#it's fine it's just 2 yellow-y spots on parts that will always be tucked into pants anyway

[throwing-roses-into-the-abyss]

so I may have slightly burned my pirate shirt.

[luvidzy]

☆ genre: fluff, flower-shop!au

☆ pairing: jin yonghoon x reader

☆ summary: a man walks into your flower shop one day and completely changes everything in your life

☆ word count: 2.3k

The sunlight streamed in through the large glass windows of the store. The AC blew a light breeze through the main room, and you allowed yourself to deeply inhale the soft floral scents of the flower shop.

You always believed that getting a job here was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to you. It was so rare for people to find jobs that they truly loved, especially on the first try, but it seemed like you had been one of the lucky ones. 

The day was fairly slow, as most of the weekdays were. A few people came in looking for bouquets for special anniversaries, or to ask about ordering a few arrangements for parties, but other than that you had been left alone to enjoy the ambience of the store and read a little bit of the book you always kept behind the counter.

You had only gotten a few pages through when the bell above the door chimed. Placing your bookmark softly into the book, you placed it on the counter and stood up to greet the customer.

“Welcome to Start of Spring, what can I help you with today?” you asked, moving to get a better view of the man that had just walked in. He was tall, with brown hair and brown eyes. He had his hands tucked into a tan overcoat, a white turtleneck peeking out from underneath it as he strolled into the shop. He was incredibly handsome and you could feel your cheeks heat up a bit as you watched him.

He turned to you and beamed. You had to shake yourself out of it, reminding yourself that you could not fall for a man that you had literally just met. He removed one of his hands to wave at you politely as you made your way closer to him.

“Hi! I need a bouquet of flowers, but I have absolutely no idea what kind to get. Do you think you could help me out?” he asked. You nodded happily, a smile slipping onto your face. You loved when customers didn’t have a specific flower arrangement in mind. It meant that you could take the reins and make something beautiful from scratch, just the way you preferred to do it. 

“Sure! Usually I recommend making a bouquet of flowers that represent the occasion or what feeling you want to convey,” you explained, looking up at the stranger. You saw his eyebrows furrow a bit in confusion, and couldn’t help but giggle at how his nose scrunched as the gears in his brain turned.

“Flowers are a language. Each flower has a meaning, and even different flower colors can mean different things. It’s an amazing way to tell someone something when you can’t find the words to say it aloud,” you said, before pointing to the large bucket full of tulips that you were in front of.

“Tulips represent love, warmth, and comfort, so we usually include them in bouquets for anniversaries or weddings. Hibiscuses,” you pointed to the vibrant red flowers beside the tulips, “symbolize delicate beauty, so we include those in bouquets for dates, and even bouquets for certain family members.”

The stranger nodded, his lips parted in slight awe. He couldn’t help but observe you as you rambled on about the language of flowers, your eyes sparkling. Finally, you turned to look back up at him with a wide smile on your face. 

“So tell me, what kind of message do you want to convey….?” You trailed off as you realized you’d never gotten the name of the customer that was in front of you.

“Yonghoon. My name is Yonghoon,” He finally spoke up, a shy smile slipping onto his lips. You smiled and nodded.

“What message do you want to convey, Yonghoon?”

“Well, these are flowers for some friends of mine. They have been working really hard lately with our new project, and I want to give them something to show how thankful I am. Our apartment is pretty dull, so I thought some flowers would be a good idea,” Yonghoon explained. 

You nodded, taking in the information, before moving towards the counter to pull out a notepad. “Well, yellow roses often symbolize friendship, so I think those would be an obvious choice. Irises are seen as a symbol of admiration, and they’ll compliment the yellow of the roses quite nicely. And then I think some pink tulips would also fit well with the yellow and the white of the irises,” you said, jotting some things down on the paper.

“I thought you said tulips represent love?” Yonghoon said, which caused you to laugh.

“I did, but I also said different colors can mean different things. Red tulips mostly mean love, but pink tulips represent happiness,” you explained, before handing him the list you had written with the flowers and their meaning. 

“Does this look good? Or would you like me to add anything?” Yonghoon’s eyes darted across your neat handwriting, before looking up with a smile.

“This looks perfect. You really know your flowers,” he joked. You chuckled, before moving to collect the flowers you’d need for the bouquet. 

“I’d hope so. I’ve only worked here for 2 years.” Yonghoon laughed at your quip, his eyes following as you darted across the shop, plucking flowers carefully from their buckets and gathering them delicately in one hand. 

Finally you walked back over towards him, tying the flowers together with a piece of string and wrapping them elegantly in brightly colored tissue paper.

“There, all finished,” you said, holding the masterpiece out to Yonghoon. He smiled at it, gently grabbing it with one hand. As he did, your fingers brushed and you felt yourself flinch slightly at the feeling of electricity that ran down your spine. Despite this, you forced yourself to ignore the now pounding heart in your chest in favor of grabbing the credit card Yonghoon was holding out to you.

“Thank you…?”

“Y/N,” you responded as you handed him his card back. He smiled softly as he slipped the plastic back into his pocket.

“A beautiful name. Thank you, Y/N,” he said, giving you one last nod before exiting out the door. You plopped back down into the chair as you reached for your book, letting out a deep breath you didn’t know you were holding. You shook your head, blaming your flustered state on the heat because, even though you knew the A/C was on, you didn’t want to admit the real reason for your burning cheeks.

Much to your surprise, Yonghoon continued to come in every week with a new reason to buy flowers. Each visit got longer and longer, with him asking millions of questions on different flowers to the point where you almost couldn’t answer them. However, as much as you did not want to admit it, you didn’t mind the visits he made. He was incredibly easy to talk to, his smile made your heart melt in your chest, and he seemed genuinely interested in everything that you said. Week after week, you found yourself falling deeper and deeper for Yonghoon, and every week you became a little less opposed to the idea of his visits.

Meanwhile, Yonghoon was enjoying every visit that he made to your store. His bandmates, however, could not say the same. Their dorms had been turned into a small flower shop of their own and, while it was pretty, it was not very functional.

“Yonghoon, I can’t even find a spot to put my coffee cup down on the table!” Kanghyun whined as he plopped down onto the couch next to his leader. The other boys nodded their heads in agreement, making mentions of the countless other things that Yonghoons flowers stopped them from doing. Yonghoon pouted as he slumped into his seat, arms crossed.

“But I have no other reason to go see them but to get flowers! I’m sorry that love comes at such a beautiful price,” Yonghoon huffed dramatically. Dongmyeong rolled his eyes as he sat up, crossing his legs.

“Why don’t you just tell them how you feel?” “Are you crazy? What if they say no?”

“They won’t. I’m sure they’re just as enamored with you as you are them. Come on, you can even do it in an extremely dramatic and romantic way, since that’s what you like best,” Harin argued, earning a punch in the shoulder from Yonghoon, who sighed soon after.

“Fine. But if this goes wrong, I’m never getting rid of these flowers.”

2 months after his first visit, Yonghoon walked into the flower shop already greeting you as you sat behind the counter reading as you usually did. You looked and grinned at him, the grin that made Yonghoon’s own heart flutter, before closing your book and standing up.

“Why welcome back. What can I do for you today, Yonghoon?” you asked, pulling out your pen and notepad to write down the flowers that he would need. He smiled as he leaned against the counter and smirked.

“I need a bouquet to confess to someone. I want it to be incredibly romantic, the whole 9 yards, you know?” Yonghoon said. You froze as you heard the words slip out of your mouth. A bouquet to confess to someone should not have made your heart sink the way that it did, but the thought of him romancing another person with the flowers you recommended made you want to throw up and cry at the same time.

“I… I see. Well, why don’t you tell me about them so I can recommend you a bouquet,” you asked, trying to settle your shaky voice. If Yonghoon noticed, he didn’t say anything as he continued to smile.

“Well, they’re extremely pretty and super smart. They are kind and generous, and always know how to make me laugh. I always feel warm when I’m with them, like I just drank the best hot chocolate, and they’re the perfect combination of tough and delicate,” he rambled, listing off thing after thing. Each note that you wrote down about this mystery person had your heart aching. This person sounded perfect, and you were happy for Yonghoon, but you couldn’t help but pity yourself at the fact that he was not buying these flowers for you.

“Well I think red roses are a must… and probably some peonies as well for beauty. We could add some carnations as well, if you’d like?” you asked, trying not to look at Yonghoon. You heard him hum in thought for a moment, before shifting his weight a little bit.

“I think some red tulips and maybe some hibiscuses would be nice,” Yonghoon said. You nodded quickly, writing them down, before handing the list to him with trembling fingers. His eyes scanned it like the first time he had come into the shop, before he beamed and nodded.

“Perfect!” You swallowed harshly, before moving to gather the flowers. You moved slowly, trying to stop the tears that threatened to prick your eyes with each flower that you picked up and held in your grasp.

Finally you had a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers, wrapping them gently and making them look as elegant as you could. After all, even if they were another person, you wanted Yonghoon to like them as much as you liked him.

“Here. I’m sure they’ll love them,” you said, plastering a small smile on your face in an attempt to not look as destroyed as you were feeling on the inside. Yonghoon chuckled lightly and nodded, smiling softly as he looked at the flowers.

“They’ll love them.” The credit card was exchanged, and then you both just stood there, neither of you speaking. You wished Yonghoon would just leave so you could cry in peace, but he fidgeted with the tissue paper around the flowers, his feet seemingly glued to the spot across the counter.

“It’s much harder to do this than I thought,” Yonghoon chuckled out. You looked at him in confusion, trying to figure out what he meant. It was only when you finally looked at his face, making eye contact with him, that he let a warm smile melt across his face, his hands moving to hold the flowers out.

“Is there something wrong with them?” you asked, reaching to take them and inspecting them to try and find the issues. Yonghoon chuckled, running a hand through his silky brown hair, before shaking his head.

“No, they are for you.” You felt like the world had just stopped around you. Your hands froze and you stared at him, mouth parted in surprise. These were for you? But he had said he wanted to use them to confess, and had even described the person to you!

“You were the person that I was describing, and I do want to confess. I want to confess to you,” Yonghoon replied, and you flushed as you realized that your thoughts had been spoken aloud. You held the flowers carefully to your chest, before looking up at him with eyes full of happiness.

“You idiot. You scared me, I thought you were buying these for another person!” you said, reaching out to hit his shoulder playfully. Yonghoon’s expression dropped as he realized his mistake and he sighed, before letting out a weak chuckle.

“Guess I’m not great at this confessing thing.”

“No… you’re wonderful at it. Seriously this is the cutest thing anyone has ever done for me. You used the thing that I love the most to tell me that you like me, and that overshadows any stupid assumptions I may have made,” you said. His expression lit up at your words and he smiled at you brightly.

“Does that mean I have permission to take you on a date?” He asked hopefully. You pretended to think, before nodding eagerly, giggling as you did so.

“It does, but next time buy me flowers from a different flower shop. I want to be surprised.” Yonghoon nodded happily, before he made his way behind the counter to give you a hug.

You melted into his arms, happily hugging him back with affection. There was nothing more perfect than hugging the man you loved in the place that you loved, and you were lucky enough to have that.

[spencesglasses]

sweet creature (spencer reid x f! reader) pt 5

a/n: to anyone still reading after 2 months of silence... here’s a new chapter. as always, ignore any errors and feedback is always appreciated. enjoy <3

part one | part four

The sun brought its wrath on Y/N’s skin as she lies on the red and white quilt blanket beneath her. She extends her hand to the edge, twisting the grass in between her fingers. Letting her hand linger to the patch of Zinnia flowers. She sits up on her forearms and crosses a leg over the other. Reds, pinks, and yellows bloom in the field, and Y/N stared in awe. A noise from her right causes her to jolt up from her spot, clenching her fists tightly. The wind coos in her ear, leaving the hair at the nape of her neck stand. She slowly brought her legs to her chest, resting her chin on her knee, and tries to calm her breath. It’s fine, she’ll be here any minute now, Y/N thought. She released her hold on her legs and let out an exasperated sigh, shifting to the lonely picnic basket that sat at the base of the blanket. She flipped the basket open and let her hand search until she felt the smooth cover of a book. Y/N smiled to herself, bringing it into her lap. She opens the book to find a stray note taped to the back of the cover. Meet me in a field of wildflowers where the sun falls in love with the earth and the moon falls in love with the stars, it read. Her fingers gently trace over the letters as she admired the note, trailing down to the signed “E”.

Y/N closed the book, tossing it to her side, and she felt the corners of her mouth rise when she saw the familiar strands of raven hair. “Hey, you.” Y/N said, holding out her hand for the girl to hold. “You finally made it.”

-

“Hey,” a voice takes her away from the memory. “Are you okay?”

Y/N looked up from the book that was splayed across her lap to meet the owner of the voice and locked eyes with Spencer from across the round table. She nodded softly, the tip of her finger ghosts over the letters of the cover. What was so special about this book? She turned over the cover just as she did years ago, to find the same mysterious note. Her eyes linger on the inscribed “E”, and she huffs in frustration. “Why can’t I remember you?” she mumbled.

“What was that?” JJ asked from beside her.

Y/N closed the book, setting it next to the case file in front of her. She moved her attention to JJ and shook her head. “Nothing.”

JJ and Spencer met eyes, then both looked at the book quizzically. JJ shrugged her shoulders when Spencer tilted his head in wonder. He glanced at Y/N, who was attentively listening to Garcia as she promptly showcased yet another case to solve.

“Last night, this girl, Gina Bryant, flagged down a police car in St. Louis,” Garcia said. “She was wearing nothing but a dirty nightgown, and she was barefoot. And she told them she was kidnapped when she was 8.”

“That girl’s gotta be 19 or 20 years old.” Morgan said.

“18,” Garcia corrected. “And they confirmed her identity. She was a foster kid who disappeared 10 years ago.”

Y/N shuffled through the photos the file contained. “She’s been in captivity this whole time?” she asked, looking up to Garcia, who was nodding her head.

“Long-term hostage. That’s rare. We got another Ariel Castro here?” said Rossi.

“Funny you say that. Not funny ha ha. Funny weird. She told the police that she was held captive with this girl,” she explained. “Sheila Woods, 15 years old, who disappeared from Nashville 7 years ago. Also, she said there was another girl, too, but all she knows about her is that her name is Violet and she was older.”

Y/N brought her eyes to the board of the missing girls from Garcia and bit the inside of her cheek. “You’ve checked the missing children’s database, correct?”

“Affirmative. There’s no Violet anywhere.”

“Did Gina say anything about her captor?” Spencer questioned.

“Just that his name was Tom, and he was an older white dude.”

JJ spoke up. “And where were they being held?”

“This house,” Garcia brought up a photo of the home to the screen. “Gina took the cops there. They brought Sheila to the hospital, very ill with something yet to be determined. Violet nowhere to be found.”

“It’s probably safe to assume that she’s with the unsub.” Hotch said.

Y/N nodded in agreement. “Who owns the house?”

“Oh! That’s where it gets even weirder. This woman, Clara Riggins,” she displayed a photo of the woman. “She’s MIA, but her checking account is active. She pays her bills on time, and if my math is correct, she’s 108 years old.”

“I might be going out on a limb here, but I’m gonna bet she had nothing to do with the kidnapping.”

“The real question is, where’s the unsub and this other girl Violet?” Morgan says.

“That’s what we’re going to find out. Lewis is on a research assignment. Wheels up in 30.” Hotch finalized . He gathered his file and promptly made his way out of the room, leaving the team to follow his lead.

Y/N stood from her seat, gathering her own file and the book that sat by its side. Her feet swiftly brought her to her desk in the bullpen and she opened one of the many draws in search of her go bag. Double checking if she had everything prepared for the trip, she carefully tucked her book between a few belongings, but noticed something peculiar peeking out of it. Y/N furrowed her brows. Never did she notice this. She had found the book a few days ago while searching through her closet for an extra jacket for Garcia. Instead, she found a box labeled with an unfamiliar date. In it, she found the book. It seemed familiar, but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly why. Y/N didn’t think much about it until she’s noticed the the note. The signed note. Why couldn’t she remember anything? And why can’t she remember who “E” is?

She groaned, slipping the item that was nestled between the pages into her fingers. And to her surprise, it was a photo. A photo of her and… the photo was torn in half. Someone else was in the photo, but who? Perhaps it was this “E” person. Though her memory was hazy, she could recall very little of the note and the book itself. She remembered this girl. That must be E, she thought. But who exactly is she, and why can’t I remember her face?

Y/N’s thoughts were cut short when she felt a hand grasp at her waist. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she quickly spins on her heel to face the person behind her.

“Woah, there!” JJ exclaimed, placing her other hand to Y/N’s waist to steady her. “You alright?”

Y/N visibly relaxed, letting out an exhale. “All good,” She placed her hand atop JJ’s and offered her a small smile. “Just surprised me, that's all.”

JJ quirked up a brow, and her eyes trailed over Y/N’s features. “I’ve been calling out to you… you didn’t hear me?”

Y/N inwardly frowned. “Guess not,”

“Are you sure you’re alright?” JJ brought her hand up to Y/N’s face, cupping her jaw.

Y/N covered JJ’s hand with hers once again. This is what made her feel more at home when joining the team. Before she had joined, she had known about the team. Spencer would mention them every now and then when he would stop by to visit her at the shop. He would tell her various stories about the cases they’ve solved, about the people they’ve, along with stories about each member of the team. And she admired them. They were like a little family and at first, Y/N was scared to intrude. She pat JJ’s hand, giving her a tight-lipped smile. “I’m fine, Jayge,” she took JJ’s hands in her own. “Now, we have people to save, don’t we?”

Y/N released her hold on her hand, grabbing hold of her bag. She looked over the bullpen and noticed Spencer awkwardly standing over his desk with his go bag halfway off his shoulder, and a smile formed. She took a step forward, turning to JJ, and offered her arm for her to take. “Join me.” Y/N said.

JJ linked her arm with hers, letting Y/N lead the way to Spencer’s desk, and his head perked up when he saw her. “Y/N…”

“Hey, you,” she held out her arm just as she did to JJ. “You ready to go?”

To Y/N’s surprise, Spencer grasped her hand in his instead. She glanced over to JJ, and she looked as shocked as she was as her eyes went back and forth between the pair and their locked hands. Y/N’s heart sped up a bit when she felt Spencer squeeze at her hand. She had grown used to the feeling of his hand in hers. Every once in a while, they would grab hold of each other's hands if something in a case hit too close to home. It was a comfort for them, though it was something that went unspoken. But each time, she would feel her heart speed up ever so slightly. She shook her head and gave Spencer’s hand a light squeeze back.

-

Morgan, Rossi, and Y/N walked in silence as they surveyed the basement of the home. Y/N’s eyes wander over the room, noticing various arts and crafts that littered the murky walls and blankets and stuffed animals that sat on the abandoned mattresses. She took a step closer to one mattresses when she saw a deep red peeking out from underneath a blanket. Nudging Rossi with her shoulder, she gestured down to the atrocity. He lifted the blanket with his gloved hand, uncovering a large patch of dried blood. The two glanced up at each other and shook their heads, continuing on after Morgan.

They parted ways to investigate different areas of the house, and Y/N found herself in a bedroom. It was tidy, the bed perfectly made, and not a speck of dust in sight. She opened the draws of the dresser, noting the clothes that were neatly folded. Y/N heard footsteps enter the room, and she looked over her shoulder to see Morgan opening the doors of the closet. Just as she had expected. The closet was just as neat and orderly as the rest of the room.

“Look what I found in the kitchen,” Rossi’s voice broke the silence as stepped into the room. He sat the box he held on the bed and Morgan stood beside him.

“Bondage and torture porn.” he reported.

“Also found another tool box in there, that makes three.”

“Well, you saw that guy's woodwork. He’s obviously good with his hands.”

“He must be a carpenter. Maybe a handyman of some sort, but,” Y/N said, keeping her eyes fixed on the closet. “Look at this.”

She beckoned the two to peer inside the closet. “He must have OCD. The closet, the clothes, even the bed… perfectly organized.”

“He wants total control over every aspect of his life.” Rossi stated.

“Makes sense for a sadist.”

“He’s not gonna like it on the run,” Morgan said. “He’s gonna feel powerless.’

Rossi spoke. “And that’s why he took Violet with him. Sheila Woods was probably too sick to travel.”

“You know, Violet was the oldest and helped with the abductions. She was probably his first victim.”

“Perhaps. Or maybe his daughter?”

“Well, either way, she was important to him.”

“You know. I also wonder, what happened to Clara Riggins?” Rossi asked, rounding the bed.

Morgan answered. “The bedroom down the hall is untouched. Looks like it’s been that way for a while.”

Y/N walked around the bed, to the door frame, and peeked her head to briefly view the rest of the house. “He looked after the house. It’s well cared for. Maybe that’s how he found this place,” she turned on her heel to face the two men. “Elderly woman, no family. She must’ve hired someone to fix things now and then. She thought he was a nice guy, does good work, and they build a relationship,”

“You think he took advantage of Clara Riggins?”

“That’s what it seems like. Though he doesn’t profile as a killer, I think he made a spot in her life and waited until she died.”

“And he made sure that she came to depend on him for survival. Just like his victims.”

-

The three of them hurried to the location the unsub’s vehicle was spotted. Y/N sat in the back seat of the van, fastening the FBI vest over her torso. Morgan and Rossi occupied the driver’s and the passenger’s seat. Police cars trailed behind them as they came to a stop and they hurriedly made their way out of the car. Y/N pulled her gun from her holster that sat at her hip and stealthy surveyed the blue van as Morgan ventured to the driver’s side. “Michael Clark Thompson, FBI!” Morgan’s voice booms when he approaches the man. “Show me your hands! Show me your hands! Now very slowly use your right hand to open the driver’s side door. Slowly.”

Y/N and Rossi stayed outside the back of the van with their guns pointed forward. A small voice of a woman was heard, and Y/N gestured for the surrounding officers to be prepared to open the car doors. “Get out the van nice and slow. Keep your hands where I can see them.” Morgan ordered.

She heard Morgan groan in frustration, along with a figure whizzing past him. “Ah, you gotta be kidding me. This guy!” he quickly took off after him and with that, Y/N signaled the police officers to open the back of the van.

She stepped quickly, looking over the inside of the van, and locked eyes with a girl. With her knees to her chest, she scurried backward in fright, heaving with each breath. Y/N returned her gun to her holster and extended her arm towards her. “It’s okay, It’s alright,” she cooed. “We got you.”

-

“Nothing to hide, my ass. He’s full of it.” Rossi scoffed as Hotch informed the team about Thompson’s defence claims. The team occupied the sitting space of the hospital the girls were admitted to, along with Thompson, who was kept contained in a spare room. According to Hotch, Thompson “saved” the girls from their parents and claimed that he had nothing to hide when it came to Clara Higgins. The entire ordeal made Y/N’s blood boil. The man was a pig, and he deserved to rot for his crimes.

“The preliminary M.E. report does suggest that Clara Riggins died of natural causes.” Spencer said.

“I think he’s telling the truth about that. He didn’t kill her.”

Y/N moved from her spot next to JJ and settled on the empty seat next to Spencer. She snuck a glance his way, noticing the wrinkle in between his brows from them being furrowed. She thought it was cute, not that she would ever tell him that, of course. Y/N scrunched her nose and nudged him, signaling for him to pass her to M.E. reports.

“I’m sorry, guys. I can’t stop thinking about Violet,” says JJ. “She could not wait to get out of here. Like, it was urgent. It’s all she could talk about.”

“Well, she’d been held captive most of her life. All this has to be a tremendous shock.” Rossi said.

“No question about that, but that wasn’t it. It’s like she had somewhere specific in mind and she needed Thompson to go with her.”

“Well, he’s conditioned her to depend on him for everything.” Hotch said curtly.

“Exactly. You condition someone by doing something over and over again. Now, we know he repeatedly abused them. I don’t think she was itching to get out of here to go do that.”

Y/N flipped over the documents absentmindedly and tossed her leg over the other. “Perhaps he did something to reward her somehow,” she starts. “What if she has a child? Where else would she want to go so badly…”

JJ gave her a nod of agreement. “Sheila Woods did have a miscarriage. Maybe Violet brought one to term.”

“We did profile that he might be trying to fill some kind of void since he didn’t have a family.” said Spencer.

“Yeah, but Gina Bryant never mentioned any baby.” Rossi pointed out.”

“Violet could have had the baby before Gina was abducted. Gina wouldn’t even know about it.”

“Well, if we’re right about any of this, that means there’s another kid somewhere out there.”

-

Y/N walked behind Rossi and Hotch as they led Thompson to the room Violet occupied. Passing through the halls of the building, seeing the parents of these girls, made her heart break for them. For Violet’s parents, most of all. They’ve spent so many years mourning the loss, just for this sick man to step in and claim their girl as his own. Y/N clenched her jaw tightly, picking up her steps to meet their destination.

“Daddy,” Violet says with a smile.

“Hi, Vi.” Thompson replied.

The interaction made Y/N’s stomach churn, and she let out a deep exhale. “Have a seat,” she spat.

“No, I want to be close to her.”

“Not part of the deal,”

The man turned to her with a deep frown on his face. “Then give us some privacy.”

“No,” she deadpanned. “Sit.”

Hotch pulled out a chair behind Thompson and he reluctantly claimed his spot. Violet’s eyes darted between the agents and the man, gasping when she noticed his arm sling. “You’re hurt…”

“Don’t worry about that. It’s nothing.”

Violet fiddled with her fingers, trying to settle her breaths. “I’m really sorry?”

“About what?” he asked.

“My sisters,” she answered, afraid to meet his eyes. “I had to tell them. Please don’t be mad. I had to…”

“Now, listen, it’s alright, Vi. Okay? It really is okay.” he said sincerely.

“Did you get the groceries yet?” she asked him.

The question made the agent’s ears perk up.

“No, honey,” Thompson says. “I’ve been here the whole time just like you.”

“But can we go now?” she urged.

“I have some bad news,” he lamented. “We- We can’t go there ever again.”

“What? We have to go today! It’s by the disappearing place, we can be fast.”

“You’re right, Violet, but I can’t. These police,” he said, nodding towards the agents. “They don’t think we should be together. They’re going to break apart our family, just like I told you they would. I just wanted to come and say goodbye before they took me away.”

“No! Wait. When will you be back?!”

“Not for a very long time. I would give you a hug goodbye, but they won’t let me.”

“No! I- Please…” she pleaded, inching closer to the edge of the bed. “Please, can I just hug him?”

Y/N shared a look with Hotch, and he gave her a curt nod. She arched a brow at him, brining her attention back to the pair. “Okay.” she said.

She grimaced and looked away as the two embraced. Y/N felt bad for this girl. All the awful things she had to endure… at the hands of someone who claimed to care for her? This poor girl was so stuck in their ways.

“Oh, Violet, I’m gonna miss you,” he whispered in her ear. “I’m gonna miss you.”

He placed a kiss to her cheek as he pulled away, his hand cupping her face in affection. “My beautiful Violet.”

Y/N’s attention shifted back to them when she heard Violet’s footsteps. She was backing away from him… she must have remembered something. Rossi gestured for JJ to bring in the girl’s parents from outside of the room.

“What is- What is this? Who are these people?!” Thompson demanded when he saw the couple.

“These are her parents,” Y/N said sternly.

“And that gentleman right there is her real daddy.” Rossi continued.

“Huh? She knows who her real daddy is. Daddy is the only one who loves you. Isn’t that right, Violet?”

The girl sat there in a silent war with herself. Her eyes flicker between the couple and Thompson for a moment, her face scrunching up in displeasure. “No… my name… is... Amelia.”

“Amelia…” she repeated. “Amelia. Amelia!” The man’s face paled, and he stiffened in posture before she charged at him. Her fists hit his chest in a fit of rage, and the man was trapped between Amelia and the wall. The agents made haste. Hotch and Rossi were on either side of Thompson, and JJ and Y/N wrapped their arms around Amelia’s waist in efforts to pull her back.

“Get off of me!” he shouted.

But regardless of the agent's restraints, Amelia was feverish in her movements. Y/N couldn’t blame her. He was going to get exactly what he deserved. “My name is Amelia!”

Her and JJ were able to pry her off of him and Hotch and Rossi escorted him out of the room. “There is no deal! You hear me?! There’s no deal!”

Y/N wrapped her arm around Amelia’s shoulders and rubbed languid circles as she tried to steady her breath. “You’re okay… you’re okay,” she soothed.

-

The case came to a close, and the four girls were saved. All was well, with the exception of the situation with Thompson. He was brought to his demise when the mother of Sheila Woods shot him. Y/N thought he deserved it. If she were to be honest, she probably would have done the same if she were in her shoes.

Now, Y/n found herself snuggled on the couch of the jet with the same book from earlier that day in her lap. Though the case took her mind off the note, the lack of familiarity was making her frustrated. Not to mention the memory… her mind was hazy, but she couldn’t let it go. Why was this so important to her?

A new weight at the end of the couch made the cushions dip, and Y/N caught Spencer lazily fumbling with a small blanket. The dark circles under his eyes didn’t go unnoticed by her. She watched as he hopelessly tried to make himself comfortable in the small proximity.

“Spencer…” she finally called out to him.

He turns his gaze to her and hums in response. Y/N turned her body to dangle her legs over the couch, placing the pillow on top of her thighs. She tapped the pillow on her lap as an invitation. “Sleep, Spence,”

Spencer hesitated, his eyes flickering between the pillow and her eyes. “It’s fine,” she says. “Consider it as an apology for making you sleep on the floor.”

Spencer smiles and shuffles to his side, resting his head on the soft pillow. “Of course,”

Y/N mirrored his smile, holding in a snicker. The two sat in comfortable silence for a moment, and Spencer’s eyes fluttered shut. “You still owe me another movie night,” he whispered, not bothering to open his eyes. “You know… as an apology.”

She looked down to her lap and saw the corners of his lips curl upwards. “Why, of course,” Y/N poked his cheek. “But now, you need to rest.”

He nodded, nuzzling further into the pillow. The sound of Spencer’s soft snores reached her ears, and Y/N closed her own eyes. She draped her arm over his form and let her head lull back, allowing herself to be engulfed by sleep.

-

a/n: honestly i never intended to ship y/n and jj, but look at me. shipping y/n and jj.

taglist: @measure-in-pain @ceeellewrites @eevee0722

[fumbling-fanfics]

Nestor Oceteva x Reader - Walk In's Welcome

Paring: Nestor Oceteva and Reader

Warnings: None really, there is a mention of blood. Nestor being cute

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

I have a part 2 to this sort of in progress...if people even care about part 1.

I don't recall any requests for tags, so I'm copying from an old fic.

Please let me know what you think. Ans yes, there will probably be smut in part 2

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

"Your man's here" Clara's sing-song tone was accompanied by a nudge that was delivered so hard it nearly sent your phone flying onto the salon floor.

With a quick fumble, you recovered your phone in your hands and looked up. Nestor Oceteva was walking through the salon door, his familiar yellow glasses on. You said nothing to Clara not wanting to give her any more reason to tease you.

As usual the mood in the salon immediately changed, everyone spoke a little quieter. Waiting to hear what he would say. Your cousin, Ava, looked at you in the reflection of the mirror as she stood at a salon chair, braiding a client's hair. You slightly nodded at her as you slid off the stool behind the front counter.

***

When your cousin had asked you to help her out 18 months ago, you said yes without hesitation. You too were close, almost like sisters and itbwas only weekends which you had free.

While Ava did the hair and the hiring of other hairdresser's, you mainly saw to the book keeping, counting the money and keeping the shop tidy. 

You'd slightly been promoted to children's hairdresser - after offering to step in and simply braid a young girl's hair at the desperate peel of the mother. From then on the other girls in the shop were more than happy to pass the children client's your way.

And then Nestor walked in one day. Everyone, including you, knew of him and who he worked for. It was no secret. 

The atmosphere changed as he stepped into the shop and up the desk in the reception area. When you first looked up at him, he hesitated but didn't remove his yellow glasses.

Your cousin, Ava, stepped up beside you to hear what he had to say. After all it was her business. 

"You got anyone who can do these again" he pointed to his hair. You looked to all the stations in the salon, the girls who were working were all suddenly very quiet, heads down, nothing to say or once. 

"Probably not for a while, how long you got?" Ava asked, adjusting the synthetic braiding hair on her shoulder a little.

"How long I gotta wait?" Ava looked around her shop herself. "Maybe a few hours at least" she looked apologetically at him. He sighed.

"I can do it, it'll mean no one will be up here, but I can do it" Ava looked at you in surprise. 

You smiled at Nestor. "Take a seat over there" you pointed to a chair in the waiting room section. He nodded and did as you asked.

"Y/n, are you sure" Ava stepped in front of you as you slid off the stool. She seemed worried.

"Yeah, it's fine" you smiled and stepped past Ava. Everyone in the shop watched you as you walked towards Nestor.

"Did you want a wash as well?" Nestor paused and then nodded. "Yeah"

You directed Nestor into the wash chair towards the back. You draped a towel around his neck and the salon across his front and got him settled in the wash chair.

"Do you use anything in particular on your hair?" You asked your undid the first braid. Nestor shook his head. "Use whatever" he shrugged. He removed his glasses and tucked them under the salon gown.

And it started from there. Every 2 or 3 weeks Nestor would turn up at the shop. You take him through to the back, undo his braids, wash and condition his hair, and re braid his hair.

Nestor enjoyed the whole process. He'd been to hairdresser's before, but this shop and this experience was different. He especially loved when you washed hair. 

He loved how you made the water perfect temperature.

He loved how your fingers felt when you really got stuck in and massaged his scalp. It was sometimes too good.

He loved when you leaned over him, you smelt so nice. He was jealous of whoever got to smell you and be that close.

