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sarcasmandships · 4 years ago

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how to save a life part 2︱spencer reid

word count: 8.7k

spencer reid x slight oc

spencer and veronica argue over him keeping their relationship from the team, but when spencer sustains a life-threatening gun shot wound it puts everything into perspective

angst + hurt/comfort with a n eventual happy ending

this is not an x reader because i hate writing y/n in place of a character name and it often forces you into writing in second person which i also hate - however I have avoided giving specific descriptions of hair/eye/skin colour, height and body shape so feel free to imagine it like an x reader

this is also heavily inspired by greys anatomy and ive taken characters from the show to be side characters, however you do not need to have watched a single episode of greys to follow the story

warnings: spencer being shot, descriptions of blood, descriptions of surgery

read part one here!

Veronica readjusted her dress for what felt like the 100th time that evening. The green, silk bodice was too restrictive; her feet ached from the stiletto heels April had picked out for her. She grabbed another glass of champagne from a passing waiter.

"That is for the guests!" April hissed, smacking her arm with her tiny clutch bag.

"And the hostages," Veronica said, raising her glass to an imaginary toast.

"Amen to that," Cristina agreed, taking a long sip of champagne from her own glass.

"You two are hopeless," April said, shaking her head before storming off.

"I like angry Kepner," Cristina chuckled.

"God, I can't breathe in this thing," Veronica gasped, pulling at the top of her dress again, "I think I've got a tension pneumothorax."

"Unfortunately, if I had a needle big enough to help you, I'd have stabbed myself in the eye hours ago," Cristina said, deadpan.

Veronica gave her a shaky laugh.

"Ooo, is that Kevin Gibbs?" Cristina said, suddenly filled with a burst of newfound energy as she spied a man at the next table, "oh, he is rich rich, I'm so getting a donation from him," she grinned before dashing off to take Kevin Gibbs' arm.

Veronica rolled her eyes as she watched Cristina twirl her hair and flutter her eyelashes; she was far too good at this. Veronica was left alone at the table, tired of pretending she was interested in anything these rich, old men had to say; she pulled her phone out to scroll through Twitter.

However, as she unlocked it, Spencer's name popped up on her screen, and her shrill ringtone cut through the low-level chatter and ambient music in the room. She hastily switched the phone to silent after receiving a few pointed glares but continued to stare blankly at the screen as it rang.

She did not want to speak to him.

But she had told him to keep in touch.

Via text, not a phone call.

But what if something was wrong.

Eventually, she clicked 'accept'.

"Spencer, I told you-"

"Hi, Veronica," the voice on the other end cracked, "it's Derek Morgan. We met earlier today..."

Veronica's blood ran cold as Derek spoke to her through the phone. She could hear the piercing wail of the sirens; it harmonised with Cristina's shrill laughter as she flirted with Kevin at the next table.

Blood was pounding in her ears. Her entire body was in free fall like she was being hurled down the drop of a rollercoaster that seemed to never end.

"... they're taking him to Stafford Grace Mercy West Hospital, meet us there when you can - I gotta go."

Derek hung up the phone.

Veronica stood frozen, her body trembling and mind spinning.

"Veronica!" Jackson snapped as he strutted towards her, "you're supposed to be getting donations, not standing in a corner drinking all the champagne…."

Veronica was staring straight at Jackson's face as he ranted, but she couldn't focus her eyes enough to see his furrowed brows or flared nostrils. Her mind was spinning at hyper speed, but everything around her moved in slow motion; she gripped onto the edge of the table.

"…are you even listening to me?" he snapped his fingers in front of Veronica's glazed eyes.

"Spencer was shot. In the chest, he's on the way to the hospital now," she said in a monotone, "I have to...I have to go...I..." Veronica clutched her head in her hands; the room would not stop spinning.

"Oh my god," Jackson gulped, "of course, go, go. Do you want me to come?"

Veronica stumbled away from him and towards the door. Why was the floor moving like that?

"No," she called back to him, "this is your event you can't leave, I just- I need to go," she turned on her heel and dashed out of the door.

The hospital was just up the street. Jackson had picked a venue close by so the doctors who didn't have the day off could get there quickly after work. Veronica pushed people out of the way as she staggered up the street; her feet didn't hurt anymore. Her whole body was just pins and needles.

She burst through the doors of the ER, in her floor-length, green dress and dazzling emerald necklace, with tears streaming down her face. Sections of her neatly pinned hair had broken free; she clutched her chest as she gasped for air. It was only a matter of time before someone called for a psychiatric consult.

With most of the other attendings at the gala, the interns and residents had swarmed like locusts to get their hands on a surgical case. Veronica pushed through the sea people, looking for someone she knew – why did all the residents look the same?

Veronica scanned the trauma rooms, hoping to catch sight of his messy hair. They were full of bloodied and beaten-up people, but none of them were Spencer. She had just stumbled through the double doors to the waiting area when she heard someone call her name.

"Veronica?"

She whipped her head around to see Derek Morgan standing in front of her. Several steps behind him, she noticed Penelope Garcia, who she recognised from this morning, and several other anxious FBI agents.

"Derek," she gasped, gripping onto his outreached hands, allowing herself to stabilise slightly, "w-what happened?"

"We were chasing down the unsub and Reid...he fell and just when he was getting back up, he got hit. It was bad luck. It caught him just above his vest."

"And he's in surgery now? I didn't see him in any of the trauma rooms?"

"They just took him up; come with us. You need to sit down," he said kindly, and Veronica allowed him to guide her over to the seats.

"Hi again," Garcia squeaked, but Veronica stared straight ahead and didn't answer her.

The others tried to introduce themselves, Aaron Hotchner, Emily Prentiss, Jennifer Jareau, David Rossi. They were names she knew well from Spencer's last night rants about work, but she couldn't bring herself to look at any of them long enough to put a face to the name. Derek was trying to reassure her when Veronica caught sight of a familiar resident walking past with a tablet in her hand.

"Murphy!" she barked, "get over here."

Murphy's head snapped up, and she looked around rapidly to see where the voice had come from; when her eyes finally landed on Veronica, she looked at her quizzically but shuffled over.

"Dr Grey, I thought you were at the gala-"

"I need you to look up a patient for me, Spencer Reid - came in with a GSW to the chest and should be in surgery now."

"Dr Grey, what's going on?" Murphy said slowly, her eyes darting between Veronica and the team of agents behind her.

"Just do it, Murphy!" she ordered, and Spencer's teammates looked slightly taken aback.

"Okay, okay!" she said, typing rapidly on her tablet, "he's in surgery with Dr Hunt and Dr Altman for an exploratory thoracotomy...chest x-ray showed a GSW to the chest with the bullet lodged near the thoracic aorta...he was tachycardic and hypotensive when he came in, with substantial blood loss-"

Bile bubbled up in her throat, "what OR are they in?"

"Dr Grey, I can't-"

"What O.R, Murphy?" she snapped; she gripped the edge of the plastic chair to prevent herself from strangling the resident.

"OR one!"

"Okay... OR one. OR one has a gallery," Veronica mumbled to herself, she tapped her foot against the floor and her stiletto clacked against the linoleum.

"Dr Grey, you know you can't go up there when you aren't working-"

"Murphy, do you want a medical career?"

"Y-yes," she stammered.

"Then you'll get out of my way before I have the AMA strip your medical license," Veronica snapped; she stood up and gathered up the skirt of her dress as she began to power walk towards the elevator.

"Wait, where are you going?" Derek called after her.

"Spencer's in OR one, that OR has a viewing gallery... I'm going to watch his surgery," she said flatly before turning away and continuing along the hallway.

It wasn't until she was in the elevator and ready to push the OR floor button that she realised that Spencer's team was directly behind her.

"What are you guys doing?" she sighed as they piled into the elevator after her.

"He's one of us. We aren't gonna hang around a waiting room if we can be there with him," the blonde woman that Veronica thought was called Jennifer, retorted.

She was ready to argue. To protest that they weren't allowed in the gallery, that surgery wasn't for the faint-hearted. But then she looked at all their faces, desperate and distressed; they looked how she felt.

So, she closed her mouth and jabbed the button for the fifth floor.

The elevator seemed to take forever to reach the fifth floor. It stopped on three, and a huddle of surgical interns tried to cram in, but Veronica snapped at them before they had the chance.

"No. You get the next one," she glowered at them, and they could only give her nervous stammers and shaky head nods in response.

Veronica rolled her eyes at them as the doors crept shut again, with her arms folded tightly across her chest and tapped her foot against the floor.

"You seem to have a lot of authority here," Hotch commented.

"I'm an attending," she said bluntly, "they're interns - bottom of the surgical food chain, their only job is to stay out of our way and try not to kill anyone."

"That seems...harsh," Garcia whispered to Derek.

Veronica whipped her head around, "a hospital like this doesn't work without a hierarchy; it's how we learn. If we don't treat them that way, then they get too confident. Would you rather have an intern perform Spencer's exploratory thoracotomy or two surgeons with years of experience who are chiefs of their respective departments?"

Garcia gaped at her, but the elevator doors creaked open, saving her from trying to respond to Veronica's scathing comment.

"The gallery is this way," Veronica grunted under her breath as she exited the elevator and crept up a short flight of stairs.

"That wasn't very nice; Garcia was only making an observation," JJ whispered to Emily as they followed Veronica.

"Who is this woman?" Emily responded, equally as confused as to why they were following this random woman around a hospital.

Derek turned round to face them, "she's Spencer's girlfriend-"

"Girlfriend!" Emily gasped, "did he ever mention a girlfriend to any of you?" she asked, looking between JJ and Derek.

"No, not once…." JJ frowned.

"He didn't tell me as much as he was forced to, that's why he's been acting so off recently, but I couldn't really get many details from him about her, so don't ask me anything - she's just worried about him like we are, she's on edge too."

Veronica burst into the gallery, which was thankfully empty. She pressed her forehead up against the viewing window and saw Spencer lying on the table. The glass was cool against her forehead, which seemed to somewhat soothe her pounding headache.

Spencer's face was draped, she couldn't see his eyes, but she could see his half of his rib cage. That unsettled her; she wasn't supposed to be able to see into her boyfriend's chest cavity. Veronica clung to the glass as she staggered to the intercom on the wall; she pushed the button that allowed them to hear what was being said in the OR.

"... there's a lot of bleeding here, more suction!" Dr Altman demanded.

"Right away, doctor."

Veronica flicked the switch that allowed her to be heard in the OR, "Owen," she said slowly, and he looked up at her in shock, "I need you to save him."

"Veronica, you're supposed to be at the fundraiser. What are you doing here?"

"Owen, listen to me," she pleaded, her voice cracking, "I need you to save him."

"Well, of course, I'm gonna try and save him, Veronica I don't understand-"

"Oh god," Dr Altman said as she suddenly realised what was happening, "Spencer Reid... he's your Spencer. I met him at Owen and Cristina's wedding; we talked so much about the Mechanical Complications of Acute Myocardial Infarction I thought he was a surgeon too…."

Veronica nodded silently.

Her Spencer.

She couldn't control the sob that wracked her body. She was vaguely aware of Garcia placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, so I need you to save him," she sniffed, "because if he dies, I will literally go out of my fucking mind, and I won't be much of a neurosurgeon from the psych floor."

"Veronica, you should be up here," Owen said as he forced another clamp into Spencer's chest, "how did you even know where he was?"

"Murphy told me," she said, "but it wasn't her fault, so don't go and yell at her; I told her I'd have her medical licence taken away."

Owen paused, "you can't do that, though."

"She doesn't know that! Please just save him. I need you to save him."

"I-" Dr Altman hesitated, "we'll do everything we can, V, I promise you."

"Thank you, Teddy," she whispered through her tears; she flicked the button off again so they wouldn't be distracted by her sobs.

Veronica collapsed into a chair in the middle of the front row and kicked her heels off. Spencer's team had shuffled into the rows behind her and sat, whispering quietly among themselves and clutching onto each other.

"V-veronica," Garcia finally spoke after around an hour of near silence, "I know you're a different kind of doctor, but what are they doing? I don't understand any of these medical terms. Can you explain it?"

Veronica twisted slowly in her seat to face her, revealing her mascara coated cheeks and puffy eyes. She nodded slowly.

"They're doing a surgery called an exploratory thoracotomy; they're trying to remove all the bullet fragments from his chest cavity. Their main concern is that the bullet hit very close to the thoracic aorta, which is a major vessel that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body."

"B-but it didn't hit his aorta, so that's good, right?"

"Right, cos' if it had, then he'd have bled out seconds after he was hit," Veronica paused to swallow the vomit creeping up her throat as she imagined Spencer's bloodless body lying in the morgue, "but the impact of the bullet creates shock waves when it enters the body. Considering the proximity to the thoracic aorta, it could weaken it and cause an aortic dissection."

"And that's bad?"

Veronica nodded gravely, "they're almost always fatal, the blood loss becomes too uncontrollable, and even the best surgeons, like Dr Altman and Dr Hunt, can't do anything," she turned back around to face the OR as a fresh set of tears threatened to spill over.

"Oh," was all Garcia could muster up.

"Those doctors, are they really the best?" Emily asked.

Veronica nodded, "Owen, Dr Hunt is head of trauma surgery, and Teddy, Dr Altman, is head of cardiothoracic surgery. They served together in Iraq; they've put soldiers half blown apart by bombs back together, if anyone can save Spencer - it's them," she reassured.

"Good to know..." Emily said in uncertainty, wrapping a comforting arm around JJ, who was silently sobbing into a tissue.

"What you need to understand is that every GSW is different, which is what makes them so difficult to fix, and when a bullet enters the body, it not only tears through structures, but the transfer of kinetic energy can cause damage to nearby tissues, like what I was saying about his thoracic aorta," she explained slowly, "that's why GSWs are so dangerous because the damaged area can ripple out around the entry wound."

"But you think he'll be okay, right?" JJ sniffed.

Veronica hesitated; she glanced back at Spencer's motionless body on the table. Her eyes scanning the monitors he was hooked up to, the constant stream of O neg he was being replenished with, the rip spreaders and clamps in his chest…

She felt sick again and had to turn away.

"I don't know. He hasn't been in surgery very long… it's just too early to say."

"There isn't anything more we can do for him now," Hotch spoke gravely, "he's in the hands of the people who are best trained to help him; we just need to trust that they are doing everything they can to save him."

Hotch's words had a sense of finality, and the room fell close to silent again with only Veronica, Garcia and JJ's sniffles and sobs echoing around the dimly lit room. Derek help Garcia's hand tightly in his own, JJ rested her head on Emily's shoulder, Hotch and Rossi sat next to each other, their faces stoic and stony. Veronica sat alone, tugging at the restrictive bodice of her dress every few seconds.

They sat like that for at least another two hours.

Suddenly, the monitors attached to Spencer began beeping rapidly, Veronica's heart seized, and she jumped to her feet to get a better view.

"What's happening to him?" Garcia whimpered; she clung onto Derek's arm as he also stood up and strained his neck to see.

"He's in DIC!" Teddy's voice echoed through the intercom, "push heparin," she ordered.

"Veronica, what's going on?" Derek asked; he tried to keep his voice steady, but it wavered slightly.

"He's in DIC, disseminated intravascular coagulation - it means that proteins in the blood that cause clotting go into overdrive, which actually causes excessive bleeding. If they don't control the blood loss, it's fatal."

"Lap pads! And more suction! I can't see a thing," Owen demanded as he packed Spencer's chest cavity to absorb the excess blood.

"And hang another unit of O neg, he's losing too much blood," Teddy added, "there was nothing in his medical history that indicated he was at risk of DIC...Veronica! Is he on blood thinners?"

Veronica dragged herself over to the intercom and pushed in on the button, "n-no, nothing like that, he takes zolpidem sometimes, but that wouldn't cause DIC..." she muttered.

Something clicked in her brain, and she spun round to face Derek, "you said he fell before he got shot."

Derek nodded, "that's right, the woman the unsub had abducted pushed past him to escape, and he fell down the full flight of stairs. That distracted me long enough for the unsub to get a shot in at him...."

"Teddy! He fell before he was shot, he fell down a flight of stairs, he could have a splenic injury or a laceration on the portal vein or hepatic artery- it wouldn't have been picked up on a chest x-ray. You have to do an ex-lap!"

"Veronica, we've already cracked his chest-" Owen began to protest.

"Pressures dropping, doctor!"

Veronica banged on the glass, "he'd rather be alive with two incisions than dead with one."

"Dr Hunt, you're the trauma surgeon this your call," Teddy said calmly, "but we need to do something and fast."

"We don't even know if he has a splenic injury! We can't take medical suggestions from our patient's hysterical girlfriend; that isn't how it works-"

"He's dying," Veronica wailed, "and he's going to die if you don't do something. If it were Cristina on my table, you would be begging me to do whatever it takes to save her. Teddy – you promised me you would do everything you could, and you're not doing anything! He's bleeding to death, and you aren't helping him," she sobbed against the glass.

Teddy and Owen exchanged a look.

"10 blade," Owen grimaced, and Veronica breathed a sigh of relief, "you better be right about this Grey – convert drapes for an ex-lap!"

"Oh God, I can't watch this," JJ said; she flopped back into her seat as Owen made a deep incision into Spencer's abdomen.

Despite dealing with horrific crime scenes daily, everyone else in the team had to follow JJ's lead as floods of blood gushed from the incision site. Garcia, who had screwed her eyes shut the minute the monitors started beeping, was rocking herself back and forth and mumbling under her breath.

"Okay, I need more suction! I'm seeing some damage to the hepatic artery," Teddy said, "can you ligate it from your side?"

"Yeah, I think so, clamp!"

Veronica wished she could be like Spencer's team. She wished she didn't have a medical degree; she wished she didn't know every possible thing that could go wrong from this point forward. She wished she could close her eyes or at least tear them away from the scene that would plague her nightmares for years to come.

She could hardly believe it when his pressure finally stabilised; she embraced the smile that crept onto her face as she watched the readings on the monitor slowly begin to climb up.

"You can open your eyes now; they ligated the artery and stopped the bleeding, combined with the heparin that should be enough to keep him stable for now."

"For now?" JJ questioned.

"He's doing well; that injury could've been fatal, but he pulled through, and that's good; it's just that I don't want to tell you he's out of the woods when he's far from it."

"It's been hours," JJ said, "how much longer before we know if he'll be okay?"

Veronica shrugged, "probably a couple more hours; they need to make sure the wall of the thoracic aorta is strong enough before they close and remove all the bullet fragments; they need to take their time."

"You'll have to forgive us, Dr Grey," Hotch spoke quietly, "we don't have the patience for this kind of thing like you do."

"It's okay, and you can call me Veronica," she smiled nervously and picked at her nails.

This was what she'd wanted all along, to meet Spencer's team. But now, she was standing in front of them and couldn't think of a single thing to say. She had imagined this moment every night for months, but never in her wildest dreams did it go like this.

"Veronica then," he said stiffly, "so you said you're a neurosurgeon?"

"Yeah," she said, tearing her eyes away from the surgery in front of her to face him, "that's how Spencer and I met; he came to a lecture I gave on the Endoscopic Fenestration of Arachnoid Cysts Through Lateral Pontomesencephalic Membranotomy, cos' that's just the kind of things he does for fun," she snorted.

"Sounds like him," Hotch said, smiling fondly.

"I just can't believe he never told us about you," Emily commented, "and I can't believe we never figured it out; I mean, come on, guys, we're meant to be profilers."

Veronica gritted her teeth, "Yeah, me neither..."

"Veronica!" Jackson said, bursting through the door to the gallery, "I just got away from the gala; how's he doing?" he asked, rushing over to embrace her in a tight hug.

"He's stable for now; his temp has come up a lot since he got here, but he did go into DIC, and they had to convert to an ex-lap..."

"Owen and Teddy will be doing everything they can; he'll be okay."

She nodded, "I know...I just want it to be over; even if he was in the CCU, I could handle it, but he's lying open on an operating table, and I can't help him."

He rubbed circles on her back soothingly, "it'll be over soon. Can I get you anything?"

"Something to change into. I don't think I have any clothes in my locker, but just grab me some scrubs... I'd take a patient gown if it meant I could get out of this dress," she said, tugging again at the restrictive top.

"You got it," he said, breaking away from their hug, "April wanted to come and be with you, but Harriett's with the sitter and she had to-"

"Don't worry about it, just get me something to wear. I can't breathe in this thing."

"Yeah, I'm on it," he said, giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead, "Cristina's on her way; she'll be here soon."

Jackson shuffled out of the gallery, giving a nod and a tight-lipped smile to the others as he passed them. Veronica retook a seat.

"That was Jackson," Veronica explained, noting the confused faces of the BAU team members, "Dr Jackson Avery, he works here too, but he was stuck at the gala - we were having this fundraiser for this hospital...stupid...."

"V! I just heard; why didn't you tell me?" Cristina burst into the gallery in a similar fashion to Jackson, "I had to hear from freaking Avery that your sexy FBI boyfriend got shot?" she berated as she sat down next to Veronica.

Veronica shrugged, "Jackson was there when I got the call. You were busy turning up the charm for that rich old sleaze."

Cristina shoved her lightly, "I'll have you know that rich old sleaze donated 1.5 million dollars to this hospital," she said smugly.

"Show off," Veronica grunted, folding her arms over her chest.

Cristina stood up to peer through the glass, "supervisory sexy agent, has Owen and Teddy working on him? You need to calm down and stop chewing your nails; he'll be fine."

Veronica rolled her eyes, "you need to stop calling my boyfriend supervisory sexy agent, or you'll be the one on the table."

"Aw, come on, I'm kidding! My husband is right down there...oh my god, my husband saves your boyfriend from a GSW? That'll be such a good story for me to tell your kids."

"Can we wait to see if he makes it off the table before we start discussing our hypothetical children?"

"Boring."

Jackson returned at that moment, "sorry, I didn't know your scrub size, so I just guessed. And you didn't have any shoes in your locker, so I stole some sneakers from April, you're the same size, and she won't mind - I also brought you some of her makeup wipes," he rambled, handing her the pile of clothes.

"Stealing shoes from your ex-wife now?" Cristina teased as Jackson sat down on the other side of Veronica, "I thought pretty boy Avery was rich enough to buy his own," she cooed.

Veronica stood up and slid the scrub pants on under her dress, and pulled the scrub top over the top. Cristina unzipped her dress, and she let out a deep breath as the pressure on her rib cage was released; she shimmied the dress off and threw it over an empty chair.

"Shut up, Yang," Jackson grunted.

"Children, behave," Veronica said warningly as she slipped on the socks and shoes she was borrowing from April.

Veronica sat back down and finished wiping off the makeup that hadn't been flushed away by her tears. Jackson gripped her hand tight in his, and she smiled appreciatively at him; Cristina gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"Guys, what if he dies?" she whispered as they watched Teddy and Owen work away on Spencer.

"He won't," Jackson protested, "he didn't code in the field, and the majority of GSW victims without penetrating vascular injuries survive if they get to a hospital on time."

"There is a bullet in his chest cavity! That is a penetrating injury," she blubbered.

"But it didn't directly damage his heart or any major arteries; yes, they could be weakened by force, but he's been in surgery for hours, and nothing has ruptured – plus after they close him up, we'll monitor him closely, and he will be okay," he said with a squeeze of her hand.

"Avery's right. It's far more likely he'll be a vegetable or something," Cristina shrugged.

"Yang! His best friends are right behind you," Jackson hissed.

"They are?" Cristina said, whipping her head around, "oh, hi."

Cristina gave them a wave, and they stared back dumbfounded.

"Who the hell are these people?" Emily hissed.

"I don't know, but they seem to think that Spence is gonna be okay, and that's all that matters to me," JJ answered.

"He could still die; people die from GSWs all the time. There could be complications, he could get an infection-"

"Look, Veronica, if the worst happens, then we can cross that bridge when we come to it, okay? And you know we'll all be here for you, no matter what," Jackson said, and Veronica smiled appreciatively at him.

"Thank you," she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Y'know, you should've married him when you had the chance - cos' if he dies and you were his wife, you'd get that life insurance. If he dies now, you'll just be poor and sad."

"Cristina!"

"No, it's okay," Veronica said with a slight smile, "it helps."

"God, talk about a dark sense of humour...."

"I think I'm just still drunk," Cristina shrugged.

"I think I'm hungover already; my head is killing me," Veronica groaned, massaging her temples.

"Want me to get you a banana bag?" Jackson asked.

"Yeah, why not."

Jackson stood up and made his way across the gallery and to the door; he turned back to face the BAU team members, "can I get anything for you guys? Coffee, water…I wouldn't recommend the food, but we got vending machines."

"No, thank you," Hotch answered politely, "anyone else?"

The rest of the team shook their heads or mumbled no thank-yous in response. Jackson gave them a sympathetic smile before leaving; JJ's stare was still firmly fixed on Veronica.

"What did she mean? You should've married him when you had the chance?" she asked.

"It means that supervisory sexy agent-"

"Cristina!"

"Fine, Spencer, asked V to marry him, and she said no cos' she can't let herself be happy."

"That isn't why I said no, and you know it."

"Well, no. But your real reason is stupid, so I'm gonna say it's your self-destructive tendencies instead. Do you know what I've give to never have to interact with Owen's dumb work friends? You're getting the best of both worlds here."

"You work in the same hospital! Owen's dumb work friends are your colleagues."

"Ugh, whatever."

"You turned Reid down because of us?" Rossi questioned, speaking for the first time since they had entered the gallery.

"It's a bit more complicated than that-"

"What's wrong with us? You didn't even meet us until today?" JJ snapped.

Veronica sighed and picked at her nails; her first interaction with Spencer's friends already wasn't going very well, and now she had to tread lightly as to not offend anyone.

"That's the problem; it took Spencer getting shot in the chest for us to meet because he refused to tell you about me; how could I marry someone when I'd never even met his friends? It's what we argue about more than anything else. We argued about it this morning actually...."

The blood drained away from Veronica's face as the events of the day flashed through her mind.

She turned to face Cristina, "oh God, we were arguing this morning about it, and again when I dropped his phone off at work - the last conversation we ever had was about that stupid argument. What if he dies thinking that I'm pissed off at him? I didn't even tell him I loved him before I stormed off," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Well, he's a profiler, right? Even if you didn't say it, he would be able to tell...."

"He's a genius, not a psychic, Cristina."

"She's right," Derek interjected, "before he lost consciousness, he told me to call you and tried to say something else; he kept saying tell her... he never got to finish, but I'm sure it was just that he loved you."

"He really said that?"

Derek nodded, and a weight was lifted from Veronica's shoulders, although she quickly felt uneasy again when Jackson returned, IV kit and banana bag in hand.

"Okay, I know you don't like needles, but it'll make you feel better, so give me your arm," he demanded.

Veronica huffed and begrudgingly gave him her arm; she winced as he pushed the needle through her skin, "ow! I thought plastic surgeons were supposed to have a gentle touch."

"Plastics is barely even a real speciality; Avery gives boob jobs on the daily – we do real surgeries and save lives."

"Hey! I'm also a qualified ENT, and I practically run the burn unit-"

"Guys," Veronica groaned, "can you have your little dick-measuring-contest another time? Maybe like when my boyfriend isn't lying open on an operating table?" she said, gently massaging the tender skin around her IV.

"You said you liked my dark humour!"

"Only when it's funny," she sat down again and massaged her temples "hey, I think they're nearly done," Veronica cheered.

She dashed over to the intercom, "Are you guys closing him up?"

Teddy nodded, "yeah, and then we'll be taking him up to the CCU. You should get some rest before he wakes up," she advised.

"He's going to be okay, Veronica," Owen said; she couldn't see his face under his mask, but she could tell he was smiling.

Veronica couldn't fight the grin spreading across her own face; Spencer was going to live. He was going to make it off the table. Now all she had to do was pray that he woke up because Veronica didn't know how she would cope if she never saw his eyes again.

"He's really going to be okay?" JJ whispered; she held her hands up to her lips in a prayer formation as fresh tears spilt over onto her cheeks.

Emily pulled her into a tight embrace and stroked her hair, "Hey, don't cry. The doctor said he's going to be okay."

She nodded against Emily's chest, "I know, these are happy tears – it's just I've been sitting here for the past four hours wondering what I would tell Henry if his Uncle Spence died and now, he's going to be okay, and I'm crying more than when I thought he was going to die…stupid," she mumbled.

"It's not stupid," Veronica offered kindly, "your body has been in panic mode and how that you're finally able to relax a bit, you get an emotional outburst that makes you cry – it's totally normal," she said, tentatively reaching out her hand to take JJ's.

She nodded and gave Veronica's hand a squeeze, smiling at her for the first time since they had met. The mood in the room had shifted as the BAU members slowly began to accept that their teammate was going to live, and the nervous tension began to dissipate.

"Teddy's going to close him up and then wheel him up to the CCU, Cristina are you staying or coming home?" Owen's voice echoed through the intercom.

"I'm staying obviously!" she said indignantly.

Veronica shook her head, "no, it's okay, you go home."

"V, I can't leave you here-"

"It's fine, Cristina. You're working in the morning, and you'll need to be here for rounds at 6am, and you won't be any use to anyone if you're sleep-deprived. So, go home. Besides, I've got Avery to keep me company."

Cristina gave her an appreciative smile and squeezed her hand one last time before she left the room. A wave of jealousy surged in Veronica's chest as Cristina disappeared from her line of sight; it wasn't her fault that she was going home with her husband whilst Spencer was being stitched back together. But that didn't make it hurt any less.

"I'm so sorry, V," Jackson said, holding up his phone, "it's one of my burn patients, she's got an infection, and I think I'm the only sober attending after the gala…I can send a resident-"

"No, no, it's okay," she smiled sadly, "go and help your patient; she needs you more than I do."

"Page me if you need anything," he said, kissing her forehead gently before leaving her alone with the BAU team.

She was in a room with seven other people, but she had never felt more alone. They were clutching onto each other, whispering amongst themselves and smiling; Veronica didn't have anyone.

She shuffled away from the displays of affection and picked up her dress and shoes, "I'm going to put this stuff in the attending's lounge, there's coffee in there if you want anything – and on-call room seven is always empty if any of you need to sleep. He won't be awake for a while; you should get some rest," she said, giving them a tight-lipped smile.

"Thank you, Veronica," Derek said; he nodded over Garcia's head as he held her in his arms, "I don't think any of us will get much sleep until pretty boy wakes up, though."

Veronica laughed, "pretty boy, I always thought he was exaggerating when he said you called him that. If you don't want to sleep, that's fine, but you can't stay in here – the interns like to hang out in here before pre-rounds, and they'll be here soon," she said before gripping onto her IV pole and swiftly exiting the gallery.

Tears burned in her eyes as she made her way to the attending's lounge, grabbing a replacement banana bag from the nurse's station on her way; Spencer was going to be okay. He was going to wake up and have his team to comfort him, fetch him jello, keep him company through the recovery and bring homemade meals to his apartment. What else could she do for him that they couldn't?

She burst into the attending's lounge and slammed the door shut behind her. She let out a heart-wrenching sob as she shoved the dress into her locker, growing frustrated and kicking it when the poufy, underlayers of the skirt wouldn't fit.

Maybe that's why he had never introduced her to the team because he already had seven people who loved him unconditionally and could give him all the love he needed. And Spencer didn't want her to know that; what could she do for him that they couldn't?

Veronica darted into the bathroom and held her own hair bag as she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl. Maybe she was just a fuck to Spencer, an outlet to release his frustrations after a hard day. Assuming he wasn't fucking any of his teammates, that was the only thing she was good for that they couldn't give.

Derek said that his last words before he passed out were about her; he asked him to call her. He tried to give her a message – why did Veronica not share Derek's confidence that the message was I love you?

She flushed the toilet and washed her mouth out with water from the tap. Her headache was beginning to subside, but she still switched out her banana bag before she limped out of the bathroom, using the IV pole as a support.

Veronica threw herself onto the couch. She wanted to scream, or kick something else or rip her own hair out, but she simply didn't have the energy to do anything except shut her eyes and drift off to sleep. The image of Spencer's open chest cavity and the knowledge that his team were everything she was and more burned into her brain.

***

Spencer's brain was awake before his body was. He was acutely aware of people moving around his room, but their voices were muffled, and he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes to see who they were.

There was a tight sensation in his throat, and suddenly, Spencer started gagging violently.

"He's fighting the intubation!" a voice called out, "page Dr Altman."

Dr Altman. He knew that name, he thought to himself. But his brain was still too hazy from the anaesthesia to think straight. Dr Altman…something to do with cardiothoracic surgery – probably one of his doctors. But where had they met before?

He felt hands all over him, grabbing at his neck and face; there was a horrible scraping sensation in his throat, and then he could breathe freely again. He's fighting the intubation, the voice had said. That was good; that meant he was breathing on his own.

However, he couldn't appreciate the joy of knowing he wouldn't be hooked to a ventilator for the rest of his life whilst his throat ached like that. The tube had been removed, but he still felt his gag reflex at the threshold of triggering.

He really needed to get Veronica more credit for that.

His limbs were heavy, he tried to at least wriggle his fingers, but they wouldn't move. The muffled voices which echoed around him were beginning to become clearer; he could make out what sounded to be JJ's voice by his head.

Finally, his brain allowed his eyes to flicker open. But he immediately wanted to screw them shut again when the blinding fluorescent glare of the ceiling lights shone down on him.

"Oh my god," JJ gasped, "he's awake!"

He couldn't move his head to see her, but her worried face quickly appeared in front of his, "Spencer? Spencer, can you hear me?" she asked frantically.

"Ow," he mumbled in response.

"Thank God you're okay," she said, stroking his hair as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"You gave us a scare, pretty boy."

Spencer strained his eyes enough to see Derek standing in the corner; he leant against the wall with his arms folded tight across his chest, but Spencer could clearly see the grin he was fighting.

"What happened?" he groaned, trying to readjust his body into a more comfortable position.

"Hey, don't try and move," JJ scolded lightly, "the nurse said that you'll be groggy from the anaesthesia for a while," she took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently.

"Did we get him? The unsub?"

"Yeah, don't you worry about him, kid, he's going away for a long time," Derek reassured, "he got a shot in at you before we could take him down… I'm so sorry, kid, you fell, and it distracted me long enough for him to shot you before I could shoot him."

"Hey, it's not your fault," JJ said, "it could've happened to any of us."

Spencer nodded in agreement but didn't try and speak again; his head was throbbing, and he closed her eyes again, the darkness providing some brief relief from the brilliant light above his head. But with every passing second, Spencer became increasingly aware of the dull aches in his chest and abdomen, the pain growing sharper with each intake of breath.

"How many times did I get shot?" he groaned, "I can't remember anything…but my whole body hurts."

JJ bit her lip as she continued to stroke his hair, "just once, Spence, but you fell down the stairs just before you got him and it injured…something, I don't know what – I can't remember what she said," JJ looked over to Derek for a prompt, but he shook his head in response.

"Hey, don't look at me; I didn't understand a single word any of those doctors said," Derek shrugged, "Dr Altman is coming to check on you, though, kid. I'm sure she'll explain it all to you."

Dr Teddy Altman!

They met at Cristina and Owen's wedding; Spencer could tell she was in love with the groom and distracted her with a rant on Mechanical Complications of Acute Myocardial Infarction. She was Veronica's friend.

Oh god, Veronica. She must be so worried – if Derek had even called her that was, she might be oblivious to his condition. Spencer was ready to open his mouth to as about her, but JJ was already speaking again before he had the chance.

"…and our resident genius will definitely be able to understand better than us," she said, pressing a gentle kiss against his forehead, "I've never been so nervous as when we were sitting in that gallery, thank god those doctors fixed you up."

"Wait, what gallery?" Spencer asked, opening his eyes to squint at her, her words distracting him long enough to forget to ask about Veronica.

JJ paused and exchanged a look with Derek, "we hoped you wouldn't mind – we were in the OR gallery during your surgery, but we didn't actually see anything," she reassured, "none of us could actually bring ourselves to watch, but we just wanted to be there, in case anything happened to you."

"Not that we'd have been much help," Derek chuckled, "but I got you to the hospital in one piece. I wasn't about to let you out of my sight until you were stable."

Spencer nodded slowly, "how did you even get in there?" he mumbled.

"Veronica," Derek said, "you asked me to call her, and she came straight over, but she wasn't about to sit around in any waiting room, so she found out where you were…we just followed her up there."

Spencer tugged on his blanket, "so…you met her then?"

JJ nodded stiffly, "we did."

"Oh. Suppose I did ask you to call her, I don't know what I expected…."

"We didn't get a chance to talk much," Derek said carefully, "you were touch-and-go a bit in surgery, so it was a bit too tense for small talk."

JJ moved away from him and sat back in the chair next to his bed; she picked at her nails, "I don't get why you never told us about her, Spence?"

Spencer didn't answer her. This was not how he wanted this conversation to go; in fact, he was hoping he'd never have to have this conversation at all. The rational part of his brain knew that was unrealistic, but the rational part of his brain didn't seem to exist when it came to protecting Veronica.

He shrugged, "I didn't think you guys needed to know."

Derek unfolded his arms and moved out of the corner, coming to rest at the end of Spencer's bed, "didn't need to know? You've been making excuses about this to me all day, kid. And I'm not buying the - you wanted to have something to yourself - bullshit anymore-"

"You asked her to marry you," JJ said, her voice cracking slightly, "you wanted her to be your wife, but you didn't even tell us about her? Were you just going to get married without any of us there?"

"She told you that?"

Spencer had the strength to ball one of his fists; this was going horribly. The tension he had created in his hand spread up his arm and along to his chest. He grimaced as another sharp stab of pain rippled across his body.

JJ shook her head, "no, her friend mentioned it, and we overheard. I don't get it, Spence, we're supposed to be like family, and she…we didn't get to talk, but she seems nice. And she's a doctor – she's smart like you, and she obviously loves you. Did you think we wouldn't like her?"

"No, and she said no to me anyway, so it doesn't matter…."

"She only said no because you wouldn't introduce her to us," Derek stated bluntly, "that's what she said when we asked her about it and considering I didn't even know she existed till this morning, I can't say that I blame her."

"Guys, I will explain later, I promise," Spencer began as he tried to sit up in the bed, "but I need to talk to Veronica. Right now – where is she?"

"She is in a patient room down the hall," Dr Altman said as she waltzed into the room and picked up Spencer's chart from the end of his bed, "nice to see you awake, Dr Reid."

"A patient room – i-is she okay?" Spencer stammered.

Teddy peered over the chart to look at his concerned face, "she'll be fine, she's just dehydrated and a bit hungover – we've got her on an IV. Besides, the couch in the attending's lounge is not the place you want to sleep unless you want to give yourself scoliosis."

Spencer tried to move one of his legs, "I need to go see her, I need to explain everything, I-"

"You need to lay back down," Teddy said as she moved over to his bedside and pressed her stethoscope against his chest, "I need to listen to your chest, take a deep breath for me-"

Spencer begrudgingly breathed in.

"-breath sounds are clear and equal, that's a good sign," Teddy said, hanging the stethoscope back around her neck, "and your latest round of labs are all within normal limits. Dr Hunt and I were able to remove all the bullet fragments during surgery, we were concerned that the impact could've weakened the wall of your thoracic aorta, but it seems unaffected."

Spencer nodded, "okay."

“We had to convert to an exploratory laparotomy mid-surgery; you had some bleeding in your abdomen which we needed to repair; that's why you have two incision sites. They will likely leave scars, I'm afraid, but the abdominal bleeding triggered a condition called DIC and would have been fatal had we not caught the bleeders."

Spencer's brain was spinning. He knew he had been in bad shape, but he really nearly died. He needed to talk to Veronica, and fast.

"…it was actually Veronica who made the connection between your fall and the bleeding. She wasn't even operating, and she saved your life," Teddy smiled at him, "I just need to take a peek at your incision sites, and then I'll be out of your hair."

Spencer winced as she lifted up his bandages to take a closer look.

"Okay, they look all good and no signs of infection. You will need at least another day for observation; I'll get the nurse to administer your post-op antibiotics, so let her know if there's anything else you need."

"He won't admit it, but he's in pain. Can he get any more morphine or something?" JJ asked, biting her nail.

"What? No, I'm fine. I don't need any more painkillers; I'm all good!"

Teddy raised an eyebrow at him, "you just had major surgery, but you don't want more pain meds?" she asked sceptically, "you aren't maxed out on anything; I can order more-"

"No," Spencer snapped, "I mean…no thank you, Dr Altman. They make me too disoriented, and I need to be clear-headed when I talk to Veronica," he said, adjusting his tone.

Teddy gave him one last suspicious look before she moved back towards the door, "okay, no more pain meds. I'll let Veronica know you're awake," she said before exiting the room, closing the sliding glass door behind her.

Spencer let out a deep sigh of relief and relaxed back into his pillows slightly. Even the brief conversation with Dr Altman had left him exhausted, so he wasn't sure how he would manage when the rest of the team flocked to his bedside to question him about his condition and Veronica.

Veronica.

That was going to be a long conversation.

JJ and Derek stayed by his side as the nurse came in to administer his antibiotics, just as Dr Altman had said.

"Hotch and Rossi had to go sort some things out with the arrest," Derek had informed him, "they said they'll stop by later when they can."

"And Emily and Garcia are in the cafeteria, we've let them know you're awake, but we didn't want to overwhelm you with too many visitors at once," JJ explained, "and Garcia really needed some sugar. She's been freaking out, Emily's trying to get her to eat something," she chuckled.

"I feel bad I caused all this stress…." Spencer mumbled.

"Course we're worried about you, Spence; we're a family. But you didn't cause us stress; it's not your fault," JJ reassured; she leaned closer to Spencer to grip his hand in hers.

"Exactly, it's the unsub's fault. You didn't choose to get shot," Derek added; he shuffled over to the bed from his corner and took hold of Spencer's other hand.

The three of them sat in comfortable and heartfelt silence for a few moments with their hands intertwined until they were interrupted by a hesitant voice in the doorway.

"Uh, sorry, I did mean to interrupt. I'll come back later…."

part 3 coming soon

sorry there’s not too much spencer in this part, i promise there will be more in part 3 when veronica and spencer have their confrontation

if you enjoyed this please consider leaving a comment as it really keeps me motivated, and reblogging! i really appreciate likes but on the tumblr reblogs are the only way to get my work out there x

tagging anyone who commented on part 1, message me/ comment if you want to be tagged for part 3:

@dilaurantisbitch

masterlist

i also take imagine requests!

#spencer reid #spencer reid imagine #soencer reid angst #criminal minds #criminal minds imagine #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x oc #hurt and comfort #angst #derek morgan #greys anatomy #cristina yang #jackson avery #april kepner

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darling-i-read-it · 4 years ago

Text

...And the Beast From the Sea

3x11

Hannibal Lecter x reader x Will Graham

Hannibal Re-Write Series Masterlist

Word Count: 4k

Warnings: spoilers for hannibal, murder, guns, pregnancy, worries of miscarriage

Author’s Note: Dudes I love this one so much. I really really liked this one. It’s hella long but the last one was short so I think that’s okay. I am very excited for y’all to read this one because I made some expenitonal changes to the script which I’m excited for you guys to see. Enjoy!

I used some direct quotes from the script so some things may seem familiar

Official Episode Summary: With a full moon approaching, Jack and Will are certain that Francis Dolarhyde will strike again but they lack a solid lead; Alana gives Hannibal a chance for redemption.

I don’t own these characters. They belong to author/director

Tag List (is always open!) : @llperfectsymmetryll @ericacactus @vlightning95 @sweetgoodangel

(not my gif) (top two @/rocktheholygrail)

“Nightly news countdown to the next full moon. Chicago and Buffalo police are under a media blitz,” Jack said. You, Will and Alana were all in his office. Will had made it a sport to argue against you going with him anywhere these days but he knew he would lose the fight.

“Two days left. And he’s not going to kill again in Chicago or Buffalo. He’s moved on,” you muttered. You were sitting beside Alana. Will was standing behind you.

“Let me fill you in on what’s up for the twenty-fifth.”

“When he does it again?”

“If we have a problem on the twenty-fifth.”

“Not ‘if’. ‘When,” Will muttered.

“He didn’t kill the docket at the museum. What if he’s trying to stop?” Alana asked.

“He would’ve been better killing her. And both of you,” Jack suggested. You pursed your lips.

“I know we don’t get along Jack but that’s just cruel,” you teased.

“You think there's a way to push him to be self destructive?” Jack asked, ignoring you completely.

“You mean push him toward suicide?” Alana asked.

“Suicide suits me just fine,” Jack muttered.

“If he was really trying to stop he’s not going to kill himself. How could he be sure his death would affect whatever's inside him?” Will asked. He had his hands shoved in his pockets, his mind reeling.

“You must know something about him otherwise you wouldn’t have found him,” Jack leaded. You gave him a look. Will gave him a harder one.

“Jack Crawford. Fisher of men, watching my cork move against the current. You got me again.” Will was bitter. You liked it. “Hannibal told me where to find him. He knows.”

Hannibal and Francis talked to each other. Francis was relying on this conversation to clear some things up. A couple of things.

“I..put my hand...on her beating heart. Heard the sound of her..living voice. A..living woman. How bizarre,” Francis whispered. Reba flashed in his mind. Beautiful. “I don’t want to give her to the Dragon,” he whispered.

“The Dragon is in your belly now. The Dragon wants her alive, you don't’ have to worry about feeling love for her,” Hannibal explained. Francis looked at Hannibal.

“Is that how you stayed with Y/N?” At the mention of your name Hannibal tensed. Ever so slightly. If Francis wasn’t paying acute attention he wouldn’t have noticed. He read it as something bad. Something that struck something dark in Hannibal that he wished to be rid of. “And Will Graham. He interests me. Odd looking for an investigator, not very handsome. But purposeful. They’re married aren’t they?”

Another slight change in attitude.

Slight.

But there.

And if he wasn’t going to kill Reba then he had to kill someone else.

“Yes, yes. I see.” Your voice was quiet. Will watched you speak, your hand holding your other arm. You were on the phone with the neighbors that were watching your dogs. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Thank you so much for calling.”

You hung up the phone and let out a long sigh. You looked over at Will. You were both standing in one of the main rooms of Alana's hospital. You finally looked over at him and he grabbed your hand gently, bringing you toward him.

“That was the neighbors girls. They say that the dogs have been sick, all of them. I’m going to go home and see to them, make sure it’s all okay.” Will nodded quickly as he held you in his arms. He was happy about this. He didn’t want you here, in harm's way. The safest place for you was home. “I’ll sleep the night, take the dogs to the vet and return the next day. I’ll bring new doggo with me.” You moved away from him to gauge his reactions.

“This is good,” he whispered, brushing a piece of hair out of your face. “It’s safe at home.” You shrugged.

“I like to keep you safe.”

“But you have to think of yourself now. You have to keep safe,” he whispered. “Both of you.” You closed your eyes for a moment and took that in. It sounded so pleasant from his voice. A child. His child. You loved the idea of a curly haired little boy running around that had his blue eyes.

“Two days we’ll be away from each other. And I shall call you when I get there and also when I am about to leave. And probably between that.” He nodded.

“Of course.”

“I have to do a little homework,” Francis said. Reba handed him a fresh martini and he took it, sitting on his couch between the projector and screen. Music played softly around them. Reba sat beside him, curious to what he was up to today.

“Sure. If I’m keeping you from working, I can go,” she suggested. He shook his head quickly and realized she couldn’t see him. It would take some getting used to.

“No. I want you to be here. I do. It’s just some film I need to check. It won’t take long,” he promised.

“Does it have a soundtrack?” Reba asked.

“No.”

“May I keep the music?” she asked.

“Um-hmm.”

“I think I’ll stretch out for a few minutes, if you don’t mind.” He started to move so that she could lay down but she shook her head gently. “No, don’t move. I have plenty of room. Wake me up if I drop off,” she whispered. She lied down on the couch, holding the glass to her stomach. The tips of her hair touched Francis' hand beside his tight. He flicked the remote switch on and the projector began. Light flickered and whired across both his and Reba’s face. “Are these your nocturnal animals?” she asked quietly.

“Um-hmmm”

The picture moved down from a bright white moon to find you, smiling and laughing as you moved toward a cabin in the woods, holding a blanket in your hands. A pack of dogs excitedly milled around your feet.

“They know they’re being filmed?” Reba asked.

“No.”

You stood in the vet anxiously. As the vet came back in you stood up quickly. You had talked to the girls who were taking care of the dogs and they were just as worried as you had been.

“They may have gotten into something they shouldn’t have. Has there been any change in their diet?” she asked. You took a deep breath and felt the guilt creep in.

“Wi-my husband usually makes their food from scratch. We’ve been out of town with some dog sitters and I told them to just give them canned food,” you explained.

“Was it canned food made in China?” she asked.

“Is it bad to be made in China?” you asked anxiously.

“If you’re pet food. Dogs get poisoned by Chinese pet food all the time. Pet food safety isn't’ regulated the same way as human food. And it’s barely regulated at all in China. There have been thousands of illnesses and deaths.”

All of the sudden you thought about having to call Will with the news that, despite the fact you were having a human child, all the dog ones were going to die. That was a call you never want to make. Ever.

“Are the dogs going to be okay?” you asked, moving the long sleeves of your shirt up to wrap your fingers around it.

“Yes. You got them here fast and the activated charcoal should soak up whatever’s in their system. But it’d be helpful if you brought me a sample of whatever they’ve been eating so we can run some tests,” the vet said. You nodded quickly.

“I’ll bring it by tomorrow.” The vet put a hand on your arm with a warm smile.

“We’ll keep the dogs overnight so we can monitor their recovery. They’ll be fine.”

You nodded with a smile released.

Will walked into Hannibal’s caged room. Hannibal got up from his desk and walked over to the glass.

“I’m not fortune’s fool. I’m yours. ‘Behold the Great Red Dragon’,” Will said.

“And did you?” Hannibal questioned.

“I had a random encounter.” Hannibal looked behind him as the door shut quietly. He furrowed his eyebrows.

“Where’s Y/N?”

“The Brooklyn Museum is closed to the public on Tuesdays, but researchers are admitted. You know that’s when we’d both be going,” Will said, ignoring the question. Hannibal tried to push you out of his mind. Likely just toying with him.

“A sophisticated intelligence can forecast many things. I suppose mine is sophisticated enough. You’re so close to him now. You and the Dragon are doing the same thing at various times of the day,” Hannibal said, allowing his ignorance of you to seep.

“He’s contacted you.”

“How do you imagine he’s contacted me? Personal ads? Writing notes on admiration on toilet paper?” Hannibal asked.

“Alana thinks he’s trying to stop,” Will suggested. Hannibal came closer to the glass and Will did not move.

“To begin to understand the Dragon, to hear the cold drips in his darkness, Dr. Bloom would have to see things she could never see,” Hannibal promised. “She would have to fly through time.”

“There is a family out there who don’t know he’s coming. We could save them. Tell me who he is.”

“I don’t know who he is.” Will studied Hannibal’s face and knew he was telling the truth. “And I do not know the next family, before you ask.” He was telling the truth about that too.

“You’re willing to let them die.”

“They’re not my family Will. And I’m not letting them die. You are.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt. You have a telephone call. It’s your lawyer. Would you like to take it?” Alana asked.

“Did he say why he was calling?” Hannibal questioned.

“I called him. To confirm that he hasn’t called you. Not since you’ve been declared insane,” she stated. Hannibal shrugged.

“I could have told you that.”

“If only I’d known to ask.”

“If only.”

“Would you have told me the truth?” she asked.

“In my own way, I always have,” he promised. Alana pressed a button and spoke into the telephone.

“Mr. Metcalf. That’ll be all for now. Thank you for your time.” She killed the call and now her cold anger showed. The door behind her opened and Jack entered. “You were speaking to the Tooth Fairy.”

“I think he’s earned the right to be known by the name he’s chosen. He is the Great Red Dragon,” Hannibal said. Jack approached the glass wall.

“You have hubbed hell, Dr. Lecter.”

“I often do.”

“You got what you wanted. Suddenly, you’re very relevant. There is one way for you to stay relevant...and comfortable,” Alana said. Hannibal thought about it for a moment.

“You want me to speak with the Dragon. You believe he will seek counsel after the next kill.”

“We’ve got to make your contact work for us. Standing trace order for any time you’re on the phone. When he calls, you keep him on the line.” Hannibal inclined his head.

“I can’t refuse him a sympathetic ear. He no doubt needs it.”

The house seemed so empty. The dogs gone, Will away. You had to pick them up in the morning and then be gone again. In the meantime, you were staying up late to make as much dog food as you could.

“Yeah and add a little bit of the meat I have in the fridge,” Will said over the phone. His voice was staticy but there. It made you feel safer.

“Alright I think we’re good. Thank you sweetface,” you said, leaning into the phone.

“Anytime. Have a good night's sleep. Drink water. I love you.” You smiled gently to yourself.

“I love you too. Sleep tight!” You hung up the phone and then it was empty again. You glanced at the clock. Much too late. You shouldn’t have kept Will up, he needed to sleep. “I suppose I should sleep too,” you said aloud. You convinced yourself you were speaking to your unformed child rather than yourself. That sounded less insane.

You put the dog food in the fridge and finished up the last of the notes for the neighbors teenagers. You took a deep breath and turned around, eyes catching the green of the alarm monitor.

Caught it just soon enough to see it go dead.

You didn’t realize what that meant right away. Then it hit you. Fear slammed into you and you tensed up completely. You grabbed your phone and shoved it in your pajama pants pocket. You grabbed a knife from the knife block and quietly walked over to the kitchen table, where your keys were. You peaked out the window and saw a man outside, walking up the front steps.

Your breath caught in your throat.

You tried to control your fear as you quietly walked around back. You heard the door jiggle open. You were suddenly reminded of your second body, Will’s words screaming into your heart. Both of you to keep safe.

You suddenly missed Will terribly. You opened the back door quietly and stalked around the side of the house. As you ducked underneath windows you felt your heart beating in your ears. You held the knife tightly in your hand as you peaked around the side of the house to see if he was outside.

The coast from where you were to the car was clear from what you could tell.

You closed your eyes tightly and then opened them just as quickly.

You sprinted to the car and unlocked it on your way. You jumped into the driver's seat and struggled to put the keys in the ignition.

Your attacker had heard the car unlock and he was on the porch now. Gunshots broke your front window and shattered onto your lap. You squealed just as the car started and you were able to pull out.

You, however, were not able to miss the gunshot that hit you in the shoulder harshly. You let out a harsh surprised noise as your arm pretty much went limp. With your other arm you were able to drive away from your home. Your home. The place you had found so sacred. Will’s and yours first place together.

You focused on driving through the dark, winding roads and hoped that he wasn’t following.

Will ran through the hospital. A horrible glare of the hospital fluorescents over his face as he approached Jack Crawford.

“Where is she?” he asked rushingly.

“In surgery now.”

He did not seem to be any more eased at that.

“You’re both safe here,” Jack said and Will gave him a harsh look.

