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xuchiya · 2 months ago

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accidentally have 8 pets || ateez || chapter 6

| genre: fluff. slice of life. small tinge of angst. kind of supernatural(?) | mentions: literally being bed ridden because of sprained ankle. sleepy seonghwa. hongjoong literally in love with bunny seonghwa.

back to masterlist || chapter 7

Douyin had to take himself home first when the first light of the day came in, after a night of spending time on the couch inside Taehyun’s clinic— monitoring the puppy’s condition, before bringing the golden retriever back to our shared apartment. He had work to do and couldn't afford any distractions— most especially that he had a conversation with Taehyun just last night and it could be actually true but he still has to go through deeper investigations for that matter.

Both of them walking in, I was sitting on the couch after cruel hours of moving around trying to give Wooyoung and Hongjoong their food plus having Mingi to put on his collar which made everything is easy as they listened and were waiting patiently—my sprained ankle ensuring that I wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

With the café closed for a while, I had nothing but time on my hands. I glanced at Douyin, uncertainty gnawing at me. “Are you sure it could be them?”

He sighed, adjusting his backpack as he ruffled the golden retriever’s fur absentmindedly, “If they ever remember their past life, then I’d be certain,” he muttered.

I frowned, sensing the sarcasm in his tone, and in retaliation, I tossed a couch pillow at him. He barely reacted. The golden retriever, on the other hand, had already begun responding to the name I had given him just last night. It was a strange coincidence—or perhaps something more. We had named him after the tall member of ATEEZ, someone who, oddly enough, shared a similar spirit with my newly adopted dog, “Yunho, baby, come here.”

The retriever perked up, trotting toward me before letting out a soft bark. I glanced at Douyin, whose expression was unreadable—though the look in his eyes told me he had the same thoughts circling in his mind.

“Douyin…” I started. He exhaled deeply before nodding. “I’ll look into this more,” he promised. He gave me a quick hug. “I have to go.”

And with that, he gathered his things, preparing for another long day as a prosecutor at the Justice Court. His mind was already elsewhere—on the case he had been studying, on the evidence he needed to piece together.

Time inside the courtroom felt endless, a blur of arguments, defenses, and evidence. At some point, exhaustion caught up with him, and he found himself dozing off at his desk. His head was just about to hit the table when the door burst open.

“Douyin! Man, I need a favor!” Douyin jolted upright, groaning as his knee slammed against the desk. Rubbing the sore spot, he squinted at the figure standing at the doorway—Yeonjun, one of his more energetic colleagues.

With a hand behind his back, Yeonjun swayed on his feet, clearly up to something. Douyin raised an eyebrow as he straightened his papers. “What is it?”

Yeonjun hummed, drawing out the suspense. “You remember that rabbit my girlfriend owns? Turns out, uh… they multiply fast—like, almost a dozen. Can you believe that? How quick they—”

A sharp smack echoed through the office as Douyin’s hand met his desk. His cheeks burned at the implication, but his glare was razor-sharp. “I get the life cycle, Yeonjun. What do you want?”

Yeonjun only chuckled, unbothered, and finally revealed what he had been hiding. Resting in his palm was a tiny, sleeping bunny, its fur bathed in the soft glow of the office light.

Douyin’s frustration wavered, then melted entirely. His breath hitched for just a second before instinct took over—his fingers reached out, skimming gently over the bunny’s delicate snout. It twitched but remained asleep, its small body rising and falling with quiet ease.

Yeonjun grinned, carefully placing the bunny into Douyin’s hands. “Take care of him for us.”

Douyin frowned slightly, cradling the warm bundle against his palm. “Why?”

For once, Yeonjun’s usual cheer dimmed. His expression softened, a weight settling in his eyes. “There’s just too many of them,” he admitted, his voice quieter now. “We want them all to grow up together, but… they deserve homes that can give them more than we can.”

Something about his words struck deeper than Douyin expected. Without hesitation, he reached out—not in obligation, but in quiet understanding—pressing a firm, reassuring hand against Yeonjun’s back. A steady warmth in the space between words.

“You have my word,” Douyin murmured.

That same afternoon, I winced as I scrubbed at a stubborn stain on my plate. The water ran warm over my hands, yet the dull ache in my ankle remained—a constant reminder of my clumsiness. I had been told to take it easy, to rest, but sitting still had never been my strong suit.

A soft whimper from below made me pause.

I glanced down to find Yunho nudging my leg with his cold nose, his warm brown eyes fixed on me with quiet insistence. His golden fur shimmered faintly under the light, his tail giving a hesitant wag as if unsure whether to scold or comfort me.

I sighed, shaking my head as I reached down to run a hand over his head. “Sorry, baby. I just—” My words trailed into a tired chuckle as he leaned into my touch. “I have to make myself useful somehow, or things around here will start feeling weird.”

As if the universe had been waiting for that very cue, something flickered in my peripheral vision.

I stilled.

The apartment was quiet, save for the distant hum of the refrigerator and the occasional drip of water from the sink. The golden hues of the setting sun filtered through the curtains, casting long, soft shadows across the wooden floor. But something felt… wrong. A flicker of light caught my eye. My head snapped toward the corner of the room, where my shelf of albums stood against the wall. My breath hitched.

More specifically, my Lightiny.

The official ATEEZ lightstick, securely tucked between my signed albums and photocards, pulsed with a soft, rhythmic glow. A pale blue hue bled into the dimness of the room, flickering in and out like a heartbeat.

I hadn’t touched it. Hadn’t even changed the batteries. Hadn’t used it in weeks. Hadn’t used it in years—ever since they disappeared.

A shiver crawled up my spine. My breath came in slow, measured exhales as I carefully dried my hands on a dish towel, my gaze locked onto the shelf as though it would move if I so much as blinked. Yunho let out a low, uneasy whine, his ears pinning back. He shifted closer to my leg, his body tensing—not out of fear, but something else. As if he sensed something I couldn’t.

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. “Okay…” My voice was barely above a whisper. “That’s… not normal.”

The glow didn’t waver.

It wasn’t the flicker of a dying battery, nor was it the sporadic light of a device short-circuiting. It was steady, unwavering—almost deliberate. Almost as if it was watching me. My pulse pounded at the base of my throat, my fingers curling into the fabric of the dish towel. A creeping sensation gnawed at the edges of my thoughts, one I couldn’t shake.

My mind drifted back—back to the conversation I had with Douyin earlier.

"Are you sure it could be them?"

At the time, I had laughed it off. It was absurd, wasn’t it? The idea that there could be something more to this—something beyond coincidence? And yet, standing there, bathed in the glow of something that shouldn’t be glowing, I wasn’t so sure anymore.

The room felt different. Not empty. Not alone.

As if on cue, the doorbell rang.

I sighed, glancing once more at my Lightiny before turning to answer the door. To my surprise, Bangchan stood on the other side, Yeo at his side. The moment I opened the door wide enough, the curious pets inside rushed forward, sniffing eagerly, confirming the presence of another creature.

They all crowded around Yeo, who responded with playful antics before greeting them properly. I chuckled, stepping aside to let Bangchan in. He clicked his tongue, shutting the door behind him before gently grabbing my elbow and guiding me toward the couch.

“You won’t heal in time if you keep moving around,” he chided, positioning my leg on top of the coffee table with a cushion underneath. I sighed, leaning back. “It’s not like me to just sit around doing nothing.”

Bangchan walked into the kitchen, moving with the familiarity of someone who had been here countless times. “Then you have to get used to it. Besides…” He returned with two glasses of water, handing one to me. “You need to learn how to take things slow. Nothing’s going to run away.”

I glanced at the pets—particularly at Hongjoong, who sat perched atop his cat house, watching Yeo and Mingi wrestle over a toy while Wooyoung tried to tag along. Smiling, I grabbed a feathered toy and swished it in front of Wooyoung’s face, his attention snapping toward it as he eagerly tried to catch it.

“Ateez, huh?” I sighed, continuing to flick the toy as Wooyoung pounced. Bangchan had heard about the missing group months ago. It reopened old wounds, ones he had tried to bury—ones that had been festering for five long years. He had moved on, or at least tried to. He had stepped into a new life as Christopher, the dog trainer, yet some part of him still longed for the past.

As Bangchan of Stray Kids.

“If it was them… it could just be a coincidence,” I murmured.

Bangchan scoffed. “It’s not a coincidence if there are this many signs.”

He reached for my hand, stopping me from playing with Wooyoung. I looked up, meeting his serious gaze as he turned my wrist over, revealing the mark etched into my skin—a symbol so close to something familiar, yet just out of reach.

“This is them,” he said firmly. “They’re reaching out to you, one by one. You have to find them, rescue them. They’ve been waiting for someone to hear them, and no one has—until now.”

I frowned, my gaze flickering between the mark on my wrist and the lively animals in front of me.

“What if—”

Bangchan shook his head, his frown deepening. “Don’t. Doubt will only hold you back. You’ll regret it.”

I stared at him before feeling a familiar nudge against my arm. Looking down, I found Yeo pressing his cold nose against me, his sharp features softened by the gentle look in his eyes. A sigh of relief escaped me as I ran my fingers over his snout, scratching behind his ears. He leaned into my touch, a silent reassurance.

“This isn’t just about you,” Bangchan murmured. “It’s about all of us.”

My gaze flickered back to him, remembering his quiet departure from the music industry after the disappearance of his members. The weight of old grief settled between us. And the animals—their sudden appearance—this wasn’t a coincidence.

They were them.

Sighing, I looked once more at the symbol on my wrist before meeting Bangchan’s expectant gaze, “Okay…” I exhaled. “I’ll trust them.”

That night, Bangchan assured me that Yeo could stay until the mystery was solved. I sighed, preparing a makeshift bed for him, but when I turned to call him, he was already sprawled on top of Mingi and Yunho, all curled up together.

My hand hovered over the empty bed before a small smile tugged at my lips. I walked over to them, fingers gliding through their soft fur, feeling the steady rise and fall of their breathing. The warmth radiating from their intertwined bodies brought an odd sense of peace, as if, despite everything, this moment was safe.

A quiet chuckle escaped me. “Guess you guys won’t be needing that extra bed after all,” I murmured before draping a blanket over them. Slipping into my own bed, exhaustion pulled me under.

But peace never lasted long in this house.

Because when the moon is on its way to set and the sun hasn’t yet risen, a faint jingling sound stirred me from sleep. I am pretty much sensitive to the smallest sounds going around inside the apartment despite the building being next to the main roads where cars honk each red light. My eyes blinked open, adjusting to the darkness.

The door. Someone was at the door.

I sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Out of the three canines, Yeo’s ears twitched, his body tensing as he lifted his head. His sharp gaze locked onto the door, his nose twitching. I frowned, glancing at the clock—4 AM. My stomach twisted. It couldn’t be Douyin—he was known to stay out late for his search and would contact me that he will be here around this time before 12 hits. What our new rule added to the house rule, but coming home at this hour? He wouldn’t risk it.

Yeo sniffed the air, and then his ears flattened. A deep, guttural growl rumbled in his throat.

That sent a shiver down my spine.

Across the room, Mingi and Yunho stirred, their heads lifting in alarm. Even the feline in the cat house stood with arched backs and fluffed tails. Something was wrong.

“Yeo… what is it?” I whispered, reaching out hesitantly. But before I could touch him, he let out a sharp bark and bolted toward the door.

“Yeo!” I gasped, scrambling after him. My limp made me slower, but the urgency in my chest pushed me forward. By the time I reached the living room, Yeo had already tackled someone to the ground. A man dressed in black. His hood obscured his face, but Yeo had him pinned, teeth bared dangerously close to his throat.

“Yeo, stop!” I shouted, my pulse hammering. In the scuffle, the hood slipped off.

My breath caught in my throat. A familiar mess of hair came into view. My eyes widened in horror.

“Yeo, stop! That’s my brother!” At the sound of my voice, Yeo whimpered and backed away, pressing against my leg as if seeking forgiveness. I sighed, resting a hand on his head in silent acceptance before shifting my attention to Douyin.

I offered to help him up, but he waved me off, pushing himself up with one arm while the other remained oddly occupied. His movements were stiff, as if he was trying to hide something, “Sorry about that,” he muttered, brushing off the fact that he had nearly been mauled. “I forgot my charger here.” Then, as if nothing had happened, he settled onto the couch with a sigh, his gaze flickering to Yeo. “Wait… is that Yeo? Mingi’s fur buddy?”

The casual shift in topic made me frown. I nodded, watching him closely.

“Sit down, sis. Your leg,” he added, motioning for me to take a seat.

That made me pause. Normally, Douyin would go straight to his room or busy himself with something else. But tonight, he was… fidgety. His eyes darted around as if checking the shadows of the room, and his fingers flexed nervously around whatever he was holding.

“Are you okay?” I asked, my suspicion growing. He grimaced, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment before exhaling through his nose. His grip on whatever he was holding tightened.

My gaze flickered to his hand. “Is that what’s making you uncomfortable?”

“Ah… No—well… Yes– No!,” he admitted, shifting in place.

Something about his hesitation made my stomach knot. Yeo sniffed the air again. His ears perked before slowly folding back, nose twitching as he stepped closer to Douyin’s arm. He didn’t growl this time—just watched.

Douyin placed a hand on Yeo’s head, stroking him absentmindedly. “Yeonjun gave me… another pet.” His voice trailed off. “At first, I wanted to say no. We’re already piling up with all these sudden new additions to our apartment. But… I couldn’t refuse. Not when…”

His voice softened as he carefully uncurled his arm. Nestled against his side, barely stirring, was a small, sleeping bunny.

My breath hitched.

The little creature stirred as if sensing my presence, blinking open a pair of the most endearing doe-like eyes. Its delicate nose twitched, taking in the new surroundings. Yeo let out a soft whine, stepping forward as if fascinated. He sniffed toward the tiny bundle in Douyin’s arms, and the bunny, in response, gave the faintest twitch of its ears.

“Oh my gosh…” My voice was barely above a whisper. “She’s adorable.”

Douyin chuckled, his previous tension melting away as he carefully transferred the tiny baby into my hands. I cradled the bunny gently, feeling how small and fragile he was. He stretched in my palms, his little paws pressing against my fingers as he adjusted himself. My heart melted instantly. Hongjoong climbing up on my lap as he nudge his nose on the baby bunny on my palm.

“It’s a he,” Douyin clarified. “I stopped by Taehyun’s clinic to check—he’s completely healthy.” I looked up at my brother, then back down at the newest member of our ever-growing household.

“Well,” I murmured with a soft smile, running a gentle finger over the pink of his tiny nose and the tips of his ears. There was something oddly familiar about him—something that tugged at a distant memory. My breath hitched as realization settled in, my heart pounding against my ribs. Unbeknowst to the two of us, a new stroke is added on my wrist.

The words left my lips before I could stop them, quiet yet certain.

“Welcome to the family, Seonghwa.”

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galactic-magick · 2 months ago

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Are the hobbits good at sex? AKA hobbit whore hours

Features both x Reader and x canon headcanons. Special thanks to bestie @supremeleaderoofpoof for discussing all of this with me and listening to me talk about hobbits literally nonstop lol

Frodo:

No, he’s not. He will absolutely learn though.

I think he’d find it really difficult to be in the moment. He’d need a partner who’s very patient and willing to take the lead most times.

He would be very good about aftercare, though. He loves cuddling up after and reading a book together.

He’d like to take things slow, both in a relationship in general and with sex. I headcanon him as demisexual personally. Like I genuinely don’t think sex is on his mind most of the time until he has that super deep connection with someone.

He’d be a super good kisser though I think. He loves kissing.

With Samwise, he’d be a pillow princess lmao. As I will talk about later, Sam is a PRO so Frodo would not have to worry about a thing. Sam has no problem taking the lead and focusing on Frodo’s pleasure over his own.

Samwise:

I don’t think I have to explain anything but I will anyway. Sam is INSANELY good at sex. Like, he canonically had 13 children, okay? All I’m saying is Rosie was getting treated GOOD

LOVES oral. Mostly giving but also receiving. He’s so good with his mouth it’s unreal

He’d be so nervous at first, whether it’s his first time ever or just with a new partner, but once he gets the hang of it he’s so confident and passionate

Aftercare legend as well. Doesn’t matter how tired he is, he’ll wind down with you and make a nice meal and bath before falling asleep, although once he’s older and there’s a bunch of kids he might pass out but he doesn’t mean to lol

Merry:

I don’t know why but I get the vibe from Merry that he thinks he’s very good at flirting and sex but he is absolutely not. It’s not because he’s disrespectful or selfish or anything like that, he just lacks some social awareness and always embarrasses himself when he tries to flirt.

So no, he’s not good at it, but he could be taught. You’d have to guide him a lot and tell him exactly what you want him to do. He’s very good at following directions, he just doesn’t have the innate instinct of how to move or where to put his hands etc.

Once he gets better at it though, I think he could be a switch. In canon I feel like Estella Bolger probably pegs him and he loves it lol

He’s the type to fall asleep right after sex. He feels bad about not staying up for aftercare but he always tires himself out. He prefers morning and day sex for this reason, he’d love doing it as the sunshine streams in through the windows and he’d even be down to do it outside by the river.

Pippin:

I’m definitely biased because he’s my hobbit husband but I genuinely think he would be good. He’s a golden retriever lover boy at heart and would do everything he can to make his partner feel amazing.

Also really good at eating out. You’re his seventh meal of the day, okay? He lovesss oral.

Has crazy stamina. He’ll go for as many rounds as you’ll let him.

His dick is bigger than average for a hobbit. Not to the point of it being painful, but still. I think in general the Tooks are bigger than average because they have an ancestor who was super tall and there’s theories of them having elf ancestry as well.

He’s a complete cuddle bug, so aftercare is very cozy and lovey dovey. He likes skin to skin contact and singing you to sleep. He also canonically loves baths and will definitely splash you.

Bilbo (Hobbit Trilogy Version):

He’s not, but he does have a lot of knowledge about it. He loves his books, and I’m sure there’s at least some books in The Shire about how sex works. So he knows how to do everything in theory but not in practice, basically.

He’s a fast learner, though. He would get the hang of it pretty quickly and get better with time.

Doesn’t have much stamina though. One round and he’s satisfied usually. And then he just wants to hold you by the fire with some tea.

With Thorin, he’d be in for quite the adventure lol. I headcanon dwarves as the freakiest of all the Middle Earth races so Thorin would introduce him to things that were definitely not in his books.

That said, I think Bilbo would be open to some kinky stuff.

General hobbit headcanons about marriage and sex:

Sex is not a taboo topic whatsoever among hobbits. It’s considered a natural and normal part of life and it’s not censored in conversation. Hobbits value love, marriage, and children greatly, and there’s really no reason for it to be a big deal.

Hobbits do tend to be fairly traditional though in their relationships. They usually go through a courting stage when they’re interested in marriage, and usually don’t have sex until their wedding night. Nobody would be shunned or judged if they didn’t wait, it’s just not the norm.

Divorce is unheard of in the Shire mainly due to everyone taking their time to choose their partners and being super loyal and devoted. Absolutely no “I hate my wife/husband” jokes, couples are genuinely in love with each other, and any mistreatment of one’s partner would be detrimental to your reputation.

Nobody’s going to the marriage bed knowing nothing. Young hobbits coming of age are educated by their parents and older siblings generally, and it’s not considered weird to ask questions about it. Hobbits aren’t super medically advanced, but they’re at least familiar with the anatomy and how stuff works.

Hobbits love going down on their partners. It’s weird if one doesn’t, honestly.

Everyone has full bushes. Hobbits are very hairy and they’ve probably never even heard of a razor. Body hair is so normal for them. And yes it’s curly lol.

Their dicks are generally more girthy than long. Dick size isn’t really a topic of concern though, hobbits don’t really care about it.

Hobbits aren’t usually freaky or kinky. There’s some that are, but it’s not the norm. They are very very passionate though.

They are very affectionate and silly during sex, they don’t get super serious during it. It’s supposed to be fun and full of love. Lots of smiles and laughter more than screaming lol. It’s not a performance.

There’s no birth control in The Shire, so if you’re one of the rare hobbits that doesn’t want children you’re going to have to get real good at pulling out or tracking your cycle lmao

#hobbits #pippin took #samwise gamgee #merry brandybuck #frodo baggins #bilbo baggins #lotr x reader #the hobbit x reader #samfro #bagginshield #lord of the rings #pippin took x reader #samwise Gamgee x reader #merry brandybuck x reader #Frodo Baggins x reader #bilbo Baggins x reader #lord of the rings x reader

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navybrat817 · 2 years ago

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We'll Always be Friends

Pairing: Best Friend!Bucky Barnes x Female Reader Summary: It's time to have dinner with your friends, but your mind keeps drifting to Bucky. Word Count: 1.9k Warnings: Light angst, tension, friends reconnecting, unrequited feelings (or so you think), slight feels (it's me), Bucky Barnes (yep, he's a warning) A/N: More Dreamboat and Butterfly from my Reconnect AU and a direct continuation of Waiting a Little Longer! ❤️ Beta read by @whisperlullaby, but any and all mistakes are my own. Please follow @navybrat817-sideblog for new fics and notifications. Comments, reblogs, feedback are loved and appreciated!

You found it difficult to leave your room, even with your friends waiting downstairs. Reconnecting with Bucky though, it made sense why you wanted to be alone with him a little longer. That wasn't fair to everyone else. The group didn't hang out quite as often during the duration of Bucky and Dot's relationship, but you were looking forward to spending time together and catching up this week.

We've weathered through tough times and deserve some fun.

Bucky put his hand on your lower back as you made your way down the stairs. The man could hardly hug you when he was with his ex, but now he wouldn't stop touching you. Just like in your room minutes ago. Not that you were going to push him away. You more than missed the affection that used to exist between you two and each minute that passed seemed to make you fall back in sync. As long as you didn't get too comfortable, it was fine.

Everything is fine.

Everyone was gathered in the brightly lit dining room, food already spread out on plates as chatter filled the room. Steve, at the head of the table, chuckled at something Sam said. Sharon laughed as well and you couldn't help but smile as you observed them. Perhaps you were imagining it, but the atmosphere wasn't as thick as it had been over the last couple of years. Even Natasha's subtle smile was gentler, more relaxed.

Like old times.

"Hey! Finally!" Sam smiled once he spotted you, bringing everyone's attention your way. Steve's smile didn't quite reach his eyes when the girls greeted you, making you tense up a little. "We were about to send a search party after you two."

"No need for that," you smiled a little when Sam pushed his chair back. "No need for that either," you teased as he walked toward you, but to no avail. He enveloped you in a hug before you could stop him. The man was almost as tall as Bucky and Steve and just as muscular. The three of them were beautiful giants in your eyes.

"Nope. Not getting out of a hug," he said, dropping his voice to a whisper. "Give Steve one, please. He thinks you're upset with him."