He loved when you did the parting down the middle of his hair. How you took at least 5 minutes to get it straight - sometimes asking for another opinion from one of the other girls or your cousin. Even though it was perfect.

He loved how you braided his hair damp, taking time to work in moisturiser. How your fingers felt against his scalp and running through his hair.

He loved how you worked in silence, giving him a break. He was free to just lay back and listen to the low sound of whatever music was playing. Or even sleep a little.

He especially loved that time he turned up a week early and when you washed his hair the water ran a dried blood red brown. He watched your face for an expression when you paused. "That's not mine" he mumbled. "Okay, so long as you're good" he nodded and closed his eyes. No one had asked if he was okay. No one but you.

He hated the end, when you'd finished braiding his hair and your hands fell away from his head. Sometimes he wanted to say he didn't like it so he could have you do it again. But he realised that was a silly idea and would get you into trouble no doubt.

***

As you tidied up and Nestor sorted himself out to pay and leave, he took the courage to ask you 1 of 2 questions he'd been dying to ask you for a while now.

"Don't you have a chair up front, like the other girls?" While your cousin's salon had 14 seats out in the main area, and 5 sinks for washing, you never did Nestor's hair out in one of the front seats. It was always done in a back seat, past the washing sinks.

"Technically I'm not a hairdresser" you laughed. Nestor frowned, confused. If you weren't a hairdresser what had you been doing for the last 6 months.

"I'm only meant to be helping my cousin out with the books and when it's busy really. I only kind of got lumped doing kids hair because no one else really has patients for them but I like them" you tossed the used towels into the used basket on the industrial washer.

"Ava employed a barber for a minute, until they started messing around and then his pregnant girlfriend showed up. She almost trashed the shop. Anyway, Ava never replaced him, and it's the only chair free so I use it. Plus the kids can play their games or shows as loud as they want back here and not bother anyone" Nestor had more questions now but was silenced by the arrival of one of your other usual clients.

"I maded you this" Aaron shouted waving a piece of paper in the air and he ran towards you through the shop. Not wanting to hold you up any longer Nestor slipped you the money he owed, winked at you and left.

He'd never winked at you before, and he even wondered why he did it.

***

Without a word Nestor walked through the salon to the back like he's done a million times before. He took his usual seat and waited for you to follow.

Nestor undid his blazer and shrugged it off. He took off his waistcoat too, just leaving his gun holster on. He took a seat in the chair "Could you trim my hair today too?" You paused, hands still on his shoulders over the towel, a little worried at the new request.

"I've never trimmed hair before" you frowned. "I think we'd have to do it dry"

The trim wasn't as terrifying as you expected. You just went with it, cutting to get rid of split ends.

It was a quiet day so when Nestor left, you took a seat up behind the front counter. Just as you were about to ring up the money the door chimed and Nestor walked back in.

"Can I ask you a question, and don't feel like you have to say yes or anything?"

"Yeah, sure…"

"Erm, I was...I was just wondering if you wanted to go for a drink and something to eat? When your finished, later"

You paused, your heart rate increasing. Heat flushing to your cheeks. Nestors, shifted on the spot. You mouth was a little dry.

"Of course. That would be really nice" you smiled. 

With a smile himself, he nodded slowly and then left the salon. Again.

Ava appeared behind you at the counter.  "What happened, why did he come back in? Did he leave something?"

You pressed 'sale' on the register, entered the amount Nestor had given you and pressed enter. The register chimed and the cash tray shot out. You added the money and closed the cash tray.

"No...he asked me if I wanted to go for a drink" 

Ava looked at you and for a split second it was like time stood still. She slowly opened her mouth, but you interrupted her.

"It's fine. I said yes. I want to too" Ava's shock turned into a devious smirk.

"Oh, gurl! You like like him" she whispered the last part, looking over her shoulder.

"Don't tell any of these bitches here, they'll sell you down the river quick" she clicked her fingers.

"Use my place to get ready...and if you want you can take him back there too" Ava poked your ribs with a laugh.

You grabbed her hand "I'm not doing that! I think I like him, so I'm definitely not doing it" you whispered.

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

Tags:

@ellixthea @lovelymari4 @chaneajoyyy @honeychicana @beaminglife @amelatonin @themyscxiras @my-rosegold-soul @lady-olive-oil @jojolu @endless00paradise @est1887 @cajunpeach @melinda-january @profoundlynerdywolf @deathonyourtongue @designerwriterchic @itsbqueenthings @alicesfracturedmirror @joebob15274 @write-fromthe-start @islanddgal @tarashari-tfp @dc41896 @princess-evans-addict @amethyst-dreams-and-candy-canes @c-qcat @crushed-pink-petals-writes

[sneezefiction]

dance with me

Bokuto x Reader - Scenario

event request: “Can you do prompt 2. Dance with me for Bokuto?? Congrats btw!”

a/n: i’m always down to write anything for Bokuto, bb. enjoy some fluffy, slow-dancing moments with your fiancé, Bo, for me please, love!!

warnings: mentions of marriage & engagements

wc: 1350

---

“Y/n, can you set that down for a minute?” Bokuto’s grin peeks over the top of your paperback book as he pushes it down with his hands.

“But Bo, I’m at the best part!” You whine, pulling it towards your chest, away from his grasp.

He’s leaning over you now, a signature pout adorning his expression. You try not to look up, but you can’t help it.

No.

Not those eyes.

His puppy-dog expression tugs at your heartstrings in the worst way. His eyebrows are knitted together with such sorrow, imploring you to give him your undivided attention.

“For me? Please.” He’s begging. Again, a puppy-dog. 

“I just want to be with you…” His head is tilted, eyes pleading.

You sigh helplessly. So needy.

But you give him a soft smile, gently marking the chapter and setting aside your beloved book for the boy you love even more.

His eyes light up immediately, Bokuto’s smile is beaming at full-force once again. Just as it should be.

“Fine-” 

As soon as he gets verbal confirmation, he’s grabbing you firmly by the underneath of your thighs and lifting you up off the couch causing you to gasp. Your balance is thrown completely off. He laughs as you frantically tuck your legs behind his back and throw your arms around his neck to keep yourself from falling backward.

With that, you give him a frustrated frown, but the moment his eyes crinkle with mischief, you know you’re in trouble. He squeezes your thighs, tickling you, which forces you to abandon your forced frown and sends you into a bout of bubbling laughter.

A peachy blush forms across his grinning face at the sound of your voice, even though he’s the one who’s supposed to be getting you flustered. Bokuto buries his face into the crook of your neck, drawing your body even closer to his. You tighten your hold around his neck, loving the way his soft, grey hair brushes against your face.

Bokuto is always trying to find new ways to incite that divine sound. 

It’s like music to his ears… 

Music...

“AH MUSIC.” He blurts out, jolting his head back to face you, a flash of excitement glimmering in his golden-yellow eyes.

His sudden movement shouldn’t have startled you since he’s almost never calm for more than a few seconds, but you still haven’t fully adapted to his chaotic tendencies.

“Babe, what?” You question, cocking an eyebrow at his goofy expression. 

“Ahhh, just come with me!” He expresses impatiently.

“Bo, you’re literally carrying me.” You state, but not without a laugh.

So he sets you down gently, allowing your feet to meet the floor before immediately dashing to the next room over, leaving you confused and wondering what your boisterous sweetheart was getting you into this time.

But in all truth, you’ve never loved someone more.

Before Bokuto, you’d always fallen for short-term lovers. “Bad boys,” as Bokuto now cheesily refers to them as.

It was easy to fall for their mysterious, eye-catching personalities and attractive faces. 

They promised you pretty things. Long, steamy nights in dim-lit hotel rooms. Flirty, messy kisses in darkened theaters. Yes, your past boyfriend’s showered you in dirty, devoted promises about what they would do to you.

But it was never about what they would do for you.

You would always end up wishing for more. For something beautiful to happen in the slower, cloudier moments of life. For someone to last longer than the sunny, sensual seconds…

Yet they never stuck around to share the little things. You were always racing against time. Any ounce of conflict or trouble would crumble the already shaky foundation of your relationship.

It was never like that with Bokuto.

It didn’t bother him if you were sick, blowing your nose for 4 days straight or leaning over a toilet seat. He was there. Never leaving you alone except to get groceries or medicine. Holding your hair back and buying you boxes of tissues and cough drops. He would gladly catch a cold for you.

It didn’t matter that you were trapped inside your apartment on your 2 year anniversary, sheets of pouring rain coasting across the window panes, the weather laughing at your attempts to go out. Bokuto was impossible to faze in moments like these. He lit candles across the kitchen counter-tops when the power gave out and wrapped his arms around your shoulders as you concocted a dessert of some sort. You two consumed ungodly amounts of cookie dough that night and shared in celebratory chocolate kisses.

It didn’t change when you were grief-stricken. When you’d locked yourself behind a closet door, sobbing and mourning your most recent loss. He would sit on the opposite side of the door. Waiting for you. Crying with you. That small space under the door? Bokuto used it to feel around for your fingers, linking them together with his digits when he found them. That day, and many times after, he coaxed you out of real and metaphorical closets with loving, gentle words. 

It’s why you chose to set that precious book down today. 

It’s why you let him hold you whenever he’s feeling needy or lonely, a knowing smile etched onto your face.

It’s why you decided to put on that gold-laced engagement ring. Why you accepted his teary-eyed marriage proposal months ago.

Because for so long, you couldn’t see yourself with anyone for more than a couple months at most. It always seemed to end no matter how much effort you put into your side of the relationship.

Yet Bo gave you every reason to believe that he would stick around, making you feel like you always had a place by his side. That you were always wanted. Worthy of a lifelong commitment. 

And whether you liked it or not, he would’ve bugged you until you agreed to marry him, so it’s probably a good thing you accepted the first time around.

You’re snapped out of your thoughts because just as soon as he had raced out of the room, he’s back with a newfound energy, hands full with a massive Bluetooth speaker and a fully-charged phone.

The moment it’s set up, he’s choosing a song. His eyes dash through all of his beloved playlists labeled with strangely specific names. You peer over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of the one he’s scrolling through.

The playlist is titled “Dance With Me.”

You burst into another soft fit of giggles over the lovey-dovey name, causing him to turn his head, much like a curious owl.

He had the makings to be a charmer. And a cheeseball.

Both, for sure.

“Y/nnnn, don’t make fun of me! I need to practice for the wedding, don’t I?” He wiggles his eyebrows at you like a schoolboy with a crush.

A smile silently adorns your features.

With the click of a song, your ears are blessed with the melodic flow of R&B, thick with bluesy guitars and lyrical loveliness. A true slow jam, perfect for rocking on heels and leaning into broad shoulders.

You roll your eyes, throwing your arms around his neck for the 2nd time today.

“We’ve still got 8 months til we’re married, baby.” You remind him, your heart jumping at your own words. 

8 short months.

8 months until forever.

Forever with your favorite person.

And it doesn’t scare you. No, the flutters in your stomach are reassuring and brimming with excitement. 

You couldn’t wait.

So you rest your forehead against his, staring deeply into his contemplative orbs.

As you two sway to the beat, you can tell he’s thinking. Pondering that sentence. Cultivating a response. You can feel it in the way his thumbs stroke the sides of your hips in deliberation.

He’s searching your gaze and his own mind. Drawing a conclusion.

You just wait. Swaying to the beat, drinking in his almond, vanilla scent, patiently watching his thought process unfold before you.

“I just wish it were sooner.” He whispers, eyes locked on yours.

Oh.

Oh Bokuto.

You release your hold around his neck, slowly drawing your face away from his and moving your hands toward his features. The slow dancing pauses, his feet subconsciously planting themselves on the floor in curious anticipation of what’s to come.

Your knuckles stroke his cheekbones, causing him to flush slightly. Fingers brush against his jawline, your eyes now concentrated on his lips.

How dare he speak such beautiful things with that mouth. Always so smooth when you least expect it.

You lean in, giving him a soft peck, lingering on his lips for just for a moment. Enough to tease him. Because it’s so unfair of him to say things like that... 

When he knows full well that you would marry him right here, on the spot.

Under the broken chandelier in your dingy apartment’s living room, you would dedicate your whole life to him, vows and all, while twirling to a playlist called “Dance With Me.”

---

tags: @cherryonigiri, @yams046, @kaidasen, @miss-rin

(comment or send an ask to be added to my general tag list)

[minniewoos]

Amortentia ➣ Hwang Hyunjin Pt.2

Genre: hogwarts au, slytherin!Hyunjin, fluff, angst, bestfriend!Seungmin

Pairing: hyunjin x reader

Word Count: 18,459

Summary: As you grow closer to Hyunjin, you find yourself unable to think about much else. And Hyunjin, strangely, is the same way.

part 1 ➣part 2➣part 3

The chatter of people around you filled the air as you sipped happily on your butterbeer. The warmth of the soothing drink mellowed you out. Hogsmeade was as bustling as ever and even though it was snowy, the sun shone the brightest it has since you arrived. The town was filled with Hogwarts students, since it was a day all students over their third year got to go to town. You were situated comfortably at a table. But you did tug your coat on further as the door to the tavern opened. ultimately letting a gust of cold air into the otherwise warm room. The breeze died down quickly as the door shut, but the chill remained in the air for a moment.

“Can I have a piece of gum?”

You pulled out your pack of gum and just tossed it to him, a smile playing on your lips, “Just keep it, you ask for it so often it's basically yours.”

Hyunjin smiled triumphantly as he popped a piece of mint gum into his mouth, then slid a piece over to you. Which you took gratefully for after you finish your butterbeer.

“So why do you insist you only take my gum?” You asked after taking another sip of butterbeer.

Hyunjin glanced up at you before tucking the pack of gum into his pocket, a smile tugged on his lips. He shrugged, “I like it better.”

“You have a mustache,” He snickered and reached out to wipe the supposed butterbeer mustache off your lips. You blushed, not only out of embarrassment but also out of the closeness as he leaned in. Your hand pushed on his chest and you rolled your eyes, then wiped the rest off yourself with your forearm.

Without the throng of people filling the the Three Broomsticks, you would’ve welcomed the intimacy. But there were too many eyes and not enough space, it felt too crowded for you as even more people entered the tavern. Cold air hit your cheeks once more until the door shut, your cheeks were probably hued pink due to the chill. 

You eyed Hyunjin's empty butterbeer mug and figured he was waiting on you to finish yours to leave and explore the town. So you silently sipped the butterbeer while you watched the patrons filling the Three Broomsticks. Plenty of Hogwarts students were splayed across the tavern, it was popular amongst the school. You spotted Han Jisung leaving, he ducked his head down as he maneuvered through the crowd to reach the exit. He was accompanied by a couple others. You recognized one as Lee Felix, a cheerful Hufflepuff in your year, he always seemed to brighten the mood. The other one accompanying him was Lee Minho, he was a Slytherin that graduated last year, you remembered he and Jisung being really good friends when he still attended Hogwarts. It kind of made you happy that they were still in touch. While passing by, Minho noticed Hyunjin and stopped by your table.

“Hyunjin! How’ve you been?” Minho smiled. He waved his hand at Jisung and Felix to keep going, “I’ll catch up to you guys later.”

Hyunjin leaned back and smiled, “It’s been a while, I thought you were moving away to become famous.”

“I’m on that path already, I got chosen to dance for a muggle broadcast, you wouldn’t know. But I can tell you it’s a big deal for somebody new like me.” Minho smiled proudly, his hard work paying off. If you remember right, Minho is a half-blood, and had a keen interest in muggle dance and arts.

You leaned forward in interest, “Which broadcast?? I might know.”

“I’m going to be a back up dancer for this big boy group, but listen, I’ll be at the front one day.” Minho crossed his arms and his eyebrows perked up, clearly determined. He then nudged Hyunjin with his elbow, “I thought you weren’t interested in dates?”

Hyunjin raised a hand leisurely, “We aren’t dating.”

You shook your head in agreement, then you introduced yourself, “We’re friends, I’m y/n.”

“So you’re Hyunjin's type,” Minho teased, an evil glint in his eyes. “Hyunjin was never interested in any of the girls I pointed out, I began to think he swung the other way.”

Hyunjin coughed unexpectedly and he panicked for a moment, caught off guard by Minho's words. He hit his chest a couple times before glaring at Minho and whacking him on the side, “Ah stop with that, you’re annoying.”

And an exuberant laugh bubbled up from Minho, then teased one last time, “Fine fine, enjoy the date.”

Minho patted Hyunjin's back before leaving, your eyebrows were raised curiously. You looked at Hyunjin, “He’s quite the character, now isn’t he.”

“Oh he’s something alright.” Hyunjin huffed, his nose scrunched is irritation. But then a smile played on his face. “Spend five years with him and you learn some things.”

“Like what?”

“How to be annoying.”

You giggled before finishing your butterbeer. Sighing contently as you set it down, the glass thudding on the wood table. You stretched your legs out under the table and prepared to leave. Hyunjin also began gathering his belongings up. He also took the opportunity to plop another piece of gum into his mouth. You sent him a weird look.

“Didn’t you just have one?”

“Ahm...I may have choked that down.” Hyunjin laughed timidly, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. Amused, you shook your head at him. The two of you were about to get up when a girl approached you both, her hands were clasped together in front of her and she smiled at Hyunjin. She bounced on the balls of her feet and giggled shyly. She was pretty and had her hair done nicely, curled in a precise way.

“Hi Hyunjin. I’m Ana” The girl was a little younger, you recognized her as a Gryffindor in her fourth year. She was perky and kind, if not a bit of a trouble maker. Other than that, you didn’t know much about her. You tilted your head, wondering what she wanted. But you had a feeling you knew where this was going.

Hyunjin nodded at her politely and stuffed the pack of gum back into his pocket. He was pulling his jacket on to leave, his eyes looked blank and unconcerned. You stood up, as soon as you saw the look on Hyunjin's face, you knew how this would turn out. Waiting patiently, you pulled some money out to leave on the table and a little extra tip as well.

“I was wondering if you wanted to walk around a bit,” she side-eyed you, “alone. There’s this new place in-”

Hyunjin stood up and fixed his jacket out, straightening the creases while she was talking. He looked down at the girl and sent her a stiff smile, “I’m already busy today, sorry.”

She took a step closer to him, insistent, “Then another day? Maybe next week, we could go on a date, it doesn’t even have to be in Hogsmeade.”

There was a telling breeze in the air as Hyunjin’s lips twitched down slightly, the icy air matching Hyunjin’s expression at that moment. He dropped the polite act quickly as he eyed her up and down, “I’m not interested in the slightest, so please leave us alone. I’m be spending the day with y/n.”

That seemed to poke a flame in her since her eyes quickly grew fiery. Her hands, which were previously tucked in front of her politely, were now clenched in fists at her sides. “What do you mean? I was only asking, besides you’re not even dating her.”

Ana sent you daggers and grew bitter, her delicate hands looked strained from the fists she made, “I don’t see what’s special about her anyway, don’t you want somebody more fun to hang out with. I could actually give you a good time.”

Hyunjin raised his eyebrows, looking down at the small girl as his chin raised up. He smirked, “Just because I’m not dating her doesn’t mean I’m not interested in her. Now does it?”

“You said you were just friends!” She huffed in frustration while your eyebrows raised in surprise at his words. You would have to bring his comment up later when you got the chance.

“Oh now you’re eavesdropping?” Hyunjin mused, he smiled coyly and patted her head, then sighed, “Let’s go y/n.”

The two of you walked out on the girl, leaving her fuming and rejected. You thought Hyunjin's reaction was a bit much, but she was rude anyway so you let the whole thing go. Footprints were left in the snow behind you as you walked side by side with Hyunjin, wondering where to go next in the nice village. People crowded the streets while shopping for the holidays, there were festive candles strung up in the trees as well, they emitted a warming yellow glow. You two passed by Zonko’s as loud music blared out from the joke shop and laughter erupted from the inside. The chatter and laughter of people just having fun filled the air around you, making the atmosphere of the town quite pleasant and cheerful. But the interaction with the fourth year girl was still on your mind, it was a little amusing to you. And you weren’t about to pass up an opportunity to tease Hyunjin. 

“You’re popular, now aren’t you?” You bumped Hyunjin with your shoulder and teased him, “And that girls a firecracker isn’t she? Why don’t you go on a date with her.”

“No thanks, she’s young and would probably bite my head off. I’ll pass…” Hyunjin shivered at the thought, his nose scrunching up. Then a solemn look grew. “I’m not a big fan of what she said about you anyway.”

“Ah don’t worry about that, just jealousy talking, and like you said, she’s young.” You waved it off, not bothered much by the girl, “I wouldn’t worry about her.”

Hyunjin nodded, “Yea, I didn’t want anything else nasty coming from her so I thought it was best to leave. Girls like her...they only ever seemed to care about how I look anyway.”

“Hm..” You hummed thoughtfully, then tilted your head up to look at Hyunjin yourself. Your eyes tracing his pretty features, “Well, I guess you don’t have to worry about being ugly.”

“Yeah but...I’m sure if they got to know me they wouldn’t be as enthusiastic.” Hyunjin grimaced as the thought.

A frown settled on your face, you knew what he was talking about and it upset you that he thinks so lowly of himself because of it. The two of you hadn’t talked about it much after he first sat you down and explained it to you, why he couldn’t love. Well, you guys hadn’t talked about the kiss either, and you were dying to know what he meant in that kiss, what he wanted and why. You found Hyunjin was difficult to read at first, but in the time you’ve spent with him, you discovered it wasn’t as hard as you initially thought. Hyunjin was just, thoughtful. So you weren’t usually bothered as much by his ‘mysterious’ persona. But your bones itched to talk about what happened that day in the potions room, the kiss and the intimacy you’ve shared since then. Ever since that day, you and Hyunjin became incredibly close, subtly flirting as well. He even seemed a lot more cheerful these days and if you were the cause for that then you were incredibly grateful.

Despite all of that, you hadn’t kissed again or even spoken about it. The curiosity was killing you. You tugged on his arm to go off the beaten path, dying to know what all of this meant. And to do that, the two of you needed some privacy.

“Oh, where are we going now?” Hyunjin mused as you pulled him through the snow. His arm limp as he allowed you to lead the way.

“Just somewhere where there are fewer people...it’s really crowded today.”

You ultimately lead him to a little clearing that overlooked the abandoned shrieking shack. There was an old fence that blocked off the cliff over the shack and a patch of woods behind you. You could hear the distant chatter of the town, but as far as you could tell, the two of you were alone. You looked around satisfied and plopped yourself in the snow, eyes focused on the shrieking shack. Hyunjin sat himself down next to you, cross-legged and looking at you with a smile.

You laughed, “What's that look for?”

Hyunjin was just smiling as he looked at you, his eyes turned to little crescents. He shrugged and his lower lip jutted out childishly, his eyes playful. “What look?”

“That,” You made a gesture towards his general face, giggling, “that smile. What's it for?”

“People smile when they’re happy. I’m happy.” He explained simply, hands raised at his side. You grinned back as your heart warmed in your chest, just being with this goofball made you happy.

“So...I make you happy?”

“Of course you do.” Hyunjin eyed you, not sure where you were taking this.

You hummed in response, then your eyes cast downwards. You suddenly got nervous as your tongue didn’t seem to want to form words. The heat from your coat was starting to get uncomfortable, even as you sat in the snow. Hyunjin noticed this. Unsure on how to even bring up the topic without feeling weird about it, you were worried. Hyunjin couldn’t feel love, you knew this, and yet that spark of hope was still blooming in your chest. Curse your feelings.

“I wanted to,” You let a drawn out pause fill the air, attempting to collect your mangled thoughts into a coherent sentence. Hyunjin waited patiently. Lips parted, eyes still cast downwards, you began again. “I wanted to talk about...about what our relationship is.”

Hyunjin's eyes lit up, he knew where this was going now. But he was avoiding this exact conversation this whole time, he shifted. A weird feeling bothered him and he felt conflicted. He licked his lips dryly, “What about it?”

“Well,” You hesitated again, combing through your thoughts. But you felt as though the best way was the honest way. So to avoid dancing around the subject, you decide to say it outright, albeit with some shakiness to your voice. “I know you know this, but, I’ve fallen for you, Hyunjin. And I really really like you. Like, shit, I love spending time with you and just being around you. But you’re...sending mixed signals. I know you can’t feel love, you know I know that. So why are you, why are you acting like you feel the same way as me…?”

As you just let your feelings spill out, you suddenly felt insecure. You weren’t exaggerating or being arrogant when you say Hyunjin's been flirty. There would be times where he would do something out of the blue, and it would remind you of how a boyfriend should act. It caught you off guard as well as confused you. You caught him looking at you often, just like earlier. He also did little actions that would cause you to blush, the small intimate moments. And while you welcomed how close the two of you have gotten recently, your hearts been in turmoil ever since. You haven’t even begun to talk about the kiss yet.

Hyunjin was frozen though, his knees were pulled up to his chest and he stared at the snow beneath his feet. He was thinking as well, you saw the gears in his head turning as he tried to comb through his own thoughts. It was silent for a while as your question was left to hang over the two of you like a cloud. You shook your head.

“And Hyunjin...the kiss? What was that about? We never talked about it, and I really think we should. We shared something that day...we shouldn’t ignore it.” You rambled on, your incoherent thoughts voicing themselves. But then you doubted your words, shaking your head again, “No, maybe I’m just delusional, maybe I’m just hoping too much. Maybe I just think we, we shared something nice. At one point I wondered if you were just playing with me.”

A feeling of warmth wrapped around your cold hands. Hyunjin grabbed onto your hand and finally looked up from the ground. His gaze caught yours as he subtly shook his head, gentle words leaving his lips. Soft spoken, for only your ears. “No...no, we do. I’m just trying to express how grateful I am to you the best way I can…”

Hyunjin was slowly getting closer, he was leaning down again, about to steal another kiss from your lips. And you were defenseless to stop him, you knew where this would lead but couldn’t find it in you to stop him. If anything, you leaned in as well, wanting him to kiss you. You wanted him to comfort you, give you that closeness you felt that day in the potions room. You wanted him to reassure you that he felt the same, despite you knowing it was impossible. So as his lips met yours, you accepted it fully. A weight was temporarily lifted from your shoulders as you leaned into him, your free hand resting on his chest. His hands still holding yours sweetly. The kiss was gentle, soft, a little hesitant.

And when you both pulled away, you leaned onto his shoulder, resting your head in the crook of his neck. There was silence for a long time, and it was just the two of you on a small overlook. While you played with his fingers, you could tell Hyunjin wanted to talk but something was stopping him. It was only when you prodded him to speak, he let you know what he was thinking.

Hyunjin’s eyes were downcast, then flicked up hesitantly, “I want you to use the Amortentia on me.”

Your head snapped up, your eyes trained on him for any signs of joking. But his face was blank, no signs of a small smile or his crescent eyes. Instead, they looked sad.

“Hyunjin, why, you know that that's not a solution.”

“I know but, y/n, I want you to know I want to love you. I like you, I trust you, I want to reciprocate your feelings. But I can’t. I was born under a love potion. I can’t love you, it’s physically impossible. At least, not how you love me.” Hyunjin snapped, his words had a bite to them. But his voice softened as he saw your sad eyes staring up at him. “It’s the closest I could get to feeling love, I don’t want to feel cold like this anymore.”

You shook your head sternly, “No, Hyunjin, I won’t do it. I refuse.”

“Please y/n I-”

“Absolutely not, we will find another way, I promise you.”

Hyunjin looked unsure.

“I want to help you, we’ll figure it out.”

“Okay, I trust you.”

You placed a soft kiss on his cheek, and he smiled.

∎∎∎

It felt like there was a rock settling in your stomach. Discontented, you looked down at the finished Amortentia. It looked perfect, it regained its pearly sheen. The smoky wisps floated through the air delicately, and the light blue swirled around its base. This was the final session you had with Hyunjin, the project was finished now and you should really be jumping for joy, but you felt just about doing the opposite at that moment.

“Did something go wrong?” Hyunjin stood up from his seat after he noticed your conflicted expression, walking over to you to glance into the potion, “Is it not done? It should be perfect, I haven’t touched it at all.”

You shook your head, the uncomfortable feeling in your stomach slowly growing as tears began to well up. You weren’t sure why this made you cry, or why this was even happening. You gulped and rubbed your arm awkwardly, trying to steady your breathing. But Hyunjin quickly took notice of your state and gently pulled you into a hug, rubbing your back.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

You shook your head into his chest, confused about how you should feel, “I don’t know.”

“Yes you do, take your time, but please tell me.” He frowned, worried about your sudden change in attitude. Earlier you were ecstatic to finally finish this project, and you were especially content that it went so well. But now as you stood in front of it, something happened.

Something about your mixed and confused emotions lead to your teary state, but the catalyst was what set you off. Just after finishing the Amortentia, you could smell the potent potion right away. But something was missing, and it was Seungmin’s jasmine tea scent. It was replaced by a clear mint smell, which was undoubtedly supposed to be Hyunjin's. You felt conflicted most of all, as well as saddened by the distance you put between yourself and Seungmin. Were you supposed to be happy? You loved Hyunjin, and the minty smell only confirmed it. But a small voice nagged at you, he wouldn’ t love you back.

“I don’t smell jasmine anymore…” You mumbled into his chest.

“Hm?” Hyunjin hummed, rubbing your back sweetly, his chin resting on you, “What’s that mean..?”

“The jasmine...the jasmine was Seungmin’s jasmine tea. I smelled it that day in class when we were learning about Amortentia. Remember?” You pressed your cheek onto his chest as you leaned into him, your frown prominent as you tried to sort through your conflicted feelings. “I don’t smell it anymore.”

Hyunjin remembered, he was particularly catty that day due to the nature of the lesson. It only reminded him of how different he was, how he had one less thing than everyone else that made people human. And when he went up to smell the Amortentia, he smelled nothing, not even a vague whiff. His hopes dropped significantly that day, and he was actively avoiding trying to smell the Amortentia the two of you brewed. His hands rested on your waist, “Old books, oranges, and jasmine; I do remember that...what do you smell now?”

What people smelled in the potion particularly interested him, mostly due to the fact he wanted to be able to love. In the past weeks he’s spent with you, he noticed your love for the things you smelled in the potions; your love for books as you read and your fondness for the oranges you ate often. Even weeks later he remembered what you smelled in the potion because your words stuck with him. He wasn’t sure why.

You wouldn’t answer him for a while, but Hyunjin already knew what you were going to say. He had a feeling it was his fault, he was the reason you lost that scent. Well, more like he hoped for it. He hoped you would smell something that reminded you of him. He really wanted that.

You said something, but it was so faint and muffled that he couldn’t catch. But before he asked you to repeat it, you said it again yourself.

“Mint. I smell mint.” Your arms hugged him tighter.

The hands around your waist tightened their grip as Hyunjin felt his heart skip a beat, he couldn’t form words. It wasn’t love but it was something. He felt something. And he clung to that feeling for as long as he could, not wanting to let go of you. Or maybe it was love? An odd pride bubbled up in him and despite your conflict, he was happy. A twinge of guilt passed through him.

“I’m sorry but...I feel oddly proud of that.” Hyunjin muttered, bringing his hands up to your face. You leaned into his touch, comforted by the warmth he provided you. “I don’t want you hurting.”

“Now, I’m not an expert at love, I think that’s clear.” Hyunjin continued, and you smiled at the comment, “But, I think I know enough to know that just because you don’t smell the jasmine, doesn't mean you don’t love and care for him. He’s been your best friend for years, you can’t lose a relationship like that so easily. And maybe, maybe when you smelled jasmine before it was just a platonic love. Maybe it’s always been platonic, I remember you’ve told me you felt conflicted about those feelings. Don’t force yourself to feel something just because you think you have to.”

Oh how ironic those words were coming from Hyunjin, but you saw his point. And as you contemplated his words you were thinking that he was right. And hearing it out loud calmed your nerves. You let out a sigh, not completely okay and shaky, but better.

You nodded into his chest and mumbled something. Small and insignificant, maybe they were just words to him. Maybe he wouldn't see much significance to the words that meant the world to you. But you said them anyway.

"Hyunjin...I love you."

"Hm? What was that?" Hyunjin bent down, not quite catching your little words. his ear turned towards you. His eyes turned up curiously. The little action stopped your heart for a moment, you heard the beat in your ears and felt the thumping in your chest. Your eyes flickered to his plump lips parted ever so slightly. He was so close but, not.

You simply tightened your hold around him, "Nothing, I was just saying thank you."

Hyunjin pulled away and held your shoulders in his hands, he had a stern look on his face as he prompted you to look at him. “Y/n, I know you feel conflicted and confused. But, don’t force yourself into anything, you can’t help how you feel.”

You nodded and felt like a child in that moment. Teary, sniffly, and pouty. Your thoughts were choppy and words didn’t come easily. After a moment you brought a hand up to wipe your tears away, not wanting them to spill over. “Thank you, I don’t know why I’m crying. I-I didn’t think I’d be so upset. Even...even though I knew already.”

“Knew what?” He asked kindly.

You sniffled before smiling at him cheekily, “That you stole my heart.”

Hyunjin looked at you blankly before cracking up, it started with a small smile until his giggles became uncontrollable, “You’re so lame.”

The atmosphere suddenly became much more light hearted, and your smile widened, “You like it, don’t lie to me.”

“Yea, you’re right. Because even though you’re lame, you're my lame...uh.” Hyunjin furrowed his eyebrows, his words not quite working right. You laughed at him, seeing what he tried to do but failing miserably at the attempt at being cheesy. Even Hyunjin hung his head as he chuckled at himself.

“You’re lame too!” You hit his chest lightly, “You were trying to be cheesy huh?”

