#it is 3 am and I wouldn’t go back to sleep unless I finished it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

somanyratsinthewalls · 1 month

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Hi! congrats for 700 followers!! 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼 i love your fics and one shots <3

following the game… can i suggest Navy (ofc) Rabbit and if possible starfish too 🥺🥺🥺

Thank you 🫶🏼

HI SORRY THIS TOOK A BILLION YEARS BUT GUESS WHAT IT'S DONE NOW :) thank you for your patience sweet friend

Pairing: Trafalgar Law x Female Reader

Trope/Prompt: Friends to Lovers x Body Worship

Summary: Law finds out you've never had an orgasm. A doctor treats a patients ailments. You get the idea. MINORS DNI

WC: 3100 hehe

TWs: inexperienced reader, alcohol consuption, fingering, oral sex f receiving, power dynamic kinda, smooth talking Law, body worship and praise, pet names, ugh it's porn.

Climax (+18)

——

Sure, the Heart Pirates weren’t the scariest or the biggest or the baddest pirate crew out there… but they were still pirates at the end of the day. The Heart Pirates could drink. Although Law himself didn’t indulge in as many rowdy evenings as the other members of his crew, he still enjoyed socializing with them. They were his crew, after all.

This particular evening, Law found himself bored of his work and decided to venture out from his office and into the common areas of the ship. Law shuffled tiredly towards the sound of glasses clinking and slurred voices talking over each other. He almost decides to turn back to his bedroom and try to get some shut eye. His back ached, the twinge in his muscles pleading with him to go to sleep, but he hears something else. Your lilted giggle floats through the metal halls of the submarine and straight into his ears. He wanted to at least see you before he went to bed… something sweet to think about as he fell asleep…

“Yeah, okay well you’re stupid, so.” You sip from your freshly cracked beer and roll your eyes at Shachi.

“Wow! What a good insult, y/n! You’re so fucking creative!” Shachi jeers at you with a big fake smile on his face. “I set you up, and you lost! You have to finish your drink, I don’t care that you just opened a new one!”

“Unless you want me to barf on your cards, probably not.” You chuckle.

“And I have seen her throw up. It is NOT cute.” Ikkaku pipes up. Ikkaku leans in and whispers purposefully loudly to Penguin. “Shes a scream-puker.”

“Okay so, I am not a scream-puker!” You defend yourself.

“Yeah, you are.”

Your head whips around towards the galley door. Law stands there leaning against the frame, looking exhausted, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary for him.

“Last time you had the flu I thought we were under attack and sounded the Tang’s defensive alarm.” Law says as he smirks at you.

You pout and turn back to the table.

“Okay that one time… and I was really sick, you know!” You huff.

“Room for one more?” Law grabs a beer out of the fridge and sits down at the dining table without waiting for a response.

“Of course, Captain!” Ikkaku chimes in. “We were just telling Shachi he has to finally tell that girl from the last island to stop calling him.”

“She’s sooooo hot though! And she’s totally into me!” Shachi pleads his case.

“We will never see her again!” You interject.

“So? She doesn’t know that! And besides, the phone sex is better than nothing-”

“You’re having phone sex? Here? On my ship?” Law immediately butts in and cocks his head in confusion.

“… is that? Is that not cool? Did we have a rule about that or something?” Shachi questions.

“No.. it’s just vile, Shachi.” Law shakes his head.

“Hah! He thinks you’re fuckin’ gross!” Ikkaku points and laughs directly at Shachi who was making quite the face. You couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh whatever, I’ve been getting the best sleep of my life thanks to this! I’m like, almost twice as productive as I normally am!” He tries to build his case back up.

“Why?” You ask, curious what those things had to do with each other.

“What do you mean? Everyone knows how great the sleep is after you finish, am I wrong?”

“You are correct there.” Penguin adds, sipping his beer. Ikkaku hums in agreement.

“Hah, okay. Wouldn’t know.” You add softly, secretly hoping no one would hear you.

“What?” Ikkaku turns to you and asks.

“Nothing it’s just that I… wouldn’t…? Know..?” Really pleading with your eyes for her to read between the lines and you wouldn’t have to say it out loud yourself.

“Wait okay… you’ve never… had an orgasm?” Ikkaku’s eyes widen.

“Correct.” You take a deep breath. “At least I don’t think I have.” You feign a laugh.

“Oh you’d KNOW.” Shachi affirms from across the table, also staring at you with a bewildered expression. “Woah… that’s crazy. Are you a virgin or something?” He continues.

“No!” You defend yourself. “The guys I’ve been with just suck, apparently. Can we stop talking about this?” You knit your eyebrows together and rub your eyes.

“No way this is fascinating. How old are you? Twenty five? And you’ve never had an orgasm? Like never once? Even by yourself?” Ikkaku probes further.

“Oooookay guys I never miss a good time to shut the fuck up, so I am going to head to bed!” You stand up from the table and straighten out your boiler suit. You were met with pleas and apologies from your crew mates, while your captain remained stoic during the entire exchange. You felt his eyes burning a hole through you as you left the galley.

You swiftly make your way through the metal corridors of the ship towards your stateroom. You weren’t upset at your crew mates, it really was fascinating how you had made it this long in your life without feeling the peak of physical pleasure. It wasn’t for lack of trying, you had tried several times to pleasure yourself… and taken a small handful of lovers, none of whom could make you cum.

You slip off your boiler suit and let it fall to the floor in an off-white heap. You pick out some grey pajamas, a thin camisole and matching shorts, throw it on and sit on your bed to brush out your hair. You untie your hair from the thick bun on your head and let it cascade down your bare shoulders.

You had almost finished brushing our your locks when you notice the room has somehow changed… as if in the blink of an eye everything was sheathed in a faint blue glow. A familiar blue…

“Wait no!” You could barely yelp out before you ass meets a different surface in an instant. “Ah!” You gasp and open your eyes to see that you’re no longer in your own bed, but in Law’s. You blink rapidly for a few moments to try and regain your surroundings. You catch your breath.

You look up and see Law standing at the edge of his bed, looking at you with his shirt unbuttoned. Did he already have it unbuttoned when you were drinking… or did he take it off since then…?

“Gods, Law.” You sigh and shake your head. “You can’t keep doing that to people. You could have just called my snail or something.”

“Heard Shachi’s been keeping the line busy tonight.” Law looks down at your barely covered form on his bed. You push your legs up to your chest and wrap your arms around them. He smirks. “So… is it true?” Law walks slowly around to the side of the bed, eyes never leaving yours. He was like an animal stalking its prey.

“T-the orgasm thing?! T-thats what you brought me here to talk about?!” You could feel your cheeks flush bright red. You sink your head further behind your legs. “I-it’s really not a big deal…” You turn your eyes down to avoid his gaze.

“You know, the human orgasm is really just a tool.” Law continues eyeing your body and ignoring what you had just said. “The reason it feels so good goes back to our earliest days of evolution. All living organisms, even plants, exist with one similar purpose in common. Do you know what that is, y/n?”

You pick your head up a bit from behind your knees.

“T-to… n-not get eaten by a larger thing?” You sputter out.

“Reproduction.” Law answers his own question. “Every creature is designed with a primal need to create more of itself…” He paces towards his nightstand and back before taking his massive sword off his back and setting it against the bedpost. “The male orgasm is necessary for human reproduction, obviously. But the female orgasm…” He trails off and you look up and lock eyes. “Is it a bit more complicated…”

“O-okay?”

“Some professionals say the spasming of the female reproductive organs during orgasm allows for easier penetration through the cervix for the ejaculate to pass through… and some say the female orgasm doesn’t even exist at all…”

“Are you seriously doctor-ing me about this?!?” You finally find your voice a bit stronger in your throat. “I’ve lived this long without it and-“

“I however, y/n, don’t care what the purpose of it is. And I do know it exists. And I plan on giving you at least one this evening.” Law says as he sheds his button down off his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. Tattoos on full display, his chiseled abdominal muscles right at your eye level paired with the topic of conversation made you press your legs together even harder.

“C-captain that is highly unnecessary and unprof-“ You try to protest shakily.

“Nonsense.” Law steps so his thighs are against the edge of the bed. His right hand comes up to drag two fingers up your calf and rest his palm on your knee. He rubbed soft circles onto your knee with his thumb. “Now if you’re done being so stubborn, we can get started.”

You leaned back on your elbows and blinked up at the man standing before you, your captain. You couldn’t believe this was really happening, but you were too stunned to question it. You trusted him with your life and more, why not let him try and help you?

“Alright.” You say softly, more to yourself than to Law.

“Good. Now take your clothes off.”

You cock your head back in surprise and your eyes widen.

“Getting straight to it I guess…” You chuckle nervously.

“We can go slower, if you’d like?” Law takes his hand off your leg, a genuine look of care in his grey eyes.

“No no! I-it’s fine! I just didn’t, you know… like… well I wasn’t really planning for anyone to see me naked tonight is all!” You say awkwardly.

“The only thing I care about tonight is pleasuring you. Will you let me?”

You don’t say anything in response, but you lift your thin grey camisole over your head and throw it to the floor. You didn’t look up to see Law’s response, you just shimmied your shorts down your legs and resumed your position laying on Law’s bed.

Fully bare in front of your captain, you could feel your cheeks become hotter than they’ve ever been.

“So what should-“ You begin.

“Fucking gorgeous.” Law interrupts.

“S-sorry?” You question.

“You are so fucking hot. So pretty.” Law was no longer staring into your eyes, but raking his gaze all over your naked body. “Spread your legs for me, yah?” Law asks, a bit more pleading than his normal demanding tone. It was like something shifted in him once you had taken your clothes off. He returns his hand to your knee, bringing his other hand as well this time to gently push your legs open to expose your sex to him. You hear him suck in a breath.

Suddenly, Law pounces on you. You’re knocked back on the bed further and your head hits the mattress. Law chuckles playfully above you as he supports himself on his hands, black shaggy hair falling towards your face.

“Hi.” He grins down at you.

“H-hi..” You manage to smile back. Law leans down further and begins placing wet kisses along your neck, craning your head to the side almost involuntarily. “O-oh okay.. t-that’s fine… AH!” You feel a cold hand pinch your left nipple.

“So sensitive… this is going to be easy..” You feel Law’s mouth curve into a smile as he litters more kisses on you, this time across your collarbone. He moves his head lower and captures your right nipple in his soft lips and sucks gently. You let out a long sigh and throw your head back against the mattress further. Quiet gasps left your mouth as he worked your chest in his hands and tongue.

Without fully realizing that Law’s hand had left your breast, you feel it cup your mound firmly without warning. You try to close your legs instinctively at the sudden contact.

“Ah ah, no y/n. You’ve been hiding this pretty thing from me for too long.” Law says as he pulls back from your chest. He pressed his fingers against the top of your slit and started rubbing it in circles. “I promise it’ll feel so good.”

Law leans up and places a gentle kiss on your parted mouth, you were too dazed to kiss him back just yet. He pulls away and settles himself on the floor on his knees in front of where you were laying. Strong arms hook under your knees and drag you swiftly so that your legs were hanging off the bed and your sex was mere inches from his hungry gaze and spit-slicked lips.

“Even more fucking beautiful than I’d imagined…” Law says as he spreads your pussy with his thumb and forefinger, exposing your throbbing clit and dripping hole to him. “So eager and ready for me…”

“Wait you imagi- SHIT!” You cry out as you feel Law’s hot tongue lap at your clit. It was so good, so thoughtful, so precise… he knew exactly what he was doing. “Oh my god-“ You had never received better head and he was only just getting started… maybe he was going to fulfill his promise. He alternative between suckling at your sensitive pearl and taking wide swaths over your whole sex with his entire mouth, as if he was trying to drink up every last drop your pussy was offering him.

“So sweet…” You could barely understand what Law was muttering about, he was so drunk off your essence that all you could really hear was pained moans and groans of “mmhmmpph” as he enjoyed your taste. Your back was arching off the bed and you grabbed at Law’s hair, pulling him impossibly closer to you as you wanted to make sure he kept going.

You moaned loudly as he slipped two fingers into your eager hole. He distracted you with harsh sucks to your clit as he crooked his fingers upwards inside of you.

“Wait fuck!” You cry out, feeling a foreign sensation as Law pulled on that spot inside your walls.

“Yeah there it is baby… there it is right there… let it happen…” Law cooed into your wetness as he continued to hammer into your sweet spot with his two fingers. He resumed his ministrations on your clit.

“Law! I can’t!” You gasp as that warmth and pressure in your lower half grew stronger and tighter.

“You can… get out of that pretty little head of yours, babe. Stop thinking and just let it go…”

You try to center yourself and clear your mind, eliminating all thoughts except for the feeling of Law’s hands and mouth on you. It wasn’t hard to do, his presence took over your every sense entirely… the heady smell of his cedar cologne, the absolute determined and lust-filled look in his eyes that were peeking up at you from between your legs, and the overwhelming feeling of his mouth lapping up your juices with fervor.

“I-I think… ah! Fuck!” Your shoulders lurch forward on their own, your walls starting to tighten sporadically around Law’s thick fingers.

“You’re so close, pretty girl… just a little more… squeeze those tits for me, yah?” Law asks before returning his mouth to your throbbing nub.

You do as you’re told and you wrap your manicured hands around your own breasts. You pull desperately at your nipples and cry out from the intense pleasure.

“Law!” You moan your captain’s name as tears prick the corners of your eyes from the sensation.

“Cum.” Law growls.

With a strangled scream, everything in your body released and your breath caught in your throat. Euphoric waves pulsed from your sex outwards and you felt the tears fall freely from your lash line as your legs shook. Your scream turned into a moan, and then fell into a whine as you suddenly felt too sensitive to have Law’s touch on you and you squirmed away.

You caught your breath after what could have been 30 seconds or 5 minutes and take a look between your legs. Law stared up at you, face and bangs soaked in some sort of liquid… your liquid… and a stupid grin plastered across his face.

“Holy fuck, I’m sorry I-“ You stutter out through heaving breaths.

“Don’t.” Law stops you. “Don’t apologize. That was so fucking hot. Didn’t peg you for a squirter. Nice.” He rubs his hands on your thighs as he stands up. Your face flushes impossibly redder. “How do you feel?” Law asks.

“I…” You flop your head back onto Law’s bed. “I feel like I got hit by a sea train but also incredibly light? My legs feel like pudding.” You sit back up on your elbows. “Law… captain… That was amazing…” You smile up at him.

“Good.” Law looks down at the mess you’ve made between your legs and on his comforter. He looks down at his chest and sees even more remnants of your release.

“How about we get cleaned up before bed and I can show you a few more things, yah? You’re staying with me tonight.” Law offers you a hand and you stand up on shaky legs to follow him to the bathroom.

“Hmmm maybe this time it can be your turn?” You glance down at Law’s obvious bulge straining against his spotted jeans. “I owe you one, right?” You smirk.

— —

>:)

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pjmparadise · 1 year

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3:23 am (don’t go, stay) Pt 1 || JJK

Pairing: jungkook x f! original character

Word count: 12.1k

Genre(s): fluff, romance, strangers to lovers, slight angst if you squint; neighbor au, pre-debut Jungkook au, pre-debut au, comic book artist Jungkook au, apartment au, neighbor au

Warnings: cursing, mentions of jungkook’s penis (yeah yeah... he sleeps naked ofc), brief injury (jk hurts himself bc he’s a dork); descriptions of anxiety and fear (jungkook is scared for a sec, oops); nudity mentions, jungkook is a little horny (what can I say....), jungkook gets a hard on lol; he’s also down bad pathetic crushing and is super clumsy, and brief mentions of home robberies (lol this feels random, but it isn’t I swear), very heavily dialogue based

Audience: 18+ (minors, DNI!)

Summary: Jungkook has had a couple of awkward run-ins with his pretty upstairs neighbor, who he may or may not be secretly pining over, and one night, she pays him an unexpected visit.

“My patio, though. Did you fall? I heard a thud.”

“Are you flirting with me? I’ve heard that pickup line before, but yours sounds a little different.”

He smiles. “I wouldn’t use pickup lines like those with you.”

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⋆✦⋆ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

A/N: WOOO! my first jungkook fic!! We recently got his birth time, and thus this title was born lol! I’ve been working on this baby for a few months now, and it’s finally finished!! After a long time of contemplating, i decided to make our female character an original character, and i know it’s kind of a rare thing in the community, but i felt it worked best with my story. It’s been a bumpy ride with this one since it’s my first lengthy fic (over 12k words... sheesh!) that will be a part of a short series. I’m very excited and a little nervous, but if you’re here, I’m glad to have you here. Thank you for giving my work a shot <3 (ps. italics indicate jungkook’s inner thoughts as well as flashbacks)

a big thank you to my lovely beta’s: @cherrysoulth @the-boy-meets-evil and @jeonjcngkook you’ve all helped me shape my fic and have been so helpful, and I am so so grateful. truly. seriously. thank you for brainstorming with me, for reading my work, and for being so sweet and so supportive.

a special thank you to @itaeewon for the lovely banner! I love it so so much <3

Jungkook is awake to hear the sound of a muffled thud nearby.

His bedroom is dark and silent save for the alarm clock resting on a bedside table flashing bright red numbers at him. ‘It’s late, it’s late, you should be asleep,’ the time says. Jungkook shuts his eyes, groaning and rubbing a hand over his face. “I know, fuck, I know,” he mutters. He’s fully naked, lying on his back, eyes wide open and boring into the ceiling, blanket kicked off to the side, and arms folded behind his neck–still remembering a phone conversation with Namjoon earlier in the day.

“So she walked toward the elevator as it closed, and you didn’t open it for her?” Namjoon scoffs over the phone, shaking his head and clicking his tongue to show he’s disappointed. He knows Jungkook froze, Jungkook already told him he wanted to reach out and push the button for her, but Namjoon asked again anyway—he likes to give him a hard time. “Every time you see this girl, things just kind of go wrong. I’ve noticed.”

“Yeah,” Jungkook says with a sigh. “I’ve noticed too. Is it a sign? Should I give up?” In his apartment, he sat curled up on his couch, his chin on his kneecaps. He’s fallen silent in thought.

“No, nothing like that. Maybe she didn’t get to see it was you, so she thinks it was someone else, or maybe she doesn't even think about it anymore. You know, like things that happen in your day you forget about later unless something reminds you of it?”

“Yes!” Jungkook relaxed, falling back against the couch with a hand over his forehead. “That probably is what’s going on. She went on with her day; other things have to happen, right?”

Namjoon was quiet. In his apartment, he was opening mail and reading over a proposal he was meant to sign soon. A project he hasn’t mentioned to anyone else, Namjoon folds the letter and sets it aside. “Sorry, yes. Yes, don’t worry too much. It will ruin your day. I mean that. Sorry for the pause. I just opened some mail.”

“Ah, okay. Well, you’re right.” Jungkook rose from his seat then. “Namjoon-hyung?”

Namjoon nodded even though he couldn’t be seen. “Yeah?”

“Thank you. I don’t know if I say that enough, but you’re always helping and guiding me when I don’t even realize I need it.”

“Thank you, Jungkook. Finish your comic tonight, and submit it tomorrow. I know you’ll place in the contest and do well. You haven’t scrapped it have you?”

Jungkook sighed. Rubbing his eyelids, walking distractedly around his living room, he spoke with his eyes closed. “I have it. I finished it; I just don’t feel too good about posting it, even with the pseudonym; it feels like too much. Too much with what we already have going on as a group even. We’re trying to do something together, and the comic stuff is just… I don’t know. I don’t want it to distract me.”

Namjoon was on his back patio, leaning over the railing and looking out at the park across from him. “Jungkook, I’m going to tell you something and think about it however you want to. I respect your life, but I think—and these are just my opinions. I think you doubt yourself too often and need to take some chances. Luck turns out; it does.” Namjoon folds his arms over the railing, leaning his body against it. “No rush, bro. At all. The music we’re trying to pursue, it’s not going anywhere, you know?”

Jungkook nodded from his living room.

“Like, okay, look.” Namjoon fixed his gaze on a flock of birds rising from the trees. “The guys, we all have our passions. Yoongi with his piano, Jimin is passionate about his dancing, Taehyung with his instruments, Jin and his gaming, and Hoseok he’s been designing his own clothes lately; with me, you know I like poetry and painting, but we all share music. That is for the team, for a part of us, but we each have so many parts. You like art and storytelling; your comics are so cool, bro. You love watching Taehyung practice the trumpet, and Jimin dance after practice. We like to see you pursue your other dreams too. Pursue it, and don't worry about the group, is all I ask.”

Jungkook almost cried. He stopped pacing. His heart was racing; it was all he had heard momentarily. If Namjoon were there in front of him, he’d hug him. Maybe he’d even cry. “Ah, Namjoon-hyung…” he swallowed hard at the saliva in his throat, blushing. ‘Namjoon always knows what to say,’ he thought. “I will think about it. I will set an alarm, just in case. I’ll decide in the morning, you know it’s my style to do that the day of. If I think about it now, it will be like this all day, and I’ll stress too much.”

“Good, then. Just think about it.” Namjoon smiled.

Jungkook lies motionless with his eyes shut, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, mouthing along to Namjoon’s words. “We like to see you pursue your other dreams too. Pursue it, and don't worry about the group, is all I ask.” He sighs. How could he not worry about the guys? He’s twenty-five. Most idols start out much younger, and the mandatory enlistment is already so near for his hyungs. It’s bad timing, is all. My comic book can wait.

He wants to sleep, so he turns over, laying flat on his stomach, facing his wall. Resting his full body weight on his flaccid penis is slightly uncomfortable, but he ignores it. It’s the type of restless night that he has no chance up against, and even with his eyes closed, he feels painfully awake. Jungkook is thinking of her again—her pretty smile, the pink sundress she wore in the elevator, her ability to look him in the eyes and not shy away—and it’s almost like she's here, in the same room with him. He pictures the sundress again, the way it clung to her frame, highlighting every curve. Man, I want her. He shifts his hips around, surprising himself with a massive erection.

The thud strikes again suddenly, and he sits up, alarmed. Shit, is that here? Like outside my apartment? Jungkook squints in the darkness, bringing a hand to the nightstand to fetch his glasses. Any sign of arousal is now extinguished.

“Bam?” He calls out in a sluggish voice. The clock beside him flashes bright red numbers at him. 3:23. “Ah, shit,” Jungkook mumbles, turning the clock away. A sound he can’t distinguish comes from his left, directly outside his bedroom. “It’s like home alone,” he says to no one.

Jungkook rests his head against the wall, the texture cold against his feverish face. He can hear the sound of a muffled conversation. “Shit, that’s right here, right outside,” he mumbles, stepping back. He reaches over mechanically to switch on the lamp beside him.

Now, Jungkook is painfully aware of his nakedness and frenetically searches for bottoms to change into. He’s thinking about how his legs don’t feel like his own as he walks to the chair by the door, where he sees basketball shorts. It’s like sleepwalking. Even though he’s awake, Jungkook feels as though he might’ve actually fallen asleep, and this is some strange anxiety dream he’s creating to cope with his qualms about submitting his comic. Still, he goes along with it, quietly changing into the shorts, walking out into his living room, and ducking his head when he passes the glass patio door.

Cursing under his breath, annoyed at himself for forgetting to throw on a shirt, Jungkook shakes his head at himself. I don't want to fight an intruder shirtless and commando in basketball shorts, damn... A part of him feels a rush of adrenaline as he crouches behind a potted plant and, chewing on his lower lip, fantasizes about a robbery gone wrong, one where he puts his boxing skills to the test—the other part of him wants this to be a dream, a sign from the universe that he ought to submit his comic. I’ll fucking do it if I survive this.

Jungkook stays like that for a while until he hears a sound again. Rising from his crouched position, he walks toward the back patio window, pulling back the curtain to peer out. He feels a tightness in his chest, and his hands tremble slightly. A shameful part of him is relieved that he’s alone and no one is around to see how shaken up he is.

He whistles quietly, calling to Bam, forgetting his brother is watching over him tonight. Craning his neck, he glances around his balcony patio and sees nothing. “Bam, come here,” his whispering is frantic. He whistles again, patting his leg lightly. Nothing. You’re okay. It’s nothing. It’s probably the cats again tipping over the plants. Just fix it tomorrow. Now, go back to bed. You need it. Jungkook is about to whistle once more when he remembers. His eyebrows knit together; shaking his head, he places his fingertips on his eyelids, murmuring a lamented, “Ah.”

Thinking better of it, he draws the curtain back again and sighs with relief before taking note of a figure crouched behind a chair with a hand shooting up to rub their head. Panic washes over him. His inner monologue consists of a string of every curse word he can think of as he ducks out of view. Fuck, fuck, fuck, that’s a person. If he’d been scared earlier, now he’s downright petrified.

Desperate, he begins to look around the room for a weapon. Anything. Jungkook stands still, breathing in heavy gulps of air, cradling his head as he adjusts his vision to the darkness of the living room. ‘Can’t even turn a fucking light on,’ he thinks as he drops to the ground and crawls around his living room. His home’s silence unsettles him. Jungkook can hear the nothingness aside from his ragged breathing, so he pinches the skin on his arm and hisses at the sharp pain. Okay, real life it is. His bare knees skid against the hard flooring, and his clammy palms slip beneath him; his heart is thudding hard and fast, the blood pooling between his ears. He’s scowling, chewing his lower lip, his chest heaving as he fumbles a hand under the couch; he fingers a cold object and remembers what it is. Aha! He comes up with a golf club Taehyung left behind a few nights ago. I love you, Taehyung!

Jungkook grips the golf club until his knuckles take on a pale color. Having a weapon gives him a newfound sense of security, and like before, he’s fantasizing about kicking someone’s ass. “You come to my house at three in the morning? My house?” he says as he walks through his living room, rolling his shoulders.

He draws the curtain again, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness; he sees the figure facing away from him and hunching over, a phone glowing against their face. He can call the police, and he almost wants to, but to avoid the drama of a police visit at three in the morning, he decides against it. Imagine the guys find out I called the police? He shudders at the thought. The stranger looks small anyway.

Jungkook reaches for the doorknob and pulls back the door. It’s a lot chillier than he’d anticipated. He folds his arms over his bare chest instantly, the skin covered in goosebumps—his teeth chatter of their own accord.

“Don't move!” He raises the golf club in a mid-swing position, ready to strike. The person shifts around, holding up the hand with the phone. “I said, ‘Don’t move’!” He sounds ridiculous, but he doesn't care. In the shadows, he watches the phone’s glow shut off. “I called the police, so don’t try anything. They’re on the way.” His voice doesn't even sound like his own. He takes a few steps toward the stranger, his grip tightening around the golf club. His heart feels heavy in his chest.

It’s hard to make out the features of this person, but they rise, walk toward the dim light spilling from the neighbor’s window, and he can see them now. The stranger looks straight at him, and he’s met with wide eyes staring at him. She’s standing, squinting at him with a hand on her hip, and she smiles wide. Damn! If this were an animation, she’d have a halo effect.

Jungkook has seen her a total of seven times—he can’t help it; he likes to keep track of these things. It’s his upstairs neighbor, their interactions before tonight being brief and in passing (the most recent engraved in his mind and tormenting him), and he’s thought of her tirelessly and has fantasized about a time they should meet, and things go well for a change.

Jungkook doesn't know her name, but he could recognize those beautiful dark eyes anywhere. He’s looking into them now, his body anchored, mouth turning into sawdust.

She’s talking to him; he’s just not listening. Not really. He can't grasp the reality that it’s actually her, and she’s standing on his patio, and she looks so beautiful. Should he be thinking that?

