#it's riveting and I can't look away

[bubblesandpages]

Golden Kamuy is like you will get to sample the delicious food, but only after you’ve eaten a raw organ.

[yeyinde]

You want a baby. Simon can't get over his hangups to give you one. The solution to both problems? Johnny.

18+ SMUT. breeding. mildly dubious consent. Johnny feasts on your pussy and then does his best to knock you up while Simon watches. slight body worship. bastardization of religious imagery. Mean!Dom Simon. rough, messy sex.

He's not the type to saw off his own hand to feed you, but would rather find a third man to satiate you both. The only one who can care for you, he said. Can't do that when he's dead, can he?

Maybe that's why he calls for Johnny.

down boy. eager mutt. lil' pyedogs got himself all twisted up in a rutt. help him, won't you, pet?

Johnny's softer than Simon but only just. This margin of distance, however, could be the gaping maw of a canyon for how wide it really is when scaled down to fit. Boxed inside a narrow bed—on your belly, cheek on Simon's knee; ass up, legs spread. Johnny behind you—colluvium to Simon's mountainside, but still so broad, so thick, your hips twinge with the effort of keeping your knees so wide apart.

You feel it whistling through the chasm when he licks his lips behind you—a loud, lascivious smack, a wet suckle—and feel the burn of his stare riveted on the split of your flesh. This bare seam Simon swears he found nirvana tucked deep inside of. A buried ravine. Aquifer he quenches himself on.

A pilgrimage Johnny has been aching to take.

And that's what this is, isn't it? Yatra to the hidden piscina. A procession to pollute the tarn—something Simon can't bring himself to do.

Bad genes. Trauma—sticky, noxious tar that oozes from the rotting filaments; festering deep inside. Cancerous: a mass you long to cleave from bone but know it's not cosmetic. Not just the ball joints, or the studs, but the foundation itself. If you start tearing up pieces now you'll have nothing but an empty plot and a pile of damaged debris.

So:

Enter the third man.

A tool. Vassel. Pays fealty by fucking a baby into your womb.

It's what you wanted, isn't it?

(yes, but—)

It happens faster than you can keep up with. Hands on your hips. Coarse hair tickling the back of your thigh. Warm breath against sticky, wet flesh. A broad nose parting your folds. Inhale. Exhale on a deep, reedy groan.

"fuck, ye smell heavenly, doe."

Simon hums before you can peel your tongue from the roof of your mouth, answering for you with a brassy invitation: tastes even better, Johnny.

It's all the permission he needs before he pushes his head closer to your bare cunt, groaning as his tongue cleaves a silky, thick line between your folds. Gorging himself without much preamble. Hands curled around your hips like expensive silverware, pulling you back into the wanting, eager suck of his mouth.

All at once, it's too much. Your hips shift, squirming away from his tongue, the too-sharp press of his teeth against soft, sensitive flesh. Mewling, whimpering into the rain-wet fabric of Simon's jeans.

His hand falls on your head. A gentle tap. Behave, it says, but you can't.

Johnny tramples over that thin line between pleasure and ecstasy, blurring them both until it becomes pain. Overwhelming. Shoving you towards the edge before you've readied yourself for the fall.

"Can't, Simon, can't—"

The words elide, slurring into a high-pitched whine as Johnny feasts on your cunt. Devours you from the inside out—all teeth and tongue, sucking your clit until your thighs cramp from how tight your muscles tense, bleeding lactic acid over sore flesh. The scrape of his stubble over your folds, chafing them until they are raw. Swollen. Drenched hole fucked with the spear of his tongue, digging so deep you begin to fear that he's trying to crawl inside of you. Salt your womb with his own two hands—

"Can take it, birdie," is all Simon says before his hand slides down your arched, trembling spine. Fingers digging into the meat of your cheek, spreading you wider for Johnny to eat. "Look how eager he is. Can't get enough of that sweet cunt."

"It's—it's too much—"

You don't feel him move. Can't see much from the blurry tears in your eyes. But his other hand whips out, cracking over your untouched cheek in a firm, burning smack. One that makes Johnny moan when it lands. Cruel. Open palm. Hard enough to leave a welt in the shape of his hand—something that makes him groan when he sees it.

"fuckin' hell—" his fingers dig into the aching flesh, grip bruising.

Johnny peels his wet, open mouth away long enough to pant into the slick spread of your cunt, resting his cheek on the swell of your ass. "Bit rough wit' 'er, Lt."

Simon considers it. Body shaking the bed when he shrugs, leaning back to trail his hand back up your spine, curling over the arch of your nape. Keeping you still as you sob into his knee. "She likes it."

"know she does. Fuck, Lt. Can feel 'er little pussy twitching. Tryin' tae suck me in."

Another hum. The grip on your asscheek eases as his hand peels away, sliding over swell before notching a finger between your cleft. Dry. Rough. It drags down your seam until it brushes over your fluttering hole, calloused tip digging in.

"soft, too, ain't it?" He asks, words mockingly cruel in their conversational tone. Nonchalant. But Johnny's hands tighten on your waist, palms slick with sweat. Glueing to your flesh. You can tell he likes that. Likes the way Simon talks about you. Demeaning and brutish. Butcher selling a piece of meat. "Bit of a tight fit at first—" he curls his finger inside of you, stretching your sore walls with the width of his knuckle. Sinking in deep. Another follows before you can remember how to breathe around the sting. "But swallows you up like a goddamn dream, Johnny."

His breaths grow ragged. "Fuck, Lt. Look at th'."

It makes you clench up around Simon's fingers, embarrassment scorching through your chest. "Please—"

Neither of them acknowledge you. Simon's fingers split, spreading wide apart as Johnny shuffles forward for a closer look, and nearly choking on his next inhale when he does.

"such a pretty fuckin' pussy—" he says it like a curse. Spitting the words out on a snarl. Angry, now, for reasons you can't discern slobbering over Simon's leg. "God, Lt. ah cannae—"

Johnny shifts back. You hear the clink of a belt. The rip of a zipper. Choked groans barely swallowed down as Simon buries his fingers inside of your weeping cunt over and over again, blunt tips cruelly skating over a spot inside, just behind your navel, that makes you feel liquid and loose between your hips. Debris floating down a whiteriver.

Pleasure peaks with each brutal thrust until you're howling into his leg, unable to move with their hands on your body, holding you down. Making you take it. Making you come undone as Johnny watches.

"fuck, fuck, Lt—she's gonna cum, ain't she?"

"Wanna feel it, Johnny?"

Simon's name falls out of his mouth on a whispered prayer. Drenched in thick reverence. Arched in need.

"aye, sir—" there's something about the hush of his voice, the way it slurs into putty. Enshrining his need in a halo of gold. It sends shivers down your spine. Heats you up fast like a fever. Sends you screaming over the edge—

"gonna miss it, Johnny. She's squeezin' me so fuckin' tight—"

Whatever else they say is swallowed by the keen clawing at the hollow of your throat when you feel the blunt, fat press of his cock knocking against your swollen, stuffed rim.

It's a burning thing—a sharp, heavy ache. Knock, knock. Simon spreads his fingers again, forcing you open. Pulling your hole wide apart for Johnny's engorged head to push up against.

It feels like being split down the middle. Ripped apart. Simon's fingers flex around your nape, thumb brushing soothingly against the knob of your spine.

Can take it, he mutters, brassy and low. A rumble just for you. Gotta take it, birdie.

You forget why. Why you need Johnny's too big, too fat cock inside of your cunt until the head bullies through, scissoring Simon's fingers apart until they're pressed tight on either side of the flared glands. Squeezed between your taut rim and Johnny's cock.

Johnny makes a noise like you've gutted him. A gutwrenching sob. "Oh, shite, Lt. M'—m'nae gonnae last—"

"gonna cum inside 'er, Johnny? Knock my pretty birdie up?"

Right. Right. A baby.

There's a heavy push. Your flesh wrenched apart to fit the fat, throbbing length of his cock—

(the cock that's gonna knock you up—)

Simon's fingers slip out of you as Johnny bucks forward, burying himself deep inside with a long, throaty groan. It's a horrible sensation—a bellyache. Without the splint of Simon's fingers forcing you open wide to near numbness, you're forced to feel the thick girth of his cock. Rim fluttering, spasming over the flared base. Too much, and somehow, not enough.

You sob through it. Each one ripples through your chest until it feels like it will collapse. Every inch of your body burns, throbbing. You don't think you'll survive this ache—

Johnny sets a brutal pace. Likes pistoning into you in quick succession until you're nearly howling into Simon's thigh before slowing to a crawl. Force-feeding you every inch. Making you feel every single one. Long strokes that batter the plug of your womb, bullying against the aching seal of your cervix until the flashes of pain, the savagery of this pleasure, makes you feel sick.

Getting fucked by Johnny like this is both a punishment and a reward. Baptism in hellfire.

Be careful what you wish for—

"gonnae fuck ye 'til it takes, doe. Knock ye up. Want th', don't ye? Aye. Can feel it. Feel this little cunt beggin' fer ma cum. Dinnae worry. Ahm gonnae give it tae ye. A' o' it, doe. Every—fuckin'—drop—"

Each awful word lands like acid on your spine. Chewing through flesh, tissue, until it melts bone below. Liquified. Helpless.

And with Johnny's hands on your hips, anchoring you in place as he hammers into your sore, abused pussy, possessed with the need to carve a space inside of your flesh where only he fits, rots, and Simon's hand on the scruff of your neck, holding you down, there's nowhere to run. Nowhere to escape the ragged breaths that spill from Johnny's slick mouth, the desperate way he pumps into you—thrusts growing sloppy as he stretches towards the precipice they dangle you off of, kicking and screaming as the scent of iron fills your nose, as his flared cockhead scrapes over that place you thought only Simon would ever know. Bluntly battering into the altar that sits, nestled behind your navel, like he's allowed.

Holy offering in a handful of seeds he'll sow over fecund land until something grows.

"Look at you take it," Simon coos, sticky, damp fingers petting over your tear-stained cheeks. It smells of loam. Salt. Iron and ozone. "So pretty when you're gettin' bred, ain't you, birdie?"

It rips a mournful keen from your chest, a feverish moan following on its heels when the lewd squelch, the echoing slapslapslap of Johnny driving into your cunt fills your ears. So wet, so messy, you can feel the slick drying, tacky and thick, on the inner crease of your bent knee.

"He's gonna put our baby in you, ain't he, birdie? Like a good mutt—"

The hands holding you over the precipice let go. Johnny's answering moan spears into your head, fluttering around the pulsing heartbeat of liquid bliss frothing in the pit of your belly. Overflowing over the rim.

Too much, you think, but that's not quite right because you can't feel anything at all except the length of his thick cock lodged deep inside you. Throbbing in tandem with your second pulse.

"gonnae cum, Lt. Gonnae—oh, fuck, Lt—"

His voice is a warm river washing over your spine. Pooling ecstacy. Something heavenly. Divine—

Molten gold blooms in the pit of your belly. Cockhead spitting against the seal of your womb as he cums, filling you to the brim. Fucking it into you even as his cock softens, unable to pull out he says.

Feels like fuckin' heaven, Lt.

"ain't she just?" Simon volleys back, sounding oddly dissonant. Off-key. "Pretty little birdie got what she wanted, huh?"

The drawl of his tone—acid-scorched, electric—forces you to blink through the tears, lifting your aching, wet eyes upwards at him. Searching.

He has the eyes of a predator. Leonine. The gaze of a beast after it's devoured something whole. His touch is as gentle as he can be—a rough, cracked scratch over your blistered cheeks—and when he meets your divining stare, he coos.

"Maybe I'll 'ave a go next time."

In the pounding, soporific slurry of your mind, you can't wrap your head around the words. Can't make sense of them. Struggling to keep your burning eyes open, even.

Not that it matters.

Johnny huffs a scorching breath of laughter over your sweat-slicked spine before wedging his forearm under your belly. Keeping your hips tipped up as he falls into you, resting his broad chest against your back and smothering you into the damp mattress.

"Yer cruel, Lt," he rasps, chin nuzzling over the arch of your shoulder, cock giving a feeble twitch inside of you at something you can't seem to piece together.

"m'jus' givin' my pretty bird exactly what she asked for." Huh? He prods, fingers tapping over your cheek when your swollen eyes slide shut. "Forgettin' y'manners, ain't you? Say thank you, pet."

With Johnny's half-formed chuckle echoing in your head, you mumble the words out on an exhausted sigh.

"an' say thank you to this mutt f'knockin' you up."

It comes out slower this time. Sluggish. His cock gives another twitch as he buries his face between your shoulder blades, smothering a groan.

"Sweetest thing, Lt. Christ—"

"more where that came from, Johnny. Jus' you wait an' see." Another tap. You mewl in response, feeling war-torn and achy. Unable to open your eyes for a second time, all you can do is whimper, burying yourself into his thigh. Pleading, silently, for clemency. Later, you think. Later—

But Simon has other plans.

"Fallin' asleep on me, birdie? Ain't even gonna give me a chance to put my baby in you? Greedy little thing, ain't she?"

Buried under the weight of Johnny as he peppers sucking, open mouth kisses over the width of your shoulder, cum leaking out around the softening plug of his cock, all you can do is snuff out the sob on the arch of his knee, resisting the urge to bite instead.

"Maybe next time then, eh, birdie?" Since you've been so good for this mutt, huh? Maybe I'll give you a reward.

Just be careful what you wish for, huh, birdie.

[peppermintquartz]

Tommy turns the TV on and flips to the rugby game about to play on ESPN, something he's looked forward to all week, intending to unwind from a dull 48 that had a few too many inspections and not enough flying. He groans in frustration when he realizes his beer is still on the kitchen countertop.

As Evan plops himself into his side of the couch, damp from his shower, Tommy goes round to get his beverage.

"What are we watching?" Evan asks, his curls fluffy and ridiculous on his head.

"Rugby. Ireland versus New Zealand. Big strong men getting all physical, you'll love it." Tommy presses a kiss to the top of Evan's head, loving how his boyfriend smells of his shampoo.

Evan beams up at him and settles in, tucking Tommy's cozy green throw around himself. He looks adorable. Tommy wants to frame this as a picture, but walks into his kitchen instead. His beer is sweating on the Formica.

"You need anything, darling?" Tommy calls out, debating if he wants some popcorn.

"Do you still have those veggie chips?"

"Alright, I'll bring them." He can hear an excited murmur from the living room through the open door of the kitchen while he rummages through the snack cabinet for the chips. The sound of the TV changes - commercials, most likely - as he pours the chips into a large bowl.

When he returns, however, it's not a rugby field on screen. Instead it's a pristine beach with baby turtles emerging from their shells.

"They're so cute!" Evan gushes.

"Evan." Tommy puts down the drink and the chips. "We're watching rugby."

"Relax, they're on commercial right now."

As if on cue, the documentary cuts to commercial. Tommy looks around the couch for the remote, only to discover that Evan has it and he is channel surfing, a tiny frown between his eyebrows.

Tommy lunges for the remote and snatches it out of Evan's hand.

"Hey!" Evan says. "I was just scrolling!"

"Evan, darling, I'm just gonna say this once: do not interrupt my time with my rugby players." Tommy switches back to ESPN. Thankfully, he hasn't missed the haka.

To his left, Evan sighs and tucks his feet up on the couch in the throw. Tommy takes Evan's hand and kisses the knuckles, though he doesn't turn to look at his boyfriend. His attention is fully on the game, watching as a player tries to slot a kick through but it's blocked, and the Irish team is forced back.

Evan stays quiet as the game goes on, but it's evident he doesn't find it quite as riveting as Tommy. After a while, he becomes restless. When ads come up again, Evan grabs the remote and starts flipping channels.

"Evan," Tommy says, trying to take the remote from the younger man, "gimme that."

"I just wanna see what else is on," Evan says, squirming to stick his arm out away from Tommy, surfing the channels at an eye-watering flicker.

Tommy scrambles over Evan, who ducks out of his grasp.

"Evan, not kidding, give me the damn remote, I am not missing a second of that game."

"It's on commercials."

"Yes, and the commercials will - be - over - soon-" Tommy can't believe how evasive Evan can be, and on any other day it will be very cute and he can totally see it devolving into sexy times, but right now it's aggravating as hell.

He yanks Evan back by his leg and then his elbow, takes the remote from his left hand and stuffs it between the cushions.

"Tommy, leggo!" Evan laughs.

Narrowing his eyes, Tommy presses a kiss to Evan's mouth. "When I wanna watch a game, I keep it on the channel. Even during the commercials."

"Fine," Eva fake-grouses with a roll of his eyes. He even sticks a tongue out.

Tommy raises an eyebrow. "Giving me attitude now, Buckley?"

"Sir, no sir," Evan drawls.

He is totally giving Tommy attitude.

With a snort, Tommy pulls the throw over and around Evan, quickly wrapping him up into a burrito with only his head exposed. Evan doesn't register what's happened until he is unable to move, and then he yelps as he struggles.

Ignoring his boyfriend's complaints, Tommy keeps him captive between his legs and arms, like a massive body pillow, and fishes out the remote. He's missed about five minutes of the game, damn it.

"Tommy, this isn't funny. Lemme out of this," Evan whines.

"Say please."

"Please."

"Mmm. Lemme think..." Tommy pretends to ponder. "Nope."

"I said please!"

"I didn't say that I'd let you out when you do," Tommy replies. He takes pity on Evan and feeds him a veggie chip.

Evan eats it, and then grumbles, "You're the worst. I hate you."

"Aww. That was hurtful. And here I thought you loved me for my fun and bubbly personality," Tommy replies at his most deadpan. "Or were you just after my incredible jawline and real estate?"

"You really wanna know?" Evan wiggles until he's snuggled right under Tommy's chin. "Tits and ass, babe. It was all about those tits and that ass."

"That would hurt if I didn't know I have a gorgeous set of knockers and an ass that won't quit," Tommy says, watching the All Blacks center give away a penalty from a mistimed challenge. He squeezes Evan who utters an "oomph" in response. "Now be a good Buckrito. I'll let you play with the goods afterwards."

[asahicore]

all i see is gold - pjs (m)

this work contains smut - minors please do not interact

pairing. jay x fem!reader

synopsis. Pretending to be your number one's rival girlfriend to please his parents isn't how you would usually spend a Thursday night, but you really owe Jay a big one this time. You'd sworn this was just a one-time thing - and yet when his parents ask you to come again, the word 'yes' is out before you can stop it. Before you know it and much to your dismay, your feelings for Jay start to change, and you're in too deep to backtrack.

genre. college au, academic rivals to lovers, fake dating au, rich rich millionaire ceo's son jay x poor ass scholarship part-time job reader

warnings. heeseung is a mega asshole sorry to this man, slight violence like the girls are fighting, these two are pathetically in love w each other it's laughable actually, rich people being annoying slightly and also y/n's friends having way too much knowledge about fanfiction tropes... i like my fourth walls broken

word count. 27.1k

a/n. hi sisters user asahicore is back with another repost because she can't be asked to come up with anything original... sorry! i did add a new scene to this fic for.. character development. hope you guys enjoy it, as always let me know your thoughts otherwise i will find you and hold you at gunpoint, have fun love you stay healthy keep slaying bye bye!

“Actually, I think what you just said is complete bull.”

Jay rolled his eyes for the thousandth time in an hour and a few sniggers were heard around the room.

Your tutor sighed and, in an exhausted tone, asked you to “keep it polite, please. This is still a classroom setting.”

“Right, sorry.” You cleared your throat and sat up straighter. “I completely disagree with your statement, Jongseong. Just because a movie has young teenage girls as its target audience doesn’t mean it is completely insipid and has no value, like you’re insinuating. If you look at Mean Girls, for example-”

Jay scoffed. “Oh please, you’re not actually going to use Mean Gir-”

“Ah, would you look at the time? Class is over,” your tutor interrupted. “You can all go home and ponder the riveting discussion Jay and Y/N led today.” 

You were pretty sure you heard a general sigh of relief from your classmates. After all, you couldn’t really blame them: it was only the first tutorial of the semester for that course and Jay and you were already at each other’s throats, having something to say about every idea the other put forward, no matter how small.

“Oh, and Jay, I do have to side with Y/N here. There’s a surprising amount of things that can be said about that film,” your tutor admitted with an apologetic smile. You, however, were harboring a triumphant expression. Nothing better than having the tutor agree with you against Jay. 

As you packed your stuff away, mentally patting yourself on the back, Jay approached you, looking visibly annoyed. “Seriously, Y/N? Symbolism in Modern Cinema? Since where do you even care about movies?”

You gasped dramatically and put your hand over your heart, feigning shock. “Why, I’m offended that you think you’re the only one who’s allowed to love cinema, Jongseong.”

“Yeah, it’s my thing!” he whined like a child, and you gave him a look that hopefully made him reflect on what he’d just said.

You started walking out of the room and he followed, a step behind you. “I mean, there’s no way you didn’t know I was taking this class. Are you like, obsessed with me or something?”

“Yes, Jongseong, that’s exactly the case. I’m sooooo obsessed with you, I took this class just to see you.”

You were obviously joking, but he looked at you with a smirk and said, “I wouldn’t put it past you. I wouldn’t put it past anyone, to be honest; I mean I am the most good-looking, smartest, richest guy on camp- Ouch! That hurts!”

You had just punched him in the shoulder, not wanting to listen to his self-indulgent ramblings. “Get your head out of your ass, Park. I just thought it would be an interesting class. Why are you even taking it, anyway? I don’t think a cinema course is gonna teach you much on how to run daddy’s company,” you asked him, a smirk teasing your lips.

He rolled his eyes (you thought they might stay stuck at the back of his head, with how often he did that) and took a tone one might use to speak to a child. “You see, Y/N, I also major in Visual Studies. I’m not a single honors Econ major like you. Loser.”

He’d added the last word with a playful smile on his face, purposefully trying to rile you up. You were about to reply with an equally petty remark when you heard your name being called out. 

“Y/N! Wait up!”

You could recognize that voice anywhere. Your heart started beating a thousand times a minute and you felt your hands get clammy. As you turned around, you forced a relaxed smile and told yourself to stay calm, but as soon as you made eye contact with the boy, all rational thought left your brain.

“H-hi, Heeseung.” You heard Jay snort behind you but were too entranced by Heeseung’s presence to tell him off.

Clearly enjoying your nervousness, Heeseung smiled at you and bent down so that he came directly face to face with you. “It was nice seeing you last Friday. You should come to our parties more often, not many people can set fire to the dance floor like you did.”

Your cheeks had already turned bright red when he’d called your name, but now you probably looked as crimson as a fire extinguisher. Over the weekend, you’d tried so hard to forget about that party where you had gotten black-out drunk and made a fool of yourself on the dance floor. Sure, you’d had a lot of fun, but when you remembered that Heeseung literally lived in the frat house that had hosted the pre-start of term gathering, you’d felt so embarrassed and wanted to never have to face him ever again. Yet here he was, and he had obviously seen you.

“O-oh, right, haha. Um, I was pretty drunk, but, yeah, um, it was f-fun.” You cringed at yourself. Where was the Y/N that had torn down Jay’s every argument just moments prior? You were usually self-assured and confident, but whenever you were around Heeseung, you didn’t know how to act.

Heeseung stood up straighter and patted your head. You thanked yourself for having washed your hair that morning. He chuckled and said, “That’s good to hear. Guess I’ll see you around, then?”

“Yeah!” you replied with a tad too much enthusiasm. 

“Great.” As he walked past you, you didn’t need to turn around to see the nasty looks exchanged between Heeseung and Jay. 

“Jongseong.”

“Heeseung.”

The venom with which they had spat the other’s name would’ve sent a chill down your spine any other time, but right now, you were too busy mooning over what had just happened. Like many girls on campus, you’d had a crush on him since freshman year; but unlike most, you’d never actually tried to do anything about it. Realistically, you could probably bag him - Heeseung could be seen with a different girl at every party and didn’t seem to be too picky about who he finished the night with. But you also couldn’t stand the idea of being just another drunk fuck to him. So, you’d never revealed your feelings to him, although he could most definitely see the effect he had on you.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Jay burst into laughter. You turned around and looked at him, arms crossed, waiting for him to be done with an impatient look on your face. When he finally caught his breath, he had tears pooling at his eyes and was holding onto his belly.

“H-hi, Heeseung,” he breathed, trying to imitate you by making his voice higher in pitch but laughing too hard for it to come out properly.

“There’s nothing funny about this, Jongseong.”

“Oh, but there is, Y/N. And you know what the worst part is? You could do so, so much better than that guy. I mean, he’s a Business major, for fuck’s sake.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” you asked hotly, starting to get defensive.

“You’re studying Econ, Y/N. Dating a Business major, that’s like, the highest betrayal possible.”

You rolled your eyes at his stupid values and started walking towards the exit of the building, bumping into his shoulder on the way. He started following you again and added, “It’s not even just about that, Y/N. You know his reputation, he’s clearly bad news. There’s no point in liking a guy like that.”

Because you knew how much he hated it, you always made sure to call him Jongseong instead of Jay. But right now, you didn’t feel like joking around. You turned around abruptly, Jay almost bumping into you, and looked at him pointedly. “Look, Jay, I know you and Heeseung have this weird competition between the two of you of whose dad can make more money. But that doesn’t give you the right to tell me I shouldn’t like him.” And with a mumble, you added, “I can’t help liking him, okay?”

You went on your way again and Jay caught up with you so that the two of you were now walking side by side. Sighing, he said, “Whatever. When he inevitably hurts you, though, I’ll say I told you so.”

—

After flipping off Jay as your way of saying goodbye, you joined your friends in the cafeteria. You told them about your encounter with Heeseung, and as much as they wanted to support you, they couldn’t help but think your behavior at the party on Friday was hilarious. 

“I wasn’t gonna show this to anyone, but I can’t hold it in anymore…” Sunoo said, pulling out his phone.

It wasn’t hard to guess what he might be hiding in there, so you quickly protested, “It’s been three days, Sunoo. I’m sure you can hold in whatever it is longer than that.”

He looked at you with a sheepish smile and said, as if he didn’t have a choice but to show everyone, “It’s so funny though.”

Sieun and Keeho were urging him to show them, so you just hung your head as Sunoo pressed play. You didn’t even need to look at the video to know what it was: even in his drunken state, Sunoo had had the foresight to film you as you danced like there was no tomorrow, knowing this was a special occasion. Your friends tried to reassure you that you didn’t look that bad and you just seemed to be having fun, but the sniggers they tried to hold back in vain told you otherwise.

Keeho seemed to take pity on you when seeing your defeated expression. “Y/N, I promise you it’s not that bad. You were very obviously drunk, and so was everyone else. If anybody remembers this, they’re probably thinking that you were fucking awesome. Can’t you see how everyone is cheering you on in the video?”

With an exasperated sigh, you replied, “I don’t care that everybody saw me. I care that Heeseung did. I only started drinking that much because I thought it’d help me relax and talk to him. I didn’t think I’d go wild on the dance floor.”

Your friends exchanged a look and immediately burst into laughter. You wanted to get mad at them, but even you had to admit the whole situation was pretty funny. You let them make as much fun of you as their hearts desired, then, to change the subject, told them about the tutorial you had in the morning with Jay and how much fun it had been arguing with him.

Sieun was looking at you thoughtfully, until she said, “You know, I think it’s…” she paused for a second, trying to find the right word, “interesting, how much effort you put into getting into the same class as Jay when you could’ve directed that energy towards getting into one of Heeseung’s class.”

The sudden statement took you aback. “Well, I wouldn’t say I put that much effort into it…” you stammered in an attempt to defend yourself.

“Y/N,” Keeho started, an accusatory tone to his words, “you literally asked Jake to tell you what courses he was taking this semester and when his tutorials were, and when you somehow managed to be enrolled in a class that’s supposed to be reserved for Visual Studies students, you emailed the tutor to make sure you’d be in the same group as Jay. I’d say that requires some effort.”

You huffed, mildly offended. “I- Well- I just thought it’d be fun to argue with him about something else than economics, you know. There’s only so much to say about that.” Your friends didn’t look very convinced. “Plus, there are no classes that Heeseung’s taking that seemed interesting, and even if they were and I managed to get into them, I just would’ve stuttered trying to answer easy questions. At least if I’m in a class with Jay, I know it’ll be fun.”

After that last sentence, Sieun looked at you like you had proven her point. What a smartass, you thought. What was she even trying to prove? 

“Is no one gonna say it?” Sunoo asked, bewildered, looking around at your friends. “It sounds like you like him, Y/N.”

Oh.

Your automatic response was to go, “Pfffft,” but when Sieun and Keeho didn’t disagree with Sunoo, you looked at them, wide-eyed. “Are you guys serious? I don’t like Park Jongseong, that’s ridiculous.”

Sure, you liked arguing with Jay, that wasn’t a secret. That didn’t mean you liked him, or anything like that. Just the thought made you shiver. Dating Jay had never even occurred to you; as soon as you’d met, you had taken on a rival-like relationship, arguing about everything and anything. Sure, he was smart, and not too bad-looking, and he was really rich, and when he wanted he could actually be quite nice - but that was not the point! Most of the time, he was just annoying and argued with you for no reason other than to rile you up, and had the most unreasonable opinions you’d ever heard. He took his wealth for granted and sometimes came across as so privileged it made you want to puke.

Sieun took your hands in hers and tried to convince you with her eyes, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. “But think about it, Y/N. It’s the enemies to lovers trope!”

You snatched your hands out from her grip and gave her a pointed look. “This isn’t Wattpad, Sieun, this is real life. And Jay and I aren’t enemies, we’re merely rivals.”

“Even better!” she exclaimed.

“I completely agree with Sieun,” Sunoo said. “Y/N, you’re such a rivals to lovers type of gal.” You rolled your eyes, but Keeho was fervently nodding his head in agreement.

“By the way, did you guys hear about his parents’ company throwing a fundraiser?” Keeho said. This piqued your interest, but after your friends’ accusations, you couldn’t look too excited about anything Jay-related, so you nonchalantly asked him to go on. “It’s for some charity, they’ve invited all the big names, and apparently it’s gonna be huge so they need some people to waiter. I’m thinking of applying. It pays really well and it’s gonna be so fancy. It’s not like I’ve got much else to do that night anyway.”

“When is it?” you asked, still trying not to sound too interested.

“Friday in two weeks.”

“Well, if it’s a Friday, I’ll be getting wasted, so count me out,” Sunoo replied.

“I’d come, but the idea of serving rich people as they give out ten thousand dollars when they could give a million and it wouldn’t even affect them in the slightest, not to mention having to do it with a smile on my face, makes my skin crawl, so no thanks,” Sieun said. She wasn’t wrong, but this was also Jay’s parents you were talking about. Not only would Jay be there, and your presence would surely piss him off, but his dad’s company was one of the top of the country and being introduced to their world, maybe even getting to know some people there, even just as a waitress, could really benefit you in the long-term. You’d never admit it to him, but you’d been dreaming of working there ever since you’d first heard of it. Nothing might come out of this, but it was worth trying.

