#ignore the not straight lines I finished this at 2am

[blackthorn-faerie]

I decided that I NEEDED to draw hsr characters as clue characters

[maybe-boys-do-love]

The Trainee, Episode 7 Work-Life

So i wanted to dive into episode 7 of the Trainee before watching the new one, because, after some thought, i realized how it gives an extraordinary culmination of all the shows' themes around healthy workplaces for which its been subtly laying the building blocks. Re-watching it, I marked over 30 references to well-being in workplaces in the episode. I'll pare it down for y'all. Spoilers ahead. Here we go, hold on tight!

1.Ba Mhee reminds Tae to take his vitamins as they car-pool into the office. He is, of course, ignoring her as he works and edits away on his computer beneath a blanket to keep the glare out from his screen. She tells him he needs to take care of his body. "You use your body a lot!" And this emphasis on bodily health that we get from Ba Mhee is key to understanding the show's complex perspective on work-life balance and the comparison we get (and will likely continue to get) between Judy and Jane's relationships with their interns.

2.In the next scene, Pah finishes up a voice-over for the post-production team and declares, "Feel free to ask me to do anything," which includes buying food, buying snacks, and carrying stuff. He's "always ready to help." Wan, the editor, doesn't discourage his boundary-less enthusiasm.

gif by @peachblossomdrama

3.And why would we be surprised by Wan's answer to Pah? We next see him explaining how he hasn't slept for 24 hours and another editor waking up after a night spent sleeping in the office. The editing team is a great example of how the show has used comedy--these goofy nerds who seem clueless to social cues like when and where its appropriate to sleep and how to socialize to have friends and partners--to plant the reality of major work-life balance issues in this office. But something the show uses to complicate a straight-up condemnation of their work behavior is that it let's us know that it's very much is the nature of the post-production team's job to have the strictest deadlines, requiring them to work weird, intense hours. They explain to Tae the Monday deadline, which will require him to work over the weekend unless he can finish it by Monday. Putting so much on the intern, however, seems sketch, to say the least. And focus on work over his personal life is what leads Ba Mhee to start doubting their relationship, which doesn't end well...

4.Another moment of comedy that also shows us the blurred lines between office and home life is Pie and Ba Mhee's conversation about Judy in the bathroom as Pie brushes her teeth and Ba Mhee puts her make up. It's a little moment, but little moments like this that emphasize the bigger message are what make this show so fuckin great.

5.There are lots of little moments about hunger and food in this episode and throughout the series. Ba Mhee's sandwich for Tae, Jane checking on Ryan's hunger level--being fed takes care of a body to make sure they are prepared and focus to do their work, and these moments remind us of its importance.

6.But Judy's sharing of her food with Ba Mhee begins a series of questions about sharing with coworkers, and especially with suborinate employees. It goes from sharing food, to confusing the glasses of water, to sharing a kiss, symbolizing the blurring of the lines between their own personal boundaries.

7.I won't excuse Judy's behavior, however, the show does a beautiful job of contextualizing it within Judy's workaholic nature in which she never seems to be off-duty. She's called Ba Mhee at 2am previously and we've seen her as the last person in the office. In this episode, she zoom's in while she can't actually be on video, she delivers a gift to clients several years after last working with them, and then she's out late partying with the clients. Everything she says in this episode suggests a marriage to her work where she seeks others' approval, and that prevents her from truly taking care of herself or having a clear head about her personal life and boundaries.

8.The parties and drinking are another question about professional behavior the show brings up. When Ba Mhee explains, "You're clients got me drunk," we are cued into the power imbalance at play even if the show hides its hand by not emphasizing it. In fact, we are pointed to the inappropriateness of this client a few times throughout the episode. The boss, for example, chooses who to work with based on "physiognomy," or looks... Of course, as with the post-production team, networking and parties and attractiveness are a reality for this position, so we aren't meant to be mad about a hard line being crossed (except the kiss), but bare witness to the fuzziness of the boundary and Judy's failure to identify it for herself and/or support Ba Mhee in finding it.

9.There's one more work boundary Judy crosses that, while I'm sure when other people notice its inclusion will feel perturbed, I found touching in connecting it to the confusion of separating one's work self and personal self. Judy discloses her sexuality. Nowadays, this is less fraught (depending on ur locale, of course!), but it is still legal to discriminate in workplaces based on your sexuality in many places. It's not a given that you get to express every part of yourself professionally, and the question of how much you can say or express your sexuality while working with the public and with coworkers is another occupational ethics question, and I'm so glad that the show included it in the tangled mess of Judy's boundary-crossing instead of simply showing us the "right way" to do it only, because, it's really not that long since there was no 'right way' in a legal and public opinion sense.

10.Speaking of sexuality, let's talk about the character of Joy, who is so lusciously funny with her open attraction to Jane that we go into our comedy mindsets and ignore how wildly inappropriate she's acting. Ryan is right, "This is an abuse of a professional position" and "If you want to flirt with each other, do it somewhere else, not in the office." Her inappropriate behavior has real consequences. She favors Jane and gives him the bottles instead of the actual director, which is the start of the issues, because there is a trend throughout the series that Jane doesn't actually know where a lot of things are at the office. Then, her behavior, not Ryan's crush alone, causes Ryan's challenges with focusing, so he's wasting paper (while wearing a recycling shirt!) and not listening when the explanation is given about the tester for the collagen capsule. Why isn't anyone intervening? Because of our acculturation to workplace comedy behavior, we're allowed to see it all as humorous, but the show has more up its sleeve.

11.Consequences is one of the things that The Trainee does exceptionally well. It gives us comedic elements but doesn't let them flit away as a joke. There are financial, emotional, and this time, physical ramifications to what could otherwise be laughed off. Jane doesn't pick up the phone. Ryan missed the information because of Joy's flirting and his own feelings, so he gives Pah the wrong bottle. When Pah leaves work, the show includes the detail of the burns on his arms, which is just such a great little detail, because consequences at work is what the show's all about: consequences and how to move forward once they occur.

12.JANE AND RYAN'S FIGHT!!!! They're both right and they're both wrong and it's so real and honest about what arguments actually are. First, Jane is ever professional by having the conversation privately after the explosion ("Go wait for me in my office"), because you don't shame employees in front of others. Next, Ryan owns his behavior and apologizes but also--and this is by far Ryan's biggest strength--articulates some of his questions and observations about the causes, explaining how he tried to call Jane for the info. Jane shoots back asking if there was no one else Ryan could ask, pointing to two issues for the two of them we can interpret. One: Jane knows Ryan has, if nothing else, latched onto him at work for assistance over anyone else. Two: Ryan couldn't have talked to anyone else because the office has an organization and documentation issue, sono one knows where anything is, especially if they weren't individually in charge of it. Just earlier in the episode Jo was looking through files on the desk for a document Prang sent, and Jane couldn't help locate it, either. I'd have to rewatch, but I'd guess in nearly every episode there's something lost that someone's looking for. Idk if Jane is being defensive about a known weak point of his, or if he just doesn't realize it.

13. Ryan discloses his feelings for Jane! For all the internal monologues and cues we've seen about Ryan's feelings (and about Jane's likely reciprocation), he hasn't been unprofessional. Disclosing his feelings verbally to his superior is actually a professional choice (the edits do all the heavy lifting of the romantic elements). Remember what Ba Mhee said at the beginning of the episode. "You're body is important." Communicating a feeling verbally is very different than using his body to communicate as Judy does. And the awareness and choices we make to deal with the feelings matter deeply in a professional setting, and both Jane and Ryan seem appropriately aware of this. We'll see what next steps they take now.

[levihantrash]

Priorities

For Levihan week Aug 2021 Day 2 prompt: confessions

Also based on a cute ass tumblr prompt by @sanothebreadpup <3 hope you like it!!

Summary: It’s been a while since Hange wanted to confess, but their to-do list was too goddamn long. Erwin suggested going to Levi for advice on managing prioritises. Instead, they asked Levi if he wanted to bake… for a titan.

note: no smut but lots of spicy poetic touching

cross-posted on ao3 🤪

-----

Hange wanted to confess. It had been months since they knew that their best friend status with Levi could potentially be tweaked to include just a bit more romance, and they knew they had to be the one to take that step. As much as Levi was quick-witted on the battlefield, he wasn’t quite the risk-taker in ordinary settings. In fact, Hange figured Levi would sip tea beside them until he was greying and would probably be as content with the arrangement.

Hange wanted to confess, but their to-do list was too goddamn long.

Out-of-the-blue, though characteristically charismatic, Erwin gave the soldiers a pep-talk on how they need to know what to prioritise (i.e., humanity's victory).

Inspired, though the speech’s intended audience was clearly for new recruits, Hange tried to prioritise their tasks. Within a day, they got overwhelmed, the list being more of a reason for delay than for action. Moblit, well-meaning as always, tried to get Hange to focus on one at a time but that was unthinkable to them. One at a time meant that the confession would never happen. There was too much to research. Too much at stake. Too much for one inconsequential confession.

Unknowingly, Erwin saw Hange wringing their hands, muttering to themselves in the dining hall.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just can’t prioritise the important stuff,” Hange grumbled. Perking up at the mention of priorities, Erwin advised Hange to seek Levi’s guidance.

“Levi only does one thing at a time once he sets his heart on it.”

Eager for a chance encounter with someone they technically already hung out with on most days, Hange asked Levi for help. More accurately, in perhaps the most roundabout manner, they asked Levi if he wanted to bake… for a titan.

“For research,” Hange said, almost convinced by their own performance.

“You can do that yourself,” Levi said reasonably.

While starting a task was horrendously difficult, Hange was not one to give up once they began on one.

“You’re the only one here who can bake.”

Eyes narrowed, arms folded, Levi was not buying the compliment. He had a pile of papers left to read. Hange’s whims could be settled by someone with more well-matched interests and time management.

“Go ask Petra.”

Hovering nearby with another paper for her captain to sign, Petra noticed Hauge's crestfallen face.

“It’s not about the baking being done but who Hange is doing the baking with,” Petra whispered, as discreetly as she could.

"I'm busy," Levi said, loud enough for Hange to hear, heedless of Petra’s input.

“Alright.” Hange sighed, internally fuming that they should’ve found a more legitimate excuse. Bluff out something like Erwin’s orders. Levi followed Erwin’s orders without question. Hange’s requests were dealt with more scepticism. Not that Hange had the best track record of requests.

In the end, Hange prepared the baking supplies, because even if titans couldn’t stomach cake, it was an experimental endeavour. Practically speaking, they could give some baked goods to the juniors. Maybe even gift some to Levi.

Stumbling into the kitchen with too many ingredients in hand, they found Levi leaning against the entrance looking positively sullen. Upon spotting Hange, his face morphed into a more acceptable, neutral expression, nodding towards them.

"I thought you were busy!"

Levi shrugged, grabbing some of the ingredients from their arms. "I was. Didn't you want to bake?"

“I guess?”

The sudden change of mind was too abrupt for Hange to wrap their head around. A hopeful glow had unfortunately begun growing in them. Levi was being exceptionally nice today. No doubt that he was usually nice. Just not will-bake-for-your-titans kind of nice.

"Erwin said that you are really good at prioritising tasks,” Hange said, slowly digging through the cabinets for the utensils.

"Huh. Let me guess—he wants you to learn from me."

Hange scratched their head absent-mindedly. "He did tell me to ask you."

"I'm not actually very good at sticking to a task,” Levi admitted, wondering where in hell Erwin got the idea that he was focused. If he were, the paperwork would have been submitted, instead of lying around, flapping aimlessly in the wind before Petra (and Oluo) offered their generous help. He refused—every time. Levi was simply good at keeping a blank face and reporting to Erwin that he needed more time, which Erwin must have mistaken as a sign of seriousness than a sign of procrastination.

“You are! You finished work before coming have, didn't you?”

Levi didn’t breathe out a word, silently pouring through the book of recipes.

"What do you want to bake?"

Hange didn’t mind his lack of response, pondering over his poor cover-up question. "Something easy. What about bread?"

"Bread isn’t easy."

Difficulties translated into the promise of adventure for Hange. Pumped up, Hange prodded at the picture of an unremarkable loaf of chocolate banana bread.

"Let's do it anyway!"

“Suit yourself.”

-----

The small touches were the ones that were hardest to ignore. Hange felt the accidental-deliberate brush of Levi’s elbow when he reached over to choose an ingredient. Other times, he guided their hand with the right amount of strength for stirring the batter. His fingers over their stirring hand were firm and reassuring.

“You’re stirring too fast,” Levi said patiently.

“You’re distracting me,” Hange replied half-heartedly.

“Oh, am I?” The fingers left Hange’s hand. Just as Hange was about to lament their moment of folly in allowing that to happen, the fingers reached out towards their face. Forcing in a breath, Hange felt Levi’s thumb rub out a chocolate stain at the side of their lip.

“How did the chocolate get there?” Levi murmured, more to himself than to them.

“I was snacking on some of the chocolate bits a while ago…” Hange said cheekily, licking the side of their lips only to realise that Levi’s thumb was still there. Their tongue brushed his finger, and in that contact, Hange was ready to collapse from self-generated sexual tension.

Though his eyes widened noticeably, Levi quickly resumed his blasé expression. Rubbing the rest of the stain out, he walked to the tap to wash his hands. There was some hesitation, before he hurriedly turned on the tap, letting the water run for two seconds over his hands before going back to his position next to Hange.

Unsure as to whether to be offended or pleased by the sight of Levi cleaning the evidence of their encounter with such carelessness, Hange busied themselves with breaking eggs and separating yolk. If it had been Levi with a finger lined with fudge, Hange would’ve licked it spotless. With permission, of course.

To pay him back in kind, Hange plotted their own routine of touch as well. The touches became bolder, starting innocently enough. From casually brushing away hair that was poking Levi’s eye, to going behind Levi who was busy slicing up bananas and placing both hands on the counter. Their arms were now on either side of him, conveniently taller than him so that their head could peer right over his shoulder. The cutting didn’t cease—it only got more rapid, the bananas becoming neat circles in a matter of seconds. Hange let out an impressed whistle, hands not leaving the counter.

“Stop distracting me.”

“Oh, am I?”

One drop of the knife, and a swift turn later, Levi found himself staring straight into Hange’s bright, beautiful, heavily eye-bagged orbs.

"Hange, do you know why I'm in the kitchen at 2am baking for some shit-brained monsters?"

“Titans don’t have—”

“Because I have priorities.” Levi interrupted, not allowing Hange to clarify what the physical anatomy of titan subjects entailed.

Hange blinked, maintaining an oblivious exterior. “Your priorities include titan research?”

“You know what I was going to say.”

“Somewhat. I want to hear you say it out loud, though.”

Grimacing, he concentrated his gaze on Hange’s collar instead. Skin flushed, collarbones peeking out mischievously. Bad idea.

“You little shit.”

Their laugh was quieter, milder than the ones they let out on other days. “My favourite little shit! So what are your priorities?”

“Wiping the blades. Cleaning the toilet. Dusting under the tables. Doing laundry. Having enough tea. Baking with a scientist who thinks—”

Hange pressed a gentle hand on his mouth. “I get it.”

“Which part do you get?” Levi asked, enjoying the fact that when he moved his lips, they grazed Hange’s palm. How would it be like to replace that hand with their mouth?

“That you like me.” Hange grinned, tugging Levi by the straps of his apron just a bit closer.

An unexpected flash of clumsiness made Levi knock down the bag of flour, spilling it onto the floor. The fall clouded up the vicinity in white dust. Gaining confidence with obscured vision, Hange held the back of Levi’s head, tracing his undercut, admiring how his immaculately combed hair had come undone. An attractively dishevelled mess. Hange was in no hurry. Yet.

Levi, in a spur of restlessness, looked up at Hange questioningly. Eyeing their faint smirk, he tilted his head sideways, watching carefully for any sign of reluctance. An impatient “are you going to kiss me or not” from Hange; a straightforward command was what he needed to hear. No time was wasted pulling Hange into an urgent, searing kiss. Backed against the counter, hands cupping Hange’s face, Levi devoured the sensation. The taste of sugar, fruit, flour, and chocolate clung onto the entwinement, as Hange breathily pressed up against him. Erwin had warned them both. Love in the military meant the threat of loss. The possibility of sorrow. As he felt the rumble of Hange’s satisfying groan beneath his lips sending an unprecedented warmth through his body, he was certain. He would have loved Hange whether he kissed them or not. Death would happen, whether or not Hange rubbed his waist in soothing, awe-inspiring strokes. Right now, he would die in absolute bliss.

To be honest, Hange would’ve been disappointed if they didn’t end up fucking, or at least, aggressively kissing eventually. Erwin’s advice was only a stronger reminder that Hange was never one to be conservative. They loved Levi, as a comrade, as a friend, as the person whom they would kill for, if it meant saving his life. Still, having Levi sneak a hand into the bareness of their back, sucking their neck with a hot tenderness that made their head spin, they knew that chastity and platonic hugging could not be the only option.

“We should’ve done this sooner,” Hange said, peeling away his jacket.

“Couldn’t tell when the right time was,” Levi said, starting on the buttons of Hange’s shirt.

The door creaked open.

“This is your idea of asking Levi for help?” Erwin said, a thick eyebrow raised as he surveyed the mess.

With some willpower, he stopped unbuttoning Hange’s shirt. Lightly pushing Hange away, Levi straightened up, less than pleased with the interruption.

“Erwin, you better have something worthwhile to say if you—”

“I’ll clean this up.” Erwin, fully recovered from his shock, was beaming.

“Huh?”

“It’s about time,” Erwin said, with the proud sincerity of an unwitting matchmaker, gesturing towards the door.

“We owe you one, Erwin!” Hange waved at him on the way out, while Levi cast him a grateful, wary glance. With his hand was secure on their back, and Hange’s arm wrapped around his shoulders, there was no care for an audience. Only the smell of baked goods and unfinished business fuelled their steps towards a private space. A place where they would end up in each other’s arms—spent, sweaty, and deliriously at peace.

[choiwrites]

kth | the day after valentine’s (m.)

Words: 4.5k Synopsis: Taehyung, your best friend, had asked you to come over to help him arrange his furniture after moving for the hundredth time. It’s the day after Valentine’s and all the getting laid stuff is over, right? Not for Taehyung. Also, who the hell buys condoms after Valentine’s day? Rating: 18+ Author’s Note: This is a messy drabble that I have no intention cleaning or editing. I wrote this at liek 2am so a lot of typo’s ahead y’all.

When you agreed to come over Taehyung's apartment, you thought he needed help with arranging the stuff that came from his moving van today. But no, your best friend's not the most truthful person you know.

He spreads across his dirty old couch, one he'd kept from his college dorm, wearing nothing but his basketball shorts that holds tight against his waist. Seven years since meeting him, he's done nothing to change his lifestyle. Every month, it's the same old scenario of him moving to another place after getting evicted for God knows how many times, and you watching him play a mobile game while you beg him to please start unpacking before a landlord sends him on his ass again.

"Let me finish this level, I'm so close." He looks for a second to study your reaction, annoyance painted clearly on your face.

You shrug, and your eyes dart over the cigarette pack that almost hides in one of his Goodwill boxes.

"I though you quit?"

Confused, Taehyung follows your eyes and he regrets in an instant bringing you here.

"I haven't had one in two months. I'm stressed lately."

Sighing, you try to understand. Taehyung's been on and off with cigars, he'd buy one in secret but sooner or later, you'd always find a lighter in his laundry when coming over. You advice him to keep his hand busy, and you'd even given him a bracelet that chimes. He removed it three months later and you never asked where he threw it away.

"Fuck," his finger swipes his screen as if he wanted to break it, "I almost got it!" he yelled.

He switches off his phone, now staring back at you. Your eyes fall, he's always intimidating. You couldn't blame him, you were always intimidated.

"What?" you croaked.

"What do you mean what? What's your plan?"

"My plan? Why do I have to make the plans?" Your fingers find the hem of your thin baby blue shirt.

"Because you're the smarter one. How do I arrange all my shit? You got any idea?"

"Taehyung, we've been doing this for ages. How come you still depend on me? There will come a day that I won't be here anymore and the only person you could depend on is yourself." Was it seeing the cigarettes that raised your voice, or remembering that he threw your handmade bracelet? You couldn't care less.

He was quiet. Then he opens his mouth, and he's quiet again.

"You sound like my mom," he says, meaning to tease you as if he hadn't used that for the hundredth time. "Was your date last night that bad? I told you you should come with Hoseok and I on Valentine's, we had an amazing night at Jungkook's crib."

There he goes again, ignorant of your troubles. Classic selfish Tae, the exact same one who stood you up on homecoming because he spent it having sex with Tilly Janes in his car. You're still upset about it, he didn't even think of going inside to give you at least a minute to dance with somebody on the dance floor.