“Now is not the time to talk to me Jack. Not the time at all.” Will pushed past him. He didn’t know where he was going. He couldn’t see you. All he could do was pace. He wanted to ask Jack about the baby. He wondered, terribly, if the baby was gone. Two times in a row his child would be ripped from him by the puppeteer strings of Hannibal Lecter he was sure.

Will couldn’t make it make sense. He thought that Hannibal liked you. He thought for sure that you, if anyone, was safe from his wrath.

Jack took his turn approaching Will again, now that some time had passed by. The doctors promised you would be okay but made no mention of the baby.

“You think you might lose me after this, Jack? You think I might go back to my family?” Will asked, teeth almost barred. Jack stared at him.

“For a minute, I did.”

“I want so badly to. If she had died because of this I would have killed you with my bare hands Jack. She warned me against you time and time again. And again. If she had died because of you…” his voice trailed off but Jack got the message. “But then I realized what you realized. I can’t go home, and neither can Y/N, never, until the Red Dragon is out of the way.” Will looked away.

“As soon as Y/N can be moved we’ll put her at my brother’s house on the chesapeake. Nobody in the world will know where they are but you and-”

“She’s pregnant.”

Jack stopped. This information hit him and it sunk in, very slowly. He took a deep breath. He was careful speaking.

“Have you asked-”

“No. I’m too scared to,” Will admitted. He looked back at Jack and shook his head. “But if the baby lived or didn’t, if she is able to walk, she’s not going to leave my side now. She’ll put on a brave face and walk with me wherever I’ll go and you will let her.” He paused, thinking. “I’ll let her.” His eyes lightened slightly. “And even if she didn’t, she wouldn’t want anything from you. She’d be glad to see you in hell with your back broken.”

Something about the truth in that made Jack want to smile.

Will walked into the room. You had been awake just long enough to talk to the doctor. Will had been in the bathroom when you woke up but now he rushed toward you.

He practically skidded on the ground to grab your hands. You gave him a weak smile but your face was practically dead. You swallowed and squeezed his hand. Will didn’t say anything for a moment.

“The baby is alright,” you whispered. He let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. “The bullet hit my shoulder, far away from anything that could harm them.” Now that that was out of the way, he could apologize for you. You had been hurt. That was impossible.

“The dogs are safe. I’m going to pick them up tomorrow and bring them here.” You nodded.

“Bring the vet the canned food.” He laughed dryly.

“I don’t think that’s a priorit-”

“Bring it,” you stated weakly. He nodded, not willing to argue with you right now. You looked up at the ceiling and then over at him, smiling at his pretty face. “I made the food. You have to bring that too, I’m proud of it.” He nodded, kissing your hands he was holding.

“I will.” There was a beat of silence.

“You aren’t going to get me to leave. The second I can sit up I will be back out there with you.” He nodded lightly.

“I wish you wouldn't. But I know.” You looked into his eyes, hard.

“Hannibal did not advise this.”

“He knows about the killer, things he couldn’t possibly know unless he knew about him. There’s no way that this wasn’t him.” You shook your head.

“He wouldn’t. Not to me.” Will believed that, despite it all. He kissed your hands again and stood up.

“I’m going to ask him.” He waited for you to respond but you just thought about that for a moment.

“I wanted to be the one to tell him. But I see now that you must.” He nodded. It would add to the effect, whichever way that effect went.

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you more.”

Will quickly walked up to Hannibal’s cage. Hannibal could tell something was wrong immediately. Will looked like he was about to kill someone with his bare hands.

“I’m just about worn out with you crazy sons of bitches,” Will stated. Hannibal raised an eyebrow.

“It hasn’t hit the papers yet. Care to enlighten me on the family this time around? Did the dog make it?” Will stared at Hannibal, dumbfounded.

“You really don’t know do you?” Hannibals face scrunched into confusion.

“I’m sorry, should I?” Hannibal questioned. Will’s lips turned into a bitter smile. He knew that Hannibal had talked to this killer and Will was about to relish in the fact that he got to tell Hannibal his efforts had messed up someone he cared about.

“Y/N went home to tend to the dogs for the day,” Will started, really milking this out. “Dr. Lecter, the killer went for her.”

Hannibal’s mind worked quickly. He took a deep breath in and for once, hung off the words that Will was saying. He hadn’t suggested Francis kill you but he should have known he would. He should have known. He was almost angry at himself for not seeing it.

“Is she alright?”

“Yes.” Hannibal let out a barely audible sigh of relief. For once it was the two men, almost in love with each other but definitely in love with you, just happy you were alive. “She was shot but she’s fine.” Will paused. “She’s pregnant. Still pregnant. You didn’t get this child and you won’t.”

Hannibal took that in quietly. He would deal with that later.

“I’m happy for her. Happy for you both.” Will turned to leave, finished with this conversation and wanting to return to you but Hannibal did not let him. “Will?”

He turned.

“Yes?”

“I didn’t know it was her.”

As the orderly came into the room, Hannibal almost jumped up. But instead, he kept his dignity and walked over to the phone, taking it in his hands. He knew that Jack and Alana were listening. He had to keep this careful.

“If I’m not as strong as the Dragon, she will die. I know that,” Francis said firstly, bluntly. “I need to think. I need to think. I told her I can’t be with her.”

“Y/N Graham is not dead,” he pointed out stoutly. Francis did not like that he changed the subject so quickly.

“I chose Y/N because she rejected you. I chose Y/N and she should be dead.” Hannibal straightened his back. “I’m afraid she will come to the house. To talk. I don't want what will happen in the house.” He was now referring to Reba, not you but Hannibal knew how to steer a conversation.

“What made you think I wanted Y/N dead?”

“You insinuated-”

“No. I did not.” Hannibal stared through Jack and Alana, enjoying an audience but wishing these next words were spoken in confidence. “You thought wrongly. You insinuated wrongly.” Hannibal straightened his lips. “Think about how you wanted to hold Y/N in your arms, as she lost blood and her heart quivered like a bird until it went out. Think about it.” He paused, allowing him to think. “Now think about Reba in her place. Because that is what is coming.”

Francis didn’t know how to react to that.

“They’re listening,” Hannibal said and hung up the phone.

Alana and Jack looked betrayed but Alana was all too happy for what came next.

“You’ve just lost your toilet Hannibal,” Alana said.

And Hannibal did not say it but he knew it was worth it.

3x12

#hannibal lecter x reader #will graham x reader #will graham imagines #hannibal lecter imagines #hannibal lecter x reader x will graham #will graham x reader x hannibal lecter #hannibal imagines

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lovesgonnabe · 4 years ago

Text

Love Is Worth It - Episode III: When Boy Meets Girl

Characters: Chris Evans x Maya Alonso-Evans (Black OFC)

Warnings: Angst, Fluff, cursing, slight Implied smut

Word Count: 2126

Summary: What happens when boy meets girl and that boy underestimates that girl?

AN/Disclaimer: It has been a while since I’ve written so please bear with my rustiness, and there’s slight edits so there may be errors. italicized is a flashback.

Taglist: @thesecretlifeofdaydreamss, @canadian-girl87, @i-just-like-fanfics if you would like to join the taglist message me.

Please leave a note and tell me what you think!

December 14, 2019 - 3rd Person

Every Year Chris, Maya and their friends get together and do a Friendsgiving in December to celebrate holidays.

This year it was the Evans’s turn to host in their second home in Brooklyn, New York.

This group consisted of a good combination of Chris and Maya’s friends.

Scarlett came with her fiancé SNL Writer Colin Jost. Along with Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan and sometimes (but not this time) RDJ.

Austin, Maya’s brother of course, Tika and her fiancé. Maya met Tika while at Yale spending time in New York, and Tessa Thompson who met Maya at a glamour magazine event and has actually been quítely seeing Sebastian for the last year or so.

“You know you look a lot like Chadwick Boseman” Colin said looking at Maya’s brother Austin.

The group laughs “yeah I get that a lot” Austin says as he takes a sip of his drink.

Maya walks into the media room with a cheese board and popcorn in her hand, as their friends sat on the couches getting ready to watch a movie on the projector.

They were all sat close to the Evans fire place chatting, drinking, laughing and just enjoying eachothers company since they don't get to get together often. Especially since Chris and Scarlett are no longer actively apart of the MCU.

“Ok so what is your story, like how did you guys meet, everytime i ask Austin he refuses to tell me” Austin’s girlfriend Alana asked pointing at Maya as she sat on Chris’s lap in the love seat they were sharing.

Chris and Maya at the moment were getting a bit handsy with each other under their blanket. He was sweetly kissing her neck as he rubbed her thigh, moving his hand up to play with the elastic on the waistband of her shorts.

“Oh god I love this story” Tessa said sitting with Sebastian and grabbing some popcorn.

Chris chuckles “you wanna tell it or should I” he said smiling at her biting his lip.

“How about I start and you cut me off if I get something wrong” Maya said playfully rolling her eyes and Chris nodded.

She sat up and cleared her throat since Chris’s hand moved to shifting her shorts and panties to the side.

“Ok so I meet Chris through Scar they were in New York filming their first Avengers film, having a night off she called and asked if I wanted to go out, of course I said yes then invited Austin and Tika to go with me so I wouldn't be alone.”

”We meet up at the pool bar, we walk in and here is this six foot blonde not paying me any attention” Maya said

She shifted cuddling closer to Chris as he slowly he teased her warm slit as it slowly got wet and slick.

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

Maya - September 2011

It was a warm fall evening in New York CIty the leaves were beginning to change and I was midway through my first year of my dermatology residency.

This bar was in the middle of Hell's Kitchen Manhattan and did not look like much from the outside. We went down a flight of steps into a smokey, dingy pool room.

Scarlett was in the back of the bar with two men. One brunette with sunglasses who looks to be making a joke and a blonde leaning against the pool table laughing.

When we walked up to the group the blonde and I locked eyes, even in the dim room his blue eyes pulled me under a spell. He was the first to break eye contact as we got close.

“Hey Scar thanks for the invite, I needed this break” I say hugging Scarlett.

She chuckles “it’s not a problem, we have been trying to get together for a while and I’ve been the one blowing you off”

I shrug “it’s all good this isn’t a place I’d pick to hang but it’s cool.”

My face scrunched up at my surroundings I wasn’t fond of going anywhere in Hell’s Kitchen but hey I didn’t pick the hangout this time.

We introduce both groups of friends to each other, the brunette with her was Robert or Downey and the blonde was Chris.

The first hour was pretty chill and I was having a good time just watching the crowd as the bar began to actually get full with people.

Robert opened up to me fast he is warm and inviting, telling stories and cracking a jokes about every person that passed our way. However, Chris was giving me the cold shoulder mostly gave me the side eye and sometimes a condescending smirk when he looked my way as he and Robert played on the table next to Austin and Tika’s as Scar and I drank watching the games.

“What’s wrong May it seems like you have a lot on your mind” Scar asked.

I shrugged “just thinking you know school, work, and I don't really know, I haven't been here long yet Chris keeps giving me a side eye”

Scarlett laughs “please don’t try and figure out Chris I promise it will just give you a headache.”

But I can’t stop thinking about this golden man standing in front of me without a care in the world, he enamores me, his smile was beautiful his eyes would make any women weak in the knees and I was going to figure him out by the end of the night.

When Chris and Downey finished up there game Chris stood up and looked at me like he was challenging me.

“Look at that, who’s next It seems that Downey can’t hang with the pool champ” Chris boosted.

I rose from my seat and removed my jacket “I’ll give it a shot” I said grabbing my drink.

I walked over to the pool to a brooding Chris as he smirked at me readying his pool stick.

“Can you actually play princess?” Chris asked.

He reset the pool table as I grabbed my stick smirking at his question.

I shrugged when he looked up at me “we will see, you break” I said.

As we begin our game Chris was like an open book and was so easy to read. His stance oozes confidence he played lazyly like he couldn’t be beaten. I let him win the first game no problem and he let me win the second game, while i acted like I couldn’t play.

He was making the game so boring and easy so I decided to spice the game up a bit.

“How about we make this a bit more interesting? Every ball we make into a pocket we must answer a question?” I say setting the balls.

He laughs “ok, be prepared because this could get interesting”

I smirk and break sinking the blue solid ball “I’m solids now what’s your problem with me we just meet” I said missing my second ball as I step back.

“Um I don’t have a problem it’s just you’re just a little prissy for my liking” Chris answers monitoring the table prepping his next shot.

i roll my eyes “I’m not prissy, I just I like what I like and I know what I don’t like, I guess you were listening in on Scar and I’s conversation.” I say

I leaned against the pillar next to me with my arms crossed waiting for an answer.

He shoots one in the pocket and misses the next ball yet completely avoids my question all together.

“how old are you” he asks

I roll my eyes “you know you shouldn’t ask a women her age, but since you asked nicely I’m 25” we both laugh.

The back and forth continued until he had about two balls left to win and I had five it was my turn.

I shot the first ball into the center pocket.

“if you could go anywhere in the world what would it be?” I ask

“The Swiss Alps” he said

I nod and shot ball two in the left corner pocket

“Do you have any siblings” I ask

I walk around the table analyzing my 3 shots I had left.

“Um yes one brother and two sisters” he says

Chris now looked nervous as I smirked at him laser focused.

“Don’t run scared on me now big boy” I laugh walking to my next ball.

I shot my third ball in the bottom right pocket, and we now gained a bit of a crowd forming.

He clears his throat “well damn i wish you would have told you knew how to play”

I shrugged my shoulders looking into his crystal blue eyes, smirking.

“You didn’t ask but now that you are interested I’ll tell you, I am the middle child between two very competitive brothers and a daughter of man who doesn’t like to lose” I say smiling at my brother, walking over to Austin and did our handshake.

“But I’m suppose to be the one asking the here questions sir” I say turning to Chris and smirking at him.

With my back to the table I take the shot behind my back and I sink my second to last ball into the cup.

Now everyone at the bar was watching our game with anticipation and we both only had two balls left.

“ok wow I like her Scarlett” Robert said and I laughed.

I walked up to Chris “next question if I win will you tell me how big your friend down below is because I think he is happy to see me” I whisper to him.

I brushed up against Chris as he clears his throat “I plead the fifth” he says standing tall covering his growing friends in his jeans.

I sucked my teeth and pouted “you’re no fun.”

With only my eight ball left i decided to miss on purpose just to extend the game a little longer what can i say i was having fun messing with him.

The crowd of the entire bar though they did like that I missed an easy winning shot since they all groaned in displeasure.

Chris looked so nervous, when he lined up to his next shot his hands began to shake.

“Don’t choke on me now” I taunt him.

He takes a deep breath hits the ball to the left corner pocket the red stripe rolls as if it was going in but stops a hair short from the pocket.

Some people cheer others groan in sadness for his defeat, Chris stands back looking satisfied yet defeated.

I smirk, walking around the table and shot my ball into the right corner pocket.

The crowd cheered and Chris smirked dropping his head in defeat.

I walked up to him as people congratulated me which I found weird because all we did was play a few rounds of pool.

“That was one hell of a game young lady” he smiled trying to act cool as he leaned against the pool table.

“how about we start over?” I ask

Sticking my hand out shake he took it, smiling at me.

“I’m Maya Alonso from San Francisco and you are?”

“I’m Chris Evans from Boston” he said chucking.

“Well Mr. Evans you wouldn’t mind going out with me sometime maybe get to know each other a little better?” I smiled as we kept holding each other’s hand.

“Well Ms. Alonso I wouldn’t mind that at all, until next time.”

He let go of my hand, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

“until next time” I whisper to myself butterflies in my belly feeling like a giddy school girl.

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

Everyone was laughing

“Se la vie, now almost ten years and one kid later, I still can’t keep my hands off of him.”Maya says

“Umm that’s not how I remember it happened.” Chris said looking at Maya confused.

“That’s exactly how I remember it” Tika laughed

“We left and he couldn’t stop talking about her, begged me to give him her number all the way back to his airbnb.” Scarlett said in between a gut wrenching laugh.

“Whatever, at the end of the day I got to the girl and that’s all that matters” Chris said holding my chin, pecking my lips continuously whispering that he loved me.

Austin sucks his teeth rolling his eyes “Alright that’s enough, y’all got a room for all that, let’s start the movie already” he said pressing play on West Side Story.

Maya laughs and goes back to kiss Chris masking the moan trying to slip from her mouth, as he slowly pushed his fingers inside her wet cave just hitting her g-spot as the movie played in the background.

#chris evans x black ofc #chris evans x black reader #chris evans x reader #chris evans x poc!reader #poc reader #woc reader #chris evans fanfiction

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notmydayjob · 5 years ago

Text

Requited

This is my manifesto of my love for criminal minds and the lovely Dr. Spencer Reid. Also I know some of the ages are a little fucked up but just suspend your disbelief for a second.

Summary: You grew up with Spencer but after meeting again years later due to one of Spencer’s cases you find yourselves rekindling an old friendship and maybe a little more.

Warnings: all the angst you’d expect from a CM episode, and sassy sexy Dr. Reid being adorable.

It’s been five, no- six years since you’ve seen him. You tried not to keep track but that was easier said than done. He was your best friend in Elementary and Highschool but as you both grew up you grew apart as well.

You and Spencer were the most unlikely of friends as kids, the same age but nearly three grades apart. That of course was Spencer’s fault. You met in the third grade after your family moved to Nevada and Spencer was the only kid who was also sitting alone. After a while, you made more friends but none of them were as interesting as Spencer. He could read so fast and he knew so many things and sometimes you could even get him to recite books from beginning to end for you. He asked you things that you’d never really thought about like why the sky is blue or why the grass is green and when you said you didn’t know he’d explain it to you with big confusing words until you’d make him simplify it for you. You weren’t dumb but you weren’t Spencer, and part of you always knew he wouldn’t stick around. When you went to the fourth grade he went to fifth, spent two months there, and then went to sixth. You thought that would be the last time you saw him.

On your first day of Freshman year, you headed to the cafeteria with your friends and when you sat down and looked up you saw a kid your age, with long hair that curled at the ends, and big glasses, and was rapidly flipping through the pages of a book. One of your friends made a snarky comment and the other laughed but you stood up and quickly walked other to the boy, you honestly didn’t know why. Maybe it was because you hadn’t seen him since third grade or maybe it was because he had gotten so handsome in your time apart.

“Spencer?” You said to the boy which made him shoot his head up in confusion. You waited for a second to see if he’d recognize you but after a moment of silence, you continued. “It’s (Y/n), we knew each other in elementary school.”

“Oh, yeah I remember. I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you.” He pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose and smiled up at you. Spencer didn’t really smile that much, not at people at least, but he always smiled at you. You sat down next to him, eager to get caught up.

“I figured you’d be finished with college by now,” You joked which caused him to chuckle softly.

“Next year, I’m a senior now.” He recognized the apprehension in his voice. Even when you were little Spencer got teased a lot for being ahead you couldn’t even imagine what it was like now.

“Are you even human?” You giggled. “What are you even reading that you haven’t read before?”

And so your friendship picked up again, exactly where it left off. Now instead of why the sky was blue, it was theoretical mathematics and physics.

The two of you spent the whole year together, you’d go to the library and he’d finish three books in the time you could finish chapter one, and still, if you were lucky you could get him to read to you. You were there when he got his acceptance letter from Caltech, he was so nervous when opening the email but he’d never admit it. Once you forced him to open the letter and you began to read it but by that time he had already finished it.

“I got in.” He said almost too calmly.

“What?” You gasped. He spun around in his swivel chair and looked up at you with a smile.

“I got in!” He shot up and wrapped his arms around you. You were taken slightly aback at the physical contact. Spencer was a slight germaphobe but you still found opportunities to invade his personal space...respectfully.

And then again he left. The good news was Caltech was only a few hours away, you still saw each other on weekends, sometimes you’d come to visit his dorm and sometimes he’d come back home and visit you. You were also there when he had his mom hospitalized, you both knew it was the best thing to do but it was still hard for him to do. That was the first time you ever saw him cry, not when his dad left although you were sure that he did just never around you. Now Spencer cried, he tried to hide it from you but he couldn’t, you would wrap your arms around his waist and let him lean down to cry onto your shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” He’d say to you after he had calmed himself.

“Why?” You asked as you ran your fingers through his long hair.

“I never want you to see me weak.” He’d always say.

“You’re the strongest person I know.”

As your senior year came to an end this time it was time for you to make the decision, stay, or go. Ultimately you stayed, applied to somewhere local, you didn’t want to admit that it was because Spence was close or because the town reminded you of him but you couldn’t deny it played a role. You hated Las Vegas, it was full of gamblers, pimps, and prostitutes and the heat was terrible. Sometimes Reid would take you to the Strip and you’d watch the people come and go, maybe that’s when he decided he wanted to be a profiler, you could sit there for hours and listen to him get all into people's business. Those were the memories you stayed for.

Your third year was when Spencer left for Virginia, two Ph.D. 's in Math and Engineering, working on a third in Sociology and he chose to go to the FBI Academy. You were so proud of him but your heart broke to watch him get on that plane. You both cried when you said goodbye at the airport.

“I’ll call you every day.” He said, and for a while, he did but after that first night when you stayed up past midnight waiting for him to call but he never did. That was when you realized it would never be the same. You spoke to him every day, every week, every month, once a year, but now six years since he left and you haven’t even spoken to him in five. Until today.

“What the hell is happening?” You asked your boss as you saw a group of men and women going through the files in your office.

“The Feds,” He nodded at the group on the other side of the windows. “They wanted information on a kid you used to work with...David...Dave… the last name started with an O I think.”

“Davies Ortega?” You knew exactly who he meant.

“Yeah, yes! They want everything you have on him, they have a warrant but you weren’t here-”

“Yeah well, I am now.” You sighed as you pushed through your colleagues who were watching with confusion.

“If you wanted to see my files you could have asked nicely.” You said as you came through the door.

“Dr. L/n, I’m SSA Aaron Hotchner with the FBI, were you Davies Ortega’s psychiatrist?” A tall man with dark hair turned to you.

“Yes sir, I was.” You crossed your arms over your chest. “You have a warrant?” A dark-haired woman handed you the paper.

“You got something to hide?” A fit man with dark skin questioned.

“The Ortega’s are a rich white-collar family and the father is the DA, I’m protecting my practice.” You quipped back. “Your warrant says you have the right to the Ortega files and the files you’re going through aren’t those so if you’d please stop invading my client’s privacy I’ll show you what you’re looking for.” Each of them dropped the files they were holding.

“Thank you,” You said and then made your way to your desk, opening the locked cabinet beneath it and pulling out several thick files.

“That much?” The dark-haired woman said. You chuckled softly and then pulled out yet another stack of files.

“That much.” You corrected.

“Ma’am we’re going to have to go through all of this and ask you a series of questions, I think it would be best if we did this at the police station… for privacy.” Agent Hotchner motioned to the crowd around your office.

“I think that’d be best.” You agreed.

The ride to the police station was horribly quiet and incredibly awkward. Luckily though it was very short. You walked through the front doors following Hotchner, you caught a glimpse of Davis’s photo pinned to a board next to the photos of several women dead. You couldn’t make out too much because someone called out your name from behind you, not Dr. L/n but Y/n. You quickly turned to see a tall thin, brown-haired man with his hands awkwardly in his pockets, Spencer.

“Oh my god,” You smiled as you rushed towards him, standing up on your toes, practically jumping and wrapping your arms around him. He wrapped his arms around your waist in return and tucked his face into the crook of your neck.

“The two of you know each other.” An unfamiliar voice said from your left side. You and Spencer jumped apart like two teenagers caught together behind a closed door.

“Uh, yeah,” Spencer spoke up. “We grew up together. We were uh… close.”

“Close, huh?” The blonde-haired woman smirked.

“What are you doing here?” Spencer turned his attention back to you.

“Davies Ortega,” You said simply to gauge his reaction. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, that’s not good.

“You’re his doctor?”

“I was,” You nodded.

“Dr. L/n, we shouldn’t do this here, follow me.” You grinned at Spencer before following Hotchner to a small room with a table and mirror, you were sure it was a window from the other side. You were left alone to fiddle with your thumbs and try to work out what was happening. After about 15 minutes the door opened...and Reid came in.

“I’m surprised you’re allowed to talk to me.” You grinned, that probably didn’t look good because of the circumstances but you couldn’t help it.

“I spent the last ten minutes convincing them that you would tell any of us what we need, but you’d be more comfortable with me, wanna prove me right?” He cocked his head at you.

“Anything for my genius.” Although it had been five years it felt just like you’d been teenagers walking on the strip just yesterday. “You think Davies killed those girls, he’s your unsub.” Spence talked about this stuff all the time even when he was in college, you knew how this worked.

“Yeah,” Spencer spoke softly and nodded. “That doesn’t surprise you?”

“No,” You said hesitantly. “I know this is being recorded, will the parents see?”

“No,” Spencer said, slightly confused. “Are you afraid of them?”

“I’m not afraid.” You said quickly and defensively and he raised his eyebrows at you. “ I told them that Davies needed to be institutionalized and they nearly got me fired. Rich people can do whatever they want no matter if their child is a total sexual sadist.”

“Sexual sadist?” He repeated. “Do you really think he is or are you exaggerating?”

“Oh come on Spence, you don’t need to do that.” You sighed. “I know he’s messed up, you know he’s messed up it doesn’t matter who says it doesn’t change that.” He chuckled slightly, he should have known he couldn’t pull anything without you knowing.

“Why did Davies come to see you?” Reid continued.

“He was adopted when he was six, removed from his birth mother’s custody for neglect. The Ortega’s adopted him not long after, he went from having nothing to anything he wanted, he began to act out and they couldn’t handle that. He killed the family cat too.” You explained. “Even they knew that was a warning sign.”

“Why’d he stop coming?”

“I suggested hospitalization, they didn’t like that so they found a new psychiatrist. No matter where they took him it was the same though. Eventually, they got him institutionalized just last year he turned eighteen and there was nothing they could do. With this kid, it was never a matter of if… it was when.”

“Alright, thank you, we’re gonna need to keep the files for now but you can go soon.” He sighed and stood up to leave.

“Wait, Spencer.” You stopped him. He turned to look at you and it nearly took the breath out of your lungs but you still continued. “You’re about to go to his house right?” He nodded.

“He used to write stories, they’re in my files, he wrote about killing but they all ended the same way. He said before they could take him he would kill as many officers he could before and then himself.”

Reid nodded slowly, understanding that was your way of telling him to be careful. You followed Reid out of the room and he told you to wait with the blonde-haired woman who would clear you to leave.

“My name’s J.J.” She offered you her hand. This wasn’t the introduction of an FBI agent but instead the introduction of a friend of a friend. “Wanna help me go through these files?”

You sat down with J.J. and helped her go through the files, every once and a while she’d ask you about Spencer.

“So were you ever...with… Spencer?” She asked with a hint of suggestion.

“No,” You chuckled. “I had a crush on him when we were teenagers but that was all.”

“Did he feel the same way?” She pushed a little further.

“Spencer is about as transparent as glass, I never got the feeling he did.” You tried to leave as much emotion out of your voice as possible.

“If I’ve learned anything from working with Spencer it’s that he can lie if he has to.” She chuckled.

Not long after you saw Spencer, Hotchner, the agents whose names you learned were David Rossi, Emily Prentiss, and Derek Morgan. They were all rushing out, wearing blue FBI vests, and fully armed. Spencer walked over to you.

“Hotch and the Sheriff said you can go, what are the two of you up to?” He said as he looked at the messy table of papers.

“I’m just helping J.J. with the files.”

“Well, we uh- gotta go.” He held out his last word, you knew he was just as worried he wouldn’t see you again as you were. “When we’re done… I’ll call you. I swear.” You just nodded and wrapped your arms around his waist before once again watching him leave.

“Doctor,” Hotchner called you. “You’re free to go,”

“Yes, sir I know…” You said apprehensively.

“But?”

“I think I’d like to stay until you get back,” Maybe you wanted to know what would happen to Davies, maybe you wanted to make sure Reid was okay, either way, he didn’t ask, he just nodded and left.

You sat there with J.J. for an hour as the team checked out the house and confirmed Davies was inside. J.J. got a message on her radio that they were going in, you both sat quietly at the table holding your breath and waiting for more news. Ten minutes went by before you got the next message.

Shots fired; Federal Officer down.

J.J. clasped her hand over her mouth and put her other over yours reassuringly.

Suspect has been injured and is in the ambulance but should make it.

A small wave of relief washed over you but the words Officer down were still stuck in your head. After about half an hour people began filing into the station, Hotchner, Prentiss, Rossi, Morgan, and finally Reid.

You and J.J. let out a sigh of relief seeing the whole team alive and well. Reid smiled at you, clearly amused by the worry on your face.

“You seem stressed.” He grinned.

“Oh shut up.” You smacked his chest before wrapping your arms around him and burying your face in it. “What about the officer?”

“SWAT got hit in the leg, he'll be fine.”

“I was worried.” You finally admitted before pulling away. “So, when do you guys go home?”

“Tomorrow morning, maybe tonight if Hotch is in a hurry.” He shrugged and you felt his demeanor change. “Y/n… I have to finish up here but afterward, would you want to… I don’t know, hang out?” His hands sat uncomfortably in his front pockets and his shoulders tense.

“Yeah Spence, I’d like that.” You smiled up at him.

“Cool,” He nodded with a proud and yet relieved smile on his face. “Meet me at The Strip...our spot, at 10 o’clock.”

“Of course Dr. Reid.”

“I’ll see you then Dr. L/n.”

The Strip was huge but you knew exactly where he wanted you to meet him, at the corner of the fountains facing the Ferris Wheel. By the time you got there at ten, you saw him leaning against the railing waiting for you.

“You got off early.” You said to alert him that you were there.

“Yeah,” He seemed relieved that you showed up. You stood next to him and leaned onto the railing as well. “I didn’t know you got your doctorate.”

“Yeah, I got my masters and started working but did online courses for my doctorate while I was practicing.” Sometimes you got self-conscious talking about education with Spencer and he seemed to notice.

“That’s impressive.” He said genuinely.

“I never would have done it without you.” You shrugged off his compliment.

“Me?” He turned to face you, his attention now peaked.

“Yeah, I mean...yeah, you always used to talk about Dahmer and Gacy and how fucked up their childhoods were. It just wanted to stop it before it happened but clearly… that didn’t work.”

“Hey,” He placed his hand on your shoulder. Spencer shockingly hadn’t changed much in the six years you’d been apart. His hair was longer than it used to be and much messier and curlier, he dressed slightly different as well. As a teenager, Spencer rarely wore clothes that accommodated his tall but thin stature, and he never quite knew how to style his clothes. Now, his clothes fit well, his long sleeves were rolled up to reveal his forearms and he wore a black sweater vest and a dark blue tie. He looked mature and put together but at the same time, still kind of looked like his mom dressed him for the science fair. His socks still didn’t match.

“That’s not your fault Y/n,” He looked you in the eyes making sure you were really hearing him. “Like you said it was just a matter of when. I talk to these kinds of guys every day, they’re irrational.”

“Yeah… I know.” You sighed heavily. A silence hung in the air, neither of you wanting to talk about the events of the day but not knowing how to proceed.

“So you like Psychiatry?” He said with genuine interest.

“Yeah,” You said unconvincingly, causing him to raise his eyebrows like you. “Well, yes and no. My boss is a total pushover and my co-workers are dramatic and invasive. I like what I do but not necessarily where I do it.”

“So what keeps you here?” He furrowed his eyebrows and leaned all of his weight on his right arm so that he could face you.

“Honestly,” You sighed and looked around, trying to come up with the best answer. “Nothing.” I guess that was easier than expected.

“What about your family?”

“Everyone’s all spread out by now, retired in Florida, the woods in North Dakota, you name it.”

“You hate it here, why have you stayed so long?” Spencer said, obviously confused now. He knew better than anyone that you should have gotten out of Vegas the second you turned 18. “Why did you even go to college here?”

“Cause you were close.” You looked down at your hands, suddenly feeling how long it had been since you’d talked to him.

“You stayed because of me?” His voice softened and was nearly inaudible.

“Yeah, I guess I did.” You looked into the fountain, squinting at the lights shining in your eyes. “We have good memories here, I guess that’s why I stay.”

When you finally looked back up at him he was already staring at you. You were tempted to dart your eyes away but you found it impossible to look away from him. And then faster than anything you’d ever experienced his hand was on the side of your face and lips were on yours. His hand was gentle on the soft skin of your face and it traveled slowly to the back of your neck desperately bringing you closer to him. Your hands rested on his chest, fingers digging into the coarse wool of his sweater in an attempt to keep him there. With one step towards you, he closed the gap between your bodies and pressed you against the railing. You arched your back, pushing your body against him to prevent you from bending back over the railing. Spencer’s other arm wrapped around your waist pulling you impossibly close to him.

The kiss had started slow and unsure but once you reciprocated it became desperate and hungry for what both of you had been wanting since you were teenagers. Spencer’s tongue grazed against your bottom lip requesting entrance which you gladly gave him. Your tongues danced together, not a fight for dominance but a dance between two equals trying to explore every piece of their partner. Spencer’s teeth softly grazed against your bottom lip pulling it between his before he reluctantly pulled his face away from yours but still kept his body pressed against yours. Both of you stood there not daring to move away from each other as you gasped for breath.

“I think I’m ready to leave.” You said between breaths.

“And go where? Virginia?” Spencer was obviously kidding but the way you looked up at him to gauge his reaction showed that you were completely serious. “Oh, Y/n no, you can’t uproot your life for me.”

“Oh come on Spence!” You slipped out from under him getting space to gain some confidence in your argument. “I hate it here, it’s hot, the people are terrible, I’m ready to quit my job after today’s fiasco.” Spencer just shook his head and chuckled, you continued.

“Come on Spence I love the East Coast, the people, the seasons.”

“The seasons? That’s why you want to come?” His smile turned into a proud smirk as he placed his hands on either side of you, pressing you against the railing.

“And good company.” You smiled before pulling him down to meet your lips.

“I missed you so much.” He said between kisses. You went to say something back but before you could Spencer’s phone went off in his pocket. He dropped his head and let out a loud sigh that made you giggle.

“Yeah, Hotch.” He said formally but rolled his eyes and grinned at you. There were a few seconds of silence but you could hear a deep muffled voice through that phone. “Actually, I was planning on staying for a while, I’ll catch my own flight back.” The two men exchanged a few more formalities before Spencer casually put his phone back in his pocket.

“You’re staying?” You looked up at him with a timid smile before he wrapped his arm around your shoulder and leaned his body against yours.

“Well, I gotta help you pack.”

#spencer reid x reader #spencer reid #spencer reid fluff #criminal minds #criminal minds imagine #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid imagine #mgg x reader #mgg imagine #mgg #matthew gray gubler #matthew gray gubler x reader #matthew gray gubler imagine

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bebepac · 4 years ago

Text

WIP 07.29.2020

That time Life imitated art so you decided to use it for your benefit. Yesterday I had call my bank to get a new debit card issued, as I accidentally ran over the previous one. I know... I wish i were kidding. I modified the story slightly. I was coming out the grocery store. Mia was getting gas. There are creepy men in both that decided to see would a woman crawl under a car in a dress instead of help. Both Mia and myself decided not to show our goodies to the world so we are ordering new cards instead. We regret nothing. told you i would totally use it @burnsoslow

First Fight

Pop’s Place Chapter 8

Mia turned on her car. Great… she had to stop for gas.

She went to Sheetz to fill up her tank.

Looking in her wallet, she didn’t see her debit card.

“Shit.” When she went to Old Navy with Daniel the other day she remembered putting her debit card in her pocket. She fished through her wallet. Pops had made her a user for his credit card only for emergencies. She filled up the tank. As she walked back to her car, she stumbled, sending her card flying under her car.

“Seriously?”

She couldn’t see it under her car. When she glanced up, she saw some guys watching her laughing.

She was not about to crawl under her car, in her dress. She thought the best thing to do was move her car. She moved her car enough to see her credit card.

Mia cheered…. Until she turned her card over seeing all the scuff marks on it where her tire had pushed the card into the asphalt.

“How the hell did you run over your credit card MIA?!?!?!?!?” Pops yelled at her.

Mia burst into tears.

“Could you please not yell at me right now, I’m having a really shitty day.”

“And apparently you forgot where you were, because you would know you don’t use that type of language in my house.”

The doorbell rang. “And who the hell is this?”

Mia smirked at Pops.

“I bought this house so I can use whatever language in it I want.”

“Who the hell are you?” Pops said when he flung the door open.

Leo didn’t miss a beat.

“Leo Rys sir, I was at Mrs. Jones’s birthday party.”

“Mia it’s one of your little boyfriends. I can’t keep track of this anymore.”

“Liam’s not with me, before you ask.”

“Why are you here Leo?”

“I feel like some of this is my fault Mia. I should have stayed out of it. I think you green lighted Liam too soon because of what I told you. And I’m sorry for that.”

“Drake claims he wasn’t on the beach with her. He said it was raining almost the whole trip.”

“And I didn’t see the pictures. They were gone when I looked. Mollie is not going to tell the truth. Liam might.”

“I don’t think I can trust either of them right now.”

“Then don’t. Take some time to figure out what you want to do. As long as you hang out with me. I am sure I could get Hana, and Jaiden, and Daniel and Penny and we could all have a good time together. No Drake or Liam. Just us cool kids, and you’re gonna drink damnit!”

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* next up *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

The Crown Visits the South

University Student Ellie Chapter 2

While Riley was in the stall she heard a woman crying.

Riley came out of the stall and washed her hands.

"Are you alright?" Riley asked.

"I told myself I wasn't going to cry today, and this is the fifth time already. We just dropped our son off at his dorm. He's on the football team. It feels like just yesterday, he was a baby. Now he's taller and bigger than I am."

"My daughter will be coming here next month. We're trying to help set up stuff for her."

"This early?"

"We're from out of the country. My husband is from Cordonia."

"I have heard of it, famous for its apples."

"We are. Hi I'm Riley Rys."

"Emily Powell. Nice to meet you."

"I'm sure I will be in your shoes shortly, it still isn't sinking in, my baby girl is going to be going to college."

It was as if saying it made it real for Riley.

Both women burst into tears.

They walked arm in arm to their husband's that were laughing and talking . Both men jumped up running to their prospective wives.

"What on earth happened?" Liam looked at Riley in concern.

"Our baby is going to college."

Both husbands consoled their wives. After Riley and Emily were calm they all made formal introductions. Riley and Liam of course omitted they were King and Queen.

Liam and Riley hit it off with the Powell’s so much that they planned on having dinner with them that evening. They recommended a great steak house. As every time Riley came to the states she always wanted a great steak.

They had a few hours before dinner, after they had left the electronics store, to authorize purchase from some items they knew they wanted for Ellie’s room. 50 inch flat screen tv. New laptop and stereo system. Things she had at home that they wanted to make sure she did not feel without at school.

Finally they were able to go back to the hotel for a little bit.

When Riley came out of the bathroom, She was completely shocked at Liam. Liam had stripped completely naked and was standing in front of the air conditioning unit with his arms stretched out.

“Liam..... WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!?”

“Riley.” Liam said in his serious Kingly voice. “My balls have been hot since 8:30AM this morning, and they need to breathe.”

“And you playing the song blowing in the wind, is for irony?”

“It soothes me. Besides, it kind of is right now.”

Riley burst out laughing. “And people think I’m the one that’s over the top. It’s really, you Liam Rys.”

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* next up *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

The Crown’s First Gender Reveal

Fast Forward Chapter 13

Later that day as Riley was heading down the hall she heard screaming coming from Nico's room. She turned the door knob, being unlocked, she walked in. She heard Nicolai's loud cries. Nico was holding a crying Nicolai in his arms trying to soothe him.

"He has nightmares. He was in the car with her.. when she…."

"Want me to try?" Riley asked softly.

Nico nodded his eyes full of tears. "I don't know how…It hurts seeing him like this."

She traded positions with Nico, pulling Nic into her arms. Nic clung tight to her, Riley's voice was soft and soothing and reassuring. Nic started to calm almost immediately. Riley ran her fingers through his hair and gently kissed his forehead. “It’s ok Nic, we’re here. It was just a bad dream. You’re here, and you’re safe. His little body was still shaking. “You’re safe, I promise. Close your eyes." She whispered.

She began to sing to him the lullaby that Liam had taught her that she always sang to their children, rocking him in her arms. She felt Nicolai's tense little body start to relax in her arms. Riley's voice changed to a soft hum. Just before she felt his body go limp, he said "I missed you Mommy."

She gently laid Nic back into his bed pulling the covers up on him. Both walked out of the room in silence, as both had heard what Nic said.

“Nico…...”

“I know Riley… I know.”

*^*^*^*^*^*^* end of chapter teasers *^*^*^*^*

Still in the pipleine: Beach Vacation episode of Life of Riley and At long Last. Just as of today I haven’t written anything new on them to post a snippet for your reading enjoyment:

Thanks @losingbraincellseveryday for the tag for WIPS this morning!

Tagging fellow writers to see what they are up to this week, and people that might want to see what’s coming for next episodes. No, I decided not to post the Mia, Drake, and Liam argument. You will have to wait for that for episode reveal.

@queenjilian @dcbbw @hopefulmoonobject @katedrakeohd @loveellamae @kingliam2019 @kimmiedoo5 @sanchita012 @mom2000aggie @indiacater@lovablegranny @mrsdrakewalkerblog @marshmallowsandfire @hopelessromanticmonie @jared2612 @batgirlassociationofgothamcity @texaskitten30 @choicesficwriterscreations @marshmallowsandfire @queenwalton @blueaster-blog1 @bebepac

#bebepac writes #trr fanfic #trr fandom #trh fanfic #trh fandom #fast forward #pops place #university student ellie #ellie rys #crown princess ellie #all grown up #king liam of cordonia #queen riley #riley brooks #trh mc x liam #trr mc x drake

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favefandomimagines · 6 years ago

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Completely Enamored 2 (r.s.)

AN: i molded episodes together so there will be time jumps! it just fits well with what i have planned!! xx

You had been in Winterfell for a number of days. Robb had been the highlight of your time there, considering Sansa and Arya went with Ned to Kings Landing.

What you overheard turned out to be correct; your brother wanted Joffrey to be betrothed to Sansa.

After Bran’s accident, you helped him a lot. Told him stories about Kings Landing, making up some gossip about a dragon. Just trying to take his mind off of everything. And when you or Catelyn weren’t present with Bran, Maester Luwin was.

After someone had attempted to murder Bran, no one wanted to take any chances.

Robb found himself falling in love with you the second you retrieved Rickon from him and Theon, to go see Bran.

“Pardon the interruption, but Rickon and I have some things to attend to.” You said, holding your hand out for the boy to take. “Where are you taking him?” Robb asked an amused smile on his face.

Rickon excitedly took your hand before you answered. “I have a story about a dragon to tell. It helps Bran not think about things so much. Figure a bit of fantasy might help.” You answered.

You smiled down at Rickon before walking back towards Bran’s chambers. Robb watched you as you walked away from him, his eyes full of love and adoration for you. “Lady Y/N is quite surprising. Bran hasn’t wanted anyone with him since he woke up.” Theon spoke.

“Y/N is different. She is the kind of woman you want to be around. She’s incredible.” Robb replied. “You’ve fallen in love with her, haven’t you?” Theon asked, ready to poke fun at his friend. “So what if I have? We are to wed by the next fortnight, it’s natural to love your wife.” Robb said. “You really are one of the lucky ones. Actually being able to love your betrothed.” Theon commented before leaving Robb alone with his thoughts.

Lady Catelyn left for Kings Landing a few days prior, for reasons she did not disclose to anyone.

It being the day of your wedding, you hadn’t seen Robb much. Your handmaiden wouldn’t allow it. You had spent most the morning with Bran, making sure he was alright before you left to make the preparations for the wedding.

You were walking out to get fresh air after being held up indoors all day, when a man approached you.

“Lady Y/N,” He started. “Yes?” You questioned. “Your brother, Renly Baratheon, has made the journey to see you today.” He announced.

Your eyes widened at his words when Renly approached on his horse.

“My lovely sister.” He said as he got down off his horse and quickly taking you into his arms. “Why are you in Winterfell?” You asked.

You loved Renly but he doesn’t arrive without sending you a raven ahead of time.

“I have news from Kings Landing, no doubt you were about to receive it, but I wanted to tell you myself.” Renly started. “What is it?” You questioned.

Renly hesitated for a moment before he spoke. “Robert has died.” He answered. It felt like you had received a physical blow and you were unable to breathe.

Renly and Stannis had their issues with Robert but you never did. He was not only a brother but also a father to you. Your father didn’t care whether you lived or died but Robert did.

Your eyes began to well up when Renly pulled you back into him. You let out quiet sobs into his shoulder when you heard a voice from behind you.

“Is there a problem? Y/N, are you alright?” You heard. You relaxed a bit hearing it was Robb but then it became too overwhelming.

Renly was in Winterfell, Robert had died and now you are to marry Robb Stark that night.

You felt his hand on your lower back, which pulled you away from your brother.

Both men saw the tears in your cheeks before you quickly wiped them away.

“If you’ll both excuse me, I would just like to be alone right now.” You said quietly before retreating to your chambers.

Robb turned to your brother, his jaw clenched. “What happened?” He asked. “Robert is dead. Hunting accident with a boar. Your father has been named Protector of the Realm, until Joffrey is of age.” Renly explained.

“I didn’t know that would affect Y/N as much as it has.” Robb spoke.

“She will utterly despise me for telling you this story, but as her future husband, you deserve to know. Our father was going to sell her off to a whore house. He didn’t want a daughter so he willing to get rid of her. Robert stopped him. Said that when she was of age, she could marry a man of high nobility to ensure that a Baratheon would be a king or queen. Funny how things work out. Robert was king and Y/N is marrying you.” Renly told him.

Robb had always assumed you were Robert’s favorite simply because you were his only sister. Not because he was that protective of you.

“I should go find her. You are welcome to stay for the wedding, your grace. I’m sure Y/N would like that.” Robb told him. Renly nodded and Robb smiled softly at him. “I will have someone show you to your chambers.” He added.

Robb went looking for you and stopped short in front of your door when he heard the small sound of crying. He knocked on the door gently, hearing you move around a bit before the door opened.

You tried to hide your grief as best you could, not wanting to look weak around Robb. “May I come in?” Robb asked softly. You nodded your head and let him inside. “If my father could see me now.” You muttered wiping the tears from your face, though you had turned around not to face him.

“You will not find a husband of nobel birth acting like a child.” You said, making your voice deeper to mimick your father’s. “Y/N,” Robb started, as you heard him step towards you. “Robert would not want me crying over him.” You whispered.

Robb places his hand on your shoulder and noticed how it seemed to have calmed you down. He applied some force on your shoulder, telling you to turn around to face him.

“It’s okay to mourn the loss of your brother.” Robb told you. “I cannot show weakness. No one will respect me as your wife if I’m weak.” You muttered. “What those people say does not matter to me. You are going to be my wife and I love you.” He said, the last three words slipping past him.

You looked up at him with wide eyes, praying you heard him properly. “You what?” You asked. “I love you, Y/N. I did not think it would happen so suddenly but it has.” He repeated.

“You don’t have to say it back if you wish not to.” Robb added. He moved to walk towards the door before you stopped him.

He turned back around to look at you and you stood up straighter to reach his lips and kissed him deeply.

Robb was shocked at first but soon melted into your touch, his hands find your waist to pull you closer. When you slowly parted, you rested your forehead against his.

“Of course I love you, Robb. You are going to be my husband after all.” You said quietly. He smiled down at you before pulling back a ways. “Well, then we have a wedding to attend to.” He said.

“And, it’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, my love.” You told him. Robb laughed lightly at you before he turned to walk out of the room.

Your handmaiden followed soon after he exited, to get your hair in proper condition. You had never been nervous for anything in your life. However, you were terribly nervous for you impending wedding. Though you had no reason to be.

You and Robb had only been married for what felt like a few days, but had been much longer, when you received the news of Ned Stark’s beheading. Lady Catelyn was back in Winterfell and hated seeing her son so broken over what had happened.

He was striking a tree with his sword when she found him. Nothing she said was seeming to calm him down. She sent a handmaiden to find you and summon you to her.

“Lady Catelyn what is it-” You started but stopped short when you saw Robb’s state. “He is not listening to a word I am saying, Y/N. Maybe you will have better luck than I.” She explained to you.

You nodded your head and took some slow steps forward. “Robb,” You started, though he still swung at the base of the tree. “Robb, please, stop.” You begged, your voice a little louder than the first time. “Robb!” You yelled.

In a split second, his sword was pointed at your throat. Though you didn’t waiver, just looked at Robb. Once he had realized it was you, he dropped the sword to the ground. “Y-Y/N, I am so sorry.” He said quietly. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” You said, pulling him into you.

Once you had pulled him into a strong embrace, he let out all the emotion and grief he was holding. You rested your hand on the back of his head, using the other hand to rub his back soothingly. “I’m going to kill every last one of them.” He cried. “Sansa and Arya are still in Kings Landing. We get them back first and then, I will kill Joffrey myself.” You told him.

Ned Stark had always been good to you. Taking you into his home and letting you marry his son. He was a good man and your nephew took him away from his family.

After a few moments, he pulled away from you and used the back of his hand to wipe the tears off his face. “A man should no show weakness in front of his wife.” Robb muttered. “You are the strongest man I had ever met, Robb Stark. It’s okay to mourn the loss of your father. He was an honest and honorable man, just like you. And we will avenge him.” You said, cupping his face in your hands.

You were sitting in on Robb’s war council, not wanting to be in your tent alone for what felt like the fifth night in a row.

“Forgive me, my lord but why is a woman sitting in on our council? She is a Baratheon after all. Her nephew being the King.” A solider asked Robb. “Because she is my wife and a Baratheon. A house skilled in battle strategy. That is the reason she is sitting among us now.” Robb answered.

They continued to go over multiple strategies, trying to out best Tywin Lannister.

“You are going to be unsuccessful if you do that.” You spoke. “Tywin Lannister is one step ahead of you, he’s predicting and hoping you’re going to do exactly this.” You added.

The men looked at you with furrowed brows, Lord Karstark standing up to speak. “And what do you know what Tywin Lannister is expecting, girl?”

You chuckled lightly as you entertained the man’s foolishness. They were shocked to have seen that reaction out of you, though Robb was quite enjoying it.

“It seems you have forgotten who my brothers are. Who my father was. If my husband would allow it, I’d be out there killing every single Lannister I came across. And I’d be more successful than you. Yes, you are a valuable ally and a skilled soldier but you are daft, if you think Tywin Lannister isn’t more skilled than you and I.” You said as you rose from your chair.

“That’s no way to speak to a lord.” Lord Karstark snapped back at you. “She has higher nobility than you.” Robb interjected. “Your grace, your wife does not have the experience I do.” Lord Karstark rebutted. “That may be true but I have watched many lords strategize over the years. The King Slayer being one of them. Tywin Lannister is no fool. He wants to kill all of you and if you go with that strategy, he will succeed.” You spoke.

Lord Karstark clenched his jaw and gripped the handle of his sword tightly. Robb noticed his movements and stood up to stand in front of you slightly.

“If you think about pulling your sword on my wife, I will have your head.” Robb said. “Or, she might do it for me.” He added, once he saw the fire in your eyes.

“Lord Karstark, I understand your reservations. After all, you are correct. I am a Baratheon, I lived with three Lannisters, two of which were quite fond of me. But, I am married to your King and my loyalty is with him and it always will be. If you are more concerned with my loyalty rather than winning this war for your king, you are dismissed. I can find my king twice as many soldiers. You may be skilled but you are not indispensable.” You snapped, losing your temper.

“I beg your pardon.” Lord Karstark replied. “I do not think my voice faltered.” You said. “Your grace, you’ll let a woman speak to me like that.” He said looking to Robb, who was looking up at you fondly.

He looked from you back to Lord Karstark before speaking. “I believe I did. Not only is Lady Y/N my wife but she is my most trusted advisor. Not heeding her warnings would be a mistake on my part. Especially when she’s right.” Robb said.

You smirked at the man, who seemed to be a bit flustered at the response he was giving.

“Now, are there any more concerns about your queen sitting in on council?” Robb asked the rest of the soldiers. When he didn’t get a reply, he nodded his head and sat back down, pulling you with him.

When you arrived back to your shared tent, you smiled widely. “I do like the sound of ‘your queen.’” You said, happily. Robb smiled back at you before placing his hands on your waist.

“I am proud of you, my love. With how you are with my siblings and my mother, I assumed you would have cowered. I am pleasantly surprised.” He told you. “When your brother was Robert Baratheon you learn when your temper is needed and when it is not.” You said. “Though if I did not know you, I’d believe you were a Lannister.” Robb said.

Your smile fell as you looked down at your feet. “I am of no relation to the people who killed your father and who are practically holding your sisters prisoner.” You replied. Robb removed on hand from your waist and placed it on your cheek.

“They need to be stopped and removed from the throne. I’d rather see a Targaryen sit on the Iron Throne than a Lannister.” You added. “I wanted to speak with you about that. My mother and I have discussed your brother, Renly, to join in our efforts.” Robb said.

You looked up at him with furrowed eyebrows, wondering what he meant by that. “You haven’t heard. Renly became lord of house Tyrell. We need their men to weaken Tywin Lannister. As well as Lord Frey allowing us to cross.” He added.

“You are not becoming allies with Lord Frey. I know that man, he wants to get rid of his daughters and he will insist that you marry one in order to let you cross. He is not to be trusted.” You protested.

You walked away from Robb and began to pace. “Robb, I know winning this war is important to you and I know you would do anything to avenge your father and defeat the Lannisters. But I will not, let you dissolve our marriage to gain an advantage.” You added.

The feeling of fear began to settle in your body as your hands began to shake. “Y/N, I would not wish of dissolving our marriage. I love you and only you. I’d rather lose this war and bend a knee to Joffrey Baratheon than lose you.” Robb said, noticing your worried state.

“But Robb,” You started. “You cannot argue with me this time, my love. There is only one woman I am supposed to be married to and that is you, Y/N Stark.” He stopped you.

The sound of being called a Stark immediately made a smile appear on your face. “I happen to like being called that much more.” You said quietly.

Robb smiled down at you before kissing you softly. The soft, sweet kiss grew to be more passionate than it when it had started.

He cupped your face in his hands, making the kiss even deeper. You pulled apart from him quickly before it grew to be anymore than a kiss.

You and Robb had never really talked about having children before and you wanted to know his thoughts on it. The two of you had consummated the marriage on your wedding night but after his father and the war starting, that was the only time.

“We never talked about having children before. What if I were to be with child before this war is over?” You asked. Robb laughed slightly before he rubbed your cheek with his thumb.

“If you were to become pregnant before the new moon, I would be the happiest man in the Seven Realms.” He said. “It would not upset you?” You asked. “There is not a thing you could do that would upset me.” He answered.

You looked up at him, not entirely convinced that he wouldn’t dissolve your marriage for the sake of a victory.

