#im worried im TOO cryptic so heres what happened at the end

[gl1tchxr]

hi so i heard that you have a tragic oc ending. Wellllll im listening :D

it's not really a tragic ending. everything (most everything) turns out ok despite some tragic stuff happening on the way there

(warning for gore/body horror)

Paradox always thought there was so much untapped potential to shapeshifting. sure, anyone with the right magic can change into whatever temporary form they want, but is there any way to make it permanent? to grow back parts of yourself you've lost? to achieve total control over your own body? to become functionally immortal?

he could never try it. not with this weak, flimsy magic afforded to him from his hometown. but now the magic of a god has bonded itself to his heart, and the possibilities open up.

the first trial was a success. all the venom from a snakebite that could kill in a matter of hours, cleansed from his body in a matter of minutes.

the second took some doing. the nasty gash over his face healed easy enough, but repairing the eye was a slow, agonizing process. all that matters is that it worked, in the end, despite the strain.

the third... well it's not really a trial anymore, is it?

it was the magic of a god that finally let him hone his craft. but anything divine is a commodity, and sooner or later someone would come for it. no matter how entangled it was inside him, no matter what collateral would have to be wrought, they would have what they came for. and they took it.

did he ever need divinity? could he become immortal with only the magic he had the whole time? he must somehow be already, he thinks, because his blood keeps running despite the gaping cavity of his chest.

[maoam]

sorry if youve already talked about this, but i wanted to get your thoughts on sasuke in these panels..maybe im looking too much into it and its not that deep, but i was rereading gaiden recently and i just feel like theres something here im missing. sakura even looks a little confused/worried in the bg. the way he talks is kinda cryptic, especially with how they put quotation marks around "cooperation". like?? am i crazy or is there something going on here. its like hes vaguely referring to something that only he and naruto know about. not to mention how sullen he seems...what do you think?

No you're not imagining it, Sasuke is clearly a bit sad and snidey here. Naruto looks taken aback by his words too, sweating nervously. Naruto didn't hesitate wanting to go with Sasuke and leaving his own family in the process, but Sasuke declined his offer.

It seems Kishi left it up in the air what's going on here, but clearly it's to show not everything is okay between these characters. Sakura is like a third wheel here, also very nervous.

Sasuke knows Naruto loves him, and Naruto knows Sasuke loves him. But Sasuke also knows Naruto felt hesitant and conflicted, with all the expectations and burdens on his shoulders. They both had even bigger responsibilities now after the war.

And while it's obvious Kishi wrote them to be in love, he can't say it too obviously, so he leaves these clues for us to patch together, to make some sense of why the hell are they married to Hinata/Sakura. He will leave implications that Sasuke never kissed Sakura, that Naruto doesn't want to go home even if Shikamaru could take over his mundane duties like counting on headbands. He will write some bimbo fangirls fawn over Naruto and Hinata walking in the park, talking about how they make a perfect couple because Naruto is the war hero/Hokage candidate and Hinata is the heiress of the Hyuga clan. Very shallow reasons, and we know how Kishi isn't too fond of fangirls. But those reasons make sense, considering NH marriage is appearance only, without the kind of deep love Naruto feels for Sasuke. Naruto settled for her, because that's what everyone expects from him.

And Sasuke isn't happy. But he loves Naruto, so he will stand by his side regardless. And in Boruto manga, there was the scene where Sasuke gave his headband to Boruto, and Boruto asked if it's okay, isn't this the symbol of the bond between you and my dad (which shows Kishi definitely didn't forgot, which some people might otherwise claim)? If you remember, at the end of chapter 699 Sasuke said he will keep holding onto it until him and Naruto finally settle things between the two of them. The chapter where Sasuke gave Boruto the headband and talked with him also had Sarada and Mitsuki at the same time talk about one's true, inner romantic feelings and being honest about them. Mitsuki suggested Sarada likes Boruto like that, and Sarada suggested the same about Mitsuki liking Boruto as well. Like? And Sarada also reminds us once again that Sasuke spends more time with Boruto than with her. Lol.

So yeah, that moment is just yet another clue to show Naruto and Sasuke aren't happy with their lives, but they are doing their best for the sake of the future. But since Sasuke gave away the headband, it feels like something is gonna happen...

[hxnbi]

HAYATO SUO knew something was wrong when he received that phone call. He reached for his cell phone and held it up to his ear, but no sound came from the other end.

“Hello? Hello? Y/n??”

“.....”

"Y/n I can't hear you, can you say that agai—"

His heart dipped, and he was left with nothing but the sounds of being drowned in his own panic.

Suo’s lips remained tightly shut when you said your first and only words to him that entire call before the line went dead and the call froze from the other end.

The voice that came from your end. Did he really hear that correctly...?

The sound of your voice—so lovely and melodious—disguised the hidden horror of what was truly going on behind the curtain.

“The ambulance— here!!”

"They're bleeding too much..."

“Start CPR ASAP!!”

Beads of cold sweat ran down Suo’s back.

‘No… that can’t be for you, right?’

The only words he could comprehend at that moment were the sirens of what he assumed to be an ambulance, and the dozens of bystanders, medical staff, and a man, screaming, yelling, and throwing a tantrum, being taken away from the other end of the phone.

Not even Suo's shaky hands could reach yours. The distance between you both was immeasurable.

That was the last and only time he picked up the phone from your number that day. And from the only time he did, when Suo clicked your ID and, in horror, saw the dozens of unanswered calls and several increasingly cryptic texts from hours ago, his heart sank.

He didn’t read or care about a damn one.

[Y/n]

Just left my house, I'll be there in 10!

Suo! When are you coming? I’m at the cafe!

Kotoha is wondering where you are too. Get here soon! Your food is getting cold

Hayato, it's been an hour, are you okay…?

I’m coming to Furin, I’ll be there in 30 minutes so don't move!

Hayato, are you nearby?

I feel like there's someone behind me but I don't wanna look back

I found a space to take cover for a bit, so im okay for now

I see his hair peering from outside the cafe

Can you come soon? I'm getting a little worried

The cafe is closing so I'm heading back home. I'm a bit scared but I've got it aha

Hayato, please answer me

I'm

[ unread ]

That final message from you was sent two hours ago.

…He forgot about you. 

Him. Hayato Suo, had let you down. 

And because of that, you were at the hospital.

Suo had mere seconds to steel himself, holding in the tears that would inevitably taint his perfect face if he considered the worst-case scenarios, but they came along anyway, swirling around like parasites in his mind. And why wouldn't they? For all he knew, you might not make it through the night.

And that... that clenched at his heart.

Your unconscious self, with wires, tubes, and bandages dangling from your beaten-up body. The steady beep of the heart monitor crossed the silence, and an IV drip was attached to your arm, slowly delivering the necessary fluids and medications. Your face—pale and peaceful—contrasted with the harsh reality of your condition and his own reality. 

“How… How could this have happened?”

It was a bitter feeling. Because he knew. He knew what had happened, but because of his own involvement, he refused to admit it.

You, the only one he would ever love in his life, lying on a hospital bed, with visible injuries from head to toe.

No words could ever describe the hurt he felt when he saw your fragile form. You were suffering, and he couldn’t even do anything about it.

He inwardly scoffed, a fleeting expression of frustration crossing his face. Did he even have a right to worry about you…? When he was the reason you were here in the first place?

He couldn’t protect you, all because of him.

Hayato Suo, he had let you down. Time and time again, for it wasn’t the first. He put Furin, he put himself, and worst of all, he put everything else over you. 

He should've known when you said you were heading out alone that day with a sorry expression. You never did end up reaching Bofurin’s building, and he had failed to ensure your safety as a result of his own stupidity. 

He could barely stand to know the cause of your injuries, because, in his mind, every one of them was his fault.

Each wound, each bruise, was a direct consequence of his failures to protect you—and his carelessness and his failure to shield you from the visible marks he left behind. The burden of his failure to be there for you when you needed him most was an ever-present reminder of the crushing shame he felt.

People have always called him a smart cookie. Someone who could easily solve any problem with that sharp mind of his. But what use was that when he couldn’t even see through the facade you were wearing that day…? 

His hand found the way to where his heart was positioned. He scratched at his chest and pounded at his ribcage. He wanted to find his heart. Scratch his heart out so he could also feel the pain that he unknowingly inflicted on you.

But you knew he wasn't honest with you, and for that, he only had himself to blame. Suo always appeared calm, happy, and seemingly pleasant... Because if he showed you the turmoil and anxiety he had hidden within him, what would happen to you?

But in his pursuit to protect you, all he did was hurt you beyond repair.

Suo was a person who kept everything to himself, and from that, he unintentionally distanced himself from everyone who called him a “friend.” And that included you as well. The times when he would listen to your ramblings and stories about your daily life, all while keeping his own behind closed doors.

Whether, in that equation, you held a higher standard didn’t matter anymore, because it wasn’t him that was in the hospital, fighting for their lives, but you. 

“I’m sorry…” you told him through the phone.

Those couldn’t be your final words to him… No, they can’t be. He refused to accept it. Not through the cold, mechanical sounds of a device, from your own mouth and voice. 

But perhaps he may never hear it again.

And he only had himself to blame.

©hxnbi. comments, reblogs, and likes are always appreciated ♡

banner creds go to @faintrustle

when i was getting down to writing a request the other day, i was, for some reason, super angst inspired and drafted up an entirely new prompt just for the hell of it. also wanted to ty out a new format for this one, so lmk what you think :)

[gerrydelano]

im literally so excited 4 pbr like no matter how weird the ship is i trust u and ur ability to write fantastic compelling things

the ship isn’t even that weird it’s a combination of very popular ships i’m just like! are people not gonna vibe with the polyam for some reason even though it’s the best of every world? #IrrationalFear

thank you so much, i’m really glad, like. if i’m gonna put so much work into this i don’t want to just fall flat because of interest somehow but. HOO. it’ll be ALRIGHT! it’ll be GREAT! my outline is 27 pages long at the moment, i have 4 fics mapped out in total/25 chapters more or less fully fleshed, so many ridiculously unforeseeable plot twists and reveals and concepts involved (not enough to super overwhelm, there’s really like. five MAJOR things that are laced all the way through? which should really smack people because they smacked ME when i thought of them and i cannot SLEEP.) so i’m just like.

hoping that SOME people are willing to stick around for a really in depth long con/mystery type plot with some good old fashioned SLOW BURN (in various flavours!) and recovery and friendship and closure despite how long it’ll be! i hope i render it in a way that doesn’t lose TOO much interest midway through (though i know that’s obviously going to happen at some point, such is the nature of every long work) because. oh MAN. oh man. oh man oh man oh man. i shock MYSELF sometimes. fuck im so happy rn hgrenfkjenfkjenkfjne 

[hajimesh]

𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩 — olympic team / fem reader

[ atsumu, sakusa, suna, kageyama, gao, bokuto, hinata, iwaizumi, oikawa ]

the stress of the first match seems to be taking a toll on the team's spirit, and you refuse to sit and watch them fail when you know you can be of help. but can you really handle all of them?

(or, where you end up having a gang bang with 8 professional volleyball players, and 1 athletic trainer)

⥅ word c. 7,928

⥅ warnings. sub reader, gang bang, foursomes, voyeurism?, fellatio, cum play, vaginal penetration, anal, unprotected sex, creampie, facial, size + stomach bulging kink, praise kink, mild degradation, double penetration, pussy job (for like, one second), double vaginal penetration, fingering, squirting, overstimulation, someone passes out, aftercare

⥅author n. brought to u thanks to this tweet + @kmorgzz​ who suggested adding iwaoi to the mix

special mention to my wife and love of my life, runa. @tsumue​ u had me laughing at 4am as i read ur comments in the google doc. i don't know what i'd do without u, tysm for beta and putting up with me for the past week ♡ 

ps. im v sorry if ur fave didn't make the cut (╥_╥) i added the ones im more familiar with, in terms of writing

if someone had told you you’d be attending the olympic games not as a spectator but as part of japan’s team, you’d have never believed them. but here you are, sitting in the same room with the most skilled players in the country as none other than their personal assistant.

“iwaizumi-san! do you think kageyama and i could pull off a quick attack right at the beginning of the set?”

“shoyo-kun, if there’s someone you’ll be doing the quick attack with it’s me,” atsumu’s eyes land on kageyama, smirking at the other setter from across the room, “right, tobio-kun?”

“you’re a disgrace.”

sakusa’s statement earns an offended scoff from the blond setter, the rest of the team rolling their eyes and sighing at the all-too-familiar scene.

“oi! we don’t have time for petty fights!”

after iwaizumi gets everyone’s attention back on him, he barely finishes explaining tomorrow’s match opponents and their plays without losing the team’s attention. he might be there to train them and make sure they’re on top of their game, but he knows when the team is lacking morale and, sadly, today’s one of those days.

the meeting is over and all of you go to the dining hall, fetching your dinner and sitting on your respective table with you right next to iwaizumi.

since you took that part-time job at the msby jackals, you quickly caught onto their small tics and tell-tale signs when something isn’t right. atsumu becomes a complete asshole which makes sakusa lose his temper sooner than usual. meanwhile, bokuto and hinata become very fidgety, often causing a bit of chaos around them as clumsiness radiates off of them.

when the national team was announced, you were offered the job as the trainer’s assistant—all thanks to the jackals who recommended you to their superiors for said position. your pay-check might say you’re just iwaizumi’s assistant, but you’re basically there to cover the needs of the entire team—all of them.

“iwa-chan!”

your head snaps to the side as a good-looking man takes the last free seat next to iwaizumi.

“aren’t you supposed to be sitting with your team?” iwaizumi asks him, taking a bite of his food while waiting for an answer.

the unknown man huffs exaggeratedly, rolling his eyes as he too starts to eat, “thought you’d miss your best friend.”

“hanamaki isn’t here.”

the stranger opens his mouth to reply, clearly offended by iwizumi’s words, when he notices you peeping at him.

“oh? hi! i think we haven’t met,” he shoots you a charming smile, bringing out his remarkably handsome features, “oikawa tooru, it’s nice to meet you.”

you introduce yourself, bowing at him and focusing back on your food.

both friends start to discuss tomorrow’s events, which inevitably brings out iwaizumi’s concern for his players.

“they seem off,” he’s playing around with the food as he stares at the players sitting in the table in front of yours, “i don’t know if i should talk to them or let them be.”

he’s clearly concerned for them, you can see it in his eyes—the doubt, wondering if he has been doing a good job with the team.

“iwaizumi-san, i-i… perhaps i could aid them this time?”

his head snaps in your direction, a mix of surprise and worry taking over his face, “no way, that’d be too much for you.”

oikawa’s eyebrows scrunch up as he observes you two but says nothing, choosing to listen attentively at you trying to convince iwaizumi while the latter sighs and reminds you that it’s not just the jackals this time.

it takes a while for iwaizumi to accept your offer, pondering the pros and cons, but he ends up accepting it; for everyone’s sakes.

“i’m lost.”

oikawa’s words make your insides flare-up, looking down at your hands in order to avoid looking at him, his curious eyes switching between his best friend and you.

iwaizumi ignores him, standing up from his seat and walking to the table in front of you with you and oikawa watching closely. the team turns to look at him, waiting for him to speak since it’s obvious it has to be something important by the severe look on his face.

“seeing as some of you are clearly out of it, our assistant here has very kindly volunteered to help you guys for tonight.”

a few heads immediately perk up, looking at you with bright eyes once you answer their silent question with a smile.

“please, be good to her. i’ll be there supervising anyways, so don’t think of trying anything funny.”

“oikawa-san! you’re coming with us, right?” hinata looks expectantly at said male, excitement clear in the redhead’s eyes, “she’s the best!”

both iwaizumi and you freeze on the spot, gauging oikawa’s reaction who only looks more confused.

“you’re welcome to join us, if you so desire,” it’s you who’s offering it this time, surprising iwaizumi and earning a worried glance from him.

oikawa can’t deny he’s dying to know what everyone’s so excited about, and after thinking about it for a few more seconds, he has made up his mind.

“shall we go, then?”

—

“alright, ground rules.”

just a handful of the team sits in the room, the ones who know what’s happening waiting eagerly for the green light while the rest wonders what the fuss is about. as much as you want to help them all, it’d be impossible; which is why iwaizumi picked the ones he thought needed the morale boost the most.

with a nod in your direction, he lets you know you’re free to speak.

“the jackals already know this,” you say and atsumu snickers from his seat, winking at you as hinata and bokuto nod excitedly, “but i’m not too strict about the entire thing.”

you can feel the pairs of curious eyes burning holes in you—trying to decipher what’s going on. so, after taking a deep breath and getting an awkward, encouraging smile from iwaizumi, you start voicing out the rules.

“please, be patient. there are so many of you and only one of me. i promise you’ll get your turn,” you give atsumu a pointed look, and this time it's sakusa who snorts while the blond setter rolls his eyes, “which brings me to the next rule, no seconds.”

a hand raises in the air, making you advert your attention to its owner. 

“i still don’t get what’s happening,” suna’s eyes narrow down at you, noticing the embarrassment and hesitation in your posture.          

“don’t worry, suna. we’ll show ya.”

“shut it, miya.”

clearing up your throat, you smile coyly at the middle blocker, “it’ll make sense once i finish explaining, suna-san.”

he shrugs but stays quiet. taking into account the jackals’ reactions plus the cryptic rules, an idea has already formed in his mind. but it couldn’t be that. right?

“uh, again, only one round. all entrances are fine,” you pause, going through the rules in your head to see if there’s anything you might be forgetting, “oh! and you’ll be paired up in teams of three to make things faster.”

“one more thing,” iwaizumi speaks up, this time looking at you instead of the awaiting men, “don’t forget to let us know how you’re doing.”

two loud claps break the tense atmosphere, “well, we should get started then,” atsumu raises from his spot and walks towards you. his hands cradle your face between them and lift it so you can face him properly, “what do ya say, princess?”

his lips land on yours before you can reply to him, a small squeal getting stuck in your throat when his hands travel down your body until he’s squeezing your ass.

you’re too caught up in the kiss to notice the new presence looming behind you.

“i’ll take your pussy before anyone can taint it with their dick.”

sakusa’s words make you shudder. you break apart from atsumu’s mouth to turn around and face him, his dark eyes alluring and drawing you towards him.

“oi, newbie,” atsumu calls out to suna who scoffs in return, “c’mere and join us.”

meanwhile, sakusa guides you to the bed, making you sit on his lap as you wait for the other two to show up. once they do, atsumu immediately settles behind you while suna stands awkwardly at the foot of the bed. it’s hard for you to read his expression since you’re not too familiar with him, so you offer him a reassuring smile and pat the spot next to you. 

the rest of the team watches from their seats as the four of you get started. 

suna lifts your chin, his eyes staring down at you before leaning down and kissing the corner of your mouth. he trails down your neck until he reaches your chest, sucking on the skin gently before running his tongue over the delicate area. in the meantime, atsumu unbuttons your blouse, taking it off and playing with your breasts while sakusa busies himself with taking your pants off.

“i get the hype, now,” suna whispers in your ear, blowing air on it and then biting down on your earlobe, making the hairs of your body rise.

his lips capture yours in a slow kiss —savoring your taste— and one of his hands goes to the back of your neck to keep you in place. his teeth play with your bottom lip, biting it softly and pulling away, his hooded eyes calculating your reaction.

“don’t get too excited, suna,” atsumu says from his spot behind you, pinching your nipples between his fingers and prompting a whine to escape your lips, “you’ll only get her mouth.”

“mhm, is that so?” suna’s question is directed towards you rather than atsumu, tilting your chin up and smirking at the dazed look in your eyes, “can’t wait to see that pretty mouth bulging with my cock, then.”

his lewd words earn a few coughs and clearing throats from the rest, which he chooses to ignore when your hand cups his growing bulge.

“enough you two, let the poor woman have a bit of pleasure too,” sakusa’s dark eyes look at you questioningly, silently asking if you’re ready to continue.

in return, you cup his face with your free hand and kiss his cheek—knowing he wouldn’t appreciate a kiss on the mouth when you just finished making out with another man.

they finish getting you out of your clothes until your bare cunt is hovering over sakusa’s lap. he’s quick to undress and ease his cock into you, suna and atsumu observing as they get rid of their clothes as well.

“fuck,” sakusa groans in your ear, the position allowing you to hide your face in his neck and wrap your arms around his shoulders, “always so tight.”

“scoot over, i need to prep her ass.”

suna snorts at atsumu’s words, pumping his cock twice before kneeling on the mattress—right next to you. he pats your cheek with the swollen head, looking down at you with a faint smirk.

“open up.”

your eyes immediately focus on his length, your mouth watering at the sight. you open your mouth and stick your tongue out, looking up at him and observing as he rests the tip on your tongue. 

“looking so pretty with a cock in your mouth,” he slowly slides in, guiding your head down until half of him is inside, “so warm.” 

a cold liquid dribbles on your backside, making you flinch forward and causing suna’s cock to slide in even more.

“relax, baby. it’s just me,” atsumu rubs the liquid on your asshole, playing with it with his finger before finally sliding it in.

your muscles contract involuntarily, making sakusa groan as he keeps still inside your pussy, waiting for you to grow used to the multiple things going on around you.

“hurry up before i start fucking her.”

a second finger slides in and you moan around suna’s cock, spit running at the corners of your mouth which reminds you to swallow. you hollow your cheeks and retract your mouth until only the tip remains inside, running your tongue over the slit and making the middle blocker shudder.

“someone’s hungry,” he muses.

you hum around him, bobbing your head back and forth and pumping the rest of his length with one hand.

“i’m gonna try get in now, okay?” atsumu taps your ass with his cock, lining it up with your asshole and thrusting in. he watches as the head of his cock finally slips in, groaning when the familiar tightness engulfs him, “that’s it, baby. doin’ so good for me.”

you have to remove your mouth from suna’s cock to avoid biting down on him, the stretch slightly more painful than pleasurable which eventually leads to you tensing up even more. 

“you gotta relax,” atsumu says under his breath, strained by the way you feel around his dick.

it takes you around a minute to calm down, taking deep breaths until you feel yourself loosen up and, with one last push, he’s finally inside.

“omi?” you say against his neck, “could you move a bit, please?”

said man grunts as he starts to move his hips, your slick helping his cock glide in, “color.”

it takes you a few seconds to understand what he meant.

“oh! uhh, green.”

atsumu’s thrusts are slow —testing the waters— since the last thing he wants is to get yelled at for being too rough, too soon. but you’re growing impatient, moving your hips backwards and trying to get more of him inside of you.

“m-more, ‘tsumu. i can take it,” you say and he immediately complies, his muscular thighs now slapping against your ass.

suna remains kneeling next to you, cock in his hand as he waits for you to bring your attention back to him. but he doesn’t have to wait too long, your hand wrapping around his cock and guiding it back into your mouth once you’ve set a steady pace with the other two men.

“thought you had forgotten about me.”

he pushes your hair out of your face, watching your lips wrap around his girth. it’s taking all of his willpower to not hold your head and fuck your face until you’re gagging around him, afraid it might be a big ‘no’ from you. and since it’s the first time he’s getting to experience this, he decides to take whatever’s given to him.

“you’re so wet,” sakusa points out as he looks down at where you two are connected, observing his cock slide in and out of your cunt, covered with your slick.

“‘course she is, she’s being stuffed by three cocks.”

“feels good…” your manage to say after releasing suna with a pop, pumping his shaft with your hand, “a-am i making you feel better?”

a hand lands on your ass, causing you to yelp and tighten your hold on suna’s cock. 

“what do ya think, hm? we’re getting our dicks wet in none other but our slutty little assistant's holes,” atsumu plays with your ass, squeezing it and humming when the imprint of his hands appears on the soft flesh.

“mhm, quite the slut you are,” sakusa whispers in your ear, kissing your neck afterwards, “as long as i get to make a mess out of that cunt of yours before anyone else, i will always enjoy these little sessions of ours.”

your eyes land on suna, waiting for him to say his thoughts on the matter.

his gaze drops to your hand, covered in his pre-cum and your spit which sends a jolt to his cock, making it throb in your hand.

“can’t say i hate it.”

you smile at his words, recognizing the challenge hidden behind them. your mouth wraps around the flushed tip, eyes closing when both sakusa and atsumu thrust up into your holes at the same time. you try to keep your hand steady as you suck suna off, but the lewd grunts and moans coming from them, plus their cocks filling you so nicely make your rhythm falter every once in a while.

a hand starts toying with your clit, causing you to moan around suna’s cock. the vibrations make him shudder, scowling at himself when he realizes his orgasm is approaching faster than he expected.

“fuck, fuck– princess? do you mind if i cum inside?” atsumu grunts.

your muscles clench at the thought of being filled with his cum, imagining the thick liquid oozing out of your sensitive holes only to stuff it back in with your fingers.

“y-yes, ‘tsumu. cum inside me,” you pant as your hands squeeze suna’s cock, pumping it faster as you notice his hips jerking towards you. you turn your face to look at sakusa, who has his eyebrows drawn upwards and his mouth open slightly as he too feels overwhelmed by the pleasure, “omi, you can cum inside as well.”

and he doesn’t need to be told twice, his large hands holding you by your hips so he can thrust his cock into your drenched cunt faster.

moans and squelching noises echo around the room. atsumu picks up his pace as he feels his orgasm approaching, his deep grunts fanning over your neck and taking over your hearing. the drag of sakusa’s pubic bone against your clit has you cumming shortly after. your head rolls forward as both men keep thrusting in and out of you, only stopping once their cum fill your clenching holes.

“shit– look at me,” suna orders you, and you barely have time to process what’s happening.

his cum lands on your face, his hand helping you pump his throbbing cock as the ropes of cum cover your skin. he exhales heavily once he’s done, brushing the flushed head of his cock over your swollen lips, and smearing the white liquid around them.

it’s silent for a few seconds, save for the heavy breathing and pants coming from your mouths.

“holy shit,” oikawa’s voice breaks the silence. his cock strains almost painfully against his pants at the sight of what awaits him.

“yeah, holy shit,” atsumu laughs off, brushing his hair out of his face with one hand as he massages the flesh of your ass with the other, “ya never disappoint, princess.”

with a grunt, the blond setter removes his softening cock from you, his honey eyes —plus a few curious ones— observing the way his cum dribbles out from your stretched hole. the same thing happens with sakusa, who lifts your hips off of him, his cock falling on his stomach and the mix of your slick and his cum dripping down on his length.

atsumu’s fingers immediately go to your cunt, pumping the juices back into you, “god, you love this. don’t you, baby?”

all you can do is whine, your hands clenching the sheets until he removes his fingers from your sensitive pussy, and stuffs them inside your mouth. 

“we all get a turn?” kageyama whispers not so discreetly to hinata, who only nods eagerly in return.

you lick atsumu’s fingers clean which earns you a radiant smile from him.

“here.”

suna has his arm outstretched, handing you a tissue so you can clean your face.

“thank you,” you take it from his hands as you climb off of sakusa’s lap.

you’re cleaning the residues of cum on your face when a hand falls on top of your head. 

“drink some water before you start the next round,” sakusa’s dark eyes suddenly seem warmer and kinder to you, patting your head before disappearing into the bathroom.

after tossing the used tissue away, you turn to iwaizumi and give him a firm nod.

“who’s next?”

your dazzling smile has the rest of the men in awe, silently praying it’s them who get to feel your body with their hands next.

“bokuto,” the wing spiker’s immediately perks up at the sound of his name, “you, kageyama, and hakuba are next.”

the three men raise from their seats and make their way towards the bed—towards you.

“hey, bo,” you offer a loving smile to him, “you ready?”

his strong arms wrap around you, kissing your cheek loudly and making you giggle, “it feels as if i’ve been waiting forever. of course, i’m ready!”

meanwhile, kageyama and gao stand at the foot of the bed, waiting for any instructions or a signal from you that could tell them when to start. luckily, you’re quick to notice their hesitation.

”is there a particular place where you want to be?” you ask them, looking specifically at kageyama and gao, since you want to make sure they feel included.

“dibs on your mouth!”

you blush at bokuto’s enthusiasm but accept his request, stroking his cheek as you wait for the other two to answer.  

“i’ll take whatever,” kageyama says and scratches the back of his neck.

“me too,” gao smiles and takes a few steps towards you, making bokuto move away from you. his large hand tucks one piece of your hair away, his eyes staring at yours before dropping to your lips, “although, i think i’d like it better if i had your pussy gripping my cock. wouldn’t you like that?”

he presses his front against yours, his erection poking at your belly which earns a small gasp from you. you have to stop yourself from taking a look at the tent in his sweatpants, trying to figure out how much of him there is hidden inside the fabric.

“o-okay.”

the middle blocker smiles at you before diving down to your lips. his hands grab your waist, lifting you up from the ground and making you wrap your legs around his torso. he gently places you down on the bed and kisses his way down your neck until his mouth is right above your erect nipple.

“hey! i want to kiss her too,” bokuto complains, “you can’t hog her like that.”

“s’okay bo, come here.”

he doesn’t have to be told twice, immediately climbing onto the bed and leaning down to kiss your lips.

you grab the back of his head and run your fingers through his soft hair, pulling on it gently which causes a groan to rumble in his chest.

a pair of hands slide over your legs, pushing them apart until your bare cunt is spread wide open for everyone to see.

“you’re dripping, babe,” gao murmurs over your nipple, giving it a light tug before flicking his tongue over it, “do you want my cock that badly?”

you can only moan and nod, your lips still busy with bokuto’s.

but there’s someone who still has yet to join you.

“tobio-chan, if you’re not going to do anything then let me take your place instead.”

oikawa’s words snap you out of your daze. you pat bokuto’s cheek signaling him to let go of you, and the same thing happens with gao as you try to sit up. your eyes fall on kageyama who stands at the same spot with a conflicted look and an obvious erection in his pants. 

“hey,” you crawl your way towards him and sit on your knees, “are you uncomfortable?”

his mouth opens but nothing comes out of it. he can feel the weight of everyone’s stare on him, making him look away from you. 

a few seconds pass and there’s still no answer.

“you don’t have to do this, you know?” you say in a small tone, slightly confused as to why he’s rejecting you, “i just thought… i could help you relax.”

he nods, still avoiding your gaze.

you take a look at iwaizumi –who looks as equally as puzzled as you– before looking back at the setter.

“do you want to leave?”

at this, his head finally snaps towards you, “no, i-” he pauses. his eyes are immediately drawn to your mouth, making him involuntarily wet his lips, “i want to stay.”

relief washes over you, a timid smile spreading on your lips which is quickly mirrored by him. you take his hand in yours and guide him to the other side of the bed, urging him to join the rest of you. there’s a hunger in his eyes that has your pussy dripping with your slick, a sigh leaving your lips when your back hits the pillows as you watch him take gao’s previous spot.

“kiss me, tobio.”

and he does. it starts slow, hesitant, but it soon turns desperate. his tongue strokes yours before sucking on it, spit coating your lips thanks to the messiness of the kiss. the strain of his cock inside his pants becomes too uncomfortable to his liking, causing him to start humping against you, trying to relieve himself.

noticing his predicament, you move your hand between your bodies and palm his hard-on. he groans against your lips, his hips jerking forward seeking more of your touch.

in the meantime, both bokuto and gao pump their cocks with their hands, having taken their clothes off while you talked to kageyama.

gao squeezes the head of his cock between his hands, pre-cum oozing from the slit as he imagines the way your cunt is going to grip him, “babe, you’re making us suffer.”

“get in line!”

“atsumu, shut the fuck up.”

“baby?” bokuto asks from where he stands, his own cock stiff and ready to be inside your mouth, “we don’t mean to be pushy, but do you think you could get to us soon?”

“bokuto-san, you’re going to break a rule!” hinata says, clearly concerned for his teammate, “be patient, remember?”

the rest of the team laughs and you can’t help but join them.

at this, bokuto pouts playfully at you, “you’re just teasing me, baby.”

“then come here,” you gasp when kageyama’s mouth sucks at the base of your neck, “y-you wanted my mouth, right?”

bokuto kneels next to your face, patting the leaking tip on your lips.

“i’m going to fuck that pretty mouth of yours and you’re going to take it like a good girl,” he says, his tone leaving no room for questions, “open.”

you comply immediately, lolling out your tongue and waiting for him to rest his heavy cock on top of it. 

the lewd sight in front of him makes bokuto shudder. his hands grasp your head, pushing you down his length until he feels your throat constricting around him.