"Mind telling me what happened? Did you get laid?"

"Do you ever think of maybe you shouldn't ask such inappropriate questions to someone?"

"Fine," almost tired in his tone.

And you spend a few more minutes in silence, guessing each other's thoughts with the way both your gaze lands on the floor. He clears his throat and forgets what he's about to say. You wish you didn't cancel your nail appointment today just to be with your best friend who still, in no surprise, doesn't have a single plan in his life.

Taehyung suggests he buys a stock from the grocery first, and when he says stock he means an awful lot of Oreo cookies and Lays. You agreed with him and he gets dressed, though the soles of your feet still hurt from walking in heels for three hours straight last night. If only you knew that Hyungwon would be bringing you to a walking spree, you wouldn't have worn a formal attire.

Taehyung spends his time choosing between peanut butter and double stuff. You tell him to pick the peanut butter one because you've never seen him finish the double stuff, he always throws the leftovers saying it was too sweet. He ignores your opinion and chooses the double stuff over the peanut butter.

He asks you again whether he should buy milk or pineapple juice instead, and you tell him to pick milk because whoever drinks pineapple is a monster. He nods in affirmation, commenting about how pineapple has a really weird aftertaste. And he brings the milk back to the shelf, putting the pineapple juice in the cart.

"You should dress like that." He points at a mannequin dressed in sportswear.

"You don't tell me what to wear, young man. I don't even jog."

"I'm just saying you'd look hotter." He scans you head to toe and your knees weaken a little.

He takes a route to the meat section, you already know why. He just wants to brag about being a vegan. Jungkook had convinced him last month to finally turn vegan, and he's been talking about it non-stop.

"I can't stand the smell of meat anymore, it's disgusting." He pinches his nose, wrinkles forming on his face.

"Okay, Mr. Vegan. We get it." You rolled your eyes.

"No, really. It's making me vomit," he says, nasally.

"Just make sure that once I cook chicken alfredo, your mouth wouldn't water."

Upon reaching the counter, Taehyung approaches the magazines and candy bars, leaving you in line.

What does he need this time?

And when you're up next in line, he comes back with a tight fist, hiding an item as he crosses his arms.

He thought he was sleek, but when he throws the condoms next to the Oreos, you couldn't help but laugh.

"You're buying condoms after Valentine's Day?" You throw your hand to your mouth, suppressing an uncontrollable laughter. "Did you run out last night or you're only getting laid today?" you added.

"Do you ever think of maybe you shouldn't ask such inappropriate questions to someone?"

You sighed. "But seriously, I know you wanna answer that question."

In the mood, you poke at his waist and he flinches like a worm. Taehyung was cocky, but he can be cute sometimes in ways he doesn't intend to.

"I ran out last night. Lucky you who don't need to buy another one since none of your dates ever pass your standards."

You couldn't point it out in what he said that made your heart throb, it felt a little offensive. Taehyung knows so much about you, it can get scary when he opens his mouth. What's he thinking right now? Cute little y/n, no one's ever good enough for her fragile heart. Cute little y/n, always finds a mistake in every part.

"That's not true, you know? I just don't settle that easily."

The corners of his lips lift, eyes rolling in disbelief. He was skinning you alive with that gaze, annoyed. He has a sarcastic smile sprawled all over his face, you just wanna punch it away.

On the way home, you thought about what he said for a second... For a while. You thought about it for a while. Was Taehyung right? Was his perception of you correct? Whatever it was, it did hurt. All you ever did for Taehyung was to be a good friend, and he gave nothing in return. You weren't expecting anything, but deep inside you knew Taehyung loves you just as much as you love him. But like every other person, insecurity gets in the way in relationships.

Maybe Taehyung doesn't even treat you as a friend.

No, you argued inside your head.

Sure, you've seen him in his most vulnerable moments. You've seen him break and you've seen him fall, you've seen him lose the inner parts of his soul. You've seen Taehyung happy, and you will always remember that specific laugh he lets out whenever he pretends something is funny. You know that he blinks when he curses because his body rejects it. He told you about his broken dream of becoming an astrologist, and you daydreamed together about the stars and the way they collide like magical dusts.

Maybe Taehyung doesn't know you like you know him.

Before the thought gets answered, Taehyung was already groaning as he puts the bags down to his counter. You had forgotten you arrived.

"We should start with your room. I'll place your clothes in your closet and you go arrange your miscellaneous."

He doesn't nod. Why won't he nod?  God, please, Taehyung, just agree with me once.

He remains standing with both his hands on either sides of his waist and he does nothing else. Still standing feet away from you, just knitted brows and a stern expression that you couldn't read. What is it this time?

"How was it?" His arms cross on the buff his chest, waiting for a response as he tries to read your reaction the same way you're reading where he's coming from.

"How was what?"

"The sex, y/n. Was it so bad you're in a bad mood today?" A laugh pauses in his throat, replaced by a rise of the corner of his lips.

It was a tug, or maybe a push, in your stomach that made your minds do wonders of spins. Such an unpredictable person Taehyung is.

There was nothing to deliberate inside your mind, nothing happened last night. Hyungwon went home without a kiss on his lips, and you're limbs gave out due to the amount of walking.

"There's no sex. We didn't have sex."

"Let me guess, he insulted your outfit? If not, he probably split the check." His index finger extends, eyes wrinkling to get out any more ideas from his dirty little head.

"Can you just- Ugh! What's with you and your insults?"

"How was that an insult? I was guessing which of what he did didn't pass your golden standard."

"If I had a better standard, maybe you wouldn't be my friend." Ouch. It wasn't directed to you but sometimes you just want to dissolve after saying something.

"I'm your friend because you have a high standard." He wasn't offended, not a single bit from what you have said. Was Taehyung that oblivious of how miserable he is? "If we weren't friends, I'm pretty sure I could get inside your pants."

You hoped he regret what he said, just as much as you wanted to dissipate earlier.

"I'm sorry, Taehyung. But my 'golden standard' would never, and I can't stress this enough, let you get in my pants, in an alternate universe where we aren't friends."

"Lies. Lies. Lies. I could easily get you swooning for me in just a matter of seconds, y/n. Stop, and I can't stress this enough, lying."

"Sure, Taehyung. Whatever you want me to fucking say." You turned your back on him to get a grip of yourself. You grunt, you shudder, and you sighed.

Cocky. Bastard. You could join those words together and it would still perfectly describe Taehyung. Perhaps you have a list of two words that could go either independently or together they'd still describe Taehyung well.

Arrogant. Pervert. Overconfident. Asshole. Striking. Idiot. Son. Of. A. Bitch. I. Just. Want. To. Punch. Him.

He places a grip on your arm to spin you to him. "I want you to say it," with a guttural voice coming from the pits of somewhere within his diaphragm, it's crazy how smooth it escaped from his lips.

"Saywhat?" as opposed to yours that escaped with so much tremble and crisp, thinner than air.

"Consent," he began. "I'm pretty sure I can reach your standard."

It was probably a bad idea. And a bad idea is followed by a spontaneous drive to try it, that's how it's done in movies. You'd probably regret it, right? But you'd regret it more if you don't get a chance to prove Taehyung wrong.

Fine. He needs a wake up call. He needs to wake up from that delusion he'd built inside his towering cocky arrogant head, no pun intended, that he's not every girl's cup of tea.

"You know what? Sure. What do you want me to do? Ride you? Then give you a blowjob after not finding the clit-"

He pulls you, hand reaching your lower back to push his groin toward your front. You were far behind than he was, Taehyung was already hard and eager. His lips were hot, warm around the tip of your tongue that vividly tastes the mint and smoke he had had earlier this morning. It was evident in the sloppiness of his kiss, swiftness of his wandering hands, and blazing fire underneath the lust of his eyes, Taehyung isn't exactly as what you have thought him to be.

The men you've slept with before, they were a floating fish in the sea. But Taehyung brings you sea deep into the weakness of your knees, the floor may have shaken 'cause you find yourself falling on his body and he catches you just perfectly, bodies molding with each other on the floor. Taehyung grips your thigh, to the north his hand traveled, his thumb harshly caressing your slit.

The position made it hard for him to move, he was struggling to reach every part of your body as he would have wanted so he pushed your body, and you look him in the eyes with question, both hands resting on his chest as he continues to play with your clit. He earns a sly grunt from you and he'd do anything to hear it again.

Then he was standing, carrying your body to the nearest stool he could find, desperate and quick. With one sharp thrust to lock you in position, he inhales the moan that went from your lips to his throat. Then he stops. He stopped.

"Moaning already, are we?" He lifts his brow, a crease forming on his forehead.

"Can you just get to it?"

He laughs. "That's not exactly how I always do it. I like to take my time."

You punch his shoulder, a questioning look taking over his features. Embarrassment flows through you. "This was a mistake."

He kisses you again, eating whatever insult was about to come out of your mouth. He wants to whisper it, that thing he have always wanted to tell you, in between kisses. Because now that he's got you under his touch, his tongue is burning just to say it. To distract himself, he digs into your waist deeper, sinking those three little words under your skin hoping you'd realize it.

You pull away, pushing him away from you. "Something wrong?" His nails have left their mark before you could figure out.

"No, no. Nothing's wrong."

There is though. You're not a stranger to not know the look on Taehyung's face. You recognize this one, it happened before. The trembling lips and crimson cheeks. They bring you back the day after prom, the day after Tilly Janes took his innocence.

"What happened last night?" you asked him, arms crossed against your chest.

"I'm so sorry I didn't come-"

"You came Tae. You came hard, didn't you? I can't believe you convinced me to go to prom just so you can leave me in there alone."

"I didn't want to. Listen, okay, I realized something last night."

"I don't need your apology, Taehyung. I don't need it. Jimin took me home last night."

"What? Why?"

"Why? Because some asshole left me without a ride. That's why!"

"I was looking for you last-"

"Shut it. He asked me on a date. So thank God, I'm at least in a good mood today to not flame on you."

"He asked you on a date? Are you going?"

Trembling lips and crimson cheeks. He gulped so hard you heard it.

"I am. Hey, are you okay?"

"I just can't believe someone would even ask you out. I'll be going, forget I came."

It's the same face, the same gulp. You put your hand on his cheek, like what a mom would do to an injured child, and he holds it so you won't ever let go of his face.

"We can stop. I know. This was a bad idea. We shouldn't have done it."

He shakes his head, his other hand creeping behind you. He latches his lips onto yours again, pulling your shirt up to reveal your stomach. The kiss was different, a touch of hunger for affection. A slow open one, mostly the breaths clashing in a soft whisper.

"I want you, y/n. I want you," he whispered to your mouth. You push him to the couch, straddling him and he groans in satisfaction. He pulls you closer, enough for his chin to land on your chest and he looks up in pure admiration of you.

There was more behind the words he said, but with the heat pooling in between your thighs, you couldn't care less as of now. It's something you'll resolve after. He tucks a strand of your hair as he makes thrusts underneath you, the thick cotton of his sweats didn't do anything to conceal his cock aching for you.

You remove his shirt, not being able to take your eyes away from his body. Sweet and honey under your gaze, he tenses them and you couldn't help but laugh at this. Kissing every inch of his exposed skin, you kneel as your knees approach the floor, not breaking eye contact with Taehyung while untying his sweats. His hand fails to fall steady on your arm and his Adam's apple bob in anticipation.

There's warmth that spreads across your stomach, different from the one in between you thighs. It's like electricity that continuously ignites a fire inside you when you notice his excitement, eager to have your mouth around him. A sign of reciprocation that he wants this just as much as you do no matter how hard you try to deny it, a catching fire of the thought that maybe he looks at you the way you look at him throughout all these years. Even now that you're not looking in his eyes, the continuous ignition of sparks inside you still teases.

You reach for his length, softly wrapping it in your hand and his breath quickens along with your heartbeat. Studying every detail, even the cold tones of the veins that spreads like tree roots. In usual occasions, giving head never takes your time. You suck it and finish it, no more and no less, nothing special really. But it's Taehyung, and his difference from others makes you uncomfortable in a way it shouldn't be possible. Trying to forget these unnecessary emotions, your thumb circles the head of his cock and he couldn't help but make his lip bleed, the agony of it keeping him awake to not fall into your dreamy touch.

His shorts reaches the floor and you made it quick to to kiss the base of his glistening length. Your index finger making lines on his thigh while the other keeps his cock steady as your lips move upward. You've never imagined how he would taste, but you were always sure he tastes exactly like he tastes now. Bittersweet. He throbs at the heat of your breath, thighs almost jumping when your fingers find his balls. He emits a groan that strengthens the force you're putting in your thighs to keep your core intact.

Down you go, the head of his cock deepening in your throat just like his grunts, getting lower and lower until he thrusts upwards making you gag and he releases a high-pitched whimper of your name. Tears blur your vision and a moan sends minimal vibration to his cock.

"I don't think... y/n, fuck, I'm not gonna last long," he confessed, and you finally look up to see him without removing him from your mouth.

You tongue swirling still and he has gone rabid trying to control himself, clenching your hair as he lets himself go maniac against your throat. He stares at you with mad eyes, his mouth failing in keeping him quiet. Only his groans, his throat-fucking, and your whimpers that you can no longer suppress. You're a little scared maybe he'll get too confident and tease you on your gagging, calling himself so big he made you cry.

He pulls your hair and he tries to get a hold of himself, catching his breath to gain stability. Before you can wipe the corners of your lips, he was standing up and taking your shirt off. He frames his chin with his index finger and his thumb, making you grow conscious of your own body. He had no reason to be looking so long, he'd seen you in a two piece more than one occasion. And he's going behind you, putting a finger at the waist of your shorts, bringing it down slowly until it lands by itself. He wraps your hair in a pony as the other grips your ass, a throaty growl escaping from his body.

He rotates you to the other side, an empty blank wall where you can see the fool you made of yourself. The argument ends here. The argument has ended since he had kissed you like no one had kissed you. You shouldn't have underestimated Taehyung, because he's now biting your shoulder as he slowly descends you to the wall. He hums, this close he can hear the tiny whimpers you try to keep to yourself, your fragile voice that can break once you open your mouth to say something. He can hear them all and he's aware of the power he has over you.

A hand holds both of yours behind your back, and once he has successfully taken your white underwear off, he's positioning the fat head of his cock right in your entrance.

"Make it easier for the both of us and just say it, y/n," he commands, his breath echoing in your ear sending voltage in your spine. He bites your ear and he whispers again, "Baby, please."

"What?"

Taehyung laughs at your adorable cluelessness. He doesn't answer. The next thing you hear was the expansion of his breaths, getting heavier and heavier it's almost a hum as he slides himself inside you.

"Taehyung," you say in a falsetto, "god, Tae, fuck!"

"Hmm, fucking tight. You're so fucking tight, y/n. Your pussy's taking my cock so fucking well," his knees bend to enter you deeply, this sharp thrust hitting a spot in you you never knew you'd feel, "maybe now you'd let me fuck you often, huh? You're gonna take my cock anytime you want, I'll fuck your brains out, ruin you and your cunt."

You respond with a soft murmur of you're not entirely sure what, because Taehyung was already fucking your brains out and you had no other thoughts but the feeling of his cock that slips in out of you so easily. He'd hit that one spot and you're going to release yet another cry and he'd enjoy every note of it. You're a mess with strands of your hair sticking to your face as the sweat trickle down your temples.

"Tell me what you want, y/n. Want it fast, baby?" He speeds up his thrusts, your ah's getting louder as he almost sends you to your high. "Or you want to cherish every inch of my cock?" He slows down which brings you wailing, whimpering his name over and over until you're no longer sure if it's even coming out right. His free hand lands on your ass and you gasp as if inhaling after suffocation. "Answer me," he speeds up his pace again, "answer me, y/n."

But you couldn't, there's nothing in your body that you trust right now especially your voice. He growls, unsatisfied with your silence which leads him to pulling your hair and pushing your back to the wall. You're almost embarrassed to see his eyes once more in the state you're in, overpowered by the despair of wanting nothing but to have Taehyung take you to your climax. Your eyes are begging for him, hell there were tears coming from them as he enters you again.

He cries out, "I want to fuck you all day long, would you let me do that?" He continues to carry you upward the wall and your weight would go down whenever he pulls himself from you. You nod and as he sees this, his head moves back to watch your body crumble before him, giving him no more than satisfaction. "Look at you desperate for my cock, such a fucking whore for me, aren't ya?"

In every "hm" he makes, he enters you harder and rougher, makes you want to stay silent. You bite your lip, feeling yourself come to a close. Your thighs pulling together like magnets, wrapping his waist while it shakes and he doesn't take one second to land your body on the couch, watching your orgasm hit you with spasms traveling your whole body. Taehyung wraps his cock in his hand, moving toward your mouth as he jerks himself off to his own orgasm. You take the spurts of his fluid landing on your tongue, his waist twitching while he groans for each drop of cum.

He sighs, falling onto the couch where your legs are still apart. He smiles at your nakedness, not giving a second thought as his middle finger enters you once more. Your body  sits straight, only to land on the sofa's arm. "You're so fucking pretty," he commented, his body hovering over yours again. He kisses you.

"I can't handle," you say before Taehyung cuts you off with another kiss, and another, and another, his finger in and out of you which as the minute grows only turns from pain into pleasure again.

"You're going to," he whispers and he kisses you again, until you're crying his name and he just studies the way you react to his slender finger. "So pretty, so, so," he curves his finger resulting to your second orgasm, "pretty." He makes sure you see his savoring your juices in his mouth, and once he was done lapping up his finger he puts them inside your lips, tasting nothing but his saliva.

"Do you get it now, y/n?" He unclasps your bra, and from then on he ignores your eyes. "This is why I run out of condoms."

[seraphdarlimg]

wish I were (pt4)

  harry calls reader drunk to pick him up, later on finding him sat at her piano and playing a little song

masterlist

‘heather’ by conan gray WARNINGS - ANGST, swearing, fluff WORD COUNT - 4,418

_________________________________________________________

   Just fine is how I was feeling. I was lucky enough to be able to get started straight away with a new song to work on from a different artist. Practicing new instruments and talking to new clients have been what I've thrown myself into for the past 3 weeks.

Though drowning myself into work has kept me busy and given me excuses to ignore the hundreds of calls and texts from Harry, it felt like months had pass instead of only one. I seem to forget more about them and only remember the look on his face when I turn my back on him and left. Instead of memorizing chords and words, my brain can only comprehend the words we said and the last time I felt his touch or embrace. When I want to remind myself of what he did, the moment on the balcony is the first thing that comes to my mind and I curse myself for it.

I missed him, of course I did. As I sit in front of my laptop with an opened tab on a recording program, I am instead met with another creator's block and thinking about Harry again. Two points of thought that I hate being stuck in at the moment. The empty bags and containers of snacks and my dinner surround me and I'm wrapped in a blanket while a sad playlist is playing on spotify. It was a depressing sight.

But I can only image the state that Harry's in. After everything, I still miss and care about him, wondering if he's excited about the album release tomorrow or if he's hydrated and taking the fact that I've chose to walk out of his life better than I am. It's pathetic really, but it's part of it and I can only hope to learn to live without him through time. If that is something I can even think of doing in the first place.

He hasn't called or text throughout the whole day though. I didn't want it to bother me but it did, even if it was time away that I'm asking for. I glanced at the black screen of my phone, pressing the button to turn it on. 12:23 AM and no notifications.

'i do love you, i'm sorry' one day ago. This is a good sign. This should be a good sign.

I sighed, forcing myself to turn away from my phone and focus on finishing this piece. The instrumentals are there and the rhythm is set, but coming up with lyrics prove to be difficult when I feel physically and emotionally drained.

It was late anyways. I would of been asleep by now to get ready for tomorrow, but it was most likely made clear I wouldn't be celebrating with the gang. I told Jeff the excuse that I had a meeting up north for the valid reason, even though everyone already knows what happened between the two best friends. A lunch with Sara and Mitch a week ago started off normal and pleasant as always, but had ended with Mitch bringing up Harry and me leaving abruptly.

"He's a mess. Hasn't left his house and has been ignoring everyone all week. We don't know what really happened between you two, but it's obvious that you haven't been the same as well."

The mention was enough to irk me. "Can we not right now?"

"Look even though we care about you, it's still non of our business to get involved. But it's still our jobs to see that when someone we care about is bothered by something, we make sure they are aware of it. Both of you aren't happy and should simply talk about it."

"It's not that simple Sara, he's too stubborn."

"It doesn't have to be now, but eventually. You yourself know that what you two have is way too special to just walk away from."

"Yeah well what if it's not? What if it's just not what everyone expects it to be? That even if we somehow make it work throughout everything, he's just going to run off to someone else again who'll just be better in so many ways."

"He's not the type of person to do that and you know it."

"I thought I did."

