#it’ll be the last one for the piercing studio for now
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the-travelling-witch · 2 years ago
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i might have the time to start sth new this evening, if you could pick a draft you’d like to see which one would it be? (as always, no promises though ^^;)
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drak3n · 11 months ago
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TATTOO ARTIST/PIERCER!CHOSO
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CONTENT WARNINGS: unestablished relationship, smut, public sex, mentions of body modifications, cunnilingus, implied blowjob at the end, choso has a prince albert-, tongue- and a vertical eyebrow piercing
sena’s note: i know there’s a lot of tattoo artist choso already but i folded — anywaysss up next is my man gojo 🖤
MINI-SERIES MASTERLIST
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➩ TATTOO ARTIST!CHOSO who was very well-known for his talent despite being so young; who was always pretty gifted with his hands and used peoples’ skin like a canvas, gracing it with the prettiest designs, simple and small, or detailed and large
➩ TATTOO ARTIST!CHOSO who shared a studio with a few fellow tattoo artists and piercers, but had a goal of having his own studio someday
➩ TATTOO ARTIST!CHOSO who had just finished a 5h back piece on his last client and walked towards the front desk to retrieve his cigarettes and take a break, just for his hooded, brown eyes to set on you
➩ TATTOO ARTIST!CHOSO who saw you standing next to your friend and encouraging her to hand in her data sheet for her tattoo, and who watched as your friend was immediately guided into one of the rooms by a tattoo artist, just to leave you all by yourself
➩ TATTOO ARTIST!CHOSO who came back from smoking minutes later to see you sitting on one of the leather seats, flipping through pages of the shop’s magazine that showed many different designs of tattoos, and also piercings
“you want to get anything done?”
nearly flinching at the cold voice sounding a couple of feet away from you, your eyes met choso’s, who was leaning against the wall, revealing fully tattooed forearms through his loose-fitted t-shirt. he looked very… unique, to say the least.
“oh, no, i’m just waiting for a friend,” you smiled kindly, “she’s getting tattooed right now. think it’ll take some time.” you felt guilty that you stared at the man like he was some kind of alien. his features were just really captivating, the plethora of tattoos peeking out from his short sleeves and from the collar leaving little to the imagination that they continued even beneath that shirt.
his eyebrow tattoo shone under the light, but when he opened his mouth, your jaw nearly dropped at the sight of a tongue piercing.
you suddenly remembered what they said about guys with tongue piercings, and felt deeply ashamed about getting such thoughts about a hot stranger.
“come,” he invited you towards the room he usually worked in, “you’ll get bored here. you’ll get a piercing on the house.” he didn’t know why he offered that. maybe, just maybe it was because he didn’t want the other piercers and tattoo artists to charm you first.
at the end of the day, you left the studio with your freshly tattooed friend and a pierced nose.
➩ TATTOO ARTIST!CHOSO who hoped you’d walk in again, and whose shoulders nearly slumped in disappointment upon seeing your friend coming in by herself a few days later to get her tattoo checked, without your company
➩ TATTOO ARTIST!CHOSO who — totally on accident — saw that the studio had been tagged in multiple stories on instagram, one of which being yours, a spontaneous picture taken of your side profile that showcased the gem he had pierced into your cute nose
➩ TATTOO ARTIST!CHOSO who absolutely didn’t follow you after that, just to see mere minutes later that you did, and before he could stop himself, he followed you back
➩ TATTOO ARTIST!CHOSO who really wasn’t the best texter, which left you wondering if you should even try and talk to him at all; whose eyes went wide in surprise when you waltzed into the studio to get your thigh tattooed weeks later
➩ TATTOO ARTIST!CHOSO who showed you that same day how it felt to get eaten out by someone with a tongue piercing
“c—choso… fuck— what if someone—”
your hand clamped in front of your mouth to stifle a moan threatening to force itself out when the ball of metal on choso’s wet muscle bumped against your bundle of nerves. you were seated on the couch he’d previously tatted on, both of your bare legs thrown over his shoulders as he feasted on your delicious pussy.
“let them,” he spoke gruffly into your cunt as his tattooed hands dug into the underside of your thighs. he didn’t hide the smirk displaying on his lips at the way you drooled from the sensation of his piercing coolly gliding against your wet pussy lips.
“c’mon. use your words. i’ll let you cum if you do.”
“pleasepleaseplease let me cum… please choso.”
“cute. you want to feel what the piercing on my dick feels like?”
➩ TATTOO ARTIST!CHOSO who totally did make you beg on his thick dick adorned with a shiny prince albert piercing, and who couldn’t even be mad at you when you flashed him a tongue piercing you had gotten at another studio to surprise and make him see stars just like he’d done for you
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jamjaemin · 11 months ago
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꒰ "Be brave, Angel" ꒱ 彡 ♡ ⋆。˚ (m.l and h.l)
summary:you want your first tattoo. but are you ready to deal with who will do this to you?
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Word count: 6k!
Pairing: tattooartist!mark × tattooartist!haechan × f!reader
Content: fuckboy!mark/haechan, slutty!reader, Praising, petnames(good girl, princess, ect), friends with benefits,teasing ,threesome, double penetration (pussy and ass), ass and pussy spanking, unprotected sex,creampie ,no mention of aftercare :( , lmk if i miss any.
A/n:This is based on the poll I posted before I know y’all voted the most for mark but some besties wants them both like I don't blame them bc I'm down bad for this two. I'm literally busy but yeah here it is I hope you like it, thanks for your time bestie, enjoy♡.
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the soft tinkling of bells rang out as you opened the studio door, but your nerves were so sensitive that you flinched as if the sound had been amplified by large speakers. The frigid air inside the studio ruffled the hairs on your arms and you pulled your cardigan tighter around you, immediately recognizing the soft music playing in the background.
If this was a visit like one of the other times you’ve been here with your friends, for company and support in getting their tattoos and piercings, then you would have been able to once again admire the modern decor and beautiful artwork hangs on the walls - all strategically placed to catch the attention and arouse the interest of clients.
But this was no ordinary visit. For once you weren’t here for your friends. You were here for yourself.
No one but you and Johnny knew of your intention to get your first tattoo and you didn’t want to change that, wanting to surprise your friends since they had been encouraging you to get it for years.
That was weeks ago, and frankly, you’d almost forgotten that you’d expressed that wish to Johnny. At least until you got a message from him, asking you to come down to the studio as soon as possible to see the finished artwork that he would use as a base to finally get your tattoo done. You weren’t nervous until that moment.
But when the possibility of getting a tattoo stopped being a ‘possibility’ and became a matter of 'when’, you started to regret your own decision.
It’s been three days since you received the message and only today did you pluck up the courage to come to the studio.
But judging by the way your hands were cold and clammy you didn’t think you had mustered enough courage.
Swallowing down the nerves you took a deep breath and looked towards the reception desk, but there was no one there.
Oh.
You are completely alone.
That means there’s still time to turn around and walk out the same door you just came through, right? Yes right. It would be the perfect excuse.
“Well, at least I tried.” You said softly, already turning towards the exit.
“Y/N?” The melodious sound of Haechan’s voice interrupted your hurried steps, and you squeaked through your teeth, knowing it would be very difficult to escape now. 
“Y/N! Wait, what are you doing here? Are you expecting one of your friends?” He asked already walking towards you, not noticing - or choosing to ignore - the tense expression on your face, choosing to hold his arms out to you in an invitation to hug.
“Hi, Hyuck. Uh, not really, not exactly…” You replied, accepting his warm hug. When he let go and looked at you questioningly, you sighed.
“I’m here because Johnny said he finished the artwork I asked him to create. I’ve been talking to him about getting a tattoo.” The last part you said in a whisper.
“Really?” He smiled brightly in response and added,“if that’s what you really want, you can bet it’ll all be worth it when the job is done.”You brightened up a bit, nodding slowly and offering him a gentle smile, silently grateful for his support.
The nervous knot in your stomach felt a little less dull thanks to hyuck's sweet words.“But I’m afraid unfortunately we can’t do that today, dear.” He said in an apologetic tone, looking disappointed in himself.
You furrowed your brows and cocked your head in confusion, waiting for his next words. 
“Johnny isn’t even here. Today he went to a family meeting, as we’re near to closing time for the studio, he’s already left.”
Closing time?You looked up at the clock on the wall, blushing and stuttering an embarrassed response when you saw that he was right, the hand almost reaching the closing time mark for the studio.
You squealed with your hands over your mouth.“Oh my God! I’m sorry. I didn’t even pay attention to the time. I should have checked the time before coming.”
Damn, it was just like you to be embarrassed like that.
“Hey, no need to apologize, if i know where's the artwork I would have done it myself. I’m sure Johnny wouldn’t mind staying after hours to see you, but he really can’t miss this meeting.”
“D-don’t worry about it, really. I’ll come back another day, it’s no problem to-”
“I’ll attend her.”
You both looked at the source of that voice, both of you surprised by the sudden appearance of someone else in the room.
There, casually leaning against the doorframe, taboo clutched between the long fingers of one hand, the other comfortably tucked into his pants pocket, was mark lee.
His body was covered in black clothes as usual. Combat boots and jeans, a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, exposing the numerous tattoos on his arms.
“Oh, mark, this is Y/N, she’s the client of-”
“I know who she is. I said I’ll attend her, the art is in my office along with the others.”
The abrupt cut left your cheeks red and you looked away at the man beside you, leaving them to stare at each other in the tense silence afterwards.
You were about to say that you didn’t need him to attend to you, but Haechan spoke first.
“That would be amazing”
You heard Mark breathe a little bit heavily, the sound piquing your curiosity until you looked up at him, seeing that his gaze had now fallen on you – disturbingly bored and somehow still so intense.
He keeps looking at you like he’s sizing you up with that sleepy look; like he’s trying to understand you just by the way you’re standing there next to his friend and your friend bc you talked with hyuck comfortably so many times but mark...you didn’t have the chance.
The man before you doesn’t seem the least bit concerned that you’ll find his obvious inspection impolite.
No, instead he just stares you down from head to toe completely, undisguised and not saying a word as he does it twice. By God, twice!You always felt like there was a suffocating tension surrounding the two of you, even though you haven’t exchanged a single word with each other in the months you’ve been in the studio with your girls.
You always told yourself that it was all in your head, but when he looked at you like that it was almost impossible to control your own thoughts.
With a shudder you break your gaze and fix your attention on Haechan again.
“No, don’t worry about it. I can come back another day, I really don’t want to disturb anything.” You said pulling away, but Haechan’s grip on your hand didn’t allow you to go very far.
“Wait. Mark is an amazing professional and I don’t think there could be anyone better than him to get your first tattoo, not even Johnny.”You fought back the urge to say that you had serious doubts about that, especially given the look of sheer boredom on the man’s face and all that awkwardness surrounding the two of you.
He didn’t seem like someone capable of offering emotional support and allaying your fears.
“Fine. Lock the door when you leave.” He set the tone for the end of the conversation before you could argue, but you heard hyuck whispering to mark before he turn and head back inside "leave? take care of her until i comeback" giving him a playful wink.
“you, follow me.” You watched his broad back disappear from view, then turned your eyes to Haechan, smirking at you like he knows you were scared to get your first tattoo. His joy was so intense that you didn’t have the heart to say the things you were thinking, instead offering a forced smile and a gentle hug before walking away to follow his friend.
“see you” You waved at him stepping into the hallway that led to the tattoo and piercing procedures.
"I'll join you soon baby" haechan whispered to himself.
You didn’t know how to react around him and you were afraid it was obvious from the almost robotic way you followed him.
Even on your other visits to the studio, you hadn’t spent more than a few minutes in the man’s presence. Always mysterious and elusive, you noticed over the course of visits that he preferred to work in the back, creating fine art for inspiration and serving specific clients by appointment directly with him. And the few times you saw him it was always the same awkwardness as usual, the same disturbingly intense stares and a total of zero verbal interaction.
He just slowly cooked you up in an excess of visual intensity and then was gone.And now he said he would get your tattoo.God, you didn’t think you could be more nervous than you are right now.
Mark doesn’t say anything to you as he places the book on top of a small table in the corner, heading over to the alcohol spray bottle and disposable wipes, using both to sanitize the black leather high recliner chair you’ll be sitting in for the next few hours. You just watch him, nudging the toe of your sneakers into the other as a distraction as you wrap the cardigan more tightly around your body.
When he’s finished sanitizing the chair you understand it’s your cue and, sucking in a deep breath, you push your legs to move to the padded chair, your body feeling like heavy lead as you just imagine the pain that will come from shoving a needle in your skin. You settle into the chair, hands clasped on your thighs and body taut as a bow, staring at mark’s work like a frightened hawk. If he had noticed how nervous you were - and you really think it would be hard for anyone not to - he said nothing about it, opting to continue his preparation silently.
His moves are practiced, probably memorized after so much time working at it, and he barely looks at you, completely focused on his little world. The only time he stopped what he was doing and gave you any attention was to hand you a clipboard.
“Before we get started I need you to read and sign this if you agree to the terms.”You nod and he immediately goes back to what he was doing, leaving you alone to read through paragraph after paragraph of the studio’s consent and disclaimer if the job doesn’t turn out exactly the way you wanted it to.
You found it really hard not to approve the final work, given what you already knew about the team and their perfect artwork. But you found such terms understandable and necessary, as working with the public could be challenging at times.
You’ve read the document almost through when a sound of packages opening catches your attention and you look away to the man in front of you. None of your friends had done any procedures with mark, despite their many efforts and attempts to make an appointment, but here you were, waiting for him to finish preparing the materials to get your tattoo done. You couldn’t believe it.
He was attractive in a way that would make a woman swoon. His eyebrows were full and his ears were decorated with a variety of piercings and when he turns to grab something from the top shelf you find yourself fighting an appreciative sigh as you get a clear view of his profile, everything about him was appealing.the sight causes the already visible blush on your face to deepen to an even more embarrassing degree.
The sound of a new song starting up snaps you out of your reverie and you stare awkwardly at the clipboard in your hands, deciding that you definitely assent to all the terms and quickly signing your name at the bottom - your handwriting not as graceful as usual, due to the way your hand is slightly shaking.You hand him the clipboard and he places it on the table next to other documents, turning his attention to the materials.
You see him sort out alcohol, wipes, packets of disposable needles, and a small container of ink, all neatly arranged in a straight line on a tray that he brings over to the leather chair you’re sitting in. He sets it down on the side table, along with the pistol and stencil he would use as a base for your art, pulling a stool on wheels next to your chair.
“The tattoo will be in the rib area, right? Under the breast.” He asked quietly, sitting down on the stool. You looked at him curiously through your lashes, surprised that he already knew the location of your tattoo.
“Y-yes, how do you know?”
“johnny told me.” That’s all he told you about it and, surprisingly, that’s all you needed to understand. “Alright. I need you to take your shirt off.”
He says without looking you in the eye, unflappable and confident, putting the pair of black gloves on his hands with a final snap that only served to make you even more agitated.
While you logically knew that you would need to go topless for this particular tattoo, there was an extra nervousness about doing it in front of him. And you knew it was because it was him, because that self-conscious nervousness wasn’t there at the time when you thought johnny would be doing the procedure.
But there was no choice, and besides, he wasn’t being anything but professional with you. Surely he’s seen a lot more exposed skin than that during procedures.
With a sigh of courage and decidedly rosy cheeks, you pulled the cardigan from your body, quickly doing the same with the light shirt you wore underneath, tucking both into your backpack.
You bite your lip and rub your hands on your thighs, focusing on feeling the material of your skirt against your skin in an attempt to calm yourself down. But your efforts go down the drain when he looks up at you, that disinterested, half-lidded look opening for the briefest of seconds as he looks down at your black push-up bra hugging your breasts. You nearly choke on your saliva because, by God, for two seconds you’re sure a purely appreciative look danced across that bored expression of his.
But then, as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.
“Lie down please so I can sanitize the area.” He grumbled letting the disposable mask rest on his chin, and amidst your mental daze you wonder if he only has black items to use.
You comply, lying back on the soft leather, looking up at the ceiling. You almost jump at the feel of the icy liquid on your skin, instantly shivering at the sensation. The smell of antiseptic hits your nose and you try to breathe more slowly, feeling the circular movements of cotton on your sensitive skin.
“I’ll paste the stencil now.”
As you watched, his fingers smoothed over the stencil, the dark outline showing against your skin. He slowly removes the paper and your gaze strays momentarily to his mouth, his lush lips catching your attention as he nibbles on his lower lip in concentration. You blush and look away quickly, afraid of being caught. It takes a moment for you to realize he’s talking when you turn your attention and notice his lips moving.
“See if you like the position and design. Don’t hesitate to say if you don’t like something, the time for changes is now.” He says it more seriously than any of the times he’s addressed you tonight (which hasn’t been many), voice low and direct, wanting you to understand the importance of this moment.
You swallow and accept the round mirror he hands you, positioning it so you can see the art. Your lips part immediately.
“Oh.”
The delicate butterflies and hearts stretches across your rib cage, just below your breast, rising just a little up the side. The way the design undulates naturally, as if a particular breeze is constantly on your skin, gently shaking your tattoo. You find yourself smiling at the beauty and elegance of the art. It wasn’t a large or very ornate tattoo; you were absolutely sure that mark had already done tattoos infinite times more complex than this one. But it was beautiful. Beautiful in an undeniable way, an art made obviously by gentle and skilled hands.
“It’s…it’s beautiful. I love it.” You say quietly, still turning the mirror to observe the design from all angles, a soft smile on your lips.
Mark didn’t respond immediately and you looked away from the mirror to see the cause of the silence. You felt your smile lessen at the way he was looking at you, specifically at your lips. That realization brought butterflies to your stomach, your cheeks flushing again. He didn’t speak up when he realized you’d caught his gaze, eyes rising to look at your flushed cheeks, then locking into your slightly widened eyes.
“Hmm, can we get started then?” He questioned quietly, still looking at you in that disturbing way, pulling the mask to cover the lower half of the face.
“Y-yes, please.” You said, handing the mirror back to him with trembling fingers. Even with the mask on you heard the amused snort and couldn’t help but feel even more embarrassed. The laugh itself was low and silent, just above a rumbling, guttural breath. It made you feel silly and childish.
Great, now he thought you were an idiot.
“This is a pretty sensitive area, so it might be uncomfortable. I need you to take a deep breath for me. I’ll start with a simple line and you tell me how your pain tolerance is, okay?”
You stiffen but nod, doing as he asks. He grunts a little, satisfied with your compliance, but you barely hear it over the now-screeching sound of the pistol.
“Here we go.”
You bite your bottom lip hard with the initial sting. It hurts. It’s not uncomfortable as he mentioned earlier. It’s painful, really painful. Your small hands curl into fists on the chair and you struggle to breathe slowly, trying to focus on that instead of the stinging pain in your skin. He goes on with the simplest strokes for a few minutes and you’re rigid as a rock during the whole process.
“Hey, you’re okay?”
He pulls the needle away from your skin for a few seconds and you take the opportunity to sigh in relief, refusing to open your eyes because you know they’re teary and you definitely don’t want him to think you’re a crybaby.
“Y-yes, fine, you can continue.” You respond, praying your statement sounds confident enough for him to believe it and continue.
But he doesn’t continue.
“Open your eyes.”
You shake your head slightly, feeling the tears welling up in your eyes.
“Y/N, open your eyes for me.” He orders harder, the fingers that are still flat on your stomach pressing your skin a little to get your attention.
Having him say your name that way makes you gasp softly, obeying what he says after a deep breath.
As you knew, the act of opening your eyes causes the accumulated tears to fall, streaming down the sides of your face. You sniff and blush harder, feeling the weight of his gaze on you - so intensely dark, like the sky in a quite night.
“It’s okay to cry. This is a pretty sensitive area and, after all, it’s your first tattoo.” Despite the look of boredom, his words are spoken in a reassuring, deep tone that immediately works to quell the worst of your nervousness.
You nod and wipe the tears with your fingers. He waits for you to calm down as he draws slow circles on the skin of your stomach, and despite the fact that you’re pretty sure this gesture isn’t entirely professional, you still feel better about his patience. You’re honestly surprised by this, as his overall expression suggested nothing but utter disinterest. But you accepts the kindness with open arms.
Suddenly the door opened slowly and it's hyuck, his gaze never leaving your face as he start clicking his tongue teasingly before he said “my little girl crying?”
“Can we try again?” mark said looking back at you.
This time you nod more confidently, a small smile on your tearful face and it’s convincing enough that he accepts with a satisfied grunt.
Hyuck gets closer to you and brush his hand softly on your cheek calming you down, neither his words or gestures seems just friendly but you didn't have time to focus on that when all you can feel is pain.
The pistol buzz returns and you make an effort to be more relaxed this time, humming softly to the music playing through the speakers.
“Do you like this song?” he asks casually and you jump an inch as you feel the needle again in your skin, the pain returning as before. But you try to focus on his question.
“Yes, very much.” You say with some difficulty, but glad you have something you can use as a distraction while he continues tracing the painful lines on your skin. The needle scratching your skin in a more sensitive part now, if that was possible, and you squeal a whimper. Mark looks up at you and you smile weakly, waving to say that everything was fine.
Haechan bite his lower lip softly at your words feeling his cock twitching from how hard he is seeing you like that but after some time he decided to complete tatting you to forget about it and that's how they exchanged roles.
He hums thoughtfully and then is silent, long enough for you to think he’s not going to say anything else. But then he speaks.
“Ready, princess?”
You blush at the nickname, but try not to imagine too much. "Yes I'm ready" you breathed.
“That’s my girl,” he turns to your ribs as you try your best not to feel dizzy - whether it was from the object currently stabbing your skin or the words that had just come out of hyuck’s mouth, you didn’t know.
He swallows thoughtfully, the movement making his Adam’s apple rise and fall, immediately drawing your attention to his neck.
You shyly bite your lip as you stare at the tattoos visible across his skin; the striking features of a butterfly right in the center of his throat, the lush wings spread out to either side. A single rose in the space just behind his studded ear. The top of a dragon’s head peeking through the collar of his black shirt, indicating a larger tattoo spread across his back and biceps.
You swallowed hard.
“Hm, do you like my tattoos that much?.” He asked after a while of silence, pulling back a little to look at your tattoo from a different angle, pulling you out of your thoughts. Long fingers gripping your ribcage area firmly, but gently massaging every now and then, making your mission to ignore the signals more difficult by the second.
And so you two go on for a little over one hour, the excruciatingly long time it takes for your tattoo to be done. You cry sometimes and wince at others, but haechan is patient and so as mark who was sitting across from him watching his work more likely watching you.
Of course, you try to remember that they are professionals and that they probably do this for his other clients. But it’s hard not to feel special when they're so nice.
Sometimes you feel hyuck's fingers caressing your skin in a way that you suspect is beyond what a professional needs to do, and yet you struggle to mask your emotions. It becomes particularly difficult when he asks you to pull up your lower bra line a bit so he can finish off the tattoo. Of course, you don’t lift the fabric completely or anything, but the bottom half of your breast is visible and that’s more than enough to make you hyper-aware. And it only gets worse when you feel his gentle touch on the side of your breast, a series of goosebumps erupt over the area, the length of your face down to your collarbone turning red with the embarrassing reaction. It’s absolutely mortifying and you try to cover your embarrassment with a strained laugh, saying the air conditioning was making you cold.
It sounds too ridiculous to be taken seriously, but haechan push it, his dark gaze is dancing with amusement and interest. "Oh i know you liked it, princess"
“i-...You finished?” You ask when he turns off the pistol buzz, placing the object on the tray, throwing the disposable items in the adjacent bin along with the gloves and mask. He stands with his hands up, stretching his muscles tired from being in the same position for so long. You try not to visibly drool at the sight of the muscles in his arms stretched out like that.
“Yes. Do you want help getting up?” he looked back at you, his smirk growing bigger just like what's between his legs.
Yes, you did. In fact, you wanted him to do more than just help you up. But of course you didn’t say that.
“No, that’s fine. I can do it, thanks.”
Despite this, you have trouble getting up. And the fact that he’s watching your every move like an eagle doesn’t help matters. Your tattoo area hurts like a bitch and your body looks like it took a beating, but now you couldn’t take back what you said, it was a matter of pride. Then with delicacy and patience you drag yourself across the chair, avoiding putting weight on the most painful areas. It takes longer than you’d like, but eventually you’re on your feet.
Mark has one eyebrow arched and a half smile on his lips, but mercifully doesn’t comment on what just happened.
“Here, want to take a look?” the younger one asks, nodding towards the full-length mirror on the wall.
“Yes yes!” You responded excitedly, looking forward to seeing the job done.
“Wow, it’s so…so beautiful!” You admire the artistry on your skin, now more vivid and expressive than before. Lips clamped between teeth, nearly jumping with glee at the result. The detailing is elegant and beautiful. It’s even better than the sketch they have drawn.
Your skin throbbed and burned, but you couldn’t be more pleased. The reflection in the mirror is just perfect. “Johnny is an amazing artist I swear, he’s amazing.” 
Haechan seems to think about what you say, but the way his brows are slightly furrowed tells you he’s still confused. Hearts fluttering in your eyes as you look away from the mirror at the silent man beside you. But mark on the other side is quiet, deathly quiet.
You’re so nervous that you’ve offended them that you feel your body almost shaking where you’re standing. But then he slowly approaches, standing behind you in the mirror, staring intently at the overview of his work now permanently imprinted on your skin with a thoughtful hum.
“It looks really good on you, princess.” He says from behind you, close enough that you can smell the faint scent of cigarettes and mint gum, and something woody like sandalwood. A scent so intoxicatingly masculine it almost makes your head spin. He's literally behind you pressing on your ass and you’re still only in a bra and thigh-length pleated skirt.
Sweet hell.
You open your lips to say something, anything, but nothing comes out. The two of you just stand there, staring at each other in the mirror, neither of you knowing how to act.
God, he feels it too, right? That tension around the two of you?
It is haechan who breaks the silence, apparently more in tune with his feelings than you are.
“Okay, let me clean this up.“
You’re feeling shaky from your recent interaction, but you nod quickly, watching as he cleans your skin. The cold water soothing the tattoo burn.
You don’t know what you’re supposed to do, now that mark is standing close to you too saying nothing, just staring at you in that disturbing way.
For a solid minute, maybe two, he still doesn’t say anything. The look he pinned you with made breathing very difficult but then he finally parts his lips to say something, and you allow yourself to exhale expectantly.
"It wasn’t Johnny who made the art.”
Mark’s deep tone rang like molten gold, clearly knowing he was too close for things to be considered platonic at this point – though it didn’t seem like he minded too much. No, whatever is going on between the three of you is coming to a head right now. You can feel it in your bones.
“E-excuse me?” You blink rapidly, feeling your senses go dangerously numb at his approach, he lied to you.
“I said…” He says more slowly, tilting his head letting the attraction that now seemed mutual run through your veins. “That it wasn’t Johnny who designed your tattoo art, princess.”
He keeps looking at you like you’re the only thing that matters in the world. Disturbingly intense. You try and can’t remember the last time someone looked at you with such obvious desire. The sexual tension rapidly rising.
His long fingers glide along your jaw, tracing the shape, caressing your cheekbones. You don’t entertain the illusion that he can’t hear the rapidity of your breathing, perhaps even the rapid pulse under your flushed skin.
You looked to your right and realize that haechan already cleaned everything and he's staring down at you smirking before he whispered in your ear "Every time you visit the studio I wonder what it would be like if we are more close. What it would be like to have friends with benefits...with a pretty little thing like you"
You swallow the choking lump in your throat, lips parted on a shuddering sigh. It’s palpable that something big is coming and you don’t know if you can handle the rest of what he has to say. Still, you want to hear him say it. You wants him to tell you the things that make your stomach flutter and your toes curl. You want it so bad.
“I want to ruin your pussy, fuck you until your throat hurts from screaming. I want to make you cum with my cock, my mouth and my fingers. I want to lick every damn inch of you.”
For a few seconds the world stops turning. Nothing but what he said occupies your mind. You were going to die. Right there, in their tattoo studio.
"I….” You try, although the options are so many that you don’t know exactly what to ask for, your tongue feeling heavy inside your dry mouth, “…please.”
 “Please what, sweet girl?” Mark's head dips to your exposed neck, wet lips pressing against the skin there. His breath is hot and your eyelashes flutter at the contact, then his tongue slides out to drag slowly against your skin.
you sighed and can't reject this offer ofc, as if your words had been forcibly punched out of your body. Desperate. “Just touch me, please.” you breathed, halfway between crying and begging.
“…Where?” He pulls away to look you in the eyes. His pupil is swollen, almost completely black with lust. A smile plays on his lips.
“Everywhere. Everywhere, I just need to—” You can’t pronounce the rest. Instead, your breath is interrupted by a sudden pressure against your lips, and it takes you several moments to realize exactly what’s happening. Mark is kissing you.
Haechan take the chance and grabbed your waist his fingers tracing up to your back unclasping your bra like a pro. “Been dying to see these tits,” he said, giving the one on his side a squeeze the one you tatted just under it but You hadn’t bothered the pain when all you feel is pleasure.
Mark sucked and kissed all over your lips, while hyuck focused on your nipple. His tongue flicked the peak before taking it in his hot, wet mouth.
Right behind the three of you there was a big couch facing the mirror where you saw the final result of the tattoo.
The older one doesn’t wait for to long before taking a few steps back, until he lands comfortably in the couch that you only now realized was there. “Come here, princess.” He ordered.
But haechan grabbed you hard from your wrist and pushed you against mark making you sit on his lap, god he look so turned on, just an hour ago he was smiling brightly and welcoming you.
With a movement of muscles he is pulling the black shirt over his head - he's shirtless, tattooed chest and neck, his bun was slowly coming undone after all the moving. "hold her legs up" He growled while his friend spread your legs lifting them up in the air.
Haechan kneeled down face only few inches away from your panties, the way your pussy was pulsing now watching his tattooed fingers rubbing on your wet underwear, he damn near moaned. “She’s fucking soaked.” The way he spoke about you made your pussy ache even more.
He pushed them to the side and you tried to close your legs but mark grip was stronger, his fingers digging into your soft skin. “Don’t you dare try to hide this pretty pussy from me” hyuck said giving your cunt a good slap making you gasp.
Getting closer then slip between your legs. He kissed your throbbing clit before licking up your arousal, your head feel back on mark's chest with a moan while hyuck devouring you mumbling and degrading your pussy, his tongue flicking your clit faster and harder. Before you could draw another breath, you were tipping over the edge.
Looking at mark with those needy eyes and squirming all over his lap making him throb as well, "shh- I know baby, I know". Haechan licked at you until you finished, then looked up you grinning “So sweet, fuck.”
Mark start hooking his fingers into his pants and yanking them down along with his boxers, his big veiny cock was in a light needy shade of red. He tugs on your skirt as you risen slightly from his lap carefully avoiding your tattoo, For a few seconds you just look at him, asking - begging - for him to guide you in what to do next, and he doesn’t let you down.
One large hand holding both of your wrist behind your back and the other one grabbing his cock guiding his tip on your folds, “Come on princess, let me have you…” He practically pleads against your skin huskily, his larger body slightly trembling in need beneath yours.
You lick your lips and nod shyly looking back at hyuck who is fully naked now standing in front of you not only watching your pretty face but rubbing circles on your clit and choking you softly squeezing on your throat.
“Fuck, baby,” he whispered into your ear as he reach down and slowly rub your folds back and forth with the tip of his cock harder, spreading your slick across the entire length of him. “You have no idea what you are doing to me, princess…”
Your pussy burns as you stretch around his cock. You whimper softly when you felt him inside you, he encourages you the whole time, murmured compliments between his tense jaw.
You close your eyes and sink an inch deeper.
The burning stretch and you biting your bottom lip. When you squeeze a little, mark lets out a groan of pleasure. “That’s it,” he encouraged. “Just like this. Good girl. You’re going so well, princess,” he says through a pent-up groan as you lower until the plump tip of him is inside you, the praise coursing through your veins like liquid fire. “Come on, I know you can take my cock.”
“Does it feel good, baby?” Haechan asks hoarsely, pinching your nipple, as he smiled seeing you coming undone.
“S-so good! It’s so good!” You almost cry, He runs his tongue across your bottom lip and you let him in to explore your mouth, your tongues gliding over each other.
A loud moan is shared between you and mark as you sinking fully into his cock. You swear you can feel him in you chest as he opens you, pulsing and writhing wildly where you spasm along the length.
Bouncing on his cock while choking on another is how you ended up, both of them taking turns on fucking you.
“Gonna be a good girl and take us both, right?” hyuck asked. Your lip went between your teeth at the thought of having both of them inside you. You’d never done something like that, but fuck it sounded good. The second you nodded, haechan was lifting your hips and sinking you on to him. You let out a his as your soft walls opened for him. “Fuck she's so tight,” He groaned.
“mmh that ass is even tighter,” mark said from somewhere behind you giving it a spank. You instinctively rolled your hips, letting your body adjust to hyuck. He rocked his hips up slightly, admiring the moans it pulled from your lips. Mark tried to be as patient as he could so you could adjust to his friend, but his patience feared very thing watching his cock disappear inside you. He did not like feeling left out.