“What about you, Y/N? You in?”

You looked at Keeho and said, “Yeah, let’s do it.”

—

The next time you saw Jay was for your Economics of Cities and Regions lecture a couple days later. As appropriate of the top students, you two always sat at the very front row along with only a few other brave students. Keeho was always bugging you to sit with him at the back, but you liked being able to look the professor in the eye so they could see how much attention you were paying to them. You listened carefully to the whole lecture, and when it ended, you turned to Jay and called his name in a sickly sweet voice, smiling as warmly as you could. He turned to you with a horrified look on his face.

“Please never do that again.”

Your smile instantly dropped. You should’ve known there was no point trying to be nice to him. “So, I’ve heard about your dad’s firm’s fundraiser…”

Before you could even finish your sentence, he interrupted you. “No. No way. You’re not working there. Nope. Not happening.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because this is an important night for me to make myself known as the CEO in line and I can’t have you distracting me.”

You didn’t question why he considered you a distraction and just pressed further. “C’mon! I promise I won’t be in your way.” He looked at you as if to say I don’t believe you. “I need the money.”

“Then get a part-time job.”

“I already have one! And it doesn’t pay very well.”

He looked at you and crossed his arms over his chest. No, you didn’t notice how his shirt tightened around his biceps. Shut up. Exasperated, he asked, “Do you even know what this fundraiser is for?”

That hadn’t even crossed your mind. Why did you need to know what it was for? All you needed was to work there and make some money. You just shrugged “No.”

He rolled his eyes at you. “You’re unbelievable. It’s to help students in need of scholarships. You know how my parents sometimes pay for students’ tuition fees? Well,” he sighed, and started to pack up his stuff. “This is to encourage CEOs of other companies to do the same. They’ve invited a few students to talk about why scholarships are important for them.”

Interesting, you thought. It’d have been nice to be one of those students, but being a waitress was already good enough. You’d have to be quicker to get the role next time. “I’ll be part of the waitering team, so I won’t embarrass you, don’t worry.”

After a beat, Jay asked, “Why are you even telling me this? I can say no all I want, I’m not the one deciding on the staff. I’d just really, really appreciate it if you didn’t come.”

You eyed him for a second until realization hit you. Right. It wasn’t like Jay had any say in this, so why were you trying to get him to agree? It had just seemed natural to you that you’d talk to him about this.

You shook your head and said, “Well, I’m gonna go anyway. I just thought I should let you know. That way you know you’re gonna need to bring your best game to impress me.”

You noticed Keeho waving his arm impatiently at you, waiting for you to leave the lecture theater. Jay watched you walk away, and he couldn’t stop the smile spreading on his face. 

—

“So… Y/N will probably be working at the fundraiser,” Jay said, looking down at his notes. As on most days, Jake and Sunghoon were over at his place, half-studying, half-messing around.

The two boys in front of him groaned in unison. He raised his head and added defensively, “What? I’ve barely said anything yet.”

“Yeah, but you’re talking about Y/N. Again,” Jake said, as if stating the obvious.

“You know, I’m actually surprised he’s managed to not mention her for that long. It’s been what, fifteen minutes since we got here?” Sunghoon half-joked.

Used to his friends’ teasing, Jay ignored them and continued. “On any other occasion, I’d be more than happy to have her around” - cue another groan from Jake and Sunghoon - “but I really have to impress my parents and all the guests that evening. If I don’t, I’m gonna have to work twice as hard.”

Indulging his friend’s rant, Jake asked, “What’s wrong with her being there? She’s not gonna go around and tell everyone you’re a little shit as she hands them champagne glasses.”

Jay rolled his eyes. “No, of course not, but I’m gonna be hyper-aware of her presence and I don’t want it to distract me.” A third groan. “Plus, I don’t like the idea of her being there as a waitress. She should be with the students who talk to the guests, she deserves it more than anybody I know.”

After a beat, Sunghoon, with gracious subtlety and tact as always, added, “You know, if you had just manned up and asked her out in freshman year when you still had the chance, maybe you could’ve taken her to the fundraiser as your girlfriend and not have her go there as a waitress. Just saying.”

“It’s 2022, Sunghoon, nobody says things like ‘man up’ anymore.”

“You dumbass, is that all you’re hearing from what I just said-”

“What I think Sunghoon is trying to say,” Jake cut in, “is that this could have been avoided had you had the guts to tell her how you feel. But rest assured, my friend, it can still happen. No such thing as too late.”

“You always say that, but how the fuck am I supposed to ask her out when she’s only ever seen me as her rival? Plus, she’s head over heels for that prick.”

Sensing that Sunghoon was getting ready to deliver another one of his punchlines, Jake quickly replied. “Who cares about Heeseung? It wouldn’t be hard to make her see what an asshole he is. And once that’s done, you can just give her the Park charm,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Sunghoon fake gagged at the thought of his friend trying to flirt, and even Jay had to admit he hated how Jake had formulated his sentence. “That’s all I do though. As soon as we met, we got into arguing, and that’s just how we communicate now. She wants competition, so I give her competition. I don’t know what else to do.”

His friends sighed, unsure what to tell him after having had the same conversation hundreds of times. “Did you ask her why she took that cinema course? I thought it was weird she asked me for all that info. She wanted me to keep hush-hush about it, too,” Jake asked.

Jay thought for a second, then answered, “I did ask her if she was obsessed with me.” A fourth, deserved, groan. “She just said she thought the class seemed interesting. She didn’t even know I was a double major, by the way.”

Jake and Sunghoon chuckled, both thinking but not daring to say that, indeed, no one knew Jay also majored in Visual Studies. The three boys continued chatting for a while until they fell into silence and finally started getting some work done.

Jay managed to get you out of his head for a couple hours, but when his friends left and he was alone, his thoughts immediately drifted back to you. When the two of you first met in freshman year, you had become instant rivals, both top of your class, and always disagreeing on everything. He hadn’t minded the dynamic at first: he thought your ideas and the conversations that stemmed from them were always interesting, and he had a lot of respect for you. He wanted to know why you thought that way or what made you say certain things, and soon enough he wanted to know everything about you. He’d noticed things like how you chewed on your pen when you were in deep reflection, or how you’d look intently at anyone who was talking, as if you were making mental bullet points of their arguments only to break them down afterwards. When he finally realized his feelings for you (not without help from Jake and Sunghoon, who thought he couldn’t get any more obvious), he felt like your rivalry-almost-turned-friendship had gone too far, and you’d think he was stupid for liking you. It didn’t help that your confident attitude always broke down in front of his arch nemesis Lee Heeseung, making it painfully clear that you had a crush on him.

That night, he kept tossing and turning in his bed, trying to fall asleep. He hated the idea of you having to be there as a waitress, handing out drinks and mini toasts to entitled guests who probably wouldn’t even look at you. There had to be a few strings he could pull, right?

—

In all twenty years of your life, you had never been to a place like this. As soon as you’d entered the lobby of the building in which the fundraiser took place, you’d been overwhelmed by the sheer extravagance of the room. Every surface was shiny marble, the ceilings were at least fifteen meters high and the whole place was lit up by tiny wall lamps. You were almost scared to see what the actual ballroom would look like.

The fundraiser started at 8:00 p.m. but the staff had been advised to come earlier to prepare everything. You went further in, and now that you had somehow acclimated to your surroundings, you noticed how busy everyone was. People were running around, going from the kitchen to the back room to the main hall in quick strides. You tried getting one woman’s attention, hoping she could direct you to where you were supposed to go.

“Sorry, hi, where do the wai-”

She stopped dead in her tracks and barely looked at you as she whipped out a sheet of paper from her blouse pocket and asked for your name.

“Um, Y/N-”

She checked something off and looked up at you and smiled. “Great, follow me.” You had no time to ask anything else before she swiveled on her heels again and marched towards another room, you in tow behind her. “We’ve got a script ready for you. You just need to learn it in time for tonight and then use your charm on the guests. Oh, and don’t worry about your outfit and all that, we’ve got it covered. Good luck!” And with that, she was off. 

Script? Outfit? What was all this about? You panic-texted Keeho, telling him some lady had dragged you somewhere and told you to learn a whole script. When he didn’t answer after five minutes, you assumed he must be busy helping out, but it made you panic even more. You looked around the room and noticed a girl you thought you recognized from one of your classes. You walked up to her, and after saying hi, asked her what the hell was going on here.

She looked at you a bit oddly, as if it didn’t make sense you didn’t know where you were, but clarified things nonetheless. “Basically, the six of us are going to be wearing these tags so that the guests know who we are, and we’re gonna give them a pity story about how we’re so poor but also so smart and able to change the world if only they give us money. That’s what the script is for, it just makes it a bit nicer.” Right, that’s what Jay had told you. But why were you here when you had signed up to be a waitress? It was what you had wished for, but it made no sense whatsoever.

Registering your still confused expression, the girl went on, “They’re also gonna give us nice outfits and make us look more presentable. But not too much, you know, cause a thousand dollar gown wouldn’t really fit with the scholarship kid aesthetic.” You laughed with her. You had to admit the whole situation was a bit ridiculous, but if it could help you out, you would take it. You had needed to take out a loan when you started studying, and the enormous debt you would be in as soon as you stepped out of college already stressed you out.

You learned your script, which was actually just more like detailed examples of the things you should say and what direction your conversations with the guests should take, until somebody called out your name, telling you it was time to get you ready. You were led to another room which was full of clothing racks holding fancy dresses and suits. Your immediate thought was that the clothes in this one room were probably worth more than your entire house. 

You could only admire the room for a few moments before a stylist threw a dress in your arms and practically pushed you into a dressing room. You took a good look at black dress before putting it on. It wasn’t overly fancy; the girl you had talked to was right, it wouldn’t make sense for you to look like you were the richest person there. With its modest cleavage and mid-thigh length, it was what you assumed to be formal enough for this type of event, and surprisingly fit you like a glove. It made you look put-together and accentuated your features in the subtlest way. 

When you walked out of the dressing room, the stylist eyed you up and down, adjusting the dress here and there, then stepped back and mumbled absent-mindedly, as if thinking out loud, “Wow, he does have good taste.”

You didn’t have the time to ask her what she meant as she had already turned away, looking for jewelry to finish off your outfit. The earrings, necklace and ring she gave you weren’t huge 20 carat diamonds, but you’d never worn such delicate jewelry before, you were almost too scared to move with them on you in fear of breaking them. The stylist, however, didn’t seem too fussed, and as soon as she was done, said, “Well, that’s all for me. Off you go to hair and makeup now!”

Hair and makeup? You were going to get your hair and makeup done by professionals? You felt like a celebrity. Your whole life, your mom had cut your hair, and you bought your makeup at the drugstore. 

While they didn’t make you look like a Hunger Games Capitol citizen, when they were done with you, the reflection that looked back at you in the mirror was uncanny. You were still you, there was no doubt about that, but you looked like a perfect version of yourself, which only makeup expertly applied could create. Although they’d never seen you before, the makeup artist had managed to accentuate or make disappear lines you had never noticed on your face before, and the hair stylist had done your hair in a simple but very flattering manner, letting it cascade naturally down your shoulders.

The stylists let you admire yourself for a few moments, knowing you probably weren’t used to such pampering, but soon ushered you out to the ballroom; the fundraiser was just about to start, and you needed to be there for the beginning of it. You were made to sit at a table with the other students at the front, close to the stage. An organizer came to see you and explained how the evening was going to go down. Most of the evening would be spent standing, chatting to the guests and persuading them to donate, except when the main course was served. There was no fixed seating chart, so you could go with whomever invited you to sit with them. All in all, your goal was to be as likable as possible, and get guests to understand why scholarships were important without sounding desperate, just like the script indicated.

Tapping your foot nervously, you watched as more people trickled in, each looking richer than the previous. Soon enough, the whole room was seated, and a man you recognized as Jay’s dad arrived on the stage, welcomed by polite applause. You listened intently to his welcome speech, and you could see Jay’s presence and charisma in him; every word of his seemed to be thought out and to have purpose. He did a spectacular job at kicking off the fundraiser, and you were clapping enthusiastically when he was done, not expecting what he was about to do. 

With an extended hand, he pointed at you and the five students you were sitting with. “Of course, this wouldn’t be possible without these six brilliant students whom we have the honor of welcoming tonight. Would you all come up on stage with me?” he asked warmly, although you knew it wasn’t really a question. You all looked at each other bemusedly, but you didn’t have much of a choice, so you all got up and walked up the stairs to the stage.

You hadn’t realized how many people were attending until you were standing right in front of them. The bright spots lighting the stage made it hard to distinguish anyone’s face in the crowd, which only made your position more intimidating to you. Thankfully, you didn’t have to introduce yourself; Jay’s dad did it for you, and after a few minutes, you were free to walk off the stage and start mingling with the guests. Whew.

As soon as the six of you stepped off the stage, guests started approaching you, engaging you in conversation right away. You were a bit taken aback, but remembering you needed to be perfect tonight, you put on the most genuine smile you could muster. Them coming to you was better than having to chase after them. 

An hour and a half passed, and you had been engrossed in so many conversations that you hadn’t noticed so much time had already gone. The only time your attention had been pulled out was when Keeho came to your group, offering you toasts of caviar and bubbly champagne, and discreetly (or at least as discreetly as Keeho could be, which wasn’t very) gave you a wide-eyed look, which you returned. You had no idea why you weren’t working like him either. 

When somebody announced the main course would soon be served, a lot of guests went to sit down, so you were now stuck with the most pretentious man you had ever talked to. All the other guests, no matter how rich or famous or successful they were, had managed to stay somewhat humble and not flaunt how much higher they were in society than you, but it seemed that it was all this man knew how to do. You knew you needed to stay polite even in front of scum like him, but it was hard giving him your undivided attention when he was going on and on about basic economic principles you had learned in your first year of college. Your eyes started drifting around the room, until they fell on a certain someone.

Lee Heeseung was here. Of course he was; his parents, although they were rivals to the Park family, were still huge names in your country’s economy, and they couldn’t not be here tonight. Heeseung’s presence wasn’t required, but you imagined it couldn’t hurt his image to be seen by many adults at a gathering like this one. He was standing by the bar, talking to a girl who was clearly trying to flirt with him, but he didn’t seem to be into her. You hadn’t meant to stare, but his eyes soon met yours. You immediately felt heat rise to your cheeks. He didn’t break eye contact, even when he replied to whatever the girl was saying. His eyes started drifting down from your face to your body, as if he was undressing you with his gaze. You opened your mouth and let out a small gasp at the sheer indecency of the way he was looking at you. The sound you made made you snap out of your daze, and you turned your attention back to the man in front of you, who hadn’t even noticed you weren’t listening to him anymore, so enthralled he was by his own conversation.

You excused yourself, not wanting to be in Heeseung’s sight anymore. You weren’t sure what to make of the interaction - you loved the idea of Heeseung paying so much attention to you, but there was something about the setting and the fact that he was talking with another girl the whole time which made you a bit uncomfortable. Disheveled, you sat down at the nearest table, not paying much attention to who was there.

“Everything alright, miss Y/N?”

That voice was too familiar. Of course, you just had to sit next to Jay’s dad, a.k.a. one of the richest CEOs in the country, a.k.a. the man behind this fundraiser. You changed your expression from distressed to spirited, not wanting him to think you weren’t handling tonight well. Before you could say anything to reassure him, he added, “Not easy, is it, entertaining so many people? I’m sure you’ll get used to it.”

Relief immediately washed over you. You looked down and said, “It hasn’t been too bad, just depends on the person you’re talking to.”

He chuckled. “I thought I saw you talking to CEO Jung. Or rather, CEO Jung talking at you. Sorry about him, he’s just the kind of person you have to learn to deal with.”

You continued talking to Mr Park, and he even invited you to stay at his table when the main course was served. He was surprisingly easy to converse with; he intently listened to you, even though he probably met infinitely more interesting people than you every day, and bounced off of your words naturally. You wondered how such an easy-going man could give birth to an argumentative boy like Jay.

You suddenly wondered where Jay was. You hadn’t seen him all evening, and he wasn’t sitting at his dad’s table either. You assumed he’d be busy with other people, but you couldn’t help being curious about his whereabouts. Not wanting to look around the room searching for him and appear disinterested in his dad, you just asked him directly if he knew where his son was.

Mr Park quirked an eyebrow and asked, “Oh, you know my son?”

“Yes, we’ve had a lot of classes together since freshman year,” you explained.

He seemed deep in thought for a second, until he started slowly nodding his head as if he’d just figured something out. “Of course, you’re Y/N. I knew that name was familiar.”

Why would your name be familiar to Jay’s dad? “Oh, did Jay mention me or some-”

Before you could finish your sentence, Mr Park said, “Ah, there he is,” gaze directed behind your shoulder. And indeed, as you turned around, you saw Jay coming towards your table.

 “Dad, mind if I steal Y/N for a second?”

“She’s all yours,” he replied, sending a wink his son’s way. You looked at Jay and he seemed just as confused about his dad’s words as you. But then his eyes found yours and he motioned for you to get up and follow him with a tilt of his head.

“It was really nice talking to you, Mr Park, thank you so much for your time.”

“Of course. It was lovely meeting you, Y/N. I’m sure we’ll see each other soon enough,” he said with a knowing smile. 

You didn’t even try figuring out what he meant, and just walked with Jay as he took you to a quieter area of the ballroom. Most people had finished eating and had stood up again, so you’d needed to weave through them, and Jay put a hand on your lower back to guide you better. You ignored the warmth that spread on your skin where he touched you, blaming it on the glasses of champagne you’d had. 

When you’d reached a spot where you could talk easily, he turned towards you with a smirk. “I can’t believe you’re already charming your way up to my dad. You’re definitely ambitious, Y/N.”

You rolled your eyes but then remembered where you were and thought it might be best to not give in to Jay’s taunts here, so you kept your voice low when you replied. “I didn’t even do it on purpose. I just sat there, and he happened to already be at the table.”

His smirk only grew wider. “Right.” Then he stepped back a bit, and took a good look at you. Unlike Heeseung’s gaze earlier, the way Jay looked at you in that moment, like you were the only thing worth looking at in this beautiful ballroom, made butterflies erupt in your stomach. God, you really had had too much champagne. “I knew that dress would look good on you.”

You should’ve been flustered by the compliment, but you were too confused by Jay’s words: how could he have known about this? Why did he make it sound like he had chosen the dress? The stylist’s words from earlier suddenly pop up in your mind: “he does have good taste.” There was also the fact that you had applied to work as a waitress tonight but ended up as one of the scholarship students. Slowly, things started piecing together in your mind, and you looked up at the well-dressed, smirking boy in front of you in disbelief.

“Jay. Did you do this?”

“Do what?” he said, an innocent tone to his voice, but a mischievous look in his eyes.

Your eyes widened and you lightly slapped his arm. “You did! I- You- Ugh. Thanks, I guess,” you muttered, looking down at your shoes. You were beyond grateful, but your ego stopped you from being too showy about it.

He smiled at you, and you ignored how much you loved it. “It was no big deal. Just had to change your name from the waitering group to the student reps. Took me two seconds,” he said, following your gaze down, bashfully admitting to helping you out.

“Why’d you do it?”

Because you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met and the world should know about it, was his immediate thought. But of course, he’d never say that out loud, so he opted for, “I just felt bad for you, really. I know you like to think of us as rivals, so I thought the least I could do was to put us on equal footing tonight.”

Although you had a feeling he wasn’t telling you everything, you weren’t going to press any further. You chatted for a bit longer, the both of you enjoying a relaxed conversation after hours on being on your best behavior, and your ability of talking normally to Jay and not wanting to claw his eyes out surprised you, not to mention the fact that you were… enjoying yourself.

“Anyway, I’m doing the closing speech soon. I’m gonna be awesome, so look closely, yeah?” You knew he wanted to look cool, but you thought he sounded like an excited kid who was about to put on a show for his family. How cute, you thought, and immediately chased that thought away from your brain. That damn champagne must’ve been laced with something.

You both went back into the crowd, and quickly your name was called out by someone you had talked to earlier who wanted to introduce you to someone else. You quickly waved goodbye at Jay, a smile on your face. If anybody had seen him, they would’ve noticed how his cheeks fired up and how he waved excitedly back at you.

And indeed, he had been seen.

His dad had been talking with one of his business partners, but tried to keep some of his attention on you and Jay. He couldn’t help but be curious as to why his son, who had previously never expressed any romantic interest in anyone, was suddenly making sure you attended the fundraiser as a student rep and not a waitress, and why he’d even gone the extra mile and chosen your dress for you. He hadn’t missed the way his son’s face lit up when he was talking to you, and how his gaze lingered on you as you walked away. But he also hadn’t missed how you’d followed Jay without hesitation, and how relaxed you’d looked talking to him. He thought the both of you acted as if it was just you two in a room full to the brim with people. When his wife joined him at the table, he’d told her about their son’s unusual behavior, and she said that she had noticed him looking around as if searching for someone a few times during the evening. They exchanged a knowing smile.

Heeseung had also noticed Jay leading you away from the crowd, and had intently watched your interaction, not even trying to make the girl he was talking to think he was still paying attention to her. He knew you had a crush on him; you couldn’t make it any more obvious. But he also knew how comfortable, how yourself you were around Jay; he’d seen the two of you banter around campus, always arguing about something, whether it was the new law that was being put into place or whether pineapple belongs on pizza or not. Heeseung wasn’t stupid, he’d seen enough rom-coms to know that the girl always ended up with the friend she joked around with and not the hot popular guy that made her feel nervous.

Jay and him had been rivals since he could remember, and not rivals like you and Jay, but proper rivals, who actually had to fight for something. Well, technically, it was their fathers who were competing as CEOs of some of the top firms in the country, but since they were bound to take their place at some point, it had felt like their competition as well. Nothing was off-limits when it came to their rivalry, and you were most definitely not an exception, not to Heeseung. He couldn’t stand seeing Jay have something he didn’t. At that moment, he made up his mind.

Heeseung had to have you.

But before that, Jay needed to give his closing speech. As soon as he’d stepped on the stage, the chatter started to quiet down, and everyone turned their attention to him. Much like you earlier, he hadn’t realized how bright the lights were when standing onstage. He could only see over a hundred people staring right at him, and his confident demeanor from moments ago crumbled at his feet. He scanned the crowd for your face, desperately needing something, or rather someone, to anchor him. When his eyes finally found yours, he felt strength regaining his body. His mother followed his gaze and found you looking right at her son, sending a reassuring smile and thumbs-up his way.

Jay’s speech went very smoothly, and everybody congratulated him for it as they left the room.

—

Back home after a stressful but rewarding evening, all Jay wanted to do was take a shower and pass out in bed. But his parents had other plans.

“So…” started his mother, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“So?” Jay asked, already fearing whatever his mom was about to say.

“Y/N’s a nice girl,” she simply stated, hoping Jay’s reaction would give her more to go on.

And oh boy did it. He immediately started blushing and stuttering at the sudden mention of your name. He knew you’d spoken with his father at the fundraiser, but he hadn’t thought his mom would bring you up.

“Y-Y/N? Yeah, I guess. But what about her?” he said, looking away and trying to sound uninterested, but blatantly failing.

His parents exchanged a look. “C’mon, son,” his dad picked up, “you don’t need to hide something like that from us. We’re very happy that you’ve found a nice girlfriend like Y/N.”

A nice… girlfriend? Had Jay heard that correctly? His parents thought you two were… dating? 

As he stared at them wide-eyed and mouth agape, they just chuckled softly at him. “It’s okay, Jay, really. She made a dazzling impression on all of the guests tonight, and on us. She’s exactly the kind of person you should be dating, so don’t worry about us getting in your way of anything. We approve of your relationship.”

Jay started laughing in disbelief, and his parents just took it as a sign of his relief. If only they knew. “Right,” he said between chuckles, “thanks, guys.”

Why he didn’t deny what his parents were saying was beyond him. A part of him didn’t want to disappoint them by telling them the truth - his mother had always urged him to get a girlfriend, saying he wouldn’t have the time for dating later on in his career, that he should enjoy his college years as much as he could. Another part of him loved the idea of dating you, and it hurt him too much to shatter that thought.

So he just nodded along, saying he was glad they liked you.

“We really did,” said his father. “In fact, you should bring her over for dinner sometime this week. It’d be nice getting to know her in a less formal setting, don’t you think? Ask her what she likes, I’ll ask the chef to cook it specially for her.”

“S-sure,” Jay said, already panicking - he’d either have to come up with an excuse as to why you couldn’t come to dinner, or with ways to convince you to be his pretend-girlfriend for a night. If he actually did ask you, he’d have to be very careful about it, otherwise it’d end up with you trying to pull his hair out.

What the hell had he gotten himself into?

—

At 10:43 a.m. the next day, you were waiting for Jay in front of the library. Right when you were about to turn your bedside lamp off, you’d received a text from him, asking to meet. Apparently, there was something he needed to tell you, and whatever it was, you were absolutely dreading it. Jay always had a lot of things to say, but he’d never felt the need before to warn you in advance that he needed to tell you something. Those kinds of messages were never very pleasant, and even less so when they came from Park Jongseong. Rereading the messages, you really couldn’t figure out what was so important that required you to take a break from your weekly Saturday morning study sessions.

00:44 archnemesis: Hey Y/N

00:44 archnemesis: Are you still up?

00:44 you: do NOT fuckboy text me jongseong

00:44 archnemesis: Sorry

00:45 you: go away im trying to sleep

00:45 archnemesis: Not trying hard enough obviously

00:45 you: shut up

00:45 you: what do u want

00:45 archnemesis: I need to tell you something.

00:45 archnemesis: Can we meet up tomorrow morning?

00:46 you: wtf

00:46 you: what is it ???

00:47 you: cant u just tell me now??

00:49 you: jay ???

00:49 archnemesis: Um.

00:49 archnemesis: I’ll tell you tomorrow!

00:49 archnemesis: :D

0:49 archnemesis: library 10:45?

0:50 you: ughhhhh

00:50 you: yeah whatever

00:50 you: this better be worth it istg

00:51 archnemesis: Good night Y/N <3

00:51 you: EWWWW

You’d stayed awake for a while after that, trying to figure out whatever it was he needed to tell you, but the only thing you were sure about was that it had something to do with the fundraiser, since he’d texted you after it. Had he finally realized how superior in every aspect you were to him and would finally bow down to you? That seemed pretty unlikely. Did one of the guests there really like you and had spontaneously decided to pay for your studies and offer you an internship at their company? Were they impressed by your intellect and wanted you to become their kids’ private tutor? Possible. Or even better, maybe it was Jay’s parents whose attention you had particularly caught, and they wanted to reward you in some way. Maybe they thought you were amazing and that you’d be a perfect girlfriend for their son, and Jay, ever the daddy’s boy, would now shower you with gifts and attention in order to capture your heart.

Ha, as if, you thought, laughing to yourself. It was a lot less funny when Jay told you about the little misunderstanding.

You were sitting at the library café with Jay, who’d wanted to postpone delivering the news as much as possible and had bribed you with the promise of free hot coffee. Well, free for you, at least. Not that a coffee would create much of a dent in his bank account. After five minutes of chit-chatting, you were getting annoyed with him and didn’t understand why he was being so uncharacteristically awkward and asked him to cut straight to the chase. When he told you his parents thought you were his girlfriend and wanted to have you over for dinner this week, it took all you had to not spit the coffee right in his face. Not only was it ridiculous, it was practically exactly what you had imagined.

“Are you kidding me, Jongseong? I can barely pretend to be your friend, how the hell am I gonna pretend to be your girlfriend?”

Your words were like bullets piercing right through his body, but he had to ignore the pain, telling himself you were just shocked by the sudden news. “I’m sorry, Y/N, I just- I panicked, and I didn’t know how to tell them the truth. They seemed so happy,” he said, head hung low. You knew he was genuinely sorry, because he’d almost never actually said those words to you, so he had to mean them. The only other time you could think of was when he’d dropped his water bottle all over your laptop. The next day, he’d offered you a brand new MacBook with all of his notes already downloaded on it.

You sighed, unsure what to make of the whole situation. At any other time, your first reaction would’ve been to flip Jay off and tell him to get out of his own mess, but you felt like you owed him after what he’d done for you at the fundraiser. Even though he made it seem like no big deal, it still meant a lot to you that you’d gotten to spend the evening making yourself known to the guests and not serving them smoked salmon toasts, and that was all thanks to him.

“I guess I do owe you one, Jongseong.” His head snapped up and he looked at you with the most hopeful eyes you’d ever seen. “But before you get carried away,” you warned, “this is a one-time thing. Find an excuse, say we broke up or whatever. Fake dating is like, the most predictable trope ever,” you said, remembering all the heated discussions you’d had on the topic with Sieun.

But Jay paid no attention to that last sentence - he leapt up from his chair and came over to your side, engulfing you in a surprisingly warm hug. He muttered thank you over and over into your hair before realizing hugging wasn’t something you guys did and he might have just made things way worse. To his relief, when he took a sudden step back, you didn’t look upset at all, but rather amused at his sudden burst of excitement. 

He returned to his seat and cleared his throat. “Right. Thanks a lot, Y/N. My dad likes to have family dinners on Thursdays, so it’ll probably be then. I’ll, uh, I’ll take you there, so don’t worry about that.”

You chuckled at him. “You know I’ll never let you live this down, right?”

He sighed and shook his head, saying, “I know. But I’d rather have that than disappoint my parents, to be honest.” He smiled at you as if to take away some of the gravity of what he’d just said. You thought it wasn’t something he wanted to delve into, so you took a sip of your coffee and brought up the topic of this week’s tutorial for your cinema class, knowing it was a surefire way to start an argument with him. 

—

On Monday at lunch, you were sitting at the cafeteria with your friends. Keeho was telling them how fancy you’d looked and how you’d managed to charm everyone.

“I feel like I should be jealous, but what you did looked a lot more tiring than what I did, to be honest. When you’re a waiter at that kind of event, those rich people don’t even register your presence, so they just say the wildest shit in front of you. Apparently, CEO Cha is having an affair with CEO Liu’s wife, whoever they are.”

You chuckled at your friend, feeling even more thankful towards Jay that you didn’t have to spend your evening like that. The four of you continued chatting, which mainly consisted of complaining about how you already had so much work only two weeks into the semester. You were intently listening to the niche topic Sieun was learning about in her Bio class when someone dropped a bag on the table right next to your tray. The letters ‘Gucci’ were written on it in the iconic but simple font.

Your gaze went from the bag to the person holding it, and of course, it was none other than Park Jongseong himself.

“Hey, Y/N. Hey, guys,” he said, giving your friends a simple nod. They all replied with a confused hi. You were just staring at Jay, wondering what he was doing here.