Her long black hair is in a loose ponytail, her eyebrows arch as her deep dark eyes blink at him, and her lips move. “Please tell me you didn't really call the cops,” she says, bursting through his trance.

Damn, I sounded so stupid! Jungkook blushes. He hopes she can’t tell from where she stands.

“I was trying to call my friend; I swear I was not snooping or breaking in.” She smiles, but her voice sounds worried. Her eyebrows furrow like she’s trying to read him. “Honest,” she says in a small voice as she leans on the railing and raises her hand with the cell phone for emphasis.

She’s wearing a dark gray sweatshirt twice her size and sandals with white socks, and he can’t tell if she’s wearing shorts or if the sweatshirt is all. He can feel his face reddening just from the possibility of her nakedness underneath the sweatshirt, so he decides not to focus on that.

Jungkook rubs the nape of his neck, abashed. The cold air surrounds him, and he folds his arms across his chest, remembering his exposed chest. His empty threat echoes and bounces around in his head, and he looks away from her. “I didn't call the cops, sorry. I didn't know what else to say. It’s what they say in movies.”

“You would be right anyway; this is your patio.” She laughs a little at that, and his heart rate picks up. She pushes herself away from the railing, smiling, and walks toward him with an outstretched hand. Her nail polish is glittery, and he doesn't notice, but this small detail makes him smile. “I’m Rei. I live upstairs. Maybe you’ve seen me before.” There’s a coy look on her face as she says this, and it makes him nervous.

So her name is Rei!!! Fireworks set off, exploding behind Jungkook’s wide eyes.

“Huh, maybe,” Jungkook lies. He shakes her hand slowly, his hand enveloping hers entirely, the contact sending a warm shock through his body.

“Maybe a few days ago,” she says, with a finger to her chin, like she’s thinking over something. “Oh, yes, have I seen you on the elevator?”

“The elevator?” He feigns innocence as he tongues his lip ring anxiously. “That’s strange. Every day is a blur for me.”

“For me, too,” she replies. She’s almost smirking, watching Jungkook lie. He can tell she’s caught him. “You just look sooo familiar.”

“That’s a first.” Still, he denies it.

“Maybe you just look like someone I’ve seen,” she says, looking into his eyes as if searching for something she placed there. “You have one of those faces, you know?”

Jungkook raises his eyebrows, lips parted to speak, but nothing comes out.

Is she flirting with me or giving me a hard time? DAMN!

“I have an ordinary face?” Jungkook wonders after a moment.

“Either that or my memory is failing me,” she says, sighing and shaking her head. “Which do you think it is?”

“I don't have an ordinary face,” Jungkook says in a small voice, “I have piercings on my face.”

“That’s true…” she’s watching the ground and suddenly looks into his eyes again. She holds his stare unblinking, and then her lips pull back into a big smile showing off cute bunny teeth. Just like me. “I’ve always had a good memory; I was just kidding.”

“Oh,” Jungkook says, blushing.

He can smell her perfume when a cold breeze blows past him, carrying her real-life presence and enveloping him in it. It’s sweet and mixed with a scent of detergent he recognizes, and he’s watching how strands of her hair float beside her face. She’s so cute. Damnnnn.

“You should open the door for the ladies,” Rei says, raising an eyebrow, and stepping closer, she says, “Just harmless advice. Stranger .”

“I will consider that,” he replies, avoiding her fixed stare, attempting to ignore how she’s riled him up with a loud clearing of his throat. But his chest is on fire, his heart thudding hard against his rib cage at her closeness. “My patio, though. Did you fall? I heard a thud.”

“Are you flirting with me? I’ve heard that pickup line before, but yours sounds a little different.”

He smiles. “I wouldn’t use pickup lines like those with you.”

She laughs, and he internally swoons. If he were a cartoon, his heart would burst out of his chest in comical dramatic thuds, his pupils heart-shaped.

“I’m kidding. I know I’m giving you a hard time when I’m on your patio at three in the morning, but I can explain why I’m here,” Rei mimics Jungkook’s movements by crossing her arms across her chest, her lower lip trembling, “but can I come in? It’s cold out, and I'm in the worst attire for this weather.” She gestures vaguely at her exposed legs, and Jungkook’s stare lingers before she notices—so he responds with a nod as he gestures for her to follow him inside. “Though you might have me beat. You came out here without a shirt, damn.”

Leading the way, he blushes at her comment and gives his head a light shake. She’s so talkative! Yoongi was right about her.

With a dreamy air about him, he remembers Namjoon’s words. Except now, all he remembers is: “You need to take some chances. Luck turns out; it does.”

Inside, Jungkook excuses himself to his room to change into a shirt. He reaches for his glasses beside his bed and goes to the closet. “Shirt, shirt, shirt,” he mutters as his hands sift through empty hangers. When was the last time he did laundry? He groans. “Shirt?” he reaches to pick up a heap of white clothing in the deep corner of the closet. He brings the shirt to his nose, sniffs, and walks back into the room, raising an eyebrow and nodding with approval. His hands are shaky as he maneuvers his head through a t-shirt sleeve in a panicked rush. He yanks the shirt off again, the t-shirt now inside out and knotted up in his grip; he groans as his fingers work the fabric. What if she’s gone when I go back out there? Agh, what if I’m dreaming all of this up, and lack of sleep is finally getting to me?

Rei’s voice comes through the walls, and though this is their first official meeting, he knows she’s smiling as she calls out to him. “You okay in there?”

Smoothing out the wrinkles on the shirt, he glances at his reflection behind the bedroom door before stepping out, his chest heaving and his nostrils flaring. “I’m okay; all is OK. Sorry.” He offers her a thumbs up and a big goofy grin that makes her laugh.

“Did you go on a hike without me?” She asks from her seat on his couch. She rests her face on her palm, looking up at him as he walks past toward the kitchen.

“Hike? I just put the shirt on; it was fighting me, though.”

“No, I meant,” she shakes her head, laughing. “I meant that as a while for changing into a shirt. Bad joke, sorry.”

“Ah,” Jungkook says.

“You’re wearing glasses,” she comments, her eyes looking over his face.

“I am,” he says, glancing her way.

It looks like she wants to say something else but doesn't.

He raises his eyebrows, nodding and tonguing the inside of his cheek. It doesn't happen often, but he doesn't know what to say. He walks into the kitchen with his hands in his pockets. “Do you drink tea?” He wonders as he fills a kettle with water and sets it to boil.

Rei nods, stretching her legs before her and craning her neck back to look up at the ceiling. “Chamomile or whatever you have, I’m not picky.” She points a finger above her head, motioning for him to look. “Those are stars. Is this wallpaper? It looks pretty. Is it glow-in-the-dark?”

Jungkook is in the kitchen, his eyes watching how her finger moves in a swift motion of the length of the ceiling. He thinks about how her hand felt in his grip and wishes he’d been more present. “It’s… I don’t know, actually. It’s not a wallpaper; it’s carved into the ceiling, and yes, it glows but not like the bright green; it’s softer.” He looks at her, and she scrunches her eyebrows in confusion. “Want to see?”

She twists her body to look at him, her smile so big he can’t help but return the affection. “Yes. Show me.”

“Grab the remote beside you; turn off the lights with it.”

She clicks the lights off, and the gasp she lets out makes his heart flutter in his chest. Aside from the hard thudding in his chest, the only sounds nearby are the buzzing of the refrigerator, the ice machine rolling out handfuls of freshly carved-out cubes, and the bubbling water in the kettle. Jungkook doesn't dare disturb the quiet; he’s leaning against the kitchen table, wanting her to stay. He looks for her in the dark, his eyes finding her silhouette on the couch, his lips pulling back into a smile. She’s better than in his daydreams; she smells sweet and of detergent, and she feels like a real person just like him, so near but out of his reach. And here, in the same room as him, so close to him, Jungkook realizes she could’ve left by now but hasn’t.

“I’d love it if I had this on my ceiling,” Rei pouts, “want to trade?” She clicks the lights back on, and Jungkook blinks, slowly adjusting to the brightness.

He pretends to mull it over, humming and tonguing his cheek. He puts on his best-thinking face. “No way, but you can come over and look at the stars when it's overcast or raining outside.” He walks toward the stove, where the water boils in the kettle. With his back turned to her, he’s hiding his blushing face as he sets two cups out before him.

“I think that sounds nice,” she replies, surprising him. “So what, I walk outside sometime, see a gray sky, and come downstairs to see you? ‘Hey, neighbor, can I see the stars?’ and you say, ‘Come in, I’ve just made cocoa, would you like some?’ and I say, ‘Thank you, are you sure?’ and then you say, ‘Sure’ except I never leave because I like the stars so much and you don’t know how to tell me I should go home.”

“Oh, that’s a good conversation. Is that what you’d like me to make? I like hot cocoa,” Jungkook says, brushing the hair out of his eyes. “You think I'd want you to leave?”

“Well, if I were here all the time….” she looks at him through her lashes, and he catches her eyes and raises an eyebrow at her, a playful smirk on his lips. And she shakes her head, laughing. “Do you mean it, though?”

“About you coming to see the stars whenever you’d like?” Jungkook asks, leaning against the kitchen island. She nods at him in two slow motions of her head. “Yes, I mean it.”

“The skies are unusually gray these days, aren’t they?”

“I’ve noticed that too,” he says, opening the fridge. He grabs a box of cherries and shuts the door with his elbow. “But no rain.”

“Exactly, I told my friend Kimi; she lives with me upstairs and is almost a sister to me, except we have different parents. Well, I told her, ‘Haven't you noticed how it looks like it’s going to rain every day, but it never does?’ and she says, ‘Rei, it rains. It just happens to be when you’re asleep,’ and can you believe it? I woke up yesterday, and it was early, not like tonight, but early for me, and I looked outside my window, and there was dew sticking to the glass, and it was all sweaty when I touched the windowpane, and I realized she was right, it rained during the night, and I just missed it. Isn't that something so lame?”

“Huh,” Jungkook says, chewing on a cherry and offering the box to her. She shakes her head no and mouths a ‘Thank you’ to him. “So we’re off asleep and just missing the rain, so it always works out that we’re missing out on something during the day. It’s always like that. Kimi sees the rain, and you’re off sleeping, but you probably get to see other things I miss when I’m taking a nap and on and on.”

“That’s true. But I thought about catching it tonight. When I went to bed hours ago, I kept thinking about the rain and wondering if I stayed up, I might see it, and it wouldn’t just feel like I kept missing it and living the same gray day.”

“It’s like Santa Claus,” Jungkook says, scrunching his nose as he tongues a cherry stem in his mouth, “waiting up all night for him to show up just for you to see your dad dressed up as Santa and realize he’s been putting the presents down there for years.”

Rei laughs at this and covers her face with her hands like she’s protecting her laugh from anything sharp. “Your dad did that? For real?”

Jungkook scrunches his eyebrows and pinches his nose bridge, and with a tone of feigned affliction, he says, “Yeah, he did. I knew the truth before a lot of my classmates.”

“How old were you? When he ruined Santa Claus. Do you remember a thing like that, like how old you were?” She rests her chin on her palm like she’s weighing her head. He thinks she looks cute like that but doesn’t say anything.

“I don't know exactly, but I was in the third year of school,” Jungkook says, suddenly thinking back on his infancy. He chews his lower lip when the answer suddenly comes to him, and he remembers the conversation he had with the guys a while back. They’d all taunted Seokjin when they found out Seokjin didn't know the truth about Santa until he was thirteen. “I was seven. I can't believe I remembered that. I was seven….” His mouth hangs open, and he remembers what he wore when he first saw his dad hunched over behind the tree with a gift in hand— a white flannel pajama set and his mother’s slippers. Where has this memory been hiding? “Damn.”

“I was six,” she says, smiling. “My childhood was ruined a year before yours. Or wait, are we the same age? I just assumed we were.” She laughs again, bringing a hand up to her face to hide her smile.

“I assumed the same thing,” Jungkook admits, feeling his cheeks redden. “I’m twenty-five.”

“Oh wow,” she says, almost to herself. “Me too.”

He doesn't know what else to do but clear his throat and nod. He never imagined getting this far (whatever that means). He’ll struggle to explain this later when Namjoon asks—Jungkook knows he’ll ask.

The kettle begins to whistle, and he’s reaching for the two coffee mugs as she says something behind him he doesn't catch. And he turns his head over his shoulder and nods at her. “What happened? Sorry, I didn't catch that.”

“I said, ‘You don't have to do that for me.’” She turns her head away as she says this, her long hair cascading along her profile, hiding her.

“I have a visitor,” he says, turning over to look at her with a grin. “I have good manners.”

“Oh, sure, manners,” she replies, rolling her eyes at him like a friend he’s known for years. “Is that my tea? It smells amazing.”

“It is, but it’s hot, so let’s leave it here.” Jungkook offers her a tight-lipped smile, shyly making his way toward her. “Mind if I sit next to you?”

“No, not at all; come, sit.” She pats the spot beside her and scoots over to make room for him. “Thank you for the tea and for letting me in. I know it’s late.”

Jungkook glances at the clock on the kitchen stove. 3:55. “It’s not that late. I was awake anyway, so I didn’t mind.” He’s toying with his lip ring again. “Why were you out there anyway?”

It’s been some time since Jungkook’s been this close to a girl. He feels his heart thudding away in his chest, her presence stirring up a desire that’s been dormant. Loose strands of hair frame her face, and his eyes follow her movements as she brushes the strands away. She looks embarrassed, her cheeks reddening. Still, he finds her so cute. “Truth?”

“Yes.” He scrunches his nose when he smiles at her.

“I locked myself out of my apartment. Before bed, I stepped out into my patio for a smoke and to read more of my book. I was also trying to test my rain suspicions to see if I could catch it while it happened. So, I’m out there romanticizing my life, pretending I’m in a movie; you know how we act when we’re alone and suddenly want to be poetic?” She looks at Jungkook, and he nods lightly. “That was me, except I got cold right away and said, ‘Oh fuck this, I’m going to bed,’ and that’s when I realized I’d locked the back door, and I was so mad I almost cried.” She places her fingertips against her forehead, continuing her recounting. “So, of course, I get the idea of calling a locksmith, but they’re closed; I don’t know what people should do if they need help during the night.”

“Most people sleep, I think.”

She clicks her tongue. “Right, some people do, but you and I are not those people, right?” She draws an imaginary line with her forefinger from her chest toward him. He nods and feigns oblivious as his leg brushes against her bare thigh as she shifts in her seat. “So, not only is every locksmith not available, but my service is horrible, so I am standing on my tiptoes trying to get a bar, and my phone slips. My heart almost burst.” She brings a hand to her chest for visual effect, and his eyes watch her chest as it rises and falls with each breath. He’s smiling at her—a wide smile that hurts his cheeks. “If it weren’t for your patio, my phone would be shattered to hell on the ground. I look over my balcony, and for the first time, I notice how close our balconies are.” Rei presses her hands over her thighs, leaning forward in her seat and fixing her eyes on the glass patio door across from her. “I mean, I’m sure you’ve noticed, but I don’t go out there much. Anyway, I’m rambling. I noticed I could jump directly into your patio because there’s a mattress out there, and well….” She makes a motion with her hands that says: ‘ Ya know?’

“You weren’t scared of jumping? The balconies are close, but we’re still six stories up.” Jungkook rests his hands on his knees, fully invested in this story; his eyes never leave her. She forms a tight line with her lips and gives him a serious look that makes him laugh. “Ok, so you were scared.”

“I was scared! But there’s a mattress out there, you know,” she says in a small voice. She’s blushing and scratching at the side of her nose to avoid his eyes.

Jungkook notices this and clicks his tongue, leaning back in his seat. “So it was not an accident, then?” He raises an eyebrow at her, sucking his teeth in feigned disapproval.

The truth is, he’s not mad about it; he wants her here. He almost feels like he is in a dream.

“Not entirely. Don’t ask me how I thought about returning to my place after retrieving my phone because I didn’t think that far ahead.”

“Oh, there’s a mattress out there. You could’ve just slept there; no big deal,” Jungkook says with a laugh. Rei brings a hand to her face to hide behind, making a groaning sound. “I’m sorry; I don’t mean to laugh at you. I just don't know what to think— this has never happened before.”

“And it won’t happen again; let’s hope.” She laughs, and it’s different from before; it sounds deeper like she reached into herself and decided to really show him. And Jungkook likes the sound of her laugh but does not comment. She moves a few strands of hair from her face and rests her cheek on her hand, leaning on the couch's armrest. It’s slowly dawning on Jungkook how badly he wants her. What am I supposed to do with her this close to me? Damn. “So, what’s your name? You didn’t say when I told you mine.”

He rises from the couch, remembering their tea.

“Jeon Jungkook,” he says as he pours the tea, “I guess I forgot to introduce myself. Huh.”

Rei’s looking at him with her chin in her hand and a serious look on her face as he’s walking toward her with an outstretched hand in offering. “It’s chamomile,” Jungkook announces.

“Jeon Jungkook,” She repeats with a light smile. “I like it. I don’t know any other Jungkooks.”

“Yeah? I’ve had this name for a long time. I like it too.”

She takes the cup and brings it to her face, inhaling the scent and shivering, and says, “Thank you again. This tea smells sweet. It reminds me of this tea my grandmother used to make my sister and me when we were kids. She would put a little bit of honey, the real kind, and peppermint leaves; it was….” She sighs longingly. “I miss that tea; this smells like home.”

Sitting beside her, he takes a sip of tea, his gaze on her unmoving. Her lips part as she blows gently, the steam rising from the cup in lazy strokes. Jungkook’s heartbeat quickens when she matches his stare with her deep dark eyes that seem to look for something in his.

“This tea has honey, but I doubt it’s the real kind you mentioned, but I still think it’s good.” He clears his throat, looking away as he adjusts his glasses on his nose bridge.

“I like your glasses. I wanted to say that earlier,” Rei comments, taking a sip of her tea, “I don't know why I didn't say anything.” She moves around in her seat, tucking her legs beneath her, then asks, “Can I wear them? Are they prescription?”

“They’re just reading glasses. You can wear them. I put them on sometimes just because they suit me,” he pulls his glasses off, wipes the lenses on his shirt, and hands them over.

“Ah, so you like how they look on you,” she says, her eyes gleaming as she takes the glasses from him and sets them on her face. “How do they look?”

If he were a cartoon character from one of his comics, he’d have melted into a puddle, exploded like dynamite, turned into stardust, and returned to his original self. Except, she’s a real person just like he is, flesh and blood and so beautiful, and he’s off in space being reborn.

“Look at me,” he motions for her to turn his way. She looks straight at him, wearing his glasses and blushing at his attention. She begins to unfold in front of him, her playful demeanor softening. “You look pretty. If they weren't my prescription, I would give them to you.”

“Here, they’re hurting my eyes,” she says, laughing. She removes the glasses and starts rubbing her eyes with closed fists. “You’re sweet, though. I couldn't take a guy’s glasses. How will he go on drinking his tea and letting me in to watch the stars?”

Jungkook feels a warmth spread in his chest. God, how is she real? He runs his fingers through his long hair and coughs once, then again. His nerves are getting to him. She’s too close to him, her bare thigh soft against his leg. He begins to count backward in his head.

“Were you really awake already, or did I wake you?” She asks him all of a sudden. Her eyes stay on him as if waiting for him to say something else.

“You don’t believe me? I was awake. Swear.” He raises his free hand at his side.

She appears to mull that over for a bit, bringing her cup of tea to her lips but not taking a sip. “What were you doing?”

Jungkook is silent, and she sits unmoving until he speaks.

What was I doing? Besides dreading another deadline? Thinking about a comic I might not submit or thinking about not having a shot in hell with a girl like you? Images of the times they’ve run into each other flick by in his head like a slow PowerPoint slide. The registration office, desolate stairwells, crowded evacuations, elevators closing, Rei standing in front of him in a summer dress with a strange look on her face; Rei on his back patio, hunched over with a phone near her face; Rei in his apartment, on his couch, next to him. He feels the adam’s apple in his throat rising and falling. He’s been quiet for who knows how long.

“Thinking, I guess.” He breathes out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “I don’t know why I took so long to say that. It sounded boring in my head, so I had to think if there was something else I forgot about.”

“That is pretty boring, just thinking. But that’s life, though, isn’t it? Kind of boring sometimes.”

Jungkook nods, blushing and avoiding looking at her. What if she can read minds? He straightens his posture and runs his fingers through his hair again, his eyes fixed on the ceiling of carved-out stars. It’s OK. It’s OK. She’s still here.

The living room is almost dead silent. Jungkook notices how Rei sips her tea and looks over the area. It’s neat, for the most part. Bam’s toys lay scattered near the laundry room entrance, along with some of Jungkook’s dirty socks the dog likes to chew on, and Bam’s food bowls are resting up against the wall beside his doghouse. The potted plants Namjoon gifted Jungkook are still alive and pop against the beige coloring of the walls in front of them. The TV is massive, his Playstation console resting on its side. Her eyes find the corner shelf where Jungkook’s Marvel figurines are on display behind glass doors, and she turns to look at him with a sparkle in her wide eyes. “Are those yours?” She gestures with her thumb. He nods, chewing his lower lip anxiously. “Can I look?” She rises from her seat when he motions for her to go on. Like standing in a museum, she silently peers into the display with her hands clasped behind her back.

“I just got that case a few days ago when I got that plant next to you,” Jungkook remarks, joining her.

“I remember,” she says distractedly.

“You remember?” His eyebrows raise, and he looks at her fixedly, bringing a fingernail to his mouth. He scrunches his eyebrows, rubbing at his forehead with his fingers; he remembers, too.

He’d bumped into Rei on his way upstairs, both arms holding the bonsai trees obstructing his view, taking long strides up the stairs, chanting to himself and grunting in rhythm. He was on the 50th stair.

“Hey!” A voice shouted at him. “What the hell?”

Jerking to the side of the staircase, flattening against it, Jungkook jumped at this voice. “Sorry! You’re okay?”

The voice struck him as familiar, but mostly, he was surprised he wasn't alone on the staircase. The person laughed a lively laugh, and he felt his chest tighten. He lowered the plants, meeting her eyes. “I’m okay,” she said, shaking her head. She grinned at him, and his heart gave a squeeze. “These things happen. I should take the elevator next time.”

“The plants, I mean. You walked past me going up the stairs and hit me on the head with it.” She glances to her right, catching his eyes briefly. He groans, nodding lightly. She continues, voicing their shared memory, “You were carrying two pots of plants that day and lost your balance or something like that.”

He nods with his eyes closed, his eyebrows drawn close together as he tongues his cheek. “I remember, too,” he opens his eyes to look over at her as he continues, “sorry again. My friend told me not to do that, and I didn’t listen.”

A Spiderman figurine holds her attention, and she’s smiling. He feels his cheeks burn at her sincere gesture. She pretends not to notice and says, “You like running into me like that, then?”

“Like how? It was an accident,” Jungkook says, standing beside her and stretching his arms behind his head.

“Riiiiight,” she says, smirking. “Accident.”

“I didn’t know you were in the stairwell. No one takes the stairs,” Jungkook counters, his voice taking on a defensive edge.

“I take the stairs, I like the exercise, and it’s less embarrassing for me,” She admits. “Running in front of people just looks so stupid. I get too worked up about it and think people are just laughing at me, and they might be, but this way, I can do it in private.”

“Running across the street when cars let you pass is very embarrassing for no reason,” Jungkook says with a laugh. “And okay, fair. I took the stairs that time just because the wait for the elevator was so long. I didn’t mean to hit you that time either.”

“Jungkook, we have to stop meeting like this.” She gives her head a light shake and looks down at her hands. She picks at the glitter on her nails distractedly. “So many accidents. We’re too clumsy.”

“I know what you mean. Namjoon told me to leave one of the plants in the lobby, but I was too impatient. I’m like that sometimes.” He can’t seem to stop blushing.

But Jungkook has to agree. There have been too many accidents in their run-ins with each other, and he remembers each encounter with extreme detail.

Jungkook saw her for the first time when he moved in and face-planted into her back as she stood by the entrance of the registration office. But it didn't happen right away, at least.

The office was big and bustling with sounds. Jungkook walked in, asked out loud if there was a line, and someone nearby replied that yes, there was a line, and he was right at the tail of it. He bounced on the heels of his feet, humming a melody to himself, tapping his fingers against the sides of his legs. A TV across from him played a K-Pop music video of a group he’d never heard of. Beneath the TV was a table with a Terra Kaffe espresso machine accompanied by a spread of dan-pat bbang, songpyeon, bingsu, and reusable cups. His stomach grumbled, but he kept still, willing himself to look away.

Rei stood in line, a foot or two in front of Jungkook, sporting her hair pulled back, secured neatly with a clip the shape of a butterfly. She wore casual clothing: a black long-sleeve sweatshirt, baggy pants, and white Nike shoes. She had earbuds in, and he could hear the muffled sounds of a guitar, and though he did not fully understand why, he smiled.

“Next in line, please,” a woman behind a glass window called out, taking an uninspired sip of her iced coffee as she waved a hand toward her. “Come on, next in line.”

Jungkook wore a black t-shirt, navy plaid bottoms, and socks with slides, though standing there, he began to regret his attire. His eyes looked over the office, and mentally, he tallied the number of girls he spotted. Nine. He felt his cheeks warming up, his neck growing hot, and when he looked over to his right, a girl waved at him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He blushed, nodding at her. Why hadn’t he worn something nicer?

He was adjusting his sock, balancing on his right leg, when a dog ran past him, toppling him over. He hopped on his right leg, his arms flailing at his sides, and his face instantly smashed into Rei’s back. If he had a chance to do it over, he wouldn’t have cried out so loud. Even now, months later, he cringes at the memory. He’d turned away, cupping his aching nose after she whipped her head over her shoulder at the sudden impact. Their eyes met briefly, her pupils dark and wide; she mouthed something to him, his ears ringing, all of the sounds around him muddled into incoherence.

“I’m so sorry. Excuse me,” Jungkook mumbled, turning at his heel and speed-walking past a group of girls that giggled when he passed them.

Jungkook thought about her all day after that first day. While he unpacked, walked Bam, and cooked for himself later in the evening. She was pretty, sure, but there was something else. Something he couldn’t break apart and understand— it was new and brought on a strange sensation and desire to know her. He didn't know it then, but he’d see so much of her it would become nearly impossible not to think of her.

And here they are, five months later.

“You agree, don't you?” Rei prods. “Maybe you’re the clumsy one, Jungkook. I was just standing there.�� She says that like she knows what he’s thinking. That first day they saw each other. She’s thought of it too.

He swoons at the sound of his name escaping her lips again. “Jungkook,” he mouths, taking it in—not wanting to forget how it sounds when she says it.

She turns on her heel, returning to the couch and fetching her phone from between the cushions. Her backside faces Jungkook, and he shyly lowers his gaze when he catches a glimpse of her ass in shorts that do a poor job of hiding anything. “I’m impatient too, as you know now,” she offers, looking down at her phone, her face illuminated with the screen's glow. She reads something and has a serious look on her face. “It’s getting late, isn’t it?”

He squints at the clock on the stove. 4:27. “Yeah, I guess so,” he replies, trying to hide his disappointment.

“Your figures are cool, by the way. They look like the real deal. Are they?”

He nods silently, tonguing his lip ring. Jungkook watches her with a gut-wrenching desire to step forward and take her face into his hands and kiss her.

“You’re a Marvel geek. I'm guessing,” she says, staring down at the ground. It’s like she’s suddenly shy. Her voice is quieter. “I like some of the movies. I saw the new Spider-man with my friends last week. I’m late, I know.”

“I have Disney plus,” Jungkook says, his eyes looking her over. “And I’m not trying to say anything like the ramen stuff, you know, all that stuff people say to each other recently to get together. It’s a real offer.”

