#it took me ages to start believe me I'm always so slow to jump from anime to cartoon

[marymary-diva17]

Your ma daughter ma ite ( a new you)

Life is always changing that was something you had learned from a very young age, you had seen your life change over the years on pandora. As you had started growing up over the years and become the person you want to be, along with staying true to yourself as well. There was going to come a new change for you as well, and change that you had been thinking of since you were small.

Y/n " uncle norm"

????? " oh so you have been called here by my dad as well" you soon had seen spider as the both of you were standing near, the base laboratory.

y/n " hey spider and yes he left a note of me in my room when I was in the dining hall"

Spider " same here for me"

y/n " come on let go see where everyone else is right now, because now it seems like no one is in this area" the duo had nodded their heads and soon walked to find, any sign of norm or any of the other adults.

spider “ dad are you in here dad” the two teens were looking around, trying to find any signs of anyone right now.

y/n “ here let turn on the lights over here maybe it will ….” Soon the lights had turn on before you could switch on the lights.

everyone “ surprise” the two teens had jumps up a bit as they had been, taken by surprise as they looked to see all the other adults there.

spider “ wow”

y/n “ hey everyone well it good to see you are all apart of what uncle norm, said he need to show us”

Norm “ well yes it was a team effort from everyone here, and we have been planning to have this celebration for you kids”

y/n “ cool what are we celebrating anyways”

max “ well we have always knew you kids love pandora and the clan so much, spending all your time with them in the forest and anywhere else.. we all know being apart from them is every hard as well”

y/n " yes it has been hard but we love spending time with you all here and learning new things as well"

max " that good to know you two have been such a good job helping around here and outside as well"

spider " thank you uncle max"

norm " so we have been working together as individuals and as a group, and after waiting for a while to make sure everything will go well with our plan"

spider and y/n " ........."

norm " we had made avatar bodies for you kids to use so you can be humans and now navi, spend life outside without the need of exo mask to breathe and live life here"

y/n " uncle norm are you telling us the truth"

norm " well yes come see for yourself kiddo" you and spider had smiled as the pair of you went towards where evyone was standing, to see avatar bodies.

y/n " I can't believe this is really happening after all these years we are getting avatar bodies, I had thought it might not happen"

norm " well we need to wait and gather more resources and once we found out, we had enough to make some new avatar bodies we took that chance"

spider " this is going to be so cool"

y/n " thank you all for doing this for us it so amazing"

women " anything for you kids now come on lets get going"

y/n and spider " yeah" both teens had a bright smiles on their faces as everyone was getting everything ready, to make the transfer process happen. Once everything was ready you and spider were laying down in some capsule, as norm was checking on the both teens.

norm " how are you both feeling"

spider " excited"

y/n " same here mixed with some nerves as well this will be the first time, we do the transfer"

norm " don't worry we will make sure no harm comes to you kids, just breath in and out relax the mind and soon enough everything will be okay"

y/n and spider " yes sir" the capsules doors had soon closed as you had closed you eyes and relax your body and mind. The transfer had soon happen, as you soon open your eyes slowing.

max " hey how are you feeling kiddo"

y/n " good" you soon looked at your hands to see all blue as smile grown on your face.

y/n " wow I'm really navi now this so amazing" you had stood up slowing and looked at mirror to see you were now, navi like your family which made you smile.

women " sorry about the human clothes they were the only things we had the moment, for you but they are better they RDA clothes we found in the box"

y/n " they will be good I still have the clothes my mother made for me"

norm " oh yes I remember neytiri had made it just in case you got a avatar body"

spider " so y/n how does it feel to be blue"

y/n " good and you don't look at different just taller"

spider " thank you I also make sure to look good" you just scoff and rolled your eyes.

y/n " I can't wait to call everyone and show them along with talking with them as well, they are going to be shocked and excited as well"

spider " oh yes we have to call father and show him as well"

norm " well we can talk with them but can't get the cam working as it broken"

y/n " we can't keep the talks long as the calls sometime break up"

spider "then it seems like we might give them a surprise"

y/n " I love that idea"

norm " same here as they might changed as well and so have we"

y/n " we all have become new after all these months apart, and at times it good to something new and changes as well ... as grandmother always said the great mother always provide for her children"

norm " well come on we still have time to celebrate this wonderful day, as now you two have avatar and it will be good to have a celebration of some good news" everyone had nodded their heads in agreement, everything had been going well over these months. You still miss your family and wish they were here with you, for them to celebrate with you about this new milestone in your life.

y/n " I love the look" you are standing in-front of long mirror as you had put on the cloths that neytiri had made for you, she had made many types of clothes for you along with the help of your sisters and grandmother.

y/n " I love the new me I have" you had a bright smile one your face, as you had gotten done put on some jewelry, at your siblings had made for you.

norm " you seem very happy right now"

y/n " I'm very happy uncle norm thank you for doing this for me"

norm " you and spider deserve this and now I can't wait to see everyone faces"

y/n " oh yes well did promise not that many changes will happen"

norm " well changes does happen and this change it good" you had smiled and nodded your head, for a couple more hours you had stayed in your avatar body. Until you were back in your human body, making plans of what you shall do tomorrow as avatar and human. Along with thinking about the days to come until you are finally reunited with your family again, to see their faces again and hug them. When that day comes everyone will be happy to see each other again, no longer separate anymore in the end.

[msnanu]

Life Twist 12 | JJK

⏤banner by the talented and sweet: @archivedkookie ❣

⏤summary ❧ After an enormous loss in your life and breaking a long relationship with your now ex boyfriend, you decided you needed a life twist. So you move into a new country to try restart your life and seek for your happiness. What you weren't expecting was someone like Jungkook entering into your life as soon as you got to Seoul.

⏤𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 ❧ jungkook x female reader

⏤𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘦 ❧ fluff, angst, smut, slow burn, 4 years age gap (reader is JK's noona)

⏤𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 ❧ mature language

⏤𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 ❧ 10.2k+

⏤ author's note❧ It's finally here! 😌 - I'm so sorry for delaying this for such a long time, this past month has not been easy for me. When I was getting back into writing my beautiful furry friend decided to cross the rainbow. It took a while for me to feel better honestly. For now this will be the last chapter of Life Twist. I might continue it or not, I'm open to write some drabbles for this couple if requested. I loved writing the story of this two lovebirds and I hope you loved it as much as I did 💜 As always, don't hesitate on leaving your thoughts on the story, it makes my heart warm everytime I read your comments. FYI - I'll be working on new ff's! Love u guys and thank u for the love you gave to this story! 🥰 

"So, you're saying he was totally unfazed about Minho?" says Aria sounding genuinely surprised while Emma added "Like, you did not even sense an ounce of jealousy coming from him?".

The three of you were in a corner of Taehyung's apartment talking or more like whispering about your little encounter earlier today with Minho and JK at the gym's exit. The rest of your friends - including Jungkook - were just a few meters away from you so you couldn’t be too loud with your conversation.

You shook your head and continued "I don't know how to describe it. I’m telling you, he was like another person, not the Jungkook I dated. I mean, for God's sake!" you exclaim shouting in a whisper to your two friends "Last time he saw Minho he kept glaring the shit out of him and now the two of them were acting as if they were friends!"

"Well, I'll be damn. I didn't think he could change this much in four months. Seems like therapy is doing its job" added Aria while taking a sip of her gin tonic.

"And how do you feel about all of this?" said Emma looking at you curiously.

You groan loudly, throwing your head back. "Ugh. That's the thing. I don't know. Every time I see him, I want to jump right on him" you say while watching Jungkook talking to Yoongi on the other side of the room and the girls giggle at your honesty.

"I just-" you stop yourself thinking how to voice out your thoughts correctly "There's a part of me that is full of fear. We are in a good place now, I mean... look we are in the same room, we are not pulling each other’s head off and everything's okay"

"But?" 

"But I'm still in love with him, so madly in love that it drives me crazy. I'm so fucking whipped!" you exclaim while sighing and rubbing your temples.

Both of your friends look at you with worried faces, you're clearly too stressed with the whole situation.

"You know I wasn't rooting for you to fix things up with Jungkook in the first place" starts Aria without any filter as usual.

Auch. That was harsh. But you know Aria means well and she's the type to give tough love.

"But that was Jungkook from four months ago, the guy that couldn't even stand to see someone looking at you. This Jungkook-" she says moving her head in his direction "The one that is doing therapy - even though we know he never was fond of it - in a way it feels like he's a whole new person. He is still the same goofy Jungkook we all knew but I think everything that happened with you made him more mature and maybe - I'm saying just maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing to give him another chance" she finishes giving you a sweet smile.

"I can't believe I'm hearing that coming out from your mouth, Aria" said Emma with an amusing tone.

Aria loves Jungkook like a little brother but since you two broke up, she sided with you. There wasn't any bad blood between them at all, but she made it clear that she wasn't happy with how Jungkook had treated you.

You were frowning for a while and seeing that you were awfully silent, Aria's comforting voice caught once again your attention "At the end, it's always gonna be your decision, Y/N. And whatever you decide, it's gonna be okay, we'll be here for you."

"I just don't want to feel any regret, I don't want to make the same mistakes again and again" you mumbled, while nibbling on your bottom lip "What would you do, guys?"

"It's too personal, sweetie. But if you want my opinion, if I were in the same position with Hobi, I would give him one more chance."

"I would too,” said Emma.

It's not like you don't want to give it another go with Jungkook. But it would be your very first time coming back with an ex-boyfriend and the thought of getting back with him and the possibility of your heart breaking up again, terrifies you. Even though, deep down, you know your heart is still with him, you never retrieved it. How could you? You never loved someone as much as you loved him, as you still love him.

And before the wheels in your head starts to work and roll, Aria's voice speaks up again. “That doesn't mean you have to give him a chance tho" she says running her arm around your shoulder and squeezing you a little bit "Maybe you need some more time for yourself, and things might clear up for you on its own"

"Or maybe you just need to go with the flow and relax a bit, don't stress that much overthinking everything,” said Emma.

"That's for sure, you need to calm down, sweetie" added Aria.

"Yeah, I think you're right... I should relax and go with the flow" you repeat - as if it was an easy task for you to do.

And that's the last thing they advised you before you moved on talking about Emma and Joey's honeymoon since they were going soon on a trip to the Maldives.

"Ahhh, Jungkook-ah, stop with the puppy eyes, you're gonna give me a headache" Yoongi teases the youngest, wiggling his brows. Jungkook rolls his eyes although a soft grin spreads on his lips, clearly knowing he got caught staring at you. There's no point on denying it. He doesn't want to be creepy, but you look so beautiful, you always do and it's getting harder for him not to drool over you every time you're near him.

"I can't help it, hyung"

"Did you two talked again about... you know, your relationship?"

"No. We talk about anything but that" the maknae simply responds with a soft smile plastered on his face, reminiscing every single conversation he shared with you these last few days. Just talking with you makes everything better.

"And you're... fine with that?" he asks slowly, sounding confused and surprised at how calmed Jungkook is acting about you and your relationship.

Jungkook gives him a slow nod as he says, "I'm happy of being part of her life again, hyung."

It's obvious that he wants to be with you. But after being apart from you for two months when you broke up and not being able to talk or even see you, he knows that he has to appreciate that you're back in his life, even if it's not in the way he's yearning. If he wants to get you back, he knows he'll have to be patient.

"You know, I bought her a ring before we broke up" suddenly Jungkook confesses, sounding almost proud of himself which catches Yoongi off guard and JK sees it by the way Yoongi's lips part.

"A ring, like- an actual engagement ring?!" he asks right away.

Jungkook nods, pursing his lips in a deep thought before saying "Yes, I was gonna propose in our first anniversary but then all hell broke loose and there went my plans with it" 

"Wow. I didn't expect that."

Yoongi was actually the first person to know this. Neither of his other hyungs knew anything about the ring, not even Jin or Jimin. It's the first time he feels like he can properly talk about it without crying his eyes out. And even though Yoongi is not the most open person in terms of feelings, Jungkook always felt comfortable voicing out his thoughts with him.

"Maybe it was for the best, even if I had to go through an unbearable pain." says JK while he sees Yoongi frowning "Maybe I needed to go through all of that to become a better person, not just for her, but for me as well. She deserves the best version of me. I just wish I hadn't made her suffer in that process."

Yoongi stares in silent at Jungkook with a sense of proud and the youngest frowns while saying "What?" 

"Nothing. It's just...you are all grown up now" says Yoongi pinching the bridge of his nose.

Jungkook snorts finding very amusing Yoongi's reaction. "Hyung, every time I see you, you say that same thing."

"Because it's true! You've grown up so much!" he exclaims, smiling as Jungkook grins taking a sip of the glass of wine in his hand "Well, at least you already have the ring for whoever you'll end up with."

Yoongi sees JK gulping while he fights that lump that is stuck in his throat "That ring belongs to her, hyung. I know it'll end up on her finger sooner or later" he says, wanting to sound as hopeful as possible.

"You sound confident, Jungkookie."

"I-...I just know we'll end up together somehow, I have that feeling, you know?" he says softly, taking another gulp of his glass of wine.

Yoongi nods, listening to JK's words carefully before asking "And you'll wait for her no matter what?"

"Always. She's worth it." Jungkook responds quickly, without a single ounce of doubt.

A few minutes later you were on Taehyung's big balcony, watching the stars illuminating the beautiful night sky. After gulping down what would be your second glass of wine, you were feeling warmer and relaxed. You could hear your friends' voices from inside, hearing Jimin and Yoongi's all-time bickering made you smile without even realizing.

"How was your physical therapy session, noona? Everything okay?" a soft and well-known voice resounds from behind pulling you out of your little world.

You turn around, your heart fluttering and your face feeling hot at the sight of your ex-boyfriend smiling at you. A thousand butterflies swirling inside your stomach.

Fuck. I love you I love you I love you - your mind is repeating non-stop. How is it even possible that such a gorgeous human being exists?

You purse your lips, trying to play it cool. "It was good" you respond after a while "It was actually the last session today, so I guess my hand is finally recovered." 

"Oh! Really?" says Jungkook with an enthusiastic tone "Let me see how it looks."

Your eyebrows furrow for a moment. He gets closer to you, taking your hand in his and looking at it, as if he was some kind of doctor and for some reason it makes you giggle. He looks down on you and suddenly you stare wide-eyed at him because of the proximity of your bodies. Jungkook notices how nervous you seem to be, he knows that look on you, he tries to hide his amusement but fails miserably when you see a little twitch on his lips.

And you can't stop looking at his lips. You are mentally screaming, throwing hands at yourself thinking how fucking weak you are when it comes to this man in front of you.

"I missed seeing that look on your face."

"Wha-What look?" you stutter a little bit. 

Fuck. Keep it together, Y/N

"The one that you had every time you were checking me out" he shamelessly says.

You stumble back a little bit as he tries to hold back a laugh. He always finds you adorable when you get flustered.

"You know, sometimes you're too cocky" you say trying to sound as unaffected as possible even though you know you're failing miserably.

"Maybe, but I also know you, Y/N. And I'm sure you were thirsting over me" he giggles before taking a step closer to you and making you freeze in your spot, then he leans in and whispers at your ear “And just to be clear, if it were for me, I would be kissing you since the moment you set a foot on hyung's apartment."

Chris voice is heard getting closer to both of you, Jungkook steps back a little with a triumphant grin on his face seeing how flustered you are. You gulp all the saliva that has collected in your mouth, touching your hot cheeks and trying to compose yourself to not look suspicious to your best friend who's now approaching.

"So, you two lovebirds, are you already back together or you're just busy flirting with each other?" said your best friend with a mischievous tone in his voice.

Is he fucking kidding?  You are sending daggers towards Chris with your eyes. Him and his inappropriate comments. Jungkook just giggles and shakes his head at his hyung.

"Oh- okay I-I just wanted to tell you something" says your best friend stuttering at first a little scared when he sees you looking at him as if you wanted to murder him "As you know my birthday is coming soon."

Jungkook and you just nod your heads waiting for your best friend to continue, since it is no news for anyone. Chris has been blabbering about turning 31 for the last month or so.

"I really wanted to do something different this time, so I rented a nice place in Gangneung right in front of the sea, for all of us to have a little weekend get-away."

"Wow, that sounds cool, hyung. I'll be there" Jungkook quickly replied. 

"I assume I don't need to ask you anything, if you are not there, I'll kill you with my own hands" says Chris towards you trying to sound intimidating.

"Oh!" you feign fear putting your hands over your chest with an exaggerated ironic tone "I'm so scared!”

"I'm so scared" repeated Chris in a mocking tone and you punched him in his arm.

"Fuck" he hissed grabbing his arm "That hurt.”

"My hand is good as new now so don't test me, Christian" you threaten your best friend as he sticks his tongue out to you and you repeat his actions.

Jungkook just laughed at the scene in front of him with you two bickering as always. Sometimes you two seemed to be younger than him.

A few days later you found yourself at the gym again releasing endorphins and also observing your ex-boyfriend from afar while you are running on the treadmill.

It's not like you are a creep and you're just staring at him. You were minding your own business when you came across with your ex-boyfriend form, standing next to the benches. Jungkook looked visibly uncomfortable with some girl next to him that was clearly flirting with him. His doe eyes kept glancing towards your way as if he was mentally pleading for you to help him.

After seeing over the next few minutes that the girl wouldn't give up and leave him alone you thought - okay, I should probably help him - yeah, it's not like you're jealous or anything, he would help you too if you were in the same situation, right?

You stopped overthinking and you walked with determination towards Jungkook and that girl.

"Hey baby, are you ready to go?" you said grabbing softly Jungkook's arm.

Jungkook's doe eyes look right at you and a smile grew on his face while tugging you close to him. "Yes, gorgeous" he said. The girl in front of you widened her eyes, you could see how embarrassed she felt as Jungkook happily introduced you "This is Y/N, my girlfriend."

Girlfriend. You did not realize until now how much you were missing him calling you that way.

"Oh" the girl said giving you a nod "Nice to meet you. Sorry. I should go."

The unnamed girl disappeared quickly and when she was nowhere to be seen you realized Jungkook still had his arms around your waist. He must have realized too because while clearing his throat, he took his arm back and scratched the back of his head saying "Thanks, she was clearly flirting with me but didn't get the hint that I wasn't interested."

"No biggie, I could see a mile away that you were uncomfortable, I'm glad I could help."

He smiles sweetly at you and you're having such a hard time trying not to kiss him right now. Such a beautiful smile he has.

"Are you leaving already Y/N?" he says waking you up from your trance.

God. I hope he didn't notice me drooling over him again.

"Um, yeah in a bit, I have to finish my routine, but I guess in about ten minutes I'll be done with it.”

That sounded natural. As if you weren't spacing out thinking on a hundred different ways to bang him.

"Great, I'll take you home."

"No need, Kook. Don't worry about it.”

Kook. Oh, how he loved when you called him that nickname. He hasn't heard it in a while. It made him smile instantly.

"I wasn't asking, noona. You helped me, now I want to help you. Don't be stubborn" he said softly nudging his arm with yours.

"Okay, I guess" you said giggling.

Twenty minutes later, you are on the passenger seat of his car, giving him your new address since you realized that he didn't even know where you moved in.

Yes, you had moved out from Chris' apartment a few weeks ago. Although you were very comfortable while living with him and he made sure to let you know that you could stay with him as long as you needed, you really wanted to have your own place. Plus, even if he said that you weren't, you knew that somehow you were disrupting his life. 

He couldn't even have a proper date with Irene at his place because you were there, though you tried to go out with Emma and Aria as much as you could to give them as much alone time as you could.

As Jungkook parked in your building entrance he said "You are living really close to my place now, it's a walking distance. Cool"

"Honestly this is the best area out of all the apartments I went to check."

And it really was. It's not like you were looking for apartments near his place on purpose.

He nods. "And you have security at the entrance, that's relieving."

"Yeah" you say chuckling "That was essential for me and one of the main things that helped me deciding on this apartment." 

He smiles and says, "I'm glad you finally found your place here."

For a moment, you feel like you are already missing him even though he's right next to you. You don't want him to leave. You don't want to go upstairs alone to your apartment.

It's not weird if you invite him in, right? You are cool with each other, it's not like you can't control yourself. But maybe it would be weird for him? Ugh, you hate yourself right now. Fuck it. You'll just go with the flow.

"Do you wanna come upstairs for a drink? I'll give you an apartment tour." 

That definitely took Jungkook for surprise. But his smile grew from ear to ear.

"I would very much like that, yes" he said.

"Great, let's go then."

As soon as you entered your apartment building, the concierge - Kim Jin Hyuk - greeted you both and you introduced Jungkook. You told the concierge that JK should be included on your list of 'frequent guests' from now on, so he took JK's information to prepare his access card. 

Jungkook heart felt warm to know that you wanted to include him in the frequent guest list, even if it was a small gesture. Day by day he could feel you getting closer to him and opening a little bit more. 

If you were part of the frequent guest list, you were given a special card to be able to pass the access control system installed on the building entrance without having to wait for the concierge to call the owner - in this case you - and ask permission for the guest to be able to go upstairs. Of course, the card had to be also used on the elevator which would only take that person to the floor that was assigned to that card.

The security on this building was something else. And after the sad events with Ethan on your previous apartment, you were decided to move in into a place that made you feel secure in every sense, and this was it for you.

"Wow, this is amazing" said Jungkook as he entered your living room.

It's a four-bedroom apartment, a little bit bigger than Jungkook's but it shared a pretty similar vibe. And you were in love of every space on it. Specially the living room, it was big, with a modern marble fireplace - yes, a fireplace - and had a large window with beautiful views of the city. It was an amazing part of the apartment where you liked to spend most of your time in.

After giving him a tour for every single room, you finished in your bedroom with the huge en-suite bathroom.

"The shower is pretty big" you suddenly said, giving Jungkook a sheepish grin.

He smiled too. He knew what you were hinting on. The first time you slept together he had teased you saying that whenever you moved in together you would need a bigger shower. Another thing he missed about you. Your constant teasing. "Mmh, not so sure about that, maybe we should try it out." 

"Oh, I actually tried it with Chris and Irene" you responded with the most natural tone.

"Huh?" says immediately Jungkook with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah, the first time I came to see the apartment they came with me and we tried it, Irene was like 'OMG this shower fits like four people' and she made us all - including the real estate agent - get inside the shower just to prove her point" you chuckled while reminiscing on that day and thinking how fools you've must look when you all were inside the shower.

"OHHHHHHHHHHH" Jungkook says as if he finally understands what you're talking about. What was he thinking you were talking about?

"Oh my God!" you exclaim giving him a punch on his arm "Jungkook did you think that I had a threesome in the shower with my best friend and his girlfriend? Are you out of your freakin’ mind?!"

You are both laughing nonstop until he says "Sorry! It's just that the way you said it, it sounded so bad."

"Such a dirty mind you have in that pretty little head of yours" you say shaking your head and still giggling.

"When it comes to you, yeah. It kinda ends up always in that same part of my brain" he said smirking and making you blush.

"Stop it!" you say as you start walking towards your living room with him following your steps behind and still laughing. 