With my head rested on my hand, I feel my eyes droop. The instrumental of the song played on repeat on the program as I try to come up with words. Heartbreak and insecurities are the only topics that come to mind with the upbeat sound. I close my eyes for bit, letting the first stage of sleep take it's toll while my brain works overtime producing lines of rhymes.

But my ringtone drives me out of it. I only force my eyes open when I pick up my phone and answer the call, not thinking of who could be the only possible human being to call me at this hour. I sighed, pausing the recording and saving it. "Hello?"

"Hiiiii love! Karl told me I should call someone because I've had too much apparently. Can you please tell him that I'm a grown man that can handle my alcohol?" Shit.

"Harry- wait hold on, you're drunk now? Don't you have... who are you with?" My voice was tired and already raspy. It took longer than needed to process what was actually happening.

"Oh just all by my lonesome self at first... imagined you here a few times but I know that wasn't true, but Karl the bartender is here now!" His voice was muffled and almost drowned out by the sound of a pub. His words were slurred and I can only rub my temples at the situation he's already put me in.

"Why did you call me for this."

"Well my phone's dead and you're the number I memorized." He said softly after hearing my tone. I shouldn't, but he's drunk and alone.

"I'll call Mitch-"

"Only want you. Please?" I can imagine him pouting and I was too tired to argue with him.

"I can't do this right now..."  

"Bubs, my head is starting to hurt and everyone is not being nice. Except Karl, Karl is a nice dude."

Maybe if I wasn't overworked and sleep deprived at the moment, I would of been in the righter state of mind. But the other half of me that worried about his state took the opportunity to see him once again.

"Where are you, Harry?"

***

It was easy to find a drunk Harry Styles at a pub. A small local one that we've been too once or twice in the past, enjoying each other's company over a glass after studio hours. And there he was again, sat at the stools we'd sit on and wallowing to Karl the bartender.

"Hey." I placed a hand on his shoulder after making my way through the small crowd that gathered around him that's been listening into his conversation. His eyes light up when he turns around and sees me, while I take in how disheveled he looks. His curls are messy and his bloodshot baggy eyes tells me he's been crying for a while.

"You're here." He mutters softly after he takes a moment to register that it's actually me. I only give him a small nod in confirmation, feeling that heart ache as he pulls me into a hug. "I'm sorry." I hear when he nuzzles into my neck, most likely apologizing when he sees how tired and unwell i am as he does.

"It's okay, come on let's get you home." I managed to let out, pulling away, guiding him out of his seat and away from the bar. "Oh okay, bye Karl! Keep the change." I send the bartender a grateful smile to which he returns with a pity look on his face.

"Just hold my hand Harry okay?" I tell him when I remember how clingy he gets when intoxicated. He doesn't hesitate to do so as we make our way through the crowd and out of the building.

I managed to get him in the passenger's seat without much interaction, now in the driver's seat and cursing at myself when I realized I didn't have enough gas to take him to his house. I didn't have the energy to go to the gas station this late.

"Are you crying..." He asks, pouting when I placed my face in my hands, taking deep breaths. "Please don't be sad, love." I shook my head, counting in my head as I felt Harry lean over and watch me.

"How many did you have?" I asked when I built up the will not to cry and turned on the ignition.

"Didn't bother counting, didn't matter." I kept my eyes in front of me as I drove while I felt his still on me.

"I would beg to differ. Shouldn't be my responsibility anyways." I quickly countered, noting the sharp tone in my voice and the frown I could imagine on his face.

"I'm sorry...I really wanted to see you."

"Hmm, and getting wasted and being an inconvenience is the way to get my attention." There was a second of silence and I glanced at him to check if he was still conscious, only to see that frown and his head hung in shame. My eyes trailed to the pearl necklace tucked into his sweater, as well as a yellow ribbon tied where it clasps together.

The grip I had on the wheel loosened but I sighed as I hated how guilty I felt after, aware how difficult it was to be mad when he was hurt. "That was harsh..."

"Nooo, I deserve it. I really do because I was mean to you and I don't ever want to be mean to you. Because it hurts me too ya know? More than it did when you walked away...I'm sorry that I hurt you."

I didn't say anything after that, spending the rest of the car ride back to my place in silence.

***

"You don't have to be rich, to be my giiirl. You don't have to be cool to rule my wooorld..."

My annoyance conflicted with the flutters my heart was feeling as Harry was softly singing all the way from my car to my sofa, hand held and clinging to my side the whole time. He plopped down, immediately taking a pillow. "Ain't no particular sign, I'm more compatible wiiith- hey you have that record right? Can you put it on pretty please?"

"It's 2AM, I'm not putting on a record right now." I took off my shoes and coat, graciously doing the same for him when he pouts and rests his head back on the couch. "Aw, you used to not care about that before. Is it because of your neighbors terrible taste of music to blast so late at night?"

"What?" I rubbed my eyes, standing up and going to the kitchen. I couldn't hear his mumbled response, but I returned with a glass of water to see him humming with his eyes closed. He cuddled the pillow close to him and I rolled my eyes, almost laughing at how he was tapping his foot along with the song he was playing in his head.

"Here..." He holds his hand out expectantly and I gave it to him. He takes a drink while I place his coat over the coffee table and go to get him an extra pillow and blanket.

"Oh everything hurts." He whines as I place the pillow down on the end of the couch. "My heart mostly, but that's so cheesy of me isn't it? Yours probably hurts more m' sorry...wish I could take it away."

It wasn't just his naïve words that had my eyes start welling up with tears, but it was also the realization of how he can easily break me down. I couldn't last a whole month without being there when he needs someone, when I was the one who wanted to leave. It was also probably the realization that I had grabbed the same blanket we used to set that little picnic in the studio.

"Wish I didn't cause it in the first place." He added, which led to me sitting down on the chair next to the couch, holding onto the blanket a little longer as delirium was starting to set in.

"I don't think we should have this conversation now, Harry... this is so unfair." I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.

"It is, but I'm scared I won't get another chance." My silence gave him the answer he was already aware of.

"What exactly do you want another chance of Harry, enlighten me." I closed my eyes for a minute, only to open them to see Harry looking at me in a different way. It's different, but I've noticed it before.

"Loving you." He's hesitant with his next words, most likely having sobered up a little. "I hadn't seen Heather for a few days after you left, told her later on about what happened. Took your advice though, talked to her and everything. It just wouldn't work out in the end...couldn't see myself with her in the future."

"But now you do with me?" I softly muttered, holding myself back from reaching out to him. He only nods, having that guilty look on his face because he's fully aware he doesn't deserve it. My droopy eyes are glued to his and that damn pearl necklace, too many thoughts in my head to come up with one whole response.

"Should of just called Mitch. You're an idiot for giving yourself a hangover on your release day." I finally said after a moment of silence.

"Hmm? Oh that, no that's not happening." He says casually, playing with the embroidery on the pillow he was hugging.

"What do you mean?"

"I've postponed the album thingy indefinitely or something."

"Aren't you finished with it?"

"I mean it's got 12 songs and everything but I don't know if it's really finished, I don't know." He shrugs and I'm almost annoyed by how calm nonchalant he is about it.

"You never know things Harry."

"And I hate it, I knooow! I don't know why I can't just figure it out and I hate that I'm hurting you because of it." He frowns, rubbing his eyes. "But I do know now that I love you. Really love you. Maybe if I figured that out sooner, you wouldn't hate me bubs."

I fiddle with my fingers, given up on trying to collect all my thoughts together a long time ago as I can only allow myself to take in his words and listen. He was right, in any other situation where I wasn't tired and delirious, I probably wouldn't even be in the same room as him. So here I was again, allowing myself to hurt in order to make sure he's taken care of.

Maybe it's what I deserve though. He left Heather because of me. I caved into myself at the though that I ruined the relationship of two people who loved each other simply because I didn't get the memo. She is everything in his eyes, he's proven that, so why didn't I just leave them be?

"Ugh, you probably hate me calling you that now but you know I won't stop cause you are my bubs! Like how I'm you're H. Oh... well, you stopped calling me that so...maybe not anymore but I want to be. Can I be your H again please, I miss that too." My thoughts were cut off  when he continued, finding him now lying down with his eyes closed.

"Maybe one day." I reassured him hesitantly. We would of stayed friends, we wouldn't of had to fall apart, if I had just left him alone.

"Was a weird nickname anyways, just a letter." He mumbles as I stood up, laying the blanket over him while he still holds onto the pillow.

"You sort of gave it to yourself though, get some sleep Harry."  I managed to get out, facing away from him to hide the tear that fell. He should be trying to fix his relationship with her and not me.

"Yeah, but you just started calling me it and I fell in love with it." I take one more look at him before I shut my door, seeing his face nuzzled into the pillow and the glint of a small smile on his face as he drifts off to sleep.

***

8:23. I slept around 2 and woke up 7 hours later to faint piano keys. I took in the soft melody, not recognizing it but enjoying it for a second before I forced myself to sit up and rub my eyes, realizing how dry my skin was from crying. It was definitely a sad song made up of only four chords and a fitting way to start the day as I remember the person who is most likely playing it.

I didn't want to face him, my head feeling too mushed to deal with anything else other than work. It was a weird situation to realize, the man I fell in love with and broke my heart is playing piano after I took him in when he was drunk. He tells me he officially breaks up with Heather after realizing he loves me.

He loves me?

No he doesn't. He should still love her, should be trying to get back to her now that I'm out of the picture. But he hasn't been trying too for the past month, focused on me this whole time. But why?

I snapped myself out of those thoughts quickly, knowing how terrible the following ones would be. I didn't want to think about it anymore, wanting to forget and move on. And as I quietly open my door and peaked out onto my apartment, I see his mess of curls sat on my keyboard with the blanket wrapped around him. He was considerate enough to lower the volume at least.

I took a deep breath and walked out quietly, leaning against the door frame as I continue to listen. "Part of the album, has some of your lyrics in it." He says when he notices my presence.

"Hmm. You told me that you've postponed it." I crossed my arms as he finishes the song with a long note. I see him nod, now looking down at his hands on his lap before adjusting the blanket to fully encase him.

"Yeah I did. It didn't feel right, putting something out there that I should be proud of, but you not being there to be happy with. You not wanting too in there first place, when you put your heart and soul into it, all because of me."

I frown, looking away from him when his intense eyes met mine. "It's too early Harry..."

"You told me it wasn't a good time last night too, so when is?" He huffs and I roll my eyes.

"I don't know after I have my fucking coffee?" I scoffed, uncrossing my arms and heading towards the kitchen. I hear him sigh, not saying anything else as I prepare a cup for myself, already annoyed and stressed out. I felt him staring at me while I avoided making eye contact, rubbing my temples.

"I'm sorry if I was trouble." He says, still sat down on the keyboard with the blanket wrapped around him.

"You're sorry for a lot of things." I sighed, pouring coffee into my cup.

"I am. But I don't know how to really apologize to you when you won't even let me talk to you."

I placed my cup down, suddenly forgetting about my coffee and finally looked at him. "Well what do you expect Harry? After everything you think I'm just going to trust you again? I told you I was done, I wanted to walk out of your life."

"But you picked me up. You still care, that still has to means something." He's frustrated now, desperate even and it only frustrates me more.

"Ah yes, decent morality to not leave an A list celebrity drunk in room full of strangers. That really dumb of you to do by the way, without any bodygaurds- what were you thinking?" I said, noticing how he was fiddling with the pearls that hung around his neck.

"The past month has been hell for me and all I wanted to do was see you. I feel so fucking guilty and sad and it's eating me up because I know I don't deserve any sort of reassurance from you. But at the same time, I so badly just want you back and I'm sorry for how selfish and arrogant I am." He was crying and I soften a little because of it. He tries holding it in, looking down as he quickly wipes away the tears that fall. I don't bother hiding mine anymore, having gotten used to it by now and I was tired of it.

"I've been in pain since December. Four months that you put me through so can blame me when I just want it to stop? I am so exhausted because no matter how much I throw myself into work, all I can think about is you and loving you."

"But I love you too, shouldn't that be enough to try again?" It should of been and he knows. Maybe if he realized it sooner, during his birthday, things would be different.

"You've proven that it's not." I say disappointingly, willing myself to walk over and sat down next to him, looking ahead at my piano in front of me. "I don't know what to do anymore Harry. Why can't you let me have this? Let me move on."

"Cause you and I both know we can't leave each other, too emotionally attached. I need you in my life bubs, everything sucks when you're not in it." I laugh a little at that, because it was true in a fucked up way.

"That's so unfair, why did you have to hurt me?" I hesitantly lay my head on his shoulder before he droops the other end of the blanket around me.

"I know most of my relationships don't last. Deep down I've always loved you but I couldn't let myself fall for you because I didn't want to ruin us. The thought of us breaking up and never seeing each other again just terrified me because I never wanted to lose you, ever. But I fucked up and managed to do so anyways, and I hate myself every day as much as you do." He starts playing the song again as he speaks, but it plays it down a key and slower.

"I don't hate you, can't bring myself too, but you shouldn't of been afraid to talk to me. You know who I am, we would of worked through it no matter what." He nods, followed by only the sounds of the piano melody.

"I'm in love with you." I hear him say softly after a little while out of the blue. It catches me off guard, finding it so foreign to hear those words come from him.

I let out a soft self deprecating chuckle. "No you don't. You care about me, but you don't love me. Probably saying this out of guilt or spur of the moment type thing and I can understand that, but you love Heather. She's good for you, perfect even."

"But I fell in love with you. She's not you." His brows are furrowed together as he frowns.

"Yeah, I'm not her." The small glint of my smile quickly fades and he notices it.

"What I did during my speech was very shitty. Gemma pointed it out to me right away and it's one of the biggest things I ever regret doing." He stops playing when he sees me deep in thought, slowly taking my hand to test the waters. "But I need you to understand what I said was true, that you are such an important person to me. You are beautiful, and kind, patience, and just so fucking good to me, love. I want to cherish you because it's what you deserve and I will deal with as much rejection for you to forgive me and give me another chance. It's worth every heartbreak if it means I get to love you again."

I find myself in an intimate situation, looking into his eyes at such a close proximity, our faces only inches away from each other. I was pleading to him with my eyes, begging him not to hurt me again while the look on his face was one I used to be familiar with. He was frozen while the fear that it would only just happen again held me back from moving. His eyes fluttered down to my lips, as if asking for permission and my head was refusing it. But every other part of me wanted to feel those lips again. I looked down at his, my hand taking hold of his and placing it on my chest to where my heart is before he made the move to finally press our lips together in a small kiss.

I wanted to sob because it felt right. I felt the butterflies again and the complete state of satisfaction. This time was gentle as well, but Harry put so much love into the kiss, cupping my cheek with his other hand when he feels how fast my heart was beating.

It only took a second more before I slowly pulled away, still tightly holding his hand against my heart as he could sense my doubt. "It's going to take some time okay? Probably a long time but you caused me a lot of heartbreak. But I never stopped loving you H, as much as I didn't want too anymore." I said seriously, and his eyes lits up with hope. Holding back his smile as much as he could while he nods because he heard that little nickname again.

"I'll give you as much time and space as you need, thank you. I love you so much bubs." He pulls me into a hug, nuzzling his face into my neck and I feel instantly calmer because of it. I rest my head on his shoulder while he mumbles sweet words into my skin.

"Promise I'll be good to you."

______________________________________________

A/N: :o it’s complete. I finished it yay! I’m so proud with how this series came out and I genuinely hope you guys do as well. I’ve started my semester and it’s going to be hectic so writing will take longer to come out, but there will be future stories that I’m really looking forward to writing and sharing :)

taglist: @big-galaxy-chaos​

[writerofblocks]

*sneaks this in* Bridget/Troy - things you said with no space between us (or) things you didn’t say at all

This was. From a long ass time ago. BUT ITS FINISHED NOW SO IM POSTING IT.

Sleepless in Stilwater

“Three.”

“Hmm?”

Troy held up three fingers. “That’s the third time you’ve yawned in as many minutes. And I’d be okay with that if you weren’t, you know, doin’ seventy on a forty-five mile an hour highway.”

Bridget broke eye contact with the road long enough to give him a sidelong glare that would wither a lesser man. “I’m not the only one doing their best Fast and the Furious impression out there,” she irritably shot back. A sports car rushed past them with an ear splitting squeal that made Troy jump, and she gestured at it. “See?”

Troy sunk back into the leather seat of the [insert car model here], returning her glare with one of his own. “That’s not the point and you know it. The point is I’d rather not end up a red smear on the pavement because my wheel man fell asleep at the goddamn wheel.”

“Oh, is that all I-” Her mouth cracked open into another face-splitting yawn; she barely managed to hide it behind her hand. “-all I am to you? Your wheel man?”

“Four. And don’t give me that crap, you’re the one that called dibs on driving.”

“I only called dibs cause you drive like a grandma on a broken scooter.”

“You mean I drive the speed limit.”

Bridget ignored him. “Besides,” she said, swerving around a semi-truck sharp enough to make him grab at the handle above the passenger window, “I’ve got places to be after this. Julius called me about a-” she let out another yawn. “-about a storage place, said the Rollerz keep their best wheels there.”

A smirk crossed Troy’s face. He waited until Bridget’s attention was on him before he held up five fingers and wiggled them. It was worth it to see the way her eyebrows dropped into a sharp V before she jabbed a finger in his direction. “Don’t you fucking say it.”

“Don’t need to say anything.”

The one finger swiftly flipped upward into giving him the bird as she returned her attention to the highway. “You’re lucky I don’t throw you out on the highway this second,” she growled, though a smile playing at the corners of her lips undercut the hostile tone.

Troy chuckled, then settled back in his seat enough to look out the car window. Stilwater was a shithole on a good day, but the oranges, purples, and blues of sunset colored the world into something more palpable to take in. Light bounced off the towering buildings of Downtown, harsh edges and cold, reflective glass softening under the gentle touch of twilight. But you could only watch buildings whiz by for so long. His gaze, as it so often did in these rare quiet moments, returned to her.

As much as he bitched about it, there was one thing he didn’t mind about Bridget being the go-to driver. It allowed him time to just… take her in. Look openly, without other people seeing and giving him crap for being lovestruck. Without her giving him crap for being lovestruck, because even after the months they’ve been together she still shied away from open affection more often than not. She cuts the sentiment with a joke, or by teasing him, or some combination of both. He doesn’t mind it- he wonders sometimes if he’s a glutton for punishment, given his career path and choice of romantic partner, but he doesn’t mind being so. Not with her around.

So he looks at her. The way her eyelids keep fluttering slightly, only for her to stubbornly hold them back open. The dark circles he’d think were black eyes if they weren’t only on her lower eyelids. She’s tapping her fingers on the steering wheel, jiggling the leg not in charge of the pedals. Any motion to tell her body it isn’t time to sleep yet. He’d make a joke about looking in a mirror if seeing it didn’t bother him so much.

That was the downside of being undercover. You got real good at seeing things people tried to hide. He had to say something. He opened his mouth, and...

“For real, though. You look like shit. Have you slept at all?”

And of course something stupid came out. Miracle of miracles, she scoffed instead of chucking him onto the highway. “Bold move to question my sleeping habits. How many used coffee mugs are on your desk again?”

Troy chose to ignore her words. “Look man, just-” He sighed, running a hand down his face. “-go home. Take a shower or something. Get some food. You need a break, Bridge.”

Bridget’s face was impassive, staring straight forward as she shifted the car into the express lane. “Can’t. Julius-”

Enough of this. “Did he tell you to do it tonight?” he asked, cutting her off before she could restate whatever bullshit task Julius had given her to do on top of everything else he’d piled on her. For fuck’s sake, sometimes it felt like she was carrying the whole gang by herself in between the tasks Julius sent down the pipeline and the duties she’d taken on herself to perform.

The glare she gave him could melt permafrost. “No.”

“Then do it tomorrow when you’re fresh.”

“I’m fresh enough,” she bit out. “You’re worrying way too much-”

The words burst from his chest before he could vet them. “I’m worrying the right goddamned amount for someone watching a person he cares about take way more shit on than she needs to.”

Bridget’s eyes went wide, whatever she’d been about to say dying in her open mouth.

Troy ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know if this is some macho attempt to prove yourself or some shit, but you don’t have to do this. Slow down. Take care of yourself. Just- please.”

She was quiet for several minutes, eyes locked on the road as she slowed to match the speed of traffic. He’d almost given up on getting a response before she spoke again. “I won’t go to the storage place tonight. It’s-” She swallowed. “It’s late. Rollerz’ll be getting the cars out for races by now, there’s bound to be way more hanging around than during the day.”

He knows those justifications. Her saying he’s right without saying it directly. When she spoke again, her voice was careful. “Got anything else going on later?”

Manila folders scattered across a coffee table, a rapidly growing pile of cigarette stubs as he figures out the best way to ruin his friend’s lives-

“Nothing that can’t wait.”