Rei laughs, bringing a hand to cover her face. “So you don't want to get together?” She looks at him with a deep intensity in her eyes and smiles coyly, making Jungkook swallow hard.

“I said that, didn't I? That’s not what I meant. It’s just that nowadays, words have different meanings. Let me rephrase-”

She takes a step closer to him, and his chest feels ablaze. She’s so close he can smell the fragrance of her clothing much clearer than before. We use the same detergent.

“I’d like to come by sometime,” she says, her eyes lingering on his hands holding his cup, “for a movie, no ramen.” Now she smiles warmly and takes a step back.

She likes doing this to me. It’s torture.

“Really?”

“Yeah, why not? You seem nice. I don’t think you’d be a freak, right?”

“Right,” he says, nodding.

“I know we’re technically strangers, but you have a good vibe,” she says, shrugging. “I show up here so late, and you serve me tea. You’re a nice guy.”

“Am I?”

“I think so. Are you?” She quirks up an eyebrow, twitching her lips between a smile and a laugh.

Jungkook smiles at her. He feels his cheeks growing warm. “I am. I don’t know why I challenged you about it.”

“Because you like to flirt with me, I think,” she retorts, crossing her arms across her chest.

“I’m just a nice guy,” he says as he places his palms against the kitchen counter for balance, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh.” She glances at her phone screen, reading the time, and Jungkook does the same with the time on the kitchen stove. She's going to leave. I can feel it.

“I guess I should get going…”. Rei looks apologetic for some reason. A pink shade colors her cheeks, and she brings a hand to her forehead and lets out a deep breath as she says, “Kinda hot in here, no?”

Jungkook wants to tell her she doesn't have to go and that he doesn't want her to, but he only offers her a timid smile and looks away, nodding in agreement. “A little. I’ve been feeling it too,” he says, looking at her and catching her eyes.

Should I move now? Is it now? My move? Will she kiss me back?

Still, he brings his cup of tea to his lips as she stores her phone in the pocket of her hoodie, and she pauses as if remembering something. “And why is there a mattress outside?”

He’s drinking his tea and begins to choke. Coughing, his chest on fire, and his throat closing in, Jungkook rushes to double over his sink, and she’s standing behind him with a wrought-up look.

“Are you okay?” She steps closer to him, lightly touching his arm.

Jungkook coughs, clearing his throat; he can feel the blood rushing to his face as his eyes instinctively shed tears. The feeling of her touch on his arm feels like fire. “Sorry, I don’t know what happened. The uh, the mattress?” He looks toward his patio, a panicked look in his eyes behind the tear-stained glasses. He pauses, looking down at the floor. “I have them all over, so I can nap when I feel like it.”

She throws her head back and laughs, not taking him seriously until silence hangs between them. She raises an eyebrow. “Wait, really?” With that, her phone goes off in her pocket, and she reaches for it. “Sorry, one sec.”

He leaves her to talk on the phone with whoever and walks over to pick up Bam’s toys and dirty socks to throw in a hamper. Jungkook can hear the muffled phone conversation a room over, so he hums a song. She speaks in a hushed voice, but he hears his name mentioned.

He coughs before he reappears in the kitchen.

She’s humming to herself, lingering by the door, and his heart squeezes. ‘Don’t go,’ he wants to say. ‘Stay.’

“I should go…” she says, not budging from where she stands, chewing her lower lip, looking at Jungkook through full eyelashes. Almost as if waiting for him to interject, and him, not knowing how to.

“If you want,” Jungkook says. He swallows hard at a lump in his throat. The plead to have her stay pushed down into his chest.

DAMN!!

A look he can’t decipher takes over her face, and then the next moment, she’s smiling at him, reaching for the doorknob just as he does. They share an embarrassed exchange of looks when their hands touch, and he shakes his head, an anxious chuckle escaping him. His face feels warm as he pulls the door open for her. Rei steps out into the hallway, turns over her shoulder, and raises her hand to wave at him slowly.

Again, he yearns to kiss her and again lacks the courage.

“Bye, it was nice meeting you, Jungkook.”

“Goodnight, Rei,” he replies, leaning on the doorframe, his heart sinking into his stomach.

The next day, Jungkook is cooking for himself. He submitted his comic in the morning and has endlessly replayed last night’s events in his head.

“I should’ve kissed her,” he says to Bam.

Jungkook’s phone pings a few times and is followed by a call. He answers, distracted as he serves himself bibimmyeon and pork belly. He props the phone between his chin and ear, tilting his head comically as he walks back and forward to the table, setting down a steaming bowl of sticky rice. “‘Ey, Namjoon-hyung!…” He drags the chair out from underneath and settles in front of his plate. Jungkook reaches over the table, yanks a paper towel, grabs his chopsticks, and begins digging into the rice. “Wait,” he glances at the clock on the wall. 6:47. “It’s almost seven,” Jungkook says, confused. “Your meeting with the record executive started at six… it ended that quickly?”

Namjoon smiles. “The meeting was quick. I have really good news.” He pauses for effect. He’s in the studio, eyeing the email on screen. “Hold on,” he says, placing the phone on the desk and turning the speaker on.

Jungkook is chewing his cheek, the chopsticks loosening in his grip. He lets the silence exist for a few seconds, then he rubs the back of his hair, leaning back in his chair, his spare hand fisted over his mouth. “What?” He grumbles into his fist.

“He liked my demo. He had some comments about it but said it would do well. He said everyone else liked it; whatever that means, we’re in. He said we can come in for a group meeting where we introduce the guys, and that way, we can all talk about what we want to do going forward.”

Jungkook is speechless; they’re in. All seven of them. He can’t believe it. He stares wide-eyed at Bam, who tilts his head quizzically. “No way. No way. Is this for real?” Jungkook’s heart is thudding so hard he can see it beneath his shirt.

“I swear, Jungkook. It is.”

“Do the guys know?” Once more, Jungkook meets the eyes of his dog, and he’s smiling so hard he feels his nose scrunch.

“Some of them do, yeah. I was with Jimin earlier.”

“Yoongi,” Jungkook says, bringing his palm over his forehead. Smiling with his eyes crinkling, he feeds himself rice. “Yoongi will be so happy. We all are, you know but him .” Jungkook makes a sound with his teeth. “He’ll be so proud of all of us.”

“I know, I know. Yoongi hasn’t slept well since we first submitted our demos, and when I mentioned I had a meeting with an executive, he grabbed his jacket and took off to the studio. I don’t know what he’s been doing when he comes in, but I know he might cry.”

“I might cry too,” Jungkook admits in a hushed voice.

Namjoon wipes at his eyes, and a silence hangs between them. They’re both sniveling on the receiving end. After Jungkook clears his throat and allows himself another sniffle, he starts eating again.

“What did you make?”

“I have a lot of rice left. I made bibimmyeon and pork belly, but I have some noodles, too, if you want me to make them. Come and eat with me if you’re free. Let’s celebrate.”

“Can I leave my bike outside?” Namjoon asks. Namjoon shuts off the shared laptop in the studio, grabs his puffer jacket and the book he’s been reading, heads over, and flips off the light switch. His phone remains on speaker as he locks the door and shoots a glance down the hallway. From a distance, Yoongi does a quick two-finger salute in passing. Namjoon’s heart gives a squeeze.

Jungkook thinks it over. He’s never seen anyone leave a bike outside. “I don't know, honestly. Bring it to my apartment; it’ll be fine. I have something to tell you, by the way,” he says, referring to the previous night.

“Just saw Yoongi,” Namjoon says, jingling the keys on his finger and making his way out of the building. “I have to tell him, but I think he’s already in his studio locked up. You know how he gets.”

“He won’t let you in,” Jungkook says, scrunching his nose and stifling a laugh through a mouthful of steak.

“Exactly. And what is it? I’m bringing my bike, I thought about leaving it chained, but it’ll stress me out.”

“He’s almost done with his demos, Hobi said the other day,” Jungkook replies. “But it’s about her, bro. You won’t believe me.”

Namjoon laughs through the phone. “Mystery-neighbor-crush her, you mean?”

“Neighbor stuff, am I that annoying? Don't answer that. I’ll leave the door unlocked for you; just come in because I have to wash Bam.”

“All right, bro, give me twenty, and I’ll be there.”

Jungkook is sitting across from Namjoon, who raises an eyebrow at him as he chews on his steak. “So she came in here,” he swallows his bite and continues, “was on that couch?” he signals with his chopsticks, “and she went home after that?”

Jungkook nods. The moment he’s been dreading: admitting he chickened out. He’s not proud of himself and debates whether to omit a few things.

“Yeah, what else could’ve happened?” He takes a drink of his water, avoiding Namjoon’s gaze.

“So many things, bro. But, the very least that should have happened is that you got her number or something like that. Did you ask?”

Jungkook is quiet. His cheeks are flushing with heat. He’s chuckling at himself, remembering how he clammed up around her.

“You just let her leave, right? She walked out, thanked you, and you probably made her a tea she didn't drink.” Namjoon is laughing when Jungkook groans and shakes a fist above his head. “Ah, Jungkook!”

“I know!” Jungkook shakes his head. “But I got a name. I got a name; that’s something, isn't it?”

“Well?”

“It’s Rei. I don’t know where she’s from and all that, but that name just suits her, doesn't it?”

“It does, it does. But come on, bro! This girl lives so close! For starters, she stuck around. She could've just left after explaining herself. Instead, she sat down right where you’re sitting and stayed .” Namjoon feeds himself rice as he shakes his head and continues while he chews, “She looked at you the last time we evacuated; I saw her. And how many times have you bumped into her already? She probably thinks you’re out to get her.”

“I know. I kept thinking the same. I thought: ‘She could've left by now, but she hasn’t. I don’t know, hyung, I just froze. I just kept nodding; it was so stupid.” Jungkook closes his eyes and places his fingertips over his eyelids, shaking his head in lament.

“Not stupid, bro,” Namjoon offers, swallowing his bite. “I’ve seen her around too, and she’s really pretty, but it’s a weird sensation when she’s nearby; it’s like her beauty is different. I don't mean it like I want her now, nothing like that, but it sort of feels like I am stuck too. Like, what can I say right now?”

Jungkook nods, understanding the sentiment. “It knocks the wind out of me sometimes when I see her,” he says, reaching for a napkin. “I wanted to say so much more, but I couldn't. It was different being close to her like we were. This girl is killing me, Namjoon-hyung. You said she looked at me?”

Namjoon smiles warmly. “She did, at the evacuation a week ago. Was it a week now?” He wipes at his mouth and looks at Jungkook expectantly. Jungkook nods at him. “Well, a week ago, I went out last and caught her looking your way. She had her hand like this,” he brings his hand up to shield his eyes against nothing, “and she was smiling. She didn't see me noticing.”

Jungkook scoots closer. He rests his chin on Namjoon’s knee, looking straight at him until he’s cross-eyed. “At me?” he asks, loving that this happened.

Namjoon shakes his leg free and takes a sip of his water. “I think she likes you. She was looking at you the same way I’ve seen you look at her,” Namjoon reaches for his phone, checks a text, and continues, “so she would’ve been into you. Did she flirt with you?”

Jungkook mulls it over. He doesn't want to read too much into it, but he thinks she did flirt. “I could be wrong, and I’d hate to be wrong,” he says, “but I feel like she was into me, like, actually into me, and I thought about kissing her. Would that have been too forward?”

“Hmm,” Namjoon says as he chews his food. “Maybe. I have to see you two in action, to say. I think you can trust your gut, and if you felt that way, maybe she was giving you those vibes on purpose, you know? Sometimes girls are so forward that it's confusing. Like, ‘am I reading this wrong?’ When the whole time there was only one way to read it.” He gives his head a light shake.

“She was talkative like Yoongi predicted.”

“Oh, was she now?” Namjoon looks surprised. “I sided with Jimin when he said she seemed shy and kind of mean. Not mean, but you know the mean look girls have that makes them look kind of cool?”

Jungkook nods with a mouthful of steak.

“That’s actually interesting that she was talkative. That’s good. I think you’d do bad to get with a shy chick again.”

Jungkook once dated a girl in high school he didn't know how to talk to, and when he meant to break things off, he’d just ignored her for the entire year. She was too shy, too quiet, too reserved. He was everything else but.

“I agree with you on that,” Jungkook says honestly. “Back to Rei, she’s even prettier up close, hyung. I thought I was in a dream, that sounds so cheesy, but it’s true.”

“It was, what, four in the morning?”

“Three. Close to four.”

“Exactly. I would think that's a dream too. Seems like it. Are you sure you’re not messing with me?” Namjoon elbows Jungkook lightly.

“I want her. Is that so pathetic?”

“A little bit,” Namjoon teases, bringing his thumb and pointer finger to a slight pinch. “Like this tiny little space right here is where you live.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes as he walks into the kitchen for a beer.

“Honestly, Jungkook, I think she likes you back. Pass me the rice. Want some of the steaks?” He shows Jungkook his bowl, and Jungkook accepts, opening his mouth to be fed. “You can feed yourself.”

“Ah,” Jungkook says, mouth agape. “Just one piece.”

Namjoon is feeding Jungkook rice when the doorbell rings. The two exchange bewildered looks, and Jungkook shuffles from the ground, sliding on the flooring with his socks as he peers through the peephole. He falls to the ground as if shot, crouching with a deathly look about him.

Namjoon shifts in his seat on the floor and, stretching his neck, asks Jungkook who it is. Over and over, quietly, he’s asking who’s at the door.

Jungkook doesn't answer until Namjoon stands. He shoots a hand up to grab Namjoon’s sleeve, motioning him to crouch beside him. Whispering, he says, “It’s Rei; what do I do?”

“Get up!”

“I can't. I can't. I don't know what she wants. What if she knows?”

“Knows what? Get up; I’m opening the door in 3, 2,...”

Jungkook stands. He can feel his heart beating viciously, and his hands are sweating. He glares at Namjoon, raising his hand and motioning for a cutthroat. “I’ll kill you,” he mouths as his friend walks away.

Jungkook peers into the peephole and sees her turning away. He pulls back the door quickly, causing her to turn around. She smiles, and he wants her all over again. His relaxed demeanor vanished. “Hey, what’s going on?” are his first words.

Rei laughs, and he can feel himself blushing. He drops his head when he remembers Namjoon is a witness.

“Hey, neighbor,” she says, smiling the same coy smile she lent him last night. She pulls a paper from her pocket, extends it to him, and says, “It’s an invite to my birthday party this weekend; if you don't have any plans, I thought it would be nice to hang out and see you again. I’ll have friends over, and of course, you can bring yours.”

A party? Wait, see me again?? “I will be there. This weekend. I’ll make an appearance.” He stops talking when she laughs. He can feel the blood boiling on his face. What the hell is going on with him? “Sorry, yes, I mean, thank you.” Jungkook can feel Namjoon’s burning gaze behind him—he can picture how his friend stifles a laugh into his fist.

“No problem. Who’s that?” She points inside the apartment.

Namjoon waves when Jungkook turns around to see him standing behind him, a smirk tugging at his lips. Jungkook widens his eyes at him, mouthing for him to stop laughing. Stepping aside for his friend’s introduction, Jungkook signals toward his friend with a swift movement of his hand. “Namjoon, this is Rei. Rei, this is Namjoon, a good friend and gifter of bonsai trees.”

“I’ve seen you, no?” she talks to Namjoon, who nods, flexing his pointer finger, indicating that she has. He’s chewing cheese puffs, and Jungkook raises an eyebrow at him, silently questioning him: ‘Where did you get those?’ His stare says.

“At the evacuation, I was there.”

“Ah, yes, you had bright green hair like a highlighter pen then.”

He laughs. “That was me, yeah! You were with that girl, the…one with the red hair in pigtails.”

“Ah. That’s right! You have a good memory.” She sounds impressed.

Jungkook tongues his cheek, shaking his head beside them unnoticed.

“You too, you too. Cheese puff?” Namjoon offers a bag of cheese puffs.

“You’re tempting me, but I will have to decline. I just had lunch.”

“Your friend, the one with the pigtails, will she be at this party?”

Namjoon is nervous, but he plays it off well. Only Jungkook can tell.

“I think she can be there,” Rei replies, her eyes shifty and full lips pursing. She seems to think it over, anxiously looking at Jungkook and chewing on her lower lip. It’s as though she’s waiting for Jungkook to glance her way. Only Namjoon is seeing this.

Jungkook is annoyed. They’re talking so easily. He shifts uncomfortably, his fingers gripping the door. He watches how Namjoon chuckles and how she timidly looks down at her hands. The glittery nail polish made his heart feel like a stone in his chest. He wants to interject. But how?

“I’m sure the guys will be free this weekend too; we might celebrate our little accomplishment here sometime soon, so Jungkook can tell you about that and invite you when the time comes, right, Jungkook?”

Jungkook only nods. That’s all he seems to be capable of when she’s around. He feels so strange around her. He feels the same way each time, like he’s coming down with something suddenly. Didn’t it just get so hot out here with the door open like this? He wonders. Is anyone else sweating?

Their voices continue around him. He nods a few times when the conversation shifts toward him, but he feels lightheaded. He wants her so badly.

He doesn’t mean to, but he clears his throat, turning the conversation around him to a simmer.

“So, Jungkook, Namjoon told me he’d come this weekend and bring your other friends. There’s a theme, by the way.” She pauses for dramatic effect. “It’s fairytale-themed!” She raises her arms above her head like a big reveal and holds her pose, awaiting their reaction.

Namjoon laughs, turning away; he says: “I’ll give it good thought! Thank you for the invite, Rei!”

“And you?” She looks at Jungkook.

“Me?” Jungkook swallows hard at a lump in his throat. His brain seems to forget how to form sentences when she’s around.

“Yes, you. Do you have any ideas, JK?” she smiles, lopsided.

Is she flirting with me? Here? Namjoon-hyung! Come back!

“I have to rewatch all of my favorite fairytale movies to have an idea,” he says, bringing a hand to his head. He feels the heat emitting from his forehead. “I’m kidding. I think something cool like Dracula.”

“Is that a fairytale?” She laughs.

“Define a fairytale. Isn’t it just make-believe?”

“You don’t think vampires are real?” She raises an eyebrow at him, but he can tell she’s intentionally giving him a hard time. Her smile is surfacing and betraying her.

“I do, actually. Ah, okay. Give me time. I’ll think of something. What about you? Who are you going as?”

She pretends to think it over even though she already has an idea. “I won’t say; you’ll have to see.”

He’s fully leaning against the doorframe, his foot slipping under him, and he almost falls over. He mutters something to himself, and she’s biting back a laugh. “You want tea or something before you go? If you’re not busy.”

“Ah, I want to say yes, but my friends are upstairs; I just stopped by real quick but thank you.”

He nods. “That’s okay, next time.”

“I’ll catch you two later,” she says, waving.

She turns to walk away, and Jungkook doesn't know what takes over him, but he shouts after her: “Thank you!”

He’s too embarrassed to see if she turns around. He closes the door immediately.

He doesn't even want to look at Namjoon. He stands facing the door for a while, his head hanging low, eyebrows scrunched up in physical anguish. He chews his lip and winces at himself, remembering.

“I said that out loud,” Jungkook says, incredulous with himself.

“You said that out loud,” Namjoon reiterates from somewhere in the room.

Sighing, Jungkook turns over, and flinches at a grape Namjoon tosses at him. His nose scrunching, he catches another grape mid-air and chews noisily. “She wants to know me properly,” he says, with a dreamy air.

“So be her prince charming,” Namjoon jokes, plopping down on his couch, busy on his phone.

“So I will be,” Jungkook says, tilting his head back to look up at his ceiling. She’s up there, walking around, talking to her friends, and he’s beneath her, dreaming of the weekend. “What day is it?”

“Wednesday.”

“Let’s go; I need an outfit.”

“Now?”

“Now, get up! Get up!”

“Let me finish my grapes; I just washed them,” Namjoon whines, still not glancing from his phone’s screen.

“Okay, but after, we’ll go.” Jungkook walks into his room, grabs his glasses, and steps back out.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

Jungkook nods, biting the corner of his lip distractedly. “Oh, I’m serious.” He reaches for the car keys on the table beside him. “I’ve never been more serious.”

And he is. He’s never been more serious about anything else. He wants Rei, but he wants her to want him, too. He can’t help but feel as though his luck is turning out.

taglist: @vsualitae

A/N: thank you for being here! I hope those that looked forward to the full first chapter have enjoyed this! It's my first lengthy fic, as I've already stated, so any feedback is greatly appreciated! reblogs, comments, and anything that lets me know you've enjoyed this will make me the happiest writer :') I appreciate you for giving my work a shot <3 Let me know if you'd like a second part, what you liked, etc. I'd love to hear from you, reader >.< until next time!!

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jj-5656 · 2 years

Text

Say It Like You Mean It With; Anthony Lockwood

A/N: Hello again! We’ve begun a new obsession, I am absolutely hooked on this show. And if there’s no renewal announcement in the next month, or at all, I’m fighting. @sunshineangel-reads provided some suggestions in the inbox, so I figured I’d tag <3. All right, hope you enjoy!

Summary: The one where you meet the newest addition to the agency, and insomnia strikes again

IMPORTANT: All characters are aged up. I wouldn’t be comfortable doing so if they were played by minors, but that’s not the case here. Just wanted to make that clear before we begin.

“She can’t just go taking two at once like that.”

“the rule is each member of the agency can only take one biscuit at a time in a strict rotation. Keeps things fair.”

“E-each member of the agency?”

“Assuming you are still interested in the position?” The front door opens just as Lockwood’s finished. Three heads snapping toward the mud room as you shuffle in, arms weighed down from grocery bags.

“Of course she’s still interested!” To Lucy’s relief, it’s a female voice that sounds before you appear in font of them. Tufts of hair spilling over your face at the exertion of errands. The two boys are immediately at your side, ridding you of all baggage and heaving it toward what she assumes is the kitchen.

“Lucy,” Lockward calls out behind him as he descends the staircase along George. “Meet y/n y/l/n, another associate.” You scoff, extending a hand with a kind smile. Undoubtedly the most welcoming so far. “She’s most sensitive to sound, much like you. Not bad with a rapier, either.”

“I hope they haven’t irritated you too much so far.” You beckon her to follow the boy’s path with you. “Please tell me you didn’t use the bloody toothbrush cup.”

“Of course not.” Lockwood taps his nose with his finger when your back is to him, a silent beckon for your potential hiree not to snitch.

The kitchen’s just down a flight of stairs, where you get unloading items into their designated spaces as George works on cooking.

“We call this the thinking cloth,” Lockwood taps onto the wooden table after tossing you a box of pasta to put away. “We jot down memos, theories, trains of thought-”

“Cheesy love confessions.”

“Shut up, George.” The redhead misses the inside joke, brows furrowing with confusion as Anthony continues on. “I located the bones of the Fenchurch Street Ghoul by sketching out the street plans here at three in the morning over cheese on toast.”

“When a case goes badly an we’re not talking to one another, it’s good for exchanging insults too.”

“Ah, and how often does that happen?”

“Almost never.” You butt in, giving her your most genuine expression despite the white lie. You’re so eager to finally have another girl around, it’s only fair you promote the job as much as possible.

“Now, basement. Follow me.” Lucy does as asked, sending a quick look of concern your way before she disappears down the stairway.

“She’ll never last.”

“Oh c’mon George, I was more than welcoming when you came along.”

“That’s because my natural talent was evident.”

“Is that why you screamed like a little girl during the test?”

“I wasn’t expecting the gunshots from the knife, alright?”

**********

“This was my bedroom when I was little, and y/n’s for a while. You can use it, if you’d like. Unless you have other sleeping arrangements?”

“Yes...No-I mean-”

“Of course, we’d deduct the rent from your wages. Nothing too steep. Just enough to cover the bills. I’m a very reliable landlord.”

“Jesus, Anthony. Give her a second.” You tear open the blinds, smirking when Lucy takes a moment to admire the view at such height. Something tells you the pair of you will get on just fine. She hesitates, then. Looking Iver to you with confusion.

“Do you sleep elsewhere?” There’s a sudden silence between the three of you. Lockwood clearing his throat as he pulls at a the tuft of hair at the nape of his neck. He studies the newest employee with a twinge of anxiety, presumably understanding how things might seem...Unprofessional. Granted, it’s a business run by an 18 year old, but an official one nonetheless.

“We share the bedroom downstairs.” Is all you manage, blush adorning your features as her jaw slacks in understanding.

“I’d like to make it clear,” Anthony looks over your frame, smiling fondly. Then back to Lucy. Who seems to hold no judgement despite her obvious contemplation. “Y/n and I attended academy together, she was with me when this all began.”

“In other words,” you finish for him. “We were sleeping together before he became my employer.” The closed-off girl huffs a laugh for the first time since you’ve met her, though your boyfriend twinges pink with an abashed smile. Diffidence is awfully rare on him, though it's quite adorable. It’s then Lucy decides she’s fond of you already.

“Please excuse my girlfriend’s lack of filter. I suppose George’s rubbed off on her.” He's only teasing, Lucy knows that when you shove at his shoulder. The pair of you are not overly affectionate, you don’t seem like the types anyway. Of course, she’s only caught a glimpse of your relationship, there’s an undeniable glint in her potential boss’ eyes as he looks at you.

“Like Anthony said-”

“Lockwood, please.” Though he interrupts you, he’s only looking at Lucy. She comes to understand you may be the only one unwilling to refer to him as such. It almost twitches a smile to her lips.

“This used to be my room, before Anthony begged for my hand.”

“Was that before or after you professed your undying love for me?” Said boy backs up toward the stairs, noticing the inklings of a friendship beginning to form between the two girls front him.

“Before then, but definitely after you pleaded to kiss me when you drank the better half of MY whiskey. Which was a gift, by the way. An expensive one.”

“From that muppet at academy?” He scoffs, wiping an invisible stream of dust off the banister. “Horrid flirt.” A grimace sets upon his face. Josh Collins was a right prick, you had to admit. Though it was an obliged graduation gift.

“Don’t speak so poorly of yourself, sweetheart.” Lucy can’t help but really smile this time, features immediately dulling once she realizes she’s been caught. You pretend not to notice.

Lockwood sends a half-assed glare your way, holding his tongue in lieu of the new company. “This has got it’s own bathroom. There’s a bigger one downstairs, but that’s mean sharing with George. And I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.” A beat of silence after you nod in agreement, cringing at the flashbacks. “Right, well, we’ll leave you to unpack. Settle in. That’s assuming-”

“Those newspaper clippings on the wall...”

“Oh. You saw those. Not very modest, is it?”

“But definitely on brand.” You mutter what you think is to yourself, smiling innocently when they look your way.

“Should really take them down.”

“No, it’s more...It’s just. Well you haven’t said anything about...I mean, who are you guys?”

“Plenty of time for that. You should rest. Get some sleep.”

“That’s...If you’ll take the job?” You hope you don’t sound as desperate as you are, voice tilting with anticipation as you wring your hands together.

There’s a couple, agonizing beats of silence that feel like hours. Finally, the girl nods, “yes.”

You all but shout, fighting jumping up and down at the confirmation. Anthony shakes his head at you with a fond roll of his eyes, sending Lucy hopeful smile. “Well then, welcome to Lockwood and Co.” You squeeze her arm gently in congratulation, taking hold of your boyfriend’s chin to press a swift kiss to his cheeks. Unaware of his skin flushing with heat as you descend the stairs in an elated hurry.

“Georgie, she said yes!!”