“Robb,” You started. “Yes, my love?” He questioned. “I need you to promise me something. Promise me that no matter what happens, you will not stop loving me.” You finished, looking down at his hands holding yours. “There will not be a day that goes by that I will not love you.” Robb said.

You nodded your head before he kissed you deeply once more.

Robb had taken a victory over the Lannisters, using a strategy that you had suggested, and captured Jamie Lannister. Though there was one ally that you were not fond of. You never wanted to hate Talisa, she was kind and quite a huge help when it came to helping the wounded soldiers. But it was the way she looked at your husband and how your husband looked at her that worried you.

What made you more upset was that you were with child. You and Lady Catelyn had some to the conclusion when you hadn’t bled as soon as you should. She even told you that you had a glow about you, which she connected to being pregnant.

It was now dark and you were walking through camp to reach your tent for bed. You were about to enter the tent when you overheard Robb and Lady Catelyn speaking.

“Robb, you cannot feel this way. You love Y/N. You made a vow to Y/N. Was it not just a month ago that you told her she would be the only woman you loved?” Lady Catelyn told him. “I know, mother. I do not want to feel this way.” Robb said. You heart broke as you squeezed your eyes shut. But that didn’t stop the tears from welling up in your eyes.

You entered the tent and Lady Catelyn knew that you had overheard their conversation.

“Lady Catelyn, may I have a moment alone with Robb?” You asked, looking at her. “Of course dear.” She said before leaving.

The silence was deafening as Robb walked towards you. “You promised.” You whispered. “Y/N,” Robb started. You looked up at him, a couple of tears leaving your eyes. Robb’s stomach dropped seeing the look on your face. “You promised me that you would not stop loving me. Then that girl, comes along and you break that promise.” You said loudly, your emotions getting the best of you.

“I need you to be honest with me, Robb.” You started. “Do you feel something for her?” You asked. Robb’s eyes widened slightly before he looked down at his feet. “I do not know. I know that I love you, Y/N.” He answered stepping towards you quickly.

The moment you stepped away from him, Robb knew that his small infatuation with Talisa was going to lose you. “If you loved me, you would not even be tempted by another woman.” You snapped.

Robb knew you were right as the silence filled the room, the only sound coming from the men outside the tent.

“I’m with child, Robb. I have been ill since the night after council. Your mother helped me confirm it.” You announced, not really knowing what else to say in that moment.

Robb’s face contorted with multiple emotions; joy, sadness, guilt.

“Is it worth it if you lose your child? Is it worth it if you lose me?” You asked, your voice small. Robb didn’t answer, and looked at you with guilt on his face.

You shook your head before exiting the tent quickly, needing some air.

When you exited, you saw a group of soldiers looking at you who must have heard you argument. Your eyes then landed on Talisa, your hatred for one person never being so strong.

“There is nothing to see here, go back to your tents.” You ordered. The group quickly dispersed, not wanting to disobey their queen. All but Talisa left you and you made your way over to her.

All you did was stop in front of her and give her a pleading look. A look that begged her not to take your husband away from you.

After a fleeting moment, you moved past her and walked off. You were walking on the outskirts of camp, knowing that Robb forbade from doing so without him or a guard present.

As you were walking, you noticed Jamie Lannister tied to a wooden post. “Ah, the lovely Lady Y/N. How I’ve missed you.” He spoke as you approached him. “Jamie.” You said, giving him a cold stare. “And how is Robb Stark treating you?” He asked. “Robb treats me better than any other man I have come in contact with.” You answered.

Jamie acted as if your words wounded him, earning an eye roll from him. “You have wounded me, Y/N.” He mocked. “There have been whispers going around camp. Joffrey is not a Baratheon but your child. Renly, Stannis, Robert and I all of dark hair. Joffrey, of golden hair. Sounds a bit out of place if you ask me.” You said, crouching in front of him.

“What is your purpose for your conclusion, Lady Y/N?” He asked you. “My purpose, is that your bastard son, killed a good and honorable man because he questioned his place on the throne. And I am going to kill Joffrey and any other Lannister who stands in my way. I sincerely hope that you realize Cersei is not worth protecting anymore.” You snapped before standing up straight, and walking back towards camp.

After your conversation with Jamie, you went to the one other place that you felt safest aside from being with Robb. Lady Catelyn allowed to stay with her that night in order for you to collect your thoughts.

“I am greatly sorry, Y/N. Robb simply does not know what he’s thinking.” She told you. “I hope you’re right Lady Catelyn.” You replied quietly.

You had only been able to sleep for a few hours when you woke up. You felt like you were being suffocated and needed to get some air. Along with the nausea of your new pregnancy, the breeze helped.

You noticed that a few of Robb’s men were still awake, Theon included. You walked towards him and placed your hand on his shoulder.

“Theon,” You started before he whipped around and you felt a piercing feeling in your abdomen. It was clear you had startled him and he retaliated as if you were an enemy.

“Lady Y/N,” Theon gasped before quickly pulling the blade from your stomach. He immediately caught you in his arms and began putting pressure on your wound. “Somebody get the king!” He yelled to the remaining soldiers.

You were squeezing your eyes shut tightly, trying not to scream in pain. “Y/N, what happened?” Lady Catelyn’s voice spoke to you.

“She startled me. I didn’t mean to, I didn’t know it was her.” Theon started. “It was an accident.” You interjected, using as much strength as you can muster.

Robb had heard the commotion before one of his men came to alert him.

“Your grace! It’s Lady Y/N, she’s been hurt.” He told him. Robb didn’t need to hear anymore. All he needed to hear was your name and he was half way to you.

He fell to his knees beside you as you laid in Theon’s arms.

“What happened?” Robb asked. “There will be time for questions later, Robb. Right now she needs help.” Lady Catelyn told her son.

Talisa appeared next to your husband, trying to examine your condition but you coiled away. “Y/N,” Robb started. You shook your head before you spoke again. “I would rather die than have the woman who’s seducing my husband save my life.” You spat.

“Theon, bring her to my tent.” Lady Catelyn instructed. She wouldn’t let Robb touch you in your state until you were better.

Theon did as he was told, leaving Robb and Talisa to stand there alone.

“Your grace,” Talisa attempted to say before Robb held up his hand to stop her. “Whatever you think you feel for me is false. I am in love with my wife and I always will be. She is the most important to me.” He said.

Robb didn’t bother to look at her as he walked towards his mother’s tent.

Of course his main concern was your life but the thought of your child hung in the back of his mind.

#game of thrones #robb stark imagine #robb stark #richard madden #robb stark x reader #imagines #jamie lannister #jon snow #sansa stark #arya stark #daenerys targaryen #joffrey baratheon #cersei lannister #tywin lannister

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booklovingturtle · 5 years ago

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Kanej and the starry night

I have been binge-watching the last season of Jane the Virgin and one of the episodes inspired this fic. It’s long and fluffy and I loved writing Kanej but I don’t know if its any goo bc its late and I’m exausted so forgive the spur of the moment writing.

Kaz takes Inej back to his village under the guise of a job to complete. One night, he pulls her out of her room to enjoy the night sky and confess his feelings for her.

Inej Ghafa, ship wrecker had only returned to the Barrel for twelve hours before Kaz Brekker had a note delivered to her room. In it, he had laid out vague details about some job that he needed her help in. It was a two days journey from the city. Ineexhaustedted from her time at sea was both nervous and hopeful to spend some time alone with Kaz. Her nervous were quickly replaced by disappointment.

The whole trip Kaz had been impossibly hard to read. It was like they were strangers in a way Inej had never experienced with him. He kept a cold distance between them until they reached an inn located right outside of Lij. By the time they arrived, she still had no idea what the job was. She didn’t even care anymore. Inej crashed into her bed after bathing the dirt from traveling off and was immediately asleep.

That is, until she heard knocking at her door. The Wraith was up and strapping her knives along her body quickly. She moved to answer the door. To her surprise, Kaz stood in the corridor of the inn, looking rather uncomfortable to have woken her up.

“Were you asleep?”

“Yes,” Inej crossed her arms.

“I’m sorry. I-never mind,” he shook his head. Kaz had a heavy quilt in thrown over his arm and was leaning on his cane. Inej was shocked to see embarrassment behind the twitch of his jaw. She was even more astonished when she realized that Kaz had left his gloves in his room.

He saw her notice his bare hands. She didn’t want to push him or make him uncomfortable so she ignored it.

“It’s okay. What do you need?”

Kaz blinked, the only real sign of any level of self consciousness that he would allow. “I want to show you something.”

A flare of confusion filled her but Inej decided it would be better to see where the night would take her before pointing out Kaz’s strange behavior over the last few days.

Dirtyhands carried the neatly folded blanket out of the inn they were staying in. Kaz silently walked away from the small structure and into the forest. Her annoyance was about to overcome her curiosity just as they cleared the expanse of trees to find an empty field laid before her. Her mind cleared and a gasp escaped her.

Stars decorated every inch of her line of sight. Constellations that she had never seen before, even while traveling the continent as a child twinked their hypnotizing dance.

Kaz’s deep chuckle came from beside her as he took a few more steps forward to lay out the blanket.

“This was my home,” He said as a way of explaining.

Inej knew immediately what he had meant. She was able to read him better than anyone, just as he was able to read her. They never needed to say much to each other in order to be understood. It was one of her favorite things about being around Kaz. Both then and now.

Just like that, she forgave all the strangeness from before. Kaz was allowing her to see a part of him that he hadn’t shown anyone else.

She followed his head and sat down on the blanket. Soon their sitting position turned into them laying side by side, backs pressed against the ground and shoulders a breath away from touching. Inej inhaled deeply, loving the feel of fresh dew under her fingertips.

Inej couldn’t help but wonder how it was possible for the same, tiny stretch of land could be so different. Kerch wasn’t a large island, but somehow it held many, many worlds within it. There was the infamous and dangerous city of Ketterdam whose only god was greed. It was the part of Kerch that Inej Ghafa was most familiar with. For years, it was the only part she had visited. Though she was slowly starting to realize that there was much more this island.

There was an entirely different world that surrounded the lived and breathed just south of the blusterous Fifth Harbor. That world was covered in lush, green fields instead of filthy cobble. Vibrant wildflowers perfumed the air to clean all of the noxious smell of the Barrel out of her lungs. Even the sky that looked over the island seemed to smile at the innocence it found within the small villages that bordered Lij. Wildlife, crackling fires, and far away chatter were carried by a soft breeze.

There was a stillness about the almost-morning that could only be described as true peace. It was even more calming than the gentle rocking of her ship at sea.

“I’ve been to small villages before,” Inej rarely spoke harshly but even the usual reserved measure of her words was stripped away by the night sky. “This is nothing like the those. I’ve never seen the sky look like this.”

“It was my favorite part of growing up here. I wanted to show it to you before the sun rose.”

It felt like they were standing at the edge of a cliff. She couldn’t see the bottom but Inej wanted to leap across to the other side.

“Do you miss it here?”

“Not really. Not the way that you miss home. My family is gone. I have no one left here.”

She couldn’t really argue that point. Inej missed home every day. But home was never a place for her. It was her family. Kaz didn’t have that here. She couldn’t expect him to feel the same way she did about Ravka.

“There’s an old tale that the adults used to tell the children where I’m from.” She was surprised that he had offered her this piece of his past without her even asking. “It isn’t full of sage wisdom that Suli parables have but it's still a common story.”

Inej’s attention shifted from the sky to Kaz. He wasn’t wearing a perfectly pressed suit like she was used to. He’d changed into a light undershirt that allowed her to see the planes of his body. An arm was pillowing his head and his eyes were closed. It was a sign of vulnerability that she knew he didn’t show to everyone. It was rare the Dirtyhands ever felt so at ease with someone that he didn’t need to watch their every move for a threat.

“Jerven Voorhent was a swordsmith.”

“Jer ven voorhent,” Inej repeated the Kerch words. You are integrity. She had learned the language years ago so their harsh consonants rolled off her tongue easily.

He nodded, eyes still closed. Kaz continued the story, “One of the best. Any blade forged by his fires would strike true. People from all the way from the Wandering Isles to Ahmrat Jen would travel to his doorstep and beg for him to craft them a weapon. Rulers begged him to become their personal weapons maker. Men crawled on their knees to become his apprentice. Jervan heard none of it. He continued to make his swords because he loved it. He didn’t even try to sell them. He just enjoyed the craft.”

“Ghezen must have been furious,” she noted. “All that lost profit.” Inej studied the sharp cut of his jaw while he spoke.

“One day a markswoman came to visit Jerven. She had heard that he was the best swordsmith to ever live and wanted to see if he could make her a bow as fine as any sword he ever made. Jerven, struck by her beauty, agreed. The woman, Almhente, taught him all she knew about the bow and he got to work. Jerven worked day and night.”

The woman’s name was almost identical to the Kerch word for prosperity, almhent, Inej thought to herself. She realized before Kaz could finish the story how it would end.

“Almhente test bow after bow that he made but none of them were right. Jerven, eager to impress her, continued to try. He stopped eating and sleeping to spend more time on her bow. His sword making fires died. The line at his door walked away. Jerven lost everything but didn’t see it because all he wanted to do was make the markswoman her bow.”

“But he never got it right, did he?”

He shook his head. “No. Jerven died working on her weapon. People forgot all of his great swords and only remembered him by his collection of failed bows.”

Inej understood the moral the tale. Jerven stood for integrity. He was a man who worked for himself until the chance of earning prosperity came along. He was blinded by his desires to prosper and eventually lost his life to it.

“That is an odd story to tell children being raised on an island whose patron is Ghezen,” she was struck by the message of the story. It was so unlike both the island of its origin and the storyteller to support a theme against profit.

Kaz shrugged. “Maybe. My parents were farmers. All of the people from my home worked the land so others could make the profit. I think a part of them was always jealous of that.”

He finally opened his eyes. Suddenly Inej was swimming in the darkness of his gaze. The moonlight painted his pale skin almost silver but it made the darkness of his hair and eyes stand out even more.

He was close enough that she could feel his breath tickle hear cheeks when he spoke. She loved the way his voice sounded so close to her. “Why tell me this now?”

“Kaz Rietveld never understood. Then, I was Dirtyhands, I lived for profits and money and greed.”

Warmth filled her at what he was implying. Still, Inej wanted him without gloves which meant he had to specific about what he was trying to tell her.

“And now?” she prompted.

Kaz cleared his throat, looking away for a moment. She realized he was looking at their hands, laying next to each other. He looked back up at her, a question in his eyes. Inej hooked her pinky around his. He didn’t stop there. Kaz’s fingers wrapped around hers, thumb gently stroking the back of her hand.

Inej’s whole body felt the touch of his skin. Her fingers curled and her heart sword. Every part of her focused on the way he played with her hand, tracing the lines of her skin. Goosebumps danced up her arms.

“Kaz...” she interrupted his reverent touch. It killed Inej to do it but she needed to know for sure what he wanted. “Why did you bring us here? Is there even a job to complete? What are you saying?”

“I don’t want to be like Jerven. I don’t want to die chasing prosperity.”

Her breathing stopped. When it started again, Inej noticed that it seemed like no air was filling her lungs because all she breath in was Kaz and the fresh earth surrounding them.

“What do you want?”

“You.” His hand stilled in hers. Kaz was giving her the chance to pull away. To deny him.

Inej would never say no to him. Not after all they had been through together. Not after the way he touched her hand, as if it was the most delicate thing in the world. Even the way he spoke to her spoke of an emotion she was still too afraid to say out loud.

“I want you, Inej. If you still want me.”

Her heart soared out of her chest. "Yes, Kaz. Yes, I still want you. I always have, I always will.”

Relief filled him and she saw his muscles loosen. “Can I hold you?”

She smiled widely and curled her body into his. Kaz wrapped an arm around her, face digging into her hair. She sighed, thanking all her saints for this small gesture. No nightmares, no anxieties, no terrors from her past could hurt her in that instant. Not as long as it was Kaz’s voice in her ear and his warmth against her.

“I’m so glad you said yes because I’m pretty sure Jesper is tired of hugging me.”

She laughed so hard that she had to pull away from him. “Are you saying that you’ve been practicing how to cuddle with Jesper?”

Kaz’s smile was more beautiful than the whole night sky. “No, but I had to practice touching someone while you were away. I wanted to make sure that I could do this,” he laced their fingers together again, “right this time.”

“Kaz, even if you had pulled away or still had to wear your gloves, it would be right. As long as its with you, it could never be wrong.”

“I know but I but I wanted to be able to touch you while telling you how I felt without feeling the water.”

I don’t care how long it takes us to be able to touch one another. We will get there in out own time and we will get there together,” she held him close to her again.

“Together,” he repeated to her.

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wheremytwinwatches · 5 years ago

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[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 19

Last time, Ross lived and was snuck out to Xing, Ed got yet another reason to hate Scar, Barry met himself, and Gluttony paid Riza a visit. Onwards!

Oh dear, all Roy can hear is gunshots from “Elizabeth”’s end. Go, Flame Alchemist! Save your bestie! Never mind, let’s just ignore the fights and go back to Sword Guy utterly disregarding the notion of Confidentiality. He says that Barry says the Colonel’s got a plan to smoke out the Goths from the Fifth Laboratory. This causes Al to head out, searching for Hughes’ murderer. Stop whining Ling, Al will tooootaly tell you when he gets back. Later, Winry! Episode 19 - “Death of the Undying” Uh oh, Gluttony’s got Riza by the neck, and she’s out of ammo. The Goth just chuckles at his multiple headshots, he’s about to eat Riza someone quick dog? Where’d the dog come from. Oh hey, Fuery’s here! Thanks for tossing Riza a new pistol, you’ve almost made up for ruining my Fuhrer Fury joke with this! Two people shooting at once is a bit more effective, but only just. Gluttony’s knocked to the window but his big frame doesn’t fit, and he’s healed up from the bullet holes in a few seconds as Riza and Fuery click their now-empty weapons. Ok, time for the backup of the backup to arrive!

Oh my Leto it is so satisfying to see that Goth go flying out the tower to the caption of [Gluttony screams]. Nice timing, Roy, good hustle! Riza… is not exactly appreciative of the rescue, yells at Roy for leaving his post and blowing his plausible deniability. Fuery just chuckles at them going at it, looking down at the charred body and wondering who the fat guy was. Ok, now get down there and finish the job, Gluttony isn’t finished off just- Whoop, Bio!Barry’s making a break for it, with the homicidal Soul Armor in pursuit. Roy and Riza bark out orders to the minion and mutt respectively. Then slooowly walk down the stairs as Riza thanks Roy for saving their life, Roy’s too focused on the mission to see her smile. Daw. Huh, once again Roy makes better time than I thought, Havoc’s barely run a few paces before he pulls up in a car and tells to loser to get in, they’re going Goth hunting. And then Al shows up! Buckle up buddy, time for a chase through the city. Well at least Barry’s having fun, chasing down the meatbag to do an impromptu funeral. Riza’s reloading and wondering if Blubber Man’s going to stay down, less sure than Roy after her own bullets had next to no effect. Al asks if he had an Uroboros tattoo, when she confirms seeing on his tongue he identifies him as a Homunculus. Hey, watch where you’re driving Roy! Said Colonel isn’t exactly happy to learn that the Goth probably survived the barbecue. Much later, looks like they’ve cornered BioBarry in the Third Laboratory. A direct tie to the military, then? Well, with that connection they can pull back. Uh, Barry? That is the opposite of pulling back. And Roy’s happy about this? Oh I get it, the crazy Soul Armor goes running in, and Roy’s Crew get to follow “in hot pursuit of the crazed murderer”. You other cops, go and secure the perimeter or something. Down into the Basement of Dramatic String Music they go, but then they face the bane of adventuring parties: a split corridor. Oh yeah, split the party, this can only go well. Roy and Havoc are going around, remarking at how dilapidated everything looks- Uh oh. Lust. Havoc, beware the Angry Girlfriend! On a more serious note, oh crap the party is split up in a basement presumably with multiple Goths. Might be time to stage a retreat. Ok ok, another laugh at how Havoc is a fool for honkers, but for real, back to seriousness. Roy asks about Hughes, and when Lust taunts him he goes for a kneeshot. It shows she’s a Homunculus, but it’ll take more than that to- Roy interrupts her monologue with the rest of his clip, it’s about as effective as we can expect but at least it shut her up for a few moments. But the claws come out, and Lust… stabs herself? Oh. Oh dear. That’s a Philosopher’s Stone. So if all the Goths are built around this miraculous tool of Transmutation then they’ll just keep coming back. On the plus side, now we have a clear weakness: destroy the Stone and they lose their regeneration. Quick Roy, shoot the Glowing Weak Spot! Nope, too slow. Now that Lust is finished talking to the Soon-To-Be-Dead-Men, she disarms them… and slices a water pipe, rendering Roy’s Ignition Gloves useless. Well, crap. Both men run screaming for the exit, tumble outside while Havoc asks what they’re gonna do. But Roy’s happy? Oh! He may have lost his signature ability, but he’s still a State Alchemist who can transmute any materials on hand. Say, a bunch of water into hydrogen gas? Thanks for cutting that pipe, lady! Here, have a lighter!

Al and Riza pick up on the Big Boom, but Riza just steels herself and keeps searching for their target. Good trust in your boss, here’s hoping you two don’t end up in the same situation. After the Jean Havoc/Lust narrator cards, Roy and Havoc are searching the now-torched room. A bit of snarking about the busted ex-girlfriend gift how bad cigarettes are, Roy says aw man why did you say that without a body. She’ll be just in the next room and or no she’s in this one under the rubble! Havoc’s been spiked! Oh crap oh crap, Roy’s still weaponless in a room with Lust, this isn’t good. Oh right, Havoc’s gun which good Leto is rather strong, Lust is down an arm. She’s still boasting about how Roy can’t put her down for good… while her Stone is exposed. Yoink! It’s rather effective, and Lust actually crumbles away. A bit anticlimactic, honestly. But now Roy’s got the MacGuffin! Now to heal Havoc, give it to the Elric Brothers, and the show’s over! I wonder what complication is going to come up now. Roy gets ready to cast Heal and GUH OH MY LETO NO NO NO Lust just grew back around the Stone, her half-formed body chided Roy for being so forward, and Spiky Fingers to the chest. And now HE’S here! [Lab Guard Captain]: “Uh-- Uh… Your Excellency!” [Fuhrer Wrath]: “What’s the current status?” This is not backup! This is the opposite of backup! Lust dumps Roy on the ground, oh-so-sad that she’s been forced to kill such a promising sacrificial candidate as she shreds his glove and leaves him to watch Havoc die before he himself bleeds out. Um. Wow. I can hope that with Lust pulling the classic “Leave before you see them die for sure” mistake that they’ll be ok? Please? Havoc? Come on, answer me buddy. While this awfulness is going on, Al and Riza arrive in an incredibly bright white room with a large Alchemy Symbol (the same on we saw in Xerxes?) on the wall, and Barry looking down at the lifeless remains of his old body, commenting on how a soul shoved in another form is so harmful. This of course shocks Al, makes him wonder if he’ll survive as a Soul Armor until they can reform their original bodies. Al… *Sigh* Riza, just put the pistol down, we’re perfectly aware at how effective that is against the Goths. Lust demands to know why Barry is helping out our guys, he basically says it’s for the heck of it and he wants to kill her anyway. The Goth just complains about how she’ll have to kill a second candidate now since Al tagged along, at which point Barry gets tired of waiting and charges and he’s dead now. Whelp. So long, Barry the Butcher. So now that that’s out of the way, Lust prepares to send Riza after her superior. Riza… does not take the news well. [Furious!Riza]: “You biiittch!!” She empties one pistol to mournful music, same with the second, and finishes with a revolver. All to achieve Lust standing back up and patronizingly asking if she’s done. Aw hell no, don’t you fucking dare call Riza weak. Al, pound her face in. Damnit Riza, take this chance and get out of here! Al’s the only one who can at least slow her down with his Transmutation ability and the fact that he’s friggin metal while you’re flesh and blood, get moving! But no, they keep doing the “save yourself, no you save yourself” thing heroes do while Lust stands there annoyed.

How old is Al again? Whatever it is, it’s way too goddamn young for him to be standing his ground against this murderer, screaming about how [Al]: “I’m sick of watching people die! And I can’t just sit back and take it anymore!” -to a montage of all those touched by death in this show, including that time someone got stabbed while inside him. Friggen Leto, this show. [wait, WHAT?!]: “Well spoken… I couldn’t agree more.” Al IMMEDIATELY earthbends up a shield to protect him and Riza as the room gets filled with ALL OF THE FIRE, it clears to see charred Lust looking oh-so-satisfyingly shocked as The Badass Roy grits out that he got her on her knees, after all. Then the camera pans to oh my Leto I did not expect to see The Badass Roy’s chiseled abs today but I am happy that I did, as he stands there in all his determined glory clutching his stab wounds with one hand and holding the not-so-broken lighter in the other. Or still broken, but The Badass Roy didn’t let that stop him as he just uses the flint to get a spark and a TC carved into his own hand. Cue EVEN MORE FIRE as Lust whines about how he should have bled out by now, but of course The Flame Alchemist seared the wound closed, admits that he aaaaalmost passed out from the pain before MORE FIRE. Now, about that claim that he couldn’t kill you? Let’s see how many FIREs it takes to get to the center of a Gothie-pop, huh?! Again! And again! AND AGAIN! AND AGAIN! BURN, YOU BITCH! No no fuck no you don’t get to suddenly be patched up and charging towards The Badass Roy no no no [The Bitch]: “You killed me.” YYYYYYYYEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS Lust is crumbling to ashes now as The Badass Roy’s attacks have seemed to finally have damaged her Stone. But she wouldn’t be a Goth if she didn’t go out with a disparaging monologue, pleased that she at least was killed by a man with such cold and focused eyes, looking forward to the day those eyes are wide with agony. [Lust]: “It’s coming... It’s coming…” The Philosopher's Stone falls, and crumbles away. Finally, Roy falls, the effort of his attack and his injuries overcoming him. Riza and Al brush off his thanks and prepare to get a medic aw HELL no I’d forgotten about Bradley, he’s just outside the room- but he just sheathed his sword and walked away. Bwuh? You’re letting them live? What’s your game, Wrath? Ok whatever, the Fuhrer is being mysterious, what else is new, just get Roy and Havoc some help right now! Oh yeah, Winry’s been left at the hotel all day. She’s telling herself over and over that Al’s alright. And here he is! A bit worse for wear, but nothing a little bit of TLT (Tender Loving Transmutation) won’t fix! And he can even do it himself, so no worries Winry! [Winry]: “Moron! Welcome back!” [Al]: “Uh, okay… thanks!” Aw, laugh it out you two. And maybe get some glue for Al’s arm. Wait, Barry’s still alive?! Oh, Lust missed his sigil with her attack, so he’s down to just that little piece of sheet metal. But he’ll be back- wait, BioBarry’s still alive?! How in Leto’s name did he survive all of the FIRE? Well whatever, we get a part-funny, part-bittersweet moment as dumb old BioBarry paws at Barry’s sigil, wiping it away and sending The Butcher off for good. Sayanora, you homicidal maniac. Thanks for your help in the end. Oh hey, Al! How you doing, Protagonist? The Mighty Armstrong and Breda are seeing him off at the train station, is he finally going back to Central to rejoin the Blonde Kids? Well, at least Al will have one heck of a story for him. Never mind, looks like a detour to the graveyard… where there’s someone there? In a brown coat with blond hair… no, it can’t be… It’s him. The man we’ve only seen in flashbacks and the intro. The man who’s forever covered up in pictures. It’s Papa Elric. It’s Hohenheim. … And THAT’S WHERE WE END THE EPISODE?! WHAT THE-

#wmtw #where my twin watches #full metal alchemist #full metal alchemist brotherhood #fmab #fmab 19 #ranubis

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nicolewoo · 5 years ago

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Life In The Fast Lane

Summary: Life with Fergal Devitt ran at full speed, but he tries to slow it down.

Pairing: Finn Bálor (Fergal Devitt) x Reader

Warnings: NSFW, rough sex, SMUT (18+ only peeps) Do not interact if you’re under 18!

Fergal and I laughed and joked over breakfast. He’d taken me to a fantastic little coffee shop with a funky atmosphere and some great food.

“I love it here”, he said after the waitress took our order.

I glanced around trying to forget my desire to hold his hand. “This reminds me of my coffee shop at home.”

Ferg stopped looking around and looked directly into my eyes. “Tell me about it.” He prodded.

Well, they have great coffee, teas, smoothies and food. They have the absolute best brownies ever.” Ferg lifted his eyebrow when I said that.

“Brownies? T’at doesn’t sound healthy at all.”

I chuckled, “It’s good for the soul.” He rolled his eyes at me. “If we’re going to be together, you’re going to have to understand that sometimes I need chocolate.” I was trying to look determined.

He started laughing, “Ah, ok. Got it.” he giggled.

“I love working from the coffee shop. They’ve got wi-fi, and a lot of us who own our own businesses work from there. It gives us a chance to collaborate with other business people.”

“Sounds pretty awesome.” Ferg smiled. “We’ll have to visit when you go home.” The conversation lulled as we ate, and I used the time to watch him. Those eyes, the veins in his arms, the way the shirt stretched over his chest. This man was beautiful, and he was mine. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I’d spent years admiring him. Not just his looks (which were stunning), but his heart, his generosity, his kindness. How did I ever deserve this man? I knew. I knew it was a gift from God. One that I wasn’t going to take for granted. I thought back to the times I’d taken for granted with my husband, and I felt a twinge of guilt.

“What’s going on in t'at beautiful head of yours?” He asked.

“There’s just so much changing so fast.” I mused.

“Changin’ for the better?” he prompted. I nodded in agreement. “Yes, better, but just so fast.”

“Luv,” he started “My life runs fast. All da time. Yur gonna have ta get used to it. I’m gonna take t'ings as slow as possible with’ us, but my whole life is fast.” He said gently. “You’ll learn to roll with d'a punches. I’ll help.”

I nodded yes, “I understand.”

Fergal set his empty plate and napkin to the side. “We should start planning for tomorrow. I am headed back to Alabama, to see t'a doc about my shoulder.” He sounded as if he was trying to say it gently. “I’d like ya to come along.” He said. That made me smile. “Really?”

“Yeah!” he laughed. “WWE has a couple of apartments by t'e hospital and physical therapy. Right now, Seth is staying in t'a same apartment as me, so if ya come wit’ me, he’s gonna find out about us.” He peeked at me to gauge my reaction.

“Ok, but I need to see when I’m going to start work.” I said.

“I already cleared it with the McMahons.” He looked sheepishly at me. “We’re supposed to start watchi’ NXT episodes while we’re t'ere.”

Part of me was happy, but part of me was mad. Did he even have a right to adjust my schedule? I realized that he was just trying to make this work. “Ok, but please consult me if you want to change my schedule.” I asked. He nodded in agreement.

“Sorry babe, jus’ wanted to get our life together started.” He paused, “So, what’s on the agenda today?” he asked.

My mind started swimming with everything on my schedule. “First, I need to run my business.” Fergal nodded in agreement. “Then I’m hoping to find a gym to work out in.”

“I can help ya t'ere.” He chimed in. “The performance center has a state o’ t'e art gymn. I’m headed there to work out today too. I’ll get ya in.” Work out in front of Ferg? Not ideal. They say some women look sexy working out. I was NOT one of them, but what choice did I have now?

“Well, the performance center was next on my list. They want me there about 3 pm.”

Ferg’s eyebrows lifted in surprise, “Already? Guess t'ey want to you sign an employment contract before we go to Alabama.”

We decided on a plan of attack. First, get tickets to Alabama. Second work. Third pack. Fourth work out. Fifth, meet with William Regal at the performance center. Yeah, my life was about to get hectic. I looked back at Fergal. He dialed his phone and smiled up at me.

“Katie!” he said on the phone. “Can you get me another ticket to Alabama? Yeah. Name’s Y/N.” He waited while Katie did her magic, “Tonight? Yeah. We can do that.” She’d booked us a red eye flight leaving Orlando at 11 pm. Fast… too fast. But this man is worth it.

We headed back to the condo, and Ferg ran some errands while I worked. After I packed, we went to the PC for a good workout. I caught Ferg watching me a couple of times, but we were each focused on our own workouts for the most part. Rather than head home, I showered at the PC and got dressed for my meeting. Fergal stuck around and introduced me to different talent and staff, some of whom I met at the dinner party” until Paul walked in.

“Ferg” they clasped hands and did a half hug. “Didn’t know you’d be here.”

“Jus’ got a workout in. Figured I’d stick around and introduce Y/N to people.”

“You plan on staying for the meeting?” There was a slight annoyed sound to Paul’s voice.

“Nah man! I’m gonna work with d'a talent until she’s done. Help get dat ring rust off me.” A look of relief passed over Paul’s face. “You get Y/N all to yourself for a while.” he joked. “Jus’ give her back when you’re done.”

William Regal was an imposing man. I didn’t realize he was 6'3” until I was standing in front of him. Regal in front of me, Paul at my side…. I felt…. small in comparison, and it wasn’t just about the height differences. Here were 2 men who helped make WWE what it is. The amount of knowledge and experience these 2 had was astonishing. They were both so calm while the butterflies in my stomach were doing somersaults.

Fake it till you make it. I repeated to myself over and over as we settled down in a conference room.

Regal had been kind, gentle and incredibly polite when we met, but it wasn’t until the 2 huge men sat down that my nerves began to settle.

“I’m really happy to have you here, Y/N” Regal said. “We are getting ready to make some big changes around here, and from what I hear, you’re the right person to help us.” He had heard about me too? Is there anyone in this company that wasn’t talking about my work or my personal life?

The three of us started filling out paperwork. All standard paperwork except for the non-disclosure agreement. I skimmed the document, and was surprised to find that this NDA wasn’t standard. I wasn’t even allowed to tell co-workers about what I was working on.

“Can I ask why?” I looked puzzled.

Regal tapped his finger on the document and said, “sign first, and then we’ll explain.” I looked to Paul who simply nodded yes. Oh hell…. at this point in time I might as well trust them. I signed.

“Great.” Paul looked at Regal, “Any more paperwork?”

“Nope. All done.”

“Ok, here we go. William and I are working on making NXT the third brand. As it is, we are already running it like a third brand, but we’re working on getting a TV deal. If we can make that happen, Vince has agreed to make NXT a full brand.” Paul said. My mind swam with the possibilities.

“Essentially,” William said, “it will split NXT into two. One main brand and one developmental. Like Paul said, we’re already operating that way. Your job is going to be largely based on helping our social media reflect a professional brand like RAW and Smackdown.”

And now I knew why the NDA was so strict.

Paul took a deep breath. “Got it?” I nodded yes. “We know this is going to be different from what you’re doing for your customers, but we didn’t make the decision to hire you lightly. You’re on top of social media trends, and you’ve got a fresh eye. We are going to rely on you to tell us what we need to hear.” William chimed in, “Even if we don’t want to hear it. Can you do that? Can you tell truth to power?”

Truth to power? Yes. Yes. I can do that. “Absolutely.” I nodded.

Paul continued, “Good. There’s going to be times when we as a company are apt to do things the way they’ve always been done. We need YOU to ensure we make changes when and where necessary. Because of that, you will have un-fettered access to William.” I arched a brow, which elicited a chuckle from both men.

“You’re going to be on the road from what I understand.” William asked.

“After a couple of weeks,” Paul chimed in.

“I actually like that,” William continued. “You’re not going to be working around our social media team, so you won’t fall into the trap of doing things the way they’ve always been done. You are going to be a breath of fresh air for the whole department. I CAN’T have your supervisors restricting what I hear from you.” It all made sense, and internally, my mind fought with the whole concept that I was going to be so important. The more they explained it though, the more I understood the reasons for it. NXT was going to be it’s own brand, and Paul wanted to run it HIS way. Ok. I could do that.

The meeting continued for a couple of hours as we discussed what my duties would be, and how I was going to do my job from the road. While in Alabama, I was to research 15 NXT stars’ social media accounts and report my ideas on them to William Regal. I was also to research NXT’s online reputation. I thought to myself that I’d just done the same thing for the whole company preparing for this trip. The only difference was that I was going to be able to go into much more detail.

By the time I left the meeting, a crowd had formed around Fergal. He was helping an athlete learn a new move. I knew this kid was one of the ones I was going to be looking into. I looked through the files that Mr. Regal had given me. Yes…. There was this kid…. Ricochet. He was built, tan and from what I could see, incredibly talented. I found a table to set the files on, and began figuring out who all was gathered around Fergal.

There were 7 of my stars glued to his side; soaking in any information he could teach them. This was a great sign that these wrestlers were dedicated to their job, plus I’d be able to get Fergal’s input on their wrestling and their personalities.

Paul walked through as I was watching the wrestlers with a big smile, “Already started, huh? Or are you just watching Finn?” He teased.

“Can’t I do both?” I joked back. He gently patted me on the shoulder, and off he went.

The flight was late…. stopping at the grocery store when we landed made us even later. We didn’t get to the apartment until 2 am. I put the groceries away and we headed to bed. I may have been tired, but years of waking up at 9 am every day had trained my body…. I woke at 8:45 without an alarm. I silently cussed my body, but I knew I needed to get up and work. But first….. breakfast.

I got to work quickly knowing that the guys would want healthy food. I chose to make a giant kale quinoa power bowl. As I started cooking the onions down in olive oil, the whole apartment began to smell great.

I was adding the kale in when I heard Colby’s bedroom door open. I heard him long before I saw him.

“Damn Ferg that smells amazing. I hope you made enough for 2………..” As Colby turned the corner, I realized he was wearing nothing but underwear just as he noticed that a woman was cooking.

“Ahhh” His hand shot down to cover his privates, “Orrrrrrrr 3, I guess. Give me a second, please.” He asked as he ran back to his bedroom. He returned moments later with shorts on while he pulled a shirt down. “Sooooo, you must be…” he had obviously heard about me and forgotten my name. He took a seat at the breakfast bar.

I gave him a warm smile, “Y/N” I said. “You’re Colby. I’m a big fan.” I stopped cooking and shook his hand as he took a seat at the counter.

“What are you making, and seriously, is there enough for 3?” he laughed as he tried to smooth the frizz out of his hair… finally resorting to putting it in a ponytail. “Absolutely!” I chimed. “It’s a Kale Quinoa power bowl.”

His eyes widened, “I’ve never knew kale could smell so good.” He said sincerely. “How do you like…..”

I was interrupted by Fergal’s sexy morning voice, “Good god woman! What smells so good?” he asked while walking to the kitchen.

Ferg and Colby greeted each other with hand shakes and half hugs. I pretended not to see the look Colby gave Ferg. Afterward Ferg snuck behind me and wound his arms around my waist as he peeked over my shoulder to see the food.

“Low fat, low carb, low salt, high in protein. Will that do?”

Fergal laid a gentle kiss on my temple. “Darlin’ if it tastes as good as it smells, it will do fine.”

I asked how they wanted their eggs and finished the dish while the boys discussed their recovery.

When we finally sat, and started eating, Colby dead pan said “Ferg, marry this girl. If she can make kale taste this good, she’s a keeper.”

Fergal just laughed as he grabbed my hand. “It really is great, babe.” He squeezed my hand and we started talking about me working for WWE.

“I know Paul is a huge fan of yours, but to get your girl hired here and on the road with you? That’s huge Ferg.”

Fergal ran his thumb over my knuckles. “Nah man. She got herself hired. T'ey wanted to work wit’ her before I even met her. She’s pretty damn special.” Ferg looked deep in my eyes, and I couldn’t help but smile shyly.

Colby wadded up his napkin and threw it at Ferg. “Get a room, you two.” he joked. “You must be really special to charm Paul like that, Y/N.”

“Eh,” I said. “Just passionate.”

“Don’ sell yourself short.” Ferg raised my hand to his lips and kissed it.

After breakfast, the guys headed to PT, while I stayed to work. The 3 hours they were gone were all it took for me to run my business. I was just starting to look through the WWE files when Ferg returned without Colby.

I heard the door open and turned to see Ferg coming in. He didn’t speak; just walked over to me, pulled me to my feet and started kissing me…. so softly…. so tenderly. Good grief! This man could kiss! Ferg began running his hands over my back as we kissed. Slowly, tenderly, teasingly. I hummed as he pressed himself closer to me and started kissing me more passionately. His fingers began digging into my skin, desperately.

I couldn’t even think. The work on the table next to us; the past; the future; everything disappeared from my mind. All that existed at this moment was Fergal and me.

He began to gently push me back toward his bedroom. As we entered the room, he closed the door and locked it. His kisses went deeper. His fingers pushed into my skin harder. He started guiding me toward the edge of the bed. One of his hands was wrapped around my waist, and the other was cradling my head when I felt the bed against my legs. He laid me down as gently as a parent would lay down a child. He sank down on top of me. Between the passionate kisses and the gentle actions, my head was swimming. I didn’t know what to expect next, but I knew I needed him. I moaned into his mouth, and felt his lips curl into a small smile.

Fergal sat up, his legs straddling me, pulled his shirt off then mine. As he laid on me, kissing me, I reveled in the feel of his skin against mine; both of us burning with desire. His hands began rubbing my side, my hip, my arms and then he reached my nipple.

In a matter of seconds, he went from gently palming my breast to sucking my nipple, and I went from gently rubbing his back to digging my fingernails into him. He must have liked it, because I felt him smile against my lips again. He moved his legs between mine; easily pushing my legs apart. He sank back on top of me and began teasing my nipple with soft sucking and gentle nips. He switched sides, concentrating his ministrations on my other nipple. Each time his teeth gently grazed my nipple, I felt a twinge run through my body ending with my heat clenching, hoping to find friction, but finding nothing, and I moaned in disappointment. I wanted him so bad it hurt.

Each time I moaned, he pressed our hips together. I could feel his hard cock through the clothes, and my core clenched again. I moaned, he pushed. I moaned, he pushed. When will he give me what I want?

When he didn’t show any signs of moving, I reached my hand between us and tried to undo the button on my jeans. His hand followed right behind and pulled mine away from my button. “No, love,” he whispered and pulled away just enough for me to see the determination in his eyes. “Let me make love to you MY way.”

“Your way is going to drive me insane,” I whispered as I leaned up to kiss his chest.

He smiled a bit, “Love, trust me.” He pulled back from me again and looked deep in my eyes. His hand reached up to stroke my cheek. “Do you trust me?” he pleaded. Yes, yes I did. I nodded yes; which earned me another gentle smile. He leaned down to kiss me again. A deep, soft, long kiss that melted everything inside me. My nipples got harder, my core got wetter, my skin got more sensitive. He slid off the end of the bed and leaned over to kiss just above my waistband. “I” kiss “want” kiss “to” kiss “worship” He undid the button “your” down came the zipper “whole” he licked where my zipper had been “body.”

He slid my pants and underwear off then his own. The sight of his cock fully erect sent another jolt of desire through me as I prepared for him to fill me, but instead, he reached for my right foot. He began massaging my foot. It was so gentle and so intimate. Then my other foot. He began massaging up my legs, peppering kisses as he went. As he reached my knee, he wrapped his arm around my legs and bent them up. He laid the first kiss on my inner thigh; sweet sweet torture. Massaging, kissing, licking his way slowly up to my core. I was certain I was going to go insane, and my body tried to buck up against him. Then the lick…. across my slit. I felt everything inside me tense. Another lick. A gentle kiss on my bud. Oh fuck. I can’t handle this. I can’t……Finally, his mouth surrounded my clit and his tongue began to flick over it. Fuck Fuck Fuck. My body bucked against his mouth.

He glanced up at me; his beautiful blue eyes so full of love and lust. He slid two fingers inside me. My body clenched again, this time relieved at the feel of his fingers inside me. Slowly, he slid his fingers in and out, sucking and licking my bud. It was tortuously slow. Tortuously gentle. Tortuously amazing.

Instead of the quick, violent orgasm I was used to, my body slowly built up to my bliss. He looked up at me again and nodded his head. I fell……. slow, hot white tingling throughout my whole body. My orgasm was more intense than any I could remember. It lasted for days and days. His fingers continued to fuck me as I came.

When I had stilled, and his fingers pulled out of me, he began gently massaging my hips, my stomach, my breasts. He buried his face in my neck, gently kissing and sucking. I still couldn’t move. I was completely at his mercy. He slowly, carefully pushed against me, the head of his dick sliding against my slit just once before he entered me. Once inside me, he stopped and kissed me. I reveled in the feeling of him filling me up. My body bucked against him and I saw him smile. “Wasn’t that orgasm better than normal?” he asked.

“Mmmmmm yes,” I answered.

“D'en let me go at my own pace.” He chuckled. He lowered his head and took my nipple into his mouth. He flicked his tongue over the sensitive skin then removed his mouth and blew cold air over it. I didn’t think it could get any harder, but it did, and he closed his mouth over it again. He may have been trying to slow things down, but I felt his dick twitch inside me. I moaned. For a fleeting second, I thought he was going to lose control, but he didn’t. He just kept torturing my breast with his tongue while he stayed still inside me. I ran my hands over his ribs, his back, his ass, feeling all of his muscles…. all tight…. He needed a release. My body bucked against him again, and his cock twitched again. Then, he began to move. Tantalizingly slow. Tantalizingly gentle. Kissing my lips, my neck my breasts. My hands exploring him. My heat pulsing around him. This was it………….

I heard the front door of the apartment close. “Ferg!” Colby yelled out.

“Fuck” Fergal said against my neck.

“Ferg! Where are you man?” Colby knocked on the bedroom door. “Dude, you in there?”

“Fuck” Fergal pulled away from me, and out of me. I moaned in sadness.

“Get off the girl, Ferg.” We heard him try the doorknob, but the door was locked.

“Fuck off!” Fergal yelled, and Colby started laughing.

He began teasing us. “Seriously, get off the girl. I’m hungry!” Colby said. The look on Ferg’s face was so stern, I was happy it wasn’t aimed at me. “I’m gonna kill him,” he whispered to me as he grabbed his shirt. “Get under the covers” he barked. I did, and Fergal held the shirt in front of his dick as he answered the door.

“What da Fook do ya want?” He asked Colby.

Once Colby saw Fergal, he started laughing. “I was joking but, I guess I did interrupt something.”

“Yes you did!” Fergal growled. “What do you want?”

“I was hoping we could go to lunch so I could get to know Y/N better.” Colby raised his hands in surrender and backed up a couple of steps. “Why don’t I come back in 15 minutes?” he offered to placate Fergal.

Fergal slammed the door in Colby’s face and yelled, “Make it 30 minutes” He looked down at me with lust in his eyes, and he yanked the blankets off my body. Colby kept talking…. something about picking lunch up and bringing it here…. some apologies…

“Now, where were we?” Fergal surveyed my naked body. He knelt at my feet and said, “Ahhhh. I remember as he leaned in and placed a kiss on my knee. “That’s it, I was working my way up from here.” He teased.

“NOOO!” I half yelled half giggled. He began gently rubbing and kissing my thigh. “You were much further along than that.” My hands pawed at him, trying to find something to grab onto so I could pull, him up to me.

He quirked up the corner of his mouth pretending to be thinking hard. “Nope. Nope. I think I was about here,” he said as his tongue flicked over my clit a couple of times.

“No.” I laughed…. “farther than that.” A couple more flicks made me moan. He slid his fingers inside me again, “Was I here?” he smiled up at me as he curled his fingers over my g-spot.

“Fuck!” I cursed.

He curled an eyebrow at me. “Are you cursing or reminding me where we were?” He had a devilish grin.

“The latter.” I chuckled.

“Ahhhh. Yeah. I remember.” Fergal said as he slid into me. Once he was inside me he stopped. “I’m sorry about Colby. He kind ruined my plans ta make slow love ta ya all afternoon.” I nodded. “Guess we’ll jus’ have to speed t'is up.” He grinned. He knew I wanted to go faster. He began to rock back and forward at a slow pace; an evil smirk on his face. “But I’ve got a little time to play.”

I listened as a low moan escaped my mouth. The sound made Fergal’s dick throb inside me. He pulled back so his tip was barely inside me. He slowly ran his hands down my legs. When he reached my knees, he raised them up and put them on his shoulders. Then he slammed back into me. Fuck! He was so deep. I exploded and he stilled.

When I opened my eyes, I saw him smiling at me. “Ya look amazin’ when ya cum, darlin’. I could get addicted to watchin’ you.” Then he pulled out of me, got off the bed ad flipped me onto my hands and knees. He gave me no warning as he climbed up behind me and slammed back into me. Fuck Yes! I wasn’t sure if I said it out loud or just thought it. Either way, Fergal seemed to know. Digging his fingers into my hips, he yanked me back and filled me completely. My body took over. My hips bucked, my back arched, my hands grabbed at the blankets. A stream of moans, exclamations and feral sounds came out my mouth, but I couldn’t control it. All I could think about was him hitting my g-spot over and over and over.

His husky voice brought me back to reality. “Cum for me now” he grumbled as he pushed even harder and deeper into me. He was so deep, it bordered on painful… blissfully painful….

My body was wracked with my next orgasm, and I felt him let go. He bucked into me a few more times as my core squeezed every drop of semen out of him. We both collapsed and recovered for a few minutes.

“Did ya know you cuss when you cum?” He taunted me. He rolled to face me and propped himself up on his elbow. I think I blushed, and he laughed.  “I think I made more sounds than cussing.” I put my hand over my face in embarrassment.

He quickly reached to gently remove my hand. “You got nuttin’ to be ashamed of, luv. It felt amazin’ knowin’ I was making you feel so good.” He stroked my cheek with his thumb. “I t'ink you started speakin’ in tongues.” He teased.

“You’re just too damn good.” I sighed. “And now we have to get ready for lunch.”

#wwe #wwe smut #finn balor #finn balor x reader #smut #nsfw #fergal devitt x reader

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aoi-herondale · 6 years ago

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Snowbaz Beauty and the Beast AU

Read on Ao3

Translation of the fic by @black-tea-blue-pens. thanks to @ninanineto for betaing and stopping me before I ended up crying of frustration <3

Year 119 Before the Rose:

The streets were covered with banners. On each window, on each balcony. Joy had filled the capital and was spreading throughout the country, to the rhythm of the gallop of the twenty messengers who had immediately set off for the main cities of the country. A single name on everyone’s lips, taking everyone out into the street: the women in their party dresses, the men in their Sunday best and the children with flowers in their hands.

Inside the palace that dominated the center of the city, in the ample bedroom of Queen Natasha, she layed in bed, holding the cause of all the commotion. While children and elders, rich and poor, nobles and plebeians swarmed under the balconies of the palace with noisy expectation, Fiona, Natasha's sister, well-known for her impatience and for having her own way of doing things, burst into the bedroom. As the king paced back and forth across the wide hallway like a caged lion, waiting and despairing, gray eyes opened for the first time. Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch.

Year 105 Before the Rose:

They called him Baz. He was a prince with his feet on the ground and with a good head on his shoulders, full of common sense. Perhaps the premature death of Natasha, his mother, when giving birth to her third child had something to do with his premature maturity. Or maybe not. At the age of fourteen he had already assumed that he was going to be king. At the age of fourteen, half the kingdom loved him and the other half adored him. At the age of fourteen he began to lose the childish features and acquire a beauty that had been announced since he was a child. At the age of fourteen his world began to collapse.

__________

It must have been around nine in the evening when the carriage arrived at its destination. The kings descended from it, followed quickly by their heir to find themselves before a palace that, while not as big as theirs, didn’t fall short either. They followed the butler into the palace, all the way to the throne room: it was the first time that Baz had traveled as a prince and therefore, the first time he visited another throne room. This one in particular was especially luxurious, with the walls full of paintings that depicted episodes of that country’s history; the floor covered in marble and the huge glass chandeliers hanging from a ceiling that seemed unreachable.

Baz did not see any of that.

At the back of the room, two armed and uniformed guards stood on either side of a dais. Above it, two dark wooden thrones with red upholstery held the king and queen, who rose to their feet when they saw his parents walk in and came to greet them, immediately abandoning all formalites.

Baz did not see that either.

His gaze was fixed on the green-eyed young man who, next to his parents, was advancing towards him. Jamie, was his name; his parents had told him he was two years older than him and he was the only son of those kings. His mere presence completely flustered him, and he had to try as hard as he could to concentrate and remember where he was. All it took was for the boy to return his gaze and smile to make Baz's pulse speed up.

Year 100 Before the Rose.

The day was going badly. Really badly. Actually, everything had been going badly for quite some time.

Baz had come to a conclusion about his sexuality a couple of years ago, the same amount of time he had been hiding it from his parents. He had been rejecting princess after princess with all kinds of excuses: his father had accepted them at first. But after the fifth visit that had ended in refusal, he became more insistent: Baz found it increasingly difficult to convince his father that none of the young women he was introduced to was adequate and knew that, sooner or later, he would have to get married. Not only that: he had to marry a woman. They had instilled in him his responsibility to his people and with his family all his life and yet...

Each day he had more and more doubts. And as they increased, the pressure about his marriage increased as well. Baz still maintained the facade of external perfection while everything inside him crumbled day after day, and the only one who seemed to notice was Penny, the young housekeeper of the castle: the one who had taken care of his younger siblings after the death of Natasha. His father, busy as he was with State affairs, had stopped paying attention to Baz as a son and only saw him as an heir. His stepmother had never had a close relationship with him and was not going to start having one now, and as for his aunt ... He adored his aunt. But she was not the best person to go to with his problems.

It was Baz's nineteenth birthday. With the excuse of celebrating his coming of age, the king had summoned all possible candidates for becoming his son's wife, including those who had been rejected, and all the important international dignitaries. Among the guests there were even a few gentlemen who decided that it didn’t hurt to try. Jamie was also there, but seeing him enter arm in arm with his newly acquired wife and smile at him like the first time, only put Baz in a worse mood. He would have given anything to escape to the kitchen with Penny, but after all that party revolved around him. He could not let so many people down.

_____________

Princess Agatha Wellbelove was the fifth of nine, born after three boys and a girl. From her earliest childhood she had known that her chances of reigning or even receiving more than a dowry were completely nil, so at the age of seven her parents sent her to a foreign boarding school: a co-ed school called Watford where, in addition to teaching her literature, history, mathematics and some science, they taught her traditional magic. She spent nine years in that school, coming first to hate it and then to love it and when she came back at sixteen, the first thing she did was to look for a job. In her country, a particularly liberal one, she was well known for her spells of all kinds. Meanwhile, her older brother inherited the kingdom; the rest, after fighting for a couple of ducats in no man's land for a while, got into the military or became monks and her sisters were all engaged. She had assumed that she would live as she did then and had no problem with that.

However, when she heard from her older sister that Basilton, Prince of Pitch, was looking for a wife, she came to the sensible conclusion that it was now or never.

