#it could have all been one guy at some point

[withwritersblock]

You are in Love

~You are in Love by Taylor Swift~

Author's Note: requested! sorry for blue balling you all! But I couldn't figure out how to really finish this, if that makes sense? Summary: Y/N needed a plus one to her friend's wedding. She invites her best friend Warnings: brief mention of former verbal relationship abuse, implied smut Word count: 15,031 Luke Hughes x fm!reader

They were neighbors first. She knew Jack for a long time. Their interactions never passed a polite conversation and a small smile and wave. The conversations never lasted long enough to even get to know one another. 

That ended when Luke moved in. He was a talker. Jack was always trying to end the conversation so they could leave but Luke and Y/N could talk forever. It was easy and never forced neighborly chat. 

Jack swore it was because Luke was attractive to her. But their conversations were very platonic. But that was because her boyfriend marked his territory from the first time Y/N and Luke met. Jack didn’t even know another person lived in Y/N’s apartment. 

But the second his little brother arrived, her boyfriend felt it was important to make his presence known.

It was only a month into Luke’s rookie season when he offered to have Y/N and her boyfriend come to one of their games. Without hesitation, they agreed to go. After that, the four of them became “friends”. Luke, Jack, Y/N, and Jonathan. 

They would travel to bars together and they would hang out at each other’s apartments. It was safe to say that they were all becoming close. But Jonathan definitely did not like Luke. He was fine with hanging out with him but he thought Luke was attracted to Y/N. Who wouldn’t be, she was the definition of stunning.

Jonathan and Y/N had been together since she was a junior in high school. It had been almost four years of them being together. But it was obvious that their relationship was not perfect or good. They would put on a front to show that they were happy. 

Luke was definitely attracted to her but when they first met he had no intention of romance. His intentions went strictly platonic. His intentions got even more platonic after he found out she was in a long term relationship. He’s not the type of guy to hit on another guy’s girlfriend. Any passing thought he had disappeared.  

Tonight was the last hang out before Jack flew to get his shoulder surgery. They were all hanging out at the Hughes’ apartment. They were sprailed out in the living room, drinking some beers as they watched Quinn’s game on the screen. 

Luke delicately rested his hand onto Y/N’s arm as he stood up from the couch. She smiled softly towards Luke. “Do you guys want anything else?” he asked as he walked towards the kitchen. Jonathan fought back spits of anger as he tilted his head back to stare towards the ceiling. 

“Nah, we’re good,” Jonathan offered. 

“Actually I was hoping–”

“We’re good,” he interrupted her, his face was practically bright red from anger. Y/N pulled her head back as she met Jonathan’s gaze. “We’re good, we don’t need anything else,” he said through gritted teeth.

“What’s wrong with you?” she asked softly before clenching her jaw. He huffed as he rolled his eyes. 

“What’s wrong with me?! What’s wrong with you?!” he shouted. 

“Dude,” Jack mumbled. 

Jonathan stood up from the floor. His back was pressed against the couch as he pointed towards the front door. He quickly began to walk out of the apartment, the beer still in his hands. 

Y/N took a deep breath as she tilted her head back. Shutting her eyes for a moment while she contemplated on following him. She would probably get screamed at if she didn’t follow within the next five seconds.

Jack pursed his lips forward as he awkwardly looked down towards his lap. “Are you okay?” he asked Y/N as he watched her reluctantly stand up from the couch. 

“Nope,” she let out as she walked towards Luke, handing him her half dranken beer. 

“Y/N, hey,” he said softly as he awkwardly took a hold of the drink.

“I’m sorry, so sorry,” she expressed as she walked fast out of the apartment towards her own apartment. 

Jack tilted his head back as he looked towards Luke who was still staring towards the door she left from. “What did you do?” Jack asked as he saw Luke awkwardly place her beer onto the counter. 

“I–I don’t know,” Luke stuttered as he pulled out another beer for himself and for Jack. As Luke walked back towards the couch, their was loud muffled voices coming from her apartment. It was hard to make out the words being said but it was definitely Jonathan yelling towards her. Luke’s eyes widened as he felt his heart start racing.

“Should we go over there?” Jack asked softly as Jonathan’s voice got louder and clearer.

“I’m tired of seeing you throw yourself at every fucking guy on the planet!” Jonathan shouted so loud they could hear it through the wall. 

“I–I don’t know,” Luke mumbled as he swallowed hard. 

It took another ten seconds before they both stood up from the couch, placing their beers onto the coffee table. Luke led the charge towards the door, pulling the door open. His body ran hot. He was seeing red. How could anyone talk to a girl like that? Let alone someone they called their friend. 

“Do we just walk inside?” Luke let out softly. 

“You’re the one that’s acting all macho man!” Jack said as he nervously chewed on his bottom lip. They stepped into the hallway the same time Jonathan pulled her apartment door open. 

“I’m fucking done! We’re done! I’ll get my shit tomorrow! I’m staying with Veronica!” he shouted smugly as he slammed the door shut. He smirked once he saw Jack and Luke. “She’s all yours boys, have at her! I’ve got a much hotter–” Jonathan began before he met Luke’s gaze, “Much hotter woman who isn’t a massive–”

“Fucking finish that sentence and I’ll break your arm,” Luke let out simply as he crossed his arms over his chest. Jonathan’s mouth clammered shut before he shoved passed Luke and Jack, storming down the hallway. 

Jack and Luke instantly walked up towards the door. Carefully pushing the door open. She was sitting on the couch, her face in her hands. 

She didn’t lift her head as another sob fell from her lips. Both of them sat on either side of her, wrapping their arms around her shoulder as they held onto her tightly as she sobbed. Luke glided his hand along her upper back as Jack kept his hand on the center of her back. 

They shared glanced as they both took deep breaths. She was still sobbing. Not caring that she’s technically only known them from less than a year and how embarrassing this probably was. But she didn’t care. She took the comfort, she needed the comfort.

Nine months later

She was sitting on her bed, staring towards the light blue floral maxi dress hanging from her closet door. It was form fitting, a dress that Jonathan wouldn’t have let her wear. Because God forbid another man found her attractive. But she was wearing it tomorrow. 

Tomorrow she had a wedding to attend where she had checked plus one on her reservation card. The reservation card was sent out six months ago. Out of habit she would check the box. She didn’t think she would have a date for the wedding after everything that happened with Jonathan. 

She forgot that she said that she would bring a plus one until the bride, her freshman roommate, Anna, gave her a call and briefly mentioned it. Now she has to have a date to the wedding for tomorrow. 

Standing up, she took a hold of the fabric of the dress, letting it cascade against her hands as she smiled softly. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she quickly pulled it out to see a text from Luke.

–Luke: let me in pleaseeee

A soft chuckle fell from her lips as she left her bedroom. Y/N took fast steps towards the front door as she pulled it open. “Hey,” she said as she allowed him to step inside of her apartment. 

“Thank god you’re home,” he mumbled as he happily plopped down onto her couch, he took up the whole thing. “Jack’s been gone for like a day and I’m bored out of my mind,” Luke explained as he ran his hand over his eyes. She chuckled softly as she shoved his feet off of the couch. He sat up slightly as she sat down beside him. 

“Are you doing anything tomorrow?” she asked shyly as she twisted the rings on her fingers in a different cadence. He pursed his lips forward as he tilted his head to the side to meet her eye. His cheeks flushed slightly. 

“Nope,” he said as his gaze fluttered all over her features. She nodded as she chewed on her bottom lip nervously. “What’s on your mind?” he asked.

“Do you remember me telling you about my old roommate Anna?” she questioned. He hummed as a reply as he awkwardly ran his fingers through his hair. “Apparently, I’m supposed to bring someone to her wedding. I checked plus one without actually having anyone so now I need a date to this wedding,” she explained in what felt like one quick breath.

Luke nodded slowly, “What suit should I wear?” he asked softly. Her eyes widened slightly as the corner of her lips curled upward. 

“Wait really?”

“I don’t have anything better to do,” he let out somewhat teasingly. Her soft smile widened as she giggled excitedly. She tapped her fingertips against his shoulder several times, joy pouring out of her frame. 

“Okay this is going to be so fun!” she said as she leaned away. “I might’ve forgotten a little detail,” she mumbled as she shyly looked down towards her lap. 

“What’s up, Y/N?” he asked while laughing.

“The wedding is in Connecticut,” she said while awkwardly twisting her rings on her hands again. 

“Doesn’t Anna live in Jersey?” he let out while laughing.

“I don’t understand it either but if we leave today, she has a hotel room that we can stay in,” she explained as she had a hopeful grin on her lips. He tilted his head back against the couch as he rolled his eyes playfully. 

He took a deep breath, “Let me guess you want me to drive?” he let out as he pursed his lips forward. 

“I can drive,” she said as she looked into his light eyes. Her cheeks suddenly heated up as she watched his gaze dip towards her lips for a second before lifting back up to meet her eye.

“I hate your driving,” he mumbled as he stood up from the couch. She scanned his frame for a moment before he held out his hand towards her. “Let me see your dress so we can try and match,” 

Looking up towards him, she fought a grin forming to her lips as she happily took a hold of his hand as he helped her up from the couch. Luke started walking towards her bedroom, still holding onto her hand as he guided her towards her room. Her eyes landed onto their hands, it felt as though electricity was coursing through her veins. 

After a few seconds, Luke pulled his hand away from hers to push open her bedroom door. Y/N awkwardly crossed her arms over her chest as she rested her hand against her own cheek. It was instant heat radiating from her skin. 

Luke was not a guy that put too much thought into the idea of physical touch. Holding hands for a few seconds didn’t mean anything to him. There was no other intentions, he swore. Luke walked towards the closet looking towards the light blue maxi dress and his eyes widened slightly.

He glanced towards her, his lips curled upward slightly. “That’ll look pretty on you,” he mumbled as he looked back towards the dress.

Compliments fell from his lips so easily that they didn’t have any hidden meaning. He was a gentleman afterall, compliments were him being nice. Not being interested in her. She knew that. She knew that. He was just nice, that’s all.

“Thank you,” she mumbled before taking in a much needed breath. “Do you have anything that can work with that?” 

He pressed his lips together as he tilted his head back thinking. He nodded as he met her eye. “I’ve got some options,” he mumbled. He pulled his phone from his pocket as he quickly took a photo of her dress. She furrowed her eyebrows as she smiled softly. “I gotta know if it matches,” he said nonchalantly as he ushered her to walk out of her bedroom.

“I’m going to finish packing while you do that,” she said as she stepped aside. 

“Okay, what time are we leaving?” he asked as he poked his head back into her room. His eyes scanned her frame subconsciously.

“Whenever we’re ready,” she mumbled as she still kept her arms shyly crossed over her chest. 

“Okay!” he called out as he walked down the small hallway towards the front door. Y/N rolled her eyes playfully as she took the dress and placed it into the suitcase very delicately. She was planning on bringing a steamer anyway, but she wanted to make sure it was perfect. 

Obviously, it didn’t need to be perfect. It’s not like she has anyone to impress, or leave speechless. 

An hour passed and Luke reentered her apartment, unannounced this time. He had rolled his suitcase next to her kitchen countertop as he leaned against it. His phone was vibrating in his pocket. Quickly, he pulled it out to see Jack was calling him. 

He brought the phone towards his ear, “Hey,” he let out softly. 

“How’s your break going?” Jack asked sarcastically. Luke chuckled while rolling his eyes.

“I’m actually getting ready to drive to Hartford,” Luke let out as he watched Y/N walk out of the hallway rolling her suitcase behind her. She smiled towards him as she switched her gaze towards her own phone in her hand. Luke continued to watch her, admire her frame.

“Connecticut?” Jack asked while laughing. 

“Yeah, Y/N needed a plus one for her old roommate’s wedding,” Luke explained. At the mention of her name, she lifted her gaze meeting Luke’s gaze. He smirked before he dropped his gaze towards the floor.

“Can’t wait to hear how that goes,” Jack said sarcastically. 

“Sharing a hotel room, huh?” Quinn chimed in.

“That sounds like it’ll be a good weekend,” Jack expressed teasingly. 

“I mean it’s been a long time coming, right?” Quinn shot back.

“Oh yeah, weddings have a lot of romance in the air,” Jack let out through laughter.

“Alright!” he said while laughing, “Goodbye, good luck tomorrow,” Luke forced out as he hung up the phone, silencing the eruption of laughter from his brothers. Luke shoved his phone back into his pocket as he looked towards Y/N. “Ready?” he asked softly as he awkwardly chewed on his bottom lip.

“I think so,” she expressed as she shoved her own phone back into her pocket. “Did you pick a suit?” she asked as she took a hold of her suitcase and began walking towards him. He nodded as he fought off a grin as he looke deeply into her eyes.

“I might’ve packed three of them,” he muttered as his cheeks pinked up. A soft chuckle fell from her lips as she walked up towards him.

“Of course you did,” she mumbled as she walked towards him. He scanned her features as he swallowed hard. “We’re going to have to get gas before we get going,” she offered. 

Nodding slowly, “No we don’t, I’ve got a full tank,” he offered as he pulled his keys from his pocket, dangling them in front of her face. 

Tilting her head to the side, she pursed her lips forward fighting a grin. She rolled her eyes playfully as she began walking towards the door. “Come on, Lukey,” she let out teasingly as she walked towards the door. He chuckled dryly as he followed after her, taking a hold of his own suitcase.

~~~

They only had thirty minutes left of their drive and it was safe to say this was her favorite road trip yet. Luke was an amazing driver, so she didn’t have an ounce of anxiety with him behind the wheel. She couldn’t say anything like that about Jonathan.

She was in control of the music. Luke didn’t mind because they had pretty similar music taste. She would sing along softly to the songs but if Luke was confident, and not so confident, in the lyrics he would sing loudly. He mostly did it to hear her giggle. Her giggle was everything to him. 

Rihanna was playing loudly in the car and Luke was trying to sing the lyrics, pretending to know what he was singing along to. She was laughing as she was singing along. He held his hand towards her and she happily dropped some pretzels into his hand. He tossed them into his mouth as he continued to dance slightly.

Through laughter, “You are an awful singer,” she mumbled out. He glanced towards her, smirking through a mouth full. He tilted his head back slightly against the head rest. “Like so bad,” she said while covering her mouth. 

“Well play something I know!” he said while laughing.

“Fine, fine!” she let out, “You listen to depressing country music, so if you want to kill the mood. Then I’ll play something you know,” she teased. He smirked as he nodded, urging her to change the song. “Depressing country music it is,” 

After a few seconds the song switched to Love You Anyway by Luke Combs. Luke smiled widely as he glanced towards her before he switched lanes. He held his hand towards his mouth mimicking a microphone. 

“If your kiss turned me to stone, I’d be a statue standing tall in Ancient Rome. And if your touch shattered me like glass–” he sang with a country twang in his voice. She giggled as she watched him sing as he bobbed his head back and forth to the slow beat. 

He was adorable as he continued to stare ahead, singing along to the song. He was right he did sound somewhat better. 

“There’s just some things that leave a man no choice. Like a compass needle needing it’s true north. Even if I knew the day we met you’d be the reason this heart breaks. Oh I’d love you anyway,” 

She fought the grin and the soft laughter falling from her lips. He was fully invested in a dramatic performance.  It was probably the cutest thing he’s ever done. 

He finished singing, looking towards her for some sort of approval. “Definitely better,” she said as she clapped her hands together. 

“Thank you, thank you,” he let out grinning as he pulled off on the exit. “Alright, I need a performance now,” he offered as he glanced towards her as they were waiting at a red light. 

“I don’t do solo performances,” she teased.

“Come on!” he begged as he tapped his steering wheel. ��Please! I just sang my heart out,” he whined as he pouted his lips. Rolling her eyes playfully, she took a deep breath as she began to search for a song of her own. “Yes!” he cheered as he bit his bottom lip with a grin on his lips.

She pressed play on Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield. She began to dance slightly as she brought her hand towards her mouth as she started singing, “I am unwritten. Can’t read my mind, I’m undefined. I’m just beginning, the pen’s in my hand,” she sang not too seriously. 

Luke was bobbing his head along as he watched her, he glanced in front of him as the light switched to grin. “Staring at the blank page before you, open up the dirty window. Let the sun illuminate the words that you cannot find. Reaching for something in the distance, so close you can almost taste it. Release your inhibitions, feel the rain on your skin–” she continued to sing.

Luke was tapping along on the steering wheel as he was lip syncing. She was pretending to sing badly but even without trying she sounded beautiful. She was an amazing singer, something she always hid. It was beautiful. She was beautiful. Soon she put her hand in front of his mouth mimicking a microphone. He pouted before he sang the chorus loudly with her.

After another fifteen minutes, they finally arrived at the hotel. It was a short cab ride from the wedding venue. Anna’s family rented out the hotel so that all of their guests could have a room to stay in. Luke parked pretty far from the entrance since all of the guests were practically already there. 

She led the charge with her suitcase behind her. She was practically skipping towards the entrance. He rolled his eyes playfully as he followed after her. 

They walked into the lobby, she walked straight up towards the desk. Luke trailed behind her, glancing towards an entire lobby of people he had no idea who they were.

“Are you here for the wedding this weekend?” the desk attendant asked with a forced smile. Y/N nodded encouragingly. “Okay, name?” 

“Y/N Y/L/N,” she let out she glanced towards Luke as he walked up beside her, his shoulder brushed against hers.

“Perfect,” the desk attendant said as he crossed off her name on the paper in front of him. He spun around pulling the key cards from a collection. “Rooms are already assigned, here’s your keys,” he said happily as he handed the key cards towards Y/N and then Luke.

“Thank you so much,” Y/N mumbled as she glanced down to the card that said their room was 805. She switched her gaze towards Luke. “Ready?” she asked softly. He nodded as his eyes flickered all over her features. Her lips curled upward before she began to walk towards the elevator. Luke was following after her like a lost puppy.

She pressed the button for the elevator, “This is going to be so fun,” she said as she was practically exploding with excitement. 

“You really like weddings huh,” he let out as he continued look over her features. 

“I really do,” she let out happily as the elevators door opened. “Come on,” she mumbled as she walked into the elevator. Luke chuckled as he followed her inside. She pressed eight as she stepped back as the doors shut. 

His eyes were still admiring her features. He stared towards her lips, admiring the gloss and the soft smile on her lips. 

After a few seconds, she shifted her gaze to meet his eye. She watched his gaze flicker up towards her eyes. Their eyes remained connected without saying anything. Her eyes squinting slightly while her breathing was starting to quicken. Her lips parted as she was going to say something but the elevator dinged as the doors opened. 

At the same time their eyes shifted towards the brightly lit hotel hallway. Swallowing harshly they both began to walk into the hallway. He clenched his fist as he pressed his lips together as he followed her towards their room. She bit her bottom lip as she kept her gaze onto the floor.

She stopped in front of the room, staring at the 805 on the door. She dipped her card into the card reader, unlocking the door. She pushed it open as Luke rested his hand onto the center of the door holding it open for her. She smiled softly as she walked inside. Her eyes landed on the king size bed. One bed. 

A dry chuckle fell from her lips. Luke walked up behind her, placing his suitcase beside the wall. She dragged her tongue across her bottom lip as she stared towards the bed with a card on it.

Letting go of her suitcase, she reached towards the card. “Y/N and guest. Enjoy,” she read aloud fighting laughter climbing into her throat. “There’s a heart,” she said while chuckling holding it behind her showing it to Luke. 

He cleared his throat as he took the card from her hand. Staring towards the perfect cursive handwriting. “I can go see if there’s a different room available,” he mumbled as he kept staring at her name. 

“We can make it work,” she mumbled as she spun around meeting his gaze, “As long as you keep your hands to yourself,” she let out teasingly. He rolled his eyes as a sudden laugh fell from his lips. 

“Right back atcha,” he teased as he stepped around her, flopping down at the center of the bed. “What time is the ceremony tomorrow?” he asked as he adjusted the pillow beneath his head. 

“We have to be there by four,” she expressed as she rolled her suitcase beside Luke’s. She stood at the end of the bed staring towards him. 

“What?” he asked softly. She shook her head as she sat down on the edge of the bed, kicking off her shoes in the process. “How rich is Anna exactly? This place is nice,” he asked as he continued to look around the small hotel room. 

“Her family owns like Haribo or something like that,” she explained as she stood up from the couch, pulling her suitcase towards the bed. She quickly rested it beside Luke. 

“Actually?” he asked as he watched her unzip her suitcase. She flipped it open and instantly pulled out the dress. It cascaded down as she held it out in front of her. Luke’s gaze landed on the dress, picturing it on her gorgeous frame. 

“I’m not sure, I just know they own something,” she said while laughing. He smirked as she walked towards the bathroom door, hanging it from the top of the door. After a few seconds he stood up walking towards his own suitcase to try and decide what suit would be for the best. 

“Is there a specific color I should avoid?” he asked as he slammed his own suitcase onto the bed. 

“I would definitely say white–” she let out teasingly.

“No I mea–” he trailed while rolling his eyes playfully. “I’ve got a suit that would be perfect but it’s a cream or off white or whatever it’s called. But I don’t know if that would be weird,” he questioned. “I’ve worn it to other weddings but I don’t really know Anna and I don’t know if she would be mad.” 

She nodded as she watched him pull out the cream suit jacket, it was one of her favorites. Her lips curled upward just as there was a knock on their door. Her eyebrows fell into a harsh furrow as she walked towards the door. She looked through the tiny peephole to see Anna standing outside the door. 

Y/N smiled widely before she pulled the door open. “You made it!” Anna cheered excitedly, instantly wrapping her arms around Y/N. Loud giggles fell from her lips. 

Luke rounded the corner to see what was going on. Anna met Luke’s gaze while still hugging Y/N. “Oh my god,” she whispered as she pulled away. “He’s so much hotter than Jonny,” she said, “So much hotter,” she fanned herself.

Y/N eyes widened as she awkwardly chuckled. She pointed towards Luke as he laughed nervously too. “We’re not–he’s not–we’re just friends,” she explained while nervously crossing her arms over her chest. 

“I’m Luke,” he held out his hand towards Anna. She happily shook it. Anna’s eyes widened as she stared towards the one bed.

“Oh my god! I didn’t think–I just assumed. There’s no other rooms available. I’m sorry!” she said panickedly as she pointed towards the bed. 

“Oh that’s amazing suit jacket, that’ll be a great color on you,” she expressed genuinely before she looked towards Y/N.

“It’s okay, Anna. We don’t mind, it’s cool,” Y/N offered as she delicately rested her hand onto Anna’s shoulder. Anna stared towards her while taking in a deep breath. “We promise,” she muttered.

“Oh so that note was probably super awkward,” Anna mumbled. The three of them chuckled. Luke awkwardly pressed his lips together as he stared towards the ceiling.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Anna pulled it out to see her fiance, Brandon, texting her saying there was a few more guests arriving. 

“Okay, I have to go but I’m so happy you came! Lots of people I have to see and like no time. I love you, have fun this weekend! We’ll see you at the reception!” Anna expressed as she quickly hugged Y/N before smiling politely towards Luke.

Anna left the room nearly as quickly as she entered it. Y/N swallowed harshly as she forced a small grin towards Luke. “So, that’s Anna,” she mumbled. Luke laughed as he looked back down towards his suit.

“She seemed like she’s fine with the cream–off white– suit,” he let out awkwardly. She laughed as she pushed him slightly. 

“I’m starving, can we find a place for dinner?” she switched the subject quickly. He smirked for a moment.

“I’ll get to googling,” he offered as he flopped back down onto the bed.

~~~

They returned from the restaurant an hour ago and they were getting ready for bed. Luke was in the shower while she was steaming her beautiful dress. A dress she has been wanting to wear for almost a year. 

The TV beside her was playing a random episode of Friends. She listened along as she placed the hand held steamer onto the small desk beside her. She smiled towards it. Weirdly, the dress holds a lot of power over her. All she wanted was for it to be perfect. 

This weekend had to be perfect.

The shower turned off and she spun her head around staring towards the bathroom door. There was small amounts of steam coming from the small crack at the bottom of the door. 

“Oh shit,” she heard Luke say from the bathroom. “Dammit,”

Swallowing harshly, she bit her bottom lip. Almost instantly Luke pulled the door open. Steam poured out of the bathroom behind him. His hair was soaking wet. His body was only covered by a towel loosely around his waist. There were small droplets all over his frame. Her eyes widened as she scanned his frame. Her body froze as she suddenly felt weak looking over him. 

Her eyes trailed up his frame as she soon met his gaze. “I um–” he let out as he stepped towards her. “I forgot my clothes in my–” he mumbled as he looked into her eyes as he gripped the towel tighter on his waist. “My clothes are in my bag,” he let out softly as he continued to look into her eyes. 

Slowly, she nodded as a hum fell from her lips. He took a deep breath, his gaze dipping towards her lips. He cleared his throat as he slipped past her. Spinning around, she rested her hands onto the small desk beside her. Her hands clenched into fist as she let out a breath she was holding. Her shoulders slumped as she squeezed her eyes shut.

She could hear Luke rummaging through his bag. Her fist delicately hit the desk. He shuffled past her as he stepped back into the bathroom. She took a deep breath as she walked towards the bed. She sat down as her feet dangled off the end of the bed.

She took a deep breath as she stared towards the ceiling. “I can’t–” she mumbled as she swallowed harshly. It took another minute before he stepped out of the bathroom. This time a pair of black sweats and a lose black t-shirt on his frame. Her eyes widened as she kept her gaze ahead.

He walked around her as he laid on the bed. Luke leaned up on his elbow as he looked passed her towards the screen. Her body straightened as she took a deep breath. She could feel him laying behind her. She clenched her fist as she tilted her head back. 

“Y/N,” Luke let out.

She stood up from the bed instantly. “I’m going to shower,” she mumbled as she walked towards her suitcase taking a hold of her own set of pajamas before she walked into the bathroom. Quickly, she shut the door as she pressed her back against the door. She let out a huff of air as she shut her eyes again. Carefully, she placed her pajamas onto the bathroom counter.

