#i was listening to blue hair while sketching this

[fyodors-fancy-teacup]

DOA main three HC

🃏: Dos-kun, Dos-kun! Sigma is cutting his hair!

🐀: And I spent a whole hour writing and describing his hair on the Book when I made him…

[kwyoz]

come back to haunt me.

[houseofceline]

My Pretty Girl - T.N.

Starry Eyes

Pairing: Ravenclaw and sort of ditzy but talented Reader x Slytherin notorious playboy Theodore Nott

Warnings: None (yet ;))

“Starry eyes

What can I do for your attention.”

Summary: Theodore’s late to class but Snape blessed him with the opportunity of sitting next to a cute Ravenclaw who’s no help at all.

1 >

--------------------

Clockwise or counterclockwise? 

You honestly didn’t even know anymore. No matter how many hours you spent on reading the thick potions textbook or wasting bottles after bottles of ink on notes you still barely passed the class. 

You were starting to get a headache from trying to picture the text in your head. Everything was starting to become foggy. You sat down, defeated, and began doodling on the parchment instead of writing detailed instructions on how to make the stupid potion. So much for a Ravenclaw. 

Hmm off shoulder or puffed sleeves?

 You bit your lip trying to decide which option would look better on the dress you sketched out. The classroom was calming with little chattering among your classmates in the back allowing you to work easier. You could never work or do anything in silence, it drove you crazy. 

Suddenly the door slammed open causing you to jump a bit in your seat. 

“Nice of you to join us Mr. Nott, although your presence was expected half an hour ago,” Snape drawled out in his infamous monotone voice. 

“Sorry I overslept,” he shrugged while adjusting his tie. Some students who were listening in laughed. With his messed up tie and ‘burn marks’ on his neck, it was clear that he was definitely doing more than just sleeping. 

Snape nodded and pointed at the empty seat next to you, not surprising anyone that he didn’t take away any house points from his house. 

Theodore eyed you as he walked towards your table. He would’ve preferred sitting with his house, but he could never pass up the chance to sit next to a pretty girl. White blouse with a lace neckline and sleeves, black plaid skirt, Ravenclaw tie, black sleek hair, and a white headband. You didn’t fit into the usual type of girls he went for, but you were cute. 

Theodore took the seat next to you before tapping on your shoulder. 

You turned to him and almost jumped when you found his eyes on you. Gorgeous blueish grayish eyes. 

So pretty, this might be my new favorite color. 

“So uh,” Theo cleared his throat ignoring the fact that he swore he just saw your eyes sparkle, “what are we doing?” 

You blinked. Under the pressure of a somewhat attractive boy it made your memory much worse. 

“Umm, we’re brewing a potion and writing?” 

You had hoped that didn’t come out as a question and hoped that he’d just nod and ask someone else. 

Theodore raised an eyebrow and glanced at your blue tie again. 

“Which potion exactly?” He asked, narrowing his eyes at you as if you were lying to him. 

“Antidote to potions. Wait, no poisons. The common one. Wait, maybe the uncommon ones. Well I don’t think there’s a big difference. I mean, shouldn’t the uncommon ones be stronger and still fix the common ones?” You rambled on, looking off to the side lost in your own thoughts. 

Theodore blinked. The sorting hat rarely makes errors, maybe you were high but then again Lovegood’s also a Ravenclaw. The looney population in Ravenclaw must be high. 

“Why can’t they just make a super strong potion that fixes every poison? That’d make our jobs easier and we wouldn’t have to memorize so many potions,” you giggled as you turned back to your sketches. 

Theodore looked over your shoulder to try and catch a glimpse of your paper but instead your sketches caught his eye. You may be no help in potions, but you sure can draw. 

“Are you going to make that?” He asked while you squirmed at the close proximity of his face to yours. 

“Yes,” you mumbled shyly, scared of the criticism that might follow. You loved designing and fashion. It was one of the only things that came naturally to you, but coming from a family of doctors you were vulnerable to criticism for not following in their path. 

“Cute,” he said before his eyes found your potions paper. 

Common poisons. Theodore noticed that you only had half the page completed and chuckled. 

He got up towards the ingredients cabinet and grabbed his ingredients and the ones you were missing. 

Potions came easy to him. Not only did the teacher bias his house, but his mother was a skilled potions maker as well. Matter of fact her entire side of the family were. He had spent most of his summers in his manor reading journals of potion experiments and advanced information that weren’t even in his school textbooks. 

He quickly prepared his ingredients and started on his potion while continuing yours on the side. Luckily you were both in the back and Snape couldn’t catch him. He wrote down his notes and instructions making a mental note to tell you to copy them down later. You’d need it. 

Maybe he was also placed in the wrong house. Today, Hufflepuff seemed more fitting. You were lucky that you’re cute. 

[mechsangel]

comp sci , ft. suna

silly thoughts i have abt comp sci suna nd art major reader. smau abt this

— the meeting

it starts with a very unfortunate event. you, running late to your figure drawing class, barrel down the hallway—only to crash into suna rintarō, sending his laptop flying.

it lands with a thud, his headphones tangle around his wrist, and you're horrified to see a small crack on his screen.

“you're paying for that,” he deadpans.

you panic. “i–uh–what if i compensate you with art?”

he raises an eyebrow. “you think a drawing of me is worth a macbook repair?”

“um. maybe?”

that's how it begins—suna, reluctantly accepting a portrait in exchange for a slightly cracked screen, and you, unknowingly drawing your way into his life.

— late night dates

suna doesn't get art. he doesn't understand why you have to spend hours mixing paint for the ‘perfect shade of blue’. you don't get coding. you don't understand why he stares at black screens with neon text for hours, only to say, “it's broken. i hate everything.”

but you both try.

he sits in your studio, pretending to be interested as you explain color theory. you bring him coffee during his all-nighters and listen as he rants about debugging.

one night, as you sketch in his dorm while he codes, he glances at your notebook.

“are you drawing me again?”

you grin. “you're my muse, duh.”

he groans, but you catch the small smile he tries to hide.

— he leaves cryptic code comments about you <3

suna has a habit of writing stupid comments in his code when he's tired, but when you check his screen, you notice things like:

// y/n is annoying but also cute

// reminder to buy them more art supplies

// if (y/n == mad) { apologize(); buy_snacks(); }

when you point it out, he immediately minimizes the window and acts like it never happened.

— the gallery opening

you invite him to your first big showcase. suna, despite acting nonchalant, actually shows up early. he's dressed nicer than usual, hands stuffed in his pockets as he waits for you to notice him.

when you finally do, he tugs at your sleeve.

“you painted me?”

you nod, suddenly shy. “you're my favorite subject.”

suna doesn't say anything. instead, he pulls you into a hug—tight, warm, and lingering.

“okay, fine,” he murmurs into your hair. “i guess i kinda like being your muse.”

[plleeeepppyyyy]

wally + clumsy and silly reader!

wally likes them silly,,

these are just little ramblings of wally with a silly reader.,,

_____

★★★ ��� ★★★★★★ ★★★★★★ — ★★★

you were always known around the neighborhood to be clumsy, you were always clumsy y/n! silly y/n, always tripping over everything. which made you frustrated, despite the others giggling and helping you out.

but, this really didn’t stop you from doing a lot! it made you happy that your friends could at least get entertainment out of your clumsiness. so, you didn’t mind much at times. you were always going around making others laugh, without having to break your head.

you were bouncing around, falling, then coming right back up. if anyone could describe you, you would be a bouncy ball.

as you did this, you noticed a certain blue haired fellow. wally, he was.. different. when you would look at him; you just see him staring at something. or remark about something. he was just chill, whenever you would be around barnaby. he was there. just looking at either the two of you. and for some reason, you felt embarrassed as you did a silly thing.

as if he was silently judging you and it made you feel stupid. nonetheless though, you kept your act up. wanting others to be happy. cause thats what you were, silly, clumsy, happy y/n!

so, one day, you were just strolling around, doing daily shopping and whatnot. till you tripped, for like what? the millionth time? maybe nobody saw it, right?

well, not exactly,,

wally just happened to be right in front of you, holding out his hand. which made you instantly nervous, i made how could you not? just looking up at him, with his usual intense stare, those doting eyes, admittedly it made you more embarrassed by the encounter. more embarrassed to be around him.

but, he didn’t laugh, nor tease you, he just held his hand out. calling out in his calm tone, asking if you were fine.

after stammering out a yes, he dusted you off and helped you out. to admit, you never talked to wally much before, have you? yes, you greeted one another, but imagining yourself tripping daily right in front of him was humiliating.

so, you kept your distance more than usual.

after he helped you out and went on his way, it made you feel a bit bad. for practically trying to ignore him, being too careful around him. you just couldn’t help it though! he was so calm, intense at times, maybe you could even say aloof. after that encounter though, you definitely changed your mind.

after many thoughts dawning on you, you decided to hang around him more often. and he drew you in more. he was just alluring,, soo cool, definitely relaxed. more than you usually were. you were tripping all over the place, just making the others giggle, and you were a bit dumb at times,, (sorry

(;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`)

just silly you were, wally definitely thought you were charming. you were just nice to watch, you would do your own thing, usually break a thing or too, he loved watching you.

he would usually be there to help you back up after you fall, watch you, and giggle at you at times. he didn’t want to lie, you were so charming. you really were like a cartoon character.

basically you guys started being attached at the hip, which was a great surprise to the others! they always saw you together nowadays, wally would just follow along while you were skipping around, missing a beat once a while as you talked and talked. while he listened without a care about anything else.

(basically you guys are calm + hyper)

during this period, wally DEFINITELY wants you to be his muse,, his inspiration. it doesn’t matter if you’re always moving , or bouncing your leg, or always bumping into stuff. he wants to paint you, sketch you, just,, to him you’re so fun to look and see. why not paint you daily? he definitely has an art portfolio of just you, ranging from sketches to paintings. it’s totallyyy not because he’s in love wit you.

he also finds himself staring at you 24/7, even if you guys are hanging out with poppy, julie, baranby, or anyone. he’ll just admire you more than he ever did before. back then, he would hum and watch you a bit as you did another silly thing. nowadays, when you would be fumbling with a straw for your juice, doing something silly, or just anything. it makes him kick his feet, it’s just so endearing, you’re so endearing.

it’s not only wally falling in more, it’s also you.

i mean, what’s not to love about wally? he’s so smooth, calm, he definitely is the type of dude whose got it all under control. he was just,, the opposite of you. maybe that was what attracted you to him, he just was elegant. at least compared to you, when you thought about it.

he was good at everything, he drew well, spoke well, walked well too. you weren’t that for sure, it was like he could guide you through anything. and you’d make it out okay. it made you feel better about your clumsiness.

hopefully by your silly antics and such, it would make it worth while for him.

wally notices on how much you try to make him happy, how you always offer to pose for him, give him ideas; always giving him stuff. it warms his heart to be honest, the fact you’re trying so much for him makes him feel happy.

later into ur guy’s relationship, you both def get comfy. a minute with you two and you already know something’s definitely going on.

cause you guys are just basically flirting at this point, well you can consider wally is, idk about you tho,, ur for sure doin something! (٥⁀▽⁀ )

but if we’re being for real, you guys def flirt. in ur own little ways, wally is pretty smooth when it comes to flirting. once in a while,, he’s pretty awkward with it, due to his,, tone at times. but the other times he’s good at it, like he for sure had some practice (≧◡≦) ♡

literally everyone around you two are just sick of it, you two think ur being sneaky with the flirting, nope! they’re basically bystanders wandering if you guys will finally announce that you’re finally an item!!

you for sure did something like,

“this ones for you wally!!(•̀ᴗ•́)و 🏀”

then the ball misses and launches back onto your head, bonking you sillier.

wally is charmed! ♡︎

it took a while for you guys to happen, wally for instance was actually a bit confused. it took him a bit to figure out what he was feeling, he found you silly, charming, cute,,

okay, maybe he thought you were something for sure.

while you,, poor you,, you just got nervous around him and NEVER would’ve talked to him about ur feelings. like., you just felt like he was out of your league.

but, you two eventually happened,, you did it! ( ˘ ³˘)

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂

today was simple, just you, wally, and him sketching. you kept peeking over at what exactly he was sketching, it varied to be honest. apples,, a dog, or just some scribbles.

how could he just simply draw? so easily, while the best you could come up with was chicken scratch. nonetheless, wally was patient with you, he just accepted you. even if you didn’t do anything that impressive.

speaking of this, why did he do that? he just accepted you daily, he would just coo and praise you over anything. how he didn’t mind how much you tripped over something or bumped into one of his art supplies. now that wasn’t simple.

“uhm, hey wally?” wally perked his head up as you spoke up, putting his full attention on you. you felt a bit intimidated as he looked at you with those eyes of his. even if you two came this far, you always found yourself flustered by his presence.

“yes, darling?” he asked, keeping his usual smile up. you cleared your throat and spoke back, “not to be too disruptive but.. i’ve got a question.” he watched you as you sat yourself on the grass. you could feel the spring air flow by as he looked at you with question.

“you’re never disruptive, but do tell. what’s got you thinking, y/n?” as you tried to get your words together, you sighed as you felt yourself get nervous. why did you get nervous? he was just your partner, why be so shy? god, if only you weren’t this flustered all of the time.

“uhm, okay so.. you know how clumsy i am? like, to the point where it’s my whole personality?” you drawled out personality, wally hummed. “well, i wouldn’t say that is your whole personality, but go on.” he said with sincerity, which made you cringe at yourself.

“it’s just.. why do you even like me? i just, i’m so.. stupid at times. i’m always fooling myself out while you— you’re just not that. you know?” you winced at yourself at your explanation, it was clumsy as you usually were.

wally paused for a bit, looking at you with an emotion you can’t really describe. maybe it was pity? concerned? you couldn’t really tell, sometimes whenever he looked at you, you just couldn’t say what he was thinking.

all he did was sigh and close his sketchbook, putting it beside him as he patted his lap. you knew immediately what that meant as you shuffled beside him, laying your head right on his lap. as you did so, he stroked your hair gently.

“now, why would you think about yourself like that?” he asked in his usual soft tone, “i think you’re perfect the way you are, not stupid.” wally looked down at you as he stroked your hair.

wally would never understand how you could think of yourself like that. to him, you were just perfect for him.

“well, it’s just— i.. i don’t know why you gave me a chance.” you mumbled out of embarrassment, wally looked at you with an amused expression. “remember that day when, we actually got to talk? when i tripped right in front of you? i tried so hard to stop that from happening. because, well, you’re the type of person. i don’t wanna embarrass myself in front of. clearly i didn’t do such a good job on that, huh?”

you kept your focus on your hands, not daring to look at him. you noticed how his hand stopped, he kept his hand right on your head.

“y/n.. why would that matter? i have seen you trip tons before.. and, plus, i don’t mind how much you bump, trip, or fall. i’m always there to help you back up, right?” he made you look up as he titled your head upward, “i think its charming.. not how you get hurt at times, of course. but, the way you keep getting back up after you trip, it’s.. well, its admirable. you’re admirable.”

you both paused as silence dawned on the two of you, it made you think. he really loved you, didn’t he?

“you mean that, right?” you asked, looking up at eyes he could never say no too.

wally let a soft chuckle out. “of course i do, silly. gee, you’re asking all of these silly questions.. i mean every,” he leaned down to kiss your head. “word. i promise.” his words made you smile, to the point where you could kick your legs and giggle.

“thanks, sweets. sorry, i’ve just been thinking a lot.” you hummed as you felt better about the whole thing. wally nodded and kissed your head again, keeping your head on his lap.

“but, besides that, what really drew you toward me?” you asked another question, wally hummed in thought as he stroked your hair some more. as if he was thinking.

“a lot of things.. but, it was cute seeing you do funny things. you were just a silly little neighbor to me back then, even still..”

“hm, that’s nice.. wait!” you quickly sat up, “what do you mean silly little neighbor?! could’ve at least said lover.” you whined as he chuckled quietly. “ah, yes. you’re right, silly little lover. you’re my silly little lover, right?”

wally hummed in amusement as you huffed, “guess so.. if you’re gonna call me something stupid you might as well make it less stupid.” wally shook his head and pulled you back to him, wrapping his arms around you.

“oh you, it’s not stupid.. and you definitely are the opposite of stupid.” he giggled and kissed your cheek, he definitely was feeling touchy today.

you couldn’t help but relax back into his arms. you were his silly little lover, his. and that made you okay with tripping daily, if it meant that.

as you closed your eyes and leaned against him more, he let out a little gasp. which made you jump a bit, “oh my, i gotta go give barnaby his microphone back..” he sighed and pulled you off of him gently, looking at his watch.

“you wanna come with, love?” wally asked as he grabbed his stuff, you quickly nodded. as he got up, he held his hand up. looking at you the same as he did the first time, admiration.

you took his hand without hesitation, you stumbled over a bit as you stood up.

he hummed in fondness, “you got it?”

“yep, totally!” you huffed in confidence, but after one step almost tripped over. you cursed yourself mentally.

“uhm.. how about i just hold onto you?” you sheepishly asked as you wrapped your arm around wally’s.

“not a problem with me, darling.”

★_________________________________★

(character and artwork belongs to partycoffin!)

okayy,, i made this a bit longer than i expected it to,, but thats fine. anyways i think i figured out how to open up my inbox! sooo,, if you guys want me to write more stuff about wally or anyone else. im up for it!

btw THANK U GUYS FOR ALL THOSE NOTES YOU GAVE ME LAST TIME (•̀ᴗ•́)ミ❤︎︎

[gigizetz]

Aeolus character design process!

(disclaimer: my writing sucks and I'm not good at explaining things so if it gets a bit weird just know I'm trying my best)

a lot of people have been saying very nice things about my character design for Aeolus in EPIC, and that makes me really happy! So I decided to break it down to show you guys my full process in designing them! :D

When I first listened to the snippet of Keep Your Friends Close I was very excited that this old bearded god man was going to be interpreted by a girl, so the first concept I had was to maximize this contrast by also making my Aeolus appear as a child. Aside from the contrast thing, it would also tie in with their playful personality. Here are some of the sketches I did at the time (around 2022):

Since the beginning I always had the clown aesthetic in mind. Not sure why, just thought it matched the cute playfulness of the character. It was fun combining wind/cloud stuff with the clown aesthetic, like the cloud around the neck and wrists, which was supposed to resemble those ruff thingies that clowns usually wear.

I experimented with a lot of elements, like the headband and the cropped shirt, but I decided to remove and recicle them in other EPIC characters (Odysseus and Circe). Their design was also more feminine, and since I was aiming for a more androgynous look this would be changed later.

I remember around this time I saw a video of Jay where he said he envisioned Aeolus having a more calm nature aesthetic, so I decided to change my design to better match what he had in mind. I made the hair wavier, with clean and smooth lines, made sure that Aeolus would act less clown-like, rarely stand up and never abandon the cloud. These doodles better resemble the current design:

it was also around this time that I designed the island in the sky. My biggest inspiration was New Super Mario Bros. WII world 7, mainly because of the chill vibes and cute fluffy clouds. So I took that and threw the combined aesthetic of a child's playroom and ancient Greece temple on top of it and it was done.