Afterwards, you shared a few drinks and talked about random things, as always. It felt good. Like old times. But in the end when the night came, he had to go home, and you were left all alone in your apartment.

You were now laying on your bed, with your eyes on the high ceiling. You could hear a storm unraveling on the outside. As it was starting to rain, you felt the urgent need to talk with your dad. 

"I saw him a few hours ago but I still miss him a lot, dad. I miss us. But I'm not sure what to do. I wish you were here to help me; you always said the right words" you say as a sigh follows your words.

Suddenly a box that was on top of the closet falls, scattering on the floor all the things that were inside of it.

You had seen that box too close to the edge of the closet a few days ago but you were too lazy to grab a chair and move it to a proper place where it couldn't fall.

"Fuck. I knew it was a matter of time for that to fall" you whispered as you got up to gather it.

When you started gathering everything, your attention gets caught instantly to certain picture. You pick it up and can't help to smile at the sight in front of you. 

It was your first picture with Jungkook. The one he took when you went for a hike when you were staying at Hobi parents’ cottage. And it hits you like the lightning that you just heard from the outside.

You want him. You love him.

"I got your message, thank you dad" you say looking up and quickly getting out of your apartment without thinking for a second. 

You ring the bell of the apartment once. A few seconds after, Jungkook opens the door and as he sees you standing in front of him, his face lights up with a huge and welcoming smile on his face until suddenly he realizes you are soaked and his eyebrows furrow as he looks at you with worried eyes.

"Bab- Y/N are you okay? You shouldn't be outside with this storm. You're soaking wet."

"Oh" you mumble and chuckle while looking down to your clothes "Yeah, I forgot to bring an umbrella."

"Did something happen?" he asks quickly.

Yes. I love you. You were right. We are end-game. I'm sorry it took me all this long to accept it. I was scared. That's what was going through your mind, but you didn't say anything.

You shake your head, and your body moves on its own going straight into hugging him, enveloping his huge body to yours "Please, hold me" you simply say, and it doesn't take him more than one second to hug you back tightly.

With your nose pressed against his chest, you notice his shirt smells just like him, his favorite fabric softener, and that amazing cologne he always wears. That Jungkook scent, the one he always holds, the one that smells like home. 

"Kook," you murmur while you look up to his doe eyes, "Can we please talk?"

"Of course, Y/N" he gives you a small grin as he drags you inside his apartment "Come with me. I still have some of your clothes in my closet, you should change the ones that you have now, you'll catch a cold if you don't." he says, a worry flashing in his eyes as you just nod and follow him.

A few minutes later you were already changed into one of your summer dresses, you didn't even remember that you had left it here. Sitting on his sofa, right next to each other, he decides to speak first.

"So…what do you want to talk about?" he asks lowly as you suck in breath, heart racing against your chest.

Being able to see and talk to each other these last two months, for a moment it had made too easy to believe this chapter with Jungkook was closed when nothing was forcing you to read it. But now it was too late to pretend everything was fine. It wasn't. You couldn't be his friend. You didn't want to be his friend. You needed more.

"You were right, in the end. About you and me, we should be together, we—" you caught yourself, your heart heavy. "I cannot do this anymore; I can't pretend that I'm okay. I don't want to be without you. Since that day when we broke up, when I broke up- I've been trying to convince myself that it was the right thing to do, that I didn't love you anymore, but I can't keep lying to myself or to you."

His eyes looking straight to yours. Sparkling with hope and so much love. His eyes always tell so much.

It was the first time you'd brought up your break-up fight in the past four months. It had been ugly, and shameful for you. You never screamed at each other before that day, but the events unleashed by Ethan and Lina plus Jungkook's lack of confidence, turned into the biggest fight you had. Coming to think about it, that day you both did things you weren't happy about. And you, unlike Jungkook, you hadn't apologized not even once to him.

This was your opportunity to both heal and move on from the past. If you had a slight chance to build up again your relationship, having a sincere talk with him was the best way to start.

"Y/N, I..." He hesitated for a second, but when he spoke again, he sounded more self-assured. "I was wrong back then. I'm sorry."

"I'm so sorry, too, Jungkook, I..." you said looking down and remembering your actions that day you felt ashamed of yourself "I never actually apologized for slapping you on the face that day and-"

"No. I mean, yes, we both—but I—" He cleared his throat. "I should have supported you. And I should have apologized before the wedding, I should have gone to Chris' hyung apartment and talk to you but I feared it would be unwelcomed. I know I said this before, but I'll say it again and as much times as it's needed. I'm sorry, Y/N. I really am."

You could feel the weight of his gaze on you, but you didn't move. You hadn't realized how much you'd needed having this talk with him. Even if he had already apologized on the wedding. Even that being totally honest, after the break-up, you couldn't stay resentful for long. You'd forgiven him long ago. But hearing him admit his faults was still a relief. Somehow it gave you reassurance.

"Thank you, Kook." You offered him a soft smile. 

"You know, for a moment, I thought that you would hate me forever for how I treated you that day, I was so afraid of you hating me, but you are such an angel-" His voice broke. He scratched the back of his head, then went on sighing. "I should have been there for you, Y/N."

The regret in his voice was painful. It sent your mind flying in all directions, down all of those roads you never dared to tread. You'd always been good at reading him when you wanted to. For the last few months, you'd refused to. But just then... just then, his walls were down. It was impossible not to see... not to wish...

Right then, seeing him this vulnerable you realized, you were tired of hiding your feelings.

"I still regret pushing you away" you said voicing out your thoughts once again.

This, Jungkook could find a way around. He could tell you it was fine and that you'd done nothing wrong. He could pretend he didn't understand that you were still deeply, shamefully in love with him. But his breath caught, and for a long second, he said nothing.

"Do you...?" He bit his lip. Your heart was pounding so hard you were sure Jungkook could hear it. "I never stopped loving you, Y/N. I... You know this... If you want, that is, I want to... I want to give us another chance. It doesn't have to be now, if it's not the right time. It can be... if you need more time..."

Jungkook trailed off and looked away. The blush on his cheeks had deepened. He seemed so angry at himself for his embarrassment that your already heightened senses were sent into overdrive. There he was, telling you what you'd been wishing to hear again, and absolutely being himself while at it. So unapologetically himself, too, that you could have never even resisted even if you'd wanted to.

"I don't need more time" you finally said.

That was enough for Jungkook. His shoulders fell in relief as a smile lit up his face. You could've sworn he outshone the sun. It made you smile, too, but then a small, nervous laugh escaped you.

"This is not what I had in mind when I came over," you admitted.

"What did you have in mind?"

"I don't know. I left my apartment feeling like I was going insane, and you could always keep me from spiraling too deep. I just... I needed to be with you."

Your words struck Jungkook. He shifted, taken aback, his mouth open far before any words could come out.

"I don't want to spend another day without you," he finally said. “I know who I want to be. And I hope -” He takes in a breath, eyes shining with hope and sorrow and everything in between. “- I hope you’ll be there with me.”

You swallowed. There was that awkwardness about him, that feeling of not knowing what to do with his hands, or with himself sometimes... it emboldened you. Jungkook didn't want to force contact on you when you were so upset, but his unsure stance told you that he wanted it as much as you did. With this in mind, you didn't hesitate in scooting closer to him.

Jungkook's arms were wrapped around you in an instant. Everything that was weighing down on you no longer felt so heavy. You let your head fall on his shoulder, breathing him in, and the tears you didn't know you'd been holding back were now flowing freely. He didn't pay it any mind until your stilted breathing gave you away, and he pulled back to look at you.

"No, no, don't cry" he said with worried look while running his thumb over your cheek.

"I'm sorry." you said, wiping your eyes, smiling in a way you knew to be unconvincing. "It's just been... too much."

"It's alright." He gave you a little peck on your forehead while his hands had dropped to your waist, refusing to let go of you. "Feeling better?"

You nodded and leaned back into his arms. Just like that, it was like no time had passed between you two. The closeness, the intimacy, it all came back to you with alarming speed. You're so ready to seize this moment once and for all.

"I can't believe it's been four months" you said.

"I know. It feels like forever."

"In a way, yes... but it feels like nothing changed at all."

"It did," he contradicted you with confidence. "We've grown. We've learned. Specially me. This time, I know how to make this work."

"No screaming, then. Or doubting each other" you stated firmly.

Jungkook laughed softly, sending chills down your spine.

"It's a promise."

You stayed like that for a few more seconds, enjoying the closeness. But you wanted more. Jungkook's arms were safe, he was so warm, and he smelled so good that you couldn't stop yourself. You only had to raise yourself a little to get yourself a kiss - so you did.

Your lips found his without trouble, and your heart exploded when he immediately kissed you back, as if he had been expecting, hoping for this already. He was tender, but intense, just as you remembered. It felt like home. You'd missed him so much, too much, and it was driving you insane even as you didn't have to long for him anymore.

He cups your face in gentle manner, tucking a strand of hair behind your hair. "I love you so much, Y/N" he tells you. His beautiful Bambi eyes hypnotizing yours.

"I love you too, Kook" you softly respond, his smile growing wider as ever as you lean in kissing him once again.

Having his soft, pliant lips against yours was igniting a fire within you. Your kisses grew desperate, bold in their familiarity. Your hands were no longer cautious. You were tangled in his hair, traveling up and down his back, and Jungkook was pressing you against him with a resolve that almost took you aback. It was impossible to miss how Jungkook's body was reacting to this kiss. He'd always been easy to ignite, but you hadn't expected to be thrown back into that whirlwind so quickly and you weren't expecting to crave it so desperately.

His teeth dragged on your lip, maddeningly restrained. At the same time, his hand dropped down, brushing your bare knee. The contact against your skin made you gasp, and his hand, stayed there for a second before going back to your waist. No. You couldn't have that. His featherlight touch had made you wish that his long fingers would trace their way up your leg, straight to where you were starting to burn. And that's how you knew that you were too far gone. You weren't supposed to want reconciliation sex with your ex-boyfriend. You weren't supposed to moan so wantonly between kisses and brazenly open your legs for him, silently begging him to slip his hands under your dress and inside —

 Jungkook froze. For a split second, you feared you'd gone too far, too fast... but he was disheveled, eyes blazing, voice hoarse and tense.

"Are you sure about this, baby?"

That freaking petname. Dear God.

Right then, when you were so full of raw emotion and pent-up desire, denying yourself was not an option. You wanted Jungkook all around you, and you wanted not to feel this heartache anymore.

"Yes. Please."

That was all the encouragement Jungkook needed. His hand went up your leg exactly the way you wanted it too, hot and heavy and leaving a trail of fire. His mouth was now on your neck, nipping and sucking on your blazing skin just carefully enough not to bruise you, even though you didn't care, you just wanted all of him. You let out a whimper when his fingers finally reached between your legs, above the fabric of your lacy underwear. You moaned, encouraging, dropping your hands and twisting around so you could open your legs wider.

He was looking at you intently, no doubt absorbing the sinful image you presented. He reveled in your whimpers every time he pressed or caressed just the right spot - but he never stayed there for long, and the fabric between you two was only making you more desperate.

"You're so beautiful, so, so beautiful" he said.

But before you could answer, he was in contact with your hot, wet skin. His eyes widened, and even you were surprised at how easily his fingers slipped around, making you gasp, your body shocked awake. Fuck. You were so ready. You had been ready for all these months without him. And Jungkook... Jungkook was absolutely gorgeous. He always had that piercing look in his eyes that never failed to make your legs feel weak, but right then, with his cheeks flushed, his lips slightly parted, he looked obscenely divine.

After running his finger lazily up and down a few times, he slowly pushed it inside you. You were holding your breath, trying to hold on to every single second of this - but once inside you, he curled his finger just so you cried in delight, and then again when his thumb pressed on your clit, working you in a slow rhythm that was threatening to drive you insane. His other arm was around your shoulders, giving them both balance and pulling you closer to him so he could go back to kissing your neck. The steady pace was sending you one jolt of pleasure after another up and down your spine, finding place in your belly and curling up onto itself, more tense with each passing second.

But Jungkook had other plans. He removed his hand, but you didn't have time to protest before he knelt in the floor in front of you, a questioning look in his eye. You nodded without thinking, and his grin widened into a hungry expression that made your throat tighten. You wanted it so, so badly. Since the breakup, more than once you'd tried to imagine how Jungkook's tongue would feel again as it brushed against your most sensitive areas, and every time, you'd blushed and pushed the thought away.

There was no need for that now.

While you got used to the idea, Jungkook yanked down your underwear. It was the hottest thing you'd ever seen - Jungkook, down on his knees, his face between your legs and eager to please, always. You watched in awe as his tongue reached out tentatively, barely touching your already stimulated clit. You squirmed. He did it again, this time more slowly and firmly.  Oh, how you missed this. This felt good. Too damn good. His smug, glinting eyes were locked on yours, as he kissed all around your most sensitive areas, everywhere except where you needed him the most. He teased your exposed skin as if he had all the time in the world. It felt like heaven, but he was still refusing to give you the relief you—

The air was forced out of your lungs when Jungkook's lips latched onto your clit, sucking it with the same sort of leisurely care he'd been giving you so far. Fuck. It was nothing like you'd imagined these past months and everything you'd wanted. You couldn't keep up. His tongue and lips were doing wonders, sucking, licking faster, and faster, until you were a gasping, moaning mess, grabbing locks of his hair and pulling him closer against you.

Without warning, he buried a finger inside you. Your head fell back, eyes closed shut. This overstimulation short-circuited your senses and sent your whole world spinning. Jungkook didn't slow down, didn't let up, and once again you found yourself reaching for paradise, hoping for release from this delicious torture.

"Jungkook..." you breathed out. "Jungkook, please..."

That's when he stopped. Your eyes flew open.

You knew his game. Jungkook had always loved bringing you to the brink of an orgasm and no further time and time again, until you were sufficiently wound up and could no longer keep a hold on yourself. You'd always trusted him to deliver, so you only sighed in frustration, a frustration that was short-lived as you watched him wipe his mouth with his sleeve. Your heart stopped. Fuck, that was hot. All you wanted was to push him to the floor and ride him to oblivion right then and there.

Jungkook, however, always put up a fight. He always had a trick up his sleeve. He stood up, his arms now underneath you and lifting you from the sofa. He carried you bridal style the few steps that separated the living room from his bedroom. As you reached his bed, he didn't quite lay you down, but didn't quite let you fall - somewhere between gentle and desperate, considerate and wild, and the second you touched down he was already on top of you, kissing you fiercely, his hands all over your body, trying to reach as much as he could.

You were reeling. Jungkook's weight on you was numbing your good sense. You wanted to touch his naked body and feel his burning skin pressed against yours so badly that your hands found themselves under his clothes on their own accord, sliding up and down his back, grabbing his ass, pressing him firmly against yours, pulling, tugging on the fabric as if that would make it come off.

Jungkook's kisses grew hotter, deeper, until he broke apart for a second. You were hypnotized by the sight of him sitting up and taking off his shirt. You let your fingers catch on his waistband and pull down resolutely. Jungkook shifted to allow you to take off his pants, but you were greedier than that, hooking your fingers on his underwear as well. Everything came off, and just like that, Jungkook was stark naked on top of you.

You were gaping. Jungkook's arms were defined and his chest strong. He was fully erect, clearly yearning to take you, and your need was so overpowering that you almost missed the ravenous look in his eyes. And you couldn't handle it. You slid one of your hands against his chest and your other hand found him, hard and ready, and you were starting to return the pleasure he'd just granted you, when he pulled away carefully, as if it cost him his life. His voice was dangerously uneven when he spoke.

"I want you, Y/N. Now."

He didn't need to say it twice. You felt yourself almost aching with anticipation as he positioned himself between your legs... but he didn't enter you. He was instead grinding against you, basking in just how wet you were for him, this friction seemingly enough for him. You gave him a pleading look that made him smirk.

"You're not playing fair." He spoke. His hands slid up your legs, grabbed your ass, then continued their way up under your dress. He was lifting the fabric as he went, still rolling his hips against yours when he reached your breasts, at which point you had to lift yourself up to allow him to pull your dress off. His arms caught you on your way back down, his long fingers finding the clasp of your bra and undoing it in an instant.

Only then did you lay back down, this last piece of cloth disposed of as you did. He tossed it aside, never taking his eyes off of you.

"Much better."

You had to agree. After all this teasing, your nipples were reacting to the slight change of temperature and the feeling of freedom. Jungkook brushed his fingers against them, sending chills down your spine. Then he squeezed them softly before leaning down to catch a hard nipple in his mouth. You let out a surprised breath. Jungkook's warm tongue drew circles on your skin, his teeth dragging gently against it, alternating this attention between your breasts. And then he was grinding faster, still outside you, his breath heavy with pleasure against your sensitive skin. You couldn't take it. Your muscles were itching for relief and this throbbing emptiness was almost painful.

"I thought you wanted me now," you complained between moans. You were in paradise, but your body still screamed for him. This was not enough. It was maddening.

"And I'm having you, am I not?" Jungkook barely lifted his head as he said this. Your head rolled back when his mouth found your nipple again, this time sucking hard.

Now you were moving too.

"Jungkook, please... I want... I need..."

And then, only then, then he pushed in.

He went in slowly, allowing for the long-forgotten sensation of fullness to wash over you. It was almost enough to make you finish. You were expecting some discomfort after all this time, but your body was too worked up, so you wrapped your legs around him to pull him deeper into you without care. You both gasped. You could almost, almost taste the kind of pleasure that you needed. You rolled your hips once, twice, making him shudder.

"Fuck, Y/N..."

He shifted, leaning back to kneel between your legs, the sudden movement sending a wave of pleasure through you. Your ankles locked behind his back as he started moving, his thrusts shallow and tentative at first, but he gradually pushed longer and harder until you felt him just right, just in the precise way that made you lose control of yourself.

"T-there."

And then it was chaos, and bliss, and everything you had been so desperately craving. Jungkook was moving inside you with a delirious abandon that paralyzed you, the pleasure spreading to every inch of her body. You were being stretched and fulfilled and spread thin, and your control over your actions was slipping away fast. Jungkook was grabbing your legs, clutching you as his own pleasure grew. You wanted to touch him, too, so you reached for him. However, he wouldn't come to you, so you tightened the hold of your legs.

"Come here," you panted.

"I want to see you." His hoarse voice, also tinged with pleasure, only made you more desperate.

"I want—" The thought was disjointed. What did you want?

More. You just wanted more.

"Please, Y/N."

You couldn't deny him anything, so watch you he did. Sweat covered your body, your face felt hot, and your breasts bounced in time with his thrusts. There was no point in feeling self-conscious around Jungkook. Instead, you felt wanted, desired, needed, and it only made your own lust grow tenfold. He was also a glorious sight, his dark hair in disarray and his muscles flexing with the exertion.

This was too much, not enough, and the tension inside you was both growing and begging for freedom. Your legs fell to the bed, open as wide as you could, allowing you to touch yourself without shame. His hand quickly replaced yours, circling your clit in time with his thrusts. Jungkook was going in deeper now that he could move more freely, hitting that sweet spot within you again, and again, and again, with enough power to make you scream for him.

"You said no screaming...?" he said breathlessly in a teasing tone.

Incoherent sounds were being drawn out of you, and it was hard to answer among them.

"Idiot."

And the cheeky grin he gave you in return was everything. It was all you could do not to come undone then and there, the sensations hitting you one after another too fast to process. You were rushing towards your breaking point, and you could focus on little else beyond it. Your eyes clamped shut. You were all rapture and burning skin and he sensed it, his pace quick, wild, constant, his fingers also working on you without reprieve. All you could do was whimper, grab the bed sheets tight in your fists, and beg for mercy.

"Jungkook..." You were repeating his name, over and over. It was the only thing you knew. It was the only thing you wanted to know. "Jungkook, I'm..."

You screamed. Your body flared up in an orgasm so long-awaited, earth-shattering and mind-numbing that it hurt. Electrifying waves of pleasure took over your body, and you were pulsing, trembling, screaming, out of breath and gratified beyond all reason. Your muscles contracted firmly around him, heightening your pleasure and making him throw his head back in ecstasy.

Jungkook slowed down as you came, but once your body relaxed, he started pounding into you and pinching your clit more fiercely than before. You didn't have time to recover. You were being wound tighter again all at once, as if the coil within you had never subsided. You couldn't do anything other than enjoy the sight and let him do your in, until he pulled out so swiftly that you were thrown over the edge a second time. 

He looked at you, his gaze telling tomes of his plans to pleasure you until you pleaded him to stop. You broke the eye contact to look at his cock that was throbbing against your thigh.

"You like what you see?" he smirked, clearly full of himself and the way you gasped at his cock as if it was your first time seeing it. Before you could respond, he kissed you full on the mouth, his tongue slipping through your lips as he did so. You could still taste yourself on his lips, mixed with that taste of him that you could never quite forget since that night he first kissed you.

His lips pressed against your neck the moment his thick cock managed to enter you once again. You gasped, your fingers wrapping around his arms tightly as he nestled himself deep within you, the head kissing the entrance to your womb. Sparks of pleasure ran through your body. Your eyes widened; it just felt like you were thrust into a brave new world, where everything you had ever known ceased to mean what they used to.

He stilled himself for a moment, as if he was allowing you to adjust to the sheer size of him before he went any further. Your eyes fluttered closed as you started to feel like everything you had ever done led up to him, in this moment. Your lips parted in a voiceless moan as you gripped his arms tighter, your fingers sinking into his flesh.

"Oh baby," he whispered in your ear, his voice almost sounding like a moan as he brought his hand to your face to cup your cheek. "Please look at me..."

You opened your eyes, and he gave you that sweet, warm smile as if you had never grown apart. You couldn't help but smile back, finally realising that this was what you were missing out on all this time: a serene, placid love that accepted you for who you are despite your faults, despite everything you've lacked and viceversa.

His hips started moving again, sharp thrusts drawing hushed moans from you as you gripped his shoulders this time, eyes intent to keep their gaze on his. Your hands roamed downwards: down his back, his waist, his hips until you grabbed his tight bum.

You gave him a mischievous smile, and pressed his forehead against yours, laughing a breathy chuckle.

"You're such a naughty girl, baby," he said, his tone coloured with a playful warning as his hands cradled the sides of your face. "We're flipping."

Before you knew it, your back was pressed against his chest. Your limbs were sprawled out under you to support yourself on all fours, however any effort you made to hold yourself up was practically made useless by Jungkook's arm, which wrapped around your waist and pulled you even closer to him as his other arm held you both up.

Jungkook started thrusting again, wilder this time as his cock nudged deeper and deeper against your womb, grinding against spots you never even knew existed. He placed wet kisses all over your shoulders and the crook of your neck, stopping there for a moment as he nuzzled you there.

He stuck his neck out to look at you, hoping to see what you looked like as his cock pushed repeatedly into your depths. With your eyes closed shut as the pleasure overwhelmed you, you couldn't see how captivated he was as he gazed upon your face contorted ecstasy. An errant thrust went deeper than it should have, and you bit down on your lip to stop a loud moan from escaping,

"I wanna hear your pretty little moans again, don't hold back" he whispered in your ear, his deep voice almost sounding like a growling din as he accentuated his last word with a deep thrust back to the depths of your cunt. You couldn't take it anymore; you screamed to the high heavens, and he let out a breathy chuckle, evidently happy with himself and the way he could make you scream.