And Hyunjin nodded in defeat, a smile on his face. The two of you messed around some more, being goofballs and idiots after your heavy angst moment. While cleaning up, it seemed like everything was back to normal. But you couldn’t quite shake that weird feeling off, the feeling of guilt maybe. Even though you were past the initial shock, Seungmin still hung around in your mind, you felt bad about the distance you put between you two. While tears threatened to come up again you quickly shook it off, deciding to talk to him later tonight to apologize. He was still your best friend and wanted to make it up to him. You hummed contently, a smile played on your lips as you thought about bringing him a few oranges to eat while you talked. Seungmin was reasonable, you were sure you wouldn’t have a problem.

While you were in the supply closet putting ingredients away, Hyunjin was left alone in the room. And when he realized that, his eyes traveled to the Amortentia. From across the room he contemplated going over to test it, to see if anything changed about what he smelled. It would be a fruitless effort, Hyunjin always knew that, but every time he was hopeful that he would smell something. Anything. He gulped as curiosity got the better of him and he reluctantly moved to the cauldron. He stood in front of it for a brief moment before he leaned over to take a whiff and he expected nothing. He didn’t smell anything.

Not at first.

Only a moment before he was going to give up, something faint drifted up from the potion. And Hyunjin thought he was going crazy.

He took a sharp breath and stepped back, bewildered and confused. Tentatively, he tried again, and he still smelled the faint scent. It was hard to pinpoint but it was clearly there. Despite his hopes shooting up, he tried to suppress them for now, scared of being disappointed again. His palms were sweaty.

“There’s no way…” he stood in front of the cauldron for another minute when he finally got a good grasp on the smell. And the joy he felt was indescribable as he recognized the cool minty scent coming from the potion. In disbelief, a smile broke out and he jumped up shouting joyously, “There’s no way!”

A tense thought came to him, and he quickly patted himself down, trying to locate any packs of gum on him. But when he found none he relaxed and celebrated again, spinning and shouting and jumping for joy. He was definitely smelling Amortentia.

When you walked back into the classroom to find your partner jumping around like crazy, you had to laugh.

"What's this all about!?" You shouted over his cheering. His rambunctious mood was infectious and you almost wanted to jump around with him.

Hyunjin whipped around upon hearing your voice. A toothy, childish grin spread wide. He threw his arms up in the air, "Y/N!! You won't believe it!"

"Hyunjin!" You copied his wild movements, confused and incredibly curious. "What what what??"

He pointed both hands erratically at the cauldron situation at the top of the desk. "I smelled it!! Y/n, I-I smelled something. It was faint and I might be going crazy but, but, it was there..!”

Even from across the room you saw the fanatical look in his eyes, his smile leading up to bright crescent eyes. And it was contagious. First, a giggle slipped out from your lips, then a smile broke out. A wide, joyous, cheek-aching smile.

“Y-you did!! That's...that's impossible, oh Hyunjin I’m so happy for you!” You exclaimed, excitement bubbling up. Then Hyunjin rushed over to you, wrapped his arms around your waist and spun you around.

“It was mint!” Hyunjin gulped, chest heaving but the smile never left his face. His eyes searched yours, and your reaction didn’t disappoint. Your eyes softened and you reached up to pepper his face with kisses. Laughter filled the space, and you found the highlight of your year at this moment.

Between the giggles and disbelief, the atmosphere calmed down but the jovial mood carried on. Hyunjin sniffed, and you looked up to find him with tears brimming his eyes, a shaky smile played on his lips. “I...I can say I love something.”

He breathed deeply before continuing to speak, “For the first time ever...in my life, I can say, truly y/n, I love you.”

As he finished his thought, the tears spilled and he sobbed with shaky shoulders. But his smile still shone through and his hands tightened. Tears coming to your own eyes, you wiped his tears from his face and nodded. “I love you too, Hyunjin.”

He leaned down to sob into your shoulder, the tears wetting your robes but you were too excited to care. You stroked his hair gently, allowing him to release all that was pent up within him as he continued to weep with joy. Before long, you felt your cheeks becoming soaked with your own tears slipping through, and you cried with him. Your mind was running a hundred miles an hour at how this was possible, your joy for Hyunjin, and now the life you could have with this wonderful boy. In the past, you’ve heard many stories about the power of love and how strong it was. But it was this moment where you sincerely believed in what the power of love could do. And you decided that Hyunjin was worth everything.

“I’m so happy for you Hyunjin, love comes softly.”

Time was lost to the both of you and you weren’t sure how long it was until it was time to leave. But you left that room with the most satisfying feeling ever as Hyunjin left you with a sweet kiss. You each also took a vial of Amortentia with you, for safe keeping and to maybe take a whiff whenever you were feeling down. Hyunjin was incredibly adamant about taking it with him as well, which you couldn’t deny him when he kept smiling as he held the potion up to his nose. So the two of you left with a vial each and each other in your thoughts. As you strolled up to the Ravenclaw tower with lovestruck eyes, Hyunjin did the same as he made his way to Slytherin dungeons.

After solving the riddle to the common room, you stepped inside and sighed happily at the homey feeling. You even spotted Seungmin in one of the armchairs, reading something.

“Seungmin, hi!”

He looked up from his book briefly before turning his attention back to his reading. Rolling your eyes, you approached him and leaned on the back of the chair and looked over his shoulder. “Don’t be a grouch, it's late, we should get some sleep.”

Still no response from him. Seungmin was reading a potions textbook, and you pursed your lips, confused. Your hand stretched out over his shoulder and pointed to the page, “Hey...this lesson was weeks ago. Why are you looking over it again?”

With furrowed eyebrows, you saw he was reading the lesson on Amortentia, and nudged him gently. Speaking softly, “Hey, if you need help with this lesson don’t hesitate to ask me. I was working on this with Hyunjin so I could help. We actually finished it recently and it turned out pretty great! I know I haven’t been hanging out with you as much, but still, you can come to me...”

Seungmin suddenly snapped the textbook shut and sat up straight, he breathed in slowly before he spoke, “I think we need to talk about something, y/n.”

In an instant, you grew worried as Seungmin stood up to face you. He had a stern look on his face, much sterner than usual and lacking the friendly nature to him. You knew this face and you knew he was very serious, upset, and angry. For some reason your eyes looked towards the ground, avoiding his gaze. “Seungmin...what’s it about..? Look, I’m sorry I’ve been a little distant, I actually want to fix tha-”

“It’s not about that.” He snapped, and you looked at him in surprise. Your friend was normally so level headed. “It’s about your deceptive little snake of a boyfriend.”

His words leaked venom, and you stepped away. Taken aback by the uncharacteristic harshness, while Seungmin may have been sarcastic at times he was never so stringent with you before. You gulped as you struggled to form any words to say, hurt by his cold attitude with you.

“Speechless huh?” Seungmin laughed sardonically and shook his head at you. “You’re always so irresponsible and oblivious to things around you. It was okay when you were just daydreaming in class or stalling your work, but now you’ve really done it. I thought you were smarter than this y/n. You may be book smart but your common sense is nonexistent, and this just proves it.”

While you listened to his words, you were dumbstruck and lost. “Seungmin, I’m not sure what you’re...talking about.”

“Didn’t you hear me? I said your snake of a boyfriend.” He sighed, impatient with you. “I can’t believe I have to spell it out for you. But I guess I can’t help that you’re being deceived.”

“Deceived? No no, please tell me what’s going on.” The previous joy you felt left you as you attempted to reconcile with Seungmin, but you’ve never seen him so pissed off at you before. “Did Hyunjin do something or, or what?”

“Did Hyunjin do something…” Seungmin repeated, “No, you just decided to be dumb enough to fall for whatever lies he’s feeding you.”

You frowned and suddenly got defensive. It was okay to be passive when he was irritated with you, but you opted to stand up for Hyunjin. “He hasn’t fed me any damn lies, I don’t know what you’re thinking but Hyunjin's actually a very genuine person so what would you know.”

“I just don’t see how the hell you could fall for somebody who can’t even love you back.” He hissed, taking a step towards you. “Do you know what that does to people? How twisted it makes them in the absence of love?”

Your jaw dropped and you gasped, “How do you know that?”

Desperately, you searched for something in Seungmins eyes that would tell you something, anything. It was a while of silence, and you spent that time fuming, contemplating, and with an aching heart. You had no idea how Seungmin had known about Hyunjin’s secret, and it infuriated you that he could think of Hyunjin as twisted and deceptive.

“It doesn’t matter how I know, it matters that you know that too and continue to follow his heels like a lost puppy. Y/n I don’t want to see you go down a dark path, but do you know who else was conceived under a love potion?”

“Don’t you dare say it-”

“Voldemort.” He was testing your patience, and he kept speaking still, “And you know, I'm sure you’ve heard... When he was still known as Tom Riddle, he was just as charming, attractive, and likable as Hyunjin is. But he was never close to anybody, and you know wh-”

“Shut it!” You shoved him back, already knowing what he was going to say. “Shut it! I don’t want to hear it, but you know what Seungmin, you haven’t spent so much time with him. You haven’t heard him speak, heard his feelings out. You don’t know what he goes through. And you know what? I’m disappointed in you. You are usually so understanding and-and patient and pleasant. But now you’re acting just like the snake you’re describing.”

“I’m sorry, I should’ve been more understanding like you said.” Seungmin stared at you for a few long moments, he was analyzing you, and he calmed down a bit. As he took a deep, long breath you thought he was going to try to listen to you. But instead you only heard bullshit come out, “Listen, I was just reading about it, you saw. But I believe you’re under Amortentia, or some kind of love potion. It really would explain everything. You’ve only been hanging out with him lately, you talk about him so much, and you’re being very defensive right now. Those are signs of obsession, if you let me, I can help out okay?”

“You...you think he has me under a spell? You know nothing.” You spat, absolutely fuming, and continued to speak. “How do you know he can’t feel love, if anything I believe he’s felt it. He’s told me-”

“Lies, He’s told you lies.” Seungmin interrupted, and took a step forward, holding his hands up in defense. “And I don’t want you falling for them any longer.”

“Why are you pinning him as evil? I can’t believe you.” You seethed, “He’s not some twisted and cruel villain like you believe him to be. He is a person, a person with emotions and thoughts and feelings. You’re not even listening to me.”

“You’re not listening to me.” He retorted, then ran a hand through his hair. “Please...I want to help you.”

“I don’t need any help. If you’re going to keep pushing this, then just leave me alone.” You jeered and began to make your way to the girls’ dormitories. A good mood ultimately ruined.

“Think about it y/n!” Seungmin called after you, but you just stomped up the stairs stubbornly.

As you trod into your dorm, one of your roommates was up and studying. She glanced at you before sitting up straight and stretching her back out. “Welcome, you’re back late.”

You forced a tight lipped smile and collapsed onto your bed, visibly exhausted and upset. “Seoyeon, I just feel awful right now.”

“I heard you and Seungmin from up here, not all of it, but it sounded serious.” Seoyeon frowned and leaned on the back of her chair to look at you. Her eyes up in worry, talking gently.

You lifted your head to look at her, and you sighed. In your mind, she was being pitiful of you and your situation. And that was probably the last thing you wanted. You’ve known Seoyeon since your first year, you were her roommate for years along with a couple other girls. There weren’t any big problems you had with any of them, and of course there was some bickering. But the look Seoyeon was giving you right now, you saw pity and distress. You’ve known her long enough to know what that look means, and what she’s probably thinking right now.

She agreed with Seungmin.

Shaking your head, you just pulled the covers up over you as you felt a headache coming on. You had no idea how many people were thinking exactly what Seungmin was, and you almost didn’t want to know.

“Seoyeon, how many people know?” You mumbled quietly, an odd sense of vulnerability in your tone.

She didn’t answer you after a long stretch of silence in the room. But a few moments passed before you heard the click of the lamp and the room fell into darkness. “Goodnight y/n.”

∎∎∎

Turns out, the whole school knew.

The next day you sat with Soyeon in the Great Hall, sleep didn’t come easy for you that night and it showed. You were pale, your eyes were tired, and the exhausted frown never left your face. As you picked at your breakfast, you felt self-conscious. Eyes looked at you in quick glances, you felt them as they would stare at you for a moment before looking away quickly. Gossip spread quickly in this school, and you hated it. Bits and pieces of conversation were brought to your ears, and it only made you feel smaller.

“...Hwang Hyunjin...a Slytherin.”

“You’re kidding...monster….”

“On y/n? I thought…”

It made you sick.

There were a few people who were disinterested in the drama, rumors just being rumors. And there were a few who made no pass of judgement, not simply believing through word of mouth. But despite those few, the majority of people were sucked into the rumors and prattle, and believed it blindly.

Your head hung and you refused to entertain anybody, so you just sat. Soyeon had noticed and rubbed her arm awkwardly, unsure what to say. If she could even say anything. The atmosphere around you was suffocatingly awkward

You felt muggy; hot and uncomfortable underneath the piercing gazes looking your way. Snide comments were made, barely above a whisper but you heard them anyway. How could you not when half the hall was speaking about it, and being hyper-aware of those around you.

Any mention of the infamous Voldemort always got Hogwarts riled up, but you thought this much attention was ridiculous. Ridiculous and embarrassing. Just down the table, idle gossip was heard from a few fourth years; while earlier Seungmin compared Hyunjin to Voldemort, these kids were saying he was Voldemort's illegitimate child. The thought made you scoff, Ravenclaws were supposed to be smart, right? But you figured they probably thought the exact same thing about you.

Being in the center of all the talk, it made you feel angry, uncomfortable, and self-conscious. Your palms became clammy and so you not so discreetly wiped them on your robes. The irate expression was clear on your face but you hung your head low, timidly attempting to hide yourself. Amidst the loud whispers and heated pressure on your shoulders, you didn't notice Hyunjin enter the Great Hall. Despite that, you did notice the significant loss of sound amongst the chatty students. The hall had gone quiet to stare, to judge, and to be entertained. and so did you, but once your eyes landed on Hyunjin underneath the doorway, a bit of pressure was lifted. Just seeing him in front of you brought some confidence to your chest. So the stares and gossip almost didn't seem as bad. Almost.

Hyunjin, on the other hand, looked distressed. His eyes scanned the Great Hall and saw so many eyes on him; mocking, judgemental, and venomous. Standing there silently, his hair was a mess and so was his breathing.

First, Hyunjin looked to the Slytherin table yet made no move to sit. Second, he searched the Ravenclaw table until he found you. And third, he looked back towards the whole room. The once lost and frightened gaze he wore slowly darkened until he was glowering in the room. The headmaster made a move to stand and control the situation, ease the tension, but Hyunjin spoke before he could. The bitter malice dripping off his tongue accompanied by a cold gaze that reigned over the room.

With a voice still maintaining his dignity, he yelled out, "What are you all staring at? Mind your own damn business, I'm not a fucking tabloid."

Throughout the whole room, his words sent a chill into the air. The harsh biting tone of his voice and glaring look in his eyes quickly sent students back to their food. Many quickly turning around in fright and embarrassment at being called out. And the hall was silent for another minute, and you looked at Hyunjin.

He tread across the hall to you, a blank expression on his face with a solemn air. Students still stared, of course, but they at least had the decency to be discreet about it this time. When Hyunjin was a few feet away, you moved to stand up, frowning and desperate to get out of the room

But you felt a hand pull you back down, you looked, and Soyeon was gripping your wrist. She had a pleading look in her eyes and looked scared. Scared for you? For herself? You couldn't tell.

"Y/n...stop. you don't have to." She spoke lowly, not quite a whisper but stern in her intentions. After eyeing her, you looked down your table to see Seungmin and Jeongin staring as well. You looked away quickly.

You simply tugged your hand out of her grip, scowling and red, "I want to."

"Y/n, let's go." Hyunjin said softly, you saw how he was trying to maintain his harsh, cold facade. But as you looked into his eyes at his request, you saw the pain and dejection he really felt. Like a kicked puppy trying to fight back, staying strong to avoid the abuse. You nodded before leaving the hall with him, your head was still low until Hyunjin nudged you, his eyes speaking for him as he tipped his head up a bit. So you left the hall with your chin up, looking as if the stares and judgment of the other students were nowhere to be found.

Whispers erupted after the two of you left, and soon enough the whole hall burst out as it was filled with the voices of all the students. The noise was heard all the way down the hallway.

Sensing Hyunjin tense beside you, you slipped your hand into his to walk in silence. You didn’t realize that Hyunjin was actually guiding you to the Room of Requirement, not until you saw the doors in front of you. Hyunjin kept the cold, steely look on his face until the very end, but when he closed the door behind him the facade began crumbling in front of you. Your eyes catching the slight tremble of his shoulders and a moment of silence followed. Hyunjin turned around to face you and you saw just how vulnerable he was, his eyes were pleading for help. That’s when the mask completely broke. You didn’t see the cold, evil Slytherin the rest of the school saw, instead you saw a sensitive, vulnerable, and hurting boy.

Hyunjin dropped his head, his eyes blinking rapidly to ward tears off. Then you heard him mumble something, small words that broke your heart.

“Please don’t doubt me.”

“What?”

“Please don’t doubt me,” Hyunjin’s lip quivered, his eyes darting around as he attempted to fight off the oncoming tears. “I-I really did smell the Amortentia, I feel love and...I don’t want to lose it. I don’t want to lose you.”

“Oh Hyunjin baby,” You approached him gently and lifted his chin up, your eyes locking onto his. There was a pain in your chest just seeing him crumble in front of you. You saw tears brimming, threatening to fall, “I never doubted you.”

“You didn’t?” His voice was small, delicate as he tentatively grasped your hand in his. Tears finally overflowing, wetting his cheeks and he hiccuped. Your lips trembled at the sight, seeing how much he was struggling with this.

“No,” You reassured him and he pulled you into an embrace, arms securely around your torso and his head in the crook of your neck. You felt your shoulder growing wet as Hyunjin shed his silent tears. You sniffled as you attempted to hold back your own tears, “Just let it all out.”

You guided Hyunjin to sit down, as you sat near the arm of the couch Hyunjin leaned into you. This allowed him to let it out and calm down. You were a comforting presence as he held your hand. Some time passed until he relaxed, his sniffles growing quiet until there was silence in the room. And at some point, his head ended up in your lap as he laid on his side; you took the opportunity to play with his hair. The little strands hung over his eyes and he didn’t seem bothered enough to move them.

“I didn’t know that falling in love hurt so much,” Hyunjin mumbled, “I was so happy yesterday…”

“How did you find out?”

“Jaemin brought the rumors up… and we argued about it.”

“Same thing happened to me, Seungmin and I had a fight…” You frowned, recalling all the things he said to you last night caused a pang in your chest.

Hyunjin’s head popped and he turned around to look at you, a surprised look on his face, “Seungmin too? I would’ve thought he’d be more understanding.”

���You and me both buddy.” You scoffed. Hyunjin frowned, then laid his head back down and signaled for you to keep playing with his hair. You complied, twisting the locks around, “He seemed concerned for me, but, he was convinced you used some spell or potion on me...I got really mad and it just became a spat.”

The words hung in the air and Hyunjin scrunched his eyebrows, he thought for a moment. “Jaemin said something similar, We didn’t exactly fight but, we argued. He asked me if I really used…” Hyunjin trailed off hesitantly.

“Used what?” You prodded gently, your hands fiddling around as you waited for his answer. He took a moment before speaking.

“If I really used the imperius curse.” Those words sent a chill down your spine as your hands were put on pause. Hyunjin's' voice was eerily cold as he spoke of the unforgivable curse.

You shook your head, “It’s all just talk Hyunjin, they have no proof because it’s not true. It’s hard, but these words will pass. Hell, I heard some fourth years saying you’re Voldemort’s illegitimate child for fucks sake.”

“Pfff what?” Hyunjin sneered. Then his voice lowered and mumbled with venom on his tongue, “That’s ridiculous.”

Conversation quickly veered off into more comfortable silence and for the first time that day you took the time to admire your surroundings. The Room of Requirement had transformed itself into a comfy sitting room, one where the atmosphere gave you a homey feel. A large stone fireplace sat in the nearest corner, it was lit as smoldering coals heated the room. Large windows stood tall and showed off a view of the Great Lake, as well as brought a lot of light into the room. The warm feeling made you drowsy, especially since you got very little sleep the night before and the feeling was welcomed. Also judging by the bags under Hyunjin's eyes, he didn’t sleep much either. In fact, he grew so quiet and still that he could’ve already been sleeping. So before you knew it, you rested your head and closed your eyes.

When you woke up, Hyunjin was still sleeping.

A little disoriented, you had turned to check the large clock hanging on the wall and found you two slept all the way till noon. Well, you did, Hyunjin was still sleeping like a log. You squeezed your eyes shut and yawned, stretching your arms out since Hyunjin was still making a pillow out of your legs. That’s when you really recalled in detail what happened that morning. How the Great Hall was filled with whispers and stony eyes and how you were suddenly treated very differently. Left to just pick at your food and not wanting to make the rumors worse. But after Hyunjin's dramatic entrance and exit, you were sure the school was buzzing with news about it. You suddenly grew self-conscious again as you wondered what kind of things people were saying about you now. Even worse, what they were saying about Hyunjin. He was getting the brunt of the attacks and was taking it pretty hard. 

A while later you heard Hyunjin groan as he woke up with a yawn, his hands rubbing at the sleep in his eyes. The sight brought a tiny smile to your face, “Good morning sleepy head.”

“Mmm,” He responded and sat up to stretch before slumping back to lean against your shoulder, “mornin’”

“By the way, it’s past noon, I guess we’re skipping classes today.”

“I don’t care, I’d rather not be stared at today anyway.” He grumbled, sleep still lacing his voice.

"Me neither. Think of it this way, this is just a big misunderstanding, it'll blow over like all drama does, and things will go back to normal." Your voice was positive, but it sounded like you were trying to convince yourself more than him.

Hyunjin slipped his hand into yours, “I hope so.”

The rest of the day was leisurely and neither of you dared to step outside, just wanting to spend time next to each other. And for the most part, the two of you fell into the usual. Once the drama left your minds, laughter and smiles followed soon after. The way you and Hyunjin were was like two puzzle pieces, it really felt like you belonged together. Oh, there was some kissing too. Hyunjin, as per usual, was interested about hearing about your life in the muggle world. You actually had to tell him to shut up to stop asking you so many questions.

And so he became pouty, “Come on, I barely knew anything about muggles, I’m learning.”

You rolled your eyes at the way he emphasized nearly every other word, “It’s not like I’m cutting your life supply off, but you really just asked me how rubber ducks work. I can’t answer that!”

You threw your arms in the air, a goofy smile on your face.

“Butttt babeeeee.” He whined, grabbing your hands in his and begging, “Please?”

“Pfff,” You couldn’t help but snicker, “How about we make a deal okay?”

Hyunjin looked skeptical, sitting up straight and narrowing his eyes at you.

“What’s that look for! It’s nothing bad I promise.” You urged, amused. “I’m just saying, if you stop asking so many questions, then when Christmas break comes I’ll show you around the muggle worl-”

“YOU WILL!?” Hyunjin practically jumped to his feet, very enthusiastic and very willing for your proposal. He was absolutely shaking in his shoes, he reminded you of a giddy child, “Oh my god I love you!! Are you serious?”

Your laughter at his excitement was cut off when he leaned over to squish your cheeks between his hands and kissed your lips. He pulled back quickly, pupils blown out wide and a sparkle in his eyes.

“Uh, yea! I’m serious you dork.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” You giggled.

Now, you didn’t believe Hyunjin could become any happier, but once you said those words his eyes shone brighter than the stars. And at that moment, you believed Hyunjin to be the most beautiful person you’ve seen.

“Say it again.”

“I love you.”

“God, I could listen to you say that all day.” He whispered, eyes boring into yours. Then his lip tipped up in a lopsided grin, “But the best part is that I can say it back. I love you y/n.”

You broke out in a smile before placing a sweet kiss onto his lips, “You are the best person, that, I’ve ever met… Please don’t change.”

Hyunjin shook his head, “No, I’ll change, I’ll love you more. I want to love you more, better than anybody else can. Got it? I feel it...getting stronger? My love for you that is.” His thoughts were choppy, as if he was struggling on finding the right words to express himself. “It’s like, I can get high on this feeling, it’s new and scary but, but if it’s for you then I’ll give you my all. And it’s still growing! Um, it’s slow and-and gradual...but it’s so clearly growing and I can feel it!”

The hope and yearning in his voice was strong, but he was elated. And it made you happy; happy to hear him happy and happy to see his wish coming true. Hyunjin was experiencing what it was like to love and you were the one he was loving. He was still clumsy with the feeling, he could barely describe it now, but the absolute joy he felt was worth it.

“I’ve been wanting this for so long and...now I finally have it, and I promise you I won’t mess this up. I...I think the first time I felt it, was our first kiss, in the potions room. It was faint, and it was so small I could barely tell. But, it was there, and I went to sleep that night more alive than I’ve ever felt. And that feeling just keeps growing every moment I spend with you y/n. I’ve never known that loving can hurt, but I think that...this-this um, this obstacle just helped the feeling grow stronger. So even if love hurts, I’ll love you. I’m so happy.” Hyunjin poured his heart out, serious as his words reached your heart.

You smiled, “Hwang Hyunjin, there is no greater honor than to be loved by you.”

“I could say the same.” He shook his head, then suddenly perked up and sat on his knees. “I almost forgot, but I had this on me.”

Hyunjin dug through his robes until he pulled out a little vial, filled to the brim with a pearly liquid sheen. Amortentia. He held it up proudly, “I really just wanted to thank you. Remember last week in Hogsmeade, I asked you to use this on me.”

You nodded sadly, “I do, I would never though…”

“I know, and now I know how foolish it was. But, now it’s comforting to have this, I can always just pop it open and now I smell mint. It’s a reminder, a uh, a reassurance that I really really do love now.” Hyunjin explained, smiling happily at the little vial. “Besides, it reminds me of you and me.”

“God you’re so sweet,” You held his cheeks in your hands, then spoke in a faux evil voice. “who would’ve thought the evil Hwang Hyunjin could be so loving.”

He rolled his eyes at your antics but pulled you into a hug nonetheless. And just basked in your comforting presence. He chuckled to himself.

“What are you laughing at?”

“I just realized I began to cry a lot ever since I met you.” He said, amused.

“What?” You teased, “you weren’t always so fussy?”

“Oh shut up.”

“I’m teasing baby, I’m a crybaby you know.”

It was only hours later when you began to untangle yourself from Hyunjin. The two of you decided your time was best spent just cuddling, talking about who knows what. But being curled up together by a fire was definitely an emotional boost for the both of you. You even went over your Christmas break plans and what you would show him. He was pretty elated about that. In return, Hyunjin sang for you, which was a pleasant surprise. And one more thing you’ve learned about the “mysterious” boy.

But as you sat up, Hyunjin was already tugging you back down on the couch with him, complaining at the loss of contact. “No, we gotta get out of here at some point, and classes have been over by now.”

“No, let's just stay in here forever,” He hung his arms limply off the couch, pouty. Then rolled over to hide his face in the throw pillow, voice effectively muffled. “Block the world.”

You grabbed his arm and shook it, then pulled to try to get his lazy ass up. And he only groaned, shook you off and laid there.

Your hand rested on your hip, “Well, while you lay there like a butt, I’m gonna go and turn in our project to Professor Lee, I hope you remember that it’s due today.”

“Mmmm, no I’m coming.” He mumbled, “Just gimme a sec.”

So on the walk to the potions room, you got a few stares. You couldn’t blame them though.

After the whole scene that morning, you were sure most of the school knew what was going on. Or at least they thought they knew. Rumors are a flame that just don’t stop. Thankfully neither of you ran into anybody you knew personally. And that made the walk to Professor Lee’s room a little bit more peaceful. Neither of you wanted to deal with awkward confrontation.

“I wonder if Professor Lee and the other teachers know what’s going on.” You mused as you approached his classroom.

“Hm,” Hyunjin began opening the door, “I guess we’ll find out huh.”

As you entered the classroom you felt suspense, it was an odd feeling in your chest. Maybe it was anxiousness, nervousness? You weren’t sure, but your grip on your papers tightened in anticipation. Hyunjin held the little pot of Amortentia, the amount Professor Lee requested.

“Professor? It’s Hyunjin and y/n, we came to turn in our bonus assignment.” Hyunjin called out, not seeing Professor Lee sitting in his usual desk. “Maybe we can just turn it in later, we’ll leave the potion here though, I don’t really want to carry the pot around.”

You nodded and tucked the papers into your robes, “Yea, I don’t see a problem with that.”

The pressure on your chest was relieved a bit, you weren’t sure why Professor Lee’s opinion of you mattered so much. You just wanted to do good on this project, but you were sure the little accident affected it a bit. Besides that, you left the odd feeling you had behind you, just a little worried the rumors got to Professor Lee’s ears.

“Now,” Hyunjin clapped his hands together and turned on his heels to walk away, “Let’s go back to the Room of Requirement!”

“Nooo,” You snatched his wrist and pulled him back, “we are getting out of there and hanging out outside. Okay?”

He sighed but silently agreed, walking alongside you. Since it was after classes most students weren’t walking around the halls, and that made it easier for you two to pass by peacefully. The problems only arose when you came to the more populated areas of Hogwarts, and it made both of you apprehensive.

Eyes stared, no shame if either of you noticed. Raucous whispers were heard as well, even more gossip being spread among the students. But it was enough that it could be ignored, just hold your head up high and walk through it all. You felt Hyunjin slip his hands into yours, he was nervous. When you looked up at him, the steely look in his eyes was back; you frowned and squeezed his hand to try to reassure him.

The stares and chatter persisted, even outside. You thought that the cold, snowy weather would drive people away from going outside, but the courtyard was as populated as it usually was. People were just bundled up now. You swallowed a lump that formed in the back of your throat, suddenly much more nervous than before. All eyes turned toward the two of you when you walked into the courtyard, there was an eerie silence that made you prefer the low whispers and avoidant stares more. Now, people were unabashedly looking at you and Hyunjin, obvious judgment in their glaring eyes. And as your eyes landed on Seungmin and Jeongin, you knew you wouldn’t be able to avoid the oncoming argument. The two fellow Ravenclaws were standing among a group of your classmates, their stares in particular were more scorching than others. It made you feel small.

You felt Hyunjin’s grip on your hand tighten, and you glanced up at him to see he was looking the same way as you. Eyes on Seungmin, icy and biting.

Tension. You hated it.

Hyunjin began tugging on your hand, pulling you away from the courtyard and away from all the cold eyes. You followed him, head low once more to try to ignore the attention on you. There was near complete silence, and you almost thought you’d be able to make it out without any confrontation, but you’d be a fool. As you passed by the group with Seungmin and Jeongin, your friend spoke up.

“Hey asshole, where do you think you’re going with her?” Seungmin jeered, and the suspense in the courtyard was amped up to ten. If everyone wasn’t looking before, their attention was certainly caught now. And you could feel everyone was on Seungmin’s side. Hyunjin was the villain in this story.

You tried to tug on Hyunjin's arm, tried to pull him away to not cause a fight. But he shook you off and faced Seungmin, eyebrows pulled together and lip taut in a frown. “It’s none of your business, it’s nobody's business except ours, actually.”

“It is my business, y/n’s been my friend for too long to see her be manipulated by some asshole who can’t even care about her, about anybody.” Seungmin retorted, hitting a nerve in Hyunjin.

“You don’t know shit, you call yourself her friend? You don’t even listen to her.” Hyunjin let go of your hand and the cold air sent a chill through you. But you were too invested in Hyunjin’s words to pay it any mind. “She said you two fought, and for what? I thought you were better than that but I guess some Ravenclaws have to be idiots.”

Seungmin pursed his lips, taking a step forward, “You’re changing the subject Hwang, you’re not denying it. That you can’t even fucking love her even if you wanted to. And she deserves better than a heartless bastard who has to manipulate her to get her to pay attention to you. She follows your heels like a lost puppy and that’s been made clear this morning. If you’re hurting y/n anyway then-”

“Then what if I’m not? Huh?” Hyunjin curled his lips, taking a step towards Seungmin, “You ever thought about that? Or are you all drones that just take anybody’s word as truth? You’re all fucking fools.”

“You think I didn’t think about it? Everyones thinking it, the whole school knows you’re a heartless bastard. Stop the facade, there’s no point in lying.” Seungmin stepped away from the group. He was never one to be confrontational, but this is the angriest you’ve seen the boy. It worried you.

“Have any of you even asked y/n?! Where’s the damn proof?” Hyunjin pointed to you, fed up with the accusations as well as obvious invasion of a secret he so desperately wanted hidden.

Seungmin stood still, eyes darted from Hyunjin to you and back to Hyunjin. He took a deep breath, but his eyes were still steady. “You don’t know? Neither of you’ve seen it?”

“Seen what?” You spoke up, worried about Seungmins hint at actual proof.

There was another bout of silence, then Seungmin looked behind him at Jeongin. He looked unsure for a moment, but then Jeongin held his wand up in front of him and cast a spell. A new and familiar one to kids your age, you could only describe it as ‘saving videos’ on your wand; a spell modeled after the rise of cell phones in the muggle world. Jeongin’s wand projected a scene, a ‘video’ of you and Hyunjin. It looked like it was taken far away, but the audio was oddly grainy; like it was clear in some spots and fuzzy in others.

A new flame of anger rose in you at the scene, it was taken the day you and Hyunjin were at Hogsmeade and went off to have some privacy. But clearly, it wasn’t as private as you had thought. The scene played out in front of you two.

“I wanted to….I wanted to talk about what our relationship is.”

“What about it?”

“...you’re...sending mixed signals. I know you can’t feel love, you know I know that. So why are you, why are you acting like you feel the same way as me…?”

Hyunjin was silent, a blank look on his face and you began speaking again.

“And Hyunjin...the kiss? What was that about? We never talked about it, and I really think we should...maybe I’m just delusional, maybe I’m just hoping too much. Maybe I just think we, we shared something nice... you...just playing with me.”