She walked towards the walk in shower and turned it on. The water was already hot, steaming as it shot out of the shower head. Stepping back, she took the ends of her shirt and pulled it over her head and tossed it quickly towards the floor. Her breathing was fast as she took the remainder of her clothes from her frame. 

Without hesitation, she stepped into the shower. Letting the steaming water burn against her skin. Washing every thought out of her mind as she tilted her head back. Her eyes shut as images of Luke shirtless flashed into her mind. Swallowing hard, her eyes opened trying to push the image from her mind. 

Despite shoving the thought away it found itself back in her mind. Shutting her eyes, Luke’s body came back into her mind. The muscles that look like they’re sculpted by hand. 

Clenching her jaw, she forced her attention towards her body wash to shower as fast as possible.

It took another twenty minutes before she was done with her shower. Stepping out of the bathroom, her entire frame got hit with what felt like a wind of cold air as she reentered the tiny room.

Luke was scrolling on his phone as he was still sprailed out on majority of the bed. He lifted his gaze as he saw her walking towards the bed. “How was your shower?” he asked softly as he dropped his phone face down.

“What?” she forced out, her eyes widened.

“How was your shower?” he repeated slower. 

“Fine,” she mumbled as she climbed onto the bed, pulling her knees to her chest. Luke looked over her side profile, watching her brush her wet hair away from her face as she stared straight ahead. 

“What’s wrong with you?” Luke let out while laughing. Her eyes widened as she looked down towards him, he was still laying and leaning on his elbow. 

“Nothing, I’m fine. Wa–Water was hot, really hot,” she mumbled, swallowing hard. “Really hot water,”

“Yeah?” he let out as he smirked slightly. She hummed before she shifted her gaze back towards the TV, tapping her fingers against her knees. Luke nodded slowly before he climbed off of the bed. “It’s late,” he mumbled. “Are you cool if I turn off the light?” he asked as he walked towards the light switch beside the bathroom door.

“Yeah,” she muttered as she took a hold of the comforter and climbed under the covers. She laid facing the wall. Luke looked over her frame for a moment before he flicked the light switch off. He walked around the bed and laid onto his side again. He climbed under the covers as he was sitting up slightly. 

She tossed the comforter lower on her frame. Luke looked over her, watching her body rise and fall. He took a deep breath, tilting his head back against the headboard. He chewed on his bottom lip as he shifted his gaze towards the TV. 

“I’m gonna watch this a little longer, is that okay?” Luke ashed as he shifted his gaze towards her. Y/N adjusted the pillow beneath her head. 

“I don’t mind,” she mumbled as she forced her eyes shut, needing sleep to overtake her body. He nodded as he kept looking over her body. He took a deep shaky breath as awkwardly fidgeted with his fingers.

~~~

She woke up to the sound of her alarm blaring beside her. She stirred as she reluctantly reached towards her phone that was rested on the night stand beside her. Luke jolted awake before he rolled onto his stomach with a groan falling from his lips.

“Oh my god, turn it off,” he mumbled as he covered his head with a pillow. She chuckled softly as she turned it off. She snuggled deeper into her pillow as she rolled over to face him. Well the pillow that was covering his head. “Why is your alarm so obnoxious?” he questioned, his voice rasped as he spoke.

“How else am I supposed to wake up?” she shot back as she stretched her arms up. 

“To peaceful bird sounds and twinkley noises, not whatever the hell that was,” he expressed as he pulled the pillow from his head. He rolled onto his side to face her, holding the pillow against his chest.

“Is that really what your alarm sounds like?” she asked as she chuckled softly. 

“Absolutely, I like to wake up in a good mood,” he offered before he rolled onto his back, staring towards the ceiling. “Now I’m in a bad mood,” he muttered as he fought off a grin on his lips. 

“I can fix that,” she offered as she looked over his side profile. He swallowed hard as he shifted his head to meet her gaze. 

“Yeah?” he asked as his gaze lowered towards her lips briefly. “Fix it how?” he asked teasingly.

She watched his gaze meet her eye again. She pursed her lips forward as she stewed on it for a few seconds. “There’s a breakfast buffet downstairs that opens in ten minutes,” she offered. He smirked as he raised his eyebrows. He fought off a chuckle as he shifted his gaze towards the ceiling. 

“You do know the way to my heart,” he let out teasingly as he stood up from the bed, whipping the comforter off of his frame. She smiled teasingly before she followed in pursuit. “When do we need to start getting ready?” he asked as he turned on the sink while also reaching towards his tooth brush. She took a hold of hers as well.

“I want to show up by three-thirty, so shoot for that,” she expressed as she applied toothpaste to her toothbrush. 

“And you set our alarm for nine in the morning,” he let out while shaking his head. She chuckled as she rolled her eyes playfully. “Disrespectful,” he muttered before he began brushing his teeth while fighting off a grin.

After another ten minutes, they were walking side by side down in the lobby towards the buffet. 

His phone started vibrating in his pocket, he pulled it out to see Quinn was calling him. “I’ll meet you in there,” he expressed as he held up his phone, showing it to her. She nodded encouragingly before she entered the huge dining area.

He brought his phone towards his here, “Big day!” Quinn shouted into the phone. 

“Yeah, first game of the tourney, right?” Luke let out before taking in a deep breath. He spun around watching her search for an empty table. He watched her look towards his direction. He looked down towards the floor as his heart jumped into his throat.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever–not what I was talking about!” Quinn said while laughing, “Isn’t tonight the wedding of Y/N’s old roommate,” Quinn expressed.

Luke chuckled dryly as he lifted his head up again to look back in her direction. Yet she wasn’t where he last saw her. A small frown formed to his lips as he forced his gaze to the ground again.

“Did you seriously say whatever about the Four Nations Faceoff?” Luke questioned.

“You have been pining after this girl for almost a year and you two are going to a wedding. Where you are sharing a hotel room for fuck sake,” Quinn expressed excitedly.

“Quinn,” Luke let out while laughing. 

“Y/N inviting you to this wedding was practically handing you a condom. You just gotta use it!” Quinn said through laughter. Luke was sure he could hear Jack and a few other guys laughing in the background.

“I cannot believe you just said that!” Luke said as he tossed his head back, “What the hell does that even mean?” he let out while laughing, “You know what, I don’t even want to know! Good luck today,” 

“You too, big guy,” Quinn teased before Luke hung up the phone. 

Luke dragged his tongue across his bottom lip as he fought a grin. He tapped his thumb against the screen a few times before he shoved it into his pocket again. He lifted his head up as he began walking towards the dining area. Y/N was already sitting down, waiting for Luke. Her plate full of food. 

He walked towards her, delicately resting his hand onto the back of her chair. Tilting her head back, she met her gaze. “How’s he doing?” she asked softly. He took a deep breath as he bit his bottom lip for a second.

“He couldn’t care less I think,” Luke muttered as he glanced towards her food. “That looks amazing. I’ll be back,” he said walking towards the line. She chuckled to herself as she glanced behind her watching him walk away. He shifted his gaze behind him, quickly Y/N looked back down towards her plate; avoiding his gaze. 

Her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears. Shutting her eyes, an image of Luke standing in front of her. His body was only covered by the towel. Her gaze lingered on the muscles tensing from the cold air. All she wanted was to glide her hands across the lines of the muscles. Instead of him walking away from her, his hands took a hold of her cheeks desperately leaning towards her.

Forcing her eyes open, she swallowed harshly. She clenched her fist as she took a deep breath. “I can’t,” she reminded herself as she poked her food with her fork. “I can’t think about it,” she mumbled before she brought a forkful of food towards her mouth. 

She kept her gaze on her plate despite the incoming steps towards her. “Everything looked so good,” he offered as he sat down beside her. She hummed as she kept her gaze onto her plate. “Suprised you didn’t get coffee,” he muttered. She hummed again before shoving a bite of food into her mouth.

He nodded as looked over her features suspiciously. “Are you okay?” he asked again as he poked the scrambled eggs on his plate. She hummed again as she avoided his eye. He pursed his lips forward for a moment as he looked over her; avoiding his eye. “You’re doing that thing again,” he asked before he took a bite of food. 

Y/N furrowed her eyebrows harshly before she shifted her gaze towards him. “What thing?” she mumbled before she took another bite of food. He smiled softly as he took a deep breath.

“You go all quiet and avoid looking at me,”

“I do not,” she muttered lowering her gaze again, “I’ve been told I don’t shut up actually,” she shot back. He chuckled while rolling his eyes playfully. He continued to look over her features. Taking note of the soft grin on her lips as he watched her lift her gaze back up towards him. Tilting her head to the side, she met his eye. 

“Which is why it’s weird when you do the quiet thing,” he let out.

“Just eat your food,” she said as she kicked him under the table. He laughed before he took a dramatic bite of food.

~~~

The ceremony was starting in an hour and she only had thirty minutes left to get ready. A robe covered her frame as she was leaning into the mirror as she was applying the final touches of her makeup. 

Luke was standing beside her as he ran his fingers through his hair with some gel in his hands. He was almost ready, he was procrastinating on putting on the suit. It was something he’s always done before game days. Luke felt good for all of five seconds while wearing suits, so he avoided wearing them for as long as possible. But tonight was special. She loved that suit. 

She met his eye through the mirror as she pulled out her lip gloss from her travel bag. He smiled softly towards her as he rinsed the gel from his hands. She applied the gloss onto her lips as she continued to look towards him through the mirror. He smiled softly as he dried his hands off before he began to walk behind her. Delicately, he rested his hand onto the center of her back as he squeezed passed her. 

“I’m going to get changed,” he said softly as he slipped passed her. Her posture straightened as she pressed her lips together to even out the gloss on her lips. She hummed as she watched him walk out of the bathroom while delicately shutting the door. 

The light blue dress came into view. A soft smile formed to her lips as she looked over it. Y/N took a step back as she began to undo the robe. Slowly, she let it slip from her frame before she adjusted her matching underwear. Y/N reached towards the dress and pulled it off of the hanger as she began to unzip the dress and pull it from the hanger.

After a few seconds, she was able to pull it up her frame. Her eyes lit up as she put her arms through the thin straps. It remained unzipped in the back as she admired the color against her skin. Her eyes were brighter as she admired herself in the mirror. Blue was not usually a color she wore. Her business casual attire was constantly neutral tones only.

Her hair cascaded down her back as she glided her hands across her shoulders. Smiling to herself, she felt beautiful. She felt beautiful and sexy and the dress wasn’t even fully on yet. Reaching behind her, she took a hold of the zipper, she began to pull the zipper up her back. 

She was only able to get it halfway up but it began to squeeze her body in an amazing way. She turned to her side admiring the way the dress showed off each curve of her body. Her hands glided along her frame, the fabric was smooth against her hands.

It was everything she was hoping for and more. Except she couldn’t get the damn zipper up all the way by herself. She took a deep breath as she clenched her jaw as she attempted to reach for the zipper again. It moved a milimeter before she realized that she would need help.

The dress was perfect, her hair was perfect, her makeup was perfect. She was perfect. Tonight had to be perfect. 

Swallowing hard she glided her hands along the dress again before she took a delicate hold of the door handle and pulled it open. 

“Luke,” she let out softly. 

“Yeah?” he called back.

“Can you help me with something?” she asked as she took a step out of the bathroom. 

“Yeah,” he said as he walked towards the bathroom. Stopping short as his gaze scanned her frame. He bit his bottom lip as he continued to admire her. “Wow, you look–” he trailed off as he dragged his tongue across his bottom lip, “Gorgeous,” he muttered.

She took a deep breath as she smiled softly as her own eyes looked over his frame. The suit was cream colored with a hint of blue. It was such a unique shade of white that his eyes were the brightest she’s ever seen. His undershirt was more blue but it was still cream-like. He smirked as he watched her eyes look over his body. 

“I can’t get the zipper all the way up,” she said nervously. He nodded as he chewed on his bottom lip. “Can you help with that?” she questioned barely above a whisper. He nodded again as his eyes flickered all over her features.

It was impossible to speak. He was speechless. His gaze lingered on the clear gloss on her lips. Her beautiful lips that he hasn’t stopped thinking about. Her lips that he’s dying to feel on his. He forced his gaze to meet her eye. Her eyes squinted slightly.

Slowly, she spun around pulling her hair over her shoulder. Y/N took a deep breath as she felt Luke’s hesitant hands hover over her frame. It was electric as tension and desperation coursed through her frame. 

Her body straightened as he rested his hand delicately onto her waist as his other hand took a hold of the zipper that was nearly zipped up. Her eyes shut as her breathing picked up. 

He glided the zipper up her frame as his slender fingers grazed the smooth skin of the center of her back. It was fully zipped up and it fit her frame perfectly. His hand kept a hold of the zipper as he watched her tilted her head back slightly.

It was a moment that lasted longer than it should’ve. Him being that close to her and her unsteady breaths. His hand on her waist was twitchy and hesitant. Almost as if it didn’t belong there. It was intoxicating having him that close, her vision was blurring. Yet, it felt right. 

His fingertips glided down the center of her back before he reluctantly pulled his hands away from her waist. Her body instantly ran cold without his touch on her skin.

Luke pressed his lips together as he took a deep breath. Y/N turned around to face him. Her gaze stared towards his chest for a few seconds before she looked up and met his urgent gaze. 

“Gorgeous,” he let out barely above a whisper.

She smirked as she took a deep breath, “I was shooting for stunning, but I’ll settle for gorgeous,” she teased as she watched a wide toothy grin form to his lips. “You look handsome,” she offered as she scanned his frame again.

He nodded, “I was shooting for sexy but I’ll settle for handsome,” he shot back as she pushed him backwards while chuckling. His hands landed onto his collar as he was adjusting it. “Are you ready to head out?” he questioned softly. 

“I will be in like two minutes,” she mumbled as she walked towards her suitcase to pull out the white strappy heels that matched with the light blue. Luke sprayed himself with his cologne three times all over his body. She smiled softly as the smell took over the hotel room. It was the one she bought him for his birthday back in September.

It was a bourbon and oak cologne that she thought he would hate. It was sweeter than a typical men’s cologne. It had hints of vanilla. She thought that alone would force him to leave it on his shelf and never wear it. Except, he has worn it nearly every day since she bought it. 

Luke placed his cologne into his bag, watching her struggle to slip the heel onto her foot. He smiled to himself as he walked towards her, awkwardly holding his hands in front of her to help her. Meeting his gaze, she rested her hand onto his shoulder for stability. 

Once the heels were on, she met his gaze. His cheeks were pink as he was scanning her features. “And we’ve reached stunning,” he expressed. A shy smile fell on her lips as she pushed him away from her teasingly. 

Quickly, she pulled out her own perfume bottle from her own suitcase and sprayed it all over her frame. It was a beautiful mixer of rose and vanilla. “Okay, let’s go! We are going to be late,” she expressed. He chuckled while rolled hos eyes playfully. 

~~~

The wedding venue in itself was gorgeous. The ceremony side was outside. It was an old garden house that was refurbished into a wedding venue. It was covered in vines and gorgeous white and pink flowers. The floor was a shiny concrete that look slick and new. It was beautiful. Luke and Y/N were sitting beside one another near the outmost aisle.  She was sitting on the inside as he was awkwardly resting his hands into his lap.

The ceremony was going to start in a few minutes and she saw a few of her college friends walking towards her and Luke. Y/N smiled a wide grin. “Y/N!” Chloe cheered. Y/N stood up from her seat and happily wrapped her arms around Chloe for a hug. “I’m so glad you came!” she expressed as she pulled away.

“Me too,” Y/N mumbled as she pulled away. “Chloe, this is Luke,” she muttered as she pointed towards Luke behind her. Luke stood up as he adjusted his suit jacket. Chloe’s eyes widened as she nodded approvingly. 

“Ten out of ten,” Chloe let out teasingly. Y/N mouth fell open as she fought off a grin.

“Oh no, we’re just friends,” Luke interrupted as he delicately rested his hand onto the center of her back. Chloe’s eyes widened as she nodded slowly. She took note of the hand on Y/N’s back. “Nice to meet you,” Luke offered his hand towards her. Chloe quickly shook his hand. Sharing awkward glances between them.

Some music erupted inside of the ceremony room, signalling that everyone should get ready for the bridal party to come out. Chloe’s boyfriend jogged down the aisle of seats. Luke, Y/N, and Chloe all sat down in a row. 

Luke looked towards her, taking a deep breath. After a few seconds, she shifted her gaze to meet his eye. “Thank you,” she mumbled. 

His eyes squinted slightly, “For what?” he asked softly.

She smiled softly, “For coming with me,” 

“Of course,” he let out with a dry chuckle as the music switched towards the typical bridal music. Their eyes remained connected as the bridal party began making their entrance into the venue. “Y/N,” he let out softly.

Swallowing hard, she forced her gaze towards the bridal party. Awkwardly, he pressed his lips together as he tilted his head back.

The ceremony began with the usual wedding speech. The sun was starting to set behind the alter. From the glass being somewhat clear, it created a beautiful hue of orange and pink. Anna and Brandon were stunning. 

“Today is a celebration. A celebration of love, of commitment, of friendship, of family, and of two people who are in it for forever. You don't have to have a ceremony to have a marriage. And when you think about it, the whole thing is kind of weird, right?” Anna’s brother began, who was officiating the ceremony. He continued on cracking a few jokes here and there. Anna didn’t want anything serious, her brother officiating the ceremony was the perfectw ay to make that happen.

“You fell in love by chance, but you're here today because you're making a choice. You both are choosing each other. You've chosen to be with someone who enhances you, who makes you think, makes you smile, and makes every day brighter. You're about to make promises to each other that you intend to keep. You're going to vow to take care of each other, to stand up for one another, and find happiness in the other.”

You’ve chosen to be with someone who enhances you.

Her gaze shifted towards Luke during the speech, his gaze was already on hers during it. Meeting his soft gaze, her lips curled upward. A barely audible chuckle fell from her lips as she tilted her body into him; bumping him. A toothy grin formed to his lips while he rolled his eyes playfully. 

The rest of the ceremony went by beautifully. Anna’s brother’s words were clearly something that Anna wrote for him to say. Anyone that knew him, knew he had to study those words. But it was beautiful and unique to Anna and Brandon. 

Anna could barely get through her vows. She spent most of her two minute speech, trying to stop crying. Through the tears, she was able to express all of her love and admiration for her partner. “My everything, my world. I want nothing more than to spend forever with you. I love you, B,” she concluded as she carefully handed the paper towards her maid of honor.

“Anna,” Brandon began as his voice shook, “There was a time in our lives where we were convinced that we were just friends. That part of our life lasted seventeen years. In case you guys didn’t know, we’ve been friends our entire lives because our parents we’re best friends. You’re my soulmate but I thought we we’re those platonic soulmates. That was until we went to prom as just friends and then I kissed you. So that whole just friends thing went right out the window.”

The entire ceremony began chuckling along as Anna rolled her eyes playfully.

“But you’re my best friend and the love of my life. I never thought that I would fall in love with the girl I’ve seen eat worms at the age of six or the girl who fell off of the monkey bars and broke her arm trying to impress the playground yard at the age of nine. I never thought that my best friend and I would fall in love. But everyone in our lives did. It was as if destiny refused to change our path, the path that allowed us to fall in love and stay in love. I want nothing more than to grow old and wrinkly with you. I am so in love with you Anna Julie Grimes,” 

Y/N tilted her head back slightly as her eyes began to get teary. God did she love weddings. Delicately, she raised her hand up and tapped away the tears that were fighting to fall from her eyes. She took a deep breath as she watched Anna wipe tears away from her face. 

Y/N sniffled as her lip quivered. Luke rested his hand onto her clothed thigh forcing her gaze towards him. She met his eye as she smiled shyly. He dragged his thumb across the fabric of the dress as she looked back towards Anna and Brandon. Luke kept his hand low on her thigh.

After a few more seconds, Brandon kisses his bride in the most dramatic fashion. He dips her back. Everyone began to clap and cheer for the newly weds. The bridal party began to walk down the aisle the same order they arrived in the ceremony. 

Anna and Brandon kissed several more times as the bridal party was leaving. Y/N wiped her tears again as she was smiling widely. As Anna and Brandon started walking down the aisle, all of the guests stood up and clapped as they walked out of the venue. 

Hesitantly, Luke rested his hand onto the center of her back. His thumb gliding along her skin. Her body stiffed, not used to his hands on her skin like that. She turned to meet his gaze, smiling softly. 

“You really love weddings, huh?” he let out teasingly. She fought off a smirk as she tapped beneath her eye again.

“I really do,” she mumbled as she looked into his soft gaze. He ran his hand back and forth slowly. Their eyes remained connected as they talked quietly about the ceremony in itself.

Chloe glanced down towards Luke’s hand onto Y/N’s lower back. A teasing smirk on her lips.

The reception started two hours ago and it was safe to say that majority of the guests were tipsy from the open bar. The food was incredible and now all of the guests were on the dance floor. There was not a single person sitting down. 

It was as if they were in a night club with everyone clustered together dancing and singing along to the songs that the DJ was playing. To her suprise, Luke was fully invested in dancing, she thought he wouldn’t want to partake. He looked ridiculous but she was convinced that she also looked ridiculous.

Resting her hand onto his chest, she leaned towards him, “I’m going to get another drink,” she whispered loudly into his ear. He nodded.

“I’ll come with you!” he shouted, a smirk toying to his lips. He held out his hand towards her and she gladly accepted it allowing him to guide her through the crowd towards the bartender. He was holding her hand tightly as he glanced behind him every time making sure she was okay. Every time their eyes met, her stomach erupted into butterflies.

Once they left the crowd, she thought that he would drop her hand. Except he didn’t. He kept a hold of hers as he slowed down. He stopped short waiting for her to walk beside him. 

They reached the bartop, the bartender immediately looked towards their direction. “I’ll take a beer and she’ll have–” he trailed off as he met Y/N’s gaze. Her mouth fell open as she looked into his eyes. His eyes were so bright despite the darken venue. She watched as his gaze lowered towards her lips as he bit his bottom lip. 

“Vodka cranberry please,” she offered as she forced her gaze towards the bartender. Slowly she slipped her hand away from Luke’s. His gaze immediately dropped down towards his hand without hers. He pressed his lips together as he rested both of his hands onto the countertop. She followed in pursuit as she bobbed her head back and forth to the Wocka Flocka Flame song in the background.

“Having fun?” he asked softly as he inched towards her. His shoulder bumped into hers.

“I’m so happy you’re here,” she mumbled. He smirked. She loved when he did that. His cheeks would also flush slightly every time his lips curled upward like that. Her heart would pound so hard against her chest. 

She was tipsy, her thoughts always toyed the line of what it would be like to kiss his perfect lips. A mental pros and cons list of what would happen if she did. 

The bartender slid over the beer and the short glass. Luke forced his gaze towards the bartender, sliding over a fifty dollar bill. The bartender’s eyes widened but he didn’t oppose on the tip.  

Luke brought the beer towards his lips, taking a long sip while making eye contact with her. She took the tiny straw towards her mouth, sipping urgently. 

He rested the beer onto the bartop as he reached up and unbuttoned another button of his undershirt. His cheeks were flushed red as his forehead was glistening with sweat. She didn’t slow down, desperate to intoxicate more and more of her thoughts.

His eyes widened slightly as he chuckled, “Woah,”

“Was thirsty,” she let out teasingly, the glass was empty and she happily placed it back down onto the countertop. 

“Guess I gotta catch up then,” he mumbled bringing his beer towards his lips.

“You’ll need like four more,” she let out. He shook his head while drinking it. The bartender wandered back towards the pair, looking towards her expectantly. “Can we have two vodka cranberries, please,” she let out. The bartender nodded as he began making the drinks again. 

Luke finished his beer, nearly instantly and placed it down. He leaned against the bartop on his elbow as he looked into her eyes. “This is crazy,” he let out as he pointed towards the dance crowd. Even Anna and Brandon’s older relatives were apart of the dance floor. 

“I expect nothing less from those two,” she explained while chuckling. Y/N brushed her hair off of her shoulders. Tilting her head back as she shut her eyes for a moment.

“If my wedding isn’t a party like this, there is no point,” Luke expressed as he looked towards Anna and Brandon dancing like no one was watching. Anna was scream singing in Brandon’s face. They were in love and it was so evident from how they were looking and dancing. Luke dropped his head towards the floor as he dragged his tongue across his bottom lip.

The bartender placed two of the short glasses in front of them. Y/N happily took a hold of it and instantly brought it towards her lips. He smirked before he brought the tiny straw towards his mouth. He took a cautious sip before he nodded. Shocked that it was good. 

“Alright, I need all of the couples on the dance floor for a little slow dance,” the DJ spoke as he slowly changed the song to Easy by James TW. Luke took another long sip before he placed the mostly dranken glass onto the countertop.

He held out his hand towards her. She squinted her eyes slightly as the corner of her lips turned upward. “Luke,” she let out barely above a whisper.

“We’re dancing,” he expressed as he let her take another long sip of her drink before she placed it down.

“Okay,” she mumbled as she took a hold of her hand. He guided her towards the dance floor where people were dancing together. Anna and Brandon were in the center while the couples surrounded them. They found a spot, where Luke dropped her hand waiting for her to initiate. 

A shy smile formed to her lips as she delicately raised her hands up and rested them onto the base of his neck. Her thumbs glided along the skin beneath his jawline as he slowly wrapped wrapped his arms around her lower back. His hold at first was hesitant but she slowly got closer to him. Subconsciously, she glided her fingers through the ends of his hair. 

“I’m surprised,” she muttered as her gaze flickered all over his features. His eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“About what?” he questioned softly.

“From your dance moves earlier, I assumed you had no rhythm but here you are,” she let out teasingly. A chuckle fell from his lips as his arms around her waist tightened, pulling her closer to him. 

“I have incredible rhythm, thank you,” he shot back. 

Soon her arms wrapped around his neck, getting closer to him. He smirked as he stared towards her lips. “Found a way to my heart now it’s like you’ve here the whole time, ‘cause girl, you make it, oh, so easy. Oh so easy to love you,” the lyrics rang loudly throughout the room. 

“Not as good as me,” she teased. He pursed his lips forward as he fought a grin while shaking his head. 

Their eyes remained connected for a while. She never wanted to look elsewhere. His blue eyes were so intoxicating as he didn’t look away. Usually by now she would look away, overly shy. But the alcohol in her system or his hands around her waist gave her the confidence to fully look into his gaze. There was something different with the steady gaze he gave her. 

His cheeks were flushed red while they continued to sway to the new slow song, This Love by Taylor Swift. She took a deep shaky breath while her lips curled upward slightly. 

Luke’s lips parted as he contemplated on saying something. One of his hands glided along the exposed skin of the center of her back. His thumb very delicately glided along her skin. Her body erupted with goosebumps.

“You’re my best friend, you know that right?” he let out softly. 

Her smile widened as she looked into his eyes while her heart jumped into her throat. All she could muster up was a nod as she rested her head against his shoulder. Words were impossible but being this close to him felt so right. He tilted his head against her head as they continued to sway back and forth to the lyrics.

“Been losing grip on sinking ships. You showed up just in time. This love is good, this love is bad. This love is alive back from the dead. These hands had to let it go free and this love came back to me,” the lyrics rang out.

Her eyes shut as she took in the familiar scent of the cologne he wore; every day since she bought it for his birthday. She could hear her heart pounding against her chest. 

They’ve never been this close, their bodies pressed against one another. Yet it was familiar, like their path allowed them to be this close. All she ever wanted was to stay in this moment, their bodies swaying in perfect sync.

“Y/N,” he mumbled against her ear. Slowly, she lifted her head off of his shoulder, their faces mere inches away from own another. Taking in a deep breath she pulled her hand back, gliding it along his neck before she took a hold of his cheek. 

Her manicured thumb glided along his cheek. Their noses bumped into one another as his breathing was uneven. Her lips curled upward slightly as her eyes shift upward, meeting his gaze. His eyes squinted slightly before she looked back down towards his lips. Her eyes fluttered closed, trying to obtain any amount of courage she has.

She couldn’t wait any longer while pulled him towards her. Her lips met his with so much need and desperation that Luke froze for only a second. His lips parted, deepening the kiss instantly.

His hands tightened along her waist as he pulled her against him, kissing her back instantly. His lips tasted like the vodka cranberry he just drank as his tongue met hers. Her entire body felt like fire while his lips were perfect against hers.  

There was no moment where they were trying to figure out what each other liked. It was as if they knew exactly what the other person wanted. He pulled back taking an urgent breath before he reached his hand up and tangled his hand into her hair as her arms wrapped around his neck.

A soft moan fell from her lips as her hands found his curls again. Her fingertips glided and tugged at the short curly pieces at the base of his neck. He pulled back, his eyes flickering open as he watched her lean towards him again. 

Looking around him, he noticed the other wedding guests. The reminder that they weren’t alone, surrounded by a hundred people he didn’t know. He chuckled softly as he raised his hand up, delicately brushing a few pieces of hair away from her face. She took a deep breath as she finally opened her eyes meeting his gaze. 

“Luke,” she mumbled out. 

“Can we–” he trailed off as she instantly nodded as her hands glided down his chest, gripping the suit jacket. 

He chuckled dryly as he stepped back, tilting his head back slightly. He grinned as she held out her hand towards him. He gladly rested his hand in hers as she began guiding him away from the crowd. 

Her gaze stared towards her phone in her hand as she was ordering an Uber to take them back to their hotel. After the order was placed, she raised her hand up towards her cheek, feeling the heat rising against her skin.

Luke admired her frame. Her hips swayed as she walked in front of him. There was an overwhelming sense of urgency in the way she guided him out of the venue. He was drunk but his mind was the clearest its ever been. 

She was everything to him. 

She’s everything that he’s ever wanted. 

She’s everything that he’s ever needed. 

They stepped outside, the Uber was nearly there. The cold air hit her skin yet her body was so hot it didn’t matter. She leaned against the wall outside of the venue and Luke stepped in front of her. Luke pulled his hand away from hers as he scanned her features. Looking up towards him as he took a hold of her chin. His thumb glided along her jawline as he looked into her eyes.

Her hands rested onto his chest for a moment before she glided her hands up towards his neck.

He leaned towards her delicately pressing his lips against hers. Her phone vibrated in her pocket as she reluctantly pulled her head back. His eyes flickered open as he glided his thumb across her swollen bottom lip. 

“Fuck,” he let out barely above a whisper. She smirked as she glanced behind him, noticing the car behind them.

“Uber’s here,” she mumbled. He hummed before he leaned towards her pecking her lips for a few seconds. He walked towards the Uber, introducing himself as they both climbed into the back seat.

The Uber took off to the hotel that was only a few minutes away while Luke reached over and took a hold of her furthest thigh from him. His hand was running along the fabric of her dress soothingly. 

Y/N tilted her head to the side looking over his side profile, admiring the redness of his cheeks. “Luke,” she mumbled. He turned his head to meet her gaze as the driver turned up the radio. He took his hand off of her thigh as he raised his hand up and rested it onto her neck. Luke pulled her towards him, kissing her so delicately before he leaned forward; pressing his forehead against hers.

It only took another minute before the Uber driver pulled up to the hotel. 

They climbed out of the car together. She began walking ahead of him. Luke glided his hand across his chin as his eyes trailed her frame. 

She glanced behind her, almost double checking that he was following after her. Of course he was. They entered the hotel lobby and walked straight towards the elevator. Luke pressed the elevator button several time before he reached towards her, taking a hold of he waist. 

Y/N giggled as her back pressed against his chest. He brushed a few pieces of hair away from her neck. She pressed her lips together as she tilted her head to the side. Luke pressed wet kisses along the side of her neck. Her breath caught in her throat as his hands wrapped around and rested onto her stomach.

The elevator doors opened and Luke instantly guided her into the elevator. Another giggle fell from her lips as she instantly pressed eight. He guided her towards the back of the elevator, forcing her body against the wall. A sudden gasp left her lips as she watched his swift movements. The elevator doors closed and he instantly took her lips with his. 

A rush of heat coursed through her body as he began to suck on her bottom lip. A breathy moan left her lips as he popped her lip out of his mouth before he devoured her lips once more. Her stomach tightened as pleasure coursed through her body. His body pressed against hers, desperate to get as close as possible.

The elevator dinged as it pulled open. Reluctantly, he stepped back, his chest rising and falling quickly as he scanned her frame. He grinned as he walked backwards holding his hand towards her. She smirked as she took a hold of his hand, letting him lead her towards their shared hotel room. 

Luke was pulling out the keycard from his pocket as he continued walking down the hallway. They reached their hotel room and he instantly unlocked the door.

The hotel room was nearly pitch black. Luke pulled her inside, a soft giggle fell from her lips. Her back pressed against the door as she met his gaze. Slowly, Luke pulled the suit jacket off of his frame while looking into his eyes. He tossed it towards the floor as he reached towards her taking her face in his hands as he continued to look into her eyes.

“Should we talk about this first?” he asked softly as he searched her gaze for answers.

Shaking her head slightly, she took a hold of one of the buttons on his undershirt. She began to unbutton his shirt, “I’d rather not talk,” she expressed as she tugged at his shirt. He stepped back, kicking his shoes from his frame as he continued to unbutton the shirt for her. 

Without hesitation, he pulled the shirt from his frame, tossing it to the ground. Luke instantly stepped back towards her, taking a hold of her cheeks as he devoured her lips. Quickly, she kicked off her heels as her hands glided along his newly exposed skin. 

He took a hold of her waist, guiding her away from the door, towards their shared bed instead. They tripped over his suit jacket over the floor, causing giggles to fall from their lips. She pulled her lips away from his as she glided her hand down his chest teasingly. His lips curled upward as his hands glided along her frame.

Slowly, she turned around, pulling her hair away from her back. He glided his fingertips across her upper back while he carefully took a hold of her zipper. Hesitantly, he rested his hand onto her waist. He didn’t tug the zipper down instantly, suddenly nervous. 

“Please,” she mumbled as she tilted her head back slightly. A soft blush formed to his lips as he tugged the zipper so slowly down her back. He glided his hand along the skin, toying with the clasp of her bra before he slowly pushed the straps of the dress from her shoulders. 

Carefully, still facing away from him, she pulled the dress frome her body. Stepping out of it, she kicked it away from them. Luke took a hold of her stomach pulling her back against him. “Luke,” she mumbled as he pressed wet kisses along her shoulder, towards her neck. He hummed against her ear before she slowly turned around to face him. His eyes widened as his gaze lowered. Her body was only covered by the lacy light blue bra and underwear. 

Standing so exposed in front of someone like this, she was used to overwhelmed. A wave of insecurity used to wash over her. But right now, she’s never felt so beautiful. Subconsciously, her arms began to cover her frame. Luke instantly took a hold of her arms, pulling them back down to her side.

His lips curled upward, seeing her like this; seeing her in a light that is only for him to see. He took a delicately hold of the strap of her bra, pulling it forward as he glided his hand down. Letting it clasp back in place. 

Her gaze was shifty, afraid to fully look into his eyes. He reached towards her, resting his hands onto her cheeks’ forcing her to meet his gaze. “So fucking beautiful,” he mumbled as his thumbs glided along the hot skin of her cheeks. He leaned towards her pressing his lips so delicately against hers. 

Slowly, she pulled away from him as she carefully sat down onto the bed. She looked up towards him, her eyelashes fluttering. He stepped back, unbuttoning his pants in the process as he grinned towards her. His chest was hurting from the intense unsteady breathing. She leaned back, scooting back on the bed as a soft chuckle fell from her lips. 

Without hesitation, his boxers the only thing covering his frame, he climbed on top of her. Their lips connected instantly. Her hands instantly found his curls as she tugged on the small strands. His hands started roaming her body, delicately gliding along her silky skin. 

“Luke,” she mumbled against his lips. He pulled back briefly before he began to trail wet kisses from her lips down her neck. She tilted her head back giving him more access. His tongue circled momentarily as slowly climbed lower down her frame. “What does this mean?” she found herself asking as her hands ran into his curls. He hummed against her collarbone as he toyed with the clasp of her bra. 

“I thought you said no talking?” he muttered as he looked up towards her as he unhooked her bra with one hand. She bit her bottom lip as she helped him pull her bra from her frame. “Just be here with me, right now,” he mumbled against her skin. “No overthinking, no thinking at all,” he pressed his lips against her collarbone. 

“Yeah, yeah; let’s do that,” she mumbled breathlessly. He chuckled against her skin, sending a vibration through her body.

