#i'm very proud of this title it took me a long time to come up with it

[bizarrelovetriangel]

the princess and her knight.

he devoted his life to you. he'll sacrifice his heart and soul for you, even if fate doesn't allow it. but maybe there's something stronger than fate that will grant your deepest desires.

princess!mc/reader x knight!caleb au. fluff with angst but mostly fluff. mutual pining. yearner and jealous caleb. briefly features other characters.

inspired by this lovely art by zvdohu

You glared at Caleb from across the room. How dare he laugh at you while you suffer?

Your grandmother, the current queen of the kingdom, is once again reminding you of Linkon's history by forcing you to read the thick, dusty books in the library.

In a week, you will be hosting a ball to celebrate the day Linkon was born, and as part of tradition, you are to give a speech to honor your ancestors.

Usually, the Queen is the one that does the special presentation in front of the guests; however, this year, your grandmother wants to draw more attention to you.

She's planning to step down as the Queen soon and passing the title to you. She wants people to recognize you as the kingdom's new authority figure. She wants to be certain that you won't make any foolish mistakes during your speech.

That's why Caleb is laughing at you right now.

He's leaning against the door that he's guarding, completely entertained by the faces you're making as you try not to fall asleep in the middle of Josephine's lecture.

Suddenly, the door was opened and Caleb was thrown off balance, causing him to wobble for a second.

"Queen Josephine, Princess," your grandmother's main guard, Jenna, greets you both. "It's time for dinner."

"Yes!"

You jumped from your chair and fled from the library before anyone could stop you. You grabbed Caleb's left arm and pulled him with you as you disappeared through the hallways of the castle.

"Come on, Caleb!"

"Whoa! Slow down, pip-squeak! Food's not going to run away. They were cooked very well, you know? That boar was fast, but I was faster."

You laughed at how proud he looks. "I'll join on the next hunt. I bet I'm even faster than you. I will catch bigger meals, too!"

"Oh? I'll take that as a challenge."

Your pace slows down as you reached the courtyard. As other knights and retainers crossed paths with you, they respectfully bowed at you and Caleb.

The Princess and the Knight Commander.

"If you catch a bigger prey than me, I'll do anything you want for a whole day - "

"Just one day? Also, you have to do whatever I want anyway. Because I'm the princess." you grinned. "But fine. I'll be sure to make it a long, memorable day for you, Sir Caleb."

"Hey now, don't get carried away, pip-squeak. I said, if you catch a bigger prey than me. But if I win, then you have to do something that I want."

"Sure, sure. whatever."

It didn't matter because you're going to win.

"Good evening, Princess, Sir Caleb." You two were greeted by a retainer as you entered the great hall, where you always eat.

"Good evening."

You sat down at your usual spot and Caleb, as always, took the seat across from you.

"Wait, this...." your knight sniffed one of the food in front of him and grimaced. "There's cilantro in this! Why - I told them not to put cilantro on my portions..." His eyes slowly met your judging gaze. "Pip-squeak, this must be yours - "

"No. Eat your vegetables."

///////////////

As much as you enjoyed your savory dinner, your stomach yearned for more food when midnight struck. You stayed up late memorizing your speech for the ball, and now, you're in desperate need of a snack.

You put on a cardigan over your nightgown, then you quietly left your room. Caleb should already be in his room around this time, so you didn't need to worry about slipping past him.

You made your way to the castle's big kitchen and cheered at its vacancy.

Now, what can you eat?

You can't go wrong with classic sandwhich.

A potato soup would suffice, too.

Dumplings would be amazing.

"How about an apple pie?"

You picked up the closest item to your hand, which happened to be a frying pan, and used it as a weapon to defend yourself from the person that sneaked up right behind you.

Caleb was unfazed as his prosthetic right arm clung against your weapon right when it was about to hit his face.

"What a funny looking sword you have here, princess." he smirked at you. "Did you lose the one I gave you for your birthday two years ago?"

You huffed, though you felt relieved that it's only Caleb and not your grandmother. He's not wearing his night attire yet nor is he in his all-black knight uniform. Instead, he's in his training gear.

It's not unusual for him to train late at night, though it is rare to see him in the kitchen at this time. Either someone snitched on you, or he caught you himself on his way back to his room.

"Impressive reaction time though. You remembered my lessons. Well done." He put the frying pan back to its initial place.

"I'm just hungry and want a snack." you sigh, rubbing your growling stomach.

Caleb shook his head. "Grandma will scold you if she finds out..." He then ruffled your hair. "Well, she won't hear it from me. What do you have in mind, pip-squeak?"

You beamed at him. "You'll make me food?!"

"Mhmm. And for myself, too, since I just finished training and am in need of protein."

"Yay! I want to help! Let's use the leftover shrimps and make spicy wontons!"

The Queen's loyal guard caught you two as you were chatting and laughing loudly in the kitchen, but she decided not to say anything.

Afer all, this is something that's been happening for as long as she started working for the royal family. Ever since you were little, you and Caleb would often sneak in the kitchen to make yourselves a late night snack.

Caleb is good at leaving no evidence of his crimes, and both of you look way too happy every time you're munching, so Jenna never wants to be the one to put an end on your fun.

///////////

You and Caleb separated from the other knights and hunters so you can start your competition: whoever catches the bigger prey wins.

Even though it's noon, all the trees in the forest provided plenty of shade to block a lot of sunlight, so most of your path is darkened.

"You have to be careful, pip-squeak. Gideon told me there's been more victims of that red dragon living at the edge of the kingdom."

"Nice try, but I'm not scared of dragons." You crossed your arms and walked ahead of Caleb, adjusting the gloves you wore on your hands.

You're wearing your hunting uniform and your sword is sheated by your hip, ready to be drawn at any sign of danger.

"Anyway, we should split up so we can look for our preys. I'll go this way."

Caleb hesitated but agreed. "If anything happens, just call for me. Be careful and pay attention to your surroundings."

"I know." You gave him a wave before walking farther into another direction.

Caleb kept his eyes on you for as long as you were visible to him.

He knows that you are capable of protecting yourself. Not only were you trained by himself, Jenna also made you one of her students. You absolutely have the skills to be a high-ranking knight, too.

It's just that he's so used to being your protector for pretty much your whole lives. Before you knew how to fend for yourself, it was his job to make sure nobody hurts you, ever again.

When you were children, before being adopted by Josephine, both of you were properties of the kingdom, used as lab rats for military and warzone weapons.

He knows you have no memory of it because that's one of the outcome of their cruel, inhumane experiments, but Caleb will never forget it. He always tried to protect you even when he couldn't, even when he knew they were going to punisn him twice as much.

Once Josephine reigned over the kingdom after its vile, previous ruler's death, the two of you were freed. Caleb promised to stay by your side to keep protecting you. He'll never let anything happen to you for as long as he lives.

That's why it's hard for him to let you out of his sight. He trusts you, but he holds no trust for the rest of the world.

"Hehe, you're not gonna believe what I got."

After an hour, you reunited at the same spot where you split up from. Caleb is already there, waiting for you while casually sitting against a thick tree trunk and eating an apple.

Caleb raised a brow at your dirty face and clothes. "What could've possibly given you such a trouble?"

"Ta-da!"

"...."

"...."

".....pfft!"

"Caleb!" Your right fist landed on his shoulder. "Don't laugh!"

"It's...." he took a few more seconds to let out all his giggles while your face heats up with embarrassment. "It's a hare! Truly a hard thing to catch. I'm so proud of you, princess~"

You playfully smacked his shoulder again. "Shut up! This was all I could find! What about you, then?! Where's your catch? I don't see anything!"

Caleb crossed his legs so he could sit even more comfortably. "I also had a little trouble finding anything. All I could get was that little thing that almost ran into me."

You faced the direction that he pointed to and your mouth drops at the sight of a dead stag.

"What?! How?!"

Caleb laughs at your reaction. "Unfortunately for you, pip-squeak, I just know this forest better than you do. I know where all the big guys like to hang out at this time of the day."

"Damn."

"Don't look so down." Caleb poked your nose. "You'll have another delicious meal tonight, thanks to me. And we can eat your catch for our midnight snack, too."

"Ugh, now I'm mad." Mad at yourself for bringing up such a silly challenge that you stood no chance of winning. "I didn't even get to use my sword that much after I spent a long time polishing it! Caleb, let's spar!"

He was quick to bring out his sword before giving you a dramatic bow. "As you wish, my princess."

////////////

Over the next few days, you spent most of your time and energy preparing for the upcoming ball.

You helped your grandmother decide what food will be made, you thought of the decorations and the set up of tables, and you also had to be the one that decided who will receive invitations for the event.

"Who's Rafayel again?" Caleb asks, looking over your shoulder to read the name on the envelope you're holding.

You pointed at a painting hanging on a wall of the study room.

"Another prince, but also an artist. He's the one who painted that, and several other paintings in the castle. Grandma's a big fan of him. And me, too."

"And you're inviting him?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because.... grandma wants to?"

"But do you want to?"

"I... guess so? It'd be nice to meet him and tell him that I'm a fan of his work."

"...you could just write him a letter." he murmured, resting his chin on your shoulder as he continued to examine the envelope. "Lemuria? Isn't that the kingdom underwater?!"

"Yep."

"Are you sure you want him to come all the way here? Isn't it too far for him?

You grunted. "It's up to him if he wants to come or not. Anyway, that's the last invitation. Now, I need to go see Doctor Zayne."

As you were ascending from your chair, Caleb freezes. "You're going to see Zayne? What for?"

"For my regular check up."

"Oh, right...."

Caleb frowns for a moment, eyes darting to your chest, right where your heart is. It's a very special heart. He wants to protect it, too, but only a healer has the ability to do that.

"I'm coming with you! I haven't seen him in a while. I should get a check up, too, for my arm."

Now, it's your turn to falter, but Caleb took no notice as he's grabbing all the invitations you had in your hands.

Caleb lost his right arm just a couple of years ago. An unknown knight had attacked the two of you on your way back from visiting another princess.

Even today, you're unsure of their purpose. One thing that's certain is that you were not the only target: they clearly tried to capture you and Caleb.

Caleb sacrificed his right arm, but he managed to defeat the unknown knight. You don't know what happened to them afterwards, but you assumed they'd been executed for the attempted abduction.

Although Caleb was able to get a prosthetic arm, you're still saddened by the incident. He'd mentioned to you once that he can't feel anything in his right arm, unless it's extreme pain. You wish there was something you could do for him.

"I'll bring some left over cake." Caleb grins. "I hope Zayne likes carrot cake."

"Caleb, no!"

/////////////

This time, you didn't sneak in the kitchen. Instead, you sneaked out of the castle. And this time, you have a partner in crime.

"Sshhh, they're coming."

You and Caleb are squished together inside a small, but thankfully clean supplies closet on the hallway closest to the castle's backdoor exit.

You already feel hot from the brown cloak that you're wearing to hide your identity, but Caleb's body being pressed against yours made you feel as if you're inside a volcano.

One of his hand is on your waist, keeping you steady since the floor is littered with small random objects you can easily slip from. His left hand is covering your mouth so you don't make any noise.

Your heart is racing so fast, you worried for a moment that you might have to go back to see Zayne for another check up.

It's pitch black and you can't see anything, but you know Caleb's face is extremely close to yours because you can feel his breath grazing your lips.

You can hear the quiet clinking that his charm is making as it dangles on the clasp of his cloak.

The silver tag that says, 'When U come back', attached to an apple with a red jewel. You gave the charm to him when he had officially become a knight, and Caleb decided to put it on his cloak so that he's always wearing it.

When he's not wearing the cloak, he'll put it on a silver chain and turn it to a necklace. No matter where he goes, no matter the time of day, he's always wearing it.

And now, the charm is tickling your cheek as Caleb shifted slightly to stop his legs from numbing.

The insides of your stomach is dancing nervously. You feel like you're going to throw up.

Sure, you've been this close with Caleb before. But most of those times happened when you were younger. Things are a little different now.

The way you see him.... it's no longer the same way as you looked at him when you were kids. Now, you see him in ways that make your heart skip a beat as you imagine him holding you when you fall asleep at night.

"They're gone. Let's go!"

Caleb held your hand and together, you escaped from the castle just an hour before midnight.

This time, you'd gone out to fill your stomach with chicken skewers that both you and Caleb love. They are only available outside of the castle, so you don't always get to enjoy it unlike him, who has much more freedom.

Afterwards, you climbed a hill that gave you the best view of the kingdom, as well as the twinkling stars of the night sky.

You and Caleb found that spot years ago, and it's become one of your favorite places to cool off whenever you need to get away from the castle and momentarily forget about your princess and knight duties.

"The ball is just two days away. Are you excited?"

"I don't really mind parties and it is fun to host them, though it's also exhausting. I can't wait for it to be over already." you sigh. "I am a little nervous about the speech, but other than that, I think everything is all set."

"Don't worry. I'll prepare a cheat card for you. If you forget the words, just look for me in the crowd."

"Heh. Of course."

"What about dancing? Did you get enough practice or are you gonna keep stepping on people's feet?"

"I only did that to you one time!"

"More like five times."

"And that was before I started getting used to dances since I've started to attend lots of formal events with grandma. I'm way better now."

Caleb smiled before reaching out his left hand at you. "Prove it then, pip-squeak."

"What?"

"Dance with me."

"Right now? Here?"

"No time and place better."

You took his hand and got into position. There's no music, so Caleb provided one for you by humming a melody that sounds familiar yet you can't recall exactly where it's from.

The ground you stood on was pure grain and dirt, but you didn't care. All that matters right now is that you're together, and having him close to you is something that you'll always cherish.

"Hmm, you're right. Two minutes in so far and you haven't stepped on me. Already an improvement."

"I told you! I'm a good dancer now!" You then remembered something that was worth sharing. "Oh, but do you remember this one knight from when we visited Princess Tara? He was such a horrible dancer!"

While you broke into a rant, Caleb's eyes fell to your lips as they moved.

Just a little closer...

Just for a second, he wants to know how they would feel and how they would taste. Would they be as soft and sweet as he imagined?

So, so, close.

But he can't.

Caleb forced himself to look away and give a little distance between your faces and bodies. His gaze shifted to your shoulder so that he doesn't get caught into your bewitching features again.

He's a knight and you're the princess.

That's all.

Years ago, he could have been a prince, too. Josephine originally wanted to make you two her heirs to take over the crown once she steps down.

But Caleb realized that becoming an heir means that not only does he have to marry a princess from another kingdom for political purposes, he'll also have to devote his life to this kingdom. He didn't want to serve the kingdom. He just wanted to serve you and you only.

That's why he chose to be your knight. He decided to devote his life to you. He'll give his life to you, to protect you, for as long as he can. All he wants is to be by your side for as long as you let him.

Although, Caleb isn't sure if he's ready to accept the possibility that a prince will come and steal you away one day.

He will have no choice but to accept it.

He's going to have to brace himself every time you fall into someone else's arms. He'll just have to force himself to look away when another prince kisses the lips that he's only ever dreamt of.

It's a sacrifice he's willing to make as long as he can keep protecting you.

///////////

The speech went well, fortunately.

You were a little nervous with so many eyes on you, but Caleb standing right in front of you with a reassuring smile on his face made you feel light and safe. You were able to give your presentation without stuttering and making unnecessary hand movements.

Your grandmother looked proud, so you took that as a good sign. You immediately rewarded yourself with a glass of wine. Just one. It's nowhere near enough to mess with your senses, but plenty for you to relax and enjoy the party.

You sat with the Queen and enjoyed eating delicious meals with her. Then, your attention was requested by a prince who wanted a dance with you.

Your grandmother urged you to go to the dance floor before you could shove a macaron in your mouth.

The prince in an all-white suit caught that and laughed with amusement. He gave you some time to enjoy your dessert before patiently taking your hand and leading you to the area where other people are dancing.

Prince Xavier is from the neighboring kingdom. You two are good friends and frequently have meetings together.

Every time there's any political assemblies that require attendance of royalties, you always look for Xavier so you can sit next to him. He prefers to take naps than participate in discussions, so he's the best company you could have.

"Is the Princess dancing with Prince Xavier?"

Caleb overhears one of the guests.

"They would make quite a strong pair, wouldn't they? The two royal families unifying would certainly be helpful to both kingdoms."

He leans his back against the wall and watches the way your dress twirls along with your movements as your dance partner spins you around elegantly.

Caleb can't find it in him to look away from you.

Ever since he escorted you out of your room, wearing that beautiful dress, his eyes have been glued to you like a masterpiece in a museum.

Even when you're dancing with a prince who had one arm around your waist, he stared. Even when you laughed at something Xavier had said, Caleb didn't move his gaze.

When another princess had come up to him to ask him for a dance, he made an excuse. "I must keep a close eye on my princess the whole time in case of any danger. My apologies."

He only looked away from you for a brief moment, but when he returned his focus on you, Caleb caught you looking at him while one of your arms remained on Prince Xavier's.

He didn't break the eye contact.

And neither did you.

You feel like you're being pulled towards him by an invisible force, yet there was nothing that was stringing you in any direction.

It's just your racing heart.

You want to dance with Caleb just like how you did under the stars.

What would he say if you asked him?

Would he say yes simply because you're the princess?

You were terrified to find out.

And so, you ran off towards the food tables and ate away your feelings with the help of some desserts.

Doctor Zayne said eating sweet treats can make you feel better, and he's right.

"The red velvet cupcakes must be so good, even your cheeks are enjoying them."

You didn't even need to check who just showed up next to you. The reason for the butterflies in your stomach.

"Try one!"

You shoved a red cupcake in his mouth before he could reject you. He had no choice but to chew and swallow.

"You're right. It's yummy."

He then raised his left hand towards your face and brushed his fingers against your cheek to get rid of the frosting that stained your skin.

"Better be careful, princess. If you make a mess out of yourself, you might scare away any potential suitors eyeing you tonight. I can confirm, there are quite a few of them."

You scoff. "If they can't handle food crumbs, they're too weak for me."

Caleb laughs. "That's true. You do look your best when you're happily devouring snacks, after all."

"Oh yeah! That reminds me, you have to make that thing that you gave me the other day! It's so good and I need more of it!"

Caleb crossed his arms, tilting his head slightly while his eyes lights up at your compliment. "I don't know... I might have to start charging you. It takes time and hard work to make them, you know?"

"Fine, I'll give you whatever you want. I don't care. Just need more of it."

You started to daydream about the tasty snack, but you were instantly pulled out of it as Caleb asked you a question.

"Pip-squeak, you remember my reward for our hunting competition?"

You nodded. "I have to do something you want." You assume he'll ask for that now. "What is it? It better not be anything weird that'll make people laugh at me."

Caleb smiled softly. "I don't know. Some people might laugh, since it will be an unusual thing to see, but...."

"But..."

"But... will you... dance with me?"

You dropped the cupcake on your hand.

"Huh!?"

Caleb stood his ground with more confidence this time. He opened one hand in front of you. "Will you dance with me?"

For a moment, you wondered if you were dreaming.

Your heart accelerated and your palms started to sweat.

If this is just another dream, then you'll gladly enjoy it.

"I'd love to."

The feeling was the same as the last time. It didn't matter if you were alone on top of a dirty hill, or in a bright and colorful ballroom filled with people watching your every move.

As long as it's Caleb, it feels right.

It can't be anyone else. It has to be him. The one that you want to spend the rest of your life with. The one you want by your side. Not just as a knight, but a lover.

It has to be Caleb.

It's always been Caleb.

It will always be Caleb.

"If you keep looking at me like that..." he whispered as he rested his forehead against yours. "I might do something crazy."

"How crazy?"

"It might make grandma mad. Because... I might scare away the princes that want to steal you from me."

That was when you noticed it. The desperation in his eyes and voice.

He wanted it too.

The same thing that you want.

A life together.

A life where you're not just the princess and her knight.

"Maybe you should do it."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"You know why..." He looks down at his hand that rests on your hips. "You're the princess and I'm just a knight."

"So what?"

"We can't - I don't have anything to offer you."

You brought your hands on the back of his neck and pulled him even closer to you.

"All I want is you, Caleb. That's plenty already."

"But..."

"What's the point of being a princess with all this power, if I can't be with the one I truly love?"

Caleb's eyes widened as soon as the last word came out of your mouth.

His breath hitched and his grip on your waist tightened.

"If they want to take away my title, then so be it. At least, my heart will be where it wants to be." You meant every word and you've never been certain with anything in your life.

Caleb was terrified to move.

What if he makes one wrong move and suddenly, he's waking up on his bed and this was all just in his head?

It all feels too good to be true.

But once your warm, soft hands held his face, he realized just how real everyhing this.

It's now or never.

If he doesn't do it now, he might not get another chance.

And so, the knight kissed the princess.

//////////

Now, it's your turn to laugh at Caleb.

"Pay attention! As the Prince Consort, you have to know these things!"

"Grandma, I already know all this. I've done all my homework when I was in school, unlike a certain pip-squeak who just made me do her homework for her."

You grinned as you recalled the memories he was referring to. "Why did you do them? You could've just said no."

Caleb shook his head.

You both know very well that he can never say no to you. You have the power to make him do even the most ridiculous things in the world.

You can make him eat the most disgusting food.

You can make him climb the highest mountain.

You can make him stop somebody's heart.

All you have to do is ask and he will obey.

His life remains yours, always.

"Anyway, there's another hunting party so I have to get ready now. I'm still the Knight Commander, so I can't be late. See you later, grandma!"