You felt mark press up behind you, He pushed you down so your chest was flush against hyuck’s, allowing himself to spread your ass cheeks rubbing your juices all over it. He used his thumb to spread it over your hole before lined himself up to you. His cock head pressed against you, slowly pushing through the ring of your ass.
“Aahh fuck mark!” you whined as he slowly filled you up. You gripped haechan’s shoulders, fingernails digging into his skin 
“You can take it, be brave, angel” mark insisted, continuing to press inside. He bottomed out with a deep satisfied sigh. “See? Taking two cocks like no problem, that's it baby.” 
They began to move inside you. It was such a strange, full sensation, but fuck you couldn’t deny it felt so good. They moved slowly at first, making sure you were enjoying it. With each moan that left your lips the moved more freely. 
Both men continued to thrust into you more faster. Hyuck’s moans were lighter, on the precipice of a whine, while mark’s were deeper and raspier. It was music to your ears. “Fuck gonna cum? Let it out princess,” mark moaned.
You nearly screamed as the pleasure in your lower stomach completely snapped. Your whole body shuddered as your orgasm flamed through you, your body shaking and twitching, tears falling down your cheeks as you collapsed on top of haechan.
Copyright 2024 © jamjaemin
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merryfortune · 10 months ago
Text
Sunflower Fields (aren't) Forever
Written for Femslash February 2024
Day 4. Field
Title: Sunflower Fields (aren’t) Forever
Ship: not applicable | Asana/Romin/Tiger
Word Count: 1,632
Universe: Sevens - Canon Compliant 
Rating: T
Tags: Established Relationship, Polyamory, Bittersweet, Happy Ending
   Things had been going well for RoaRomin.
   So well in fact, they now had huge expectations on their shoulders for the next album. It had to go double- no, triple platinum. It had to outdo and outpace the last one as it had done fine. It was totally par the course and whilst stability was good, growth was even better and so.
   The responsibility of course fell on the band to find new inspiration, new gimmicks, and new songs.
   It was completely and totally stressing Romin out.
   Her bandmates all had their own ideas of what they wanted. Heavy rock and roll. Light hearted pop bops and jams. A high-concept album. A patchwork of singles. It was tearing them apart whenever they got into the recording studio trying to do something. Anything! Rehearse, practice, brainstorm! Anything, pretty, please.
   Romin was suffocating over the creative differences they were feeling like razor blades. The city was smoggy and stifling. Romin felt like she had a headache whenever she thought about leaving her and Roa’s apartment and she felt like she had stomach problems whenever he was hanging out around it too.
   “So yeah, that’s the short of it.” Romin said as she finished up venting to her girlfriend.
   They were sympathetic over the phone. Asana was fourteen in a high-powered corporate job thanks to being an heiress and whilst Tiger didn’t have a career yet, she still held herself to tall and nigh impossible standards. So they listened over the phone with Romin ranting about her troubles in the world of music.
   “You need a break.” Tiger said.
   “Mmhm.” Asana agreed. 
   “I don’t really have the time to lollygag though…” Romin said.
   “I’m not suggesting we whisk you away to Europe on my family credit card or anything-” Asana said.
   “I was.” Tiger said. “Italy is lovely and mild this time of year.”
   “Let’s just do something small.” Asana said. “Get you out of Goha City, not into Naples.”
   Romin laughed, “I dunno…”
   “Well, what about,” Tiger hummed, “what about our secret hideout? Mine and Asana’s.”
   “Our what…?” Romin echoed confused.
   She straightened how she was lying all higgelty-piggelty on her bed. She blinked and changed how she was holding her phone. She very much did not have a secret hideout. The closest thing she had would be like… Yuga’s lab.
   “Oh, um, not our.” Asana embarrassedly clarified. “Mine and Tiger’s secret base.”
   “From our youth.” Tiger said.
   “You’ll love it.” Asana said, getting excited. Her voice was almost squealing as she got giddy. “It’s not too far from where Tiger and I live, oh, we haven’t been there in years. It’ll be fun to visit it again.”
   “Yeah, it does sound fun.” Tiger agreed. “What do you think, Romin?”
   “Uh. sure?” Romin replied.
   She recoiled as Asana and Tiger began to get a bit pitchy in their excitement. Though it was mainly Asana, Tiger was just egging her on and through the ear-piercing squeals turned staticky through her phone, Romin gathered what she needed from the conversation.
   It was decided. They would go visit Asana and Tiger’s secret base as soon as possible: tomorrow afternoon. They would bring instruments and a picnic and make a whole date out of it. Their excitement was contagious, completely blinding Romin to the nostalgia that she didn’t have for this place. 
   Romin rarely felt left out and this was not going to be one of those times where she was, either. Asana and Tiger were determined to include her. They never wanted her to feel like a third wheel on their relationship. Their meeting with her had brought out the best in them and felt like a natural evolution but there was still a steep difference between childhood friends who had known each other forever versus the newcomer who knew them for a comparatively shorter amount of time.
   The next day, on the way, Romin must have heard every story, every memory that Asana and Tiger had regarding their secret base. Their secret base sounded like a beautiful and halcyon place. Romin could imagine it vividly thanks to Asana and Tiger’s description of it.
   A meadow in the forest, soft and pastel grass underfoot and endless blue skies overhead. Then the masterpiece of nature in the middle: the sunflower patch with flowers which were taller than tall which knitted together to form the clubhouse and tousled in the wind.
   Oh, it sounded like a breath of fresh air.
   Completely and utterly different to how cooped up she felt in the city.
   Romin’s head was migraine free and although her stomach stirred, it was butterflies and not nausea. She was all smiles as she joined her girlfriends on foot for the surprisingly large distance from Asana’s mansion to their secret base.
   Kids really did have limitless energy, didn’t they? Both Asana and Tiger could swear - they swore - the distance was much, much shorter than how it actually panned out.
   Because all three of them were exhausted once they had made the trek through the woods. They arrived all hot and sweaty since it was the middle of summer. Worse still, when they arrived, they almost missed it because the field of sunflowers was not like Asana and Tiger remembered.
   Nor what Romin was promised.
   She had built up this scene in her imagination, of the idyllic field and pastures. Of sitting in the shade of the sunflowers and enjoying the company of Asana and Tiger as they ate endlessly and soaked up the atmosphere, making music and sharing jokes.
   That was not the reality that Romin found herself in as she stood on the outer ring of what had once been the sunflower patch that Asana and Tiger had made their secret base. She set down the picnic basket and held onto the strap her guitar case was in. She had that feeling in the bottom of her stomach again. Similar to how being around Roa whose ideas were in the complete opposite direction of her own opposed against Ushiro and Getta’s, too, but different.
   She glanced at Asana and Tiger. She didn’t even pretend to smile or be understanding. Their secret base now only existed in their memories. Memories she could be talked at length about but would just be stories, not her own experiences.
   “I swear these things used to be taller…” Asana said.
   She tried to perk up one of the wilted sunflowers. Had summer claimed them or had time? She couldn’t tell as another flopped down, withered and brown, after she tried to prop it up.
   “There’s no use getting depressed over something like this.” Tiger decided, ever level-headed to a fault. Her bluntness made Asana sigh.
   They all stood, with the sun overhead. Its rays beat down over them and Romin sighed, too. She flopped down and beckoned to Tiger, she nodded and unfurled the picnic blanket that she had been carrying along.
   “You’re right, Tiger, no use getting depressed over this.” Romin said. 
   Though, Asana and Tiger’s excitement had been contagious, they were all here now. Romin was being shown more of the secret world of Asana and Tiger’s relationship, taking her rightful place within it as the third member of their trio - no longer a duo or a two-person couple. She swung her guitar around and set it in her lap.
   Asana smiled, bittersweet, glad that Romin and Tiger could make the most of a disappointing situation. She sat down with them and shared iced tea amongst them. They were all so thirsty thanks to their hike and suddenly, things started to look up again.
   “What matters most to me,” Romin said as she fiddled with her guitar, “is having a good time with you both. We can’t be stuck in the… past.” Her voice trailed off and she lifted up her head. Her eyes went wide.
   “Something the matter?” Asana asked and Tiger stared quizzically, too.
   “Stuck in the past… We can’t be stuck in the past!” Romin repeated, albeit just as cryptic as before. “That’s why we can’t write an album, I get it now! All of RoaRomin are stuck in the past but we need something new. Something from the future!”
   Asana and Tiger’s expressions split into a smile. They loved Romin’s passion, how her face lit up as she had her epiphany. It seemed the trip out here wasn’t a bust after all. 
   Romin’s fingers began to speed along the neck of her guitar, she could feel the burgeoning rhythm of a new song in the skin of her fingertips. They blistered as she threw herself into the hype, chasing the idea but despite her quickness, the song turned out rather melodic.
   Romin glanced at Tiger, “Try playing your flute.” she said.
   “With pleasure.” Tiger replied.
   Asana politely applauded them both as she was sampled to something which began to slow down. It turned sweet and melancholic. It was completely unlike any RoaRomin song that Romin had ever produced but they could all feel the throb of something special in their chests.
   Roa clawed for their past success, wanting to replicate it over and over again. Getta worshipped the King who had died over a century ago. Ushiro was all about the grungy low tech of the retro. Even Romin had found herself pulled all the way back into the past, unable to muster something new until… now. 
   And it was all thanks to Asana, Tiger, and their sunflower field. It mightn’t have turned out like they had hoped but they couldn’t disagree with the results. Romin would just have to have her fingers crossed that everyone else would like the resulting song as much as they did.
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seungkwansphd · 2 years ago
Text
to boil a frog
pairing: seungcheol x reader wordcount: 15.6k summary: you & cheol go back, like way back. growing up together, you never felt anything more for him than a proximity based fondness, but things are a little different since you moved back to town. genre/themes: tattoo artist!coups, childhood acquaintances to lovers. brother’s best friend (but it’s not so much a theme as it is just a statement of fact). S L O W B U R N. idk that this is even fluff but more like just romance? mention of alcohol, tattoos, needles...cat?
a/n: truly idk what this is and why. it’s so long & self indulgent, but i’m in my soft era i guess, hah!
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“Hi, I’m here for my tattoo with Seungcheol?” you checked in with the unfairly stylish receptionist at the front desk of the tattoo and piercing studio. “I booked for 3pm.”
“Okay, yes, here you are!” they smiled up at you, “If you want to just take a seat, I’ll see how he’s doing with prepping the room.”
“Perfect!” you smiled before moving towards the waiting area.
    Your foot bounced excitedly as you waited. In addition to being excited to get your first tattoo, you were doubly excited because you had history with Seungcheol. He’d been one of your brother’s closest friends growing up and despite not keeping in touch since they’d left for college, you’d really enjoyed following his artistic evolution on social media. You weren’t sure if he’d recognize you anymore, to be honest. It would be funnier if he didn’t.
“YN?” the receptionist returned, greeting you with a smile, “He’s ready if you’d like to follow me!”
“Sure!” you stood, “I love your dermals, by the way! The placement is so good,” you gushed as you followed them through a short hallway.
“Ah, thank you so much! They’re probably the piercing I worry about ripping out the most, but I do love them,” they chuckled before gesturing to an open door. “He’ll be right through here.”
“Awesome, thank you so much!” you grinned before stepping through.
“Hey,” Seungcheol greeted you after hearing your footsteps. His back was still turned to you as he finished wiping down his countertop. “YN, right? You know what’s funny, one of my friends has a sister who shares your exact name. Like last name and everything,” he chuckled before turning to greet you.
“Huh that’s weird,” you mirrored his laugh, trying to hide your curiosity as his eyes finally met yours. His eyes scanned your face for a few moments before he rolled his eyes and let out a loud laugh.
“Oh I’m a fuckin’ idiot,” he laughed, “What the hell are you doing here?” he leaned back in his chair, looking at you with slight disbelief.
“Mm, here to get a tattoo,” you deadpanned.
“Yeah no shit, but why are you home? I thought you were living that big city life now,” Seungcheol rolled his eyes at you again. You had always been a sarcastic scamp as a kid and it didn’t surprise him that this was still true.
“Oh did he not tell you?” you asked, referring to your brother. “I’m moving back. Well closer at least. I got a different job offer out here.”
“Oh no, I hadn’t heard,” Seungcheol shook his head, “To be honest, Jihun and I don’t talk all that much anymore. Not since he moved, at least.”
“Ah,” you nodded, “That makes sense. Time zones and whatnot.”
“But that’s cool! New job and I bet your parents will be glad you’ll be closer.”
“Yeah,” you nodded, “They are verily psyched.”
“Well that’s dope! It’ll be good to have you around again,” Seungcheol laughed before shifting topics, “So this tattoo. Did you have something in mind? You’re my last appointment, so we can take some time drafting and working on things.”
“I was actually planning on just picking something from your available flash,” you confessed, “I’m a big fan of the latest set. But…,” you flashed him a cheesy grin, “If you’re offering, I’m not gonna turn down a custom design from you. And I expect a friends and family discount, of course.”
“You haven’t changed a bit, have you?” Seungcheol laughed heartily. You were making the same face you used to make at him in high school when you were in a bind and needed help.
“Not much,” you laughed, eyeing some of the designs up on the walls. “Honestly, I’m down for whatever,” you shrugged.
“How about this? Pick out a few of the flash designs that you like and we can weave something together. I think that’d be fun.”
“Deal,” you grinned, accepting the binder of flash sheets from him. Pursing your lips, you flipped through it in its entirety before going back to the beginning to point out the ones that had caught your eye.
    Seungcheol couldn’t help but approve of the way you reviewed the designs in full before pointing out your favorites. You seemed to gravitate towards botanical, insect, and occultish designs which made sense, given how many times you’d attempted to cast spells on him and Jihun as children. More than a few times at sleepovers, they had woken up to find that rocks, leaves, and twigs had been strategically placed around them while they’d been sleeping. He couldn’t help but chuckle fondly as he recalled a specific incident where you’d snuck up on him to pluck out one of his hairs. When pressed on the issue, you’d calmly explained that you needed it for a spell to make him go bald.
“Okay, those are all the ones I like best,” you nodded at him, waiting for feedback.
“Alright, let me work something up. You can chill in here,” Seungcheol took the binder back from you, flipping between the designs you’d marked with sticky tabs and moving to draft up something new.
“How long’s it gonna take?” you made a face at him, “Can I go look at the piercing portfolios instead?” you asked, not really appealed by the idea of just sitting and waiting.
“I mean sure,” he shrugged, “Ask Wren for them,” he pointed back towards the reception area, “I’ll come get you when I’m ready.”
“Yay!” you popped up excitedly, clapping your hands together as you walked back towards reception.
“Hey Wren, can I take a peek at the piercers’ portfolios? And also can I ask you where you get your hair done? I’m moving back here soon, but I haven’t lived here in a while and could use a stylist rec.”
“Oh of course!” Wren smiled brightly at you, “So do you know Cheol from when you lived here before?” they asked as they pulled out the piercing portfolios to hand to you.
“Yea, we grew up together,” you nodded, flipping the binders open, “I wouldn’t say we were friends? But he was close friends with my brother so he was at our house a lot.”
“That makes a lot more sense,” Wren nodded with understanding, “I was wondering why he was so chatty with you! Usually his room is way more quiet.”
“Oh yeah, we go way back. A lot of shenanigans,” you grinned as a few septums caught your eye.
“So where do you live now?” Wren inquired after giving you the Instagram handle of their current stylist.
“I’m actually in the process of moving back! I got a job in the next town over, but I was thinking I’d move back around here since there’s more to do? This is actually mostly an apartment hunting trip.”
“Oh my goodness, well let’s be friends when you move back! I’ve been trying to get Cheol to come out and do things more with me and my partner, but he’s kind of introverted so he doesn’t bite all that often.”
“I don’t know that I’ll be able to convince him either,” you laughed, “We’re not exactly close. But I would love to be friends! I don’t know too many people who live here anymore.”
“Okay, deal! Let’s exchange phone numbers then. It’ll be good to hang out with someone less grumpy than Seungcheol,” Wren teased, eyes dancing at the man in question as he entered the reception area.
“So grumpy!” you giggled playfully at his expression, “I’m going to leave you a bad review for poor bedside manner,” you couldn’t help but tease him.
“You’d be grumpy too if you had two imps bothering you!” Seungcheol protested with a pout, before beckoning you with his hand, “Now come on, I’m done with my draft.”
“Okay,” you shrugged, following him back to his room.
“What do you think? It might be a little bigger than you had planned, but we can scale down if needed.”
“No, I love it!” you sighed, eyes sparkling as you looked at the design. The final draft was a staghorn beetle with a third eye on its thorax surrounded by a wreath of botanical work that included some of your favorite plants and flowers.
“I had a hard time deciding between a moth or the beetle,” Seungcheol mused, “But you were always a little…unique, so I went with the beetle.”
“Thanks, I think,” you narrowed your eyes at him, unsure if he was sassing you. “I’m a huge fan of this. I think you chose great. Now as far as placement, I am thinking thigh? Left thigh?”
“Do you wanna go this big?” Seungcheol asked. The tattoo artist in him thrilled the idea of the placement, but he wanted to make sure you weren’t overcommitting.
“I mean, I’ll be honest, that wasn’t what I had planned. But don’t you feel like…it deserves it?” you pulled up the leg of your shorts in the mirror to try and envision the placement and it just felt right. “I think at least let’s pop the stencil on so we can see it. But my gut says yeah.”
“Okay,” Seungcheol nodded. That was a good idea.
“Yeah. Yeah, yeah,” you nodded furiously at him after he had placed the stencil on. “She’s just gonna be a big bitch, I don’t know what to tell you, Seungcheol. It just feels right, right?”
“Yeah, I agree,” Seungcheol grinned at you, “We can do this in multiple sittings too, so don’t feel like it needs to all be done in one day.”
“I’ll let you know,” you smiled up at him, “Eee! I’m excited!”
“Alright skippy, let’s get you up on this table and we’ll get started,” Seungcheol patted the tattoo table. He made a few adjustments so that your thigh was positioned at a comfortable working height before getting started. “How’s that?” he asked above the buzzing of the tattoo gun.
“Not too bad, actually,” you were surprised to find out, “It’s just…buzzy?”
“Hah! I mean that’s good, okay I’ll keep going then,” he laughed, ducking his head back down to continue working.
    The time passed surprisingly quickly. You and Seungcheol caught up on a variety of topics until you ran out of things to talk about. After that, he let you choose some music and you simply watched him work quietly. By your math, it had been around two years since you had last seen him and seven since you’d had an actual conversation with him. Somehow he looked both the same and different. He had always been sturdy, especially in the legs, but he seemed to have filled out more in the arms and shoulders in recent years. His face looked exactly the same, but his hair was now longer than you remembered it ever being in the past. It suited him.
“Doing okay?” he checked in as he worked on a section of shading. He had been going over the same area of skin for a while and was wondering how you were holding up.
“Yup,” you nodded. It was starting to get a bit sensitive, but you weren’t ready to tap out just yet. You focused on inhaling deeply through your nostrils and exhaling slowly through your mouth, which helped.
“Good girl,” he murmured approvingly as his left hand moved to grasp you at the knee, turning your inner thigh out to face him a bit more.
    Your eyes flashed to him and your breathing pattern halted as you processed his words. With the soft praise, the somewhat breathy tone of his voice, and the pressure of his fingertips at your inner thigh, you found yourself shivering. Whether Seungcheol was aware of it or not, you found yourself deeply flustered by his praise and wildly confused at your reaction. Swallowing, you tried to gauge whether he even registered what he had just said, but he seemed to still be deeply absorbed in shading.
“Should we take a break?” he looked up suddenly, “You’re getting squirmy, it seems like.”
“I-, uh, yeah,” you did your best to act normal, “Yeah a break would be good, I think,” you managed to answer him.
“Okay,” Seungcheol stood up, “I could stand to stretch my legs anyways.”
“Sounds good,” you gave him a thumbs up as you raised your arms above your head to do some stretching yourself.
    Seungcheol peeled off his gloves and turned to take a sip of water. His expression creased once his back was turned to you. Why the hell had he said that to you? It certainly hadn’t been on purpose, but as soon as it left his mouth, he’d wanted to wince. He could only hope that you hadn’t heard it or registered its weirdness. 
“Do you need any water or a snack? We’ve been at it for a while,” he offered, pulling open a cabinet to reveal a handful of water bottles and a variety of snacks.
“I have water in my bag, if you don’t mind grabbing it for me? I would eat something though.”
“Should we order something? It’s getting to be around dinner time, I wouldn’t mind eating something proper,” he suggested as he handed you a granola bar.
“Oh yeah! Build in another break in a couple of hours, that sounds good. What’s good to eat around here nowadays?” you asked through a mouthful of granola.
“Tomato Pie is actually still open, if you feel like pizza,” Seungcheol chuckled as he scrolled through restaurants on his phone. “Otherwise it just depends on what you want?”
“I’m not feeling pizza. Let’s save TP for another time,” you shook your head, “What about sushi? Something light or fresh.”
“Oh sure! Um, how about this place?” he offered you his phone. You scanned the PDF menu before nodding.
“Yeah that looks good! I’ll do roll 37 in a combo.”
“Cool, I’ll have Wren order for us. They might want to eat too,” he nodded, stepping out of the room momentarily. Before too long, the sound of the tattoo gun was droning and you fell into an easy quiet with Seungcheol again.
“Please tell me more about Cheol as a kid,” Wren asked desperately as they swirled udon around their chopsticks.
“No,” Seungcheol grumbled.
“Of course!” you answered over him.
“Do y’all have a favorite memory together? Or a most distinct one?”
“Favorite?” your brows furrowed in concentration as you tried to think. “Like I said, he and I weren’t really friends? But, oh!” you clapped your hands together suddenly, “But this one stands out! It was the end of summer before Jihun and Seungcheol were leaving for college.”
“Please don’t tell this story,” Seungcheol buried his face into his hands, ears turning pink.
“Oh it’s cute though!” you argued, but you wouldn’t tell it without his consent. You waited a moment for him to lift his head again, eyebrows raising in a way that you knew to mean ‘go ahead’.
    Eyes sparkling, you recalled the night before your brother and Seungcheol moved away for college. You had been nearly inconsolable as you and Jihun really had been close growing up and you simply couldn’t imagine finishing high school without them. He and Seungcheol had tried all manner of things to cheer you up, but nothing worked until they whipped out an emergency dance routine to your then-favorite boy band. They hadn’t really put all that much effort into learning it and mostly tripped over themselves, but it had done the trick and you’d laughed so hard that you cried. That was still an incredibly fond night for you.
“Oh and he was blonde then too! That was an era,” you wrinkled your nose as you finished telling the story.
“He can dance?” Wren looked at you incredulously.
“No, he can’t! But he tried, and that was what was important,” you chuckled heartily. “Honestly, Cheol was kind of just a good person. He was usually nice to me, but generally I just saw glimpses of him around.”
“You’re failing to mention all of the times that I bailed you out when Jihun was busy,” Seungcheol gave you a pointed glance.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” you shook your head playfully at him. “He’s always been an old man like this.”
“He is responsible like that, isn’t he?” Wren nodded at you. “Our Studio Daddy.”
“Eugh yuck!” your skin crawled as you heard Wren refer to Seungcheol as Daddy. “No no no, don’t like that one bit!”
“You and me both,” Seungcheol rolled his eyes at both of you as he finished up his food. “You done? Let’s finish this bitch up. We’re getting close.”
“You good to lock up, boss?” Wren asked as they cleared their dishes.
“Yeah, you’re good! Just turn off the reception lights and lock the door when you leave. Don’t want any randos wandering in.”
“Sure!”
“So are you in charge?” you asked after Seungcheol had settled back into to finish up the last sections of shading on the beetle legs. Wren kept referring to him as ‘boss’, but you couldn’t tell if it was just good natured ribbing.
“Kind of. I hate being called boss, but I do own the studio now. The last owners were ready to retire and move, so they made me a good deal. I don’t feel like the owner yet, but I guess technically I am.”
“Wow, that’s…that’s really impressive, Seungcheol. I’m proud of you,” you smiled genuinely at him.
“This is weird, you’re never this serious,” he raised an eyebrow at you, a little uncomfortable to receive your genuine praise.
“I know, but I am serious!” you laughed, “I wasn’t kidding when I said I’ve been following you for a while. I’m proud of how you’ve developed your art form and now you even own the studio! I think that’s super dope.”
“Thanks,” he grinned, ducking his head down to hide his blush under the guise of inspecting his work. It wasn’t too much longer before he was finished and applying tattoo dressing. “So for aftercare. Everyone has their own opinion, but I like Saniderm. Keep this one on for 24 hours and remove and wash. If you want, you can apply another sheet. Try to wear loose clothing as much as you can, but life is life. You can always call if you feel like it looks weird, but basically treat it like a wound cause it is.”
“Cool, sounds good!” you gave him a thumbs up. “What’s the damage, boss?”
“Shut up,” he rolled his eyes at you before working up a number that was on the low end of reasonable.
“That’s too low,” you decided, counting out bills until you reached a number that seemed more fair. “Dinner money’s in there too.”
“I-,” Seungcheol was slightly surprised. Not that he thought you’d be stingy, but because he was still accustomed to the you that begged rides off of him and never had gas money.
“I’ve had a big kid job for years now, don’t look so shocked,” you smiled at him, tucking your things back into your bag. “It was really good to see you, Coups. Maybe Wren and I can talk you into a night out sometime.”
“Yeah, maybe,” he half smiled at the old nickname as he waved you out the door. His lips curled into a full smile after the door swung shut. It had been good to see you.
“Hey boss?” Wren popped into Seungcheol’s office, trying to seem casual.
“I told you don’t call me that,” he looked up from his sketching. “What is it?”
“Do you have any strong friends that could help move some furniture this weekend? They will be paid.”
“You’ve never paid me to move furniture for you,” he narrowed his eyes at Wren, “Also didn’t you just move like a couple months ago? Why are you moving again?”
“Not me, YN. They just texted me. I guess the moving company cancelled at the last minute, so she’s scrambling for options.”
“Oh, shit. That sucks,” Seungcheol crossed his arms, brow furrowing at the situation. “I mean I could probably scrounge up a few friends.”
“Huh, okay!” Wren fixed their boss with an odd glance before plopping into the empty chair across from him. “Did you and YN ever date? Or like…have a thing?”
“What? No,” Seungcheol made a face of slight distaste at his receptionist. “That has never even crossed my mind until now. And I find it unpleasant.”
“Ugh, boo! Friends to lovers is the best trope,” Wren frowned, “I should’ve known you’d be a party pooper about this too. Oh well, I’ll let YN know that she can count on at least one of you meatheads to show up. I’ll get the address and stuff from her too!”
“Sounds good,” Seungcheol nodded, making a quick note on a scrap piece of paper to see whether Mingyu would be free and to exchange phone numbers with you so you could contact him directly.
“Hey Cheol?”
“Huh?” Seungcheol looked up from his desk. He had been very much in the zone, so the interruption had him slightly befuddled. “Oh, YN? What are you doing here?”
“Do you mind if I chill in the lobby and charge my phone? I didn’t see Wren, they must be doing something else, but I didn’t want to just be like a loiterer without someone knowing,” you huffed.
“Yeah, I mean, but you didn’t answer my question. Are you okay?” he asked. You didn’t look completely upended, but you were a little frazzled.
“Oh, yeah I’m fine! I just got lost and my phone battery died so I couldn’t pull up a map,” you grumbled, shuffling back to the waiting area and setting your bag down. You rifled through briefly to pull out a charging cable. “I decided to bus and walk home after work, since I’m still trying to get the layout of the city, but I got super lost. I slightly recognized this neighborhood from when I drove in for the tattoo. So here I am!” you gestured as if to say ‘ta-da’.
“Ah, I see,” Cheol couldn’t help but laugh as he took a seat next to you in the lobby. “How is work going?”
“Pretty good! I’m picking up the quirks of the software that they use, but for the most part, the job is very similar to my old one and I’ll be good at it. I like my coworkers too, which is always good.”
“Good,” he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.
“How was your day? Busy?” 
“It was okay,” he shrugged, “No tattoos today, I have Wednesdays set aside for bookkeeping, paperwork, and other businessy activities. Not my favorite, but gotta do it.”
“And how’s that?” you grinned at him, “If I remember right, you weren’t the most mathematically inclined.”
“You remember correctly,” Seungcheol grimaced.
“If you ever want help with the bookkeeping stuff, let me know. I can build a mean spreadsheet,” you offered. Despite not having been close with him in years, you felt invested in his success.
“Really?” he cocked his head at you, surprised.
“Of course! We were friendly before, right? We can be friends for real this time,” you scrunched your nose playfully at him. “Plus I definitely owe you for sending me Mingyu and Chan. Lifesavers, those two.”
“Yeah, they’re alright,” Seungcheol chuckled. “I might take you up on that spreadsheet thing, cause doing the math by hand is strange and unusual punishment.”
“Sounds good, just text me,” you nodded, eyes lighting up when your phone had charged enough to power itself back on.
“YN!” Wren called your name excitedly as they returned to the reception desk. “Sorry, I was taking inventory. What are you doing here?”
    Seungcheol returned to his office as you gave Wren the rundown of your unfortunate turn of events. You wanted to be friends this time around, huh? That could be alright.
“I’m starting to regret this whole ‘friends’ thing,” Seungcheol groaned as you dragged him towards the bar. The rest of the studio staff was already there, but he had taken his time closing up, hoping that Wren would’ve run out of patience and just left without him. In the past, this strategy had been successful, but that was before you were part of the equation. You had a longer attention span and just when Seungcheol thought he’d gotten away with it, you’d popped up at his side, asking him if he was ready to go.
“No take backs,” you teased, only releasing the grip on his sleeve after you’d pulled him full inside the establishment. “Wren! We’re here!”
“Finally! Did he do his usual thing of taking way too long?”
“Yes, you were right,” you laughed, hopping onto an empty barstool.
    Cheol narrowed his eyes at you. While he had grown to be able to handle Wren’s brand of shenanigans, he wasn’t sure how to feel about your powers combined. He watched you chat excitedly with Vernon about lizards or something before deciding that he needed a beer.
“Anyone else need drinks?” he asked, glancing across the table.
“If you’re buying, then yes!” Hoshi jumped up excitedly and appeared at Seungcheol’s side.
“YN, what do you want?” Wren tapped on your shoulder gently as they moved to order with Cheol.
“Oh, whiskey soda with a cherry?”
“What?!” Wren’s eyebrows pinched together, “Miss girl, this is a dive bar. Can you please 
order something normal?”
“Hah! Well then just get me a beer or something,” you shrugged, eager to get back to discussing the Galapagos marine iguana’s algae based diet with Vernon.
“What the hell are they even talking about?” Wren did a double take before their boss tugged them towards the bar.
“It’s better that you probably don’t ask,” he chuckled as he hailed the bartender.
“Hey what can I get you?”
    Wren rattled off the group’s order before looking back at you. “Shit, and some sort of beer,” their brow furrowed as they scanned through the options.
“You got cherries back there?” Seungcheol cut through Wren’s thinking.
“Yeah,” the bartender fixed him with a surprised look.
“Okay, then a whiskey soda with a splash of sour and a cherry. Nix that beer.”
“Weird, but sure,” the bartender laughed, moving to fill the order.
“I don’t think she asked for sour?” Wren asked Seungcheol.
“She always forgets to say it. She won’t like it without it,” he shrugged with a wry smile.
Wren watched their boss out of the corner of their eye. In the few weeks of knowing you, Wren had done a little bit of poking and was surprised that you and Seungcheol both independently maintained that nothing had ever happened or even threatened to happen between you two. In fact, you both had such a surprised reaction that made it seem like neither of you had even entertained the possibility. Yet, small things like this happened every so often and would surprise Wren anew that things were just platonic between you two.
“You got it all?” the bartender asked again, watching Cheol and Wren haphazardly gather up the six drinks between them.
“I think we’re good,” Wren finally nodded, leading the way back to the table. “Okay, so…,” they trailed off as they doled out the drinks around the table.
“Oh! I thought I was getting beer?” you were surprised when you received your drink.
“They had cherries,” was all Seungcheol offered up in explanation.
“Oh, well thanks!” you beamed at him before taking a sip.
“So what was the name of that documentary again?” Vernon asked, drawing your attention back, “I might just leave now to watch it,” he mumbled to himself as he pulled out his phone to make a note.
“Oh come on,” you chided him, “We just got here! I’ll give you the name of the documentary at the end of the night, as incentive,” you suggested.
“That’ll work,” he grumbled slightly, slipping his phone into his pocket and turning his attention back to the group’s conversation. Hoshi was regaling the group theatrically about something or the other.
    Seungcheol raised an eyebrow. He was surprised that you’d managed to convince Vernon to stay out. That was something that even he couldn’t pull off sometimes.
“So YN, are you liking your new job?” Hoshi asked after sharing his many personal thoughts and feelings about Tiger King.
“Yes!” you nodded, “I really like everyone at the practice! My trainer is super funny and nice and she said I’m basically ready to fly solo next week,” you grinned, a little nervous now that all eyes were on you.