~~~

It was early the next morning when she finally woke up. She stirred slightly, taking in a deep breath as her eyes slowly flickered open. Glancing down, she saw familiar hands around her stomach. She felt his lips, softly brush against her shoulder.

Flashes of last night entered her mind like photographs. The way his hands gripped and glided along her skin. His lips pressing and sucking against her skin. The breathiness of his voice and the soft moans coming from her own lips. Her vision blurring from the overwhelming amount of desire as he continued to make her feel so good. His lips and hands felt like they were meant to touch her frame, please her.

“Morning,” he whispered before he continued to brush his lips delicately along her skin. Slowly, she rolled onto her back, meeting his tired gaze. She raised her hand up and delicately glided her hand along his skin.

“So last night wasn’t a dream,” she mumbled while looking into his gaze. He smirked slightly as his fingertips glided along her skin of her back in an inconsistent pattern. Leaning towards him, she kissed him; mainly to see if the magic from her intoxicated mind was still there. 

As soon as his lips connected with hers, the sensation was almost more magical then the night before. She hummed as she pulled away, every ounce of tension in her body faded as she looked into his eyes.

“What are you thinking?” he asked softly as he continued to glide his hand along her skin. She shook her head as she began to kiss him again. He chuckled against her lips as she carefully push him onto his back. Her hand glided along his chest, the more she deepened the kiss. She could feel his heart pounding hard against his chest.

She pulled back, meeting his gaze, “What’s this?” she asked softly as her hand continued to carefully glide along his chest. 

“What?” he asked softly, a dry chuckle leaving his lips.

“Why is your heart beating so fast?” she asked. He glanced down towards her hand on his chest.

He smirked, “I can’t really control it,” he let out teasingly. 

“Do I make you nervous?”

“A little,”

“Why?” she asked softly as she continued to look into his eyes. His lips fell into a pout as he shook his head slightly. “Don’t be nervous,” she whispered.

“What are we doing?” he asked softly as he ran his hand across her cheek. His thumb gilded along her lower lip. Y/N hummed as she looked into his eyes deeply. She didn’t reply right away as their eyes remained connected. Simply enjoying the moment of them being this close. 

“Right now, I just want to stay like this,” she explained as she inched towards him, wanting his lips on hers again. Luke nodded as he looked all over her features, “I don’t want to talk about anything yet,” she mumbled. 

“But–” he muttered as he glided his hand to the base of her neck. Her lips fell into a pout. “We’re going to have to talk about it eventually,” he expressed. She nodded as he quickly leaned towards her kissing her desperately. 

“Okay,” she mumbled against his lips as he slowly climbed on top of her, a giggle falling from her lips.

~

They were only fifteen minutes from their apartment complex and neither of them have talked about what has happened. The music was loud and they were singing along to the  songs. Their hands were kept to themselves. Suddenly aware that the bubble they have been in since the wedding won’t last.

Reality was around the corner and wedding bliss was completely gone. The tension between them was high, she missed having his lips on hers. She knew that last night meant more. It was obvious to both of them that they had feelings for one another. But it was difficult to finally say the words.

Luke swallowed hard as he reached over and turned down the music. 

“I was listening to that,” she mumbled as she tilted her head to the side to meet his brief gaze. 

“Y/N,” he let out with a soft smile on his lips.

“I know,” she muttered while chuckling softly. “I just don’t know what to say,”

“I would maybe start with something like “Oh my god Luke, you’re like the best kisser ever,” or something,” he let out mocking her voice slightly. 

She barked out a laugh, “I would never say anything like that,” she teased.

“So it’s not true?” he said with a smirk.

“I would never stroke your ego like that,”

“Funny, you did a lot of that last night–”

“Luke Hughes!” she scolded smacking her hand against his shoulder.

“And this morning,” he let out, a teasing grin on his lips.

“Oh my god, Luke,” she let out again while shaking her head.

“There you go,” he teased.

She rolled her eyes playfully while looking back down towards her lap. Slowly, she spun the rings on her fingers as her heart was pounding so loudly. She chewed on her bottom lip as she searched for the right words.

Usually she would run. She hated confrontation or real conversations. Maybe that’s because Jonathan was never good at it. She was always afraid of speaking her real feelings, finding the right words.

Luke took a deep breath, realizing it was more serious than what he was letting on. It was important, this moment was important. Probably not perfect timing on his part because all he wants to do right now is kiss her. Except he was flying down the expressway going eighty miles an hour. 

Y/N fist clenched as she shook it slightly. She tilted her head back, staring towards the car in front of them. “I am not good at this,” she muttered while letting out a long breath. 

“What do you mean?” he asked softly as he glanced towards her for a second.

“I’ve only been in one relationship and it was bad. Not even just at the end. It wasn’t good from the start. I don’t know what’s good. I don’t know how to be–” she trailed off as she dropped her gaze towards her lap. “I know but I can’t say it. I don’t know how to say it,”

“I don’t know either,” Luke let out while taking a deep breath, “But I do know that I am in love with you,” he forced out. His eyes widened slightly as his mouth forced shut. He stared ahead as he pulled off the exit towards their apartment. Her lips curled upward as her heart jumped into her throat.

“In love?” she asked with a smile. 

He scoffed before he let out a sudden laugh. “Don’t pretend like you didn’t know,” he teased as they pulled up to a red light. Their eyes finally met as he tilted his head to the side.

“I’m not pretending,” she mumbled, “I thought–I didn’t– I thought you were just…” she stopped talking as she continued to look into his eyes. “In love?” she asked a grin toying to her lips. 

“I thought I was obvious,” he let out teasingly as the light switched to green. He forced his gaze ahead. “Like embarssingly obvious,”

“And how were you obvious?” she questioned teasingly.

“Well there was the constant flirting with you,”

“It was not constant,” 

“It was almost all of the time, actually,” Luke let out while chuckling.

“Maybe you’re bad at flirting,”

“Maybe you’re oblivious,” he turned his head meeting her gaze as they landed at another red light. “I was kind of just waiting until you were ready,” 

“Ready for what?” she asked softly.

“Ready for this,” he muttered as he leaned towards her, kissing her desperately for only a few seconds. He kept his hand onto her cheek, gliding his thumb across the skin momentarily before he pulled away from her.

“We need to get home,” she mumbled as she tilted her head back as she bounced slightly. Her body was full of adrenaline as she saw their apartment complex straight ahead.

“Yeah?” he let out teasingly as he drove ahead. All she come muster up was a hum as she chewed on her bottom lip. He pulled into the parking garage towards their apartment complex. He parked his car in his parking spot and instantly climbed out of the car. She followed in pursuit. 

He jogged around towards her side of the car, looking deeply into her eyes. Luke stepped up towards her as her back pressed against his car. Her heart jumped into her throat as she looked into his eyes. 

He reached his hand up and delicately took a hold of her cheek, “I’m in love with you,” he whispered again. Her lips curled upward as she scanned his features. 

“Yeah?” she teased. He rolled his eyes playfully, shaking his head slightly before he leaned towards her kissing her urgently.

Her hands instantly found his hair again, pulling him closer if it was even possible. “I’m in love with you too,” she mumbled against his lips. 

He pulled back as he tilted his head to the side, “Thank god,” he mumbled before he devoured her lips once more. 

[witherby]

The Littlest Wayne

Or, the one where Bruce brings home a baby, and your adorable little face wins the heart of your new, big brothers.

Platonic!Reader and Batfam

"Bruce."

"Don't freak out."

"Bruce."

"You're freaking out. I can see it in your eyes, but don't do it."

"This is a problem. This is an actual addiction and you need help."

"You're overreacting. I need everyone to take a deep breath, in and out, and not freak out."

Dick crossed his arms and glared at his father, narrowed eyes shifting up and down in an extremely pointed manner. Tim and Jason were wearing similar expressions, looking either at Bruce himself or the bundle in his arms.

Damian walked across the room and peered down at the bundle, expressionless.

"Father, come on."

Bruce carefully brushed the edge of the blanket away from your face. You scrunched your tiny nose, disturbed, then settled back down without issue. The billionaire had found you abandoned outside the garage doors of the Gotham Fire Station, left there by some overwhelmed mother no doubt. Unfortunately, that particular station was closed on the weekends, because of course this damned city couldn't staff a fire station 24/7, and if he hadn't found you on patrol, you would have frozen to death on the ground.

"They were in danger!" Bruce insisted firmly, but kept his voice soft so as not to frighten you. "Look — they don't have black hair or blue eyes. You can tell I didn't do it on purpose."

"Why not take the baby to the GCPD, then? Or a hospital?" Jason piped up, unamused. "B, cut the bullshit. You can't keep 'em."

"I brought them here first to ensure they didn't need any immediate medical attention."

"Which is something a hospital could do," Tim said.

"An overcrowded and understaffed hospital, that doesn't have the time to spare to give them direct and undivided attention?" Bruce argued. "The med ward in the Cave is just as efficient as an emergency room, if not more so."

"And the fact that you aren't down there with the baby — the baby you are not keeping," Dick chimed in, holding out his arms for you, "means that they're perfectly fine and can be transported safely somewhere else."

"They're sleeping right now," Bruce said, completely deadpan, and made no move to relinquish his hold over you. "We can't put them in a noisy car and upset them. We can drop the baby off in the morning."

"He's getting dangerously attached," Dick hissed to his brothers. "We need the big guns."

"I'll alert Pennyworth," Damian declared, already ducking out of the room. Bruce scowled, aware the battle was quickly turning against his favor. But he could play dirty, too.

He dropped his shoulders and the furrow of his brow turned slightly down, weary and forlorn. He stopped looking at his boys and instead studied all your tiny features, tracing a finger down the bridge of your nose, gently across your lashes, and over your plump little cheeks. You were absolutely adorable. He was already thinking of names for you in his mind.

"You know, I never got to raise any of you from infancy," he stated, not in any pointed manner, just as objective fact. Just quietly enough that they could think Bruce hadn't meant to say it out loud. "Not that I would've wanted to steal that experience from your birth parents. I would never. But...I don't even know what Damian looked like when he was this small."

Dick's eye twitched. The glare was still in place, but his frown was less severe. One down.

"I'm sorry, boys," he sighed, acting as though he were giving in. "The Mission has taken up so much of my time, it's hard not to wonder what I would have been like as a normal father. Just the formative things, like... like changing diapers, and doing Tummy Time, and helping you guys learn to walk."

Tim's eyes grew distant, likely thinking of his own parents and the loneliness he felt growing up in Drake Manor all by himself. He was no doubt recalling how much he wished his mom or dad had been around, to play or to talk to or just to physically be there with him, instead of off traveling the world and leaving him behind to fend for himself.

Two down.

But Jason, despite all that had happened over the years, despite the strain on his relationship with Bruce, had always been the most emotional of his children. He would not be hard to win over.

"This would be a mistake," Bruce stated, looking his second oldest right in the eyes. "They'd be happier somewhere else, somewhere normal. Maybe...maybe one of you could hold them and I can go start the car? I can feel myself starting to get attached, and that's not fair to you, boys. I didn't mean to stress you all out. I wasn't thinking."

Jason huffed, lowering his feet from where they'd been propped up on the coffee table, and stood from the couch to come take you from Bruce. His arms carefully held you to his broad chest, your weight settling against him pleasantly.

He made the mistake of watching you scrunch your face and whine softly, itty bitty hands poking out from your blanket and gripping onto his shirt sleeve with all the strength your small body could muster.

Jason's expression dropped immediately, and he practically melted as he tucked you closer.

Hook. Line. Sinker.

Damian and Alfred walked into the living room to find Bruce, Jason, Dick, and Tim all cooing and fawning over you, and the war was lost.

Welcome home, Littlest Wayne.

[nottswitch]

— if you’ve been naughty, you get…

──────────── 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞.─

summary: they say that the way you spend the new year’s night is the way you’re going to spend the whole year. you never took this expression to heart until now.

pairing: theo nott x reader

cw: 18+ smut, enemies to lovers, fingering, rough p in v, unprotected sex, creampie, semi-public sex, degrading/praise, cursing, italian pet names

wc: 2.1k

a/n: getting back to kinkmas at last !! enjoy some etl theodore filth babes <3

» navigation ; masterlist ; theo m.list ; kinkmas 2024

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You had absolutely no idea how you ended up at the same party as the guy whose entire goal in life was to make yours as difficult as possible. To be entirely honest, you weren’t any better – your taunting seemed to mirror his in its viciousness, for no apparent reason on both sides. Somewhere, at one point, everything went to shit with you two. At first, it used to cause tensions in the friend group, because you just couldn’t stop constantly bickering and throwing all kinds of insults at each other, but over time, your inexplicable apprehension towards each other became a constant – a very annoying one, but a constant nonetheless.

Pansy promised. She promised that the New Year’s Eve party would stay Theodore Nott-free, he had some prior commitment, blah-blah-blah – irrelevant. Because right now, you were looking straight at his infuriating face as he was pressing you against the wall, his deep ocean eyes you couldn’t admit to finding captivating staring into yours. The sounds of the party were muffled, the beat of the music dully thumping through the narrow corridor, sending faint vibrations through the floor.

“You just couldn’t leave me alone, could you?” you hissed, crossing your arms on your chest in a manner that you hoped would come off as defiant, even though you knew it was a defense – same thing, different flavor.

Theo smirked – the smirk that always made your blood boil, a sign that he was enjoying himself way more than he should have.

“How could I ever leave you alone, tesoro?” he drawled, his voice mocking yet carrying a hint of intensity that you had never heard there before. Then again, with him, you could’ve easily just imagined it. “But if I had to guess, I’d say you can’t stay away from me either. And I wouldn’t be that far off, no?”

You huffed, rolling your eyes at his cockiness – it was in no way a surprise, yet it still made your irritation rise to the very top, bubbling up and threatening to escape in the form of another quip.

“Get your head out of your ass, Nott,” you muttered, raising an eyebrow in a silent challenge.

“Nott?” Theo taunted in response, leaning in just a bit closer – and that tiny little bit made your heart skip a beat, which you found to be a completely uncalled-for reaction. “Last time I checked, I was ‘Theo, please, faster!’.”

“Oh, fuck you.”

You hated the way your cheeks instantly flushed at his reminder – you did not need to remember that night when your entire composure crumbled to pieces, and you ended up in his bed, screaming his name so loud the walls were nearly shaking.

And you felt like you were on the brink of doing it again.

“If you insist,” Theo murmured, his lips now at your ear, nearly brushing against your skin – the bastard knew exactly how to get to you, unfortunately. You gritted your teeth, trying to resist for a fleeting moment, but when his hand slipped onto your waist, you gave up – and in.

“I hate you,” you whispered, roughly grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling him into a heated kiss. Theo didn’t even gasp, which made a nasty thought spark up in your mind – he’d been waiting for this all along, and it probably wouldn’t be too far-fetched to guess that it was the only reason he came to the party in the first place. The kiss was all tongue and teeth, a stark mirror to the contradictory feelings you both shared – biting, rough around the edges, yet at the core of it there was passion that neither of you could bother to deny.

In a matter of seconds, both of Theo’s hands were on your hips, effortlessly lifting you up and wrapping your legs around his waist. Your hands flew up to his shoulders, breaking the self-imposed physical barrier of your arms across your chest and also symbolizing the last bits of your composure withering away. Theo knew – he had to have known – that this would happen, because his palm was at the ready, closing around your breast as soon as it was free to touch. He kneaded the softness of your flesh, his teeth sinking into your bottom lip as his hips started slowly but firmly rocking against you. You felt his hard, already throbbing cock pressing into your clothed pussy, and once again, you were somewhat amused by his ability to get hard in seconds.

“Been like this all night, bambina,” Theo murmured into your mouth, as if hearing your thoughts out loud. So, not in seconds. “The moment I saw you in this dress… Fuck.”