“fuck– baby,” he grunts and gives a shallow thrust, “i know you can do better than that.”     

you try to relax your jaw so you can fit more of him inside of your mouth. but as you are about to graze your nose against his pubic bone, a finger runs between your folds causing you to flinch.

“i’m still here.”

gao’s tone sounds stern, even if a playful smile tugs his lips upwards, you can see the seriousness swirling in his eyes.

kageyama sighs and leaves your side, stepping away momentarily to take his pants off. 

the middle blocker takes it as his chance to settle between your legs as bokuto keeps your mouth busy.

“you’re drenched, sweetheart,” he muses, running his digits over your slit, “don’t worry, i’ll fill this pussy with my cock so well that you’ll be cumming in no time.”

your eyes travel to his shaft, watching as he pumps it twice before running it between your folds. your brows furrow when you notice how heavy it feels, making you wonder if it will fit in.

he lines himself up with your hole, pushing the head inside which is enough to have you whining around bokuto’s cock.

“you look so sexy,” bokuto groans, pushing your head away from him and watching your spit run down your mouth. he looks at kageyama who stands awkwardly with his cock in hand, “i guess we’re sharing her mouth.”

the setter’s eyes widen slightly before nodding, mimicking bokuto’s position and nudging his cock on your lips, “suck.”

your breath hitches at his order, caught off guard by his demanding tone. you grab his cock from the base and guide it into your mouth, pumping bokuto’s length with your other hand. you hum around kageyama, running your tongue over the head of his cock before hollowing your cheeks and sucking harshly on it. 

but your attention on them doesn’t last too long, the sudden feel of your pussy getting split open by gao’s cock taking it away.

“so tight,” he grunts, one of his hands running over the skin of your inner thigh until he reaches your soaking cunt. he pulls your folds apart, watching you struggle to take his cock inside you—no matter how wet you are, “i bet those jackals haven’t been fucking you like you deserve.”

“oi!” “not true!”

you free your mouth from kageyama and use both hands to pump his and bokuto’s cock, “s-so big, ugh-”

gao pushes more of him in, half of his cock already inserted in you. but he’s just so thick, so big, that you can’t help but clamp down your walls around him. his thumb starts rubbing circles on your clit, trying to relax your walls, as his other hand settles on your abdomen.

“you’re going to be so full of my cock that you’ll be able to see it,” he gives a gentle pat to your belly, “right here.”

your grip on the other two men tightens as gao finally bottoms out, a whine breaking through your lips at the stretch.

“if only you could see yourself,” his thrusts are lazy, mesmerized by the way your belly bulges when he pushes his cock inside you, “so fucking sexy with my fat cock inside your cunt.”

your lips wrap around the tip of bokuto’s cock once more, closing your eyes as pleasure clouds your head. he thrusts in, hitting the back of your throat and making you gag.

“good girl,” bokuto exhales, “taking my cock so well.”

you quicken the pace of your other hand, looking at kageyama as you obscenely suck bokuto.

the setter’s eyes refuse to leave yours, “who would’ve thought our assistant could be so naughty.”

“as if you’re complaining,” gao says, lifting your leg over his shoulder. the new angle allowing him to press his hips closer to yours.

“i never said i was.”

bokuto curses under his breath when you start sucking his balls, pumping the rest of his length with your hand and squeezing the head of kageyama’s cock with the other.

“you’re going to make me cum,” bokuto groans.

giggling, you lick your way up and run your tongue over the slit, “cum in my mouth.”

the sound of collective groans echoes in the room, a fair amount of players finding your words arousing.

“what a slut, let’s see if you keep talking when you’re covered in our cum.”

gao’s threat goes straight to your pussy, making you cream around his girth. the pace of his thumb on your clit quickens once he notices your walls spasming around him.

“ngh, fuck!” you’re breathing heavily by now, barely managing to keep the pace of your hands consistent, “i-i’m gonna… i’m gonna cum.”

“let go, baby.”

one of gao’s hands travels up your body until he’s pinching your nipple between his fingers.

“shit, shit, shit,” you’re thrashing underneath him, your cunt fluttering around his cock thanks to your orgasm.

kageyama’s way too focused on the way your face contorts in pleasure to notice how his hips have started to jerk faster. that is until the familiar coil suddenly snaps and his cum lands on your chin and part of your chest. 

“h-how did you get even tighter- hah!”

warm spurts of cum fill your cunt, the sense of fullness intensifying as gao frees his load inside of you.

“i’m cumming, baby. fuck, fuck–” bokuto chants your name as he too reaches his orgasm, quickly shoving his cock into your mouth and releasing his thick cum inside of it.   

you make sure to keep sucking him, milking his cock dry. once you remove your mouth from him, you bring his and kageyama’s cock closer to your face and pucker your lips, letting the mix of cum and spit fall on their cocks before giving a few kitten licks to the flushed heads.

gao starts to remove his cock from your insides, cursing at the state of your pussy once he’s finally out.

“holy fuck, she’s tightening around nothing.”

you let out a low moan when his fingers spread your lower lips, “t-too sensitive.���

“i think that’s enough,” iwaizumi intervenes, pushing him away, “color?”

“yellow,” but you continue as soon as you see his face become stern, “relax, i just need to calm down a bit.”

kageyama offers you a towel before awkwardly thanking you for your help. and after receiving a kiss on the forehead from bokuto, the three of them leave to go clean themselves.

“iwa-chan, why don’t you give her a massage?”

you let your body fall on the mattress, extending your arms above your head and moaning at the stretch.

“mm, that’d be nice.”

iwaizumi rolls his eyes playfully when he sees you pouting at him, “get on your stomach, i’ll be right back.”

in the meantime, oikawa and hinata take the spots next to you, eager to finally have their turn with you.

“you’re so pretty,” oikawa runs his hands over the skin of your shoulders, “those idiots are lucky to have you.”

your eyes start closing up, focusing on the feel of his fingers on your skin and making goosebumps appear all over your body.

“shoyo, we should help her relax too. don’t you think?”

you catch the suggestive tone in his voice, but his touch feels so good that you choose to ignore it.

both men start caressing your body, hinata’s hands paying special attention to your shoulders while oikawa pets your hair, murmuring sweet nothings. 

“you ready?” iwaizumi pops back into the room, a bottle of oil and a clean towel in his hands.

“mhm.”

the towel rests on your ass, iwaizumi’s warm hands spreading the oil on your back and rubbing at the sore muscles.

“does that feel good, princess?” oikawa asks when he hears you sigh. you are about to reply when iwaizumi hits a sore spot, a groan slipping past your lips and making the setter chuckle, “can you tell me your color now?”

“green.”

oikawa looks at iwaizumi and both men seem to communicate through their eyes, the latter smirking before going back to work.

at first, you don’t pay too much attention to his movements, choosing to focus on the pleasure. but then you notice how his hands seem to ghost lower and lower until he’s kneading your ass, the towel long forgotten.

before you can comment on it, he moves them to your thighs, massaging the soft flesh. it all goes back to normal –or so you think– until his hands reach higher and his digits start grazing your slit.

“hajime…”

“shh,” oikawa coos in your ear, pushing your hair out of your face and kissing your temple, “let him take care of you.”

iwaizumi inserts one finger inside your pussy, curling it until he’s teasing the spongy walls.

whines escape your mouth, your hands gripping the bedsheets which are quickly replaced by hinata’s hands.

“so cute.”

another finger slips in and makes you open your eyes, looking at oikawa helplessly, “o-oikawa-san-”

“tooru,” he interrupts you.

“tooru,” you try his name and he hums, letting you know he’s listening, “could you… uh, k-kiss me?”

“of course, princess.”

he leans down to capture your lips, swallowing your moans when iwaizumi curls both fingers and massages your spot. 

you open your legs, allowing iwaizumi to finger you better as you rut your hips on the mattress, rubbing your clit against the fabric of the sheets and chasing after your orgasm.

“iwa– faster, please.”

he complies immediately, causing wetness to gush out of your cunt and making the distinctive squelching sounds fill the room.

“i’m gonna– ah! i’m c-cumming!” 

“cum for me,” he encourages you, and that’s all you need.

you gush around his fingers, your slick coating them as you squirm under the gaze of the three men.

hinata tugs at your hand, pulling you underneath him and kissing you sloppily. you gasp on his mouth, caught off guard by the sudden movement but quickly melting into the kiss.

he blushes once he pulls away, “s-sorry, couldn’t help myself.”

“it’s okay, shoyo,” you breathe out, caressing his cheek, “want me to help you?”

he beams at your offer, nodding eagerly as he watches you climb on top of him. you straddle his hips and run your cunt over his cock, shivering when his length grazes your clit.

“do you want me to ride you?” you whisper, playing with his hair. 

“wait- i think i have a better idea.”

hinata lifts you from his lap and moves until he’s sitting on the edge of the mattress. he pushes your hips with his hands, turning you around so you’re facing away from him. 

“you can sit on my lap now.”

your ass rests right on top of his cock, but he hooks his arms on your knees, spreading you open, as he lets himself fall back on the mattress.

“what are you–”

“oikawa-san, doesn’t this remind you of something?”

said man laughs, “how could i forget? we had quite some fun back in brazil, huh?”

you’re visibly confused, looking at oikawa with furrowed brows, “what do you want to do?”

“say, princess,” his tone suddenly sounds too sweet for your liking, “have you ever had two cocks in one hole?”

your eyes widen, looking back and forth between oikawa and iwaizumi—who has ridden himself of his clothes and sits next to you, his thick cock in his hand.

“i’ll take that as a no.”

“can we do that?” hinata asks from behind you, his breath fanning on your ear, “we’ll be gentle.”

“there’s literally another free hole for you to use!” someone yells, clearly annoyed they didn’t get the chance to do it.

oikawa clicks his tongue, “where’s the fun in that?”

after taking a minute to think it through, you agree to their offer, “okay… uh- iwa?” you turn to look at him, “what about you?”

seeing as there’s no room for him to take your ass, his eyes land on your mouth. and with two taps of his finger on your cheek, he lets you know his decision.

“think you can suck me off?”

they’re all given the green light when you answer his question. hinata raises you from his lap, aligning his cock with your entrance before letting your weight fall on top of it. you groan at the familiar thickness stretching you nicely, missing the flash of hunger in the setter’s eyes.  

“my turn.”

oikawa presses the tip on your entrance, pushing forward and making room for his own cock.

the burn of having two cocks in one hole is new to you, but it’s surprisingly more pleasurable than you thought it’d be. you lift your eyes to look at oikawa, his gaze already locked on you, and you feel your pussy cream around their cocks at the lust in his eyes.

“enjoying yourself, princess?”

you moan when he bottoms out, watching the muscles of his abdomen contract and feeling his cock pulsing inside of you.

the thrill of being stretched by two cocks, at the same time, has your head spinning; your thoughts becoming lewd as you picture both men cumming inside you and globs of cum dripping from your abused hole.

“oikawa-san, did you feel that?” hinata asks. half-amused, half excited, “she’s squeezing us so well.”

“naughty, princess,” the setter grunts, “don’t forget about iwa-chan.”

you turn your head to face him, catching the irritated look he sends oikawa before looking down at you.

iwaizumi’s eyes immediately soften, but a smirk slowly tugs at the corners of his lips, “you seem busy.”

“there’s always room for japan’s national team athletic trainer.”

he can’t help but laugh, shaking his head at the silly title. he raises from his seat and settles himself above you, his cock hovering on your face and making your mouth water.

“whenever you’re ready.”

you don’t need to be told twice. grasping his thick cock with your hand, you lean forward and flick your tongue on the head, looking at him through your lashes with faux innocence.

“start moving,” iwaizumi hisses, the words directed at the other two men, “seems like she needs a little reminder of who’s in charge right now.”

oikawa and hinata look at each other with smirks on their lips. as hinata said earlier, they’ve been in this position before, so there’s no need for words between them since they both know what’s coming next.

hinata moves his head slightly to the side, allowing you to rest your head on his shoulder and, at the same time, granting him the view of your cunt being filled with their cocks.

“look at her, oikawa-san” his eyes are locked on your pussy, captivated by the way you suck them in, “she looks so pretty with two cocks splitting her open.”

hinata’s lewd words prompt you to involuntarily moan, the vibrations landing on iwaizumi’s cock.  

“hmm, you like it when you’re reduced to nothing but a slut. don’t you?”

you blink up at iwaizumi as you keep bobbing your head up and down his shaft, opting to hum to let him know you’re not ignoring him.

but his words catch someone else’s attention.

“is that true?” oikawa asks, amusement clear in his voice, “you like being reminded you’re a whore? how much of a greedy slut you are by fucking an entire volleyball team?”

you’re speechless, his words –matched with his and hinata’s harsh thrusts– causing your eyes to roll to the back of your head.

“answer me.”

oikawa’s hand wraps around your throat, barely applying any pleasure but it’s enough to send your mind into a frenzy.

after releasing iwaizumi’s cock from your mouth, you take a second to swallow down your spit before answering him.

“y-yes, tooru. i like being treated like a slut.”

his eyes sparkle with mischief, pleased by your words.

“good, because that’s how you’re going to be treated from now on.”

a hand travels to your throbbing clit, rubbing circles on the sensitive nub.

“s-shoyo!”

“shh, it’ll make you feel good.”

something wet slaps against your cheek, “don’t get distracted.”

you nod and go back to sucking iwaizumi off, moaning every time hinata or oikawa hit a spot inside your cunt. you dare take a look at where your body connects with both men, and you catch yourself becoming entranced by the way their cocks slide in and out of your pussy so easily.

you are familiar with hinata’s cock, but it’s nice to see the contrast between the two of them. while hinata’s length is thick and veiny, oikawa’s leans towards the slimmer side—but still with a considerable length. either way, both men manage to hit those sweet spots inside you and make you see stars. 

“shit– princess,” oikawa falters a bit when he feels your walls fluttering around him.

“we can cum inside you, right?” hinata asks, sensing his orgasm approaching. after all, he had been waiting for his turn for around an hour.

you pull away from iwaizumi, a string of spit connecting your lips with his cock and causing it to twitch at the sight.

“you can cum wherever you want.”

“oh? the team’s cocksleeve,” oikawa adds, “i see.”

iwaizumi chuckles, combing your hair out of your face and pushing his cock back into the warmth of your mouth, “you like that nickname, sweetheart?”

with his length still in your mouth, you manage to hum in affirmation.

hinata’s pace on your clit quickens as his hips jerk faster, your cunt squeezing their cocks even more in return, “i’m cumming, ah– i-i’m gonna cum!”

he manages to say before you feel him twitch inside you, pumping his cum into your walls. the fullness plus his rapid movements on your clit cause the familiar warmth to take over your body. but it’s your fourth orgasm of the night, and before you can warn anyone, liquid spurts out of your cunt.

you squirm on top of hinata, gushing around his and oikawa’s cock while your mouth remains occupied with iwaizumi’s.

“holy shit.”

both oikawa and iwaizumi cum at the sight of you squirting before them, observing the wetness soaking oikawa’s abdomen and running all the way down onto the bedsheets. they groan as they feel their load releasing into you, oikawa filling your tender cunt while iwaizumi fills your mouth.

you try to swallow a bit of iwaizumi’s cum but it’s useless. your chest heaves in exhaustion, your eyes closing involuntarily as you’re being hit with wave after wave of fatigue.

“hey,” oikawa winces when he removes his cock from you. he shoots a worried glance at iwaizumi before he’s leaning forward so he can take a closer look at you, “princess? how are you feeling?”

iwaizumi nudges hinata with his knee, wordlessly telling him to let go of you.

the following moments become a foggy mess, your mind barely registering the pair of arms wrapping around you and carrying you somewhere else.

all you can feel is tiredness, and the dampness between your thighs, before you finally pass out.

—

consciousness slowly makes its way to you, replacing the sleepiness and making you aware of your surroundings as a familiar soreness sits heavy on your body.

in an instant, flashbacks from the previous night run through your mind.

you grip the duvet and push it away from you, only to notice the set of clothes you’re wearing: an oversized hoodie and a pair of sweatpants that clearly don’t belong to you. but you don’t have time to dwell on it, the sound of your ringtone blasting all over the room and making you scramble around the bed so you can answer the call.

but it’s of no use when it goes to voicemail—you were a bit too late.

when you manage to find your phone, you tap on the screen to see whose call you just missed.

‘hajime’

your fingertips hover on the contact name, debating between returning the call or wait for him to call you again. but a few notifications pop up at the top of the screen signaling you have three text messages from him.

hey, i guess you’re still asleep. don’t freak out when you wake up, you deserve the rest so it’s okay if you stay in bed. i left your breakfast on the nightstand and you can always call me if you need anything else.

and i thought you’d like to see this.

there’s a link attached at the end of the message.

you click on it and wait for the page to load, tapping your nails on the back of your phone anxiously. a headline in big bold letters takes over the screen and you have to stop yourself from squealing.

‘japan men’s volleyball team makes it past the first round.’

you start scrolling down the article, reading how spectacular the match was and how the entire team seemed to be in their best shape. you feel your face heat up when you read the argentinian team won their match too, with multiple comments praising oikawa’s performance.

with a smile on your lips, you go back to your messages to type a quick reply to iwaizumi. only to notice you have one more text from him.

it’s our turn to take care of you.

[saitolover]

✨ cat plays … hatoful boyfriend! ✨

okay so i went and followed my random urge to play hatoful boyfriend just bc i wanted to.. so here i am writing down my thoughts on it all bc it’s a bit late & i doubt i’ll be able to finish it after finding out how long the bbl route takes 🫢

anyways yes! i binged played for at least 4 and a half hours now and finished everyone’s route & all, am currently in the bbl route and finished the 4th class - after finding out there were 8 classes total (thanks google) i decided to sleep lmao. so onto my short thoughts on each route ig (pls bear in mind that ive been playing the game for hours straight & have been binge-speed reading it like crazy)

📌 kawara ryouta

the very first route i did (followed a guide & pretty much did them numerically). we love this “childhood” friend who also was rlly sweet lmao, getting the ending where he talked abt his mom was actually very sad :,( lowkey funny how mc and him casually talk abt dating as human/bird but also sad bc ryouta was worried about being the one who died first and leaving her alone oml. overall a sweet bird (but now im sus of him in bbl route)

📌 sakuya le bel shirogane

so he was the normal “noble” and “high and mighty, i am too high class for you all” type of BIRD lmao, but it was refreshing to see him turn out to want to seek out his own future in music after his family/father rejected him from originally doing it all. also got lowkey mad at this route bc i had to do both the normal and true endings to continue on to get the bbl route lmao

📌 fujishiro nageki

first route where i got genuinely shocked about learning that nageki was actually a ghost like ??? hello ??? it all made sense too & now it’s great to hear how he’s becoming a main part of the plot in bbl route especially with him actually dying from a fire in the basement of an old hall instead of his original story like??? either i was reading too fast or there’s something else that nageki is forgetting… 🤨 ALSO he literally never got to tell mc the secret at the end of his route. WHAT IS THE SECRET (shaking him)

📌 sakazaki yuuya

originally thought his route would branch off sakuya’s or smth but it never did. also a route that began to get kinda weird and i was like. okay we got the dove and hawk party… getting closer to the true plot here hm. anyways i became very invested in yuuya’s investigations and whenever he would try to see what shuu was up to. especially the way they were literally after him multiple times throughout the plot - with they being the hawk party??? damn okay i cannot remember well anymore but i do remember he had to hide from spies and stuff 💀 oml i cant believe they tried to just kill/shoot him multiple times like… anyways. lots of interesting stuff going on in this bird’s route and a lot of the times im like. :0 just shocked.

📌 okosan

now we get on to a more silly route (unless being a great pudding god / being ??? will become a big plot twist or something in bbl route). still remember smashing the beans on the ground with san. idk what else to say about this route except that it was a more lighthearted break after what happened in yuuya’s route lmao

📌 nanaki kazuaki

idk why but i expected kazuaki to be more involved with what was going on with the dove & hawk parties, especially with the cryptic things he’s being saying to shuu throughout his route like??? don’t tell me the love one you lost is involved with what’s going on with the school rn or with the two parties or with the humans…. anyways. pretty chill route save for the fact that shuu locks mc into a storage room 💀 can’t remember much else though

📌 iwamine shuu

woooow. wow wow wow. did not expect a route to go like that. and have an ending like that. lowkey got scared when all the choices were “yes” when shuu asked if mc loved him. also cant believe mc just got murdered like that after shuu casually admitted to killing a bunch of students/birds. also let’s not forget the fact that he sent mc yuuya cooked up so she could eat him i… there is So Much to unpack from this route and honestly am still in shock/disbelief over everything that happened in it bc like… what???? in the world.

📌 higure anghel

no cap i was INSANELY confused for like 90% of this route and honestly it was the funniest and dumbest route that ive played so far 😭 why did that all happen. why does anghel speak like that. love that he’s apparently a filipino bird #pinoypride. but pls the way there was even the boss fight at the end. ICANT this route was perfect

📌 koshiba azami

we love the girlboss… birdboss? of these couple of endings. dunno what else to say except azami is an icon for this entire game and yes i make the rules here

📌 bbl route

okay. there is a lot to unpack and a lot of thoughts and some prediction i have to make about this route so far. once i finish writing everything i remember/want to note, ill probably move to update this post after i complete each following class. okay let’s get started

first off. i was so scared when i found out that mc died ,,, bc the story was being pretty normal and all save for the occasional text boxes between some days. also bc im playing at like 2 in the morning and it’s pitch black around me & dead silent. anyways.

it was nice to see the story in ryouta’s pov, interestingly we’ll be learning more about his relationship with mc and how they grew up together? (hopefully???) as the story goes on… now i forget there are birds on my screen as i get rlly into the story now lmao.

i REALLY wonder what is the thing that ryouta is forgetting?? that both shuu AND nageki have been bringing up like… also why does shuu have to be like that and say “yeah just go along, don’t use your brain, you’ll find it all out eventually” cmon bro. also sus bc why did ryouta lie about going straight home the evening mc was killed… why is your memory getting spotty. don’t tell me you’re gonna end up killing other birds and that you did something to mc in the first place without realizing (kinda doubt this theory tho imo)

i found it super interesting to hear more about the world hatoful boyfriend takes place in, actually. like, learning more about the parties & the pandemic & the role that humans and birds both take in this world was interesting to read, especially with what was going on with the school & how school rep mc’s death would be completed blamed onto the school, known for being more accepting of co-living… makes me wonder if it’s been planned from the very beginning?? since birth or something?? for mc to go to this school and die in this school?? what does the fire in the basement have to do with this?? why did the stairs to it get sealed off?? lots of questions that i cant wait to hear answered…

hatoful boyfriend & the way it’s actually “hurtful” boyfriend, not “heartful” boyfriend was wild 💀 especially with the way the text box’s little “hatoful boyfriend” text changed to “hurtful boyfriend” instead - yeah i got kinda spooked again. idk wonder if there’s gonna be a fourth wall breaking or smth in this,,, trying to think how the phrase “hurtful boyfriend” ties into all this, and also about all the hatoful documents and stuff all around the school…

where tf did that scarecrow thing even come from. also literally cant believe the principal has been dead and someone created/edited that video like a year ago. why is shuu and yuuya lying and being sus - does this have to do with their parties?? also cant believe how humans are pretty much preparing to kill all the birds in the school like ??? that hatch too oml

okay i think that’s all i have to say for now…? it’s 3 am and i have to wake up soon… so ill hopefully be updating this more again next time

...

and next time has arrived. ill be dumping what i had written throughout the rest of my playthrough. :,)

IM.... the screentime of yuuya and sakuya made me so happy bc ive always wondered if their short story lines/routes would talk more about their familial relationship but it rarely really touched on it... and now i am literally so heartbroken right now. WHY. (head in hands) i dont know what else to say about yuuya's final moments and the real story behind these two brothers ,,, except for the fact that i am actually going to cry wtf yuuya's death NOT DESERVED pls now i feel so bad for doubting him earlier TT

why is the doctor so. you know. ??? dunno have to even describe it??? how is he involved with everything. why did he say that hes the one who got anghel to go to this school(?). it feels too obvious for him to be the mastermind or anything yknow but TT idk the way hes just involved in everything makes me want to shake him. how are you involved with ALL OF THIS. why and how are you controlling the scarecrow thing??? does this scarecrow thing have to do with previous/dead students??? what if nageki's ghost is involved with this??? i feel like this scarecrow has smth more to do with this...

also some other little things: i love seeing ryouta and sakuya acting as a duo. who was the third bird?? involved?? im trying to think... it's got to be someone that both yuuya and shuu would be fine with working with and making a deal with... unless they were threatened??? but idk i feel like shuu is not the kind of bird to get threatened TT still tryna think... i feel like its got to be one of the main birds/routes???

and those are my thoughts for the 5th class (that i remembered - typed this up as soon as i finished it!)

wow so the 6th class went by so fast - unless i was just reading it super quickly... ive probably said this a million times now but I AM IN SO MUCH SHOCK??? my eyes were wide open when i was reading all that nageki remembered... and his past and the experiments that they did on him. PLEASE HELP this lil bird who's been through too much ;;;;;; does this mean that all the main birds??? well, i feel like all the main student birds - were somehow being experimented on or developed to become a weapon to humans?? is this the reason why the doctor had nageki's files in his desk? was sakuya's files also in it bc he knew of his past or bc he was also planning to do an experiment on him? has ryouta been experimented on bc of the multiple & several amount of times hes had to go to the infirmiary due to his weak stomach?? okay but wait... what if his weak stomach was a result of the experiments shuu has done on him or smth... i am so Scared. and Shocked. so many questions that are about to get answered very soon. what does the fire have to do with this???

okay, i HAVE to read the 7th class now.

OH NO. oops - sorry if ive been messing up the dove and hawk parties' ideologies i cant remember which one was actually FOR coexisting with humans and who are not,,,

NOOOOOOOOO. NOOOOOO. NO. why do all of these birds have all of these backstories. I KNEW THE DOCTOR HAD MORE TO HIM BUT PLS. i didnt think he would be ryouta's father's biggest admirer from the background like. we see you slowly warming up to him. i see that you never got to tell him your feelings. HEY WHAT DOES THAT MEAN. anyways. the way he wanted shuu to grant a wish of ryouta which is what lead him all the way here. i am Mad and Sad. smad??? uh. YOU DID ALL OF THIS,,,,, i, do not know what to say anymore.

mc's brain being in the little scarecrow. wow. i had a feeling there would be more to the scarecrow but didnt expect to hear about another experiment going on, esp with how it involved human brains TT

also pls not @ shuu gaslighting ryouta ,,, IT ISNT YOUR FAULT ,,, you were literally drugged for the past year and then had to watch your childhood friend just. die. bc you were being experimented on all along. I KNEW THE WEAK STOMACH THING WOULD HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS. but not in such a heartbreaking way.

UGH there is so much thats been happening and now my memory is like a goldfish and i just really want to read the 8th class now. but it has been such a Wild Roller Coaster these last few classes

  uhhm. okay i just finsihed the game and. the first thing i want to say that everything that happened has Blown me away. like. everything from this entire route. Everything. i think ill need some time tonight to just lay down and let everything marinate & i'll write a proper conclusion about the game afterwards.   for now: my thoughts on the 8th chapter and the "epilogue" of the game. so thats why kazuaki had the scribbled out photo... the way hes been haunted by his shadow of guilt - which i like to see it... TT i wonder, if everytime he fell asleep, he would think back to the days he had with nageki, or to think about blaming himself for everything?? agh

the way that mc's parents attempting to be mediators at the hatoful house and how it tied to shuu approaching mc and ryouta... how it had involved both kazuaki and nageki. wow. ALSO its so cool how i now reread over the archive files from the main menu and i pretty much can accurately tell what each file is referring to, or who is the one who wrote each file.

i am still in shock. who wouldve known a bird dating sim would this to all happen.

also, same at sakuya wasting his mourning on yuuya - i was literally mourning too like TT why did you have to fake die like that man. AND THE FACT THAT RYOUTA WANTED TO SEE HIS MOM but he couldnt bc he didnt want to bring any death to the humans... who knows how long hes been waiting for everyone with mc's brain and nageki. what if he doesnt wake up. im literally so heartbroken bc in his route, his mother passed after being so sick in the hospital, and now im worried bc what if he never gets to see her again. he literally worked so hard to support her all the time and loved her sm ,,,,,

theres def a lot of things that are slipping from my mind as im writing this (im sorry). its like my brain stopped working and now im so sad about everything thats happened.

was the spirit that nageki talking to in the library before mc??? was she also participating in the little boss fight against brainwashed ryouta??? ugh i need to know more. what if i just replayed the entire game to see all the little things referring back to the truth behind the school and the past of the main birds. haha just kidding... unless??? i want to play the sequel now too... well. for now, time to be sad. i now love this entire game and all of these birds to pieces. (also ive decided. im going to replay the entire game because i can and because i need to)

i word vommit whatever i want and unconsciously create the most random hcs / questions sorry if i say the most random shit or smth in this 😭 also sorry not sorry i like my little hcs and i hope maybe theyre neat too

[arigatouiris]

i’ll remember you // kuroo tetsuroo x reader (2/3)

Author’s Note: Here’s chapter two! I mean, it’s longer than the other two parts that I had in mind, but I hope that’s okay? Also, please let me know what you think of this? I worked really hard on it, so I’d feel so good if you guys tell me what you think :”) And there’s a Barakamon reference in this chapter :3

Word count: 7k+

Pairing: Kuroo Tetsuroo x Reader [Kimi no Na Wa re-write]

Summary: Everything had been perfectly normal until you woke up as a volleyball captain from a school you didn’t go to, in a city you didn’t live in. Ever since then, Kuroo Tetsuroo has been inching closer and closer into your life, wrecking almost everything that could perhaps be considered normal.

However, you never realized how vital he was to you; because you were sure you would understand upon seeing him.The struggle however, was remembering each other. Because what good would it do if you went to saw him and he didn’t remember you?

Well, the universe turns back time, of course. Until he did.

Warnings: angst, body-swapping, bullying, fantasy, reader is depressed, mentions of suicide, character death, slow burn, bittersweet end, awkward boners, mentions of porn

ｃｈ． ０２  —  ｓｌｏｗ ｃｈａｎｇｅｓ

When you woke up, you saw the window first.

You sprung up in your bed before noticing the thin cloth divide the room—your brother's half and yours. Tears threatened to form in your eyes but you blinked them away before rushing to the window, noticing how it was still slightly dark out, how it was about to be sunrise. You noticed that your brother wasn't in the room, he'd probably gone out to help your mom with the salt.

Your hands sprung to your breasts a second later before cuddling up to them, "I missed you..."

A second later, you noticed an evident note on the wall. Your heart sped up, wondering if it was from Kuroo, and walked over to see a rather cryptic message.

You're prettier than you give yourself credit for.

Your eyes widened at the note, before feeling a strange warmth in your chest. You go over to your table before checking if he'd left any more notes, but found none. You picked your phone up and saw that the wallpaper had changed. It was a picture of you that you hadn't taken—you were wearing your school uniform, and you were smiling at the camera; you wouldn't lie, it was an excellent picture of you.

A smile sat on your lips before realizing that Kuroo must have done this.

And I broke his laptop, you cringed before sinking to the ground in horror. A second later, you walked over to the bathroom before brushing your teeth but your eyes widened at the note in the mirror.

Akio is a douche!

You froze. Akio...? Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no!

Did Kuroo say something to him? Did Akio say something to Kuroo and he had said something back? You cursed yourself on thinking that Kuroo couldn't make your life worse than it already was. Scrambling to get ready, you wore your uniform before noticing that it was crumpled and thrown to the corner. Your eyebrow twitched before feeling a feeling of pure distaste sit on your lips. Rushing to make breakfast before your mother and brother returned, you immediately got the rice cooking and the curry boiling. The whole while, all you could think of was what Kuroo might have done, and your heart was pounding in your ear. For some reason, you weren't anxious, perhaps that was because you were in a fight-or-flight mode.

    "Ah," Your mother's voice alerted you, as you set the breakfast on the kotatsu, "How are you feelin' today?"

Huh? You gave her a funny look, "Whaddaya mean?"

    "You were actin' a bit odd yesterday. Thoughtchu were sick o' somethin'."

Your heart melted at your mother's worry for you before shaking your head. She's my mother! You scolded yourself.

    "I'm good today, 'kaa-chan."

    "Clearly you remember how ta make rice today?" Your brother perked up.

Your face reddened before thinking of how Kuroo must have made breakfast yesterday.