The ballroom doors, already closed behind the one who was supposed to be the last guest, opened. The whole crowd turned their heads at once, including Baz, who used it as an excuse to cut the boring conversation he was having with the count of someone-or-other about boar hunting or something like that. In the door frame stood Agatha: blue eyes, soft features. Long blonde hair collected in a complicated hairstyle that left the neck exposed. Dress the color of her eyes, tight and floor length. In that moment more than one wanted to be in Baz's shoes because, without previous rehearsal or prompting, a corridor formed between them, and she, with a shyness not entirely feigned, began to advance towards him. It was much better than the girl had expected: from his gray eyes with shades of what seemed like green, to his slender body and long legs, perfectly highlighted by the suit.

Baz was dancing. With Agatha Wellbelove. And he did not know how or why he had ended up in that situation: the same one that he had been avoiding all afternoon. If he had looked around, he would have seen more than one face of disappointment, and not just among the ladies. However, between the dizziness, the bad mood and the bewilderment, he did not see much beyond the end of his nose. She talked. She kept talking. Her voice echoed in his head, and it was pleasant and well modulated but he deemed it unbearable. Everything was unbearable in that moment.

The piece ended. Arm in arm, they went out into the garden, and nobody seemed to want to stop them, which they both appreciated, but for different reasons. Agatha kept talking as they walked among the roses that Baz's father had planted as one his wedding gifts to Natasha. An occasional "uhm", "yes", "I see" or a simple nod from Baz kept her happy. Baz's father had taught him well.

“And ... Well, Basilton.”

"Baz," he interrupted.

“Baz. Do you intend to get married?” There it was. THE question. Baz shrugged.

"I should," he answered. “I suppose at some point I will.”

“What do you think of me as a candidate?”

How straightforward , Baz thought. More than any of the girls before her.

"To put it bluntly" she continued “I know that your parents are pressuring you. Honestly, I do not know why you have not given in and I'm not interested either. But..."

“Stop. Don’t go there” Baz had not seen that coming. As Agatha spoke, the image began to develop in his head. The word that was missing. What none of those girls had, not even her, and what even Baz himself lacked.

“But if you married me, all that would be solved: you would have a lot of freedom. Pure convenience, for both.”

“Convenience? And what about happiness? I can assure you that I have no interest in making anyone happy.” Baz found that he was resorting to everything he had not to explode, and he was not even sure why: he knew that it was completely unjustified, that she had not tried anything that the others had not tried and yet …

“I don‘t care about that. It's not like I think I'm going to find the love of my life.”

Love. There it was. The reason why it seemed unfair to marry a woman, both to her and to him. His expression changed and Agatha saw it clearly. She let out a very inconsiderate laugh.

“Are you serious? You? The crown prince of one of the most powerful kingdoms in the known world? Looking ... For love? You have to be kidding me.”

“WILL YOU LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU BRAT!?” -Baz lost his temper. He felt unwell. Very unwell. And he wasn’t sure anymore if it was because of the anger, dizziness, everything in general or nothing in particular.

"Nobody talks to me like that," Agatha replied without losing her composure. She approached one of the rosebushes: gently and very deliberately, she plucked one of the rose and began to caress the petals distractedly. “If you really want to marry for love, so be it.”

With the hand with which she was caressing the rose, she pointed to Baz. It was for an instant. Then she moved closer and put the rose in his pocket.

“Do not lose it. You have a hundred years to find your ... ‘love’.”

And just like that, she left.

Baz went back to the party. He danced with more people. He chatted. And yet, he was completely distracted and to some extent he felt guilty. When (at last) the last guest left at dawn, he went to bed, leaving the rose on the bedside table without thinking too much about it.

He never got to fall asleep. An uneasy feeling began to invade him, from the bottom up. He tried to get up, but each movement hurt. Lacking the ability to do anything else, he waited. He waited until that indescribable discomfort was slowly waning, and when he finally managed to get up he felt strange. Lighter. Drier. He crawled towards the mirror, tripping over along the path with his violin case, looking for any anomaly and ... He found them.

He was much thinner than he had been a couple of hours ago, and paler: he was still him, but there was nothing left of the beauty he had displayed the previous night in the ballroom. It seemed that everything between his skin and bones had been removed: his eyes had sunk, framed by deep dark circles and had lost their shine. He seemed a different person. Even his hair had turned a dirty black. Frightened, he ran to the servants’ dorms and burst into the housekeeper’s room.

“Penny!” Everything was silent and she was nowhere to be found. He ran to the kitchen: he couldn’t see anything.

“Baz!” It was Penny’s voice. He heard a tinkling, and he turned on the lights. He still didn’t see her. “Baz! Over here!"

Penny’s voice was coming out of a teapot placed on the countertop. The tinkling was her jumping.

“Penny what… What happened?” He did not hear the answer. A strong pain invaded his upper gum, and he raised his hands to his mouth waiting to see blood. There was nothing. But the pain passed, two long fangs dug into his lower lip.

“Baz, you are…”

“Penny, let’s go.”

Baz picked Penny up in his hands. She weighed more than he expected, and she was empty. Or maybe it was because of all the weight he had lost in such a short time. He ran to the most remote wing of the castle, the only place where they wouldn’t wake anyone up and that could give them answers: the library.

“Baz.” The boy was frantic. He mumbled something intelligible under his breath as he ran from one side to the other, hysterical. “BAZ!”

He stopped and looked down at the teapot.

"Sit down," she ordered. Baz did it. “Now you're going to take a deep breath, and you're going to tell me what you did last night.”

And he told her. He told her, to the extent that he remembered, of the anger he had carried all day; of Agatha’s appearance, of the screams, of the rose… The rose.

“Hey, and what do you have to do with all that?” He finished with, as way of conclusion.

“Collateral damage of the spell. Agatha is a witch, but she is not cruel. I doubt she wants you to live a hundred years alone. Show me the rose”

Baz picked Penny up again and went back to his room: the rose was placed carelessly on the bedside table, but now it gave off a strange glow.

“Baz, are you sleepy?”

He shook his head.

“Me neither.”

Year 87 Before the Rose

The girl, barely five years old, peeked shyly into the reception room, out of which an ambassador had just come out. Upon seeing her enter, her parents left aside the heated argument between them, which she interpreted as a permission to approach her mother.

“Mom, do vampires exist?”

The kings looked at each other, bewildered.

“Why do you ask?” The mother inquired.

“A boy in my class says that there is one in the abandoned castle.”

“Mordelia, vampires do not exist. It’s all tales. And now go to bed.”

As soon as the princess was away, the king faced his wife.

“Why did you lie to her?”

“I do not want her to know.”

“He's my son. And her brother.”

“It's a vampire. And there’s nothing more to be said about it.”

After that fateful party seven years ago, Baz spent three days practically locked in the library. In that time, he discovered that his heart was not beating; that he did not need to sleep and that he did not feel hunger, but he did feel... Thirst. On the third day he had found the answer in the books: his parents, convinced that he had some kind of illness, refused to believe him.

On the fourth day he almost killed a maid, and only then did they resign themselves to admit the obvious: Baz was a vampire.

It was he himself who, after ending the plague of rats that inhabited the dungeons, left with Penny (who had accepted her new fate very casually) to the abandoned castle in the middle of a forest about which there were too many legends for anyone to come close to it. He forbade his entire family to visit him, even his father. Publically, Baz had gone to another country to negotiate trade relations and did not know when he would return. When Mordelia was born two years later, Baz didn’t even know about it. In the same way that his parents did not learn that Agatha, aware that the curse had been excessive but having no intention of canceling it, had put at the disposal of his son an army of talking furniture and cutlery, commanded by Penny. Neither did they know that their son in those seven years had read more books than he ever had in his life, nor that, if he was a great violinist before, he was now the best.

Speaking of not knowing, they did not even know that Baz had tried to commit suicide. Repeatedly. Enough to lose count. After each new attempt, Penny would find him lying on his bed, repeating over and over again "I do not want to kill anyone." And the worst thing for her was that he had not done it yet: he had more than enough with the animals that dwelled the area. Penny knew it, but Baz did not. Baz could see nothing but the stupid way he had ruined his life. Love? Who would love a vampire?

Year 19 Before the Rose

In an unknown city, at the edge of a huge forest, in possession only of a half-ruined house, a change of clothes and a lot of ideas and to top it off, with a baby in his arms. Davy took a deep breath. He could no longer travel, it was clear. He could not leave the kid alone, let alone take him with him. He would have to ... settle down. Ugh. That word made his stomach turn.

The boy smiled, completely oblivious to the nuisance that he entailed for his father.

“You could have stayed with your mother…” Then he realized. He did not know the name of the child; in her haste, Lucy had failed to tell him. “Simon”, he said after thinking about it for a while. Yes: Simon was a name as good as any other. He left him on the floor, fiddling with the straps of the backpack and opened the windows. First things first: if they were going to settle down, the house would have to be cleaned up.

Month 2 Before the Rose

Davy was obsessed with overthrowing the adjoining government. Simon, accustomed as he was to his father's follies, wasn’t too worried. The rest of the town thought differently, but that did not matter as much to the father as it did to the son. Simon had heard the story thousands of times: that a century ago the neighboring kingdom, where he was born, ran smoothly, that the kings were righteous. That their heir was going to be a great king. That he disappeared. That instead of reigning the first child, the second ascended to the throne and everything had gone from bad to worse. With his death just a few weeks ago and the reigning chaos regarding the next king’s coronation, it was his chance. Now or never.

It was raining. Simon was in the library, as he always was when it rained.

"Hello, Simon." Upon hearing his name, he looked up from the book. Looking directly at him was Philipa. He smiled.

“Good Morning.”

“What are you reading?”

“Oh, nothing, a fairy tale” and he went back to reading.

“Is it interesting?”

He nodded without taking his eyes off the book.

“Hey, when are you going to ask me to marry you?”

“I'm reading. You could ask me, for a change.”

“I can’t. I am a girl.”

“What a load of nonsense.”

“If I asked you, would you say yes?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Sure.” And she laughed. She still didn’t take it seriously.

She sat next to him. Simon finished the book, returned it to the shelf and picked up another. Meanwhile, Philipa got lost in her thoughts.

That the heiress of the fief in which he lived was infatuated with Simon had many advantages: She had taken his father out of prison once and everyone treated him with a deference that in some way made him feel uncomfortable, although it was always better than being "the son of the madman". But it could also be a bore: Simon did not understand what Philipa, a rich and noble girl obsessed with perfecting her swordsmanship, saw in Simon, who did not leave the city's library except to eat or sleep.

“Simon, your father is leaving today, right?” Simon finally looked up from the book.

“I had forgotten.”

By the time Simon got home, Davy was about to leave. The farewell was not particularly emotional for either of them; they were used to it.

"Should I ask Philippa to check up on you every once in a while until I come back?"

“No way, she is capable of coming to live here. Be careful, please.”

“I will.”

But by the time he disappeared from Simon's sight, Davy was already thinking about something else. He got lost in thought very easily, so he did not realize that he was lost until nightfall. It was then that he heard the howls. "I should not have gotten into the woods" was all he had time to think before being surrounded by a dozen pairs of eyes that shone in the rain. He forced the horse to turn around and spurred him.

The wolves followed.

Davy was calm. It took a lot to freak him out, and he knew that it was impossible for the wolves to catch up to his horse. That leaving them behind was only a matter of time. But of course, the animal did not think so: came to a point, it reared. Davy fell and was left alone. He was not so calm anymore.

He ran in the direction of what looked like a tower, which stood over the trees. He arrived at a gate. It was so rusty it yielded after a few blows and pushes and Davy found himself in the garden of a huge palace, very dark and almost abandoned, safe from the wolves.

“Hello?”

Davy expected a lot of things: for the castle to be abandoned, for some madman to be living inside (an actual madman), for some kind of monster to be locked up inside…

But if there’s something he wasn’t expecting it was to be welcomed by a teapot.

“Goodnight sir. How may I help you?”

He must be a little out of it, he thought. He was not particularly shocked to see a talking teapot.

“I'm lost.”

The talking teapot guided him to a huge lit fireplace. It was a big castle and very, very dark. Simon would love it.

While he was admiring the castle, someone entered the room.

“Penny, what…?”

“Baz, it was raining and…”

“Penny, why is there a human in the castle?”

Davy got up and turned around, not knowing what to expect: he did not get to see what or who it was.

In the short time it took for him to be locked up in the dungeon, he only had time to see that the one who should be the owner of the castle, had hands. White, very pale hands, but at least he wasn’t a piece of furniture.

Day 60 Before the Rose.

Simon had lived for nineteen years on stories. Real stories, that his father told him about his travels, before he met that girl and before the appearance of Simon. Sometimes, those stories made him feel guilty: after all, he was the reason his father was enclosed in that city. That he didn’t leave the house for more than a month at a time. And yet, Davy had told him time and time again that this was fine, that he was worth it.

Simon knew that one day he would carry on those stories: one day he would be the one to pick up his backpack and start walking in a randomly chosen direction. He had known it for as long as he could remember, and he simply waited patiently for that day to come. In the meantime, he read. It was his way to escape ahead of time. However, lately something had changed. Something had settled in Simon's stomach and kept pulling him forward. Impatience. He wanted to leave that city. Not at that moment, of course. Winter was about to start and he had enough with his father's trip. So there he was, rereading for the hundredth time the only book they had at home and his favorite (one that the owner of the library had given him when he took it out for the ninth time) and waiting. For what? Who knew.

The knocking on the door scared him. Strong, uncontrolled. They did not even seem human.

They were not.

When Davy showed up saying that he had bought a horse because it was intelligent, Simon did not pay much attention to him and yet it must be because there it was, was banging on the door as if it wanted to throw it down. Simon did not have time to think: he grabbed his sword, climbed onto the animal and let himself be carried, praying to whoever was up there for his father to fine. Or at least alive. He was mentally shuffling all the possibilities ("they have robbed him, they have killed him, they have imprisoned him, they have kidnapped him") when he arrived at the enormous iron gates that had saved his father's life the night before. He left his horse tied to the gate, and took a deep breath and drew his sword before entering the castle. The interior seemed completely empty: “it must be abandoned”, he thought. Trying to make as little noise as possible and cursing himself for not having accepted when Philipa offered to teach him to move like something more dignified than a duck, he began to go through room after room.

He had never had much patience, and by the time he found the stairs that lead down, he began to get impatient. He descended step after step. He had not walked much before he heard a voice:

“Anyone there!?”

Simon started to run.

“Dad! What are you doing here?”

“Simon! How...? It doesn’t matter. Go away. You have to leave. He's going to lock you up, too.”

Davy had been locked up all night, and he still had not figured out how he was going to get out of there. He did not care much either: it would not be the first time he had spent some time in captivity, but Simon... Simon was another story.

_______________

When Penny saw the boy enter, the first thing that came to her mind was to approach him. Then she thought that one person in the dungeons was more than enough, and she went to find Baz. The vampire had spent all night in his room; he hadn’t even allowed Penny herself to get close.

“Baz, we have another visitor.”

“Throw him out.”

“I can’t. He came for the man from last night.”

“Well, let them both go.”

Upon hearing that, the teapot became angry.

“That’s it. You go.”

“Are you crazy! I'll kill someone.”

“Baz, you've gone ninety-nine years without killing anyone. Who says you're going to start now?”

“There were no humans here before. Now there are.”

“Baz, you have ten seconds to go down there or I'll stop speaking to you.”

The prince huffed and crawled out of bed. He picked up the teapot and, after calling the chandelier, started walking towards the dungeons.

Simon did not hear the steps, but he did notice the presence behind him. He stood up and turned around.

The first thing he saw was white. Baz's skin had worsened over time, and if he had started out pale, it was pure paper by now. Then, the suit: tailored in an old-fashioned way, as if it had been made to last century’s fashion. His hair, black like few things he had seen before. His eyes. When they talked about the beauty of gray eyes in books, they must have been talking about that. Simon thought they were missing something, but he could not put his finger on what it was.

Then he pushed him, and Simon got blown away. It was then that he found the adjective: fossilized. The boy before him was completely fossilized, buried alive. And yet, he still had something. His cheekbones were spectacular. There were the remains of someone who must have been beautiful once.

“What are you doing here?”

Simon got back on his feet.

“I've only come to free my father. Please, let us go.”

He approached him. And to the chandelier. Baz could see him.

He had blue eyes. A shade of blue that would be nothing out of the ordinary, but Baz had not seen the sky for too long. The bronze curls. And yet, what caught his eye the most was the color of his skin. A soft tan, constantly interrupted by innumerable freckles, that seemed to scream that he was alive.

But he was not going to back down.

“I'm not going to let intruders go unpunished. One of you must stay.”

He immediately regretted it. Why would he want them to stay?

“I'll stay.”

Of course , Davy thought.

“Simon, I'm older. Let me stay. There’s a lot of…”

“Dad, you still have a country to save.”

He did not have time to say more. Baz dragged Davy out of the palace and closed the door again. Simon heard the gallop of the fleeing horse.

“Baz, please, give that boy a room.”

Penny's ability to stay calm was sometimes exasperating for the vampire.

After they showed him the room, Simon locked himself in it. He wanted to burst into tears.

Penny followed Baz into his.

“Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch, I demand an explanation. Now.”

“What do I know, Penny! I was not thinking clearly!”

“That's clear.”

Penny did know why. She knew there were only two months left. She knew this was his only hope. And he knew that, deep down, Baz had not given up. He knew that this was his last chance. So she hopped off, on her way to Simon's room.

Day 55 Before the Rose.

“Go down there right now and invite him to dinner.”

“Penny, I will not take that risk.”

“Oh, you will. The boy has been living off bread and water for five days straight and hasn’t left the room.”

“What if I kill him?”

“Baz, you want to talk to him, right?”

The vampire nodded.

“Then go right now. If you kill him, well, bad luck. We will be back to square one.”

That was a terrible thing to say, but Penny was beginning to despair. Baz got up, took a deep breath (which, although unnecessary, he had gotten used to doing) and marched towards his guest's room. He knocked on the door.

“Yes?”

Inside, Simon was listening to some story that the closet was telling him about when she was some important noble lady’s lady-in-waiting.

“Uhh ... Snow?”

“Yes.”

“Come down for dinner in half an hour.”

He left with a completely unnecessary slam of the door.

Simon huffed and threw himself on the bed. It did not take long until he heard the characteristic clink of Penny approaching, followed by a bathtub.

“Come on, get up. We have half an hour to get you ready.”

“Get me ready for what?”

“I mean, you’re not thinking of dining dressed like that, right?”

Indeed, Simon was still wearing the clothes he had arrived in: old and a somewhat torn, now it was also dirty.

“I’m not going to go to dinner, dressed like this or any other way.”

If Penny wasn’t a teapot, she would have rolled her eyes.

“Come on, get in the bath and we’ll talk.” And she hid behind the closet. Not wanting to argue (or do anything else), Simon obeyed. Penny kept talking from outside his field of vision.

“Look, Simon, I don’t know you that well. But seeing as it took you less than twenty-four hours to come for your father, and from the little we’ve talked, you don’t look like someone who wants to stay in this little room for the rest of his life. So at least give him a chance. Think about how you would be if you had been confined in such a place for so long, without seeing the light of day or being able to approach the world because you believe that you are a danger to the rest of humanity.”

Dinner was somewhat uncomfortable. Baz could not take his eyes off Simon, from which Penny deduced she had done a good job. Simon, on the other hand, could not take his eyes off the food: he was emptying plate after plate. The cook, a walking stove with long metallic arms, after almost a hundred years without being able to cook for anyone, had decided to show off. After a long while of uncomfortable silence, Baz tried what he had been wanting to do since he had summoned Simon to dinner: to start a conversation.

“What do you think of the castle?”

"It’s huge," Simon answered, through the mouthful of food. “I like it.”

“From now on, this is your home. You can go wherever you want except to the west wing.”

This time, Simon swallowed before answering:

“What’s in the west wing?”

“IT’S FORBIDDEN!”

Simon didn’t say anything else. After dinner, he went back to his room. He was not in such a bad mood anymore.

Day 52 Before the Rose.

It took Penny two days to convince Baz have dinner with Simon again. His excuse? That damned thirst for blood again. So, after going hunting, Baz changed his suit, picked up his hair and went to Simon's room.

“Good night.”

Simon moved his head slightly as a way of greeting and kept polishing his sword, out of boredom rather than necessity.

“Simon, uhhh… Would you have dinner with me again?”

This time, Simon looked up and nodded. Like every time he met those eyes, Baz’s stomach turned.

Dinner went a lot smoother the second time. “How are things going out there?”

“Well, there's nothing interesting going on. i think the Northern countries are going to war against each other again, but other than that everything is quite peaceful. There are no problems around here since the civil war in Pitch, about sixty years ago. Because of the heir’s disappearance.”

Hearing those words, Baz looked at Penny. She shrugged, unaware of the news.

Day 45 Before the Rose

“Snow?”

“Yeah?”

Baz took a deep breath.

“Do you get bored in there?”

“A bit. Why?”

“Is there anything you would like to do?”

Simon opened the door and peeked out. He had been instructed not to open it before the owner of the castle unless explicitly ordered to, but this was an emergency.

“Do you have books?”

_________________

He hated being blindfolded. Philipa did it too often, usually when she wanted to surprise him or take him somewhere. Simon was not particularly agile, when he could see he walked through life as if he were a drunk rhinoceros (in Davy's words), and without seeing he was completely at the mercy of whoever was ahead. It was not a very pleasant sensation.

And yet, there he was: letting a vampire blindfold him, a vampire who had said himself that he’d be able to kill him at any moment. He wasn’t fighting back. Why?

He heard the creak of what must have been a wooden door, and felt Baz's hand pulling him inside. Curtains sliding. The light went through the blindfold that covered him and seconds later, Baz took it off.

Books. Lots of books. Millions of books. More books that Simon could read in his whole life. It was an enormous tower full of storeys and storeys of printed paper that was calling out for him. For the first time since his arrival to the castle, Simon smiled.

Baz saw that smile. Something he could not name happened in his chest. He wasn’t able to realize that it wasn’t the first time he experienced that: it had been too long.

Day 30 Before the Rose

At least Simon was no longer bored, rather the opposite. Suddenly he lacked time to read book after book. The one he had in his house, the one he knew by heart and never got tired of was there but he couldn’t even open it: there were too many new things. Too many books he had never heard of, too many stories waiting for him.

Now that he had books again, he also recovered his energy, and began to train in the garden with the sword. His father had trained him since he was very young, and although he didn’t exactly have a natural gift for swordsmanship he made up for it with an almost superhuman tenacity. That, and the passion he put into everything he did.

There was a month left until the curse reached its deadline. Penny began to despair as she skipped through the castle in search of Baz, who for the first time in a long time was neither in his room playing the violin nor in the library reading. One hundred years without changing habits and now suddenly…

She found him in one of the ballrooms, with the window open, taking advantage of the huge clouds that covered the sky, observing completely captivated. Making as little noise as possible, Penny peeked in, curious to see what had her master so focused that he did not even notice her presence, and what she saw was Simon in the garden stabbing an invisible enemy in a thousand different ways with his sword.

“It seems like you like our guest.”

Baz jumped in surprise.

“Not at all.”

“You don’t? And what were you doing?”

“Observe.”

“Sure… And tell me, when did you realize?”

“Realize what?”

Seriously. Sometimes Penny would give anything not to be a teapot. Even if it was just so she could roll her eyes.

“That you’re in love.”

“I’m not in love. I can’t even observe in peace. Just shut up and go sit in a cupboard or whatever it is you teapots do when you have free time.”

And he left with agitated steps.

But Penny already had a plan in mind.

Day 21 Before the Rose.

Simon was returning from the library with a book in his hands. That one was especially interesting: a man who, after being betrayed, returned home fourteen years later to take revenge. He was absorbed in reading, and perhaps that was why he almost didn’t hear the sound.

But he did.

He closed the book and began to follow the sound, until he stood before a door: Baz's room. It was a violin. No. It was the best-played violin piece Simon had ever heard in his life: the flow of the notes, the emotion, everything. He didn’t even know what piece it was, but if they had asked him when he stopped hating the monster that had him locked up, he would have picked this one without hesitation.

Day 13 Before the Rose.

Things needed to be sped up.

It was true that things were getting better: Baz kept watching Simon when he trained, and Simon had noticed; Baz had started playing the violin in front of Simon, and sometimes even played in the library, while he read. They talked. They could spend hours talking about anything. Baz was losing his fear of attacking Simon and he was beginning to appreciate in some way the owner of the house, who as far as he knew, could very well be a vampire. But there was only half a month left and Penny wanted her body back.

“Hey Baz, what about we throw a party?”

“A ... What for?”

“Well, what do I know, look: we can open the big hall, the ballroom; there we set up the table, we put candles, we call the piano…”

“You have weirder ideas than Fiona.”

Baz said that sentence with his usual poker face, but Penny, who hadn’t heard him talk about his family for almost fifty years, smiled inside.

“Baz, think about it. Maybe that way…”

“Maybe what, Penny? Maybe he’ll be interested in me? In a vampire?”

Simon thought it was a great idea, and offered to help prepare everything but Penny sent him to get his measures taken so the wardrobe could get him a new suit and there she went, to tell Baz the news that he was not going to get out of this one.

The vampire accepted it with resignation, and that's how Penny organized all the staff to get the main ballroom cleaned in record time. Was it huge for only two people? Totally. But she was excited, and that was enough.

The clock struck nine o'clock, and Simon appeared at the door. Taking a good look at him, Penny thought, he wasn’t all that. The boy was alright, but there were much better-looking ones in court. There was that boy… Micah, was his name… Well, Baz liked Simon and she was not going to complain.

Simon was spinning around, trying to look at all the paintings on the ceiling at the same time; almost all of the forest, which was seen from the windows, and the ornaments on the table when Baz entered.

He forgot about everything else.

By now he had figured out that Baz was a vampire. He hadn’t asked anyone, but he was increasingly convinced. Seeing him then made him doubt: in the books, vampires were dark, cruel beings, that had no problem killing whoever it was to feed themselves. The boy before him, in the technical aspects, did fit the descriptions: he had never seen him eat or sleep; he was very pale, and did not go out into the sun. But all that alleged evil was simply not there. Baz looked at him with surprise, his mouth ajar; the eyes, of that color taken from the description of the heroes in his books, reflecting something indescribable for Simon and that Penny, from a corner, did know how to identify.

When Baz managed to look away from Simon's eyes ("he should style his hair like this more often", he thought) the first thing he did was close his mouth and try to regain his composure. Only then he brought Simon to the table. Once again, only he ate, while Baz watched him. They didn’t stop talking. They talked about books, about music, about swords, and Simon didn’t remember ever talking so much with a person, accustomed to his pensive father and the blunt answers he used to give Philipa. He found himself thinking about how someone could be so interesting despite having been locked in a castle for much longer, Simon suspected, than he had been outside.

The moment Simon finished eating, he began to hear a piano. It played by itself, from a corner of the table. It was a much more cheerful piece than the ones owner of the castle used to play, and he stood up.

“Baz, do you dance?”

Baz knew how to dance. Or at least, at some point in his life he had known how to. But a dance had been the cause of his current situation, and he had not done so for nearly a hundred years.

“No.”

“Let’s go, then.”

Simon took him by the hand, dragged him to the middle of the room and they positioned themselves. Baz's hand on Simon's shoulder, and Simon resting his hand on Baz's hip. For once, he was grateful for what Philipa had taught him.

“Chin up. Don’t look at the ground.”

They began to move. Simon led Baz, counting in a low voice.

“One two three. One two three. Don’t drag your feet.”

His counting turned into a mumble, which faded gradually. They danced the whole piece, then another one and another one. Baz remembered almost immediately and picked up the pace easily. The songs became slower. Simon found himself almost hugging the vampire, moving in circles and Baz wondered, casually, what would happen if he kissed him.

The brush of his fangs against his lower lip reminded him that he could not do that.

Hour 51 Before the Rose.

The sun was setting. Through the window you could see the cloudy sky, growing darker. Baz had gone hunting, and Penny was in the kitchen. It was time to go to the west wing. Before leaving the room, in a gesture that was out of nervousness rather than anything else, Simon looked both ways. The corridor was empty. He walked slowly, trying not to make noise and look natural at the same time: he still had not gotten used to the fact that the furniture was everywhere watching.

The door was quite ordinary: wooden, somewhat heavy. It was closed but had no locks. It didn’t seem to hide any great treasure.

Simon went in. The room was very dark, and once he got used to the gloom he saw that everything was completely destroyed: the curtains, the furniture, the paintings... There were several of them, depicting what must have been Baz's family. A woman, a man and several children of all ages. One of the wooden frames held a torn canvas. Overcome by curiosity, he did his best to reassemble it and found a very well-made portrait: a boy with dark skin, gray eyes and high cheekbones. Simon soon recognized the model, despite how much he’d changed.

He would have spent all night looking at the portrait, but something else drew his attention. On a table, in a corner, there was a rose. It was open, and some petals had fallen but what stood out to Simon was the strange glow it gave off.

“Simon! What are you doing here?” It was Penny.

“What? I…”

“Simon, you have to get out of here. Baz is going to…”

“But…”

“Go, hurry up.”

“Penny, why…?”

“Simon, please go, fast.”

“I'm not going to leave until you explain what that rose is.”

“Too late.”

Baz's outline appeared, silhouetted against the light of the corridor.

“Snow, what are you doing here?”

“Baz, I'm sorry. I…”

“Go away.”

“Baz, no…”

“LEAVE!!” And Simon left. He ran to his room, and as soon as he grabbed his sword he left the castle. In no time was crossing the forest.

“Baz, how could you…?”

“Penny, shut up.”

“He was our last hope.”

“What hope? There is no hope, Penny. There never has been. Agatha…”

“TYRANNUS BASILTON GRIMM-PITCH! I'm so tired of you being melodramatic! Simon has gone to the forest. Alone. And do not expect me to give you a list of all the creatures that are loose out there.”

Baz could perfectly imagine Penny's face at that moment if she were human: the same one she had when his siblings got into the reception room during an important meeting.

But then Simon's blue eyes came to his head and his face when he saw the library for the first time and the night they danced together and he thought that, even if he remained a vampire, he did not want to let him go. He ran out towards the forest.

Hour 4 Before the Rose

“Baz, will you let me in?”

He did not get an answer.

Simon stepped into the room, and found the vampire sitting in a backless chair, with the rose between his fingers and his eyes lost somewhere on the floor. He had changed his clothes, so the bites and scratches, the result of having saved his life, were out of sight except for those on his face. The hardest thing for Simon was that he had come out unharmed.

When Baz caught up to him, the pack of wolves was surrounding Simon, who defended himself with the sword as best as he could, but he was not going to endure much longer. It had been the vampire who had made them flee, fighting with several of them.

“Baz, I… I'm sorry.”

“It’s okay. It's already daytime, anyway. Leave if you want.” His tone was completely monotone, without the slightest trace of emotion.

Simon stood still at the door. He wanted to do something. He needed to do something.

“What are you waiting for? I'm telling you that you can go. You're free.”

But he did not know what.

“Baz, I… I don’t know if I want to leave.”

Silence.

“I'll be in the library.”

Baz didn’t say anything. He didn’t even look up when Simon walked out the door, and continued to stare off into space, spaced out.

Hour 2 Before the Rose.

The first to realize that someone was approaching were the pruning shears, who saw the crowd in the distance approaching the castle. They ran to warn Penny, who leaned out the window to see an armed crowd, led by a girl with a drawn sword.

They were under attack.

Penny entrusted the chandelier with organizing the defense before running up to the west wing. Baz was still there, in the same position Simon had left him.

“Baz, we’re being attacked.”

She did not get any reaction.

“Baz, please.”

Nothing.

“Basilton, I don’t have time for nonsense. They’re going to invade the castle and there are two hours left until the rose withers.”

Desperate, Penny left in search of Simon. Crossing the hall, he heard the voice of the man who had arrived at the castle two months ago.

“A vampire, yes. He has my son locked up.”

“Perfect. I’ll take care of him.”

Fear did most of the work: the last thing those people were expecting was to find an army of furniture and cutlery attacking them and most of them, who had arrived there in the heat of the moment but had not brandished a weapon in their life, fled instantly. The rest did not take long to follow them. In a matter of minutes there were only Davy and Philipa.

As the two went to the dungeons, Penny found Simon and quickly summed up the situation. The boy, far from having the reaction that Penny expected, panicked.

“She’s going to kill him, Penny. She will…”

“She can’t. He's a vampire, Simon. He can not die.”

“It doesn’t matter. I know her. She is capable of… torturing him, or something like that.”

When Simon reached the west wing, Baz was still alone.

“Baz, please, you have to leave. I’ll talk to them.”

At least he reacted. He looked at Simon, but did not say anything.

Philipa entered.

“Simon, what are you doing here?”

“Where’s my father?”

Davy came in after Philippa, but Simon did not have time to rejoice.

“Simon, move! He’s the vampire!”

Those words brought him back to reality.

“Baz, please leave.”

With a nod and without letting go of the rose, the vampire jumped out the window to the next balcony.

“Simon! What are you doing?”

“Dad, go home. Please. Both of you.”

But Philipa did not listen to him. She threw herself toward the window, sword in hand, but found Simon himself stopping her.

“Simon, I'm going to protect you. At all costs.”

“Protect me from what?”

“From the beast, obviously.”

“There's nothing to protect, Philipa.”

“Simon, you don’t realize. It has brainwashed you.”

Each time it was more complicated to stop her attacks, designed to disarm him.

"You are the one who is brainwashed, Philipa. He has not done anything to you.”

“He's a monster Simon, and he has kidnapped you.”

With those words, in a single movement the girl pushed Simon, took the sword and jumped out the window chasing Baz, who was still fleeing, but the distance was getting shorter.

Baz would never know if the cause was a stone, a broken tile, or just rain, but jumping from one balcony to another Philipa caught up with him. She raised her sword.

Something fell on her. Simon.

“Philipa, that's enough.”

She tossed and turned, trying to break free and they smashed into the railing which gave way. He grabbed onto one of the ledges.

She didn’t.

And she fell.

Baz lifted Simon up.

“SIMON!”

Davy gesticulated from the balcony of the west wing.

“Dad, I'm fine! Look for Penny, I’ll be right there!”

On the ground, the rose lost one more petal. It was still pouring rain.

“Snow, why did you do that?”

“Well… I don’t know. Because I wanted to?

“But why?”

“I suppose ... I’ve fallen in love.”

Minute 40 Before the Rose.

For once in his life, Baz ignored his fangs. And his fear. And he let himself be when Simon raised his head, closed his eyes and kissed him.

Penny was in the main hall, explaining the situation to Davy, when she started to grow. In a few seconds she was five foot two again, she had hair, face, hands and feet; even her glasses had returned. Around her, the cups and even the chair Davy was sitting on began to change as well, and in a matter of minutes the castle was full of people. No one except Penny was very sure of what had happened, but it didn’t matter, because they were human again.

Baz still wasn’t over Simon's statement, nor the kiss, nor the abs that showed under the soaking shirt when he himself began to change. His skin was darker, and it was warm. His hair was once again as black as before and his eyes regained the brightness and the green hues. He regained his previous weight, and muscles.

But the best was the pulse. His heart was beating again, he was alive again.

"I knew it," Simon said offhandedly.

The pain in his mouth returned, identical to that of that night, a hundred years ago. But this time when it finished, the fangs were not there.

They were not there. One hundred years living with them and finally. At last they had disappeared.

He hugged Simon, this time without qualms. Knowing that nothing was going to happen. That he was a human again. And maybe it was the rain, but Baz was convinced he was crying. That the two of them were crying. He was human again. One hundred years later he was human again.

It was already dawn when they came back into the castle. Baz had assumed it would be full of people, but not even Penny was there. He would have to thank her later.

They arrived at Baz's room and Simon could not look away from him. The portrait didn’t do him justice. Actually, it was far from it.

In a gesture that seemed too fluid to Baz, Simon took off his shirt and threw it to the ground. A puddle formed around.

“You are… Incredible.”

Simon blushed.

“You too.”

“Simon, why…? Why?”

"You called me by my name," he pointed out. “First of all, you have never done any harm to anyone. You were just trying to protect others. And I understand that you’ve held me in here. You were alone and… But I don’t think it was because of that. It happened, period.” Simon surprised himself with the fluency with which he spoke. “Do you love me?”

“Since you saw the library for the first time.” Baz didn’t even have to stop to think about it.

Baz was smiling, and Simon kissed him again. His lips, his cheekbones, his jaw. He unbuttoned his shirt, and continued with his shoulders, which were now wide and much firmer. And his neck. his neck was warm.

Baz woke up somewhat disoriented. That was his bed, that much was clear. And his room. But there was someone else in it. Simon. Even asleep he looked like a Greek god, his curls scattered on the pillow and his skin dotted with moles. Baz had touched each and every one the night before. (Or the day before, Baz was not sure, but it didn’t matter much to him either way).

He smiled. Things were okay. At last everything was okay.

EPILOGUE

Year 2 After the Rose.

The hardest thing of all, by far, had been putting things in order. When Baz finally left the castle, only Mordelia, his little sister who was not so small anymore, was still alive. The first thing she said when he saw him was "I knew vampires existed", quite childish for a woman almost a hundred years old. She had proclaimed him her long-lost son and he had risen to the throne, displacing his grandnephew who had not taken it especially badly. It’s not like he wanted to be king in a kingdom on the verge of bankruptcy.

The economy was a disaster. Foreign policy was a disaster. It was going to be difficult for Baz and Simon to get the country out of that situation and they had gotten to work right away: little by little, they were getting the country off the ground.

The added complication was that Baz was completely out of context: he had no idea what had happened to the kingdom in recent years and Simon was in charge of catching him up. Hearing that all the people he had lived with had already died, often left him completely devastated: Jamie had died barely three years after his disappearance, during a war, and in his family only remained his siblings’ grandchildren. It was often Simon who cut off the meetings prematurely to give him a break.

But that day they dropped everything. It was an early summer morning. In the castle’s garden, among the roses, in a tent set up to accommodate as many people as possible, Davy officiated the ceremony and at his side Simon smiled from ear to ear. Baz appeared on the arm of Penny, moving towards the altar. The ceremony was quick, partly due to the heat: it had been Baz who insisted on doing it on that date, saying that it had been too cold for the rest of his life and Simon could not agree more. The atmosphere was relaxed and cheerful, and if someone had a problem with two kings in the kingdom, they kept quiet forever. Among all the people who came to congratulate them, one of them, a blonde woman with clear skin and eyes, approached Baz, congratulated him and handed him a red rose. He stared at her without knowing very well how to react and she had already turned around to leave when he called her by her name.

“Agatha!”

The woman turned around and smiled. Baz smiled back.

“Baz, what's wrong?”

He kissed him on the lips.

“Nothing, Simon.”

Baz threw the rose to the ground and did not think about it again.

#snowbaz #snowbaz fanfiction #baz pitch #simon snow #penelope bounce #agatha wellbelove #carry on simon #carry on #carry on rainbow rowell

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elizadoolittlethings · 6 years ago

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Invaders from Mars written and directed by Mark Gatiss

What’s it about: Hallowe'en 1938. A year after a mysterious meteorite lit up the skies of New York state, Martian invaders laid waste to the nation. At least, according to soon-to-be infamous Orson Welles they did. But what if some of the panicked listeners to the legendary War of the Worlds broadcast weren't just imagining things? Attempting to deliver Charley to her rendezvous in Singapore 1930, the Doctor overshoots a little, arriving in Manhattan just in time to find a dead private detective. Indulging his gumshoe fantasies, the Doctor is soon embroiled in the hunt for a missing Russian scientist whilst Charley finds herself at the mercy of a very dubious Fifth Columnist. With some genuinely out of this world 'merchandise' at stake, the TARDIS crew are forced into an alliance with a sultry dame called Glory Bee, Orson Welles himself and a mobster with half a nose known as 'The Phantom'. And slowly but surely, something is drawing plans against them. Just not very good ones...

Breathless Romantic: Throwing away all of the incoherent nonsense that was suggested in Minuet in Hell, Mark Gatiss kicks off the second year of the 8th Doctor’s audio adventures by writing for his character with as much zest and enthusiasm as possible. He is extraordinarily fun throughout, making it all up as he goes along and juggling up super powers and Martians with equal aplomb. The closest comparison I can think of is Tom Baker in Talons of Weng-Chiang – in that story the Doctor seems to adore the living homage he is experiencing and has a sense of glee about the whole experience, throwing out witty lines and dazzling the enemies with his fiendishness. That’s exactly the same feeling I got with the 8th Doctor and Invaders of Mars – that he loved every second of his stroll around 1930’s America.

He loves a detective story and always seems to end up helping the police with their enquiries. It is a constant mystery to the Doctor that whilst he is showing his companions the wonders of the universe they are striving to get home and return to a normal life. He has a stab at the witty film noir-ish dialogue swearing that he is an expert at the local patter but Glory Bee merely thinks he is ill. He only sleeps once in a while. Every now and then he treats himself to a complete makeover – what a great way of explaining regeneration. By episode three he is juggling the Nazis, the Russians, the CIA, gangsters and Martians and he barely breaks a sweat. Devine asks if he is a part of Victorian revival week. He is a huge fan of Orson Welles and has seen all of his movies even though they haven’t been made yet. He has the brilliant plan of using the War of the Worlds scare to scare of a genuine alien threat and wants to get in on the action so orders Charley into the TARDIS so he can grab the mike and have a go at playing the monsters trying to take over the world!

Edwardian Adventuress: Does Charley appear in this? Not really…she is kidnapped early in episode one, drugged in episode two, escapes in episode three and tails behind the Doctor in episode four. This is the Doctor’s story through and through but never mind as the next story is the ultimate Charley story.

Great Ideas: As you can imagine this is full of the imagination you would come to expect from one of the League of Gentlemen. Cosmo Devine is such a fantastic character, the life and soul of every party and the biggest crook on the planet! He uses Jimmy and Biro and murders them both afterwards. Glory Bee is revealed to be a Russian Agent and ends up falling off the Brooklyn Bridge to her watery death. The Nazis, the Soviets and the CIA all want to get their hands on the alien technology and created weapons to control the world. I love how the Martian scare of War of the Worlds is subtly squeezed into the story around all the political shenanigans going on elsewhere. It is a great use of a genuine historical event. Devine’s associates turn out to be the Nazi’s and he is a most unusual sympathiser and has visions of the Master Race with flying saucers and death rays – it is such a clichéd idea but a refreshing way of telling the same sort of story. The story really kicks off when Streath and Noriam show up – adult aliens who are as mischievous as the Slitheen when it comes to manipulating the human race and exploiting their wealth. It is basically one big protection racket where they shoot a ship full of alien eggs to different planets and let them hatch and cause the local populace to panic. After fooling them into thinking they are vulnerable they step in and look after them for a modest fee! Devine cottons on to their scheme and steps in to convince them to actually conquer the world! The Doctor sneakily arranges a second broadcast of War of the Worlds for the aliens benefit only and they scarper thinking that beefier invaders have turned up.

Sparkling Dialogue: This is probably Mark Gatiss’ strongest script for Doctor Who when it comes to witty dialogue – it is as sharp as a needle being dragged down your arm! Gatiss clearly adored Devine and every single syllable he utters is as gorgeous as his name. ‘I see little green men all the time! All I need is a few hours with my old friend Jack Daniels!’ ‘I better get you to a darkened room’ ‘I beg your pardon?’ ‘Nice equipment’ ‘I bet you say that to all the girls’ ‘Listen to me you lousy faggot!’ ‘What are you waiting for, Fritzy?’ ‘Martians! From the planet Mars! The red one you passed on the way in…’ ‘’How does it feel to betray your own planet?’ ‘A lot like betraying your own country but a teensy bit more satisfying.’ ‘Err…what’s that ticking?’

Audio landscape: Good golly gosh! Gary Russell is not directing this baby! Wonders will never cease! Gatiss treats this piece like a labour of love and makes it sound as authentic as possible with lots of brilliant US accents and framing the story within a radio broadcast. Cars blast their horns in the pack American traffic, windows smash, the TARDIS grinds through the vortex and there is a fabulous 30’s style death ray effect. I loved the sequence when the Doctor opens up the second storey window and lets in the noise of the traffic, they clamber down the clattering fire escape and bullets bounce off of the walls. Welles reading War of the Worlds in episode two is very creepy. The tacky and melodramatic voices for Streath and Noriam are belly-ache funny. Insects hum in the evening air. Music: It was a wise move to include less music as it allows you to focus much more on the performances but the dramatic stings at the end of scenes really drives home the feel of a 1930’s radio broadcast. The Doctor Who theme is worked in a few times to amusing effect. Standout Performance: What a cast! How can you choose one performance in this repertoire? John Arthur rocks on as the delightful Cosmo Devine, one of the slimiest Doctor Who villains it has been my pleasure to listen to – a homosexual Nazi sympathiser with all the wit of Noel Coward and the ruthlessness of Genghis Khan! Streath and Noriam are a very amusing pair; one is a histrionic world conqueror and the other a cataloguer in awe of what the planet has to offer. Any story with Jessica Stevenson and Simon Pegg is going to stink of quality and Don Chaney and Glory Bee allow them to have great fun with a number of accents. A small mention as well for Ian Hallard’s squeaky voiced Mouse in the first episode who meets a very unfortunate end. Result: I am starting to wonder if I used to be a superficial youth (despite always thinking the contrary as all youths do!) as I used to find this story as boring as sin but in hindsight this is one of the better McGann audios with an infectious sense of fun and lots of marvellous and imaginative ideas. Using the real War of the Worlds Martian scare to excellent effect and giving Paul McGann to take centre stage and wow his audience, Mark Gatiss proves to be the perfect choice to kick of the second season of 8th Doctor Audios. The plotting is watertight and the characters manage to walk that fine line between realism and melodrama with Cosmo Devine taking the place as the campest Nazi sympathiser of all time. India Fisher is sidelined completely but that just makes way for some other fantastic performances and a general feeling of old school Doctor Who produced with real verve. A very strong start: 8/10

#MG #mark gatiss #doctor who #invaders from mars #the genius in action #all things MG

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samwrights · 7 years ago

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Homesick // Pt 7

Summary: Tony and Pepper’s daughter Madelyn just graduated from Midtown School of Science and Technology. Without her parents knowledge, she managed to land an internship with her dad’s business to keep her busy over the summer and to prepare her for what she wants to do with her future. But she isn’t the only one with a Stark Enterprises internship—and now she’s stuck working with some overly excited ongoing sophomore named Peter Parker.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Pairing: Stark!Daughter x Peter (OC) Words: 3,518 Loop: Drugs // EDEN You’re So Last Summer // Taking Back Sunday

I got way too many routes to take to make this all just go away. VII.

It was the third week of June. Elly had finally completed the Spider-Suit and, after some fine tuning tweaks from her father, it was finally packed away for Peter to use. Her dad and him had flown off to Germany for some big Avengers mission involving the Sokovia Accords. In his absence, he had been video calling Elly and keeping a small video diary as much as he could. Currently, Happy Hogan was rushing him into his hotel room while telling him to suit up. The very disgruntled Happy brought Peter to the common space of his hotel room upon seeing him in his ragtag hoodie and tights, revealing a large metal suitcase. He gave the young Spider-Man two minutes to get changed into his long awaited suit. Atop the silver suitcase was a small, handwritten note that read, “A minor upgrade for you, babe” with MJS signed in beautiful calligraphy. In his mind, he could hear her sarcastic tone and all he wanted in this moment was to call her and show her what the suit looked like on. However, he was once again being ushered by Happy and he never got the chance.

Elly was currently sitting at home trying her best to be productive, but she was just so bored. With her dad being gone, she was technically free from work. She answered office phone calls, despite not having to, and nearly all of those calls ended up in her taking a message since she was unsure of her when her father would return. She cleaned the fourth and fifth floors that belonged to the Stark family time and time again. Elly had drawn up more upgrades for Iron Man and Spider-Man and even humored herself in making her own rendition of an Iron Man suit for herself that she had wanted to show to her dad and boyfriend. But aside from that, she felt she was lacking inspiration and creativity. She was bored and she was missing Peter.

Their days were full of such laughter that lifted up Elly’s spirits that felt she had felt as if something were missing while he was gone. Every morning, she would pick him up to start their work day. They would spend their lunch together, talking about the progress and processes of their internship. Their nights were spent playing video games or watching movies together in the Stark family home theater. Every day seemed to start and end with Peter, and not knowing when he was going to be back was killing her. Since his departure, Elly often found herself curled up on the couch alone watching TV or a variety of YouTube videos serving as background noise as she sipped on tea with her leather bound sketchbook in her lap while she continued designs for her own suit. Tonight was one of those nights. Her eyes were dancing with fatigue as they fought to focus on the current episode of Stranger Things that she was attempting to watch. Sleep seemed to be winning until her phone started blaring the last verse of Taking Back Sunday’s “You’re So Last Summer”, signifying Peter was finally able to call. As soon as she answered, he was babbling away in excitement.

“Elly! Elly, oh my god the most amazing thing happened to me. So your dad was all like ‘Hey, underoos!’ and I just kind of flipped in and was like ‘sup everybody’ and I stole Captain America’s shield and—hey just a second! Coming!” Peter literally had not taken a breath since Elly picked up the video chat, and she wondered how on earth he could talk so fast, let alone do a back flip off of his bed while he was laying on his stomach. Elly was able to see Happy enter his room in a robe, gripe about the thin walls before disappearing from her view again. Peter rushed back to his phone, his vibrant smile still glued to his face. “Anyway, thank you so much for the suit Elly, it’s awesome. I would have called you sooner but I didn’t get a chance to.” She chuckled softly at his uncontainable elation.

“It’s fine, Peter. So you stole uncle Steve’s shield. What else happened today?” He began giving Elly a run down of everything she had missed. She tried her best to picture everyone that was there, though a couple of descriptions sounded unfamiliar. She gather her uncle Clint was also a part of the battle, which made her just a little melancholy. She hadn’t seen him or his family in a while, and now she was questioning when the next time would even be. When Peter got to the part in the story where he tangled some giant guy’s legs like in Empire Strikes Back, Elly was shaking with laughter.

“That’s pretty funny. I can’t wait to see all of the videos you took in Germany.”

“I can’t wait until we go home. I miss you.” The vivacious conversation had died down with those words—reality setting in and bringing them the realization that this is the longest they had been apart.

“I miss you too. Any idea when you and dad are going to be back?”

“I-I’m not sure yet. I’d talk to him but he’s been pretty tense since Captain America got away.” A soft, disappointed sigh left Elly’s lips.

“I don’t doubt that. I wish I was with you guys instead. I’m so freakin’ bored.” Elly had picked up the art of diversion from her father, learning to immediately change the subject to something inclusive instead of sad.

“Germany would have been awesome to see with you.”

“We’ll go, one day.” Another thing she had learned from her dad—explore the world as often as possible. Though this exact scenario wasn’t quite what he meant, she had only learned through observation. Any time Tony was out somewhere without Pepper, he always promised to take her back there. They talked some more, mostly one what Elly had been doing while the men in her life were away, which felt like a whole lot of nothing. “I’m gonna go to bed, babe. I can hardly keep my eyes open.”

“Aw, okay. I miss you, and I’ll see you soon, okay love? Good night.”

“Night, Peter.” Elly ended the call, hoping the video screen cut off before he could see her rising blush. Him calling her love as he had been the past week made her heart swell and burst. Deciding to crash on the couch, like she had been doing since the Towers been empty, she closed her eyes once again.

Elly awoke the next morning with a crick in her neck, most likely from sleeping on the couch. First thing she did was check her phone; Peter had sent her nearly a dozen photos of him running around Germany with her dad, each photo bringing a smile to her lips. She started her day as normal—eating breakfast, getting a good work out in the training room, and headed up to the lab to work on her private project. The miniature suit Elly had created for herself was over halfway completed. All that was left was the chest plate and helmet, with the latter being the most time consuming piece she was going to need. “I’m home, honey!” Elly hadn’t realized the elevator doors opened until she saw Tony walking towards her. The first thing she noticed was the scrapes and bruises all over her dad. “What’s wrong?” He asked very carefully, taking note of the perplexed look on his daughter’s face.

“D-dad? W-what happened to you?” Tony became very quiet, his lips pursed as if he were in pain.

“Rogers happened. I told him I was trying to keep us all together, he chose his friend. He didn’t choose us, he didn’t choose you like we chose him. I’m sorry, honey.” Elly nodded in understanding before wrapping her arms around her dad’s torso, a singular tear streaming down her face at the harsh truth. She understood how much this hurt him, as well as her.

“You’ve got me and mom, dad.” She mumbled into his chest.

“Nah, I got you kiddo.” Tony hugged his daughter back as tight as he possibly could. They stood in their embrace in the absence of sound until he pulled away, looking at Elly’s workspace. “So I see you started a project. What on earth have you been doing?” There was her dad’s master deflection skills shining through. He picked up her leather bound sketchbook that Peter had given her what felt like ages ago. His eyes landed on the junior Iron Man designs. “What, you want to be just like dad?” Tony joked.

“Pshh, I would be way cooler than Iron Man.” Elly had walked up beside him, proudly showing the sketches she had worked on. Tony tapped his fingers on his chin.

“I don’t know, Iron Girl or Iron Lady would never sound right.” He teased.

“I mean, mom was named Rescue and I loved that.” The slightest frown touched her dad’s lips. It became obvious then that Elly was missing her mom, causing Tony’s guilt to resurface.

“Peacekeeper.” Was all Tony said. Elly raised her eyebrows at him expectantly, waiting for him to explain further. “You always kept the peace between me and your mother, a-and it’s my fault she’s not here.” Silence blanketed over them. Elly had never seen her dad in such a vulnerable state, and she almost felt the need to coddle him.

“Dad…where is she?” Elly inquired quietly.

“We’re on a break.” Tony replied earnestly after a brief pause. “She asked me to stop being Iron Man; that I need to be here more for you and her. But I don’t want to stop—I can’t stop trying to protect you two.” His head hung ever so slightly in shame at the admission.

“I get it, pops. Mom will come around, I promise.”

“Yeah? Can you guarantee that?”

“Yeah, knowing mom? I definitely can.”

Later that night, Tony and Elly had a peaceful, intimate dinner. As much as Elly wanted to go see Peter, she knew her dad needed her company now more than ever. She needed it too. The father and daughter shared many laughs, ending their night playing on their virtual reality gaming consoles in their living room and forgetting the pain they were sharing. After the system was turned off, they sat without speaking to each other and allowed tension to fill the room. “Can I ask you something?” Asked Elly. Her voice was calm and confident despite the nerves that filled her stomach.

“Of course, honey. What’s up?” Tony felt anxious too. He loved spending time with his daughter, but the way she spoke was a very avid reminder of her mother. Pepper always sounded threatening when she opened conversation with such a vague question.

“Let’s have honesty hour.” She declared. “You said you and mom were on a break. I-is it in any way my fault?” The question left Tony stunned.

“Of course not, Elly. It’s mine and I know it is. Your mother and I are working on our own problems, or rather my problems. She just wants us to be a normal family.” He was rambling, unsure of how to speak his truth.

“What do you want?” She asked.

“I want it too. That’s why we were a family up until now.”