His other hand gripped the hem of your sparkly red dress, lifting it up just enough for it to bunch up at your waist. His eyes flicked down for a moment, a needy growl escaping his mouth as he took in the sight of your fishnets doing a very poor job at covering up the red lace of your panties.

“Wore these for me?” he asked teasingly, although his hoarse voice completely betrayed the fact that he was insanely aroused. His fingers traced the edge of the lace with an almost reverent touch before hooking through the hole of your fishnets and suddenly tearing them apart.

Your eyes widened, not quite expecting the roughness, but you knew you should have – Theo wasn’t known to be a patient man when it came to getting what he carnally desired, and at the moment, the object of that desire was you.

“What the–” you started, but he quickly shut you up with a kiss, his tongue delving into your mouth and swirling around, effectively making you moan. The sound only got louder as you felt his fingers sliding over your panties, savoring the wetness that started to seep through the fabric; he wasn’t the only one with a one track mind since the start of the party – the sight of him in his dark green dress shirt, three buttons at the top undone, caught your eye as soon as he stepped into the room.

“Such a wet little pussy for me, huh?” he whispered breathlessly into your mouth, rubbing a circle over your clothed core before easily slipping underneath – the feeling of your soft, drenched skin made him groan, perfectly matching your own sounds. “Wish I could keep you like this all the time… So fucking pliant…”

And shit, you wouldn’t be able to deny his words even if you tried – you were pliant under his touch, you did turn into melted butter as soon as his index and middle finger slipped inside you, you did clench your thighs around his waist as he started pumping in and out. He was just as pliant, though – you could tell by the way his cock was poking into your inner thigh, straining against the fabric of his trousers. If you had half a mind to look down, you would see a wet spot forming at the front, clear evidence of the fact that he wanted you with the same ever-consuming intensity.

You grew a bit bolder, the pleasure making your brain turn off and forget all about your surroundings or the consequences of your encounter. Your hand traveled down, grabbing Theo’s cock and giving it a firm squeeze, as if to remind him that he was as crazy about you as you were about him. A groan fanned against your ear at the small yet impactful action – a satisfying sound of Theo’s need. His fingers curled inside you before sliding out with a wet pop. The next moment, your juices were being spread all over your lips, mixing with your gloss and creating a strange, sticky texture of sweetness mixed with the tartness of your natural slick. You parted your mouth, letting Theo’s fingers in, your lips wrapping around them and starting to suck, lightly, teasingly, as your hand continued palming his cock.

“Playing with the damn fire, tesoro,” Theo warned in a hiss, taking your hand off of him impatiently. “Naughty, naughty girl.”

In response, you only started sucking more, your head moving back and forth on his fingers. Theo’s eyes were fixed intently on your lips, no doubt imagining them wrapped around something else. He hastily unzipped his trousers with his free hand, pulling them down to the middle of his thighs along with his boxers. His erection sprung free, slapping against his shirt-covered stomach. You glanced down, feeling even more turned on as you drank in the sight of his swollen, throbbing cock, knowing that it would be splitting you open very very soon.

And it did. Oh, gods, it did. With a single thrust, Theo entered, his tip immediately reaching your cervix. You moaned around his fingers, your eyes rolling back at the mixture of pain and pleasure – the feelings he could easily elicit in you, both physically and emotionally.

He wasn’t holding back, not in the slightest – his pace was rough and unrelenting, fucking all his frustrations of the last year into you. Your back was moving up and down against the wall, the heated surface scratching your skin, your high heels digging into the small of his back each time he pounded. He didn’t mind the sting, though, just like you didn’t mind the dull ache of his hand digging into your hip, without a doubt leaving marks. Finally, his fingers left your mouth and grabbed the back of your neck, pulling you into yet another sloppy mess that could be called a kiss.

The combined sounds of your moans almost drowned out the chatter of the party, but still, you could faintly hear the crowd starting to chant the countdown to the New Year. You pulled away, ignoring Theo’s disappointed whine for a second, trying to hold back on your own noises as you listened.

“The count– The countdown,” you shakily breathed out, meeting Theo’s glossed-over eyes with your misty gaze. He groaned and shook his head, a clear indication that he wasn’t going to stop, not until you were both panting and sweating.

“Who gives a fuck?” he asked in the same breathless voice as yours, his cock somehow reaching even deeper spots, as if trying to coax any stray thoughts out of your head. “What, scared you’re not getting a New Year’s kiss?”

His ability to tease you even as he was balls deep inside of you made you want to slap him, hard. You almost did it, if only you had the strength to move your limbs.

“Yeah, wanted to make a wish,” you tried to retort, your words sounding less convincing than you’d like them to be. “To never see your stupid face again.”

“Oh really? And here I was, about to wish for your charming self every day.”

You would have rolled your eyes at his usual mocking, but they ended up rolling for a completely different reason as Theo pounded into you with an especially rough thrust at the ‘three’ sounding from the main party room.

At the ‘two’, one of his hands was on your cheek, his thumb pressing into the tender flesh. His eyes were fixed on yours again, the intensity from before making you question if there was any truth behind his words.

At the ‘one’, your lips were crashing together once again as the orgasm washed over the both of you, accompanied by the fireworks blowing up outside. Red bursts of light coming from the window on the other side of the corridor cast your flickering shadows onto the wall, the beautiful sight in the sky barely registering in your fucked out mind. The only thing you could feel at the moment was the warmth of Theo’s cum slowly starting to trickle down your thighs, staining Theo’s pants in the process.

“You know,” he murmured, hoarse and panting, his dampened forehead resting against yours, “you make really nice sounds when I’m fucking you brainless, tesoro. I’ll make sure they’re the only ones you’re making with me all year long.”

You breathed out a small chuckle, closing your eyes as you started to come down from the high you were both still stuck on.

“Is that a threat or a promise, Theo?”

“Both, baby. Both.”

[thebroccolination]

GMMTV ISN’T CONTRACTUALLY FORCING THEIR ACTORS INTO THE CLOSET

Recently, I saw a fan from the U.S. claiming on TikTok that GMMTV contractually forces their queer actors to keep their sexual identities a secret. Why else would there be so few openly queer actors???

So, first of all, it’s not like the few openly queer actors in GMMTV had to break some corporate closet door to escape, and then GMMTV went, “Aw, shucks. Well, I guess y’all win. We’ll keep paying you, you little rainbowy scamps.” There are only a few of them because being openly queer in Thailand’s media industry is still fucking hard.

Fluke Natouch of Until We Meet Again (and OhmFluke 1.0) fame left his agency years ago to work freelance so he could navigate his career on his own terms. When openly gay director New of Studio Wabi Sabi approached him to offer the role of Pharm, Fluke very actually asked New if he was sure he wanted an openly gay actor in his series. This was a conversation that two openly gay men had! No sexualities whatsoever were hidden in the having of this conversation! Or in the public recounting of it later!

Fluke asked New this because there are still roadblocks for openly queer actors, and as a freelancer, he knew this. Some sponsors are hesitant to have a queer face on their commercials, and some of the industry’s upper management are old bigoted guys holding the purse strings. Why do you think so many of these guys have to appear straight-presenting?

Interfans contribute to the glorification of heteronormativity, too. How many times have I seen interfans lusting over the KinnPorsche actors as “real men” or excusing Joss’s myriad issues over the years because he’s “so hot”?

How many femme actors are given roles with complexity? How many are shunted into comedic roles or tragic figures? How many interfans point at Pharm and complain that He Cries Too Much? You’ve all seen it. “P’DEEEEEAN.”

Regardless of what interfans claim to want, the series that tend to do best nowadays feature straight-presenting actors. Bad Buddy, 2gether, My School President, KinnPorsche, etc.

Ironically, the series that lean hard on queer themes tend not to do as well.

So you can see why most choose to keep at least a veneer of heterosexuality or else keep the glass closet door closed.

New cast Fluke and Cooheart in Until We Meet Again because Studio Wabi Sabi was both agency and production company owned by New, and New could do whatever he wanted. SWS was very much a safe haven for queer actors of all levels of openness.

And regardless of my complaints about New’s directing and perpetual insistence that he do all the editing and sound design himself (stop, man, I’m begging you, learn how to delegate), he has been working for years to create a welcoming space for queer actors in an industry that is still extremely cautious, and I’ll always respect him for that.

As much as people love to hate a corporate body, GMMTV’s myriad flaws are more based in the categories of “terrible organization” and “poor management” and “haphazardly throwing a thousand medicore, half-baked projects at a wall until one of them sticks by chance and then celebrating that surprise hit into the ground”—not “forcing their actors into the closet.”

As far as I’m aware, the only khuujin (“imaginary couple”) in the industry who’s Openly Dating is PorscheArm, and they were already out and together before the fame, so they’re more Public Figures Advocating for Social Progress than they are BL actors. I’d say ZeeNuNew are borderline, because while they seem increasingly more cavalier with their subtlety, even they’ve been excruciatingly careful in their labeling over the past few years. (“Are you a couple?” “You could call us that.”)

And there’s a reason for the caution. Things are changing for the better, but progress is slow.

In an early, post-SOTUS interview from 2016, infant actors KristSingto were point-blank asked by TV hosts if they’re “normal” with a heavy insinuation that they’d be mocked and laughed at unless they asserted their heterosexuality in front of a live audience. Not exactly a warm and kind environment to say, “Actually…” As the first in the line of fire, KristSingto were constantly bombarded with invasive questions and suspicion and homophobia, and it’s only been nine years since SOTUS aired.

Now, you’ve got the evolution of hosts making lewd innuendos at khuujin and trying to “trick” them into Coming Out for content. Yet, all the khuujin seem to know how to play the game Juuuust Right to avoid saying anything concrete and damning, leaving just enough crumbs for fans to pick up on and enjoy.

Because look how the few openly queer actors are treated. Bruce Sirikorn Kananurak’s best-known role is framed villain Aey in Lovely Writer, and Gun Korawit Boonsri is regularly cast as Sassy Gay Side Character. Cooheart gets variety in his roles, but he’s with Studio Wabi Sabi under New, an openly gay CEO who famously allows his actors a ton of freedom in their image. And it says a lot to me that Cooheart didn’t make the move over to GMMTV along with his colleagues last year.

So, y’know, of course I’m not saying GMMTV is paradise. While he was with SWS, Boun said he wanted to get tattoos but New advised him against it because it might have limited potential roles. So New didn’t forbid it, he just cautioned Boun against doing it. Meanwhile, he implied recently that he’d like to dye his hair blond again, but GMMTV has to approve things like that. Hence, you’ll hear about some GMMTV actors who just get a tattoo done or cut their hair without telling anyone and then they show up for work with an insouciant shrug; the beg forgiveness>>>ask permission move.

So GMMTV does have some stupid public image rules, and they have also discouraged certain actors from interacting with each other in case it drives their profit margins down (see: The Chronicles of Management Driving KristGun Apart—I’m making a post about it, don’t worry). And I’m sure the Grammy Powers That Be go ://// if a GMMTV actor says, “Hey, I’m thinking of telling the world I’m bisexual tomorrow,” and go, “Maybe don’t though.” It’s just not something they’re Contractually Obligated to hide; it’s more common sense.

Like I said, GMMTV’s real crimes in my eyes are things like 1) repeatedly trying to push men like Foei and Joss who’ve proven themselves to be toxic nightmares to women and queer people over and over throughout the years, 2) overworking their most popular actors to physical and mental exhaustion, 3) barely promoting their GL productions despite their obvious popularity, 4) shoving their Not Singers onstage with zero vocal training, 5) prioritizing trends over quality, 6) having Zero Plan of what to do Most of the Time, 7) hiring on more and more actors without hiring enough managers to support them, and more.

There’s no “you gotta be Heterosexual-Presenting or else” clause in their contracts. They’re just actors in a conservative Asian country where marriage equality has only recently been recognized, and that’s not even close to having social equality. Plenty of western actors don’t want the extra baggage of being Openly Queer (see the Kit Connor debacle), let alone in a country controlled by military and monarchy.

Thailand isn’t a queer paradise.

Hell, look at Japan: they invented BL and GL and their government isn’t even close to recognizing marriage equality. To the majority of Japanese people, BL and GL are embarrassing subgenres that “Normal People” (ie: what heterosexuals are called in Japan—yes I’m serious) would never publicly admit to enjoying. I know this because I was a Queer Foreigner in Japan for eleven years and my whole existence was weird.

As far as I’ve heard from friends who work with GMMTV, it’s a far more progressive company than many interfans give it credit for. Many of the staff are openly queer, a ton of their directors are openly queer, and their actors who are queer are either open with the understanding that there are limitations to that choice or closeted to protect their job opportunities. Once you’re Openly Queer, you’re pushed into a very different and much smaller box, and they all know it.

So y’know. GMMTV actors aren’t All Straight, and the ones who are queer aren’t Closeted by Force. GMMTV is just a company of people with a wide tapestry of nuance, just like you’d expect from any large organization of artistic and business folk producing queer media for a general audience.

In 2025, let’s please abandon the myth that GMMTV is an evil kpop company. <3

It’s a sloppy, poorly run nightmare factory. :D

EDIT: Also, director X confirmed on Twitter last year that GMMTV has no anti-dating policy.

[lostintransist]

Broken Beyond Bearing

-… . - .- … / -… . .. -. —. / -… ..- - -.-. …. . .-. . -..

@beloveds-embrace I hope I did this idea a bit of justice so far. Inspired by the delcious idea from beloveds found here.

CW: references to medical procedures that were not agreed to, reader is dying, A/B/O, odd dynamics, babies first time writing A/B/O.

A/N: I am really new to A/B/O so if something feels off or if you want more of this idea LMK!

Kate told you that the CIA still used Morse code in the field sometimes. It had fallen out of fashion after World War II and the alphabet soup of government agencies liked to reuse what they could. She said it worked best for short messages and when speaking could alert enemies. She talked at you nonstop on the long drive from the hospital. You wondered if the silence would bite at her toes or if the drone of the engine would keep it at bay.

She found you in the waiting room. Back straight, head upright you stare out the window across from you. If you ignore her maybe she will leave you alone like everyone else. You had been freed from a facility when some government agency or another busted them for performing illegal experiments on betas. Everyone else had a family to return to.

You weren’t everyone.

“I have a friend at this hospital. He called me when he saw that you had yet to be released,” she uses a soft voice as if the mint green and oddly shaped couches were pews instead. Pews don’t creak like plastic when you shift your weight. “My name is Kate. My friend, Ty, is an administrator here. He mentioned you needed someone to sign for you due to your beta status and the lack of documentation on your identity.”

Silence had been your only weapon against the staff there and the staff here.

She smells of alpha, the heady scent that should reek of safety and confidence. It tastes sour in the back of your throat.

“I’ve read through the information about you from Scorpio, the changes they made to you? They don’t expect you to make it another five years.” Kate rubbed her hands down the top of her slacks. “I’m here to give you an offer.”

Glancing at her without turning your head you wait. When she meets your side eye you shift your gaze back to the distant fluffy clouds dotting the sky like sheep grazing through a meadow. The sky sheep look all the whiter for the blanket of snow smothering the earth below.

“I know of a group of men, even split between them alpha and omega, who could use someone to care for. They are gone for long stretches of time and won’t pressure you for anything, only to care for you and use you as a touchstone of normalcy,” Kate lets out a breath, the shifting air bringing more of her should be comforting scent to your nose.

Voices drift past the locked doors to your right. You had posted up on the maternity floor, the staff had yet to find you here the last few times you were able to avoid their gazes.

“Why me?” Your voice whispers out. Should have grabbed the water mug the night nurse had left on your tray before you ducked from the room.

“Well, that’s the sticking point. They don’t know you would be coming. The guys have started to fray at the edges, getting reckless on jobs. I need them to be safe. If they have someone to come home to?”

Ah, so this wasn’t about you. Couldn’t ever be about you could it? No. Always a beta, never important.

Scorpio had seen six hundred seventeen betas through their doors before you quit counting. Not one of them left through the front door.

“You can’t tell them I’m dying.”

Control had to be a resource you doled out sparingly.

“Done.”

“And I get my own bed.”

The wrinkles around her face deepen as Kate settles on an unsure look.

“I’m not sure…”

“I will spend time in their nest when invited but I get my own bed,” you look at her now, face to face.

She must see something unmovable in your expression.

Sighing, her eyes drift shut and her shoulders relax.

“I will make it happen.”

Nodding once you stand.

“Lead on Kate, let us meet my doom head-on.”

Kate chooses not to comment on your morose declaration.

Maybe that is why she filled the car with her voice? She must not appreciate your brand of deadly honesty.

Her voice drifts away as she turns off the well-maintained and snow-cleared highway for a clear spot marked only by the tire tracks that lead between the dense trees.

“I’ve told them so many damn times they need to move closer but no it’s all ‘Kate you don’t understand we need the space from everyone’ and never thinking of how hard it is for people to visit them,” she mutters to herself as the color leeches from her knuckles with each slip of the tires.

“Maybe they don’t want visitors.”

Kate’s brows pull down as she glares out the windshield.

Looking back out the window you catch sight of a massive moose between the trunks before it disappears into the trees. It takes another twenty minutes of achingly slow driving before Kate finally relaxes her shoulders.

The smell of satisfaction drifts through the car heater. Turning you find a modestly large cabin, a green metal slanted roof, and a porch that reaches from one corner of the house to the other. Next to the stairs that connected the porch to the ground are two vehicles, one SUV and one large truck, though these both sit neatly under the porch. Kate parks in the open.

Without hesitation she climbs from the driver’s seat, grabbing the backpack she picked up for you with your three changes of clothes and two sets for sleeping. Kate is halfway up the stairs when you finally join her. Snow clings to the canvas of your shoes even as you follow in the large boot prints she left behind for you.

Tucking your arms close to your chest you stand behind Kate as she pounds with a fist on the door. The swish of her coat is the loudest sound beyond her beating for entry. You are fighting to keep your teeth from chattering when the door finally opens. You didn’t know cold had a smell. The only word you could find for it? Sharp.

“John. Took you long enough,” Kate pushes her way through the opening in the door.

A burly man steps back to allow her entrance. He is barely decent, his robe hanging open and tie only just covering his bits. John lifts a brow at you when you don’t immediately follow. You are not dressed for winter. When a particularly chilled bit of wind rushes past you and into the house, he moves to shut the door. Darting inside you watch him warily until you stand near Kate again. She stands in front of a massive couch. Counting the cushions, you give yourself the space to breathe. Twelve separate sitting spaces, three walls of a square, and still with room to walk behind and peer out the window that took up nearly the whole wall behind it.

“Not like you to show up without calling Kate. What is this about?” John steps around the snow you shed on his hardwood floor.

“I brought you a wife.”

They stare at each other for nearly thirty seconds. Your toes start to sting from the cold. The shoes on your feet squeak as you shift from foot to foot. Making the mistake of breathing too deeply you can taste the battle of wills between them. Kate’s shouldn’t be sour scent warred with John’s masculine, woodsy scent. He was an omega?

A long table is positioned opposite the kitchen, and central to it all is a wood-burning stove. The kitchen has an excess of cabinets. You start to count them to avoid what your nose is telling you.

“Why would I need a wife?” He finally asks.

You are also curious about the word choice. Betas weren’t terribly important in the grand scheme, born at a lower rate and died at a faster one. Populations didn’t need betas to survive, they, you, were mostly only good for keeping fights from escalating. With everyone receiving training in school anymore on how to address and deal with signs of rut/heat to avoid fights, death due to rut-related combat had reduced by over half. Betas were less important than ever. The other reduction in deaths had come from Scorpio.

Sarah had always been so proud to tell you about how you were contributing to keeping alphas from killing each other when she drew your blood or injected you with yet another unknown serum. The government had started to pump the barest amount of what Sarah called, calmers, into the water system. Said it was good for everyone, like fluoride.

“Serin, helicopter, Los Alamos, hospital visit. Would you like me to go on?” Kate said all those words as if they made any sort of sense.

John sucked in a deep breath through his nose. His eyes snapped to you.

“What are you?”

Kate steps in front of you. The slap of your hand to your scent gland runs parallel to her words. Sarah had done something to you, changed everything at a base level, including your scent.

“Beta, and a wife. Someone to care for, someone who needs you.”

His eyes are on you as sounds from deeper in the house reach your ears. Deep voices, a loud thump, then laughter. You look past John and see a set of stairs near the front door that leads to a second floor that only takes up part of the space from the vaulted ceiling.

“We don’t need anyone Kate-” he folds his arms across his hairy chest as Kate cuts him off.

“Should I ask them then? Call them down and see what they say?” She glares up at him, the height difference not making a difference even when her alpha to his omega should. You had only ever seen one dynamic, alpha ruling, all else managing to stay out of their way. That did not hold true here. They battled as equals.

John let his lung full of air go, a sigh of admission as his hands fell to his hips.

“No. We will take her.”

Kate nods once, settling your backpack on the couch before turning and giving your shoulder a squeeze.

When she turns back to John she gives him the final piece of information.

“She gets a room to herself. Doesn’t need to be much, but at least a place to retreat when everything becomes too much.”

He rolls his eyes but nods.

“Anything else Kate?” He asks drolly.

The glare she sends him is met with a smirk.

“I will check back in a week to see how everyone is settling.”

John walks her to the front door, opening it for Kate to step back into the startling brilliance of the sun twinkling off snow.

When the door clicks shut behind her John turns to you. His eyes drift from your feet upward until settling on your face.

“Hello, wife.”

[avelera]

(Arcane Meta) The Staggering Timeline of the Hexgate Construction

The Hexgate timeline is insane, guys, it's actually insane.

So I'm writing a Jayvik fic set in the time skip between 1.03 and 1.04. Most people agree that time skip was about 6-7 years long.

During 1.04 "Progress Day" Jayce says "a few years ago", the Hexgates opened to the world. The year before, we learn from the Enforcer Caitlyn is talking to that Jayce launched a blimp "half way across the continent" which sounds like a demonstration of increased range for the Hexgates.

At some point, I would guess early in Jayce and Viktor's partnership, they also did the Distinguished Innovators competition where they needed to notch their own gears and, presumably, didn't have a lot of assistants or assistance. I only note this to point out that there was at least a year or so at the beginning where they weren't immediately thrust into limelight yet and they didn't have every resource available.

So just because Mel was buying into their vision on Day 1, doesn't mean the whole city had yet. They probably needed to prove an application for Hextech first before that happened and, likely, the Hexgates was what they came up with and that's the one all of Piltover bought in on.

So, mostly likely sometime in the first year or so, Jayce and Viktor had to provide a proof of concept for the Hexgates. Let's say for the sake of argument that by the first Progress Day of their partnership, they have one.

Progress Day / Year of Jayce and Viktor's partnership

(Let's go through the timeline)

Year 1 - Hexgate proof of concept developed and presented. Up to that point, Hextech exists and has Mel's support, but Jayce and Viktor still haven't proven themselves enough to get all the resources they'll need to build something like the Hexgates. The Distinguished Innovators competition takes place somewhere around this time. Maybe they presented the Hexgate proof of concept there (pure speculation on my part but you'll see why I think the first few years had to be laser focused on the Hexgates over anything else for any of this to make sense.)

Year 2 - Hexgates under development.

Year 3 - Hexgates under development.

Year 4 - Hexgates open to the world.

Year 5 - Hexgate distance capacity increased.

Year 6 - Events of Arcane

By the way, I say only one year to develop a prototype, it could have taken longer. But, the Progress Day post-time skip in 1.04 could be 7 years later. So all the approximations up there should be taken as "give or take a year".

Still, that means that within 3-4 years at most, Jayce and Viktor went from this proof of concept that Hextech is viable at all:

To this:

And can I say just as an archaeology nerd obsessed with stone crafting and material cultures, holy shit, do you have any idea how quickly they must have built the Hexgate tower to have it done in 2-3 years? The Empire State Building, which offers us a decent parallel for the technology available in the world of Arcane at this point, took a 1 year, 45 days, it was considered the fastest a skyscraper had ever been constructed at the time.

But the Hexgate tower is more than just a building, this thing goes all the way down into the bedrock, it is lined with Hex crystals. It has that giant globe on the top for pinpointing where to send the ship. It's not just a building, the entire thing is an engineering marvel. And it has to have been done in under 3 years to fit the most generous version of the timeline.

This would, realistically, require incredible buy-in by the entirety of Piltover society. We're talking multiple guilds vying for contracts, red tape being cut by the mile to secure the space, deep excavation beneath it, shipping to bring in materials, endless amounts of masons, metalworkers, and artisans. It's doubtful that Jayce and Viktor slept during those years. The sophistication we see within the Hexgates makes it even more mind-boggling.

Seriously, look at the base of this thing! This is the failsafe, it had to exist before they opened up the Hexgates to the world! It can't be an afterthought or a later addition!

And this Hex crystal-lined channel goes up for miles! (not literally but get my point) It needs sophisticated technicians to operate and switch out the cores!

Now, of course a Doylist explanation, the Hexgates are as sophisticated as they need to be and were built as quickly as they needed to be built in order to serve the plot, and Piltover is as technologically sophisticated as is needed for these to be built in the time required.

But, Watsonian, as someone who can't help but look at building materials and think about just how much time and effort it would take a society that looks vaguely 1880s-1920s (I would say the 1.04 Progress Day is deliberately invoking the Chicago World's Fair of 1893) it is utterly mind-boggling to me how much labor and materials and effort would have to go into building the Hexgates in a 2-3 year period. That's moon launch levels of an entire society mobilizing for one goal.

No wonder Jayce got framed as the Man of Progress, the entire city must have been working on or known someone who was working on making the Hexgates a reality in that time.

[anim-ttrpgs]

@gingerbreadbeholder

Thank you!

Yes, we use a virtual tabletop grid with little tokens for that kind of dungeon exploration and combat. We rotate GMs in the White Company AD&D2e campaign referenced in that post, and whatever virtual tabletop we’re using just sorta depends on the preference or convenience for that particular GM.

This time we were using Roll20 with a high-res remake of the dungeon from the actual adventure module. Here’s a few screenshots.

