#look peak relationship would be me finishing a book laying on a girls lap as she plays w my hair listening to me ramble and talk about the

[oh-cramity-its-amity]

no yeah dont ever underestimate my guilty pleasure for YA wlw romance novels that feel like rom coms about two losers (affectionate) being dumb and then somehow falling in love. what do u want from me. i literally just read an entire book in like under a day. was it good? sorta?? BUT THE THING IS you literally dont take it super seriously. dont overthink it. its literally just there for the vibes and silly feelings. OH i forgot how much i literally used to EAT these books up as a teen. like i would not go anywhere without a ya romance book in my hands. i was THAT person. irl romance? nahhh. give me that silly meetcute situation between characters. guess that translated well to fanfic.

[smilesvt]

honey muffins | pt.1

pairing: seungcheol x reader

genre: fluff, suggestive, possible angst later on,,

warnings: slight suggestive but nothing smutty!

summary: a stranger who catches your eye leads to a swirling discovery of your fates. will you succumb to the forbidden love that lies between you?

‘You know we shouldn’t be doing this right now Cheol.' You whined, hands pushing against the mans broad shoulders.

Yet your complaints made him even more riled up. The fact he could taste you when he wasn’t supposed to made the adrenaline rush faster through his veins, the sounds of your sweet voice echoed in his mind and filled him with even more desire.

'Says who?' he whispered, his lips like shadows of your own, his soft breath seeping into your very self.

You had never wanted something so bad, to feel his lips against yours as he whined into your mouth, helplessly and at his very edge.

But you had self control.

And you would never let your desire get a hold of you.

~~~

You mustered the energy left in you to fully shove the man away, however his strong hands still gripped onto your sides.

'You know exactly who.' you sighed, as if you hadnt had this same conversation with him plenty of times before. The man scoffed, looking away with his tongue pressed firmly in the side of his cheek.

'Seriously? That’s all you can think of right now? Whilst you have that pathetic look in your eye thats practically begging me for more? Don’t make me laugh.'

Cheol had never got angry at you; and he wasn’t about to now. But the tinge of annoyance mixed with desperation hidden in the depths of his voice made you feel slightly guilty.

'Fine.' You managed to speak out, your voice calm and steady, yet your eyes looked down at your lap, unable to make eye contact with the man.

'Do what you want with me. Anything and everything. But you know what risk that comes with. Is it worth never seeing me again for a night of pleasure? I would hope I mean more to you than that.’

His hands fell from your waist and onto the cold kitchen counter you were sat on.

‘Of course you do. You know that.’

‘Stop coming so close to losing me then.’ You poked at his chest, and tilted his head up to look at you.

He smiled, but it didn’t seem to reach his eyes.

——

Yours and Seungcheol’s families had never liked each other. It was a decades long feud, started when your great great grandfather opened a restaurant with his best friend, Seungcheols great great grandad.

The business had a slow start, what with the two men only being teenagers when they started selling their food to local people in the town. Little did they know, over the years, their seemingly perfect business would gain traction all over the country and earn them more than ever expected.

But as with most co-owned businesses, one half of the duo would become increasingly greedy, wanting more than the other.

And so the feud started. Seungcheols family had accused yours of stealing money from the joint bank account, and the business relationship crumbled.

Your great-great grandad opened his own bakery chain, specialising in his favourite, muffins: whereas Cheols turned his into a patisserie.

Fast forward to now, both of the families had stores around the country. You would have thought, what with the huge amounts of success from the two businesses, the family beef would have been quenched. Yet both of your families were stubborn: refusing to ever apologise or simply even acknowledge the other’s existence, despite walking past each others stores nearly everyday. And thats when you and Cheol came into the mix.

~~~~

You remember that day as clearly as if it were yesterday.

3 years ago, sometime in December, a fairly handsome man had walked into the bakery whilst you were working.

His beanie was pulled down low, with a few strands of espresso coloured hair peaking through. However the casual headwear contrasted the grey suit he was wearing, a burgundy tie pulled down in exhaustion and shiny black shoes at his feet.

