aren't new to him.

And if you still somehow didn't end up pregnant and got to run away, he'll use his influence to find you.

You got no escape.

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

You were his love. His greed.

With a drag of his churchwarden pipe, he drove off to plan your wedding.

You were going to be his after all.

No matter what.

I don't know if I did my baby Rowan justice i'm going crazY FUCK.

Can you guys tell I have favoritism? Because I do LOL

#male yandere x reader #yandere boyfriend #yandere imagines #yandere male #yandere writing #tw yandere #yandere x darling #yandere x you #yandere fic #lizzaneiaelizalde #yandere drabbles

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cupidjyu · 11 months ago

Text

good for you

jacob x reader (requested by the one and only @zzoguri!!)

the 3 times you and jacob could have had something more and the 1 time you actually did.

genre: best friends to lovers, university au, pining by mostly jacob, confessions, misunderstandings, mentioned exes, reader has abandonment issues oops, kissing for practice, cuddles, their love language is sleeping together, gentle kind understanding sweetie jacob notes: i hope you enjoy this !!! i loved writing this request!!! <33 and again, im sorry this took so long :( see you whenever i can! word count: 14.7k

“You’re a lifesaver,” You groaned once you noticed Jacob entering your dorm with a paper bag of freshly baked cookies in his hand. You jumped off your bed, slightly crumpling the endless papers of notes laid out across your sheets. Stumbling over to where he was staring at you with concern, you clung to his arm, cupped his face with one hand, and pressed an obnoxiously loud kiss on his cheek.

“Is it that bad?” He stared at you, unimpressed.

“Yeah?” You narrowed your eyes at him before snatching the bag from him and bounding back to splay out your bed.

“Didn’t you say that you were going to stop eating sugar? Yesterday?” He followed you further into your dorm. He set down all of his things and put back all of the clutter that was laid out on your table and the floor. He knew where everything went after the countless times he’s lounged around here.

“Okay but I cannot stay awake without sugar and I have an exam tomorrow,” You grumbled, gesturing for him to sit next to you. You turned back to your computer, rolling onto your stomach and scrolling through the endless slideshows to try to pretend like you were retaining any information. Frankly, you were more focused on the delicious cookies melting in your mouth.

He shrugged, silently reaching over and organizing your papers. He knew that you often got stressed when your environment was messy. You made no effort to keep it clean though because he always did it for you.

“And how was your day, Cobie?” You mumbled, glancing at him briefly before turning back to your notes, You shifted slightly on the bed, allowing him space to lie down next to you.

“Boring. And you shouldn’t be studying on your bed, you know. You always fall asleep.”

You huffed. “Just because you’re my best friend doesn’t mean you have to dote on me.”

“You know I’m right.” He smirked.

“I won’t, I promise.”

“But you always fall asleep. Like last time.”

You rolled your eyes, burying your face in your arms. “Stop bringing that up. It’s been five years already.”

“But I’ll never forgive you for embarrassing me in front of Sunwoo.”

“C’mon, you always let him tease you anyway,” You retorted.

Your eyelids threatened to shut any minute now. You had managed to find a spot to finally escape the stress that was called high school responsibilities. It wasn’t the most comfortable spot though–against the brick wall of the building, sitting on the concrete floor. Still, you couldn’t care less, enjoying the sun that perfectly hit the side of your face as your uniform fluttered in the wind.

After that point, you didn’t know what happened until you woke up. But Jacob had vividly described it to you because he found it that amusing. Though, he always told the story with a fond smile on his face.

“Can you pass the ball?” Another student called out to you. His uniform was messy and crinkled after playing with his friends for so long. When he noticed no response, he jogged over to pick up the soccer ball that rolled over and knelt down. He snickered slightly, tilting his head to peer at you curiously. “That can’t be comfortable…” He muttered.

Silently, he contemplated what to do. Ultimately, he stood up. Not to leave you, but to kick the soccer ball back to his friends. Then, he turned back to you and gently lowered himself down to your side. Almost immediately, like a magnet, your head found its way to his shoulder and you were already dozing away. This time, with a lot less neck pain.

His lips quirked up as he played with his fingers quietly. He ignored his friends who were gesturing to him in the distance to come back, instead choosing to lean closer so you could sleep more comfortably.

But then he heard footsteps approaching.

“Oh, shit!” Sunwoo gasped, slapping a hand over his mouth after appearing from around the corner of the same brick wall.

Jacob jumped, waving with his hands frantically to tell his friend to go away. But Sunwoo only began to jump up and down in excitement.

“Shhhh–” Jacob whispered. “They’re sleeping.”

“You’re dating someo–”

“I don’t even know who the hell this is.”

You smiled to yourself, long roused awake.

You had already heard the whole conversation but found it all too amusing so you ended up pretending to sleep for a few more minutes. Once you were sure that his friend had wandered off somewhere else, you blinked your eyes open. The curiosity got the best of you as you slowly lifted your head up to peer at the mysterious student’s name tag. He’s got an amazing shoulder for a pillow.

“That’s a bit rude, Jacob.”

He jolted once again, turning to you in surprise. You smiled lazily back at him.

“You’re awake.”

“Yeah,” You yawned. “And thanks for your shoulder but also I don’t thank you for not even bothering to look at my nametag.”

“Even if I knew your name, I wouldn’t know who you are.”

“Fair,” You hummed. You looked him over. He had a friendly look to him. Gentle eyes, a nice-looking smile, and brown tousled hair that shone in the sun. “You look like a Jacob.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He raised an eyebrow. “You do know that I gave up my soccer time to let you sleep on my shoulder, right?”

“Shush.” You stuck your tongue out. “It’s not like I forced you to. You’re just too nice with your super nice smile.”

“I can’t tell if you're insulting me or complimenting me.”

“Both.” You leaned your head back against the wall with a tired sigh. Then you turned back to him with a mischievous smile before setting your hand out for him to shake it. “Friends?”

He blinked at you. And then he smiled back and took your hand in his. “Friends.”

“I’m tired of this,” You whispered, thumping your forehead against your now-closed computer.

“At least look this over.” He held out one of your papers, with a title clearly underlined with red. “Looks important.”

“It is but—“

“Just one,” He encouraged. “I’ll hold it for you.” And just as he said, he shuffled closer to you, holding the paper for you to read. You sighed but obliged, your eyes scanning over the words. Gradually though, the sentences began to grow blurrier and more jumbled. His arm looked awfully comfortable right now.

“Jacob,” You warned, turning to him. He stared curiously, his face surprisingly close to yours. “Jacob, I’m gonna go.”

“Go where?” He furrowed his eyebrows.

“To sleep.” You grinned before slumping down. No longer were you propped up on your elbows. Instead, you laid down, your cheek squished against his forearm as you snuggled close to his body warmth.

You heard a disappointed yet fond sigh leave his lips. He put down the paper and cleared the bed of everything so you could properly cuddle up to his side.

“You always take care of me,” You mumbled quietly. “Why?”

And for some reason, even with your eyes closed, you could sense his soft smile—the one with the gentle gaze and warm cheeks.

“Because you deserve it.”

—

“You flunked it, didn’t you?” Jacob grinned, standing up from where he was leaning against the wall. “I told you to stop studying on your bed.”

You scowled, walking alongside him. “You shouldn’t have waited for me, I’m getting coffee with a friend.”

He smiled wider. “Right now?”

You froze, staring at him sheepishly. You shifted on your feet. “…no. But soon.”

He hummed. “Good, cause I’m giving you this.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace. It was beautiful with an opal charm in the middle.

You stared at it with awe in your eyes and then turned your gaze up to Jacob. Already, you could feel tears prick your vision at which he only chuckled at the sight.

“Don’t cry,” He giggled, reaching an arm around you to pull you close to his chest.

“Why?” You pouted. “Did I miss my own birthday or something?”

“No,” He laughed. “I just wanted to give it to you. I thought of you when I saw it.”

You narrowed your eyes through sniffles before slapping his chest weakly. “How much was it?”

He shook his head. “It was on sale, so it was cheap.”

You nodded before lightly touching your own bare neck. You smiled at your best friend.

“I want to put it on,” You stated, reaching your hand out.

“Okay,” He whispered. But instead of placing the necklace in your palm, he stepped forward and reached his arms around your neck to clasp it on himself. He moved any strands of hair that were in the way, his fingertips just grazing over the back of your neck. You shivered and stayed completely still, staring straight ahead into his chest with wide eyes.

It felt like hours but he finally stepped back with a soft smile.

“I knew it would suit you.”

You beamed. Just before you were about to say anything else, you heard a voice call out your name. It was your friend, standing just meters away waving excitedly.

“I have to go,” You said, looking at Jacob with bright eyes.

“See you at your dorm?” He joked.

You thought for a moment before nodding. “Sure, I’ll bring ramen.”

“I was jok—“

“Still, I need my pillow to sleep on tonight.”

“My arm or my chest?” He lifted an eyebrow.

“Still deciding!” You called out, running towards your friend. You skipped over to her and immediately started rambling about your new necklace.

“It’s pretty!” She fawned. “Sometimes I think you’re actually dating.”

You gawked and immediately started laughing. “No! That’s— that’s so wrong.”

She blinked at you, completely confused.

“Have you seen the way he looks at you?”

It was stuck in your head–what your friend said. He looked at you like any completely normal person. He always had a friendly, caring expression on his face simply because that was his nature. There was nothing different and nothing more in your relationship except friendship.

You couldn’t focus on that anymore though since you were now caught up in a game of truth or dare. After exams, the whole floor of your dorm decided to gather for a party. You hated going alone and so of course, you had to bring Jacob.

The two of you tried to sit together on the floor but quickly became separated by the amount of people crowded into one room. You frowned, settling onto the floor next to two complete strangers.

Help me, You mouthed to him.

He shrugged. Wanna leave? He mouthed back.

You shook your head. This will be fun.

He nodded and turned his attention back to the bottle spinning in the middle of the circle, about to choose its first victim. It slowly came to a stop, landing on a guy who you remembered his name to be Sangyeon. He was nice. He once let you borrow his umbrella.

“Truth or dare?” Eric leaned excitedly.

“Dare.”

“I dare you to… text the person you have a crush on and ask them out on a date!”

Sangyeon’s eyes widened in horror. Reluctantly, he pulled out his phone and soon, it was like the whole population was crowding around him, cheering giddily when Sangyeon began to text a message.

You locked eyes with Jacob who’s across the room, obviously out of place. You smiled with amusement and silently shuffled over to him.

“I don’t get this game,” He grumbled.

“You don’t get any fun. You only like soccer and basketball since you’re so good at it.” A familiar image appeared in your mind of Jacob, left only in the white dress shirt of his school uniform, wiping sweat off his forehead as he easily shot a goal.

“Thanks.” Jacob grinned stupidly.

“I wasn’t complimenting you.”

“Alright.” He eyed you skeptically. “So can we please not get separated again?”

“We can try,” You mumbled. Without a warning, your hand trailed down to his, grabbing hold of it and placing your intertwined hands in your lap. He stared at it briefly before clearing his throat and looking away.

“Is that the most effective way?” He muttered.

“I said I’d try,” You whined, your eyes traveling over to where the crowd around Sangyeon began to dissipate back into its circle. You were confident that no one would notice that you had switched places. But of course, Sunwoo, who was so adamant about going to the exact same college as Jacob because he “admires him so much” (he actually just wanted someone to pay for his meals occasionally), noticed your connected hands.

“No PDA!” He dramatically yelled, covering his eyes with his hands. Everyone immediately turned to look at the two of you.

Jacob immediately pulled his hand out of your grasp almost like you burned him. You groaned and glared at Sunwoo.

“And go back to your normal seat,” Sunwoo smiled teasingly. “Get off your boyfriend for just a minute.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” You gritted out, standing up and stalking back to your original seat. You plopped back down on the floor and stared at Jacob with clear anger in your gaze.

He’s annoying. You glanced at the smug boy who was still smiling proudly over the fact that he separated two perfectly normal best friends.

Tell me about it. Jacob rolled his eyes, leaning back against his palms as his eyes wandered down to where the bottle was spinning again. This time, it landed on the stranger next to you. He wasn’t bad-looking and had a polite aura to him.

Eric gasped excitedly. “Juyeon! Truth or dare?”

The man thought for a second, humming. His voice was deep, you realized.

“Dare?”

Almost instantly, Eric was leaning forward. He must have rehearsed this dare like his life depended on it. “Kiss the person on the left of you.”

It took Juyeon a while to process what Eric just said. But when he finally did, he whipped his head to look at you with wide eyes and flushed cheeks. You stared back, completely bewildered.

“That’s cruel,” You groaned, staring at Eric in disbelief. “We don’t even know each other that well.”

“Fine,” Eric huffed. “On the cheek at least.”

Juyeon continued to stare at you, his gaze gentle and understanding. “Sorry,” He whispered sheepishly. “I can’t drink this one off. I’m a huge lightweight.”

You shook your head with a kind smile. “It’s fine. Just get it over with.”

Juyeon nodded and he leaned in. You turned your head slightly so that he wouldn’t have to twist his neck in an awkward position. Just as you were about to focus on the lips being pressed to your cheek, your gaze locked with someone else’s. More specifically, Jacob’s.