This screenshot is of a bit of a zoomed out view so you can see how many characters we’re working with. There’s 28 White Company&Allies(9 or which, the cynocephali, are enemy mercenaries that Herr Rike bribed to switch sides) and 16 enemy guys. That blue square is where the party's magician, Lady Serena Graves(drawn in white with a green border just above the green border token that uses Pentament art. ) cast her one spell of like the whole adventure and made the ceiling collapse on the guy with the purple robe, instantly ending what would have been a super deadly fight. The guy in the purple robes popped out from behind the corner during the negotiations and cast a spell of paralysis (and probably some other worse effects along with it) on Herr Rike before anyone could react. Against all odds, she passed a save that had a 90% chance to fail, the spell failed to take hold. We rationalized that this might be because she's already like 15% scar tissue and paralyzed muscles, so she's used to standing on bad legs, and so it just barely impeded her, enough to look like there was no effect at all. Then Serena Graves immediately brought the ceiling down on him, which was the plan all along. They had heard from the captured enemy fighters that this guy was such a deadly fighter and powerful magician that they were all terrified of him, so the party didn't take any chances. Rike getting hit by a spell wasn't part of the plan, but other than that, Serena Graves collapsed the ceiling on him as soon as she saw him, just as planned.

It's a good thing too, the DM told us some of his stats later and the captives were not fucking kidding. If this had come to an actual fight, he would have been one-shotting at least one party member per round, without even accounting for over a dozen other enemies.

The thing about magical characters in AD&D is that they will spend the whole adventure doing absolutely nothing until it comes time for them to snap their fingers and make one insurmountable problem instantly go away. The others surrendered after this, and under guard from the White Company&Allies, dug through the rubble to rescue the other half that had been trapped inside.

The token that uses Pentament art is one of the White Company Fighters, Chrysanthemum. Abigail is the one represented by the art from @ ironlily on twitter. Miles is the anime guy. Thistle the Witch is next to Chrysanthemum. Ceridwen is the other green token with a dog.

Here’s a more zoomed in picture where you can see the tokens more clearly. You can see Herr Rike(left, drawn in white with a green token border) and one of the sub-contracted mercenaries (Japanese warrior with a blue border token.) holding two previously-captured enemy soldiers (outlined in red right above them) at knife-point while negotiating with the rest of the enemy. Some of this is our own art, some of it is just whatever we can find, but a lot of it is from either HeroForge or Mordhau. Mordhau is great for quickly creating a bunch of unique historically accurate goons for this campaign, but you have to play a lot of that game to unlock a wide variety of armors. Luckily, I have over 500 hours in it.

And here’s a screenshot of the rooms where a lot of the above story took place. You can see the stairs where those two guys got slime attacked, the door where I drew a lock to indicate it was locked after Herr Rike couldn’t pick the lock, the room with Lubash in it, the door where Herr Rike propped up the jug of oil(drawn in yellow), the hallway with cells where the revenants came out, and the secret passage they eventually found.

We don’t always perfectly adhere to the grid itself, like in instances where it makes sense that the group should be able to stack up closer than the usual 5-foot squares would allow, but even then it is still useful for keeping track of relative positioning, so there is often some theater-of-the-mind going on, but for tactical combat games like every edition of D&D, I really can’t recommend a grid enough.

Also, use adventure modules. If you want a D&D dungeon crawl, play AD&D2e or earlier (I have also heard good things about Advanced Fantasy Dungeons, which is supposed to be a "modernization" of AD&D.) and use the dozens and dozens or even hundreds of adventure modules compatible with them that already come with great dungeons right out the box! The story above is from using an actual 1979 D&D adventure module, and the great thing about using some of the older and more famous ones is that man of them will have resources you can find online, such as fancy remakes of their maps and stuff. "Use adventure modules" and "create situations, not plots" are the two most important pieces of advice I can give to any GM.

"D&D can do anything" and "I don't like dungeon crawls, I enjoy real role-playing" are two statements that often go hand-in-hand and the ironic thing is that the latter statement betrays a very shallow understanding of role-playing while being really snobby. What's even more hilarious is that it's like baby's first RPG elitism, like yeah most people go through a "I like real role-playing" phase but to go through it while putting on airs about the dungeon game while at the same time dismissing dungeon games is real funny.

Anyway, wherever people pick up the idea that dungeon-crawling, the playstyle most supported by D&D, is somehow pedestrian, it very quickly leads to bargaining, like surely if dungeon-crawling is actually bad and for babies then D&D must be capable of so much more, right? Well, truth is, not really, D&D kind of sucks for things besides that.

Where a lot of people go wrong at this point is contending that therefore D&D must be flawed as a role-playing game: like, if it actually kind of sucks for most playstyles besides dungeon-crawling and we've already decided that dungeon-crawling isn't real role-playing, then surely D&D must be bad as a role-playing game?

The issue of course is that most people don't ever interrogate their starting assumption of dungeon-crawls being bad. And truth be told most people who claim to hate dungeon-crawls have never actually played a dungeon-crawl. At most they've played a dungeon-crawl themed linear succession of combat encounters. (I remember this: once when I posted about dungeon-crawls being good, actually, someone responded with a "well I can see the appeal but personally I couldn't enjoy a game that's just back-to-back combat" which is a whole misunderstanding of dungeon-crawls as a genre.)

Anyway so the great thing is that once you re-examine your assumptions about what counts as "real role-playing" and conclude that a dungeon-crawl is as much real role-playing as whatever the fuck Critical Role is doing then you find whole new vectors of being a snooty blowhard and it rules. You can make fun of D&D players in so many new ways,

[lost-in-fiction-like-ur-mom]

Hello! I would like to make a request about Dae-Ho, a character I love. I would like the story to show how Dae-Ho and the reader develop a special connection during the games, despite being on opposite sides. She is part of Thanos' team, but they still interact frequently. On one of those nights, they kiss and promise to get to know each other better once it's all over. However, that promise is not fulfilled because she dies in the carousel game.

I hope this story fits the bill. Happy holidays! <3

Anything Is Possible?

KANG DAE-HO X READER

Summary- You are number 230's, rapper Choi Su-bong, sister. Just because you are on 'Thanos Team', does that mean you can Dae-Ho cant get together? Will you survive long enough?

Warnings- Squid Games, Angst, mentions of blood, murder, and death

A/N- I combined this ask with another anon request, "badass reader and daeho! maybe she is related to 100 and that's why the romance is kind of forbidden but she doesn't agree with his actions and thinks daeho is very cute. I would love a first kiss between the two, which she initiated and he was all embarrassed but really excited" I hope y'all don't mind, they were very similar!

Word Count- 4,605

"What is your problem!" You found yourself yelling at your brother. While this was not uncommon, the situation surely was. Thanos the rapper, or just known as Choi Su-bong to you, had pushed several people down on purpose. This killed them in the Red light, Green light game.

"You killed them!" You continued, though he did not seem to care.

"Look, as far as 'The Thanos' is concerned, each body means more cash for MOI!" He spoke, uncaring.

"Oh, and if it was me, would you let me get shot!" You crossed your arms, eyeing him up and down.

He looked around, checking for any guards. He then slipped out his cross form under his shirt. You knew he had some kind of drug in there.

"Look, if it will shut you up, you can have one. But keep your mouth closed!" He ushered his cross in your direction. You rolled your eyes.

"I'd like to at least be aware of my surrounding in a death defying game!" "Shhh, Shhhh!" His face scrunched up as he looked at you, offended. He thought someone might have been drawn to your choice words.

You scoffed and walked off, sitting on the edge of a bed to catch a train of thought.

With a puff, you pressed your head into your hands. Could you really go on like this? Risking your life? Then it hit you, your life was over either way. Loan sharks were bound to kill you the second you left... Might as well go out with a bang?

The gruesome thought lingered until you felt the bed sink next to you.

"Thanos, I don't want to-" You looked up to not see your brother. Instead a man with a '388' on his jacket.

"Well I'm not sure who 'Thanos' is, but are you doing okay?" He looked genuinely concerned.

You started at him for a second, "Like fifty people just died..."

He faltered, "W-well yeah... Obviously you aren't okay... I just, I saw you arguing with that guy... The one with purple hair." You sigh again at his response. Well, this might be the last conversation you ever have. Why not be an open book!

"That's my brother. He thinks since he got one hit song, he can boss anyone around." You again rolled your eyes at the thought of him.

"Oh... I see. I-I have three older sisters, I know how it can get." He said, trying to offer you some sort of condolence.

You gave a side smile at him, appreciative of his efforts. "Thanks... What got you into these games?" You figured there's no reason for 'proper exchanges.' What was the point anymore?

He seemed ashamed at the question. "Sorry, if it makes you feel any better- I'm about 30 million won in debt. Some online crypto coin my brother swindled me into. Lost big time." You explained.

He shook his head, "No, no, its fine. See, I was a marine. Couldn't find a job after I got out. Guess I just got carried away with the wrong people... Got into some bad loans."

You gave a sympathetic face. "That sucks..." He just nodded sheepishly.

A silence fell between you two, but it wasn't awkward or annoying. It just...was.

"Well, uh, which are you going to vote?" He asked like it had been on the tip of his tongue all day.

As the Guards had told us earlier, we would get a chance to vote before the next game. Stay or Go.

"My brother seems pretty adamant on staying... And I honestly don't think it would be smart to piss him off anymore. He's got me in his little clique already." You didn't really know which one you would have chosen if the vote was anonymous.

He nodded in understanding. "I mean, I don't have a groupie or anything. But, you could stick with me if you wanted."

Your heart fluttered. Looking up at him, you seemed to just notice how handsome he was... Then reality hit.

"I deeply appreciate that... But I think you might have better odds without me. Choi- uh Thanos, would probably do something to you... I don't really want to risk it, I'm sorry." You knew that you really did want to be on his team, but you also knew how your brother was.

He had a slight look of defeat on his face, "I get it. I feel confident about the next game. I mean, if they're all children games, how hard can it be? I'll vote the same as you."

You agreed, "Then, maybe I can talk to Thanos? See if he wants another member?" You smiled at him.

He opened his mouth to speak, happily, but the two of you were interrupted when the pink guards came back in. Letting everyone know it was time to vote.

"See ya on the other side." You said, standing up to rejoin Thanos. Plus his newly acquired group of 3.

"Yes ma'am!" He responded, giving a small salute. You just laughed as you glanced at him a last time.

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

"Are you crazy!" Thanos whisper-yelled at you, turning the two of you away from the group. "Are you tryna embarrass me in front of my boys!" He scolded you like a child. His arms and shoulders going up.

"It's not that big of a deal, he was a marine, he could be good for us." Thanos just "tsked' in response.

"No. We are already perfecto. No more room." He said as-a-matter-of-fact. His arms making an 'X.'

You turned and looked at the two men staring at you. "Thanos, there are four of us in total. What if the next game is five players!"

"Huh, and what if its four! Then I'd be pushing YOU out, Cause of ya mouth." He made faces at you, then laughed loudly. "I'm just joking sistah! I'd only do that if you really pissed me off.... We are sticking to four." His expression turned serious.

"Fine."

At a mere coincidence, you turned around and saw '388' staring at you. You mouthed a 'sorry' and shook your head. Signalling Thanos said 'no.'

He nodded, then smiled at you anyways. At that, you watched him walk over and sit with a group of 'X's.

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

The lights soon went out. You laid back in your bed, trying to get some kind of sleep. It was useless, especially when you heard a 'psst' right next to you.

You turned your head, playing cool, even though it did startle you a bit. "Shh, It's just me." The voice rang familiar, and when you squinted your eyes in the dark your made out number 388's face. He was on his knees, crouched down next to your bed.

"What are you doing!" You whispered at him, sitting up quickly. Thanos and his two members were just a bed away.

"Shhhh, I have something to tell you." He said, his hands were waving slightly, a nervous tick.

You eyed him, moving closer. "What?"

"One of the guys has played these before. He said he won the games...That he knows which one is next."

Your hands rise to rub sleep from your eyes, "Really? You think he's telling the truth?"

With a frantic nod he continues, "It was the guy who knew about the Red light, Green light. Number 456."

You looked down, "Why are you telling me this..." You questioned, unaware of any kind of unconditional kindness.

"I want you to survive, why else?" You locked eyes with him. They were honest and pure.

"Well, what's the next game?" You didn't know how to respond to such generosity. For all he knew you would stab him in the back. Not that you could bring yourself to, not after he snuck over to tell you.

"He said its Dalgona. Ya know, the game where you scratch out the candy shape?" You knew the game, having played it in your youth.

"Make sure you pick the Triangle. It's the easiest one." You nodded.

At that, a shuffle made both of you turn your head. Thanos moved in his sleep, rolling over. His eyes were closed, but he was now facing you.

"You better go, in case he wakes up." You warned, not wanting any drama.

His head shook in agreeance, he raised to walk off.

"Wait!" You whispered, he looked back. "What's your name?"

"Dae-Ho. Dae-ho Kang."

"Thank you, Dae-ho..." The corners of your face rose, almost grinning at yourself saying his name.

He gave a small wave of his hand, another salute. You suppressed a giggle, and laid back down. Sleep came easier this time...

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

"Welcome to your second game, this game will be played in teams. Please divide into teams of five in the next ten minutes."

You looked around, Dalgona was not a team game. Had Dae-Ho lied to you? No, why else would he sneak over in the middle of the night. It didn't make sense. Maybe 456 was lying?

"Should have listened to me, now we have to find another person." You remarked to your brother, smugly.

"Trust trust, my skeptic sister. Thanos has got this under control!" He spoke about himself, immediately levitating to the closest attractive women. You, once again, found yourself rolling your eyes.

"Señorita, excuse me?" You wanted to physically face palm at his attempt at a pickup line.

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

Quickly enough, time selection was up. Everyone was orderly sat in their groups. Conveniently, Dae-Ho and his group sat behind you.

"Dae-Ho." You called, moving to be in his range of sight.

"Ahh, hey!" He said, excitedly. His demeanor changing from skittish when he saw you.

"So, what happened to Dalgona?" You asked, not blaming him- just curious.

He gave an unsure face, equally as confused. "He said the games must not be the same. I'm sorry."

"What for?" You beamed, knowing it was not his fault.

He laughed, "I guess I don't know.."

You just shook your head humorously. "Which game are you going to do?"

"Uhmm, Gong-Gi... My sister's played it a lot, so I'm used to it."

"They've got me doing spinning top. I was never any good at Gong-Gi." You made a glance to Thanos, he was high out of his mind. You caught him slipping Nam-Gyu a pill. He didn't notice you talking to Dae-Ho.

"I wish you the best of luck!" He gave a quick bow of the head.

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

The game went smoothly enough. Though, it took much longer than Red light, Green light. Watching all of the teams go one at a time was excruciating.

A handful of words exchanged with Dae-Ho while waiting was calming, it grounded you. He had nothing to gain by helping you, he simply did. It was flattering.

You and Dae-Ho had figured out that his team was going last. It was nerve-wracking to think about him not making it. No one had ever effected you like this before...

Eventually your team went, suffering frequent verbal degration from Thanos and Nam-Gyu. Thankfully your team made it with 8 seconds to spare. Too close for your comfort.

The worst part came when you had to wait. You felt like you could hear a large clock ticking right by your ear.

Would Dae-Ho's team make it? You didn't doubt his Gong-Gi skills, but he was dependent on the skills of his team mates as well. It was terrifying to think they were shot with not enough time to complete the games.

You couldn't bare Thanos bantering, he complained about every survivor. It just made you more paranoid about Dae-Ho's possible death.

Trying to settle your mind, you stepped away from your group, preferring to sit by yourself on the edge on the steps. You picked at your nails, praying he would make it.

Minutes and minutes went by. No one had come out in a while. Was the game finished? Did they die?

Just as you were about to return to your brother hopeless, one last group appeared.

A gasp left you as you watched Dae-Ho's team emerge. You stood up, cheering with a handful of other players. Your hands were clasped gleefully In front of you.

Dae-Ho's gaze was fixed on you, he chuckled. His first raised in victory.

You gave him a salute back.

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

You managed to slip away from Thanos. He was too busy hitting on Se-Mi. You were grateful for her, it took some of the pressure and attention off of you. You had to remember to thank her later.

"Dae-Ho!" You called out, he turned around and stepped away from his group.

"You were amazing! You went 'Wooshhh' and got the top first try!" He was practically bouncing on his heels. He mimicked the process of spinning a top with his hands and body.

"Thank you, Thank you." You pretended like you were bowing to an applauding audience.

"How did Gong-Gi go?" You asked, antsy. He rubbed the back on his neck.

He grinned deep, "Would you believe me if I said I got it first try too?"

Your face lit up, "Really!"

"I swear it!" He placed a hand across his chest.

You gave a quick clap to him, "I knew you could do it!"

You felt like a schoolgirl again. Talking to Dae-Ho made you feel like a blushing bride. He was such a ray of light and hope for you.

"What do you think the next game is?" He questioned, taking a seat on a step by the large doors.

You thought for a second, "I don't know, Maybe some kind of mind game. Since the last two have been really physical."

He nodded, "Yeah, maybe, maybe. Thats smart thinking."

You joined him on the step facing him. While you were about to change the conversation, you overheard a few people talk about what they were voting next. It reminded you of the real life-or-death situation you were in.

"So, d'ya think you're going to change your vote?" You became more solemn.

"...Yeah, I just... The others have convinced me. I mean, truly, I shouldn't have voted 'stay' in the first place..." He looked down, almost as if he had disappointed you.

"Honestly, Dae-Ho... I want to leave too... But, but, what if I press 'leave', and we still have to continue the games. Then Thanos would be pissed, and deep down I need him. He's still my brother." You hated the fact, but you were scared of what Thanos would do.

Dae-Ho thought for a moment. He mumbled something you didn't quite catch. "What?" He stood up.

"I can protect you. Honest. With my life." Your breath hitched, you stood up as well.

You shook your head, a lump forming in your throat. "Oh Dae-Ho... That's just the thing. I can't have you risking your life. Not for me."

He gently lifted your hands into his. "You are worth risking my life for."

"Dae-Ho, you don't even know my name." Your voice quivered.

He nodded quick, "Then lets change that. What's your name." You bit your bottom lip before telling him.

"Now, I can defend you from Thanos. He won't do anything to do." He ended with your name, it sounded angelic coming from his mouth.

"I'm sorry... I just... can't." You let go of his hands, fully set on walking away. But, he stopped you. He grasped your shoulder.

"Please don't go. I'll stop talking about it, I swear." He pleaded. He truly just wanted to be with you, he was content with you.

And you were with him.

You closed your eyes, shook your head. You fought off any kind of objection. "Okay."

The two of you talked and talked, time ran past. You no longer seemed to worry about the games, just that you knew you wanted to stay with Dae-Ho.

Until, the large doors opened and the pink guards once again announced a vote.

You said a quick 'goodbye' to Dae-ho, hoping the games wouldn't continue. Even if you never saw him again, at least he would be alive.

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

Much to your dismay, the games would continue another round. The vote wasn't even close this time. It was almost relieving, knowing that your vote was not the determining factor.

Once again, the lights went out to signify the night. You noticed teams were huddling together for protection, taking shifts and keeping watch. It was getting more serious as each hour went by. You could not find rest, feeling extremely uneasy.

While you tried to find some sort of reassurance in Thanos, he was fast asleep. You decided to take your chance and go see Dae-Ho. Just as he had done for you.

You knew the general area where his group was, but couldn't make out specific people in the dark. Not from your distance.

You racked up the nerve to quietly shuffle over. Your socks helping to muffle any noise.

"Shh, someone is coming." You heard a man whisper, it was 456. You could see the large numbers next to the 'O' on his jacket.

"I-is Dae-Ho with you..." You ask, shakily.

"And what do you want with him?" A man next to 456 spoke, defensively.

"I- Hes my friend, I need to talk to him." You tried, fiddling with your fingers.

"Yeah, Sure he is. You're probably trying to get in and take one of us out, huh!" The man 390 rose, acting like he was ready to fight.

You stepped back, "No, really, I swear I'm not!"

You heard your name, a confused Dae-Ho crawled out from under a bed. "Dae-Ho, please tell them in not trying to kill any of you."

"What?" He was still weary from sleep, rubbing his eyes. Once he saw the position you and 390 were in, He quickly stepped between the two of you.

"No, No, she wouldn't do that. Really, whatever shes saying she's telling the truth." Dae-Ho came to your rescue.

"Can we talk Dae-Ho?" You stepped closer to him, both of your hands gently resting on his arm. He nodded rapidly, stepping away from his group.

The two of you found a cluster of abandoned beds, and sat on the floor between them

"Are you okay? Did someone hurt you?" He looked you over for any visible infliction's.

"No, no I'm fine..." You pulled your knees to your chest. "I just wanted to see you." You felt silly once it left your lips.

His face flushed beet red, you could even tell in the dark. His hair falling in his face made you reach a hand out and brush it back. "O-oh"

"You never told me what you think the next game is, Dae-Ho." You needed a distraction.

He shook his head, like he was getting some thoughts out. "I have no idea... I just hope its an easy one. Gi-Hun, uh 456, said that they've already played Tug-of-war, Marbles, and some kind of glass stepping game. So, uh, I would assume none of those would repeat."

"I'm glad I missed Tug-of-war... That would mean the number of survivors would be half..." You thought.

He changed the subject, beginning with your name. "What's wrong? I know you said you wanted to see me, but, I guess I don't understand why."

"Dae-Ho, I don't really know why either. I just, wanted to be with you. I feel safe with you. I feel like I'm alone anytime you walk away..." You blinked away a stray tear.

Dae-Ho was lost in thought, he had thought his feelings weren't reciprocated. Maybe they were after all?

He didn't have time to speak, because you have lounged yourself forward in a burst of confidence. You wrapped your arms around his neck, and pushed him to the floor. He was laid on his back with you on top of him, as you pressed a hard kiss to his lips.

His eyes widened, his body went rigid. When you pulled away to look at him, he stammered. "I-I, Uhm."

At his reaction you pulled away quickly, "I'm so sorry, I thought-"

"Can you please do that again." He was now giddy, a fat smile on his face. Excitement radiated out of him. "A-are you sure.. You seemed so..."

"No, no, you just caught me off guard, please, please kiss me again." He scrambled to a sit, hoping you would come closer again.

With a refound joy, you moved closer. This time you went slow, making sure to bask in the moment. You once again wrapped your arms around Dea-Ho's neck, pulling him in for a kiss.

"You're perfect.." He mumbled against your lips. Though, he felt something wet on his face. He pulled away, his eyes soft, "Whats wrong?"

You sniffled, "Promise me. Promise me, that after everything is over, that we will find each other." You asked, pressing your cheek against his.

"I swear it, I swear we will meet after the games." He leaned in for another kiss.

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

"Welcome to your third game. The game you will be playing is Mingle."

Okay, this one seemed safe. You had a large group, this can work. You tried to be positive, you had someone to look forward to after the game.

"Heyyy, we'll be mingling together. Doesn't that sound like so much fun?" Thanos went on, trying to hype everyone up. The only one who was just as high as him was Nam-Gyu. It worried you that he wasn't fully aware of his surroundings, but at least he wasn't on your tail about everything.

"Please step onto the center platform. When the game starts, the platform will begin to rotate, and you will hear a number. You must form groups of that size, go into the rooms, and close the door within 30 seconds."

You nodded, understanding the rules. Everyone gathered to the platform. You noticed groups staying together, huddling close.

While following Thanos, you passed Dae-Ho's group, you caught his eye and gave him a small salute. It seemed the two of you now had an inside joke.

"Let the game, begin."

At the jump and pull of the platform, you almost lost your balance. You reached a hand out and held onto your brother. He looked over at you, for a split second he actually seemed like your brother. He was there for you.

That's until a muffled snort came from Nam-Gyu. Thanos pushed your hand off, laughing at you.

You sighed and thought of a smart remark, but the platform stopped spinning and a 'Ten' rang out.

Thanos laughed loudly, "We needa four!!" He screamed, shaking his face all about.

"Were four!" A man yelled back, and Thanos took off running. Your eyes widened and you ran after him. "Run, Hurry!" You yelled at Se-Mi, who had stopped to grab Min-Su.

Luckily everyone had made it to the room, just as the door shut the timer went off. The door locked shut. You peaked out of the doors small slit. You didn't see Dae-Ho. A good sign.

Multiple gunshots rang out, each making your body jolt.

"Ha Ha! My family! We did it!" Thanos bantered, clapping some of the men on their backs.

When the doors finally opened again, you looked around. You looked and looked for Dae-Ho. Finally sighing in relief when you saw him. He ran over to you.

"You're okay, thank God!" He hugged you, you held him tight.

You swallowed hard, "It's not over yet. I'll find you after the next round!" You said, quickly finding Thanos again.

"Yeahhhh! Easyyy!" Him and Nam-Gyu joked back and forth. They started dancing to the music as the platform started rotating again.

'Four'

Thanos stopped and looked at his group for a minute. "Gyeong-su, you're with me!" He grabbed his hand, pulling him.

"Damn!" Nam-Gyu said, gripping your arm and pulling you. While you were happy to be chosen, you were worried for Min-su and Se-Mi.

"Lets goooo!" Thanos yelled once we were all in the room.

"Thanos what was that! Gyeong-su over me!" You pointed your finger at him.

"I swear I thought I was pulling you! Besides, you gotta stop running your mouth. You made it, you're fine!"

You couldn't believe what he was saying. Sure, he talked a lot about leaving you. But it was always just talk? Right?

The door opened once again, you were thankful to be away from Thanos. Your new objective was to find Dae-Ho now.

This time, the second you saw him- you ran to him. You no longer cared about what Thanos thought, nor what he'd do.

"I'm so happy to see you." Dae-Ho mumbled into your hair, which his face had been shoved into right after you ran into his arms.

"I have to stay with you, Thanos tried to leave me. I can't make it with him." Dae-Ho didn't hesitate, and pulled you over to his group.

Though, Thanos didn't like that. "Yo, brotha. What're you doing with my sister!" He tried to shove Dae-Ho, but he was bigger and stronger.

The platform started to spin.

