#it's been a couple of years since she's burned

[monkebearness]

He + She (& Her)

Kim ChaeYeon (tripleS) x Male Reader (ft. Lee JiWoo)

Tags: smut, fluff, open relationship (potential poly), creampie, mommy kink, some rough rink

Word count: 10k

a/n: I've thought of this idea for a while, and I've only decided to write about it pretty recently. yeah, that's about it. I hope you enjoy this!

Friday. It’s past seven o’clock in the evening. For a while, howls and growls can be heard under the moonlight, but they’re not from wolves.

“Oooooooh, God… Yooouuuu're… so beau…nghh…tiful, even with your hair… tied up!”

They’ve been going for two hours, jumping each other’s bones since they’re fueled by intense libido and the primal desire to keep this burning pleasure as long as they can on the squeaking king-sized mint bed. It’s not the only spot in the apartment where they do it. There’s the couch, the bathroom, or even the kitchen counter. But for this couple, the bedroom is simply the best spot. As much as “vanilla” it may sound for some, there’s no denying its ultimate comfort and versatility for all sorts of possible, or near-impossible, steaming private activities that their bodies demand.

During this round, the woman has been grinding on his hips like he's a stallion, holding on to his shoulders with every ounce of her being while her cunt is being impaled by his dick in the past several minutes in one of their favorite positions to date.

“Thanks, ba…by… Ggghhh… Baby, you’re so good… inside… me… Ugh!”

“Mmm… Mahh…” he groans under his breath—almost drowning beneath her jiggling sweaty jugs as he maintains his rhythm with his lover and keeps his strength beneath her. “Moommy, fuck! How are you… still so… tight! It feels so…”

“Just keep… Going…” She undoes her bun, a flashy maneuver that suddenly embiggens his already erect member. “What..? Ugghhh!” she yelps at his surprise, but that’s not all.

His unthinkable urges impel him to take his mouth into her right tit, igniting a shriek of delight and a titter from the woman as he proceeds to suck it within seconds. “Oh, fuck! Hnngghh… Honggi... you naughty… boy!” She struggles to form phrases from the top of her breath while her occupied partner uses his hand to massage her left breast, rubbing it up and down with his fingers, a trick that he intensifies by using his pincer grasps to give her nipple a quick pinch. “Imma…”

Honggi’s mouth slowly parts from Chaeyeon’s knocker, leaving a trail of saliva, and asks her, “What… Is it?”

“I’m safe today, baby,” she whimpers right next to his left ear with a smirk. “And I’m… getting close.” And as a cherry on top, the woman leans near his left cheek and licks it.

Her words and action strikes through his nerve once again, giving him another quick boost for another minute. He knows exactly what she’s insinuating. “Me…” he grunts, feeling his thrusts within her decrease in speed in favor of strengthening his pounding. “Nggghhh… too!”

Their movements slowly take a halt, anticipating the warm build-up flowing and leaving their crotches. She holds his chin, leaning down to reward him with a kiss. He amplifies it by sliding his tongue in her submissive mouth, allowing a moment for them to sloppily clash together in the midst of their skins slapping. Five seconds later, Honggi bursts his load inside Chaeyeon’s womb, moaning in each other’s mouth as they’ve reached their respective climaxes.

They catch their breath, falling flat on the bed. “You did so good, baby," she wheezes before lying on her pillow. She places her hand on his chest. “You always have, oppa.”

“You do remember that we’re still the same age, Chae-yah,” he brings up with a snicker.

“Yeah, but oppa gets you up, doesn’t it?” she counters with a teasing tone, lightly pinching his nose. “‘Cause you’re still months older? Almost a year, even.”

“I don’t care what you call me, mommy,” he submits, gently stroking her hair sideways. “Here or outside.”

He kisses her forehead, inciting a giggle from her. She inches her head on to his chest, where the two relax and hear each other’s breathing for about fourteen minutes while they talk about their day, allowing Honggi to reflect on their mundane yet special past. About two years ago.

= = =

“So I wasn't too tipsy that night,” the woman cheered. “You really were from SSU too!”

He puts down his cup on the table. “I thought you were familiar too,” he pointed out.

She pointed her fingers. “You were the class clown from Tone’s friend group, right?”

“Yeah! And you, you…” He snapped his fingers four times, until more of his memories were reignited and much clearer. “Oh, right! You were that cute and clumsy girl from Tone’s club. The Dimension Beamers, was it?”

“Diamond Dreamers,” she corrected him with a chuckle, not even defending his claim. “Gosh, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard that name from someone.”

They went to the same university, but they weren’t that close. Mutual friends at best... The encounters they had were mostly teasing each other whenever their friend groups interact. But they have been coworkers for almost three years and, of course, one thing led to another, as cliché as that sounds. When they were promoted to a new team at the Cultivation Of Seoul Media Organization (COSMO) Broadcasting Station, the two felt a “spark” during their first post-college reunion. The day after their first team dinner, the pair chose to meet at a café in their company building during lunchtime.

“Right, right, that’s what I meant,” he replied. “Mianhae. You got a point. It’s been about six years since we graduated from Seoul State, so forgive my memory.”

“No worries. But, may I ask: how long have you been working here?” she asked. “I feel like I’ve seen you a few times before, but I’m sure if you were someone I crossed paths with.”

“I’ve only been here for a year, actually,” he clarified. “Though I’ve worked other jobs at other companies before I got here after Tone and some of my pals are here and gave their recommendations for the application. How about you?”

“About two years now. Got here on my own, but it wasn’t easy either. Company had more rounds of interviews for applicants in its early days.”

“Wow, you’re an OG employee… So that makes you my sunbae, then?” he teased.

“Yah!” she roared. We’re in the same year first during college… I’m not allowing that.”

“Fine, fine,” he yielded to her intimidating whine. “Besides, I don’t wanna get fired too.”

Chayeon only raised her eyebrow, much to her chagrin.

He inched his arms away from the table with vigilance. “Will I get fired for saying that?”

“Nah, relax…” she reassured him, before taking a sip of her iced americano with a slight smile. One of his statements from earlier still stuck in her mind. “So… I was that cute member, huh?” her smile grew into a smirk. “Don’t you think I’ve forgotten that.”

He gulped, coming up with anything off the top of his head to justify what he said. “It’s just from my memory. Have you not called yourself that word back in the day? I can still remember how confident you were with aegyos, even to people who weren't that close to you. You were practically a celebrity, just like the rest of your club.”

“That was pretty embarrassing. But those were some fun times,” she looked down and shook her head, before her mind recalled what she remembered about him. “And you…”

“What about me?” he countered with an alarmed tone before she could finish her statement. He must’ve thought of the most unflattering adjectives about himself.

“Don’t get so defensive all of the sudden, Mister,” she chortled. “For someone who was known as the clown in your group, I remember you had some charms and talents too, especially when you worked during the campus festival… You deserve to be here like everyone else, whether you got here through recommendations or not.”

“That is quite nice to hear, actually. Thanks.” He raised his right hand sideways, keeping his thumb apart from the rest. “I look forward to working with you, Chaeyeon-ssi.”

She took his hand, shaking it with her left. “Likewise, Honggi-ssi.”

They became friends, as expected, but even that wasn’t an easy path for them to take. The moment Honggi’s close friends and colleagues from his previous team heard the news of them hitting off, they went to him whenever he’s on his own several times— pestering him like insects flying on his radar, buzzing and whizzing around him, even though they were in different teams and floors apart.

“I know you’re kinda down bad,” his taller colleague assumed. “But are you sure you wanna go with Kim Chaeyeon?”

“Can’t you just go after someone else?” another one of his old deskmates chimed in.

“What about her, man?” Honggi wondered. “She seems pretty nice and approachable. Definitely more capable than me. I got to know her better, compared to when we’re in college. And besides… We’re just friends.”

“Another load of bullshit from you, man,” his taller one cackled. “Friends? Since when have you been friends with a woman, let alone at work?”

“Since Kotone? Since Suhyeon? Since Jayoon? Do you want me to go on?”

“Alright, alright,” he raised his hands in defeat. “Fair enough, man.”

“And before you even ask,” Honggi continued with conviction. “No, I didn’t have the urge to sleep with them, you weirdos. Like I said, I’m just friends with Chaeyeon now.”

“Whatever you guys are right now,” the old deskmate added, telling him with a tone of concern. “There’s some things you don’t know about her.”

“That’s true,” the taller one hums in agreement. “It's better if you find some of the tea that she may not even spill by herself. Otherwise, you’ll regret it down the road.”

“Like what?” Honggi’s voice became a little louder. The two became daunted by him. 

He sees them as invasive. Despite the two of them being his friends for years, this was the first time he did not feel comfortable listening to their babbles about office drama. Ironically enough, he's no stranger to being an office gossiper himself back in the past. “Mianhae, guys,” he sighs. “Just spill it out. I'm sure it's not that big of a deal.”

“When she first worked here, she was more…” the deskmate scans through his mental thesaurus. “Promiscuous. That woman is wilder than she looks, man. As in more than you can imagine. But I don’t know, maybe she isn’t like that nowadays.”

“And?” he tilts his head. Hearing their persistence has been rubbing him the wrong way. “Her relationships should be the last of my business, let alone anyone else’s.”

“Whatever, man,” the taller colleague gives him a pat on his shoulder. “Just be careful when you’re dealing with that kind of woman… Especially if you’ve fallen for her.”

“Thanks, but umm,” Honggi scoffs at their warnings. Even though their overwhelming load of cautions made him a little worried, not for himself or even his own friends, but for Chaeyeon. “I think you guys are being overdramatic.”

“We just don’t want you to get hurt, dude. But if you’re still not convinced, you’ll see.”

Honggi heard the rumors from other colleagues about cases of cheating on her previous relationships, but Chaeyeon dismissed them, though whenever he got any close to being curious, she could only tell him responses like, “It’s, uhhhh, more complicated than that. But there was no cheating involved or anything.” Nevertheless, she was starting to enjoy his company over time, and so did he, in spite of all the misgivings he heard from other people around his workspace. A trust was strengthened through their bond ever since they felt that spark, prompting them to keep meeting each other from time to time.

The following months between the two were basically a game of “will-they-won’t-they?” Until the moment of truth came a year later. One had to finally make their first move.

“Hey, do you want to go to dinner?” Honggi approached her. “After work, that is?”

She placed her elbow on her desk, staring at him with a whimsical smile. “What is this, Lim Honggi-yah?”

“I’m just asking you out… For dinner,” he told her without any further details, making his tone sound casual. Just maybe a little too much. “I’m sure it’s not that different whenever we have lunch in this building. It’s just outside... Unless you have plans for tonight, then we can do it some other—”

“Loosen up,” she snorted a laugh due to his rapid pace. “I’m super free tonight… So, I would very much like that. You got any place in mind?”

“I was thinking if you have a suggestion,” he proposed. “Since you know this district a little better than I do.”

“How thoughtful of you.”

Even though he’s already thought of a comeback, Honggi tried to keep a straight face. “I’m, uhh, I’m just letting my sunbae do the honors.”

“Yah!” she exclaimed, leaving from her seat to chase off the running man across the room, before heading to the nearest pojangmacha outside their building. Honggi insisted that it would be his treat, so she took his words to heart.

“I’ll have a plate of gyeran-mari, a platter of tteokbokki, an odolppyeo-bokkeum, a bowl of eomukguk, and a bottle of makgeolli.”

“Okay,” the vendor turned her head to the man, whose eyes only widened at her orders. “How about you, son?”

“I… uhhh… I’ll have another bowl of eomukguk, and a roll of kimbap. Kamsahamnida.”

She chuckled at his reaction as soon as the vendor started preparing their orders. “I’ll pay for my orders, okay? Plus, they’re all meant to be shared, so you better help me out.”

“Of course,” he insisted. “But don’t worry, ‘cause I can still pay for them.”

“I haven’t eaten anything since lunch, so I don’t mind having a heavier meal tonight.”

He feels his own heart anguish, even unnecessary guilt, hearing her admit those words. “You should really stop skipping your meals, Chaeyeon-ah.”

“Gwenchana,” she shrugged his worries off with a cheery tone. “I rarely skip meals. Today was just an exception to that. I'm okay, Honggi.”

They didn't have a label for whatever they were, but they began dating, albeit in secret. Yes, they used the term dating, even if they weren’t “anything” at first, and even though he didn’t realize that she was hiding a few secrets from him for a while. Yet despite this, Honggi didn’t blame her, or even held an ounce of spite, when she told him the truth of most of the hearsays and rumors his own friends were warning him about. It's her life, he tells himself… I don't have to know everything, unless she tells me about it.

Knowing Chaeyeon, she confided in him some of the things that others would talk about her. How she experienced catcalling by others, had her own credits and contributions at her projects stolen or undermined by certain executives, and how she dealt with them in her two years at this company. Of course, she has her own close friends whom she could tell her secrets to outside of work, but with Honggi, it’s something new compared to a lot of things she has been going through at work lately. To her, he was a new ingredient that started spicing up her life at their workplace. He was a friend whose shoulders she could lean on. One she can call text or late at night, whether they're working on a team project, or talking about anything else. One who she can exchange jokes with without getting too offended. One who doesn’t laugh whenever she loses her balance on a slippery floor and rather, goes his way to help her back up, just before they laugh it off together. One that coyly tells her that she looks beautiful whenever she enters the office with a new look. That’s Honggi to Chaeyeon. It is the balance of feeling comfortable and the yearning which they have for each other.

But that first date was also the first time Chaeyeon decided to come clean with him.

More than an hour had passed inside the pocha. Most of their plates and bowls were emptied, with the leftovers already wrapped up, most notably Chaeyeon’s tteokbokki. Fees have been paid. But they still remain here, having longer talks and banters about whatever they can bring up until the clock reaches nine.

Reasonably, she felt hesitant at first. “Do you believe what they're saying about me?”

Honggi saw it in her eyes. The sense of dread she was trying to hide. Not to mention her cheeks looking more pinkish. Why does she kind of look like a peach? A really cute one, he wonders, just as he brushed off such an honest observation. He inched his hand on her fingers, hoping it would alleviate her unease. She looked down, feeling his gentle, electric touch. It’s that spark again. “I only believe what you tell me, Chaeyeon-ssi.”

“Honggi-yah. You know, you've only known me for a year,” she faced him with eyes ridden with guilt while wearing a somber smile. “That pales in comparison to your buddies at your old team. They basically welcomed you into this company.”

“Sure, they’re my friends,” he acknowledged. “But they don't know you either. They can call me a simp all they want. Maybe I am. Still, it doesn’t change the fact that I’ve known you enough to know that—”

She left her seat and inched closer to his face, kissing him for the first time, sending sparks throughout both their bodies at this moment. In her mind, she took a big risk... Within seconds, they feel and taste each other’s lips, unavoidably exploring the flavors of their meals, yet they savor each, from tangy to savory. Their lips part, Honggi opens his eyes, frozen in disbelief. His breathing becomes a little heavier at first, yet a stream of relief and excitement follows from him.

“I guess that’s one thing they, or you, didn’t know about me.”

“They did tell me,” slipped from his mouth, but immediately covered himself with his hand. “Though I didn’t mean to ruin this moment. I tried to ignore them, but I couldn’t forget when they said that you’d be…”

“What?” she questioned, her monotone voice striking panic through him.

“Promiscuous?” he confessed in embarrassment. “Mianhae. That's what they told me.”

She let out a giggle. “Don’t be… I kinda expected just that,” her sultry tone and grin remained. Her fingers trailed up his sleeve, sending a chilling sensation down his spine. “But… Feeling is different from knowing, don’t you agree?”

He nodded with an embarrassed smile. Before the silence of the night breeze could have overtaken their moment, Honggi made the next move while Chaeyeon smiled and closed her eyes in anticipation of this moment.

In the months that followed, Honggi and Chaeyeon have gone on dates at either fancy or simple restaurants, watched movies at the theater, given each other gifts and bouquets on occasions, and taken walks to plenty of parks and museums, like most couples. For indoors, they hang out at each other’s places, where they cook, cuddle, wheedle, or watch TV and—for the most part—having stress relieving sex after work, which has pretty much become a tradition for the pair during weekends—if their limbs aren’t sore because of it, to say the least.

= = =

This Friday evening, they’re in Chaeyeon's apartment. Her bed is starting to reek of sex. Their mixed sweat and juices long splattered across the bed sheets, with their breathing bouncing across the room. Both their stamina and fuel to keep going have been drained, although their requited satisfaction is off the charts. Neither of them may be able to top their performance this week in the next few days. Although they have had wilder times, tonight’s one of their most passionate ones so far, but that doesn’t come as a surprise.

They suddenly hear a ringtone at the door, followed by a click, since they never closed the bedroom door. Honggi gets up from the bed, freezing on alert, but Chaeyeon’s lips only curve upwards with anticipation. Based on her face, he understands just who the person from the other side is. The only other resident of this astonishing abode. A tall woman in a grey blazer and black slacks.

“Jagiya," Chaeyeon, now in her blue robe, exits the bedroom with her usual sweet tone as she walks up to her girlfriend at the foyer. “You’re home!”

“Hi, unnie,” Jiwoo’s smile reciprocates her girlfriend’s, although the tone of her voice is a little weaker. “You may wanna get a hold of yourself a little longer. Imma shower for a bit. The train tonight was more crowded than usual.”

“I don’t care how smelly you are now,” she retorts, proving her words with a kiss to Jiwoo’s left cheek. “Plus, I don’t think our scents are that different now, hmm..?”

The woman smirks, slowly trailing her fingers up the collar of Chaeyeon’s robe to take a peek of her bare body. “If that’s the case, then why don’t you join me in the shower?”

“I much as I would love that,” she tells her, giving her another peck on her right cheek. “I think you should go ahead first, babe.”

“Oh, right,” her mouth slightly gapes, realizing what she meant. “Mianhae. We have a guest, after all. I didn’t even notice.”

“Don’t apologize,” Chaeyeon holds her hands. “You’re looking a little tired, Juju-yah. Better get some rest first, arachi?”

Honggi exits the room, now wearing his shirt and boxers. Sitting on the couch with his phone, he watches them kiss and embrace with passion. Even he can tell the warmth of their years of care and love for each other, acknowledging well that this pair predates whatever he and she has. Sure, he may come off as a third wheel, but it’s not the first time he’s entered this awkward situation whenever he’s with both of them.

Tossing her messenger bag on the couch, she slouches on the furniture herself to take a breather, the tall woman takes a look at the man with a polite smile yet insouciant eyes, Jiwoo makes a little effort by raising her right hand to wave at him once she has turned on the television. “Hey, Honggi-ssi.”

Honggi bows his head with a sheepish smile. “Hey, Jiwoo-ssi. How’s your day?”

“Oh, you know. Business as usual,” she pouts. “The studio was less occupied tonight… But, surprisingly enough, the bakery had more customers than usual. We even had to delay its closure by thirty minutes… How’s yours?”

For hours, he had almost forgotten. This is far from an ordinary relationship. A lot of couples have become more open-minded, mostly for the better, yet not every couple is open like Chaeyeon and Jiwoo. He recalls their third date, when she came clean about the thrilling and intriguing nature of his lover’s relationship with someone else.

= = =

Back to six months ago, right after the heat of the moment. It was their eighth kiss at the garden, located outside the restaurant they just dined at. It was a romantic memory for both of them, butterflies and all that. For Chaeyeon, it felt like she entered the Garden of Eden every time they locked lips, or felt each other’s tongue trying to slide in. However, as soon as their eyes meet again, she pulls the elephant back inside their room almost immediately to remind him of her pressing concern, at least for his sake.

“That was, wow... But, um, you clearly weren't paying attention to what I just told you, oppa, which, by the way, I've told you about seven times on separate occasions, yet it’s always like that’s no big deal to you.”

Even though it was her plan to come clean since their first date, Honggi’s reaction has somewhat bothered her often. He seems too chill about it, she described his behavior. She confessed to having a girlfriend during their second date, but he only took it well. Way too well. That’s why she keeps pressing him about her revelation whenever they spend time outside of work.

“That just means that I’ve listened to you loud and clear, Chaeyeon-ah,” he comforted her with a gentle caress to her cheek, making Chaeyeon look down out of meekness. Even if kissing or simply touching her should have felt like taking a lot of bites of the forbidden fruit, Honggi’s heart and mind are willing to submit to such a sweet sensation.

But, with his accepting words, she realized something. Just like how he waited for her and comforted her until she opened up, maybe she proved herself that she’d be just as willing to do the same for Honggi, if she wants to make him stay and make things work with the man she has fallen for.

“I don't care if you have a girlfriend, another boyfriend, or another lover,” he continued. “I don't mind if that's just how you live and love. I mean… If you do feel the same way for me—I don’t know, maybe that's enough for us, don’t you think? And it’s not like you’re cheating on your girlfriend, is it?”

“Of course, not,” she looked back at him. “I meant what I said. Jiwoo and I have been ‘open’ for a while now, and it’s been going well for both of us. For the most part.”

“For the most part?” he repeated, raising his eyebrow in confusion.

“We can’t always be lucky,” she shrugged. “But my point is, my girlfriend and I tell each other whoever we’re interested in… So you shouldn’t be worried about that, Honggi.”

“Well, I think any other person who could’ve been with you now, would’ve been lucky,” he contemplated. “I just happened to be that man this time.”

“Are you just saying that so you can finally get in my pants?” she cooed.

“Definitely not,” he inched away and crossed his arms, wanting to appear classier to her. “Unless you want that, I’m a patient man.”

She chuckled, shaking her head. “What a gentleman you are.”

“I’m serious… I like what we have now, Chaeyeon-ah.” His speech reverted back to a serious one. “But if you don't want me to be in your life a little more often, then I can understand that. We can stay friends, if you’d like it—”

She put her index finger on his lips. He sees her alluring smile slowly forming.

“Of course, I'm serious too. It’s our third date, silly,” she took another step closer, triggering a sudden gulp in his throat. “You have no idea how much I want you, Honggi-yah.”

They rented a motel room, agreeing not to introduce each other’s places just yet. “It’s still a bit too messy,” Honggi defended his reasoning, though Chaeyeon’s reason was, “Jiwoo-yah will be surprised to see me taking someone home while she’s around and besides… I'm all yours tonight.”

Despite their previous dates becoming more and more intimate, they haven’t done anything beyond second base because of Chaeyeon’s hesitation. About how Honggi would react once she tells him about their open relationship, or finds that out from  some of the blabbermouths at work. Thankfully, she had chosen the former route.

As soon as they arrived inside their motel room, Chaeyeon hungrily jumped on Honggi, whom he caught with lustful enthusiasm. As they made out unrestrained, their tongues danced in harmony, tasting each other without delay while he held on to her hips and waist, as his fingers explored her curves with curiosity. The pair might have enjoyed each other’s mouth more than the expensive meals they had that night.

His right hand finds its way on her bottom, giving her right cheek a slow squeeze, which broke their kiss with a moan from the woman. He’s found more of her sensitive zones.

About ten minutes had passed of exploring each other's mouth and the curve of their body, and they slowed down and took off each other’s attire. From the bottom to top, Honggi slowly unbuttoned her sleeve, digging in his lips down her neck the more her skin was exposed, licking and tasting the woman as if she's producing nectar. “Hnghh…”

Condoms were located inside the nightstand. Thank God for love motels, Honggi sighed, but, as Chaeyeon unbuttons his pants, a thought still bothered him. And it bothered him if he didn’t tell her the truth about this information sooner.

“I… haven’t done this in a while,” the man stutters, instinctively scratching his head.

“It’s okay…. Let me,” she whispers. She unlocks her blue bra with an alluring smirk, revealing her voluminous breasts to her partner. Honggi becomes stunned, like a stun grenade was just dropped in front of his eyes, a pair that blinds him with lust and thirst.

The man looks at her with a veil of caution, suppressing his true excitement. “May I?”

She nodded, and he leaped in for the attack, nibbling and sucking her bosom. “Oh, fuck.” While Chaeyeon can only hum and whimper as Honggi pleasured her with his mouth. Despite her eyes closing in bliss, her hand creeped all the way down his erect crotch, but that didn't stop him from savoring each of her plump rack like it’s dessert. “Yes, that's it… You know your thing, baby,” she purred with her eyes closed.

But Honggi stopped for a second. A bulb lit up in his head. No need to rush this.

“Let me take the lead, if you don't mind,” he tells her. She nods, before he latches his lips onto hers. His left hand stays firm on her breast, massaging them with circular motions, with his right hand being deployed down her clit. Testing the waters, he puts one finger in her, suddenly triggering a whimper of surprise from her. The second finger followed inside, igniting the moan that he couldn’t get enough of. If that wasn’t enough for her, he deploys the third finger to do another trick. His right thumb latched beside the clit, making a limited up and down motion. “God… You devious son of a… gun!”

After giving her a deeper kiss, his lips trailed down her neck, collarbone, chest once again, curves, and belly button. He bowed on one knee until his gaze reached the level of his destination, her nether regions, in between her thick thighs. As Honggi start to eat Chaeyeon out, she couldn’t stop moaning while her hands kept fighting on whether to grip Honggi’s wavy hair or the cover of the mattress.

He stopped, giving Chaeyeon a sense of disappointment. He looked up to her. “Mianhae, but I just wanna say… Go ahead, Chae, pull my hair.”

The woman exhaled a smile, speechless and astonished by his openness to her much rougher habits.

After giving his permission to his lover, he went through his techniques, blowing into it with his warm breath before slowly licking her inner thighs to amplify her anticipation. With his tongue, he starts circling her clit from side to side, up and down, repeating the process through different variations. Each lick and swirl triggers a different note from the woman’s voice, increasing the intensity of her moans from minute to minute. Her right hand latched on to his hair.