“I got you something for Thursday night,” he explained. “Gotta wow the parents, you know?” he added with a wink.

“Uh-huh” was your very clever reply. You could feel your friends’ gaze ping-ponging between you and Jay.

Jay looked around the table, an awkward silence spreading between everyone. He cleared his throat. “Well, let me know if it fits or not. See you around.” And with that, he was gone as quickly as he’d arrived. You turned back to your friends, and their confused faces echoed your own. 

“What are you waiting for?” Sunoo nudged your arm. “Take a look inside!”

You took the bag on your lap and pulled out a magnificent green satin dress that was a lot more elegant than the one you’d worn at the fundraiser. You guessed Jay really did want for you to make a good impression on his parents. It seemed to be quite long and to not show too much skin, which you appreciated. You could only hope it would look as good on you as it did seeing it like this.

As soon as you’d taken it out, you’d heard your friends gasp. 

“Oh.”

“My.”

“God,” they’d said in turn, obviously mesmerized by the gift. 

You handed the dress to Sieun, who clearly wanted to admire it up close, and looked into the bag in case there was anything else. You were maybe hoping for a pair of earrings or a necklace, but it was wishful thinking. Instead, you found a sticky note signed Jay, which read, Wear the accessories and shoes from last week. I can’t spoil you too much just yet.

You hadn’t even noticed Sunoo was reading the note over your shoulder until he put his hand over yours in what seemed to be a confidential manner and said, with all the seriousness in the world, “Y/N, be honest with us. Is Park Jay your sugar daddy?”

Sieun and Keeho’s head snapped up and they stared at you expectantly. “What the hell? Why is that the first place your mind goes to?” you said, almost laughing in disbelief.

Bewildered, Sunoo replied, “How can it not? The wink, the Gucci gift, the note? It screams sugar daddy!”

“Wait - didn’t he say something about his parents? I’m not an expert, but I don’t think meeting the folks is sugar daddy etiquette,” Keeho mused, taking this way too seriously.

You took a deep breath. There was no point in not telling your friends what had happened, so you explained the events of the past few days to them, from Jay changing your role at the fundraiser, to his parents thinking you were dating, to dinner with them on Thursday.

When you were done bringing them up to date, they all looked at you with incredulous looks. After a moment, Sieun broke the silence: “Y/N, you’ve become a real walking rom-com. I’m so proud of you.” 

Keeho was tearing his bread apart, throwing chunks into his mouth. “I don’t know. Fake dating is kinda boring, to be honest.” Sieun let out an offended gasp and Sunoo nodded in agreement. 

“We’re not gonna be fake dating. Just for this one evening, I’ll pretend to be his girlfriend, and it’ll be over as quickly as it started,” you said, hoping that’d be the end of this conversation, but your friends wouldn’t back down so easily. 

“Y/N, that’s literally the whole concept of fake dating. You’ll think it’s only that one time, and before you know it, you’ll be married with three children, and it won’t be fake anymore,” Sieun warned, but you just shook your head and laughed, stealing Keeho’s other piece of bread from his tray.

“You guys are blowing this way out of proportion.”

“And you’ll be blowing something else soon…” Sunoo muttered, just loud enough for your table to hear. You let out an offended gasp but Keeho and Sieun just burst into laughter.

“Sunoo!”

“What?!” he replied, imitating your outraged tone but sporting an amused smile. “Your whole rivalry thing is too cute, I can’t take it seriously. You won’t admit it to yourself, but you clearly like Jay a lot more than you do Heeseung,” he said with a shrug, as if it was all so obvious. You tried to find support in Keeho or Sieun’s eyes, but they avoided your gaze, guilty expressions on their faces.

“Guys, come on, you can’t be serious. Jongseong and I are just- we’re just-” Rivals? Friends? Soon-to-be fake boyfriend and girlfriend? Who knew anymore. You took a deep breath. “It’s not like that.”

“Whatever you say,” Sunoo sighed, but to your relief that was the end of the conversation. Your friends quickly moved on to another topic, but their words gnawed at the back of your mind like rabid bunnies. Either they were completely insane, or you had gravely misjudged Jay this whole time. 

—

When Jay rang your doorbell at 7:00 p.m. sharp on Thursday, you were just done applying a thin layer of gloss on your lips. That morning, he’d texted you to ask for your address and tell you to be ready at seven. You took a good look at yourself in the mirror and headed down the stairs to get the door, but your mother had beat you to it. 

Not used to keeping secrets from her, you’d told her everything. She’d looked at you curiously the whole time, a slight smirk on her face as if she knew something you didn’t. And sure enough, when you were finished talking, she’d said, “I knew there was something between you and that Jay boy. You talk way too much about him.”

Not her too, you thought, but you didn’t need to encourage her delusions by telling her your friends thought the same, so you’d tried to defend yourself. “Mom! I just told you, I’m only pretending, I’m not actually his girlfriend. If I did like him, you’d be the first to know.”

She looked at you with a knowing smile that moms loved to wear. “I do know. You’re the one who doesn’t.” You’d dismissed her with a roll of your eyes. Everybody around me’s going crazy, you thought.

When she opened the door, it revealed a very smartly-dressed Jay (but when was he not?), bouquet in hand. He immediately handed them to her and introduced himself.

“Nice to meet you, Mrs Kim. I’m-”

“Jay, I know. Y/N’s mentioned you.”

“Has she?” he asked, a genuine grin blooming on his lips. You ignored how the glint of surprise and - hopefulness? - in his eyes tug at your heartstrings.

“Just once or twice, and never positively,” you interrupted, appearing next to your mom. Taking your appearance in, she nodded at you approvingly, but Jay just stood there, mouth agape, seemingly transfixed by you. He only snapped out of his daze when you called out his name.

“You ready to go?” you asked, and hoped that the heat that had traveled to your face was hidden by your makeup.

“Uh, yeah, yeah. Let’s go. It was nice meeting you, Mrs Kim.”

“You too, Jay. Thanks for the flowers. I hope Y/N will be a good fake girlfriend to you tonight.”

“Oh, you told her?” Jay asked you, looking somewhat disappointed. 

“I wasn’t gonna lie to my mom about my boyfriend,” you said, nudging him out of the door. “Bye, mom!”

You ignored her reply (“Don’t have too much fun!”) and walked speedily towards Jay’s car, which looked far too expensive for this neighborhood. As you got closer, he took a few quick steps in front of you and opened the passenger door for you. You rolled your eyes, not wanting to let on how the gesture made your stomach flip. “No need to go that far, Jongseong. Don’t try to woo me.”

He hurried to the driver’s seat, looked at you with a grin and said, “Might as well get into character now.” His gaze lingered on you for a second too long, and you started feeling self-conscious when his eyes moved up and down over your body. When you coughed, he suddenly turned his attention back to the front and gulped, then started the car. He looked taken aback himself, as if he hadn’t even noticed he was staring at you. After a few seconds of silence, he said, “I really do have good fashion taste.” 

Although he was technically complimenting himself, you caught yourself hoping he also meant you looked good in the dress he’d chosen for you. “You could have included shoes and jewelry, you know. I wouldn’t have taken it the wrong way,” you said with a playful tone. 

“Sounds like you’re already getting used to a lavish lifestyle,” he retorted, making you smile sheepishly. 

“I’m just not used to dressing up nicely like this. It’s nice,” you said truthfully. You weren’t sure where the honesty was coming from, but something about being in a car with Jay made you feel like you could say anything - it felt safe, like whatever you could tell him would stay between the two of you. What happens in Jay’s car, stays in Jay’s car, or something along those lines. 

Jay wanted to tell you that if you gave him a chance, you could do this anytime you wanted. He’d buy you all the dresses you could dream of, and give you a taste of his world, which he so often found bland and shallow, but that he was sure you could light up in the blink of an eye. But he couldn’t say that, so instead, he said, “Yeah, I noticed. I don’t think anything you’ve ever done or said offended me more than that one time you showed up to class wearing a ‘where the hell have you been, loca?’ t-shirt.”

“Shut up, that shirt is amazing!”

“Maybe, but the movie it’s quoting is an absolute trashfire of a film, if you can even call it that,” he claimed, knowing it’d get a reaction out of you.

“Don’t talk shit about Twilight, Jongseong, or I’ll mess tonight up and your parents will think you’re dating a psycho.”

He turned to you with a smirk. “I’d like to see you try.”

You’d always known Jay was a confident man. It’s obvious in the way he holds his head high whenever he enters a room, or how he manages to stay calm and collected during an argument with someone who’s practically shouting at him (you, usually). And while he was always self-assured during your debates, seeing him act like this to practically flirt - could you describe it like that? - with you rendered you speechless. And you hated being speechless.

So you crossed your arms with a hmph and looked out the window, turning away so he couldn’t catch your fluttered state. 

You finally arrived at his parents’ house after a half-an-hour drive (“You live so far away, do you seriously drive to campus and back everyday?” “Yes, Jay, not all of us can live in a three-bedroom flat in the middle of the city”). As soon as you walked in, his mother greeted you with a warm hug, telling you how pretty you looked, and his father clasped your hand tightly, the lines around his eyes showing as he smiled at you. By the looks of it, you wouldn’t need to do much for them to like you.

You could tell Mr Park was a businessman by the way he didn’t beat around the bush when talking to you. As soon as you’d sat down in the (or at least one of the) living rooms for drinks and small appetizers, he asked, “So, Y/N, tell us about yourself.”

Having anticipated such a question, you started, “Well, I’m an Econ major-”

“Yes, but I know there’s more to you than just academics,” Jay’s dad interrupted with a well-intentioned smile.

You looked at Jay, hoping he could help you out. He just looked back at you as if he was waiting for your answer as much as his dad was. “Right. Um. Where should I begin?” you said with an awkward chuckle. You felt a bit put on the spot, but there was only genuine curiosity in all three pairs of eyes looking at you, so you felt comfortable enough to go on.

“I’ve always lived here. Or, technically, in the suburbs. Since I spend most of my time either studying, working at my part-time job or commuting back and forth between school and home, I don’t have much time for hobbies. I just use my free time to spend time with my friends or my family.” You looked at the three people in front of you, wondering if you’d said enough. After a beat, you added, “Sorry, was that too depressing?”

Mr and Mrs Park chuckled at you, and he instantly reassured you, saying, “No, no, not at all. Tell us about your family.”

You were expecting that one too. “Well, it’s just my mother, my little sister and me. But she’s at boarding school right now, so I only see her during the holidays.”

“Boarding school - that’s pretty impressive,” commented Jay’s mom.

You smiled fondly at the thought of your little sister. “Yeah, she’s a smart cookie. Got there on a scholarship and everything. She likes it most of the time but she does complain about how the people there are all-”

You stopped yourself before your tongue could slip up and potentially offend Jay’s parents. But to your surprise, they smiled and, in turn, said, “Rich and self-centered?” 

“Little kids who think they run the place when they’re only fourteen?”

A chuckle escaped you, not expecting them to share that kind of opinion with you and your sister. An amused tone in your voice, you nodded your head and said, “Yeah, exactly.”

“Yeah, I know all about those. Your boyfriend here might have been born into wealth,” he started, and you tried not to choke on your drink at Jay being referred to as your boyfriend, “but my father’s company, the one I’m in charge of now, only started being successful when I was in high school. My dad worked his way up from the ground, so he and I both know what it’s like to not be well-off. I’ve tried to not turn Jay into one of those rich kids who think they’ll rule the world just cause they have money, and… well, I hope I did a good job.”

You looked at Jay with a grin. He looked right back at you as if to say, I dare you to tell my dad he’s wrong. If this was anyone else in any other situation, you definitely would’ve told them Jay is one of the most privileged people you’ve ever met. You thought for another second - yes, Jay was definitely privileged, but there was a sort of innocence about him. He’d never used his wealth to make you feel inferior to him or anything of the sort. When he’d bought you that MacBook, it was to apologize, not to show off. It was as normal for him to have his meals cooked and laundry washed as it was for you to sigh in defeat every time the price of milk went up, even by just a cent or two.

So, still looking at him, you replied, “Yeah, I’d say you did a pretty good job.”

The way Jay’s eyes looked in that moment, fond and soft, made you want to never look away. But you didn’t want to make it awkward, so you turned back to his parents, who were watching the two of you with affection. Maybe Jay and you were a little bit too good at this whole fake-dating thing.

A maid came into the room to announce dinner was ready, and you all headed to the dining room. When plates of your favorite food arrived, you looked at Jay, astonishment written all over your face.

“How did you know?”

“You might’ve mentioned it here and there…” he sheepishly answered, knowing fully well that he’d gotten the information from a tweet you’d made eight months ago.

As conversation picked up again and you exchanged with his parents over a bunch of different topics, from childhood memories to that weird new Netflix show that’s strangely addicting, you tried to ignore Jay’s stare that was burning into the side of your face. 

“What about your dad?” he suddenly asked, catching everybody in the room off guard. Noticing your confused look, he continued, “Earlier. You said it was just you, your sister and your mom. What about your dad?”

His mom furrowed her eyebrows at him and said, “Jongseong, leave her be. If she hasn’t told you, she probably doesn’t want to talk about it.”

You took a deep breath. “No, it’s alright. I don’t mind talking about it, I just don’t usually bring it up cause it makes people think of me differently? Like they start to pity me just because my dad’s out of the picture, when, really, it hasn’t affected me that much. I’ve never known him, my mom has always raised the two of us on her own.” You looked down at your hands. You hadn’t even realized you’d been fiddling your fingers. “It just seems too cliché, the poor girl who lives in the suburbs and is on a scholarship and doesn’t have a dad and redeems herself by having good grades. Which is why I like to usually keep it to myself.”

You looked back up at them and were relieved when you found understanding and not pity in their eyes. If there was one thing you didn’t want to happen, was for them to think you were leeching off of Jay or trying to get his money. Even though you weren’t actually dating, it would’ve still damaged your ego if they had seen you that way.

A few hours later, dessert was finished, and you could tell everyone was starting to tire (or had had too many glasses of wine) by the way the conversation was starting to make less and less sense. Jay was looking at the three of you in amusement, stone cold sober, as he knew he’d have to drive you home later.

“Well, Y/N, son, we’re not going to hold you hostage here any longer. You still have classes tomorrow,” Jay’s dad said.

His parents led the two of you to the door as you gathered your coat and bag. “It was so lovely getting to know you more, Y/N. You truly are a sweet girl, and we can tell you’re making our Jay very happy,” his mother said, pulling you into a hug.

“You better treat her well, son,” said Mr Park. Jay looked over at you, and there was something in his eyes you couldn’t quite explain; all you knew was that it sent shivers straight down your spine. “I will,” he simply said, but with so much honesty, it made you wonder if he actually did mean it.

“Oh, and Y/N, there’s an event this Saturday. It won’t be as fun as ours last week, but I’m sure you could find a way to enjoy it. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt for people to see what a nice, hardworking girlfriend Jay has,” his father said, beaming down at you.

Jay and you exchanged a look, and the panic at the sudden invitation made you say, “Yes, I’d love to attend!” instead of finding a palatable excuse.

You exchanged final goodbyes with his parents, and as soon as you were in the car, you let out a hearty groan.

“My God, what’s wrong with me? Why did I have to say yes to that?”

Jay started the car. “I’m surprised too. If you had given me three seconds, I could’ve come up with an excuse for you. But I mean, I’m not gonna complain.”

You turned your head towards him, a pout on your face. “What do you mean?”

Jay kept his eyes straight on the road as he answered. “Well, like he said, it won’t be a bad look for me to have you on my arm. As much as it pains me to admit, you’re charming and intelligent, and,” he glanced quickly towards you, “I have good fashion taste, so you don’t look like an absolute fool in that department either.”

You snorted at his coyness. “Just say I’m pretty and move on, Jongseong.”

“Is that what I said, though?” he asked, a devilish grin on his face. 

You gasped dramatically, trying to appear as offended as possible. “Your dad literally just told you to treat me well, I’ll have you know.”

“They really fell for it, didn’t they?,” he said with a sigh. “I have to say, you did a pretty good job tonight. Almost got me wondering if you’re not used to being people’s fake date for the night.”

“Yeah, it’s my side job actually.” You smiled at each other, and when the eye contact lasted a second too long, you both quickly turned your head to the road. “So, what’s Saturday night about?” you asked, wanting to break the silence.

“Oh, it’s probably just another boring event where the grown-ups go to socialize and flaunt their wealth or their children’s prowess.”

“Wow, look at you being all critical. I thought you lived and breathed that kind of stuff.”

“I like it when it has a purpose. Like a fundraiser, or a company opening, or whatever. But this is just another excuse for people to show themselves off. You don’t have to come, you know. I can probably find a way out for you.”

Once again, without thinking, you immediately answered, “I’ll come.”

Jay glanced at you quickly, an eyebrow raised. “Wh- Really?”

You shrugged, trying to stay casual. “I mean, I don’t have anything on Saturdays. Might as well keep you company. Turns out you’re not always insufferable.” You’d lowered your voice for that last sentence, only half-heartedly admitting it. But of course, Jay wasn’t going to let you go with it.

“Huh? What was that? I don’t think I heard you,” he teased, leaning slightly towards you.

You gently nudged his shoulder, saying, “Shut up, you heard me. Just because I tolerate you slightly more doesn’t mean you’ve stopped being my number one rival.”

You’d never seen Jay smile that much. You sometimes caught glimpses of it when he was with his friends, but with you, he usually had an arrogant smirk, so seeing his genuine grin made your heart swell with joy you couldn’t explain. 

“Of course not. I wouldn’t assume anything else.”

He dropped you off at your house and made sure you were inside before driving away. When you told your mom about your night, she watched you with a smile, that knowing glint in her eyes still there. When she tried hinting at you having feelings for the boy, you’d gotten off your chair and shouted good night! before heading to bed. 

—

Saturday quickly rolled around the corner, and you were in your room with Sieun, trying on the two dresses Jay had given you to pick from. “They’re both good, I just wanted to see if you’d choose the best one,” he’d said. This time, he’d also included a new pair of shoes and a set of matching jewelry. Your friends kept teasing you about him being your sugar daddy (“you can’t deny it anymore, Y/N”), and you had to admit you were starting to feel a bit like that, even though you weren’t really giving him any sugar. He was just spoiling you like it was his day job.

He was right; both dresses were gorgeous. They were both black, but one of them was body-fitting with an open back, while the other cinched in at the waist and had puffy sleeves. You couldn’t deny that you looked good in the first one; Sieun had let out the loudest gap when she’d seen you in it. But you both agreed that it was on the riskier side, and it was probably more appropriate to wear the second dress.

You were laying on your bed, talking about this and that. It’d been a while since it was just the two of you, and it was nice catching up with her.

“So…” she’d started, an impish tone to her voice. You knew immediately what she wanted to talk about and let out a loud groan, but that didn’t deter her. “Wanna tell me about Jay?”

It was obvious what she was trying to get at, but you weren’t going to give her what she wanted. “Well, he’s rich and has a huge house. Not surprising. He drives well. He’s not half as annoying when he’s in front of his parents. Probably not trying to be as much of a smartass. He seems to think he’s all that. He-”

“Okay, okay, I get it!” she said, laughing. “What I mean is, has anything changed between you two? Have you finally come to your senses about the boy?”

You thought about it for a second. Something had definitely shifted in your perception of Jay. You felt it in the pit of your stomach every time he smiled at you. But it was scary: this wasn’t you and Jay. You and Jay argued, and riled each other up, and got on each other’s nerves. You didn’t crack jokes so you’d hear the other laugh, or agree without thinking when they asked you for a favor. It was confusing, so instead of voicing out those concerns, you lied. “No. Not really.”

But your friend wasn’t buying it. “C’mon. The guy buys you dresses, gets your mom flowers, drives you to his parents’ for dinner. I know it’s not for realsies, and you’ve got integrity or whatever, but you can’t completely be indifferent to it, Y/N. Even you’ve got to admit Jay’s hot.”

You laughed at your friend’s reasoning. “Fine. Maybe he’s not just someone to beat anymore. I guess that’s what fake dating will do to you. But that doesn’t mean I have to say he’s hot.”

She turned to fully face you. “Not even when he’s all dressed up? Or when he hands you a bag that has contents worth thousands?”

Her eyes were telling you that you had to agree with her. You tried to suppress a smile, still not wanting to admit anything. Just because you and Jay had been rivals since you’d met didn’t mean you went blind every time you saw him. Of course, you knew how attractive he was. But you had conditioned yourself to never see him that way, so letting on that you didn’t think he was completely repulsive felt like betraying yourself. 

Sieun laughed at your reaction. “C’mon! Say it!”

You pursed your lips together, suppressing a smile, and shook your head. The tilt to Sieun’s head and the devilish glint in her eyes told you your friend was up to no good - and indeed, a second later, she was on you, tickling your sides and asking you to “say it! Say it!”

“Fine, fine!” you said between breathless giggles. She finally relented. “I think Jay’s hot.”

“Do you, now?”

The sudden male voice made you and Sieun shriek. You sat up in your bed and found its owner - sure enough, Jay was standing in your doorway, leaning against the wall and clearly liking what he’d just heard. Your mother soon appeared behind him, explaining that he’d knocked and she let him in, telling him to go up to your room. She mouthed sorry and quickly scurried down the hall.

“I’m not sure why it took you so long, but I’m glad you’ve finally opened your eyes, Y/N.”

Sieun’s eyes were going back and forth between the two of you, until she stood up and said, “Well, I guess that’s my cue to go. Have fun you two, and tell me all about it on Monday, Y/N!”

Before you could protest, she had already left your room, sending Jay a wink as she passed by him. It was silent for a few seconds as you sat there in embarrassment, cursing the Gods for your awful timing. He walked in and sat down at the edge of your bed, comfortable and keeping his distance at once. The sentence there’s something perfect about him flashed in your mind but you were quick to brush it away. “So, which dress did you choose?”

“The one with the puffy sleeves,” you replied, unable to look him in the eye.

He tutted, shaking his head disapprovingly. “Wrong choice.” You rolled your eyes. “Show me?”

This made you look at him. His smile was taunting, but his eyes were soft. With the way he looked right now, you thought he could ask you anything and you’d say yes. You hadn’t imagined that him sitting on your bed would make you stammer like a schoolgirl in front of her teacher crush, but here you were, almost rendered speechless by the mere sight of him. The fact that he was manspreading and leaning back on his hands, the top buttons of his shirt undone and his trousers stretching against his thighs, wasn’t particularly helping. More shyly than you intended, you told him to turn around and close his eyes, then quickly put the dress on. You were thankful for its lack of zipper - you don’t know if you could have handled Jay zipping your dress up for you.

“Okay. You can turn around now.”

This was already the third time Jay was seeing you all dressed up, but his gaze managed to make the heat rise to your cheeks every time. The corners of his lips rose slightly. “Wrong choice,” he repeated, “but you still look really good, Y/N.”

You couldn’t stop the smile spreading on your face as you coyly replied, tugging at the hem of your dress, “Why thank you, Jay.”

“You gonna be ready to go soon?” he asked, checking the time on his phone.

“Yeah, just need to put on jewelry and shoes, and I’m good. Sieun did my makeup for me earlier.” You put on the thin silver earrings and ring Jay had gotten for you and checked your reflection in the mirror. You put a hand to your collarbone, thinking the area looked a bit empty without a necklace.

“Should I wear the necklace from last time? It looks a bit weird without anything right now,” you asked Jay, keeping your gaze on the mirror. 

“Um, I’ve got something, actually. I forgot to give it to you with the rest of the things.” He fished a small box out of his bag and got up to stand behind you. He took out the necklace and put it around your neck, asking you to hold your hair up. You complied, looking at his reflection in the mirror. His hands slightly brushed the back of your neck as he locked the necklace, and you had to keep yourself from visibly shivering at his touch. This was infinitely worse (or better) than him zipping up your dress.

He absent-mindedly let his hands slide along your shoulders until they came to a halt on the sides of your arms. His eyes met yours in the mirror, and with a smile, he said, “All done.”

—

Nothing, not even the fundraiser of the previous week, could’ve prepared you for how lavish this party was. Whereas the fundraiser has been in an 18th century ballroom, in the old part of your city where most of the architecture was traditional, this event was taking place in the newer, richer part of the city where skyscrapers constituted most of the area. You were at the top of one of those skyscrapers, and from the huge windows that made up two of the four walls of the spacious room, you could see the whole city laid out right in front of you, as if it was yours to take. If having money meant seeing this everyday, you thought you could understand why rich people got addicted to it. 

As Jay and his dad had warned, the atmosphere that evening was very different from that of the fundraiser. Instead of gathering for a cause, this just felt like an excuse to get drunk and eat tiny, tiny appetizers that probably cost a hundred dollars each, all while looking rich and fashionable. The room was quite dark, only the moon outside and the small LED lamps on every table bringing light in. You’d never seen such an impressive collection of alcohol (to be fair, you’d only ever been to frat parties where most of the alcohol was cheap beer and dodgy brands of vodka), and you were really going to have to restrain yourself from trying out every cocktail the barman offered. Although most of the people there were in their forties to sixties, and the younger people were only there thanks to their parents, the dress code wasn’t as formal as you’d have imagined it to be, and Jay’s assessment of your dress as the “wrong choice” now made more sense. The women wore dresses that showed quite some skin, or didn’t leave much to the imagination, and the men had left their suit blazer behind and hadn’t buttoned their shirt all the way up.

It was all a bit mind-boggling at first, but you soon got used to it, and Jay’s warm hand on your lower back reassured you. At first, the two of you walked around together, talking to different people, and hoping you were making your “relationship” clear to them. You were glad Heeseung or anyone that would’ve recognized you wasn’t there: you could handle pretending to be Jay’s girlfriend in front of his parents and other random people, but in front of the whole school, that would’ve been a whole other level of fake dating.

Watching people slowly slip into a drunk state as the hours passed was just about the only source of entertainment you got that night. The two cocktails you’d tried out were way too strong to your liking, so you didn’t feel like drinking anymore, and Jay couldn’t because he was driving you home later on. When most guests were beyond the point of being able to hold a coherent conversation, you and Jay took it as your cue to leave. You found his parents among the crowd to tell them goodbye, and you could tell they weren’t completely sober by the way they kept telling you you were amazing and made you promise three times you’d attend more of these events. Guess you couldn’t back out now.

And indeed, as weeks passed, it became a normal thing for you to accompany Jay every time he had an event to attend. Your wardrobe was going to burst from all the outfits he kept buying you, but you weren’t going to complain. Jake and Sunghoon, as sons of CEOs of smaller but still important companies, were sometimes present. They usually ditched these types of events, and you couldn’t blame them, but they still made the effort from time to time. You were already friends with Jake before; the two of you had lived in the same dorm building and kept finding each other in the study room late at night, then started to bond over insolvable questions and watered-down instant coffee. Sunghoon, on the other hand, you hadn’t had many chances to talk to, and you couldn’t lie, judging by his appearance alone, you had first thought he was even more self-centered than Jay. But after talking to him for just a minute, you found that that cold facade quickly broke down and he was easy to talk to and very funny - in his own way, but funny nonetheless.

Heeseung wasn’t always at these events, but whenever he was, you couldn’t miss him. He always garnered attention, especially from the female guests, but he always kept his eyes trained on you. In all your three years of liking him, he’d barely spoken a word to you, so why the sudden interest? Usually, you’d have craved his attention; but for some reason, at those parties, you felt indifferent towards it. You hated how he was always with a different girl and never approached you, yet wasn’t trying to keep his glances towards you discreet at all. Jay noticed it too, and a couple times you’d even had to stop him from going up to Heeseung and asking him what the hell he wanted. 

Since you didn’t have money to bedazzle people with, you always tried to make a good impression with your conversation and intellect, but some nights you just weren’t up to it and spent most of the time laughing with Jake and Sunghoon, as Jay was often too busy talking to someone else. Tonight was one of those nights; half an hour into the party, an important businessman approached Jay and started talking to him, completely ignoring you. He always ended up apologizing later on, but you didn’t reproach him for it - you knew he had a reputation to uphold and that these events were important for him. Plus, it wasn’t like he owed you anything - you weren’t his girlfriend after all, even if the line between real and fake had started to blur more and more often as of late. 

Feeling out of place, you looked around the room and found Jake and Sunghoon at the bar, six shots lined up in front of them. You had never gotten drunk at any of these events, not wanting to risk embarrassing Jay or his parents, but tonight seemed like it was gonna be the most boring one as of yet. So you gestured to Jay that you were leaving and joined the two boys.

“Room for one more?” you asked when you reached them. They turned around and smiled at you; this was clearly not their first drink of the night. 

“Of course!” replied Jake excitedly, beaming at you. You could tell he already had a few drinks in his system. Without further ado, you each took a shot glass in your hand, clinked them and brought them to your lips, dipping your heads back. The burning of the alcohol as it glided down your throat was both repulsive and intoxicating, and you were soon reaching for the second one. The boys cheered you on and quickly mirrored you. 

Although you’d promised Jay you’d always be on your best behavior, as the evening went on, you never refused a drink that the servers approached you with or the boys offered you. Without Jay to make snide remarks about the snouty guests with, the evening was a lot less fun, so you couldn’t help but down every glass of alcohol that came near you; since Jake and Sunghoon were doing the exact same thing, none of you were realizing exactly how drunk you three were getting. At least, you weren’t going around the room, mumbling drunkenly to everyone; you were staying at a table in the corner, mumbling drunkenly to each other.

Jay was observing you from afar, trying not to worry and stay focus on the conversation (no matter how mind-numbing) he was having; but when he saw you almost fall out of your chair and burst into laughter right away instead of regaining your senses, he thought it was time to come check on you. He couldn’t help but feel guilty for having left you alone for most of the night, and he knew Jake and Sunghoon never stayed sober through these events, but in his defense, he didn’t think any of you would go that far.

He took a seat in the chair next to you, leaning close to you so you could hear him over the music and chatter of the guests. He asked you how you felt, and you gave him a lopsided smile in response. “Me? I feel great. This place is awesome once you’ve had-” you hiccuped, “a few drinks.”

Jay sighed but had an affectionate look on his face. “Right. I think it’s time to get you home.” He saw you open your mouth in what was probably going to be protest, so before you could say anything, he added, “And don’t even argue with me. I’m taking you home, let me just go let my parents know first. You two figure it out on your own,” he told Jake and Sunghoon, who had already started to doze off on their chairs.

He got up and headed towards his parents, and you watched him walk away with a pout on your face. Your vision was blurry from the alcohol and you could barely make out any faces, but you waved in what you hoped was the general direction of his parents. 

“She just keeps getting better, doesn’t she? Even when she’s drunk, she doesn’t embarrass herself,” said Mr Park when Jay announced your departure. “I’m glad you have her, son.” Jay was glad for the dimness of the room, which meant his dad wouldn’t notice how hard he was blushing. Even if it was all an act, thanks to his parents, he had gotten closer to you than he thought he ever would.