    "What?"

   "You were strugglin' to get the cooker on! As if ya didn't ever see it before. And yer curry was disgustin'."

    "I was sick." You mumbled before focusing on the food.

Letting out a breath, you packed your bento before looking at your brother strangely. He was staring at your face oddly.

    "What?"

    "You look like yerself today too. You'd forgotten how ta do yer hair yesterday."

Your heart sunk. It must be hard for a guy to live suddenly as a girl for a day. But, your mind kept circling around what Kuroo might have done to Akio. While walking to school, you stopped by your only friend's house, Kotoishi Naru, and hoped she was the one Kuroo had confided with. You were glad you met Kenma with such ease and wondered how Kuroo may have figured out that Naru was your best friend. Naru wasn't in your class, and she wasn't even around half the time considering how there was a big calligraphy competition that was coming up.

Once Naru saw you, she waved, almost as if nothing strange had occurred. You blinked as she ran over to you, her brown hair bounding behind her with ease.

    "How you feelin' today, (y/n)?"

    "Uh," Didn't Kuroo say anything to Naru? "I'm good. Did... Did anythin' strange happen yesterday?"

Naru scoffed, "A lotta strange things happened, especially with ya, (y/n). Where do ya want me to begin?"

    "Eh?"

    "That boy made me watch that movie, the one where they switch bodies? Wicked, really—"

You grab Naru's shoulders before forcing her to meet your gaze.

    "Naru! Tell me—"

    "You gotta watch that movie, (y/n). And like, maybe skip school—"

    "Naru."

She let out a sigh, "Yanno how Junko's got her ass on ya all the time? The boy in yer body gave her a piece of his mind when she forced herself on ya. She threatened to cut yer hair if ya didn't finish 'er homework. That boy wasn't havin' none of it. Junko's prolly not gon' ever talk to ya again. And..."

Naru looked a bit hesitant as she continued, "Ya prolly shouldn't talk ta Akio either."

    "Oh no," You felt your heart sink in your chest, "Was it about the confession?"

Naru blinked, "What confession?"

You sighed, "Two days ago, I confessed to Akio-kun. He turned me down—"

    "That bastard," Naru muttered, "But, it's good. Just don't go talk to 'im. Pretend he's scum, aight? Actually, he is scum—"

    "Naru, what happened?"

Naru shrugged before leading you to school. You knew you weren't going to get any answers out of her right then. But, your heart was pounding against your chest. You knew Kuroo was just trying to help out by standing up for you, but by changing the way you behaved just for momentary gratification didn't seem right to you. You'd barely made any changes in his life, but the way he'd completely turned yours around felt strange. You weren't thankful; in fact, you were angry.

On reaching school, people watched you as you made your every move. Naru wasn't by your side but had strictly warned you to not say a word in edgewise to anyone. That's probably what I'll do anyway, you thought before heading to class and freezing in front of your desk. Your eyes widened at the words written on the desk, 'Slut', 'Whore', 'Demon', and other things. Your hands were shaking at the way these words suddenly sprung up only after a day of living as Kuroo.

    "Ah," The teacher said, and you looked up with sad eyes, "Yer aight, there?"

Even the teachers noticed? You heard snickering from behind you but you ignored them. Never had you felt so degraded before, and it was all thanks to how some boy had lived in your body for a day and didn't bother to accommodate.

You ate your lunch quietly just as Naru trod inside and slammed her hand on your table. She frowned at the words that you hadn't bothered to erase, and then looked up at you.

    "We gotta move," She said, grabbing your wrist, pulling you, but you refused to budge, "Now!"

    "Naru! What do you—"

    "There she is," Akio's loud voice was barely missable. You had grown to fall for that voice, after all, "The school slut."

You felt as if your body was on fire; and you wanted to leave instantly. Naru moved before you could catch a glimpse of Akio's threatening gaze fall on you. You felt like his gaze could burn you. It wasn't in a nice way. His face had a very dark bruise, right below his eye and his nose looked a bit crooked. You couldn't move, you were frozen to your spot, confused at the scene occurring before you.

    "Watch yer mouth, Matsuo." Naru warned before Akio scoffed.

    "Ask 'er to watch 'ers! Dunno where it's been—"

    "What're you sayin'?" You snapped, feeling your heart burst.

The class burst into laughter at your sudden outburst, but you saw a tinge of... fear, you couldn't believe it, in Akio's eyes. Clicking his tongue, he walked away, taking the air of confidence with him. Tears filled your eyes and you immediately got up and ran to the roof, knowing that'll be the only place no one would bother you. Naru followed shortly after, knowing full well that you were distraught.

    "Naru, what happened?"

She sighed before groaning, "He threw 'imself at ya, (y/n)." Your eyes widened.

    "The boy in yer body were the one who gave 'im the black eye. Deserved it too."

Akio threw himself at me? That doesn't make sense! I was the one who confessed to him! You wanted to ask Kuroo what had happened but there wasn't any way you could contact him, considering how you'd failed to send yourself a text message. If you were ever going to wake up in his body again, you'd let him know just how much you appreciated him turning things around in your life. You clenched your fists so tightly that you swore you could punch through a wall.

Kuroo Tetsuroo, you goddamn pig!

*

When Kuroo woke up as you, he didn't really freak out as much. It took him until half a day for him to realize that it wasn't a dream at all, that having enjoyed Kimi no Na Wa so much he was finally living it seemed a bit too unreal. However, after learning what that girl Naru had called you, Kuroo froze a little bit.

You were the girl that had killed herself, opposite Kenma's house.

Here, you were a second-year high school student, which meant that this was a year prior to how things went. Kuroo didn't know why you had killed yourself in the present, but he assumed it must be some reason related to mental health, for all suicides were along the same lines. His heart felt for you, but he was now more curious to see why he was swapped into your body. Did this mean he had to save your life, the same way Taki had saved Mitsuha?

    "Oi," Kuroo said, as you, to the brown-haired girl calling herself Naru, "What's this girl's deal?"

    "Whaddaya mean, (y/n)?"

Kuroo groaned, "I'm not (y/n)! I'm a guy, stuck in her body."

    "Eh? That ain't possible—"

    "After school, I'll show you a movie, how about that? Now, just play along. What's her deal?"

Naru hummed before tapping her chin a couple of times. It wasn't as if she didn't like role-playing, but you had been acting weird all day. This didn't particularly seem impossible, even though science told her it was out of the question.

    "(y/n)'s the firstborn of two kids, she's got a younger brother, Takeru, and 'er mum's a bit of a bitch," Kuroo winced, "Ah, you aren't (y/n). She'd 'ave killed me if I said that."

Kuroo sighed, before gesturing her to continue. This was sometime after lunch, where Kuroo forcefully ate the bento (y/n)'s younger brother had made after he had called in sick on (y/n)'s behalf. He didn't understand why there wasn't a fully functioning cafeteria, but he assumed cities were different from country prefectures. He was in Nagasaki, after all.

    "(y/n)'s dad's passed while fishing for oysters. 'er aunt lives in Tokyo, and is honestly the only person in (y/n)'s family that she adores."

Her aunt, huh, Kuroo's eyes narrowed, "She adores her aunt?"

Naru nodded, "Aunt's nice. Brings 'er gifts and all. Always keeps askin' her to move to Tokyo. Mum's against it."

    "Why?"

    "Even I dunno that, shonen." Naru shrugged.

It was during lunch that Akio had approached Kuroo. He was quite certain that he was her boyfriend, with how close he was and how he was saying such cheesy stupid shit. Maybe, they fought or something? Kuroo was never the one to pry, although, he took very little to understand the context of certain situations. Just as he understood this one.

    "I know I said no ta ya," Akio's hands were inching closer and closer to Kuroo, "But lemme erase that, aight? With the way ya are right now, I'm not sure I can hold myself back—"

    "Hold up a goddamn minute," Kuroo smirked before placing both his hands against his chest and pushing him away, "You rejected me?"

    "That's in the past—"

    "And you're nuzzling close to me like we're dating? You must be some pig, eh?"

Akio's eyes flashed with anger before grabbing Kuroo's wrist. Judging from the strength (y/n) had, he was certain that she wouldn't have been able to push him away, but this was Kuroo. And even though he didn't like physical fights, helping a girl recover her honor was not against his many policies. He twisted Akio's hands before throwing a nasty punch to the boy's face, drawing blood. It wasn't as if he knew you personally or even knew enough of your story to be doing this, but he was in your body right then, and if at all you believed you were deserving of this idiot's schemes, Kuroo wanted you to know that you were much more.

The second he saw your image in the mirror, he was floored at how beautiful you were even in the morning. Your hair was marvelous, your smile was gorgeous, and your body... now that was something else. Kuroo wasn't a pervert, but he won't deny that having your body for a day was making him more curious by the hour. He had touched your breasts, he wouldn't lie, but he'd have done that if it were anyone. But, he refused to look at any part of you otherwise, which was perhaps why he decided he wouldn't take a shower. The farthest he would go would be touching your breasts, and if he had to comment, he'd simply say that he wouldn't mind waking up as you if it meant having your breasts.

He had learned later that day from Naru that (y/n) had been obsessed with this Akio boy for over a few months now. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to the girl and asked her if she had a computer with a stable internet connection. When she said only her phone had an internet connection, Kuroo groaned. Even the groan sounds adorable coming from (y/n), he thought before nodding once.

    "There's a movie we're going to watch, okay?"

    "Whatsit about?"

    "Whatever's happening to me and your friend."

It surprised him how quietly Naru sat through the entire movie. Kuroo didn't mind watching Kimi no Na Wa again, especially as someone else, but Naru's fascination with the movie amazed him. For a moment, he deliberated on telling her that you had died in the present world, but he knew that telling Naru meant he was inevitably telling you, and he didn't want you to panic or throw yourself into a corner.

If he was put in your body, and judging from what he knew happens to you, he was meant to save you.

Perhaps, the care rose in his heart after learning that he was in your body of all people. Knowing that you had died, alone and isolated in a house where your aunt was probably never home, having not been fed or having any friends for that matter, Kenma knew better about the circumstances of your death, and he made it a point to ask him later.

Once the movie was done, the first question that Naru asked him proved to him that Naru was indeed one of the smartest people he'd met.

    "Something's gonna happen to 'er, isn't it?"

When he woke up back as himself, the first thing he saw was the familiar Ratchet and Clank poster in front of him, and the loudness of Tokyo livelihood. He turned to spot his uniform neatly folded and hung from hangers against the door, and his heart twisted in dissatisfaction with how he had just haphazardly thrown yours. He noticed the note you had left behind and smiled as he read your words, before noticing the line below your first note. His eyes widened and he rushed toward his laptop, before noticing a large crack on it.

    "You've got to be kidding—" He traced his hand against the big crack on his laptop's screen before feeling nothing but ire in his heart, "—she fucking broke my laptop!"

Rushing down to meet Kenma, knowing full well that he'd understand, he noticed his father coming toward him with breakfast. Kuroo eyed his father strangely before his father returned the gaze.

    "You ate yesterday, so what's the trouble now?"

Kuroo groaned internally when he realized that you had no idea what issues he was having and Kuroo didn't want to argue first thing in the morning. Snatching the toast his father had made, Kuroo rushed out to meet Kenma.

    "Oi, Kenma!"

Kenma's eyes met his friend's form before a smirk plastered on his face, "So, how was it living as someone who's dead?"

    "She broke my laptop!"

Kenma's smirk didn't die down, "Yeah, she was trying to watch the movie, but then I told her you might have watched porn earlier and she dropped it. Don't blame her, your laptop's probably filthy."

Kuroo gasped, "It is not!"

Kenma shrugged.

    "I don't even want to explain to the old man what happened. He's going to whoop my ass for it, it's barely a year old. Agh, damn it."

    "Kuroo," Kenma's voice suggested he was being serious, "This is strange."

He let out a sigh, "No kidding. I woke up crying," Kenma looked at him, "She's got a shit life, no offence to her. Mum's a bit cold, brother's a little shit, her best friend's a bit... strange, she gets bullied by this dumb loudmouth, and the guy she liked practically tried to assault her."

    "She wasn't too happy here either, from what I've heard," Kenma said, "Her mum passed away because of an accident and her aunt brought her here. Her aunt's a monster, though. Barely cared for her. Drove her to the edge until..."

Kenma felt his heart constrict uncomfortably. Sure, she had broken his laptop but that was minor compared to the changes he'd made in your life. Just thinking about it made him wonder how you'd take it, but there was something strange overall regarding the entire timeline of it all. If you were dead in the present life, how did it matter what these small changes instigate? If anything, Kuroo understood that it was your depression that drove you to the edge; but, considering what he'd done yesterday, standing up for herself when she clearly had not before, Kuroo wondered if it would make a difference at all.

    "Need to know more about why she... you know."

Kenma nodded, "So you think it'll happen again?"

Kuroo thought of the tears that leaked out of your eyes that morning he woke up as you. He nodded, a serious gleam in his gold eyes. It better, he thought, his stomach twisted as he remembered hearing of your death for the first time.

    "What about practice yesterday?"

    "Didn't have it. Nekomata's pretty pissed. Gave you a mask and she moved around pretending you were sick."

Kuroo sighed with relief but felt worse when he thought of the welcome you might be getting later today. He understood that the events might have already occurred but if Kuroo's swapped into your body and if that made any change in the timeline of events, if that meant you could come out of this alive, he wouldn't mind. No one deserved to be pushed to an extent like that, and whether you knew it or not, you were worthy of so much more. He'd gone through your notes, he'd gone through a few of your scribbles and he could understand that you were a hard-worker. You wanted to move to Tokyo and live a city life, you wanted a better life for yourself and he could see just from one day that you were striving for it. Sure, you were a tad bit insecure, judging from how Akio had spoken of you, but Kuroo knew you were so much more than what you thought of yourself.

He didn't know why he felt this way, but he didn't want you to go down the way you did. And if these swaps made a difference, then he'd ensure that the difference was good.

The more the day progressed, the more he thought about what you were doing. While he knew that his timeline was set in the future and that yours was from a year ago, it still felt like you were there, going to school, managing the bullying, the idiotic crush you had on that jerk. He knew that it was just because of living in your body for a day that he cared and that until now, despite learning you had died, he had no idea who you were, and while he did feel bad for you, it was only after this did it feel a tad bit personal.

A week passed before Kuroo woke up as you again.

Instantly, his hands rushed to your breasts and a large drunk grin plastered on his face. I've missed you two, he thought before finding that the screen dividing your brother's side of the room was open and your brother was staring at you—Kuroo—intently.

    "What are you doing, nee-chan?"

Kuroo gasped before throwing a pillow at the little boy, before hearing him groan and throw it back. It wasn't that the little boy, Takeru, was a little shit, it was just that he seemed to have the ability to be around when he wasn't needed. Suddenly, as if he were being pulled out of a stupor he realized that he hadn't woken up with tears in his eyes. Turning to young Takeru, Kuroo gestured for the boy to come closer. Takeru listened and crouched beside Kuroo, before waiting intently.

    "If I had memory loss and forgot the entire day of yesterday, how would you describe what happened to me?"

Takeru hummed before tapping his chin a couple of times, "You din't 'ave a good day yesterday," Ah, damn, "You fought with mum and she hitchu," Kuroo winced, "but I think ya were mean ta 'er, 'cause she was cryin'. You were cryin' too, sayin' how you were sorry butchu din't tell mum that so ya were cryin' for nothin'. Naru-nee came'oer, but she had ta leave after some time. And in school," Takeru shrugged, "I don't know 'cause yer in high school and I'm in elementary."

Kuroo ruffled Takeru's head before smiling a bit. Seems like you had quite the day, he thought before hearing Takeru say something strange.

    "You should talk to 'kaa-chan," Kuroo's eyes widened, "She misses ya. She tells me when we pick salt. She misses ya, nee-chan."

(y/n) moved to Tokyo because her mum passed away in an accident, right? Kuroo thought before narrowing his eyes, What kind of accident was it? And what happened to Takeru?

Heading to the living room, Kuroo noticed your mother near the kitchen. Her face was puffy, and it looked like she had cried herself to sleep the night before. Kuroo knew it was not in his place to say or do anything, but there was only one thing he could conceive that could perhaps help in this situation. Whatever it is, if we can at least avoid her mother's misunderstanding, then maybe, (y/n) can stay behind.

    "Kaa-chan," It was strange for Kuroo to be calling someone that after years, "About yesterday—"

In one instant, your mother turned to face Kuroo, you, and her eyes filled with tears. She instantly wiped them away before nodding.

    "I've made breakfast—"

    "Please," Kuroo said, "I might not say this often, but... I miss you more than you know. I know things aren't okay and I know I might act differently sometimes, but you need to know I'm always here for you. Just talk to me, okay?"

Your mother stared at Kuroo like you were another person; which was true, but it wasn't like she'd notice.

    "I sometimes forget ya are yer father's daughter," your mother said, chuckling, "Yer so sweet, baby. I'm sorry for hittin' ya."

    "I'm... sorry for raising my voice."

Your mother knew you hadn't raised your voice. Your mother also probably knew that something extraordinary was going on, but just to see her daughter smile and nod at her made her feel strangely content. A hand reached toward Kuroo and grazed against his, no your, cheek, and he felt tears sting the back of his eyelids.

    "I'll try ta be a bit more nicer, yeah?"

Kuroo chuckled before feeling his the back of his throat hurt. He nodded, because, well, what else could he do? Breakfast that morning was relatively milder, there was an air of ease spread around and while he wanted no credit, Kuroo's heart bubbled with a bit of pride. It wasn't too intense, Kuroo felt the same sort of penchant luck he would feel if after casually tossing something across the room and it hits his target so crisply and perfectly that he feels no desire even to attempt another shot. While walking to school, Kuroo waved at Takeru before turning to spot Naru waiting outside her house. Running to her, Kuroo slapped the girl's back before grinning widely.

    "Yer the boy!"

Kuroo felt his heart drop, "How'd you know?"

    "If (y/n) ever let 'erself smile like that, that'd be the day," Naru chuckled, "We've got tests today, yer on the worst possible day."

Kuroo felt his heart drop, but that wasn't because of the tests. Oh shit, he thought before realizing that today was one of the practice matches scheduled between Fukurodani and Nekoma, and you were there in his place. Oh, fuck, he thought before running a hand through your hair, before stopping himself. Wow, he thought, your hair is so smooth. He remembered touching your hair before, but was it always this smooth?

    "You look like yer constipated," Naru said, staring at his face. "Somethin' wrong?"

    "Nothing I can do about now." Kuroo said, sighing. We're losing to Fukurodani, and I lost a bet to Bokuto. Great.

    "How's she been doing so far?"

Naru hummed, "Better, I think. She ain't cleanin' her desk, though. The names are still 'ere."

    "Names?"

Naru cringed, "You'll see 'em. People've stopped talkin' to 'er, but that's surprisingly helpful. And... Oh, yeah! She got a job."

Oh, fuck me.

    "What job?"

Naru shrugged, "Tis easy, just regular shop keepin'. The general store has obaa-san watchin' it over, so (y/n) decided to help out for some dough."

Ah, that's doable, he thought before saying, "What test?"

    "Math. She hates math."

Kuroo sighed with relief. I'll give her a gift for ruining her life the last time, he chuckled before entering the school, only to find no one looking at him. He paused for a moment before feeling Naru turn and look at him, suddenly having frozen to the spot. It was as if he was an outcast, living an invisible life—no one could see him, his life didn't matter, his existence as such was minute. He turned to Naru before she offered him a kind smile and a nod suggesting that yes, this was how things were.

Kuroo only let it fuel his determination further.

Entering class, he noticed that (y/n)'s desk was riddled with insults, which boiled his blood. With his eyebrow ticking at how unabashedly disgusting this was, Kuroo took out (y/n)'s kerchief before wiping the insults off. He heard a few snickers before he turned to them and glared, only to have them swallow their chuckles. Kuroo returned to swiping the names off the desk before letting out a breath and sitting down.

    "Those names are gonna be back tomorrow." He heard someone say and Kuroo knew responding would be bad for (y/n).

But, he really couldn't help it.

    "And they'll be off just as quickly as they came. Maybe, the hand that writes them will be off too."

It was then he realized that (y/n)'s voice, when used in such a sweet yet dangerous manner, was a tad bit arousing. She could be menacing if she wanted to, but for that, he knew she had to be pushed a little more. He didn't know the entire story, but he knew that if he allowed himself to be completely immersed in what she went through, then there was a chance he could save her. He wanted to save her, he wanted her happy—and knew it was because he was able to live as her.

The test went really well; he wasn't sure if (y/n) was really good at math, but judging from what Naru had said, you hated the subject so that meant you weren't too good. That didn't matter, you were probably going to score more than you ever had before. On his way out with Naru, he spotted Akio at a distance, before he gave him the stink-eye, before Akio walked away, scoffing.

    "What'd that pig say after?"

    "Came and called 'er a slut the next day," Kuroo frowned, "But, she was surprisingly mature 'bout it. Didn't bother with 'im. Heartbroken (y/n) is the most productive (y/n). Got 'erself a job."

Every cell in your body screamed that you wanted to survive. If he could see it, if Naru could see it, then why couldn't you?

That night, he left a message for you in your mirror. I apologized to your mom for you. Scored a good number on your math test. Cleaned your desk for you. Please keep it that way. And I forgive you for the laptop. Kuroo sighed before heading to your bed, before allowing himself to rest.

When he woke up, the first thing he saw was black—there was a note stuck to his face. Blinking, he pulled the note to see something written in big bold letters.

Kuroo Tetsuroo, you self-centered pig!

He narrowed his eyes at the accusation before sitting up and scratching his head. What the hell did I do? You're the one that broke my laptop! Turning to the side, he saw a completely clean desk, with books stacked like a sane person's desk, and his uniform was once again hanging neatly ironed from the hanger by his door. His right eyebrow twitched before he walked to the bathroom, and in his mirror, big red letters from his red marker had been etched ruthlessly: How dare you scream at Akio-kun?! How dare you mess up my life the way you did?! I was fine before you came along! I didn't even do anything the whole time I was you and I could have easily messed things up!

His eyebrow twitched dangerously before grabbing his phone and calling Kenma.

    "What happened yesterday?"

    "Ah, you got a stomach bug and sat out during practice. Bokuto called you a coward."

    "Ah, fuck."

    "And she finally watched the movie."

Did she now? Kuroo felt an odd sense of anger and misplaced sort of betrayal lodge in his heart. However, these feelings were soon going to be replaced.

When you woke up as Kuroo, you didn't get startled right away. You had expected it by now and in a strange way, you hoped for it; you wanted to mess small things up a little bit by behaving differently, just as he had done with little to no consideration to accommodate in your life. You frowned before not even being bothered with the bed hair and rushed downwards before noticing Kuroo's father by the counter.

    "Otou-san," You weren't sure how Kuroo addressed his father, if Kuroo even addressed him at all, but it felt very strange for you to use that word after having not used it in years, "Good morning!"

Kuroo's father turned to you with horror before freezing as you approached him and gave him a hug. You tightened it gradually, feeling his father freeze up at how uncharacteristic it was for his son to greet him that way.

    "Did you have a bad dream again?"

You froze before staying that way, not expecting this.

    "Been years, I thought. Now you're hugging me like a moron. You know it's just a dream, right?"

You pulled away before feeling your heart sink at the way his father was looking at you. He let out a sigh before shaking his head.

    "It's not your fault, idiot. Separations happen. People... people die. I know we never had this talk but—"

    "N-No. I..." It feels wrong that his father was talking about something so personal with you, thinking you were his son. "I'm sorry—"

    "That's the thing, Tetsu," His father smiled bitterly, "You shouldn't be, son. You of all people shouldn't be."

Breakfast was quiet but tranquil. It wasn't weird, and you noticed Kuroo's grandparents smile at you and wave, wanting to catch some more sleep before having breakfast. Your heart gave way at seeing such a cute old couple hold each other's hands and help each other around, and you wondered what kind of boy Kuroo was. Heading out, you noticed Kenma there again. Leaning down, you smiled at him before saying, "Kenma-kun!"

Kenma's eyes widened before saying, "(s/n)?"

You nodded sheepishly, before rubbing the back of your, no Kuroo's, neck. Kenma sighed before letting out a chuckle, causing you to tilt your head at him confusingly.

    "What's up?"

    "Of all days," Kenma said, an evil glint in his eye, "Today's the swap day."

    "Why? What's today?"

Kenma said, "Well, let's just say you can't miss volleyball practice."

Wanting to mess with Kuroo a little bit more, you noticed the line of girls looking at you from the corner and shot them a sweet smile, before feeling Kenma nudge your stomach with his elbow.

    "Are you trying to get him in trouble?" You nodded pridefully, "Then try harder, Kuroo always smiles at girls."

You felt annoyed at his words, but you sort of expected Kuroo to be a bit of a flirt.

    "Is he a flirt?"

    "He doesn't realize he's doing it. He's just a dork."

You giggled at that before Kenma turned to you and cocked an eyebrow.

    "I know it's hard for you, but try to be a boy, okay?"

You let out a breath before nodding and heading over to your, no Kuroo's, classroom. You noticed how his bench was devoid of names, and your heart shrunk at the thought. You'd gotten used to seeing the names on your desk, but right then, the emptiness made you remember where you had come from. Kuroo was loved and revered for being the volleyball captain, and being handsome, and had friends who loved and cared for him. You let out a breath before trying to remain in character, finding no energy in your heart to play with Kuroo's life.

You knew he had to take your math test, but you believed he'd ace it. Seeing how good he was at math, and how Kuroo was a year older, after all. You wondered if he'd fail on purpose because you had broken his laptop, but your heart told you he wasn't that petty. But, what I'm doing is petty, right? You frowned before thinking of how Akio-kun approached you the other day, and the names on your desk.

After school, you followed Kenma into the gym, your heart pounding the entire time. You tugged at Kenma's sleeve right after changing, before he sighed.

    "Just... smirk at everyone and cock your right eyebrow and try and make fun of the really short guy, Yaku, and be rude to the really tall guy, Lev. And have you ever played volleyball before?"

Your heart sunk as you nodded slightly, "A few times in middle school."

Kenma chuckled, "Serves him right for being cocky all the damn time," You narrowed your eyes, "Let's see how it goes."

Walking out, you saw Kuroo's volleyball team for the first time. They weren't even looking at you, but then you noticed the really tall guy that Kenma said was called Lev. You gulped before shooting him a deadpan as he approached you.

    "So the thing—"

    "Lev," Kenma interrupted, saving your life, "Did you practice what I told you?"

    "Eh?"

    "Look at the ball while smacking it. Don't lower your elbows. You need to prioritize speed over height—"

As Kenma was talking, you could see Lev step backward in absolute horror. You wanted to laugh at the way silent and smooth Kenma turned into an intimidating mentor, but the interaction they had was simply just too sweet to ignore.

    "Wait! Don't say all that at once!" Lev begged, causing you to chuckle meanly.

   "By the way," You swore you could feel ice around Kenma's shoulders now, penetrating straight to Lev, "I've told you all this before."

Letting out a breath, Kenma calmed down before shooting you a look and then turning to Lev, "You're still nowhere as good as Shoyo."

Shoyo?

    "Damn it! I'm definitely going to turn this around!" Lev said, pumping his fist in the air.

A moment later, a bunch of differently dressed students entered the gym. Your eyes widened a tad bit before finding Kenma's, who simply shrugged and alerted you to come to the side. While it received weird looks that you were being too quiet and being summoned by Kenma, you had no other choice but to move away. The short person, Yaku, gave you the stink eye, and you wondered if he liked Kuroo at all.

    "Bokuto looks like an owl and is probably going to smother you," You felt your stomach flip, "Akaashi is quieter and won't bother you. And the others don't talk to you as much. Kuroo flirts with the female managers, but it won't look weird if you don't talk to them today. Just say your stomach hurts or something."

    "Won't that make Kuroo look bad?"

Kenma smirked, "Everything will make him look bad, you can just hope to reduce the damage."

    "Hey, hey, hey! Kuroo-kun! Ready to lose today?"

    "A-Ah," You gulped, unaware of what to call him and said the first thing that came to mind, "You're the one that's gonna lose, o-owl bastard!"

Bokuto blinks at what you called him and a second later bursts out laughing. Akaashi nodded at you before greeting you quietly. Kenma shot you a thumbs up before you let out a breath of relief.

    "Haven't heard you call me that in a while. You're definitely going to lose!"

In the middle of practice, you gulped before clutching your stomach and moving to the side. Strangely, it was Bokuto who rushed toward you as if something was wrong.

    "Oi, oi, oi, you look pale there, Kuroo-kun! You alright?"

    "Haven't been," You seriously considered getting a job as an actress, "All day."

Akaashi turned to the coach before bowing once, and it was Yaku who rushed to you before placing a calm hand on your back.

    "What's happening to you?"

    "Must be the food—"

    "Ah, damn," Yaku turned to the coach before saying, "I think Kuroo's got a stomach bug! Let's sub him out."

    "Hm, maybe," Bokuto tapped his chin and said cheekily, "You're just scared of losing and your body's reacting that way."

    "Please ignore him when he's being that way, Kuroo-san." Akaashi said, looking straight at you.

After practice, which you stayed behind to watch, constantly making weird faces to show you were in pain, Kenma accompanied you home. It was quiet for a bit as you continued to walk with him, not knowing what to say.

    "About Kuroo-kun's mother," You began, "His father told me something today."

Kenma turned to you and blinked, "What'd he say?"

    "That it wasn't Kuroo-kun's fault."

    "Ah."

    "What did that mean?"

    "I can't tell you."

You pouted, but you understood where Kenma was coming from. You knew almost nothing about Kuroo at all, and even if he had turned a bit of your life around, you knew he knew nothing about yours. Maybe, by trying to alter his life a little bit, you'd only sunk to make him act more like himself, which was nothing close to what you had initially planned on doing. There was no point in trying to shame Kuroo, when in hindsight, he had simply just tried to stand up to the people who wronged you.

Junko never bothered you for notes after that, and Akio-kun left you alone, resorting to just giving you ugly looks whenever he passed by you. You'd lost every bit of feelings you had for him after Naru told you he'd tried to assault you, for which Kuroo had merely punched him out of defense. You wondered what you'd have done if you were in that situation. But, I was, you thought before feeling the back of your eyelids burn, I was in that situation and even then Kuroo-kun was the one who saved me.

It felt odd that someone you had never even met was helping you out like this, and it made you feel weirdly crippled. That night, you finally allowed yourself to watch Kimi no Na Wa on Kuroo's computer, which was brand-new. You made careful effort to ensure you wouldn't drop it this time.

However, you wanted to let him have a piece of your mind. Heading to the bathroom, you scribbled on the mirror with his whiteboard marker and then wrote a post-it note to stick on his face as you slept. However, the real notes that you wanted him to see where on his desk, beneath a book you knew he might miss. You managed to clear out his pigeon coop of a table and stacked everything the way you would have for yourself. It was after that did you find yourself writing what you really wanted him to know.

I know you're trying to help me, and I want to thank you. But, I can't. If I allow you to keep helping me, then I will never help myself.

But, thank you. For everything.

You let out a breath before sticking the post-it to your face and lying down. It had been a strange day.

[words-for-holland]

Happier (5) | T.H.

Summary: Harry and Harrison made it to New York without witnesses. One secret is revealed and a relationship could be broken up for good. What will the future hold for Y/N and Tom?

A/N: Everybody buckle up and grab your tissues, we’re in for a bumpy ride. Lemme know how you feel after this! Was it what you expected??

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8

Guilt

It’s one thing to keep a secrets, but it’s another thing when you’re hiding it from the people you love. For Kate, she was becoming consumed in her own guilt as each day passed. Everyday her breaths would shorten, her heartbeat quicken, and her conscience relentlessy invading her inner thoughts. Kate tried to find all the possibilities to avoid the truth, and make everyone happy...but it didnt matter. One way or another, someone was going to get hurt.

Kate stood in front of Harrison and Harry at her doorstep. While she was relieved and excited to see them, a slight tinge of fear was present. “How are you going to find out the truth?” She asks calmly as Harrison and Harry made their way into the apartment. Kate picked up her phone, checking for an message. None showed up.

“Well, we might have found something. A clue maybe, but we’re not sure.” Harry explained as he picked up his macbook, turning it on.

“Is Y/N here?” Harrison asked, and as if on cue she appeared, heavy bags under her eyes.