“Oh, fuck, oh, fuck, fuck!” she cried out in glee. The rush of feeling his mouth savoring her cunt only made her curse louder, not wanting for this sensation to stop, even if her juices begin to leak. Minutes went by as she howled in his efforts with little intervals of silence, and she could feel herself reaching her maximum capacity. Like a cup overflowing with liquid. “Baby, fuck! I'm getting close… I can't hold it—”

She looked up to the heavens and reached her orgasm, splashing her milky fluids on his face. And unsurprisingly, it would be far from the last on this night. Chaeyeon caught her breath, and opened her eyes to find Honggi’s creamed face. Realizing what she's done, she apologized to him. However, he licked whatever was left on his hand, much to her surprise, yet Chaeyeon didn’t have him to have the fun all by himself. She cupped his face and pulled him closer, sticking her tongue out and licking her own juice, starting down his chin up to his left cheek. “Holy,” Honggi could only mutter in awe, before she pulled him for a kiss. Moments have passed, the main show has now arrived. With the condom completely wrapped around his member, they both lie down on the bed.

Now, it’s her turn to make an effort to please Honggi, sitting on his lap with her legs wrapped around his waist. Fueled by excitement, she aligned her entrance with his shaft, while Honggi exhaled with anticipation at her initiative.

Clearing her throat at the sight of it, she inched her body until his tip faced her entrance. Oh, I'm not sure if I can handle this, she thinks at the spectacle of his own cock. It might not be the longest she has seen, but his girth made her speechless. Her reaction was split between intimidation and appetite. However, while Chaeyeon salivated at his cock with her stare, it was Honggi who continued the formalities amidst her hesitation. “Can I?”

“Do the honors,” she husked. Honggi received her blessing. With a deep breath, his manhood entered inside her slit. Chaeyeon felt hair stand up all over her body, yet she maintained her own composure while her hole welcomed his lover’s key. He slowly pushed his penis, deeper and deeper within.

Despite submitting to the woman's lead, his rod finally found more of her pleasurable zones inside her womb, the longer he inched himself more forward within Chaeyeon’s tightening embrace, who squealed right next to his ear just as his yonic expedition had reached the end.

“I never expected it to happen like this,” he confessed while easing on his grinding.

“Me… ngggnnneither.” Savoring his shaft, she leaned in and peppered a few kisses on his forehead, an action that made him chuckle. “But I'm glad… that it's like thisss.”

In search of something familiar and comforting in this intense session, their eyes ended up crossing paths again. Lust and love clashed through their body and mind, but Honggi feels conflicted about whether he should praise or eroticize her, in all of her naked glory. “You’re so cute. So hardworking. So smart… So fucking beautiful, Chaeyeon. You're so…” Regardless, he couldn't help but do both in such a crazed and stimulating moment. “Fuck!”

“What?” a grin crept on her face. His unorganized words were music to her ears, but she wanted more. “Go on, baby. Come on, say it to me.”

He found a new side of this woman. And she was right, about what she told him during their first date.

“You’ve imagined me naked before, haven’t you?”

Caught by her question, Honggi thought of those moments. He's only a man, after all. Even before they became more intimate, he had instances of finding her attractive. For starters, her face. To him, Chaeyeon is what they would call a visual. He once asked why she didn't become an idol or model for a living, though she shrugged him off. Her two memorable hairstyles. Her butt when she dropped her folder on the floor one time. Her cleavage, during their dates. Even her mannerisms often make him feel things. But even then, he would stop himself from entertaining any other thoughts. Now that their story is different, he only groaned with pleasure, coordinating his movement with her grinding. She tilted her head at his lack of words, sensing that he's become distracted by his thoughts while his body’s on autopilot. “Hmm… You’re not answering, baby.”

“It’s different… Feeling you is much more different,” he admitted his thoughts.

“How different?” She encouraged him, surprised he even remembered those same words from months back.

“You’re so…” his thrusts hardened. “Fucking hot. Hotter than I could… Imagine!”

She bit her lower lip. “Atta…boy.”

Their rhythm reaches synchronicity. He says his praises along with his powered plunges. The woman created a graceful and dynamic symphony with her moans, holding onto his back with eagerness, burying her fingernails on his trapezius whenever he reached more spots to stimulate as his cock moved in and out inside her.

She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but Chaeyeon hasn't felt pleasure like this in years. Sure, she might have a girlfriend before him, but there's just something different with this sensation. Not better or worse. Just new. And she doesn't want to let it go, let him go, especially at this moment. Yet unlike most of the folks she has dated and slept with, there's action and power to his words. Even at this pace, she wanted to test his attention.

“Slap my ass,” she rasped, clasping her hands around his back a little tighter to maintain her motion.

“Huh?” his rhythm slowed down as he leaned his ear closer.

“Do it, baby!” she whined, feeling her insides getting stretched. “Just slap my—”

Honggi did what he’s told. He raised his right palm and tapped her right butt cheek while it kept bouncing on, along with its other half.

She's not too impressed. She barely felt it. “Harder,” she purred. “Was that a tickle?”

A nerve was struck there. Even if she was doing it to get him worked up, his ego took it as not being good enough. Failing to satisfy her. Like with his own exes. Thus, he only pushed himself to prove her wrong. He slapped her butt again, now with double the speed. Some impact was felt, and it amused her. “Heh… You're… getting there.”

Goaded and aroused by her taunts, he cranked up his strength level and tripled his speed, raising his hand for the third time, now spreading his fingers apart, and smack! Honggi’s slap sent a surge of stimulation throughout the rest of her body—from her skin to her most sensitive spots—and he followed it up with four more slaps in similar levels.

“Oooooooooohh, fuck!” she howled with delight, feeling the reverb down her buttocks. Pleased by his own results, he celebrated by licking her neck and nibbling on her right nipple, forcing the woman to muffle her continuous moans with a lip bite. “Don’t stop that... hmm? It feels… too good.”

“You deserve everything good, Chae-yah,” he returned to praising her. “You deserve the fucking best!”

“Then do I deserve… This big cock inside me?” she wailed. “Do I, Honggi-yah?”

“You deserve it, mommy,” he moaned, giving his best and hardest to please her with his member through rougher thrusts. “This cock is made… just for you. And a lot more!”

Those words were the final straw in the stacks of sensation she's feeling. “I’m… close!”

His ego prompted him to say the same thing and lie to her, but even his thrilled and exhilarated body answered otherwise, insisting that he kept on pounding the woman with all his might. “Do it, Chae,” he cheered on, choosing to listen to his body to keep going, while his partner was already nearing her completion.

And as Chaeyeon hit a high and long note at the top of her lungs, Honggi felt the warm stream of juices burst out her vagina, even from the veil of the latex barrier protecting his rod. Still moving his own hips forward inside her womb, Honggi was more than happy that she reached her climax for a second time, even if his ego was already disappointed that he couldn’t do it at the same time as hers, since he himself was now close to releasing. Another skill issue, his own inner ego mocked him, but he was rarely bothered, knowing that he's next.

“Fill me up, baby!” she commanded. “It's… your… reward, for being so good in me.”

He knows what she means, even if he really can't literally do what she asked this time. Not tonight, anyways. He also moaned the moment he busted all his semen inside the condom, though his volume paled in comparison to the woman's. Feeling his cum to be taking a little longer to unload, he pulled his cock out of her. As both slowed down along with their breathing, such an experience put a smile of fulfillment on both their faces.

“Maybe next time,” he gasped, falling on the bed beside her.

“Mianhae, baby,” she caressed his left cheek with a pout. “It’s our first time, and you did so well… But, I didn't even ask if you were close.”

He cupped her face and leaned closer to kiss her lips, reassuring her. “Don't be, Peachy… I'm just happy I even managed to please you.”

She raised an eyebrow, but his words and action put a beam of appreciation on her face. “You got a nickname for me now?”

His flight-or-fight response activated, more on the former. “You don't like it?”

“I do. And it's nice,” she hummed. “It’s, umm, similar to what my girlfriend calls me.”

Chaeyeon's words suddenly sent an unexpected reaction down Honggi's member. Her eyes darted at his erection with lustful interest. “What the hell?” he murmured, rising from the bed in surprise. The woman followed his movement until they're both seated.

“I know you're a bit disappointed… for not finishing with me,” she teased. Her hands stroke his cock up and down, slowly lowering her head to its level, mirroring his actions earlier. “But I'll make it up to you, oppa… The night's still young, hmm?”

Staring at his now erect cock, she licked the remains of his cum off his tip clean, sending tingles through his spine. She proved her point. Honggi could only watch and groan at her determined display, before answering her with, “Well… It's your call, mommy.”

That night was the first, second, third, and fourth times they’ve had sex. In retrospect, the first one was definitely far from their best one—but so are most first times, though admittedly, it can be said that it was better than most, especially since they had a few more rounds that exceeded the last. All in one night, Honggi had his balls deep inside Chaeyeon several times, and she savored every second, minute, and hour of it—even if they used protection the whole night. For starters, they ended up doing more than one position. The missionary, lotus, cowgirl, and some of which are mixed variations of the previous ones, along with a few more.

Half an hour has passed. They sprawl next to each other on the memory foam mattress. Their eyes lock in the silence, sensing the satisfaction, endearment, and warmth in each other’s smile, gaze, and touch, respectively, while they gasp for breath—in a similar way one would after partaking in track and field, gymnastics, swimming, and weightlifting, perhaps combined with other sports, all at the same time.

They've finally reached the remaining bases of physical intimacy in their relationship. In fact, they’ve hit the homerun, as some call it. In the afterglow of their vehement rounds, both players felt like winners on each one in this game, which felt both competitive and a team play, which is what it actually is.

“You… told me… you haven't done this… in a…” Chaeyeon huffed and puffed, holding on to his shoulder. “While.”

“And you said you’ve only known… A few positions,” he fired back, caressing her hand. “What was… all that?”

“That was a few,” she exhaled with a smug grin. Her hand moved to his chest, giving his pecs a few tickles.

His tiring eyes and smile widened at such a remark, sensing a tingle down there. “Does that mean there’s more?”

“Hmm…” she squinted her eyes at him, her breathing slowly back to normal. “I never expected for you to be such a perv, oppa. You’re gonna need a little more discipline.”

“Bring it on,” he goaded her, aroused and intimated by her playful warning. He and his member readied up to what she had to offer.

Driven by their untameable lust, their next few rounds came right after that minute.

After that night, the man would enter Chaeyeon's life a lot more often. In ways more than one. From restaurant dates to traveling, their romantic and sexual adventures began. Honggi would sometimes wonder how their relationship would have worked, considering the fact that they’ve only been meeting three and half times a week but he eventually understood and adapted, both on his own and from Chaeyeon’s comforting words. Meanwhile, the other half of the schedule would be dedicated to her girlfriend.

Every week, he would spend more time with her on the last three days of the week, with Jiwoo being her priority in the first half. However, nothing is ever final, as they tend to switch on the next one or even overlap at times. That’s when Chaeyeon mediated their introduction as both of her lovers. It is a rare situation for someone to introduce their girlfriend to their new boyfriend and vice versa, but it happened to the three of them. They were properly introduced on a Saturday morning—their third month of dating.

For this significant occasion, they met at a cafe that was nearest to their apartment.

“Jiwoo-yah, this is Honggi,” Chaeyeon gestured with her hands. “Honggi-yah, this is Jiwoo.”

Awkwardness was inevitable but as Chaeyeon recalls it, it was one of the most awkward she has ever felt from them, even reconsidering whether it was a good idea to introduce them in the first place, since their schedules were working with little to no problem. But she was impressed that he still pushed through with it like a champ, just like Jiwoo did.

Honggi finally met Chaeyeon’s woman for the first time since college. “Oh, it really is you…” Recognizing her at first glance, he straightened his posture and bowed to her. His cup of coffee remains untouched. “Annyeonghaseyo, Jiwoo-ssi.”

“Told you he’d recognize me,” she murmured next to her girlfriend. Jiwoo bowed to him seconds later, before taking a sip of her iced tea through the flexible silicone straw.

“That’s great!” Yet Chaeyeon still perseveres. As stubborn as she may seem, she wants this to work out. The man she has fallen for has been nothing but great to her, and she wants her beloved to see that in some capacity. “I hope you two will get along together, because we will be seeing each other more often. I know we have our own schedules on meeting each other, but since you two agreed with me on this...”

= = =

After ten minutes of small talk with the other woman in the living room, he returns back to his girlfriend’s room. His doubts and self-inadequacy mandates him to dress up in his outerwear and call it a night. Although he likes their company, he doesn't know what else to do.

But just as Honggi is facing the present with a few hints of doubt, he takes a deep sigh. Chaeyeon has read his mind and places her right hand on his cheek. “Look, oppa... I'm not asking you to simply shag her or whatever," she tells him casually. “She can do that with whoever she likes. She's a strong, independent woman.”

“I know she is,” her words throw him off guard. This is indeed a new territory for him, but he still went on because he knew he liked this woman in front of him. “But I'm not even considering that—And I don't.”

“Sure,” she laughs at his defensive reaction. “But you gotta admit, she’s gorgeous.”

Honggi takes a glance at Jiwoo from the dining table, laughing loudly and unabashedly at whatever she’s watching on her phone, something that contrasts his first impression of her. That’s one trait of hers that he hasn’t forgotten since all three of them started to hang out in this apartment. “She really is.”

“See?” her voice raises with enthusiasm. “Babe, you do find her attractive!”

“That was a test?” he scoffs in disbelief. “I mean that, from an objective standpoint.”

“Maybe, I'm just kidding.” She tilts her head to the side. “Maybe I’m not. We’ll see.”

“Yah…” he lowers his voice. “You’re scaring me for a bit.”

“Babe, loosen up a bit…” she tries to woo him with her kittenish voice. “Jiwoo doesn’t really hate you or anything. Far from it. It's okay for both of you to take things slow... Slower than we have, if you must.”

He can only ponder about his own decision while he listens to Chaeyeon, knowing well that she is still saying her piece. She's worth it, he realizes.

“But the truth is, she hasn’t seen anyone in a while,” she elaborates. “Her last ex didn’t bother calling her again because I said no to having a foursome with one of his friends. Pigs, that’s what they were.”

Immersed and touched by their experience, Honggi halts any considerations of leaving. With whatever they have now, he doesn't want to mess everything up, especially when she, nay, they need him around. “He didn't respect you enough, Chae. Both of you... That was his loss.”

“Thank you, babe,” she reaches both his cold hands, warming it up with her touch. “And with what I said about Jiwoo…”

“It's okay. Whatever happens, I promise I’m not gonna be like that asshat,” he assures her. “Or any other asshats you’ve dealt with in the past… Just because we're both your lovers, that doesn't mean we have to be selfish.”

“I know you won't,” her body sways with elation, charmingly swinging her arms with his. “But I also know you've been eyeing her for a while now. This is nothing new for us.”

“I…uhh… What do you mean? I thought we’ve gone through this.” He has nothing else to retort. His inner demon arises due to her teases, while he recalls the moments she might have brought back to him. Moments where he found something in common with Jiwoo.

And with that, he realizes: that's the thing about dating someone who's already in a committed relationship. It's not always easy. Even monogamous ones aren’t either.

From his eyes, Jiwoo isn't too fond of him being around when the three of them are together, even if their girlfriend doesn’t even want him to leave the apartment until he really has to go. At times, he may even be jealous of Jiwoo too, even if he doesn’t admit it to her. Maybe he’s just insecure, or that he is also falling for her. But he knows that’s not his right. Plus, he also suggested going through this complex relationship to begin with and even now, he doesn’t want to give up on her. On them. He’ll do whatever it takes.

“And besides,” she leans right in his left ear. “It's not the first time we've shared someone... I’m sure you’ve considered that.”

They hear Jiwoo slightly raising her voice from the living room. Having finished her quick shower, she’s now in a casual get-up: an oversized pink T-shirt and cargo pants. “Unnie, I’m heading out for a bit. Just gonna buy some groceries at the CVS. Is there anything you both need?”

“Wait here for a minute,” Chaeyeon advises Honggi—which he nods without any look of complaint—before heading to her girlfriend. “What’s the rush, Juju? Can’t we just order them online, like we used to?”

“I can, but… I wanna go outside,” she doubles down on her decision. “It’s more efficient that way, since we’re gonna be cooking dinner tonight.”

“It’s not about Honggi, is it?” she murmurs, even showing her puppy eyes at her.

She shakes her head. “No, no, unnie. I thought we'd talked about this. I like Honggi-ssi as your boyfriend. He’s probably the best one you’ve had since… Forever, actually.”

Chaeyeon inches closer, lovingly kissing her girlfriend. “You really think that, babe?”

“Of course. It’s been six months with no red flags, hasn’t it? Not to mention the fact that you were friends for a year before hitting it off. Besides, it’s my excuse to get some fresh air,” Jiwoo whispers to her beloved with a tempting smirk. “You two have fun, because time’s ticking, unnie.”

Meanwhile, Chaeyeon’s reminder triggers two opposing effects in Honggi, arousal down there and insecurity up in his ego. He knows that relationships don't always stay “lovey dovey” or remain in its honeymoon phase, especially with something like theirs. Way before Chaeyeon, he has never been the best at keeping his relationships very long, but considering the fact that they’re already six months strong, Honggi may as well keep on savoring this special and fascinating situation, even if Chaeyeon may not feel the same level as he does in his heart. He'll do it for her. He'll befriend Jiwoo and respect her in the same way he treats their girlfriend, perhaps just platonically… Only time will tell.

Chaeyeon returns inside the room, meeting Honggi with a more optimistic expression. “You look cheerful. Is there anything I should know?”

“I actually have thought about what you said, Chae,” he avows, slowly taking her hand. “I'll try and get to know Jiwoo. I’ll make a little more effort to say the least.”

“Thank you…” she pecks him on his cheek. “You won't regret it, oppa.”

Their lips touch. A little longer and a lot more tender this time. As they part steadily, Chaeyeon’s eyes hunger at the sight of his erect cock, and she wants to return the favor to his body’s involuntary action. “Oh, hello... Wanna go another round, baby?" she coos, untying the strings of her bathrobe, revealing her naked curves as it falls to the floor.

Honggi grins and attacks her lips, initiating another steamy makeout session. She takes off his shirt while he strips off his boxers, before walking each other on the bed. As he slowly lays her down, the hunger in their eyes match. He's on top this round, slowly inserting his cock inside her shaven cunt once more while she wraps her arms around his neck and her legs on his. Even though he’s feeling her walls tighten around his member a little stronger than before, he persists, maintaining a gentle yet fast pace, igniting a whimper of euphoria from Chaeyeon. An instance of déjà vu that always sends her to a higher plane of pleasure with his touches.

He leans down to peck his lover’s lips. “What level would you like from me, mommy?” he whispers in her right ear. More than half of his length is already inside her womb.

“Go all in, baby,” she pleads, instead of teasing and taunting him like she usually does.

Receiving the green light from her, the man begins his thrusts, inserting his final inches inside Chaeyeon. Accelerating in its speed with every second, motivated by the mindset of pleasing his woman more than himself. As he keeps pounding his girlfriend, she ups the ante by reaching to his chest and licking the sweat off his pecs and neck while her erroneous regions feel more than satisfied by the invasion of his throbbing member.

Watching her breasts bounce once again never fails to keep his cock alive, but nothing beats the act he’s about to do. He leans down once again, kissing her for the hundredth time. She reciprocates, doing the trick that always gets him up and going. Only this time, she lets him do it. As his tongue reaches inside her mouth, Honggi demonstrates his dominance by slowly creating circular motions, swaying her tongue in a sticky dance until a louder moan of submission can be heard from her.

Their lips part, though the trail of saliva breaks while his pounding of her continues. He looks at his beloved, feeling his increased heart rate. She opens her eyes a little wider; a smile forms on her face while feeling the surface beneath her tremble with their grinds.

“Daddy,” leaves her mouth, much to his surprise. “Mommy… is loving you inside her so… Much!”

This may be the first time he's heard that name from her, motivating him to amp up his pumps, regardless of his arms and legs getting sore. Her praise makes him flex his core muscles the longer he’s on top of her, realizing that this position was a plank exercise. A better experience than his usual reps, that is. “I’m glad… I'll do even better… Next time… Mommy!”

“You’re already… doing great… Thank you,” she applauded him, feeling his tip rub her cervix over and over again. “Just keep… doing that… next time. Dom… Dominate momma, please!”

“Ne,” he still submits, nodding rapidly with the rhythm of his hips.

Even while getting pounded, an inflamed idea pops in her mind. “Imagine if… Jiwoo gets to be here with us, oppa,” she sticks her tongue out. “How crazy is that, right? You, inside her… Just like you, inside me now. How… you’d do… us. On this same bed—”

“Whaa..? Hnnnggghh!” They both yelp at his persistent knob slightly growing inside her chambers. Closing his eyes, a part of his mind tries to stop himself from imagining what she stated, but his lust has beaten him to it. “Do you… Mean?”

“You… Know what I… mean,” she purrs, leaving kisses and nibbles on his left shoulder along the way to mutually stimulate her partner. “Clearly… your junior… does.” With it, she spread her legs wider, inciting a “Fuck!” from her while getting railed.

There’s no point in denying to Chaeyeon now, so Honggi simply keeps his mouth shut, giving his main focus on pleasuring her. They would continue grinding on for several more minutes, exchanging each other's moans, groans, teases, and quips like primitives who have only learned modern-day language through the act of sex, that is, until they eventually reach past their limit. Beyond what their bodies can handle on this bed.

“Imma… Gonna…” he grunts, hoping that she would get his unintelligible message.

“Me… tooooo!” she only rasps in agreement. “You.. know… where… to… do it!”

For the second time, Honggi has filled Chaeyeon up to the brim with his warm seed. They’ve reached a state beyond the garden, beyond cloud nine. One as ethereal as the heavens or as perverted as hell. The position reminds them with a reminder: simple is sometimes, if not a lot of times, better. Despite the out-of-world orgasms they just felt, they're brought back to their senses seconds later, in each other's arms. The last ounce of their juices continue leaking on the mattress pad. Should've put a protector in there, Chaeyeon ponders while she laughs by herself. She just had it washed six days ago, after three months of using it. A lesson is learned. She'll just have to keep in her urges a little longer next time they even plan on using the bed in the weeks to come.

Still, she doesn't regret doing it here, especially with the man that’s been making her heart flutter and her nethers tingle twenty-four-seven. Catching their breath for about the nth time, they’ve now agreed to stop for tonight.

“I–uuhh… I… Wanna…” she pants, unable to form her words during her state of awe, still recovering from a breathtaking last orgasm, seconds ago. “Babe… I wanna say…”

“I love… you,” Honggi mumbles. As he thought before, even if she doesn’t feel the same way. It’s better that he lets her know now. Wherever this will lead into. “I know that’s… too soon to say that, but—”

She shuts him up with a kiss, holding back a smile as their lips collided, cherishing this milestone in their relationship. As they part, she follows up two tender pecks, showing her reciprocation. “Dummy, you took my line… I love you too, Honggi-yah.”

His deepest self-doubts have just been proven wrong right there. Perhaps hers were too. Everything becomes clearer, as their heartbeat grows louder, singing in the same range. She gently strokes his hair, reminding him that they both have little left to worry about. Even if it'll be far from the last of his problems, he won't be alone to face a lot of them.

“I’m home!” Jiwoo exclaims from the living room. She walks to the kitchen and places her stacked bag of groceries on the counter. The portion of ingredients she has bought appears to be more than enough to feed them tonight. “Again, I mean,” she murmurs.

“We’ll be out in a moment!” Chaeyeon howls back, dressing up in her clothes alongside Honggi. They can't help but exchange smiles and giggles, hurrying their movement before Jiwoo’s patience can run out. “Don’t you dare start cooking without us!”

“Not a chance! I'm gonna need all the help I can get from you two. Otherwise, you’ll both be eating outside.”

= = =

hello again! if you've reached this ending, then I'll only say that this only the first part to this miniseries. on another note, I will create my masterlist soon, which I will be updating whenever a new work is out. thanks for the read and follow. have a wonderful day!

[matsookawa]

Title: Graceless

Pairing: Dracule Mihawk x fem!reader

Summary: The great warlord stumbling over himself in the presence of a wine shop owner while his two housemates make it worse.

Word count: 1,604

Note: This was requested as a "short story". I clearly do not acknowledge the word "short" in any way.

The single lightbulb flickering above the mirror is beginning to irritate Dracule Mihawk. He stands above the sink, calloused hands gripping the sides, while he scrutinizes every one of his features. He double checks his hat is straightened, his long open coat sitting just right on his broad shoulders, and that his beard was groomed better than usual that morning. He adjusts Yoru, takes a step back, and moves the feather on his hat one inch to the left. He knows Zoro and Perona are impatiently waiting outside the front doors for him to join them, however he can’t bring himself to care. He has to look absolutely impeccable or this will all be for nothing.

It's ten minutes when he finally steps out of the bar, his protégé and their ghostlike counterpart following behind him until they come upon a shop next door, the storefront colored tastefully with gold and black. He takes a particularly deep breath and he can almost hear Perona beginning to smile behind him. ‘Why on Earth did I bring them?’ This is something he would much rather do alone, but alas, he couldn’t trust them not to burn down the estate in his absence. As he ascends the two steps, he considers abandoning them on this island. Once the door is open, he’s immediately welcomed with the scent of wood and herbs. If you asked him, he would say it’s his favorite smell in the world, right after a certain someone’s perfume. ‘Speaking of which’, he thinks. The wooden floors beneath him groan as he moves toward the counter to tap a call bell resting on top. Bottles behind him clink and he knows his companions have begun choosing what they’re going to bring home.