He bid goodbye to his parents and a few other guests, including Jake’s and Sunghoon’s parents, making them aware of their kids’ state, then went back to get you. The trek to the car wasn’t the easiest as tiredness had started to hit you and your body grew heavier against your will. You fell asleep as soon as your head hit the back of the passenger seat and Jay couldn’t help but think you were the cutest thing in the world. He then realized how far gone he must be to think you still looked precious in your current state.

The car ride was silent, your quiet snores and the soft chatter of the radio the only sounds filling up the space. Jay thought you were dead asleep as you didn’t wake up when he fished your keys out of your bag and carried you bridal style out of the car and to the door, but really, you just didn’t wanna have to walk. When he got to the door, though, you thought it would’ve been unfair to make him struggle that much, so you opened your eyes and quietly told him to let you on the ground. He walked you to your room, tucked you in bed and even got a wet wipe to take your makeup off for you. 

As he gently swiped it over your eyes, trying not to hurt you, your drunken state got the best of you and you asked, voice barely over a whisper, “Why are you doing all this?”

He didn’t say anything for a minute, and you thought he might not have heard you, until he replied, “Because I want to.” You were too tired to press the matter any further, although you desperately wanted to. You’d have to wait until you were sober - if you’d have the courage to bring the subject up then.

When he was done and got up from your bed, the sudden absence of his presence around you made you panic, so you called out, “Jay?”

“Yeah?” he said, and you hoped you weren’t imagining how expectant he’d sounded.

“Will you stay?”

Your eyes were too heavy to even open, so you couldn’t see his reaction. After a second that felt like an eternity, he answered, “Of course.”

You heard him steal a pillow and lay down on the carpeted floor next to your bed. Maybe it was the remnants of alcohol in your system, or the fact that spending so much time together, especially as his girlfriend - fake girlfriend - had made you see him in a new light, or the fact that you felt like your whole world would collapse if you didn’t have him next to you at that moment, or all three of those things. All you knew was that something beyond your control made you whisper “come here” in the quiet of your room, and, when he got under the covers with you but kept his distance, made you wrap your arms around him and cling onto his shirt as if he would disappear.

You slept like a baby that night, but Jay barely got a wink of sleep, the sound of his own heart beating uncontrollably keeping him awake.

—

You woke up that Sunday morning with a ringing headache, an upset stomach and a thirst you knew you wouldn’t be able to quench no matter how much water you drank. Your bed was empty, and the only thing that reminded you Jay sleeping overnight wasn’t a fever dream was his scent lingering on your pillow. The pang in your heart at his absence was hard to ignore - you were definitely curious about what it’d be like to wake up in Jay’s arms. 

The busy chatter coming from the kitchen forced you out of your bed, although you would’ve rather stayed there all day. As soon as you opened your bedroom door, the smell of pancakes and sizzling bacon attacked your nose, and you hurried downstairs.

The sight of Jay cooking breakfast for you and your mother alone was enough to cure your hangover. You sneakily watched from the staircase as he expertly flipped pancakes and cooked eggs at the same time, all while holding a conversation with your mom. You walked into the kitchen and poured yourself a cup of coffee before taking a seat next to your mom, trying to but failing to suppress a smile. “I didn’t know you were also a housewife, Jongseong,” you said, voice still groggy with sleep.

“I thought it was the least I could do after making you attend such an awful event,” he answered, and you had the suspicion he was only being nice because your mom was there, even though she knew you two weren’t actually dating. 

He kept that energy all throughout breakfast, making your mom laugh, and you watched him play his charm on her, glad you didn’t need to participate in the conversation. Any mom would be lucky to have him as a step-son, you caught yourself thinking.

Your mother hugged him when he left, and turned to you with a smile as soon as she’d closed the door. “Y/N, there’s no way in hell you don’t wanna date that boy. Hell, if he wasn’t half my age, I probably would.”

You took a cold water bottle from the fridge and said, “We’re not talking about this,” then headed up the stairs to your room. You ignored her calling after you and laid down in bed. Last night had given you a lot to think about.

—

You never got as drunk as that night again, not wanting to repeat that situation. Your relationship with Jay had already changed so much in so little time, but now, there was a lingering tension that always kept you on edge, and it wasn’t due to the constant arguing. It was due to the way you couldn’t get his scent on your sheets out of your head and the way he couldn’t forget how you had held onto him that night. You two had always said whatever was on your mind to each other, especially if it was something that would annoy the other, but now unspoken words constantly lingered between the two of you.

Your friends saw right through you; even though you tried to play it cool, it was painfully obvious that Jay was much more than just competition to you now. You hadn’t told them about the time he’d slept over and made you breakfast, knowing you’d never hear the end of it; but they didn’t need to know about that to see something had changed. It was clear in the way you talked about him, which had gone from irritated to excited, or how you never mentioned Heeseung anymore. One time, you’d even said “dating Jay” instead of “fake-dating,” and Sunoo had immediately picked up on it.

“That-that’s what I meant!” you’d exclaimed defensively, but they’d all looked at you with teasing smiles.

Jay hadn’t been very discreet when he’d given you bags of designer clothes all over campus, like in the cafeteria, in a random hallway, or in a lecture hall, and given his immense popularity (you know, being handsome and rich and all that), a few rumors about you two dating were being spread around. But they hadn’t really blown up, since the both of you always denied them whenever someone asked you if they were true, because you didn’t need to keep the pretense at uni. 

The pretense - because that’s all it was, of course. Play pretend. Fake dating, keyword fake. But everything with Jay felt too real - the laughter in his car on the way to and fro the events, the smiles you exchanged from across the room, his hand brushing against yours when you sit next to each other during lectures. It wasn’t enough to have his arm around your waist once or twice a week, and it drove you crazy that you had him in bed right next to you but that you’d let him go. You needed to have him close, and for it to be real.

It was a sunny March afternoon when you realized this. Your week was surprisingly unbusy - along with the preparation for your lectures and tutorials, you only had two small online quizzes to complete, and all your bigger deadlines were so far away that even you didn’t see the point in starting on them already. So, armed with your favorite book and plenty of snacks, you’d decided to head to the park next to campus and spend a relaxing afternoon in the sun. It went as planned for about an hour, when an all too familiar voice called out your name - a voice that used to make you sigh in annoyance and roll your eyes automatically, but that now made your heart skip a beat in nervousness, you realized with some alarm.

“Hey! What are you doing here?” He sat down next to you on your picnic blanket, beaming at you like you were his good old friend he’d just run into. He had a professional-looking camera with him, something you’d never seen him carry around. You were so taken aback by his excitement at seeing you that no words formed in your mind, and you just raised your book and waved it stupidly.

Jay chuckled when he saw what you were reading. “Twilight, of course. And that’s the last one, isn’t it?” He shook his head in mock-disappointment at you. “I can’t believe you would put yourself through the torture of reading four of those books, Y/N.”

You just mumbled something about them being fun to read, turning your gaze back to the cover of the book you were holding. What the hell was wrong with you?! Usually, you’d be quick to shoot an answer back at Jay, either defending yourself or attacking him on one of his own weird preferences (you’ll never forget the day they had corn at the cafeteria and Jay had scarfed down at least five cobs in one sitting). But right now, Jay’s presence next to you turned your insides to liquid and rendered you unable to think properly. You hated it.

But then you noticed something on the book cover - “Jay, how do you know this is the last one?” From the corner of your eye, you saw Jay’s head snap up while you turned the book in your hands. “There’s no number on it.”

“O-oh,” he started, and judging from the growing blush on his face, you knew you’d caught him. This brought some of your usual confidence back to you. “Isn’t it common knowledge that Breaking Dawn is the last book in the series?”

You giggled at that. “Absolutely not.” His guilty expression only made you want to press further, and you added, “That’s something you’d only know if you’d watched all the movies and made the effort to remember the separate titles.”

He looked away, letting out a small hum as he found sudden interest in his camera. You were still smiling at him in disbelief. “Jongseong, have you seen all five Twilight movies?”

He furrowed his eyebrows and kept avoiding your gaze. “Pffft. No.”

“Jongseong.”

At the sound of his name, he abruptly turned his head in your direction, and his glare only made you smile even more. “You’ve actually seen all five movies, I can’t believe this,” you said, almost laughing. Jay’s eyes softened slightly, just enough for you to notice. He turned his attention back to his camera, but he was smiling down at it as he spoke this time.

“It’s just that you’ve mentioned them so often, I thought I should check at least the first one out. Turns out they’re pretty addictive,” he admitted sheepishly.

“So you watched them for me?” you asked, and your voice was more admirative than you’d had intended it to be - you wanted to tease him, not let him know that what he’d just said actually touched you.

“I watched them for… research purposes,” he conceded. Your eyes met. Your cheeks were starting to hurt from all the intense smiling this conversation was bringing you, but you couldn’t help it. This time, you were the one to look away.

“Research purposes, of course.” A short silence ensued, the sort of silence you should’ve been used to with Jay by now but that always made you feel giddy - the sort that’s awkward in a lighthearted way, the sort where you’re repeating all the words that have just been said in your head and committing them to memory. The sort where you hope the other is feeling all the things you’re feeling.

You broke it first. “What about you, what are you doing here?”

Jay raised his head, looking like he’d just remembered he had come here for another purpose than just talking to you. “Right. I have a project for this elective I’m taking, so I need to film some stuff and I thought it’d be nice to do it here,” he explained, shrugging.

“Sounds cool,” you said, and you hoped he knew you actually meant it. He looked at you again, and he seemed surprised. “Tell me more,” you added, and from the way his features lit up, you could tell you had said the right thing. You positioned yourself more comfortably on the blanket as you listened to him.

“Oh, well, our professor’s a bit of a romantic so the project is all about finding beauty in the small things, the happiness around us, love…” 

Your gazes locked the moment he said that word, but it only lasted a second. Jay was quick to clear his throat and go back to his explanation, but it took you a few more seconds until you could focus on his words again. When you snapped out of it, he was showing you some films he’d already taken. They were all very short, just three or four seconds long, but a peacefulness emitted from each of them. An encouraging message scribbled into a lecture hall table, a cat laying on a windowsill, enjoying the sun, an old couple walking slowly hand-in-hand, teenage girls celebrating a birthday at an ice cream parlor, the metro passing quickly through the frame as the sunset paints the sky orange in the background. All beautiful moments that make up life, but that you never take the time to fully appreciate.

“This… this is beautiful, Jay,” you breathe, mesmerized by what he’d manage to capture.

“Yeah? Not too cheesy?” he asked, a small smile on his lips.

“Not at all. I think your professor will love this, you completely grasped the subject.”

He let out a shaky breath of relief, his smile getting wider. “Nice,” he said under his breath. Then he suddenly turned his head to look at you, an intensity in his gaze you hadn’t expected. “Would you mind if I took a video of you? Add you to the film?”

“W-what, like here? Right now?”

“Yeah,” Jay said, and when he smiled at you like that, who were you to say no?

“Okay, sure.” You tried to shrug, play it cool, but something about Jay looking at you through his lens and adding a video of you to all those beautiful ones he’d just shown you made your heartbeat speed dangerously.

“Great,” he beamed. “Just read your book. Pretend I’m not here,” he instructed. As if you could be anything less than hyper-aware of his presence, you thought.

Thankfully, the video was shot in just a few minutes as Jay searched for the best angle to take it from. Before you knew it, he was already back next to you, mirroring your position on the blanket as he laid on his stomach. You tried to ignore how his shoulder brushed against yours as he leaned on his forearms, showing you the video. You had to admit, it looked really nice - from this angle, the sun shone down on you perfectly, and you could see the wind blowing through the tree leaves in the background. It fit perfectly with the other videos.

“Beautiful,” Jay whispered, looking at the film with nothing but fondness in his eyes.

You didn’t linger on his words too long, just took the chance to tease him: “Are you complimenting me or your videography skills?”

The look in his eyes didn’t change as he turned his head and gazed down at you. “You, of course.”

A smirk tugged the corners of his lips up as he took in your flustered expression, your incoherent mumbles. “Whatever,” you mumbled when you regained the ability to speak. 

Another comfortable silence settled between the two of you as Jay busied himself with his camera while you read the same paragraph over and over, unable to concentrate on the words. You desperately wanted to say something, but had no idea what, so you were grateful when Jay broke the silence.

“Just need to edit this all together on my laptop, and then I’m all done. Thanks for your help, Y/N.”

“I didn’t do anything, though,” you said with a small smile. His compliment from earlier was still ringing in your ears.

“But you did. I think that shot of you will end the film perfectly.” 

Sure, Jay had gotten nicer and nicer to you as time passed - but today, he was really laying it on thick. He was making it hard to breathe properly. All you could do to save yourself was change the subject.

“So, this is for the Visual Studies part of your degree, right?”

For the second time today, Jay’s expression went from surprise to delight - you remembered, he thought. “It is, yeah,” he replied, with a wide grin he couldn’t control. He seemed to hesitate for a bit, as if deliberating whether he should say whatever it was he wanted to say or not. You were happy to see he opted for telling you. “If it was up to me, it’s the only thing I’d have done.”

You studied him for a bit. With just this simple sentence, you realized Jay’s life wasn’t as simple as you’d always imagined it to be. “But it’s not up to you, I’m guessing.”

He smiled sadly, and you had to resist the urge to take him in your arms. All these things you had been feeling for him, they weren’t supposed to be there, and you were getting really tired of fighting them back.

“It isn’t, no.” He turned over to lay on his back, and you imitated him, so that you were now both staring up at the sky. He sighed before speaking again. “My father isn’t a particularly conservative man, but he does like tradition. He wants to keep the company in the family, and as his only child, I’m the one the responsibility falls upon. He’s never even asked me if this was what I wanted to do, just assumed I’d be happy with it.”

In your three years of knowing Jay, you’d thought how unfair it was that he wouldn’t have to go through the hoops of job applications and job interviews. He already had a top position waiting for him as soon as he got out of college. But now you realized that he was completely trapped in the position - all of the decisions you’d taken academics- and career-wise had been your own, while Jay’s had been chosen for him in advance.

“I picked up photography as a hobby to get away from it all and ended up really falling in love with it. I have control over my camera even if I have zero control over anything else in my life,” he explained with a defeated chuckle.

You let your head fall to the side and looked at him. “I had no idea about any of this.”

Jay met your eyes and smiled. The sun was right behind you, so he had to shield his eyes from it to look at you. “Of course not. I never mentioned it.”

“I feel like I should’ve known, for some reason.”

His smile got wider. You looked away. “Why?”

“Just ‘cause. Maybe I would’ve gone easier on you if I knew you were also struggling.”

“I wouldn’t have let you.” He bumped your shoulder with his, making you let out a chuckle.

A beat passed before you spoke again. “Guess we both have a lot of pressure on our shoulders, huh? Even if they’re different kinds.”

“Guess we do.”

“Then we’re more similar than I’d thought,” you said, and looked at him again.

“Guess we are.”

A smile bloomed on your lips, and Jay’s eyes drifted down to it. That simple action made you panic, and you suddenly sat up. He didn’t have time to ask if everything’s alright, you were already throwing your stuff back in your bag and mumbling something about the time and having to go. You stood, and turned to Jay before scurrying off. “I’ll see you around.”

Jay chuckled, slightly confused, but let you go. It wasn’t until he left himself that he’d realized you’d left without your picnic blanket.

— 

After that afternoon, you tried to pretend nothing happened, and that you hadn’t run away just because of Jay glancing down at your lips. You were already getting worked up over things you shouldn’t even be thinking about when it came to him - you didn’t need to have Jay kissing you on your mind.

Thankfully, Jay didn’t bother you about it, and you got back into your routine of arguing by class and pretending to be a couple by night. Everything was fine.

That is, until Mr Park happened.

You had waited all week, hell, all month for this: Jay’s dad was about to give a special talk for the School of Business on how to get a company started and efficiently run it, but most importantly, he would announce how to apply for a summer internship at his firm. You’d made sure to get there early so you could get a good seat. He noticed you when you walked in the amphitheater, and motioned to you to come see him.

“Y/N! Lovely to see you, thanks for coming,” he greeted, beaming down at you. It always surprised you just how similar his smile was to his son’s.

“Of course, Mr Park! I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Come and see me after the talk, yeah? There’s something I want to tell you.”

God, what was it with Park father and son to announce things like that? Why not just say it straight away? You kept those thoughts to yourself and nodded, then sat down at a seat in the front.

You listened intently the whole time and took down rigorous notes. When it was over, you had to wait another twenty minutes as people asked him questions, until he finally announced that was all he had time for today. You headed down towards the stage, and complimented him on his talk. Most people in the room had started trickling out, but there were still a few students waiting at the doors, hoping to catch him before he left.

“Oh, thank you, thank you,” he said with a chuckle, before taking a deep breath. “I realize now what I said earlier might have made you nervous, but don’t worry, you’re not in trouble.” 

You released a breath you didn’t know you were holding. Good. “I just wanted to thank you for being such a good girlfriend to Jay. I’ve always been proud of him, but I know he has a lot on his shoulders, so it’s nice to see that he has someone like you to rely on.”

You smiled at Mr Park, saying it was nothing, but you felt guilty. He truly believed in you and Jay, when the two of you were only pretending. Even though it didn’t always feel that way anymore. 

“Oh, and for the internship, I’m sure you’ll understand that it wouldn’t look too good if I gave it to you. But don’t worry, I’ll put in a good word for you wherever you decide to apply.”

A second passed. Then another, and another, until your lack of answer was becoming weird, and you had to say something. “Oh. Right. Of course, I understand,” you replied, hoping the disappointment in your voice wasn’t too obvious. You exchanged a few more words until you said you needed to get back to studying.

As you turned around to exit the room, you noticed everybody who had been waiting for Mr Park was staring right at you, wide-eyed. You tried to ignore them and get to the doors, but a girl stopped you. “So the rumors are true, you really are dating Jay?”

You’d never seen her in your life and were a bit shocked that a stranger could demand information about your love life, but you nonetheless shook your head and started to say, “What? No.”

“Why are you lying? We just heard everything,” said another voice.

“Yeah, it doesn’t matter anyway, just don’t lie.”

You turned your gaze away from the students to look behind you at Mr Park. Or more precisely, at the lecturer mic wrapped around his waist. From where you were, you could make out a tiny red light on the mic, signaling it was still on.

Crap.

—

As soon as you were outside, you called Jay. He picked up after a few rings, groaning, “What? I’m at the library.” Ah, there was the Jay you knew.

“I’ll be here in two, come outside.”

“But-”

“Right now,” you said sharply and hung up. 

Jay had wanted to scold you for disturbing him like that, but as soon as he saw you, eyebrows furrowed and biting your lip nervously, worry overcame him. “Hey. You okay?” he asked gently, placing his hands on your forearms.

“Yeah. I’m fine, but, um, everybody knows. »

He looked at you questioningly, and when you wouldn’t explain further, he asked, “Knows what?”

“You. Me. That we’re dating. Well, they think we’re dating.”

“What? How do they know?”

“Your dad. We talked after his presentation, and he thanked me for being a good girlfriend, except his mic was on. So everybody heard. And you know how gossip travels here, so everybody’ll know by tonight,” you said, sighing in exasperation.

Jay thought for a while. “Well, who cares if they know? We don’t have to change the way we act with each other. That’d be more suspicious, if anything. We’ll just have to not deny it when people ask if we’re dating.” 

Your frustration got the best of you and you scoffed, giving Jay a harsher look than you wanted to. His hands left your forearms. “How far is this gonna go, Jay?! How much longer do we have to-” You realized how loud your voice was, and switched to whisper-shouting instead of just shouting. “To pretend? I can let you parade me around those CEOs and whatnot, but I don’t wanna have to keep the charade up on campus, too.”

Jay’s law locked. He looked like you’d just punched him. But he didn’t say anything, so you dropped it. “Anyway, that’s not even the bad part. Your dad told me I wouldn’t get the internship.  And it’s fine, I guess I can get one somewhere else. But I wasn’t expecting it, and I was really looking forward to working at your dad’s firm.”

Again, he was silent for a small while, until he muttered, “Right.”

You looked up at him, and he was avoiding your gaze. Why wasn’t he surprised, or angry? Why wasn’t he reacting?

“Did… did you know?” you asked, unable to keep your voice from shaking.

Nothing.

“Jay. Did you know?” you repeated, tone harsher, more impatient.

“Um. Yeah, I knew,” he mumbled. He still wouldn’t look you in the eye. 

You shut your eyes for a few seconds, trying to grasp the situation. “Wh- you knew? And you didn’t say anything?” 

“Sorry,” he said, eyes trained on his shoes.

“Sorry? That’s it?” You shook your head in disbelief. You almost wanted to laugh. “How long have you known?”

“Since the beginning, really. My dad’s not the type to do favors, and he wants to keep up that image. So if you’re my girlfriend, he wouldn’t give you the internship.”

You couldn’t say anything. Not getting the internship was one thing. You could get over it. But Jay knowing from the start and keeping it from you, that was what really hurt you. You could feel tears forming in your eyes, but you walked away before Jay could see just how much he’d upset you.

“Y/N!” he called after you. He grabbed your wrist, making you stop in your tracks and turn around. The sight of you, teary eyes and staring at him with fury in your eyes, and knowing he was the reason behind it, made him indescribably angry at himself.

“Whatever it is you have to say, I don’t wanna hear it, Jongseong.” He tightened his grip on your wrist before you could snatch it away from him.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N. I didn’t know you wanted that internship. If I did-”

“If you did? Then what? You wouldn’t have asked me to be your pretend girlfriend? You would’ve let me have a chance at the internship?” You shook your head. “Of course not. So save it.”

You managed to get out of his grip and continued walking away, ignoring him as he called out your name again. When you were a few meters away, you turned around and said, venom only in your voice, “I hope you realize how selfish you are, Jay.”

That’s when his heart broke.

—

Jay had been right when he said people wouldn’t care about the two of you ‘dating.’ However, the people who did care, your friends, were more confused than anything: you had gone from bickering non stop, to denying couple rumors, to not talking to each other. It’d been a week since your argument with Jay, and you still didn’t want to hear him out. You didn’t want to have anything to do with him: you straight-up ignored him every time he tried to get you to talk to him, had blocked his number and shut down your friends and mom whenever they mentioned him.

You missed him; you missed his stupid arguments, and his stupid jokes, and his stupid face, and how it had started to feel like he genuinely cared for you. Or at least, that’s what he’d made you think. And he’d made you think it so well, that you thought you might have been starting to genuinely care for him as well. Which only made his betrayal a hundred times worse.

You’d decided to drown your sorrows in textbooks, and spent most of your time at the library. On Thursday, you were searching for the week’s essential reading in the Econ section, and as you took out the book in question, you saw a pair of eyes staring right at you. You tried not to shriek but you felt like your soul had left your body. You’d barely had time to gather your spirits when the culprit had come round to your side of the bookshelf, and of course, it was none other than Lee Heeseung. God, you thought, could that boy get any weirder?

“Trouble in paradise, or so I’ve heard?” he asked in lieu of a normal greeting. Whatever happened to hello?

“That’s none of your business, Heeseung,” you replied curtly, opening the book.

He tried not to be taken too aback by your attitude. He was used to stammering and blushing Y/N, not you-better-not-give-me-any-shit Y/N. He wouldn’t say he disliked the change.

“I’m not sure why you thought dating a guy like Jay was a good idea in the first place, anyway. You could do a lot better, you know,” he said, and you couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony of it all. When you didn’t answer, he went on. “You know, we’ve missed you at the frat parties. I know you’ve been going to all those boring company events, but don’t you think it’d be more fun to let loose with us? Tomorrow night?”

This made you look up at him. He had that gaze again, the one you’d seen all those times, and you remembered why you’d liked him for so long. Something about his eyes, about the way he was waiting for you to say yes, made you reply, “I’ll think about it.” You returned his smile and headed back to your seat. You did think going to his party would be fun, and you definitely needed some of that right now.

Plus, you had the perfect dress for the occasion.

—

So here you were, standing in front of the frat house’s door, Sieun, Sunoo and Keeho at your sides, in the tight black dress Jay had given you but you hadn’t chosen for that one event. They were all used to this kind of party, but you’d only been a few times, and although they’d all hyped you up for it, you suddenly felt yourself deflate. 

“Guys, what if I just embarrass myself like last time? I don’t think I could live with that-”

“Nope! We’re not having this conversation again!” Sieun exclaimed, already pushing you inside. “You look hot as fuck, and tonight you’re gonna have so much fun and forget all about Jay.”

Keeho and Sunoo gave her a stern look. “Sorry,” she quickly apologized, but you barely heard her over the bass of the booming music. It was 11 p.m. and the party was well into motion. People were drunkenly dancing on the designated dance floor, and you tried to not conjure up memories of that last party. There were people everywhere you looked: on the staircase, in the backyard, in the kitchen. 

Your friends and you headed first to the mini-bar and shot down some vodka for liquid courage. As you started chatting, trying to see who was there, Heeseung approached you.

“Y/N! You came! And you look really good,” he said, taking in your figure. He pulled you into a hug which you returned warmly. The vodka was already having its effects on you, apparently.

“Can I get you guys a drink?” he asked you and Sieun. Keeho and Sunoo had already disappeared to the dance floor. 

“Sure,” you said, smiling up at Heeseung.

Sieun looked between the two of you, and said, “Actually, I’ll join the others. Come dance with us soon, Y/N!” And like that, she was gone, giving you no time to protest. She thought she was being slick, that one.

You and Heeseung chuckled. He got you a red cup and you watched him as he expertly poured different juices and liquors in it. “So, what made you decide to come?” he asked, handing you your drink. You took a sip of it and nodded approvingly.

“I just needed a good party. To let loose, like you said. Plus, who am I to deny an invitation from the great Lee Heeseung?”

Neither of you was sure where all the confidence was coming from. As soon as you’d said that, you looked down at your cup and smiled shyly. Heeseung looked at you curiously, but he couldn’t help but grin as well. You chatted a bit more, drinking one, two, three cups of the heavenly concoction Heeseung made for you. 

“Wanna dance?” he suddenly offered, extending his hand. Right at that moment, you saw Jay enter the house with Jake and Sunghoon. You saw him look around the room until his eyes zeroed in on you and the boy in front of you. Perfect, you thought. You smiled at Heeseung and took his hand, letting him lead you to the dance floor.

Somebody had dimmed down the lights and Lost in the Fire by The Weeknd was playing loudly, creating a sensual atmosphere in the whole room. Your body started swaying to the music, and you were thankful for the alcohol in your system, ridding your mind of any negative or self-conscious thought; you were just enjoying yourself, exactly like you’d wanted to do tonight.

You were getting lost in the music, when a pair of hands on the sides of your waist brought you back to reality. Heeseung got so close to you, you could feel his lips on your ear as they moved to whisper, “Having fun, princess?” 

You nodded fervently, leaning your head back on his shoulder, closing whatever gap there was between your two bodies. His hands traveled from your waist to your hips and you could feel his broad chest against your back as you two moved to the rhythm of the music. From where you were, you had a view of the living room. Jay was sitting there, a girl sitting so close she might as well have been on his lap, but he was staring right at you. You knew never hooked up with random girls at parties, so he had to be doing this to get a reaction out of you. You hated that it worked, that it only made the fire in you burn harder - so as a response, you started grinding your ass against Heeseung.

When the girl actually sat on Jay’s lap, you couldn’t look anymore, so you turned around and put your arms around Heeseung’s neck and faced him. His eyes had glossed over and he was looking at you with a hunger you’d never seen before. Well, that wasn’t true - you’d seen him look at other girls that way, and you always knew what happened after that, but you chased the thought out of your mind, forgetting all about that promise you’d made to yourself of never becoming another one of his drunk fucks. Now that his attention was on you and you only, you felt yourself wanting more. His hands traveled further down your body as he grabbed at your ass, bringing your hips closer to his. He bent down to press wet kisses up your neck until he reached your ear. 

“Wanna take this upstairs?” he asked. It sent shivers down your spine, but you couldn’t tell whether they were good shivers or not. You willed away your hesitation, smiling at him as he took your hand once again, this time leading you to what you assumed was his bedroom. As you walked up the stairs, you scanned the room and sure enough, found Jay sitting on a couch, staring right at you. You thought the beer can in his hand might explode, he was holding it so tight. Feeling you slow down, Heeseung tugged at your hand, and you detached your gaze from Jay’s, trying to drown out the feeling of guilt that was creeping up inside you.

As soon as he’d closed the door behind you, Heeseung wasted no time in pressing you up against the wall and kissing you hungrily. You hadn’t been kissed many times before, and surely not with such energy, but you were sure it was supposed to feel better. Heeseung was in no measure a bad kisser, he seemed to have the technique down to a T and kept a perfect rhythm. But you felt no fireworks, no butterflies, no light-headedness you’d always hoped would come with a good kiss. There was just no passion to it.

After a few minutes of making out, when you were starting to hope he’d get on with it, he said, breath irregular, “What would Jay say if he saw this, huh? Probably hates the idea of me kissing his precious girlfriend, don’t you think?”

The mention of Jay hit you like a ton of bricks. “Wh-what?” you stammered, not letting Heeseung kiss you when he leaned in again.

“Jay? Your boyfriend?” he repeated, looking at you bemusedly.

You chuckled once. Then twice. Then you just started laughing. “Oh, Jay? We’re not actually dating,” you revealed, your filter completely gone because of all the alcohol.

“What?” Heeseung took a sudden step back from you. His confused gaze had turned cold.

“We’re not dating, I said. It’s all fake, it was to make his parents happy,” you explained, yourself confused by Heeseung’s sudden attitude change. 

It was his turn to laugh. “Wow. That’s impressive. You managed to fool me.” His smile dropped. “Now get the fuck out.”

“Excuse me?” you said, crossing your arms over your chest. Who the hell did this guy think he was?

“You heard me. Get the fuck out. There’s no point in fucking you if you’re not Jay’s girlfriend. You’re just a random loser.”

You stared at him for a few seconds, until you started laughing. It only seemed to make him angry. “What the fuck are you laughing about? I told you to get out.”

You sighed amusedly as if Heeseung was just joking around. “I just think it’s funny that you won’t fuck me because I’m not actually Jay’s girlfriend, when that’s not stopped you from getting with a different girl every single weekend. Whore,” you said, adding that last part in a whisper. You didn’t actually care that Heeseung slept around, not anymore, at least, but you wanted to get a reaction from him after the way he’d treated you.

But perhaps you went too far, because Heeseung’s eyes turned even angrier, and he pushed one of your shoulders harshly, making you almost hit the wall. “I’ll tell you one last time. Get out, you pathetic little bitch.” 

Just at that moment, the door burst open, revealing a very angry Jay. 