Right now here's the full body reference of them:

I'm very proud of it, I think it matches the themes and feelings I had in mind while also translating their personality quite well. The color palette is a simple blue/yellow/red, but the simplicity helps to complement the childish appearance. Their outfit is comfy, cute, and something you'd like to sleep in. The round shapes makes them adorable. Overall a cute little gremlin that is also a very powerful god.

[wdwdiotr]

Decided to make a proper eltingville oc, think of her as Calpurnia's (My Northwest oc) eltingville alter ego lol

This was lots of fun, ill develop her character more and her relations with the boys eventually. I was heavily influenced by everyone's amazing eltingville ocs

More info about her below!!!!!!!

Chelsea Sara Calloway. Born in Brislington Bristol, 7/10/????. 6lbs 7oz, born with a head full of red hair just like her dad! Yes, she's british. Her dad is, but her mom's originally from America, New York.

Soon, her parents would divorce around her last years of middle school. Her mom took her, she had to move Eltingville Staten Island with her grandparents while her mom went jobhunting. Her mom's a dentist now, her mom often asks herself how the gap tooth on Sara came to be but Sara didn't seem to mind having it so her mom shrugged it off. They're middle-middle class.

She still gets to see her dad during vacation for a few weeks, she's not in total bad terms with her dad despite him cheating on her mom. Bad husband, not so bad a dad.

She was extremely shy for a while because being in America gave her a culture shock (W-Whot do ye mean they don't like beans on toast?! OR TEA?!), and also she was insecure of her accent lol. But Eltingville grew on her, and now she's slightly obnoxious. She's pretty enough to not get bullied though. (Double standards lel)

She asked people at school to call her Sara instead of Chelsea because she wanted to be unique.

After a while, her mom would make her get a driver's license because she didn't have enough time to drive her to school, (They don't live close to her Highschool) but Sara was too scared to drive an actual car even after getting the license so her mom exasperatingly earned enough to get herrr, dun dun dununun.. Her scooter! Who she named Mantis, because it's green. Her favourite colour is green!

Sara also got a matching helmet and protective goggles, that she began to get attached to. Her teachers had to complain about it to her mom, her mom tried, but failed to prevail against her. They just had to deal with her.

She's an aircraft nerd, her friends at school usually get annoyed because it's all she talks about sometimes. Aspires to be a pilot. Her friends like her though, since she's nice and they can cheat off her, they would coax her into getting into other things though. Like smoking, and getting stoned. But other than that she plays the ukelele, and sketches sometimes! Really into classic, alternative, and blues rock, but occasionally listens to other things. Her favourite bands are The Kinks, Fleetwood Mac, and The Doors. Her music taste comes from her dad.

Then, she meets four other geeks with their own geeekyy interests, who would soon need a ride to some random comic convention, oh boy.

THIS IS SO MUCH, I suck at developing my characters agh! No criticism allowed though!!! I would elaborate more butttt, this is enough for now. It's probably obvious but i am not british at all, so shes gonna be hella stereotypical

[kookiestiddies]

2 | two for two

series m.list

what's the worst that could happen at a party?

Word Count: 6.5k

Warnings: swearing, kissing, drinking, attempted humour

A/N: thank you so much for reading! updates will come...when they come ;-; if you are curious to know, I listened to this song while writing this fic. This really helped me figure out jk and oc's dynamic sort of. Also, i do not own these photos, I got them off of pinterest lol👍🏼happy reading this silly chapter weeee

°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

The Jeon twins made for an odd pair. 

While they lived up to their title in terms of mannerisms and speech patterns, physically, they were as different as can be. 

If it weren’t for the inky patterns that lined their arms and possibly other parts of their body, their matching set of doe eyes, and the sudden dips in each cheek that always appeared after the sight of a familiar face or a well-told joke, you could never have guessed that they were once womb-mates.

While Chaeyoung thrived in bright shades of pink and white, Jungkook opted for the brooding presence of blacks and anything else no brighter than navy blues. Where she was all softness and curves, he was a sketch-up of hard lines. On the days when Chaeyoung wore butterfly clips in her hair that complimented her flowy dress and Mary Jane heels, Jungkook styled his mullet, wore more silver jewellery than you could count, and stalked about in black stompers.

Just a few months into your new company of friends, you were quick to learn that the whole lot of them were party animals, almost always on the lookout for nights of alcohol-induced shenanigans, and shameless whoring, twerking, strutting and queefing around as Jimin had so eloquently put, while you were decidedly not.

“You’ll come won’t you,” Chae asked you as she grasped your upper arm and looked at you with puppy eyes. 

“I won’t,” you answered with a sickeningly sweet smile. 

It was on a Friday afternoon when you had been in the middle of your solo biweekly revision session that Chae’s familiar cotton candy head had popped over the sea of silence that engulfed the library. Students glanced at her with annoyance as she noisily clacked her heels over the floor to where you were seated in a single booth towards the back corner. You were also quick to notice the quiet thud of a pair of stompers that followed her suit. 

“Told you she wouldn’t be into it,” Jungkook said dismissively with a blank expression and lazily leaned against the side of your booth. “Oh c’mon, you can’t abandon me like this!” Chae whined and tightened her grip on your arm. It was starting to hurt honestly. 

The girl sitting in the booth across from you sent an angry “Shh!” in your trio’s direction. 

You lowered your head in embarrassment and gestured to the twins to quiet down. “Babe, what do you mean, abandon you? I love you and everything and I truly appreciate our friendship and all, but we really haven’t known each other long enough for this to be that deep,” you said with a look on your face that said you were joking. Jungkook snorted loudly at that.

Another “SHH!” landed on you again. Bitch.

“Y/n! I can’t handle another night of taking care of Jimin and Nayeon’s horny asses. Do you have any idea what the bullshit those idiots put me through?!” Chae cried. Her grip on your arm tightened even more. 

Jesus fuck, does she work out?!?

“C’mon Chae, I told you she wouldn’t be into it. You said you’d prove me wrong. You didn’t. You owe me ice cream now. Let’s go,” Jungkook said monotonously and stood up as you hopelessly pried Chae’s hands away from your arm. 

“Chae, please let go, you’re killing me here,” you whisper-scream, admittedly scared of the chick in front of you.

Luckily, the shrill ringtone of Chae’s phone suddenly cuts through the air and leads her a short way away from your booth to answer the call, gorilla grip talons and all. Both Jungkook and you noticed the irritated look on the girl across and shared an awkward-embarrassed look with each other.

“What? Did you guys bet on me going to the party or something?” you redirected, looking between the twins. He shrugged. “Am I only worth some ice cream?” you joked mindlessly. 

“If you must know, it’s really cheap, grocery store ice cream…” Jungkook said quietly, but not quiet enough to escape your earshot as you massaged your arm (which will probably bruise tomorrow).

Asshole. 

“Oh? Is that so? Everyone knows that cheap, grocery store ice cream tastes miles better though, compared to whatever premium coco-mocha-pumpkin-spiced-latte-ariana-grande ice cream I’m sure the likes of you enjoy,” you banter. 

At this, he stares at you, glides his eyes up and down your figure, and smirks. 

“I mean… I didn’t even say that that’s my taste.”

“What is your taste then?”

“Cheap, grocery store ice cream,” he says with a shy smile.

Is he flirting with you?

Jesus christ, that was a weird exchange, why in the world would your heart be thumping over that? (Because it was.)

Yes, the textbook incident did leave you upset with him for a long while. But your parents taught you that bygones should be bygones. 

After all, he did get down on his knees for you. 

The memory of Jungkook crouching before you haunted you for an embarrassingly long time after, especially given that all your friends witnessed it and never failed to tease the two of you about it, except for Taehyung who still curses the heavens to this day for punishing him with boring TA sessions on that day when he could have been there in person to see it. 

You had claimed to have forgiven him then and there itself, not because you actually meant it, because it would take much more than that to get over how trashy Jungkook’s 50 dollars had made you feel, but just to get over the attention he was bringing to the two of you in the crowded cafeteria. 

No, Jungkook getting down on his knees wasn’t enough. But you didn’t have to say that for him to know, because he saw right through you.

After two weeks of being forced to hang out thanks to your shared friend group and an infinite amount of awkwardly skirting around each other, Jungkook one day approached you alone in the library lugging a bag in his hand. When you looked up at him, he shifted his eyes away to the muddy textbook that lay open on the table and cleared his throat. 

“Here,” he’d said and thrust the bag that weighed a tonne towards you. You wordlessly took it and gave him a curious look. In that moment, he’d reminded you of a child in kindergarten being forced to apologise to the classmate he’s made fun of, looking sheepish and awkward.

In the bag were brand new textbooks. Hardcovers at that. Sitting on top of them was a large pack of your favourite corn chips that you always had on you to munch on. You were surprised to say the least. Not only did you not expect him to be thoughtful enough to replace your textbooks, but you didn’t pin him to be observant enough to know your favourite snack.

“Sorry again…about your books,” he mumbled out while rubbing the back of his neck. You were quiet for a moment, Jungkook’s actions once again leaving you too stunned to speak. 

“Apology accepted,” you quietly replied. And with that, the textbook incident was a chapter closed.

Ever since then, Jungkook and you had to find your footing around each other in your friend group, now on more amicable terms. For Jungkook, it meant getting comfortable around you, which you learnt meant that he would find ways to tease you and somehow always managed to find a way to get under your skin and rattle you. For you, it meant constantly getting annoyed at him and letting him know of that.

It was deeply unsettling how he constantly one-upped you with his comments. You figured you’d rather not engage with him at all in any way or form.

You let out a huff at him and say, “Whatever. This is a really dumb conversation. Hope you enjoy your ice cream, whichever one it is that you end up getting,” before turning back to your work so that he can’t see your cheeks that were beginning to feel hot.

Jungkook was still looking at you, with what you suspected was hesitance.

You look back and raise a questioning brow at him. 

Just as he opens his mouth, Chae saunters back over and unknowingly interrupts him. “Hobi’s here,” she announces while looking around the library. All the focus you had on Jungkook is abandoned immediately as you whip your head around to look for the sight of a familiar sunny grin.

It doesn’t take long for you to find it as its owner walks over to your group with a bickering Jimin and Taehyung in tow. Taehyung’s hands are flailing everywhere and he’s bouncing around with Jimin looking at him in ridicule while trying to get him to calm down.

“What are these idiots fighting about now,” Chae mutters under her breath.

“They're not just friends, okay? They’re soulmates. Hollywood soulmates. There’s a difference," you hear Taehyung say passionately as the trio came within earshot, making Jimin burst out a screech while Hoseok chuckled. You sneak a glance at the girl across and you’re pretty sure you catch her shaking in anger or something. "Soulmates? Come on. They’ve known each other since, what, middle school? That’s just a lifelong bromance," Jimin retorts.

“Hey guys,” Hoseok threw at the twins and you. You were the only one who bothered to reply with one yourself. Chae was too invested in Taehyung and Jimin’s conversation to respond while Jungkook seemed to be in a mood all of a sudden, his eyes fixated on the way Hoseok walked over and leaned against the table facing you. 

“What are they arguing about?” you ask Hoseok. Before he could answer, Jimin voices it out himself exasperatedly. 

"A bromance doesn’t survive Oscars, Batman vs. Bourne debates, and that time Ben got way too into Dunkin’ coffee. That’s a bond,"

“But what does that have to do with why JLo and he aren’t good together???” 

“It has to do with everything!”

“EXCUSE ME, BUT CAN YOU PLEASE EITHER KEEP IT DOWN OR LEAVE THE LIBRARY?!” the girl from earlier finally explodes at your seemingly ever-growing gathering.

“Jesus fuck, yes, yes! We’re leaving,” you bellow out, annoyed and terrified, and start packing up your things.

“We’re leaving?” Chae asks, finally tuning in back to you.

“We are?” Taehyung asks.

“But we just got here,” Jimin adds pitifully. 

It’s your turn to be exasperated as you say “Shut up, please, all of you. We’re getting out of here and going somewhere less quiet so that we don’t seem too much like animals.” You finish packing up and head towards the exit, throwing a measly ‘sorry’ to the girl ahead of you without waiting for a response. The rest of the group moves over similarly like a school of fish.

While Jimin and Taehyung carry on their argument, this time with Jungkook joining in (his contribution being the Dunkin’ lore), Hoseok catches up to you and Chae. 

“Are you sure you’re not gonna change your mind about coming to the party?” Chae tries again.

Hoseok cuts in before you could answer, “What, you mean the one happening tomorrow night?” She nods in confirmation. “She doesn’t want to go but I want her to,” Chae whines. 

“This is gonna hurt Chae, but frankly speaking, I don’t care what you want,” you say curtly, making her huff and setting Hoseok off with laughter. 

“Shut the fuck up, that wasn’t even that funny!” Chae whines at Hoseok. “No, but it’s what your entitled ass deserves,” he throws at her, causing her to fume.

“Who are you calling entitled?!? Jungkook, did you hear what they’re saying about me?” she screeches at her brother. Said brother turns to her and says, “I did and I agree, you are entitled and I also don’t care about what you want.” Now the whole group is laughing along. 

“That’s it, I’m calling Nayeon, you know… a real friend,” Chae huffs and gets distracted by her phone. Hoseok takes this as an opportunity to lean over and put his arm around you. 

“I know we’re joking and all, but I’d really like it if you’d change your mind about the party,” he says softly. 

“Oh, I don’t know. It’s not really my thing, ya’know? Besides, I have Mr Byrnes class to study for. He keeps talking about a test that isn’t even in the study plan and it’s making me paranoid that he’s going to surprise us with a pop quiz one of these days,” you ramble as he listens attentively. 

“C’mon, it’s just one night. Just have some fun. And I promise that I’ll watch out for you, okay? Make sure things don’t get out of hand or let anyone force you to do anything crazy,” he says.

“What do you say?” he asks, eyes hopeful and smiling as wide and bright as ever.

Of course, you said yes. 

How could you refuse when he had asked so nicely?

So here you were, walking up to a large house set in the corner of an upper-class residential area that had college students pouring in and out of every entrance possible with Chae, Nayeon and Jimin. You honestly had no idea whose house this was, or who even organised this party. An act of stupidity on your part you realised, because now you had no choice but to lean on your friends for safety. 

Oh well, Hoseok did promise to watch out for you, you thought as you secretly smiled to yourself.

Not secretive enough it seems as Chae tells you, “With that look on your face, I hope you’re actually excited to go to this party for the sake of having fun.”

You reply with a simple “Sure,” as your group turns into the neat little pathway leading up to the front door.

“Whether Y/n’s excited or not, I sure as hell am. God, I can’t wait to get fucked up tonight. It’s been too long,” Nayeon chirps next to you, much to Chae's chagrin.

“I’m begging you two,” Chase addresses both Nayeon and Jimin as she says, “don’t do anything you’ll regret in the morning. I’m sick of babysitting you two,” with a scoff. The perpetrators merely giggle at her as they spread out separately into the dancing crowd in the living room-turned-dancefloor.

“C’mon, let’s go out to the backyard. It’s way too early to be partying this hard,” Chase says and leads you by your hand. 

As soon as you step foot out of the house, you’re relieved to be able to breathe without the entailing smell of sweat and alcohol in the air. Towards the corner of the porch, leaning against the railing with red solo cups at hand are Jungkook and Taehyung talking with two other guys you don’t recognise. 

They’re both tall and attractive, you’re quick to notice. While one is more built all-around, the other has wide shoulders leading to a tapered waist.

“Hey guys!” Chase chirps at them. “Meet Y/n. Y/n, this is Namjoon and this is Jin,” she gestures to the built one and the one with wide shoulders in order. You greet them pleasantly before stepping aside to stand next to Taehyung while Chae rants to them about Nayeon and Jimin.

Suddenly, you feel a poke of a finger in your side. “Y/n….you’re at a college party without a drink. Tch, tch, tch,” Taehyung chastises you as he leans over. You can already smell the faint lingering of alcohol on his breath. “Sorry, I’m just really not looking to get shitfaced tonight,” you weakly say. 

“Shut up, one drink never hurt anyone!” he retorts with a laugh. “I’ll be right back,” he says and before you could refuse, he’s already headed towards the kitchen indoors, presumably to get you a drink. 

In his absence, you notice Jungkook quietly nursing his own drink next to you. You shift your attention away from him and start looking around the backyard. 

Your eyes are searching, here, there and everywhere looking for a specific face. Where’s Hoseok? You want to text him, asking him if he’s here already, but you’ve never really texted him before. Would it be too obvious if you were to start now? In your train of overthinking, you fail to notice that the boy next to you has shifted to face you. He’s studying you, your actions, but you fail to notice. 

“Missing your loverboy?” the voice from next to you breaks you out of your reverie.

You look at Jungkook and dumbly say, “Huh?”

He chuckles and shakes his head, and you curse the heavens for making him as handsome as he looks when he does so. “I asked if you’re looking for Hoseok hyung,” he says. 

“Maybe.”

“Hmm, figured as much,” he shrugs. At this, you raise a curious brow at him.

“Uhm, duh, you look like you lost your puppy or something. Huhu, where’s my boyfie, huhu,” he mimics you in a high-pitched voice. 

You look at him in disgust before saying, “Ugh, I have never and will never use the word boyfie.” It’s a weak attempt at a comeback, you already know. “Aha, but you don’t deny that you’re looking for Hoseok hyung!” he says with a grin. 

You let out a scoff at that and say, “Okay, so what? What’s it to do with you? Ever heard of minding your own business?” Your tone is harsh, but you couldn’t help the shy smile that crawled on your face.

He looks like he has more to say, probably to tease you, but is cut off by Taehyung crying out “Children! Children! Please settle down, the party’s only just started. I can’t handle y'all bickering so soon.” You roll your eyes at Jungkook and turn away from him, making you miss out on the boyish grin he sends your way before he turns away himself to tune into Chae’s conversation with Namjoon and Jin. 

Taehyung waltzes up to you and flourishes a red solo cup to you with a proud look on his face. “Ta-da! A drink for Her Highness,” he dramatically says with an even more dramatic bow. 

You giggle as you accept the drink. “Thank you, good sir,” you play along. Taehyung lets out a pleasant sigh and leans forward against the railing. His sudden silence hints to you that he might have something on his mind.

You don’t bother asking yet though, comfortable with the lack of conversation between you, and instead listening to Namjoon and Jin telling Chae about their disastrous search for a roommate. Jungkook isn’t in sight anymore so you assume he’s gone back into the house.

“You guys don’t understand the number of crazy people we’ve met so far. We interviewed this one kid, a comp-sci student, who asked if we’d be okay if he were to use our storage room to keep all his blow-up “life-sized sleep dolls”. Like, what the fuck does that even mean?” Namjoon says exasperatedly. Jin shakes his head and takes a sip of his drink before saying, “I don’t think any of us here want to know what that means,” making the whole group laugh. 