His fingers found their way around your breast again, toying with your nipple as he suckled on your ear, and you knew that you were going to come undone soon. Your cunt clenched around his cock, and he groaned as his hips jerked harder, faster against you.

"I know you're c-close, baby. I- I'm close too," he moaned, his thrusts speeding up as he became desperate to push you over the edge. "C-cum for me, gorgeous" Jungkook whispered, gripping you even closer to him.

With his last words, you gave in, your cunt spasming wildly around his cock as you threw your head back, another orgasm tearing through you as you screamed his name. The sound of his name coming from your lips pushed him over the edge, his arms holding tightly onto you as his cum spurted deep inside you. He moaned your name, and you felt another surge of pleasure come over you until everything faded to black.

For that instant, time stood still, and nothing was wrong with the world.

You were both sweating, gasping for air, thoroughly satisfied and drunk with pure joy. You were only aware of Jungkook moving away, reaching toward his nightstand's drawer to pull out wet wipes. You couldn't stop thinking how beautiful he is, how lucky you are to be with him here, once again.

This was Jungkook. Your Jungkook. The one you'd been yearning for, and you were never going to let go of again.

"What is it?" he asked curiously, seeing that you were spacing out. You took him in, his hair messy and humid from the sweat, his skin almost shimmering. Being that stunning should be illegal.

"Nothing," you answered truthfully. "I'm just so happy."

"I'm really happy too, baby."

Jungkook offered you a sweet smile and gave you a little peck on the lips, then walked away to throw the wipes in the nearest trash can. This gave you a full view of his perfect body. After what you'd just done, you would've hoped your desires would've gone back to where you kept them locked up - but there they were, alive and present, and if you had to be honest with yourself, you were ready for this new normal.

This new normal was better than the old normal, where you had to endure your pain with your aching heart alone. Everything was easier when Jungkook was next to you. It hadn't escaped you notice that tonight he'd barely let you touch him, at least not as much as he touched you. He'd been focused on you, wanting to make you feel the best that he could... It was a good thing, then, that you knew for a fact there would be a next time.

Jungkook caught you staring again, but you didn't look away. He just stood there for a second, seeming puzzled at your expression, then asked,

"You don't... you don't regret this, do you, noona?"

"Not at all," you answered quickly. "Do you?"

Jungkook came back to you, lying down and wrapping his arms around you. That was all the response he was going to offer, and that was all you needed. You adjusted your position to be able to hold him too and kissed him. He responded in kind, his lips soft and tender. His body against yours was like an oasis in the desert. All you wanted was to live in the sheer bliss of this moment for as long as you could. You were together. That's all that mattered. This way, you could pull through anything.

But the moment was over eventually. Jungkook broke the kiss, touching his forehead against yours, and gave you his boldest grin.

"So... what do you say you give us another chance?"

Your smile was the brightest he ever saw. There wasn't even a need to respond. He already knew your answer was without a doubt 'Yes.'

Something warm pressed itself against your forehead, waking you up. You turned around to find that it was Jungkook, his arm wrapped you as he smiled at you. Everything that had happened rushed back to your half-asleep brain, and you remembered blacking out wrapped in his arms.

"Did you sleep?" you asked him, sitting up as you looked around. In the night, he had clothed your torso with his shirt while he had remained bare chested. Show off.

He shook his head, sitting up with you to fold you up into his arms.

"I couldn't sleep. I was afraid you'd get away from me again," he admitted, looking down to hide his wistful eyes from yours.

Moving quickly, you freed yourself from his arms and straddled his lap, taking him by surprise as you cupped his face and kissed him, the passion of last night resurrecting with a passion.

You broke the kiss and looked at him with compassion. "I'm not going anywhere, Kook."

His smile broke out into a full grin, and his strong arms pulled you down so that your head lay down on his chest again. He held on to you, eyes tearing up with joy as he finally had what he had always sought to have.

"Except..." you uttered, and the grin on on his face turned into parted lips, waiting with a sense of dread for your next words.

"Now that the sun is up, and the storm is over... would you like to go over to Chris' birthday party get-away with me?"

Oh. Right. Chris' birthday is this weekend. Jungkook had already forgotten that Chris had rented a place in Gangneung for you to celebrate with him.

"Yes, yes!" he exclaimed, scrunching his nose with that bunny smile you adore, his heart swelling with relief and joy. "We should go to your place though to pick up your stuff for the weekend."

"Well then, let's get going! Let's re-introduce us to the world, my handsome bunny," you replied, a gentle smile forming on your face as a beautiful future you had once thought of imagining with him began to unfold.

You both scrambled to your feet, as you clothed yourselves and got ready to leave.

He looked at you with so much pride, as if you were the one to be shown to world with rekindled hope. You locked your arm into his as you walked to his car, taking a moment to sink in everything that happened in the last few hours.

You were finally together, as JK had always wanted. He was right; you were meant to be in each other's lives. Giving it much thought, you realized that you still wanted the same things that you used to, except now you wanted his hand in yours each step of the way. Try as you might, you just couldn't escape him. But in his arms, you never felt more free, and you never felt more loved.

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[zeroseuniverse]

We Meet In The Night

Warnings: None Summary: Soul bonds tricky, especially when you can only see your soulmate in your sleep Pairing: Changbin X reader

Dreams, essentially meant to be a space for your brain to not be in control. No responsibilities, no fears, nothing to worry about. At age 12 your dreams switch from whatever makes you happiest to nightly meetings with your soulmate, now at 12 you spend your nights wondering what they could possibly look like under the blurring effect. You can’t dream up faces you’ve never seen before, even if it is your other half. It was exhausting to say the least.

“Come for a run with me.” Wooyoung grinned eagerly. Bursting into Her bedroom with his usual excited grin, already in sweat pants and a muscle tank top.

“No, I'm tired.” She whined from her bed wishing it would swallow her up.

“Yea well if you sleep now you won’t sleep tonight and you’ll miss yet another night with your soulmate.” He smirked knowing she hadn’t gotten much sleep recently from studying, it was final’s week and her teachers were working her extra hard.

She whined as Wooyoung pulled her up out of her bed, whimpering at the loss of warmth. She kicked her feet for effect but she should’ve known it wouldn’t do anything to the man, he uses that tactic himself he was expecting it. One of his arms swiftly swooped down to grab her legs and finished his job of hauling her off of the bed.

Now she wasn’t immature, However she sat on the ground of her bathroom pouting like a child as Wooyoung shoved a toothbrush in her mouth and started washing her face for her, she continued pouting and glaring at the man until he threw clothes at her face and left the room with a quick blow of a kiss.

–

“You know you wouldn’t be struggling so much if you didn’t have so much on your plate, Mimi.” Her best friend offered his advice making her groan, since she hears this like once a week. “Listen I’m not saying stop completely, I’m saying slow down. You could do half the classes you’re doing right now. It's not wrong to care for your health. The company is working you to your end too.”

“We came to run, not have a therapy session.” She snarked, though they both knew there was no malice behind her words, she was just frustrated. From a young age she was pressured to be the best and her deal with her family to let her be an idol included her continuing college, as well as a stern ‘don’t fail.’

Just as Wooyoung went to retort, she took a fall after a man bumped into her during his run as well.

“Ah” She yelped, making both men panic, Wooyoung immediately began checking her for injuries as an oddly familiar voice began uttering apologies.

“Changbin?” Wooyoung gasped once he heard the voice, excitedly jumping up to hug his friend.

“Hey Woo! Long time no see.” He greeted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck while his eyes flickered back to the woman on the ground, reaching his hand out to help her stand.

Both of their eyes flickered uneasily towards their connected hands as they saw the dullest glow of gold tracing a shape between their hands.

Wooyoung watched on with his jaw on the floor. He couldn’t believe it, his two bestfriends are soulmates! He was almost mad they hadn’t met each other sooner but he knew Changbin barely even had time to spend with him and her were always buried in practices or classes.

“Oh my god!” He uttered shamelessly gawking at the situation, effectively snapping her out of her daze, her eyes widened as she took in what just happened and snatched her hand away, not acknowledging the almost whimper like sound that left the man before her.

“Let’s go, Wooyoung.” She left absolutely no room for debate as she took off in a jog towards the exit of the park.

“Did she just reject me?” Changbin asked quietly, the quietest Wooyoung had ever heard him.

“No, she’s always wanted her soulmate, you just came in at a very inconvenient time. She barely even has time to sleep here recently, let alone date.”

And with that the man gave his friend a pat on the back before heading off after his other distressed friend.

–

That night she slept, after much lecturing from Hongjoong and Wooyoung, she decided she would spend the night talking with her soulmate to unwind.

She took in the vibrantly colored arcade that was seemingly their meeting point for their dreams, she hadn’t seen it in a while since she was so busy. It looked very retro.

“You came!” The voice startled her, her body giving a quick shake to relieve the adrenaline and turned to the source of the voice, seeing her soulmate sitting Criss crossed on the ground staring at her in awe.

“Yea…I got lectured about sleeping properly by Wooyoung and HongJoong .”

“How do you know them by the way?” Changbin wondered, genuinely wishing to get to know her.

She sighed and took a seat in front of Changbin, she sent him a small smile before getting into her story. “I was adopted, well not exactly. My parents were super busy all of the time and most days I was left alone as a child, Wooyoung’s mother took me in kinda. We grew up together, trained together, but my parents still had their standards for me to meet. And being an Idol wasn’t one of them.”

“That's why you use a stage name, right? And wear masks when you perform?” He wondered, earning a sad nod from the tired girl.

“I’m sorry for running off earlier, Wooyoung told me you thought I was rejecting you, I didn’t mean for you to feel that way. My brain was just feeling fuzzy.” she apologized, making Changbin grin as he brushed it off as not a big deal.

“Wooyoung explained it.”

The two spent the rest of the night talking and allowing their bond to strengthen, and be set in place for their coming relationship.

When the world begins fading, they look at each other with smiles that read “See You Soon.”

And for the first time in a long time, the two eagerly awaited their days.

[jsnlxndrlv]

In response to the question "help how do I video game make" asked by cohost user giwake, cohost user thewaether replied on July 20, 2023:

I haven't finished a video game for a while annoyingly but I DO have my methods, and it is mostly deviating from these methods that has slowed me down

usually for glorious trainswrecks projects (i.e, small stuff) I make it so that no matter where I am, I can wrap and release the game- this means I have to close all buggy gaps/unfinished areas/unfinished mechanics when I'm not working on them otherwise I'll forget. this method is great cause it means when you get sick of a project, you can dump it out that same day

I've continued this method when making big games like Amy In Artland, cause it would drive me crazy if I had to keep track of unfinished areas, bugs, etc, as I'm working on it, especially with a world that big.

Anyway with regards to finishing bigger work... one of my first games ("D.S.A" (https://thewaether.itch.io/dsa) ) was a game I started all the way back in 2010. after a few months of work on it, it was then abandonned for nearly 3 years, and I became obsessed with the idea of tweaking it into something else and unable to figure out what I was doing with it. I took a course in game design from 2010 to 2013 that didn't really produce any finished work. After graduating, I walked around my hometown. now detached from the course, I found my mind was just a cloud of forgetfulness. It was like I couldn't remember more than 5 minutes ago. I was always tired. I became ANGRY. i remember I was suddenly overcome with ANGER that I had not finished the game. I became so outrageously angry that I picked it up, and just started working on it, even if it was crap. I had to do it to stop the rage consuming me. suddenly- working on the game was BETTER for my mental state than not working on it.

...and then I worked on it nearly non-stop for 2 years, and finished it in 2015. I released it and 2 days later Undertale came out. .....barely anyone played DSA and, thinking about it, that's fine cause it's not my best work. But it was two years of a LOT of learning and first-hand experience on making a game.

Flash forward a few years and the experience working on DSA has helped me finish more things. Here's some things I felt while finishing DSA:

this is hellish and something will stop me when I'm right at the end and make the whole thing a waste of time, it'll be a miracle if I finish this

I'll probably die before I finish this

every time I make an asset it's like 3 more assets appear on the to-do list. this is like scaling an endless mountain of assets that never ends

...Anyway. the list of assets did, in fact, end and the game was complete and I couldn't really believe it when I did it

Now with even more experience, I have some more methods for finishing games.

working on a massive game for ages made working on small games afterwards a LOT easier

have more than one thing on the go at all times. Have so much on the go that you procrastinate on it and trick your brain into working on the other project while procrastinating on the first project. create a chain of procrastination that will backfire and thus allow you turn procrastinating into productive time

if you have a fun new idea for a game but you're TOO BUSY working on something you already started, jump to the one you're more interested in. that initial rush of inspiration is THE BEST time to work on anything and produce something good. and at worst, you'll have loads of fun demos and prototypes in your ouvre that are still fun to show off

don't be a perfectionist. I put it like: "make the shitty version of what you want to make and then without realising, you'll have made the good version"

you get better at finishing things, the same way you get better at any other dev skill. finish a bunch of small stuff and before you know it you're suddenly finishing more. You've become a finisher

[storytimewithnova]

EUPHORIA IMPROVED

Everyone was gathered for a sleepover at Sho and Noya's house, and they were excited to watch a movie. Kita grabbed a random DVD, unaware of its contents, and they all settled down to watch it.

But before we jump into the story, let me take you back to where it all began for Sho. You see, Sho's life wasn't always sunshine and rainbows. There was a facade of happiness that concealed the struggles and challenges that Sho faced. Let's dive into Sho's backstory.

Sho: "You did this to me!" Sho exclaimed, filled with frustration.

Narrator Sho: Hold on, let's not skip ahead just yet. Allow me to paint a picture of my journey, one that might change your perception of me, for better or worse. You may have thought I was all smiles and happiness, but the truth is far from that. So, let's begin.

Sho: I was born just three days after the tragic events of 9/11.

Narrator Sho: I know what you're thinking. How could a Japanese family witness 9/11 on the news? Well, here's the twist: I wasn't born in Japan but in Washington, D.C., the very place where 9/11 unfolded. Talk about irony.

As the movie played in the background, Sho continued sharing their story.

Sho: My parents spent two days in the hospital with me, gazing at the television screen, watching the towers fall repeatedly. The grief eventually turned into numbness.

Narrator Sho: But why am I telling you this? You see, my family used to be just like any other happy, normal family. I was a content child. But life has a way of changing people, and that includes me. Watch closely.

Sho: And then, without warning, my middle-class childhood in an American suburb...

Child Sho: 13, 14, 15, 16...

Mrs. Hinata: Sho, what are you looking at?

Child Sho: 1, 2, 3...

Mrs. Hinata: What are you doing, Sho?

Child Sho: *cries*

Narrator Sho: That's when my life started spiraling downward. My parents took me to countless doctors, searching for answers. They tried to understand what was going on inside my head.

One particular doctor had a long list of possible diagnoses for me.

Bitch Doctor: I believe she is suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit disorder, general anxiety disorder, and possibly even bipolar disorder, though she's a little young to be certain.

Narrator Sho: This doctor seemed determined to label me with every condition under the sun. It got to the point where my father couldn't cope with someone like me, and he left our family, leaving my mother with two kids and a mountain of debt. Truly, the father of the year.

As the others listened to Sho's story, they were shocked. Their image of Sho, the bright and cheerful individual, was shattered.

Sho: So, can someone explain all of this to me?

Mrs. Hinata: Honey, it's just the way your brain is wired. Many great, funny, intelligent, interesting, and creative people have struggled with similar challenges.

Narrator Sho: Really, Mom? Are you trying to sugarcoat it? I would've preferred if you were just honest and said that I'm "mental" or that I'm the reason for your divorce. But fine, let's play along with the sugarcoating.

Sho: Like who?

Mrs. Hinata: Well, there's Vincent van Gogh, Sylvia Plath, and even your Britney Spears

Narrator Sho: As the years went by, there are moments that I don't remember clearly, like a blur between the ages of 8 and 12. The world seemed to move too fast for my liking, while I moved slow. Sometimes, if I focused too closely on my breathing, it felt like I was on the brink of suffocation.

Suddenly, Sho collapsed to the floor, gasping for air. When she regained consciousness, she found herself surrounded by concerned friends and family, breathing into a bag.

Sho: "I'm taught every second of every day, constantly trying to outrun my anxiety," she explained.

Mrs. Hinata: Worriedly, she asked, "What's wrong, sweetie?"

Narrator Sho: "To be honest, I'm just fucking exhausted," Sho replied, her exhaustion evident in her voice.

In the present, Sho was shown taking tablets from her bedside table. She spent time with her father, seeking solace and understanding.

Sho: Curiously, she asked, "What do these pills feel like?"

Mr. Hinata: With a heavy sigh, he replied, "The absolute worst."

Narrator Sho: I used to take care of my dad after school. But that changed when he passed away. So, I guess you're watching a flashback. My mom agreed to take a second job to cover the bills, and we had a state-issued nurse who came to help for a couple of hours. Though, if you consider playing Candy Crush on her phone as helping, then she did a fantastic job. But here's the thing, it was during that time that my dad had a bunch of pills, and that's when my troubles began. Have you caught on yet?

The scene shifted to Sho taking a pill from one of the bottles and putting it in her mouth. It showed her at home, repeatedly taking pills. The scene then transitioned to Sho engaging in reckless behavior, such as using drugs, partying, drinking, and smoking. Finally, it cut to Noya going to Sho's room and hearing her struggling.

Noya: "Sho, Sho!" Noya called out, alarmed.

Noya opened the door and found Sho unconscious on the floor. Overwhelmed with concern, he started crying, unsure of what to do.

(To be continued)Narrator Sho: My baby brother found me, exposing the real me to those who didn't know the facade of sunshine and rainbows. Instead, they saw a broken person, lying in a hospital, crying her eyes out.

Sho: I spent a good portion of the summer before my second year of high school in rehab.

Narrator Sho: Listen to these assholes preaching to God. Let's be fucking honest, are any of us really going to stay clean? We're just here to appease our parents, gain some brownie points, and get back in their good graces. Do we have any intentions of staying clean? Probably not. Me? Most definitely not. I'm too far gone. But let's play the role of the good girl who has changed her ways. Upside down, I'm out of that bible-bashing hellhole.

Noya: Sho!

Sho: Noya, come here.

Noya: Hey.

Sho: Hi, how are you?

Noya: Good.

Sho: I missed you.

Noya: Missed you too, sis.

Sho: Shit, are you growing?

Noya: No.

Their mom stood and watched them, observing the connection between the siblings.

Sho: Hey.

Narrator Sho: Staging an intervention seemed like a brilliant idea for everyone involved, except for me. As they confronted me, I hurriedly searched for something in my bathroom. Frustrated by not finding it, I exited the bathroom and froze on the stairs, realizing that everyone was waiting for me.

Sho: Oh, fuck. I'm never fucking ready for this.

Mrs. Hinata: We just want to make you feel good, Sho. Living like this, lying to the people you love, being mean to the people you love... It can't make you feel good about yourself.

Sho: I don't care. Just fucking leave me alone, please.

Mrs. Hinata: I know you're in pain.

Sho: You have no fucking idea, Mom.

Mrs. Hinata: Let's get back into the car and let me take you to the hospital.

Sho: I can't get clean, Mom. I can't do that shit.

Narrator Sho: As you can see, they thought it was a fucking excellent idea to stage an intervention, hoping I would listen. Clearly, I felt I had more pressing matters at hand. And seriously, did they really think a drug intervention was the right move, Kenma?

Kenma: You don't have to do it all at once, just take it one day at a time.

Everyone agrees, showing their support.

Sho: Hey, Ken, I have a quick question for you.

Kenma: What?

Sho: Are you fucking Kuroo Tetsuro?

Kenma: (laughs) What are you talking about?

Sho: How long have you been fucking Kuroo?

Kenma: I'm not, I'm not.

Oikawa: What are you talking about?

Sho: Oh, I just... I saw him getting into his truck and then they kissed in the truck and drove off. That was like, what, a month ago?

Kenma: Ah...

Oikawa: Are you kidding me?

Atsumi: Ken, that's really bad.

Oikawa: You're fucking Kuroo, are you kidding me?

Kenma: No, I'm... (laughs) I don't even know why she would say that.

Oikawa: You're lying.

Kawa's mom: Can we just table this conversation?

Oikawa: No! You expect me to stand here next to my best friend, who's been lying to me about fucking my ex-boyfriend? I am literally going to get violent.

Kawa's mom: There's no need to get violent. We are having an intervention here.

Narrator Sho: Clearly, I stuck my foot in it again. I revealed Kenma's dirty little secret. I'm sorry, best friend, but I'm not going to hide for you. And clearly, I also know you're in the wrong. Yes, I'm an addict, but I'm not a whore. Let's get our priorities straight here. And you know, we've always had this deal never to fuck our best friends' boyfriends or ex-boyfriends, as the case may be.

Mrs. Hinata: Will you two stop it, please? I'm begging you. Let's just get into the car.

Sho: I can't.

Kenma: Let's just talk.

Oikawa: Oh, you're crying. You're fucking crying.

Kawa's mom: Tori...

Oikawa continued her rant, unable to control her anger.

Oikawa: You're not the one that's fucking hurt. You're the most self-centered, idiotic person I’ve ever Fucking met You fucked my ex-boyfriend And you’re fucking crying are you fucking kidding me right now

Narrator Sho: The situation in the room escalated quickly, with everyone talking over each other. Atsumi tried to intervene, suggesting that they deal with it later, but Mrs. Hinata had had enough.

Mrs. Hinata: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but I don't give a shit about who's fucking who. If you're going to keep talking about it, you can just get out of this room.

Kawa's mom: Absolutely! You're all behaving like animals.

Amidst the chaos, Kenma defended himself, questioning why they would believe Sho, who was a drug addict. Oikawa, consumed by anger and hurt, demanded the truth from Kenma.

Oikawa: How long have you been fucking him? Please be honest!

Atsumi: Kawa, we can do this later.

Oikawa: Atsu, shut the fuck up! How long have you been fucking him, Sho?

Narrator Sho: Here I was, hoping I could become invisible. No, scratch that. I really wished I hadn't said anything. Now that the stupid intervention was over, I retreated back to my room. Fucking hell, why did I always get caught up in these situations? This is what Tori is like.

Mrs. Hinata tried to calm the situation, urging Sho to listen and suggesting they get into the car. Oikawa couldn't let it go, pressing for more details.

Oikawa: When was this?

Sho: Right after New Year's.

Oikawa: You dumb fucking bitch! I'm gonna fuck you up!

Kawa's mom: No!

Oikawa: Don't run away from me, you stupid whore!

Narrator Sho: The fight continued, and I decided it was best to leave while I had the chance. So, I made a quick decision. After that shitshow, I had a couple of options. I could go to Suna and score some drugs, or I could go to Semi. I chose Semi.

Narrator Sho: I had just returned home, and it was around 4-5 am. I expected everyone to be asleep, especially my mom. Truth be told, I was hoping to avoid the third-degree questioning, but luck wasn't on my side.

Mrs. Hinata: Where have you been?