Caleb rushed to you and picked you up bridal style as he runs away from the library.

"Pip-squeak, shall we have another competition? If I catch a bigger prey.... will you sleep in my room tonight?"

You lightly punched his chest at his suggestive smirk that had your face burning. "I'd do that if you just ask me normally, dummy. But if I win! You have to cook dinner for me!"

"Whatever you want, my princess."

[fqirysim]

untitled--

genre(s): angst, some fluff at the end, exes to best friends to lovers, highschool au, lowercase intended, lots of pov changes

requested: nope !

pairing(s): yang jungwon x reader, ft. yuna (itzy), and intak (p1h)

word count: 7.2k (my longest fic yet ! ) 

warning(s): cursing, underage drinking, a tiny bit of infidelity 

synopsis: you had been in love with yang jungwon since the day you met him. 

note: lowercase is intended, lots of pov changes! (read carefully so you don’t get confused lol). this took me a year to make PLEASE don't judge too harshly i put my heart and soul into this 😭. took me a year to make but could not come up with a title for the life of me, hence why it is called untitled, silly silly me. this was really fun to make though and although it took me a while to make, i'm very proud of it. lmk if you want to be added to my taglist and i will gladly do so !! special thanks to my bestie abby and my bf dean for proofreading love you both <3333

—------

you were certain this was the end of your friendship with jungwon. again. but this time you knew it would be permanent.

he was the boy who lived next door. growing up, you had always admired him from afar. the class president who everyone, including the upperclassmen, seemed to get along with.  

you had liked him until freshman year, when you got tired of pining over someone who didn’t seem to hold any interest in you. as comical as it seems, that was around the time that he had started to take an interest in you. 

and so he courted you, bringing you your favorite drink, walking you home, even coming over for dinner and hanging out at your house. this helped blossom a friendship that no one saw coming, and it wasn’t long until people started to wonder if you two were an item. 

it took two months for jungwon to muster up the courage to ask you to be his girlfriend. 

you were sure you were over your crush on him, that it was just a silly childhood crush. but as you hung out with him more and more, you couldn’t help but fall for him all over again. of course you said yes, because who wouldn’t say yes to the pretty starry-eyed boy standing before you?

jungwon was a nice boyfriend; going on dates quite often, never fought, and he would buy you flowers without being asked.. maybe the latter was why the whirlwind relationship only lasted five months. 

you remember the day so vividly, sitting on the bench at your favorite park; the same park where jungwon had asked you to be his, and here he was, asking you to break up.

 it seemed poetic in a kind of way, starting as his, and leaving as no one’s.

“i’m sorry. i’ve just lost romantic feelings,” jungwon stated, staring down at the grass as a breeze of wind came, the blades of grass swaying slightly. “it’s just that we’ve both been so busy with other things, and i guess we kinda just like, drifted apart because of it.”

“yeah, i think so too,” you replied nonchalantly, ignoring the slight sting in your heart. 

his head snapped up, your eyes finally meeting his, “wait, actually? you’re not lying?” the sound of relief in his voice made your heart feel like it was being squeezed.

“do you want to get rid of me that bad?” you instead teased with a grin. 

“no!” he exclaimed with wide eyes. “i still wanna be friends with you. i might not like you romantically anymore, but i don’t wanna like, lose the friendship we have, you know?”

“yeah,” you replied, “we can still be friends.”

and you two meant it. there were no tears, and no broken hearts (that you would like to admit). it was just a simple case of the right person and the wrong time, and as the years continued, you tried to convince yourself that it was just nothing. that jungwon was not your “right” anything- he was just your best friend, nothing more, nothing less. 

you were almost successful. until your last year of high school approached. 

you and jungwon kept your word, you stayed friends. always being seen together; walking to class, walking home, studying in the library, eating lunch in the cafeteria. 

people still believed you were together, and you always had to correct them, because no you and jungwon were no longer together and no you were not a thing.

they never believed you, though. 

there was always a small part of you that wanted to say yes when someone would ask. that you and jungwon were a thing and that he was yours and you were his. but you never did, callingyourself crazy for even thinking of doing so. 

you found yourself doing it again as yuna had asked you earlier in the week. 

yuna was the new girl this year, having transferred from jyp high. from what you heard, she was nice, smart, and she was gorgeous. you were never one to put yourself down, but you couldn’t say that you didn’t feel insecure standing next to her. 

“no, jungwon and i are not dating,” you smiled politely. it was almost like a script at this point. “we’re just good friends.”

“that’s good to hear,” yuna smiled, her eyes sparkling. “i just wanted to ask him out, but i wasn’t going to if you had a thing!”

“oh, you’re thinking of confessing to him?” you questioned. there was that little part of you again. the part that always said no! tell them you’re a thing! tell them to not do it!

“yeah, he’s in a bunch of my classes. he’s super smart and polite and he always knows how to make me laugh. and he has such pretty eyes,” she sighed dreamily as her mouth formed into a lovesick smile. 

“well, he has that effect on people,” you grinned. 

i would know, you thought.

 “i say go for it! he’s not particularly interested in anyone, you have a good chance.”

“you really think so?” she asked, eyes wide. 

god, i hope not, you thought. as shitty as it was, you didn’t want jungwon to move on. you felt sick at the thought of him being with someone else. 

“why not?” you said instead. “he’ll be at the library after school today studying, i’m supposed to meet him, but i can just tell him something came up.” 

“oh my god, you’re the best!” she squealed, engulfing you in a hug. “thank you thank you thank you.”

“you’re welcome,” you smiled, wrapping your arms around her, ignoring the green monster growing within you.

—----

it had been four days since your conversation with yuna. every time you saw him, you waited for him to bring up the date with baited breath- but he hadn’t said anything. not yet at least.

or maybe yuna simply didn’t ask him on a date. that’s what you were secretly hoping, at least.

it seemed hoping wasn’t enough. on the fifth day jungwon approached you from down the hall with those twinkling eyes and a bright smile you love so much, he seemed more energetic than usual with a little hop in his step. 

“you’re not gonna believe what happened today!” he exclaimed as he reached you at your locker. 

you could believe it. you were the one who hooked yuna up after all. yet you feigned curiosity as you looked at him quizzically, “what is it?”

“yuna asked me on a date! me! of all people! she’s so cool and smart and nice and pretty,” he said with a dreamy look on his face. 

you knew that look. the far away gaze as he thought of her. it was one you would never forget. it’s how he used to look at you. that lovesick grin and those twinkling eyes.

 it had never bothered you before when jungwon had crushes on other girls, because well, that’s all they were. they never escalated into anything more. looking at his lovestruck expression, realization hit that jungwon wasn’t yours anymore. 

you shouldn’t have thought of it that way. you should be happy for him! you should’ve been celebrating with him and cheering him on!  

you couldn’t help the bittersweet smile on your face as you replied, “oh, well that’s nice.”

his smile faltered slightly at your expression, concern slowly forming on his face.  

“are you okay?” he asked. 

“i’m fine, don’t worry,” you said, regaining your composure. “i’m happy for you! and don’t worry about spending less time with me, you’re gonna be a busy guy now! with a girlfriend…”

“okay, she is not my girlfriend. and even if she was, I would never ditch you!” 

“yeah whatever you say, loverboy,” you joked, giving him a playful nudge with your shoulder. 

“no seriously, y/n,” he replied, softly. “are you okay with yuna and i being a thing? i just don’t want it to be weird because you and i used to be a thing, and i know we’re both over that but i just wanted to make sure-,”

“what, me?” you scoffed, cutting the boy off. “what you and i had wasn’t serious, it was just some dumb high school fling.”

even as you spoke those words, you knew they weren’t true. it was more than just a fling. you loved him and maybe you still did. 

silence hung between you, the hallway getting quieter as the remaining students scrambled to their classes, the late bell ringing, leaving you and jungwon in the hallway alone. 

he looked hurt at what you said. you immediately wanted to take it back, to say you didn’t mean it and that he was your first love and you didn’t want him going on that date with yuna. 

“sorry, i shouldn’t have said that,” you muttered, not being able to meet his eyes and instead turning to close your locker. 

“no, you don’t have anything to apologize for,” he replied, as he started to back away, making his way to his class down the hall. “you’re right, it was just a fling, and honestly, it’s so weird to think of us as a couple.” 

it was like your world was falling apart around you as he spoke. did you interpret his hurt expression wrong? maybe this all was one-sided. did he not feel his heart breaking like you did? did he not wonder occasionally (or everyday) how his life would be if you were still together? did he not miss what you had?

maybe there really was nothing between you and jungwon but friendship. 

“yeah, so weird,” you awkwardly smiled, walking to catch up with him. “but you and i, we’re good, right?”

“yep, no worries,” he grinned back. 

“good,” you smiled. “so when’s your date?” 

his eyes brightened ever so slightly as you asked. he started to describe his date– how he was going to take her to the beach and have a picnic and play in the sand. 

you nodded along, your mind wandering off to when jungwon would take you on beach dates, burying him in the sand, splashing him with water and swimming away before he could splash you back. 

you looked over at the boy in question, his starry eyes wide as he talked about his date plans, his smile wide and giddy, his tone as sweet as honey as he talked about her. 

you knew you shouldn’t villainize yuna– she was a nice girl, a very nice one. it wasn’t her fault you were still in love with jungwon, and it surely wasn’t her fault that she liked him. it’s not like you could choose who you could fall in love with. 

you of all people would know. 

so you smiled and nodded along as you walked him to class, listening to him go on and on about his plans. you finally settled with the fact then and there, that jungwon would never be yours again. you had to let go. 

—--------

it has been six months since that day. the day that you had decided to give up. yuna and jungwon have been inseparable since then. 

he kept to his word though; still studying with you after school, showing up when you needed him, hanging out together. sometimes yuna would tag along, which you didn’t mind. she was fun to be around. 

you also didn’t mind being the third wheel when she was around, instead teasing the couple and even offering to take pictures for them. they were a lovely couple and they were seemingly happy– jungwon especially, and that was all that mattered. 

the school year was coming to an end, and seeing as it was your senior year, people were throwing parties almost every weekend. 

you went every once in a while, had some fun, did some underage drinking, even flirted with a couple of people. 

tonight was the party though. 

intak was throwing his first party of the year, and everyone knew his parties were legendary. 

you sat in the uber with jungwon and yuna, anticipating the night before you. you were excited, to say the least. the last time you went to a party was a  month ago, and you were ready to have fun. you even put on your best party outfit for tonight!

you arrived at intak’s house (or more like a mansion), and started to make your way inside until jungwon stopped you. 

“wait! before we go in, i think we should go over some basic safety rules!” jungwon exclaimed. 

you rolled your eyes with a small laugh as you replied, “only you would go over safety rules at a party.” 

“i’m serious, y/n, really bad things could happen,” he shot back with a pointed expression. 

“okay wonie, go ahead, we’re all ears,” yuna smiled supportively.

you ignored the slight heart ache at yuna using your old nickname for jungwon- the one you used when you were together. 

get it together, y/n you thought. letting go, remember?  

you instead smiled and nodded reassuringly at jungwon, who looked over at you to make sure you were paying attention. 

he sighed before continuing, “okay, i won’t be doing any drinking so i can babysit you guys all night. if you need to use the bathroom give your drinks to me so i can watch them. and y/n, if you leave the party at any point, for any reason, please let me know first.”

“sir, yes sir,” you muttered. 

“now let’s go have some fun!” yuna exclaimed, dragging the both of you by the wrists. 

you finally entered the house, where there seemed to be everyone from your school. even kids who graduated last year were in attendance, and as you searched the party for a familiar face that wasn’t jungwon or yuna, intak strolled over, a wide smile on his face. 

“you guys made it!” he shouted over the loud thumping of the music. he was wearing a letterman jacket with a white shirt underneath, and a pair of baggy straight legged jeans. the outfit looked so good on him that you had almost forgotten that you were talking to intak of all people. 

“you look nice, y/n,” he grinned.

you would’ve had a crush on him if he didn’t flirt with every girl he laid eyes on, and it seemed like his victim of the night was you. but damn did he look good right now. 

intak wasn’t a bad guy, he seemed harmless, not like the guys who wouldn’t take no for an answer. he just always flirted, with no intentions of making anything serious. most of the girls he talked to never knew the latter though. 

but you thought it couldn’t hurt, you were here to have fun, and if flirting with intak was the way to do it, then so be it. 

you saw jungwon step forward, about to tell intak to back off and go flirt with someone else, causing you to put your hand on his arm to stop him. 

you also noticed how yuna examined the scene in front of her; jungwon trying to be your knight in shining armor, and you with your hand on his arm to stop him. her eyes narrowed slightly in thought as you dropped your hand and turned to intak. 

“why don’t you get me a drink and then we can talk?” you smiled dazzlingly. you usually reserved smiles like that for when you wanted to flirt and get wasted, and just as usual, it worked like a charm.

“i’ll be right back then,” intak smiled, before making his way through the crowd of bodies in search of a drink for you. 

“really, y/n, intak out of all people?” jungwon questioned, arms crossed. 

“yeah, and what about it?” you replied, feeling slightly annoyed at his tone of voice. he had never acted this way towards you before, but you didn’t like it. it wasn’t his business who you flirted with. he talked to you like you were an idiot and you hated the thought of him looking down on you.  

yuna awkwardly stood between the two of you, not wanting to be in the middle of your fight, but not wanting to go off by herself at a party filled with people she barely knew. 

“‘what about it?’” jungwon mocked your voice in a high pitched tone. “you know how he is, don’t be dumb.”

“dumb? i’m here to have fun, jungwon, not to play third wheel again,” you snapped back. “and why does it matter, you’re not my boyfriend, and you’re not my brother, so it’s really none of your fucking business.”

yuna had been looking back and forth between you and jungwon, watching as you glared at each other, waiting for someone to say something. it was like watching a tennis match. 

at that moment, intak arrived, back with a red solo cup in hand. 

“a drink for the prettiest girl here,” he announced, handing the cup over to you. 

“why thank you love,” you replied with an innocent smile as you looked over at jungwon, still glaring at you, his arms crossed against his chest.

ignoring him, you took a sip of the drink you were given, your face scrunching up at the bitter taste. 

“hey intak, why don’t we go dance?” you asked, reaching for his hand. 

“that sounds like fun,” he replied with a smile of his own before you led him to the dance floor, leaving an enraged jungwon, and a slightly annoyed yuna behind you.

—-----

yuna had seen the way jungwon looked at you. she might have been a bit oblivious at first, but as time went on and she spent more time with the two of you, it became more and more apparent– jungwon had never gotten over you. 

at first yuna thought she could sway him, to get him to fall for her the way he fell for you. but it never worked. he looked at you like you were his own personal angel. no matter where you were, who you were with, how you looked, he was absolutely enraptured by you, and oh, how yuna wished he looked at her like that. 

it had been fifty minutes since your small tussle, and yuna and jungwon sat outside, occupying two pool chairs as he angrily took sips of his water. 

“it’s like she doesn’t even care, she just ran off with him knowing he’ll never want anything serious, knowing he’s gonna lead her on, and i swear when she comes crying to me, i’m gonna tell her ‘i told you’ right to her stupid dumb face,” he rambled, placing his bottle of water harder on the table than he intended to, spilling droplets in the process. 

“well, she’s young and single, and she just wants to have fun baby, there’s nothing wrong with that,” yuna replied. “and she has a point, you’re not her brother or anything, so why do you care so much?”

jungwon  looked up at yuna, not being able to ignore the bitter tone in her voice, “wait, you’re supposed to be on my side.”

“i’m not on anyone’s side, i’m just asking as your girlfriend why you care so much. because honestly, if i didn’t know any better, i would think that you were still in love with her,” yuna sighed, exasperated. 

“i am not in love with her, i like you!” he exclaimed, way faster than he should have. 

yuna wanted to believe him. she wanted to ignore every bit of doubt in her body and believe every lie he fed to her, but she couldn’t. not when she knew you loved him too. it was heartbreaking, really. to watch the person you love pine over someone else. but it was even worse knowing the feelings were reciprocated. 

“don’t lie to me, jungwon,” she deadpanned, feeling her eyes start to water with tears of frustration. “i see the way you look at her, and i know for sure you haven’t gotten over her. you have never once looked at me the way you look at her, and if you like her, just say that. just say that and we can end things here, without having to make this any more heartbreaking than it already is.”

yuna didn’t want to cry. the last thing she wanted to do was cry, but the feelings of anger and embarrassment had overwhelmed her, causing a few traitorous tears to spill. she was angry at herself for letting it get this far, for falling in love with a boy that she knew would never love her back. 

but she was also embarrassed. embarrassed that she had even tried to make an effort, that she had thought she could win him over. 

she wiped her face with the back of her hand, only for more to spill out, a sob fighting for an escape from her quivering lips. 

jungwon raised his hand to wipe the tears away for her, to cup her face and tell her everything would be okay and that he was sorry. but what was he sorry for? sorry for trying to keep you away from intak? or sorry that maybe yuna was right and he did still love you?

just as he opened his mouth to speak, you stumbled out, words slurring and barely able to walk as you stumbled your way over to them. 

“hey guys!” you exclaimed, as a worried intak came rushing out the house behind you. 

“oh god, y/n, are you okay?” jungwon asked, immediately walking over to your side to support your stumbling figure. yuna would have felt bitter over jungwon rushing to your side faster than he had ever run to hers. yet, despite the devil on her shoulder that told her to be petty, she instead felt worried for you. you could barely even stand up straight.

“what the fuck did you do to her?” jungwon asked, throwing an accusatory look at intak.

“nothing dude, i promise! she was the one who wanted to drink, she had like 5 drinks within the span of like, 10 minutes,” intak replied, panicked. “is she going to be okay? does she have a way to get home safely?”

jungwon looked from yuna to you, who was falling asleep just standing there.

“just take her home,” yuna sighed. “i’m not gonna make you choose because we all know who you’d choose every single time.”

“yuna it’s not like that,” jungwon groaned. “listen, i’ll bring her home, and then i’ll come over tomorrow and we can talk this out, okay? i promise.”

“okay, just get her home safe first,” yuna replied. 

you might have been the biggest obstacle in her relationship, but you were still a nice girl, and you had technically done nothing wrong, so yuna had no reason to want to keep you and jungwon apart. you were also wasted as fuck and there was no way you would be able to get home by yourself without something horrible potentially happen to you. 

jungwon grabbed his almost full water bottle from the table he was sitting at, muttering that he would “need it to sober you up”.

he gave yuna one last reassuring smile before he walked away, you on his back as he tried his best to carry you home. 

yuna sighed as she watched you go. she felt like something bad would happen today, something worse than her argument with jungwon, and she wanted nothing else but to go home and cry. 

all she could do was trust jungwon, even if she knew she already lost him, even if she knew she was never a contestant in the first place.

—------

jungwon almost did it. 

he almost carried you all the way home, but his legs felt like they were gonna give out once he reached the park near your house, and he decided then and there that he needed a break. 

he sat you on the playground set, sitting beside you with a huff. 

you were awake by this point, taking long sips of the water bottle jungwon had given you. you wanted to sober up by the time you got home, but it wasn’t really working, with your words still slurring slightly and your mind all dizzy.

the two of you sat in silence as you gazed at the stars and jungwon thought of his argument with yuna. 

maybe she was right. 

even now, as he glanced over at you, studying the stars, his heart skipped a beat and he felt his face warm up. 

“do you remember when you asked me to be your girlfriend in this park?” you chuckled. “we were so young then, it feels like forever ago.”

jungwon was thrown off by the sudden conversation starter, but still smiled, “yeah, i remember it very well. i felt like i was gonna throw up because i was so nervous.”

you turned your head to look at him and giggled as his smile grew wider. 

“what, what are you laughing at?” 

“nothing, i was just so in love with you then. i used to think that we would be together forever and ride off into the sunset in a carriage.” 

jungwon inspected you as you talked, trying to decipher if there was any meaning behind your words or if it was just the liquor talking. 

“i just thought we were some high school fling?” he half-joked as he nudged you with his shoulder. he didn’t want it to seem like he was serious if you were sobering up. 

he felt his heart start to race as he stared at your slightly flushed face from the drinks you had, your hair fluttering as a soft breeze blew by. you were everything that jungwon had ever wanted, and here you were, telling him how much you used to love him. 

wait, no, what the hell am i doing? jungwon thought to himself. it wasn’t fair to yuna. it was already unfair to her that he only started to date her to get over you. he thought that if he dated her long enough, he would stop loving you and love her instead. 

and he genuinely thought it worked. fuck, he thought. i’m such a shitty person. 

until he saw you with intak, flirting, dancing with him, laughing at his jokes, he had never felt so jealous in his life, and yuna had noticed. and she was upset, which was fair. what wasn’t fair was jungwon using her to get over you. 

use. he hated the icky feeling that word gave him. 

“i lied,” you muttered, snapping him out of his thoughts. 

“what did you say?” jungwon asked, making sure that he had heard you right. 

“i lied,” you repeated, eyes on everything but him. “i loved you, and i think i still do.” 

your eyes finally met his as you continued, “you are everything to me, jungwon. i’ve been in love with you since forever, and i only agreed to break up because you said you wanted to.”

jungwon could feel his heart starting to beat faster as he searched your eyes for any hesitation, any sign that this was a lie, or some sort of joke. his heart beat so fast he felt like he was gonna explode as he looked into your eyes, so earnest and so genuine and so filled with love that he knew you had sobered up. 

you reached for his hands in his lap, interlacing your fingers with his. 