“Maybe you guys should consider having him around. I want to start a wager that he has a doll of Danny Devito,” you giggle. Jin nearly chokes on his drink at that.

Namjoon is thoroughly entertained and says “You’re right! And when Christmas rolls around, we won’t have to get a damn Christmas tree. We can just spice up Danny.”

“A Danny Devito Christmas Tree?” Chae asks with a grin.

“A Danny DeviTree.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Jin says.

You all nod our heads in a silly agreement.

“TO DANNY DEVITREE!” we cheer together and take large gulps of our drinks.

“Hey, didn’t you say you wanted to find a different place to live? Somewhere closer to campus right?” Chae asks you with a nudge of her elbow.

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that,” you reply. You turn to Namjoon and Jin to explain “The place I’m at now is too far away from campus, so I’m thinking about moving somewhere closer so that I don’t have to stress too much about the distance before leaving for classes.”

“Well hey, our place is less than a block from campus. If you’re interested, we can talk another day,” Jin says excitedly. “But the DeviTree arrangement will have to wait, it seems,” Namjoon adds with a grin. Your eyes widen with excitement and you agree to meet another day to discuss it.

While you’re busy exchanging numbers with Namjoon, Chae suddenly notices Taehyung’s silence and asks him “What’s got you thinking so deeply? Looking so serious doesn’t suit you” she says poking her tongue out teasingly at him. 

This brings Taehyung to stand straight and point at your chest area. “It’s weird you know,” he says. 

Your tit?

“My tit?” you ask aloud.

“Huh?” he asks back and realises what he’s pointing at. “What the - no! You idiot, not your tit. Your tit is fine. I meant you in general.” 

You and the others can’t control your giggles as you prod him even more, “What’s so weird about me?”

“It’s weird how you can’t seem to get along with Jungkook. He’s literally the nicest out of all of us. And you’re nice too.”

This catches you off guard as the laughter suddenly lulls down.

“What’s that supposed to mean? He’s always getting on my nerves on purpose. He’s such an idiot,” you say along with a quick apology towards Chae. She smiles strangely at you while Namjoon and Jin watch the conversation play out in silence.

“See that’s the thing, he’s never trying to get on your nerves on purpose. You just seem to always get annoyed by him all on your own,” Taehyung refutes.

“He’s right. Not to sound like I’m trying to stand up for my brother too much, but it is weird how much you can’t stand him. He doesn’t hate you the way you hate him,” Chae says the last part with a strange tone in her voice. “But it’s like you don’t even want to give him a chance to be closer with you.”

You suddenly feel cornered by the duo. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe we’re just wired into different frequencies or something. Somehow, everything he does annoys me so much. God help me if I knew why,” you try to brush it off and take a large gulp of your drink. 

Are you getting a bit tipsy right now? Probably. Eh, whatever - you think as you chug the rest of the drink.

Of course in your heart, you feel struck by the accusation. Is it true? Have you been too harsh with Jungkook?

This time, you knew Chae and Taehyung weren’t referring to the textbook incident. Nope, they were talking about your overall behaviour after that. You were always harsh and short-tempered around him, sometimes, oftentimes even, mean. 

You were never usually mean, so much so that you could recognise when you were being so, especially with Jungkook. But could you blame yourself? He was practically asking for it.

“Maybe, it’s because you like-like him,” Taehyung says, making you choke on your drink. 

Namjoon and Jin are chuckling into their cups when he says that while he stands there calmly with Chae waiting for you to finish your coughing fit.

“What the FUCK! Like-like him??” you let out an emotionless laugh and say “what are we, five? Like-like him, pfft! As if.”

You’re desperate for this conversation to end now. 

“Why? It’s not that ridiculous. It would be kind of nice if my baby brother and my best friend were to date,” Chae says with a smile and a shrug. “Besides, you know what they say - there’s a thin line between love and hate…”

Sometimes, the differences between the Jeon twins shone starkly like day and night. Jungkook who loved to spend his evenings cruising around town on his motorcycle; Chae who turned down getting her own car that their parents wanted to give her because of how traumatised she was from her experience at driver’s ed (nothing serious, it was just bad vibes with an instructor who fell asleep in the passenger seat while she was behind the wheel). Jungkook who always had a glint in his eye, craving for an adrenaline filled adventure like rock climbing or hiking. More extreme, skydiving and cliff jumping during summer breaks. And Chae, who enjoyed completely and entirely, simple hangouts with friends at a cafe or a club, and especially at home. 

As different as they were, the Jeon twins were as inseparable as former womb mates ever could be.

Like that one time Chae and you had a sleepover at their place for a Barbie animated movie marathon before your group was set to go watch the new Barbie live-action movie in cinemas. Even though he had all the means to simply lock himself up in his room to save himself from the cheesy squeals and giggles he was promised to hear from the two of you for the rest of the night, Jungkook not only joined you two for the whole run, enthusiastically reacting along to the characters and funny lines, he even went out of the way to make the three of you hot cocoa drinks with marshmallows and volunteered to go out and buy more snacks once they had run out. 

A memory that still makes you chuckle is how the entire group showed up to the movie dressed in theme to the nines (Jimin and Taehyung as the Diamond Castle dogs of course). And yes, Jungkook too. While Chae unsurprisingly dressed up as Bibble, Jungkook retired his punk jewellery to dress up as Aidan from The Magic of Pegasus.

Chae was none the wiser, fiercely caring for her brother. The memory of Jungkook and Taehyung once getting locked in a frat party closet once and noone being able to find them bcs their phones were with Nayeon, and the party was too loud to hear them shouting to be let out. Chae was worried sick around the 5 hour mark, contemplating calling the police and ranting and generally being out of sorts. Thank god Jimin needed to throw up and rushed to the nearest closet and forced it open. The gratification on the boys’ face at being freed didn’t last long before Jimin got puke all over them.

Nonetheless, Chae was utterly relieved to see her brother alive and well, rushing to hug him regardless of the gunk covering his shirt.

For as darling as you found Chae and as insufferable as you found Jungkook, you sure did hang out with the two a lot; the most out of everyone in the group. It didn’t go unnoticed how he was a whopping 5 '8 and was incredibly self-sufficient, perfectly able to say no to his sister's invitations if he wanted to. 

The thing was, Chae brought him along everywhere, and he followed along anyway.

These are a few of the memories that you’ve collected since getting to know Chae, and by default Jungkook too. The Jeon twins truly made for an odd pair, but they were made for each other like peanut butter and jelly. 

You’re reflecting on these memories in your tipsy haze as you’re almost touched for a moment that Chae just called you her best friend, given that you’ve only known each other for a little over half a year now.

Almost.

“Hah! No offence Chae, but there is no way I could ever like, or love, your brother.”

Of course, the universe is not on your side today (has it ever been?), because it’s at that exact moment that the man you’d been on the lookout for the whole night strides onto the patio towards you little group. 

“Oh shit, Y/n loves Jungkook? Then, I’m out of here,” Hoseok says with a teasing lilt in his voice and the insinuation of what he says makes your hearts beat faster. 

“NO! I said I don’t like him. Or love him. C’mon Hoseok, I want to dance. It’s getting stale out here,” you say as you giggle and drag him by his hand into the house through the swarm of bodies. 

You’re well able to notice your friends’ teasing comments following you into the house, but not the pair of doe eyes that were fixated on you from the inner entrance to the porch area as you pass them.

Currently, you were bouncing along with Hoseok in the room full of bodies, barely able to decipher anything other than the music booming through the space. Oh, and his hands are on your hips.

Fuck, you think to yourself. That boy has got you wrapped around his pretty little finger, literally, and he doesn’t even know it.

Or maybe he does? You don’t know. You don’t know anything right now. You’re so out of it. 

The full weight of the drink Taehyung had given earlier had finally hit you 20 minutes ago, and ever since then, you’ve been daringly thrusting your hips and grinding against Hoseok in tune to the beat of the songs playing. You’re not sure if he’s drunk himself since you didn’t see him ingest anything since you met up with him on the porch, but the way he’s grinding back onto you, gripping your hips possessively and whispering sweet nothings into your ear suggest that he might be. 

“Y/n…” he breathes out. “You look so cute tonight. Sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. I wanted to. I thought about it, but didn’t say it.”

You let out a giggle and say “That’s okay. Thanks. You look really good tonight too.”

A minute passes of you two continuing to dance when he suddenly stops and motions you to do the same. “Can I- Can I ask you something?” he starts. The suddenness of his actions sobers you a little and you merely nod at him. “What is it?”

He seems hesitant to continue and it looks like it’s really eating him up. “What is it? You can ask me anything,” you encourage him.

“Okay, uhm, well, is there- fuck, okay,” he says before clearing his throat and looking at you pointedly. 

“Is there anything going on between you and Jungkook?” he asks.

“What the hell, no!” you’re quick to refute.

His eyes widened at your response. “No? Are you sure? Are you 100% positive on that?” 

You can’t help but let out a chuckle at that.

This is so ridiculous. 

“No, Hoseok, there’s nothing going on between me and that brat Jeon Jungkook. Okay? The others were just joking around. There’s nothing happening between us. Is that what you wanted to know?” 

He visibly brightens up and says “Well yeah, because I wanted to know if what I’m about to do next would land me a punch on the face or not,” with a laugh. He comes closer to you and wraps his arms around your waist with a grin forming on his face.

“What are you going to do?” you ask, your breath getting shallower. Your heart is pounding so fast you hear your heartbeat in your ears.

“I’m going to kiss you,” he says.

And when he leans down and brings his lips to yours in a searing kiss, you’re unable to think of anything else anymore. Fuck Jungkook. Fuck everything.

All you think about is him.

Hoseok.

Hoseok.

Hoseok.

He’s such a great kisser, lips so soft and careful yet bold. While your tongues are having a passionate battle for dominance, with you losing quickly, he brings his arms to wrap tightly around your body. “Y/n…” he moans in between and you swear you’ve never heard a sound more sweeter. You’re moaning too as you bring your hands up to run through his hair and down the back of his neck.

The pair of you part after what feels like both forever and finite. “Fuck, you’re something else,” he says breathlessly. You chuckle at that, out of breath yourself. 

You take a moment to just stare at his face and your heart feels like it’s about to beat out of your chest. He’s taking the time to look back at you too. You see his eyes dart around your face - to your eyes, nose, hair tucked behind your ear, your lips. 

His face is lit up by the glare of the colourful lights decorating the ceiling and something else that is purely him.

Hoseok.

Sober-you would never find the balls to admit your feelings to him, but drunk-you could. 

“Hoseok…”

“Yes?”

“I-I like you.”

.

.

.

“I like you too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. How could I not?” he says with a chuckle before he closes the gaps between your lips again.

Just as you think you’re about to write a blurb on the bliss of Hoseok’s soft lips, a voice clears causing the two of you to break away. Jungkook appears by your side with a furrow on his face looking as uncomfortable as ever.

“Jungkook? What are you doing here?” you ask, flustered and unable to mask your disappointment over his interruption. He isn’t quick to reply, opting to glance at the close proximity between Hoseok and you first. “I need you to come with me,” he replies gruffly. When you don’t move an inch he adds, “Now,”.

“Uhm, well, I’m kinda occupied at the moment so unless it’s important - HEY!” you exclaim as he grabs ahold of your hand and tries to drag you away from Hoseok. Hoseok steps in and tries to reason with Jungkook. “Hey man, you heard her, she can’t go and it’s not cool of you to drag her”

“It IS important!” Jungkook says. He’s got a strong grip on you, and even though you’re not afraid of him at that moment, for you know he’s gentler than he seems, you are annoyed by him.

You smack on his hand that’s encasing your arm and start yelling “Jungkook, you big OAF, I’m not going anywhere with YOU!” He ignores you and continues dragging you away from Hoseok. “You’re not even telling me what’s so goddamned IMPORTANT!” 

There truly are consequences to chugging down a drink that Taehyung, of all people made for you.

You are drunk. And what is it that drunk people infamously do? Stupid things. 

You are drunk and irrational and Jungkook is still dragging you away. You do the only thing that your brain can comprehend doing in that moment.

You bring your stiletto boots covered leg up and bring it down hard on Jungkook’s heavy black stompers. You know, the ones that he stood in-line for 3 hours to buy on its release day that cost a whopping $800. The ones that he carefully polishes every week so that they look shiny and new always.

Well, from where you’re standing - yep, standing, not walking..because Jungkook has stopped walking - his shoes do look as good as new.

Except for the ugly 3 inch scratch that runs down the side of the right one where your stiletto just met it.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. You’ve gone too far.

Is it possible to hear complete and utter silence in a room full of sweaty and drunk college kids with Gasolina blaring in the background? Because you’re experiencing it right this moment. Oh no wait, it just changed to You Broke Me First by Tate McCrae. Nice. In any other given scenario, you’d laugh at the irony of it.

But you’re not laughing now. Neither is Jungkook. You’re holding your breath and Jungkook's wide set shoulders slowly turn around to look at you. 

He peers down at his now ruined shoe before slowly dragging his eyes over your figure and meeting your eyes. His mouth, usually positioned as a lopsided grin, was now set straight and silent, his eyes hard with an illegible emotion.

It takes a couple of moments for you to snap back to your senses and you’re about to open your mouth to throw out apologies, but Jungkook beats you to it.

“Chae’s sick in the toilet. Go check up on her and let her know I’m waiting for her outside,” he says lowly and releases his grip on your hand. 

You’re wide-eyed as you open your mouth to respond, “Jungkook, I’m so-”

“What the hell is wrong with you? Why is it so difficult for you to think about other people?” He cuts you off loudly. You’re rendered speechless, his words striking you unexpectedly. In all your encounters of Jungkook irritating you, leaving you to retort harshly, never once has he raised his voice or gotten angry with you. But now he was. 

Totally and utterly angry.

You see it in the way he’s actively trying, but failing, to control his tone and breathing, and the step that he takes away from you. This is new ground for your dynamic, you have no idea what to say to him other than to apologise.

“You parade around feeling so entitled about everything, why don’t you make yourself useful for once and go help Chae?

“But Jungko-”

“Save it. We’ll call it even for your textbooks. Can you just go now?”

“Wait please, I’m sor-”

“JUST GO!”

He doesn’t wait for your next response and turns to head out the door, roughly pushing off the drunk and sweaty crowd that got in his way. All that’s left is for you to stare at his retreating back as you stomach the dread rising in you.

Congratulations, Miss Kim Y/n! You have officially pissed Jeon Jungkook off!

(∩｀-´)⊃━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

[leclerc-hs]

the blueprint - cl16

pairing: architect!charles leclerc x coworker!reader (fem) summary: in which you and your co-worker can't help but constantly butt-heads on projects warnings: 18+! SMUT! (obvi), kinda mean!Charles, squirting, language, some French (badly translated prob) word count: 4.1k author's note: hi I absolutely LOVED writing this. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. i didn’t proofread so if there’s any typos please let me know!!! xoxo!! please let me hear your thoughts!!!! don’t be shy

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YOU COULD’VE SWORN you’ve never been so irritated in your life. 

“Can’t you just, I don’t know, ferme ta guele for once!” Shut the fuck up. You stood in the door of Charles’s office, a crescendo of emotion echoed in your voice, almost reaching a fervent shout. Your face, now tinged with a reddish hue, reflected just how frustrated you were. 

For a little over a year, both you and Charles had been integral parts of the same company. You, an interior designer, who occasionally delved into architecture every blue moon for fun. You never got the degree for architecture, but you loved to sketch building ideas from time to time just for fun. And then there’s him, an architect, with a stick too far up his ass sometimes.

Anger painted Charles’s demeanor, evident from the subtle reddening in his ears and the clench of his jaw. With matching frustration, he strolled behind his desk, easing into his chair. His green eyes narrowed at you, a silent yet potent communication.

“Moi?” Me? His tone was incredulous at he pointed his own fingertips at him, tapping them directly into his sweater covered chest. “Porquoi tu ne le fais pas?” Why don’t you? His voice dropped lower at the end of his sentence, while he directed his fingers to now point at you. 

You took a step further into his office, not bothering to shut the door behind you. “Tu es incroyable!” You’re unbelievable! The sarcasm dripped off your tongue as you ran a hand through your hair, your chest slightly heaving up and down. 

To which, Charles only smirked at, ignoring your sarcasm, and responded with a cocky “J’ai beaucoup entende cela.” I’ve heard that a lot. 

The memory of the initial cause of the argument had become hazy but it was likely that it stemmed from the inherent clash that seemed inevitable whenever the two of you worked together on a project. The two of you were constantly perplexed by the company’s decision to consistently pair you two together, especially because it was not a secret that you didn’t get along. However, the undeniable reason might be rooted in the remarkable success followed. Almost every building, house, or structure designed by the both of you stood out as some of the company’s best creations.

Charles couldn’t help but trace his eyes along every crevice of your face while you ranted on. He honestly wasn’t even listening as you bitched on about something you claimed he did. Instead, he was too enraptured with the way your cheeks reddened, the way your eyes narrowed at him, and the way your breasts moved with every exclamation you made. Because really, he is still a man after all and the tight button up shirt you wore was almost sinister. Like seriously, he could’ve sworn the buttons were about to pop open with each breath you took.

“Mon dieu! Even now, you’re still not listening!” You noticed the distant look in Charles’s eyes as he leaned back into his chair. It was like he was looking at you, but not at you. 

You snapped your fingers repeatedly, leaning over the desk, your breasts even more in Charles’s face now. He swore it took everything in him to look at your face, and not your perky breasts dangling in front of him.

“What?”

You stormed out of his office immediately with a loud groan. You didn’t see him for the rest of the day.

-

“Mamma mia,” Oh my god. Charles exclaimed to no one except himself as he stood tall, his hands tapping the sides of the heavy machine before him. It felt like an eternity, although it had only been about 5 minutes. The matter at hand was perfecting the model of his latest project, but the 3-D printer seemed to be malfunctioning. 

Taking a step back, he began to stare at the machine as if it were his enemy, one hand rested on his hip. A million thoughts ran through his mind as to what could possibly be wrong with the machine. No matter how many times he tried, the layers seemed to be separating far too much, deeming each piece of his model printed earlier as garbage.

The fragrance of sandalwood, laced with a subtle sweetness of vanilla, announced your presence before he could even lay eyes on you. The warm and captivating scent enveloped him, much like it always did. He squeezed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and pointer finger in annoyance that he knew it was you without even having to turn around. Without turning his head, he spoke up, catching your attention abruptly.

“Sais-tu comment réparer cela?” Do you know how to fix this?

It was one of the rare occasions when he addressed you without any trace of hatred in his words.  Your mouth hung slack in surprise, and you almost felt the need to rub your eyes in disbelief at the fact there was no back-handed comment involved.

For a few moments, you just stared at the back of his head. Unable to understand why he was even asking for your help in the first place. When he got impatient of waiting for a response, he spun his body around, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, and eyes pointed at you. 