Sho: I'm sorry, my phone died.

Mrs. Hinata: Bullshit! You're doing drugs!

Narrator Sho: Oh my God, this woman is insufferable. She just assumes everything. What does she want me to tell her? "Oh, sorry, Mom, I'm with my potential girlfriend. Can you kindly get off my fucking case?"

Sho: I'm not doing drugs.

Mrs. Hinata: Then where have you been? Why weren't you answering your phone? And why are you sneaking into the house at five in the morning?

Narrator Sho: Oh my God, can she let it go? Does she really want me to come out and say, "Hi, Mom, I am potentially bisexual. I could be a lesbian. I'm still trying to work that out, you know? I'll get back to you."

Sho: I was with someone.

Mrs. Hinata: Who?

Sho: It doesn't matter, Mom.

Mrs. Hinata: Oh, it matters, Sho. It matters. You're doing drugs, Noya, go back to sleep.

Noya: Sis, are you okay?

Sho: Yeah, Nishi, you can go back to sleep.

Mrs. Hinata: She's okay, baby. Go back to bed. Good night. I will not allow you to walk up into this house at 5:30 in the morning and lie to my face. So tell me the truth right now. Where were you?

Sho: Mom, I don't want to tell you everything that's going on in my life. If you want to drug test me, just drug test me.

Mrs. Hinata does just that, and it comes back negative.

Narrator Sho: Let's be real, she wasn't the only person upset with me.

[Scene changes to Sho and Semi lying together]

Semi: I'm not kidding, Sho. I'm not going to become best friends with someone who's trying to kill themselves.

Sho: I know.

Semi: I have enough traumatic shit going on in my life that I can't handle.

Sho: I get it.

Semi: I don't want to be around if you don't stop using drugs.

Sho: Okay.

Semi: I mean it, Shoyo.

Sho: I know. I'll stop. I'll get any help I need. I promise. I just need you to give me a chance.

Mrs. Hinata: You're still grounded until... I don't even fucking know what else.

Sho: I told you I wasn't lying.

Narrator Sho: So, I decided to stay clean. I have been for a while. I wasn't going to break my promise. I wanted to stay with Eita. You see, the first time I met her, I fell head over heels. When she heard that I kept my promise, this happened.

[Scene changes to the school hallway]

Narrator Sho: It was the first day of school after New Year, and I finally had everything I ever wished for. I ran straight to Semi and kissed her.

Sho: You know, you're like a dream.

Semi: [laughs] I didn't know you were such a romantic, Sho.

Narrator Sho: We kissed again. That's how I got my girlfriend. I stayed sober for her, not just because I wanted to. God knows how many times I've been tempted to run to Suna, but I know he has cut me off.

Narrator Sho: And so, as I look back on my journey, I realize that the ending of this story is not an ending at all, but a beginning. A beginning filled with hope, strength, and a newfound sense of purpose.

I continue to inspire and help others on their own paths to recovery, sharing my story and offering guidance. The love and support that I received from Semi and my support system have taught me the importance of compassion and empathy. I have become a beacon of light for those who are lost in the darkness of addiction, showing them that recovery is possible.

But my journey doesn't end there. With Semi by my side, we embark on new adventures, embracing life to the fullest. We travel the world, experiencing its wonders and sharing our love and resilience with others. We find joy in simple moments, cherishing the beauty of each day.

Together, we create a legacy of love, compassion, and perseverance. We touch the lives of many, leaving a lasting impact on those who cross our paths. And through it all, we never forget the battles we have fought and the strength we have gained.

As time goes on, I continue to stay sober, not just for myself, but for the love and happiness that surrounds me. I cherish every moment, knowing that I have overcome the darkness and emerged stronger than ever.

And as the years pass, I see the ripple effect of my journey. I witness the lives I have touched, the lives that have been transformed because of the hope and inspiration I have shared. It fills my heart with immense joy and gratitude.

In the end, this story is not just about me. It's about the power of love, resilience, and the belief in the human spirit. It's about the strength we find within ourselves and the support we receive from those who love us.

So, as the sun sets on another beautiful day, I am filled with a profound sense of gratitude. Gratitude for the love of Semi, the unwavering support of my friends and family, and the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others.

And I know that as long as I stay true to my journey, keep sharing my story, and continue to spread love, the ending of this story will forever be a source of inspiration and hope for those who need it most.

For addiction may have once consumed my life, but love and resilience have become my guiding stars, leading me towards a future filled with endless possibilities. And with Semi's hand in mine, I am ready to embrace whatever comes next, knowing that together, we can conquer anything.

Narrator Sho: As the video cuts out, everyone in the room looks at me. Some were crying, others were unsure of how to react. But one person, Semi, walks up to me and embraces me in a hug. She looks into my eyes, her own filled with a mixture of relief, love, and understanding.

Semi: Sho, I'm so proud of you. You have no idea how much this means to me. I've seen the struggle you've been going through, and I've been scared for you. But seeing your determination to stay sober, it fills my heart with hope and happiness.

I couldn't help but smile through my tears, feeling the warmth of Semi's embrace. She understood the battles I faced, and she stood by my side, offering her unwavering support.

Sho: Semi, you've been my rock through all of this. Your love and faith in me have given me the strength to keep fighting. I stayed sober not just for myself, but for us, for our future together.

Semi leans in and kisses me, a tender and passionate kiss that speaks volumes of her love and commitment.

Semi: Sho, I believe in you. And I promise to be here every step of the way, supporting you and encouraging you. We'll face any challenges together, and we'll make sure that your journey to sobriety is a successful one.

As the room starts to settle down, others begin to understand the significance of what just transpired. Some approach us, offering words of encouragement and support, while others simply nod in acknowledgment. It's a powerful moment of unity and understanding.

Narrator Sho: From that day forward, I knew I had a strong support system in Semi and the others around me. They became my pillars of strength, helping me navigate through the ups and downs of my journey to sobriety.

It wasn't always easy, and there were moments of doubt and temptation along the way. But every time I felt weak, I remembered the love and trust that Semi had shown me. She believed in me when I struggled to believe in myself.

Together, we faced the challenges head-on, seeking professional help and finding healthy coping mechanisms. And slowly but surely, my life began to change for the better.

The path to recovery wasn't linear, and there were setbacks and hurdles to overcome. But with the love and support of Semi and my newfound support system, I learned to pick myself up and keep moving forward.

Narrator Sho: Years have passed since that day, and I can proudly say that I have remained sober. It hasn't been easy, but the journey has been worth it. I am now a mentor to others who are battling their own addictions, using my experience and story to inspire and guide them.

And through it all, Semi has been my constant source of love and support. She stood by me when things got tough, and she celebrated my victories with me. We have built a strong and resilient relationship, one that is founded on trust, understanding, and unconditional love.

As I reflect on my journey, I am grateful for every person who believed in me, even when I struggled to believe in myself. And I am especially grateful for Semi, who saw the potential in me and helped me become the person I am today.

Narrator Sho: The promise I made to myself that night, to stay clean and live a fulfilling life, has become my reality. And I owe it all to the unwavering support and love of those around me.

And as I continue on this journey of recovery and self-discovery, I am reminded of the power of love and the strength that lies within us all. No matter how dark the road may seem, there is always hope for a brighter tomorrow.

[hot-wiings]

The One Where Izuku Follows Katsuki's 'Advice' Only To Be Intercepted By A Girl.

Edited: 4-21-2021

'Sorry kid, it's not gonna happen.'

For as long as Izuku could remember he had wanted to be a hero. The same old video of All Might he had watched a million times filled him with such an unspeakable feeling. Filled him with hope, and happiness. A hope and happiness he wanted to share with others. An inspiration he wanted to give other people.

Even at the ripe age of four, Izuku didn't let the doctor's words deter him. Even though he was told he was quirkless, even though he knew he would not have the same advantage as others on the hero field, Izuku wanted to achieve his dream. He wanted to achieve his dream, to grasp it, to live it, and make it his reality. Even though Izuku should've given up right then and there in the doctor's office, he persisted, he smiled.

'You know if you really wanna be a hero that badly, there actually might be another way. Just pray that you'll be born with a quirk in your next life, and take a swan dive off the roof of the building.'

Izuku tried to manage his dream. Even up until the age of fourteen, he was attempting to achieve those plans he made at four years old. Holding the hero notebook in his hands, the wet notebook that contained all of his notes on the heroes he'd taken an interest in since he was diagnosed, Katsuki's words ring through his head.

How could he say that? Izuku knows he's right. He's right, Kacchan is always right. But Izuku can't give up that hope in his chest. He can't give up these dreams he's been having. He can't let go of those substantial visions. He needs to have it, he needs to grasp it for himself. He can't just turn tail now, he needs to train, he needs to apply to UA and achieve. Izuku did not give up hope in the doctor's office, and he was not going to give up hope by the coy pond, instead, he smiled like a hero. He smiled and made his way home.

'This job isn't easy, pro-heroes are always having to risk their lives. Some villains just can't be beaten without powers, so no, I honestly don't think you can become a hero without a quirk.'

He persisted. He smiled. He tried to achieve his dream. He tried to achieve it, he tried to put on that smile and fake it when he felt like he couldn't, but the reality was staring him down in the face.

Izuku hadn't imagined he'd be captured by a villain, a sludge villain. Of all the criminals in the area, it had to be a low B ranked villain. Out of all the B-ranked villains, Izuku never imagined All Might, the world's greatest hero, his hero, would've shown up to save him. He also never imagined that he would have discovered All Might's real identity. He couldn't help but ask him that question, the question of whether someone quirkless like himself, could become a hero like him.

He wanted a different answer. He wanted to be reassured by his idol. He wanted to be told that it was manageable, that he could have a future in heroism if he worked hard enough. His ears rang as All Might's words came out. Even as he left, leaving Izuku on the rooftop alone, his ears were ringing. He stood there for a while, tears dribbling down his cheeks. If the world's greatest hero didn't think he could do it then why should he? If the symbol of hope and peace didn't believe in him, why should he? Kacchan was right, he was a failure. He was pathetic and defenseless. He should just take a swan dive off the building.

Izuku couldn't believe the words running through his head, but he couldn't stop them once they began rolling. He was pathetic, he was a failure. How humiliated his mother must've felt having to have such a failure as a son. People talked, the woman in his neighborhood talked. Often, Izuku could hear the old woman bragging about the children, and he knew he would never be bragged about. The more he thought about it, the more Izuku felt drawn to the ledge.

Izuku was broken out of his dark reverie and thoughts as a young woman bursts through the door, and not even seeing or noticing Izuku's presence, runs straight for the ledge. She couldn't have been any older than him, and she had tears running down her cheeks. As she slipped her shoes off and began to discard her sweater Izuku was quick to jump into action. Without even thinking his legs started moving after her.

"Hey, don't do it! Please..."

By the time Izuku had reached the girl, she was barefoot up on the ledge, hair blowing wildly in the wind. Izuku smiled up at her, the kind of smile All Might gave, the smile he'd been trying to imitate for years. Tears slid down the girl's cheeks as she turned around and stared at him with what Izuku could only describe as empty.

"It's okay, just come down."

Izuku tried his best to coax you down without scaring or startling you. You stumbled a bit but quickly caught your balance as Izuku took slow, careful steps closer to the edge.

"This has nothing to do with you, why do you care?!"

"Because- Because that's not what a hero would do! I can't just sit idly by and let someone throw their life away like that. Just come down, you don't wanna do this."

"I can't! You don't know me, you don't understand-"

"Then explain it to me. Make me understand, just don't do this."

More tears rolled down your cheeks as you looked down at the roads below the building. You should just jump, every cell in your body urged you to jump but looking down at the boy stopped you. Hearing him yell with such pleading, seeing him smile so indignantly, prevented you from moving. The least you could do was hear him out first, he was taking the time to coax you out of a decision you couldn't deter yourself from.

"I'm a failure. I'm a pathetic failure. I'm quirkless, and I know that's a stupid reason to jump... But being a hero runs in my family, and if I can't be a hero I have nothing. Everyone at school ridicules me, and while she says otherwise, I know my mom resents me for not continuing the legacy."

"Don't worry about what other people think, hold your head high and plunge forward."

"That's not enough. I'm such a failure, I'm a waste."

You take a small step backward, almost ready to jump down and catapult yourself to your death but Izuku screams out again preventing you.

"Stop! Wait! Sometimes I do feel like I'm a failure like there's no hope for me. I'm quirkless too, and my hero told me I can't become a hero, but even so, I'm not gonna give up. Ever!"  

You halt your tracks at Izuku's words, turning around again to look at him. He was quirkless, yet he dreamed of being a hero. He was told by his hero he couldn't be one, yet he was persisting.

"You really think you can be a hero?"

You're about to turn tail. You're about to step down, off, and away from the ledge when your foot slips. Just the slightest shift made you begin to fall. You scream, expecting to fall off the building, but instead, Izuku jumps up the ledge. He stumbles a bit but wraps his arms around you, and flings his body towards the building. By the time you're processing what happened, you're pulled off the ledge and collapsing in the arms of the boy on the ground.

"Why did you do that?! You could've fallen down!"

"Because I think I can be a hero, and I think you can be one too."

Although that day you thought Izuku saved you, you had actually saved him from jumping himself, something he wouldn't tell you until he built up the courage to ask you out after you both graduated from UA.

[applejongho]

cherry on top | choi jongho

genre: fluff, realistic fiction, humor

character: starbucks employee!jongho

description: Jongho has an interesting run-in with a Karen during his shift at Starbucks.

word count: 2k

warnings: mild swearing

author’s note: jongho as a coffee barista was swimming in my mind for quite some time, so here he is. 

masterlist here!

There was something about that coffee stain on Jongho's employee shirt that made it impossible to get rid of. It was likely the mix of the ingredients that had stacked the receipt when it was printed, but Jongho couldn't help but feel she had somehow planned this as he scrubbed harder with bleach.

Jongho wouldn't have guessed the day to turn out as it did, but maybe he should have. Working with the public was always a gamble, but Jongho's optimism blinded him. Most customers were nice enough. Most customers gave a smile when he handed them their overpriced coffee. There weren't too many comments about his red and black hair, and he could shrug off all of them. The compliments were what he remembered.

The day started off normally - with Jongho's coworkers nudging him towards the mound of bagged coffee beans. "I could do it myself, but you just do it quicker, you know?" One of his coworkers had whined, twirling a piece of curly hair around her finger. "It" was picking up the bags of coffee beans to put into the grinder, and Jongho didn't mind it.  As he slung a bag over his shoulder with ease and glanced at her, he could swear her face flushed. Perhaps it was just the sun. The sun hit her face like that when he broke apples in half with his bare hands too. It was strange how the universe liked her like that.

After his bean tasks, Jongho took to the drive-thru of the coffee shop. He was told he had a nice voice, but he doubted he sounded that heavenly through a cheap speaker that hadn't been changed for five years. Nonetheless, Jongho enjoyed doing the drive-thru and taking orders. When there were multiple drive-thru lanes open, he would challenge his coworkers to see who could get through orders the fastest. This caused him and his coworkers to resent vans - vans almost always meant there was a large order - a sure loss, unless Jongho's fingers could learn to dance very quickly on the ordering screen.

Taking orders via the drive thru took up his morning, and then he was released for his lunch break. His coworkers had become accustomed to bringing him apples for the sole purpose of him to break them. He didn't mind, and it allowed him to be more comfortable with his coworkers because he could sometimes be shy. "Is that why part of your hair is red?" A coworker had asked him one day after he had broken multiple apples in a row. Jongho shook his head.

"No. Just red," he shrugged, ignoring his coworker's eyebrow raise. "I just like the color red." He thought he looked good with it.

But not everyone agreed - there were some customers that liked to point it out, like he had never seen himself in a reflection before. "You missed the roots," an older woman had told him at the register and gestured to his hair. Jongho added fifty cents to her order.

But for this day in particular, his hair was the reason for his downfall. For the latter half of the day, Jongho would be at the register. He yearned to be in the bar making drinks because it could become so mindless at points, but he was placed in front of the register before he could say anything. He assumed it was because he was the longest working employee out of the staff today, and Jongho vaguely remembered a newbie was working with him. He guessed the manager didn't want them at the register. The register wasn't much different than the drive thru, but there was something about actually seeing the customer or touching their cash or credit card that made it not enjoyable for Jongho.

About an hour into working at the register, Karen walked in. Jongho saw her and his stomach dropped. She looked exactly like a Karen should look: bobbed blonde hair with caramel highlights that were too dark, opaque and round sunglasses, an obnoxiously pink phone case, and a tacky red American flag shirt that said something about how America was blessed. Jongho knew he shouldn't judge people so quickly, but he had dealt with this breed of women before. He had to brace himself for the worst and the unexpected.

"Hello, ma'am," he said cheerfully when Karen got to the front of the line. Her dark sunglasses obscured her eyes, but she was clearly paying attention to her phone instead of him. She suddenly realized she was in Starbucks and lifted up her glasses. She took one look at Jongho's name tag.

"Hello, John," she said, and Jongho had to bite his tongue to keep from making a noise.

"Jongho," he said.

"John," she continued, and listed off her order, Jongho begrudgingly typing it in as she spoke. It's not that hard of a name, he thought to himself as he kept typing. Why was Karen's order so long? Jongho kept translating her vegan, dairy-free, blood-of-firstborn, extra-expresso venti iced coffee into the system until she stopped talking, and even then she wasn't done.

"So is everyone your age just dying their hair like that?" Karen said without prologue. "I'd never let my kid dye their hair like that. It's so unprofessional."

"Thank you," Jongho said, dodging the question and not wanting to provoke her. He hoped his cheeks weren't also red. "Here's your total. Cash or credit?"

Karen pulled out her purse, but not without clicking her tongue in annoyance. "You all really should lower the prices. It's too damn expensive."

Then make your own, Jongho wanted to reply, but he held his tongue. "I wish I could," he said with a smile. Karen frowned in return, and, without warning, dumped her entire coin bag onto the counter. Jongho yelped and scrambled to keep flying pennies and quarters from rolling off of the counter. In the corner of his eye, a coworker ogled Karen.

"I used the bills to buy my groceries, so I'll pay in coins," Karen yawned while Jongho threw himself onto the floor to make sure no coins had reached there. He got up, plastering on a fake smile. He hadn't had a customer like this in a long time, but if he could just get through her, everything would be okay. He reached for her quarters first and began counting dollars. He knew for a fact that his manager wouldn't have tolerated this kind of behavior from a customer, but Jongho knew he could be too soft at times. Besides, her jangling keys on her wrist glimmered and showed off their sharpness. He swore he saw her teeth glimmer as well.

"Hurry up," Karen said after a few seconds. "Count faster."

Jongho considered shoving pennies into her eyes. "Certainly," he said, and tried to pick up his pace. He could feel her eyes burning on his neck as he shoved the change into the cash register. He pushed her receipt over to her and eagerly began with the customer behind her, glad to be ridden of her.

But his escape was short lived. He heard a whine from the corner of the store and knew it was the Karen immediately. He was currently helping out a different customer, but there was no one else in line behind them. He'd deal with it after the customer if things escalated with Karen.

"Are you sure you made this correctly?" Karen snarled at Jongho's coworker, her nostrils flailing. The coworker looked like she wanted to sink into the floor. "This doesn't taste like how it usually does. Make it again."

Jongho wouldn't have done anything - customers asked for drinks to be remade frequently. But this was Karen, and upon further inspection, this was the new employee that his manager had talked about. He couldn't leave her hanging, it would be rude as an older and more experienced employee. Jongho finished ringing up the final customer and went over to Karen and the other coworker.

"Cherry head," Karen growled, and Jongho only raised his eyebrows. That was a new one.

"I'll make a new one, ma'am, sorry," he said, taking the drink from her. "I'm sure you were fine," he muttered to the worried coworker and was pleased to see her smile.

Iced coffee wasn't difficult, and with the lack of new customers Jongho took the time to make sure the drink was entirely accurate. It's not that she deserved a drink, it's that he wanted her out of the store as soon as possible. He even had the temperature right, and gave it a perfect dairy-free whipped cream swirl at the top before handing it back to her.

Karen ogled the drink for a moment, looking back and forth at the cup and Jongho. Then she threw the drink at him.

The whipped cream top hit Jongho square in the face and he could taste it. Then came the slow and cold trickle of the coffee down his apron and shirt underneath, and at that moment, he was so glad she hadn't ordered anything hot.

"I said I didn't want whipped cream!" Karen bellowed, but Jongho's choir practice had made him desensitized to loud vocals. He wiped the whipped cream from his face and looked at Karen straight in the eyes.

"Get out," he said coldly. "There's a Dunkin across the parking lot. They can have your coins." He paused for a moment, and then his mouth twitched upward. "My name is John, you can write me up if you want. I don't care."

"I will be," Karen growled, red-faced and clutching her purse at her side like Jongho was going to reach out and nab it. he couldn't believe Karen thought that she was the victim here when Jongho had a new fluffy white beard adorning his face.

"John's right," a third coworker said, coming from behind. He could vaguely hear his laugh under his voice. "We don't tolerate harassment on our employees. You're the one that could end up in trouble."

Karen stared daggers at this new employee, and Jongho was surprised she didn't jump over the counter to tackle him. "Good riddance, I knew Starbucks was going downhill anyway." She gave one last snarl at Jongho, who fluffed up his hair at her glance, before walking out of the Starbucks.

The three employees were silent, and then Jongho felt a towel touch his arm. "Oh my God, Jongho, I'm sorry," the third coworker said.

"I don't think I've ever been drenched quite as much as I am now," he said, accepting the towel. He began to dry himself off as best he could, but he knew his face and clothes were going to be sticky for the remainder of the shift.

"I think there's another apron in the back," the new coworker said, and then scurried off to get it before Jongho could say anything.

"I'm just glad it wasn't her that got absolutely wrecked by coffee," the other coworker murmured. "I think she might have cried."

Jongho nodded, still drying himself off. It was a terrible feeling, the coffee all over his skin and clothes, but now that she was gone, he couldn't help but smile. It was comical, how insane the public could be. "I hope John gets hell for what he did," he smiled.

"Absolutely," the coworker agreed, laughing. The new coworker arrived back with the apron, which Jongho gratefully took.

"Give me a minute to clean up," he told the both of them before going to the back to inspect the wreckage on his clothes and face. It could have been better, but it also could have been worse. He licked a part of the whipped cream that was near his lips and grimaced at the flavor. Despite it all, Jongho was amused at the situation. It kept him on his toes. It would be a funny story to share at a party. Jongho wrote a note in his phone to re-dye his red tips when he got home. Then, smiling, he returned to work.

[bangtanpromptsfics]

acacia.

dialogue prompt #1: “Is this illegal?”

pairing: jungkook x reader

genre: f2l, fluff

word count: 1,590

warnings: alcohol consumption, swearing

summary: jungkook is in love with his best friend who would date anybody but him

a/n: these are meant to be for writing practice. feedback is greatly appreciated. it's really short but I hope you like this!! prompt is inspired from pinterest.

masterlist

“Is this illegal?”

Jungkook realises you are dumb, especially with all that alcohol from the party, or more so even without it. 