“i can’t keep this from you,” you breathed. “i love you, yang jungwon, and i know you’re dating yuna, but i just have to tell you that i love you, that i always have and it’s okay if you don’t feel the same. i don’t expect you to leave her for me or anything, but i can’t help it anymore. i love you, i love you, i love you.”

silence hung over the two of you as he tried to form a coherent sentence after your confession. it felt like suddenly his brain didn’t know how to make him talk, to make him say i love you too, or to make him do anything, really. 

a minute passed, and then two as jungwon searched your eyes with the same desperation yours had– desperate to love and to be loved by the person sitting in front of you. 

jungwon didn’t know who leaned closer first. he thought it was you but maybe it was him. he didn’t even feel like he was in control of his body as he leaned closer and closer, his hand moving to hold your face, searching your face for any hesitation, for any kind of doubt.

 you were so close that he could smell the perfume you sprayed before you left your house and the drinks that you had earlier that night. 

impatient, jungwon finally closed the gap between the two of you, your soft lips colliding with his. he could have kissed you forever, wanting to stay forever in time there. until realization hit him.

yuna.

he pulled away abruptly, your eyes still closed as you chased his lips with yours. he would have found it cute if he weren’t trying his best not to panic right now. he just kissed you. while he was still dating yuna. 

he thought of the look on yuna’s face if she found out– the angry, hurt expression that she had at the party, and even worse, the tears. he would break the poor girl’s heart. 

“i should go,” jungwon breathed, quickly standing up from his seat beside you. “it’s almost past my curfew.”

“wait, jungwon,” you said, grabbing onto the sleeve of his shirt before he could walk away. “i think we should talk about this before you go.”

“yeah, we can talk later,” he replied dismissively. “i just need some time to think.”

you opened your mouth to say something else– anything else to make him stay, but closed it as you saw he was already speed-walking in the direction of his house. 

you thought that you would lose him forever after your breakup.  you had almost lost jungwon once, and you were nearly positive that you won’t be so lucky to keep him this time. 

you felt sick to your stomach, and you didn’t know if it was from the drinks or from the events that had just occurred, but nonetheless you felt nauseous. 

you hunched over as you started to gag, your vomit flowing out of your mouth, tears streaming down your face. 

you wiped your mouth with your sleeve, rinsing your mouth out with water as you started to tear up. 

before you knew it, you felt sobs rising, your nose stuffed from crying,  your throat getting dry from the sobbing. the embarrassment and sorrow was finally catching up to you– all of the years of repressed love you felt for jungwon, all of the embarrassment from him leaving after you confessed, embarrassment from being a homewrecker– it all came crashing down on you. 

you couldn’t go home like this. you were sober enough to know that, with your tear streaked face, ruined makeup, and vomit smelling breath your parents would put two and two together. 

your hands shakily reached for your phone in your back pocket, dialing your brother’s number and waiting for him to pick up with baited breath. your brother was your only hope. 

“hello?” 

“chan?” you breathed into the phone. “i need to sleepover at your place.”

—----

yuna hated this. 

the waiting, the feeling of dread as she sat on her bed, awaiting jungwon’s arrival. 

the fight that had ensued was horrible, but she believed she made a valid point. if he likes y/n so much he should just go be with her, she thought bitterly. 

jungwon had texted her last night at around 1 in the morning, just to make sure she got home safe. yuna didn’t respond. she instead left him on read, still pissed off from the fight.

she used to get butterflies when he would send her texts to make sure she got home safe. but now she didn’t know if he did it because he liked her or if it was just out of common courtesy. 

yuna was about to just walk to his house herself before she heard a knock on her door. 

“hey it’s uh, me,” she heard jungwon’s muffled voice through the door. “is it okay if i come in?” 

“yeah, let’s get this over with.”

she couldn’t meet his eyes as he walked in, striding over to the corner of her bed. yuna hated waiting, but she now felt dread as the pair sat in silence for a bit, the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. she had sat nowhere near him.

 usually she’d be cuddled into his side, but she instead opted to sit at the head of her bed, seemingly as far away from him as possible. she was worried that if she was too close to him, she’d crack; she’d look at his doe eyes and forgive him and that would ruin the entire point of her argument. 

“so,” she cleared her throat, interrupting the silence. “did y/n get home safe?” 

“yeah, she’s at her brother’s apartment. he texted me when she got there.”

 “‘when she got there?’ did you not walk her there?” 

“no, he picked her up from the park near our houses. but anyways, i have something important to tell you.” 

yuna felt even more dread seeping into her as he finished his sentence. she should’ve seen this coming from the start. here it comes: the breakup. 

“i kissed y/n last night.” 

yuna’s eyes widened in surprise. she had expected the breakup, yes. she knew jungwon was emotionally cheating, but now he was physically cheating? 

“wait, are you being serious right now?” she laughed in astonishment. she couldn’t believe the audacity of the man sitting in front of her. 

“i know it’s bad. i feel horrible, because an amazing woman like you should never be treated as horrible as i’ve treated you, and i am so so sorry,” jungwon started, tearing up from how bad he felt. “all of the apologies in the world could never make up for how i’ve treated you. i’ve made you feel terrible and i’m just making it worse by breaking up with you to be with her.” 

“i love y/n, yuna. and i’m sorry that i didn’t tell you, or that you had to find out for yourself before i even knew. you are so so perfect yuna-,”

“but i’m just not perfect for you?” she replied, tears starting to form as she breathed those words. 

the silence that followed was more than enough to answer her question. 

she hated this. she hated this so so much. but she didn’t hate you, or jungwon. she just hated how love worked, how she had to fall in love with the one boy who couldn’t love her back. she hated that she gave her heart away to a boy that was never going to belong to her– not fully. 

she wanted to scream, to throw something, hell, maybe even hit him. she instead took a deep breath, composing herself before she said, “okay. go be with her then.” 

jungwon looked over at her, wanting nothing but to comfort yuna. he may not be in love with her, but he did love her, and he still cared for her. 

“i’m sorry, yuna,” jungwon said instead. “you’re an amazing girl, but you should never be anyone’s second choice, and i’m sorry for making you feel like mine.” 

yuna couldn’t even look at him, fidgeting with the strings of the hoodie she wore. 

“just leave, please,” she muttered. 

she didn’t want him to see her cry, he had already broken her once, she didn’t want him to see her fall apart again. 

with a guilty expression, jungwon hurried away, also not wanting to see her cry again. he felt gross. he felt disgusted with himself for treating her that way. he didn’t like the person he was with yuna, and he felt sick thinking about how heartbroken she was; how she was so hurt that she couldn’t even look at him. 

—------

it has been two weeks since your kiss with jungwon, and you hadn’t heard a word from him since. not a single call or text, hell, he didn’t even acknowledge your existence when you walked by him in the halls. 

you had seen yuna around, but seeing as jungwon wasn’t joined at her hip like he used to be, you assumed that things didn’t end quite so well between the two. knowing that you were the cause made you want to never show your face ever again, especially because of the dirty looks yuna’s friends have been giving you. 

you were relieved it was the last day of the school year; you’d never have to see yuna again and feel the guilt at seeing the sadness in her eyes. 

you walked into the bathroom, wanting to wash your hands after eating your lunch, when you saw yuna, touching up on her makeup in the mirror. she looked at you through the mirror above the sink, before going back to her makeup. 

the tension was so thick you didn’t know if you should just leave or hide in a bathroom stall until she left. 

“i’m not gonna bite, you know,” yuna chuckled. 

you smiled back nervously as you started to make your way to the sink. 

“yuna i’m really sorry,” you sighed, mustering whatever courage and dignity you had left. 

“it’s okay,” yuna replied, finally meeting your gaze. “although it was wrong for you guys to have kissed, i saw the breakup coming from miles away. he was never mine to begin with.” 

you were taken aback just by how calm she was, with the way she spoke those words with such elegance and grace. she had every right to be angry with you, to yell at you and call you a homewrecker. 

“even if you did think you were going to break up, that still doesn’t excuse what i did, and i really am sorry,” you said, trying to project every feeling of sympathy and sincerity you could in that one sentence. “i’m not asking you to forgive me, or jungwon, but i just wanted to tell you that you really are a cool person, and you’ve always been so kind to me, even now. all of this for a boy, and he hasn’t even talked to me in the past two weeks.”

“wait, he hasn’t reached out to you at all?” yuna asked, confused. “i thought he would say something to you at least.” 

“did he say he would?” you replied, confusion reaching you as well. 

“no,” yuna replied, fixing her hair in the mirror. “i just assumed so because he’s in love with you.”

once again, you were stunned by her nonchalance. “he’s not in love with me.” 

“don’t be silly,” yuna smiled softly. “i can’t tell if dating jungwon was the best or worst six months of my life, to be honest.” 

“don’t get me wrong, he was a good boyfriend,” yuna backtracked quickly after seeing the guilt on your face. “he did the usual boyfriend stuff, and he really did try, but i could just always tell that his heart was always yours.” 

you couldn’t meet yuna’s gaze as she said this, your face hot with shame. you felt so bad for her, and you didn’t quite know what to say in response. 

“i’m sorry that things ended this way,” you finally said. 

“it’s okay, it was gonna happen sooner or later,” yuna replied. “but if i’m right, then you should probably go talk to him, he’s probably going insane with guilt right now over me, and over you. bro’s got a lot on his plate.” 

you gave a small chuckle at the last sentence, making yuna smile a bit. 

“well thank you for the talk yuna, but i’ve gotta go. i think i need to go find jungwon.” 

yuna felt her heart break a bit at the words, but she smiled anyways and said bye as she watched you leave the bathroom. yuna didn’t know if she was supposed to cry or feel happy for you and jungwon, but she did know that she was right. again. she knew his heart had always belonged to you. anyone could see that. 

—--------

trying to find jungwon was easier than you expected. he was sitting on a swing, at the park that you became his, then wasn’t his anymore, and then confessed your love to him. there was so much that had happened at this park that it made your head hurt a bit just thinking about it. 

“is it okay if i sit here?” you asked, motioning to the swing beside him. 

“of course you can,” jungwon replied. 

the two of you sat in silence.

“i don’t think we should be friends anymore,” you finally spoke up. 

he jerked his head to look at you, shock coursing through him. “wait, why not?”

you took a deep breath before saying, “i can’t be friends with you anymore because i’m in love with you. there hasn’t been a moment since i’ve met you that i haven’t been.” 

his heart skipped a beat at your words. 

this was it, this is what you’d been waiting for since the day you laid eyes on jungwon. but you didn’t think it would go quite like this. you sat there for a moment as jungwon studied you, and you wished he would say something, anything. 

“but did you ever consider how i felt?” he finally asked, his voice cracking ever so slightly. “have you ever considered that maybe i’ve felt the same way?” 

you felt your breath catch in your throat as he continued, “i’ve seen you everyday since we were five when your family moved in next door. but i didn’t really see you until freshman year, sitting in class by the window, your hair flowing from the breeze that came through, doodling in your notebook instead of paying attention to the lesson. and when you caught me staring, you smiled and waved, and i swear i fell in love with you that day. that day, i knew my heart would always be yours.” 

“so please,” jungwon pleaded. “please, do whatever you want with it. you could break it a million times over and it would still be yours.”

now this, this was exactly you had always dreamed of. 

you couldn’t stop yourself from kissing him, trying to convey all the repressed love you’ve had for him for years through the kiss. you loved him. you loved every single part of jungwon, every flaw, every imperfection, everything that made him him. 

“so does this mean we’re official?” jungwon grinned as he pulled away, a playful look in his eyes. you smiled back, feeling the heart eyes in your gaze and the way your heart melted just by looking at him. 

“took you long enough.” 

[matchalovertrait]

"Count your days," is what Dulce is thinking. She WANTS to kill him, but she still feels a little bad for breaking his heart... and she's trying to be in her character development arc! Also, she kind of got herself into this mess.. What's a girl to do in this situation???? Okay, okay. Y'know what? We're overcomplicating things. In response, we have to be well-mannered and considerate. There is a certain image we have to maintain. Dulce will make a video calmly explaining the truth and bring out the receipts. After all, her cookbook wasn't made overnight. There are drafts of her ideas everywhere on her computer and she backed everything up in other places. This'll be easy to handle! Piece of cake.

Note: I'm kind of exploring different genres with each generation, at least the first three. Generation 1 was more slice-of-life (besides the social commentary on money, power, etc.). Generation 2 is going to be much more telenovela-esque 😅 So if things get a little outlandish, it's supposed to be like that.

I also researched a lot for certain things that are coming up, but I'm just one person so maybe it's not 100% perfect 😭 I don't have an editing team and I'm a very inexperienced writer. Sooooo yeahhh, let's get this next part started!

Start from the beginning (Gen 2)

Previous | Next

Transcript

Dulce: Oh, a text from Rubiya! Did she send me another cat video?

Dulce: Never mind, she didn’t. Why does she want me to see Caruso’s video? Did he become an executive chef? Good for him.

[Thumbnail of Caruso's video titled, "storytime: MY IDEAS WERE STOLEN!!]

Dulce: This better be a clickbait title and this better not be about me.

20 mins into the video...

Caruso's "video" subtitles: Sorry for how long this video ended up being, but yes. In short, Dulce Alegria and I broke up because she was toxic. She treated me unfairly and took my recipes without asking! I was too afraid to speak out.

Caruso's "video" subtitles: However, I now recognize my self-worth will no longer be silenced! It’s time for me to take the credit for my stolen work. Bravo for me.

Caruso's "video" subtitles: I’m proud of myself for finally stepping forward. I was being manipulated and taken advantage of for too long. Thank you for watching.

Dulce: Son of a bitch.

Dulce: Okay, but there is no way people actually believe this. My cookbook is clearly personal to ME. [Scrolls down to read the comments.]

Dulce: I’m going to kill him.

[pablitogavii]

Reader getting really shy with gavi?

Family time

After a year of being in established relationship, Pablo wanted to bring me to Sevilla to meet more of his family and since he was traveling with the team for the last game it was the perfect timing.

I was a little nervous but he reassured me that they would love me just as much as him which calmed down my nerves a bit. Meeting his tía Almudiera and her family was very nice and she welcomed me to stay at her home while Pablo is in the hotel with the team.

"Estas segura, mi amor? If you're uncomfortable I can get you a hotel room?" he asked me on the side and I shut him up with a kiss reassuring him that I'd love to stay with his family which made him smile brightly.

"Bueno, I will come in the morning amor" he said after evening passed and we had nice dinner with his family before he was ready to depart. It was always hard goodbye especially since I got so used to sleeping in his arms at night.

"Will you..um leave your sweatshirt with me cariño?" I asked shyly and he knew the reason I needed it is to have his smell with me when he is away. It made him proud and he took it off immediately giving it to me with a sweet kiss on my hungry lips.

"We'll take good care of her niño, no te preocupes" his aunt said making us both smile as he embraced me and Pablo left smiling while stealing another look of me surrounded by his family..made him proud for finding the right one.

The next morning, I was sound asleep when Pablo came after training being told by his aunt that I was still sleeping. He promised to wake me up for breakfast before entering the small guest room they gave me.

He smiled seeing me cuddled up to a white comforter wearing one of his sweatshirt with a peaceful look on my face. He sat next to me holding around my waist and leaning down to leave wet kisses all over my neck which slowly woke me up with a smile.

I enjoyed his little ministration for a second completely forgetting that we were not home quickly pulling away thinking some of his family can come in to check on you.

"Amor, que pasa? No te gusta mis besitos no more?" he acted hurt looking down at me while moving a strand of my hair behind my ear so I can slowly open my eyes to look at him.

"No! Obvio que me gusta amor..I'm just worried someone will come in" I say looking at the door and he chuckled leaning down to capture my lips.

"My shy girl.." Pablo teased making me blush even more as we kissed a few times before a knock was heard and he told me that meant breakfast was ready for us.

We spent all day exploring Sevilla with his family, going to a little lake for a picnic with kids and I started feeling much more comfortable but still any physical touch from Pablo put me on edge.

Knowing my boyfriend and that his love language is physical touch, it was hard for him not to show it in front of his family. Not to mention he loved seeing em all flustered.

"Our reservation is ready, kids" his tía said and we walked to the little restaurant by the beach and the moment I sat down next to Pablo, I felt his hand gripping my thigh making me close my legs as smirk appeared on his handsome face. Little devil!

"Amorrr!" I whispered and he leaned in acting dumb for a moment.

"Something the matter, princesa?" he whispered back and I gave him a stern look to which he only smirked keeping his hand right where it was.

"Mrs. Gavira" waiter said and you smiled thinking a little about that title..imagining it belonging to you one day, and just like he could read your mind Pablo's hand moved from your thigh to hold your hand kissing it in front of everyone not really minding people watching.

"I'm thinking about it too.." he said and I blushed which he adored continuing talk with his family while holding my hand under the table. Obviously we were both young..but hearing his say he's also thinking about it made me so happy.

Next day, Pablo had long physical exam and training so we didn't see each other until lunch and when he arrived he saw me jumping in the pull with his little cousin smiling with his tía.

"Ella es una chica de oro Pablito, mucha suerte" she said and that made a boy even more proud that his family was loving me just like he knew they would. He knew it's impossible not to love a person like me.

"Pablo! Look the braids Y/n made for me! Are they pretty!?" his cousin was excited and Pablo smiled seeing you blushing shyly while grabbing a tower for the little girl.

"So pretty! You enjoying Y/n's company?" he asked and the little girl jumped up and down while nodding and rushing inside to grab some snack while Pablo walked up to me.

"They're all so nice to me amor, I love it here" I said gulping when he pulled me by my waist close to himself not caring much that I was wet.

"I love you mi amor.." he said to my bright red face before kissing my lips lovingly and I giggled resting my head on his shoulder while his family watched us with smiles. They were happy Pablo could find someone so genuine for himself.

"You need to be all packed up tonight when I pick you up" Pablo said and I pouted nodding my head as he pulled me in and kissed my forehead lovingly.

"We'll come back soon, bueno? Te lo prometo" he said and I smiled again nodding my head before he pecked my lips once again and we joined the rest inside.

[gor3-hound]

addicted to hurting

ft. leon kennedy x fem!reader

cw: 18+ content, hate sex, one bed trope(love it idc), p in v, mean leon, huddle for warmth n that, fingering, p in v, creampie, degradation ig, one use of good girl

a/n: request for @princesspalac :) sorry it took so long, um... my brain didn't want to work for this. guys don't question the title i hate naming fics... this one especially but it's from drugs by eden

word count: 1.6k words

It was an undisputed fact that you and Leon did not get on well. Everyone knew it - the both of you made it very clear with your constant bickering.

But you were also both very competent agents, and that often meant you got assigned to missions together. It was usually fine, you both had enough professionalism to suck it up and get on with it, but he really seemed to want to wear your patience thin this time around.

It had been snowing heavily, and the chopper wouldn't be able to get to the extraction point. You'd been told that you should try and find shelter for the night, and when the snowstorm cleared up tomorrow, you'd both get evacuated. You had secured all the mission objectives and found an abandoned cabin to hole up in for the night, but the cold air nipped at your skin and made it impossible for you to relax.

You complain a little about having to stay here, shivering slightly as you settle on a worn down chair, the wood looking like it's halfway to rotting. You're surprised it hasn't given up under your weight at this point.

Eventually, Leon snaps.

“Jesus Christ. Do you ever shut the hell up?” He grumbles, running a hand through his hair, his brows pulled together in frustration. You scoff at him, your arms wrapped around your waist to keep you warm.

“It's fucking cold, and your attitude has been pissing me off all day. Apologies if I'm not a ray of sunshine.” You bite back, trying to ignore the chill settling deep in your bones.

He just glares at you before moving away, checking the perimeter and securing any entrances to the cabin. You take the opportunity to explore the other rooms, your heart sinking when you realise one very important detail.

There's only one bed.

Great. Fucking amazing. As if this day couldn't get any worse. You hear footsteps approaching, and you can sense the moment Leon realises the same thing by his sharp intake of breath.

“No. Absolutely not.” He says quickly, crossing his arms as he leans against the doorway of the bedroom.

You dislike this just as much as he does, but it's probably a blessing in disguise. The both of you were too proud to admit it, but you'd likely freeze to death if you didn't huddle for warmth. The sun had only just set, and it was already this cold. You didn't want to imagine what it'd be like later.

“We're going to need to share it.” You say simply, approaching the bed and lying down facing away from Leon, staring at the wall as you wait for him to do the same.

“Well?” You say after a moment, noticing he hadn't come any closer. He hadn't moved from his spot, just staring distasteful at the empty spot in the bed. “Are you going to join me? Or did you drag your ass through herds of infected just to freeze to death?”

That gets a scowl from him. He kicks off his boots before approaching, settling on the edge of the bed and doing his best to keep his distance from you.

“You're going to need to come closer, or we're both going to be out of commission.” You say through gritted teeth, already frustrated with his attitude.

He lets out a soft grunt, but he shifts closer. He's practically spooning you, now, but you can feel the cold radiating from him. Neither of you had the chance to warm up yet, and you can't help but shift slightly in the bed, trying to get your blood circulating so you can warm up.

“Can you stop your squirming?” He hisses, his hand clamping down on your hip to still your movements. He seems so much closer now, his warm breath brushing the skin on the back of your neck and giving you goosebumps.

“I was just trying to get warm.”

“Then come here.” With that, he tugs you into his body, wrapping his arms tight around you. His nose presses against the crook of your neck, and you feel your heart racing. You feel warmer, sure, but you can't ignore the feeling of his muscles tensing as he holds you.