“Hm?” Snapping out of your surprise, you urged him to continue, seeking clarification on what he was referring to. Charles couldn’t help but take note of the tight black jumpsuit that you wore, a black and gold belt cinched at your waist. He felt his heart pound in his chest just a little bit more than normal at the accentuation of your curves as you stepped in front of him, acknowledging the curve of your ass before him.

“It, uh..” He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed away his thoughts of your ass. You turned to look at him, waiting for him to finish his words. His cheeks slightly tinted pink as he offers a sheepish smile to you, “it keeps separating the layers too much.”

You nodded your head slowly, “Je déteste quand ça fait ça.” I hate when it does that. You quietly agreed with him, before playing with some of the buttons on the machine. Without any luck of fixing it on your own, your eyes lit up like a light bulb as you remembered Josh, one of your other co-workers, solved this issue before.

“Let me get Josh!” You uttered the name with such excitement that Charles felt an involuntary growl building within him. Josh, a fellow architect at the firm, seemed uncomfortably close to you for Charles’s liking. Not that he cared or anything, but few things irked him more than witnessing you and Josh together in the office like two peas in a pod. The way Josh shamelessly flirted with you constantly only added to his irritation. Not that he liked you or anything, but that didn’t mean he hasn’t thought about shoving you face down over his desk and stuffing you full of his cock. Or that he hasn’t thought of you pressed against the windows of his office, your bare chest against the glass as he slips his cock into your wet folds. Or that he hasn’t thought about shoving his cock so deep into your throat just to get you to be quiet sometimes. 

It was like the flip of a switch, Charles’s irritation pouring out of him, as he spontaneously stomped away from the printing room. Trudging back to his office, leaving you behind in confusion. The last thing he wanted to see was you and Josh fixing something for him.

-

“She’s such a fucking know it all,” Charles groans to a group of his co-workers, bringing the neck of the beer bottle to his lips before taking a swig. His eyes have been following your every move since you stepped foot in the banquet hall tonight.

 It was the 42nd annual office party, which may sound boring at first, but it always ends up with some chaotic story. Last year it was Jane, one of the executive assistants, who got way too drunk she vomited right by the CEO’s feet. The year before that it was Nick, a man who is part of the custodial staff, who went almost too crazy on the dance floor that he knocked a handful of people down and resulted in multiple broken glasses around the place. All in all, the office party is usually the opposite of a bore.

And tonight, Charles decides that it’s definitely not a bore when he spots your outfit for the night. Charles doesn’t miss the curve of your ass as your back faces him, or the fact that Josh’s hand rests lightly against the small of your back either.

You’re dressed to kill tonight. A long silky black gown rests tightly against your skin, aside from the bottom that fans out much like a mermaid tail. The neckline wraps around your neck much like a scarf, a long tail of it falling at your side. 

Charles was so focused on Josh’s hand on you, that he didn’t even hear his co-workers speaking to him until they shoved his shoulder lightly.

“Dude, do you like her or something?”

“Or something.” Charles said with such disgust and hatred laced in his voice. “I don’t know why I always have to get paired with her.” He finished his beer in a hasty speed as you head towards the bar, excusing himself from his friends as he made his way to the same area.

The grip he had on the neck of the empty bottle was so tight, it was close to breaking in the palm of his hand. He leans against the bar, staring straight ahead as he waits for the bartender to acknowledge him.

“What’s got you all wound up?” Sandalwood and Vanilla.

He turns his head, to you and a smiling Josh at your side. He wants to roll his eyes almost immediately. What he would give to be able to punch him right in the face for even being able to touch you. He doesn’t bother to respond to you, turning his head back to the bar.

He’s sick in the head, honestly. He knows he approached the bar only to be closer to you but then ignores you as soon as you’re near. To get some glimpse of you. To smell you. To hear your voice. 

You hate the rejection. No matter how much he grinds your gears, you always try to be polite. You don’t want to argue with him. It’s honestly exhausting to stay arguing with him almost every day. On your first day of work, you actually thought you could be friends, until he opened his mouth and rudely dismissed you. It only made you work harder.

Charles got his drink and made his way back to his group of ‘friends’. He didn’t look at you the rest of the night.

At least until you both crossed paths outside the venue. Josh had left earlier in the night due to not feeling well, leaving you alone, with no jacket, as you tried to call for a ride home. 

Charles’s hands were shoved in the pockets of his dress pants as he approached you, awaiting for the valet to pull his car around. “Where is your jacket?” He questioned, simply curious.

“Why do you care?” You remarked back, a hint of annoyance in your voice. “You ignored me earlier and now you want to talk to me?” 

Charles felt his patience wearing thin, especially at the sight of the goosebumps all over your skin and the chatter of your teeth between each word you spoke. Your nipples were rock hard, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Charles. He felt the blood rush to his cock as his eyes quickly glanced at them. 

He rolled his eyes before shoving his suit jacket off and tossing it over your shoulders. “Can’t have my partner getting sick.” He began, “The project is due too soon for you to call out.” He pulled the excuse out of his ass. Because really, how was he supposed to say that he cared? That he cared about the woman he’s an absolute dick too.

You wanted to argue, he could see the detest in your eyes, but you snuggled into the jacket anyways. Appreciating his gesture and the warmth of the jacket.

The valet pulled his car up, opening the door for Charles, to which Charles handed him a crisp bill for fetching the car for him. You stood on the sidewalk, Charles’s jacket swallowing your body whole, a small breeze blowing the front pieces of your hair off your face. You looked beautiful, and Charles’s knew it was a complete lie if he said other.

“Get in,” He motioned the passenger door open, not bothering to wait for your response before he grasped your small forearm and ushering you into the seat. The car smelt just like him. A smell you wanted to bury yourself in, regardless how annoying he was.

Charles wove through the streets at a leisurely pace, one hand on the wheel and the other resting on his knee. The radio volume was low, playing a song you couldn’t remember the name of, as you stared out the window and directed Charles to your home.

He wanted to argue that he knows where it is. That he’s already been there before because one time he went to check on you because you didn’t show up to work without calling in (which was very abnormal). That it’s the building right next to his. But he doesn’t say it and just lets you direct him anyways, just so he can hear your voice a little more. He was greedy when it came to you.

Within a few minutes, he pulled in front of your building, placing the car in park and unbuckling his seat belt. You sat silently after unbuckling your own seatbelt, trying to decipher his mood. You never knew what mood you were going to get, but most of the time it was annoyance and anger.

You turned to look at him and your eyes instantly met with his, as he was already looking at you. “Merci.” Your words were soft as you spoke, reaching for the door handle, he stopped you.

“You should dress warmer,” His lips lifted into a small grin, “It’s too cold and I can’t handle this project without you.”

Although it was work related, it was probably the closest compliment you’ve ever received from him. If you wanted to count it as a compliment. You felt your cheeks turn pink at his confession. Who are you? You don’t blush at Charles Leclerc. The architect with a stick up his ass. The guy who grates your every nerve. The guy who is undeniably hot and smells so good, you think about it more often than you want to admit.

“I’ll remember that.” Your hand goes to reach for the car door handle, but he stops you. His muscular arm stretches across your lap, grabbing the door and holding it in place from opening. He’s now practically stretched across the small space of the car, his scent enveloping you, the warmth of his body heating you right up. A small smirk formed on Charles lips as he noticed how flustered you were getting towards his proximity.

“Are you and Josh dating?” It was a simple question, but the words felt like acid on his tongue. You couldn’t help but notice the displeased look on his face as he straightens his body, providing more space between the two of you.

Your eyes widened in shock before muttering a quick, “No!” You coughed slightly, almost choking on your shock. 

“Bien.” Good.  Was all he said, before unlocking the doors, giving you the go ahead to get out of the car. It was when you were about three steps from the car door that he rolled down the window and said, “You can return the jacket at work.”

-

It’s today, that Charles decides he has had it up to here. If he must witness Josh’s fingers graze your skin one more time, he swears he will combust. So, to make himself feel some relief of his anger, he starts a fight with you. Naturally.

“It’s a shitty plan and even you know it!” 

Honestly, it is a shit plan. And Charles knows that it’s a shit one too, but he would never admit that to you. Not when he is this pent up over fucking Josh. Not when it gives him an excuse to spend more time with you.

Which is what led you into his office, the clock nearing midnight, as you both are sprawled (as much as you can be) around his desk. The current plans of the project are scattered everywhere and not one other person, beside the both of you, are within the offices floor.

Your hair had made its way into a clip, leaving your neck uncovered and exposed. Charles’s found himself often staring at the nape of your neck when you weren’t looking. His desire to litter marks all over it was growing with each second that he spent in your proximity. Sandalwood and Vanilla.

“Is there a reason you’re always so mean to me?”

The words caught him completely off guard as he lifted his pencil, leaning back in his chair to face you more. You looked beautiful, like always. He could feel the burn in his chest as the words left your lips.

He was silent for a moment. Contemplating if he’s supposed to tell you that he’s mean to you because he doesn’t know how to act around you. That he’s mean to you because he wants to fuck you so badly, it consumes his every thought. That he’s mean to you because you are mean to him too.

“You’re not innocent either,” He remarks. His eyes shifting back to the drawing in front of him. Honestly, the plans weren’t looking much better but you both refused to give up.

You nodded your head slowly in agreement. You couldn’t deny that sometimes you were snippier towards him for no reason. It probably had to do with the fact that almost every week since you met, you’ve had to use your vibrator to the thought of him to ease the burn in your stomach just enough to get through the day.

You both didn’t know what it was about each other. You got under each other’s skin like no other.

And it wasn’t until he brought his eyes back to you, green meeting yours, that he noticed the dilation in your pupils. He could no longer pretend that he didn’t want you. It was killing him.

His hand grasps the back of your neck in a tight grip, asserting his dominance, as he pulls you into him. Your lips smashing into each other. He wasted no time before slipping his tongue directly into your mouth, moaning in the process as you let him in with such ease.

Your taut nipples poked through fabric of your bralette underneath the silk top you wore. Charles kept one hand on the back of your neck, pressing you into him, while the other slipped into the buttoned shirt, pinching your nipples between his thumb and forefinger.

He groaned hotly into your mouth as he grabbed a handful of your breast, something he’s always wanted to do.

You crawled your way into his lap, the short skirt riding up your waist as you straddled his lap in the desk chair. You grinded against his thigh, moaning into his mouth. He swallowed every moan you gave, his hands eventually sliding down to your hips and guiding your movement.

“You drive me fucking crazy, chérie.” He spoke the words in between kisses, the sentence sounding broken as your tongue swirled around his.

“Are we really doing this?” You pulled away, unable to stop the motion of your hips as you stared at him. His hair was in complete disarray, lips swollen from kissing you so hard, and his eyes were half-shut like he was drunk off of your kisses.

He didn’t respond with words. Instead, he places his hands onto the backside of your thighs and lifted you as he came to a stance, placing you directly on the edge of his desk before him.

You both were frantic, ripping off each other’s clothes as fast as you could in between the wet, hot open-mouthed kisses. It wasn’t long before you were almost completely nude, aside from the mini skirt bunched above your waist, and sprawled along his desk with his hard cock stretching the velvet walls of your pussy with a delicious burn. His thumb pressed tiny but firm circles on your swollen clit, leaving you delusional on his desk.

His lips trailed all over your body. They moved from the spot right below your ear, to the underside of your jaw, up to the corner of your mouth.

“Feel so fucking good, chérie.” He groaned. His hips moving at a fervent pace, you don’t think you would last much longer, especially with his hot words whispered into the shell of your ear.

He pulled away from you for a moment, just to stare at how fucked you were. Your hair was no longer in a clip, seeing as he pulled it out of your hair and tossed it across his office just mere minutes ago. Your cheeks and chest were flushed, and the bounce of your tits almost had him cumming on the spot.

“I’ve wanted this for so long,” He confesses. The words jumbling off his lips as he ruts against you, the large wooden desk pushing forward with each powerful thrust of his hips into you. The office walls echoed your moans, you were practically screaming in pleasure for the entire world to hear.

You nodded your head repeatedly, unable to form the words, too drunk off the feeling of his cock pressing against the very spot that ached the most for him. Because you too, wanted this for so long.

“Yeah?” He smugly asks. “You wanted this too?” He slows his hips down, but it doesn’t lessen the effect of just how good his cock feels against you. Your walls are clamped around him tightly, not wanting to let him go.

“Mhm,” you groaned. “Needed this so bad….needed you” You words were almost incoherent as he spits directly onto your clit, his thumb now speeding up the little circles he’s been doing all this time.

He had to pinch his eyes shut at the confession, almost sending him to release his cum right into you. “Mon dieu,” His voice grumbles, reverberating in his chest as he leans over your body on the desk, trailing his tongue and sucking on your nipple.

“I’m gonna,” you begin. “fuck, fuck,” It takes a few seconds of Charles sucking on your nipple before the burn deep in your stomach completely takes over, sending your legs spasming around his waist. Your orgasm was explosive and wet. You don’t think you’ve ever experienced this before as you squeeze around Charles’s cock so tightly, he feels like he can barely move his cock. 

“Fucking, mmm,” He can barely get full sentences out as you squirt all over his cock and onto the papers of his desk. “That’s a good girl,” He stands up tall, watching you thrash around on his desk, and the now soaked plans beneath your body.

“Doing so good for me.”

“Feels so fucking good”

“So fucking beautiful”

“Does my cock feel as good as you feel to me?” 

With a few more mumbled phrases spewing out of Charles’s lips, his own orgasm hits him, as he pulls out quickly, his hot cum landing directly across your stomach in a gooey string.

You both were panting, unable to form words as he collapses his chest down onto you. The ability to stand lost on him as his pants rest at his ankles. Your chests move in sync as you catch your breaths, Charles’s cum pressed to both of your skin.

“Looks like we need to re-do the plans again.” Charles jokes which quickly earns a soft chuckle from your lips in response.

[ellieslittleslutt]

‘𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰’𝒎 𝒔𝒐 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒍𝒚 - 𝒑𝒕. 𝟐

MEN AND MINORS DNI!!

part one!

cw: little kisses, weed, it does get a little angsty at the end im sorry (no im not) abandonment issues if you squint, i think thats it.

a/n: so this could be the last part of this just because idk how to keep going with the story but yeah, i have been making things a little more angsty lately and for that i dont have an excuse besides the fact that i felt like it. anywhoo enjoy!!!

wc - 1.6k

not proof read

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waking up in ellie’s arms felt like pure bliss, you never came to terms with it but you’ve always like ellie, before you never knew who she was. you’ve seen her in between classes and in the library a few times and always thought she was attractive, while being ‘friends’ you liked to be near her watching her face light up with each laugh knowing the exact number of freckles on her cheeks.

it was dark out only falling asleep for a nap after your… activities… she had a lamp on casting a soft warm glow against the deep blue shadows creating a beautiful contest for her features. propped up on your elbow you trace your fingers down her arm over her tattoo sitting in comfortable silence not getting up since you got in.

she looked up at your with her soft pale green eyes taking in every little detail committing them to memory so she can add them in to the rest of her sketches with your face. “no one teach you it’s rude to stare?” you whisper meeting her eyes with your own and she just chuckles softly shrugging “can’t help it” she says leaning up to kiss you softly.

melting into her lips your eyes shut for a second. wrote she pulls away grinning at the sight of your confused frown “dinner, you must be hungry” she says reaching for a shirt. you couldn’t help but let your eyes travel over her body letting them linger longer than they should on her muscles. groaning slightly lying back your turn your head to watch her get dressed “do we have to get up?” you mumbled. “yep” she smiles tossing you your clothes, i mean you did work up an appetite so dinner doesn’t sound too bad.

once dressed you look over at her as she grabs her shoes “where are we going williams?” you ask walking over to her leaning against her desk. “wanna take you to this diner i go to a lot with joel, it’s a nice place with awesome food” she says with an excited smile. you could tell how much it meant to her just by how her voice was soft saying it like it was a sacred place and she was letting you in. smiling at her you reach over placing your hand in her hair twisting it a bit “can’t wait.”

grabbing her car keys with a little dinosaur keychain she pauses to look out the window the back at you frowning. it was late november so it was starting to get really cold in jackson, knowing your outfit wasn’t enough to keep you warm she quickly jogged back to her room coming back with her jacket “here you go. i can’t have you freezing alright?” she says draping it over your shoulders a blush creeping on your cheeks looking back at her “it’s cut you care so much” she got visibly flustered looking down at her feet shrugging “i dunno i like caring about you”

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sitting down in the booth of the diner soft music plays in the back while ellie mindlessly hums along with it while scanning over the menu before looking back at you “i don’t even know why im reading it i know what im getting” she says putting the menu down and deciding to help you pick what to eat.

by the time the food came out you were listening to ellie’s rambles about space and all her favorite things. you loved listening to her ramble so much, to be completely honest you weren't really listening all that much just focusing on how excited and expressive she was. you couldn't even be mad when she would steal a fry or two from you, you're used to it by now with how much she'll seal your food at lunch.

when it came time to pay ellie insisted she payed but walking out next to her you slipped what you owed into her pocket. she decided to walk around town a bit with you in the cool night just people watching mainly. it was still fairly early into the night so families were still out and stores were still open able to see jackson when it is most alive.

ellie held your hand leaning a little closer to talk to you "you know, i've always loved these streets" she said quietly looking around. you look at her with a warm smile happy to see her happy "yeah?" you whisper squeezing her hand a bit and she nods "its nice seeing all the families together and how everyone lives their lives.. it just feels peaceful"

she loved it here. you could just tell by the way she talked about it, its like how people feel that special connection to a place, drawn to it finding their selves always coming back to it, jackson is her place and you are her person.

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going to bed after ellie dropped you off home sucked. since there was school tomorrow and a big test you two have been studying for you didn't allow any distractions wanting both of you to do well, hence why you couldn't stay the night.

in the morning you walked up to dina, jesse and ellie sitting at the bleachers ellie placing her hand on your thigh kissing you cheek while they burned a bright red. dina cocked her head with a grin hitting jesses knee to make him look "fucking knew it they fucked last night" she says and ellie just rolls her eyes. "and why would that be important if we did?" she asks pulling you a bit closer" jesse was already pulling out his wallet counting the money "we made a bet this morning that you two hooked up because you looked way too happy for a thursday, now i owe her 15 dollars" jesse explains placing the money in dina's hands.

"dude not cool" ellie says hitting him over the head "hey don't hit me i just lost 15 bucks!" he says raising his hands in surrender. you were just watching the whole time slightly confused but all you could focus on was ellie's hand tracing small patterns on your thigh.

when you two had to split for classes she gave you a thumbs up to hopefully make you feel better about the test, in a way it did, you loved her smile and seeing her being gentle with you despite not knowing you for even that long felt so fucking good.

sitting at your desk toying with your pencil you waited for the teacher to give the go ahead and start. "alright you get 35 minutes to complete the test and if you do not finish in time doesn't matter hand it to me at my desk" they call out and start the timer.