****************

It’s dark when you wake, rolling over in search of warmth that isn’t there. Unsurprisingly, Anthony’s not beside you. You huff a sigh, cursing your boyfriends’ relentless insomnia before wrapping the quilt folded at the bottom of the bed around your form and stalking down the hall.

He’s in the library, of course. The bright fire pops into the silence of the night, illuminating the room in a tantalizing warmth. Lockwood runs a finger over his bottom lip as his eyes remain trained on the book in hand. Up until a weak floor board gives your presence away with a groaning creak.

His lips curl into a tired, yet no less pleased smile at the sight of you. Shifting the couch so you’ll fit perfectly into his side. “Why are you awake, dove? It’s late.” He pushes a stray strand of hair from your face, brows furrowing when you scoff at the irony.

“Could say the same for you. Can’t sleep again?” He hums, elaboration not necessary. Hurt tugs at your heart strings as your thumb trails over the dark skin just below his eyes. A hand wrapping around your wrist to kiss your doting ones away.

In the solitude of these hours, you’re both able to find comfort in your gentle affections. It’s much easier alone, sometimes. There’s an unspoken ease in the solitude of it all. In these moments, Lockwood can feed into the delusion it’s just you and him in this house, in the whole world.

“Close your eyes and get some rest.” He wraps an arm around your sternum. Your back to his chest as he continues reading. A pout adorns your features, eyes narrowing.

“But I’m not tired.”

“Yes. You most definitely are,” the corners of us eyes crinkle with his knowing smirk. “You just don’t want to make me feel bad for making you feel obligated to stay awake with me.”

You envy his ability to read you more often than not. Pulling the quilt further over the two of you so as to seem inconspicuous. Failing miserably when a yawn tears through you. Long lashes fluttering over your cheekbones as you blink slow, gazing up at him. Anthony feigns stoicism under your gaze, though you’re just about the only person to make his heart race with just a look. The one you’re giving him right now is particularly cruel. Pleading, soft, all things sweet and alluring. He figures you’ve perfected the craft of drawing him in, unknowingly or otherwise.

“I’m wide awake, actually.” Is all you manage. Voice rasped with sleep as your nails run over the exposed skin of his forearm. Sending chills down his spine. The arm resting over you pulls slightly back, just enough to enable his hand to hold the side of your face. Fingers smoothing over your warm skin to lull you further.

You’ve always been naturally much warmer than him. A personal furnace, he regards you. Seeing as he’s always too cold for his liking.

It makes sense. You’re all things sweet and painstakingly kind. There’s not a soul who’d be able to repay half the debts you deem mere favors. You’d give the shirt off your back to anyone who needed it, especially those you care for.

You’re everything Anthony Lockwood is not. And sometimes, most times, he hates himself for it. Hates he’s too selfish to let you go and award you opportunity to find someone much more worthy of your heart.

“Hey. Where’d you go?” He’s stopped his ministrations, seizing your attention from the cackling fire and back to him. He offers a small smile, one you read right through. Here he is again, pulling away and closing off in the moments you’re both most vulnerable. It’d hurt, at first. The beginnings of your relationship...Friendship, even. Had often been strained by Anthony’s reclusive habits. You’ve shared just about every piece of yourselves to one another, yet he still manages to find more fear in love than fighting the dead.

Over time you’ve developed patience. Reveling in the small moments of softness he’s awarded you in all the chaos. They’re worth it. Knowing him, learning how to love him, has been worth it.

“I’m right here, love. I’m always here.” He presses a gentle kiss to the crown of your head. Pretending to get lost in the pages afront him once more.

“Come to bed.” You’re so quiet he almost misses it, folding the book against his chest to meet your gaze. Doing his best to ward off your obvious puppy eyes. (though he lacks lacks the best track record with this)

“Just one more chapter? Then I’ll take you to bed and pretend to sleep for the next few hours.” You frown at his teasing, swatting away his poke to your sides in search of a smile.

“You’re not funny, Lockwood. All i want is for you to rest. Really rest, for once.” Rapier-calloused fingers card through his hair, eliciting a gracious sigh.

“I’m only joking. I do rest much easier with you around,” a swift kiss to your lips. “Sleep better when you’re beside me,” two more against your cheeks for good measure.

“You’re awful.”

“Awful?”

“Awful!” A hand collides with his chest, chastising. “Being sweet so I’ll stop worrying. It won’t work. I’ll always worry about you.” And there it is again. The agonizing clutch at his heart at your compassion. Unable to resist the notion there are so many others much more worthy of your affections.

“I know.” It’s a whisperer, forehead pressing against yours. “You should probably start saving that for a bloke who deserves it.” There’s no self-pity to it. No trace of malice or fish for reassurance. So succinct and matter of fact you want to tackle him into an embrace in lieu of willing away every deprecating thought that intrudes his conscience.

“Anthony Lockwood.” You’re stern, then. Maneuvering upward so your head can rest on the arm of the love-worn couch and better face him. “If you’re mean to my boyfriend one more time, I’ll ensure my spirit is tied to you. Haunting you with love and affection for the rest of eternity.”

“I feel like that’s supposed to be a threat...” Cold fingers trace over your collar bone, peeking out from under his dress shirt you’ve stolen. “Though it’s almost endearing. I’d quite like to be stuck with you for the rest of time, I think.” A blush flushes your features, worsening when it elicits his cocky smirk at the observation.

“I hate you.” Hands concealing your abashed face with the muffled whine.

“Say it like you mean it, Darling.” He stretches under you, nudging at your forearms with the spine of his book. “Will you uncover yourself now? I’d like to see you again.” You oblige, hands falling atop your thighs and against his stomach. Anthony’s gasp startles you, features taught with confusion. “My God, it’s happened again!”

“What?”

“You’ve gotten prettier! Just now, I swear it!” A groan sounds as you press your face into his chest, shaking along with his rumbles of laughter.

“Just read your book, Lockwood. I like you better when you’re quiet.”

“Just one more chapter. Then we’ll head to bed.” He straightens, getting ahold of himself as he obliges. Eyes meeting yours once you tap his elbow.

“Read to me?”

“I thought you liked me better quiet?”

“I like you best complacent.”

“Noted.” And with that, he begins.

You stretch over him as he begins, his shirt on you rising just enough to expose your mid drift. Greedy fingers take the opportunity to run themselves over your soft skin. Cool rings giving eliciting goosebumps. He does it mindlessly, which makes you heat even more

“Stop blushing, you’re distracting me.”

************

Lockwood squints as the curtains are torn open with a cruel screech. George stands a-front him, hands on his hips. You’d never managed to make it back to bed, both having fallen asleep in the sam positions as the hours before. This particularly apparent when Anthony raises his head from the back of the coach, wincing at the soreness in his neck.

“You know, I may as well take the master bedroom if you’re never gonna use it.”

“Quiet down, George. You’ll wake her.” The curly-haired boy rolls his eyes when his colleague cuffs his hands over your ears, shielding you from the noise.

“Good. We have work to do.”

****

“Our first official case as a team of four.” Your boyfriend beams brightly despite the morbid information in hand. Passing it along so the rest of you can be caught up.

“Mrs. Hope...Looking to rid her house of a Problem following the demise of her late husband.” George adjusts his glasses as he sums the story to you and Lucy.

“Cheeky.” The girl deadpans, taking a sip of her steaming cup of tea groggily.

“Pay grade. That we desperately need.” You shrug, doing your best to make light of each job despite their implications.

“George, you should get a head start on the research while we pack the bags. Lucy we have to learn plans A-F, as well.” The three of you nod along, Lockwood tilting his chin upward to allow you better room to adjust his tie, Pulling away so he can offer the portion of buttered toast and chopped fruit he’s plated for you. You only take a strawberry, a polite shake of your head when he pushes it forward once more.

“Later.” You note, running your fingers under his collar to smooth it out.

“You should eat.” He’s stern, pulling away his steaming mug you reach for with furrowed brows. “Can’t have tea on an empty stomach, you get all shaky.” Your jaw slacks in half-serious offense at the notion, the pair of you turning your heads toward your colleagues sat at the table,

“You’ll have to get used to their old-married-folk tendencies. It’s quite insufferable at first, but becomes increasingly tolerable over time.”

“Oh shut it.” It's in unison, only aiding in your flushed demeanors as their grins grow.

“Told you.” The bastards’ irritatingly smug as he motions toward you. “I’ll be off to the archives, I’ve reached my morning’s capacity of affections.” Anthony’s arms cross with a scoff, eyes trailing over to you and face igniting in a mischievous smirk. Your brows furrow, about to question his sudden change in attitude before he’s on you. Making a show of grabbing the sides of your face and littering kisses all over your face. Pushing so you have to step backward toward a horrified George, hands over his ears as he attempts to escape the treachery.

Lucy can’t help but laugh. Overcome with the realization of all the agencies in London, she’s likely ended up with the best one.

#lockwood x reader #lockwood and co #anthony lockwood #lockwood and lucy #lockwood gifs #anthony bloody lockwood #lockwood x you #lockwood x y/n #imagine #fanfic #lockwood imagine #lockwood fic #cameron chapman #lucy carlyle #george lockwood #request #inbox requests

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timeya · 6 months

Text

Chapter 1

Devin, New Jersey

Early November

“Mina?” I heard kaylina call out. I was in the back room changing for tonight. “Here you are Mina! I’ve been looking for you.” She said with an upset voice.

“Sorry girl but I have to get dress and then help Ryan set up the bar for tonight. It is bad enough I was late.” I said walking to my locker for my hair tie. Kaylina came up behind me and helped me put my hair in a ponytail. “What happened! Normally I am the late one but today is you. Is everything alright.” She finished putting my hair back and took a step back. I closed my locked and took a deep breath.

I turned around I nodded my head and walked to the door after checking myself out. Once we walked out I seen Ryan cleaning glasses. I walked over there while Kaylina walked to other side. “Ugh! I need a drink. Ryan! give me my normal.” Kaylina said waving her hand back and forth. Ryan rolled her eyes and gave her a sweet tea out the mini fridge. Kaylin’s rolled her eyes taking the drink and walking away.

When I looked to see where she was going i seen Emerald walked over after saying something to one of the dancers. She came over to the side of the bar and gave me a hug a small kiss on the forehead “Hey Mymy. Why didn’t you text me to come get you.”She smiled softly looking down at me. “Sorry Emmy. I just had a lot to do and Zy wouldn’t go to sleep unless I was there with him. So I was late and had to uber. Sorry I didn’t call you but weren’t you in a meeting anyway.” I said restocking the liquor on the shelves. “That didn’t matter Mymy! It’s late at night and you ubering is not safe! Don’t make me hurt you girl. I know you’re smarter than that!”

Emmy took my hand a smacked it like I was a child. I took my hand out of hers, rolled my eyes and walked to the back of the bar where we keep the liquor. Today was Friday and we are mostly busy over the weekend so I wanted to make sure we had enough liquor in the front for tonight.

A little later

“Girl my feet hurt. Those heels are not for the weak. Aren’t you glad you aren’t a stripper Mina.” Kaylina said seating down behind the bar. We have been open for about 2 hours at the club is busy.I’ve been running around trying to make sure i get everyone’s drink orders. “Yeah, I am but my feet hurt too from running around. Im kinda upset that I didn’t get to see you perform.” I said grabbing drinks and putting them on my tray. I didn’t even get to her what she said before I walked away to give this table of girls their shots. “Here you guys go sorry about the wait ladies.” I said smiling at the group of girls. It was someone birthday so they get free shots on the house.

“Oh my gosh! thank you so much. Guys we have to tip her good!” They drunk birthday girl said. She was on her 5 drink and I don’t even know what shot number she was on but drunk was a understatement for what she was. Walking away from the group I made it back to the bar and took a sit.

I went to messages and seen my brother texted me a picture of Zylus still sleep. I hearted the picture and put my phone in my pocket when I heard someone call my name. “Mina! I need you to be the bottle girl for the VIP room tonight. Mia called out so it just Layla but she didn’t want to do it. Ryan said looking at the tablet in her hand. She been stressing all night because people keep calling out so it’s just 3 of us tonight.

“Um, sure i guess it’s like i have a choice” I said getting up and walking to where she was. She handed me a tray with dark liquor and a tray with light liquor. “ Ok it’s the VIP room on the third floor so you can use the elevator and the cart to help you. Just swipe your card and the elevator should work if not here is mines. Once’s you get up there knock 4 times before entering so they can know you are coming in.” She said handing me her id card and the cart. Once’s I put the trays on the cart i walked over to the back of the club and used her id card to get in.

“I’m telling y’all she wants me.She just playing with me.” Nawi said passing the blunt to Emerald. She telling us about this girl that she met who is playing hard to get. I don’t know why she thinks we give a fuck but we really don’t care.

“I don’t think she play Nawi.Its been about 2 months now.If she was playing hard to get she would have been told you now.” Izgoie said with a smirk on her face.

After she says said that we hear 4 knocks at the door. “Come in” i said looking down at my phone. “Sorry to interrupt but I am Mina your bottle girl for today.” I hear this sweet smooth voice say. When I looked up I seen who was talking. She looks new because i’ve never seen her before. She looks about 5’5, with the softest brown skin. As she walks in and puts the bottles on the table I look over to Izgoie and she looks her up and down with this subtle expression.

“Mina! you not no bottle girl you’re a bartender. What you doing up here. Emerald said getting up. I looked at her confused.How the fuck she know her. Emerald grabs the girl “Mina” hand and walks to the corner of the room. I look back over to Izgoie and she looks at me “She beautiful. How come i’ve never seen her before.” she said looking at me than back at her

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen her before either.” I said looking at her fully. She had the prettiest curly hair with baby hairs out into swoops. Her eyes were 2 different colors, light brown and hazel.

And man let’s not forget her body. I can tell she had a little pug but it didn’t look bad on her.

“you know i don’t like you coming up here mina” Emerald said with an attitude.

They talked for a while before mina looked around and looked at me. We held eye contact before she looked at Izgoie.She smiled at her before putting thebottles in her hand on the table, hugged Emerald and walk out..

THE END

#emerald haywood x reader #letitia x reader #mo washington x black fem reader #riri wiliams x reader #rosalie otterbourne × black!fem!reader #shuri smut #shuri x reader #shuriri x reader #riri williams x reader #letitia wright x reader #izogie x black fem #emerald haywood x black!reader #izogie x fem!reader

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ladylooch · 7 months

Text

Apologies and Considerations [Mack X David]

Word count: 2.8k

Before you enter, catch up on these blurbs: 1, 2, 3, 4

This happens the same night Mack apologizes to David at his game with a sign, while wearing his jersey and a bracelet with his name and number on it.

By the end of the game, glitter is all over Mack’s black jeans from David’s sign. It hangs in her left hand as she waits with Stella, Sophie and Lucie after the game. While running away has its appeal, Mack knows it isn’t right. She should talk to him. She wants to. Mack reaches out to Stella’s head resting on Lucie’s shoulder. She brushes back her wild, brown curls, appreciating how sweet Stella looks asleep. She was a wild animal during the game, but you wouldn’t know it now.

“Mackncheese, 14 looks as good on you as I thought it would.” David chirps from her left as he walks closer, glugging on some water. He is wearing a blue plaid suit with a white shirt and black, dress sneakers. His black hair is still slightly wet and strands fall onto his forehead from where he had pushed them back with his hand. Mack watches his approach, silent and nervous. He knows she is anxious, Mack can see it in the way he softens, becoming extremely approachable and gentle. Mack opens up the sign to him, biting her lip. “I saw that.” He smiles at her, then licks his lips. “But I, a bumfuck Iowa boy, only accept apologies over New York Style pizza.”

“Oh.” Mack laughs, feeling herself blush. “Um… no pineapple right?”

“God, no.” He shakes his head at her. “Pepperoni?” He wonders.

“That I can do.”

“You free right now?” He asks, taking the sign from her. “I am gonna have to take this home and inspect your work though. You understand, right?” Mack is so relieved at how this is going. She relaxes completely, chuckling genuinely in agreement.

“I messed up the M. Don’t judge too hard.”

“Maybe Stella did the M?”

“Stella did not help, so I don’t have her to blame that on. But Sophie did.” Mack shrugs, gesturing to her younger sister who is texting off to the side of the group.

“Sophie? Never heard of her.” David can’t even hold back his grin.

“Stop.” Mack blushes.

“Come on. Let’s go.” He reaches for her wrist, tugging her closer to him.

“Wait where?” Mack sputters.

“To Pizza. I’m starving and you look like you need a drink, at minimum. So let’s go.” Mack pauses, still not moving with him. “Unless you have other plans at 10:30pm?” He’s got her there. Her only plans were a detox face mask and a Netflix documentary about the ocean. “It’s either today or I pick you up at your place tomorrow at 7. We can’t keep going on estranged like this, Mackncheese. It’s too hard on poor Stella over there.” He points to the sleeping little girl. Mack looks over her shoulder at her sisters and her sleeping niece. Lucie gives her a pointed look like “finish fixing this”.

“Now is.. Fine.” She shakes her head awkwardly. David laces their fingers together, then waves at the remaining Hischier girls.

“Have a good night, ladies.”

“Bye Davey.” Lucie smirks.

Mack follows behind David. Several staff members say goodbye to him as they head out, offering up encouragement from his game tonight. David takes it all in stride, not bothering to slow down for anybody except for the valet who holds his car keys in his hand. David hands over a few bills and pats the man on the back.

“Shined er up for me eh?” David jokes as he opens up the passenger side door of a Black Land Rover.

“The Davey special!” The valet responds. David laughs in response, then focuses his eyes back on Mack as she slides in.

“You good?” He double checks with her. She tucks her hair behind her ear apprehensively.

“Yeah.” The door shuts and Mack is engulfed in a moment of silence. She inhales the crisp, piney scent of his air freshener. His car is immaculately clean, not what she was expecting from him at all. She imagined muddy floors and empty water bottles and maybe crumbs everywhere or something equally obnoxious. None of that exists.

David slides into the driver’s side door, then immediately goes to adjust the heat.

“Are you cold at all?”

“I’m comfortable.” She responds, carefully crossing her legs. David puts the car in drive and begins to pull forward. He stops so the door can be raised for him to leave.

“When we go out, there are going to be fans on your side.” David tells her. “The tint will cover most of your face, but you may want to put your hand up if it makes you uncomfortable.”

“Oh.” Mack says, looking over at the dark tint of the passenger side window. “Okay.” He waits until she puts her hand up to block a majority of her face, then slides out of the rolled up door. He pushes the car fast through the group of fans lining the fencing, then peels out onto the street.

“You should be good now.” He murmurs, adjusting the vents of air off him. That hand then rests on his thick thigh closest to Mack. Trying to be inconspicuous, she studies him whenever the car is moving. He is so relaxed as he winds his way through the traffic. He is constantly moving between the lanes, but not in a rushed way, in a confident driving way. It's... sexy, watching him be in such control while chaos flows around them.

“Do you have a place in mind?” Mack asks.

“Yeah.” He smiles. “I go here a lot after games.” He flicks his blinker on to turn right. “They, uh,” He pauses, looking over his shoulder to change lanes again. “Are a small shop open late. But their pizza is amazing, best sauce I’ve had in New York. And their beer is cold.”

“What more could you want?” Mack laughs at his simple description.

But when she walks inside with him a few minutes later, she gets it. White and red checkered tablecloths are on the square tables. Each one has parmesan and red pepper along with rolled up silverware sets in cups. It is simple in the midst of a fancy, expensive town, like the man who Brough her here tonight. Mack looks over at David and smiles in appreciation. David grabs them a corner booth, opening his arm up for Mack to slide in first. He unbuttons his suit jacket, then sits on the other side.

“I don’t usually do this, but can I order for us?” He asks after they give their drink orders to the waitress. A Coors Light for him and a Watermelon High Noon for her. Mack, who hates when men order for her, considers. David awaits her answer in the same relaxed fashion he always does. Mack trusts him and nods. “Thank you. Are you allergic to anything?”

“No.” She says.

“I feel like if you had an allergy you would just squint at it and it would scurry it’s way out of your body. I’m sure illnesses do that too.” Mack rolls her eyes.

“I’m mortal, same as you.” A low chuckle shakes David’s shoulders.

“Honey, not much about me and you is the same. I think that’s the problem here.”

Mack’s response is cut off by the waitress returning. David puts their order in- a pepperoni pizza with fresh basil. Mack was expecting something very extravagant with the way he wanted her to trust him. Her furrowed eyebrows indicate as much to David. He hold his glass up to her can in a cheers, after they drink, he explains.

“Life is about the simple things, Mack. They have great sauce, great crust, and a hell of a pepperoni. You don’t need anything else but those ingredients. It’s a flavor bomb in your mouth.”

“That what you learned in bumfuck Iowa?” Mack asks. David chuckles.

“Some of it. But a lot of that I learned moving here. A city of excess.”

“Yeah, I can see that. I don’t remember a ton of growing up in Jersey, but I certainly remember the pace was different in Switzerland.”

“Are you like Lucie? Do you identify yourself as American?”

“No. I’m Swiss first. Lucie grew up a lot more here than I did. We had a three year age difference, but those three years were big differences development wise, especially when you move internationally.” David nods.

“I can see that.”

“Have you been?” Mack wonders, taking another sip of her drink.

“To Switzerland? No. Connor says I need to go though.”

“Yeah.” Mack murmurs.

“So why are you here then?”

“A job. My dream one. I work for Travel + Leisure. But I don't consider this home. New York is just a place to live in between stories for me. I needed a home base and it made sense for it to be here with my dual citizenship. I went to college in Switzerland, but it’s hard to grow into who you want to be when you’re in the same hometown you grew up in.” David looks away but nods.

“Yeah, the same story following you around everywhere you go. All the same characters too."

“Mhm.” Mack nods. David brings his gaze back to her, trailing his green eyes up where her fingers rest on her drink, over her throat and lips before ending at her brown eyes.

“I’m just a small town farm boy, Mack. I’m not some big city perv who wants to coerce your sister into some sinister place. There are bad people in this city, but I’m not one of them.”

“I know. I overreacted and said things I shouldn’t have. I’m very embarrassed by my behavior. I am sorry for what happened. I was out of line.” David continues to study her while his thumb brushes against the condensation on his glass.

“You’ve been doing this a lot.” He points out. “Jumping down my throat the second you can like my sole job on this planet is to annoy you.”

“Isn’t it?” She asks, raising her eyebrows.

“No, only part of it.”

“Mmm, I see.” She smiles. He licks his lips, dropping his gaze to the table. A slow, tempest of a smile stretches across his lips.

“I think you and I could be really good together.” Mack's stomach bottoms out to the floor. Her heart starts to pound when his green eyes, full of lust, meet hers again. Mack’s lips part. A tingling awareness begins to consume her skin. “But if you’re not interested in that, let me know and we can stop this whole game.”

“This has been a game?”

“Of course it has, Mack.” She notes the lack of a nickname for her. He is serious. “Don’t act like you haven’t been playing too.”

“Not everything is a game, 14.”

“No, but with me and you it has been.” Mack doesn’t have a response for that. Is he wrong? She isn’t sure. She knows what it feels like from her perspective only and yeah, I guess some of it resembles a game- a dance, a twisting and turning race track that has a finish line she can’t see or understand.

“I don’t need an answer from you right now. I know that isn’t your style. You want to go home and evaluate all the different angles and reasons for why we shouldn't, and that's fine. I accept that. But you should know that when I go all in, I never look back.” A shiver of pleasure bolts down Mack’s spine. “I’d take good care of you. Not because you need it, because lord knows you have everything handled for yourself, but because you deserve somewhere safe to fall to when you don’t wanna be tough anymore. I’ll be that place for you.”

The waitress, with no understanding of the conversation, comes to set the pizza down between them. Mack is speechless, unable to even answer if she needs anything else to eat. David answers for them both. Mack’s eyes take in the deliciousness in front of her, then raises her eyes to David’s, something that is looking equally delicious.

“So tell me about growing up in Switzerland. Did you go hiking all the time and eat fondue?” David changes the subject completely. Mack stares back at him, then takes the turn with him.

“Yes, every day and night. That is all we did. Hike and fondue.”

- - -

In the car ride on the way back to her building, Mack is quiet, contemplating the earlier conversation with David. She hasn’t been able to think of much else since then. Mack isn’t sure what she wants and is extremely confused why she is even considering his proposal. She can’t stand him. At least she thought she couldn't? But then they talked tonight, really talked and connected. Where once there were completely different planets, now common ground exists.

“Nice place.” He comments as the Land Rover pulls up outside her building. He puts the car in park.

“Yeah this is what daddy’s money gets you.” She shrugs as she takes off her seatbelt.

“I’m sure you do well for yourself. Your articles are always front and center.” Mack pauses with her hand on the door handle.

“What?”

“Your articles. Isn’t being in the center good for a contributor?”

“Yeah, but how do you…”

“I read your stuff, Mack. Have read everything since before and after we met. I like your style. Your writing makes me believe I’ve been to where you have. That type of voice is special.”

“Thank you.” Mack says genuinely. “I work really hard.”

“It shows.” He nods. “Can I walk you to the door?”

“I’d like that.” She says.

“Let me grab your door. My dad would be upset if I let you do it yourself.”

Mack sits inside, waiting for him to come around and grab her door. He offers her his hand. She gently places hers in his awaiting palm. His fingers grip hers firmly. He keeps them together even as he shuts the door after she exits. Their fingers lace through their spaces. Mack is astonished again at how comfortable this feels.

She looks down, noting the way their fingers fold together like familiar lovers. Her gaze works its way up his arm to his face where he is looking at her, watching, trying to read her like always. Mack looks forward again, feeling too vulnerable to give anything away. So much turmoil swirls beneath her skin. What has happened tonight? Nothing she expected.

They climb the steps together, then Mack separates their hands.

“I enjoyed our first date.” He tells her, hands stuffed in his pockets outside the door to her apartment building.

“This was not a date.”

‘It was a date. I drove. I ordered the food. I paid. I drove you home.”

“No.” Mack shakes her head. “We didn’t…” She trails off, eyes wide when she realizes where she was going with that.

“Oh? You are a kiss on the first date kind of girl?.” His big hands weave around her body over her jacket. He presses her into his body until every part of them touch. “We can fix that.” He whispers, then leans down to kiss her.

Mack feels the wind knock out of her chest when their lips touch. Her senses go into overdrive, then her body melts completely into him. Her hands grip his suit jacket, forearms separating her chest from his. His tongue glides along her bottom lip, then gently asks for entrance into her mouth. Mack opens for him and he begins to gorge on her, taking anything and everything she is willing to provide him. Mack has never been kissed like this. It’s never been all consuming, losing the New York City street, or the feeling of snowflakes collecting in her hair, but with David Carlson it is. Nothing else exists but these two people, kissing on a city street.

“Now it was a date.” David finishes when they pull apart for air. Mack is disoriented when their gazes meet. Her lips are puffy and swollen, upper lip irritated from his mustache. She has trouble focusing on anything but his mouth. David takes his opportunity and kisses her again. This time, his hands thread through her hair, tilting her face to get the angle he wants to plunge his tongue into her mouth. Their lips slurp and slide against each other. Someone moans and Mack can’t quite believe it, but she’s pretty sure it was her.

"I want my answer soon.” He murmurs as they pull away. His thumb drags her bottom lip down, exposing her teeth before letting it slide back into place. Mack’s heavy breathing swirls between their faces.

“What answer?” She asks him.

“On if you wanna go in on this.”

“I don’t.”

“Bullshit. Think about it. I'll check in next week.” His thumb and pointer finger work her chin up. Then he kisses her softly, before stepping away completely. Mack shivers, then brings her fingers up to touch her lips. This man has turned everything about her upside down. Since when does she just fall into a man and slurp up every bit of their kiss? “Sweet dreams, Mack.”