Your breath hitched and your heart seized. There was something different about his gaze. It was filled with a flame and you could see that his jaw was clenched ever so slightly. His hands fidgeted as his eyes stared straight into yours, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

It felt like time had slowed down. You watched as he leaned forward, propped his elbows on his knees, and tilted his head, obviously annoyed. Over what? You weren’t too sure. But you could see through the way his jaw tightened further that something was genuinely bothering him. Yet why was he only looking at you?

You were so focused on Jacob that you didn’t even realize that Juyeon was already pulling away.

Everyone in the room was cheering over the measly cheek kiss but it all felt silent to you. Your ears began to ring as you stared straight at Jacob, his eyes filled with a clear anger tinged with a small bit of hurt.

You tilted your head worriedly.

Are you okay?

He blinked, his eyes softening. It was like what came over him just magically disappeared. Yeah.

You stared at him quietly before nodding. One more and then we leave.

He eagerly agreed, his head bobbing much like a puppy’s. You huffed out a laugh. You should have never dragged him out with you.

“Who’s next?” Eric spoke up loudly. Everyone’s attention turned back to the bottle that was spinning. You held your breath watching as it slowly came to a stop. You turned your gaze up to see who it was pointing at and—

You winced.

Jacob stared at you with wide eyes before pointing at himself. You nodded with a grimace.

Sorry.

He shook his head with a smile before turning to face Eric who was practically brimming with excitement.

“Truth or dare?”

Jacob sighed. “Truth.”

Eric groaned. “Boring. But fine, I can make this fun.”

Jacob waited patiently. He was always patient—so patient that it annoyed you. You were always the one to tease and annoy him yet he took it like it was his sole job. Even if you could tell he was getting ticked off, he continued to smile and play along.

“Don’t you want to see my performance?” You twirled in your new outfit.

Jacob shook his head. “Not now, I have an art project due. You look pretty though.”

And you should have stopped there and said thank you. But instead, you continued to cling onto him and ramble in his ear.

At some point, in a flash of color, you knocked over the cup that Jacob used to wash his paintbrushes.

You watched in horror as it spilled over his painting. He only stared silently.

“I-I’m sorry, Cobie,” You whispered.

“It’s fine,” He muttered, standing up and picking up the soaking-wet canvas. “I’ll just go dry it off.”

You gulped, searching his face for any sort of frustration. He definitely looked disappointed but… nothing else.

“Wait.” You stopped him, your hand coming to his wrist. You promptly ignored the cold feeling of the water that spilled over your new clothes as well.“Are you mad? Let me make it up to you. I can do the whole project for you if you want.”

Jacob turned to you, his expression blank. But much to your surprise, his face softened into a reassuring smile, his gaze gentle and warm. He set the canvas down and stepped forward, pulling you closer in the process.

“No,” He whispered. “You make everything look more beautiful anyway.” He turned to look at where the canvas which was previously plain and gray, was now splashed with a mix of colors.

You frowned. “But—“

“I’m more mad that your new clothes are ruined.” He paused, stepping back and looking you over. Then, he scrunched his nose teasingly. “It was pretty.”

“Jacob,” You huffed. How could he be so unbothered by this? You ruined his project that he had been working on for days yet he was more worried over you? “This is not about me.”

His eyes sparkled.

“I can always make it about you.”

“Okay! I got one!” Eric exclaimed, sitting up. “If you could date anyone in this room, who would it be?”

Everyone fell silent, staring at Jacob like curious cats. You weren’t any different, desperately wanting to know his answer. Jacob never spoke about his dating life. In fact, whenever you asked him if he had a crush on anyone, he would immediately reply no.

Much to your dismay, he didn’t say a word. His lips were shut as he stared around the room like a deer in headlights.

“So?” Sunwoo pried.

Jacob gulped, his cheeks slowly turning red. And then his eyes landed on yours. When you stared back, he instantly tore his gaze away. But you quickly noticed a pattern. He would look at something, then back at you, at something else, and then back at you.

Your breath hitched.

Why are you looking at me?

He widened his eyes and adamantly stared at the floor instead. I’m not, You could see him whisper to himself. The two of you always had conversations across the classroom during your high school days, hence your great skill of reading lips.

Jacob, you have to answer.

I can’t—

“It’s Y/n isn’t it?” Eric finally spoke up, wiggling his eyebrows with a knowing look.

His head shot up and his eyebrows furrowed. “I didn’t even say anything.”

“You were looking.”

“No, I—“ He groaned, his cheeks reddening further by the minute. “I was looking because I always look for them. Not because I would date them.”

Sunwoo snorted. “Do you hear yourself?”

“What?”

“I always look for them.”

Jacob froze. And now, he refused to look you in the eye. “I…”

“Hey,” You spoke up with a frown on your face. “He doesn’t want to answer, let him off. It’s obviously not me.”

Jacob’s gaze wandered to yours. There was a sparkle behind his pupils this time, his lips parting as if he’d been keeping a secret all of his life.

“But it is you.”

You inhaled sharply. Tension filled the air, thick enough that even Juyeon stiffened next to you. Eric had grown quiet which was a very rare occurrence and Sunwoo’s jaw was dropped.

You forced yourself to shake out of your trance. Abruptly, you stood up and grabbed your things.

“We’re leaving.” You forced a weak smile. “Have fun!” You tried to wish a farewell but instead, your voice came out shaky.

You didn’t even need to look back. Jacob was always behind you.

The walk back to your dorm was painfully quiet. You walked down the hallway, your fists painfully clenched as you periodically squinted your eyes and tried to make any sense of what Jacob had just said. You were filled with a jumble of emotions–a wave of immoral anger for Eric to ask such a question to lead up to this situation in the first place, a relief that you finally escaped that tension-filled party, but most of all, confusion over the fact that Jacob, your best friend of multiple years, had just said he would date you.

When you finally reached your dorm, you took in a sharp breath before whipping around. Jacob, who was biting his lip nervously, came to a halt to stare at you almost in… shame. He refused to look you in the eye which began to annoy you, considering the fact that he kept on staring at you when asked that stupid question just previously.

With a frustrated huff, you walked forward, pinned the side of your forearm against his chest, and pushed him against the wall.

“Jacob, look at me,” You warned, your eyebrows furrowing.

He finally did a guilty look on his face much like a puppy’s. “What? And why’re you pinning me to the wall?”

You scowled. “Because.”

“Because?”

“Just shut up,” You groaned. “Did you mean it? What you said.”

He only gazed at you, completely calm. But something was different. His gaze didn’t just keep its place on your eyes. Occasionally, it would slip down to your lips.

You stepped forward, close enough that you could feel his body's warmth against. You tilted your head, trying to intimidate him. But still, he continued to stare at you like you were a bright flower in the midst of a gray landscape.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

“Because you told me to shut up.” A small grin appeared on his lips.

You groaned once again. “Please, just answer. Did you mean it when you said that you would date me? If so, then I…”

What were you going to say? You weren’t even sure yourself. Would you reject him? Or maybe consider changing the whole trajectory of your life?

But this wasn’t just about you. It was about your relationship which was what you feared most. If he said yes, then surely, your relationship would change. In what way, you didn’t know. But you were scared. A bit curious, but mostly terrified–terrified of losing him in some way.

Your thoughts were interrupted by a quiet sigh.

“Of course not.”

You blinked, looking at him in surprise.

He laughed. It was a weird laugh though–nervous, almost like he was still hiding something. But you chose not to dwell on it anymore.

“There was no one else I knew, so I just said you to get out of the situation,” He weakly joked. His eyes darted away.

“Oh,” You stuttered, stepping away and letting your arm fall from his chest. You felt a bit weak. Maybe it was from relief that you didn’t have to consider the possibilities if he said yes. “Yeah, I get it.”

“Mhm,” He hummed, his eyes softening. “You should get some rest. It’s dark.”

“Okay.” You smiled. But before he could turn away, you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug. As an immediate response, he pulled you closer by the waist though he let out a small, confused sound.

“What’s this for?” He squeezed you closer.

“I felt like it.” You nuzzled into his shoulder. Even whilst being surrounded by beer bottles and drunken peers, he still manages to smell good—like a warm cup of sweet tea. You pulled away and peered up at him. “Stay the night?”

He gulped, his eyes widening slightly. “T-to do what?”

You snorted. “To sleep of course. You’re the only one who helps me sleep, you know.”

He followed you inside though he was still hesitant. After the two of you changed into something more comfortable (Jacob even has a change of clothes and a toothbrush in your dorm), you climbed into bed and immediately rested your head on his chest.

“Are you sure you’re in the right state of mind?” He murmured, gently rubbing your side. “You won’t regret this tomorrow?”

You shook your head. “I didn’t drink at all tonight. Why’re you being so cautious all of a sudden?” You pouted. “We always sleep together.”

He hummed. “Just making sure.”

After what you said earlier?

You wouldn’t lie and say that you definitely felt a bit different about asking him to stay over. But he already said that it wasn’t a serious statement. You chose not to think about it any longer, instead choosing to just doze off into his warm embrace.

He was just your best friend. And a great pillow.

ii.

“I’m going on a date.”

You both hated and loved that phrase. You loved it because it left a thrilling, exciting feeling in your heart. But you mostly loathed it. It left your lips far too many times for your liking. The phrase never ended well. You’ve had a few relationships and obviously, they didn’t work out.

You put much effort into those relationships but never received the same amount. You were always regarded with a weirded-out stare or a quick roll of his eyes. But those were somehow on the higher end of the scale. At the lowest, was when you were insulted and pushed around. It was Jacob who first noticed.

“He’s hurting you.”

You furrowed your eyebrows, your fists clenching with denial. “But he apologized. He said he was just in a bad mood.”

Jacob frowned and took your hands in his, gently spreading your fingers to relax your fists. “No one in a bad mood should insult you or call you names.”

You gulped, tears starting to well up in your eyes. You knew that Jacob was right yet you were afraid of letting go of someone that held so many bright and fun memories.

“Love is hard,” You whispered.

“It is,” He sighed. “But I’m always here for you.”

You exhaled shakily. You ran through multiple scenarios and possibilities. Some of the imaginary outcomes were positive but most were negative.

“It’s your choice if you want to stay with him. But promise me that if you’re ever hurt, just come find me,” He spoke softly. His hand gently came up to your cheek and wiped a stray tear away. It was at that moment that you realized what true care felt like. It was in the way he never pushed you into making a choice. It was in the way he promised you that he would be there for you. It was in the way his fingertips brushed against your skin.

That was what true care was.

And because of that realization, the very next day, you appeared outside of Jacob’s dorm room with a proud smile on your face.

“We broke up.”

His eyes widened and you could tell he was searching your face for any trace of tears. “Did he–”

“No, I did.”

His expression melted into a softer one. “I’m proud of you.” His lips pulled into a soft smile as he pulled you into his dorm and hugged you to the point that you had to repeatedly shove him until he let go.

“With who?” Jacob looked up from his computer. He watched nonchalantly as you started discarding your coat and bag on his bed. It was normal for you to crash at each other’s dorms. It was so normal that some people had even assumed that you were roommates. That didn’t make sense since there’s only one bed.

You reached into your bag and started pulling out the outfit you chose. “This guy in my literature class. He asked me first and he seems sweet.” He had a kind smile and he was polite. He even helped you pick up your books when you clumsily dropped them on the floor.

He was almost like Jacob. Though Jacob could go to… concerningly high extents sometimes. He tended to drop anything, even if it was a glass cup if he noticed that you were hurt or upset.

But still, this man who asked you out seemed better than your other dates. It wouldn’t hurt to try.

Jacob nodded, turning back to his computer while you used his bathroom to change into your date outfit.

A few minutes later, you open the door and walk out. You don’t even bother to twirl or ask him about his thoughts as you were too busy digging through your bag for your wallet. But then you paused, interrupted by a sharp intake from none other than your best friend.

He was staring at you with his eyes round and his cheeks slightly colored. His gaze wandered down before coming back up to your eyes, his body utterly frozen.

“What?” You asked in confusion. “Does it look bad?”

“No!” He blurted out suddenly. He teared his eyes away, clearing his throat. “It’s just… different.”

You peered at him nervously. Why was he acting so weird? “In a good way or a bad way?”

“Good,” He breathed. He gave you a small yet sweet smile. “You look beautiful.”

“Oh.” Your frown quickly widened into a grin. “Thank you.”

After finally confirming that you did not forget your wallet, you took a seat beside Jacob on his bed. He used to be focused on his computer but it seemed that after you changed outfits, his eyes were darting elsewhere. He was losing his composure for some reason.

You let out a long sigh, rubbing your thighs with the palms of your hands. “Cobie, I’m nervous.”

He turned to you with a soft look in his eyes. He even shut off his computer, turning his undivided attention to you. “Why?”

You pouted as memories came flooding back of your past relationships. It was always you who was left alone, broken into pieces until Jacob came along to put you together and patch you up. After your failed dates, you began to lose confidence in being able to keep anyone in your life, even if it was someone as loyal as your best friend.

He always reassured you though.

“I won’t leave you.”

You laughed bitterly through your tears. “How do you know that?”

After disappearing for almost the whole day, Jacob finally found you, sitting in the dark corner of your closet. You remembered him crouching down next to you and tucking a tear-soaked strand of hair out of your face.

“Because I don’t think that in any universe or timeline, I could stand being torn away from you.” He smiled.

You frowned, blinking away the tears that continued to trail down your cheeks. “Even if I’m undesirable?”

He looked at you taken aback. “Who told you that?”

“Him,” You whispered. Another one of your past dates that didn’t end well. When you had asked him why—why he didn’t want you, he began to list heart-wrenching words that still spun in your head. “He wouldn’t even hug me back because I’m undesirable or whatever.”