When Bridget had first joined the Saints, Troy had thought her unreadable. It was easier now to read her once he knew what to look for. Her rubbing her thumb against the side of her index finger- something self soothing. Bouncing her leg- buying time to think. The lift of her head to look at him directly- she was searching him, weighing his reaction. “Feel like staying over?”

Always. “If you want me to.”

The tension in Bridget’s shoulders dissipated, and she gave him a small smile. “Of course I do, that’s why I asked,” she replied, punching him in the arm. “Dumbass.”

===

Rain tapped an improv jazz rhythm on the glass of Bridget’s bedroom window, and Troy couldn’t sleep. Blame the cigarettes, the coffee, the crippling anxiety and paranoia. The cause ultimately didn’t matter, the effect was the digital clock on Bridget’s bedside table hit 2AM and he was no closer to falling asleep than he was when he originally lay down. Bridget, though. Bridget had been asleep the moment her head touched the pillow. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel a moment of satisfying vindication.

He rolled over, resting a hand on her arm.

It was strange to see Bridget asleep. If Bridget was awake, she was moving- tapping her foot, shifting from side to side. She bounced her heels if a meeting went too long, rattling the table until he placed a hand on her thigh to get her to stop (among… other reasons). If she chose to talk, she talked with her whole body, her hands dancing in the air. Even when she was seated and still, a part of her still seemed to tremble with energy, anticipation and eagerness. Not now, though. Now she laid there, the rise and fall of her chest the only motion. Light drifted through the cracks in the blinds from the streetlight outside her window, resting softly on the freckles on her cheeks.

His hand traveled down her arm, into the dip of her waist, over the swell of her hip bone. Bridget wasn’t a paper-thin waif by any stretch of the imagination, but without the bulk of her sweatshirt to fill out her usual silhouette, she looked… smaller. More vulnerable. Which was ridiculous, he’d seen what she could do with a gun- hell, forget a gun, he’d seen the havoc she created with her fists alone- but somehow. Somehow that veneer was stripped away in the hazy orange light of a half-dead lamppost bulb, and the only thing left was a tired twenty-one year old who needed a hell of a lot more sleep than she was getting.

Christ. She really was twenty-one, wasn’t she? The face she wore around the other Saints made her seem older than that. It was all harsh angles and stony silences, only a twitch of a smile or a slight furrow in her brow betraying the emotions running electric through her veins. The uncertainty there at the beginning had long since suffocated under a rap sheet he hated to tally up in his head. It was a thing with no remorse, and little room for mercy.

And yet that face was forgotten in her sleep. The ever present tension slackened, releasing that hardened shell and letting it fall away in favor of something softer. She denied the existence of that softness, but he knew. He was allowed to know, he realized, warmth settling in his chest at the thought. Of all people, she’d offered that gift to him.

And it’s a gift you’ll lose soon.

The thought cut a sharp line through the haze, frozen against the warmth of the moment. Troy stilled, his hand resting on her waist. Somewhere in between the light on her cheeks and the slow, steady rise and fall of her chest, he’d forgotten what would be waiting for them. That as much as he tried to dodge and delay, the day Chief Monroe decided it was time to pull the plug on the Saints was coming sooner than later- and Bridget, ambitious and unknowing, was only hastening that end.

His sigh was frayed, thin and trailing off into nothing. This relationship was never going to last forever. He’d known that going in, had willingly condemned them both to heartbreak, but it hadn’t mattered then. That future had drowned in the affection in her gaze. The warmth of her laughter. The spark of her lips on his. But now…

Troy cupped Bridget’s cheek, pressing his forehead gently against hers as he closed his eyes. “I’m gonna miss you,” he whispered. He had to say it, just once. Even if she didn’t hear it- since she would never hear it- it needed to escape before it withered under his held tongue. It needed to exist, just for a moment, all his regrets pouring into that simple, weighted phrase.

At some point she’d wake up, either through him gently shaking her or her own merit. Either way she’d grouch at him for not waking her up sooner, blinking blearily at him in a hopelessly endearing way she’d punch him for if he ever mentioned it. She’d whip the covers off of both of them, laughing when he protests. Showers would follow, breakfast of some sort, and time would continue to march forward to that inevitable, heartbreaking point.

But that was a future they didn’t have to face yet. For now, they could stay like this- curling into each other, breath to breath and at peace.

For now, he’d save her a rude awakening.

[the-butter-churner]

My piece for @drinkwithme-exchange !

@thecandlesticksfromlesmis requested Feuilly and Enjolras, so here's a small one shot of them! I hope you like it!

Enjolras loves his friends. He really does. He would take a bullet for all of them in a heartbeat. But fucking hell, they don’t understand that he needs to finish this speech. It’s well past the point of “writer’s block is a bitch”-- a turn of phrase Jehan is so fond of using. He can barely clear 300 words and even then the words that he does have are mediocre at best.

And his friends don’t understand that quality work only comes when he’s sitting down and poring over it-- sleep be damned.

In other words, he’s been awake for 3 days straight. And he’s still nowhere close to finishing. And since he can’t wake Combeferre or Courfeyrac without risk of being smothered, lectured, or both he decides to go to what is always really the best option for anything.

Feuilly.

Which is why he’s currently outside Feuilly’s apartment, clutching a cup of reheated masala chai from yesterday afternoon (thanks ‘Ferre) and pointedly ignoring the fact that he is shaking and shivering even though it’s a level 60 degrees.

When Feuilly does answer the door, he steps out with dark circles under his eyes and a slight limp but still greets Enjolras with a little half-smile and leans against the doorway. He doesn’t seem on the verge of falling asleep, though, and Enjolras’s stomach sinks with the fact that he’s just had to become used to this.

“Morning,” Feuilly coos.

Enjolras grumbles back. “It’s still dark out.”

“Yes, it is still dark at 2am.”

“2:45.” Enjolras points out lamely.

Feuilly tilts his head to the side, raising his eyebrows. “You do see how that’s worse, right?”

“Oh, shut up.”

He just laughs again and opens the door a little wider. “Come on in, I had a feeling you’d be here soon anyway.”

“Wait really? How?”

Feuilly rolls his eyes. “I’m a vampire with psychic powers.”

Enjolras just stares at him blankly, the words not really registering.

“Oh, ‘Ferre was right, this is bad.” Feuilly concludes. “You’re not even laughing at my jokes anymore!”

“I-”

“Yes, okay. Inside, now.” Feuilly shuffles Enjolras inside the apartment which is even warmer than the air outside. Nothing much has changed since the last time he was here except for a few new photos on the wall above the dining table and a new Polaroid camera that Enjolras remembers getting him for his birthday last month. It’s still small as ever and there’s dust everywhere but stepping inside is the same feeling of riding a bike after years and realizing you still know how to coast with only one hand or dipping into the water after you haven’t swam in years and floating on instinct. This place still feels like a second home.

Enjolras glances to where Feuilly once was and realizes that he’s on the other side of the room now, picking up blankets and pillows. This is not the direction Enjolras was hoping this would go.

“You really don’t have to-”

“Nope!” Feuilly calls back, cutting him off.

“I’m serious! I just needed you to-”

“Nope!” He says again, hefting a pile of pillows so high Enjolras can’t see his face. “Sit on the couch.”

“But-”

“Sit.”

Enjolras sits.

“Much better.” Feuilly plops the pillows down and uses a few to create a makeshift bed before wrapping a blanket around both of them. He huddles closer to Enjolras and places an arm around his torso. “Is this okay?”

“Yeah.” It’s more than okay. It feels really nice. But that's not why Enjolras is here. “So, anyway, this speech-”

“Enjolras.” Feuilly hisses, nudging Enjolras under the blanket.

“Ow, what was that for?”

Feuilly frowns by way of a response. “You’re like a candle, you know that?”

Enjolras looks up and furrows his brow. He doesn’t quite know what that means. He’s been assigned several words along those lines. Fiery. That’s the one he’s heard most. It’s not a compliment, really. It’s a thinly veiled insult-- a more polite way of saying ‘simmer down’.

This doesn’t feel like that though.

Feuilly must notice the look on Enjolras’s face because he lets out a soft chuckle. “Give me a second, I’ll be right back.” He leaves for the kitchen, Enjolras watches him rummage around in his drawers before he comes back. Enjolras can’t see what he’s holding in the dark.

“Just watch,” Feuilly instructs, placing what Enjolras now registers as a candle in the center of the table.

He grabs a lighter, the tell-tale click along with the whirring of a flame to life. It’s the only bit of light in the room and Enjolras can’t help but stare, sucking in a breath and noting every flicker and spurt of the flame as it transfers to the candle-- now standing up tall, not flickering at all.

“See the center? It’s blue, like your eyes! And it’s the strongest, hottest part of the flame, which makes sense because that’s how you’re able to see the world the way you do.”

Enjolras looks up at him but Feuilly is just watching the flame dance and continuing to ramble.

“Candles are just another form of light, right? Little bits of fire that lead the way. Like you.”

“You’re really making a short joke at a time like this.”

“Couldn’t resist. Anyway, candles don’t burn forever right?” He points to the wick which is rapidly melting into the plate he’d lit the candle on. “Eventually that wick will run out and so will the candle, but this one was already a really short wick. See?” He’s right, the candle Feuilly had brought was already stubby and small to begin with. “You’re running on empty, Enj. Your candle’s going to burn out right after you light it.”

Enjolras glances down at the rapidly decreasing candle and frowns. “I don’t know how to fix this though, I need to fix it.”

Feuilly shakes his head. “Figure it out in the morning. Give your wick a day to recharge.” He takes the plate in his hands and lifts it to his face “It’s like that quote I found on Pinterest!” he clears his throat as if preparing to make a great declaration. “Sometimes you have a fire under your ass for no good goddamn reason.” Enjolras stares at him through the firelight before he blows out the candle, extinguishing the flame. “You’re going to burn out like this.” Feuilly concludes as the smoke drifts and wafts through the air before tightening his arm around Enjolras.

After Enjolras’s eyes adjust to the darkness, he looks up and sees Feuilly still smiling at him. “That’s Casey McQuiston, you know.” He says flatly after a long pause, unable to help his own smile.

“Please don’t ask me to remember names at 2 in the morning.”

“It’s really more like 3 now.”

There’s another pause but it’s significantly less uncomfortable. It’s the kind of pause Enjolras is used to. Him and Feuilly wrapped in a blanket and not doing much of anything, just close together and warm. Safe. Content.

“Thanks, Feu.” Enjolras mumbles eventually. “I needed this.”

Feuilly mumbles a response but it goes unheard before he presses his forehead to Enjolras’s, gripping his shoulders tight as a way to anchor him before placing a small kiss to where his hair meets his skin. It’s the final nail on the coffin and Enjolras finds himself slipping away.

“Night, Enj.” Feuilly murmurs against his hair to which Enjolras can only smile in response.

[djarinsdoll]

Rhapsody in Blue (C.B.)

Professor!Charlie Barber x Fem!Reader

Summary: Things with your piano professor get a bit heated.

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: Student x Professor smut, cum eating, not explicit consent given

A/N: It was 2am and this idea popped into my head so now it’s 3am and here it is. Goodnight lmao.

     Professor Charlie Barber was sitting next to you, legs lined up perfectly on the small piano bench. Fingers moving delicately across the black and white keys, playing the very same song he had been trying to teach you for the past half hour. See, you would listen to everything he said, watch every movement his thick but nimble fingers made, but it just wouldn’t stick. As he continues to play your mind escapes somewhere, almost in a trance from watching his hands move up and down the keyboard. You imagine those same fingers reaching down your leggings. Those same fingers plunging in and out of you while his perfectly plush lips murmur praises into your neck. A chill runs up your spine at the thought,  knocking you out of your daydream.

     When you come back to reality, Charlie is finishing up the piece before looking to you to do just as he did. Your fingers trace over the same places his own did, but eventually you lose your place about half way through. Your name comes from his mouth in a frustrated tone, making you wince a bit. 

“How many times have we played this through? Why can’t you get it right?” He sounds exasperated, hand that was just so delicately pressing each note now roughly rifling through his hair. A sigh puffs from his lips as he drops both hands to his sides, you simply observe as he goes through these motions. 

“I have an idea, but you’re not gonna like it.” He states firmly, but almost rushing to get the words out. You look at him, eyebrows furrowed as if to ask exactly what he means. Before you know it, Professor Barber’s  hand is waving you to stand. You do so, positioning yourself right next to the beautiful baby grand that was in the middle of the stage. He moves himself to the center of the bench before patting his hand twice against his thigh, seemingly indicating for you to sit on his lap. But surely that couldn’t be true, right? Your professor wouldn’t be asking you to sit on him.

Right?

“I’m only doing this so that I can have your hands on top of mine, now sit down so we can get this finished.” He says it as if it’s just a simple task, like instead of sitting on your very handsome Professor’s lap you’re just tying a shoe. Nevertheless, you comply. You move in front of him, scooting yourself between the piano and his large form before sitting down on his thick thighs. Immediately he’s positioning his hands on the keyboard, and you do the same. With your hands resting on top of his almost limply, you can trace what he’s doing when he moves across the keys. You watch as the two of your hands almost meld with his, each sound coming out perfectly and echoing through the theatre. The time speeds by, so hypnotized by the beauty of it all that when he pulls his hands away you are almost in shock. You swallow, lick your lips, and focus on the keys. What distracts you, though, is Charlie’s hands resting on your thighs. You adjust yourself, unaware of how it affects him, and play. The song comes out wrong right off the bat, playing an octave too low. You stop completely, taking your hands off of the keys but not getting far as his hands grab yours and place them back on the keys. 

“Play. Don’t give up, this needs to be perfected before the end of the night.” His face is so close that you can feel his warm breath against your hair, filtering through to your neck. He moves his head so that he’s looking over your shoulder, easy since he’s so much taller than you. You adjust yourself again and his hands grip your hips. 

“Stop moving.” He demands, voice harsh. You listen but brush it off, moving to play the piece and actually getting it right this time. You continue playing, the correct notes filling your heart with joy at finally achieving what you had been practicing so hard at. Only when you feel something under you do you get distracted, pressing one wrong key but ignoring it and continuing. It’s not until you’ve finished the piece that you realize that thing touching you was your Professor. And neither one of his hands had made its way under you. You try to move off of him, face heated with embarrassment, but he pulls you back down by your wrist to sit on his clothed cock.  

“Not good enough.” He growls in your ear, hands moving up your thighs and over your clothed pussy. One of his fingers traces a circle over your clit through the two layers of fabric and you let out a whine. “Keep playing.” 

“But-” Words are interrupted by a moan when he presses down hard on your clit.

“Keep. Playing.” He whispers the words, making you bite down on your bottom lip softly in an effort to focus. You nod, restarting the piece. As you play, his hand moves below your leggings, one less piece of fabric separating his warm hand from your clit. You play on, still missing a few notes here and there as he slips his hands under your panties as well. Now, his warm middle finger is rubbing slow circles around your clit and you can’t focus. The notes come out all wrong, almost sounding like you’re playing another song entirely. Instead of playing on, your hands slam against the keys as his pace accelerates. A moan slips from your lips, carrying through the empty theatre and causing Charlie to move down and press a finger into your entrance. After pumping into you once, twice, three times, he removes his hand completely. He hits your ass, expressing for you to stand and you do so. He pulls down everything below your waist and unzips his own black slacks, removing his cock from his boxer-briefs. Hands at your hips, he moves you back in front of him and bends you forward over the piano. Confusion runs through your head, is he just going to fuck you over the piano? Not make you play anymore? Not that you were complaining but-

Right as you’re trying to figure out what’s going on Charlie licks a thick stripe up your cunt, tasting you and preparing you for his thick cock. He knows how big he is and wants to make sure you’re at least a bit ready for him. His tongue plunges into your hole, fucking you quickly and roughly. Small groans vibrate against you, only furthering the pleasure. Right as you can feel your stomach twist he pulls away, roughly yanking you down back to hover over him. Charlie’s hand grabs the base of his cock, lining it up with your entrance before pulling you all the way down on to him. You let out a gasp, feeling almost as if you’re being split open on him due to his girth. You lean forward to rest your forehead on the piano and he allows you to, lifting your ass up and down and pushing his own hips up to fuck you. After a bit though, he’s not so nice. An arm wraps around your stomach and pulls you to sit straight up. 

“Play it correctly. The first time.” The words come out strained and you can tell he’s trying hard not to buck up into you, for now at least. You nod your head and place your hands on the keys, pulsing and clenching around his length. 

“Speak.” He demands, pulling you down so that his entire length is plunged deep into you. 

“Yes Professor Barber, I’ll play it correctly.” The sound of your professor’s name coming out of your mouth just feels so dirty. And he’s thinking the exact same thing. He lets out a groan as you begin to play, actually carrying out the whole thing correctly this time even with his hips rolling up into you. You hit the final note and he picks you up, leans you against the piano, and starts plunging into you hard and rough. 

“Make me stay here so late, you owe me this tight little cunt.” He grabs a fistful of your hair to help pull you back into him. 

“Such a dirty slut, taking your professor’s cock. On stage, no less. What if there was a whole audience here? I bet you’d perform like the little attention whore you are, wouldn’t you?” He waits a few seconds for your response and when nothing comes out, he tugs harshly at your hair. 

“I said, wouldn’t you?” His cock is angled perfectly, hitting your g-spot and making strings of gasps and moans pour from your mouth. 

“Y-yes Professor, I’d love it. Love to have them all s-see what they don’t g-get.” You stutter out the sentence, each word punctuated by a slam into you. The keys are getting pressed in a jumble of noise, neither one of you caring enough to do anything about it. Charlie pulls you up by your hair so that your back is flush against his chest and continues fucking into you, lips covering your neck in bruises. 

Your head lulls back to give him more access and he takes it, tongue darting out to soothe each bite he gives to your neck. After a few seconds he bites down on to the junction of your neck and shoulder, stuttering his hips and pouring his cum into you. He pushes you back down to bend over the piano and fucks his cum into you before slowly pulling away. As soon as he’s out he’s on his knees, flipping you so that your back is rested against the baby grand and swiping his tongue from your tight pussy to your clit before creating a suction around the latter. Your back is arching and your mouth is wide open as he continues until you cum. Scream leaving your mouth, Charlie takes all of your juices mixed with his into his mouth. He holds them there, standing and reaching up to your face. He pinches your cheeks between his thumb and index finger, spitting it all into your mouth. His large hand covers your mouth and nose so that you have no choice but to swallow it, enjoying the tangy flavor of the two of you combined. 

He pulls his pants up, leaving you panting across the piano before grabbing his briefcase that had been sat next to the piano and walking off of stage. You turn your head to see him walk down the aisle between seats and to the door. Before he leaves, one sentence leaves his mouth without even the turn of his head. 

“See you Monday.”

[spooderboyandtincan]

Temporarily Blind (and more)

Chapter 1.

TW: Mentions of needles, mentions of death

Peter spun and dodged the villain’s hit, aiming a web for the wall. He scrambled up and jumped on the man, prying the knife from his hands. 

“Hey, buddy! It’s not nice to play with knives! I think we learned that in kindergarten,” he shouted.

“I assume you did,” the man grunted, kicking Peter in the chest. “But I took a much more interesting course.”

“Oh?” he gasped, staggering to his feet. “What would that be?” 

He smiled wickedly, his teeth sharp and pointed. “Magic.”

He stepped forward, his hands moving in a circular motion, a red light spinning between them. “I apologize, child. You don’t deserve this.”

Peter was engulfed in red. His chest felt heavy and the air left his lungs.

He crumpled to the ground, and everything went dark. 

~~~~~

Tony couldn’t describe the terror he felt when he found his kid lying on the ground in an empty alleyway, limp and still. 

“Peter!” he cried, scrambling to him and falling to his knees. “Peter! Kiddo, wake up!” He frantically felt for a pulse. “Thank god,” he whispered, as steady thumps met his fingers. 

Carefully Tony pulled off his mask, stroking Peter’s cheek. “C’mon, Petey, wake up. You’re scaring me, kiddo. C’mon.” 

He pulled his kid onto his lap, cradling him against his chest. Worry flooded through him at how pale Peter looked. “Come on, sweetheart. It’s time to wake up now.” 

Peter’s button nose scrunched up as Tony kissed it. He groaned slightly and blinked. “Miss’r Stark?” 

Tony smiled comfortingly, relief flooding through him. “I’m right here, kiddo. You’re okay. It’s okay, Petey, can you open those big brown eyes for me? There you go, baby.”

He opened his eyes, blinking rapidly. “Where are you?”

Tony frowned. “I’m right here, mimmo. I’m here.”

Peter’s eyes searched blankly for him, and Tony had a moment of heart-wrenching fear. “Why’s it so dark?”

He stared at his kid, horror flooding through him. “Petey? Kiddo, can you see this?” He put his hand directly in front of his face. 

“See what, Mr. Stark?”