The moment Y/N laid eyes on the two, she couldn’t believe it. Her hands quickly rubbing the sleep from her eyes, almost convinced it was a dream. “What? Harry? Harrison? What are you guys doing here?” Y/N excitedly asks. She made her way towards the boys giving them a long awaited hug. “I missed you guys.” She whispers.

“We want to help you.” Harrison says as he pulled away. “The unknown number? We might have an idea.”

Y/N looked at them suspiciously, checking her phone for cryptic messages. “Does anyone know you’re here?”

They both shook their head. “We didn’t tell anyone back home. As far as anyone knows, Harrison and I are going on a 3 day hike with little reception.” Harry reassured her with his boyish smile. Y/N look at him with admiration. He may not look like his brother, but his tone had Tom written all over it.

“Great. Just make sure your location is off on your phones..they could be watching us.” Kate warned as she checked her phone again.

Harrison looked at Kate with sympathy. In the years he’s known her because of Y/N and Tom’s relationship, she always seemed to be the sweetest most loyal friend out there. He was happy that Y/N had someone like Kate in her life. Not to mention it was also a plus that she was fairly pretty, even with the worry written all over face, she was still beautiful to Harrison.

“Hey.” Harrison spoke out for Kate’s attention. “We’re gonna figure this out. I promise.” While Kate nodded, she silently knew that this was not going to end well.”

“Wait...so Tom? Is he—?” Y/N asks the boys with anticipation.

Harrison knowing, exactly what Y/N was asking before she could even finished answered swiftly. “No! Of course not!” He laughs as if it was the silliest thing to answer. “Y/N, Tom loves you. He still does.”

“But the pictures..”

“Was a PR stunt set by Natalie’s publicists.” Harrison finished. “He’s doing a project that Natalie somehow got involved in, and they wanted a PR relationship to sell it. He didn’t want to at first, but then they showed him pictures of you and some div.”

“Hey he’s not some div! Matt’s a good guy.” Y/N defends. “Sweet actually, but I turned him down at the end of it. We’re just friends.”

Then it clicked. “Wait. You said that Tom saw the pictures?” Y/N asked trying to piece it together. “How did he get pictures?”

Harry and Harrison took a moment to think it through. “Well...Natalie’s publicist showed it to Tom.” Harry answered.

“But we don’t know where she got the pictures from.” Harrison added. “My money was on Natalie...still is.”

“Cmon mate. There’s no way she could have gotten pictures in New York and suddenly fly back to London.”

Kate slowly made her way to her own room, no longer wanting to be part of the conversation. They were getting too suspicious, and the more they questioned, the more nervous she got.

“Well maybe the unknown number sent it.” Harry said as he continued to be deep in his thoughts. “Or they found out on that fan account you found Harrison.”

“Wait? Fan account? They know?!” Y/N freaked out. Three years into making sure she was kept in the shadows, and it went all down the drain. If it there were fan accounts then it would only make it harder to finding out who really did sabotage her relationship. Let alone everyone’s lives.

“We don’t know yet, but Harrison found a fan account that was posting about Tom and you. Not together at least, but seperately. The weird part is...barely few people follow it, so we’re not sure what it means.” Harry explained, as he tried to pull up the account. “Oh no.”

“What? What do you mean ‘Oh no’?” Harrison panicked.

“I cant find the account.” Harrison said as he tried to pull it up, but the page disappeared.

In the nick of time, a message was sent to all three of them.

Unknown

Looks like you’re back to square 1 ❤️

“Shit! How did they know?” Harrison questioned in anger. “We were this close!”

“It’s okay Harrison. I appreciate that you guys tried, but it’s a lost cause.” Y/N consoled him, rubbing his shoulder.

“It won’t be. We’ll find another way.” Harry encouraged as he hugged them both. “By the way, where’s Kate gone?”

All three looked up to notice she was missing. Y/N waved it off, assuming it was just one of those days. “She probably went to bed early. Kate gets tired easily, nowadays. It might be because of her new job on top of watching out for me. Its a lot to take on for a person.”

The reasoning seemed valid enough Harrison and Harry. Plus it was Kate they were talking about, she always had Y/N’s back from day one, she wouldnt blackmail any of them or ruin Y/N and Tom’s relationship..right?

Late in the night, Harrison had trouble sleeping because of the jetlag. Since it only was a medicore 2 bedroom apartment, Harrison and Harry slept in the living room on the sofa bed. Luckily it was big enough for the both them and they didnt have to resort to cuddling. Harrison lied on his back as he looked out to the NYC view, thinking about everything and nothing at all. He smiled, thinking about it all. For a very serious couple, a lot of shit has gone down and yet here he was with trying to save it. He cared about the two so deeply, they were his family and family never turns their back on the other.

Then he heard something, whispers coming from the hall. Harrison didn’t dare to make a move but he trained his ears to listen carefully at the voice.

“Im telling you they are getting suspicious.” The voice whispered into the phone. It sounded like Kate’s and Harrison continued to listen in.

“No.No. I sent the damn pictures to you for a reason. No one told me that they would come here. I wasn’t prepared for that.” Kate continues as she paces in the corner.

Pictures? Harrison was awake more than ever, as he quickly shook Harry, and told him to stay quiet. They continued to listen.

“Look I did everything I was told to do. She got what she wanted, now —” Kate stopped in her tracks as she saw Harry and Harrison in front of her. Immediately she dropped the call, her lips moving, unable to find the words.

“How could you?” Harry said his brown eyes glaring at at the girl who just betrayed her best friend. “She was your best friend! How could you?!” He spoke louder.

Kate tried her best to quiet them down, but there was the point. She knew this day would come. “You don’t understand.” Kate whispers, looking at the ground. “I was only doing this to protect Y/N.”

“Protect Y/N? Blackmailing her? Sending pictures of her and a guy to Tom, so he would turn against her? That’s protecting her?” Harrison questioned, hurt by her actions. If he was hurt, then surely It would hurt Y/N far worse.

Y/N comes out of her room as she sees the three gather together, glaring at each other. “Hey..w-what’s going in?” She asks nervously.

“Why don’t you tell her Kate?” Harry spits out as he gestures to Y/N. Kate looks into her best friend’s eyes tears welling up. Y/N had fear struck into her face, afraid of what she had to say.

“I’m so sorry.” She cries. “I didn’t have a choice. She would have ruined our friendship if I did.”

“Kate. What.Did.You.Do?” Y/N asks, emphasizing each word to the question.

Kate shook her head as she let out a deep sigh. “Im the reason your pictured with Matt got out Tom.”

Y/N shook her head, tears streaming. She didn’t want to believe it. “Please tell me you’re lying.”

“Im sorry Y/N. I swear I didnt mean for this to get out of hand. I was threatened that if I didn share them, then they would say something that could ruin our friendship..and...I didnt want that to happen.” Kate frantically explains, sobbing at her no good explanation.

Y/N shook her head, her face switching from sadness to anger. “Looks like you didn’t need them to ruin it at all for you. Now you’re gonna tell me what you know and then Im packing my stuff and Im moving out.”

Kate sobbed as she try to plead to her ex-bestfriend to stay. “Look I’ll tell you everything okay, but it’s not much.” She takes a deep breath before she continues. “I was the one that started the rumors and created the fan account Harry and Harrison saw.”

“Why?” Y/N asks, her disappointed face unchanging.

“I was jealous of you at the time. Y/N you had everything I could have ever wanted in my life. A job, a boyfriend that doesn’t leave you, a family that loves you, and the fame which you didn’t even want to accept with open arms. You were always a step ahead of me at something and I was tired of it. So when you told me you felt uneasy about Natalie when she first moved in, I sold that info online and twisted the story so that it looked like Tom liked Natalie and they were a potential couple.”

“Oh my god.” Harrison said as he let his head down. “You made Natalie think that Tom was in love with her secretly thats why she had become so persistant.”

Kate slowly nodded as she took another breath. “As for the fan accounts I can’t tell you much because I was just asked to create them by the Unknown number.”

“Wait so you’re not the unknown number?” Harry asked confused.

Kate shook her head. “I don’t who it is. Im just a vicitim as much as you guys are.”

“No cut that bullshit. It’s because of you that all of our lives are a mess. It’s because of you that I had to lose the most important thing in my life. So don’t say you’re a fucking victim when all you really did was try to save your own ass.” Y/N yelled.

“You didn’t have to if you were so confident in your relationship with Tom.” She spat back.

“I love Tom with all my heart, but I was referring my best friend. I never want to see you again.” Y/N states, emotionless. No one had ever seen Y/N like this. In fact no one had ever seen her mad as she was on this very day. The day she lost her best friend.

Y/N went to her room to quickly gather her belongings, stuffing them back in the bag. Her phone was ringing and she didnt hesitate to pick it up.

“Tom...” she answers, holding back her sobs.

Taglist:

@hollanddolanfangirl​ @ifilosemyselfagain @hevjadams @averyfosterthoughts​ @fangirl-with-a-mission @drishtisikarwar @eridanuswave​ @ifntelyinspirit​ @trumpettay @astridcommings @parkershoco @racewife2004 @sleepybesson

[smallestclowninthecircus]

Season 3 notes popping off

due to my desire to not completely fail all my classes this year i made myself slow down significantly while listening to this season, and the fact that the other person i'm listening along with had to catch up. We've managed to convert several other people to start listening and its pretty great.

ep 81: what does it even mean to be chosen by one of them? And if he was chosen by the eye. we know Gertrude wasnt? Because she cut the eyes out of the magazines?

ep 82: elias lmao. I understand why people like him so much bahshdhdk i thought he was gonna snitch on Jon but he didnt so he's fine. Ok but how do we think he knew all that stuff. Idk probably just institute connections. I love the fact that the recorder just wants to record stuff randomly bjahsjdhd. Elias feels a lot like Michael in the sense that he knows more than he should and talks in a way that implies he just wants to wait and see how things play out for his own benefit. I understand him knowing the things that happened but his description of her emotions implies something paranormal. Maybe he's connected to one of the entities. Which one I cannot guess.

ep 83: did a file get delivered randomly to the place he's staying at? Probably elias lmao. He thinks the mannequin is related to the stranger. Idk I would believe it.

ep 84: worms? I know he says earth worms but idk. Again? Is she making gordon golems out of trash? Martin popping off. You can tell the statements get to him more that they get to Jon. How come martin is so mad about it? I want to assume he just doesnt want her to get stuck there but idk. Jude Perry. The calliope organ. Jon heard a circus in one of the last episodes

ep 89: he's talking to perry? Like jude Perry? He says ... God? Is that what it is? Lmao. The Desolation. Jon is tired of ppl being vague and not telling him stuff lmao. Oh God Jon is so confused. Compel her? Is she assuming he has some kind of power? Does he have powers? Hmm. im agreeing with jon here please jesus christ why does everyone have to be so cryptic. Just say what you mean. "maybe you get an itchy eye" bahasjkdfklsjdf girl what. Agnes saved her? Oh this is the girl from the cafe story? So theres the Cult of the Lightless Flame? They worship whatever entity this is? The Desolation? Why do they all seem like they sorta worship her then? Is Gretchen gonna die oh god. fuckin michael. a different michael aaah. i see. dont do it shes gonna burn you. sir. please. sir dont you dare do- WHAT DID I SAY what did you think was gonna happen hhh.

ep 90: try to make it less obvious you're trying to get fired big T. Elias that doesnt sound like the most healthy thing to do. oh dear is this gonna be triggering for me. uuuuuh. uuuuuuuuuh. doesnt seem like it ok gonna keep listening. Jared. hmmmmm. Ok we've seen Keay and hotner or whatever his name was.

ep 91: Michael Crew. Oh is this the lightning scar guy. Mister jon sir did you just die. No? God everyone is so fuckin cryptic. Say normal things please. They all just like to go on about pain and agony and j e s u s c h r i s t we get it you got hurted by whatever thing. So theyre avatars? question mark? Jude Perry is an avatar of The Desolation? hhhh fractals. thats a spiral thing innit. Yup. messing with your perceptions. God they all talk about feeding their god and feeding that which feeds them and. hh what does that meann. Leave big J. please. uh oh. is it daisy? how come he has the web lighter still? the tape recorder just turns on sometimes you know how it is. So he can compel people? not that he knows it obviously but. a bit wack. powers go brr i guess? If the eye just wants knowledge i guess he feeds it by getting the statements? b/c i doubt it wants him to murder ppl or whatever.

ep 92: elias you all knowing fuck what do you know. (i guess all given what i just said) Lukas. Heard of them before. Mordecai Lukas. Loneliness. The lonely even. Jonah Magnus. Elias ur sounding like a bit of a dickhead rn. lmao jon's just like "i dont care" elias what is ur deal. Why does he want to tie her in. ohh i see. lmao theyre all just like "elias why" The Unknowing lol seems very much like something the eye wouldnt like. lol elias is gettin all philosophical. what does it really mean to be human. this still doesnt answer why gertrude wanted to destroy the archives tho.

ep 93: bahsjdfh he seems so dead inside rip. awww admiral. i love him already. ghh breacon and hope. purple mold. doesnt sound like anything we've seen so far. I think the funniest explanation for breacon and hope is that they dont actually serve the stranger they just kinda happen to be a random neutral party that cart around random spooky entity related stuff. ooooh. when we hear the slight static of the tape recorder it's cuz he's compelling ppl.

ep 94: the end! listen man they were all just grayed up for 4/13.

ep 95: the end also? death but also savagery/ animalistic shit. aww martin. lmao becerra. she's just been chillin in the corner.

ep 96: return to sender. haha minecraft go brr. prediction: breacon and hope? yup there we go. jon why is there an echo. are you in a stairwell? is he gonna eat it- yup. how did i call it. unsure abt what theyre talking about but ok. they kidnapped someone? Sarah Baldwin. ooooh that guy.

ok im just putting this here so i have notes for when nicholas gets to this part. It seems like (from jon's conversation with jude perry) that the desolation and the eye are kinda at odds with eachother? like i guess not directly but it seems like they dont really vibe? so how could be with both. Cuz if he has the heat powers and shit then we know he's an avatar of the desolation. but then why does he have so much eye imagery. also he got burned intentionally? like jude did when she went on her monologue about the feeling of burning? but then why did he wear the eye pendant. it stops him from being burned all the way which seems like he's not fully accepting the fire or whatever.

Nooooo I lost like a bunch of my notes rip. I keep forgetting to save.

Ep 104: tim gives a coherent statement without jon even being there. Ugh. Fucking robert smirk. Dont like him. Joey. Dont recognize the name. The show must go on. Clown. The spooky circus?

ep 105: total war... shogun 2? jon is just understanding languages again. "if i understood mandarin or cantonese" are you sure you dont big man?

ep 106: havent we heard this one already? mans in space? oh no this is just another episode in space. fairchild... uuuh. cant remember. oh! this is related to that! this is one of the ppl from the other side. sounds like a Vast thing. oh he's the one that the dude saw? but that guy didnt have a face... she's sorta like jon. wanting to dismiss the statements. lmao i love the workplace gossip. ace jon for the win! oh cmon elias dont be a dick. sunny meadows or whatever. thats the place we heard about.

ep 107: oh great is it jude perry again. Third Degree. bahahsdkfj she was arrested. sorry but imagining this old british lady getting arrested is funny. she was trying to resurrect him. using the skin book. he's not feeling well. jon take a nap. i wonder if this is what happens when he uses his powers too much. He gets into The Zone when he reads statements lol. didn't we have a burning train car in anothre statement? is it julia fairchild? bahahahs "kidnapped. Again." poor jon honestly. julia... about her dad. daughter of the murder shed guy? hunting like your dad liked to hunt or normal people hunting. oh hunting vampires!

ep 108: melanie has been suffering. poor martin peter lukas why do you have to be like this. can he not just use the front door? does he have to bother the ppl doing statements?

ep 109: how come he cut her off? kinda rude tbh. its either jon's influence or there was smth he didnt want her saying. is it gerard on the table? this sounds kinda like smth from one of the university episodes. is it the closed eye on the hand? yup. he's like one of the students! if the thing listening in is elias then... he can do that without the tape recorder yknow. plus who's to say it wont just turn itself on again

110: who wants to bet its a leitner?

111: Lukas related to The Lonely. I used to not like Gerard that much but i like him more now. but i thought there were 15? ohhh thats right isnt flesh newer? gerry for the win honestly. finally telling jon things.

112: lol "again" no one ever tells any of these ppl anything. tim and basira are just out of the loop constantly. music, like the war episodes. The hunt or the slaughter? probably the hunt. so Daisy is related to the hunt right? basira likes the reading, she's doing fine at the institute. daisy's getting worried...

113: it just turned on randomly. what is it lol. explossives! oh boy. why do they always assume he turned it on intentionally. melanie youre not making me like you that much. which entity is this about i cant tell. lol he was disappointed it was just the end. The title Breathing Room made me think it was gonna be about the buried but i guess not. So many of these entities deal with death but the end is one that deals in just death. it has no need for fancy deaths, just death is enough

114: more hilltop road statements? the tree. oh boy. ok the tree has 8 arms obviously theres the spider parallels. was she taken into an alternate universe? oh no. jon tries to phrase things so he's not asking questions. thats honestly good. "sometimes i was kidnapped" oh dear. they got gertrude. daisy ur so odd lmao. who wants to bet they dont know the tape recorder's running?

115: silaca? or whatever? antique man? meat grinder... related to the meat is meat episode? oh wow. they buy antiques from him. maybe dont antagonize this creature which can kill you?

116: lol theyre all just so done with elias. music? is it like the one band that if you hear them you die or wtvr. oh its chess? i am very much confused. mmm stranger go brr. gorilla skin? oh shit the dance. woah. this is so good. this is so gender. the words are wonderful. "you can just say tim" lmao trying to fool elias never feels like a good idea.

117: except elias lmaoo. oh shit. leitner getting some use for once idk. bruuh poor melanie she has been thru so much shit. martin you can just say youre worried about jon. lol he's so accurate in his jon impression. lol who was that. was that daisy? lmaoo. oop hi tim. oh god i hope tim doesnt die. i feel like i wouldve heard about that? but im not sure. destroying the source of knowledge is gonna be hard for jon. yay jon! you did a good thing. let him rest.

118: go off martin lmao. awww poor martin. oh god the tape gets that squealy quality and its awful.

119: woah. lots of things happening. uhh. POP OFF TIM!!

120: lmao elias giving a statement about jon's dreams lol. damn jon doesnt even get his own dreams? has to stay Watching even when he's asleep? f in the chat this man goes thru so much shit. oh boy its peter. lol martin my beloved. idk i dont trust peter.

[aonogifreactions]

Also, I happened to be perusing your tag list for Mephy dearest and noticed you didn’t do before/during/after mating season headcanons for him, so if you’d be so kind when you have time? (And Amaimon too if he hasn’t been done cuz my stupid ass forgot to check him before requesting) thanks in advance~ ;) ❤️

hI HELLo and welcome! it is me! and im actually writing! *applause* i actually dont remember if ive done amaimon before, so i wrote about him too. no regrets. enjoy! :eyes:

Mephisto:

Before:

gets hella irritated by anything, doesn't talk much. is really grumpy, has weird cravings, pretty much feels like he’s pregnant.

is easily flustered, so you better not start a fight with him.

is brutally, and i mean, BRUTALLY honest with you and everyone else.

“Why did you buy me a banana milkshake? I wanted the strawberry one!” *cries on the floor* or *tosses the milkshake on the floor and leaves*

he can get really cold towards you, whether it’s your fault or someone else’s. will say some cryptic shit, might even expose your secrets, use you for his plans, but! he won’t kill ya, don’t worry. unless...?

he informs you a few days prior to his “grumpy days” to not be with him much. Mephy’s literally giving you a warning, and I advise you to listen to him, lmao.

During:

immediately calls you when his “grumpy days” are over, telling you how much he missed you. practically screams into his phone.

this quickly can get steamy, since he’s just.. to be blatant, horny. will start his famous dirty talk, hell, you can even get some dick pics to your collection.

expects you to be available all the time. like you’re taking a bath? poof! you’re in his office, cuz he needs you right there and right now. 

gets uncharacteristically subby and very desperate during his mating season. his pathetic whines to touch him, to let him release all that thick cum.

speaking about cum, he cums a fucking ton. It's thick, kinda white-ish, and S W E E T, I kid you not!

God, don't even mention tail play. He's gonna cream his pants 3 times when you only just try to touch the tip of his tail.

When you're mean, however, pull his tail a little bit or keep rubbing it's tip. He'll moan as loud as he can, with a slight smirk on his face, tongue lolled out.

He does aheago face, no one can convince me otherwise.

Pops out of nowhere, stating: "Darling, I might need your help…", then slowly places your hand on his bulge.

Has no shame. Literally. He wants, and will grope you whenever he can. Especially your chest.

Is willing to use toys on him. He just wants that sweet release, no matter with what way he's going to achieve that.

giving him a blowjob might make him literally explode with confetti.

Feels a HUGE need to mark you, even more than before. You need to stop him though, sometimes he draws blood; during this time he usually gets lost in pleasure and kinda drifts away from reality. Just flick his forehead. Or smack him really hard.

After:

He,,, feels a bit "embarrassed". Every time he's after his mating season, just thinking bout his actions and that desperateness.. really makes him cringe.

Makes it up for you, apologizes for hurting you just in case; however, "you should've known what you signed up for, sweetheart."

is now his usual, annoying self; considers having you as dom from time to time.

Amaimon:

Before:

c l i n g y. all the damn time. will not let you go anywhere without him.

eats 2x more sweets than usual. I feel sorry for your bank account.

gets really talkative??? talks non-stop. this is so out of character he’s surprised himself.

does THE STUPIDEST things while possibly risking his host’s health. Ha, see that tall building? what would happen if you two jumped off of it-

W H I N E S.

During:

you better have health insurance just in case.

wants to fuck you anywhere it’s possible to. even in the air.

goes full-on demon mode, his pupils sharpen, his ears change, as well as the tail. his breathing gets louder as well.

gets a bit more aggressive; pulls you by the hand and literally rips your clothes off. he will fuck you whenever he wants to. you’re his fucktoy and there’s no other way but to accept it.

he snarls! right into your ear! :chill:

his “nails” change into claws that can dig into your skin quite painfully; be sure to remind him when he goes overboard!

despite being a literal killing machine, he doesn’t want to kill you, especially during intercourse. Which means! he actually knows when its a bit too much for you. It’s somewhere.. but it is!

loves pain! and unfortunately, you digging your pretty nails into his back isn’t enough. he’s satisfied when he’s all bloody, with bruises and small wounds (that will heal quickly, so don't worry.)

pulls your hair a lot, especially when you blow him.

marks you with his cum.. everywhere. in your mouth, on your chest, stomach, ass, or his favorite place - your gorgeous face.

will try to breed you. just imagining your tight pussy filled with his cum that’ll make your stomach all pretty and round is driving him crazy. (even though.. he doesn’t really like kids?)

in addition, he loves the sight of your mixed juices dripping out of you. that makes him even more aroused than before.

is capable of eating you out for HOURS. and I literally mean hours! his face gets all messy, your silk on every single part of his face.

After:

acts like nothing happened.

i could just end it here.

might feel a lil bad if he hurt you; this is when he shows that he’s capable of actual lovemaking. this is kinda his apology to you, since he’s awful with words.

[kaadhalil]

i can feel you take control (of who i am)

context: @webheadstan and i were talking yesterday and basically i came up with the idea that there is not any birbal x akbar fics. and they kept enabling my bs and now we're here. im so sorry

cw: light swearing, pretentious fuckery, premarital handholding❤️

word count: 1,685

Short. Shorter. Comparative nouns. Mere concepts of measurement. Why would it matter? What is the point of any of this? Time trickles away as Birbal sits in his room, barely lit by a single candle. The breeze is strong tonight, the trees outside his windows shake their leaves, and Birbal feels as though the leaves are mocking him.

He's not doing okay, cut the man some slack.

He rises from his seat once the breeze picks up speed, threatening to snuff his candle. The wind is telling him to go to sleep. He tries to lie down and do just that. But he can't. He twists and turn in his bed, silky sheets tangling like his mind, every memory of the day running through his head over and over again and plaguing his dreams. He wants to sleep but sleep doesn't come. He's anxious. He's restless. He's worried. He's an idiot.

"So you think you're smart?" asked Akbar, his tone friendly, dripping with an emotion Birbal cannot understand. He fiddles his thumbs, watching the emperor intently. They are stood in the far end of the palace hallway, a balcony overlooking the mango groove. They stand silent, watching the sunset, the air is scented saccharine from the mangoes and thick from a tension Birbal cannot seem to understand.

Birbal smiles. Smart. Of course, he's smart. He'll crack the funniest jokes, he'll say the wittiest things just to see the emperor laugh. It's his favourite thing. Akbar laughing. Eyes shining brighter than the diamonds he's wearing, cheeks rosier than the roses that grow in the palace garden, a laughter that sounds like music to his ears, a rhythm so gentle and deep. He loves that he's the reason for that laughter.

("Oi Birbal," calls Kabir, the palace gardener when he catches Birbal sitting all by himself by the rose bushes cradling a duck in his arms. "What the fuck are you doing here, pal?"

Birbal turns. The duck quacks loudly, startling him, and pecks his hand. Birbal drops him in shock. The duck scoffs and slowly waddles away.

"What are you doing with one of the palace ducks? Don't you have like, I don't know, royal duties to do? Oh, my God are you ruining my roses?! Get out!"

"Nothing's wrong with your roses. I'm sorry. I needed somewhere quiet to think," says Birbal, sounding not sorry at all. No, he's busy thinking of other things.

The palace gardener looks down at him like a displeased mother. Birbal wants to disappear.

"Why'd you look so sad, buddy?" Kabir asks, as he begins plucking his roses.

Birbal looks up at the red, red roses in his hand. Some are small, some are big. He's beginning to go insane.

"How do you change things without changing them?" Birbal blurts. He doesn't know why he asked the gardener. If Birbal doesn't know, how would a mere gardener know?

Kabir gives him a look. "Something to do with the emperor?" Birbal doesn't answer. "I don't know what you're saying to be honest with you," says Kabir, twirling a large full bloomed rose in his hand. "But you change things without changing them by changing everything but them."

"Thanks, Kabir. That helped me in no way!" says Birbal, getting up. He shouldn't be wasting his time like this.

Kabir rolls his eyes as he picks a smaller rose and lays it in his basket right next to the bigger one he'd picked before.

"Sometimes, you are so dense, Birbal," he says.)

"Of course, I'm smart, your majesty," says Birbal. He isn't watching the sunset. He's too busy entranced with the single curl that rests near Akbar's ear. He wonders if that curl tickles.

"Well then, aren't you cocky?" chuckles Akbar. "You think you can answer every question ever?"

"No, but I'd love to try. I'm always up for a challenge. Even if it means doing the impossible."

("It's fucking impossible!" exclaims Birbal. "This is bullshit. I'm going to quit my job. It's not worth it!"

"Woah, hey, man. Keep the negativity away from the kitchens. This place is for good vibes and good vibes only. I'll kick you out. I don't care if you're a courtier," says Rahul, the head cook in-charge. Rahul is busy balancing plates and overlooking the dinner prep goes smoothly. The kitchen is hot, everyone is sweaty but Birbal has nowhere else to go. People keep kicking him out.

"I want to give up," whines Birbal, as he rolls one of the laddus in his hand. It's small.

Rahul comes closer to the forlorn courtier who's sitting atop one of the kitchen counters and silently muttering to himself like a madman. "Maybe if you shared your problem I could help you?"

Birbal sighs. Sure, why not? He's now accepted that he isn't as smart as he thought. "How do you change things with thout changing them?" he asks.

Rahul cocks an eyebrow at him. He reaches for the bowl next to Birbal and rolls a laddu. It's big. "You don't. You let things be. If change doesn't want to be forced then change shouldn't be," says Rahul. He yanks Birbal's smaller laddu from his hands and places it on the plate.

And then Rahul places his bigger laddu right next to it.

"What if change really, really needs to happen but it shouldn't?"

"Then it will. Or it already has. And you're just blind, Birbal.")

"Well then," says Akbar. He has a stick of charcoal in his hand. He looks at Birbal, something mischievous brewing beneath his eyes.

Birbal knows almost every emotion behind those honey coloured eyes like it's the back of his hand. Almost.

Emperor Akbar draws a line on one of the pillars next to him. He then turns to Birbal, a cheeky smile playing at his lips. "You see this line? If you're so smart then I want you to shorten it."

Birbal extends his hand to rub it off but Akbar catches it.

Birbal looks down at their hands. His fingers are long and slender compared to the emperor's short and thick ones. It's an imperfect fit. He could obsess over it.

"I want you to shorten it without touching it," says Akbar, his tone teasing. He graces Birbal with a playful smile.

"What?" exclaims Birbal. "That's not possible."

"Oh, so you aren't as smart as I thought?"

"No! I am! I mean..." says Birbal, flushed. "This is kind of ridiculous, your majesty."

"If so then do it. Make that line short. Go on."

Birbal blinks. He doesnt get it. He doesn't know what to do.

"Tell you what. We'll come back tomorrow. If you manage to do it, I'll reward you."

"What's the reward, your majesty?"

Akbar smiles even wider. His eyes shine with an emotion Birbal has grown so familiar to yet he doesn't understand. "Whatever you wish," says Akbar.

("It's so simple, dear Birbal," says Akbar, cupping the side of Birbal's face and gracing him with a fond smile. Birbal has seen that look plenty of times before. It's soft. It's comforting. It's kind. It's the same look he's graced with everytime Birbal lets the emperor win at Snakes & Ladders. It's the same look he's graced with when they feed the ducks together. It's the same look the king gives him in the court daily whenever their eyes meet. "Can't you see?" he asks.

"See what?" Birbal asks, frustrated. Why is everyone around him so cryptic?

"You really are so blind," teases Akbar. "The answer is right before you. It's staring you in the eye. The answer is begging you to notice but you don't."

"Why can't you just tell me the answer instead?"

"I believe you aren't that dense and you don't need things spelled out for you."

"I'm frustrated," pleads Birbal. He's at his wits end.

"So am I. I'm frustrated that you wake up everyday and you choose to be a blind idiot who thinks you could hide things from me."

"What?!"

"Wake up. I'm waiting for you. Always have been."

Birbal blinks awake.)

He stands in the same hallway as yesterday. The pillar with the line. It's a fine sunny afternoon. The breeze is light. The sky is cloudless. The bees are buzzing. There's a thousand butterflies dancing in his ribcage wanting fly away.

It's so easy. It's all he's ever wanted. He's just been too much of an idiot to understand.

To change something that shouldn't be changed you change the everything but that. Be and let it be.

Change isn't forced. It has already happened. It has happened unnoticed, quiet. How dare. Birbal would've liked to have been told when it had happened.

He would've liked to have been told he fell in love.

"Go on," urges Akbar, twirling a rose in his hand. "Do it."

Birbal grips his charcoal stick in his sweaty hand and clumsily reaches for the pillar. And slowly he draws a longer line next to the emperor's.

He feels Akbar's eyes on him. Doesn't understand why that makes him nervous. The charcoal stick breaks right as he finishes. He gripped it too hard.

"Short," says Birbal, facing the emperor. The emperor is a good 3 inches shorter than him. "Your line is now shorter. I didn't touch it."

Akbar smiles. "Very clever, Birbal." Akbar hasn't once looked at the lines. He's intently looking at Birbal. "Ask for your reward."

Birbal glances away. The bees are buzzing and the butterflies are out of control.

"I- I don't know," says Birbal, hesitation at his throat. "Would you like a walk in our rose garden, your majesty?"

"I would like that very much," he says. Akbar reaches over to tuck his rose into Birbal's hair. "I'd love to. I've been waiting for you. Always have been."

"You don't have to wait any longer," says Birbal, slipping his hand into the emperor's and pulling him to the gardens.

Birbal looks down. His fingers are long and slender compared to the emperor's short and thick ones. Akbar's fingers have more rings, they have a gentler grip.

Birbal grips tighter. It's a perfect fit.

[misfitjohnnys]

unintentional; i just can’t stay by your side

You’ve worked hard for everything you’ve gotten and Mark Lee is a soft twist in your busy life, but you know hiding part of yourself eventually always bites anyone in the ass.