Just as every other time prior, he’s rendered speechless upon sight of her when she appears from the back. The woman, magnificent to behold and perfect in every way, smiles and his hands twitch with the desire to grab her by the shoulders and kiss her until she can no longer breathe. She hasn’t changed since the day he met her and he hopes she feels the same way about him. He’s always been very partial to that day in particular.

It was two years ago when he was stopping for supplies. He decided he should replenish their wine cellar, but none of the larger stores had his favorites in stock (truly a curse for a connoisseur such as himself). After speaking with a few locals, he was directed to a small shop on the outskirts of town. As soon as he entered and saw the selection, he knew he was home. Soon after, the most gorgeous woman showed him to a shelf of wines that were so rare, he had only ever heard rumors and not seen them. After giving her expertise and allowing him samples, he walked out of there buzzed and with plans to visit at least once a month. To this day, he believes that was an ascension into Heaven.

“And where have you three been? I’ve waited day in and day out for my favorite customers and for what? Two months of absolutely nothing?” Perona is the one to answer and an irrational part of Mihawk is angry he didn’t get to speak to her first. “Sorry, [Y/N]. We’ve been training non-stop for the past couple of weeks and haven’t been able to make it out here. We probably still wouldn’t have made it if our entire cellar didn’t run out of wine. Mr. Grumpy here has been sulking for days. We’re beginning to think he has an alcohol problem.”

He wants to kill Perona over and over again.

“Well, you’re in the right place for it then.” [Y/N] responds. Her gaze returns to the group’s leader (the group’s father, more like). She speaks in a low tone and Mihawk believes it is an attempt to spare any teasing from his companions. “For what it’s worth, I do wish you would come more often. I’ve missed watching you swing Yoru around on the shore.” Mihawk swears his heart palpitates for a moment. He longs to rip it straight out of his chest and hand it to her while frantically screaming “I want to spend every lifetime with you!” Unfortunately, no one will ever catch the warlord acting so out of character. “Thank you for your kind words. We have missed you as well.” Perona snickers and Mihawk quickly says, “Your wine, I might clarify. We have missed your wine.” [Y/N] giggles and it’s a sound Mihawk sears into his memory for the lonely days ahead of him. “I must say I’m disappointed it’s only my wine you miss.” She claps her hands together as his throat goes dry. “Alright then!” [Y/N] says loudly. “Let me show you what’s new!”

The two meander the aisles for an hour until they stand once more at the counter. [Y/N] is telling a story about a disgruntled customer from last week. “And then, do you know what he said to me? And I know you would have absolutely killed him, Mihawk. He said to me, ‘Well, don’t you think you’re on a bit too high of a horse to be such a bitch about liquor?’ As if I haven’t spent the last decade gathering the rarest and highest quality wines!” She’s correct. He would have indeed taken that man’s life. How dare someone speak to any woman, much less this one, like that? “Not everyone can appreciate the finer things in this life such as ourselves.” [Y/N] smiles and leans forward, resting her elbows on the countertop. “That’s why I’ve always been fond of you, Mihawk. You always hold your head high no matter what anyone says about you.”

The only thing he heard was “I’ve always been fond of you.”

And so it seems did Perona and Zoro. He feels a breeze as they rush to flank him on either side. “Say, [Y/N].” Perona starts. “What do you think about coming for dinner sometime? We’d love to have you.” Mihawk’s eye minutely twitches. “Yeah,” Zoro chimes in with a smirk. “I’m sure Mihawk wouldn’t mind. Quite the opposite actually. We’ve seen him writing a lot lately. Perona found a notebook where he talked about this beautiful woman who unknowingly has his entire heart. Not to mention how he yearns for her at night when-” The warlord raises his foot and slams it onto Zoro’s as hard as he possibly can. The younger man yells a “Hey!”. It makes [Y/N] laugh and Mihawk swears there has never been a sweeter sound. “Forgive him, [Y/N]. He’s been delirious the past couple of weeks because of illness. He does not know what he’s talking about.” The words are hurried and red creeps into his cheeks.

[Y/N]’s smile falters just a bit. “Oh, if you don’t want me to come, that’s okay. I-“ “No!” Perona and Zoro stare wide-eyed at his unusual outburst. His resolve is crumbling. “Of course we would love to have you for dinner. I- We don’t want to impose, is all. I know you mentioned not having a ship of your own.” [Y/N] tries to hide her smile by pressing her lips together. A beat passes. “Not to say that is an issue. Of course we could come get you, but then your shop would be closed for at least a day, you would lose income, and it could be foreclosed-“ “Mihawk.” [Y/N] places her hand on top of one of his that’s resting on the counter. “I would love to come, if you’d have me.”

The world stops. Perona and Zoro no longer exist and it is just he and [Y/N] holding each other’s hand. A blush explodes across his neck and he stares open-mouthed at her. She holds a soft smile and his skin burns where hers is touching. He can’t bring himself to speak so she does. “Do you have availability this weekend?” The man nods. “Good.” [Y/N] releases his hand and Mihawk wants to cry out for it like a child. “I’ll be at the docks at six.” He’s able to pick up enough scraps of his dignity to recollect himself in front of her. “We will see you then. Today has been a pleasure.”

The bell above the door chimes as Zoro and Perona exit. [Y/N] walks Mihawk to the door and they pause before it. “I meant it when I said you’re my favorite customers.” Now that they’re completely alone, he allows his lips to pull into a small, embarrassed smile. “I must admit, we have grown very fond of you as well.” He turns and opens the door. He begins his descent down the two steps. “Then do me a favor and lose the kids this weekend.” His body halts immediately. “I beg your pardon?” He turns to her while she stands in the doorway, his brows furrowed in silent question. “You heard me. Come on, Mihawk. All this talk of fondness, not to mention the only women you’re close to are Perona and me, so you journal entry could only be about me.” Mihawk’s mouth falls open and for the first time in his life, he begins stuttering.

“Besides,” she teases with a grin. “You’ve been here for the past hour and forgot to buy anything.”

Mihawk goes pale.

“Safe travels!” She shuts the door and he watches her figure disappear into the back of her shop. He hears cackling from behind him and as much as he wants to punish Zoro and Perona for it, he can’t bring himself to.

The only thing filling his head are wedding plans.

Note: Admittedly, I'm not super proud of the end result, but I thoroughly enjoyed writing it. It was hard to fight my personal headcanon that Mihawk wouldn't outwardly show his nervousness, but I now think it's a very humanizing trait for him to do so.

[555aturn]

Whispers of Zaun⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

chapter one

summary- As the apothecary navigates another day in Zaun, tending to customers, reminiscing about lost loved ones, and adopting a stray black cat named Hex, she finds solace in the quiet routines of her shop. But when a bloodied Sevika appears at her doorstep in the dead of night, it marks the beginning of an unexpected entanglement-one that neither of them is prepared for.

warnings- talks about death, injuries, and blood (nothing too graphic i promise my sweets) SLOW BURN

minors do not enter!!!

word count- 2.1k

The shop was always quiet on Thursdays. Only a couple of customers trickle in and maybe one or two women hoping to escape the evil men that remain in their lives. I was putting away my tarot cards when the bell rang at the entrance of my shop, indicating someone had come in. I sigh and walk towards the front, walking through the beaded curtain that separates me from my home and my business. 

It was Ran, one of Silco’s henchmen. Ran is actually one of the few people from Silco’s squad I tolerate; they're always very nice and have great manners… unlike the rest of the bunch.

“Ran! Darling, what do I owe the pleasure?” I stood behind the wooden countertop. “Ah well, I wish it was just to chat, but Silco said he wants a few potions.” Ran said while messing with their jagged black hair. 

“Hm, of course… duty calls. What does he need?” I asked. Ran handed over a thin brown paper with a lengthy list of things he wanted. I sighed.

“Well honey, would you like some tea while you wait? A new shipment of lavender came in.” 

Ran nodded, and I smiled, opening a fresh pack of lavender. As I handed Ran the steaming mug I took the list from my pocket and got to work. 

The familiar motions of measuring herbs and bottling mixtures usually kept my mind steady, but today, my thoughts drifted.

Maybe it was the scent of lavender—Vander always said it reminded him of simpler times. Or maybe it was just the weight of Zaun pressing in, the way it always did when things got too quiet.

It has been about a year since Vander died and Silco officially ran the lanes. It was tragic, Vander’s passing, and he gave the people of Zaun hope. I haven’t been to The Last Drop since he died. The memory of him still haunts me; but, I can’t hear his laugh anymore, and I’m starting to forget what color eyes he had. Vander and his kids used come to my shop, and we’d catch up. Vander was older than me by almost ten years, but he helped me get up on my feet when my dad died. My dad was all I had, and Vander reminded me of him. 

Powder and Vi once knocked over a whole shelf of edible glitter dust, and it was the best day ever. I closed early, and we spent the day cleaning up. A tear slid down my cheek at the memory. I hear rumors that Vi and Powder are dead or that they fled Zaun together but something always washes over me whenever I think about the two young girls. Like a warm sheet, it cocoons by body almost like Janna wants me to know they are alive. I hope it’s true.

“Alright, so I’ve got everything Silco asked for. I packaged the peppermint, lavender, and chamomile in separate bags, and the blood harrow philtre is this glass bottle. You must be careful with this vial, Ran; it is a venomous liquid, understand?” Ran nodded, and I handed over the items to them. 

“That will be 7 valors, please.” Ran handed me the paper notes and waved me goodbye. 

I sighed as I sat on my burgundy sofa that’s placed to the left of my wooden counter. All that thinking back on the past made me want to smoke a cigarillo. That is one nasty habit I picked up after Vander’s death. I reached into my skirt pocket for my lighter and then into the drawer of the table adjacent to the sofa. 

I took a long drag and leaned back, my right arm finding solace on the back of my sofa while the other was occupied with holding my cigarillo. I have grown to love the bitter taste of the tobacco that lingers in the back of my throat for the rest of the day. 

Three more customers in need of my services came by the shop, now it’s closing time. 

It is unfortunate with Silco roaming around and him having me in his clutches, but, with me being one of his ‘allies’—that is what he called it. I had some special advantages as well. He set me up with a connection to Piltover so I can get regular shipments for products or ingredients. Last year I got a bathtub. It was definitely one of my selfish requests, but I was chatting with one of my clients from Piltover, and I was amazed when she mentioned she took baths regularly. 

I turned the faucet to where the water would be lukewarm. I reached under my sink for the bag of rosebuds I keep for occasions like this. I took a handful and sprinkled them into the water, then I undressed.

I slipped into the warm water and let out a sigh of content. The floating rosebuds made the bath water a very light pink color, which made the bath all the more soothing. Having a bath almost makes me forget the struggles I’ve been through and how the city I live in could be destroyed at any moment. The many scars that litter my body bring me back to the brutal reality. 

Even after a nice long bath, my mind refuses to settle.

Sleep can’t seem to want me tonight. I begrudgingly slip out of bed to sit outside on the curb to smoke another cigarillo. I sat there zoning out for a long ten minutes, as I was about to stomp it out; something soft brushed against my leg. I froze up and looked down. It was a black cat; the feline couldn’t be more than a year old.

“Well, hello, sweet baby, what are you doing out so late? It’s not safe.” I cooed at the creature as if it could understand the words I am saying. “You should come inside.” We fell asleep cuddled up to each other. 

Two weeks have gone by since I have officially or unofficially adopted the cat from the curb. I found out the feline is a female. So I named her Hex. Hex likes to terrorize and hiss at almost every customer that walks through the door. Since she is so little, no one seems to mind.

Hex has settled into my shop as if she's always belonged here, weaving between shelves and perching on the counter like she owns the place. She's become my little shadow, a comforting presence in the quiet moments. But quiet never lasts long in Zaun.

Last week, two of Silco's men came by, demanding twice the usual order.

Something must not be going his way at headquarters. The thought almost made me smile—nothing pleases me more than a powerful man being knocked down a peg.

The day has only just started. The morning has always been my favorite. The undercity is never truly silent, but the early hours are as close as it gets—just the distant clatter of pipes, the hum of chem-lights, and the rhythmic drip of condensation from overhead metal beams. 

I go grab a candle to light at the entrance of the shop, a habit from old Zaun, a quiet offering to the wind. Then I got to work. 

Dried herbs rustle as I sort them into neat bundles. Glass bottles clink as I arranged them on shelves. The air fills with the scent of lavender, dried citrus, and something earthier: Zaun-born remedies, meant to soothe the people the chem-barons would rather forget.

Hex watches from her perch, tail flicking in lazy approval. I giggled at the feline. “All chipper because no one has come yet, hm? Did you scare away all my customers?” I jest with the cat. I must have spoken too soon because my bell jingled. One of my regulars, Seraphine, a bubbly young woman who comes in at least once every other week. 

“Seraphine! My dear, welcome back.” I walked out from behind the counter to hug her. “Hi! Sorry I didn’t come by later. I have plans…a date, actually, which is why I’m here.” Seraphine said to me with a pearly white smile. 

“A date? Oh my goodness, darling, that’s marvelous; good men are hard to come by here.” I smirked at her knowingly. Gosh, I have had my fair share of horrible men. Thank Janna; I like women too.

“Yeah, I know; he’s from Piltover.” Seraphine squealed at the top of her lungs. Hex hissed at her. I was shocked, my eyes wide. “Wow, honey, that’s something…So what do you need from me for this date?” I walked back behind the counter. “Well, miss, I was hoping you had some sort of pheromone perfume or something. I want this man to be obsessed and head over heels for me.” She said with another big smile. 

“Well, hun, I have just the thing.” I said with a wink as I disappeared into the back. “Use it wisely, dear; remember, a little goes a long way. I handed her a red elixir in a heart-shaped glass vial. “Don’t put it on yet; wait at least five minutes before you see him.” I said with a warm smile. 

“Thank you so much!” Seraphine jumped up and down and gave me a hug. “Of course, dear, it’s on the house, you'll pay me with the whole story next week. I want all the details!” I say as she practically runs out the door, her bubblegum pink hair bouncing as she goes. 

Today had been good, so I rewarded myself with another lavender bath. Once I got to bed Hex jumped up, she curled up beside me, her tiny body warm against mine, and we drifted off together.

Until there was a heavy knock at my front door.

I threw a robe over my body, since I was only in a pair of panties, and walked to my door. I looked through the peephole; shockingly enough, it was Sevika. Silco’s right hand. I reluctantly opened the door. She was bleeding.

“What do you need?” I said, moving out of the way to let her through. Gosh, she was so tall.

“Hmpf, well, I am obviously bleeding.” Sevika said in a gruff, matter-of-fact tone.

“No shit, you’re ruining my clean floors.” I muttered to myself as I gathered the proper materials to bandage her wound and some remedies to help with the pain.

Shimmer was always a last resort for me. I hated the thought of using it. Silco had me keep it for him at the shop. His men frequently took it. 

Sevika has sat herself on one of my chairs and thrown her red cloak onto the floor, coincidentally soaking up her puddle of blood. Was she trying to be helpful? I shook my head and kneeled beside her. The wound was, in fact, more than that. There was a huge gash on her flesh arm. Very deep from the looks of it.

“What caused this?” I asked as I started pouring rubbing alcohol into the gash. She didn't answer my question, just clenched her jaw and stared at the floor. Whatever had happened, it wasn't just another job gone wrong.

“Fuck—” Sevika cursed as I tightened her bandage. “Alright, you’re all, uh, patched up; you can sleep on the sofa; it pulls out—” “I’m not staying.” Sevika cut me off. “But you’re in no condition to go anywhere else just for the night.” I insisted, and Sevika rolled her eyes but made her way over to my sofa on the left side of the store. “Here, let me help.” I said as I pulled out the second half so she could properly lay down. “Would you like some tea?” I asked her and yawned. “I don't wanna take any of your potions.” Sevika scoffed. “It’s not a potion, just chamomile tea to help you sleep and help with the aches. I can give you hibiscus in the mornin for the swelling.” As I finished my sentence, Sevika was already snoring. Guess she didn’t need it. The only other sounds that could be heard was Sevika’s prosthetic arm making soft whirring sounds and Hex purring at my feet.

I unfolded the fuzzy blanket I had on the sofa and laid it over her. I just realized I never really interacted with Sevika much before this; yeah, she was Silco’s right hand, but she has only come to the shop twice and didn’t say a word to me. Until tonight, I wondered why she came to the shop and not to Silco directly.

[miriammctroi]

My favourite fairytale but make it Starchaser

It's called Die Sechs Schwäne = The six swans. Basically, there was a couple with 6 sons and the wife was pregnant. the sons caused a fire and instead of getting water, they were playing around. The father got angry and cursed them. They turned into swans. The wife died of grief. Years later, the daughter was grown and learned about her missing brothers. She set out to find them. They can only turn human once every 6 years and tell her how to break their curse: She has to remain completely silent while making six shirts out of stinging nettle. Then there's a whole love story with a prince and his awful mother.

Imagine: Regulus grows up an only child, only to find out that he used to have an older brother: Sirius. His mother cursed him to be a dog and he has been haunting the woods ever since.

Regulus sets out to find him and break his curse. To do this he has to be completely silent and not utter a single word or cry while sewing a shirt, trousers and a jacket out of stinging nettle.

He takes to the woods, to a field of nettle, and gets to work. The dog stays with him as his companion.

After a year or two, a handsome prince comes by and sees him taking a bath in a lake. He instantly falls in love. He is compelled by his beauty and intrigued by his mystery.

He watches the curious work with the nettles and although he doesn't understand what is going on, he sees that it is important to him and helps (hurting himself the entire time, which makes Regulus laugh soundlessly.)

Eventually, he wants to take Regulus home with him. He introduces him to his mother, the Queen, as his new groom.

The Queen doesn't want her son to marry a commoner, especially not a mute. She gives Regulus a chest of jewellery and coins and sends him away. Then, she claims Regulus stole it from her. James finds him again in the woods and asks about the jewels. Reg returns the chest and convinces him that he didn't steal them. James wants to take him home again. They also take the nettles and the dog this time.

James makes Regulus live in the palace. They are betrothed.

the Queen continues to make his life hell: She notices that he is very fond of dogs, so she has one killed right in front of him. She has all the nettle in the entire kingdom burned, but Regulus finds more in a church garden/cemetery (where the Queen's word doesn't hold power) and traverses the church grounds at night to collect the plants.

One day, James gets sick and the Queen says Regulus has poisoned him. He is locked in the dungeons. He manages to escape with Sirius's help, sneaks up to James's room and gives him self-made medicine to heal him. He does this for three nights. Then he is found when giving him the medicine and the Queen again accuses him of poisoning the prince - but James is well enough to see that Regulus healed him and didn't poison him.

They get married.

(In the fairytale the new princess then has a child. Let's skip an explanation for now and say, regulus and James have a baby)

Regulus loves his baby more than anything, and James loves them both. One night, while Regulus and the baby are alone and asleep, the Queen steals the child from its crib and gives it to a servant to kill it. She spreads blood over Regulus's hands and body.

Regulus is accused of killing the child. James doesn't know what to believe in his grief. The Dog tries to somehow convey to him that the Queen is at fault, but James doesn't understand. Regulus is incarcerated in the dungeons again to be burned at the stake for witchcraft - because of the dead baby, the nettles, the sewing, and walking around the church grounds at night.

While he is taken to the stake, he keeps working on the clothing. he is almost finished. As the pyre is ignited, Sirius appears. Regulus throws the clothing at him. The curse is broken, he turns into a man once again

(In the fairytale she couldn't finish one of the sleeves, so now one of her brothers has a permanent swan wing)

Sirius, who had witnessed what happened to the baby, accuses the queen of killing it and framing Regulus. James jumps to the pyre, frees his husband and rescues him.

The servant joins the crowd, holding a baby - it is Regulus's child, which he had refused to murder but hidden away, intending to return it to James once Regulus was dead.

With the evidence of Regulus's innocence and the testimony to the Queen's guilt in front of him, James takes her crown and sends her to the dungeons.

Regulus is finally able to speak again and James hears his husband's voice for the first time. He can finally say "I love you."

They all live happily ever after.

(Maybe this would be better with Wolfstar because the thought of making Euphemia an evil queen hurts me)

[schrijverr]

Chris? Chris! Christopher!

Divergence from chapter 7, where there is an emergency at Chris’s school that the 118 answers to. Buck is more worried about whether or not Chris is safe than keeping his distance for the life he might lose, causing the others to find out about his marriage to Eddie.

On ao3.

Ships: Buddie (pre-slash)