He takes a sip of his beer and tries to construct a safe sentence which won't come out as rude.

“Bitch”. Well he tried. “You want to rob someone? That too his Balenciaga jacket? ”

You are referring to Namjoon who is busy chatting up girls with his dimples and loads of knowledge, for which he is mostly known. Redefining sexy or something on that line. 

He was hosting this party for reasons you don't remember now anyways, it has something to do with his never ending list of achievements. And he basically invites most of the population of college. I mean free drinks so, whatever. 

“I'm cold Kook, and his jacket looks so warm. He didn't give it when I asked him politely, so let's steal it”, you slur, shifting your body weight around enough to not have your face planted on the floor. 

“You asked him? ”, he squeaks. “You can have mine”, he is removing his denim jacket in the next second, with a look of amuse of course and drapes it over your shoulder, “feeling better?”

“Yes!”, you begin to chime, “It smells like you too!”

Jungkook’s cheeks warm up instinctively. Though sometimes you are a pain in the ass, especially drunk, he had never complained about it. He shoots death glares and unpleasant nose scrunches of course, but nothing more. He'd been your friend for so long, so he should've been used to the random appreciation you give him. He should be immune to your flirty laughs, the way you look absolutely endearing with his hoodie on your small frame and definitely not clench his fist in jealousy when you go out for dates. 

Probably a very cliche best friend in one-sided love story, but he feels so much more complications than that. He was going to confess ages ago, but since you are dumb as I said, would jump around random guys, scare them off with your mouth and wonder why you are single. 

At times he wants to blow a punch to his face, like now, for being so crazy about his best friend, and being limited to only give you some sort of bro love until it's alas the final year of college and he completely misses the chance when you go to Paris for career. 

“Talk something Kookie”, you bump shoulders together to catch the boy's attention who is in deep thought. He was indulgent in walking you to your dorm, and it reaches by ten minutes, and he really just want to fucking kiss you before you go, but he can't. 

He faces you when you rest your face on his shoulder. “What are you thinking about hm?”, you ask. 

“Nothing”. Liar. 

“Well then I have something to say”, you remove your face and gaze on the ground, feeling a little sad already. 

For a second he is hopeful and he doesn't know why. “What about?”

“Yesterday’s date”. Ouch. But as always he is trying his best, “Oh totally forgot about it. How did it go? Any luck? ”

“He stood me up. That asshole didn't even show up. I guess he just wanted sex”, you kick a pebble out of frustration while Jungkook wants to kick his face. It breaks him that he doesn't stand a chance to show you how much you can be loved. That you are more than the body all boys crave and go. 

This time he kicks a pebble, and it jumps fairly up to land on some car’s window. 

“Careful”, you chuckle, “I don't have money for concession”.

“Y/n, why don't you understand when I say someone is playing you? I always warn you, but you choose to do your bullshit anyway”. He is aggressive, but he's just sad; broken. And even though you get it, it sets you off. 

“I am trying to find my soul mate”.

Jungkook couldn't help but laugh out loud, he thinks you are so innocent, so naive to let people run you over because of how soft your heart is. He even bends a little to catch his knees to support himself. 

“What?”, you scoff, crossing your hands across the chest. 

“You want to go on a date?”, he asks. And it takes him off guard too, more than you. But he seemed confident for the first time. Probably because the sober you doesn't remember the drunk you even in the slightest, or perhaps he thinks it'll go right. 

“Date?”, you repeat, “With you?”

“Yeah”

“Like… right now?”

“Yes”, he puts out his hand, waiting for you to join hands. 

What's the worst thing that's going to happen anyways? It's Jungkook, that one person who would give his life to protect you. 

He doesn't say anything for the rest of the walk. It's a bit rushed because he can't simply wait. A whole thunderstorm is rushing inside his veins and he wants to make everything about this just perfect. So perfect that you forget about every date you have ever been too. 

This is surely not the best date he had planned if he ever took you out, but it sounds alright on his mind and wishes it does the same on yours too. 

After a stroll, you're waiting for Jungkook behind some rented building. He returns with a ladder; enough to make it to the first floor. 

He makes sure to stand behind you and assure your safety. The rest of the way up was stairs, several tiring floors and heavy breath. 

He observes your face forms an ‘O’ out of surprise. 

At the rooftop of this building sits the most beautiful view of the city and thankfully starry sky to make things better. 

It's Jungkook’s self-reflection space to be exact. There were things he shared with you of course, you were each other's shoulder to cry on, but ever since he caught feelings for you, he is just afraid he'll end up ranting into a sudden confession and ruin the friendship. 

So he found other ways to cope. You however were convinced that it was some sort of “change” over time. Everyone changes and you believed it was just something of that sorts. 

“It's so beautiful! ”, you grin, “How come you never bring me here you meanie! ”, you smack his arm as you sit down on the ground beside him. 

“I was going too! ”, he fights back,  rubbing his arm. 

“This is a perfect date”, you begin after some moment of silence, “how come you don't go for relationships!? Girls will be so happy to be treated this way! ”

The first part of the sentence makes his chest warm out of pride, but it collapses to where it was before as you end. 

He just knows you'll never know how he feels unless he just says it, without beating around the bush. 

He doesn't say anything and instead gets up to take two cans of beer he had hid somewhere. You are way past your alcohol limit and acting knowingly for once, you reject. 

He opens his and chugs down half of it in one go. 

“Woah… hey Kookie you alright? ”, he flinches when your palm presses against his shoulder. 

“I want to kiss you really bad”.

Bad line of start. 

Your cheeks burn and turn vibrant shades of scarlet, expecting anything but that. But the more you continue to look at him, the more ethereal he looks; attractive, and someone definitely not deserving of petty friend zoning. 

He feels a pair of lips on his cheeks, startling him. He turns around to see your face breathtakingly close. 

He is really slow, studying every clue you give, once he is certain he is doing this with consent, he places both of his palms on your cheek and leans in. 

Jungkook wants to pinch himself because he thinks he is sleeping and it's just another one of his blissful day dreams. But when you nibble on his bottom lip, he thinks maybe not. You are really here, hands on his hair and kissing him. He holds your head more firmly as he begins to dominate the kiss, ambitious to let you know what he had been thinking about you for the past several years. 

His lips are flushed and glossy when you break off of him, but hands still on his body, on his shoulder, taking your time to catch your breath. 

“Y/n...I hope it's clear now. I like you. Like… . I really like you. And it had been killing me for years whenever I see you going behind other guys, sleeping with them just because they agree to take you on a date. Please Y/n, will you give me a…chance”.

Since the author had enough of Y/n’s dumbness as well, the story continues with Y/n accepting him, realising how blind she was. 

You feel already intoxicated by his lips so you give it a peck and hug him, “Yes Koo. And I'm sorry, for all this, and thank you so much for this date, I am looking forward to our second one”, you beam. 

He finds it cute how you think soulmates exist. He doesn't know about all that. He just knows you can make him happy and every heartbreak for you was worth it. So he smiles and nods, nothing conveyed after, until he takes you back to your dorm and kisses you one last time for the day. 

Thank you so much for reading!!

Original Content of ©bangtanpromptsfics

[cherrytdatt]

what a shame we're fucked in the head (au)

Pairing: peter parker x reader

Word count: ~1.7k

Summary: peter and y/n always find it easier to be fwb than assuming their feeling for each other 

A/N: this was in my drafts for the longest time and i'm just getting rid of it. this is an au but they are still superheroes.

Warnings: drug use and mention of sex

"What up, loser?" you heard a familiar voice say behind you. You turned your head, recognizing his silhouette. "Abandoning the party?" Peter chuckled, sitting by your side on the edge of the building.

"Making my own party," you said with a weak smile, raising your hand that held a joint you lazily made a few minutes ago.

"Oh! And didn't call me?" he asked with an offended look.

"Sorry. I thought you were having fun inside," you said, passing the cigar to him.

"Sure. Cause seeing Banner and Rogers fighting over some mysterious hallucinogen that Banner's dad accidentally made on the lab is so much more fun than relaxing and talking to you," he took a pull of the cigar, without looking at you. You stared at his side profile, admiring every inch of his face. His eyes that were shining with the city lights, the small smirk that never left his face, the sharp angle his jaw made even when he was relaxed, and the curls that fell plainly on his forehead.

You and Peter had a lot in common, you were Stephen Stranger's daughter, and Peter was adopted by Tony Stark at the age of three. As everyone knows, those two were the most rich and arrogant superheroes to walk on this earth or any other planet. So you two understood how hard your life was growing up. Don't get me wrong, both were great parents, but they didn't think twice before pressuring you two to be the best amongst all the other superheroes' kids. Besides that, there were the absent parents, and all the ego fights that you two had to deal with daily.

"That thing's dangerous," you said, shaking your head. "Banner and Rhodes took that last week, and they blacked out for forty eight hours after almost jumping from the top of the Stark Tower!" Peter handed you the cigar.

"That would make my dad so happy," Peter said sarcastically, making you laugh, just thinking about the bad press that two superheroes' kids jumping from the most expensive building in New York would cause for Tony Stark. "These kids are crazy," he finished when your laugh faded out.

All the Avengers kids formed some type of clan that was known for excessive partying, drugs, and doing crazy shit around town that usually caused some sort of damage physical or financial. After all, be raised by babysitters while your parents fought against aliens and robots wasn't easy. You, Peter, Shuri, and Magni, Thor's son, were the only ones that tried to follow your parents' steps and become superheroes, but that didn't keep you from partying and doing crazy things sometimes. The difference was, You, Peter, and Shuri usually do it without drawing attention, and Magni did it on other planets.

"Cause you and I are not damaged by our dads 'jobs', right?" you looked at him.

"I rather not talk about it," Peter joked, and you laughed. "So, how is your life?" he asked, staring at the city view from Will Maximoff's penthouse, where the party was happening.

"Same old. Studying and being in the lab for hours, drinking, and smoking weed the rest of the time, sometimes studying and smoking at the same time. I don't even know anymore," you took a pull from the joint. Even though your dad's power was like some type of magic, he always made you study very hard and you two worked on your lab developing nanotechnology and other things to help the Avengers. Sometimes you worked with Mr. Bruce, Shuri, or even Tony although he wasn't your dad's favorite. "And you?"

"I'm spending my days at the lab, improving my suit," he shrugged. "And waiting for you to call me," he finished, looking at you, and you chocked a little.

"Waiting for me to call you?" you coughed. "You have my number. You can call me," you said, looking at him.

"I'm always the one that calls you," he said nonchalantly.

"And?" you asked, holding a smile.

"A man gets tired..." he scratched the back of his head, shrugging and looking away from you.

"You know I don't mind you calling me," you stated. "And you also know I'm not gonna get in the middle of your commitment issues," your voice was lower.

"I didn't have a commitment issue with you," Peter defended himself.

You two were more than friends, and that was clear to everyone that had eyes. Everything started on the night of your nineteenth birthday. Your parents were out of town, and you decided it was a good idea to close an entire club in New York to have the biggest party you could think of. After using almost every drug in the building, you still felt alone, and the only person you could think about was Peter. He was at the party, but you barely saw him. At 2 a.m. you called him, and you finally hooked up. But, unlike what everyone was thinking, your 'relationship' didn't go further than occasionally making out, sleeping together and then you two wouldn't talk for two or three weeks after that. You, obviously, liked him, but Peter never dated any girl for more than two weeks, so you came to the conclusion that, even with your feelings, this 'friends with benefits' relationship was the best you could do.

"Yeah, right!" you laughed. "And that bullshit you pulled out last year was your way of committing," you joked, remembering the day he showed up in your father's cabin, knowing you would be there alone, and left the next morning without saying a word.

"You know why I did that," he sighed.

"I honestly don't," you chuckled, looking at him, waiting for his excuse.

"You told me you wanted to be alone! I was there just to make sure you were okay and then did what you want," he explained, his hands moving around anxiously.

"Are you stupid or what?" you got up, not believing how someone so smart could be so oblivious.

"What?" he asked, confused with your reaction.

"I wanted to be alone with you, dumbass. That's why I texted you my exact location," you said, pointing at him.

"Oh!" he was honestly surprised, his eyes widened in realization.

"You are dumb..." you concluded, the corners of your lips going up, forming a smile.

"I'm not dumb! I'm just..." Peter got up.

"Hard to commit," you said, knowingly.

"Oh, shut up!" he held a laugh. "You are not that great either. I lost count of how many times you ghosted me or avoided me," he accused you, and your eyes avoided his because you knew you the times you ran away from him.

"Do you...uh..." you gulped, afraid of the damage that your next words could cause. Peter studied your expression, knowing you were struggling with your thoughts. You took one more pull from the joint, trying to gather all your courage. "Do you think we will work..." you glanced at him for a split second. "I mean... in the future... you think we could work... if we tried?" you stuttered, regret already filling your chest.

"I don't like parties, you know?" Peter said, and you looked at him. Half confused and half cursing yourself for asking anything. Was he changing the subject just to avoid the question? "I mean... I like them sometimes but not every weekend," he said, looking at the buildings around.

"It's not what it looks like since I only bump into you at parties," you said with a weak smile.

"That's because I go to all the parties you go," he confessed. "When you're out of town or just at your house, I spend my night working in the lab or fighting small crimes in town," he glanced at you. You looked at him, not fully understanding what he was saying. "What I meant is..." he stared at you, and you felt the air being pulled out of your lungs by his intense eyes. "I really like you... and I hope we can work things out when you're ready," he smiled.

"Hey, Parker!" William Maximoff called, and both of you looked at him. "It's your turn on the beer pong," he yelled.

"I'm coming," Peter laughed at him, and the boy walked back inside, laughing, with some girl you didn't know, pulling him by his hand. "I'm going in..." he told you in a low voice, and you looked at him again.

"Yeah... okay," you muttered, the things he said still being processed in your head.

He stared at you, and you felt in his eyes that he was pondering on doing something. Peter took a step towards you, his face a few inches from yours, and you looked at him, feeling his hot breath in your mouth. You parted your lips, already anticipating what was coming. Peter's hand came to your face, touching gently your cheek, his eyes staring deeply into yours. You moved your face up, finally ending the distance between you two. You moved your hands to his neck, tugging at his hair, feeling his soft lips against yours, and he held your waist with his free arm. The kiss started slow but soon became needy and eager, your tongues colliding and moving in synch, traveling through every inch of each other's mouth. You captured his bottom lip between your teeth, causing him to moan softly, his hand going down to squeeze your butt. 

"I really missed you," he whispered against your lips.

"Peter..." you started you a hesitant voice.

"I have to go," he said before you could say anything else. Peter took a step back, glancing between the party and you. His arms left your body, and you felt cold without his touch. He gave you a small smile, putting his hands in his pockets, walking away from you. You turned slowly to look at the buildings, not ready to go back to the party yet.

"Y/n," you heard Peter call, and you turned to look at him. "Call me when you decide to go home." he smiled and grabbed the doorknob. You nodded at him, and he ran his hand through his hair. "I'm gonna kick your ass, Will," he yelled when the noise from the party invaded your ears, and then everything was silent again.

You stared at the buildings, feeling the fear from loving Peter more than you loved anyone else in your life invade you.

[gisachi]

I hope I'm not late jumping to the prompt bandwagon, but shinran with 39?

Thank you for the request!  In the end I couldn’t do angst (I attempted and I failed 😭) so I went for a hurt/comfort, the closest I can get to writing a pained character lmao. Hope you like this! It’s AU btw!

39. Kissing tears from the other’s face. (1,776 words)

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They met each other at Beika Hospital’s rehabilitation unit.

She worked herself along parallel bars, taking slow steps while a P.T. noted her progress. He saw her effort in each hop, each she took as preparation for succeeding advances, intervals per step getting shorter until the whole walk looked natural.

It was impossible to ignore the positive spirit bubbling within her, for despite minor missteps and the P.T. rushing to her, she’d tell the latter, with eyes glimmering like hopeful sunlight after a heavy storm, that she’s okay and she’d do this on her own. And she would.  

Eventually he learned of her name— Mouri Ran— and true to her name she was like the pinkest orchid blooming in an autumnal orchard, standing out with her bright, joyful features, leaving trails of vibrancy where she’d pass. Her smile was contagious, flipping frowns of old grumpy patients rightside up, making even the most nervous children burst into a feat of laughter when she cracked jokes before their operations.

Shinichi had only been around the hospital for a week, but he understood what other patients meant when they said their pain became much more bearable with her around.

In a place like this, her smile was light.

He knew getting along with her wouldn’t be difficult, as minutes after sitting next to each other in the rehab unit, they conversed like they’d been friends for a long time. Apart from her name, he learned she’s the same age as him, a black belter in karate, had a lawyer mother and a detective father who paid her visits twice a week.

In two days, he found out why she’s here. On the way to her karate training, she was hit by a car after saving two elementary school children crossing the street, earning her three fractured ribs and a head injury meant to heal in a week. Her ribs healed in five days, but the headache and dizziness progressively worsened, leading the doctors to conclude a traumatic brain injury, requiring major surgery.

Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and she remained here, hospital already like her home. She had taken an indefinite leave of absence in school, missing lectures and karate training for two months and counting.

“What about you, Shinichi-kun? Why are you here?” Ran asked him one time while they hung out in the day room.

“Two gunshot wounds on my shoulder. Received surgery a week ago and now I’m feeling better,” he answered nonchalantly, not omitting the fact that as a teenage detective, it was normal for him to expose himself to life-or-death situations; that this set of wounds was the second he’d gotten, the first one when he was sixteen.

Seeing the shock passing at her face, he exhaled sharply, lips twisting up a little. “I’m okay. It’s not as grave as you think it is. And I’ll be discharged in three days.”

That didn’t remove the frown in her face though - which was new for he’d never seen her frown until now.

She asked him where his parents were, he said they were in the States. She asked if he’s living with a relative, he said no, but his next door neighbor served like one. She asked if he’s still studying, he said yes, in Ekoda High, thirty minutes by train from her school, Teitan High.

“You’re so young yet so independent and...and strong, Shinichi-kun.”

He shrugged, not in a dismissive way, before resting a hand on her shoulder, “Aren’t you describing yourself, Ran-san?”

He was strong and independent because work and circumstance required him to. While Ran, she’s strong and independent because...she naturally was.

She’s brave. Braver than he’d ever be. He wanted her to know that.

Frown morphing into an all familiar smile, she squared her shoulders, excited eyes meeting his.

“Well, guess what? I’m getting discharged next week too!” She exclaimed, beam as bright as day. “I was afraid they’d move my discharge date, but thankfully they didn’t. I’m getting better! I’ll be able to attend karate training, and if they allow me, I can even compete in the division match! Or even—”

She stopped short when she heard him snigger.

Sinking into her seat, she hid her blushing face behind two hands.

“Ack! I got really excited...Sorry!”

“Don’t be,” Shinichi said, wiping a stray tear from his eye. If anything, he was elated as much as she was. “What about we plan a meet-up in two weeks?”

“Okay!” Her beam got wider, “Let’s, Shinichi-kun!”

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.

Her smile was always a source of light.

But not that day.

“It’ll be a quick and painless operation, Mouri-san…”

He didn’t mean to overhear when he passed by her private room the next afternoon, but it was impossible not to. Two other voices, a man and a woman— probably her parents— asked for more details, but he didn’t catch anything else since his mind drifted to another concern. Her reaction.

He waited for her voice. None.

Losing track of how long he’d been standing outside, the doctor passed by him as he exited the room, and the indistinct sobbing of her mom reached his ears.

“Ran...I’m sorry,” said the woman, sadness sown in her words. “You’ll have to stay here for a little longer, okay?”

He didn’t know how long the silence lingered until Ran finally spoke.

“I understand, Okaa-san, Otou-san. I’m okay.”

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“You okay?”

At another time of the day, she would’ve answered differently. But it was two in the morning, when all walls were drawn and her resolve consciously broken down into fragments.

It was two in the morning, when vulnerability was not an unwelcome presence as she sat awake on her hospital bed, anxiety and darkness creeping in her heart and flesh, numbing her lips to a taut line, no grin, no smile, no anything.

“No,” she confessed, raw, uninhibited.

If he’s a different person, she would’ve answered differently. But he’s he. Her constant for a week. The first she’d allowed to enter her private room in the dead of the night. Her rock.

Her shoulders started to shake, sobs cutting through empty silence.

“I just want to return to normal. Go home. Spar. Do homework. I... I don’t want this anymore.”

It was disconcerting to see the usual glint in her eyes gone, her body bowed and trembling - sad, tired, done - but he realized she’d been carrying this for months, and though it’s a sight he didn’t want to see, it’s a sight she needed to expose.

“I’m sorry we cannot leave at the same time, Shinichi-kun...” Ran echoed his thoughts, clutching the thin fabric of his shirt as she cried on the shoulder he offered.

The crack in her voice added to the sting in his heart.

How he wished he could steal her misery away, but he knew no amount of consolation could heal the piled up pain eating her inside out at two in the morning.

If there was just a way, any way.

“Excuse me for doing this...”

He cupped her face and tilted it up.

His eyes met hers, wide and confused, still glazed with tears.

His face was a breath away, lesser when he pressed dry lips over one teardrop cascading down her cheek. He did it to another teardrop— and another, and another— each press gentle like snowflake on her skin, stopping only when not one drop was spared, and his lips were dry no longer.

As soon as he ended, he let up, released her face and backed away to the end of the hospital bed, as far from her as possible. He didn’t want her to think he’s invading her personal space, but he wouldn’t have done that had he not felt like they’ve known each other for years even when it’s just been days.

If it was just him, he didn’t mind it. Didn’t mind proximity. It was a risk to wish she’s on the same ground.

“My...My mom used to do that whenever I hurt myself and cry when I was kid,” he began, not meeting her eyes as he ran his hand through his hair. “You won’t ever hear me admit it to her face, but every time she did that, I’d always calm down.”

A breathy chuckle escaped him, and he peered at her again.

“I...hope it had the same effect on you.”

Ran blinked, didn’t speak.

She returned his gaze, silent as she gorged herself of his image, expression unreadable, and he didn’t know if it’s supposed to be a good thing, or a sign to start apologizing for doing something out of line.

Then her lips pursed; she bent her knees and hugged them, burying her face in them.

“O-Oi! You’re crying again—”

“It does.”

She blurted out, voice muffled by her gown, the bright pitch and lack of quiver in her voice enough of an indication she had stopped crying.

“It does work. Thank you… Shinichi.”

He didn’t need to see her face to know she’s smiling.

Whether it’s the fact that his unusual way of consolation succeeded or that she consciously omitted honorifics in her last statement, Shinichi didn’t bother reasoning the cause of the blush spreading on his cheeks. Soft spring warmth flourished in his chest, as if an orchid seedling buried itself there and had just started blooming.

Shinichi knew enough. He’d fight tooth and nail to see her smile every single day. That’s what she deserved.

“...Your karate match. I’ll watch it.”

“Eh?”

“I’ll visit you. Your upcoming match. I’ll watch it.”

“...But I don’t even know if I’ll recover on time.”

“You will,” he asserted, eyes filled with intent and hope, “And even if you don’t, there’ll still be plenty of matches for you. I’ll watch them all, Ran.”