“Remind me what you do again?” Joshua asked kindly. He was one of the piercers at the studio that you had probably spent the least amount of time with.
“I’m a vet tech! So, you know, helping with exams, running analyses, and giving vaccinations. That kind of thing.”
“Ah, so we have some things in common then,” Joshua quipped about the vaccinations.
“Hey if you’ve got a passion for stabbin’, might as well get paid for it,” you joked, prompting a chorus of laughs.
Eventually, the group broke off, some heading to the dance floor and others moving to play darts. You watched the game of darts until you were ready for a refill. As you waited for the bartender, you fished the cherry out from your melting ice cubes. It was the best part, after all.
“What’re you drinking there?” a voice to your right drew your attention.
“Hm,” you regarded the man with a suspicious glance, “I don’t think I'll tell you. You look like you’d tease me for it.”
“Oh? Well it’ll be tricky to buy you a drink, then,” he chuckled, a little taken aback by your response.
“I-,what?” you blurted out after processing his words.
“I’m Yejun,” he smiled at you, “Can I buy your next drink?”
“Hm, I suppose you can!” you chuckled. You observed his side profile as he flagged down the bartender. “So do you live here, Yejun?”
“I do,” he nodded, “Do you?”
“I do now,” you grinned, “I actually grew up around here and recently moved back for a job. Things are kind of the same, kind of different.”
“Oh really? How long has it been since you lived here? And what’s different?” he asked, smiling charmingly as he leaned against the bar, turning to face you fully.
    Seungcheol watched intently as you chatted with this man. His brow furrowed slightly trying to gauge whether he needed to intervene. For a while, your expression was wary, but eventually you broke out into a teasing smile and he could tell that the attention was welcome. You were more than capable of holding your own, Cheol knew that, and so he returned to watching darts.
    Wren was stumped as they watched Seungcheol watch you. For a moment he’d almost looked jealous, but that tension eventually dissipated and he returned to darts as if nothing had happened. When Wren looked at you again, you were happily chatting with a man at the bar, which was somehow even more confusing.
“Ah, I’m so glad you were free this weekend! You’ve been so wrapped up in Yejun that I feel like I barely see you anymore!” Wren tittered animatedly as they wrapped you up in a hug.
“Wren we hung out on Tuesday,” you laughed, shaking your head.
“Yes, and it’s been far too long between then and now. Speaking of, how are things going with Yejun? If he’s not treating you well, I will bring the boys to beat him up!” Wren threatened.
“There’s no need for that at all,” you shook your head vigorously, “Things are going good! I don’t know that I feel super…serious about him, but it’s been fun so far!”
“Hm. Well if you’d rather just date someone at the studio, I’d prefer that so I could see you all the time! I think Vernon is single, and you both love those damned lizards.”
“Hah! Iguanas,” you corrected them as you scanned down the list of cocktails. An aperol spritzer sounded good in the day’s warm weather. “No, I won’t date anyone at the studio. I don’t date friends, that’s a recipe for disaster.”
“You’re smarter than most,” Wren laughed. Couldn’t fault your logic.
“How are things with the boys? I feel like it’s been a bit since I’ve seen everyone. Anything interesting happen lately?”
“Oh, we might have a stray cat hanging around?” Wren clapped their hands together, “There’s a calico that showed up both yesterday and today.”
“Really? No collar or anything, I assume? Does it have a clipped ear? Is it friendly?”
“No, no, and yes,” Wren answered, “Should we do anything special for it?”
“Honestly, we should try and grab it so that we can take it to a vet to get it checked out. See if it’s microchipped. I can bring some stuff from the office and maybe let’s pick up some wet food after lunch? You can bring that to the studio.”
“Sounds good!” Wren nodded gamely. “Aside from that, nothing new at the studio. We’re a boring bunch these days.”
“You know honestly, that’s not a bad thing,” you smiled.
“We should go out for a happy hour sometime this week,” Wren suggested as your entrees arrived. “Maybe Thursday? You can bring Yejun!”
“Oh sure! Are we going to try and bring Seungcheol? Or not worth the fight?” you scrunched your nose up playfully.
“I mean, I always want the whole gang to be there. But might need your help again.”
“I can be on Coups duty,” you laughed, “It’s light work.”
“Alright, well if you’re in then I’m in,” Wren laughed. You did seem to have a way with Seungcheol that nobody else did.
    The rest of lunch was filled with odds and ends of conversation before you and Wren walked to the supermarket to pick up a few cans of wet cat food. Wren headed back to the studio and you drove to the veterinary office to pick up some supplies. A humane trap, a cat carrier, and a kitty straightjacket accompanied you back to the tattoo studio. 
“I’m here!” you announced as you brought the trap into the reception area.
“Um, what’s happening now?” Minghao, one of the other tattoo artists, looked on curiously as you fiddled with the gate of the humane trap.
“I told YN about our new friend! She’s going to help us trap it so we can take it to the vet.”
“Oh, I see,” Hao chuckled before returning to his room. Since you’d moved back home, you’d clearly established yourself as Wren’s new partner in crime. It was usually entertaining.
“Okay, I think I got it,” you nodded before grabbing a can of food and walking back outside to place the trap against the side of the building. You popped the can open and placed it at the back of the trap. “Now hopefully we catch the stray cat and not some other beastie,” you muttered to yourself as you walked back inside. Last time you’d set up a humane trap, you’d woken up to a livid raccoon instead of the stray you’d set out to capture.
“Hey Wren, can you order more of these supplies please?” Cheol dropped off a list at the receptionist desk, barely registering your presence. Between your help setting up his profit and loss statements and just general shenanigans with Wren, you’d become somewhat of a regular at the studio.
“Sir, yes sir!” Wren saluted playfully before waving you out the door. You had errands to run yet, but you let Wren know to call you if and when the stray showed back up.
“Oh my gosh, she is so so cute! I have named her Sausage Patty, we shall call her Patty and I love her very much,” you gushed over drinks. The studio had organized a staff outing again and Yejun had opted to join, so all of your people were in one place.
“You said this was a cat?” Yejun asked, “I thought your place didn’t allow pets?”
“It doesn’t,” you sighed, “But Cheol can keep her in until I can find a new place, right? It isn’t too terribly long before my lease is up,” you pleaded with him hopefully.
“Ah,” Yejun shifted uncomfortably, “I, um. We should talk later,” he ducked his head to whisper in your ear.
“Oh, okay?” you nodded at this ominous feeling request.
“So Yejun, tell us about yourself,” Wren prompted, eager to get to know the person you’d been dating. “YN has mentioned some things, but I’m nosy.”
    Yejun chuckled good naturedly and shared his age, where he had lived before here, and that he worked as a financial advisor at the local bank.
“Oh interesting, do you enjoy that?” Joshua asked, eyes dancing.
    Seungcheol fixed Joshua and Hoshi with a warning glance as Yejun answered Joshua’s query.  He could tell that the boys did not find Yejun particularly interesting, but they didn’t have to in order to be nice. You were the one dating him, after all.
“It’s alright,” Yejun shrugged, not picking up on Shua’s teasing. “There are things that I like and things that I don’t, but that’s any job, isn’t it?”
“Sure is!” Hoshi chimed in mischievously, “For example, Seungcheol is the thing that I don’t like most about my job.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Cheol laughed, “If this is where the conversation is going, then I’m going to grab a beer,” he announced. Joshua took the opportunity to join him at the bar.
“My god, our YN is dating a banker? Where did we go wrong, Cheol?” Joshua bemoaned jokingly as he leaned against the bar.
“Joshua,” Cheol warned him, the slightest edge audible in his voice. “Be nice.”
“He’s so dull,” Joshua pressed on, “She can do better.”
“That’s not our business,” Seungcheol shrugged as he accepted a fresh beer from the bartender. “If you can’t be nice, then I suggest you stay away. YN will take it personally if you tell her you don’t like him. Just leave it.”
“Fine,” Joshua ran his tongue over his teeth with displeasure, “A banker of all things. Please.”
“You remember when you dated that flight attendant, right? We all kept it to ourselves until things ended. YN is our friend now, so you can do her the same courtesy.”
“I wish you’d given me your honest feedback then. That was a major waste of my time,” Joshua bristled as he recalled that toxic relationship.
    When they returned to the table they found that Hoshi had wandered off with Vernon to play darts and Wren was doing their best to hold the conversation with Yejun. There really wasn’t anything specifically wrong with Yejun, he just didn’t have much in common with any of them. Seungcheol briefly wondered what you two talked about, but it left his mind just as quickly.
“So what did you want to talk about earlier?” you asked Yejun hesitantly as he walked you to your door. There was a nip in the air and your cheeks were flushed pink as you looked up at him.
“Oh, yeah,” his expression filled with unease, “I guess I should let you know that I’m allergic to cats. It hadn’t really come up before, but it’s relevant now.”
“Oh,” your expression fell at this news. Somehow it was both a big deal and not a big deal. On the one hand, you were still in a very casual stage with Yejun and wouldn’t be able to live with Patty for a while even if you and Seungcheol did manage to work something out. But on the other hand, if this was a deal breaker, you wondered if you were just wasting your time. You loved animals and couldn’t envision a future without them. “Are you allergic to other animals too? Or just cats?”
“Mildly allergic to dogs, but my cat allergy is quite severe,” he answered apologetically.
“I see,” you nodded, “Well…I would say that since I’m still not sure I’ll be able to convince Seungcheol to keep Patty for me in the meantime and I’m at least five months out from being at the end of my lease, I’m not sure this needs to change anything between us? What do you think, though?”
“I agree,” Yejun smiled with a sense of relief.
“Great,” you grinned up at him. “Well, I’m home. Maybe we can do something next week?”
“That sounds great!” Yejun pulled you in for a quick peck before moving to drive himself home.
“Hello?” Seungcheol’s brows furrowed as he read the name on the incoming call. “YN? Are you okay?”
“Hey,” you sniffed, second guessing yourself. You briefly considered hanging up, but decided it would be helpful to have a sounding board. “Are you busy?”
“No, what’s up?” he shook his head, noting that you hadn’t answered his question.
“Can I swing by? I need some advice. Or maybe just to talk, I’m not sure,” you muttered, pressing your palm against your cheek.
“Yeah, of course,” Cheol nodded, “I’m home right now so come by whenever. Patty would like to see you too, I’m sure.”
“Okay, I’ll be over soon then,” you nodded forlornly before ending the call.
    You second guessed yourself the entire way over. Maybe this wasn’t a big enough deal to bother Seungcheol about. Maybe you should’ve called Wren instead. But you knew that Wren would not be impartial and you knew, in your gut, that if it wasn’t a big enough deal to bother Cheol about, then you wouldn’t have called him. Before you knew it, you were parked in front of Seungcheol’s place and you weren’t about to drive right back home.
    You walked up the steps and tried the doorknob. With all of the shared cat custody, he had gotten into the habit of leaving the front door unlocked when he knew you were on the way. Today was no different.
“I’m here,” you announced generally as you slipped off your shoes. Cheol appeared with a beer before you had gotten the second one off.
“You sounded like you needed a drink,” he smiled sympathetically at you.
“You know all about me nowadays, huh?” you laughed, taking the cold beverage from him.
“Little bit,” he grinned, “So what’s up?” he asked after you took a seat at his kitchen table. You gestured for him to sit down next to you before you answered.
“Yejun and I broke up…I guess? Is it even breaking up if you were just kind of dating?” you thought aloud. “Whatever you want to call it, we will no longer be a thing.”
“Ah, I’m sorry to hear that,” Seungcheol’s expression creased with worry. “Do you want to talk about what happened? Or what’s helpful?”
“I’m not too torn up about what happened,” you thought for a moment, trying to identify your feelings, “But I am sad. But I don’t feel like I should be sad because it wasn’t that serious? Also he was allergic to cats so was it gonna work out anyways?” you were surprised when you felt the tears pricking at your eyes. You had done such a good job of keeping it together all week, but now talking about it in such clarity really broke something free inside of you and suddenly you were crying.
    Seungcheol froze. He had never seen you cry before and he was at a loss about what to do. He wanted to be supportive, but didn’t really know what that should look like for you. Did you want a hug? Did you hate hugs? It frustrated him deeply that he didn’t already know the answer.
“What would be helpful right now?” he found himself asking.
“It’s silly, but I could use a hug,” you sighed, almost rolling your eyes at yourself. You’d never really been one for physical affection, but the thought of being wrapped up in Cheol’s arms seemed comforting in a way that you needed desperately right now.
    He moved immediately, standing over you with his arms outstretched. You stood up to fit yourself into him and his arms folded around you without thought. You were surprised at how natural it felt. You allowed yourself a few more sobs into his chest before letting yourself just feel warm and secure in his hold.
    Seungcheol experienced the whole gamut of human emotion as he held you. Anger at Yejun for causing you to feel this way. Empathetic sadness. Relief when your crying stopped. And…pride at the feeling of being able to provide you comfort. It was very different and new to Seungcheol to see you in this emotionally vulnerable state, but not unpleasant by any measure.
“Okay, I feel better,” you chuckled sheepishly, pulling away from Cheol and wiping at your cheeks. “I should go home and get some sleep.”
“Okay,” he nodded at you, surprised at the instinct he felt to pull you back in.
“Thanks Cheol. Seriously.”
“I think I’m getting cold feet,” Seungcheol grimaced after seeing you mix up the bleach in a somewhat alarming way.
“No, no take backs!” you frowned, turning your foil-covered head towards him.
    Several days ago, you had bought the largest containers of bleach powder and developer that they sold at the beauty supply store. You kept saying that you weren’t torn up over Yejun, but you figured why not allow yourself to partake in some of the traditional post-break up rituals? An entirely new haircut didn’t appeal to you, but adding some vivid color did seem fun. You weren’t totally sure how Seungcheol had caught wind of this undertaking, but when he’d thought out loud about going blonde again, Wren had been insistent. Whether it turned out looking good or his hair fell off, it didn’t matter too much to Wren. Both outcomes were equally pleasing.
“I-,” he grimaced, “If I end up having to buzz my head, you’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Cheol, relax,” you tried to reassure him, “I have done this before. Now just sit still.”
    Seungcheol sucked on his teeth before acquiescing and sitting down on the stool in front of you, allowing you to get started. You grinned happily as you ran your fingers through his hair, sectioning them off and applying the bleach to the foils. The way he enjoyed feeling your hands running through his hair was a little surprising to him, but soon he found himself just watching you and smiling at the way you smiled.
“Are you excited to be blonde again?” you asked around three quarters of the way through. “Was the last time in high school?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Cheol thought for a moment, “Didn’t you help me and Jihun that time too?”
“Probably? Like your guys’ senior year?”
“Yes,” he smiled, “That was a good look, if I do say so myself.”
“I agree,” you nodded as you grabbed a spare grocery bag to pop over his completely foiled head. “Okay, now we can let that process for 30 minutes. It should start to feel warm, mine kind of does already,” you touched your own foils gingerly.
“Okay, you wanna watch something while we wait?” he shrugged, flipping on the television.
“Sure,” you nodded, sitting down on the couch. You giggled happily when Patty hopped onto your lap and you scratched her under the chin.
“She loves you,” he chuckled, watching you interact with the cat.
“She loves you too!” you insisted, “Go see your dad,” you whispered at her playfully, which she ignored.
“No, she’s your cat and your cat alone. I’m just her landlord,” Seungcheol chuckled, unable to keep himself from thinking about the implication of ‘dad’.
“Okay, time to check!” you jumped up when the timer sounded. “Let me check mine first and then I’ll check yours,” you announced as you moved to the bathroom mirror.
“How’s it lookin’?” Cheol asked, leaning against the door jamb.
“I think a little longer, I’ll check again in fifteen. Now come here,” you beckoned him over. He moved to face you and spread his feet apart until you could see the top of his head. You peeled back a few foils and were surprised to see that it had lightened sufficiently. Lucky bastard. “I think you’re good to go, Seungcheol! You can rinse that bleach out and then I’ll tone you.”
“Word,” he nodded, helping you remove the rest of the foils and tuck them into garbage. You massaged your fingers through his hair, evaluating the rest of the strands before confirming he was ready to rinse. Without a word, he tugged his shirt up over his head before moving to grab the shower head.
“What are you doing?!” you almost shouted, alarmed by the shedding of clothes.
“I don’t want to get my shirt wet,” he shrugged, somehow pleased at the way you jumped.
“Let me get out of the bathroom first,” you grumbled, flushed in the cheeks as you made your way back into the living room.
“Okay, I’m done. You wanna check your foils again?” he emerged from the bathroom, rubbing his hair with a towel.
“Yes,” you nodded, trying to look anywhere but at him as he had not put the shirt back on.
After you had also rinsed the bleach out from your ends, you started mixing up toner and color. For a second time, you were applying and massaging solution into his hair.
“This feels nice,” Cheol remarked with his eyes closed, enjoying your touch.
“Does it?” your eyebrows raised, trying to stay composed. You didn’t need to look at his bare chest. You didn’t. “I guess that makes sense, like a scalp massage, right?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, eyes slowly opening again to meet your gaze through the mirror. His lips had curled into a half smile and the way he looked at you made your heart stop for a moment.
“Okay, go pop another bag on your head and let that process for 20-ish minutes?” you glanced away, clearing your throat needlessly. As Seungcheol flopped onto the couch, you applied the tanzanite hair dye to your bleached ends, doing your best to avoid staining his bathroom permanently.
“Okay, my timer’s up!” Cheol announced as he burst into the bathroom again unceremoniously. Apparently you’d zoned out after applying the purple dye and you jumped at his intrusion. “Scoot,” he grabbed you at the waist and relocated you easily. He grabbed the showerhead and leaned over the tub, rinsing the silver toner out of his hair. You intended to leave, you wanted to leave, but when it came down to it you couldn’t do anything but stare at his broad back, mind frazzled at the way he had lifted you up so easily.
“Damn,” Seungcheol whistled appreciatively, regarding himself in the mirror, “This looks good!”
“You’re welcome,” you nodded surely at him, “And you doubted me.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry, you killed it,” Cheol grinned at you. Without thinking it through, he pulled you into his chest and gave you a squeeze.
“Cheol, dye!” you panicked, pushing him away. “See, now you’re purple,” you frowned, looking at the splotch of purple on his chest that had transferred from your hair. Without thought, you swiped at it with your fingers, hoping to wipe it off before it stained too badly. It took a few passes, but eventually you gathered it all and rinsed it down the sink drain.
“Thanks,” Seungcheol coughed, nerves alight at the friction of your fingertips woefully close to his nipple. A quick shudder ran through him before he could gather his thoughts and compose himself.
“Okay, now get out, I’m going to rinse out my color. Mine’s gonna be messy, so I’m just gonna take an actual shower,” you shooed him out insistently.
    After you closed and locked the door for good measure, you let out a sigh. What had you been thinking, touching his bare chest like that? You must be out of your mind. Jumping into the shower, you let the water wash the dye from your hair and the thoughts from your mind.
    Seungcheol ruminated while you showered. He had already acknowledged that something in him had shifted after you’d visited him last week. You had always just been Jihun’s sister and that hadn’t really changed much since you’d moved back. However, seeing you in that emotionally vulnerable state last week had started to chip away at the way he thought of you.
“Whew, okay, the ordeal is done!” you laughed as you emerged from the bathroom pointing at the towel wrapped around your head. “I picked a darker one, but I can’t promise that the purple is gonna wash out,” you chuckled sheepishly, skin pink and glowing from the shower.
“I’m not worried about that,” Cheol shrugged, “Now take a rest, stylist,” he teased, patting the couch cushion next to him. Patty chirped in protest at the noisy impact, but settled back into his lap eventually as you finished the show you had started earlier.
“Cheol, Cheol!” Wren beckoned Seungcheol as he was walking through the hallway towards the stockroom.
“What?”
“What do you think about starting a Tiktok account for the studio? People seem to really like them, it could help us drum up some business!”
“I don’t know…,” he rubbed his chin contemplatively, “Are you going to run it? I want no part of it, to be honest.”
“Yes, I will!” Wren nodded furiously, “This looks way more fun and I could definitely do it between my normal job responsibilities.”
“I-, okay. But people have to agree to be in your videos, okay? None of this sneaky filming business,” Seungcheol furrowed his brows at them before returning to his office.
    To Seungcheol’s surprise, Wren really took initiative of the social media management and within a month or so, had amassed a significant number of followers. Wren was always on their phone anyways, and so kept on top of the latest trends and viral sounds. Seungcheol was also surprised at the ways in which the internet seemed to love their ragtag group. Folks found Joshua to be painfully handsome, Vernon and Hoshi to be side bustingly funny, and Wren to be endearing. You had even featured in a handful of videos when you’d happened to be at the studio and commenters the entire week afterwards playfully demanded ‘more YN content’.
“Cheol, have you reconsidered showing your face on Tiktok?” you asked after watching a ‘the art versus the artist’ tiktok.
“No,” he shook his head firmly.
“Aw man, this would’ve been a good video too!” you pouted, turning your phone to show Wren.
“Oh damn it, yeah it would be!” they shouted woefully.
“What is it?” Coups asked, feigning indifference.
“Okay, so the concept is showing art and then the artist that made it. Cheol you’re so talented, I feel like this is such a nice way to showcase your work!” you pleaded with him, though you were not particularly hopeful. When he didn’t reject you outright, you offered him your phone to show an example.
“Hm,” the corner of his lip pulled back as he contemplated. Your heart rose hopefully in your chest, was he genuinely considering this?
“YN can be in the video too! She’s a good example of healed work!” Wren clapped excitedly at the prospect. “We can start the video zoomed in on her thigh tattoo and then zoom out to show you!”
    Seungcheol raised his eyebrows at you in an unspoken question. It seemed that he was in if you were too. Holding back an ecstatic squeal, you nodded, over the moon at finally getting Cheol to agree to be in a Tiktok.
    The first section went smoothly. Wren positioned you in front of the studio window for flattering lighting and then zoomed in on your thigh. The second part where they would zoom out to a video of Seungcheol was not as seamless. First they wanted to try a solo shot, which didn’t pass muster. Then you tried posing next to Cheol, which Wren deemed ‘too stiff’. Finally, they took over full creative control and positioned Seungcheol behind you with his face above your shoulder. After a few more failed takes, he didn’t even register it when he leaned forward to mumble idle threats into your ear. Something about ‘never should have agreed to this’ and ‘I don’t know that we need a receptionist anyways’, which made you chuckle.
    Wren stilled in the midst of filming. Their gaze moved from the screen and lifted over the phone to observe you directly. The sight of Seungcheol with his face tucked into your neck and making you laugh was so tender it made Wren want to scream at the both of you.
“You got it?” Seungcheol looked up suddenly.
“I mean…I got something,” Wren replied, bemused.
    You were excited. Jihun was coming home for Thanksgiving! By your math, it had been well over a year since you’d last seen him, so your parents were going all out. They’d invited all of your friends, but Seungcheol had been the only one to take them up on the offer. It was going to be nostalgic, the five of you together, but holidays were all about nostalgia, right? You’d spent the day with your parents, helping them prepare the house and meals. Seungcheol had been assigned to pick up Jihun from the airport when his flight arrived that afternoon, so you were surprised when you heard a knock on the door a little after noon.
“Oh, who-?” your mom wondered as she opened the door, “Seungcheol, darling, you’re early!”
“I know, but I thought I’d come see if I could help with anything until then,” he shrugged, stepping into the threshold.
    From the kitchen, you did a double take. Seungcheol was wearing an unbuttoned button down with a matching t-shirt underneath and accessorized with a medium weight chain necklace. He looked nice, which made you momentarily self conscious that you were still wearing chores clothes. You threw him a quick smile before returning to finish washing the sheet pans that were no longer needed.
“Can I help?” he offered.
“You wanna dry?” you suggested, pointing out a dry towel. He nodded and settled in next to you, drying off anything you handed to him. “What time does Jihun’s flight get in again?”
“Three, so I’ll probably leave around two. There’s probably airport traffic today.”
    You nodded as you finished up the dishes and set the gloves aside to dry.
“Mom, what else can I help with?” Seungcheol had already wandered off in search of your mother.
    You rolled your eyes. He had called your mom ‘Mom’ since you were kids. The first time had been an accident and you had replied ‘No, she’s my mom!’ quite indignantly. Your mom had chuckled and patted young Seungcheol on the head, reassuring him. At first he continued to call her ‘Mom’ mostly to irritate you, but over time, it sort of just became reality. Seungcheol was over at your house so much that he really did feel like family at times.
“You’re so thoughtful, Cheol,” your mom beamed up at him, “You can come help Dad and I wrap dumplings if you like.”
“Sure,” he nodded, hip checking you away from the kitchen sink so he could wash his hands. You huffed indignantly as you took your seat at the dumpling table as well.
“So Seungcheol,” your dad cleared his throat, “How are things at the shop?”
“Good! Not much has changed since you were last there,” he cocked his head thoughtfully.
“You’ve been to the studio?” you queried, confused at the idea of it.
“Yes, of course! We had to congratulate him once we heard he was taking it over. I’m not sure we’re tattoo people, still, but our Cheol is a business owner now!” your dad laughed, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“It’s still a small town, YN,” Seungcheol chuckled, “Not much happens without everyone knowing about it.”
“That’s true,” your mom nodded. For example, she had heard through the grapevine that you often hung out with Seungcheol and his staff at Anne Kim’s bar. Apparently quite an edgy group of youngsters. The Kim’s had long ago given up running the establishment themselves, but it was a good source of passive income and town information.
“That’s so funny, I can’t imagine you there!” you giggled.
“They brought me a cake and everything,” Cheol chuckled, recalling that day fondly. It had taken some explaining to get everyone to understand that they were not, in fact, Seungcheol’s own parents and the cake had done a good job of quieting them all down.
“That’s so cute,” you gushed.
    When you’d been younger, it had sometimes bothered you how easy it was for your mom to love your friends in what felt like the same way that she loved you. Now that you were older, you could appreciate her capacity to love in a different way.
“I should go get Jihun,” Seungcheol announced, placing one more lopsided dumpling onto the tray before standing up.
“Drive safe!”
“Will do,” Seungcheol smiled at your mother, disarmingly charming.
“What a good boy,” she preened happily as you finished wrapping up the dumpling filling. “Have you hung out with Seungcheol much since you’ve moved back?” she asked, even though she knew the answer already.
“Occasionally,” you shrugged, but as you did the math you realized that you’d probably seen him more than anyone else in recent days. “I’ve probably hung out with his receptionist, Wren, more though. They’re nice!”
“Oh, Wren! Yes, I remember from the studio. They’re just cute as a button, aren’t they?” your mom chirped. So you weren’t willing to admit that you were closer with Seungcheol than you’d ever been before. That was okay.
“Yes, they really wanted to come for Thanksgiving too, but they decided to go to their partner’s family’s instead.”
“Well, you know you don’t need an excuse to bring them around. Our house is always open. You too,” she gave you a pointed look. You grinned sheepishly. You knew they always wanted you to visit more.
“I’ll bring them around!” you nodded affirmatively.
“In fact, the rest of the shop can come too! They’ll keep us young,” your dad added suddenly. Your dad had always been quieter than your mom, but every so often he said something that left you absolutely slack jawed. This was one of those times.
“I’ll let them know,” you shook your head with a chuckle. “I’m going to go shower and change now.”
    Your parents waved you off goodnaturedly and you retreated to your childhood bedroom. Everything you needed was in your duffel bag, but you couldn’t help from getting distracted by all of the stuff that your mom had kept exactly the same. Filled with nostalgia, your fingertips skimmed across the figurines, books, and other memorabilia. Your diary caught your eye and you pulled it out by the spine, curious to read some of your old thoughts. It was all cringey as hell, but it made you laugh as you thumbed through. As you reached the end, something fell out from the pages which surprised you. A polaroid of Seungcheol from the night you had told Wren about many months ago at this point. It was from the night before he and Jihun had left for college and the last time you remembered him being blonde prior to this most recent bleach job. You smiled softly as you peered at it in disbelief. Seungcheol looked the same, but different. His roots were a touch more grown out than they were right now and he was wearing that dog tag necklace that he had felt was so cool back then. What a handsome doofus.
“Woof, nostalgia is one hell of a bitch,” you muttered under your breath, surprised at your own reaction.
    Shoving your thoughts aside, you jumped into the shower and focused on getting ready. The warm water soothed you infinitely and you hummed contentedly to yourself as you finished getting ready. You changed into a cute yet comfortable outfit and headed down the stairs to join your parents. You were in the middle of contemplating a cookie when the front door opened dramatically.
“I’m home!” Jihun announced excitedly as he entered the house. To your surprise, not one but two figures followed him inside.
“Jihun-a!” your mom cooed excitedly as she moved towards the door. “Oh who’s this?”
“Mom, Dad, this is my girlfriend Hyejin!”
“Oh my goodness, what a surprise!” your mom tittered excitedly. “Why didn’t you tell me so I could have prepared?”
“Mom, you’re always prepared anyways! I wanted to surprise you,” Jihun shook his head.
    Your parents tsked appropriately at Jihun while ushering Hyejin inside. As they tittered over her, you threw a look at Seungcheol.
“Surprise!” he wiggled his hands weakly, which made you burst out laughing. You rolled your eyes before joining the family in the living room.
“Hyejin, this is my sister, YN,” Jihun gestured towards you as you entered.
“Hi,” you grinned excitedly at Hyejin. “I’m very excited to share with you all of Jihun’s most embarrassing stories!” you shook her hand with a little too much vigor for your brother’s tastes.
“I’m so excited to meet you all!” Hyejin smiled. She was so pretty!
“Genuinely, you’re so pretty, what the hell are you doing with Jihun?” you couldn’t help but ask mischievously.
“YN,” Seungcheol furrowed his brow, “Easy.”
“You’re right, I’ll let you settle in. I’ll ask later,” you whispered surreptitiously to her, drawing a small chuckle. Instead you joined Seungcheol as your parents lightly grilled Hyejin and Jihun about their relationship. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell any of us,” you mumbled at Cheol. “Did he share much on the drive with you?”
“No, not much,” he shook his head. “I was surprised too, I haven’t seen her on his socials or anything. Must be recent?”
“Hm,” you shrugged.
    Seungcheol watched you as you looked on with interest. You looked really cute in your holiday cardigan. You could feel Seungcheol’s gaze on you. You kept your eyes facing forward, but you couldn’t help a light shiver before you decided it was time to rejoin the fray. Seungcheol looked on from the kitchen, allowing you this familial moment. Dinner passed quickly, everyone enjoying the opportunity to catch up with or get to know each other. You found that you were a big fan of Hyejin. She was funny, clever, and so easy to talk to. Seungcheol and Jihun caught up easily, like old times. Your parents looked on happily at their lovely little family.
“Okay, time for a movie!” your mom announced once everyone had finished eating.
“Movie?” Hyejin wondered and the rest of you stood.
“Family tradition, movie theater after an early dinner,” Cheol answered with a smile. “Are we playing for right to choose? Or perhaps because we have a guest…?” he gestured to Hyejin.
“Oh I think guest chooses,” you nodded supportively.
“Really?” Hyejin was surprised. “Okay, let me see what’s showing,” she laughed, pulling out her phone.
“Ooh I'm excited, good choice again Hyejin!” you bounced on the balls of your feet as you waited in line for concessions.
“Behave,” Seungcheol grabbed you by the shoulders, pinning you in place. 
    A jolt of heat darted through your chest at his grip. You suddenly flashed back to the day of your tattoo. This was a very similar feeling to when Seungcheol had grasped your upper thigh and murmured ‘good girl’ to you, effectively knocking the wind from your lungs. You stilled, unable to face him.
“Good girl,” he went on to commend you thoughtlessly as he perused snack options.
    You blinked. A sharp exhale left your lungs as you struggled with the effect this was having on you. You wanted to punch Seungcheol, how could he be so careless with his words!
“Popcorn,” you answered the teenager when you got to the front of the line.
“What size?”
“Large,” you answered. You had saved room.
“Should we just share a bucket?” Cheol suggested.
“No! Get your own popcorn,” you scrunched your face at him. The possibility of accidentally brushing hands with him was too much to consider right now.
“Okay, damn,” he chuckled bemusedly as he went to order his own popcorn.
    You knew you were acting odd, but you couldn’t help yourself. In an effort to distance yourself from Seungcheol, you wandered towards Jihun and Hyejin, eavesdropping on their conversation. They were discussing something boring so you wandered towards your parents instead.
“YN-ah,” they beckoned you towards them. “How are things since moving back? I know it was always a little small for you here,” your mom asked genuinely.
“You know,” you thought for a moment, wanting to answer honestly, “I was worried I wouldn’t be happy moving back…but I’ve made some good friends and I’m actually pretty happy!”
“That’s great,” your dad smiled at you.
    Your mom studied your expression closely, but you didn’t give much away. She was curious whether your contentment was tied to Seungcheol as much as she hoped it would be. Your parents had always been big fans of Cheol throughout childhood. Part of it was proximity, of course, as Seungcheol had been at the house almost constantly throughout middle and high school. But the other part of it was that they saw the ways in which Seungcheol complimented both you and Jihun. Seungcheol had always had a calm energy and presence that didn’t hinder you from being yourself, but also tempered your personality when occasionally necessary.