Warnings: fire at a school, no one too hurt

~~~

Hen is bored. Today isn’t a quiet shift per se, but it also isn’t very eventful either. She isn’t going to risk it of course, but she wouldn’t say no to a little action. Maybe something harmless, like a cat stuck in a tree or something?

She sighs again and looks over to where Buck and Chimney are crowded around the pinball machine together.

Chimney has been trying to beat the high score she set during a slow shifts for the past two years now. Unsuccessfully, she might add. Seems like he recruited Buck to help now. That thought makes her smirk and she is about to go over and gloat when the alarm starts to ring.

Now, Hen will never be happy people are in an emergency and need help, however, a small part can’t help but be relieved at the action.

That is until the details start to filter in. There’s a fire at a school. It’s being evacuated and other units are on their way too, but it’s always scary to have kids in danger. Her stomach ties itself in knots at the news and she can’t help but he glad the school they’re going isn’t Denny or Harry’s school.

Then she notices Buck across from her in the rig, looking absolutely pale. He isn’t looking at any of them, just typing on his phone with shaking hands.

She is about to ask him if he’s okay, thinking that maybe he’s struggling with the idea of kids being in danger like this, I mean, it’s his first big school fire, but before she can they roll up to the scene. There are a bunch of kids on the lawn and fire blazing big in one of the wings.

There is already another house at the scene, so their Captain is in charge of the scene. Bobby instantly checks in with her, while the others go and get the gear from the truck, since they can guess that it will be necessary.

Buck keeps looking over to where the kids are and Hen follows his gaze. There are tears and scared faces, but there are also a couple of kids who appear to be playing a game. A paramedic is going over all of them and Hen wonders if they need more help.

Hen also hopes that the amount of kids will calm Buck’s nerves. She understands that a call like this isn’t fun and she hopes there is no fatality, because those are the worst for her. However, Buck needs to keep his head on right, he can fall apart after this fire is out.

Before she can say something, though, Bobby returns saying: “Not every kid is accounted for, two are still missing, but the 221 is too busy trying to get the flames under control. They just got here too. Someone needs to go check.”

“I’ll go,” Buck volunteers immediately.

Bobby eyes him critically for a moment, he probably saw the same things Hen did and needs to asses if Buck is up for it. Apparently the determination on his face is enough, because Bobby nods and sends him out there with a: “Keep us updated on the radio and don’t go too far in. Teachers assured us the burning part of the building has been evacuated. It’s no longer stable.”

As Buck jogs off with a promise that he’ll be safe, Bobby turns to Hen and Chimney saying: “Hen, you’re with me on getting these flames out. Chimney, go help check over the kids.”

“Yes, Cap,” both say, setting to their task.

As she and Bobby join the 221 in fighting the fire itself, they listen to Buck update them on clearing the building. It’s almost impressive how fast he’s moving, she is never making fun of his gym bro tendencies again.

He speed runs the not burning side of the building, moving closer and closer to the flames. As he goes, he’s not finding the kids and Hen can feel her own heart beating faster as Buck’s voice gets more frantic.

They’ve managed to stop the flames from getting further and are actively diminishing it, but there is still very much fire when over the radio comes: “This part still looks stable, I’m moving further towards it. Over.”

“Buckley, do not. If they were there, they won’t have made it. Over,” Bobby radios back, voice sounding wrecked at the thought.

“No, I see a door that looks to be okay. I’m checking it out. Over,” Buck voice crackles back and he ignores Bobby’s further orders.

As they hold the hose, they watch the building creak. A part at the far end collapse and they all hold their breath, praying that it doesn’t domino further to where Buck is.

It doesn’t crumble and both let out a breath. Bobby radios again: “Buckley, parts are collapsing. Get out of there now! Over.”

“I have one of the kids. I don’t see anyone else. Bringing her out now,” Buck radios back. “She’s still conscious, but heavy smoke inhalation. Transport has to be ready. Over.”

“We’ll have it ready. Over,” Bobby promises, nodding to Hen to get that ready. She nods back and turns off her hose to go help the kid.

She goes to get Chimney then a gurney. As they’re moving towards the entrance to intercept Buck, Chimney comments: “That crazy kid. He’s gonna get himself killed one day.”

“Yeah, but today he saved a kid,” Hen points out, both not mentioning that there had been two kids unaccounted for. Hen is sure this will haunt Buck, first losses always do.

At that point they’re at the entrance that Buck is coming out of, a small girl in his arms. The idiot gave her his mask and there is soot all over him, he probably has smoke inhalation too now. At this rate, Hen is going to die of stress that their probie will give her.

However, not the time. Hen and Chimney get her on a gurney as Buck updates them through coughs on her condition. Then he coughs: “I’m gonna go back. Look for the other kid. They might still be in there.”

“Oh no, you don’t,” Hen immediately says. “You need medical attention too Buck.”

More medics come running, taking the gurney from them. One of the medics from the 221 smiles kindly as he says: “Go take care of your own. Fire is dying.”

“Thank you,” Hen has the mind to smile back, before her and Chimney go to hold Buck back.

“Let me go!” he struggles.

“No, you idiot. It’s not safe. Cap said no,” Chimney says, nearly getting knocked over.

“I have to get back in there! I have to look for him,” Buck shouts.

Hen isn’t sure they would have won, Buck is already strong on a good day and he is way more motivated now than then. She doesn’t know why he wants to get himself killed so badly, but she isn’t going to let him.

However, salvation comes in the form of the radio crackling: “Second kid located. He’d wandered off to the playground. Over.”

Instantly Buck stops fighting them, instead sagging as he exclaims: “Thank god!” Hen can share the sentiment, grateful all the kids made it out alive today.

She is about to tell Buck to sit his ass down so they can look at him, but he is off again. This time not towards the burning building thankfully, but still. Her and Chimney share a confused look, before running after Buck calling out for him to sit down.

Buck does not sit down.

He beelines to where the kids have gathered, scanning all their faces as he calls out: “Chris? Chris! Christopher!” voice getting more frantic as he doesn’t find what he is looking for.

As she watches him, she gets a sinking feeling she knows why Buck was looking so pale in the rig, why he kept looking at all the kids and why he was so eager to get into that building when he heard there were still kids missing. Buck knows a kid that goes to school here. Maybe has a kid that goes to school here.

That feeling is confirmed when a young boy on crutches makes his way through the crowd, calling out: “Papi!”

“Christopher,” Buck sounds heartbreakingly relieved when he sees him, face breaking out in a big smile. Immediately, he starts making his way over to him, scooping him up in his arms with a: “Hey, Superman,” as he kisses him on the cheek.

“Papi,” Chris whines, rubbing the soot that is now on his cheek.

“Oh, I’m sorry, buddy,” Buck says, not seeming sorry in the slightest as he hugs Chris tight.

“Am I hallucinating or is Buck holding a small kid who is calling him papi?” Chimney’s voice next to her breaks her out of the moment she’s watching.

“Uh, yeah, I think you’re not hallucinating, I’m watching the same thing,” Hen says. In a way it makes sense to her now. They speculated he declined drinks to hook up or party, but being a parent – and probably a single parent with how old that kid looks and Buck’s flirting – would be a good reason too.

“What the actual fuck,” Chimney says passionately.

Hen elbows him in the side for that, hissing: “Chim! There are kids here.”

“Sorry.”

They look back at Buck, who is both bashfully yet proudly grinning as Chris excitedly talks about how cool all the firefighters are and how his papi is a hero. It’s kind of adorable, Hen decides. Buck seems to be a good dad if Chris is so comfortable around him and in awe of him. She can see how he could be with what she knows of him.

Bobby comes up to them asking: “Did Buck come out okay? The girl on her way the hospital? All the other kids looked over?”

“Uh, not yet everyone looked at. Girl’s on her way to the hospital, but Buck walked away before we could check him. Idiot probably has smoke inhalation,” Chimney tells him.

Before Bobby can ask where he went of to, Buck starts coughing, pulling their attention back to him and Chris. Hen can see the relief on Bobby’s face when he sees Buck, then the confusion at him holding the kid, before realization dawns when the kid asks: “Are you okay, papi?”

Buck puts Chris down, coughing some more as he squeezes out: “Papi’s okay, buddy. Just something in my throat.”

“Yeah, that something is smoke,” Hen tells him, deciding that this is a good time to interrupt the two of them. “Sit down, Buckley, and let me check you over.”

He pouts, but sits down. Hen suspects it’s to give a good example, she knows she would and she sees nothing wrong with using that against him. She shoves an oxygen mask over his face and takes his vitals just to be safe.

As she is checking him over, Chris is peering over her shoulder, small frown on his face. “Is he gonna be okay?”

Hen smiles at him reassuringly and says: “Your papi is gonna be okay. He was out there being a hero, saved a little girl, he just got a little smoke in his lungs, but we’re giving him some extra air and he’ll be good as new again.”

“I will?” Buck asks hopefully excited.

“But he’ll still have to go to the hospital,” Hen tells him pointedly. She has noticed how he doesn’t seem to like medical checks very much and she isn’t going to let him duck out on this. If he didn’t want to go to the hospital, then he shouldn’t have taken his mask off.

Buck makes a face, but he doesn’t complain like she thought he would, the glance he gives Chris tells her enough. She can tell Chris has CP probably, so she can understand Buck not wanting to give him the idea that hospitals aren’t fun. So, his forced cheery: “Yay for doctors,” makes more sense.

“Yay,” Chris cheers for him and Hen just melts. Buck being a dad is not what she expected to find out today, but he seems good with the kid and Chris is adorable.

Bobby and Chimney have left to do their own jobs, since the fire is still smoldering and more kids still need to be checked over. Buck seems to be doing okay, but she doesn’t want him to do anything strenuous yet, especially not until they can transport him.

So, she turns to Chris and says: “I’m gonna continue checking other kids, why don’t you keep an eye on your papi for me. Can you do that?”

“I can,” Chris promises with a big smile.

“Good kid,” she praises him, ruffling his hair, before telling Buck: “Sit.”

“I’m not a dog,” he complains, but he is smiling anyway, looking grateful as he pulls Chris into his side and asks him how his day has been before the fire. More kids surround the two as Hen walks away with Chris obviously glowing at the attention that his dad saved the day.

Hen smiles and shakes her head, before joining Chimney. The school is starting to call parents, but all the kids are still hoarded together for now so they can be checked. Most evacuated pretty soon and didn’t even come close to the fire, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

As she squads down next to him, he nods over to Buck, asking: “Probie playing the hero?”

“Ach, let him have this,” Hen says, she knows Chim is just teasing.

“Fine,” Chimney winks. “Though, the kid is a surprise,” he adds, a clear fishing for gossip.

“Yeah, but it makes sense I suppose,” Hen replies.

“Because he’s promiscuous?” Chimney asks.

“No,” Hen gives him a look, “because he’s good with kids.” A beat. “But yeah also that.”

“How old do you think he is?”

“I don’t know, around six or seven, there about.”

Chimney whistles. “That’s teen parent territory.”

Hen nods, she has also done that math. Buck can be smarter than he seems and with his frat boy attitude, she always wondered what he was doing at the firehouse. He’s not a legacy and, as far as they know, he doesn’t have an experience with first responders that drove him there, which is a little unusual, but a small kid at a young age with medical bills? She can see why he picked this career path. A whole new level of respect towards him unlocks.

They quickly check the rest of the kids as parents start to arrive, most absolutely panicked and rechecking their kids, some forcing Hen or Chimney to look at them again. It’s a little annoying, but Hen can’t blame them, she’d want to be absolutely sure if it was about Denny. God, she can’t imagine what Buck must have felt like when they got the call.

After Bobby has cleared up, they all reconvene at where Buck and Chris are still sitting in the grass. By now Chris is wearing Buck’s helmet, absolutely glowing, while Buck has ditched the turnout coat.

Buck also still has his oxygen mask on, probably also courtesy of Chris, but he smiles through it as they arrive, asking: “Everything done okay?”

“Yes,” Bobby tells him. “We’re all wrapped up here, so we’re getting you to the hospital for a final check up. Are we going to have a passenger?” he adds, nodding to Chris.

“Ah, yeah, uhm, if that’s okay?” Buck replies, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “I kind of told his teacher I could sign him out and it’s okay. Sorry about this, by the way, uh, this is Chris. Chris, this is my Captain, Bobby, I mentioned him, remember?”

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you,” Chris says politely.

“It’s nice to meet you too, kid,” Bobby smiles, though his eyes shine a little.

Buck quickly also introduces Chris to Hen and Chimney, both getting polite ‘nice to meet you’s as well.

With that done, Bobby says: “We can bring him in the ambulance. I’m driving back in the rig, but I don’t want to see you back to work until you have a clean bill of health, am I clear?”

“Crystal, Cap,” Buck promises, looking a bit saddened by the news nonetheless.

“Good,” Bobby nods, then quickly turns around and walks away, his steps almost mechanical in nature. Hen wonders what that is about, but doubts she’ll get an answer; Bobby is a closed book to all of them.

Putting it to the back of her mind for now, she turns back to Buck and says: “Let’s get you to an ambulance.”

“I can walk,” Buck immediately says.

“But we provide such great service,” Chimney pouts. “But alright, you can walk.”

They haul him up on his feet and Buck helps Chris up, before they all make their way to the ambulance together. There Buck is ordered onto the gurney, while Chimney crawls behind the wheel, leaving Hen with Chris in the back.

Chris is super excited to be there, which usually isn’t the case for people riding along. However, it seems Buck talks to him a lot about a job – maybe a bit too much – because Chris asks Hen all sorts of questions about all the equipment and procedures with incredible detail.

Hen doesn’t mind answering all of it and handing questions he knows to Buck so he can be the cool one with answers. She knows what it’s like to have your kid be interested in your job and think it’s cool, she wants that for him.

Buck and Chris are definitely related. She can see in him the same enthusiasm she sees in Buck. It’s adorable now that the knowledge that Buck is a dad has settled.

A part of her wonders why Buck – who chronically overshares – never told any of them about Chris and just let them think he’s an irresponsible frat boy. However, she also gets it. As a teen parent, he probably got a lot of hate and judgment, she gets not wanting to share. While she never regrets always having been out, which is in part comparable, she knows it made it harder on her.

Then Chris asks: “Are the doctors going to take you when we get to the hospital?”

“Probably not immediately,” Buck tells him. “We’re going to have to wait in the waiting room, because there are other people who the doctors need to see first. I’m not that hurt, they just need to check to make sure. Others need medical attention more urgently.”

Hen is about to offer to stay behind to watch Chris, since Buck will have to be separated from him for testing and stuff and she’s sure Bobby would sign off on it, when Buck says: “But it won’t be too boring. Daddy is coming to keep us company and he’s bringing your book and art supplies, remember? He said so when we called.”

In the front of the ambulance, Chimney sounds like he’s choking on his piece of gum. Hen can’t deny she can’t keep the shock of her face either. Daddy. Another parent. Somehow that is one of the more surprising pieces of information that has come to light about Buck today.

It’s not the queer part that throws her off, she’s seen Buck make eyes at some of the guys on calls, though he doesn’t flirt with them the way he does with women. It’s the other parent part.

Of course, it’s not impossible to conceptualize that Buck might be raising his kid with someone else and daddy doesn’t mean the other dad isn’t also Chris’s bio parent… it’s just that Buck never acted very married. I mean, he flirted a lot. Gave out his number too.

Though, then again Hen never saw him actually hook up with anyone and with the whole being with a man means he could be trying to hide the gay. Even if he didn’t try very hard now. Also, he never did confirm he was with the other parent. Just that he is in Chris’s life. It could be that he is coming to the hospital to check on Chris, since he was just in a fire, not really Buck.

All those thoughts flash through her mind in the split second after Buck’s words. Chris seems oblivious, promising: “I’ll make you a card. The best card. For saving everyone.”

“Ahw, thank you, Superman,” Buck grins at him, ruffling his hair.

For a moment, Hen thinks this will be it. Buck is going to gloss over it and ignore her and Chimney’s reactions, even though he definitely saw her expression.

However, Buck then explains: “Uh, Eddie is Chris’s dad. Other dad, I suppose. He- We’re- It’s a little complicated.” His smile is tight. “But I’ll be okay. Eddie is my best friend and medical proxy, not to mention a medic. He’ll make sure I won’t kneel over when we get home.”

“Uh-huh,” Chris backs him up, nodding very seriously, “daddy is the best at making your scrapes go away. He kisses my scrapes better, he’ll kiss papi’s scrapes better too.”

Buck goes absolutely bright red at that and Hen snickers. It’s a little funny how embarrassed Buck is by getting kissed better by his… Eddie.

Still the ‘it’s complicated’ might be correct with how he splutters a little, not to mention the way he referred to Eddie as best friend and nothing else. She isn’t going to pry though, she has her own ‘it’s complicated’-story with Eva and she doesn’t appreciate people asking either.

In the end, Buck squeaks: “It’s not really like that. We’re co-parenting. Living together right now, ‘cause it’s easiest. Eddie got injured in the service.”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to explain,” Hen smiles gently at him, privately tucking the information away for now. It sounds like a divorce, but amicable. Maybe Buck is still carrying a torch with the way he doesn’t take anyone up on their offers after flirting and the way he looks when talking about Eddie, but she isn’t going to get involved in that. Way too messy.

“Oh, okay. Thanks,” Buck smiles back, looking a little relieved.

At that point, they’ve arrived at the hospital and Buck complains about getting wheeled out, especially since they’re just going to dump him on a chair somewhere, since they need the gurney back again. However, it’s stifled a little by Chris’s giggles at riding the gurney with them.

Hen does the sign in for him, while Chimney theatrically leads Buck to a waiting room chair with Chris. He is also taking Buck’s turnout coat and pants from him, so they can take them back to the firehouse with them and Buck won’t have to deal with the bulky and unwieldy clothes here.

Chimney has brought the clothes to their ambulance has come over to see where Hen is at, because she got caught up in talking to one of the nurses she’s friends with. “Come on, Hen. Bobby is probably getting nervous about us taking so long.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming. Bye, Hannah,” Hen says, turning around and planning to say goodbye to Buck and Chris, before leaving.

As she does, a man comes rushing through the ER door, frantically looking at everyone there. He is handsome looking, brown hair and brown eyes, as well as a slight stubble. She is about to dismiss him when his eyes fall on Buck and Chris and he exclaims: “Gracias a dios, you’re both okay.”

He’s over by them in a second, pulling Chris in a hug as he exclaims: “You had me so worried, mijo.”

“I’m okay, daddy,” Chris assures him, hugging Eddie – because that must be Eddie – back. “Our class was out really quick and papi saved the day. He ran into the building and got Amberlee out! It was so cool.”

“That’s nice,” Eddie smiles, cupping Chris’s face and looking at him once more, as if to for certain assure himself that Chris is in fact okay. Then he whips his head over to Buck, who’d been looking fondly at the scene and demands: “What the hell were you thinking?”

“Uh, that I had to do my job?” Buck replies, sounding almost unsure of himself.

Eddie deflates a little at that, realizing that Buck is right, however that doesn’t prevent him from pouting: “Well, at least do your job correctly then. What happened to your mask? I know they’re required, I helped you study.”

Buck gets a goofy grin on his face at that, before it turns sheepish: “Uh, I gave it to the girl. She’d been exposed to it all for a lot longer.”

“Of course you did,” Eddie shakes his head fondly.

“I had to do it.”

“I know.”

They look at each other for a moment, understanding passing between them. Hen doesn’t know what their relationship is exactly, if they’re divorced, never together to begin with, or still trying, but she knows that those two are in love. That they care deeply for each other.

Chimney leans in and softly says: “Do you think it’s awkward to say bye now?” which makes Hen snort as she shakes her head.

She makes her way over and smiles at Eddie, holding out her hand as she says: “Hi, I’m Hen. It’s nice to meet you. We drove the man of the hour here,” she adds teasingly, ruffling Buck’s hair as he ducks his head with a flush.

“Ah, Hen,” Eddie replies, shaking her hand. “It’s nice to put a face to the name.” He turns to Chimney next to her and holds out his hand: “That makes you Chimney?”

“It would. Nice to meet you,” Chimney smiles, shaking his hand.

“Thank you two for keeping him alive,” Eddie says, nodding to Buck, who lets out a: “Hey!”

“Of course. He did something really brave today, even if he was a little dumb for giving that girl his mask,” Hen replies, usually not one for boosting men’s ego, but curious enough about the reaction to do so. Besides, it was Buck’s first big fire and he didn’t even panic that much, despite the possibility of his son being in there. He deserves some credit for that.

“Well, that’s Buck,” Eddie says without missing a beat. “Our very own hero.”

“Oh fudge off, Silver Star,” Buck blushes, bumping his shoulder against Eddie’s side, trying to play it off and maybe giving something away. Not many people walk away from a Silver Star uninjured, which might explain the ‘easier for now’ about the living together. Though, if he was, Eddie seems to be recovering well.

“I hope you’ll be cleared soon,” Hen tells Buck.

“Uh-huh, won’t be the same about your probie-ness,” Chimney jokes.

“Wouldn’t wanna leave you hanging,” Buck rolls his eyes, but he’s grinning.

“Are you leaving?” Chris pipes up, pouting at them. In that moment they can clearly see Eddie in his face and Hen notes Buck and Eddie must both be his parent.

“Yeah, buddy, sorry. But we’ll probably see you around again,” Chimney assures him, melting a little into Uncle Chim that he is with Denny.

“And you’ll answer my questions about the ambulance?” Chris asks hopefully.

“Of course we will. We need someone to tell your papi about the ambulance,” Hen jokes.

Chris brightens immediately and eagerly says: “I hope to see you soon! Thank you for looking after papi and my friends.”

“I hope to see you soon too, kid,” Chimney says, he always gets choked up when it’s kid thanking them. “You did well out there.”

“It’s what we do. We’ll see you around,” Hen promises.

Buck smiles gratefully at them, then turns to Chris, saying: “Now say bye, Superman, Hen and Chim have more people to save.”

“Bye!” Chris waves cheerfully as Eddie also says his goodbyes to them, while the two of them leave the family to the waiting room.

As they drive back to the firehouse, Chimney says: “So… that was sure something.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I don’t know what about all this I’m supposed to be most surprised about. What do you think is up between him and Eddie?”

“Honestly?” Hen answers. “I have no clue. I would say divorced based on what Buck said, or maybe it was a one night stand and they’re trying to make it work, but aren’t together, but…”

“But romantic with the way they were acting,” Chimney fills in.

“Yeah,” Hen agrees.

“Well, hopefully Buck gets that clean bill of health so we can question him next shift,” Chimney says optimistically. He’s always in a good mood when there is gossip to go around.

However, Hen can’t judge him, she’s exactly the same. It’s why their friendship works. Besides, this is the most fun she’s had at work since Bobby took over. Buck being a parent too, not to mention maybe, probably, being a queer parent, is exactly the thing the 118 needed.

Thankfully, as both had hoped, Buck returns next shift with a clean bill of health that he proudly presents to Bobby.

“Ah, this looks to be all in order. Thank you, kid, good to have you back,” Bobby smiles at him paternally, before leaving to file it. Hen has noticed Bobby warming up more since Buck joined the team. It’s good to have the kid around.

But it’s not just good because he’s helping their Captain become more part of the team, it’s also good because with Buck comes newly discovered gossip. So, she comes over to him the second that is done, greeting him: “Buck, hi! Good to have you back. Eddie a lot of a mother hen or does he come across like that more than he actually is?”

“Oh, no definitely also a mother hen. I think it’s just his dad instincts honestly. I didn’t mind that much, though, we ordered food from my favorite place and Eddie did the laundry. It ruled,” Buck tells her with the excitement only he can have about that.

“Wow, that sounds thrilling,” Chimney says, half-genuine and half-sarcastic.

Buck doesn’t seem to notice just nodding. “I also got this cool new drawing from Chris and a bunch of kids in his class also drew me pictures. It’s the best. They’re all so sweet and cute.”

“That’s nice,” Hen says genuinely, smile on her lips. Then she switches topics to what they’re truly curious about: “So, what’s the deal between you and Eddie?”

He clearly hadn’t expected her straight forwardness, blinking at her a few times, but Hen usually preferred it if people just asked instead of danced around. And if he seemed uncomfortable, she was totally prepared to drop it.

However, luck is in her favor, because once Buck gets over the surprise he waves his hand around as if swatting a fly, as he shrugs: “Long story, but me and Eddie are husbands, I guess. For now.”

The sentence clears up exactly nothing, which Chimney lets him know for them by saying: “What do you mean husbands you guess and for now?”

“Uh,” Buck responds, looking a bit like a deer in headlights. Hen is about to elbow Chimney to drop and change the subject herself, when Buck explains: “Well, it’s- it’s a marriage of convenience, not anything real.” He swallows, then plasters on a smile, definitely carrying a seemingly in his opinion one sided torch. “We got married so I could adopt Chris while Eddie re-enlisted so we could pay off medical bills, you know.”

“Wait, you adopted Chris,” Hen says, delighted by the knowledge that not only does she share being a queer parent with Buck, but also being an adoptive parents. Though, she’s also surprised, since she would have sworn Chris was Buck’s.

“Yeah, I- I did?” Buck replies, sounding unsure about what they’re expecting from here.

Quickly Hen assures him: “Nothing wrong with that, I mean, would be hypocritical of me. I just thought Chris was yours and Eddie’s, since he’s so much like you both. He makes the exact same face you do when he’s asking questions.”

“Oh.” Buck looks surprised for a moment, before a pride flush spreads across his face along with a big grin. “Thank you,” he says and she has never heard anyone mean those words more.

“Course,” she smiles back. There is something special about someone seeing you in your kid. She knows it well and she is glad to have given Buck a chance to feel it now.

Then Buck blinks the expression off his face. “No, but uhm, me and Eddie both cis. I’m bi though, but Eddie’s straight. Like I said, just convenience.”

There is an undercurrent of hurt in his voice now and Hen knows enough. Buck clearly carries a torch for Eddie and while she swears it’s mutual, she also doesn’t know Eddie and if Buck says Eddie is straight then it might just be her.

Chimney also picks up on it, or he picks up on her not gearing up to push further. Either way, both of them drop it.

However, Buck doesn’t get that memo or wants to explain, because he continues: “Yeah, so we were planning on divorcing after Eddie came back, but obviously I wasn’t going to leave him and Chris without insurance of income while Eddie recovers – he was injured during his service – so we’re still married now, but we’ll probably divorce when Eddie is up to work again.”

“Divorce can be rough,” Chimney sympathizes. He might not have had divorced parents himself, but he knows about families splitting up and new people coming in.

“Yeah, it’s gonna suck,” Buck agrees, seeming downtrodden about it. “I’m going to miss Chris so bad.”

Wait. What?

“What the fuck do you mean with that?” Hen asks, the words out of her mouth before she can stop them, despite her resolution not to push moments earlier.

Buck frowns back at her: “What do you mean with what do I mean?”

“I mean, what do you mean you’re gonna miss Chris? You’re still going to see him, right? How long have you been raising him with Eddie? Are you two not going to split custody?” Hen asks.

“Uh, I’ve known Chris for about three years now, helping for two,” Buck answers, voice slightly wobbly. “And we haven’t really talked about it. I guess I kind of assumed, since Chris is Eddie’s kid, I was just there to help. It’s not as if he wanted me specifically.”

Fucking hell. Hen’s heart just breaks at that confession and one glance at Chimney shows that he feels the same. Of course Buck wouldn’t mention any of this, he’s already mourning a family he might not even lose, because he’s assuming he will.

“Buck… buddy,” Chimney starts, hesitating, before he continues: “Shouldn’t you and Eddie talk about this? I mean, I don’t know either him or Chris well, but that kid loves you. You’re his dad too. Don’t you think it’ll hurt him when you just disappear like that?”