Her expression shifted easily. Maybe that’s how she coped for so long. Maybe that’s her mastery over her emotions. Whatever the case was, Shinichi found it a blessing, not only to others but to Ran herself.

With how she grasped her sentiments, how she’s in touch with both reality and feelings, how she really meant a smile when she gave it, he knew she’d endure this fight. He believed in her strength.

All he had to do was support her all the way.

“That makes two promises then, Shinichi.”

She scooted close, extended her pinky. “I’ll meet you again outside the hospital. And you’ll watch my future karate matches. Promise?”

“Promise.” He hooked their pinkies together.

There were still so many things he wanted to know about her. He’d wait until she’s out with him.

Until then, he’d remain her rock.

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[limenysnocket]

●The Blush Bet●

Pt. IV: The Do-Over

Summary: After finally getting his feelings out in the open, Taika decides that it's right about time that he takes (Y/N) out for a proper date. He calls it a do-over for the last one he took her on.

Request: @honorarytenenbaum

Warnings: Swearing, alcohol and quite a bit of car se- I mean, smut.

A/N: Hehehhh, I've had this idea in my head for the longest time. Peak Taika time, you guys. Drunk Taika time... Touchy feely Taika time... a bit of riding Taika time... OH, this is the last part, by the way. I'll stop bothering you with this story. Lol

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You stared at the new dress in the mirror. Pure white, strappless, slits down both legs and a lovely, black belt around the waist. Taika outdid himself this time and, a lot like the bad date he took you on, he didn't tell you much about where you were going or what the night would entail, but you couldn't be any happier than you were now.

You smoothed out the bottom half of the dress and tucked a sweet little hair behind your ear. For once, you were happy to be dressed up by someone else. You couldn't help but be a little nervous, though. You were always so nervous before dates, even if you knew the guy pretty well. You just had a tendency of worrying about tripping over your heels or going to the bathroom then come out with the back of your dress tucked into your underwear. You had nothing to worry about this time, but you still worried.

Your phone suddenly went off and made you jump. You reached for it, a gentle smile on your face as you read the notification.

'I'm outside, darling. Hope you're just as excited as I am! ;)'

You giggle to yourself, tuck your phone in your handbag and take one last look at yourself, as if you thought there was a massive smudge in your makeup that could ruin your night. You put on a smile, fix a little uncomfortable place in your heel, did a little body wiggle and went to your door and opened it.

Your smile got wider. The man of the hour was standing right in front of you, dressed in a navy blue tux and a snow white rose in the breastpocket. His hand was holding yours, the moment he saw you and he brought you closer with just a simple beckoning tug.

"Your boyfriend must have wonderful tastes, because that dress looks absolutely amazing on you," Taika purred with a kiss to the back of your hand.

"Well, my boyfriend is pretty wonderful," you hummed back and softly tugged your hand away so you could wrap your arms around his neck. He set his hands on your waist and leaned down to press his lips against yours. Your bottom lip was encased in his and you felt his hands creep away from your waist, to your hips, then to your ass. You had to pull away from the kiss before he could do that, "No, no, sir. We can't do that yet. We still have a date."

Taika only half groaned, but you knew he didn't mind. He must have made one hell of a reservation if it even made him pass up the opportunity for sex.

"Your ride awaits you, madam and sir," you heard someone call from down on the curb and you leaned to look past Taika, who briefly moved to look with you.

"Holy shit-- You brought Robert too?" You smiled and looked up at Taika. He was grinning and biting his bottom lip slightly.

"Just wouldn't be the same without him. I'd miss him if I didn't let him drive tonight," Taika said, taking your hand in his and escorting you down to the curb.

"Good evening, miss!" Robert greeted you with a very bright smile and a tip of his cap.

"Robert, my lanta! You have no idea how great it is to see you!" You smiled right back at him. "Did you ever get together with that one woman you saw outside that restaurant?"

"I actually did," Robert smiled. "Never knew a chap like myself could get a date at my age! I'm actually going out with her, tonight, thanks to Mr. Waititi!"

"Oh, really now?" You cocked a brow and grinned over at your date who was casually and quietly enjoying the banter he wasn't involved in.

"Wanted him to have a little fun too, doll. I was gonna tell you, don't be surprised when we end with a new driver back home tonight," he smiled down at you and nudged you with his hip.

"Well, no time to waste! Your evening awaits you!" Robert bounced on his heels then opened the door. Luckily, it wasn't an old fart limo that you were riding in tonight. It was a sleek, black, luxurious Mercedes that he was taking you in tonight and you were extremely flattered with all the effort Taika was putting in for you. It almost turned you on... almost.

During the ride to the more rich side of town, Taika kept his hand on your thigh and gently rubbed every now and then. You would turn and give him a cheeky little grin and a wink. You knew he wanted a little something before he left for the night.

You expected to pass the big fancy restaurant that he had teased you in front of, but when you ended up parking right in front of it, you nearly got whiplash from how hard your head snapped in Taika's direction. "Pulling the same joke twice isn't funny, Waititi!" You pout, almost and he snickers.

"This isn't a joke! Richard, tell her this isn't a joke, so she'll believe me!" Taika said, almost in an exasperated tone.

Richard turned the car off and in a very merry voice he said, "It's not a joke, miss! He even showed me his online ticket to prove he had a reservation this time!"

You're face was expressionless for a very long while. It was like Ross whenever he found out he was the father of Rachel's baby.

"You promise this isn't a fib?" You ask the man next to you, quietly. Your lip was softly quivering.

"I have no reason to lie to you anymore," he said back with a very warm gaze and a matching smile. His fingers interlocked with yours and he brought it up to kiss the back of your hand again. Gosh, you loved it when he did that.

Richard eventually got the two of you out of the car, and you waved goodbye to him, side you wouldn't be seeing him after dinner. He told you that his date was waiting for him down the street, then waved you off as well to have your pleasant evening and pleasant dinner with Taika in the most expensive restaurant in the entirety of L.A.

You could practically smell the money on the people around you while they stuffed themselves fat on cash salads.

"I swear, if they end up taking us down to a sub-basement or something for people who want to think their eating rich, I'm going to flip my shit," you said teasingly while you secretly looked around at the sparkling chandeliers with much awe and admiration.

"I don't even think this place has a sub-basement, so you're in luck!" Taika laughed as he pulled you along, up to a waiter where he flashed him the reservation on his phone. The waiter, dressed in a deep red vest and black slacks, nodded at the confirmation, grabbed two menus then escorted you to your table, which just so happened to be on the second floor. Lucky you, you got to go through the little archway leading to the stairs, gayly dressed in evergreen leaves and electric lights.

As you sat down at your seat, you took the time to admire the place even more. The food made your stomach growl, the lighting cast upon Taika's face made your heart flutter and you were dressed ever so perfectly. Wow... just a week ago, you could have never imagined Taika doing something so lavish for you. Now, it felt like every act of kindness he did for you was a gift from the king, himself.

"Enjoying the scenery, darling?" You heard Taika say from across the table and it caught your attention in a flash.

"How can I not be?" You said, giving him a warm, wide smile. It made him melt, you could tell. The look he had made it easy to spot that he was falling deeper in love with you, right before your very eyes. He reached over for your hand and once he had it, he caressed it with his thumb. He continued to hold it while he spoke to you, all the way up until the scheduled bottle of wine arrived and the waiter was back to take your order...

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"I don't know about you, but that sirloin certainly stuffed me," Taika giggled at his own alliteration and you laughed along too, as he guided you back down the lavish stairs and back out the arch. Your arm was hooked around his, and while you both made your way out the building, you talked about whimsical story ideas that both of you brewed up together and wouldn't probably pull through with, but it was still so much fun to see what stirred within your collided imaginations. The real reason you were hanging off of each other is, because both of you happened to be quite wine drunk at the moment, and didn't care enough to notice.

You both reached the curb and were still bubbling away, since the Mercedes was running a tad slow, but all was well.

It eventually fell quiet between you two and your just stared into each other's eyes, exasperated with how much you both just shared with each other and taking a few moments to look back at the story you created. It was a mixture of feelings, jotting out in random directions, rough around the edges, but soft as an angel's wings. You couldn't be happier with it.

"Before we start taking notes," you said, laughing and tucking a stray strand if hair behind your ear, "I just want to say... I think this is the best date I've ever had. No, I'm not trying to inflate your ego, but... You deserve it this time. I'm proud of you, Tai, as weird as it is." You giggle at your own speech and lean in to kiss his forehead. Instead of his forehead, however, you come in contact with his lips instead, by his own devices.

He kissed you wantonly and almost needingly. You willingly fell prey to the kiss and slipped into a coma-like state where his lips were the only thing you needed to keep living. When you two parted, you panted and blushed immensely. You could taste the wine on his lips. You both had quite a few glasses, you'll admit...

His cheeks were a salmon color and his eyes were now glossed over, lips the lightly stained with your lipstick. You found yourself blushing even more at the sight. "So," you said with a hiccup resonating in your chest, "my place or yours?"

"Oh, sweetheart, I don't think we're even going to make it to either of those places," he smirked down at you and bit his lip. You gulped, because the sleek Mercedes pulled up right next to the two of you and a brand new driver hopped out and opened the door.

Taika pressed a feather light hand on your back and guided you into the backseat of the car. You could have sworn you felt his hand hovering over your ass at some point in time.

Once the two of you were in the car and the door was shut, it was all dark and very quiet, except for the slow breathing of you and the other two people in the car and the quiet radio, turned to an oldies station.

Your heart rate seemed to increase. You felt Taika's hand slither over to the slit in the leg of your dress and he quietly felt around it, until he slipped his hand completely under it. You said nothing, but you couldn't help but reach for his sleeve, encouraging him on. If this was going to happen, you needed to remain quiet.

He teased you for the longest time as the car creeped through slow traffic. He didn't start getting down on you until you had reached the first stoplight of what you might say be fourteen or so on.

His fingers teased your clit through your damp panties and he rubbed the cloth in slow circles. You had to bury your face into his arm to stop yourself from begging him for more. He suddenly nipped the shell of your ear to make your breath hitch and he chuckled, "Such a good girl~, being all quiet for daddy~." His other hand has now joined the games and started to grip and massage your warm thigh.

Taika continued to drive you insane by teasing the hem of your panties, not knowing if he should mess with the real thing or not. He wanted to be patient, Taika did... but Drunk-Taika was never a man of patience, as far as Taika, himself, knew.

You were so close to moaning, biting down on Taika's sleeve, whenever he suddenly yanked both of his hands away from you, leaving you a horny mess, beside him. You looked up at him in the dark, confused and a little upset, but he said nothing and waited until the next stoplight.

The car peeled into a stop, slowly, behind other cars. Taika made quick work of unbuckling both your and his seatbelts. Now, you were curious.

Taika dug around in his wallet for a moment, pulled out a couple hundreds and leaned forward so his head poked up right beside the driver, who was startled by the encounter. "I'm going to pay you a very big tip," Taika said to the driver in a very low, husky voice, "and you're going to let me fuck my girlfriend in the back seat. How does that sound?" Taika waved the large sum of cash in front of the man's face. You heard the driver gulp, then you saw him nod through the faint blackness.

"Good man," Taika chuckled deeply and set the cash down in the cup holder. "If I catch you looking back, it's getting taken away." Taika warned him, but didn't warn you as he sat back down and grabbed you by the hips as the car started to move again. He sat you on his lap and he nearly ripped the zipper on the back of your dress down, then tore the entire thing off of you.

"Told you we wouldn't make it~," Taika growled seductively and it made your walls really start to soak as he licked his chops like a feral dog, right in front of you.

"T-Taika~," you breathed softly by his ear, so he would be the only one to hear it.

"Always so shy in the beginning," Taika sighed and, yet again, without another warning, he smacked your ass, making you yelp. "What's the name I go by, when we fuck, doll~? I want to hear you say it."

"D-Daddy~," you moaned a little louder this time, so you didn't have to whisper.

"Good girl~," Taika smirked within the darkness. Before you knew it, his lips were on yours and this kiss was much more feral than the last one you received from him. He bit your bottom lip and tugged at it, his nails scraped across your thighs and he shoved his tongue down your throat. He was holding nothing back with you and it made you desperately moan. It was surprising that even the driver wasn't leapfrogging the car all over the place and was managing to keep his cool amidst the sinful sounds you made with only your mouth.

You felt Taika's hand creep up your thigh and to the hem of your panties again. Instead of just tugging them down, he decided to be slow and push them down, all the while feeling up the newly revealed skin.

His lips departed from yours, so you could breathe and also so he could start leaving deep hickeys all across your skin. "You're daddy's little slut, aren't you~? You and that soaked pussy, all just for me~?" He growled and bit harder, causing you to moan out and shake. Upon getting no real response, he grunted and slapped your ass again with his rough palm. "You better answer me, babe~. Otherwise, this can go on all night long~."

You gulped and finally found enough consciousness to nod. "Yes, daddy~," you moaned and you could practically feel the driver shuddering in the front seat.

Taika's strong erection poked at your thigh and he bucked against it from time to time. "Wanna go for a ride baby~?" He purrs to you, against your ear once more once your panties are all the way off and his other hand occupies itself with unclipping your strapless bra, just so he can see your breasts bounce whenever you start your ride.

You nod eagerly and quickly go after his belt, the drool only making your neediness all the more crystal clear. He lets you do your thing, smirking and watching you as you go after his cock like a wild animal. You eventually get his pants down low enough to where his cock springs free and you manage to tear off his suit jacket and tie in the process.

He gripped onto your hips and started guiding you down to his tip whenever the case came to another stop.

"W-We're here, sir..." the man mumbled from the frontseat, quivering, worried about what he just interrupted. Your turned your head to see that the car was now pulled into Taika's driveway. You were disappointed for a moment and a moment only, until Taika grabbed your chin and forced it to face him so you were making intense eye contact with him again.

"Drive." Taika said, his eyes still locked onto yours.

"What?" The man said, nearly forgetting his oath to not turn around and see the scene playing out in the backseat.

"Drive. Around the block or some shit... this won't take me long," Taika growled again, this time harsher. Your throbbing cunt was waiting for him, so you didn't mind. The driver took a moment to register everything before nodding and getting back out on the road again.

The moment the car started to move, Taika's grip intensified, then, he no longer hesitated to let you hover. He full fledged slammed you down on him and you let out your most sinful moan yet of his nickname.

"Yeah~. You like bouncing on daddy's cock, don't you~?" He growled and made you start moving, just to get you going. Once you were at a pace both you and him liked, he slipped his hands from your hips and to your ass, sinking his nails into the soft flesh while the two of you made love in the back of the car. He slapped your ass a couple times. Sometimes, to the point where it was almost beat red. It may have been, if you could see the color through all of the inky blackness surrounding the two of you.

"Fuck~, you're a fucking goddess~," Taika hissed through bared teeth, "Such a tight pussy~. God fucking damn it~."

His sultry moans started to match yours as time passed by and by. Loud, wet slaps of skin on skin and the sounds of your dirty panting filled the car with nothing but disgusting nature. Your hands gripped his shoulders as you were almost positive the back half of the car started to rock beneath the intense amount of force.

"Taika~ You're cock is so fucking perfect~. Fuck~!" You cried out, burying your face in his neck, only to be tugged away by a tough grip on your hair. You hissed, but you went quiet as you looked into Taika's brown eyes that stared into your soul, that dominated you, that owned you and that tight little pussy of yours. All of it was his and he was about to make it cum.

"T-Taika~. I don't know how much longer I can hold~," you moan in his ear as your bouncing becomes a little desperate and a lot rougher, to the point where Taika puts his hands back on your hips to control the wavering speed.

"Beg for it~," Taika said lowly. You could tell he was close too, by the familiar pattern it he pulsation of his cock.

"Please, daddy~. I want this, I need this~. Please, let me cum all over your fucking perfect cock~," you begged him with whatever strength you had left in your body.

"Cum for me," Taika said after a long overdue stare at your bouncing breasts, "do it right fucking now~."

His command was fulfilled in the next few seconds. He felt your juices squirt all down your thighs and a little dribbled onto his pants, but that was alright. He didn't mind one bit.

Now, it was his turn to make his thrusts turn reckless and violent. He shoved himself up into you, panting and moaning your name while he got you over the hills of your scream-filled orgasm. "Where do you want me to cum, doll~?" He growled during the last remaining seconds of his powerful fucking.

"In me~," You begged, wanting to feel him fill you up like the slut you are this time, and you were glad to see that he was happy to oblige. The next thing you knew, you felt strings of hot seed filling your walls and painting you white. That whiteness seeped down your thighs and dripped onto the car seat. The hot stink of sex filled the car and it got to the point where the driver cracked a window, once you two were finished.

Hot damn... you're going to have to make bets with Taika more often...

[kuronanox]

Hesitant - Ukitake Jushiro

(Your Name) and Ukitake first met when she graduated the academy top of her class. She  had happen to be put on a mission, it was a simple mission, the task was to eliminate hollows that were appearing in the forest near the rukongai district.

(Your Name) was about done with the last hollow and jogged to catch up with the rest of the team when she was then surrounded by a flock of hollows. Steadily she let out a kido to eliminate the ones behind her so she could find an opening to escape. With an opening appearing she lunges out the area but was pulled back by a hollows that had tentacles as it wrapped it around her body as she yelped in pain.

"Shit!" She cursed and tried to squeeze out but only to yell out in pain as the tentacles wrapped around her tighter.

Ukitake had gotten word from a few subordinates that the team who was in charge of the hollows around the rukongai district had got back but one of the girls was missing.

Kaien was already out in a meeting so it left Ukitake no choice but to go himself. "Don't worry I'll go." He told his squads members and rushed to the district. He found her body limped on the floor as the hollows were about to devour her.

"I can't believe I'm about to die like this... I'm so pathetic."

(Your Name) tightly shuts her eyes and was prepared for the worse but it was replaced by a warm body embracing her as she looked up to see her captain smiling down at her. She had been saved.

"Captain." She uttered out as Ukitake took her out of harms way and she watched as he cut down the hollows so easily, it almost made her embarrassed. After cleaning the mess up he carefully picked her up and carried them all the way to the 4th squad for medical attention.

"I-I'm okay." She stutters but he shakes his head. "You have internal bleeding in your body, if I was a second late you would be dead." He says to the smaller girl as she stares up at him.

(Your Name) didn't really know what the captain looked because he was always sick apparently, so she thought Kaien was the leader for squad 13 for the longest time. Never in her life she thought a man was so beautiful with his long locks of silver hair and gentle smile.

(Your Name) woke up in the infirmary with bandages all around her stomach and abdomen area. The nurse said parts of her ribs broke and some of her organs were getting crushed harshly. "Top of my class but still weak."

Lying down in silence a knock was at her door as she gently sits up and sees her Captain with a big smile on his face and sweets in his arms. (Your Name) tilts her head confused if he was here for her or someone else but she looked around to see no one else but her in the infirmary. "Captain?" She calls out as he happily pulls up a seat next to her.

"Ahh (Your Name) how are you feeling?" Ukitake begins to asks setting down the sweets in her lap as she looks down to see variety of chocolate and hard candy that looked tempting to eat but, she knew that the state she was in wouldn't allow her to consume such foods.

"I feel bruised up but resting makes it feel better." She honestly says.

"You were out for a week." He says to her as she noticed flowers placed on her stand. "Did Captain bring me flowers? I don't have any other close friends yet."

She was so embarrassed that she roughly opened up various candy trying to take the blush that was forming on her face away. "(Your Name) slow down the candy will be here." Ukitake says gently helping her open up the bags. She notice how soft his hands were as it lightly brushed against hers.

"I'm sorry Captain I'm just embarrassed." She admits as he chuckles.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, we all fall into trouble once."

"That's not what I'm talking about but if you say so Captain."

After another long week in the infirmary she was out and ready to work again. Stretching her body she smiles and embrace the sunlight. Ukitake visited her three more times after that. He was kind to her and it made her stomach filled with butterflies.

"Stop! He's like hella old and you're like really young." She says out loud as a gentle hand rested on her shoulder. "Who's old?" Ukitake teased from behind the girl as she jumps.

"C-Captain!" She blushes as he could only laugh because her expression were cute to him. "I heard you were getting discharged today so I came to walk you back."

Her eyes widen as she gives a warm smile and allows him to walk her back. "I'm giving you an month to rest, I know you are healed but that doesn't mean you should push your body to fast." Ukitake says in concern as she nods her head.

(Your Name) was slowly started to fall for the older Shinigami as time pasted by. Although there was moments she would rarely see him because of captain work or he was out due to sickness. She still would find the chance to talk to him once a while.

Of course Ukitake knew, he was alive for hundreds of years he could easily tell from the way she talked and her body language towards him. Luckily for her Ukitake also shared the same feelings but never got the courage to tell her just yet.

"I don't know she's really young, maybe she can find someone her age to make her happy, after all I'm just a sick old dude." Ukitake tells Kyoraku as the man in the hat sighs and pats him on the back.

"Ma, don't be so hard on yourself. This girl seems to really like you I'm jealous." He teased Ukitake as they enjoyed hot tea on a cold winter afternoon. "You were always popular with the lady, have our roles reversed?" He laughs as Kyoraku smirks.

"No I still am actually! But I think you should give it a chance. I mean who would wanna stick with a sick old dude?"

Ukitake lightly glares as Kyoraku laughs. "See, that's what I'm saying if she's willing to stay with you even if you are sick and older maybe you should give her a chance. It doesn't hurt to try. Plus I see the way you look at her. It's something I haven't seen before."

Ukitake sighs and looks up at the sky. "Maybe he is right."

It had been one of those good days for Ukitake his body was feeling light and he was energetic. It had been months since the conversation he had with Kyoraku played off but he wanted to take things slow. So he started to invite (Your Name) out for walks and to drink tea and once he took her star gazing.

She didn't know his feelings for her which made her frustrated as each day passed by.

"I don't know if he likes me but he's so nice, but Captain is always nice and kind to everyone. Ugh! This is frustrating!"

Casually she was trying to reach for book on one of the shelf but a taller hand had helped her reach for it as she felt the body heat from behind her.

"Is this what you are looking for?" Ukitake asks as she nods and takes the book from his hand. "Are you busy today?" She asks him as he shakes his head. "I secretly gave Kaien my papers today." He whispers to her as she laughs imagining Kaien trying to sort and figure everything out.

"Wait does that mean he made time to hang out with me?" She blushes and looks down to hide it but Ukitake can see clearly at it as he smiles down at her.

"(Your Name) I've been meaning to talk to you about something." He then says leading her to his office as she sat down on the couch comfortably. "Yes Captain?"

"My feelings for you are mutual." He begins to say as she sits quietly and hears him out. "What scares me if our age difference and my physical state I am in though. I really want whats best for you so I've been holding off on telling you how I feel."

(Your Name) eyes widen as she walks toward the older man and gives him a small hug as he hesitantly accepts and hugs her back.

"Captain is stupid, I don't care the age difference or if you are sick all the time. I like you because you were nice and kind to me and everyone else. You just make my day brighter and I wanna keep you by my side as long as I have you." She admits as Ukitake pulls her into a bigger embrace now.

She kisses his forehead.