~~~~~

Tony cradled Peter close, watching anxiously as Cho performed various tests. 

He hated the blank look in his eyes. 

Peter looked up where he judged Tony’s head was. “Mr. Stark? A-am I blind?”

He kissed his soft curls firmly, squeezing him tight. “It looks like it, Petey.” They both stiffened. “But it’s okay, kiddo. I promise I will fix this. I swear.”

Peter bit his trembling lip. “I-I can’t see,” he choked. “Mr. Stark I can’t see!”

He wrapped his arms tighter around him. “I know sweetheart. I know. I’ll fix this,  il mio piccolo bambino. I promise I will fix this.”

He helped Peter lie down on the hospital bed, grasping his hand and playing with his curls, hoping to comfort him. 

Peter was trembling. 

Tony sat on the bed and gently lifted Peter to his lap. The boy wrapped his arms around his waist, sobbing. 

“Shh, Petey, it’s okay. It’s okay. I will fix this. I’ll figure this out, baby, I will. I promise,” he comforted. 

“No- no, how can you promise?” Peter choked. “I-It was magic! You c-can’t fix it!”

“Shh, sweetheart, please don’t worry. I know you’re scared, it’s okay. I know.” Tony smoothed his hair. “I will fix this. Whatever I have to do, I will. You’ll be okay, Petey.” 

The boy sniffed, his face pressed into Tony’s stomach. “It’s so dark.”

~~~~~

May rushed to the medbay, where Peter, asleep, was curled in Tony’s lap. Tony was deep in thought, dark worry lines creasing his face, rubbing his thumb along Peter’s cheekbone. 

“Tony? What’s going on? Is Pete okay?” 

He looked up. “God, May. He- he can’t see. He’s fucking blind.” He rested his chin on his other hand. “Lord.”

May looked at him in shock. “Oh god. Oh my god. Tony, how did this happen?! Can you fix it?!”

The man rubbed his eyes. “I don’t know, but I have to. Peter- I can’t- god. I’ll fix it. Lord, he’s so scared. So fucking scared.”

“What the hell happened to him? How can we fix it?” 

“I didn’t ask him. He was so scared- I’m scared too, I don’t even-” Tony took a deep breath. “He said something about magic.”

May smoothed Peter’s bangs from his face. “Why am I not surprised?”

~~~~~

Peter clutched his hand tightly. “Mr. Stark, are you sure I h-have to?”

Helen took a cotton swab and cleaned the crook of his elbow. Peter flinched.

Tony sighed. “I’m sorry, kiddo. We need to figure out what’s going on.”

The boy leaned against him, eyes staring straight ahead, seeing nothing. “But...”

Tony kissed his curls. “I know, sweet Pete. I know. But we need to fix this.” 

Peter buried his face in his chest as he heard Cho pick up the needle. Tony cupped the back of his head. 

“This might pinch a little,” she said. 

His blood was drawn without more than a few whimpers. Tony ignored the way each cry pierced his heart and tried to comfort his kid. When Cho was done, he handed Peter, who was quite pale, a capri-sun.

“You feeling okay, baby?” 

“‘M okay,” he whispered. “Just... give me a sec’.”

He couldn’t stand the way Peter flinched at every sound, trying to pinpoint it. Tony gently helped him down and guided his kid to the couch. He walked slowly, a hand out to feel, sliding his feet on the ground. 

They settled on the couch, Peter leaning against him. Tony wrapped his strong arms around him, wishing desperately that he could fix this. 

“Mr. Stark, it’s okay.” 

He sighed. “Oh kiddo. Don’t worry about me.”

He shrugged. “You feel guilty. I can tell.” 

Tony ran a hand through his curls. “I’m fine, kiddo. You’re the one we should be worrying about.”

And worry he did. 

~~~~~

Tony sat awake in bed for hours, trying to think.

Around 2am, his phone rang. 

It was Helen.

“Tony! You need to get here, now.”

He was bolting through the door before she finished the sentence. 

~~~~~

“W-what the fuck do you mean he’s dying?!” he cried. “No! No, no, nonononono. No.” 

“I’m sorry, Tony,” she said. “Whatever happened- the magic, it’s in his blood. It’s draining his energy. We don’t have much time.”

Tony gaped at her. 

No

No

Nonononono

The man hit the ground with a crash.

~~~~~

Tag List: @imissyoutoo @aj-that-person @tonystark-deserves-better @nathaly-ab @skeeter-110 @peter-and-tony-vlogs @teammightypen @joyful-soul-collector @loveliestdisappointment @hold-our-destiny @depuella @pixiethefirecat7 @spider-man-lover @jami161 @honeythepooh @bringitonvoldie @memilon @queen-of-sarcasm-25 @roxy3457 @iron-loyalty @gralaca

If anyone wants to be added/ removed let me know!

~~~~~

/DO NOT TAG OR REBLOG AS ST*RKER/

[minghaocouture]

Fearless: Chapter 5

Pairing: Werewolf!Jeon Wonwoo X Vampire!Reader Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Non-Idol Au Warning: Language Rating: T WC: 3.8K AU Lore:   Vampire Coven Info/Wolf Pack Info/Lore Info

A/N: So I didn’t mention, but Minghao is def my favorite to write in this AU. I can’t wait until I get to his actual story. Oh idk if anyone cares, but if you wanna be tagged for updates just let me know!

Chapter List: Chapter 1/Chapter 2/Chapter 3/Chapter 4/Chapter 5/Chapter 6/Chapter 7/Chapter 8/Chapter 9/Chapter 10/Chapter 11/Chapter 12/Chapter 13/Chapter 14

***

Wonwoo groaned, feeling a sense of deja vu as he heard the blaring alarm of his roommate going off...yet again. Only this time, the man wasn’t nearly as tired as he had been the day before so he welcomed the wake up call. There were quite a few things on his to do list today, work included. Before his shift began though he needed to find Sojung, needed to talk to her. He had a hunch but couldn’t find enough information on his own. She was the only one he could really trust with his questions, she was the only one he couldn’t see completely freaking out.

So he went ahead and got up to get dressed, pulling on some jeans and a rather comfortable gray sweater that’s sleeve were a bit too long and ended up stopping part of the way down his hand. The alarm song was still blaring loudly through the room, he rolled his eyes at the fact that somehow Mingyu was still snoring through it.

Ignoring the alarm, Wonwoo left their shared room and made his way towards the kitchen were Sojung would no doubt be. It was a bit earlier than he usually got up so she was probably still making breakfast with either Jacob or Sana. Just as he expected, Sonjung and surprisingly Felix stood in the kitchen. Felix attempting something with eggs? Maybe scrambling them? Wonwoo wasn’t too sure, and from the looks of it Felix wasn’t too sure either. Sojung was on the other side of the kitchen making...pancake batter? Wonwoo wondered for a moment if he should start trying to learn more about cooking, but that was a thought for another day. 

He passed through the threshold and made his way straight over to Sojung. She seemed to notice his presence and glanced over at him as she lifted the bowl to begin stirring her batter. 

“Sojung can I talk to you?”

***

It was a good 20 minutes before breakfast had been finished, but just as requested Sojung came to the living room alone and shut the door behind her. There weren’t a lot of places to talk privately here, what with 12 people living under one roof. It got a bit stressful at times. 

Sojung looked a bit worried, as if his request was something to be concerned about. She didn’t say anything though until she sat down, taking a seat on the couch closer to the side where Wonwoo’s chair resided. 

“So, we don’t have the most time. But what do you know about Mates? And how do we react to them when we meet them?” He began, a bit of worry tugging at his chest. He began pulling at the ends of his sleeves as he continued. “I looked through some of the books we have here but I couldn’t really get a concrete answer.” 

Sojung seemed a bit taken back by his question, like his inquiry was the farthest away from what she had expected. Pushing a few strands of her light brown locks behind her ear, she adjusted herself on the couch.

“Well, from what we’re told as kids. Your mate is someone you just can’t ignore, it can be anyone of any gender or species.” Wonwoo felt his heart sink a bit, any species? “And when you meet them, it’s less of an instantaneous attraction to them but more of a pull. Where you’re subconsciously drawn to them.”

This definitely lined up with what Wonwoo had been feeling the past two days, a pull, a need to talk and be around that person. That...Vampire. The realization had his heart in knots. Not only was his mate most likely a Vampire but...the Pack was planning an attack on the Coven within the next few days. He felt conflicted about how to react to this situation. He refused to betray his pack but if let the attack happen then...he would never even have a chance to be with his mate. That thought alone had his inner wolf crying out in sadness.

“Why the sudden interest? Did you start feeling a pull? It wasn’t that Vampire girl was it?” She questioned, as always perceptive. Wonwoo froze for a moment, only now remembering that Sojung was currently the only member who knew about his interaction with that woman. Now he wasn’t the best liar, but he seemed to be doing a lot of it lately. He only hoped that this time Sojung didn’t see through his pathetic attempt.

“Oh uh, no. I just got curious, since i couldn’t find that much about it in any of our books. And i mean my parents barely talked to me about mates before I left, so I figured it’d be better to know.” Hopefully she bought the ‘thirst for knowledge’ lie. To be fair, out of everyone in the cabin, he would have been the only one asking just for pure information's sake.

Before Sojung could question him more, the door to the living room was thrown open and Seungcheol entered. If it was possible, he looked even more tired than he had been the day before. To be fair, Sojung wasn’t too far behind him in the exhaustion department from the looks of it. They were pushing themselves in order to keep the pack safe.

“When you get off work tonight make sure to come straight home. We’re having a pack meeting at 9 since everyone is home tonight. We need to go over our plan for the Full Moon.”

Wonwoo’s heart sank, he didn’t have a plan yet. But if that Vampire was his mate...he would have to figure out how to call off this plan.

***

“I absolutely can’t believe you have nothing better to do tonight than babysit me.” You muttered, your eyes bore holes into the ceiling but your words were harshly directed towards Minghao. The man in question had claimed your desk as his home for the rest of the night. After your confrontation last night, he decided that until you were healed enough to be assigned patrols again, someone would have to watch you. Since you obviously weren’t going to just stay at home like you were supposed to.

Minghao flipped the page of the book he was reading, ignoring your whining. He obviously wasn’t up to playing your game, and considering he had been around Jun for about a century now...it was fair to assume he was pretty good at tuning people out when he needed to.

Groaning you rolled over, flopping your face onto your pillow in irritation. It wasn’t like something like suffocation could kill you anyway. The last time you had checked the clock it was almost 10, so sometime in the next thirty minutes you would need to magically get rid of Minghao or you weren’t going to make your meeting. 

Quickly you pushed yourself up from your bed, taking a seat cross legged on the mattress. A confused look graced your face as you tried to recall when you had decided you were even going to the beach like Wonwoo had asked. 

Your companion seemed to notice the conflicted look that had crossed your features. With silence that only Minghao had, he placed the book down on your desk and cocked an eyebrow at you.

“So, are you going to tell me what’s so important you keep disobeying orders? If you do I might let you out tonight.” He began, and he seemed honest about it. He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees as he waited for you to speak. “Keep in mind that I know all of your tells when you lie, so it’d be smarter to just tell me the truth.”

A chill ran down your spine at his words. You had no idea how someone that looked so slender could be so terrifying when he wanted to be. With this in mind, you groaned loudly. This was the definition of a rock and a hard place. Gods it was frustrating.

“Fine you want the truth. I think...fuck I think I might be able to get the Wolves off our back. I have a contact that I was going to meet tonight, and he might be able to help me.” To be fair, was it really a lie if it was based on truth? Sure Wonwoo hadn’t said anything about helping you get the Wolves to back off but he was also weirdly going out of his way to talk to you. 

“And why didn’t you tell Jun or Soonyoung?” of course he had a follow up, he wouldn’t just be like ‘oh well why didn’t you say so?’ and let you go. That just wasn’t like Minghao, he was too through for that. It’s why he was an enforcer. 

“Because…” Now was not the time for your creativity to fail you, but you couldn’t exactly figure out a good lie for this one.

“Because he is a wolf…” The words came out pretty mumbled and quiet. Your gaze left Minghao, not really looking forward to seeing his reaction to this revelation. Honestly, just meeting with the wolf was bad enough but actually talking to him could be grounds for being cast out. Which was definitely the last thing you wanted. You jaw tensed as you waited for him to begin berating you, but the moment never came.

“I know.” 

Your eyes quickly jumped back over to your elder, the look on his face was rather neutral. Before you realized what you were doing, you had stood from your bed and made your way over to him.

“You know? How the hell do you know?!” 

“You really think I saw you yesterday in the residential district and just kept going with my night? I sent Kevin home and followed you obviously.” Of course he did. You honestly should have expected that, but for some reason you had believed you had actually gotten away with sneaking past the sneakiest person in the whole Coven. At this point you felt a bit stupid. 

“I’ll give you points for telling me at least some of the truth. I’m pretty surprised you told me you were talking to a Wolf, but he didn’t say anything about helping you. So for lying I need to deduct points for that.” At this he stood up, brushing past you as he walked towards the door. He stopped once right after he grabbed the knob.

“Your meeting is at 11 right? I was going to give you until 2am, but since you lied to me you get until 1am. If you’re late, expect Soonyoung to get to hear you’ve been meeting with a wolf.” 

You were baffled, mouth agape as Minghao left and shut the door behind him. He was...letting you go meet a wolf? A wolf that was known to be a part of your current rivals and mortal enemies? Honestly, baffled didn’t even begin to cover the range of emotions you were currently feeling. Adrenaline seemed to rush through your veins as you snapped your head towards your nightstand to check the clock. 

10:30.

Fuuuuuuuck

***

Wonwoo was grateful that the strategy meeting hadn’t lasted as long as he had expected. He hadn’t thought he would make it on time, but he walked up to the beach right at 11. The Vampire, whose name he really needed to learn tonight, was nowhere in sight. It was a large beach though, so he casually began strolling down the beach.

The beach was mostly silent tonight, the only sound other than waves was the distant sound of a mermaid luring in a helpless human who had unfortunately been afflicted with a broken heart. He was a bit grateful that the mermaid’s calls never worked on creatures besides humans, while he might not have had a broken heart he was still grateful he wouldn’t have to deal with that...ever.

He continued his walk silently, stopping every so often to simply stare up at the moon. It was almost full, only four more days before Seungcheol’s plan would go into effect. Frankly at this point, Wonwoo was dreading the Full Moon which was quite strange for someone of his nature. Usually the Full Moon was a comfort and a source of power for the wolves. So to have it bring him such a sense of dread wasn’t something he was used to.

Thirty minutes passed and Wonwoo decided it would probably be smart to head home. She wasn’t coming, and it was pretty dumb to assume she would. Just as Wonwoo was about to give up and walk home with his tail between his legs, he heard the sound of footsteps against the snow covered sand. 

Turning he saw a figure running down the beach towards him. His Vampire. His heart caught in his chest at that thought. She wasn’t his, not technically? Not yet? No, even thinking that sounded predatory. He wasn’t going to force her into anything, she would have to decide if she acknowledged the mate bond or not.

He hoped she did.

***

Your legs burned as you raced down the beach, barely catching sight of him as he appeared to be leaving. Skidding to a stop a few feet in front of him, you slumped over. You had been basically forced to run from the bar to the beach which is about an hour when walking, running had gotten you here in about 30 minutes. 

“Whoever said Vampires had unlimited stamina...was an asshole...and a liar.” You muttered between pants. Once you were back to normal, you straightened yourself and eyed the wolf. You were honestly still a bit worried that he had planned some kind of attack. 

You noticed a small smirk on his lips, as he crossed his arms over his chest. “You know, I figured the rules of politeness or whatever you live by would mean that you wouldn’t be late.” He teased. Oh, oh was that how we were playing? Rolling your eyes at his terrible joke, you placed a hand on your hip.

“Oh, haha. Bite me wolf boy. I had to run all the way here.” You retorted. While it was in fact a bad joke, thinking about it again caused you to chuckle a bit. So he was funny and attractive, that was pretty annoying. 

Your eyes flicked towards him again when he took a step forward, you retaliated by taking a step back and eyeing him harshly.

“Just because we are talking doesn’t mean I trust you.” It had only been two days ago that the two of you had literally been fighting. And after everything, you still couldn’t bring yourself to fully trust a werewolf. “So you say what you wanted to say from right there, and then we both go back home content to try kill each other tomorrow.” 

You watched as his smile morphed into a neutral yet almost disappointed frown. Clearing his throat, he lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck and his eyes turned to face the ocean waves that continued to crash into the shore. The moon seemed to cast a gentle glow on him, and if you were being honest he looked beautiful. Which was weird to even think about, you enemy being beautiful and all. Especially since he seemed so uncomfortable with your words.

“Well, I don’t want to kill you or your friends.” He muttered, not returning his gaze towards you. It wasn’t something that you should go off about, it really wasn’t. But just hearing those words seemed to make you angry, that anger boiled in your gut as you took a step closer to him.

“Oh? Well then why don’t you tell your friends to stop trying to break into our home? Or why don’t you get them to not hurt my Coven? I’m sure Hyunjin would appreciate not having a broken arm.” 

Running a hand through his hair, he kept his eyes out towards the moon. The sound of the waves pulling in and out was the only sound that filled your ears for a good long moment. When he finally responded, well it wasn’t what you had hoped for.

“It’s not that simple.”

“Oh I’m sure it’s not. All you wolves are the same, we were doing just fine here until you guys showed up and started fighting us for this town.” You weren’t quite yelling, but a harsh tone had laced itself into your words. Frustration flowed through you as you took another step towards him. At this point, despite your hesitation, you couldn’t tell if you were going to attack him again or not. All of your senses told you not to, but your rage continued to push your forward towards him.

Finally, he turned to face you once again. A similar look of frustration on his own features, like what you were saying was actually getting to him. He noticed you had crept closer and even though you were painfully angry, he could see that you were hurting as well. Sure there had always been hatred between your two races but this felt different from your typical prejudice.

“Oh, and you Vampires are any better? Leaving corpses in the woods for us to find. Felix is only 20, he shouldn’t have to see a dead human for at least another two decades, if ever.” Remembering the fear that had shook Felix when he had returned home from his run that day, it was a terrible sight. The first corpse was found not even two weeks after they had moved into the cabin.

This accusation seemed to only fuel your fury. By this point you were almost directly in front of the wolf. Fist balled at your sides as you glared up at him. 

“You seriously think we just dine and dash like that?” It was pretty damn insulting. Even before Soonyoung and you had gotten settled as a Coven, the two of you had done your best to not fully drain anyone you had drunk from. Of course there have been accidents during extreme situations, but those were far and few between. So if someone was draining humans and dumping them in the forest, well that was news to you.

“Well, unless there is something about the Fae I don’t know about, then your Coven is the only fit. Considering all of the corpses have puncture wounds on their necks.” Now he was on the advance, taking a step closer towards you and closing what little distance that had been left. You now had to crane your neck slightly to keep your eyes on his face. You stood your ground, knowing that despite the evidence there was no way this had come from your Coven. That’s why you were a Coven, because you had the same morals and those morals had to do with not killing Humans whenever you felt like it. 

“It’s not us. I don’t know why there are bodies showing up in the forest but it isn’t my people. It’s just not. We aren’t like that.”

“Oh? And what are you like then? You seem all too willing to push all werewolves into a box so why don’t you tell me why I shouldn’t do the same to you?” His challenge had you flinch, but you refused to break his eye contact. After all, that would be to admit defeat.  Before you could return the biting remark, he stepped back and dropped his gaze once again.

When his eyes returned to you, you could see the remorse now lingering on the surface.“That...that was uncalled for. I’m sorry. I’m not here to fight you, I just want to figure some things out.” He pushed a weak smile onto his face, and you noticed his hands almost nervously playing with the hem of his sweater sleeves. “If you say it’s not your Coven then I believe you. But, can you believe that my Pack didn’t really mean to hurt that kid? I talked to my brothers about it and they said it was an accident. Apparently the boy attacked them on sight, which is fair, but they were just acting to defend themselves.” 

You’d have to confirm this with Hyunjin when you got home, but for now, against your better judgement, you decided to trust him. Taking a step back as well, you crossed your arms over your chest and nodded but kept a stern look on your face. Keeping that might help remind you that this was the enemy you were talking to, he wasn’t your friend and at the drop of a hat the two of you could get into another fight. It was something you seemed to be having trouble remembering the longer you were around him, frankly it was pretty annoying. 

Your nod brought a smile to his face, and you almost completely forgot what you had been thinking. It was a much cuter smile than you were expecting from him, especially since the two of you had literally just been at each other’s throats. Clearing your throat, this time it was your turn to avoid his gaze.