You don't mean to keep moving, but there's something uncomfortable about Leon of all people holding you so close. You try to put some distance between the two of you while staying close enough to feel his body heat.

“For fuck-” He lets out a deep breath from his nose, and then he's gripping you tighter, pulling you back against him. “Didn't I tell you to stop moving?”

You open your mouth to speak, but it's quickly stopped by a palm pressing firmly against the lower half of your face. “No. I'm so sick of your shit. All you've done is bitch the entire mission about being cold, and now I'm trying to help, you're being a fucking brat about it.”

His fingers push past your lips. He frowns slightly as you keep your jaw clenched, so he reaches his other hand around to squeeze the sides of your cheeks, prying your teeth apart so he can shove his fingers into your mouth.

“Ah, that's better. Get them nice ‘n wet for me. You gonna let me fuck that attitude out of you, huh?” You whine around his fingers, but you're already soaking your panties, nodding before you even realise what you're agreeing to.

He reaches down to free you from your pants, tugging them as far down as he can be bothered before he's yanking his fingers from your mouth and shoving two of them inside of you without any warning. He likes the way your face twists up at the burn, a grin spreading across his face.

The way he fingers you is almost clinical. He's not doing this for your pleasure - he just lazily scissors his fingers open until he deems that you're stretched enough for his cock. He doesn't bother undressing, just pulls his dick out after he unzips his cargos, pulling your hips up so you're face down, ass up.

“Fuck… surprised you're this tight… thought everyone in the office would've stuck their dicks in you by now.” He grunts as he bottoms out, immediately setting a brutal pace, his hips smacking your ass with every thrust.

“Fuck you, Kennedy.” You hiss, glaring at him over your shoulder. That look is hardly intimidating when he's pounding you into the mattress, and his hips stutter slightly as he barks out a laugh.

“I think you're mistaken, princess. See, I'm fucking you.” With that, he grabs the back of your head, pressing your face into the pillow to shut you up.

“God, that's better. Just take it, that's it. Good fucking slut.” He groans, his balls smacking your clit as he fucks into you with more vigour, low moans spilling from his lips as he uses you to chase his own pleasure.

He growls as he feels your pussy flutter around his cock, pulling out suddenly before yanking your head up by your hair. Your eyes water as your scalp stings, making you whimper softly.

“Ah-ah.” He tuts softly, his cock kicking against his stomach. He hates to admit it, but your cunt is one of the best he's had, and he's already close to cumming. “Not so fast. You gonna say please? I'll let you cum if you ask nicely.”

“You're such an… an asshole.” You say through gritted teeth, your chest rising and falling with heavy breaths as you press your palms on the mattress, trying to alleviate some of the pressure on your scalp from him tugging at your hair.

“That's not very nice, is it? Wanna try that again?” He asks you, his tone mockingly sweet. Makes you want to smack that stupid grin of his face. You don't get the chance, ‘cause he pulls even harder on your hair, your neck craning back painfully.

“Fuck… fuck, okay. Please, let me cum.” You whine, squeezing your eyes shut. He presses your face back into the pillow, pushing down on it as he lines himself back up with your drippy hole, resuming his rough pace from before.

“Good girl. Look at you, capable of following orders. All it took was a little dick.” He coos, angling his hips so he's bumping against your sweet spot every time he pushes his hips forward, groaning at the way it makes you tighten around him.

You cum around his cock, your moans muffled as he keeps fucking into you. He clenches his jaw as your walls spasm with your orgasm, drawing his own out of him seconds later. He buries himself as deep as he can get, his tip knocking your cervix and he cums, heat filling you up and coating your insides.

He pulls out once his dick stops twitching, tucking himself back in his pants and zipping them up. He can hear the rustling of sheets as you pull your pants up, but he's staring at the ceiling. He's sweating, hair sticking to his forehead. At least it helped warm him up.

He can feel your gaze on him, and he frowns, tilting his head to the side to look at you. He raises a brow, his gaze flicking over your face. You really are too hot to be as annoying as you are.

“What? I'm not gonna cuddle you. It's warm now. Go to bed.” He glances at you one last time before turning his back to you, lying on his side and closing his eyes.

He's out like a light in a minute flat.

[sanjoongie]

ₛₙₒwₑd ᵤₙdₑᵣ

☃snowed under: be overwhelmed with a very large quantity of something, especially work.

☃Submission for the Anti Holiday Event from @lapydiaries, prompt chosen: too busy to go home

☃Rated: 18+, MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

☃Genre: fluff, smut

☃Pairing: Jung Wooyoung x Reader (f)

☃Au: non-idol, office

☃Trope: co-workers to lovers

☃Word Count: 4,493

☃Warnings: Wooyoung is a persistent menace, he also flirts while cooking, kissing, slight body worship, biting, oral (f), hair tugging, hand holding during oral 🥺, kissing with your cum on his lips, penetrative sex with a condom, slight overstim, pain kink, scratching, wooyoung is a panty thief

☃Summary: when your work makes you too busy for the holidays, or gives you any time to visit home, you gain a temporary guest in Wooyoung who is looking to chase away the holiday blues with you. But will a sentimental, intimate setting make this into more than it was meant to be?

☃Soundtrack: Stray Kids' Christmas EveL album {Happy Holidays 🥰}

You cradled your phone between your shoulder and your ear, typing out a work email on your laptop. “I know I know Mom but it’s utterly too busy. I can’t. I’m sorry.”

Your mother let out a disappointed sigh and your heart hurt from the sound. “I know work comes first but I was hoping…”

“I was hoping too,” You said eagerly, trying to portray to your mother that you weren’t using work as an excuse. “But this holiday advertisement is just booming and we’ve gotten so many offers for work after Christmas. I can’t just jet off and leave my team to handle everything.”

“I know, dear,” Your mom sounded wearing but proud. “You’ll find time to call though?”

“I will, I promise.”

You said your goodbyes and hung up, rubbing your temples. What was it that you had to do next?

“Heyyyyyyy.” Wooyoung rapped his knuckles on the doorframe to your office and then upon a quick inspection that you weren’t on the phone or otherwise occupied, he collapsed onto the chair in front of you and your desk as well.

Quickly, you moved your open drink out of the way, in case Wooyoung decided to be even more dramatic, and spilled your drink. “Can I help you?” You mused.

“Why did we decide to launch a holiday campaign? I'M EXHAUSTED!” Wooyoung lamented into your desk.

“It’s extremely lucrative,” You brought up.

“Yes, but is the money worth my mental state?” Wooyoung wailed.

Project Manager was a title you held with honor while Wooyoung was your graphics designer. You tried your best to help him out by being the communication between the client and Wooyoung, but Wooyoung still had to bear most of the creative weight. He was pulling long hours at the office and you felt bad for pushing him so hard.

You tentatively patted his head and you froze when Wooyoung moaned loudly. “Uh, Wooyoung, that’s not exactly appropriate noise for being in my office.”

Wooyoung sat up, a pout pulling at his lips. “That’s the first comfort I’ve had in like 72 hours, come on!”

“At least the client has finally settled on what they would like color wise?” You offered optimistically.

Wooyoung blew a raspberry, sinking into the chair until his chin hit his chest. “For now.”

You made a noise of sympathy. “I’ll make it up to you,” You offered.

Wooyoung’s lips were lifted in a sign of dissatisfaction. “Unless you can give me extra time so I at least get to enjoy the holidays then I’m not sure how you can do that.”

You winced. “If it’s any consolation, I'm in the same camp, buddy.”

Wooyoung suddenly brightened up, sitting up in the chair. “Yeah?”

“You needn’t look so enthused,” You grumbled goodnaturedly.

Wooyoung laughed brightly and tipped his head back, covering his mouth. “No. I just mean! I’m all alone for the holidays too.”

It took you a few minutes to absorb that information and to understand why Wooyoung would be excited about you being alone too. “Oh no,” You said, putting your hands up. “Absolutely not.”

Wooyoung frowned and began to whine. “What do you mean no? It could be fun. Come on!”

As much as you were a very hands on person in your job life, it took a lot out of your social battery. So when you clocked out, you enjoyed the solitude and silence of your home. It gave you a headache even imagining Wooyoung in your home for even a 24 hour period. You began to rub your eyebrow in worry.

“I’ll be the best guest, the very very best,” Wooyoung promised. He took your hand into both of his and clasped it warmly. “Plus, I hear you’ve got a nice place. It’s probably nothing like the cramped bachelor I’ve got.”

“Wooyoung…” You tried to tug your hand back, but Wooyoung had a very firm grip on you.

“You said you’d make it up to me!” Wooyoung pouted with his eyes now, making them big and wet and pleading up at you.

You sighed heavily. “Fine. I am a woman of my word.”

Fast forward to the week of Christmas, specifically Christmas Eve. Wooyoung landed on your doorstep bright and early, much to your not-an-early-bird chagrin.

You invited him in and it was a whirlwind as Wooyoung typically emulated. His mouth fell open and his eyes went wide. He twirled around as he took in the second floor balcony and your eight foot tall Christmas tree. “Your place is gorgeous!” He yelled.

You grasped the back of his jacket, that was currently only being held up in the crook of his elbows, and pulled it off to hang up. “Thank you, Wooyoung. Now--”

Wooyoung was already in your state-of-the-art kitchen, rummaging through your cupboards. “Do we need to go to the grocery store? It doesn’t look like you have flour. You do have sugar, that’s a good sign. We’ll need coloring and sprinkles and--”

“Wooyoung!” You shouted.

Your graphic designer paused, eyes on you, mid-grab of a mixing bowl you didn’t even remember you had. “What?”

“Why are you tearing apart my kitchen?” You screeched.

“Uhhhhhhhhhh,” Wooyoung drew out the syllable like his tongue needed to catch up with his brain. “Because we’re going to make Christmas yummies?”

You groaned and rolled your eyes. “It’s the holidays!” you protested. “We should be resting. Ordering take out. Maybe watching some movies?”

Wooyoung frowned like you just told him Santa wasn’t real. “But I had this whole plan. Making homemade hot cocoa and dipping Frosty the Snowman cookies in them!”

You rubbed your face with your hand. “Wooyoung.”

Wooyoung rounded your island and grabbed your two hands between his again. “I promise it’ll be fun. Come on. Don’t you want some holiday cheer in here?”

Somehow you let Wooyoung talk you into going to the grocery store, even though it was chilly and you hated the cold. But Wooyoung’s enthusiasm drew you like a moth to a flame. So you let him tug you through the rows, as he grabbed ingredients for his grand master plan.

“What about Christmas dinner?” Wooyoung wondered.

“Wooyoung… there’s only the two of us. Surely you don’t want a turkey too?!” You said, flabbergasted.

Wooyoung laughed, high pitched and throwing his head back, just like in your office. People looked over at you and you felt your cheeks heat up. “We can do something smaller. Come on. It’s the least I can do for you, since you took me in. Otherwise, I might just be heating up a microwave dinner in my tiny bachelor.”

Your mouth opened and closed. “Okay.”

Wooyoung bit down on his lower lip, eagerly eyeballing you. “Yeah?”

You breathed in deeply and let it out with a gusty sigh. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

Impulsively, Wooyoung brought your hands to his lips and he gave them a loud smacking kiss on the back of them. “You won’t regret it!”

Your mouth dropped as Wooyoung dashed down the aisle, his boots squeaking against the linoleum as he took the corner quickly. Did your coworker just kiss your hands?

“Woo-Wooyoung!” You shouted at him.

“We need peanuts!” Wooyoung shouted.

You pushed the cart full of baking supplies already and attempted to follow the lightning bolt that was named Wooyoung.

Back at your house, you sat on your couch, leaning over the back, watching as Wooyoung took over your kitchen. He prepared everything mise en place, carefully measuring and setting out various plates and bowls of ingredients. Once he was ready, and he turned on the oven, his eyes glittered as he looked at you.

“I’m missing something,” He announced.

“Oh no, did we forget something?” You worried, looking around, hoping it was still in a grocery bag.

Wooyoung grabbed an apron from a bag on a chair and walked steadily towards you. “I need a sous-chef.”

“Oh, Wooyoung, I don’t--”

Wooyoung ignored you. He was behind you, reaching around and tying an apron around your waist. You held in your breath as Wooyoung finished the knot at the small of your back. He put his hands on your shoulders and turned you around. “I’ll guide you through everything.”

A shiver slid down your spine. You mentally smacked yourself. There was no need to have any dirty throughts while Wooyoung simply meant you didn’t have to worry about fucking up his Christmas baking. Right?

Wrong.

Wooyoung had his arms around you the majority of the prepping. If anything needed to be cut up, his hands were around yours, showing the proper way to cut. If you had the rolling pin, he was leaning with you as pie dough was flattened. He made sure your hands were properly floured. He mixed cookie dough with you in your mysterious mixing bowl, feeding a piece of cookie dough and chocolate chunks into your mouth.

That was your last straw. “I need a break,” You said, breaking Wooyoung’s seemingly magic hold on you.

“Why why why, what’s wrong?” Wooyoung’s brown, wet eyes followed you as you put the island between him and you.

“Bathroom break,” You lied through your teeth and made a beeline for your upstairs bathroom, the one connected to your bedroom.

You pushed the door closed behind you and raised your hand to your lips. You swore you could still feel his fingers brushing against your lips as he--you slapped your cheeks with both hands, hoping to wake yourself from whatever dreamland you were in right now. What the actual fuck was going on right now?

You ran the water next and had splashed your face a few times before a loud knock on the door scared the shit out of you, making you jump in the air.

“Hey, are you okay?” Wooyoung’s voice filtered through the wood.

“Yeah!” You shouted back. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You seemed a little flushed down there. You aren’t coming down with anything, are you? I could pivot and make chicken soup if you need it.”

You sighed loudly. Wooyoung was simply a touchy-feely guy. He cared and he gave. You were looking way too fucking deep into everything. Whatever you were feeling, needed to be reeled back.

You opened the door and pasted a cheerful smile on your face. “No, I’m fine. Like I said, bathroom break. Why did you follow me up here anyways? Don’t you have cookies to check on?”

Wooyoung rolled back and forth on the balls of his feet, like he was holding himself back. “I’ve got a timer for that.”

You waited for Wooyoung to turn to the side so that you could leave your bathroom but he didn’t budge. “Wooyoung.”

Wooyoung’s eyes flitted across your face and you weren’t sure what he was trying to find there. This whole situation felt weird. You felt like Wooyoung was waiting for you to say or do something, but you didn’t know what that was. You let out a sigh and moved past Wooyoung.

“I’m going to go find a movie to put on. Are you more of a The Santa Clause guy or The Christmas Story?”

Your body brushed by Wooyoung’s and in that moment you learned exactly what Wooyoung had been waiting for. His arms circled behind your back and stopped you from moving past him completely. His eyes remained studying your face and his Adam’s apple bobbed in apprehension.

“Boss, do you know why I’m here today?” He asked, his tongue flickering over the freckle on his lip.

You froze. “Uh, because otherwise we’d both be alone on Christmas?”

“No,” Wooyoung murmured. “So that I could get closer to you.”

You laughed nervously. “Well, this is pretty close.”

“Not close enough,” Wooyoung whispered and then leaned forward to press his lips against yours.

His tongue followed the seam of your lips until you opened up for him. Then it tangled with your tongue, as if he was searching out of the taste of the sweet cookie dough you had just consumed minutes ago. It wasn’t until Wooyoung moaned softly into your mouth that you pushed at his shoulders and broke the kiss.

“What was that?” You whispered.

“That was a kiss, Boss,” Wooyoung teased.

“No, seriously!”

“You didn’t like it?”

You didn’t know how you felt. Your mind was reeling with your reality. Did you graphics designer just kiss you with tongue? And did you like it?

A loud buzzer sounded through your loft and then Wooyoung yelped in response. “The cookies!” He shouted and bounded out of your bedroom. And then ran back to the doorframe. “We’re not done with this conversation!” He shouted at you and then ran downstairs.

You were half tempted to lock your bedroom door until Wooyoung threatened to break down the door but you didn’t want to bother the entire building with your drama. So you slowly but surely moved out of your bedroom and down the stairs into the living room.

Wooyoung was moving his chocolate chunk cookies to a cooling rack. His eyes found yours and then he snatched a cookie. “They’re soft and gooey, you should have one.”

You stared at Wooyoung as he broke a cookie apart and then fed it to you. And when you didn’t open your mouth immediately, he said “ah!” loudly until you did. The cookies were perfect. Just like Wooyoung’s typical work.

Wooyoung smiled happily as you chewed and then zoomed back behind the island to decorate the Frosty cookies from earlier.

“So?” Wooyoung asked, without lifting his eyes from his work.

“The cookies are perfect,” You said cautiously.

Wooyoung sent you the most bald-face look, clearly expressing he knew you were avoiding his actual question.

“I’m still processing,” You said.

“I could kiss you again if you need more data,” Wooyoung grinned wickedly.

“I’m turning on a damn movie,” You grumbled.

Wooyoung blew a raspberry at your response but finished his job nonetheless. He made hot cocoa. He slowly heated up the milk, melted the dark chocolate with a double boiler, and whisked his own whip cream.

By the time the intro for The Santa Clause was done, Wooyoung was bringing over his festively decorated Frosty the Snowman cookies and two mugs of hot cocoa. You dug in and you couldn't help but moan out loud at how good the cookies were with the hot cocoa.

“See,” Wooyoung sent you a knowing look, “I know exactly what I’m doing.”

“Do you?” You couldn't help but say quietly.

Wooyoung froze mid dip of his cookie. “Are you a serial killer or something I don’t know about?”

Now it was your turn to send him a dirty look. “No but I don’t have any time to entertain a relationship, Wooyoung. You know better than anyone how much my work life consumes my time.”

“Yeah I do know,” Wooyoung agreed.

Wooyoung put his own cookie and mug down, prying the same items from your hands as well, and putting them on the coffee table. “Do you think that information changes how I feel?”

You couldn't help but gasp. “Wooyoung, shut up.”

Wooyoung shook his head. “No, I won’t. We work together, so that’ll make up for the time we don’t get at home. And don’t you know how healing it is to even sleep in the same bed as the one you--?”

You pressed a finger to Wooyoung’s lips. “Stop that.”

Wooyoung gently set his teeth into the tip of your finger playfully. “Don’t tempt me with a good time,” he said with a husky voice.

“Wooyoung!” You hadn't meant for his name to come out as a whine but it did. You could feel your resolve crumbling.

“I can take care of you,” Wooyoung said, his face completely open. “I can cook, I can fu--”

“No, No! Wooyoung, this is ludicrous. Work romances are notoriously messy. What happens if it doesn’t work out? We work too closely together. Plus, if we sleep together, you’ll always look at me like I’m a present to unwrap for you and I cannot handle that on the daily.”

Wooyoung broke out into giggles. “You’re the boss. Who’s going to yell at you if you’re the one that got caught doing it in your office?”

“We are not doing it in my office, Wooyoung!”

Wooyoung pushed you to your back on the couch. “Can we do it here?” He cocked his head cutely.

Goosebumps littered your skin. You could barely handle Wooyoung begging to go on constant coffee runs at work, how did you think you could deny him this?

“No, we cannot do it here,” You whispered, your throat tight with lust.

“I’ll make you a fresh cup of cocoa when we’re done,” Wooyoung promised, leaned down.

Wooyoung once again stole your breath and a kiss from your lips. His lips pressed against yours and then after a few smooches, his lips travelled along your jaw and then down your neck. You were craning your neck to give him room before you realized he was enjoying himself a little too much by sucking a mark there.

“Jung Wooyoung,” You growled, slapping a hand over the mark. “You did not!”

Wooyoung looked pleased with himself. “I did.”

“You must be stopped,” You said in exasperation.

Wooyoung’s eyes glittered with amusement. “I don’t want you to tell me to stop until you get overstimulated.”

“Excuse you?!” You squawked.

Wooyoung was dissolving into giggles again, all the while pushing your sweater up to reveal your stomach and bra. His lips kissed along the tops of your breasts, following the curve of your breast until he met your sternum. He gently but thoroughly kissed down your stomach before his eyes flicked back up to meet yours again.

“I’ve been a good boy. I let you taste my cookies. Let me taste you now.”

You sucked in a breath, only feeding Wooyoung’s ego even more. Still, he patiently waited until you nodded stiffly and then he hooked his fingers under your sweats and underwear, and pulled them off until you were bare from the waist down.

Your heart beat out of your chest as he settled between your legs and placed sweet kisses along your mound. You could feel yourself warming up for the graphics designer. He bit down into the flesh part of your thigh before soothing it with his tongue and kisses.

When Wooyoung ate you out, you felt like you were an ice cream sandwich. His tongue delicately licked your inner folds like he was truly gathering your wetness on his tongue to taste you. His eyes would shoot back to yours every once in a while, to gauge how you were but you were simply a whimpering mess, biting down on your finger to keep your moans from getting louder.

Wooyoung tugged on your arm until you let go of your finger. “Wanna hear how good I’m doing,” He mumbled and then went back to business.

“Oh fuck,” You cursed as Wooyoung began to kitten-lick your clit.

One hand dove into his hair to hold him in place and your other scratched against the cushion below you. Wooyoung immediately pressed his fingers in between yours, just as he flattened his tongue against your clit, knowing you’d need the support.

“Wooyoung, wait!” You whined. “I’m gonna--jesus!”

Your thighs shook as your orgasm ripped through you embarrassingly early. It had been a while since you had gotten such good head.