“Movie time!” your parents announced, ushering everyone towards theater six. As everyone paired off, you found yourself sitting next to Seungcheol.
“We should’ve just shared a popcorn, we paid basically double to have the same amount in separate bags,” he pouted at you.
“I want to have my own bag, leave me alone!”  you whisper shouted at him, scrunching your face at him in the dark.
    Hyejin giggled as she watched you and Seungcheol with fascination. Jihun had mentioned that you all had been childhood friends, but not that you two were dating. She wondered how long it’d been since you and Seungcheol had gotten together and whether Jihun even knew. She’d have to ask after the movie was over.
“That was good,” you nodded surely as everyone piled into the car. “I was especially a fan of the scenes where the fruit and vegetable carts were upturned. Love me a good ‘my cabbages’ moment!”
“Me too!” Hyejin giggled
    The ride back was filled with excited discussion, laughter, and some good natured teasing. Your parents helped themselves to a slice of apple pie and let you all know you were welcome to the leftovers if you got peckish before they retired to bed. Eventually Jihun and Seungcheol wandered off to look at something in the basement, which allowed you to visit with Hyejin more.
“So how long have you and Seungcheol been dating?” she asked.
“W-what?” you sputtered. “Me and Cheol? No, we’re not!”
“Oh, I’m sorry! Are you really not?” she flushed, “You two seem so close!”
“No, no, don’t be sorry!” you leaned towards her, not wanting her to feel embarrassed, “We are close! But we’ve known each other for years,” you tried to explain.
“That really surprises me. You two seem very much in step with each other,” she mused. She had literally watched him eat the chestnuts that you’d pulled out of your stuffing and set on a side plate.
“I-, I mean I guess we are closer than before these days. I moved back to town a few months ago and Seungcheol is probably one of my closest friends right now,” you thought out loud. You weren’t sure whether it was just the longevity of the relationship, but there was a deep comfort that you had with Seungcheol that just couldn’t be beat.
“Ah, I see,” Hyejin nodded, tipping the rest of her wine back.
“Do you want another drink? Or maybe we can go bother the boys?”
“Why not both?” she laughed, so you led the way.
“Oy, degenerates! What are you doing down here? Smoking weed?” you teased as you bounced down the stairs.
“I mean we could be,” Jihun’s voice called back.
“Holding out on us,” you rolled your eyes playfully at Hyejin as you rounded the corner.
“Hey,” Hyejin grinned, looping an arm around Jihun’s waist and squeezing affectionately.
“Yo,” you punched Seungcheol awkwardly in the shoulder before flopping onto the futon next to him. “It’s been a damn minute since we were all down here, huh!”
“Yes it has,” Cheol’s eyebrows raised dramatically as he considered the length of time. “Probably haven’t been back since before college started.”
    Jihun nodded in agreement and they both took turns sharing fun stories with Hyejin until your eyes started drifting shut. These beers really took a toll on you these days.
“Hey, YN,” Seungcheol’s voice and shoulder nudged you awake.
“Hm?” you murmured.
“You should go to bed,” he suggested.
“No, I’m fine! I’m just resting my eyes,” you protested, struggling to keep the aforementioned eyes open.
“Oh not this again,” Seungcheol shook his head. He had fallen for the ‘resting my eyes’ line a grand total of twice before he’d learned his lesson. That just meant you had already dozed off and were going to fall asleep again shortly. “YN, if you don’t go to bed now, I’m going to carry you up.”
“Do it, you won’t,” you goaded him sleepily. You managed half a yawn before he had hucked you over his shoulder and carried you up the stairs.
Jihun had been scrolling through his phone, and so looked up with slight confusion to see Hyejin grinning knowingly.
    Seungcheol dumped you onto your bed as gently as he could manage, but you still landed with a loud ‘oof’. He scoffed as you curled into your pillows and comforter like a caterpillar into a cocoon. Why couldn’t you just admit you were tired like a normal person?
    A few weeks after Thanksgiving, you were at Seungcheol’s again spending quality time with Patty when Jihun Facetimed him unexpectedly. Patty was sitting on your chest on the couch when Seungcheol picked up.
“Hey man, what’s up?”
“Not much, I was just calling to check in. Thanksgiving made me realize that I’ve done a shit job of keeping up with you so I want to change that!”
“Oh, for sure,” Cheol laughed, a little surprised. “Oh, YN is here too!” he directed the phone to you and Patty. You waved from underneath her.
“Oh, YN is there?” you heard Hyejin’s voice in the background. “That reminds me, I’m gonna to text her!”
[hyejin]: ‘hey, I saw an ad for this yesterday and it made me think of you!’
    You squealed in excitement at the attached screenshot she sent of a frog stun gun. It even had a little butt on the back! Patty jumped off of your chest in protest of your loud noise, but your excitement was difficult to contain.
[yn]: ‘OMFG. THNEED’
[hyejin]: ‘right?!? when they do their next shop update, i’m ordering for both of us!’
“Coups, look!” you hopped off of the couch excitedly to show Seungcheol, completely derailing his conversation with Jihun. “It’s a frog. And a self defense stun gun. And it has a butt!” you flipped through the pictures excitedly. Seungcheol nodded good naturedly at you before returning to his discussion with Jihun. 
“I didn’t know you had a cat,” your brother's voice floated across the room. Seungcheol explained the situation, to which Hyejin sent you a slew of texts rapidly.
[hyejin]: ‘are you sure you’re not dating seungcheol?!?’
[hyejin]: ‘you can tell me if you are. i wont tell jihun!’ 
[hyejin]: ‘im cool!’
[yn]: ‘im not!’
You furrowed your brows slightly. You and Hyejin had kept in touch since Thanksgiving and she had taken to fussing over you like an older sister. For the most part you loved it, but this probing about Cheol made you feel…confused. It wasn’t the first time that people had mistaken you as a couple and you almost understood why. No, the thing that was difficult to contend with was the fact that you…didn’t hate it?
[hyejin]: ‘okay 👀 im just sayin not many people would let a cat live at their house just for a friend’
[hyejin]: ‘but maybe im wrong!’
You sat up and watched Seungcheol over the back of the sofa as he chatted with Jihun. You didn’t bother to process what they were saying, but you watched the way the corner of his lips lifted into a half side, revealing one of his dimples. You’d seen his dimples a million and one times before, but this time it felt like your heart shot up into your throat, clogging it. It didn’t seem to matter how many times you tried to clear it either, that bitch was stuck. Seungcheol threw you a ‘you good?’ glance before returning his attention to your brother. There was nothing remarkable about it. There was no reason it should make you nervous. And yet, the slight pinch between his brows and the clear concern in his eyes made you squirm.
“I gotta go!” you announced to Seungcheol and Jihun, waving casually at them before pulling on your shoes. Patty gave you a departing headbutt and you were out the door.
“I thought she didn’t have plans today,” Seungcheol’s expression was clearly confused after you left.
While you drove home with all of the windows rolled down in an effort to regain composure, Seungcheol tied up his conversation with Jihun. The house felt quite empty now that he wasn’t on a call and you were also gone. It was a surprising thought for him to have, since he’d long ago gotten accustomed to being alone and in fact quite liked it. But he’d be an idiot to ignore the fact that his life had changed dimensionally since you’d come back into it.
You’d coaxed him into a closer friendship with his staff members, gifted him the furry little gremlin that he now looked forward to coming home to, and you yourself had become someone that he thought of often and cared for deeply. He’d been unsure whether it was the same kind of proximity based fondness that you had shared before, but upon further consideration, he concluded that this was not the case. These days he didn’t just tolerate you. He sought you out. He wanted to fill his time with you. He wondered if you felt the same.
[wren]: ‘come on, please?!’
[yn]: ‘i’m tired 😩’
    You frowned at your phone. You weren’t actually so tired that you didn’t want to go out, but you felt a sort of reluctance to go because you’d been avoiding seeing Seungcheol. It had taken some time to sort through your feelings, but you’d finally accepted that you were struggling with an attraction to him that you needed to get over. You were sure you could, you just needed time.
    Seungcheol ran his hands through his hair as he finished up his profit and loss statements for the month. It had been a good month. In fact, an extraordinarily good month, which also meant that there were many more transactions to account for. In the past, he probably would’ve rather walked off of a bridge than do his P&Ls, but the spreadsheets that you’d help build for him were a genuine lifesaver. You’d even helped with figuring out how to automate data downloads from the PoS system which saved him and Wren a huge amount of headache. He really needed to treat you to dinner or something as a thank you.
[seungcheol]: ‘when are you free?’
    You stared at your phone. What the hell was in the water today? Your heart had jumped when you’d seen Seungcheol’s text. You were of two minds: one wanted to read and respond to it immediately while the other wanted to throw the phone into a garbage chute. As usual, you let both sides percolate before reaching a happy compromise. You read the text but didn’t respond until later.
[yn]: ‘kind of depends. what for?’
[seungcheol]: ‘i want to take you out.’
[seungcheol]: ‘as a thank you for the p&l spreadsheets’
    Your hopes rose and fell just as quickly as you read the texts in sequence. It was a professional matter.
[yn]: ‘that’s not necessary! friends help each other’
    His brow scrunched upon reading the word ‘friend’. It sent such a pang through his chest that he wasn’t expecting, but he felt persistent today.
[seungcheol]: ‘i dont see why that should stop me from showing you that i appreciate you. let me know when you’re free for dinner’
Your heart flip flopped in your chest. How could you get through a dinner with him when just a text affected you like this? And yet you had no valid reason to say no.
    You tapped your toe nervously as you waited for Seungcheol. You had decided on Friday after work and he had insisted on driving you, because he had wanted to keep the restaurant a surprise. So here you were, 6:12 pm on Friday and incredibly, unreasonably nervous about dinner. You wondered if you could still cancel.
[seungcheol]: ‘here’
“So much for that,” you muttered to yourself before stepping out of your apartment. The only indication of dress code that Cheol had given you was ‘don’t look like a hobo’, so you’d chosen a simple black dress with a colorful and fun cardigan. There was a slight chill in the air, so you pulled the cardigan a little tighter around yourself as you climbed into his car.
“Hey,” he broke into a smile as soon as he saw you. “You look nice.”
“Thanks,” you replied as you buckled your seatbelt. You gave him a quick once over as he backed out of the parking space. He was dressed in all black and the visual focal point was a half-pearl, half-chain choker necklace that really stood out. “Oh I like that!”
“I thought you might,” he grinned at you as he leaned back, settling into his seat after getting onto the highway. “It seems your kind of style,” he explained when your brows furrowed.
“Ah,” you nodded, not quite sure what to say. “So where are we eating, will you tell me now?”
“Yes. We’re going to Kyōten, in the city.”
“What?!” you glanced at him, slightly alarmed, “That’s kind of a haul!”
“It’s not too bad. Plus our reservation is at 7:30. I budgeted enough time.”
“Still, you don’t have to drive that far! We could’ve eaten somewhere in town,” you grumbled.
“I’ve been wanting to try this place too. Not everything’s about you, baby,” he teased. This was true in part. Seungcheol was interested in the omakase menu at this restaurant, but he likely wouldn’t have gone by himself. “How’s work been, by the way? I feel like I haven’t seen you around much lately.”
    You flushed at the moniker ‘baby’ before pushing through it to answer him. It was true, you’d been working a handful of extra shifts at work here and there in preparation for the holiday season. But you’d also been making yourself scarce because you still couldn’t control the physical reaction that you sometimes had to Seungcheol. You omitted that part in your answer, but did share a handful of funny stories that had happened at work lately. Seungcheol, in turn, updated you on some of the interesting happenings at the studio as of late. Hoshi had finally been able to do the largest tiger flash that he had available, which had been incredibly exciting to him. Joshua had attended the annual APP conference and made a lot of good contacts. The studio was working out details on a guest piercer spot in the near future. Before you knew it, you had pulled into the parking ramp near the restaurant.
“Oh it’s windy!” you remarked as you stepped out of the car.
“Here,” Seungcheol pulled a spare puffer jacket out of his backseat and handed it to you. You’d wrapped it around yourself gratefully as you completed the short walk to Kyōten.
“We have a reservation for 7:30. Seungcheol,” he informed the hostess. She nodded kindly and led you through the dark space towards the sushi bar. You remarked at the beautiful architecture and decor as you hopped onto the bar stool. “I’ll just stand, if that’s okay?” he asked the hostess, tucking his stool slightly to his left under the bar.
“Have you all done this before?” you asked the people sitting next to you as you waited.
“No, we haven’t!” they shook their heads, “Have you?”
“Oh thank god! No, I definitely haven’t. You haven’t either, right?” you asked Seungcheol, realizing you didn’t know.
“No,” he shook his head.
“Don’t be nervous! Just eat what they give you,” the couple on the other side of the bar from you smiled kindly. “The chefs here are great, they’re very interactive and fun. Just have a good time.”
    Reassured now that the ice was broken, the six of you chatted before the chef came. The pair next to you shared that they were celebrating their second anniversary. They had also driven in and were staying for a long weekend in the city.
“That’s so fun, I love that! We’re just here for the night,” you smiled at them, the sake warming you from the inside out.
“What about you two? Is this a special occasion?”
“Sort of,” Seungcheol answered, draping his arm across the back of your stool as he did so. “It’s a thank you dinner for YN. She’s been a huge help with my business this year, so I thought I ought to show her my appreciation properly.”
“What do you do?” Miseon asked curiously.
“I run a tattoo and piercing studio,” he answered.
    As he explained in more detail, you felt like your back was itching, the way you were hyper aware of his arm draped behind you. Seungcheol had gotten closer and closer to you as he’d engaged in the conversation with Miseon and Nuri. It wasn’t like you weren’t used to physical closeness with him, but the interior of this restaurant was so intimately lit that it tricked you into overthinking the whole situation. Even after the chef arrived and dinner commenced, he didn’t distance himself from you at all.
“Would you like to join us for a few drinks? We’re having such fun with you!” Nuri asked once you were all back on the sidewalk.
    Seungcheol looked to you, indicating that he was game. The way you smiled back at him, flushed in the apples of your cheeks, made his breath hitch.
“Sure!” you nodded excitedly. You’d also really enjoyed Nuri and Miseon and were happy to keep the night going.
    The four of you did some quick googling before settling on a bar a few blocks away. At the second crosswalk, you’d been a little too engaged in the conversation and nearly stepped into oncoming traffic. Without thought, Seungcheol had hooked his arm around your waist to pull you back and simply left it there. Your eyes flew to him at this touch. He was looking straight ahead and you were surprised when the idea of planting a kiss along his jaw popped into your mind. You flushed and shook your head when his head turned to look at you again.
    The bar was cute and the next hours passed quickly as you chatted with Nuri and Miseon and enjoyed the ambiance and music. A few times you had looked up to see Seungcheol’s dark eyes trained on you from across the bar and you’d flushed each time. Before too long you were saying your goodbyes and driving back home. The car was quiet as you and Seugcheol both reflected on the night.
    Even though he had framed it up as a ‘thank you’ dinner, you felt like that label didn’t quite fit. You might have been overthinking it, but Kyōten had been so intimate and the way that Seungcheol’s touches seemed to linger felt different than your usual closeness. You’d also been mistaken as a couple a few times and neither of you had bothered to correct them, which you usually did. Perhaps it was the context of being in a city you didn’t live in, but it just didn’t seem important this time.
    Seungcheol tapped his fingers against the gearshift as he drove. He’d known Kyōten might be a little more romantic than your typical dinner with a friend, but he’d chosen it because he’d overheard you share with Wren that you were really interested in trying omakase style dining. It hadn’t been totally conscious on his part, but he’d found himself finding ways to be closer to you throughout the evening and he’d been surprised at how you’d responded. You hadn’t shied away from his touch and he’d seen you blush a few times throughout the night in ways that made him wonder if his attraction towards you wasn't completely one sided.
“Did you have fun?” he asked, glancing towards you as he drove down the dark roads.
“Yes,” you beamed at him, “Although you spent entirely too much money, Cheol.”
“Hey!” he cut you off with a stern look, “I told you, this is a show of my appreciation. Let me just appreciate you.”
“Hm,” you pursed your lips at him, trying and failing to not imagine those words in a different context.
    Seungcheol pressed his tongue against his cheek. He’d always enjoyed the way you reacted when he teased you.
“Thanks for driving,” you threw him a smile before reaching for the door handle. You were eager to get out of this car, which felt entirely too hot right now.
“I’ll walk you,” he announced, leaving the car as well and stepping to your side.
“Oh?” you were surprised. This was not typical.
“I really enjoyed tonight,” he commented as you stepped onto the front stoop of your apartment building.
“Me too!” you beamed, eyes creasing softly at him.
“I want to tell you something,” he cleared his throat and your heart stopped.
“O-kay,” you nodded a moment later when you were actually able to retrieve your voice.
“I-, uh,” he cleared his throat again when he tried to speak. “You are very important to me, so I want you to know that nothing has to change between us after I say what I say.”
    You blinked at him, heart racing so fast that you were worried you wouldn’t be able to hear him over its beating.
“My life has changed a lot since you moved back. I am closer to my friends, the shop is doing really well, and I have a cat that I guess I love now. And that’s mostly because of you, so thank you for that. But also, I, uh, my feelings about you have changed. I think about you often and my house honestly just feels empty when you’re not there. So I like you,�� he felt like he was shouting now, so he tried to reign it in, “I like you and you don’t have to say anything, I just want you to know.”
    Your brain had screeched to a halt and you were frozen throughout most of his confession. The cogs started turning again as he planted a soft kiss on your forehead and let you know he’d text you tomorrow. He was back in his car when you’d gathered yourself enough to run after him.
“Hey!” you practically jumped out in front of his car as he tried to leave the parking spot.
“What the fuck are you doing?!” he shouted, jumping out of the car after slamming on the brakes and putting it back in park.
“What the fuck are you doing?!” You couldn’t explain why, but you were fuming. “You need to be less careless with your words!”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Seungcheol threw his hands up, completely caught off guard by the fact that you were…yelling at him?
“You can’t just call me ‘good girl’ while you’re tattooing my inner thigh or tell me you like me and then leave? What about me and my sanity?”
“What?” Seungcheol’s eyebrows raised into his hairline as he processed what you had said. Surely you didn’t mean…?
    He was taking too long to understand so you walked towards him, grabbed him by that damned pearl chain necklace, and pulled him into a kiss. He was surprised for just a moment before he was kissing you back intently.
“Were you doing it on purpose?” you asked between kisses.
“What?” he asked, not totally grasping what you were asking.
“Was it on purpose?” you reiterated, fingers teasing at the hairs on the back of his neck. “Your little touches, grabbing my waist? You were driving me crazy,” you exhaled sharply.
    Seungcheol paused at this confession, drawing back to look at you fully. His eyes raked over you and you grew hot under his gaze.
“It wasn’t, but I guess I couldn’t help myself,” he chuckled, lips curling into a half smile.
“Turn your car off,” you demanded and Seungcheol was more than happy to comply.
2K notes · View notes
tfwlawyers · 3 years ago
Note
Not me singlehandedly going through your entire parent trap au I’m so invested even though like half of the posts are from 2015 💀
THESE THINGS HAPPEN I get such a kick out of knowing this au is still making its rounds though 😭😭
and yk what just because I know I’m never going to do anything else with this, have a 3.5k attempted scramble of fic for this au I tried writing back also in 2015. i was even less of a writer back then than I am now so it’s absolutely terrible but have at thee
“Oh, wait...” Trucy winced and tapped her earring. Apollo’s eyes widened in realization. “Looks like we have one more thing to do tonight - it’ll be super quick, I promise.”
“Oh no,” Apollo said, visibly paling, “there’s no way you’re doing that to me-”
“Then cutting my hair was a total waste,” Trucy huffed, tugging at a newly shorn lock, “because there’s no way I can go to camp with pierced ears and come home without. Come on, Polly, where’s your sense of adventure? It’s just one little pinch!”
“Just one?” he asked hesitantly, eyes now trained on the sharp needle laying on the table.
Trucy paused. “Well... I guess it’s technically two. I really only wear the one earring, but both my ears are pierced.”
Apollo sighed. “Great.”
“Nah, I got this,” Trucy said, grinning toothily. “I went with Aunt Maya when she wanted to get hers pierced, even though she chickened out at the last second.” She picked up the needle and a book of matches from the table, eyes glinting. “I had to get mine repierced because of infection the first time too. Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”
-
“Put that apple slice back,” Apollo said, narrowing his eyes at the piece of fruit in Trucy’s hands. “They’re acidic, I don’t need that anywhere near me and oh God you’re really going to shove a piece of metal into my ear, aren’t you-”
-
“You sure I look okay?” he asked, patting down the skirt. He squinted down at the stark white boots he’d thankfully fit into. “I’m terrified to walk in these, they look like death traps -”
“Which is why we’re practicing,” Trucy said primly, wiping her hands on a gel-stained rag. She still didn’t quite have a grasp on the correct ratio of product to actual hair, but she was much better than when they had started five weeks ago. “Now, walk towards me.”
-
“One last thing, I guess,” Apollo said, removing his bracelet and handing it to Trucy, watching as she carefully slid it on. He rubbed his now bare wrist absentmindedly, feeling strangely naked without it.
“So... this is really it. We’re really doing this.”
“We’re really doing this,” Trucy confirmed, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet. For all her apparent enthusiasm, she looked as nervous as he felt. The studs in her ears reflected the morning light.
“Give papa a hug for me,” he said, smiling weakly.
“Give daddy one for me too,” she said.
They hesitated a moment more before Trucy threw her arms around her brother’s shoulders. Apollo’s arms immediately snaked around her waist, drawing her in tight. They clung to each other, silently willing and praying this was somehow going to all work out - that they wouldn’t just to get to meet their other parent, that they wouldn’t only get a few short weeks with the other father they hadn’t even known had existed, but that they could find some way to reconcile the two, that they wouldn’t have to lose anyone across the wide expanse of the Atlantic ever again.
-
“You’ve had your ears pierced,” he said almost absently, cradling her head between his hands and gently turning her neck back and forth to better view the studs. He clicked his tongue. Trucy felt her heart sink.
“Do you... hate them?” she asked tentatively.
Edgeworth’s eyes snapped to hers. They were the same soft gray color as the paint Daddy always kept too much of around the house. “On the contrary - I find they suit you incredibly well. Please tell me you didn’t get an infection.”
Her face split into a wide smile.
-
Apollo thumbed through a stack of canvases that had been shoved into a corner. There was a thin layer of dust of them; if he had to guess, he’d say they hadn’t been disturbed for at least three months - not a particularly long stretch of time, all things considered. They were clearly less polished works, lacking the technical skill and attention to detail that made Phoenix Wright a name to be reckoned with in the art community, but they were still beautiful in their own way. Paintings of vineyards and what looked like London, towering skyscrapers and calm seas and -
His father.
Apollo blinked.
The portrait of Miles Edgeworth drawn in rich oils did not blink back. Nor did the three that followed.
-
“There were a lot of paintings of the same person in daddy’s works. Some guy with grey hair,” Apollo said, struggling for nonchalance.
Maya’s grip on the mixing bowl faltered. “Is that so,” she said carefully.
“Was he one of daddy’s favorite models or something he just never told me about?”
Maya pursed her lips and continued stirring with a newfound vigor. “You could say that.”
-
“You’re not Apollo?” he asked, voice thick. “You’re Trucy?”
She smiled weakly. “That would be correct.” One strand of hair fell lank across her forehead - how did I not notice, Apollo hasn’t used nearly that much gel in years - and he absentmindedly tucked it behind her ear. He felt her press into the warmth of his hand, as if she were afraid he might suddenly vanish across the Atlantic again.
“I hope you don’t - I hope you don’t hate me,” she said, voice beginning to waver, “it’s just that Polly and I met at the camp and the whole thing sort of just spilled out. I’ve wanted to see you for so long, and Polly felt exactly the same way about Daddy, so we sort of just - just switched lives and hoped it wouldn’t take you so soon to notice. I really hope you don’t hate me, because I’ve wanted to meet you basically my whole life and I hope that maybe one day you can love me for me and not Polly and -” (this is ALL from movie tho so mix this up)
Edgeworth’s left hand came to cradle the rest of Trucy’s face, cutting her off mid-sentence. “Oh, my dear,” he said, cautiously tugging her forward. She came willingly, all but sprawling across his chest, tucking her head underneath his chin and wrapping her arms around his middle. “I’ve loved you since the day you came to me,” he whispered into her hair, blinking away the beginnings of tears he felt gathering at the corner of his eyes. He felt her tighten her hold and he did the same.
-
He poured himself a thumbnail of scotch, perfectly content to pretend he didn’t have tickets to a plane back to a state he had vowed never to set foot in again departing in less than four hours. “He was rather handsome,” he found himself admitting, absentmindedly swirling the glass and taking a sip. He paused, staring at nothing and mumbling to himself, “...had the most crooked smile. Always made me weak at the knees.”
“What was that, sir?”
Edgeworth snapped his attention back to the other man; he’d nearly forgotten Gumshoe was even in the room. “Nothing, nothing, never mind, have you seen the tickets?”
Gumshoe shrugged. That was Trucy’s cue.
“Almost ready, papa?” she asked, stepping smoothly into the room from her hiding place behind the thick wooden door. Edgeworth looked just as wild-eyed as she’d been hoping.
“Yes, of course, I’m almost finished packing -”
She didn’t even have to look at his still mostly bare suitcase to know he was lying.
“ -and you did tell your father we were coming, didn’t you?” he finished, placing his drink on a nearby dresser and running his fingers shakily through his hair.
“Absolutely,” Trucy promised.
“Ah,” Edgeworth said, fiddling with his waistcoat buttons. They looked like they’d been polished recently.
“Liar,” Gumshoe leaned down to whisper. She shushed him.
-
“Might I suggest we continue this little gathering inside,” Maya said, already beginning to shepherd the twins - the twins, she was going to need another vacation just to process the fact that they were together again - into the room. She twisted back around to look at Edgeworth, still shoving Apollo (that was Apollo, right?) forward. “Hi,” she began again, offering a free hand, “you probably don’t remember me -”
“Maya!” he interrupted, smiling warmly and bending to kiss her chastely on the cheek. His breath was sour with vodka and his glasses clunked awkwardly against her face. As he turned and stepped fully into the room, Maya’s cheeks(rp) began to hurt from smiling so fiercely.
“I knew I always liked him,” she said to no one as she closed the door.
-
This was ridiculous. This resort was full of entirely too many people who favored the same sort of eccentric clothing that man had even fourteen years ago, a disproportionate amount of them with the same slate grey hair. He almost would have written that (awkward*) expression seen from across Dahlia’s shoulder/a hotel lobby as a figment of his overtaxed imagination had it not been so much realer than the stacks of canvases in his studio. Which meant Miles was here, but he’d swept the first level of the hotel twice already after begging Dahlia to take to her room for a bit, the pool area was as depressingly empty as the inside was, and -
There he was.
Across the pool, descending the steps carefully from the inside lounge area and walking on the balls of his feet like he always did when he’d had a bit too much to drink (and why did he still remember that) was, without a doubt, Miles Edgeworth.
Phoenix suddenly found it difficult to breathe.
Edgeworth was halfway down the opposite path before Phoenix realized he should probably do something.
“Excuse me,” he said, shouldering his way through the crowd. It would be rude and more than a little intrusive to just call out his ex-husband’s name in the middle of a resort, right? Perhaps not as rude as nearly shoving the poor bellboy into the shrubbery, but, well, desperate times called for desperate measures.
He didn’t immediately notice the odd assortment of friends and family and a lumbering man in striped green swimming trunks perched on pool chairs as he stepped past, but they certainly noticed him.
“Daddy, are you okay?” Trucy asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said vaguely, refusing to take his eyes off Edgeworth. He was abruptly terrified he might vanish again if he did.
He
“Nick, watch out -”
“Hey, pal -”
“Daddy -”
With that, Phoenix collided into a passing service boy, arms pinwheeling wildly as he fell directly into the pool behind him.
-
“Hello Miles,” he said, smiling sheepishly and wringing out his tie. He fought the urge to rub the back of his neck and settled for clenching his hands into tight fists instead. “Or do you people call you Edgeworth now?”
“Miles is - Miles is fine,” Edgeworth said weakly, trying to look anywhere but Phoenix, as if this was a perfectly normal conversation they should be having for the first time after fifteen years. “My father still calls me Miles.”
-
Something warm coiled in his chest. It felt infinitely more dangerous than it had fifteen years ago.
“You always had a smart mouth,” he murmured, rubbing a swathe of cleaning ointment along the cut on Phoenix’s forehead. Phoenix hissed.
“So glad you remembered,” he bit through gritted teeth.
“Hush.”
Phoenix hmmed but stayed silent for a few more seconds, staring at Edgeworth as he dug back into the first aid kit. Edgeworth tried not to flush under the scrutiny.
-
Phoenix held his wrist in a loose grip. He should have felt clammy from the pool and the rapidly descending night, but he blazed oddly hot against Edgeworth’s skin.
“Miles, I-”
“Feenie? Who is this?”
“Dollie!” Phoenix said, shooting upright and wincing at the sudden dizziness.
-
Edgeworth’s burgundy coat was hung carefully over his arm, too thick for the warm California night. The buttons on his waistcoat glinted from a nearby streetlamp’s glow.
Phoenix swallowed.
-
“Do you have any idea where they’re taking us?” Edgeworth asked, leaning in slightly. Phoenix’s (nose twitched? something about scent memory?) and he refused to let himself acknowledge that Miles’s choice of aftershave hadn’t changed since the day they’d met. He abruptly remembered the taste of cheap wine and overly sweet cake on his tongue, felt the ghost weight of a ring fifteen years gone.
He hastily turned away.
“No idea.”
-
“Grandfather chipped in a bit -”
“Apollo,” Edgeworth warned.
“Alright, so Grandfather chipped in a lot, whatever, we’re poor teenagers, the point is,” he said, emphasizing the final word by pulling the ship’s impressive doors open with a firm tug, “it’s ours for the night.”
Phoenix whistled shrilly in appreciation, instinctively reaching out to ruffle Apollo’s hair. It was a testament to how important the night was that Apollo merely batted Phoenix’s hand away. “Seriously, dad,” he mumbled. His scowl was clearly forced, however; he felt oddly warm that he was able to finally use that word at all.
-
“Subtle,” Phoenix remarked.
“Mm,” Edgeworth agreed. “I don’t suppose we should let their efforts, however misguided they may be, go to waste, should we?”
“You just want to know who else they roped into this ridiculous scheme of theirs.”
“Oh, because you don’t.”
“I,” Phoenix said, moving to the chilled champagne propped by the windowsill and popping its cork, “have a perfectly healthy level of curiosity. It does not involve wondering what’s going on in my kid’s head. Trucy is a teenager. That’s terrifying.” He carefully poured the sparkling drink into two glasses and offered one to Edgeworth.
“I find that somewhat difficult to believe,” Edgeworth said, striding forward and taking the  proffered glass. He made certain their fingers did not brush. “Thank you.”
-
They waited until she had hastily bowed out of the room before turning their focus back to each other. “Miles, that’s why we came up with this arrangement in the first place,” Phoenix continued, nonplussed.
“Really?” Edgeworth carefully picked up his glass flute, trying to ignore the tremor he felt running through his hands. “I thought it was because we’d agreed to never see each other again.”
Phoenix’s heart clenched. “Not ‘we’, Miles,” he said slowly, spreading his hands on the tablecloth and feeling like if he missed a step here, he would risk something he couldn’t afford to lose again.
Edgeworth took a shaky draw of wine. “You know,” he said slowly, seemingly forcing himself to meet Phoenix’s eyes, “that part is unclear to me as well.”
“Oh, you don’t remember the day you packed?” Phoenix asked.
“No, I remember that day perfectly. Did I hurt you when I threw that - oh God, what was it -”
“It was Kamisar’s Modern Criminal Procedure. It left a dent in the wall from where it rebounded off my head.”
“Oh,” Edgeworth said, at least having the grace to look properly abashed. “Right. Sorry.”
Phoenix shrugged. “It’s not like I was making it that easy on you.
-
And....” Edgeworth trailed off, twisting a napkin between his fingers. “You didn’t chase after me.”
Phoenix felt (something) shift. “I didn’t know that you wanted me to.”
-
“A toast to -”
“Our children,” Edgeworth cut in. He ignored the tightening in his chest at the our.
“Our children,” Phoenix repeated slowly, as if the words didn’t quite match with what his mouth had wanted to say.
“We both got where we actually wanted to go.”
Phoenix’s eyes never wavered from his. “We did,” he said, voice strange.
They toasted again and finished their meal in silence.
-
“Apollo, what are you doing in those clothes? We’ve got a plane to catch.”
“We’re getting totally ripped off,” maybe-Trucy said. “Daddy said we’d get our camping trip and we want to go.”
“Wait, hang on,” Phoenix interrupted, “what camping trip?”