And in just a second, you felt a pair of strong arms being wrapped around you.

You inhaled shakily.

“You’re hugging me.”

He hummed and nodded, placing a hand on the back of your head to pull you in closer if that was even possible.

“Because you’re not undesirable. I will always want to hug you. And care for you. And lo—“

He cut himself off. You were too exhausted from crying to figure out what he was going to say anyway.

“Just because,” You sighed. “It’s been so long since I started dating again. What if I mess up?”

“You won’t,” He immediately replied. “You’ll do amazing. Just be yourself.”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes. “Easier said than done.” You could feel Jacob wince beside you because he already knew what you were talking about–how even if you acted like yourself, you were never accepted or loved enough.

“Sorry.”

You shook your head. “Don’t be.” You looked down to play with your fingers nervously. Multiple scenarios began to play through your head like a jumbled-up movie. What if you laughed at something he said when it wasn’t meant to be a joke? What if you blurted out your deepest darkest secret and caused him to look at you weirdly? What if–

“What if he kisses me?”

Jacob froze, turning to you in disbelief. “That’s what you’re worried about?”

“Well, one of the things I’m worried about,” You mumbled, shrugging.

He searched your eyes as if to make sure you weren’t joking. Which, you definitely weren’t, as your jaw clenched unsurely.

This time, his tone was softer and more gentle. “Are you not confident?”

You sighed, slightly embarrassed. “No– I don’t know, maybe? I just don’t want to… disappoint.”

You can see a small smirk appear on Jacob’s lips. “I’m sure you won’t.”

“How would you know?” Your eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“I just assumed,” He whispered. And you could have sworn his eyes darted down to your lips for a split second. Then, he took in a deep breath and scooted just a bit closer, facing you so that your knees touched. He raised an eyebrow. “You’ve kissed before, haven’t you?”

“Yeah.” You furrowed your eyebrows. “Not enough to be good if that’s what you’re wondering.”

He seemed to be deep in thought before something shifted in his gaze and his lips parted to ask you something. It wasn’t teasing anymore, nor was it questioning. It was a serious look in his eyes, almost heart-stopping, as he stared at you as if to contemplate if what he was about to ask would change anything. And it definitely did, as it was already sending you choking on air.

“Want to practice?”

“With who?” You stared at him, acting innocent as if you didn’t already know what he meant.

“With me.”

“Oh,” You breathed. You didn’t know why but in the deepest part of yourself, reserved only for the most important secrets, you knew that your heart thumped erratically when he spoke those two words. “I mean– okay. I-I guess.”

He was just doing it as a friend.

He smiled softly and you watched as his hand very slowly came up to cup your cheek. He leaned in but stopped just before your lips connected. You peeked an eye open–yes, you already shut your eyes–and stared at him in perplexion.

A corner of his lips lifted. He must have already noticed your eagerness.

“Promise me, you’ll tell me if you don’t want to do this.” He looked you in the eyes, searching you with almost what you could tell was affection.

You nodded quietly.

He seemed confident but you could tell he was feeling nervous too with the way he swallowed thickly and his eyes darted across your features unsurely.

“Can I kiss you?” was his final question.

“Yes,” You whispered.

And then he leaned forward, attaching his lips to yours. You felt your heart stop before it came back to life again, this time, much faster than before. Your eyes carefully fluttered shut as you allowed yourself to melt into his touch. His hand stayed on your cheek, gently caressing your skin with his thumb as he slowly kissed you, almost as if he was savoring the moment.

You would be lying if you said that you didn’t also want to savor the moment.

You let out a small involuntary sound once it registered in your brain that he was deepening the kiss further. He tilted his head and soon enough, his hand was leaving your cheek, trailing down your side, and grasping onto your waist. You gasped and furrowed your eyebrows in concentration.

You were lost. Completely lost from the fact that this was supposed to be a practice kiss for your future date. That kind man from your literature class was long gone from your mind. Instead, every coherent thought of yours was replaced with one single person. Your best friend. The person you were kissing right now.

Jacob, Jacob, Jacob.

“Jacob,” You rasped in between kisses.

Even though your hands rested on his chest, creating some sort of distance, you didn’t make any further move to end the kiss. You felt butterflies erupt every time his hand ever so caressed your side.

“Hm?” He kissed you like he meant it. He kissed you like he actually loved you and that was what sent you reeling.

Shivers traveled down your spine once his hand wandered from your waist down to your lower back. The warmth of his palm and fingers splayed across your skin as it slowly lifted up the fabric of your outfit, leaving cool air to make its way through.

That small breeze was what sent you out of your trance and what led you to finally pull away.

“I think- I think that’s enough,” You panted, your heart rate refusing to go down.

Your lips felt sore and almost bitten and when you looked up to meet Jacob’s eyes, he was staring, stunned yet with a slight smug expression.

“Yeah,” He whispered. It took him a while for him to let go of the small of your back. “Sorry.”

You huffed out a laugh, patting at your cheeks to let them cool down. “Sorry for what?”

He smiled shyly. “I got carried away.”

You snorted. You were glad that there wasn’t any lingering awkwardness after that… kiss no matter how oddly real and passionate it felt. “Am I at least a good kisser? Am I set for the date?”

It looked like he was just shocked by lightning. “Your date. Yes, your date.”

You stared at him with confusion. “My… date. That’s what we were practicing for.”

He gulped and nodded quietly. “Yeah, yeah.” And then he leaned in again. But this time, he positioned him right by your ear, his breath that you just recently felt shuddering against your lips, now lingering on your earlobe. You hated yourself for closing your eyes and bracing for a kiss. What were you thinking? You swallowed nervously.

“You’re a great kisser, just as I thought.”

You resisted the urge to choke on air. “Th-thank you,” You blurted stupidly before abruptly standing up to grab your bag and aiming to run out the door.

But he stopped you, gently taking your hand and pulling you back.

“What?” You squeaked, your hands growing sweaty and your heart speeding up for the nth time.

“It’s a bit…” You felt his fingers brush against your skin once again, creating flashbacks back to the kiss. You heard the sound of the zipper on the back of your outfit being zipped up. Since when was it undone? You were pretty sure you pulled it all the way.

“My fault,” He teased. So it was him who unzipped it.

“Perv.” You tried to elbow him. But of course, he caught your arm and turned you around.

“Have fun on your date,” He smiled gently.

You breathed out shakily. “Okay.”

—

You were not having fun. Well, your date was all but a gentleman. He pulled the chair out for you, shielded you from incoming cars, and everything. But you couldn’t help but let your mind wander, distracted by the fact that Jacob already did all this anyway.

You were also distracted by the kiss. You could still feel the sensation of his lips moving fervently against yours and the warmth of his hand moving up your back and unzipping your outfit unnoticeably. You still wondered why he did that in the first place.

The two of you stopped on the trail that beautifully looked out to the sea. It was the perfect scene—the kind man in front of you, waiting for something. More specifically, a kiss. You could just lean in and kiss him right now but you… couldn’t.

“May I?” The man's voice interrupted your rushing thoughts.

“What?” You dumbly replied.

“You know.” He grinned shyly and stepped forward.

“Oh, I—“ You cleared your throat. Why wasn’t your heart beating fast like it did with your best friend of all people? Why didn’t your cheeks feel warm like how they did when Jacob looked at you with such a soft gaze? Maybe you were just going crazy, you figured. Maybe after this kiss, everything would go back to how it was. “Okay.”

But just as the man was leaning in, you suddenly planted your hands on his chest, pushing him away. When the man stared at you in alarm, you stuttered, “S-sorry. I actually don’t think we can.”

His expression saddened. “Why not?”

You didn’t know either. You could only offer a pathetic shrug.

“I just don’t think we’ll work out.”

His jaw clenched but he eventually stepped back. “Alright then, I guess. Want a ride home?”

You gave him a weak smile and shook your head. “It’s fine. I’m sorry.”

He never accepted your apology.

—

When you called Jacob to pick you up, he looked you over in worry.

“Did something happen? Did he break it off with you? What—“ He didn’t even start driving, rather he parked and turned his attention to you.

You laughed and shook your head. “We didn’t kiss. And it was me who ended it.”

He frowned. “It was only your first date.”

“I know but I decided not to look for anyone right now. I’d rather just stick with you.” You smiled sweetly. Jacob replied with an incoherent sound as he abruptly turned away to stare out the window.

“That’s fine with me,” He muttered, his ears red even under dark evening light.

You huffed out a quiet laugh and sat back in the car seat. Jacob started driving, the low hum of the engine lulling you to sleep. Slowly, you shut your eyes and let out a content sigh. “I’m tired.”

“From what?” He mused.

You grinned to yourself. “From kissing you. You’re quite the rough kisser.” You paused. “Not that I didn’t enjoy it of course.”

And thank god for your seatbelt because, for some odd reason, Jacob suddenly slammed on the brakes.

But even after that throwaway comment, the two of you never spoke about the kiss again. Except, speaking and thinking are two different things. For the next coming days, you thought about the kiss again, and again, and again, even if it didn’t turn into something more.

iii.

“So you really didn’t kiss?” Jacob questioned a few days later. The two of you walked down the main street of your campus, window shopping and sipping on warm lattes. It was the perfect day, slightly chilly with clear skies. You loved moments like these–the ones where all you could do was chatter about random things that came up in your mind and Jacob would always listen intently.

“No, we really didn’t.” You rolled your eyes. If you peered just a bit closer, you could see a wave of relief wash over his face.

As the two of you walked together and as more time passed by, you began to realize that what you and Jacob had wasn’t the most normal friendship. You had other friends too and you certainly did not act like how you did with Jacob. You glanced down to where you two were literally holding hands, intertwined fingers and all.

“So you don’t get lost,” Jacob whispered when the two of you graduated together. “I can’t lose you.”

Your mind wandered back to when Jacob fixed your hair oh so gently after it had gotten just the slightest bit messy from the wind.

“Why do you always fix my hair for me?” You narrowed your eyes.

“I like it when you look up at me when I do,” Jacob teased, pinching your cheek. “Your puppy eyes.”

You always thought he was just joking, but the more you thought about it, the more it felt like he meant it. He always seemed to love yet hate eye contact. Sometimes, he would stare back with a soft, admiration-filled gaze. Other times, he would tear his gaze away because he was flustered.

There was also the jealousy. You weren’t a blind fool to never notice it. He was always supportive of your dates and he always comforted you whenever they didn’t work out. But for some reason, what really ticked him off was physical touch by any guy that’s not him.

“What were you doing with him?” Jacob had asked you when he walked in on you hugging one of your classmates.

You widened your eyes. “Well he– he lended me some notes that I missed, that’s all.”

“And that earned him a hug?” Jacob’s eyes, ironically turned into those irresistible puppy eyes.

You stared at him in awe. “Are you…?”

Jacob gulped. “No.”

And that was the first time Jacob asked you to fall asleep on him instead of the other way around. You would never complain though. His chest was very comfortable.

Then there was the kiss.

It was one. You never kissed him again after. And at the moment, it seemed like a perfectly normal thing to do. In your mind, you thought he was just offering you an opportunity to practice.

But every time you thought of it at night and in your dreams, you began to realize that it was anything but practice. There was no need for him to caress your side, cup your cheek so gently, tilt his head for a better angle, and for him to deepen the kiss.

Your friendship wasn’t a typical one. It was something more. Yet, you didn’t know what to do with it.

You turned to look at him, wondering if studying his features would give you a clearer answer. But much to your surprise, Jacob was already staring back. There was a small smile on his lips, his eyes sparkling as he looked—as he looked at you.

“Why?” You blurted out.

“Why what?”

“Why do you always stare at me?”

He paused in his tracks. It took you a moment to realize that it was really only the two of you on the sidewalk. The sun had already set and so everyone had gone home. He turned to you, pulling you closer, causing you to stumble slightly. He then brought your connected hands up to his chest. You inhaled quietly once it registered in your head that you could feel his erratic heartbeat. You looked up at him, searching for any sort of answer. Yet he still remained like a book in a completely different language that you didn’t understand.

“Because you never fail to take my breath away.”

Your heart felt like it was caught in your throat. And as dumb as it may seem, you looked down at yourself, wondering if you had dressed up in a particular way for him to say that. But then you felt a gentle hand on your cheek, turning your attention back up. He tucked a piece of hair behind your ear.

“Always,” He replied quietly as if he read your mind. “You always, always take my breath away. Even on the day you fell asleep on me in high school. Even when you say that you look bad, I think you’re beautiful.”

“Jacob… I—“ You stopped once you felt a stinging cold on the very tip of your nose. It was a snowflake, you soon realized. You used to love it when it snowed, up until you found out that you had a horrible tolerance for cold. But who was it who took care of you when sick? It was always Jacob. It was always him who wrapped you up in blankets and cuddled you, even when you warned him that he would also get sick.

His eyes filled with worry as he glanced up at the sky. “Let’s run before it gets too slippery.” He smiled mischievously, grasping your hand once more and leading you toward your dorm. You laughed loudly, trying to catch up with him.

“Too fast!” You complained.

He turned back to look at you and oh, how handsome he looked even while running. That pretty smile with his bright, even prettier eyes. “I don’t want you to get sick,” He replied, accompanied by a cute laugh. “Do you want me to carry you?”

You flushed and shook your head immediately. “Let’s just keep running,” You huffed, allowing Jacob to lead the way.