“Oh fuck that’s hot,” Wooyoung mumbled before he was climbing up your body to kiss you again.

You could taste yourself on his tongue and his lips and you shuddered at how dirty it was.

“See, told you I could take care of you,” Wooyoung whispered, lips pink and swollen from kissing you and eating you out.

You swallowed loudly. “You did.”

“Let me fuck you on the couch,” Wooyoung pleaded, pressing his head to your forehead charmingly.

“You better have a condom,” You scowled.

“Never leave home without them!” Wooyoung proclaimed.

He stood up and reached into his back pocket, and pulled out a condom package. He bit down on the packaging and then began to undo his pants.

“Wooyoung…oh god.” You went from scolding Wooyoung to moaning about the state of his lower half. He had barely pushed his pants down to his thighs when you saw his cock pressed up against his black boxer briefs. He was thick.

Wooyoung pressed his lips together as he smoothed the condom over his length. “I’m going to stuff you, lovely, just you wait.”

You pushed yourself up from the couch, sitting up the proper way, facing Wooyoung. “If you make some corny joke about me being a turkey, I swear to god,” You threatened.

Wooyoung threw back his head and laughed; the same laugh that had been entertaining you from the office to the grocery store and now in your living room. It never failed to make your heart skip a beat. Whether it was its charm or its owner, you weren’t quite sure, but it always made you react.

“Nah, I just wanna fuck you good,” Wooyoung admitted.

“Shut up,” You whispered, feeling your face heat up again.

“Gladly,” Wooyoung whispered huskily.

He slipped between your legs, rubbing up against your wet folds. His lips pressed against yours, sensually kissing you while he slicked up his condom-covered cock. It was a bit of a job working himself deeper inside of you. You were tighter once you’ve come, however, Wooyoung sounded like he was enjoying every moment of it.

“Sucking me in, jesus,” Wooyoung grunted.

“I am not,” You hissed.

Wooyoung grinned in response. He scooped a leg under one arm and bend pulled it up so he could get a better angle inside of you. “Your pussy is greedy for me.”

“Wooyoung!” You scolded him under your breath.

Wooyoung started to rock his hips against yours, groaning at the sensation. You squirmed a bit as your sensitive clit rubbed against his taut stomach.

“I got you,” Wooyoung cooed at you, cupping your face with his free hand.

“It's too much,” You whined.

Wooyoung’s grin couldn't get any wider. “Want me to stop?”

You couldn't help but pout. “No, I just--” You moaned as he grounded against you again.

“You like a little pain with your pleasure?” Wooyoung lifted an eyebrow at you. “That’s cool. Me too.”

“I--”

You dug your fingers into Wooyoung’s shoulders as his hips swiveled against yours again. Wooyoung hissed and then he chuckled. “There you go.”

You wrapped your legs around Wooyoung’s waist, bucking your hips and meeting his thrusts. You could feel your wetness smearing against Wooyoung’s pelvis but you couldn't give a crap because it felt so good.

You dug your teeth into the nape of his shoulder next and Wooyoung gasped. “Fuck yes.”

The both of you soon unraveled together. You sweet whines intermingled with Wooyoung’s loud, lusty moans. Wooyoung panted into the crook of your shoulder for a moment until his softening cock made him slip out of you and then you both groaned at the sensation. The condom remained and you watched in utter horror as his cum spilled out of the condom and onto your couch.

“Ah, shit,” Wooyoung laughed, eyes looking around for a cloth.

He pulled his pants and underwear up and as he jogged into the kitchen to wet a clean tea towel.

You winced as you pulled the condom out of you and tied it up. You left the couch to throw out the condom. You tugged your shirt back down and looked for where Wooyoung had tossed your--

“Here,” Wooyoung intercepted you with your pants.

You opened your mouth to address what exactly just happened but Wooyoung’s phone went off.

He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it without pause. “Hey, Mom.”

Oh god. If you two hadn't come any earlier, you would have been interrupted by his mom calling. That was--

Wooyoung cupped his mouth over his phone. “No, I told you--uh, what? My location is different?” Wooyoung chuckled nervously. “What are you talking about?”

Wooyoung held his phone away from his ear as his mother screeched through the speaker. “Why didn’t you just bring the girl home instead of telling me you were too busy with work? Don’t you think I’d want to meet her?”

Wooyoung’s eyes widened, shot anxiously to you, and then his lips pressed his cheeks back. “Mom. Seriously, we’re swamped with work, there’s no time.”

“Well, you make sure you make time to call your family tomorrow, okay? I don’t care how into this girl you are, your family--”

You didn’t hear the rest of the conversation because Wooyoung dashed into the downstairs half bath and closed the door with his foot.

You sympathized at least about the mother disappointed in her child not coming home for the holidays.

At least it gave you time to put your pants on. You frowned when you didn’t find your underwear, however.

Wooyoung must have finished up his call because he came out with an ‘aw shucks’ look on his face. “I’m sorry about that. My mom is--”

“Your mom,” You mused out loud.

“Yeah,” Wooyoung laughed and then his face dropped. “Listen, there’s no pressure, we can just enjoy this and--”

“Eat dinner? Finish the movie?” you offered.

Wooyoung’s eyes scanned your face except this time you knew what he was looking for: Wooyoung wanted to know that everything was okay. You had just been fed and thoroughly fucked. What wasn’t there to like? “Yeah?”

“Yes, Wooyoung, I’m not going to kick you out of my place,” You deadpanned. “Geez, what kind of person do you take me for?”

“A harsh task mistress who's hard to impress,” Wooyoung supplied.

You laughed under breath, that was part a sigh. “You’re still sleeping on the couch.”

“Wait--hey!” Wooyoung protested. “Surely I wasn’t that bad of a lay!”

“No, for making a cum stain on my couch,” You replied.

“I didn’t even get a chance and I’m already in the dog house?” Wooyoung muttered to himself.

It was your turn to throw your head back and laugh, clutching your stomach and tears streaming down your face.

“Okay, it’s not that funny,” Wooyoung pouted, cleaning up his mess.

“Let’s see after supper,” You relented.

You could practically see Wooyoung’s ears perk up. “I’ll blow your pants off a second time.”

“Wooyoung,” You said his name in warning.

Wooyoung looked pleased at your response. “Maybe the third time I can convince you to let me sleep in the bed with you.”

It looked like you weren’t going to be able to shake off this man and you felt a little bit better for it. You two could fill the void each other was feeling after working so hard. And maybe you’d get to finish the movie too.

“As soon as you tell me where my underwear are,” You raised an eyebrow at him.

Wooyoung grinned. “They’re mine now.”

“Wooyoung!”

[lilybug-02]

Happy 2 Year Anniversary to The Chara Timeline ✨

I FINALLY made drawing references for you guys, yippie!✨

It’s wild how long I’ve been working on this comic without reference sheets. I’m never that consistent with my art style, so I figured it was a waste of time 🫥💀😔 this is my first full comic okay…

Thoughts and Feelings About the Comic Below ❤️💖💕💞

Wow. It’s been 2 years??? I thought I would be done with this comic in 2 months! I don’t know whether to feel worried or accomplished!!

(With months between each update, I understand why it’s been 2 years. I’m a slow writer and artist and well- many things have come up in my life that had to come first, like my sisters wedding! 💞 and college 😅)

I want to thank my family and friends (WHO DO NOT READ THIS COMIC- THANK GOD) 💕 AND I want to THANK YOU! The readers! 💐💐

You guys are relentless! I’m as impatient as traffic and yet you guys wait for weeks or months at a time for like 4 pages?! You guys don’t even complain!!! I truly want to thank you all for that ❤️ it helps me so much. Being busy and getting burnt out are common and it helps me feel relaxed that i'm not on a timer. Literally tho- you guys keep this comic chugging I swear. Tysm 💐

Unorganized rambling about the comic ahead :) ⭐️🔥

—

My feelings with this comic are actually so complicated. On one hand I hate looking at my older art because GOD IT LOOKS SO OFF I want to stab it, and then on the other hand I am so so proud of myself for even continuing it this far. Ngl the weird route has been one of my favorite parts of this comic. It took me FOREVER to figure out an ending, but damn do I still get chills >:) hehe.

I’m still miffed that I named this project “Deltarune: The Chara Timeline” I could have gone for something so much COOLER. Doesn’t help I use like 7 different titles for it either. We got Deltarune the Chara timeline, Deltarune chara timeline, THE Chara timeline, chara timeline, Ct??? Man,,, I’m crazy. I take after my family so hard. We have 3 names for each of our dogs 💀.

Comic/Animation Tip i have learned. It is VERY GOOD to make the character relatively simple in design. Shape language is also super important, ((but I never really got around to doing that before I was half way through the comic, woops.)) These things can make ur process go by so much faster. This whole comic has been a HUGE learning curve. LIKE OH MY GOD. I had to learn how to draw backgrounds, write dialogue, plan a story, learn how to draw fast and draw noses (which god damn I really still can’t). And I had to learn how the heck to squeeze art into a tiny page and make it not look grainy. It's intense!

Anyways.... this has been such an awesome opportunity! Thanks Toby Fox!

I totally ran out of “art time” for my iPad and wanted to finish this today. So it’s a bit rushed. I’ll add weapons and possibly the other characters later :)

Oh shi- I forgot to add this grainy image of the next few pages lmao

[cutielando]

legacy | max verstappen

synopsis: in which your son follows in Max's footsteps

pairing: dad!max verstappen x mother!reader

my masterlist

"I'm so nervous. Why am I so nervous?" Max asked you as he stressed around, going in circles.

"Now you know how I've been feeling for the best 15 years, honey" you chuckled as you patted him on the back.

Yours and Max' eldest son had his first karting race today and Max has been the most worried parent in the world. 

From checking his car over and over again, to making sure his gear would keep him perfectly safe, to talking him through every single thing he would ever need to know multiple times leading up to the race.

Your son was more than ready.

But Max still couldn't help but worry.

He was so happy when Y/S/N started showing interest in karting at a young age, glad that he could share his life's work with his son. 

He had taken your little family to multiple races ever since he decided to retire from racing after he won his 10th WDC title. He loved explaining to your boy all about the cars, how they worked and how they managed to go so fast, basking in the curious gaze of your little boy.

Now that it was really down to his first karting race, Max was slowly starting to regret indulging his son's passion for racing sports.

"This is karma biting me in the ass, isn't it?" he asked slowly, still agitated.

"Yup" you smiled, crouching down when you saw your son running towards you.

"Mommy! Daddy! Are you ready to watch me?" Y/S/N asked once he reached you and gave you a hug, going to hug Max's tall body next.

"Of course we are, sweetie. We'll be cheering you on the entire time" you kissed his head before getting up, checking your phone quickly.

You had left your baby girl at home with your sister, skeptical about bringing her to the rink when she was still so young.

Y/S/N understood, even though he had wanted her there with him. He knew she was too young to even understand what he was doing.

"Now, remember what we talked about..." Max started telling your son and you zoned out, watching the two of them interacting.

You had come such a long way from when you first started dating. You never believed you would actually get to this point, happily married with 2 amazing and beautiful children. And yet, here you were, happier than ever, Max stressed as ever as well.

"Mommy, can you tell dad to stop worrying?" your boy asked as he took your hand and pulled you out of your thoughts.

You laughed and ruffled his hair. "Believe me, it's all I've been trying to do ever since we left home this morning" 

Max rolled his eyes but smiled, worry still etched on his face.

♡♡♡♡♡

The race was well underway and your son was absolutely dominating every other small driver in the race. 

He was leading and had managed to create a very impressive gap between him and the others, doing wonders on the track.

You kept stealing glances at Max who didn't let up his focus and concentration for even a second, his eyes glued to the screens and sometimes darting to the track when your son would pass you.

"And the winner is... Y/S/N Verstappen!" the commentator yelled out when the race had finally finished and your boy had come in first.

Max cheered loudly, quickly disregarding his headphones and scooping you up in his arms, both of you laughing and cheering.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Y/S/N yelled as he parked his car, got out and immediately spotted you in the big crowd of proud parents.

"You did it! You were so good, my love" you gushed as you helped him take off his helmet so you could hug him properly.

"Daddy! Did you see how good I was? I did it for you!" Y/S/N yelled out as you let go of him and he jumped into Max's awaiting arms.

"You did so good, my boy!" Max kissed the boy on the cheek and squeezed him tightly, making eye contact with you over the boy's shoulder.

You teared up a little, watching the two most important boys in your life embracing after such a big moment in your little boy's life.

It made you think of Max in his racing days, how you got the exact same feeling when he would be the one winning races.

He had some competition now.

♡♡♡♡♡

After taking Y/S/N for some well-deserved ice cream and some cheat food, the three of you made your way home, knowing your sister would probably be overwhelmed with your little girl.

"We're home!" you announced as soon as you entered the house, your sister and your daughter immediately appearing out of the kitchen.

"Hi, baby!" you cooed as you took your girl, her eyes wide and her smile wide as she recognized her mama cradling her.

"How was she today?" Max asked as he gave your sister a quick hug before opening the spare room and depositing Y/S/N's karting gear.

"Can I talk to her, mom?" your boy asked eagerly, and you knew he wanted to tell her all about his race.

You nodded and after saying goodbye to your sister, the four of you went to the living room, taking a seat on the couch.

You carefully put your daughter in your son's arms, and the moment she had settled down, Y/S/N started telling her every single detail about the race, her blabbing away happily as she watched her brother with wide eyes.

You knew she couldn't understand a word he was saying, but watching him with her made your heart explode with happiness.

♡♡♡♡♡

"What are you thinking about?" you asked Max once you went back downstairs after putting your children to bed.

Max was sitting on the couch, holding a trophy and a photo frame in his hands.

As you took a seat next to him, you recognized the trophy as being the last World Champion title he received before retiring, and the photo was of you two, holding newborn Y/S/N in your arms on the podium with him.

You smiled at the fond memories, remembering both days like it was yesterday.

"He reminds me of myself" he quietly said, a ghost of a smile present on his lips.

"He will give you a run for your money one day" you joked, bumping your shoulder with his.

He chuckled and nodded, but you noticed his smile didn't reach his eyes like it usually did when you would talk about your son.

"What's wrong?" you started rubbing circles on his back, feeling the tense muscles under your touch.

"I don't want him going through the same things I did" he explained, setting down both the trophy and the photo frame.

You took his face in your hands and made him face you.

"He's not going to go through that because he has us. We will make sure of that"

"I know, but we both know there will be talk because he's my son. Just like there was talk about me when I first started racing" he continued, looking down at his lap.

"Listen to me. Y/S/N has talent like I've never seen before in someone his age" Max mimics a look of offense, but you continue nonetheless. "People are going to see how talented he is and they won't even think about saying bad things about him or belittling him or his talent. He still has a very long way to go, my love"

Max pondered for a moment but nodded, wrapping his arms around you.

"I love you so much, you're the best mother I could have ever asked for for them" he whispered in your ear, kissing the spot just behind it.

"And you're the best father this world has ever seen. I love you, baby"

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[blueraith]

What does fanfiction mean to you?

I'm asking this question because today I came across some ugly, mean-spirited, catty behavior towards a fic author that I haven't seen in a very, very long time, and I think it's important we discuss it as a community.

Y'all know how long I've been doing this? Fanfiction, that is.

Eighteen years.

I've posted across different platforms, on different handles, in different ways for a long, long time. More than half of my life at this point, from fourteen years old.

Fanfiction is how I personally engage with fandom the most. It's THE most important thing to me, frankly, because it is the common thread between each and every single fandom I have ever participated in.

It's self-expression to me. Folk art. Collaborative and fun. I truly hope that most people who engage in fanfiction learn what it is to beta for someone even if you don't write yourself. It can be a fantastic experience in and of itself. Being the backboard to someone else's ideas, watching as they take genuine joy out of spinning a story together to put onto the page, seeing it come to life before anyone else and feeling almost as proud as the author themselves after they finally post it.

It's ultimately why I decided to make this post far more positive and productive than the angry, grumpy, blood boiling rant that I initially was churning over in my mind after the horrible posts I saw earlier.

I'll detail them here purely for context because I think it's important to recognize toxic fandom behavior when we see it. And speak out when we stumble across it.

The first post lauded itself as an 'honest review' of a popular fanfiction in a community I am a part of. That honest review was nothing more than a pop-critique filled with a sort of catty, snarky write up that is so popular nowadays online purely to gain clout more than to act as actual, constructive criticism. It was unnecessary and acted as though the fanfiction author was a professional, New York Times Bestseller rather than someone devoting hours of their free time and effort into a hobby that is ultimately meant to be fun and pleasant.

The second post by the same person claimed that their friend had challenged them to write their own version of the premise of this fanfiction under a read more cut. It spent some time applying a thin veneer of so-called respect to the original author, but was merely nothing more than contempt really. I simply fail to see the need to ever do this while publicly attaching an author's name and work title and arrogantly parade your own work as superior to their own. Why tear down someone else?

I pushed back against them directly on this post, they took it down, but not before childishly trying to excuse their actions and claiming that 'if someone is publicly posting, then they should be able to handle vocal criticism.'

But you know what? One, what that person was doing was not constructive criticism. I think back to the beta session I had with a friend right after this incident and I think to myself, how sad must it be that this is what this person thinks is valuable criticism. That this is the way they chose to engage with the fanfiction community and thought they were in the right to do so.

Two, and perhaps even more importantly, people are accountable for the things that they post. The things that they say. It would have cost this person nothing to never make those posts in the first place. To never risk an author coming across a mean-spirited and malicious teardown of the work they put hours into and risk harming their self-esteem, mental health, or confidence in their own writing.

Because we do not know who these people are behind their handles. We do not know if they're new to writing. If they are experienced but going through a tough time. There are real people who write the content you choose to consume.

Fanfiction is a collaborative process. Writers provide the free content, and it is the reader's responsibility to know when their input would be valuable.

Is what you have to say helpful? Is it kind? Is it necessary?

If the feedback you want to provide does not hit at least two of those things, what you have to say does not matter. Period.

And I daresay that in the vast majority of cases, kindness should be considered mandatory out of the three.

In return, writers will often throw in ideas they've read out of reviews, they'll reach out to their most ardent followers for things like beta-ing or joining a discord server nowadays. There's always been a give and take in this community.

Fanfiction is a cornerstone of fandom for a reason. And it is particularly important in the queer community, going all the way back to actual physical magazines in which people mailed in their KirkxSpock fic decades ago. Over time we've experimented on the process, moved to countless different platforms, survived collapses of all sorts of communities, only to rally over and over again around each other to be able to tell the tales we wanted to see but were not getting as queer folk amongst mainstream media.

And in that time, it's been long agreed on in this space that you do not tear down another writer to build yourself up. Ever. Period. This has long been the only thing in fanfiction that has been aggressively policed, called out, and nipped in the bud when experienced members of this community come across it.

It will not be tolerated.

I shouldn't have to make this post, but I suppose this is the changing of the guard, so to speak. We have a new generation of fic writers and readers coming into the space daily and while so many of you are wonderful, creative, and welcomed members of this space that has been here long before me or anyone of my age, there are some who do not know how to act in the fanfiction community.

And it is up to us to make it clear in no uncertain terms that they will need to either get with program or be pushed out.

To become the best version of yourself as a writer requires hours of work, of posting again and again, of experimentation, of putting hints of your own life and experiences onto the page. The vast majority of us will never be published, and that's just fine for most of us. We engage in this hobby because of how joyful it can be to write something dear to our hearts, share it with the world, and be validated that others enjoyed the work that we put in.

Frankly, readers will always owe it to us to respect that process and work. To be respectful and kind when interacting with authors. Constructive criticism can be welcomed but perhaps ask if the author is open to it and do not take it personally if they are not. And if they are, then learn how to give it with the writer's best interest in mind rather than your own ego.

I don't ordinarily request reblogs to my posts, I rant into the void and it doesn't matter to me if anyone really interacts on an ordinary day lol. But today, I want to ask that people share this message out in your fandoms, because I will be tagging it in the fandoms I interacted in, both past and present. Because fanfiction is a common thread that unites so many of us, and I think this is an important reminder on how we need to be respectful and kind to one another in this space.

If you feel comfortable, I would also love to hear how fanfiction is important to you. How you got into it. Why you love to either read, write, or beta it.

This is hobby that is meant to be fun, so let's have fun.

[ruckooos]

What about each of the Black Dragon guys x reader during a movie marathon? What snacks do they bring, genres do they like.. do they talk during movies or get frustrated at the plot? I wanna know everything :3

RUCKOOOS' NOTES: this is the best ask I've ever gotten /lh. I'm gonna have so much fun w/ this 😭 I'm also proud of the title, plus compliment it and call me amazing.

CONTENT: Disturbed Kano, Kabal being a himbo (canon), Erron being awkward, gluttony, psychological torture, mental deterioration, maniacal actions, psychopathy, sadism. I'm kinda all over the place

WATCHLIST

All 3 black dragon men x gn!reader

__KANO

strikes me as a violence, splatterpunk enjoyer.

his favorite movie of all time is Terrifier 2 definitely. Now I say this because of a... certain scene (iykyk) which I can honestly see him taking as inspiration

But aside from Terrifier, Kano would be a Saw fanatic, with Saw VI being his favorite.