“The one Aunt Maya and I make you take us on every year before school starts,” almost-definitely-Trucy said. Phoenix began to lift his finger in triumph, sure he’d found his kid -
“ -the one behind the house that runs all the way up to Gourd Lake, remember when you fell in that one year,” I’m-not-too-sure-if-this-one-is-still-in-fact-Apollo finished.
Phoenix’s arm fell listlessly to his side. Edgeworth snorted.
Phoenix shot Edgeworth a look. Thanks for helping, one of these is yours. “This is entirely unfunny, you’re going to make your father miss his flight,” he said, shifting his attention back to the twins. Honestly, he was an Ivy University graduate and Miles was a world renowned defense attorney, how were they being duped by their own kids -
“Apollo -” Edgeworth began.
“Yes?” they both said in unison.
Edgeworth groaned. “They get this from you, I’m sure,” he said.
“It’s not my fault you’ve apparently been raising a devilishly deceptive teenager,” Phoenix quipped back, never taking his eyes off the twins. He could feel the beginnings of a migraine pound at the base of his neck. “He’s probably rubbed off on Trucy.”
The twins grinned.
Phoenix rubbed a hand over his eyes before stooping to their height once again. He stared hard at each of them, looking back and forth between their faces. “This one’s Trucy,” he said slowly, pointing a finger to the sibling in orange. “I’m positive.”
“You know, I hope you’re right, Daddy. You wouldn’t want to send the wrong kid all the way back to Germany - ”
“ - would you?”
How was any of this fair?
“Here’s our proposition. We go back to Daddy’s house, pack our stuff, and the four of us leave on the camping trip.”
“The four of us?” Edgeworth interjected. They ignored him.
“And when you bring us back,” maybe-Trucy-maybe-Apollo continued, “we’ll tell you who’s Trucy and who’s Apollo.”
“Or,” Edgeworth said, carefully stepping around and in front of Phoenix and crossing his arms firmly across his chest, tapping his finger rhythmically against his arm, “new plan. I take one of you back to Germany with me whether you like it or not.”
Two identical sets of eyes twinkled back at him.
(He felt a migraine beginning to pound in his left temple.)
-
“You can cook now?” Edgeworth asked.
“Oh yeah,” Phoenix said. “I can make pasta. And pasta. Probably more pasta, if you ask really nicely.”
“Hm,” Edgeworth said, eyebrows scrunched in mock thought, “pasta sounds good.”
Phoenix grinned, bumping Edgeworth’s shoulder. He was warm through the cotton. “Pasta it is.”
-
Edgeworth looked across the seat at Apollo. His glassy eyes reflected the flickering street lamps as the taxi sped down the empty street.
“Apollo, I -” he began, deflating as Apollo turned further away. It’s entirely justified, he thought despondently. I’d hate myself as well.
-
“Grandfather?” Apollo called, shrugging out of his heavy jacket and hanging it on the coat rack. The house was silent.
“I’ll check the study,” Edgeworth said, tugging his jabot loose. Apollo nodded and headed towards the direction of the kitchen, toeing off his shoes on the way. Pushing open the wide doors that led to the study, Edgeworth saw someone reading a paper at the desk. He cocked his hip against the door and crossed his arms. “Hello, father. We’re back.”
The newspaper lowered. It wasn’t Gregory.
“Hiya, papa,” Trucy said. The corners of her mouth were quirked despite her obvious attempts to reign in her expression. “Did you know the Concord gets you here in half the time?”
Edgeworth slipped against the doorframe. He felt the knob dig into his hip. “I - yes, I’ve heard that.”
(Edgeworth was acutely aware of the doorknob digging into his hip from when he pressed against it. “I - yes, I’ve heard that.”)
Apollo walked into the room, drawn to the sound of voices. When he saw Trucy his face split into a blinding grin. “What are you doing here?”
Trucy neatly folded the newspaper on the desk and clasped her hands in front of her. “It took us about thirty seconds after you left that we decided we didn’t want to lose you two again,” she said, eyes crinkling.
Edgeworth swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat. “We?” he said, voice cracking.
“We,” a new voice agreed.
From the corner of his eye, Edgeworth noted Trucy moving to stand by the far wall of the study, giving the vaguest attempt of privacy. It didn’t matter. His eyes were trained on Phoenix, tracking his movement as he crossed the room.
-
Phoenix peppered his face in light kisses, smiling into the curve of his throat and pressing his lips to the thrumming heartbeat beneath his skin.
They eventually pulled back, desperate for air. Phoenix’s eyes crinkled - crow’s feet, Edgeworth thought wildly through his haze, he’s got crow’s feet now, I haven’t seen him this close up since - and he rested his forehead against Edgeworth’s.
“God, I’m never letting you go again,” he whispered, hands snaking around the other man’s back to pull him even closer.
-
“You want to toast with this? I’d have thought you might want to upgrade to something with a little more class.”
Phoenix smiled sloppily, pressing a chaste kiss to his temple. “You’re the only one I said I’d drink it with, remember?”
Edgeworth smiled back. He took the proffered bottle warmed by the weather and tugged his husband into a proper kiss, matching rings glinting in the dying sunlight.
148 notes · View notes
byulsgrease · 3 years ago
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if you arent too busy, can you write a idol!hwasa x idol!reader, wherein they both have to practice with each other for a special stage. However on the first meeting they become starstruck and cant believe somethings are real, but soon warm up to each other?
i'm not terribly busy but this still took a while anyway oops - sorry this took so long anon! here you go :D
if anyone has requests for the other members hmu cuz I've got 2 more hyejin reqs after this one (not that I'm complaining)
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"who says we can't do something on our own?"
(hwasa x idol!reader, ~1.2k words)
cw: food + alcohol mention (y'all know how it is)
I named someone Minjeong - it's not Aespa's Winter, idk anything about 4th gen gg's - 민정 is my Korean name so it's just what came to mind
"Hey, wake up. You've gotta see this. GET UP," a voice piercing through the fog of your sleep.
What a rude awakening. Your shoulders being shaken vigorously by a pair of small hands meant they belonged to none other than Minjeong, your youngest group member. You rolled over to glare menacingly at her with one eye open, trying to pull your brain out of the slumber. All you could see was the bright light of her phone shining in your eyes - a video of some kind. But then you heard the audio:
"Have you seen the clip?" asked the interviewer.
"Yes, my members and many MooMoos made sure I saw it"— Moos? Oh, it's Hwasa. WAIT. Both your eyes flew open as you sat up and snatched Jeongie's phone out of her hand to stare at the video. Your mind immediately flashed back to the interview you did last week - they asked who you most wanted to collaborate with, if there were no limitations. Your ears started to heat up at the sheer thought of the flustered mess of an answer you gave - of course you said Hwasa. Both of you debuted relatively close to each other, within a year, but never interacted much over the years. Mamamoo as a group was a force to be reckoned with, but there was just something about Hwasa specifically. You mostly just admired her unique singing voice and undeniable stage presence, and her relentless drive to always be herself in an industry constantly trying to fit women into a box.
Finally snapping out of re-living that embarrassment, your attention turned back to the phone in your hand. The interviewer must've asked her to send a message in response to you, because you couldn't believe that she was waving and saying, "How haven't we gotten to know each other better over all these years? I'd love to work with you on something sometime," curtly dipping her head in a slight bow.
"SEE? You needed to see that," Minjeong rushed to say, full of energy. "And close your mouth, your jaw's on the floor," jokingly pointing.
You side-eyed her and shut your mouth. "Is this what Loco felt like when she called him during Hyena on the Keyboard?" you wondered aloud.
"At least she's not calling you while on camera," she commented, knowing full well that you'd probably embarrass yourself again if she did. "But hey, at least she noticed you! Can I have my phone back now?" It would be a dream come true to collaborate with her, but cross-company collabs... always a pain. that couldn't be helped. The fantasy abruptly ended with demands from your rumbling stomach. Done with your what-if's, you placed the phone back in your maknae's outstretched hand to get up and make breakfast.
~~~~
With award show season rolling around, the crazy scramble of rehearsing for special live stages without leaking sets and collabs began. Checking your email that morning showed a schedule to record the backing track for a special live stage, but that was it. With who? You texted your members a screenshot, but they all told you that block of time in their schedule was empty. A solo stage? The solo mini-album you released this cycle did relatively well, the title track got a music show win, but not a multi-week chart-topper by any means. Possibilities turning over in your mind, you stepped out from your place to head to the company, totally in the dark about what was in store.
The recording studio always smelled the same along with the couches, a comfort for all the insanely long nights and crack-of-dawn early mornings over the years. With a bit of time to kill, you plopped down on one and gingerly patted the worn cushions as some kind of symbolic thank-you for supporting you (literally).
A hesitant but loud knock sent your gaze directly to the door. Watching it slowly open, you leaned forward to see who it was. Needless to say, your jaw fell to the floor again as you clapped a hand over your gaping mouth, eyes widening. Like a soldier obeying a command, you immediately stood up as straight as possible and bowed profusely at Hwasa, sporting a very similar expression on her face (which you failed to notice, your mind running a million miles a minute).
After a series of frantic bows and miscellaneous utterances to each other, she spoke. "It's nice to finally meet you," she said with calm, surveying your frenzied state. "I guess we're granting that collab wish from your interview, huh?"
The red-hot embarrassment leapt to your face. "I...I definitely made a fool of myself answering that question. And our maknae showed me your interview clip too, which was cool, but never did I think it would actually happen," you stammered. I should probably stop talking.
"Well, here I am," she half-smiled coolly. "Let's get started, I'm really looking forward to finally work with you on this," a gleam in her eye and a hint of excitement in her voice.
The studio suddenly felt a lot smaller with her in it, despite there only being your managers, the producer, and the both of you - less people than you and your members alone. Both of you remained relatively quiet the whole time, rather unsure of what to say or talk about. You watched enough MMMTV to know that all the members on their own were shyer than together, and Hwasa knew the same was true for you. But the work basically took care of itself, seamlessly taking turns in the recording booth, witnessing each other's work style and process. The both of you knew your way in front of a mic, seasoned professionals by now. Upon wrapping up, you bowed politely to each other after a quick exchange of KaTalk info, a short and sweet goodbye.
That was... anticlimactic. I mean, it's finally happening - I can't believe it. But maybe I was too idealistic about maybe creating a meaningful relationship with her outside of work... What does she think of me?
~~~~
In the days leading up to the collab stage, you kept going back and forth on whether to reach out or not, despite now being in possession of her contact info. What would you even say? Thoughts of a witty one-liner or relatable meme came to mind, but maybe she'd assume the worst - that you were clout-chasing, or something. Anxieties abuzz, your phone vibrated in your pocket. The KaTalk notification sprawled across your screen. Speak of the devil, it's her.
"Hey, awards season has me stressed. I know you must pretty busy right now too, but I somehow get off early tomorrow if you wanna grab dinner after work?" You had to reread that one. Oh, what? She's inviting me?
Trying not to be weird about responding too quickly, you typed out, "Wow, yeah, that sounds great! ^^ wait, your company doesn't care about you going out to eat during award season?"
"nah, they stopped having that kind of control over us a while ago, we are the money-maker of the company, after all 😏"
"so I guess this means they don't check your phone either ㅋㅋㅋ"
"nope :)"
You proceeded to set a time and place to meet, someplace with meat.
In the process of feasting on an inordinate amount of gopchang imbued with a splash of beer, you learned a fair amount about each other. You talked career, professional aspirations, the weird habits of your members, and more. What surprised you most was the amount of things she already knew about you, having admitted to watching some of your behind-the-scenes content after seeing your interview clip.
"Ah... I'm sorry if I came across as distant during that first recording session," she confessed, pausing to sip her beer. "I honestly didn't know what to do with myself, I felt a little star-struck."
"Oh what?? I felt the exact same, so no worries - and sorry if I came off similarly distant," you rambled back. A bit of silence fell between you, acknowledging the mutual sentiment. You spoke up after a bit, "Thanks for inviting me out tonight, I didn't realize how much I needed this."
"Thank you for making the time, I had fun getting to know you better," she articulated with a smile. "Maybe it'll make the collab stage better," she added on jokingly. You responded with a nod and expression of mutual affirmation.
~~~~
After that, messaging each other became a regular occurrence, that gopchang outing having broken the ice. Honestly, you tried your best to talk about anything besides work, but the baseline of shared understanding connected you in a way that came more naturally than it did with your non idol friends.
You stood across the way from her at the sound check for the final stage, dressed in joggers and slides. Funny to think that you'd be recording this for real in a couple hours, making eyes with the blinking red light on the cameras surrounding you. It sucks that fans wouldn't get to experience the energy and atmosphere of the performance - Hyejin alone is one thing, but adding someone else into her stage presence? Unmatched. There's nothing quite like a live performance - and while you knew everyone in the industry dealt with the consequences of the pandemic, it certainly took a toll to perform and not feel the energy from fans. But realistically, nothing you could do about it. The sound check went over smooth like butter. The stage chemistry came flowing naturally between you both, even when bare-faced and dressed in just sweats.
And when the time came for the actual filming, you both absolutely killed it, an upbeat mash-up of TWIT and your title track. At the very end came a sliver of hesitation before throwing your arms around each other with a big smile for the ending fairy, proud of the work you accomplished together, and a mental fist-pump to yourself for making friends with one of the industry's finest.
Once again walking to a restaurant that served mostly meat to celebrate, you playfully proposed, "We... should do that again sometime." A little puff of air came out her nose in amusement.
"Yeah, we should. Too bad we're gonna have to wait a whole cycle before we can release anything else together again," she sighed longingly.
"Who says we can't do something on our own?"
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cherryatiny · 4 years ago
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𝙏𝙖𝙭𝙞 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙬 - 𝙅.𝙔𝙃
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⩥𝙋𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜: 𝙩𝙖𝙭𝙞 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧!𝙅𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙔𝙪𝙣𝙝𝙤 (𝘼𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙯) 𝙭 𝙛!𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧
⩥𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚: 𝙨𝙢𝙪𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙨𝙩, 𝙣𝙤𝙣-𝙞𝙙𝙤𝙡 𝘼𝙐
⩥𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩: 3,0𝙠
⩥𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮: 𝘽𝙤𝙩𝙝, 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙨𝙨'𝙨 𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠-𝙪𝙥 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙖𝙭𝙞-𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚
⩥𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜: 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙪𝙥, 𝙖𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙝𝙤𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 (𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙄'𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜), 𝙘𝙖𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙭, 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮, 𝙨𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙠, 𝙪𝙣𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙭 (𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙞𝙡𝙡), 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙖 𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙖, 𝙩𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙪𝙡𝙜𝙚
✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
Salty tears already at the brim of eyes, from the harsh words that came out of her bosses mouth. All this only because she submitted a work, one hour later than she was supposed to.
As she sat down at her desk, her head fallen in her palms, trying hard to stop herself from starting to cry. No crying in front of her boss. She can’t show him how his words affected her, how it breaks her when someone doesn’t validate her hard work and shouts at her.
Turning off her PC and arranging her work for the next day, the young girl was prepared to leave work and go home where her loving boyfriend Hyunsoo was waiting, the sound of her phone’s notification stopping her actions.
Picking up her smartphone and opening it with her fingermark, she saw a notification from Hyunsoo, quickly opening it to see what he wanted. If he hadn’t burnt the kitchen while trying to cook, it should be okay. At least that’s what she thought.
HyunHyun: Y/N, let’s break up
HyunHyun: I know it’s lame to announce through a message
HyunHyun: I didn’t want to see you cry, it’ll make me regret my actions
HyunHyun: But I just can’t keep on pretending my feelings for someone, when I lost them a long time ago
HyunHyun: I’ve already taken my belongings from your flat, so you don’t have to bother with it
HyunHyun: I found a girl I’m really happy to be with
HyunHyun: And I hope you’ll also find someone, who’ll be the right one and make you happy
HyunHyun: But it’s not me
HyunHyun: Live a good life, Y/N, you deserve only the best
She couldn’t believe what she just saw. Her now ex-boyfriend broke up with her. Over a text. The incident with her boss already forgotten as tears spilt down her cheeks. Eyes redder than blood, mascara running down her cheeks, and the top of her blouse already soaked from the tears.
This can’t be happening to her, not now, not today. She and Hyunsoo were meant to be, this must be some misunderstanding. She rushed home, only to find an empty flat, no more Hyunsoo’s dirty t-shirts, no sink full of unwashed bowls and plates, only his keys laying on the kitchen counter with a note.
„My keys.
When we run into each other one day, let’s not feel any hatred or malice. My feelings for you were sincere, unfortunately, they disappeared over the years, I still wish you the best.
- HyunHyun“
✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
„Like... can you believe what he did, what a jerk. Break up with me through a message? He couldn’t even grow a pair and say it to my face, coward.“
Y/N has been babbling to her friend about her ex for over 2 hours now, still not understanding the fact how could he break up with her over a text.
„Look Y/N, I’m not going to comfort you with those stupid lines like ‘it is not your fault’, ‘it is his loss’, ‘maybe he was not the one’, but maybe just think of this as an opportunity to meet someone better, someone, who will love you and won’t meet other women behind your back.“
„I know, I know Sora, but I just, wasn’t prepared for this, he could have at least say it to my face and not act like he loved me for over three years. Today is really the worst day ever, my boss scolded me for nothing today, then Hyunsoo broke up with me, and now I’m probably going to throw up, from how bad this alcohol taste.“
Y/N sighed and kept playing with the straw in her drink, thinking about how hopeless everything was. She was about to lose her job and now she had no one who will comfort her after a bad day at work.
„Sora let’s go to a club, what do you think? Dance the sorrow away and hook up with some guys. You know, my sex life with Hyunsoo was disastrous, most of the time he couldn’t even get it up, and when he did, he came after a few minutes and left me with no orgasm. Now I’m finally free to get some good dick, without cheating on anyone.“
„Y/N aren’t you a bit tipsy? Let’s do this another day since you’re too drunk and afflicted, I don’t want you to do something stupid, you’ll regret it the next morning. I’ll call you a taxi to take you home, honey.“
Sora picked her phone up and dialled a phone number of a taxi driver, ordering the taxi to come pick up Y/N at the bar.
„The taxi was near, so it'll be here in 5 minutes, get your coat and try to not forget anything.”
As the two girls paid for their drinks, they went outside the bar to wait for the taxi. Autumn breeze caressing their cheeks, with coldness, colourful leaves falling on the path.
Soon after a yellow car with a 'TAXI' written on the side, was nearing the two figures. Sora opened the door, to talk to the taxi driver.
„Hey, um please take my friend Y/N to ***, she's a little bit drunk and afflicted, so if she starts babbling nonsense, don't mind her.”
The taxi driver smiled and nodded in understatement to Sora's words, as she pulled Y/N closer to her, to help her get into the back of the car. Y/N resisted and rather sat at the front
„Bye Y/N, call me when you get home and make yourself some good green tea to flow away the toxins and alcohol. And eat something, you'll get sober faster.”
Y/N waved her hand at her and closed the door, finally sighing and relieving after the hard day.
The car ride was quiet, the driver probably didn't want to make it awkward and force her to talk, since she was probably nauseous, but it had the opposite effect because of the awkward silence. The fact that Y/N couldn't get her eyes off the driver, didn't make it any better.
Dark piercing eyes, focused on the road, as his big, veiny hands with long and slim fingers tapped on the steering wheel. Occasionally twirling it to the right or left. His black hair with middle-part showing off part of his forehead making him even more attractive, if that was possible. She just couldn't take her eyes off the handsome man.
„Uhm, do you want me to turn on the radio or do you wanna talk maybe...?”
„You can talk, I'll just listen.. tell me something about you Mr. taxi driver”
„Well, I don't really have anything to talk about, but if that's what you want, your wish is my command I guess. Uhm... my name is Yunho, and I've been a taxi driver for two years, apart from that, my life is just pretty boring, when I don't work I usually go to the dance studio or am out with my friends, that's all I really don't know what to talk about.”
„Okay if you don't want to talk, then listen pretty boy, this is the worst day of my life, I was the whipping-boy for my boss today and then my boyfriend broke up with me after cheating on me... why did this happen to me? I did nothing wrong in my life, all I did was work hard and this is how society repays me. Can you believe it?”
„Well, look, I’m a single taxi-driver. I have no boss or a partner who’d cheat on me, so I don’t think I can give you any valued advice, but maybe try to be more positive? Think of it as an opportunity, to meet someone better I guess.“
'The sane shit Sora told me' thought Y/N. She lied back on her seat as the car stopped because of a traffic jam. With the alcohol banging in her head, she leaned a bit closer, her hand landing on Yunho’s muscular thigh to stabilize herself. Yunho could feel her hot breath on his neck as she just noiselessly stared at him.
„Y/N ehm.. what are you doing.“
„Just observing you. You know Yunho, you’re much more attractive than my ex, I would swap you two right away.“
„I think you’re too drunk, Y/N. Just wait until we get to the address your friend gave me, I think the traffic jam will go away soon.“
As Yunho said that, Y/N just moved her hand more up his thigh, close to his crotch, her fingertips fiddling with the material of his jeans. His breathing quickening, his legs shaking as he saw the traffic moving, leg accelerating the speed by stepping in the accelerator.
„Y/N-ah... you’re drunk.“
Yunho pulled the car over to the side of the road, in the middle of nothing. No cars, no people. Perfect. His hands fell and gripped her wrists. He knew this wasn't right, she was his customer after all, but he couldn't resist.
„Don’t start what you can’t handle.“
He turned to look at Y/N’s flushed face, leaning closer to her, lips attacking her neck and leaving kitten licks and bites. His hand going up to her thigh, slipping under her skirt, rubbing her clit through the material of her panties.
„Spread your legs for me, baby.“
Yunho pulled his seat down into a horizontal position, tapping his thighs, motioning for Y/N to straddle his lap. Y/N undid her seat-belt and sat on Yunho’s crotch, his bulge getting more and more visible as arousal filled the car.
Yunho let his hand do the magic, as soft and drunk moans left Y/N’s lips. Yunho connecting their lips, his tongue slipping into her mouth to suppress her moans.
As he broke up the connection between their lips a string of saliva dripping down their lips on the seat.
Her hips brushing and grinding on him, the material of his jeans stimulating her clitoris delicately. Leaning in to unzip his leather jacket. Yunho stripped of his t-shirt as Y/N did the same with her dress, leaving her only in her panties and bra, which didn’t last long as Yunho sat and adjusted himself, his chest pressing against her as he unclipped her bra, letting it fall.
„Are you sure you want to-“
„Shut up and kiss me.“
„Oh baby, you’re not the one to give commands.”
His hands wrapped around her, pulling her down to lay on top of him, his lips kissing her hungrily, his hands coming up to grasp her breasts.
„Unzip my pants and fuck yourself on my big cock, as I suck on these pretty tits.“
Y/N clenched on nothing, his dirty words arousing her more than she expected, whimpering and adjusting herself on his much bigger figure. Her fingers unzipped his jeans and pulled them down along with his boxers to his knees. Subconsciously gulping at the sight of his erected cock, certainly the biggest dick she’s ever seen or had in her. How the fuck was it going to fit?
„Impressed? Get to work then. I’m sure your pretty little pussy will take it.“
She grabbed his member and slid it along her lips, wetting his tip with her slick, as she positioned his tip to her entrance. Sinking slowly to let herself adjust to his size, moans and whimpers left her swollen lips.
„Fuck baby, you're taking me so well, so tight and warm.”
Y/N let her hips sink up and down on Yunho's bottom, his hands found their way to cup her breasts. Fondling and caressing them. His fingertips rubbing and pinching her hardened nipples. Hands roaming all over her body, enjoying the view of Y/N fucking herself on his big dick.
Seeing the pleasure in her eyes and feeling the knot creating in his lower stomach, signalizing his climax, his fingers went lower and lower, down to where their bodies were connected, parting her folds which glistened from all the arousal.
His thumb pressing against her clit, Y/N’s walls clenching around Yunho’s length from the unexpected pleasure, sharp inhales were heard as the feeling of his thumb pressing against her nub added to the pleasure of his girthy dick hitting her g-spot. His thumb began to draw circles around her clit, bringing Y/N closer to her orgasm.
Her smaller frame spasming on top of him, hands gripping on the seat under them, juices spilling on his dick as her velvet walls clenched around him.
„Cu-cum in me Yunho, I’m on the pill“ blabbering leaving her lips, as Yunho thrust his hips into hers from below as he released his semen into her hole.
Yunho flipped both of them, so that he was on top, as he looked at her fucked figure, Y/N still breathing heavily from the intense session with him. His lips attaching themself to her neck and collar bones, licking and biting marks on her.
Moans left her lips at Yunho’s dirty words, nodding her head as she looked at the handsome man on top of her, his broad shoulders and muscular chest, covering her frame, feeling so small underneath him. His hands grabbing her legs as he bends them in knees, to help him position himself better in between her legs.
„Fuck, Y/N, you felt so good, I loved the way your tits bounced as you fucked yourself on me, so pretty for me.
Maybe I should be the one to fuck you this time, fuck the cum deep into your cunt, would you like that beautiful?“
„Put your legs on my shoulders.“
Y/N straightened her legs and laid them on his shoulders, Yunho wrapping his hands around them and leaving small kisses on them, going from her ankles up to her thighs. Detaching himself from her legs, he positioned his tip by her pussy, smacking it on her clit, and slipping into her.
Y/N shuddered as his girth stretched her hole, still not used to the feeling, stretching her far beyond what she was used to. Containing her whimpers as Yunho started to slam his hips into her, holding her by her legs to keep her in the place.
She held onto his shoulders, to stabilise herself, so she’s not bouncing too much on the seat, crying out from the position of Yunho’s hips, The angle hitting her g-spot repeatedly. Beads of sweat creating on his exposed forehead, their heavy panting filling the small space of the taxi car.
His eyes diverting down from her beautiful face, the bulge in her stomach catching his attention. Fingers going down to caress and press on it. Loving the way her small body couldn’t even take his dick.
„Aww baby, look at the bulge in your tummy, do you see how your small body can’t take my big dick, so small and fragile, I just want to wreck you and see you break apart on my dick.“
Whimpers leaving her mouth from the sight of the bulge in her stomach, pout forming on her lips, Yunho loved the way her eyes shut tightly.
„Don’t grit your teeth and let those sinful sounds come out, tell me how good I make you feel.“
Only blabbers leaving her mouth as she tried to say something.
„Oh so cute, is my dick making you feel so good that you can’t even say something coherent? Are you going to cum soon, baby?“
„Y-yes ah Yunho.“ Tears spilling out of her shut eyes from the endless thrusts of his hips into her bottom half. Feeling Y/N cum all over him, it took only a few more thrust of his hips to release himself into her, loud grunts falling from his lips.
When they both came down from their climaxes, their breath steadying. Kissing her lips and sitting down to dress himself and then dress Y/N.
„Yunho? Uhm, do you want to come over? You know... to clean yourself and maybe eat something, I’m a pretty good cook.“
„I’d love that, Y/N.“
„Uhm, I-I’ll get you a towel and something to get dressed in, so you can shower while I cook...“
As Yunho dressed her, Y/N sat down on the passenger seat, he pulled his seat up and drove to the final destination which was Y/N’s place.
As Y/N unlocked the door to her quiet and empty apartment, they both stepped in.
„No, either you go shower and I cook, or you shower with me and then we’ll cook together.“
„Shower together it is then.“
Y/N intervened her fingers with Yunho’s as she took him into the shower. Both of them rubbing off the dirt of each other as they laughed and smiled together. The smell of bubblegum and flower shampoo filling the air.
„Y/N stay still as I dry you.“
They both bundled each other into bathrobes soft and fluffy smiles on their faces. Putting on some underwear underneath those bathrobes, the two of them went to the kitchen to cook something to eat. Deciding to make some broccoli pasta with cheese, since broccoli was the only thing in her empty refrigerator.
„Eat Y/N, it’ll help you get sober faster, don’t make me feed you...“
Even though it might not be understandable for some people, the two of them felt like they’ve known each other forever and a day.
✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
Y/N rubbed her eyes, quiet snores were coming out of the manly figure laying next to her, his strong arm wrapped around her waist, keeping her close to his bare and warm chest, his face snuggled into the crook of her neck. Maybe Hyunsoo’s idea to break-up with you wasn’t that bad after all...
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ozarkthedog · 4 years ago
Note
now i’m thinking about cevans giving me a tattoo like the 6 did to each other and i’m simultaneously soft and hot for this idea
Thank you, Anon for putting this in my brain. It’s all FLUFF even tho it too gets me hot and bothered.
This could be a follow up to my Chris Tattoo fic; Terrible Liar.  😉
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“Don’t be nervous, Sweetie. I’ve done this a few times.” Chris said with a smile, trying to calm your nerves.
You were anxious about getting your first tattoo. You’d always wanted one but you never found a reason to get one. Until you met him.
You two were like peas in a pod. Having met through friends you got to know one another over the first year until Chris finally gathered up the courage to ask you out. Since then you’d dated, moved in together and eventually tied the knot in small ceremony in the backyard of his MA home.
Life had its ups and down being married to an A List Actor but the struggles of maintaining privacy and living a “normal” life were well worth the strife.
Chris grasped your hand, yanking you from the pleasant day dreams, “Ready?” His million-dollar smile warming your heart.
“Yes.” You mirrored his smile and laid back in the chair.
Chris set to work once you were comfortable.
“What’re you going to do since you won’t be able to kiss my hand for a day or two?” You asked trying to distract yourself from the pain.
Chris smirked up at you, “I’ll survive even though it’ll feel like I’m missing a limb.”
He reminded you to breath slowly when he could tell you stopped breathing from the pain. 
“Stay with me. Breathe.” He commands softly as the needle pierced through your skin, permanently marking your flesh with the dark ink.
“You’re doing well, Sweetheart.” He praised as he drew the last few numbers around your left ring finger.
You bite your lip as you feel him pull away and allow you to get a clear image of the tiny numbers and letters.
He raised your left hand and spread your fingers, the ink shining in the bright studio lights.
Chris’s initials along with your wedding date were forever woven around your ring finger.
“What do you think?” Chris questioned, already knowing the answer as your eyes filled up with joyful tears.
“It’s perfect. Thank you.” You barely whispered through your happiness.
He leaned in for a loving kiss before pulling away to cover the small tattoo with plastic wrap only to bring your hand up and very, very tenderly kiss the covered spot like he always did.
“Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself.” He bottom lip trembling slightly.
“I would’ve been insulted if you hadn’t at least tried.” You say with a laugh, wiping away your fallen tears.
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kitkat1003 · 4 years ago
Text
The End
‘The final episode has aired.  The movie has been filmed. They’re done.  And Yakko has never been more terrified.
(Or, the author thinks about the implications of the word “reanimated”, the use of a grave in the new intro as a place for the Warners to pop out of, the fact that the Warners had 0 clue about the last 22 years, and the abrupt nature of the 1993 show’s finale)
@asilcorner the ending got me shook
Quick note, uh, I don’t usually put trigger warnings, but this a pretty distressing fic, I think moreso than my usual?  So like....buckle up.
They’re running as the slideshow rolls, as the other characters disappear one by one.  The studio isn’t expecting the side characters to come back, so they can go on with their lives, however boring they are without filming, but them?  The Warners are, evidently, too chaotic and unpredictable to be allowed to stick around.  And since keeping them locked up in the water tower didn’t really work, and the idea of a reboot or even a continuation seems slim to none, they’re being....
What did the executives say?  Oh, right.  Put down.
“C’mon, c’mon!” Yakko yells behind him.  He has longer legs, so he can run faster, and his siblings are lagging.  He can hear the guards coming closer-it’s been outsourced, it’s not Ralph or Dr.Scratchansniff or Hello Nurse, it’s large men in scary outfits and nets and tasers and batons-and so he slows down, grabs his siblings by the scruffs of their necks, and keeps running.
“They’re gonna kill us!” Dot all but shrieks, and he can feel her terror, and he’s just as scared.  He doesn’t know how this whole suspended animation thing goes, but it sounds a lot like death and he doesn’t like it one bit.
“Not on my watch,” he replies, hoping he sounds braver and more sure than he is.
Wakko tosses a few sticks of dynamite over his shoulder to slow their chasers down, and they weave through the studio towards the exit and out into the city.  If they lay low for a few days, they can sneak back into their tower and hole up there for as long as they need.  They’ve gotten used to it.  It’s home.  They can stay.  It’ll be fine.
Wakko whimpers, quietly.  He’s curled up as tight as he can, knees hidden in his sweater as Yakko holds him close.  Dot is much the same.  Her flower has lost its petals in the mad dash to escape, but she doesn’t bother to complain.
Yakko can hardly breathe, he’s been running so fast, but adrenaline keeps him going.  He can’t let them get his siblings, he can’t let his siblings get taken, get hurt.  He’s their big brother.
“It’s gonna be okay,” He gasps out between breaths, between strides.  “We got ‘em beat.  They’ve never messed with the Warners before, they can’t handle us,” The world can’t, that’s why they’re being thrown away, permanently.
“Uh, I don’t think the dynamite worked,” Wakko pipes up, and Yakko hazards a look behind him and nearly trips in terror.  They’re so close!  