The whole run back was filled with giggles and giddy smiles. You couldn’t have it any other way. The two of you, panting, finally managed to burst into your dorm. There was this exhilarating feeling in your chest. No matter if you stopped running or not, you would feel so… out of breath. It could be because of Jacob, it could be the beautiful snow, or it could just be the constant pounding of your heart. It could be all three.

You finally let go of Jacob’s hand, completely missing how he instinctively chased after your touch. Then, you stepped away to brush off the snowflakes that’s built up on your coat. Once you were sure that you were free from looking like a sugar-powdered donut, you looked up to where Jacob had already closed the door and was leaning against it.

His hair was messy, but what caught your eye the most, were the flurries of snow trapped between his locks. Somehow, he made looking like a sugar-powdered donut a good thing. He grinned at you with slightly rosy cheeks and gentle, gentle eyes.

He looked attractive. Since when did he look so attractive? You weren’t completely unaware that he was a fairly good-looking guy, but with the way his coat slipped off one shoulder and how his smile shot straight for your heart, you began to realize he was a lot more than just good-looking.

You were frozen, your arms straight at your sides, completely distracted by your best friend’s smile and the annoying thump of a heart–specifically, yours.

And one would think that he was looking at you, weirded out by your staring. But instead, he was gazing at you just the same. And this time, you had an explanation for all those lingering, soft looks he would give you for the many years that you’ve been friends. His words rang in your ears.

Always. You always, always take my breath away.

His smile slowly fell and before you could even register the way his gaze fell away from your eyes and downwards, he was walking towards you and cupping your face. Not even a second later, you felt a pair of lips being pressed against yours.

And just like before, your eyelids were already fluttering shut. This time though, you stayed without movement, simply allowing him to kiss you ever so gently and lovingly.

When he pulled away, that was when it finally hit you. You didn’t have a date to practice for, nor was this some sort of dare. Jacob, your best friend of multiple years, just kissed you on his own accord.

You brought the back of your hand up to your lips, staring at him in startlement. “Why’d you do that?” Your voice came out weak.

“What?” He blinked, and you could see how his cheeks began to flush. “Oh, I just– you know, in case you were thinking of going on another date with another literature class guy. It would be good practice since I know that you’re nervous so I just– I kissed you.”

You furrowed your eyebrows. “Is that really it?”

He gulped, his eyes searching yours before he sighed. “I’m sorry. You just looked really pretty.”

“You kissed me because I looke–”

“Yes,” He blurted out, wincing. “And I’m sorry. That was stupid of me and I should have asked before and now you think that I’m–”

“Jacob.” You stepped forward, placing your hands on his shoulders. “Jacob.”

His eyes softened. “Yeah?”

“Be completely honest,” You looked him straight in the eyes. However, it began to feel a bit hard not to let your gaze fall to his lips because my god, was he a good kisser.

“I just was,” He muttered shyly.

You huffed. “Not that. I know you already answered that question. You kissed me because I looked pretty, which thank you, by the way.” You batted your eyes teasingly. Jacob let out an incoherent sound and tried to look away. But instead, you cupped his cheek and turned his attention back. “I have another one.”

He frowned, which would be a sorrowful sight if it wasn’t for the fact that he was blushing like crazy right now. You held back a smile.

“Do you like me?”

Jacob’s eyes widened. “What?” He squawked.

The puzzle pieces were already coming together for a while now. The longing gazes, acts of kindness, his occasional kisses (definitely not normal)–you knew there was a root to all those. But you still had that small feeling of insecurity. Well, up until now. That kiss just confirmed everything.

“Do you like me?” You repeated. “Last time, when you said that you would date me, you weren’t lying. You meant it, didn’t you?”

“I…” He trailed off. The room was dead silent. All you could do now was see, smell, and feel. You could see Jacob’s eyelashes as they fluttered when he blinked profusely, trying to come up with some sort of excuse. You could smell his cologne, which always smelled good especially when you buried your face into his chest. And you could feel his hand hovering just over your wrist.

He let out a low sigh and he looked you in the eye, his gaze nervous yet filled with something new–hope.

“I did,” He finally whispered. “I meant it. I would love to date you. And I like you. So much and for a very long time now.”

And even with all that evidence that you’ve thought about late at night, you still couldn’t help but be taken aback. You swallowed thickly and took a step back. “Oh.” It all felt real now. Deep down, you were hoping that he denied it. You wouldn’t have to actually think about your feelings for him like you had to do now. You weren’t prepared for this.

“I– I was just curious,” You stuttered. But that hand that was hovering over your waist suddenly grasped it and pulled you close. You yelped quietly before finding yourself right up against your best friend’s chest.

“And you don’t have an answer?” He asked, his voice teasing yet trembled slightly.

“Why do you need an answer?” Your heart thumped.

He hummed, his eyes glinting with mischievousness. “I want to know. You’re the one who brought this up anyway.”

“Yeah, well–” You inhaled sharply when you felt a hand on the side of your face, cautiously tucking a piece of hair back. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.” He looked you over in a way that made you feel warm and fuzzy inside. And for some reason, it wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling. You’ve felt this before, multiple times, which was what baffled you even more.

You didn’t know when it started happening and you didn’t want to dwell on it either, but everytime he ever so smiled or placed his hands on you, you felt that weird thing in your stomach. All the recent times that you’ve cuddled and fell asleep with him began to do just the same. Sometimes, you couldn’t even fall asleep because your heart was beating too fast. The only way you could fall asleep was by pressing your ear to his chest and counting his heartbeats.

Jacob quickly noticed your silence and hesitance. His voice quieted down to that caring version that he always used when you were on the verge of falling asleep—whether that be on his shoulder or chest.

“Y/n,” He gently spoke, grabbing your attention.

“What?” You winced.

“I’m sorry if I pressured you or anything. You don’t have to answer right n—“

“I like you too.”

His breath hitched. You couldn’t see his expression though, as you had shut your eyes with a grimace.

“Oh,” He breathed. You heard him step closer. “You do? You… like me too?”

“Yes,” You whispered in a small voice.

And yet again, your stomach did that funny thing because when you opened your eyes, Jacob’s face was a lot closer than before. He had a shy yet cautious smile on his face as he watched you silently.

“So…” He tilted his head expectantly. “We both share feelings. It’s up to you what you want to do now.”

This wasn’t even the bad part, you realized. It was the next words that left your lips that was.

“Nothing, let’s just move on.”

Immediately, it was like something had stabbed him in the heart and oh, did it feel the same for you. You bit your lip, willing your tears to go away. All you wanted to do was reach for his hand and pull him in and let everything else fold out naturally. But no, you stayed back against the wall, refusing to look him in the eye.

“What?” He muttered, a clear look of confusion in his eyes.

Your voice wavered as you forced sounds out of your clenched-up throat. “I said, that we should just move on.”

He let out a breath in disbelief. “Why? Is there something wrong? Did I do something wrong? If so, I’ll fix it. Is it because I didn’t let you borrow my hoodie that one time? I’ll let you borrow it whenever you want from now on.”

“It’s not,” You cried, your heart aching at the fact that he still tries to take the blame. “I want to be more with you, Jacob. I just can’t. It’s my fault, not yours.”

He fell quiet, watching you with care. “What’s stopping you?”

“Me,” You shamefully replied. “I’m afraid.”

“Afraid?” He inquired quietly. “Of what?”

“Of taking you for granted. I don’t want to possibly lose you and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“You don’t have to worry about me.” He frowned.

“But I should.” You furrowed your eyebrows. “Because what if I push you away, then what?”

He looked like he was going to say something else but he ultimately swallowed his words and let out a low sigh. “Okay,” He whispered. “I understand.”

You felt the need to apologize over and over again. You hated the look on his face as he tried to hide the pain he was feeling.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” You began to say over and over again. “It’s not because of you. It’s—“

“I know.” He gave you a soft look. He always remembered and could always tell when you were sensitive about a past relationship, no matter if it was just a fling or not.

He slowly stepped forward again and he carefully rested his palm on the back of your hand. When you didn’t flinch or pull away, he gently wrapped his fingers around your hand, holding it firmly.

“So why did you tell me?” He finally asked. “If you didn’t want this to go further.”

You tightened your hands into fists—a nervous habit you had. But, he was quick to soothe them back open as he quietly whispered a small, “You’ll hurt yourself.”

“I don’t— I don’t know.” You paused. “In a perfect world, you’re aware of my feelings and we go further. But that’s in a perfect world. I just thought… if I told you it might magically happen but it didn’t and that’s stupid, I know.”

Jacob never took his eyes off you and he never pulled his hand away. That’s what you liked so much about him. He never failed to be your anchor, the one to ground you when you felt like floating away.

What confused you though, was that he wasn’t saying anything. He seemed to be deep in thought as if he were changing his mind about something. But, he wasn’t changing his mind about his feelings for you. You could tell by the way his eyebrows furrowed slightly when you tried to hide away from his soft gaze and by the way he never let you clench your fists, holding both of your hands tightly but never enough to hurt.

You were lost in his eyes—those who have seen you at your best and lowest. He’d seen you smile and come running into his arms and he’d seen you cry and break down until you fell asleep in his embrace.

“Then I’ll wait for you.”

You inhaled sharply and widened your eyes. “What?”

“I’ll wait for you,” He repeated, a small yet reassuring smile on his lips. “That perfect world you talked about–it’s a possibility, right? So I’ll wait. I’ll wait for your perfect world to come.”

“Jacob.” You stared at him unsurely. He didn’t even know when that would happen. You didn’t even know either. So why was he so sure of waiting for you?

He leaned in and you felt a hand leave yours. And almost like he read your mind, you felt the warmth of his palm on the side of your cheek, caressing it soothingly.

“No matter how long it takes.”

Your brain was rushing with a million red warning signs. Multiple questions threatened to spill out of your mouth yet the only one that could leave was a choked, “why?”

“Because all I want is for you to be happy. Why should we rush when it means you won’t be happy? That’s all that matters to me.”

“But you—“ You let out a frustrated sigh. “You might lose interest. Or what if we do get together and something happens and—“

He grinned. “You’re thinking too far ahead. Didn’t I tell you I would wait?”

You grumbled, yet the weight in your heart lightened at the change in the surrounding mood.

“Whenever you’re ready, we can talk about this again,” He said. “In the meantime, we can go back to what we were before.”

You rolled your eyes and bit back a shy smile. “Okay.”

“And…” His eyes sparkled as he leaned forward. Immediately, as if on instinct, you shut your eyes and expected a kiss on the lips. Instead, though you felt him press one on the very top of your forehead, almost as if that was his final move of showing how much he respected you. “If you ever decide to go further, I promise that I will be good for you. I’ll be so, so good for you.”

That was when your legs began to feel like jelly. You could feel yourself melt and your brain go fuzzy.

But just as you expected, Jacob was always there to catch you.

+ 1

It was one thing to be best friends with Jacob and another thing to be best friends with a guy who recently confessed his feelings for you. No matter how hard you tried to bring things back to normal, it was of no use.

Every smile, which would be a normal thing whenever you crack a joke, now was a smile that caught you off guard and made you stumble over your words. Whenever he touched you somehow, whether if it was simply to guide you down a sidewalk or to pull you into a hug, you felt a spark that never quite left you until you fell asleep.

But still, despite the many times your heart had beaten towards Jacob, you could never find the courage to take things further. Even so, he always made it clear that he would wait.

“You can stop waiting,” You once blurted out when you noticed him hesitating to grasp your hand.

He looked at you in slight alarm before softening his expression. This time, without hesitation, he took hold of your hand, pulling it into his lap so that he could play with your fingers, bending them and squeezing them.

“Tell me the reason first. Then I’ll decide.” He eyed you knowingly.

You blushed and looked away. However, you never made a move to pull your hand away.

“Just… I feel bad,” You muttered. “It must be awkward or difficult. So you can just leave if this is bothering you.”

“Ah,” He breathed. He didn’t say anything after that, instead turning his attention back to your hand.

You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion and turned to him. “So you’re going to stop waiting?”

He smirked slightly before shaking his head. “No.”

You gaped at him, pulling your hand away in shock. “What?” You stammered. “But I just said–”

Your words were cut off by Jacob taking your hand and instead of bringing it back into his lap, he brought it up to your lips and left a soft kiss on the back of it. You immediately choked on your spit as you blinked, flustered.

“So your reason is that you’re worried that I might get impatient, correct?” He looked up to you, smiling.

You nodded your head, too lost for words.

“Then that’s not a valid reason,” He whispered. He set your hand back down, but still held it in his lap. “If you feel uncomfortable, then I will stop waiting. But me? You don’t have to worry about me.” He leaned in, staring at you completely endeared. You tried to glance away. “Like I said, I’ll always wait. No matter how long it takes.”

You breathed out shakily before nodding.

It always ended like that. It didn’t matter how hard you tried to convince him to give up, he would always come back to you like a lost puppy.

Jacob also started to take care of you more. At first, you thought it was some way to win you over like your exes liked to do right after an argument. But, over time, you began to realize that his actions were genuine, though silent and hard to notice.

“I’m hungry,” You mumbled to yourself one day. Jacob was walking behind you, seeming busy on his phone. Turns out, he wasn’t, because a few hours later, you found a bag of food placed at the entrance of your door.

Or, the other time when you just finished up your upcoming assignments and could barely walk straight with how exhausted you were. All you could remember was a pair of worried eyes that belonged to Jacob who was guiding you to bed. When you woke up, you were wrapped comfortably in blankets and most of all, his sweater that seemed to magically appear on you.