"Leave her alone, you obviously cant take care of your sister." He ushered you behind him.

"I don't know what you're talking about bro! I save her, shes only alive because of me and Nam-Gyu!" He argued, leaving out the crucial part of information where he wasn't the one who grabbed you.

"It doesn't matter anymore. I will keep her safe now, you can mind your own business and get along with Nam-Gyu."

They continued to yell and argue over the carousel's music, it was difficult to hear them. Until,

'Three'

Thanos gripped one of your arms, Dae-Ho held another.

"Thanos, let go!" You yelled, trying to pull from his grasp.

It was chaotic, screaming was heard around you. "Dae-Ho, this way!" Two men yelled out, Dae-Ho twisted his head but didn't move.

Your stomach dropped. You couldn't be the reason Dae-Ho would die. You were all running out of time.

"Dae-Ho, go. Please! I'll go with Thanos and Nam-Gyu!"

"I'm not leaving you!" He was adamant about protecting you. Damned everyone else.

"If you don't go, we will all die. Time is running out!" Dae-Ho battled internally, you let go of his hand.

"Go! It's okay, I'll see you in a minute!"

He didn't want to leave, he couldn't. But you made him. When he slowly walked backwards, you let out a relived sigh. You then turned to run with Thanos. Nam-Gyu was already in a room, his yelling ushering you two forward.

It was going to be okay, The three of you in a room. Everything was fine. There was time.

Until, Nam-Gyu moved out of the way... Gyeong-su was behind him... There was already two in the room. Thanos ran in, not thinking twice.

Your running came to a stop right outside of the door. Where Thanos himself had closed it on you.

A "NO!" Was heard from across the room. It was Dae-Ho. He tried to come to you, but he was too far.

Player 456 and player 001 were pulling him into a room. Forcing the door shut. You could see Dae-Ho looking out of the door slit, his hands peaking out as well.

You didn't turn to see what Thanos might have been doing. You didn't care. Not anymore.

You just wanted your last moment to be looking at the most handsome man you'd ever met. His soft eyes were filled with tears as he watched you.

You weren't upset, not scared, not nervous. Not anymore.

It would all be over soon.

You gave him one last salute before a loud bang rang out.

A/N- Not going to lie ya'll, I ate that up. But I still love hearing y'all's constructive criticism! Please LMK if you want to be added to my tag list, TYSM for reading!

Dae-Ho Taglist- @fuzzyscissorsmakerpie-blog @thethreeeyed-raven

[alittlebitofloveliness]

Darry does not parent anyone in the gang except Ponyboy. No, not even Soda, and definitely not Johnny or Dally.

I’m going to be honest and say I genuinely don’t understand where the idea of Darry being the ‘dad’ of the group, or some kind of father figure to Dallas or johnny of all people comes from, because it’s so explicit in the novel and even the movie that he isn’t (I haven’t seen the musical but from what I understand there's some sort of rivalry between Dallas and Darry there, so there probably isn’t any paternal dynamic there either). To claim Darry is a father figure to ANYBODY- even Ponyboy- is completely antithetical to his character. Darry is twenty years old. He’s a big guy, who has respect from most greasers, and he is the LEADER of the gang, looks out for all of them the way a brother would, but he does not PARENT any of them.

Even after the Curtis parents’ deaths, when he gets guardianship of both Ponyboy and Soda, the only one he actually attempts to parent is Ponyboy- and he clearly struggles with it. It’s not just the main source of tension between him and Ponyboy,  it’s the ONLY source of it. Canonically, Pony and Darry got along fine before the Curtis parents' deaths, were close even, because Darry is good at being an older brother. He always has been, because he is used to it and it doesn’t carry nearly the same level of responsibility as guardianship does. Darry never had to be a parent before, let alone to his brother, and he’s flying blind trying to figure it out. He doesn’t know what limits to impose that seem fair but not stifling, can provide materially but doesn’t know how to provide emotionally, because he’s a new parent who is struggling to raise a teenager instead of a newborn, and has no experience for what he’s doing. Darrel Curtis is DROWNING trying to figure out what being a parent means when he has only ever looked at Pony as a little brother instead of a dependent. He’s not happy. He’d never give his brothers up, but this new role is killing him, and it’s plain for anyone to see. 

This brings me to my next point: Darry is so overwhelmed trying to parent Ponyboy, it never even crosses his mind to try parenting Soda too. This isn’t even my interpretation- it’s textual. Soda doesn’t get hollered at, Darry doesn’t really care where he goes or what he does, and he never punishes him the way he punishes Ponyboy. It doesn’t help that Soda and Darry are closer in age than he and Ponyboy are. Soda is almost seventeen, he has a job and is street smart in a way Pony isn’t. Darry doesn’t have to worry about him as much so he doesn’t, because Soda could survive on his own if he had to, whereas Pony couldn’t. It would also be harder for Darry to discipline Soda if he wanted to, given Soda’s age and his agency, but again, Darry doesn’t want to. Soda doesn’t need raising, because he’s already been pretty raised, and Darry couldn’t handle raising him. Darry can already barely handle raising Ponyboy, and Soda has a tenuous role in the house as he plays confidante to both of them. Soda and Darry’s dynamic is pretty solid because their dynamic is still that of brothers, there’s been no upheaval in their relationship, and so there’s no major friction either. Besides that, there’s the fact that Soda is helping raise Ponyboy, not being raised himself. It’s a joke I’ve seen a few times that Darry plays ‘dad’ and Soda plays ‘mom’ to Ponyboy after the Curtis parents’ deaths, but there's an element of truth to it. Soda handles Pony’s emotional needs, gives him advice, reminds him he’s loved, where Darry provides discipline and material needs. Now, we see clearly in the novel this creates an unhealthy dynamic in the house and in Pony’s relationship with both his brothers, making him ‘hate’ Darry and idolize Soda, but it remains true nonetheless. Darry doesn’t know how to parent, so he follows the traditional social ‘script’ of what fatherhood meant in the sixties, and the rest of the household molded to fit the new Darry into the mold he cast himself in. But despite Darry’s best efforts and Soda’s help, Darry proves over and over he’s not good at parenting, and definitely isn’t filling the role of Pony’s parent let alone his father- and it all culminates with The Slap. 

Now, knowing this, having read the book and seen, even through Pony’s biased narration, that Darry’s attempts at parenting Pony are a bit of a dumpster fire, it’s plain to say Darry isn’t playing dad to anyone else in the gang. If he was he’d be harsher to them, strict with rules he’d expect them to follow (Darry does not like to be disobeyed and he definitely doesn’t like his authority challenged), and cognizant of their whereabouts at all times. He doesn’t do this with any of them though, because he ISN’T trying to parent any of them, and even if he was no one in the gang would let him. Steve is too self-sufficient, Johnny is too independent, and Dally is too Dally for it to ever happen- even if the small age gaps between the characters wouldn’t make the attempt almost comical. Darry is, only ever has been, and only ever will be, a brother to them. It means he can offer up the couch and share food and look out for them while they look out for him in return, without ever being responsible for them. Yes, Darry is superman, he’s the oldest of the gang, seen as dependable and protective. He’s the guy everyone goes to when they get in trouble, a symbol of safety, but not because he can fix things the way a parent would. Dally didn’t call Darry from the phonebooth as a scared kid looking for a parent’s comfort, he called him as a reckless kid looking for a brother’s help to hide his misdeeds. Johnny doesn’t crash on the Curtis’ couch as anything but a kid staying at his friends turned family’s house. He looks at Darry as someone protective, but not as a father figure. In fact, he probably sees better than anyone (except maybe Soda) that Darry isn’t a great guardian, having heard Ponyboy’s rants and seen firsthand how the dynamic in the house has shifted. 

Darry Curtis is everyone’s brother, but no one’s father. He never will be. The only person he ever attempts to parent is Ponyboy, and he’s not good at it. That’s the whole point. Darrel Curtis is a dependable guy, a smart, cool, tough-as-nails gang leader, but he is also still a twenty year old kid, in over his head, who leans heavily on his friends despite his pride, and who is greatly unequipped for the level of responsibility that has fallen onto his shoulders. To portray him as a person who is able to parent a gang of delinquent teenage boys almost his own age is disingenuous and out of character.

Darry Curtis is no one’s dad. That’s the whole point. 

[antimonyandthyme]

what about love spell/curse/potion for carcar?

“It’s not that bad,” Oscar said.

“It’s obvious,” Lando said. “Even to me. Even to someone not looking for it. They’ll stop you from racing.”

Oscar’s cheeks were flushed, and it extended down his neck, down, down, down further where the fireproofs hid the rest of the evidence. And it wasn’t the good kind of flush either, like the after race glow or the lively splash of sun kissed. The stain was uncomfortably pinpricked and splotchy, and Oscar looked like he was being eaten alive by fire ants, with the way he kept clawing at his skin and adding red on red.

“It’s an easy solution,” Lando said, because yeah, they were teammates who needed to tear each other apart most times, but Oscar was. A good one. A friend, even. Plus, they needed the points. “I’ll get Carlos here.”

“No,” Oscar snapped, so vehemently that Lando considered throwing his hands up and leaving Oscar to his own martyrdom. But again—points. “Don’t. Don’t you dare.”

“Mate,” Lando rolled his eyes. “I thought you’ve gotten over your dislike of that guy.”

He felt a twinge of furtiveness when he said it, that guy. Had to look around the room to ascertain that Carlos hadn’t heard it. As if Carlos could ever be reduced to some background person in their periphery. But he was trying to be helpful, while Oscar seemed content to endure torture for the sake of being stubborn. Come on, Oscar. He’s just some guy. He’s just some guy, right? Fuck him and get it out of your system.

“I don’t,” Oscar said, then locked his teeth together shut so tightly Lando heard the click. His jaw shifted askew from the top half of his face, then back so carefully all Lando could think of were moving mouths on wooden marionettes.

It was a familiar habit, but not on Oscar. It took Lando awhile to place it.

“Don’t what,” Lando asked, already knowing the answer and catastrophically afraid of it.

“Landito,” Carlos announced, flinging open the door to the motorhome. “What’s the emergency, hm?”

What escaped from Oscar’s mouth could only be described as a whimper. Aw, fuck. Lando had. Yeah. He’d already texted Carlos. The second after Oscar had said No.

Lando glanced over guiltily. Oscar’s legs were making a gigantic effort to push himself backward into the couch, as far from Carlos as he could be, but the rest of his body was focused solely on being honest. His cheeks, pinker than what Lando had thought possible. The sweat beading on his forehead, sliding in an unmistakable path down his nose. The obvious stretch of the fabric at his crotch, which he was trying fruitlessly to hide with his hands. He’d be glaring at Lando, if he could, for doing this. But everything else in the room was now wiped clean of existence now that Carlos was here. Oscar stared, like Carlos was all there was and could be.

“Ah.” Carlos's eyes darted between Lando and Oscar. “Is this?” Carlos cleared his throat. “What is this,” he said quietly, sounding a little kicked, like he’d been left out of a briefing.

“Love spell,” Oscar blurted out, the same time Lando’s tongue formed around the word curse. “Some fan. Threw it at me.”

“Are you in love with her now?” Carlos said sharply.

“No!”

Lando cringed. It was likely he was feeling embarrassed for Oscar, if the phantom itch under his skin was anything to go by. Oscar looked as if Carlos had just slapped him, something so horribly open Lando didn’t even realize it was available in Oscar’s vocabulary.

“You really are a muppet,” Lando said. He couldn’t decipher if he was being cruel or kind, and he wasn’t going to think any further on it. “He’s in love with you, duh. Can’t you see?”

Oscar found the willpower to glare at Lando then, but when Carlos sucked in a small, shocked breath, Oscar’s eyes were back on him. Caressing, imploring.

“It’s just the curse,” Lando continued on blithely. So, he’d decided on cruel. “The fan must have messed it up, redirected it. That’s what’s making you feel this way, right Oscar?”

It wasn’t fair watching the myriad of shifts and breaks that rose to the surface of Oscar’s expression, but Lando was nothing if not committed.

“Right?” he said again, encouraging, all teeth.

“Right,” Oscar said, like it had to be peeled from his throat, then presented bloodied and raw. “Just. The love spell.”

Two years of being teammates, and Lando thought—hoped, that Carlos had lost the power to surprise him.

“Okay,” Carlos said. No disgust or revulsion. Just gentleness. He was everything his father said he was, and it didn’t do anyone any good. “So you need my help, no?”

Oscar couldn’t keep the starving noise clamped behind his lips. He was shaking now, at Carlos’s proximity, at the promise of something he didn’t even know he wanted to have until this instant. His entire body curled toward Carlos like a vine straining for the light.  

"I need," was all Oscar managed, and something in Lando ached terribly. For what, for what.

Carlos made his way closer, crouched down by Oscar’s feet like he was the one asking, begging, for it.

“Easy,” he said, hand cupped around Oscar’s burning cheek, and Oscar folded like a man with no cards left, nothing left, and said please, please, please Carlos, please.

“Ah, Lando,” Carlos said. As if he’d just remembered Lando was there. Lando himself had almost forgotten, so far removed from the scene unfolding before him he was. “Some privacy?”

Fucking love spells. He closed the door behind him, a little too hard, a little too late to stop the soft sound of skin meeting skin from reaching his ears.

(put that guy in a situation prompts)

[toastyoffering]

I’m surprised this isn’t more widely discussed.

They’re literally both Frankenstein and The Creature.

They create and complete each other.

To be clear, the original Creature looks more like Jayce. Literally huge and handsome, meant to be a perfect specimen of humanity.

This also follows the themes and parallels between Frankenstein the novel and Paradise Lost, where creator and creature are locked in divine and dialectic battle. (Satan was also supposedly beautiful.)

Jinx is shown in some of the marketing as mimicking a famous image of Satan, having fallen and been twisted by his abandonment. I don’t think it’s just jayvik here that follows the pattern, I think it’s everyone. Ultimately trying to become god in these stories is about an unquenchable thirst for agency and self determination, and all of the characters have tons of influence over each other that they don’t seem to think of as their own choices and agency (think of Vi shattering Powder’s psyche early on).

Every character in Arcane engages in the act of creation with the people around them. Parents make monsters of their children and children usurp parents. Death and destruction are part of a messy cycle where raw materials and opportunities are constantly produced and used to create. The society of Piltover is created on the blood and bones of Zaun.

Look also at the way people use different means to create. The forge, the hammer, food, innovation (Jinx being id-like and Jungian Anima energized to the point of chaos where Viktor could be the Animus/old man figure, one working with machines directly and making Things where the other starts on a chalkboard or in his own mind).

The way Viktor’ internal ableism influences how he ‘perfects’ creation and makes everyone into neuter, featureless, flawless marionettes, how his final form annihilates most evidence of his human body and emotion, literally shoving a mask on his face that only one person has the heart and will to break.

How the creature was both beautiful and innocent, only made monstrous by his experiences of constant fear and rejection (it’s unclear what Viktor would have done in the commune without outsiders poisoning it with violence, but it’s also arguable that his hubris and his fall were inevitable). The creature could *read*, he spoke *multiple languages*, he argued philosophy and managed to live happily with someone blind for a long time. He returns to demand his Creator make someone like him so he has someone to love and won’t be alone. Half the tragedy of the story is that he had no say in being made, tried to be good, and the world such as it was could not stomach him.

(If it was written today they probably would have hatebanged in an inn or something)

The Mage saves Jayce and creates the academic who can’t stop chasing magic.

He pulls Jayce into the other world and lets him break and rebuild himself, reforging him into someone unrecognizable.

Jayce acts on the Commune leader and makes the Herald.

Jayce acts on the Herald and makes Viktor.

Guys his name was Viktor for a reason. It was always Frankenstein.

The modern prometheus

[beelinx]

heyyaaa! If you have time in ur schedule, could you please do ‘protective boyfriend’ head-cannons or a blurb for Tsukishima and Osamu? (I humbly ask of you if you’re able to and if you can Matsukawa or Tendo as well😔🙏ONLY IF YOU WANT TO THO)

remember to drink water heh

haikyuu men as protective bfs <3

ft. tsukishima, osamu, matsukawa, and tendou !

note: honestly it was sm fun to write this, but i think most of this is ooc and over exaggerated 😭 anyways chat think of this as a new year's gift ! 🥳 warnings: annoying men... mention of tits in osamu's. use of babe, bitch, and prude in tendou's. use of babe in matsukawa's. ooc tendou and matsukawa probably 😖 fem!reader !!

✧｡ kei tsukishima

going to your boyfriend’s volleyball matches was always a fun experience. the electricity and passion some players exuded was truly contagious. 

also, you got to see him being all hot and sweaty.

definitely an amazing time!

everyone in the sendai frogs were always incredibly welcoming to you, too. his teammates even ask about you when you’re not there (or, at least that’s what tsukishima tells you). regardless of whether or not he’s telling the truth, you would say you do feel truly welcome and comfortable around there.

today was match day. you made sure kei had everything ready, though it’s not like he’s the type to be forgetful or anything. still, he lets you fuss over him all you want without uttering a complaint (which you know must have been truly difficult for him).

once you got to the location where his team would be playing, he bid you goodbye with a short peck on the cheek. his teammates waved to you, too. there were two new teammates, just as kei had told you. you recognized kentaro from highschool, and though he still had the same grumpy attitude, he was nice enough to you. the other guy, though… you had no clue who he was.

settling on a seat with a decent view of the match, you prepared yourself for the exhilarating time you were probably about to have.

and that you did.

the sendai frogs won 2-1, and you really couldn’t have been happier. well, actually, it felt as if you were about to have a heart attack throughout the duration of that whole game. everytime kei jumped up to block a powerful spike you felt your heart jump. you imagined any doctor would think you’re close to having your heart malfunction.

you basically raced out of the audience seats, already ready to jump into your boyfriend’s arms and congratulate him with many kisses and hugs that he will probably complain about. whatever —he can mutter all the complaints he wants about pda and stuff, but you’re too happy to not smother him with love.

one problem, though.

you could not find him anywhere.

no matter, you figured he was probably in the changing room or something. you could just wait outside for him for a bit, and if he didn’t come out, you’d go look for him.

meanwhile, tsukishima was trying his hardest to not blow up at his new teammate.

“is she your friend, then?” he asked him. it was probably his 100th question regarding you at this point, and he was well past his tolerance limit.

“no.”

“so… your sister?”

tsukishima scoffed, you two didn’t even look alike. “no.”

“jeez, no need to be so harsh, dude. i just think she’s hot,” the guy stated, while changing into a clean shirt.

koganegawa, who’d been listening in, cheerfully piped up. “well, she’s his girlfriend! so i don’t think tsuki appreciates that very much.”

the guy’s eyes widened. “oh. i didn’t know dude, my bad.”

tsukishima cast him a cold glare and resumed changing without another word.

you were getting antsy waiting for him. what is taking him so long? you were bored. well, you figured enough time had passed that it’d be okay for you to go looking for him, so you did. but, while you were heading his way, you bumped into a man.

“oh! i’m so sorry! i was distracted,” you apologized deeply.

“it’s no problem, really. i-” the man said, before stopping abruptly.

“...is something the matter?” you asked, noticing the way the man’s wide gaze roamed over you.

a sudden grin appeared on his face, his expression resembling one of someone who’d just won the lottery ticket. 

“you’re absolutely gorgeous.”

you sputtered, taken aback by his directness. “oh uh… thank you?”

“can i have your number?” he asked, smirking at you.

“i have a boyfriend so uh…”

“awe come one, he doesn't have to know, right?” he chuckled. suddenly, you recognized the man in front of you. this was tsuki’s new teammate, the one you didn’t know anything about. he saw you with tsuki before the match, so why would he be asking you out? surely he knew you were his teammate's girlfriend?

“come on, just your number, yeah?” he persisted. “you’re allowed to have friends, aren't you?”

you laughed awkwardly, “well i um…”

“move.”

your boyfriend's harsh voice saved you from answering. the guy’s head snapped back, towards his teammate who was now towering over him. he suddenly seemed incredibly flustered, as if he hadn’t been expecting to be caught.

“oh, sorry man. i was just-”

“hitting on my girlfriend?”

“n-no! we were just talking, right?” he said, directing his question towards you.

tsukishima didn’t have to wait for your answer, he knew well enough what this man’s intentions were. “i would suggest you leave her alone, unless you’d like to make this a bigger problem than it has to be.”

the guy hesitated for a second, before he finally spoke. “y-yeah, of course. my bad.”

he scurried away, not without taking a few looks back at you two. your boyfriend scoffed, seemingly angrier and more upset at the situation than you were.

“that was hot.”

tsukishima’s widened as he snapped his head towards you and stared as if you were the most insane person he’d ever met.

“excuse me?”

“you’re hot when you’re protective,” you giggled. “do that more often.”

he raised a brow at you. “you’re crazy.”

“aww, that’s mean!” you fake pouted. “you have to make it up to me now.”

he tilted his head quizzically at you, deciding to humor you. “how?”

you grinned from ear to ear. “let’s go shopping!

noticing the way your eyes sparkled as you suggested that, he couldn’t possibly say no.

he rolled his eyes and adjusted his glasses. “fine,” he agreed. “but we’re eating first. i’m starving.”

✧｡ osamu miya

most of your dates with osamu were indoors, in a private space where the only people around were you two. just relaxing with you is his favorite type of date. still though, he loves to spoil you. so, that’s exactly what he’s doing today.

“‘samu this is too much,” you’d told him.

“nonsense,” he replied simply. “i’m your boyfriend, therefore it’s my duty to spoil ya, isn’t it?”

“but this,” you said, signaling to the expensive outfit he’d bought you. “this is too expensive.”

he simply shook his head. “get dressed, yeah? i’m taking ya out.”

all you could do was roll your eyes and try to smother the grin that was threatening to come up.

the outfit he’d bought you was nice, really nice. you’d seen it at a store before, and you couldn’t help but think it was incredibly beautiful. he’d noticed, apparently, as he’d bought it without even taking note of the price tag. it was also kind of revealing, but nothing all that scandalous. you felt beautiful, really. you took note to make sure to be extremely grateful to him.

osamu loves cooking for you, he really does. he’s basically become your private chef, which works out since you also adore his cooking. tonight, however, he was temporarily relinquishing his title and taking you to some expensive restaurant. though he’d try to deny it, this was more a treat to him than to you. after all, he’s the one practically drooling as he looks over the menu.

you giggled as you looked at him, quickly scanning over the menu and deciding on what you’d be having.

“hello, are you both ready to order?”

you tilted your head up to look at the waiter, straightening your back as you realized you’d been slouching. “oh, yes, thank you,” you replied, quickly listing off your order, pointing at the items in the menu.

when you turned to look at osamu, he was staring daggers at the waiter. you frowned and kicked his leg under the table. he coughed awkwardly and listed off his order, too.

“what was that?” you asked, both concerned but also slightly amused.

“my order?”

“don’t mess with me, ‘samu.” you threatened.

“he was starin’ at ya.” he answered simply.

“well. yeah. i was ordering.”

“no, i mean like… staring at ya,” he emphasized. osamu sighed, “put this on.” 

he took off his jacket and handed it to you. “ya can take it off when we leave. or we can ask for a different waiter.”

you scrunched your eyebrows. “‘samu i really don’t think-”

“he was starin’ directly at your tits.”

your eyes widened. “oh!”

“yeah, so unless ya want me to bust open that guy’s head, please wear this for now.”

it was impossible to smother your grin as you put on his jacket. you giggled softly, “you’re so cute when you’re mad.”

he rolled his eyes lightheartedly, “sure.”

“oookay, here we go,” said the waiter as he returned minutes later. he gave osamu his food wordlessly, maybe too intimidated by the way he was glaring at him, or maybe just because he didn’t care.

“and food for the beautiful lady!” he chuckled as he placed your food in front of you. osamu’s jaw tightened. you looked down to your plate awkwardly.

“...thanks,” you said, starting to eat.

the waiter didn’t leave. it seemed he was waiting to say something, but didn’t. he hesitated, and once it finally seemed as if he was going to get the words out, osamu cleared his throat.

“we’re all done here, no need to linger,” he grumbled.

the man seemed taken aback by osamu’s hostility. you kicked him underneath the table again. “of course. right. i’ll be back later with your check.”

osamu hummed in reply. when he turned back to you, he was scowling. his silly face almost made you forget immediately about the awkward interaction that just took place. almost.

“you looked so mad, ‘samu. i almost thought you were gonna walk out of here.”

he looked at you as if you were a lunatic, then turned his gaze towards his food. “no jerk could ever make me waste food.”

you laughed. of course, nothing could ever come between osamu and his love for food. not even an annoying waiter. you suspected that, if an apocalypse ever took place, he would also prioritize his food over anything. except maybe you.

“when we’re done we should go get dessert. not here, though. i don’t want to see that fucker again.”

all you could do was laugh and roll your eyes at his pettiness.

✧｡ issei matsukawa

matsukawa is an easy going guy. he doesn’t lose his temper that easily. he doesn’t get mad over silly jokes. he lets maki tease him, doesn’t he? he tries his best to keep his composure during games. he even keeps his cool when his little brother is being all pissy. and yeah, he might get pissed at kentaro every once in a while, but who wouldn’t, what with that guy’s attitude and all?

that is the mantra he keeps repeating to himself over and over as he watches some jackass try to put the moves on you.

okay, well, that jackass is actually a really good friend of yours.

…which actually might make it all worse for him.

he can’t insult the guy or fight him, he’s your friend after all. at least that’s what you think. you seem blissfully oblivious to the guy’s painful crush over you.

matsukawa figures he can either break the news to you, or let you remain happily unaware. 

or better yet, a secret third option!

he can just break the guy’s jaw and make him never bother you again.

actually, that one might be a little extreme.

well, he had to do something. watching that jerk trying to get all touchy touchy with you pissed him the fuck off. even more than kentaro’s snarky comments.

“babe,” he called.

your head snapped towards him, your mouth immediately twisting into a delighted grin at the sight of him.