By the looks of it, Buck never even considered the possibility that he might be missed back. Hen isn’t sure if she wants to hug or strangle him more.

“Oh, yeah, uhm, maybe?” Buck replies dumbly after a beat that lasts a bit too long.

“I think you mean definitely,” Hen tells him with a stern look so he knows she means it. When that has sunk in, she smiles, before wrapping an arm around him: “But that is a conversation for you and Eddie. Come, I wanna know more about Chris. I think he and Denny would get along, you guys open for a play date?’

That out is one Buck takes gratefully. Hen gets it, they’re just coworkers and this is pretty personal. Gossip is one thing, messing around in someone’s business is another. Still, she does hope it works out between him and Eddie, in whatever form that is. They have a nice family.

But for now, she’s getting Denny another potential friend and another name on the roster for emergency babysitting. It’s nice to have other parent friends.

~~

A/N:

Nearly put Chris in the burning building, but I didn’t. Because I’m nice like that <3

Also the call to Chris’s school is such a classic one and I love it so much, can’t believe I didn’t think of this one earlier, but very thrilled to write yet another take on it :D (I also did in The Permanence of Saying It Out Loud, which fun fact, is the inspo for the back story in the I Do verse!)

I contemplated not adding that bit after the hospital, but I felt like it would be nice for Hen and Chimney to get more context. And I love adding the possibility of them communicating so much earlier and maybe avoiding the cluster fuck that is the main verse lol

[scrumptious-finicky-illusion]

I would suggest fire arrows for distance, or rocket launchers for even more distance

[persephonaae]

Helloooooo everyone hi, so as you may or may not know I'm trying to get things together to start offering art commissions because I'm facing a lot of pressure to earn more money for my family, but while I'm trying to sort all that out and have better examples of my digital art (and tbh wanna save up for a good art scanner so I can better do half my work traditionally and half digitally) but anywho yes while I'm sorting all that out I was wondering if it would be worthwhile setting up a ko-fi just to get some passive tips and hopefully alleviate some of the stress I'm feeling from family stuff. So below I'll just have a poll of some different stuff, I really wanna gauge where my followers are at with such things

And of course I'd love feedback in the replies!

[dr4c0n1c-st4rdust]

you know what yeah why did my mom let me start drinking with her when i was like 13. what the fuck is up with that actually

[nezuscribe]

part one

ok imagine it’s one of those nights that you’re down at the dining hall eating dinner, unsure if you should say something to your supposed husband, gojo.

it’s been a couple of weeks that you’ve started eating together, and you’re not sure what spurred his change of heart.

you talk a lot when it’s awkward or when you’re trying to fill a silence and so you let it slip that it was never supposed to be him you married.

“what?” he said, his fork raised midair as you blink owlishly at his confusion.

“what?” you parrot back, taking a sip of some wine as his bright blue eyes stare back intently at yours. he’s so pretty that it’s unfair.

“what do you mean?” he leans forward a bit, his fingers locking in front of him, “who else would you have married?”

your tongue clicks against the roof of your moth as you shrug in embarrassment, laughing uncomfortably. your mother (though she hates it when you call her that, not wanting to be associated with the bastard daughter her husband, your father, brought back all those years ago) would be livid if she heard of your slip up.

“oh, nothing, um, i don’t even know what i was talking about,” you chuckle lowly, moving some peas around on your plate.

you can still feel his burning stare on the side of your head, knowing that he won’t stop until you tell him.

“it’s nothing, really,” you mutter, glancing up to look at him, “but before this proposal came i was supposed to marry this other…man,” you wince thinking of the man who initially proposed to you, his slimy smile, the way he looked at you like nothing more than a vessel to carry his heir.

“who?” gojo presses, not noticing the way his jaw was clenching or subconsciously looking at the gold ring around your finger, one he haphazardly picked, but now wonders what it would look like if another man wed you.

why is he so jealous?

he already knows the answer, the time he heard you crying to your maid seated into his memory. he’s not sure why he wants you to say it, why he even wants to hear it.

you swallow thickly, heat rising to your cheeks as you glance over at gojo.

“naoya…naoya zenin? i dont know if you’ve heard-”

“i know naoya,” gojo said curtly, watching the way you cringed at his tone.

a heavy beat of silence washed over the two of you.

“are you happy you didn’t marry him?” gojo asks suddenly, poking at this question that’s been suffocating him for nearly a month.

you tilt your head slightly, your eyes piercing his, squinting as you try to gauge what he’s feeling at the moment. he notices that you do that a lot, especially with him.

“are you happy you married me?” you counter, and watch as a his eyes shift, darkening for a second as he glances away from you.

happy? he’s not sure. he’s rarely been truly happy in his life, everything he’s done has had a purpose, even this marriage served a purpose, but he’s more than glad you didn’t marry that zenin.

but he takes too long to answer, watching the small sad smile that overtakes your face, confirming the thoughts you’ve been riddled with since you married him.

you excuse yourself for the night.

gojo stays in his seat, twirling his ring around his finger.

fuck.

[intomybubble]

I sincerely wish that Kujou put in as much effort towards Yanagi. I feel super bad seeing her doing the absolute least even after she’s starting to realize her feelings. Maybe something will change when they get together, but when I searched up when that is, its like 2 chapters before the end so RIP

I want to go back to Mizutama Honey Boy bc the effort comes from both sides. Even when Shirou confessed first to Mei and they became friends. During that time she still helped and saved him and spent a lot of time together that I never felt robbed. She even figured out her feelings mid way and confesses like in the volume before the last.

[loves0phelia]

hello! hope you’re okay after the ending, honestly I don’t think any of us are.

I wanted to request a rafe x pogue reader where it’s that boat storm scene and instead of Sarah falling it’s reader and she’s just drowning and Rafe jumps in after her. He doesn’t know why he did it but he just has a soft spot for her and it’s just really angsty but also cute.

thanks! I love your account btw!

In The Sea

Summery: the anon

Words: 2.5k

Warnings: grammar mistakes

A\N: thank you to everyone who has been requesting it makes me very happy xxx

You stand at the edge of the deck, clutching the railing as the boat rocks, waves rolling against the hull. The salty breeze whips your hair around your face, and the peaceful ocean sounds made you think about the current situation.

You didn't expect Rafe to save you and your friends from being arrested, much less expect him to find a boat big and resistant enough to drive you all to Morocco Africa to find the blue crown. It was truly a surprise considering you and Rafe's history.

“So what? Are we just on our way to Africa now?” Kiara asked the group as if she couldn't believe that Rafe Cameron was willingly helping them.

“Quick little weekend trip?” She added to her previous sentence.

“What about Rafe? We know what he did to the cross and now we want to go after the crown with him?” You and the rest of the pogue's lips go into a thin line at the memory.

“Sarah, you're his family, how do deal with him” John B said, finding no other options.

“I don't- I don't know, I think maybe y/n might have a chance of convincing him to behave but..” she shrugged and you felt the stares of your friends burn holes through you. Your past relationship with him was a secret to nobody.

“We- we just have to talk to him, or at least try” You proposed earning a frown from JJ.

“Talk to Rafe? When has he ever just communicated with us?” 

“Talking to him is the only option we have, but you're definitely not talking with him,” John B said and as expected everyone nodded and hummed, agreeing. JJ was in no place to talk with Rafe.

“Why not? What did I do?” He asked, getting almost frustrated.

“We all know you and him are far from being civil, the last thing we need is you triggering him and causing trouble” His girlfriend, Kiara, tried to explain the easiest way but he still got defensive. After a couple of bickering from JJ and John b You finally decide to go speak with him, who was driving the boat not too far away from the deck.

“Hey,” You knock on the metal and rusted door before entering and walking up to him. His eyes catch yours and there's a tension between the two of you. But Rafe only tilts his head to acknowledge you.

You swallow, feeling the weight of his stare. "We just want to talk," you say, steadying your voice as the rest of your friends beside JJ follow behind you.

“All right let's talk” Rafe chuckles, and it’s low, almost a whisper. 

Your mind goes almost blank as you take him in, you haven't been this close since you were forced in the same room by Sighs men last year. You had almost forgotten how much you missed him.

“You guys be cool I'll be cool” His voice snapped you out of your daydream, realizing you had missed a bit of the conversation.

“So now you want peace?” Pope leaned back and scoffed, not believing a word that came out of his mouth.

“I just saved all your asses, how about a thank you?” He glanced at all of you one by one, but he only earned silence,

“Listen I don't want any part of your little fairytale treasure hunt bullshit, I'm just looking for Groff” He’s breathing heavily, holding himself back from adding more snark,

“Hey, Rafe!” Before anyone can react, JJ’s fist flies through the air, cracking against Rafe’s jaw with a force that echoes.

Rafe’s head snaps back, his expression stunned for a split second before he crumples, hitting the hard metal floor. For a moment, everyone is frantic, staring at the lifeless form sprawled across the floor, his eyes closed, completely knocked out.

“holy shit”

“Jesus JJ what's your problem”

“Whoo that felt good” Tired of JJ's crazy actions the girls walk away shaking their heads in disbelief until you are the only one staying behind.

JJ stands over him, breathing heavily, the adrenaline still pulsing through him as he looks down at Rafe. His fist is red, already bruising, but he doesn’t seem to care.

“What is wrong with you?” You look at him, feeling a rush of shock mixed with panic. You fall to your knees next to Rafe and quickly look over his injuries, softly rubbing your thumb on his jaw.   “If he didn't do it I was going to do it” Pope added only worsening the situation. You shook your head and furrowed your eyebrows at his sentence.

After the pogues agreed it was probably not a good idea to let Rafe free in case he woke up and decided to shoot you all with his “peacemaker” you tied him up in a small cabin. His head hung low, his wrists were bound to a stainless steel pole and his legs were uncomfortably folded beneath him. Your heart clenched at the sight of him but still decided to leave him there until he woke up.

You open the door to the cabin slowly with a tray of warmed-up canned spaghetti in hand, it wasn't the best but it was all the boat had.

“I brought you food..” You whispered before bending down to place the tray in front of him.

“great” he sighed.

“I found aspirin in the medicine cabinet, I figured you'd have a headache, maybe even a concussion” 

“Right… are you gonna throw it in my mouth like a seal or something” He scoffed again clearly angered,

“They don't trust you Rafe… but if you do the right thing maybe they will open up a little bit”

“I am doing the right thing! I helped you” He tried pulling against the restraints but failed. 

“I know okay? I know but unfortunately, I don't have a choice but to let you in here until we get there, I'm sorry” you whispered and pushed the tray closer to him. “Please eat,” You said and left closing the large door behind you.

For a moment you stayed behind the door listening closely. “Y/N come back!” he grunts and kicks his feet on the ground. “Fucking untie me please!!” he screamed and you jumped when you heard the tray you had just put down on the floor fly into the wall.

Pope leaning over the side, is the first to spot the flicker of movement beneath the water. "Guys! I see one!" exclaims, his voice a mixture of excitement and focus. He scrambles for the fishing rod, almost knocking over the tackle box in his rush.

John B is right beside him, laughing. “We've got our dinner!" he laughs.

“Guys, this one’s huge!” Kie giggles with the boys knowing we were all set for dinner time tonight.

You all spent the rest of the day cooking the fish you caught and preparing side dishes with some good music in the background.

Until it was time for Rafa's second meal.

You open the door carefully and his eyes catch yours, this time you don't speak, simply set the tray of seasoned salmon down in front of him.

Has you were about to close the door you hear him.

“Wait, y/n. Can you please- can you give me the fork” his tone is much softer than before so you can't deny him. 

You get down and pick up the utensil his bound hands couldn’t reach.

“Thank you” He murmured, and you barely heard him as you closed the door behind you once again.

The sky darkens ominously as thunder rumbles in the distance, low and threatening. Waves crash harder against the hull of the boat, tossing it with a force that leaves you gripping onto anything within reach. The storm monitor flashes red to show the storm coming ahead of you.

“That's not good,” John B says.

“We're gonna have to try to blast through it,” Pope says, not finding any better options.

“Why can't we go south?” Kie asks genuinely.

“The current is gonna be against us we don't have a choice” John B agreed even after trying to find safer options, the boat's roar has Pope push the lever controlling the engine to the max. 

The waves make the boat shift side to side making it difficult to stay up and steady.

Another massive wave crashes over the side, drenching them all, and you lose your footing, sliding across the deck until Kie grabs your arm, pulling you back.

“Hold on to something” Kie yells at you pope and Sarah and you all grip onto the nearest thing.

“Hey!” a distant voice echoes through the walls.

“Cut me loose! Y/N! Somebody!” Rafe screamed and banged his fists on the wall.

“Get me out of here!” Everyone listens but doesn't move a finger.

“We have to let him out” You scramble to your feet but jerk back when Cleo grabs your wrist.

“No!” she says trying to stop you but you pulled back.

“He's gonna drown” You pull open rapidly the drawers trying to find something sharp, able to cut the thick ropes wrapped around Rafe's hands.

The storm is relentless, its fury tossing you around like a rag doll as you try to reach him.  

You cling to the railing, struggling to stay upright as the boat lurches violently, nearly sending you sprawling across the floor. Your legs buckle under you. You come crashing through the door and walk onto the water-soaked floor knife in hand.

“Cut me loose” he begs.

Crouching in front of him you began frantically cutting the rope. Your muscles burn with how much pressure you're using.

“Shit,” You say when a sudden jerk of the boat makes your face come inches apart from his, lips almost touching. You don't have time to think as you regain your balance and continue cutting the bounds.

“There! Come on” you yelled and quickly grasped his hands to pull him up from the floor.

You both run to shelter but the boat jerks side to side even more violently,

“Something is wrong I have to go see!” 

“No!” Rafe tried holding on to you but you were already rushing away onto the deck where waves came crashing, a massive wave rose out of the dark, towering over the boat like a shadow.

You barely had time to think before it crashed down, an icy, unforgiving wall of water that slammed into you with the force of a sledgehammer. The impact was too strong and you were thrown backward, landing hard on the deck. Pain explodes through your shoulder, the wind knocks from your lungs. Dazed and gasping, you try to get up, but the boat tips again, and before you can stand, another wave strikes.

This one is worse, merciless, catching you just as you struggle to rise. Your fingers graze the edge of the railing, but the slick metal slips through your grasp. In an instant, the world spins as you are thrown away from the boat, the cold, raging ocean swallowing you whole.

The water is a shock, freezing and chaotic, disorienting you as you plunge beneath the surface. You thrash, fighting to reach the surface, lungs burning, but the waves toss you back and forth, each effort to rise met with another rush of icy water.

Back on the boat, Rafe catches a glimpse of you disappearing over the side, and his heart stops. “Y/N!” he screams, panic cutting through the storm. Without a second thought, he scrambles to the railing, nearly slipping himself as he peers out into the dark, searching for any sign of you.

“Where is she!” Sarah came rushing to her brother

“She fell overboard” he yells already reaching for a rope with the floating boyee. He’s soaked, exhausted, and barely steady, but there’s no hesitation as he jumps in after you.

“Rafe no!” She screams after her brother.

A wave slams into Rafe. “Y/N!!” he yells in the water as he sees you trying to stay above the water far away.

With the last of your strength, You swim faster and harder towards Rafe and reach out when you're near, fingers brushing his arm, grasping it tight. Rafe holds you with everything he has.

“I got you” But you don't hear him in the storm.

You both hold on to each other your arms around his neck and his around your waist as the boat floats away and the night turns into a void.

“Hey, open your eyes, look at me” You feel gentle hands grasping on your face as you finally sit up coughing out the water that filled your lungs.

“That's it” The hands rub your back in a comforting way.

The sand is hot beneath you, warming up your skin, and with exhaustion, you fall onto Rafe's chest.

“Hey you okay?” panicked, he grabs onto your shoulder and pushes you a little bit to take a good look at your face.

“You jumped after me,” you whispered.

“Of course I did”  You look up at him, heart pounding, feeling a rush of gratitude, fear, and something deeper—something that’s been smouldering beneath the surface, unspoken, for far too long. Your eyes shine with tears, not sad and not happy either but grateful. 

His hand reaches up, brushing a strand of wet hair from your face, his fingers lingering against your skin. His touch is warm, and grounding, and you feel your heart racing even faster under his gaze, intense and unreadable, like he’s seeing you for the first time.

Without another thought, you lean in, closing the space between the two of you as you press your lips to his, a spark igniting into a wildfire the moment you connect. Rafe’s surprise melts away instantly, and he kisses back, fierce and unrestrained, his hands finding your waist.

The kiss is charged, fueled by adrenaline, and a longing that neither of you can deny any longer. Your hands find his shoulders, clinging to him, grounding you in his warmth, his strength, the feel of his heartbeat thundering beneath your touch. 

Rafe’s fingers trail up your back, sending shivers along your spine, and his lips move against yours with an urgency that speaks of everything left unspoken.

When you finally pull apart, breathless, Rafe’s forehead rests against yours, his eyes searching yours as he lets out a shaky laugh, almost in disbelief.

“You saved my life” you smile, brushing a thumb over his cheek, still feeling the warmth of his kiss lingering on your lips. “I love you, I've always loved you” you whisper, and before you know it, you're kissing again, the ocean waves crashing nearby, the world forgotten as you lose yourselves in each other.

“I never stopped loving you,” he whispered.

Send request xxx

[traveler-at-heart]

Undercover

Summary: Natasha and you play a happy couple for an undercover mission.

Natasha Romanoff x F!R

-----

It’s mortifying.

As you lay in bed, looking at the ceiling, the moment replays in your head over and over and over again. How you wish you had an off switch for your brain.

This is supposed to be an undercover mission, and yet you can’t keep your true feelings hidden from Natasha.

Undercover as a married couple, no less.

Today, while you were sitting in the living room of your “newlywed home”, reading a book, Natasha approached you. Her hand rested on your shoulder.

“I’m going out for a run” she had said. You nodded absentmindedly, taking her hand and kissing the back of it.

“I’ll start dinner now”

And it wasn’t until you heard the door shut, that you snapped out of it.

You didn’t have to pretend inside the house. There was absolutely no reason for you to kiss any part of her like that, no one was watching.

Your cheeks flushed and your palms began to sweat. Feeling stupid and exposed, you tried to cook dinner, finding it hard to focus on what to do.

If Natasha noticed the slightly burned meatloaf, she didn’t comment on it. Even as you downed your wine quickly and poured yourself more, she remained stoic and acted as usual.

The night went by in a blurr and now you’re staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Natasha is in the study, doing surveillance and thank God, because sharing a bed after what you did today?

Impossible.

How do I get myself in these situations?

—

“The Maggia” Fury said, looking around the room. There were only five people there, which told you this was an important mission. “What do you know about it?”

“Family of criminals, from Europe, mostly Italy. Loose alliance at that, each family just stays out of the other’s way” you casually said. Hell, you could go on and on about them for much longer.

“Someone does their homework” Fury nodded.

“Show off” Natasha leaned forward, whispering in your ear. The contact sent a shiver down your spine, but you tried your best to hide it.

You feared your best wasn’t very good.

“Their operations consist mostly of loan sharking, narcotics and prostituion” Maria continued. “But, we recently recieved intel that the family in New Jersey is playing something more dangerous”

“Potentially, HYDRA and the smuggling of Trinium”

“What’s Trinium?” Rogers, who had been following in silenece, finally intervened.

“Incredibly rare element and highly explosive if exposed to a special charge”

Of course, it was always about blowing something up.

“We’ve located the leaders of the Jersey family. You two will be sent immediately to start the undercover mission, as the timeline indicates that the purchase will happen in less than three months. Sorry for not getting you a gift, but your wedding was done in such a rush” Fury slid down the files towards you and Natasha.

You took it and were about to hand it to Steve, since he was sitting behind you, but Fury just chuckled, shaking his head no.

Maria had to bite the inside of her cheek to not laugh at your shocked expression, while you turned to look at Natasha with wide eyes.

“Oh, darling, I’ll make you so very happy!”

—

Just your luck, Natasha decides to stay and work from home on Friday. Your plans of eating junk food and wasting away watching reality tv to feel better after your slip up are down the drain.

Instead, you are out gardening. It’s part of the cover, you insisted since you moved. What kind of person would not make an effort to improve their house? One they were planning on living in for years to come.

And truly, you had outdone yourself. In the month you’d spent here, the grass went from dry to green, all kinds of flowers blooming thanks to your hard work and the knowledge provided by years of helping your mother.

It doesn’t matter if the sun is burning your skin or sweat is dripping down your back, you absolutely cannot spend the morning inside the house with the woman who you have a crush on, and who probably knows your true feelings now, thanks to that stupid, stupid…

“Hey” her voice snaps you back to reality, looking up to meet her green eyes, soft and gentle.

“Hi” you reply from your place in the ground, wiping your forehead. “What’s up?”

“You’ve been at it for hours now, and it’s getting too hot. Come get some rest”

“It’s fine, I just need to…”

She calls your name, more of a plea than a warning not to argue with her and you sigh, standing up. As you go up the porch, she hands over a glass of cold lemonade and you take it, realising that you were very much in need of some refreshments.

“What are you doing?” you mutter when you put the glass down, and she takes her hands in yours.

“You’ve been acting strange since yesterday”

“Natasha”

“Did you act on instinct?” she asks, her lips inches from yours.

“Y-yes”

“That’s what a good agent does. You act natural. It’s not something you put any effort in. You don’t drop the cover under any circumstance”

She is throwing you a life line, a gracious way to salvage some of your dignity -if you have any left, that is- because you both know, you are not that good of an agent.

“She’s walking towards the house” Natasha warns, your back to the street. You don’t look behind you, allowing the redhead to pull you into a heated kiss that steals your breath.

“Hey, neighbors”

You turn around, Natasha’s hand falling to your lower back. Waving at Beatrice Costa, the both of you fake smiles. It’s still hard to believe this regular looking woman is leading a criminal organization next to her husband.

“Your garden is looking spectacular!” she admires.

“Thank you, Beatrice. I’ll stop by to give you some flowers when the hydrengeas bloom”

“As long as your wife doesn’t get jealous” the woman jokes, and you feel Natasha’s hand snaking around your middle, pulling you flush against her front.

“She does” the redhead says in a teasing manner, making your neighbor/suspect laugh.

“Anyways, I came to invite you two over for dinner tomorrow. To thank you for last week”

“Oh, it was no bother, really” you say, smiling.

“I insist. Eight o’clock?”

“Sounds great” you nod, and once she says her goodbyes, Natasha turns you around in her arms, still not letting go of your waist.

“See? It’s working. You’re doing great. Nobody questions us” she eases your nerves over what happened yesterday.

Nobody questions you because you are really in love with her, that’s the truth.

“What are you doing?” you say, your breath hitching when she leans over, about to kiss you.

“She’s still around” Natasha says, letting you close the distance to meet her lips.

By the time she drags you back inside, so you can have lunch, the only thought in your head is the feel of her lips in yours.

—

It had been a simple ruse, so simple that it was a wonder it worked.

Natasha made sure Beatrice’s car would malfunction. She always parked outside, and you made sure to be Natasha’s lookout as she drained the battery.

Morning came, and true to her routine, the woman was ready to leave home when the luxurious Mercedes Benz refused to turn on. It just so happened that you were running by, and as any good neighbor would do, offered to help.

What a coincidence, your wife knew enough about cars to fix the issue and send the woman on her merry way.

Beatrice was too polite and too rich to waste the opportunity to thank you -and flaunt her wealth- so next morning she stopped by with a tiramisu from the most expensive bakery in town, to thank you both.

And fuck, it was good tiramisu.

Now, she would greet you and Natasha when either one of you would run past her house (part of your intelligence operations).

Four weeks after the start of the mission, and it had finally paid off, as you received an invitation into the lion’s den.

“So, what’s our game plan here?” you say, looking over yourself in the vanity mirror.

“Enjoy the evening” Natasha says, smiling at your reflection.

“What?” you turn to look at her, confused. “We’re gonna be inside their house. We could bug it”

“Their phones are tapped. That’s all we need. And the man’s computer. But maybe I’ll excuse myself and break into his study”

“That’s too dangerous” you protest. Even if they act like normal people, they’re life long criminals with an extensive network. And you don’t feel prepared to take over anything if Natasha’s compromised. “Could you not?”

“If you have any idea on how to hack into their financial system, sure”

You huff, annoyed at her bored tone. As if she’s not risking herself over something that can be done a million other ways.

“Nat, I don’t want anything bad happening to you. We’ll find another way, ok?” you insist, putting on your heels.

“Ok, darling” she nods, as a spouse would do to calm their crazy wife and you glare, but take your win.

Without another word, you prepare to leave the room, when you feel her arms around your middle.

“What are you…?”

“Clothing tag was out” she says, fixing your sweater. “There. Perfect”

Her words, accompanied by a squeeze to your stomach make your head fuzzy. Clearing your throat, you nod and go down the stairs, picking up a bottle of wine from the kitchen counter.

“Trust me” you say when Natasha gives you an inquiring look. “Ready to go?”

“After you, sweetheart”

As you walk down the street to the Costa residence, Natasha takes your hand, running her thumb over the back of it. She might sense your nerves, or is apologizing for before. Either way, you keep a light conversation until she knocks on your suspect’s door, her arm firmly around your waist.

“Welcome!” Beatrice says, ushering you into her home. It’s elegant and big, but not too flashy or pretentious. “And what do we have here?”

“Just a little gift. It’s actually one of the bottles we got from our honeymoon” you take the lead, your hand in Natasha’s as you navigate the luxurious home all the way to the dining room.

“Oh, this is close to the place where my family is from originally”

Oh, what a shock. It’s not like you know everything there is about the Maggia, along with the history of the Gulf of Naples.

While Beatrice goes to the kitchen to check on the food -made by their staff, of course- Natasha looks around the room. You know that inquiring look, as she evaluates every threat and possible complication should you be compromised.

To help her ease into the environment, you take her hand in yours, feeling less exposed because you’re in front of other people who should believe your relationship is real. The mission is the only way you can justify your desire to feel Natasha’s touch.

By the time Beatrice comes back, Alessandro is right behind her and he introduces himself. His clothes scream old money, and the watch on his wrist screams fucking loaded of ilegal money as well.

“This wine is magnificent” he comments when you sit down and begin to eat.

“Le Lune del Vesuvio” you say, looking at Natasha across the table. “We spent our honeymoon in Italy and I just had to drag Nat to Pompeii for a tour”

“Are you familiar with the region?” Alessandro asks and you nod, having practiced everything.

“Yes, I did my dissertation on cultural identity in Pompeii”

“She’s a genius, my wife” Natasha says with a smile, impressed at how much detail you’re putting on everything to keep them engaged.