“Okay you’ve got to stop doing that.” He just tilted his head in confusion, his smile morphing into a rather cute look of confusion. “Don’t give me that look. You know what you’re doing. Trying to be cute just so I’m not mad at you anymore. It’s not gonna work, that barely works for people I actually know.”

It wasn’t until you noticed the new smug look on his face that you realized just what you had confessed to him. Before he could tease you about your words, your phone came to life with noise. The alarm you had set, letting you know that you had to leave. You muttered a curse.

“Looks like we have to cut tonight short, mut-...Wonwoo. I’ll ask around and see if anyone knows about the corpses.” You said, irritated at the short time limit you had been given. “I’ll try and get out again tomorrow night but I don’t know how lucky i’ll be tomorrow. I guess you can just wait for me again?”

“Or, better idea, we exchange phone numbers? Then you can tell me if you’re coming. I’ve got people I’ve got to keep from getting suspicious too.” While he wasn’t wrong, you didn’t really know how you felt about that. After deciding you didn’t have the time to debate this you quickly said the number, repeating it once more after he quickly fumbled with his own cell phone.

After he confirmed the number, he flashed you an almost cheeky smile. As if this had been his plan since you had arrived and he was glad that it had worked.

“And your name?” 

[kittymsmithwritesstuff]

Commission: Surprises

A Valorant commission for @sr-023! Was fun to write. :3

If you’re interested in commissions you can find my prices here: (x)

Tags: fluff, humor, light angst, people cooking together. Platonic Viper/Jett getting to know each other a little bit more in the kitchen.

Word count: 2413

-----

“Oh my God, you cook?”

Viper without her mask gave way to several emotions Jett forgot she was capable of. Like amusement. “Yes. And I eat, too.”

“Wow! I never would have guessed. I thought you subsisted on like, diluted snake venom and children’s tears.”

Viper rolled her eyes, peeling a potato in one smooth movement, leaving a curl of peel to fall into a bowl. “It was Breach’s turn to cook. I don’t know about you, but snake venom is far more palatable than lutefisk.”

Jett couldn’t tell if she was kidding or not. “You’re just secretly a sweetheart.”

Viper twirled the knife in her hand and pointed it at Jett, mouth a hard line. “Don’t push it.”

Jett shrugged it off smoothly, hoping she didn’t see the stutter of nerves in her shoulders. She looked over the kitchen island-thawed meat, potatoes, green beans that looked like they must have come from a garden, except there weren’t any gardens on the compound that she knew of so...beans-of-mysterious-origin. And all of it in huger quantities than needed to feed the compound. How very American.

And there was Viper in the middle of all of it. Peeling potato after potato in a silent kitchen, a bowl filling with impeccable ribbons. She wondered where she might have learned to peel a potato like that. Like, that totally wasn’t a master poisoner skill, right? It was like a housewife or a hobby cook that was…really into peeling potatoes. Given she was usually taken with annoying Viper, and Viper in turn was taken with threatening her life with any method that violated the Geneva Convention, the fact she hadn’t already kicked her out must have meant she was in an unusually gregarious mood.

And maybe Jett was in her own kind of mood from witnessing the phenomenon of the great mighty Viper being distinctly un-snakelike. She glanced at all the food again, rocking from heel to toe. “Can I help?”

“Yes.”

“Great! How?”

“By leaving until I’m done.”

Jett rolled her eyes, coming to the other side of the island, out of stabbing distance. “C’mon, please?”

Viper stopped mid peel, nicking the skin so it fell, unfinished. She looked at it like it had cut in front of her in line, but it was too public to make a scene. Her eyes flicked up to Jett, who spread her palms over her heart. “I’m good with knives!”

Viper looked from her to the meat, then back again. She sniffed. “You may cut the beef into steaks, if you insist. Inch and a half.”

She almost buzzed, throwing one of her knives up to hover beside her and quickly washing her hands. She wasn’t super into cooking usually, but it was kind of like getting to see the lions actually up and wandering around at the zoo instead of just sitting there and waiting for their next meal. Very aware of the eyes on her, she grabbed her knife from the air, adjusted the meat on the cutting board, and slowly started cutting down into it, trying to channel every lesson her dad ever gave her in the kitchen, all of which she’d ignored so she could go back to doing literally anything else.

Evidently, she wasn’t channeling them very well, as there was soon a knife clattering over the counter toward her. She jumped, half expected to get stabbed, but the knife rested a foot away. She looked up at Viper, who looked absolutely pained. “Use…use an actual knife.”

“This is a knife?”

“It’s a throwing knife. The blade is five inches at best. That is a chef’s knife.” She went back to the potatoes, though somehow Jett still felt her eyes on her. Maybe she had false eyespots like a moth and her real eyes were on her forehead. She palmed the handle, tilting the blade so it glinted in the stark kitchen light, then lined it up and finished cutting the steak-smooth, easy, like butter. She looked over at Viper.

“Good,” she said. She was still peeling potatoes. How many potatoes were there? “Set it on the plate. Use the seasoning there. Not too much.”

Jett snorted, setting the meat aside and using her meat-juice covered hand on the unlabled spice shaker. “Yeah okay, Mom.”

There was another nick, a potato peel falling half done. Jett could see her muscles tense-her whole body, in fact, went rigid, but as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone, and the knife was steadily scraping against the potato again. She could have imagined it. This was Viper after all, the same woman that once “accidentally” bumped her into a poison pit because Jett had been “annoying”.

And yet…

She shrugged, flipping and seasoning the other side of the steak, apparently to her cooking neighbors satisfaction, and then went ahead and cut the next steak, seasoning and flipping it, leaving bloody lines on the seasoning bottle until she realized just how unsanitary that probably was, and got the idea to clean it, then grab a paper towel and fold it over a few times, wrap the bottle and tape it. Viper raised her eyebrows. “I don’t think I’ve seen you do something so smart.”

Smart? She just called her smart? Sure, it was backhanded, but she’d never heard her call anybody smart. Especially not her. She threw on a British accent as she said, “don’t need anymore bloody spice shakers, huh?”

She hummed. But it could have been a laugh. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard a British person sound like that.”

“Phoenix said if I ever try to do the accent in his presence again he’ll set me on fire.”

“As is his right.”

Jett snorted, returning to her cutting and seasoning. “You’re not…wrong.”

Viper finally finished her unholy pile of starch and set up two pots of water to boil the approximate 230,000 potatoes, give or take a half dozen. Jett finished her own job and set the steaks up on pans to broil, Viper taking over from there and telling her to “get the beans ready”. Considering she’d only ever eaten green beans straight from the can at 2am this was a bit of a difficult task. Difficult, unfamiliar tasks tended to make her nervous. But Jett wasn’t about to be shown up by some beans.

So she confidently put the burner on high, grabbed a handful and dropped them in the water once it was boiling, thus splashing water over burners, herself, countertop and floor, sending up a grand sizzling equitable to the sounds of demon laughter bubbling up from hell. She yipped, jumping away, in doing so smashing into Viper, who almost slipped on the water, caught herself on the counter and flicked the gas off.

The look she gave Jett could have boiled the ocean.

“Get out.” She said. Low, dangerous, like the buzz of a rattlesnake’s tail.

Jett scurried backward, tapping her hip to count how many of her knives she still had on her as her calf knocked against a chair at one of the circular dining tables in the room. She sat in it, not entirely sure as to why. Probably because Viper hadn’t straight up killed her, and she had the self-preservation instincts of that rat from Ratatouille.

She watched from her seat, how she moved around the kitchen as if on a breeze, smoothly following the curve of the wind, twirling between the meat and the potatoes, setting up the beans by gently placing them into the pot (which, in hindsight, was definitely common sense that Jett…apparently didn’t possess). The beautiful potato skins were tossed in one large bowl and covered with water, then a timer was set. It felt like watching an artist, spawning a question in her head.

Viper saw her staring and glowered. “Why are you still here?”

Her feet fidgeted, and she clasped her fingers together to avoid tugging at her hair, like her Mom had taught her. Better to look pensive than apprehensive. “Were you a chef?”

Viper stared, glower softening to a neutral expression tilting towards surprise. She glanced back towards the kitchen, slowly crossing her arms under her chest. “Why would you ask that?”

“Well, cooking is like, a form of chemistry, right?” She pulled the only fact she’d ever retained from Home Ec out of her ass, hoping and praying it worked, cause otherwise she was probably going to be banished from the room…and maybe dinner. Man, she really hoped she wasn’t banned from dinner.

Thankfully, the wind blew in some luck. “I was a double major at University of Washington. Culinary Arts and Chemistry.”

She let herself smile, just a bit. “So, you’re good with knives, too.”

“You could say so.” She was eyeing her, and instead of sitting in the chair across from her, she leaned against the nearby wall. “Did you have any training with your knives?”

Jett was surprised she’d bothered to ask. “I taught myself. Since I was a kid.” She leaned back and swung her hand casually, swirling a knife into the air to illustrate her point. “My mom wanted me to go to college but, like, I can control wind with my mind, so that sounded kind of lame.”

Viper cocked her head to the side. “So, your powers, it’s all mental manipulation?”

Jett shrugged slightly. “I mean, mostly. I also gotta like, move my hands and legs and stuff. But I mostly just think about it. Or don’t-like it’s natural now, like walking or breathing.”

“Fascinating,” she said with a thoughtful tone, returning to the food. Somewhat hesitant, Jett joined her, at a respectful distance. She stabbed the potatoes, and apparently that meant something because she drained them immediately after, chucked in some butter and started sprinkling some salt and pepper and beating the living shit out of them with a hand mixer. She noticed Jett standing and nodded toward the sink. “Make yourself useful and drain the potato skins. Toss them in the bowl with olive oil and the spice mix and put them on a pan in the oven.”

She blinked, then shrugged and slipped around her. Now that she was pretty sure she wasn’t going to get speared through, or find her way into another poison pit, she decided she…sort of liked working with Viper in the kitchen. She was rude but she also was sort of…normal? As normal as she was capable of being? She did as directed, coating the skins until they looked unhealthy and chuckling as she threw in the spices. “Y’know, I probably should have asked if this was poisoned before I put it on.”

Viper huffed, turning off the mixer with a click. “Please, not everything I do involves poison. I wasn’t born with, with tubocurarine dripping from my fingertips, hell I wasn’t like this, I was made into it.”

She tossed everything in the oven. Jett paused, gripping her arms, trying to seem casual. She’d heard a few throwaway comments before, they all had, but right now she thought, perhaps, if she phrased it right, she could ask certain questions without sounding (and being) a total dick. “What’s tubocurarine?”

“A neurotoxin, first used for poison arrows and later to keep muscles relaxed during surgery. It would paralyze you for a couple hours, basically.”

“Oh, interesting.” She bit her lip, digging her nails into her skin. “Hey, you don’t have to say anything but, can I, can I ask who?”

Viper paused, turning slowly to look down her nose at her. She was, again, reminded of the other woman’s venomous namesake. “Excuse me?”

“Who, uh…made you, uh,” in fear of phrasing it wrong, Jett gestured vaguely at Viper, who narrowed her eyes.

The air was heavy, but it wasn’t boiling like with the beans. It wasn’t even rumbling. It was contemplative, quiet, even a little sad. Like a waveless ocean. “I don’t know.” She said finally.

Jett blinked. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I mean I don’t know.” She shrugged smoothly, though she was visibly tense. Like when I called her mom¸ Jett thought, a stone sinking in her stomach. “My family, my friends, myself-it all was taken from me. And I don’t have faces or names to put it to.”

Her shoulders dropped. “Shit.”

Viper let out a very uncharacteristic snort, pulling the steaks and potato skins from the oven. “That’s about the best way to describe it. Perhaps in some ways it’s my fault, I didn’t fight it as much as I should have…” she stopped, staring at the steaks and then shaking her head, taking a deep breath. “Though if I ever do find out who, they’ll wish they’d killed me. Anyway,” she gave Jett a sidelong glance. “Now you. Venice.”

A bolt of anxiety speared through her being and she gripped the strap of her tank top reflexively. “I-I didn’t do it.”

“A floating city and a wind radiant found at its base? Please.”

She pursed her lips. “I. Didn’t. Do. It.”

She turned slightly, furrowing her brow, eyes darting over her face as she began to move the steaks to a plate. “You’re serious.”

“Yeah.” She looked at her feet. “I was there when it started cracking, and I used my powers to jump off and landed on some chunk that hadn’t come up with the rest of the island. Some guy got me on his phone camera. Nobody believed me when I said I had nothing to do with it. And if I’m being honest with myself, they probably never will.” She sighed and forced herself to look up, braced for the pity, or the accusation-you’re bad at lying, she’d say, like so many others.

But in place of either, there was a slight, slight smile. “Guess we have more in common than I thought, Jett.”

---

Everyone was very thankful to not have to try and find the politest way to refuse Breach’s lye-soaked cod. Jett saying she helped also reassured everyone that the food didn’t contain Viper’s latest experiment. At least, that was until Viper was noticeably not eating, glancing around the tables, sipping only her water as the members of Valorant gradually stopped chewing, some digging into their potatoes, Breach eyeing his steak suspiciously. Jett glanced around and suddenly choked, falling off her chair.

Phoenix screamed, scrambling backward over his chair, the others quickly beginning to scoot away until Jett sat up again, grinning.

“Gotcha,” Viper said, smiling over her glass.

[liilaac]

“Familiar face”

Richie Tozier x Stanley Uris (bromance)

Richie Tozier x Eddie Kaspbrak (Reddie)

Triggers : mentions of death, suicide, grief and internalized homophobia.

Notes : Richie and Stanley’s friendship is underrated in my opinion so I decided to write this little piece to fill the void. ✨

Amazing gif by @stanzier ! 💖

Richie tripped on his undone shoelaces and fell to the ground. Fuck. He didn’t bother getting back up ; his bed was close enough for him to just crawl to it. The whiskey he’d chugged was clouding his vision and he wondered if he was going to puke. He lazily took his shoes off and threw them across the room. One of the ugly painting of his hotel room got knocked down by one of them. He hoped the noise of the frame breaking hadn’t woken any of the other losers up. He slithered under the bed covers and tried to ignore the room turning around him.

Suddenly, he felt a presence in the corner of the room. Someone, something, watching him. He sat up straight, almost puked, and analyzed his surroundings. Someone was there.

“Fuck, Stan ? Stan, is that you ?”

“Hey Richie.”

A blurred figure came closer, sat on the edge of his bed. Richie took his glasses off, rubbed them with his shirt and put them back on. Next to him, a familiar face was staring at him. He was almost sure it was Stanley Uris, his childhood best friend... But he had changed, aged. It seemed logical, but Richie wondered how it was possible since he knew his friend had killed himself, just a few days before.

“Fuck Stanley, aren’t you dead ?”

“Good to see you too, Trashmouth.”

Richie snorted loudly. He arranged the pillows behind him so he could sit up more comfortably. He was speechless.

“Yeah, no, it’s- um- It’s good to see you. I just... What the fuck man ? Why didn’t you show up ?”

Richie felt surprisingly sober all of the sudden. He was confused, hurt.

“I was too afraid, Rich. I’m sorry I let you down, but I just couldn’t do it, couldn’t come back.”

When Stanley talked, Richie almost felt like he was thirteen again, listening to him and Bill fight about what to do about It.

“It’s okay, man. We would’ve- We could’ve figured it out together, right ? You didn’t have to... Shit, I don’t know.” Richie got out of the bed and stood up, paced around the room with his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. Stanley was still there when he looked back, which surprised him.

“I���m sorry Richie, it was the only way. I had to do it for you losers to succeed.” Stan seemed so confident, Richie thought. But they hadn’t succeeded yet. Far from it. Richie didn’t know if they would, to be honest. He felt like now that he was back in Derry, he’d never get out of it alive. The first time he’d left was his only shot at another life and now it was too late. Stanley continued, “Don’t be afraid, Richie. Don’t be like me, alright Trashmouth ? You need to be brave. You need to face it.”

“Yeah sure, Stan.” Richie was starting to get angry. He felt betrayed and abandoned and humiliated. “Easy to say, but you’re not the one who has to fight a fucking killer clown for the second time, alright ? I was perfectly-“

“I’m not talking about that, Rich.”

Richie stopped in his tracks, tried to understand what Stanley meant. What could he be talking about if it wasn’t for the fucking clown that had been terrorizing them since they were kids ? Richie gave him a confused look and stopped pacing around the room.

“You won’t defeat It if you keep on hiding your secret, Richie.” A knot appeared in Richie’s throat and he wondered if it was the alcohol or something else. Stan continued, “It knows, Rich. It knows and It’ll use it against you. You need to accept who you are if you don’t want to loose everything.”

“Loose everything ?” Richie repeated, a bit absentmindedly. He was trying to piece it all together, but his mind was too clouded by the whiskey for it to make sense.

“Loose him.”

Richie felt his heartbeat in his ears. He ran to the bathroom, puked in the sink. When he came back, Stanley was standing up, looking his way to make sure he was alright. Richie’s eyes got watery. A flood of memories came rushing through his brain ; Stan and him as kids, having fun and being stupid together. Stanley rolling his eyes at half of Richie’s jokes, laughing so much he was crying at the other half... Richie missed it, missed him.

“Fuck, Stan. I miss you.”

Stanley’s lips pressed into a thin line and he shrugged as if he was saying “sorry but I can’t do anything about that, man.” Richie bolted towards his friend. He didn’t care if it didn’t work, he had to try. He hugged Stanley as tightly as he could, like he was about to vanish ; and maybe he was, Richie thought. Surprisingly, Stanley didn’t disappear into thin air. He hugged him back, patted his back like he used to every time someone hugged him. Richie cried a little, rubbed his nose on Stanley’s shoulder and laughed when he complained that it was kind of gross.

“Just so you know, if you tell anyone I cried I’ll hit you in the balls, dude.” They both laughed and Richie stepped back. He kept hold of Stanley’s elbow, though, just in case...

“Alright Trashmouth, I won’t tell anyone.”

They both sat down on the bed, silent. Richie’s thoughts were running wild despite the alcohol slowing them down.

“What now ?” he asked, turning to look at his friend’s face. He got confused. Stanley didn’t look as old as he had a minute before. He wasn’t exactly a kid either ; it was like Richie’s memories of his friend were all flashing in front of him, mixing to create a timeless person. He grabbed Stanley’s arm because he got scared, realized he might really disappear this time.

“You know what you have to do, Trashmouth. You’ve always known. Go, be brave.”

Richie’s vision blurred and he wondered if he was crying. Maybe he was, but it wasn’t just that. His grip on Stanley’s arm got tighter, he felt like he was getting away. He saw his friend smile despite the blur and he smiled back.

“Stan I-“

And, before he could finish his sentence, Richie woke up in a jump. He realized he hadn’t even made it to the bed. He was laying at the entrance of his room, in a mix of his own tears and puke. He slowly stood up, walked to the bathroom to clean himself up. As he did, he couldn’t help but to look around... He was all alone in the room.

“Fucking hell,” he muttered when he saw his disheveled face in the mirror. He decided to take a shower. It was past 2am, but he didn’t care, he needed it.

When he got out, he felt better. The blur clouding his mind was gone, and he thought back on his dream, hallucination, or whatever that was. Stanley had been right. Stanley was always right.

Richie changed and left his room. He didn’t remember who was sleeping in which room so he unfortunately woke Bill up while looking for Eddie. As the good friend he was, Bill realized how distressed Richie looked and asked him what was wrong.

“Just... Do you ever think about Stanley ?”

“Of c-course I do, Richie. We all do.”

“I miss him.”

Bill put his hand on Richie’s shoulder, gave him a solemn look which meant that he did too. Richie wished him a good night, apologized for waking him up. Bill said that he was there if he needed anything, which made him smile sincerely.

When he finally found Eddie’s room, he froze. Was he really about to do that ? Was he really going to let out something he’d been pushing down for so long ? It felt suicidal. Then, he heard Stanley’s voice in his head, telling him to go be brave. He knocked on the door once, twice, heard movement in the room.

“What the fuck Richie ?” Eddie greeted him with tired eyes, which widened when he realized how clean Richie look. Well this was a first !

“Eds, I- Can we talk ?”