“What the fuck did you just call her?” he growled, heading straight for Heeseung and grabbing him by the collar. The other boy didn’t seem fazed, a smile back on his face, as if this whole situation was funny.

“Aw, Jongseong is mad I’m not being nice to his little fake girlfriend?” You guessed Jay must’ve looked confused, because Heeseung continued, “Yeah, she told me. To be fair, I should’ve known even you wouldn’t date a fucking beggar like her.”

You weren’t quick enough to stop Jay from bringing his fist up to Heeseung’s nose. You swore you heard something crack. But as soon as you saw him get ready for another punch, you ran to him and held his arm, shouting, “He’s not worth it, Jay!” and God, you almost wanted him to punch you because of how cliché that had sounded, but you truly thought Heeseung wasn’t worth losing any energy over.

Your voice seemed to make Jay snap out of his fury, and he looked at you, worry written all over his face. However, that only lasted a second, as his expression then shifted to something you’d never seen on his face before, and he grabbed your wrist, leading you out of the room. The commotion had gathered some attention, and you left the house under a bunch of people’s curious looks and chatter.

What was it with men grabbing you and leading you wherever tonight? You were tired of it, so as soon as you’d reached the front yard, you got your wrist out of his grasp, and demanded to know where he thought he was taking you. He grabbed your wrist again, and said, “To my place. We need to talk.” 

The tone in his voice told you it was better not to test him, so you got in his car. Jay was always a safe driver, but this time, he sped through the whole city, even burning some red lights, reaching his apartment on the other side of town in a matter of minutes. You quickly texted your friends your whereabouts so they wouldn’t have to worry. The whole car ride had been silent but you could feel him fuming next to you, and you had no idea what to expect when you entered his apartment.

His place was exactly like you’d imagined it: modern, spacious, and way more organized that any other university student’s flat would be, but also had a lot of personal touches. It was very Jay, and if it hadn’t been for the tension between the two of you, you’d have immediately felt at ease there.

Jay walked through the dark apartment to the kitchen, where he turned on a single light. You followed him, unsure what else to do. He leaned against his hands on the island counter, head hung low, and you went to stand on the other side of the counter, waiting for his next move. When his head snapped up and he peered straight at you, you could barely decipher the look in his eyes, but thought it contained a mixture of jealousy, anger, and… hunger. He’d never looked at you that way before, and his gaze itself created a ball in the pit of your stomach. You told yourself it really wasn’t the moment, but you couldn’t help but feel desperately attracted to him.

“What the fuck were you doing with Heeseung?” he asked, finally breaking the silence.

You scoffed. “What the fuck were you doing with that random girl?” 

“I wanted to make you jealous.” He hadn’t hesitated a second before answering, and his confidence destabilized you. You’d guessed that had been his plan, but hearing him say it made you feel weirdly shy. “Now answer me. What the fuck were you doing with Heeseung?” 

You couldn’t hold eye contact anymore, so you looked down at the counter, and replied, “I um, I was drunk, and I… I wanted to make you jealous too, I guess.” You looked back up at him, wanting to gauge his reaction. He was now wearing a smug look, like he’d won something over you. He slowly walked over to your side of the counter, and when he reached you, he put his hands on the counter on each side of you, making you lean back against it. You gulped at the way he towered over you

“And why did you want to make me jealous?” He was so close to you now that when he uttered those words, voice barely over a whisper, you felt his breath fan over your face. As much as you tried to keep eye contact, your gaze fell down to his lips, and you saw him smirk. He caught your chin between his index finger and thumb, nudging your head up. “Eyes up here, doll.”

Your eyes met his again. He was looking at you so intently, you thought your knees might buckle under you. He cocked an eyebrow, patiently waiting for your reply. “Because I…” 

It was so obvious, but you hadn’t been able to bring yourself to say it, or even let yourself think it, before. But it needed to be put out there, once and for all. There was no point in fighting it anymore. “Because I like you, Jongseong.”

To your surprise, his smirk turned into a cheeky grin. It made some of the tension dissipate, but not enough for you to breathe properly again. “I like you too, Y/N.” You sighed out of relief at his words and mirrored his smile. 

“Can I kiss you?” he said, the thumb that had been holding your chin caressing your bottom lip.

“I thought you’d never ask,” you breathed, and he leaned in, your lips meeting delicately. It stayed that way for a few minutes, until the pent-up feelings that had been threatening to come out finally did, and hunger and passion took over the kiss. Jay was kissing you like a man starved, and all you could do was return everything he was giving you. This was nothing like you’d imagined it; it was infinitely better. Talk about fireworks, or butterflies, or light-headedness, you felt like you were on another plane of existence, like a kiss that felt this good and was this freeing wasn’t humanly possible. 

Your hands slipped under his shirt and the sudden contact of your cold hands against his warm skin made him shiver. You were glad to see you had as much effect on him as he had on you. Never breaking the kiss, he led you to his bedroom and sat down on his bed, gesturing for you to straddle his lap. Your dress rode up your calves a little bit, and he used this opportunity to pull it further up until it bundled up around your hips, leaving your lower half almost naked. You could feel how hard he was getting underneath your clothed core, and as the kiss grew needier, you started grinding against him, getting the both of you off. When you heard him groan against your lips, something snapped in you, and you wanted to hear that sound over and over, so you doubled down on your actions. 

His hands, which had been resting on your ass, came up to the nape of your neck, and he grabbed you by the hair, exposing your neck to him. He started pressing down eager kisses along your jawline, throat, and collarbones. When he found a spot in the crook of your neck you particularly liked, he started attacking it like crazy, sucking at the skin and turning you into a moaning mess. One of his hands came to cup your breast and he was very glad to find you were not wearing a bra. Your nipple had hardened through the fabric, and he started playing with it. That, as well the feeling of him in your neck and against your core, was overwhelming, and you felt like you were about to pass out because of how good it all felt. You didn’t know what to do with your hands so you alternated between running them over his arms and tugging at his hair.

As your lips met again, teeth almost clashing because of the intensity, you started unbuttoning his shirt. When it was off, you couldn’t not stare at him. You’d had an idea already, but you still couldn’t believe how toned his arms, chest and abs were. You thought to yourself, God, he’s so hot, and hadn’t realized you’d actually said it out loud until he jokingly said, “Yeah?”, looking up at you with the biggest smile. His hands ran over your calves, your thighs and your ass, sending shivers along the way, and he said, “You’re not too bad yourself, doll.” He kissed you with much more gentleness than before. “In fact, you’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

You kissed him so he wouldn’t see the blush spreading on your face. He put his hand on your lower back, and guided you down on the bed until you were laying on your back, him hovering over you. He pulled your dress all the way up, helping you get rid of it. You were now left in only panties in front of him, and you would’ve imagined that to be intimidating, but his gaze was truly making you feel like a goddess. Nonetheless, you didn’t want to be the only one naked, so you tucked your fingers under his trousers’ waistband, gesturing for him to take them off. He chuckled but immediately obliged, getting rid of them in a matter of seconds. You had an even better view of his now fully-hard cock, and its size made you gulp. Your mind was quickly off of that, though, as he started trailing kisses all the way down to your breasts, taking one of your nipples in his mouth as his hand came up to the other. Your back arched at the sensation, and you only wanted more, more, more. Your fingers tugged at his hair and you breathed out his name between moans. 

After a few minutes, he traveled further down your body, until he was face to face with your dripping core. He hooked his fingers under your panties, looking up at you and asking you if this was okay. You nodded impatiently and he chuckled at your reaction. How could you be so cute even in this moment? He took your panties off excruciatingly slowly. You wanted to take your time, but you also wanted him where you needed him the most.

You did feel a bit shy when he stared at your sex with the utmost wonder, musing to himself, “So pretty.” He slid a finger between your folds, making you moan in relief and pleasure, and added, “So wet, too.”

You had lifted your body onto your forearms so you could take a good look at him. He peered up at you and, with a small smile, asked gently, “Tell me if it feels good, okay?”

“Okay,” you replied, nodding fervently.

Without wasting another second, he licked a stripe up your core, making you moan again, louder this time. He took that as confirmation to go on and continued exploring your pussy with his tongue. You practically screamed out in pleasure when he found your clit, and by the time he started sucking on it, your thighs were shaking like crazy. You didn’t have any strength left in your body and your forearms gave out under you, so you just lied down on your back, fingers still tangled in and pulling his hair. You hadn’t been able to actually tell him it felt good, but you were sure he understood that much.

One of his fingers, and then a second, entered you, filling you up. “Shit, doll, you’re so tight. How are you gonna handle my cock?”

He curled his fingers inside you and they hit a certain spot that made you see stars, and you were coming all over his fingers and tongue in a matter of seconds, screaming out his name and a string of blasphemies. You had to physically lift his head from your core, telling him it was too much, otherwise he would’ve kept going. He gave you a sheepish smile and you couldn’t believe the boy grinning at you was the same one who’d just said and done all those lewd things to you. He pressed a small kiss on your inner thigh, then lay down next to you on the bed, taking in your flushed cheeks and blown-over eyes. He couldn’t believe he got to have you like this, in your most vulnerable state, all to himself. 

When you’d calmed down from your high, you managed to say, “That was amazing, Jay.”

He let out a soft chuckle and kissed your forehead, then trapped your lips with his own. You could taste yourself on his tongue, but you didn’t mind. After a few minutes of lazily making out, you threw your leg over his to position yourself over his hips, and started pressing feather-like kisses down his neck. He’d made you feel so good, and you intended to return the favor.

You felt him sigh at your touch, but before you could go too far down, he stopped you by bringing his hands to both sides of your face, making you look up at him.

“Did I do something wrong?” you immediately asked, worry laced in your voice.

“No, no. God, no, you’re perfect.” he replied. “I just… I still feel so guilty for what I did, and I feel like I don’t deserve you right now.”

“Jay…”

He hid his face in the crook of your neck and held your waist tightly. “I’m so sorry, Y/N. You’re right, I was being selfish. I should’ve known you wanted that internship, and I knew you wouldn’t get it if my dad thought we were dating, but… I’ve wanted to be with you for such a long time, and when I had the chance to have you, even if it was just pretend, even if it meant lying to you, I couldn’t bring myself to not take that chance. I’m so sorry.”

You had completely forgotten the events of that week, and of that night. Your argument with Jay and Heeseung’s words seemed light-years away. “How long have you liked me?” you couldn’t help but ask. You should’ve been surprised by Jay’s confession, but for some reason, it made sense - what didn’t make sense was how you hadn’t noticed it, or how you’d thought it wasn’t possible that you might like him, too.

“Since we met,” he admitted shyly. “I would’ve told you, but you seemed to enjoy arguing with me so much, I was scared you’d just make fun of me.”

Since you’d met… so, three years? And he’d never said anything? “To be honest, I probably would’ve made fun of you at first,” you agreed light-heartedly. “But I also think it would’ve made me realize what an amazing person you are earlier. I’m sorry it took me so long.”

“That’s okay. I would’ve waited my whole life if it meant I could have you at the end.” Butterflies erupted all over your stomach at his words. You kissed him like you’d stop breathing if you didn’t.

Now that Jay had gotten what he wanted to say off his chest, you’d hoped you could continue your previous actions, and started pressing kisses down his neck, but he soon stopped you again.

“I’m getting the feeling you don’t want me to go down on you,” you said, half-joking.

He grinned and closed his eyes, as if fighting himself back. “I do, I promise you, I do.” When he opened his eyes again, they were full of affection. “But we’ve got so much time for that later. I just want to feel you around me right now. Would that be okay?” he asked, voice soft.

Your core pulsed at the thought of Jay inside you, and you nodded, breath growing erratic again. Jay gently lay you on your back, and took off his black boxers so that the two of you were finally completely naked, revealing his throbbing cock. He was right, how were you going to handle it? He rummaged around in his bedside drawer for a condom, and put it on with nervous hands. 

He lined his tip at your entrance, pressing soft kisses all over your face and neck before pushing in as if to get you to relax. He kissed you gently on the lips. “Tell me if it hurts, and I’ll stop right away.”

He waited for you to nod again, and finally entered you. It immediately stretched you out like never before. The sound of you taking a sharp breath in made Jay stop in his tracks. You wrapped your hands around his biceps for support, then, letting out a deep sigh, told him to go on. He pushed in inch by inch until he finally bottomed out. You both let out a hearty moan at the feeling. It was so perfect.

He didn’t move for a few minutes, letting you adjust to his size. You had your eyes closed and were focused on relaxing, until all at once the pain of the stretch turned into pleasure, and you breathed out, “Please, move.” He obeyed and started rocking in and out of you, making you feel each inch of his length inside you. The sensation was intoxicating. You couldn’t stop any of the moans escaping your throat, and Jay took that as a green light to go gradually faster. Your bodies were moving at the exact same pace and you thought the two of you molded together perfectly, as if this was what you had been meant to do your whole life. His fingers were tightly gripping your hips as he thrusted into you harder and harder, making you moan so loud you were practically screaming in pleasure.

“You feel so fucking good, Y/N,” he said, throwing his head back and letting out a deep moan himself. Your hands roamed all over his body, unable to stay in one place at a time. He suddenly changed the angle of his hips and started hitting that spot inside you he had found earlier with his fingers, making your mind go hay-wire. 

“Fuck, right there, Jay!” you screamed out, as he brought your hips down to his faster than you thought was humanly possible. Soon, you were coming again, and the feeling of you clenching down around him made him shoot his release into the condom. He fell on top of you, unable to carry his weight on his arms anymore. He only had enough strength to pull out and discard the condom, before nestling his head between your breasts. Tiredness seeped through your bones, and you both fell asleep in seconds, completely naked and arms around each other.

Jay woke up a few hours later, a cramp in his arm because of how you were laying down on it - the two of you had apparently switched positions at some point during the night. He softly pulled his arm away, trying not to wake you up. He checked his phone; it was 4:29 a.m. He looked down at you, admiring how soft you looked when you were sleeping. He still couldn’t believe his luck, it all felt like a dream to him. But then you shifted slightly, letting out a small whimper, probably because of a dream, and Jay knew this was happening for sure. He hugged you tightly, breathing in the scent of your hair, and, knowing you were fast asleep, murmured, “I love you.”

—

The sunlight peeking through the curtains and hitting your face softly was what woke you up the next morning. You were relieved to feel Jay’s arms around your waist as he hugged you from behind. You gently turned around, curious about what he looked like in the morning.

As expected, he was perfect.

You observed him for a while until his eyes fluttered open. “Good morning, handsome,” you whispered, pushing away the hair that had fallen in front of his eyes.

“Good morning,” he replied, smiling sleepily. “Creep.”

Quietly, you gasped dramatically and said, “Is a girl a creep for looking at her boyfriend as he sleeps in the morning?”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Boyfriend, huh?” he teased.

You grinned at him. “Yeah.”

“Well,” he said, returning your grin and tightening his grip around your waist, “my girlfriend can look at me all she wants.”

You’d technically been dating Jay for over three months now, but knowing it was finally real and not just pretend made you giddy. You buried your face in the crook of his neck and kissed him there, trying to hide your shy smile. 

He took your head and lifted it to place a delicate kiss on your lips, which you returned like it was second nature. When you pulled away, you jokingly said, “Mh. Morning breath,” but Jay’s eyes opened wide and he immediately put his hand over his mouth, asking, “Seriously?”

You laughed at him and pulled his hands down, going back in for a kiss. It soon escalated, and you were reminded of the fact that neither of you had clothes on when you could feel Jay’s hardness pressing against your thigh. He apologized shyly, but you told him it was fine, and that you’d take care of it. 

This time, when you two made love, it was much slower and light-hearted than the previous night, as if the two of you had finally realized that you had all the time in the world and could enjoy every single second. It was the perfect thing to wake up to.

You two lazied in bed, alternating between slowly making out and daydreaming together, until his stomach rumbled loudly and you really needed to pee. When you joined him in the kitchen, he was heating up waffles on the stove. You hooked your arms around his waist, pressing your chest to his back, and he hummed softly.

“Jay?” you whispered, lips just millimeters away from his ear.

“Yes, doll?”

“I love you too.”

permanent taglist: @k-ingzo @bbujiikseu @sunghoonmybeloved @lalalalawon @sd211 @w3bqrl (ask to be removed/added!) © asahicore on tumblr, 2023. please do not repost, translate or plagiarize my works. feedback and reblogs are always appreciated!

[byeuijoo]

don't fall in love 𐀔 myung jaehyun

genre : mostly fluff, first love coded ⋆ warnings : none but reader doesn't like basketballs ⋆ word count : 1,811

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ୨ ✩ ୧

you don't particularly like basketball. you even hate basketballs because you're always afraid of getting one in the head — boys are often far too brutal when it comes to sports, their competitive spirit often takes over, and the desire to impress others can be felt in the strength of their shot. but when the only boy who ever made your heart beat madly, asked you to come to one of his basketball practices, you didn't hesitate for a second before accepting.

myung jaehyun has always been your buried secret — of course, there were other boys you might like, but it was him you wanted. from the back of the classroom, you could spend hours admiring him (and you weren't the only one) : his smile so big and bright that it overshadowed the sun, his hair always slightly in disarray from running around like a hyperactive kid, his school uniform' shirt always a little too open and his tie undone, revealing his sports shirt normally concealed underneath, but above all, his laughter, capable of chasing away every bad vibe in the air. he was always so kind, good-humored, funny and thoughtful, helpful, and full of other positive adjectives that didn't come to mind. you always found him interesting and intelligent, and not a day went by when you didn't squint a little too long at his concentrated face during classes. he's so cute, his lips slightly pursed together and his eyebrows furrowed, all bathed in the sunlight streaming through the window. nobody ever noticed your big crush on jaehyun, not even when you can't take your eyes off him and chew the end of your pencil until it almost breaks — and if, by chance, any of your friends knew, they were good at hiding it from you.

in spite of everything, the truth needs to be told : you're one another of the countless people interested in myung jaehyun. but even though so many people have already confessed their love to him, jaehyun never really showed much interest in any kind of relationship. he seems pretty focused only on his friends, classes and basketball practice.

or so you thought.

until the day he came up to you at the end of class, catching up with you, almost shouting your name, and trotting off to reach you. you don't know what face you must have made when you saw him standing in front of you — it was either embarrassment, curiosity or shyness, or a mixture of all three. but you didn't care at that time, because the boy you'd been watching so silently from the back of the classroom was standing in front of you, more handsome than ever with his sun-drenched face and a shy smile on his lips. his hand suddenly found your wrist, and the soft skin of his fingertips sent an electric field down your arm. you looked at him with doe eyes, noticing the way his eyes kept juggling between yours and an invisible spot on his right, his free hand rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

after a few silent seconds in which you simply admired his sweet face, a little too perfect to be real, jaehyun spoke up and caught your attention. « can i have you number? » he asked, so softly, his voice vibrating your heart — so much, that you felt ready to faint. nodding shyly but positively, jaehyun seemed far too pleased with your answer, handing you his phone without hesitation. grabbing it without a second's delay, your eyes were riveted on the screen, before his voice drew your attention a second time, « i'm myung jaehyun, by the way. i should have started there.. » — a slight nervous laugh left his rosy lips, which made you look up at him, a smile hanging on your lips. « i know who you are. » you answered naturally, before typing your number into the contact section, not noticing the way his eyes lit up right after your words.

« you know me..? » he asked, as if it were completely inconceivable for him to believe this new information. a chuckle slipped out of your mouth, and your eyes locked with his as you handed him his phone again. « who doesn't? » you said, and you weren't really wrong on that thing. myung jaehyun was probably one of the most popular boys at your school, as cliché as that may sound : he was good looking, captain of the basketball team, and above that, he was wearing his heart on his sleeve. jaehyun had everything to please, and that's what made him so popular. and you weren't the only one who noticed it. you had a lot of competition if you decided to seduce jaehyun, which was why you'd always stayed on the sidelines in the first place, but now, seeing him so close to you and melting under his honeyed voice, nothing made you want him more than to have him all to yourself. it's amazing what love can do to you.

a timid pink tinge clung to the apple of his cheekbones, and you swore that never in your life had you seen such a pretty boy. his eyes carried all the sun's glow, and the smirk on his lips seemed more shy and flirty than teasing. jaehyun, who always looked so sure of himself, seemed troubled and distraught, as if he didn't expect you to pay any attention to him. of course, he had already noticed some of your gazes riveted on him, your pupils burning his back, but he never had the guts to come and talk to you.

or at least, until now.

poor boy — he was too obvious, but you were too oblivious. how could you not notice that he was interested in you? jaehyun decided to change strategy when your fingers brushed his as he retrieved his cell phone, a chill running down his spine. « oh, i wanted to ask you something, » he began, regaining a certain composure and energy that you liked so much, « are you free on friday? »

staring at the sky for a few moments, you thought about whether or not you already had plans, when you knew perfectly well that wasn't the case. finally shaking your head in the negative under jaehyun's watchful gaze, you gave him a pretty smile, « i am. why do you ask? »

jaehyun seemed far too delighted by this sudden revelation, and moved a little closer to you, his hand rising close to your face. just as you thought his fingers were about to reach your cheek, you stared into his eyes for a few seconds to see where he was looking : a little higher, his gaze wandering through your hair. the next moment, his index finger and thumb grasped something in your hair — something small, fine and pink. a cherry blossom petal. watching the petal twirl between his pretty, skillful fingers, the boy finally catches your eye, his gaze fixed on yours. and when he spoke, you swore you felt like one of this female leads straight out of a kdrama, « would you like to come and see one of my games? »

the wind rustled around you, slipping between the branches of the cherry blossom trees, and suddenly, a shower of pink petals fell on your shoulders. a scene straight out of a romantic film — which made your heart beating with happiness. it was almost unreal, the timing was perfect, and the twinkle in his chocolate orbs made you want to twirl in the clouds. you weren't much of a sports fan, quite the contrary, but seeing jaehyun's bright smile on a basketball court was worth all the effort in the world. so you nodded gently, positively, hoping he wouldn't pick up on the excitement creeping through your veins.

« of course, it could be fun. » you affirmed, tucking a lock of your hair behind your ear and looking away. jaehyun suddenly felt his heart racing, like when he approaches a basketball hoop and adrenaline rushes through his muscles, having succeeded in inviting you had the same effect on him as winning a match. the overexcited boy shook his head like a happy puppy, before taking another step towards you, the sudden closeness catching you slightly off guard. your eyes opened a little wider than normal, planting themselves in his, which seemed a little too unkempt for your liking. out of the corner of your eye, you saw jaehyun run his tongue slowly over his lower lip, his gaze juggling from one eye to the other with the most tender smiles on his mouth. the image of his face surrounded by cherry blossom petals remained etched in your memory, you don't want to forget the way he looks so sweet and so hot at the same time.

« nice.. » he whispered, his fingers moving to reach your cheek and graze your cheekbone with the tip of his index finger, « don't fall in love with me after seeing me play. » — after his words, your heart raced in your chest, wildly, the words stuck in the back of your throat for long moments, far too surprised by his bold declaration. you hadn't yet realized that he was actually flirting with you (or maybe you just couldn't believe it), but now you knew for sure that jaehyun wasn't messing with you. in a burst of pure courage, your fingers innocently slipped around his tie, putting it back in place as you nodded, a look of understanding on your face. then, you stood up on tiptoe and put your lips to his ear to whisper the following words, « i can't promise you anything. »

with as much good as bad, and after a light chuckle, jaehyun tried to hide the smirk on his lips, but failed miserably when your gaze shifted from his eyes to his mouth the next second. the poor boy thought his heart was going to explode — but he had to remain calm and wise so as not to hurt his own dignity. nevertheless, satisfied with your answer, jaehyun offered you one of those smiles that only he knew the secret of, making your heart tremble with shyness, « good.. i'll see you on friday then? »

trying to ignore the fact that his fingers kept brushing yours, you confirmed his words before moving gently away from him, taking a few steps backwards to admire his face for as long as possible. as for him, he stood there like an idiot for long minutes, before jumping up in a victorious rush, a huge satisfied smile hanging over his mouth. oh, he can't wait to make you fall in love with him.

reblogs & feedbacks are highly appreciated !

taglist ౨ৎ @leehanist @wtfhyuck @florainnie @dazzlingligth @yuma-is-mine @lilriswife4life @leehanascent @wantmatthew

[rorichuu]

☆ MIDAS x TROPHY-WIFE!READER ☆

trophy wife definition — a young, attractive woman who is the wife of a rich and successful older person and acts as a symbol of the person's social position.

┆rori's note: been MEANING to write for midas... this also ties in with jealous!midas as well... i hope i wrote him how you guys expected :) also here is what i think his voice sounds like, either that or matthew mercer (leon kennedy va) 😩

┆disclaimer/tags: ♯ smutty , more modern . . . you two are at an exceptionally boring party and midas takes you away from keeping appearances. ୨୧ˊˊ

Your fingertips held the glass gently in your hand, allowing the sparkle of the champagne to invite your empty gaze. You let out a small sigh, lifting the glass to meet your lips as you took a long sip.

You loved your husband, and these parties and events highlighted his successes and rich opportunities to grander prospects... but the small talk and side-eye gaze from other women was enough to slowly kill you. Your lip pouted as you slumped in your seat, the crackle of the fireplace being the only centering element in the room thus far until a hint of gold captured you, eyes flickering over to your husband with a knowing smile.

Midas had worn a suit, much more formal than he would have preferred... but he knew what these events took. You noticed he had given his final remarks before parting, approaching you. Midas took place behind you, each hand resting on either side of your chair as he leaned above you. "Hello, my love," he murmured in a low rumble, his voice hinting at exhaustion from the socialization... but he always made time to speak with you. "Quite exciting over here, isn't it?" He spoke sarcastically, making you roll your eyes and gently slap his arm.

"Just riveting," you spoke back, the both of you shooting back snarky remarks. Midas lifted his hands from the chair, walking to the side of you before gently caressing the nape of your neck. You shivered. "I'm tired of sitting pretty." You spoke as politely as you could, knowing your status was purely to make Midas look good... though, he denied it through his sincere devotion to you.

"Can't be too tiring if you're lovely all the time." he gave a soft smile before breaking his gaze from you, eyes scanning the party. Everyone seemed well-occupied, chatting over fine platters and tipsy cocktails. A sigh left him, chest rising and falling noticeably.

You kept your gaze on him, pouting before leaning more into his touch. "Do we have to stay?" You asked, voice hushed but loud enough for only Midas to hear. A smirk flickered over his lips as he looked down at you, his expression almost condescending.

"Why? Can't take another hour?" Midas knew his effect of teasing you, hand still caressing the nape of your neck as you nodded. He hummed in response, parting his gaze from you once more to look over the party. "A moment, my love." His hand parted from you before it slid down your arm, lifting your hand to gently kiss your knuckles... and before you knew it, your husband was gone.

You groaned, frustrated at his empty words as you leaned against the palm of your hand... not too long after, you rose from your seat and approached a table. If you were going to stay for a little while longer, you figured you could make the most of it.

Giving a small smile, a taller—quite attractive—man shared a table with you. He raised an eyebrow.

"Y/n, I presume?" He spoke, voice full of uncertainty... you nodded. "Was wondering what an angel like you was doing at a party like this." A chuckle escaped him as you laughed back, cocking your hip out as you leaned against the table now. Advantage taken.

"Angel? You flatter," Tongue laced with false flirtation and interest, you continued the conversation... hoping you could speak loud enough for your husband to hear. "You must be? Ren, right?" You asked in question, observing his egotistical written name in his coat.

"Correct," he spoke, crossing his arms with a smirk. You felt a certain disgust rise up in your throat, but you choked it down... whatever you could do to get back at your husband and leave.

"I've heard of you," you spoke, a smile approaching your lips to appear as innocent as you could. You leaned up, pointing at him with your glass. "You worked for my husband a while back!" You beamed.

Before you could notice, Midas' ears pricked up, scanning the room for your face once more. His gaze darkened once he found you talking to another man; flirting with another man. He noticed it in the way you leaned in, your hand grazing the lining of his coat, the cock of your hip... his heart raced with an all-familiar fury. Midas was quick to excuse himself from his current conversation, his exit replaced with a hushed inquiry from his guests.

The sound of your husband's footsteps was enough to send shivers down your spine, your eyes widened a bit as his hand immediately found the small of your back. "Evening," he spoke, poisonous. You looked up at him, he wore a fake smile with an even faker tone. Bingo.

Ren froze up, a smile forced on his lips as he nodded his head in response. "Midas," his voice dropped to something more formal, stiffening his posture before placing his half-finished drink down and stole a glance at his watch. "Quite the party... but I’m afraid I must leave." He gave a quick smile before brushing down his coat.

"Yes, you must." His command ruled over Ren's decision, Midas' gaze boring into his before rushing out the door... what reputations do to a man.

Before you could react, Midas' hand fell from your back to your hips, tightening his grip before you could slip away. "Not so fast," he whispered, causing you to sigh and straighten your posture, avoiding his gaze. Midas continued to guide you with his arm wrapped around your waist, disappearing beyond a wall and away from the others. "What was that?" He looked down at you, watching as you fumbled and played with your fingers.

"We were just talking," you whispered, feigning innocence with that pretty little voice of yours. “I can sit pretty but can’t have a conversation?” You looked up at him through your eyelashes, raising a brow. Midas knew how you were acting, and he knew precisely how to straighten that out.

“Having a conversation is different than leaning over a table and running your hands over his chest,” His voice was low, eyes lidded over with something darker… you bit your lip as you leaned against the wall, pouting… but just when you began raising your hand towards his chest, he grabbed your wrist. “Don’t.” He warned. You tilted your head.

“Why not?” You shot back, furrowing your brows as Midas grabbed you by both if your wrists and pinned them above your head… his leg slotting perfectly between your thighs.

“Want to find out? You brought me this far, why not finish what you started?” Midas knew just how to bring you towards that tempting edge—you judged it by the thrum of your heart, the heat beating against your body as you shared hot breath. You let out a small whimper, biting your lip. Midas smirked, brushing nose-to-nose as his lips barely grazed yours. “Sounds like it.” Before you could properly think, your lips clashed with his, your husband letting out a small groan… you had him wrapped around your pretty finger.

The two of you were barely hidden behind a wall on the way to the upstairs story… thankfully, no one was impolite enough to snoop beyond the corridor. Midas was fit perfectly between you, one leg rubbed against your inner thigh as you rubbed down against him… he noticed this, parting from your glossed lips as you let out a small gasp for air. Midas was just as drunk off of you as you were on him.

“Quiet,” He demanded, locking eyes with you as his fingertips grazed your hip and further down your black dress. Your husband’s hand was held dangerously close to your panties, the pool of arousal coating his fingers with one swift movement. You hiccup, a low chuckle leaving his throat. “Angel. Quiet.” You bit your lip, nodding obediently as he nodded with you… that small gesture of praise enough to send you over.