“issei!” you exclaimed. “i didn’t know you’d be here today. i thought you were hanging out with maki?”

he was, but maki had to leave early for a job interview. the detail didn’t matter, though. “oh, i just missed you so much i had to come back to you.” he snaked his arms around your waist, burrowing his head on your neck.

you slightly scrunched your eyebrows at his odd behavior. it wasn’t like him to act this way.

“i hope maki isn’t upset that you ditched him to hang out with me.”

“oh, not at all! he knows how important it is for guys to hang around their girlfriends.” he said, adding emphasis on the last word as he pulled away from you. he stared down the guy and pushed his shoulders back to appear taller. though it’s not like he needed to, mostly anyone can confirm how intimidating matsukawa can be thanks to his height.

your friend laughed nervously. “y-yeah.”

matsukawa wrapped an arm around your shoulders. “we should go on a date, then. what do you feel like eating?”

“oh, we were actually just about to go have lunch,” your friend chimed in, his voice suddenly sounding sure of himself.

matsukawa cast a dismissive glare towards him. “well she’s my girlfriend, isn’t she?”

your friend scoffed, “i don’t think-”

“perfect, then!” he interrupted your friend before he could object. “let’s go, babe. we can go to your favorite place. my treat, of course.”

“o-okay?” you replied, confused at the interaction that had just taken place.

you let matsukawa drag you all the way to the parking lot before pulling your arm away.

“what the hell was that?” you exclaimed.

“what was what?” he said, already seemingly back to his normal attitude.

“you were so rude to him!”

“i don’t think you should be friends with him anymore.” he simply answered, not exactly taking into account your previous comment.

you sputtered before finally saying, “since when do you have a say in who i’m friends with?”

he cast his gaze on you, soft, despite the current conversation. “i just don’t think he’s good company to have around.”

“what do you mean?”

he sighed, before finally admitting, “he’s in love with you.”

you blinked repeatedly at him in shock. “he is?”

“yes, and i don’t like that.”

you opened and closed your mouth, unsure on what to say.

“i didn’t know.”

“i know.”

both of you stood silently in the parking lot, before he finally gave in and spoke first. “i don’t want to control who you are or aren’t friends with. it’s not my job,” he sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “but i don’t feel exactly comfortable having you around him, knowing his intentions and all.”

you stared at him before meekly replying, “okay.”

he tilted his head, “okay?”

you nodded. “i understand what you mean. i, uhm… i’ll have a chat with him, to see if he does have feelings for me. i’ll cut him off if he does, because i don’t think i’d feel very comfortable around him then either.”

matsukawa nodded too. “alright. let’s go have lunch then. i think the place closes earlier today.”

you paused, “actually… can we go to the new place that just opened up nearby instead? i’ve been wanting to try it out.”

he laughed, “sure, whatever you say.”

✧｡ satori tendou

parties are fun, aren’t they? all the people, blasting music, drinks, and more, make an amazing atmosphere for those who enjoy it. and halloween parties are even better! who doesn’t enjoy a fun costume?

tendou can’t really say it’s his atmosphere. he also wouldn’t say that he fits into the group of people who don't like them. he’s just… okay with them. though, for you, he’s more than okay with them.

he let you put him in some cheesy halloween costume. a chef, you told him. you were dressed as some rat, though he thought you looked way too gorgeous to be called that. you had insisted the idea was cute, it was from a movie, after all. and, while he wasn’t entirely against the idea to begin with, all your insistence convinced him he had no way out of it either way.

“don’t you like it when i pull on your hair?” you had teased him. “it’s the perfect role for you.”

“and that is why i’m buzzing allllll my hair off.”

“don’t you dare!”

so, here you were. a big halloween party, both of you matching in a couple’s costume. he looked okay, but you… you looked absolutely breathtaking. before you left you had made a comment about being a sexy mouse, chuckling afterwards. a reference, he figured. he’d have to make you watch the movie with him later.

he definitely wasn’t the only one who thought you looked amazing. you know, taking into account the guy that was practically hanging onto you for dear life.

immediately, once he noticed that and how uncomfortable you looked, he rushed over to save you.

“ohhh, what do we have here?” he asked, trying to keep his tone light to hide his clear annoyance.

“oh, hey dude,” replied the man, having a noticeably slur to his words. “just tryna convince this babe to give me a little kiss, or come to the bathroom with me for some fun, ya feel me?” the man laughed, the smell of alcohol so strong he bet everyone in the party would have smelled it. 

tendou narrowed his eyes. “personal space sure is a fun thing, huh!” he said as he grabbed the man from his shoulders and tried to get him away from you.

the man pulled away and got closer to you once more, making you scoff in irritation, trying to pull him off once more. “ugh, this asshole just grabbed onto me while i was getting a drink!” you complained, turning your attention back to the man. “and i already told you, i have a boyfriend!”

the man faked being upset. “he doesn’t have to know, gorgeous. now stop being a prude bitch and-”

tendou’s fist moved faster than the man’s mouth.

the man stumbled back, caressing his jaw in shock. you scurried far away from him, standing behind tendou, whose fake cheerful attitude was long gone. 

he turned back to look at you, his face laced with concern.

“i’m fine,” you told him. noticing his doubt, you added, “i promise, okay? i’m fine.”

he nodded, seemingly convinced for now. and turned his attention back to the man.

it was almost like a switch turned on, really. first he was sweet and worried about you, then he returned to his mocking face. you figured it was an act, though. he wasn’t the type to get incredibly angry at others. but he messed with you, so tendou would probably murder the guy if he could.

the man spit into the ground and scoffed, “what the hell is wrong with you, man?”

“ohh, you know, i was just testing my theory on how many hits it would take for a pervert to get knocked out!” he fake-giggled. “do you want me to keep going?”

the man’s scornful gaze was casted onto tendou, who didn’t really seem like he was joking.

“you’re creepy as fuck man,” coughed the man, “and you’re insane. dunno why she’d choose you.”

“well i know why no one chose you,” tendou said, dragging the last word in a mocking way.

“let’s go.”

tendou snapped his head toward you, his wide eyes curious as he tilted his head.

“huh?”

“i’m tired. i just want to get some sleep,” you said, your voice so quiet you could’ve been an actual mouse. it broke his heart, really. how excited you were for the party, just to have your mood destroyed by some random creep.

he blinked at you, then blinked at the man, before abruptly standing tall. he decided it was best if he let the man be, and put his focus towards bettering your mood. you could watch that movie you referenced before, but you’d have to stop and buy snacks first. no matter, you are in dire need of more snacks in your pantry, so it’d work out. 

his looming frame towered over you as he replied, already set on his plan, “okay, let’s go!”

[livingformintyoongi]

Cross The Line | Jeon Jungkook

a/n: This is a little idea I had since I published Echoes of love and as the rest of my pending projects are too long to publish them soon, I brought this as a way to cover my absence :) You can request some scenery for this drabble series through my inbox! Summary: After years of working with Jungkook, your insecurity about your feelings for him begins to grow and become more complex, bringing you to the point where you wonder if you can really keep fooling yourself or if it's time to face those feelings. Pairing: Boss!Reader x Secretary!Jungkook WC: 3.8k Taglist: @thunderg @minjianhyung @queenv1997 @yoongtism @lizzymizzy-blogg @superbbananananana @drpepperobsessed @themwordsblog @taekritimin123 @bluecloudss @yooglefics Dividers by @cafekitsune

“Is this the last thing on today's agenda?” you murmured, continuing your way to your office. Each step you took was followed by the soft, firm sound of your heels tapping against the floor. Today, you were wearing wine-colored ones, which matched perfectly with your lipstick and shirt in the same shade.

Red was the color you wore when you were about to fire someone or, in worse circumstances, when you were about to end up in an argument with one of your siblings. This time, the correct answer was the second one. You were the second oldest of four siblings, and, well, when your family was as chaotic as yours, you had to take charge of the problems, even if that meant putting your own image at risk.

You hated your life in this sense.

“Yes, boss,” Jungkook replied cheerfully.

Ah, your little—not so little—secretary, Jungkook. To be honest, you hired him because you were desperate to find a secretary as quickly as possible, something that, although it sounded easy, was actually really complicated.

You were a pretty cruel, strict, and direct person. You scared away your workers in less than a month (in fact, the same year you hired Jungkook, you'd already had three other secretaries—three!). Jungkook was your lifesaver. He had just come out of his last job, had a resume that sounded too flattering to be true, and had graduated with honors. You thought he would last only a few months, just like all the others, and you thought you could take full advantage of that time. The surprise came when five months passed and he was still working for you without a single complaint.

Now, it had been a total of four and a half years working together as boss and employee. He had lasted even longer than any relationship you’d ever had—it was officially your longest relationship! Though it wasn’t like you were proud of that.

“After the meeting with your brother, you had a dinner with your family, but it got canceled at the last minute,” Jungkook’s steps quickened as yours grew more impatient and longer. “Oh, and, um, tonight I was planning to have a small party at my apartment for my 27th birthday… in case you’d like, you know, to attend,” he murmured, his tone softer and less playful.

Yes, you might’ve forgotten that little detail. He was hopelessly in love with you, strange, right?

The first time you realized, you almost made him cry because of the horrified look you gave him. Not that the idea grossed you out, but, to be completely honest, you had been torturing him since he started working. You’d call him to work on his days off, ask him to run errands on weekends, force him to stay late to finish your extra work, and you even had to spend three consecutive Christmases together due to the lack of staff that year.

He was an extremely sweet guy, a guy who loved banana milk, Hello Kitty plushies, and fantasy and romance books—you discovered this when you saw him reading The Lunar Chronicles during his lunch break—and then there was you… someone who loved her coffee extremely strong, hated plushies and how ridiculously large they could be, and preferred to read more informational books than fantasy ones.

“Are you celebrating your birthday today?” you said with a disinterested tone, slowing your steps as you approached Soomin’s office, your star employee and—unfortunately—the girlfriend of Taehyung. Your office was under renovation and you couldn’t use it until next week, so you had been using Soomin’s office during this time.

“Yes! I wanted to do it last week, but you were too busy, and I really wanted you to come, but that doesn’t mean you have to if you don’t want to! I understand it’s been a busy week, and even if it hasn’t, you don’t have to come because we’re just coworkers and—”

“I think I got it, Jungkook,” you chuckled quietly, feeling a warmth in your chest at how easy it was to make the young man nervous beside you. You hadn’t even opened your mouth, and he was already rambling like crazy, wasn’t it adorable?

“Oh, yeah, sure…” he muttered as his cheeks heated up and turned red. It was incredibly easy to make him nervous, and you loved making him nervous. Not that you liked it, just... it was cute to see.

You stopped in front of Soomin’s office door, opening it to be greeted by the very unpleasant sight of your older brother sitting in the chair in front of the desk. You rolled your eyes and entered reluctantly, waiting for Jungkook to follow you and close the door behind him.

“Finally, you’re here. I thought I was going to die waiting for you,” Junmyeon got up from the chair, slipping both hands into his designer pants pockets. Your wild side screamed for you to grab the ink from Soomin’s desk and spill it on him, but you weren’t in the mood for family fights. “Good afternoon, Jungkook.”

“Good afternoon,” Jungkook responded in a much deeper and more serious tone than the one he used to speak to you.

One thing you loved about your secretary was how incredibly loyal he was to you. Your brother had tried to offer him a job hundreds of times, putting ridiculously high salaries for a secretary on the table; he turned them all down without thinking.

You’d be lying if you said that didn’t make your heart race a little. Just a little.

“Alright, you have five minutes to tell me what mess you’ve gotten into now. If you’re back in trouble with your girlfriend, then start forgetting about my help. I don’t want any more love problems.”

You still remembered the poor girl who had the terrible luck of dating your brother. You had found him with another girl at a bar near his work, and you were furious enough to go to him and pull a good chunk of hair from the not-so-poor girl.

It was a pity, she was actually someone you liked, made you laugh at every family dinner, and could cook delicious dishes. Plus, she was ridiculously beautiful, and you weren’t even sure what she was doing with your brother.

“It’s not a big deal, I just came here to ask you for a favor,” he approached you, but stopped instantly when he saw Jungkook stepping in between both of them to grab Junmyeon’s arm with enough force to give him a little scare.

“He said no, now, please, stop insisting and get lost,” Jungkook said in a calm but firm tone. Both you and your brother shuddered slightly at the tone of his voice, but for completely different reasons.

“Let it go, Jungkook, it’s not worth it,” you placed your hand on his arm, smiling inwardly as you saw how his whole body relaxed at your touch. Why did he have to be so sweet? “I won’t do it, no matter how much you insist. Make sure you leave the door closed when you leave.”

And with that, you left the office, feeling Jungkook’s soft footsteps following you behind. Hearing them calmed you a little more. Maybe, it even made you feel a little safer than before.

It had been hours since the incident with your brother, hours in which you spent wondering if you should really attend Jungkook’s party or simply ignore it and move on. Would there be any problem if you went? It was just a party, they’d probably eat something, drink a little, talk about trivial things, and then you’d go back home in a taxi. What’s the worst that could happen?

“I really don’t understand what you’re doing here,” Taehyung said, letting out a heavy sigh as he watched you finish off his last reserve of coffee. He hated how bitter it was, but his girlfriend loved to drink coffee in the mornings, so he had gone out of his way to buy one of the stupidly expensive brands he found at the store, with the excuse that “his girlfriend deserved the best of the best.” Both you and Soomin nearly fainted when you heard the price. “Wasn’t Jungkook’s birthday today? Minnie told me she was going to his apartment tonight for that reason.”

“He is, but I don’t know if I should go,” you murmured, stirring your third spoonful of coffee into your cup before filling it to the brim with boiling water. You didn’t miss the grimace of disgust from your friend as he watched how you prepared your drink. He had no right to blame you when he ate far worse things.

“Why not? I thought you liked him, I mean, you even have him as Jungkookie in your phone,” he raised an eyebrow, his tone playful, resting his forearms on the kitchen counter. All his attention was on you and how you tried to drink your coffee in one gulp.

The burn in your throat was enough to distract you from whatever you’d been feeling in your chest all afternoon. Just like your father used to say, there was nothing better than pain to heal another pain.

“He’s my secretary.”

“He’s a guy.”

“He’s my worker, Taehyung.”

“He’s a pretty handsome guy, Y/N.”

You both exchanged looks for a few seconds, neither of you commenting on it.

“I’m ready!” Soomin entered the kitchen, looking just as charming as always. She wore a beige dress with a plaid coat in autumn tones. Her hair was gracefully tied in a high ponytail, giving her a cheerful and youthful look.

It didn’t go unnoticed by you that both of them were matching, nor could you ignore the loving and admiring look Taehyung gave her as soon as her small figure appeared at the kitchen door.

“You look as dazzling as ever, darling,” Taehyung said in a soft, honeyed tone. His hand took hers and made her spin once before pulling her close to kiss her temple.

And there you were. In front of them. Watching them exchange sweet words and romantic gestures.

You felt incredibly out of place.

“Please tell me you’re staying here, because I don’t think I can handle a ride in the same car as you two,” you muttered with a grimace of disgust, looking at Taehyung with the most pleading look you could muster.

“Of course I’ll go, he’s my friend too,” he responded with a teasing smile as he wrapped his arms around Soomin’s waist.

You wanted to hit him. You wanted to grab his perfectly styled hair and pull it until he was bald. He deserved it.

“I hate you.”

“I adore you too.”

And you responded by flipping him off.

“Wait, what did you say?” you frowned, watching as both Taehyung and Soomin stayed in the car, looking at you through the open window.

“I’m so sorry, I really don’t know how I forgot the gift at home,” yeah, maybe it was because Taehyung had been too busy kissing her poor face to think about anything else, “We won’t take long, I promise, it’ll be a quick trip there and back.”

You sighed when you heard Soomin. You didn’t want to arrive alone, especially not when you didn’t know how many people would be at Jungkook’s birthday party, but you also understood that they didn’t want to show up without the gift they had bought for him. After all, it was his party.

“Fine, go ahead, I’ll go first,” you said quietly, shaking your hair in frustration. Was it Taehyung’s fault? Half of it, would you hate him for it? Totally. He was your friend, and you had every right to want to choke him for putting you in this situation. You could see it in that smug smile he was giving you; Soomin could say it was an accident, but Taehyung’s face screamed that it was a carefully planned trap.

He would pay for this.

“We’ll be back in a bit,” Soomin murmured with an apologetic smile just before the car drove off, leaving you completely alone in the apartment complex where Jungkook lived.

“Okay, I guess it’ll just be you and me,” you looked at the gift bag in your hand, letting your feet take you to the door marked 309, where the party was supposed to be.

The walk there was silent, the only noise in the place was the sound of your boots clicking against the slick floors of the building’s hallways and the occasional little voice screaming at you to go back home, that this was a bad idea, that you weren’t made for these kinds of things.

You were supposed to be that rich, single aunt that all the nieces and nephews loved because she took them on amazing vacations and all that stuff you always saw in movies. You weren’t the protagonist, you were the supporting character that everyone remembered, whether they loved you or hated you.

Yet, here you were, in front of Jungkook’s apartment, holding a small gift bag, impatiently waiting for him to open the door and greet you so you could stop hearing that voice in your head telling you to run away from this place.

“Ho-” Jungkook stopped halfway through the word when he realized it was you on the other side of his door. Although he had expected you to come, he never thought you would actually show up.

You had been ignoring his birthday invitations since, well, since he started inviting you.

“Miss Y/N, you came!” A big smile spread across his face, and his eyes seemed to light up even more than usual. You forced yourself to ignore the pressure in your chest at seeing him so excited about your appearance.

“Just call me Y/N, we’re not at work,” you murmured, swaying awkwardly in your spot. “Can I, uh, you know, come in?”

“Oh, yes, sorry! Please, come in!” He stepped aside, giving you space to enter his small but cozy home.

You carefully stepped in, taking off your shoes and placing them to the side, quietly thanking Jungkook for the slippers he offered so you could come in.

“I’m sorry for coming alone, Taehyung and Soomin forgot something and went back,” you said as you walked further into the space. You noticed how all the walls were painted black, with several monochrome paintings hanging on them.

You were quite surprised to see that everything in his home was dark-toned. It was very similar to yours in that sense, something that made you feel a little more at ease. At least your tastes in home decor were similar.

Your house was much larger, always dark, and the atmosphere always felt cold and lonely. It was hard to feel that here. You convinced yourself it was due to the warm lighting and the coziness of the place, not Jungkook’s presence.

"Should I offer you something to drink? I have wine, champagne… I also have beer and soju," Jungkook's voice sounded a little muffled as his head was deep inside the refrigerator. You chuckled softly at this, gently pressing your fingers against your mouth to prevent him from noticing.

"Soju is fine, thanks," you watched as he pulled out two bottles and placed them on the counter, quickly heading to one of the kitchen cabinets to grab two small glasses. "Didn't you invite more people?" you asked after seeing him stop in front of you, performing some completely unnecessary bottle tricks. At least he had made you laugh a little.

"I celebrated my birthday last week with my university friends, today I just wanted to invite the people from work," he served the alcohol until both glasses were filled to the brim, his gaze occasionally drifting to your face. He could act charismatic, but you could notice the slight tremble in his hands and how he licked his lips from time to time. "I didn't mention it earlier because I thought it wouldn't be important."

You nodded silently, drinking the shot he just handed you in one go. You needed to ease some of the tension in your body, and alcohol was definitely the best option for now. "So I guess it will just be the four of us."

"Oh, yeah, I thought you'd feel more comfortable this way," he murmured softly, tapping his fingers on the glass of his cup. "I know you don't like to hang out with too many people, especially if it's people you don't know."

You took the soju bottle and poured yourself another full glass. You'd need more than two bottles to get through this night without doing something you'd regret tomorrow. Jungkook wasn't helping at all.

"Thanks for that," you gave him a tight-lipped smile, watching the clear liquid in your glass. How much longer until Soomin and Taehyung arrived? "Oh, yes, almost forgot," you left the small gift bag you were carrying on the counter, noticing how Jungkook's eyes lit up again at what seemed like a new discovery to him. Hadn't he seen you bring it when you entered?

"Is this for me?" He looked at you with wide eyes and a big smile on his face.

You pinched your wrist tightly as your stomach twisted. "Uh, yeah, obviously, you're the only birthday person."

"Right, of course, I forgot," he clumsily took the bag in his hands, swallowing hard as he looked inside. "Can I open it now?"

You nodded silently, feeling your hands start to sweat at the thought of him opening your gift right then. You had planned on asking him to open it when you weren't around, when you wouldn’t have to see his face as he looked at it. There was something about having to give him something alone that made you feel too nervous for your own good.

You watched carefully as he pulled out the black velvet box, your eyes fixed on his expression as he lifted the lid and saw the contents.

It was only when you saw his cheeks turn a soft pink that you realized maybe buying him a ring hadn’t been the best idea...

"Is... is this... really for me?" He looked up, watching you with such hopeful, soft eyes and... so him that you couldn't help but blush as well.

This was not going as it was supposed to.

"Ah, yes, it's not necessary for you to wear it if you don't want to, I just thought you might like it and I bought it, but—" you stopped when you noticed him clumsily taking the ring out of the velvet and putting it on his index finger.

"I love it! Thank you so much, Y/N, I promise I’ll never take it off!" He stretched his arms toward you, and before you could do anything to stop him, he wrapped his arms around you over the counter, pulling you against him tightly.

You felt your breath catch in your throat as the scent of his shampoo and perfume hit you from so close, and the body heat from his arms didn't help with the accelerated pounding of your heart. What were you supposed to do now? Pulling away from the hug would be rude, but accepting it might be too unethical. He was your secretary. There was a line that couldn’t be crossed.

The thing was… you didn’t want to separate from the hug.

You relaxed a little at his touch, letting your own arms wrap around his body carefully. Not pressing too hard, as if doing it more gently would prevent your relationship from breaking down even further.

You stayed like that for what felt like an eternity. Both of you too absorbed in each other to really pay attention to the time or the situation you were in. You couldn’t remember the last time you let a man hug you like this.

“Y/N, I…” Jungkook pulled back a bit, just enough for your faces to be dangerously close. His arms were still tightly wrapped around you, refusing to let go at any moment.

You watched as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed and licked his lips. You weren’t supposed to notice these things, you reminded yourself, but it was too hard when it was all you had in your line of vision, and closing your eyes was even worse than keeping them open.

“I know you already know this, but I…” his voice was too soft, too low. Oh, shit, you knew what was coming, you had experienced it a few years ago. It was the same tone he used the first time he confessed his feelings to you. Your heart started pounding against your ribs, and you forced yourself to think that it was due to the anxiety and panic the situation caused you, that it was due to all the problems you’d have if he said it again. It wasn’t at all because you actually wanted to hear those words again.

Of course not.

Then everything happened too fast. You watched his eyes wander until they stopped on your lips, how his tongue ran over them, over that ring on the corner, and god, he was making your task of acting like a responsible adult so difficult. Soon his face began to move closer to yours, his gaze wandering from your mouth to your eyes, making sure you wanted this, kind of asking if you were okay with him getting dangerously close.

And for a moment, you thought maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, maybe, just maybe, a moment like this could be accepted, even if just once, so you closed your eyes and waited. You could feel his breath mixing with yours, how his nose barely brushed against yours, and just as his lips were about to touch yours... the door knocked.

“Shit,” Jungkook muttered quietly, lowering his head as he took a deep breath. His arms quickly released their grip around your shoulders, leaving you with a cold feeling where they had been holding you, “It must be Taehyung and Soomin… I’ll go open,” he whispered, stumbling out of the kitchen to open the door, leaving you completely alone.

You covered your mouth with your hand, staring at a blank spot on the counter, replaying everything that had just happened in your head. You were screwed, you were really screwed, even though nothing happened, you were inches away from kissing him, and god knows what else you could have done…

You thought you heard Soomin’s cheerful voice getting closer, but you couldn’t understand what she was saying, you were too busy thinking about what the hell you were going to do with… well, whatever had just happened.

When you looked up, you found yourself facing Jungkook again, both exchanging a silent glance, both communicating something completely different. Yours reflected panic and terror, his, hope and joy.

You had crossed the damn line you promised not to touch, and it was all your fault.

Yes, you were screwed, and you needed to find a way to fix things as soon as possible.

Masterlist.

[steddieprompts]

Another cutesy little steddie thing. all fluff. Post vecna. 1648 words.

---

It’s not that Eddie was a wuss…

Ok maybe he was, but still this was a terrifying prospect… asking Steve Harrington out.

It didn’t help that he was getting advice from a 15 year old.

“Do you think he likes you back?”  Dustin asked, tapping a pencil against his chin.

“I don’t know, Henderson,” Eddie ran his hands over his face.  What was he doing?  “You’re supposed to be helping me figure that out.”

Dustin tapped his chin again and looked at the ceiling.

In all honesty, Eddie would usually talk to Jeff about this stuff, but he had to be visiting his family in Ohio because of stupid Thanksgiving.

“Well, you guys hang out a lot, that’s gotta count for something.”  Dustin pointed out.

“You hang out a lot with Sinclair and Wheeler.  You wanna make out with them?”  Dustin pulled a face.  “That’s what I thought.”

“I am happily in a relationship, thanks.”  Dustin pointed out.

He always had a reason to point it out.

“I know, and I would like to be as well, so if we could get back to the discussion at hand…”

“Ok, ok… Well, Steve hasn’t really been dating recently… right?”

“No, he hasn’t.”

“Maybe that means something?”

“I don’t know… He says he just hasn’t met the right person yet…”

“Well… he used ‘person,’ not ‘girl!’  That’s a good sign!”  Dustin pointed his pencil at Eddie.

“Sure, but you’re missing a key point in that statement.”  Eddie sighed.  Dustin squinted at him.  “He’s met me, Dustin.”

Dustin’s eyebrows shot up.  “Fair point.”

Eddie dropped his face into his hands.  Dustin started up again.

“Your idea that Steve might like you is a hypothesis and science dictates that the only way to conclude if a hypothesis is correct is to prove it.  To run experiments.”

Eddie let out a belabored sigh.

“So, test it,” Dustin continued. “Ask Steve out.”

Eddie stared at Dustin, knowing he was right in his own little, nerd way.

“Yeah… Ok, alright, yeah, I’ll do it.”