“Well, Beatrice’s family, the Fortunatos are from the same area. The Costas are from Sicily. So we are very happy to hear that you know it so well”

“How did you two meet?” Beatrice pivots, and Natasha is happy to answer.

“I was working on a client’s divorce settlement and needed an art expert. Y/N was the only one with the knowledge to help our lawfirm. A divorce brought us together” she says, looking at you with a smile.

Such a romantic.

“Oh, that’s lovely. Well, not for the divorced couple. But not everyone can get a happy ending, I suppose” Beatrice says.

It’s your turn to ask the usual questions and Natasha acts surpirsed, following up the way any normal person would, as if you don’t know every single detail about their lives and criminal record already.

When the conversation pivots to Alessandro, you perk up. This has proven to be the hardest part of the mission, as he keeps a tight leash on all their financial records through obscure third parties.

“You know, I also teach some finance classes. Would you be open to giving a lecture on art appraising? I think it’s an interesting market” he turns to you.

“That would be interesting” you say, groaning internally. Now you’re gonna have to actually work on a presentation, for fuck’s sake. Nobody told you you were gonna be quizzed to this extent during the mission.

Natasha hides her smile with the glass of wine, and you kick her under the table. Her smile fades just a little, but you can still see the teasing in her eyes.

She’s having too much fun with this.

—

The next morning you wake up to a note from Natasha. She’s picking up a “special” package, which means she’s coordinating with Maria the next stage of the mission.

You’re surprised to find a bouquet of flowers adorning the dining table.

Natasha is doing her share of the mission and you have to focus on yours, which is the fucking presentation. There better not be a Q&A session or you’ll lose your damn mind.

Moving to the study that also works as a surveillance room, you pull out your computer and begin to work. To be fair, you enjoy art enough to know more about it than the regular person. You had also been in contact with appraisers and auction houses back in your Interpol days, as you tracked ilegal art dealers.

For obvious reasons, you can’t mention that bit.

You’ve been working for a couple of hours when you hear the front door open, Natasha hurrying up the steps.

“Hey” she says with a frown.

“Everything ok?”

“You didn’t answer my text. Have you even taken a break to eat?” she puts down a heavy box in front of you.

“Sorry, I was preparing for the lecture”

“I got you your favorite food for lunch. And did you see the bouquet?” Natasha insists.

“Uh, I did… but is there a reason for…?”

“You seriously don’t remember?”

“Is it our fake first date anniversary, baby?” you tease, leaning forward. Natasha’s so worked up it's almost comical.

“Y/N, it’s your birthday”

“What?!” you turn to look at the calendar. “Holy crap, how could I have forgotten my own birthday?”

You are so focused on the mission, this completely slipped your mind. What were you supposed to do any way? Being undercover meant cutting off contact with the rest of the world. The timing sucks, but work is your priority right now.

“Work on that thing tomorrow. You should be resting and having a special day”

“Nat, it’s fine. It won’t be the first or last birthday that I’m stuck at work” you sigh, rubbing your eyes.

“Please?” she reaches for your hand, and the gesture is so gentle that your heart skips a beat. Natasha is very serious about taking the day off.

“Ok” you nod, and the hint of a smile can be seen on her face as you take her hand. She gets plates for the both of you and even agrees to watch Project Runway, which she loathes and you love. Without either one of you noticing, you end up across the couch, your legs on her lap.

“Our dinner reservation is at seven” she says, her hand going up and down your thigh.

“Dinner?”

“What kind of wife would I be if I didn’t take you to dinner?” Natasha smiles, making you blush.

“Well, no one really knows it’s my birthday, so…”

You leave out the most obvious part of how her logic is flawed: you are not even married.

“I know it’s your birthday. Come on. Just let me spoil you once?”

You clear your throat and nod, afraid that if you speak, your voice will give away how much those words affect you. Natasha telling you she wants to spoil you?

That alone is the best birthday gift you’ve ever gotten.

—

It’s honestly a lot more than you could have asked for. The restaurant is beautiful, the food is amazing, and Natasha is looking at you in that special way that makes you feel so happy and confused at the same time.

If you didn’t know any better, you could have sworn you saw love in her beautiful emerald eyes.

“How’s your food?”

“Here” you take a forkful of your pasta and offer it to her.

“Really good. Almost as good as the one we had in… where was it? Naples?” Natasha teases, and you smile.

“That’s the city. The whole region is actually really beautiful… maybe I should take some of that time off and travel again” you ponder, thinking about how life has been all about work for the past years.

“Where would you go? Aside from Naples?”

“Sorrento, Lecce, maybe Positano. I don’t know, I guess I’d spend it around the south, just because the food is that good” you sigh, dreamily.

“How come you know so much about it?” Natasha inquires, smiling softly.

“My parents owned a house, because my grandparents were from Salerno. So we’d all spent every summer there, until they sold the property” you explain, letting the waiter take your empty plate. The memory of hot days, cold water and delicious food comes back to you, coupled with the places you’d visit, driving everywhere with your family.

“So, maybe you were destined to be on this mission” Natasha says, smiling.

“I don’t know if destined or it was Fury messing with me” you slip up, hurrying to take a sip of your wine. He had teased you endlessly about your crush on Natasha, and he was probably laughing his ass off as he prepared your identities.

“Whatever it was, I’m happy we’re in this together” Natasha admits, smiling to you.

“Me too” you agree in a low voice. Then, you look at her and smile mischeviously. “So, since it’s my birthday, can we get a nice dessert?”

“I’m already on it” Natasha raises her hand, the man bringing a plate with a slice of chocolate cake and a candle. “Make a wish”

What could you possibly wish for? You wanted to spend time with Natasha, get to know her, have her look at you the way she was doing right now.

Your wish was granted already. Still, you smile, and lean forward to blow out the candle.

—

“Maybe this is a bad idea”

Natasha is hovering. Hovering and following you and asking all kinds of questions while you prepare your bag.

“It’s gonna be fine” you say, again.

“It’s too risky”

“All I have to do is place this phone next to his computer” you lift the device that Maria sent. “And we’ll have access to his files”

“What if he notices?”

“I better run fast then” you joke, but Natasha doesn’t laugh. “I’m a SHIELD agent, not a history nerd with no fighting skills”

“Except you are a history nerd” she mutters and you turn to glare at her.

“You know what, Romanoff”

“Can I at least drive you there?”

There’s a moment of hesitation on your side. Does she think you’ll screw up the mission? Or is she actually worried about you? Either way, she looks conflicted and there’s no reason to not give her some peace of mind.

“Alright”

On the way to the lecture, you review your notes, missing the way Natasha smiles at the things you’re saying about the subjective value of art and how it has changed throughout history.

Such a nerd.

“I’ll be in a cafe monitoring everything. Call me when you’re done and I’ll pick you up”

“Yes, darling wife” you say with a slightly mocking tone, the same way you always call her your wife in public, but with no one else around.

As you exit the car and walk towards the university, Natasha calls for you.

“I didn’t get to wish you good luck” she explains, pulling you close and kissing you softly. “Good luck”

“T-thanks” you say, out of breath.

Natasha nods, letting you walk as if she didn’t just do the sweetest thing in the world.

You try not to think about how much you’ll miss this when the mission’s over.

But now you have to stay focused.

Alessandro waves his hand in the air, and you walk towards him with a smile.

“I can’t thank you enough for doing this”

“It’s not a problem, really”

It totally is, you criminal motherfucker.

“Oh, I forgot my laptop, could I use yours? I have the deck on a flash drive”

Alessandro hesitates for a second, but his mask slips back to place instantly. If you really were a regular person, you never would have noticed his concern.

It means he keeps everything hidden there.

“Sure. Let me just…” he quickly types his password, and you look around the classroom, pulling out the phone and placing it on the table next to his computer. “All set”

“Thank you”

As the slideshow is projected in the auditorium, you look around the room, feeling more confident.

“So, how much would you guys pay for a banana taped to a wall?”

—

“I’m telling you, he keeps everything there” you say to Natasha, browsing through the device. “There’s some encryption, though”

“My expertise”

“Show off”

“Let’s get something to eat” she changes the subject.

“You don’t wanna go back home and check if it’s working?”

“I think a few hours won’t make a difference. We won’t be long, detka”

You think Fury would disagree, but she’s calling you detka and your gayness outweights your sense of duty.

“What are you in the mood for?”

“Anything you want”

“Pizza”

“Anything but pizza” she says, making a face and you laugh.

“Natasha!”

“Sushi” she proposes.

“Fine, sushi it is”

The evening is spent talking about everything but the mission, and by the time you’re driving back home, all you want to do is get in bed and sleep.

“Where are you going?” you ask when Natasha walks to the study.

“You did your part, now I have to work” she explains with a smile.

“Fine” you close the door to the bedroom, joining her in the study. “Either way you’re gonna wake me up when you come back to bed. Might as well help you now”

“Sure” she says, even though you know next to nothing about code and hacking.

While she works on the computer, you look at the window, yawning and stretching in the couch.

Natasha finds out that Pluto is the banking organization they use for their covert operations. To access the accounts she needs a code-string of numbers.

“How many numbers?” you ask, half asleep.

“Six”

“Not coordinates. Could be dates. Most of them like to write down the dates of their oldest founders' tombstones anywhere they can, like a fucking tramp stamp” you joke, falling asleep. “Get into the database and try those”

“Maybe…” Natasha begins to say, but when she turns around you’re snoring.

And what does she know, you are right, the key to the algorithm is based on tombstones’ dates. Talk about morbid.

“Nerd” Natasha says affectionately. Deciding it is enough work for the day, she closes the laptop, helping you up to your shared bedroom.

Truth is, she’s not ready to finish this mission.

—

The end is near, you both can tell. With the encryption finished and the communications that you have intercepted, SHIELD has enough to arrest them.

According to the conversations you recorded, the exchange is set to happen two weeks from today. So you have two more weeks of fake domestic bliss. And then back to being just colleagues.

“I’ll be home as soon as I have a response” Natasha says.

“See you later” you say from your spot in the couch.

“No good luck kiss?” she jokes, referring to the time she said goodbye to you before the lecture.

But you’re not messing around when you stand up and place a chaste kiss on her cheek. If these are the last two weeks you get to do this without being questioned, you’ll make the most of them.

“Be safe”

“You too” she smiles, squeezing your hand.

The sun is setting, but you don’t feel like cooking anything or watching television. Instead, you decide to go out for a run, passing by the Costa mansion out of curiosity.

“Hey, neighbor” Beatrice greets with her signature wave. She often looks like royalty waving at the commoners. “Want some refreshments?”

“Oh, it’s fine. I’m just out for a short run”

“Come on, you could use some rest! I’d love to hear how the presentation went”

Feeling cornered, you nod, stepping foot inside her mansion. Beatrice has a glass of lemonade ready, which surprises you, but you take it and sip slowly.

Damn, even her lemonade tastes amazing.

“Heard those students were fascinated by your presentation” she encourages you to speak, and you nod, the movement making you a bit fuzzy.

“It was fun… yeah”

“Everything ok?” Beatrice comes close to inspect your face, and you try to step back. Your leg gives in, so you end up on the floor.

“I’m not sure…”

It isn’t until the very last second you understand the woman drugged you.

—

Everything is upside down or so you feel as you struggle to open your eyes.

“See? I told you she’d be fine”

“Oh, shut it. We’ve been waiting for hours” a man says and you blink several times. Their names come back to you slowly.

The mission.

Was your cover blown?

“Y/N, dear, I do apologize. My wife may have overdone it with the clonazepam” Alessandro says. You try to move, but your hands are tied behind your back. “Yes, about that. Don’t worry, we won’t keep you here for long. We just really need to use your connections in the art world to smuggle a tiny, tiny thing”

Good news (for you). The cover is safe.

Bad news (for them). Natasha is gonna kill them.

It looks like you’re in an abandoned warehouse, and judging by the sound, it’s close to the river.

“Yeah, uh… look. I don’t know how to say this, but you’d be better off crossing the border, whichever one. South, north”

“I’m not following” Beatrice says.

“Well, I’m afraid Natasha’s gonna kill you when she finds you two” you grimace, almost feeling sorry for them. They truly don’t know what’s coming.

“No offense, but I think a Maggia family will be more than safe from…”

“The Black Widow?” you say, with a smug smile.

“Bullshit” Beatrice snaps, pulling you by the hair. “Stop the nonesense and help us out. Or we’ll send you home to your loving wife in a body bag”

There’s a loud crash outside of the warehouse, and a widow bite is shot close to Beatrice’s foot as a warning.

“Hands off my girl” Natasha says, gun raised and pointing at Alessandro. “You ok, sweetheart?”

“Yes. Sorry for missing dinner”

“It’s fine. We’ll heat it up when we get home” Natasha jokes. With a nod, you throw yourself to the floor, shattering the chair. Beatrice throws a couple of punches, and she’s quite the fighter.

While Natasha is engaged in battle with Alessandro, the woman escapes and you’re following close behind. The drug is still in your system, and you can tell by the way your steps are a little clumsy.

Beatrice leads you to the edge of the river and you catch up to her out of breath.

“It’s over” you say, hearing Natasha step right behind you.

“Cap’s got the other one. Let’s bring this one in” she says, walking past you. She fails to see the gun that Beatrice is hiding, and you push Natasha out of the way. The bullet passes between you both and you launch your body against Beatrice, knocking her down.

Still, your diziness makes you lose your footing and you fall to the river.

“Rogers, Hill!” Natasha calls over comms, borderline hysterical. “Someone come in”

“I’m here, Romanoff” Tony says, flying over the redhead.

“What the hell took you so long?”

Tony’s suit scans the river and finds you.

“She’s ok, I’m getting her out now. Handcuff our suspect there”

Natasha turns to glare at Beatrice, punching her so hard she’s knocked out.

“Bitch” Natasha says, handcuffing her.

Maria approaches to make sure Natasha doesn’t kill Beatrice, while the redhead sprints towards the spot where Tony drops you off.

“Are you ok? What hurts?”

“J-just cold” you mutter, holding on to her hands.

“Let’s take her to the Medbay. Romanoff, stay so you can lead the rest of the mission” Steve says.

“Are you out of your damn mind?” Natasha screams so loud that every agent on the scene turns to look at her. “I’m going with her to the hospital, I don’t give a crap about your mission, Rogers”

“Tasha, I’m fine” you insist, but enjoy the way she pulls you against her, her hands on your lower back. Natasha kisses the top of your head, leading you to a car that will drive you to SHIELD’s medical facility.

Fury turns to look at Hill, amused.

“Remember our little bet?”

Maria rolls her eyes, annoyed. She pulls out a twenty dollar bill and reluctantly hands it to her boss.

“So not fair”

—

Bruised ribs, a potential cold from your night swim and a minor concussion. All things considered, it could have been a hell of a lot worse.

Natasha seems to disagree, which is why she pushes to postpone the mission debriefing.

“You need to rest” is all she says.

Back in your old room, you shower, enjoying the hot water and clean clothes. Natasha is still sitting on your bed when you walk out of the bathroom.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep without you” she confesses shyly, which makes you smile.

“Me neither”

“I thought I lost you”

“I got lucky. Those two idiots actually thought I was an art dealer” you chuckle.

“You’re a very convincing art nerd” Natasha teases, and you want to pull back but she grabs you by the waist. “I wish I still had two more weeks”

“It doesn’t have to be just two weeks” you say, running your hand through her hair. “I don’t want to pretend to be with you, Natasha. I want to be with you, for real”

“Yeah?” she looks up at you, a guarded expression on her face.

Instead of answering, you lean forward, kissing her softly until she pulls you to straddle her lap.

“You know, we never consumated our marriage”

“Seems like we should get on with it” you laugh as she flips you over, making you lie on your back.

“Just as long as you don’t fake an orgasm” she jokes, kissing every inch of your body.

“Promise I won’t”

Your reality turns out better than any undercover mission could ever be.

[cherryheairt]

Hidden Truths

Cregan x Wife!reader

pt. 1

named reader (aye-leese) no description, from house Glover.

summary - Cregan comes home from war with a scandalous surprise, much to the horror of his wife. Though, it is not all that she expected when she heard of her husband's infidelity.

Inspired by Ned and Catelyn Stark (obviously lol)

It had been four moons since Cregan Stark returned from King's Landing, ending the war and placing Aegon iii on the Iron Throne. Four moons since he presented his bastard for all to see, declaring to his wife that they would raise the boy as a legitimized Stark.

Aelys Glover, now Stark, had never thought her husband would betray her in such a brutal way. To bed another woman down in the South, in a time of war, to father a bastard. To give the bastard his Stark name.

She hadn't even had her first babe yet, due to the young couple deciding to spend their first few years of marriage having each other all to themselves. Had it all been a lie from Cregan? A masterful deceit to make his mistress' son his heir? Perhaps he had regretted their marriage and chosen to disregard any of her future children, thinking her genetics undesirable. Whatever dull excuse he had, it would never be enough to balm her heart.

People whispered about which mother's son might be Cregan's heir apparent.

It was not yet decided, and would not be until years ahead when Aelys showed if she could bear him more sons or not. Until she did, Brandon Stark would be Cregan's unofficially heir as his eldest son.

Aelys had refused to share a bed with Cregan since the night he returned. She would not perform her marital duties anymore, not until she was either dead or he forced her, which she knew he at least had the honor to not. Aelys would give him no children of her own, spitefully intending to leave the Stark line to a bastard who would forever be known to the world as such.

She would make it clear that her husband's stupidity would end the Stark's honorable history streak. The babe would be legit, yes, but never trueborn. It was said that bastards were born nasty and cruel, and Aelys had not believed such rumors until she met the babe herself. Her spite grew in spite of her previous kind and understanding nature, driven to hate the babe without knowing him.

Even with the same House name as his father, the boy was nothing like him. He seemed to carry his mother's traits, instead, whoever she was. Dark black hair and even darker eyes to match, though the Northern pale skin Cregan carried had stayed through the genetic battle.

At least Cregan did not bring her home, too. If he had, Aelys would have thrown herself from The Wall in shame and disgrace. She would not be the other woman in her own marriage.

His words when he returned burned at her heart, even now the dust had not settled nor had the fire quelled.

"It was a one-time tryst, I swear this to you. A night of vulnerability, when it got rough in King's Landing." He said, voice strained and undereyes dark with the heavy weight of guilt and responsibility. She'd never felt such an intense urge to hit a man before.

His bastard sister, Sara Snow, a woman whom Aelys had grown to see as her own sister and close confidante, returned from King's Landing a month after her brother.

She looked even worse than her elder brother, who still could barely hold Aelys' eyes when she wordlessly passed him in the halls. She looked gaunt and exhausted, though she claimed that the journey back was tiring. Sighing, Aelys could only welcome her back into the Great Keep to catch up over all that she had missed. Apparently, Sara had stayed in the Riverlands for most of the moons Cregan had hosted in the Crownlands. She was housed by the Blackwoods, becoming fast friends with Alysanne Blackwood and Davos Blackwood, the fierce aunt and nephew who fought together against the Greens.

No useful information about the whore that Cregan had bedded that night, Aelys bitterly thought for a moment. Then, a wave of guilt and regret hit her. It was not Sara's fault for her brother's mistakes. She was truly glad to have the conpany back, seeing as Winterfell had felt cold and emptier now that Cregan was back than it ever had before. She had been avoiding his for these four moons, leaving only a few rooms accessible for her privacy and peace of mind.

She never entered the nursery room's entire hallway. Even when needing something past it, she chose to go the longest possible route to avoid it. She didn't wish to think about the boy more than she already did. She saw him during dinners, being presented to Cregan by his wet nurse before being put down to sleep for the night. Those mere glimpses were plenty to feed her anxious mind.

Today, the adjacent hall towards the Keep's hotsprings was closed. "A few cobblestone in the wall have cracked, m'Lady. You mustn't enter for one might accidentally fall on you." A young servant boy had informed her, thoroughly apologetic as she sighed and headed him. The nursery's hall was the only one that also held the door outside, lest she chose to go all the way around the outside of the keep in this blizzard.

The thought was tempting but childish. Steeling her courage up, Aelys had fixed herself to stride past the door. She could not help the subconscious glance inside, seeing the glimpse of curly black hair laying alone in his crib, but wide awake and almost flailing around in a fuss.

Looking around, Aelys was surprised to see not one attendant or wet nurse. From her experience with babes, they were rarely left alone unless they were sleeping. Even then, some mothers and nurses liked to hover to ensure its safety while unconscious. Aelys stepped into the dim room, finding that Brandon's attention immediately focused on her. He whined out, reaching out grabbing hands toward her. Grimacing, she reached into the crib to lift him up, holding him at a safe distance from her face.

Up close, she could reluctantly admit that the babe was cute. He was well-doted on in the Keep by all the maids and even visiting Lords. Though his parentage was questionable and whispered about, none actually had the courage to ask why the boy had been legitimized so quickly. Aelys guessed it had been the circumstances. Aegon, the new King, was young and suseptible to influence, so legitimizing a bastard like Brandon was done without question.

"What are you fussing on about, you spoiled thing?" She asked, though her tone was soft and gentle. Brandon smiled a gummy smile, face lifting as he reached out again for her. This time, she allowed him to rest on her shoulder as she supported him, gently rocking back and forth as she stood. The faster he was asleep, the faster she could leave without feeling like a monster.

She already had that feeling nagging at her mind too much. Hating a babe took a lot of energy. She knew it was wrongfully placed, but Brandon's very nature and sire had wronged her more. The physical reminder that his father had not loved her.

Soft snores filled the room as she hummed lowly, the vibrations and comforting sound putting the fussy tot to sleep quicker than she had anticipated. Gently placing him back in the cot, she hands gripped the wooden edges harshly, a sharp contrast to her previous touch. Was she betraying herself for not demanding that the babe be taken away? Warded with another great House until she finally had a son? No. Cregan would never allow it, even as Lady of the House she held no true power over the Warden.

Turning, Aelys was met with her husband in the doorway. Silent as a stalking wolf, he leaned against the doorway and looked upon his son and wife with pools of affection. There was a slight gloss to them as she looked closer that she opted to ignore. "Cregan." She greeted curtly, moving to slide past him and speak no more of her presence in the nursery.

"He has a way of melting one's heart, does he not?" He asked, tilting his chin to look down at her. A branch, left out and hanging by Cregan's strong arms. Too bad that she did not need it.

"He disgusts me." She said instead, shouldering past him and continuing back to her rooms. She changed her mind in the few minutes that she spent with the bastard Stark boy. She could stay here no longer, could not bear for her own husband to bring this embodied lie to live in the very home that she did. Wouldn't raise any children to be in their older brother's shadow.

Ignoring the hushed plea from Cregan, Aelys went straight to the Maester's tower. Maester Parek had been a helpful and understanding ear for Aelys to rant to when dealing with arisen problems, whether with her moon blood, achy bones from the cold, or questioning if any ravens had come from mysterious women. None had, as far as she had been told. That is, if Parek had been entirely truthful to his Lady.

Hurriedly knocking on the man's door, it was soon opened after a grunt of physical labor had been heard from the other side. The Maester had always complained about his bad knees and how they were made worse in the winters.

"Lady Stark?" He asked, shocked to see her at midday. It was a rarity, as she usually made her visits in the morning after she broke her fast.

"Maester." She greeted, shifting on her feet. "I need to send a letter, urgently."

"May I ask to whom?" He inquired, earning a solemn nod from the young Lady.

"I'm sorry, Parek. It is private."

"Of course, my Lady. The room is yours." He bowed and left the chambers to occupy himself while she busied herself as well. She immediately made for the small attached room in the tower, made into a raven nest hundreds of years ago. A few perched black birds squaked or raised her heads at the unfamiliar sight curiously, but they were well-trained and did not spook.

Bending over the crickity desk, she quickly drafted a messily-writen yet vague letter.

Father,

Some troubles have come up in Winterfell, and Cregan Stark has advised me to return to House Glover's protection while he deals with matters here. I will be returning swiftly, though the snow will hinder the horse a few days.

See you soon,

your dearest Aelys.

As soon as she finished, she hastily melted the powder blue wax and sealed the direwolf sigil onto the rolled paper. Tying the scroll to a raven's foot, Aelys sent it off. The bird would reach House Glover's Maester quickly, and in the meantime she would ready herself for departure.

As she was shoving clothes and pelts into various bags, the very ones that carried her belongings to Winterfell over two years ago, Aelys could not stop the hot, angry tears that fell to her cheeks. Wiping away at her face with scruffy sleeve fur, gifted to her by Cregan himself, Aelys felt the frustration and loneliness sting at her soul. The loneliness was a choice on her part, most would say. That she was dramatic and most Lords sired bastards. She should be grateful he did not bring the mother back, too, and house her in his home next to his Lady Wife. All whispers she heard from her ladies-in-waiting, whom she immediately dismissed from service upon hearing such impudent things.

She would not be subjected to the humiliation. She wanted love, and she once had it. Oh, she had it. Cregan treated her like a goddess walking amongst humans for the moons they spent together before his leave to King's Landing. If she could not have Cregan's loyalty or love, she would at least find a man who she did not have high expectations for. An older Lord, perhaps, one who just wanted a young and pretty woman to give him final heirs during his last years of life. Aelys would know her role, then, and would live contently knowing she did not love foolishly while expecting faithfulness in return.

First, this marriage had to be annuled. In Lord Glover's home, she could easily ask for such a thing. The marriage had been commsumated, but there were no witnesses and no babes to confirm this to outsiders. Aelys would simply have to claim that she and Lord Stark never once bedded before he left to find another woman, and then she'd be an unmarried Lady once more. A Glover, not a Stark.

She realized she'd been quite fastidious in her packing. Unlike her carriage ride to Winterfell, her luggage could not be carried easily on one horse. She picked only one of her bags, with the thickest dresses and warmest pelts she had, rushing out of the room while clipping a cloak over her shoulders. Dark blue in color, Aelys almost cursed at the thought that almost all of her wardrobe and fine things had been gifts from Cregan. Her pelts, gloves, and even the horse that she would take home.

Cobalt, she had named the steed, noticing how his pure black coat almost gleamed blue in certain lights. Cregan had a wide and cherishing smile on his face as he walked the young stallion out of the stables a few days after their wedding. They often took walks on trails in the Wolfswood together on horseback, just their muffled conversations filling the still air. She remembered every moment with her husband fondly before he tarnished everything. Now, she knew all of it to be a facade, just like any other Lord in Westeros might have done. At least other men had the decency to be nasty plain to your face, unlike the Stark.

Aelys sneaked into the armory to pick up a few extra things, knowing no one would occupy the room when the whether was so unfortunate.

Striding towards the stables with squinted eyes, Aelys shivered at the temperature change. Luckily, the journey would be quick, with only a few days to walk on horseback. Cobalt was a resilient horse built for such harsh weather, and she was a Northern woman through and through.