You felt a little sick to your stomach as he pulled away. You hadn't meant to make Steve feel bad. "I will," you whispered back before you gave the blonde a small smile. He looked like a golden retriever who had his bone taken away. "Do I get a hug from you, too?"

Steve's shoulders dropped in relief as he got up. "Of course, you do."

Like Sam, Steve's hug was warm and friendly. They never held onto you for too long or linger the way Bucky did. A quick embrace and nothing more.

"It's good to see you. I'm sorry I rushed off when you got here," you said, wanting him at ease.

Steve shook his head and gave you a rueful smile. "I'm the one who should be sorry," he said. You didn't get a chance to ask him why before he went back to his seat. "And it's good to see you, too."

You turned your attention to the girls instead who looked perfectly at ease on their side of the table. Natasha and Sharon were as gorgeous as they were intimidating. A sultry redhead and a blonde bombshell, they could come across as unapproachable from a first glance. But they were fierce and loyal friends. You were lucky to have them in your life.

"Please, don't get up. I will hug you both after dinner," you begged when they scooted their chairs back. "I appreciate you waiting for us to join you."

"So the boys get hugs, but we don't. I see how it is," Natasha teased.

"No one hugged me," Bucky pointed out.

"No one likes you," Sam chimed in, drawing a laugh from the girls.

"Butterfly likes me just fine," Bucky said, making you nod and bite your tongue so you didn't blurt out how much you really liked him. "Sit next to me?" He asked hopefully, pulling out your chair for you.

"Since these are the only two chairs left, sure," you teased, gazing up at him as you sat down. He stared back at you before he took a seat. "How was the drive?"

"The storm slowed us down, but Steve got us here safe and sound," Sharon answered as everyone began to eat. Steve wasn't one to brag, but you caught him grinning for a split second. "But what about you two? Did you get up to anything before we got here?"

Just snuggled with Bucky and fell asleep in his arms.

Bucky looked up from his plate as you glanced at him. "We wanted to go swimming, but the rain ruined that plan and we ended up taking a nap," you said.

Natasha's eyes darted between the two of you. "You ended up taking a nap," she repeated slowly. "You slept together?"

Bucky coughed and shook his head as your eyes went wide. The redhead looked pleased with herself as she waited for an explanation. "I. We. No?" You answered.

"We fell asleep together on the couch. That's it," Bucky explained once he recovered from his cough. "Nothing happened."

That's it. Nothing happened.

You curled in a bit on yourself when Natasha frowned. "Yeah. What Bucky said," you agreed, ignoring his gaze.

You had no reason to feel sad. It wasn't as if Bucky meant anything by his response. He gave Nat an honest answer. So why did it feel like a brush off?

Steve cleared his throat when the silence stretched on. "Well, I'm glad we're all here."

Good ol' Steve breaking the tension.

"Yeah. When's the last time we all went to the beach together?" Sam asked. "Was it last year? The year before?"

Bucky moved his chair closer to yours, but you didn't acknowledge it. "Two summers ago for Steve's birthday."

Right before Dot.

Everyone was either kind enough not to voice the connection or didn't want to talk about her.

"That's right. You guys bought him a red, white, and blue Speedo," you said, remembering the redness in Steve's cheeks when he opened the present. A few drinks in and he ended up wearing them.

"They looked good on me. It would've been rude not to wear them," Steve defended himself as Sam laughed. "That was a good day."

"It was," you agreed, glancing around the table. "Perfect weather and company."

We'll always be friends.

Bucky caught your eye when he nodded. "You found a seashell on the beach and you were so excited because the color was the exact same shade of blue as your bathing suit," he said, smiling to himself as you listened. "You said it had to be some sort of good luck charm and made it your mission to find one to match my swim trunks so I'd have some good luck, too."

He remembered that?

"That was why you kept running back and forth between Buck and the water," Steve grinned, nodding to Bucky. "He wouldn't tell me what you were doing. Just that you were looking for the perfect shell."

"I was determined to find it," you giggled as Natasha and Sharon shared a look. "I must've brought dozens of shells over."

It was silly when you looked back on it, but Bucky obliged and let you have your fun. In fact, your whims and nature never once seemed to bother him. He supported them.

"You didn't give up. And about twenty minutes later, you found one," he said, rubbing the back of his neck when he added, "I still have that seashell."

You took a breath before a bashful smile crept up your face. "You kept it?"

"Well, yeah," he replied, casually putting his arm around the back of your chair. "You gave it to me."

The room went quiet and you felt everyone's eyes on you, but your focus was on Bucky. "I had no idea."

The thought that Bucky held onto something so small and seemingly insignificant because it came from you had your mind running a mile a minute. Why not get rid of it? Maybe the shell reminded him of Steve's birthday and he didn't want to let that go. The voice that led with your heart said he kept it because you gave him a tiny gift.

He kept something because I gave it to him.

Your smile widened before the flash of a camera went off, the softness leaving Bucky's eyes as you both blinked.

"Sorry. Couldn't help myself," Sharon said with an innocent stare when you tore your gaze away from Bucky. "Need photos for the scrapbook. You understand."

Bucky kept his arm on your chair as everyone began to eat again. "You're making one for this trip?"

"Yeah, I want to take as many pictures as I can."

In the past, Sharon had put together photo albums and scrapbooks full of memories of the group. Sometimes for herself, others as gifts to her friends. Each one was beautiful and special, a way to reflect on the past and appreciate the time together.

"No rain tomorrow, so plenty of chances to get some outdoor photos. Maybe we can play some beach volleyball. Three on three," Sam suggested.

"You just want to show off," Natasha smirked. She wasn't wrong. The guys enjoyed the competition. "But let's make it interesting. We win, you boys have to do all the chores this week. You win, we'll take care of them."

"And if we win, you boys also have to take us to the carnival in town and win each of us a prize," Sharon added, pointing at Steve. "I know you had the carnival on the list of things to do."

"And if we win, you'll win each of us a prize?" Steve asked.

"We have to win because I'm terrible at those games," you said. They were fun, but you couldn't remember ever winning a prize.

Bucky leaned over as the group began to debate whether or not carnivals rigged the games. "I'll win you a prize no matter who wins the volleyball game," he promised.

"I'll hold you to that," you said, giddy at the thought of him winning you a teddy bear or some other stuffed animal.

"You two up for a little drinking tonight or do you plan on falling asleep on the couch again?" Sam joked, interrupting your private conversation.

"I will drink. But if I have too much, Bucky has to carry me to bed," you said.

"What happened to calling me 'Dreamboat'?"

He's pouting and it's adorable.

"Okay. You carry me to bed if I drink too much and tuck me in, Dreamboat."

"Deal," he easily agreed.

"To the best week ahead!" Steve announced.

"And get ready to get your asses handed to you tomorrow," Sam added.

As everyone began to playfully argue again, you made a mental decision not to drink too much. Alcohol had a way of making people lose their inhibitions and the last thing you needed to do was blurt something personal out in front of the whole gang. Bucky promised that the two of you would talk and you would. Sober. But a fun night could be what you needed to kick off the rest of the week.

Things will start to come to light in the next part or two. A calm before the storm, if you will... Love and thanks for reading! ❤️ Masterlist ⚓ Bucky Barnes Masterlist ⚓ Ko-Fi

#navybrat writes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes x female!reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes #best friend!bucky barnes #best friend!bucky barnes x reader #reconnect au #dreamboat and butterfly #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes au #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan x female!reader #sebastian stan x female reader #sebastian stan x you #sebastian stan

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fluffroom · 13 days ago

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"In Theory"- Seungmin

Imaginary Friend AU | 2k Words | angst and slow heartbreak | Seungmin x Reader

TW: parental divorce (brief mention), isolation, emotional dependence, identity crisis, unintentional gaslighting, loss, abandonment, unrequited love, and implied dissociation. please read with caution.

Summary: He appeared when you were ten. He never left. He was never supposed to stay this long. But then...what happens when you fall in love with someone who was never real to begin with?

Seungmin showed up the day after your Dad moved out of your family home when you still weren't even sure what "divorce" meant.

He didn't knock. He didn't need to. One moment, you were sitting on the edge of your bed with your knees pulled to your chest, listening to the echo of the front door slamming- and the next, there he was.

A boy with soft brown eyes and a sweater too big for him sat cross-legged on your rug like he had been there the whole time. He blinked at you, head tilted.

"You look like you could use a friend," he said. "Lucky for you, I'm great at that."

You didn't scream. Didn't question. You just nodded and scooted over to make room for him.

That was fifteen years ago.

Now you're twenty-five, and Seungmin is still here.

. . .

"Okay. Tall guy at the end of the bar- third time he's looked over," Seungmin whispers, even though no one could hear him anyway. "Beige coat, bad posture. Definetely a sweater - under - jacket type. Thoughts?"

You glance over. Beige Coat Guy is, in fact, making eyes at you. He's got a kind face and an almost-shy smile. He looks a little like a golden retriever might, if reincarnated as a tax accountant.

"He's cute," You mumble into your drink.

"Cute in a 'texts you "u up?" and then ghosts you for three days' kind of way," Seungmin counters immediately. "Also, mismatched socks."

"He's sitting down. How would you even know that?"

"I know things," he says, smug.

You sigh, a familiar warmth settling into your chest. "You just don't want me to talk to him."

He doesn't deny it.

. . .

Your roommate, Jamie, thinks you're insane.

You don't blame them. It's not every day someone walks into the kitchen at 8 a.m. to find their roommate having a full-on argument with thin air over what cereal to eat.

"Look, I'm not trying to be rude," Jamie says one night, standing awkwardly in your doorway. "But...you know no one's there, right?"

You don't respond immediately.

Seungmin is sprawled on your bed with a bag of popcorn in his lap, throwing kernels in the air and trying to catch them in his mouth.

You nod once, almost too slow. "Yeah, I know."

Jamie hesitates, watching you for a second too long. "Okay. Just...wanted to check."

After they leave, Seungmin makes a face. "They think you're crazy."

"They aren't wrong to wonder."

"They also aren't wrong about your taste in cereal," he adds, tossing a piece of popcorn at your face. "Plain Cheerios? Be serious."

You roll your eyes, but you're smiling. Always smiling when it's him.

. . .

You meet someone.

His name is Daniel, and he's tall and easy to talk to and doesn't mind the way you fidget when you're nervous. He has a warm laugh and a job that sounds like it means something.

He also can't see Seungmin.

That last part shouldn't matter. It never has before.

Except this time, Seungmin hates him.

"He wears loafers with no socks," Seungmin grits out as you get ready for your fourth date. "No socks."

"You wear mismatched ones."

"I'm not real."

You pause. The words slice too cleanly through the air. It hangs there, bleeding.

"I like him, Min."

There's a beat of silence. Then, quieter: "I know."

. . .

It gets worse the longer you date.

You bring Daniel home one night and find Seungmin sitting on the couch, arms crossed, eyes dark. He doesn't speak. Doesn't even look at you. Just disappears before Daniel can even step inside.

But he doesn't show up.

Not until Daniel kisses you for the first time.

You're still smiling when you walk through the door, cheeks warm, heart fluttering.

And he's already there.

Slouched in your desk chair, hoodie half-zipped, looking at you like you'd just shot him in the gut.

You hang your keys with your purse.

"Min-"

"You kissed him."

"I-yeah. He's my boyfriend."

He lets out a soft, breathless laugh. Like it hurts. "Right. Your boyfriend. The one with the Spotify tattoo."

You frown. "Don't do that."

"I'm not doing anything."

"Yes, you are! You've been doing this since the day I met him. Sabotaging. Judging. You act like you're some kind of...of relationship gatekeeper or something-"

"I'm not," he snaps. "I'm just trying to protect you."

"From what?!"

He doesn't answer.

So you say it.

The one thing you've never let yourself say.

"You're not real, Seungmin."

The words hit harder than you thought they would. You don't mean them- not really - but they come out sharp, cruel.

His face doesn't change. Not even a flicker.

"I know."

You're breathing too fast now. "I don't need you anymore. I'm twenty-five. I don't- I don't need an imaginary friend. I'm not ten."

Seungmin nods once. Slowly. Like he's been preparing for this moment for years.

"I know."

And then-

He vanishes.

Not like he usually does, slipping out of frame when someone walks in or blinking away for a dramatic exit. This time, it's immediate.

Sudden.

Gone.

You stand there alone in the doorway for a long time.

. . .

You try to move on.

Weeks pass. You keep dating Daniel. You keep waking up. You keep breathing. But everything feels quieter now. Lonelier.

No one's in the passenger seat when you're stuck in traffic.

No one's there to yell at the barista for spelling your name wrong.

No one tells you your date is going to ghost you after two weeks, even though- spoiler alert- he does.

Your apartment, although shared, still feels too big. Your bed, cold.

Jamie thinks you're better. "You've been, like...grounded lately," they say one day. "More here."

You nod. Smile. Lie.

You haven't been here at all.

. . .

You find a paper heart.

It's wedged into the corner of your bookshelf, tucked behind a photo of you at twelve, grinning, gap-toothed, with an empty space beside you that should have been too narrow for someone to sit in.

But in your memory, it isn't empty at all.

You sit on the floor that night and whisper into the dark like a fool.

"I didn't mean it."

You wait.

Nothing happens.

. . .

A week after he disappears, Daniel breaks up with you over text.

It's clean. Respectful. Says all the right things.

"You're great. I'm just not in a place to keep going." "You deserve someone fully here." "I hope we can still be friends."

You don't reply. Not because it hurts- thought it does- but because you already know this isn't the pain you've been bracing for.

You get dressed. Walk home in the rain like a cliche with a half-dead phone in your coat pocket and water in your shoes. You're not sad about Daniel, not really. You're sad about-

No.

You're not allowed to be.

. . .

Your apartment is too quiet. Again. Still.

There's an untouched granola bar on your nightstand. A stupid, small hope from a week ago. He never took it.

You collapsed on the couch, coat still wet, heart still open in all the wrong places. You don't cry. Not for Daniel.

But your voice cracks when you whisper, "I miss you."

No reply.

No soft voice from across the room. No sarcastic joke the break the tension. No footsteps. No warmth. Nothing.

He doesn't come back.

. . .

You start to forget what his voice sounded like.

Not all at once, but slowly. Cruelly.

The edges of his laugh blur first. Then the way he used to say your name- like it mattered. Like you mattered.

Some days, you see someone in a hoodie at the coffee shop, and your heart flutters. But it's never him. It's never going to be.

You stop checking the passenger seat. Stop setting out extra snacks. Stop waiting.

What are you even waiting for?

A ghost?

A dream?

A part of yourself you lost when you finally said out loud that he wasn't real.

. . .

Jamie says you've been doing better.

"You're more present lately," they say. "It's like you've finally...come back to earth."

You nod. Smile. Sip your drink.

They don't know you still whisper his name when you fall asleep.

. . .

You try to move forward.

New hobbies. New people. You learn to fill the space differently. But it never stops feeling like something's missing- like there's a shape beside you that no one else fits in.

You go on dates. You make small talk. You pretend.

No one ever feels like him.

Which is insane.

Because there was no him.

. . .

Months pass.

One morning, you find another paper heart behind your dresser while cleaning. It's wrinkled, yellowing at the edges, carefully folded from a granola bar wrapper.

You sit on the floor and hold it between your fingers like it might pulse with life. Like maybe it's a tether. A promise.

You wait.

But the room stays empty.

. . .

Years later, someone asks if you've ever been in love.

And you almost say yes.

Almost.

But you just smile and shake your head.

"No," you say,

Because how do you explain the kind of love that never existed outside your own mind?

How do you say: He wasn't real, but the ache was?

How do you admit: I still talk to him in my head.

You don't.

You just carry him quietly. Like a secret. Like a scar.

Because even if no one else remembers him-

You do.

You always will.

THE END

A/N: With a little bit of help from an AI generator, I create my short stories, tweak them a bit to feel more human, and share them here with people I know will enjoy them. If you'd like a continuation of any of my stories, please leave me a private ask with the title and what you'd like to see. If you want to request a certain plot as well, please do the same.

#stray kids #stray kids au #stray kids imagines #stray kids writing #stray kids imaginary friend au #imaginary friend au #seungmin #imaginary friend seungmin #seungmin au #In Theory #📖

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gorgon-goddess-of-chaos · 9 months ago

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Thighs

Antisepticeye x F!Reader, TW: none Words: 747

Sometimes a little self indulgence is necessary.

You get ready on the cold fall morning, putting together a cute outfit of a sweater dress, thigh high wool stockings, and some knee-high boots. A little bit of thigh shows, hopefully not enough to make you freeze while you’re out today. You add a hat to your hot girl autumn outfit, and head out for the day. It’s a short stroll to the coffee shop down the street, hoping to get some writing done today. You pull out your laptop once you’re settled in at your table, thinking about your order.

“Got room fer two at yer table, acushla?”

You glance up, seeing Anti wearing a beanie and an oversized black jean jacket with his usual outfit. He looks you over, clearly admiring your outfit. “I didn’t think we had a date planned today.” “Maybe not. Still missed ye. Figured ye’d be here.” Anti walks around to your side, wrapping an arm around your waist as he kisses your cheek. It’s hard not to smile when he’s being this sweet. He glances down, and you see his eyes light up when he looks at your legs. “Oh, ye love me…” “Hmm?” He grabs your leg, squeezing your right thigh affectionately. He’s all giggles as you squeak, kissing you again with a tighter hug to pull you against his chest. “Ye always knew I was a thighs man, yer just teasin’ me now.” “In my defense, I wasn’t planning on seeing you today.” “So ye were just gonna flaunt all t’at t’ everyone but me? Ye wound me, acushla…”

Anti’s ears wiggle as you kiss under his jaw, full of giggles and affections for you. You send him away with your coffee order, and you watch as he bounces on his heels in line, trying to wait patiently for his turn. It’s adorable to watch, seeing him try to intermingle with society, covering his pointy ears with his hat. When he occasionally glances over to meet your gaze, he visibly lights up every time. You can almost see the points of his fangs when he smiles, radiating like a ray of sunshine at you. Don’t try and get him to admit it, but he’s absolutely adorable. He gets startled when he’s called forward to give your order to the barista, flustering him a little bit.

You go back to your writing, watching him from over the screen of your laptop to make sure he’s not getting into trouble. He brings you over your pastry, stealing a kiss before he goes back over to the counter to grab your drinks. Really being quite a golden retriever boy.

“Alright, got yer coffee. Need me t’ grab anyt’in’ else?” “No, thank you, baby.” Anti beams at you, pulling a stool up next to yours, grabbing onto your arm and resting his head on your shoulder. He purrs as you reach around his shoulders, sneaking your fingers under his hat to give him scritches behind his ears. He repays the affections with kisses to your cheek, grabbing your thighs with both of his hands. “Squish~” “Anti-”

He just cackles, getting in one more squeeze before you swat him, retreating into his coffee. “You are absolutely insufferable.” “Ye love meeeee~”

Unfortunately he’s correct, making you blush behind your hand as you try to convince him you’re annoyed with his antics. It’s not terribly effective, but it does get him to stop being nearly as handsy as he was before. His attention alternates between you, his switch, and what you’re working on. If he notices you’re low on your beverage, he gets a refill for you from the counter, returning each time with a kiss to your cheek.

“I know ye weren’t plannin’ on a date t’day, but I hope me intrudin’ on yer work isn’t pesterin’ ye too bad.” “I always want to see you, baby. I’m glad you’re here. Sometimes spontaneous dates are better than planned ones.” You can see his ears wiggling under his beanie as he beams at you again, wrapping you in his arms. For a brief moment, he almost hides his face in your chest, before he remembers that you’re in public.

“I love it when ye dress like t’is. Drives me insane.”

“Well, it is now the season for sweaters and tall socks, so maybe you’ll see me in more of them. Especially if you ask nicely.”

“Bet.”

You kiss his lips, hearing him purr as you pull away.

“I love you.”

“Love ye too, acushla.”

#antisepticeye #anti #anti x reader #antisepticeye x reader #jse anti #jse antisepticeye #jse antisepticeye x reader #jse anti x reader #jse egos #septic egos #glitch bitch #electric limeade #chaoswrites

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thebunnednun · 1 year ago

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Lovesick

Pairing: Buggy The Clown x Strawhat! Reader

Summary: Oh, you really love that clown.

Angst fic time guys, bust out the tissues and do your best to recover afterwards.

TW: Sudden death of a loved one

Songfic set to Laufey's: LoveSick

♩Floorboards creaking in my home

Deathly silence when alone

Oh, I wish that you were here right now♩

You awoke with a start and clasped your hands to your neck. Five days, that's all it took for your world to come crashing down around you. Your eyes adjusted to the dim room around you. The sun hadn't bored its way into your windows yet, thankfully. It was a kindness you much needed. Softly, you placed your hands beside you. Closing your eyes, you felt the left side of the mattress to find it ice cold and empty. You knew it would be empty. So why bother checking, anyway? You slowly opened your eyes again, fingers retrieving an orange and white striped bandana.

♩So unlike me, somehow I

Fell in love in just three nights

Those November days still haunting me♩

You met him in a bar. The crew and yourself having docked at a town during the fall. The smell of apples and crisp air was intoxicating to you. Agreeing to accompany everyone to a pub, you sat by yourself as the designated person that evening. However, that changed when your captain ran into an old foe.

"BINKY!" "Fuck Me."

You swiveled around in your step to see a very interesting man before you. He stood over six feet tall and sported a pissed-off look. Maybe you were staring too hard because his angry green eyes flicked directly towards you. Time honestly just stopped there for both of you. Let's be clear: Both parties saw it too. Your (e/c) starbeds locked with his piercing green ones in a mix of curiosity and interest. Your whole body seemed to hum in unison little cheers of, "Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes!" The light around everything else was gone. Only you and him exist in time and space right now. You knew the whole of your face was flushed from the warmth of your body.

But you'd be lying if you didn't see the redness from his neck creep upwards towards the tips of his ears.

Finally, he tore his orbs away from yours and looked back at Luffy. They nodded and called it a truce for that night. Zoro took you to get water while Sanji playfully teased you. You wanted to turn around from the bar and find that man again. You felt strong tingles running up and down the curve of your back. Peeking out from behind your hair, you could see him intently peering at you.

You shook your head, thankful for the bars open window, and returned to nursing your water. There was a quiet buzz all around from the merriment.

Your heart swelled from the harmony but also pounded to be let out. It seemed to call out to you, "Look! There he is! In all his golden resistance. Haven't you ever wished to know? To know, the love from your soul mate? If you don't let me out right now, you never will! Oh, please let me go to him. I can hear his heart too, listen!"

Placing your hand over your chest, you tried to stop your heart from escaping the ribs of your bossom and flying into the chest of that blue-haired man.

You tried to close your eyes and steady your hard breathing. The bartender refreshed your water glass, and you could hear the bar stool next to you scooting back. Opening your eyes, you were met with the same green ones that seemed to shine brighter. You traced over his whole being, not noticing that he had leaned down to your height. The corner of his lips turned ever so slightly until he brought his fist up to rest on his jaw.