“We are a family, dad. We’re just in a rough patch.”

“That’s…that’s not how your mom feels right now. She thinks I can’t be dad and Iron Man too.”

“You’ve been doing it for the last eight years, and we’ve been fine.”

“Tell your mom that.” He muttered, feeling defeated. How his seventeen year-old daughter was giving him such a mature, stern talking to was beyond him. “But enough about that, it’s my turn to parent you. How are you and Parker?”

“We’re really good, actually. He thanked me for the suit; he called every night that he could while you guys were in Germany.”

“I had a talk with him on the way back home.” Elly looked at him, slightly mortified. “Nothing bad, honey. You seem…happier since you two started dating. I told him not to blow it—I don’t know what I would do if your heart got broken again.” Too late for that, Elly thought to herself. She stayed quiet, thinking of how Peter and her dad were the only salvation she had in her current state. She was still hurting from the absence of her mom and late best friend, learning that her pseudo-family was falling apart, and the newly revealed information of her godfather and dad’s best friend Rhodey being paralyzed from the waist down. Over the course of dinner, Tony had told her of Colonel Rhodes’ injuries, and that was her breaking point. It felt as if her world was crumbling very slowly.

“I-I’m trying really hard, dad. To not be upset over everything that’s going on but, I-I miss mom and I feel like she’s not here because of me. And Uncle Steve…he’s like family, or was. We all considered him to be family, and he chose Bucky over us. And Uncle Rhodey’s crippled because of it. It’s so much.” Elly was doing her best to hold back sobs, the words falling from her tongue allowed her to acknowledge the situation as reality. As much as it hurt, she needed to prove she was strong to her father.

“I know, kid, life kind of sucks right now. But you will always have me and your mom to turn to, even if she isn’t here. She also didn’t leave because of you,” Tony reiterated, choosing his next words carefully. “If anything, she left for you, if that makes sense.”

“Not at all.” Elly gave an awkward chuckle to emphasize her confusion.

“Your mom doesn’t want you to see her in a vulnerable state right now. Even though she’s one of the strongest women I know, I mean she deals with me, after all.” The Starks shared boisterous laughter, knowing that Tony spoke only the truth.

“Dad…do you love mom?” Elly knew she was treading into murky waters, but by declaration of honest hour, she hoped her dad would answer.

“Hell yeah I do.” He responded without a moments hesitation.

“So how come you two never got married?”

“It just never seemed like the right time. I was planning on proposing when Rhodey and I got back from Washington that one year, and it almost felt…wrong. I wanted to make sure that you two were safe before officially announcing that the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist Tony Stark was married.”

“And you just kept waiting for the right moment…” Elly figured. Tony nodded in agreement, pursing his lips in discomfort. It felt strange, talking to his seventeen year-old daughter about his feelings. It also made him feel lighter. “The right moment never comes, dad. You have to make it the right moment.”

“Gross, when did you get wise? How many romantic novels have you been reading?” He joked.

“You and your stupid deflections, pops!” Tony just laughed before patting his child on her shoulder. As the laughter died down, he took a turn to look at Elly fully. There was no more lighthearted laughter on his face.

“So now let me ask you, do you love Parker?” Unintentionally, her eyes widened and her jaw slackened, trying to put up some form of protest. Words never came out and it was then Tony had his answer. He wanted her to say it—to fully admit to someone else than just herself to prove a point.

“I-I do.” She whispered.

“I know you do. But it doesn’t become real until you say it out loud. Just like how I love your mom.” He repeated, furthering driving his point home. A barely noticeable smirk twitched on his lips, satisfied with his parenting done for the day. “Let’s get some sleep, kiddo. I gotta go check on Rhodey tomorrow, but sometime this week, let’s work on your suit?”

“Sounds good. Good night, I love you. And tell Uncle Rhodey I say hi.”

“Night, honey. Love you too.”

Tony was gone the next morning, probably off to see Rhodey. That meant she had the day off again, but the time she spent with her dad inspired her to be productive. She didn’t have much left to do on her suit and she wanted to finish as much as she could so they could test it out together. After making herself her morning iced coffee, she headed up to the empty lab. Elly got to work with renewed vigor, finishing her chest plate in under an hour. “Ms. Stark, incoming call from Spider-Boy.” A.A.R.O.N announced.

“Put it throught.” Peter’s face popped up on her lab screen, bright sunlight illuminating his features while her hands were still keeping busy.

“Hey, Elly! I had May drop me off today. Are you up in the lab?” From what she could tell, he was walking into the tower, his backpack slung over his shoulders as always.

“Yeah, I’m up here. But you know there’s no internship today, right? It’s just me here.”

“Oh, y-yeah. I know, I figured that was okay but I guess I should have asked you if I could come over first.” Peter stopped in his tracks as he entered the lobby of the compound, the excitement he once had diminishing. Elly could see his crestfallen features, immediately filling her with guilt.

“N-no, that’s not what I meant! I-I just didn’t want you to expect to have training with Nat or something. But come on up, I have a surprise for you.” The line went dead, leaving Peter to his solidarity as he made his way up to the lab. He’d come to know that surprises from Elly were typically a good thing, and anxiety no longer came to him when she said she had one for him. When he exited the elevator, he was presented with an Iron Man suit that was dark blue and gold.

“W-what is this?” Peter asked with half a laugh in amazement.

“A little project I’ve been working on while you’ve been away. What do you think?” Elly walked towards him, the clinking of her jet boots resonating in the empty lab. The incomplete helmet covering her head retracted, and Peter was finally presented with the face of the girl he had been missing.

“That is amazing!” He exclaimed as Elly grabbed her wrist to retract her suit. His arms wrapped around his girlfriend who was left in only a long tank top that covered the shorts she was wearing underneath. “I missed you so much.” Said Peter before pressing a warm kiss to her forehead.

“I missed you too. Now you have got to show me the video diary from your trip!” The two laughed, each taking a seat at her workspace and began watching his little home movie on her mini projector screen. They spent the rest of the day together; Peter helped her engineer the rest of her helmet, grabbed a bunch of snacks throughout their time together and filled their night with love and laughter. Day eventually gave way to night and the two ended their evening sitting on the roof of the Tower, looking at the twinkling lights of the city. “Peter? Can I ask you a question?”

“Yeah, of course, Elly.” He said with confidence. Similar to her saying she had a surprise, her saying she had a question to start a conversation no longer filled his gut with anxiety.

“What are we going to do when I start college?”

“W-what do you mean?” He had spoken too soon. While he knew this talk was bound to happen, he hadn’t expected it to be so soon. They’d been together for less than a month and he’d just gotten back from Germany—he thought he had at least until the end of the summer.

“I mean, you’re sixteen and going to be a sophomore in high school and I’m going to be eighteen in less than two months and a freshman in college. A-and I wouldn’t ever want to keep our relationship a secret because that’s not fair to you but if someone were to find out that Tony Stark’s daughter was dating someone that wasn’t the legal age of consent, who knows what could happen and—“ Somewhere in the last couple of months they had spent together, Elly had adopted Peter’s habit for rambling when nervous, as she was doing now. But he cut her off, instantly recognizing what she was doing.

“Let’s just…cross that bridge when we get there? I don’t want to think about that right now.” Elly closed her mouth tightly, but ultimately agreed in the form of a nod. He was right; they still had time and they should enjoy it. Little did she know, the inevitable end never left Peter’s mind.

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@xxoerinnoxx @maddieisaacs @araeni @iwillbesmall-promise

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coldcomputersoul · 4 years ago

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Marco vs. the Forces of Love Episode 4: 3’s & 7’s

Summary: It’s a hoot and a holler when Marco and Janna have an affair. Meanwhile, an unknown force is causing malfunctions on all magical devices on Mewni.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil belongs to:

[theme song]

ACT I

[The episode starts at Sensei Brantley’s dojo. Marco prepares himself for his final exam while Star and Jackie watch him among the crowd]

Sensei Brantley:

[Holding a microphone] Is this thing on? [touches it to see if it works] Alright… Ehem, Ladies and Gentlemen of all ages: Welcome to all you to the graduation ceremony of the Trank Hill Plaza dojo, where these young men will prove themselves to all of you in the noble art… of Karate. [gong sound effect]

[The crowd cheers to the students as they make a reverence to their sensei]

Sensei Brantley:

For most of them, it’s been a long way of pain and suffering to get into this point. Lots of broken bones, running noses, both physical and psychological scars that will probably haunt them for the rest of their mortal lives, but nonetheless… They’re here. For they are survivors, brave warriors ready to leave the comfort of the dojo that watched them grow as the martial artists in front of you. Each one of them a hero of its own story. A story that keeps going as they learn more about themselves and...

[As Sensei Brantley recites his speech, Jeremy starts makings faces to Marco which he retaliates by doing faces to him as well]

Sensei Brantley:

...therefore, this journey is really about the internal growing, the personal maturity that these students have reached over the years. And today… [wipes a tear from his eye] is the beginning of a whole new chapter in their lives. Please give them another round of applause. They truly deserve it.

[The crowd cheers for the students once again]

Star:

[dancing] Woo-hoo. Go Marco, go Marco, it’s your birthday, it’s your birthday!!!

Sensei Brantley:

Thank you all. Before we begin with our final demonstration, I would like to introduce you to a brand new tradition in our dojo [walks towards some red curtains on the wall] a tradition that from this point forward will be a staple for the future generations to come… I present to you: THE WALL OF FAME!!!

[Sensei Brantley pulls out the curtains to reveal a giant wall full of empty picture frames]

Marco:

[with stars on his eyes] It’s beautiful.

[Marco imagines his face on the wall as it’s displayed to the public]

Jeremy:

Hey Marco...

Marco:

What do you want?

Jeremy:

I just wanted you wish you good luck and that I can’t wait to see ourselves together on that wall...

Marco:

[raising an eyebrow] Uhm… Thanks… [thinking to himself] Wow, it turns out that Jeremy isn’t as bad as I thought...

Jeremy:

Yeah, I mean: Just imagine how awesome I will look next to your face all squashed against the floor after your inevitable failure. [laughs]

Marco:

[thinking to himself] ...or he’s just as bad as polio.

Sensei Brantley:

...and now, without further ado. Let’s begin with the test. BRING OUT THE PROPS!!!

[A couple of students bring a table with a bunch of empty glasses of wine and a green bottle on the center]

Sensei Brantley:

For your final exam: You’ll kick this bottle out of the table using the Triple Butterfly Kick. Now: See the white line in front of you? [points at a line placed a few feet away from the table] That will be your starting point. The rules are simple: If you cross that line, you fail. If you touch any of the glasses, you fail. If you touch the bottle but don’t manage to kick it out of the table, you fail. The students who fail will gonna have to repeat another year. Got it?

[Marco gets nervous and starts to shiver as he watches the distance of the table. Cut to Star and Jackie talking to each other]

Jackie:

Wow, the test looks tough. I hope Marco can get through it.

Star:

What are you talking about? THis is a piece of cake for him. I mean, remember when he broke the record at the swimming test a couple of weeks ago?

Jackie:

Yeah, but this is different. Karate is a whole new level of physical challenge.

Star:

Well, I guess you’re right. But I know that Marco is capable for this...

[Cut to Sensei Brantley ready to start the exam]

Sensei Brantley:

[checking on the list] Alright, we’re gonna start by alphabetical order: JEREMY BIRNBAUM, You’re first. Come on...

Jeremy:

[to Marco] Now, prepare to see a real expert on the job. And who knows, maybe you’ll learn something...

[Jeremy makes a reverence to Sensei Brantley and gets on position as the song “Jeremy is Awesome”starts playing on the background. However, as soon as he jumps to make the kick, loses control and crashes against the table in a very anticlimactic way. The crowd softly cheers out of pity]

Sensei Brantley:

Oh, tough luck Jeremy, but don’t worry: Because in the noble art of karate, there’s no winners or losers, just new experiences to makes us stronger every day as we keep going. Better luck next time.

[Jeremy stands up and angrily walks away]

Sensei Brantley:

Alright, the next student on the list is: MARCO DIAZ, go ahead dude, you can do it...

[Marco makes a reverence and gets on position]

Marco:

[thinking to himself] Okay Marco, you can do this. Just don’t be nervous.

[Marco takes his time to focus while everyone in the audience just watches him in suspense. He takes a deep breath, walks a few steps back from the starting line and proceeds to jump and spin in the air like a ballet dancer. He manages to kick the bottle out of the table without touching the glasses, but just for a few inches. Finally, he lands on the floor and gets acclaimed by everyone in the audience]

Marco:

[opening his eyes] I… I did it?

Sensei Brantley:

[hugging Marco] Congratulations Marco. I knew that you could make it.

Marco:

Uhm… Sensei?

Sensei Brantley:

What?

[Sensei Brantley notices that everyone is watching them sharing a hug, so he lets him go and proceeds to continue with the next student]

Sensei Brantley:

Anyway… Our next student on the list is GOMEZ DURHAM… or something...

[Later that day after the exam, Marco talks with Sensei about today’s performance while everyone in the audience are leaving]

Marco:

I just don’t don’t know how it happened. At first I was like all nervous thinking that I would fail just like the other times, but then I closed my eyes and… I felt it, the spirit of the warrior was inside me just like you said it, so I let myself go and… the moment I’ve noticed, I’m already on the floor in one piece.

Sensei Brantley:

That’s what I’ve been trying to teach you all these years. You overthink things too much dude. Sometimes you just got to go with the flow.

Marco:

I’ll never forget it. Thank you for all your dedication to me Sensei.

Sensei Brantley:

Don’t mention it.

[They make a last reverence to each other before Star and Jackie show up to congratulate Marco]

Star:

[hugging Marco] Oh Marco, I’m so proud of you. I mean, you finally graduate from karate.

Jackie:

And just when I thought you couldn’t be more awesome, you make another perfect performance [grabbing Marco’s arm] You never cease to amaze me.

Marco:

[blushing] Uhm, girls please. You’re embarrassing me in front of Sensei.

Sensei Brantley:

Oh, don’t mind me. I’ll just gonna go back to my office so you can spend some quality time with your private cheerleading team... [winks at him]

Marco:

What? No, no no, it’s not what you think. We’re all just friends right here.

Sensei Brantley:

Yeah right... See you later champ.

[Sensei Brantley walks away to his office leaving Marco, Star and Jackie alone together]

Marco:

Well, that was close...

Star:

Yeah, I think I should stop hugging you like that for a while. It’s getting kind of awkward to explain to everyone else. I mean, it’s not like we’re officially dating or anything.

Marco:

Yeah, I suppose...

[Marco has a flashback of him and Janna making out which makes him feel guilty around Star and Jackie, so he tries to hide it by avoiding eye contact with them]

Jackie:

Marco… about what happened...

Marco:

[interrupting her] No, wait. You don’t don’t have to apologize. I’m the one who overreacted.

Jackie:

No Marco, you were absolutely right about us and what we did.

Star:

[shrugging] It’s true. We won’t let it happen again, promise.

Jackie:

Me too. And from now on: Truth will always come first.

Marco:

Uhm… Yeah, about that...

[Marco looks at Jackie smiling at him, but doesn't know what to say]

Star:

Anyway… Shouldn’t we be celebrating Marco’s victory by now? [grabs them by the shoulders] Because I had a thing or two in mind that we can try.

Marco:

[raising an eyebrow] What kind of things?

Star:

[smug face] That’s a surprise for later.

Jackie:

[smug face] Oh, I like where this is going.

Marco:

If this is what I think it is, I’d suggest to go to my place this time. After all, my parents won’t be at home until tomorrow, so...

Jackie:

Mmmm... taking the lead, huh? I like the way it sounds.

Star:

[smiling] I agree.

[Cut to Marco’s house at 2:00 AM. Star and Jackie are sleeping in Marco’s bed while Marco is at the kitchen making himself a sandwich and a glass of water. Then he goes to the living room, sits on the couch and turns on the TV]

Female TV Reporter:

[in front of a school] ...and according to our primary source, the number of victims now have increased to 15 students on what it’s the fifth case of school shooting on this year so far. The school’s principal have declined to comment on the issue.

[Cut to the News Anchor]

News Anchor:

Thank you for that report Diane; On the international front: The government of North Korea has once again reappeared on the public sphere after the of citizens of Aomori, Japan reported a nuclear missile with a korean flag that overflew the city at 42000 ft above the ground. Our foreign correspondent, Veronica Cooper is on the scene… How is the situation there Veronica?

[Cut to Veronica covering the event in front of a group of protesters at the streets]

Veronica:

It couldn’t be more chaotic Hank. Just a few hours ago the citizens of Aomori formed an angry mob to protest against the mayor, accusing him of attempt to gloss over the incident when he infamously referred to the claims of nuclear threat as “overreacting”. It seems like the citizens...

[In that moment, Marco’s phone starts ringing. He watches and sees that is a call from Janna so he answers it]

Marco:

[yawning] Hello Janna.

Janna:

[o.s] Hey Marco, what are you doing? Something naughty I suppose.

Marco:

Not really, I’m just chillin’ out watching the TV. Nothing special so far.

Janna:

[o.s] Really? because I assumed that you would be doing… you know...

Marco:

Well, If you really wanna know: Star and Jackie are sleeping in my bed right now...

Janna:

[o.s] Wow... Now that escalated quickly, isn’t it?

Marco:

I guess… By the way: What do I owe the pleasure of having you on the phone?

Janna:

[o.s] I’m glad you asked, because I was thinking if maybe we can go out, like… one of these days you could sneak around from Star and Jackie so we can spend some quality time...

Marco:

Quality time? As if… going on a date or something?

Janna:

[o.s] Not exactly what I had in mind, but … Sure, a date would be nice.

Marco:

Sounds tempting, but right now I need to evaluate my options. Just between you and I, Star can be a little… uhm… how can I put it?

Janna:

[o.s] Sticky?

Marco:

For lack of a better word.

Janna:

[o.s] I understand. It’s okay...

Marco:

But as soon as I find the perfect moment, I’ll let you know. Promise.

Janna:

[o.s] Are you sure?

Marco:

Hey, don’t forget we made a pinkie swear. You don’t just break a pinkie swear.

Janna:

[o.s] Okay… so I guess I’ll talk to you later.

Marco:

Don’t bother. I’ll call you back.

Janna:

[o.s] You do? Uhm, I mean… sure. I’ll wait for your call.

Marco:

[laughing] Yeah, you do that.

Janna:

[o.s] Well, I’m hanging up. By the way… I’m not wearing any clothes right now.

Marco:

[blushing] Huh?

Janna:

[o.s] Goodnight Marco.

[Janna hangs up the phone while Marco just lay on the couch staring at the the ceiling]

Marco:

[sigh] I’m truly the worst.

[Cut to next day at Marco’s house. Star is in front of her magic mirror trying to call her mom]

Star:

Mirror, mirror on the wall. Calling Mom.

Mirror:

Calling Dom.

Star:

No, not Dom. Mom!!! [sigh]

[A random guy named Dom appears on the mirror’s surface]

Dom:

What’s going on? Who are you?

Star:

Sorry sir, there’s something wrong with my mirror. I was trying to call my mom.

Dom:

Oh, don’t worry. This is like the tenth time this has happened to me so far....

[Star finishes the call, and clears her throat before trying to call again]

Star:

Okay Star, you can do this... Mirror Mirror on the wall. Calling MOM.

Mirror:

Calling Mom.

Star:

Ugh, finally...

[Queen Butterfly finally appears on the mirror]

Queen Butterfly:

Oh, Star… I’m so glad you called...

Star:

Mom, what the heck is going on? I literally spent 20 MINUTES trying to contact you and the mirror’s signal just… bounced all over the place.

Queen Butterfly:

I’m afraid our worst fears got confirmed. Remember those malfunctions that the Magic High Commission were warning us last week?

Star:

Yeah...

Queen Butterfly:

Well, it turns out that everything they predicted became true. Just three days ago, The Queen of Pixtopia sent me a message telling me that 90% of their magic dust has just vanished and now they only have enough power to maintain the royal emergency lines at work.

Star:

But what about the Commission? Isn’t their job to fix these sort of problems?

Queen Butterfly:

They’re too busy taking care of issues on other dimensions. The crisis is escalating to levels we didn’t thought it would be possible?

Star:

[concerned] Does that mean I’m in danger too?

Queen Butterfly:

I’m not really sure. Did you noticed something strange or unusual about your wand lately?

Star:

I don’t know. Wait, just let me check.

[Star searches the wand on her room and find it under a pile of magazines. She opens it and notices that the unicorn that charges the wand has changed into a black stallion with red eyes]

Star:

Okay… this is unprecedented [shows the wand to her mother]

Queen Butterfly:

Just as I suspected. This crisis is affecting non magical dimensions as well.

Star:

What am I supposed to do?

Queen Butterfly:

Tomorrow I’ll send a couple of guards to take you back to Mewni for a routine inspection...

Star:

Wait, tomorrow?!!!

Queen Butterfly:

Is there a problem?

Star:

It’s just that... I was planning to spend the day with Marco… as… [whispering] in a date.

Queen Butterfly:

Well, you’re gonna have to leave it for another day Star. As the future ruler of Mewni, you need to learn to set your priorities straight.

Star:

[sigh] I know.

Queen Butterfly:

Good, Tomorrow we can discuss this with a little more calm. Now I must hang upt before the signal goes off again.

Star:

Okay mom, bye.

[Queen Moon finishes the call as Star watches her wand in dead silence. Cut to Marco watching TV on the living room while Star approaches him]

Star:

Uhm, Marco...

Marco:

What’s up Star?

Star:

I know we were planning to have a date just you and I, but… something happened on Mewni and...

Marco:

[concerned] ...something happened on Mewni and you need to go, right?

Star:

I’m so sorry Marco. I was looking up for this day for such a long time, but I just can’t neglect my responsibilities so...

Marco:

Star: You don’t owe me any explanations. Just do what you need to do and stop worrying about it.

Star:

Really? Oh thank you for understand. I’ll make up for it soon, I promise.

Marco:

Oh, Star… it’s fine. We can have a date other day. I’m glad that you’re starting to take care of your duties as a princess. [hugs Star while she just blushes and hugs him back]

Star:

[whispering] I love you Marco.

Marco:

[whispering] Me too Star. Me too.

[Star goes upstairs to her room. As soon as sh leaves Marco picks up his cell phone to make a call]

Marco:

Janna...

ACT II

[Cut to Marco at the park along with with his bicycle waiting for Janna while looking at his watch. Janna shows up on a green mountain bike]

Marco:

What took you so long? I’ve been waiting for you an hour ago.

Janna:

Sorry Marco. I’ve had some pending business to attend with my parents. Also, a brainless bimbo driving an Acura nearly hit me on the way.

Marco:

Really? Sorry about that. I didn’t know.

Janna:

It’s okay. This isn’t even my bike anyway.

Marco:

And whose is it?

Janna:

I don’t know, I just stole it two hours ago.

Marco:

Janna...

Janna:

Just kidding. It was a gift from my grandma mr. righteous.

Marco:

Right… So where are we going?

Janna:

I thought you’d never ask.

[Cut to Mewni where a group of peasants are waiting in line while Queen Moon along with the Magic High Commision perform a routine inspection. Star arrives while Ruberiot along with Foolduke and Mime Girl are leaving]

Rhombulus:

Next...

Ruberiot:

[slightly annoyed] Ugh, thank God it’s over. This whole thing was SO pointless. I mean, I don’t even know how to use magic, I’m a musician for crying out loud.

Foolduke:

Well, magic works on mysterious ways, so you can’t never be a hundred percent sure.

Ruberiot:

Oh, trust me. I know all about it.

[Cut to Star talking to her mother while the commision is at work]

Star:

Wow, look at this line. It’s like the entire kingdom is here.

Queen Butterfly:

That’s because they’re all here Star. It’s important to be as cautious as possible. Remember: magic can affect everyone on different levels, not just their users.

Omnitraxus:

[checking on some guy] This person it’s clean your majesty.

Star:

When it’s gonna be my turn to be checked?

Queen Butterfly:

Checked? Oh, right. The wand. I’m sorry Star, I forgot. This is taking us longer that we expected.

Hekapoo:

Don’t worry your majesty. I’ll take care of princess Star.

Queen Butterfly:

Did you finish with the reports like I told you.

Hekapoo:

I’m all done with those my queen. Rhombulus will take them to your office.

Queen Butterfly:

[watching the long line] Okay, you can do it.

Hekapoo:

[to Star] Follow me your majesty.

[Hekapoo takes Star into a room upstairs where she checks her and the wand using a metal detector and a pair of gloves]

Star:

Is this gonna take too long? I mean, not to be rude or anything, but I have some things to do and...

Hekapoo:

I need to run a couple of tests. Just relax and read a magazine or something...

[Hekapoo opens the wand and sees the black stallion with red eyes]

Hekapoo:

Since when your wand have been like this?

Star:

It started last week. I guess...

Hekapoo:

[taking notes while testing the wand] Interesting...

Star:

So… what’s going on?

[Hekapoo just keeps taking notes in silence while ignoring her. As she finishes, she gives the wand back to Star]

Star:

Well?

Hekapoo:

I have no idea.

Star:

No idea?! What kind of answer is that? I thought you would figure it out by this point.

Hekapoo:

Normally I would, but this just goes beyond any phenomenon that I’ve ever seen.

Star:

Does that mean I’ll never be able to make magic again?

Hekapoo:

I’m not quite sure yet. Here... [gives the wand to Star] See that statue over there? [points at a Statue of King River]

Star:

Yeah...

Hekapoo:

I want you to use a Narwhal Blast to blow it up...

Star:

Okay… [gets in position] MEGA NARWHAL BLAST!!!

[The spell manages to blow up the statue without a problem]

Hekapoo:

Well, at least we know the wand is still functional...

Star:

Does that mean we’re done?

Hekapoo:

Mmm… Yeah, we’re done. You can go now...

Star:

Finally...

Hekapoo:

Just… one more thing...

Star:

[sigh] What is it?

Hekapoo:

Relax, it doesn’t have to do with magic. It’s about Marco.

Star:

Marco?!!! [As soons as she mentions him, Star gets nervous and starts shivering] What do you wanna know?

Hekapoo:

[blushing] I know it’s none of my business, but… Are you still a thing?

Star:

A thing? You mean like… boyfriend and girlfriend?

Hekapoo:

[staring at the floor] Yeah...

Star:

Why do you ask? Do you like him too? I-I Mean… Do you like him?

Hekapoo:

No, no no… I’m just curious because last time I checked you were pretty close and...

Star:

[interrupting her] Yeah, totally. We love each other and we’re still dating, so… he’s totally unavailable now. I’m sorry.

Hekapoo:

[looking disappointed] Uhm. okay. I was asking because I was hoping that...

Star:

Well too bad because he’s my boyfriend. That’s the way it is, bye. [leaves the room in a hurry]

Hekapoo:

[staring at the floor] Bye.

[Cut back to Marco and Janna at the cemetery]

Marco:

Oh yeah, I remember this place. This is where we fought Ludo that one time.

Janna:

...and Star and I tried to invoke Bon Bon the birthday clown.

Marco:

Not exactly my happiest memories, but...

Janna:

Speak for yourself, I had so much fun slapping your butt that night.

Marco:

Get outta town.

[Janna laughs a bit while Marco just smiles]

Marco:

Has anybody ever told you that you look very cute when you laugh?

Janna:

I know what you’re trying to do. Just keep it in your pants Romeo.

Marco:

I’m serious. Why can’t you accept a compliment?

Janna:

I’m not like other girls. You’re gonna need more than just chivalry and pretty words to get me.

Marco:

What about last week at the janitor’s closet?

Janna:

Oh, so you still remember that time? You boys are so obvious...

Marco:

Hey, you’re the one who dragged me...

Janna:

And you’re the one who went with it.

Marco:

And your point is…?

Janna:

You’re unable to take the first step unless someone else pushes you to the edge. Just like what happened with Star and Jackie.

Marco:

[raising an eyebrow] Oh, You think so?

Janna:

Well, we’re all alone here and you didn’t even attempted to take my hand or...

[before she could finish Marco takes her by the shoulders and gives Janna a passionate kiss on the mouth which she reciprocates]

Marco:

So… What are we talking about?

Janna:

[blushing] Uhm… I...

Marco:

Case closed.

[Cut to Marco’s room. A portal opens and Star comes out looking for Marco]

Star:

Marco. I’m home, we can have our date now. [she notices Marco isn’t there] Huh, I guess he’s at the living room.

[Star takes Marco’s dimensional scissors and goes downstairs to the living room, but she finds Marco’s parents making out at the couch]

Star:

Hey guys...

Mrs. Diaz:

Star?!!! [they stop making out]

Mr. Diaz:

[with kiss marks on his face] What are you doing here? I mean. We thought you wouldn’t return until the evening.

Star:

I made it as quick as a I could. You know where Marco is?

Mrs. Diaz:

He must be at the park. He took his bike so...

Star:

Okay, thanks… [she summons cloudy and quickly leaves]

Mr. Diaz:

So… Where were we? Oh yeah [they keep making out while laughing]

[cut to Star arriving at the park. She searches for Marco everywhere but she can’t find him]

Star:

[getting out of Cloudy] Marco? Where are you? [she calls for Marco, but he’s nowhere to be seen] Maybe he left… I wonder if I… [she looks at the wand and remembers the all seeing eye spell] I know shouldn’t use it, but...

[Star uses the the all-seeing eye spell to find where is Marco and sees him on the cemetery along with Janna]

Marco:

[o.s] Hey Janna, come and check some of these tombstones.

Star:

[raising an eyebrow] What is he doing with Janna? [she summons Cloudy and flies to the cemetery]

[Cut to Marco and Janna checking the tombstones. Marco finds one that that says: R.I.P. Rosie Palms (1967-2015) “always giving a hand to the ones who needed it”]

Marco:

[laughing a bit] Well, this is just rich.

Janna:

[o.s] Hey Marco, come over here. I found something cool.

[Janna takes Marco to an abandoned shed with a bed in the middle of the forest]

Marco:

Uhm, no… Just no.

Janna:

Oh, you gotta be kidding me. You have the guts to grab me by the shoulders and kiss me without any warning but you chicken out at this point?

Marco:

I’m not chickening out. I just don’t wanna do it on an old shed that’s probably full of mold and dirt.

Janna:

What are you, a germaphobe?

Marco:

No, It’s called common sense. Have you ever heard about it?

Janna:

I’m sure there’s nothing inside that Star can’t treat using her wand...

Marco:

Oh no, no, no, no, no… I don’t let Star use her wand on me anymore. I already learned that lesson the hard way. [he remembers the tentacle arm for a second]

Janna:

How about a deal? 15 minutes inside and I’ll let you touch my breasts. 30 minutes and anything goes...

Marco:

Forget about it. I don’t care what you say, there’s no way that I’m going inside that... [cut to Marco and Janna inside the shed] I’m losing my mind...

[Cut to Star arriving at the cemetery using the scissors just a few moments later]

Star:

Now. Where are they? [Star searches for them and while checking at the tombstones] I don’t get it, what is Marco doing with Janna? They’ve never been THAT close before. Or maybe I was wrong and they are… nah, it can’t be… Marco would never do something like that, right? Although she always looked like she wanted to be closer to him but… [sigh] and... I’m talking to myself out loud again. I really need to stop doing that.

[In that moment she hears some noises coming from the forest, so she hides behind one of the tombstones. She sees Marco and Janna laughing while talking to each other]

Janna:

...and when the milk came out of his nose and fall over Brittney’s dress and she was like… [impersonating Brittney] YUCK!!! BOYS ARE SO GROSS!!! I’ll never forget that day.

Marco:

Me neither. That is like… on my top 10 of funniest moments ever. Poor Alfonzo though.

Janna:

Yeah, but you have to remember that he’s lactose intolerant, so that was the best outcome. For him at least.

Marco:

I guess you’re right.

Janna:

Not to mention that she was wearing new shoes as well.

Marco:

And since then, she avoids wearing new clothes at school.

Janna:

Yeah, but it’s not like anyone really cares...

Marco:

Yeah… [beat]

Janna:

So… Can I have a second round?

Marco:

What? You wanna do it again at the shed?

Janna:

No, I don’t like to repeat myself. Maybe we can do it over a tombstone this time.

Marco:

Do it over someone else’s grave? Now that’s just too far. Even for you.

Janna:

I was kidding. Jeez.

Marco:

Oh Janna…

[They start making out next to a tree while Star just watches them very upset]

Star:

[thinking to herself] That BITCH!!! [she keeps watching them while grinding her teeth] So do you wanna have Marco to yourself, don’t you? Well… [close up to her eyes] I’ll give you what you want Janna Banana.

[Marco turns around for a moment. Star hides herself before he can see her]

Janna:

What’s wrong?

Marco:

Nothing. I thought I’ve heard something. Maybe it’s just my imagination.

Janna:

Maybe it was the ghost of Rosie Palms.

Marco:

Don’t joke about dead people. They can hear you.

Janna:

Maybe. But that’s the fun thing about cemeteries.

Marco:

What a creep… [they keep making out]

[Cut to the Diaz Household at night. Marco arrives and goes upstairs to Star’s room]

Marco:

[knocking at Star’s door] Star? Are you there?

Star:

[o.s] Yeah, come on in...

[Marco opens the door and sees Star practicing with her wand]

Marco:

Uhm, hi.

Star:

[stepford smile] Marco… Hey buddy, how it was your day? Lots of fun riding your bicycle?

Marco:

Yeah. It was fun. Listen, I’m sorry for getting late. Time flies when you have fun riding curves, you know, he-he...

Star:

Oh, I can imagine it.

Marco:

Yeah, but I wanna make up for you. This was supposed to be our day and I should’ve get earlier...

Star:

Oh, don’t worry about it. The whole thing took it longer that I thought anyway.

Marco:

Still, I want to compensate you.

Star:

Well, now that you mention it: Jackie and I were planning to have a picnic this next sunday and I was thinking if you can prepare some sandwiches.

Marco:

I would love to. And I can make some lemonade too.

Star:

Good idea.

Marco:

Then it’s settled. I’ll make the lunch for three.

Star:

Better make it for four. I have the feeling we’ll be very hungry.

Marco:

Got it. Good night Star.

Star:

Good night Marco [as soon as Marco leaves the room, she makes a phone call] Hey Janna, how’s it going?

[Marco goes to his room and finds his dimensional scissors on the desk]

Marco:

[holding the scissors] This is odd, I don’t remember leaving these over here...

ACT III

[Cut to Marco, Star and Jackie having a picnic on a knoll at the park]

Jackie:

[eating a sandwich] Mmmm, these sandwiches are pretty good.

Star:

Thanks Jackie. It was a collaborative effort.

Marco:

No it wasn��t.

Star:

You should also try the lemonade… [she opens the picnic basket and serves some lemonade to Jackie]

Jackie:

[tasting the lemonade] Wow, this is great. You guys really outdid yourselves this time, seriously...

Star:

Oh, you really think so?

Jackie:

Absolutely...

Star:

[stepford smile] It’s our pleasure..

Marco:

Whatever...

Jackie:

Do you wanna play a game? I brought some cards.

Marco:

[rubbing his hands] Alright, count me in...

Jackie:

What about you Star?

Star:

Uhm, I think I’ll pass. I’m not really good at those type of games...

Marco:

What are you talking about? We play poker together all the time.

Star:

Yeah, but I’m not like… “in the mood” if you know what I mean...

Marco:

No, I don’t know what you mean...

Star:

Besides, I just remembered that I need to do something right now and I have to go for a moment.

Jackie:

Funny, you didn’t told me anything when we talked by the phone.

Star:

It’s a… It’s a surprise. Yeah, that’s right. Just wait right here and have fun.

Marco:

[raising an eyebrow] Uhm, okay?

Star:

Okay, bye. [she leaves the scene in a hurry]

Marco:

Mmmm...

Jackie:

What’s wrong?

Marco:

Have you noticed that she was acting a little… strange?

Jackie:

You mean more than usual?

Marco:

Yeah...

Jackie:

Well, now that you mention it: She sounded a bit anxious the other day. Is everything okay between you and Star?

Marco:

As far as I know, we’re still on good terms.

Jackie:

Maybe it’s a Mewni thing then...

Marco:

Probably. The other day she went to Mewni and didn’t look very pleased, but anyway… Are you ready for some poker?

Jackie:

I thought you’d never ask. [she shuffles the cards and starts a game]

[Cut to Star meeting with Janna at the bench]

Star:

[stepford smile] Janna. I’m so glad you find you here.

Janna:

Uhm, you’re the one who called me. What’s the deal?

Star:

Deal? There’s no deal, I just wanted to see one of my best friends on earth, that’s all.

Janna:

Mmmm, I don’t know. Your instructions were very specific.

Star:

Oh, don’t over-analyse things. The important thing is that you’re here.

Janna:

You said you wanted to show me something.

Star:

Oh right. Now I remembered. Follow me.

Janna:

Okay.

[Cut back to Marco and Jackie playing poker. So far, Marco needs a 3 to complete a Four of a Kind hand but he has a 7, while Jackie needs a 7 to complete a Flush, but she has a 3 instead]

Marco:

[thinking to himself] Wow, even at poker she looks calm. Or maybe she’s about to win and is expecting me to make the next move… Nonetheless I need to be cool and project confidence.

[Jackie notices that Marco is looking at her so he looks the other way while blushing]

Jackie:

What happen?

Marco:

Nothing, I was just… looking at… uhm... your hair.

Jackie:

My hair?

Marco:

Yeah… It looks slightly different.

Jackie:

I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is my usual hairstyle and… oh, maybe it’s because I used a new hair conditioner to make my hair look brighter. Is that it?

Marco:

Uhm, yeah. Now that mention it: The green strip of your hair looks brighter.

Jackie:

You know, you’re the first person to notice it. You’re a great observer Marco Diaz.

Marco:

You look great… I-I mean… You always look great, it’s just that… You look particularly great today and… I like what you did with your hair… it’s [he blushes as he tries to come up with something to say] I like your attention to details. [he looks the other way]

Jackie:

[blushing] Well, I’m glad that you think so. He-he [she looks the other way too]

Star:

[o.s] Hey guys, I’m back, and look who I’ve found...

[Star shows up with Janna which makes Marco gulp out of awkwardness while Janna reacts the same way, but tries to act cool]

Jackie:

Janna, what a surprise.

Janna:

[poker face] Yeah, what a surprise indeed.

Star:

Isn’t it great? Now we're all together hanging out like in the old days.

Janna:

Yeah, I just remembered that I had an important compromise that I… [she stands up and tries to leave but gets stopped by Star]

Star:

Oh, please don’t go yet. What about a game of poker?

Janna:

I’m… not a big fan, I’m more into chess.

Star:

But poker is a lot of fun once you give it a chance. Come on, don’t be a quitter.

Janna:

Uhm… Well, I guess a short game won’t hurt any...

Star:

Splendid. Let the game begin.

[Jackie shuffles and deals the cards again while Marco and Janna try to avoid eye contact as they play]

Marco:

[to Star] Do you have a 4?

Star:

[smiling] Go fish.

Janna:

[thinking to herself] What am I gonna do now? I need to get out of here as fast as I can before...

Star:

[to Janna] Do you have sex with Marco?

Janna:

[shivering] What?!!!

Star:

I said: Do you have a 6 on your hand?

Janna:

Oh, I get it… Uhm, go fish.

[they keep playing for a while as Star keeps winning every game]

Star:

Well, what do you know? I won again.

Jackie:

Wow, for someone who claims to be bad at poker, you certainly have some tricks up your sleeve...

Star:

I have my moments.

[In that moment, Janna notices something suspicious about the cards]

Janna:

Wait a minute. [checks the whole deck] These cards are marked.

Marco:

Star...

Star:

Oops. You got me.

Jackie:

Star, this isn’t fair game.

Janna:

Yeah, what do you try to accomplish by cheating, huh?

Star:

Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing Janna Banana.

Janna:

[poker face] What do you mean?

Star:

Oh, you forgot about it. Well, maybe this will help you to remember...

[Star pulls out her phone and shows a photo of Marco and Janna making out in the woods. Marco, Jackie and Janna react in shock]

Marco:

[panicking] Oh, crap...

Star:

By the way: The ghost of Rosie Palms sends her regards...

Marco:

Star, look… I can explain.

Star:

[with tears on her eyes] How could you do this to us Marco. I mean, don’t you have enough with two girls? How many chicks do you need to hump to be satisfied?

Marco:

What happened was… you see… she approached me that day when you...

Janna:

Oh, so you’re gonna put all the blame on me now? So brave...

Star:

And as for you Janna: I can’t believe you would be capable to do such thing. I thought you were my friend...

Janna:

Cry me a river. The only reason I pretended to be your friend is to get closer to Marco.

Star:

Well, no wonder why he considered you nothing but a creep.

Janna:

And what makes you so high and mighty? You treat Marco like a servant half of the time. It’s obvious that he prefers to be with someone else, but you keep getting on his way because you’re a control freak and a complete sociopath.

Star:

Mind your words Janna. Remember that I have the wand.

Janna:

[sarcastic tone] Oh, the wand. I’m soooo scared, I mean what are you gonna do? turn my arm into tentacle monster?

Marco:

Uhm, girls?

Star:

Maybe I will turn you into a narwhal so I can blast you against the wall over and over. What do you say about that?

Marco:

Uhm, girls?

Janna:

Bring it on blondie. I’m not afraid of you, or your cute little toys.

Marco:

Girls, please. We can talk talk about this...

Star:

I’ll give you toys. [holds the wand]

[Star and Janna aggressively stare at each other while Jackie just watches concerned and Marco tries to prevent a brawl]

Jackie:

[getting in between] Alright girls, there’s no need to get violent. I’m sure we can reach an agreement if we just sit down and talk...

Star:

Talk? With this traitor? Uh-uh, no way.

Janna:

Perhaps because your oversized ego gets in the way...

Star:

Or maybe... it’s because Marco likes me better and you just can’t accept it.

Janna:

Sure. He likes you SO much than he can’t decide between you and Jackie.

Star:

That’s none of your business.

Marco:

[raising his hand] Can I say something?

Star & Janna:

NO!!!!

Star:

Your problem Janna is that you’re a sore loser. Marco doesn’t see you as his girlfriend so you seduced him to get your way.

Janna:

Sounds like you know a lot about being a sore loser, otherwise you wouldn’t use that weird eye spell to spy on Marco and Jackie on their date...

Marco:

Wait... what?

Star:

B-but, how did you know about...?

Janna:

I’m not really a heavy sleeper, I saw you that day [cut to the moment Star used the all seeing eye to spy Marco and Jackie]

Jackie:

Star, is that true?

Star:

No, I mean, yes,but...

Janna:

If anything, Marco should avoid you at all costs.

Star:

Oh yeah? At least I don’t steal things from him of stalk him like a creep, and let me tell you...

Marco:

[thinking to himself] Aw man, this is getting ugly. I need to get out of here.

Star:

...and that’s why I’m the best girl for Marco.

Janna:

Sure, keep making noise babyface. You sure are gonna win if you cry harder.

Star:

[breaking glass sound] What did you just said to me?

Janna:

I said: Keep making noise baby...

[before she can finish Star tackles Janna and they start a fight, but Jackie once again gets in between and attempts to stop them]

Jackie:

Come on girls please... fighting each other won’t solve anything. It will makes things worse.

Janna:

You’re right. We should let Marco decide once and for all and finish this nonsense...

Star:

I agree. So Marco, which one of us do you like...? [she notices that Marco is missing] Marco? Where did he go?

[Cut to the underworld. A portal opens and Marco comes out and finds himself on a bathhouse for male demons and supernatural creatures]

Marco:

The underworld? but I didn’t wanna come here.. [looks at the scissors] What’s wrong with these scissors? [Marco takes a look around and sees a bunch of demons wearing nothing but towels] I need to get out of here...

Tom Lucitor:

[o.s] Marco?

[Marco turns and sees Tom wearing a towel]

Marco:

Tom? What are you doing here?

Tom:

[panicking] Uhm, it’s not what it looks like, I was just… IF YOU TELL STAR ANY OF THIS, I WILL…!!!

Marco:

[sigh] I don’t have time for this… [he uses the scissors to open another portal and leaves]

[Cut to Hekapoo at her house trying to mold new dimensional scissors, but for some reason the scissors turn defective]

Hekapoo:

Oh dang it. Well, let’s trying again... [she throws them into a pile of defective scissors]

[in that moment, someone knocks at the door, so she goes to open it]

Hekapoo:

Now who could it be at this hour? I swear if it’s you once again Rhombulus, I’m gonna rip apart your… [she opens the door and sees Marco] Marco? Oh, what a surprise...

Marco:

Hi Hekapoo. How are you?

Hekapoo:

Uhm, fine… I mean, it’s been kinda boring since you left, but… It’s cool. What brings you here?

Marco:

Long story. I just needed a place to calm down for a moment.

Hekapoo:

Troubles in paradise?

Marco:

Something like that... [beat]

Hekapoo:

Well, come on in and have a sit. I’ll bring you something to drink.

Marco:

You don’t need to bother. I’m just...

Hekapoo:

Nonsense, you’re my guest and I’ll attend you whether you like it or not. [looks for something to drink]

Marco:

As you please. By the way: How is Nachos?

Hekapoo:

[serving a drink to Marco] He’s fine. He’s been riding around all by himself. He’s pretty much a free spirit, so I’ll let you go, but he always returns.

Marco:

I’m glad to hear that, I was worried that we would feel alone without me. And... how about you?

Hekapoo:

Well, it’s been a busy week I’m telling you. Some unknown force it’s been soaking almost all the magic from Mewni and causing all kinds of problems. Just now it started to affect me as well. I can’t clone myself nor create new dimensional scissors properly.

Marco:

That sounds pretty bad.

Hekapoo:

Tell me about it. And considering that now Lekmet is dead, my work at the Magic High Commission just doubled down. [sigh] I’m sorry if I’m bumming you with my problems, I just needed to let it out of my system... [she drinks and sits next to Marco]

Marco:

It’s okay. To be honest with you, lately I haven’t been in the best mood either.

Hekapoo:

You wanna talk about it?

Marco:

You see: I… have some serious romantic issues.

Hekapoo:

Did you... fight with Star?

Marco:

Something like that. Let’s just say we’re not on the best of terms right now.

Hekapoo:

[raising an eyebrow and smiling] Oh, Really?

Marco:

I’m sorry, I can’t go into any more details. It’s too complicated to explain and...

Hekapoo:

It’s okay. You can stay at my place as long as you want. At least until things calm down back home.

Marco:

Do you remember that time passes differently on your dimension, right?

Hekapoo:

Of course I do you silly human, my point is: Mi casa es su casa.

Marco:

It is very kind of you, but I think I should be going...

Hekapoo:

Wait… I mean, it’s been awhile since our last encounter and… I was hoping that we could catch up. Earth isn’t going anywhere after all.

Marco:

Mmmm… I guess I can stay here for a couple of days if you don’t mind.

Hekapoo:

That’s great. Come here, I’ll take you to your room. [she grabs Marco’s hand and takes him to a giant room with a king-sized bed]

Marco:

Wow, this is… a pretty spacey room. It’s certainly bigger than mine.

Hekapoo:

You should see Queen Butterfly’s bedroom. Come on in and make yourself comfortable. Now if you excuse me...

Marco:

Where are you going?

Hekapoo:

It’s a surprise. Just right here and I’ll be back in a moment. [she leaves the room]

Marco:

Okay…

[Marco starts exploring the room and finds some magazines and a few “toys”, which makes him blush as he takes them]

Hekapoo:

[o.s] Okay, I’m ready...

[Marco turns back and sees Hekapoo wearing black lingerie, which makes him drop his jaw as she walks towards him]

Hekapoo:

Enjoying the view, fleshwad?

Marco:

Uhm, I… Ah, mmmm...

Hekapoo:

I know I usually wait 16 years to do these things with you, but… I was wondering if maybe we can make an exception just this one time… for old times sake.

Marco:

Hekapoo, I…

[he tries to talk but gets distracted by Hekapoo’s boobs so he looks the other way]

Hekapoo:

You’re speechless right now. That is so cute. Just follow my lead.

Marco:

[blushing] Uhm, okay.

[Hekapoo kisses Marco on the lips and hugs him. He quickly reciprocates and grabs her hips as they keep making out]

MARCO VS. THE FORCES OF LOVE - EPISODE 4: 3’s & 7’s

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kimvtae · 7 years ago

Text

Burnouts, Booze, and Babes

Summary: Taehyung and Jeongguk are just two small town best friends, getting drunk too often and making big plans they’ll probably never achieve. Taehyung takes it upon himself to teach Jeongguk all of the proper ways to have sex, and Jeongguk swears he’s just hanging around because Taehyung’s good in bed. Who would have thought these small town losers, who used to smoke behind the school, would become jewelers at the biggest department store in Seoul. [Pre Givenchy & Gold] Pairing: Jeongguk x Taehyung Word Count: 32.850 Rating: M Warnings: too much sex, too many kinks, mentions of drug use, Taehyung calling Jeongguk so many nasty things, two bros chilling 5ft apart in a hot tub ("swear I’m not gay”), switching, uhhhh daddy kink A/N: @blueagust and I have basically spent the last couple weeks screaming at each other about Taehyung and Jeongguk’s history from her story Givenchy&Gold, and with the little restraint I have, this happened. Lou, this is an absolute mess and I probably destroyed your entire fic timeline, but happy early Kwanza or some shit (which is totally an excuse Tae gives when he’s buying Jeon another pair of earrings.) This is not good enough for you but I hope you like it anyway!!

Taehyung shows up with a crash and a bang. Jeongguk knows it's him. He knows because there's only one person outside of his family that has a key to the house and Jeongguk's regretted handing over a copy since the fifth grade when Taehyung came barreling into his life with poorly bleached hair and a missing tooth.

Now, months before Taehyung's high school graduation, Jeongguk is sitting upside down on the couch with a half-eaten box of Pocky while far too immersed in an episode of Cake Boss.

"Jeon." Taehyung comes stumbling down into the basement, brushing the snow out of his hair. Jeongguk didn't even know it had been snowing. Fuck, when was the last time he left the house? "Dude, weren't you sitting there yesterday?"

Jeongguk shoves three Pocky sticks between his teeth. "Point?"

"Whatever." Taehyung sits on the back of the couch, knocks his knees against Jeongguk's to send him sprawling off the couch. He ignores the insults Jeongguk spits his way and waves a small bundle of cash near Jeongguk's face. "New bar downtown doesn't card and I need a few drinks tonight. Physics ate my ass today."

"Glad one of us is getting some." Jeongguk snatches the remote from Taehyung's hands, knows he's just gonna switch the channel to football or some other hetero shit just to ask if Jeongguk would rather be watching grown men smack asses rather than bake cakes. No, he wouldn't, thank you very much. Last week they built an Iron Man cake. "Who'd you fuck to get the cash?"

"Your mom."

"I'm going to kick your ass-"

"Yeah, yeah, save it for after we get the burgers."

Taehyung's car is shit but it gets the job done. He insists that Jeongguk showers before they leave, says he can't have anyone in his car who smells like four day old cum when his car always smells like sex even when Taehyung is single as hell, but Jeongguk does shower. Mostly it’s because his hair was greasy and he doesn’t feel like dealing with that. Taehyung's car is small with barely enough room in the back seat to comfortably pass out in after Taehyung gives him one too many beers, but it gets them to the burger shop downtown.

It's packed this Friday afternoon, high school kids standing around and couples sharing milkshakes. Jeongguk tries to angle himself between Taehyung and those couples; he's way too sober to entertain Taehyung's milkshake innuendos today.

"What do you want?" Taehyung asks, stands behind Jeongguk in line and rests his chin on Jeongguk's shoulder. "I'm buying."

"Jesus, did you suck rich dick for that cash?"

"Fucker. I've got a job, you know."

"Sucking dick is a job now?"

"You can starve." Taehyung pauses and shoves his hands into the pockets of Jeongguk's letterman. Jeongguk's mom had offered to buy one for Taehyung just for kicks, but Taehyung said he didn't want one when he had Jeongguk's to share. "Speaking of dry spells, how'd you do with that girl last weekend? Use what I taught you?"

Jeongguk has fucking war flashbacks to two weeks ago, when Taehyung had stayed over for the entire weekend and decided, that as the older friend, it was his responsibility to teach Jeongguk about the ins and outs of pleasuring girls. The proper way, Taehyung insisted, as if Jeongguk's still a fucking virgin and hadn't called Taehyung almost immediately after he bumbled his way through his first time. He's been with girls, sure, but Taehyung declared it wasn't good enough, and had sat on Jeongguk's back and proceeded to describe, in horrifying detail, the best way to prep a girl for sex. He'd tried to hide, covering his face and ears with a pillow, but Taehyung was wickedly determined when he wanted to be, and in that moment, he really wanted to be.

"No, you ass. Because I know how to have sex."

"Aw, do you? Really?" Taehyung presses himself closer to Jeongguk's back as the line moves forward. "Baby Gukie's finally grown up?"

"Don't call me that."

"Oh, but there is something I forgot to mention," Taehyung says, his grin wet against Jeongguk's neck. His voice takes on that tone, that smarmy voice that Jeongguk associates with that morning he woke up naked behind the kindergarten. "Something that really gets girls going."

Jeongguk sighs. "You're gonna tell me anyway."

"Right you are. You gotta do this, man, get close to them with your lips almost touching their cheek." Taehyung demonstrates as he speaks, lips hovering dangerously close to Jeongguk's ear. "Then you just-" He nips gently at Jeongguk's ear, biting at the piercing near the top of the lobe and Jeongguk falters, sagging back into Taehyung's hold with a confused little noise of pleasure. "And the chicks will love you, dude."

"Don't- don't fucking do that, Tae." Jeongguk mutters, taking a few seconds to catch his breath. He feels his cheeks burn, eyes closed against the satisfied grin that Taehyung presses to the back of Jeongguk's neck.

"Sorry." He's not sorry. "We're up, what do you want?"

"Fuck-" Jeongguk hadn't even read the damn menu with Taehyung biting at his ear and the way his head spins afterwards. What the actual fuck.

"Dumbass. We'll have three number eight combos, please."

Jeongguk glares at Taehyung over his burger, still reeling a little from having his fucking ear bitten in the middle of the burger shop- and liking it, apparently. Taehyung doesn't seem to notice, bowling through two burgers and half of Jeongguk's fries before remembering the pact he made in middle school to always give Jeongguk half of his food, which results in Taehyung trying to feed Jeongguk his bitten french fries.

"Still up for the bar tonight, Jeon?"

"I need someone better than you in my life, so sure."

"Joke's on you, babe. I'm the best you're ever gonna get."

Taehyung ditches his own birthday party. It's like a ritual by now, after all the years Taehyung's walked out of his parties to sit on the roof with Jeongguk. They start at the party, sometimes swiping a few cans of beers if Taehyung's dad isn't in the room, but after a few hours they always end up on the roof.

This time, Taehyung has enough foresight to bring a blanket. Says they can share like, "a fucking couples goals on Instagram, Jeon."