Word count: 19k - part 4/5

Reader x Mark Lee

(M)

masterlist // warnings

Mark hadn’t texted you back yet even once you woke up, sending you into a slight worry. The night shift had been hell and you were trying hard not to worry about Mark on his flight; you already had so much on your plate after your time spent away with him.

a/n: this chapter contains smut

You quickly logged onto Tumblr and tried to get some kind of update, blinking a bit when you saw nothing from searching his name and moved to Twitter. You were still met with nothing. The signs were both good and bad. No bad news, but that didn’t necessarily mean it was all good. You decided to text him again, but hoped you weren’t being too much. You’d already sent a few texts and you were scared to text the other members in fear that something bad had happened; you couldn’t handle if that was the truth.

Everything okay? Missing you :(

You sighed, tossing your phone to the side and staring at your ceiling, alone in your empty bed. It was the first time Mark had been away from your country since you met and you hated that you were feeling this way, but you couldn’t help it. You got up and tried to busy yourself by cleaning and taking your things from the spare room to set your decorations back up. You thought it would make you feel better to do so and to see things that reminded you of him, so you reorganized your memorabilia with no avail, trying to wait patiently for a response.

Mark was probably busy, you decided. Baekhyun had blown up his phone and he was back at home so maybe he was catching up, but you thought a text message wasn’t too much to get. Mark was normally good at responding, wonderful even. So, it was only a bit odd that you’d gotten nothing since his just landed! text that you’d gotten at 7pm the previous night. It had been about a day and a half since you dropped him off and the flight was almost 16 hours, so something didn’t feel right. It should’ve been nearing 1am at that point. You’d have to get used to the time difference, unfortunately.

You decided on cleaning your whole apartment to distract yourself and take a day off, calling the housecleaner off yet again. You needed to keep your mind busy until Mark would text you back. It took about an hour after you started your cleaning, but you finally got a response, gasping when you saw the name on your phone. You had to calm down for just a moment before opening it, smiling and trying to relax. It had been way too long for a response, but you were going to give him space.

Hey

You swallowed. He hadn’t ever texted you a greeting like that before, he always used emojis and overused exclamation points, so just the simple word bothered you. You tried to shake it off, texting him eagerly as always.

hey!! how is everything?

You hoped you’d get a better response, but you were left disappointed.

its okay i guess, i’m pretty busy.

You gulped, not liking the tension, but after all it was over text message, so you shouldn’t be as worried as you were. but something didn’t feel right. You tried to find the right words to respond but were cut short by the ellipsis followed by another text.

Can we like, talk?

Of course, you could talk to him. You shockingly weren’t busy, and you always made time for Mark.

yeah of course! you wanna call me? 💞

You tried to ease whatever was going on with your own sweetness, hoping it would be returned.

Not really.. I’m kind of in the middle of something, but I have to talk to you.

Oh no, there it was. Something was happening. You wanted to play the joke card to ease the tension because he always wanted to call you, he rarely didn’t call you for at least a minute when you asked, but you had to understand that he was back home and things would be different when he was there. It was much more dangerous. You watched the dots appear on your screen again, pausing your own thoughts for response.

Are you like, an nctzen?

Mark felt stupid for asking like that, but they were the only words he could come up with. You thought it was cute and you didn’t think anything of that message, which eased your concern a bit.

well yeah, dummy 😂 why wouldn’t I be?

More dots showed up, quicker this time.

No. That’s not what I mean.

You swallowed again.

Mark was sitting at home awake much too early with Taeyong sleeping, not really wanting to talk to him about the situation either. Taeyong didn’t seem like anything was wrong and that bothered Mark to no end. He sighed, typing a response again and he only saw the read receipt from you.

Like. Okay. Were you a fan of us, before all this happened? Like from the beginning. When you met me.

Your heart was beating fast, staring blankly at the message. Fuck, you should’ve told him by now. You had the time, you had the ability to tell him the whole time, you don’t know why you hadn’t. Of course, you knew that it was more of a possibility of him tossing you away that scared you into not telling him in the first place. You had every opportunity to come clean and you hadn’t. You feared his judgement and it swayed your truth. You sat in guilt on it for so long, hoping it would turn out to be fine and be something you laughed about later on, but it didn’t seem like that was how the conversation was going to go. At all. You were nervous, you wanted to deflect, buy some time. Maybe he was just asking to clear his own head and you were thinking too hard into it.

mark baby what’s this about?

You felt stupid for asking like that at the seriousness of the conversation, sighing and deciding on sending another message.

can you call me later? i can tell something is up, we can talk about it later if youre busy okay? focus on your work, i love you.

You had forgotten about the time again, just assuming that he was busy with other things. He did have extremely tight schedules after all.

I’ll call you later.

Okay, I’ll be here to answer, alright?

And like that, you got no further response, no I love you too, just a read receipt and a bad feeling in your gut. You sighed, checking on the time difference. Mark had to have been home in his dorm, lying awake either much too late or up too early and you knew how things got to him in the hours between night and morning. Maybe he needed to sleep whatever off, you would give him the space. You decided to try and busy yourself with cleaning again, but you found yourself obsessively checking on Tumblr, Twitter, and anywhere else you could think to find any information on what Mark had been up to. You knew it was wrong, but you thought your worries would be eased. What if he found your accounts? Maybe that was what this was about, but you didn’t think so. Mark wasn’t very big on social media in general, so you doubted he’d find you easily.

The feeling in your gut didn’t subside for a few hours, aimlessly wandering around your apartment and trying to straighten up even more, but everything was reminding you of the last week and the fact that Mark had just been there days ago and now he was back home questioning you over text message and nothing felt like it was making any sense. You didn’t know what exactly you did wrong, but there were so many ways he could have found out, you weren’t exactly sneaky, you just didn’t tell him the whole truth.

You sighed heavily, deciding to text your friends to figure out what was up. Irene was still pretty angry with you for ditching your responsibilities to follow a concert tour and you’d hardly seen her aside from in passing without questioning you, so you didn’t know what she’d think if you messaged her about Mark. She was off of the option list. Yeri seemed like a valid person to give decent feedback, so you shot her a message.

Yeri sweetie I’m freaking out I don’t know what to do

She was always quick to reply.

Oh god what’s happening are you okay

Not really, I think I fucked up with Mark and I don’t know what to do

Holy shit wait, are you still talking to him????

dude AM i?? We kinda made things official and he came to visit me a week ago shit im sorry I haven’t updated you

no fucking way dude I still have Lucas in my DMs… man what have we gotten ourselves into???

lucas??? in your DMs???

YES OMG but okay that doesn’t matter what’s happening with Marky Mark???

You’d return to the Lucas conversation at a later date, that didn’t matter right now. You wanted guidance and you knew Yeri wasn’t the best at advice, but she was great at listening and offering a helping hand as much as she could give you, so it was helpful.

okay so he texted me some cryptic stuff and I’m just really nervous that i messed something up

Alright stop freaking out lmao, I’m sure everything’s fine and you’re just being dramatic!! What did he say?

You sighed and screenshot the last bit of your conversation and sent it, hopefully trying to get a better answer. It felt wrong to share your conversations with him, but you felt it was the best way to help you and get a clearer answer. Yeri knew you had put up the charade in the first place and wasn’t too fond of the idea, but she’d never tell you that. She’d act oblivious as much as she could to stay on your side.

What could that be about?? Did someone get to him and try to make you look bad??

Yeri i literally have no idea, I’m freaking out trying to figure it out! It’s like 2am there and I don’t want to bother him again to talk

Okay sweetie well just let it ride out, see what he has to say and call him in the morning! Don’t freak out too much yet, I’m sure it’s fine!! i love you!!!

You sighed again, hoping that Yeri was right, she usually was, but Irene usually had a more practical answer. Irene wasn’t someone you could ask about this though, she’d be angry with you for trying to focus on someone instead of your work and you hadn’t even updated her on exactly what was going on, so she was out of the loop to begin with and telling another person didn’t seem like it was in the best interest of you or Mark. You frowned, hoping that you’d calm down a little more before going to sleep because it had gotten dark before you realized how fast time had flown by. Maybe you’d send him one last text, just to ease your own mind.

Hey, I know it’s late, but I’m worried I did something to upset you and that’s the last thing I want, can we talk as soon as possible?

Yeah, I’ll call you in the morning.

Goodnight.

Sleep well, okay?

He’d never been so short with you before, just hoping that it wasn’t an issue you created because you didn’t think you did anything for him to find out. Maybe someone else was speculating and it wasn’t on you at all. You tried to convince yourself that maybe someone had him paranoid instead of it being something you did. You were trying to be optimistic and hoped it would all just blow over. It would break your heart to have ruined it yourself because things were going so well, and it was so long since you’d been so happy before. You sat in your freshly made bed, hoping to relax a bit. A few hours passed, still trying to find things to ease your mind before it was getting late. Still no call from Mark and no other texts from him either. You checked the time, hoping it was getting to be around morning time for him. Maybe you’d get lucky and he needed to be up early.

Your hopes were answered when you received a text around 4pm.

Is now a good time?

Your heart was racing faster than you’d ever felt it, your stomach in knots.

-

Mark had the chance to talk to Taeyong, who had more of a difficult time talking to him than he thought possible, Taeyong’s nerves were shot and he spent his hardest time trying to defend you.

“So you knew about this, like, the whole time?”

“Well, no..” Taeyong sighed, scratching behind his ear nervously. “I only found out after we went bowling and Baekhyun-hyung had me come in the room with him and-“

“So you helped him go through the suitcase?”

“No, not at all, I-um- actually told him not to, but you know he’s very persistent and-“

“Taeyong, come on, please.” Mark nearly looked on the verge of tears. “You know I hate being lied to, I hate it so much, so why didn’t you tell me?” He pleaded with his leader, hoping to get a better answer than the upsetting one he was getting.

“I-“ Taeyong sighed. “I saw how happy you were, and I know that we all get a bit uncomfortable when we try to talk to someone and they’re a fan, and I-“ He tried to gather his words, earning a disappointing look from Mark. “I didn’t want you to make that mistake.” Taeyong was honest, he was pure at heart and only wished for the best in people. The last thing he wanted was for Mark to give up his chance of pursuing you because of the stigma around dating a fan, so he stayed quiet and it was biting him in the ass.

“Well, now I might have made another mistake because I’ve been lied to for the last, what? Few months?” Mark scoffed. “Does anyone else know? I mean come on, we’re all in a group chat with half of 127, you know how awkward that is that I literally introduced them to someone who possibly fucking idolizes them? That’s so weird dude!” Mark didn’t like the idea of putting Yuta, Jaehyun, Johnny, or anyone else in danger and it would be all his fault if something happened, the boys were weird and texted dumb things and private conversations, so it wasn’t a good look to have you knowing them all like that. Granted, they were adults and could have spoken up and denied being added, but Mark knew they all believed the best in people, which is why he made the chat in the first place.

Taeyong gulped again, trying to get Mark to calm down before he spoke again. “Nobody else knows.”

“Nobody?” Mark didn’t seem so sure.

“No, Baekhyun hasn’t told anyone either.” Taeyong was biting his nails, looking anywhere but in Mark’s eyes. He was almost sure that Baekhyun hadn’t told anyone because he seemed so adamant that the word shouldn’t get out, but Taeyong wasn’t entirely positive.

“You sure?” Mark asked, pleading for Taeyong to answer him honestly. Taeyong had a history of making sure everyone was always happy, so Mark had to make sure he wasn’t avoiding the truth just to please the boy.

“I’m positive, okay?” Taeyong nodded. He wasn’t, but it would put Mark at ease, but he was positive that even if Baekhyun had slipped up that he wouldn’t put them into even more danger by adding to the situation. EXO was known for being level-headed and under the radar, so he didn’t fear that you’d be exposed, not even a little bit. He thought a moment, blinking at Mark. Taeyong was going to make his statement. Maybe he wasn’t right in how he felt, but it felt like he was. “I don’t care, I think the two of you are good together and you make each other happy, so you shouldn’t care either!” Taeyong sighed softly. “Have you two talked?”

“Not yet, I’m, um, supposed to call later. I was supposed to call days ago, but I-I don’t know if I can.” He’d texted you, but he’d avoided calling you for days and you tried to be fine with him not talking to you even when he seemed like he had so much to say and clearly the conversation was important but the time never felt right and Mark was obviously avoiding the problem.

“Please talk, you guys have something special okay, I know it.” Taeyong offered a smile, trying to make sure Mark didn’t regret his decision just because of one small hiccup. Mark sighed again, his face in his hands. “You should be upfront and figure the whole thing out.”

“Okay, I’ll call, fine.” Mark grumbled, pressing his thumb and forefinger to his temples. “I seriously don’t know what to do, man.” He scoffed. Taeyong sighed softly, nodding his head.

“I mean, stand in that position, what if you decided not to talk at all just because you found out about the three of them were fans? I can’t exactly blame them in this situation. I can understand why they hid it from you, you probably would’ve backed away before it even started.” Taeyong tried his best to comfort Mark, but he could tell he was failing. He was disappointed in himself for failing to talk to Mark before Baekhyun got to him in the first place, he blamed himself more than anyone. It was a tough situation to be in in general, he understood both perspectives and just wanted everyone to be happy. Taeyong didn’t know what to do.

“But you could’ve warned me.”

“I don’t know that it would’ve helped..” Taeyong was probably more nervous than you, settling back down with biting his nails and he wasn’t even sure who he could talk to about his own nerves, not wanting to hurt Mark any further until you two settled what was going on. He hoped everything would be okay, Taeyong liked you. He thought you were wonderful, and he was so happy to meet you and see how radiant and excited Mark had been since becoming a trainee, he just hoped it would all be fine. He wanted Mark to be happy, he wanted you to be happy. He liked the friendship he’d made with you and checking to see how you were doing, always followed with happy text messages and even he wanted to message you before it blew up, but it didn’t feel right.

Taeyong wanted it to all be okay.

-

“Hey.” The voice on the other end of the speaker was almost terrifying. You had gasped when Mark finally called. It had been a while since you talked. Mark had done a good job ignoring you for way too long and you felt like you could pass out.

Your heart was pounding painfully in your chest. It was nearing 4pm your time because he’d clearly let it go on to the next day even after he and Taeyong’s conversation, but he had finally decided to call when he woke up, thoughts rushing around both your heads, but the biggest fear was whether or not Mark was alright. You had been so worried about you and where you stood with him, but once you heard his voice that was long forgotten, you just wanted him to be alright. That’s what mattered more than anything.

“Mark?” You questioned, voice coming out much shakier than you wanted it to.

“Hey,” He sighed through the speaker. You didn’t know if you were ready for the conversation even if you had so much time to prepare for what you’d hear, but you knew it was necessary to keep whatever was happening between the two of you at a decent standing. “I’ve got, um, a question.” He sounded confused and choked up.

“Okay, yeah, you can ask me anything.” You assured him, hoping to put him at ease. “Is this about what you texted me about?”

“Yeah,” Mark cleared his throat. “It is, um. So, like. Be real with me.” He sighed again. “Were you a fan of us before all this? Be honest with me, please. I-I-I asked the other day and you didn’t answer.”

You had half a mind to deflect again even after some serious thought, but you weren’t sure it was the right answer. “I-“ You sighed. “I knew about you.”

“That didn’t um, exactly answer my question.” His laugh sounded condescending and you felt like you could vomit. “How much did you know?” You sighed again.

“A good amount, I guess..” You trailed off, voice quieter.

The speaker was silent for a moment. “Please don’t lie to me, I really don’t like being lied to.” He was making it more and more obvious that you had really messed up, which was your biggest fear. You had messed up and there was going to be no way to avoid the conversation and go back to normal because you neglected to tell him in the first place. You avoided it on purpose and kept making excuses, but you were screwed. You messed up. It wasn’t someone projecting on him, he had been told the truth and you didn’t know how, but it didn’t matter. He knew and all you could do was confirm and come clean.

“Mark,” You sighed again, knowing it was finally time to fess up. You weren’t sure how to word it, but you finally had to tell him the truth even though it was too late. You had a feeling. “I was actually in the city for the SuperM concert with my friends and-“ You paused to calm yourself down. “I’ve been a fan of you for a while, yeah.”

“Me?” His voice was softer, obviously trying to get you to continue.

“Well-Like, all of you? I guess.” You said briefly, biting your lip. “I’ve kind of.. been a fan for a while.”

“And you didn’t think this was that big of a deal?” He asked with a scoff.

You paused for a moment, silence breaking waves in your head. You should have told him, and you had been purposefully avoiding it. You feared telling him and it felt like good reasoning until that moment. “I was scared, Mark.”

“Scared of what?” He asked, tone much more aggressive than you were used to. You felt sick to your stomach, lying on your bed and trying to finish the conversation without freaking out fully.

“Scared of you not wanting me anymore, I guess. Scared that you might not give me a chance.” You hoped that was the right answer. It was the truth and hopefully he would understand. Maybe it would all blow over.

“I wish you would’ve just said something because now it absolutely, like, feels like you’ve been hiding shit from me.” Mark had never raised his voice, he still was level-headed, but you knew he was correct in his feelings and he had every right to react that way. “I seriously hate being lied to more than anything in the damn world and you’ve been doing it to me for months, I just like people to just be, like, upfront with me, dude!” It was weird to hear him speaking like that especially since it was all so new to begin with, wishing you had never put him in the position to be angry with you.

Internally, Mark knew that he more than likely wouldn’t have given you a chance, but he didn’t want to think about it. He wanted to pretend that he wouldn’t have done that, but it wasn’t the truth and he knew it. He was pulled from his thoughts again when you spoke. “I-Mark, I-I’m really sorry, you’re right, I should’ve said something.”

“Yeah, you think?” He scoffed again. “This is like, exactly what happens to people in this industry.” His voice started to crack a bit and knowing you were the reason for his upset was more than heartbreaking. “We have such a hard time dating people because they get lied to, okay? I trusted you, I poured my heart out to you and every single time I thought you were just interested in me, it was all things you probably already knew, huh?” The bite in the last sentence was soul-crushing, your throat felt tight.

You didn’t know how to respond. You pulled yourself together, trying to ignore the blinding headache you were getting from having hurt him so badly. It was never your intention, but he was right. He was. “Yes.”

“You knew all that stuff. You knew our songs; you knew the members and here I was just thinking you had learned it all for me.” He spat, hurt in his tone. “I thought I was special, someone you wanted to get to know and it was stuff you already knew! You knew everything, didn’t you? Didn’t you?” He repeated more aggressively, but you didn’t want him to think you wouldn’t have done those things in the first place. If you had been in the position to get to know him from scratch, you would have learned those things about him, but knowing him was the reason you had connected and invited him to the party in the first place. He was special, but it wasn’t an authentic relationship and it killed you that you’d done something so stupid.

“You.. Are special, Mark.” You sighed, trying to ignore the tears begging to fall because he was right. “You didn’t deserve to be lied to, but Mark, I really like you. Not even just because you’re famous or my idol or anything, I really, really like you okay? I’m interested in continuing to get to know you and every moment I spent with you is a miracle and I just hope you feel the same way.” You were both quiet for a moment.

“I mean,” He huffed into the phone. You didn’t expect him to go off. “I thought I did, but how can I trust you? I had to find out from Baekhyun that you’d been lying to me! Not only me, but to Lucas, Taemin, everyone!” The words stung. “We let you in the chats, let you into our personal lives, and then we find out we probably fucked up big time? That’s low, it’s really fucked up looking at it. It puts us in danger, okay?” You gulped. He was right. He had every right to be mad because it was almost like you were invading his personal life by hiding part of yours. “I’m supposed to make the decision on if I want to take it anywhere with someone knowing who I am. I’m supposed to be the one to decide, not you!” It felt wrong. You felt wrong. You shared so much with Mark and he shared enough with you to get him into huge trouble, but you had ignored it for your own selfishness and continued to drag it on. “Do you see where I’m coming from?”

“Mark, I swear I’d never put you in danger.” And you wouldn’t. You’d never do anything to hurt him or anyone else but that didn’t matter in the conversation. You had avoided dating for the same reason, people searching for your money or to get what they wanted when you first got your name up, but you never expected to be in the opposite position. You didn’t need Mark for the money, but the validation of having someone more famous than you was probably an internal validation that you seeked. Maybe it was why you’d done it in the first place; having someone you looked up to interested in you felt good and it made you selfish.

The mention of Baekhyun didn’t raise any flags in your head at the time, it didn’t even cross your mind that it was why he’d been so dodgy with you and weird in the first place. You’d only met him twice in comparison to the others and both times he was sweet but guarded. The lines didn’t connect at the mention.

“So, you haven’t talked about this to anyone? Not on the internet or anything?” He scoffed, finding it hard to believe if your answer was no. You hadn’t told anyone and the people you did tell had met with them and weren’t in any position to speak out about it. Seulgi didn’t care and Yeri was talking to Lucas, so they weren’t a threat because they’d end up exposed too. However, Yeri was an open book and you were positive Lucas knew about her liking him anyway.

“No, I swear. I’ve only talked to the friends you met and they’re not stupid either, we’d never do that to you.” You answered honestly. “I haven’t told anyone, at all. Not even my assistant! They only know I’m talking to someone, what’s between us is private.” Mark knew who Irene was to you and the fact that you hadn’t told her didn’t seem close to believable in his state of mind.

“I just don’t know if I can trust that.” He had every right to feel that way, but you wanted to let him know that you cared, and you would never cross that line. You had to remind yourself that you’d never get Mark in trouble and that seemed to be what he was most worried about.

“I-“ You swallowed, sighing and trying to let him calm down. “Mark, I promise I’d never do that. I wouldn’t tell anybody because I know what would happen if the word got out, I-” he cut you off.

“I just-I don’t know what to do now.” If you were in fact being honest, Mark had to consider how he was feeling now that he knew the truth. It was all up to him to figure out what to further do.

“I-I know.” You did know, you did know the danger he could be in, but again, you’d never hurt him. You hadn’t said anything. You’d been truthful and didn’t even know how you wound up in that position, but you were definitely not going to ask. You weren’t lying about anything you’d confessed to at all, you only wanted the best for Mark, but you being with him was just too exciting to give up and you knew from the early in the beginning that you didn’t care who he was, you liked him for who he showed himself to be, you liked his authentic self. Maybe you should reiterate your feelings and the silence was killing you. “Mark, I promise I could care less about how famous or anything you are. I like you. I like you more than anyone I’ve ever dated or talked to, and yeah it’s exciting that you’re someone I used to idolize, but it’s all changed now. I know you deeper than that. You’re amazing and I love that you gave me a chance and I hope you can give me the opportunity to make it up to you and everyone else.” The line was quiet again for longer than you expected. You wish you knew if he was smiling, if he was feeling better, if all you were saying meant anything. “Mark?”

“I’m processing, okay?” He huffed over the phone again. “I just don’t know how I feel, okay?”

“I understand.” You did, you knew the tight spot you’d put him into, but you were going to own up to it.

“I’ll talk to you later.” You could hear the irritation in his voice. “Let me think.”

“I-“ You swallowed, wondering if you should even say it, but you wanted to remind him how you felt. “I love you.”

“Yeah.” The line went blank, he’d hung up. You hadn’t experienced a heartbreak like that; it was unsettling and crushing. You felt tears well up in your eyes and wondered how you went from being so wonderful to being such an issue in his life. That was the last thing you wanted, but deep down you knew that time would come. You just hoped you got lucky enough for him to be blind to it, but not everyone else was. The subject of Baekhyun finding out was starting to stand out in your head finally, furrowing your brows and you knew you should leave Mark alone, but you wanted to know exactly what he meant. You didn’t want to further bother him at all, but after a few minutes, it was eating you up and you knew you had to ask. You thought up a text to Mark, but quickly erased it. You decided to text Taeyong.

Yong?

You didn’t get an answer quickly, so you’d send another.

can i ask you something?

You got to thinking about everything Mark said and suddenly Baekhyun seemed to be an important part in the whole thing. Maybe that was why Baekhyun was so distant. Maybe he knew the whole time. The possibility was driving you crazy, but you had to remain calm and work it out the right way. It was your only hope of redemption and Taeyong was the most calm and friendly person you’d spoken to from the experience. You two had become decently close. Taemin and Ten didn’t seem comfortable enough with you yet and Lucas was unfortunately hopeless when it came to any issue at all, he was the biggest avoider in conflict and Mark had mentioned that he was timid when a situation arose, you noted, so you would definitely not bother him. You’d just have to wait it out for now.

No response from Taeyong. Maybe you’d messed that up too.

Days upon days had passed and you still hadn’t gotten a response or any kind of message from anybody. The weeks had passed and you tried your hardest to busy yourself with floor plans for weeks and working with contractors to get your other places set up, but even when busying yourself, your world was falling down. It was disheartening, but you couldn’t help but rethinking about the danger and terrible position you’d put them all in, so you were best to leave it alone until anyone felt ready to talk. You were constantly reminded online that 127 were off to Spain soon, then New York, so you knew everyone was more than busy, but you hoped that maybe you’d get a response before then.

You spent days in your head and after a long-going meeting about final calls, it was getting late, so you decided to head to the main restaurant location and hopefully get your mind off things. It wasn’t the most helpful, but you could only dream, assisting with food prep and listening carefully, catching up with the workers you hadn’t seen in a few days because you were so preoccupied with your own personal issues. You felt like you were letting them all down, but they assured you about how fine it all was. You’d done your job and adequately prepared them all for the journey, so you felt almost useless in the time being. For once you finally had everyone ready to deal without you being on location. It felt wrong. You still had a few store openings to work on, but your mind couldn’t focus in on that at the moment. You had been working at the cutting board for hours thinking, but were pulled from your thoughts in the mindless work.

“Everything okay? I got a call saying someone was here with their head in the cutting board again being awfully quiet.” You heard a familiar voice behind you, one that always made you feel a bit better. You turned around to see Irene with a bright smile, hands placed on her hips. You sighed of relief, smiling at her and dropping your knife on the table to walk over and hug her after tugging your gloves off to hug her. “What’s wrong sweet pea?” She offered, gently patting your back. “You’ve been out of it since your trip.” She was giggling and you felt yourself let go, tears rolling down your face as you tucked your head into her shoulder. She had been annoyed with you before, but she didn’t seem to be upset at all.

“It’s been a hard few weeks, ‘Rene.”

“I could tell, I could.” She consoled you, trying to bring you back down to earth before diving deeper into the real problem. “Just talk to me if you want to, okay? But I know when you willingly cut vegetables in here at night that you’ve got something going on.” You nodded, drying your face on her shirt. You stayed in her embrace for a while before pulling away.

“Your shoulder’s a little wet.” You laughed, wiping your eyes again with your sleeves.

“I’ve been used to that for years.” Irene teased, leaning against the counter and her voice was sincere. She cared about you more than you thought someone should. “Now tell me what’s actually going on.” And that’s when the dam broke.

-

“So that’s what you’ve been up to?” Irene was looking at the table in the empty restaurant and trying to process all the information she just got, eyes somewhere between disbelief and concern. You’d gone off on a tangent and confessed everything to her right there. In your heart you know you shouldn’t bring yet another person into the equation, but you had to go somewhere to get a decent opinion and Irene was the most level-headed person you knew. She was technically responsible for you after all, that’s what you paid her for, and she absolutely deserved a raise at that point. You’d make a mental note of that.

“Yeah.” You nodded, carding your fingers through your hair. “It’s pretty fucked up, isn’t it?” You scoffed, in disbelief that you’d gotten yourself into the situation at hand. You hated that you did that to anyone including yourself.

“I don’t think so.” Irene shook her head, sighing. “I understand why you did it, I really do, but I also see it from his perspective, maybe he just needs some space, you know?” Irene was always right, stirring her coffee and taking a sip. “Who knows, maybe it could all blow over if you really like each other, yeah?” She offered a sweet smile, hoping to get your hopes back up. You nodded in response. “If they’re coming here soon, why not go ahead and try to talk to him? You’ve got a conference in Jersey in a few weeks I could probably move up, and they’re pretty close, so maybe you could get a little leverage?” She shrugged, leaning back in the booth seat.

“Oh my god, shit. I completely forgot about that conference.” You sighed, groaning softly. “You think that’s a good idea? Just show up?”

“It’s the Macy’s Day Parade, it’s not like it’s some private event.” Irene snorted, shrugging. “Let me talk to the investors, I can try to see if they’ll move up to that weekend. I mean, come on, I can go with you.”

“You’d go with me?”

“You’re literally paying me to take care of you.” She snorted again, reminding you yet again that she was the greatest investment you’d made thus far. “Of course, I’ll go with you. Everyone here is fully capable of taking care of the place. You’re not stupid, you did a good job at hiring.” You rolled your eyes, smiling at her aggressive complimenting. “You’ve done your job which is why you find it hard to find something to do when you just show up here.” She snorted gain. “Which is also why your busy work consists of cutting vegetables when you’re upset.”

“I guess I should be less competent then, yeah?” You joked, seeing Irene roll her eyes playfully.

“That’s the opposite of what I’m saying, you workaholic.” She tapped the top of your hand playfully mimicking a smack. “Sometimes it’s good to let other people work for you, so you can go ahead and easily fuck around with people like Mark Lee.” She raised a brow, shaking her head. It was the first time she’d understood the depth of why you weren’t talking to her about what was happening. “Trust me, it’ll all be fine, promise.”

You were finally laughing; glad you had some outlet to let go of what you’ve been holding onto. You felt like you should have gone to her in the first place. Irene was honestly a lifesaver and you thanked her day in and day out for that amongst everything else she’s done for you. “So, I guess you’re going to see them with me?” You smiled awkwardly, knowing partially that it was a bad idea, but making a work trip wasn’t entirely a horrible excuse. Irene couldn’t care less about seeing the boys, she was in it for you to begin with and you were sure that’s how it would remain.

“I’m going for you and the Macy’s Day Parade, don’t get it twisted.” She teased, grinning wide. “I’m an emotional support assistant, not your love life therapist.”

“That’s fair.”

“At least you have a love life now, I’ve been waiting on you to get distracted since the first store opened. You deserved a little break and I don’t want one little hiccup to ruin that for you.” She was right and you knew it. “Now let’s go home and get some rest, alright?”

“But the vegetables!” You sighed, remembering that you’d started a job you wanted to finish. Irene groaned.

“Okay, fine. Let’s go finish the vegetables and you’re going home and drinking a glass of wine and going to sleep right after, okay?”

“Yes, mom.” You snorted, standing up and wiping the table clean before returning to the back, Irene gladly following to assist and make sure you weren’t there until ungodly hours of the night. It was already late, and she knew how you were, so she’d keep an eye on you to make sure you were in good standing and you appreciated it more than you could express. Everyone else had gone home after closing and you only had yourself to worry about.

“So, I got your conference moved up.” Irene offered after a few moments of silence. You hadn’t even seen her send an email. “You can thank me later.” She shrugged. “We’re flying out in two days, so be prepared.” You shook your head, smiling. You’d been prepared for the meeting for months now, filling every hole with explanation and you were more than ready to present, but seeing Mark again made it even more worthwhile.

“God, I love you.” You reminded Irene once again.

“Hm, I know.” She was confident, as she should be.

You got home and did exactly what she told you to do, got a glass of wine, showered, and got into your comfortable clothes to get a decent night’s rest. You were due at the restaurant in the morning to go over some new procedures, so your rest was important and thankfully, you slept like a baby.

You woke up to a missed call and a few texts, groaning at the full notification screen but decided to ignore it until you were coherent enough and had some water and coffee in your system for the day; it could wait. You forgot you had even been waiting on responses from anyone, you weren’t awake enough for that and you had work to tend to.

When you were finally at work, waiting for everyone to show up, you quickly read through your phone and glanced at the messages, one from Mark.

I’m ready to talk, call me when you can.

You also had a missed call and a text from Taeyong. It had been what? A few weeks or so since you texted him? You forgot you had even texted him, getting back into the swing of work had really distracted you from the passing days and you almost forgot what you sent him but were quickly reminded with a heavy beating heart and a deep breath as you looked the messages over.

Hey, I’m so sorry I’ve been so busy, is everything okay? I should have responded by now but I just got so distracted and didn’t know what to say 🥺 I know things went down with you and Mark and I hope you’re okay, I’m here if you need me, I promise. We just got finished up in Spain and we’re about to fly out so if I don’t answer then just hold on!!

Taeyong was always so sweet, making your heart pound heavily and hoping he wasn’t too stressed about the situation, he was always on edge with stress and from what you gathered he had the most overlapping schedules and you hated to add more to it. Taeyong didn’t want to go behind Mark’s back and talk to you about the situation until he had the time to say anything himself, so he went with his gut feeling for not responding immediately but when he was going through his messages after the awards show, he was hit with guilt for not talking back to you and he was sure you were freaking out across the world. He hoped his message would find you well.