The motion caught your attention minutes later when you paused and looked up at him with doe eyes. "Like whatcha see, doll?~" he teased, but there was no venom in his words. Just a soft, warm fullness of his voice.

God, his voice.

You had both talked for hours that night until you could see the sleeping crews behind you, the sleeping bartender, and the sun threatening to peak over the mountains from the bar window. You swapped mailing information and helped walk each other's crews back to the docks.

You prayed that wouldn't be the last time you saw that beautiful clown man. Little did you know he, who raided towns and had closed the world out from his heart, was on his knees that very mourning, praying for the same thing. Thus began the back and forth of a very good friendship.

Anyone could see you were enamored with each other. A strong friendship, built on honesty and trust. One that helped bring out your true personality that your crewmates felt honored to know. You brought out a kind and even vulnerable side to him without shame. Everyone could see the positive changes in your personality and were thankful for it.

♩When the gold rays fell on your skin

And my hair got caught in the wind

The choir sang a melancholic hymn ♩

That first date was a disaster, but a cute one. The clown crew finally pushed him to ask you to be his, and the straw hats were not going to let you hide from this confrontation. He approached you in all seriousness with a bouquet of Copihue and yellow tulips. He gave a glare to his crew from over his shoulder and nodded toward Luffy once more. Everyone gave you some privacy as he gulped and handed you the flowers without looking at you. You accepted them still and tried to find his eyes only to realize his were wet.

"Y/n?"

"Yes?"

He let you towards the stairs then gently sat you down, and tried to speak again. The words seemed to be failing him until he reached for your hands, and you dropped the flowers to reach back. Taking your smaller hands in his seemed to help stabilize him.

He rubbed his thumbs over yours and looked up at you, "I have feelings for you, and I have for a long time. I've had feelings for you ever since that first meeting. I understand that may complicate things. But it's the honest truth. I love you, and I want to be yours." He looked up again his eye red and shiny. His steady voice was clearly shaken as those eyes you loved so much began to fill with tears, searching for your reaction.

You kept your face solid as stone while taking in all the information. He dropped his head and slowly began to retract his hands, taking your silence as a no. Feeling this, you pulled his hands to your chest and embraced him fully. The two of you tumbled a little tumble to the floor, with his warm arms protecting your back and your hands cradling his head. "Oh God, I thought you didn't like me back." He sighed and buried himself into the crock of your neck. You could still feel the wetness of his eyelashes against your skin. Your hands made their way to his back, rubbing and tracing your nails in imaginary patterns on his skin. "Of course I do, you silly clown." You felt him blow a raspberry into your tender flesh causing you to burst out laughing. "I'm not going to take that!" You squealed while tickling him frantic. After much rolling around, you smiled at each other, breathless and happy.

♩(ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah)♩

That first "hang out", he took you out on an all-day date to one of your favorite towns. Zoro huffed something about wanting you back at a decent hour, and your love quirked one eyebrow before waving him off. You punched his arm, and he shot a mischievous grin at you. The day was spent looking through different shops, trying on different outfits together, but mainly just enjoying each other. It was like you could breathe in his scent and be instantly clamed by it.

You walked for hours together through in the sun. During that time, he managed to sneak your hands together, and you squeezed back. You had ended up in a meadow together, lying down. Stating that it was hot, he sat up and removed his striped head covering. It was a rare time when he let his hair cascade down over his shoulders. The sun immidently caught the vibrant stands making it shine and stand out in all the greenery. "Blue is such a rare color in nature." You watched with interest as he sent you a playful wink and gave you his bandana. "Safekeeping," he reasoned. But you felt happiness swarm inside your chest, knowing he was so at peace with you. You climbed into his warm body to rest, and his strong arms welcomed you.

♩In the morning, you would gone♩

You swallowed, hard. Remember hurt. Everything felt like a fever dream. But it was real, and you did live it. Bringing the bandana closer, you could see some blue strands still inside it. Quickly, you carefully scooped them up and placed them inside a little bag on your nightstand. Checking to see if there were any left, you were disappointed to find there weren't anymore. A bubble of hot air rose into your throat, and despite your best efforts, you couldn't push it back down. Everything became overwhelming once more. The memories of you and him together for hours.

♩I'd be mourning, tryin' to keep on

To the memory of your lips♩

One evening, the two of you sat together after dinner on the jolly roger.

Everyone was enjoying the calm and peace of the night. There was a pleasant hum in the air. You had long removed his gloves and were playing with his hands. He wore an assumed smile on his lips that reached to the eyes you loved so much. Leaning over, you gave them a quick kiss before returning to the task at hand. His chuckling brought you back to earth, and you looked up as he cupped your face gently in his hands.

Gazing back at each other, he ran his thumbs over the apple of your cheeks, smiling. GOD, HIS SMILE! His true, sexy, beautiful, genuine smile was just so full of life and love. It was the smile you swore to always have in your eyes. You both seemed to be aware of how close you were sitting. You left a soft peck on his nose that seemed to stir something inside him.

"Hm?" His eyes flicked back towards yours, silently begging for permission. You nodded, and he closed the proximity between you.

♩God, I'm so lovesick♩

In reality, you gasped for air as more choked sobs escaped your lips. Fuck that triggered another memory.

♩What have you done to me?♩

The first time you had gone on a date together was on that very ship with your crews trying to play cupid. It was a sweet gesture, honestly, he seemed more nervous than you. During the date, he took to popping his hands off at the wrists and making them dance on the table to amuse you. You laughed and wiggled your digits at the little performance before you.

Oh, your laugh.

He'd give anything to hear the pearl of your laughter. You grabbed his hands suddenly though, and stripped the gloves off them. They wagged the 'no, no, no' sign at you. "Pfft," you looked up at him, and he watched with curious interest. You tested his strength and even tried 'arm' wrestling, which he let you win at, of course. Finally, you press your lips in a gentle kiss on the back of both hands before returning them.

Looking up, he sat there frozen with his mouth agape. Never before had he been treated so gently. Your cheeks redden, and despite the shyness, you offered a loving smile to him.

"Why'd you do that, babydoll?" He grumbled and looked away, eyebrows furrowed. You scooted your chair over, and he immediately sat up ready to attend to you. You took his hands in yours and traced up the veins in his arms. Fuck how you loved this man's existence.

♩Let me in your atmosphere

Inching closer, but I fear

That I'll love so much, you'll slip away (mm, mm-mm)♩

"Well, when I'm with you, I forget how lonely I was. I don't feel like we're two people. I feel like I found the other half of my being. Our old names might as well be the names for your right hand, and my left."

Looking up at his firey eyes again, you're met with overwhelming emotion. He pulled the bottom of your chair closer before pulling you to sit in his lap. "I feel the same way about you, Y/n." You stay there, together, for a good while. Just two people with one heart in a loving embrace.

"Should we break that up?" "Nah, let them be."

♩Getting twisted in my head

Dreams are nightmares in my bed

Since the last night that I spent with you♩

You had been together for a few months now. That was before your love had gotten into trouble again. Arlong had heard about how close the pirate clown and straw hat kid had grown. Now, while you wouldn't say they were best buddies, they could work together and get along for your sake. Still, he had grown to respect certain aspects of Luffy and even began to speak to Shanks again.

Arlong didn't give a shit about that.

He wanted the map to the One-piece, and he was going to get it. You remembered that mourning when you awoke to the sounds of battle outside and noticed your captains engaged with the fish man. You raced to aid your friends while others boarded the ship in support.

You realized you were in the middle of a losing battle.

Arlong held up two cages with Nami and Buggy inside. "I will let you choose. The girl or the clown." He hissed looking at Luffy with a content smirk. Luffy frowned, he looked torn up, but you saw his eyes meet yours. You pointed to Nami and continued to sneak behind the monster of a man.

"I choose Nami!"

"Well, here she is!" The cage was thrown into the deck with razor-sharp attached. The attack was meant to kill Luffy but thankfully he was able to jump out of the way before trying to free Nami. Robin could only do so much and she and Boa tried to halt the man before them. For their sister's friend? They'd go to the ends of the earth for her.

A familiar gloved hand stopped you from going any further when you realized that it was pointing at something. The key! You used your ghost touch invisibility to pull it from Arlong's belt. Tossing the key into the open hand, you watched your love pick the lock open and pop out.

Screaming ensued, and some home was reassumed when you drew your blade to cut off one of Arlong's feet. The mammoth stumbled and halted any further attacks. "You little BITCH!" he swiped at you

Luffy couldn't be quick enough to save you.

♩When the gold rays fell on your skin

And my hair got caught in the wind♩

But a certain flashy fool could. You felt someone wrap their arms around you before deeply shuttering. You saw the familiar blue waves and knew who had saved you. "Hang tight, we might have to abandon ship." Cutting off Alrong's foot had given your crew the advantage point, with Luffy able to get the others to the emergency boats. However, this didn't stop as Arlong. He rushed forward, grabbing Luffy by the neck as he did with Zoro.

"HEY SHITHEAD!" Arlong looked up in time to see a flying boot kick him in the face. Several flying body parts were swarming him, allowing Luffy to slam his fist into Arlong's mouth. You took the opportunity to rush forward and slice off the purple outstretched hand. "ARRRAHHHH!"

Luffy could only pull you away as Arlong managed to grab hold of the clown's head. The rest of his body quickly came together. "You know knives won't work on me you fucking prick."

Arlong smiled as he dropped the blue sailor and used his remaining hand to reach into his pocket. He smiled cruelly before simply answering, "I know." He pulled something out that caused Nami to scream deafening.

And just like that, your love was gone.

♩The choir sang a melancholic hymn

(ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah)♩

Your captain is impervious to bullets the way your love was impervious to knives. Cold, hot pain flooded your chest as your eyes took in the scene before you. Your body couldn't move fast enough to keep up with your heart. Dashing under Arlong legs, you were able to reach your hand out to your love and see the fear in his green eyes vanish for one moment before he mouthed something and smiled.

Then, he hit the water with a violent splash.

The moments that followed were a blur. You saw him disappear under the waves, you heard your crew mates screaming for you, and you felt your knuckles go white as you clutched your blade hearing the deafening laughter in your ears again. You also heard the screams of horror when you turned, with a strength you didn't know you had and slashed upwards at the face of your tormenter. You heard something thud harshly toward the floor behind you.

Not one fucking thing mattered anymore. You jumped off the ship's edge into the water where you'd last seen him. Either fate wasn't on your side, or the ocean already laid its claim to him. Because the man you had grown to love was gone.

♩In the morning, you're not in my bed♩

You searched for hours until it was almost dawn again, and Zoro was finally able to pull you from the ocean. Your eyes were blood red from all the crying and seawater. Nami embraced you in her arms as the search boats anchored. She rubbed your back comfortingly, despite the ptsd behind her eyes. You choked out a sob, and whispered, "He has to be here."

"Y/n!"

You looked up quickly to find Luffy waving at you. He and Ussop climbed into your shared boat. He held something out for you. Taking it quickly, a silent cry emerged from your throat as you held the item tighter.

His oragane and white bandana that was still dry somehow. Your lips trembled, and you raised it to your face. It still smelled like him, but this time, it brought you no comfort. Your crew had finally reached shore, but you refused to leave the boat. Luffy was now the leader of another crew in the absence of their captain. So much had to be done.

♩I'll just sleep until I fall dead

To the memory of your lips♩

In the present time, you were fully crying in the little solace you had in your room. No sound could be heard, but then again, there was no one around to hear it. The man you loved was, gone. You couldn't even give him a proper burial.

At first, you refused to accept this. Saying that he always came back after trouble. But you saw where Arlong had shot him. How big the red circle in his chest bloomed, and you knew that there was no way he could've swam to safety.

You closed your eyes again and tried to take in the little air you had.

His eyes softened, and he spoke those words again. And he smiled, he smiled! He smiled like there was nothing wrong at all. Like he was about to take you to the bookstore again. Like he was about to embrace you with those arms again and show you how much he-

No. You couldn't keep doing this to yourself. The first few days, you refused to sleep. Now, it had caught up with you, and all you wanted to do was not wake up.

Every time you close your eyes, you see that face again.

You saw the man that swore an oath to you.

The man you thought you'd grow old with.

A man who you met at a bar by chance.

That very same man who used to stand on his head to make you laugh.

The man who made you feel whole and complete as much as you did to him.

Was gone.

♩"God, I'm so lovesick

What have you done to me?"♩

"Y/n?"

You sat up at the sound of Sanji's voice.

"You have to get ready now hon it's almost time." You could hear him placing a tray outside your door. Sanji knew you wouldn't eat. But he still made you something every day and filled your water pitcher.

"Thanks, I'll be out soon," you managed in your best voice. You shuffled into the bathroom and got cleaned up.

♩(Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah)

Ah-ah-ah-ah♩

You slide down under the water in your tub and lay there with your arms crossed. Nothing felt real, not the water, not the day, nothing.

Out of respect for you both, the crew had arranged a funeral on the water. You rose to get dressed in a black top and blue bell bottoms. You tied his bandana around your neck. He would've gagged at the use of boring black colors.

Hearing something shuffled outside your door you open it to see a single boxed gift. You look around before picking it up to inspect it. The note attached was in Zoro's handwriting.

"For one badass bitch,"

You opened it to see a jar with Arlong's nose.

♩Ah-ah-ah-ah (ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah)

Ah-ah-ah-ah♩

And the emotional dam broke as all the memories came flooding back. Your first time meeting, your first date, him opening up to you. Watching him perform and blow you kisses. You showing him your confident side. Kissing his nose and holding his face. Him carrying you through your walks when your legs got tired. Doing each other's make-up. Dancing together without any music, play fighting in the town square, announcing your relationship to your crew. Too many memories to relive in one moment. You kneeled down by the side of your bed and began to pray again. For his safe return and if not that, then his soul.

Another knock on the door broke your train of thought. Opening it, you saw Luffy and Nami standing there. "I know it's time," you whispered hoarsely. You took the jar with you and headed up the stairs onto the deck. The rest of the crew fell into step behind you.

♩Ah-ah-ah-ah (ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah)

Ah-ah-ah-ah♩

Glancing up, you saw everyone in the surrounding ships wearing their flashiest clothes. His crew was trying to stifle some tears of their own.

The next few moments were a blur as you thanked everyone and held the service. Finally, you held out the jar that contained Arlong's nose and lit it on fire before throwing it into the ocean. Behind you, Nami let out a sigh of relief.

You felt a strong hand on your shoulder as Zoro helped you away from the edge of the boat. Turning around, you were then faced with Luffy holding a handmade captain's hat out to you. "I can't lead them the way you could." You looked towards his crew and back towards your captain.

You gently lifted the hat from his hands and held it up for all to see before placing it over your head. There were cheers in every direction, and you smiled for the first time in days.

♩Ah-ah-ah-ah (ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah)♩

You looked back towards the water. The sun was rising full over the water now. Everyone has begun to celebrate the life of a one of a kind crazy clown, beautiful, clown.

"I love you too, Buggy."

I hope you all enjoyed! Please make sure to like and check out my other works! Of course I do not own the music or One-piece. The hand comment was inspired by Garnet from Steven Universe.

Copihue and yellow tulips: Symbols of doomed love and a tragic love that turns happy. The Copihue have a very good story behind them.

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late-to-the-party-81 · 1 year ago

Text

Finders Keepers - Chapter Four

AN: How are we enjoying it so far? Feel free to inbox me or screech in a reblog/tags. Any predictions? Anyway, welcome to Chapter 4. Everything that happens here was supposed to just be the first half of the chapter, but it ran away with me, so I’ve identified an extra prompt and upped the chapter count of this story by one. This unbeta'd chapter is from Bucky’s POV.

Likes are loved, reblogs are golden.

Dividers by @firefly-graphics and moodboard by me.

Bingo Fills - @buckybarnesbingo Square C1 - Hydra

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Master list | BBB Master list

Chapter Three

Relationship: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Chapter word count: 3.8k

Chapter CW: Bucky Barnes POV, angst, protective PepperRhony, hand-wavy sci-fi and computer stuff, canon typical violence, Hydra, feels.

Chapter 4 - The sins in my wake

In Potts’ Diner

Bucky schooled his features as you glared furiously and hurled your meagre stash of credits at him. Did he feel like the world’s biggest douchebag? Yes. Would he do it all the same if he had to do it again? Probably. Because no matter how frustrating you were, how much of a thorn in his side you were being, the truth was that it would be too easy to let you in. You were clever and funny. Resourceful and focused. And far too good for this life. If he didn’t make it hard for you, you’d fall even further in and he knew from personal, painful experience that no good came from going down that road.

You spun on your heel and stormed out, and Bucky watched you go. It was only when the door closed shut behind you that he moved, using his feet to nudge the credits on the floor into a pile and then retrieving them. He stacked them up on the table and then stood, only to find the three owners of the diner staring at him, scowls plastered on their faces. The hostess - tall and willowy, with strawberry blonde hair - stepped forwards, arms folded defensively across her chest. Her two husbands - the shorter server with sharply trimmed facial hair, and the tall, serious looking cook - crowded at her back.

“I don’t know what game you are playing with our girl,” she cautioned him, “but it stops now.”

“I fail to see how this is any of your business,” Bucky growled back and tried to shove past them. The cook stopped him with a firm hand to his shoulder.

“It’s our business because we say it is,” he replied, firmly. “That girl is like family to us. And we don’t let people hurt our family.”

Bucky didn’t even hide his eye roll. “Really? The shovel talk? You know who I am, right?”

The server, whose badge announced that his name was Tony, stepped into Bucky’s personal space and jabbed a finger into his chest. “Of course we know who you are, wiseguy. It’s only because of your normal, sparkling reputation, that we haven’t thrown you out yet. But this is your one warning. Leave her alone. She’s had it tough and doesn’t deserve to be treated like shit by you.”

Bucky wanted to retort that you weren’t the only one who’d had it difficult, but in the end all he said was “I know,” then he pushed past the trio and out into the mid-morning light. All your credits, more than were needed for the check, sat on the booth table.

Bucky still remembered the first time he met you. Although he hadn’t shown it at the time, he’d been impressed with how you’d managed to get past his forcefield. In fact he’d only noticed your presence by chance. If he’d been at one of his other sites he’d have been none the wiser to your invasion. Yes, he’d been irritated by the fact you were there, but that was more with himself for obviously not having adequate security, but the rest of his attitude? Well that was all down to a more visceral reaction to you. Because you were just so god-damn open and earnest, and he’d known what you were going to say as soon as you opened your mouth.

But Bucky Barnes didn’t do partnerships. He’d been burnt by that before and he just couldn’t risk it all going wrong, especially with someone as sweet and innocent as you seemed to be. And, in any case, you shouldn’t be down here, with the likes of him. You should be living higher up, in one of the towers, zipping around in a personal transport vehicle above the mist.

Any hope that he’d harboured after that first meeting that you’d just back off was short lived, because two days later you were back, practically sniffing out the edge of his territory, slow and cautious. His sensors and alarms tipped him off to your presence and he went up to one of his favourite high spots to observe you. You’d then impressed him once more by somehow sensing his gaze, working out where he was and then giving him a mock salute before turning back the way you’d come.

Over the next few days you’d worked out the size and shape of the area he claimed, and each time you also identified where he was observing you from. Again, Bucky hoped this would be the end of your curiosity, but it wasn’t. You were testing him, and away from prying eyes he couldn’t help but smile and be amused by your antics. The truth was that sometimes you were actually getting in and out without him noticing - he’d only realise later when he reviewed his sensor logs and saw the discrepancies.

Part of him knew he should stop you for your own good, but then he’d imagine the satisfied grin on your face when you’d thought you’d gotten away with it, and it made a part of him, long thought dead, warm. Maybe you would be okay? Maybe this life wouldn’t grind you down, chew you up and spit you out? Maybe one day he would be brave enough to let you in?

Then the rumours started - rumours of Hydra’s return to this part of the city.

After the botched grav-train robbery that had left a guard dead and Bucky mutilated, Pierce had ordered Brock and his goons to withdraw and focus somewhere else. Too much attention had been drawn by the discovery of the still warm corpse at the next station. Luckily Bucky’s accident hadn’t been linked to it - he’d just seemed to be the victim of an unfortunate accident and the city security hadn’t questioned him too much. He’d been found by some passers-by and Bucky himself had been hazy on the details when interviewed at the hospital. He’d been on his own after that. Ma had passed away a year before his accident and then, because he wasn’t able to look after them while recovering himself, Becca and Ruthie had gone to live with an Aunt and Uncle upstate. He hadn’t seen them since, although he did send money. They were better off without him.

It was only with the clarity that came with a near-death experience that Bucky realised how bad things had gotten with Hydra, and how deep he’d gone with it. At the beginning, as a lost boy on the cusp of manhood, the gang had seemed like the answer to all his problems. Mr Pierce had acted like a kindly uncle, praising him and ruffling his hair whenever he achieved whatever task had been set for him. Brock, Jack and the others had seemed like brothers and cousins. It was all so exciting. But as the years went by the jobs got harder and less ethical, and there were physical reprimands for failure. Brock displayed a cruel, capricious streak, taking pleasure in meting out punishments, but by then Bucky thought it was just normal. He hadn’t signed on for murder, though, and while he wished he hadn’t lost his arm, he’d never regret getting himself out of that situation.

His recovery had been slow but he was able to use money he’d originally squirrelled away for Becca and Ruthie to pay towards his prosthetic. However, he’d still been in a mountain of debt and had started off doing odd jobs like fixing electronics just to make ends meet. Fixing items soon evolved into finding items, and it wasn’t long before he’d built up a reputation for being fast and fair. As bad as Hydra had been, being with them had given Bucky some valuable skills, and it seemed only right that he make use of them now to help not only himself but the local community.

He was a self-made man now and if the Hydra gang thought they could waltz back in and pick up where they’d left off six years ago they had another thing coming. However, he was mostly worried about you. You were still in the game and there was no way he wanted you to fall prey to Hydra’s clutches. He had no doubt that they’d approach you and try to pull you in. He also thought that you’d probably tell them to go to hell, but the problem was that he also knew that they wouldn’t take no for an answer. There was nothing else for it - he’d have to force you out and fast. No more mister nice guy.

He sighed as he walked away from the diner and headed back home. He’d known you’d been lying yesterday about not finding what you’d been after, and it hadn’t been hard to track you this morning when you went to deliver the PADD. He hadn’t even had to really follow you. Having identified where you lived early on, Bucky knew you’d come back after you’d made your delivery and probably celebrate with a proper meal - it was exactly what he did. All he had to do was wait by the closest diner to your apartment block. Hopefully now you’d get the message - back away from Finding and start over in another line of work that wouldn’t attract Hydra’s notice. You’d be safe and Bucky wouldn’t be distracted while trying to run Hydra out of town.