Some honorable mentions for movies he has violated your optic organs with + where you watched them:

-Hostel: he took you to Europe (or back to Australia if you alr live there) for vacation, treating you like a prince/princess/royalty the whole day. This was partly so he could drop the bomb of this movie on you at night, but obv bc Kano luvs u <3. Anyways, you two were settling down in your hotel room, when he brought up the idea of watching a movie to end the day. "Just to end it on an even betta' note" he'd say, "I promise I know a reeaally romantic one that you'll like" You trusted him, turning a blind eye to the fact that you're with a deceived conman, completely placing your eyes in the trust of a man with an affinity to violence. He puts on the movie Hostel, and for the first part you didn't really see the romantic bit, just some goons who were trying to lose their virginity. Safe to say, about an hour in, you were mentally deteriorating at the rate of a war veteran. Kano definitely had to spoil you even more the next day as an apology -Final Destination 5: This one, you knew what you were getting yourself into. Doesn't mean you fully agreed to it, though. Kano went on his knees to beg you to allow him to show you. "It's really really fantastic, I promise, doll! It ain't even that bad! Just please please let me play it." *sigh* you just had to say yes! How could you say no to his gorgeous puppy eye? (LMAOO) When the acupuncture scene started, Kano looked into your eyes excitedly, wondering how you'd react. Would you scream (lovingly)? Would you shrivel (lovingly)? Would you just die inside (lovingly)? He was dying to see your face. When the man fell on his back, stabbing his back with the acupuncture needles, Kano was in an uncontrollable fit of laughter to see you wince and hide your face in a pillow. "Come onnnnnn, sweets! It wasn't even that bad!" yes it was.

If ever he's watching a new violent film for the first time, which is quite rare tbh, I see him with his jaw dropped, lips curled in a bit of a smirk while he watches people die. He wouldn't even laugh, he'd be speechless from being impressed.

You don't see it, mainly because he hides it, but he has a notepad by his side, with contraptions and methods jotted down.

BUT BACK TO THE PROMPT: during a movie marathon, he'd watch terrifier 1 and 2, with Final Destination 5 as a "break"

yes. He honestly thinks Final Destination isn't that violent. :l

He wouldn't do very long movie marathons, 3 movies max. BUTTT he could go longer if there were more violent movies out there.

You better thank the lucky stars there aren't a lot of very gory movies that Kano hasn't watched to memorization, or else you'll be strapped down to your seat watching six hours worth of people dying.

yeah... Our fine shyt is fucked up

Regarding his manners while watching a movie, he's a clapper and a cheerer 100%. He'd laugh loudly at kill scenes, nudging your shoulder to see how you'd react.

You:

let's do something more lighthearted now! What if you were to pick a movie?

He's ok with it, wouldn't be too invested, but isn't that bummed out by it. A casual movie watcher when you pick the movies; 3 movies definitely being his maximum

but only when you're picking the movie 💀 he's kinda selfish

What snacks would he bring?

I don't think this man eats anything while watching a movie tbh, I just can't see him eating candy, popcorn or a finger food that much.

I mean, he wouldn't go out of his way to make something (unless you beg him to make you popcorn, which he'll do) to watch a movie with -but if you gave him a snack, or if there was anything lying around, Kano would snack on it.

At most, i feel like the most this man would eat are things like chips and fries. he doesn't eat them often, but when you get them for him, he's a sloppy eater; chomping on them with his mouth open while laughing at people getting stabbed

You have to vacuum, deep clean, change the sheets, UV ray the area you two watched a movie in whenever he brings a snack. My man is a SWINE, leaving crumbs everywhere.

JUST AS A BONUS: He'd be sitting on the couch, an arm around the cushions, while you lay your head on his chest.

dream man fr <3

__KABAL

he's into everything. any and all movies, he can vibe with.

Doesn't matter if it's romance, comedy, rom-com, action, thriller, as long as you're there. But he does feel more interested in action movies.

Not action as in superheroes, although ofc he loves those too, he really appreciates movies with constant motion. (I'll expound on this more in a bit)

but tbh, I don't see him as a person who would gravitate to super violent movies.

NOT TO SAY HE'S INNOCENT AND PURE, I just feel like he doesn't want to be reminded of his job while he's with you

But ofc that's not to say he'll be turned off by violence. if, for example, the movie you two were watching had a gory scene, he'd still laugh at it.

"Did he just rip his fucking head off? Babe look, the blood on this is so realistic..!" "I know, I know already!" "The muscles are pulsing..!" "STOP DESCRIBING ITTT." you proceed to throw a pillow at him.

For your movie marathon, I see him watching 1990s-2000s. a HUUUUGEEE sucker for that era of movies.

Corniest mf in town. YOU CANNOT CONVINCE ME THIS MAN DOESN'T WATCH SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD

he doesn't care if it was ass, it's fun to see how trash it is, and thus it still counts as a good movie to him

he loves bad movies, he doesn't know why, but watching straight garbage for an hour and a half is just so entertaining. Maybe it's because he's a bad person (jk ^_^) but he always laughs at the actors, the characters, the people involved more than he laughs at the movie itself.

"That was horrible... Did people actually put their fucking money on this?" he scoffs, chuckling a bit.

trash is entertaining, what can i say. Thus I don't think he'd every complain about the plot. He'd only ever get frustrated with the details.

"Who the fuck says that in real life?" "What was the point of that?" "She could have just left the building, why did she stay???" "Babe, it's a movie."

But he is also an appreciator of good movies, let's not perpetuate the idea that our speedy fine shyt doesn't have standards !!! (he's with you ofc he has standards)

The Matrix and Constantine will always be his favorite movies, these are the kinda movies that are his favorites to watch, I believe.

This is what I mean by action movies, there's a constant problem that has to be solved instantly. Kabal feels gravitated here, mainly because he resonates with the feeling of fighting against something or battling an adversary.

A bit dark, yah ik, but it's more subconscious than he realizes. for all he knows, he just likes them.

BUT HE ALSO LOVES COMEDY, ROMANCE, SLAPSTICK AND ALL THE LIKE.

Take movies like Not Another Teen Movie, Legally Blonde, Notebook, Norbit, Madea, for example. The tearjerker movies and movies with raunchy, stupid humor are fun watches for him

lock me up, gag me with a chain, tie me to a post, sink my jailcell IDC. YOU CAN'T TELL ME THIS MAN DOESN'T LIKE NAPOLEON DYNAMITE.

I honestly think four is his average; if he's super tired then he'll watch 2 with you and pass out, if he's sat down with a whole free day, then he can do six.

The movie you two will watch will be: Die Hard, Devil's Advocate, Legally Blonde (just as a breather), then Notebook to end the night.

IF YOU KNOW THE WAY I SEE KABAL, YOU'D SEE WHY THESE MOVIES MAKE SENSE. In my canon world, Kabal has the most secure masculinity more than anybody.

He's a whisperer when it comes to manners while watching the movie. Kabal would lean in close and just whisper things... A LOT

This man. Talks. So. damn. Much.

EVEN WHEN HE'S NOT WHISPERING IN YOUR EAR, HE MUTTERS

You might as well turn down the volume of the movie the way this man is basically the subtitles. SHUT UP KABAL (jk don't ahaha you're so sexy)

"Ahhh that's why it's called Legally Blonde. She's blonde, and she's in law." "Why the fuck is he barefoot..." "He could have just told her the truth, why the fuck did he make it harder for himself? Tsk." "Kabal shut uppppppppp"

in terms of snacks, this man is canonly the one dude who can't open a bag of chips, and it also the dude who finishes the food before the intro ends.

Imagine you're trying to get immersed when Noah and Allie make out in the rain, and you hear this man grunt and scoff, struggling to open a Ruffles bag 💀

"Kabal, just let me do it." "Shut up I can do it myself..." he says in between grunts, trying to figure out where the strip is, making crinkling noises that drown out the movie. "no you can't just give it to me." he grumbles, handing it to you.

my little himbo airhead <3 (he's a murderous merc)

don't let this man hold your popcorn box. You put it in his hand, then 1... 2... 3... it's in the trash, emptied out and completely cleaned out

I feel like you two would be lying down, with you laying your back to his chest with his arm slung under your arm.

LOVE THIS MANNNNN

__AARON BLACK

This man is the most chill of the three

istg this man is so normal

too normal...

our unbothered fine shit is not too avid on cinema, let alone movie marathons.

But it's been a while since you two had time to settle down and relax with one another, so after a couple minutes of begging, he rolls his eyes and hands you the remote.

You'd lie down on his lap, while he rested his head on his hand, his elbow on the couch's armrest, while you were flicking through the movies.

This man is classic. Talented Mr. Ripley, Truman Show, The Shining, Lost Boys, and Back to the Future are paradigms of his taste.

Like Kabal, he's ok with whatever you want to watch, but UNLIKE Kabal, he won't like it.

Not big on girly movies, gory movies, romance, comedy and all the like.

He has very robust standards, and he'll put up with whatever you want, but the afformentioned are the ones that he'll actually enjoy.

I'd think that he'd only watch two or three movies, most of the time it's just two.

IDK I don't think he's that big on movies, but he can barely say no to you.

it's mostly a time issue, but even when you two have a lot of time, he'd rather spend it on more personal and romantic things than movies. but wtv, he's here with you now :3

the movies he'd watch with you are Lost Boys, Talented Mr. Ripley, and one that you wanna watch. Since he's a sweet boy (not rlly) he'll let you watch your movie first.

I feel like he's so boring when it comes to movies 😭 like he would rewatch these movies again and again, and never gets bored.

The last time he found a movie he liked was in the 90s, PICTURE THAT.

I think this is also why he barely complains about things: He's either watched it so many times that he's desensitize to it, or he just simply does not gaf.

In terms of how he'd act while watching a movie, I see that he'd be dead silent and motionless. Occasionally he'll rub your chest or head, which you really need so that you're reminded he's there.

He is dead silent too, and I feel like this also bleeds into his real life, but he makes no sound. You can't hear his breathing or heartbeat, sometimes you have to look up at him to see if he's alive and he just looks back down at you like 🤨

awkward dead-inside fine shyt, ilysm <333

This man doesn't bring snacks btw! He brings MEALS

definitely the type to bring whole steaks, string beans, rice, carrots, sauce and BEER to a movie marathon.

I'm not kidding, he's just eating whole ass courses while watching Lost Boys, and tbh that's kinda iconic.

doesn't let you get a bite tho >:( mean

he's also so expressionless other than his rbf, so if you were playing your movie, you'd have to wait almost two hours before you can tell wether or not he hated it. MOST OF THE TIME HE DOESN'T EVEN SAY ANYTHING.

He'd just go "It was fine."

[dinonugget-s]

(They long to be) Close to You

So this is like a little one shot? It might be apart of a bigger fanfic soon (by the same title). But i wanted to get this out

ronance, panic attack, comfort, mentions of upside down trauma, cursing. no official ronance, just a realization

"So how are you and Steve?" Nancy asks, and Robin feels her very soul leave her body at the question. Nancy notices the difference in her body language and changes hers too, ready to backup her question.

"Its just that, its the second near death experience that you guys have had together. Some feelings must have devloped."

Robin didn't understand why she had to defend her own friendship with everybody. Why no one could take what they were at face value, best friends and nothing more. Sure they were a little touchy, but after the lives that they've both suffered through, before and after the Upside Down buisness, she felt they earned a little skinship.

Then it dawned on Robin, she was going to have come out over and over and over again. Whether it be once to multiple people, or multiple times to the same person. They were always going to confuse her relationship with Steve, or always going to assume that she had some type of feelings for a boy when it couldn't be anymore the opposite.

"Listen, Nance- can I call you Nance? Okay. I love Steve, with all of my heart, but there is nothing romantic about that love. He's my best friend, my platonic soulmate, my partner in crime. But i do not want to kiss him." Was this the speech she was going to have to make every time? Was she eventually going to have to scream out the words: "I'm a lesbian! I like girls! Boobies!"

"Well why not? Sure, Steve and I didn't end up working out, but there wasn't anything wrong with him. And I've notciced just how much he's grown, too." She angles Robin with a stare that sends chills down the older girls spine and she questions if its worth it to argue with her. Nancy Wheeler was never wrong.

But, no, Robin needed to make her stance on this once a for all. And well, if Nancy had a problem with it, she wouldn't have to see her again. Ever. "Steve's great, and if anyone is the most proud of how much he's grown as a person, its me. But.. I'm not like you, Nancy-"

"What's that supposed to mean?" The shorter girl grew defensive quickly. Robin was quick to shake her head. "Nothing, nothing, just that.. I'd like Steve a lot more if he was a sh-Tevie"."

Way to fucking go Rob. Chicken out on the pronouns last second and make it sound like you have a lisp that she definitely knew you didn't have before. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Nancy's eyes narrowed and she tilted her head. "What does his name have anything to do with it? Plus Eddie calls him Stevie all the time." And it took every ounce of the little restraint Robin had left in her being to not roll her eyes to the moon.

There was nothing straight about whatever was going on between Eddie and Steve. Steve may not have realized it yet, and Robin is just waiting for him to come to terms with the idea that he also might not be straight. But that would happen on its own time. Regardless, she thought Nancy Wheeler was smart, but she's acting just as clueless as Steve first did when she came out to him.

"Nancy," she started, but the words got caught in her throat. She didn't know if she could say it, she talks a lot of game about not caring what people think. But she really fucking cares, all the time. And Nancy feels like the first girl after Kate that she thinks she can really get along with. Even though she didn't feel like she totally beloned around Kate. Nancy is someone she doesn't feel like she has to hide all her weirdness from. Like, look at her brother, her ex-boyfriend, the gaggle of people that she has chosen to surround herself with, despite having the ability to say that she doesn't want anything to do with them.

But then there's the fact of her family. They're your typical nuclear family with typical nuclear family values. And maybe Nancy can stomach the idea of interdimensional monsters from a scary parallel universe that comes back every year to attack them, but the idea of having a lesbian in her Hawkins was way too much for her.

"Rob?" Rob, Nancy had never called her that before. Which means she was on nickname level now. Did she want to lose that over something as small (well, not small) as liking girls. Was doing this worth it? She dated Steve, though, right? She was the main one that brought out the good in him, made him realize that he didn't want to be like his family. And Dustin, too, Dustin definitely helped him.

Everything around Robin was blurry. Never has she ever wished so bad to be drugged by the Russians again. After the drugs, it seemed like her nerves were calmed for just the second that she felt safe enough to tell her big secret. She expected the worst, but hoped for the best. It's what she should do now, right?

It felt like she was on the elevator again, the world plumetting down from beneath her and sending her so far deep underground, but this time there were no little humans to help save her. There was no Steve to help fight for her or take the brunt of the pain.

Robin couldn't breathe, all that was coming out of her was weezing. She was clutching the blankets beneath her like they were a lifeline, but there were offering no support whatsoever.

She hasn't had one this bad since the first few months after Starcourt. When her and Steve were inseperable and snuck out to each others houses every night. She didn't know why this was affecting her this much.

Calm down

The words were far away and didn't sound like anybody she knew. Was she talking to herself from within her mind?  Like an out of body experience.

Robin, come back to me

It was dark. Wait, when did she close her eyes? Her eyes were closed right?

Open. Open. Open.

Finally, her eyes opened, allowing a flood of light to invade her ocular receptors. Brown hair was in front of her, and she could finally understand that Nancy was the one that was talking to her. She was still struggling to breathe, sounding like she was having an astma attack, and her cheeks felt wet.

Fuck, she was crying.

Nancy had her hands on her shoulders, rubbing her thumbs up and down. "Good, good Rob. Alright. Can you try and breathe with me?" Robin nodded as best she could, watching Nancy's mouth in order to try and make sense of the words she was saying. Her ears stopped completely working a second ago.

"In 2, 3" The brunetted reapeated over and over again. It wasn't until about the sixth time did Robin finally get the rhythm of it, and the fifteenth time did she finally get her heart rate to calm down. "Alright," Nance said, her hand going to Robins head and raking through her hair. "Let's lay you down, and im going to get you some water."

She gently pushed the taller girl back onto her bed and made sure the pillow was comfortable under her neck before leaving her alone to get the water she mentioned.

Robin still felt the effects of the panic attack  Her breathing was shaky and hands were trembling, and she felt light headed. But she was back to normal, as normal as she could be. Her mind was beginning to work properly, and now she just felt pathetic. There was no reason for her to freak out the way that she did.

Robin knew about the tiny Byers. Was able to figure him out with just a sideways glance, and she knew that Jonathan knew too. Nancy was surrounded by the weird. She wouldn't have had a visceral reaction and Robin knew that. But she just couldn't bring herself to say those words in front of Nancy Wheeler.

But she couldn't lie to her, especially after this. Even if she did react badly, it would be better to do it now than when they got closer. Robin didn't want Nancy to lose another friend. Which is crazy to think about, she's the one who's putting her life on the line because of the gender she's into, but she's worried about the mental state of the girl who she's avoided like the plauge the first 17 years of her life.

She heard the click of the door and slowly began to sit up, Nancy was there with the water in her hand like she'd promised, and some candies that Robin didn't recognize. "Hey," Nancy said quietly, sitting on the side of the bed and holding the water out to the other girl. "Some water, and even though your calmed down some, the sour candies will shock your system a little bit."

Robin smiled softly, taking a sip of the water and holding the candies in her hands. After swallowing, she wiped her mouth and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry.. about.. that." She mumbled, and Nancy was quick to shake her head.

"Don't you dare. I don't know what happened to trigger it, and you don't have to tell me. I won't push on the Steve subject anymore, though. I'm sorry if it's what caused you to panic." Robin was shocked. It seemed like Nancy did nothing but shock her since they started being around each other more.

"I promise, one day Ill tell you. Maybe soon, maybe into the far far furture." As if she could keep this a secret that long. Nancy simply smiles and reaches for Robins hand,  giving it a squeeze and rubbing her thumb along it. "How are you feeling now?"

Right now? Her heart was in her throat, but not  entirely in the panic attack kind of way. More in the same way that she realized maybe she did have romantic feelings for Tammy. This time though, she realized all on her own, and not by Tammy's friends finding the french-written note about her dream escapades with the singer.

Seriously, Robin? A girl is nice to you a couple of times and you get feelings for her? Get a grip.

A nervous chuckle (a giggle?) falls from her lips. "Much better, honestly. How did you know what to do?" As soon as the question was in the air, she realized how stupid it had sounded. Nancy had dealt with this longer than Robin had, was at the heart of discovering the Upside Down and what the party had called 'demogorgons.' Which she was glad to have not experienced. 

Although, maybe she would have liked to work her way up from the bottom, rather than having started with the Russian's torturing her and then being chased by a 100ft monster through the woods on the fourth of July. She's pretty sure all of them had some sort of PTSD that rivaled war veterans.

But Nancy didn't seem too bothered by the question, didn't even give it a second thought. "Jonathan helped me through my first few ones, then we eventually helped each other, and I started helping Mike." She stood up from the bed and started to look through her closet, almost as though she was trying to avoid making eye contact. "I um.. did you want to stay the night?"

Robin felt like maybe she was going to have another actual panic attack. But oh my god did she want to have a sleepover. There was something about being around Nancy that made Robin never want to leave her orbit, but she also wanted to put herself at as far of a distance that she could without seeming like she didn't want Nancy around. She thinks that her possible new found feelings might be the reason.

The right answer would be no, she can't.

"Yeah!" Robin blurted out before she could even stop herself. She wanted to smack herself upside the head, she actually wanted to curbstomp herself, beat herself up because why would she agree. "My uh.. my parents need me to shampoo my dog. But I'll be back later tonight. If that's... okay?" 

She doesn't have a dog.

Nancy beamed at her, holding her pajamas in her arms. "Yeah, that's perfectly fine." Robin was quick to jump to her feet, loosing her balance a little due to still being slightly lightheaded. "I'll be right back," she made a little salute and attempted to run out of the room without seeming like she was running. (She ended up tripping through about half of the stairs.)

She didn't realize it until she was about half way to Steve's house, but she was biking with exuberant speed. Four times as fast than she'd done before and her legs were on fire, but not any worse than the blaze that was in her lungs. She should have waited just a little longer for her lungs to have recovered before racing half way across the town to her best friends house.

She made sure that his parents weren't randomly in town, dropped her bike on his front steps, and started pounding on his door.

It took about three minutes before he opened the door, wearing a shirt that definitely wasn't his-but that was something for later. He was groggy, rubbing his eyes. "Rob?"

"I think I like Nancy fucking Wheeler."

[justsomerandomfanfic]

Her Knight In Shining Armor - Logan Howlett X Female Reader

Series Title: Her Knight In Shining Armor

Chapter 4: Dreaming Of You

| Last Chapter | Current Chapter | Next Chapter

James 'Logan' Howlett (Knight) X Female (Princess) Reader

Additional Characters: Mary-Ann (OC) and Beth (OC)

WC: 1,332

Warnings: Royal AU, sunshine x grumpy, knight x princess, slow burn, longing, banter, flirting, teasing, suggestive dream (very vague), slight angst, and fluff (let me know if I missed anything)

You could hear a faint voice calling to you, distant at first, then growing louder, “Your Highness...” The voice echoed.

You frowned, the comfort of his presence now fading as the voice called out again, much closer this time, “Your Highness, are you alright?”

Suddenly, your eyes snapped open, your breath catching in your chest as reality came rushing back. You sat up in your bed, the sheets tangled around your legs. You blinked rapidly, your heart still pounding, trying to shake off the lingering sensation of his presence that seemed to cling to your skin. Your cheeks flushed, your hand instinctively reaching up to rub the side of your neck. You glanced up, realizing your two maids in waiting were standing near your bed, their expressions a mix of concern and curiosity.