The audio began to become fuzzy. But then the image showed Hyunjin holding your hands and leaning in close to your ear, whispering words not caught on the video. And you were silent in his words and made no move as Hyunjin then leaned down to kiss you. The video continued to play, sped up until it stopped again and the audio was heard again. But it was grainy.

“I want...to use the Amortentia...”

You were obviously shocked at his words, and gave him a weird look.

“Hyunjin, why…”

The audio became weird once more but the video showed Hyunjin becoming snappy with you, and the small tidbits of audio that was heard showcased his biting tone as he spoke to you. You gave him a sad expression, eyes searching and lost.

And the video suddenly ended there. Jeongin lowered his wand, but he looked at you sadly, large eyes looking for your reaction.

“Where the hell did you get that?” Hyunjin snapped as soon as it ended, eyes furious and looking around. He took several more threatening steps towards Seungmin, his anger especially bubbling at the invasion of such an intimate moment for the two of you.

“That’s not what happened!” You cried out, speaking up for the first time. “Wherever you got that manipulated the video!”

“Memories can be manipulated too.”

“Oh fuck off, bastard.” Hyunjin uttered the words, malice lacing his tone as he pushed Seungmin in the chest. The crowd parted ways, forming a circle around the two as Seungmin pushed back.

You began panicking as you made your way towards the boys, but Jeongin grabbed your arm to hold you back. The two struggled against each other for a moment, but Hyunjin got an upper hand as he grabbed the front of Seungmins robes and pulled back to get a punch in.

He didn’t get the hit because as soon as Jeongin appeared at your side, he disappeared to help his friend, suddenly pulling Hyunjin off of Seungmin. Ultimately throwing him off balance as he was slammed into the cold, snowy ground. A small object fell out of his robes, but he was too dizzy to notice he lost the vial.

You ran up to Hyunjin, helping him stand up but more importantly pulling him away from the fighting. Hyunjin tugged against you, irate and still fixated on fighting. Jeongin was doing the same for Seungmin, pushing him back away from Hyunjin. Profanities poured from both sides.

But when you looked at Jeongin, he seemed suspiciously calm, aberrant in the chaos. Jeongin was staring at the ground, eyes narrowed. You followed his gaze until it landed on the vial of Amortentia laying in the snow, the sunlight glinting off its glass. Your stomach dropped but before you could grab it, Jeongin brought it to attention.

“The hell is that?” He said, loud to catch people’s attention, but calm enough to not add fuel to the fire. The crowd slowly got quiet once more as you scrambled to pick it up, but Jeongin grabbed it before you could. He held it up in front of him. Hyunjin looked lost, he patted his pockets and looked at you when he didn’t feel the vial in his robes.

Silently he sighed and handed it to Seungmin, who looked at it. He lifted his head to look at you then at Hyunjin, his tone bordering on retained anger “Don’t tell me this is what I think it is. Did she know about this?”

Hyunjin stammered, unable to explain the situation properly, only causing the blame on him to solidify in the mind of others. He looked at you for help, you gulped and stepped up to Seungmin, your hand stretched out to ask for the vial back. “Seungmin...it’s not what it looks like. We need that back though, it’s important.”

Seungmin pulled back cautiously, “Y/n, this stuff doesn’t make you think quite right. Amortentia is the most powerful love potion we know. If he’s giving this to you then you’re always going to side with him. We can take you to the infirmary okay? The evidence is right here in front of you, please just a few days away and you’ll feel better.”

“Seungmin,” you warned, taking another step towards him, “You’re not listening to me. We need that back.”

“Why?” He pressed, his grip on the vial tightened, “Why in the world would you need a love potion.”

You pursed your lips and shook your head, “Even if I explained it, you wouldn’t believe me.”

“You used to be able to tell me anything, if it’s not incriminating then why not say it?” Seungmin challenged.

“Because it’s private.” You hissed, a whisper only he could hear. He was getting on your nerves.

Seungmin only scoffed and took a step back, “It’s private…”

“It is! If I need to go to the fucking infirmary then I’ll go but give me the damn vial back.” You snapped at him and swiped for the Amortentia, but he pulled back again.

“Not until I, and we all, get a good fucking reason.” Seungmin retorted and raised his voice. He pointed harshly at Hyunjin, “Whatever’s going on with him is scaring the whole school and the two of you are being suspiciously private about it. Neither of you denied that he can’t feel love, there’s the video of him saying shit about using Amortentia, and he literally has the potion on him. For fucks sake y/n, it's scary how similar he is to-”

“What’s going on here?” A voice boomed, making the argument subside as the crowd parted for Professor Lee. He walked up, a stern look crossing his face. “There better not be a fight.”

“No, sir…” You muttered, “Just an argument.”

Professor Lee’s eyes landed on the vial of Amortentia, he looked at Hyunjin, “I see the two of you finished the project. Seungmin, may I see that?”

Seungmin hesitated for a split second before handing the potion over, “Sir, I-”

“One second my boy,” Professor Lee held a finger up and faced you, “I believe a couple essays were required with this project as well?”

“Uh, yes, professor.” You stammered as you dug through your robes and pulled out the slightly crumpled parchment papers and handed them over. “We stopped by your office just before this to drop it off but you weren’t there.”

He hummed in acknowledgment as he thumbed through the essays, “Yes, I was out talking with the Headmaster. There seems to be quite the...scare running throughout the school. We were discussing it.”

Professor Lee looked around at the small crowd and furrowed his big eyebrows. “What’s everyone looking at? Go on, mind your own business.” He motioned for all other students to go back about their own business and the crowd reluctantly dispersed. Hyunjin stayed silent beside you throughout the whole ordeal. Until Professor Lee looked at him.

“Hyunjin.”

Hyunjin perked his head up upon hearing his name, “Yes, Professor?”

“I would like to talk to you in my office alone, please.” Professor Lee requested calmly, with reverence. Hands clasped behind his back with a polite grin. Hyunjin glanced at you, and you saw the nerves in his eyes but you nodded towards him and made an encouraging gesture. So Hyunjin quietly followed the professor out of the courtyard, a vastly different attitude than minutes prior. For some reason he suddenly got more timid, reluctant.

You let out a long, drawn-out sigh as you stood there alone. For the first time you realized just how attached at the hip you and Hyunjin have gotten. It felt weird to suddenly stand there without him beside you, and now you understood why Seungmin said you were like a lost puppy. Although the wording still irked you, you saw why it seemed that way. You spent most of your time with Hyunjin nowadays; you now went to quidditch games and even some practices, hung out after school most days, and even studied together. Slightly scolding yourself, you just stood there as you looked at the ground. Eyebrows furrowed together at the way the two of you really just ‘blocked the world’.

Seungmin walked up to you, stopping just a few feet away and just looked at you sadly. It was as if he was trying to figure out what thoughts were swimming through your head. “Hey y/n…”

You peaked up at him meekly, “Let’s go to the infirmary.”

“Why? Are you hurt at all?” Seungmin took a few more steps towards you, worry written on his face and arms lifted to help.

“No, no” You shook your head and stood up straight, shooting him a subsistent smile, “we were going to get me tested right? For...for the love potion.”

“Oh.” He uttered dumbly, arms dropping to his sides. He scrutinized you, trying to see if you were being serious, “Are you sure?”

The courtyard around you two calmed down immensely without Hyunjin in the area, and nobody really paid much attention as you and Seungmin walked out. You gave a small wave to Jeongin and the other rest of the group, but other than that, you walked in silence.

As the two of you made your way to the infirmary, you almost forgot just how much you missed Seungmin. Just to have him walk beside you again was a good feeling, very familiar. But it wasn’t the same comfortable silence that usually fell over you, it was awkward and tense. Once again you scolded yourself for not being more aware of just how distant you’ve been. Because now there was a wall beside you that was never there before, and Seungmin was on the other side.

You gulped nervously before looking at Seungmin, “Hey...how long have the um, rumors been going around?”

Seungmin looked down at you, making you tear your eyes away and look forward, “A few days I’d say, but there was still doubt until that video got spread around yesterday.”

“That video…” You grumbled, then looked up at him again, eyes pleading for you, “It was manipulated Seungmin, I promise you that’s not what happened. Not all the words were caught and the audio was all messed up, I swear.”

The hallway was silent after you spoke and Seungmin stopped and looked at you, lips taut and eyebrows furrowed. You were about to give in and continue walking, but then he nodded, “Okay, I’ll believe you. But, I want your full explanation after we get to the infirmary.”

“Okay,” You nodded, a small smile tugging on your lips where you would usually roll your eyes at his nagging tone. There was a pain in your chest as you realized just how much you missed Seungmin. And there was a big part of you who suddenly wanted to just be with him for a while. To hear his voice, witness his mannerisms, and to laugh with him. Like how you always did.

∎∎∎

“I’m sorry.”

Seungmin apologized, playing with the loose frays of his robes. Your results for any potions in your blood came back negative, as well as being under the influence of any spells. And so you got the chance to explain everything to Seungmin. How you got close to Hyunjin, the kiss, what really happened at Hogsmeade, and finally how Hyunjin was able to smell the Amortentia. The nurse gave you an apologetic look as she rushed the two of you out the doors, apparently there was something urgent she had to attend to.

Then Seungmin was bashful afterward, profusely apologizing and red-faced. His previous pride and anger was nowhere to be seen and you couldn’t stay mad at him. You could only smile in sympathy as Seungmin’s usual confident words turned into shy stammering, and then you pulled your best friend into a hug to tell him it was okay.

And that’s how you ended up here, in Seungmins dorm room, the comfortable and familiar presence Seungmin always provided was back to normal. It wasn’t rare to see you hanging out in Seungmins room, at least, before you began spending so much time with Hyunjin. But all that mattered now was that you finally got some quality time with your friend.

Sitting across from Seungmin on his bed, you laughed “That was like, the hundredth time you apologized today.”

“Cause I was an ass,” He whined, hugging a pillow to his chest, “I should’ve listened to you, but I was just...so worried for you. And caught up in all the talk going around, I was dumb.”

“Come onnn, don’t worry about it anymore. I’ve forgiven you, but if you really want to make it up to me, then just answer some questions I got.” You smiled as you rested your head against the bed frame. Seungmin luckily claimed the bottom bunk of the bed, something Renjun always got salty over.

“Oh am I gonna get interrogated now?” He teased.

“Yes.” You answered firmly and pointed at him. “Cause I was highly distressed this morning and you at least owe me an explanation.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Who told you about the rumors, and do you know who started them?” You frowned, eyebrows pulled together in concentration as you awaited Seungmin's answer.

“Jisung told me, uh Han Jisung, not the other one. I’m pretty sure the rumors began with the Gryffindors.” He answered right away, then he looked confused as he stared down at his duvet, “I’m not sure why though, you’d think the rumors would begin with some Ravenclaw or Slytherin, considering that’s what you guys are.”

“Really…?” You mumbled, the gears in your head twisted and you grew angry. “What do any of them have with my business? Why would they...oh my god, that wretch!!” At the sudden revelation, you pounded your fist into the mattress and huffed indignantly.

“What?? What is it? Who?” Seungmin asked in rapid succession, startled by your outburst. He sat up straighter and leaned in, really interested in your apparent epiphany.

“That little Gryffindor girl!! She got rejected by Hyunjin at Hogsmeade! She must’ve followed us...and recorded us.” You fumed, face growing red at your deduction. “I can’t believe she actually spread it around, that little brat!”

“Hey hey hey, calm down okay?” Seungmin held his hands up defensively, “We can’t just jump to conclusions, we don’t know it was her.”

“Well that’s my best guess,” You crossed your arms and slumped down, a clear pout on your lips. “I really can’t believe somebody would do this…”

The tips of Seungmins lips turned up at your pout, then dropped the next second. “I do feel bad for Hyunjin, he’s getting the brunt of the hate. And, and I contributed to it.”

His eyes reminded you of a kicked puppy. There was no way you’d let Seungmin get away with that sad look on his face, not under your watch. You pursed your lips before shuffling your way over to him, careful not to knock your head off the top bunk and pinched his cheeks back, “Hey mister, stop it with that sad look. I’m finally hanging out with you again and I don’t want to see you being all puppy dog sad. Got it?”

Seungmin wrinkled his nose in response and pushed your hands off, then rolled his eyes. “You’re one to talk, you were just fuming seconds ago.”

“That’s different from being sad with your big puppy dog eyes.” You giggled before settling down in front of him, your knees under you.

He scoffed with a contradictory sweet smile on his lips. “I missed you.”

Your chest constricted uncomfortably and you were vaguely reminded as to why you liked Seungmin. Why you loved Seungmin. His big brown eyes were warm and sweet and despite all the nagging, it showed that he really just cared. You smiled, a smile full of melancholy. “I missed you too, Seungmin. I really missed you.”

“I’m sorry,” It was your turn to apologize. You even felt tears beginning to prick your eyes, “I-I was just so caught up in him that...the rest of the world just didn’t seem to matter. I’m just dumb and blind. I mean, I guess you were kind of right when you said I’m irresponsible…”

“No no, don’t listen to me y/n. I’m the dumb one, I was just...jealous.” He said reluctantly, pausing for a moment before continuing. “I thought I lost my best friend and I was too quick to judge him. I was irresponsible if anything. Oh, please don’t cry.”

You laughed at his plea then hiccuped, it was too late, tears were already beginning to run down your cheeks. Seungmin stayed calm and brought his hand up to wipe the tears away, a small smile on his face. “You’ve always been a crier, huh?”

“No.” You pouted stubbornly, sniffling and going to hold his hand. A comforting gesture that never failed to calm you down. But among all the tears, you were really just glad to have your friend back.

The moment didn’t last long though, brief laughter was heard outside the door before it suddenly swung open. And who were the culprits? Renjun and Jisung. Seungmin pulled his hand away at their loud entrance and it dropped by your side. Their laughter died down after seeing you in the room, giving you solemn and unreadable looks. The mood change almost gave you whiplash.

Among the tension, you realized that you were still judged. Still in the spotlight for gossip at Hogwarts. You were suddenly brought back to reality as the stares made you feel small. And that feeling of vulnerability quickly turned for annoyance. You weren’t quite sure at what, but you quickly decided not to be passive about this anymore. Straightening you back, you turned your attention towards Han Jisung. Determined to gain just a little bit of your pride back.

You quickly wiped the remaining tears and pointed an accusatory finger at Jisung, “You’re not supposed to be here, you’re a Gryffindor.”

At your sudden allegation, which caught him off guard, Jisung straightened his back and held his hands up in defense. Then he narrowed his eyes and pointed at you as well, “Hey neither are you, you’re a girl.”

“Touche.” You sighed and looked at Renjun, “But it’s not like I’m not a normal guest, right Renjun?”

“Well, no, but I thought…” His gaze shifted to Seungmin and then back to you, “I just thought…”

And in response, Seungmin rapidly shook his head. So Renjun dropped the subject, “Uh, welcome back y/n.”

“Thanks for the warm welcome.” You smiled sarcastically before turning your attention back to Jisung. “Anyway, I have questions for you.”

“Actually, it might be better if I go.” Jisung cocked his head nervously and began to make his way towards the door, “I think we might’ve interrupted something…”

“Hey, no.” You pointed to the other bed, “Sit.”

And he sat.

You could feel their eyes on you, and you knew what thoughts were probably going through their heads. Renjun shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, then leaned back against his desk. Jisung fidgeted with his hands, he sat stiffly across from you but avoided your gaze. They were wondering why you were here. Why you were with Seungmin again. And why in the world you seemingly had a bone to pick with Jisung.

A breathy laugh escaped you as you looked on the scene. Seungmin caught on and smiled, "Guys she's not going to chew your heads off, relax."

"Then why did she sound so angry?" Jisung shuddered, his eyes blown wide as his head darted between you and Seungmin. He placed a hand on his chest dramatically and let out a nervous chuckle as he spoke. "I thought she was gonna hex me with the look she gave me!"

Renjun rolled his eyes and laughed, "Didn’t you guys just fight like, an hour before."

You shook your head, "We talked everything out. It's all a big misunderstanding, which, turned into paranoia. It’s all a mess and I’ve been caught up in it, and Hyunjin's getting the brunt of it all. And it’s all just...really stressful-”

Well, so much for gaining your pride back.

In that moment, the floodgates burst open and your cheeks felt wet. They were silent tears, at least at first, and your nose scrunched as you felt frustrated at yourself. You cried often these days, but you never broke down quite this bad before. The boys around you fell solemn and speechless for a moment, not expecting the sudden shift in dynamic. Seungmin reached up to comfort you, but faltered, hesitating for whatever reason. You suddenly inhaled a shaky breath before furiously wiping your embarrassing tears away. Your cheeks burned bright and your thoughts were staggering as your fists clenched the bedding beneath you, but you couldn’t stop talking. You stammered and stuttered and fumbled through your sentences, sounding borderline hysterical as you recounted what you’ve been through. While you were sure you were making a fool of yourself, you had to let it all out. It was like a switch was flipped and you can’t flip it back, like you couldn’t find the off button for your mouth. But you were grateful, since Renjun and Jisung were listening patiently through your mess of an explanation. And while you didn’t even notice it till now, Seungmin slipped his hand into yours in reassurance. You were probably cutting the poor boys circulation off with how hard you were gripping his hand back, but he never complained. So, as you were hiccuping, eyes red, and words just tumbling out of your mouth nonstop. They heard your side of the story and understood.

“Wait!” Jisung interrupted you, his hands were held up in front of him. His tone was desperate and buoyant all the same. As he handed you another tissue, he gave you a coy smile, “I got some info you might wanna hear. And I can help you out a little.”

You sniffled into the tissue, nodding at him softly to continue.

∎∎∎

“So, they believed you?” Hyunjin inquired, peeling some oranges for the both of you. Brushing the peels into the trash beside you. You two sat in a little alcove, a place in the halls where people don’t come by very often. It gave the two of you a little privacy without feeling like you had to hide from everybody. The past few days were rough and the stares made you want to hide at times; but at this point, you were sick of the rumors and were working on ending them.

Deciding to save yourself the embarrassment, you brushed past mentioning your breakdown to him. You nodded, “Mhm, I guess I was quite...convincing. I’ll explain everything to you. I was able to get some info out of Jisung.”

“Good, I’m getting tired of being avoided like the plague.” He popped an orange slice into his mouth then handed you one. Which you took gratefully. Then set the rest between where you two sat. The tall window behind your back let plenty of light through, and it was a calm day. “Some first years give me this terrified look whenever I walk by, you know?”

“Oh no, it’s cause you’re an oh-so-scary dark wizard.” You teased, “I doubt you even have an ounce of dark magic in you.”

“Right, I forgot, I’m evil now.” Hyunjin rolled his eyes, “So, what did Jisung say?”

You clasped your hands together and scooched closer to him, “I know who did it. Who spread the rumors and eavesdropped on us and everything.”

He visibly perked up, “Who? Who was it because so help me, I’ll hex them into oblivion.”

“Just like the evil wizard you are, huh.” You chuckled, then shook your head. Your teasing mood quickly took a nosedive the more you thought about it. She put a bad taste in your mouth. “Remember that little fourth year Gryffindor, the one who asked you out at Hogsmeade?”

Hyunjin's expression quickly soured, his nose scrunched and lips curled back. “You’re kidding, that little-”

“No, and she followed us and took that video.” You muttered bitterly, but then gave Hyunjin a coy smile, “But there’s good news too.”

“And what’s that?”

“We all came up with a plan.” You glanced down the hall, suddenly very aware that people could be listening in. Hyunjin noticed and looked down the hall as well. But you digressed nonetheless, “So, apparently...this little girl is planning on asking you out again.”

Hyunjin jeered, showing his clear disgust with the idea, “What, is she crazy? What makes her think that I’d want to-”

“Because,” You interrupted, holding your pointer finger up to emphasize, “she thought I would run away from you. But more than that…” you paused for dramatic effect, “the little hypocrite bought a love potion.”

There was a beat of silence before Hyunjin raised his eyebrows in surprise, not expecting that. “How do you know?”

“Jisung said he heard her talking about it with her friends. Apparently, she’s gonna approach you soon to try to ‘comfort’ you. So basically she’s gonna act as your savior. Be all nice and friendly and caring. And offer you a snack. That's where the love potion is gonna be, right? Now that I think about it, she should be in Slytherin instead of you.” You mused, seeing just how cunning the little Gryffindor was.

“She’d fit right in.” Hyunjin muttered, crossing his arms and leaning back against the windowpane. He looked down in thought, “So what do you want me to do?”

You smiled, “Get the evidence, then we expose her.”

“Oh! Actually,” Hyunjin suddenly perked up, “I forgot to tell you, but remember how Professor Lee called me to his office yesterday?”

“Oh yea! What happened?”

“Well,” He looked up, “he told me not to worry, the headmaster is actually trying to take care of it right now. Sometime before the end of the week, he’s going to make an announcement and try to debunk the rumors. So, I mean the plans great and all, but it’s already being handled.”

You pouted, scooching over to him to lean against him, “I still think the plan is a good idea.”

He chuckled, “Cause it is, we’ll still go through with it if need be, but I want to avoid that girl as much as I can…”

“Yea, me too.” you sigh, suddenly really tired as the two of you fell into a bout of silence. It was nice just to enjoy the little moments in the day. These were the moments you really appreciated because while all the excitement is fun and all, it was moments like these that really solidified the comfort you felt with Hyunjin. To be able to just sit together and enjoy each other's presence. You were grateful to be able to have that with him. You began to play with his hand, twisting the rings on his fingers and such. At some point, you slipped a ring off his finger and placed it on one of yours. Hyunjin questioned it, commented on how it was a little loose, but let you borrow it nonetheless.

“So...you and Seungmin are good again?” Hyunjin broke the silence as he chewed on another orange slice, hence muffling his speech.

“Mhm,” You smiled and ducked your head down, trying to contain your joy at just the thought. It still amazed you how much you miss Seungmin. “I’m meeting up with him later, we decided we needed to catch up some.”

“Oh,” Hyunjin's brows knotted, he sat up a little straighter, “Okay.”

You straighten your back as well, mirroring his actions, “Is something the matter?”

Hyunjin held his hand onto his chest and stared down at the floor in front of him, but he didn’t answer you. He was frozen there until you placed a hand on his shoulder hesitantly. That's when he looked up to meet your eyes. His brow was still knotted and confused. It was strange like he was in a trance of some sort. The change in demeanor was very jarring and he wasn’t helping you much, not answering in the slightest.

“Are you hurt?” You began to panic, placing your hand over his on his chest, instantly very concerned. Hyunjin only stared at you for a second. But then his gaze tore away and looked away from you with a cold chuckle, all while shaking his head at you. You pulled your hand away, blinking at the harsh look he had, almost mocking. Then he stood up, subsequently ignoring you.

And you, not about to deal with any more crap than you already were, grabbed his wrist and yanked him back down to his seat. You stood up instead, arms crossed and looked down at him sternly, “Hyunjin, answer me, what’s wrong.”

That’s when he scoffed at you again and moved to stand up, but you placed a hand on his chest and gently pushed him back down. Sighing, you took his hand in yours and sat next to him, “Please, I don’t want to fight, and if you’re mad at me then please tell me why.”

You felt Hyunjin's hand tighten around yours, but his sturdy gaze softened and his head dipped down. And if you weren’t mistaken, his cheeks were red. “It’s stupid. It’s just dumb.”

“No it’s not, what happened?”

“I just...I think I got jealous. Sorry, I-I don't know why I acted like that. It was just very sudden and I kind of felt...wronged.” Hyunjin shook his head, laughing at himself bitterly. “I’ve never done that before, I’ve never felt that jealous before.”

If you were being honest, you had to hold yourself back from cooing and teasing him about it. It was cute, but he was clearly embarrassed about it, so you were going to save the teasing for later. Instead you nodded understandingly and just shrugged, “It’s okay, it’s a new feeling? And like, who doesn’t get jealous from time to time. Don’t worry about it.”

“Yea, I just feel dumb.”

“Cause you are.”

“Thanks.” He smiled at you before wrapping an arm around you. “I’ll try not to do that again. No guarantees though.”

You could only shake your head lovingly at the boy and kiss his cheek, you also kept toying with his ring on your finger. Being out instead of cooped up in the room of requirement was a good move. It was great and all for privacy, but sitting out in the hall cleared your minds a bit. Even if it was a more secluded part of the school, students still passed by. So you enjoyed the moment with Hyunjin, it was much less tense than days prior and you both seemed to loosen up a little bit. Eventually it came time for you to meet up with Seungmin, so you split up with Hyunjin and left.

And that’s how you ended up sitting in the astronomy tower with Seungmin. Side by side on the floor, you stared at the stars in wonder. At first, you two were just going to meet up in his dorm room, but he said that the rest of his roommates were there. And he didn’t think it’d be an ideal place to catch up. While the astronomy tower wasn’t usually open like this, you convinced Seungmin that bending the rules a little wouldn’t hurt. And he did his usual nagging while going along with your lackadaisical actions, not really caring for the rules.

Catching up with him was a lot more relaxed than you originally thought. For some reason, you had the idea in your head that this was going to be a tense and slightly awkward meeting. But you fell into routine and ease just like how you always did. You guess that just how your relationship with Seungmin is, it was always relaxed and you just felt comfortable next to him. It was always like that, which was one reason why you were so shocked when he lost his temper before. But none of that mattered now, conversation came easily and you talked for hours about who knows what. Seungmin filled you in and you filled Seungmin in. Topics strayed then came back then strayed again. All until your chat fizzled out and your attention turned more towards the stars and constellations. The stars were beautiful that night in particular.

“Did you do the homework yet.”

“Nope,” You continued to stare at the stars, “I can do it later.”

“It’s already midnight.”

“And?”

You heard Seungmin chuckled beside you, “I’m glad you haven’t changed.”

“Just cause I began hanging with someone else means I’m suddenly going to be doing my work on time?” You said, sarcasm dripping from your tongue. “Who do you think I am? A diligent student? Pfff”

“I’m just saying, you got that project with Hyunjin in on time.” Seungmin shrugged, looking at the same part of the sky as you.

You smiled softly, tracing constellations with your eyes, “Believe it or not, I actually had to motivate him to do some work.”

“Yea, that’s hard to believe.” Seungmin leaned back on his palms, looking at you, “Your eyes are glowing.”

Blinking a couple times, you tilted your head and looked at him, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Looking at the stars, your eyes look like they’re glowing.” Seungmin smiled at you and made you do a silent double take. As you looked at him, you struggled to form words. Just something in the way he said it, or maybe how he looked at you. It took you off guard.

“Yea?” You replied simply, “Well they’re beautiful tonight.”

“I agree.” Seungmin nodded, looked down for a moment, then up at the stars. He then sat up straighter and turned his body so he was fully facing you, a little sheepish. “But, I wanted to meet up for more than just to catch up.”

Unsure of what he was doing, you stared at him blankly, lips parted as you waited for him to continue. He fiddled with his hands in front of him and then smiled at you, “I wanted to tell you that I like you, more than just as a friend. And I have for a while.”

“I...what?”

Seungmin held a hand up, stopping you from speaking any more. But quite frankly, you were speechless from the confession. So you closed your mouth with wide eyes and listened to him. If he didn’t have your full attention before, he certainly did now.

“I don’t know how long I’ve liked you, I just know it’s been a while. And I realized it when I realized just how strange it felt to not be around you, and I’m not talking about recently. I just remember back in...I don’t know, fourth maybe fifth year, I came to the epiphany that something felt empty without you. I just, I just never knew if you felt the same and I was still happy with being your best friend. It was only when you told me what you smelled in the Amortentia, is when I began building up the courage to tell you. Because, tell me if I’m wrong, but you smell jasmine right? That’s...the tea I drink right?”

Not having the heart to tell him that the smell changed, you nodded solemnly.

“So, I was going to confess to you and everything after that. But, that’s when you got closer to Hyunjin and I couldn't seem to get a moment with you. Then the rumors got out and I just felt...wronged. And I got mad and jealous and you didn’t deserve the backlash I threw at you. I was just bitter.” Seungmin shook his head, talking carefully and clearly. He was always good at talking, “I just thought you deserved to know. Know why I overreacted and got just unreasonable… I also just felt like I needed to get this off my chest to…”

Seungmin trailed off and didn’t finish his sentence. You looked at him expectantly. But when you didn’t continue, you prodded him to finish his thought. “To...what?”

“To move on.” He smiled as his eyes cast down, the despondent smile caused your chest to pang weirdly. It caused you to frown and look down as well, not sure what to say. Seungmin, your best friend, just confessed to you. The guy you wished would do this for years, is now confessing just like you wanted, but you couldn’t feel happy at all. Your thoughts remained lingering on Hyunjin as you kept twisting his ring on your finger.

“Seungmin…” You murmured, words not coming to mind. More like you couldn’t bring yourself to speak.

But then Seungmin stood up, “It’s okay, I understand. To be honest, I really needed to get this off my chest, so just telling you feels better for me…”

“Wait, are you leaving?” You stood up as well. Not quite ready for him to go, you took a step closer to him.

“Well, I’m being rejected aren’t I?” Seungmin shrugged and smiled again, “I just don’t want this to affect our friendship. I value you too much to lose you over this, can you promise me that?”

“I promise…” You nodded sadly. In a weird way, you felt as if you were the one being rejected. Then a thought came to you, you furrowed your eyebrows as it came to you. And so before you could linger on the idea for too long, you just put it into action. Taking another step closer to him, Seungmin looked confused. But didn’t move away as you placed your hands on his shoulders and leaned up to place a sweet kiss to his cheek.

At your actions, he looked at you in astonishment and disbelief, pretty brown eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Yet, just as you were about to step away from him, embarrassed, he grasped your wrists. Not tightly, but just enough to keep you close to him. You didn’t have any time to think before Seungmin was leaning down and placing a chaste and tender kiss to your lips. This time, it was his turn to leave you doe-eyed and surprised.

Seungmin just kissed you.

And you were frozen at the thought. But you felt your blush quickly rising to your cheeks and you brought your hand to gently touch your lips. To say he caught you off guard would be an understatement. Your eyes darted around quickly before landing on Seungmins to find him scratching the back of his neck, looking away from you.

Seungmin was blushing as well, then he looked at you before placing a finger to his lips in a shushing motion. He wore a coy smile, “Just once okay?”

“That was a bold move,” You let out a breathy chuckle as you let your arm hang limply at your side, “maybe you’re changing quicker than I am.”

His attention seemed to be caught by the stars and he breathed in deeply, then exhaled as he replied, “Yea, that’s the plan. I’ll have to if I’m going to move on.”

“Yea…” You followed his gaze towards the stars, “you’re still my best friend okay?”

“And you’re my best friend.” Seungmin nodded before placing a kiss on your forehead. Then began to move away, “I’m going to go now…”

You suddenly became bashful again and perked an eyebrow up at him, “Do friends kiss friends?”

He shrugged, “Give me some slack, I just got rejected. I’m just wishing my friend luck in her future relationship with a certain Slytherin.”

“Goodnight Seungmin.” You chuckled and ran a hand through your messy hair. Watching as he gave you a wave goodbye before descending the astronomy tower. All of a sudden, he felt a lot more mature than a couple months ago. And you were proud of him.

So, you stayed up in the astronomy tower for a little longer. Left alone with your thoughts and the stars, quietly toyed with Hyunjin’s ring.

a/n: so its finally hereeeeee!. Sorry about it being a little late, i fell asleep after school and needed to edit it a little bit ahah. But I’m satisfied with this! This is by far the fanfic ive received the most feedback for and it feels nice that its so loved :)

[the-wintershade]

sleeping in waking | rain (1)

pairing: connor (rk800) x reader summary: Connor couldn't figure you out and that bothered him, more than he was willing to admit. Usually, he didn't care whether he was close to someone or not, but then, they weren't you and they weren't working with him all the time. Every time you were near, he would ache to hear you open up to him, to give a few details of your personal life that he knew nothing about, but you gave away nothing - nothing - and he failed to compute why. Now, there was only one thing to do. He would do whatever he had to to get to know you - that was his mission and he always completed his mission. wc: 4.6k+ genre: fluff, a splash of angst

Rain: series — 01 | 02 | 03

The pitter patter of the heavy raindrops hitting the pavement was like music to your ears as you waited under the awning of your house before you left for work. You reached out and let the drops cool your skin. The weather forecast included warm days; unseasonably warm days that consisted of melting ice and snow and road flooding. Not the prettiest or most glamorous, but a bit of an adventure to drive through and that it made it even more fun.

The rain was a welcome companion for you, a sort of home you could feel in every drop on the ground, on every streak of water crawling down your windows, on every blob that crashed into your face as it fell. You breathed in before starting a countdown in your head, 3….2….1….Go! and suddenly you were off, a giggling mess as you rushed to pry your car door open before the rain could permeate the thin material of your windbreaker. Throwing yourself into the safety of your vehicle - a smile still lingering on your face - you sat and listened to the cacophony of raindrops pound on the roof of your metal transport.

You shook the water off your clothes like a dog shaking the mud off of its coat. Letting out a sigh, you felt around the ignition with your key before it sank into its spot with a slight dip. Turning it all the way forward, you felt your car rumble to life beneath you, a few beeps being emitted in the process. You watched the dashboard light up with a few blinks and then a steady stream of faint light, the windshield fogging up with your warm exhales against the coolness of the car.

With a tap of the finger, you heard the fan kick on in an attempt to warm the glass enough to get the condensation to disappear. You rubbed your balmy hands together to give them a chance to get fully heated before you placed them on the cold steering wheel and drove yourself to work through the torrential downpour.

...

“All this damn rain is giving me a headache. I can’t even let Sumo out of the house without him bringing back a fucking lake.” Hank sat nursing a cup of lukewarm coffee and trying to expel his frustrations with the sky, with you, the least helpful person to talk to. So instead of turning the conversation to your pluviophile like habits, you turned it to your favorite furball.