It was that plan he started to work on as he neared his home. He needed to check his sensors and vid-feeds, and then talk to some associates about any sightings of Brock and his boys. He unlocked his door with his thumb print and shucked his leather jacket, letting it drop onto the scruffy easy chair in his main living space before making his way over to a wall of monitors and consoles. He’d programmed his computer to search for sightings of Hydra symbols in the city camera system and there had only been a few over the last couple of weeks.

There were several today.

With a rush of anxiety, Bucky’s fingers flew over the main console, bringing up the sightings on a map. His heart sank into the pit of his stomach. They were all on your side of the city, and in fact the one with the most recent timestamp was just around the corner from the diner, on one of the routes towards the apartment building where you lived. That couldn’t be a coincidence.

He spent the next several hours working through the code and finding his way through the firewalls to get access to the full camera network. Once he was in he had to find the right feeds, a task that was far more arduous than he’d anticipated and his jaw ached from clenching it while he worked. Finally though, he found what he was looking for - the camera that cross-referenced with his own sensor readings - and he downloaded part of the recorded feed. Turning to another monitor he started to watch it and his blood ran cold at what he saw. As he’d thought, you hadn’t joined them. He’d anticipated that upon your refusal that Brock would just kill you, but he didn’t. They stunned you and took you instead. Maybe they had hopes of ‘persuading’ you. Maybe, and that thought turned Bucky’s stomach, they were just going to play with you. Either way, you were still alive and if Bucky had anything to say in the matter, you’d remain that way. However, he had to find you first.

Bucky went back over the last few weeks of sensor readings, and started a correlation algorithm. It was strange that there were no sightings after you’d been taken. Using the camera system he managed to follow Brock and the others for a few blocks, but then he lost them, and no other camera’s picked up the symbols on their jackets. They’d gone from subtle to obvious and then back again and he couldn’t work out why. It was as though they knew they were being tracked and were taking steps to hide their movements apart from when they were taking you. What could they possibly gain…

His thoughts suddenly crashed to a halt, piling up one behind the other as realisation washed over him. They wanted whoever was watching to know they had you.

You were the bait.

For the watcher.

For him!

They wanted Bucky to come find them. If that was the case though, there had be clues as to where they were actually hiding out.

The computer chirped, signalling that the algorithm had finished analysing all the sightings. Bucky looked over the results, and smiled slyly. He knew where they were. He knew where you were. He ran his eyes back over the information to be certain and then pushed his chair back harshly, standing up. He grabbed his jacket again and then a pair of stunners, checking they were both at full charge and then set off. There was no time to lose.

Bucky walked briskly. It would take him about an hour to get to the warehouse he’d identified as Hydra’s current HQ and Brock had had hold of you for far too long now. He dreaded to think what might have been done to you and his left hand whirred as it tightened into a fist. He might only have brought stunners with him, but he was willing to take more permanent action if required. The sky darkened as he walked, and he was thankful for the cover that it would give him.

As he made his approach, Bucky slowed down. First he had to walk around the outside of the building and work out the best way of getting in. He’d need to act swiftly when he did get inside - neutralise the threats and get you out safely - so being cautious now would pay off in the end. Bucky spent another thirty minutes reconnoitring the warehouse and by the end of it had a good idea of the layout. At one end of it there were lights on in a few small offices and Bucky could hear low, deep voices coming from inside. The other end of the building was dark, but he could hear the low hum of an active forcefield. That was probably where you were, but it was also the part of the building furthest from any entrance. Off to the side was the main warehouse area, but it didn’t appear to be in use.

Having circled the building and identified there was only one viable entrance Bucky realised he had no choice - he’d have to go into the area where Brock and his boys were, take them out and then find you. He worked his way back around and positioned himself in the shadows to the side of the door.

There was a camera above it, the red power light blinking regularly. Bucky knew that if he tried getting in with brute force, he’d be spotted easily and lose the element of surprise. Therefore he’d just have to wait.

He hated waiting.

Time passed in a haze as Bucky stayed pressed against the side of the building. The only sound was the background hum of the city and the only illumination was the glow of thousands of neon lights reflecting off the clouds and the light streaming from the two warehouse windows. Eventually the door slid open and one of the Hydra thugs stepped out, heading straight towards the city. Probably to go and get food, Bucky thought. He acted fast though, moving silently and swiftly from his place to slip in through the open door before it slid closed again. He sighed with relief when he saw the unmanned surveillance station, and crossed to it quickly. There were only two camera feeds active - the one above the door he’d just come through and one that was pointing at a cell. There you were, kneeling as close to the forcefield as you could get, switching your gaze between the dimly lit corridor and the camera itself, as if you were trying to work out how well you were being watched. With the press of a button he cut the camera. If you were watching that closely hopefully you’d know something was happening - that you’d know he was here and coming to get you. Now it was time to deal with his former gang.

It wasn’t hard to find his quarries. Light spilled out of two rooms, offset on opposite sides of the corridor from each other. Bucky stopped outside the first, and listened. He identified at least three voices coming from inside, one that he recognised and two that he didn’t. None of them were either Brock or his second in command, Jack. They must be in the other room, but he wouldn’t be able to get past this one without being seen. He’d just have to deal with it. Bucky un-holstered both stunners, took a deep breath, and then jumped through the doorway.

There were five occupants in the room. Two went down before they even knew what was happening. As the other three turned and stood, Bucky dove across the room to take cover behind a desk, knowing that the stunners’ whine would have attracted the attention of whoever was in the room on the other side of the hallway. Chairs and tables were upturned as Bucky’s immediate adversaries made their own cover. A different pitched whine sounded and a scorch mark appeared on the wall above his head. A phase pistol and it probably wasn’t set to a low setting either. He’d have to make every shot count.

Another deep breath and Bucky stood, aiming in the direction the phase pistol shot had come from. He hit his mark but saw another goon take aim from the corner of his eye. He twisted his body and the pistol shot glanced off his left arm. There was some feedback through the prosthetic which stung, but luckily didn’t actually do him any harm - there had to be some upside to having a metal arm after all. He turned back and hit the shooter, centre mass, on the highest stun setting and the guy went down.

“Barnes!” A voice roared from the doorway and Bucky hit the deck, curling up behind his inadequate cover as shots littered the wall behind him. Rumlow had entered the fray and he obviously wasn’t happy.

“Not glad to see me, Brock?” he called out.

“You’re the one who came in here, all guns blazing. Doesn’t seem like you want to talk,” came the gruff reply, although the pistol fire came to an unexpected halt.

“What’s a little stunner fire between friends?” Bucky snarked back, all the while listening for any movements that might help him identify how many people were left standing and where they were.

Rumlow snorted. “We ain’t using stunners.”

“So I gathered.” There was barely a heartbeat between Bucky answering and standing back up, stunning the last of his original opponents, satisfying himself that only Rumow and Rollins remained and then ducking back down to avoid the expected hail of return fire.

“The problem with stunners, though,” Rumlow drawled as he carefully stepped forwards, “is that they run out of charge mighty quick, especially on their highest setting.”

Bucky waited in a crouch behind the desk, muscles poised, because Rumlow was right. His stunners were out of power and now all he had were his wits and his fists. However, Rumlow was also predictable and as soon as his shadow started to loom over Bucky’s cover, Bucky shot up, knocking Rumlow’s right arm, and therefore the pistol, to the side with his own left arm and then punching Rumlow directly on the nose with his right.

Rumlow staggered back, momentarily blinded and Bucky vaulted over the desk, taking advantage of Rollin’s own disorientation to crack him across the jaw with a metallic left hook. Rollin’s head snapped back and his eyes rolled. He was unconscious before he even hit the floor. Dazed, Rumlow shook his head, droplets of blood splattering over the floor from his broken nose and he dropped his pistol before raising his hands and gesturing for Bucky to come at him.

“You wanna be the big man, Barnes? Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Bucky cracked his neck to the side and then circled his left arm to re-calibrate it. The servos whirred and he couldn’t help but grin at the slight flash of concern that passed over Rumlow’s features.

“Worried, Brock? You’re the reason I have this arm, so you only have yourself to blame.” Bucky surged forwards, jabbing out towards Rumlow’s bloody face with his right fist, but his former friend just blocked it. However, in doing so, his body was left exposed and a reverse jab to his ribs left the big man winded.

“That train guard didn’t have to die,” Bucky bit out, realising that this was the first time since the accident that he’d seen Rumlow to confront him over what had happened.

His former friend wheezed at him through a bloodied grin. “He was in the way. And people in the way are always disposable. Just like your girl. Let me tell you, she’s a feisty one. You know how to pick ‘em. Cries so prettily as well.”

Bucky knew that Rumlow was trying to goad him, get him riled up so that he made a mistake, but he couldn’t stop the veil of rage that settled over him as he heard the man speak about you. He didn’t know yet what had been done to you, or what state he’d find you in. His feelings must have been writ large over his face because the smug bastard couldn’t resist taunting him further.

“She seemed to think that you didn’t actually care for her, but I knew she was wrong. You wouldn’t be here otherwise. What have you been doing with her? Staying away out of some tortured sense of nobility?” He spat a mix of blood and saliva onto the floor. “You’re too soft, Barnes. You gotta take what you want in this life and damn whoever gets in your way. You’d still have two proper arms if you’d just accepted that sometimes there’s collateral damage.”

“Brock? Shut the hell up.” Bucky renewed his attack and the two men fought savagely. Rumlow was older and more experienced, and Bucky wasn’t able to block every blow - including one that glanced off his right cheek bone and made him see stars - but Bucky had years of repressed rage and a prosthetic on his side. Thinking back later, it was as though he entered some kind of fugue state, where he was acting purely on basic instinct, but when the world suddenly became clear again he realised he was straddling Rumlow’s unconscious body, beating his face bloody.

Bucky pushed himself away and up in disgust. The man was barely breathing, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. He had to find you and get out of here. The first guys he’d stunned would be coming round soon and the one who’d left might return any moment, and he didn’t really want to go hand to hand again if he could avoid it.

Exiting the office, he turned down the corridor that would lead to the forcefielded room at the other end. As he jogged down it, he could hear movement, but he couldn’t place it. It wasn’t the regular sound of someone walking or running, but more like an irregular stomp. Then he rounded a corner and saw you, clinging to the wall and hopping as fast as you could. He didn’t know how you were out of your cell - the hum of the operational forcefield still filled the air - but somehow you were. He sped up, desperate to get to you but could only watch as you lost your balance and tumbled to the floor. Desperate sobs reached his ears, and Bucky swore his heart ached from the sound.

“We’ve gotta stop meeting like this, doll,” he said softly. “I’m getting a sense of deja vu.”

You turned on the floor and when Bucky saw the relief flood your features he couldn’t help but fall to the floor and pull you into his arms. You fitted as though you’d been made to be there. When your quiet voice wavered out a stunned “You came for me?” Bucky felt something inside his chest crack open. He pulled you in, just a little bit tighter, and whispered into your hair “Always, doll. I’ll always come for you.”

Chapter five

Tag list: @christywrites, @alexakeyloveloki, @wolfsmom1, @doasyoudesireandlive, @sonatabee-blog, @goldylions, @galactusdevourerofworlds, @apenny4thots, @km-ffluv, @wheezy-stucky, @mrs-illyrian-baby

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #buckybarnesbingo2023

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redfoxwritesstuff · 1 year ago

Text

Another Day in Paradise, Chapter 2

Pairing: Eventually Alastor x OFC, later- light Alastor x ofc x Lucifer Rated: E for eventual smut Content warnings: It's Hazbin Hotel- this feels redundant. Sex, eventual smut, referenced implied suicide to be discussed in more detail later, drugs, drinking, poor coping, toxic behavior, controlling behavior, cannibalism, idk, it's fucking Hazbin Hotel, if it's worth a content warning it's probably going to come up at some point? Religious trauma

AN: Why not post another chapter?