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"worst test ever." you groan sitting down by ellie at lunch, she takes a bite from her sandwich placing a hand on your back "it couldn't have been that bad you're like smartest person ever." she says and you grumble putting your head on her shoulder "can i come over tonight?" you asked muffled into her shirt and she just smiles nodding "of course and i got something for us to smoke." pulling back you look back at her with a smile "you're my favorite"

sat on ellie's kitchen floor you looked up at her making a snack. her hair was tied up into a half up half down, you're favorite, a blunt rested between her lips passing it back between you two. you felt nice right now, it was a peaceful silence and you two were comfortable. sitting down beside you ellie passes you the blunt a trail of smoke falling from her lips. " on the menu tonight is the best that my abilities can do so just some cut up fruit really" smiling you reach for a slice of apple taking a bite out of it. resting your head on her shoulder the room fell once more into the comfortable silence.

she was toying with the ends of your hair, plate in her lap and blunt smashed into the tile floor to extinguish it. it felt all fuzzy, while getting high was fun for most people for others it can make them sad or angry or just out of it. you were somewhere in the middle. staring off lost in thought ellie can almost watch your emotions and thoughts play out through your eyes like a screen.

tapping your shoulder the leans down to kiss your head "you alright there?" she whispers rubbing your arm. adjusting your posture you just nod shutting your eyes "just thinking" you mumbled but ellie could see right through it "about what" she asks to get some answer. "i don't really know, i guess its just nice to have someone. like you're here and i didn't have to ask you to you just stayed.. i like it" ellie's eyes softened resting her head back on the cabinet "ill stay... i like that you're here too" she said quietly shutting her eyes.

"i mean.. i never really had that" stinging started in the corner of your eyes, squeezing them closed tightly in an attempt to hide the shakiness in your voice and soft quiet sobs that come from you, but it was no use. ellie pulled you closer into her arms the warmth of her body a comfort from the cool kitchen floor. "i've got you.." she whispered into your hair letting you cry "i'm not going anywhere."

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[westcoastcollectives]

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢs - billie eilish x fem!reader

ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢs - angst w happy ending, allusion to homophobia

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ - in which y/n is afraid to come out to the public about their relationship or in which billie & y/n love each other despite other’s opinions

ᴀ/ɴ - soooo, i used to post on this account (username bilsluvr) but i deleted everything and revamped the account 😭. this is an old fanfic that i wrote in 2022 , but in honor of the new album i’ve decided to repost it :) i hope you guys like it <3 (also this is based on billie’s song “come out and play” so i recommend to listen to it while you read.)

“wake up and smell the coffee”

“good morning bil” y/n spoke softly as she held her half full cup of coffee and smiled at the black haired girl in front of her. “hey baby” billie leaned over to peck the girls lips.

“but i love it when you’re awfully quiet”

“sleepy?” billie said as she placed her hand on y/n’s cheek. “yeah..” y/n leaned on billie’s hand. “i love you, you know that right?” billie said tenderly. “yeah, i do.” y/n whispered, turning her head slightly to peck billie’s palm, looking at the deep blue eyes lovingly.

“you see a piece of paper, could be a little greater”

“whatcha doin’?” billie asked as she took a sip of her hot tea. the warm ambience of the busy café making them feel like they were the only ones there.

“drawing” y/n giggled. billie looked at the napkin, feeling content with the day. “drawin’ what?” billie asked, smiling at the girl.

“mmm, i don’t really know,” y/n looked at the napkin. “what i feel i guess,” she finished. the napkin held a sketch of a snowy night city with a ferris wheel. “are you cold..?” billie questioned. “no billie!” y/n laughed.

their moment was interrupted when a teenage girl walked up to the smiling couple. “oh my gosh! hi! can i get a photo?” she asked excitedly.

“yes, of course” billie held a tight smile, feeling more tense. as soon as y/n noticed, she placed her hand on top of billie’s resting one. almost instantly, billie felt more relaxed just by the touch of her significant other.

“and you don’t have to keep it quiet”

the fan noticed and quickly asked, “are you guys like together or something?”.

billie’s eyes widened and y/n snatched her hand back. billie opened her mouth to answer, but y/n was too fast. “what? of course not,” she said hostilely. “we’re just friends.”

billie looked at her rather confused, but quickly switched to a sad, tight lipped smile. “yeah” she murmured.

billie was so confused. even though they weren’t out, why would she answer that way? so, abruptly.

“let’s take that photo, yeah?” billie said.

“yes!” the fan said, oblivious to the fact that she had just created a dent within the couple.

“and i know it makes you nervous”

they have been driving for a while now. LA traffic not being so light.

“why’d you answer that way” billie finally broke the silence that had been clouding the car.

“what?” y/n said surprised. “you heard me.” billie said, feeling just a tinge of anger, but not much due to the amount of love that she is filled with for the girl.

“you can’t blame me billie. we’re not going to come out to a random fan on a sunday afternoon.” she said a matter of factly.

“i understand, but i didn’t expect you to answer so fast, almost instinctively.” billie stated. feeling insecure about their relationship.

y/n sighed, looking down at her feet, fidgeting with her rings. “no billie, i’m just…” she hesitated. “nervous.”

“but i promise you, it’s worth it.” billie said as they were pulling into the drive way of their shared home.

y/n turned to billie to find her already looking at her. “can you wait for me bil?” she asked nervously.

billie held her two hands and placed them on her lap. “always.” billie said while looking at her eyes.

“look up, out of your window. see snow, won’t let it in though”

“oh my gosh..” y/n said, feeling surprised.

“what?” billie questioned as y/n urgently ran out of the room.

“it’s snowing!!” y/n came back with a big jacket that engulfed her and a beanie that was almost falling off her head.

“oh,” billie chuckled, walking up to her, fixing the beanie on her head. “you scared me, baby.” she said with a small smile. “sorry” y/n said with a wide, genuine smile.

“get out there,” billie suggested, nodding her head towards the door. “you don’t wanna come with?” y/n asked, slightly furrowing her eyebrows.

“nah, i’m already cold. go have fun.” billie smiled. “i’ll watch from in here.” she finished. “okay,” y/n said. “i love you.” she spoke before leaning in to peck billie’s lips softly.

“cause it's colder here inside in silence”

y/n opened the door excitedly, letting the cold wind blow throughout the home, making billie shiver. “sorry,” y/n chuckled. “s’okay, be safe!” billie shouted.

billie watched as the girl rushed to get to the front of the house to play with the snow. as billie watched through the front window, she noticed how truly quiet and cold it is with out the girls warm loud presence.

while watching y/n laugh at how small the snow flakes were, billie realized how grateful she is for y/n. just merely young, dumb, in love teenagers who didn’t care what people thought about them.

what changed? society’s pressure did. and billie hated that it had affect their relationship.

“and you don’t have to keep it quiet”

“what’s got you so quiet y/n/n?” billie asked, leaning over the counter, careful not to spill the iced tea. “just thinkin’” y/n replied, staring at the picture of the two perched on the mantle.

“about..?” billie said hesitantly. “us.” y/n said. “oh, good things i hope” billie nervously chuckled.

“if we come out about our relationship, do you think we’ll get hate?” y/n said sharply. billie’s head snapped towards her, “woah, where did you get that from.” she asked. “i told you, i’m just thinkin’” y/n spoke, feeling helpless.

“i think we’ll get hate no matter what we do,” billie said. “no, i mean,” y/n hesitated and sighed. “i don’t know, never mind.”

“but-“ billie started, “never mind billie.” y/n ended the conversation.

“too shy to say, but i hope you stay.”

“y/n” billie spoke into the silence. “yeah bil?” y/n said softly, looking back at billie from her seated place on the couch.

“i don’t want to hide anymore.” billie spoke confidently. “what?” y/n questioned, feeling rather confused as to where this came from.

“i want to be able to hold your hand in public, post you, love you without being afraid of someone ‘catching’ us.” billie said, finally expressing her feelings. “i love you, and i think that’s all that matters.”

“okay.” y/n whispered. “okay?” billie questioned, feeling invalidated. “what do you mean ‘okay’?” billie said, walking up to the girl and taking the spot next to her on their couch.

“i agree with you billie.” y/n said, not making eye contact with her. “then? what’s wrong?” billie asked, holding y/n’s hand, caressing it.

“i don’t want to hurt you.” y/n said, looking up at the love of her life. “why would you-“ y/n cut billie off, “i don’t want to hurt your career.” y/n spoke.

“oh.” billie murmured. “i don’t care about that.” billie spoke strongly. “i care about you and our future together.” billie was slowly getting more confused.

y/n leaned in for a hug. not saying a word, but feeling the love around them.

they held each other for the rest of the night.

“come out and play”

after hearing the last chords of the song, y/n looked up at billie with tear filled eyes. y/n found herself reminiscing each memory that correlated with the song.

“i’m sorry.” y/n sobbed, hugging billie. “why baby? don’t be sorry.” billie said. “i only want the best for us.” she smiled reassuringly.

“i’m ready.” y/n said, pulling herself away from billie and wiping underneath her eyes. “you’re right. our opinion is the only opinion that matters. it’s our relationship, not anybody else’s.”

billie could explode of happiness if she were able to. she hugged y/n hard, “i’m so happy you finally feel this way.” billie held y/n’s face and leaned in for a kiss full of love and joy.

-

the couple couldn’t be happier.

sure, they got some hate here and there, but not enough to tear them apart.

[all-about-kyu]

𝕽𝖊𝖉 𝕮𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖘 𝕭𝖊𝖙𝖜𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝕻𝖆𝖌𝖊𝖘 (𝖒𝖞 𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖗𝖙 𝖆𝖈𝖍𝖊𝖘)

Summary: Being in a polyamorous relationship can take a toll on a person; Jongho just happened to be the one to uncork the bottle. Pairing: Seonghwa x San x fem!reader x Yeosang x Jongho Tropes: hybrid au, poly au, established relationship au Genre: fluff, angst, suggestive Rating: PG 13 Warnings: language, anxiety, stress, mentions of unhealthy self-care habits, reader described as smaller than all members and has blue eyes (bunny quality), minor injury, mentions of sex, kissing Word Count: 6,164 Note: your favorite Thunder is back! <3 thank you to @mejuii and @downtoamagicalland for beta reading as always <3

Listen to: Put It Straight by (G)-Idle ♡ As I Am (feat. Khalid) by Justin Bieber ♡ I GUESS I’M IN LOVE by Clinton Kane

Series Masterlist

You’ve been holed up in your workspace almost all day. You have been for a few days now. The only times you ever emerge are to shower and get some form of nourishment in your body. The influx of orders you had for your shop came out of nowhere, and you’re struggling to keep up with what needs to be done. All three of your boyfriends are worried about you, to say the least. San hasn’t been around much due to a merger he’s been working on, and Yeosang has been running around like a chicken with his head cut off, trying to get everything arranged for a new project that could make or break a lot of things for him. Seonghwa has been around, though. Just yesterday, he decided to stay home from the shop and sketch while you worked on crafting a rather detailed necklace. 

You’re so lost in what you’re creating that you hardly register the knock on your door. So when it pops open, you drop your half-done chain making the individual links scatter across the desk. Despite the urge to break down right then and there, you take a deep breath and recollect yourself. When you look up, you’re met with a very concerned-looking purple dragon.

“Treasure, you’ve been in here all day… have you eaten anything?” San asks with a worried tone.

“I’m fine.” You give him a tight-lipped smile, “I need to finish this bracelet by tomorrow and get it shipped out.”

San steps closer and squats down beside you. Even with him squatting, he’s barely below your eye level. It only serves to remind you how much smaller you are than them. Your silver-eyed boyfriend reaches to take your hands in his. At first, he doesn’t think anything of the tension rings along your fingers. He knows it helps you from cramping up too quickly. Then he takes in the small pinches and cuts on your fingertips and palms.

“Treasure, you should take a break. I’m worried about you. We all are.” He tries to reason with you.

“I’ll come to eat after this project is done, promise.” You offer, taking your hand to run over some of his scales along his cheekbone.

“You better have eaten a well-balanced meal and drank at least three glasses of water by the time I get back from my meeting,” He bluntly reminds you.

“I’ll do my best to do that.” You chuckle while playfully saluting him.

He stands back up to his full height, “I love you, and I hate to see you so overworked.” He sighs, placing a kiss against the base of one of your bunny ears.

“I love you too. I promise I’ll leave this room at some point.”

Some point becomes hours later when Seonghwa forces you out of the room even though the bracelet is still incomplete. San walks back in the door, Yeosang beside him, as you’re nibbling on a veggie wrap. Seonghwa is sitting beside you eating as well to make you feel less alone in your activity. San has a small bit of smoke curling out of his lip that he tries to stop you from seeing. It doesn’t work, though. Yeosang whispers something that seems to soothe the purple dragon before they both walk over to you. 

“How’s your project coming?” Yeosang asks innocently.

“Still not done….” You sigh, bunny ears falling back against your hair, “It was supposed to be done today so I could ship it out tomorrow….”

“And it’s okay that you didn’t finish it today.” Seonghwa offers, “You own your own business, and sometimes you need to know your limits on what can be done.”

“But-”

“No buts,” San adds, “you did what you could today. That’s all that matters.”

You nod silently and take another small bite out of your wrap before placing it down on the plate again. When you get stressed like this, you hardly want to eat anything. You know it’s an unhealthy habit, but it’s just how you function. Despite your quiet state, your three boyfriends seem to easily flow through conversation. Some sort of ugly jealousy curls through your stomach. The way they seem to fit together easily without any seams makes you feel almost out of place in a way. You’re not willing to address that with your current state of mind, though.

“Hops,” Yeosang calls quietly; you look up at him, “You didn’t hear me, did you?” He chuckles sweetly, “Who do you want to crash with tonight?”

You nibble at your lower lip, “I think I’ll stay in my nest tonight.”

“Do you want one or more of us to–” You cut Seonghwa off before he can finish his question.

“No!” You blurt out, “I want to sketch out some more projects, and I’d hate to keep you up.”

“You know that won’t bother us, treasure.” San reminds you, “I’d much rather you get some good rest than workshop more projects.”

“I’ll be fine, San, I promise.” You stand up abruptly, ignoring the (barely) half-eaten wrap. “Good night boys. Love you!”

You bolt to the room your nest and work area are in. The moment you firmly shut the door, you sit down at your desk and hunch over the same bracelet you’ve been working on all day.

Even after slaving over projects for the next two days, it feels like you’ve made no progress. You’re pacing back and forth in your studio and nest space, hoping that inspiration strikes you to at least finish one project. A soft knock sounds on your door again. This time Yeosang is the one who pops his head through the doorway. You’re worrying on the edge of your ear and continue pacing even though you feel your boyfriend’s worried eyes on you. 

“Hops,” His low voice sounds through the space, “Sannie and Hwa already headed out for the day. They thought you were still sleeping when they were leaving.” He explains.

“I’ve been up for a while.” You respond flatly, “I need to get this shit done.”

Yeosang is slightly taken aback. You’ve never been one to curse. So to hear you say such a word was not what he was expecting to come from your mouth. He steps closer and grabs you gently to stop you from pacing anymore. You look up at him and see the worry swirling in his green eyes. He pulls you into a hug. You’ve come to learn that he’s not very physically affectionate outside your heat. So the fact that he has you wrapped in a hug, your face buried in his chest, means a lot. His minty scent invades your senses, giving you a momentary feeling of peace. That lingering panic and fear creeps back into you when he pulls away.

“Take a break from your projects, Hops.” He reminds you, “Stepping away from a project can do wonders sometimes.”

You nod, “I will.”

It may be a half-truth, but you don’t want to worry him if you don’t need to. He places a soft kiss against the top of your head and takes another step back.

“I have to go meet a client. Unfortunately, all three of us are out of the house for the rest of the day.” He sighs, “I should be back around dinner time. San said he has a business dinner tonight, and Seonghwa is closing the shop today since Yun is off.”

“I’m a big bunny,” You try to joke, “I can take care of myself.”

“I know, little one,” He smiles softly, “Just giving you the rundown for the day. I’ll see you at dinner, okay?”

“Okay.” You nod, your snow-white ears twitching slightly when he gently scratches the base of them.

Yeosang is out the door, and a few moments later, you hear the front door of the penthouse close too. You debate your options for a few moments before deciding to get a drink before returning to work. You aren’t fully sure who’s home right now. At least you know Yunho is home. You’re about ninety percent sure Mingi is at his university lecturing right now. It’s likely that Wooyoung is at his dance studio, and you haven’t seen Hongjoong in about three days. When you get to the kitchen, you find that Jongho is home too. He’s sitting at the small breakfast bar sipping on a mug of tea. You shuffle behind him, being sure not to knock into his deep blue tail. You reach up into the cabinet to get a glass when you feel a hand on your shoulder. You nearly jump out of your skin and end up dropping the glass, causing it to shatter on the counter. Immediately, Yunho moves to make sure you’re okay and explains he wasn’t trying to scare you. Your fight-or-flight instincts kick in, and you’re already down the hall and back in your nest. The first thing you can think to do is grab the duffle bag and start stuffing clothing into it. Tears are threatening to fall from your eyes, but you hold them back for now. You can smell the two men that are home. They’re still down the hallway. However, your senses are out of sorts due to your panicked state. 

Again, a knocking sounds on the door frame. You whip your head around, and your ears twitch around, trying to find one sound to focus on. Your nose twitches even more as you take in the dark blue dragon standing in the doorway. Jongho steps into the space when you don’t speak, knowing you need someone to calm you down. He would have never breached your space without your permission had you been more stable mentally. 

“Where are you off to?” He asks gently.

That’s when your tears burst through fully. You start sobbing and find yourself face-first in Jongho’s sweater before you can stop yourself. He awkwardly wraps his arms around you and tries to soothe you. The room is only filled with sniffles and loud sobs as you stand there in the golden-eyed dragon’s arms. You’re completely unaware of how long you cry in his arms, but when you finally slow to a sniffle, you pull your face away from his sweater. There’s a large wet spot from the amount of crying you just did. There’s a bit of snot, too, which you cringe at and immediately try to wipe off with your own sweater. You can feel his strong chest beneath the fluffy material, but your mental state is hardly focused on the dragon’s physique. Your head is pounding from crying, which doesn’t help the situation at all. Jongho still has his arms wrapped around you, securing you in your spot.

“You need to talk about anything?” He offers quietly.

“Are you sure you want to hear all of that?” You chuckle, trying to downplay your emotions.

“You need it. We both know that.” He sighs, not letting you divert anything.

Suddenly you’re very aware of his arms wrapped around you and how comforting it feels. You find yourself nodding at him.

“Do you want to go to a neutral space, or are you comfortable right here?” He searches your pale blue eyes for any discomfort as he asks.

You appreciate how respectful of your boundaries he’s being. You know you need this, and he does too. Damn him and his phenomenal therapist skills. 

“We can stay here…” You bite your lip, debating whether or not you want to ask him a specific question or not. You decide to throw caution to the wind and ask. “Do- do you um… could we-”

“What’s up Hops?”

“Well… I’m kind of all over the place, and… do you care if we cuddle while I vent?”

“Would that make you feel more comfortable?” he asked again.

You nod, “It would…”

“In your nest?”

“Yeah… if that’s okay.”