You loved his little - or not so little - dog. That little ball of fur always managed to bring a smile to your face no matter what you were going through. He would come and lick your face eagerly or jump on your leg until you would sink down to a height in which he could. A small smile spread on your face thinking of your special guy.

“How is my handsome man doing?” You grinned plopping into your chair, booting up your computer in the process.

“Spoiled as ever, especially since he has Connor around all the time.” He brought his gaze up to the android absentmindedly throwing a quarter between his hands. The coin managed to cast a glint everytime the fluorescent lights caught it, visible through your peripheral vision and distracting.

You looked up to see Connor’s LED a bright shade of yellow as his eyes lingered on the linoleum tile underneath him, the quarter whizzing through the air as it sank into the palm of his left hand. He tucked it into his pocket and moved to look back at Hank as he realized he had quickly become a focus of your conversation.

“Sorry, Lieutenant, I was thinking.” He blinked and looked at you, giving you the smallest resemblance of a smile that he could manage as his LED returned to blue. Connor was trying, you’d give him that.

“No shit,” Hank grumbled, standing and sauntering his way over to the break room. “I’ll grab you a cup.” He titled his own paper cup and gave it a slight wave.

“Thanks.” You moved your attention on Connor whose eyes were already on you, a pleasant expression on his face. You and Connor had become good friends in the short time you’ve worked at the department, a nice reprieve from dealing with the likes of the other officers. Connor was kind and gentle yet determined and focused, you admired his work ethic as he tirelessly tracked down the purp and apprehended him with little difficulty. How such a benevolent face was capable of such vigor and robustness shocked you, but in a good way. It was good to see the contrasting qualities being balanced.

“How are you doing, Connor?” You shook your hair a bit, a few droplets ringing down from the crown of your hair. He watched these drops with interest before responding to you.

“I’m fine. How are you, Officer (y/l/n)?” He looked back at your eyes, the moment of distraction over.

“Great. The rain is fun to drive in.” You smiled as you clicked on a few files on your computer bring them closer to your attention. Connor’s LED swam to yellow again and a frown took to his face.

“I don’t understand, isn’t it hazardous? I’m not sure how something like that can be entertaining for you.” A grin crept its way to the corner of your mouth as you found his lack of understanding funny and a little bit adorable. You looked over the top of your monitor to find him looking at you expectantly.

“Well, it’s fun because you can watch the pools of water fly away from your wheels like you’re parting the red sea. It’s kind of like when you’re a kid and you jump into all the puddles while walking with your parents to the car because you're fascinated with the way it shoots away from you and…” The words died on your lips as you saw Connor’s face contort in a deeper state of confusion.

Of course, he had no idea about the kind of things like a childhood. The rambling you were doing was essentially pointless, he’d never experienced any types of those things first hand. You stopped trying to explain it and instead settled for a more simple response.

“I just enjoy it, that’s all.” Your eyes moved back to scanning over a report filed a few days ago, adding your own information to it. Little did you know, Connor wanted to hear you speak of your childhood memories more. He had only known the little details that you let slip in your conversations with Lieutenant Anderson, but when it came to speaking with him, your responses were more withdrawn and simple, not as complex as he was sure your mind was.

He wanted to be able to communicate with you more effectively and get more interesting answers. The way your eyes narrowed in concentration, the way you smiled when Lieutenant Anderson made what he came to know as a “snarky” comment, the ways your eyes lit up when explaining something that you found captivating, all proved to him that there were more going on your mind then what you verbally conveyed. If only he could find some way for you to open up to him, to trust that he was going to understand and that you could tell him anything your heart desired, to trust that he would never look at you any differently.

Connor had been running different ways he could accomplish his mission and all involved spending more time with you, preferably without Lieutenant Anderson. He would get to know more about your background and the kind of things you enjoyed, then maybe you would open up to him at some point. The same logic and reasoning helped when trying to figure out the Lieutenant, plus it would help strengthen the “bond” within your group.

It was decided.

“Here you are, a steaming cup of bland flavors and unmet expectations.” A giggle left your mouth as you nodded your head in appreciation.

“Seems like you’re a big fan of such high-grade coffee.” You tipped your cup up.

“Oh shut up.” He smirked, sinking down in his seat. You looked over to see that little LED flash yellow for the third time in the time you’d been in the office of the DPD. Connor didn’t say anything for a minute, his eyes fluttered shut and it worried you that there might be something amiss. Hank didn’t hear a response and looked over to you, only to find you concentrating on the android in the chair. He too saw the behavior of Connor and groaned before the android had a chance to speak.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. I just sat down for -”

“Lieutenant Anderson, I’ve just got a report of a suspected deviant. We should go take a look.” He blinked back at him - his LED becoming blue again - as he didn’t hear the words that he uttered before. Connor only heard your laughter and saw your eyes crinkle on the corners and that was enough for the LED to blink yellow before reverting back to the familiar blue hue it normally held. He blinked once more before returning his focus back to Lieutenant Anderson, but his jaded blue eyes were already looking at him, tapering in thought. He saw that tiny circle on his forehead flash yellow for a split second.

“Everything alright, Connor?” Connor head cocked to the side and scrunched his forehead slightly.

“Everything is fine, Lieutenant.” He looked concerned but Hank knew better. He was sure he saw that little light wink into yellow.

Meanwhile, you had watched the whole exchange go down as your laughter died. They looked as if they were sizing each other up and if you hadn’t known the two, you might have thought that they were butting heads. You threw your jacket over your shoulders, slinging your arms through the sleeves. Letting out a light sigh and picked up your keys. “Well, if you two are done staring at each other, I believe that we have a crime scene to investigate.”

Software Instability ^

...

The ground was sopping wet and the smell of rain clouded all your senses as you hopped out of your car. The water droplets falling from the sky had lessened in their frequency but hadn’t stopped completely, creating a weirdly eerie mood. Your feet squished under the wet gravel as you made your way towards the house in front of you.

“Afternoon, Officer.” A detective said to you as you nodded and ducked underneath the yellow police tape.

“Afternoon.” You took in the scene in front of you, a broken glass window and some spatters of blue on its shards leaving a trail leading towards the back of the house. The wet grass scrunched underneath your feet as you made your way around to the back of the house, following the blue drops. When you arrived at the back of the home, the little bits of blue could no longer be found, the rain washed the trail away.

You stood at a loss. There could only be two possible places of where this android could be; inside this house or out on the streets somewhere. You didn’t think it would harm anyone without good reason, none of these androids did. Every case you had been on involved abuse, stress, or some sort of mistreatment that had resulted in such a dramatic and significant outburst of emotions. Just as humans had reasons behind their actions, so did deviants, in fact, you thought what they went through was worse. They endured for so long and what happened to them had to be astronomically terrible for a sudden break to even occur. They are strong, stronger than the will of most humans before they fall apart.

But all this rambling wouldn’t solve the problem staring you dead in your face. Connor and Hank hadn’t arrived yet and it was dark enough outside and in the house that nothing would be completely visible to you when you entered. If you tried tracking the android, you’d be walking aimlessly with nothing to indicate you were getting any warmer. The longer you waited, the further away the deviant could be and the longer it would take to track them down.

You were going in.

The wind picked up, throwing your hair around and shaking the dead tree on the lawn. As you moved closer to the back door, the wood creaked underneath your feet. Mentally, you cursed, they would definitely know someone was here now. Slipping the gun out of the waistband of your pants, you held it tautly in your hand, adjusting your grip as you pressed your ear to the door.

Nothing, dead silent.

You tried your luck with the handle, it turned but you weren’t positive nothing was attached to it. Sliding over to the window, you peaked through the torn up blinds. Dust sparkled through the air and it looked well abandoned, but most importantly, you didn’t find any evidence of something attached to the doorknob. You moved back over to the older wooden door, gave it a couple of good shoves with your shoulder and nearly fell to the ground as it broke free of the hinges.

Planting your foot, you moved your handgun into the first corner you saw. Another spew of dust flew up as you disturbed its peace, blocking your full view of the place. You utter some words of warning into the home but you heard fast footsteps on the grass behind you. Slipping behind the door, you wait for the people to come up the porch. Once you heard the wood creak, you sprung out from your hiding spot, the muzzle of your handgun pointed at the dead center of the stranger’s forehead.

“Officer (y/l/n)!” His eyes widened as he took in the firearm pointed in his direction and the startling dark look your eyes slid into. “It’s me, Connor.” His tone slipped into a softer, gentler version, hands in the air in a show of peace.

Connor ran all the way around because he knew you were here already and he did not want you to be alone. He wanted to be with you when you went into the house, to accompany you, in case something were to go wrong. He wanted to be able to have his part to play in fate should the worst come to pass. He wanted to be by your side more than he knew he should. He wanted all these things, but that was not typical behavior. Connor the machine should not want things.

It took you exactly two blinks before you corrected the aim of your weapon and another two before your brain registered that this was not your enemy. Tightening your jaw, you nodded and stepped back enough to let him in.

Connor’s LED flared red as he saw your current state. Something was definitely wrong; he never witnessed this darkness in your eyes that he had just seen nor how fast your heart was beating. Your pulse still was not under control and your eyes remained on the wood floor in the time you had lowered your weapon.

Connor was not equipped with the knowledge of comforting people, but looking at you created a dull ache in his chest, a sudden thirst to know anyway possibility that would help. The little consolation Lieutenant Anderson had shown him had consisted on a small touch on the back and a gentle emotion coming over his greyish blue orbs. Connor was not convinced that doing something like that would help but he was willing to try, willing to do anything for that matter.

His fingers stretched out slowly, each reaching out on their own accord, begging to come in contact with your jacket. He hoped they would give you some relief, hoped that some pressure might bring you back to the now and not wherever your mind flew too. Just as the tip of his index finger came in contact with the micro polyester of your windbreaker, Lieutenant Anderson waltzed his way up the doorsteps.

“Connor, what did I tell you about -” Hank saw Connor’s reach and how your head was still down, a gun loosely held in your palm. Connor never stopped looking at you but his LED switched to yellow upon hearing the Lieutenant speak. “Jesus Christ, is everything okay?”

Hank’s raspy voice snapped you out of your daze as you quickly holstered your weapon and snapped your eyes up from the ground. “Yeah, everything’s fine.” You shook the memory away from your vision and stepped a few feet back, unknowingly, away from Connor’s attempt at solace. “Let’s go check the house.”

Software instability ^^

...

Connor could only concentrate part of the way on the rA9s etched into the wall or the knife coated with blue blood on the table, he was too concerned about you. Since the incident at the door, you had kept to yourself; hugging your arms, moving away from the space he or Lieutenant Anderson occupied, staring off into space. It was strange behavior, behavior he did not recognize from you.

“Well, did you find anything, Connor?” Lieutenant Anderson stepped in his line of sight, momentarily blocking his view of you. His light blinked blue as he thought back to all the evidence he collected; analysis of the blue blood (in his mouth much to Lieutenant Anderson’s dismay), the reconstruction of the broken chairs and the knife to know that the android escaped through the window, the convict’s body that would most likely be in the closet door right behind where you were standing.

You. His heartbeat sped up a bit at the knowledge you were close and he still was unable to fix your current condition. He could not get a clear sight of you now, but he was sure your eyes were on him.

“Yes. I believe the victim’s body is in the closet behind Officer (y/l/n) and the deviant has escaped through the window.” He made a glance at the shards laying on the floor. “It seems they were attacked.”

Connor rose to his feet and you looked back down, squeezing your arms tighter and shifting your weight to your other foot. In that brief moment, the light trickling in from the open window glinted off a small line strung behind the back of your feet. Your eyebrows furrowed as you looked for the beginning and end of this small line, but it wasn’t just a line, it was a piece of string, a piece of string held in an oddly perfect spot.

As you turned your head a little more, the device became clear. It was a trip mine and the floorboards creaking meant that Connor was coming over to open the closet, right into the path of an explosive, an explosive that would take down this whole house and the people inside with it. It only took you a split second to turn on your heel, only a split second to move away from the little ribbon, only a split second to look at him in fear.

“Connor, no!” You threw your body into him, your arms wrapping around his waist, and pulling back as hard as you could. His leg was suspended in mid-air as your weight around his middle prevented him from completing his step. His LED switched immediately to red by the tone of your voice and your actions.

His arms hung aloft by his side while you attached yourself to his back, gripping it with deadly force. “Officer (y/l/n), what’s wrong? Does the fact that there’s a body in the closet disturb you?” He tried to look down on you but you were wrapped at such an awkward angle, he couldn’t make out your face.

“No, there - there was a trip mine. You almost stepped on a trip mine.” You breathed out, slowing removing your arms from his body. Your heart was still racing a thousand miles a minute, but now the hard part was over. “Be careful where you step.” Your feet moved a few lengths away and you watched as Connor took a step back, his foot falling where it had previously been. He caught the glint of it now, but previously, he had not been aware of such a device in the vicinity. He made a mistake, partly due to not fully checking the surroundings, and party due to his constant worry for your health. Connor does not make mistakes.

Software Instability ^^^

You were scared. You knew the whole mission could have been blown if that mine had detonated, but more importantly, you were worried it could kill Connor. That it could kill the android who claimed to be just a machine, but you knew was much more than what he thought of himself. He felt things, he felt emotion even if he didn’t want to admit it. You’d seen that LED turn to yellow and red depending on his mood, you’d seen his eyes change from passive to filled with emotion, you’d seen his body language change. To you, he was as alive as you or Hank.

Hank watched the whole scene go down with a face of disbelief. You were keeping your distance, maintaining a bit of space from the focal point of the investigation, but he’d never seen you flip so quickly. He was thankful that you had stopped Connor from blowing the house and everything in it, but he also saw your concern. He saw Connor’s concern for you as well. Whatever was going on, it certainly left him speechless. He watched you untangle yourselves and move to your personal spheres. Oh boy. More mushy disgusting hormones.

...

The tension in the air diffused upon bringing the investigation to a close. The deviant was nowhere to be found but from the trip mine sitting in the house, it was safe to assume they were afraid and had an extensive knowledge of military tactics, most likely due to the ex-military officer dead in the closet. When he had the opportunity to demonstrate his knowledge, you had no idea.

The three of you walked out of the house and into the howling wind and rain. Your windbreaker could only do so much to protect you against the freezing water droplets, they punctured your skin, cold seeping into your bones and sending chills down your spine. Gritting your teeth, you pushed towards your car.

“Damn, who pissed off mother nature?” Hank shivered too and huddled over an attempt to bring his coat over his neck. His silver hair could only do so much to protect his exposed skin and sometimes it barely did that much.

You kept your mouth closed for fear that if you tried to say something, your teeth would chatter and interrupt your speech, but a smile crept onto your face. Connor watched with curiosity as your face lit up following Lieutenant Anderson’s comment and he felt his thirium pump speed up, a slight pounding behind his chest. A small smile mirroring your own took shape on his face, painting it in a warm, calm light despite the raging storm. However, he noticed the slight movements of your jaw as your teeth moved in order to bring some heat to your face.

An idea popped into his mechanical little brain.

You fished your keys out of your pocket with a satisfying jingle and went to put them into the lock to open your car door, but Connor beat you to it, his hand closing over yours. His chest was pressing into your back gently and if you turned your head, your cheek would touch his chin. Your heart slightly sped up.

“Connor, what are you doing?” You tried to turn to look at him but he was already putting his plan in motion.

“Lieutenant, would you mind if I escorted Officer (y/l/n) home? She doesn’t seem as if she’s in an adequate state to drive.” His brown eyes looked calm and concerned, but Hank knew better.

Hank opened his car door and draped an arm over it. “Bold words, coming from you. Have you even asked if she wanted any help getting home?” His arm gestured towards you. He sighed before stooping to lower himself into his Oldsmobile. “If she doesn’t oppose it, then do whatever.” He wasn’t about to get in the way of whatever Connor had in mind, that was one stubborn android.

Connor looked down at you, stepping back a bit so he could get an accurate reading of your face. “Would you mind if I accompanied you home?”

You didn’t know how to respond. You’d never seen Connor do something like this nor get this close to you without bringing something with him; a folder, a cup of coffee, a piece of evidence -  this was completely out of the ordinary. You hoped he was feeling alright but looking at his warm brown eyes boring into yours, waiting for an answer, made you rethink your original thesis. Nothing seemed to be wrong with him, in fact, he had been acting fine during the whole day, you were the one exhibiting unordinary behavior. You almost shot him, Connor, the android you’ve known for months now.

Connor watched all the emotions you were feeling flicker across your face and something in the pit of his stomach fell. Of course, you would not feel comfortable with him, you barely knew anything about each other. His LED moved to yellow and he began to take a step back, but then he saw your face land in a small smirk.

“Sure, why not?” You spoke out. The LED moved back to blue and he tried to refrain himself from jumping up and down, so he compromised with a small grin. Moving his hand around, he gently slid the keys out of your hand and unlocked the car.

Software Instability ^^^^

You moved to the other side, giving Hank a small wave to let him know he could head for home and plopped yourself into the plush seats of your car. As soon as you sat, you felt a weight on your lap. Your hands brushed over the cotton fibers of Connor’s jacket, the blue triangle glowing in the upper right-hand corner.

Holding the jacket up a bit, you looked over at him as he put the key into the ignition. “Connor, why are you giving me your jacket?”

He put the car into drive and turned in the seat to look behind him, but his eyes stopped on you, a wholehearted look in his brown orbs. “You’re teeth are still chattering. Please, use it to get warm, at least until I get the heat on.”

That was the second time you’d been at a loss of words while dealing with Connor, but your heart warmed at the sight of how genuine Connor was being. You’re not saying that you agreed with him giving up his coat so willingly, but you certainly appreciated it. Letting your fingers ball around it, you pulled the jacket up so it covered your chest, thankful for the coverage to allow you to warm up.

Connor felt a surge of warmth through his veins as he saw you move the jacket to a more comfortable position through the corner of his eye. At least, you trusted him enough to accept his kindness, it was not a lot, but it was a start and that was all he needed. He kicked up the speed on the windshield wipers before backing up and turning into the street. The rain droplets struck the car with a loud thud, spreading out in all directions. Connor now wondered if he would finally understand what you meant by your joy of driving in the rain.

Software Instability ^^^^^

[testedtommyau]

Tested Tommy Chapter 5: Act 1, scene 2 (part 1)

Warnings:  Flashbacks, PTSD, panics, child ab/se in memories

Eyes lit up as the noise of keys in a lock was nearby, it was time for food. Tiny paw-like feet pattered to the bars of the cell, eager eyes waiting for the kind giant to give him something to consume. The large figure walked inside and placed the bowls on the ground, the little creature crawled forward, sniffing at the bowls.

“Gotta eat up, Tommy.”

Tommy.

They always referred to him as that, is it a sound to notify they were communicating with him? It didn’t matter at the time. He took the food from the bowl and sat down, eating with his hands. The cell door closed with the figure leaving, they never stayed with him for the food, it was rather lonely. He would like for someone to stay with him. Maybe one day.

The food as always was… bad. He didn’t want to be ungrateful, but it was BAD. The taste was like licking the floor. But he had to eat, or he got extreme pains in his tummy. The water was fine though, nice and cold and washed away the dreadful taste. ‘Tommy’ went back to the corner of the cell, tail curling up towards him to use as a pillow. He wanted someone there with him, it was very cold and lonely. Tommy closed his eyes and drifted back to what felt like eternal waiting.

-

“Here it is.”

Oh! More giants, does this mean more food? Or maybe one will stay. Tommy got up on his little feet and hurried over, spots lighting up to see the figures entering his cell. The tall figures were all in white, tilting his head he walked closer and curiously sniffed.

BLEH!

Tommy recoiled from the strong smell of whatever was on their outer layer of covering, it felt like something badly burned the inside of his nose.

“It has been with us for six years now.”

“Do you think it's strong enough to start?”

“Only one way to find out.”

One of the figures reached down and took Tommy’s hand, his big glowing eyes stared up at the giant and followed when it stood up and started walking. It was taking him out of the cell! Tommy’s tail swayed as he happily followed the giants that were kind enough to let him out, are they going to take him to a new home?

The area was huge, everything was so big and bright now. There were more giants exiting and going into movable holes in the walls. The one holding his hand took him further down the halls, down to a darker area with a few scattered lights. Tommy gazed up at the giants and was taken inside a room, he looked up at the room sign. 874.

Pointing up to the sign he made a little tune. The scientists stared in awe at the bubbles floating out his mouth, a couple of them popping against the sign.

“That’s number 874.” One of them answered. Tommy did not understand though, maybe later he’ll remember how that sounded and he’ll know in the future.

The room was scary, the giants there were more covered up then the ones that took him here. Their faces covered and like a blank screen. Tommy whimpered and hid behind one of the giant’s legs, hoping it’ll protect him. Instead they picked him up and walked closer to the figures. The little creature squirmed and tried to get away, only to be put onto a table and held there. He sang out more bubbles, the colours fading from greys to black. He wanted to go back, this place was scary, he didn’t want to be here.

-

“Okay, okay, listen we need to have a pow-wow.”

Tommy shook from his sleep as Gordon announced himself to be in need of conversation with everyone. Bubby and Coomer were already sitting up and alert, only with Bubby’s rather grumpy expression directed towards Gordon. He obviously did not want to be woken up just yet. Under Tommy’s arm was Benrey, still snoozing peacefully. Though he didn’t want to wake up the adorable sight he reluctantly shook Benrey awake.

“Wha…?”

“T-Time to w-wake up.”

Benrey groaned and moved up with a huff, helmet tilting over their face before Tommy moved it so it sat correctly on their head. They shared a smile before Gordon went on again about needing some ‘pow-wow’ with the group.

“Everybody sit around, gather around…”

“Mr F-Freeman d-d-don’t herd me like a… like a sheep in a f-f-farm.” Tommy snapped as he plonked himself down into the circle they had created. Gordon gulped quietly and nodded.

“Right, right.”

“I’d like to have a good ol’ yeehaw with you.”

They all looked over at Bubby for a moment.

“What the fuck does that even mean-Where’s the guard?” Gordon asked, Tommy worriedly looked at the spot beside him where Benrey once was which was now empty. The clanging on the other side however alerted them to Benrey’s whereabouts as they jumped up and sat on a barrel, looking rather proud of themselves.

“Do you have to sit on something…?”

Gordon’s voice trailed off as he self-admitted there was no point to questioning the ‘guard’s’ actions. He turned his attention back to the other three.

“We got to get you some more bullets. Oh, Tommy have you- have you ever fought or like, killed anything?”

Tommy stared at him silently for a moment. Gordon couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable at his gaze. The stillness let him take in some extra depth of Tommy’s features, the scars on his face, a near invisible red line around his neck, the way his brows got closer together as he stared.

“Yes.” Was all he replied.

Tommy had to admit it was quite amusing to see the nervous shock in Gordon’s eyes.

“Um, you good at it…?”

Strange question, Tommy shrugged before he noticed a pigeon walking around on the floor.

“I c-c-can show y-you on that pigeon.”

Gordon’s nervous expression was replaced with one of confusion as he looked to see the pigeon that was indeed there.

“How did a pigeon get in here?” He asked Dr. Coomer and Bubby, but neither could provide an answer.

“So, y-you want me to kill i-it?” Tommy offered again. Gordon shook his head but before he could tell Tommy no he had already punched it so hard it broke its neck and it dropped dead on the ground. Gordon stared silently for a moment then back at Tommy.

“Okay uh, what about a gun? Should I give you a gun? Be easier then punching if we come across more of those… things.”

Tommy thought for a moment, it was a more tactical weapon for distanced kills without risking someone noticing his use of powers. As he was about to answer, Benrey started to sing sweet voice again, the balls of teal surrounding the pigeon in front of them.

“Uh, what are you doing?”

“They’re hungry.” Tommy answered for them as Benrey kept singing. “T-teal mean, mean n-needs meal.”

“Okay uh, anyway Tommy I dunno if you can use a gun or not. You seem to not be processing what I say to you.”

Tommy felt heat boil up inside him again, he can understand perfectly! It’s this- this mere human ball of arrogant flesh that can’t comprehend that he is perfectly capable of such things. A loud siren-like tune interrupted Tommy’s mini internal rage as Benrey promptly shot the pigeon, blood splattering all over the ground.

“Was that a threat to us? In any way?”

Benrey ignored Gordon’s question and moved over to join the circle.

“Barney?”

What? That’s not their name.

“Wha?”

“T-that’s not their name.”

Tommy’s glare could be felt on Gordon’s neck, he was about to correct himself but another pigeon became victim to Benrey’s gunfire as blood splattered onto both of them.

“The fuck man!?”

Gordon stood up and brushed the blood off vest he could and let out an annoyed sigh. Turning on his heel he stormed off alone down the hall. Benrey visibly tucked their head into their collar nervously.

“Did I- did I fuck up bro?”

They looked over at Tommy who scooted closer and took Benrey’s hand into his, reassuring them that they didn’t do anything wrong.

“Guess we got to go follow the bitching babyman before he does something stupid.” Bubby grumbled, he got up and followed the direction Gordon went, Benrey, Tommy and Dr Coomer got up and joined to follow.

Benrey’s hand wrapped around Tommy’s, giving it a comforting squeeze. Their touch helped ground him as they walked. This place made him nervous, the walls of the facility too high and narrow, like a tunnel.

“All good bro?” Benrey asked, their eyes stared up at Tommy, a hint of worry in them. But as always their adoration shone through just from looking at Tommy. It made his heart swell to see how much the smaller alien cared for him.

“Yes, e-e-everything is o-okay.” He promised, he felt the other press against him and purr softly. Soft warmth radiating off them both as their arms looped together.

“Uh, nothin’ gonna hurt us, yeah?”

Benrey’s eyes were hopeful, little sparkles in the bright yellow of their undamaged eye filled with aspiration to start a new life. Tommy would ensure they get it; they deserve it more than anything. There was a soft touch of Benrey’s clawed hand against his cheek, their gentle thumb tracing along the line of freckles on his face. Eyes fluttered close as the two stood together, the world became still in each other’s company. Tommy’s hand met Benrey’s as he held it against his face, his breathing shook as the tenderness was becoming overwhelming from how badly he needed it. Benrey always knew how to help him.

Benrey was everything to him.

“Where the fuck are you even going?”

Tommy and Benrey looked over to where Bubby was nagging Gordon about which direction they should go. It was a fucking tunnel, no other places to go. Benrey piped up and told the group to go ‘this way’ which was just forward, but someone had to give some sense of direction, right?

They found the end of the tunnel led to a ledge connected to the next route; Benrey peaked at the metal bridge which led to yet another high drop below.

“Don’t look good bro, got uh, lil connecters ain’t lookin’ so strong. Probably weak as shit.” They muttered, moving back to press against Tommy.

It also didn’t help that a portal opened, and an alien popped up out of nowhere and fell onto the ledge, breaking it as it tumbled to its death and destroying their initial path. Well, at least Benrey was right on that it wasn’t very stable. Tommy quickly pulled Benrey out of the line of fire of whatever the fuck the alien spewed out while Gordon frantically checked if everyone was okay.

“Yep just… um.” Benrey wasn’t too sure what to do now, the ledge was gone, and the humans can’t just float to the other side. Maybe there was something below?

“This way. Let’s go.”

Gordon paused and looked at Tommy, who just gave him a small shrug and followed Benrey.

Benrey and Bubby took a peak down the ledge. Minus the walkway below, the pit looked bottomless. Definite instant death if one was to fall in.

“Oh no, no, no, no.”

Bubby backed away in fright from the mere sight of the drop, Benrey instead staring down with a look of awe.

Gordon’s eyes widened when he saw the two near the ledge and panicked.

“No! No! Benrey that’s so far down, please get back!” The fear in Gordon’s voice was noticeable, he was properly scared for Benrey being hurt as Bubby had already started to step away. Tommy knew a fall like that wouldn’t do much damage as they could float, but the worry in Gordon’s voice was a bit endearing. He had already risked himself to remove the headcrab and now Gordon was worrying over another stranger’s safety. Humans were strange.

“Right here to the test chamber!” With that, Benrey hops off and falls.

Gordon ran to the ledge to look down with a gasp, Tommy watched him and listened to his panicked breathing as if he expected a dead body to be splattered on the ground below. Knowing Benrey would be fine, Tommy climbed up the pipes and walked along them, he looked down to see Benrey had got up and left in the direction of the next door.

“Are you okay!?” Gordon called out.

“Right this way.”

And Benrey was off on their way again. Gordon only stared in stunned silence. At least they were okay. But now how the fuck were they going to re-group?

“Gordon are you coming or not?”

Startled, Gordon looked up to the ledge where Bubby was.

“How the fuck did you make that jump?”

Tommy continued walking across the pipes to get across, he felt Gordon’s eyes rest onto him as he kept going.

“Oh, Tommy’s got the right idea!”

Tommy pretended to not hear that, but he did feel a little fuzzy at the sort of compliment. Now to get back to Benrey, wherever the fuck they have ran off to.

-

“Hello Gordon!”

“Hello… Dr Coomer…! Oh my god…”

While listening to Gordon’s voice tiring out of re-greeting Dr Coomer, Tommy kept his eye on Benrey now that they’ve found them. His hand was wrapped around Benrey’s as he didn’t want them running off again. The room was strange to say the least, most peculiar was the boxes suspended in the air, what was the purpose of that? Tommy and Benrey looked at the ledge below them and it was an even BIGGER drop.

“D-Do we have to do this?” They could both hear the fear in Gordon’s voice.

Benrey didn’t bother answering and slipped from Tommy’s grip to jump onto one of the hanging boxes. Not wanting to leave Benrey to disappear again, Tommy quickly jumped onto a box. He tried not to look down, it was a pretty big drop.

A loud scream was heard behind him and Tommy spun around too fast, thinking Gordon was falling to his death. No, the human had landed on a ledge. But his focus was broken and the swinging of the boxes threw him off balance.

“Tommy!” Benrey called out as Tommy slipped and failed to grab the ledge.

“TOMMY!” Gordon almost foolishly ran off the ledge in an attempt to grab him, Tommy let out a scream as he fell into the darkness, out of sight.

-

Hurt.

Everything hurt.

Tommy was curled up in the corner, hugging his tail and shaking from the unbearable new feeling coursing through his body. He looked down at the fabric around his arm, it was tinted red with liquid that was spilled from his arm. Why did they do that? It hurt so much.

The doors open at the usual feeding time, he should go show the nice giant what happened. Maybe it would try and fix the pain. Tommy got up and hurried towards the giant, little squeaks coming from his mouth as he tried to call them over, showing the bandage on his arm.

The attempts were in vain however. The giant ignored Tommy and simply shoved the bowls into his cell, soon exiting and Tommy was once again alone. And in pain. With a whimper tears started to trickle down Tommy’s cheeks, the sting of rejection stronger than before. What was wrong with him? What did he do to make the giants hurt him?

He couldn’t bring himself to eat, he wasn’t hungry at the moment. Pushing his food away, Tommy went back to his corner, curling up and closed his eyes. Hoping this nightmare will end soon.

-

Tommy snapped his eyes open and stopped just before slamming into the ground, his body glowed as he levitated himself to his feet. Luckily, he was too far down to be seen by anyone, though they probably thought he was dead now. Minus Benrey of course. But now that he was alone without humans watching him. He could phase through the wall and get back up to the ledges, hopefully without being seen.

The sound of the group’s voices helped guide him back. He managed to phase out of the wall behind a crate and climb over it with his thin frame.

“Tommy!” Benrey rushed over and hugged him tightly. Tommy quickly returned the hug, holding Benrey close to his body. His eyes trailed over to Gordon as he caught his breath, the adrenaline seeming to subside from his system and a tired smile grew on his face when he saw Tommy was okay.

“Tommy? How did you make it back up?”

Shit, he had to come up with a reason that wasn’t ‘I went into the wall and came up through the wall.’

“It’s, like a big slide! I just uh… I-I l-looped around and c-came back up.”

That was totally believable, right?

“Um… sure, sure.”

That didn’t sound like he was convinced, but it’ll have to do.

-

Benrey’s ears twitched under the helmet, the elevator noises were rather annoying. They fiddled nervously with their vest as the others waited. Bubby looked over to Benrey and gave them a pat on the back, they looked over and gave him a smile but it soon faltered back to a frown.

Bubby turned over to Tommy and grabbed his sleeve, Tommy flinched back with a glare but noticed Benrey gripping at their sleeve. Their eyes wide and darting around the elevator. Dr Coomer and Bubby walked around to Gordon, his back turned to Benrey and Tommy luckily as Tommy held them close, feeling their body shivering.

“H-Hey, what’s w-w-wrong.” Tommy whispered into Benrey’s ear, the smaller alien buried their face into his chest, skin turning a deeper shade of blue as they sniffled.

“What’s going on?” Gordon asked, before he could turn around Bubby pulled out his gun, pointing it at Gordon. Tommy’s eyes darted to the sight, watching Bubby try to distract Gordon while he attempted to quickly soothe Benrey. Gordon may know Benrey isn’t human, but he’s seen the cruelty that comes out of humans when they face Benrey’s body morphs, the last thing they need is someone making them feel worse for being upset. Tommy could feel their skin stretch as more eyes popped up, he looed down and saw two sets of faces warp out as they shook in his hold.

“Shh shh, y-y-you’re okay, i-it’s okay…”

“Can you, not point your gun at me?” Gordon asked, it was at least keeping him occupied.

Benrey’s claws grew as they clung to Tommy, his own hands soothingly stroked Benrey’s back.

“W-w-we’ll be out soon… I p-promise…”

“Don’t… don’t like the… the, the moving boxes… Never w-went to good places.” Benrey muttered under their breath, Tommy’s hold around Benrey tightened, his eyes flashed for a second of gold.