She attached the bag and waterskin to Cobalt's saddle after she tacked him up. His long and unruly made quivered in the breeze as the light blizzard raged on as it had been for two days now. It did not deter her. She attached her bow and quiver to the other side to keep weight even, knowing she'd have to hunt for herself during the journey.

Steadying herself on the saddle, Aelys glanced once more at Winterfell's Great Keep, where Cregan was surely in his study or councilroom. She squeezed Colbalt's side lightly to urge the percheron onwards, giving herself no room for second guessing her choices.

At the wall's gate, the two snow-covered men regarded her with weary looks. "My Lady, there is a blizzard—" Ron Frasel told her, ginger brow upturned in question.

"I have eyes, Ron. I will return soon, I have buisness in Winter Town." She said tiredly, not wanting to be interrupted by the men at such an important time. It would not be long before a maid reported her missing.

Ernest, the guard's most frequent partner, inquired gently. "Will you require any assistance, Lady Stark? I'm sure Lord Stark would feel more at ease knowing you are escorted."

"He is fine with me going on my own, it is a short ride." She said curtly, anxious for Cregan to find out about her plan.

Ernest nodded and gestured for the iron gate to be lifted. "Safe travels, my Lady." Before bowing his head politely.

As Aelys walked through the opened gate, she urged Cobalt to a faster trot to create quick distance between her and Winterfell before she set up camp.

Ron shared an uneasy look with Ernest as the woman passed. "Lord Stark has never allowed her out without a guard before." He whispered.

His friend nodded, eyes glancing between her fading figure in the snow and the Keep. "Perhaps we should go see Lord Stark himself, just to be safe."

Ron shivered. "If he finds out we let his wife go into the blizzard without him knowin', who knows what'd happen to us."

"Quickly, then." They were both skidding off towards the Keep with no time to waste.

[juustokaku]

Another load of Jealousy - Yunho x f!reader

Summary: Yunho isn't about to even entertain the idea of his girlfriend talking to another man. It doesn't matter how many loads of love, care, and cum it takes to make her remember that she is his and he is hers. Genre: smut (mdni!!!) Pairings: bf!Yunho x f!reader Tags/Warnings: SMUT MDNI, mean dom!yunho (kinda sweet after some time), sub!reader, fingering(?), penetration, unprotected sex, established relationship, jealousy, possessiveness, breeding kink, choking, bulge (lmk if something is missing, I have never done this) A/N: This is the 3rd smut I've ever written in my life... I haven't posted the first two since they were written a couple years ago and were bad, so I hope this is worth posting. The plot isn't anything great because this was mostly for trying to see what it's like to write smut and I didn't want to waste a good plot on this if this turned out bad LOLLL. So please, keep in mind that I've almost never written smut! Word count: 2 300 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ If someone asked you if you loved Yunho, you’d answer ‘yes’ in a heartbeat. He was more than just a lover or a boyfriend; he was your worshipper, kissing the ground you walked on. And if someone asked you if you’d ever cheat on him, you’d give a firm ‘no’ and tell the person off. Although you wanted to make it clear to everyone you were Yunho’s girl because you loved him, it wasn’t the only reason to push people away. You’d be in big trouble if he started to consider the possibility of you holding affectionate feelings for anyone else than him. 

“Baby, what are you doing? ~” 

Despite Yunho’s needy tone and presence next to you on the couch, you couldn’t tear your gaze off of your phone. 

“Wait a second, Yuyu,” you murmured. 

He watched as your fingers tap-danced on the small screen, obviously writing a message to someone. Someone who was robbing him of your attention. Your eyes reflected the light coming from the phone screen but Yunho’s eyes shone with something else. He was getting frustrated. 

“Please, I’m lonely,” he whined, his hand creeping up on your thigh, trying to go unnoticed yet wanting desperately for you to pay attention to him. 

Still, you didn’t even glance at him. It was subtle but Yunho noticed how you tried to hide your phone screen, leaning away ever so slightly. 

The longer your attention was on the mysterious person you were talking to, the angrier Yunho became. 

You felt him squeeze your thigh, silently demanding you to finally look at him in the eyes. It was a final warning. Only when his long fingers dug onto your inner thigh, you turned to face him. 

“Who are you talking to?” 

Yunho’s icy voice shouldn’t have surprised you – this was nothing new, given his possessive nature. And like always, while it made you nervous, it also caused your pussy to clench around nothing. You couldn’t help but get horny when he looked like he’d devour you any second now. 

“Just work stuff,” you murmured, taking a glance at his hand. No matter how many times his beautiful fingers had been inside you, reaching the deepest, sweetest spots, you just couldn’t get enough. 

“At this hour? That’s bullshit.” 

While Yunho’s eyes were cold, they were undeniably burning with both fury and lust. You knew the look way too well just like he knew your body. 

“I’m friends with him so I feel comfortable texting him even in the evening. It’s just about a work project.” 

“Him?” Yunho’s eyes narrowed. 

You were too nervous to break eye contact with him, but you didn’t need to see to feel his hand hover over your core, so close but so far. Even though he was barely touching you, he was probably able to feel how your wetness seeped through your night shorts. 

“Please, Yunho... Don’t tease me,” you let out a quiet whine, hoping it’d persuade Yunho into touching you. 

Immediately, he pulled you roughly into a kiss. In a normal situation he would have kept you begging for him, but right now his desire and anger towards you were too much to handle for both of you. His lips claimed yours and showed no mercy or signs of going easy on you. You were enthusiastic to kiss him back, but his need to have you was even stronger. 

The way he started nearly biting on your lips would have soon left bruises, if you hadn’t pulled away. The both of you were breathing heavily after the intense moment, but Yunho wasted no time in trying to rest. 

“Who is that coworker? A friend you say?” 

You felt your pussy get wetter by his demanding words and you tried your best to give him an answer – one that would satisfy him enough yet encourage him to fuck you senseless. 

“We’re not close, but enough to be considered friends-! Yunho!..” 

He interrupted you with his fingers suddenly under your clothing, circling your clit. 

“What do you need friends for when I’m here? Don’t I give you all you need?” 

You squirmed around at the movements of Yunho’s skillful hands. It was hard not to feel even slightly embarrassed; you didn’t want him to know how aroused his possessiveness made you. 

“Y-You can’t do work projects for me... I need him.” 

Your choice of words pushed the wrong buttons in Yunho, and he took his hand out of your panties. He didn’t care when you whined at the loss of contact, just pure jealousy burning in his eyes. 

“You say you need him? Baby, I’m all you need,” his voice was low and dangerous, “There’s nothing and no-one else.” 

It didn’t take long for him to have dragged you into the bedroom, his fingers wrapped around your wrist in a bruising grip. You tried to savor every moment despite knowing there were more to come after this. 

The streetlights outside were the only source of light in your dim bedroom. It took a moment for your eyes to adjust to the darkness, but apparently Yunho saw well enough to push you onto the bed. Maybe he wouldn’t have cared anyways if he had pushed you accidentally on the floor. Whenever he got like this, satisfying his need to claim you was the top priority. 

“Strip.” 

You immediately started taking off your nightwear which you had just changed to after shower. Your hair was still damp and smelling like your shampoo. It was definite you’d have to take a shower again after this – preferably with Yunho. 

“You’re too slow,” he scolded. The way he started pulling your shorts and panties off was surprisingly gentle; even though he was mad at you, he was still your mere worshipper and saw you as his goddess. 

Finally, when you saw him properly, your breath caught in your throat. He wasn’t standing, just on his knees on the bed, but his height was still intimidating. You loved it though. You loved every moment of this, and your pussy throbbed with desire to have him fill you up to the brim. 

His chest was heaving with anticipation, and although seeing it bare always excited you, your eyes were fixated on that cock of his. 

“I-It’s bigger than I remembered...” 

“You’re going to take it nonetheless. You don’t deserve this after how you’ve acted but I need this now,” Yunho stated, his tone leaving no room for discussion. 

You felt like a prey, his next meal, as you watched him crawl closer on the bed and lay you down rather harshly. The intense eye contact just added to the arousal you felt leaking out of you. You needed him so bad, and your legs spread open automatically to give him way to your core that was aching for him. 

“You need a damn reminder every week of who you belong to. I don’t know if I want you to stop teasing me like that or not,” Yunho whispered, his right hand finding its way to your neck, “At least I get to fuck you like this.” 

He turned your gaze back up to him by gripping your neck, when you tried to look at his cock. You managed to see how its tip was covered in clear precum. It was as hard as it always was when you had moments like this, if not even harder. You wondered how it had ever managed to fit inside you with the impressive girth and length. 

“Look at me in the eyes. I want you to look at me clearly so you’ll remember my face every time you talk to another man.” 

You didn’t have time to process Yunho’s words. As he pushed his cock inside you, it was impossible to think about anything else than him. Although you were as wet as ever for him, it was still almost hard to take him in. No matter how many times he had made love to or fucked you, no matter how fast and rough or slow and romantic, he stretched you up nicely every time. 

“My girl. My baby,” Yunho muttered more to himself than to you. His hips had started moving some time ago already, but only now you were coming down back to Earth. 

His hand was on your neck like to use it to support himself, but the grip was still somewhat gentle. It tightened every time he thrusted in, and the lack of air just made you lose your mind in the pleasure even more. 

Your walls were slippery and starting to adjust to his size, so he slid inside with ease. It didn’t mean there was no delicious friction left though. 

“Who do you belong to? Him or me?” he growled into your ear. Although the pace of his hips had grown faster, he made sure to push deep inside you, drawing out every moan he could get from you. 

Your attempt to answer was cut off quickly as Yunho’s hands started squeezing your throat. It would have been hard to breathe even if you weren’t breathless already from having him ram your insides. 

“Answer me. A little choking shouldn’t shut you up like this.” 

Again, you tried to tell Yunho that you were only his to love, fuck, and take care of. But he held your throat tighter again, clearly teasing you. It was impossible to win this game, and you loved it that way. 

A mocking smirk spread on Yunho’s lips, “You don’t have to say it. I know you’re mine by the way I’m the only who ever gets to be balls deep inside you.” 

He released your neck and pressed his hand lightly on your lower stomach. It was no secret that your boyfriend’s cock was big, but the way you could see a clear bulge, the way your lower abdomen moved up and down with Yunho’s thrusts, made you clench down on him. 

“F-Fuck... You make it so hard to stay mad at you,” he groaned out. 

You watched his eyebrows furrow as if he was holding back. Finally, you had been able to catch your breath, although it was still difficult due to his relentless thrusts. 

“I love you. I’m yours, Yunho...” 

Your pleasured admission not only softened his heart a bit but made him even more lustful. He knew you were his. If you tried to leave him, he’d find a way to make you stay – even with force if necessary. But hearing you say out loud once again that you were his satisfied him. 

“I know. I know, my pretty girl, and I love you too,” his eyes met yours in a gentle way even. 

A loud moan slipped past your lips as Yunho’s fingers found your clit, finally continuing what he had started on the couch in the living room. Circling, pressing, and pinching on it – he did it all. Your sensitive skin tingled and almost felt like on fire. 

“W-Will you fill me up?” you grasped at the sheets under you, making them all rumpled and look unkempt. They were dirty anyways due to the sweating. 

Yunho moved your hands on his shoulders. There was nothing more that he wanted than to see your nail scrapes on his skin, a mark of who he belonged to. 

“I’ll fill you up, baby. My cum will be leaking out,” he looked at you before turning his eyes to his cock, slightly amused, “I’ll just fuck a new load tomorrow then. You’ll have my babies in no time.” 

His talk about breeding you brought you closer to your release, and he definitely noticed it by the way your pussy squeezed his thick cock. 

“Look at your pussy, how it’s clenching down on me. It likes to be bred, huh?” 

“Yunho, I-I'm close... so close,” you whimpered, gripping his shoulders like they were your savior. But you knew nothing could save you from the climax you were reaching quickly. 

Yunho smiled down at you a bit cockily, “Have I made clear who you belong to?” 

“Yes!” you whined, thighs trembling. 

“And who do you belong to, baby?” 

If you weren’t in such a state of mind-blowing pleasure, you could have teased him on purpose and said the name of your coworker. However, now that you were so close to coming, you couldn’t ruin this. 

“You! You, Yunho!..” 

A genuine, sweet smile tugged the corners of his lips slightly upwards. By looking at his furrowed eyebrows, it was clear he was holding back as well, near to orgasm but fighting back for your sake. 

And Yunho knew your body so well, that he recognized your sounds of enjoyment and body language, so that just when you reached the peak, he closed the distance between your lips. Your cries of pure pleasure were muffled by his mouth. 

His body shook and it didn’t take long for him to go over the edge, to let out a few stifled groans. Hot cum spurted out inside you, filling you just like Yunho had promised. 

“So, you’re going to block that man’s number, right?” Yunho mumbled, his head lying down on your chest. He could hear your heart beating rapidly after the intense session but eventually calming down to steady, slow beats. 

You chuckled, caressing his hair slightly damp from the sweat, “I can’t block my coworker’s number.” 

A surprised and disappointed whine fell past your lips as Yunho got up and pulled his now softened cock out of you. He looked down at your pussy, watching with glee how his fresh cum leaked out. There was a lot of it still inside you, but it wasn’t enough for him. Nothing was ever enough for him when it came to you. 

“I guess you can take another load then.” 

[minju4won]

— paparazzi

— when your relationship is discovered by the media.

enhypen hyung line x femreader

희승

your relationship was discreet, or at least that’s what you thought.

you and heeseung had started dating for about three and a half years. you and him had met through a mutual friend, even though you knew heeseung liked you, you hadn’t wanted to go out with him. and there was a reason.

heseung was an idol.

you knew what you would face, that’s why since you started feeling things for him, you walked away. but he didn’t give up, he wrote to you and called you to meet.

until he got tired.

at first you thought it was the best, but little by little you had no motivation to go out with your friends, you just wanted to be in the house and you didn’t even eat. you realized that you were going through a breakup of a relationship that you didn’t even have.

being alone made you realize that you were in love with heeseung. that even though you could live without him, heeseung was now a part of your life and your happiness.

that day you called him and confessed your feelings and your worries. that day heeseung went to your house and promised you that he would do everything possible so that their relationship was not revealed.

and so he did for three and a half years.

now you were trying to make some “cookies” if you could call it that.

“don’t put that on the cookies” you screamed laughing. “it’s going to be horrible”

heeseung ignored you and also put a couple of drops of spice to the cookies.

“i don’t know if you knew, but before being an idol i was a professional cook”

you rolled your eyes and approached him to take away his boat. “i’m serious.”

your boyfriend smiled when he saw you upset and grabbed you by the waist to start kissing you all over your face. you tried to look upset, but you couldn’t help but laugh at his kisses.

“if they are very spicy, you will eat it by yourself”

“if they are very spicy, i’ll make one just for you”

you let out a laugh when you saw how your boyfriend managed to disappear your little anger.

you felt the caresses he was giving you on your waist and you brought your face closer to kiss him.

but his phone had ringed.

“they calling you”

heeseung touched your forehead and stroked your cheek. “try not to burn the kitchen” you rolled your eyes and pushed him. you saw how your boyfriend left the kitchen and you put the cookies in the oven.

heeseung closed the door of the room while he saw who was calling him, he frowned as he accepted the call.

“jungwon? something happened?”

heeseung tried not to be anxious by not hearing anything from jungwon. only silence. something serious had happened. very serious.

“they know” heeseung heard. “they know about your relationship with y/n.”

suddenly, heeseung’s heart had stopped.

“what are you talking about, jungwon?” he said shouting under his breath, he didn’t want you to find out, not at that moment.

“a sasaeng, hyung. she’s been chasing you for several months. there are photos of you kissing, holding hands.” heeseung sat on the bed and rested his hands on his knees. this couldn’t be happening. one of the reasons why you didn’t want to be with him was this, now what was he going to do? “but this is not the worst, hyung. people have leaked her information: her social networks, her family, her identity. everything is full of hatred.”

heeseung let out a sigh. he was shaking. he didn’t know how you were going to react, were you going to get away from him? were you going to cut with him? heeseung couldn’t stand losing you. You were the love of his life.

“i’m sorry, heeseung” jungwon said.

“don’t worry. i will fix that”

heeseung hung up the call and ran his hand over his face, worried. not only had their relationship been discovered, your personal information had been leaked. this was going to affect you in your life itself. he didn’t know what to do.

he didn’t know what to do to avoid this, he had no power over this situation.

heeseung cursed himself for not having been more careful, he knew they could find out. but when you told him to go for a walk at night, with your eyes full of love, he couldn’t help but accept.

he got up from the table and took a deep breath, he couldn’t convey his anxiety to you. as he left the room, he looked at you eating an apple while you saw the cookies inside the oven.

he approached you and grabbed you by the waist to kiss you on the forehead.

“we need to talk”

you looked at him with a frown, thousands of situations began to appear in your head, but not the real one.

“did something happen in the company, with the members? is your mom okay?”

your boyfriend smiled when he heard you and put his hand on your lower back, guiding you to the living room. you didn’t receive an answer from him, which made you more anxious.

heeseung sat next to you and took your hand to start caressing it. his heart was about to come out of his chest, he didn’t know how your reaction was going to be.

“sweetie” he whispered sadly. “being an idol is very difficult, you have no life, no privacy. your life is managed both by the company and by the fans. the only thing that has kept me in this industry has been my members and my dreams. despite this, my life since i was an idol began to get worse, i couldn’t sleep, i didn’t have a motivation: until I met you. my life began to make sense since I saw you, i began to improve both my professional and personal life, i could sleep properly. all because i knew you”

you narrowed your eyes. you didn’t know where he wanted to go. did he want to break it with you?

“the day we became a couple i promised you that i was going to protect you, that our relationship was not going to be relieved.” heeseung sighed seriously. “until today i did it, and i’m very sorry. i couldn’t help it”

“w-what, heeseung? what are you talking about?”

“our relationship has been relieved, y/n”

you frowned when you heard him, waiting for him to laugh like one of his thousands of jokes. that he hugged you while whispering to you that it was not true. however, you only received a couple of tears.

you took your phone from the table and turned it on. thousands of notifications. you went to twitter and you could see both the name and your boyfriend’s in trends.

this couldn’t be happening.

@/engene4life what would heeseung be with that girl? she’s very ugly for him. he deserves something better lol

@/heeseungbaaambi I think that girl wants to take advantage of him... clearly her family is low-income and heeseung only saw her for something else #HYBEWEWANTANSWER

@/baeen tf you care idols are humans too!

@/engphynen ican’t believe heeseung betrayed us like that? is he an idol????? he shouldn’t have a partner and even less with that whore. if he wants to continue with his career he should break up with that stupid bitch. i’m just saying

tears were running down your cheeks too quickly, thousands of tweets in hatred towards you and your partner. thousands of comments messing with your physique, edited photos of you…

“heeseung”

“darling, i will fix that, i promise”

fat, ugly, whore. those were the words you were seeing. was all that you?

heeseung snatched your phone and hid it in his pocket. he caressed your cheek while wiping your tears with his fingers.

you separated from him abruptly and dried your tears. your boyfriend looked at you with a frown, that was the reaction he feared the most.

“go”

“what?”

“go to hybe, heeseung. tell them to delete my photos, to demand those comments. i don’t know if i can continue our relationship if they don’t do nothing”

“what?” no, no, no. they will eliminate all their comments, y/n. you have to be strong, okay? this is a relationship of two, y/n. we’ll both get better together, yes?”

the next few weeks were horrible, you didn’t get out of bed and hopefully you saw the sun. all those comments had affected you in an insane way. you didn’t stop seeing him, you didn’t stop seeing yourself in the mirror. you didn’t stop judging yourself.

heeseung had accompanied you at all times, giving you strength and distracting you from the phone. the company had not supported him, that’s why the comments were getting bigger and bigger.

heeseung didn’t know what to do. for this very reason, he had decided to do everything himself.

you were lying in bed watching the comments until you found that.

@/loveengene wtfffff he is so inlove omg please let him be happy. love for both<3

@/fuckheeseung fuck him fuck enhypen i can’t stan a idol with gf fuck heeseung

@/enh11pen whoever doesn’t support heeseung is not a real engene

@/noviadejakey lo ridículas q son las engene no las aguanto. creéis q ibais a tener una oportunidad con heeseung? ridículas envidiosas

engene

Weeks ago, unfortunately, my private life has been exposed to the public. I am very sorry for the damage caused to my fans by this abrupt, unexpected news. I just want to tell you that my love for my fans will not change, not even for my memberss.

I met my girlfriend years ago. I started a relationship with her because she made me happy, because I kept talking about her. Today I love her, and I can’t see her sad. I can’t stand to see her lying in bed watching her hateful comments. I can’t see her suffer, for this very reason, I ask with all my heart that you stop harassing her, hating her and spreading her face on social networks. I ask you in another way. The people who will continue to say it, by my decision and without the company’s support, I will sue them. I don’t want to get to that point, that’s why I ask you to do it the first way. Thank you.

with love towards my engenes.

heeseung

제이

you didn’t even know how you had ended up in a relationship with jongseong.

you worked in the Prada store as a clerk for five years, at least. of all your three years, you met jongseong a year after working there.

the first time he went to the store, it was with his members. everything was full of fans outside, it seemed incredible to you, it was the first time you met a celebrity of that size. despite being impressed, you never noticed Jay in that first meeting.

on the contrary of you, you had captivated hongseong from the first moment he entered the store. seeing your smile and your elegance was something that did not happen unexpected to him. for this very reason, he had started to visit the store more often, at first it was once a month, then once every three weeks until he went every week.

at first it seemed strange to you to see him so often alone, but he had the perfect excuse. he was an ambassador and needed to have new clothes and accessories whenever he could.

but you could notice that he was lying when you saw how he tried to flirt with you.

the first time he asked you to go out you rejected him, how were you going to go out with an idol? that was forbidden for both you and him. but Jay didn’t give up. he had asked you exactly ten times to have a date, when he no longer had hope, in the tenth you had accepted.

you hadn’t had many dates, but it was definitely the best. he treated you like a princess and at the same time made you laugh, you didn’t regret having had that date with him.

you always talked to him about that, as you were both nervous and his stuttered. you remembered it as if it were yesterday, but four years had passed.

now you were in a luxurious hotel with your boyfriend. it was the week of your anniversary, and by your boyfriend’s occurrence, right now they were in Japan in one of the best hotels in the country. you didn’t like to spend too much, that’s why you had told him to go to a cheaper one, but according to him, you deserved that and more.

right now you were in the private pool of his room, sitting on his lap and your arms around his neck. while you felt his kisses on your neck.

“please”

you shook your head. “jay, our flight leaves in two hours, we have to leave.” you said, however, you didn’t move.

“the airport is twenty minutes away, princess”

“it will be quickly”

“jongseong”

“i need you, y/n”

you rolled your eyes when you heard him and got up from his lap. “i’ll go pack the suitcase, darling. because we haven’t done it either.” you gave him a goodbye kiss and caressed his cheek. “in our home i’ll reward you”

you left the pool and approached the room, where you began to organize your things. you couldn’t help but feel bad about the state you left your boyfriend, but you couldn’t miss that flight. tomorrow you had to work first thing in the morning, and you wanted to rest a little.

when you finished putting everything in the suitcase, you went to take a bath and now you were in the living room while you waited for your boyfriend to get dressed.

you frowned when you saw your boyfriend’s name trending on twitter. had something happened? you didn’t know, nor did you want to know. you didn’t get involved in knowing what was happening, you and your boyfriend agreed not to use your cell phones on this little vacation.

you got up from the couch when you felt your boyfriend’s presence behind you and approached him.

“go down, princess. i’ll take down the suitcases”

you nodded and now you were in the elevator going down to the ground floor of the hotel. I wish you had stayed longer. it was the perfect plan, you and him, with no one around and without having to work.

probably in a few years they can be like this.

when you got out of the elevator you frowned when you saw thousands of paparapzis outside the hotel. was there a celebrity? or a group? you didn’t know, you could only lower your cap to cover your face more.

you approached the exit and you couldn’t but frown when you saw how all of them approached you.

“y/n!”

“y/n come here!”

how did they know your names? why...?

“is it true that you’re dating the member of Enhypen, Jay?”

“what?” you murmured.

“there are photos of you two kissing!”

you could only turn around and enter the building, turning your back on them. they had found out, but, how? you had been cautious in everything. you had taken different flights, you had arrived at different times and you didn’t even leave the house often for fear of being caught.

but here they were.

you took your cell phone and entered twitter, seeing how your relationship had been confirmed by dispatch.

@/jaywife I think it’s unacceptable that he has a girlfriend, after all he chose to be an idol so he lost that right. we don’t accept that relationship #HYBEDOSOMETHING

@/enhypen4life So he took her to one of the best hotels in Japan? That has a name: that whore is taking advantage of Jay, I hope Hybe takes action against this

@/jungwon4jay I’m so disappointed:( I thought he was different

@/loveenhypen I’m very sorry but if he’s going to continue in that relationship, it’s best that he leaves the group

you looked up when you heard your name and saw your boyfriend approaching you, worried.

“what happened, love?”

“they know about us”

you saw how your boyfriend frowned.

“what?”

you picked up your cell phone and put it in his face, showing him all the comments and the publication of their relationship.

“they’re calling me a whore and taken advantage of, jongseong. i’m not like that. i’m not taking advantage of you, i love you.”

jay bent down and grabbed your hand, trying to comfort while watching all the comments.

“i know, princess, i know. they don’t know nothing about our relationships”

“they’re asking for you to leave the group if you’re still with me, Jay. i know how much you care about your members and your dreams, i can’t allow this from you, it’s better to separate, for the best of both of us.”

“princess, don’t say that” he said taking the tears off your cheeks. “we will both get over this, together. you can’t say that the best thing will be to separate so that i can fulfill my dreams when you are also part of my dreams. i want to marry you and have children with you. those are also my dreams.”

“jongseong…”

“please, come with me”

doubtful, you got up and he positioned you behind him while they went to the exit. when you left, you could hear all the paparapzis shouting your names, you couldn’t take it anymore.