“Lead the way.”

Jongho releases you from his hold and allows you to get comfortable in bed where your nest is before he approaches it. You shift a little bit allowing Jongho to climb in beside you. The dragon is slightly stiff as he gets semi-comfortable. You snuggle close to him, which makes him melt beneath you. He wraps an arm around you and sighs with a small smile on his face.

“What’s on that mind of yours, Hops?” He asks once you’re both comfortable. 

“A lot of things… where should I start?”

“Wherever you want to.” He offers, small vines wrapping around his fingers as you get more comfortable.

“I feel like an outsider.” You admit, “And like a failure…”

“What makes you say that? You have your fluffle, and you’re part of the Thunder now. You have a successful business making jewelry.”

“I haven’t been able to finish a single project for days now, and I feel horrible. These people are waiting for me to finish these pieces for them and-” You start crying again. 

“Take your time.” He reminds you, “Do you wanna hear my two cents on this, or do you want to continue what you were saying.”

“You can talk.” You sniffle, burying your face against his sweater.

He wraps his arm around you tighter. The small vines tickle against your jaw lightly as his fingers hold your shoulder. You find yourself sinking further into his touch subconsciously.

“Here’s what I think.” He starts, “Everyone has their own threshold. When you reach that threshold, you can’t do it anymore. You need a break. Your limit is different from mine and different from the others in the Thunder. You need to give yourself breaks, Hops.”

“I know, but-”

“No buts, bunny.”

“But, Jongho…” You pout, “You’re super successful in your career, San owns a whole monopoly, Seonghwa and Yunho own a tattoo shop-”

“And you have a very successful jewelry business.” He stops you mid-sentence, “Just cause we have more income doesn’t mean that you’re unsuccessful.”

You nod and nibble at your lip. You feel a thumb against your lip, gently pulling it from between your teeth. When you look up at Jongho, you see him giving you a gentle, borderline endearing look. It steals your breath away for a moment. Your ears go lax as you maintain eye contact with the navy dragon. You take note of how his navy scales frame his face perfectly and how they contrast against his bright red hair. Suddenly, you snap back to reality and shake your head slightly to ground yourself.

“I know that but still…”

“Still what?” He prods lightly.

“You guys seem actually to get work done, and I’m still fighting with this same necklace that I’ve been working on all week. I have a damn sketch of the thing, and I can’t even do it.” You groan.

“What’s on paper doesn’t always convey in practice. Have you tried looking at it or approaching it a new way?” He asks, his thumb gently caressing your arm as he speaks.

“... No…” You admit, gaze dropping down to your fingers,  “I’ve been very set on the style, and my customer really likes the design I sketched…”

“And it’s your business.” He reminds you, “If you need to rework things because it’s impossible to do in practice, they need to understand that or lose their deposit on the art.”

You nod silently. Jongho notices you remain quiet after providing his two cents on your situation. There’s far more to your issue, and he knows it. He moves his navy blue tail to be draped over his thigh and, by proxy, wrap around yours. The tip of it rests against your lower back. And while you’re used to dragon tails resting against you, Jongho’s tail feels almost foreign to you but absolutely not unwelcomed. 

“I know that’s not all, bun.” He sighs, letting the arm wrapped around you hold you just a bit tighter, “What else is going through that mind of yours?”

You look up at him and see his golden eyes fixated on you, “I don’t think you want to hear about my relationship right now.”

“I want you to feel better.” He assures, “Tell me what’s going on.”

You find yourself curling closer to the dragon and tucking your head just below his chin. You feel a few scales along his jaw, but it’s nothing that bothers you. After all, you live here with them almost all the time now; you’re no stranger to scales touching you. Your ears are pushed back and lying flat against your hair overtop Jongho’s arm. You feel him relax further after his initial tensing. 

“Well… about a week ago, we were, um…” You didn’t know how to phrase it to him.

“You were having sex, okay. What went wrong to make you feel so uncomfortable and try to run away today?”

“How did you know I was gonna say that?” You try to deflect.

Jongho chuckles airily, “You're going to tell me I’m wrong?” You don’t answer, “So, what happened that got you to this point.”

You sigh and debate whether you want to let it all out or tell him just to forget about it. It wasn’t that big a deal, right? Jealously happens in relationships. Jealousy looks different in yours because instead of two people, there are five. 

“Smells like burnt cookies.” Jongho points out, “Just say it before you end up smelling like a burnt kitchen rather than overbaked cookies.” He teases lightly.

“I feel like an outsider in my own relationship.”

“Okay, why do you feel like that? You know San, Seonghwa, and Yeosang would burn the world to the ground if you asked them.”

You feel the tears well up in your eyes again. One escapes and lands on Jongho’s barely damp sweater. Though you know, Jongho can’t see your eyes with your face tucked under his chin. He does seem to know you’re having an emotional hurricane internally. You feel his tail press a bit harder against your body as if to mock some weighted blanket to help you relax.

“They just seem so happy together. I felt like after that very awkward sex that I was just a hookup again.”

“That bad?” He sighs, “I know you know how the Thunder functioned before San and Seonghwa brought you home. Hell, Yunho, and Mingi are worse than you’re polycule sometimes.” He lightens the air, “Remember, you’re the glue that holds those boys together. Yes, they would casually hook up with each other before you were introduced to us, but the dates, talking about how they feel, regulating their schedules… Hops, that’s all thanks to your influence on this Thunder. It feels like I’ve tried to have interventions more often with them than with my clients. Something about you made it click, though.”

“Jongho?”

“Yeah?”

You don’t know what overtakes you, but you untuck your face from his chest and kiss his cheek. You realize what you’ve done after you see Jongho’s slightly shocked expression. Your nose starts to twitch as panic rises in your throat again. Jongho’s strong hold keeps you in your place, along with his tail still lying across your legs and along your back. 

“It’s okay, bun.” He assures, “You just surprised me. If you want to ask something when you’re in the right headspace, you can do so. You’re not in a completely clear or stable mental place right now, though.”

You nod, “Sorry,”

“Nothing to apologize for. Come back here and get comfy again.” He offers, “You rant, and I’ll listen.”

You tuck yourself back against the dark blue dragon and almost feel like you’re at home in his arms. A tug in your heart makes itself known. Of course, it would now, when you’re in the midst of emotional and relational turmoil. Jongho smooths a hand over your hair and ears as you start rambling about everything that’s been bothering you. From missing your fluffle to work to your boyfriends’ dynamic. You feel small amounts of weight press against your hair.

“What’s in my hair?” You ask, “I feel something.”

“I’m weaving flowers in.” He says casually, “Do you want me to take them out?” 

“N-no,” You feel the heat of a blush rush to your face, “Tell me about the flowers.”

“There’s a few red carnations, that’s all. Some are full blooms, others are half-blooms. They look nice against your hair. I like the contrast from how pure white your ears are too.”

You pull your body to be sitting up. Jongho is still lying down, and his eyebrows scrunch together in confusion.

“You can put them and more flowers in my hair all you want. I’m giving you more space to work with while I talk.” You explain, “I like that you’re playing with my hair.”

A smile graces his lips, and you barely see his fangs peek out. He conjures a small bouquet of little dainty pink and white flowers. One moment there was nothing there, and the next, the flowers were in his hand.

“So, as I was saying, I love my boyfriends, but it’s hard not to feel excluded when they know each other like their favorite things in the world. It really hurt me when I saw San and Yeosang cuddling while Seonghwa tossed the wet wipes at me. I know I’m newest to whatever dynamics were happening here before, but…” You interrupt yourself with a sigh, “I’m still their girlfriend, and it doesn’t feel like it sometimes.”

Jongho accidentally tugs at your hair while braiding a flower into it, making you yelp slightly.

“Sorry,” He quickly apologizes, “I know it hurts to just feel like a side piece in your relationship. You also need to communicate how you’re feeling, though. I know, ironic when you have three emotionally constipated dragon boyfriends, but it’s true.”

“I just don’t want to make them mad at me…”

“If they get mad at you for having normal emotions, then I’ll personally make them each a batch of poison ivy tea when I refill the tea satchels.”

You giggle lightly and feel Jongho move your hair over your shoulder, signifying that he’s done meticulously intertwining each flower with your hair. You turn around and face him. He’s sitting criss-cross in your nest still. His golden eyes practically melt you as he gives you an affectionate look. Those tugs at your heart return, this time accompanied by a tornado of butterflies in your stomach.

“You feel better now?” He asks softly.

You nod, “I needed that a lot more than I realized.”

He opens his arms, “You still look like you need some comforting before you talk to your boys.”

You climb into his lap, slotting your legs around his hips, and feel his strong arms wrap around your waist in a tight hug. You bury your face in the crook of his neck. Your nose fills with his book scent, and it instantly relaxes you. You don’t break away even when you hear the penthouse door open and click shut again. You’re so engulfed in his scent you don’t even know who’s returning to the lair. Jongho’s arms tighten around you even more. Then, you process the sniffles you’re letting out. You’re not even sure if you’re feeling the emotional aftermath of the day or if you’re nervous about the confrontation later, but you’re sniffling back tears again. Your tears slide down Jongho’s neck and along the snake tattoo that looks as if it’s curling around his collarbone. He doesn’t say anything about it. He doesn’t question why you’re crying or make any comment to stop you from feeling what you do. He lets you feel. It’s just what you need right now. 

“What’s this?” You hear San snarl.

You tense in Jongho’s hold. Fight or flight instincts beg you to bolt for the door, even if San grabs you in the process. The only thing stopping you is Jongho’s arms holding you in place. Suddenly, Jongho rips a flower out of your hair. You yelp at the sudden movement and then see the navy dragon shaking out a singed red carnation. You know San didn’t mean any harm to you. When he was pissed, he tended to lose complete control of what he did with his magic.

“Hops.” He snarls, “I need to talk to you. Alone. Now.”

He hasn’t called you that since you officially started dating him. Hearing the neutral nickname sounds foreign to your ears in the worst way possible. You’ve never seen him direct his anger at you, either. Your heart rate spikes again, and your nose twitches at the speed of light. Subconsciously you grip onto Jongho, maybe to try to soothe yourself. You don’t want to think too hard about why it was comforting to you.

“Talk to him. It’ll be okay. If not, remember what I told you.” He ends his sentence with a slight chuckle.

You nod and climb out of Jongho’s lap. Your eyes linger on his golden eyes, noticing how his pupils dilate as he looks back at you. While you’d love to think it’s out of affection toward you, you decide to believe it’s simply to help calm you further. Jongho gets out of your nest and dismisses himself from the space. You watch as a vine curls around the door nob and pulls the white wood door shut. The tension is tangible enough as it is, but when the therapist dragon leaves, it becomes almost suffocating. San’s silver eyes are slit so thinly you can hardly see his pupils at all. It’s as if they don’t exist at all. 

“I-it wasn’t what it looked like…” You say, trying to ease a bit of the tension.

“Are you sure, Hops?” He practically growls, “It sure looked like you were getting too cozy with someone who isn’t one of your boyfriends. We said you could cuddle with the others if you needed it. That was crossing a line, though.”

Normally seeing your deep purple scaled boyfriend dressed for the office sends you into a mood that you would put in a similar category to your heat. Now, though, it only strikes fear in you. You so desperately wish to crumble under his stare and submit to your prey tendencies. You swallow that urge and hold your head high, remembering Jongho’s words. 

I know it hurts to just feel like a side piece in your relationship. You also need to communicate how you’re feeling, though.

“Would you have rather me run away back to my fluffle without a word to any of you?” You bite back, throwing your arm in the direction of your half-packed duffle bag, “You, Seonghwa, and Yeosang have been making me feel like I’m not even part of our relationship anymore. Had Jongho not stopped me, I would’ve been gone for hours by now. Yes, the cuddling could be seen as crossing a line, but he’s the reason I didn’t go running out mere moments after Yeosang left.”

“Treasure…” San starts, trying to step closer to you.

You put your hand up, and it’s as if you put up an invisible block in front of him.

“Let me speak.” You sigh, “You three communicate without words. You’ve been involved with each other in many different ways long before I was brought to the Thunder. After last week’s events… seeing how easily you knew how to take care of Yeosang while you three practically ignored me and let me handle myself hurt. I’m your girlfriend, but the longer I’m here, the more I feel like just a hookup you brought in with your two boyfriends for some extra fun.”

You let out a shaky breath. You don’t want to cry telling him all of that, but you feel your eyes fill with tears. There’s no way you’ll be able to stop them from falling. You sniffle and let your gaze fall down to your feet rather than looking at your boyfriend. He doesn’t move. That invisible block is still fixated in front of him.

As if the timing couldn’t be worse, you smell Seonghwa’s sweet strawberry jam scent enter the home accompanied by Yeosang’s peppermint tea. It’s as if he knows there’s tension, too. You know your scent is burnt, and San’s is far stormier than his typical calm sea breeze scent. Your eldest boyfriend doesn’t even knock. He invites himself and Yeosang into your bedroom and is greeted by your crying figure and San a few steps away with tendrils of smoke escaping the corners of his lips. Yeosang is the first to step closer, placing a kiss on San’s cheek, only solidifying your emotions. Comforting San before stepping closer to you.

“Tell me what’s going on.” Yeosang asks quietly, wrapping his arms around your frame.

You try to break out of his hold, but you’re no match for his strength. Angry tears keep rolling down your cheeks as you stay trapped in his hold.

“Look at me.” Authority rings in his tone. 

This time, you look at him.

“Am I that unloveable?” You snap.

“Treasure, please.” San says weakly. 

“Yeosang.” You say flatly, “Let me go.”

Your bronze boyfriend backs off. All three of them are clearly concerned about you and trying to figure out why you just asked the question you did. Your nose is still twitching, and tears are still staining your cheeks.

“We need to have a long talk. All four of us.” You huff.

You settle in your nest, wrapping yourself in a throw blanket that smells much more like Jongho than any of your boyfriends. You see the jealousy in San’s eyes as you do so. Yeosang is on your work stool, Seonghwa is sitting in your reading chair, and San is still brooding, leaning against your closed bedroom door. You can’t escape. It’s probably for the best; you need to say this.

“I kinda yelled this at San already, but… you three have been neglecting me.”

You watch as the confusion etches in Seonghwa’s face. He had been spending the most time with you compared to your other two boyfriends. Yeosang’s reaction isn’t as visible, but you know he’s just as confused. San knows, though. He hates that you’re saying it again. 

“I feel like a hookup again. You three are so seamless with each other and don’t seem to give me any care. Last week, Seonghwa… you just threw the wet wipes at me while San took care of Yeosang with so much care… that fucking hurt. I almost ran away today. Jongho stopped me.”

“Treasure… we love you so much. I’m sorry I did that. I wasn’t even thinking about it-” Seonghwa tries to explain.

“I know… it doesn’t change that it hurt… still hurts worse than hell. San came home and found me cuddling with Jongho in a way that was a bit compromising. There was nothing inappropriate happening. I promise. And–” You stop yourself.

“What is it, Hops?” Yeosang asks quietly, “We need to know everything.”

“I kissed him.” You admit, “I was on such an emotional rollercoaster, and he made me feel safe and loved… I didn’t think about what I did until after it happened.”

None of them speak. It scares the hell out of you. Your pale blue eyes flit between all three of them. Their expressions are unreadable. Well, San’s isn’t. A fresh curl of smoke escapes his nose as he wills his flames back down his throat.

“Did you like it?” Yeosang asks again.

You hadn’t thought about that. Did you? It was so spur of the moment you didn’t actually think about how it made you feel. Your heart feels like it’s on fire. It aches. 

“I did.” You admit.

“What do you want that to mean for us?” Seonghwa adds.

“I know we’re on delicate grounds right now…” You sigh, wrapping the blanket tighter around yourself, “I feel the same pull toward him that I do towards you three.”

“Transparency, right?” San finally speaks, “I’m so fucking jealous, but you’re right… we haven’t been caring for you the way we’ve been caring for each other. We should all make an effort to meet each other where we are. All four of us. And–” he stops himself, “If you want Jongho, we can invite him.”

“Seonghwa? Yeosang?” You ask, ears shifting towards them.

“Honestly…” Yeosang sighs, “I miss being with Jongho. We also knew in this Thunder we have a tendency to share, even with San’s jealous streak.” He pokes fun at his purple boyfriend.

“I’m always happy to do anything that helps our relationship and ultimately you, Treasure. I love all my Thunder, and I love you.”

A smile breaks out on your lips, and tears start streaming again. San is the first to approach you. He wraps his arms around you, tail curling protectively around your waist. You feel both of your other boyfriends join moments later.

“I love you, Treasure.” San whispers against your bunny ear.

“I love you.” You sniffle back.

“We all love you.” Yeosang kisses your other ear.

After a long discussion about what each of you needed from each other, you begin discussing who should approach Jongho about joining. It’s out of the question for San to do so. The last time San and Jongho interacted was when he walked in on you, cuddling with the dark blue dragon. Ultimately, Yeosang is chosen. He’s the closest to him, and they think the same way. Their history together before Yeosang started dating you just adds to why he should be the one to ask. Yeosang is also the newest boyfriend. Having Seonghwa go to the youngest dragon could end badly, given that Seonghwa has been dating you longer than Yeosang has.

You go with Yeosang down the hall toward Jongho’s bedroom. You stay outside the door as Yeosang gets permission to enter the space. Instantly, you hear laughter and feel how light the atmosphere is in the room. You see a few hanging plants through the small crack in the door. You haven’t seen many of their bedrooms in great detail, but seeing greenery in Jongho’s room makes warmth spread in your chest.

“Treasure,”

You’re taken aback when you hear the pet name. It’s not Yeosang’s voice. It’s Jongho’s. You step closer to the door. Popping your head through the door, white ears tall on your head, you see Jongho’s golden eyes giving you that same adoring look he had earlier. Yeosang has a soft, comfortable smile on his lips. His hand is outstretched, and you find yourself curling into his side.

Jongho’s room is exactly how you expected it to be. Plants are everywhere, not so much that it’s crowded, but it adds a comforting and homey touch to the space. He has a desk against the far wall, framed by bookshelves. His bed has a wall of vines behind it with purple flowers randomly throughout them. There’s something about the space that is so shamelessly Jongho.

“Is there something you wanted to ask me, Treasure?” Jongho asks with a soft smirk on his lips.

You nod, and your eyes shift up to your green-eyed boyfriend. He just nods slightly at you and gives you a comforting smile.

“Jongho… would you like to be my boyfriend?” You ask.

Yeosang removes his arm from around you as Jongho steps closer to you. The gold-eyed dragon hybrid takes your chin between his thumb and forefinger, making you look up at him. You want so desperately to melt at the touch but you hold your ground somehow. Your ears instantly fall back against your head as your chin tilts up. The flowers are still woven into your hair and tickle against your ears, making them twitch slightly. Jongho takes his other hand to pluck some flowers from your hair.

“Red carnations: admiration, devotion,” he states, twirling it in between his fingers. He shifts his hold on the flowers to show the small white and pink flowers. “Aster: faith, love. Does that answer your question, Treasure?”