“N-No, we’re not, no going there…” He reassured, Benrey started to calm down.

“Could you not point that at me!?” Gordon repeated, Bubby kept a stern blank face at the man.

“I’m not pointing it at you, I’m just, indicating that I have a gun.”

Bubby looked over to Benrey and Tommy, the morphing seemed to be nearing its end.

“and you should continue looking at me.”

“This seems like a weird threat…”

Tommy focused back onto Benrey, he moved the helmet up and ran his fingers through Benrey’s hair. It was a quick soothing spot for them, closing their eyes they started to purr. Their skin returned to a pale blue and the warping stopped. Tears were still running down their face but that was okay, Tommy softly kissed them away.

“Want off…”

“I-I know, we’ll, we’ll be off here s-s-soon. Sooner then uh, then a slice of cheese m-melting in a fire.”

Benrey chuckled at Tommy’s words, they sniffed and wiped their tears as the elevator dinged when they reached the wanted floor. At least that was finally over.

-

“Another soda spiller!”

“What the fuck did you just call it?” Gordon asked, Benrey looked at him and repeated ‘soda spiller’. Before he could question that any further, he could see a ‘rope’ hanging from a gap in the ceiling. He peaked above and shot the barnacle, its guts spilling onto the floor.

“Alright time for more soda!”

Gordon smashed the vending machine and the drinks spilled out of it, the gang hurrying past him to engulf in the drinks, making ungodly slurping sounds once again. Benrey noticed a little bug crawling on the machine and picked it up, they inspected it for a minute then tossed it into their mouth with a loud crunch.

“Ew no don’t eat the spiders!” Gordon yelled, Benrey ignored him and kept crunching it much to Gordon’s disgust. Tommy picked up a few extra cans and walked over to Benrey, the two sat down on a table and drank at their soda. The cafeteria was… interesting, one of the few rooms that he doesn’t remember entirely despising. It had a few nice smells to go with it but now it was mixed with destruction and alien guts, though it wasn’t like the original was something to praise at. Benrey pulled out a packet of crisps that they snagged from the broken machine, munching on it and leaning against Tommy’s arm. He felt Benrey’s hand wrap around his own, it felt nice as always. Fingers intertwined as Tommy rested his head on top of Benrey’s helmet, closing his eyes.

“Tommy?”

Tommy looked over to the cell bars, recognising that this sound is directed towards him. Though he does not want to go towards them. Last time he did it ended in pain; he didn’t want to feel that again.

“C’mon boy, over here.”

The giant knelt down and held its hand out, offering its touch. Tommy eyed the hand suspiciously, what if it takes him to another place of pain? But in the giant’s hand was something, new? Tommy curiously walked over and sniffed at the object; it was wonderful. It smelt like something he could give a try. Nothing like the garbage he was eating before. He snatched up the object and bit it, it crumbled in his mouth and provided a jolt of pleasant taste in his mouth.

“You like the cookie, Tommy?”

Cookie. Is that what this thing was? Tommy looked up at the giant, crumbs on his mouth.

“Cookie?” the giant repeated. Tommy stared up at it and kept biting at the… ‘cookie’.

The giant held out its hand again and now Tommy took its hand, being led out of the room and given another cookie.

-

Tommy cried in the corner; he was fooled again. The pain surged through his leg as he shivered. What did he do so wrong to make them so angry to hurt him?

Tommy shivered as fresh tears fell from his cheeks.

Please make it stop.

Please make them stop.

Please take the pain away.

Please.

“Please stop running into those!!”

Tommy jolted from his thoughts; Bubby fell to the ground coughing horribly as Gordon shot at a barnacle which had attempted to eat him. He watched Gordon rush to Bubby’s side and attempt to clean off the gunk off the grumpy old man’s clothes. Tommy chuckled quietly as he watched Gordon chase after Bubby.

“Look Gordon! A rope!”

Benrey tapped Tommy’s arm and pointed up as Dr Coomer was swooped up by a ‘rope’.

“HELP ME GORDON!”

“STOP RUNNING INTO-THEY’RE NOT ROPES!!” Gordon cried out, his gun made quick work of the alien and Dr Coomer dropped down as if nothing had happened.

“Look, Gordon, a rope!” he repeated.

“You guys are fucking scientists!! Use your reasoning!?”

Tommy could hear the frustration growing in his tone. His heart sped up as he watched the human’s face grow red with anger, like he’s close to snapping. Tommy squeezed Benrey’s hand, he could handle it easy. But seeing a scientist get mad never ended well.

Benrey noticed Tommy’s discomfort and stood up, gently tugging him away while Gordon continued his snapping match.

Benrey and Tommy found a hallway to themselves, though it probably wouldn’t be long before the others caught up again but, in the moment, they could be alone quietly. Another flock of birds cooed in their presence, flapping their wings and moving out of their way.

“A-a-are you okay? Y-you were rather upset earlier.” Tommy asked, his hand still in Benrey’s.

“Yeah bro I’m uh, all good now, just dumb head sights ya know?”

Tommy could see Benrey was still bothered by it, he wished he could make it all better. That now they were finally out the pain will instantly leave. But it seemed that was not how the world worked unfortunately. The pair were still suffering, Benrey was still dealing with random episodes that freak them out. It wasn’t fair.

Tommy looked at Benrey’s eyes, at least one thing he knew would always be okay is how Benrey made him feel, he pulled them closer and gave Benrey a soft kiss on the lips. Benrey smiled against him and stared into his eyes when they pulled away. Tommy took Benrey’s face into his hands, thumbs stroking across their cheeks. He needed to ensure they were there with him, that they knew he was there for them. Benrey closed their eyes as Tommy traced a line over one of Benrey’s scars on their lips, he placed a gentle kiss upon it.

“God there’s so many birds!”

Tommy and Benrey jumped away from each other in surprise as Gordon climbed down to the room they were in; the moment was nice while it lasted.

“Did we have like uh, like a bank of birds in black mesa?” Gordon asked, looking towards Tommy and Benrey. Bubby muttered ‘what the hell?’ while the other two shrugged.

“Are these like, test animals?”

It was a perfectly fine question to ask, he’s probably right as well. But Tommy felt his heart stop for a moment at the mention of tests despite them not being directed towards him.

“W-w-where you c-c-conducting experiments? Ma-maybe they got loose.”

Tommy looked down at the birds, Bubby and Benrey making quick work of shooting them dead.

“What? No, I didn’t know about any of this.” Gordon replied, he stood by Tommy watching the bloodbath in front of him.

“Were you in the bird division doing any bird tests?”

“NO!”

The NERVE of that Freeman! Even considering that he would ever do such a thing, death was one thing. But the life of experiments!?

Gordon could see the anger in Tommy’s eyes and backed away.

“Then what are they doing here?”

“I don’t know.”

The gunshots finally got to Gordon as he snapped. “Why are you killing them!? They’re just birds!”

Benrey stopped firing for a moment and looked over to Gordon, Dr Coomer inspected the carnage and spoke up.

“We could cook and eat these for food, Gordon!”

“Right so we’re going to eat them? That’s the only acceptable excuse for this!”

“They shouldn’t be here.” Benrey interrupted and went back to their shooting.

“Didn’ let them in.”

Tommy watched the last bird fall to the ground in blood, Gordon’s face still stunned in horror.

“Right this way.” Benrey said as they moved down the hallway.

-

Gordon let out a yell of terror, Tommy looked down where Gordon fell, and the turret was firing at him. That was a rather valid reason to be screaming. Benrey grabbed Tommy’s hand and jumped down behind a crate, Gordon already seeking shelter at the next point while it kept firing.

“Tommy it can shoot through the boxes!” Gordon warned. A headcrab pounced at him but he quickly shot it before it landed.

“Wha?” The turret shot through and hit Benrey’s arm, they let out a hiss of pain.

“B-Benrey!”

Tommy picked Benrey up and bolted, Gordon screaming at him to get to cover fast as Tommy slid down to where Gordon was, the torrent finally halting its fires.

“Is he okay!?” Gordon asked, Tommy leaned back against the wall and sat down, holding Benrey’s bleeding arm.

“Is all good bro, will uh, be healed up in-ow fuck, no time!” Benrey reassured, Tommy letting out a sigh of relief. Dr Coomer and Bubby in the meantime managed to disable the turret, leaving it safe when Benrey got up and looked around the corner.

“Has it stopped?” Gordon asked, Tommy walked out to see Dr Coomer and Bubby there unharmed.

“I-It can’t hurt you, if you’re s-s-smart.” Tommy said, smiling.

“T-that’s why we’re a-all scientists.”

Gordon let out a little laugh and walked over to Tommy with a pity smile on his face. Excuse him?

“Buddy, buddy, that’s not how it works.” Gordon got uncomfortably close to Tommy and placed his hand on his cheek. Tommy’s eyes widened as he whacked Gordon away.

“D-Don’t touch m-me!!” He yelled, turning a heel and storming off. Tommy walked a fair way ahead of the group, why did he touch his face!? Did he think he was going to let Gordon that close to possibly harm him? He’s not stupid.

But also…

Tommy reached up and touched the cheek Gordon had his hand on. It… was closer to how Benrey touched them then how other scientists touched him. While it was uncalled for, he was slow and the touch was placed almost carefully. He felt his face heat up and he shook. This wasn’t the time.

His hand rested on his belt and felt the outline of his gun, he pulled it up and cocked it. It felt weird at first, pointing it to how he saw the guards do so with one hand. Finger on the trigger.

Footsteps approached as the rest of the team caught up with him, Gordon’s eyes widening as he noticed the gun in Tommy’s hold.

“Right uh, you ready to test that thing?” He asked. And Tommy pulled the trigger.

“Dude!?”

Gordon stepped away and Tommy’s own eyes were now wide, he didn’t mean to fire it!

“Um, y-yeah.”

Though it did feel rather fun. He pointed it up, away from Gordon and fired again.

“No, no, no! You don’t just shoot it when there’s people around.”

He gestured to Dr Coomer and Bubby who were below the ceiling which Tommy shot at.

“That w-was test.” Tommy replied, the two locking eyes now.

“You don’t need to test a gun, okay?”

“Y-y-you d-don’t need t-to tell me w-what to do!”

Gordon’s frustration grew as he stepped forward, only for another gunshot to be heard and a dent appear in the suit. The two looking towards Bubby who was aiming the gun at Gordon.

“Seriously!?”

“… Sorry my bad.”

-

“H-How’s the arm?” Tommy asked Benrey, they looked down at the hole in their shirt but the wound itself was near gone, mostly a scar.

“Pretty good bro.”

Tommy smiled and kissed Benrey on the head.

“Oh my god another guard, thank fuck.”

Benrey looked up to see Gordon talking to a guard, dread sank down their stomach but luckily Dr Coomer gave it a good punch in the leg.

Oh, oh shit now he’s shooting at Gordon!

Benrey whipped up their gun and shot the guard in the face, he fell to the ground. Headshot!

“Why would you do that?!” Gordon snapped.

What? Benrey raised a confused eyebrow, they, they saved him? Why was he so upset?

“Assume if we threaten anyone! They’ll assume we are a threat!” He continued yelling. Tommy moved in front of Benrey with a death glare to Gordon, silencing him without a word. He looked at Benrey who was behind Tommy, the look in their eyes hurt and confused with a few blue orbs floating from their mouth.

“I… Just, god please stop killing people…?”

Tommy shook his head. “No.”

Gordon gulped quietly as all four of them stood before him, almost against him. Tommy could see confusion and fear in Gordon’s eyes.

“Don’t hurt him.” Benrey piped up, to Gordon’s surprise. Tommy’s eyes softened as he looked at Benrey. Then back at Gordon.

“L-Lets go.”

-

Sounds of gurgled grunting caught Tommy’s attention, breaking away from the group he spotted a few more aliens. Nothing he hasn’t fought before. He looked at his gun.

But now…

Tommy took out the gun and lined up his finger with the trigger, the alien spotted him and charged forward only to be repeatedly shot with bullets, Tommy firing at increased speed, covering the alien in bloody holes.

“Tommy going ham!” Gordon cheered, Tommy didn’t stop shooting and felt his body fuel with adrenaline at Gordon’s encouragement. The alien attempted to run but Tommy watched it drop to the ground as its body couldn’t handle anymore bullets.

“Go off Tommy!”

Tommy pointed his fun up and fired at the barnacle, finger still pressing the trigger fast.

“Holy shit you got a trigger finger.”

He went into the room the alien tried to escape into, Bubby following behind. Not much seemed to be in there.

“Tommy you said you’ve never held a gun before!”

Tommy looked over to Gordon, uniform splattered with blood.

“Th-This is all instinct, Me Freeman!” He replied.

“Instinct?”  

Tommy nodded.

“I-I, I’ve d-done stuff l-like this a lot b-b-before. Just not with a g-gun.” He explained.

“Oh, uh, okay um… You’re good at it.”

“… Th-Thanks.”

The two stood there in silence for a moment, Tommy’s eyes refusing to meet Gordon’s.

First to break the tension was Tommy walking out the room, Gordon watched and saw the man had once again gone to Benrey. It was probably best to keep moving anyway.

-

The days went by, too many to count despite the tallies littering Tommy’s cell room.

The cell door opened but Tommy didn’t come to the giants, they were not happy when he refused to come over the other times, the purple and dirty yellow marks on his skin aren’t from the pain rooms. They were from the giants when he did something that made them angry, not coming over made them angry. But why would he come near? They keep taking him to bad places.

“It’s time to go.”

He did not go towards the voice. He didn’t grant a glance over to them, simply stared into the corner of the room.

“Do you want another cookie?”

No. No he does not want to go near that ‘cookie’. Every time he was given a cookie it ended in pain. Every time he went near the giant’s and left the cell only ended in pain. Tommy hugged himself tighter, covering his face as he heard the footsteps get closer. Readying himself for the pain that is soon to come.

“Tommy? Come here, now.” The giant demanded. Still meeting refusal, he could hear the frustration grow.

“I will not tell you again.”

Then don’t.

Get it over with.

-

“Yo! It’s the soda!” Benrey called out, Tommy shook his head a little and looked onward at the red light of another machine, rushing over with them to the soda giver.

“Oh, hell yeah, you guys want some more soda!?”

Gordon aimed his gun and shot the machines, the soda spilling out once again as the team flocked around with greedy mouths. Gordon chuckled at them all and took care of the aliens around the corner.

Tommy came up behind Gordon.

“M-Mr Freeman?”

Gordon jumped a little and looked towards Tommy. He put a can of soda into Gordon’s hand.

“B-Benrey said y-y-you need to h-have some soda.”

He looked at the can, a Sprite tm can. He was pretty thirsty… Gordon popped open the can and took a refreshing sip, he noticed Tommy still standing there.

“Oh uh, thank you, and Benrey. Um.”

Tommy stayed silent.

“Listen I uh…” He looked to the others who were busy slurping the soda still. “I’m really sorry, again. For upsetting you and Benrey earlier. It’s, it’s all very overwhelming.”

Tommy looked at him, listening.

“And murder is just, it’s just something most humans don’t go wanting or having to see. But I also shouldn’t have touched your face without asking. I also don’t really like people doing that.”

Tommy felt his chest ache as Gordon talked. This human was going to be the death of him somehow, it was just unclear as to how he would do so.

“It’s, it is r-r-rather, stressful. Th-The situation I-I mean.” Tommy admitted, taking a sip of his own soda.

“Yeah…”

“Yo bro, got the lil science boy to drink something? Get that nutrients?” Benrey barged in, they gulped down a soda, swallowing loudly. It made Gordon laugh at least.

“Yeah, I’m drinking the soda, thank you.”

Benrey grinned and let out some yellow sweet voice. “Niiice.”

Gordon smiled wider at the two, Tommy let a small curve slip before ensuring he was back to a stern look. It was good enough to make Gordon appear more relaxed at least.

“Are you mother fuckers going to hurry up or what?!” Bubby yelled, the three looked over to see Dr Coomer and Bubby were already at the next room. How the? They were just drinking the soda only a second ago!

Oh well.

“’M tiiiired.” Benrey announced, promptly dropping onto the cold floor and staying there. Looks like they were resting for a bit then. Tommy sat beside Benrey and pulled them onto his lap, Gordon sat down in front of Tommy while Dr Coomer and Bubby sat together.

Benrey moved their head to rest on Tommy’s chest, yawning with sharp teeth showing. Gordon’s heart skipped a beat at seeing them snuggled up like that, and the soft hold Tommy had around them.

“So, what about your guy’s lives? Got any family Dr Coomer?” Gordon asked.

“Well, I did have a wife, but they took her in the divorce!” He replied, still smiling wide as if he didn’t just say something that’d raise an eyebrow.

“They took your wife in the divorce?”

“Hello, Gordon! Yes.”

“What the, what do you mean TOOK your wife?!”

“Now Gordon I believe it is rude to press on personal matters!”

He did have a point…

“Yeah, shut the fuck up, Gordon.”

Bubby put it a lot less nicely, but Gordon couldn’t help but chuckle at the old man’s bluntness. He turned to Tommy, who was still protectively holding a near asleep Benrey.

“How about you Tommy?”

“Hm?”

“Got any family, like where are you from?”

Tommy sat there in silence for a moment.

“I… I d-don’t know I’m an o-orphan.” He replied. Gordon’s face changed to one of sadness but didn’t say anything. Benrey opened their eyes for a moment to quickly shoot the pigeon walking closer, no one can take Benrey’s cuddle spot.

“B-But I have a dog!”

“Oh really? What’s your dog’s name?”

Tommy stared at Gordon for a moment yet again, his head saying the words but he couldn’t quite get it out…

“S-sunkist.”

There we go.

“You, named your dog after soda?”

“I-It’s a good n-n-name for the p-perfect dog.”

Gordon kept giggling. “You really like soda, don’t you?”

Wasn’t it obvious? Tommy rolled his eyes.

“Yeah.”

Tommy looked back down at Benrey; their face squished against his chest. He brushed some hair out of their face and looked back up at Gordon.

“So um, what about Benrey?”

Tommy’s eyes flicked down to the ground; his arms pressed them closer to himself.

“Isn’t v-very n-nice. Th-that’s for B-Benrey to t-t-tell you.” Tommy replied.

“Yeah, that’s probably best. He looks so tired…”

“I-It’s been a l-long day…”

Gordon nodded and rested against the wall, Tommy looking away to rest with Benrey.

The room was quiet, Tommy’s eyes wandered at the group settling down to rest. What was life going to be like when they escaped? He’s waited for this day for so long and it’s so close to his reach.

And he hadn’t a single clue what he was going to do with that freedom. The sound of Benrey’s breathing reminded him of who else was holding out on this hope, and he promised that Benrey would see the day of freedom. He has to, he can’t let Benrey down.

Not like his ‘family’ did, whoever they are. If he even had one. There was no point in bothering about whoever they are, they abandoned Tommy. They do not deserve a place in his thoughts. His eyes gazed on to Gordon, he knew what life is like outside… Maybe if things go well he can assist him and Benrey. Maybe...

[jungshookz]

demons and angels and nurses, oh my!; myg

😈 pairing: min yoongi x reader

😈 genre: spooktober day (2/7); demon!yoongiverse because it wouldn’t be halloween wiThout everyone’s favourite demon; costume shopping is always cute!!

😈 wordcount: 2.1k

😈 note: demon!yoongi told me that if i didn’t write a spooktober drabble for him he would stand in the corner of my room at night and watch me so here he is!!!! i’m trying to keep these drabbles short n sweet but i apologize if it seems like there isn’t much substance to this one but pouty yoongi and costume shopping is CUTE suE ME 

(picture source here! again, having some trouble finding the original-original source of the picture because it’s literally on everyone’s pinterest page lol) 

                                      ◢▅◣Ξ◥▅◤Ξ◢▅◣Ξ◥▅◤

this is supposed to be the most beautiful time of the year for yoongi

the leaves are dying

the rain is falling

the pumpkins are spicing

so he doesn’t understand whY he isn’t out in the world wreaking havoc on everyone and is instead stuck shopping with you!!!

(for the record he loves you and cherishes this relationship but PLEASE for the love of satan he needs to get the hell out of here before he falls asleep)

not to be a grump or anything but you guys have been at the costume store for a solid 2 hours and yoongi’s ass is getting sO sore from sitting on the bench for so long

“you know, the key word in couple’s costume is ‘couple’. and so far, this has been a very one-sided couple.”

yoongi glances up from his phone and snorts when he sees you dressed up as a bottle of mustard

“look, i even took mustard so you could have ketchup! ketchup is red and red is the colour of your eyes when you get upset!!”

“well, that’s very thoughtful of you.”

here’s the thing

jungkook’s throwing his annual halloween party (this is the first time he’s throwing it at an actual venue and not his musty dusty cruSty apartment)

would it be so vEry wrong of you to show up there with yoongi? your boyfriend? your devilishly (hA) attractive boyfriend who you would very much like to rub in everyone’s faces?

also there’s literally a 2 for 1 deal on couple’s costume so it would be crazy for you noT to take advantage of that

here’s a list of the couple’s costumes that yoongi has rejected so far:

salt and pepper

milk and cookies

peanut butter and jelly

(you skipped lunch today so maybe that’s why you’ve been choosing a lot of food-themed costumes)

pennywise and georgie!!!!! yoU thought yoongi looked so cute in that yellow raincoat

plus you were kinda feeling that pennywise wig on yourself

a bar of soap and a loOFah

eggs and bacon (again, ya didn’t eat lunch)

you tried to make this experience more fun for yoongi by letting him choose some costumes for you guys but he ended up just choosing costumes for yoU which meant a lot of sexy [insert literally any kind of person/place/thing here]

surprisingly enough he wasn’t a fan of the demon one

in all honesty it was kinda taCky

the cheap red paper horns

the flimsy pitchfork

the pointy, scrawny little taiL

humans really need to be more open minded when it comes to how demons look nowadays

“i am burning up for you, nurse y/l/n…“ yoongi whistles lowly as you step out of the changing room wearing yet another one of his tasteful selections

you don’t understand why there are sexy nurses but there aren’t any sexy doctors

but that’s a conversation for another time

for now you’re trying to figure out how to walk properly without having the dress rise up and expose your enTire ass to this store

you’re not even sure if this costume is in your size considering how tight it is

you feel like if you cough weirdly you’re going to pOp a button and everyone’s going to get a nice look at your boobs

“you’re not taking this seriously anymore.” you grumble as yoongi leans forward to grab your wrists and pull you closer to him

“what do you mean?” he hums as he begins to slide his hand up from the back of your thigh to your- “oW-“ yoongi pushes his bottom lip out in a pout when you swAt his hand away before he can get to the motherland

“i wanna win the costume party and we’re not going to win if i show up wearing a sexy nurse’s outfit and you show up wearing- well, normal clothes!”

yoongi lets out a sigh and props his chin up against your torso and you instinctively reach down to push his hair back “we can go as like, a professor and a student or something.”

“…we’re dressing up for halloween, we’re not shooting a porno film-“

“it’s just- halloween is the one night of the year that i’m free from my demon duties and i get to do whatever i want and i- i don’t know, i guess i think it’d be a little siLLy using that time to put on some silly costumes and hang out at jungkook’s place with a bunch of people i barely know. plus - a couple months back when we were talking about halloween you said that you’d be okay with me disappearing for 24 hours!” yoongi pouts up at you and bats his lashes

okay

he has a good point

you dO remember having that conversation with him

and it’s true, the fact that he only gets 1 day out of 365 days off

if he wants to spend that one day hanging out with his demon friends then he can do that

it’s just.,,.

u don’t want to sound like a brAt or anything but

!!!!

halloween is so much moRe fun when you get to dress up with your significant other!!!!!

and u don’t like that he’s calling it silly because now yoU feel silly for enjoying the dress-up aspect of halloween

and now you’re going to have to show up to this party aLone which is not ideal because you already told like 8 people that you were bringing your boYfriEnd

>:-(

u know what

it’s whatever

it’s not worth getting into an argument over

you’re fine!

it’s fine

it’s whatever

“that’s fair…” you murmur and purse your lips in thought

now you have to come up with a clever single person halloween costume

you still have a couple of days left to decide so you’re sure it’ll be fine

“alright, i suppose you’re right.” you let out a sigh and yoongi grins happily up at you

“thank u, baby”

“mm”

yoongi gives your bum a swat as soon as you turn around and you resiSt the urge to tackle him in the middle of this costume store

“y/n, you are noT going to believe the things that i have planned out for-“ yoongi’s sneakers squeak against the wooden floor when he spots a familiar face in the apartment “…what the hell are you doing here?”

“good afternoon, yoongi!” jimin smiles brightly and yoongi raises a brow

he sweArs his perfect, pearly teeth are going to blind him one day

“why are you in my apartment?”

“y/n and i are going to jungkook’s party together and she wanted me to come over to try some outfits on!” jimin states as if that’s the most oBvious thing in the entire world and yoongi snorts

“…you guys aren’t going to the party together.”

“ya we are”

“no, you’re not-“

“mmmm i’m pRetty sure we are”

“okay but it’s like- it’s a couple’s costume and you’re not a couple-“

“we don’t have to be a couple! she just needed someone to go with-“

“okay but you’re noT a couple so you can’t say you’re a couple otherwise people are going to think that you guys are like, together-together-“

“you know what the funny part is? we’re actually going to go as-“

“yoongi!” the little quarrel is interrupted when you emerge from the guest bathroom “i thought you were going to be out all day doing… demony things!”

“i was but i finished ea-“ yoongi doesn’t get a chance to finish his sentence because he’s pretty sure his tongue rolls out of his mouth and giGantic red hearts start pumping out of his eyes

you-

well he thouGHt he wasn’t a fan of the demon costume but this one definitely doesn’t look like the one you tried on at the store

you’re wearing some kind of a red latex leotard (and it’s taking a loT of effort to not check out your boobs right now)

complete with a pair of thigh high boots and arm sleeves that make it look like your forearms are engULfed in flames aNd of course there’s a long, pointed tail attached to the back that kind of just drags behind you on the floor

a pair of little red horns sit on the top of your head and that,.,,. shouldn’t affect him as much as it is

“you’re going as a demon?” yoongi swallows thickly and reaches up to tuck at the collar of his shirt when he catches sight of some fiery-red garters around your thighs

“uh-huh! you like it? i figured that since you’re not coming with me, i’ll just dress up as you-“ you joke and twist slightly to make sure the tail is still in place “jimin actually made the whole outfit for me-“

“jimin helped you with this outfit??” yoongi raises a brow and

“yep! i thought the puny little tail was kinda pathetic so i made a longer one and that definitely amped up the look aNd the horns are nice and sturdy now-“ jimin leans back against the couch and crosses his arms “i suggested fishnet stockings but y/n thought that would be too much-“

“wait, if you guys are going together, and you’re dressing up as a demon, then what are you dressing up as?” yoongi’s brows knit together as he looks towards jimin

“y/n suggested that i just go as myself - get it, because a demon and an angel - but thEN i was like what if i aLso dress up as a demon and we can do a matchy-matchy thing- pLus, i don’t think i’m breaking any rules because it’s just for halloween so we’re goo-“

“you’re going as a demon?!” yoongi interrupts him and if you looked any closer you’d probably be able to see the steam shooTing out from his ears

what the hell!!!!!!!!!!!

ok u know what to be fair you’re letting him off the hook for the night which is what he wanted

but he didn’t know that you were going to be wearing that

and he aLso wasn’t aware that jimin was apparently going to be your demon boyfriend for the night

and knowing how ditzy jimin is he’s probably going to lose track of you and then you’re just going to be prey in the eyes of the many, mAny other demons who are out on the prowl on halloween

you walking around wearing that with your aura as pUre as gold (even though half of it belongs to yoongi but still your aura is like 78% pure) is equivalent to serving a piece of fresh salmon on a silver platter to a pack of wild bears and yoongi suddenly has a vERy strong urge to taint your aura again and again and again so that people know exactly who you’re with-

hm.

interesting.

“jimin.” yoongi clears his throat calmly, “you have five seconds to leave before i kick you out.”

jimin’s lips part in a gawk

“wha- what did i do-“

“four- three- twO-“

“alright, i’m going, jesus-“ jimin grumbles and lets out a huff before he disintegrates into a beam of golden sparkles

a moment of silence goes by after jimin leaves where you and yoongi are kind of just staring at each other

the air in the room feels different and you feel your heart sKip a beat when you notice yoongi’s eyes flicker to black for a millisecond

if you had blinked you probably would’ve missed it

“what’s the matter with you?” you cross your arms and tilt your head slightly and yoongi scoffs before poking his tongue into his cheek

“what do you think is the matter with me?”

you don’t miss the way his eyes trail over your figure and you don’t have to be a roCKet science to figure out what thoughts are running through your boyfriend’s head

“…you want me to keep the horns-“

you don’t even get a chance to finiSh asking before yoongi’s grabbing you and practically dragging you to the bedroom

(yoongi makes a mental note to apologise to jimin later for shRedding up your handmade costume.)

help me help you make your wishes come tru (aka send me a spooky request)

spooktober masterlist // main masterlist

[manggojooz]

Pick A Side (Part 2)

pairing: Taehyung x reader

word count: 1,735

genre: university!au; angst, it’s still angst; slice of life stuff

warnings: none

note: although it’s unplanned but this will now be a series (y) please support it lots.. and reblog if you like this series <3 

previous part: Part 1 

“But sometimes, when you choose not to pick a side, you have essentially picked a side.”

“What? How does that even make any sense?", his face was nothing but bewilderment.  

How do you even go about explaining this without sounding like you are making a mountain out of a molehill?  

“Y/N, I’m fine with girls being jealous and all but the one thing I cannot stand is you throwing a tantrum by threatening to break up with me. I don’t do this break up and get back together thing. If we are breaking up, it will be for good... so... are you sure? That we are worth less than this argument you had with Jihyun? Are you sure that you are prepared to give us up over something like this?”, he reasoned as if he was giving you a second chance to backpedal.  

“I’m trying to tell you that you have already picked your side, Taehyung, but if you don’t see it that way then fine, I’m telling you again... not everything has a middle ground. And this time, you have to choose one. So... will you be on my side?”, you threw the second chance card back at him.  

Taehyung was obviously annoyed by now, he looked nothing less than he was about to curse at your stupid insistence on this.  

“There’s no need to answer me anymore”, you shook your head in disappointment as you left.  

---

He was serious about what he said too. He never contacted you again after that night. You weren’t sure if he really was in your life this whole time. The only times you were sure you actually did date him were when you opened your chat with him and went through the old messages. If you were hurting this much, it must have happened, right?  

Needless to say, the news of the break up spread fast and furious, given Taehyung’s popularity, and so did the rumours as to the reasons why.  

Y/N is such a petty girlfriend. Y/N was jealous of Jihyun. Can’t Taehyung even have friends now just because he is dating Y/N? Taehyung deserves better... She’s so selfish...

There were so many, to the extent that even you became aware of them despite how ill-informed you usually were of the gossip around school.  

The first lesson you learnt from this was that giving in to someone becomes something taken for granted over time. Because you did it once, because you did it twice, you are expected to always do it. And when you choose to not do it, when you took a stand for yourself, you became the mean one, the selfish one, the petty one.  

“Oh please, who doesn’t share such videos nowadays, it’s even in the news. I heard Y/N was just being overly sensitive and got upset that Taehyung didn’t side with her.” You were sitting in a corner of the library trying to focus on the textbook in front of you when you overheard the conversation between two of your classmates behind the bookshelf that blocked them from seeing you there. The third time this week.  

Lesson two: the entire world would simply conclude that you were not worth supporting, because the one person that everyone presumed would or should have sided with you, chose not to.  

Not once did you try to clarify or defend yourself. How do you stand up against the rest of the world by yourself? Where do you even start? Who was going to listen to you? What is the point anymore?

When you believed that nobody would take your side, you too, have abandoned it.  

All that was left was your desperation and desire for the world to move on, to leave you alone.

---

And alone you were. You didn’t have many friends in school to begin with, the only few you had were closer to Taehyung than they were to you.  

Avoidance became a valuable skill. Good thing you didn’t share any common classes with him this semester but you still had to avoid him around school and you decided to stop going to the painting club. From what little you heard through the grape vines, he went about his activities as he normally would.  

Isn’t it usually the case that the one who was more blameworthy, ran away more? What have you done so wrong to be avoiding him like this?

---

Eventually, you worked up whatever courage you had left in you and decided to join a new club in school to prevent yourself from sinking into further lonesomeness.  

The people in the photography club were generally friendly to your pleasant surprise. You had been attracted to the club when you saw a wall full of photographs outside the club room. The club welcomed anyone to propose captions for the photographs and a few of them had post-it notes stuck to them; some captions were funny, some were sentimental, you found solace in reading all of them.  

Even though you did not attend club activities too regularly, you ultimately managed to produce a photograph you felt was worthy to be placed on the photo wall. You had gone to visit a friend near the countryside over the weekend and the lake that you passed by had already started to freeze over. In the morning fog rising in the dusk, it looked desolate and you were compelled to snap a picture of it.

Two days after you put up the photograph, you passed by the wall on your way to one of your classes. A yellow post-it note was stuck on the corner over the white sticker that had your name written on it. Someone had written a poem on the post-it:

“A thick ice has formed   Atop a winter lake on which I was thrown away   A thick ice has formed In the dream I shortly went into My agonizing phantom pain   Is still the same.”

You peeled the post-it off the photograph, peering at it and then at your photograph again. You finally had an inkling of why you avoided Taehyung to this extent.  

The one who was hurt more, runs away more. Because although you pretended like your wounds have frozen over, that everything was calm on top, you knew it was not all that frozen underneath.  