“i want to apologize to my fans for causing a stir at this new news. i know they don’t deserve this because of the love they give both me and my members. for this very reason, I want to clarify the rumors. yes, i do have a girlfriend, and i’m completely in love with her. i can’t stand to see her sad for hate comments made by people full of hatred. for this very reason, i want to say that I will sue all those people who hurt both me and my partner. my partner is not a public face, he doesn’t have to endure all the hatred of social networks. engene, i love my partner, for this very reason i ask for understanding from you, my love for you will never change. please, leave her alone. thank you.”

제이크

you knew jake all your life, specifically from the age of eight.

the first time you saw him was at school, seeing a new child in the middle of the school year was something strange for you and your classmates, but that didn’t stop you from approaching him. the first time you spoke to him he ignored you, the second time he gave you an uncomfortable smile, the third time he was the one who spoke to you.

since that day, jake and your little had separated. as they grew up, the friendship was changing, and your feelings too. there began to be mischievous looks and smiles, you justified it with hormones, after all it was normal in adolescence.

you thought it was going to disappear over time, that is, jake was your best friend.

that’s what you thought, until you started to get jealous when he talked to other girls.

you didn’t want to ruin your friendship with him, that’s why you decided to get away. He was your best friend, you couldn’t ruin it because of a feeling that could disappear. you were going to do it, what you didn’t expect was for jake to declare his feelings to you. jake liked you, you were excited.

what you didn’t expect was that the next day he would disappear.

you didn’t hear anything from him for years, until you found out that he had debuted in a kpop group. you felt happy for him, you thought you were never going to see him again. until you played on an erasmus trip to South Korea.

you weren’t so unlucky, were you? well, you saw jake in a supermarket.

at first he didn’t recognize you, until he saw your discomfort. he approached you, with the opportunity to talk to you, what he didn’t expect is that you were going to run, but what you didn’t expect was that he would chase you.

that day he apologized to you thousands of times, in order to be able to return to his friendship as before. you didn’t know why, but you forgave him.

jake chased you so much that now you had a relationship with him.

now you were in front of the Han River in front of your boyfriend, kissing him around his face.

“i will miss you, jakey” you murmured between kisses.

when your erasmus year ended, you had to go back to australia, for this very reason, you had a long-distance relationship with Jake. but he paid for a flight once a month.

your boyfriend grabbed your hand and kissed it. “someday we will live together, and you will have a ring on your finger.”

“jake, you are a idol”

“i’m a idol and i’ll marry to you”

you rolled your eyes and kissed him on the lips. being in Australia without jake, without his hugs, without his kisses, without him. you didn’t know how you could stand it.

“we have to return to the hotel, baby. your flight it’s at 8 in the morning.”

you got up from the bench and they approached your boyfriend’s car, once started, jake had his hand on your thigh and your head was resting on the window with your eyes closed.

suddenly, you heard some of the songs from your boyfriend’s group.

“oh my god you are so egocentric” you murmured.

“it’s the radio, babe!” he said laughing.

“this song its ‘bite me’ by enhypen. one of the most famous groups both in Korea and internationally, but, some fans wonder, how is the personal life of the members of the famous band enhypen? today at midnight, images of the member jake with a girl holding hands have come out. is this the girlfriend of the famous enhypen member?”

your heart had stopped, your hands were sweating and your words didn’t come out of your mouth. but not only you, Jake had stopped the car and turned off the radio with anger.

@/jakeslave jake its mine bitch fuck you

@/loveenhypen i cannot fuckin believe it?? our jake with a gf? that’s so disapointed man

@/kpoplover lol that’s false jake will never do that. he will never date with a fuckin fat whore.

those were few messages of the hundreds that were reaching you. your cell phone was snatched by your boyfriend and your tears kissed by him.

“jakey, they are so mean to me”

“they are jelaous of you babe, don’t be bother of that people”

you let out a sob when you remembered all the comments you read. were you fat? were you insufficient for jake? those insecurities haunted you since you were a teenager, and seeing them again had affected you.

“okey babe, i will do something” he said taking out his phone and putting it horizontally. “hi engene, i’m sorry for the hours, but I couldn’t help but do a live when i saw the situation at this time.” jake took your hand and kissed it in front of the live. “guys, I’m in love. i’m dating the woman i’ve always dreamed of and with whom i’m going to marry, and I’m not going to allow some of you to hurt her. i know it’s sudden news and it can be harmful to some of you, but i can’t help it. that’s why i want to ask for your understanding and stop throwing hate to my girlfriend, please. i love you engene and good night.”

성훈

for some reason, you hated Sunghoon. He was so perfect, both in his grades and in his personal life. he was a fucking professional skater, he had his life solved.

you hated him because even though you treated him badly, he never did anything bad to you, on the contrary, he always treated you well, like the gentleman he was.

once school was over, you could only celebrate that you were not going to see him anymore. until you found out that the girl you were tutoring at her house was the sister of the fuckin park sunghoon.

thanks to this you found out that Sunghoon had debuted as an idol, leaving his artistic life behind. you couldn’t help but insult him from below, he could be in the Olympic Games winning medals, however, he decided to be under an enslaved system.

but you love yeji, his sister, you loved teaching her and you loved talking to her. but you had started to hate going to their houses because although sunghoon no longer lived there, apparently every time you went he was always sitting on the couch.

he was so arrogant.

you hated how he made fun of you, you hated how he looked at you gracefully. you hated that he always answered you coldly, you hated everything about him.

one day you had arrived at their houses angry, and of course, he was there. you had calmly tried to explain the math problems to his sister, but you had failed. for that very reason, you had gone to the kitchen to drink some water, and of course, sunghoon was after you.

that day he had asked you for explanations of your behavior, but you were so angry that you let him go of what you felt for him. you hated him, but at the same time you couldn’t stop your heart from jumping every time he looked at you, that you loved every time he paid attention to you. that the anger you felt was all his fault.

you thought he was going to get angry, or that he was going to kick you out of the house, but he just said:

“you are so pretty when you’re mad”

from that day, your relationship with him began, and you didn’t regret it.

but there was a problem, sunghoon was an idol. and your relationship discovered.

@/sunghoonwife sunghoon is literally a princes and he is dating with that… woman?

@/lovenhypen i expected somebody better than her lmao she is so ugly

@/kpopinformation i have nothing to say…

today was supposed to be a nice day, you were going to go to your boyfriend’s concert in the United States, however, everything exploded at midnight.

and those comments were affecting you more than they should.

you were looking at yourself in the mirror. they were right, you didn’t deserve to be with someone like him, you didn’t deserve Sunghoon. he deserved a prettier and more charming woman.

you heard how the door opened and you saw through the mirror as your boyfriend approached you and hugged you from behind.

“sunghoon, am i ugly?”

“what? no, sweetie, don’t look at those comments”

“but they all say the same”

“you are the most beautiful woman that i see. you are so beautiful that I still can’t believe you’re mine, you’re so beautiful that I don’t deserve you. you’re mine and I’m yours. none of those comments will make your beauty disappear.”

“oh sunghoon” you said hugging him and resting your head on his shoulder. “i’m so sorry for not being able to go to your concert”

“don’t worry, baby. it’s not your fault”

after several words of comfort, sunghoon had left and now you were lying in the hotel room wrapped up from above. while on your cell phone you were watching a broadcast of your boyfriend’s group concert.

you wanted so much to go to that concert, and you felt so disappointed for not being able to go.

you were in the part where everyone dedicated words to their fans, and after so much intrigue, it was your boyfriend’s turn.

“engene, thank you very much for coming to today’s concert, i feel honored that after everything that has happened you still decide to come to us. last night’s news may disconcert you, but, in fact, i know that some people were bothered by the news, but i really love my girlfriend very much. i love her in a way that i have never felt in my life, she is the love of my life. i don’t like to see her suffer, please, i ask you respect for my privacy as well as hers. stop commenting bad comments towards her. please send us love, both to her and my members.”

[whytheylosttheirminds]

Don't Call Me Kid - chapter 1

(Rafe Cameron x Reader, series, 3.9k words)

series summary: You'd had a crush on Rafe Cameron since you were six years old, but he friend zoned you at every turn. Once shy and insecure, you found new confidence and self-love after high school. When your high school friends go on a reunion beach trip, Rafe finally sees what he lost, but he isn't going to give you up without a fight.

tropes: unrequited crush, glow up, she fell first/he fell harder

content: some angst, eventual fluff, slow burn, tomfoolery and shenanigans, drinking, fem!reader has occasional insecurity and body image issues

⇢ series masterlist

The drive down to Miami was idyllic. Windows rolled down, you and Carter sang along to the playlist you’d made for the trip and ate your favorite childhood snacks. Blue skies above you as Carter’s new Jeep flew down the coast, you actually started to feel excited for the week ahead.

Then, you pulled up to the Airbnb, and it all faded.

The second you saw all of Carter’s high school friends in the driveway, unpacking their cars and exchanging hugs, it all came rushing back. The way you felt like you never really fit in, how they’d tease you for being quiet, how the boys’ eyes would skip right over you in search of your sister.

Carter turned down the radio when she noticed the way you were biting your lip with trepidation.

“It’s gonna be fun,” she tried to assure you. “Promise.”

You put on your best fake smile, determined to make this a good week for her. After everything she’s done for you, if all she wanted in return was a fun week at the beach, you’d give her that. You pushed your anxiety down as best as you could and hopped out of the Jeep.

“Oh shit!” Topper called, standing at the open trunk of his Range Rover. “Is that who I think it is?”

He rushed over, sweeping Carter up and throwing her over his shoulder.

“Put me down, Top!” She yelped, not entirely convincing that she wanted him to.

He set her down and smiled wide at her, just as smitten as ever. She gave him a playful pat on the head, like a dog, and went to get the bags from her car. Topper’s eyes shifted over to you and his jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

“No way, Little Carter is that you?” He teased, using your least favorite nickname.

“What’s up, Topper?” You tried to sound unannoyed.

Before he could answer, still slightly gawking at you, another voice emerged from the front door of the house.

“Yo who is it, Top?” Kelce yelled down from the top of the front steps.

“Come see for yourself, jackass!” Topper shouted back.

Kelce hopped down from the top step and approached you in the driveway, throwing his arm around Topper’s shoulder.

“No fucking way,” he said, when it finally dawned on him who you were. He looked you up and down and added, “what do they put in the water at that fancy school of yours?”

“Smoothe, man,” Topper smirked at him.

Your cheeks burned, you rolled your eyes at them to try and seem unaffected. They had never talked to you like this before. The majority of your interactions with Topper and Kelce in high school consisted of them teasing you about Rafe and asking where your sister was. They never even came close to flirting with you, and now you couldn’t decide whether you liked it or not.

“Can you two stop drooling over my baby sister and come help me with these fucking bags?” Carter called to them from the back of her Jeep.

“Yes ma’am,” Kelce winked at you before going to help your sister carry in the hundreds of dollars worth of beer she’d made you stop to pick up on the way here.

“You assholes better pay us back,” she told them, passing Topper a couple of 12 packs.

“Okay, give me your sister’s number and I’ll Venmo her right now,” he responded with a smirk.

You actually laughed at that one, which caused his chest to puff out with pride. Boys had always been somewhat of a mystery to you, but these two were painfully easy. Their playfulness helped you relax a little, wondering if this week might not be so bad after all.

Once you were inside, you and Carter each chose your own rooms, all your recently opened trust funds allowing you to rent the biggest house in the neighborhood. After unpacking, you walked down to the beach with Topper, Kelce, a couple of Carter’s girlfriends, and a guy you’d never met.

Topper and Kelce introduced him as their friend from college, a frat brother. His name was Tom, he was on the taller side, brunette, super cute. The way his toned arms flexed in his sleeveless shirt was the first thing you saw, but his bright, dimpled smile is what really caught your attention.

When you told him your name, offering him your hand to shake, he held it for a few seconds longer than any of the other girls and Carter gave you a knowing look. You’d never wished so badly that you knew how to turn off your blush.

Once you got down to the water, you helped Carter set up the umbrella and volleyball net you’d brought. You played intramural volleyball for your college and had actually gotten really good at it, you were excited to play with Carter, who’d always wanted you to get into sports with her.

When everything was set-up, you started to take off the bathing suit cover you had on over your bikini, but quickly realized there was a problem.

“Shit, Car, did we even bring sunscreen?” You asked your sister.

“Fuuuuck,” Carter said with a careless giggle. “Guess we’ll just burn.”

“Um no, I’m not listening to you whine about your sunburn all week,” you scolded her. “Top, did you bring sunscreen?”

“I hate to say no to you, beautiful, but…no,” Topper answered.

“Great, so we have eight hundred Natty Lights but no sunscreen,” you huffed.

“Sounds like a perfect vacation to me,” Kelce joked, already cracking his first beer.

“I brought some sunscreen,” Tom offered helpfully.

“Ah, my hero!” you smiled at him playfully.

You could feel all eyes on you when you said it. None of them had ever seen you flirt so comfortably before, or really even heard you speak. This was the person you were at school, but they had never met her before. You cleared your throat, feeling uncomfortable.

“Could I borrow some?” You asked Tom, who appeared oblivious to the shift in atmosphere.

“Yeah, it’s up at the house, I’ll go grab it!” You watched him run up the beach, his toned back muscles flexing, Carter bumped her hip into yours.

“Five minutes and he’s already whipped for you,” she teased. “Told you this trip was a good idea.”

By the time Rafe finally pulled up to the house in his truck, all the rooms had been claimed except for the shitty basement, with its low ceiling and lone twin sized bed. After dropping his bags, scowling at the mildew smell in the small space, he filled one of the coolers he brought with some imported beers and white claws and headed toward the beach.

“Yo, Top!” He called from the back porch, beckoning Topper up from the beach to help him carry the heavy cooler.

“Jesus, what you got in here?”  Topper grunted, struggling to lift his side of the cooler.

“Nicer shit than anything you brought,” Rafe said. “I’m not drinking cheap gas station beers all week.”

“Fine by me man,” Topper added a second hand to the cooler to help him lift it.

As they carried the cooler down the beach, Rafe mocking Topper for his inability to lift his share of the weight, Rafe scanned the private section of the beach to take a manual headcount of his housemates for the week.

He saw everyone he expected, the same people that would gather at the island club every time there was a break from school, the party always finding its way back to Tannyhill. The same girls that hung around him and his friends in high school, Carter, who he had never gotten along with, Kelce, who he had seen just last week, and…someone he didn’t recognize.

The mystery girl was facing away from him, but he could still tell she was gorgeous. Her bathing suit wrap hugging her body, her shiny, bouncy hair flowing in the ocean breeze. She bent down to set up her beach chair and he nearly dropped the cooler. 

“Woah, man,” Topper laughed. “Now who’s got butterfingers?”

“Who is that?” Rafe asked sternly, ignoring Topper’s harassment. 

“Dude, are you serious?” Topper eyed him.

Before Rafe could ask what Topper meant, you turned around, looking up towards the house in his direction, shielding the sun from your eyes and smiling a big, beautiful smile.

This time, Rafe really did drop the cooler. It was you. He hadn’t seen you in four years, and nobody told him you were coming on this trip. Nobody told him you looked like that now, either.

Everything that happened between you was so long ago, but he assumed you still hated him. But now, you were looking right at him and smiling. His lips started to turn upward for a moment and he almost lifted his hand to wave at you, when someone bumped into his shoulder.

“Shit, my bad man,” Tom said, his eyes not even looking at Rafe, glued to you. He ran off and approached you, and Rafe realized with a punch to his gut, it was this random guy you were smiling at and not him.

Rafe and Topper dragged the cooler a bit farther down the beach, dropping it behind all the umbrellas. Rafe immediately grabbed one of his expensive IPAs and twisted it open, throwing back a sip bitterly as he watched Tom hand you something, you smiled and touched his arm gratefully.

Carter approached the boys and the cooler, following Rafe’s eyes to you. She twisted her lips, trying to hide her smile, everything about this day going exactly as she had planned.

“Hey, Rafe,” She smirked. “You good?”

Rafe looked at her, eyes narrow as he tried to catch her meaning. When he realized she had caught him staring, he cleared his throat and took another sip of his beer, trying to seem nonchalant. 

“Fine,” he mumbled.

Rafe reached in the cooler and grabbed a white claw, offering it to Carter. Things had always been chilly between them, though they’d still been cordial with each other. Aside from that big argument senior year which they never talked about. Now, it hung in the salty air so prevalently, your presence after all this time stirring up old tensions.

Carter accepted the drink with a thank you, cracking it open and looking back to you. Both Carter and Rafe’s eyes went wide when you took off your cover-up, revealing a barely-there bikini and the new body none of your high school friends had seen yet. 

Everyone on the private beach was staring at you, but Rafe was staring at you, his knuckles going white around his beer as he eyed you up and down. His heart pounded so loudly in his chest he was afraid Carter and Topper would be able to hear it. Then, when you handed Tom the sunscreen and asked him to rub it on your back, an unfamiliar feeling bubbled in Rafe’s stomach and crawled up to his chest. He glared at Topper.

“Who the fuck is that guy?” He barked.

Carter and Topper’s heads both snapped towards him, neither surprised to hear the usual edge in his voice, though while Topper looked at Rafe with concern, Carter’s face only portrayed pure amusement.

“Who, Tom?” Topper asked, watching as Rafe’s eyeline returned to you, starting to catch on to the source of Rafe’s irritability. “He’s a brother from Alpha Tau.”

“I thought this was supposed to be a high school reunion trip,” Rafe snapped at him.

“Wow, someone’s pressed,” Carter beamed at him, delighted in his discomfort.

“I’m fine, just didn’t know we could invite people, that’s all,” he insisted.

“Sure, Rafey, that’s all,” she goaded him.

Rafe and Carter gave each other a knowing look, Topper’s eyes flashing between them, utterly out of the loop.

“What did I miss?” He prodded.

“Nothing,” Carter assured him. “Let’s play chicken, you’re on my team, Topper.”

“Oh hell yes,” he dashed after her like an excited puppy.

Rafe ignored the interaction, eyes glued to you in the distance as you settled into your beach chair and pulled out a book, Tom leaving your side and heading toward the water to join the game that had started. Rafe smiled, of course you were reading while everyone else was partying. Maybe you hadn’t changed that much after all. 

The spine of the brand new book cracked as you opened it, you sighed happily, loving the sound. You rarely ever got to read just for fun, always so busy with schoolwork, and you were so excited to dig into the fluffy romance you’d bought off tiktok and turn your brain off.

But then, just as your eyes grazed over the first sentence, you heard a voice from behind you that made your sun-kissed skin go cold.

“Whatcha readin’?” Rafe asked, his tall frame casting a shadow over your sunbathing spot.

You had pretended not to see him when he arrived a few minutes ago, throwing your attention at Tom instead, who took it happily, no idea that he was just a distraction from the flips your stomach was doing at Rafe’s arrival. You actually thought for a minute you might be able to avoid him this whole trip, but of course, he was pouncing as soon as you were alone. He always preferred talking to you when no one was around, sharing hours of meaningful late night conversations together, yet ignoring you at parties and in the halls at school as if you barely knew each other.

You closed the book slowly and placed it in your lap, any clever words you had to say to him flew suddenly from your brain. Regret swept over you, it was foolish to think you could pretend to be unaffected by his presence. He’d said two words to you and you were already nervous, overthinking every movement you made.

When you didn’t answer him, Rafe took it upon himself to plop down in the beach chair next to you, leaning over to read the title of your book.

“Is it any good?” You still didn’t look at him, but you could hear the teasing smile in his voice.

“Wouldn’t know,” you looked down at your lap. “Just started it.”

“Well let me know what you think, might need to borrow it,” he kept his eyes on you, running over your body, making his own face go warm.

“Since when do you read?” You finally lifted your eyes to him.

Rafe’s jaw went slightly slack, all the swagger he’d brought on this trip with him suddenly disappearing. You were even prettier up close, your features more defined and striking than he remembered.

“People can change,” he finally mustered up, less bravado in his voice.

You gave yourself exactly three seconds to look at him, eyes sweeping quickly over his nose, lips, chin, anything but his eyes. His eyes were like a prison you’d once been held in, and you swore you’d never go back.

After your three seconds were up, you shifted your gaze to the ocean, hating that you wished you had three more to take him in. He was just as, if not more, gorgeous as you remembered. His features somehow sharp and soft at the same time. His lips pink and soft, skin a golden bronze even though the summer had just started. His hair was a little shorter now, but still long enough to stick up in the back in that messy way you liked.

The familiar red hue crept up your neck slowly, making its way to your cheekbones. You needed him to get up and leave you alone before you broke into an all out blush. You picked up your book and pretended to start reading again.

“You should go play with everyone else, looks like Kelce could use someone on his team,” you threw out, hoping he’d take the hint.

“What if I’d rather stay here and talk to you?” He asked, voice dropping just a hint.

You thought you could handle this, but you couldn’t. Was he seriously flirting with you right now? If you knew Rafe, the second you tried to flirt back, he’d grow uninterested and blow you off. With him, it was always like he convinced you to jump off a cliff with him, but then at the last second, he’d step back, watching apathetically as you fell all alone.

“I need to go unpack,” you said, standing from your chair and grabbing your book and beach bag, knowing full well your stuff was already neatly sorted in your room.

He looked up at you as you collected your stuff, and you hated the way you were sucking in your stomach. You spent four years working hard to love your body the way it was, and now, in front of him, all that self-consciousness came flooding back. 

You hurried away, catching Carter’s eye as you beelined for the house.

“Where are you going?” She said, slightly out of breath by the time she caught up to you.

“I can’t do this,” you explained, still walking fast.

“Wait,” she grabbed your arm, causing you to halt, hot sand burning your feet. “What happened?”

“He’s here,” you didn’t have to explain any further for her to understand.

“I know,” she said sympathetically. “But we knew he would be. We’re gonna ignore him, remember?”

“I don’t think I can, Car,” you sighed. “I think I should just go.” 

“No, please please please don’t go,” she begged. “I need you here. And you were having fun before, right? Tom’s cute! Just hang out with us and tell Rafe to go fuck himself.”

“That sounds more like something you’d say than me,” you smiled at her.

“Okay, fine,” she agreed. “I’ll tell him to fuck himself and to leave you alone.”

“No, don’t, I don’t want to cause any drama,” you requested.

“Well I think storming out twenty minutes after we got here would be pretty dramatic,” she argued.

Your lips in a tight line, you gave her an annoyed look, but she did kind of have a point. Everyone would ask why you left, and how would Carter explain it to them? Plus, you didn’t want to give Rafe the satisfaction of knowing he affected you this much.

“We’re about to play volleyball,” Carter said. “Come show them what a beast you are now! And then after you kick everyone’s ass, if you’re still miserable, you can leave and I’ll tell everyone you got sick.”

You squinted back at the group on the beach, considering her offer. Topper and Kelce were wrestling in the sand, somehow both losing. You smiled affectionately at their antics, you were really enjoying hanging out with them before Rafe got here.

“Okay, fine,” you agreed. “One game.”

It took half of one volley for you to get comfortable, head fully in the game. You were tempted to put your cover-up back on before playing, well aware of Rafe’s eyes on you through the net, but you decided not to, determined to love yourself the same way you had grown to when you thought you’d never see him again.

Tom was on Rafe’s team, also eyeing you through the net, but with a much more innocent, friendly expression.

“You’re pretty good!” He said when you’d spiked a ball into the sand right next to him.

“Thank you,” you smiled sweetly. “I play at school.”

“Hey man, stop flirting with our opponent and focus,” Rafe snapped at him from the serving line.

Tom just raised his eyebrows at you in amusement and mouthed “I’m in trouble.” You giggled and Rafe seethed, slamming the ball so hard on his next serve that his hand was red. 

After a few more volleys, you had rotated until you and Rafe were face to face across the net again. As you waited for one of your sister’s friends, Sabrina, to make her third attempt at serving, Rafe eyed you up and down.

“You look good,” he said quietly, so only you could hear.

It lit a fire in you, but not the one he was hoping for. You locked-in, bent low in a competitive stance, ready for the setter to tee you up. When Sabrina finally made her serve, you went all out, diving in the sand and running all over the court to keep the ball in play. Rafe’s athletic instincts took over, and he met every one of your attempts to score with a firm block. Eventually, your lungs burning with your heavy breathing, Rafe spiked the ball and you slipped in the sand, letting it get past you and land next to your feet with a thud.

You looked up at Rafe, who was high fiving his teammates and looking down at you with a smirk. He ducked under the net and reached out a hand to help you up.

“Sorry, kid,” he grinned as he lifted you to your feet. “I’m just that good.”

Kid. It all came back as you stared at him. The hours spent in your car, waiting for him dutifully. All the late night texts that meant everything to you and nothing to him. The cheek kisses and side hugs that fueled your fantasies. His hands around Cassie’s waist as he kissed her in broad daylight, though he’d only talk to you behind closed doors. 

Your cheeks turned red as they so often did, but this time, it wasn’t from embarrassment, it was from anger. He wouldn’t make you feel small anymore, you wouldn’t let him.

You turned to your team to fire them up, “let’s go, fucking lock in guys! You got me Top?”

Topper nodded with excitement, loving your new energy, as he got ready for his turn to serve.

“Fuck yeah, I got you, captain,” he saluted you.

Topper served. Rafe tried to dominate again but you were two seconds ahead of him on every play. Now it was you that had him diving around in the sand like an idiot. The smug smile wiped from his face, his jaw now clenched in frustration as he grunted with effort every time he hit the ball.

You were on fire, un-fucking-stoppable. After a few more volleys, your team was winning, one point from game.

You wiped the back of your hand across your forehead and down your neck, flicking off the sweat that had pooled. You felt two sets of eyes on you, Tom’s and Rafe’s, but you didn’t care, laser focused on your next play. When you lifted off the ground, body stretching to reach for the ball, you threw every frustration into the hit, hand colliding with the ball as hard as it could. Rafe dove, but he couldn’t get it, he crashed down hard, sand flying in his face as he whiffed, and you won the game.

Your side of the net broke into cheers, high fiving and whooping obnoxiously. Tom approached the net to offer his sportsmanlike congratulations, but you didn’t notice him, already making your way towards Rafe, who still sat defeated on the ground, eyes burning from the sand.

He smiled as you approached, reaching out his hand, thinking you were gonna help him up. But you just stepped around him, bending down, lowering your voice so only he could hear as you said,

“Sorry, kid, but I’m better.”

You left him sitting there, hand reaching for nobody like an idiot, dumbstruck and down bad as you sauntered up the beach.

(chapter 2)

a/n: I know I literally just posted the prologue but I didn't want to wait to get into the actual story. I'd love to hear what you think and where you want to see the story go! xoxo

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