You quickly typed up a text to Taeyong

Hey!! Don’t worry about it, I felt bad for dragging you into it anyway. Mark wants to talk to me, and I was just nervous, I didn’t know if you were near him or knew what was going on, but thank you for caring so much, I appreciate it and I hope your flight goes well!💛

Then it was time to text Mark back. It took a minute to draft up the perfect message, but you just said what felt right in the moment.

Hey, I’m really busy with work today, but you can call me when you’re ready and I’ll answer, okay? Take care of yourself and work, that’s what’s important

You thought your message was the right amount of distance, taking a deep breath after responding. You didn’t want to seem to eager and you definitely didn’t want to mention that you were going to see them, it could mess things up, but you also hadn’t factored in him wanting to talk as soon as he was heading back to the states.

Mark didn’t call you back. Taeyong didn’t text. You knew they still had to be on the plane and talking was rare when it came to flights, so you’d focus in on continued prepping for your meeting and getting everyone in the restaurant in check, including your newest manager. It pained you to think about what your job had gone through and your neglect had caused problems, so you were still nervous to take the trip, but you had to believe Irene when she told you that it was going to be fine.

You finished up your meeting and busied yourself with casual preparation as the day went on, getting nagged by Irene on the fact that you didn’t have to do this or that for every little task you put yourself on and you had perfectly capable workers to do it, but you honestly liked helping out and everyone there seemed to enjoy having you around. You loved creating a fun work environment and you kind of missed being a part of the kitchen staff. You sighed after a long day, sitting in your office to relax for a bit. Irene sauntered into the office after finishing up her own paperwork to smile at you.

“So,” She giggled, sitting on your desk. “You ready to go talk to your guy?” She teased.

“Maybe, yeah.” You nodded, grinning. You sighed again, shrugging. You hadn’t heard from anyone yet, but you were being patient. “Does he know you’re coming yet?”

“Nope, I guess I’ll tell him when we’re there.”

Irene snorted. “Of course, I figured you were going to say that.” And as soon as she spoke, you saw your phone vibrating on the desk. You gasped, looking over at Irene, who sent you a knowing look.

“Is that your guy?”

You swallowed, nodding. “Yeah, it is. Um, I-I’m nervous.” You sighed, picking it up and hesitating to answer. Irene quickly reached over to press the green button and grinned widely at you before mouthing a ‘good luck’ at you and then slipping out of the room, back behind her own office door.

You gulped. “H-hello?”

You heard a soft sigh on the phone, accompanied by some scattered voices in the background. “Hey!” Mark exclaimed. “We-we um, just touched down, we’re going through customs now.” He explained, his voice seemed a bit paced over the speaker, you hoped he was okay.

“How was the flight?” You asked quickly, trying to shift the subject to his importance. You hadn’t heard his voice since the big talk, but you’d try not to focus on how nice it was to hear him again.

“It was fine, yeah.” He spoke softer, voice calming down. “How are you?” He asked.

“I’m-I’m okay.” You answered honestly, but you couldn’t help the blush on your face or the heavy beating of your heart. “It’s been a long-ish day.”

“Yeah, same here.” He cleared his throat. He was quiet for a moment, so you assumed he was thinking on what to say. “So, um, I just wanted to apologize.” You were silent, shocked that he was the one apologizing. “I didn’t mean to get so angry with you.” He was speaking quieter, continuing to ramble on because you couldn’t quite find the words to say back. “I was just upset and didn’t know what to do.” You had to admit that you hated doing that kind of thing over the phone, texting was easier and in person was more personal, but if it was the way Mark wanted to have the conversation, you were fine with it.

“No, no trust me, you had every right to feel that way, I know how you-“ He cut you off.

“But listen, that’s not why I called.” Mark sighed again. “I wanted to see if you, um, had the possible time to meet up maybe, so I could get some clarity on how I feel or something. I’ve just been really stressed and, yeah.” He was quieter and you couldn’t stop the smile that spread along your face. “Sorry I haven’t messaged you..”

The last part didn’t really flow through your mind. You almost stopped listening after he said he wanted to meet with you. “Like, in New York?”

“Yeah, yeah, um, I know it’s last minute, but maybe we can meet somewhere before I fly out again, you know?” You sighed again, remembering that he still had other responsibilities, but he was still wanting to meet up. “I just think it could help, you know, whatever this is.” He sounded nervous, but confident in what he needed at the same time. It was a tone you weren’t used to. He knew exactly what he wanted for the first time since you met and that felt good. At least he was sure about it. You understood you hadn’t been together long, but you still cared about him and how he felt about it all, you just wanted him to be happy.

“We may be able to arrange something.” You hinted, smiling. “You’re there for two days?”

“Well, yeah. We sleep tonight and we’re here the next two nights, so I’ll be here.”

It was fortunate that you could easily get tickets had you not bought them beforehand. Maybe the relationship would be able to work out if the two of you stayed looping each other in, it wouldn’t be so hard.

“I’ll let you know, okay?” You sighed happily into the phone.

“Okay, cool, cool.” He laughed softly over the speaker. “I’ll, um, hopefully see you, just let me know.”

“I will, promise.” It was the most basic conversation the two of you had, as if it didn’t involve you flying across the country to see him yet again. You were shocked at how calm he seemed, hopefully he was feeling better about the situation. You sighed of relief.

“Cool, yeah.” Mark cleared his throat again. “I-um, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay.” You nodded, sighing and not yet wanting to hang up. It was nice to hear his voice again. You were whipped and you knew it. “Well, um,” You grinned. “Bye, bye.” His giggle over the phone was cute.

“Bye.”

It wasn’t long before you got a text from Taeyong.

It sounds like you guys are going to work it out? 😃

You grinned at the message.

Yeah, I think so 🤞

-

“So, ready to go?” You heard a voice through your apartment, gasping loudly and not at all awake enough to function and hear someone in your house. It was late in the night and you had just woken up from a nap, you booked a 2am flight so you could easily make it for the morning, but you had a feeling you wouldn’t sleep at all on the plane because it was nearly midnight and you had taken a really good nap.

“Jesus, I really should take your house key away.” You groaned from your bedroom, popping your head out to see Irene at the front door, fully dressed and ready to go.

“And stop me from scaring you? I haven’t hardly seen you in weeks, so you have to deal with me for the next few days.” She laughed, walking into your kitchen to grab a glass of water. “God, your house is so clean, who are you?” She laughed, knowing that you’d definitely been keeping it straight for Mark and to busy your head. She knew you all too well.

“Okay, I didn’t sign up to be roasted, let me live.” You snorted, zipping up your suitcase and turning it to the wheels to get ready to leave. You pulled on your oversized coat and stepped into your boots, trying to prepare for the cold weather as you walked your bags down the stairs.

“Oh, okay someone’s looking nice.” She teased further, taking a sip from the glass. “It’s good to see you pulling yourself together, I ought to thank Mark myself.” You rolled your eyes at her, putting your bags at the door before putting your sunglasses on top of your head. “Ready?” You might’ve been dressed up to easily be ready for tomorrow and early check in at the hotel, so you didn’t have to worry about what you’d see Mark in. You needed to be dressed your very best for the situation.

“Ready!” You nodded, smiling at your friend.

You hadn’t talked to Mark much because he was clearly avoiding the full conversation you needed to settle and while you were anxious about it, you didn’t mind avoiding the conflict. You’d talked more to Taeyong, mostly about scheduling and he seemed rather excited to see you, much to your own surprise.. You definitely avoided the groupchats. You were trying your best to distance yourself, give Mark some space to decide what was going to happen between you two. You were an adult; you could handle that.

The flight was shorter than you thought it would be, spending most of your time emailing and scripting for the conference while Irene slept. She had taken an Ambien and absolutely hated plane rides, which shocked you because she was more often than not willing to go somewhere with you. When you finally landed, your adrenaline was high, and you were more than excited to walk around the city and explore. You’d never really spent much time in New York before and Jersey was only a short ride for the conference on Saturday. You were more excited to visit there than you thought you would be, and you hadn’t exactly told Mark you were officially coming yet, you’d leave the surprise up to him. You were there for business with the hope of excitement, so you were sure you couldn’t be too let down.

Thursday night was the official performance and thankfully you landed early enough to make it for the parade, excitedly checking Twitter eagerly to find out what parade float 127 was on. Thankfully your hotel was near the parade route, so you quickly headed out to see where everyone had been lining up. You easily found a good spot near the end of the parade, excitedly waiting to see the boys you’d been waiting to see. You still hadn’t met anyone in the 127 groupchat aside from Taeyong and Mark, so it was even more exciting to meet the other people you’d talked to in person.

You excitedly watched the parade because weirdly enough, you had always wanted to see it. You sighed happily, grinning wide with Irene at your side. She watched intently, noticing how excited you were, and even though you could tell she didn’t understand the hype, her being there with you meant the world. The whole parade was amazing, bright exciting colors all around and you felt like you were in heaven, bright skies felt like the whole world had meaning again and maybe it was just because you were tired, but things felt right. You sighed happily, glancing around the corner to finally see the gigantic Lego float and you gasped loudly.

“Irene! It’s them!” She whipped her head around, enjoying seeing you so happy so she was going to give into your excitements.

“And which one is Mark?” She snorted, grinning when you started jumping around excitedly, screams filling the people around you.

“The little one with the black hair!” You beamed, waving and hoping they saw you. You giggled excitedly, whipping out your phone to snap a picture of them to send to the 127 chat.

You guys look amazing!! congrats! I got a good view of the float and you all look so happy 🥰

You sent the message quickly, stuffing your phone back into your pocket before Irene spoke to you, checking out the float herself in the time being. You didn’t expect the next words to fall out of her mouth. “The tall one with the black hair is actually kind of hot.” She snorted, nodding with pursed lips. “Not bad.” Your eyes widened with slight shock, but you couldn’t exactly blame her for the comment.

“Yeah, that’s Johnny!” You giggled again, waving excitedly. Unfortunately, none of them looked in your direction, but you didn’t mind. You didn’t warn them beforehand so that they could look for you and you hoped you’d meet up with Mark and maybe the others later. Just seeing them made you feel better and the butterflies returned to your stomach at the thought that you were so close to the members you hadn’t seen before. You shook the thoughts away and tried to remember that some of them were your friends. You leaned into Irene’s ear to explain quickly to her. “Okay so Yuta is the one with long dark hair, Taeyong is the grey hair, Jaehyun is the-“

“I’m literally getting none of this.” Irene giggled, patting your back. You laughed in response, shaking your head and realized the explanation was hopeless. “Maybe we’ll meet with them later and it’ll all come to me.” She teased you further, shrugging and a buzz of excitement ran through you. Maybe you’d actually get to meet and see them all, your boyfriend’s friends and long-time idols, you could only hope. You wished more than anything you weren’t so excited to see them all in front of you because of who they were and that’s what got you into the mess with Mark, but you had to remind yourself that they were people and you didn’t know what of the situation they knew. Maybe it was best that they weren’t in the equation.

“Yeah, yeah I hope so.” You nodded, sighing happily as the float went further away from you.

You walked around after the parade ended, excited to see all the other sights and floats. It was a beautiful parade you had to admit, unable to stop the grin on your face. You loved the sight of New York, happy to possibly have a restaurant open near there that you could visit often. Even on your off moments, you liked thinking about new work opportunities because it would better help you plan your future. It felt like things were finally falling into place and you were excited about that. You hadn’t checked your phone in a while, so you pulled it out and gasped at the excited responses in the groupchat.

You’re here!! I didn’t think you’d come!! We should all go to dinner or something! Mark’s paying

Nevermind every man for himself Mark punched me

From Johnny. He always managed to make you laugh.

Oh gosh are we finally going to get to meet you?!

From Jaehyun

Glad you could make it ☺️

From Taeyong, who knew better than anybody that you’d probably show up. Taeyong could tell your potential and whimsical decision making from the second you became friends. Maybe it was for the better that you two were getting close.

And finally, from Yuta, a self-proclaimed self-enthusiast.

wow I really was living my best life huh? Look at my face😂😂 Hope you enjoyed the parade!

You definitely did enjoy the parade and were more than happy to see them as excited as you were. The boys seemed like children who were in a candy store on the float, so you knew they were having the times of their lives and loved being there. You hadn’t seen them so happy in a while and they all definitely didn’t look that excited in Spain except for when they were with Lizzo, so it was a good time for everyone. You loved seeing them so happy. You hadn’t received a text from Mark in the groupchat, but you missed a text in your personal ones, heart racing when you saw his name.

You came? Why didn’t you tell me! Did you want to meet up tonight?

You gulped, biting your lip and showing the text to Irene. “I want nothing to do with your love life.” She snorted, shaking her head and turning her attention to the street food she’d just gotten. It was a mess on a plate, but she seemed to thoroughly be enjoying it. “But go ahead, you’ve still got a whole day to screw around before we go to Jersey, nothing’s off limits.” She shrugged. “But I will be in the hotel sleeping in a few hours after the performance because I’m exhausted, so don’t get killed.” She teased further, smiling over at you with a mouth full of food.

“You think I should meet up with him?” You asked nervously, biting your lip and wondering how to respond to his text. He still had the performance that night, so you knew it would be late when you’d meet with him.

“I don’t see why not.” She shrugged, offering you a bite which you politely declined. You quickly typed up a text.

Well I actually ended up getting an investment meeting and I didn’t want to jinx anything, so yeah, I’m here if you wanna go for coffee tonight or something?

You didn’t want to seem too excited, but your brain was buzzing, too hopeful for meeting with the boy who had your heart wrapped around his finger. Mark quickly responded.

I’d like that, yeah!

We have the performance later and we’re about to start getting ready for it, so I’ll text you when I’m free?💚

You sighed happily, things were looking up. He seemed just as excited to meet up with you as well. It was a few weeks since you got into your argument and not long before that was the last time you’d seen him, so you feared slightly that things would still be awkward or messy, but you didn’t want to focus on that and thought that things might actually be okay. The fear still sat in the back of your mind, but you’d try your hardest to ignore it. Thankfully you were able to go drop by the hotel after walking around for a bit, maybe you did need just a little bit of a rest before the performance.

You got to the hotel and got settled in, changing your clothes to be a little warmer and layered and of course not at all to look nice for Mark. You checked yourself out in the mirror, grinning at the outfit you decided on. “How do I look?” You asked Irene, who was already chugging down a glass of wine from the minibar at the hotel.

“Looking good, yeah. Someone to impress?” She was teasing yet again, giggling and pouring herself another glass of wine.

“Shut up.” You laughed, grinning and pulling your coat on. “Are you coming to the performance with me?” you asked with a giggle.

“I’m pregaming for a reason aren’t I?” She cocked a brow, shrugging. You rolled your eyes. Irene didn’t drink much, but she had made sacrifices for you so you didn’t mind her drinking on the job.

“You’re always pregaming.” You snorted, slipping your feet into a nice pair of shoes. “Are you warm enough?”

“After this wine hits, I will be.” Irene grinned, walking over to grab her coat. She looked flawless as always and it made you sick, wearing a black turtleneck and khaki pants. She fixed her lipstick quickly in the mirror and pulled her coat on to easily go out. “Now let’s go get your boy back.” You groaned, cheeks heating up and grabbing your phone to make your way out of the door.

The concert stage was packed, as you expected, but shockingly to your surprise, when you got there, security walked the two of you to the front, not asking any further questions. It left you to assume that one of the boys had hooked the two of you up. You’d shown Irene to Mark and the others through various selfies, so you weren’t going to bite the hand that fed you just to get a better look at the boys on stage.

The performance went perfectly, grinning and watching them put on their best performance. You sighed happily, loving the feel in the air. The wind was chilly, but you were fully willing to endure it just for them. You caught all the boys from the 127 chat you were in glancing at you at least once and it made your heart race, but you were in perfect view and you were sure they were looking for you in the first place. That was even more exciting. The crowd dissipated after the small performance, leaving you and Irene to walk around aimlessly while you waited on Mark. Irene was getting a little grumpy, assuming the wine drunkeness had worn off and factoring in that you had flown through the night. “I’m ready to sleep my ass off.” She warned, groaning at the cold.

“You can go ahead to the hotel if you want.” You warned her, making sure she knew you could fend for yourself.

“And leave you here in the middle of New York?” Irene snorted. “You sign my paychecks so I’m definitely going to make sure you’re safe so that I get paid.” She was further teasing. She had a funny way of letting you know she cared about you. You walked around for about an hour and Irene happened upon a spiked hot chocolate from a street cart before you got a text from Mark

Where did you want to meet up? There’s a little coffee shop a couple blocks from our hotel that’s open late if you wanna go there?

the streets should be pretty clear by then because it’s dead cold out ya know🥴

You grinned ridiculously wide, quickly telling Irene what you’d been sent. “We’re gonna go meet at a coffee shop, you wanna walk me there?”

“Absolutely not, but I definitely will.” Irene laughed, tucking her phone and keys into her pocket along with her hands. “Let’s go.” You got the location from Mark, beginning to make your way there because you weren’t too far from it. You both ended up getting a taxi after two blocks at your expense to make up for Irene being in the cold for so long. You didn’t want to make her walk, but the ride wasn’t far, and you happily did it for her comfort after hearing her shiver and complain. You got to the location and you were surprised to see how empty it was, the two of you getting out and standing at the corner. You quickly pulled out a cigarette from your pocket and lit it up, earning a groan from Irene. She hated it, but she knew that wasn’t going to stop you.

You were shaking from nerves, but you were excited to see where the interaction was going to lead you. You and Irene were talking about some work developments when you heard a loud “Hellooooo” from behind you. You turned around, gasping when you saw Mark and Johnny both in masks and hats. You quickly took a drag of your half smoked cigarette and tossed it on the ground when you saw Mark eye it.

You had to admit you were a bit starstruck to see Johnny. He was huge, massive even and you glanced at Irene to see a cocked eyebrow on her face, clearly checking out the tall boy. You pulled yourself from your distraction, grinning at Mark who had his hands stuffed into his pockets.

“Hey.” Mark started, his eyes showing his smile above the mask. You got closer, the two of you embracing like your lives depended on it. You sighed softly, almost feeling tears well in your eyes as you held him tighter, never wanting to let go. His arms were around your waist, gently thumbing over your back through your coat. “it’s good to see you.” His voice was barely above a whisper, right by your ear. “You smell like cigarettes.” He giggled into your neck.

“Shut up, I’m sorry.” You laughed. “It’s good to see you too.” You spoke quietly, still in his embrace and you somehow pulled him tighter, eyes closing and it felt like an eternity. “Um, this is Irene.” You your head toward her and felt Mark lift his hand from your waist to give her a wave.

“You must be Mark.” She stated, shrugging her shoulders. “Heard a lot about you in the last two days.” Mark didn’t seem to mind or catch on that you’d told someone else about him, just thankful that you were with him.

“Um, so, I’m Johnny.” You heard loudly behind you, a laugh being pulled from both you and Mark as you let go of each other. Johnny was introducing himself to Irene, shaking her hand and the grin on her face looked unbelievably pleased. You shook your head, giggling at her before turning to Johnny yourself. He opened his arms wide to hug you, quickly running to his embrace. It was only a quick hug, him patting your back in a friendly manner before pulling away. “Nice to finally meet you!” He exclaimed; grin wide on his face under his mask as well. You turned back to Mark, who quickly grabbed your hand to tangle his fingers with yours.

“Johnny’s a hugger.” He warned with a small laugh. “He’s been practicing all day how to greet you.” Mark said with a hint of sarcasm and you saw Johnny’s face contort to glare at him.

“And Mark exaggerates everything.” Johnny came back confidently.

“So, we should go.” Irene shot her attention to Johnny, seeing him shrug with a nod at her statement before turning back to you. “Leave you two be, yeah?”

“I’m game.” Johnny agreed quickly with a shrug. You were a bit stunned to see Irene being so forward. “Did you need a ride to your hotel? I’ve got an Uber on the way and I’d hate for you to walk alone.” You were also stunned that Johnny was seeming to take to Irene that quickly from what you knew about him. You didn’t miss the flirtatious energy he had with the charm in his tone.

“We’ll see you two later.” Irene nodded, following behind Johnny. You had a weird feeling that the two of them would end up more than just going home even though Irene claimed to be so tired, but it wasn’t your business and they were adults, so you would leave it alone and let them do whatever they set out to do.

You heard Mark clear his throat. “So, uh.” You heard him laugh softly. “You wanna go inside or freeze to death?” He teased.

“I’d like to not freeze to death, please.” You both grinned, hand in hand as you both walked inside. You saw Mark look around, making sure that nobody in there was paying any attention to him. He had to make sure he was in extremely good standing when it came to being out in public in such a big city, especially this soon after a concert. He looked relieved, pulling you to a dimly lit corner of the shop. You both sat down with a sigh, seeing a much older waiter come to the table to greet the two of you. You both glanced over your menus and the silence was comforting. You both put in your orders before Mark slid his mask below his face after feeling comfortable enough. He looked so beautiful without makeup on like that, so relaxed, the soft shadow of his facial hair made your face warm.

“So, you finally got to meet Johnny.” He teased, seeing you roll your eyes and grinning wider at him. “How was that?”

“Yeah, it was great, we’re best friends now.” You joked, hearing Mark let out a hearty laugh. “I’ve heard ten words and he’s the greatest.” You both snorted.

“Good to know, good to know yeah.” He was giggling more, and you felt like your heart could burst. “So, um, how is everything?” he asked shyly, his hands placed gently in his lap.

“Well,” You shrugged. “Things are okay,” You cleared your throat again. “A lot is going on with work and I’m about to open a new store hopefully next year here if the meeting tomorrow goes well.”

“Ah, yeah, yeah, the meeting!” Mark nodded. “So, you came here for that?” He was asking with intent and it felt nice for him to be interested in you again like that again. It felt comfortable. “I was actually really shocked when you sent that picture, I couldn’t believe it and when I saw you in the audience I got really excited. I almost thought you were fucking with me and grabbed a picture off the internet or something.” He was blushing, a wide toothy grin on his face. “Johnny apparently told the security to let you and anyone you were with to the front, not my doing.” He snorted with a shrug.

“Ah, so Johnny is the master relationship specialist now isn’t he?” Mark couldn’t stifle his laugh when he took a sip of his coffee.

“Uh, yeah, I guess you could say that.” He snorted again, grinning. “He’s like the number one pusher when someone says they’re going to date so, it’s like, his thing.” He admitted with a shrug. “When I first told him about you his first reaction was like ‘An American? You have to do it, it’s the law if you’re my friend’ and got way too excited. He’s always trying to hook anyone up but never really finds someone for himself.” You thought back to him and Irene’s reaction to each other and stifled a snort.

“I mean, he’s taking my assistant home.”

“Yeah, I kinda caught that.” He was laughing again. It was nice to see him happy here, he always seemed excited when he was in the states anyway, so you were glad he enjoyed spending time with you too.

“Don’t worry, she’s the best.” You warned. “He’s in safe hands. She keeps me every day from making horrible life decisions.” Mark looked a bit confused at that but waived it off. “Some of them at least.”

“Well, that’s good yeah.” He cleared his throat, calling for the check. “So, you wanna get out of here?” His voice was slightly low, and you didn’t know what was up, but at that point you were willing to do anything for Mark. You’d only been there for a short time and only ordered coffee, so you were both fine with leaving so soon.

“Sure, let’s go.” You nodded, groaning a bit when Mark handed his credit card to the waiter to pay for the both of you. You learned quickly that it was just how he rolled, it didn’t matter if you could easily pay for yourself or not, he was definitely a sweetheart and liked treating you. The two of you strolled out back onto the sidewalk after he put his mask back on.

Mark was walking closely with you, not holding your hand or arm because he was still afraid of being caught in public and getting his reputation ruined. You’d both been so lucky to not get caught especially since the two of you were always in bigger cities where a disaster could easily strike. The small chatter of the light conversation had you feeling like things were definitely going to be okay and Mark seemed pleased, talking to you about the weather and how he thought he’d get sick soon if he kept having to change climates. You wished him the best and recommended vitamins that he just brushed off with a laugh. “Yeah, I’m hearing you I just know I’m not going to do it.” You both were giggling at that point and you both didn’t even know where you were going, just aimlessly walking along the street, coming on a dimly lit part of town. You both sighed, glancing at each other with soft grins. Nobody was in sight and he just looked so perfect. You stopped in your tracks which caused him to pause in place. “What’s up?” He asked, eyes full of wonder.

“Nothing.” You shrugged, sighing. You scooted closer, seeing Mark’s Adams apple bob in his throat. You reached up and gently pulled his mask down, biting your lip before leaning in and pressed your lips to his tenderly, your bottom lip slipping between his soft ones. For a moment, you forgot about your problems. A low noise left his throat and he eagerly kissed you back, his hands fumbling to come out of his pockets to reach one up and place it on the side of your face, pulling you in closer as his breath dusted your skin. His breathing was hitching, his other hand gently tangling in your hair and his lips got more aggressive, sweet noises being pulled from him. You were the first to break, eyes fluttering back open and glancing at him before he kissed you again, this time much more pressure and neediness before breaking off quickly.

“Your hotel or mine?” He spoke breathlessly.

“Find out where Johnny and Irene are.” You grinned, pecking him once more and he quickly whipped out his phone. You didn’t miss the bright blush on his face before he pulled his mask back up as he texted his friend. There was almost no time before Johnny responded back that he and Irene went ahead to a karaoke bar to meet up with Jungwoo and Jaehyun. You had no idea how or when everything had gotten so crazy, but all you heard out of that was that your hotel room was empty, and you wanted Mark as soon as possible. “My place is open, then.” You grabbed his arm and pulled up your directions, quickly calling for an Uber to bring you because somehow the two of you had ended up extremely far away in the cold and gotten caught up in the conversations.

When you both stepped into the Uber, Mark’s hands were on your thighs and you had to bite back the urge to have him right then and there because not only would it be uncomfortable, it was rude, and you liked your private time with Mark. You placed your hand on top of his and you saw the grin reach his eyes as he stared out of the window, sitting much too close to you in an empty back seat. The minute you pulled up at the hotel, Mark groaned and let out a quick, “Thank god.” You laughed in response, tugging him by the hand into the building and easily making your way into the elevator. The second you were inside with the doors closed, Mark couldn’t keep his hands off of you, harshly kissing your lips in the empty elevator with both hands on your face and your back pressed flush against the wall.

Mark wasn’t ever so needy, and you definitely didn’t mind. You detached and pulled him immediately to the hotel door, giggles pulling from his lips as you made your way inside, the two of you tossing your coats on the floor and went straight back to making out. His tongue easily found entrance to your mouth, moaning at the heat of the moment. It felt so good to kiss Mark, both letting out heavy breaths and as he pushed himself closer to you, you could feel his arousal pressed against your hip, the heat in your core throbbing. This was the least talkative you’d both been in the bedroom, but words didn’t seem necessary. You backed him over to the bed, laying him down and you loved how flushed he looked, like he was all yours as you sat in his lap, barely hovering his small frame. Mark groaned, hands finding your hips and you reached down to him, tossing his hat and mask off the bed.

“Damn, I could get used to this.” He giggled again with a dopey smile and his disheveled hair spoke volumes. You rolled your eyes, smiling before kissing him hard again, his hands reaching down to gently grope your ass, soft hands kneading over your bottoms and you couldn’t help but to giggle into his mouth. It was suddenly very warm in the room, much too warm for all the layers you both had on and you pulled away from him, panting and out of breath. Mark looked so beautiful and flushed that you could moan, sighing and pulling off the top layer of your shirt before working his off as well, leaving him in a white button up that was much too wrinkled. He looked so soft in white, you had to remind him of that later. You tossed your top away, the underlayer riding up and Mark slipped his hands up the fabric, groaning at the fact that you’d neglected to wear anything but shirts. His hand found your breast, kneading at the flesh as you gasped, grinding your hips down on his.

“Mark,” You sighed, eyes fluttering shut. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” He groaned as you leaned closer, slipping his other hand under your shirt and toying with a nipple, the two of you much too flustered to make any other commentary. He lifted his knee up to lean you back down, kissing harshly again and your hands worked their way down Mark’s shirt buttons, feeling his muscles tense under you along with his breaths. His hips moved up to get any kind of friction and you loved how much he wanted it. You didn’t question him, easily opening his shirt before going to his jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping them slowly to tease him, his breathing got heavier with every move.

You moved your hips back a bit, settling more on his lap before slipping your hand into his boxers. He gasped at the coldness of your fingers, but he didn’t complain. Your hands were still cold from outside, but it seemed more like an exciting difference. Your fingertips danced along his length, feeling him bite at your lip sending you out of this world. “Want you, now.” He panted against your lips and you weren’t one to deny him. You quickly slipped back between his legs to tug your pants off as you let his arms fall back to his sides, but Mark couldn’t wait.

His hands were on you again, quickly tugging at the fabric and pulling them off of your legs with a fire in him you hadn’t seen before. He tossed them on the floor before hovering over you again. He tugged your underwear to the side and pulled his length out of his jeans. You sighed heavily as he pumped at himself a few times, eyes hooded. You caught his eyes, the two of your faces a complete mess. “Fuck,” You panted, earning a breathy laugh from him before pushing him back down on the bed to take slight control again. You sat with your clothed folds along his length, rubbing yourself with closed eyes and you felt him grasping at the bed sheets, panting at the feeling. “Condom?” You questioned, hearing him gulp and try to fish one out of his shirt pocket.

You giggled a bit at his anticipation, but you weren’t going to comment and embarrass him further. His face was already so red and spent when he handed the packet to you, a smirk playing on your face as you tore the foil open with your teeth. His hands were searching your body, slipping underneath you to lift your hips up. His fingers snuck under the fabric of your underwear and played in your arousal and you swear you heard him moan. You were a bit distracted as you fumbled with the rubber, his fingers dancing along your clit before slipping two inside, quickly quirking them forward toward himself and you hushed a moan, panting heavily as you tried to slip the condom on him, a mess of hands and sweat making you both see fog. You rocked down onto his fingers, wrapping your own around his length and jerking him off slowly, a sigh of relief leaving his lips.

His arousal was so evident with the redness of his cock and you were nearly dying to have it inside you. He slipped his fingers out of you when he couldn’t take it anymore, moving them to his own lips and you gasped when you saw him slip them inside of his mouth. You were quiet, just ready to have Mark again. You lifted your hips and watched him suck his fingers clean, lining him up with your entrance and the crotch of your underwear pushed to the side. The two of you hadn’t been so hasty or fumbling before, but it seemed oddly fitting.

You sunk down on him quickly, pulling a throaty groan from the boy underneath you, his head tipped back in ecstasy. You let out a noise of satisfaction, happy to finally have him inside again, enjoying it for a minute before he got eager, his hips moving himself inside of you just barely. “C-can’t take it anymore, need to feel you.” He panted out, his lips swollen and pouty as you grinned, rocking yourself down on him. You barely registered his warm hands on your sides again until he pulled you down, your clit grinding against his pelvic bone and you saw stars, whining a bit as you pushed your hips down against him again, the friction driving him wild and he was whining.

You didn’t expect those noises from him, but you couldn’t say you didn’t like it. He was panting more and more, and you were chasing your high, loving the way Mark filled you, sweet noises filling the hotel room and the wet sounds of skin on skin made your head spin. Mark’s breathing was heavier than you ever heard it before, and he was gasping. “Gonna-gonna come.” You were a little surprised, usually his stamina was good, but this time something was different. You heard him gasp loudly one last time, his eyes screwing shut and you felt him shake lightly underneath you. You stilled your hips, giggling at how out of it he was, and you let him ride it out, gently moving your hips until he couldn’t take it anymore. “Sit-sit on my face, please.” He pleaded with droopy eyes and you weren’t going to deny him.

You were hesitant at first, crawling over and hovering over his face, He pulled the crotch of your underwear and ripped slightly, then with full force tore the fabric open then all the way up and tossed it off to the floor, smirking below you and you gasped.

“Did you just-“

“Yep.” He cut you off with a grin, pulling you down by your thighs and pressed his tongue against you.

“Oh fuck.” You whined, feeling your knees get weak as he lapped at you, moaning as he sucked softly at your clit. You were lost for a bit, trying to bring yourself back down to earth when you heard your phone ring, gasping again when he slipped his tongue inside before pausing. He pulled away for just a moment.