“Your Highness, are you unwell?” One of them - Mary-Anne - asked, her tone soft but laced with worry.

You blinked again, still disoriented, and forced a smile, attempting to push the lingering thoughts of the dream away. “I- I'm fine. Just... Just a moment of confusion.” Your voice came out quieter than usual.

The maids exchanged uncertain glances but didn’t push further. “We heard you calling out in your sleep,” The other maid - Beth - added gently. “Is there anything you need?”

You shook your head, looking away as the heat from the dream still burned beneath your skin, images flashed in your mind. “No, nothing. Just... Give me a moment, please.”

You took a few moments to compose yourself, trying to push the remnants of the dream out of your mind as you got ready for the day. Tonight was a special night, one that you couldn’t avoid. Your father was hosting a grand ball, as he often did every once in a while. But to you, these balls were never something to look forward to. The classical music, the laughter that always seemed too forced, the stiff, formal dances - it was all a bit too much. You weren’t the biggest fan of balls.

It wasn’t that you disliked the idea of socializing or celebrating, but the pressure, the expectations of being the perfect princess, all while the room buzzed with well-meaning but oftentimes insincere compliments... It made you feel boxed in. Still, you knew it was important. Your father was proud of these events, proud to show off his family, and tonight, like all the others, you had a role to play.

You sighed, shaking off your reluctance as you finished dressing with the help of Mary-Anne and Beth. Tonight would come with its own set of challenges.

Would James be there? This was going to be the first ball since he was tasked with watching over you. Would he dance with you if you asked? A twinge of uncertainty made its way into your thoughts, and you absentmindedly adjusted the folds of your dress, trying to ignore the nervous energy bubbling in your chest.

As you finished dressing in your morning dress, with the help of Mary-Anne and Beth, you must have had a somewhat distressed look upon your face, since they both gave you a soft smile, their eyes gentle with understanding. They reassured you that you would do great tonight, that you’d handle everything just fine.

You smiled back, though it lacked the usual confidence. It wasn’t that you doubted your ability to play your part, but it was something else, something deeper. You didn't even know what word you were looking for, but whatever it was, it hung heavily in your chest, making it hard to breathe.

“It’s not the ball I’m worried about,” You said softly, as Mary-Anne adjusted a strand of hair, glancing up at you through the mirror. Beth, with her usual practicality, raised an eyebrow, clearly waiting for you to elaborate. But you didn’t have an answer. Maybe it was the dream. Maybe it was the quiet flutter of nerves over what tonight could bring, or maybe it was the soft tug at your heart whenever you thought of James. Whatever it was, it gnawed at you, an uneasiness that wouldn’t settle. “I’ll be fine,” You finally said, though the uncertainty in your voice wasn’t fully masked.

Mary-Anne gave you a look as if she knew better than to question your words further. “Of course, Your Highness.”

And as you glanced at your reflection in the mirror, you couldn’t help but wish that this time, things might be different.

You had to get away after breakfast, to clear your mind, and so you found yourself at the training grounds. You nocked an arrow and drew the string back, releasing it with a sharp twang. The arrow sailed forward, hitting closer to the center of the target than before but still not quite there. A small smile tugged at your lips. Progress.

Over the days and weeks that followed your first initial day of training, you returned to the training grounds again and again. Each time, your aim grew steadier, your release smoother. The ache in your shoulders and arms was a reminder of your efforts, but it didn’t deter you. Instead, it fueled you.

"Your stance is improvin’," He remarked one morning as you shot another arrow, this one hitting just shy of the bullseye.

You glanced at him, surprised by the faint trace of approval in his tone. "Is that your way of saying I’m getting better?" You teased, lowering the bow.

He raised an eyebrow, a hint of a smirk ghosting across his lips. "You’re not as hopeless as ya were before," He said, though there was no bite in his words.

You laughed softly, shaking your head as you turned back to the target. "I’ll take that as a compliment."

It became a pattern. Each time you improved, James had a comment waiting for you.

“Your draw is steady. For once.”

“That wasn’t terrible.”

Though his words were laced with sarcasm, you could hear the underlying pride in his voice. It was subtle, but it was there. And you couldn’t help but notice how his gaze lingered on you longer than before, how the faintest hints of a smile tugged at his lips whenever you succeeded.

After finishing your studies, the training grounds became your favorite retreat, the only place beyond the castle walls where you were allowed to go. You still longed for the woods. It was still your favorite place. 

As you drew your bow back and released the string, you held your breath, watching as the arrow flew through the air. A gasp escaped your lips when you saw it strike the target - right in the center, a perfect bullseye. Your eyes widened in disbelief before your excitement took over, and you jumped up and down, unable to contain your joy.

“Did you see that!?” You exclaimed, looking over at James with a smile so bright, the sun was dull in comparison, “I did it.”

James nodded, “Not bad.”

Your shoulders dropped, a small pout forming on your lips. “That’s it? I finally hit it, and that’s all I get from you?”

James shrugged casually, the corners of his mouth lifting into a smirk. “I said it was good.”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes. “Not even a little ‘well done’ or ‘you’re amazing?’”

“Not really my style,” He replied, his smirk still in place.

You couldn’t help but laugh, shaking your head in mock disbelief as you both began to walk back toward the castle, “I knew it, though. Deep down, past that gruff, tough exterior, you’re really just a big softie, aren’t you?”

James shot you a sideways glance, his expression unreadable, but there was something about the way his gaze softened just a bit. “In your dreams,” He said, a teasing tone in his voice.

You smirked right back at him, raising an eyebrow. “Oh, trust me, you’re definitely in my dreams,” You shot back, your voice dripping with playful confidence.

James huffed, his expression a mixture of exasperation and amusement. “You’re impossible.”

~~~

Taglist is Open! Let me know if you want to be tagged!

~~~

Main Masterlist | X-Men Masterlist

[satansemployee]

Fanbind of "Rebuild your Seawall (brick by brick)" by @deheerkonijn & @roselightfairy

I am so so happy to be able to share with you the complete project, and I really want to thank both Deheer and Roselightfairy for giving me permission to bind their work!

This fanfic has a special place in my heart and I'm happy to be able to give it a proper place on my bookshelf. I think it resonated with me a lot in ways that other depictions of depression never have- it really reflected my experience of depression as the gutting feeling of something that you've never experienced, yet you feel is the right way things should have been, and you never stop longing for it. If you're at all in the mood for some introspective fanfic, I highly reccomend it.

Much more unnecessary details under the cut and how the entire binding experience went, and as always thank you to the @/renegadebindery discord server without whose members I would be doing nothing at all!

Okay so! To say that this book is rounded and backed would be an insult to all bookbinders in the world but there was a sincere try at it, and it didn't really come out, but it did just enough that there's a real noticeable roundness at the spine which I am OBSESSED with. I WILL be trying to do this again with every single one of my future projects.

This project actually originally started as a way to use a ton of scrap materials I had that would have been more noticeable on a bigger project. The textblock was printed on alternating cardstocks because I didn't have enough of a single type left, and many of them are a bit faded because my printer was running out of ink. I actually kind of like the effect, but I wish the title illustration came out more defined and less foggy, since it was already pretty blurred as a file. This is also the first time I put in a bookmark! It looks different in the pictures but it is almost IDENTICAL to the colour of the endpapers, which was a wonderful gift my mum brought home from a trip. I love it in contrast to the more minimalistic cover pattern, even if those blues clearly do not match.

This is also the project with which I discovered the magic and miracles of using wheat paste to adhere the endpapers to your covers instead of glue and oh my god. I was blind this whole time. Wheat paste goes on so smooth and uniform and gives you SOO much wiggle room to adjust things. I am never going back go endpapers with pvc ever again. It does have the side effect of being very moist and it did warp the textblock inside a bit, but that's very much my fault since I keep using cardboard instead of actual press board for my books since press board is so uncommon here. And hey some might say using professional material instead of substituting medical gauze for fraynot might help your book be better but what do I know. I am just an idiot who made the mistake of letting glue dry WAYYYYY to much TWICE on the same project. (Once before rounding; once after making the cover and forgetting cardboard warps when glued. I am very bright).

Making the title graphics was also so rewarding yet so so so difficult. Mostly because I've been overwhelmed by my life so it took me ages to sketch out a design I did like. And when I finally had it, and I asked my aunt to borrow the machine she uses to print on fabric, we had to keep delaying for different reasons that kept coming up. But I'm SO glad to have a proper cover on there. It's difficult to keep being proud and happy of it since it's been so long since I was done with the actual object, but honestly it's really satisfying to have a book with your OWN, personalized cover on it. I'm also very proud of the nautical theme inside- in general I put a lot of care in making the textblock feel coherent.

After this experience I do think I'll order some proper board since I want my next project to come out as good as I possibly can. Though I am still on the ledge about what my next project will actually be. Maybe in the meantime I'll stick to figuring out a logo and name for myself.

And maybe next time I'll remember to take some decent process pics too!

[palepinkgoat]

I was asked by someone in the @shamelessdvdcommentary community to share things "behind the scenes" one of my fics. I just think it's the coolest thing so I decided to participate! I hope you enjoy it. <3

Which Fanfic is your DVD commentary about?

Restoration. It's my most "popular" fic by far!

Give us some stats - (when you wrote it, word count, how long it took to finish, is it a one-shot/multi-chapter, etc)

Restoration is a multi chapter fic written in (big gasp!) 2016. It's 14 chapters and took me four months to write. For me that's very fast! But back in that day I was cranking fics out faster. The story is 112,794 words.

What was the initial inspiration for your story?

Well, our air conditioner needed a tune up and we called Bowman HVAC (a real company here, as well as the name I gave the HVAC company in Restoration) and a redheaded technician showed up. The wheels started turning immediately. At the time a lot of houses were being knocked down in the neighborhood (gentrification sucks) so there was a lot of construction happening. I'm sure that helped too.

If the story is written from a character’s POV, why did you choose this character?

I wrote it from Ian's POV. I had only written in his POV one other time. I fell even more in love with him in the process, and exclusively wrote him for years afterward. I can connect to Ian as a bipolar person, and his bipolar features heavily in the story. It seemed like a great opportunity to explore that.

What was your favourite scene to write?

I loved writing the scene with them in the bar bathroom in chapter 3. The first time they kissed . The whole scene felt very alive to me when I wrote it. I also really loved all the scenes with Ian and Sully - they were very fun to write.

How did you come up with the title?

I heard from a neighbor that there were different ways houses could be built, and if you leave any part of the house intact (the neighbor's front porch was left and they built out from that) you can categorize it as a restoration. I liked that. I also really liked the image of rebuilding things metaphorically.

Are there any little moments or references you hope readers will notice?

I'm not sure if this counts but I worked really hard on the construction elements and making them metaphorical to the chapters at the same time!

Was there anything you struggled to write? If so, how did you overcome this?

I don't really remember but I know that a lot of it just flew out of me. I don't remember struggling with any of it, surprisingly!

Favourite line in the story?

I'll pick the end of chapter 4, which includes a scene a lot of readers like. It's the "teaching" scene, wink wink. The last line is "He leans forward and meets Ian's mouth, opening wide and tasting him, them, this."

Did the storyline change in any way as you wrote the story?

I initially thought it would be a lot shorter, but I realized it needed breathing room and a longer timeline. I'm glad I followed that instinct.

If you are writing a particular trope or genre, was it your first time writing this?

I don't think it fits securely in a trope? I'm always a little confused about those.

What are you most proud about in the story? (plot, characterisation, dialogue, twist/cliffhanger, etc)

I'm proud of the bipolar elements to this story, and some of the dialogue. I feel like the dialogue in this was the easiest I've ever written. It was just really nice to write.

Are there any deleted scenes that didn’t make it to the final story?

In the era when I was writing it Amanda was very much in the picture on the show, and I thought her personality would really fit to be one of Ian's "helpers." But I never really got into any scenes with featuring both Lip and Amanda being with Ian at the same time.

Are there any ‘behind the scenes’ info you’d like to share - e.g. what’s going on in a characters head in a certain scene or how you came to write a certain line?

A lot of Ian's med stories and his notebook he keeps for processing episodes and health in general were mine, as well as most of the scenes with the doctor. The office is modeled after that doctor's office and everything. Honestly that doctor and the office were pretty terrible in real life, but I made her better than my doctor was. Now I have a fantastic doctor!

Reading back the story now, is there anything you’d change or add?

I actually did not re-read it for YEARS and re-read it in its entirety for perhaps the first time ever a year or so ago. It probably sounds really vain but I was surprised how cohesive it was and how much I liked it. I'm really proud of it and so glad people like it as much as they do. I don't think I'd change anything really.

Would you ever write a sequel to this story?

I have been asked, but I don't think I could do it! Like I literally think I couldn't write it in the same tone now that it's been so long.

Are there any ‘easter eggs’ in your story - e.g. references to other stories you’ve written, a trope you often use etc?

As far as easter eggs from story to story, I didn't add any of those things to Restoration. I did however reference the Restoration building and street in my recent fic Paragraphs! Another thing to know about me is most of the names I chose for original characters are real names of people I know. For example the developer of the property, Kowalski, is named after one of my besties. Do these people even know I write fanfic? Not really. So it's just for my own amusement. :)

If you’ve chosen your most popular story, are you surprised by the popularity?

I'm amazed at its staying power. I can't believe people are still recommending it and re-reading it. It makes me feel so loved.

Were you nervous or excited to post this story?

Back in that day I didn't feel very nervous. After I wrote this story I felt more nervous because people loved the fic so much and I felt like it was a lot to live up to!

Did you have a beta or a friend who helped you as you wrote?

I did not! Solo act, baby. I have used a beta on Paragraphs and The Ink is a Witness to This though and I think it helps tremendously. Fun fact: it makes me more nervous to share with one person than it does to share with the world which is funny to me.

Ask your followers to pick a snippet (no more than 500 words) and share your thoughts about it.

"Ian nods. Fuck it. He slides off his bed and settles on the floor between Mickey’s legs. “You want to feel it again?” Ha! This is a big reader favorite in this story (and referenced above) and even made into art. I didn't even mean to make it hot. I thought it was just a little scene, no big deal. The response was fun. The gist is Mickey is saying he doesn't know how to give an, uh, below the belt job and Ian kind of "teaches" him by talking him through what he's doing. Thanks to @wehangout for giving me this moment to work with!

Anything else you’d like the readers to know about the story?

I cherish every single reader and all the comments and kudos over the years. Writing this fic completely changed my life. I'm serious. So anyone who likes it or talks about it feeds in to that beautiful change and I'm just so, so grateful. I loved writing it.

[lyrabyeo]

you can ask me, (and i'll come)

Jiyeong has to go out to run some errands and leaves Saebyeok alone, who's unregressed. But maybe, things dont always go as planned.

a/n: this is STUPID OKAY i rlly can't get good ideas but i just wanna write LITTLE SAEBYEOK🙁 leave a girl to be.. title is from a song in my native language [proud]

notes: mama titles, jiyeong calls saebyeok baby and angel, accidents, mentions of diapers/diaper usage, use of pacifiers, THIS ISNT ANGSTY (i hope), THEY ARE DATING 😭😭😭

"Okay then, I'll be back in half an hour. You sure you don't need to come along?" Jiyeong asked, holding Saebyeok by the waist. Jiyeong had to make a quick run to buy some groceries, but was a bit hesitant about leaving Saebyeok alone.

"Mhm. I'll be fine." Saebyeok said, not wanting to worry her girlfriend, who was inches away from her. Though Jiyeong was a lot shorter, Saebyeok much rather prefered being held.

Jiyeong then placed a quick kiss on her lips and took off. As soon as the door closed, Saebyeok returned to her (and Jiyeongs) bed. She did love spending time with her girlfriend, but a few alone moments couldn't hurt anyone - but she did understand why Jiyeong was so hesitant on leaving her alone.

When Jiyeong had found out about Saebyeoks age regression, the girl had became hesitant on leaving Saebyeok alone, in case she regresses and there's no one to help her or be with her; So it was best to play safe. But it did get annoying fast.

Now, as Saebyeok laid in bed alone, she took a few deep breaths in. She was really sleepy. Jiyeong had convinced her to watch a movie till late, and they didn't get much sleep, as it was a horror movie. Heh, look. I can handle being alone very well, Saebyeok thought to herself, before she cradled herself into the sheets and took off to dreamland.

Her deep slumber didn't last for more than 10 minutes. Saebyeok shivered, memory hazy from all thats going on. All she remembers is seeing a nightmare. And now she felt overwhelmingly little. Oh fuck. This can't be happening, She thought to herself, scared out of her mind. She was scared, cold and really tiny. Where was Jiyeong? The realization that Jiyeong was no where to be found, Saebyeok started crying.

Oh, now she'll never get left alone again! But it was the last one of her worries right now. She just wanted her mama to make everything all right. That's all her cloudy and fuzzy mind knew; If she had mama, everything will get fixed.

Like Jiyeong had telepathically heard Saebyeok's thoughts, right then the door opened. "Saebyeok?" Jiyeong's voice rang in the empty halls, but when she listened closer, she heard the soft cries. Oh shit.

Jiyeong quickly kicked her shoes off of her feet and ran towards their bedroom. The door was slightly ajar, good thing it wasn't locked. Jiyeong bursted into the room, quickly cradling Saebyeok in her arms.

"Oh baby, I'm here, I'm here..." she whispered, holding her baby close, only to realize the wet spot on the bed. Oh.

"Hey, angel." Jiyeong whispered, trying to calm Saebyeok down. "You had an accident."

Then the bigger waterfalls erupted. Saebyeok hadn't had an accident in a long time. Last time she did, she was deep in baby space and it was really, really embarrasing, when Jiyeong bought it up.

"No, baby, it's alright. It's all okay. Shh," Jiyeong lulled, voice soft with nothing but love for her baby. She didn't know if Saebyeok understood her words right now, but hoped that she'd understand that she's safe with Jiyeong.

"It's no biggie baby. We'll get you cleaned up. Please don't cry." the carer whispered, but to no avail. Saebyeok kept on crying, cries getting louder as the moments passed. She must be so uncomfortable and cold, Jiyeong thought.

In a moment, Saebyeok's cries slowed down. Jiyeong's pants now had a wet spot, but she paid no mind to it. As her little had cried in her arms, she had time to look for her pacifier.

"Sae, you want this?" Jiyeong cooed, holding her littles beloved pacifier. The littles face lit up a bit, opening her mouth for it. "There's my baby." Jiyeong giggled, when Saebyeok cuddled closer. "We still need to get you changed hun. You must be so uncomfy and cold."

Saebyeok started tearing up again. She did feel cold and uncomfortable, but she much more hated the feeling of humiliation. Having an accident meant that she was super little at the moment of it happening, though she might not be as little right now.

"Oh I know baby. But mama promises," Jiyeong said, petting Saebyeok's head, "When you feel all warm and cozy, we can come back to bed." After she changes the sheets, of course. But she's not going to tell Saebyeok that.

With that, Jiyeong got them both up from the bed, struggling to carry Saebyeok, but managed just fine. Saebyeok had curled up so small in Jiyeong's arms, she swore she could've fallen asleep right there. The carer had taken a change of clothes for the little and a diaper. Yeah, Saebyeok didn't need diapers that often when she was little. But right now, maybe it was more logical to be safe than sorry.

"Won't take long baby, I promise." Jiyeong said, as she laid Saebyeok down on the floor. The other girl had seemingly slipped further into her headspace, possibly teetering on the edge of babyspace. She fussed and kicked while Jiyeong tried to change her.

"No baby, you're okay." Jiyeong hushed, as she closed the diaper. "Please stay still for a second. Mama is right here." She said gently, other hand petting Saebyeok's head. Saebyeok did calm down and stopped kicking. She just babbled when Jiyeong put on the change sweatpants.

"There, all done! You did so well baby," Jiyeong praised, lifting the other girl up and placed a quick and small kiss on Saebyeok's cheek. "Wanna go back to bed now?"

The little nodded, almost falling asleep right there. Saebyeok had never felt so warm and tiny, being in Jiyeong's arms made it even better. Being so tiny and warm, but still safe with mama.

"Okay, sleepyhead." Jiyeong giggled. While she had completely forgotten about the sheets that needed to be changed, they could just sleep on the other side of the bed.

The two climbed into bed, snuggly and warm. Saebyeok had definetly slipped into babyspace, more tinier than she usually was.

Oh, how Jiyeong loved tiny baby Saebyeok. When the little had no other clue in the world, but just her and her mama. And in baby Saebyeok's head, her mama was the world.

The two fell asleep slowly, enjoying each others company and sharing the warmth between them. The world was so big, but the only thing that truly mattered in this moment was the two girls being safe, with each other and nothing else.

a/n; hope this makes more sense than the previous one. this took me a DAY my attention span is so shit AUGHSHSGS

[pauking5]

Runaway 🏎️ Chapter 1

Pairing: Naozumi Hiyama x fem reader oc

Synopsis: There's no place for women in the world of racing, let alone rally, a dirty sport where influence can break passion into pieces. That is until you show up – the daughter of a racing legend who has lost everything to the fog of fame – ready to stir the pot of competition and throw fuel to Naozumi's fire, burning wild as he chases for glory, holding on with his teeth onto a dream as good as lost. Just how far will you go to take your rightful place in the world of rally against all challenges thrown in your path? Will you be able to restore the team back to its golden glory days and change things for the better? Or will secret plans and escapades ruin your career before it even begins?