Midas’ hands continued to explore the thin fabric beneath your dress, rubbing your clothed pussy with his thumb as he towered over you. His touch was intoxicating, the hush of the party just a wall yonder exciting you as you arched your back slightly. Your husband smiled, pleased with your expression alone. “Oh, you like that don’t you?” Upon hearing his praise, you whimpered in response, bliss washing over you as his hand move up to slip two fingers in your panty line. As his linked fingers held the fabric, he slowly motioned downward, on his knees as he kept eye contact with you. You were now completely exposed to him.

You squirmed, hips swaying before his hands gripped your hips. “Shh.” You knew your husband too well to not notice the risks he takes… this being one of them.

Letting the fabric fall down to your feet, his hands ran up your sides to grip your hips, breaking eye contact as his tongue slithered between your folds. Threatening to make noise, you held a hand at your lips, eyes shut closed as you pushed your hips closer to his mouth. Midas took that as invitation as his tongue ran circles around your clit, causing you to let out a small gasp. Midas’ hand massaged just above your hip, his silent moans muffled by your cunt… the coldness of the gold that painted his hands caused you to shiver.

You soon felt his right hand slowly fall from your hip, the other one stabilizing you while the other found your entrance… furthermore, he began to tease you as his middle finger slowly pushed in and out, causing you to whine. “F…fuck, Midas, just…” you begged, voice hardly audible and cracked. Midas hummed in response, knowing just what his wife wanted.

Your chest hiccuped once his two fingers began to work you open, his tongue busy lapping at your clit while you depended on him to keep your balance. His pace began to quicken, the heat blooming at your stomach began to knot up… your hips bucked against him, causing Midas to smile while he worked up the pace. Your head dropped, your hair falling in front of your face as tears began to prickle in the corners of your eyes.

Your hand was laced in his hair, gripping it with a fistful as he moaned against you… the feeling of your pleasure against his tongue and the pain of your touch enough to drive him dizzy.

Your dress was rolled up against the top of your thighs, Midas’ own doing from his wandering hands… he needed to feel you, all of you… and the way he sucked and kissed your puffy cunt you was enough evidence to show.

Your chest rose and fell, your breath quickening while your husband’s hands slowed and accelerated at your misery… your hand began to fall from your lips, a moan slipping, causing Midas to groan in response… your back arched as you felt your walls tighten around his fingers, releasing as he drank every last drop of your arousal.

Drunk off of your pleasure, you let out a small whimper, head dropping to look your darling husband in the eye. His mouth parted from between your legs, saliva and your release coating his nose and mouth making you flush. Midas let out a low chuckle, a smug smile painted across his face as he licked his lips.

“Fuck, baby,” he grumbled, lifting from his knees before his hand hooked beneath your chin, kissing you to get a taste of your own. It was slow and passionate, and your taste alone was enough to feel the returning pulse between your legs. Your husband broke away from the kiss, his tongue sliding over your lip. “Do you forgive me?” He asked, a hint of sincerity laced with his words despite his sarcastic manner. You scoffed, rolling your eyes.

“Gonna take more than that.” You spoke, Midas taking the dark look in your eyes as a challenge… you let out a small gasp as your husband hooked his arms beneath your knees, lifting you bridal style as he began to walk upstairs. “What are you doing?” Disbelief changing your once blissed expression, yet Midas shrugged, despite the booming party below them.

“You said you wanted more, doll…”

.

.

.

rorichuu!

[qqueenofhades]

"Radiant" is a perfect word to describe her. Gosh she's just fantastic.

I just.... am still FULLY in shock. At the start of July we were deep in the sordid depths of BidenDebateGate and the media feeding frenzy was fully underway and things looked bad. In the middle of July we had the Trump assassination attempt and the RNC and backstabbing Democrat stories every two minutes and things looked very, VERY bad. My mental health that week was a mess. I was terrified and could barely function and was seriously contemplating having to plan for the worst-case scenario.

And then. July 21. Biden drops out. 24 hours of terror, anger, and confusion, and then? AND THEN???

At the start of August (after the 6543 weeks of July) we were riding insanely high with the Kamalamentum, on August 6 she picked Walz and immediately launched a gangbusters battleground-state tour, here we are after a basically flawless convention that ran as if she was intended to be the nominee all along, and I just... wow. Thank absolute fuck that Biden decided not to listen to all the people who wanted the nightmare of an "open convention mini primary" and immediately endorsed Kamala. Thank fuck that everyone came in line right away. Thank fuck she picked Walz and the whole rollout has been beyond incredible. AND NOW???

After the soul-crushing trauma of 2016 and what looked like another generation of old white male Democratic presidential candidates before they would ever dare to try again, we have a brilliant and experienced woman of color as our presidential nominee. We could experience the absolute god tier karma of said woman of color both making incredible history and ending Donald Trump's entire career all at once. We just witnessed the four-day convention that was riveting and unmissable television. We are raising absolutely stupid insane amounts of money and volunteers and effort and... I just don't understand how this can happen in the Bad Timeline we have been living in, except to hope that if it is, we have somehow finally left it, or can leave it. God. Wouldn't that be nice.

People keep saying that we can't get complacent and we still have to vote, because we are all as noted still traumatized from 2016, but... quite honestly, I don't think that's the issue this time. People are raring at the fucking BIT to vote, in a way that I, who have spent 10+ largely bitter and thankless years on here telling people to vote, can't entirely believe. People want to do this. The younger among you have asked if this is what Obama felt like in 2008, and: Yes, but this is even more unbelievable. At least we could see him coming and had some context for it and watched him gain steam through the primaries, etc. But there was still considerable rancor and uncertainty around whether THIS GUY was going to be the nominee, and plenty of Democrats were pretty skeptical. They warmed up a bit as it went on, but things were still fairly neck and neck with McCain until the great economic crash. After that, Obama began to pull away and finally won in a crushing landslide.

By contrast, 2024 with Kamala is now the most united and excited I have seen the Democrats, EVER, and I have been voting for Democrats and paying attention to politics for almost 20 years. It's literally indescribable. Wow. That is all I can say. Wow, and of course, LET US FUCKING DO THIS. LET'S FUCKING GO. MADAM PRESIDENT. IT'S TIME.

[ilylovelyz]

⍣ ೋ bad boy

˚ · . sanemi shinazugawa x afab!reader

: ̗̀➛ semi-public sex, unprotected sex, slight thigh fucking, groping, slight teasing, mutual pining, friends with benefits, heavy degradation, sanemi is a meanie but really he's secretly infatuated with you, choking, slapping, anal, dacryphilia, orgasm denial

won't you be my bad boy, be my man? be my weekend lover but don't be my friend you can be my bad boy, but understand that i don't need you in my life again

"come here you slut," you hear the wind pillar spit, his strong hand already grabbing at your small wrist and dragging you to one of the various rooms of ubuyashiki's mansion.

you can't help the grin that grows onto your face, cheeks blushing excessively as sanemi roughy shoves you against the wall chest first, his hard-on pressing against the clothed swell of your ass. his hands roughly grope onto every part of your body, cupping your breasts through the shirt of your uniform before they hastely travel down to cup your heated sex.

"you were fuckin' teasing me." he growls out, bringing a hand up to grab at your neck, lightly squeezing your airway shut before tilting your head to look back at him.

your pussy clenches around nothing at his anger, most wound find it terrifying, but you find it nothing but a turn-on. you laugh half-heartedly at his words, "i don't know what you're talking about."

sanemi stares at you intently, his jaw clenching so tight it might just shatter. your heart beats faster and faster, body heating up at the thought of your impending doom.

sanemi curses at you loudly, his hands unbuckling your belt, practically ripping your trousers down and pushing your underwear to the side, his index and middle finger shoving it's way into your empty cunt.

your eyes roll to the back of your head at the feeling of his fingers invade your walls, gasping loudly at the pleasure. your arm reaches back to sanemi, your fingers tugging on the ends of his white hair. a desperate mewl escapes your lips when his ring finger slips in, his finger pads pressing mercilessly against your g-spot, bringing tears of pleasure to your waterline.

you feel on the brink of your orgasm, your hand leaving sanemi's locks to brace yourself on the wall in front of you. before you could cum, sanemi abruptly pulls his wet fingers away from your poor pussy, smirking evilly at your cries.

"what? you seriously thought you could get away with brushing your ass onto me like that? really? in front of everyone?" he laughed, laying a flat strike on your ass cheek, enjoying the way your body jolts at the sudden pain.

his hands continue to strike at your asscheeks, turning them a vibrant color of red until your face is a similar red with tears, crying out for mercy.

for a second, you are given relief when he draws his hands away from your body, a breathing out a hopeful sigh. your ears cringe at the buckle of his trousers, the moving of fabric. your chest heaves in anticipation when you feel the tip of his cock brush against the underside of your ass, his hands spreading your hand-printed cheeks wide.

your grin dissapates when you feel the heaviness of his cock press against your puckered hole, pressing lightly against the untouched opening. "y'know.. your punishment isn't over," he breathes under his breath. you can just envision his maniacial smile.

any words of disapproval are quickly shut down when his cock tip pops into your virgin hole, the pain riveting through your body. his cock slowly glides into you, the only lubricant being his pre-cum. your mouth agapes into a silent scream, your fingernails scratching into the wooden door.

sanemi finally bottoms out, his cock snug in your untouched asshole. he brings a hand up to your shoulder, rubbing small circles into your uniform, an attempt to comfort you through the pain. he leans his chest into your back, his other hand tilting your head once more and encapturing your lips with his.

he swallowed down a pained groan that comes up your throat, his hips slowly moving away from your ass before moving them forward back again, testing your comfort.

his lips pull away from yours, a string of saliva connecting your lips. his eyes watch through his beautiful long lashes, his hand patting your shoulder once more before his hips move faster, his balls lightly slapping against your ass.

finally, the pain begins to subside, a small moan leaving your bruised lips. in a moment of weakness, your head leans forwards onto the door, your elbows and lower arm laying flat upwards onto the door. the unmistaken sounds of skin slapping skin begins to grow louder and louder with each increase of speed with his hips, his hands gripping tightly onto your waist.

sanemi bites at his lips, muttering incoherent curses and phrases underneath his breath. his purple irses are glued to the curve of your ass, his cock twitching with every jiggle and movement.

"y-you're so f-fuckin' tight," he stutters our, his head dipping down onto your shoulder, his chest becoming flush with your back. his hips rut desperately into your ass, fucking his cock upward into your hole.

the feeling of his cock press against your prostate feels so foreign, like something you can't even describe. his fat cock stretches out you to the max, sending jolts of pleasure up your spine. your eyes stare at nothing in particular, hardly able to think of a sentence that makes sense at all.

before you even realize it, your body is trembling as you cum, drool dripping down your chin as you enter cloud nine. sanemi isn't too far off, as with a rough thrust of his hips, he's emptying his balls into the tight confines of your ass, his chest heaving into your back.

with a huff, he's pulling his soft cock out of your ass, allowing it it to lay freely inbetween his legs. "tease me again and i'll fuck your brain out even worse."

[zigrethsnotebook]

I can't tell if you're really charming or I'm just easily charmed.

Stan x Reader

words: 1,552

tags: sfw, fluff, Stan gives you a tour

You were on vacation across north america. With your love for small towns and thick forests you had found your way to Gravity Falls. More specifically, on a little hike through the woods you stumbled across a house with a sign on the roof that read 'Mystery (S)hack' in bold letters. Exactly the kind of weird little place you were looking for.

A gruff voice rang through the air and as you turned around a corner of the house you could see the man it belonged to. The handsome man, your mind added unhelpfully. He was entertaining a small group of people, presenting a rock which had a vague face-shape carved into it. You got closer to the group.

Some people asked clarifying questions. Apparently, it wasn't clear to all of them that it wasn't a face in the shape of a rock or other silly things like that. You bit back a laugh, especially when the man on the podium began to get irritated.

After some more back and forth the showman ended his presentation of the rock and ushered the crowd into a part of the house, a gift shop specifically. Curious, you tried to follow but just as you were about to enter the man blocked your way with his cane. The cane had a magic 8-ball as a handle and he clearly didn’t need it to walk, it was just a part of his entertainment-persona.

"You can't sneak your way past me, toots. I saw you sneaking into the group, didn’t even pay to see the exhibits." He wiped away a fake tear. You decided to have some fun with this guy.

"I was just hiking through the woods but you explaining that rock was so... riveting - I couldn't stay away! Please tell me, sir, what do I have to pay you to see more of such wondrous things?" Your words were coated in a thick but playful layer of sarcasm.

By the smirk on his face it seemed like he got the message. "5 bucks to see the exhibits, 15 for a tour with Mister Mystery himself." At that he pointed at himself with a grin. You gasped in fake surprise. "15 dollars for a private tour? My, what a steal!"

He chuckled at that. "Just make sure it's the only thing you steal." He ended that sentence with a wink and gestured for you to enter. You liked this guy already.

The shop had all sorts of knickknacks around the walls and some displays in the middle of the room. You walked past a red haired teenager who seemed in charge of the register. Before you could reach any one display Mr. Mystery appeared next to you again.

"For the tour, please follow me." He gestured for you to follow him to another room, that stupid grin never leaving his face. You followed him with a smile of your own.

The people from the previous tour didn’t even notice you two leave, only the teenager at the cash register did but she wasn't being paid enough to care. Because what you didn’t know: This man did not give private tours. At least not for some boring dumb tourist who believed every word he said without a second thought.

But you had caught his eye. The way you were egging him on when he spoke and the way you had eyed him up and down with a smirk on you lips when he blocked your path had intrigued him.

Now here you were, alone, with him explaining some of his creations exhibits with grandiose tales he totally wasn't making up on the spot. Still, you were glued to his every word. You didn’t believe any of it, mind you, but the way he spoke, with such confidence and ease, was so damn attractive.

"And now here we are, at the final and most tragic creature in my possession: The Hairdresstaur!" You eyed the creature, it was clearly just parts of different taxidermies sewn and glued together. The bottom half was that of a small horse and the top half of an alpaca with a new hairstyle. Impressive in a way, but not at all what he described.

"You probably won't believe me when I say this, but this story starts on a very lonely night. Now I know what you'll say: 'No way that a man like you would ever go to bed by himself!' Well, lucky for you," he winked at you again, "this man of mystery is currently single. Anyhow."

He pretended like he quickly wanted to change the subject but it was still very obvious by his smile that he was making sure you enjoyed his flirting. And let's face it, this was the most fun you'd had on your vacation so far.

"On that night, I went out into the woods because I couldn't sleep and there I saw her. The most gorgeous creature I had ever seen. Second most gorgeous as of this day." He was getting bolder in his flirting with every word. Not that you minded.

"She and I had a wonderful relationship for three weeks and then! They came for her. Local barbers wanted to capture her, keep her like a lamb and take her fur to make wigs." He was so serious with his story, you struggled to match his tone with your expression instead of bursting out laughing.

"I started defending her, fighting them off but there were too many. All at once five of them pinned me down and when she tried to free me from their grasp they..." He faked a sob before he continued. "I couldn't help her. But I made a promise! I promised her I wouldn't let them get her fur. And that's why she is now a part of my Mysteries."

He put a gentle hand on the alpaca's neck and stared into the distance as if reminiscing in the memory. You stepped forward and put a reassuring hand on his arm. "You are such a noble man."

At that he lightened up again, grinned at you and, after bathing in your affection for a moment, led you back into the gift shop.

In the time it had taken you to finish the tour all the other people had bought their trinkets and left. Only the red haired girl was still there, with her feet up on the counter and reading a magazine.

Standing in front of some of these things you realized that none of those would be able to convey the fun you had had today with this 'Mr. Mystery' somewhere in the woods of Oregon. You took a snowglobe and shook it wistfully.

"Why the long face? Was that not the best presentation of weird things you've ever seen?" He said this like a 'no' to that was simply impossible but you could tell that he was nervous regardless.

You sighed, then turned to face him with a crooked grin. "I'm afraid it was a little too good. How is one of these," you held the snowglobe up to him, "supposed to convey all the things you told me?" For a moment the both of you stared into the snowglobe, looking for an answer.

Then you shook your head, shaking off the sudden discontent at the thought of never hearing that gruff but caring voice again. "What I meant to say was: This... has been the highlight of my vacation. And I want to take something home with me that holds the same gravitas."

Your smile was genuine this time. So was his as he told you to wait a second and turned around. You saw him grab one of the trinkets and a pen and then he seemed to be writing something?

When he came back he presented you with a little bobblehead in his likeness. "This little guy shares his good looks with me, so you won't forget about them." He winked at you again. You were really gonna miss him.

"And if you ever want me to tell you another fantastical story?" He turned the figure upside down to show you some numbers he had scribbled on the underside. "Just give me a call."

His smile was softer now, almost nervous, as he turned the figure around again and handed it to you. You accepted it gladly, of course, and you could see him relax a little.

You just smiled at him as you spoke, again. "You know, I can't tell if you're really charming or I'm just easily charmed." Immediately he turned back to his playboy self and smirked at you. "Well, if I'm lucky it's both."

You laughed at that and lightly swatted his arm. As he escorted you to the door you realized that you two hadn't even introduced yourselves. So you did. His name was Stan Pines. You made a mental note to add that name next to his number on the figure.

You were about to leave, had already opened the door, when you remembered your earlier conversation about not stealing anything else... Wait.

"Oh, what about the money for the tour? And the figure?" "Ah don't sweat it, toots. I'd rather you buy me dinner." You smiled warmly. "Gladly." Maybe you wouldn't have to miss him just yet.

[merakiui]

I can't get Alien Jamil out of my head. He lives rent free now 😭

Alien Jamil who uses his ability to hypontise darling to spread their legs for them, maintaining eye contact to keep the spell. Darling being under his control as he filled darling up with eggs. Only looking away once he was done and Darling's stuffed to the brim <3

Then let's say Darling's a researcher for his species and is now being made to carry it for research purposes

(cw: yandere, nsfw, unhealthy behaviors/relationship, breeding, oviposition, hypnosis, ntr/cucking)

:O !!!!!! Imagine being a researcher alongside Kalim... omg and Jamil watches day in and day out from his enclosure as Kalim attempts to get closer to you. Despite his outgoing and friendly personality, he's a little awkward with some of his flirting methods and so Jamil is able to pick up on Kalim's romantic interest in you fairly quickly. At first Jamil thought nothing would come of this, as you always seemed so absorbed in your research and you were always paying so much attention to him. Jamil is nice enough to act obedient and polite when you step into his enclosure to study him up close, feigning a harmless outward appearance. You're the only one who is allowed to do this; everyone else is frightened away or threatened with low hisses and sharp, piercing glares. Jamil has a soft spot for you, but he hides it with stoic indifference, choosing to look unbothered while you lean in close to admire his scales or the many snakes that make up his hair. You're so lucky he has an admirable amount of restraint, otherwise he would have plastered you to the ground and fucked you full of eggs months ago.

But it's when you actually start to entertain Kalim's interest that Jamil begins to worry. First the two of you would have dinner together (in front of Jamil, much to his annoyance) when you had to work late in the lab, and Kalim was just so irritatingly sweet to you. So genuinely himself. And you kept smiling and your body temperature was rising because you were flattered and happy and appreciative... Jamil refuses to lose you to that airheaded researcher. And then you'd work so closely together, side by side, shoulders nearly touching. Jamil is much too observant for his own good, which is both a blessing and a curse, because it only proves that you've warmed up to your fellow researcher.

It starts small. You can't understand Jamil unless he's hypnotized you, and then those fearsome hisses sound like the sweetest song, lulling you into a daze. For a while you seem more scattered than usual. There are gaps in your memory, and you're not sure why you always seem to come to in the lab. You could have sworn you were in your bed, sleeping so soundly until the whispers of something snake-like invaded your dreams... You're always led to Jamil. Maybe you really are so dedicated to your work that you're unconsciously drawn to it even when you're asleep. Kalim worries, insists you should rest more and that he can handle everything at the lab, but you don't want to push more work onto his plate. This is a team effort, after all.

It's like push and pull. Jamil holds you under for longer, slowly but surely snuffing your interest in Kalim, and releasing you from the spell of hypnosis before anyone can question it or grow suspicious. You're not going to love Kalim. You're going to love the specimen you look after. You're going to love Jamil. This is how it should have been, and this is how it will be.

Ultimately, it culminates in claiming. Jamil must stake it, must mold you to his form so that you'll only ever know him and no one else. The look in your eyes is empty and dazed, but you're smiling at him, entrapped in the coils of his tail, and it's a happy, drunken sort of smile. You're such a pretty human, so sweet for him when you open yourself without complaint or struggle, shedding that pesky clothing to reveal all of the curious parts to your anatomy he finds absolutely riveting. He fucks into your tight, slick warmth for hours, bodies pressed flush and never separating. Your moans fill the enclosure, adding to the sinful sounds of sex, and he falls for you all over again. You're truly so precious, so blissfully dumb and obedient when you're taking his cocks like the good researcher you are. Jamil can't resist; he has to fill you up, make this claim one you'll remember. And you can't object. You're not allowed to, not when he controls your every reaction. If he tells you to cum, you will. If he tells you to take just a few more eggs, you will.

And you'll like it because that's what you're told.

Only once you're filled to bursting, tummy packed full of his clutch, does Jamil gaze sidelong at Kalim, who looks on with concerned horror. Jamil tilts his head, acting as if he doesn't understand the smallest of human cues. He does, but Kalim doesn't need to know.

He smiles, his hold on you tightening ever so slightly. You're Jamil's now. Forever and always. As you were meant to be. And no one shall come between you.

[eeveebitches]

movie. || Roman Roy || smut

Pairing: Sub!Roman Roy x F!Reader

Summary: Roman wants you to stop watching a movie and pay attention to him, so he goes about it the best way he can think of.

Word count: 1.812

18+ only! More under the cut

Warning(s): SMUT, aka 18+ only! Sub Roman, oral sex (f receiving) praise kink, coming untouched/in pants

A/n: based on a request i got!! tysm for the inspo :)) my requests are also still open!

_______________________

You're watching a movie when he comes in.

Grin wide, eyes tired and hair messed up beyond relief. He jingles the spare keys you gave him in the air, spotting you on the couch. "Got in with our key," he says matter-of-factly as he throws his shoes off, walking over to you.

Ever since you gave Roman a spare key to your home, he's been visiting you with no warning. It's not the fact that he was growing co-dependent on your time that piqued your interest, though. It's always been how he refers to the key.

He used to just say 'the spare key', clearly tense as he struggled to find comfort in his intrusion. Then it became 'your key', which he said with the tiniest smile. When he started calling it 'my key' you would fight back a grin. He was clearly indulging himself with this.

What the implication of this new 'our key' situation is, you have no idea. Better to keep it unspoken, like you two usually do.

"What're you doing?" You only look away from the screen for a second to watch him walk over to you, before returning your attention to the screen. "Watching a movie," you tell him rather dryly. He lets out a huff, plopping himself next to you on the couch. "Well, I'm here now, so screw your movie." 

His hand shoots to snatch the TV remote away from you, but before he can do so, you yank it away. "The movie is almost done, just watch it with me or something," you mumble out, transfixed on the riveting plot in front of you.

"So what, your shitty B-roll movie trumps quality time with the number one bachelor of America?" You don't even respond this time, you simply keep your eyes on the movie. Roman groans, head dramatically falling back as he stares up into the ceiling. "What am I even supposed to do while you melt your brain with numbing media consumption?"

Again, no reply. Just a meager shrug. 

Roman, at first, wants to glare at you. Maybe smack your arm, then go to your kitchen and purposefully make a shit ton of noise, so you're forced to stand up and pay attention to him. But as he stares at you, he can't help but notice a small amount of red lace peaking from under your sweatpants.

Then a much better idea to get your attention pops up.

Wordlessly, he removes himself from the couch and instead kneels down in front of you, hands awkwardly resting on your thighs as he stares up at you. "Uhh, what're you doing, Romes?"

"G'na eat you out," he plainly tells you, lips twitching up into a smirk. "Roman, have you ever given anyone head?"

He shrugs, hands slowly pulling your sweatpants down. You do wanna finish this movie, but you're also curious to see where this goes, so you help him by slightly lifting yourself up, so he can properly remove them. "No, but I'm like Leonardo Davinci, naturally talented and amazingly hot. I can do this easily," he states with confidence that is clearly a facade.

Roman's pupils are dilated as he stares at your lacy red panties. His hands shake as he pushes your legs apart, giving him better access. You hum with intrigue, giving his hair a quick pet before yet again focusing yourself on the movie. "Whatever you say, Davinci."

You weren't expecting him to start out with a kiss atop of your underwear. It's awkward, yet sweet, which you reward with another stroke of his hair. The air is tense as he slowly moves your panties to the side, and ever-so-slowly, he dips in.

With a sharpened tongue he experimentally licks the inside of your folds. You shiver at the sensation, keeping your hand casually rested on his head. For a moment there's nothing, before Roman's head turns up to look at you.

You flush at the sight of him looking up from you like that, eyes wide and unknowing as he's kneeling in between your thighs. His obedience is like second nature to him, and in moments like these you revel in it.

"Can you, like, give me a tiny hint on what to do? Or else I'm just gonna bite your clit off," he huffs, face already reddened.

"Try flattening your tongue a bit, for one. Just take your time, Romes."

And that he does.

Carefully, he laps at your folds. Places his hands back on your thighs, keeping them open as his eyes flutter shut. Just as suddenly as he got on his knees for you, he places his entire mouth on you, roughly sucking on your cunt. You gasp at the sensation, hand clutching at his hair as he suctions onto you.

The groan he lets out as he tastes you is guttural, like he was a man starved and you were his last supper. As he removes himself from you with a sinful 'pop', he lets out an airy laugh. "Jesus, this is, uh... fuck," he whispers out before delving right back in, madly licking and sucking wherever he can reach.

He can't stop himself from letting one of his hands drop from your thighs, using it to palm at his growing hardness. "Shit Romes, you're doing good," you groan, struggling to pay attention to the movie when Roman's tongue is a single movement away from circling your clit.

"Only f'r you," he desperately gasps out, only taking a second to get air back before focusing his full attention on the small bundle of nerves he's finally located. He isn't as hesitant as you would've thought he'd be-- he wastes no time roughly sucking on your clit, shamelessly moaning as he feels you twitch and writhe from his touch.

"Fuck, you're doing so good baby, keep doing that." You grab a handful of his hair and forcefully pull him closer. He moans pathetically at the movement, at the way he's suffocating in your juices. 

The wet noises he's making are absolutely sinful, and if it wasn't for his relentless mouth you would've joked about his eating manners. His mouth and nose are shiny with your wetness, and he pays it no mind, drilling his tongue inside of you without a care in the world. "W'na please you," he moans against you, his own hips stuttering as he stops palming himself, cock painfully restrained in his dress pants.

"You're such a good boy for me, Roman, you're doing so fucking good." His eyes screw shut as he groans against your clit, the vibrations leaving you to gasp for air. It's all just too much, the pleasure combined with the desperate noises he's letting out sending you into cloud nine.

He whines at your every noise and your every word. It's like his heart is going to burst out of his chest, and when you yank at his hair he can't hold himself back. With a muffled groan he releases his load, only slightly faltering in his pace before continuing to practically torture your pussy.

"My sweet pup, eating me out so well, so proud of you," you moan with a fistful of his hair in your hand, only half-aware of Roman's own predicament. Your words of praise alone are overstimulating, but he can't stop himself from lapping up your juices.

He pulls away for a moment, gasping for air as he looks at you, face glistening.  "You're so fucking wet, I just w'na live here," he groans out, before roughly sucking on your clit.

You don't know if it's the hungry moans he keeps letting out or the blinding pleasure he's giving you that pushes you over the edge. Thousands of blinding white stars cover your vision as your entire body stiffens, a gargled moan escaping your throat as you push Roman's entire face into you one last time. 

He moans against your slick cunt, weakly lapping at you as you slowly come down. Even when you whine at the overstimulation of it all, he keeps at it, tongue busying itself with cleaning you up. For a moment you think you can even hear him gulp, whining as you try to pry him off of you.

Reluctantly, he pulls away, carrying a serene expression. With lidded eyes he looks up at you, and the question he asks almost makes you cum again on the spot.

"Did I do good for you?"

You let out an airy chuckle. "Yeah, you did."

Roman groans as he stands up, and only now you see the dark stain at the front of his pants. "Oh my god, did you?--"

"Shut up, yes." You giggle as he awkwardly stands up to place a small kiss on your lips. Your hand shoots to grab the back of his neck, deepening the kiss, and you hum as you taste yourself on his tongue. He moans into your mouth, a sound you happily swallow before pulling away. "You did very good, Roman. Didn't realize you're a total perv for giving oral," you hum out as he waddles yo your bathroom. 

"And I didn't realize you were a total slut for it," he retorts, keeping the bathroom door open as you hear him shuffling out of his pants. "Where's my shit?" 

You pull your panties up, but simply remove your sweatpants, before walking over to your bedroom and quickly fishing out a fresh pair of pants, a shirt and some boxers for him. The amount of times he's made someone drop off fresh clothes for him to your apartment has caused an influx of items for him to wear when he's with you.

With a light grin you walk towards the bathroom, handing Roman his things as you sit on the closed toilet seat. "I'm happy you were able to enjoy yourself, too."

Roman shrugs. "Yeah, I mean, I ruined my fucking pants, but it was also fucking hot." 

"You win some, you lose some," you hum as you watch him remove his blouse and replace it with the shirt. "You should definitely let me do that again, by the way. Just-- ask whenever you want a real man to make you cum," he mumbles out, avoiding the eye contact you're trying to make with the mirror he's in front of. 

"You're just saying that because you're a total pussy-loving freak, aren't you?" He groans at your words as he finishes dressing himself, walking out of the bathroom with you in tow. You chuckle at the TV-- the credits are rolling. "Can you please not say kinky shit to me, my dick is in recovery mode right now, thanks."

The two of you plop onto the couch, legs tangling as you grab the remote and put on a show the two of you usually watch together. "Seriously though," Roman suddenly pipes up,

"you taste really good."

[dancingtotuyo]

Sage (Marcus Pike Drabble)

Rating: PG

Summary: You and Marcus can't agree on anything.

Tags/Warnings: fluff, mentions of alcohol

Notes: The challenge: write a drabble in 30ish minutes with the assigned Pedro boy for the prompt "finally, something we can agree on." Thanks to @saradika-graphics for the lovely dividers! No beta we die like my soul working 40+ hours a week.

Words: 452

Author Master List | Marcus Pike Master List | Daily Clicks for Palestine

“We should go out sometime,” Marcus says, a charming smile painted on his face as he leans against your desk.

You move your eyes up toward him and then pull them back to the case file in front of you. “No.”

“It’ll be fun. I know this great Mexican place just around the corner-”

“I don’t date coworkers, Marcus.” You look through the case file like it’s the most riveting piece of literature you’ve ever read. 