\\\\\\\

The next day was movie night at Steve’s with the whole crew.  The kids, Nancy, and Robin were all in the living room putting out snacks and arguing about where they would sit.  Eddie figured now was as good a time as any.  He crossed over to the kitchen, meandering over to Steve who was waiting for the popcorn in the microwave.

“Hey.”  Eddie offered once he was a few feet away.  Nailed it.

“Hey,”  Steve looked over at him, “how’s physical therapy going?  I’ve been meaning to call you, see if you needed any help.”  Steve responded with a soft smile at Eddie, the kind that made all the nervous energy in him disappear.  The microwave beeped and Steve pulled the popcorn out, hissing when he grabbed the hot part of the bag before dropping it in one of the big plastic bowls he had waiting.

Eddie grabbed another bag out of the box, unfolded it and handed it to Steve.

“Uh, good, good, I guess.  I never really know if I’m doing the exercises right.  The paper instructions are shit.”

Steve laughed at that, “Yeah, I’ve been there.  I could come over some time, help you figure them out?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.  That would be great… actually.”  Eddie swallowed.  “But, uh, before that happens, I, uh, I have to ask you something.”  Eddie stumbled over the words before looking over his shoulder, making sure no one else would be witness to him getting shot down by Steve Harrington, even if he was in a house full of friends.

“Yeah?”  Steve turned toward Eddie, leaned his hip against the counter, the picture of nonchalance.

“Yeah,” Eddie cleared his throat, “Would you, uh, ever consider, maybe… shit. Start over.”  Eddie clamped his jaw in a grimace before starting again.  He couldn’t look at Steve yet.  If he saw any bit of apprehension or negative emotion, he would never actually get the full question out.  “Would you like to go out… on a date… with me?”

Eddie finally looked at Steve instead of the cabinet behind his head.  His initial look gave him nothing.  Steve looked the same, if not a little more still, a little more focused.  But he wasn’t saying anything.  The nervous energy was back with a vengeance and Eddie was starting to feel twitchy the longer Steve stared at him.

And then Lucas walked into the kitchen.

“Is this one ready?”  he asked, pulling the bowl with the popcorn bag in it across the counter.  The microwave behind Steve beeped.  He was still staring at Eddie.  Eddie was still staring at Steve.

“Uh-huh.”  Steve answered.

“Should I get that one out?”  Lucas asked.

“I’ll get it in a second,” Steve said, his eyes now roaming over Eddie’s face.

“I don’t mind.”  Lucas offered.

“Dude.”  Steve’s eyes finally left Eddie and he felt himself deflate a little bit, muscles twinging from where he had been clenching them.  “I’ll get it. Can you give us a minute?”

“Oh! Uh, yeah? Sure?”  Lucas replied, quickly grabbing the bowl and heading back towards the living room.

Steve’s eyes flicked back to Eddie and he felt suddenly compelled to talk.  Like a tidal wave, his insecurities drowned him.

“I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have sprung this on you.  I’m not your type, I know. I—”

“Yes.”

“Don’t even know if…”  Eddie stopped to process what Steve said.  “Yes? Yes, I’m not your type or yes you… you want to…”

“Yes. I’ll go out with you.”

Eddie finally looked at Steve, really took him in instead of concentrating on not collapsing in on himself.  Steve looked almost… shy?  Nervous?  There was the slightest blush on his neck, the smallest, guarded smile.  He, Eddie now noticed, had been white knuckling his own arm ever since Eddie asked.

Interesting.

Eddie relaxed a little.  “Yeah?”

Steve’s smile grew bigger as he nodded. “Yeah.”

Eddie couldn’t help the smile that took over his face.  He did it.  He asked Steve out. And Steve said yes!  What’s more, Steve looked caught off guard in the best way possible.  “Oh, just you wait, Harrington.  I’m gonna wine and dine you like you’ve never been wined and dined before.” Eddie grinned.

“The popcorn’s getting cold! What’s taking you guys so long!”  Dustin yelled from the living room.

Steve turned to the microwave to get the popcorn and Eddie reveled in Steve’s smile.  The way it looked like he was restraining it, the way Steve looked lighter than he had in weeks.

They walked back to the living room together, and Eddie kicked Mike off the couch so he could sit next to Steve. Halfway through the movie, Steve slipped his hand into Eddie’s.  On impulse, he pulled Steve’s hand up to kiss the back of it, before shifting closer and leaning his head on Steve’s shoulder.  When he felt the press of Steve’s head on top of his he thought maybe he was dead.  Maybe the bats had finished him off and he was in heaven.

He would have to thank Dustin for pushing him to ask Steve.  He would never hear the end of it.

When the movie ended and everyone was leaving, Eddie hung around the living room so he would be the last to go.  He refolded the blankets, rewound the tape and put it back in its box, and picked up the popcorn bowls and candy wrappers.  He was in the kitchen throwing things out, thinking maybe he had enough time to run to the bathroom, when Steve reappeared.

“Everyone head out?”  Eddie asked as Steve approached him.

“Mhmm.”  He replied before stepping around the kitchen island and stopping in front of Eddie. “Coast is clear.”

“Oh yeah?” Eddie grinned, stepping closer.

“Mmm,” Steve hummed before leaning in, pressing his lips to Eddie’s.

Eddie had kissed quite a few people before, boys and girls alike, but this kiss with Steve.  It was different.  It filled him up, distracted him from everything else so that when his back hit the counter it almost startled him.

“Sorry.”  Steve hummed, pulling away.

“Don’t be.”  Eddie managed to get out before pulling Steve back in.  He was definitely in heaven.  Except in heaven, he wouldn’t be almost peeing his pants.  Curse that whole bottle of coke.

Eddie pulled back with a soft, ‘shit.’

“You okay?”  Steve asked.

“Yeah, fantastic, great. Except I think I’m about to pee my pants. Don’t go anywhere, Big Boy.”  Eddie said before practically running to the bathroom, Steve’s surprised laughter following him down the hall.

When he got back, Steve was washing the popcorn bowls and pizza plates from earlier in the night, sweater pushed up to his elbows, the locks of hair hanging in his eyes swinging with his movements.  Eddie stepped up behind him and wrapped his arms around Steve’s waist.

“No one has ever asked me out.”  Steve said after a few seconds.

“What?”  Eddie let go in surprise, moving next to Steve so he could see his face.  “Seriously?”

Steve nodded.

“The way girls talked about you I would have thought they would be lining up.”  Eddie mused.

“No. I’m the guy, you know?  I mean they definitely dropped hints, but none of them asked me.”

Eddie reveled in that for a second.  He was the first person to ask Steve Harrington out.

“So, how does it feel being on the receiving end?”  Eddie asked, nudging Steve.

“So good.”  Steve smiled at him, the sincerity of his words bleeding out of him so much that Eddie had to dart forward and peck him on the cheek.

“Where do you want to go?”  Eddie asked.

“You said you were gonna wine and dine me,” Steve replied, “I trust you.”

Those words sent a bolt of pure reassurance through Eddie.  “Oh, Steve Harrington,” he half sing-songed, half chuckled, “I’m gonna date you so hard.”

[tecatins-thought-pile]

ok so there's... actually quite a lot to notice in these pictures in terms of characterization.Let's start with some obvious things. background details. These pictures take place over a period of 20 years, the last photo being ~2 years before H:TP's present. (We don't know exactly in 2006-7 it is but TF2 being our next year says fall 2006 to me?there are some funny background details here.

First. the 1984 Luau. there's tentacles in the back left corner. and a slightly torn texture as if this one has been handled and ripped. there's a wind surfer. a guy with his face on his or someone else's butt.

But let's talk about who's present in 84.Occam, Remold, Fatigue, several people we don't know... and an older man who both Remold and Occam are holding. a possible family relative?the two fellows to the right also catch my eye because one has a knife and the other holding a volley ball has trunks in the colors/shape of the Czech Republic flag.there are also 3 other figures on the left.

Let's move to 1994.These 3 figures on the left are no longer present. what happened to them? we don't know old age, retirement, death in the line of duty? are they D related given the supposed ancestor feud? But they also seem to be replaced. Marckus is 30+ in H:TP's present. assuming Harry, Elise, Kitten, and Grimal are all in that age range this is a peak of those four into fresh faced out of/in uni.Harry was Skinny!Grimal hadn't dyed her hair!Elise - was absolutely still capable of smothering a man to death in her thighs - had green hair!There's some more bg details ( the container ship in the bg could be a half life reference could be nothing), a young couple in the back and a kid and his mom pointing at the group.Czech trunks has gotten married to Miss knockoff adidas! (see the rings!) Knife boy still has his knife.Remolds... is wearing a shirt that says I think...adventure against all war. an interesting contrast to his personality around D.We also see Dr waters has arrived at the Arcanum!and Remold/Occam's friend they were holding is gone. old age?

Onto 2004!

There's No Door/Boy in the photo. Interesting given Door has been with D through what happened with Anton when Marckus was a kid.Grimal has started dyeing her hair, Elise committed full goth, Harry got jacked.Czech trunks hair has started to grey, his wife is missing from the photo and the left hand that previously held a ring isn't visible on frame but I get the vibes something happened to his spouse. Knife boi is still there, Dr waters has moved closer to Occam so she's more likely established as his second and Occam has started to Grey.There's a lot of story implications here but I think it's interesting to note how Remold seems to have mellowed out in the 90s but in currently day talks about hunting were beasts with Brok.

did something happen that gave Remold a grudge against them?anyways there's a lot more to process here.

CAN YOU FUFIND THE SECRETS HIDDEN SECRETLY INTO THE PHOTOS OF THE ARCANUM'S OLD PHOTOS?? BECAUSE I FUCKING CANT

[gyubakeries]

hey queen! I just found your page but oh god, you’re so good????better know you just got another loyal follower because I literally love you now🙂‍↕️.

Can I please request idol!dokyeom x idol!reader like some lowkey tension and flirting at an award show and bc their groups are both very close, they go to a dinner and drinking to celebrate, and afterwards reader gets so drunk dk has to walk her to her hotel room, and the rest is your imagination!

thank you in advance❤️❤️

𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗺𝗲 | l.sm

a/n: you are so sweet!! im so glad you like my writing 💗 this is such a cute request, so i really hope you like this one toooo <3 apologies for straying away from the flirting part of it BUT I HOPE U LIKE THIS NONETHELESS. also... first fic of 2025!! lets hope im more motivated to write this year lmaooo

p.s. for the sake of the plot, reader is the 5th member of aespa, but the group's name is different (lunaris) and they're 96 & 97 liners. also, they're under pledis, have trained together, and debuted around the same time, again, for plot reasons. reader and seokmin are the same age.

word count: 3.4k contents: seokmin x fem!reader , idol!seokmin , idol!reader , i made up a random kpop group guys , set at mama 2024 , drinking , tension , light angst , drunken confessions , k-drama-esque , silly stuff , happy ending

"i'm so nervous i could literally throw up," seokmin mutters, and you turn to take a look at him. you want to call him a liar, because the way he's exuding confidence and charm just by sitting there does not give away even the slightest hint of nervousness.

"aw, i didn't know i had that effect on you," you snicker, opting to tease seokmin instead of consoling him. that's mingyu's duty anyway.

"oh please, you think i get nervous around you?" seokmin scoffs, a smirk playing across his lips. "maybe you're the one getting flustered around me, like when my recent photoshoot pictures dropped, hm?"

"i wasn't flustered," you lie boldly, hoping that your cheeks weren't turning red. "it wasn't very pleasant to see your half naked body on my phone, it was more like a jumpscare."

"sure, whatever you say, darling," seokmin snickers, and you glare daggers at him, when the leaders of both your groups approach you. seungcheol sighs and crosses his arms when he sees you two arguing again, and your leader, karina raises an eyebrow at you.

"there they go again, fighting like cats and dogs," seungcheol grumbles, and seokmin stands up to defend himself, when the rest of the members of seventeen and your group, lunaris file in together.

"who's ready to get some awards!" soonyoung cheers loudly, making minghao wince in pain because of how loud his voice is. amidst all the chaos of both your groups chatting up a storm in the waiting room you've been assigned, you notice that seokmin has left your side, and winter approaches you.

"so, flirting with mr. sunshine again?" she winks teasingly, and you shove her shoulder. "no, not flirting. he's being insufferable." you reply.

"and still, you've had the biggest crush on him since our trainee days," she points out, and you deflate a bit. there was no denying that seokmin has been your crush for almost a decade. it was kind of pathetic, and you'd made countless attempts to move on, but nothing seemed to work.

"and i'm beginning to regret it," you give her a sad smile. winter doesn't have the time to ask you about it, because your group has to head out to the seating area for the award show.

the ceremony starts and performances pass by in a blur. lunaris goes next, and the exhilarating feeling of being on stage and performing in front of so many fans temporarily distracts you from the weird haze thinking about seokmin has put you in.

the reprieve doesn't last long, because when your group returns to their seats after the stage, seokmin is the only member who doesn't say anything about the performance. you can only look at him out of the corner of your eye, sitting in his assigned area alone, while soonyoung compliments your choreography excitedly. you can't help but feel that your heart breaks a little.

to the world, lee seokmin was the lovable, cheery, funny and optimistic ray of sunshine. his presence instantly brightens up any situation, and fans all over the world love him for his sunny personality.

you do too.

but it's difficult to keep in mind when seokmin behaves the complete opposite with you. your groups have been friends for years, since you trained together in the godforsaken green room, but you've never been on the receiving end of seokmin's laughs or smiles. to you, he's always been a cold wall, pointed glares and sharp words.

soonyoung and giselle would often joke that there wasn't any real hostility between you and seokmin, just pure sexual tension, and you've spent so much time praying for it to be true, but you know it isn't.

not when seokmin's never let you be his friend, not when he's always so keen to jump into a fight with you.

not when he doesn't even meet your eye when you congratulate him on winning 'artist of the year' at the 2024 MAMA awards.

the cheers are deafening, jihoon and seungcheol are crying like babies, and when seokmin ignores you in favor of talking to ningning and karina about lunaris winning song of the year, your heart breaks a little more.

you feel like a childish teenage girl, on the verge of tears after getting her heartbroken by the only person you've had your eyes on for a long time. you want to do nothing but change out of the uncomfortable clothes the stylists put you in and put on your pajamas, watch 'the notebook' and fall asleep while crying.

but there wasn't any time for that now, not with thousands of fans present in the venue and watching the show being streamed live. you push down your feelings and put on a bright smile, one you've practiced in the mirror countless times.

—

the award show finally draws to a close, and you're heading out of the venue with your group members when seungkwan and mingyu approach you.

"going home so early?" mingyu questions. "we need to party!"

"actually, y/n isn't feeling too well, so we thought it'd be best to go back to the hotel," karina fills in for you, the girls somehow aware of your heartbreak.

"was seokmin hyung being mean to you again?" seungkwan asks, and you try to shake his question off with a laugh, but he doesn't seem too convinced. "look, y/n, seokmin hyung can be the most oblivious person ever. don't let his words get to you, because i can assure you that how he acts around you and what he feels for you are two different things."

"sure, seungkwan-ah," you nod. mingyu and seungkwan don't relent in their attempts to go out for drinks and dinner with them, and you feel bad for making all your group members stay back just because of you, so you finally give into their requests.

—

dinner is a loud ordeal; soonyoung, chan and winter are already drunk and belting out weird remixes of 'god of music' and 'supernova.' seungcheol seems to be much happier after talking to jun and jeonghan on the phone, and jihoon seems to have quietened down a bit as he finishes bowl after bowl of rice, a pink blush settling permanently on his cheeks with all the compliments he's receiving from his bandmates and the staff.

you on the other hand, busy yourself with drinking. seungkwan, mingyu, joshua, giselle and you play several drinking games, and you lose at almost all of them.

"ha! y/n has to take another shot!" mingyu yells when you break the word chain game you've been playing.

"no fair! joshua distracted me by stealing the meat on my plate!" you argue, but it falls on deaf ears. resignedly, you take another shot of soju, the liquid burning down your throat as it goes down.

when you set the shot glass down and seungkwan claps and whoops loudly, you accidentally make eye contact with seokmin. he's sitting on the table across you, trying to get a drunk soonyoung to calm down, when his gaze meets yours.

you expect him to immediately look away, or for a look of disgust to appear in his eyes, but it never happens. he keeps looking at you intently, and the world seems to go silent around you. for once, seokmin's eyes don't hold any anger, annoyance or disinterest in them when he looks at you.

and maybe it's the shot of soju giselle pushes into your hands because you lost another game, but you even see a flicker of.... love?

yeah, you're definitely drunk.

"aw, y/n, don't cry!" chan coos, and you hadn't even realized that there were tears streaming down your face and the rest of your group, as well as some of the boys, had crowded around you to console you.

"i'm fine," your words are slurred and you feel sluggish when you raise your hand to wipe the tears away. "jus' a little emotional."

"oh my, you're really drunk," ningning mutters from behind you, and you finally register just how much alcohol has been poured into your bloodstream, and it hasn't even been an hour since you got to the hotel's restaurant for dinner.

"'s okay, ning," you hiccup. "i'm just gonna.... lie down here for a nap." you lean to the side, unaware of the fact that you were about to fall from your chair onto the ground. before you could lose your balance and do so, a strong pair of arms hold you up, making you sit straight.

your eyes are drooping shut, and the people in the room around you reduce to blurry figures. everyone's voice is muffled, except for one, that cuts through all the noise.

"i'll take her up to her room, you guys can stay here."

lee seokmin, you think to yourself, identifying the voice. was it all just a dream?

—

by the time you're in the hotel's elevator, on the way to your room, you suddenly jolt awake when you feel yourself held up by an arm draped across your shoulders. a familiar cologne floods your senses, and you're alert in an instant.

"what are you doing?" you shriek, pulling away from seokmin and plastering yourself against the opposite wall of the elevator. seokmin looks surprised, and the doors to the elevator open up to your floor.

"i was- well, you were drunk, so i offered to take you up to your room," he stammers, his voice unusually soft, lacking the usual edge of irritation it has when he's speaking to you.

"i'm fine now," you give him a curt response, snatching the key card out of his hands and walking out of the elevator. you don't maintain your balance for too long, however, and you're about to fall flat on your face, when seokmin holds you up, again.

"you're an idiot," he sighs. "just let me help you. you're clearly drunk, so stop being difficult and just listen to me."

"no," you cross your arms like a petulant child. "i don't want your help."

you refuse seokmin's tries to get you to walk and stay rooted to your place on the carpeted floor. seokmin heaves another sigh before muttering under his breath, "you've left me with no choice."

with the alcohol slowing down your reflexes, you belatedly realize that seokmin has picked you up and thrown you over his shoulder. when you do realize, you start hitting his back and swinging your legs.

"put me down! lee seokmin, i'm going to shave all your hair off and make you regret your entire life!" you shriek, and seokmin is glad that the entire floor has been booked only for staff and idols.

"stop moving, or i'll drop you," seokmin warns, and you immediately fall silent, stopping all your movements.

your hotel room comes into view a few seconds later, and seokmin opens the door with the keycard. he carries you into the hotel room too, despite your protests, and gently lays you down on the bed.

what you both hadn't realized was that your bracelet had gotten caught in the fabric of seokmin's sweater, so when he tries to put you down on the bed and move away, the snagged bracelet causes you to yank him down upon you.

your mouth falls open in shock as seokmin manages to support himself on his hands before he can directly fall onto your body. his wide brown eyes are trained onto yours, and everything around you seems to fade away.

"are you okay?" seokmin asks softly, and you snap yourself out of your trance to gesture towards your bracelet.

"it-it got stuck," you explain, moving to carefully free the bracelet from the sweater.

seokmin doesn't move away.

his gaze remains locked on you, and it reminds you of the time in the restaurant. it's overwhelming and suffocating to see him look at you like that without any of the usual hostility in his eyes.

"why are you looking at me like that?" you whisper, breath hitching in your throat when you realize that you spoke your thoughts out loud.

"like what?" seokmin asks back, even though he's completely aware of what you're implying.

"like you- like you don't hate me," you reply, tears welling up in your eyes. "like you don't feel disgusted by being this close to me. like you care about me."

seokmin's brows furrow in confusion, and it should be your cue to stop talking so you don't expose your decade-long crush for him, but the alcohol in your bloodstream has managed to deactivate your brain-to-mouth filter.

"you're a bad person, seokmin," you sigh heavily, looking up at the ceiling. "you make my hands sweaty and heart race."

silence.

"do you need to see a doctor?" he asks after a few seconds, and you groan. you sit up abruptly to face him and instantly regret it because of the way your head spins.

"you're an idiot!" you huff, frustrated. "you and your idiotic smile, and your stupid laugh, and that annoying ability of yours to make everyone fall for you with your voice. i hate it."

"you hate me?" seokmin asks, his brown doe-eyes widening, and you fall in just a bit deeper.

"i didn't say that," you sigh. "i could never hate you. that is what i hate. the fact that you could treat me like shit, break my heart, and still get away with it."

"have i?" seokmin mutters after a while. "broken your heart, i mean. have i done that?"

you don't answer him, choosing to pick at a loose thread hanging from your sleeve.

you both sit in silence for a while, before you finally speak again.

"the first time i met you, you told me that i smelled like peaches," you say, trying to keep yourself composed. "that day, i went home and told my mom to buy me two more bottles of the same perfume, because i thought you had liked it, and i was willing to do anything to get noticed by my crush."

you can see that seokmin is staring at you with surprise in his eyes when you mentioned having a crush on him in your trainee days, but you continue your story.

"the next day, no matter how much i laughed, sang, or danced, you wouldn't even look at me. i tried sitting next to you during our breaks to start a conversation, but you always moved away, as if me being around was repulsive to you," you let out a small laugh, remembering how embarrassed you had felt back then. "i never wore that perfume again, hoping that maybe it was the only thing you disliked about me. but even after all these years, you-"

"the day i first met you, i went to the mall before going home and bought the exact same perfume," seokmin cuts you off. he sounds uncharacteristically quiet, and his hands keep fidgeting with the hem of his sweater.

"i went home, sprayed it all over my bed, books, room, everywhere you could possibly think of," seokmin continues, and you see the tips of his ears turning red. "it got to a point where my mother had to throw the bottle away because she was sick of smelling the perfume. peaches became my favorite fruit, and every night i'd go to sleep while clutching my pillow, hoping that one day it'd be you instead."

"cut the crap, seokmin," you scoff. "is this some sort of prank?"

"it's the truth, y/n," seokmin shakes his head. he brings his head up to look at you, and you can see the genuinity in his eyes.

"then why- why have you acted with me like this for all these years?" you ask the million-dollar question, thoroughly confused.

"for the simple answer, i was stupid," seokmin confesses. "i had never felt such intense feelings for anyone, much less a girl, and i thought that avoiding you would make it better."

"the more complicated answer is, i didn't want jeopardize our futures. seniors would tell us stories about trainees getting kicked out because they took training too lightly. they would get into relationships and start slacking off. i wanted to debut, and i didn't want to ruin your career either, so-"

"we could've worked something out. we could've tried to be friends at least," you interrupt him. "instead, you made me feel like you've hated me for the last ten years, seokmin. you made me feel like an idiot for being in love with you, even after everyth- shit."

you throw a hand over your mouth, cursing your tendency to run your mouth when drunk. seokmin's mouth has also dropped wide open, his eyes staring at you with a shocked expression similar to yours.

"you love me?" seokmin asks, and you wish that the ground would just swallow you up so you could escape the situation.

the next best option was to fall back on the bed and cover yourself in the thick comforter, hiding yourself from seokmin's sight.

"i already said it, didn't i?" you huff, your voice muffled by the comforter. "look, i'm glad we talked about all this and it's great news that you don't hate me like i had assumed for the past decade. do me a favour, and forget the last bit of the conversation, and let's work on being friends, yeah?"

just as the words leave your mouth, the comforter is tugged off your body, and you meet seokmin's eyes, his face hovering above yours again.

"you just confessed your love for me, and you expect us to be friends?" seokmin raises an eyebrow. "i knew you were the comedian of your group, but this isn't funny."

"would you prefer going back to being strangers then?" you bite back, not understand what seokmin is playing. "fine, if that's what you really want-"

"i want you to be my girlfriend, you idiot," seokmin blurts out, and you freeze.

"your what?"

"my girlfriend," he repeats, and you feel giddy. "y/n, i know i haven't shown it, but since our trainee days, i haven't been able to get you off my mind. it used to scare me, it still does now, how quickly i fell for you, which is why i kept pushing you away. i would never forgive myself if i made a move that could risk either of our careers."

"seokmin, i get it," you nod. "it's not easy for idols to date, and even though it's the one thing i want the most, it isn't practical. i'd be happy with being just friends too."

"i don't want to settle for just friends," he shakes his head. "i've spent a decade pining after you but also shutting you out, and i don't want to spend another second not being yours, if you still feel the same way."

"of course i feel the same way, genius," you roll your eyes, and seokmin lets out one of his beautiful giggles that makes your heart skip a beat. "are you sure about this?"

"i am, i promise," seokmin agrees resolutely, his lips parting in the most stunning smile that seems to light up the room.

"then... can i kiss you?" you ask, your voice soft, almost hesitant, but seokmin is anything but. he doesn't waste a second, and before you know it, he's swooping down to kiss you.

despite your limited experience, you could confidently say that seokmin was certainly the only person who could kiss you this well. the press of his lips against yours is sweet and gentle, his hand cupping your face is delicate, and your heart feels overwhelmed with how happy you feel.

when he pulls away, his eyes hold a promise. a promise to always treat you right. a promise to always be by your side. a promise to always be open about his feelings and not hiding from them.

you pull him down for another kiss, trying to preserve the magic of the moment in that one action.

turns out, there's magic in every moment you spend with seokmin thereafter. whether it's in the warmth of his hand in yours when you tell both your groups about your relationship at breakfast the next day, or the joy lighting up his eyes when you start wearing your peach-scented perfume again.

now, whenever you see clips and pictures of seokmin's sunny smile, it doesn't hurt you anymore. not when you know that some of those smiles are only for you.

- fin.

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