And then there was that one time. The most important of all.

“Which one is better?” You asked, holding up two scarves for your classmate to see. She peered at it curiously before pointing at the one in your left hand.

“Who’s it for?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

You scoffed, putting the other one back on the shelf. “Jacob.”

“Are you really sure that you two aren’t a thing?”

You hesitated before shrugging weakly. “It’s complicated.” You tossed the scarf into the cart before turning away, yawning. On nights when Jacob was too busy to visit your dorm, you never were able to sleep well. “I’m going to order a cup of coffee, I’ll be right back.”

You stretched your limbs and walked over to the nearby coffee shop. Buying gifts was a hard task, especially when it came to Jacob. He always made these intricately crafted gift baskets for you, filled with everything you could possibly want.

“Y/n?” A gruff voice called out to you.

You froze in place. You recognized that voice and oh, how you despised it. Still, you plastered on a smile and turned in the voice’s direction.

“Hey, it’s… you.” You looked the man over. He was the ex who stated so bluntly that you were undesirable. He certainly looked worse for wear—dark circles under his eyes, clothes with unknown stains on them, and an unkind sneer.

“How’ve you been?” He took a step forward. You were quick to backtrack, your fists clenched.

“Fine,” You forced out. “You?”

“Could be better.” He shrugged. Something suddenly shifted in his gaze though, as he looked at you differently. It was in a way that made you feel sick to your stomach, as opposed to the butterflies that would appear when you two were still together. “Listen,” He started. “I’m going to get straight to the point.”

You stared at him, perplexed.

“Get together with me again.”

You jerked away, your hands coming up defensively. “What?”

“You heard me. I’m sorry that you got offended by my words before…”

You scoffed. And he still won’t apologize.

“…but after we split, I realized how much I missed you. C’mon sweetheart, you know you feel the same, hm?”

You felt like you were about to throw up as you glared at him in disbelief. “Do you hear yourself right now?”

The man feigned innocence.

“Okay, I guess not. And I don’t have the energy to explain it to someone like you,” You spat. “So no. My answer is no. Besides, I have a boyfriend.”

That last sentence you sort of didn’t think through… but everything else you’ve practically perfected after rehearsing it with Jacob many times before.

“If you ever see him again, promise you’ll tell me,” Jacob muttered, his fingers trailing circles on your arm. It was late at night and you could barely keep your eyes open. But, it was always at this time that Jacob became sentimental and protective.

“Okay,” You whispered, your voice muffled in his chest. “Don’t worry, I’m over him.”

“That’s good.” You could hear him breathe out in relief. “And if he ever wants something from you, say no. You deserve so much more than he can ever give you.”

You smiled and snuggled closer to your best friend’s warmth. “Okay, okay. In love with me or something?”

“...go to sleep,” He mumbled, pulling the blankets closer over your figure. Completely forgetting the fact that he never answered your question, you peeked over his shoulder and realized that he was barely covered.

You frowned. “You’ll get cold.”

And instead of readjusting the blankets, he tightened his arms around you, burying his face into your neck. “I won’t.”

“Boyfriend?” Your ex’s jaw clenched scarily. “What do you mean boyfriend? Who?”

You gulped but still lifted your head high. “Jacob,” You lied straight through your teeth.

The man’s sneer only grew further as his eyes narrowed. “Of course,” He hissed. “Of course it’s always him.”

You nodded slowly, slightly confused of his response. “Yeah, so…” You couldn’t help but stifle a laugh at the sight of the man, red-faced and with almost smoke coming out of his ears.

“Just leave,” The man grunted. “I’m fine.”

“I never asked if you were fine.” You suppressed a laugh which quickly fell short when he snapped his head towards you in a warning. “Okay, okay,” You snorted. “Have a great day!” You waved and ran away before the man could explode once more.

As you walked back in the direction of your classmate, you couldn’t help but smile stupidly to yourself. To be truthfully honest, you were always terrified for this day to come. That you would run into one of your failed dates and absolutely freeze up, making a complete fool out of yourself. That was what you thought for the longest time.

But now, you realized that the interaction you just had was a lot easier than you thought. Sure, it left your heart seizing nervously, but after having someone–Jacob–stay by your side everytime even a single tear left your eye, you realized that you were healed.

–

You swung the bag in your hand, smiling brightly. You’ve never felt so happy before. Your eyes wandered across all the stores, casually window shopping until you suddenly came to a stop.

You squinted your eyes and stepped closer. There, on the display of one of the most famously expensive jewelry stores, was the necklace worn on your very neck–the exact same one that Jacob had gifted you. You peered in and spotted the price tag. That was when you stumbled back, slapping your hand over your mouth.

You stared in astonishment at the necklace. “He said that it wasn’t expensive…”

But of course, it was always Jacob who said not to worry about him. You sighed all too knowingly though you couldn’t help but bite back the smile that was forming on your lips.

Just as you were busy admiring the bracelet just like you’ve done many times before, you heard your phone ring.

“Jacob?”

“Y/n,” He sounded breathless. Almost like he was… running. “Where are you?”

You blinked in confusion. “Where are you?”

“The park. Are you–”

You accidentally hung up. You winced and whispered a quiet sorry before heading to the local park.

–

It’s a common occurrence for Jacob to find you wandering around the park, clearing your mind after hours of studying. It was not a common occurrence for you to find Jacob standing in a secluded garden area, looking around frantically for something–someone.

You bounded over to him, ready to greet him cheerily. But, as soon as his eyes landed on you, he was immediately reaching forward and pulling you into his arms.

“Oh,” You breathed stiffly. His hold was tight and protective, yet you had no idea why.

He pulled away and looked you over worriedly. His eyes were soft and his hands held gently onto your shoulders. “Are you okay?” He asked. Then, his hands came up to your cheeks as if to check for invisible tears. “Did he hurt you?”

You stared at the man in alarm, your lips parted in confusion. “Who?”

“Your ex.”

Your mouth fell further open. “How’d you know I met him today?”

Jacob sighed and pulled out his phone. “I got a text.” You couldn’t help but melt at his small, worried pout. “He said that he had just talked to you and sent you home crying.”

You blinked. And then you snorted, much to Jacob’s surprise.

“That weirdo said that?” You laughed. “He did not. I was the one who sent him home. He’s bluffing!”

And even though the man in front of you looked slightly embarrassed, you could tell that he was relieved. He stepped forward and pulled you back into a hug, his hand stroking the back of his head. “Thank god. I thought you were hurt.”

You shook your head, smiling as you listened to his beating heartbeat. “Don’t worry, I’m okay.”

It was you who pulled away first but it quickly became a regret. You so badly wanted to melt back into his arms. You’ve never been treated with so much care before–the way he held your face so gently to make sure you weren’t crying and how he held you close. God, how he made you swoon.

You cleared your throat, completely forgetting that you were staring in awe into your best friend’s eyes. Jacob smiled shyly.

“So!” You blurted, playing nervously with the sleeves of your coat. “What brings you to the park? You never come here.”

Jacob seemed to choke on something. Hm, you didn’t remember seeing him eating anything. He glanced around and you quickly noticed how red his ears had gotten.

“Oh, I–I was on a run and this was part of the… route.”

“Really?” You wondered, looking around. This area of the park was more closed off though, surrounded by more plants than people. “Interesting.”

“Yeah,” He laughed nervously.

It grew awkwardly silent then. The two of you were simply facing each other without anything to say or do. But that silence gave you more time to observe and notice the small details like how Jacob’s hair was tousled in multiple directions, meaning he wasn’t running in one straight path, but rather on multiple. His shoes were untied, which didn’t make any sense with his run, but instead showed that he was in a hurry. And then there was the phone call. The first thing he asked was where you were and as soon as you met up with him, it was like he was looking for…

“You were looking for me,” You breathed in realization. “You ran here because you were looking for me.”

Jacob’s cheeks immediately reddened as he stared at you like a deer caught in headlights. He winced as he tried to avoid eye contact. You leaned forward, making him breathe in sharply.

“I…” He sighed in defeat. It seemed like your best direction was simple eye contact. “Fine, I was looking for you. I was worried about you.”

Your eyes softened as you reached a hand up to fix his messy hair. “Why? You know that I can take care of myself.”

He frowned and you couldn’t help but think how adorable he looked when he was protective. “Still. I hate to see you hurt.”

You smiled, endeared. “Oh, Jacob…”

“Ever since you told me that you were afraid that one day, I wanted to take care of you more. And I’m sorry,” He whispered, slightly leaning into the touch of your hand. “I’m sorry if I intruded too much or made you uncomfortable. I promise that I’ll step back if you want. Or if you–”

He let out a muffled sound though, as you grabbed his collar and pulled him in to plant a kiss onto one of his cheeks. When you peeked an eye open, you smiled when you realized that his eyes were wide open in shock. Stifling a laugh, you pulled back and softly poked the spot that you just kissed.

“Wha… you…” He stared at you, completely dazed. Then, he giggled, completely flustered, as his hand came up to touch where you had just kissed.

You finally let that laugh escape, hiding your face in his chest. Then, you looked up at him, smiling widely.

“You really do know how to make me fall, don’t you?”

He smiled goofily, almost like he was drunk after that one kiss. “You’re still standing though.”

You huffed fondly and slapped him bashfully. “You know what I mean.”

“Wait, but–” He widened his eyes. You felt his hands sneak around your waist, holding you securely and protectively. “Are you sure about this? I told you I’d wait. You don’t have to…” He bit his lip shyly. You could tell that the feeling of your lips on his cheek came rushing back. He shook out of his trance though he was still blushing. “You don’t have to kiss me if you’re not ready.”

You smiled softly and shook your head. You knew it was the necklace that did it for you. It served as further proof of how much Jacob cared for you–that he always thought about you even when you were apart and lied about the price so that you wouldn’t worry. Jacob was always like this. He always had you in his mind and would do anything if it meant that you would smile. Sometimes, he would even tell you that he liked your smile.

“But I am ready. I want to go further with you.”

That was what made him jump in surprise. “You– you want to be more? Like me as your boyfriend? And you as…” He paused, his smile giddy and so in love. “Mine?”

You nodded excitedly. “Yes, Jacob.”

“But you said…”

“I’m still afraid,” You replied, looking down at where there was barely any distance between you two. “But I would love to try with you.”

“Are you sure?” He furrowed his eyebrows slightly which you couldn’t take seriously with the way his eyes were filled with so much eagerness.

“Yes.” You copied his expression jokingly.

“One hundred percent sure?”

You sighed fondly and instead of replying, you stepped forward and pressed yet another kiss on his cheek. That seemed to be a good enough answer because Jacob was staring down at you as if you were the brightest star in the sky.

Jacob then used his finger to tilt your chin up. His smile was what left you feeling breathless. “Then I promise you, Y/n, that I’ll be good for you. If I do anything wrong, tell me. I will be my best for you. All the time. I like you so much”

You felt your composure melt as you couldn’t even control your grin anymore.

“Okay,” You giggled. “I like you too. And this time, I want to do more. Only with you. You are my perfect world.”

Then, your expression quickly changed into a teasing one as you leaned in and fluttered your eyes shut. You expected Jacob to become flustered but instead, he smirked and tightened his hold on your waist. You were glad that the park was empty right now as you peeked an eye open, slightly flustered.

“What are you doing?” He teased.

You smiled shyly. “I’m asking for a kiss. And not as practice this time.”

“Of course, beautiful.” He drew circles on your hip before yanking you close and against his lips. It felt like fireworks going off in your stomach. And the fact that this was real was what made every sensation stronger than it was before.

You wrapped your arms around his neck and tilted your head slightly. Jacob smiled against your lips, holding you close without any intention to let go.

Jacob suddenly pulled away, leaving you to chase after his lips. When you stared at him with both confusion and want at the same time, he smiled knowingly before muttering, “You taste sweeter each time.”

Instantly, you were coughing with a rising blush on your cheeks. The fact that this wasn’t even your first kiss is something to think about. But still, his eyes watched your every move, completely smitten before he leaned back in.

He made it feel like your first kiss everytime.

A few months later

“Why didn’t you tell me that the necklace was actually expensive?” You mumbled, your question briefly cut off by a yawn. The two of you were cuddled up in bed, late at night. It’s not like you two didn’t cuddle before so there wasn’t much of a difference–the only one being that there were now kisses added.

He hummed, the vibration resonating through your chest. “Because I knew you would worry too much and make me return it.”

You huffed grumpily and turned away, your back facing him. He let out a small sound of confusion and peeked over your body to poke your cheek.

“Did I say something wrong?” You already knew he was pouting.

“Yes,” You whined before quickly turning back around. You punched him in the chest though he didn’t flinch one. “Why do you always tell me not to worry about you? This is a teamwork thing. I want to worry about you.”

Jacob stared at you, a completely smitten look on his face. His gaze was soft and you yelped as he suddenly wrapped his arms around you and pulled you back to his chest.

“Okay,” He replied.

You froze. “That’s it? No arguments?”

He laughed quietly. “No, because you’re right. We should be taking care of each other equally.” Then, he tilted his head back to look you in the eye. “Plus, I like when you worry about me. So do that more from now on.”

“Good.” You rolled your eyes. “I will. You think I don’t notice when you’re shivering from the cold?”

He frowned. “But you need the jacket or else you’ll get col–”

“Jacob,” You warned.