“Try some more!  I can’t reach into my hammerspace right now!” Wakko throws road tacks, the ones that stop cars, and he throws oil and a match, and grease, but the apparent task force hired just gets through obstacle after obstacle as if it were nothing.
Yakko gives them the what for, ducking around a corner at the last second to look like he was going towards another corner, and he doesn’t even allow himself to breathe, so quiet it’s chilling, but he hears a shuffle from the side away from the street they were running on.
“Gotcha,” He hears, and Dot screams, and they’re somehow in the alleyway, and he runs across the street with utter abandon, too scared to think, and suddenly they’re at a dead end.
“Shoot-uh-I-,” He can see the men running across the street after them, and so he jumps, aiming for the rooftop.
He gets yanked down by his tail, and lets out a cry of pain, kicking the hand off of him as all three of them tumble to the asphalt and he loses purchase of his sibs.  He scrambles to his feet, pushing Wakko and Dot behind him and facing the monsters that have been hired to hurt his family with a growl.  His tail aches.  
Yakko isn’t a fighter, not by a mile.  He isn’t that strong, isn’t that talented, in that regard.  He has his words, but that isn’t useful right now.  
He pulls out a mallet, the largest one he can muster, and holds it up high.
“Stay back,” he can feel Dot and Wakko trembling, they’re clinging to his legs.  The men are wreathed in shadows so he can’t see their faces, and it adds to the mounting fear and helplessness.  “Or-Or I’ll use this!”
They come closer.  Yakko’s hands shake.
“I’m warning you!” He shouts, stronger than he feels.  “Not one more step!” 
They come closer.  He swings.
An a cuff clicks around his wrist, and the mallet vanishes.
“What-,” and he’s yanked forward, held back as they close in on Wakko and Dot.  “No!  Let go!” He kicks and writhes, but he can’t get anything to appear.  The cuff on his wrist hums a noxious green, and he stares at it for a second before continuing to struggle.
“Toon power cancelling cuffs,” The apparent leader says, from behind him.  “We don’t use em too often because they don’t work for forever, since you can’t really stop a toon from being a toon for too long, but they’ll work long enough for this job.”
“NO!” Yakko screams.  Wakko is swinging a bat around, pushing Dot behind him despite her protests.  She pulls out a weapon too, her mace, and holds it in trembling hands.
“Don’t take them-just take me!  I’ll go quiet, they can hide out in the water tower!  They’ll be good, please, no one will know!  You can say you lost them, you can-please-don’t!” He’s begging.  He can’t let this happen to them.  It doesn’t matter if it’s him, they’re what matters.  He needs them to be safe.
“Yakko, shut up!” Dot shouts back, and she sounds furious.  Her glare softens with fear as she glances between the many adults looming over them.
They’re outnumbered.  Their eldest has been caught.  Wakko keeps swinging.
The men trip grab the bat in one hand and yank Wakko forward, and he stumbles and falls.  They pick him up by his ears and slap a cuff on him, and while Wakko continues to kick and squirm but not being able to access your toon powers is draining.  Yakko is tired, but he refuses to quit now.
“Dot, run!” He shouts, but she looks like a deer in the headlights, frozen and surrounded. She swings the mace and lets go, jumping up as the men stumble back from it, but halfway up they hit her with something.  A rubber bullet?  For a moment, he thinks she was actually shot, but there’s no blood even when she screams and drops to the ground.
“Stop!” Yakko and Wakko shout, but they cuff her before she even has a chance to get up, and they throw her over their shoulder.
“We got them,” Someone says into a walkie talkie.  Yakko kicks them where it hurts, and scrambles to grab his sibs again, biting and scratching.  “Permission to terminate?”
Something in Yakko snaps, and suddenly he can’t think.  The thoughts and world have gone into slow motion, images like flashes that he doesn’t have the time to decipher.  He’s moving fast, but it feels so slow.
He doesn’t hear the answer.  He’s running towards blue and red, and pink, and there’s a hand on his shoulder and he’s screaming their names and they’re all crying and there’s a pinch on his neck as something pierces through skin and then-
Nothing.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
He wakes up with a scream on his lips and is enveloped into a hug before he’s fully conscious.
“It’s okay, I’m so sorry, it’s okay,” He knows that voice.  Clarity is slow coming, but Yakko can sparse that out.
“Spielberg?” he manages.  His mouth feels like it’s filled with cotton balls, and his vision comes into focus on a much older Steven Spielberg.
“Yakko, I’m sorry,” he says.  “I wanted them to keep you in the tower, but they were resolute.  The best I could get was suspended animation,” He gestures to the room they’re in, and Yakko sees two toon sized tubes filled with some kind of liquid, with his siblings in them.  They look different.  Remodeled.  He looks down at himself.  The art style has changed.  They’ve changed.  How?
“What...?” He can’t find the words.  Not yet.  They’re coming back to him slowly.
“It’s death...but not quite.  I was hoping for a reboot.  You guys are getting your show back!” he smiles at Yakko, like he expects Yakko to be overjoyed, but Yakko just stares.
Suspended Animation.  Death, but not quite.
He let his siblings get this.
“I’m telling you, because I figured these two would take it better from you than me,” Spielberg points a thumb at Wakko and Dot.  “I’ll wake them up now for your reunion.”
And Yakko wants to cry.  He wants to rage.  He wants to tell Steven, the execs, everyone, to stick it where the sun don’t shine  Like Hell is he doing their stupid reboot, he hates them.
He doesn’t hate often, but he’s certain here.
“Will they remember...?” Will they remember dying like I do, he doesn’t say.  Spielberg shrugs.
“Don’t know.”
They will.  Wakko is going to cry and Dot won’t be able to sleep for a week, and Yakko will hold them close and apologize a million times, and he’ll have to stop them from tearing the studio apart because he knows it’ll bring them right back here.  
They’ll remember.
But he doesn’t know that yet, so instead he says.
“So, how’s the reboot working?” As Spielberg turns on the machine to let Wakko and Dot out, and he pretends to listen as the director replies.
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simpsiren · 4 years ago
Note
hellooo! I love your writing style!! hope everything is going well for you. if it’s possible, I would like to request a chenle imagine where the reader is also an idol and they do a collab then eventually get into a relationship? thank you!!! <33 stay safe and take care of yourself!!!!
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genre. angst, fluff
word count. 2.4k~
warnings. none!
a/n. i hope you’re doing well too! omg this req is certainly adorable and i couldn’t help myself to just make this so fluffyy anyways i hope you’re staying safe as well and enjoy readinggg!! <3
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“So...”
The air between us was thick. The silence was extremely uncomfortable. I didn’t think that working with NCT’s Chenle for a collab would be anything like this. I didn’t like how I got the request to do this so suddenly, and I didn’t have the right to reject since my manager kept forcing it on me.
We were stuck in the conference room. Everyone that’s part of the collab have already left and told us to get the song started. Chenle was seating on the opposite side, head hung low as he twirled his pen between his fingers, staring down at a blank sheet of paper. “Why did you suggest that we composed the music ourselves? It would have been much easier if we didn’t have to.” I said, shaking my head and leaning forward, an elbow on the table as I pinched my temples.
Chenle sighed and lifted his eyes off the paper and onto me. “I’m sorry for wanting to be original?” He retorted back, lifting his free hand up to run it through his hair and shaking his head, his fluffy hair following.
“I know we don’t want this. So let’s just tell our managers to call it off.” I stood up from my seat and headed to the door. Just when I had my hand on the door handle, Chenle slammed his pen on hard on the table, the sound pierced through my ears, flinching a little due to shock.
“I already accepted it and unlike you, I don’t have the heart to let people down.” His eyes intimidatingly trailed from the paper and to me. Our eyes locked and we had an intensive staring competition to what fet like almost a minute. “So sit and help me write the lyrics.”
I huffed with frustration, stomping back to the chair and sitting down roughly. “We can work on it next week. Does it have to be now?” I asked with annoyance.
It was late at night. I didn’t have the mood to do this. And I bet neither does he. It’s only been hours since we met in person and we’re already having such tensions. It’s probably my fault that we got off the wrong foot, but I’m just that way. My manager knew me well enough to know that I don’t like doing collabs with other idols. But here we are. And Chenle is giving me zero chances to back out.
“You know what? Fine. We can stop here. But I better have some sort of idea from you.” He breathed out, clearly sounding annoyed as well. He pushed his chair back and grabbing his belongings. After cleaning the table, he went to the door. After glaring at me and rolling his eyes, he left.
I placed a hand on the table, leaning my body as I faced the door. I scoffed, glaring as if he was still standing there.
“Why did Mister Koh make me do this?” I whined out angrily, slamming my head on the table as I groaned out.
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I was informed to meet Chenle at a recording room. And when I got there, I was met with an extremely intimidating Chenle. I don’t know what he’s pissed about. But he was looking at me as if he’s staring into my soul. Or perhaps it was just his resting bitch face. Either way, I did not like that look on him. Is he only like this towards me?
“I’m here. And I did come up with a few ideas.” I sat down on the chair beside him. He was sitting in front of a piano. He spun his chair around to face me. “You’re late.” Chenle stated with a firm tone.
I nodded my head. “Yeah. Not my fault. I had a recording session.” I simply replied, matter-of-factly. I began putting my bag down and taking out my notebook that had my ideas along with a pen. “Did you come up with the melody for it as well?” Chenle asked. He got closer to me, peeking at my notes. I closed it and pulled it away from his eyes.
I gulped, realising just how close he was to me. The two of us looked at my notebook that was in the air before making eye contact. I didn’t know what happened, but we didn’t bother moving back, or pulling away from each other’s gaze.
I cleared my throat, shaking my head as I placed the notebook back down and flipped to the pages where I had my ideas. I slide the notebook to Chenle. He grabbed it and allowed his eyes scan through the notes. “I liked the one you cancelled out.” Chenle said with a shrug. He moved his chair to the piano and began playing a few notes.
I read over what I cancelled out and remembered why I did. “You weren’t suppose to read that.”
“But I did. And I like it.”
“But I don’t.”
The two of us looked to each yet again, his brows cocked up while I blinked my eyes. “Let me try something.” Chenle started pressing on his piano again, switching from key to key like trail and error. He then cleared his throat and propped my notebook in front of him. He leaned forward to read the lyrics and began singing. I was able to note a few things from just watching him for fifteen seconds.
One, his voice was beautiful. Of course, that’s true to all idols in the world. But his was unique. For the first time in a long time, I felt goosebumps forming on my skin when I heard it for the first time. I mean, to be honest I never listened to NCT which is why I’m so unfamiliar. Again I blame Mister Koh for dragging me to work with someone I have never known about but that’s besides the point. His voice is the kind that could put you to sleep, one that puts you at complete peace no matter the situation, it makes the world slow down and revolve all its energy around him, and only him.
Second, he’s fast. Very fast. In terms of being able to sing my lyrics with a melody together with a piano. I realised how he was able to note the feelings the listeners should get from my lyrics, and bringing it out with the piano. He sang it very well. I loved it, as much as I want to deny due to Chenle.
“How’d you even-” I asked, gasping weakly at the end. Chenle gave a warm smile. A new smile that lit up his entire face, not the expressionless one that gives off bitchy vibes. He was truly happy, that I could instantly tell. It was a smile that’s entirely different from last week. I kind of felt my heart softened at the sight.
“Let’s work with this.”
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It’s late at night. Very late into the night. The two of us had long schedules today but yet we had to meet at the recording studio to finish up the song. We’re almost finished with it. 
“We can end it off with the chorus but sing it in a different key. And back it up with some high vocals.” Chenle suggested, looking at me. I nodded my head, rubbing my eyes and forcing them open, trying my hardest to not fall asleep on sight. “Want to try recording the high note?” Chenle fiddled around with the controls in front of him. I never knew how that thing worked. I took in a deep breath, swallowing after.
“I can’t do high notes. I mean I used to but it’s not my thing anymore.” I let out, resting my cheek in the palm of my hand. Chenle sat there in silence, not knowing what to reply. He seemed tired as well, seeing how long he took to process my words. He eventually hummed but shook his head. “I want you to try. I think it’ll sound good.” Chenle insisted, standing up to open the door that lead to the recording booth.
I frowned, lazily shaking my head. “Please we can just use your voice for that part.” I tried flashing him my puppy face, eyes batting in his direction as my brows sunk and I deepen my frown, to which he responded with a scrunched up nose and face, scrutinizing me up and down. “Don’t ever do that again. It looks horrible on you.” Chenle dryly commented, his bead jerking towards the recording studio. 
I sighed and pushed myself off my chair, walking towards Chenle. I flared him a glare with feigned exasperation. Chenle chuckled softly and closed the door as soon as I entered. Chenle went back to his seat in front of the control panels. After seeing him adjusts a few more things through the glass, he leaned forward.
“I’ll start playing from the end of verse two. You can try singing your part of the bridge if you’d like.” Chenle spoke into the mic after I placed my headphones on. I hummed and nodded my head. After a few seconds of warming up my voice, I gave him a thumbs up and I signal to start the music.
It began playing in my ears and I took in a deep breath before singing. I took Chenle’s advice offering to sing a note or so higher than I usually do. It felt uncomfortable which made me stop singing for a moment as I got nervous. 
“It’s okay. Keep going. It was nice.” Chenle whispered calmly. I felt myself being soothed and calmed by his voice yet again. I turned my head to him, who was looking back at me with hopeful, gentle, and sweet eyes. He dipped his head down slightly as a way to urge me to keep going. 
I puffed up my cheeks and huffed quietly, waiting for my part to come in. At that moment, I couldn’t take my eyes off Chenle, and neither can he. We locked eyes and time paused. In that split second, I took a picture of the moment in my head. I didn’t know why, but I wanted it to be remembered. A simple thing like holding eye contact with Chenle had my stomach churning and butterflies being produced. I couldn’t possibly be falling for Chenle, right?
I continued to sing, my eyes still fully locked on with Chenle. I flashed a soft smile after I finished. Removing the headphones, I placed them down and walked out the recording booth. Chenle immediately stood up from his seat and run up, pulling me to him and hugging me tightly. 
“That was amazing! Why didn’t sing like that in your other songs?!” Chenle shouted with excitement. I stood there frozen, not being able to move an inch of my body. I felt my heart skipping a beat, heat rushing up to my cheeks. Why am I feeling like this? As if I had always hoped for something like this to happen over the times we’ve spent together.
Chenle notice how I wasn’t hugging back. I was so stiff. He pulled away, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck, breathing out a soft chuckle. “S-Sorry about that.” He whispered. He had his head up, was looking everywhere but me, which made me tilt my head in awe.
“Thanks. It felt weird at first.” I interlocked my fingers in front of me. “Should we order food? I’m hungry.” I asked, trying to change the subject so we wouldn’t have to face this weird gap between us. Chenle nodded firmly and quickly, grabbing his phone out of his sweatpants. “Let’s see what they have.”
I looked at the time. 3:02AM. We just finished eating and we were sitting silently on our phones next to each other. I yawned loudly, covering my mouth to excuse myself. I felt my eyes closing and my brain switching off. I was this close to falling asleep. But I knew we still had to record the full song.
“You tired?” Chenle whispered, not looking at me as his eyes were kept glued to his phone. I hummed softly, my head hanging low as I kept jerking myself awake. “A little. Just let me sleep for a little while longer before we record again.”
Suddenly, I felt a hand lightly pressing on the side of my ear. It was Chenle’s, slowly guiding my head to rest on his shoulder. “Was just trying to get you comfortable.” He blurted out, he tilted his eyes down on me before quickly switching back to his phone, coughing lightly. I chuckled. “Thanks.”
I closed my eyes fully, smacking my lips as I moved my head around a little to find a comfortable spot on his shoulder, which eventually ended up being the crook of his neck. Absentmindedly, I breathed in his scent. He wasn’t wearing any perfume but it smelt like he was. I sighed calmly.
I felt his body moving, His arm was placed around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him. I felt my heart beating faster as I realised I was laying on top of him, his chest going up and down as he breathed.
“Are you okay with this?” Chenle asked politely, his hand going up to my head and stroking my hair gently, his touch ever so light and fragile. “Oddly enough, I am. I’m just too tired.” I rest my head on his chest, my eyes were now back open since I cannot shake the fact that we’re in this state. Why am I enjoying this so much? What’s Chenle doing to me?
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I was the first one to wake up. He sleeping figure still below me. I slowly lifted up my hand, my fingers traced the features of his well made face. I moved my hand up to his hair, ever so lightly running my fingers through them as I took the time to admire its softness, twirling them in my fingers.
“Enjoying my hair?” Chenle said, voice low and raspy. I gasped lightly, looking down from his hair and my eyes met his. He had a slight smirk on his face. I scoffed and pulled away, sitting up straight and folding my arms. “Didn’t.” I felt his hand on my wrist.
Out of the blue, he pulled me back down in an instant. He smiled softly. “Again.” He simply said. I raised a brow. “What?” I questioned, utterly confused. He guided my hand back up to his hair. I blinked my eyes rapidly. Chenle didn’t speak a word after, closing his eyes as I assumed he was going back to sleep.
I bit my lower lip in nervousness, playing with his hair again as he hummed in satisfaction. I laughed and shook my head. “Cute.” I whispered.
“You more.” Chenle wasn’t asleep.
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timextoxhajima · 4 years ago
Audio
Playlist Feels: SHORT SERIES PART 4
PART 1 / PART 2 / PART 3
Member: Lee Juyeon
Genre: angst and smut i promise (how can i not write smut with this gif right)
A/N: idk if you guys read my A/Ns... but look for the ** in this chapter, and play the bonus track i’ve linked. i apologise in advance if it hurts... it’s going to be a long chapter, so sit back and relax
Taglist: @muvtharecca​
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“you always try to hide the pain”
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kevin is sitting opposite you in a 24-hour convenient store, the scent of kimchi flavoured instant noodles wafting through the air. the snow outside was only making this hot, late-night supper even more endearing as if it wasn't already on its own.
the chopsticks snap away from each other with bare minimum energy while you pull off the flap and greet the cloud of hot vapour.
the day concluded with kevin and the interviewer thanking juyeon, and they must've known something was wrong because you shook his hand without a word.
they've never seen you try so hard to force out a smile.
"go ahead and eat, kev," you jam your chopsticks into the nicely cooked noodles, shaking the strands apart. "do you need an invitation?"
kevin is accustomed to your work ethics; he knows you don't like to talk about work outside the studio or the office building.
so he deems it valid to ask when he decides that there was something more than "work" between you and the guest they had today.
"so, lee juyeon," kevin mirrors your movements, watching you in some corner of his eyes. "he's an ex-boyfriend?"
the food masks your need to throw something at kevin, and frankly, you weren't really in the mood to go against your kind-hearted colleague. not just that, you were spent from the day.
the vast amounts of strength you had to summon from the witch scratching your insides out was enough to drain you. it feels like you had to entertain more than a guest today, when you only had one.
any other day and it would've been an easy day.
but not when it is lee juyeon. not when he has his lips on yours in your studio. not when you still love him.
"you can talk to me if you need to, y/n. it sucks to see you like this, and we've been colleagues for two years."
the hot noodles leave a scalding sensation on your lips when you slurp it up, but instead, a sourness wraps itself around the nerves in your nose.
"for context, if our boss was in the studio, he would not have condoned your behaviour. you know that," leaning forward, kevin tries to meet your eyes.
"but he wasn't, so case closed."
he sighs, shaking his head gently as he takes his first mouth of instant noodles.
it is a few minutes of silence that brings you peace. every now and then, one of you slurps and kevin's lips began to pink with the heat and spicyness of the food.
yet, when kevin breaks the silence to return to the topic, it is both a relief from the tension and an added stress to the fact that you have no clue how to run anymore.
"i know he followed you into the storage room, did he do anything to you inside? are you alright?"
"i'm fine."
silence.
you look up through your lashes and see that kevin is slurping a lone strand of noodles extremely slowly, squinting his eyes at you and shaking his head.
"i think you should know you can't lie for whack."
a scoff runs your warm throat dry, and you shove another good mouth through your lips.
"i know he was talking about you in the interview, y/n. why are you denying a bad break up? most couples go through this. so what if he lost you to another man? he said he wasn't prioritising you over his work.”
kevin knows you are trying to avoid the topic and you weren’t one to be aggressive with him. 
he chooses to pry.
“from what i got from the interview, it sounds like he was the one in the wrong.”
sure, he started it. 
but you were the one who slept with someone else.
“any normal girlfriend would’ve been upset, and of course if there was another, better guy in the picture, i wouldn’t have blamed her for moving on. i wouldn’t blame you.”
but you didn’t move on, did you?
“i highly doubt any of that was your fault--”
your attention pulls to kevin from the bowl and lock eyes with him. 
“i slept with someone else, kev.”
the silence is deafening, only the jingle from the entrance of the store interrupting the still air between the two of you. 
“...while you were with--”
“yeah,” your eyes gravitate back downwards, and a frown gets cemented into your forehead. 
the food no longer looks edible; it looks more like a bunch of dead worms floating in a pool of blood. 
you hear kevin suck a deep breath through his nostrils as you push the bowl away, your appetite shrinking by the second and then it disappears completely like dust in the wind. 
“is it...” someone pays for a cup of coffee and leaves the store. “...safe to say that the two of you were already estranged when you did it?”
estranged. 
more like non-existent.
“it felt like we broke up and i didn’t know about it. i don’t know how great of an analogy or explanation that is, but i know that it felt like that,” you pause, because it feels like you were going to hurl out half the portion of noodles you had. “we were on edge for like... months. four, five months. it’s like his phone got thrown out into the middle of the pacific ocean and he never bothered to get a new one or at least save my number and i just...”
you look up from the bowl because your eyes were welling and your lungs were beginning to collapse in on themselves. there was a look of pity and sympathy in kevin’s eyes. 
his lips were pursed and brows slightly furrowed; he doesn’t know what to say and you don’t blame him. 
“the other guy was just there for me in that time of... vulnerability. i just let myself fall for that temptation.”
your colleague is stunned, but never does he once look at you like it was your fault. it was extremely out of character for you to crash and break down in front of him, and you were sure he could tell you were putting in effort to keep yourself composed. 
“sorry,” a tear falls without mercy, and you hurry to get rid of it, simply offering a weak laugh to hide your feelings. 
“i’m sorry, i didn’t mean to make you emotional.”
“it’s alright,” you shake your head and sit up straight, eyes looking to the fluorescent lights above and blinking away the layer of tears in your eyes. “saw this conversation coming anyway.”
kevin pushes out a tiny, bare smile by pursing his lips. 
you let kevin continue with his food because you couldn’t eat anymore, and your attention gravitates back to the outside world where the snow was gently falling onto the pavements. 
bright white lights reflected off the snow on the floor looking like crystals from afar, and you just can’t find enough strength to push the memory of juyeon out of your head. 
the gush of wind that greets your face would’ve been refreshing had you not just been on the verge of crumbling infront of kevin. 
he thanks the cashier behind you and follows you out onto the streets, pulling his beanie over his ears. he watches you close your eyes, snow falling into your lashes and your hair over the back of your coat. 
“i know it’s not in my place to say much, but if it’s anything i learnt from being in a relationship, it’s that you need to face whatever haunts you.”
his words sink into your skin like a cold blanket of truth, because you know it’s right. the tip of your nose numbs with the cold weather when you open your eyes and look at kevin, his presence alone enough to comfort you. 
there was probably no other person you’d be this comfortable talking to about the biggest mistake you made in your life. 
“i know.”
he nods, and turns to the left, expecting you to follow because you stay just about a ten minute walk from him.
but when he notices that you don’t budge from the spot you were standing on, and two passerbys were visibly confused with your lack of movement, kevin returns to your side and gives you a pat on the head. 
“call me if you need anything.”
like before, a nod shakes your head before you could process the movement, and kevin walks away, giving you one last look before he disappears around the corner of the building.
it is taxing to hit the button on the lift panel, watch the numbers on the display screen decrease number by second. 
it is overwhelming when the doors open, and snow falls off your shoulders when you stroll in, finger hovering over the button.
“i didn’t know i needed her until i lost her, and i lost her to another man. it was the biggest mistake then, and it’ll probably be the biggest mistake i’ll ever make.”
your lungs fill itself with a deep breath, the cold air piercing through your pores and nerves as the button lights up with a displeasing shade of red light. 
i’ll believe you this once, lee juyeon. 
we both found a chance to slit each other’s throats open and we both did. 
the gears of the lift doors grind open and a door along the corridor is wide open as someone walks in after pulling off his shoes. 
you step out without much thought, that is, until that person’s head sticks out beyond the door frame and the striped shirt is glaringly familiar to you. 
juyeon picks up his shoes and naturally, his eyes follow his line of movement. 
the eye contact seizes you in your footsteps, and it freezes juyeon the same. his back was slightly bent over, very obviously surprised that you were standing in the hallways of his residence. 
it takes him a few moments to process your face, your hands that were covered in gloves and the handbag you had dangling around your waist. 
your hair, lashes and brows were sprinkled with bits of snow; your grip around the straps of your handbag tight with tension. 
juyeon slowly resumes a proper standing position, each shoe hanging on each of his index and middle fingers as he blinks at you. 
he doesn’t say a word and the lift doors close behind you, but his door doesn’t when he turns and disappears into his apartment. 
just this once.
apologise, and you’re through.
he is not good for you and neither are you, for him.
his apartment is cozy; shoe rack, dining table on the right and a small kitchen beyond, living room. carpet, television, sofa, hallway to the private rooms.
you use your feet to get your boots off, carefully placing them by the shoe rack after dusting off the bits of snow from the wool outside the door. 
the apartment smells like juyeon and it makes you sick to your stomach when it haunts you like a dream you never woke up from; when it rips you apart all over again after five years. 
he walks into view from the hallway, arms crossed tightly across his chest and he looks at you like he was expecting something from you. 
just say what you need to say and go. 
you do not owe him anything. 
“are you here to gawk at my apartment like it’s a showroom or are you here because you wanted to do something?”
fool. 
it is surprisingly easy to contain the frustration now, because you were simply sick of it. there was no reason to remain annoyed with him, nor let him get to you all so easily when he was like this then; obviously he hasn’t changed that much. 
“i...” the neurons in your head struggle to piece the sentence together. “i came to apologise.”
kevin’s words repeat in your brain like a broken record when you look away, for juyeon was staring at you with slightly widened eyes now. he doesn’t even try to hide his surprise or shock -- or maybe he just couldn’t.
you apologising was probably the last thing he expected, yet you were here on your own initiative, spitting out words that he never thought he would hear. 
it requires a rather commendable amount of courage to look up back at juyeon again, his gaze tearing through you like a chainsaw through wood. 
“we had our differences and problems back then but i know it broke you when you found me... with sangyeon.”
you pause, thinking that he’d say something to piss you off or aggravate the situation, but his temples are tightened because he is hiding his feelings; his pain. 
“so... i’m sorry,” a pause. the muscles in your forehead contract and juyeon doesn’t move a single inch. “i don’t need you to apologise, because i don’t know what exactly happened... maybe something happened and i didn’t know but i know myself that i should not have slept with sangyeon, regardless the status of our relationship.”
at least say something, juyeon.
anything.
**  
a car honks outside, the snow getting heavier and falling like feathers of doves being shot down from the sky. the city lights outside the window were flickering with the snow blocking your view of them, but the still atmosphere was holding you by the neck; the cold temperature a knife at your throat. 
there was a kind of pain and trauma in his face that feels like paper cuts on your heart. you know very well he was playing that fateful day like a movie in his head, seeing you in bed with another man. 
you would’ve stopped him right there and then, tell him not to think about it, but that’s what you were here to apologise for anyway. 
gravity pulls your chin down to the ground with shame, your jaws clenching and your temples tightening under your beanie. the skin around your knuckles whiten with the amount of strength you were offering the straps of your handbag, 
a soft shuffle snaps you out of your blank, yet panicking mind that glued its eyes to the floor, and you watch juyeon’s feet with his socks on enter your field of vision. 
your lids squeeze shut, his voice rumbling through your nerves like an internal earthquake and you suddenly berate yourself for thinking this was a good idea.
“did you mean what you said today?”
his touch on your chin forces you out of your mental escape, your jaw being pulled upwards so you could meet his eyes.
i still love you, and i don’t want to break you again... so please don’t break me anymore.
it feels like all your motivation and confidence had drained into him through his finger under your chin, and if you weren’t already beating yourself up inside for saying that to him earlier today, you would’ve probably passed out. 
the layer of glistening tears in his eyes feels like boiling poison in your stomach, because the realisation of his truth only hits you now. 
but you don’t want to hear it.
the last time you were in love with him and he was in love with you, it was like pairing a matchstick with a wax candle: both eventually die out because of the other. 
denial washes all over you like waves during a thunderstorm in the form of an abrupt, shake of your head, even under his touch. it ached more than you liked it to have to deny the truth in what you said today, but you cannot break juyeon again.
“no, i--” your chin shifts out of his hold and your eyes dart away from his face. “i didn’t mean it--”
but didn’t you?
juyeon has your jaw in his hands again, lips cushioned against yours. 
it feels like a spear had been driven through your face when you taste his tears between your lips. 
it tastes like toxins and rotten eggs and saltwater and it makes you want to hurl; not because you hated it but because you hated how much it was hurting him.
“juyeon,” your hands push him away but he grabs both your wrists, the seizure halting you in your movements. 
“what are you so scared of?”
the question is like a dump of cold water on you, and you see nothing but remorse in his eyes. 
“...breaking you... it hurts me to know that i can, and i don’t want to do it anymore. i did it once, i don’t want to do it again.”
your voice cracks under the pressure and a tear rolls down his cheek. the urge to reach up and wipe it off his face was so intense, your hands started to tremble in his grip.
“i meant what i said during the interview today. and if you meant what you said, then it means there’s nothing to be afraid of anymore.”
life has just shoved you off an edge, an edge that you were standing on after running away from juyeon.
only for you to fall off and into his arms again. 
he shoves his lips between yours, almost violently, when he pulls you forward by your wrists. 
he guides your arms around his shoulders and behind his neck, while his hands find your waist and rest on your lower back, keeping the length of your body close to his. 
your hair under your beanie loosens when he pulls it off, and the next to go was your handbag that he slides off your shoulder and lays it somewhere on the ground. 
don’t make me close one more door
it still doesn’t feel too far for no return, until he takes your hand and rests it on his cheek while he kisses you softly. his lips part and so do yours, instinctively, but he doesn’t force himself into your mouth. 
i don’t want to hurt anymore
the warmth from his palm over yours on his cheek melts you like the snow outside, and before you knew it, he pulls away, looking to see if you were going to turn your back on him and run.
stay in my arms if you dare
yet, the want to run is no longer in control. 
or must i imagine you there?
there was no need to say anything, because it was written all over his face and in his eyes. 
he slots his lips between yours again like puzzle pieces, this time feeling much more whole, much less in pain, much more in love; in love again.
the supposedly dead doves on the street writhes to life as a familiar fire in your chest lights up again. 
don’t walk away from me
both his hands cup your cheeks and your hands are gripping onto the material around his elbows when he starts walking you backwards. 
i have nothing 
a wall meets your back, sandwiching you between the cold concrete and the warmth that was emitting from the length of his body.
if i don’t have you
his scent fills your nostrils like flowers in a field and it is almost nauseating to have it so near to you. not only were you smelling it, you were tasting it, and having it in your grasp was extremely surreal.
you break the kiss first and look at the skin on his neck before finding the courage to look back up at him. 
there is a mild frown on his forehead, his palms still holding your face so gently, it feels like you were cushioned in feathers.
“juyeon...”
the name rolls off your tongue like a song lost in time, and juyeon simply angles his head downwards to meet your lips again. 
you must’ve been a fool to believe that five years was enough for you to forget about juyeon, not when you’ve spent nearly the same amount of time being his significant other. 
either that, or you were just never meant to escape juyeon’s life, nor rid him from yours. 
maybe now you understand why people do stupid things when they are in love, because they just don’t think it’s stupid. they do it because their heart propels them to do so; they do it because nobody can replace the feeling that this special someone can offer, that only this person can offer.
so when he has you cushioned cozily into the pillows of his bed and your coat and winter wear long gone somewhere, leaving you in just the first layer of clothes you have on, you realise what he’s trying to compensate.
you couldn’t tell if juyeon was just childishly bitter about the fact that you lost your virginity to another man, or that he was still in disbelief about how he treated you back then. 
one thing was for certain though, he is showering you with kisses and caresses that you would’ve otherwise not expected from juyeon. 
the whines and sighs pouring out between your lips sound like a soft lullaby and  he was revelling in the fact that he should’ve given this to you sooner. 
instinctively, your fingers find the rim of juyeon’s top and riles it up, running your skin over the warmth of his skin and smelling more of his cologne when the material brushes across your face as he removes it. 
he looks down at you and his gaze causes goosebumps to erupt all over your body. 
they are loving and desperate for love. they are warm and cold with the memory of how you ended. they are full of desire and hungry for validation.
it doesn’t take him long to attach his lips to yours again once he’s done admiring the features on your face; features that he had lost for so long, he was worried he might forget them. 
as strange as it seemed, having him drag your clothes off you only to stop and stare at the shade of your skin makes you feel like you were truly exposed to him. it is alien and it makes you want to shrivel up under him, because he was not the person you slept with.
but before you could hide yourself away from him, he litters kisses all over your skin. your cleavage, your stomach. fingers brushing over the skin of your hips and thighs, encouraging your hand reaching down to look for his face.
when his cheek is brushed with your fingertips, he looks up through his lashes and it feels like this should’ve happened in place of sangyeon. 
the memory of sangyeon providing you the love and affection you needed engulfs you in flames and your chin tilts to the ceiling, silently begging the heavens to provide you enough strength to keep your tears in. 
juyeon, reading your body language, reaches to his nightstand and pulls out a black sash, something that looked like it belonged to his costume when you saw him at the club two weeks ago. 