"(Your Name) you will have me until the day I die and I will have you until we have to part." He says as they both smile towards each other.

"Don't be so humble, now I get to kiss you whenever I want!" She cheers getting him off the chair onto the couch and pushing him down. "Finally I can embrace you like this." (Your Name) says laying on him as Ukitake embraces her back with a smile.

[hazel-writes]

Summary: You begin your first official day of work and meet your new coworkers, who turn out to be full of surprises.

Word Count: 2,300

Notes: This chapter is a bit slow, but I'm excited to introduce you to some new characters! If you want to see Picrew face-claims for these characters, look here. Otherwise, imagine them to look however you want!

Warnings: brief mentions of violence

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

I'm trying hard to hide

Keep the sun out of my eyes

Close them tight

And now I'm waiting for the moon to rise

Belle and Sebastian ~ Waiting for the Moon

You walked through the door, nervously wringing your hands, despite your best efforts not to. Your eyes scanned the room, eventually landing on a large, grey reception desk. Sitting behind the desk was none other than Ms. Stoney, the uptight woman who had “welcomed” you onto the ship the day before.

You took a deep breath before walking over to her, waiting patiently for her to look up and address you — but she didn’t. You tried subtly clearing your throat, shifting your feet from side to side, and moving into her line of sight, but nothing seemed to grab her attention. Eventually you forced out a meek, “Hi, there!” to which she responded with an annoyed glance in your direction.

“Oh, it’s you again,” she grumbled with a mix of tiredness and disappointment.

“Uh, yeah, it is,” you smiled back, which you could tell bothered her. “I’m looking for the artist workspace? I know it’s somewhere within this department, but I wasn’t sure where exactly…”

“Artist?” she questioned, eyebrow raised.

“Yeah! Ya know, an individual who… does art?” Your attempt at an explanation was met by silence. “Umm… they’re usually covered in some sort of paint or clay, might dress a little funny, are often a little angsty, possibly tormented by some aspect of their past?” More silence. You give a strained smile; you really shouldn’t keep trying to talk over awkward silences. “Not ringing a bell, huh?”

Through clenched teeth she replied,“I believe the people you are looking for are through those doors on the left.”

She said the word people like it left a bad taste in her mouth. She obviously didn’t think too kindly of them.

“Great, thanks,” you replied, heading to the door she indicated.

You opened it, and to your surprise you saw no canvases, paint splatters, tin cans, or haphazard brushes littering the room. The walls and floors were a spotless white. A large, circular table was positioned in the center of the room, surrounded by sleek modern chairs and data pads on tripods. This didn’t look like your dad’s studio back home; a place where the remnants of unfinished projects were put on display for everyone to see and learn from. Here, you could already tell: making mistakes wasn’t an option. There was no room for error.

You returned your attention to what was in front of you, only to have three pairs of eyes meet yours.

The first pair belonged to a girl of medium height. She had long, slightly frazzled, blonde hair and piercing blue eyes that contrasted her pale skin. She jumped when you walked in, her face immediately lighting up when she saw you. The second pair belonged to a taller girl. She had warm, chestnut eyes that complemented her dark, sepia skin. Her hair framed her face in a fan of tight curls. She seemed to examine you carefully, squinting slightly, before turning back to her work. The final pair belonged to a boy of medium height. He had shaggy light brown hair and a tanned, terracotta complexion. He looked at you with curious hazel eyes, smirking ever so slightly.

The three of them looked to be about your age, somewhere in their 20's.

The blonde-haired girl ran over to you, pulling you away from your observations. “You must be the new girl!” she exclaimed. “I’m Rilea, your new best friend.”

You were taken aback by her enthusiastic and cheerful attitude; it wasn’t something you encountered very often on the Finalizer. You laughed nervously. “Oh, uhh… cool?”

The boy with the disheveled hair spoke up from the back of the room. “Don’t mind her, she has a new best friend each week.” He smirked at Rilea and she threw a box of tissues at him playfully.

“While that may be true,” she continued, turning to face you, “I can tell that you are going to be my favorite best friend.”

“That’s literally what you say to every single new person you meet,” the boy piped up again.

“For star's sake, Takoda, why do you have to be such a mudcrutch?!” Rilea shouted at him, frustrated.

You continued to observe in silence, still adjusting to the rapid shift of atmosphere in this room compared to the rest of the Finalizer.

You moved to go sit, finding an open seat next to the quiet, curly-haired girl. You gave her a small smile when you sat down, and she returned the favor, scooting her chair over to give you more room. Rilea, and the boy whose name apparently was Takoda, continued to argue like a couple of four year olds.

“Are they always like this?” you asked the girl seated next to you.

“Yup, pretty much,” she replied. “That is, of course, in between the times when they aren’t getting any work done… and the times when they still aren’t getting any work done.”

You laughed. “Well, at least one person here seems to have a level-head.”

“Make that two,” she said, giving you a smile. “My name is Akilah. What’s yours?”

You told her your full name before giving her your nickname, Wren, as well.

“Wren…” she pondered. “Not as in Kylo Ren, right?”

“No, no, no, stars, no,” you emphasized. “It’s the name of a- ” You paused, reconsidering. “I actually don’t know where it comes from, my friends just started calling me by it one day...”

Akilah stared at you intently for a few moments before Takoda shouted over at the two of you.

“Hey, you two aren’t gossiping about us now, are ya?”

You sighed, “Nope, just getting to know Akilah here.”

Rilea poked her head out from behind Takoda, “She's my best friend too!”

You mentally face-palmed and turned to fully face the group.

“So, this is the artist workspace?” you questioned, skeptically.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, I wouldn’t go that far as to say we are artists,” said Takoda.

You were confused. “But I thought-”

“You thought wrong. Here, you just follow the rules and instructions laid out for you. We are given colors, words, and images, and it’s simply our job to assemble it all into a neat poster or flyer for distribution.”

“Oh…” you replied, disappointed.

“I’m not even an artist,” he continued. “They just stuck me here after I was medically discharged from the trooper program. For the most part, everyone in this sector just got placed here because there was nothing else they could do”

“So why did they bother hiring me then?” you questioned. “If I’m gonna be honest, I’m used to a little more creative freedom back home. They could’ve chosen anyone for this job.”

“I don’t know,” Takoda replied. “Maybe they want their propaganda to look good for a change.” He smirked.

“Where did you say you were from again, bestie?” Rilea asked.

“Oh, I didn’t,” you replied. “I’m from Lothal.”

Immediately, each member of the team looked at each other, worried.

“Lothal…” Rilea repeated. “That’s one of the Order's targeted planets right now. I have a feeling that pretty soon we'll be distributing posters there. Maybe Hux thinks you can help reason with the people there?”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Akilah added. “First Order propaganda would be a lot easier to accept coming from a fellow citizen.”

You pondered their words. What they were saying was probably true: you were simply a tool to be used by the First Order. They didn’t care about your talent or passion; they just needed your image.

“Well, I don't know how helpful I'd be on that front,” you sighed, pausing. “So what is the project you are working on now?”

“We’ll know soon enough,” said Takoda. “Our fourth member should be returning soon with our new assignment.”

“Fourth member?” you questioned.

At that moment, the door swung open with a dramatic bang, revealing a tall, lanky boy with jet black hair and evergreen eyes. He was pale with light freckles speckling his face and arms. His eyes narrowed when they met yours, scrutinizing your presence.

“Look, here he is, ‘fun-sized Kylo’ himself,” Takoda quipped.

Rilea leaned towards you. “He claims that he adopted the whole ‘tormented soul, dramatic hair’ look before Ren even thought of it,” she snickered.

You were confused, but luckily Akilah came to your rescue.

“This is Soren,” she explained. “Our fourth member… Well, fifth, now.”

“Oh!” you replied, stretching out your hand for him to shake. “It’s nice to meet you I’m -”

“Irrelevant,” he interrupted bluntly, briskly brushing past you to sit at the back of the room.

You stood there, hand still outstretched, looking to the others for guidance.

Takoda spoke first, turning to face Soren. “Hey, laser brain, why don’t ya try being a little nicer to our newest member.”

“This is our newest member?” he responded, disapprovingly. “She doesn’t look like the First Order’s finest.”

“That’s because I’m not,” you interjected, defensive. “I’m from Lothal originally. Today is technically my first day with the Order.”

At the mention of your home planet, Soren visibly tensed, his fingers curling into tight fists. The other three looked nervously at each other; they knew something you didn’t.

Akilah, again, interrupted the tense silence. “We should probably get to work… What’s the new assignment Sor?”

Hearing her voice, he seemed to relax a little, pulling out a few papers with various sketches and color swatches.

“They want us to design posters directed at the people of Dantooine. The First Order is currently working to establish a blockade on the planet. It is our job to convince the natives to submit, while also showing them that they have the ability to contribute their own assets to our cause.”

You frowned, unsure of a few posters' ability to do such a thing. You were familiar with Dantooine; its history was deeply rooted in rebel allegiance. You doubted that a few pieces of paper could somehow shift the ingrained attitudes of thousands of people. But then again, you were an artist. And as an artist, it was your job to put blind faith into your work, simply hoping that others could see what you saw in it.

“How successful has this First Order propaganda been in the past?” you asked, genuinely curious.

Takoda laughed. “Not very. Usually, it just makes the citizens more angry. But that kind of works in favor of the Order: as soon as the rebels and their sympathizers become violent, whatever happens to them at the hands of the Order is then justified, so to speak.”

“What would happen if we tried to mix things up a bit? Like attempting a different style, color scheme, or whatever it may be, to make the posters more effective?” you suggested.

Suddenly serious, Takoda spoke. “No. We don’t do anything without the Order’s permission. Never. That’s our number one rule. We can mess around and make jokes all we want in here, but whatever finished product leaves this room has to be exactly what was requested of us.”

Something in Takoda’s voice made it seem like there was history behind this rule — history that didn't conclude with a happy ending. Looking around the room, you knew you were right. Everyone, except for Soren, was avoiding your gaze, choosing to stare at their shoes or the floor. Soren continued to bore into you with a death-glare, but your instincts told you he was like this with everyone and not to take it too personally.

“Yeah, I get it,” you responded. Soren looked at you sceptically. “Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. I’m on my last warning with General Hux — another mistake will pretty much guarantee my head a new home in the trash compactor.”

“Speaking of Hux, we are to report to him tomorrow with drafts,” Soren finally spoke up.

“Tomorrow?!” Rilea exclaimed.

“Yup,” Soren replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Of course he would pull something like this, giving us less than 24 hours notice...” Rilea muttered, irritated.

“Stars, I swear that man is 90% petulant child, 7% attempted scariness, and 3% toupee,” you responded.

This earned a chuckle from the group. Even Soren managed a smirk.

“Yeah, well, sadly, that petulant child has a big red button sitting under his bony finger that can destroy entire planets in the blink of an eye,” said Akilah, quietly. “So, we should probably get to work.”

“She’s right,” you say, desperate to end any talk of Hux. “Let’s start.”

And with that, the five of you began work on what was your first official project on the Finalizer. Akilah showed you how to accurately read the diagrams that the Order had provided. Rilea and Takoda attempted to work for a few minutes before devolving into yet another tissue paper fight. Soren sat quietly in the corner, working on the new project, glancing up every now and then at you and Akilah.

Despite the hectic menagerie of personalities that surrounded you, you were glad that you weren't stuck working with cold, robotic First Order employees like Ms. Stoney. You desperately wanted to ask your new friends about their backstories and how they came to be “artists” on the Finalizer, but Takoda and Rilea were busy stuffing tissues in each other’s ears, and Akilah and Soren seemed like the ‘work in silence’ types. You decided to settle with your own thoughts for now; it wasn’t as if you were lacking them.

It occurred to you that tomorrow you would have to face Hux again, the memory of what he sneered at you in the hallway this morning still fresh in your mind: Strike two.

You didn’t know what strike three would involve, but you definitely didn’t want to find out.

Unfortunately, you didn't get that lucky.

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

Previous || Masterlist || Next

[rnufharose]

Blood, Sweat, and Tears - Chapter 11

Words: 3.4k

Trigger Warnings: There will be blood, violence, mentally unstable behavior, implications of gang rape and sex trafficking, and murder. Please read at your discretion

︻デ═一 ♥

Sehun had been called out to do a last minute job. Ever since he murdered Jonghoon, a number of clans had been on the move, hoping to work their way into new territory or get their hands on unclaimed goods. The night was dark and moist, fog clouding the streets as the car made its way toward the pier near the Han River warehouses. Chanyeol was seated in the car with him, his hand on the wheel,

"How's the little beauty?" He asked the younger male with a smile. "Is she settled in alright?"

"She's settled in. As for alright, I'm not so sure she's completely alright with this idea," the raven-haired hitman rested his chin on his hand and looked out the window. "She's still frightened of me and I have a feeling she will be for awhile."

"Still scared huh...?" Chanyeol hummed, staring straight through the windshield. The first part of their plan was a success, but he was disappointed that she was keeping her distance. Even so, he could understand why. She was scared. "Maybe Baekhyun and I can see her after her. And Minseok hyung too. Seeing us interact with you will most likely put her at ease."

"It could work and maybe more time with Vivi," Sehun began to think over ways of getting her to break out of her shell. "Just make sure to keep work related topics out of the conversation. She's still a bit shocked over her family beginning associated with this kind of work."

"That can be arranged, and as for you," the older male smirked before pulling up near the FT syndicate's territory, ready to seize it. "Why not use your charms on her? We all know the women at the cabarets we went to can't resist your eye smile... but that would require her looking up at you... we need her to look at you first." He stopped the car and opened the dashboard, pulling out his glock. "Minseok hyung and Baekhyun should be here already."

"I'll find a way to get her to look at me, but it won't be by force. That would only complicate things more," Sehun pulled out his gun with the tally mark etchings, reloading ammo before tucking it into the pocket inside his suit jacket.

Kim Minseok--or as his friends call him, Xiumin--was standing beside a building, his cat eyes scanning the area as he waited for Chanyeol and Sehun to arrive. He was the man responsible for all the coffee imports that came in. Ever since he joined EXO in his younger years, he had helped Suho's father accumulate so much money, and he was entrusted to protect him once Suho inherited the family business.

With him was Baekhyun, who had a wicked look in his eyes as he turned over the silver handgun with a smirk. This look was much different than when he was in the estate with Chen, being mischievous and having a laugh. "Yah, Baekhyun-ah... put the gun away. Don't take it out until we move in..."

"I'm only admiring it. Look how pretty is shines in the light," Baekhyun remarked, looking over the gun in his hand. "Remember, I'm Hyun when I'm out here, Minseok hyung."

"Early as always I see. Some things just never change."

Xiumin heard Sehun's voice, looking away from the younger male and toward the other as well as Chanyeol when they approached, "You know I'm punctual. Junmyeon told me what happened. You took out Jonghoon of the FT Syndicate?" He questioned.

"It wasn't my intention at first, but the guy couldn't keep his mouth shut and decided to give away all the information he had before any of the real fun could begin." The hitman chuckled, remembering the night he cornered the blabbering coward before he could get his felthybhands on Haneul.

"And the girl?" He wonder while they walked into the other syndicate's territory, hiding behind another building where an import was coming in. "She's still uneasy about all this, I'm guessing?"

Chanyeol's eyes were on Baekhyun, smirking a bit when he saw that deranged look in his eyes. He was Hyun right now—while he was out taking another territory. Once this was over, he would be back to being the regular Baekhyun who smiled and giggled brightly, "Nice gun. Is it new?"

"You noticed!" Baekhyun grinned with excitement. "Thought I should treat the boys with a present for our surprise arrival."

"You're always willing to go the extra mile, Baekhyunnie," The other male said, leaning against the back of the building with his gun out. The leader of the FT Clan, Oh Wonbin, was immersed in a conversation with one of his men, his expression slightly contorted. He was a man in his thirties with black hair and tanned skin, his suit blending with the night as anger radiated from him. It seemed he had figured out that Jonghoon had been killed.

"She's kept herself locked in her room. I told her the entire place was hers as well, but I guess she just hasn't warmed up to it yet," Sehun joined Xiumin in their hiding position. "Chanyeol hyung and I were discussing a way in which we think can break the ice a little."

"All this waiting makes me anxious. Can we go now?" Baekhyun asked with wide eyes, on the verge of going trigger happy if he didn't step out and begin his assault.

"Yah! Not yet!" The eldest scolded the shorter male, holding up his gun before addressing Sehun. "If you mean us meeting her, I'm more than alright with that." He looked toward Wonbin, his brows furrowed and his eyes narrow, listening to him yell.

"Find the bastard who killed him!" The man yelled. "If they mean to start a war, we'll give them one!"

"Yes sir!" His men exclaimed.

"Sehun-ah," Chanyeol muttered. "I think you pissed him off... not that I care though. I would have killed Jonghoon too..."

"He crossed the lines between zones and then went after Haneul. He got what was coming to him," the younger male spoke coldly, his blood boiling slightly. "The rest of this clan is about to know the same fate seeing as Wonbin had taken an interest in her."

"We move in and take this territory. We don't use our guns unless we have to," Xiumin said, sprinting away from the building and running up to one of Wonbin's men, punching him across the face and throwing his head against the garbage dump. He watched the man's body slump to the ground, and he turned to face the other men in the FT Syndicate.

"It's EXO!" Another man cried out.

"EXO is here!"

Chanyeol moved away from the building, eyeing the other criminals with their suits, rings and tattoos, all holding metal batons in their hands. He chuckled darkly and cracked his knuckles, "I'm going to have fun with you all..."

"Yahoo!" Baekhyun exclaimed, chasing down a group of men with a psychotic look in his eye. He punched one in the gut, then kneed him square in the jaw when he doubled over in pain.

Wonbin looked between them, watching his men as they ran into the fray. It was his ten men against four, which meant they were outnumbered. Even so, he knew EXO was always a problem, especially because of their hitman. He would be difficult to kill, and paired with his apathy, that made him someone who wouldn't hesitate to take a life. Wonbin took out a set of brass knuckles, "Looks like I know who killed Jonghoon." He said as Sehun walked quickly toward him.

"You know, you should teach your men to keep their big mouths shut," Sehun stated plainly. "I would have kept him alive, but he just had to blabber. He would have been well taken care of with us."

"Like I'll believe that. EXO's always been an obstacle for the FT group," he sneered, taking his stance, his fists up. "Now that a survivor of the Cho Clan has risen, my Clan is in danger. Jonghoon could have taken the girl if you hadn't showed up. We could have had so much fun with her! We could have sold her off for a pretty penny, maybe made her into our slave."

About a minute into fighting, the men that we're against Chanyeol were on the ground, groaning with bruised eyes and broken noses. "Aish... you got my suit all bloody," he frowned, looking down at his clothes, stained with grime and crimson. "Do you know how hard it is to get blood stains off of clothes?"

Xiumin was finished on his end, but another round came running toward him. He took his stance, holding up his fists before he saw three of them holding out knives. "You really want to play dirty, huh...?"

Baekhyun looked up from the man who he had pinned on the ground with his arm held tightly behind his back. "Oh look! More people to play with." He harshly pushed the guy's arm further until a pop emitted from it. The man under him screamed with agony, laying on the ground and breathing heavily, fatigue taking over his body, and he joined Xiumin in his fight against the next wave of opponents.

He glanced at the younger male and cracked his neck, "No wonder you've been hyper today," he said as one of the men with the knives came at him, and he dodged swiftly, pushing his arm away and landing a punch to his torso.

"I haven't had a good fight in ages!" Baekhyun chuckled darkly, finding a slim metal rod on the ground picking it up and holding like a bat. "So, who wants to pitch first?" One of the men charged him. He took a step to the side before swinging the rod and making contact with the man's side.

Xiumin executed a roundhouse kick, the man he was fighting stumbling backward, and Chanyeol jumped up to kick his back, and he fell forward, falling to their feet. "That went well," he wiped away the blood from his split lip.

"And Baekhyunnie is having fun too," Chanyeol said as he watched him swing at others with a rod before yelling. "Yah! Leave some for us! Don't have fun without us!"

"Well then, stop being slow and find your own man!" He shouted before taking a hit to the face. The man who had punched him laughed, pleased with himself until Baekhyun slowly turned back to look at him. He wiped the blood from his busted and swollen lip, looking at it briefly before turning his wicked eyes back on the man, followed by a crazed smile. His grin spread further across his face as he raised the rod in his hand before swiftly bringing it down on the side of the man's knees, throughly dislocating it. The man crumbled, prompting Baekhyun to strike in the center of his back. He laughed maniacally, continuing to beat the rod against the man's back, not once ceasing until a loud crack was heard.

Meanwhile, Sehun had been attacking FT's leader, aiming a fist low and under Wonbin's ribs, hoping to hit far enough under to shock him long enough to get another blow in."Like hell I'll let that happen!" Sehun protested.

Wonbin staggered, watching the hitman close in to give him another attack, but he grabbed his fist before he could, pushing it back with a strong grunt. He cackled, finding joy in taunting the younger male, "All tied up with no way to help her! You'll hear her begging and pleading for me to stop! Who knows? Maybe I'll have my men have a go at her. How does that sound?!"

That's when Sehun snapped. He lunged at Wonbin, fist flying with the intent to break his jaw. He'd had enough of sitting by and listening to him talk. It was time for action. Every word, every suggestion, every sick, twisted thought that came into the other man's mind had him reeling. He wasn't sure why he was losing it but Sehun was now blinded by his anger and hatred. He would kill this man for even thinking about using Haneul as some slave. It was like he was seeing red, all sense blocked out as he continuously attacked, his fists zooming through the air, creating bruises and drawing blood from the FT Clan's leader.

Wonbin fell back several times, attempting to block each attack, but it was proving to be difficult. He knew EXO's hitman was deadly but he didn't think he was senseless. It was like he turned into a monster who wouldn't stop until he was dead. The pain raked through his body, fresh bruises littering his face and spitting blood when it fell from his mouth. Crying with pain, he couldn't move his jaw—Sehun had successfully broke it—more blood spilling past his lips. He looked up at the raven-haired with fear, crawling backward.

"Now look what you've done it. You've gone and made me the bad guy," Sehun sighed wiping his hand across his face along with the bruise forming on it. He looked back down at him and walked forward.

"Y-You're goddamn crazy!" He sobbed as he held his jaw, his words unclear and coming out in slurs, but Sehun was able to tell what he was saying. "Junmyeon is going to pay for sending you here!" The man barked, and suddenly, a gunshot sounded, but the bullet touched the ground by the younger male's feet.

Across the street, another male appeared, his gun poised with a string of smoke rising from the barrel. He had silvery blonde hair, his narrow eyes resting on the other hitman as he approached his leader. This was Hongki and he was the hitman of the FT Syndicate.

"Kill him, and I put a bullet in you." He said calmly.

Sehun turned his attention away from Wonbin to glare at Hongki. Now that there was another hitman here, things could turn uglier than they already were. Another mob war was something he wanted to prevent. If this continued, more innocent people could die and Ha-Neul would have a bigger target painted on her back. He breathed through his nose and put his gun away, the silence of the pier surrounding him. Of course, Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and Xiumin has successfully dealt with the other men, and that meant this was more than enough to get the message across. However, in the long run, they had failed their assignment and he would have to tell tomorrow when he visited him.