“Fine, fine.” He scoffed, squeezing your arm playfully. “But you do know that you deserve the best? So in my defense, you deserve that jacket.”

You bit your lip and sighed, defeated. You were glad that the room was dimly lit so that he wouldn’t notice your blush. As you were getting lost in your thoughts, you felt a hand caress the side of your face, turning your attention back.

“Can I ask something?”

You tilted your head, willing yourself not to melt into his touch. You couldn’t handle that stupidly loving smile he would give you everytime you did.

“What is it?”

“How have I been as a boyfriend? I told you I would treat you well. If there’s anything, let me know. All I want is for you to be happy when you’re with me. Of course, if you want…” You could tell he was nervous with the way he began to ramble.

You smiled fondly and leaned in to kiss his jaw. “Jacob, Jacob,” You spoke, interrupting his fast-paced words.

“Yeah?” He looked at you like an eager puppy.

“Don’t worry,” You whispered. “You’re doing amazing. You’ve been the sweetest boyfriend ever.”

“Oh?” His focused expression quickly turned into a teasing one. “That’s a relief. I love being good for you.”

“My god.” You tried to act nonchalant, but you couldn’t ignore the skip of your heart. You were about to add on, but your words were muffled by him leaning in and kissing you. His lips moved against yours as if you had all the time in the world which you did–you loved to savor the moment.

You barely noticed that he had shifted his position so that you were caged under his arms. You could feel him giggle against your lips, his hand coming up to comb through your hair. You would never get over the fact that he had been a good kisser all this time. You wondered just how many kisses you’ve missed out on.

But then again, his kisses were all for you from now on. You liked–no, loved–the thought of that.

It was still late at night and so, your kisses started to grow more slow and relaxed. Your arms around his neck slowly fell to your sides.

“Hey, don’t fall asleep on me now.” Jacob smirked, pulling away as he stared down at you, your eyes fighting to stay open.

“Can’t help it,” You mumbled. “Come down already.” You grabbed his arm that was holding him up as he hovered you and pulled him back down to lie with you. Automatically, you were climbing into his embrace and it didn’t take long for you to fall asleep.

“Does my kissing make you sleepy?” He teased.

“Yes. I sleep when I’m in love,” You huffed, your thoughts jumbled and messy from both the kiss and your drowsiness.

“That doesn’t really make sense.” He still kissed the top of your forehead anyway.

“Shut up and go to sleep.”

“Okay, beautiful.”

#deoboyznet #the boyz reactions #the boyz imagines #tbz fluff #the boyz fluff #the boyz x reader #tbz imagines #the boyz scenarios #tbz x reader #jacob bae x reader #jacob bae fluff #jacob x reader #jacob fluff #fics 💞#requests 💞

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loucifersbitch · 29 days ago

Note

Congrats on your milestone lovely!! If you’re still doing prompts, Bucktommy + early morning 🧡

once again, i failed at keeping this to 11 sentences OOPS

The sunlight breaks in through the open blinds, softly dancing across the bedroom wall as the household begins to wake up.

Tommy rolls out of bed first, as always. The coffee is set to begin brewing at 5:30, so he has about 30 minutes to himself in the gym before anyone will join him.

It feels good to stretch his muscles, push himself on the treadmill, deadlift only 10lbs under his PR weight from before the accident. Getting the all clear for everything from the orthopedic surgeon yesterday had lifted a weight off his shoulders, and he feels energized like he hasn't in months.

The door opens, and Tommy glances at the clock on the wall. It's only 5:34 which means it's not Evan, but Tommy's pretty sure he knows who the early riser is anyway.

"Liam?" he asks, almost certain as the smell of coffee comes closer.

"Hey, Pops," Liam says, a mug of coffee in each hand. At 15, he's a little young to drink coffee every day in Tommy's opinion, but there are worse things. Much worse.

"Thanks," Tommy says, taking the proffered mug and sipping delicately, the warmth immediately spreading through his body. "Sleep okay?"

"Mhm," he nods, taking a sip from his own mug. "Lottie was up late though. Her light was on when I went to the bathroom at 1."

Tommy frowns. Charlotte has been with them for almost 11 months and is doing fantastic, but she's prone to night terrors. He makes a mental note to talk with her therapist during her next session.

Shaking off the pit he gets in his stomach anytime one of his kids has trouble, he asks, "Did you want to lift weights this morning or do you have practice?"

"I gotta get going. Coach Pullman wants us on the field by 6:30. Denny should be here soon, actually," he says, glancing at his watch.

"Okay, go get ready," Tommy says, watching his son walk toward the door. Then he remembers what happened last week and adds, "And don't forget Benny this time. Dad and I won't be able to drop him off this morning."

Liam sends him twin finger guns then runs back upstairs, leaving the gym door open. Tommy shakes his head fondly, but doesn't get up to close the door. Instead he goes back to his workout, thinking about what he wants to make for breakfast when he's done, the thought of french toast instantly making his stomach growl.

Soon, he hears footsteps on the stairs and looks up to see Liam and Benjamin waving to him as they head outside to meet Denny at the curb. He keeps an eye on the two boys out the window until he sees the Wilsons' car pull up and the boys climb in.

Two down, three to go.

He finishes his workout just after 6:00 and wipes down the equipment before heading upstairs to the en suite. Evan still snores softly in their bed, his curls mussed and long limbs askew. He looks so much younger than 40 - well, 39, but his birthday is in two weeks - and still as beautiful as the day they met.

His shower is perfunctory, quick and efficient, but by the time he leaves the bathroom, there's a small body curled in next to Evan on the bed, cuddled closely in his arms. Hazel is only 4, but she's been with them since she was two months old, officially becoming their daughter a year later.

Not wanting to disturb them, he dresses quietly in the walk-in closet then leaves the room. He steps into the hallway and immediately feels a small body collide with his own.

"Hey, Papa," Evelyn whispers, clinging to his waist.

"Morning, Evie," he says, swinging the 6 year old into his arms for a hug. "Wanna help me make breakfast?"

"Yes," she says, nodding decisively.

They knock on Charlotte's door to make sure she's up and getting ready for school before heading down to the kitchen. The french toast is done quickly, Evelyn only spilling a little of the egg mixture while dipping the thick slices of bread. They also set out the powdered sugar, syrup, and fresh berries along with juice, milk, and water.

Charlotte makes her way into the kitchen, seemingly led by her nose as she smiles at the spread on the table.

"Morning, Pops," she says, stopping to give Tommy a hug. It will never stop amazing him that she settled into their family so quickly, easily transitioning to calling them Pops and Dad like the rest of their kids.

"Hey, sweetie. You doing okay? Liam said you might not have slept well."

She huffs and settles her chin on his chest, looking up at him with tired eyes. "Just a bad dream again. But Percy helped."

After the first few nights of night terrors, Evan had taken Charlotte to Build-A-Bear, hoping they could find something that might help her feel safe when she woke from the dream. Sure enough, she had immediately been drawn to a light blue axolotl that she named Percy. And he does seem to help, but Tommy still wishes there was more he could do to stop the dreams in the first place.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I wish I knew how to help more."

Her face screws up in confusion - her expression eerily similar to Evan's - and says, "Pops, I'm nine. I'm a big kid. I can handle it myself."

Tommy chuckles and holds her tighter. "That may be true, but as your Pops, it feels like my responsibility to make sure any bad things stay away."

Laying her head down and squeezing him once more, she says, "Thanks. You're a good Pops."

He will not cry at 7 in the morning, thank you very much.

Charlotte goes to the table where Evelyn is already waiting for her, and they quietly start to pile food onto their plates. They're a few bites in when Evan comes downstairs, a very clingy, sleepy Hazel in his arms. She starts to wiggle, trying to get down when she spots the girls already at the table and goes directly into Charlotte's waiting arms.

Evan looks like he could use a few more hours of sleep, but just when Tommy's about to suggest he go lie back down, Evan leans into him and murmurs, "G'morning."

"Good morning," Tommy says, his arms encircling Evan and holding him close so he can kiss his birthmark. "You ready for today?"

"Absolutely." Placing his own kiss to Tommy's cheek, he disentangles himself from Tommy's grasp and joins their daughters at the table.

Tommy watches them for a moment, taking in just how much his life has changed since meeting Evan, how full of people and love and family it is now. Seeing his husband - a man bursting with love for everyone around him - taking care of their kids with nothing but gentle patience causes his eyes to prickle with tears once again.

He turns to refill his coffee and get Evan his own mug, composing himself as he stirs in the cream and sugar. Sometimes he takes all of this for granted; it happens after seven years. But he suddenly remembers just how lonely his life used to be. Yes, he had friends and work and the few family members who still spoke to him, but Evan gave him a real family. Evan gave him family barbecues and wedding dates and birthday parties and reasons to celebrate all the little things in life.

As he takes his seat at the table, he's greeted with a chorus of, "Hey, Pops!" and, "Thanks, babe," when he hands Evan his coffee.

The day has barely started, they still need to get two kids to school and one to daycare, and then they have to get ready for the ceremony this evening. Bobby's retiring, Hen will be taking his place as Fire Chief of the LAFD, and Evan is being promoted to Captain of the 118. It's a big day for their family. It'll be long and tiring, and there's nowhere Tommy would rather be than at Evan's side through everything.

#911 abc #the ally and the beast #bucktommy #bucktommy ficlet #jules writes #follower milestone prompts

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mewhenimanangel · 6 months ago

Text

cherry, eren jaeger

—synopsis. historia and annie go after you after finding out about your night with eren

—chapter 5 ౨ৎ

𝜗𝜚 content!: au-high school, ballet dancer, teenage romance, black reader, cheesy romance

previous ౨ৎ next ౨ৎ

lana slept over at your house that night. she made you share and reenact every detail of what happened with you and eren. you both even screamed and giggled when he texted you asking if you got home safe.

"girls quiet down!" your mom shouted from downstairs. "sorry!" you both giggled. she went on to tell you about connie asking her on a date next weekend and how they had a steamy make out in one of the bedrooms, she reenacted that for you too.

once lana was sleeping, you texted eren until you fell asleep too.

the next morning you woke up and went on your phone and your heart sunk. on annie's profile was screenshot of a picture of you and eren on the couch, the night before. the caption read "when a slut bitch dates the dance teacher's son to get a solo 🤣"

"what the fuck??" you furrowed your brows. "what's going on?" lana turned to face you. you showed her your screen. "there's no way, that bitch is asking to get her ass beat" she grabbed your phone and screenshot the story before texting annie 'what the fuck??'

"i bet that bitch historia posted that too. i saw them at the party, they must've seen you and eren together" she said.

you checked your phone to see if annie answered but all she had done was open your message and then block you. "her ass is scared as fuck. she's probably mad as hell that armin stopped fucking with her after historia and eren broke up" lana said.

"oh my god this is so embarrassing. i literally look like a slut" you said, looking at the picture again. "no you don't" she put her hand on your thigh. "if you 'look' anything, it's sexy as fuck" she said making you smile. "im just worried like what if ms jeager sees that and takes the solo from me" you sighed. "take the solo from you for kissing a boy?"

"a boy that's literally her son" you deadpanned. "no she won't care you know she likes you. i'm sure she'll think it's a misunderstanding or something" lana rubbed your shoulder. "yeah i guess. definitely not looking forward to tomorrow though. historia's in my sociology class" you groaned. "fuck that bitch" was all lana had to say.

the next day during class, you could feel historia's glare burning into the back of your head. you decided you weren't gonna say anything and just put the whole thing behind you, the story's expired by now anyways.

when class was over, you packed up your stuff and head for the door. historia walked by you and bumped you with your elbow "oops" she feigned an apologetic voice before turning around to leave the room. you scoffed before leaving class too.

eren rolled his eyes as he saw historia walk up to his locker. "hi" she smiled at him. he rolled his eyes "what." his tone was cold. "aw don't be like that" she whined. "literally what do you want from me?" he furrowed his brows and put his books in his locker.

"i miss you" she frowned, putting a hand on his arm. he scoffed, she was being so ridiculous all he could do was laugh and move his arm from her touch. "we're not fucking doing this again. i made it clear that we're done. leave me alone" he shut his locker, holding his books down by his side, beginning to walk away.

he turned back around to her for a second "oh and leave y/n alone too. i saw that bullshit you posted, it's fucked up and you know damn well that shit is not true" he said to her before heading to class. "i don't know why you don't just go fuck that gay friend of yours. you're both clearly in love with each other. find yourself and leave me alone" he told her off.

yesterday, connie had shown him a screenshot of annie's story that lana sent to him. eren's heart sunk and he grabbed his phone to text you, wondering if you'd seen it.

eren 🎀: hey

have you seen that picture going around

you: yeah...i'm pissed the fuck off

eren 🎀: yeah

shit is weird idk what annie's doing but i feel like it has to do with historia

you: great 😐

eren 🎀: listen i'm sorry, i'll talk to her

i don't even know who took that picture

you okay?

you: i mean yeah i'm fine but what if your mom sees that

eren 🎀: i'm sure she won't and if she does i'll just explain it to her.

don't worry, she's not gonna like cut you from your solo or something.

she doesn't really know about us

but she is suspicious of it lmao

you: lol

yeah you're probably right i'm just anxious

historia's probably ready to kill me

eren 🎀: nah i'll talk to her

you walked into math class to see eren already at your table. your heart rate kind of picked up, this was the first time you'd seen him since you made out on that couch.

eren smiled once he saw you walk in. today you were back in the uniform skirt, this time with a crewneck over it. you had on the sneakers you wore on friday and your hair was bound back by a white headband.

he was excited to see you again, you didn't leave his mind at all after saturday night. you actually managed to make him look forward to a math class.