Chapter 1 Chapter 3

~~~~~<3

Amber had a good cry again, allowed herself a moment to fall apart before pulling herself back together again. Washing her face in the sink, she tried to push the fear away. It was easier, having had a chance to cry and get clean.

Standing tall with her back straight, Amber pulled her shoulders back and tried to tell herself that she was going to be okay.

Charlie was waiting outside the room door as Amber opened it. For a second, worry was on her face but it was quickly replaced with a bright smile. “You look so much better without the dirt! Not that you looked bad, just- you’re perked up. Oh your ears are so cute!”

“Thank you?” Amber felt her ears twitch on her head, shifting to lean back as Charlie leaned into them, towering over. The woman was a giant. “And thank you for the clothes.”

“Come on! Let me give you a tour now that you’re feeling better.” Charlie grabbed her hand and pulled her along. The careful strength of the Princess had been replaced by someone that very much reminded Amber of a golden retriever or perhaps a cinnamon roll, should one have someone become sentient.

Amber wasn’t tall in life and that hadn’t been greatly corrected in death. Her eyesight? That got fixed. But her height? Nope, she was still short. There wasn’t a hope in hell that she could keep up with Charlie.

“Sweetie, you’re dragging her.” Charlie dropped Amber’s hand and pulled her in front of a woman who thankfully did not tower as well with long white hair and gray skin.

“This is my girlfriend,” Amber smiled at the warmth and giddiness in Charlie’s voice. Was the relationship new or were they just still that in love?

“Vaggie.” The woman gave her name, sparing a warm look to the tall woman behind Amber before refocusing her attention. “I’m glad the clothes fit you.”

“Thank you for them. I’ll return them to you as soon as-”

“No need.” Vaggie waved off Amber’s words as if they were annoying bugs. “Call it a welcome gift.”

It was a simple hotel, all things considered. There were rooms on the upper floors with the main ground floor acting as a lobby and parlor. Behind a set of double doors was a modest commercial kitchen. An open room separated by large arches held the dining room. Tables looked to be shoved together haphazardly to make a larger family table in the center.

The lobby was littered with a few couches, some armchairs and coffee tables. It was cozy in a way, if you ignored the stains on the carpet and the ripped wallpaper in places. In the lobby she met the smallest woman she had ever seen with one large eye that held a murderous glint.

“We’re pretty sure Nifty is harmless.” Charlie assured as the woman ran off to stab bugs.

“Are you sure ‘pretty sure’ is sure enough?” Amber didn’t mean to say it out loud for fear that questioning would upset her hosts and result in her being sent out again. Instead of being offended, Charlie laughed as if she was making a joke.

These people were so weirdly normal.

The hotel bar looked like it had been ripped out of another building and dropped in the lobby. It didn’t fit in the slightest.

Behind the bar was a tall cat man with dark fur and wings. Wings. This was hell and hell had cat men with wings. Amber remembered her childhood cat’s obsession with trying to catch her father’s parakeet. Did winged cat men chase birds or was that too close to cannibalism?

Hell was fucking weird.

“This is Husk,” Charlie introduced the man behind the counter who simply raised an eyebrow at her. “He’s our bartender. Husk, this is Amber- she’s our newest guest!”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Amber wasn’t sure what else to say. If she left her mouth open too long, she feared something else would come out unintentionally again.

“Yeah, yeah- pleasure and all that shit.” Husk paid more attention to cleaning the glass in his hand than them. Never had she seen someone give off the vibe of ‘I don’t get paid enough for this shit’ as this man was.

“Hey foxy lady,” Spoke a tall thin pink thing leaning on the bar in what she thought was an attempt to be seductive. “What brings you here?”

The man leaned up, supporting his weight with a lower set of arms as he positioned an upper set of arms. Why did he have to sets of arms? Why was he pink? What was he? Was he a he? Amber felt like she had seen him before but for the life of her, she couldn’t place him.

“This is our long time resident and friend, Angel Dust!” Charlie had what Amber was starting to believe was an unending well of manic energy. Was she on something? “This is our newest guest! Amber!”

Amber was starting to feel like a prize with how Charlie would throw her arms out and introduce her. It reminded her a lot of a game show host showing a prize to be won.

“Don’t be weird.” Vaggie warned the pink person.

“He’s fine. You get used to him.” Charlie assured.

He was a he, good to know. Amber watched as Angel directed his attention to flirting with the bartender who didn’t seem to want any of it for a moment before directing his attention back to her. “You look pretty normal, minus the foxy bits. Wonder why?”

“The more you sin in life, the more you’re distorted in death.” Charlie offered offhandedly, clearly not comfortable with the topic of life. She was the princess of hell, Amber couldn’t help but wonder if that ment she was truly born here and never had a life.

Were there others born here? Shit, could they have kids here? Not that she had interest in having sex with hulking winged cat men, multi armed pink fluffs or the various beasts she had ran from in the city.

Radio static filled her ears for a moment and then there was a hot sticky breath over her shoulder. “Well, well, what have we here?”

“Jesus, Fuck!” Amber lept out of her skin, launching herself away from the voice that had spoken right into her ear and nearly scared her to death.

“He’s not here~” Came a singsong answer from the man that had somehow ended up behind her. “And I don’t believe he was interested in such activities,” He added, standing straight.

He was a looming figure, putting a new perspective on towering over someone. He had to be seven feet tall and could be described as simply red. His hair was cut in a bob and red tipped with black. Tufts stuck up on either side of what looked to be tiny antlers.

Continuing the red were two tone red eyes that blazed out from corpse pale skin. His skin wasn’t white in tone, like Charlie’s or as light as Amber’s. What had his skin looked like flushed with life?

He wore a monocle of red glass that seemed to just hover in place and a red suit paired with a red pinstripe tailcoat. Everything was miraculously put together, right to the bowtie around his neck and yet the tails of his coat were shredded in places.

The only thing that wasn’t black or red about him was his yellow smile, full of jagged teeth and cutting across his face in a way that looked threatening and decidedly not human. Not that she looked human herself. Or the pink fluff and cat man looked human either.

This man was dangerous. She knew it as well as she knew her name but if anyone were to ask her why or how she knew it, there wasn’t any way she could put words to it. The man simply radiated danger, packaged in a well fitted suit and a smile.

“Terribly sorry for giving you a fright, my dear.” She had no doubt in the world that he wasn’t sorry in the slightest. Still, he tossed a microphone tipped cane from his right hand to his left and offered the newly freed hand to her in greeting.

“It’s alright,” She didn’t know what else to say as she accepted his hand in what she expected to be a handshake.

“Alastor! A pleasure to meet you, quite a pleasure indeed.” Rather than shake her hand, he ran his finger tips down the underside of her wrist and palm before grasping her fingers and pulling them up as he bowed down at the waist, placing a chaste kiss at her knuckles.

“This is Amber.” Charlie offered as Amber struggled between the desire to run far away from this dangerous man and the self destructive urge to burn up in his presence. “She’s our newest guest. Alastor is-”

“Charlie’s hotelier. If you require anything at all my dear, do not hesitate to ask.” Alastor finished, finally letting go of her fingers as he stood again to his full height.

“Heya, Toots.” Angel waved from the couch as Amber came down. It had been a week and she had a tentative friendship with these people who took her in like a stray dog. Well, most of them in some way at least. “What cha got going on today?”

“I don’t know.” Amber shrugged, “Probably see where I can help out here.”

“Don’t you ever, you know, go anywhere?” He sat up, long legs flying through the air on their way to the ground with a fluidity that shouldn’t really be possible.

“No.” Amber answered honestly. She hadn’t left the hotel once since she dragged herself up the hill in a desperate bid for safety. There wasn’t a need.

“Why not?” Angel asked as Amber picked up whatever she could find to tidy up the space. It wasn’t needed but she had to do something to busy herself.

She hadn’t left because she was scared but she didn’t want to admit that.

“How long have you been dead?” Angel asked, instead.

“Like, almost two months?” Amber whispered.

“You’re like, fresh, fresh meat, huh.” Angel whistled a bit. “It’s rough, the first few months, first year even. Shit’s scary. If you don’t find your feet, you get hurt and make mistakes.”

It felt like he was talking very much from personal experience. “How about you?”

“A good bit. Not as fresh as you, that’s what matters. Couple decades.” Angel was uncharacteristically serious at the moment. “You got lucky to end up here. I won’t ask what happened on your way here but you’re lucky to get here so fast. But don’t let this place become your prison either. A pretty cage is still a cage and all that shit.”

“It’s ‘a gilded cage is still a cage’” Alastor’s voice came somewhat annoyed from where he sat in an armchair, newspaper in hand. Amber was sure he hadn’t been there before.

The man terrified her no less today than he did upon their first meeting.

“Whatever, Smiles. My point is, if you don’t want to go out on your own, that’s fine. But go out with one of us sometimes. Hell, do you even have another change of clothes? You gotta start living, not just existing. Go out, buy some clothes. I’ll take you, if ya want.”

“I couldn’t- I can’t. I don’t really have any money and I really don’t need anything, anyway. Really.”

“Crack may be expensive but I’m living rent free babycakes.” Angel smiled, pulling her from her chair. “And if you asked, I bet Charlie would pay you for what you do too.”

Shopping was far from a fun adventure, Amber discovered. She was smaller than so may in the realm. Off the rack clothes simply rarely fit her. And the pants that did, rarely had accommodations for a tail. It became clear that tailors and custom clothing was far more of a thing in hell than it had been in modern life.

“Don’t worry Ears,” Angel walked with his lower arm draped around her shoulders. “We’ll get some snaps or buttons or something. A little snipping, sewing and you can button your pants around your tail. Then you won’t be walking around holding it out like you’ve got a dick up your ass.”

“What a distasteful way to speak to a lady.” Alastor materialized out of shadows at Amber’s side, walking as if he had been with them the whole time. “But not an inaccurate description of how you’re holding your tail out, my dear.” Alastor’s clawed finger ran down the top of her tail as he leaned into her space only to dissolve into shadows and rise up a short distance away. “Did you manage to acquire anything for the lady that isn’t more appropriate for a lady of the night?”

“Styles change, old man.” Angel shot back.

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’.” Alastor tsked as he approached them again, only to stop in front of them, blocking the sidewalk with his presence alone. They could walk around him, physically he was a thin man and the sidewalks were wide enough to accommodate beasts but somehow, that just didn’t feel possible.

“You’re in the way.” Angel said as if it needed staying.

“Am I?” Alastor’s grin widened. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“What do you want?” Angel was clearly uncomfortable with the extended interaction.

“Why, simply to ensure our lovely guest is properly provided for!” He laughed as if that was somehow a funny statement before holding out his hand toward Amber. “We’d not had a chance to get to know each other. How unfortunate! I’ve got to make a run to the tailor, you see. I simply need to pick up a few things. You’ll accompany me.”

That last statement should have been a question but his tone didn’t hold any questioning. It was stated as a fact. It was clear that she had nothing but the illusion of choice.

Amber’s hand trembled as she hesitated. Alastor started twitching his head from side to side, “Tick Tock, Dearie. Tick Tock.”

“Okay,” she slipped her hand into his timidly. Why did the creepiest man have to want to touch her?

“You don’t have to go with him Toots,” Angel said. She really didn’t think she had as much of an option as he seemed to think she had though.

“She’ll be perfectly fine, don’t worry!” Alastor kissed her hand before raising from his folded bow and tucking her hand around his arm.

#Alastor x oc #Alastor x original character #alastor x reader #alastor x you #hazbin alastor x reader #hazbin alastor x you

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loeyshine · 2 months ago

Text

Golden Secret

Epoch Book

•*⁀➷pairing: chanyeol x fem reader

Theme: golden retriever au, dog lover, human spirit, magical au, “He was once a golden soul on four legs loyal, quiet, watching. But in her love, he found his voice, his form, and his forever."

Description: to be loved is to be known. Never thought a simple wish would make him be with my side forever. He was a human after all.

Playlist: love will keep us alive — eagles

Chapter 1: Yeol and Me

You had always wanted a dog. Not just any dog, but one with a big heart, a sunny personality, and warm eyes that understood you better than most people ever did. So when you stepped into the animal shelter on a rainy Thursday, you weren’t expecting to find him tail wagging, eyes sparkling, tongue lolling out like he already knew he was going home with you.

You named him “Yeol.”

He was the most beautiful golden retriever you had ever seen lanky, slightly clumsy, but endearing beyond reason. He followed you everywhere, slept by your feet, howled when you were sad, and somehow… seemed too human.

You joked often, “If you were a guy, I’d probably fall in love with you.”

One night, after cuddling beside Yeol on the couch while watching an EXO music video (your little guilty pleasure), you whispered, “Sometimes I wish you were a person… someone I could talk to, laugh with. I’d never feel lonely again.”

The next morning, you woke up not to the sound of excited barking, but to a loud crash in the kitchen.

Panicked, you ran in and screamed.

Standing there, shirtless, wrapped clumsily in one of your blankets, was a tall man with wide brown eyes and messy auburn hair.

“Y/N,” he said slowly, voice deep and rich. “It’s me… Yeol.”

You screamed again. Then passed out.

When you came to, he was still there. Sitting awkwardly on your living room floor, trying not to make eye contact, clearly struggling with the concept of pants.

After a million questions (and a lot of hyperventilating), he explained everything: he had been a golden retriever born under a strange celestial blessing. If someone truly wished from their heart for him to be human he would be.

“I didn’t think it’d actually happen,” he said sheepishly. “But I always wanted to talk to you properly.”

He fidgeted with your throw pillow. “I always… liked you.”

You blinked. “You were my dog.”

“I was always more than just your dog.”

Life got chaotic after that. You taught him how to use chopsticks, what deodorant was, and how not to get distracted by squirrels during walks (he was still working on that). And he? He brought joy back into your every day.

Chanyeol he chose that as his human name was warm and kind, a little dorky, musically gifted, and still had that golden retriever heart that made you fall for him twice as fast.

And somewhere between late-night ramen, shared playlists, and his soft humming while folding laundry, you realized…

Maybe you didn’t need to choose between loving a dog and a man.

Because you had both in one slightly chaotic, endlessly sweet, golden soul.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 2: Dog Days in Disguise

It had been two weeks since Chanyeol transformed from your golden retriever into a very tall, very attractive human man. Two weeks of trying to teach him how not to bark when surprised, not to chase after delivery scooters, and not to sniff everyone he met.

And now, you had the impossible task of introducing him to your friends. As your “friend from the countryside.”

"Are you sure I can’t just tell them I used to be your dog?" he asked innocently, chewing on a piece of toast… with peanut butter smeared on his nose.

You swatted his hand gently. “No! They’d think I’ve completely lost it. Just act… normal.”

He tilted his head. “Define normal?”

“Don’t sit on the floor. Don’t ask anyone to scratch behind your ears. And for the love of everything, don’t lick anyone.”

He looked vaguely disappointed.

The first test came when your best friend, Minji, came over for movie night. You had prepped Chanyeol like a soldier going into battle.

Minji narrowed her eyes the second she walked in. “Who's this?”

You clapped your hands together. “This is Yeol. My… friend. From Jeju.”

Chanyeol stood and bowed. “Annyeong! I… like bones.”

Silence.

You shot him a death glare. “He means ribs. Like galbi ribs. Right, Yeol?”

“Right! Love those ribs,” he said, nodding rapidly. “Also… chasing no. I mean… chess. I chase chess. Because… strategy.”

Minji stared. “Is he okay?”

“He was homeschooled,” you blurted.

She bought it.

Things spiraled when you brought Yeol along to your friend group’s weekend hangout at the dog café. (You didn't have time to find a sitter, and Yeol begged with those big eyes. The same eyes you had once seen on four legs.)

He lost it.

He practically leapt over the counter when he saw a samoyed. You had to drag him back to your seat by his hoodie.

“What is wrong with you?” you hissed.

“They’re so fluffy,” he whimpered, practically vibrating. “I just wanna sniff.”

“Absolutely not.”

Minji, watching this unfold, leaned in. “So… how long have you two been dating?”

You choked on your latte. “What?! We’re not—”

But Chanyeol smiled that golden grin and said, “She adopted me.”

You kicked his shin under the table.

Later that night, walking home together, you sighed.

“That was a disaster.”

“I thought I did okay.”

“You licked a stranger’s ice cream.”

“They offered! And it was vanilla.”

Despite everything, you laughed. You always laughed around him. He was still your Yeol loyal, loving, a little chaotic, but yours.

“You know,” you said quietly, slipping your hand into his, “you’re worth all the trouble.”

He looked at you with that boyish, wonderstruck smile.

“I’d give up my paws a thousand times for this.”

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 3: Tail of Jealousy

It was supposed to be a simple errand day. You and Yeol were at the local outdoor market, picking out tangerines (he loved to juggle them, terribly), when you heard a voice behind you smooth, deep, and painfully familiar.

“Y/N?”

You turned. And there he was.

Your ex. Tall, effortlessly handsome, crisp shirt tucked into tailored slacks. The kind of man who never had bedhead, never tripped over flat surfaces, never got excited over a new squeaky toy.

“Jihoon,” you said, blinking in surprise. “Hey.”

Yeol, who had just tried balancing a tangerine on his nose (it fell), looked up from the fruit stall. His smile dropped. Instantly.

“Who’s this?” Jihoon asked, eyes glancing at Yeol’s oversized hoodie and banana-patterned socks. “Your… friend?”

You opened your mouth, but Yeol stepped forward, suddenly radiating something much less golden retriever and much more wolf.

“I’m Yeol,” he said coolly, looping an arm around your waist. “Her boyfriend.”

Your eyes widened. It wasn’t technically true… but you didn’t correct him.

Jihoon raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

Yeol stared him down like he was a rival at the dog park. “Really. We live together. I make her breakfast. I sing to her. I know where she keeps the emergency snacks.”

You whispered, “Yeol, not the snack thing—”

Jihoon looked confused. “You sing?”

“Every morning,” Yeol said smoothly, leaning into you. “Also, she likes it when I scratch her back after long rehearsals. Just a fun fact.”

You choked.

“I see,” Jihoon muttered. “Well… it was nice seeing you, Y/N.”

“Yeah,” you said quickly, dragging Yeol toward the other side of the market before he could reveal your midnight instant noodle habits too.

Later, you sat together on a park bench, tangerine juice sticky on your hands.

“You were jealous,” you said, nudging him.

Yeol crossed his arms. “He looked like he’d never fetched a ball in his life. I don’t trust him.”

You burst out laughing. “He was my ex. Emphasis on the ex.”

He looked at you with soft, serious eyes. “You deserve someone who gets excited when you walk in the room. Who loves your weird snack combos and waits outside the bathroom door just to be close to you.”

You blinked. “That’s… weirdly specific.”

“I used to be your dog. It’s in my DNA.”

You laughed, and then maybe it was the citrus-scented breeze, maybe it was the way he looked at you like you were his whole sky you leaned in and kissed him.

It was soft, a little clumsy… like your first time throwing a stick and him catching it midair.

Perfect.

He pulled back and grinned, cheeks flushed. “So… does this mean I’m your official human now?”

You smiled. “Yeah. You’re mine, Yeol.”

And this time, you didn’t just mean the dog.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 4: Steamy Confusion

You had just stepped into the shower, letting the warm water rush over your shoulders after a long day. Living with Yeol had been a rollercoaster of learning curves from him mistaking the vacuum for a demon to him howling in his sleep. But things had settled lately. He was adjusting surprisingly well to being human.

You were mid-hair rinse, humming softly to yourself, when you heard the bathroom door creak open.

“Yeol?” you called over the sound of the water. “I’m showering!”

Too late.

“Hey, Y/N, have you seen—OH SWEET BISCUITS!”

You shrieked. “PARK CHANYEOL!”

A loud thunk followed as he slammed the door shut in panic, knocking over the laundry basket on his way out.

From the other side of the door, his voice came muffled, panicked, and full of regret. “I’M SORRY! I DIDN’T SMELL YOU I mean, I didn’t hear the water I mean I’m sorry!”

You leaned your forehead against the tiled wall, cheeks flaming. “Didn’t smell me? Seriously?!”

“I meant I’m used to knowing where you are by scent! But you use that coconut shampoo now, and it smells like cupcakes, and I got distracted!”

You snorted despite yourself.

“I swear I didn’t see anything except maybe a blur of shoulder!” he added frantically. “A beautiful shoulder! But I wasn’t trying to see it! I was looking for the lint roller, and OH MY TAIL, IF I STILL HAD ONE, IT’D BE BETWEEN MY LEGS.”

“Yeol,” you called through a laugh, “go sit in the corner and think about what you’ve done.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

You finished your shower quickly, still giggling under your breath. When you walked out wrapped in a towel, Yeol was sitting cross-legged in the hallway, holding a handwritten sign that read:

🚫 BAD BOY 🚫

“I made you tea,” he said sheepishly, holding out a mug.

You raised an eyebrow. “Guilt tea?”

“And apology cookies. I didn’t bake them, but I arranged them nicely.”

You softened. “It’s okay, Yeol. Accidents happen. But maybe knock next time?”

He nodded so fast it made his ears er, hair bounce. “I will. Always. Forever. Loud knocking. Like thunder. Like an apologetic elephant.”

You bit your lip, trying not to smile. “You’re such a disaster.”

“But I’m your disaster,” he said, eyes wide and earnest.

And even wrapped in a towel, tea in hand, with a lint roller still mysteriously missing you realized you wouldn’t trade this life for anything.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 5: Hotel Hearts & Jealousy

You weren’t sure why you agreed to it.

Maybe it was the way Yeol lit up when he found a “Weekend Staycation” deal online, or how he dramatically declared, “I want to experience what it’s like to be a proper human boyfriend in a hotel, with fluffy pillows and overpriced mini-fridges!”

So here you were, dragging a suitcase into a sleek, modern hotel lobby while Yeol wheeled his own bag with childlike excitement.

“This place smells like citrus and class,” he whispered.

You whispered back, “Please don’t try to sniff anything here.”

“I make no promises.”

As you checked in, a tall, charming bellboy came over to help you with your bags. He smiled at you just a bit too long.

“Let me get that for you, miss,” he said smoothly. “Room 804, correct?”

Yeol’s ears (figuratively) perked up.

“That’s okay,” you said politely. “I’ve got it—”

But the bellboy was already lifting your suitcase with practiced ease. Yeol narrowed his eyes.

“I can carry her bags,” he blurted, stepping forward. “I have very strong arms. I once pulled a sled. In snow.”

The bellboy blinked. “That’s… cool?”

“He’s exaggerating,” you said quickly, grabbing Yeol’s hoodie sleeve. “Thank you, we’ll take it from here.”

In the elevator, Yeol crossed his arms, pouting.

“You’re growling,” you murmured.

“I am not.”

“You’re literally vibrating.”

“He winked at you. He had no business winking at you.”

You nudged him. “Jealous?”

He looked away. “I’m just territorial.”

“That’s not better.”

The hotel room was beautiful plush bed, giant windows, and a ridiculously large bathtub that Yeol dove into fully clothed before you could stop him.

“This is amazing!” he yelled. “It’s like a tiny swimming pool for rich people!”

You laughed and threw a towel at his face. “Clothes off, then bath. Human rules.”

Later, you lounged together in the tub, bubbles everywhere. His hair was damp, cheeks flushed, and his smile a little softer than usual.

“I’ve never felt anything like this,” he whispered. “Warm water. You. This quiet.”

You tilted your head. “What do you mean?”

“I spent so much time waiting. For someone to choose me. And now... you’re here. In all my lives, I think this one’s my favorite.”

You leaned forward and kissed his wet forehead. “Mine too, Yeol.”

A knock on the door interrupted the moment. “Room service!”

Yeol tensed. “If that’s the bellboy, I swear I will bare my teeth.”

You sighed. “It’s food, Yeol. Focus on the fries.”

Later that night, you cuddled under the fluffy hotel blankets, his arm around your waist, his legs tangling with yours like they couldn’t get close enough. And you realized… no matter how chaotic or weird or utterly un-human Yeol still was sometimes

He was exactly what your heart had always needed.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 6: Runaway Heart

You didn’t mean for it to turn into a fight.

It started with something small a casual conversation over takeout about your old life before him. You’d mentioned your ex again. Just once. Something innocent, like how he used to cook on Sundays.

Yeol had gone silent. His chopsticks paused midair, halfway to his mouth.

You frowned. “Yeol?”

He put the food down carefully. “Do you ever miss him?”

You blinked. “What? No. I was just saying—”

“He knew how to be human,” Yeol said suddenly. “He didn’t chase his own reflection. He didn’t mistake hand lotion for whipped cream. He didn’t embarrass you.”

You dropped your food. “Is that what you think? That you embarrass me?”

He stood. “Sometimes I wonder if you wish I never changed. If I had just stayed your dog simple, safe, quiet. Easy.”

You stood too, voice cracking. “Yeol, you’re not easy. You’re a storm I willingly walked into. But I never wanted anyone else.”

But he wasn’t listening. His face was already crumbling, like a storm cloud collapsing on itself.

“I’m going for a walk.”

“Yeol—”

The door slammed shut before you could reach him.

It started raining thirty minutes later. Not a drizzle a downpour. You grabbed your jacket and bolted out the door.

You found him in the park, under the gazebo where you used to walk him during colder months. He was soaked, hoodie clinging to him, hair dripping.

He didn’t even look up when you approached. Just stared out into the storm.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I didn’t mean to leave like that.”

You knelt beside him, heart racing. “Why did you?”

He finally turned. His eyes were rimmed with red. “Because I love you. And sometimes, I still feel like I’m just a dog who got lucky. Like I’ll never be enough.”

You reached out, cupping his cheek, the rain making everything cold except him.

“Yeol,” you whispered, “you are the only one who’s ever made me feel like home.”

His breath hitched.

You leaned in, pressing your forehead to his. “I don’t want perfect. I want you. Loud, awkward, emotional, tail-wagging-you.”

He chuckled, the sound broken but real. “I don’t even have a tail anymore.”

“I know. But I can still see it in your eyes.”

He kissed you like you were the only thing grounding him in the storm. And maybe, you were.

Later, wrapped in one towel, sitting on the floor of your tiny kitchen and drinking hot cocoa, Yeol rested his head on your shoulder.

“Next time I get jealous or weird, just… tell me.”

“I will.”

“And if I ever run again, chase me?”

“Always,” you promised.

Even if it was through storms. Even if he barked at street lamps. Even if you had to keep reminding him that he wasn’t just a boy who used to be a dog.

He was Chanyeol.

And he was yours.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 7: Parents, Panic, and Puppy Instincts