“Oh, Bob was gonna come too.” He points to the desk right behind you. 

You spin around and Bob waves at you with a smile. Marcus returns the gesture to your coworker. “See you at 7? I’ll text you the address.”

He’s gone before you can protest.

You laugh at something Marcus says as you finish off your margarita. Bob left an hour ago, but you and Marcus haven’t moved. They kick you out at closing. 

“Wanna come to mine? It’s just around the corner.”

“I told you I don’t-”

“Who said anything about a date?” 

“You told your mom about me?” 

“No.” Marcus scratches the back of his neck. 

You cross your arms, raising an eyebrow at him. 

“Not intentionally,” He says weakly. “She really wants to meet you.”

“No,” You say as Marcus’s doorbell rings. 

“You want Pizza or Chicken for dinner?”

“Pasta.” You bite back a smile.

Marcus looks at you with a half-annoyed look. 

“I love you.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Excuse me?”

“You just think you do. I have that effect on people.”

“You’re just being difficult. 

Marcus burrows his head into the crook of your neck, leaving soft kisses on your skin. Your legs stretch out under the covers as you blink away the sleep haze. 

“Good morning.” His voice is soft and husky. 

“Good morning.” You smile.

“I’ve been thinking.”

“Never a good thing.”

“Why don’t you move in with me?”

“I like having my own space.”

“You can have the spare bedroom.”

“Beige or charcoal?” Marcus asks.

“Sage.”

“That wasn’t an option.”

“It’s a better one.”

“Silver or gold?’

“You should know the answer to that.”

“Humor me.”

“Figure it out, Mr. FBI.”

“Marry me?” He’s on his knee in front of you, a diamond ring set in the correct metal in a velvet box. 

You’re wide-eyed, not expecting it tonight. He’s looking at you with nothing but big heart eyes and a hopeful smile. It makes your heart melt. This is your man. He’s all yours. Your Marcus.

“Yes,” It falls from your lips as you meet him on the ground, pressing your lips to his. He laughs, arms wrapping around your waist 

“Had me worried you were gonna fight me on this too,” he teases. 

“Shut up.” 

[k-nayee]

CHAPTER 2. ROUSED

❝Your fascination with me will be your death.❞

Tamed M.List

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ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ

Meleys' scarlet wings flared in the sky above Driftmark, casting a shadow that swept across the courtyard below.

The dragon's descent was as graceful as it was dramatic—her massive form dipping slowly to the ground.

Down below Laenor and Laena hurried into the pit the moment the Dragon came into sight.

Awoken to the news of the Lord and Lady sudden departure with no say left a burning curiosity and excitement within their children.

The Velaryon siblings brows lift high when they saw Corlys dismounting first.

Him? On a Dragon?

The Sea Snake staggered slightly with a hand pressed to his head as he muttered under his breath, "Never again."

Laenor couldn't but grin. "Father. Still with us after all that?"

Corlys shot him a half-hearted glare causing Laenor and Laena laugh.

Though the sound quickly faded quickly when they saw Rhaenys descending carefully from Meleys.

There was almost an reverent light in her eyes as she held the bundle close to her chest.

Even Meleys lowered her head, her long snout stretching forward until it hovered beside Rhaenys.

The Dragon's amber eyes blinked slowly as her snout nudged close to the small form with a soft huff.

Laena's gaze was riveted at the scene—unable to tear her eyes from the sight of the Dragon showing such gentleness.

"Mother?" Laena asked hushed, half-formed questions caught on her lips.

But before she could say more Rhaenys tilted the cover back just enough for the young girl to see your face nestled among the folds of cloth.

Laena's breath caught as she took in your golden eyes, blinking up at her with wide innocence.

Laenor, noticing his sister's stunned expression, walked over.

His brows knitted in confusion until he looked down and caught sight of you himself causing his mouth to drop open.

"This," Rhaenys's soft voice broke through with warmth evident in her tone, "is your new sister."

Laenor blinked. "Wait. Did...did you and Mother..." he trailed off as he still at a lost for words.

Corlys let out a deep booming laugh, stepping over to clap his son on the back.

"Afraid your mother and I are well past our prime for something like that." He glanced down at you, his gruff features softening. "But for this little bird, I wouldn't mind clearing the nest one more time."

Laena hadn't taken her eyes off you.

Her gaze was unwavering as she took a hesitant step forward, her eyes flicking between her parents.

With a clear of her throat she asked, "Mother, may I...can I hold her?"  Her voice was quieter than usual—uncharacteristically shy.

Rhaenys smiled with a nod as she gently handed you to Laena.

The young girl's hands trembled slightly as she took you, cradling your tiny form with a mix of awe and nervousness.

You blinked up at her cooing softly and Laena's heart melted at the sound.

In that moment Laena felt a new kind of warmth—a protective tenderness blooming in her chest, something that softened her in a way she'd never felt before.

She marveled at how delicate and small you were nestled against her as though you'd always been meant to be there.

'If this is what being a mother feels like' she thought with a flutter of excitement 'then I can't wait.'

She barely noticed Laenor shifting beside her, his own curiosity piqued as he reached out. "Alright Laena my turn."

Laena's expression instantly became guarded. She angles herself away from him and draws you closer.

"Not yet," she replied. "I just got to hold her."

Laenor frowned, stepping forward again with hands outstretched. "Come on Laena don't be selfish. She's my sister too."

But she only stepped back, keeping her gaze on you and refusing to hand you over.

Laenor let out a frustrated huff and stomps his foot. With an indignant glare he turns to his parents.

"Mother! Father! Laena won't let me hold her."

Laena rolled her eyes dramatically. "You're five and ten, a grown man in his own right—and yet here you are whining like a child denied a treat."

Laenor's lips curl flushed, irritation flaring as he glares at his sister.

"I am not whining! You're just hogging her," he shot back, his voice rising. "You've had more than enough time."

"Oh have I?" Laena countered, lifting her chin defiantly. "Maybe I'm the only one of us who knows how to handle a babe properly."

Laenor's frustration simmered as his face twisted. "Oh for the love of—I'm the eldest Laena! She should come to me first! Besides, I know how to hold one just fine! Now give her here Laena!"

Once again Laena refuses, keeping you firmly out of reach as she relished in her brother's upset. "Not a chance. You'll have to wait your turn."

By now the two were fully absorbed in their playful bickering, their voices growing louder as they sparred.

Rhaenys and Corlys exchanged a look of exasperation laced with a hint of amusement.

"Appears we won't have to worry about them accepting her after all," Rhaenys murmured softly, her lips twitching in a half-smile.

Corlys gave a dry, slightly sarcastic huff, watching his children's competitive antics over their new sister.

"Yes," he replied dryly, though a spark of love glinted in his eyes. "How wonderful."

═════════════════˚･:*:★☆༓☆★:*:･˚══════════════════

The light filtered softly through the high windows of Driftmark's learning chamber, casting warm beams across the stone floor.

You sat cross-legged at the center of the room, diligently trying to focus on the scrolls in front of you.

The weighty sounds of the maester's voice droned on—seamlessly reciting grammar in High Valyrian with unrelenting precision.

Unfortunately for him your attention wavered as your gaze drifted to the small window.

Across from you Laena listened in feigned patience, her fingers fidgeting with a loose thread on her skirts.

Laenor sat slouched beside her, his cheek resting on one hand, stifling a yawn as he half-heartedly mimicked the maester's phrases.

Though your place had been legitimized by King Viserys himself, your presence had always been kept relatively hidden.

Life on Driftmark continued quietly when you arrived with little of the Realm knowing your presence in the Velaryon family.

There were no grand feasts, no tournaments or public celebrations to announce your adoption; just a quiet and private ceremony with only your family and close retainers present.

A simple meal, a promise, and the warmth of their voices that bound you as theirs.

You could still recall being held in your mother's arms constantly in those early days.

She'd carried you with her wherever she went until you were too big to manage on her hip.

Not to mention how Laenor and Laena would find any excuse to keep you near.

From taking you along shores to (when they were feeling especially daring) sneaking you along on rides with their Dragons.

Corlys often teased Rhaenys of her and the children's behavior—comparing it to a dog with prized bone.

But even if his love for you wasn't as shown or as intense as theirs, it still ran as deep as the sea itself.

 It didn't take long for you to get used to the rhythm of lessons and family life.

And although you hadn't met many people beyond Driftmark's shores, you'd heard whispers of the events unfolding just beyond the castle walls. 

Laena was nearing the day when she'd leave for her marriage to Daemon Targaryen, The Rogue Prince—a man whose name you'd heard countless times yet never met.

And just three years ago Laenor had married King Viserys' daughter Princess Rhaenyra—the Princess of the Realm.

She too was family you'd never laid eyes on, but you couldn't help but picture her as someone bright and bold as Laenor.

Thinking about that made you feel a little better when dealing with the loss of having him move away from Driftmark.

But luckily Laenor visited often, making the long journey from King's Landing whenever he could to tell you stories of his life and marriage.

Even at six you could see there was something different in the way he spoke about his marriage to Rhaenyra.

They didn't seem to share what your parents had—there was no easy affection or lightness in his voice.

So of course it had come as a pleasant surprise when Laenor announced you'd have a little nephew.

The idea of being an aunt was thrilling even if you had yet to meet him.

You would imagine your big brother holding his child with the same mischief in his eyes as when he teased Laena or snuck you sweets from the kitchens.

You were certain his family must be wonderful, just as he was.

"My Lady!"

The sharp call jolts you from your thoughts and you looked up to find three faces staring at you.

Laenor smirked, his eyes glinting with amusement while Laena raised a brow with barely contained humor. 

The maester however was not so entertained. His brow furrowed deeply as he tapped the table with a bony finger.

"If you'd please focus my lady," he said tightly with barely restrained impatience.

You felt your cheeks heat up, but before you could respond, Laenor let out a small laugh.

"Aye she's off somewhere far away, certainly not here in Driftmark. Meanwhile we're trapped here with endless lectures on Valyrian verb conjugations!" He gave an exaggerated groan, earning him a glare from the maester.

"I assure you," he begins sternly, "if you spent as much time on these studies as you have on your Dragons, you might speak the language more fluently than any maester in the Citadel by now."

"Oh but where would the fun be in that?" Laenor teased as he leaned back with an easy smile. He turns to you, smile widening. "And you...drifting off during Valyrian lessons. What would Mother say?"

You grow upset at his teasing. "You're not even supposed to be here!" You snap with a pout, "Go back to your wife and child and leave me be!"

Laenor holds up his hands in surrender as Laena lets out a small laugh.

"She's not wrong brother. Here you are lounging around like moss on the rocky shores—as if you haven't got fleet to manage. Or better yet, another babe to put in your wife's belly?"

Laenor's smile drops at that and he shoots his sister a look before pulling an ugly face, his tongue sticking out at her. "Ha ha very funny. It's not my fault our dearest sister here loves me more. Her heart grows saddened without my presence. What kind of brother would I be if I left her to suffer?"

He lifts his nose at that while Laena's lip curl into a sneer.

"Love you more? Ha! As if!"

Laenor's smirk widened. "So is..."

Before Laena could jump across the table, the maester's voice cut through the squabble.

"Emāt kostilus!" (Will you both please!)

The room stills. He releases a breath once seeing he had their attention and started to speak once more.

"Now, before I was so rudely interrupted," he shoot a glare at your siblings who avoided his gaze, finding the walls and floors much more interesting. "Lady ____, will you please read the sentence on page two?"

You shifted uncomfortably under the weight of his attention and hesitantly reached out for the study book in front of you.

The leather-bound cover felt soft under your fingertips, the texture grounding you slightly.

"Um..." you began, voice uncertain.

No matter how many times you saw the ancient language, the words still looked foreign, their meanings tangled and jumbled in your mind.

You hesitate. "U-um...D-dorys—" (Kong—)

"No," The maester immediately cut you off sharply with narrowed eyes. "That is not correct. Try again."

You felt a flicker of annoyance at his tone before glancing back at the book.

Usually mistakes didn't bother you this much. But today? Each stumble sent a pang of frustration spiraling through you.

"...D-dorys Aegon—" (Kong Aegon—)

"Dārys Aegon," he corrected curtly. "You're not concentrating. Again." (King Aegon)

Every time the maester interrupted you, every snide remark he made, you could feel the heat building inside slowly.

Why did he have to be so cruel? Why did he make you feel so weak? Underserving of your place?

It was unfair the way he spoke to you—the way he dismissed your efforts as if they meant nothing.

Irritation and helplessness welled up within you and you gripped the edges of the book tightly.

The embarrassment was suffocating, but the anger—it was growing, filling every corner of your chest.

*･:*:★༓★:*:･*

The Dragonpit was a place that held you in thrall, a secret world filled with creatures and power that you couldn't resist.

Every chance you got you'd sneak down here, drawn by a fascination that seemed to root itself deeper each day.

The Dragon handlers had long since noticed your presence but never shooed you away—perhaps recognizing the curiosity that seemed ingrained in any child.

Watching them work with the Dragons felt like watching magic in motion; a language of commands and gestures understood only by those who lived their lives alongside these magnificent creatures.

Nero Fyrehand felt the same way.

Hair as dark as a raven's wing curling messily around his ears and eyes as grey as the billowing storms; the boy of eight stood among the handlers with barely contained excitement.

There was an energy about him, a boldness unusual for his age.

He watched with bated breath held as Lady Rhaenys descended from her Dragon's back, the handlers moving in swiftly to help her dismount.

Other approached cautiously, keeping their distance from Meleys as they began the task of removing the riding gear.

His gaze was fixed on Meleys with a reverence that made him seem older than he was.

She was magnificent—a creature straight out of stories.

Her scales were a rich fiery crimson that almost glowed under the sun.

Her vast leathery wings were powerful, the subtle sheen of pink and gold catching whatever light touched them.

The crown-like array of horns gave her an almost regal majestic look.

She was fierce, the warrior queen among Dragons, her slender facial features giving her a sharp dignified appearance.

He admired her more than words could say.

"Nero!" The stern voice broke through the quiet awe of the scene.

At the call of his name, he looks to see the stern face of his father, his eyes—the same dark hue as Nero's—narrowed in disapproval.

"Do not get too close, especially now," his father warned with a tone edged with seriousness. "She is nearing her incubation period. Gods know who knocked her up, but she won't take kindly to anyone approaching."

Nero waved his father off with a huff, his gaze already drifting back to Meleys.

Dragons had always fascinated him—something about their power, their elegance.

And Meleys? She was special.

She was known for her speed, her fierce loyalty to her rider, her prowess in battles past.

She had been one of the swiftest in her prime and he couldn't help but admire her as the warrior she truly was.

A Dragon worthy of the title "The Red Queen."

As his father turned away to speak with another handler, Nero saw his chance.

His father was too busy, distracted by the conversation and the other handlers were focused on Meleys' gear.

The temptation was too strong—he took a step forward, and then another, inching closer to the now resting Dragon.

It was by luck Nero's father had been a Dragon handler, him soon to become one in his own right.

Being allowed in the Dragonpit at all, permitted to watch and learn when he could—and on rare occasions he was even allowed to help with minor tasks.

Today was not one of those days but that didn't stop him. He couldn't let this chance go to waste.

Quietly he moved with the deliberate grace his father had taught him while avoiding the notice of the handlers.

His heart pounded in his chest as excitement flooded his veins.

He marveled at her sheer size and the beauty of her crimson scales, the way her sharp claws curled into the ground.

Learning the ways of Dragons since he could walk; Nero watched their handlers command them and he knew of the honor it took to stand in the shadow of such power.

Surely Meleys wouldn't mind...not if he approached slowly with respect.

But as he took another step something shifted.

Meleys' tail flicked and her nostrils flared. She had caught his scent.

Nero was too enraptured to notice at first—the scales of her side so close now that he could almost reach out and touch them.

Meleys' eyes snapped open: fierce intelligent orbs narrowing into slits as she fixed him with a chilling precision.

A soft ominous rumble escaped her throat, reverberating through the pit like distant thunder.

Her wings twitched, the leathery membrane pulling taut as she rose to her full height, looking down at him with an intensity that froze him in place.

The handlers noticed her change in posture, their heads snapping up as they registered the threat.

"Inkot!" one of them shouted sharp and quick. (Back!)

Nero's father spun around, his eyes widening as he saw how close his son had gotten.

Panic flashed across his face. "Nero!" he yelled, voice cracking. "Move away from her!"

But it was too late. Meleys' territorial instincts had kicked in, her protective nature stirred by the proximity of the boy.

She shifted into a crouch, her wings lifting slightly as every muscle coiled.

The handlers rushed forward shouting commands in High Valyrian frantically. "Iōrās embrot!" "Pilogon!" (Stand dow! Hold!)

Desperate, Nero's father picked up a nearby rock and hurled it at Meleys in hopes of it diverting her attention.

It only enraged her further.

With a furious roar she lashed out—her massive tail sweeping through the air sending handlers off their feet as she backed Nero into a corner.

Her wings flared and she let out another earth-shaking bellow, the sound so deep and powerful it seemed to shake the very walls around them.

The cries of the men and the sharp commands was drowned out by the Red Queen as she prepared to defend what was hers.

|

|

"...D-dorys Aegon ia Targarien—" (Kong Aegon I Targahryen—)

"Incorrect! It is Dārys Aegon iā Targārien Vezof. Your third month of learning and yet you still have not mastered a single pronunciation." (King Aegon I Targaryen the Conqueror)

You bit back a retort and instead trying to focus, but each correction only frayed your nerves further.

You'd never felt this raw emotion before; a simmering anger that made your pulse quicken.

Laena could sense your frustration as your fingers twitched.

She leaned closer to you, her hand brushing yours lightly. "It's alright. Just take a deep breath and take your time..." she whispered gently, her violet eyes full of quiet encouragement.

The maester's gaze snapped toward her, irritation plainly etched across his face.

"Lady Laena, coddling will not help her learn. She must persevere without such interference," he chastised unforgivingly.

Laena's face darkened. "She is but six and has only recently started her studies this year. You cannot expect—"

"Excuses will get one nowhere my lady." He cuts her off with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Prince Aemond began and excelled even earlier at the age of four. Regardless of her....origins, to waste the grace of the King's legitimization would be nothing short of ungrateful. Simply bearing the Velaryon name does not equate to true nobility."

Laenor's calm façade cracked as he shot a cold glare across the table.

"I suggest," he said tightly, "that you remember who you're speaking to. She is not some common child to be chastised nor a misbehaving servant."

The maester was unperturbed. His thin lips pressed together. "Perhaps if you spent less time interrupting her lessons, my lord, she might be able to concentrate."

Your hands trembled as a pressure in your chest grew with every word exchanged.

The maester's voice, the arguments around you, the frustration—everything blurred together till the point of pushing you to the edge.

"If she cannot learn the basics how will she—"

"SHUT UP!" 

Words tumbled out like a crack of thunder as you slam your hands down on the table.

The room went deathly silent.

The weight of your outburst hanging thickly in the air; the maester's mouth opened in shock and even Laena and Laenor froze wide-eyed and stunned.

You barely noticed—a surge of heat washed through you and your vision blurred, flashing with molten gold.

As if in perfect response, a thunderous roar ripped through the air, the sound of Meleys's bellowing fury reverberating across the castle grounds.

The sheer force of it sent a shiver through the room, rattling books and casting ripples across the surface of the ink pots on the table.

It was as if her anger mirrored your own—a wild rage that knew no boundaries.

You whipped your head toward the window and without thinking leapt from your seat to see what was happening.

Laenor and Laena scrambled after you with concern flickering over their faces.

Your eyes found the Dragonpit in the distance as smoke and dust curled through the air.

Down below the bright red shape of Meyles loomed large. Her tail thrashing and wings half-spread; her massive form nearing a corner of the pit where handlers shouted commands in panicked High Valyrian.

Laena took in the scene causing a look of dawning horror cross her face.

"Oh gods," she whispered, "the boy...he's too close. He doesn't stand a chance."

Her hand moved to cover your eyes but you couldn't look away.

Just as Laena reached down to shield you, her hand brushed only air.

She blinked in shock, glancing down, and then turned in alarm as she caught sight of your skirts disappearing through the doorway.

"____!"

|

|

Nero pressed himself against the stone wall of the pit as his crying form trembled before Meleys.

His breath came in short gasps as fear finally took hold.

He looked up; her mouth open slightly to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth, her throat glowing brighter as the heat of impending fire radiated from her.

"FATHER!" Nero cries, barely able to process anything but the looming fire-breathing shadow above him. "FATHER PLEASE!"

The boy's shrieks echoed through the pit as he calls out for his father who tries out in vain and shouts commands.

Every handler's shout was ignored; Meleys was deaf to them all—her blazing gaze fixed solely on the intruder who had dared come too close.

Just as the first flicker of fire threatened to spill from her ma—

"Meleys! Lykirī!" (Calm!)

A high-pitched command pierced the air in flawless High Valyrian—carrying a tone one would expect only from a dragon's rider.

Every worker in the pit froze, their heads turning toward the source of the voice.

You stood at the entrance to the Dragonpit as Meleys' blazing gaze snapped away from the boy and locked onto you. 

She froze, her mighty head tilting slightly as you approached.

The handlers stared stunned as you walked forward to meet the Dragon halfway.

She watched you intently with narrowing eyes once you stood before her.

There was no fear in your eyes, only a strange sense of calm as if approaching an old friend.

For a heartbeat there was only silence; her body taut with tension, her nostrils still glowing red.

But then, in an almost reverent movement, she lowered herself to the ground, folding her wings and lying down.

Throat ceasing its fiery glow as she settled, her tail relaxed from its aggressive coil.

Her massive head sank onto her outstretched claws—and with a low rumbling sigh, the last wisps of smoke drifted from her nostrils.

A little ways behind her you spot the boy still cowering against the wall with tear-filled eyes.

Reaching out, you rest a small gentle hand on her snout, your fingers tracing a soothing path along her warm scales.

"There there," whispered softly, your voice barely above a murmur. "You're just tired and cranky that's all..."

Meleys responded with a low deep croon that sent a soft vibration through the stone floor.

She nudged her head into your hand, exhaling a warm breath that tousled your hair as she let out a contented rumble.

Seeing the Dragoness satiated, Nero's father takes his chance to hurry over to his son, grabbing the child into his arms and holding him tight.

But the young boy barely noticed—his still trembling frame taking in the sight of you and Meleys with an indescribable look as he's taken away to safety.

Just then, hurried footsteps echoed as Rhaenys, Corlys, Laenor, and Laena came running into the pit with shaken and tense faces.

They had braced themselves for carnage—a scorched child or a battle-scarred Meleys beyond control.

But instead they came upon a scene none of them could have anticipated.

There you were, standing before the legendary Red Queen, who lay placidly at your feet.

You stroked her snout with a touch as natural as if you'd done it a hundred times while Meleys purred under your hand like a contented cat.

Corlys' jaw tightened while Rhaenys stood frozen in disbelief; their gazes flickered between you and her Dragon.

Meanwhile Laenor and Laena could only exchanged stunned glances, not daring to move or speak.

At that moment you look up upon noticing your family's arrival and beam at them.

"Hi!" you chirped with a toothy grin, your gap-toothed smile radiating innocence.

The sight of your childish joy, so out of place in the scene of soot and smoke, seemed to shock them even further.

Laenor's expression was of confusion as Laena's eyes moved between you and Meleys still struggling to find the right words.

Rhaenys took a hesitant step forward.

"What did you..." she breathes out barely audibly, almost as if she were afraid that speaking too loudly would shatter the fragile peace that had settled in the pit.

Meleys released a contented sigh before her head nudged your side. You laughed and pat her snout again.

"She was just angry," you say simply, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"You...you saved him. That little boy," Laena whispers as she watches you with wonder. "How?"

You could only give a shrug. "I don't know."

Rhaenys exchanged a glance with Corlys. There was pride mingled with awe, her lips curving into the faintest of smiles.

Laenor, finally breaking free of his shock, lets out a small huff. "Of course. Only you little sister."

At that you give another smile and quickly go back to coddling the fire-breathing beast.

[kaciidubs]

Number 21 with Jisung please!!!!

21: Singing karaoke together

"You can't pick a song that you guys have made - that's cheating!"

"But what if I sing over parts I don't cover?"

"Still cheating, Ji - pick something else!"

With the power of rainbow LED lights and silly props, you and Jisung were having the time of your lives in the private karaoke booth; starting the night with a few duets of the most popular songs before diving right into a little game you liked to call 'Better Cover'.

The rules were simple, the singer picks a song and they do whatever they must to do the best cover they could - whether it be using the voice and music effects, or doing the best performance with improv dancing and witty ad-libs.

"Okay - I got it!"

With a press to the remote, the speakers began to vibrate with the beats of MINX's Love Shake filling the space.

"Starting strong with a girl group, you're really making this a competition, huh?" You mused as he placed the remote on the couch.

"Just showing off my idol skills, Jagi - watch!"

You could barely contain the excited smile that stretched your lips, nor were you prepared to see Jisung energetically bounce to the center of the room, the flower sprout headband he wore hanging on for dear life as he slid on a pair of oversized pink glasses.

"Baby," he sang into the mic, trying his best to keep the embarrassed laughs at bay, "don't let me stop, you-" pointing toward you, he shot you a wink before jumping into position, "-love me!"

"You know the choreo too?!" Gasping, you watched as he bounced to the beat, one hand on his hip while the other confidently held the mic s if he were on stage in front of thousands.

Jisung seemed to channel his inner MINX member as he sang and danced, his energy infecting you as you sang along to the intended fan chant portions of the song.

"Shake it love-"

"Love!"

"Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it love-"

"Love!"

As he spun to do the next part of the dance, you all but squealed like a pig in mud as he started shaking his hips side to side, fully committed to the choreography - and winning the unofficial competition.

Before you knew it, the final beats of the song were floating through the speaker, and you were left with a very out of breath Jisung, and a karaoke screen totaling up the points he earned through his riveting performance.

Celebratory music played as the screen displayed a perfect 100 - followed by a small image of a crowd cheering as he bowed graciously.

"Thank you! Thank you, no, really, you've been a wonderful crowd! I'll be here all night!" He waved to imaginary audience members, even striking a few ageyo poses as if they were taking his picture.

"Okay, be honest with me," pointing the remote at him, your eyes narrowed in a playful glare, "how long have you had that planned?"

Pursing his lips, Jisung sheepishly looked away before muttering, "...since our last karaoke date."

"You've been waiting to show me up for a whole month?!"

"Hey! I had to after watching you show me up with Icky! I can't even listen to KARD the same without getting war flashbacks!"

"Alright, well two can play at this game - this is real war, Han Jisung!"

[unedited]

[honestly-mad-person]

PUNISHMENT

(⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠) WARNINGS: jealous, kissing, fondling, oral sex, moaning, sex, orgasm, swearing.

(⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠) Characters: Zayne/ fem!reader

(⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠) Annotation: This is my first fanfic in a long time. I hope you enjoy reading it. It's a translation from the original language, so I apologize for any mistakes I made.

(⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠) Synopsis: You escape from the hospital in the middle of the night because you are afraid of hospitals, but you are caught.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Once again, you disobeyed your doctor's orders and decided to sneak out of the hospital at night. Everything was going great until you were blinded by headlights and the soft sound of an engine as you left the hospital in the darkness of night. Frightened as a deer, you froze when you heard the door open and the sound of footsteps coming your way.

— I knew you'd run away, – Zayne's cold voice said as he walked toward you.

Suddenly, shivers ran down your spine. You clenched your hands and prepared to feel the wrath of your hospital.

— I just went out to get some fresh air! – You sounded uncertain when you met Zayne's eyes.

— It's already 1:00 AM, you know? – his eyes reflected his disbelief at your pathetic excuse.

— Yes... – you whimpered, looking down.

The cold night air caressed your neck, causing another wave of shivering. You see him approach you, taking confident steps toward you. His fingers were on your chin, and with a sharp movement, he forced you to raise your head to meet his gaze.

The expression on his face made you shrink even more, biting the inside of your cheek.

His eyebrows, furrowed, came together on the bridge of his nose, and his gaze, directed directly into your soul, caused new waves of goosebumps to spread through your body.

— You're not a good liar, – Zayne said calmly, but with a hint of irritation, examining your face for a few seconds, his eyes wandering from your eyes to your lips. – You could have refused hospitalization right away, like I said.

Thinking back to the time you snuck into the hospital after catching a cold from the draft, avoiding Zayne, you still failed. As you sat in Dr. Grayson's office, you caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in the doorway.

— I hope he doesn't see me, – you thought, trying to hide your face.

Seeing this reaction, Dr. Grayson smiled gently.

— You don't have to worry about Zayne's anger... As a doctor, he rarely cares as much about his patients as you do. In any case, he'll just grumble, that's all.

— I-I know, Dr. Grayson, – your voice was quiet for fear of being seen.

Looking down at your hands in your lap, you intertwined your fingers, imagining Zayne's face if he found out you were sick. He has enough to worry about at work, so you didn't want to worry him with such trivialities.

— Still, I'd recommend that you stay in the hospital for additional observation, – Dr. Grayson shook his head and looked at the tests again, – for your safety.

You understood what the doctor meant. Touching your chest, you tried to feel your own heartbeat.

— I can't stay here, doctor… – your eyes went up to the doctor, begging him to think of something else.

Grayson's eyebrows rose up in surprise for a few seconds, and after clearing his throat, he looked down at the sheet of paper in his hands, which was directed over your shoulder.

— And yet, I insist on hospitalization, – he replied, exhaling.

— But I...

— Yeah, we can't force you to stay here, – Zayne's voice sounded cold as ice behind you.

Twitching, you turned your head to meet his gaze. As always, he was serious and demanding.

Your eyes widened and your heart skipped a few beats.

— It's not as serious as you think, Dr. Zayne, – you defended yourself, feeling your heart beat faster under his gaze.

— Of course I believe you, – he replied, walking over to the table and taking your test results, "which we doctors can understand.

His words made your chest pang.

— I didn't mean that...

Your gaze was still riveted on his face. Even from the side, you could feel his strength, watching his jaw clench and his muscles stand out slightly. Eyes down, you waited meekly for him to speak.

— Dr. Grayson is right about you being hospitalized, – Zayne said sharply, handing the sheet back to Grayson.

His voice sounded a little different than usual. As if he was irritated, but you weren't sure what the reason was. Or maybe you were imagining it.

Without another word, he turned around and walked out of the office without looking at you.

Your heart went cold in your chest as you watched him disappear around the corner, and with a sigh, you turned your gaze to Dr. Grayson.

— I've never seen him so serious… – he said, shaking his head.

For a moment, you saw the corner of his lips turn up, but it was only a moment.

— O-okay... If that's really necessary… – your voice sounded hoarse and you immediately coughed, covering your mouth with your hand.

— I'm glad to hear that, – Dr. Grayson smiled warmly, nodding his head. – A nurse will escort you to the hospital.