"morning" you smiled at him as you sat down in your seat. "hey princess" he sat up. "hm, that one's still going strong?" you smiled. "for you of course"

"by the way, i talked to historia. i think she'll leave you alone now. them taking and posting that picture is so stupid" he shook his head. "it's whatever" you shrugged.

as math class went on, you and eren talked before being told to be quiet by mr ryan. you focused on the lesson as much as you could until you noticed eren nonchalantly moving his hand closer to yours.

you bit your cheek in a grin as you slowly brushed yours against his too, hand moving to touch his. he slowly placed his hand to slightly hold yours, he grazed his thumb over a spot on your knuckles. you turned to see him staring at the board with a smirk on his face, and shook your head.

your mind raced to saturday night's events and the kiss. his touch was so intoxicating, you wanted to kiss him again, maybe even more than just that..

the bell rung and you gathered your things. "i've got dance today. wish me luck with annie, i already know she told the other girls" you rolled your eyes.

"you'll be fine. if anything i'll come save you" he nudged your shoulder. "ugh please do" you smiled as you turned down the other direction of the hallway.

you and lana walked into the studio and dropped your bags down. you looked over to see annie whispering something to mina as they both looked over at you. you rolled your eyes "that bitch better cut it out. her busted ass pirouette is why she didn't get the solo" lana joked as she watched annie warm up.

ms jeager walked into the room and you saw annie dart her gaze over to you. "everyone in positions let's get warmed up" she said. "y/n can you come here please? i'd like to speak to you" she said, lana gave you a worried look. you heard giggles from behind you as you followed her out of the room.

"so...i've heard some rumors" she started off. you sighed, knowing what the rumors in question were.

"listen, i picked you for the solo because you're extremely talented and i love the style you dance. i did not pick you because of whatever is going on between you and my son. i had no idea there was even something going on. is there...something going on?"

"no" your voice came out a lot less confident than you'd hoped, "i mean not really?"

"are you asking me?" she chuckled. "listen whatever my son's got you wrapped up in has nothing to do with your solo" she told you and you nod your head. "just don't let it distract you. you've done some great work these last few weeks. you can go join the others, i'll have a chat with annie"

once practice was over, you went to the private rehearsal room to work on your solo. eren went to say hello to his mom before walking around to look for you. he peered into the rehearsal room and saw you dancing. today you were in grey yoga pants with pink leg warmers and a white tank top. eren loved your outfits, everything you wore always suited you so beautifully.

"maybe you should take a break" you heard from behind you. you smiled through a pant, pausing the music "who says i haven't?" "i know you haven't, you hungry?" he asked you. "i'm not eating till i finish practicing." you told him.

he squint his eyes, fine. he wouldn't push you, he'll just give you the sub sandwich he bought for you on the way here later. he moved into the room, dropping his bag before sitting down on the floor by the wall.

"don't you have basketball practice today?" you asked him, stretching your feet to continue. "i just came from there"

you turned to acknowledge his attire, grey sweatpants with a hoodie that had the school's name on it. his hair was more out of place than usual, you liked this laid back look on him.

"you know you're coming here a lot more often lately, it's getting a little suspicious" you smiled.

"hm, i better not let annie see me" he joked, making you laugh.

he stayed sitting there until you decided you were done practicing. he ate the sandwich he'd bought for himself and listened to music. he looked up from his phone when you stopped the music and began taking off your dance shoes. "don't those hurt?" he asked you. "oh they absolutely do" you sighed.

you packed your things, putting on your jacket and a pair of slides on your feet. "i got you a sandwich by the way" eren said, grabbing the bag from his backpack. "aww thank you, god i'm starving" he handed you the bag before holding the door open for you.

once you guys were in his car, you opened the bag to eat your sandwich. "you wanna put some music on?" he offered. "sure" you connected your phone to his car and put on some music.

"by the way, what are you doing this weekend?" he asked you. "probably just work and going to the studio, why?"

"you know mikasa right?" "yeah, i mean like know of her at least" you shrugged. "she's having a birthday party on saturday, i get to bring a plus one"

"are you asking me to be your plus one?" you smiled. "i'm asking you to be my date yes" he nod his head. "sure then yes i will be your date. what do i wear?" "it's roaring 20s themed" he told you.

"oh i have the perfect thing for that" you pulled out your phone to look for a picture of the long black sparkly dress you'd bought a couple months ago.

you saw eren's smirk grow as he looked at the picture "what?" "you look amazing in that, you should for sure wear that" he nod his head. "right?!"

#nia writes ࿐#attack on titan #black reader #eren jaeger #eren jaeger x black reader #eren jaeger x reader #attack on titan characters #mikasa ackerman #jean kirstein #annie leonhart #armin arlert #attack on titan fanfic #attack on titan fanfiction #eren jaeger fanfiction #eren jaeger smut

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ahanarhorse · 2 months ago

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Whumptober day 6: Not Realizing they're injured

So sorry this is late, I did not want to write yesterday.

unhealthy coping mechanisms | healed wrong | "It's not my blood"

I couldn't help it, I'm hurting Wild (and Warriors) again.

Warnings: Blood, wounds.

AO3 Link

The battle had ended, but not well. It was a rough one, black blooded moblins, bokoblins and even a wizzro.

No one had gotten out unscathed.

After the battle Hyrule was limping around, trying to heal as many people as he could before Legend made him sit down.

Warriors was wrapping wounds that were minor enough not to get a potion as Twilight was dealing out the red bottles.

Everyone had sat down just outside the clearing where the battle took place. No one was willing to move too far too soon.

Wind had flopped down on the floor and was being persuaded by Sky to get up.

Four was cleaning his and other people's swords, making sure they all got taken care of after the tough battle.

Warriors was wrapping a cut on Legend's hand as the latter yelled at Hyrule who was currently ignoring his own injury in favor of healing Time.

Wild was looking through his slate, trying to find a replacement for the shield he broke.

Twilight was sipping a healing potion as he sat down next to Wild. The rancher slapped Wild's back, making the younger fall forward.

"Oops, sorry Champ," he said, smiling guiltily.

"It's fine," Wild replied, looking back to his slate and pulling out a royal guard's shield.

"You alright? You musta got some sort of injury after a battle like that," Twilight responded, looking Wild up and down for hidden injuries.

"Yeah, got a small cut, already wrapped it up," He said, quickly dismissing the conversation.

"Kay kid, but you better not be lying ta me," The rancher gave Wild a glare, one that normally would have made the teen chuckle and give a good shoulder punch and maybe a bit of roughhousing.

Now, there was no response.

Instead of becoming worried Twilight just waved it off as the kid being tired after so hard a fight. Instead he went over to see how Time was doing, his broken arm now healed.

Wild continued to stand, looking through his slate once more and picking out a truffle to snack on.

The chain had finally wrapped everything up, Wind relenting to stand and get a leg bandaged while Hyrule sat down and drank a potion at Legend's nagging.

They were all off again, grabbing gear and setting off.

The pace was slower than normal, none of the group wanting to travel. They needed to go though, supposedly they were close to a town, and they needed a safe place to sleep for the night. If they were attacked at camp, nothing would go well.

Finally they could see the outskirts of the town they had been looking for. The chain let out a collective sigh at the sight. As they got to the inn, bags were dropped heavily and people dropped into beds as the sun went down and tiredness overcame them.

People lay down one by one and everyone went to sleep fairly quickly.

Only one person was not in bed.

In fact, he was not in the room at all.

Wild was on the roof.

It had only been a couple hours before one of the chain awoke from nightmares. It was not uncommon for it to happen, in fact, it was less likely for everyone to sleep well than wake up for one reason or another.

He normally would have tried to go back to sleep or stay up for a bit before laying back down, but tonight it felt different. Tonight something felt wrong.

It was the sort of feeling he got way to often during the war.

When a little Mask or Tune had made a terrible decision and he now had to sort it out.

No one had better done anything.

But he would be more surprised if anyone hadn't.

He peeking into each room, looking for anything amiss. He found everyone where they should be, everyone except for a certain errant champion.

Warriors let out a sigh, of course it was the champion.

He wouldn't say he disliked Wild, in fact, Warriors loved their feral wild child, even if he was stern sometimes.

It was that he didn't think Wild liked him.

He wasn't blind, he was a military commander at one point. He could see the way Wild learned away from him, the way he never got close enough to Warriors to touch him, even though he was the first to offer physical comfort to anyone else.

It was the way he could see the disguised fear in Wild's eyes whenever he barked an order, it was the way Wild straightened his posture when he went into captain mode. Half the time he thought Wild was about to throw a salute.

And every time, every time a flash of fear responded to an especially harsh order, every time a stony expression and straight back replaced their carefree and loose champion, every time, it made him hurt inside.

And he knew Wild had once been a knight. That made it even worse. That meant that somewhere in the past, he had a bad experience with other knights, and now he was afraid. He didn't even know if Wild remembered anything about his knighthood, or if he was reacting from instinct. If Wild had feared a captain in the past, most of his behaviors made much more sense.

The problem was he couldn't help it. He couldn't help that he took control in a battle, it wasn't his fault that he had been trained almost all his life to be who he was, and now he was feeling bad for it.

He almost woke Twilight, but decided against it. If he scared Wild too badly, he would get backup, but for now, he thought he could handle the wild child.

The problem now, was to find where Wild was, and if Warriors knew anything, he could be anywhere.

He went outside, the most likely, yet difficult, place to find the champion.

He looked around, searching for any sign of a blue tunic or blond hair. He chanced to look up and spotted a figure on top of the inn roof.

Great. Why was he doing this again?

Oh yeah, because Wild probably wasn't okay and he was the only one awake to help.

Warriors sighed, he would have to climb up there somehow.

He found a tree that would probably be easy enough to make it onto the roof and landed on the roof with only a slightly louder thump than he would have liked.

He walked towards the top, where the silent figure still sat. He made sure to make enough noise that Wild would hear him, yet not enough to wake the people in the building under his feet.

It worked, and Warriors could see Wild's ears twitch back towards him before flicking forwards again.

With less apprehension he continued forward, setting himself down a little distance away from Wild, who was still staring into the stars.

"Whats got you up kid?" Warriors asked, noticing the small flinch that 'kid' got him, he would have to remember not to use that in the future.

No answer.

"Are you hurt."

Only a small shake of the head that time.

Warriors looked to make sure, it wouldn't be the first time that Wild had hidden an injury.

And he was glad he looked, because in the darkness of night he wouldn't have caught the slightly darker stain otherwise.

"Wild, let me check your back," Warriors asked, standing.

"What? No," Wild said, vocally responding for the first time. He spun around, putting a hand up in between him and the captain.

Warriors could see it, the guarded yet fearful look on the champion's face.

"You're hurt, I need to look at it," He said, trying to make it soft, to not scare Wild, yet firm enough that the teen would know it wasn't a suggestion.

"It's not my blood, just monster guts I haven't washed out yet," Wild said arm up and still defensive.

"No, let me look at it," Warriors stated. He sure didn't want to be a captain to the young knight but he didn't want Wild to continue going on hurt either.

When no response greeted his ears he continued around Wild's back, making enough noise that Wild could always hear him.

When Wild didn't turn or push him away again he took it as a win and squatted down, talking the whole time.

"Wild, what happened?" He asked as he lifted the back of a blood stained shirt only to see more blood stained skin underneath.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" He asked, taking out a roll of bandages he kept on him for this purpose.

"I didn't need help," Wild stated flatly.

"You're not alone anymore, you know we can help, right?"

No answer.

"Wild, I'll always help you, it's alright," Warriors said, cleaning the cut and bandaging it as well as he could in such dim light.

The problem was, he could see many more marks on the young man's back, and some didn't look as accidental as the one he was currently tending to.

He would have to talk to Wild again later.

Finished it somehow!! I love Wild and Warriors bonding so much, even more with all the angst added in.

Thank you for reading!

#whumptober 2024 #linked universe #lu wild #lu warriors #ahanar writes

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sashaisready · 9 months ago

Text

The Blood Pact: Chapter 4 - The Mistake

Bucky Barnes Vampire AU x Female Reader

Reeling from a bad break-up, you're desperately trying to find a new place to live but the Brooklyn rental market is a complete nightmare. You take a chance on an intriguing newspaper ad and enquire about a room in a shared house, where you'd be living with two mysterious men. The catch is that they want something other than your money for you to pay the rent...the one thing they don't have.

Series Masterlist

Chapter 5

The next day passed uneventfully. You had a strange moment in the middle of the night where you were sure someone was out in the hall standing outside your bedroom door, but you assumed you were half asleep and dreaming, so you settled back under your sheets.

Otherwise it was another day. You worked, listened to some music, cleaned up a little. You met your friend Nat for a long lunch (oops) and by the time you got home it was starting to get dark. You were dreading seeing Bucky later, but part of you wanted to clear the air. You checked that all of the shades were closed and went up to your room to answer some work emails before starting your dinner.

You were lost in your inbox when a knock on your door startled you. You checked behind the blind quickly, yep – sundown. You assumed it was Steve, sometimes after he woke up he liked to come and say hey on his way downstairs.

“Come on in, Steve” you called, not looking up from your screen.