“hey,” he leans forward and gives you a peck on the lips. pulling you upwards, he wraps his arm around your waist as he sits down. the position confuses you for awhile, until he pulls you onto his lap and lets you sit on his thighs. 
looking down at him while feeling the warmth of his legs under your rear is slightly unsettling; it has been way too long. 
“me saying sorry won’t cut it,” he slides the sash into your hands and brings them up to his face. “so i’m letting you do whatever you want.”
you decide that lee juyeon has lost his mind when he guides your hands and ties the sash around his eyes.
a frown draws itself into your forehead before you realise he can’t see your expression. 
your lips part in a bid to protest, to ask if he’s lost his fucking mind; but juyeon grabs your wrists and plants kisses into your palms.
your stomach is churning and your eyes are tearing up all over again when he starts trailing them down the inner side of your wrists and forearms. the intimacy of this entire ordeal draws a high on your consciousness, and you can’t help the sigh that escapes your lips when he pulls away.
if this is his way of earning validation, then you have no authority to keep him from being validated. 
your palms press flat against his shoulders, gently pushing him backwards until he’s lying down on the mattress with your knees straddling the sides of his hips. 
the scent that you remember wafting through your nose for so long, so long ago is strongest around his neck. fragile memory invites you to that very spot, dipping your nose into his skin and attaching your lips to the spot under where his jaw led up to his ear.
the heavy breathing from his inflated nostrils already sounds like frustration, and it begins to hurt in your chest that juyeon is punishing himself.
he’s letting you do it only because he thinks he doesn’t deserve it.
your fingers replace the spot where your lips were, and circles of innocent pain draws themselves into his skin. 
his adam’s apple bobs up and down when he gulps, and you try to contemplate your next move. 
it shouldn’t be this difficult.
it really shouldn’t. 
not when he deserves to suffer for what he did.
but you were the one who slept with someone else.
frustration builds up inside you like a pressure flask, or a volcano for that matter. 
juyeon and his affection were the only things you ever wanted.
punishing him would be as good as punishing yourself. even if it was valid, it was, unfortunately, driving a nail through your spine. 
it hurt to let the realisation of his self-punishment sink in. 
“juyeon,” you pull off the blindfold and shake your head at him. “i can’t.”
a muscle in his cheek twitches, and his bare chest heaving up and down under your palms allows you to feel his heartbeat. 
what was this? some dumb game of chess? were you too dumb to let up so easily or was juyeon just too petty about what happened five years ago? it feels like a game of push and pull that was never going to end.
that is, until juyeon opens his mouth. 
“i’m sorry.” 
your eyes dart around his, frantically searching for any sign of pretence or inauthenticity. 
but you are shocked when you see sincerity, and nothing but him wanting to prove himself. 
your heart is racing and thumping so hard, you were sure juyeon could hear it.
it feels like the weight of the world has crashed down on you, at the same time the heavens finally ridding you of the witch that has been peeling your insides and throwing them out of your body in the form of tears. 
the gravity of the apology sinks into you too soon, because you shove your lips between his before you could even process your own actions. 
digging his fingers into your thighs, he pushes you back so you were lying down again, never once breaking the kiss.
you wonder if you were giving in too easily when he slips his tongue through your lips without much effort, but feeling his heart rush against yours is a sensation to be reckoned with.
it does not feel real. it does not feel like you deserve it.
the friction of your pants being pulled off your thighs earns your attention, but he is drinking your moans and feeling you writhe under him. 
the cool air followed by a thud tells you that your pants are on the floor, leaving you in your lingerie and him in his pants. so your fingers run across his biceps and reach south, slightly aggressively undoing his belt. 
sparks fly when juyeon smiles into the kiss. 
oh, how much i missed you. 
he shifts around in a bid to get rid of his pants, breaking the kiss in the process. 
panting and trying to catch your breath from the excessive making out, juyeon slides his arm under you and flips you over carefully.
he doesn’t remove your bra, and maybe it was because he wanted to know he wasn’t doing this because he wanted sex, the way you accused him of it two weeks ago. 
chills run down your spine with every instant his lips are on the skin of your back, and then your inner thighs and you find yourself shaking under him.
not because you were scared, but because this was right. 
the mattress around your legs shift, a finger trails the skin near your core and the air meets your needy wetness you didn’t even realise was becoming prominent. 
the bedsheet gets crumpled in your hands when he pulls it off, lifting your legs for you to remove it. 
then his palms are gripping the back of your thighs and his tongue meets your entrance. 
a hiss runs through your teeth and you shut your eyes.
the bliss is overwhelming, and your entire body was tremoring from the sensation of him dipping his tongue into you. 
his fingers find your sensitive nub, making you pool more for him to lap up. 
just when it becomes too unbearable, he removes himself from your south. burying your face into the pillow, one of his hands grips the flesh of your rear.
it feels like a warm blanket when he leans down, chest against your back and his left arm supporting his weight next to your ear. “tell me if it hurts.”
he greets you at your entrance, prodding slightly and driving inappropriate thoughts into your head as if you weren’t already halfway there. 
so you nod, and he plants a kiss on your shoulder as he pushes into you. 
your temples tighten with the pain when you feel him stretching out your walls, your fingers gripping onto the bedsheet like you were strangling someone. 
his right arm is holding your stomach under you, his lips still leaving lingering dollops of love and care on your shoulders. 
he waits until the look of pain has vanished, and the thrusts start out light because you were still adjusting to him. 
but it doesn’t take long for the small winces of pain to turn into gentle mewls and moans of pleasure. 
you turn and bury your face into the pillow, trying to muffle out your own desperation. 
so it is a surprise when juyeon abruptly pulls out and flips you over on your back, and you provide him one extremely annoyed sigh. 
he smirks at you, and you don’t mind it one bit. 
“nothing to be ashamed of.”
he wraps his legs around his hips as he looms over you, arms on either side of your head against the mattress. the combination of him pushing into you and pressing his lips against yours is of immense bliss and satisfaction.
you have all of him now, and this was meant to be. 
hips hips roll against yours instead of rampant thrusting, so that he could maintain his lips on yours. he was careful and meticulous and he wants you to know that he still loves you.
if that is what he’s doing, he’s doing a damn good job at it.
his hips are grinding against your sensitive nub and the rolling was maximising the friction of his length inside you, so it doesn’t take much for him to help you reach your high. 
“juyeon--”
“i know,” he whispers to you, lips just about an inch away from yours when his eyes dig into your half-hooded ones.
you expected your body to regurgitate all the memories of sangyeon, but nothing comes to mind.
the only person in your head is juyeon, and you had absolutely no problem with it.
he helps you reach your high and your back archs off the mattress as he drinks the pleasure spewing out your throat. 
he pulls out, just after he helps you ride it out, and he releases on your stomach and your thighs with sweat sticking his gelled hair to his forehead. 
your arms slide under his pillows and your chest heaves from the intimacy. it takes you awhile to realise you are staring at his chest and collarbones and face before he crawls back towards you.
he angles his head to kiss you again, this time willingly smiling into the act of affection. 
“does this mean you accept my apology?”
you suck your lips between your teeth when he pulls away, his hands brushing your hair out of your face and stroking your cheek.
“yes,” you nod subtly. “but only if you clean your mess off me.”
juyeon jabs the inner side of his cheek with tongue and looks away for a second.
he leans forward once more, kissing you on the forehead this time. 
“i love you.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
to be continued (final)
194 notes · View notes
mini-moongi · 4 years ago
Text
My Lover, Love Letter || kth.
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Genre: angst, fluff, pining?? unrequited love for a hot sec? EXTRA cheesy 
Summary: Being in love isn’t supposed to hurt so much, but you’d sooner roll over dead than confess to him. Your best friend. After a particularly rough break up, you decide to send Taehyung some additional love via love letters. What you weren’t expecting, however, was a letter back.
A/N: Not entirely proof read, so please excuse any inconsistencies lol
─────── ☽. ✧₊∘ ───────
“I just don’t know,” Taehyung sighs as he grabs his shoes from the company’s designated drawers. His name that’s scribbled onto a label is faded and worn, but he pays no mind as he slips his sneakers on. Frustration eats away at him, silently beckoning him closer. “How did I not see it coming? I’m so stupid like how could I not have seen--”
“--I don’t think anyone would’ve seen it coming.” Your voice lays low, uncertainty and concern bubbling up. “And I know what you’re thinking: No, this isn’t your fault. She cheated on you, and you’re doing the right thing, okay?” 
Taehyung doesn’t look at you like you so desperately wished he would, but what else could you do? What else could you say? “...You’re just saying that because you’re my best friend.”
“Yeah, your best friend who knows that you deserve better. Besides,” you smile,” there’s plenty of other fish in the sea.” and oh how you wish you were a fish.
That night, your mind wandered to Taehyung’s predicament. He’s been your best friend for years and years on end, but along the lines somewhere, you’ve started to feel a little bit more than “just a friend.” It’s an ongoing pain, and you’ve known that for a while now. A breathy sigh escapes your lips as you glance down at your notebook. Minutes go by of you staring at nonsensical scribbles of lyrics and poems, ones you’ve written throughout the day. That’s it. 
The next day you get to the recording studio a bit early, early enough that there’s no one else in sight and no one to see you with a crisp white envelope. Your footsteps echo throughout the empty hallway, and with each passing second, you become uneasier and uneasier. Is this a bad idea? Is it too much? What if he finds out? Will he find out?
You’ve been standing in front of his drawer for the past five minutes contemplating. It stares back at you the same way it did last night, piercing through your soul and convincing you to step closer. If anything, you’re doing this to be a good friend, right? Before you can mull over it any longer, you hear chatter at the end of the hall. You can’t even convince yourself that it’s a horrible idea anymore when you slip the note in and hurry off inside the studio. Minutes later, Namjoon walks in with Jungkook.
“Oh!” Namjoon breaks out into a small smile,” You startled me, y/n. What are you doing here so early?”
The question catches you off guard and has you scrambling for an excuse. “I uh… I couldn’t sleep? I have a lot on my mind, I guess.” You shrug and spin around in an office chair. You didn’t like the fact that you just lied to Namjoon, but it wasn’t necessarily a lie. It just… wasn’t the whole truth. “I got us coffee?”
Jungkook and Namjoon don’t catch on to your jittery attitude, too excited by the fact that you bought them drinks. They mumble out their thank-yous and go off on their way. They’ve been working on Jungkook’s new single, so it’s not that big of a surprise that they’re also here early. It’s the fact that usually you’re never here early, and it irks you every time they look your way.
A heavy pair of footsteps trudge through the hallway, and your breath catches in your throat. This is it, the moment of truth. You hurriedly get up to greet taehyung outside. For a moment you catch yourself; you’re like an overly excited puppy greeting their owner, it isn’t too obvious, right? Nevertheless, Taehyung didn’t seem to mind too much when you said hello. He slips his shoes off and opens the drawer.
He sees the letter.
You watch as his eyebrow quirks up a little and how he gingerly picks it up out of his box. “I didn’t know we get mail in our cubbies now.” He jokes halfheartedly. When he looks at you, you shrug and look as shocked as he is.
“Does it say who it’s from?” You ask aloud. Your heart pounds so loud in your ribcage you wonder if he can hear it too.
Taehyung turns the envelope over to examine the front and back. It’s a simple white envelope with a red heart sticker sealing it shut. “...It doesn’t. Huh,” he ponders,” that’s weird.”
You wander back to your desk, but you can see him holding the letter in his hands out of the corner of your eyes. He follows you, and to be quite honest, you feel like you're going to shit your pants. You’ve never done this before, and rightfully so, but you really wish he wouldn’t try to read it in front of you. He opens it carefully, his fingers slipping between the lid of the envelope and pulling out the letter you wrote. You swallow thickly,”....what does it say?”
He’s silent for a while, eyebrows furrowed and focused on the tiny piece of paper in front of him. His deep voice reads,
“Dear Taehyung,
   I hope this letter finds you well. I’m scared, terrified even, as I write this. I heard that you were going through a rough time, and I thought to myself: it’s now or never, you know? I want you to know that I’m cheering for you! 
  You may not realize it now, but I promise you, good things are waiting for you. It’s not going to be easy, I know from personal experience that love hurts, but it’ll be okay :) I really like you, Kim Taehyung, so please cheer up! Your smile is really cute!! (´,,•ω•,,)♡
Love,
        :) “
As per the singular acting class you took, you widen your eyes and pretend to be shocked. You gasp,” Taehyung, I think that’s a love letter?”
“...yeah?” He nods. Suddenly his throat is very dry, despite being very hydrated seconds ago. A smile crept up onto his lips as he gazes at the handwritten note. “Yeah, I think it is.”
The next couple of times were just small sticky notes all signed with a smiley face; encouraging words to give him some extra love. And it works. He’s happier when he reads them, and you’re happy when you write them. 
The next time you give him a major note is on a whim. Written at 3 in the morning, where loneliness is felt and feelings are emptied out onto a page. You don’t even remember sealing it or sneaking out to slip it into his drawer for him to find. Eventually, the morning sun shines in your eyes, and your alarm is too loud for your liking. Grogginess envelopes you and pushes you out of bed, yelling at you to start your day, but five more minutes couldn’t hurt...
Taehyung’s contact buzzes on your phone, making your device shine brighter than it needs to be at this hour. You squint at the harsh light and unlock it.
Tae: ajsdjsjfdsljds
Tae: there’s another one
You: another what
Tae: Letter!!!!
You immediately sit upright in your bed. Wait, you actually went out last night? You look around frantically, trying to somehow prove to yourself that you didn’t. The jacket laying in the corner of your room taunts you: you did it again.
Hastily, you scramble out of bed. You’re wide awake now, eyes wide and crusty. You rack your brain for an appropriate response because leaving your best friend on read might be a little suspicious.
You: omggg
You: what does it say this time :0
You’re a little nauseous waiting for his response, but you throw on clothes and hope that you didn’t reveal too much about yourself.
Tae: “i miss you. i wish you’d look at me the same way i see you. Like my favorite color, or my favorite sweater, it’s always been you. You’re my favorite, but am i yours?”
Tae: they say other stuff too but that one hit deep yknow
It’s hitting you like an 18-wheeler, and everything you wrote comes back to you in waves. ugh, emo hours are meant to stay in 3 am, not shared with your crush via secret love letter.
You: woah that does hit different
You walk into the studio that day a little bit more paranoid than usual. Taehyung greets you, already starting his day with a smile stuck to his face. It’s softer today, one that comes with a huge sigh and big brain thoughts. You already know he’s going to ask you a question; which kind however is what you dreaded.
“Hey,” he starts off slow and unsure. A beat goes by, and he continues,” is it stupid to fall for my secret admirer?” The question comes out, loud and clear. You feel the wind is knocked out of your stomach, or is it your gut? You stare at Taehyung in shock; he’s in love with you? Well, obviously, he doesn’t know it’s you, but still--
You choke on the water you’re sipping and turn to face him. “You’re in love with.... the writer?” You’re trying really hard not to tremble in surprise, and he buys it.
“Yeah, I just wish I knew who they were..”
“--Woah, hold on,” you’ve officially thrown yourself into the deep end. “What if it’s someone you know? You could be crossing some sort of line here buddy.” You didn’t anticipate Taehyung falling for your love letters, so for him to now start reciprocating was a bit much. You had gotten comfy in the unrequited love section, and to ruin your friendship like this was going to be one hell of a rollercoaster. 
“Ugh,” he grumbles. He drapes himself on an adjacent office chair and twirls around dramatically. “You’re right, but maybe things will change? All I know is that this person is writing me enough love letters to actually be my lover.
“and not to mention the fact that I love handwritten notes? Like come on, y/n,” He gives you a lopsided grin that makes you fall for him a little too much. “You know I’m a sucker for this crap. Whoever this is should just marry me right now. I’m ready to be an old fashioned, romantic poet writing, sonnet sweetheart for you darling!” He calls out to the open air.
You chuckle at this, a prime example of why you love Taehyung. His hair falls a little on the sides of his face as his shoulders shake in laughter. Your face is starting to feel warm, but you pay no attention to it. “Oh yeah, that’s totally gonna get them to reveal themselves.”
The next time you go to deliver him a letter, you find that there is already a sealed envelope in his drawer. Carefully, you pick up the letter with a wax seal holding it closed. To my Lover, it reads on the top left corner in Taehyung’s handwriting. A short barely-there laugh breathes out of your nose, and a smile finds its way to you. Of course he’d do something like this; something so out of the blue and unnecessary, yet so thoughtful and sweet.
You slip in your letter in exchange for his, and gingerly put it in your backpack to read later in the confines of your home. 
[ ---I can’t sleep because I lie awake and think about you, did you know that? You could be anyone: my boss, the intern, the librarian, or even my best friend, and I’d still have no clue. Is our relationship really so fragile that we can’t meet in person? Or maybe, we always do? 
Have you listened to my friend’s new single? It’s called “Still with You.” Please think of me when you hear it. “When will it be when I get to see you face to face? I’ll look you in the eye and say I missed you.”--- ] 
It’s a small excerpt compared to the rest of the letter he’s written for you, but you can feel your heart beat faster in your chest. You find that your hands have already started writing a response. 
A month goes by since you’ve started exchanging letters with Taehyung in secret, but today shit hits the fan. “y/n?”
You’re in your kitchen fixing up some snacks for movie night when Taehyung calls out to you. “yeah?” you respond.
“Why do you have this?” He comes around the corner, holding up a letter that was once sealed with a wax stamp. You freeze. 
“--Why the fuck do you have all of my letters?” At this point he’s face to face with you, a pain etched into the soft features that silently cry out. You’re silent, the pop tarts in the toaster long forgotten.
Your eyes paint him like a movie; a film that you’d never get to see again. Everything is blurry except for the old letter and tears that fall to the ground. Love hurts, but never this much before. You clutch your chest— lungs aching for the sweet relief of fresh air. “Taehyung, I didn’t... It’s not—“
“Is this some kind of sick, twisted joke to you?” His voice reverberates in the kitchen. Dark, deep, bitter, like the coffee you used to drink. “I don’t need you to play pretend anymore; you can drop the act. I don’t want empty love letters filled with shit if it’s all fake anyways.”
Those words cling to you and rip through old scars. He’s leaving you with open wounds, bleeding out painfully slow. It’s not shit, it’s your feelings. You poured your heart into that! If any song could play right now, it’d be,” All I Ask by Adele.”
“...what?” He stops in the doorway, having heard a faint whisper fall from your lips. Had it been a nasty remark, he was ready to spit one back at you. But it wasn’t. He didn’t catch what you said, but he knows it wasn’t an insult.
You couldn’t have with the way you’re clutching the empty pop tart wrapper for dear life, looking so empty and lost and alone on the tile floor. An empty shell: nothing more than a vessel staring at him, soaking in his every detail as if it’s the last time you two will meet. Hurt and betrayal replays in his head, so no matter how much he wants to stay, Taehyung steps out the door.
You couldn’t bring yourself to write letters for a while. You wished so desperately to tell him that the letters were genuine: you loved him. You still do. There are so many things you want to say, but none of the poems or essays you’ve written were strung together correctly. They just didn’t convey your feelings the way you want them to: the pain, the regret, the love, it wasn’t good enough.
After many sleepless nights and a few phone call confessions with Namjoon, your last letter was written. The cute stationary you’d use reminded you of every other letter, but this will be the last one. Promise.
[—“if this is my last night with you, hold me like I’m more than just a friend... because what if I never love again?”—]
[—All I Ask by Adele played in my head when you left, like a soundtrack in a movie. Everything I’ve written to you is true; please forgive me for falling in love with my best friend.—]
That night it rained. How fitting, you think to yourself. The weight from the grocery bags pile softly to the floor, the annoying crinkle rustling from the plastic. You peel the wet jacket off of your shoulders, hanging them up to dry while you put away the food. Thunder rolls in from the distance, pellets of rain tapping on your window. You don’t bother with music or tv, the silence thick and heavy as you busy yourself in the kitchen.
A knock sweeps you out of the dull lullaby of chores and rain. You move to open your door, and the next thing you know, a pair of arms embrace your still figure. All at once the sweet scent of cologne and honey clouds your senses, a familiar sedation too powerful alone. He holds you closer to his body. The physical touch makes you crave more, leaning in to relish in as much of it as you can.
He releases his hold a little, much to your dismay, and your eyes catch his restless ones. They flutter shut, and Taehyung’s forehead touches yours. His hot breath tickles your lips, shaky but inviting all the while. “...I missed you, so much.”
Is this what it feels like to be held like a lover? Embraced so tenderly and gently, fingertips tracing along your jawline. He pours his love onto you like the rain outside, and the kiss he gives sparks like a strike of lightning.
You wonder how you could’ve been content with unrequited love when this was on the other end? Seeking mutual forgiveness, making up for guilt with praises and promises? You know from personal experience that love hurts, but now, you’re ready to learn how love heals.
─────── ☽. ✧₊∘ ───────
A/N: This originally was supposed to have a sad ending but I couldn’t bring myself to...... I had to be cliché, it’s my drug 😔mayhaps I’ll make an angst fic someday,,
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lordeemailarchive · 5 years ago
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hello you
(19/05/2020)
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The island, February 2019
Well hello there. I realised the other day it had been a minute since we chatted, and I was missing you. Do you wear your hair long or short now? Did you take your piercings out? You’ll probably be pleased to know my hair is big and long again. I think after Melodrama came out I said I wouldn’t put out another record until my hair was long— both because hair takes time to grow, and I knew I needed time, and because I knew the next record would require the longest and wildest hair yet. In many cultures and religions throughout history, long hair has been viewed as a source of power and a link to the spiritual world, and I can certainly say that I have never felt more spiritually rich, and in touch with the voices that guide. (Yes I’m a fucking herb. Sue me!!!) I hope you and your friends and family are staying safe. It’s a wild time. I don’t know how many times I’ve said that in the past two months. New Zealand is creeping back to normal. Shops and restaurants are open again. I’ve seen some friends. I feel so grateful for such calm, sensible leadership by our government, now more than ever. I know you may not be afforded that where you live, and I hope you’re taking it one day at a time and trying not to feel too destroyed by the news. I’m thinking of you all the time. It’s that time of year in New Zealand where it’s cold and clear. The light is bright and stark, with lots of contrasting shadows. The sky is the dark bright blue which signals approaching winter. The cars are back on the roads, which is a bit of a weird thing. The quiet streets had given me a glimpse at a different city, one where I could hear the sparrows in the huge London plane trees at rush hour. Maybe one day we’ll be back there again. I don’t know. The first three months of this year started as a blur, and began to sharpen. It was summer, a time of year which is usually so clarifying and special to me, but I was grieving hard for Pearl, carrying it everywhere with me. I found a note in my phone from November which said: I eat a grief sandwich I wear a grief coat I see a grief film. If you know how it feels to lose someone close, I’m sure that makes sense to you. Everything about you becomes a grief thing! The dreamy warm time of year I normally love so much — the beaches and the green fields — it all felt hollow without my boy beside me. I started going back to the studio again in December, just for something to do, and to my surprise, good things came out. Happy, playful things. I felt my melodic muscles flexing and strengthening. Jack came over to work in the studio in Auckland, and I went to LA. It flowed. A thing started to take shape. And then, of course, the world shut down. We’re still working away — Jack and I FaceTimed for over an hour this morning going over everything. But it’ll take a while longer.
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Studio Jack, late 2019
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Studio me by jack
I’ve been looking at some of your notes online, and I can feel the (extremely sweet, EXTREMELY flattering) desperation creeping back into your voices. You need it! The thing can’t come soon enough! I understand— I want nothing more than to feed you treats, pop perfect morsels straight into your little mouths. But as I get older I realise there’s something to be said for the pleasant feeling of waiting for something of quality to become available to you. You could have something of lesser quality much faster, but as the high quality thing comes into fruition, a warm feeling grows inside you. Do you know what I mean? I get this feeling when I make bread, or put my seedlings in after the last frost, or even when I wait for a particular package to arrive. Waiting, the thing that felt so pointless and annoying when I was young, is now this kind of delicious activity. In my opinion, the greatest treat I can give you is work that will last ten, twenty, thirty years. And that kind of work takes time. So if you can, I’d like for you to try tuning in to the time spent waiting for something of the highest quality to arrive. Enjoy the sensation as it builds. When the moment comes, our wave will crest super fucking high. I can tell you, this new thing, it’s got its own colours now. If you know anything about my work, you’ll know what that means. I knew I needed a break from touring at the end of the last cycle. I was finding the combination of brutal stage fright and having no fixed home and no connection with what I ate or where I lived extremely grim. I needed to make some food, grow some stuff, go to the beach a bunch, finally acknowledge (and kick) my social media addiction. I wasn’t sure if I’d tour again for a long time. And I still don’t know what touring is gonna look like for me, sensitive sweet pea plant that I am. But I know now how excited I am to get back out there. I want to be playing festivals again — hearing my intro music, watching the band walk onstage. I want to devastate. I want to see a huge line of you outside my hotel. I want to hug you all, and hold your hands. I want to do interviews, talk about the record over and over until I know it inside out. I want to do photoshoots, make videos. I want to eat summer foods in beautiful countries — ice cream and tomatoes and anchovies. I want to use my gift, and watch it grow. Who knows when it’ll be safe to do those things, but I’m craving them, and I wanted you to know. One of my favourite things about when we meet is the hug we almost always share. You say, “Can I hug you?” in a wavering voice, and I reach out my arms and hold you close for 10 or 15 seconds. Our hands rest on each others’ backs. In those few seconds I can feel all the love and care you have for my work, all the time you’ve spent listening and watching and decoding. And you can feel how deeply I care about you, how hard I try to make everything perfect so that I meet your hopes where they are. When it’s safe, I can’t wait to hug you again. The work is so fucking good, my friend. I am truly jazzed for you to hear it. Okay, that’s all for now. It’s mid afternoon, and really warm. I’m going to put on my new shirt and walk down to the water. Fish and fennel salad for dinner. I hope this finds you well. L xxxxxx
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St Bathans, February 2020
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The photo I took last week (for the super sleuths)
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Lockdown monarch on my lime tree
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Lockdown light on water
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Lockdown rhubarb galette (I’m refraining from sharing any more food content)
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The author at time of writing
(source: received this email)
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lady-salvatore · 4 years ago
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Never, Ever (The Proposal)
PART ONE PART TWO
Pairing: Stefan Salvatore x Klaus Mikaelson x Reader
Desc.: Part three to Never, Ever, in which Klaus proposes.
Notes: I’ve had too much fun with Never, Ever to end it in 2 parts... this will have to be moved to ‘series’ on the masterlist lol
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It had been three years since you and Klaus reunited.
Maybe it seemed too soon to some, but Klaus had been waiting a century to be with you again, to make you his forever.
“Do you think she’ll like it?” Klaus asked softly, careful not to be heard.
Elena, who had become your best friend in the past years, marveled at the large diamond ring Klaus had chosen. “She’ll love it. But... Klaus, can I be honest?”
Klaus nodded.
Elena’s dark eyes turned solemn. “(Y/N) may not seem like it, but she’s not a forgetful person. She forgave you, but she’s always scared.”
“Scared that I’ll leave again,” Klaus muttered, staring down at the ring. “I just wish I could show her how I feel for her.”
“You need to show her that you’re not going anywhere,” Elena replied. “Then, the proposal will take it the rest of the way.”
Elena turned to leave Klaus’s Mystic Falls home. “By the way, you have my blessing.”
“I didn’t ask.” Klaus glared at her.
“I’m the closest thing she has to family,” Elena replied. “You should have asked me for her hand.”
“Don’t act like you’re from a previous century. I’ve been in ten of them, I didn’t find you in one.”
Elena laughed. “It’s weird working with you. The things I’d do for (Y/N)...”
Klaus smiled. “I feel the same.”
-
It had been three years with Klaus, and he hadn’t left you yet.
But every day, you were put through the pain of missing him for a century. The part of you that had been locked off when he compelled you had lived a hundred years, too, and that part tortured you every day.
You stared out a window in the Salvatore Boarding House, which you miraculously never got kicked out of, chewing on your fingernails.
“Hello, breaker-of-my-brother’s-heart,” Damon said from behind you.
You sighed. “I’ve apologized every day for three years. Stefan’s moved on, why haven’t you?”
“Stefan lost a fiancé, I lost a sister.” Damon downed his bourbon.
You turned to him. “Damon, darling, I still see you as my brother.”
He smiled, only a little. “I know. But you’ll always be an almost.”
“I hate almosts,” you whispered.
“Uh oh. Trouble in Mikaelson Paradise?”
You sighed deeply. “Something like that. I’m almost healed. The pain is almost over. That’s what I tell myself, but it’s only almost true.”
“What, about Klaus?”
“Yes,” you muttered. “I keep missing him, even while he’s here. And it hurts. I just keep thinking about him leaving me.”
Damon laid a hand on your shoulder. “I know.”
You looked into his blue eyes. He did know, and maybe he was the only one that would ever understand. After all, he carried a torch for Katherine Pierce for much longer than a hundred years, and he remembered every moment of it.
You placed your hand on top of his. “I’m so sorry.”
“You can’t change the past,” Damon said, shrugging. “You just have now. But you don’t have to spend your whole life scared. It’s your choice.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’ll hurt, but you’re allowed out. If you can’t get past it, nobody’s stopping you from leaving him.” Damon’s blue eyes were dark. Over the last three years, nobody had ever told you that. You choosing Klaus three years ago was, to everyone you knew, choosing him forever.
You leaned into Damon, and he put his arm around you. “You’re wise beyond your years, big brother.”
“Is it really wise beyond my years if I’m, what, a hundred and fifty-ish?”
“Yes, because you look twenty four.”
-
How do you prove to someone that you’ve loved them a century, and that will never change? How do you show them you’ll never, ever leave again? How do you make a promise that seems so hard?
How could Klaus summarize every minute he ever loved you?
He glanced over to his paints, and smiled.
-
You hadn’t heard from Klaus for three days. Every time you called, Elijah told you that he was wrapped up in his studio.
You were desolate, and so desperate just to hear his voice. If you could hear him say he loved you, it would be true.
Finally, he did call you.
“Hello, love,” he whispered through the phone. “Will you do me a favor?”
You sighed softly, just happy to hear him. “Depends.”
He laughed. “Put on that black dress you wore on our second first date.”
You chuckled. “And what’s this for?”
“You’ll see.” You could practically hear the smirk in his voice. “I love you. See you soon.”
“Love you too,” you said and hung up.
You got ready, same as you did three years ago, putting on that slinky black floor-length dress.
Klaus didn’t come to pick you up himself, he had one of his hybrid drivers come for you.
You were confused when the driver didn’t pull up to Klaus’s house, but instead pulled into the forest.
You climbed out of the car. Little yellow Christmas lights hung from the trees like fireflies in the dark. You followed a graveled path— difficult in heels— until you came to a clearing.
In the center of the clearing, Klaus stood in his tux next to a canvas with a black veil over it, a smirk on his face.
“Hello, love,” he said.
“Klaus,” you whispered, looking around. The ground was covered in red rose petals. “This is beautiful.”
“It isn’t half as beautiful as you,” Klaus replied, suddenly curling his arms around your waist from behind. He pressed a soft kiss to your shoulder.
Your heart thumped wildly in your chest as you turned to look at him. “What’s this for?”
Klaus smiled, his dimples showing. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” you giggled, turning in his arms so you could look up at him. “But that doesn’t answer my question.”
Klaus cradled your cheek in his hand, his blue eyes suddenly somber. “I feel terrible for abandoning you.”
Your eyes widened. “Klaus, it was a hundred years ago.”
“It’s still hurting you, is it not?” He raised an eyebrow.
You frowned. “I know why you left. It was to protect me.”
“Yes, it was,” Klaus said. “But it was wrong of me not to give you a choice in the matter. I didn’t consider how it would feel if I came back, and that was selfish of me.”
“You sound like Elena,” you muttered, stroking his jaw.
He laughed. “I suppose I do.”
Klaus swayed with you in his arms, twirling you around and around.
Then, hesitantly, he whispered into your ear, “it’s late.”
The night air felt like it was sparkling around you. You remembered that last night in the twenties. “I’m never going home, Nik. Never, ever.”
You heard his heart pick up a beat. “Never, ever it is.”