Standing up from the chair, you looked at the doctor one last time, while your mind raced with thoughts of running away from this place tonight.

— It's... my health, – you answered him and left the office.

And now, trying to leave the hospital unnoticed in the middle of the night, you were caught by someone who caused waves of different emotions in your body.

— Well… – you muttered almost audibly, trying to look at anything but Zayne's piercing gaze.

Letting go of your chin, he actually ordered you:

— Get in the car, it's the doctor's order, – he turned and walked to the car without looking at you.

Running away from him now would have been very stupid, because sooner or later they would have met in his office. He was your doctor, and because of your job, you had to undergo medical examinations that were approved by his signature. Lowering your head as if before an execution, you followed him in, and when Zayne opened the door for you to sit down, your gaze lingered on his face for a second. Tense and serious.

The car was warm, the smell of his cologne was pleasant, and you shivered as the cold of the night released you from his arms. Your hands, which had managed to freeze, slowly warmed up as you followed the tall figure in front of you as he stepped into the headlights. The door opened and Zayne was behind the wheel. His hand was on the steering wheel, the other on the gear knob, and with a sharp movement, he got the car moving.

The atmosphere in the cabin was very heavy. The soft light from the dashboard illuminated your faces. You sat there, hardly breathing, feeling Zayne's strange aura. You didn't even try to ask where he was taking you.

Your eyes fell to his hands, which were skillfully steering the car. Large, strong, and well-shaped, they mesmerized you, allowing you to relax for a while. You watched the tendons in his arms move, the veins standing out, casting a faint shadow. You realized that he was holding the steering wheel too tightly.

Tilting your head, you turned your gaze to his face. In the dim light, you could still make out his expression. He was even more gloomy than he had been during the day, and it was obvious.

The muscles in his jaw moved again as he let out:

— Why are you looking at me like that?

Shuddering, you looked at the road, biting your lip and pressing your back against the seat, wanting to dissolve.

— Nothing, just like that...

Without answering, Zayne continued to watch the road. T felt a jolt forward and looked at the speedometer and frowned. It was moving up to 130 kilometers per hour rather quickly.

— Zayne? – you said his name softly and looked at him. – That's fast...

— Don't worry, the road is clear now, – he replied shortly, his voice calm and cool.

— Where are you going in such a hurry?

He didn't say anything, and you saw the muscles in his jaw play again and his Adam's apple turn.

You drove in silence all the way to your final destination, and when you saw your house in front of you, your heart fluttered.

— We're here, – Zayne stated dryly, turning off the engine and getting out of the car.

He opened the door, letting you out into the chill of the night, which made you shiver. Another chill ran down your neck and you coughed. As soon as you did, Zayne's cold gaze bore into you.

— It's just a cough, nothing to worry about...

— Yeah, – his hand grabbed your wrist and Zayne pulled you toward the entrance, – don't stand here and get yourself into more trouble.

You followed him, feeling his firm grip on your arm. His fingers were loosely wrapped around it, squeezing it tightly enough that you couldn't escape if you thought about it.

— Zayne? – you asked, standing in front of the door of the house.

— Open the door, – he said in his low, raspy voice.

You wondered what he was up to as you put the key in the lock and turned it to open the door. Soon enough, you found yourself standing together at the door of your quarters. Zayne nodded silently toward the door, not taking his eyes off you.

Strangely, this made a faint ripple in your stomach.

Crossing the threshold of the apartment, Zayne closed the door, still looking at you like a hungry man looking at a piece of bread.

He took two steps closer to you and furrowed his brow, looking into your eyes. Your body began to shake slightly under his gaze. Licking your dry lips, you wait for what will happen next.

— Tell me why I found you in Grayson's office today, – his voice sounded lower than usual with the same hint of irritation.

— I didn't want to bother you with my cold… – you look away from him, feeling guilty for being sick. – I heard you had a couple of emergency surgeries that day, so...

Suddenly, you felt his arms wrap around your waist and pull you close. You were literally pressed together so tightly that you could feel his heartbeat with your palms, which instinctively came between the two of you.

Zayne leaned in and the hot air of his breath on your ear made you shiver.

— How could you think that, huh? – he wheezed, his lips barely touching your ear. – No matter how many surgeries I've performed, I'll always have time for you.

Your eyes widened at his words and a blush appeared on your face. Zayne's voice echoed in your mind, and after realizing the reason for his behavior, your heart beat faster.

— Were you upset today because I was in the hospital for a cold or because I was with a different doctor than you? – you said quietly, looking down at your hands still resting on Zayne's broad chest.

— Both, – he answered shortly, holding your body tighter to his.

For a second, you stopped breathing, feeling a tickle inside your stomach. Still feeling his warm breath on your skin, you silently spread your fingers, stroking his chest. At this small gesture, you felt Zayne twitch slightly, and his arms tightened around your waist.

You were afraid that if this went on, it was very likely that your own doctor would break you in half.

— Z-zayne, not so hard… – you muttered, and gently pressed your hands against his chest, trying to push him away.

He tightened his arms even more, not answering. Breathing became difficult and panicked, you turned to him again.

— Zayne, please! – you squeaked, feeling his arms begin to loosen.

Exhaling a sigh of relief, you closed your eyes for a second, feeling him lift his head from your shoulder and meeting his eyes. Slowly, you did the same. When your eyes met his, you held your breath for a moment. You saw a glint of something strange in his pupils that you hadn't noticed before. What was it?

Your hands went up to his neck and touched his cool skin, gently pulling him to you, closing the distance between you. You could literally feel his breath on your lips, see him looking at you through half-closed eyelashes and his fingers roaming over your back, gently caressing it.

— Zayne… – your voice was soft and quiet. – You always take care of me, even when you're exhausted...

Your eyes closed and your lips touched his, merging in a gentle kiss. You could hear his deep and muffled moan coming from his throat. The feeling of warmth on your lips spread throughout your body. You felt his tongue brush over them, and without further ado, your lips opened, letting him in. Your tongues danced, intertwining and making wet sounds.

Zayne's arms tightened around your waist, causing a new wave of goosebumps to form on your skin and then you felt warmth spreading down your stomach.

When you broke the kiss, you looked into his eyes. They were no longer cold and prickly. They were now sparkling with desire. Looking down, you glanced at his lips, which were slightly parted.

Zayne exhaled loudly and pulled your lips into a kiss again. This time, more greedy and lustful. Now, he brazenly took possession of your mouth, exploring every inch of it, moving his tongue inexorably.

This made you breathless, your legs went soft, and sensing this, he picked you up, holding you by the waist. Instinctively, you clung to him with your arms and legs.

His lips left you alone only when your back was against the couch. Opening your eyes, you saw Zayne hovering overhead and slowly let go of him, running your fingers around his neck. Smiling, you kept your gaze on his eyes.

— I'm going to see Dr. Zayne more often and only him, – you said, getting comfortable.

You felt him between your legs, felt him trying not to press against you. Again, his muscles played on his face as he nodded silently in response to your words. You pulled him close again. Your lips merged once more in a kiss and you moaned softly as you felt his fingers slide under your shirt, touching your skin. His fingers trailed down his torso, noting how tense he was now.

Suddenly, Zayne pulls away from you and looks into your eyes, trying to breathe steadily.

— We should stop this now.

— But why? – without thinking, this question comes out of your mouth.

— You... You might regret it if we continue… – Zayne's voice was hoarse and quiet, enough to send a wave of shivers down your spine.

— No… – you whispered, your hips rising so that you could barely press against him.

Even so, you could feel the fabric of his pants stretching, not to mention how wet your own panties were.

Looking down at his neck, your face turned red.

— I won't regret it, because it's you... – seemingly ordinary words, but now they were the trigger for both of them.

— Are you sure? – Zayne asked, burning your neck with his hot breath.

— Yes, – you squeaked out, tilting your head to give him more room to move.

Zayne's lips softly touched your neck, and soon you felt his teeth close around it. You squeak and arch up, your fingers tightening around his shoulders.

— Zayne... please… – your eyes closed for a moment as you whimpered.

He immediately pulled away and his tongue ran over the bite, causing a new wave of trembling. Resting one hand on the couch, he reached under your shirt again with the other. His fingers confidently found their way up to your breasts and when they found what they were looking for, they forced your body to arch to meet them. His hand came over your tit and slowly squeezed it, teasingly.

The warmth in your lower abdomen became even more palpable and, shuddering once again, you felt your own juice flowing out of you. This made your face flush even more with shame.

Soon after, hearing Zayne's guttural moan, you feel him pull away from you. You open your eyes, which are clouded with desire, and watch as he deftly undoes the buttons on your shirt. His gaze is still serious and it makes you smile at the corner of your lips. Every time his fingers touched your skin, you arched your back.

You could see his reaction when his hands twitched slightly and the muscles in his face moved.

— Zayne… – you whispered, putting your hand on top of his and meeting his eyes, – I'm so happy you didn't let me run away.

His eyes widened for a moment, but after a second they narrowed again, boring into you with a hungry gaze.

— I'm also... very glad I didn't let you do that, – he undid the last button and, with your help, took off your shirt and threw it to the floor, ran his fingers down your neck, between your breasts, touching your bra and shaking his head, looked up at you.

Soon, your breathing became ragged again, and moans escaped your lips. Zayne removed your bra and sent it to the floor with your shirt, and then he pressed his lips to your neck again, going lower.

Sinking your fingers into his hair, your body arched as his fingers squeezed your nipple, which was already quite swollen, as he covered your skin with kisses, inch by inch.

When his fingers replaced his mouth, you tilted your head back, biting your lip and gripping his hair tighter.

— Too sensitive around here, aren't you? – Zayne's voice teased.

Your thoughts were already jumbled and you barely understood what he was saying. Your heart was pounding in your throat, and your body was shaking.

— Zayne, please... Ah, more… – you whispered, your body arching to meet him.

He didn't need to be told twice, so he eagerly sucked on your nipple, caressing it with the tip of his tongue. Feeling his hot lips, the way his saliva covered your swollen skin, you couldn't hold back your moans mixed with whimpers. Your hips moved unsuccessfully, trying to find the point of connection with Zayne.

— You need to wait a little longer, – he said, turning his attention to the other nipple. – Consider this your punishment for your behavior today.

With a pitiful groan, you looked at Zayne, at the way he was absorbing every inch of your sensitive area, the way his fingers caressed your saliva-soaked nipple, and the way he deliberately kept away from your pelvis, ignoring your efforts to rub against it.

— Ah, Zayne, I said I was sorry… – you groaned, your vision blurring and your body trembling with an overwhelming desire that ate you up from the inside out.

— You always apologize and then you disobey your doctor's orders again, – he replied, moving away from your nipple and kissing your skin, moving down to your stomach.

— Zayne. I swear, I will follow your every order! Honestly! – you felt his kisses on your skin and arched your back to meet him.

— I don't believe it, – he replied briefly, and then sat down and unzipped your pants, pulling them down along with your panties, watching the thin thread of your arousal stretching across the fabric, soon breaking.

— Are you already so wet from just kissing me? – Zayne said, watching as you squeezed your legs together, shielding your pussy from his gaze.

Zayne's hands went to your knees and in one motion, he forced you to spread your legs, making you squeal and feel dizzy.

— Are you so ashamed that you're trying to fight your desires? – his fingers moved between her lips, collecting the juices with their tips and brushing against her swollen clit, Zayne brought them to his lips, licking up your secretions.

Feeling his fingers down there, where you needed him, your eyes rolled back at that brief pleasure, causing you to moan. Breathing heavily, you watched as he licked his fingers steadily, tasting you.

— Zayne, please... Please have mercy on me, please… – you whimpered, raising your hips, looking at his face and then at his hands.

Watching your actions, Zayne parted his lips and moaned gutturally. His gaze, which had been eating you whole, now stopped between your legs. A vein appeared in his neck from how much you needed him, and swallowing hard, he looked up at you.

It made your body shudder. There was something strange about his gaze, but you couldn't quite put your finger on it because your thoughts were jumbled with growing desire.

Zayne's hands went around your waist and with one jerk, he pulled your body closer to him, making you squeak again.

With trembling hands, you touched his hands that were squeezing you and whispered again:

— Zayne... Please... Please do something to me... I need you so bad... Please…

Zayne didn't let you finish, leaning in for a greedy kiss before his free hand slipped between your bodies and rested on your sensitive nub. While his powerful tongue dominated your mouth, his fingers wandered between your lips, rubbing your secretions. When the fingertips came across your clit, your body arched and the moans that escaped your chest disappeared into a deep kiss.

Your breathing was getting harder and your head was spinning, but your arms were wrapped tightly around Zayne's neck, not wanting to let go. When he broke the kiss, the thoughts in your head finally turned to mush. The only thing you understood and wanted at that moment was Zayne. You needed him.

— Tell me what you want me to do to you, – his voice sounded hoarse above your ear, causing goosebumps, but you didn't hear him.

All your attention was focused on his fingers moving around your clit, deliberately avoiding the entrance. Zayne's light bite on your shoulder brought you to your senses and you looked up at him with a blurry gaze and moaned.

— Zayne...

— I want to hear your voice, speak, – his eyes looked at you as if you were a tasty morsel he was about to eat.

— You… – you wheezed, your berdas already rubbing against his fingers, wanting him to enter your hot womb.

— One more time, – he ordered, kissing your shoulder, letting out a strangled moan.

It was obvious that he was finding it increasingly difficult to control his erection, but it was not impossible. He wanted to make sure that his beloved patient would realize her mistakes and not disobey his orders anymore, and then he would give them both what they needed right now.

— Speak! – Zayne growled, clamping his teeth down on your nipple.

It made you cry out loud, arching and trembling.

— I want you! I want you so bad! So bad! I'll do anything you say, just please... Let me feel you inside me, please… – you begged, barely holding back tears at how Zayne was torturing you so heartlessly now.

— Should I believe your words? – Zayne asked as he slowly moved down your body, kissing your skin.

— Yes! I will! I promise! – the cry of need burst from your chest and with every kiss Zayne gave you, you flowed even more.

Your body moved to meet his lips. Removing his fingers, which had been slowly moving around your clit until then, Zayne looked up at you, crazy with desire.

— Don't forget this, princess, – with these words he plunged between your legs and his tongue confidently passed between your folds, licking your juices. As it rose to the top, the tip touched your clit, causing lightning to flash through your body. Your fingers sank back into his black hair, pressing against him.

— Fuck... Zayne, ahh... – you moaned as his lips gently wrapped around your clit, sucking on it.

The tip of his tongue caressed your pearl sensuously and tenderly, causing your legs to tremble. You could feel how eagerly he was pressing against you, how he was making eights.

The pleasure of his movements tightened in your lower abdomen. Zayne reached down and touched your clit with the tip of his nose and entered you with his tongue, feeling your heat inside. In an instant, he threw your legs over his shoulders and squeezed your hips tightly, penetrating you deeper and deeper each time.

In a symphony of your moans mixed with incoherent mumbling and ragged breathing, you gripped his hair tighter, leaning against him.

He shifted his position again, returning his lips to your clit and freeing one hand, his finger penetrated your womb, causing you to shiver again.

Immediately after he penetrated you, he added another finger, forcing you to arch up. Feeling his movements inside you, stretching you, his tongue diligently caressing your clit, you felt on the edge.

— Zayne! I.... I'm cuming soon! Mhh! – arching under his actions, feeling him accelerate inside, your eyes rolled with pleasure and you were almost cumming when he abruptly pulled away from you, pulling his fingers out.

Whimpering loudly, you wriggled against him, letting go of his hair.

— Zayne... Please, I want to cum! – you cried out, looking up at him, your eyes lustful and dark with desire.

— This is your punishment for disobedience, take it for granted, – he replied, and stood up from the couch while his hands began to quickly and impatiently pull off his clothes.

All you could do was watch as Zayne exposed his torso, then pulled down his pants and boxers. For a split second, as you focused your gaze, you noticed a wet spot on the fabric. Your breathing became faster as your gaze settled on his erect dick, with a swollen vein visible on the shaft.

Its size seemed to be too much for you, and you looked into his eyes with desire and fear at the same time.

Catching your gaze, Zayne closed his eyes and returned to the couch, nestled between your legs, giving you a kiss on the forehead.

— Don't worry, princess... I'll try to make the discomfort go away quickly… – as a doctor, he knew pain was inevitable, so he didn't lie to her face.

Your eyelashes fluttered as Zayne touched your forehead and a soft moan escaped your lips as you felt a hot cock touch your thigh.

— M–may I? – you asked hoarsely, looking up at him as his hand slipped between your bodies.

— I'd be happy to.. – Zayne whispered in your ear, leaning his elbows on the couch, feeling your fingers wrap around his cock and guide it into your womb.

He was doing his best not to enter you himself, patiently waiting for you to do so. Lowering yourself a little, you wrapped your legs around his waist and when the head touched your hole, you joined in sync. Feeling Zayne slowly push himself inside, plunging his head in, you both moaned.

— You're so tight, my God… – he moaned in your ear and after a few seconds of standing still, he continued to penetrate you.

— Ah! It's too big! – you screamed, your nails digging into his back, leaving new, red stripes among the many tightened scars.

— Bear with me, princess… – his brow furrowed at the pain he had caused you, but he was doing his best to make you get used to him as quickly as possible.

Feeling how tight it was inside of you and how you were shivering and sobbing while he was inside of you, Zayne lifted his head and looked into your eyes, filled with tears that were about to spill down your cheeks, his lips touched yours, giving you a gentle kiss.

Soon, Zayne started moving and the pain turned into pleasure with every friction of his cock against your walls.

— Do you feel better? – he asked as he penetrated you so deeply that his head hit your cervix, causing you to moan and arch your back.

— Y-yes... Zayne, please... Please... Move, please! – you wrapped your arms around him, wanting to press against him even harder, to absorb him inside you, to disintegrate with pleasure.

Listening to your whimpers, he groaned gutturally and you felt his full weight on you as he pinned you to the couch and pounded into you faster and faster each time. With each thrust, Zayne knocked the air out of your lungs, causing your eyes to roll back and forth with the pleasure he was giving you. The bodies, so tightly intertwined together, became sticky with sweat from their proximity.

The room was filled with moans, wet sounds of their bodies hitting each other, and incomprehensible mumbling.

— Zayne, Zayne, Zayne!!! – whispering in his ear, you felt that you were on the verge of pleasure and afraid that he would stop again before she came, her arms became tighter, which made it a little difficult for him to move, but it only made him more excited.

— You're ready to cum, aren't you? – Zayne whispered hotly into your ear and leaned one arm on the couch, his fingers in your hair and clenching the strands tightly in his fist, his tongue tracing your neck, where a vein stood out from the tension. – Cum for me, princess, I want to feel you squeeze me inside, as you cum, do it.

You could barely hear his words, absorbed in the sensations. His movements became stronger, rougher, and faster. The rhythm made your body arch, your muscles clench, and your eyes roll with orgasm.

— Fuck... Yeah, good girl, good girl… – Zayne cursed under his breath, keeping himself from coming from how hard you were squeezing his cock inside you. – But I don't want to stop there.

Without giving you a chance to catch your breath, he grabs your waist, keeping up his pace and sitting on the couch, sitting on top of you.

Your body is shaking too much. You don't know if it's from pleasure or from the coldness you feel from Zayne, because the ability to hold you left you a few minutes ago.

You fell onto his chest, hugging his neck as he squeezed your buttocks tightly, moving your hips with ease. From a new angle, the head of his cock was hitting your sensitive spot, and the way you were arching and pressing against him, you were rubbing your clit against him.

— Fuck, princess... I can't think straight when I'm fucking you like this… – Zayne growled as he lowered himself and began to move his hips, pinning you to him, moving his arm around your waist until his free hand grabbed your hair and yanked it back, forcing you to tilt your head back.

His lips found yours and covered them ruthlessly, as if he were trying to eat you all at once. His tongue moved brazenly in your mouth as you moaned in pleasure, trembling more and more each time. At some point, your body shook violently again and your muscles clenched, forcing Zayne to break the kiss and tilt his head back, clench his teeth, and continue at the same pace.

— Ah, yes, my good girl, good girl… – moaned Zayne, feeling you cumming on his cock again. – One more time, princess... I want you to cum again...

— Ugh… – a hoarse moan escaped your lips as his lips touched your sweaty shoulder.

Speechless, you couldn't say anything and only wrapped your arms around his neck again with trembling, weakened hands.

— You're still so damn tight, princess, – Zayn groaned softly, gripping your waist tighter, moving inside you even more actively than before.

With each stroke, each time, his head seemed to pierce your insides deeper and deeper. A bolt of pleasure suddenly shot through your body, and as you dug your nails into Zayne's shoulders, tears spilled from your eyes.

— Fuck, fuck, fuck! – Zayne moaned in your ear, holding your soft body against him, driving into you so fast that you didn't have the chance to take even the slightest breath. – I love you! More than anything! I love you! Fuck!

His voice mingled with your frantic heartbeat in your ears, with the squelching sounds, the sounds of impacts, and your own hoarse scream when you were able to breathe again. Your head fell back on his shoulder, your heart pounded frantically in your throat, and your body was so sensitive to orgasms that every slight movement Zayne made made your whole body shake.

You were both breathing heavily, clinging to each other. The hot semen that had spurted into your womb was slowly trickling down the shaft of your cock.

Being on the verge of consciousness, you pushed the tip of your nose into his neck with the last of your strength as everything in your eyes went dark.

Feeling you go limp in his arms, Zayne gently stroked your hair as he regained his own breath.

— Oh, princess... Why do you stir my heart so much? – he asked in the silence, closing his eyes for a moment and kissing your forehead.

Looking at your heated but calm face, at the way your eyelashes fluttered, the way you breathed, Zayne closed his eyes.

— I'll always be there for you, – Zayne said, wrapping his fingers around a strand of hair behind your ear that had fallen onto your face, and gently picking you up, letting his cock slip out of you.

— And I'll always take care of you, – he kissed your forehead again and carried you to the bathroom to fulfill his promise to you.

[youremyonepiece]

salty afflictions

sanji x gn!reader (no pronouns used), reader's pov

your powers come with unique dietary restrictions, but sanji's not one to back down from a challenge (especially not if it's you).

warnings: none, light fluff (please lmk if there are any i should add!)

word count: 1.9k

"okay," sanji says, tone verging on exasperation, "let me get this straight." he peers at you through his furrowed curly eyebrows, but there is no malice in his stare-- only disbelief. "you can't eat salt?"

you laugh uncomfortably at the question. the rest of the straw hats have their eyes fixed on you as well, waiting earnestly for your answer. most of their plates lie forgotten in front of them; only luffy is moving, shoveling food into his mouth with both hands, but he too is staring directly at you. sanji is standing in front of you, a matching plate balancing on one of his hands. your own grip tightens around your carrot as you shift and shrink under the weight of everyone's combined gazes before taking a small chomp to hopefully diffuse some of the tension.

it doesn't work.

it makes things worse.

the carrot feels like dry mulch as you chew and swallow it loudly. everyone else simply continues to stare, the moment dragging on as they wait for you to respond.

you let out another uncomfortable laugh once your mouth is empty before clearing your throat. "um, yeah," you finally manage to say. you resist the urge to slam your head into the dinner table at your eloquence and continue, "the salt content in my body would get too high. i'd be no different than a puddle of sea water. which would, um-- which would be bad."

you can't stop another laugh from defensively bubbling through your lips. sanji notices and moves away to put your plate in front of luffy (with him around, no food would ever go to waste). "well," he says, pointedly nonchalant as he takes his seat and leans back to take a drag from his cigarette. "i love a good challenge, and you certainly are a lovely one." a smirk forms around his cigarette and just like that, the tension in the room shatters. you throw a grateful look in his direction as the crew's attention turns away from you and back to their dinners.

"typical sanji," usopp says with a playful roll of his eyes before shoving a spoonful of food into his mouth. "still, that must suck."

"yeah," you say in response. "i mean, i'm used to it, but i definitely miss some foods. it saved my life, though," you say with a shrug, "so it is what it is." you take another bite of your carrot, larger than the last in hopes of deterring anyone from asking you any more questions.

you feel someone's eyes on you again and turn your head to see sanji staring at you. there's still a smile on his face and in his eyes-- you can't help but hold your breath as you meet his gaze. he's looking at you as though he’s just discovered a new type of fish, you think to yourself. like he can't wait to experiment and discover the best ways to filet, bake, fry you up.

unlike with the others, being under sanji’s gaze doesn’t make you squirm in your seat. instead, you find yourself feeling comfortably warm-- you’re always comfortable with sanji. he’s been nothing but considerate and thoughtful from the start, and you knew he would never do anything to hurt you.

well, he would never do anything to hurt any woman, not just you.

you ignore the turning of your stomach-- get real, he would never feel the same way about you-- and instead avert your eyes to take great interest in your carrot. wow, it sure is orange--

"you'll have to allow me to borrow some of your time later, sweetheart," sanji says, interrupting your riveting thoughts. "we'll figure out what i can cook for you. can't have you going hungry, now can we?" he winks at you and you feel the heat creep up your neck and into your cheeks.

“um-- sure,” you say, and you're sure your face is bright red. gosh, did you have to be so awkward?

to your relief, though, franky starts talking excitedly about his ideas for new upgrades on the sunny, and with that the flow of the conversation is thankfully diverted away from you and the side effects of your hydro-hydro logia devil fruit. you finish your carrot as quickly as you can before quietly excusing yourself from the group and scurrying out onto the deck.

and though you don’t dare look up to confirm it, you swear you feel sanji’s eyes on you the entire time until you’ve left the room. but no-- there’s no way. you’re imagining it, letting your fantasies get the better of you. he wouldn’t have watched you leave, not when nami and robin were still in the room with him.

(if you had looked up, though, you would have found you were right.)

you’re sitting on a bench by nami’s tangerine trees the next morning after breakfast, absentmindedly flipping through a novel you borrowed from robin. it’s an unusually calm, placid day, the weather perfect and the soft breeze refreshing. the kind of day you want to spend outside and doing nothing. it’s easy to zone out the various noises from your crewmates: luffy’s joyful yelling followed closely by chopper’s worried shouts, zoro’s rumbling snores, nami’s playful teasing at usopp’s desperate rambling, sanji’s... footsteps?

you look up from the book to find the blond man walking calmly towards you with his blazer slung over his shoulder, an easy smile gracing his lips. it grows as your eyes meet, but he doesn’t speak until he comes to a stop a few feet away from you. “hello, gorgeous. got a minute? i wanted to get your thoughts on a few dishes i whipped up earlier for you.”

be cool, you tell yourself. be calm, casual-- “yeah, of course! i’d love to!” great job.

but you can’t feel upset for too long, not when sanji’s face lights up at your response. not when he’s holding a hand out for you to take. your cheeks grow warm (surprise, surprise) as you pause, taking in the sight of the kind man in front of you and his breathtaking smile, before reaching out to take his hand.

you’re hyper-aware of his fingers against yours as he gently guides you to the kitchen and can’t help the wave of disappointment that washes over you when he pulls away to drape his jacket over a bar chair and roll up his shirt sleeves. he motions you over to the table before turning away to grab a couple plates from the kitchen counter.

“so,” he begins as he places various dishes in front of you, “i normally use salt in just about every dish i make. it’s a flavor enhancer-- without it, most foods would taste flat and bland.” he places the last dish in front of you before straightening and flashing one of his brilliant smiles at you. (if you were in a cartoon, your heart would have just doki-doki-ed out of your chest.) “but there’s other ways to bring flavor into food, and there’s beauty in simple foods, too.”

you take in the various foods in front of you; each plate contains no more than maybe five spoonfuls of food, but there are so many. salads and soups and stews and snacks-- so many foods you hadn’t eaten since getting your powers. sanji pushes one of the plates closer to you-- a colorful pile of leafy greens and veggies, topped with what looks like olive oil and a freshly squeezed lemon wedge-- and takes the seat across from you. “salads, of course, are an easy answer. the best salads use fresh vegetables and high quality oil, and as long as you balance the flavors well, you won’t even miss the saltier ingredients like cheese.”

intrigued, you bring a forkful to your mouth, and-- wow. you never had been a huge fan of salads, especially since they now consisted of the majority of your meals, but this is easily the best salad you’ve ever had. you clean the plate within a couple seconds, much to sanji’s apparent delight.

and so he continues, explaining his reasoning behind each dish and watching intently as you practically inhale the food. “sanji,” you say in between dishes after what must have been over half an hour of food tasting, “this is amazing. i don’t think i’ve had food that tastes this good ever-- not even before i ate my devil fruit. i can’t believe you did all this for me.”

it’s his turn to blush at your words, and for some reason his bashfulness makes you feel embarrassed as well. you shut your mouth and look back down at the plate in front of you: cauliflower chunks he had coated in a spiced batter before frying and coating in a sauce made from nami’s tangerines. it’s true, though-- every single dish you had tasted had been phenomenal, so clearly made with kindness. you had resigned yourself to eating raw veggies for the rest of your life, and the fact that sanji had come up with a whole slew of meals that you could eat despite your power-induced diet, that too within a day of learning about it... no one had ever done something so thoughtful for you before.

your thoughts are interrupted by an unexpectedly acrid scent-- is something... burning? you look up from the plate, frowning, and almost immediately spot the smoking pan on the stove. “sanji! the pan!”

sanji, who had been staring at you with a dazed look in his eyes, seems to come to his senses with a few blinks. he glances backwards towards the stove and does a double-take in shock before leaping to his feet and rushing over to the burning pan. “merde! so sorry, love-- i must have forgotten to turn it off-- i was so excited to see your reaction--” he hisses suddenly, pulling his hand back with a jerk.

“sanji! did you burn yourself?” you’re on your feet, too, reaching his side within a blink of an eye. you take his hand in yours without hesitation, eyebrows furrowed with worry.

“darling, you should stay back, the fire--”

within seconds, you’ve doused the stove in water using your free hand. you then turn your eyes back to sanji’s burn, frowning in concentration as you coat the reddening skin with your cold water. “it doesn’t look too bad,” you murmur, eyes locked on his wound, “but you should still have chopper check it out.”

“will do,” he responds softly, and you freeze-- his voice is so close. you were so close.

you look up, throat dry as you meet his eyes. you feel your cheeks heat up yet again, but you can’t bring yourself to step away-- you can’t bring yourself to move. “you should--” you stop to clear your throat-- “you should be more careful.”

“i always am, but something about you makes me forget where i am.” he must see the question in your eyes, because he quickly adds, “in a good way, of course.”

“yeah, um-- same,” you say intelligently.

he laughs at your response, eyes full of affection as they remain on you. “c’mon,” he says, softly tapping your cheek with his uninjured hand before stepping slightly away from you, “we still have a few dishes to go.”

gosh, you think, stunned in place as you watch him move back towards the table. this man is truly going to be the death of you.