Mack stands there, outside of the door to her apartment building, for several long moments, blinking and attempting to ground herself back in the present. David’s Land Rover stays parked in its spot, blinker on, but not moving from the curb. Eventually, David rolls down the window and calls out to her.

“Mack, honey, can you go inside? So I can leave?” Mack nods compliently, then shuffles inside, thanking her door man on her way in.

“Whew. He is something, Ms. Hischier. The way he kissed you was a scene right out of a movie. Your daddy would like him.”

“This stays between you and me, Ron.” Mack practically begs her old, familiar door man.

“Yes ma’am. Your secret is safe with me.”

Great, now he’s a secret. Mack looks over her shoulder, watching David’s SUV merge into traffic.

He said he wants to be her safe place, but everything about this feels unsafe to her.

#mackdavid au

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underratedandoverit · 1 year

Text

You Wanna Wish Away Your Sins (1/3)

After losing to Best Friends at Arcade Anarchy, Kip undergoes shoulder surgery. One person reaching out to him afterwards sends Kip spiraling, turning all the pain and suffering in him into… Flowers? Flowers growing in his lungs?

Kip Sabian/Chuck Taylor. Hanahaki disease. Angst. Hurt/comfort. Emotional hurt/comfort. One-sided attraction.

Marked Mature on AO3 for general content. Warnings for mentions of hospitals, surgery, medical stuff. Described feelings for choking and vomiting.

Other characters include Penelope Ford, Trent Beretta. Kris Statlander and Orange Cassidy are mentioned. Background ship of Penelope/Kris is heavily implied, but never specifically shown.

part 2 || part 3

On AO3

I reeeeally only wanted to start posting this after it was all done, but seeing how I'm two weeks behind on what I wanted the original publishing schedule to be, I need heavy motivation to actually finish this (its about halfway done as of posting this), so! Here's the effort to hopefully help with that! Cause I am planning on finishing this, I have full plans for all three chapters and the epilogue (that'll be tacked onto the final chapter), I just need the energy to realize that its worth finishing so.. I'm getting this up now. To maybe hopefully see its worth it and people want to see this through. Idk.

I have been thinking maybe this concept would have been better with another ship, but I started with this and its very fitting for them, and I need more of this propaganda in my life and seeing how I'm the only one making it… Yeah we're sticking to Kip and Chuck. Sorry not sorry. (also tag list might change a little as i post the rest, tho this should be it generally. i tried to keep it spoiler free for now)

@midnightpretenders0 @stormbornpirate @ss-trashboat

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

Beep.

Kip tried to ignore the heart monitor to the best of his ability, and yet his brows furrowed, irritated, at the sound. The soft groan was barely audible in the hospital room that was empty aside from him, as Kip came to witness as he forced his eyes open, returning back to the real world from the sleepless rest he had been attempting to get for the last few hours.

Some would have guessed that sleeping would have been easier when you lost feeling from one of your four limbs, especially from the one going through the extreme levels of pain. But what those same people didn’t understand, was that the medication they put him under with, was amplifying most of his other senses to the point where it was almost painful to just even listen to certain sounds.

Beep.

Kip glared at the monitor, watching the little line on it beep an extra time, almost as if it was mocking him and the hatred raising his heart rate. Kip leaned back on the bed, turning away, eyes landing on the window across the room. The soft rays of sunshine indicated early morning hours, which wouldn’t have surprised him a bit. After coming to from the surgery Kip had been in various states between high alert and sleeping like a log, dozing off whenever he felt like it. Not that it mattered, they didn’t let him go home yet anyway, so he was just taking advantage of sleeping away as much of the irritation and pain he could while he was alone.

Beep.

Slowly Kip’s eyes dragged away from the window, landing on the little drawer next to the bed. Some nice nurse, was his guess unless it really had been Penelope, had left his personal belongings on it on a little tray. Honestly Kip was slightly surprised they had been just left for him like that, out in the open. While sure, he wasn’t sharing the room with anyone else, anyone could just walk in at any time while he was out cold and grab his wallet, keys, and phone and just bail out.

Or even worse, he himself could have used the phone before he was fully aware of himself and his surroundings yet, being under the influence of the painkiller and/or anesthesia. Almost as bad as some of his younger days of drunk dialing.

Beep.

Kip closed his eyes, inhaling deeply as he tried not to get irritated at the sound piercing his ears every couple of moments. As he calmed himself down, he slowly opened his eyes again, landing them back on the phone on the tray. He observed it for a moment, trying to count in his head how long it had been since he was wheeled into the operating room, how long it had been since he had last checked anything.

Really all he could remember was the little kiss Penelope placed on the top of his head, whispering him good luck before he was wheeled away from her too.

Beep.

Kip’s hand slipped away from under the thin covers of the awfully medical feeling blanket thrown over him, reaching for the phone. It was easier said than done to be honest, having to navigate the world now mostly with his non-dominant hand and everything. Kip fumbled a little, almost letting the phone slip from his fingers, letting out a string of quiet curse words from under his breath as he barely caught it again before it managed to fall to the floor, where he most definitely wouldn’t have been able to grab it without getting some help first.

With a sigh he lowered the phone into his lap, brushing a hand through his hair. Everything was just so bothersome and irritating to him, he could barely do things by himself. And every single little bit that he required some kind of help with, Kip hated even more. He understood the situation he was in, absolutely, but that didn’t mean that he was going to enjoy being so dependent on others when he could just as easily do all of this, and more, by himself before.

Beep.

His eyes landed back on the phone now sitting on the bed in his lap, the fingers of his right hand carefully drumming against the dark screen. It felt cold to the touch, clearly not having been turned on for a while or being held in a hand using it. Kip had no idea if there would even be any messages for him to return to, sure there were people like his family, friends, and co-workers who knew he was going through the surgery, but most people he felt like had already been in touch the day before, wishing him luck. He vaguely remembered Penelope telling him she would send him reminders about things he needed to take care of after surgery, but that was all he was expecting.

And yet, there was some sort of odd feeling of hesitation in him as Kip’s fingers kept drawing circles on the screen, only mimicking opening apps and scrolling through them.

Beep.

It was almost as if the sound was mocking him at this point, screaming at him to do something. Kip glared at the monitor on his side, eyes slowly returning back to the phone. He carefully took it back into his hand, weighting it for a moment, his thumb navigating on top of the power button almost on instinct. Kip barely stopped himself from pressing it down, taking a moment to ask himself if it was worth it.

As far as he knew, nobody was going to need him while he was gone. He was going to have to turn it on later to get in touch with Penelope about getting out of the hospital as she had promised to pick him up, but apart from that… Kip didn’t really know what to expect. On the other hand though, this kind of silence gave him a good chance to catch up on other important things he might have missed, if there weren't people he needed to get back to.

What could go wrong?

Beep.

Kip held down the button, watching as the screen slowly lit up, greeting him with the familiar opening screens. His eyes narrowed a little at the sudden bright lighting hitting him, but soon enough he was booted in, allowing him to adjust the screen brightness to his liking. Kip was still trying to get used to being awake and feeling like himself in his own body, and coming off from heavy medication, even if it had been a day since then, it was like a dark cloud hanging over him. He didn’t enjoy it in the slightest, but Kip knew it was a necessary step if he wanted to get through all of this. Unfortunately.

As he got himself back into his phone, Kip absentmindedly scrolled through some of the messages that were popping up little by little all over the place. Mostly it was just few remaining co-workers and friends that hadn’t reached out earlier wishing him speedy recovery and hoping that the surgery goes well, the usual things you’d message to someone you didn’t talk to more than occasionally but who you knew was going to go through something heavy like this and you had their contact info at hand. Kip scrolled through the well-wishes, smiling occasionally a little more as he watched the different names and profile pictures he recognized, wondering how many of these people actually cared or if this was just a cleverly arranged mass ruse so he would maybe feel a bit better after being under the knife.

And then.

Kip’s eyes locked onto one of the messages, starting with a word he didn’t expect to see.

‘Sorry’.

He didn’t notice his grip on the phone getting tighter until holding it actually hurt his hand, but Kip pushed the thought aside. Unblinking eyes stared at the phone screen as it burned the images of the words on his retinas until they were hurting too, but he was too deep in his own head to look away, to stop reading the message he didn’t think he would be getting. Not now, not ever.

Not from Chuck.

‘Sorry about your shoulder. Heard from Kris you were getting surgery. I didn’t mean to hurt you that bad. Hope you heal well. If you need something, let me know.’

Kip’s mind was nothing but static. The phone light hurt his eyes, his grip hurt his hand, reading and processing the words in his head. The pain shooting through him was almost comparable to the jolts he experienced going through the structure Chuck had thrown them both down to from the stage, only this one was even worse somehow.

‘If you need something, let me know.’

He didn’t read that right. He couldn’t have read that right. There was no way Chuck Taylor out of all people would say something like this to him. Or even text these kinds of lines to him. To Kip.

To the man that had been looking at Chuck from a distance with a mixture of interest and admiration for so long without saying any words out loud, without making any moves, without taking any actions to realize the thoughts and feelings he had. There was no way Chuck was doing this, offering help to him if he needed it, without knowing that there was something going on in Kip’s mind that he wasn’t sure was going to be able to handle daylight.

‘I didn’t mean to hurt you that bad.’

Chuck didn’t know Kip was already on his way out when Arcade Anarchy was announced. He had already been told he would require surgery on the torn shoulder, but this match was approved even with the ending spot as it wasn’t going to make his condition any worse than it already was. Kip hadn’t dared to say anything to the Best Friends, in fear that it would hinder their performance; he wanted them at their best, not feeling sorry for him, not trying to be careful with him. Miro knew, but he kept his promise and didn’t say anything either.

For better or worse, Kip wasn’t sure anymore.

Beep. Beep.

He finally tore his eyes away from the phone screen, letting it drop from his hand. Kip curled the fingers a few times trying to ease the pain, eyes blinking as rather painful tears stung in the corners of his eyes. He wasn’t sure if it was a sign of emotional distress or just a side effect of staring at the screen, but it didn’t matter to him. Whichever it was, he didn’t want it, and it was making him feel awful.

Beep. Beep.

Kip slowly looked over at the heart rate monitor, watching the little line make extra jumps and letting out more irritating noises than necessary. His eyes trailed one of the cords leaving from it, watching it being attached to his chest with a little patch. Kip snorted at it, turning away.

Stupid. It was all so fucking stupid.

Beep.

His eyes landed back on the phone, hand reaching for his face as he wiped away a couple of tears. He wasn’t sure why he got so worked up over this, it wasn’t like this meant anything. Chuck was just worried, offering him his condolences and a little help if he needed it, just like everyone else did. That didn’t mean anything, no more, no less, than that he was being a good co-worker. Not even a friend.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Beep.

Maybe that’s why he took it so hard, to be honest. Kip inhaled deeply, almost frightened over how shaky his breathing sounded. He hadn’t expected this to hit him so hard, but something about seeing Chuck Taylor out of all the possible people reaching out to him after hearing about the surgery just sent him spiraling. Short circuited his brain. His thoughts were all gone. Kip’s mind blank, nothing but a newly debuted white canvas ready to be painted on.

And the only visual that appeared on it was Chuck, the moment he held onto Kip seconds before throwing them both off from the stage.

The words he whispered to Kip when the camera was pointing the other way.

“Are you sure?”

Beep. Beep. Beep.

In that moment he had been, only for the fact that he knew Chuck would prevent him from hurting further. At least, in the physical sense. Mentally at that point Kip was already so far down the rabbit hole that it didn’t matter. He would have said yes. Not only to that, but to anything that Chuck asked him.

Was Kip sure? Yes.

Was Kip going to be okay? Yes.

Did Kip want him?

…

Yes.

Yes he did.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

He looked back at the monitor, watching the line make extra jumps again. It apparently wasn’t a concerning enough feature, considering how long it had been going on and not a single nurse had gotten in to even check on him yet. Kip understood it though, in a hospital full of patients in worse conditions than what he was in, he was merely a second thought to anyone passing by his room. He didn’t make a sound, he wasn’t in pain, he didn’t exhibit extreme amounts of discomfort.

At least, not on the outside.

Beep. Beep.

Kip leaned his head back against the propped up bed, eyeing the monitor. If he wasn’t thinking about the phone that was still quietly buzzing in his lap, his heart rate slowly went back down. Of course he couldn’t keep this up forever, eventually he would probably have to reply to Chuck, and who knew what kind of fresh hell of wounds that would open on him. How awkward it would make everything if he dared to actually take on Chuck’s own offering and ask him for any help. Of course Kip didn’t need to do that, knowing that Chuck hadn’t actually caused any of this like he was thinking that he did, but…

Maybe it would be a way to get a step closer. To spend time with him. To figure out if Chuck could possibly feel the same way Kip did.

Beep.

Kip closed his eyes, trying to focus on his breathing. It would be all fine, he lied to himself. It wouldn’t matter if Chuck said no, it wouldn’t matter if they became just friends. Another lie. Kip could live with it if he could just tell Chuck how he felt, and whatever came out of that was just perfectly fine with him.

Kip was such a masterful liar sometimes.

Beep.

He hummed at himself a little, obviously satisfied with the way he made himself at least on some level believe everything was going to be okay. A small smirk tuck the corners of his lips, but Kip resisted it, thinking it was a step too far. He allowed himself to be proud of himself in this situation, but showing it outwards was a little too much.

Instead he yawned, followed by a cough as Kip could feel something scratching in his throat.

Beep.

He tried to gently cough it out, only making the scratching worse. Kip opened his eyes, glancing around him, trying to see if there was even a cup of water somewhere close by, but no such luck. Instead he coughed again, the burning in his throat just growing stronger and feeling grosser the more he tried to physically force whatever was stuck in his airways out of his body.

With a few more coughs the feeling was turning unbearable, Kip rather violently jerking forward as he coughed loudly, hand flying on to cover his mouth as he could feel something dislodging in his throat, attempting a forceful exit out of his mouth.

Beep. Beep.

Maybe he wasn’t as over the side effects of anesthesia as Kip thought, or nausea was a side effect of the painkillers. As the thoughts raced through his mind, Kip tried to keep his mouth covered by his hand, eyes shooting around his limited moving space, trying to find something he could safely vomit into. He could feel another scratch on his throat, knowing that he just had to take it and let it all out, Kip shoved the phone from his lap to the floor in a semi panic, barely hearing it landing with a loud thud before he allowed his insides to empty themselves into his lap.

Beep. Beep.

With his eyes closed to bear the pain, Kip could feel the burning in his lungs, but it all felt different than usual. It was an odd sensation, it felt more like something was scratching and crawling its way up his lungs rather than his throat, pushing painfully out of him rather than flowing in the liquid form like usual. It still burned, but in a softer, almost calming way compared to what Kip knew it should be.

Fearing the mess he had made, Kip slowly opened his eyes, thinking that he might have to call a nurse over to help him out, as much as he hated it. But instead he froze in place, eyes widening in shock as he tried to process the small pile of purple shaded rose petals sitting on his lap instead.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Kip carefully reached a hand towards the petals, shaking fingertips tracing along one. It felt soft, like it was freshly plucked from a flower, the kind of fresh petals you’d spread on a bed for a romantic surprise to a loved one. But the moment was nothing but romantic, it was surprising for sure, but it was more making Kip internally freak out than giving him any sentimental feelings over the sudden pile of petals in his lap.

They had come out from inside of him.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Kip had no idea why. No idea how. He could feel something crawling in his throat again, letting out a soft cough, watching a single petal flowing out of him, landing on top of the pile that had already formed.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Kip’s hands slowly grabbed a hold of the petals, squeezing them in his fists. He froze for a moment, feeling the soft petals against the palms of his hands, against his exposed skin, almost tearing wounds onto him despite their petite appearance.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Kip screamed.

#fic #aew fanfiction #wrestling fanfiction #character: kip sabian #character: chuck taylor #ship: chuckkip #fic: you wanna wish away your sins #setting: hanahaki

34 notes · View notes

springbloomer · 2 years

Text

*YAWNNN* 💤

(I HIT 100 FOLLOWERS THANK YOU?!?!?1//1?!) <3 <3 <3

Gif by me (i used: flipanim.com)

Gist: You show up in front of each brother in a very tired/ sleepy condition (for context it was either really late at night or super early in the morning) Also I guess this is a hundo followers special

Characters: Lucifer, Mammon, Levi, Satan, Asmo, Beel, Belphegor

Lucifer [in the kitchen to make more coffee~]

He’s surprised to see you up so early in the morning, knowing very well that you always end up oversleeping

*yawn* “Here’s the documents you tasked me to fill out..” In your hands was a thick stack of papers he gave you last night (and for some reason told you to finish it as soon as possible)

Shoot, now he’s guilty for making you do such a thing-

But of course, he wouldn’t let you know this, and lucky for him, your eyelids felt so heavy that you gave up on even trying to open your eyes

Another prolonged yawn escaped from your lips as you groggily walked around to find something to eat

Lucifer shook his head and sighed at your condition

He told you to go back to bed, but you were still so sleepy that you just blocked out all other sounds and ended up falling asleep to the coldness of the fridge~

As he tried to pull you away, you hung onto the refrigerator door and refused to get away from paradise (“lemme sleeeeeeeeep…”)

“Let go MC. We both know that his is no place to sleep.” “Don’t wanna!”

Meh, eventually you gave up and let him carry you, bridal style (sir i-)

He internally screamed seeing how cute you looked snuggling up to him, but still managed to carry you properly without loosing his composure

Unless he wanted you to snuggle up to him more, he's made the decision to never let you sacrifice any of your sleep over some documents

Mammon [he walks in on you in his room]

Who would've guessed? Because of his overflowing debts, Lucifer wasn't going to let it slide anymore

Pretty unbelievable, but the entire time, he's been hiding from his older brother's wrath and actually succeeding????

The determination this man has-

It was already 3 am when he finally had the chance to hide and lock himself in his own room to get away for the rest of the night (well, really early morning now)

Nearly screamed when he saw you in the center of some sort of circle of stacks of what looked like... his bills? It was 3 AM for crying out loud, what the heck were you doing?!?!?!?

"Oy! Whatchya doin' here, human?! And what're ya-" *yawn* "I couldn't sleep anyway, so I thought about helping you with your debt problems, and seriously..."

You didn't have the chance to finish your sentence when you started to drift off to sleep

Like it was already a regular reflex, Mammon caught you right before you fell on the papers you worked so hard on to organize

Got all flustered at your current state and kinda wanted you to stay like that forever

Nahhh, he had to make sure you'd at least be comfortable during your slumber, so he set you down on his bed and put away those debts...

You wouldn't have known till the moment you woke up that he clung onto you, listening to your steady breathing that lulled him to sleep

Leviathan [in his room, that otaku i swear-]

It was expected of the otaku to still be wide awake in the quietest of hours, and that's why you went to him

But what he didn't expect was the sudden drop of your weight on his back (bro was just chilling when you just dropped on him-)

FORTUNATELY HE HAD THOSE BLANKETS ON HIM TO KEEP HIM WARM

Still, that made him panic a bit, paused his anime and confront your very sleepy state

"H-henry?! Wh-what- why- how?!" He's a flustered mess now as he tried to pick you up without trying to make you feel uncomfortable in his arms

"H-heyyyy, I wanna sleep like this~" Really, with your back arched on blankets plus Levi under all those?

Um, he knew his bathtub-bed wouldn't be any better than that, so he made a mini-bed with those blankets and positioned it right next to his usual watching spot

The rest of the time, he's pretty much distracted by the fact that he gets to see you sleep right next to him of all people!

Satan [in the libr- I mean his room]

He was on his usual read-till-the-crack-of-dawn-literally when he heard a pile of his precious books fall

His first instinct was to go all out, transforming into his demon form and torturing whoever interrupted his session (and make his precious collection fall)

"If you thought you could sneak around and take my books for selling Mammon, then you're DEAD wrong." (the man's pissed...)

Satan actually did transform in his demon form out of annoyance, only to find you yawning and hanging upside down when he snatched the culprit using his tail

He's honestly surprised and wondered what business you had with him at such an hour (quick time check, it was 3:03 am)

"I was getting pretty lonely in my room, decided to crash at yours..."

This wasn't a problem at all to him; he likes it when you come to him for help, comfort, or just for company

Too bad he his bed wasn't for people anymore, there were mountains of books piled on top of it-

That's when a sly grin crept on Satan's face

You ended up falling asleep on his lap, your head resting against his chest while he continued to read a few more chapters of his current book (he even gave you a small peck on your forehead awww)

Asmodeus [up for his looooong morning routine]

You were lucky that Asmo was already done with the face mask part of his routine, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to hold in your laughs, despite how sleepy you still were

Like the only decent person in the house, you knocked on his door before landing face-first into his soft, silky bed

“Oh my, MC! What are you doing up so early in the morning, dear? And on my bed on top of that~”

“So soooooooooft~” was your only reply. Seriously, how come Asmo has the comfiest bed in Devildom?!?!??

It took him a little while, but when he finally did, he decided to join you only for a couple of minutes (he had to get back on schedule for his routine after)

Also, a suuuuuper soft bed plus the touch and feel of Asmo’s extremely soft skin? Boy, have you ascended to heaven already?

It made you snuggle up to him even more, which honestly he had hoped (and pretty much expected) would happen

He secretly took pictures of you sleeping on his bed and thought that they were absolutely adorable

Beelzebub [in the kitchen, where else?]

You planned to get up extra early because of some schoolwork you said you’d finish last night and ended up sleeping on it

But before you dove into that, some coffee would really be helpful to kickstart your brain

With that said, you’ve made your way to the kitchen when surprise! You caught Beel in his morning raid. again.

Well, it was expected from the Avatar of Gluttony and his bottomless pit of a stomach together with the raging appetite

Quietly making your way around to not disturb his round, you grabbed a whatever clean mug there was and turned on the kettle

Too bad that he’s heard your extended yawn and greeted you with his mouth filled. “Goagh mortfning MC.” *proceeds to snarf down the remaining food left*

*yawnnnnn* “Morning Beel…” You greet him back with closed eyes

Both of you began some small conversation until you began to nod off unintentionally (amazing how you can sleep while standing up for a few seconds-)

Your legs gave away though, but Beel easily caught you in his arms

Poor guy didn’t know what to do first. Help finish your coffee or carry you to bed?

It was too early for him to be making such conflicting decisions, so he ended up doing both; carrying you back to your room with one arm and holding your mug on the other

Gently placed you back to your bed and mug on the nightstand right next to you

His man is such a cinnamon roll, he’d make sure that you were comfortable in your sleep. I’m talking about this guy plumping up your pillows, pulling that blanket over you and putting up a “I’m still asleep so please don’t disturb” sign outside of your door

He tried very hard, but he still sneaked a few sips of your coffee before quietly leaving your room

Belphegor [on the roof of HOL]

You’ve tried your best, but no matter how much, you couldn’t get away from the heat of your room, preventing you from falling asleep

Hours later… you were still staring at the same wall with no chance of sleeping at this rate

You’ve tried your best, but no matter how much, you couldn’t get away from the heat of your room

It was preventing you from falling asleep

Hours later… you were still staring at the same wall with no chance of sleeping at this rate

Until an idea reached in your head: if anyone would help you instantly get back to sleep because of his cuddles, it’d be the one and only Belphegor

Plus you just HAD to leave your room of a microwave, so a win-win

First you checked the attic, the very familiar room that you knew Belphie would take his naps on most days. It was empty

Next you checked the twins’ room, slowly peeking inside to not disturb any of them. Not even Beel was in there (he’s busy it’s that fridge-)

Where else could this demon be? That’s when it hit you: he did mention once that he liked to gaze at the stars on the rooftop of the House of Lamentation

The cold night breeze was like some sleeping powder to you; the moment you felt it your eyelids starting drooping

“Couldn’t sleep?” His voice reached you as he guided you to his usual spot and cuddling close to you

Only then you realized how tired you were; so tired that you had no strength to respond with words and just nodded

Luckily, at that very moment, everything helped you doze off. Belphie’s pillow and his steady breathing, the star-lit night sky, the cool breeze.

I freaking need a Belphie to spoon me like this please

The two of you had the best sleep in the entire three realms, holding each other and never wanting to ever let go.

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satashiiwrites · 1 year

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WIP Wednesday

So I got today to write 6k and finish this chapter if I wanna stay on track…. And I got stuff scheduled all day.

This is not looking promising… maybe by the end of the week?

Tagging @quietborderline @missanniewhimsy @megasaurus-regina @monsterrae1 @westernlarch @tkwritesdumbassassins @outtoshatter @muffinsandsweets @rosieposiepuddingnpie with no pressure as always. This is just for fun and to keep me on track.

Banner by radio chatter.

From: Family, Familia, ‘Ohana, Chapter 10: FUBAR, Danny’s POV

Fandom: 911, H50, SWAT

Pairings: Buddie, McDanno, platonic deacon/hondo

Fic summary:

When one family seems lost another comes back from the past. But does Buck want to return to the past or live in the present? And does his present lead to a future he wants? Only he can answer these questions but Steve at least will be there to support him.

Tags/warnings: kidnapped eddie, first draft, NavySeal!buck, alternative universe, timeline what timeline?, set vaguely season 3 911 and I’m not giving a time frame for H50 (because it wouldn’t make sense anyway). Written while sleep deprived.

Danny rubs his temples, fighting off a looming headache. He’s been staring at his own terrible cramped handwriting for hours. Steve’s fingers replace his, and he lets his eyes close with a groan as Steve rubs his neck and temples.

“You got another headache?” Steve’s voice is gentle and soft. He’s practically sitting on Danny’s desk as he hovers, but Danny doesn’t care. They’re alone in the office, and if Steve wants to touch him, Danny’s going to let him.

“Yeah.”

“I can get you some ibuprofen or Tylenol?”

“Took some with the Alka-Seltzer earlier.” Danny will pay for Steve to keep up the neck massage he’s giving. Steve’s fingers are digging into the knot that had been forming between Danny’s shoulders, and when it releases, he bites his tongue to stop from moaning.

“You didn’t eat.” There’s disapproval and worry in Steve’s tone.

“Wasn’t hungry.”

He wasn’t.

“This has been sitting out too long now. Do you want me to order something?”

“Let me rephrase. I am not hungry right now, nor was I.”

Steve chuckles, and his fingers find another knot, working into Danny’s left shoulder that he’d slept on last night on the sofa for a few hours. He’s ignoring Danny’s grumbling like usual.

“These headaches of yours worry me.”

Danny opens his eyes at this. Steve is close—closer than he’d thought. He’s wrapped himself around Danny, and they’re not touching other than where Steve’s hands are still rubbing his shoulders, but he can feel his body heat because Steve is that close.

Steve’s observing Danny, waiting for him to say something about the concern he’d voiced, and Danny is floundering with what to say. He stupidly lands on, “They’re just headaches.”

“You’ve been getting a lot of them.”

“I get them when I’m stressed.”

“You get them less when you sleep over.”

“That’s because I sleep better at your place,” slips out before he can take the words back.

“Why?”

It’s an innocuous question. Why? Why, indeed.

He has his theories. Danny had slept better when he was still married and sharing a bed with Rachel, and he could roll over and cuddle with her, listening to her breathe. He slept worse when alone because he hated being alone. It’d never been a problem until he and Rachel had started having problems, and she’d kicked him to the couch most nights, denying him coldly.

Danny was like a dog that needed a companion or otherwise would tear things apart out of anxiety—he needed another heartbeat to listen to in the night. Sleeping at Steve’s and knowing he was just upstairs or hearing his footsteps when he got up at night to do his patrols around the house that Steve swore he didn’t do but Danny had watched him do every night he’d slept over unless Steve was drugged or concussed… there was a rhythm to those nights. They usually watched a movie after dinner or a game and sat too close on the couch because Danny was too tactile, and Steve seemed to crave touch as much as Danny needed to give it.