"Fuck off, Kim. And give me my half, it's cold out."

The moon is full tonight, shining bright over the water tower. The water tower Taehyung fell off of three years ago trying to vandalize it like the damn hoodlum he was. Taehyung looks back on the night fondly.

"Hey, wanna drink? Managed to swipe one beer."

Jeongguk shakes his head, scooting a little closer to Taehyung to share body heat. "I'm good tonight."

"Feeling okay?"

"Went too hard fucking your mom last night."

"Good one." Taehyung takes a long swig of beer and reclines so he's laying on the roof, forcing Jeongguk to follow suit less he lose his part of the blanket. He props his arm behind his head, grumbling a little when Jeongguk jostles his arm enough to rest his own head on. "The moon is so fucking- pretty, dude."

Jeongguk snorts. "You drunk, man?"

"Tipsy. Not tipsy enough to want your mom, though."

"Thank God for that."

Taehyung tries to crush the beer can in his hand, but he's not strong enough, so Jeongguk takes the can and crushes it himself, ignoring the way Taehyung mutters something about his dumbass muscle pic headass of a best friend. The roof is cold but Taehyung's arm is warm beneath Jeongguk's head, and he could fall asleep like that. But he can feel Taehyung's lips near his cheek, near his ear, and he's too aware to try and sleep.

"Question."

"I don't like the sound of that."

"I didn't even say anything!" Taehyung chucks the can off the roof to join the ever-growing pile behind the house. Taehyung's dad keeps telling him to clean them up, he swears he will, and then Saturday morning comes along and there's ten more cans from the drinking game they come up with. "Real question. Do you think your dad is a top or a bottom?"

Jeongguk chokes on his breath, sitting up to aim a punch at Taehyung's stomach. Taehyung laughs through his groan of pain, curling in on himself. "That is disgusting, why would you ask me that? And definitely a top."

"Really? I get the feeling my dad's a bottom."

"Can we- can we not talk about this? Stick to talking about your mom? 'Cause now I'm imagining your dad with fingers up his ass. And I'm staying over tonight."

"It's not that bad."

"What?"

"Fingers in your ass."

Jeongguk is silent, staring at the swing in the backyard and contemplating if he'd survive throwing himself off of this roof. This is not the conversation he wants. He can handle Taehyung giving him unwanted advice on how to properly sleep with girls, or Taehyung coming up with jokes about his mom that would send anyone running, or even Taehyung getting a little too drunk at the bar and trying to convince Jeongguk to kiss him, but now Jeongguk's thinking about fingers up asses and up his dad's ass in particular and he's not drunk or gay enough to keep that line of thought.

"You'd know, right?" Jeongguk says, voice a little tight.

"Yeah. Could show you, if you want."

Jeongguk props his weight on his elbow, leans over Taehyung's body to shove his face into Taehyung's chest. "You know what I really want, hyung?"

Taehyung's voice goes a little breathy. "What?"

"Some of your mom's brownies. Think she'll make me some if I eat her out?"

"Get the fuck off my roof, Jeon-"

But Jeongguk's faster, swinging himself over Taehyung's body to get to the ladder tucked at the side of the house and skipping down the rungs as Taehyung chases him, a little wobbly from his few beers and laughing too loudly for the hour, but it's drowned out by how loud Jeongguk's laughing himself.

Jeongguk's drunk. He's drunk and it's cold out and he hadn't been planning on getting drunk, hence why he's sitting behind the bleachers with a few girls from his math class. He'd finished in the gym a few hours ago but Taehyung was still busy, out doing stupid senior shit like taking his school pictures or sucking dick to pass a class, and Jeongguk's too drunk to properly read the text that says, making up a test I missed bc of your needy ass u dumbass.

"Jeongguk?" One of the girls slides smoothly onto Jeongguk's lap, linking her fingers together behind his neck. She's pretty, lithe and small in Jeongguk's lap, and he thinks he can remember her mentioning that she's a gymnast. She runs her fingers through Jeongguk's hair, and it's nice, he thinks, as he passes his bottle of beer to the girl next to him. "Your hair is so nice, have you ever thought of dyeing it?"

Jeongguk hums, tilts his head back so the girl- he believes her name is Seolhyun- can leave soft kisses at the base of his throat. "What color should I do?"

"Purple. You'd look really sexy with purple hair."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Jeongguk squeezes her thigh, can feel another girl's hand on his knee as Seolhyun moves her kisses to the corner of his mouth. It's way too fucking cold to be entertaining sex behind the bleachers tonight, but Jeongguk's bored and Seolhyun's skin is soft, so who knows? He's thinking now, letting his mind wander to the most recent of Taehyung's advice, wonders if he should be biting her ear right now or if it would be weird if he asked her to do it to him-

"Guk, you ready to go?" Taehyung's voice breaks through the haze of beer and kisses and Jeongguk breaks away from a kiss to look over his shoulder, at Taehyung leaning against a bleacher with his arms crossed and that stupid look in his eye he gets whenever he's extra proud of Jeongguk. "Aw, am I interrupting something, kiddos? About to get down and dirty behind the bleachers? Been there, done that, and believe me it is not worth the dirt in the unmentionables."

"Tae," Jeongguk lets his head loll against the bleachers, smiling up at his friend. "Taehyung. Taehyung hyung. Dudebro. Done sucking dick for grades?"

"You shithead, I'm going to leave you here."

"No, no- please-" Jeongguk reaches around Seolhyun's body to reach for Taehyung. His stomach is spinning and he wants a burrito. Specifically, he wants Taehyung to feed him a burrito. "Hyung, it's cold."

Taehyung helps Seolhyun off his lap and guides Jeongguk's arm over his shoulders. "Idiot. How'd you even get beer, anyway? We always use my fake."

"Seolhyun brought it. Hyung, the beer tasted like piss." Jeongguk's slurring, his cheek nestled comfortably against Taehyung's shoulder and he likes it. He likes that Taehyung is warm and solid beneath his body, but he'd like it a little more if Taehyung were feeding him some goddam food.

Taehyung snorts. "Don't insult the drinks until you've left, Jeon. Thought I taught you that already."

Taehyung leads them away from the bleachers toward the parking lot, the sun hanging low in the sky behind them. Jeongguk hates winter. He likes Taehyung's birthday because his mom will sometimes buy Jeongguk a gift, too, but he still hates winter. He tells this to Taehyung, tripping on his own feet in the lot.

"You ass," Taehyung reaches into Jeongguk's jacket's pocket for his keys. When the fuck did he put them in there. "You only like me for the things my parents give you."

"Your mom gave me her virginity."

"Doesn't even make any sense-"

Taehyung helps Jeongguk into the car with a hand on the top of his head, fights with Jeongguk when he tries to crawl right back out of the car. It takes a good few minutes to get Jeongguk's seatbelt buckled before he's crossing to the other side of the car. "Night's still young, Jeon. Whaddaya want to do?"

"Burritos?"

"Only if you take shots."

"But hyuuuuuuung."

Jeongguk swats weakly at Taehyung's arm as he drives to one of the bars in town that doesn't know them very well. Taehyung got him a fake made early last year, but they always order with Taehyung's since, in Jeongguk's words, he looks like an old fuck anyway.

They don't stop for burritos but they do stop for McDonald's, Taehyung threatening to throw Jeongguk out of the car if he doesn't stop throwing fries at Taehyung's face while he drives. And the bar is pretty busy tonight, Taehyung taking a few minutes to find them an empty spot right at the end of the bar. Jeongguk's head isn't spinning anymore, and he eagerly downs the first round of shots that Taehyung orders.

"It was my night to drink, by the way," Taehyung says, sipping on his only drink. He ordered Jeongguk a Sex On The Beach because he's a goddam riot, apparently. "Which means you're driving the next two Fridays."

"I can't drive."

"Yes you can, idiot."

Jeongguk gets loose-lipped as hell when he drinks, something that he absolutely despises but amuses the hell out of Taehyung. One too many times Jeongguk has woken up in Taehyung's bathroom or in the back of his car to Taehyung giggling at the videos he recorded the night before. Taehyung's personal favorite? The one where Jeongguk tries to pick up his first year literature teacher by offering to eat her ass. They can't go back to that bar, but Taehyung says it was absolutely worth it.

Tonight, Jeongguk's head is clearing from the beers but now he's got vodka and rum settling in his stomach and he's leaning across the bar top to get the bartender's attention- or anyone's attention, really. Except for Taehyung's. He hasn't gotten laid in a while and the last thing he needs is Taehyung being a cockblock. Jeongguk likes attention a lot, especially when it leads to getting his dick sucked.

"Bartender- dude, my pal," Jeongguk's slurring, trying very hard to hold his weight up. He can't even tell if he's got the bartender's attention, but Jeongguk's pretty and he's young- he's got to have everyone's attention by now. "You- you've got some nice fingers, man. Can I put them in my mouth, like? Can I suck on them-?"

"And, you're done for the night, Guk." Taehyung curls his fingers into the back of Jeongguk's jacket, brushing against his sweaty nape and making Jeongguk shiver. Damn. Taehyung has nice fingers, too. "Time to take you back to your mom."

Jeongguk trips getting out of his seat, and it's so fucking hilarious to him that they don't even get out of the building for another ten minutes, within that time the full depth of Taehyung's threat hits him. "Don't- don't fucking take me home, you prick. Mom'll, my mom will kill me if I come home like this. And then you, since you got me like this." Jeongguk's slurring bad as shit, but at least it seems like Taehyung can understand him.

"Relax, you big baby. We're going back to my place. My parents are out of town for the weekend, so we can nurse your dumb ass self back to health."

"Hyung?" Jeongguk is quiet until he gets into the car. He wonders if he's going to puke. Taehyung makes a sound of acknowledgement as he starts up the engine. "Hyung, can we watch Cupcake Wars?"

"Fuck yeah, we can. Want anything to eat?"

"No, fuck off. M'gonna be sick."

"Not in my car, you dickhole. Puke and you're cleaning it with your toothbrush."

"Shut up, your voice is making everything worse."

Jeongguk's a goddam mess to get into Taehyung's house, giggling at every word he slurs and every sound he hears. He hides his face in Taehyung's neck, might bite at Taehyung's collarbones a few times just because Taehyung flicks him for it every time. Getting up the steps to Taehyung's bedroom is a miracle, taking a quick pitstop to the bathroom so Jeongguk can vomit. He feels better after this, asks Taehyung if they can go pick up girls at a club, and Taehyung promises that they can do that in the morning.

"You sleeping naked tonight?" Taehyung asks, all but shoving Jeongguk onto his bed. "Or do you want pants, because I swear Guk next time you wake up hard I will touch your dick."

"That a promise?" Still, Jeongguk yanks on the sweatpants that Taehyung offers, whining high in his throat until Taehyung remembers to turn on the TV. Fuck, now Jeongguk wants cupcakes. "Hyung, can I suck your dick?"

"When your mouth doesn't taste like vomit and Crest, sure."

"Really?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Jeongguk makes an unhappy noise when Taehyung settles himself on the other side of the bed, scooting along under the covers until he can fit his chest against Taehyung's back and wrap his arms tight around Taehyung's frame with a content little sigh. "G'night, hyung."

Taehyung tugs the blankets over their bodies. "Why the hell do you always get to be big spoon? You can't even see the stupid cupcakes."

"I'm big spoon because I'm always big spoon."

"Why, because you've got more muscles than me? You and your dumb heteronormative bullshit-"

"Because your room's a damn icebox."

Taehyung yanks his pillow closer, dislodging Jeongguk's face. Jeongguk doesn't care, his nose smushed into the mattress. "Told you the heat was broken in here, but you never listen."

It's quiet for a few minutes, in which Jeongguk almost falls asleep but there's something nagging at the corner of his mind, a question and a request that his sober mind runs from everyday. Stupid Taehyung and his stupid face and his stupid affinity for getting Jeongguk into trouble with his own stupid emotions.

"Hyung?"

"Go to sleep, Gukie."

"Hyung, can you- can you maybe, bite. My ear. Again?"

Taehyung tenses in his hold, but Jeongguk can hear the smile in his voice when he speaks again. "You liked that? Damn, caught myself a kinky one. I'll remember this."

"Fuck off."

"Can't reach your ear at this angle, babe. Could if you let me be big spoon-"

"No, fuck off. I'm warm."

He doesn't say anything, laughing quietly and snuggling even deeper into Jeongguk's embrace. Taehyung goes so far as to link his fingers with Jeongguk's against his stomach, and Jeongguk passes out before he can see who wins Cupcake Wars.

"Hey, dude. Answer a question for me." Taehyung sits himself on Jeongguk's bed with a yearbook in his lap, opened to a page from his year. He points to one of the boys, a very serious wrinkle to his forehead. "Would you suck this guy's dick?"

Jeongguk gives him a wounded look. "Hyung. Why."

"Because I sucked his dick and I'm trying to decide if it was a mistake."

"Uh." Jeongguk really looks at the guy. Nice face, strong jaw, good hair. "Yeah, I guess? Why'd you suck him off if you weren't sure?"

"He offered to buy me weed."

"Isn't that prostitution? And you don't even smoke, hyung."

Taehyung grins, salacious. "I don't, but the middle school kids across town don't know the proper prices of drugs yet."

"Brutal."

"Mhm."

Taehyung flips through the pages of the yearbook, snorting at every picture of Jeongguk- which are all just of him trying to avoid the camera. There's a shot of his ass from when Taehyung got him drunk before a soccer game and convinced him to moon the field, but other than that the only full picture of Jeongguk is his official class one, with his hair done up all nice at his mom's insistence.

Taehyung said he looked like a mama's boy. Jeongguk had punched him so hard the bruise stayed on his stomach for an entire day.

Jeongguk's working on his pre-calculus homework, scowling at all of the letters that have replaced numbers. You never truly appreciate numbers until there aren't any in math.

Except now he can't focus. He can't focus because he's thinking about what Taehyung said, about just sucking some guy's dick just because, not thinking it through beforehand. Jeongguk's been with girls without a second thought, but staring at the veins on the back of Taehyung's palm, he's starting to wonder just how different it is with boys.

"Hyung?"

"Yeah?"

"What's it like to be fucked?"

Taehyung chokes on his drink, stares at Jeongguk with wide eyes. Jeongguk breaks eye contact first, looking away with flushed cheeks and furiously finishing a math problem. He gets it wrong. God dammit.

"You really wanna know?" Taehyung asks, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Like- what makes you think I've even-"

"You texted me after, hyung. Your exact words were, 'guess which bad bitch just got dicked down that's right this dude.'"

"Got me there." Taehyung leans back, resting his weight on his propped elbows. "Well, it's different. From fucking someone, obviously. Like, gives you a good perspective on how to fuck, y'know? You realize what feels good and wonder why a girl ever let you inside of her."

Jeongguk giggles. "Really, hyung?"

"Not kidding, Jeon. There's- there's a lot you wouldn't understand without feeling it yourself, you know?" Taehyung's staring at the ceiling, his cheeks a little red, and Jeongguk's wondering if he should have left this conversation for when they're both four beers in. "I could- I could show you, if you want?"

Jeongguk falters, glancing up from his homework. "You sure?"

"If it's what you want, Guk."

Taehyung carefully takes Jeongguk's books from him and then throws them on the floor, grinning wickedly at the glare Jeongguk sends his way. He sits cross-legged in front of Jeongguk, who mirrors the pose.

He feels squirmy and a little giddy and exponentially glad that his parents are out to dinner for a couple of hours. "Do we kiss?"

Taehyung shrugs. "We could kiss. We've kissed before."

"We were drunk."

"Doesn't change anything."

"Is it weird if we kiss?"

"It'll be weird no matter what, Jeon."

"Hm." Jeongguk shrugs off his hoodie, just for something to do. He's heard it's supposed to hurt, and now that the offer's sitting on the table he just wants to get this over with, wants to see if there's anything to this or not. "You can kiss me."

Taehyung snorts. "Thanks for the permission. Now take your pants off."

Jeongguk does, watches from the corner of his eye as Taehyung strips as well. It's weird, he decides, falling onto his back so Taehyung can hover over him. It's weird, but then Taehyung's leaning down to drag his lips across Jeongguk's throat and Jeongguk's forgetting to feel weird. He doesn't know what to do with his hands, settles for placing them on Taehyung's hips as Taehyung bites down softly on Jeongguk's ear, his hips kicking up.

"Hyung-"

"Damn, you really do like that. Bet I can get you to come just from that someday."

"God- shut up."

Taehyung kisses him, then, pressing his lips gently against Jeongguk's and then with a little more purpose. One of his hands leaves the bed to grip Jeongguk's waist, feeling small beneath Taehyung's wide palm, and then strokes down to Jeongguk's thighs, spread to accommodate Taehyung's body.

"You done anything before?" Taehyung asks, breaking the kiss to look at Jeongguk. "Like, fingers or anything?"

"Y-yeah."

"S'cute."

"Fuck off."

"What? I said it's cute." Taehyung leans over his body to rifle through the bedside table and grab the lube and some condoms, grinning at the way Jeongguk flushes. "You're so predictable."

Jeongguk doesn't say anything, holding his weight up as Taehyung kisses down his body, sucking a violent hickey into the skin of his thigh and Jeongguk's fucking embarrassed to say he's already getting hard just from anticipation and from having Taehyung's mouth so fucking close to his dick.

Then, Taehyung licks up the underside of Jeongguk's cock and Jeongguk bites his fist to hold back the desperate little moan that threatens to spill from his lips. It's not his fault, really it isn't, but Taehyung's so fucking good with his mouth, taking Jeongguk's cock between his lips with little effort like he was made for sucking dick. If his head weren't spinning something fierce Jeongguk would make a comment about finding Taehyung's calling in life, but as it is Taehyung's trying to suck his soul out of his dick and Jeongguk can't do anything but hang on for the ride.

Taehyung keeps going until Jeongguk's dick is painfully hard and leaking red at the tip and he's muttering about being close, keeps a hand on Jeongguk's dick when he pulls off.

"I'm not gonna lie, Guk. This might feel kinda weird, so I won't be offended if you go soft on me." Taehyung says, stroking his fingers along Jeongguk's length. "Just try to relax for me."

Jeongguk tries, but his entire body tenses at the first press of Taehyung's slick finger to his hole. Taehyung hushes his confused whimper with a kiss to his hip, pushing his finger into Jeongguk's ass with care. He waits until Jeongguk thinks he's good to add another, moving both fingers slowly so the stretch doesn't hurt Jeongguk.

"Damn," Taehyung says, watching his fingers scissor inside of Jeongguk. "You this quiet with all your partners?"

"Fuck- fuck off. M'not moaning for you."

"No?" Taehyung looks genuinely disappointed. "It's fine, you know. Submission. Really fucking hot, actually. I bet submission looks gorgeous on you."

Jeongguk snorts, flopping onto his back and letting his sweaty hair fall into his eyes. "Sure. Whatever. You can add another."

Taehyung does, taking this one much slower than the last two. "Would now be a good time to mention that it'd probably be easier if you were on your hands and knees?"

"You're such a piece of shit, Kim-"

"Yeah, yeah you rue the day you ever met me even though I'm about to blow your tiny mind. Heard it all before." Taehyung crooks his fingers, hitting a spot inside of Jeongguk that has his back bowing and his eyes screwing shut in pleasure. "Prostate. Good to play with, super fun to cum by. Kinda similar to the g-spot in girls, play with 'em, Jeon. Makes your partners super happy. Moan for me, dumbass."

"Can you just-" Taehyung presses his fingers back into his prostate and Jeongguk shivers, mind going blank for a hot minute. "Get on with it. Hyung. Tae."

"God, so impatient." But he listens, dragging his fingers out and making Jeongguk squirm at the odd emptiness as he wipes his fingers on Jeongguk's sheets. Taehyung reaches for a condom, rolling it over his length with practiced ease. He strokes lube onto his cock, watching Jeongguk carefully. "Probably feel better if you're on your knees, if I'm being honest. But then you won't get to see my beautiful face."

Jeongguk snorts, rolling onto his front without a word. "Don't wanna see you anyway, Kim. That's fucking gay."

"Real fucking gay."

Taehyung lines himself at Jeongguk's back, squeezing reassuringly at his hip. "I won't be offended if you don't come, but believe me when I say I'll haunt your stupid ass if you don't moan for me."

Arousal and anticipation sit heavily in Jeongguk's stomach, the lube cooling uncomfortably on his inner thighs as he rests his weight on his forearms. "Whatever, hyung. Just- go."

Taehyung pushes in too slowly, Jeongguk's back arching in an odd mix of pain and pleasure as he's filled for the first time. It's entirely different from his fingers, and yeah, he'll admit that Taehyung was right. It's so, completely different from fucking someone and Jeongguk almost feels like he's being sliced in half as Taehyung finally fucking bottoms out- there's no fucking way Taehyung is this big. Jeongguk's seen him naked and it was nothing like this. Granted, it was years ago and Jeongguk ran out of the bathroom with his hands over his eyes, but still.

"Sh-shit," Taehyung hisses, rests his forehead against Jeongguk's spine. "You're so fucking tight, Jeon, holy fuck."

Jeongguk shifts, unsure whether the discomfort has bled into pleasure yet, but he waits until his body gets used to the intrusion to say, "You can move, Tae."

Taehyung takes it slow, pulling out almost entirely before thrusting back into Jeongguk, and soon Jeongguk's meeting his thrusts, and Taehyung lets himself go just a little bit, his pace increasing and his breaths heavy against Jeongguk's ear.

"Fucking- moan, Jeon." Taehyung groans, not quite a moan of his own and Jeongguk shakes his head. He wants Taehyung to break first, to be the one to moan first, because Jeongguk doesn't fucking submit. At least not before his shithead of a best friend. "Come on, baby, doesn't it feel good?"

"Yeah," Jeongguk breathes, body shaking. "Feels real good, hyung."

Taehyung leans even closer, draping his body over Jeongguk’s to kiss along his neck, press a quick peck to Jeongguk's cheek before he bites at Jeongguk's ear, toying his piercings with his tongue and Jeongguk breaks, a loud, high pitched moan slipping from between his lips before he can think to stop it.

Taehyung pauses from behind him, and Jeongguk knows he's fucking blown it now. "Yeah?" Taehyung whispers, too deep and too good against Jeongguk's ear. "Sound so sexy, babe." The guy fucking does it again, tugging Jeongguk's ear between his lips to play with and Jeongguk can't hold back his desperate noises, crying out against the pillow with his entire body shaking. "M'not gonna last, Jeon."

"I-I'm really close, Tae," Jeongguk whines, throwing his abandon out the window. He doesn't fucking care right now; he just wants to come. "T-touch me?"

Taehyung does, jerking Jeongguk's cock with his fist until Jeongguk tenses and comes all over the sheets with a strangled groan of Taehyung's name. Taehyung's not far behind, thrusting a few more times into Jeongguk before he stills, buried deep within Jeongguk's ass and coming hard into the condom.

Jeongguk immediately slumps but Taehyung catches him before he can fall into the wet spot, laying him onto his back. He watches as Taehyung ties off the condom and tosses it in the trash, cringing when he thinks about explaining that to his parents if he forgers to take out the trash later. Then, Taehyung grabs a shirt from the floor to wipe the come off his hand and off Jeongguk's belly, humming a little as he goes.

"Sleepy?" Taehyung asks, tapping Jeongguk's hip to get him to move out of the way so he can turn down the sheets. "You'll probably be sore in the morning, but you did good."

Something in Jeongguk's belly lights up at that. "Thanks. You were right, though. Feels way different."

"Yeah, but you did really good bottoming. Most people bitch more, but not you. Should practice, though. I bet you'd look hot riding someone."

"Ugh."

Taehyung grabs one of Jeongguk's hoodies and tugs it on, slipping into bed behind Jeongguk. Jeongguk immediately goes to snuggle against Taehyung's back, but he's stopped with a hand on his shoulder and with Taehyung trying to wrap him in his arms. But Jeongguk's nothing if he's not stubborn, and he fights to be the bigger spoon, cursing and threatening to shove his foot up Taehyung's ass.

"Dude- fuck, quit trying to kick me! You're little spoon tonight, you fucker-"

"Why?" Jeongguk squirms back out of Taehyung's hold, thinking he's got the upper hand, and then Taehyung punches him in the stomach. "Because I bottomed? Who's a heteronormative piece of shit now-?"

"No, shut up-"

Taehyung finally wrestles Jeongguk back onto the bed, throws his leg over both of Jeongguk's and both arms around Jeongguk's body to hold him down. Jeongguk tries to throw him off for another minute before giving up, letting his entire body relax as that first wave of soreness hits him and he realizes, in that very second, that he's never felt more comfortable in bed before.

"What the fuck-" Jeongguk mumbles to himself, curving his body to better fit against Taehyung's chest. "This is fucking- wonderful. Why doesn't everyone be little spoon all of the time?"

Taehyung laughs quietly and loosens his hold a little to stroke his fingers along Jeongguk's arm. Then he goes right back to trying to strangle Jeongguk to death, nosing at the nape of his neck. "Even number of people. Someone's got to make the sacrifice."

"You're holding me like this every night."

"What the fuck- no. I want to be held sometimes."

"So find yourself a girl."

"You're insufferable." Taehyung leans close to nip at Jeongguk's ear and laughs at the way Jeongguk's body jerks in his hold. "I am so, so, happy that I know to do that. You've no idea how hot it is to have someone's pleasure depends entirely on you."

Jeongguk yawns, reaching onto the floor for the remote to turn on the TV. It's some old movie, but the noise is nice in the dim lights of his bedroom. That's all of the mobility Jeongguk gets before Taehyung's holding him tight again- for what reason Jeongguk doesn't know. He's not trying to get away anymore. "I'll use this knowledge wisely, hyung. Maybe on Seolhyun. She's been calling."

"Yeah? She tried to use teeth when she blew me, so be careful."

Jeongguk frowns. "Really? She didn't use any teeth when she blew me outside the school."

"Hm. Must've learned from her mistake with me."

"Because we all know sex with you is a mistake."

Taehyung grins his infuriating grin against Jeongguk's neck. "That's not what you were saying when you moaned my name."

"I fucking hate you-"

"I'm serious, though, Jeon. If you want to get better at this, you know where to find me."

"I appreciate that. Now shut the fuck up, I'm trying to sleep."

Jeongguk avoids Taehyung for an entire week after they fuck, ducking away from him in the hallways and pretending he isn't home even though Taehyung can see into his room from across the street. Only if he uses binoculars, though, which he uses sometimes because, "You look hot when you get naked how the fuck is that my problem?"

Jeongguk doesn't regret fucking Taehyung, even uses the new knowledge it gives him with a boy in his physical education class a few days later- a conquest he goes to tell Taehyung about before remembering he's being a fucking dumbass.

He doesn't regret fucking Taehyung, but he's hiding because he kind of wants to do it again. Taehyung's dick is fucking huge and knows how to use his body, and Jeongguk liked being taken care of that evening, liked that he was... good for Taehyung.

So he hides and avoids the situation, naturally.

That is, until Taehyung shows up at his door with special brownies and a case of beer, walking right passed Jeongguk and into the basement and declaring, "This is stupid. So I've had my dick in your ass. Doesn't change anything, Jeon. Now get down here and get high as a fucking kite with me."

With the warming of the weather comes an unpleasant reminder that Taehyung's graduating soon, and that for all of the shit Jeongguk talks, he really is dreading the day Taehyung gets his diploma and leaves this shitty town. So instead of dealing with his problems rationally, he sneaks a six-pack from the garage and climbs onto the old water tower. It's illegal. Jeongguk doesn't care.

His phone's been ringing for the last few hours, Taehyung texting him asking to meet up, asking why he's not in his house, threatening to jerk it in Jeongguk's bed if he doesn't answer. The usual.

But Jeongguk can't bring himself to answer. Because they haven't talked about what happens after high school, and Taehyung can be scarily serious when he wants to be, but he never really wants to be. And Jeongguk doesn't want to put a damper on their long weekend. So he'll get drunk alone and maybe call up someone to fuck if he gets lonely enough, and try his damnedest not to fall off the water tower.

"There you are, you dickhole."

Jeongguk doesn't lower the can he's drinking from, watching from the corner of his eye as Taehyung climbs to join him, sitting at his side in the fading light. He takes one of the beers without asking and pops the cap with practiced ease.

"How'd you find me?"

"You always talk about jumping from here when you're hammered." Taehyung rolls the can between his palms. "Not in like, the dying kind of way. But in the wishing you could fly kind of way."

"Oh."

"Plus we hang out here all the time, idiot. At least pick a better hiding spot next time." At Jeongguk's noncommittal grunt Taehyung frowns, facing him properly. "Why are you hiding, anyway?"

"Walked out after fucking your mom last night. Thought it would be awkward."

"Oh, thank God. I walked out on your mom last night."

"We need new jokes."

"No, we need new moms to fuck."

"Stay away from my mom, Kim."

Taehyung laughs, quietly, and knocks his shoulder against Jeongguk's. "What's got you down in the dumps, buttercup?" But Jeongguk doesn't answer. Because he doesn't like fucking with his feelings and he especially doesn't like fucking with them with Taehyung around, not when their latest fuck is still fresh in his mind. Taehyung taught him to eat ass, and Jeongguk's still fucking embarrassed as shit.

Not to mention the spanking thing that Jeongguk still adamantly refuses to talk about.

"Nothing."

"Liar."

"Tae-"

"Is it graduation?" Taehyung asks very softly.

Jeongguk curls his shoulders, wishing he could disappear within himself so he doesn't have to have this conversation. Taehyung stares at him, his expression fond and knowing and Jeongguk nods carefully. "I just- you're going to be leaving me and I haven't been without you since we were kids. I know it's stupid. It's only a couple of years and technology is amazing and can keep us close but who am I supposed to go to if my hookup sucks? It's too late to find someone else to jerk me off in the bathroom of the diner when my date sucks at giving head-"

"Woah, woah, Gukie. Slow down." Taehyung wraps his arm around Jeongguk's shoulder, drawing him into Taehyung's space. Jeongguk immediately shuts the hell up. This is why he doesn't fucking talk about it, because as soon as he starts everything comes rushing up. "Graduation is still months away, Jeon. And I'm- I'm not planning on leaving right away."

Jeongguk jerks out of Taehyung's hold, nearly sends himself toppling off the tower if not for Taehyung's grip on his bicep. "You're not?"

"Nah. Not really interested in college, anyway. Figured I'll go to a small school nearby and stay in town, at least until you're done with high school. Or we get run out of town." Taehyung takes another long drink of his beer before throwing the can off the tower. "Whichever comes first."

"You think we'll get run out?"

"Hopefully with pitchforks."

"Fuckin' weirdo."

Taehyung nuzzles his nose against Jeongguk's hair and Jeongguk finds himself smiling in content. Call him clingy and stupid but he likes having Taehyung with him. And if Taehyung does leave town before him, Jeongguk doesn't think it's far off to assume they'll end up at each other's sides again soon after.

"Your weirdo," Taehyung says, kissing lightly at Jeongguk's ear.

"Stop- fucking doing that, Tae."

"Aw," Taehyung whines, pouting. "But you like it."

"Doesn't mean you have to keep doing it."

"Whatever, you bitch. What do you say we head to the bar? It's ladies night, and if you're still sad in a few hours I'll touch your dick as much as you want."

Jeongguk snorts, indulging himself for a minute to nose along the hollow of Taehyung's throat. "So considerate, hyung."

"You know it." Taehyung stands, reaching for the blanket he'd left here years ago and tosses it over the last few beers. They'll probably be back here tomorrow, anyway. Couple of small town burnouts like them, they don't have much else to do. "Come on, Gukie."

Jeongguk smiles as he climbs down the ladder, hiding it from Taehyung. They have time together, which means he can still learn a bunch of shit from Taehyung, can still climb into Taehyung's bedroom through the window when his own room is a little too lonely. Maybe they'll fuckin' run away to the other side of the country after Jeongguk graduates or some shit, get lost in the big city where no one knows their names. But they don't have to think about that now.

Now, their only concern is which one of them gets to get hammered tonight and who's sorry ass has to drive home.

It's always funny when Taehyung gets drunk. Because if Jeongguk spits words like rain, Taehyung makes friends and spills more secrets than anyone can count. It's his turn tonight to get drunk after his last final for the year. Jeongguk still has two more before the end of the year, and had suggested sex as a celebration so he wouldn't have to work very hard, but Taehyung shot that idea down by blowing him outside the bar before he could even realize he was hard.

"Jeon," Taehyung leans most of his weight on Jeongguk, who's sitting at one of the small tables at the bar with him, drinking idly at his Coke. "Jeon. My favorite bitch in the world. A sexy bitch."

Jeongguk feels himself blush, hates it when Taehyung calls him sexy or hot because he really doesn't hate it at all. He likes it. Especially when Taehyung's got his fingers crooked against Jeongguk's prostate and is whispering that Jeongguk looks so good all strung out for me. Another thing he refuses to talk about- the praise.

"What, Taehyung?"

"See that girl? With the blonde hair by the bar?"

There are a lot of blonde girls by the bar. "Yeah. What about her?"

"Greatest tits to fuck. Like. Ever."

"Jesus." Taehyung wobbles in his seat. Jeongguk settles him with a finger curled in his belt loop. He's not trying very hard. It's always funny when Taehyung falls out of his chair. "Didn't need to know that, dude."

"I'm saying it for your advantage. Go get her. She likes younger dudes."

"Shut up before she hears you."

But Taehyung doesn't fucking shut up when he's drunk. He's naturally loud and energetic, has gotten in a lot of trouble more than a few times for screaming to get Jeongguk's attention in the middle of school assemblies, but it's even worse after he's had a few rum and cokes. He loses his filter, then, and his sober filter is shitty enough already. "I want to suck your dick."

Jeongguk doesn't even flinch. "Already did that, dumbass."

"So? You're young, your libido has to be better than this."

"You're one to talk. I made you come twice and you fucking passed out in my bathroom."

"Your floor is fucking comfortable, you dick warmer."

Taehyung manages to stand up, hobbling over to the bar to order another drink. A girl Jeongguk recognizes from school catches his eye, grins as she looks Jeongguk over from head to toe. He has to drive Taehyung home from the bar tonight, but there's nothing in the bro code that says Taehyung has to be the one he cuddles to sleep tonight.

Jeongguk waves the girl over just as Taehyung gets his next drink and slams his fist onto the top of the bar. "See that boy over there," Taehyung's saying, pointing at Jeongguk with a shaky finger. He's captured the attention of both bartenders and everyone who's sitting nearby, enraptured because Taehyung's fucking gorgeous with a flush sitting high on his cheeks and his long body leaning elegantly against the bar. "That boy- he's so good at eating ass. Says he won't but holy shit he's got a magical tongue. Eats ass like- like the last fucking supper, my dude. My good boy Gukie."

It's not news to Jeongguk. Since he fucking moaned for Taehyung the first time Taehyung's gotten even more vocal, spitting occasional praise that only makes Jeongguk work harder. But only sometimes, because Taehyung wants Jeongguk to beg to be called a good boy and Jeongguk still has his pride, thank you very much.

That doesn't mean he wants Taehyung announcing this fact to everyone in this very packed bar.

Jeongguk jumps out of his seat and slaps his hand over Taehyung's mouth. He tries to look stern but Taehyung's giggling and swaying, grasping at Jeongguk's hips to pull him close and then he's kissing at Jeongguk's neck, wet and sloppy and full of giggles.

"Quit it," Jeongguk mutters, reaching around Taehyung's body to pay the tab. He thinks the car keys are in his pocket. "You're the reason we're running out of bars to go to."

"Wanna fuck you, Gukie," Taehyung's saying against his skin. It's a bitch to get Taehyung out of the bar and they forget Taehyung's jacket inside but it's fucking summer anyway. Taehyung only wore the ugly thing for the aesthetic because he's a piece of shit. "Fuck you 'till you're screaming."

"No drunk sex, remember?"

Taehyung makes unhappy noises while Jeongguk shoves him into the passenger seat, whining, "But why?"

"Your rule. Plus I'm not sure you'll stay awake and I don't do blackout hookups."

"Lower your standards, babe." Taehyung keeps swatting at Jeongguk's face while he drives, slumped against the window and reaching with his long arms to try and poke Jeongguk's eye out. "This is why I get more dick."

"You're also gayer."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Taehyung's quiet for a while, fiddling with the radio and giggling every damn time he changes a channel. Jeongguk contemplates leaving him propped against his front door to be dealt with in the morning but Taehyung doesn't give him a chance, latching onto Jeongguk's back the second Jeongguk gets him out of the car. He snuggles against Jeongguk's neck and doesn't let go even as they hobble down the stairs to the basement.

"Dude." Jeongguk's in the process of getting Taehyung's shoes off when Taehyung sits straight up, staring at him very seriously with rum darkened eyes. "You've got a nice fucking dick. Like. Real nice. For a kinda straight dude."

"Thanks." Jeongguk tries to hide his grin, knows it's unnecessary anyway because Taehyung won't remember any of this in the morning, anyway. But there's something really nice about complements from Taehyung, about being told his thighs look extra firm today or that his ass has never looked nicer. Or when Taehyung calls him sexy in the locker room before physical education just to see him blush surrounded by the other guys they both know can't hold a candle to the sex they get from each other. "Now go the fuck to sleep."

"Cuddle me."

"No, fuck you. Cuddle me."

"I'll fucking jerk off in your sock, Jeon, don't test me."

Jeongguk gives in, of course. He's so fucking bad at saying no to Taehyung and Taehyung knows it, grins all victoriously when Jeongguk climbs petulantly into bed behind him and draws him against his chest. One day he'll stop entertaining Taehyung's weird cuddling addiction, but today is not that day.

Graduation comes and goes and like real tried and true bums, Taehyung and Jeongguk sit in Jeongguk's basement with a few friends from school. The obligatory graduation dinners are finally over, and there are too many pictures on their mother's cameras of Jeongguk wearing Taehyung's cap while they pose but the food was good and the beer and Pizza Rolls are even better.

Taehyung's the one who suggests spin the bottle, sitting between a boy from Jeongguk's class named Yugyeom and a girl he graduated with. There's a girl on Jeongguk's lap and he can't remember how she got there, so when the bottle lands on Jeongguk he presses a quick kiss to her mouth.

The beer is warm and the music is good. Someone brings Soju and pulls out a yearbook to laugh at and Taehyung's got his tongue down Seulgi's throat after another round of spinning a bottle.

"Okay, okay," Kihyun's laughing after the game slows down a little bit. It takes another minute for Taehyung to break away from Seulgi's neck, but that's okay too. "New game. Taehyung. Fondest high school memory?"

Taehyung answers without pause, "First time Jeon let me fuck him in the locker room."

Jeongguk throws his bottle at Taehyung's head, misses because he's a little tipsy. "Dickhole. He's kidding."

"So that rumor was true?" Seulgi asks and Jeongguk could cry because now that Taehyung's done he has to deal with these rumors on his own. His way of dealing has worked out pretty well, though. He just fucking ignores them.

"Don't fucking say anything, Kim."

"Or what? Suck my dick, Jeon."

"Give me a time and place, asshole."

"Jesus," Yugyeom says, leaning back with a brownie hanging out of his teeth. "You two really are somethin'."

The music's still good and the beer's still being passed around but Taehyung's grinning at Jeongguk over Seulgi's shoulder as she recalls her favorite high school memory, something about cheering for the basketball team and now Jeongguk's feeling a little guilty because he plays basketball and he never noticed her there.

And it goes like that, talking about fond high school memories and Taehyung interrupting almost every story to add a Jeongguk anecdote- which usually only occurs because Taehyung gets him drunk in the first place. A lot of Jeongguk's misfortune can be credited to taking beers from Taehyung. It goes like that until it gets to be Jeongguk's turn and he snaps, "Quit fucking looking at me like that, Taehyung."

"Or what, Jeon? You're all bark and no bite."

Jeongguk will fucking show him bite. "Bathroom. Five minutes."

Everyone's laughing, used to Jeongguk and Taehyung trying to one-up each other in the hallways and always threatening each other with hollow insults. Everyone's laughing until Jeongguk all but knocks the girl off his lap to go to the bathroom and five minutes later Taehyung is whispering something to Seulgi and following Jeongguk into the bathroom, and then no one's laughing anymore when someone's moans are bouncing through the room.

If someone were to ask, they'd say Jeongguk was an idiot. Not for any real reason, mostly just because everyone's a fucking idiot and Jeongguk's no exception. But now he's an idiot because he fucked up during his practice, couldn't focus on the plays and missed a lot of easy passes. He's in the running for captain of the basketball team next year but if he keeps slipping up like the last couple of days the he can kiss that position goodbye.

Jeongguk walks home in the hot summer afternoon, basketball bag slung over his shoulders and stares at his shoes as he walks. He usually calls Taehyung for a ride, knows his friend has nothing better to do while he's preparing to move into an apartment across town, but Jeongguk doesn't fucking want to feel even more like a bother.

Still. He's a creature of habit and even as his head hangs he still walks right through Taehyung's front door instead of his own. Taehyung's mom isn't home but there's fresh brownies cooling in the kitchen and Jeongguk eats three before he heads upstairs where he knows Taehyung will be.

"Guk?" Taehyung looks up in surprise when Jeongguk comes barreling into his room, tossing his backpack to the corner and kicking off his Timberlands. Taehyung’s lying across his bed, flipping through a book, and something in Jeongguk seems to break in that very moment. "Done with practice? Why didn't you call?"

Jeongguk doesn't answer because he doesn't have an answer. He crawls quickly into bed and kisses Taehyung hard enough to bruise, biting Taehyung’s lips to get to his tongue. Taehyung makes an affronted noise but takes it in stride, kissing Jeongguk back just as hard as Jeongguk lowers his weight onto Taehyung’s lap on the bed.

"What," Taehyung gasps, hissing at the sting of Jeongguk's teeth on the hollow of his throat. "What happened?"

"Don't wanna talk." Jeongguk mutters, grabbing one of Taehyung's hands from his thigh and pressing it against his crotch. "Fuck me, hyung."

And if Jeongguk's weak for Taehyung then it's the exact same for Taehyung. Taehyung grips him hard at his thighs and flips their positions, grinding down against Jeongguk's length as he licks into Jeongguk's mouth. Jeongguk wraps his legs around Taehyung's waist and it's good, enough pleasure for Jeongguk to get lost in, throwing his head back and letting Taehyung have access to all of him, but it isn't enough.

Taehyung can read him like a book by this point, knows when Jeongguk's whine is one of impatience. He pulls back to tug Jeongguk's damp, sweaty shirt off, follows it with his own clothes until they're both naked and a little desperate, Taehyung sucking violent hickeys in a row along Jeongguk's throat. Taehyung keeps his lube in the side dresser because he's just as predictable and annoying as Jeongguk is, his finger slick when he rubs around Jeongguk's hole.

"Fuck, you sound so pretty, Guk." And maybe it's the circumstance, but Taehyung seems to know exactly what Jeongguk needs, whispering little complements and praises to the skin of Jeongguk's cheek.

There's an unrestrained frustration to this round, Jeongguk realizes. His nails scrape harshly down Taehyung's back and Taehyung doesn't wait as long as he usually does between one and two fingers. Jeongguk doesn't mind. He wants more.

"Harder, Tae." Jeongguk spits, grinding down onto Taehyung's fingers. Taehyung crooks them against Jeongguk's prostate in retaliation, grinning wickedly at the way Jeongguk's back bows and he groans out Taehyung's name. "Fuck- fuck me like you mean it, you dick- oh, do that again."

Taehyung likes to complain that Jeongguk's too mouthy in bed but he doesn't complain when he's got three fingers buried in Jeongguk's ass, thrusting them in a little too fast but Jeongguk's still asking for more, clinging to Taehyung's shoulders.

Jeongguk moans when Taehyung leans down to take his dick into his mouth, sucking his length between his lips easily. Jeongguk's almost fucking insulted at how easily sucking dick comes to Taehyung, but Taehyung shares his secrets, so he doesn't care that much.

It's too good, Jeongguk thinks, squirming against the hand Taehyung has on his hip to keep him in place. He tries to buck into Taehyung's mouth, which only earns another jab against his prostate and he cries out, hands curled into Taehyung's hair. It's all too good and Jeongguk's body is shaking, his orgasm looming over his head because Taehyung's always been good at making Jeongguk come too fast, especially when he does way too much.

"C-close," Jeongguk whimpers, the word cutting off into another moan. Taehyung and his stupidly good fingers and his stupidly good mouth, a mouth Jeongguk's about to come in if Taehyung doesn't pull off.

Taehyung pulls back at the last second, massaging Jeongguk's inner walls as he comes all over his belly, crying out brokenly as his body tenses. Taehyung scissors his fingers again, Jeongguk wiggling a little in slight discomfort, but Taehyung doesn't stop and Jeongguk doesn't ask him to, his cock slowly hardening again against his thigh.

"Get on your hands and knees," Taehyung orders, his voice a little wrecked. Jeongguk shivers at the tone but hurries to comply, some part of his head needing to be good in this moment, an irrational fear that Taehyung will leave him hanging here like this. "Who do you think you are? Barging into my room, demanding I fuck you like the little cock slut you are." Jeongguk whines, back arching at the press of Taehyung's palms against his skin. "Oh? I'm right, aren't I? Baby boy Gukie, always so desperate for a cock in your ass. Guess you're lucky I'm in such a giving mood today."

"T-Tae," Jeongguk shivers, tries to grind back on the fingers Taehyung has teasing at his hole.

"What."

"Slap me? M-my ass?"

Taehyung falters. "What?"

"Please?"

He's hesitant but always so giving, always willing to give Jeongguk something he asks for. Taehyung may love dragging on foreplay, withholding what Jeongguk needs and wants just to watch the way Jeongguk's eyes well up with frustrated tears, until Jeongguk's cursing Taehyung's entire family and threatening to fuck himself on one of Taehyung's toys before Taehyung finally gives in and fucks him.

But slow and steady won't win this race, and Taehyung seems to realize that. Without another word, Taehyung spanks him, palm against the meatiest part of Jeongguk's ass. Jeongguk gasps, his entire body jerking forward with a strangled moan.

"Again."

Taehyung spanks him again, on the other cheek this time, and again when Jeongguk gasps out another request. He kneads Jeongguk's cheeks with both hands, murmurs, "Looks so pretty, baby."

Jeongguk whines, pushing his face into the mattress and his ass back in Taehyung's hands. "Once more?"

Taehyung does, of course he does. Slaps him one more time, harder than the first few, and runs the pads of his fingers against the heated flesh and Jeongguk sobs out at the light pressure.

"Fuck," Taehyung groans. "You look so fucking good with my hand print on your ass."

"Fuck me, hyung. Come on, wanna feel your thick cock fucking me open."

Taehyung groans. "Gonna be the death of me, Guk." He reaches over Jeongguk's body for a condom but Jeongguk stops him with an unhappy noise. "What?"

"Don't- don't use one. I'm clean."

"Guk-"

"You are too, right?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"What's the problem?"

"I've never," Taehyung adjusts his position behind Jeongguk, jostles his hips a little more and dips his thumb into Jeongguk's wet, puffy hole. "Never gone without."

"Me neither. Who fucking cares, just wanna feel your fat cock in my goddam throat."

"You're fucking filthy."

Taehyung pushes in without warning, cutting off Jeongguk's next sly remark with a broken sob as he's finally filled, and this, this is what Jeongguk needed. He needed Taehyung thrusting deep into his ass before he's really ready, fucking him hard and fast, bony hips slamming against the back of Jeongguk's thighs. Jeongguk can't even think to stay quiet, babbling and crying out, demanding Taehyung move even faster as he moans into the pillow by his teeth.

"Feels- feels so good, Taehyung-" Jeongguk's crying out, fisting both hands in the blankets by his face, lets his weight drop completely and lets Taehyung support his weight. Or not. Jeongguk doesn't fucking care so long as Taehyung keeps fucking him so well.

"So tight," Taehyung growls into Jeongguk's ear, adjusting his angle until he's brushing against Jeongguk's prostate with every thrust and Jeongguk's all but sobbing into the mattress. "Fucking made for this, princess."

"Don't-don't fucking call me that," Jeongguk spits, even as his hole clenches and a shiver hits his spine.

"No?" Taehyung chuckles, the sound making Jeongguk whine. "Seems to me that you like it. Like being my little princess? Like it when I fuck your slutty hole open like this? Take it so well, Gukie, ass fucking made for taking my cock. Looks almost as good as your mouth around me."

Taehyung winds a hand into Jeongguk's hair and pulls, and Jeongguk moans so loudly that Taehyung's pace falters. He doesn't move for a long moment, making Jeongguk squirm in impatience. He has an idea what Taehyung is thinking. "Fuck off, keep going."

"You're so- fucking sexy, Jeongguk. Princess. My baby boy." Taehyung pulls on Jeongguk's hair again, another high-pitched moan falling from Jeongguk's lips before he can think to stop it.

Taehyung grips tightly onto Jeongguk's hips, forcing Jeongguk to take everything that he wants to give. And Jeongguk loves it. Loves Taehyung's big palms on his waist, loves Taehyung leaning his body over Jeongguk's as he thrusts harshly, muttering filth into Jeongguk's ear and letting Jeongguk moan and cry out and ask for it faster all he wants.

Jeongguk's not going to last, not with Taehyung's hand twisting back into his hair to give another experimental tug, then he bites at Jeongguk's ear and Jeongguk hadn't even realized he was that close until suddenly Jeongguk's entire body tenses as he comes, a surprised moan falling from his lips as he comes all over the sheets.

"So good, princess." Taehyung whispers into his ear. "My good boy, Gukie."

Taehyung follows quickly, thrusting hesitantly into Jeongguk as he chases his own orgasm, and Jeongguk hums contently, body loose limbed. "Come inside me. Hyung. I want you to."

Taehyung comes with a strangled groan, coming deep in Jeongguk's ass before pulling out gently. He helps Jeongguk onto his back and doesn't even bother putting out his hand for rock paper scissors to decide who has to clean up. Instead, he coaxes Jeongguk to his feet and into the bathroom across the hall, not without making a sly comment about killing Jeongguk if he gets any cum on the carpet.

"Hyung?" Jeongguk blinks sleepily, watching as Taehyung starts the shower. He can feel cum and lube drying on his inner thighs, not to mention the dried cum still on his stomach, and he scowls, shifting his weight. In the mirror he can see a violent purple hickey nestled in the base of his throat. It stings when he presses his fingers against it, hissing quietly.

Taehyung notices. "Sorry, I went kinda hard-"

Jeongguk murmurs, "I like it,” and he swears it looks like Taehyung’s about to pass out from that statement alone.

"C'mon."

When they're done in the shower, Taehyung having taken charge to wash Jeongguk's hair and get the cum out of his ass, he offers Jeongguk sweats and his favorite hoodie and snuggles up against Jeongguk's back in bed. And it's quiet for a while, Jeongguk content and warm and sore, ready to ignore his summer homework in favor of falling asleep and forgetting-

"Wanna tell me what had you all worked up?" Taehyung holds his weight behind Jeongguk with his elbow, staring at Jeongguk's cheek as Jeongguk stares resolutely at the wall.

"No. Nothing. Shut up and go to sleep."

"So you like being called princess, huh?"

Jeongguk groans, picking his battle for the night. "I'm a fucking piece of shit."

"Hey," Taehyung frowns, nudges Jeongguk until he's lying on his back and Taehyung can prop his chin on Jeongguk's chest. "Only I'm allowed to call you that. What happened?"

"I'm horrible at basketball. I'm going to quit."

"No you're not."

"Fuck off. Yes, I am."

"Guk."

"I keep making stupid mistakes," Jeongguk sighs, links his hands on the small of Taehyung's back. Taehyung's hand feels good in his hair. "Like. Mistakes that can cost me the captain position next year."

"So you had a bad week, who cares? You're still a good player."

"Ugh."

Taehyung pokes his cheek. "You're good, Jeon. Real good. Almost as good as your body."

"Thanks, I think." Jeongguk turns back onto his side, quietly asking for something and of course Taehyung gets it, spoons against Jeongguk's back without a word.

Taehyung grabs the remote and turns on the TV. "Oh nice, Cake Boss is on."

"Really?" Jeongguk asks sleepily, winding his fingers between Taehyung's on his stomach without thinking of any consequences. "Oh, I think this is the episode where they build an Iron Man cake."

"Of course you'd know that." Taehyung pauses. "You could choke me you know."

Jeongguk's eyes snap open. "What?"

"You heard me. During sex."

"But you were topping."

"Topping, bottoming, doesn't fuckin' matter to me. Try it next time."

"Maybe. Shut the fuck up."

"You got it, princess."

That summer, Taehyung uses all of his newfound knowledge to his advantage. Jeongguk will never be as outright about his kinks as Taehyung is, preferring the muted feeling of excited embarrassment that comes with discovering a new one by Taehyung's hand. And Taehyung is all too willing to comply, curling his fingers around Jeongguk’s throat with a muttered, “This would be so much easier if you just told me the nasty shit you like.”

But Jeongguk’s nothing if he’s not stubborn.

It stopped being about teaching Jeongguk how to get fucked a long time ago, but neither of them really cares. Jeongguk's too lazy to go searching for hookups half the time, and knows through experience that a text of his hard dick will get Taehyung to his house in less than five minutes. He does use some of the things he learns on the girls and guys he picks up around town, but there are only so many of Taehyung's weird fucking fetishes that Jeongguk can propose to someone he wants to put his dick inside. Or vice versa.

"Hey." Taehyung knocks at Jeongguk's window. It's fucking unnecessary. Jeongguk's parents are on vacation for the week, but Taehyung's been climbing in his window lately. Trying to bring the romance back or some bullshit. "Jeon, open your window."

"No, go away."

"Fuck you, man. I'll get off without you."

"Nice. Less work for me."

"Piece of shit-"

But Jeongguk does reach behind his bed to unlock the window for Taehyung, who topples in gracelessly. "Don't get dirt on my bed."

"Pansy ass shit-" Taehyung kicks off his shoes, lets them land somewhere on the mess that is Jeongguk's floor. "I got you a going away present. And birthday present."

"Really?" That gets Jeongguk's attention, and he looks up from his game of Piano Tiles to face his friend. Taehyung isn't even going anywhere, just finally moving into his apartment a little bit closer to his school. "What is it?"

"I'm going to teach you how to top."

Jeongguk pouts. "But I like bottoming."

"And you're good at it, but you should know how to top in case a partner wants it. Now take your shirt off and come here."

With a sigh, Jeongguk complies and chucks his tank top off, maybe stares a little too long at Taehyung’s elegant frame as he strips, and lets Taehyung guide Jeongguk over his naked body with sure hands on his hips. "Do I have to kiss you?"

"If you want." Taehyung leans back and Jeongguk straddles his thighs. "You already know the shit I like, but for your sake I left the anal beads at home."

"I fucking hate you-"

"I'm kidding. Sort of. Take your time with your partner, work them up a little before you really get to it."