He stopped dancing, and pulled you at arms length. “Speaking of never, ever... I want to show you something.”
He turned, staring at the large portrait in the center of the clearing. Klaus moved to stand beside it, and unveiled it.
You gasped, your hand over your chest.
It was a painting of you.
You, as you were in the twenties, with (H/C) hair in short curls, skin glowing. You, with red painted lips. You, dancing, with a bouquet of red roses in your arms. Your eyes were closed and you were dancing in delight.
“This,” Klaus whispered, “is what I’ve remembered every night for a hundred years. This is what kept me going. This image of you... You are, by far, the best part of my existence.”
Then, he got down on one knee and pulled a sparkling diamond ring from his pocket. Your eyes filled with tears.
“(Y/N), my love, my life without you was torture. I never want to live that way again,” he said, tears in his eyes. “Never, ever. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?”
Damon’s words rang in your head. You could leave. You could run from the fear of abandonment.
But only for a second. In that second, you realized something— life would never be as sweet, never as beautiful, never as full without Klaus in it.
“Yes,” you cried. He leapt from the ground and held you in his arms, spinning you in the air. “Yes, every day forever!”
The both of you held each other that night, silently, both gazing at the ring on your finger. You would always mourn the century with Klaus that you’d never have.
But new centuries begin all the time.
-
TAGS: @going-insanx (you can ask to be added/removed from the never, ever taglist)
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atlafan · 5 years ago
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Take it Slow - Part Sixty-Three
a/n: okay this is my first shot at a harry:y/n fic, and it will be multiple parts. y/n had a bad experience with an ex over a year ago, and finally accepts her coworker and good friend Niall’s invitation to go on a blind date with his friend Harry.
Warnings: TW. - THE R-WORD IS USED IN THIS PART! Fluff and Smut.
Masterpost (all previous parts can be found in the masterpost)
Sunday morning Harry got up to start editing the photos. He dug up an old album he never used so he could place them in there for you once they were printed. He wanted you to sleep so he could get everything done. The photos were incredible. He thought you looked stunning. He edited them so they were all black and white and touched up some other things. He started printing them when he heard you walking around downstairs.
“Harry?” You call for him sleepily.
“Up here babe, be down in a minute!”
Once the pictures are dry enough he fills up the album. He sees you curl up on the couch with a cup of coffee. He comes down and plops right next to you.
“They’re all done. Wanna see?”
“How early did you get up to do this?”
“Early…I was too excited.” He chuckles.
“Okay, lemme see.”
You lean into him and he opens the album. You mouth falls open when you look at the pictures. He did an amazing job.
“You’re so talented Harry, I actually like the way I look!”
“That’s all you, babe, you’re gorgeous.” You kiss him on the cheek.
“Oh my god!” You gasp at the ones of you touching yourself. “I’m not awake enough for this.” You laugh. “I’m gonna go put this away in my closet, okay? It’ll be easy for you to find while I’m away. Thank you so much for doing this for me.”
“Anytime.”
//
Your week with Mark was easier. He kept his distance as much as he could.
“So, you have a half day today?” He asks you Friday morning. He couldn’t help but look at your butt in your jeans.
“Yup, I have to pack and then my mom is spending the night with us so we can get to the airport easier tomorrow.” You pull some sheets of paper from a file folder. “Here’s what I’ll need you to work on next week while I’m gone. Niall has a copy too and he will be checking in.”
“I don’t need to be babysat. What do I do if I finish all this?”
“Go see Niall, he’ll have work for you.”
“Do you ever have fun here, like ever?”
“I have fun all the time, with Niall, because he’s my friend. You, Mark, are not my friend.”
“Yeah, you’ve made that plenty clear.” He huffs.
“Good, that was my intention.” You give him a fake smile.
“You could try to warm up to me, I’m not a bad guy. We’re going to be working together for a while longer.” You scoff at him.
“You burned your bridge with me a long time ago.”
“Are you sure that’s it? Or are you afraid your boyfriend will get jealous?”
“Harry? Jealous of you?” You start laughing. “What’s there to be jealous of?”
“A stable job, an actual future…”
“His job is very stable, he gets paid well, and-“
“Doesn’t he have to freelance?”
“He freelances because he loves what he does and he likes making people happy. He’s insanely talented.”
“Why not open his own studio then?”
“He will, it’s just not the right time, and…you know what? I don’t have to explain a thing to you.” You shake your head at him. “I’m leaving now, see you when I get back.” He follows you out of your office and you lock it. “You are not to go in here while I’m gone, understand?”
“Mhm.”
You say goodbye to Niall with a big hug and head out the door to your place. You had a lot of packing to do. Harry came home from work early so he could spend some time with you before your mom got there.
“Ah! Son of a bitch!” He hears you yelp and he runs into the bedroom.
“Y/N?!” He stops short when he sees you clutching at your stomach.
“Hi, sorry, I just can’t get my piercing out for some reason. It’s a little tender from the last time I changed it.” You groan. “Fuck it, I’m leaving it in. They won’t see it anyways.”
He comes over to the bed and picks up a couple of your swim suits.
“These are cute.” He holds them up to his body and makes a modeling pose.
“Give me that!” You giggle and snatch it from him.
“Do yeh need help with anythin’?”
“No these were the last few things.” You close the lid on your suitcase. “Actually, could you bring that down to your car for me?”
“You got it.” He kisses the top of your head and grabs the bag.
When he comes back up you both eat a quick dinner and he takes you into the bedroom.
“She’ll be here soon…”
“Let me just love on you for a little while.” He nuzzles into your neck. You can’t resist him when he’s like this.
He makes love to you…twice. You force yourselves out of bed when your mom texts you that she’s downstairs. You both go down to greet her and Harry takes her larger bag down to the car.
“It looks amazing in here! You both have done such an incredible job decorating.”
“Thanks mumma. The guest room is all made up for you.”
“Perfect, well, I think I’ll head to bed now since we have to be up so early, night kids.”
“Night!” You give her a hug and kiss and off she goes. You look at Harry. “We should go to bed too. We have to get up at like four.”
“Sounds good.”
He cuddles you all night, and you wouldn’t have had it either way. The three of you were quiet it in the car the next morning. It was far too early to speak. Harry takes the bags out of the car for the both of you. Your mom goes into the airport to give you both some privacy to say goodbye.
You wrap your arms around each other and you feel wetness from his tears on your neck.
“It’s only a week, seven sleeps. I’m back next Saturday night.” You say into his ear.
“I know, I’m just gonna miss my sweet baby girl so much.” He pulls back to look at you. You wipe his tears with your thumbs.
“And I’ll miss my doll. Just look at the pictures when you miss me. I’m not going to have a lot of access to the internet. Only at the timeshare really.”
“So I don’t need to be a good boy?” He smirks. You smile at him and shake your head.
“No, I won’t torture you.” You sigh. “Kiss me, I need to head inside.”
He kisses you, boy does he kiss you. Your head is spinning when he lets go of you.
“I love you so much, as soon as I have WiFi I’ll text you, okay?”
“I love you too, have a safe flight.”
He watches you walk in, and then he gets back into the car. This was going to be the longest week of his life.
//
You texted Harry as you could like you said, and you told him you were planning to unplug for a bit, other than posting a few pictures to your Instagram story. He took a nap when he got home, and woke up a few hours later. Him and Niall decided to grab a bite to eat together at their favorite diner.
“Sarah and I are goin’ out for our six month tonight, otherwise I’d invite you out for drinks tonight.”
“No worries, mate. What are the two of yeh plannin’ on doin’?”
“Takin’ her out for a nice dinner. She said she had a big surprise for me tonight and that she didn’t wanna be out too late.” He shrugs.
“Did you get anythin’ f’her?”
“Yeah, I bought her a new anklet, she loves wearin’ ‘em.”
“Oh, I bet she’ll love that. She stays at your place a lot, yeah?”
“Yeah, almost every night now.”
“Think you’ll ask her to move in soon?”
“I don’t know if she wants to leave Rachel just yet. Although, word on the street is that Mariah’s been stayin’ over quite a bit at their place.”
“They’re a match made. I might hang out with them durin’ the week. I’ve been thinkin’ more about my freelance work lately. I think if I were to ever go for it full time I’d ask Mariah to come with me. She could work with clients I didn’t have time more, plus, I genuinely trust her. Then, once we made a lot of money, I’d steal Isaac too. He’s the best receptionist.”
“You’ve clearly thought this through.”
“Here and there. I just enjoy working with people a lot more. It doesn’t even feel like work. And it would be nice to have my own schedule. Guess I could just get state insurance…”
“Or you could marry Y/N and just go on her insurance.” Niall jokes.
“Plannin’ on it, mate.” Niall nearly chokes on his food.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m not sayin’ it’ll be tomorrow, but I think once she and I have been together for a year I’m gonna propose. We’re at eight months now.”
“Do yeh have a ring yet?”
“I have one in mind, yeah. There’s a jewelry store in London that I like. Saw what style of ring she likes. I’ve called the jeweler a couple of times. They have a site so I can essentially design it myself. I could pick it up this summer when I go home.”
“Harry…I…I’m so happy for you. I’ve never seen you like this with someone before. She’s really the one, huh?”
“She really is. I can’t explain it...I think I knew before I took her to meet my family that I wanted her forever, but that trip solidified how I felt. And I know she feels the same way. We’ve talked about it.”
“That’s great. I can’t picture her endin’ up with anyone else.” He smiles. “Not to change the subject, but I was thinkin’ you and I could go out for a boys night on Thursday.”
“Yeah! I’d like that. Been a while since just the two of us went for a drink.”
//
By Sunday night, Harry was already missing you too much and he decided to get the photo album out of your closet. A few glances couldn’t hurt. You had posted a few things to your story. He couldn’t wait to see your sun kissed skin when you got back.
As he was rummaging through the top shelf of your closet, he lost his balance and pulled down a box, and the contents spilled out.
“Shit.” He recognized the box…it was your special box that you used to keep under the bed. There were some new items still in a bag. He pick it up and his eyes widen. “What the…” He takes the cockring out and is genuinely shocked. “Was she plannin’ t’use this on me?” Then he grabs the box the butt plug was in. “Holy shit!” He smirks. “Does she wanna use this on me too? No fuckin’ way she wants this up her ass…”
Normally Harry would tease you about these things, but he figured you hid them for a reason. So he puts everything back and finds the photo album. He gets on the bed and does his pants while he looks at the pictures of you. Just as he was about to play with himself, his phone rang, and it was you.
“Hey baby!” Your voice was music to his ears.
“Hey! How’s vacation?”
“So good, I just came inside to grab some water so I thought I’d call quick.”
“Well, thanks for thinkin’ of me. How’s your Nan?”
“She’s great! She’s really happy my mom and I are here. We’re gonna go to a casino tomorrow, I’m excited. And Tuesday night is the night we’re gonna go dancing. I’ll have to send you some pictures.”
“Please do! I was lookin’ at some right now actually.” You blush.
“Harry!”
“What? You told me I could.”
“I guess that’s true…were you, um, you know?”
“Was about to...wanna help me along?”
“Hold on, let me go into the bathroom in case anyone comes in.”
He half expected you to say no. He hears you flip the bathroom fan on.
“Where is everyone else?”
“There’s a bonfire tonight.”
“Ah.”
“So…where were you?”
“Hadn’t event taken my pants off yet.” He chuckles.
“Okay, take them off then.” You were hushing your voice which was only turning him on more.
Harry adjusts his cock out of his pants and grips it.
“Rub the tip with your thumb like how I do, baby.”
He closes his eyes and just does as you say as you’re saying it. His top rubs over his thumb and he spreads the precome up his shaft.
“Now, I want you to-“ You go silent for a moment.
“Babe?”
“I’ll just be a minute, Nannie!”
And just like that his dick went limp at the thought of your grandmother.
“I’m so sorry, she knocked on the door, um, I-“
“It’s fine, I, uh, lost it.” You both giggle.
“I’ll try to call tomorrow, I gotta go. Apparently someone’s grilling and making drinks, so I need to get back out there.”
“Okay, have fun. Love you.”
“Love you too!!”
//
You did your best to send Harry pictures of your different tropical outfits. You did well to hide your naval piercing from your mom and grandmother. Thank god for high waisted shorts and pants. Your skin was getting more tan as each day passed. One more you all decide to take a trip downtown before going to the pool for the day. You only went to the beach at night due to how strong the sun was.
There was a jewelry store your Nannie loved going to. Your Papa would take her to it all the time, and you remember going when you were a senior in high school. He bought you the most beautiful bracelet for being the best baby in the world.
The three of you looked around. Not being someone who loved to wear jewelry, you were mostly looking for something to buy for Harry.
“Honey, can I ask, why don’t you just that ring resized?” Nannie asks.
“Harry bought me this chain so I could wear it like this. It looks more like a slide than a ring anyways. We both like it like this.”
“Alright.”
You had already gotten him the pearls, and lord knows he doesn’t need anymore necklaces or rings. What the fuck could you get him that he didn’t already have? As you continue to walk by everything, a particular ring catches your eye. It’s white gold and has a sunflower on it. If you were going to wear his rose, maybe he could wear your sunflower? Although, he already wore one on his skin every day for you. But something about the detail in the ring just made sense.
“Excuse me, I’d like to look at this one.” You say to the jeweler. He takes it out for you and you know you have to get for Harry. You give the jeweler his ring size and he tells you to come back the next day and it’ll be ready.
Your mom buys you a pair of studs for years and you put them in right away. The ones Harry had gotten for you months ago sat in your first holes, and the ones your mom just got you would sit in your doubles. They complemented each other perfectly.
//
Thursday night Harry went with Niall to a bar they hadn’t been to in a while. They were both excited to have a guy’s night.
“So, I never asked, how was the anniversary evening?” Niall’s face went red immediately. “What was her big surprise? Did she like the anklet?”
“She loved the anklet, yeah.” He takes a sip of his drink. “She bought me…some things.”
“What kinds of things?”
“Um…”
“Niall, I have fucked two separate women with you, I think you can tell me what Sarah bought you.”
“Okay, okay. She bought a cockring from some sex shop.” Harry nearly spat out his drink.
“They both them together?!”
“What?!”
“I found one in Y/N’s closet the other day. Still the packaging and everything, but still. So Sarah used it on you?”
“Well, yeah.” Harry smirks at his friend.
“How’d you like it?”
“It was…interesting. I use her vibrator on her all the time so she said she wanted to do the same to me or somethin’ like that. It was sorta nice for the both of us, but it was a lot to leave on for a while.”
“She actually lets you use it on her? Y/N said she’d feel weird, that’s why I was shocked when I found the other things she bought.”
“Things? What else was there?” Harry’s face heats up.
“There was, um, a butt plug.” He says quietly. Niall starts laughing.
“Think she wants to fuck your shit up a bit.”
“How do you know she doesn’t want me to use it on her?”
“Because Sarah got one too and she wants to use it on me before she lets me get in her like that.”
“Did she use it on you?!”
“Not yet…I told her I’d have to think about it. I don’t know how worth it is.”
“You should humor her, mate, trust me, it’s worth it. So tight.”
“Alright, alright.” They both laugh. They hear a ton of commotion from behind them. “Think there’s a bachelor party happenin’.” Niall says.
“Looks like it, yeah.” Harry squints. “Lad looks familiar, doesn’t he?”
Niall turns fully around to look at where Harry’s looking. His eyes grow wide.
“Where have seen him before?” Harry says.
“Harry, we should pay our tab and go somewhere else.”
“Why?”
“Because…that’s Jake.” Harry’s mouth falls open and then his jaw tenses. “We can’t cause a scene. I can’t believe that girl he was skating with is still going to marry him. Probably lied right to her face.”
Harry would never forget watching you self implode at the ice rink. He wanted to bash Jake’s head in.
“We can’t start a fight with him, we need to go.”
Harry nods and gets up. The two go up to the bar to pay their tabs. A few of the guys from the bachelor party bump into them, one being Jake.
“Sorry about that, our boy’s getting married this weekend, he’s a little out of it.”
Harry and Niall look in their direction, but don’t say anything. They look the three up and down and put their attention back on the bar.
Everything else was a blur. Harry wasn’t sure when his fist connect with Jake’s jaw, or when Niall pulled him off of him after nearly choking him out. He wasn’t sure when Jake got a swing in, but he knew his nose was bruised. Not broke, but definitely bruised. They were all thrown out of the bar.
“I should press charges! You threw the first punch! How am I supposed to explain this to my fiancé?!” Jake’s friends were trying to pull him away from Harry and Niall, but it was no use.
“You should press charges?!” Harry started laughing. “You’ve done far worse things. If anyone deserves to be locked up it’s you!”
“I have no idea who you are or what you’re talking about….wait a second…you both were at the ice rink that night. My fiancé almost broke up with me!”
“Good.” Niall says.
“Who are the two of you? She kept asking me what I did, but I had no idea what to tell her.” Jake’s friends let go of him as he’s calmed a bit. Niall and Harry look at each other.
“You raped my girlfriend a year and half ago.” Harry says bluntly.
“Raped?! I’ve never done something like that. Your girlfriend’s crazy if she told you something like that.”
“I could easily snap your neck in half, I wouldn’t talk about her like that if I were you.”
“Do you recognize this girl?” Niall pulls a picture up of you on his phone. Jake squints at it. Everyone was still really drunk. He felt hazy, but he nodded.
“Went out with her a few times, yeah. But I didn’t rape her.”
“Yes you did.” Niall says. “You fucked her until she bled out on her sheets.”
“Didn’t you see it on you when you pulled out?”
“I just thought maybe it was her first time or something.”
“You’d fuck someone that hard when you thought it was their first time?” Harry asks exasperated.
“It’s not like she told me to stop, thought she was enjoying it.” He shrugs.
“She was too fuckin’ scared to tell you to stop! You didn’t even ask her if she wanted to.”
“That’s her word against mine.” He crosses his arms.
“She threw up after she saw you at the ice rink, I don’t think she was exaggerating.” Niall says. “She’s got the bag with the sheets you know. Probably has plenty of your DNA still on it. All she has to do is press charges and your ass is done. So you should be very scared. Any day at any time your entire world could come crumbling down.” Niall looks at Harry. “C’mon, let’s go.”
The two walk away, leaving Jake and his friends stunned. Niall gets Harry inside your apartment, and get some ice into a rag.
“Did he break it?” He asks, pressing it gently to his nose.
“No, but it’s gonna leave a bruise. Feel sorry for him, probably gonna have an indent of my rings in his jaw for a week.” Harry takes the ice from Niall, and winces when he presses it a little hard to himself. “Y/N is gonna be so mad. I can’t lie to her about this.”
“Look, at least you weren’t arrested. It could’ve been worse.”
“I can’t believe you threatened him like that.”
“He ruined her life! I want him to know she could just as easily ruin his. He should be grateful she hasn’t.”
“And for him to say he didn’t rape her? What a fuckin’ lunatic.”
“Think you’re gonna have some dark circles under your eyes, mate.”
“Shit.” He sighs. “I don’t even remember hittin’ him.”
“I think he bumped into you again and you lunched at him.” He starts laughing. “I don’t think I’ve seen you reach your boilin’ point like that in a very long time.”
“I should call her.”
“It’s late.”
“She might be up, I need to call her.”
“Put it on speaker, maybe she’ll take it easier on you if she knows I’m here.”
“Good idea.”
//
You were eating some ice cream on the couch watching a move with your mom and Nannie after spending some time at the Casino. You couldn’t wait to show Harry his ring. Your phone goes off, and you’re sort of shocked to see him calling so late. You get up and go into your grandmother’s bedroom to have some privacy.
“Harry? It’s late babe, are you alright? I’m in the middle of a movie, I can’t help you along tonight.” You hear Niall burst out laughing. “Am I on speaker?! Is this a drunk call?!”
“Sorry, sorry, yeah you’re on speaker.” He swats at Niall. “I’m okay, but somethin’ not so chill happened tonight…”
“Like what?”
“We were at a bar…” Niall starts. “And there was this bachelor party happenin’, and, um…”
“Jake was there.” You freeze and walk further into the bedroom and into the ensuite.
“So what happened?”
“Well, we got up to leave.” Niall says.
“But him and his friends kept bumpin’ into us at the bar, and I lost my cool.”
“What does that mean Harry?” Your eyes were starting to water.
“I don’t know how it all happened because it happened so fast, but I hit him, and then I choked him. Niall got me off him, but he got a swing at my face, punched me in the nose. The bouncer threw us all out. No one called the police…”
“Oh my god! Are, are you alright? Did he break your nose?”
“No, it’s just bruised, love.” He tries to say softly to calm you down.
“Harry, you can’t just go around hitting people! You could’ve been arrested!”
“I know, I know, I’m so sorry. It just happened.”
“What happened after you left the bar?”
“We…had some words.” Niall says.
“What kinds of words?”
“I threatened him…”
“He wouldn’t admit what he did to you was rape either.” You wince at the word and nearly vomit.
“You brought me up?! You both, you both are FUCKING IDIOTS! I, I don’t even know what to say right now.”
“We were comin’ from a good place-“
“Niall, I swear to god, just shut the fuck up.” You take a deep breath. “You both are so stupid! Were you all drunk too?”
“Yes.” They say in unison.
“Well that’s just great. Thanks so much for defending my honor. I’m so glad you called to tell me all of this at nearly one in the morning!”
“Would you rather I pick you and your mum up at the airport with a bruised nose with zero explanation?”
“What am I supposed to tell her?! You got into a bar fight? Yeah, that’ll go over really well. You better put some makeup or something over it.” There’s silence for a moment or two. “You both are alright?”
“Yes.” They say together again.
“Okay.” You sigh. “I’m going to get back to what I was doing, and try to calm down. I love you both, goodnight.”
Before they can say anything, you’ve hung up, and made your way back to the living area. Your mom and Nannie were looking at you with concern.
“Harry and Niall got into a fight with someone at a bar. They’re both fine, I can’t really get into it right now, so please don’t ask me about it.” You plop down next your mom, tears starting to burn your cheeks. She throws an arm around you and lets you cry into her. Your Nannie rubs your back to try to soothe you.
//
You soak up as much sun as you can the next couple of days. You were trying to keep your head clear. Mariah helped Harry buy and apply some makeup to make his bruises more subtle. He looked terrible, honestly.
“There.” She says, dabbing the last bit under his eyes. “Now you just look like you haven’t slept.” She smirks.
“Thanks.” He throws everything into a bag. “I hope I can remember how to do all this on my own tomorrow.”
“You said she told her mom right?”
“Yeah, but it looks so much worse than it is, I don’t want them to worry even more.”
“You’re lucky it didn’t break.”
“I know. I wish he would just move across the country or somethin’.”
“Yeah, but he’s not. You can’t just throw down every time you happen to bump into him.”
“Obviously.”
“Jesus, H, you look like shit.” Myk says walking into his office. “Are you wearing makeup?”
“This is why I usually work from home on Fridays.” He groans. “And yes I am, nothin’ wrong with a man wanting to cover some blemishes.”
“A blemish, or a bruise?” She squints at him. “What happened?” She actually looks concerned.
“I got into a little…scrap last night, okay?”
“Are you alright?”
“As if you care, Myk.”
“I do!” Her eyes soften. Mariah stands there awkwardly looking back and forth to the two of them.
“Well…I’m fine. Looks worse than it feels.”
“You should just go home for the rest of the day, I’m sure Chris won’t care.”
“I don’t need to go home, I’m fine.” He looks at the two of them. “Really, it’s all good. Shoulda seen the other guy.”
“Did you have your rings on when you hit him?” Mariah asks.
“Course I did.”
“And he’s not pressing charges?” Mykenzie asks.
“I don’t think he will be, no.” He sighs. “It’s fine.”
“Does your girlfriend know?” Myk asks.
“I called her the night it happened. She wasn’t thrilled. She’s really worried about me, but she’s less angry now.”
“Why did you-“
“Enough with the questions please! The two of yeh are givin’ me a headache. Maybe I will go home.”
He grabs his things and heads out, leaving them both there. He just wants you home with him. He wants to apologize in person for starting something that didn’t need to be started. It was the longest week of his life, and he missed you so much he could cry. In fact, he did a couple times.
//
Harry spent the day Saturday doing all the chores you usually did together. He wanted the place to be spotless for your return. He was to pick you up the airport around six. Your sister would be picking your mom up. He dabbed some of the makeup on under eyes and around his nose just in case your mom was still with you when he picked you up.
You hugged your mom goodbye after you both got your luggage. You were exhausted. You couldn’t fall asleep on the plane, and there was a lot of turbulence so your stomach felt like shit. You were just happy you had a good time and a good tan. You waited out on the curb and looked for Harry’s car. He spots you and waves excitedly, almost forgetting he’s in trouble.
He throws the car in park and gets out. He picks you up and spins you around and you throw your arms around him. Tears prick at the both of your eyes for different reasons. He sets you down, cups your cheeks in his hands and kisses you. Suddenly you forget any ill feelings you had. His lips on yours was like pure heaven after being deprived for a week. A few cars beep at you, so Harry puts your bag in the trunk and off you go.
“Doesn’t look so bad…” You finally say.
“I, uh, put some make up on over it. It looks a lot worse than it feels.” He sighs. “Do you really wanna talk about this now? I’d much rather hear about your trip. Your face is so tan! You look great, babe.”
“I don’t wanna talk about it all actually…and thank you.” You put your hand on his thigh. “What’s done is done.” He nods.
“Are yeh hungry? Want me to stop somewhere quick on the way home?”
“No, I had a sandwich on the plane. I’m desperate for a shower. We went to the pool this morning and I didn’t have time to rinse off before we packed up.”
“Alright.”
Harry gets you home, and helps with your bag.
“So they didn’t notice your piercing?”
“No they did.” You laugh.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” He laughs with you.
“I don’t know.” You shrug. “My mom noticed it right away and it was whatever. My Nannie was like at least it’s not a tattoo. So I was able to wear more of my two pieces, I’m glad I packed some.”
You start taking your clothes off and he follows you into the bathroom.
“Holy shit.” He looks you up and down. “You really got some sun.”
“Mhm, I’m crispier than a chicken nugget, and I love it. I didn’t wear makeup all week either, my skin is so happy right now.” You step into the hot water and Harry sits up on the sink counter. He didn’t feel like showering, but did feel like continuing to chat.
“Did yeh win any at the casino?”
“Mostly just broke even. It was a lot of fun though. I’ll have to show you some of the pictures I took.”
Harry gets up and grabs an envelope from his dresser that he’s been waiting to give you. You get out of the shower and wrap a towel around you.
“God I feel so much better.” He has a huge smile on his face. “What?”
“Here, got his a while ago, thought you should know.”
“Is this a bribe so I don’t stay mad about you getting into a bar fight?” You smirk.
“Nope. You can be mad as long as you want, I know it was stupid.”
“I almost wish I could see what you did to him.” You shake your head and take the envelope. You open it up and gasp, clapping a hand over your mouth. “Harry!” You beam at him. “When did you…”
“Bought ‘em the second they went on sale. Fifth row, dead center.”
“Oh my god! We’re going to see the Weeknd?!”
“Happy very early birthday, babe.”
You throw your arms around his neck and hold him tight.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’m so excited!” You  kiss him on the cheek. “Will you hold onto these?”
“Yup, I’ll stick ‘em back in my dresser.”
You go into your carry on and rummage in it, pulling out a black box.
“I got you a little something while I was away.” You hand him the box.
“You didn’t have to do tha’…”
“Just open it.”
He opens the box and sees the sunflower ring. His jaw drops and he looks at you.
“Way too expensive.”
“Oh well, can’t return it now. Try it on. I got it for the size of your middle finger.”
Harry takes one of his rings off and puts it on. His nails were recently painted pastel purple for the Easter holiday. He loved the way the white gold contrasted with it.
“So…you were at the store, saw this, and thought of me?” He asks without looking at you, fixated on the ring.
“Mhm. I thought since I wear your favorite flower, you could wear mine. Not everyone can see your tattoo. Do you…do you like it?”
“Like it?” His eyes were glossy. “I love it!”
He comes over to you and cups your cheeks his hands and kisses you. Your hands go on his hips.
“M’never takin’ it off.” He says against your lips. His tongue swipes across your bottom lip and you open up for him. His tongue molds with yours and moan into him right away. “Miss me a little?” He whispers.
“Missed you a lot.” You look up at him. “I barely slept most nights.” You pout.
“You’ll sleep good tonight, I’ll make sure of it.” He undoes your towel and lets it pool at your feet. “I can’t get over these tan lines.” He says, cupping your breasts.
You tug at the hem of his shirt and he takes it off. He undoes his pants as you sit back on the bed.
“I can’t, um, go down on yeh unfortunately, as much I really want to. Nose it too sore.”
“It’s okay. Your fingers aren’t sore, right?” You smirk and he bites his bottom lip.
“Nope.”
He crawls on the bed and you part your legs for him. He sucks two fingers into his mouth and grazes them against your folds.
“Did you look at the pictures while I was gone?”
“Yes.” He blushes as he rubs circles on your clit. “More than I’d like to admit.” You giggle.
His fingers push inside you, and curl up. Your head rolls back and your mouth falls open. He really wants to lick you, but he knows he would end up nose deep and that was just not good for his health at the moment. He pumps in and out of you and hit that sweet spot inside.
“Fuck, Harry.” You breathe as your eyes roll into the back of your head. “That’s it right there.”
He pumps faster. Your nails dig into his shoulders. He can feel you clenching around him, wanting to clamp your legs together, but he keeps them spread apart. Your back arches and you moan his name again as you release onto his fingers. He sucks them back into his mouth to at least get a little taste of you.
Harry wondered when you’d wanna break out the new toys. He desperately wanted to ask, but he knew you must have hid them for a reason and he didn’t want you to feel embarrassed.
“Lay back doll, I wanna ride you.”
Harry smiles and does what you say. He sits up against the head board and you crawl onto his lap. You wrap your hand around his dick and play with his top with your thumb. You kiss him, slipping your tongue into his mouth. He groans against you as you stroke his dick. You raise your hips slightly and slowly lower yourself onto him. You both groan with satisfaction.
“You feel so good.” You say into his ear. “So snug.” You raise and lower on him until you find a good rhythm. You nibble on his earlobe and his hands slide to your ass to help you move faster on him.
“Missed you so much, fuck.” He practically whimpers when you tighten and loosen around him a few times. He grits his teeth as he thrusts up into you, the both of you moving in sync together.
“Tell me how good it feels, Harry.” You say into his ear with a whisper.
“Feels so fuckin’ good.” His fingers press harder into your ass. “You’re so fuckin’ wet.” One his hands moves to rub your clit and you sink your teeth into his neck.
“God, fuck me up Harry.” Both of his eyebrows raise. You clench around him and your second release comes.
He doesn’t give you time to recover before your face down on the bed, and he’s entering you from behind. He pulls your hips back. You move your ass back against him in sync with his thrusts so you can feel him as deep as you possibly can. You’re propped up on your elbows with your back arched.
“Alright?” He grunts.
“Yes! Don’t stop, you’re hitting it.” You grip at the blankets, making your knuckles go white. He was hitting your g-spot with such ferocity you knew you’d be coming again soon.
He has one hand on your hip and the other on the back of your neck. He was absolutely railing you, and it felt amazing. You had sex like this all the time when you were in college, before the anything bad happened to you.
The room was filled with the sound of skin slapping against skin. To put it bluntly, your cheeks were getting clapped. You could feel his balls slapping against you and it was making you go cross eyed.
“Harry!” You moan.
“Gonna come again?”
“Yes! Fuck, yes.”
“Go on, Y/N, come for me.”
Your back arches more and he grips the back of your neck so hard he’s yanking your back to him. One arm snaking between your breasts to hold you steady, and the other moving to rub your clit. Your head rolls back on his shoulder. You’re panting and gasping as you come. It was so intense your vision went blurry.
“Can I bend you over the bed?” He says, sinking his teeth into your shoulder. You gasp at the feeling.
“Yes.”
You both get off the bed, and he bends you over it. He slips back inside you with ease.
“Fuck.” He moans. He rocks in and out of you, his hands clinging to your hips.
“Harry, please come, fill me up.”
He thrusts quicken and grow sloppy. Your back arches when you feel his warm come sput inside you. He collapses on top of you when he finishes. You feel him pull out and his release drips down your thighs. His weight on you felt amazing, and you didn’t want him to leave. You whimper when he gets off of you.
“M’gonna get a rag to clean yeh up.” He says softly. He returns quickly and crouches behind you to clean you up. “They yeh go.” He throws the rag in the hamper. You stand to face him and your legs feel like jello. “You were amazing, you know that?” He kisses your forehead.
“M’so tired.” You rub your eyes like a child.
“Time for bed then, yeah?” It was only a little after eight.
“You don’t mind going to bed so early?”
“You’re finally home, of course I don’t mind.” He chuckles. “Go do your thing, I’m gonna get settled in.”
You walk into the bathroom and do your routine. You get into the bed and snuggle up to Harry. You take turns all night spooning each other. You both wanted to be held by the other. Eventually you passed out with his head on your chest. It was perfect.
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