Confessing this to Steve, however, was probably not in Danny’s best interest. Knowing Steve, he’d have Danny moved in by the end of the week, and Danny needed just a little bit of space for when Steve would inevitably find either another woman or Cath would finally wander back his way.

Danny didn’t need a front-row seat to Steve choosing a leggy brunette or blonde over him. He was already going to be too close, and it would hurt when it finally happened. If Steve is talking to Cath, then… she will probably come back at some point. Danny hadn’t known they’d still been talking after she left him in Afghanistan a year ago to go chasing after missing villagers and hadn’t wanted Steve’s help.

#wip wednesday #family familia ‘ohana #first draft #navy seal evan buckley #kidnapped eddie diaz #buddie #Mcdanno #911/hawaii 5 0 crossover #borrowed swat characters

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survey--s · 2 years

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471.

1 - When was the last time you spent over $100 in one transaction? What did you buy? About a week ago - I had to place a new order for dog treats for work. I think it came to just over £200 total but I can claim it back on expenses. I’m also pretty sure this is a survey I made during lockdown three years ago lol.

2 - Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? Would you judge a grown adult for doing so? I do - and his name is Bear. Of course I wouldn’t judge another adult for doing exactly the same thing I do, lol.

3 - Would you describe yourself as fashion-conscious, or do you just wear whatever feels comfortable? I like to look good but that doesn’t really mean I follow fashion. I dress more for comfort and practicality on a day-to-day basis but I do like dressing up for like, days out or whatever too.

4 - The last time you got up from where you’re sitting, where did you go and what did you do? I emptied the washing machine and put the load away, put the next load on, put the dishes away and went to the toilet.

5 - Would you rather read an erotic novel or watch an erotic film? Read an erotic novel.

6 - Who taught you how to tell the time on a proper analogue clock? I think it was my dad, but I could have just learnt at school.

7 - What’s your favourite way to make your home smell good? Do you spend a lot of money on making this happen? Wax melts - it probably averages out to £15 a month or so over the year, but I buy in bulk. I got £100 worth in the sale just before Christmas for £50 - I’m currently working my way through them so I can get more at Easter.

8 - How long have you had the computer/tablet you’re currently using? Does it need replacing or upgrading? About a month. It’s slow but it was cheap and all I could afford at the time.

9 - When you’re home alone, do you make sure all your doors are kept locked? The front door locks automatically, but I leave the back door unlocked unless I’m going to bed.

10 - How often do you light candles? Do you just like regular ones or do you prefer scented ones or ones that make pretty patterns when they melt? I light plain tealights in my wax burner everyday. I get through about 1.5 each day.

11 - Are you any good at taking care of plants? I’ve never really tried.

12 - How many surveys have you taken so far today? Will you take anymore surveys today once you’ve finished this one? This is my first one but I might take a few more - it depends how tired I am as I didn’t get much sleep last night lol.

13 - What are the main two colours in the room you’re currently in? Did you pick these colours out yourself? Dark red and grey, and yes.

14 - What was the last hot drink you consumed? What about cold drink? Coffee, Pepsi Max.

15 - Do you have piercings anywhere except your ears? How many and what are they? Yeah, just two - my nose and my belly button.

16 - Do you prefer taking baths or showers? How come? They both have their place. On a day-to-day basis I prefer showers but sometimes nothing beats a hot soak in the bath.

17 - What time do you need to wake up tomorrow morning? What is it that you have to be up for? Whenever I want - it’s my day off and I have no plans.

18 - If you work, how often do you get paid? Would you prefer to get paid more or less often? Some customers pay me daily, some weekly, some monthly and some termly - which works out fine for me.

19 - What does your favourite pair of pyjamas look like? Do you wear them to sleep or just to be comfy around the house? I have loads of pajamas but I couldn’t tell you the last time I wore any of them lol. I wear leggings and a hoody/jumper around the house and then a t-shirt to bed.

20 - How often do you wake up in the night needing a pee? Every night, at least once a night lol. I’ve always been that way.

21 - What apps do you use the most on your phone? Facebook, Instagram and a few Merge games.

22 - Do you prefer cats or dogs? Do you own any of either? I like them both equally - we have three cats and a dog.

23 - Do you have one of those fridges that has an ice-maker in the front? If not, would you find one useful? No - ours has a cold water dispenser thing though. I have a customer who has an ice maker in her fridge and whenever I do overnights there I use it as much as I possibly can hahah.

24 - Do you like wearing hats? What’s your favourite style? Not really but I wear them anyway as they’re practical - I wear beanies in winter and a baseball cap in summer. 25 - If you live in a household with pets, who is responsible for their care - both in terms of finance and the physical tasks involved? I’m the main “parent” lol - I pay for their insurance, do the vet visits and buy their food. I do the vast majority of care too - I walk the dog five days a week and do all the feedings apart from breakfast during the week. Mike walks the dog at weekends and does breakfast as he’s up before me.

26 - What’s your opinion on leggings as pants? I mean, what else would they be except pants?

27 - Have you ever driven in bare feet or do you think that’s too dangerous? Yeah, I love driving barefoot in summer. I used to drive 30-odd miles home from work in bare feet everyday - it felt a lot safer than in flats where my feet were all sweaty.

28 - Have you ever walked out of a job before? What were the circumstances and did you ever go back? Yeah - I was being bullied and my MH was really suffering for it. I handed in my notice along with a sick note and my keys and never went back lol.

29 - Do you collect anything? Are these things worth money or are they practical/sentimental items? Just wax melts and they’re practical, I guess, though it does help my MH to have a nice clean home that smells good too.

30 - Do you have anything hanging from your ceiling apart from lights? We do not.

#survey #surveys

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coreytravelogue · 1 month

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Sapporo, Japan - August 18, 2024

Today marks the last full day in Sapporo and the first city complete in my Japan trip. What a first day I had, if you could see me I looked like a bit of a happy idiot trying to figure out how to open a Japanese jam packet, learning how to use the Suica card to trying and fumbling around with the Japanese language. I have been pretty jelly brained the last few days. I have not been able to sleep properly yet unfortunately.

I am staying at least till tomorrow at Hotel Tokeidai, a very small hotel buried in a alleyway. The Expedia reviews were mostly positive but people complained about how old it was and looked. Personally I love the old style, it looked like something from the 70s and 80s. Still many modern things but it has some age.

First thing I discovered about Japan and I guess it feeds into (literally) what I am eating now, sandwiches and how the Japanese do not like crust. I heard of this before but I didn’t really think of it till I saw it. Upon leaving the hotel I was happy as a clam, I live for diving into new worlds and seeing the differences and everything and Sapporo/Japan is different, maybe not as starkly different as Istanbul was but different compared to other places. I was just smiling a genuine smile. The kind many normally don’t see as I walked the streets.

Before I get ahead of myself I should answer why I chose to go to Sapporo over anywhere else first. There are a few reasons. First is I did not want to start in Tokyo, too big and too overwhelming I would been exhausted and drowned by the time I finished my time there. I wanted to start in a city that wouldn’t be too overwhelming but large enough to do stuff in and Sapporo fit the bill there. Secondly I am a northern boy, when I want to be introduced to a place I like to stay in the North when I can. There is always a different flavour in the North than in other parts of a country. Lastly because of the beer, of course.

I am glad I made this choice, being in Japan now for now 3 days or so I picked the right place to start. Not so small that it is underwhelming but not too big that it is overwhelming, Sapporo is just right.

So back to day one I headed to Sapporo Art Park, I am so glad I made this decision because I found statues galore to Jayne hat. One thing I was worried about was if the Japanese people would be fine with me Jayne hatting. Luckily I went on 2 dates with a Japanese woman months ago and asked her this, she said as long as I was not doing it at shines I should be fine and thankfully people are fine with the Jayne hatting in fact they are doing what I was hoping or expecting. Laughing and getting the comedy, harmless and fun photo op. I spent the morning and afternoon there before heading to Suskino for city walking. Suskino is the entertainment district of the city, where all of the action and nightlife happens. It was here that I decided to go to Ramen Alley.

Being from Vancouver I am not stranger to Japanese food be it sushi or ramen but the ramen I had here makes me feel I only just now had it for the first time. Like a full newbie I did not get the whole order at the machine thing but I am noticing that this is something I see in a lot of Japanese establishments. It totally makes sense and makes things easier though it takes away the human interaction element but Japan is such a introverted culture that I think it makes sense for them. Anyways I ordered way more than I think I should have but given my small breakfast I had just enough room for it and it downed it all and enjoyed every drop.

That is another thing I have noticed, not sure if it is a Japanese thing yet or just a Sapporo thing but this place is not a breakfast place. Meaning there is not many if any options for breakfast unless I wanted to wait till 10 or 11 which to me is not really morning anymore. Guess I am so used to living in Vancouver and visiting Victoria where breakfast is either available or in abundance.

I returned to my hotel to drop off some stuff, one weird thing about this hotel is that you do not keep the hotel key with you. You pick it up when you arrive and leave it with them when you go. I was afraid they would think I am checking out but thankfully not. They seem to know who I am now but I imagine I am rather easy to spot or catch. There are some Caucasian people around but I am definitely a minority here. The hotel I do not think is very busy either but then I am visiting Sapporo during a non tourist time. Sapporo is a winter city, people come here for the winter stuff where I am going simply because like I mentioned above. I would have preferred to come here in November but I am taking a course for work during that time and I did not want it affecting it.

Probably for the best as I have noticed that Japanese people seem to be private people, polite and kind but private. Everyone goes about their business and doesn’t bother you which in a way I like but for a introvert like me who travels in order to open himself up to others it is a bit sad that I am unable to interact with people here, at least for now. I am introvert myself so I get it and it is not like I am the most friendly and hospitable person in my own country. So I imagine if I went to a bar and celebrated my birthday no one would notice or care until everyone is drunk enough to care about everything.

I say that because I decided to go out and try some Sapporo beer, both the brand and craft. I thought I would be here in time for the summer festival beer garden but apparently I was many days late. Thankfully there were plenty of beer gardens around. I discovered one that night, went to the Sapporo Museum one and discovered one under the Sapporo TV Tower today. I hopped from the beer garden to a craft brewery where I wrote in my personal journal then decided to go to another craft beer bar that had a bigger selection. I can’t say I am impressed with the beer here thus far, none of it has really impressed me but I am discovering their style and maybe it’s just theirs and it is just not my bag. Sapporo really likes dry and very malty lagers which to be honest I am fine with because it is at least a break from the sour or ipas I am flooded with back home.

It is there where I went from a high to a rather low when my parents informed me that Daisy died. Daisy was adopted in 2018 I think and became the queen of the house. That said she was a very delicate and fragile dog, she had heart and lung issues that put her on brink of death quite a few times in her very brief life, well brief for a human but middle aged for her. You could. Not take her anywhere, she would get too excited and start to suffocate from the excitement. You couldn’t take her out of the house or it would happen, I couldn’t even take her to the basement. When I brought her down with me to join me in the basement she nearly suffocated from that. I knew she wasn’t going to live a full life I just wasn’t expecting that she was going to die this soon but death will never go by your schedule.

Suffice to say in my drunken state I walked home trying my best to keep it together only to get back to the hotel and had a cry. I didn’t get to know Daisy as well as our other dogs over the years. Fluffy ran away and I barely remember her anymore, Kelly lived a full life that I wish I could have given her more out of, Prince lived a fairly full life but ran away too, Patch lived a full life to the very end and now Daisy.

I do not think my parents will get another pet, if they do it would be more for my dad than anything.

Day 2 I went to the Primeval Forest and followed that up with going to the Sapporo Beer Museum and Garden. Unlike day one I didn’t eat much and was hoping that the Ghengis Khan would be enough to ward off hangovers or me getting drunk too quick. I was wrong. I like it but it was very under whelming compared to what I heard. However the quality of beer improved trying various different Sapporo brands I would not have anywhere but there and found one Japanese beer I really like, Yebisu Black which I heard was good and it delivered. I got back to the hotel and had another beer before I passed out hoping that I would be able to sleep in since I went to bed fairly early. Wrong again as I work up crazy early and just could not go back to sleep. My internal clock must be having a really hard time right now. I have such a crazy work schedule as it is back home, getting it to adjust to this country must be just too much. Just sucks I have to suffer through it. I was hoping that I could sleep in today as today I have very little scheduled on purpose. I like to leave my last days as fuck around days. Days where I can just city walk and do whatever.

That brings us up to speed, I am at a cafe drinking coffee and sandwiches because I cannot make the same mistake I made last night by not eating enough before going out. I have a light head ache this morning thanks to that stupid decision. I plan on going to Jayne hat some more places if I find any in the city centre then cap my last night here going to the TV Tower and beer garden.

Sapporo has been a great trip. The food was good for the most part, beer not so much though, the transit is also top notch as I did not have any issues getting anywhere I needed to here. 3-4 days is enough to get the gist of this city at least in the summertime. I can imagine that this city must be so cool to explore during the winter time but it just wasn’t in the cars this time. I would definitely come back but if I do I am doing it in the winter time. I feel like I will see this city more truly during this time.

Well my legs have been rested, my back isn’t quite as sore. I got to pace myself as I am not as able bodied as I was 10 or 5 years ago. Tomorrow is Kyoto which I will spent a little less than a week in. Things will be more busy and bustling there but I feel more prepared for it now thanks to Sapporo.

Thank you Sapporo for being a wonderful introduction to a country I always wanted to see. RIP Daisy, I will miss you. Despite having so many things again you you lived life as much as you could in the window you could. You are inspiring me in my own way to try and make the most of things myself in my own way because we never know when we are going to go so go and have fun. Shazbot nanu nanu

#Spotify

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shina913 · 3 years

Text

Gradation, Part 10 | JJK

Gradation, Part 10

gra·da·tion | \ grā-ˈdā-shən , grə- \

Definition: 1a: a series forming successive stages 1b: a step or place in an ordered scale 2: an advance by regular degrees 3: a gradual passing from one tint or shade to another –Source: Merriam-Webster

✮ ✮ ✮ Gradation Masterlist ✮ ✮ ✮

Pairing: JJK x Fem!reader

Rating: M (🔞); NSFW

Genre: BF2L; slow burn; fluff; angst; smut

Word count: 8.9K words

Warnings: FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF; so much cheesiness; romance; psychotherapy session; strong sexual language; riding; clit play; breast/nipple play; cussing; domestic life; unprotected!sex in a committed, monogamous relationship; engagement; marriage

Summary: On your wedding day, your fiancé leaves you at the altar. While reeling from the embarrassment and heartbreak, your best friend, Jungkook, wants to do everything that he can to help you heal.

A/N: Here is the final installment! I have so many mixed feelings but I feel so much joy and relief at the same time--I just can't believe that this is the end. 😭😭 I am a huge sucker for full-circle moments so I hope I did these two justice.

I just want to give a huge S/O to @deepseavibez for indulging me while I obsessively talked about these two and just--everything going on in my brain. You were such a huge inspiration to me and you helped me rediscover how much I loved writing so...THANK YOU, my sister in angst! I'm sure it won't be long until I bug you about my next ideas...👀

Please let me know what you think or feel free to send questions 📩

Thank you for all the love you’ve shown Gradation!

Sunday dinner went surprisingly smoothly. The last time that Jungkook was here, he and your dad joked around and talked about the next limited release of the small-batch brew that he brought over.

The difference between then and now? Back then, he wasn’t your boyfriend. Tonight, things have considerably changed.

Of course–your dad, being your dad–couldn’t miss the chance at some good ol’ fashioned ribbing at the dinner table.

“You’re not both sleeping on the same bed, are you,” he attempts to say in his most menacing dad-voice.

Jungkook chokes on the mouthful of food that he just took in.

“Appa, I think it’s too late for that,” you said as you pat Jungkook’s back, making sure that he wasn’t suffocating.

Your dad cried out, immediately covering his ears. Jungkook has slept over at your family’s house–in your room–many times over the years. Never on the same bed but your dad (and occasionally Hobi) couldn’t help checking whether this boy would ever sneak under his little girl’s covers.

You let your dad finish his big speech about how precious you were to him, that he’s never lifted a finger towards you and how you deserved to always be treated with respect. After Jungkook nodded along, he immediately roared in laughter, slapping him on the shoulder which was his eventual sign of approval. Your dad was a man of few words and looked intimidating to people who didn’t know him well. Behind closed doors, he was just a warm and affectionate teddy bear.

The first time that he met Jungkook, he was very withdrawn as a child and barely spoke unless you were present. It took him a while to warm up to your parents, especially your dad. But your dad persisted–he stood on the sidelines, dropped him off at his house after his mom closed up shop so that Jungkook wouldn’t have to hang around waiting for the time. Driving home was always in silence with the exception of a quiet ‘thank you’ from him before exiting the vehicle and running into their front door.

One night, on one of their many quiet drives en route to Jungkook’s childhood home, he decided to have a little heart-to-heart with him.

While stopped at the curb, your dad asked for a few minutes as he glanced up at the rearview mirror while Jungkook sat in the back seat. He then turned his head around to address him directly.

“Jungkookie, I’m not trying to be your dad–you have one already,” he began gently. It made the little boy’s eyes look up directly at him.

“I just want you to know that if you need anybody to talk to, even if YN is not here, you can talk to me, okay? If you’re sad or mad–I know it’s hard for boys to talk about it but I want you to know that I am here to listen and you don’t have to feel bad about it.”

With that reassurance, Jungkook surprised him by giving him a brief hug and thanked him quietly once more for driving him home before he exited the car.

Since then, he and your dad have developed a closeness over the years. Sure, Jungkook still held back some but a shocker came to your dad when he called him a few years ago, wanting to talk in the middle of the night while he wandered aimlessly around the Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris after things ended with Lisa.

And just as he promised on that drive home, he stayed on the phone, listened and didn’t make him feel bad about it.

After dessert, you help your mom clean up in the kitchen. Hobi went back and forth between the kitchen and dining room, packing leftovers. Jungkook offered to help wash the dishes but you waved him off saying that you had it taken care of.

With that, he takes the opportunity to join your dad on the couch to catch the second half of the game.

“No beers tonight, Jungkook?”

Your mom calls out a warning from the kitchen. You swear, even at her age, she has the hearing of a bat–her eyesight has degraded some but you can’t get anything past her.

“Sorry, uncle,” he grimaced. “Auntie gave me a lot of grief that last time your gout started acting up.”

Your dad pouted at your mom then he lowered his voice. “You know, you don’t have to listen to them all the time,” he sniggered.

“Appa! Don’t corrupt my boyfriend,” you scolded playfully as you walked by them, bringing some dirty dishes to the sink.

“Your daughter wouldn’t have allowed me to live this long if I didn’t listen to her,” he joked.

“Good man,” he chortled, patting him on the shoulder.

As they settle on the couch, your dad’s expression turns somber.

“You know, I may not have told you this much while you were growing up but I want to let you know that you’ve always been part of this family. Your mother did a great job with you…and I’m sure that if your dad were still around, he would be very proud of you, too.”

Jungkook smiled ruefully. “Thanks, uncle. Thanks for treating me just like a son.”

“What are you talking about? You are one of my sons,” he says with a soft, wrinkled smile and a glint in his eye.

He patted him once on the shoulder again and pushed a lever to lean back on his recliner.

Jungkook’s lips curved into a soft smile and glanced behind him to see Hobi, who’s overheard the entire conversation, still standing by the dining table, smiling at his younger brother.

“Hi, Jungkook!” Your receptionist greeted him as he approached the front desk.

“Hey, Mina! Is YN still in a meeting?”

“Oh, I think I just saw her wandering down the hallway a second ago to go to the copy room. Is she expecting you?”

“No, I was going to surprise her for lunch.”

Just then, he sees you walking back to your office. You looked up from the papers you were reading and beamed at the sight of him standing by the reception area.

As soon as you lock eyes, you walk towards him and he thanks Mina while she waves him through.

“Hi!” You hugged him and gave him a chaste kiss, fully aware that you were still on the main floor and not in the privacy of your office. “This is a nice surprise.”

“I wanted to take you out for a quick birthday lunch. I know I rushed out this morning for my meeting and wanted to make up for it.”

“Aww—you’re so cute! I just need to leave this at my desk and grab my things.”

You lead him back to your office and as soon as you close the door, he catches you by your waist and plants a deep kiss on you. You pull back from him with a smile, while you bite your lower lip.

“Are we christening my new office now,” you joked.

“Careful–no matter how nice this building is, I know that these walls are still paper-thin…and you get pretty loud,” he says with that low, sexy voice while his hand gently squeezes your hip.

“Do I,” you asked, suddenly turned on by his touch.

“I mean–you’ve always been loud. Whether or not I’m in you,” he snickered.

“Wow–oh-kay!” You rolled your eyes while you walked away from him while he caught you again and kissed you on the nose, instantly trying to make you feel better and reminding you that he was only teasing–in case you made him suffer for that comment later on.

You rounded your desk to quickly add a note on your printout before you forgot about it.

“This looks much nicer than what you had before,” he remarked after taking a sweeping look at your new digs.

It’s been a few months since your promotion but moving into a new office space was slightly delayed due to your company moving to a newer, more modern building. Although your new office wasn’t a corner office like Yoongi’s, it was still on a perimeter location–which meant larger windows and more natural light.

“Eh, the old one wasn’t too bad. It’s seen some blood, sweat, and tears,” you mused, while grabbing another Post-It note to write down another reminder before sticking it to the edge of your screen.

Just then, your computer pings with an urgent email request.

“Sorry, Kook—just one more email and we can go.”

“Take your time, babe.”

You typed up a quick response while Jungkook walked around your office some more to look at all of the personal knick-knacks that you used to decorate it.

Catching his attention, he stops to pick up one of the frames that you had on your desk.

It was those three strips of photo booth prints that you previously had on a pin-board but you have now since framed them after realizing the significance that it held for you.

He laughed amusingly while looking at each photo. “I can’t believe you kept these.” He flips the frame around so you could see.

You hit ‘send’ on your email application and locked your computer before looking back at him.

“Of course! We had such a fun time then. It was our first big college campus event!”

“It was also the first time we met Jimin,” he said, flipping the frame back again to stare longingly at the photos.

You laughed at the memory. “I told you not to park in that lot. Thank god he saved us!”

He laughed just as much. “How was I supposed to know that there was a family of wild turkeys that lived there…and that they were not afraid of humans?”

“Oh my god—there were so many of them sitting on top of your car when we got back!” You shuddered at the memory of those creepy birds staring at you.

“If Chim hadn’t distracted them with food, they may have dragged us away into the bushes!”

You frowned sadly. “I know, I felt so bad after! He basically had to toss his whole bag of snacks that he spent all of his tickets on to get them to leave.”

He set the frame back down on your desk. “We bought him dinner afterwards, though.”

You sighed. “And we hadn’t stopped feeding him since,” you said while picking up your purse and getting up from your chair.

“True.”

“And now you’ll feed me,” you said, wrapping your arms around his neck, giving him a quick peck.

Just then, you hear a knock on your door. You slowly dropped your hands, reminding yourself that this was still a professional environment.

After you invite the person in, the door pushes open to reveal your boss, Yoongi.

“Yoongi-hyung!” Jungkook greeted him with a grin followed by a handshake.

“Jungkookie! How are you?”

“Ah, same old. Long time, no see. You?”

Jungkook and Yoongi have known of each other through your years of working together but never really had a single, proper conversation before.

It wasn’t until after you both got together, on one evening when Jungkook picked you up from work that they struck up a friendship. You were working late on a contract bid and Yoongi and a couple others were putting in some extra hours as well.

As they waited for you to save your documents in your office, they somehow bonded over something as random as Irish bombs. Since then, they have talked and even hung out without you a few times.

“Are you trying to steal my best employee away?”

“Just for an hour,” he grinned.

“Alright. Just have her back before I turn her into a pumpkin during our meeting.”

“Still grumpy as ever,” Jungkook joked.

“Keep that up and I’ll cut her lunch to half an hour,” he chided playfully.

Jungkook chuckled.

“I’ll have the report ready by then, Yoongi,” you said.

“Don’t stress, YN. It’s your birthday, so you have a valid excuse not to work hard today.”

He then turned his attention to your boyfriend.

“Call me when you get that imported Scottish whiskey, Jeon Jungkook. I want to compare it against my collection,” he said before he began backing out of your office.

“You’ll be my first call, hyungnim,” he said as Yoongi headed back to his office.

“You ready?”

“Yeah, let’s go,” you said as you began to walk out of your office.

You hold hands while you wait for the elevator to come up when he glances down at your shoes. They were nude, strappy sandals that laced up halfway to your calf, slightly sitting below the pencil skirt and loose, silk button-down top ensemble that you wore to work.

Eyeing them, he asked, “Are those new?”

Since he left for an early meeting this morning, it was the first time he was seeing you in today’s outfit.

“Nah, I’ve had them. Just rediscovered them in the back of my closet,” you said, taking a look at them and flicking your ankle upwards to show them off. “Why?”

“Hm.” He sounded dismissive as you both stepped into the elevator.

You gave him a slight frown. Not that it mattered much to you about what he thought of your fashion choices but he usually complimented you when something you wore was of note to him. “You don’t like them?”

He kept his eyes straight ahead as the doors shut.

“I do. And I think I’ll like them a lot better if you wore them while I held your ankles up to my shoulders later tonight.”

He then turned to you with a ghost of a smile on his lips while you gulped at the promise of hot birthday sex this evening.

“Just make sure you take your cold medicine, please?”

Not long after your birthday, you fell ill. You had caught a terrible cold and barred visitors from entering, including your boyfriend so you had to settle for video calls until you were a few days out, making sure that you were no longer contagious.

“Taking them as we speak,” you said while you turned the camera around showing him the bulky cold and flu capsules that you were about to swallow

Jungkook wanted so badly to come over and even promised to wear a face mask but you declined and told him you’d feel guiltier if he caught your cold. It’s been over a week since you last saw each other and he was missing you. You weren’t feverish any longer but were still slightly congested.

After taking your medicine, you trudged back to your bedroom.

“I’m going to try and get some sleep,” you said hoarsely as you switched your humidifier on.

“Okay, bub. Please call me if you need anything and I’ll drive over to drop it off at your door.”

“I will. And please tell the guys I said thank you for the food delivery.”

“You’re welcome, YN!” Jimin pushed his face into Jungkook’s camera, smiling and waving at you.

“Feel better,” Taehyung called over his shoulder while he was setting up a game on Jungkook’s TV screen.

You sniffled and blew your nose into a tissue. “Thanks, guys. I love you.”

“Love you, too,” the soulmates said in unison.

Jungkook addressed them off-camera. “She meant me!”

You giggled hoarsely, triggering a cough that you quickly stifled.

“I mean, sure—I guess I love you, too,” you smiled as you got under the covers.

“Hope you feel better, baby. Call me tomorrow. Love you!”

You pucker your lips at the camera mimicking a kiss. “Love you, too,” you said before hanging up.

“So is this how it’s going to be now,” Jimin asked.

“Like what,” Jungkook asked as he took a spot on his couch, grabbing a controller.

Jimin slumped on the couch. “You know…all lovey-dovey and shit…barely hanging out with your friends.”

Jungkook scoffed. “What could we possibly be doing right this second?”

“Don’t mind him,” Taehyung said, still flicking back and forth the game screen, deciding which course to play. “He’s only projecting because he’s nervous about meeting Mel’s parents next week.”