The door opened but there was a pause, Steve didn’t greet you like he usually did.

“Hi” finally came a low voice.

You jumped, your heart jumped too. Spinning in your chair to face him, you felt a tingling in your tummy when you saw him. Slightly dishevelled in grey sweats, but just as handsome as always.

“Oh…hey” you replied. “Don’t normally see you in here unless you’re feeding…”

Bucky smiled thinly, his hand ran absentmindedly through his hair.

“I uh…came to apologise. For yesterday. I’m sorry, that was a mean prank. I won’t do anything like that again”. He sounded sincere, genuinely remorseful.

Maybe…too remorseful.

“Is this a prank too?” you asked suspiciously, your eyes narrowing.

“What?” he barked, his brow furrowed.

“Is this another bit?” you accused.

“Fuck. No. I’m trying to be nice, actually” he said angrily.

“Clearly” you deadpanned.

Bucky sighed. “Look, can we just put it behind us? I’m genuinely sorry, okay? I nearly woke you up last night just to apologise. I could barely sleep this morning feeling so guilty about it. Especially on an empty stomach”.

You gasped. “Oh my god…”

“What??” he said incredulously.

“You’re so full of shit! You’re only being nice because you’re hungry and you’re trying to butter me up for a feed. Fuck! You almost had me…” you folded your arms in outrage, scoffing.

Bucky scoffed right back. “No I’m not! I was being genuine, actually. I was trying to explain how bad I felt…I wasn’t angling for dinner”.

You raised a brow and studied him. The tension between you was so thick you felt almost suffocated by it.

“Right…” you said cautiously.

“Right…” he responded with anger, refusing to break eye contact.

You stared at each other for a moment.

“So you’re not hungry then?”

“Obviously I’m hungry” he spat. You could see he was more on edge than usual.

“Exactly” you smirked triumphantly.

“That’s not why I’m here, though”.

“It’s not?”

“No”.

“So you don’t want a feed?”

He paused. “This feels like a trap…”

You laughed at that, rolling your eyes but grateful for the levity.

“Fine. Get over here, asshole” you sighed as you moved onto the bed, tugging your shorts up and revealing your bare thigh.

His eyes flicked between your face and your leg as he remained perfectly still, clearly unsure if you were tricking him somehow.

“You coming? Or is refrigerated blood bag on the menu tonight?” you teased, further extending your leg across the bedspread tauntingly.

Bucky uttered a small noise of derision as he finally crossed the room and knelt down next to you on the bed.

“Most people don’t need to have a sparring match with their food” he mocked as he searched for a vein.

“Most people don’t have such charming food” you countered, shooting him a wink.

He rolled his eyes, but you thought you saw a spark of amusement in them.

You propped yourself against some pillows as Bucky lined his mouth up. Suddenly his icy fingers dug into your skin, making you jump.

“Hey…I really am sorry. Seriously” he told you sincerely, looking up at you as he held your leg.

You nodded. “It’s okay. I’m sorry I hit you. I…lost it a bit” you admitted awkwardly.

Bucky laughed. “I deserved it”.

You exchanged smiles and your anger towards him begin to dissipate. He was such a little shit. But man, you never got sick of seeing that smile. Partly because he mainly smirked or scowled at you. His smile, his real smile, was warm and comforting. Toothy and full. His nose got all scrunched up. It was maybe a little goofy, even. You’d do almost anything to have him smile at you like that.

Before you knew it he had sunk in, greedily lapping at you with none of the usual teasing. Your body jerked, surprised by the suddenness, but he was unfazed by your wriggling, holding you still in his firm grip. You allowed the haze to sweep over you. Even through the inebriated fuzz you realised he must be extra hungry, making up for lost time as he fed desperately from you. You felt the usual soar of pleasure through your body, moaning softly as you closed your eyes and let the cloud absorb you.

You’re not sure what came over you and you were barely aware you’d done it, but somehow your arm had moved. You lifted your hand and before you knew it you had slowly slid it higher, linking your fingers through Bucky’s bed hair and forming a gentle fist.

He stopped suddenly, slowly turning his head to look up at you. His face was contorted in shock as your blood dripped down his chin. His eyes wide, pupils blown. He didn’t even look like himself. He looked…animal.

You were wrenched from your high as you realised what you’d done, quickly pulling your hand away from his hair as if you’d touched fire. You fell back down to earth with a huge crash.

“Oh God…I’m sorry” you whispered. “I don’t know why I-”

“Put it back” he demanded, his voice low and gruff.

You nodded, dazedly obeying. You moved your shaking fingers back behind his head, gently hooking each one into his long hair.

He stared at you for a moment before nodding, smiling at you with his fangs bared. He returned to the wound, continuing to feast like nothing had happened. Your bliss returned and you sank back into the mattress. Now you ran your fingers through his hair as he fed, allowing the strands to wrap around your hand. You gingerly tried an experimental tug which made him moan softly, so you did it again. And again.

You couldn’t believe how aroused you were. You knew it was wrong, you shouldn’t be getting off on being bitten by a vampire. But you couldn’t help yourself. The way it made you feel was all so intoxicating, so addictive.

Bucky finished up, pulling himself away from your thigh as you both turned to look at one another. He used his thumb to wipe away a rogue drop of blood from his mouth. You kept your hand resting in his hair, knowing you should stop but somehow unable to pull it away just yet. You just stared at each other, both breathing heavily. You felt a strong need to touch him, to hold him, unable to resist the pull towards him.

Bucky��s eyes searched your face. You wanted to speak but didn’t know what to say. You wanted to reach out and feel your skin against his, but didn’t know where you stood.

Suddenly he lurched forward, his hand snaking around your chin. He pulled you towards him, his lips crashing against yours as he caught you in a bruising kiss. You kissed back, your tongue finding his as your hand tightened in his hair. You could taste the metallic shadow of your own blood on his lips, your heart fluttering with how sordid it all felt.

His hands moved to your back, flipping you so that you lay beneath him as his kisses became more frantic. You pressed into him so tightly that no light could escape between you, your hips flush against his as you quietly mewled into his mouth. He moaned in return, a cold hand finding its way under your top as he glided up your torso. You could feel his hardness between your legs, and you urgently gyrated against him for any friction

A knock at your door was like a bomb going off.

“Hey, you okay in there?” Steve called from the other side.

Bucky leapt off of you so quickly that you gasped. Flustered and ruffled, you managed to sit up and switch your brain back on with enough power to respond.

“Hi…yeah” your raspy voice betraying your lack of composure as you cleared your throat. “We’re uh…just finishing a feed. Be right down”.

Hopefully Steve just chalked your agitation up to the after effects of feeding.

“Okay, see you there” Steve replied. You heard his footsteps retreat down the stairs.

Bucky was on his feet, brushing himself down and running a hand through his hair to smooth where you’d mussed it. He turned to look at you and you stared back at him open mouthed, unsure of what to say.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then grabbed a fresh bandage and antiseptic wipe from his kit, handing them to you. For a moment he looked like he was going to say something, but after a few seconds he turned to the door and left without a word.

You shot up off the bed, still a bit woozy from the feed and…well, the extra stuff. You ran a brush through your hair and checked yourself in the mirror. Your cheeks felt a little flushed, but that was pretty standard after a feed.

Bucky fleeing didn’t exactly fill you with confidence, but you understood why he was freaked out. Wasn’t a particularly great idea, making out and grinding against your human food source. And it’s not like you could both talk it out with an oblivious Steve wandering around, always reminding Bucky about the importance of being ‘professional’ and respecting ‘boundaries’. But still, you couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt by the rejection, even if you understood it.

You sighed, cleaning your wound and quickly applying the bandage before pulling your shorts back in place and heading downstairs.

🩸

“What’s going on? I thought you two made up” Steve questioned, his attention alternating between the matching sullen faces of you and Bucky.

You took a bite of your dinner and kept your gaze on your plate.

“We’re fine” Bucky said bluntly. “Aren’t we?” He turned to you.

You nodded, forcing a smile at both of them.

“Really?” Steve probed, clearly not buying it.

“Yup. We talked it out. I had a feed. Nothing more to report. Water under the bridge” Bucky said, his tone detached.

“So why have you barely looked at one another all evening?” Asked Steve.

You and Bucky made eye contact for the first time since he left your room. Both of you seemed to be telepathically willing the other to come up with some sort of decent excuse.

“Sorry, it’s probably my fault. I’m pretty tired. Not feeling super chatty. I might go to bed after this” you managed to smile, keeping your tone breezy.

Steve nodded. “Maybe the earlier feed threw you off. We can stick to later ones if that helps”.

You nodded back. “Maybe, although I’ve definitely feeling less tired after them lately. Probably just an off day, no biggie”.

Steve seemed satisfied with your answer, but still looked a little suspicious.

“Okay. But let’s keep an eye on it. Your health comes first”.

You just nodded and continued to eat, feeling Bucky’s penetrating stare bearing into you.

🩸

You laid in bed staring up at the dark ceiling. You couldn’t sleep, you just kept replaying the moment with Bucky over and over again. You thought about the way he’d looked at you when you grabbed his hair, the moans he made as you pulled on it, the way he had seized you so desperately and pulled you into your kiss.

The truth was you didn’t know how you really felt about it, or how you felt about Bucky. You weren’t sure if it was just a strange vampire trance you were put in while he fed, to keep victims calm, maybe. But you didn’t feel anything like that with Steve. A bit dream-like perhaps, but nothing near the feelings of peace and euphoria you felt with Bucky. Nothing like the irresistible pull he had over you.

Being intimate with him was a bad idea. You had a business arrangement, as Steve had rightly pointed out. It was weird enough that you fed him, adding sex into the mix would just make things even weirder. And sleeping with him would create a weird power dynamic that you didn’t like the sound of. You were staying under his roof, living rent free (practically). Sex would add a whole new dimension to that.

And it wasn’t like you could avoid him. Or he could avoid you. Unless he wanted to starve himself to death, of course.

You knew all of this logically, but it didn’t mean you wanted him any less. You had never met anyone who had ignited a fire in you like he had. He was both infuriating and intoxicating all at once.

You continued to toss and turn as you thought it all over. You finally fell asleep in the early hours but were woken a short time later when your bedroom door creaked open.

You shot up in bed, disorientated and half asleep. “Who’s there?” you called out croakily.

“Shh. It’s me” said a whisper in the dark.

“Bucky?” You replied, your volume now matching his. “What are you…”

“Keep it down. Steve doesn’t know I’m here” he replied.

You couldn’t see him in the darkness but felt the bed sink slightly as he sat down on the end of it. You leaned forward, reaching out to touch him to get a sense of where he was as your eyes tried to adjust.

“I’m here” he whispered, a cold hand reaching out and finding yours. You took it and squeezed instinctively.

He squeezed back briefly, but pulled it away again just as quickly as if he’d had an electric shock.

“Look…I came to apologise for earlier. I got a little…carried away. It was inappropriate and shouldn’t have happened. It won’t happen again, I promise”.

You nodded, appreciating that he was addressing it whilst also feeling a small pang of disappointment.

“It wasn’t just you, though” you explained. “I wanted it too”.

You heard him sigh wearily. “Doesn’t matter. When you’re being fed on you’re weaker, more vulnerable. Humans often get this kinda cloud of good feeling when a vampire feeds from them. It makes you docile, agreeable. Zaps the fight out of you so you can’t try to hurt us or get away. The effect varies from human to human, and vampire to vampire really. But the basis and principle is always the same”.

“Yeah, I’m familiar with the cloud…” you cut in.

“So you get why it was wrong of me to…make a move on you while you were in that condition”.

You paused. “I do. And I appreciate you talking to me about it. But…what if I wanted it to happen?” You asked cautiously.

“Like I said, it might feel like you want it but it’s like being drunk or high so you can’t exactly-”

“No. Bucky” you told him solemnly. “I don’t just want it to happen during feeds. I mean, I do then too. But…it’s not just the cloud. I-I, feel something for you…”

Bucky sat in silence for a moment as he considered your words. He finally sighed and spoke again.

“Doll…nothing can happen between us. It was a onetime mistake, we need to put it behind us and pretend like it never happened. We’re just roommates. I’m your landlord. I’m a vampire and you’re the human that feeds me. That’s all this is”. He was stern, there was no room for argument.

You felt your heart drop at that. It made sense of course, but it didn’t make it any easier to hear. You were glad he couldn’t see your face in the dark. But you still had an important question.

“So why did you kiss me, Bucky?” You asked softly.

You felt him shift on the bed uncomfortably, but he remained silent.

“Bucky?”

“It was nothing” he finally shot back, his voice quiet but his tone severe. “Don’t worry about it. Let's move on”.

“Why, Bucky?” You pressed.

You heard him groan with annoyance in the dark.

“Because I got carried away, like I said. I hadn’t fed for a few days. It happens sometimes when you’re feeding, you get caught up - your hunger can spill out in different ways. I should know better by now and control myself, but I slipped up I guess. Don’t flatter yourself Doll. It could’ve been anyone, you’re nothing special” he hissed.

You physically recoiled at his harshness.

“Jesus. Alright. Message received” you shot back sardonically.

“It can’t happen again” he harshly reiterated.

“Don’t worry, it definitely won’t” you seethed.

Bucky sighed heavily once more and got up to leave. You felt the mattress spring back once he was upright, sensing him heading away from the bed.

“I’m sorry again” he muttered, before heading out of the door.

You managed to wait until you heard him go down the stairs before your tears started.

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