“You invited your parents over?” Yeol choked, nearly dropping his cereal bowl. “To this apartment? Today?!”

“Relax,” you said, brushing crumbs off the couch. “They just want to meet the mystery boyfriend who’s made me ‘suspiciously happy.’ They’ll love you.”

Yeol blinked. “I still wag when I’m excited, Y/N.”

“You don’t have a tail anymore.”

“I wag emotionally. It’s worse.”

You laughed. “Just be yourself. Maybe… don’t sniff anyone.”

“No promises.”

When your parents knocked at the door, Yeol was a bundle of nerves in the hallway, practicing his “polite bow” in front of a mirror and muttering, “Humans don’t lick hands. Be normal. Be cool.”

You opened the door with a bright smile.

“Hi Mom, Dad! Come in!”

They stepped in with warm smiles until they saw the tall, wide-eyed man in a button-up shirt tucked in slightly too awkwardly, holding a bouquet of flowers upside down.

Yeol bowed deeply. “It is an honor to sniff MEET you!”

You blinked. “Yeol.”

He panicked. “I brought you… um… leaf sticks?” He turned the flowers right-side up. “Sorry. Nervous.”

Your mom smiled politely. Your dad squinted like he was trying to figure out if Yeol had walked off a reality show.

“So,” your dad said as you sat around the table, “what do you do, Yeol?”

Yeol blinked. “I… play guitar? And I’m very loyal.”

Your mom tilted her head. “That’s… lovely.”

He nodded enthusiastically. “I also know how to sit, stay, and heel figuratively! I mean, I’m respectful. I never dig holes. Anymore.”

You choked on your water. Yeol looked like he wanted to melt into the floor.

But then your dad laughed.

Laughed.

And your mom giggled. “Well, he’s definitely different from Jihoon.”

Yeol’s ears (well, his metaphorical ones) perked up. “You didn’t like him either?”

Your dad shrugged. “Too perfect. No soul. This one…” He gestured at Yeol, who was now nervously rubbing the back of his neck. “This one’s got heart.”

After they left (with your mom telling you she’d never seen you smile so much), Yeol collapsed on the floor.

“I nearly greeted your dad by bumping my head against his knee.”

“You didn’t.”

“I almost did.”

You knelt beside him, brushing a lock of hair from his forehead. “You were perfect.”

He smiled softly. “You really think so?”

You leaned in. “I don’t care if you’re awkward or weird or emotionally tail-waggy. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Yeol beamed, chest puffing like a proud pup. “So… next time they visit, can I show them my trick where I balance a spoon on my nose?”

You laughed. “Only if you also play them that new song you wrote.”

His eyes sparkled. “Deal.”

In a world where love can be messy, magical, and full of old habits that die hard you and Yeol were figuring it out one paw print, one awkward greeting, one song at a time.

And honestly?

You wouldn’t have it any other way.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 8: When a Dog Fell in Love

It was raining the first time he saw you cry.

You didn’t notice him watching curled up in your blanket on the floor, phone clutched in your hand, tears slipping quietly down your cheeks like you were trying to hide the fact that your heart was breaking.

He padded into the room, paws silent against the wooden floor. A golden retriever. Loyal. Curious. Maybe just a little too human behind the eyes.

You whispered something between sobs. A name. Jihoon.

Your voice was cracked and raw, like you’d been holding it in for hours.

He didn’t know what heartbreak was. Not really. Not then. But something about the way you curled into yourself, the way your fingers trembled and you buried your face in the same hands that used to feed him, pet him, brush his fur… It made something ache deep inside him. Not instinct. Something more.

So he did the only thing he knew how to do.

He walked over and sat beside you, nudging his nose gently into the crook of your arm. He didn’t bark. He didn’t whine. He just pressed his weight close to yours until you lifted your head and looked at him eyes red, mascara smudged, cheeks wet.

“Oh…” you whispered, voice breaking again. “Hi, Yeol.”

He leaned forward and licked a tear off your cheek.

You laughed, just a little. It sounded broken but real. “That’s gross,” you said, petting his head, “but thank you.”

He stayed with you that whole night. Head on your lap. Eyes watching. Ears flicking at every thunderclap. And while you finally drifted into a fragile sleep, curled against his warmth, something changed inside him.

Somewhere in the wild, ancient code of his soul the part that remembered cold shelters and warm touches he made a decision.

I will protect her. I will never let her feel this alone again. Even if all I can do is stay by her side.

He didn’t know that months later, his wish would come true in the most impossible way that he would wake up one day with fingers instead of paws, a heart racing with human panic, and a voice that could finally say what his bark never could.

But that night that one rainy night was the moment he first fell in love with you.

And even as a dog, he knew.

You were his person.

Cut to the present.

Yeol laid with his head in your lap on the couch, human now, but still wearing that same soulful look in his eyes.

“You remember that night?” you asked softly, brushing your fingers through his hair.

He nodded. “You were crying. I remember wanting to hold you even though I couldn’t.”

You smiled. “You did. In your own way.”

He looked up at you, voice quiet. “I think I loved you even then.”

You bent down and kissed his forehead, whispering, “I know.”

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 9: A Very Human Birthday

You woke up to the smell of something… burning?

You blinked sleepily, the room still dim, and heard a series of soft thuds and Yeol cursing under his breath from the kitchen.

“Yeol?” you called, voice raspy.

There was a pause. Then: “Nothing! All good! Happy Birthday! DON’T COME IN HERE!”

You blinked harder.

A few minutes later, he emerged dramatically from the kitchen, a smudge of frosting on his cheek and wearing an apron that said “Kiss the Cook (Only If You're My Girlfriend)”. He was holding what might once have been a cake.

“Behold,” he said proudly, “your birthday masterpiece.”

You tilted your head. “Is it… supposed to lean like that?”

He glanced at the tilted tower of sugary chaos. “It’s... modern art. Flavor-forward.”

You giggled, walking over and kissing the frosting off his cheek. “It’s perfect.”

He beamed.

But that was only the beginning.

You had expected maybe a quiet day, a dinner at home but Yeol had other plans.

There was a picnic in the park (where he got overly excited and tried to chase a squirrel, knocking over your lemonade).

There was a visit to the local dog shelter (“I wanted to say hi to the old crew,” he said innocently. You were pretty sure he got into a growling match with a husky).

Then there was the big surprise: a private rooftop setup under string lights. Blankets, a speaker, and his guitar.

He made you sit on a little makeshift “throne” of couch cushions.

Then he took a breath, looked you straight in the eyes, and began to play.

The song was clumsy in the most adorable way off-key in one or two spots, the lyrics clearly written by someone who used to think “heel” was a command. But it was so sincere, so tender, you teared up halfway through.

“You fed me before I could speak,

You held me when I barked in my sleep,

I used to sit, stay, roll over

Now I just fall for you over and over...

No leash can hold me back from this,

You’re the human I’d never miss.

And I still wag my heart when you smile,

So if you’ll have me

Stay a while.”

He finished, flushed, and looked nervous. “Too much?”

You tackled him with a hug, nearly knocking him and the guitar over.

“Best. Song. Ever.”

“Even better than ‘Who Let the Dogs Out’?”

You mock-gasped. “How dare you compare your heartfelt love song to that?”

He grinned. “Sorry. I’m still learning this whole ‘romantic human’ thing.”

You whispered against his shoulder, “You’re doing amazing, Yeol.”

Later, curled up under a blanket watching the stars, he rested his head on yours.

“I don’t know what I ever did to deserve this,” he murmured.

“You made a wish,” you whispered back. “To protect me. To stay with me.”

“And somehow,” he said softly, “I got so much more.”

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 10: Fractures

It started small.

You didn’t notice at first the way Yeol flinched when you turned on the vacuum cleaner, or how he growled (yes, actually growled) at a motorcycle speeding past the apartment.

You teased him for it. “Still got a little dog in you, huh?”

He laughed it off. “Old habits. That sound was just… loud.”

But it wasn’t just that.

One morning, you woke up to find him standing on the bed, wagging an invisible tail and barking softly at birds outside the window.

“Yeol?” you asked cautiously.

He blinked, like waking up from a trance. “I… I don’t know why I did that.”

You shrugged it off with a laugh. Maybe he was just being weird.

But then came the moment you couldn’t ignore.

You were walking home late from the convenience store when a dog barked across the street. It was loud, aggressive. You flinched.

Yeol, walking beside you, stopped.

He turned slowly. His eyes flickered golden for just a second.

Not brown.

Golden.

“Yeol?” you said again, more sharply.

His chest rose and fell in shallow breaths. Hands trembling.

And then just for a blink his ears shifted. Not metaphorically. They actually started to elongate, the faintest shimmer of fur teasing the sides of his face.

“No,” he whispered, staggering back. “No, no, no—”

You grabbed his arm. “Yeol, it’s okay—”

“It’s not!” he snapped, stepping away, voice breaking. “I don’t know what’s happening. I thought I was… I thought it was permanent.”

He looked at you like he was scared of himself.

“Maybe I’m not supposed to stay human.”

The wind picked up, ruffling his hair. You reached out slowly, taking his hand in yours. It was still warm, still real. Still Yeol.

“I don’t care what form you’re in,” you said quietly. “Dog, human, something in between I choose you.”

He looked up at you, eyes softening with tears.

“I don’t want to go back,” he whispered. “Not now. Not when I have you.”

“Then we’ll figure this out,” you said fiercely. “Together. I promise.”

Later that night, you sat on the couch with him wrapped in a blanket, sipping tea. He leaned against you like he used to, when he was all fur and tail.

“You still smell the same, you know,” he said sleepily.

You raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”

“Home.”

And even though something was unraveling beneath the surface, even though the magic was flickering… right then, in that moment, everything felt safe again.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 11: The Day of the Tail

It started like any other morning.

You yawned, stretched, and rolled over in bed to greet your very human boyfriend, only to be met with… fur.

“Yeol?” you croaked, eyes adjusting.

A golden retriever lay sprawled on the bed beside you, tongue lolling out in confusion, blinking up at you.

“No no no no no—” you sat up fast. “Not today.”

The dog Yeol tilted his head and whined softly, lifting one paw and placing it gently on your arm like an apology.

“Oh my god, it actually happened,” you breathed. “You turned back.”

You jumped out of bed and checked the mirror in panic. “Okay. It’s fine. It’s just one day. We’ll—wait…”

You checked your phone.

Four unread messages.

Group chat: Theater Club Incoming 🥳

┃ Baekhyun: “On our way up! Hope you’re awake!!”

You froze. “They’re coming here? Today?!”

Yeol barked once. Loudly. Definitely panicked.

You spun on him. “You can’t bark right now! You’re a dog!”

He whined louder.

Chaos erupted in under a minute.

You grabbed the biggest hoodie you owned, threw it on over your pajamas, and shoved Yeol into your bedroom closet.

“I’m sorry, babe, I love you, but please don’t make a sound.”

He thumped his tail once, pitifully, but sat down obediently.

The doorbell rang.

You slapped a smile on your face and opened the door to see Baekhyun, Jihye, and Seul standing there with bubble tea, cake, and suspicious grins.

“Surprise day-off hangout!” Baekhyun declared. “Also we brought cake because Seul said you needed serotonin.”

You nodded slowly, trying not to scream. “So thoughtful.”

They plopped onto your couch like they owned the place. You hovered, tense, as Baekhyun looked around.

“Where’s Yeol?” he asked casually. “Doesn’t he live here now?”

“He’s uh sleeping. Super jetlagged. Out cold.”

Jihye blinked. “Jetlagged? He didn’t fly anywhere.”

You grinned. “Emotionally jetlagged.”

The closet door creaked.

Your blood ran cold.

Baekhyun raised an eyebrow. “Did your closet just… bark?”

“No!” you said immediately. “That was… my ringtone.”

Seul: “Your ringtone barks?”

“Yeah. It’s like, vintage. Retro barking. It’s a niche thing.”

Baekhyun stood up. “I’m gonna check on him.”

“NO—” You practically dove across the room to block the hallway. “He’s...naked!”

Three sets of blinking eyes.

“Like, super naked. Sweaty. It was a night.”

They all simultaneously recoiled.

Baekhyun made a face. “Okay, ew, got it.”

By some miracle, you survived the visit. Baekhyun left a bag of snacks “for your boyfriend’s recovery,” Jihye gave you a suspicious hug, and Seul whispered, “Tell Yeol to hydrate.”

You collapsed against the door after they left, exhaling hard.

The closet door creaked again, and Yeol padded out cautiously, still golden, still fluffy.

You looked down at him. “You are the most high-maintenance boyfriend I’ve ever had.”

He barked once and wagged his tail.

You rolled your eyes. “I love you too.”

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 12: A Cost Too Great

The rain fell in thin sheets that morning, blurring the city skyline through your apartment window. You sat cross-legged on the floor, a towel draped over your lap, drying Yeol’s soaked golden fur.

“You really had to chase the garbage truck in this weather?” you muttered, gently rubbing behind his ears.

He huffed sheepish but unapologetic.

And then, right there in your hands, he shuddered.

You froze.

His fur shimmered, like light dancing on water. And then it began.

His form stretched. Bones realigned. His front paws lengthened into fingers, his golden coat receded, and in less than a breath, Chanyeol sat in front of you, dripping wet, shivering, and barely conscious.

“Yeol!” You reached for him instinctively. His skin was clammy, his breathing shallow.

You wrapped the towel around him, guiding him gently to the couch.

His eyes fluttered open.

“Hey,” he murmured weakly. “Missed you.”

You laughed softly, but it caught in your throat. “You’re burning up.”

He swallowed hard. “It’s getting harder. Staying human… I can feel it pulling at me.”

“Pulling?”

“Like I’m holding back a tide,” he whispered. “Every minute I stay like this… it’s like my body forgets what it’s supposed to be.”

Your fingers tightened around his. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want you to worry. You’ve already done so much for me.” His voice cracked. “I didn’t want to go back.”

“But at what cost, Yeol? You’re hurting.”

He looked away, ashamed. “I just… I’m scared. What if one day I can’t come back? What if I disappear?”

A tear slipped down your cheek. You wiped it away quickly.

“You won’t,” you said fiercely. “We’ll find a way. There has to be one.”

He gave you a weak smile. “Even if I’m part-dog forever?”

You kissed his forehead. “Especially then.”

That night, you sat beside him as he slept, his hand curled in yours. Every now and then his skin would flicker a patch of gold shimmer, the hint of a paw, a twitch of phantom ears.

But he stayed.

With you.

For now.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 13: A Memory to Hold

Yeol stood in front of the mirror, fiddling awkwardly with a dress shirt.

You peeked around the doorway, eyes widening. “Whoa. Fancy.”

He turned with a sheepish grin, cheeks pink. “Too much?”

“No,” you said, smiling softly. “You look like someone about to propose. Or rob a fancy restaurant.”

He laughed the real, deep kind that rumbled from his chest and made you feel like everything was still okay.

“I just… I wanted to take you out. Like a real boyfriend does. Like a real human.”

You walked up to him, your hands brushing over his arms as you smoothed the fabric. “Yeol, you are real.”

He cupped your cheek. “Maybe. But for how long? That, I don’t know. So I want tonight to be one thing I never forget.”

He took you to the night market.

Not some flashy, polished place a hidden one, tucked into a street you never noticed. Lanterns glowed low and warm, casting soft gold light across stalls selling tteokbokki, hand-painted earrings, old jazz vinyls, and claw machines that Yeol was determined to defeat.

He pulled you along with childlike excitement, smiling at every dog that passed, buying you a caramel candy shaped like a rabbit, and taking polaroid photos with the tiny camera he found in a bargain box.

And then, in the middle of it all he stopped.

Right under a string of fairy lights. His gaze lingered on you like he was memorizing your face.

“Dance with me?” he asked.

“In the middle of the market?”

He nodded. “No one’s watching. Or if they are — who cares? I’m with the most beautiful girl in the world.”

You laughed and he spun you gently, pulling you close. There was no music, but you swayed anyway, feet shuffling against uneven pavement.

His heartbeat was steady under your hand. His warmth, real.

His human form, still holding.

But his eyes… they flickered, just once, that same golden hue beneath the brown. You felt it. The ticking clock behind every soft smile.

“I’ll remember this,” he whispered against your temple. “No matter what happens.”

You kissed him like he was slipping through your fingers.

He kissed you back like he was anchoring himself to the world.

Later, on the walk home, he whispered, “I’m scared to sleep.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t know what I’ll wake up as.”

You squeezed his hand. “Whatever you wake up as I’ll be here.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he whispered, “Thank you… for choosing a stray like me.”

You shook your head, smiling through tears. “I didn’t choose a stray, Yeol. I chose you.”

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 14: Pawprints in the Past

It started with a dream.

You were back at the shelter. The lights flickered overhead, the cages were empty. Only one remained closed the one where Yeol had once sat, tongue lolling, tail wagging, a golden retriever that didn’t know he’d change your life.

But in the dream, he wasn’t a dog. He stood behind the bars, human and silent, eyes glowing gold.

“Find me,” he whispered. “Before it’s too late.”

You woke up with your heart pounding.

By sunrise, you were out the door.

The shelter was quiet when you arrived, only the morning staff shuffling around with coffee cups and clipboards. A familiar volunteer named Minji recognized you instantly.

“Y/N? Haven’t seen you since you adopted Sunny,” she smiled. “How is he?”

“Still bright,” you said vaguely. “I… I was wondering if you had any older records? Of animals that stayed here longer than normal?”

Minji tilted her head. “You mean like long-term residents? There were a few. One of them, weirdly enough, was Sunny. He’d been here longer than any dog we’d had.”

She led you through the back office, the smell of old paper and antiseptic curling in the air. You sifted through dusty cardboard boxes labeled "Archives.”

And then you found it.

A thin leather-bound notebook, slipped between two outdated adoption forms.

The cover was cracked, but one word was scratched into the front in looping, faded ink:

"Yeollim."

You stared at it.

Yeol.

Inside were messy journal entries, dated over ten years ago.

April 7th: The dog is too smart. Watches me like he understands every word. Follows commands I never taught him. He doesn’t bark unless someone lies.

April 22nd: Tried to adopt him out again. Came back three days later returned by the family. Said he "made things break." They didn’t mean furniture.

May 3rd: Heard humming. No music playing. Dog was staring out the window. I swear… it sounded like he was singing.

You swallowed.

July 10th: I asked him, “Who are you?” He looked straight at me.

And the lights blew out.

Last entry:

August 31st: He’s not aging. Not really. Every time I check, his eyes look older. I think… someone cursed him. Or protected him. Either way… he's not just a dog.

The journal ended there.

You sat on the floor of the office, the journal trembling in your hands.

Yeol hadn’t just stumbled into your life.

He’d been waiting.

For years.

Alone.

And now, the clock was ticking faster than ever.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 15: The Name of the Forgotten

You barely remembered the walk home.

The journal was tucked under your arm like a living thing, your fingers pressing hard into its worn spine as if it might vanish. You didn’t stop until you reached the apartment and pushed through the door.

Yeol was on the couch, half-asleep with a blanket around his shoulders and one ear yes, slightly furred peeking through his tousled hair.

He looked up. Blinked.

“You found something,” he said before you could speak.

You walked over and placed the journal in his lap.

“It’s yours,” you said. “Or… it was.”

He opened it slowly, eyes scanning the pages like old ghosts were crawling out of the ink. He didn’t speak for a long time. You waited.

Finally, he said, “Yeollim.”

You sat beside him. “You know the name.”

“I don’t know how,” he murmured, eyes distant. “But it’s mine. It always has been.”

You leaned in closer. “Do you think it’s your real name?”

He shook his head. “It’s older than a name. It feels… like a title.”

He flipped to the final page again. His fingers trembled slightly as he traced the last line:

He’s not just a dog.

“I think,” he whispered, “I wasn’t born in a normal way. Not like you. Not like most.”

You waited.

He looked at you, something ancient flickering behind his eyes.

“There’s a legend,” he said, voice quiet, like recalling a dream. “About guardians. Animal spirits born from wishes. They protect lonely people. The forgotten. The broken.”

You froze. “Like familiars?”

“More like... anchors,” he said. “We’re given shape usually as animals and we stay near the ones who need us. But sometimes… if the bond becomes strong enough, we take human form.”

Your breath caught.

“And that’s what happened with us.”

Yeol nodded. “You chose me. Not just as a dog. You loved me even before I knew I could change. That’s what pulled me through.”

“But why is it getting harder?” you asked, barely above a whisper. “Why are you slipping?”

He looked down. “Because the magic was never meant to last forever. Guardians disappear when their purpose is fulfilled.”

“No,” you said immediately. “That’s not fair. You didn’t just protect me you became my partner. My family.”

He smiled, soft and sad. “Maybe that was the point.”

You reached out and cupped his cheek, your thumb brushing the corner of his eye. “We’re not done yet, Yeollim. If there’s a way to keep you here, I’ll find it.”

A golden shimmer danced beneath his skin, brief but warm. He leaned into your touch.

“I’ll stay,” he murmured. “As long as I can.”

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 16: You Always Saw Me

The apartment was quiet that night. Yeol sat on the floor, the leather journal open beside him, long fingers absentmindedly tracing the creases in the page. You were curled on the couch, watching him.

He hadn't spoken much since you'd discovered the name "Yeollim."

But now, something had changed.

“I remember the park,” he said suddenly, voice soft, as though speaking too loudly might shatter the fragile memory. “You were six. You scraped your knee trying to catch a butterfly.”

You blinked. “What?”

He looked up. “You cried, but not for long. You talked to a golden retriever sitting nearby. You told him, ‘Don’t worry. I’m okay now. I’m brave like you.’”

Your heart skipped. “That was… you?”

He nodded. “I was still only part-conscious. Just a spirit lingering in a dog’s skin. But your voice reached me. I remembered it. Always.”

You felt your chest tighten.

Yeol kept going, eyes distant.

“You used to sneak extra treats from the bakery and hide them under a bench at the shelter. For me. You thought no one saw.” He smiled. “You whispered secrets into my fur before anyone else ever saw me.”

“I didn’t realize…”

“No one did,” he said. “Not even me. But every time you came close I remembered more. I felt… solid. Present. Alive.”

You crossed the room and knelt in front of him. “You were there. All this time. Even before I brought you home.”

“You saved me more than once,” he whispered, a small gold glint flickering in his pupils. “When you were twelve and alone at that bus stop after dark… I was there. When you cried in your room after your parents fought… I was there, curled up under the window.”

He closed his eyes. “I didn’t know I had a name until you gave me one.”

“Yeol,” you whispered, reaching for his hands.

“They called me Yeollim in the shelter,” he said. “But you named me Yeol. Warmth. Firelight. You gave me a place to exist.”

Tears slid down your cheeks. “And you gave me a reason to feel safe.”

He opened his eyes, and the gold in them glowed brighter for just a moment.

“I think I’ve always belonged to you.”

You leaned in and kissed him gently not out of desperation or fear, but from something deeper. A bond etched across lifetimes. Across worlds.

And he kissed you back like it was a vow.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 17: Once, In Another Life

It began with a soft humming.

In your sleep, it drifted like a lullaby on wind familiar, bittersweet. You opened your eyes not to your apartment, but to a vast meadow under a lavender sky, touched by dusk. Lanterns swayed from willow trees. Fireflies pulsed in the air like scattered stars.

You were barefoot, in soft robes. Your hair was longer. Your face younger? Older? Timeless.

A village rested beyond the hill, thatched roofs and stone paths winding down into warmth.

And on the edge of the meadow stood him.

Not Yeol exactly. But him. Tall, strong, and glowing in the twilight.

His clothes were ceremonial like that of an old-world guardian. Embroidered with golden threads shaped like pawprints and falling leaves. His hair was longer, tied back. His eyes glowed softly, like a creature made of stardust and memory.

You stepped toward him.

He turned, and the moment your eyes met, your breath caught.

“Yeol?” you asked.

He smiled gently. “I was called other names, once. But you always knew me.”

“I… I don’t understand.”

“You don’t need to,” he said, voice like wind over water. “Only remember.”

He offered his hand. And when you took it, the world shifted.

Now: a different life.

You were in a garden filled with chrysanthemums. Wearing a pale pink hanbok, your hands covered in ink from writing scrolls. He stood nearby, human and radiant, watching you with the same quiet awe.

“You always asked about the stars,” he said.

“And you always answered like they were old friends.”

He laughed. “Maybe they were.”

“You said you weren’t from here. That you were a guardian, just… in between duties.”

“I was,” he murmured, tracing a falling leaf as it passed. “Until I met you.”

“And then?”

“Then I stayed.”

The memory blurred again the wind carrying you through time like pages turning.

A marketplace. A battlefield. A quiet cottage with a single teacup set out for someone who never returned.

Each time, you were different yet always the same. And he was always there. Sometimes a stranger. Sometimes a friend. Sometimes a shadow beside a firelight.

And each time, he chose you.

Until one life, he didn’t make it through.

The dream ended in the same meadow where it began.

Yeol knelt in the grass, gold dust on his shoulders. Fading.

You reached for him, eyes wide. “Wait no please—”

“I’ll find you again,” he said, voice thin but warm. “Even if I’m only a stray with no name. Even if it takes a hundred more lives. I’ll always find you.”

He placed a soft kiss on your forehead.

And the dream shattered into gold.

You woke up gasping, heart pounding, eyes wet with tears.

Beside you, Yeol stirred. He looked at you and, for a long moment, neither of you spoke.

But he reached out and cupped your cheek.

“You remember now,” he whispered.

You nodded.

And for the first time, it truly felt like you’d come home.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 18: Love, the Final Spell

The journal pages were spread across the floor, ink glowing faintly under the flicker of candlelight. Moonlight streamed through the window like a promise. You and Yeol sat close, knees touching, hearts beating like twin drums.

The answer had always been there tucked into the last faded passage, written in a trembling hand:

“Only the purest bond may bind the spirit to form. Not magic. Not blood. But love. Love that is chosen. Love that is returned.”

Yeol read it aloud, then let the book fall gently shut.

He turned to you slowly, eyes shining. “That’s it?”

You nodded, unable to stop the smile. “That’s it.”

“It’s not some rare gem? Not a secret ritual in the mountains? Just… love?”

Your hand found his. “Not just love. True love. Real. Undeniable. Constant. The kind that brought you to me across lifetimes.”

He let out a shaky breath part disbelief, part awe. “So I can stay? If we…”

You leaned forward and pressed your forehead to his. “You already did. You stayed when you were a dog. You stayed when it hurt to be human. You stayed when you were afraid.”

“And you loved me anyway,” he whispered.

You smiled. “I still do.”

His lips met yours not desperate or rushed this time, but with reverence. As if sealing a vow that had been made across centuries. The moment your mouths met, something shifted.