“Jongho?” You ask, dazed by his words.

“Yes, Treasure. I’d love to date you.” He smiles a bright, gummy smile, “May I kiss you?”

“Yes.” You practically breathe out.

His lips are on yours a moment later, and you feel an explosion of emotion. The hand that was previously holding the flowers wraps around your waist and pulls you closer to his body. It’s almost as if you’re the only two in the world. When he pulls away, you see his heavily dilated gold eyes. Your hand reaches up to brush against a few scales by his hairline before carding into his hair behind his ear. Before you can get lost in the moment again, Yeosang swoops in and kisses your cheek before leaning over to Jongho and kissing his cheek as well. He wraps his arms around both of you. You turn your head to see your two other boyfriends in the doorway with sweet smiles on their faces. They come into the room and join the hug. Yeah, everything felt better now. They felt like home, and your heart aches out of pure love for your four boyfriends.

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[questionable-chnt-hc]

Here's so so many soren fennel thoughts because I think about them a normal amount (LIE)

They/he but also doesn't really care nonbinare soren. They have horrendous binding habits. Also aroace soren

They/neos, specifically fae/faer and ze/zir fennel. they also probably use gender-specific microlabels but idk which ones (yet!!)

QPR SORENNEL THEY MEAN EVERYTHING TO ME

They both wear an ungodly amount of pins and almost exclusively give each other pins as gifts. They also make most of them themselves.

Fennel has those shiny "great job!!" Star stickers that teachers give to kids and fae definitely give them out to campers. Ze also give them out to soren whenever sorens well-behaved. And by well-behaved i mean they aren't half-resurrecting rabbits or attempting to go into the death fields or trying to submerge the camp into eternal half-life.

To add onto the last point, soren put them all around his bunk. Fennel looks over at them a lot when soren's gone, after The Incident.

Soren with racoon tails. The hair not the animal part

Fennel has fox hair, as in orange with white and black tips. In the winter they turn white with pale blue tips.

Fennel collects rocks in like a fun rocks-are-neat way. They had all the rocks Soren needed for the ritual, but he wouldn't take faers.

Fennels really good at tactile arts.

Soren does VERY scratchy anime sketches.

Big pant big jakt sorennel

Fennel wears almost exclusively bellbottom/flare pants and wide bell t-shirts. These are also almost high waist pants and wide shorts, and cropped vintage band tees.

Fennel wears lighter colors and soren wears vibrant deep colors (if that makes sense)

Fennel brings soren along to holidays with zir family and he just spaces out bad. Fennels family is concerned every time because they just stare at people holding their utensils. Fennel is the only one who can drag them out of their trance

Fennel's not socially anxious or shy or anything, but they are very quiet. They prefer to listen, rather than talk. Fae can bring up something they heard in passing from 3 years ago.

Soren, on the other hand has severe object permanence issues

I am positively Normal about these two, I say while vibrating

God they’re so. Chewing them up spitting them out shaking them around in a big glass jar

[quibbs126]

Abyss Monarch/Octopus x electric eel

Got another one done today, this is Firefly Squid Cookie

I was gonna say that this one was the first to have a “new” character at the time, aka one that only existed after I started, but no, apparently that honor goes to the request for Scorpion/Prune Juice

Though interestingly enough you can tell that this was from the beginning of the Wandercrab update because the anon isn’t sure whether the name is Abyss Monarch or Octopus, since we weren’t really sure the name situation until the second half. I also vaguely recall saying this anon had foresight since this was before abysseel blew up

Anyways sorry, let’s get into Firefly Squid herself now

So Firefly here works as the lighthouse keeper in Wandercrab, as well as generally just checking to make sure the lights work. She has a particular affinity for light, possibly due to her own bioluminescence

She’s generally a very chill lady, someone you can just talk to about your struggles while she patiently listens and gives you advice. Plenty of residents go up to her while on the job (since that’s what she’s usually doing) to do just that. She’s not one of particular high energy though, choosing to spend her off time either relaxing over a drink or taking naps

However, you should never try to approach her when there’s a particular absence of light. You may see something you’d rather wish you hadn’t…

Anyways, now let’s discuss design

So Firefly Squid’s name comes from the firefly squid itself, which I got as a suggestion. It’s a cephalopod like Abyss Monarch, and it glows like Electric Eel (or at least the Cookie himself). I also learned today that it’s apparently edible, so I guess it fits in even more with being living food

The original name I was going to use was Blue Ring, named after the blue ringed octopus, because octopus, as well as yellow and being incredibly venomous. But I got the suggestion Firefly Squid and I ended up really liking it, so I switched over

Firefly squid:

I’m especially noticing now, she looks a LOT like Abyss Monarch and not much like Electric Eel. My bad I guess. If I ever make a second one (though I don’t know how likely that is since Electric Eel fankids tend to have a VERY limited available list), I’ll make that one look a lot like Eel

She originally had hair that was more zigzaggy, but it didn’t look right to me and I eventually changed it, and now it’s almost entirely Abyss Monarch. I did at least try to make the gradient lighter at the bottom more like EE and have the yellow of the tentacles be from his yellow, but it’s not that noticeable

Her hair was also red for most of the coloring process, since that was the color I could find firefly squids

I did eventually decide to change the colors, since Abyss Monarch and Electric Eel don’t necessarily adhere to the colors of their respective animals, but I still ended up going mostly blue. I did try to hue shift it to a more purplish blue though

I was kind of just messing around with her design. I’m not really even sure what that pattern on her pants is. Yeah it looks like just a pants design, but I only decided that at the end and the shape is on the same layer as the rest of the lineart, so that was a lot of fun trying to color so it doesn’t look like that

I also feel like relatively, she looks pretty normal compared to her parents. Other than her glowing rings on her hair she doesn’t really have much going on in her design, or at least nothing out of the ordinary. She just looks normal. That’s kind of why I added the eye thing on the sketch, to maybe imply that there’s more going on with her, but that’s probably more like an in post fix

I know I spent most of this design section complaining, and while on some level, her design has issues, when I look at it without thinking about them, I really do like how she turned out

And that’s it for Firefly Squid, I hope you like her!

[royaltealee]

Deathly silent

ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴡɪʟʟ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴍᴀᴊᴏʀ ꜱᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴄᴀʀʟᴏ'ꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴏᴍᴇᴏ'ꜱ ʙᴀᴄᴋꜱᴛᴏʀʏꜱ. ᴅᴏ ʙᴇ ᴡᴀʀɴᴇᴅ!

Carlo x Puppet!reader

⚠️ Trigger warning's⚠️

Descriptions of a plague sickness, death, sad sad times and blood.

Part 1/2

─────•~❉᯽❉~•─────

The ticking clockwork echoes in the stillness of Gepettos workshop. Automated gears singing a ticking tune, keeping its pace, never faltering.

Little Carlo plays with a small ball jointed doll, black hair almost covering his face while resuming on posing the doll how he wanted.

A small smile painted his lips, cobalt blue iris keeping its figure as he sets the doll standing.

Taking a note pad, he gently lines every detail of it, soon, it takes shape.

Hair, eyes, clothes, everything in his imagination, coming to life in a single sketch of how he wanted to shape this plain doll.

Showing his father his sketchpad, the puppet maker quickly got to work.

Moulding the exact proportions his son drew, Carlo watching every second of his father's work.

Once the puppet was finished, it was the same size as the boy, Ergo rushed through its wiring, newly obtained and springing to life.

Carlo talked with it, watching as it clung to every word he spoke.

Geppetto's son now has a friend.

And Geppetto can peacefully get back to work.

_____________

He never expected this to happen.

The puppet that kept Carlo company, listened and stayed by his side...

Started to grow.

Not just physically, but mentally. It's mind shaped ideas, concepts, and jokes. Carlo laughed at every single one of them.

At first, he had only made the doll-like puppet to just be a toy for his son to keep him busy while he worked...

It was an interesting sight indeed.

Its hair grew longer... And it even explained that it could... Quite possibly a dream.

It was no longer an IT anymore.

But it was doing no harm... So the Puppet maker paid no mind.

___________

As both of them grew, Carlo grew more distant towards his father. You stayed by his side, talking with the boy from day in, to day out.

It was never a boring day for the two, even as Carlo started going to school... You would wait for him.

Till one day, he brought over another boy. Around the same age, blond hair cut into a short bob. From what you could tell, he was from the same boarding school as Carlo, from the matching uniform.

Carlo introduced you first, calling your name.

"This is Romeo, Romeo, this is my friend,"

"A puppet?"

"Yeah- please don't call me that... My name is fine."

You corrected quickly, a smile gentle on your face as you reach out a hand, the wiring of gears still being heard with every move.

Romeo carefully, and hesitantly took your hand.

Eyes widening only a tad, looking at Carlo, then snapped back to you dumbly.

"Your hands are soft. And warm."

That caught something in your gears, laughing a bit when the boy blushed in embarrassment as Carlo too started to laugh at the absurdity.

"They've always been warm and soft!" Carlo laughed.

"I didn't know! Automations are usually cold and hard! Like metal!"

Romeo clapped back, straightening up and grossing his arms, grumbling in his defense.

This started the friendship between the three of you. The hardships that would happen between Carlo and his father would slip into silence, a somber sad silence whenever Carlo would ask for a bit of his father's time... Only to be told later.

Lies that the boy hated.

And you could only watch, the sinking feeling only growing worse as the years went by.

_____________

"Go to school? With you?"

You asked, as if the very idea was a grueling puzzle. How could a puppet like yourself need school?

"Why not? Have you ever wondered what you could learn?"

Carlo asked, insistent on the idea. His graduation was next year... And he wanted to share that with you.

And he had hope his own father would be there, he'd have to! It's his own son's graduation for God's sake!

You thought for a moment, you've always stayed in the vicinity of the workshop, not a rhyme or reason other than to be close to the only person who could fix a couple of loose bolts if something were amiss.

But it was only Krat city, surely it's safe enough for any Puppet, right?

What could hurt?

____________

You were given odd looks down Krat city hall, you looked nothing like the usual puppets that Geppetto has created, fresh gears turning and auto generated voice lines from newer puppets, little to no life in their eyes.

The spare uniform that you had borrowed from Carlo fit nicely on you, considering that your proportions almost matched the smiling boy beside you, none the wiser with the questioning looks of others.

Making it, the both of you entered, you immediately saw a familiar head of blond hair, sitting next to two empty seats.

Carlo takes your hand and takes you towards the boy.

Romeo, was suffice to say, shocked to see you, in school, in a uniform no less.

"Is this even allowed?"

He whispered, glancing at the raven haired boy, who gave a cheeky smirk.

"I may have pulled a ...few strings." Carlo smiled, sitting down and looking uncharacteristically poised.

"What does THAT mean??" Romeo asked, accusatory suspicion heavy in his voice.

Watching you sit down next to Carlo, fidgeting, like you were nervous.

And he couldn't blame you, the eyes that trailed your figure were more curious and confused.

Some had to do a double take when they entered class.

You could hear the talk, surrounding your table, the clicking of your fingers stopped when a teacher had finally entered the room.

A broad smile graced his face as he took a seat when everyone went quiet.

Class would start with you questioning why you're here.

And it would end with you wanting to learn more.

________

When you were "asleep", your body

was usually stiff as a board.

Standing in your designated area while your body shuts down. But lately, you haven't been able to get comfortable.

Why would a puppet like yourself need to get comfortable?

It caused you to shift, to the point of settling on sitting down on a chair.

It was acceptable. For now.

But you kept on waking up with clear pictures in your mind, horrid pictures of burning buildings... An unfinished film hidden in your wiring that had made no sense... You had thought initially that these were human dreams.

But they just kept coming back, more excruciatingly detailed than the last...

It didn't help that they only had gotten worse when Carlo had to stay at the school due to his father not being able to take care of the poor boy...

Yet, he still held hope that he would be there for his son, on his special day.

Even when news about a suspicious murder that happened just weeks ago.. something in your gears telling you to do... The most absurd things.

Like grabbing something... Blunt, and hitting someone over the head.

Morbid thoughts that wanted to break your working wires and rework them into something less...

Human.

You then felt a gentle shake, your eyes slotting open to find the Geppetto boy, clad in his uniform, but what was amiss

Was the usual framed smile that he wore every time he was with you.

Your brows knitted, he looked tired, eyes puffy, red from either crying or lack of sleep.

Or both.

He had come home in the early morning to see you.

"Why are you back this early? You'll get in trouble for leaving your dorm room."

You saw his face sour, not expecting to be scolded.

But felt his frame lax when you pulled him into a hug.

"It's good to see you, Carlo."

"Me too,"

Your name passed his lips lightly, letting go of the hug after a while, warming your body in a way that caused you to melt.

But getting a better look at him, you saw scrapes and cuts littering his cheeks and arms. Suddenly alarmed, you rest your fingers against a gash against the top of his head.

"Carlo, What on earth happened?"

The boy quickly took your fingers in his palm and held it to his chest.

"I'm okay, me and Romeo were just training. Romeo got me good... But I knocked him down too!"

The boys obsession to be a Stalker nearly made you question if they were insane, few bolts loose perhaps?

But it was unfruitful when they hadn't changed their minds on their 18th birthdays. So much has happened, and so little time has gone by.

Carlo had become a young man so quickly that you almost felt left out.

You too, should be in the same age range as the two boys, but something blocked you from truly being grown.

And you knew.

And it hurt so much.

__________

Today was the day, you wore something quiet fitting for a day like this.

A year had passed by extremely quickly, it shocked you.

Walking down to the workshop, you knocked.

A muffled "yes?" Answered. Promptly causing you to enter.

"Mr. Geppetto? It's me. Do you know what today is?"

The man had paused, bringing his glasses up to check the calendar next to the many boxes of puppet parts that were left to be used later.

"Ah. I don't think I do? Please, enlighten me."

"It's your son's graduation from the academy."

The puppet maker winced at the tone you held.

Turning to the clock that hung from the ceiling.

"I... I simply do not have time..."

He finally answered. Lowering his eyes from your burning ones.

"Carlo... Carlo has been looking forward to this...! You can't just NOT go!"

"I need to get this done.. perhaps if I finish quickly, I'll be able to go..."

You stepped forward, fists locking hard against your sides.

"You've said that all your life! Carlo needs this!"

"Watch your tone..."

"HE'S YOUR SON!-"

"QUIET, THAT'S AN ORDER PUPPET."

You felt your jaw automatically lock.

Body stiffening against the restraints... He's... Never given an order to you before.

It felt uncomfortable, unnatural.

But your body stayed planted to the ground, as Geppetto walked towards you, gripped your shoulders and looked you at eye level.

And gave you orders.

"You will go in my place. Be there for him, congratulate him, and tell him that I love him, and that I am proud."

Orders that you must follow.

__________

You sat in the rows of seats, waiting for Carlo's name to be said, congratulating him for his hard work.

Romeo's name was called, looking over, he sees you waving, excitedly waving with a big smile.

You waved as well, yelling congratulations to the blond boy.

Looking behind him, was the familiar fluff of black hair, and icy blues that peaked at the crowd.

He looked around expectantly, smiling first when he locked eyes with you, and feeling his face flush when you screamed a congratulations to him.

But, felt his face fall when seeing the empty seat next to you.

Reserved for the only man he wanted to be there.

You instantly saw how his face formed a small frown, eyes cast down into sadness.

It grinded your gears, almost painfully so. Right where your stomach and heart should've been.

It should've been his father here.

Not you.

__________

After the ceremony, you, Carlo and Romeo stayed past leaving hours.

Sitting down in front of the school, both boys still in their ceremony gowns, caps thrown somewhere in the hall.

Both were in conversation while you just stared point blank at the busy street.

It wasn't until you felt a hand that had been placed on your back

Turning slightly, to see both boys staring at your brooding.

It felt... Consoling.

"I'm sorry that your father didn't come... I tried to convince him, but... It didn't work out."

You sighed, if only you had tried hard enough, broken free from those commands... Maybe, possibly, he could have been here.

Carlo's fingers twitched against your back.

"Don't."

You looked up quickly, seeing Carlo's face shift with anger. Bubbling in his gut was something you've never seen before.

"I wouldn't care if he'd died right here and now. So don't think it was your fault for his damn actions."

Looking back at Romeo, he dug into his shirt, feeling around till he held out a necklace.

Pulling it from his neck, he handed it to the boy next to him.

"Here, Romeo. To break my bonds to him, and to solidify our friendship and my admiration to you, till the very end."

Romeo gently took the relic in his hands, gripping it to his chest and nodding, a look of finality showing past his face.

Carlo finally looked at you, pulling out something from his pocket, it was a ring. Imbued with Ergo, the blue material shaped to look like a cut diamond.

A look of shock graced your face, holding the precious item in your palm.

"I made this... To show how much I care for you. You've been by my side when my father hasn't. And I want you by my side forever more. You were never just a puppet to me,"

He had slipped on the ring for you, watching as the band glided against your ring finger.

Having him hold your hand tightly against his, warm and secure.

"You are my everything."

That made you shortcircuit-

Unable to completely say the words, Romeo just laughed hysterically at the look of your face.

Causing you to leap up and bonk the blond on the head with a closed fist.

"Ow!!! That hurt! You're made of metal!"

Yeah.. you could get used to this.

_________

"I want to see them..!"

Carlo cried, throat dry and burning.

His fingers were completely solid against the hard shell that had encased half of his body already.

His skin turned almost deathly pale from loss of blood circulation and blue blood.

He couldn't move, but that didn't stop him from using his strength on the last bit of voice he still had left.

He called out to both you and Romeo, daily.

Geppetto couldn't see his son like this... In pain both physically and mentally.

When the puppet frenzy had started, you had disappeared.

Out in the dead of night, possibly killing humans, or already dead by the many makes shift weapons that the people of Krat had made themselves.

Carlo, having contracted the petrification disease.

"You can't see them right now son..."

"Why can't I?! They're my.. my.."

Carlo felt something bubble from his lips, spitting out a slurry of blue blood.

Coughing harshly against the tightness against his chest.

The crystals forming around his face surely didn't help either.

Cold, cold was another horrid feeling he felt.

Is this what you felt on a daily basis without the warmth of his hands?

It was unbearable.

"Carlo... Please get some rest."

His father pleated, using a rag to wipe his son's mouth from the putred stuff.

Carlo became deathly quiet, aside from his rugged breathing, he had kept his eyes up and buggy.

Hoping, pleading that you'd come back.

Just like you've always had.

__________

Blood dripped from the crevice of your hands, even getting between the grooves of your ring.

You had only one thing in your mind.

Kill

Kill

KILL

Anything that moves, breaths, or twitches, kill it.

But you never remembered finding yourself scaling an entire mansion and breaking open a window that felt so familiar to you.

Your body janked to one side of the room to the next, stumbling blindly, trying to search for anything that you could grasp on.

Your body stopped completely when you heard a groan.

A very tired groan coming from the other side of the room.

Slowly but steady, you reached your hands out, ready to break whatever neck you could feel...

You suddenly felt warm.