---

Finally the first semester ended, the winter break was exceptionally cold. And then it was the first week of the second semester of your sophomore year. You strolled into class very early, only a few seats were taken and per usual, you walked up the stairs all the way to the back of the small lecture room, picking a seat in the last row.  

There were two girls who came in after you, they sat down in the row right in front of you and started to take out their things when one of them whispered softly, “I heard Taehyung’s taking this class too...”  

“And so? You know he has a new girlfriend now right? Stop being so boy crazy...”

“It doesn’t hurt to have an eye candy in class”, the first girl giggled.  

You were not surprised you would eventually end up in a common class with Taehyung, it was inevitable given how small the arts faculty was in this school. What surprised you was how your heart pinched upon hearing that he has a new girlfriend. Has it still not been long enough?

It's about time though. For him to get a new girlfriend, for you to stop avoiding him, for everything to return to normal. Maybe seeing him together with his new girl would do the trick for you, you could only hope.  

“Is this seat taken?”, a sweet voice inquired. You looked up.  

He had a shy smile, and everything about him was tidy and neat. His simple white shirt was tucked into his light blue jeans, his hair was short and he styled his fringe up revealing his forehead, flaunting his impeccable features.  

“Umm... no... it’s not”, you answered, although you were still a little taken aback by the suddenness of the stranger’s approach.  

He widens his smile a little and puts his backpack down on the seat next to you, along the aisle. The classroom was starting to fill with people. “I’m, Haejoong”, he introduces himself as he sat down.  

“Oh... uh, hi, I’m Y/N. Are you new here?”, the question came out a bit too abruptly, but you couldn’t help but wonder why you never noticed him around before.  

“I major in film-making, it’s my first time taking a pure arts class, if that is what you mean”, he laughed while answering you.  

Just at that moment some guy at the front of the class squawked loudly, “Oh~~ here comes the campus couple!”  

Both Haejoong and you turned towards the front entrance of the classroom. Your heart stops a little seeing Taehyung walk in. His smile looked more captivating than you remembered it to be, reminding you of the times he used to smile and goof around with you. It was just because you haven’t seen him in such a long time. That was the best you could come up with to rationalise it to yourself.  

Taehyung almost immediately spots you, even though you were hidden behind rows and rows of other students. It was strange, how he was always able to see you even when you hid so far away from him. He sees you looking at him, and he momentarily contemplated letting go of the hand he held, but he eventually catches hold of himself. The hand he held slowly dragged him further into the room, his eyes only focusing on her now.    

The girls seated in front of you were quietly whispering something again, occasionally glancing back towards your direction. And this time you couldn’t hear them, perhaps you didn’t want to hear them.  

Haejoong notices when Taehyung stared at you, although it was short-lived, and he turns to look at you closely.  

You thought you had been alright, you thought you would be alright, even if you weren’t, you thought seeing him with his girlfriend now would finally force you to put it down.

You couldn’t have been more wrong, not when the girl who was now by his side is no other than Jihyun.  

How cruel of him... to answer your last question to him in this way.  

[lifesasickjoke]

The Dirt

The Dirt - part 1

part 2

Pairing: Douglas!Nikki x Reader

Word count: 2809

Chapter summary: After Nikki finished playing his last gig with his band he had enough of, he and (Y/N) set out to form a new band with the drummer they met at the restaurant (Y/N) worked at. Not soon after, they have also found a snarky little lead guitarist called Mick and are now just missing their lead singer.

Warnings: A bit of swearing

I met Nikki Sixx when he was still Frank Carlton Feranna, Jr.

I tried to mug the scrawny little kid with the brownish hair falling into his eyes. He was a little over two years older than me and living on the streets, just like I did.

He took me into his care when we met each other again two weeks later, when I tried to mug him the second time (tried. He practically beat me up for the attempt) in a dark alleyway, where this group of older street rats drew a knife on me (also for attempted pickpocketing).

He saved me from possible death that day, and we have got each other's backs ever since.

Countless times have we been running from the cops, or bailing each other out of difficult situations. We've had the time of our lives until we both could leave the juvenile home.

Then real life started. Nikki joined the band after band playing the guitar while I waitressed in a nearby diner cafe. We both pulled together money to buy a shitty flat on the same road as the local hotspot for teenagers, the ‘Whiskey A Go Go’ club, where Nikki was playing tonight with the band he was currently in, London.

It is 1981.

I wanted to go an see the performance but it was still my shift at the diner I was working at so instead of being in the front row cheering on my best friend, I stood at the counter in a stupid little pink dress and a white apron.

I eyed the watch, seeing the minutes slowly stick by. I could of course always just ditch my job to watch Nikki play in the clubs, but we needed the money for rent and other life necessities.

The minute hand finally landed on it's desired spot. The concert would be over now.

I was already waiting for Nikki to walk through the diner doors as soon as more people filled the diner to hang out after the concert. I did tell him to meet me here after, dinner and drinks on me, so when Nikki did finally show up a couple of minutes late on the other side of the counter,

I was already worried. He would never miss a free drink opportunity. Ever.

‘Hey.’ he coyly said as he leaned against the counter with his back to me.

He was hoping to hide the blood that was dripping from his nose from me. Unfortunately for him though, the blood was pretty obvious.

‘Hey. Did you get into another fight?’ I asked as I put some orders from customers onto my tray.

Nikki turned and slumped onto the bar stool, elbow propped up and his head resting on his hand.

‘Yeah.’ he admitted, a small teasing smile playing at his lips. I raised a knowing eyebrow at him.

‘Right. You know where the bathroom is.’ I jerked my finger over my shoulder. Nikki dropped his head and dragged himself around the counter and disappear into the employees only room.

When he came back, most blood cleaned off his face, my shift was over. I dropped off my last orders as Nikki found a table and a newspaper. I disposed my apron and slid into the booth he was sitting at with two drinks and slid one over to him. He hummed and continued to leaf through the newspaper as he sipped the drink.

‘So. How'd it go?’ I encouraged a conversation.

Nikki only looked me dead in the eye with an annoyed gaze. It was his ‘‘isn't it obvious’’ look.

I laughed off the sternly playful look he would only give me.

‘Alright. I won't ask.’

But I still looked at him with big pleading eyes begging him to tell me. It was only his mistake to look back up at me from the newspaper when he figured I was too silent.

‘No.’ he warned.

‘Please?’ I asked nicely and wiggled my eyebrows. It made him suppress a chuckle.

‘No.’

‘Fine.’ I teasingly pouted and leaned back in my seat, arms crossed and avoiding his gaze. But out of the corners of my eyes, I saw him debate whether or not he should tell me. I knew he would give in eventually.

I dropped the subject though, losing interest in why. Instead, I ripped a tissue from the tissue dispenser and handed it to him.

‘Your nose is starting to bleed again.’ I said. He took the tissue and held it against his nose and pinched his nose bridge shut with his other hand.

‘Thanks.’ he nodded, with a more off-sounding voice.

A different waitress came over and sat down a plate of toast and beans for Nikki, but he seemed too occupied to eat it. So, I pulled it over and dug in.

‘Hey, that was badass, dude.’ a new voice said. A tall guy appeared out of nowhere and slapped Nikki's arms. He wore a bright yellow shirt under a leather jacket accompanied with incredibly tight leopard-printed pants. Two drum sticks were tucked behind his belt.

‘The show, not the nose, but-’ he continued, ‘the nose was pretty badass too.’

‘The singer’s an asshole.‘ Nikki grunted.

The stranger bounced on the spot excitedly, his long black hair bouncing with him.

‘I know, I saw. Hey, fuck him, though. He deserved it.’

When Nikki didn't answer though, the stranger looked at me, silently asking if he had said something wrong. I just smiled at him and leant back into my seat again.

‘I got your poster on my bedroom wall.’ the stranger broke the awkward silence.

I nearly choked on my drink because I tried to not laugh. Nikki gave him a stern look, without the playfulness I always get. The strangers face fell as he realised what he had just said.

The stranger groaned, ‘I can't believe I just said that.’

‘Take the fucking poster down, man. London's over.’ Nikki said. I gasped and leaned back towards him.

‘What? You could have at least told me that.’

A waitress came over to our table before nikki got the chance to reply.

‘Anything else I can get you, boys?’ she asked. The stranger slid into the space next to me.

Nikki put on his ‘‘good boy’’ persona and kindly asked the waitress, ‘could you get me a Jack and Coke?’

The waitress smiled at him, then turned to the stranger sitting next to me.

‘And for you, hon?’

‘Blueberry pancakes, please.’

She also turned to me, but I politely declined any offer.

‘My new band is gonna be something nobody's ever fuckin’ seen before.’ Nikki said when the waitress left. He took out a red pen and circled an ad on the page he was reading. The stranger suddenly pulled out one of his drum sticks, twirled it dangerously close to my face, and used it to point at an add in the newspaper. This startled both Nikki and me.

‘That dude looks pretty cool.’ he commented.

With his head still down at the paper, Nikki looked at me through his eyelashes with a small smile, before sitting upright and turning his head to the stranger.

‘Do you carry those with you everywhere?’ he asked.

‘Yeah.’ the man sitting next to me nodded and twirled one of the strum sticks in his hand.

I looked at the complex movement in amazement.

‘Where’d you learn to do that?’

The stranger stopped twirling the drum stick.

‘High school marching band.’ he defeatedly admitted.

Before anyone else could comment, he added, ‘hey, but I rock too.’

The waitress came back and sat a glass of Coca Cola and a smaller bottle of jack in front of Nikki.

‘Thank you, Dottie.’ he sighed sweetly.

‘Only for you.’ the waitress nodded.  When she left, Nikki unscrewed the jack bottle and swung it back. I leaned across the table and grabbed the Coke (Nikki would usually let me have his Cokes so at this point I didn't even bother to ask before i took it).

A couple of days later, back in the apartment Nikki and I shared.

As Nikki, Tommy (the drummer) and Alex (the blond haired auditioner) jammed away on a few chords, I sat on the sofa opposite to them reading a book.

‘Woah, woah, woah!’ Nikki interrupted, the bass of the song died out soon followed by Alex and drum. I looked over at the group out of interest.

‘What the fuck, dude?’ Nikki accused Alex ‘that's not what I showed you, man.’

‘Yeah, I know, but it's not like anything I've ever played before man.’ he replied.

Nikki sighed in defeat and turned to me silently begging me to make him stop complaining.

‘That's the fucking point, man.’

I shut my book and stood up abruptly

‘Let's take a break.’ I suggested.

Nikki put down his bass and stretched. I pulled his shirt sleeve and motioned my head towards the door.

‘Tommy, you too.’ I called back, motioning towards the door.

We could hear Alex continuing his practice of the few chords. Tommy laughed at his failed attempts.

I held out my lighter for Tommy who had a fresh cigarette sticking out of his mouth as we all leant over the railing. I don't smoke myself, but I always carry a lighter for my friends.

‘I'm just not feeling it man. I can't put my...my...’ Nikki complained.

‘He's a rhythm guy, man. We‘ll sound better when we find a lead.’ Tommy reassured.

‘I think you guys already sound great.’ I said. I tried to offer the group more confidence.

A car pulled up in front of the apartment building, loud rock music blaring from its radio. The car tires squealed and the drivers' door opened.

‘Holy shit.’ Nikki smiled. A man got out of the car and slowly walked towards it's back where the trunk window was left open to make room for a gigantic speaker.

‘Check this dude out.’ Tommy chuckled.

He took one more drag from his cigarette before skipping down the steps to help the man.

‘Who’s he?’ I asked.

Nikki just shrugged.

‘He might be here for the audition.’

‘Someone as old as him?’ I questioned. Nikki shrugged again and pushed off the railing to make his way down the steps as well.

I watched from the terrace as Tommy helped the man carry the speaker over.

‘I'm the drummer’ Tommy introduced himself.

‘Scrawny for a drummer.’ the man said. I scoffed in agreement.

‘I used to be in Suite 19, so…’ Tommy droned like it explained everything.

‘Shitty band.’ the man said.

‘Hey, man, did you ever even see us play?’ Tommy asked in offence.

‘Suite 19? Don't need to. Band with a shitty name, ten times out of ten, shitty band.’ the man replied in a cold tone. His whole dark outfit and pale skin as well as his black hair made him stand out from all the people i have ever seen before. In a way, he kinda reminds me of a vampire.

They reached the stairs and slowly made their way up.

‘Hey.’ the man greeted Nikki.

‘Hey, man.’ Nikki answered with a small nod.

‘What the fuck do you know?’ I could hear Tommy continuing to argue, not accepting that the old man would diss his previous band like this.

‘Been in a lot of bands with shitty names.’ the man grunted as they made their way up the stairs. I leaned further over the railing and spoke to Nikki.

‘I think I like him. We’re keeping him.’

Nikki craned his neck to look up at me, he squinted against the sun.

‘Depends on how well he plays. Besides, I get to decide who's in or not.’

‘Alright, alright.’ I agreed and opened the door to the flat for Tommy, then skidded back to the railing, ‘But you love me dearly and certainly take my opinions and words into consideration.’

Nikki turned and smiled at me but scoffed and shook his head. I was the last to be back inside the apartment.

‘So, you think you got it?’ Nikki asked as I flopped back onto the run-down sofa.

Mick Mars, the older man, grunted.

‘Let's just fucking play it.’

He plugged his guitar into his Marshal radio and started playing the rock riff. The other three members joined in after him.

I smiled and instinctively tapped my foot along with the beat. My fingers doing their own rhythmic drumming as I watched the group play.

Mick stepped forwards dropped an awesome loud complex solo. My smile grew even wider.

But i could see that Alex wasn’t happy with it. He brought his hand up and motioned for everyone to stop.

‘Whoa! Woah! Hold up! Hey, mind turning down a little bit, old timer? I can't hear myself.’

I chuckled at the insult, but turned it into a cough when I thought Mick glared at me.

‘Fucking hippie ain't gonna make it.’ Mick sighed and turned to Nikki, talking lowly so Alex couldn't hear him.

Nikki nodded.

‘So tell him.’

Mick sighed again and turned to Alex. He sternly began a lecture, like a father telling off his son.

‘Listen to me. There's only room for one guitar player in this band, and that's me. So why don't you, uhm, pack up your toys and go home?’

Alex's mouth fell open, clearly offended. I bit down harshly on my lip to stop myself from laughing.

‘Okay, I was here first, all right?’

He then motioned to the drum set.

‘Tommy, tell him.’

To avoid the argument, Tommy made it look like he accidentally dropped his drumstick. It fell to the floor with a loud clack and he immediately dove after it, effectively hiding behind his drums.

Alex became desperate, ‘Nikki? Come on.’

Nikki huffed and raised his shoulders in a shrug.

The blond guitarist even turned to me after he saw the disapproving and bored look Mick was giving him.

‘(Y/N)?’

Apologetically I smiled, and opened my book and slid it in front of my face so I could hide behind it. Mick Mars was just better.

‘Really?’ Alex cried, looking at us again for any help and pointed at Mick.

‘You’re gonna listen to this old dude over me?’

Everyone but Mick failed to meet Alex's eyes.

‘Then fuck you guys, man.’ his voice became higher as he unplugged his guitar, ‘and your shitty fucking band!’

He slammed the door as he left. I probably heard him crying.

Tommy chuckled dryly. Then shook his hair out of his face and forgot all about Alex.

‘So how old are you, Mick?’ he asked innocently.

‘Fuck you, you fucking teenager.’ Mick said.

I laughed teasingly but in a nice way. ‘I bet he's ancient. Like a fossil.’

‘Yeah, you're goddamn right I'm old. Old enough to know better than to waste my time fucking around with a bunch of rug-monkeys.’ Mick grunted as he sat down on a stool.

Nikki came back from the kitchen with three beers and a Coke. He handed two to Mick and Tommy, then fell onto the sofa next to me, stretched and leaned back. He rested his arm on the sofa ledge behind me.

If I were to lean back, his arm would be around my shoulders. Which gave that well known feeling of butterflies return to my chest?

He gave me the Coke after opening it for me.

Mick then continued his complaint, ‘I'm paying child support and sleeping on park benches, so I need to know you're not pulling dick here. ‘Cause I'm looking to go the distance. And if that's not you guys, let's not waste the fucking time.’

Tommy and Nikki looked at Mick with their mouths hanging open.

‘I fucking love this weird little guy.’ laughed Nikki as he got up from the sofa.

‘He's real, dude.’ Tommy high fived Nikki, then also tried to give a high five to Mick, who only looked tiredly at the outstretched hand.

‘Sorry.’ Tommy muttered.

Nikki dropped back down onto the sofa and repositioned himself into the same position as before. He opened a note pad with the lyrics and looked over them.

‘So… someone mind telling me who does the singing in this band?’ Mick asked. He looked at me.

‘Oh n-no, I don't do the singing.’ I shook my head.

‘What we need is a dude that looks like David Lee Roth with a vibe like fucking Bowie,’ Nikki interrupted. I was surprised he still remembered I hated to be put on the spot.

‘And I'm not about to settle from some regular looking, normal sounding asshole.’

‘So… we’re looking for a skinny, blond fucker with moves.’ Mike noted.

Tommy's eyebrows drew together and his beer stopped halfway to his lips.

‘Wait. I think I know our guy, dudes.’

Tag list: @getthefckouttahere (thanks for the help my love)

[wtfdavidsvlogs]

Show me What I’m Looking For... (D.D)

Warnings: Smut implied HEAVILY (its smut), swearing, fluff

Requested anon:💡: Where you're friends with David and there's definitely sexaul tension. You're hanging out with him while he's editing when he says he's almost done. You go to call an uber, he suggests it's really late and you should stay the night. You ask if he has any pants (Merch) as it would be no uncomfortable to sleep in jeans. He hands them to you and unexpectedly you start changing infront of him.

Gif by: @vlogsquadfanatic

David was weird in the way where on posting days he needed someone to keep him company or else he would his focus. I’d think the opposite but I mean I’m glad I was his first choice of accompaniment. He was on the big bean bag chair where I was snuggled into the corner of the L couch just 15 feet away. I’ve been in this position for hours but whenever I suggest leaving he immediately stops me.

“daaaaavvvviiidd, when are gonna be done I’m bored and I wanna go home.” You said with a whining laugh. He looks up at you.

“I know I know I’m so fucking close just this last part and I’ll be done for the night I promise. He said that 2 hours ago. I groan and extend my legs. I open up my uber app and get ready to request.

“I’m getting an uber home, I need to sleep it’s like 1:30.” I say and he throws his laptop to the side.

“No no no you’re the only one left please don’t go this will never get done!” He says pouncing on top of me. He pins me arms down and sis on my stomach. I laugh and throw my head back. When I look back at him I see his bottom lip tucked between his teeth. The tension got super sexual super quick.

“Oh my god fine but hurry I’m tired.” I said with a laugh while pushing him off. He goes to get his laptop so that he can sit next to me on the couch.

“Why don’t you just sleep here tonight? I mean it’s pretty late and I’d feel horrible if something happened to you.” He said looking everywhere but your eyes. I throw my head back.

“Fine. But do you have something more comfortable to change into I’m not exactly in the mood to sleep in skin tight jeans for the night.” I said he got up quick and came running back with a pair of black clickbait booty shorts. He sits back down and looks at me. This is when I decided to innocently tease this kid to death. I stood up and stretched my back. I slowly pull my shirt over my head exposing my white lace bralette. While looking at him directly in the eyes. I unbutton my jeans and slide them down my legs I turn around and bend over to pick up the shorts he had lent to me, being sure to give him a full show. I turn to the side and look at him flipping all of my hair to one side as I pulled them up to expose my ass a little bit. I sat back down but not on the couch but on his lap. Trust me when I say this is the most beat red face I’ve ever seen on a guy before. I straddled him knees on either side keeping me propped up. I lean really close to his face. While running my hands through his tousled hair. His breathes in were nervous. We both sensed the extreme sexual tension between us but we simply never addressed it. Until now.

“I’m going to sleep now. In your bed but if you aren’t coming with me.” I said as I stand up slowly off of him while walking towards the hallway. I sway my hips with every step ever so slightly. I turn around last second. “I guess I’ll just sleep with my vibrator.” I said giggling. I could tell it was taking everything in his will power to not start feeling out like a little school boy. But his eyes, were all over me. Studying every last inch. That’s exactly what I wanted, and that’s exactly what I had. His attention.

Davids Pov

Oh my lord look at her. Jesus Christ she knows what she’s doing to me. She knows that I have to finish editing this and post it at a reasonable time and she just changed in front of me and told me she was going to sleep in my bed. With a vibrator. I was nearly tearing my pants off with how tight they were getting. She rounded the corner towards my room. I throw my head back and hit it on the couch in of the couch. I bite my lip and groan at the thought of her. She quite literally had me wrapped around her finger. There has always been a sexual attraction that neither of us did anything about and now this is it. She was killing me and I was playing into it all. She wanted my attention and she got it. I have literally never edited anything so quickly in my life. I was blue balling in the name of my career because of Y/N right now. It took 15 minutes after she left the room to finally get it posted. The moment I saw it go up I sprinted to my room. To see her and my god did I see her.

Your Pov

I knew he was being eaten up inside at the fact that he couldn’t just take me right then and there. I got myself situated to drive him absolutely crazy the second he walked in. Oh you know just in my comfortable sexy ass red lingerie I had been hiding here in case of an ‘emergency’. I bought it with Corrina about a month ago and she suggested the idea of me hiding it there. I laid on the bed and changed the lights to a a calming yellow tint. Like fairly lights to highlight the curve of my body that were being hugged closely by my top. I fixed my hair and waited another five minutes to see him barging in. All he did was look at me and I could tell he was weak at the knees. He threw his head back and shit the door quietly behind me. I sat up and sat on my knees to crawl towards him. I grab him by the collar and he pulls his shirt off.

Davids Pov

I lay her down gently on her back as I trace parts of the lace that were on the sensitive parts of her stomach. I look her up and down as if she was a meal. Where’d she even get this? I’m not even gonna question it, I’m just glad she has it.

“Baby. You have been teasing me for months now. With the way you dress, the way to talk, the way you touch me. Now I’m gonna end my suffering. And yours.” She was mine for the taking. I’ll show her exactly what she got herself into.

Your pov

He quickly put his lips to mine while rubbing my outer thighs. I wrapped my legs around him as he was completely pressed against my core. I grab the back of his head and deepening the kiss more. He moved slowly to my jaw and then my neck. It was like he knew the soft spots of my body without even having touched me in the first place. Which is so fucking sexy. He sucked on the spot on my neck that he knew he’d get a reaction from. I bit my lip in order to muffle the moan being released. Which turned to a whimper. Oddly enough it fueled him to go even harder. He reaches my legs to take off my red lacey underwear. He pulls them down slowly and carefully placed them to the side.

“I don’t want to rip those off of you, you look to fucking good in them to be ruined.” He said through his teeth. Almost a growl. I took the bra off and placed it to the side as well. I was now fully exposed to him. No barriers. No holding back. I was all his. He then proceeded to get on the same level by discarding his now skin tight black jeans and his boxers. He looked at me and kissed my lips gently again.

“You have no clue how long I’ve been waiting for this to happen, Y/N. The worst part is half the time you didn’t even know you were teasing the fuck out of me.” He said to me looking at me again. Like he was studying. I blushed and hid behind my hands. Normally I’m very comfortable with the idea of putting myself out there, but when he looked at me like that I get flustered. He pulls my hands away from my face and he just stares at me and smiles. He grinds against me and kissed me to calm me down.

“You’re absolutely breathtaking.” He whispers to me. He was at the right position, all he needed was the motivation to move.

“Show me what I’m looking for, Dobrik. Just take me.” I whisper back. He quickly thrusts into me. I let out a yelp as he then raised his hand to my mouth.

“Sh sh sh. We don’t want the neighbors to know, do we?” He whispered and laughed. Under his hand I shook my head no. He was still inside of me when he pulled back and forth. He felt heavenly inside of me. He had completely exceeded all of my expectations of what he was like in bed. I assumed he’d be shy and reserved but when he is going for what he wants, he will let nothing stand in his way of getting it. I whimper again. I’m not usually so submissive as to whimper instead of moaning but he had this effect on me which made me weak I guess. He thrusts into me harder and faster. I’ve never been ready to release so quickly. David was showing me all new angles of himself that I would have never expected. He is taking in sharp breaths through his teeth. He closes his eyes at the feeling of me wrapped around him.

Davids Pov

My god this is so much better than in my head. She is coming undone right before my eyes. I mean hell I was making her whimper. It only motivated me to hear it more. The heavenly noses that were coming from her was all I needed to get through. I wasn’t going to last much longer and neither was she. She had her head thrown back so I decided to take the opportunity to kiss her neck again. She only moaned louder the more I touched her. She was clutching the bed sheets.

“Are you ready, babygirl?” I asked her she nodded and inverted he lips and closed her eyes. One last hard thrust and she was done. He body shook under me as swears and moans came pouring from her lips. I assumed that she’d take a dominant role in this situation but she was the exact opposite. She was willing to do whatever I wanted her to. Her breath was heavy and quick. I finished inside of a condom and went to go throw it out. I threw some joggers on and walked back out. I came back to her naked body still in the same position. I lay down next to her and just stare.

“What do you want, Dobrik?” She whispered to me while turning onto her stomach and resting her head in her hand. The smile painted across her beautiful face was so stunning.

“I want you to be mine. If that’s what you want, too.” I said to her while sitting up against the headboard of my bed. She followed me by throwing on one of my sweatshirts that had been lying on the other side of the bed. The heather grey one was my favorite on her. She straddled my lap once again and she just smiled at me.

“Do you think I would have gone through all of that torture for all this months if I didn’t want you to be my man?” She whispered while playing with my messed up hair. I laid my hands to rest on her smooth thighs.

“So is that a yes?” I looked from her legs up to her eyes. She laughed and ran her fingers threw her hair backwards. She bit her lip and gave me a nod. I let out a sigh of relief and grabbed her face. I kissed her gently once again and it all felt so right. She was finally mine. Finally.

Jeez I went really over board but I thought it was so cute I hope you liked it to the anon who requested

[fanficsandmoregalore]

Love By Moonlight

Kylo Ren x Reader chapt 2

While Kylo Ren was planning a festival, similar plans were being made in the Village La Resistance, under the rule of alpha couple, Leia and Han. The two had hosted several small parties, similar to festivals, but only certain packs were allowed to attend, for the safety of the village. They were called "confrences", but they were too formal and the villagers were usually bored by them. Like Kylo, Leia and Han had many allies and a fairly large pack but it was still a very closed community. Their village was a bit less advanced than Kylo's but that was okay. Everyone knew everyone which is why they decided to try to host another festival. Leia had gotten news that a handful of her villagers had not found their soulmates. One of those villagers was Rey's good friend, (y/n), who was a very shy omega.

 "(Y/n), come on!" Rey excitedly cheered as she dragged you to the center of the village. Rey had been talking about the plans for the festival nonstop since she heard Leia talk about it with Han. She was so excited for you to possibly meet your soulmate. She always felt bad for you, figuring you must've been so lonely. Truth be told, you were fine on your own, you sometimes preferred it. At last, Rey had successfully dragged you to the village square for the big announcement. News must travel fast because everyone was talking about the festival when you arrived. Leia and Han walked out of their home that was at the center of the village and everyone cheered immediately upon seeing their faces. Han signaled for everyone to quiet down.

 "We will be hosting yet another conference with our usual allies." Leia stated with a serious tone. The villagers all began to chatter amongst themselves, obviously very confused. Then Leia smiled and giggled a bit, making Han smile and chuckle.

 "She's kidding everyone. This year, we will be bringing back an old tradition. We are going to be hosting a festival!" And with that, everyone cheered. Except you, of course. You didn't like the confrences and the festival would only be a larger, more rowdy version of them.

 "Isn't this great?! A festival! I'm so excited!" Finn asked Rey loudly so she could hear him over the crowd. Finn was Rey's mate. Rey found Finn alone and hurt after he had saved Poe, another member of your pack and another one of your friends. Finn was originally in Kylo's pack but left because he felt out of place and didn't agree with their customs but nobody ever really asked him about it, he was just accepted as a new member when he arrived.

 "Yeah! Maybe we'll finally find out who this cutie's soulmate is." And there he was, Poe. He wrapped his arms around your shoulders from behind you and kissed your cheek, making you blush. Rey and Finn laughed and began to talk between themselves. Poe was always a big flirt when it came to you but you never returned the gestures. He was only a friend, nothing more and nothing less. But no matter what you told Rey, she was convinced you and Poe were soulmates.

 "You as excited as Finn, (y/n)?" Poe whispered into your ear. You shook your head and he hugged you.

 "I am. I hope i find my soulmate this time 'round. Maybe i have but i just haven't heard her sweet voice siging out to me." Poe's whisper was smooth but still not romantically appealing to you. Many girls in the village and elsewhere hoped they were destined to be Poe's mate but he had his heart set on you.  Poe went from having his arms around your shoulders to having his hand resting around your hip as he talked next to you with Rey and Finn.

 "You guys, i'm going to go home." You said quietly. They were too busy happily talking about the festival to hear you and you sighed. This wasn't unusual of them and it didn't make you upset or anything, it was just the fact that they didn't understand you. That's what you wanted from a mate, someone who understood how you felt. Poe was nice and all but he was too affectionate and loud for your liking. And his singing never called out to you, he sang to you often so you were definitely sure, but he kept trying anyway. You removed yourself from Poe's grip, which caught his attention, and started walking towards your home outside of the village. Poe gently grabbed your shoulder as he caught up to you, though you had only gotten a few feet away.

 "(Y/n), where are you going? Leia and Han were going to talk more about the festiva-"

 Poe stopped and began to growl, putting you behind him protectively, baring his fangs and his nails turned to claws. You heard gasps from the other villagers and looked over Poe's shoulder to see a blonde lady in a knight's suit of armor, a ginger who wore a black coat and black pants tucked into his boots, and a pack of grey wolves behind them, all showing their fangs. Han was quick to come and get between the visitors, you and Poe, who was still shielding you.

 "What the hell do you want?" Han questioned sternly, he seemed to know them and not in a good way. The blonde only rolled her eyes and looked to the ginger. He scoffed and handed Han a piece of parchment. Leia joined his side and looked at the page as well while the red-haired man spoke.

 "Your son, Kylo Ren, decided to bring back tradition and is hosting a festival."

 "Kylo Ren is not my son." Han hissed out, with resent lacing his words.

 "Either way, due to the code of our kind, we must invite all the neighboring packs and what not, that means you as well. That has our location and a list of who all has recieved an invitation. It's up to you whether or not you want to attend."

Han scoffed, crumbling the thing in his hands.

"No thanks."

"We'll inform Kylo Ren that you won't be coming. What a shame." The ginger said sarcastically and with that, the strangers left. Leia looked at Han with hurt eyes as if he had insulted her directly.

"Han, this might be our only chance to see our son again! What were you thinking?!"

 "Kylo Ren is a monster. Our son isn't." After that, Han gave the parchment to Leia and walked away. Leia looked at you and Poe, asking if you two were alright.

"I'm fine. You okay, (y/n)?" Poe said, he turned to you, looking normal again. You nodded and stood there awkwardly as Rey and Finn came over to join you.

"Leia, what are we gonna do? You're not actually considering going to Starkiller Village, are you?" Finn asked. Leia let out a sigh and looked in the direction the strangers had came from.

"He's my son. I haven't seen him since we ..... i want to go. I want to see him." Leia stated defiantly, "But Han will more than likely not let me go...at least not alone." Leia smiled at the four of you. You knew exactly where she was going with this and you didnt want any part of it.

You tried to tell her you didnt want to go, you were only an omega.

"Leia, i'd love to help bu-"

"Great! We'll meet back here in the morning to go to Starkiller Village and scope things out. If it seems fine, we'll attend Be-...Kylo's festival." Leia didn't like hearing her son's new name leave her mouth but the feeling of sadness was quickly replaced by joy when she thought about how she'd win her son back and they'd all be happy. Everyone split up, heading to their own homes, and you heading off to yours.

Early the next morning, against your better judgement, you showed up to the spot to meet with Leia, Rey, Finn, and Poe. They were waiting for you and before you got close to the others, Poe came over to you.

"Listen, (y/n). If we get there and anything happens, you stick close to me. I'll protect you, alright?"

"Sure thing, Poe. Thanks."

Poe gently pinched your cheek as he smiled.

"Anything for my girl."

You smiled but internally cringed. It was cute, too cute. You both walked the few feet to get with the rest of your group. Leia had a map and you could see where she had circled the location for Starkiller Village. It wasn't too far actually but it wasn't close either, a good 30 miles, if not more. You were uneasy as Leia talked about her plan. You had heard so many bad things about that village and even worse things about its alpha, Kylo Ren. You didn't know what he looked like but your friends described him as a scarred monster, a truly terrible human being, and so on and so forth.

"If we are separated by some chance, i want you all to find the river, follow it upstream to the waterfall and wait there until morning. I will come find you." Leia stated, pointing to the river in the map. And with that, the group was off. Leia was unaware that Han was very aware of her plans and was following your group, to make sure his wife was safe and, even if he didn't admit it, to see his son who he had cast out all those years ago.

- meanwhile -

"YOU DID WHAT!?" Kylo screamed at Hux. Hux rolled his eyes as Kylo began to destroy an entire room with his bare hands.

"I invited your parents' village; it's the code of werewolves to invite all the ne-"

"I know the damn code but I gave you direct orders not to invite them!"

"Sir, if you're going to host a festival, you have to do it right. And that means, all packs are invited, allies or not." Phasma added. Kylo threw another chair at the the wall, it shattered from the force he threw it with.

"I don't know why you're so angry, they're not coming anyway. Your father, Han Solo, was very clear about that."