The gold shimmer that had haunted Yeol’s skin for weeks began to spread, not like a warning but like a sunrise.

It bathed him in light.

The fur at his ears vanished. The flicker in his irises settled into warm brown. His heartbeat steadied. His skin felt wholly human beneath your hands solid, sure, and glowing with life.

“I feel…” he murmured, pulling back. “Whole.”

You exhaled a laugh, giddy and teary. “You’re not going anywhere, are you?”

He looked around, flexing his fingers like he’d just been born. “No. I’m staying. For good.”

He pulled you into his arms, and you wrapped yours around his neck, burying your face in the curve of his shoulder.

“For the first time,” he said softly, “I’m not scared of tomorrow.”

You clung tighter. “Good. Because I want a thousand tomorrows with you.”

And above you, the last candle flickered and went out not in loss, but in peace.

Yeollim, the spirit, was no more.

But Yeol, the man you loved, was finally real.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 19: Forever Now

The morning light poured in through the kitchen window, casting a soft glow over the two of you as you bustled around. Yeol, fully human now, was at the counter, a flour-covered apron tied around his waist his hair still a little messy from sleep, but that only made him more endearing. He was humming softly to himself, tapping his fingers along the counter in a rhythm you recognized all too well.

“I told you,” you teased, pulling a cup of coffee from the pot, “you don’t have to bake every morning.”

“Just wanted to make sure you never forget,” he said with a grin, glancing over his shoulder at you. “I’m the best at breakfast now, huh?”

You sipped your coffee and smiled at him. “I’ll believe it when I taste those pancakes.”

His expression became mock-serious. “You’re in for a treat, my love.”

You set your mug down and walked over to the counter, leaning on it and watching him work with a mixture of amusement and fondness. There was something deeply comforting about seeing him so at ease now. No more flickers of gold in his eyes, no more magic that threatened to pull him away. Just him, human and real, with you.

The sound of pancakes sizzling filled the room as Yeol slid the spatula under the golden-brown circles, flipping them with the practiced ease of someone who’d spent years perfecting it. You could practically taste the warmth of the moment, the way everything felt right as if the universe had always meant for you two to end up here.

“You’re quiet today,” he said, glancing at you as he reached for the syrup bottle. “Got something on your mind?”

You shrugged, smiling softly. “Just thinking. About how… normal this feels now. How good it feels.”

He put the spatula down and walked over to you, brushing a stray strand of hair from your face. “It’s real, Y/N. We’re real. And it’s more than I ever hoped for.”

You leaned in, resting your forehead against his. “Yeah. I guess you’re stuck with me forever now.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said, his voice low and full of warmth.

As you kissed him, the sound of pancakes forgotten for a moment, you could feel it the certainty of the life ahead of you. No magic. No curses. Just two people who had fought for each other, who had chosen each other across time and space, and who would continue to choose each other every day.

The world outside was waking up, and so were you fully human, fully alive, and fully in love.

You pulled away from him, giving him a mischievous grin. “Now, about those pancakes…”

Yeol raised an eyebrow, his playful side emerging. “You’re lucky I love you,” he teased, grabbing the plate of pancakes and setting it in front of you. “But just so you know, I’m never letting you out of the kitchen again. Breakfast is my domain.”

You laughed, digging into the pancakes. “We’ll see about that.”

And in the warmth of the kitchen, surrounded by laughter and the simple pleasures of life, you both knew one thing for sure love had brought you here, and love would keep you together for all the years to come.

No magic. No curses. Just forever.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 20: The Shower and the Questions

The steam curled around the bathroom, fogging up the mirrors as the warm water cascaded over the two of you. Yeol, still adjusting to his human form, stood beside you, his eyes wide in wonder as he gazed at the showerhead above.

"I never realized how nice it is to have… warm water fall on you," he said, a chuckle escaping him as he ran his fingers through his hair. You couldn't help but smile at his childlike wonder — even though he was fully grown, there was something endearing about his innocence in this new human experience.

You turned to grab the body wash, but when you did, you noticed Yeol wasn’t quite focused on the water anymore. He was looking at you. His gaze lingered for a moment, then quickly darted away.

"Yeol?" you asked, raising an eyebrow.

He froze, his eyes a little wide. "I—uh—sorry! I didn't mean to stare! It’s just… uh… you look so different now! I mean—" He stammered, clearly trying to backpedal as his face turned a shade of pink you hadn’t seen on him before. "You know, in a good way! But um—"

You laughed, unable to hold it in. "Yeol, it’s okay. You’re not used to this human thing, right?"

"Right!" he blurted, nodding quickly. "It's just that, uh, I’ve never really seen... a human body before." His gaze flickered back to you, then away again. "I mean, I’ve seen your face, and I’ve seen you in… other ways, but this is… different." His words trailed off, and you could tell he was trying to be respectful but was caught in a wave of curiosity.

You chuckled again, a warmth spreading through your chest. "It’s okay to be curious. But we don’t have to make it awkward."

Yeol's eyes met yours again, this time with an almost childlike innocence. "But… why are some parts… different from others?" He gestured vaguely in the direction of your body but didn’t quite know how to explain himself. "Like, why is your chest... like that?" He looked utterly puzzled.

You blinked, trying to hold back a laugh. “Uh, that’s… um, part of being human. Different bodies have different shapes and things. It’s natural.”

Yeol nodded solemnly, clearly taking mental notes, his face still flushed. "Okay, so… does that mean that, uh, everyone’s different?"

"Yes," you said gently, trying to help him understand without embarrassing him. "Bodies are all different, Yeol. That’s part of being human. It’s… kind of a beautiful thing, really."

He nodded thoughtfully, then a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. "So… does that mean I’m allowed to ask questions about it?"

You raised an eyebrow, unsure whether he was being playful or just genuinely curious. "I suppose you can, but some things are better left to a later time, don’t you think?"

He grinned. "I guess I’ll save them for later, then." He reached out to grab the shampoo bottle, and you could see the wheels turning in his head.

And suddenly, before you knew it, he was standing close to you, his face serious. "But… I still don’t get why your hair looks so soft and shiny, while mine just turns all fluffy and… well, like a dog’s."

You snorted at his completely non-sequitur question. "That’s a different mystery. We’ll need a whole research paper for that one."

He stared at you, unbothered, eyes gleaming with affection. "I don’t need a research paper. I have you. And I have all the time in the world to figure things out."

You felt your heart melt at his simple sincerity. You leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "You’re right. We have all the time in the world."

As the water continued to pour over you both, it wasn’t the physical closeness that mattered most in that moment. It was the trust, the innocence, and the intimacy of learning each other. Of sharing these small, sometimes awkward, but completely real moments.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Chapter 21: Final Chapter, A Moment of True Love

The room was quiet, bathed in the soft glow of moonlight filtering through the curtains. The air was warm, and the only sound was the steady rhythm of their breathing, slow and synchronized.

Yeol and Y/N were tangled in the sheets, but it wasn’t the physical closeness that made the moment feel so significant. It was the way their hearts beat in harmony, the way their eyes met and held, as if trying to convey all the things that words couldn’t express.

Yeol’s hand gently brushed your cheek, his touch light as a feather, as if afraid to break the fragile magic of the moment. His eyes were soft, filled with a quiet affection that spoke volumes. The love between you both had grown in so many ways, but this this was the culmination of everything. It was more than just a physical connection it was a promise, a bond that transcended time and space.

“I never thought this would be real,” Yeol whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “That I would get to have this you with me.”

You smiled, a warmth spreading through your chest. You had both come so far, through trials and magic and fears. But in this moment, none of that mattered. What mattered was that you were here together, completely, without barriers. “You’re real, Yeol. This is real. And I’m so glad you’re here.”

His thumb gently traced your lips, and you leaned into his touch, your eyes fluttering shut for a moment. The softness of his hand against your skin sent a shiver down your spine, and when you opened your eyes again, you saw him watching you with such tenderness, such reverence, that it made your heart ache.

“You make me feel like I belong,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Like I’ve always belonged here, with you.”

You cupped his face in your hands, pulling him closer until his forehead rested gently against yours. “You’ve always belonged here, Yeol. Always.”

And then, in that stillness, it was as though the world outside didn’t exist anymore. All that mattered was this moment, the warmth of his body pressed against yours, the soft rhythm of your breaths, the quiet trust between you. The way his hands moved with such care, as though every touch was a question, a promise.

When your lips met, it wasn’t frantic or rushed. It was slow, gentle, like you were savoring every second, every feeling. His kiss tasted of love of everything you had been through, everything you had overcome. It was a kiss that told stories of past lives and future dreams, of trust and loyalty, of promises made and kept.

As the night stretched on, you held each other close, wrapped in warmth and love. And when the first light of dawn began to creep through the window, painting the room in soft hues of gold, you knew that no matter what came next, you had found something that would last forever.

Yeol was no longer just a spirit in disguise. He was real. And you were his, as he was yours. Not because of magic, not because of fate, but because of love. The love you shared, and the love that had always been waiting for you both.

And that was enough.

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munsonownsmyass · 2 years ago

Text

Matthias Helvar x reader

Notes: I got tagged in this post and well... It inspired me. Thanks for the inspo @theradioactivespidergwen 😆🩷

It's just a silly little something. Unbeta'ed, unedited. First thing I've written in months. Enjoy 🤣

Warnings: None, really. Unless you don't like werewolves... Or women who like werewolves. Some fluff, a boy too big for his furry body, a little spice.

Words: under 1k

With a heavy sigh, you turn the car off and stare into the darkness. Already so dark. You loved this time of year, sure, but not getting home until it was already dark could be so depressing. The only real light was the moonlight, bathing your small cabin in a pale glow.

Grabbing all your stuff, you get out of the car, slowly making your way to the front door. You really couldn’t wait to just relax. Maybe take a hot bath? Wash the day off. Have a nice dinner. But walking in, you realize that’s not going to happen.

Right in front of you, crouching so he doesn’t hit the ceiling, is your boyfriend. Correction, the furrier version of your boyfriend. It dawns on you that it’s a full moon tonight.

“Matthias, what have I told you about shifting indoors?” You sigh as you take the coat off. The big wolf turns, knocking over a lamp with his tail. “Matthias!”

“Sorry.” The voice still throws you off sometimes, so much deeper and gritty compared to his normal warm and smooth voice. You didn’t mind it, though.

It’s almost comical watching this huge mass of a wolf lean down to pick up the lamp, trying to maneuver his claws delicately on the shade, trying to get it back on. Matthias was a big guy even in his human form, but as a wolf? Big. Intimidating. Hot, honestly.

You take pity on him and walk over, taking the lamp from him. As you do, you feel his eyes on you. That’s when you hear it. A soft thud thud thud. Looking around his side, you see his tail wagging, hitting the couch with every swing.

“Someone’s happy.” You say, unable to stop smiling yourself.

“Happy because you’re here.” He says, his tone soft as his paw comes to rest on your cheek. Leaning down, his nose nudges at your other cheek, inhaling your scent before placing a soft lick on your neck. So far, Matthias has barely touched you in his wolf form, fearing he couldn’t control himself around you. That he’d end up hurting you. The touches had been fleeting, barely there. Yet, every time, it would set you on fire.

You knew he could tell. How he could hear your heart speed up, your pulse quickening. The swallow, strained breathing followed by a tiny gasp at the roughness of his tongue on your delicate skin. The scent of your arousal in the air.

His paw gently falls from your face as he steps away, his eyes averting yours. He can’t hide his desire for you either, despite his best efforts. The giant paws do a poor job covering his erection and he looks away ashamed. Instead of telling him again that he has no need to feel embarrassed, you walk to the kitchen with your groceries to give him some space.

“I bought us some nice steaks. Big one for you, of course.” You look over your shoulder with a wink before pulling more stuff out of the bag. “And waffles for the dessert.”

You turn around to look at him, seeing a wide smile on his face. Even though he’s 7 feet tall, broader than any man and covered in dark fur, his smile always makes you think of a Golden Retriever puppy. You’re pretty sure Matthias is the only werewolf pulling of looking this cute.

Just as you’re about to say some more, a loud thud fills the air. His wagging tail has brushed one of your books off the coffee table. When he moves to pick it up, he almost knocks a plant over. You don’t even have it in you to get mad, seeing how adorable he is, holding the book to his chest in one hand and balancing the plant in the other.

“No more shifting in the house.” He agrees, putting the stuff back as you make your way around the kitchen counter to him.

“Well… there is one room where you can’t really knock anything over.” You softly, your tone flirty as you run your fingers through the soft fur on his chest. He’s probably going to say no. He’s done so every other time. But maybe… today could be your lucky day.

“But… Min hajefetla, I-”

“You won’t hurt me.” The plea in your voice clear as one hand slowly makes its way down his abs, feeling every ridge of his hard body. Wrapping your hand around his sheath, you look into his eyes. “Please.”

With a snarl, he pick you up in his arms, making his way down the hall to the bedroom. When his eyes find yours, they’re dark with desire, his tongue coming out to lick his snout. “If you end up bruised, remember you asked for this, min trassel.”

Tagging: @e-dubbc11 @mindidjarin @itwasthereaminuteago @hlkwrites @pedrito-friskito @mattmurdocksscars @murdock-and-the-sea

#werewolf matthias helvar #matthias helvar #matthias helvar fanfiction #matthias helvar x reader #monster boyfriend

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derangedanomaly · 1 year ago

Note

Have all the ships (I forgot nechaos on the first one lol)

*The Squad is playing Minecraft together*

Anomaly : Ooh, a village! You know what that means!

Ace: Hostile takeover?

Kris: Genocide?

Blade: Steal everything!

Anomaly : No, I meant-

Error: I didn’t know we would fight the ender dragon this early! A village worth of beds isn’t enough!

Lilian: WHAT ARE WE EVEN DOING?!?!

Anomaly : …I was going to say move into the village and become the mayors…

Error: Ohhhh! That sounds like a better idea.

Lilian: Agreed.

Chaos: I’m not mad, I just need to know why you two had a fake ID.

Neko: *Incoherent mumbling*

Chaos: Huh?

Lilian: …You need to be 18 to hold the puppies at PetCo.

Kris: My stomach growled super loud in French.

Kris: I would like to clarify, my stomach did not speak in French. It growled during French class.

Anomaly : Bonjour.

Neko: Le growl.

Lilian: Hon hon hon, feed me a baguette.

Lilian: Anomaly , are you drinking… drinking hydrogen peroxide?!

Anomaly : It says H2O2! That means it’s the sequel to water!

Kris: I don't need to go to bed. I'm not tired, I'll be fine.

Ace: But, darling, I'll be so lonely without you. Come curl up in my arms so I can feel whole again.

Kris: O-oh. Well. Are you trying to seduce me into healthy sleeping patterns??

Ace: Is it working?

Lilian, at Blade: You're my significant other.

Blade: Yeah I am!

Lilian, at Kris n anomaly: My bestie.

Kris n anomaly: Naturally.

Lilian, Ace: HA, GAY!

Ace: Fuck you.

Kris: Ace is too tall for me to kiss them on the lips. What should I do?

Lilian: Punch them in the stomach. Then, when they double over in pain, kiss them.

Neko: Tackle them!

Error: Dump them.

Blade: Kick them in the shin!

Ace: No to all of those! Just ask me to lean down!!

Lilian: If I fall down these stairs, I'm just going to lay down and accept my fate.

Anomaly : But seriously, what is the real plan here that has to do with not fucking around?

Blade: There is no plan that does not involve fucking around. But we will make sure all of our fucking around will be applied in a constructive direction.

Lilian: Someone care to explain why we have 6 dogs in our apartment?

Blade: They're golden retrievers, dude. They retrieve gold. I did this for us.

Ok I'm done before this one takes half the screen to scroll down

HELP I LOVE THIS-

WE HAVE ALL THE SHIPS HERE!!!

The one about me drinking hydrogen peroxide made me laugh lmao-

#vicnityask #acis #glade #nechaos #overcopy

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ellssbellss · 2 years ago

Note

I may or may not have been awake for about 48 house, so I wanted to ask a request before I fall asleep.

The hosts when their SO was up for 2 days straight doing work and starts to slip when get to the host club and acting a little bit too much like the Kyoya.

been thinking about this more than my actual story lately, and i have terrible writer's block, so hopefully this will help! {thank you, anon for the idea!}

The Host Club and their Sleepy, Cranky S.O. {Ohshc X Gender Neutral!Reader}

.oOo.

"mon amour? you need to wake up, darling." tamaki's voice whispers gently in your ear.

the darkness that had surrounded you minutes ago suddenly vanishes as you open your eyes, your head swiftly lifting off of the hard surface that you had rested your eyes upon just a few minutes ago.

it had been just a few minutes, right?

coming out of your tired daze, you feel a warm hand under your chin, and your eyes are turned to meet the concerned, violet gaze of your boyfriend. he is positioned above you, one soft hand resting the club's table in front of you and the other on your face, trailing gently from the point of your chin to the roundness of your cheekbones as his thumb runs gently over the skin there.

"my love, do you know what time it is?" his voice was like butter as dips his head a little deeper, worry creasing his perfect face as he watches you lean into his touch almost automatically.

"mmph..." through his stress about your exhausted state, he giggles slightly as you sigh and shrug, your eyelids dropping more with each second. "i don't know, love."

"it's nine, (y/n)."

"what?" any haze that had chained your brain was broken as you shot out of his gentle hold.

straightening your back, you peer towards the large windows that created a barrier between the club room and the outside world, seeing an endless night erasing any of the natural light you had experienced when you walked in here after class.

"it's nine o'clock?" panicked, the chair screeches across pristine tile as you grab at the things scattered across the table. laptop, charging cords, notebooks and pencils all make their way into your grasp as you hurriedly shove them into your bag. "why didn't you wake me up sooner?"

tamaki had watched the stress bunch up in your shoulders the minute you broke away from his grasp. he watches it wind into your muscles and face as you close up your pack and swing it around one arm, hastily pushing the chair in.

"you look like you needed your rest." he says softly, taken aback by your harsh tone. "i talked to my father to let us stay here a little while longer, since i know you have been working really hard on that project you have, and i thought-"

"exactly!" without raising your voice, he feels the sharp frustration rolling off the tip of your tongue, and it pierces something tender as you whip around to face him. "i have been working so hard not to get behind on my schedule, and now that's all out window. why didn't you wake me up like I asked?"

yellow eyebrows raise as you bite back at him, and he is getting whiplash from the sudden venom in your voice. "i tried, (y/n), but you didn't wake up!" his hands move in an pleading gesture. "you shoved my hand off when i tried to shake you and faced the other way when i kissed your cheek. the end of the world couldn't wake you."

your lips purse as your eyes squint and roll, and you stomp towards the door. stuttering, your golden retriever boyfriend follows behind as you nearly rip the door off it's hinges in your haste.

his words are rushed as he rushes to follow you out of the club room as you make your way down the long, empty staircase. "truly, you're not as behind as you might think, angel, not with all the work you've been doing?"

"you would think, huh?" another frustrated sigh escapes you, but it's more tuned towards yourself than anything. you push through the grand entrance of the school.

tamaki chases you out into the moonlight. his tall form stops in the doorframe though, when he sees the way the pale light drapes over your figure.

your usual bright stance sags in the night, and the hand he loves to hold rakes harshly through your perfect locks before it disappears to run down your face.

"(y/n), mon amour, what's wrong?" you hear his dress shoes click against the pavement. long arms wrap around your waist from behind, and a soft cheek nuzzles against the side of your face. tamaki tightens his hold, encouraging you to melt into his form. "talk to me."

after nothing more than a second, you do, because how could you not?

your head falls back as your spine molds into the bends and divots of tamaki's long torso, and a deep, shuddering sigh ripples out of you.

"i'm sorry, my love." tamaki feels your apology vibrate against his chest. "i just-, i've been extra stressed lately."

"about your project?"

"yes."

"why, angel?"

your neck twists, and you meet your prince's gaze in the complexity of his embrace, and tamaki sees the deep circles under your eyes. he notes how they had darkened since the last time he noticed them.

"i just have a lot riding on my grade for this course. my mother is counting on me for the future of her company, and if this project doesn't go well, then..."

"stop it." the comforting hug he had wrapped you in briefly vanishes as his touch pulls against your uniform. his fingers travel up your waist and forearms, gently grasping your shoulders as he spins you around to face him. "stop thinking like that."

when you're looking at him, his hands run up the rest of your body to your face, holding your jawline in his touch. "you've been working and worrying for two days, mon amour. you haven't been taking care of yourself, and there is nothing more important than your wellbeing."

his tone is different from his gallivanting, and incredibly endearing, dramatics. it's gracefully intense, like when he helped a struggling doctor find his way to his estranged daughter. the way he looks at you is also fierce, love and determination swimming in his purple irises.

"tamaki..."

"why haven't you been taking care of yourself?"

"i haven't had the time!" your voice tries weakly to defend yourself, but tamaki raises another eyebrow, clearly not convinced. "there isn't enough time in the day for me to work as hard as i have been and get a full night's rest."

"then why haven't you come to me about it?"

"i...i don't know." defeated, there is a drop in your gaze as you give up trying to defend yourself. "i thought i could do it on my own."

"you don't have to do anything on your own. not when you're with me." tamaki bends slightly to get into your line of sight. "you know you can talk to me, (y/n); that i'm here to give you anything and everything you need."

your (e/c) eyes whip back up to him. "i know that, love, but i-"

"no buts. you come to me if you need me. that's how it has always been for us."

the moonlight reflects off the small amount of wetness in your eyes, and tamaki's serious expression crumples. all of your stress and exhaustion breathes out of your body at his words. he smiles softly as you bury your face in his chest, placing his hand on your hair and another at your back, kissing the side of your head.

"i need you." your voice sings through the night, into the air as it's carried into the rose garden, red petals fully in bloom.

.oOo.

kyoya has seen this look before.

the tension of your lips as they writhe over your teeth. the slam of your footsteps as you make your way over to your usual seat across from him. especially the small smile you give to whomever greets you.

the smile that doesn't reach your eyes. the smile that falls immediately after you give some random excuse to dismiss yourself from the conversation, and you let it fall because you think no one is looking.

but kyoya was watching.

"good morning, (y/n)." he greets over his laptop as you click open your own, and you meet his gaze briefly before turning your attention back to your computer, giving him the same dismissive smile.

being that he was your boyfriend, that hurt a little.

"good morning, kyo."

he lets his eyes linger on the bored, dull look that you attach to your screen, accompanied by your sluggish movements and purple smudges under your eyes. a dark eyebrow quirks from behind his glasses as your chest rises with a sigh, and your face crinkles despairingly at whatever you are working on.

"what are you doing?"

your lashes flick up to him once more before returning back to your task at hand. "i'm working on the budget."

he blinks a little at your reply. "still?"

the tension from your mouth seeps into your form at his question, and you shift in your seat. "yes, love, thank you so much for pointing that out."

lips parting slightly at the sarcasm in your voice, the club's director raises his fingers off of his keyboard, favoring to clasp them under his chin instead as a more calculating gaze sweeps the figure of his beloved.

he catches an eyebrow twitch, a flare of your nostrils, the way your head bobs slightly before you shake it, as if that could erase the pure exhaustion radiating from you.

yes, kyoya has seen this look before.

in the mirror.

"how much sleep did you get last night, my dear?"

this time, you don't even look at him when you answer. you just shrug at him, too focused on your typing to really concentrate on a reply. "i don't know. maybe an hour or so-."

a sharp flare of concern rises in his chest before you spin your computer on it's base, shoving the screen in his direction with a wary look in your eye. "does this look right to you? i feel like something's missing."

his hands are still at his mouth when he glances at the spreadsheet you two created together, the perfect, color coded numbers arranged into straight columns.

but his brow furrows even more the longer he looks at it. lowering his hands to the device, kyoya pulls it closer to him as he scrolls through, skimming the text for any sign of error or miscalculation.

he finds none.

"(y/n), this is perfect." his pupils dart across the page behind his frames. "i have no idea what you're stressing over."

the laptop is pulled away from him once more as you run a hand through your hair. "no, no." you hit the backspace button on your keyboard, tired eyes squinting over the excel sheet. "something isn't right."

your aggressive typing fills the air once more, a little more frenzied and anxious than a minute before.

kyoya leans back in his chair, still observing. "(y/n), have you been working out this budget since the time i sent it to you?"

"of course."

"that was two days ago."

"i know."

he stands, pushing out his chair, but you don't notice. "have you slept at all?"

"not really. i've been going through the math, the incoming inventory. sure, it looks perfect now, and we are within this month's spending range, but i know there's a way to save more money. if i could just-"

"that," the lid of your computer is suddenly pushed down, closing the screen in front of you. a pale hand with pianist-like fingers attached to it splays across your protective case. "is more than enough, then."

"kyoya!" you sit in front of him, shock emanating from your face as his name is gasped from your lips. "what the hell?"

kyoya leans in front of you, one hand bracing your laptop closed while the other slips into the pocket of his trousers. his raven hair falls into his eyes a little bit, but the gray color is still piercing and raw.

"my dear," he pulls away slightly, adding pressure onto your computer so that it drags to his side of the table. "you need to take a break."