He whipped his head around, jaw dropped at his friend. He didn’t realize that things were getting that serious between him and his assistant.

Jimin blew out a raspberry. “Who’s nervous? I’m not nervous! I’m perfectly fine,” he said in a rush.

“Do you need some tips? Because–”

“Nope,” his friend said immediately.

Jungkook raised his hands in defeat while regarding his friend carefully. Jimin avoided making eye-contact and kept his attention on the screen so he shook his head and geared up for the game when Taehyung finally picked a course.

A few minutes into the first match, Jimin took a deep breath. “Should I bring anything? Mel said I didn’t need to but I feel like that’s code for something. Like, I must bring something. Dessert? Alcohol?”

Jungkook and Taehyung chuckled as Jimin bounced ideas off them for the rest of the night.

A few days later, after you got the all-clear from your general practitioner, you immediately planned a date night with Jungkook. You went out for a nice dinner then took things back to your place.

“That thing you had on earlier—I’ve never seen that before,” he asked after getting under the covers with you.

He was referring to the white, lace-mesh, cutout bodysuit that you recently bought and wore under your dress tonight—which he practically almost ripped off you.

You were both freshly showered after an intense three-orgasm session earlier this evening. He also gave you a fourth one while in the shower…thought he’d make up for lost time.

“Yeah, I ordered it last week and thought I’d debut it tonight,” you said slyly.

“God damn! How did I not blow my load early?”

You giggled. “So it’s a keeper?”

“Fuck, yes! Move it to the top of the drawer!”

You laughed and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

“Speaking of drawers, I might have to do some laundry here tomorrow morning. I didn’t realize that I only kept a couple boxers here…not that I need them around you but if I were spending the night during the week or—“

“Maybe you should keep more of your stuff here,” you casually suggested.

He furrowed his eyebrows, caught off-guard with your last remark.

You both kept personal items at the other’s homes and didn’t really think anything of it. A toothbrush here, a lash curler there, a few shirts, and shoes. It’s been several months into your relationship and you realized that you hadn’t really discussed the topic.

“I mean…why don’t we keep all of our things in one place,” you suggested earnestly.

He narrowed his eyes. “Are you—“

“Asking you to move in? Yeah, I am. Do you think that’s a terrible idea,” you asked softly.

He smiled. “N-no. Is that something that you want?”

“Yeah. We spend so much time at each other’s homes. It just makes sense to…consolidate?”

“Consolidate,” he repeated. “Here?”

“I just thought that since you were on a month-by-month rental at your place while I’m paying a mortgage—“

“You mean we’re going to be paying the mortgage.”

You raised your eyebrows. “So you agree?”

He smiled, delighted by the thought. “Yeah. It’s the next logical step. I’m excited!”

“You are?”

“As long as I’m with you, I don’t need much else,” he said, giving you a kiss.

Jungkook’s mom busied herself in the kitchen after dinner, washing the dishes when you approached her asking if she needed help with anything.

It was a rare treat for her to invite anybody over for dinner at her house because she was always busy working, six days a week.

“Oh, no, honey. I’m perfectly fine here. You and Jungkook go rest.”

“Oh well, your son just fell asleep on the couch,” you smiled. “He had a long week.”

“Aish, that boy works himself silly sometimes.”

“I know. He works very hard. He just wants to always put his best foot forward,” you said, leaning against the kitchen counter.

“Yes, he does. I think that is something that he picked up from me. But I tell him all the time that sometimes work isn’t all there is to life. I know that I had to work to give him a better future. There wasn’t much of a choice for me and I had to make some painful sacrifices–unfortunately, I lost some time with him,” she said as she longingly looked back into the living room and saw a glimpse of her son asleep on the couch.

“That must have been difficult,” you said empathetically.

You’ve witnessed Jungkook and his mom have arguments either during school or the handful of times that you stayed over at their house. When you were younger, he complained about her not having enough time for him or how she was short-tempered and in turn, making him act out at school or around you.

“It…it was,” she said somberly. “But over time, as he got older, he understood why I had to do what I did, eventually. He’s a smart man.”

You nodded in agreement.

“And…I can’t help but be forever grateful to you and your family for being there for him–most especially you.”

“Oh, auntie…all I did was keep him company,” you smiled sheepishly. “He loves you very much. He just–needed to be…constantly reminded of it.”

After setting the last plate on the dish rack, she dried her hands. She looked at you lovingly and embraced you. “I know that, YN…which is why I’m very grateful to you. All I want is for my son to be happy.”

She pulled away from you. “You know, I’m handing off my responsibilities at the shop more. Recently, I don’t feel the need to work as hard because seeing you together? I’m happy to see him settled. I can take more time for myself now because I don’t have to worry about him as much knowing that he’s in very good hands.”

She gave you a heartfelt smile.

“Eomma, don’t make YN cry.”

You looked up, wiping tears away from your cheek as Jungkook walked into the kitchen.

“I thought you were napping,” you said.

“Yeah but then I got hungry again,” he said, rubbing his belly.

His mom chuckled. “There’s some hotteok in the fridge, honey. I made them yesterday.”

He hummed in appreciation and asked if you wanted any. You nodded so he pulled a second plate out of the cupboard and checked if his mom had any ice cream in the freezer. He knew you’d take any dessert a la mode whenever you could.

“Is it true that you’re stepping back from the shop,” he asked while he scooped some ice cream onto your plate.

“Well, not completely. Kangho and I were planning–”

“Kangho?” He was suddenly unfamiliar with the name.

“Mr. Hwang,” she corrected.

“Yah! You’re on a first-name basis now,” he said, visibly annoyed.

“Jungkook-ah! We’ve been friends since you were a teenager and I’ll have you know that he’s a very nice man,” she explained.

“Isn’t he married?”

She scoffed. “He’s been a widower for three years–”

“Uhh—and he thinks that he can just waltz in here and pick up another wife,” he said, suddenly adorably agitated.

She put her hands on her hips and squared her shoulders at her grown son. “Well, excuse me if I am trying to find some joy for myself. I didn’t think that I needed my boy’s permission!”

“I need to have a talk with him–establish some rules or something.”

“You’re about a year too late, son,” she laughed as she walked out of the room.

Jungkook chased after his mom, continuing to pepper her with questions while you remained in the kitchen and listened to their spirited exchange, helping yourself to more ice cream and hotteok.

“Thanks for helping us revise the paperwork on the condo, hyung,” Jungkook says after he signs another document at Hobi’s office.

Since you decided to move in together, Jungkook asked if it was possible to add him as a co-signer to your home so you could officially and legally share the financial responsibility with the mortgage.

“It’s nothing. And this will be good for both of you in the long run if you decide to buy a bigger place eventually.”

Jungkook stops to look up at Hobi’s unchanged expression as he hands him another set of forms to sign.

“You know, so my future nieces or nephews have room to run around,” he added nonchalantly while he reviewed the previous set of documents that Jungkook just signed.

He continued to eye Hobi as he pretended to read the forms that he had already reviewed repeatedly.

Chuckling silently, he finally asked, “You think you can get us a place with a backyard?” It sounded like a dare.

Hobi looks at him and with a serious expression and responds, “Bro, you give me a call when you’re ready and I’ll find you a place with a back and front yard and still have money left over for renovations.”

Both men laughed heartily.

Turning serious, he asked, “So…how soon are you thinking?”

Jungkook gave him a knowing smile but not giving anything away. “Soon.”

Hobi exclaimed. “What? No hint?”

Jungkook just laughed him off.

*******

“It’s good that Jungkookie is moving into your place instead of the other way around. Last time, I needed to visit my acupuncturist because I think I pulled something,” Taehyung joked with you.

“No, that’s just because you’re old, Tae,” you spat back at him while you labeled Jungkook’s boxes.

Fine. You had way more stuff than Jungkook did but at the time, you were moving from a larger place into a slightly smaller space. To your credit, you got rid of many things in the last year.

While Jimin and Jungkook were loading up a small moving truck downstairs, you and Taehyung packed up the rest of his apartment, labeling and sealing boxes.

Jungkook had packed up most of his home office last night but he asked you to do a final sweep before sealing the boxes.

Armed with packaging tape, you sealed the first box that contained his action figures, which he painstakingly bubble-wrapped.

As you moved on to the next box on the floor that contained his diplomas and special awards, you paused before sealing it as an item sitting at the top of the pile caught your attention.

You remembered the day well. It was a windy, spring day—your allergies were in full force and whatever hair and makeup you did that morning was all for nothing, you thought.

You were being a good friend, you repeated within yourself—even though this was only an elective, he seemed to be really into it so you wanted him to get a good grade to meet his scholarship minimum average.

“Could we try the beauty shot now, maybe?”

You cringed at the timing. He wanted you to feel relaxed first and take some farther shots before moving into the extreme close-ups.

“Can I just blow my nose really quickly and try to salvage my makeup?” Your mascara—however little you put on—was running because of your allergies.

You had finally moved indoors after he took the first few ‘natural light’ and exterior shots.

While trying to schedule this photoshoot, he promised he would work around your schedule. You had a final that day so he agreed to meet you at your off-campus apartment because you had a two-hour window.

While in the bathroom, you got a glimpse of what a mess all of the sneezing and sniffling has made. You dreaded what the first photos looked like.

Having had enough, you decided to wipe all of your makeup off and wash your face. After applying some moisturizer and giving your hair a quick brush, you walked out seeing Jungkook reviewing the shots that he took earlier.

“They don’t look too bad,” he says while he scrolled through the digital camera’s display screen. “I can always adjust the lighting on some of these.”

He looks up while you stand barefaced by the window.

“What happened to your makeup?”

“I couldn’t take it anymore. It was really irritating my eyes,” you said. “Guess it’s going to be a non-beauty beauty shot,” you said apologetically.

He smiled warmly. “Nobody said that makeup was required. I think you look pretty with or without it,” he said simply.

You smiled back at your friend’s vote of confidence. “Okay. Where do you want me?”

“Uh—here’s fine, I think. The lighting is good,” he said, referring to the reading nook by your window.

“Just sit as comfortably as you can,” he requested.

You thought that the photos wouldn’t come out nice because before washing your face, your eyes were puffy and red from the allergens.

Looking back at this photo, you realized that Jungkook brought out the best in you even when you thought the worst of yourself.

“Hey,” he says, breaking your reverie and pulling you back into the present.

He stood behind you while you held and stared at your old photo.

“When did you get this?” You remember that the last time you saw this photo was in your bedroom back at the old house that you shared with Derek.

“Does it matter when and how I got it?”

“No but—I just didn’t know you had this.”

“Just think of it as an artist reclaiming his masterpiece,” he said with a faint smile before kissing you on the cheek and picking up one of the boxes that you had sealed and labeled.

“Kook, where are you taking me?”

“Patience, baby…”

“We’re going to be late to dinner–”

“Shush! Can you just let me surprise you every now and then?”

Jungkook asked you to cover your eyes and keep them closed as soon as you left your place.

“You’ve surprised me enough during the course of this relationship. And not to mention it’s your birthday so I don’t know why I’m getting the surprise.”

“Just think of it as a gift—for me!”

You groan. “Okay, okay. I just don’t want our family waiting for us. You know I hate being late.”

“This won’t take long. Watch out, baby–there’s a couple small steps coming up—there you go…and a couple more here–”

“Do not let me fall in these heels, I swear to god–”

He chuckles. “I promise, I’m not.”

He sounded very excited about this and you were just itching to open your eyes. You hated surprises but you let your boyfriend do it anyway. So far, you haven’t kicked him to the curb for it.

“Okay–ready?”

“Yes! I’ve been ready,” you answer impatiently.

“Alright, open your eyes,” he says.

As soon as your eyes adjust to the light, you smile excitedly as soon as you get a good look at where you were at.

“Is this–”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

You giggled as you looked around this familiar place. Suddenly, a slight panic set in. “Are we trespassing?”

He laughed. “No. I talked to someone beforehand. We’re good.”

You walked closer to the play structure–most of it had been remodeled but the double-slide was still there–albeit with a new paint job. Tan bark and soft cork cushioning had replaced the old dirt and concrete surface–it made for a softer landing.

The little hiding spot behind the slides was still there but they’ve since added an enclosure that included a sensory wall.

“I’m not even going to ask how you managed this.”

“I told you, I have my ways,” he said enigmatically. “Wanna sit?”

You took a seat at the end of the slide while Jungkook sat on the other, next to you.

“Oh man. We’ve come a long way since our time here, huh,” you said nostalgically.

“We have. Who would have thought that some scrappy, moody, boy would ever fall in love with a sassy, loudmouth, bowl-cut and pigtail-wearing girl?”

You raised an eyebrow. “Loudmouth, huh? You’re definitely not getting any tonight!”

He chuckled loudly. “I forgot to mention ‘beautiful’,” he corrected, while pinching your cheek.

After a few moments of silence, he asked, “We’ve had a great year, right?”

“We have,” you affirmed with a smile.

“What do you think next year will be like,” he wondered.

You shrugged your shoulders. “I mean…I don’t know,” you said vaguely. “We’ll just take it one day, one step at a time and find out, I guess,” you said, looking down on the ground.

He sighed. “Hmm…I don’t feel like guessing, though.”

You raised your head slowly, curious as to what he meant by that.

“I want to take the next step.”

You watched him as he slowly stood up from where he sat and moved in front of you to get down on one knee.

You gasp audibly and your hands fly to your mouth in surprise.

“YN, baby… I’m not going to say what I already tell you everyday…how much I love you and how happy you make me. Instead, I’m going to ask—will you please make me even happier than I already am–and marry me?”

Trembling with tear-soaked eyes, you leaned closer to him, smiled broadly, and resoundingly responded, “Yes!”

You cup his face, pulled him close to you and kissed him repeatedly. While he grinned through your kisses, he slipped the ring onto your finger.

Suddenly he yells out, “You all heard it loud and clear! She said ‘yes’!”

You gasp once more as your family comes out from the dark classroom cheering, clapping, and exchanging hugs between you and Jungkook.

After Hobi hugs and congratulates you, he takes a few candid photos of you and your family—including your ring…a 3-carat, round-cut solitaire set on a platinum band accented with small channel diamonds covering it three-quarters of the way through. Simple, classic with a little flair…but most of all, enduring.

*******

“How are we today, YN?”

“I’m doing really well,” you beamed at her and practically bounced off the couch.

“Wow! I can really hear and feel that from you,” the doctor says as she prepares to jot down notes from this session and casually noted the new hardware that you sported on your left ring finger.

It’s been many months since your last session and things have dramatically changed since then.

Although mostly irrelevant to your current status and what you were feeling at this moment, you quickly recapped events that transpired with Derek, your brief fallout with Jungkook that eventually led to both of you getting together and being in a committed relationship.

You discussed how easy everything was with him—almost second-nature. Like any couple, you bickered and had the occasional argument. You talked it out when you could and gave each other space when you couldn’t resolve it the same night.

But none of those instances felt like the end of the world just as you had initially feared. You always found your way back to each other because you had laid the best foundation before you even began building your relationship.

The good doctor listened, asked some follow-up questions but didn’t judge. It was why you were so receptive to her course of treatment. She was approachable yet constructive when you expressed apprehension or questioned your behavior or decisions.

She was supportive of steps that you took but not in a lenient way. She didn’t admonish you but she didn’t patronize you either. It was an approach that you found extremely helpful in steering you in the right direction towards healing yourself.

“Over a year ago, I never thought that I would ever get to this place in my life. It just seemed really bleak. But now that I’m actually here, I find that I don’t have the compulsion to look over my shoulder…at least not as often,” you chuckled lightly.

“I’m enjoying my current relationships as they are now and just…really hopeful for what the future holds,” you said, full of sincerity.

“That’s really good to know, YN. You did a lot of that work yourself and it’s paying off.”

“You’re giving me too much credit, doc. You clearly helped me out a lot, too.”

“Alright, now you’re giving me too much credit. I just help steer people in the right direction,” she said candidly.

“Well, either way, thank you. I feel like that trauma will never go away though. I think I’m just marked for life with that. But I’m happy to be with somebody who is patient enough to help me get through it. He doesn’t…‘deal with it’ like it was a chore but he accepts it instead because it’s a part of who I am now.

It’s like—a piece of pottery. Some are molded perfectly while others look a bit wonky–especially when the potter is a beginner and has no clue what they’re doing. But it’s what gives it its personality…makes it unique. Luckily, others choose to see the beauty in that.”

One year later…

It was the night before your wedding and here you were, sneaking into your soon-to-be husband’s bedroom. You planned and agreed to sleep in separate rooms beforehand—trying to keep with old traditions.

But you missed having him close to you while you slept.

You found him sitting up on the bed, leaning against the headboard with the TV on while scrolling through his phone.

“What are you doing,” he whispered and chuckled at the same time while you pad through the door.

“I was cold,” you said simply, while you slid under the covers with him, wearing not much else except an oversized shirt and your underwear.

“Did you go through my stuff again,” he asked, noticing that the shirt you wore belonged to him.

“After tomorrow, what’s yours is mine,” you giggled.

He laughed while he pulled you in closer and kissed you.

It was a peck but it suddenly dawned on you that all of the pre-wedding festivities have deprived you both of some legitimate alone-time.

The desire between you smoldered and in an instant, every nerve ending in your body begged to be touched.

You reached up and pulled his neck lower towards you to kiss him again…deeper and hungrier this time.

Anticipation coiling tightly within you but he momentarily pulls away, leaving you bereft.

“Baby, Chim and Tae are sleeping in the other room—“

You agreed that you would all switch rooms after the ceremony. You chose to take the double-room while the boys took the honeymoon suite.

“I can be quiet, I promise,” you giggled while reaching down at his boxers.

He moaned softly. “I know but—I left my condoms out in the main room, where they’re sleeping.”

“What if…we went without it…beginning tonight?”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve been on birth control this whole time anyway and we haven’t slipped up.”

Sure, the thought of having unprotected sex was daunting because in the past, you were always afraid of uncertainty. Who isn’t? But something about this moment in time, at this point in your lives, your current mindset…it didn’t feel impulsive or hasty. Being with him–there was a definiteness to it…and it felt right.

“I know but…are you comfortable? You know I’d never pressure you.”

“And I know that. I am comfortable, if you are. You’re it for me and tomorrow—I am all yours,” you said as you nipped on his lower lip, “For life, Jeon Jungkook!”

He smiled at the thought of you exchanging vows tomorrow.

“Okay. I mean—don’t get me wrong. I’ve fantasized about this for god knows how long but I just don’t want you to do anything that you’re not comfortable doing.”

“I do want this. And…I trust you, fully.”

He nodded and kissed you once more. He reached down between your legs, shifting your underwear’s material so his fingers could delve right into your folds.

You shifted to give him better access while your hand stroked him from root to tip under his boxers.

His fingers pumped in and out of you mercilessly as your first orgasm took you by surprise. With a whimper, he slowly withdrew his fingers from you and put them to his lips to lick them clean.

“Not fair. Now I need to taste you,” you said as you quickly slid under the covers and pulled his cock out.

He tried to stop you but you were too slick for him. The next thing he knew, he was rolling his head back in pure ecstasy while you took him in your warm mouth.

He let out a hiss while he tangled his fingers around your hair. His hand guided your head as it bobbed up and down his length.

He praised you while you worked him. “God, your mouth feels so good, babe.”

You hollow your cheeks and took him in deeper, his head hitting the back of your throat.

He sucked in a breath, feeling himself teetering over the edge until his strong arms gently held you back. You took it as your queue that he didn’t want to cum in your mouth that time. Although in the past, he had either been too lost in the pleasure or you were too eager and hungry for him to stop you. More often than not he preferred to reach his climax while in you.

You slipped your panties off before climbing on top of him. He then strips you off your shirt and is welcomed with your bare breasts.

His thumbs grazed both nipples before he sank his mouth on one to suckle on it.

You threw your head back and mewled as you dug your fingers into your fiancés scalp.

He shifts slightly underneath you to line himself up at your entrance. While you went down on him, you took your time getting him nice and wet for you.

“Ready?”

“Always…for you.” You kissed him deeply once more as he guided your hips down towards him.

“Fuck,” you both uttered in unison as you felt each other raw for the first time.

You took him to the hilt and waited a few seconds for your muscles to adjust. While your muscles settle, he peppers your neck and your collarbone with soft kisses.

After a beat, you start to roll your hips towards him. He meets your subsequent thrusts with his own, slow grinding.

You started to lean backwards on one arm while the other clung on his shoulder for support. His hands gripped the fullest parts of your ass while he pushed himself deeper into you.

You bit your lips to stifle your moans. He smirked knowing that this position always drove you crazy and that you couldn’t scream it out loud unless you wanted your friends to wake up to this.

As if throwing more gas into the flame, he moves his right hand down to your folds and starts circling his thumb on your clit.

“Hate you,” you mouthed before your eyes rolled to the back of your head as you lolled in pleasure.

“No you don’t.” He bit back a smile, catching his lower lip with his teeth as he continued to tease you.

You whimpered softly at the feel of him hitting you deep into your core as he alternated between his thumb and palm to tirelessly goad you to the brink of ecstasy.

“You’re getting so tight…are you close, baby?”

He already knew the answer to that but you still nodded anxiously as your walls closed in around his cock in a vice-like grip.

“Hoooly shit,” he dragged out as his own orgasm crept up.

You pulled yourself back up towards him, flushed against his chest while he continued to thrust in and out of you.

“You want me to pull out?”

“No, keep going…Ah…I’m cum—“ Your jaw goes slack and your first instinct was to sink your teeth into his shoulder to muffle your groans as your second orgasm took over you.

Soon after, his hips stutter followed by a ragged sound that escaped his lips as he emptied himself into you. You felt each spurt of his pleasure inside you, adding to your own.

As you pulled away to get a brief look at him. He looked so adorable in his sweaty, fucked out state.

He smiled and tilted his chin up to plant a kiss on your lips.

“I can’t wait to marry you, YN.”

“I love you,” you grinned at him.

“I love you, too,” he said as he nuzzled the tip of your nose.

*****

Jeon Jungkook is standing in front of a mirror, smoothing his lapels. He hated black-tie events, which was why instead of a tuxedo, he opted for a crisp, ornate, white linen shirt and equally lightweight beige trousers. It was your wedding day.

“Alright, JK—you’re about to get lei’d!”

He snorted as Jimin presented him with an orchid and tuberose garland.

Most people get wedding jitters. Doesn’t matter how sure they are of their relationship. There’s always that tiny feeling–whether it was something that you might have forgotten off the checklist, some relative that you dreaded might embarrass themselves in front of guests, or whether the flowers were going to get delivered on time.

But today? You had a feeling of calm and serenity as soon as you woke up this morning. After sneaking out of Jungkook’s room and back into yours hours ago, you had a dreamless sleep.

For the ceremony, you decided to wear your hair down, styled with soft, cascading curls.

Your mom gives your hair soft brush strokes in the back while you finish sticking a wispy lash strip into your right eye.

Jungkook’s mom walks in with a couple of special deliveries.

“Honey, the florist came by to drop these off for you. I just came back from the boys’ room and handed off Jungkook’s lei,” she said with a smile.

Your mom utters her thanks to Jungkook’s mom as she takes the boxes containing the Ti-leaf and tuberose maile-style lei and the matching flower crown to get them ready for you.

“And this is from my son—he asked me to give this to you.”

You took the small envelope that she presented to you. It contained a notecard with Jungkook’s handwriting. In it, it said:

YN,

I can’t wait to see you walk down the aisle and make a promise in front of everyone who matters to us, that I will love you forever.

Your Jungkook

Your heart soared filled with joy and wished that you didn’t have to wait much longer to marry this man.

You chose to have your wedding at dusk. This was the time of day when the colors of the horizon were prettiest and most romantic—a gradation of day blending into night.

When the time came, Hobi and the other ushers rounded up the wedding guests to take their seats.

The resort set up a tent not too far from the ceremony site since there wasn’t a lot of covering in the surrounding area. It had a couple of chairs and a mirror for any last minute touches. They also set up a makeshift wall to cover part of the path to keep the suspense. It stopped right at the beginning of the aisle.

Your dad enters the tent as you take a final look at yourself in the mirror. Your dress was a boho-inspired, A-line silhouette, V-neckline with bell-shaped flutter sleeves and an open back. It had a lace bodice and a light, flowy skirt with lace appliques. It was sweet with a hint of sexy, noting that Jungkook had a penchant for dresses with an open back–especially when you wore them.

You opted to go without a veil this time. You didn’t need to hide your face…or anything else any longer and neither did Jungkook. There were no false pretenses between you two.

“You look wonderful, sweetpea,” your dad remarked.

“Thank you, appa” you said with a soft smile.

Just then, you hear the wedding singer begin to play the first few notes of her song on the acoustic guitar. A few seconds later, Jimin, Taehyung, and Jungkook take their places up front.

Something in your eyes Makes me wanna lose myself Makes me wanna lose myself In your arms There's something in your voice Makes my heart beat fast Hope this feeling lasts The rest of my life

As you stood behind the end of the makeshift wall, you caught a glimpse of the usher giving you the signal that it was your turn to walk.

If you knew how I wanted someone to come along And change my life the way you've done

“Ready, baby girl?”

You glance at your dad and give him a big smile. “Yes, appa.”

You wrap your hand around his elbow and he gives your hand a reassuring squeeze as you step out from behind the covering and onto the sand.

Everyone stands up and turns to get a look at you while you and your dad begin to walk down.

You nodded and greeted your guests. You spotted Lisa with Namjoon in the back row and Yoongi sat a couple of rows up next to his partner. Melanie sat not too far away along with Jungkook’s A-team surrounded by your cousins, aunts, and uncles.

After taking a few more steps, you looked up ahead and saw the love of your life. You caught him subtly pinching his earlobe and his eyes were downcast but as if hearing you silently call to him, he looked up and met your eyes.

His smile came slowly but when it settled on his lips, it was as bright as the light reflecting off the ocean right behind him.

Feels like home to me Feels like home to me Feels like I'm all the way back where I come from

You didn’t worry about anything else…because the only thing that mattered was the person waiting for you at the end of that aisle. And he looked at you in the way that you always hoped–with love.

If you knew how happy you are making me I've never thought that I'd love anyone so much

Jungkook greets your dad with a big hug. You give him one last kiss on the cheek before he hands you off to him.

When you first came here together, you watched the sunrise. At sunset, you would be husband and wife.

After your mom takes your bouquet, you and Jungkook stood face to face, hand in hand.

Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong

Jimin and Taehyung move to take their positions in front of you.

“Friends and family, we are gathered here today to witness the marriage of our dear friends, Jungkook and YN,” Jimin began.

“It’s been a long journey for these two but to everyone’s collective relief, they arrived eventually,” Taehyung added.

The soulmates proceeded to share anecdotes of you–beginning from when you first met up until you both finally took that leap of faith. They garnered laughs, smiles, and even tears from your guests.

You did your best to keep your composure as you recited your vows to him but lost it when he repeated his vows to you. His voice was firm and full of certainty. The look in his eyes had the affirmation that he had spoken of and shown you throughout the course of your relationship.

You loved him so much.

After exchanging rings, you exchanged leis to symbolize your union. One by one, you also presented leis to each of your family members–Jungkook putting them around your grandparents, your parents, and Hobi, while you put one around his mom’s neck. To finish off, you put one around Jimin and he put one around Taehyung, further sealing your families together.

“And now, by the power vested in us by the internet–” Taehyung says.

“We now pronounce you husband and wife,” Jimin finished.

“You may now kiss the bride!” They both proclaimed.

He cupped your face in his hands and kissed you sweetly. Your lips parted and clung to each other, filled with so much love and happiness from today.

The entire ceremony was intimate and deeply personal. It was perfect.