"Han Solo is not my father!" Kylo growled, his eyes were a burning yellow. If he got any more upset, he'd wind up destroying his entire home. Hux chuckled to himself, recalling Han saying something similar about Kylo. Kylo sat in his throne chair, the only one remaining, and sighed as he pinched his temple.

"This was a bad idea. Nobody will want to show up." Kylo thought out loud. He was sure nobody would attend his festival and that he wouldn't find his soulmate after all.

"It would appear you're wrong. We have company." Hux stated as he looked out the window. Kylo stood and looked out the window. In the woods, he saw his mother leading 4 others. Kylo growled loudly but it escalated into a loud scream of anger.

"Did you guys hear that?"

Poe looked around, you were all close to the village by now but still in the woods.

"Poe, be quiet or we'll be spotted." Finn warned his friend in a whisper. And as if on cue, your group was surrounded by a pack of wolves similar to the ones from before. You all gathered around Leia to keep her safe but she stepped forward and from the shadows came the one she wanted to see. He circled around your group, slowly, looking over each and everyone one of you before stopping again in front of his mother.

"Hello, Ben."

"That's not my name." Kylo quickly replied, "What do you want, mother?"

"I want to come to your festival." She stated with a smile, clearly not frightened at all. Kylo frowned and turned his back to his mother. You looked at Kylo, he wasn't nearly as scary looking as everyone said.

"If my beta hadn't gone against my orders, you wouldn't even have an invitation. I'm feeling generous so I'll let you leave in peace....this time. But don't come back. Ever."

"What a jerk."

Everyone turned to look at you. You covered your mouth, regretting your sudden outburst. Kylo walked over to you and towered over you, trying to be intimidating. Poe was right by you, an arm already in front of you in case Kylo tried anything, and Kylo took note of it.

"And who are you? I know the rest of these people, but you are...new." Kylo asked, but he wasn't interested, he was annoyed and wanted to know who he was annoyed with.

"Uh, i'm (y/n)."

"Hmm, interesting." Kylo backed up and thought for a minute. He pointed at you but looked at his mother.

"Give her to me. Consider her collateral. You can come back and get her on the day of the festiva, and she satys here so i know that you won't plan some sort of attack. Deal?"

"No! Take me instead!" Poe took hold of your hand and begged Kylo. Kylo smirked and shook his head.

"I knew you'd say that, Dameron. But you're not as pretty to look at." Kylo said, purposely trying to make Poe angry, and he did.

"Come on." Kylo said to you before turning to walk back to his village.

"What if i say no?" You asked. Kylo turned on his heel and faced you. You were feeling surprisingly confident for someone who is always really shy and nervous around strangers.

"If you say no, then you can go back to your village, no problem, but you will never come back to mine. Not for some festival or any other reason."

You looked at Leia then back to Kylo and sighed. Leia was always there for you, it was time you returned the favor. She really wanted to go to this festival all to see her son and you were gonna be the reason she did. You looked up at Kylo and he smirked again, knowing your answer.

"Right this way, (y/n)."

[lubdubsworld]

Give me some Sugar ( Daddy)

Warnings ; Adult Content. 

Jimin xOC / 19+

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2

The club that jimin asked me to come to was somewhere in the deeper streets of Hongdae, tucked in between a tattoo parlor and a fine dining restaurant , with the entrance small and unassuming, leading down a flight of stairs to a bigger , glamorous doorway. The inside of the hallway, leading deeper into the club was lit with strobe lights and a bunch of people stood around , girls in tiny skirts and fitting blouses, men in black leather and with piercings glinting . 

I wasn’t particularly intimidated , but the scent of sweaty bodies and cheap smoke made me retch a little bit , as i followed the tall bouncer who had offered to take me to Jimin. We walked a few more minutes, past a couple of dance floors and then into another hallway, this one more deserted and lit more demurely, tones of red and gold lighting up bits of the  passageway and throwing other parts into sharp darkness. 

The stairs opened into a lounge, which was worlds away from the messy confusion downstairs , done up in gold and yellow with mild , soothing jazz music and dozens of well-dressed beautiful patrons. I felt suddenly relieved that I’d picked a relatively nice dress, turquoise blue with an uneven hem and a wrap around bodice . I’d borrowed it from Seulgi ages ago and she had refused to take it back, saying something along the lines of ‘ ugh...i hate that color just keep it will you?’ . 

It was probably her way of being generous without acting like a good person. 

I caught sight of Jimin even before the man next to me pointed him out. Jimin sat in an enclosed booth, tucked away in a corner of the loungue and he stood up the moment he saw me, hand reaching up to run through his hair as he offered me a bright smile. 

He was so attractive it made my lips wobble. 

“How did you get here?” He said with a bright smile, after pulling the chair out for me and i stared at him for a second, suddenly aware that he was a lot taller than i remembered. 

“Uh.. I.. uh.. walked? i mean from the bus stop. I took the bus and then i got down at the bus stop and ..yeah.. i walked here.” i laughed nervously , mentally kicking myself for forgetting how to formulate words. 

Jimin didn’t comment on my word -vomit and instead he just. very casually brushed the hair away from the nape of my neck and kissed the edge of my cheek. 

“ I’m sorry if it was a long commute. i wanted to send someone to pick you up but i wasn’t sure if it would make you uncomfortable” . He smiled again, drawing back, seemingly un-bothered by the fact that his kiss had wiped my brain clean of all thoughts.  

“Oh..uh. Thanks.” I said , sitting down with my heart thudding around in my ribcage. 

“And before i forget.. here you go... “ He slid my phone across the table and i grabbed it quickly, slipping it into my purse. 

“Thank you so much..i’m so sorry for being a bother...honestly.. and Jimin ssi... about what you said.. i don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Let’s have dinner first, Y/N and then we can talk about...other things. this place serves really good continental stuff and I’m actually friends with the chef... Would you like me to order for you?” He smiled, reaching out and touching the back of my palm.

“Yes, please.”

“Excellent.” 

I stared around the dining area some more while Jimin called the waiter over and ordered food and wine. Once he was done, he laughed a little and gave me an abashed look, ducking his head down.

“You probably think i’m being a bit too pretentious...bringing you out here ...” He said softly. “ i actually prefer less fancy places in general but i thought this would give us some privacy...”

i didn’t say anything feeling jittery and nervous. 

“So, uh.. tell me about yourself, Y/N...”

“Me? uh... I’m actually a creative English major and I have a minor in interior designing as well.... I have a sister and mother and i work quite a lot of odd jobs. “i laughed awkwardly.

He nodded thoughtfully.

“I’m assuming you’re running low on cash then...” He said sounding vaguely sympathetic.

“Uh..yeah..that’s kind of a problem because , there’s this academy that my sister is trying to get into. a Ballet school. And well, i need to pay them a lot of money upfront...”

I stopped, not sure why it was so easy to just blurt this information out to him. It was stup;id but for some reason, Jimin didn’t feel like a stranger, at all. 

“I understand. Have you done this thing before? With other men?”

I briefly considered lying.

“No.” I admitted after a few seconds. “ No, i haven’t.”

He hummed a bit thoughtfully.

“I figured as much. Have you changed your mind about doing it ? Or are you still looking to find a... benefactor?”

I flinched.

“jimin ssi...”

“I’m only asking because i don’t want to force you into anything you’re not interested in. If you tell me that you’ve given up on getting yourself a rich guy, I’ll back off. For real.” He held both his palms up, multiple rings glinting in the dusky glow of the restaurant. 

I stared at him.

“And what if I want a guy but not you.” i said bluntly.

Jimin raised an eyebrow. 

“I’m sure I can find myself another girl.”

Chastised, i looked down at my knees.

“it’s just...” i stopped, before taking a deep breath. “ You’re really famous. i don’t want to get into any trouble.” 

Jimin gave me an even look.

“i’ll protect you. I can promise you that.”

I felt my heart turn over at the phrase.

“Jimin ssi...”

“i mean it. Honestly, what i’m looking for isn’t just something...physical. i wouldn’t be pursuing you if it were. I need someone i can be friends with. Someone i can have dinners with, someone i can talk to and generally have a relationship with.... And i felt that connection with you.... You and i... we could be good together... i can feel it in my bones, Y/N. that’s why i want you to give this a chance.” 

“A realtionship?” i said confused.

He hesitated before staring down at his glass.

“Well, certain aspects of a relationship. Without the emotional baggage. Sex, companionship, laughter and good times. Without any drama or unnecessary feelings involved.” 

I stared at him, feeling like i was getting in way over my head. i couldn’t quite understand what he meant. 

“I’ll be your boyfriend. We’ll be lovers. I’ll introduce you to my friends. We’ll all hang out together. i want all of it.” He said softly.

 i want all of it.

there was something off about that phrase. But before i could ponder on his words, he was reaching out and lightly gripping my palm. his fingers felt smooth and warm around my own, the blunt tips tracing heated circles on my skin , the gesture arousing in a way that was unfair. 

“I like you. A lot. I know a lot of really good Dance companies. I’ll get your sister into the best one, i promise. in fact, I’m going to do that, even if you refuse me. I looked her up , you know. She really is good. She deserves a spot in any of those Academies.” He said warmly.

 i looked her up...

 He had looked her up?! Why.... 

“I... I’m still not sure  how...” 

“I have a proper contract for us to sign. I have it with me right now and if you like, we can go over it at my apartment. Well, technically our apartment , if you agree to the terms .”

I squeaked in disbelief.

“our apartment?” 

he shrugged.

“It wouldn’t be practical for us to live miles away from each other. I’d rather we co habit. It would be easier for me especially, seeing as i have a jam packed schedule. i’d like to be able to see you anytime i’m home.” He smiled widely and I blushed harder. Why one earth was he so charming? and why was it working so well on me?

why did this whole thing sound appealing , rather than outrageous. What on earth was wrong with me?!

“So, you want me to move in with you?” I said, throat dry. 

“Yes. I have a personal chauffeur who can drop you off at college and then pick you back up. So you don’t have to worry about that.”

College had been the last of my worries.

“Okay... i mean... I’d like to hear more about this contract.” i said softly.

He hummed.

“Of course. Hang on, i’ll pay the bill and then we can drive down home.”

 Home.

oh, God, what was i getting myself into.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“it’s not much but i think it should be fine for just the two of us...” Jimin said casually holding the door open and i stepped into a wide , open-plan apartment with beautiful blue and white inetriors. The place was rather impersonal but it looked cozy as well. 

“it’s beautiful.” I said honestly and jimin smiled in obvious relief.

“i wanted to come pick a nice place out with you, you know after you agreed but then i saw this place and i really didn’t want to risk losing it...” He said apologetically and I smiled weakly. 

“That’s alright... it’s really nice.” I said awkwardly.

“We can still go pick out some paintings and other stuff, together. if you like. I don’t know a lot about interior decoration and stuff but you mentioned you were majoring in it...so you can try and decorate this place. If you like...” He offered and I nodded absently, trailing my fingers over the back of the couch. everything looked so beautiful.

“This here’s the bedroom.” he held a door open. I didn’t think too much, walking over to peer into the room, taking note of the plain pale blue walls and the satin sheets on the huge bed. 

He moved to pull the curtains open and i felt my eyes go wide as i noticed that it overlooked the river.

“We can watch the sunrise every morning from our bed.” Jimin laughed.

I froze .

 our bed.

 “What about the kitchen?” i blurted out quickly and jimin hesitated before smiling a little.

“You don’t have to be so terrified around me. I wont throw you on the bed and ravish you. We can wait and get to know each other a bit before we become intimate.” He smiled.

I cringed.

“i’m sorry..it’s just... all so new to me..”

“i understand. You can back out anytime you like.” He held the door open again.” The kitchen is over there.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two weeks later after my midterms and after I had pretty much spent all my nights losing sleep, I signed the contract. 

Most of the terms were simple . 

 i had to always be reachable over phone. i had to respond to texts and calls. i had to keep him informed of my whereabouts. i had to go on a minimum of three dinner dates every week. i also had to make an active effort to be ‘ cordial’ with his friends. He would provide me with outfits, pay for my expenses and also generally ‘ support’ me in an ‘ appropriate ‘ way. 

Jimin gave me a phone , a new one that i would be able to use to talk to him. it was one of those new fancy phones, the kind that required your fingerprint to open and stuff and he also gave me two credit cards.

“There’s no limit. You can spend as much as you like.” He had said brightly.

I hadn’t plucked up the courage to use them yet, of course.

The day after i signed the contract, I was walking to the bus stop, ready to drive home when my phone buzzed.

It was jimin.

“Hey sweetheart. Are you packed?” He said cheerfully.

I blinked in confusion.

“packed?” 

“Well, you’re supposed to be moving in with me, remember?” 

I hadn’t remembered , at all.

“oh, God...i’m so sorry... Jimin ssi...”

He was silent for a second .

“Are you having second thoughts, baby?” He said softly. 

I blushed a bright red, immensely grateful that he wasn’t in front of me.

“Uh..no. Of course not.”

“okay. Good girl. Can you do something for me?” He asked gently, tone low and mellow.

“Uh huh...”

“Take a taxi to our apartment. The password is your birthday . Let yourself in. i’ve left an outfit out on the bed. Wear it and make yourself look pretty for me. Can you do that?” 

I stopped walking because my heart was starting to pound.

“Oh..uh...sure.”

“Especially the stuff in the small red box, okay. I’ll check later if you’re really wearing them... “ He said teasingly. 

“okay.” i breathed out.

After he hung up, i had to count to twenty, just to get my head on straight.

It took me a few minutes to hail a cab and another twenty minutes before i reached the apartment and let myself in. 

i kicked my shoes off and rushed to the bedroom, not even bothering to drop my bag off.

i stopped short as i stared at the bed. 

There was a tiny black dress , with beautiful midnight black pumps and a small velvet box with jewelry. I stared at the outfit in awe, heart lurching when I saw the familiar name.

 Chanel.

Then i saw the box he had mentioned and opened it with trembling fingers.

My entire body felt like it had been set on fire.

I stared in mortification at the tiny thong style panties and the transparent lacy bra. 

 i’ll check later if you’re really wearing them. 

Apparently, Park Jimin wasn’t as vanilla as he looked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You look beautiful.” Jimin said casually, pouring me some wine as we sat in an expensive restaurant , overlooking the Seoul skyline.

“Thank you. How was your day?” i said with a smile and he sighed. He had picked me up at eight and for all his heavy, suggestive words about my outfit he hadn’t acted on them. He’d been the perfect gentleman, leading me to the table with minimal physical contact and if it weren’t for the foreign sensation of silky lace against my inner thighs, I’d almost forget that he had bought me something like that. 

“a bit tiring, honestly. there’s a particular dance move that i’m trying to work on and it’s giving me a bit of trouble. it’s for our next tour. What about you... ? How’s college.” 

i told him a bit about my day and then as we ate dinner with playful banter and a lot of laughs, i found myself relaxing and genuinely enjoying myself.

it wasn’t till we started dessert that it started to take a turn.

“So..” Jimin said causally and i looked up curious, expecting another remark about his work or my study, “ Are you wearing it?” 

I fought to keep my expression neutral. 

“Uh...yes.” i said glancing down at my food as a wave of hot blood rushed up into my face. 

“Good girl. Did you like it?” He was smiling now, eyes heavy with fondness and lips quirking a little.

I bit my lips in embarrassment. 

“Yes. i mean... yeah. they’re nice. Thank you.” 

Jimin hummed. 

“Bet the lace feels real good against you, right?”

I couldn’t bring myself to respond. 

“Won’t beat the feel of my tongue but... guess you’ll have to make do. at least till we get back home.” 

i choked on nothing, coughing. 

“Cute. “ He laughed and then he reached out and stroked my cheek with the back of his palm. “ Will you do something for me?”

I leaned helplessly into his touch.

“uh huh...”

“Take your panties off.”

i lurched in shock, nearly knocking over the glass of wine.

“I...what.” 

He was still smiling, looking like a perfect angel, hair ruffled , gaze warm and bright. 

“You heard me baby. Come on... “ He smiled.

i shook my head instinctively.

“Jimin...please... “

“No one’s going to know baby.... i promise. it’s why i bought you that tiny dress. it’s easy. just slip your hand up your skirt, hook your finger on the string and yank your panties down.... it’s not hard.... come on.... do it...”

I shut my eyes tightly, making a mental note to spend a shit-ton of money tomorrow with his credit card. 

I bent a little, hunching over the table as I slipped my fingers underneath following his instructions and nearly having a heart attack by the time I crumpled the tiny fabric and shoved it into my purse. 

“I’m done.” i whispered.

“You’re amazing. Let’s go home then. ” He smiled. “ Waiter, check please.” 

[gabrielxreader]

Nestle In

Request: Hi saw the requests are open for 24 hours! I wanted to ask for a fic with maybe gabexreaderxcas really big fluff. And you can see their wings because yes wings are amazing. Maybe a movie night hunker down. – anonymous

A/N: Alright, so my first thought for this was OMG YES POLYAMORY because, not gonna lie, I’m part of the LGBT+ community, and a lot of forms of our expression (polyamory included) are seriously underrepresented. But, since the anon didn’t specify this and it’s a little controversial, I left that part vague. Hope you like it, anon!

Author: Holly

Warnings: Minor swearing?

Characters: Y/N, Gabriel, Castiel

Word Count: 1,536

Y/N = Your Name

            Witches were evil.

            Dean locked himself in his bedroom for hours as soon as you returned. Sam, looking like he’d seen a ghost (heh), had fallen asleep in the library, reading the same page over and over. You had retired to your bedroom in the lower level of the bunker, cold, soaked through from an involuntary dip in the lake, and feeling lonely. In sad solitude, you took a hot shower and fell asleep on your bed within seconds of hitting the mattress.

            When you next woke up, it was dinnertime, the sun was creeping its way down again, and you could smell something sweet in your room. It only took you a minute to crack your eyes open with a pitiful groan and realize that the sweet smell wasn’t coming from the kitchen, but from a plate of hot, fresh-baked cookies on your bedside table.

            You swore that you were the only person at such a comfortable temperature.

            “Morning,” you mumbled into the arm of whichever angel was in front of you, scooting your legs back to press your feet against the heated calves of the one at your back.

            You could practically hear the head tilt from Cas. “It’s the evening,” he corrected you.

            “I say it’s morning,” Gabe argued, pressed tight to your back and snuggling with his face at the nape of your neck. He patted Cas hard on the chest as if in punishment for disagreeing with you. “Princess says it’s morning. It’s morning.”

            Castiel stiffly held you tighter. His vessel’s heartbeat was in your ear. “But it’s not morning.”

            “Oh, for your father’s sake,” you mumbled into the blue-eyed angel’s chest. “Shut the hell up or I will shove you both out of bed.”

            You, Gabriel, and Castiel were the best of friends, attached at the hips like freakish Sesame twins (according to Dean, who was corrected agitatedly by Sam). You were all very close friends, who would hug and kiss each other’s cheeks and cuddle and sometimes share beds because you were prone to feeling lonely and cold in the isolated rooms of the underground bunker. Gabe and Cas gave you more attention than you needed, and you happily soaked it up. You didn’t want to assume anything, so you didn’t call them your boyfriends, but you loved being their favorite human.

            If Sam wanted to make a joke about Cas coming running when Dean called, then he also had to note that he was usually already there by the time you’d finished saying his name. Gabriel was quick to pull sometimes mean jokes on the boys for his own amusement, but he never made you into a victim of them. And, between the vengeful archangel and the dedicatedly-loyal seraph, no one stood a chance at making you hurt and getting away with it.

            “Was there anything special you wanted to do today, Cupcake?” Gabe offered, rubbing his hand down the side of your body, enticing and comforting. His touch was warm, and with every pass of his hand, you felt yourself relaxing a little bit more. Gabriel was rarely completely still. In contrast to his movements behind you, Cas was supporting most of your weight and letting himself be used as a solid, still, and protective pillow. “Bar hopping in Cali? Swimming off Gold Coast? Don’t stop there – chocolate tasting in Belgium?”

            You sighed, long and quiet, and reminded yourself of the bruising you suspected spotted your ribcage. “I don’t wanna go anywhere,” you mumbled into Cas’s trench coat, reaching blindly for his shoulder. You traced his arm down to his hand and manipulated his limb until his hand was over your temple.

            A moment later, a warm feeling like being doused with warm water ran from the top of your head down to your toes. Since you were laying down, and completely dry, it was a little disconcerting. It swept away the aches and pains of the exhausting week’s hunt and its inevitably violent end. You patted Cas’s hand and mumbled a ‘thanks.’

            Castiel slowly started to pet your hair. It took him a while, but he’d started copying some of the things he saw Gabriel doing to you and you doing to him. The hair stroking was undoubtedly your favorite.

            “You should have called if you were injured,” he scolded quietly, tone level. He was always so concerned. You hummed noncommittally. “You know we would prefer to be called upon than to know you were left in pain.”

            “It wasn’t that bad,” you promised, reaching behind you to drape an arm over the blond. “Thank you though, Cas. You’re awesome. Like, like Captain America. But you’re not blond,” you tiredly added as an afterthought.

            “Right,” Gabe snorted behind you, amused. “Because that’s the only difference.”

            “Who’s strong and brave, here to save the American way?” You sang with a giggle.

            “I don’t understand that reference,” Castiel interrupted. “Who is this Captain? Is he human?”

            “Gabriel,” you decided abruptly, shifting your hips and arms in preparation to sit up. Gabe clung to you like a koala, even as you struggled to move. You grunted and fell down, making him squawk as you landed half on top of him. “Get off. I know what to do with what’s left of the day. We’re having a movie marathon.”

            Gabriel was off of you in an instant. Your head fell to the pillow where he used to be and bounced with an umph. The archangel was standing over by your shelves instantaneously, perusing your DVD collection. “I’ve got the snacks,” he declared seriously, but cheerfully at the same time. “You bring the blankets and the uncultured brat.”

            “Okay,” you agreed. “I have The First Avenger and Winter Soldier on DVD, but we’ll also have to watch Iron Man 2 so he’ll know who Black Widow is. But that means we also have to watch Iron Man so he knows who Tony is in the sequel with Natasha. Let’s do the Iron Man movies between the Captain Americas so that he has the background for the Starks.” You started to pull up your blankets. Castiel stood up from your bed, confused but complacent, and you changed your mind. “Actually, no blankets. We’re gonna pull up the ottomans and make it a nest. Wings, boys.”

            You couldn’t see an angel’s true form without burning your eyes out of your skull. No, thank you. The upside to magic and the supernatural was that there were usually loopholes – while you couldn’t see their real wings (and Gabe boasted that his wouldn’t even fit in the room), they could still manifest physical approximations that wouldn’t turn you into a crispy barbeque.

            You loved when they did it.

            Gabriel’s wings were stunning yellow, just like you had expected, but they changed colors with the lighting. In sunlight, they looked like melted gold. In the dark, when you only had dim lighting or a glowing phone, his feathers appeared like caramel, and in the indoor, slightly-colored overhead lights, his wings seemed to be amber, like finely aged alcohol.

            Castiel’s were less expected. You’d thought the naïve, sweet, comparatively younger angel would have fluffy white wings, soft and smooth like those of a baby bird, lined with down and perfectly pristine. In reality, his wings were dark, somewhere between black-blue and dark purple, and his feathers were long and strong and slim. There was no down, no fluff, and no delicacy to the firm arches. Most surprisingly, while Gabriel preened his wings almost vainly, Castiel usually didn’t realize his were messy until you or Gabe said something. When that happened, you were more than delighted to sit down with him for at least an hour and straighten out his feathers.

            You were wrapped up tight with warm bodies and silkily smooth feathers, so content that you couldn’t even begin to fathom why you might want to move. The movie played in the background, but you were far more focused on the duo keeping you such excellent company. Gabriel was leaned back with his legs spread so that you could lay on his chest in between his thighs, his three pairs of wings out and lain gently over the furniture. The sets on the right were draped over you and Cas both, while your right hand, tucked under Gabe’s wings, were smoothing through a patch of feathers on Castiel’s repeatedly. He laid forward on you, his head on your tummy and turned to watch the TV with fascinated eyes.

            “Please don’t go,” you said without warning, blinking as you surprised even yourself. “I want you both to stay with me tonight.”

            Even as your face turned red, you knew without a doubt that they would say yes.

            The softness of Gabriel’s blanketing wing ruffled and bumped into your cheek. He started to close his legs, squeezing you between his knees. Castiel plastered one wing down over the furniture, showing he had no intention of leaving his comfy position, and the other began to lazily arch up into your touch.

            “You have to ask?” Gabe mumbled, turning his head and pressing his lips to your hair.

            ”There isn’t anywhere we would rather be,” Cas rumbled fondly, hugging your waist closely.

[superqueerwritingfangirl-blog]

Scattered Memories (Part 1)

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Character Ship: Spencer Reid x Reader

Word Count: 2004(Far too long)

Summary: After Hotch gives your team a rare long weekend you head home, but you never make it. You wake up 13 hours later in the same spot you blackout at, but something is different. 

Warnings: None descriptive rape, kidnapping, angst, eventual PTSD

Author’s note: I’ve been working on this for two days before realizing how long it was getting to be a one-parter, this won’t be as long as I plan on making my Trials and Tribulation’s series -two/three parts at the most.

Part 2

The last thing you remembered was leaving work for the day. You handed Hotch your completed files, saying goodbye to him, JJ, Rossi, Derek, and Garcia. As always, you lingered at Spencer’s desk, laughing at his awkward jokes, being completely hypnotized by his magic tricks, and sad goodbyes, even though you know you’ll see each other the next day.

After that, you head down to the parking garage that belonged to the government building. It was already dark out, being winter, so you picked up your pace and approached your vehicle. You heard of few stray footsteps, but nothing too close to you. As you started your car it seemed to lurch forward for a split second, but it rested and returned to normal, so you went on your way.

About half way home you decided to rent a movie for the long weekend Hotch had allowed the team, given no cases came up. The rental store was crowded for date night, causing you to bump into several of the inhabitants. Mumbling to yourself you searched the new release aisle, grabbing the one that looked most interesting.

You began feeling slightly dizzy ‘It’s probably just anxiety,’ you told yourself, ‘it’s far too crowded for anyone to feel comfortable.’ Pushing the feeling aside, you paid for the rented DVD and stepped outside. With a breath of fresh air, the dizziness seem to subside and you continued your drive home, but not even 5 minutes into your drive, only a few minutes away from home something turned wrong.

Something was very wrong: your hearing faded, ringing to a deafening point, your hands were shaking and you knew you had to be swerving, and your sight was almost gone. Trying your best to focus on the road, you reached into your back pocket and pulled out your phone. You knew you wouldn’t be conscious enough to make a call, your words being blurred in your mind, let alone, actually being spoken, so you sent a text. You chose the first contact in your text message history: Spencer Reid, typing a simple “911”.

As you sent it you pulled off onto a side road and parked. Just behind you, another car pulled up, you stepped out of your vehicle, hoping to signal the danger you were in but the moment your feet touched the ground you collapsed, the world turning dark.

But that had to have been hours ago because right now it looked as though the sun, which was just going down the last time you were conscious, was rising through the trees. Instead of lying on the ground, where you were previously, you haphazardly splayed over the front two seats of your car.

You groaned, shifting into a sitting position, searching for your phone. Surprisingly you found it back in your back pocket. Your phone was shut off - something you never did, in the case of an emergency, you could be tracked down. Dozens of texts and phone calls from everyone on your team and a handful of others.

Seeing the urgent messages you went to reach for your FBI badge and your gun, that always sat in your glove box, but they were gone. Immediately you dialed 911. “911 - where is your-”

You cut her off, begging yourself not to lose your train of thought. “My name is (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N), I am an agent of the FBI. I think I might have been attacked. I’ll need an ambulance, police unit, and for you to call and ask for Special Agent Hotchner and the rest of his team at the FBI.”

“Yes ma’am.” The 911 operator replied, obviously shaken. You hung up and began checking yourself.

Looking into the rearview mirror you checked your eyes, your pupils were dilated and the whites were yellowed, most likely from being drugged. Looking down at your clothes you noticed how disheveled they were: shirt untucked, buttons undid haphazardly, one sock missing. You didn’t want to think about why. Rolling up your sleeves, you checked your arms, you saw bruises and scrapes but no signs of injection marks. You did the same for your legs, but then you remembered the rentals store: someone had bumped into you, they hit your hip. Grabbing the waistband of your pants, you slowly revealed the skin of your hip and almost immediately you saw the tiny red dot, and gently touching it you could feel a slight indent of a hole. Along with remembering the rental store you also remembered the car that pulled up behind you.

Seconds later you heard the sirens, as well as two black SUV’s. You got out of your vehicle, almost running to Hotch as he stepped out, onto the pavement. “I need an APB out for a red 2014 Impala.” You began to walk away, towards the paramedics, before you felt a hand grasp your wrist. With your instincts kicking in, you swung around and attempted to punch your assailant. Luckily he was able to dodge it as you realized it was still Hotch. “Shit! Hotch, I’m so sorry!”

“What happened, (Y/N)?” Aaron asked.

“I don’t know.” You admitted. “After I left the other night, I went to the movie rental place a couple blocks back. It was so crowded and someone bumped into me. I became dizzy but tried to drive home. I knew I couldn’t make it so I pulled off here and the car pulled up behind me. I went out to confront him but passed out the second I stood up. I woke up back in my car.”

By then the team had gathered around, as well as the paramedics and police. You sighed when you saw the way Spencer looked at you. “They took my gun and badge, and - uh - there’s an injection point on my hip. I think he may have..” You didn’t have to finish the sentence for them to know what you meant. They all looked away and a paramedic ushered you over to the ambulance, sitting you on the bed in the back.

They asked you dozens of questions, trying to burrow passed your fuzzy mind. They quickly took you over to the hospital, doing horrific tests. After everything was done they finally allowed you to be released, abling you to see your team - your family. “You should be at the hospital,” Hotch said, oddly gentle.

“I won’t be able to help while in the hospital. The drugs are out of my system, and other than the kit I’ve been given a clean bill of health.”

“Other than the kit?” He asked, clearly worried.

“It came back positive, but I’m fine. I don’t even remember it.”

He gave you a look. A fatherly look that said he didn’t believe you but he’ll leave it for now. You silently thanked him. The two of you walked into the briefing room and, no matter how hard they tried, all eyes were on you. Jennifer ran up to you, awkwardly gave you a hug and handed you a warm cup. You took a sip and sighed. Your favorite coffee drink, you smiled for the first time that day, and that made her smile. “Thank you, JJ.” You sang.

You plopped down in your chair, always next to Spencer, you smiled at him and as you pushed yourself closer to the table he looked confused. In all honesty, so were you. How should you feel? You couldn’t remember what happened to you but now you know something did. You felt gross and violated but also fine. You knew it was probably because of shock but you had to ride the wave in order to catch this guy. You could mourn after he was in jail.

“We were able to track down the tape from the rental store. It’s hard to see because of how crowded it was but we can see the moment he stuck you with the drug.”

You watched intently at the screen, furious with yourself for not connecting the pain in your hip with foul play in the moment. You saw a man in a hoodie, jeans, and a baseball cap pull a syringe out of the hoodie pocket. He pulled the cap off of the needle and approached you, swiftly sticking the needle into your thigh, plunging the liquid into your bloodstream. You pounded your fist onto the table. All eyes turned to you. “I was dizzy!” You nearly yelled.

“(Y/N)” Spencer started before you interrupted him.

“I thought it was because of all the people around me. I completely ignored the pain in my hip.” You were so frustrated with yourself you felt tears prick at your eyes. “I should have stopped and made sure I was fine.”

You got up and went to leave the room, needing to be alone. As you opened the door you ran into Garcia, all but crying, she apologized. “Global News was sent a tape. They think it’s our guy, they sent it directly to us.”

You looked at Garcia then Hotch and went back to sit down. “You don’t need to watch this.” Aaron stated.

“I’m not a victim, Hotch, I’m a highly qualified Agent. Let me solve this case.” You said, trying to convince yourself more than the team. He nodded, turning back to the screen.

Your beloved techie pressed a button on the remote and ugly rock music began swimming through your ears. The music triggered a sort of trance in you and suddenly you were there. Clothed in only your panties, the man had his arms wrapped around you as you stood in the middle of a freezing shed. You were still drugged out, but conscious enough to have a vague memory of the event.

With his arms around your waist, your own arms tucked under his, he forced you to sway to the music. Incoherent moans and groans spilled out of your mouth, a few ‘no’s’ barely audible, but still there. You could feel the tears spilling from your blurry eyes. “No.” You whispered, sensing his lips ghost over your ear.

“Dance for me, agent.” The man sang, walking towards the camera. In his hands were your badge and a gun, that you assumed was yours as well. He showed the camera his new toys then looked back at you, who was standing still. “I said dance! If not you won’t be able to watch as your colleagues watch this tape. So, with the room in a fuzzy haze, you began to sway, one hand crossing your stomach and the other tangled in your hair.

On any normal day, you hated dancing when people were watching. You never danced at clubs or parties. You only ever danced with Reid at Rossi’s get together's, that's always what you did. You’d be in each other's arms and sway to the music, talking about anything and everything while the team watched and laughed.

You had no idea how to dance to rock music, let alone under these circumstances. He groaned in a disgustingly sexual way. “‘Atta girl.” He laughed, turning his direction back to the camera. He flaunted your credentials and gun, twirling it around his finger. “Isn’t your girl beautiful? Aaron? Rossi? Derek? Spencer?” He finished with emphasis. You couldn’t see his face but you knew he had a foul smirk.

With every second he spent showing off in front of the camera your mind cleared up. When you felt stable enough you reached for a stray tool, leaning against the wall of the shed. You swung for his head, but missed and a second later he slammed the second syringe into the back of your neck, almost immediately you fell to the ground, your mind was black. “No.” you whispered again, then again and again. Soon you found yourself chanting ‘no’ in a whispered panic.