Jeongguk does, dropping a quick kiss to Taehyung's lips before moving along to his neck. He knows what he likes, the stuff that Taehyung does that gets him really hot under the collar and tries to replicate that, nipping along the smooth skin of Taehyung's throat. He doesn't have as visceral a reaction when Jeongguk bites at his ear and he pouts, but Taehyung assures him that he's doing well, that he can move down his body.

So Jeongguk does, paying attention to which spots make Taehyung moan and sigh and which ones get him tense beneath Jeongguk's palms. He takes his time, kissing everywhere he can reach, a thigh wedged between Taehyung's legs and he can feel Taehyung getting hard against his thigh.

"Good?" Jeongguk asks, because he needs that reassurance from Taehyung. Especially now.

"Real good, Guk. You don't have to blow me."

But Jeongguk wants to, so he licks from the base of Taehyung's cock to the tip, taking time to dig his tongue into the slit at the tip because he knows that's something that Taehyung likes. Jeongguk takes Taehyung's cock between his lips, moaning at the feel of him, hot and heavy, on his tongue, hollows his cheeks to take Taehyung even deeper until his tip hits the back of Jeongguk's throat. Taehyung sighs in pleasure, his hand a nice weight on the back of Jeongguk's head. Normally, Jeongguk would back off a little and let Taehyung fuck his face before moving on to prep, but this isn't a normal afternoon and it's not Jeongguk's ass today.

“Your cock is my fucking favorite,” Taehyung sighs, eyes closed in pleasure. Jeongguk doesn’t think much of it; could say the same thing about Taehyung’s dick.

"I'm gonna prep you now," Jeongguk says, pulling off Taehyung's cock with a slick pop.

"So soon? Where did the romance go, Gukie?"

"Shove it."

The lube's on the floor from Jeongguk's hookup the night before, a college boy taller than Jeongguk with big hands and nice hair and really nice fingers, and he grabs it quickly. He's afraid of hurting Taehyung, honestly, even though he knows that Taehyung has done this more than him, so he pours extra lube onto his fingers and then onto Taehyung's crack, watches as it runs between his cheeks.

"Cold," Taehyung hisses, and Jeongguk smiles a little because that's something Taehyung always does to him.

Jeongguk jostles Taehyung's hips a little to prop him against his thighs, pushing his finger and nearly choking at the tight heat, imagining that around his cock. "Okay, good," Taehyung sighs, body taut and Jeongguk feels a little pride at the marks already darkening his skin. "Good. Wiggle it around a little. Don't go for the prostate right away, better to wait for two fingers."

He pushes another finger in when he thinks Taehyung is ready and is rewarded with a gorgeous little moan. "Like this?"

"Good. Now crook your fingers in a kinda come hither motion, you'll know when you hit it because-" Taehyung's words are broken off in a loud groan as Jeongguk's fingers press into the gland. He scissors his fingers and presses them into Taehyung's prostate again, loving the way Taehyung moans and loving the delicate curve of his waist when he squirms. Call him mean, but Jeongguk plays with Taehyung's prostate for a little too long, especially after he's got three fingers buried in Taehyung's ass.

"You like that, huh?" Jeongguk asks, doing it again.

"Y-yeah." Taehyung sighs, grinding down against Jeongguk's fingers. "Told- I told you it's fun to play with. Quit it, though. I'm gonna come. Now c'mon, I'm ready. Want your big fat cock, baby boy."

Jeongguk fixes him with an unamused look. "Can't you let me win just once?"

"Nope."

Jeongguk kicks off his jeans and reaches for a condom because Taehyung says he's not dealing with Jeongguk's come in his ass, he doesn't have time for that shit. Jeongguk doesn't care; his cock is hard and heavy and hurting, curving against his stomach and flushed. His hips jump when he rolls the condom on and again as he lubes up. Jeongguk flushes at the way Taehyung laughs at him, but Taehyung gets quiet real quick when Jeongguk lines up at his hole and pushes in slowly.

And fuck, Jeongguk's already intoxicated as fuck. Taehyung's so tight and warm and wet, and it takes every ounce of Jeongguk's stamina not to blow his fucking load the second he's inside Taehyung. It takes a minute to bottom out, Jeongguk moving slow for his own wellbeing and so as not to hurt Taehyung.

He shakes a little once his entire length is buried in Taehyung's ass, face in Taehyung's shoulder and hands curled in the sheets. Taehyung presses a kiss to Jeongguk's cheek and runs his hands over the expanse of Jeongguk’s skin. "You can move, baby. Feel so good, so big inside of me." Jeongguk shakes his head. "Gonna come?" Jeongguk nods and Taehyung's laughing, running his fingers through Jeongguk's hair. "It's fine if you do, but then ya gotta eat my ass."

"M'fine," Jeongguk mutters, body tense above Taehyung. He waits for a few more minutes, catching his breath slowly. Hesitantly, he moves, and both he and Taehyung moan out loud.

"God, your cock's so good." Taehyung hums, "if only you knew how to use it better."

The quick instance of praise is almost enough to make up for Taehyung's snark, Jeongguk decides with a roll of his eyes. When he's sure he's not going to nut in that instant, Jeongguk thrusts harder, pulling out only to slam his hips back against Taehyung. "Hyung-"

"Good, real good, Guk." Taehyung's nails scrape against Jeongguk's shoulders and he finds that he likes it. Likes it a lot. "Angle- oh, fuck- angle your hips a little, aim for the prostate again-" Jeongguk does, bangs sweaty in his eyes as he fucks into Taehyung a little harder, and he grins when Taehyung lets out a shout of pleasure when Jeongguk hits his mark. "Fuck, Jeon. Mark up my neck."

Biting hickeys into Taehyung's neck, Jeongguk thrusts even harder, lets some of his earlier worry melt away. One of his hands moves from the sheets, gripping Taehyung's ass harshly and tugging his thigh higher on Jeongguk's waist.

"Feel so good, Tae." Jeongguk whispers to his neck, sucking another dark hickey into the skin there. "Please tell me you're close."

Taehyung chuckles. "Not yet. Will be if you touch my cock, though."

Jeongguk jerks him off a little sloppily, his hips snapping against Taehyung's ass because he's real fucking close and doesn't want to be that asshole who comes way before his partner. Taehyung sighs in his ear, whispers that he's doing so well, and when Jeongguk swipes his finger along the tip of Taehyung's dick, he tenses around Jeongguk and comes with a gorgeous moan, the sudden tightness around his cock making Jeongguk come before he realizes.

"That was good, Jeon," Taehyung says, once they've both caught their breath and Jeongguk's lost at rock paper scissors. Jeongguk finds a shirt on the floor to clean the cum from their bellies with. "Usually I can come just from a dick in my ass-"

"Wow, thanks for the fucking confidence," he mutters. Jeongguk's not pouting, not one bit as Taehyung giggles and cups his cheeks to press a wet kiss to Jeongguk's nose.

"But, if you work harder you'll get there. Kudos on not blowing right when you got in me, though. I totally thought you were gonna bust it."

"Jeon Jeongguk does not bust early."

"Mhm. We’ll work on it." Taehyung grabs one of Jeongguk's shirts and pulls his sweats back on, always still full of energy even after sex. Jeongguk stays naked and sated on his bed. "Get up, lazy ass. We're going to get milkshakes."

"Ugh. Why?"

"It's our thing now. Milkshakes after sex."

"We've been having sex for months now."

"Which means we have months worth of milkshakes to drink."

Taehyung makes Jeongguk drive to the diner, complains that his ass hurts like a bitch and Jeongguk would be lying through his teeth if he said that didn't stroke his ego just the tiniest bit. Taehyung orders one vanilla milkshake with two straws and, "The largest plate of fries you have, my good waiter. We're celebrating tonight."

"Oh?" The waiter laughs and Jeongguk tries to fucking hide under the table. "What's the special occasion?"

"My baby boy just fucked a dude."

"Great," Jeongguk says, watching the waiter walk away with bright red cheeks. "You just ruined his life."

"Another victim to add to the list."

The food comes, wings and fries and burgers and a milkshake, and Jeongguk could cry at smelling all of the greasy food. He'll have to double his workout tomorrow, but he thinks it's worth it to watch Taehyung's lips around a straw.

"You know what else is this white?" Taehyung swipes his finger through a glob of whipped cream.

"Don't, hyung-"

"Cum. My cum. Bet it doesn't taste as good, though."

Jeongguk leans forward, drinking from the milkshake without looking away from Taehyung. He smacks his lips. "You're right. It tastes better."

"Yeah? What's it taste like."

"Your mom last night."

"I'm going to kick your ass, Jeon-"

Jeongguk shoves a few fries in Taehyung's mouth, laughing too loudly for this small diner this late in the afternoon. Taehyung gives up on his idea to murder Jeongguk, but he does steal the rest of Jeongguk's burger.

Someone taps Jeongguk on the shoulder. It's a middle-aged woman sitting in the booth behind them, she and her husband sharing a brownie sundae. She points at Taehyung in distaste. "He does realize he's in public, right? How can he just say those things?"

"He knows," Jeongguk says, too fondly. "He just doesn't care."

"I'm bored."

"So do your homework."

"What the fuck." Taehyung looks genuinely offended by the suggestion. "No. I was thinking we'd have another threesome."

Jeongguk grimaces. "Dunno if that's a good idea, man. You laughed so hard during our first one I swear I went a little soft. Plus you told her about the... the thing."

Taehyung takes a long drink from his soda, taking care to drip some condensation onto his textbook. He's had one of his books for his photography class open for the three hours he's been in the diner with Jeongguk, both of them pretending they're actually giving a shit. It's too cold to entertain walking to the library. Wherever the hell that is. "Your daddy kink? You just looked so cute trying to dominate Jiwoo, Jeon. And uncomfortable every time she called you daddy. She really had no clue you like to be called a slut."

"I don't have a daddy kink."

"I have a reminder on Facebook that says the exact opposite."

Jeongguk wants to die. It was an accident. A fucking accident. "Keep your voice down."

"My precious little princess slut."

"Hyung. I'll kill you."

"Whatever." The waiter, another scandalized college student, passes by and Taehyung orders himself a chocolate milkshake. "I don't think we should bring another dude in the bedroom, at least not for a while. You came way too fast."

Jeongguk flushes and tries to hide it in his math homework. It doesn't work. It never does, and Taehyung's laughing so hard he chokes on his soda. "He had bomb dick game, how the fuck is that my fault?"

"Oh?" Taehyung leans closer, grins that greasy grin that Jeongguk knows far too well. "So it had nothing to do with me whispering in your ear? Calling you a slut, saying how good you look getting fucked-?"

"Dude-" Jeongguk shoves his hand in Taehyung's face, can feel his dick plumping up against his thigh and he fucking hates Kim Taehyung. He really does. "Shut up. I mean it."

"Okay, okay. Jeez." Taehyung sneaks a couple of Jeongguk's fries, still grinning like the piece of shit he is. "We'll save the threesome talk for my birthday. Besides, I really think I like watching you get railed. Something really hot about watching someone else shove your face in the mattress."

"No." Jeongguk feels his stomach drop because he can recognize that look in Taehyung's eyes anywhere. It's the same look from the first time he got Jeongguk to try the anal beads or take two dicks at once. "No way, hyung. That can't be another kink."

"How dare you kink shame me. In front of my own salad."

"That's gotta be, like, your tenth kink."

"Twelfth. I think."

"Jesus- fuck."

"Hey, I didn't say anything when you asked me to slap you."

"Because I choked you after!"

"Damn." Taehyung says very seriously, ignoring the scandalized look that a couple across the diner is throwing them. "We have tried so much shit."

"Warrants a break, right?"

"In your fucking dreams, Jeon."

The afternoon passes like that, Taehyung answering homework questions between orders of food and Jeongguk chugging away at his calculus homework. He hates it, always has, but it's whatever. What he's got to do. They spend their hours ranking the guys and girls who come into the diner, suggesting them as possible threesome partners but ultimately getting nowhere because they can't fucking agree on a person.

"What about her?"

"I have history with her this year. Don't need that being awkward. What about him?"

"He looks bigger than you, looks like he can't take beads. I want your dick to be the biggest I choke on."

"Fuck off, hyung. Her?"

"Weird boobs. Probably sucks at giving head."

"Can't be as bad as your mom."

"You shit-"

Taehyung chases him out of the diner, but not before throwing a few bills on the table to cover their meals. He shoves Jeongguk into a nearby snowbank, laughs so hard he has to clutch his knees to catch his breath and presents a perfect target for Jeongguk to push him into a pile of snow on the side of the road.

When he offers a hand to Taehyung- because he's not an asshole, okay?- Taehyung uses the leverage to drop a frosty kiss on Jeongguk's lips, then leaves him reeling as he walks to the car. Jeongguk goes back to the diner for their books, avoiding the looks the other customers are giving them.

"Wanna come to my place and drink? My roommate's out."

Jeongguk snuggles into his coat. The heater in Taehyung's car is starting to go. "Sure. You're buying though."

"Duh. What kind of a hyung would I be if I didn't get the beer?"

("Here, Jeonggukie, drink this beer."

It's New Year's and Jeongguk's over at Taehyung's family's house for a party. Taehyung came back for the night, family and friends mingling around as Taehyung hands him a glass of something piss colored. He's already had a couple glasses of champagne and cut himself off. The last thing Jeongguk needs is to throw up on someone's shoes. "Thanks?"

"Just don't tell your mom I'm letting you drink."

Jeongguk scowls. "I'm nineteen, hyung. Not ten."

"Did I fucking stutter?"

"Can't wait until I'm old enough to buy this shit on my own," Jeongguk mutters, drinks the beer because Taehyung brought him the good shit his parents only buy for holidays.

"It loses its novelty once you're of age. Trust me."

They end up leaving the party early, sneaking up to Taehyung's old room where Taehyung blows Jeongguk on the bed. Jeongguk's just passed tipsy and can't muster up the energy to get on his knees, so he lets Taehyung do what he wants with his mouth, giggling every time Taehyung pulls back enough to let him breathe.

The countdown finds both of them wrapped in one blanket on Taehyung's bed, wearing pants because they're not trying to make it gay. Jeongguk rests his head on Taehyung's shoulder, and smiles to himself.

"Thanks, Tae."

"Of course. All in a day's work as the best hyung in the world.")

Heartache looks different on everyone, but Jeongguk thinks he hates the way it looks on Taehyung. It's not heartbreak, not at that level yet because Taehyung didn't have his heart broken, just stepped on a little, and now his favorite milkshake isn't even bringing a smile to his face.

Jeongguk doesn't know what to say because he's never had his heart stepped on. His longest relationship was a month in his freshman year, a relationship that ended amicably because neither of them really liked each other anymore.

"Hyung, at least turn the Evanescence off. People are staring."

Taehyung doesn't lift his head off of the table but he does fumble around for his phone before finally shutting off the embarrassing music. "I miss Eunji."

"You dated her for three weeks."

"Fuck off. She was great. Great in bed. Just. Really great."

Jeongguk slides into the seat next to Taehyung, wraps an arm around his back because it's really all he knows how to do. "She had really nice tits, too. I'd put my cock between them."

That, at least, gets Taehyung to chuckle weakly. "She broke up with me an hour ago, Jeon. Can you not."

Jeongguk works his fingers through Taehyung's hair, lets Taehyung shift until he's shoving his face against Jeongguk's shoulder and not the table. "You'll find someone else, Tae. Someone even wilder in bed."

"Think so?"

"Maybe. You're kind of a freak."

Taehyung laughs quietly. "That's your only free kink shame."

"Fuck- and you let me waste it?"

They fall silent for a while, the air conditioning cold on their bare arms and Jeongguk's arm is starting to fall asleep from the angle, but he keeps those thoughts to himself. He lets Taehyung mope, lets him mope against his neck because Taehyung isn't crying. He wasn't hurt badly enough to be crying, and Jeongguk counts that as a little victory.

"Guk?"

"Yeah."

"Can we go back to your place?"

"Yeah." Jeongguk drops a quick kiss to the top of Taehyung's head. "Yeah, of course. I'll even let you use that fleshlight you bought on me."

Taehyung perks up a little, still very little color on his cheeks. "Really?"

"One time offer."

"What the hell are we still doing here, then? I'll drive." Taehyung pauses outside at the driver's side of the car, staring at Jeongguk over the roof of the car with that twinkle in his eye that Jeongguk really had missed. "Oh, and Jeongguk?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks, man."

Jeongguk smiles, soft and small. "Don't mention it."

Jeongguk really fucking hates Taehyung. He says that a lot but this time, with his hands cuffed to the top of Taehyung's bed and a vibrator shoved up his ass, Jeongguk really means it. He's squirming, damn near about to break and beg because the cock ring on his dick is keeping Jeongguk from coming and he wants to die.

"Hyung-" Jeongguk gasps, arching his back when Taehyung turns the vibrator up another level. Taehyung wasn't even using Jeongguk's favorite handcuffs, no, he was using the pink fluffy ones because he thinks he's funny. "Hyung, fuck- fuck you- let me, shit-"

Taehyung only hums, lying on the other side of his bed and scrolling through his phone. He's not even looking at Jeongguk, tied up and high-strung, pretty flushed skin glistening. "What's wrong?"

"You fucking know what's wrong, you fucking piece of shit- fuck!"

Taehyung turns the vibrator up again and Jeongguk fucking wails. He can't quite remember how he got into this position, how the fuck he agreed to let Taehyung tie him up like this the night before he's to begin his last year of high school. Maybe there was a promise, maybe something else, Jeongguk doesn't care- his dick hurts.

"Hyung," Jeongguk sobs, kicking his legs out for some kind of relief but there isn't any. He can't remember how many settings this vibrator has. "Please- Tae, please please please touch me. Let me come, Tae, please!"

"Gotta do that thing I like, baby boy."

Jeongguk curses, the last of it cutting off into another cry of pleasure when Taehyung jacks up the vibrator again. Above all else, Jeongguk really just wants Taehyung to look at him. Because Taehyung isn't shy with his affection when it comes to sex and Jeongguk really wants that affection right now.

"I'm not-" Jeongguk whimpers. "Calling you that."

"Then I guess you're not coming."

Jeongguk could fucking cry. He swears in that moment that he's finding a new best friend once he gets out of these cuffs. He's tired of Taehyung and his stupid everything. Jeongguk has a lot of pride but Taehyung's really good at knocking him down a few pegs. Giggling when Jeongguk's trying to dom a girl. Talking his way out of the cuffs Jeongguk puts him in with promises to let Jeongguk fuck him against the wall, only for Jeongguk to be the one with his face pushed into the couch cushions as Taehyung ruins him. Showing no signs of discomfort when Jeongguk leaves him tied up to make pancakes instead. Or, Jeongguk's personal favorite: Taehyung breaking down into tears of laughter when their threesomes turn into competitions and Jeongguk's got a girl on his lap calling him daddy.

Jeongguk has a lot of pride but Taehyung's just better. And he knows it. But Jeongguk will never say it. At least not right now.

Writhing again, Jeongguk turns his face to Taehyung with a pout on his slick lips, bitten red from Jeongguk's initial attempt at holding back his noises. "D-daddy," Jeongguk whines and watches the way Taehyung's lips turn up at the corner. "Please let me come."

"All you had to do was ask."

Then Taehyung's tossing his phone to the side, focusing all of his attention on Jeongguk and he preens with a happy little noise, body tensing as Taehyung gets between his thighs. Taehyung isn't even naked, still sitting in his sweats and graphic t-shirt that says, I just want all the dogs, and it's so not sexy Jeongguk resents that he's a literal mess on Taehyung's bed while the other just looks so sloppy.

But he's got that attention back on him and Jeongguk doesn't care about anything else right now, focuses only on Taehyung pulling the vibrator out of Jeongguk's ass without warning, lifting until Jeongguk's got his thighs on Taehyung's shoulders and he can hold Jeongguk's cheeks in his hand, dipping his tongue into Jeongguk's abused hole.

"Fuck-" Jeongguk all but sobs, his back arching and pushing his ass further against Taehyung's face. Drunken Taehyung will tell anyone who'll listen that Jeongguk's a God at eating ass but he doesn't think he holds a candle to Taehyung. "So good, Tae- shit- right there-!"

Jeongguk's got tears in his eyes when he's finally getting what he wanted, Taehyung's tongue fucking into his hole rapidly, Taehyung's hands squeezing his ass and gripping his thigh right at the curve of his backside, fitting so nicely that Jeongguk really thinks Taehyung was made to hold his ass. He thinks he says this, babbling something about Taehyung and Taehyung's hands and how close he is, having been kept on edge for so long.

Taehyung's grinding down against the mattress, fucking into Jeongguk with his tongue even harder as Jeongguk cries out again, feels the first tear slip down his cheek.

"D-daddy, the ring," Jeongguk moans, arms tense and sore above his head. "The ring, Tae, you shithead- let me come, fuck-"

Taehyung finally, blessedly, removes the cock ring, and as he shoves a finger into Jeongguk's ass to press against his prostate Jeongguk comes hard untouched, nearly screaming as he finally finds his release and paints his belly white. Taehyung keeps going, licking into Jeongguk's rim until he's shaking, oversensitive and hard again, forcing a second orgasm out of Jeongguk while he shakes and twists in Taehyung’s strong hold. When Taehyung lets his body back onto the bed softly, Jeongguk swears he’s floating.

"Good?" Taehyung asks, kneeling by Jeongguk's shoulders to undo the cuffs. Jeongguk just sags onto the bed, lets his entire body mold into the mattress with a pleased sigh. "My little bitch, always so good to me."

"Fuck off," Jeongguk mutters. But there's no real bite to it, he's biting back a smile at the backwards complement. Taehyung takes a quick minute to rub the kinks out of Jeongguk's shoulders before grabbing Jeongguk's hand for rock paper scissors. Jeongguk loses, but refuses to move to clean himself, so Taehyung lowers his head to Jeongguk's belly and fucking licks the cum clean, reaches his body over Jeongguk's to kiss him, pushing his cum back onto Jeongguk's tongue until Jeongguk shoves him away with a hand on his neck. "Fuck. Why the fuck do we swallow."

"Some of that Freudian nature versus nurture shit."

"That is entirely incorrect." Jeongguk's eyes close sleepily. A long day of basketball practice and getting the life fucked out of him is tiring. "Hyung, you didn't cum so you can fuck my face."

"Uh, actually I'm good."

"Really?" Jeongguk snorts, reaches blindly for Taehyung's thigh and palms at his soft cock, at the wetness staining the front of his sweats. "Never letting you live that down."

"You literally didn't get off with your last hookup unless she put a finger up your ass."

"She was shitty in bed!"

"Whatever. How's your head?"

Jeongguk frowns, blinking up at Taehyung, who's staring at him with an expression Jeongguk can't quite read. "Fine? I'm taking a shower."

"Use the lavender soap, it makes you smell pretty."

"Fuck all the way off, hyung."

Jeongguk does use the lavender soap anyway, uses up all of Taehyung's hot water because he's not afraid to admit he's petty like that. When he leaves the bathroom, only a towel on his wet hair, Taehyung is sitting on his bed flipping through his stack of take out menus.

Taehyung doesn't even look up as Jeongguk rifles through his clothes for something to wear, finds a couple of his shirts he thought his mom had thrown away. "Your parents know you're staying over, right? I ordered chicken and beer."

"Hyung, your apartment isn't even that far from my place."

"I know, but you're a dumbass who left his school books at home. Maybe your mom wants you to come home and get them, or wants this dick. Either or."

Jeongguk dresses in Taehyung's baggiest sweats and hoodie, thanks any deity that will listen that Taehyung remembered to pay his electricity bill this month. "Stay away from my family."

"Sure thing."

Taehyung lies back in bed and smiles when Jeongguk launches himself back into the bed, using Taehyung's arm as a pillow and hooking their legs together. "My ass fucking hurts."

"Well, that's what you get for being a bitch for half an hour. Would have been over much faster if you just said it."

"I resent drunk me for calling you that last year. It was an accident." Jeongguk groans. "It has to have been longer."

"It wasn't." There's that look in Taehyung's eyes again, the evil twinkle Jeongguk can never be sure if he wants to hate or love. "But we can try to break that record next time."

It's fucking freezing outside but the club is warm, too many bodies packed together in such a small area. College students are home for the holidays, making the most of their weeks off before the grind kicks back in. This was Taehyung's "Christmas present" for Jeongguk; going to a club and picking up girls.

Except something's wrong. Jeongguk was a little too tipsy, grinding against a girl somewhere on the dance floor with a boy on his back, sharing kisses between the two and wondering if this would be the first threesome he had without Taehyung, until his tipsy self decides to open his mouth.

Open his mouth and mention how badly he wants to get fucked, too used to it thanks to Taehyung that he asks the girl if he can fuck her in the ass. She looks at him weird, says she'll only agree if she can fuck him after, and Jeongguk fucking agrees.

Which only opens the conversation to more shit, wherein the boy behind Jeongguk is laughing as he sucks a hickey onto Jeongguk's neck while Jeongguk's using a pickup line Taehyung told him about and suddenly-

"Hyung." Jeongguk finds Taehyung at the bar; drinking a fucking martini like the gay fucker he is with a few girls. He stops laughing when Jeongguk runs up in a panic, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. "Hyung, help. I used one of your lines on the wrong gender and now a girl wants me to fist her, what do I do?"

Taehyung laughs like this isn't the worst fucking thing in the world. "Just do it like I taught you."

"No- what the fuck, hyung? Didn't you hear me?"

"I did, need a fucking fisting refresher?"

"No-" Jeongguk can hear the girl calling his name, getting closer to the bar. "Fuckin-" He grabs Taehyung's cheeks in his hands, dragging him into a messy kiss and swallowing Taehyung's noise of surprise. Taehyung catches on- already knew- and slips his hands into the pockets of Jeongguk's jeans, squeezing his ass to drag him closer.

The girl spots them, Jeongguk knows because he has one of his eyes open in the dark of the club, pouting when she sees he's a little tied up in Taehyung's tongue, and thankfully walks away. Jeongguk sighs, breaking the kiss and resting his forehead against the hollow of Taehyung's neck.

"Damn, who taught you to kiss like that?" Taehyung snickers, still squeezing Jeongguk's ass.

"You," Jeongguk says truthfully. Maybe that last shot was a bit of a mistake.

"I'm so fucking good. Wanna dance?"

They came here to find hookups, for Jeongguk to get a little more college hookup exposure before his senior year ends, but of course they end up wrapped around each other on the dance floor. Taehyung keeps him close as they dance, hips flush, scowls a little when he notices the hickey some guy left on Jeongguk's neck and dips his head to make a bigger one on the other side.

And Jeongguk's intoxicated. Partly on the vodka but mostly on Taehyung, grinding his hardening cock against Taehyung's with a little whimper. And this wasn't supposed to happen, the two of them getting off on the disco lights and on each other, but things have a funny way of never working out in Jeongguk's favor.

Taehyung keeps his lips on Jeongguk's neck, listens to every breathy whine that Jeongguk makes, takes note of every time his breathing catches or his pace falters, lets Jeongguk do most of the work because he likes the way Jeongguk looks when he's all worked up, flushed and sweaty and just about to break. When he whines against Taehyung's neck, Taehyung bites at the helix in Jeongguk's ear and Jeongguk's hips stutter as he groans, body tense while he cums.

"Fuck," Jeongguk whispers, the embarrassment catching up with him. Taehyung adores this- the embarrassed color that Jeongguk's cheeks get when they discover a new kink or Jeongguk likes something a lot and doesn't want to admit it. They're in the middle of a fucking club, bodies packed on every side and he just came in his pants like a damn middle school kid. "Taehyung, fuck you."

"Later. Let's get out of here."

"I'll blow you in the car, if you want," Jeongguk murmurs, his body flushed against Taehyung's back as they walk in an attempt to hide the wet spot in his jeans. Really, he just makes it more obvious.

Jeongguk doesn't blow him in the car, only because Taehyung says he wants to fuck Jeongguk when they get back to his apartment. Jeongguk whines the entire ride home, squirming against the feeling of the cum cooling in his boxers, sticky and gross, but he shuts up real quick when Taehyung slips his hand into his pants, palming him until he's hard again, slumped against the window and panting.

Jeongguk's high school graduation comes and it's as much an endeavor as Taehyung's was. Only this time it's Taehyung wearing Jeongguk's cap for the pictures, but they still go out with their families to the same restaurant to eat afterwards, after Taehyung brought a megaphone to scream into to make sure Jeongguk heard him as he crossed the stage for his diploma.

Jeongguk never had as many friends in high school and he opts to nix the graduation party, knows it'll just be awkward making small talk with all the kids he went to school with. Especially with those unfortunate few who heard Taehyung fucking him in various bathrooms over that one year.

Instead, he and Taehyung go back to the water tower. They don't come here as often since Taehyung got his own place, but it's a nice throw back and Taehyung brings beer, and he's absolutely correct in that drinking loses its novelty once Jeongguk's of age.

"Hey, you never said where you're going to college." Taehyung says, tossing his first can off the water tower. He's got his arm around Jeongguk's shoulders because Jeongguk asked for it. He's a little sad about graduating and a lot needy; sue him.

"The main Uni across town. Same one as you."

"Oh nice." Taehyung pauses, and Jeongguk knows that's not all of it.

"What, hyung?"

"It's just." Jeongguk's still in his gown because Taehyung said he looks nice in it. The entire town is in front of them, a pretty skyline that Jeongguk would willingly admit to being gay for, but Jeongguk's staring at the curve of Taehyung's delicate eyelashes. "I'm moving to Seoul, Jeongguk."

"No."

"Guk-"

"No, you can't fucking leave me."

Jeongguk's irrationally mad, he knows he is, but this isn't how it's supposed to go. He hadn't even been scared this time around because he thought he'd have Taehyung at his side. Jeongguk shakes off Taehyung's arm, moves farther away on the tower and draws his knees up to his chest, looking away from Taehyung.

"Don't do this, Jeongguk." Taehyung says, following to stay at Jeongguk's side. "Please, babe. Jeon. It was hard enough applying to school out there."

"So, why do it?" Jeongguk bites, tucks his face against his knees because if he looks at Taehyung now he might do something stupid. "What happened to getting run out of town by pitchforks?"

"Gukie, please." Taehyung's fingers are in his hair and Jeongguk kind of wants to scream. "It's a better school, you could apply there and come with me."

"Can't," he mutters. "Can't afford it."

"Right." In that moment Taehyung gives up on subtlety, throws his arms around Jeongguk's frame and rests his forehead on Jeongguk's neck. "There's a department store opening nearby my school. Well, not really, but I know someone who's gonna be working there and he said he'd put in a good word for me. Better salary, so I can keep buying your ass all the chicken you can eat."

"Can't buy me chicken when you live on the other side of the country."

"Bet? They take delivery orders over the phone, Jeon."

Jeongguk sighs, his entire body tensing before he gives up and tucks his body into the curve of Taehyung's. "What am I supposed to do without you?"

"Suck some pretty girl's fingers. I know you prefer mine, but they'll have to do." Jeongguk can feel Taehyung's smile on his forehead when he chuckles. "I'll come visit on any break I have, remind you who's dick is best. We can FaceTime every day, it'll be fine, Guk."

"Making it gay, Tae."

"We're a little past gay, babe."

"Yeah," Jeongguk sighs, feels Taehyung press a feather light kiss to the top of his head. "When do you leave?" He still isn't happy about this; probably won't ever be and is more than ready to lock himself in his bedroom with Taehyung's When the Dick Ain't Good :( playlist, but when Taehyung makes up his mind there's no talking him out of anything.

"Four weeks."

Jeongguk spends every day at Taehyung's place in those four weeks, making the most of Taehyung's dick and Taehyung's new goldfish- which he demands Jeongguk keep- and getting himself ready for university while resolutely refusing to help Taehyung pack up his apartment. Sometimes he's the one who orders the chicken and beer, both of them drinking a little too much and looking through an old yearbook with laughter that doesn't quite hit the mark.

He drives Taehyung to the train station the morning he has to leave, ass sore from how many times Taehyung fucked him the night before. He didn't even call Jeongguk a slut, kept it a little too vanilla and gay for both of them, but they'd stayed up most of the night tangled in the sheets and Jeongguk's not feeling any better, but at least Taehyung's leaving with a bang.

"Call me when you get to Seoul," Jeongguk mutters, finger curled into Taehyung's belt loop as they stand by the train. There are only a few minutes before it's set to leave.

"Will do, princess." Taehyung straightens his collar, tries to hide his excitement for Jeongguk's sake but it's okay. Jeongguk likes the color of excitement on Taehyung's cheeks. "Make friends, okay? If you drunk call me more than once whining about being lonely I'm gonna pay people to hang out with you."

Jeongguk deadpans, "Your faith in me is astounding."

"And if you need anything, Jeon, anything at all, you know where I live."

Taehyung doesn't kiss him but he does nuzzle Jeongguk's cheek, nips at Jeongguk's ear in farewell- not a goodbye, Taehyung had insisted- and Jeongguk stands on the platform as Taehyung finds his seat. He stands on the platform as the train pulls away, Taehyung making an ugly face against the glass, and Jeongguk's never wanted to get out of town more.

Jeongguk's first year of university is as stupid as he anticipates it to be. Without Taehyung around he throws himself into the experience- not into the studies and schoolwork but into the parties and drinking, staying over at fraternities more than his own house and waking up with girls he can't recognize draped on various parts of his body.

He likes the mornings he wakes up in boy's beds better because boys aren't as weird about spooning Jeongguk afterwards- well, except for the ones trying to convince Jeongguk they're not gay. He doesn't care; he just wants his dick touched.

Taehyung makes good on his promise to FaceTime often and come back on weekends and holidays but it's just not the same when Jeongguk can't hop on a subway and get to Taehyung's apartment when he's in the mood for a submissive snuggle. Jeongguk tells about each of his successful hookups and watches the way Taehyung’s face lights up, proud and beautiful. Taehyung tells him about the girl he met and a few weeks later he's bringing her home to Jeongguk to introduce her as his girlfriend, so they stop having sex whenever Taehyung comes back to visit. It's okay, though. Jeongguk found a regular FWB at the university who'll choke him when he's topping.

"Hyung," Jeongguk calls Taehyung in the middle of the night one week, sneaking out of a frat house because he's not in the mood to wake up and clean a house he doesn't even live in. He woke Taehyung up, his eyes puffy and red from lack of sleep, but Taehyung looks so excited to see his face that Jeongguk doesn't feel bad.

"What's up, Gukie?"

"Remember that weird thing I yelled at you for doing in bed that one night?" Taehyung hums in remembrance. "They fucking hated it. You've literally ruined my entire life. I can't do half the shit I like with other people, why even try when I have you?"

Taehyung grins sleepily. "That was my plan all along, Guk." Someone makes a confused noise on Taehyung's end, and he shushes his girlfriend quietly. Love and adoration look especially beautiful on Taehyung. "You won't find anyone like me, Jeon. But kudos for trying."

"My life is over."

"Good."

"Hey, go to sleep," Jeongguk says, walking through town in the dark quiet. Taehyung's trailed off on his last three stories, his eyes drooping, and he moans unhappily at the thought of saying goodbye. "It's fine, hyung, really. Call me when you wake up, yeah?"

"'Kay. Love you, princess."

"Don't make it homo."

Taehyung snorts softly, and falls asleep before Jeongguk can end the call.

His second year of university is harder than the first, or so Jeongguk assumes when he's skipping half of his classes and passing on sheer luck and the influence of weed. He'd spent his entire summer in Seoul with Taehyung, staying in the spare room in the apartment because Taehyung's girlfriend had moved in. Taehyung doesn't have a roommate at the moment, but he makes just enough at the jewelry counter of the department store to cover the rent.

Taehyung doesn't really show him around Seoul, the two of them playing video games on the couch instead. His girlfriend interns at a music company, coupled with her studies, and is only really home in the mornings and evenings. She's pretty, and Jeongguk can see how far and fast Taehyung's falling.

"Never thought you'd be the first to get a girlfriend, hyung," Jeongguk says honestly after a couple of beers and hours of playing Overwatch with Taehyung. "Honestly. You're so fucking gay for everything."

"You should try it," Taehyung shrugs. "Relationships aren't really that bad. We've been together almost a year and it's been pretty awesome."

"Don't miss hookups?" Jeongguk asks. They both can hear the unspoken question; do you miss me?

Taehyung admits, "Sometimes. But there's something cool about stability, y'know? Not kidding, Jeon. Let me know if you snag yourself a cutie."

Jeongguk takes Taehyung's advice that year by accident. He hooks up with the same girl at a few parties, gets used to her presence in his bed and even starts meeting her for dinner or coffee. He cuts back on the number of strangers, stays at Eunhye's side at parties and lets her drag his arm around her shoulders, smiles against her mouth when she leads him into an empty bathroom with a hand curled into his waistband.

Then, one morning she sits up in Jeongguk's bed and straddles his thighs, shivers a little beneath his palms on her slender waist. His shirt from the night before hangs off her collarbones when she asks, "Are we dating?"

Jeongguk pauses. He hadn't considered it. "I don't know. We could try, if that's something you want?"

"I think I'd like that."

"Cool."

(Taehyung smiles so widely when Jeongguk breaks the news, waiting until things are a little more official and Taehyung's visiting from Seoul to reveal everything. Taehyung insists on buying Jeongguk's drinks that night, slaps him a little too hard on the back in congratulations and maybe kisses his ear one too many times, but neither of them mention that last bit.)

It's good, Jeongguk thinks, to have a girl by his side. Eunhye is sweet and she's shorter than him, a nice contrast from Taehyung, he thinks. She fits into his life in a way he hadn't expected, the honeymoon period lasting for quite a while. They do fight a little when Jeongguk brings her home to meet his parents, but it's over something stupid and Jeongguk makes up for it with shower sex at her place.

Maybe that was a warning sign, making up for everything with sex, but Jeongguk tries not to think about it too much.

During the holidays, Eunhye puts a pause on their relationship to go home for break. "You can see other people while I'm gone," she says, buttoning her shirt while Jeongguk lazes in her bed in the dorm room. "My ex will be in town so I might suck his dick, just a fair warning."

"Okay."

Jeongguk doesn't have much to do during the break, spends his time divided between his part time job at a mechanic shop and sleeping. Taehyung doesn't call much, and when Jeongguk asks his parents they say he didn't mention coming back to Busan this time. Jeongguk calls every day, several times, and each time Taehyung doesn't answer he feels something weird tighten in the pit of his stomach.

Until one day Jeongguk's scrolling through his phone on his bed, his parents gone for the day, and Taehyung comes barging into Jeongguk's room with red eyes and a very obvious lack of baggage.

"Tae?" Jeongguk says, unnecessarily. He drops his phone, watches the way Taehyung kicks off his shoes and climbs into bed with Jeongguk. "You're here? Your parents said-"

Taehyung shuts him up with an aggressive kiss, plants his weight right on Jeongguk's lap, and doesn't give Jeongguk a chance to breathe or post a question as he kisses harshly, licking into Jeongguk's mouth and tilting his head with a hand in his hair.

When he breaks away, there are new tears in his eyes and Jeongguk learns what heartbreak looks like. "She was cheating on me," he whispers against Jeongguk's lips, his voice breaking. "The entire fucking time. You know I bought her expensive ass panties at the department store? She wore those with him, never once used them with me. I found them fucking on our bed, Jeon."

"Tae," Jeongguk's voice breaks, too, because he really fucking hates the way sadness looks dulling the usual twinkle of Taehyung's eyes. "I'm so sorry, Taehyung-"

"I know." Taehyung kisses him again, grinds down against Jeongguk's lap. "Come on, please, man."

"I don't know if it's a good idea," Jeongguk says truthfully.

"I don't fucking care. I need to feel something again."

Jeongguk curses his vice and complies, tilting Taehyung's chin up to kiss him slowly. Taehyung doesn't appreciate it, tries to take control of the kiss and grind harshly onto Jeongguk's dick but Jeongguk's started going to the gym a lot more in university, and he fits his hands against Taehyung's thighs and keeps him still.

Taehyung makes an unhappy noise into the kiss. Briefly, they break apart when Jeongguk flips their positions, hovering over Taehyung's body and kissing lightly at his neck. He takes his time to undo the buttons on Taehyung's flannel, presses kisses into every inch of skin and ignores the way Taehyung curses at him to go faster. Jeongguk doesn't listen, removes Taehyung's clothes with slow, steady hands.

"Missed you, hyung," Jeongguk whispers as he's sucking a hickey onto Taehyung's hip.

"You, too. Now can you hurry the hell up and fuck me?"

Jeongguk doesn't get all of his clothes off before he's slicking up his fingers, letting the lube warm because he's a nice partner, even when Taehyung's threatening to chop his dick off if he doesn't move faster. He kisses Taehyung through one and two fingers, moves his lips to Taehyung's neck when he brushes against the other's prostate and Taehyung whines loudly.

When Jeongguk pushes inside, Taehyung's legs hiked around his waist, Taehyung draws his nails harshly down Jeongguk's back, the sting making him hiss. "Fuck me like you mean it, Jeon."

Jeongguk takes it slow, thrusts into Taehyung's shaking body with even, deep movements. Taehyung curses his entire family to hell while Jeongguk's trailing his lips all along Taehyung's chest, kissing away the tears that have nothing to do with the sex. The threats don't work, Taehyung finally realizes, and it's with a broken little sob that Taehyung curls his arms around Jeongguk's shoulders and holds him close as Jeongguk fucks into him, whispering words of praise he knows work well for him.

"It's okay, angel," Jeongguk murmurs into Taehyung's ear, earning a whimper and another moan of his name. Taehyung clenches around his cock, bare because Taehyung insisted and they've never gone without a condom with anyone else, and Jeongguk chokes back a groan.

"Jeongguk-" Taehyung's words cut off when Jeongguk reaches down to jerk him off gently, still thrusting too slow into his ass, wet with lube until Taehyung comes, shaking apart in Jeongguk's arms and face tucked into Jeongguk's neck.

He's quick to follow, coming deep in Taehyung's ass while whispering, "Good boy, Taehyung. My angel. It's okay, fall apart for me."

Taehyung stays hidden in Jeongguk's chest even after Jeongguk has pulled out, doesn't open his eyes when Jeongguk gets the cum out of his ass and sacrifices his sheets for the greater good. There are still tears shining on Taehyung's cheeks but no fresh ones. Jeongguk considers that to be a victory.

Jeongguk pulls a sweatshirt over Taehyung's pliant frame and lies at Taehyung's side, stroking his hand along Taehyung's smooth skin.

"Thanks." Taehyung whispers, after a few long minutes.

"Don't mention it, angel."

A tiny quirk of Taehyung's lips. "Ugh."

"How did I not know you liked to be called that?"

"Same way we didn't know you liked my fist up your ass until last year."

Jeongguk smiles. "Got me there."

Taehyung's eyes snap open, and he scrambles to grab Jeongguk's hand. "Fuck, Jeon- Eunhye. You're still with her, right? Fuck, I'm as bad as my ex-"

"Relax." Jeongguk urges him back into bed with gentle hands on his shoulders. "We're on a break while she's visiting family in Ilsan. Mentioned she'd probably be sucking her old boyfriend’s dick. You're nothing like your ex."

"Oh." Taehyung doesn't look very relieved, but curls his fingers between Jeongguk's on his belly nonetheless. "That's kinda shitty, the break so she can hookup with someone else thing."

Jeongguk shrugs, and Taehyung seems to give up on the idea of conversation, turns onto his side and leaves room for Jeongguk to curve his chest against Taehyung's back, holding him extra tight. It's still early, the sun bleeding through the curtains at Jeongguk's window, but neither of them makes a move for the remote nor entertains the idea of leaving bed today.

"Do your parents know you're home?" Taehyung shakes his head. "You wanna stay the night?" This time he nods. "Cool. Mom'll make you chocolate chip pancakes if you ask real nicely."

"Jeongguk."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Taehyung goes back to Seoul the next afternoon and Jeongguk's routine returns to normal. Eunhye kisses him when he mentions hooking up with Taehyung, says that she ended up fucking her ex in the backseat of his car anyway, and then they both get high in the middle of the frat party and go back to solving petty squabbles with too much sex.

It's in the second half of Jeongguk's third year in university when things begin to change. The signs were always there, but Jeongguk refused to see them. Eunhye starts going through his phone, starts complaining every time Jeongguk calls Taehyung that he starts cutting back on the number of times he calls each week. She follows him home, accuses him of cheating on her with his damn mother and taps at his window one night with a picture of him that she'd taken while he was asleep one night they didn't spend together.

Jeongguk breaks it off after a month of the creepy stalker activity. He'd confronted her about it and she'd laughed, said she'd bagged such a hot catch she wanted to make sure he never got away. For a while, things went back to normal, but then Eunhye starts talking about marriage. Says they'll be together until the day they die and announces that she's already picked the church for them to be married in. She won't leave his side, clutching his arm in the hallways and skipping her classes to come with Jeongguk to his.

He tries to make it work for those few weeks, thinks that this might just be a normal part of relationships because that's what Eunhye tells him. Jeongguk's never been in love before, thinks he might be feeling it now with their fifteen month anniversary coming up, but then he catches Eunhye deleting Taehyung's texts from his phone before Jeongguk can read them, the layer of increasing concern in each of Taehyung's messages providing the clarity Jeongguk needed.

Maybe he was in love, or close to it at one point, but that all goes to shit the day Eunhye screams at him in the subway station for returning a dropped wallet to the girl walking in front of them. Jeongguk looks at her face, bright red, as she screams at him with her fingers clutching his wrist while she screeches, "you're mine! my boyfriend! you'll be my husband soon! you don't get to keep talking to all of these other girls!" And he tells her it's over in front of the small crowd of people pretending not to watch the scene.

Except it doesn't end there. Eunhye pretends the exchange never happened and sits herself on Jeongguk's lap at the next party he goes to. Insists she's still his girlfriend, says she would never do anything to lose a guy so good in the sack. Slaps at his arms and chest when he not so gently reminds her that he dumped her ass.

Taehyung's advice is to fucking arrest her and Jeongguk's parents are extra worried when she hides in the bushes in front of Jeongguk's house three nights in a row. She breaks the restraining order that Jeongguk manages to get. One afternoon she's in the damn car when Jeongguk goes to drive to the market.

And he's had enough.

Jeongguk swears off relationships one brutally hot afternoon, his phone ringing on his bed. It's not Taehyung because Taehyung's in class, which means it's a new number Eunhye got to keep calling him. He packs as much as will fit in his duffel bag, throwing some clothes and money and necessities inside and he doesn't tell his parents when he takes the subway to the train station, a cap and mask on to hide.

He swears he can see Eunhye in the shadows, walking on the other side of the sidewalk, or sitting in one of the subway cars but Jeongguk doesn't hear from her. He gets on the train alone. He throws his phone out the window alone and Jeongguk arrives in Seoul fucking alone.

Taehyung doesn't look surprised when Jeongguk knocks on his door, only pulls Jeongguk into a tight hug and lets Jeongguk cry out his frustration curled up at his side on the couch.

(Taehyung does call Jeongguk's parents, though. Calls to let them know that Jeongguk's alright, but that he probably won't be coming home anytime soon. Jeongguk's parents thank him and offer to send some money to help both boys out but Taehyung takes one look at Jeongguk, wrapped up in a blanket after falling asleep on the couch, looking small and more than a little lost, and politely denies the offer. He sleeps curled around Jeongguk's back that night and they stay that way for most of the next day.)

"I found an apartment, hyung. Kinda across town."

"Oh?" Taehyung's sitting upside down on the couch, eating cereal that expired three days ago because he's too fucking lazy to buy more. "Thought you'd given up and just moved in. We haven't tried being roommates before this year."

Jeongguk frowns, staring at the apartment listing in the newspaper. It's not the nicest place but it has potential, and if he gets a roommate then he can start paying Taehyung back for everything. "Has it been a year? Fuck, Tae, I'm so sorry. I said I'd be out of your hair after a week."

Taehyung stands and dumps his cereal in the sink, circling the tiny island in the kitchen to sit at Jeongguk's side. He doesn't look very happy, a look on his face that Jeongguk can't decipher. "You're not a fucking bother, Jeon. You know that. You dealt with shit and needed an out. I told you, you're welcome here for anything. Anytime."

"I know." Jeongguk leans into the arm Taehyung wraps around his shoulders. Kind of wants to get on his knees right then and there because he's feeling more than a little sentimental. Not that he'd ever let Taehyung know that. "Thank you."

Taehyung takes Jeongguk's latest helix- recently healed; Taehyung had thrown such a whiny fit when Jeongguk came home with a new piercing because he had to back off Jeongguk's ear, but that only meant Jeongguk's neck and collarbones had suffered instead- between his teeth and nibbles on Jeongguk's lobe and he's seriously considering letting Taehyung fuck him on the island again. "You don't have to keep thanking me, Gukie."

Jeongguk knows that, of course. But since he left Busan he's been working odd jobs and spending too much time on Taehyung's couch. He felt like he owed something to Taehyung. "I'll let you use the beads tonight."

"Quit acting like you're making up for something," Taehyung scolds. He stands then, and Jeongguk immediately misses the heat of Taehyung's body against his. He disappears into his bedroom for a few long moments- Jeongguk had unpacked in the guest room before they both promptly gave up on the idea of separation- and when he returns he's dressed in his sort of formal wear for work. "Did you decide whether or not you're gonna go back to school?"

Ugh. Taehyung must have been talking to Jeongguk's mom. Again. "Dunno, hyung. The universities here are a little out of my budget." Or whatever budget Jeongguk had on a delivery boy's salary, when Taehyung was the one buying the food and most of Jeongguk's shirts, recently bought him fucking Tiffany earrings when Jeongguk had accidentally called him daddy again. (It was becoming much less of an accident lately.)

"I can put in a good word for you at the department store."

Jeongguk scoffs, reaching for an Oreo on from the jar. One thing he hadn't protested Taehyung paying for was a gym membership. "The day I work retail for some capitalism dick sucker is the day I lay myself in the ground to rot."

"Damn, son. You seem to forget it's the department store that keeps you looking so pretty."

Jeongguk flushes furiously and tucks the Graff necklace around his neck beneath his t-shirt. Or it's Taehyung's shirt. Neither of them knows anymore. The first time Taehyung had brought home an expensive piece of jewelry home for Jeongguk he had protested for days, said it was fucking pointless to spend that much on a few stones, but then Taehyung said it was a reward for letting him fuck Jeongguk on the balcony the night before, which had only opened a can of worms and awakened the stupid praise thing that Jeongguk had forgotten about while he was with her.

"Shut up."

"Want to grill meat tonight for dinner?" Taehyung loops his tie in the reflection of the toaster. Jeongguk swallows thickly, never quite used to the sight of Taehyung fixing himself up for his job. "We can go to that good place in Gangnam."

"Gangnam? Are you trying to go into debt?"

"Fuck off, you're worth it." Jeongguk holds up the t-money card Taehyung's looking for. "Whatever. Be good, baby boy. I'm closing tonight so if you get hungry before dinner go ahead and order something."

Taehyung drops a quick kiss to Jeongguk's ear. Why couldn't Taehyung just choose forehead or cheek kisses? It would be so much easier on Jeongguk. He drops his eyes back to the newspaper, reads about job openings because he honestly might drive himself into Han River if he has to spend another week at his dead end job. Jeongguk can hear Taehyung packing up his things by the door, says a quick, "Thanks, daddy," and flips the newspaper.

Taehyung goes silent. "Did you just-?"

"No," Jeongguk spits, knows quite well that he did. God, fuck that was the one thing Jeongguk was winning at. His cheeks are hot and his teeth hurt from how hard he's clenching his jaw. "No, fuck you, go have fun licking hairy ball sacks for cash."

But Taehyung's smiling by the front door, looking so unbelievably fond. "I'll see you later, Jeonny boy."

"Fuck all the way off."

Jeongguk starts packing up his things a few days later, having secured the apartment across town. Taehyung complains the entire time, says he doesn't like the idea of having to take a subway to get to Jeongguk when he's hard and bored, but Jeongguk doesn't budge on his decision. He's irrational and doesn't think everything through- his decision to leave Busan and drop out of school were perfect examples- but he sees things through. Taehyung's been taking care of him for too long. Now, Jeongguk could give something back.

Hell, Taehyung hadn't even let Jeongguk help pay the rent.

Taehyung helps Jeongguk move his meager belongings to his new place and promptly frowns at the interior design. The owners had left their furniture and Jeongguk had been glad he wouldn't have to buy something to sit on, ("No, hyung, your dick can not be my only chair in this place") but Taehyung was obviously displeased. Even if he didn't say it, the fact that Taehyung disappears that afternoon and comes back directing some workers on where to place a new leather couch is more than enough evidence.

He does end up going back to school at the start of the next semester, at a campus that was actually closer to Taehyung's place, only because he gets a job that pays a little better. Still not anywhere near Taehyung's salary, so Taehyung's still buying most of their meals, but Jeongguk's learning not to feel bad every time Taehyung tells him that if he protests an expensive meal again he'll be spanked right there in the middle of the restaurant.

Taehyung has not been quiet about his happiness at having Jeongguk so close again, if their week spent together in bed last year was anything to go from. Taehyung's no less wild than Jeongguk remembers, goes and actually buys a damn whip one afternoon and Jeongguk lets him use it and that night was the first time Taehyung explicitly ordered Jeongguk to cum.

Since then Jeongguk's starting to notice something as the year moves on and Jeongguk's college graduation approaches. It's that Jeongguk can't seem to cum with someone who isn't Taehyung. It makes hookups incredibly inconvenient, and Jeongguk's had to sneak out of someone's room more than once to call Taehyung in the middle of the night to ask for permission. The daddy thing slips in too much until Jeongguk barely realizes it anymore. He tries to tamper it down when Taehyung declares that he will, one day, get Jeongguk to call him that while they're out in public.

Taehyung has always been so good at riling Jeongguk up and that doesn't change at all with their new location. Jeongguk lets Taehyung dress him up in a fancy suit one night during the holidays and fuck his mouth so roughly that he's crying and drooling, trying his best not to come in his slacks because, "Daddy spent a lot to make you look so nice, baby. I'm going to be very upset if you ruin your pretty suit."

It's Taehyung that sneaks a picture of Jeongguk while he's sucking Taehyung's dick- Taehyung has such a thing for Jeongguk's eyes when he's sucking him off. Even if he never says it outright, Jeongguk can see that he gets a little more desperate on those nights, fucks Jeongguk that much harder- but it's Jeongguk who shyly brings Taehyung into his bedroom one afternoon to show him the amateur tripod he set up, asking in a whisper if they can use it while Taehyung looks so damn excited like he's about to bust a nut right then and there.

When Taehyung goes to visit his family in Busan, Jeongguk tries to find relief in clubs and at the fraternities on his campus, but he still ends up calling Taehyung to cum. That is, until about three days before Taehyung's to get back, Jeongguk standing in the bathroom of a pretty mediocre fuck and saying,

"Hyung, tell me I can cum."