"a break?" you rise as well, trying to keep a cool demeanor. but your director could tell that your patience was thinning. "i'm on the brink of figuring this out, and you want me to take a break?"

"you already have figured it out, (y/n). i looked it over. you found the solution."

"but it could be better."

quickly, kyoya rounds the table, walking into your space to grab one of your hands.

he places both of his palms around one of your own, trying to get through to you through his touch instead of his words, even if the connection was small.

"how much sleep have you had in the past forty-eight hours?"

abandoned by the distraction your work gave you, you now face your boyfriend head on as he studies your movements.

since the moment you met him, kyoya has always watched you intently. as a man who didn't involve himself with anything that he didn't care greatly for, the process of dating him has and will always include him taking the time to observe and study you; to commit your mannerisms to memory. gray irises will forever notice how you bounce your leg underneath your desk when you have something to say but won't say it out right. or how you take your (f/h/d) in the morning, and the exact brand that you use.

or how your face lights up when he comes into view from down the hallway, and you excuse yourself to meet him halfway.

or how you always seem to kiss him with soothing, deep movements, which always encourages him to respond in kind.

but, very rarely is that intent stare coupled with concern.

yet, here it was, bathing his beloved gaze as he waits for your reply, leaving you with an aching heart. you think back to they way you've been acting, cranky and stand-offish, and a pang of regret sparks in your stomach.

your hand adjusts slightly in his as you hold onto his grasp, albeit a little nervously.

"you want the truth?" your beautiful eyes break his gaze as you stubbornly shift in place.

"always."

"not very much. maybe three hours." he swallows as that sharp flare of concern burns into an engulfing flame in his torso. "in total."

A disappointed frown etches onto his handsome features, but it's not angry. it's sad.

sad that he didn't see your exhaustion before, not in it's totality. he saw your frequent yawns and the way you tended to drift off mid-conversation, but he was busy with work as well, and couldn't connect the dots until now.

"(y/n)-"

"i know, i know. it's not the best." you take a deep breath and look at him with more confidence, ready to admit to your actions. "the perfectionist in me kind of let loose. i'm sorry, i just wanted it to be the best that it could be. for the club, ya know? for you."

tugging on your clasped hands, a deep hum resonates from the ootori son as he draws you closer. soon, your hands naturally loop around his neck while he settles his hold at your waist.

his forehead rests on yours as he sighs deeply, and you close your eyes as his low voice reaches your ears. "i think the best thing for me and the club is for you to get some rest."

he smirks a little as he feels you giggle tiredly against him. "yeah, i think you're right."

kyoya chuckles softly as he raises his forehead off of yours to place a kiss in the same spot. "i'm always right, my dear."

.oOo.

"hikaru! stop it!"

arms caged yours as you writhed against his chest. your legs were wild as they kicked up into the air, barely missing your boyfriend as he picked you up from where you had sat on your desk.

"put me down right now! what are you even doing?"

he grunts a little as your swinging legs hit his calves before throwing you down on your bed. unceremoniously, the bed frame creaks with your weight as you land face first into your duvet.

a loud huff escapes you as you turn around from your position, seeing hikaru standing at the foot of your bed with his arms crossed, a victorious smile plastered onto his sharp mouth.

"well, i asked you to take a break from your studying. and you said 'make me.'" his fingers come to either side of his head to create quotation marks. "so i made ya."

"i didn't mean literally, jackass." you grumble as you shift. your palms push your body up off the bed and spin you so that you are seated properly on your comforter. scooting roughly to the edge of your mattress, you barely stand up before your pushed onto the bed again.

"hikaru!"

"nope. not gonna happen."

"i need to study!"

"that's what you've been saying for the past two days!" his rough voice sounds exasperated as he gestures wildly to you. "in the clubroom, in the cafeteria, on our facetime calls. shit, (y/n), i don't think there has been a single second where i haven't seen that textbook open in front of you."

he points to the hefty calculus book open on your desk, three quarters of the pages turned to one side.

"that's what studying is!" you move to get up again with another frustrated sigh. "my test is tomorrow, my love, i can't afford any breaks right now."

this time, instead of simply pushing your back onto the bed, hikaru pins you down. in a flash, golden eyes fill your vision as his fingers clamp around your wrist. when you fall back, his weight takes you down as he flops heavily on your chest.

"you're not going anywhere, baby. not until you tell me what's going on."

"nothing is going on." you huff, blowing a few of his ginger strands out of his face. "now get off me."

"i don't believe you." ever the stubborn twin, hikaru makes a point to wiggle his body on top of yours to amplify the fact that you have no hope of pushing him off. "and i'm not moving until i believe you."

"what?" you bite back.

a more serious tone laces his voice as he scans you. "today, during club hours, you looked like a zombie."

you shoot him a blank look. "thanks."

"a gorgeous zombie, but still."

"not helping."

a crease forms between his eyebrows at your usually soft, bright tone crackling into dry one. "you were dragging your feet, and talking to yourself more than usual. it was creepy."

you rolled your eyes, and hikaru watches as the bags under your eyes moved with the motion, his jaw setting into a firm line.

"so i'm not getting off of you until you tell me what's been up your ass lately."

offended, you gasp and writhe once more, trying to break free of the surprisingly strong grasp the hitachiin twin has on your wrists. "i don't have time for this!"

he chuckles a little at your flustered expression and sinks more of his weight onto your figure. "well, if you're not going to take a break, than i will. i think i'll take a little nap on this comfortable bed."

realizing he doesn't need to pin your arms down anymore with all of his weight on you, he lets go and nuzzles into the crook of your neck, his arms and legs sprawling out over your uniform.

"don't you dare, hikaru!" you say as you try to bring your arms underneath him to push him off, but he's just a block of dead weight.

his breath hits your ear, and you can feel the mischievous smile on his lips. "oh, wow, this is a bumpy mattress." wriggling, he adjusts so that he locks perfectly into your body, and a deep sigh emits from his lungs. "that's better."

another weak push strains your muscles before you give up completely. flopping back onto the mattress, you let out a frustrated groan.

"hikaru, please."

"oh, the mattress speaks?"

"my love."

laughing, he presses a kiss onto the column of your throat. "what's up, baby?"

like a weighted blanket, hikaru's body flush against yours has calmed your heart rate slightly, and all the exhaustion and stress that you have been feeling suddenly comes to a head.

your arms lift from your sides to wrap around his toned back, and you turn your face into the divot connecting his shoulder and his collarbone, inhaling the comforting scent of his cologne and laundry detergent.

"i've been awake for the past forty-eight hours."

his chest rumbles with a sympathetic hum. "i know."

"i'm tired."

his head pops up from the embrace, and sincerity shines in the liquid gold of his irises. "let's take a nap, and then we can figure something out afterwards, yeah?"

you can already feel your eyelids dragging over your pupils. "yeah, that sounds nice."

as you succumb to your fatigue, you barely register the way hikaru rolls off of you. his warmth returns when you feel an arm wedge itself under your waist and pull you to him so that you can lay on his chest with ease. the other wraps around your shoulders, and you feel his breath tickling the top of your head as he settles in beside you.

"thanks for telling me, baby."

.oOo.

"so, i think because i found the magnitude of this vector, than i should be able to find the acceleration, right?" kaoru asks, back hunched over his desk, spinning a pencil in his left hand as he concentrates on the paperwork in front of him.

when he doesn't get a response, he stops fidgeting and looks over to you: his incredibly intelligent, and usually helpful, partner.

you're sat next to him, slaving away at your laptop while he watches the blue light practically burn your retinas.

well, sat is a strong word.

you slouched, your neck barely able to keep your head on your shoulders as you worked at his desk, fingers robotically clicking at your mouse and dragging images to their predetermined place, your graphic design coming to fruition with each release of a button.

"(y/n)?"

at the sound of your name, your spine flinches slightly as it straightens. you whip your head towards him with such a quick motion, that he winces at the twist of the muscle, hoping you didn't get whiplash.

his hopes are dashed when you immediately face the front, bringing one of your hands up to massage the nape of your neck.

"are you okay?"

"i'm fine," you breathe, exhaustion sprinkled in your sigh. "what did you need?"

cautiously, kaoru slides his paper over to you while you shift closer to him, pulling your chair over until your legs touch underneath his desk.

"i don't know if i got this problem right."

through a yawn, your eyes scan his homework, everything coming together in a blurry font due to your lack of sleep. you can barely make out his handwriting on your best day, so the fact that you hardly think straight doesn't really help.

but you couldn't let kaoru know that.

"it looks good, babe."

he quirks a ginger eyebrow, glancing between the paper and then back up to where you sat.

"yeah?" he asks, studying you carefully.

"for sure."

"okay, well then," your boyfriend flips the paper over, where another disarray of words meet you. he scribbles something out before circling an answer choice from his options, then looks back at you. "that must be right, too, yeah?"

you nod, blinking slowly. "mhmm." you turn to look at him, a small smile on your lips. "you're so smart, love."

his lips curve up into a half-smirk as he tilts his head, but the smile doesn't reach his eyes. golden irises squint as he glances over your face once more. "it's a smiley face."

your smile fades. "huh?"

the sneaky twin gestures towards the paper again, and after rubbing your palms over your eye-sockets, a happy face penciled in lead comes into accusing focus.

"i drew a smiley face, and you said i was smart." kaoru summarizes, a deadpan tone only being interrupted slightly as he laughs through his sentence. "what is going on with you?"

a frustrated whine ripples past your throat as you rest your head in your hands. your voice breaks into a quiet groan, and while your volume doesn't rise, your disappointment does. "god, this essay is making me lose my mind! i can't even think clearly, let alone write three more pages of this shit."

"hey, woah." kaoru rests his hand against your spine and rubs it, moving his hand back and forth in calming motions. "talk to me."

another deep sigh rushed out of you as you talk behind your hands, and your poor boyfriend can't hear a single thing.

the hand on your back glides to the side of your face, bringing your chin up and out of your grasp. he locks his gaze with yours as he leans back in his chair. "try again, babe."

"this essay makes me want to jump off a cliff."

"and you were gonna do that without me? i thought we had an agreement."

"shut up." despite yourself, you laugh.

the fingers on your chin shift to your scalp while he laughs with you, pushing only a few of the stray hairs away from your face. "have you slept?"

"not well."

kaoru notes a redness in your eyes he didn't see before. "not well, or not at all?"

you roll your eyes a little, but he knows it's not directed at him. you're disappointed in yourself. "a mix of both." hastily you look back at him, widening your eyelids a little at a poor attempt to look more awake.

"but it's no big deal!" your voice is a little too bright. "i can catch up on sleep once i submit this paper."

the gingered twin squints his eyes, but to your surprise, he shrugs, spinning in his office chair as he refocuses on his work. "yeah, i guess you're right. i get it."

your mouth was slightly agape at the fact that that actually worked. "you get it?"

"yeah. sometimes, people just can't sleep enough with everything going, ya know? i only got two hours of sleep last night, so i understand what you're going through."

there's a pause. kaoru fights a smirk as he scratches an equation into the top right of his paper.

"what?" a concerned voice reaches his ears, and he almost feels bad for lying. "only two hours?"

"mhmm." he hums, not even giving you a second glance.

"kaoru," the sweetest whine escapes your lips as he feels a hand on his shoulder. he steels his expression into one of confused nonchalance as he faces you again, only to be met with the spot you get between your crinkled eyebrow when you're worried. "why didn't you tell me?"

"what do you mean? it's not a big deal."

"yes it is!" your other hand reaches his opposite shoulder, and he turns to face you fully, reveling in your touch as you move to cradle his face. "sleep is important, babe, you can't just-"

his grin widens as a flash of realization flutters across your face. The worry in your features melts into a blank expression, and he laughs as you push his face away from yours, muttering a "jackass" under your breath.

the sneaky twin closes the distance though, pulling your chair ever closer to his to where nothing was standing in his way to pull you to his lap. you resist slightly, pouting as your sat into the space between his legs, but a natural, familiar gravity pulls you towards him anyway, and your face rests gently in the crook of his neck.

"rest for a couple minutes, okay? your paper will be here when you wake up."

a contended sigh seeps out of you as your exhaustion bubbles up to the surface. your eyelids begin to drop when you speak into his neck. "and what about you?"

kaoru's arms come to wrap around your folded form, burying you closer into his chest. "i'll always be here."

.oOo.

mori had gotten used to your talkative nature. being a man of little words, you complimented him well with your bright, energetic commentary about anything that excited you.

he supposed that he hadn't just gotten used to your bubbly personality shining through your lovely voice, he had come to love it; to rely on it.

so, when you entered your usual sparring session with your heels dragging on the wooden floor of the dojo, not only did the air feel off, he felt off.

your white gi hung off your rounded shoulders, the karate belt around your waist haphazardly tied in a knot at the front. and while you still looked as stunning as ever, mori could feel the confusion and worry well up in his chest.

he stood up from stretching out his hamstrings, his long body gracefully walking over to you to greet you with his usual hug. your smile was tired, and when you wrapped your arms around his thin waist, he felt you snuggle more into his hold and release a breath.

still gripping his waist, you looked up at him, your grin still exhausted but content when you propped your chin on his chest to meet his eyes.

"hey." you said, and your voice was airy and cracked.

"hi."

"how was your day?"

"good." his palms tightened on your back. "yours?"

you could barely keep your eyes open as you shrugged. "meh. it was interesting."

"yeah?"

"yeah." still, even in your tired state, you inched your face closer to his, a dazed look in your eye. "but we can talk about it later."

a disbelieving, good-natured scoff left him as a sharp exhale, your boyfriend knowing full-well that would not want to talk about it later. but he met you halfway, and your lips met in a lazy, soft kiss as he lowered his head to yours.

you had nearly put all of your weight onto him at this point, and as you sunk into his grip, he arched his back to counteract the force. his hands glided from your waist to your cheeks as he tilted his head, smirking slightly at the warm hum that left your throat.

pulling away, he kept his forehead on yours as he held you. a breathy left glazed over his face when you separated from him, and he opened his eyes to see a light curve on your plump lips.

"thanks, takashi. i needed that."

that brought all of his worries rushing back.

"(y/n)..." and you opened your eyes at the way he said your name. since mori wasn't the most vocal man you've been with, you learned to pick up on his tonal cues.

your name could be spoken in many ways. a gentle breeze as he tells you that he loves you, a deep inhale as you, yet again, prove your the clumsiest human alive, or maybe a groan in the late, late hours of the night.

this one was a mild warning, forming at the front of his mouth as he stares at you, deep brown eyes boring into yours with earnest.

"what?" you didn't want him to ask. but, he was kind and loving and really fucking stubborn. so, of course he was.

"what's wrong?"

a whine bubbled to the surface of your soft pallet as you dropped your face into the crook of his neck, even if you had to stand on your tip-toes to do so. abandoning your hold on his waist, you preferred to bring your arms up and around his shoulders, locking them around the back of his neck.

"i don't want to talk about it."

"what happened?"

"nothing, really. i promise."

"doesn't feel like nothing. here," gently, you felt a pressure on your hips as mori pushes you out of his hold, instead moving to grab your hand as he leads you to a traditionally decorated wall of the dojo.

letting go, the stoic leans his back against the wall before sliding down, tucking his lanky form into a sitting position before inviting you to do the same. "sit with me."

and he looked so sweet, his gaze hardened on the surface but filled with emotion and weight within it's depths. so how could you say no?

plus, he really wouldn't stop until you told him.

taking a spot next to him, you let your head roll onto the back of the wall before resting it on his shoulder. and the spot was so comfortable, so familiar, you wanted to fall asleep right there.

mori was stubborn, yes, but he was also patient. he waited like a boulder against the tide as you gathered your thoughts, loyal and permanent and determined to help you through whatever was plaguing you.

in your thoughtful silence, he imagined the stress you had been baring when you were assigned that presentation in class. even if you were energetic and outspoken, he knew public speaking terrified you. the pure panic that had erupted in your irises when you told him about the ten-minute powerpoint you had to put together in three days told him everything he needed to know about how your weekend was going to go.

that was two days ago, and he had suggested this impromptu sparring match to give you a little bit of a break. physical activity always cleared his head when he was stretched, and he figured if he could remind you how strong you were, then you could convince yourself that this would be a piece of cake.

but the bags under your eyes and the unanswered calls from him on your cell-phone made him think that this had been harder on you than he had originally expected.

a small snore broke him out of his thoughts, and he looked down at the source.

your eyes were peacefully closed, and your lips were parted as deep, calm breaths washed in and out of your chest. he relaxed slightly into the wall, and smiled as you cuddled closer to him in his small movement.

kissing the top of your head, he rested his cheekbone upon your hair as he rested his eyes as well.

you two would talk later. it wasn't physical activity you needed, or even a helping hand if you had let him.

all you needed, really, was a little bit of rest.

.oOo.

"(n/n)-chan! (n/n)-chan!"

honey bounced up to your desk as you typed away, usa-chan banging against the side of his calves as he stopped at the end of your chair. "wanna play with me, (n/n)-chan?"

you barely spared him a glance, but your eyes met his with a quick shake of your head as you returned your urgent glance to your laptop. "not right now, honey. sorry."

the blonde's bouncing stopped, a little to awe-struck at your rejection to feel sad about it. he was more confused than anything. you never said no to him.

a deep, apparent wrinkle appeared between his brows as the boy-lolita tugged on your sleeve, causing your fingers to slip off the keyboard slightly as you typed. "please?"

"what the-?" your hand having slipped, it gently brushes the cup of tea near your working space, and you gasp before rolling your eyes. "no, honey. i told you, i can't. go play with usa-chan, okay?" you quickly pulled your sleeve out of his grasp and got back to your work, leaving him deflated at your side.

this time he was pouting, and the wrinkle on his forehead turned from confused to determined as he walked around to the opposite side of the table to crawl into the chair across from you.

"what are you workin' on?"

this time your eyes flicked up to him for a longer moment. you wondered why he couldn't leave you alone, but you guessed it was better that he was sitting over there rather than pulling at your uniform and keeping you from your work. "the club's website."

he gasped as he swung his legs on the chair, too short to reach the ground from this height. "ooh, are you making it pretty?"

a sigh came from deep within you as your eyes squinted, zooming in on something on the other side of your screen. "you could say that."

"what are you doing to it?"

you shrugged, still focused on your work. "formatting, graphic designing, boring tech stuff."

"cool!" honey excitedly places his palms on the table, seeing if he sat up straighter, he could get a better view. "how do you know how to do all that?"

you suspiciously scanned him over as he edged closer, pulling your computer forward on the table. "lots of practice."

a high-pitched hum exudes from the third-year as he tilts his head, almost fully on the table now, but something has caught your eye, and your back to your furious typing, not noticing how close he's gotten.

his voice sounds distant in your focus. "couldn't you take a break? for cake? a cake break?" he giggles, but his smile falters when you don't hear his joke.

"haven't taken a break in two days, honey. not gonna start now." your voice is low and inattentive, trailing off as you scroll through the columns and columns of pictures and texts.

still crawling towards you, his brown eyes widen slightly. "two days?" he gasps, and begins to count on his fingers. "that's uhhh..." honey counts his fingers under his breath for a moment before he brightens with an answer. "forty eight hours worth of work! did you even sleep?"

"nope. no sleep. kyoya needs this done by tonight."

"what?!" at that, honey stands to his full height, his small but strudy weight easily supported by the desk underneath him. you jerk back as he points a finger in your face, his voice still young but firm as he speaks down to you. "you need to take a nap right now!"

"honey!" the blonde has your full attention now. "get down!"

"nope!" his pink lips pop the 'p' noise as he shakes his head defiantly. "not until you agree to sleep! kyo-chan can wait."

your hands come up in an exasperated motion and you stand up, pushing your chair out from under you. "honey, this table is not stable. you're gonna fall if you don't get down!"

"will you take a break?"

"i can't!"

"well, then i'm not coming down." folding his arms across his chest, he puffs it out, a proud look on his face.

his confident aura melts, however, when the table shifts with his dramatic movement.

you suck in a breath as honey throws his arms out to balance himself, barely keeping the table at bay as he wiggles side to side.

"okay! okay, i'll take a ten-minute nap! just, please sweetheart, get down from there."

even in the midst of chaos of his own making, honey still finds the. motivation to negotiate. "twenty minutes!"

"fine!" you round the table and extend your arms, and he leaps into them as you pick him up. your heart rate slows as you hold him while the table falls with the loss of his added weight, your tea and computer skidding to opposite sides of the tile.

blankly, you look at honey as he winces at the impact, and then at the dark aura that slowly begins to crowd around your frame.

"i can pay for that." he promises.

.oOo.

your knee bounces under your desk as you watch haruhi's eyes flick over your screen, the words you spent two days writing reflecting back in her dark brown eyes as she reads your work.

your hands are clasped in front of your lips, keeping you from saying anything like 'i changed my mind!' or 'okay, you can stop now', because you're pretty sure haruhi would ignore you anyway.

she had insisted on reading your short story. it was something you did in your free time, and it was something she knew you took pride in.

sometimes, if you felt courageous enough, you would submit them into newspapers, or maybe magazines and blogs if you were really going all out, this past weekend being one of those times. day in and day out, you sat at your writing desk, typing away for what felt like mere seconds as the story in your mind began to unfold onto the pages in front of you. barely any food and close to no sleep rendered a masterpiece of literature, or at least that was what haruhi had assured you she would call it if you let her proof-read it.

your natural host promised that it would take her only a few minutes to read the whole thing, and then you could be on your way to submit it to the magazine's editor. plus, it was the least you could do since you basically ignored her calls and used up all of your study-date time to edit and revise your concluding paragraph.

but finally, finally, after many torturous seconds, your girlfriend leans back. her hands wrap around the edge of your macbook to only shut the laptop halfway and push it aside, turning her full attention back to you.

very briefly, you pulls your hands away from your mouth to ask the question you've been dreading. "what do you think?"

the gentle look that haruhi always wears stays frozen for a moment, but slowly starts to melt into a soft smile as she meets your nervous gaze. "it's good, love. it's really good."

straightening, your eyes widen as you bite your lip. "really?"

her smile gets brighter as amazement floods your cheekbones. "really."

"oh my god." releasing a breath you didn't know you were holding, you throw yourself into the back of your chair. pulling your palms up and around, they rake over your face before scratching through your hair, a groan morphing into a laugh as relief sputters out of you. you feel like you need to say it again, probably louder for good measure. "oh my god! you really liked it?"

the honor student's deep laugh joins yours as watches you bask in a job well done. "why would i lie about that?"

touching down to earth, you shrug, your hands falling into your lap. "because you love me, and you would do anything to make me happy?"

she snorts, leaning forward as she is drawn into your space. "you're right. i do love you. probably just enough to never lie to you again."

a teasing smile curves your lips as you fake offended disbelief, scooting closer so that your knees slip between her own. "again?"

brunette eyebrows work upwards as haruhi mirrors your smirk, nodding as she gets even closer. "mhmm."

"and what have you lied about, haruhi dear?" her breath is mixing in with yours now, and she keeps her kiss barely out of reach, her lips grazing yours as she responds.

"about letting you leave tonight."

"wha-?" your eyebrows knit as haruhi shoots out of her chair, and before you can protest, she is straddling your hips, one of her legs on either side of you as you blush at her sudden proximity.

"haruhi!" but even if your voice sounds surprised, you hold her closer, your palms coming to rest on her thighs.

"when was the last time you slept?" she asks, suddenly serious as she cups your face in her hands.

"last night." you say, but she squints at your response.

"for how long?"

"enough." you whine, bringing your hands around her waist, encouraging her to be flush against you. "don't worry about it."

"(y/n), you look exhausted. i'm going to be worried about it."

you look at her for a moment before realizing that she isn't going to back down. shoulders slumping, you drop your head onto her shoulder, hugging her close to your body. "two hours. maybe."

a displeased noise expels from her throat, but suddenly you feel slender fingers rubbing your back, toying with the hairs on the back of your neck. "you need to sleep."

making a grunt of blind agreement, you melt into her hold, the excitement and anxiousness you felt about your story being blown away by a gust of drowsiness. the scratches on your scalp weren't helping.

"like right now." she emphasizes, and tries to wiggle out of your hold, but you were stronger. tightening your grip around her slim waist.

her shoulders shake with another endearingly low laugh as she hugs you back. "let's get to the bed, love."

you don't think you've ever slept deeper in your life.

.oOo.

starting to write again, and i used this as a little exersise to get back into it. hopefully it can tide you over! i'll see you soon :)

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