*******

You and Jungkook both sat on the sand watching the ocean waves wash ashore. You were slotted between his legs while you leaned into his chest.

You sat in silence for a while—exchanging a few kisses but mostly wordlessly taking in the events that had just taken place hours ago.

“Should we go back in?” He mumbled while he kissed your temple.

You sighed. “Just a few more minutes.”

You can hear the music from your reception echoing. There was a distant sound of chanting–most likely Hobi and the soulmates doing a dance-off.

“What are you thinking,” he asked, while he kept his nose nuzzled into your hair.

“Absolutely nothing,” you said, matter-of-factly.

Your response took him aback. “Nothing at all?”

“Nope,” you said simply.

You looked up at him seeing that he felt a little disappointed that you didn’t have any thoughts about the whole day.

You pinched his chin and giggled. “Trust me, it’s a good thing…because it means that I’m absolutely content with everything right now.”

His gaze slid over your face until a boyish smile crept up in his lips.

You gave him a kiss. “I love you, my husband.”

“I love you, my YN.”

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carlisles-girl · 3 years

Note

OMG UR CAIUS FIC WAS SO GOOD COULD YOU DO SOMETHING AB ARO PLEASE

a/n: Thank you so much! I’m very excited to write for Aro, he’s one of my favourite characters, more so because of Michael Sheen’s performance. I put a slight reference to something in this, you might catch it if you know other projects Michael Sheen has been in, but you might not, and that’s alright. Hope you enjoy <3

another a/n: I did put one or two feminine terms in this work, such as ‘mia regina’ which is ‘my queen’ in Italian, so do skip over it or replace it with something else if you’d like. I love writing this type of material in the middle of my classes, it adds so much adrenaline to not get caught.

Aro Volturi With A Human Mate

Instead of being angry and frustrated like Caius, Aro was more excited.

Like as if he was getting ready for a big party.

A human for a mate was inevitable for some vampires, of course, but Aro didn’t expect to be included in the some.

He was excited since it was rare for such high profile vampires to socialize with humans.

Aro often gushed to his brothers, excited to meet you, but also for them to meet you.

He wanted to host a ball for your welcome.

But Marcus noted that it would probably be slightly frightening for you to be in a room full of vampires.

Most of the vampires would look at you as if you were some sort of a snack.

Because it Marcus’ comment, Aro assumed it would be a greater choice to send an invitation to a tour of the castle.

Free of cost, of course.

When you had received the invitation, you were beyond excited.

An invitation to a tour of an ancient castle with endless legends, for free?

Absolutely.

The tour was the next day, so of course you were slightly nervous.

When the tour commenced, a very pretty woman named Heidi lead the tour group.

She began to speak of secrets of the castle, as well as secret corridors and legends.

Some things a normal tour guide would most likely have no idea about.

Heidi then looked in your direction, and smiled brightly at you.

“It’s very lovely here. I’m sure you’ll love it.”

Just when she had finished her sentence, she opened the doors where there were three men sitting in thrones, and what seemed to be 4 guards.

The man who sat in the middle, greeted everyone and began speaking greatly of the castle.

He had only stopped when he motioned for your tour guide, Heidi, to come forward.

She did as told, and held her hand out towards him.

You would have thought it was to greet him, but it seemed like he was concentrated, or zoned out.

“Magnifico! I will get Demetri to escort them.” (Translation: “Magnificent! I will get Demetri to escort them.”

A man who you assumed was Demetri, walked in your direction.

“Come with me, all will be alright, rest assured. However, do not look behind you.”

You went with him, doing as he said, but immediately turned around when the rest of the tour began screaming.

“What the hell was that?!”

Demetri just grabbed your wrist and brought you upstairs.

“Just stay in here, I’ve been instructed to keep you under my eye. Aro will explain everything to you.”

“Aro?”

“The man who sat in the middle throne.”

You nodded, and decided to sit on one of the window seats.

You wanted to ask Demetri as many questions as you wanted to, but you didn’t want to bother him, or disrupt him from his job.

When the door had opened and Demetri bid his farewells, you had turned around and saw Aro.

“You must be Y/n, correct?”

“Yeah, and you’re Aro?”

“I am, I assume you have a good amount of questions?”

You nodded, and Aro moved swiftly but smoothly towards the opposite side of the window seat.

“May I?”

“Of course.”

He sat opposite to you, and smiled slightly at you.

“There’s no need to be afraid of me, or the others. You’re the most safe you could ever be in the castle. I promise you, I will keep you safe.”

“May I ask why the rest of the tourists were screaming when I left?”

“I sense that that question should be answered later, appropriately.”

You were slightly frightened as to what the final answer would be, it could be anything.

Perhaps there was a reenactment of the past after you had been escorted, one of the tourists got pushed and the rest screamed since one of them fell, or the worst:

They were murdered.

“I feel like I already know what happened.”

“I sense that you do know, too. I will tell you everything in a moment. But for now, would you care to lend me your hand?”

You trusted Aro, though you were positive your ancestors were screaming from above or below not to trust him.

You held your hand out in front of him, and before he held your hand in his own, he asked for permission or something else.

“I want you to think of the happiest memory you have stored in your mind, I will describe it to you. I will not see anything else besides the things you want to show me, unless I have your permission.”

You thought of a memory, and then placed your hand in Aro’s palm.

He covered the back of your hand with the palm of his other hand, then he began telling you small details of your chosen memories you had even forgotten about.

When he was finished, he brought his head up from looking down, and smiled at your face of bewilderment.

“That is so cool! Is that like your superhero power?”

Aro smiled widely at your interest in his gift, and began explaining what his was.

“I have a gift, it’s called tactile telepathy. I can read everyone’s thoughts and memories with a single touch. The others in this coven have multiple different gifts, they help keep us safe.”

“So you’re all like superheroes?”

“Vampires, darling.”

After that, Aro enjoyed seeing your memories whenever you two were apart for some sort of time.

Especially say you were having a difficult time attempting to explain something to him, he would hold your hand and immediately understand what you were trying to say.

“I understand you, cara mia. I always will.”

And he was right, he understands you in every way possible.

Aro memorized your body language on how you react to different things, as well as your facial expressions.

When you’re uncomfortable with something, he will do absolutely everything in his power to make you comfortable.

Aro will burn down the entire world for you.

When it’s time for you to go to sleep, you best believe that Aro set up the most lavish and comfortable room for you.

The best and most comfortable bed, of course.

You lay down on his chest, and he brushes the hair out of your face, admiring your tired eyes looking back at him.

“Would you like for me to read to you, dearest?”

You nodded your head, and Aro would get up from wherever he was seated, swiftly retrieve a book, lay back down next to you, and begin reading.

He loved having you hold his hand while he read, it lets him see what you’re imagining the scene that he’s reading to you.

And when you fell asleep while he was reading, he would be so very content.

You curled up next to him, sound asleep on his chest.

Aro adored seeing what you were dreaming.

He loved how humans brains worked while they were sleeping, keeping your mind entertained with multiple little scenarios.

When you woke up, however, Aro would prefer to have you describe your dreams, if you remembered them.

He loved to learn more about humans, especially in the modern age.

And you loved to learn more about vampires, especially in the ancient times.

Aro would often tell you stories of each coven he encountered, his old family and friends, and his past human life.

As much as he wants you to be changed into a vampire like the rest, he can’t help but smile whenever you got slightly nervous around him, stuttering over your words, and hiding your face with your hands out of embarrassment.

He pays attention to little details about you.

Especially your eyes.

Even the shade of your eyes stops him from changing you. Your eyes wouldn’t be as unique anymore, they’d be the same red as everyone else’s.

“You have the most magnificent shade of colour in your eyes, mia regina. I simply cannot get enough of them.”

Being absolute best friends with Demetri.

But wherever Demetri was, Felix wasn’t too far behind.

You three are like a troublemaker trio, always causing trouble and pulling pranks on different members of the guard.

Never Jane or Alec, though. Unless it was a scheduled board game night or something along the lines.

Which Alec loved to take away different players senses, allowing him to cheat in the games you’d play.

He doesn’t do it all the time, though.

Marcus was a lot more welcoming towards you, perhaps more than anyone else.

Whenever Aro couldn’t, he’d show you different areas of the castle you hadn’t seen yet, and would give you wonderful pieces of advice along the way.

“Remember to stay true to yourself, never let anyone think for you.”

Aro will spoil you insanely.

If you mention a specific piece of clothing even once, you better expect that when you wake up the next morning, Aro has an elegantly wrapped package placed at the foot of your bed with a note written in fine handwriting.

“Mia amato, I have seen you speak of this article of fabric, and I have gone out of my way to make sure you have every little thing you admire. I need you to be the happiest you can possibly be. Please accept my gift, and meet me by the gardens by noon. I’ll see you then. Cordialmente, Aro.”

You two have annual walks throughout the garden, usually during golden hour. The sun still above, but setting at the same time, making it seem like Aro was made of a trillion Tiffany Yellow Diamonds.

He loved finding a flower that suited your mood for the day, and putting it behind your ear.

“My beautiful.”

You two often walked either arm in arm, or hand in hand, but sometimes you would hold him closer with your arm wrapped around his waist, your head leaning on his side or shoulder.

Often times, when the moon is visible, you would slow dance together, looking at each other with smiles on your faces, just appreciating each other’s presence.

Usually, Aro would come back into the castle around 2 in the morning, carrying your sleeping self up to your shared room, after you had fallen asleep on his shoulder while sitting in the garden.

The rest of the kings and guards would be predominantly more happy than from before you had arrived.

You had given Aro something to look forward to after trials and mountains of work, something he didn’t have for hundreds of years.

Though, Caius was still slightly jealous of you.

You had practically stolen one, if the not the most, needed member of the vampire world. Aro was nearly as focused on you than he was on trials and legislature.

He’d warm up to you eventually.

At least, you hoped.

Speaking of trials, you wanted to sit in and watch the trials, to see what it was about, and how it worked.

You knew the most of it, of course, Aro had already told you. But you wanted to see it live.

Aro was quick to say no, he didn’t want you to get hurt, or worse, killed.

He understood what would happen to him if his mate was killed, Marcus was the example. He couldn’t even bear the thought of you not being by his side.

Though, you owning the key to his heart, convinced him to let you watch, letting both Jane and Alec stay on either side of you, protecting you if anything were to go wrong.

You would usually sit on Aro’s lap, and then the throne when he had to see what was truly going on by using his gift.

Jane usually stood on the left of the throne, and Alec on the right.

Mainly since Caius sat on the throne in the left, and Jane loved to torture the criminals.

He loved the front seat view.

Constant look backs of reassurance to make sure that you’re alright.

Nearly always having your hand in his.

Forehead kisses.

Constantly bringing the back of your hand up to his lips.

Getting the absolute best care in the world, health wise especially.

When Aro proposed, it was in the bedroom the both of you share, and he was reading some poetry to you.

All was going swell, and then he got to one page.

“I can write no stately poem

As a prelude to my lay;

From a poet to a poem

I would dare to say.

For if of these fallen petals

One to you seem fair

Love will waft it till it settles

On your hair.

And when wind and winter harden

All the loveless land.

It will whisper of the garden,

You will understand.”

At the end, you were leaned up closer to him, looking at him in awe.

He closed the book, and placed it aside gracefully, before leaning slightly closer to you. Placing his hands overs yours.

“Do you remember who wrote that, cara mia?”

“I do. That’s Oscar Wilde, right?”

“That’s right. There’s so much I want to say to you, especially in this particular moment, but I don’t think there’s enough words to express my love and affection towards you. I’ve known you for a little while, and I can feel the bond between us, and I know you can feel it, too. The universe has guided us together, and I am so very thankful for every second we have spent together, and I’m even more thankful for the rest of eternity we have. However, I am the most thankful of the fact that I have the most gorgeous human as a mate. I love you so much, anima mia. Will you do me the best thing that could ever happen to me in my thousands of years, and marry me?”

You said yes, obviously, who wouldn’t?

You leaned over to press your lips against his, as he held one side of your face with one hand, and the other hand slid a ring on your ring finger.

While Aro wanted an extremely lavish wedding, with all the diamonds in the world, you wanted something more of a homely essence.

So you compromised, and had a bit of both.

Aro invited nearly every vampire to the wedding, wanting to show you off in every way he could.

The Denali’s, Cullens, Irish coven, everyone was invited.

Except for the Romanian coven, Vladimir and Stefan. Not trusting them to be in your presence.

The wedding was held in the garden, the arch where Aro stood had your favourite flowers intertwining around it, with diamonds pressed in the centre of each individual flower.

Demetri walked you down the isle, smiling proudly when he handed you over to Aro.

Proud that his leader had finally found true love, and that one of his best friends is finally where they need to be.

After the official wedding ceremony, the rest of the night and day were spent smiling and showing off each other to the guests.

When the night ended, it was finally time for you to be changed to a vampire.

Aro sat by the bed were sitting on, making sure that you were absolutely ready to be converted to a vampire for the rest of eternity.

“Are you ready, my darling?”

You nodded your head, and Aro took one final look into your coloured eyes, attempting to remember every small detail of them.

Aro then moved your hair away from your neck, before placing his lips over where he would finally bite down and turn you immortal.

“Just say when, and I’ll see you after.”

#twilight x reader #twilight preferences #twilight #twilight imagine #aro volturi #aro twilight #volturi preferences #volturi kings #aro #volturi #aro volturi imagine #aro volturi x reader #aro volturi oneshot #twilight aro #volturi oneshot #volturi imagine

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anonymousfiction211 · 3 years

Text

Handcuffed together

Summary: Loki and you hate each other, but are both part of the Avengers. They are fed up with you two fighitng all the time and hancuff you together, so you can learn to tolerate each other. Word count: 3.132 words Warnings: Smut, dubious consent (it is consentual, but not specificly said), angry Loki, degrading A/N: Based on a idea from @the-best-phineas. Hope you like it! If anyone has an idea, or suggestion just let me know :)

Click here for chapter 2 Click here for chapter 3

With a loud click the handcuff around your wrist closed. You immediately tried to unlock the cuff, but it wouldn’t give. “Like that would work” Loki commented. You gave him a glare but turned your attention back to Tony. “Seriously, this is not necessary. Give us another chance” you begged him. “Look, we are all sick of the two of you constant fighting, it is effecting the team and the missions we’re on. And all that magic-crap makes everything worse. So, until the two of you can tolerate each other you’re cuffed together. And you’re both not allowed on missions before you finish this one” You sighed heavily but knew that arguing more was futile.

“I must say, you’re taking this better than I thought you would” Tony said to Loki. “Escaping handcuffs isn’t that difficult, Stark” Loki replied. Tony secured the cuff on Loki’s wrist. He then walked hastily to the door. “Oh, one more thing. These handcuffs are designed so you can’t use your powers” Tony said and quickly exit the room. Loki immediately tried to escape his cuff with magic, but nothing was happening. You tried as well, but got the same result, nothing. You met his eyes, which were full of anger. “I thought escaping from handcuffs wasn’t that difficult” you said sarcastically. Loki didn’t break eye contact. The anger was radiating off him, you swore you could physically feel it. He didn’t say anything but turned around and walked away. When you didn’t move he yanked at his side of the cuffs and you were forced to take a few steps in his direction. “What the… LOKI..” you started angrily, but he didn’t react. He kept walking while ignoring you. Right now, you had no other choice than to follow him, trying to keep up.

He pushed his bedroom door open with so much force, you thought it would break. He walked towards his bookcase and was taking out different books, flipping through them. You had enough and yanked at the handcuffs, making the book in his hand fall on the ground. “STOP. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING” you yelled at him. He gave you his angriest look, the one he said he reserved specially for you, because he never met anyone who was as stupid and annoying as you were. And that included his oaf of a brother. “I am finding a way to free myself from you” he spat. “So, just stand there and try not to get in the way” he turned his attention back to the bookcase. “You can’t just walk away and drag me along” you grumbled. “Apparently I can” he said with a sly small on his face. You yanked at the cuffs again, making Loki drop his book again. He turned to face you, grabbed your throat with the cuffed hand and pushed you hard against the wall behind you. Your scream was cut off by his other hand covering your mouth. He wasn’t chocking you, but the tightness off his grip wasn’t comfortable enough for you to relax. Your whole body felt like it was on fire, which was weird. It shouldn’t.

He pulled his hand away from your mouth after standing there for what felt like eternity. “Look, I’m much stronger than you are. So, I’m going to find a way to free myself. The only thing you have to do is staying out of my way” he growled. He let go of your throat, but still stood extremely close to you. “Yeah, this whole act doesn’t scare me” your voice hoarser than you would have liked. Loki chuckled “Look, when you had your powers you had some sort of defense, even tough it was weak. Without your powers.. you don’t stand a chance against me” You slapped him hard across his face. His face turned sideways, but his cheek didn’t show any red mark. He slowly turned his head to face you, giving you a wicked smile that sends chills trough your body. He didn’t say anything, just stared at you. But both of you knew, you had just proofed his point.

The rest of the morning you two sat on his bed. Loki was busy reading different books and he sometimes grumbled in annoyance. You were playing a game on your phone, trying to ignore him. Loki snaped his book shut and threw it across the room. You looked up from your phone “I assume the search is not going well then?” you couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at his frustration. “Just shut up, it’s not like you are any useful” he replied. He sighed and laid down on his bed. His put his cuffed hand on his chest, which meant that your hand also touched his chest. When he felt your hand, he puts his hand down beside him, pretending it didn’t happen. “We could pretend to like each other for this afternoon, and we surely will be free before dinner” you said. Loki didn’t reply. He sighed heavily “Fine” he muttered. He got up from the bed, which mean that you had to crawl to his side to get up as well. When it took to long he grabbed your arm and pulled you to your feet in front of him. Not anticipating this move, you stumbled and fell into his chest. His free hand immediately grabbed you by your hip to steady you. A weird feeling was spreading from your hip through your body, you couldn’t quite place it. When he dropped his hand you still felt his touch. “Shall we?” he said. You nodded and followed him towards the living room. But there was no one there. Loki walked towards the kitchen, with you close behind him. There was a note on the kitchen table.

Loki and (Y/N), The team had to leave for a mission. We will be back in two days. Don’t kill each other. - Natasha

Loki crumbled up the piece of paper and threw it through the kitchen. “Great, just great. Two day stuck with you” he said angrily. “Lucky me, two days in the presence of a god” you replied with as much sarcasm as you could. Loki gave you an angry glare, which you ignored. He stormed out of the kitchen, yet again dragging you along. After a few steps you yanked at the cuffs and halted in your track. “Look, we both want nothing more than the be free of each other. But we’re at least stuck with each other for two day, so how about some rules?” you started. Loki didn’t say anything but nodded.

“First, discussing where we are going, no more dragging me along and doing whatever you want” you started.

“No talking unless absolutely necessary” Loki replied.

“No more threats, or throat grabbing”

“No more punching”

“How about no touching of any form?” you said.

“Fine by me. Also, no more singing. You are really bad at it”

“No more insulting me!!” you half yelled

“Don’t make insulting you so easy then!”

There was a long silence. “We sleep in my room” Loki said. “IF you behave this day, I MIGHT consider letting you sleep in the bed” you rolled your eyes at that comment. “I accept that we sleep in your room, but only IF I sleep in the bed too. Otherwise, we sleep in my room” you said. He smirked “If you weren’t so insufferable I might even enjoy this little negotiation” You couldn’t help but smile at his comment “same for me” you replied.

The rest of the afternoon went by rather peacefully. Loki was reading books and you were watching a series on tv. There was one awkward moment when you had to use the toilet, but you had to admit that Loki did his best to give you all the privacy you needed. So, you did the same when he had to go. Your stomach started to rumble, you were getting hungry. “Shall we order food?” you asked Loki. After a very long discussion you both finally agreed on Chinese food. In hindsight it wasn’t the best idea to eat Chinese food when you only have one hand. During dinner, your hands sometimes touched each other, by accident. But every time you felt his hand against yours spark like electricity shot through your body. You suddenly forgot how to breathe and didn’t know where this was coming from. You were hoping Loki didn’t notice and try to ignore the feeling.

After dinner things basically stayed the same. You put on a movie and halfway through Loki decided to watch it too. But none of you said a word to each other. After the movie you were getting tired. “Can we go to bed?” you asked. Loki nodded and the two of you walked to his bedroom. That was when things got a little awkward. You both turned your back towards each other when the other undressed. Loki had pulled down his pants and his shirt, which was now hanging on the chain of the cuffs. You were currently undressing yourself, getting rid of your own pants and pulling your T-shirt over your head, hanging it next to Loki’s on the chain. You currently were in a bra and thong, mentally slapping yourself for not thinking this through this morning. Worst off all was that it was in dark green, which was a colour you wore often before Loki joined the team. When Loki turned around you saw his eyes roam your body, suddenly you felt extremely exposed. You noticed that Loki was more muscular than you thought, if he were any other man on the planet you would have thought his body was attractive. You cleared your throat, snapping Loki’s eyes to meet yours. If you didn’t know any better you thought you saw a slight blush on his cheeks.

He walked towards his doors and turned down the light. His room was completely dark, and you couldn’t see a thing anymore. You heard Loki walk and felt your hand pulled towards his direction. You were hesitant to move, not wanting to trip or bump into something. “Why are you not moving?” Loki asked annoyed. “I- I can’t see a thing” you replied. Loki walked closer to you, his free arm grabbed your shoulder, and he took your cuffed hand with his. You flinched from the sudden touch, not expecting it. “Relax, I’m not going to hurt you” he said. “I know, you just startled me” you replied. He guided you towards his bed and let you get in first. “Thanks” you whispered. “Just go to sleep” he replied. But sleep did not come easily. It was difficult to find a comfortable position, because of the handcuffs. But somehow you managed.

The light shining through the curtains woke you up. Loki was still fast asleep, he looked peaceful. He was laying on his side, facing you with his free hand underneath his head. His cuffed hand was on top of yours. You slowly moved your hand from underneath his. His eyes snapped open, and he looked at you. You were both silent. He cleared his throat “Breakfast?” he asked, you nodded. You both decided it was a good idea to make pancakes. However, cooking with handcuffs on was more difficult than anticipated. Especially since Loki wasn’t much of a cook. You got frustrated and told him to just get out of your way. You finally had the batter how you wanted and picked up the bowl to bring it near the stove. Loki, wanting to get out of your way, choose the wrong direction making the two of you bump into each other. You lost your grip on the bowl and it fell on the ground.

“Seriously?!” you asked angrily. “It’s not my fault you don’t watch where you’re going” Loki replied equally angry. “Why are you incapable of just admitting you’re not perfect and say sorry?”

“Why do you always look to me when someone has to take blame for your actions?” he spat back.

“You are the most insufferable person I’ve ever met!”

“God” Loki corrected.

“What?”

“I’m not a person, I’m a God!”

“Some God you are, you can’t free yourself, you can’t even make your own pancakes” you replied sarcastically.

“I suggest you chose your next words very carefully” he warned you.

You being you, decided to ignore the warning. “You might think yourself a God, but you are the only one who does” you said, knowing it would get some sort of reaction out of him. Loki used to cuffs to spin you around, your back against his chest. His cuffed arm was around your throat and his free hand around your stomach, holding you in place. “If you don’t shut up know, I make you” he whispered in your ear with a dangerous tone in his voice. Your whole body felt on fire, yet again. Before you knew that you did it, you pressed your ass against his groin. “Oh, you like this don’t you?” he purred in your ear. “Shut up and let me go” you said, trying to squirm out his grip. “No, you want this” he said.

“I don’t” you replied.

“That’s a lie”

“Like you would know. You may have the title God of Lies, but like we established... you’re no God” you laughed.

“I don’t need to be the God of Lies to know. You heart rate is up, your pupils yesterday dilated when you saw me shirtless, and your voice is higher. And the best thing is, your needy body betrays you” he laughed back.

You had enough. You kicked the back of your foot against his shin, but Loki didn’t even flinch. “Bad choice, kitten” he said. Without warning his teeth sunk into your neck. Instead of making your scream it made you moan louder than you would have liked. His hand on your stomach travelled downwards, going straight for your core. He cupped your heat with his hand and one of his fingers strokes between your folds. Revealing that you indeed were turned on, and already extremely wet. “Hmm.. such a needy slut you are” he hummed. You wanted to protest, you should protest, but alle words had escaped you. Your breathe was ragged and you knew you what was going to happen.

Loki spun you around, pushing your upper body on the kitchen counter. He held his cuffed hand in your hair, forcing your hand behind your back and your head down. You tried to squirm away, but Loki wouldn’t budge. “We both know you can’t escape and we both know you don’t want to. So now I’m going to fuck you, maybe you think twice next time you talk to me like that” he growled. His free hand hovered over the buttons of your pants and in one smooth motion he opened them. He pulled your pants down, caressing your butt. Goosebumps were starting to form, and you felt yourself grow wetter from his touch. Loki had freed his erection through his zipper, still wearing his pants. He stroked his shaft up and down your slid. Slightly dipping through your folds, coating himself in your wetness.

Without warning he thrusted inside of you, making you cry out in pleasure. He started thrusting in and almost out of you in a very quick pace. His cock filled you up completely, even reaching your g-spot when he was fully inside of you. You started to rock your hips, meeting his pace. “That’s it, good girl” he praised you. It made you blush and clench your walls around his cock. He left darkly at your reaction. You felt your orgasm starting to build up inside of you. Loki’s animalistic way of fucking you was becoming too much. Right before you reached your high you moaned out loud “Oh my God” Loki stilted deep inside of you. “What did you say, darling?” he mused. “I- .. just keep going” you replied, hoping he would let you come undone. He leaned his upper body over yours, his lips right by your ear. “Just repeat it, if you want to come of course” he purred. You didn’t respond and thought about giving up your climax. Loki slowly moved pulled out and back inside of you. He knew you were close and was using that against you at the moment. “What’s wrong, kitten? Usually you’re so talkative” he chuckled. He was keeping his slow pace, keeping you on the edge but not pushing you over it.

You groaned in frustration. “Fine, I said oh my God” you said annoyed. Loki picked his pace up slightly, but nowhere near how fast you needed him. “So, you do admit that I’m a God?” even tough you couldn’t see his face, you just knew he had his signature smirk on his face. “Yes” you said to gritted teeth. Loki just laughed “Now, was that so difficult?” before you could answer he was thrusting at a fast pace. To your surprise Loki himself was starting to moan slightly, muttering things under his breath about how tight you were and how good you feel around his cock. It didn’t take long before you reached your climax. When you reached your high you couldn’t help but cry out “Oh my God Loki” adding fuel to his thrusts. He came right after you.

He collapsed on top of you, leaving feather light kisses on your neck. He pulled out of you and handed you a kitchen towel to clean yourself up. You pulled up your underwear and pants, not being able to look Loki in his eyes. You grabbed another bowl and started on a new pancake batter. Loki stood right behind you, hands on either side of you. He was nuzzling his head in the crook of your neck. “If I knew this would shut you up, I would’ve done it much sooner” he mused. “That was a one-time thing, don’t get any ideas. I still hate you” you replied. “Oh no, new rule. Every time you anger me, I’m going to fuck you like the slut you are” You knew it shouldn’t, but you felt yourself get excited again. “It’s only for a day and a half, so I just won’t make you angry” you replied dryly. Loki laughed “Kitten, even if we’re free from these cuffs I am still going to fuck you. You laid with a God and now you’re mine” You scoffed “That’s not how it works” Loki pulled you closer against his chest and cupped your breast with his free hand. He chuckled when you gasped and closed your eyes. “It is. By the time, the team is back, you will worship me like you should”

Click here for chapter 2

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