It sounds like he'd woken Taehyung up, a tired and quiet groan serving as Taehyung's greeting. "You know what? No. I'm home in a couple days, you can wait until then for daddy's cock."

Jeongguk whines, staring down at his hard and leaking cock. "Tae- please."

"Good night, Gukie."

But not even all of the dick pics Jeongguk sends or the voice messages of him begging get Taehyung to change his mind. And though Jeongguk's so fucking tempted he holds himself back until Taehyung shows up at his apartment three days later with a pleasant greeting.

"You fucking asswipe, take your pants off," is how Jeongguk greets him.

They don't even make it into the apartment for the first round. Don't even get to the bedroom until Jeongguk's already cum three times.

Jeongguk's family comes up to Seoul for his graduation and Jeongguk Does Not Cry, thank you very much. There's grass in his eye and that's why he can't lift his head up from his mother's shoulder. It's been so long, and that night Taehyung fucks Jeongguk slow and deep, half a chocolate cake and a couple expensive bottles of Soju on the coffee table next to them.

"You need a better job," Taehyung says some time later.

"Easy for you to say, jewelry boy."

Taehyung snorts and plays with the diamond sitting nicely in Jeongguk's tragus. "Jimin called me your sugar daddy today."

Jeongguk scowls at the TV. This Cupcake Wars episode hadn't had nearly enough small kitchen fires. "Why the fuck's this Jimin dude know about me? Isn't he the guy who's left half the store unsatisfied?"

"Hm. He was enough for me."

"That's 'cause you're easy."

"You'd know."

Jeongguk contemplates asking to go out to a BBQ place, make Taehyung drive around to find a twenty-four hour place just because he knows Taehyung would do it for him. "I'm getting a roommate."

"What the fuck?" Taehyung looks at him, fingers stilling on his ear. "Why?"

"To help with rent? What the fuck's it matter to you."

"I can't fuck you on the floor when you've got a roommate!"

Jeongguk just sighs. "I met this guy in uni. He's almost as sexually active as me, unfortunately. I might walk in on him doing it on the floor."

"You should join. Then call me so I can give you pointers on your form." With an embarrassed squeak, Jeongguk shoves Taehyung off of the couch and pouts as Taehyung just laughs, unperturbed. Taehyung sits back on the floor, his long hair flopping into his eyes. He needed a haircut, but Jeongguk really like the fluffy look to Taehyung's hair. "Okay, game plan. Your place is for the vanilla bed sex. Mine's where the kinky shit happens."

"Permission to kink shame."

"Denied. Think of my salad."

"Ugh. Whatever. Can we order another pizza?"

They do, and the fucking three pizzas that Taehyung orders arrive a few minutes later. Taehyung sits behind him on the couch, legs spread wide to accommodate Jeongguk's body between them. He can hear Taehyung chewing in his ear and it's pretty fucking gross, if he's being honest, but that doesn't stop Jeongguk from feeding him bites from his own pizza, until,

"What do you say?"

Jeongguk frowns, looking away from the movie. "What?"

"Daddy bought you this pizza, what do you say?"

"Hyung, don't-" Jeongguk sighs, but Taehyung's not even looking at him like he expects anything. He's smiling softly and Jeongguk's squirming a little in his lap and honestly Jeongguk regrets everything about his life. "Thank you daddy for this meal so that I am not to go hungry and wither away from lack of nutrients while starving."

Taehyung laughs, nuzzling at Jeongguk's ear. "We'll work on it."

And Jeongguk's favorite nights are the ones where Taehyung fucks him hard and fast, takes Jeongguk over his knee when he's being a little too mouthy, makes Jeongguk thank him for every spank against his sore ass while Jeongguk's sobbing into the sheets. Taehyung slowly gets Jeongguk to thank him for every spank and every slap, each finger he gets, babbling when he gets to come and blinking through tears when Taehyung comes on his face. Or when Taehyung's calling him the filthiest things they can think of, denying Jeongguk his release until he admits that he's a slut for Taehyung.

Taehyung likes those nights too, but he likes it even more when he goads Jeongguk, when he gets Jeongguk to top and hold him down onto the bed with whispers of, “Yeah, baby boy. Gonna fuck me so well? Love your cock in me.” Jeongguk always prefers to bottom- still so fucking lazy- but he has to say he does like the way Taehyung’s eyes close in pleasure when he falls apart on Jeongguk’s cock.

(“Your neighbors must hate us,” Jeongguk says after a particularly rough night. He doesn’t think the headboard stopped banging against the wall once.

“They do. Real old folks. They would probably die if they tried to have sex. Filed a few complaints already.”

“Please don’t talk about old people sex.”

“Your neighbor high-fives me every morning I leave.”

Jeongguk scowls, suddenly hating the university student living across the hall from him. “Fuck both of you.”)

Taehyung especially likes dragging Jeongguk into the shower afterwards just a little bit more. Running a bath when Jeongguk's legs are a little too shaky, rubbing oils into Jeongguk's tired back and shoulders while Jeongguk tries to fight him off with weak protests but eventually gives in and lets Taehyung glide his hands over each of the stress points on his body. He's kept up with the lavender soap and the scent is so familiar that Jeongguk blows Taehyung right there in the bath.

One day Jeongguk's protests fall a little flat and he's melting against Taehyung's chest in the bath and suddenly Taehyung's hands freeze from where they've been massaging shampoo into Jeongguk's hair. "You little bastard, you're enjoying this aren't you?"

Jeongguk squirms, mumbles, "Isn't that the point?"

Which only earns him a whole cuddling session while Taehyung pinches at his cheeks and coos that, "My baby boy is so cute," and Jeongguk kind of wants to die but he also really might like it.

And then there are the nights they spend at each other's apartments, the nights when Taehyung nips at Jeongguk's ear until he wakes up at an ungodly hour just because Taehyung is hard. And Jeongguk's so stupidly pliant when he's sleepy, agrees to let Taehyung do things that wide awake Jeongguk would think twice about, sleepy hand jobs without opening their eyes just because it feels good. When Jeongguk tries to mumble half-hearted complaints about falling back asleep with cum cooling on his belly, Taehyung just laughs and says he would have woken him up with dick pics, anyway.

Jeongguk tries to withhold sex for a week after a girl turned him down in the club thanks to Taehyung, who'd walked right up to his side to kiss him loud and messy. Taehyung had protested and cited drunkenness, but Jeongguk wasn't hearing it because she had been hot and if her super expensive earrings, (the same fucking Givenchy ones in the catalogue that Jeongguk secretly wants and refuses to mention to Taehyung,) are anything to go by, he could have gotten them some nicer handcuffs.

(Jeongguk's the one who breaks first, walking to Taehyung's apartment with his head held down because he hadn't even made it three days before he was coming back for sex. Taehyung can read it on his face the second he shows up, doesn't say a word but smirks that stupid smirk that makes Jeongguk hot all over.)

On one summer afternoon, Jeongguk heads over to Taehyung's with no intention of sex. Doesn't mean that things will stay that way for very long, he has very weak resolve when it comes to Taehyung, but his intentions are good.

They're sharing chicken on the floor of Taehyung's kitchen, too lazy to move to the living room or grab chopsticks, and Jeongguk waits until he's had a few shots of Soju to say,

"Is that department store offer still on the table?"

Taehyung's face lights up and he drops a wet, messy kiss right onto Jeongguk's mouth. Climbs into Jeongguk's lap and starts working at the waistband of his jeans without a word. "You're adorable and also in luck. Position just opened up in the jewelry department." Taehyung nudges Jeongguk to sit back as he settles himself between Jeongguk's thighs, tugging his half hard cock out of his jeans and toward his lips. "I'll call Namjoon as soon as we're done here, baby."

"And these are the Armani suits I'll fuck you in one day."

"Hyung."

"This is the bathroom section, no those soaps shaped like candy are not candy. Don't ask, but I've cleaned up after one too many children trying to eat them."

Taehyung was giving Jeongguk a tour of the department store on his first day, his hair styled with gel for the first time in maybe ten years and one of Taehyung's old suits fitting poorly on his frame. But he didn't have enough money yet to buy his own.

"Shouldn't you be showing me our station, Tae?"

"It's easy as shit. Overpriced diamonds and cougars who want to pick you up while looking at them."

"You've bought me some of those diamonds."

"Quit calling me a cougar." Taehyung leads him further into the store, pointing out the kitchen supplies and bedroom section. Tells Jeongguk there's a bed in the back that's just outside the view of the cam, and if they time it right there won't be anyone nearby for a quick fuck. "This is the break room where I'll give you hand jobs whenever we get a third guy. Or blowjobs if I'm feeling particularly freaky."

"Which is always, you freak."

"I do not recall giving you a free Kink Shame card." Taehyung points to his right. "Men's department. Namjoon will suggest you buy a suit from here, which I'd actually recommend, too. Employee discount and all that jazz. I'll buy your first one since mine actually looks bad on you. Who'd ever imagine that something would look bad on the sexiest man alive?"

Jeongguk flushes and bites back the word that was about to follow his quiet, "Thanks."

"Woman's department. Teenage department because Namjoon's a closet emo. Elevators. Not a good place to get it on but the bathroom at the end of the hall doesn't have a camera." Taehyung gestures around Jeongguk. "Lingerie department where I'll be buying you panties for your birthday."

Jeongguk shoves Taehyung into a display and watches in horror as a ton of pretty panties flutter slowly to the ground. A pretty woman doesn't even look up from her register, "Quit breaking things, Taehyung!"

"I'll clean it up, Y/N!" Taehyung calls over his shoulder as he wraps a hand around Jeongguk's wrist and leads him away. "I never do. She's got like, three underlings to clean everything up. Why do we even need that many girls working with panties."

"She's hot."

"Who?"

"Uh, Y/N?"

"Oh. Park Jimin says she's good in bed."

"Why do you keep mentioning him? Gonna leave me for him?"

Taehyung snorts. "Please. Your broke ass would be lost without everything that I do for it."

"Speaking of," Jeongguk mutters. "I'm still sore from the fucking beads. I hate those things."

"Literally not what you were saying last night, but sure. You slut."

Jeongguk looks around frantically, but luckily there were no customers around. "Not at work, hyung. Please."

"Maybe. Anyway this is our counter, the stupid watches that literally never show the correct time. Uh, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, rings. Some customers like when you model the stuff so I hope you've moisturized your ankles."

"I hate you."

Taehyung's grinning. "Namjoon will explain more to you. Just don't break anything or let anything get stolen and you'll be fine."

Across the room, Jeongguk looks up and makes eye contact with a pretty girl standing behind the counter at the women's department, folding some dresses for a customer. She tucks a piece of hair behind her ear and looks away shyly, only to look back up and over Jeongguk's entire body.

"I think I'll be just fine here."

Taehyung makes a gagging noise, kneels down to unlock a display case lined with big necklaces and earrings to pull out one of the three fucking tiaras that lay there. "Put this on."

"What the fuck. No."

"Please, baby boy? For me?"

Jeongguk puts the tiara on with a sigh, lets Taehyung put a few rings on him and a necklace to complete the look. "Why am I doing this?"

Taehyung doesn't answer for the longest moment, then he sighs longingly and leans against the counter. "I was right, that is something I like to see. One day I'm gonna fuck you like the royalty that you are."

Flushing passionately, Jeongguk all but rips each piece of jewelry off. The last thing either of them need is for Taehyung to get turned on during Jeongguk's first day. "Shut up."

A woman walks by as Jeongguk's trying to get each of the ill fitting rings off his fingers and asks about them. She stares at Jeongguk's face instead of the rings as Jeongguk's reciting all of the fucking bullshit from the cheat sheet Taehyung had given him and smiles brightly when she decides to buy the ring Jeongguk was modeling on his pinky.

Taehyung shows him how to ring up sales, mark them, and properly close the sale. He claps Jeongguk on the shoulder, takes one too hasty look around and kisses Jeongguk's ear. "I think you'll be just fine here."

"I don't like Namjoon."

"You're not the only one."

"Fuckin' capitalist dick sucking know it all-"

Taehyung pushes the beer bottle closer to Jeongguk's mouth. "Shut up and drink, Socrates."

"Ugh."

But Jeongguk likes working at the department store. There's more places than either of them had expected to fuck or get some quick hand jobs in when they can risk being away from the counter at the same time. Jeongguk meets Park Jimin and is woefully underwhelmed. He hooks up with the pretty girl from the women's section and the rumors spread quickly.

They go out for company lunches or more low-key endeavors with just a few people, Taehyung's foot on Jeongguk's crotch while Jeongguk tries very hard not to call him daddy in the middle of the restaurant and hold onto his wits- he refuses to walk out of there with wet slacks.

Jeongguk hooks up with Jimin while drunk during the Christmas party and understands why he's got the title as the Most Unsatisfying Person in the store. He ends up walking to Taehyung's place after that hookup and even though Taehyung's got a girl in his bed, he still blows Jeongguk in the hallway because neither of them wants to deal with a mess.

It's a nice routine to fall into, Jeongguk thinks, even if it does get kind of boring standing behind the counter and dealing with the people who think they're being subtle with their flirting. Namjoon gets them ear pieces to use when they both can't be at the counter at the same time, and Taehyung starts talking so dirty into Jeongguk's ear whenever he goes into the back, Jeongguk slumping against the counter and trying hard not to come behind the clear glass of the display cases.

Taehyung laughs about it, pushes the limits by getting vibrators into Jeongguk before work starts, lets Jeongguk walk away to the bathroom to jerk off and whispering permission into Jeongguk's ear. Or, if Taehyung's too distracted with a customer, Jeongguk pulling the daddy card and making his voice as whiny as possible. It gets to the point that Jeongguk wears it during some hookups, Taehyung's voice from the department store in his ear.

"This is our newest piece from the Bvlgari collection," Taehyung's saying, showing a man some pieces so he can choose what to buy for his wife. In his ear, Jeongguk's groaning in his bed. His hookup sounds pretty good, at least. Then Taehyung turns away while the man is distracted to whisper into his lapel, "Come for daddy, you little cock slut."

"What was that?"

"Inventory question," Taehyung lies smoothly, smiling at the customer. Jeongguk's choking on a moan in his ear. "Will that be credit or debit?"

("Bet Namjoon would have a stroke if he saw how we were using his precious earpieces."

"Please don't talk about Namjoon when I have my fist up your ass, Jeon.")

They haven't had a threesome in a while but Jeongguk turns it down when Taehyung suggests it. He doesn't think he can handle trying not to cringe after Taehyung tells his secret and then he's got a girl in his lap calling him daddy while Taehyung sits comfortably on the other side of bed, doing a very poor job of hiding his laughter.

Taehyung complains quite a bit now that they're making the same salary but it's genuinely not Jeongguk's fault that Taehyung insists on spoiling him. Still, that doesn't stop Taehyung from ranting about money sometimes when the jewelry section is particularly slow.

"All I'm saying," Taehyung's saying, taking note of all of the rings while Jeongguk's sitting on the floor just out of the view of the camera. Taehyung had given Jeongguk his phone to entertain himself with. "We make the same amount of money now, but I'm spending so much on you. It wouldn't kill you to pay for the pizza every now and again."

Jeongguk pouts up at Taehyung, looks at him through his fringe because he knows just how much Taehyung loves that. He whines, "But daddy-"

"Shit, fuck, shut the fuck up, Jeon. Don't look." But Jeongguk looks anyway, grinning to himself while Taehyung buys a ring that Jeongguk will find in his palm later this evening.

And things are really good.

Jeongguk doesn't think he's been this happy in years. Taehyung still fucks him into the mattress and tries to talk dirty in public, Jeongguk getting embarrassed and slightly turned on no matter what, no matter who's around. Jeongguk gets it on with quite a few people but he somehow ends up going back to the same girl a few times because you're good. You can get him off half the time so that Jeongguk isn't walking over to Taehyung's with a defeated look every time he fucks you.

Maybe it's a problem that he keeps coming back to you, taking you to the dressing rooms and bathrooms that Taehyung had told him had the least amount of foot traffic in the place, but he has fun with you. He makes it clear from the beginning he's only in it for sex- really doesn't need a repeat of what happened in Busan- and is pleased when he's met with no issues from you.

Taehyung isn't displeased, but he does watch all of Jeongguk's interactions with you with a critical eye. Jeongguk doesn't give a shit. He's having fun and living his life and getting his soul sucked out of his dick most days of the week, if Taehyung wants to suddenly be a moody bastard, then that was his own problem.

"You know what you're doing right?" Taehyung's asking, two glasses of milkshakes on the table. He's re-instated their milkshake thing after so long, had bought a fancy fucking blender for each of their apartments. "Like. You're being careful?"

Jeongguk frowns. There's a line of whipped cream above Taehyung's upper lip and Jeongguk wants to lick it off. "With my life? You know I have no idea what I'm doing."

"No," Taehyung sighs, his lips pressed together. He brings a hand up to wipe at his face. "With Y/N. I haven't seen you stick with the same person for so long before."

"I've stuck with you."

"I don't count." Taehyung takes another sip of his milkshake. "I'm only asking. We both remember what happened last time, and I don't want to see you get hurt-"

"Y/N knows this is just sex."

Taehyung fixes him with a flat look. "Does she? Last I recall, Eunhye started out as just sex."

"Don't fucking say her name to me."

"Jeongguk-"

"No, fuck you, Tae." Jeongguk stands up, collecting their unfinished milkshakes and dumping them into the sink. "I don't do relationships, you fucking know this. I told her what I was in this for, and she agreed. You literally just had a vibrator up my ass half an hour ago. Do you think I'd be doing that shit if I were dating her?"

"Jeon, just listen to me-"

"Why should I? You still think of me as a fucking kid, don't you?" Jeongguk laughs humorously, turns around to face Taehyung again. "You saw what fucking happened in Busan. I'm not going to let that happen again."

"And what happens if Y/N gets attached? You're going to fucking run away again?"

Jeongguk feels that one on his heart. Something evil and prickly pokes at Jeongguk's eyes, and he looks at the floor instead of at Taehyung. Because really, when they get down to it, that's all Jeongguk is. A piece of shit with piece of shit feelings who runs away as soon as things get bad. But with her, with the ex, he'd really had no other way out. Taehyung knows that. Fuck, Taehyung was the one who spent months convincing Jeongguk that he had done the right thing, that he'd done what would help him the most in the long run.

Taehyung knew how hard those months were on Jeongguk.

Yet here Taehyung was, throwing each day Jeongguk had spent curled in on himself on the floor right back at Jeongguk's face.

"You know what, hyung? I think you're jealous."

Taehyung barks out a humorless laugh. "What the ever-loving fuck do I have to be jealous of?"

Jeongguk presses on, "You're jealous that you're not my only fuck anymore-"

"I've never been your only fuck," Taehyung interrupts, staring at Jeongguk like he doesn't know the ins and outs of Jeongguk's mind and body. Like Jeongguk is a stranger to him. "And same goes for you-"

"Then what is it? Jealous I'm spending as much time with her as I am with you?"

That gets Taehyung's expression to harden, the usual bright, soft light of his eyes changing to something colder. "That's fucking laughable, Jeon. Especially considering you've come to me begging me to eat your ass after she wasn't good enough."

Blushing red, Jeongguk presses on. He doesn't know where the fuck this energy to fight came from, can't even remember his original point anymore, but he'll be damned if he loses. "Maybe that's the problem then. I always come back to you, hyung. I don't fucking know why. You treat me like I'm a kid, hell, you make me rate my fucking hookups!"

"I don't make you do anything, Jeon." Taehyung's fists hang loose at his sides. Jeongguk wants him to use them, wants to feel justified about this burning anger he's got coursing through his blood. "We started that fucking system so I'd know how to take care of you after a bad hookup-"

"There it is again! Saying you take care of me, like I'm a fucking obligation! I don't fucking need you to take care of me, Kim."

Taehyung is silent for too long. Jeongguk can physically feel the fight draining out of his body, sags against the counter until the only thing keeping him on his feet is the ironclad grip he has on the edge of the sink. "Is that what you think, Jeongguk? That I've only... kept you around out of some feelings of obligation?"

"I think you should leave." The words surprise even Jeongguk.

The anger melts right off of Taehyung's face. "I didn't mean-"

"I don't care. Go away. We're done, Taehyung-hyung."

"Jeongguk, I'm just trying to look out for you-"

"Get out!"

Jeongguk wrenches his eyes shut and doesn't watch as Taehyung leaves. The only evidence that Taehyung had been in the apartment at all that afternoon was the Chopard bracelet sitting on the table where Taehyung had been some minutes before.

Jeongguk slips down the cabinet, throws his arms over the back of his head with his head buried against his knees, and doesn't move for the rest of the evening.

Jeongguk approaches Namjoon with a bullshit story about how the jewelry counter doesn't need two people at all times during the slow season and convinces Namjoon to put him on the afternoon shift. It's easier for Taehyung to wake up in the mornings, after all.

In truth, it just hurt Jeongguk too much to have to work at Taehyung's side after his fight. One quick look at Taehyung's face, shadowed and tight with red eyes like he hadn't slept at all the night before, nearly had Jeongguk dropping to his knees to beg for forgiveness. But he was still mad. Taehyung treated him like a kid, didn't believe him when he said he knew what the hell he was doing with you, and Jeongguk didn't need that kind of negativity in his life.

After just two days of working with each other, jumping away when their hands got too close and in complete silence, because what do you say to someone who knew you better than you've ever known yourself, Jeongguk's rearranging his schedule. Now he doesn't work with Taehyung anymore and his work days have never been worse.

"Are you drunk?" Jeongguk's fixing his jeans in the alleyway of some shitty club, staring at the girl in front of him with dull eyes. They're coworkers, had run into each other at the bar, and she'd been the one to suggest the fuck.

Jeongguk's confused. He's not drunk, unfortunately. Last time he'd done a drunk hookup he cried for Taehyung halfway through. He doesn't need a repeat of that. "What?"

"You're just. A lot quieter than I remember you being at work."

Oh yeah, she'd left the store a while ago. "Yeah," Jeongguk lies, kisses her forehead in goodbye because he's not a dick. "I'm drunk."

Jeongguk's best friend becomes the cheap wine bottles Taehyung had always scoffed at, but he knows his limit and remembers to stay far away from that. His roommate high-fives him every morning after a girl's stumbled out of Jeongguk's room, grinning at him over the island in the kitchen. Jeongguk hasn't been with a guy in a while. Finds that he can't find one he wants to mess around with at all.

He laughs with you, though, which Jeongguk considers to be a blessing. Sex with you is good, and Jeongguk can get lost in your moans in the cramped fitting rooms, can forget for a second all of the terrible things he said to his best friend.

And Jeongguk doesn't think much when he starts getting lunch or dinner with you because most of the time it ends with sex in the back of the car, or sharing lunch in the break room with his hands down your skirt. Taco Tuesdays don't always end in sex but that's Jeongguk's fault- he got a Tinder match and left early.

Another thing Taehyung had laughed at. Tinder. If only he could see what Jeongguk was doing now.

"You shine less." You say one afternoon, fixing your skirt and hair in the bathroom in the corner of the department store. It's been almost four months and you haven't even looked to be contemplating a relationship with Jeongguk. He's glad. There's one person he wants to brag to but knows he never will.

"What?" Jeongguk's still sitting on the sink, his slacks around his ankles from the blowjob and he’s considering leaving Sangwoo alone at the counter so he doesn't have to go back to work.

"Like," you gestures to Jeongguk's body before trying to tame your hair. "Your neck? I guess. I'm so used to seeing you decked out in diamonds, Jeon. I don't think I've ever seen you without earrings."

Subconsciously, Jeongguk's hand flies to his ear and misses the touch of the diamonds that used to line the entire lobe; empty now except for the one black stud he's worn since high school. He'd gotten the entire thing pierced over the course of a few months to try and have the upper hand over Tae. It hadn't worked.

"Oh." Jeongguk finally stands to pull up his slacks. He's going to need a few good drinks tonight. He fixes his expression into the smirk he wears around work, around the girls he wants to touch. "Guess I got tired of shining more than you, baby."

"Go to hell, Jeon."

Jeongguk only speaks to Taehyung once in those terrible six months, three weeks after the fight and only through text:

To: Taetae i need my cash it's under your mattress.

From: Taetae why is ur money under my fuckin mattress

But Taehyung says when he'll be out and Jeongguk leaves his spare key on the hook inside the apartment after getting his cash, darting in and out of the place because some of his clothes are still thrown on the floor and he accidentally catches sight of a pair of diamond hoops while hanging up his key, has to bite back the urge to vomit while driving home that afternoon.

Ideally, Jeongguk would throw himself into his work. Become the model employee Namjoon says he could be every time they have a meeting together, focus on his sales instead of what underwear you're wearing today. Ideally, Jeongguk wouldn't be looking over his high school yearbook, one of the few things he'd brought when he ran away, with a half finished bottle of wine at his side and staring at Taehyung's smile. There's one picture in the book that Jeongguk can't move on from. It was taken during Taehyung's senior year, a picture of him laughing so vividly that Jeongguk can hear it in his mind. He's got his arm thrown around Jeongguk's shoulders, one of the few pictures of Jeongguk that exist in the yearbooks, leaning his head against Jeongguk's because he used to be so much taller back when Jeongguk was still scrawny and unsure of himself.

Jeongguk doesn't hook up with anyone that night.

It's almost like a shitty cliche, Jeongguk thinks over the course of those six months. There was no returning of their belongings or drunk i miss you's sent to either of them, but Jeongguk feels every day like a large hole in his chest. Can't anyone see it? Right there, it's spilling his heart right onto the pavement.

But he chases the feeling away with pretty girls and a few too many rounds with you in the department store because he's not gay and he's not in love, doesn't need Taehyung in his life. Even if he hasn't bought new clothes or gone on vacation or eaten a decent meal in a while. He's an adult. A shitty one, but no adult in their twenties actually has their life together.

Jeongguk flirts with customers and smiles a little too long while modeling the rings, stares a little too pointedly. He calls his parents because he knows Taehyung won't have any updates to give on him, goes out on an actual date for the first time in years when a girl insists she doesn't sleep with someone she doesn't know well.

(She does. Jeongguk doesn't feel bad about it when he doesn't call her the next day.)

You're a good distraction, but lately there's nothing that can keep Jeongguk's thoughts away from Taehyung, and he's beginning to worry that it's more than just sex that Jeongguk is missing. Maybe it's the gifts, or that Taehyung is the only tie he has to his life in Busan, or the late nights watching shitty TV when Jeongguk's ass hurt too badly to sleep. The dinners together. Taehyung's fingers in his hair, the softest alarm clock, when Jeongguk sleeps over at his place.

Jeongguk's not in love, has no fucking clue what that emotion even is, but he knows he can't do this shitty adult thing without Taehyung at his side. He likes Taehyung taking care of him, likes that he has somewhere to go when his days are hard or he's not feeling too hot, really likes it when all he has to do is walk through Taehyung's door and Taehyung just knows, dropping whatever he's doing to open his arms for Jeongguk and invite him into a hug, holding him together when it's too difficult for Jeongguk to do on his own.

"Inventory this week." You say into the long silence. Jeongguk's at the lingerie department again, messing with one of the displays because he likes the way you look when you're annoyed. You're fixing the display, knocking Jeongguk's hand away every time he reaches for it. "Know which departments are tonight?"

"Mh, I'm sure you'll let me know."

You roll your eyes, and Jeongguk reaches forward to brush the hair falling into your face behind your ear. "Jewelry and lingerie."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." Now there's a sly grin on your face and it matches the one Jeongguk grins, the one Taehyung said is thanks to his tutelage. "Only one camera in the inventory rooms."

"You had me at aggressive blowjobs."

Jeongguk fucks you in the inventory room that evening, a few hours before the store is to close. Anyone could walk in at any moment, their turn to check their inventories could end while Jeongguk has his face buried between your thighs, but for all the times Taehyung has fucked him on the balcony, Jeongguk feels like he's invincible. Starts thinking about Namjoon's office with your hair twisted between his fingers, but he shakes those thoughts away and goes back to chasing his emotions away with shallow thrusts into your mouth.

But as he's leaving that night Jeongguk stops by the jewelry counter before he goes. The light is still on, and before he shuts it off Jeongguk unlocks the display of their most expensive pieces and pulls out the pair of Givenchy earrings he's had a boner for ever since before he started working here.

They're ridiculously priced, the diamonds small and numerous and so incredibly clean, so expensive that not even their richest client has asked to look at them. Jeongguk runs his fingers over the velvet of the case, nowhere near the actual jewelry, and knows he can't keep walking away from the things he wants.

The drive isn't long, but nervous anticipation plays the drums with Jeongguk's insides. It's been so long. There's no way Taehyung will want to see him again, no way he'll want to deal with Jeongguk's needy ass or his stupidity and Jeongguk prepares himself for a door slammed in his face.

When Jeongguk knocks, there's no immediate answer, and Jeongguk's body deflates. Taehyung must have seen him through the peephole, and that's how Jeongguk knows it's over. His own stupid emotions destroyed the best friendship he's ever had, and now he has to figure out a way to rebuild his life without Taehyung's hand in his back pocket.

"Jeongguk?"

Jeongguk jumps, ripping his forehead away from where it had fallen against the door. Taehyung stands at the other side of the hallway, a few bags of groceries hanging from his fingers and that's what Jeongguk's been forgetting to do over the past few weeks.

His throat is dry and tight, but he manages a shaky smile. "Hi, Tae."

Taehyung doesn't say anything as he approaches, his eyes wide as he stares at Jeongguk. His expression is schooled carefully, but if Jeongguk's not projecting then maybe that's hope twinkling in his eyes. "Did you forget something else here?"

My soul. "Uh, no, hyung. I- uh, I was hoping. M-maybe, we-we, if you're not b-b-"

"Jeon," Taehyung says very quietly. "Don't stutter."

Jeongguk wasn't in high school anymore. He could fucking do this. He stands up a little straighter and looks at the ugly painting over Taehyung's shoulder. "I was hoping we could talk."

"Okay."

Jeongguk falter a little at the quick agreement, but his nerves spike again because Taehyung's still using that detached voice that he's never used with Jeongguk before. He steps back as Taehyung moves to unlock the door, gesturing for Jeongguk to enter before he follows. Everything looks the same, familiar and beautiful and looking more like home than Jeongguk's own apartment, except Jeongguk can see that there's no clothes on the floor and no hoop earrings on the island.

"What did you want to talk about?" Taehyung toes off his shoes and places the plastic bags onto the table.

Jeongguk feels everything rush up his throat at the same time, the words fighting each other for the proper thing to say. But everything sounds wrong to Jeongguk in that moment, like there are no words for Jeongguk to use to properly explain himself, explain everything that Jeongguk's feeling.

So he steps forward. He can't ruin things any more than he already has.

Fingers twisted into the front of Taehyung's dress shirt, Jeongguk closes his eyes against Taehyung's look of shock and pulls him into a bruising kiss, the intensity of Taehyung's kisses hitting him all at once. Taehyung takes charge of the kiss like he always has, yanks Jeongguk closer by the waistband of his slacks and licks roughly behind Jeongguk's teeth. He kisses the air out of Jeongguk's chest and the pain of the last six months out of his mind, kisses Jeongguk like he missed this just as desperately.

Jeongguk leads Taehyung out of the kitchen, forgetting the layout briefly in his haze and feels his back slam harshly into the wall, Taehyung following to cage his body against the wall. He's given only the briefest second to catch his breath before Taehyung is kissing him again, growling at the frantic little whine that leaves Jeongguk's lips.

"I'm sorry," Jeongguk gasps, his hand against Taehyung's chest to give their kissing a pause. He looks up at Taehyung, eyes blown wide, and bites back his sudden urge to cry. "I'm sorry, Tae. Hyung. I'm so sorry. I miss you."

Taehyung strokes away the tear with his thumb. "I miss you, too, Gukie. More than you know."

With Taehyung's lips on Jeongguk's neck, he guides Jeongguk to the bedroom with a desperation that leaves the both of them reeling. Taehyung gets Jeongguk's clothes off before they even get to his bedroom, pushing Jeongguk onto the mattress and starts unbuttoning his shirt. But there's too many buttons and Jeongguk's body is hot all over, his cheeks bright red and his head spinning. He missed this too much for any sort of waiting.

Jeongguk gets his fingers into Taehyung's belt loops and tugs his body roughly on top of his own, licking against Taehyung's neck as he ruts against Taehyung's thigh. He's getting hard already, just at the thought of how good Taehyung always makes him feel.

"Hurry up, Tae," Jeongguk growls, can feel Taehyung's own erection against his leg.

Taehyung flattens a palm to Jeongguk's bare belly, but it does nothing to quell the fire he's burning. "Relax, baby. We have time-"

"Don't care. Need to feel you. Hyung. Please."

When Taehyung kisses him this time his teeth knock into Jeongguk's, dragging another whimper from Jeongguk's lips. He bites Jeongguk's bottom lip and sucks it into his own mouth, watching the way it pops back with a soft, wet noise. His lube is buried deep in the side table and if Jeongguk weren't so overwhelmed already he'd make a comment about that.

"Get on your hands and knees for me?"

Jeongguk does, dropping his weight onto his forearms and his forehead into the sheets at the first press of Taehyung's slick finger to his hole. He hisses, entire body tensing at the intrusion, and he can practically hear Taehyung's frown behind him. "Hurry up, Tae. Fuck- come on-"

Taehyung slaps his ass very gently when Jeongguk tries to grind against his finger. Jeongguk whimpers, his body relaxing a little bit more. It's been so long since he's gotten spanked. "How long's it been since you've been with a guy?"

Jeongguk feels his cheeks flush and mutters into the sheets, "Haven't been. Not since you."

"Fuck, Gukie."

Taehyung takes his time fingering Jeongguk open, spends too long with one finger and pours warm lube right onto his crack before pushing two fingers in. He doesn't budge when Jeongguk curses at him, spits insults into the pillow because he didn't come here for hand holding, he came here to get fucked hard and he's not getting fucked hard. But no matter how many times Jeongguk threatens to get himself off if Taehyung doesn't hurry up, Taehyung doesn't break his pace, scissoring his fingers carefully in Jeongguk's hole.

His cock hangs hard and heavy between his legs, and for a brief second Jeongguk considers making himself cum, knows he can cum more than once but he doesn't want to do that. It never feels as good when it's not Taehyung pushing him over the edge each time.

By the time Taehyung's finally got three fingers inside of him, pressing repeatedly into Jeongguk's prostate, Jeongguk's nearly crying into the sheets, so ridiculously on edge and desperate to feel Taehyung inside of him, to be filled for the first time in months. He whimpers when Taehyung pulls his fingers out, his hole clenching to try and keep them in, but the sound of Taehyung unzipping his pants has Jeongguk shivering in excitement.

"Don't-" Jeongguk reaches for Taehyung's arm with a shaky hand. He'd been aiming for the condom between Taehyung's fingers but his vision is a little blurry and he uses the hold on Taehyung's arm to attempt to ground himself. "Don't. I haven't gone without."

Taehyung hesitates, carefully prying Jeongguk's fingers off of his arm. "I haven't been tested since my last one," he murmurs, sounding regretful.

Jeongguk feels that stab his chest. It's stupid. Taehyung can choose not to use a condom with whomever he wants. He'd just always thought-

"Whatever," Jeongguk spits, wiggles his ass to try and get closer to Taehyung. "Fuck me, hyung. Come on, need your fat cock in me. Need it so bad!"

"Up." Taehyung taps Jeongguk's hip, maneuvers his body so Jeongguk's front is pressed against the wall, Taehyung's body lined up behind him. When he feels Taehyung's tip at his hole Jeongguk tries to sink onto his cock, needing to be filled in that moment before he loses it, but Teahyung keeps strong hands on Jeongguk's hips to keep his pace slow, cursing. "Fucking- stop it, Jeon. I don't want to hurt you-"

"I don't care." Jeongguk cries out, the stretch deliciously torturous as he finally gets something inside of him. His head spins, falling back to rest on Taehyung's shoulder as he slowly bottoms out. "Don't care, please. Hurt me. Ruin me, choke me until I can't breathe, hyung, just fuck me!"

But Taehyung's always had more self-control and Jeongguk curses that fact in that moment. Taehyung waits, hips flush against Jeongguk's ass, until Jeongguk's begging, a mantra of I'm ready I'm ready I'm ready falling from his lips to finally move. When he pulls out and slams back into Jeongguk, Jeongguk sobs, hiccuping on each thrust. He feels it when Taehyung starts to lose that self-control, his thrusts rougher and his hands gripping Jeongguk's hips tight enough to bruise.

He scrambles for something to hold onto but the wall offers nothing, his hands slipping as Taehyung fucks him roughly. Jeongguk's head is lolling, moans spilling from his lips, and he all but sobs when Taehyung nibbles on his neck, biting hickeys in all of his favorite spots.

"So good-" Jeongguk's crying out, brings one hand away from the wall to curl it into Taehyung's hair. His entire body is warm and sensitive, jostling each time Taehyung slams his hips back against Jeongguk's ass, and Jeongguk swears he's fucking floating, his dick leaking an obscene amount on his belly. "You're so- I feel you, Tae-" He touches his own neck. "Feel you- oh shit- here-"

"Yeah?" Taehyung murmurs in Jeongguk's ear, a shiver wracking down his body. "My baby boy, always so needy for a good cock in his ass, right?" Jeongguk nods, having missed this dirty talk more than he'll ever be willing to admit. Taehyung pinches his hip and Jeongguk positively mewls. "Answer me, baby."

"Y-yeah-" Jeongguk's voice breaks on another sob and he's about to fucking cum untouched just from how well Taehyung's fucking him. "Yes! I love it! Love the way you- God- fuck me-!"

"Close already?" Taehyung's lips are turned up against Jeongguk's ear. "Go on, cum all over yourself like the dirty little slut you are. My fucking slut."

Taehyung takes Jeongguk's lobe between his teeth and Jeongguk cums hard, his entire body tensing up as he cums all over his belly, crying Taehyung's name as he does. His eyes screw shut as Taehyung stops thrusting to let Jeongguk work through his orgasm on his own, shaking and slumping into Taehyung's arms.

His voice is already wrecked. "H-hyung..." Jeongguk drags a finger through the cum cooling on his belly, dizzy and a little delirious with pleasure. He shifts and can feel Taehyung's hard cock still buried in his ass. "Tae?"

Taehyung laughs, low and quiet in Jeongguk's ear. "I'm not done with you yet, baby boy."

He uses the hands he still has on Jeongguk's hips to move Jeongguk back onto the bed, on his stomach. Taehyung tugs Jeongguk's hips up, forces him to support his weight on his forearms before he thrusts his cock back into Jeongguk's loose hole. The overstimulation stings and then the pain fades, Jeongguk letting more of his weight drop as Taehyung fucks into him hard, turns his head to the side to watch Taehyung's face.

"Fuck," Jeongguk moans, grips the sheets too tightly. The pillows are on the other side of the bed, too far away for him to bite into to try and quell his noises.

Taehyung slows his pace and Jeongguk wants to cry. He's hard again, wants to cum and wants to feel Taehyung cum inside of him, on him, wants to feel Taehyung everywhere. Taehyung drapes himself over Jeongguk's back, runs a hand across his chest to twist one of his nipples and Jeongguk chokes out a sob. He drags those fingers across Jeongguk's throat, pushing them so far between Jeongguk's lips that he gags around the intrusion.

"My dirty little bitch," Taehyung murmurs in his ear. "Couldn't find anyone else to fuck you as well as I do? Fuck your little hole open, ruin you so well?" Jeongguk shakes his head and Taehyung snarls. Jeongguk's vision is so hazy, but he tries to focus on the fire burning in Taehyung's eyes, his body pliant to any and all of Taehyung's touches and thrusts. "God, baby, I want to fill your slutty hole so badly. Watch you try to stand with my cum dripping out of your ass."

Jeongguk whines at the loss of Taehyung's fingers in his mouth, but then Taehyung's placing a well-aimed slap against his ass that Jeongguk's whining again and pushing his ass back into Taehyung's hand. Taehyung spanks him again, harder this time, jostling Jeongguk's body on the mattress.

"Again," Jeongguk gasps, back arching at the sting on his ass. "Hyung- again, please-"

"What do you say?"

"Thank you!" Taehyung smacks his ass again, right at the curve where his ass meets his thigh and Jeongguk's legs threaten to give out. "Thank you." He gets spanked again, Taehyung dropping several smacks all over Jeongguk's ass, then twice in the spot that gets a particularly desperate moan out of Jeongguk. He babbles out a thank you every time, his mind blanking when Taehyung grips his ass with both hands, kneading the raw flesh with practiced strength.

"More?" Jeongguk asks weakly. There's drool and tears wetting the sheets beneath his face, lube dripping down the insides of his thighs as Taehyung's pace becomes a little more frantic.

Taehyung adjusts his angle to nudge Jeongguk's prostate with every thrust, curls his fingers into Jeongguk's hair and pulls harshly, and Jeongguk screams. "Don't be greedy, pet."

When his legs give out Taehyung just yanks his lower half back up, his hips snapping painfully against Jeongguk's ass and he knows that Taehyung is close.

He lets himself be used, lets Taehyung fuck him so well that his mind blanks, until all he can think about and all he can imagine is Taehyung. "D-daddy," Jeongguk sobs, tears flowing freely now because it's all too good and it's all too much. "Daddy, please- I wanna cum!"

"You want to cum that badly?" Taehyung snarls, nudges Jeongguk's legs wider apart to sink into him that much deeper. "Do it yourself."

Jeongguk shakes his head, sweaty hair falling into his eyes. "Want- fuck- want daddy's hand. Please-"

"Greedy slut-"

Taehyung takes Jeongguk's cock in his hand, stroking him hard and fast and Jeongguk's about to lose his damn mind. He's too close, torn between wanting Taehyung to cum first and coming so hard that he blacks out, but Taehyung makes the decision for him, twisting his wrist in the way he knows Jeongguk loves and stroking his thumb under the tip, letting Jeongguk try to fuck down into his hand before Jeongguk finally cums, sobbing loudly as he spills onto the sheets and all over Taehyung's hand, Taehyung whispering words of praise over the ringing in his ears.

"There you go, baby boy. So pretty. Always look so pretty when you cum."

Jeongguk blinks through the tears, looks up at Taehyung and sniffles quietly. "Want you to cum in me, daddy."

"Not- not this time, baby."

Taehyung pulls his cock from Jeongguk's abused hole, yanking the condom from his length and jerking off furiously until he finally cums, painting the small of Jeongguk's back and the tops of his thighs white. Jeongguk moans through it, almost crying from the sensation; he'd really fucking missed it when Taehyung came on him- anywhere.

Jeongguk slumps onto the bed, unable to even think about supporting himself anymore as he catches his breath, head spinning pleasantly. He can feel Taehyung, still breathing heavy, pressing soft kisses up the length of his back, then a kiss to Jeongguk's cheek and another to the lobe of his ear. Jeongguk reaches blindly for Taehyung's hand, licks the cum from his palm once he finds it. Taehyung curses in his ear.

"Come on, Jeon. Let's get you cleaned up."

"Mmmn, no." Jeongguk snuggles into the wet sheets, doesn't even give a fuck because they smell like Taehyung. "Don't wanna move."

Taehyung sighs, but there's a smile pressed against Jeongguk's neck. "I know, baby. But you're covered in cum."

"I like it. I like your cum."

"You scare me when you're this honest."

Taehyung coaxes Jeongguk to his feet and works Jeongguk's arm around his shoulder when Jeongguk's legs give out as he stands. He rests his weight against the sink as Taehyung draws a bath, cringing at all of the cum drying on his stomach and thighs, still really wishes he'd been able to feel Taehyung bare within him.

"This is unnecessary," Jeongguk mutters as Taehyung settles behind him in the bath, soapy water warm on their skin.

Taehyung goes still behind him, then he wraps his arms around Jeongguk's waist and rests his forehead on the back of his neck. "I called you a lot of shit tonight."

Jeongguk feels his cheeks warm. "I asked for it."

"Let me do this for you."

So Jeongguk relaxes into Taehyung's embrace, passes the shampoos and lotions that Taehyung asks for, but mostly he closes his eyes and revels in the familiarity of the situation. Taehyung's hands are soft in his hair and even softer on his neck and thighs, cleaning the cum from his skin with a washcloth. They stay in the bath until the water begins to cool and then Taehyung urges him to his feet to rinse off under the showerhead.

Jeongguk's head is pleasantly fuzzy as Taehyung pats his body dry with his biggest, fluffiest towel, taking his hand between both of his to massage lotion onto his skin. He pulls the drain for the bath, tugs the towel to hang over Jeongguk's head the way he likes, and leads Jeongguk back to the bed with a loose hand curled around his wrist.

"Here." Taehyung hands him a pair of warm sweats and a hoodie, lets Jeongguk get dressed while he tugs the soiled sheets from the bed and replaces them with his extra duvet. "Lie on your belly for me, baby."

He does, shivering a little when Taehyung pulls the sweats down to his thighs to rub aloe on his raw ass and thighs, pulling them back up after pressing a kiss to the small of Jeongguk's back.

"Thanks, daddy."

Taehyung disappears for a second and Jeongguk hears him rifling through his drawers before the sheets lift at his side and Taehyung slips into bed beside him with a soft exhale.

Jeongguk shoves his face into Taehyung's neck, hugging him close and nearly crying when he's finally got Taehyung's arms around him again. Taehyung trails his fingers below Jeongguk's hoodie, over his arm, and up to Jeongguk's ear to play with the lobe.

"How're you feeling, Guk?"

"M'fine."

"Yeah?" Jeongguk pulls back a little to stare at Taehyung's face, still just as devastatingly beautiful. He wants to kiss all over Taehyung's face, so he does. "You're still calling me daddy."

"It feels right."

"You're not wearing any earrings?" There's a fine layer of disappointment in Taehyung's voice. Not disappointment with Jeongguk, but with the lack of jewelry adorning his body.

Jeongguk mumbles, "They reminded me too much of you," and Taehyung dips his head to kiss Jeongguk slow and deep, taking his time to lick behind each of Jeongguk's teeth.

"I'm sorry," Taehyung whispers, trailing his thumb over Jeongguk's bottom lip. "I'm sorry for what I said."

He shakes his head, pulling Taehyung closer with an arm around his waist. "I'm sorry for accusing you of all of that shit. For... for saying you treated me like I was a kid you were obligated to care for. You were just looking out for me. I know that."

Taehyung's smile is still sad. Jeongguk presses his finger to the corner of Taehyung's lips and tries to curve it into a happier smile. "Yeah. Still, what I said was out of line. You're not a flighty coward."

He kind of was. "And you don't make me do anything I don't want to do."

"You're an adult. You can live your life however you want, baby."

"Even if I'm being stupid about it?"

"Especially then."

Jeongguk leans forward to kiss Taehyung's nose and then his mouth, Taehyung pulling away after a few minutes to reach behind him and rifle through his side table for a minute. He's holding a small velvet box, and he nudges it into Jeongguk's palm.

"Tae?"

Taehyung nods, and this time his smile reaches his eyes. He nuzzles a little further into his pillow, staring fondly at Jeongguk. "Go ahead. I'd planned the circumstance to be better but I don't like seeing you so bare."

It's the diamond hoop earrings Jeongguk had seen on the island in the kitchen, pretty and sparkling in his hand. Jeongguk swallows the lump in his throat and carefully slips the earrings into his double helix, turning into the hand Taehyung lays over his cheek to play with the hoops.

Jeongguk chokes when he tries to speak. "Thank you, daddy."

"Stay the night?" Taehyung asks, whispers it carefully like he's afraid of Jeongguk's answer. Instead of answering- because it's obvious to him- Jeongguk hooks his leg over Taehyung's hip and pulls himself closer, burying his face in Taehyung's neck and breathing in deep, scattering kisses along the skin he can reach without moving much. "Want to watch Iron Man?"

"Fuck yeah."

Jeongguk can't even see the TV from this angle but it was never about actually watching the movie. Taehyung keeps his hands under Jeongguk's hoodie, stroking the skin and keeping him as close as possible while Jeongguk holds on like this is the last chance he'll have to do so.

"Are you still hooking up with Y/N?"

Jeongguk nods. "Sangwoo got fired."

"Damn, Namjoon really did that right before the busy season?"

"Yeah." Jeongguk does feel bad about the dude losing his job, but that just meant- "Guess we're gonna be working together again."

"Good." Taehyung kisses his ear, takes a moment just to rest his weight on Jeongguk. "I've got so many pranks planned, baby. Hope you're not scared to sneak into the boss' office."

It's ridiculously late already, and coupled with how hard Jeongguk got fucked that night he can feel himself starting to drift off already, warm and satisfied in Taehyung's arms. There was a more than good chance that Taehyung will wake him up in a few hours with a boner and they'll both be tired stumbling into the department store in the morning, (or hobbling, depending on if Jeongguk can talk him into a quickie in the back of the car,) and Jeongguk doesn't mind one bit.

"Tae?" Jeongguk mumbles, his voice heavy with sleep. The movie is white noise in his ears, Taehyung's breathing steady and warm against Jeongguk's cheek.

"You should sleep, baby." Taehyung strokes Jeongguk's lower back; slow like he's only doing it to stay awake to hear what Jeongguk has to say.

"We'll be okay, right?"

Taehyung kisses his forehead, soft and lingering. "Fuck yeah. We’ll be just peachy. Can't do this shit without you, Jeon."

Jeongguk celebrates his birthday by going bowling, drags along his friends and coworkers because Taehyung said he could do anything for his birthday and Jeongguk wanted to fucking bowl. Except he was competitive as fuck and often forgot that most normal people were not.

So it ends up that Jeongguk bowls a near perfect round the first time, you, Jimin, Taehyung, and a few others from the department store sitting on the chairs with him. His closest competition is you, and because of this Jeongguk isn't drinking. He can't lose his focus and lose to anyone. Plus Taehyung, once he realized Jeongguk was serious about going to bowl, had decided they'd go get shit-faced at the bar tomorrow evening.

"Your ass looks great tonight, Y/N," Jeongguk says, just before you walk up to take your shot. Taehyung snorts from where he sits at the computer. He gave up on playing after round three, and now just gave everyone stupid nicknames for each round.

"I'll be sure to thank it when I beat you."

"Damn, you wish."

You scoff. "This is the thanks I get for blowing you behind the register."

Jeongguk shrugs, leaning back in his seat and watching you fuck up your spare. He was ahead. If he got a strike, then he'd win this round, too. He grabs his lucky ball and takes his place at the line, winking when you throw him a dirty look. He's about to go through the motions when,

"Wait, Jeon." Taehyung walks up behind him, stands at an angle so no one can see the way he sucks Jeongguk's piercings between his teeth. He pats at the front of Jeongguk's jeans, putting nothing there. "You forgot this."

Jeongguk misses the shot.

You laugh wildly at the way Jeongguk's cheeks burn red as he sits back down, leaning over to high-five Taehyung over Jeongguk's lap. Jeongguk pouts, watches as Jimin's decent turn puts him just above Jeongguk's score. He's never come in last.

"You're all the worst," Jeongguk mutters, takes Taehyung's lukewarm beer and finishes it off.

They play another few rounds, Jeongguk blocking out the teasing to win each of them, and then the bowling alley is closing and Taehyung's shoving half a chocolate cupcake- where the fuck did he find it- in Jeongguk's face only to lick the frosting right off of Jeongguk's cheek. Everyone says goodnight in the parking lot, singing around a lighter that Jimin produces from his back pocket as Jeongguk’s cheeks burn.

Jeongguk follows Taehyung back to Taehyung's place, kicking off his shoes and his jacket as soon as they're inside. He spins to try and kiss Taehyung, intent on the birthday sex he's heard that song brag about so many times, but Taehyung puts a finger to his lips and denies him the kiss.

"Tae," Jeongguk whines, hands on Taehyung's hips.

"Hush, you needy baby. I still haven't given you my gift."

Jeongguk frowns, letting Taehyung lead him to the couch and sitting on the cushion. "I said no presents this year."

"And I heard, 'give me all of the presents, daddy.' Now, close your eyes." With a dramatic sigh Jeongguk follows the order, listening as Taehyung leaves the room and it sounds like he's rummaging through the desk he never uses in his bedroom. When he gets back, Taehyung places something small and light in Jeongguk's palm and sits across from him in the plush armchair. "Okay. Open your eyes."

In his hands sits a poorly wrapped, very familiarly shaped box, and Jeongguk breathes a sigh of relief. Jewelry meant that Taehyung didn't go overboard, and he'd been looking for a reason to change a couple of his earrings or add a charm to his bracelet for a while now. Taehyung stares at him with poorly concealed excitement as Jeongguk quickly rips off the paper and opens the box to reveal the Givenchy earrings that Jeongguk's wanted for years.

Jeongguk's breath catches as he stares at them, eyes wide and mind not quite comprehending what he was looking at. Jeongguk had been fucking devastated a week ago when he'd gotten into work to see that the earrings had been bought, pouting through his shift and even turning down Taehyung's offer to blow him in the break room.

"Tae- how-?"

"Think I didn't see the way you've been drooling over them for years?" Taehyung teases, looks like he's about to bounce out of his seat in excitement. "Do you like them?"

"This is too expensive, hyung."

"Hush. You know I don't give a shit when it comes to you."

Jeongguk's heart is threatening to jump right out of his chest. "Thank you," he whispers, strokes gently over the earrings and he feels the dumbest urge to cry. Or swallow down Taehyung's cock at that very moment. Either or will do. “I love them.”

Taehyung laughs quietly, standing from the armchair to sit next to Jeongguk on the couch. "What are you waiting for, Jeon? Put them on!"

Jeongguk does, removing the studs he has in his first holes on each ear to put the new, ridiculously fucking expensive, ones there. He's going to have a fucking heart attack and then dig out every piece of jewelry Taehyung has ever bought him so Taehyung can fuck him on a sparkling bed.

In that order.

Taehyung immediately goes to play with them, and Jeongguk melts into his side, sighing, "My daddy's the best daddy in the world."

"You got that right," Taehyung agrees, pressing a kiss to Jeongguk's cheek.

Jeongguk curls his hand into the collar of Taehyung's shirt and shifts so that he's straddling Taehyung's waist, settles his weight over Taehyung’s crotch and speaks with his lips brushing Taehyung’s, "Fuck me in them?"

Hands curved on Jeongguk's waist, Taehyung grins up at him with wicked intent. "Don't have to ask me twice."

#jeon jeongguk #jeon jungkook #taekook #vkook #taekook smut #my writing #this is a mess and you're gonna drop me for sure bc of this #gndkfgnjdkgndgns i also gave a name to the girl that runs jeon out of town i'm sory #i didn't even include all of the headcanons because i'm absolutely terrible #i am sorry for ruining your entire life and also brutally murdering your oc #also sorry for the abrupt end but #if i'd kept going it would have been real bad and like into the actual g&g fic lmao #i only regret the entirety of this #i might go thru and edit again bc i didn't try very hard to edit #nd it's late #also not splitting it up into parts bc i want it far away from me

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