"We're done here," Sehun said gently, turning away and walked toward the car, and his friends followed close behind, keeping their distance when they saw the livid glint in his dark gaze.

︻デ═一 ♥

Haneul woke up from her nap, finding the apartment was silent, her new bedroom dark except for the city lights that illuminated Seoul's skyline. She was warm and the bed was still very soft, and though the feeling was pleasant, she was disappointed that this wasn't a nightmare.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes, getting off of the bed and tiptoeing toward the door. She closed her hand around the doorknob slowly, opening the door and looking at the hallway. The light was on, and so were the lights of the rest of the apartment. She stepped out, closing the door behind her quietly and looked around, opening the door across from her.

She was greeted with Sehun's room, simple and furnished with a bed and dresser, along with a walk-in closet that held all of his expensive clothes. There was another wide window that beheld the city as well as a small basket in the corner with a soft blanket and cushions. She assumed Vivi slept there.

She closed the door to his room and found the bathroom with its porcelain toilet, large shower, white sink and sparkling mirror. The towels were rolled up in the shelf neatly and another hung near the shower, the material soft to the touch, matching the warm bathroom mats. Everything is so expensive, she thought as she walked into the living room.

The door to Sehun's study wide open, meaning he was out. Breathing a sigh of relief, she was able to relax her shoulders, walking into his study and looking over the many books that lined his shelf. She found a leather-bound Bible, a Talmud with intricate designs, and many novels in English, Mandarin, and Korean. There was a laptop on his desk, a picture with Sehun and his brothers, and the chair was made of fine leather as well.

Haneul's stomach began to grumble softly, licking her lips in hunger. She left his office and walked toward the kitchen to find something, her soft steps making Vivi's ears twitch. He had been laying by the coffee table until he found her exploring the penthouse. He stood and walked toward her, his tongue out.

"Hey, boy," Her voice was soft, kneeling before him and stroking his fur, managing to smile back at him half-heartedly. "Your Master isn't home, huh...? Are you hungry too?"

Vivi wagged his fluffy tail that reminded her of a fluffy cloud. He opened his mouth almost like he was smiling.

She giggled to herself, tilting her head, "I'll take that as a yes," she stood back up and searched the cabinets until she found his dog food, filling his bowl with the appropriate amount of food as well as his water tin, setting it to the side. "Eat up... and now," she crossed her arms and frowned, unsure of what to make. "I have to find something to eat too..."

The brunette opened the fridge, and there wasn't much besides milk, eggs, and rice cakes. She sighed heavily and grabbed the eggs, opening another cabinet and finding the last pack of ramyeon, and just her luck, there was leftover rice. In the next half hour, she had taken the rice out of the rice cooker, placing it into the bowl with cooked ramyeon and a soft boiled egg, grabbing her chopsticks and sitting at the breakfast counter, satiating her hunger.

It wasn't the home-cooked meal she usually made for herself but it would have to do. She would have to find some way to ask Sehun to stock up on food. From what she gathered as she searched the kitchen previously, he probably didn't cook at all. It made her wonder if he even ate a proper meal.

Why am I suddenly so concerned? She thought, quickly pushing away any thoughts of him, reminding herself that she wasn't free—that he was a part of a dangerous gang. She didn't know how she would like this, constantly hiding from him and waiting for him to leave just so she could eat and relax. This wasn't living at all. Even though he said everything in this apartment was hers as well, she still felt like a prisoner.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of a key pushing into the lock, and she froze in place, her chopsticks slack in her hand when the front door opened.

"Haneul, I'm back," Sehun called out as he slowly pushed the door open. He walked inside, Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and Xiumin behind him, and he looked toward the kitchen where Vivi had finished his food, sitting with his tail wagging and his doggy smile on his face. "Where is...?" The raven-haired male wondered before he saw the half-finished bowl of rice and ramyeon. She stood beside the breakfast counter, holding her hands in front of her with her eyes at her feet.

"So that's her," Baekhyun said, his lips pursed and his eyes wide as he took in the girl from head to toe.

"Ah... she's so pretty," Xiumin remarked, smiling toward her affectionately. "And she looks so tiny..."

Sehun was glad she wasn't hiding, but he was still disheartened since she didn't look up at him, even more so when he saw the food she was eating. He truly thought he was keeping her here as a prisoner.

[sidhelives]

Leather and Lace

Fen'Harem Gift Exchange 2020

For Jukkari 💕

Full text under Read More

They had spent months beating around the bush. Months of short, professional meetings punctuated by playful jabs and coy smiles. There was something there, even if no one else could see it, she felt it. Like flint and steel they struck against each other and made sparks. They had spoken about it once, agreed that the sentiment behind the flirting was mutually genuine, and… nothing had changed.

Julseithe wanted it to change. She wanted to cup that precious face between her hands and find out what her lips tasted like. She wanted to share a moment that wasn't surrounded by dozens of other people watching her, worshiping her.

She didn't want to be the Inquisitor and Scout Harding, she wanted to be Julseithe and Lace.

Seeing her in the courtyard, Julseithe made the sudden decision that today would be the day it changed. She didn't know how long the scouts would be in Skyhold: they were always moving, brushing in and out of the fortress with more regularity than she did herself, which said a lot. It had to be today, and it had to be now, before she lost her nerve.

Her legs felt heavy and awkward as she crossed the yard, like a newborn halla learning to walk, and she could feel her heart pounding against her ribs. She opened her mouth to call out a greeting and found her tongue bone dry. Before she could wet it and try again, Lace noticed her and waved. Julseithe saw a brightness come to the dwarf's eyes that she wished beyond hope was because of her.

"Scout Harding. Good to see you somewhere not infested with Venatori for a change," Julseithe managed, finding her voice.

"I do need the occasional break, and the free drinks are nice." Lace grinned, nodding her head towards the Herald's Rest.

She had such a beautiful smile. Her eyes sparkled like dew covered grass at dawn. "Would you care for one now?" Julseithe plowed ahead, not allowing herself time to think about the words spilling from her lips. "Since it's my treat either way."

If the invitation surprised Lace, she hid it well. She was, Julseithe reminded herself, the Inquisition's lead scout, it would be more strange if she did visibly react.

"I think I would. Thanks, Inquisitor."

"You can call me Julseithe you know." She spoke too quickly, her nerves creeping up on her.

"Oh? How about Jules?"

"You can call me whatever you want." Julseithe bit her tongue. Too much.

Lace chuckled. "Well alright then, Jules. Shall we go in for that drink?"

She was sure her cheeks were pink, she could feel the heat radiating from them. "Let's." She got the door, holding it open for the scout, and they wordlessly drifted to a table set into a nook in the wall. It was the closest thing to privacy the tavern contained.

"You a mead or an ale woman?" Lace asked as Julseithe sat.

"Mead. Thanks," she responded.

With a curt nod, the dwarf turned and headed for the bar. This left Julseithe alone with her thoughts, which was quite possibly the worst-case scenario. Anxiety ricocheted inside her, colliding with the butterflies in her stomach and making her momentarily nauseous. Get it together Lavellan, she chided herself. It was only Harding after all. They had flirted and joked together dozens of times before, this was no different.

Except that it was different. Different was the entire point.

"Here we are." Lace plopped the full tankard in front of Julseithe with a clank that made her jump. The dwarf laughed apologetically. "Sorry! Didn't mean to startle you. Can't really figure out how to turn off the sneaky anymore."

Julseithe returned a shaky laugh, uncomfortable with her own discomfort. She was the mother-fucking Inquisitor, this shouldn't be this hard. "What are you drinking?"

Lace slid into the seat opposite her and shrugged. "I'm an ale woman myself. Mead is just too, I don't know, sweet for me I guess."

You're sweet enough all on your own anyway. The words were there, they were perfect, but they stuck to Julseithe's tongue like raw nut butter. She cleared her throat. "So how are things going? I haven't seen you since the Hissing Wastes."

"Well, I'm still cleaning sand out of places it has no right being." Lace smirked. "But good otherwise. What about you?"

"Me? Oh, I've been keeping busy. Even when I'm not out closing Rifts and fighting dragons, Josephine keeps me busy with diplomatic meetings."

Lace made a face of disgust. "That sounds worse."

Julseithe laughed, some of her unease receding. "It is. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the Orlesians. No matter how many I meet I never get used to the masks."

"It's weird, isn't it? Like they're always hiding something from you. How do you have a real conversation with someone when you know they're keeping something from you?"

Lace's voice was casual, but Julseithe's anxiety spiked. She laughed, hoping it didn't sound as uncomfortable as she felt, and took a drink, hiding her expression with the tankard. She wasn't keeping anything from Lace, for Mythal's sake she was trying to tell her. Her diversion backfired as Julseithe choked on the thick, sweet mead in her haste and she ended up sputtering like a fool, one fist held against her mouth.

"You okay there, Inquisitor?" Lace tipped her head to one side.

"I'm fine," Julseithe coughed again. "Completely fine. What happened to Jules?"

A flush crept up Lace's cheeks. "Right. Jules. Old habits I guess." She rubbed the back of her neck in a way that reminded Julseithe of Cullen's awkward manner.

The blush made Julseithe's heart race. Do it now.

"There was something I wanted to talk to you about."

Lace recovered her composure, the blush fading, seemingly relieved for the apparent change in subject. "Of course, what's on your mind?"

"I know you said we should talk more about… things after Corypheus was defeated…" Julseithe took a deep breath before plowing ahead. "But I was thinking that we could talk about them sooner than that, like maybe now, or maybe not now but soon, just the two of us."

All the color seemed to drain from Lace's face. "Like… a date?"

Julseithe backpedaled as quickly as she could. "Only if you wanted to, of course. This is fine, just talking about not that, I don't want to put you on the spo—"

"Yes." Lace cut her off, color rushing back to her face until she appeared plum, washing away her freckles.

"Oh," Julseithe caught her breath, leaning back slightly. "Great."

"Where did you have in mind?" Lace didn't look at her as she asked, eyes trained deep into her tankard, and the blush had not faded.

Shit.

Julseithe had not considered that far out.

"I, well, I hadn't actually gotten that far," she blurted honestly, feeling her face approaching a similar hue to Lace's.

Lace peeked over the edge of her tankard at the other woman. "Maybe we could just, take a walk?" She gave an awkward shrug. "The ramparts are usually deserted."

Julseithe blinked at her, dumbfounded. "You mean now?"

Lace nodded, making the whispy curls around her face bob merrily. "I have nowhere to be."

Don't lose steam now Julseithe.

"That sounds perfect." Her voice sounded sure. Hearing it almost made her believe it. She pushed up from her seat too hard, making the chair bump roughly into the wall causing them both to start. A chuckle bubbled out of her throat.

The great Inquisitor, Herald of the Illustrious Andraste, making a fool of herself over a pretty girl.

The laughter was contagious and Lace's blush faded as they both fell into peals of giggles.

"Sorry about that," Julseithe offered, wiping her eyes.

Lace laughed again as she got to her feet. "Don't worry about it. Now when I trip over my own feet and fall on my face it won't seem so dramatic."

They left the tavern, silent except for the anxious buzzing in Julseithe's ears. She cleared her throat to break the strange quiet, which drew Lace's eye. "Do you really think you'd trip?"

"Nerves turn my feet to nugs," she offered as explanation.

Julseithe slowed her pace as they began to climb the stairs. "You're more nervous around me than when you skulk past enemy lines?"

Lace laughed, her perfect teeth catching the sun and making Julseithe's heart flutter. "No competition. The worst a bear or rogue Templar could do is kill me."

"What could I do that's worse than that?" They reached the rampart's peak and, clear of the walls, a gust of wind pushed Julseithe's nut-brown hair across her face. Sputtering, she brushed it aside to find Lace looking at her with a sweet, warm smile.

"That for one." She laughed, then sobered. "Or the way you chew on your lip when you think. The way your hands flutter around your dagger sheaths when you're nervous. You smile and everyone around you can't help but smile too. A million little things that stop my heart."

Julseithe was so red her mouth couldn't find words, she gaped at the dwarf, lips opening and closing before she swallowed hard and found her voice. "You're much better at this than me," she admitted.

"I've been… preparing for a while I guess you could say." Lace's smile was a mixture of sheepish pride

"You're definitely better at that than me." Julseithe remarked and they both laughed.

As Lace had guessed the ramparts were empty except for the two of them, and Julseithe found herself chewing on her lip as they walked. "Could I— I mean, would you be alright if I—" she floundered. Lace had known exactly what to say and she couldn't get out a whole sentence. "Creators save me. May I hold your hand?"

"I'd like that." She offered her hand.

Julseithe knew she looked like an idiot as she took the smaller woman's hand, wearing what Varric called her "shit-eating grin," but she wasn't much concerned with how she looked. Lace's hand bore the telltale calluses of bow work but between these rough patches was soft as silk.

"I haven't been preparing," Julseithe admitted. "So I don't think I can be exactly as eloquent as you were…" She glanced down at Lace's face and found her smiling encouragingly. "But I— well, I just think you're the kindest, prettiest, most interesting person I've ever met. I miss you when I'm gone, or you're gone, or even when we're both here but not together. I love your eyes, and your freckles, and your smile. I think about you all the time, I want to kiss you—"

She inhaled sharply and clenched her eyes shut, feet stalling midstep.

She'd said too much.

Dirthamen take her, she should have known she'd flub it up.

"I think you should."

Julseithe's eyes fluttered open in surprise. Lace was pink, one foot tucked behind the opposite ankle, nervously rubbing up and down.

"You do?" Her heart was hammering in her ears.

Lace nodded quickly. "I don't know if it's really allowed, you're the Inquisitor after all, and I'm, well I'm nobody, but I'd like to kiss you too—"

Julseithe cut off Lace's words, leaning down to press their lips together. She let her eyes drift closed and Lace squeezed her hand in surprise or excitement, but she didn't pull back.

Her lips were so soft and she smelled like fresh rain.

Julseithe relaxed into the kiss, letting her free hand drift up to cup the woman's face, thumb trailing ever so softly over her cheek.

It was better than she imagined, and she had imagined it often.

Reluctantly Julseithe broke the kiss and looked into Lace's clear green eyes. "How was that?"

"Better than I imagined," Lace replied with a breathy chuckle.

Julseithe couldn't stop the laughter that spilled from her throat, water coming to her eyes.

"What's so funny?" Lace tugged on her arm, blushing again.

"I was thinking exactly the same thing." Julseithe confessed.

The slight frown creasing Lace's brow cleared and she echoed Julseithe's laughter. "Do you think it gets better?"

"I think we should definitely try to find out."

[nothingbutfangirlsmut]

The Girl Out of Time

Pairing: Bucky x Reader & Sam x Reader

Rating: Story will be overall MATURE but not every chapter. There will be strong language, talk of both mental and physical abuse, some good ole angst, and some eventual smut once the story reaches that point.

Chapter 9

It didn't take long for me to get back to the apartment. The door was still open and Kate along with two others were standing in the hall. She stepped away from the men when she saw me.

"How is he?" She asked with clear concern.

I just shook my head then pushed past her. When I reached the open door to our apartment one of the men stepped in front of me.

"You can't go in there." He said sternly.

"I live here. I can do as I please." I said coldly.

The man just looked down at me with hard eyes. I huffed out a breath of frustration then grabbed the man around the waist. I picked him up with ease then sat him back down to the side out of my way. I walked inside the apartment quickly grabbing two backpacks. I stuffed some of Steve's clothes in one then I did the same with my clothes in the other bag. I threw them both over a shoulder then left. I ignored the two agents trying to talk to me as I left.

It was late morning now. The sun would be up shortly. I decided to take the leap and see if Sam was on a run this morning. We lived close to the area we usually ran. I stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. I could see someone running in the distance. I stayed on the steps waiting for him to make his way back towards me. It was a good 20 minutes before he got close.

I picked up the bags I had throwing them back over my shoulder. I jogged down the stairs then stood in the middle of his running path. He noticed me immediately and started to slow down until he stood right in front of me.

"What do I owe this pleasure? Not looking for a race I hope." He smiled at me.

"No, I was just hoping I'd find you here." I said matter of factly.

The sun was coming up on the horizon painting the sky a light pink.

"Oh, so you were looking for me?" He asked raising a brow at me.

"Steve asked me to find you. Somethings going on or about to happen. All I know is he wanted me to grab some clothes then find you then wait on him to call." I explained quickly.

"Alright, you hungry?" He asked as we both started walking.

"Starving actually" I chuckled lightly.

We walked back to his apartment which wasn't far. He unlocked the door then gestured for me to go in first. Once inside I took in my surrounds. It was a nice place. Well decorated and very clean. There was subtle hints of his military background. I was able to spot them due to living with Steve. He did the same things.

Sam was in front of me suddenly. He was smiling ear to ear. He leaned closer to me. My breath caught in my chest. My heart started pumping faster. His grin turned into a smirk as he grabbed the bags from my hands. He winked then walked away down the hallway to my right.

He was back in the room a few seconds later. I followed him into the kitchen as he started grabbing a few things.

"Water?" He asked holding a bottle in his hand.

I nodded. He tossed the bottle to me then grabbed another for himself.

"I put your bags in the bedroom. You can crash in there. I'll take the couch." Sam said as he worked.

"What? No! I'm not taking your bed Sam. The couch is totally fine." I told him waving my hands dismissively.

He chuckled and glanced up at me.

"I know I don't look like it but I am a gentleman. No way in hell I'm gonna let a pretty lady such as yourself crash on the couch." He explained while smiling down at the food he was cooking.

"How chivalrous" I chuckled.

Sam had me pull two plates out from his cabinet and set them on the counter. He made us both a plate then sat at the small table in the corner.

"Thank you for the food." I told him.

"Anytime gorgeous" he winked at me.

We were silent for a few minutes as we both ate.

"So how do you know Captain America?" He asked leaning back in his seat.

"We grew up together." I stated simply.

"Wait, you're from the 1940s?" He asked in surprise.

"I told you when we met I was in the same situation as Steve." I chuckled lightly.

"That's not what I thought you meant." He shook his head.

"Yea, I was born in 1920. I lived in Brooklyn where I met Steve when we were kids. We were inseparable after that." I informed him

"Wow, so that makes you what? 94 years old?" He asked with a humorous grin.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you not to mention a lady's age?" I asked smirking at him.

"Can I at least say you look incredibly stunning for your age." He smiled.

I couldn't help but laugh. His energy was very infectious.

"So what happened to you?" He asked leaning on the table.

"Not sure really. Last thing I remember is walking home from my volunteer shift in May of 1946. I was kidnapped by someone. Then I woke up here in 2013. It's hard to believe I've already been here for almost a year."

"Why would someone want to kidnap you?" Sam asked.

"Not sure. Still trying to figure that one out. They also altered my memories and froze my in a mountain in the Swiss Alps. There's a lot of questions I have but no answers."

"They altered your memories?" He asked looking very intrigued.

I nodded.

"How?"

"Don't know. My sister and Steve have both told me about a man I was friends with along with Steve. I apparently had feelings for him. There's even photos of us together but I have no memory of him. I only know his name because of Gracie and Steve." I explained.

"This must be really hard for you." He said simply.

"Not really. I've come to feel more comfortable in this time than I was back then. There were so many rules and so much expected of women. They had to find a good husband to take care of them. They had to take care of the house, have kids and raise them, and cook and clean. I never saw that kind of life for myself. I wanted to support myself. I never wanted to depend on a man. Now, I can literally do whatever I want. Nothing is expected of me."

Sam just stared at me like he was seeing me for the first time. His face broke out into a wide grin then he chuckled. Sam took the plates and laid them in the sink. We moved from the table to the couch.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked turning to look at him.

"Of course" he answered turning to face me.

"You keep calling me pretty lady. Is that because you actually think that or you're just being nice?" I asked trying to hide the blush creeping up my face.

He chuckled lightly.

"I think you're gorgeous. You're very interesting. Normally I don't go for woman with such a large age gap between us but I think I can look past it this once." He grinned at me.

I laughed playfully slapping his arm.

"I'm a science experiment. You know I'm just like Steve right?" I asked him.

"Super soldier?" He asked raising a brow.

I nodded. He scooted closer to me. His leg was brushing against mine. Just that small amount of contact had my heart racing. What is it about him that keeps making me so nervous?

"I'll just lay this out there. I'm only slightly intimidated by the fact you can easily bench press me without breaking a sweat but there's just something about you. You're beautiful and a total mystery it seems. I would love to be given the chance to figure you out." His smile was warm and charming.

"And what would happen if you figured the mystery of me out?" I asked while trying to keep my heart from jumping out of my body.

"I honestly don't think I ever could solve it completely. You seem the type that would always be full of surprises and always keep me on my toes." He chuckled softly.

"Would you like to go grab some coffee or something?" I asked hesitantly.

I hope he would catch on to what I was trying to ask. I've never done this before.

"Willow Roffe, are you asking me on a date?" He questioned narrowing his eyes while trying to hide his smirk.

"Yes" I said quietly.

His smile grew as he chuckled. My stomach was turning into a mess making my want to throw up the breakfast I had just ate.

"I would love to." He finally said.

I was suddenly overcome with a happiness I had never felt before. I was suddenly excited and nervous and very aware of how close he was to me. He stood up and reached his hand out to me. I grabbed his hand letting him pull me to my feet.

"Why don't we go for a walk?" He asked still holding my hand.

I nodded unsure if I could actually form words in that moment. He smiled and pulled me out of his apartment. Once we were outside he didn't let go of my hand instead he tangled his fingers around mine and squeezed lightly.

I was a smiling like a fool as we walked around the city just chatting and getting to know each other better. I had to remember to thank Steve later for sending me to find Sam. After a while of walking we stopped in a park and sat on one of the benches under a tree.

"So, there's something you should know." I said quietly.

"What?" He asked looking down at me.

"I've never done anything like this before." I confessed.

"You've never been on a date?" He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Never. I was always with Steve getting into some kind of trouble. I never took the time to be interested in anyone. Unless you want to count the man I don't remember." I chuckled.

"Nah, we won't count him." Sam laughed.

Sam placed his fingers under my chin. He moved my head for me to lock my eyes with his.

"So, if you've never been on a date before does that mean you've never kissed anyone?" He asked glancing down to my lips.

"I don't recall ever kissing someone." I said quietly.

He smiled making my heart leap into my throat. He leaned close as he watched me carefully. It felt like he was taking an eternity that I didn't want to wait on. I reached up to him closing the distance between us. My lips pressed against his and my body came alive. It was like everything was brand new. Every nerve I had was at attention and screaming for joy under my skin. Sam pulled back leaving his forehead against mine. I felt breathless.

"How was your first kiss?" He asked softly as he brushed a strand of my hair behind my ear.

I didn't answer him. I couldn't. There was no words I could use to describe how I felt. Instead, I grabbed his face and pulled him back to me. The kiss was harder this time as I seemed to gain a confidence I'd never felt before. Sam was the one to pull away again.

"Why don't we head back to my apartment. I could use some lunch." He smiled down at me.

I nodded standing to follow him.

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Masterlist