Eddie didn’t comment on the nickname and simply nodded, curious, “Sure Rich.” And he let Richie in his room.

~~~~~~

Notes : I hope you enjoyed reading !! I might write a part two ? Let me know if you’d be interested. I just wanted to focus on Richie and Stan for this one. 💖

[liliesoftherain]

A Knight’s Honor

Ch 1 -  Hold a Star

Masterlist

Summary: You are a female squire, who is not willing to give up your dreams of Knighthood to become a slave to society to save face.

Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x Reader

SLOWBURN

A/N: Here is the first chapter! It’s like 2am but I couldn’t get it out of my head so I started writing and realized the direction I want this to go is going to cause it to be a bit lengthy. SO I’m not sure if this will really count as a full on slow burn but I’m going to try my best! Thanks for reading!

The sky was a hushed dark, the only present source of light was the wisps of the sunbeams that peaked out from over the hills towards the east. Allowing light orange and pink tones to spread and fade into the midnight blues. The stars were also taking it upon themselves to disappear, leaving a blank canvas that was ready to painted on. You knew it wouldn’t be long before the new brilliant baby blue and feathery whites of clouds took over and spread out as far as the eye could see. It was always a breathtaking sight to see the dawn of a new day, a gentle reminder of knowing you were alive and living your dream.

“Keep movin’ lassie, ‘therwise yoo’ll be missin’ yer breakfest an’ ye dinnae want ‘at.”

Well, almost living your dream.

“Yes Sir.”

You continued to scoop the horse dung, going almost nose blind to the smell as you have been at it for a good 20 minuets already. It was thankfully the last chore of your morning duties for today and you could go straight to breakfast after this. Lazily you look back towards the sky, a small sigh escaping your lips as you continued with you work.

It was, and would always be, a dreadful chore to complete before you were able to partake in breakfast. Even though you only had to worry about it once per week, it was still disgusting to have to do when all you wanted was the smell of bread in your nose, not the smell of dung.

Yet you managed, quickly growing used to the idea and trying not to let it both you as you scarfed down whatever the lovely kitchen hands whipped up. You could not afford to to be hungry for the rest of the day, breakfast was always too early and lunch so far afterwards. If you could call it lunch. It was mostly a quick snack you were able to have for a few moments before being pulled into even more duties your Knight deemed of needing completion, duties that were a must to get done before you could even think about dinner.

Being a Knight’s Squire was all around exhausting and not what you once thought it was when you were a child. Sure, you were able to do extraordinary tasks that you only once dreamed about, such as overnight ventures to different kingdoms and quests galore. However, with your great Kingdom at peace, there were plenty of thrilling tasks that weren’t needed, like following your Knight onto the battlefield and helping to protect your home. Yes, you were greatly blessed to be born into these peaceful times, not have the displeasure of the blood and sacrifice of war, so you often scolded yourself when you found your thoughts drifting to battles and missions alike.

No, instead of dealing with disastrous enemies of front lines, you found your action of the practice field, and Lord knows you’ve seen that all too many times.

You often times loved the feeling training provided you, yet you were always disgruntled when you were frowned upon due to your gender. Not by many, in fact there were many more who believed you had every right to be here, but others tended to disagree. It was hard to force someone out of their backwater ways, and it wasn’t even just the elders who held onto this ideal, it was from your own peers as well. One peer in particular really, and it hurt you to a point to think someone you have known for most of your life could come to loath you so.

To this day you still had no idea as to why.

As a child, you had always pictured yourself as a Knight. Dreaming of the day you were able to attend wild adventures and the freedoms it would bring. Your mother, who had wanted nothing more than to groom you into the finer life, was always displeased at your father who gave you the encouragement to follow your heart. He was a giant of a man, towering over most, feared and respected among his peers. Yet he was always so loving and kind to you, and threw memories of him always stayed no matter how much time as passed since he has moved on from this world. He wanted you to understand the importance of knowing when to rely on someone, and when to rely on yourself. Your mother thought it absurd for you to know such things, saying how once you became of age, old enough to wed, you would be tethered to a man who could protect you better than you could ever protect yourself.

Which was completely and utterly injudicious.

You were most definitely able to take care of yourself, and you found no need for a man to constrain you into a submissive lifestyle that would no doubt lead you to dread the mornings you were so fond of. All because that would mean if you were awake, you would still be in the nightmare of a domesticated life.

You wanted an eternity of freedom, not a lifetime in a prison cell disguised as your home.

“Thenk ye again lassie, ye wark strong. Jist need tae quit starin’ at th’ sky.” The man chuckled, patting your head roughly with his large hand.

This man, Sir Campbell, was a Knight you helped during this particular morning chore. He was one of few to come and serve the Kingdom from a foreign land, causing his differences in tongue and spirit. While this was and always will be you’re home, the feeling of some kind of sturdy connection was formed.

He was different from his peers as were you.

It was the similarities of the differences you carried that had brought you together, you thought of him family as he did you.

“The sky is an endless adventure, Sir. Can you imagine if we were able to explore the noble skies as we did the rolling plains of foreign lands?”

He grinned at your words, an own thoughtful expression pulling on his thinned lips as he held his bearded chin in mock thought.

“Lass, ye hink tae much. ‘en again that’s whit makes ye sae sharp-witted isnae it?”

You smiled back, eyes shining with mirth at knowing you once again thought of something your elder had not.

“I’d like to think so Sir, although I get my wonder from you, as you do not think of such things on your own.”

He barked out a laugh, horses whining at the sudden noise that had caught them off guard, and echoed around them.

“Ye will be th’ death ay me yit!”

“I hope that is a day that will never come to pass Sir, not until the stars have been held in our own bare hands.”

“Ah pray ‘at day come tae pass, lassie. noo rin alang, gang enjoy yer weel deserved breakfest. Duty will be ringin;’ shortly.”

“More like screaming.”

“Aye, ‘at Sir Hizashi surly can yeel i’s true. Rin alang noo!”

You bowed your head respectfully before taking your leave once you finished putting the shovel away in its rightful spot. His laughter still ringing in your ears, causing your mood to uplift as if following suit with the edges of your mouth.

You made your way to the water spicket that was as tall as your breasts, and lifted your arms to pump the bar till water flowed from the spout. Using it to rinse your hands and face clean of a hard morning, you then dried them on your tunic, which you wore over your chain mail.

You of course wore a protective layer under the chain mail. No matter how much heat you could withstand due to your ability, you were not immune to the burns and irritations it could leave if it was placed directly on unclothed skin. You wore somewhat lose trousers, but it was only baggy enough to not be mistaken for tight undergarments, as your tunic fell down to your mid thighs. A belt holding your sword was wrapped securely around your waste, the simple leather having immense strength to hold up not only you sheath and blade, but other necessities you found yourself carrying in pouches which were also strapped on.

A simple look, but the look of a squire indeed. Not one of a high Lady of the Court.

Your feet carried you to one of your most favorite spots, the place by the kitchens. It’s were the meals were held, meals of those who lived in the castle walls yet were unable to sit at the table that was intended for those of higher status. It was an austere little place, but that did not mean it wasn’t full of life. Few rows of benches were pushed together right near a door that led into the kitchens themselves, lanterns placed along the wall behind them. It was a place that was never overcrowded, but quaint enough to be able to sit together and laugh and talk about the hardship of the days like it wasn’t a problem at all.

You spotted a man you knew very well already sitting at the only available table, and gladly quicken your pace to reach your destination faster than your fatigued body would have liked. You snatched a roll from his plate once your were close enough, taking a bite from the delicious bread as you sat to his right. He barley glanced your way before reaching out to grab another roll from the basket to his left, letting out a sigh while he did.

“Tis too early to be dealing with you.”

“Ah, you flatter me kindly Shinsou.” You laughed.

“Anything but I assure you, (l/n).” Even with his exasperated tone seeping into his guttural voice, he threw you a small smile in welcome.

He enjoyed your presence and often did seek you out for it, ignoring the few who once scolded him for it years prior. He did not care you were a woman, woman or not you could kick anyone’s behind if you saw fit. You were here, just like everyone else, training to become a Knight. While many would complain, he knew you had the most reason to. Yet you never once spoke of the hardships of training. You bared through it, proving time and time again that you wanted to be here and you deserved to be as well.

“I say, you become Sir Aizawa more and more with every passing day, tis almost disturbingly so how you two are alike in manners.” You shook your head, grinning as you grab a bowl and began to fill it with warm porridge that was present on your right. That was one of the perks of finishing earlier than expected, besides having more down time, the food was still warm.

“If I am becoming my mentor than you must know you are surely becoming yours.”

“I am not as boisterous as you believe, Sir Hizashi is a man whose energy knows no bounds. No one can thinking of beating him in such a game.” You rolled your eyes, already picturing the assault your ears were to be faced with today as soon as you went to report. Sir Hizashi was a pleasant Knight and wondrous mentor, with many talents and a vast knowledge no one gave him enough credit for. Yet, he was always so terribly loud, often forgetting his surroundings and letting loose with wild battle cries and deafening laughs that stayed echoing through the valleys for months.

“You cannot play me for a fool, (l/n). I see it grow in you each day.”

“If you see me as Sir Hizashi then you must realize you will never be able to rid yourself of me.”

“Oh?” He raised a brow, a wooden cup up to his parted lips to drink the lukewarm liquid, “what is it that makes you believe such a tale?”

“Our mentors are both kindred spirits of course, they have known one another since childhood and they continue to be in each other’s life to this very day.” You beamed, a such intense look of happiness on your face Shinsou could not find it in him to pull away from it.

“How joyous,” his hand came to pinch the bridge of his nose as your dazzling look became devilish with the smug smile that taunted him so, “ you will only serve to deepen my scars of sleepless nights.”

“Oh Shinsou, I am afraid my presence can do nothing more to what is already permanently etched into your skin. Not even help it I’m afraid.”

“You may bet right.” He chuckled, looking down at you and plucking the apple from your hand that you had just picked up not a second prior.

“Oi-” He cut you off with a loud crunch of a now ruined apple, his chewing only serving to fuel your anger.

“You sly fox what was that for?”

“You always pick the most juiciest apples from the bunch, tis only natural I may want a taste for myself.” He used the red fruit to hide the twitch of his lips at your bewildered expression.

Your reactions were always the best to witness, always making an exaggerated face for no reason other than you could, or perhaps it was just because you never realized how much emotion you actually shown to others.

“I pick the tastiest apples for myself, not to share! You gluttonous cutpurse!”

The sound of loud footsteps heading in your direction caused the pair of you to halt your conversation and glance up, seeing a pair of Squires making their way to your table. You sent out a quick huff of breath, unsure if you were willing to deal with his attitude so early in the morning. Shinosu kept his mouth shut, unwilling to express his distaste as verbally as you, but still felt it nonetheless.

“Ah Shinsou! (l/n)! Tis good to see you both in high health this fine morning!” One smiled, taking a seat in front of you while the other boy took a spot to the left of him, diagonally from you.

“Kirishima.” Shinsou let out a curt nod, having no will ill towards this gentleman at all. Only confusion, if not pity, for how he has to put up with the child next to him.

“Good to see you in such high spirits as always Kirishima.” You gave a polite smile, quickly snatching your apple back from Shinsou’s unsuspecting hand.

You innocently smiled at the red head in front of you as if you did nothing wrong, ignore the glaring and grumbling from the boy beside you.

“You two are the ones in high spirits it seems!” Kirishima laughed as the exchange, seeing your pleased expression and Shinsou’s exasperated one.

“Tch.”

The noise caused a flutter of irritation to pass through you, but you ignored it and glanced at the blond who had not spoke a word yet. Focusing on filling his bowl with breakfast instead of pleasantries. He bit harshly into a roll, setting the ladled down once he finished scooping the now cooling porridge.

“Good morning Bakugou.” You spoke shortly, not wanting to be rude to the other member of the table.

“Shove off.”

You clicked your tongue, not knowing why you bothered in the first place as you knew that would be his response. Kirishima gave you an apologetic smile, changing the subject to ask about future events the current day will hold for the lot of you. He was always able to lift the mood so easily, no matter the circumstances.

It was an enjoyable breakfast while it lasted, save for the brooding boy who only chimed in with insults or annoyed grunts of disagreement.

“As lovely as this has been, I must be off now. I am assisting Sir Aizawa in his visit of a neighboring kingdom. We are simple escorts of the Chamberlain and his youngest brother. “ Shinsou sighed.

The sun was more visible in the changing sky, almost fully so. Only a sliver of it hidden from view as the sky lightened because of it, allowing the dim lanterns to be shut off and replaced by a brighter source.

“Oh,” You frowned, “I assume you will be gone for a few days then?”

“Three at most, if it can be helped.” He mirrored your reaction.

He never liked leaving you alone. He never has doubted your ability to take care of yourself, that wasn’t the issue. More so it had to do with the glaring boy sitting a few feet away, sharp crimson glaring daggers into warm violet. Bakugou was by no means the kindest man to his peers around him, but he seemed to have an extra special case of bitter anger for you that exceeded his normal gruffness by tenfold. Shinsou knew it weighed heavily on you, once friend turned foe all because of a dream. Yet you always pushed through, it was one of your most admirable traits in his opinion.

Your unwavering ability to overcome anything.

“Worried your protection will not be around to save you, (y/n)?” Bakugou sneered, his gaze never leaving Shinsou’s.

“You assume false, Katsuki. I have no need for anyone’s protection but my own.” You spat back, hating how the bastard wouldn’t even look at you.

As if he seen you as something less than a person, something that didn’t even deserve his time of day.

“Come now you two, please no fighting so early! Let’s end this breakfast in good spirits and go on with our day.” Kirishima pleaded, always being the mediator, bless his soul.

“A day is only so lovely when the face of that wench is not in my sights.” Bakugou hissed, clenching his teeth as he felt the anger rise in him as Shinsou stood and grabbed your arm.

You were half tempted to lunge at the foul-mouth boy, but Shinsou’s strong hand on your upper arm held you back.

“Leave the man-child be, let us be on our way. I bid thee good day gentlemen.” Shinsou spoke, cold eyes turning away from Bakugou to address Kirishima, the only person his goodbye was intended for.

“Enjoy your day, may it go by swiftly for you,” You spoke to Kirishima who just gave a wavering grin, uneasy at the tension that had grown. You faced Bakugou who finally had the decency to look at you, and you could see the vexation boiling in his eyes, “you hog-hearted knave.”

You left your farewell at that, ignoring the shouts he threw as you and Shinsou as you grabbed your dishes, bringing them over to be rinsed and then set inside the kitchens for proper cleaning from the kitchen hands later.

You glanced back at the table to see them both barley rising to follow what you two have just done, before turning back to your friend with a displeased frown.

“I wish you were not my voice of reason.”

“You would be damned if I were not.” He pointed out, turning to walk away.

“You are right, of course. Yet that does not mean I like it.” Your frown lifted into a tender smile as you reached out to stop him from walking off, knowing you going to have to bid your best friend farewell.

“Like it or not, I will always be.” He turned back to face you, saying those words on purpose. Understanding the weight of them. While the kingdom was at peace, that did not mean all danger was vanquished.

It was simply hidden better.

“Aw, so you do agree that we are kindred spirits? Shinsou you sappy sack of flour!”

“Hush your tongue, wretched girl,” He grinned, “You best behave while I am gone, understand?”

“Yes yes, I am able to to take care of myself and be without problems for a measly two days.” You rolled your eyes, mischief all over your face though the words you spoken were intended for innocence.  

“I am serious.” He deadpanned, noticing the look that only grew at his words.

“And so am I.”

“I do not believe it.”

“You are right to do so.”

He groaned as you laughed, shaking his head at you in mock disappointment. His look then hardened and he took your hand in his, as if he were about to shake it.

“In three days.” Seriousness in his eyes as he whispered.

This was an unspoken tradition between the both of you. A silent promise to return, return alive, in the allotted time given.

“In three days.” You repeated, your grip on his hand tightening before releasing altogether.

A smile crossed you both before you took off down separate paths, you glancing up at the sky wishing to see the stars once more without having to look back at the boy walking away. Because you knew, Shinsou was the closest thing you would get to accomplish your wild dream of holding a star. It may be silly, but if it would be anyone, it would be him: a shining star who had the world beneath his feat and the endless sky around him.

However, unknown to you, a different kind of star was staring into your back as you left. This star was as big and bright as millions of stars together and was known as the sun. And be damned if the sun was out shined by a measly twinkle in the sky he owned.

[souichioneshots]

Hey hey :D if they’re still open can I request a fic where, remember that one part where souichi goes up to that boy and says that he’ll curse them for him and there’s no need to thank him? Could I request a scenario where he says that to (y/n) but surprisingly shes all like “cool!! Thanks! Can I help out?” And souichi is surprised that she believed him? Sorry if it’s a bit too specific 😅

【Thank you for your request!! I hope i didn’t stray too far from what you asked for!! I took the lines more or less straight from the english translated comic, so if it sounds stiff or a bit odd, it’s (probably) not my fault ^^; I hope you enjoy it!!!】

　Recently you and your friend Hanako haven’t been getting along. Ever since she made some new friends, she’s been purposely ignoring you and making fun of you just to make her friends laugh. So, you decided to try to let it go and ignore her back. But recently she’s been saying some things that are too mean to ignore.

　Though you didn't know it, Souichi has been observing you and Hanako for some time now. He heard everything she’s said to you, and saw how you would react the second she turned around. He could practically feel the friendship between the 2 of you rot from his seat.

　When lunch came around, you decided to go home early. You honestly didn't feel like being in the same room as Hanako or her friends anymore.

As you walked out the door, you heard a voice calling for you.

　"Y/N! Y/N!" It was a boy’s voice. "Oh! it's you, Souichi. Whats up?" You turn to face him. "You must be tormented, right, Y/N" He says getting close to you. "Hm? What are you talking about?" "No need to pretend. I know everything. Cursing someone is a painful business." He got closer and whispered "You'd really love to kill Hanako, right? Even now, you're thinking of cursing her, right? I saw the way you looked at her." You eyes widened at his claim. "Curse?" "No matter. You need not to worry. Leave the matter of Hanako to me. I'll take your place in cursing her..." He maliciously laughed and started to walk away. 

　"Wait!" You stopped him "Are you really planning on cursing her...for me?" He put on an innocent face, not directly responding to your question. "If you don't mind, can i help you do it?" Souichi seemed a bit shocked at your request. "Help me?" "Yeah. I don't know if it’s the same with cursing people, but 2 heads are always better than 1, right? " You shyly smiled, unsure whether he was actually serious or not. "Come to Fukazawa park. 2am. Oh, and bring a picture of her too" He said and ran back to class.

　You stood there for a minute, unable to believe that you actually just agreed to help curse someone you know.

　When you got to the park, you were surprised to see Souichi was already there. You were happy he was early. It was cold and late. And honestly, you just wanted to get this over with.

　"Hey, sorry for making you wait" You apologize as you walk up to him. He shook his head and insisted he just arrived as well. 

　You both walked in silence as you headed deeper into the woods. You didn’t really understand why everyone said so many negative things about Souichi. The fact that he was even willing to come out in the middle of the night to help you really made you think otherwise. 

　"We're here.” Souichi stopped “Did you bring what I asked?" You took the picture out of your pocket "Good, now fold it in 4 and put it inside this straw doll. Don't break it." He handed you the doll, along with some string. When you finished setting it up, you handed it back to him.

　Souichi placed the doll against a tree and took out a nail from his mouth. He lightly struck it once to keep it in place.

　Souichi called you over and handed you the hammer. "Think of the person you want to curse and then strike it." You thought about Hanako as hard as you could and hit the hammer against the nail once. The sound of the nail and hammer meeting echoed through the woods. Then twice. Anger started to erupt from inside you as you remembered all the things she said. You hit the nail until it was no longer visible.

　"Did.. did it work?" You asked, slightly doubting that anything really happened. "Hehehe... Perfect..." Souichi laughed, taking the hammer from you.

And just like that, you both started to walk out of the woods. 

　"I'm sure you'll be happy with the results. If not, i've prepared something even more shocking, if you want to try it" You did comment, but instead quietly laughed at how confident he was. "Though i'm sure you already know..." He stopped and turned towards you "I'm not the kind of person who expects repayment for good deeds. I did it so she could learn a lesson. I'll be satisfied if you're pleased." He stuck out his hand "No no, please don't misunderstand! I really don't expect anything. My motives were entirely for your good.” He brings his hand closer to you “Even though i set up basically everything, i don't expect even a little cash for a favor as small as this. I don't need a thank-you gift or anything..."

　You understood his not so obvious hints and checked your pockets, but you didn't have anything but your keys on you.

　"Souichi, i'm sorry. I didn't bring anything with me but..." You got close to him and kissed him on the cheek "Thank you so much. I really appreciate what you did for me. I'll bring you something tomorrow, I promise."