“Answer it.” He smirked again before pulling you back down.

“It’s Johnny!” You whined, grinding down back onto his tongue. He shrugged underneath you and you hesitated, deciding to let it go to voicemail and Mark had the audacity to laugh. You quickly picked up your phone with shaky hands just to barely read a text message from the aforementioned person.

Since neither of you two are answering, I just wanted you to know I’m taking your friend back to our hotel, she’s tired and a bit plastered so I’m gonna let her crash there. Have fun you two 😂

It felt like a taunting message, waving it off and tossing your phone back somewhere else on the bed. You didn’t exactly care what Irene was doing at the moment, but she seemed safe with Johnny, so you ignored it. You sighed of relief when Mark nudged his nose against your clit, looking down to see his extremely hooded eyes and you could have burst right there. You moaned loudly, reaching down to gently grab his hair and the noise he made vibrated through you, his tongue flat against your clit and it threw you over the edge, pressing yourself hard into his face and the grip on your thighs tightened, his fingertips almost aching as they pressed into your skin. He continued to lazily lick through your high, pulling away to place soft kisses on your thighs when he figured you’d had enough, bright red blush still evident on his face. You glanced back to see he had discarded the condom and there was spurts of come glistening on his stomach, you flushed again, realizing he’d come from eating you out. Mark was going to be the death of you. You crawled off of his face, collapsing on the bed next to him, both of you panting.

“That was-“ He started.

“Yeah.” You both ended up laughing, Mark tossing his arm over his face in embarrassment. “I don’t think I’ve ever come that hard.” He let out a heavy breath.

“Please, say less.” You snorted, cuddling up to his side and realizing exactly how disgusting and intense the situation was, but you felt so satisfied it didn’t matter. You took an idea, smirking before reaching down to touch his stomach, dancing and teasing your fingertips in his come.

“D-don’t.” He groaned when you looked down to see his half-hard cock slightly twitch. “Give-give me a minute.” He pleaded. So you did, but it wasn’t going to be over just yet, you both knew that.

-

“The breakfast here is nice.” Mark was smiling shyly, sitting in the corner cafe with you. The place was relatively empty and you liked that Mark had to find places to easily hide from photographers, it gave you a bit more space from people in general, but the quietness of Mark was also a bit weird. He was smiling, but much more shy than before, but you assumed it was because of the situation you were in and he was a bit uncomfortable during the day anyway in a normal situation.

“Yeah, I love breakfast food.” You shrugged, taking a bite of your own food, enjoying the silence. You both were a bit sad because you were going to part ways that day, which seemed like another reason that Mark was being distant. You weren’t used to seeing him for only a minute and it felt weird to have only went on a date and slept with each other, so you sighed, seeing Mark pick at his food and eat in small bites. You frowned. “So, you guys heading out later?”

Mark nodded, shrugging before looking up at you. “Yeah, we’re headed back home after this, so.” He had a sad smile, looking up to catch your eyes. “I’m-um, sorry we didn’t get to hang out more.” He added shyly.

“No, no it’s fine, I’m just glad I got to see you.” Mark was smiling with his mouth full and it made you feel better. He was fidgety in his chair, probably from nerves.

“Yeah, I really am glad I got to see you too.” He nodded, sighing softly before taking a drink from his glass. “And Johnny and your friend seem to still be having a good time, they got breakfast this morning.” He snorted, wiping his mouth. “Everyone seems pretty happy.” He sighed again.

“You seem nervous.” You pointed out finally, settling your hands in your own lap.

“Yeah, I don’t really feel like leaving yet, it’s always a bummer when we go home.” You frowned, remembered how much happier he was in North America but it was interesting to hear him admit he didn’t want to go home at all. You felt bad that he had to leave, and you wished he could stay. Mark needed to be back at his hotel in an hour or so, so it was nice that he was spending his last bit of time with you. He said himself that he would’ve just been sitting in his room all night long probably, so the fun you guys had was at least worth it. “I hate coming here for like two days.” He frowned. You sighed and reached over the table to gently squeeze his hand. His smile was soft, but it was worth it. You both finished up your food and sheepishly made your way outside to head your way to his hotel.

When you pulled up, the taxi stopped at the corner and Mark looked at you with the softest eyes you’d ever seen. He sighed and squeezed your knee gently before wrapping your arms around you, hugging you tightly and relaxing into your neck. You both pulled away after a heartfelt embrace, frowning at the fact that you had to separate once again. “Text me?” You asked softly and got a warm nod before he pulled back to lean in for a kiss, his soft lips making your face feel hot. It was a tender kiss, one that longed for something more ,but you knew it was time. “I’ll see you later.” You got a grin back.

“Yeah, I’ll, um, see you soon, okay?” He giggled softly, opening the door and sighing as he stepped out, waving back at you as he made his way back into his hotel in the clothes he was still wearing the day before. You didn’t mind seeing him like that though, it reminded you that the two of you had your time together.

You saw Irene saunter out of the hotel, a grin plastered on her face and sunglasses covering her eyes. You shook your head in disbelief, snorting when she stumbled into the car, a cup of hotel coffee in her hands.

“So, it looks like your night was nice.” You teased, raising a brow at her.

“God, you don’t even know.” Irene was laughing. “My makeup is so messed up and yet I woke up to a gorgeous man making me hotel coffee in boxers and a white t-shirt and I still didn’t get his number.” She groaned, smile still painted on. “I literally never do anything like that, and I know you’re my boss but you have no room to judge me.” She shrugged again.

“Well, I’m not going to judge you, but I also have to mention that I do have that guy’s number.” You saw her mouth agape.

“Holy shit give it to me.” She was serious and you almost had to laugh. “He meant to last night, but we got, um, distracted.” She cleared her throat.

“Johnny right?” You giggled as you joked, scrolling through your contacts as the taxi made its way back to your hotel. “Yeah, it’s right here.” You showed your phone to her, seeing her excitedly type it into her own phone. “You’re not gonna like, text him right now are you?” You snorted, taking your phone back after she added it to her phone.

“Oh of course not, I’m going to wait it out and see if he asks you for mine, then I’ll have it for when he decides to hit me up.” She was always very forward, shrugging. It was actually extremely funny, but you wouldn’t push her forward. “But I also got hardly any sleep last night, so I want to take a nap before we head to Jersey.” You had actually forgotten that you were supposed to head out that night, but you figured it definitely was a good idea to go there tonight before the morning conference.

“Shit, I’ve still got to make prints.” You groaned.

“We’ll stop by a print shop on the way.” She was always thinking ahead, you were thankful, but you could definitely tell she needed some sleep and it wouldn’t hurt for you to get a nap in. You and Mark had practically been up all night anyway because of jet lag and other things, but you’d shut your mouth on that one. Irene was yawning, so you figured it was best to keep quiet.

You both took an equally satisfying nap, only a few hours passing by. Thankfully when you got up you were both easily ready to go, showering quickly and making your way out and wait for your Uber. You both decided it was the best and easiest way to get to Newark and it wasn’t at all long of a drive. Your mood was slightly down, still thinking about Mark and quickly realizing the two of you hadn’t actually talked about any of your issues. It left a sore spot in your heart and the rest of the ride felt a little weird. You stopped to make prints on the way and didn’t miss the stupid grin across Irene’s face.

“What’s up with you?” You asked, trying to ignore the feelings in your own chest.

“Johnny’s really cool.” She shrugged, sighing happily as she scrolled through her own phone. “I ended up texting him and he said thank god I got his number and you know I don’t normally do that.” She snorted. “Maybe we can both have some fun. How was Mark, dare I ask?”

You sighed heavily, a slight smile playing on your lips. “He was great, we, uh, didn’t talk really, so I’m kind of bummed, but I think it’ll be fine.” Irene frowned a bit, sighing.

“I mean maybe he got over it?” She offered help, but it didn’t really seem accurate. “Maybe he realized it doesn’t matter and you guys are going to be fine.” She nodded, giving you a wide smile before turning her attention back to her phone. “Johnny says they’re about to head out.” Her giggle made your eyes almost roll. You hadn’t heard from Mark at all, which made you worried, but you weren’t going to pry.

“Okay get this, he’s got a weird really bad tattoo on his ass that says I heart Chicago.” Irene was snorting and you felt your chest get tighter, trying your best to smile at her and act like it was all fine. “He’s really weird and I know it’s quick but I kinda like him, he’s cool.”

“I get it, I get it.” You snorted, almost trying to change the subject. You whipped out your phone to see no new messages. You sighed again. “So,they’re-“ You cleared your throat. “Theyre about to board?” You asked, biting your lip and knowing you shouldn’t ask questions.

“Yeah, John said he’s got on-flight wifi so we’re gonna play some dumb game tonight.” Irene reminded you, just making you even a little more upset. If Mark had on-flight wifi then why couldn’t he text you on the plane too? Or even before? Your head was swimming in thoughts and wondering what was going on, so you decided to send him a single text.

Fly safe!

He wouldn’t know that you meant it condescendingly, but you were just looking for a response at all. The only thing you really got from them at all was group messages, unfortunately from everyone but Mark. Even Jaehyun, who was the least active member of the groupchat, was being active, You didn’t understand why Mark wasn’t talking, but you began to feel like you were overthinking. You felt like banging your head against a wall, waiting for your prints to hurry up. The car was waiting outside and as soon as the last one printed, you tried to rush a laughing Irene out to it, but she wanted to review and invoice everything, so she was lagging. You needed some fresh air, standing outside. You lit up a cigarette, trying to relax. You were mad at yourself because you’d been really trying to lay off smoking, but when you weren’t around Mark and your anxiety was high, you needed it. You read over the messages you missed a couple times, they were mostly talking about how crazy America always was, but all you wished is that Mark’s name would pop up on your phone.

You were halfway down the cigarette when your phone buzzed, glancing down to see a simple, effortless text from Mark.

Thanks! I’ll let you know when we land

You felt like crying, but you needed to be strong. You never did get that text, still only getting responses in the groupchat and you knew Mark had to be fine because the rest of them were acting normal, but it pained you since he wasn’t very forward with his feelings. Taeyong hadn’t even messaged you so maybe Mark was fine, and that hurt more than anything. Maybe he was fine and perfectly content without you and you just had to hope that it was just your mind making that up.

The meeting went perfectly, thankfully. The city was clean and the two of you had a wonderful time walking around and discussing the proper real estate investments. You’d wanted to open a new location on the east coast for a while, but never took the steps to get it done and now the keys were almost literally in your hand. There was tons of work to do, but you knew you could get it done. Irene would be on campus there for the first 6 months after the building details were worked out and things seemed to be going well.

Except the fact that in your heart, nothing felt right. At the point when you got home, you still hadn’t heard from Mark or anyone else, but a gut feeling made you not want to ask. You were worried and only had small talk about Johnny with Irene and you hated the amount of jealousy you were feeling from not getting your own interest to talk to you. You were normally tough, you were normally the one to ghost people due to distractions, but you’d just seen Mark a few days ago and he was in your bed all night, so why hadn’t he messaged you aside from that one message? He was normally blowing up your phone prior to the entire incident with him finding out. Why wasn’t he worried about talking to you anymore? He seemed to really be getting along with you in the hotel room.

It made you sick to think about, how easily you two slept together after a big conversation and part of you felt a little used, slightly heartbroken and unresolved because it was so obvious that everything was falling apart, and you stayed hopeful when you shouldn’t have. You had a whole new store opening up and you should’ve been focused on work, but all you could think about was the fact that you were only getting one or two pathetic messages from him a day until they became days apart, only rarely getting a half-assed response from the group chats when he didn’t respond to you.

You missed Mark.

You felt sick. Things got harder, they did, and after about a month of suffering, you stopped responding all together, just hoping Mark would pick back up in talking to you on his own when the time got right, but you felt a bit hopeless and you were right. Mark was no longer making an effort and it had been about three weeks of smoking heavily and not talking to him at all. Your chest hurt when you saw him on your social media timelines. Your love for them felt so different and you almost felt sick each time you saw his smile. You heard about their new song coming out and you realized just how long it had been since you’d seen him. Time passed by so quickly and it was two days shy of two months and you tried not to cry, but you missed how things were and part of you knew this would happen, you just didn’t expect to take it so hard especially for so long.

You’d flown out east on location multiple times because due to how the meeting went, investors were pushing for opening sooner and you’d been successful at every single opening yet with immaculate concentration and precision. You felt nice to have the distraction of worrying about work, but each time you stepped into the crisp New York air, you were pelted with remembrance of your night with Mark and wondered what went wrong after you left him. Things looked perfect from the outside when you were there, but you wished you could’ve changed how it went. Maybe you did something wrong along the way that you weren’t picking up because Mark had been all over you and he was the one who pushed sleeping together, so you were left dumbfounded and trying to remember that the new location was important and you needed to ignore your feelings about the hurt in your heart from the last place you saw the person you called your boyfriend. You didn’t know where you stood anymore.

You hated that you got so wrapped up in the idea of Mark that you ended up ruining it all by fearing you’d ruin it. You were aching for him to call you, talk to you, anything because he still would be so close to you all year with promotions. Hell, you’d seen the SM Entertainment schedule for the whole year of 2020, and he’d be there in the states constantly especially with a new Neo City tour that stopped immediately in Los Angeles in June. Before you knew it, February had come up and you wished you could stop thinking about the fact that Mark would be in your state with SuperM in only a few days. You tried your hardest not to be hopeful, but you couldn’t help yourself.

You’d been staring at the StubHub app for 30 minutes now and SuperM tickets were going lower and lower by the day and they looked so pleasing, to maybe see him again and talk, maybe catch up, meet up, anything. You went over it a few times in your head and after a long day of work and a glass or so of wine, you made the horrible decision of buying tickets.

You swallowed after you pressed pay, leaning back in your bed and thinking about what you’d done, but it felt like the right choice. They were going to be there within the next two days and you had to chance it. Maybe you’d get your answer. You bought two tickets because the closest spot available only had two seats, so you sucked it up and decided to go for it. You didn’t even think about who could possibly accompany you until you gasped at realization. You opened your phone again to quickly call Irene, who was supposed to be at home by now.

She answered after the first ring.

“Hello sweetheart!” You hadn’t seen Irene much over the last couple weeks, the two of you busy with store arrangements and whatnot. She’d been interviewing for the new hires in Jersey as soon as the new year started, the two of you rarely crossing paths between flights, and she’d gotten back last week, so hearing her voice felt nice.

“Irene!” You had to take a breath.

“What’s the situation?” She snorted and you could hear her flipping through her keys in the background. “I’m just getting home so it better be good.” She was teasing, but you had to calm down before speaking to her properly.

“I just bought tickets to the SuperM San Diego show and I wanted to know if you wanted to come with me.” You spoke much faster than anticipated but you heard a small pause over the speaker. “They’re performing there, and I want to see Mark but I think it was a bad choice because I’m freaking out. Help me, please.”

“I think I can do it.” She was giggling and you knew it was a good sign. “What day is it?”

“The 30th of January.” You groaned, realizing that it was only two days away and you’d have to travel there from Los Angeles, which wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t an extremely far ride either. You heard silence again before a sigh.

“You’re literally insane.” She snorted. “Yeah, I’m in.”

“God you’re a lifesaver.” You laughed, almost on the verge of tears. You wanted to see Mark, you had to. It felt like the only appropriate way to do it and your mind was still really fuzzy from missing him, but at least you had someone to indulge with you. She knew the two of you hadn’t spoken and the tension was touchy when you saw each other and tried to avoid bringing up the subject of your love life due to the unfortunate circumstances. Irene didn’t pry, she never did.

“Is Johnny going to be there?” She giggled softly and you tried your hardest not to roll your eyes.

Of course, Irene was lucky and had kept contact with him and you were at home for weeks moping about the one you were sure you had lost. You sighed. “No, he’s not in that group, ‘Rene.” You snorted a little, shaking your head. “But he’ll be here in June if you guys are still a thing.”

“Ugh, the things I do for you.” She sighed heavily, but you could tell it wasn’t serious. “Yeah, I’ll come, we leave Friday morning?”

“What about Thursday evening?” You bit your lip, hoping that maybe you’d get a chance to see them when they landed, maybe you’d get the gumption to text Mark and handle everything and you’d both be fine again. Realistically you knew that that was a low probability, but you had to try. Maybe Ten and Taemin could help you out again. They were the main ones who got you into that mess in the first place, maybe their presence would help. You were freaking out in your head and you didn’t even register that you were still on the phone until you heard your name getting yelled at you. “Uh, s-sorry I got distracted, what were you saying?”

“I said it’s fine but you’re booking the hotel.” She was laughing again. “You gonna actually hang out with Mark, not just sleep together? Are you gonna talk?” You groaned in response, not really wanting to tell her what you were up to, but you wanted to fill her in at least a little. You fibbed a tiny bit.

“We haven’t talked in a week, I thought I’d surprise him.” You bit your lip and hoped Irene was nice enough to understand.

“Perfect, it seems to be a habit of pulling up on him, yeah?”

“I guess so.” You sighed again. Maybe you should text him, maybe he was more relaxed since he was soon to be in the states and was going to go to his hometown soon. Maybe he’d be in a better spot to respond to you. You tried to reason in your head that the possible reason that you two didn’t talk much was specifically because he was out of the country again. You were trying to remain hopeful.

“Okay, well you seem distracted, so I’ll call you later?” You knew she was right; you couldn’t even hold a conversation.

“Okay, love you.” You sighed again, biting your lip and wondering what had brought you to the point in your life where you were showing up randomly to see a guy. You never thought you’d be in that position to like anyone so much before.

“Love you too! I’m gonna go home and pack. Get some rest tonight!” You definitely needed the rest. It had been a few weeks since you really got a decent night’s sleep, so you hoped her blessing meant something. You sighed and hung up, shaking your head to try and pull yourself back together. You opened your phone back up, scrolling through social media to steady your mind, which happened to end up the opposite when you found an update that very clearly stated that the members were in LAX that morning, literally miles away from your home and you blinked in shock. They were there already? You tried to steady your breathing. It was a sign, you needed to speak to Mark soon. You had no idea where he was or what he was doing at the moment, but being so close to you had to mean something.

[lambvein]

Cheerful Host-part 8 (Reupload)

Its been months since I have felt freedom from the grasp of the fucking sluts. I have lost count of how many are inside me and something tells me that massive number and my massive assets are only going to get larger…

“Wakey wakey mountains” juggs spoke in a mocking tone.

I barely budged. “Ladies, lets get this hoe up and running!” I then felt a massive surge in my body going towards my vagina…

“m-my assets are deflating! Oh my god they are deflating! Ha ha fuck you bimbos im free!” I jumped to my feet but was abruptly stopped and was dropped to my knees at the EXTREME stimulation coming from my pussy.

“WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?” I shouted in fear at the realization my pussy lips have swollen to the size of a large donut.

“Like what you see, slut?” Nicki taunted.

“What happened to my pussy?!” I yelled in anger at the bimbos.

No response was given until juggs spoke up “oh, we learned something new today…shocking I know…we learned how to travel to different parts of your body! Lets further demonstrate ladies!”.

“No! No! No!” I began to freak out as my already fake titties inflated larger than they ever have before.

“Mmmmm I love it up here, such a great view” kim spoke up.

“Get out of my tits you dumb sluts!” I frustratedly shouted at the bimbos.

“Now is that any way to talk to your jugs?” Beverly remarked “Cmon girls lets show this slut who owns her tits now”.

The girls began to disperse into my nipples as they inflated to the size of marshmellows.

“OH GOD ok, ok im so sorry get out of my nipples please it feels SO GOOD” I pleaded between moans.

“Hmmmm I dont think that was a good enough apology…play with us samantha or should I say mega mountains HAHAHAHA” ariana taunted as the bimbos inhabiting my nipples increased their sensitivity intensity.

“What!?!? No way!!” I revolted.

“Fine…ladies lets make this more interesting for mega mountains” juggs replied.

“What are you guys doing now!?!?” I said in a worried tone as the bimbos returned to their respective asset.

“Were gonna show you what were really capable of” the sluts all laughed at my torment as I was forced to strut off to a new location…

“Why are we in the middle of a victorias secret? Im so embarressed in this get-up” I spoke, trying not to seem crazy talking into my chasm of cleavage.

All I was sporting at the moment was a skin tight tanktop and an ultra tight pair of booty shorts which were rammed as far up my ass as they could go.

“It really shouls be obvious by this point mega mountains” juggs remarked.

“Will you stop calling me that and what do you mean it should be ob…vi….oh no no no ladies cant we talk about this!?!? There are 40 women in here and all of them are so fucking slutty and curvy" I begged to the sluts.

“EXACTLY” the girls all yelled at once.

Juggs began her all too familiar cryptic chant as I was forced to drift off to my immenent slutty doom…

I awoke and immediately felt an enormous pressure in my tits and ass.

“Hello?” I nervously spoke.

Numerous voices responded in anger and rage as all of my assets began wobbling and shaking wildly causing me to reach peak orgasm before having my pussy clamp down and not allow me to cum.

“So it turns out the fine ladies shopping at this victorias secret wanted no part in being a part of your body, and as a result they are fucking pissed…too bad theres no way out samantha. I guess your body really is a hive of bimbos now…well more like a hornets nest with all these angry bimbos hahahaha!” Juggs laughed.

I passed out in a flurry of emotions, arousal and fear.

I awoke in a dark room, all I could see above me was a ceiling light bulb, I then noticed I was immobilized…

“why are my limbs tied to this table!?!?” I shouted in fear, I got no response.

Several minutes of seemingly nothing happened until I began to feel the building sensation I felt in my pussy earlier, only this time directly focused on my tits…I began to shake and thrash in my bondage out of fear at how big they were getting…I felt like I was gonna pop!

They eventually stopped growing and as they did I could hear juggs’ snarky voice in the back of my mind once more “Enjoying our handywork mega mountains? It is a group effort after all”.

“I hate this! I hate this! I hate this! Get out of my tits at once!” I demanded.

there was a pause of silence.

“hmmmm I anticipated you wouldnt be too keen on our adjustments, thats exactly why we have you tied down…get ready for the ride of your fucking life samantha” juggs said to me in a sultry tone.

I began to really freak out at this point, I was in full bondage at the mercy of 60 bimbos and sluts who want nothing more than to humiliate and torture me.

“You got that right sister! Haha!” Nicki spoke up.

“Cmon bitches lets kick this slut into high gear!” As kim said those words I felt a buildup in my nipples, but my tits werent shrinking…then the sensations happened…my jugs felt like they were being roughly handled, fondled and fucked by a million little hands, it didnt take long for my mouth and my clit to start drooling.

“Enjoying yourself princess?” Juggs asked in her typical snarky tone.

All I could muster up to do was a weak shake of my head in a last ditch effort to show my rebellion.

“Well then ladies, I suppose its time to kick it up a notch!” My heart was going a million miles an hour as I felt the bimbos disperse from my tits to my ass and pussy…it felt amazing…they filled up my titties, booty and already soaking pussy to the max before making them go through the same treatment my tits just did…I was so sensitive…all I was able to do was weakly squirm in an attempt to escape these feelings, I tried communicating with the sluts but all that came out of my mouth was moans and squeaks.

After several hours of torture juggs and her bimbo goons spoke up “Alright mega mountains, we will let you go and end these sensations under one condition..if we ask you to play with your body…meaning US…then you do it for as long as we tell you to, you will be a slave to your own body, understand? And if you rebel…well…you dont wanna know what happens when you rebel against an army of sluts”.

I gave a weak nod followed by a couple quiet squeaks, my bondage loosened and I was free to go. For the first time in months I could control my own body again, I took the opportunity to assess my situation….donut sized lips…big, poofy hair…cartoonishly large, jiggly, fake breasts…an equally enormous fake booty…and a big round fat sensitive pussy.

Juggs spoke up “alright mega mountains, one hand on your clit, the other around your nipple…play with us hehe!”.

I complied with a deep sigh, as soon as my fingers met my private areas I yelped out of how sensitive I was and moved my hands away as fast as I could.

“Is that rebellion we see? Fine then…ladies I think we know what to do” Juggs announxed to her hive of bimbos.

My legs lost control once again as I strutted out of an unfamiliar house back into the streets where I was inevitably being taken further down this bimbo rabbit hole…my tits jiggled…my booty was popping up and down and my pussy was rubbing together…please make this torture end…

[captain-kingliamsqueen]

I Missed You - Liam x Riley Part 2

Unexpected Surprise Part 2

Pairing: Liam x MC

Summary: …As much as you want to plan your life, it has a way of surprising you with unexpected things that will make you happier than you originally planned!

Word Count: 3,898

Masterlist

 ASK IF YOU WANT TAGGED! SORRY IF I MISSED ANYONE!

I always notice every single spelling mistake or issue after I’ve posted…so apologies in advance! 

Tags aren’t working so I will be tagging in the comments.

“hello? Riley? Riley is that you?” Riley felt her heart swell when his voice met her ears.

“Hi, Liam” she whispered

“my god it’s so good to hear your voice, Riley”

“Liam…” she whispered with a sniffle

“-is everything okay?”

“i-im going to tell you something a-and you’re going to think I’m crazy…but…”

“Riley your scaring me, are you okay?”

“Liam…I’m in the Hospit-OH MY GOD!” she cut herself off with a groan when a contraction hit.

“THE HOSPITAL?! Why? What’s wrong?”

“I-I don’t know how to tell you this…”

“Riley you can tell me anything”

“Liam what I’m about to tell you, will turn your life upside down…”

“Riley…?”

“I was in a lot of excruciating pain, to the point where I could hardly move…I was brought to the hospital in an ambulance, they thought it was an appendicitis, so when I got to the hospital they done an ultrasound…Liam…they found a heartbeat”

“Riley, I don’t understand, what do you mean they found a heartbeat?”

“I’m having a baby” she whispered, the phone went silent as Liam took in what she had just said

“Riley that’s…wow…”

“It’s a cryptic pregnancy Liam…I didn’t know…the doctors didn’t know…no one knew…”

“what do you mean you didn’t know Riley…I don’t understand…”

“Liam...”

“…how far along are you?” he whispered

“…I’m in active lab-oh shi-” she groaned “in having this baby right now, Liam”

“RIGHT NOW? YOUR-WAIT THAT CAN’T BE RIGHT RILEY SURELY!”

“Liam…I assure you…this pain is not lying, they done the scans, they ran tests…everything confirmed it Liam. There is a baby coming out of me…”

“and the baby’s mine?”

“you’re the only person ive been with Liam, since I came to Cordonia to right in this very moment, you’re the only guy I’ve slept with. I’m sorry, Liam, I knew this would be crazy to hear, but I couldn’t not tell you, I had to…you have a right to know. But I want you to know, I don’t expect anything from you, I-I just thought you should know”

“Riley” Liam whispered sincerely

“yeah?”

“I’m already in the car on the way to the airport, are you in New York?”

“you’re coming?”

“of course! Riley you just told me you’re in the hospital about to give birth to my child!” Bastian looked wide eyed at Liam. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else” Liam sighed

“I’m at Lenox hill hospital, upper east side of Manhattan, Liam you don’t have t-”

“I want to Riley, I’m about three hours out from there.”

“I can’t believe this is happening Liam, I’m scared…I’m really scared”

“I know, I am too…Riley, you’re the strongest person I know, you can do this, I promise you!”

“I don’t have anything Liam…I done have anything prepared… I don’t have a crib…I don’t-I don’t have a pushchair, I don’t have a car seat…oh god, how am I supposed to get the baby home if I don’t even have a car seat…I don’t have clothes, baby grows, diapers…oh god!!”

“shh shh everything’s going to be alright, we’ll get everything the baby needs. who’s at the hospital with you Riley?”

“no one” she sniffled

“no one? is there anyone you can call, that can get to you before I can?”

“no, it’s just me”

Liam let out a sigh as he ran his free hand over his face. “alright, um…I’ll try and get to you as fast as I can, do you need me to bring you anything, anything you need straight away?”

“no, I need you to just get here…I just need you here, Liam. Once the baby is here, we can worry about everything else.”

“alright…” Liam paused listening to what Bastian was telling him before speaking again “okay, um, Bastian said the jet can be ready to leave in fifteen minutes…Riley, I know there’s a very slim chance I’m going to make it to you in time, but I’m going to be there as soon as I can, it’s going to be hard, it’s going to be painful, but you are strong Riley, you can do this.”

“Liam…” she sniffled “…I love you” she was unsure if she should have said the three words…but there were no other words she could use to describe how she felt in that moment.

“I Love you too” she could hear his smile in the way he spoke.

Just before Liam boarded the plane, he bid Riley good luck and goodbye. They spent the next two hours sending messages back and forth between them, riley keeping him updated on everything that was going on.

It was two hours after Liam boarded the plane that the nurses told Riley she was ready to push. Whilst the nurses ensured they had everything they needed; Riley sent a quick message to Liam. After turning her camera on her phone on, she asked the nurse closes to her to sit it somewhere appropriate so that she could send Liam the video once the baby was born. She knew it would be killing him not to be there.

“okay Riley, are you ready?”

“no” she laughed and cried at the same time.

“I know this is all just so overwhelming and scary, my dear, but you’re in safe hands, we’re going to do our darn best to keep you and your baby as safe as we can, alright?”

“okay” Riley nodded as the nurse helped her sit up in the right position. After explaining to her the best way to push, they were ready to go.

Riley was pushing for a solid fifty-two minutes when she came to her final push.

“alright Riley this is going to be a really big one okay, I know you’re tired, but once this is done, you can lie back and relax, are you ready?”

“mhmmmm” Riley groaned as the next contraction hit hard.

“god this hurts so damn much!” she groaned as she tucked her chin into her chest as she pushed.

Just a few seconds later she left the pressure on her lower region decrease. Her face was covered in tears as she watched the doctor, move from the bottom of the bed and place a beautiful baby girl on her chest.  “oh god, look at you” she cried as she looked over her daughter. “where did you come from” she laughed “let me tell you baby girl I’m never playing hide and seek with you” she cried. Just a few minutes later, one of the nurses approached the bed “I’m just going to take her to check her over alright, because you didn’t have any prenatal vitamins or medications we just need to make sure she’s fit and healthy” Riley nodded instantly being filled with worry, once the camera on Riley's phone had been turned off she quickly sent the video to Liam. Whilst the baby was being checked over, the doctors made sure Riley was okay after the delivery. About fifteen minutes later, the nurse returned with the baby girl wrapped in a blanket. She handed her to Riley with a smile.

“is she okay?” she panicked

“she’s perfectly healthy in everyway”

“thank god” Riley smiled tiredly as she cradled the baby in her arms. she cooed and awed at her new daughter. Her attention was taken when her phone pinged repeatedly with multiple messages coming through. Then her phone screen lit up with a video call from Liam.

She answered instantly, with a tired grin.

“Riley…I…I don’t even know what to say” his grin grew the longer he was on screen, Riley’s heart swelled as she watched the tears fall down Liam's face. “I can’t believe any of this right now” he chuckled

“where are you?” Riley asked

“I’ve not long left the airport, we’re only about fifteen minutes away, are you sure you don’t need anything? I can stop at a store or something”

“no, I’m okay, I’m just tire-” she was cut off with a loud cry from the little one in her arms. Liam's breathe caught in his throat as he heard his daughter for the first time.

“shh shh, it’s okay” Riley cooed with a smile as the baby started to calm. “would you like to see her Liam?”

“of course! Yes!”

As Riley held the phone over to the side so that the baby was in the cameras view, Liam gasped.

“Riley…Riley she’s perfect…she’s everything” he whispered as a stray tear fell down his cheek.

“Liam she’s the spitting image of you”

“you think so?” he smirked

“she’s a Rhys alright, just look at those blue eyes…those are Rhys eyes, Liam and you can’t deny it” she giggled

About ten minutes later, the car pulled up outside the hospital, Liam leaped out with Bastian on his tail, making their way to the front desk.

“can I help you sir?”

“I’m looking for room 314, Riley brooks, she just had a baby”

“ah yes, just up the corridor, take the elevator to the third floor, then take the left corridor”

“thank you so much!” Liam replied as he and Bastian took off running for the elevator.

Just a few minutes later, Liam found himself standing in front of the door to Riley's room.

“you know if you say the magic word it might just open itself” Bastian gave him a nudge. Liam smirked then placed his hand on the door handle, he let out a deep breath as he pushed the handle down then pushed the door open.

Riley looked up from the sleeping baby in her arms with a grin on her face as she looked at the one person she had longed to see.