Genre: racing AU, enemies to lovers, rivalry, suspense, a whole lot of teasing, gender power games, dating in secret

Word count: 4.5k+

A/N: Here it finally is. I can't believe I got to write about one of my passions in this way. Though I love rally, getting the technicalities right was rough but I researched as much as I could on it so it feels like the real thing, though there might be some minor inaccuracies, not really affecting the story.

This one has been in the works for a good period of time and though this first chapter is short and fast-paced, there's so much more coming. Trust the process cause god knows I do. I hope I can make Naozumi justice and I can't wait for you to read the next ones. Enjoy lovelies.

Now Playing: Edge of Seventeen - Wuki

Next Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

It's not about how fast you go.

It's about how long you go fast.

Fast like-

A knock bounces against your helmet, interrupting your pre-race mantra before you even finished reciting it, bringing you back to the chaos prior to the race start. Chaos you wanted to avoid at all costs.

Blinking your eyes open, you took in the smell of burnt rubber and the nerve-wracking atmosphere. The team staff are running around the car, making sure all the last checks are done and dusted. The stands are fully packed, deafening roars from the crowds soaring over the music being blasted so loudly on the other side of the track that you could hear it all the way to your station. Another voice joins in the incessant noise, demanding your full attention.

"Raiko, are you ready?"

Letting out an exasperated breath, you waved off whoever spoke to you and closed your eyes again. "Give me a minute, will you?"

Okay, where was I?

It's not about how fast you go-

Another drilling noise came from your right, annoying the living daylights out of you, and ultimately ruining the last sliver of peace you were hanging onto. All of it was simply gone now.

Ah, fuck it. Since we keep getting interrupted...

How about I tell you a little bit about me.

Name's Raiko Suruki.

Yes, that Suruki.

Here we go again.

I'm the daughter of the famed Hiro Suruki, five times Japan World Rally Championship winner, consecutively if I may add. Proud podium sitter for a gazillion times, and also kind of a living breathing legend in the primetime of the rally world about a decade back.

The same Hiro Suruki that started one of the best teams in the history of Japanese rally, snatching six more titles under his directory. WRC'S Golden Boy.

After his personal fifth title, he felt the need to redirect his wheels, wanting something more from racing. Something that would fulfill him, beside his love for driving at the most insane speeds known to man, and having his first and only child – that's me, in case you didn't know.

Anyway. Without any second thoughts or doubts about it, he retired from the sport out of nowhere, changing the fireproofs for the laid-back team principal shirt and a cheap very 'dad' baseball cap. At barely 35 years of age, he took the biggest leap of faith of his life and Suruki Racing was born out of fuel and a blazing passion for rally.

He poured everything he had into the team and built it from scratch, taking it so high in his prime that everyone wanted a piece of it. Be it driving in a seat for the team, changing parts as a mechanic or simply having shares in it.

It was basically the shit. The pinnacle of rally in the whole of Japan, something no other racing series managed to bring to such legendary heights.

The team became a national sensation and pride. So many influential people, from mere businessmen to government politicians, and even foreigners became so interested in it and helping it expand. It genuinely felt like the only way for him was up, flying like a rocket towards the legends' hall of fame.

It went like that for a while. He was beaming with happiness, unable to understand where all that luck came from, pouring in like rain in the desert. But like everything good, it didn't last. Once he started to question it all, it was like a switch flipped inwards and it all fell to ruins.

Everything started going wrong.

All of a sudden, the cars started missing parts the night before races. They had engine failures mid-race in almost every stage, followed by DNF's on every scoreboard. And those aren't even the most shocking things that happened. You name the tragedy and it definitely happened to Suruki Racing at one point a in disastrous, life-changing, career-ending type of way.

The mess just piled up more and more, and it showed, despite dad's efforts to stay afloat. Contract deals with sponsors started falling through, losing funding for a lot of parts and investments in equipment. Then the drivers got fed up with the constant failed races and blamed the car or the team if they felt like it. They terminated their contracts way before their terms were up under the pretense that they wanted different things... which were not related to Suruki Racing. The mechanics chose to stay, a few of them anyways, but it wasn't nearly enough to keep going.

The team ripped at the seams and slowly but surely ran into the ground and dad couldn't find at least one reason why it happened. It was like a curse you couldn't get rid of and I saw it happen first-hand.

The late nights he would spend in the garage trying new parts that kept failing with every test on the car. The way he would go as low as begging the drivers to come back offering them money he didn't have because no driver, rookie or experienced, didn't even bat an eye once the name of the team was mentioned.

Lost, penniless and with a heavy heart, he had to sit and watch the one thing he loved the most on earth rust away little by little, no matter what he would do to prevent it.

Mom called it karma for his reckless racing days because as talented as he was, the road forgives no one. That you can be God's favourite and still lose everything. And he didn't want to understand that. He never did.

I was too young to help back then. Too young to understand what Suruki Racing meant to him. Too young to do the only thing I could do to save it.

Until now.

So, let's try that again, shall we?

Name's Rai Suruki, driver for Suruki Racing 2.0.

Another knock to your helmet, echoing in your head louder than the first, brought you back to the real world for good this time. Mechanics rushed around you to finish the set up on the car before you were called up to take your spot in front of the race marshal, which from a quick glance at the scoreboard would be soon.

Looking to your left, you were met with a set of dull brown eyes, messy jet black hair, a funky moustache and an extremely creased forehead for his middle age, all belonging to your co-driver, Don Tanaka. He's another legend of the sport.

Former training coach for some of the current biggest teams in the WRC, with a CV of experiences surpassing most people that have been in rally for longer. On top of all that, he is an even bigger friend of your father's. When he called him up asking for an old favour to train you, he couldn't say no.

But if it was up to commenting, you'd say he was one of the biggest fools for giving up a lavish salary with so many perks for one favour, especially for your old fart of a father. Driving with him was great, but training with him was hell on Earth.

"I was doing my mantra," you reasoned, trying to get him off your case.

"Your mantra sucks."

He is an absolute joy to be around, isn't he?

"Well," you turned to him in your seat with a tight-lipped smile, "you're the one choosing to be co-driver to a young adult at your ripe age of 40. If I was you I would've picked something more calming, like gardening."

Bringing his hand to his chin in thinking, he sat in silence for a moment before he spoke.

"That doesn't sound so bad right now," he went on trying to push your buttons.

"Oh, shush," you waved him off, turning back to the wheel.

If there was one thing he liked doing, it was keeping you in check by poking fun at you. He was like that one uncle you could always go to with your secrets or to ask for extra pocket money, but in return he liked to tease the fuck out of you for it. Every. Single. Time.

As much as you hated his antics, you did kind of owe him a lot. He was the one who caught your talent for racing early on, back when you would drive plastic mini cars made from scraps around the team garage like you had years of experience. A few drifting maneuvers around old tires done like a pro at the cool age of 8, and he was sold on you and your potential.

Amongst all the teasing and the pain of having to train like a man, you've spent enough time with him to know you could count on him for literally anything. He was the best co-driver you could ask for and you wouldn't want anyone else in that seat directing your fate for the world.

He knew what it took to annoy you greatly in order to deliver on the dirt track and prove yourself. Especially now, since you were the only woman on highly occupied male territory.

Racing is a man's world. With as many female advancements in motorsport as there were today, the majority of the community was still not convinced that a woman could drive better than a man or even compete alongside a whole grid of their species. They can regard you, acknowledge your existence, but they would never accept you.

Your father knew your entry to the championship would stir up a lot of unwanted attention, besides the fact that he was basically reviving a cursed team and you happened to be the poster face for it this time around. It sounded like a catastrophe in the making.

Frankly, you were ecstatic to get to drive an actual race car outside of the junior series and helping the team get back to its rightful place, restoring its deserved glory. But you knew it wasn't going to be easy work. Especially, since public enemy number one - the press - was going to try and tear you to sparkly shreds for a lot of reasons. An attack that they started before any official information was out.

A few months ago, when the announcement of Suruki Racing's comeback after ten years of inactivity hit the WRC, the media had a field day with it.

They criticized your father for being a nutjob that didn't know when to quit. They smeared Don Tanaka's name like he didn't make most of the drivers currently selling their dying papers. They even tried to get paid scoops from anyone involved with the team in the slightest.

But the team had one wildcard left to play before pulling the curtains for good and giving them the satisfaction that they ruined it.

You.

The press didn't know about you. No one in the other teams knew about you. Thanks to your father's extremely private life, no one even knew of your existence. The only people that did were your team in the garage that saw your face every single day, from the mechanics to your personal PR agent.

Even walking into the circuit grounds this morning, long hair down over your shoulders, sporting the team gear in plain sight, no one batted an eye at you. Even if they did, they would think you were involved with technical or marketing - though even that was a rarity in this universe - or worse, just another groupie looking to get one of the drivers under your hood.

Your father wanted to give everyone a show they'll never forget by having you drive the first race in the calendar without a proper introduction. No car reveal. No interviews. No pre-race press conference. Just a car and its driver.

This way they would judge your driving before they actually got to judge you for being a woman at the wheel of a three hundred horsepower beast. He trusted you and your judgement on the track far more than the lousy press setting you up for fail. They would get a proper car show and speech after the race anyway. It was out of the ordinary but that kinda summed up Hiro Suruki and his bipolar personality.

The distorted sound of a megaphone, followed by the voice of the race marshal called you to the start line.

"Car 7, Rai Suruki for Suruki Racing, you're up next!"

You could already see everyone turning their eyes to your station, booming cheers going quiet, turning into sharp murmurs.

Time to get this show going.

Rolling up your windows to block the world, you put the car in gear and drove to the start line, waiting for the green light. Looking out at the lines in the road ahead of you spotting the first hazard ahead, the nerves climbed up your spine faster than your engine could pump the pistons for pressure.

You prepared for this for most of your life, but if you were being honest, it all got a little too real now, sitting with your foot hovering above the gas pedal ahead of the moment that could make or break your career before it even started. The very moment that could be a step forward to restoring your father's name, getting the team back on track in a new age of rally racing. The moment for a change.

No pressure, right?

"Raiko," your co-driver called your name, but you couldn't tear your eyes away from the road, gloved fingers tightening on top of the wheel with a small snap. "Do you remember the course?"

"Yes."

"Good. All set?"

"I think so."

"Raiko, look at me."

"You're not my style."

"Raiko," his voice turned more serious and deep with warning. With another sigh into the small, cramped space for breathing your helmet provided, you turned to him. "You've got this. Let's prove everyone wrong."

He was right. You could do this.

Let's prove everyone wrong.

The race marshal started the countdown, walking from the front of your car to the side, each number in the count descending with your nerves. You loosened the hold on the wheel, stretched your legs to the pedals and let out a deep breath.

"3."

It's not about how fast you go.

"2."

It's about how long you go fast.

"1."

Fast like lightning.

"GO!"

A soon as the lights went green, you hit the throttle and took off into the dirt, raising the dust behind you. You skidded off to the side a little due to the gravel but you got control of it before anyone could notice.

Tokai was a pretty difficult course to rally depending on which stages got picked for the day. More forest terrain gave way to hard roads, receding in wheel control, gaining insane suspension pressure. This one was more of an open valley terrain, which was a bit safer, but the later you got the okay to race, the more dust and gravel from other drivers would pile up in front of you, making visibility dangerously low. The corners were way too tight and one second off from Tanaka's directions or a mishap of your footing could cost you and put your car on the sidelines.

"5 left over crest," Tanaka paced you for the upcoming hill and you prepared to release the throttle.

"1 left 100."

Wheels back on the ground, you resumed pressing the pedal as a hairpin portion came into view. The cloud of dust in front of you was chalky and you had to get through it before it raised higher. Putting the car in second gear, you got ready for the drift portion. You had to be extra careful here. The mechanic in chief told you to go easy as the rear could send you into oversteer, throwing off the balance of the car and fuck up the race completely.

Listening to your gut, you waited for the right time then tapped the brake, cut the wheels and pressed the throttle, sliding across the portion. Loud cheers and whistles erupted as the crowd in the stands got up to watch you complete a perfect drift.

"3 right don't cut."

Reduce pace and prepare for a possible road hazard.

You slowed down and sure enough a bump in the road came up. If you missed that one and took it at 120 kmph, it would've projected you off the track, crashing the car hard into the rocky wall like a cereal box. Thankfully, you swerved around it, feeling the car lift off the ground on the left for a bit before it fell back down.

"6 right very long."

Hard left into a tight corner.

"Cut 8 left."

Tight corner requiring you to follow a straight line in the curb.

This was the last and worst corner on the track. You were lucky it didn't rain because this is where your car can skid off into the stands. You caught the straight line pretty fast, cutting a few seconds off your lap time without slowing down.

Following the rest of Tanaka's directions and focusing on the rest of the road, the race finished before you knew it. You liked the state you were in as you drove, mind clear of everything else because as soon as the adrenaline in your body decreased, your brain got bombarded by all kinds of issues.

Did I push the new suspensions too hard? God, I hope I didn't scratch the rear in the hairpin. Was my timing too off on that last corner? I should've practiced it more.

Driving back to your team's station, you sent all those worries at the back of your head and got out to watch the screen showing the score board just as it updated to display the new track times since you were the last to go.

1. Akira Shinkai - Sigma Racing Academy - 1.23.40

2. Naozumi Hiyama - Spica Racing Factory - 1.23.59

3. Rai Suruki - Suruki Racing - 1.24.25

"WE BAGGED THIRD PLACE?!" you yelled throwing off your helmet onto the car seat.

"WE SURE DID," Tanaka high fived you, beaming with energy just like you.

"That's 15 points on the first stage! Well done, lightning strike," he ruffled your hair as you snickered, nose scrunching up with a smile at the gesture you were already accustomed to.

"The car held up a lot better today than in testing. Maybe we lifted the curse," you wiggled your eyebrows at him at which he flicked your forehead. "Ow, what did you do that for?"

"Don't jinx it. We still have two more stages to go."

"But-"

Before you could say anything else, you were interrupted by angry shouting coming from the station next to you.

"I told you to not touch the third gear," yelled a strained voice.

You walked to the side of your station, peeking your head by the team banner, and watched the heated exchange between one of the drivers and his mechanic. Your eyes wandered to the car sitting in the middle, not one hand touching it for the regular post-race check up. From the different strokes of sky blue layered over stark white, the red and blue sponsor stickers and the carbon spoiler, you recognized it to be Spica Racing's.

"It doesn't matter now," shouted another voice, so annoyed and sure of themselves as if they owned the place. "I got a good lap record this time."

"What would you do if you had to retire in the middle of the race?" shot the mechanic, chastising the driver for being careless.

He got up in his face, towering over him though the other was much taller than him.

"We won't win if I don't attack!" he yelled back, throwing his hand in the air to make a point. "The moment I think of being scared I will lose. I won't make that mistake. So just do your job and fix the car."

With that final remark, he rounded the car to walk away from the station but his steps halt once he noticed you in the corner, now standing in full sight just at the line between your stations.

Quickly replacing the scowl on his face with what was probably his natural smirk, he came to you, stopping short of the barrier separating you.

"I don't do autographs, but for you I can do more than that," he says, flashing his extremely cocky smirk at you, adding a suggestive wink to go with the whole menu.

Ew.

Taking a small step back hoping his vibes wouldn't envelop you, you uncrossed your arms from your chest and lifted an eyebrow at him.

"I don't want your autograph."

Taken aback at your rejection, he backed up slightly too and looked you up and down, taking in your deep blue and dark gold team fireproofs and the suit tied messily around your waist. The old, way out of fashion colours seemed to ring a bell.

"Suruki Racing...," he starts doubtful, a little too focused on the writing littered over your left breast. "The shithole that revived from the ashes? Are you a mechanic, a co-driver or something for them? If you are, why don't you jump ships? I wouldn't mind having you on my team instead." He finished his speech of intent with another shit-eating grin.

Who the fuck is this guy?

The audacity that wafted off him must definitely make him popular with the ladies.

"I don't think we've met before," you extended your hand out to him, curt and polite, like a normal person would do, introducing yourself. "Rai Suruki, driver for Suruki Racing," emphasizing your role in the team so he got it through his head that you weren't some bimbo. If you were, you'd make sure your fist decorated his face in pretty red bruises before anything else.

He straightened back, smirk gone from his face in all sense of the word. It got replaced by some kind of curiosity. Looking between you and your palm hanging in the air he looked confused to say the least. He's heard about female racers before and seen some working in technical around the place, he's just never seen one stand against him on track.

Tired of being polite to someone who obviously has never heard about manners, you were about to retract your extended hand when he caught it in a firm grip and pulled it towards him, just holding it instead of shaking it. The move sent you forwards, almost barreling into him when your reaction response kicked in to steel you a safe distance away.

Maybe Tanaka's intense survival program pays off sometimes.

"So," he began and you wondered if he was about to say something intelligent or spew more shit with that mouth of his. He decided to choose the latter. "You're the one driving the Beetle dupe right there?"

Eh, come again?

Your eyes widened at him, looking at where his finger was pointed to confirm that he was pointing at your car and not anywhere else, then you whirled your head back at him appalled.

"B-Beetle dupe?!"

"I thought you were a guy."

Wouldn't be the first time I heard that one.

You took your hand back from his hold, wiping it on the sleeves of the suit hanging on your hips in the hopes that it would wipe off the disgust you were feeling too. It didn't but it was worth a try.

"It's the name," you replied through gritted teeth.

He backed up some more to scan you again, though more attentively this time, like you were some kind of illegality, cooked up from the pits of his imagination. You gave him your best front, hardening your jaw and rolling your shoulders backwards, proving you were more than a pair of boobs and a vagina, which was apparently his deranged first impression of you.

You deserved to be here. No amount of stares from the male specimen, surprised or with sinful intentions, could ever make you back down from this. This was yours to take on. No man could take this from you. Not him anyway.

So, you stared him down too, trying to find something else beside the extreme big dick energy and unsurmountable lack of scruples bathing him in the jackass façade he's got going on. Struggling to see anything else but some disdain in the way he crossed his arms over his broad chest, a rich prick attitude from how he shifted on his legs like the world owed him golden lingos every time he breathed, and some leftover rage from the screaming match with his mechanic still present in the tick of his jaw, you let your eyes meet his own in conclusion of your very own analysis.

Yeah, there's nothing else in there. An ambulant douchebag. Just like I thought.

Flashing cameras were suddenly thrown in your faces, interrupting the intense stare-down between you. The press and some people, potentially fans of other teams by their t-shirts, surrounded you from every corner of the plastic barrier around the two stations, pushing each other over the race marshals that tried their hardest to keep them away. It wasn't long until they pushed over the barrier.

Too absorbed in the chaos, you didn't notice he leaned down to your ear but when you did, you stilled in your shoes, all blood draining into your pounding stomach. He spoke close and low, so only you could hear his words.

"Don't get too comfortable around here, rookie," he whispered, his breath hitting the shell of your ear that made hot shivers run down your extremely clothed spine. "Let's see how long you last in here because this season might just be your first and last."

Pulling away with another one of his smirks that were starting to get on your nerves, he regarded you once more before he walked off in amusement to his cool-down room, giving you a full view of his broad back.

Oh, just you wait -

A reporter shoved into the human barrier of orange and green safety vests reaching the railing, yanking it back and forth repeatedly until the poor plastic seal broke off, letting everyone else pool in around you.

Uh-oh. This wasn't good.

They packed around you like wolves on their prey, all shouting different things at you while shoving their big cameras, recording devices and phones in your face. The flashes blinded you, turning the world white and too bright for it to be natural light from the clouded sky above.

Your hands shot up on instinct to cover your eyes from the flaring lights as your ears focused on filtering through the blaring sounds of camera clicks and voices. Then the countless questions registered clear as day, hitting you like a truck at full speed.

"Are you Rai Suruki, daughter of Hiro Suruki?"

"Where did your father get the money to restart the team?"

"Is your car even going to last a season?"

"Do you consider yourself a challenge to the rest of the drivers?"

I guess that was it for mystery, dad.

Some of the other teams passed by the ruckus, sparing quick judgmental glances or sending disgusting sneers your way like that was the way they initiated your welcome ceremony at the gates of the jungle.

If this was any other series, you would've been so welcomed by the rest of the grid and treated somewhat better by the media and the fans. But this was the World Rally Championships.

Driving was dirty. Talk was filthy, full of disrespect and unspoken trials of envy between each driver. The press competed to see who would get your head on a pike first and parade it as the story of the century.

Most important of all, respect was fought for, not earned.

It was a different game. One where you needed to play even if you didn't want to so in turn you wouldn't get played. Survival of the fittest truly.

You steeled your gaze, waving the reporters off and digging a hole through the crowd, successfully escaping away to your pit crew. Helping with packing up bits and pieces and taking your own stuff, you headed back to your team quarters, aware of the intensifying stares belonging to the rest of the teams still around their stations, talking about the first day in this season's calendar being an interesting one.

You had a feeling you and the team were the hot topic of conversation since you could feel their eyes searing deep holes into your back, burning hotter and doing more damage than flame-lit arrows aimed straight at you ever could. Tanaka wrapped an arm around you giving you his curled moustache smile, sympathizing with you.

Looking up at the sky darkening in mauve and pink, you let a small smile grace your lips. At least today was done. Your rally racing career has officially started. The team was back in business.

This first stage was just one of the many challenges still to come. Who knew what else was on the way?

As you trudged on the warm asphalt, warmed by the mid-spring heat of March, there was one thing you knew for sure.

This is gonna be a long season.

Next

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