"You... You came back.."

You heard your name, come from the weak lips of someone you were close with.

His frighteningly cold hands reached to hold your broken face.

"You... Came back..."

He repeated.

"C̴̀͐ͅǎ̴̯̀͠r̵̡͕͈͚͍͍̼͕̍̀̈́̽̎̍͗̍́̏̚͜͠l̶̬̞͎̖͉̹̝͕̝͖̣̉͆ŏ̸̡̼̺̫̥̻͈̞̍͆̏̓́͜͝ͅ?"

Your voice wasn't the same anymore, voice box crackled with broken wires and flood of oil and Ergo. But he still smiled against his cracked and bloody lips. Reminisce of the Puppet language hard in your voice.

Your fingers were still itching, getting closer to his neck, really wanting to put him out of this painful reality, you fought instead to scoop him up against your arms.

Holding the dying boy you had grown to love.

He felt so heavy against you.. and he only grew heavier when he laid his head against your hard shoulder.

Feeling a long your hand with his, crystal-like fingers staining with the blood against your caked ones.

Feeling the band against your finger.

"You.. are my... everything."

He went deathly silent.

••••••••••••°°°°••••••••••••

This is my first time sharing my writings with Tumbler, hope ya like it ✨

[cherrykasugayama]

Fleeting Memories

Kenshin struggles to overcome his grief after the death of his wife, straining his relationship further with his children. He became detached and distant. (Part 2)

Warning: Heavy angst, bad daddy Kenshin, unnamed MC

Children: Uesugi Takeru, 13 years old, Uesugi Ken, 13 years old, Uesugi Sakura, 5 years old

Part 1

Part 3

Part 4

.....................................................

Kasugayama Castle – Lesson Hall

The mid-morning sun cast a soft glow over the polished wooden floor of the lesson hall. Incense wafted faintly through the air, giving the room an air of calm that the brothers seated within were doing their best to undermine.

Takeru sat straight, as disciplined as ever, his dark hair falling perfectly into place above his sharp, composed features. His blue eyes reflected quiet intensity as he listened to their tutor’s lecture on castle fortifications.

Beside him, Ken was the picture of rebellion. His messy blond hair and lazy slouch seemed to suck the discipline out of the room. He absentmindedly twirled an ink brush in one hand while his other worked on something far more important than the lecture—a doodle.

"Ken."

Takeru’s voice broke the monotony. He didn’t even turn his head to know his brother was up to no good.

"What?" Ken muttered, his brush still moving.

"You’re drawing."

"Observant as ever, dear brother," Ken quipped, not bothering to look up.

Takeru leaned over slightly, his expression slipping into disbelief as he caught sight of the parchment.

The sketch depicted their father, Kenshin, looking thoroughly defeated as a chibi Sakura delivered a heroic headbutt to his gut. Above them, bold letters declared, “LOVE YOUR DAUGHTER OR PERISH!”

Takeru couldn’t help the small twitch of amusement at the corner of his mouth. “Is that supposed to be Father and Sakura?”

“Obviously,” Ken replied, holding up the drawing for closer inspection. “Sasuke said people in his village use art like this to tell stories. I thought I’d give it a shot.”

Takeru sighed. "And you chose to insult our father?"

Ken grinned, holding up the parchment. "Boldness runs in our family."

The tutor cleared his throat, glaring at them with all the authority a man who’d just been ignored for a few minutes could muster.

"Lord Takeru. Lord Ken. Perhaps you’d care to enlighten me about the siege of Odawara?"

Takeru straightened, but Ken waved a dismissive hand. "That’s the one where Hojo Ujiyasu’s men hid like scared rabbits until Father cut off their supplies and made them surrender. Easy."

The tutor blinked, momentarily taken aback.

"…Correct."

Takeru turned to Ken, impressed despite himself. "You do listen."

Ken leaned back, crossing his arms with a smug grin. “I always listen. I just don’t feel the need to make a show of it like you.”

Before Takeru could retort, a knock at the door drew their attention. A servant entered, bowing low. "A letter for Lord Ken."

Ken perked up immediately, snatching the letter from the servant’s hands with a suspicious level of enthusiasm.

"From who?" Takeru asked.

Ken didn’t answer, already engrossed in the letter.

The tutor frowned, his patience wearing thin.

“My lords, this lesson is not yet complete—”

Takeru turned to him, his voice calm and authoritative.

"Sensei, my deepest apologies, but this is a pressing family matter. We must conclude for today."

The tutor hesitated, glancing between the brothers. "Lord Takeru, this is highly irregular—"

"I assure you, we will return tomorrow ready to focus fully on your teachings,"

Takeru said, bowing slightly. His tone was polished, yet firm enough to leave no room for argument.

With a resigned sigh, the tutor gathered his scrolls.

"Very well. Until tomorrow, my lords. But don’t forget, Lord Kenshin expects you both at the war council this afternoon." He exited, muttering 'insolent youth' under his breath.

Once the door slid shut, Ken relaxed visibly, grinning. "Nicely done."

Takeru ignored him, already reaching for the letter.

"Let me see that," he said smoothly, his hand darting out.

Ken pulled it back. "It’s private."

Takeru arched an eyebrow. "Private? From Himeko?"

Ken scowled. "I said no—"

But Takeru moved faster, snatching the letter from his brother’s grasp.

"Hey!" Ken lunged for it, but Takeru danced out of reach, unfolding the letter with practiced ease. His grin widened as he began reading aloud.

"Dear Ken,

I received your letter. How brave of you to ask for my help so earnestly. It’s quite charming to see you so concerned for little Sakura. Truly, your heart is kinder than your temper suggests.

Also, the idea of you worrying over me is… flattering. Perhaps you should write more often? I wouldn’t mind having more of your attention.

I’ll speak to my father about intervening with Lord Kenshin. And if all else fails… I’ll simply take Sakura with me. She’ll be safe at our castle.

With love,

Himeko."

Takeru folded the letter neatly, his smirk wide. "She’s definitely flirting with you."

Ken’s ears turned bright red as he snatched the letter back. "She’s not flirting. She’s just… polite."

"Polite?" Takeru raised an eyebrow. "She practically invited you to write her love letters."

Ken stood abruptly, tucking the letter into his sleeve. "Let’s just focus on Sakura before Himeko actually kidnaps her."

Takeru chuckled as Ken stormed off, muttering under his breath. "You’re right. But you’re still blushing."

Ken’s response was muffled, but it sounded suspiciously like a threat.

.........................

Kasugayama Castle – War Council Room

After the lesson, the twins headed to the war council, where Kenshin, his advisors, and a few generals were gathered. Maps lay spread across the long table, detailing troop movements, supply routes, and defensive fortifications.

As the meeting wound down, Takeru seized the moment.

“Father,” he began, his voice calm and measured, “I’d like to discuss Sakura’s safety.”

Kenshin didn’t look up from the map. “She’s safe where she is.”

Takeru pressed on. “The manor is secluded. If something were to happen, it would take too long for aid to arrive. She would be safer here at the main castle.”

Kenshin’s gaze lifted, icy and sharp. “The manor is impenetrable. She stays.”

Ken, who had been silent until now, stepped forward, his voice laced with frustration.

“She’s our sister. She belongs here, with her family.”

Kenshin’s eyes flicked to Ken, his cold expression unchanging. “And I’ve decided what is best for her.”

“She’s not just some responsibility you can lock away,” Ken said, his voice rising. “She’s part of this family, and we want her closer.”

Kenshin’s voice was like steel. “Enough. I will not be questioned on this.”

Ken’s fists clenched, but Takeru stepped in, his hand lightly touching his brother’s arm. “We understand, Father,” he said smoothly, though his tone carried an edge.

Kenshin’s gaze lingered on them for a moment longer before he turned back to the map.

“Dismissed.”

Outside the meeting hall, Ken’s temper finally erupted. “How can he be so blind? She’s alone out there!”

Takeru sighed, his own frustration barely contained. “I don’t know. But we’ll figure something out.”

Ken nodded, but his anger remained.

.........................

Kasugayama Castle – Training Grounds

The sun hung low in the sky by the time Takeru and Ken arrived at the training grounds. The air was heavy with the quiet hum of cicadas, but the tension between the brothers was louder.

Kenshin stood at the far end of the courtyard, his arms crossed as he watched them approach. His presence felt colder than the steel of the katana resting at his side.

“Pick up your weapons,” Kenshin ordered without preamble.

Takeru and Ken exchanged a glance. Takeru took a wooden practice sword from the rack, but Ken hesitated. His grip lingered over the hilt of the bokken before finally snatching it up.

Kenshin’s eyes narrowed. “You’re angry. That’s good. It means today's training will be more worthwhile.”

Ken stepped forward, jaw tight. “Let me spar with you.”

Takeru’s head snapped toward his brother, but Kenshin didn’t react.

“Ken,” Takeru started, but Ken ignored him.

“I’ll fight you, Father. You said I’m reckless and weak. Let’s see if I am.” Ken’s green eyes burned with defiance.

Kenshin’s gaze was unreadable. For a long moment, he said nothing. Then, finally, he turned to Takeru.

“You,” Kenshin said coldly, “will spar him.”

Ken’s eyes flickered with frustration.

“That’s not—”

“If you can’t surpass your brother,” Kenshin interrupted, “you’re not ready to face me.”

Ken’s grip tightened on the bokken until his knuckles turned white.

“Fine.”

Takeru sighed under his breath but stepped into position, leveling his practice sword at Ken. “Let’s get this over with.”

They circled each other in silence, the courtyard thick with the weight of Kenshin’s gaze.

Ken attacked first, fast and wild. His bokken arced through the air, a blur of frustration-fueled strength. Takeru met him head-on, deflecting with the ease of someone who had done this countless times.

Wood clashed sharply, echoing through the courtyard. Ken pressed forward, each strike faster, stronger, fueled by the lingering frustration of the war council. But no matter how much force he poured into his attacks, Takeru parried each one with calm precision.

“Stop blocking!” Ken snapped, breathless. “Fight me properly!”

“I am fighting you,” Takeru replied, sliding past another strike. His voice was steady, but there was an edge to it. “You’re just not thinking.”

Ken lunged, but Takeru sidestepped, striking his brother lightly on the ribs.

“Damn it—!” Ken staggered back, panting.

Kenshin’s voice cut through the air, cold and sharp. “Predictable. You let anger cloud your judgment. That is why you lose.”

Ken’s grip trembled. His heart pounded with more than just exertion. He hated how calm Takeru looked. How easily his brother always seemed to handle everything.

“Maybe if you stopped running—”

Takeru’s eyes hardened. In an instant, he closed the gap between them, knocking Ken’s bokken aside and striking him squarely on the shoulder. Ken stumbled, his weapon clattering to the ground.

He froze, staring at it as silence filled the courtyard.

Kenshin stepped forward, his expression like carved ice. “Weak.”

Ken’s fists clenched at his sides. “I’m not weak.”

Kenshin’s gaze bore down on him. “Strength without control is recklessness. And recklessness gets people killed.”

Ken’s head snapped up, his eyes blazing. “Then teach me to control it! You keep telling me what I lack, but you never—”

“You think strength is given?” Kenshin interrupted, his voice cold. “It’s something you take. Something you bleed for. If you don’t understand that, you don’t deserve to stand here.”

Ken’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t speak.

Kenshin’s gaze lingered on him for a moment longer before turning to Takeru. “Again.”

Takeru hesitated.

“Father, maybe that’s enough—”

A flicker of warning flashed in Kenshin’s eyes, and Takeru fell silent. He returned to his position, his grip firm around the wooden blade.

Ken retrieved his bokken, his knuckles pale.

“I won’t hold back,” Takeru said softly.

Ken glared at him. “Good. I don’t want you to.”

This time, Takeru struck first. Ken barely deflected the blow, his muscles burning as he pushed back. The clash of wood echoed again and again, each strike heavier than the last.

Takeru’s attacks were controlled, efficient. Ken’s were fierce and desperate. But no matter how hard he swung, Takeru’s blade met his own.

Finally, Takeru swept Ken’s legs out from beneath him, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Ken coughed, his body aching from the fall. He stayed there, staring up at the sky.

Takeru crouched beside him, offering a hand. “You’ll get there. You just need to stop trying to win with anger alone.”

Ken sighed, feeling disgruntled. “I can’t believe I always lost to ‘Hey, let’s talk it out.’ guy. You like to solve things peacefully, but you fight like him...”

Takeru blinked, caught off guard by the humor laced with a hint of self-loathing. “You lost because you let your anger fight for you. If you can learn to control it, you’ll be unstoppable. You can even surpass me.”

“Easy for you to say.” Ken rolled his eyes and took his hand, letting Takeru pulled him to his feet.

From the edge of the training grounds, Kenshin’s voice cut through the air. “Sentiment is wasted on him, Takeru.”

Takeru turned, his jaw tightening. “I wasn’t being sentimental,” he said, his voice firm. “I was being a brother.”

Kenshin’s gaze flickered, but his expression remained cold. “Training is over. Takeru, with me.”

Ken straightened. “What about me?”

Kenshin’s eyes flicked to him. “Stay. Reflect.”

The word stung, but Ken said nothing.

As Kenshin and Takeru walked away, Ken dropped onto the grass beneath the shade of a tree, limbs heavy with exhaustion and frustration. He leaned back against the rough bark, emerald-green eyes clouded with thought before slowly sliding shut.

From the corner of his eye, Sasuke approached, his usual blank expression giving nothing away.

“Lord Ken,” Sasuke began, his tone calm yet careful, “if you’d like, I can spar with you. I promise not to win too quickly.”

Ken smirked faintly, brushing a stray lock of hair from his face. “I’ve had enough humiliation for one day.”

Sasuke tilted his head. “Reflecting, then?”

Ken sighed, leaning further into the shade. The warm light of the setting sun caught in his blonde hair, giving it a soft glow. He had inherited his striking looks from Kenshin, the same sharp bone structure and piercing gaze, but where Kenshin’s features were cold and imposing, Ken’s were softened by traces of his mother’s gentler feature.

“Yeah,” Ken murmured, voice quieter now. “Reflecting… with my eyes closed.”

Sasuke said nothing more, standing nearby in silence.

As Ken took a nap beneath the flickering sunlight, his soft blonde hair stirred gently in the breeze. In that peaceful moment, he looked less like Kenshin’s rebellious son and more like the child he still was.

.......................

The crunch of gravel beneath their feet was the only sound as Takeru and Kenshin walked side by side, their path leading away from one training ground toward another. The air between them was heavy, thick with the weight of unspoken words. Takeru’s fists clenched and unclenched at his sides, his jaw tight, every part of him bristling with the need to speak but terrified of what would come after.

“You have something to say,” Kenshin said finally, breaking the silence.

Takeru glanced sideways at his father, his expression guarded. “I don’t think you understand what it’s like for her. For any of us.”

Kenshin raised an eyebrow. “This again?”

“You demand perfection,” Takeru said, his voice trembling slightly with suppressed emotion. “From Ken and I. But you’ve never shown us what it meant to be loved, you..."

'weren't the loving father I remember years ago.'

Is what Takeru wanted to say, but his words caught in his throat, the accusation too raw, too dangerous. He swallowed hard, forcing himself to redirect. “Sakura is your daughter, yet you treat her like she’s invisible.”

Kenshin’s steps slowed, his face a mask of cold indifference.

Takeru’s composure began to crack at his silence, his voice rising. “And in doing so, you’ve stripped us of everything else. If you have lost the capability to love, at least don't rob it from us. Let Sakura move in with us so we can at least shower her with love, even if you won't.”

The plea hung in the air, raw and trembling. For a moment, Takeru thought he saw something in Kenshin’s eyes, pain, regret, something human. But it vanished, replaced by a chilling resolve.

“If you think you know better, prove it. Draw your sword.”

Takeru blinked, the words hitting him like a slap. “Father, no. This isn’t—”

“Draw. Your. Sword,” Kenshin repeated, his tone brooking no argument. “If you believe you have the right to question me, show me.”

Takeru’s hand hovered over the hilt of his practice blade. His instincts screamed at him to walk away, to find another way. He didn't want to resolve this with fighting. He had always relied on words, on reason, because violence felt too dangerous, too close to becoming… him.

But Kenshin’s gaze bored into him, unyielding, demanding.

Takeru’s hand tightened around the hilt of his blade, and he drew it slowly, the weight of it unfamiliar and heavy.

.....................

The clash of their swords was deafening, echoing off the stone walls. Kenshin’s strikes were relentless, each one a calculated blow meant to overwhelm. Takeru struggled to keep up, his movements increasingly desperate.

“You think love makes you strong?” Kenshin said, his voice calm even as his attacks intensified. “It makes you reckless.”

Takeru gritted his teeth, sweat dripping into his eyes. “It makes me human.”

“And that is your weakness,” Kenshin countered, delivering a blow that sent Takeru staggering.

The fight wasn’t fair. Kenshin was faster, stronger, and more experienced. Every time Takeru tried to gain ground, Kenshin would take it back with ease.

“You hesitate,” Kenshin said, his blade whistling through the air. “You think too much. You hold back.”

Takeru’s breaths came in ragged gasps, his vision blurred with sweat and tears. He fought not just his father but the darkness rising within himself, the strange, terrible thrill of the fight. He didn’t want to feel it, didn’t want to give in to the same hunger that drove Kenshin.

I hate you.

The thought surged through him, fierce and undeniable. He hated Kenshin for the coldness, the cruelty, for the ways he was scared to confront his feelings, the way he enjoyed swinging his sword. And he hated himself for feeling the same fire burning in his own chest.

Kenshin’s blade came down in a crushing arc, but Takeru, fueled by desperation, deflected it with a strength he didn’t know he possessed. With a wild, reckless swing, he disarmed Kenshin, the older man’s sword clattering to the ground.

Silence fell like a hammer, the echoes of their clash fading into the void.

Kenshin looked down at his empty hand, his face unreadable. For a fleeting moment, Takeru thought he saw something in Kenshin's eyes—pride, but it quickly disappeared, swallowed by the mask his father always wore.

“You’ve made your point,” Kenshin said, his voice hollow. “Sakura will return to the castle.”

He turned and walked away without another word, leaving Takeru standing alone in the gathering twilight.

Takeru sank to his knees, his sword slipping from his grasp. His chest heaved, but the air around him felt suffocating, crushing.

He had won.

But it felt wrong.

Tears blurred his vision as he stared at the ground, his body shaking. He had fought to protect Sakura, to demand the love she deserved. But in doing so, he had felt something terrifying stir within him.

I’m just like him.

The thought tore through him, raw and unforgiving. He had sworn to be different, to lead with compassion, with wisdom, as his mother had wanted. But for one terrible moment, he had embraced the darkness. He had fought not just Kenshin but the part of himself that was drawn to the same cold, madness.

His hands clenched into fists, his nails biting into his palms. He would fight it. He had to. For Sakura. For Ken. For Mother. For the family he still dreamed of saving.

But deep down, the fear lingered. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he fought… he was his father’s son. And that truth terrified him most of all.