“Riley…” he whispered

“Hey” she replied in the same tone.

Liam quickly made his way over, stopping at the end of the bed, scared to get any closer.

“Come here” Riley whispered from the bed.  

“I’m nervous” he admitted

“don’t be…she’s waiting to meet you” Riley grinned

“Riley…I-”

“I know Liam…I know” she smiled as she looked down at the little one in her arms

Liam slowly made his way to the side of the bed, as soon as he seen the little one in person he gasped “Riley she’s the most perfect little bundle of happiness” he chuckled as he wiped a stray tear that had fallen down his face. “would you like to hold her?” she asked

“I would love nothing more”. He carefully took the baby from Riley's arms with a grin.

“she’s so tiny”

“hah! Tell my hoo-ha that! There aint nothing’ small about that baby” she chuckled then hissed.

“How are you feeling?”

“in pain…uncomfortable, traumatized” she smirked

“Riley, I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you in time, I really tried” he sighed

“hey…it’s okay, you’re here now, that’s what matters”

Liam sat himself down in the armchair beside Riley's bed.

“Hi, sweetheart” he whispered as he cooed at the baby girl in his arms. “I’m Your Daddy…and I love you so, so much” he looked up as he heard light snoring, he smiled as he seen Riley conked out, fast asleep.

“your mother is so brave and so strong” he whispered as he gently ran his finger down the baby’s little button nose.

After an hour had passed Liam had placed the sleeping baby in the hospital cot. He watched Riley as she slept.

“thank you, Riley,” he whispered, standing beside the bed, he leaned over and placed a kiss against her head.

“mmm you’re very welcome” she mumbled in return, causing him to smirk. Her eyes slowly flickered open.

“hey” she whispered

“hey” Liam replied the same way “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you”

“it’s okay, is she alright?”

“she’s fine, she’s just sleeping”

“can I get you something to eat? You must be starving”

“I could eat a whole horse”

“what would you like? Anything at all, name it and I’ll go get it”

“Liam, its four o’clock in the morning, nowhere will be open”

“I’ll find somewhere”

“I want the best fried chicken you can find”

“fried chicken…alright I’ll see what I can do” he smirked

“can you do something for me?”

“of course, anything”

“this damn hospital gown is disgusting, if I give you the keys to my apartment, could you pick me up some clothes? Comfy clothes! Some joggers or leggings”

“of course, yes”

“also…poor bash, he must be going crazy in the house himself, could you just make sure he has some food in his bowl and some water?”

“bash? Your corgi?”

“yeah”

“of course, I’ll take him out for a few minutes in case he needs the bathroom”

“thank you so much, Liam”

Liam headed out promising Riley he would be back as soon as possible.

Once Liam climbed into the car, he and Bastian headed for the address Riley had given them. It only took around fifteen minutes to get to the apartment, it was a lot nicer than the one she was in when he first met her. He smiled as he shut the apartment door, taking a glance around the apartment, it was Riley all over, it wasn’t modern it was very rustic and cozy, very…Riley.

As soon as bash heard the he jumped down from the bed and hightailed it into the living room barking. As soon as he got to the door and seen it wasn’t Riley, he started growling. Liam smirked when he seen the little fluffball.

“hey bash!” he crouched down, putting his hand out for the dog to sniff. Bash slowly creeped forward, growling as he went, once he got just far enough where he could smell Liam's scent, he started sniffing his hand. As soon as he got a whiff of his scent bash’s eyes widened, he knew exactly who it was! he bounded forward jumping onto Liam's lap, licking at his face and nuzzling his hand!

“hey boy!! I’ve missed you! Yes, I have!” he chuckled as bash jumped all over him.

Once Liam found the dog leash, he took bash out for a short walk, then he made his way back so he could put together a bag for Riley. he was looking through the wardrobe for some comfy clothing for her, when he turned to get her some socks from the bedside drawer, he stopped as he seen the small photo frame, containing a picture, they had taken on one of their secrets meetings, they looked so happy.

Liam returned to the hospital about an hour later, bearing the gift of food in one arm and an overnight bag for Riley in the other.

“oh goodness, I can smell it from here!!” Riley grinned; Liam handed Riley the bag of food before pulling the tray up so she could put the food on it.

“thank you so much” she smirked as she started emptying the bag, then diving into the contents

“hey, wait a minute…no one ever taught you to share?” Liam smirked as he made his way to the side of the bed, “Come on, scootch up”

Riley grinned as she moved over carefully, making enough room for Liam to sit. He climbed onto the bed, pulling his legs up, wrapping his closest arm around Riley's shoulder as she leaned her head on his shoulder as she ate.

“was bash okay?”

“yeah, he was okay, I took him for a little walk, he didn’t recognise me at first, but when he realised it was me, he went crazy!”

“really?” she chuckled after that the room was silent for a few minutes

“thank you, Liam” she whispered

“for what?”

“for being here, for dropping everything to come here”

“Riley…I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, you and our daughter…I would do anything for you”

“I know” she whispered

“did you ever think the day would come, Liam…you and I sitting in the hospital after the birth of our daughter”

“only in my dreams” he sighed “but I am so happy that this is reality”

“me too” she smiled then a frown fell on her face. “you know…we should probably talk about the situation we are both now in…I mean…first of all, we live in two different countries literally over 10 hours away from each other…plus there’s the whole madeleine thing”

“Riley…”

“what?” she asked as she lifted a piece of chicken to her mouth.

“I filed for divorce”

“what!” she coughed as she swallowed the food in her mouth.

“a couple of weeks ago, I mean, it will take a few months to go through but…it’s done”

“you…you filed for divorce…why?”

“because I realised that for me to be the king I need and want to be, I can’t let people make decisions for me, I can’t live my life in a marriage I don’t want…and I realised I don’t have to…I took me a while to realise it but I did”

“so…what happens now? W-with madeleine?”

“well, she is still technically queen until the divorce goes through, so she will stay in the palace until we have made a formal statement, then she will move to Fidelia”

“so…you’ll be a free man to do what you want”

“yes, I will”

“good to know” she smirked

Just before Liam could respond they were interrupted by the fussing new-born. Liam was quickly at her side trying to sooth her, he lifted her to his chest gently rocking her.

“you’re a natural” Riley smiled

“really?” Liam smirked as he made his way over to her sitting himself down beside her on the bed.

“really” she smiled as she looked over her daughter in his arms. “you can already tell she loves you” she added

“how?”

“she’s so comfortable just lying against your chest, just look at how peaceful her face is” she smirked

“I remember a time when you looked that peaceful sleeping against my chest too” he smirked avoiding looking at her as she blushed

“who wouldn’t be comfortable laying against you” she muttered as she leaned her head on his shoulder

���I’ve missed you Riley” Liam whispered as he looked over at her. she shifted her gaze from the baby to Liam.

“I’ve missed you too” after a few minutes silence Riley spoke again “Liam?”

“yeah?” he smiled at the new-born in his arms as she lay peacefully

“why didn’t you call me? When you filed for divorce”

“I wanted to…I really did, but I hadn’t heard from you in eight a half months…I didn’t want to impose on your life, a lot can happen in eight months” he nodded towards the baby with a chuckle “exhibit A…in all seriousness though, it’s true, anything could have happened, you could have been in a serious relationship for all I knew…the second I decided I was going to do it, I wanted to call you”

“you’re not the kind of guy a girl can just move on from, Liam. A guy like you usually ends up being the one”

“Riley! Stop making me blush in front of my daughter” he joked

“awe did I make the big bold king blush?”

“only you could, Riley, only you could”

“so, what happens now?”

“well, I’ll always be honest with you Riley, you know that, I would like nothing more than for you to come to Cordonia, you and our daughter, for two main reasons”

“and what are those?”

“well, the first I hope is the obvious…I love you both very much, it would hurt me very much to have to leave you both”

“and number two?”

“she’s the crown princess” he smiled

“Liam…I will get slaughtered if I turn up after 8 months with a baby claiming she’s the crown princess…”

“everything will be fine, I’ll make sure of it, I will make a statement, I will claim her as my child, what are they gonna do then?”

“Liam, I have a job here, I have a life, if I come to Cordonia, will be giving up a peaceful life, to be scrutinized and shamed, it will look bad on the crown, people will know we slept together out of wedlock”

“what’s done is done, Riley, and they can’t change it so they can live with it, its twenty nineteen, they’ll get over it”

“would you at least think about it?” he asked

“oh I’ll definitely think about it, I’m not saying no, I’m just…I’m scared, last time I was there, I thought we were going to be together, spend our lives together, then it all went up in the air, I just… ”

Liam looked at her with so much sadness in his eyes.

“I’m sorry Riley, I know it was ALOT to deal with, but I promise you, it won’t be the same this time, no one will be making this decision for me, madeleine won’t be an issue, it’s just me and you…and our little one” he smiled “that’s all that matters this time, I promise”

“Liam I need more than promises…there is a baby involved now, I can’t just take her half way around the world to end up hurt and coming back again and having to restart all over again, if you can ensure that we would be with you, no matter what, if you could ensure that no matter what anyone says, you will stand by us, then I would go in a heartbeat!”

“Riley, I swear, on my own life, if you and the baby come to Cordonia, you will be under my protection, no matter what anyone says  Riley, no matter what anyone does, I want to be with you, you, I want us to be a family, I’ll have the apartment redone, a nursery put in, it will be ours”

Riley looked at Liam, without saying a word then she spoke “you swear, no one will come between us?”

“they may try, but I swear I won’t let them”

“okay…but I have things to sort before we go, I have to speak with work, I have to sort my apartment, so I can’t leave straight away”

“you’ll come?”

“yes, we’ll come to Cordonia” she grinned

“oh, Riley, you don’t know how happy that makes me! you know…she’s going to need a name” Liam smiled

“do you have anything in mind?” Riley asked him

“I like Emily, what about a middle name?”

“I like Jane” she whispered. “I know it’s not exotic, but I think it’s sweet, Emily Jane Rhys…”

“I like it, its sweet” Liam smiled

“may I?” Riley put her hands out to take the baby in her hold. She carefully cradled the little one in her arms, holding her out in front of her. The little one looked up at her with her big blue eyes.

“what do you think, sweetheart…is that your name? Emily...Emily Jane Rhys, I think it’s perfect”

“I do too” Liam smiled as he looked at the two most important women in his life.

It was a few hours later, Emily was sleeping, riley and Liam were lay on the bed, catching up on the past 8 months, it was a break in the conversation when Liam had stood up to stretch his legs a little. “I think I’m going to go get some tea from the cafeteria, would you like anything?”

“could you get me some fruit juice?”

“of course, I’ll be back in two seconds” just as Liam opened the door he was met with a face, he really didn’t want to see…

“Hello…Husband!”

[shijiujun]

history3 ep 17 summary - we’ve been kind of robbed, but this was a good ep

okay first things first, this episode was fucking INTENSE like usually i’m laughing out loud and everything but today i was more or less silent even during the romantic scenes between jack and zhao zi - those were cute don’t get me wrong but there’s the underlying shady thing that jack is doing - in any case, you guys will both love and hate today’s episode, and if you wanna turn back now and wait for subs etc. to come out, this is the point to do it, otherwise: SUMMARY TIME BELOW!!

CWH + TY/SF confrontation aftermath

we start off first with the scene in the preview, where TY is facing SF while SF explains that LZ is his mother, and CWH, who’s standing a little bit further away with his back faced to them 

also: thank you line tv, for making hong ye totally disappear without you know, letting us know what happened to TY’S PRECIOUS SISTER WHO GOT KIDNAPPED YOU KNOW?! she literally just disappeared - what happened? where’s dao yi? did CWH get his lackeys to send her home by curfew? you know?!!!!

back to the scene - TY is catatonic and just staring angrily into the distance, and CWH is all: “you must be wrong, you must be lying to me, LZ wouldn’t have lied to me”

flashback to the prison visit by LZ and TGD - TGD turns up to visit CWH and CWH looks to be badly beaten up, and TGD obviously looks very guilty but trying to be smiley, he tells CWH that he cooked some of CWH’s fave dishes and brought it for him today and CWH is obviously pretty mad as he accuses TGD of getting the other prisoners inside the prison to beat him up - TGD tells him to calm down but doesn’t have a chance to explain himself, and one can probably understand CWH because i think he wasn’t expecting to be in prison for so long, and he asks TGD when he’s going to get him out, but TGD says that the other gang, Si He Hui, has a hit on him and it’s safer for him to be in prison, and CWH gets mad and yells: “you’re the damn boss of xing tian meng, don’t fucking tell me you have no way to get me out!” basically

that’s when TGD reveals that he brought LZ with him, and rmb that CWH when he decided to take the rap for TGD and go to jail in his stead, he told TGD to take care of LZ and not let him know where he is? WELL THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN OBVIOUSLY - CWH begs for forgiveness from LZ, saying that he didn’t mean to lie to her etc.... and LZ asks: “how could you lie to me?”

and then she says: “i’m pregnant”, and CWH is so happy, and then he looks to TGD who looks back at him with a smile and approving nod - and like 10 seconds later, LZ says: “i went for an abortion, you and i are from different worlds we can’t be together, it’s over”

then CWH goes ballistic and even TGD looks a bit confused and stunned, and LZ walks off and outside the prison she sobs and cries, while TGD is looking at CWH yelling and being dragged off

comment - srsly?!!! so many loopholes that are with this scene srsly

back to the present: TY thinks that SF is lying to him and that even if it was true this changes nothing - he still killed TGD, and he knows this because CWH was actually the one to shoot TY and he remembers it

TY back on that day, he heard two gunshots while he was waiting for TGD, and when he ran up the stairs, he saw TGD and LZ dead already on the ground and TGD holding a gun, and when he yelled for TGD, CWH shot him

CWH says he really wanted to kill them, but before he could do anything, he heard the gunshot, and the first thing he did was call out for LZ and run over to them both and they were alr dead

TY doesn’t believe him and now pulls a gun on CWH, and SF is so desperately holding onto him and trying to stop him - he reasons that if CWH really was the killer, then why would he be standing here like this? SF: “finding the real killer is more important than you venting your anger like this, right?”

so TY runs off, and SF calls TY a gazillion times but TY doesn’t stop and heads straight for the car - SF catches up to him outside of the car but TY pushes him back and shouts: “why are you doing this to me?!”

heart. break.

he gets into the car and drives off, locking SF out of the car (and this is really inappropriate but i wondered - this remote abandoned place does grab or uber or lyft even reach this area for SF to go home you know)

SF+TY - In the house scene where we hoped we’d get bed scene but...

and SF obviously managed to get a ride somehow because he turns up at TY’s house, yelling for him from downstairs and he finds him curled up in the bathtub

they struggle because TY is obviously mad at SF for doing this and he wants to be alone and the truth is hard to bear and he’s trying to get out of SF’s grasp but SF is holding really damn tight and refuses to let him go, he back hugs him and tells him: “shhh... it’s okay, i know how you feel, i really do” and he tries to calm him down, which TY does for a moment, but he struggles again, and SF kisses him to calm him down, and then TY gets on with the program and starts kissing back desperately, and SF is telling him not to do this to himself as TY kisses his way down SF’s body - and then he kisses SF on the lips again, and then he just... stops

and TY goes back to crying on the floor, falling to his knees against the bed as SF holds him

HEART. BREAK. FUCKING HEART BREAK.

Jack + Interpol Chief

jack passes interpol chief a thumb drive containing xing tian meng’s information and details and says that since this mission is done, they should move on to the next one, i.e. dismantling CWH’s drug network

interpol chief says that CWH’s network in cambodia is difficult to dismantle and at this point i think interpol chief is shady as hell and jack seems to be talking in rounds to him, i really don’t believe jack betrayed XTM and TY

and then jack says that now they can, because CWH just invited him into his group and he’ll take the job, and interpol chief and jack shake hands on it

so we get confirmation: jack is NOT a police officer, he’s a mercenary for hire and interpol paid him handsomely for this ‘job’ with XTM and TY in a sense

Zhao Zi + Jack

zhao zi goes home and sees jack’s motorcycle at his door but no jack in sign, and he looks so confused, and then jack was actually crouching behind the gate and pops up and says hi

ZHAO ZI’S face LIGHTS THE FUCK UP and he goes up to jack with his umbrella and im gonna gif this in detail don’t worry, so i won’t say too much here, but anyway he lets jack into the house and jack cooks for zhao zi

and yes, that preview scene happens here, and zhao zi doesn’t really give him an answer until when they’re inside

REMEMBER THE PHOTOS U GUYS WERE GOING CRAY CRAY OVER? we WILL GET THIS SCENE TMR I THINK!!!!

anw zhao zi more or less tells jack that ever since his grandma died, no one is waiting for him at home and when jack turned up earlier, he felt so touched that someone was waiting for him to come home

ALL YOU FIC WRITERS - YOU GUYS CALLED IT!!!!

so anyway tmr it’s likely zz will accept jack’s confession and then hopefully jack won’t just disappear you know!!!

TY+SF in bed, half naked or totally naked I GUESS WE’LL NEVER KNOW

yeah, so they’re in bed naked and okay i’m gonna do a separate post on this about what i think - in any case, yes, no bed scene, and SF and TY are awake, and SF leans over to hug TY

TY: “I’m sorry”

FUCKING BREAK MY HEART YEAH WHY NOT U DO THAT SCRIPT WRITERS

CHIEF+DAUGHTER+TURNING HIMSELF IN

so yes, this happens - i have to say i totally called this, because it really does fit his character, that he would be overridden with guilt and that’ll make him turn himself in 

the scene with his daughter and the daughter’s fiance was really sweet i think, and it really reflected the dilemma and conflict captain shi has with this entire thing, and @ctl-yuejie mentions this to me as well and i agree, and that is that i wish he would’ve thought about SF as well? because SF... i feel like he treats chief as his dad almost and chief dotes on him a lot

so yes, he also emo walks to the police station and oh god okay i really gotta say, i almost cried - chief you’re damn good

and the next day, jun wei runs into the office calling for zhao zi, and says: “shit’s happened, chief turned himself in!!!”

everyone: “WTF?!” except ah zhi, who literally packs up and leaves

Domestic TY and SF

SF comes downstairs in the morning and handsome TY has cooked breakfast for him, and SF looks cautious and apprehensive, but TY has obviously decided not to think about ytd’s whatever, and just insists on SF eating breakfast with him

totally NOT a healthy coping mechanism but what can they do? anw SF sits down to eat, and then he’s trying to convince TY to not go for revenge on his own and to pass the person to the police, and TY, cryptic, says: “you investigate on your side. i’ll investigate on my side”

and then jack comes in and says they’ve caught He Hang, the asshole dude from the episode before, and SF is all: “tang yi, no, you can’t-”

and tang yi compromises more or less on this at least: “once i’m done with him, i’ll pass him to you, promise.”

and then SF acquiesces for a moment, that is until his phone rings and he picks it up and goes: “what are you saying? chief has been arrested for dealing drugs?!”

tang yi looks up. THE END.

and you can feel the stress and tension and the foreboding sense from this interaction and i hope this does not mean anything bad for our beloved TY and SF!!!! in any case... we’ll probably get jack x zz tomorrow IF LINE TV DOESN’T CUT IT OUT YOU KNOW?!!!! and yeah SF gets shot tmr - we see shots of him in that baseball jacket in three scenes currently: a scene with zhao zi where he’s investigating something, another scene where SF’s in a restaurant/cafe and finally the shooting scene

very likely ah zhi is discovered as the culprit tomorrow - although my theory is that interpol chief is in on it as well!!! it’d make sense because now if u think about it, if CWH didn’t pay police chief off, then who did? it has to be someone higher than him in position and interpol chief has a standard bad guy vibe, and this would mean that jack is moving interpol chief into a trap as well!!!! LOVE IT

this was a frickin good episode i think. thank god it was 30 min. any shorter again i would have rioted. but all remains to be seen for tmr!!!!

[ciestessde]

Phantasma Magica Ch. 9

STORY SUMMARY

Clockwork and the Observants send Danny to Hogwarts on a special mission. But, cryptic as ever, that Old Stopwatch never actually told him what would happen on it!!! “All you need to do right now, Daniel, is stay focused on your mission. And remember, the-” “‘The Lions with the time-turner, lightning-bolt scar, and hair like fire are friends; watch out for the rat; and the black dog is not a threat.’ Yeah, you’ve only repeated that a few dozen times today.”

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It was very nice to not have to worry about anyone’s safety. With his newfound peace-of-mind, Danny was actually able to help Hermione with her research for Hagrid and Buckbeak’s trial, invisibly scanning the library shelves for any useful books or articles, taking them back to her, and returning the ones she was done with.

He would’ve helped look through the articles himself, but… she was far better at that part than him, seemed to be enjoying herself (now that she wasn’t exhausted) – and even she agreed that this was a far more, uh… efficient strategy.

But while Danny was becoming much better friends with Hermione, Ron… Well. Danny supposed they weren’t very close to begin with, but Ron wasn’t too happy about him spending so much time with her. Though, Danny figured the only reason Harry wasn’t hanging out with her, too, was because of how much of his time was taken up by Quidditch practices. The team’s leader was very determined to win that year, for some reason. Danny didn’t know -- … or care -- why.

So, to try and get Ron to open up to him again, Danny came up with an idea – which he first thought of after seeing, time and again, how much of a bully Draco Malfoy really was. He ended up not even needing to ask why the Trio didn’t like him. (Not to mention, it was because of Draco’s fake “serious” injury that poor Buckbeak was facing potential death.)

He set his plan in motion during lunch one day, tapping Ron on the shoulder to get his attention – though not without him jumping a bit. Danny whispered in Ron’s ear, “Meet me at the top of the Astronomy Tower tonight.” “What? Why should I?” he whispered back, covering his words by moving to take a bite of food. “I have an idea I think you’ll like. To get back at Malfoy.” He could tell by the change in the boy’s expression that he was interested. And that night, as requested, Ron (and Harry; Danny supposed he should’ve expected as much) appeared on top of the tower from under Harry’s invisibility cloak.

They wasted no time in asking the phantasm what his plan was. “It’s actually really simple. You guys – wizards, I mean – You don’t have any way of passing through solid objects, do you?” “Uh… I don’t think so…?” Harry answered, turning to Ron. He shrugged. “I’ve never heard about a spell that can do that. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, though, I guess.” “Alright, well… Watch this!” Grabbing a book he had “borrowed” from the library, Danny turned it intangible and stuck it part-way through the floor. Ron and Harry gaped at him. He pulled it back out and set it down. “I can do that with anything, as long as it’s not too big – including people. I can turn things invisible, too!” “Blimey…” Ron’s expression turned from awed, to mischievous. “Oho, just think of the stuff we could do to Malfoy! Why didn’t you tell us you could do that earlier!?” “So what kind of stuff did you have in mind?” Harry asked, grinning.

For the next couple weeks, Malfoy could’ve sworn Peeves the Poltergeist himself had made him his personal pranking-bag. Chairs that moved on their own, missing school supplies, too many dropped objects to count – other objects being randomly burning hot or freezing cold… Someone put an itching hex on every blanket he replaced on his bed. He even thought he kept seeing Potter’s Firebolt floating around – but every time he looked, it was gone. But worst of all was…

Draco shifted on the bench again. For the love of Merlin, he just wanted to eat his dinner in peace! But every time he tried to get comfortable, his skin would crawl again.

“Draco, what’s wrong?” asked Pansy Parkinson, a fellow Slytherin girl who, pretty obviously, had a crush on him. “It’s nothing.” Even as he said it, he flinched. He felt a sharp (but minor) pain on his stomach. It felt like… There it was again! This time, on his thigh. Then more crawling sensations – – they were all over him now. “I need to go to the restroom,” Malfoy excused himself when he felt whatever-it-was start to travel down his arms, up his collar. And now into– –Draco sped up.

Danny personally thought this one was a little cruel, but he had to admit that Malfoy’s expression had been pretty funny. Ron and Harry were having trouble containing their laughter, getting the attention of Ron’s prank-enthusiast twin brothers. “Oy! What’s so funny?” Gasping, Harry replied, “I think Malfoy’s having some trouble…” With a knowing look to each other, the Twins asked what they had done – and both of them started having their own laughing fit at the word “earwigs.”

Unfortunately, even after that, Danny couldn’t convince Ron to forgive Hermione. And after Ron giving her the cold shoulder for such a long time… It was pretty obvious that it was really upsetting her.

She was telling Hagrid about the progress she had made in her research when Hagrid brought it up. He tried to comfort her as best he could and promised to talk to Ron (and Harry) when he saw the boys again – despite her insisting he didn’t need to do that, and “If he doesn’t see that it wasn’t my fault, then that idiot can keep not being my friend!” … She couldn’t quite keep the tears out of her voice when she said that, though… 

Whether Hagrid went through with that promise or not, Ron still didn’t want anything to do with Hermione – even when the next Hogsmeade weekend rolled around. At first, Hermione seemed determined to stay in the castle and continue studying. But eventually, Danny managed to convince her that some fresh air and a break from routine could do her some good.

It was much more fun to look around the small town with company, even if he couldn’t really talk to her through more than the occasional whisper. She told him all sorts of stuff about the place under her breath – the town’s history, mostly, but also things like how wizards made using owls for mail delivery work, and what the different kinds of candy in that one store were. Knowing how much he liked it, she even ordered Danny a hot chocolate at the Three Broomsticks.

After they were done, they went their separate ways to get back into the school grounds. Danny (knowing the other routes risked him running into the Twins) had made it a habit to use the tunnel under the Shrieking Shack to get to and from Hogsmeade. And it was a good thing he did.

It wasn’t uncommon for people to be staring at the “haunted” house from the safety of the fence. But this time, it was Ron. Who… seemed to be talking to himself. Danny smiled. ‘Of course Hermione wasn’t the only one with an invisible friend today.’ Movement and sound from down the hill then caught Danny’s attention. ‘Uh-oh’ Malfoy was headed towards them, accompanied by his two friends-slash-bodyguards “Crabbe” and “Goyle.” ‘No way this is gonna end well.’

“… should have an owl from Father any time now. He had to go to the hearing to tell them about my arm… about how I couldn’t use it for three months…” His goons sniggered. “I really wish I could hear that great hairy moron trying to defend himself.. ‘There’s no ‘arm in ‘im, ‘onest’… that hippogriff’s as good as dead–” He cut off when he spotted Ron “alone” – and grinned. “What are you doing, Weasley?” Draco looked at the Shack behind Ron. “Suppose you’d love to live here, wouldn’t you, Weasley? Dreaming about having your own bedroom? I heard your family all sleep in one room – is that true?”

From the sudden extension of fabric, Danny assumed Harry had grabbed the back of Ron’s robes to keep him from trying to attack the bully. This was confirmed when he heard Harry whisper “Leave him to me.” Danny, using his phantasmal senses, managed to hone in on Harry’s location close enough to whisper, “It’s me. I’ll help.”

Danny stayed close to Harry (just in case) and watched as a handful of mud floated into the air… “�� Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. D’you think he’ll cry when they cut off his hippogriff’s–” –and launched itself at the back of Malfoy’s head with a *splat*! “What the–?” Ron was laughing so hard that he had to use the fence to support himself. The three bullies were spinning wildly, trying to figure out where the mud had come from. With a snarl, Draco wiped his hair clean. “Great. Just when I thought it was over. Who’s doing this?!” He demanded from the air. Danny snickered. Ron casually commented, “Very haunted up here, isn’t it?” Crabbe and Goyle looked scared (their big muscles wouldn’t help against a ghost), but Malfoy just looked more annoyed.

Meanwhile, Harry had snuck closer to a puddle to grab some stinky green sludge. This time, the two goons got hit, too. “It came from over there!” Malfoy, wiping his face off, directed Crabbe toward Harry’s general direction. Danny gently grabbed Harry and floated him back over to Ron. “My turn,” he whispered.

Double checking how far away the dementors were, Danny carefully let his aura spread out. It was still a bit cold outside, so it took a few seconds for them to start shivering. Then a few more before they noticed the ice forming underneath them, up their muddy-wet shoes, and forming frost on their cheeks. “Wha– There shouldn’t be any dementors out here yet. It’s still daytime!” Draco all but whimpered. He, Crabbe, and Goyle were looking nervous. Finally, Danny sealed the deal with his best dementor impression: with no warning or build-up, the sound of loud, wheezing breaths came from directly above the three. Not wasting any time, the Slytherins ran – slipping and sliding and falling over each other – back down the hill.

Ron and Harry were doing some pretty good dementor impressions of their own – wheezing with barely-contained laughter. “Ha…! That was bloody BRILLIANT!”

Soon after, Harry, Danny, and Ron returned to the Gryffindor common room (in their own ways). When they got there, Danny received some good news/bad news. The good news was that Ron and Hermione were friends again. The bad news… was what caused it.

Hagrid had sent a letter to Hermione from London, covered in teardrops, saying that he had lost the case. Buckbeak was going to be executed. However, there was still some hope. With the possibility of an appeal driving them on, the Trio was reunited to help save their friend’s pet. They visited Hagrid every evening they could and, despite the hustle of the upcoming exams, did their best to form some kind of defense for him to use. Danny even suggested trying to “kidnap” the hippogriff and take him somewhere safe – they couldn’t blame Hagrid if Buckbeak was stolen by a “dangerous creature,” after all! However, using that plan would mean Danny would be hunted by the Ministry, so it was decided that would be the backup plan.

Now that they were interacting with her again, Ron and Harry noticed something strange about Hermione. And when their Easter break rolled around, with everyone else stressed beyond belief by trying to finish homework and study for their End of Year Exams – they couldn’t ignore it anymore. “Okay. You have to tell me how you’re doing it.” “Doing what?” Ron glared at her. “We all have more homework than we’ve ever had in our lives. And you’re taking more classes than anyone – which, I still want to know how you’re going to more than one class at a time, by the way–” “That’s nonsense, Ronald. No one can be in two places at once,” Hermione stated matter-of-factly. “– not to mention how much you’re working on the appeal for Hagrid. Yet somehow, you’re the most relaxed and rested person here!” “What can I say?” Hermione hid her face behind her book; she couldn’t help grinning. “I just have better time management skills!”

In truth, Hermione was practically living every day twice, at this point. Danny, wanting to be able to come and go as he pleased, had decided to let her use his pipe-hideout to work in (pulling her intangibly through a wall was easier than guarding random classrooms), and he had taken to sneaking a double of each meal up to her. But even if Hermione was living a double life, and Ron was stressed by their overflow of homework, no one was busier than Harry. He had to work his homework and studying in around daily Quidditch practices.

The entire school was buzzing with excitement for the upcoming match, too. Danny had never experienced this level of rivalry (and often, downright hostility!) over a school-level game. The excitement finally caused him to pay enough attention that he found out why the captain of the Gryffindor team had been driving Harry so hard: Gryffindor hadn’t won the “Quidditch Cup” in many years, and Harry’s skill (and amazing broom) meant that they finally had a good chance of winning this time! And the excitement was contagious. To his (minor) dismay, even Danny found himself drawn into it! And the fact that the Slytherin team’s “Seeker” (the position Harry played on the Gryffindor team) was Draco Malfoy just strengthened that excitement for Danny AND the Trio – but especially for Harry. Danny haaaad attended a few of the matches, but – despite the crash-course Harry had given him that weekend in the Hospital Wing – he still couldn’t quite manage to really get into the sport.

Until now.

When the game started, Danny took up his usual position near the top of the stands – close enough to (hopefully) not be hit by any of the flying players, but far enough away to not be touched by anyone in the crowd. Speaking of the crowd, it was easy to tell who the favorite to win was. Everyone in every House but Slytherin (“Gryffindor,” “Hufflepuff,” and “Ravenclaw”) were decked out in Gryffindor’s colors: red and gold. The quarter of the stadium flashing green and silver made a sharp contrast.

Danny found himself glued to his seat (metaphorically, since he was floating) watching the players fly back and forth, scoring goals in the giant bubble-wand-like goal-posts, hitting “bludgers” at the opposite team’s players to knock them off their brooms, angering the referee several times by smashing directly into the players instead… To say both teams were playing dirty would have been an understatement.

Danny didn’t fully get the points system, but he knew this much: He was embarrassed.

Because when Harry managed to grab the “Snitch” right out from under Malfoy’s hand – despite Harry being further away, starting towards the Snitch from all the way in the center of the field – – and the stadium erupted in cheers…

He actually turned ~visible~ for a second in his excitement…!

~~~~~

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