　Souichi touched the spot where you had kissed him and looked at you. He stayed quiet for a bit before clearing his throat and speaking. "I… I don't need anything... really... i’ll be happy if you are..."

　You smile at his kind remark and start to walk again "Come on, let’s go home. Don’t forget, we actually have to be awake to see how things turned out."

[sonyeondone]

Follow The Sound

피리소릴 따라와 ________________

Main: Female Reader x Jeon Jungkook

A/N: Anyone that knew of Jeon Jungkook knew the reputation that preceded him; somehow, someway, those who crossed his path in a most promiscuous way were never the same. 

Unfortunately, she did not know of Jeon Jungkook.

Series Warnings: Violence, Sexual Reference, Alcoholism, Angst

________________

Music, she thought to herself, surely wasn’t supposed to be enjoyed at such a loud volume. Nightclubs and similar venues always seemed to play music as if their intentions were to drown out any conversation, and thus force the masses to fill the dance floor. Perhaps that was just it; club music wasn’t meant to be enjoyed, it was meant to be utilized. 

Utilized it was, so much so that she felt herself jostled around between the bodies of others who, like her, just wanted a good night. The most apparent commonality in the crowd was the wish of a night to disappear. A night of non-existence. This is what she wanted, at any rate. A tug could be felt on her arm, her eyes which had previously been closed with the swaying of her head opening to find Euna, her biggest influence and possibly her closest friend, at a proximity that could almost be called intimate. 

 “I’m getting really hot, Honey” was all she could manage to shout across the closed distance, the rest of the sentence left unsaid, and rather iterated by her pointing to the exit door, the affectionate nickname Euna had dubbed her being tacked on the end. A nod and an outstretched hand passed across the given reply, and the two girls took hands and made the rough journey through the perspiring bodies and carefree souls. 

Bursting through the door that resembled more of a hole in the wall, the two let the cold night air settle into their lungs, a welcomed change from the sweat that clung to the air inside.

“Thank god- you know, I was started to feel a hand creeping up on my shoulder and knew that it was time for a break,” Euna lamented as her dainty fingers dove into her purse.  “I could tell, the guy behind you had a very....steady stare. Almost like his eyes were glued to you,” Honey agreed, as her eyes swept over the ever lengthy line of individuals still wishing to get between the moving bodies in NB2.  The two girls made distance between the club and themselves, letting the wind lift their hair and soothe their skin.  “I haven’t even drunk that much but I feel a bit-”  “Dizzy? Yeah, I think you got a bit heavy on the cojinganmek,” Euna finished her best friend’s sentence with the ease only a best friend could manage.  “Mixing drinks isn’t supposed to be all too good for you. I couldn’t help it though, they were nice, and I don’t usually like beer.” Euna only replied with a nod, and took Honey’s arm so that the two were linked elbow to elbow.  “Well, when we go back, no more. Just straight soju, keep it simple, okay?”

________________

With their bodies feeling newly refreshed and the time only reading 2am, Euna turned their brisk walk back toward the club, ready to re approach the mob of youthful party-goers. 

The dark night was not so dark thanks to the illumination of bright signs and the neon's adorning rows of shops, and signalling wayward nightlife into the warmth of their spaces. 

Yet, she and Euna’s sight didn’t seem to pierce the dark as they approached the club, just a turn away.

As they spoke to one another, their brief distraction was broken when Euna suddenly stopped, failing to alert her friend to the reason for doing so. Instead, Honey kept walking, and bumped into the broad and solid back of a stranger, tall and shadowed. 

Honey winced and recoiled, quickly taking several steps back and clinging to Euna out of sheer, hot embarrassment. The stranger made his turn to them as apologies spilled from her lips like a broken faucet.

“Oh my g- I am so sorry, I didn’t see you there, I should have been watching where I was going, and I just-” The string of words that unravelled from her mind was cut off by a deep, lighthearted laugh. Euna, who had quietly whispered for Honey to ‘stop rambling’, brightened up at the sound, a reaction quite polar to Honey’s own reaction. She was too enthralled with the source of the sound that stopped her thoughts from reeling. 

He was...

beautiful.

There was no other way for her to describe it. It was a beauty that could only be described as otherworldly. Men like him...they just didn’t exist.

Or, at least they hadn’t three metres back, when she was blissfully ignorant. Atop his head was a curled mess of rich, dark hair that glistened auburn in the neon behind him. That alone would have been perfect, a tantalising mixture of well kept and effortless, had the rest of him not been just as appealing to look at. But oh it was. She would have kept staring. She could have simply looked at him long into the night and the break of new morning.

Somehow, though, she was able to break from whatever bewitchment he had over her when he spoke- and subsequently reminded her of her best friend still cradling her arm. Honey flicked a quick glance at Euna, who, judging by the subtle shock that graced her face, shared the same train of thought.

“That’s okay. Honey, was it?” he queried, his eyebrows pulled into a frown of question, as he gestured to her before resting his hands on his impossibly slim waist. It was a waist curved in such a way that almost gave him the illusion of being spindly, had it not been for the stretch and strain of his shirt over his biceps. 

“Oh, actually, that’s just a nickname, Euna calls me,” she clarified, acknowledging the girl on her arm, then offering up her given name.

He nodded thoughtfully as if mulling the information in his mind, letting the slight pause linger on his tongue before speaking again.

“Well, are you two headed to NB2? It seems like there’s quite the line.”

Honey’s voice paused in her throat.He was a stranger. Should she be divulging this information to him?

No matter how absolutely gorgeous he was, no matter how impossibly breathtaking his frosted white smile was in the shadow that clung to him, he was still a stranger, and strangers were notorious for bringing danger when not fully acquainted. Before an answer could be evaluated on her own end, Euna’s voice cut the space between them through a cordial smile.

“Actually, we just came from there, we’re on our way home.”Her response was swift and calculated, and Honey decided it was only right to go along with it.

“Yeah, it’s a little bit of a journey,” she added, hoping her embellishment would sell the story.

“Well, that’s too bad,” the perfect stranger started, clicking his tongue. Just as quickly as it had come, his expression passed and was replaced with something Honey could only describe as tempting. “Maybe we’ll bump into one another again, sometime.”Euna nodded with an eagerness, that one could possibly misinterpret as the same hope for a reuniting.

Her best friend knew better.

________________

“So...who was the guy? You obviously knew him, you couldn’t get away from him quick enough.”

The question, expected and uncomfortable in Euna’s chest, was kept without reply for a beat or two, before she sucked in a deep breath. The two of them were resting on the one bed, unwinding after a short trip home filled with avoidance and apprehension of this very subject.

“I didn’t realise it at first, but the more I looked at him, the more he seemed familiar. His name is Jeon Jungkook, and he is, from what I’ve heard, nothing but bad news. And I’ve heard a lot.”

“What do you mean, ‘bad news’. Like...like drug lords and gang member bad?” 

“No, not quite. Might as well be though. He can’t keep his hands on one person for very long. Whoever he touches just...disappears. Obviously not literally, but their life just seems to deteriorate. I knew a girl- one minute she was just talking about a boy she’d met who was really kind and charming, Jungkook obviously, and the next she’s dropped out of a course she’s getting high marks in and loves. Last I heard of her, she was kicked out of home, but I can’t be sure because I lost contact with her.”

Honey turned over Euna’s words in her head, surprise and horror painting her features. 

“All because she slept with him?”

“Yep. Probably started before that, even. Maybe when she first looked at him.”

Euna shook her head slightly and sighed. “Everyone I’ve ever heard of getting with him has their life just crash and burn. It’s his reputation. People know this, it isn’t a secret. And yet, somehow, for some reason, people still risk it. Still sleep with him. It’s just...I don’t know, it’s not worth it. It’s stupid.”

“Yeah,” Honey nodded, digesting everything she’d heard over the span of five minutes. Overlaying those words onto the image of him-

Jeon Jungkook

- that was now brandished across her memory.

“Stupid.”

[thoughtfulalmondauthorperson]

2AM

If you told me two days ago that I'd be running down Brooklyn Avenue at 2am with a bag for McDonald's in hand, Deputy Maxwell in pursuit and accompanied by Matthew Walker, Levi Andrews and Alexander Pierce, I would've called you crazy. But it's actually happening. However, for this to make sense we have to go back two days, when I accidentally walked in on the three vandalising the football Coaches office. Yeah we're starting there.

It was a normal Thursday for me. I, of course, was running late as per usual. My medium length strawberry blonde hair; still un-brushed, was a tangled rats nest thanks to the wind which I had experienced while running to school. Sweat lightly covers my scalp creating an itch which ignored. Ronda at the front desk smiled at me when she saw me walk through the office doors. I was about to ask for a late note when she placed one in front of me, with the exact time I arrived. "I timed you last week," was all she said. Grabbing my I left the office to my locker.

The halls were quiet, so quiet that even my soft footsteps sounded loud. Once at my locker I put in my combination and quickly grabbed my books. However, that's when I saw three figures sneaking around the corner. They hadn't spotted me yet but I could clearly see who they were. The Junior and Senior class call them the Hoods; why? Because they seek back redemption against people who were wronged.

The Hoods go as followed. Alexander Pierce, he's a Senior but from what I've heard he's always been one for causing trouble. He's also very much a ladies man, I could see why though. Tall, tan skin and muscles; glorious muscles everywhere, blonde hair which was long but was always worn in a man-bun; which suites him, and gorgeous blue eyes that could make any girl swoon. Levi Andrews, also a Senior. He's known as the smart one, picks the victims and such of their escapades. He unlike the other two was slightly shorter bu his facial bone structure definitely made up for it with a sharp jaw and high cheek bones, a sun kissed tan to match along with emerald green eyes and chocolate brown hair, kept short. Then finally we have Matthew Walker. He's a Junior and what every girl imagines as their bad boy. Always clad in black, a leather jacket, and a cigarette on hand he was labeled as such. However, his looks were also to be praised as he had a defined jaw line, semi-full lips, dark brown hair; almost black and deep brown eyes.

The three of them turned down another corridor not even seeing me. Curiosity sparked within me. What were they doing? Levi was carrying a black bag, with what was in it? I didn't know. Going against my better judgment, I closed my locker and followed them. Down the corridor the three enter what looks to be an office. I should've turned back, just leave it and pretend I did t see anything. Yet my curious ass thought it's be a good idea to see what they were doing. I crept closer, being sure to stay close to the wall. They left the door wide open, as if they wanted to get caught doing whatever they were doing. Through the door I saw the three boys trashing the Coach's office; turning over chairs, pulling out papers, wiping the desk clean of everything. Oh sh-

"Hey!" My eyes widened when I saw Levi Andrews looking right at me, emerald green eyes hard with anger. We all froze in that moment. Matthews and Alex stopped and turned to look at me, and me? I was like a deer in headlights. I couldn't move; I was stuck to the wall unable to move. Then in a heartbeat Alex shot towards me. Panic flooded my body. Reacting to my flight or fight I chose the second option. Dropping my things, I went to turn and sprint down the hall back the way I came but Alex was already out in the hall. Arms enclosed around me and I knew in that moment I was completely screwed.

Alex lugged me back into the Coach's office. Once inside Levi closed the door and locked it, probably worried I'd make a run for it. "Alex put her down," Matthew said. However, Alex didn't put me down down. I couldn't see but I was pretty sure that the boys were having a fight of dominance with a staring contest; my cousins do it all the time when one doesn't listen to the other. "I'm not going to run okay. Just put me down," I said cutting through the silence. Slowly Alex set me down on the ground. Any sane person would have ran, and believe me I wanted to, but the office was locked and Levi had decided to stand in front of it. With my heart beating like crazy against my ribs I turned to face Alex and Matthew. Alex looked annoyed, as if I interrupted something important, however, Matthew had a curious look in his eyes. "I swear I won't say anything, I promise, I'll leave and won't say a word," the words fell out of my mouth quick and rushed, matching my heartbeat. I wasn't entirely sure but I think a small smile pressed itself to Matthews lips. "Harper right?" A lump formed in my throat and I think I forgot how to breathe.

A look of familiarity crosses Alex's face. "Elliot Lewis's little sister," Levi said from behind me, venom dripping heavily from his words. The Hoods and my older brother have a history, mainly Levi and Elliot. The short story is that Elliot took what was Levi's; my brother stole Levi's girlfriend. Levi has hated my brother since. And my brother never shy's away from rubbing it in Levi's face. It's cliche yes, but Levi hates me too. "Oh that piece of sh-"

"What your tongue Pierce," I spat before he could even finish. Elliot did a bad thing, but he's still my brother and I love him. A look of surprise appeared on Alex's face. "Feisty," Matthew said smiling. I felt blush creep up my neck.

"Let her go, I doubt she'll say something," Matthew said shrugging his shoulders. "Are you fucking kidding me? She's a goody damn two shoes! First thing she'll do it go tell someone," Levi replied. He was definitely pissed, but I don't think it's because I caught them, it was most likely because I was Harper Lewis, Elliot's little sister. Matthew didn't seem too convinced by Levi's outburst. "She won't, trust me Andrews," Matthew smiled at me. "Off you go, have a nice day," cautiously I turned around and walked towards the door. I unlocked it and twisted the handle. Then a thought occurred to me. They only do things like this to people who deserve it, they do things like this to have justice. I turned around and looked at all three boys. "Whatever he did, make him pay," my voice was firm and sure. "We will," Matthew said nodding. I nodded in reply before I opened the door and walked out going back the way I came. All I could think was, what just happened?

                                                                                                       ****

The next two days were literally the most terrifying thing I had ever experienced in my life so far. Turns out Coach Clayton... well let's say it's very unspeakable. The boys of course owned up to the destruction of his office and were once again put on probation within the school. I of course avoided the three of them at all costs. No way did I plan on getting cornered by the three of them, or any of them at any point ever. My plan was simple, stay away from The Hoods. It was almost flawless, until it wasn't.

I was on my way to Math when I saw Alex down the hall flirting with some naive Freshman. My heartbeat picked up pace and I was about to turn around and walk the other way as not to get caught but it was way too late for that because he had already saw me. He smiled at the Freshman and said something to her before he pushed off the wall and began walking towards me. Sh-

"Hey Lewis," Alex said and I felt every hair stand on end. "Pierce," I replied still walking to Math. I faced straight ahead, I didn't want to look at him. "You know, I'm impressed you haven't said anything about the other day," this caused me to turn my head. A smirk graced his lips. "Why would I? You guys owned up to it anyway," he still stayed beside me as we turned a corner. "No I mean I'm surprised you haven't told your brother," I stopped walking.

He realised I wasn't walking anymore and stopped. "What makes you think I'd tell my brother?" He shrugged but I could tell he was uncomfortable about the question. "My brother doesn't need to know everything about me, and he certainly doesn't need to know about everything I do and who I involve myself with, so I suggest you stop thinking that I do," a look of shock placed itself on his face. My heart was beating rapidly, pounding against my rib cage, and adrenaline pumped through my body, a rush sinking into my skin. "Now I get it," Alex mumbles to himself and I couldn't help but furrow my brows. The warning bell rang and students began to hurry last us. "I'll see you around Harper," Alex said and he began to walk the way we came. What did he mean by that? 'Now I get it?" because I certainly do not get it.

Shaking of the confusion I made my way to Math, yet there it was, in the back of my mind for the rest of the day. A simple question that just wouldn't leave no matter what I did. What did Alex now get?

                                                                 ****

Friday nights usually consisted of Netflix and popcorn with several tubs of ice-cream on the side. It was 9pm, my parents were out of town for the weekend visiting some old collage friends and Elliot was at his girlfriend's house. I had sported my favourite onesie; Stitch, from the Disney movie, Lilo and Stitch. To All The Boys I've Loved Before was playing on the screen for the 3rd time this week and a bowl of popcorn rested in my lap. I had always spent my Friday nights like that since I could remember. While Elliot always was out with friends, I had made a home on the couch watching movies.

The movie was close to finishing when I heard a knock at the door. I, of course, ignored it; thinking it was Elliot; he'd find his keys in a few seconds. A knock comes again. I don't answer. Another knock. Becoming annoyed I decided to finally answer the door. Huffing because the annoyed state I was in, I stood up from the comfortable couch and I pressed paused my movie. I carried the bowl of popcorn with me as I walked to the door, still casually snacking on it. "You know Elliot-" I began to say as I opened the door but trailed off when I saw Levi, Alex and Matthew. I felt my mouth slightly drop open in shock. What were they doing at my house? "Oh thank fuck," Alex said as he saw me. "Huge favour Lewis but we gotta hide," Levi glanced behind him down the street as he said it. I was however, still in shock that The Hoods were standing at my front door on a Friday night while I was wearing a Stitch onesie to answer him. "Harper, come on you got to let us in," I shook my head at Matthews words. Looking at the three of them, I sighed and opened the door wide enough for them to step into the house. Once all inside I closed the door behind them.

Through the small window in the door a clean white Police car drive down the street slowly as if looking for someone, or a group of people. When I turned back to the boys I noticed they were all slumped against a wall. "So mind telling me what you did?" I asked picking up some popcorn and putting it into my mouth. None of them replied. "Okay then if you're not going to tell me I can always call-"

"No! No don't do that," Alex jumped and I couldn't help the smile that placed itself onto my face at seeing the panic looks on their faces. "Well..." I arched an eyebrow in a questioning manner. The three boys looked between themselves before what I assumed as a silent agreement falls around them.

"We may or may not have trashed George Harrison's house," Matthew smirked. "Trashed how?" I leaned against the front door. "Toilet paper, eggs and spray paint work wonders Lewis," Alex smiled brightly. I shook my head; these boys were crazy. "Well, you guys are welcomed to stay until the coast is clear, Elliot's out and my parents are out of town, so you're good," I began to walk to the lounge room. "You're not going to ask why we did it?" I heard Levi's footsteps follow me. "No," popcorn muffled my words. "Whatever Harrison his he most likely deserved it," I sat down on the couch again. I didn't even know how I was acting so casually, as if they've been in my house hundreds of times and we were close friends. I mean they were in my house! The Hoods were in my house and I'm acting like it's normal.

The three of them stood in the lounge room looking around. It was pretty plain. No one was really in the house except me most of the time because my parents always travel and Elliot is always doing something. Matthew takes a seat on the couch next to me. "Well Maxwell will probably be looking for a while,  it he'll give up in an hour," the other two took a seat on the floor. Matthew went to reach for my popcorn when I pulled it away from him. He looked at me raising his eyebrows. "You came into my house and I forced to willingly let you into it, do not expect me to share my food with you because it's not happening Walker," I snapped holding the bowl close to my chest. "Jeez okay Stitch," I rolled my eyes. I pressed play onto my movie. The boys turned their attention to it and I was left feeling as though I was dreaming.

                                                                                                               ****

3 hours. They had been at my house for 3 hours. We all ended up walking to a 24/7 McDonald's; which was 3 blocks from my house, after watching Transformers because we were all hungry. I of course changed out of my onesie, putting on a pair of black pj shorts, which seemed a little too short and a dark purple tank top; with a bra. On our way back we cut down Brooklyn Avenue which takes 10 minuets off walking around. We were not even half way down the street when a Police car drove past, the same Police car the drove past my house 3 hours ago. We were in some deep shit. The car stopped just pasted us. Oh yeah some really deep shit. The door opened and closed but none of us turned around and no one of us stopped walking, because who the hell wants to get caught? I hear quick and heavy footsteps which caused panic to flood my brain. "You can run right?" Matthew asked, his lips grazed my ear as he spoke. I nodded, I was on track; not the fastest girl but I can definitely run. "Good," then silence. "Boys give up!" Oh shit Deputy Maxwell. "RUN!" Alex screamed and the boys all began to sprint down the street. It took a few seconds for my brain to register what was going on before I finally took after the boys.

Now we are at the beginning of the story. It currently 2 am and I'm running down Brooklyn Avenue with a bag of McDonald's in hand. Deputy Maxwell in pursuit and I was accompanied by Matthew Walker, Levi Andrews and Alexander Pierce. My legs are aching and the air burns my throat, setting my lungs alight. Yet adrenaline rushes through my body and a thrill eyes into my bones. I was doing something I shouldn't and I'm fucking loving it. "STOP!" Maxwell yells but we all hoot with laughter as he stopped and hunches over out of breath; should really stop eating all those sugary sweets Deputy. I meet the boys at the end of the street around the corner. I feel my legs wobble a little as I stand beside Matthew but I couldn't help the smile that spreads across my face. "That's was so much fun!" I breathe and the three boys laugh.

"Didn't think you had it in you," Levi says after he catches his breath. "Yeah well I guess I'm less goody-two shoes than you thought Andrews," a smile presses itself onto his face. "I guess so," his emerald green eyes drift to Matthew. "Now I get it," Levi says directly to Matthew and the strange questions comes back into my mind. "Oh fucking shut up," Matthew groans and the other two boys just laugh. "Can someone inform me on what you guys now get?" I ask but Levi and Alex are already walking down the street back to my house. I feel confused. "Hey don't think about it too hard," Matthew slings his arm around my shoulders and pulls me closer into his side. I smile and shake my head, this boy. "Why not?"

"Because you'll figure it out on your own one day," I don't reply to the comment. We just walk down the street, Matthew's arm around my shoulders, the bag of McDonald's still in my hand and a warm feeling spreading throughout my body. Who knew I'd end up here just because I accidentally walked in on the three vandalising the football Coaches office.