You had had many weird and wacky customers walk in during your part time shifts at the family bakery (you worked in the heart of the city after all, weird was practically the usual) but something about this man had struck you. Your eyes had followed him as he perused around the store, occassionally stopping and observing the packs of bread. He looked way too interested in the baked goods, and you smiled to yourself as you looked down at the book you were reading.

'Excuse me.' A deep voice as smooth as honey had spoken from the other side of the counter. You quickly stood up from your stool and walked over to the till.

His golden eyes met yours over the rim of his thin gold glasses, with a sweetly intense gaze.

'How can i help you?' You had smiled at the man, your customer pleasing voice hiding your slight nerves.

'I was wondering, say you had a date coming up, and they really loved bakeries and such, what would you treat them to?'

The question had taken you aback, and he smiled as he noticed you pause to think of an answer.

'Well I’m personally a sweet sort of girl, so I would probably subconsciously choose something dessert like. A good neutral choice would be a muffin of some sorts-' you glanced over the array of treats that lay on the counter in front of you. 'I’d strongly recommend the blueberry honey one, it’s sweet yet not too overpowering, but I guess it’s all down to their personal preference.' You looked back up at the man, who flashed a warm smile at you.

'Perfect. I’ll take 2 of those then.'

---

It had been the day of your graduation when you decided to treat yourself to the slightly boujee patisserie down the road from your bakery.

Seungcheol remembered it as clearly as day.

The bell at the front entrance had jingled as a familiar girl waltzed through, a bright smile plastered on her face. He instantly recognised her; the pretty one from the bakery just up the road. She seemed to have recognised him too, as she slightly bowed her head towards him as she walked over to the till.

'How can I help you on this fine day mademoiselle?' he had questioned, taking the girl aback as she slightly giggled.

'Well I was wondering, say you had a person you wanted to impress and they really liked sweets, what would you treat them to?' He smiled at the words coming from her mouth, the ones that mirrored his own.

He gazed upon the small crescents your hazel eyes made as you laughed, a warmth seeping through his body.

His heart had never felt that way before.

---

From that day on, Seungcheol visited your store more often than he would like to admit. Sometimes he wouldnt even buy anything, he just wanted an excuse to be able to speak to you.

When the shop was filled to the brim with customers, he would simply wait at the end of the long line and you would smile at how stubborn he was.

~~~

'Its raining and you still stood out there.' You sighed as he shook his wet, curly hair in front of you. 'Worth it.' He flashed you his comforting gummy smile and your heart burst into smithereens.

'No work today?' You asked, looking down at the mans grey sweats and oversized hoodie, a backpack strewn over one shoulder.

'Fortunately not. There’s only so much pretentious business ladies in pencil skirts buying mille-feuille that I can handle.’

'I can imagine.' You sighed, glancing out at the thousands of raindrops hitting the shop window.

'At least its your day off tomorrow.'

You smiled internally: he knew your work schedule probably better than he knew his own.

'You might as well get something since you were stood out there for so long.' You started, opening a brown paper bag and waiting for the mans response.

'Hmmm...Is this new?' He pointed through the thick glass of the display.

You giggled. 'I’m glad you noticed. It’s a little something new we’re trialing, made by yours truly.'

'You shouldn’t have said that, I’ll end up buying the whole stock for you.'

'Don’t be stupid.' You chuckled, handing him the treat over the counter. 'Get going you idiot, I have to clean up.'

He took the bag with a smile. ‘I’ll see you soon, and let you know how good it tasted.'

---

Yet you never did see him soon.

The man stopped turning up after his shifts finished, he stopped waiting behind the long lines of customers. You would catch yourself staring out of the shop window, waiting-or maybe,hoping- to see a familiar mess of jet black hair pop into view, a gummy smile that made your heart burst, an outstreched hand waving excitedly at you.

But you never saw it.

'Are you expecting someone?' Your mother had asked you one day, when the shop was calm and empty, shaking you out of your daydream.

'No, why do you ask?' you wondered.

'You keep looking out of the window as if someones meant to be there.'

You nearly sighed, running a hand through your hair.

'It’s fine, just bored.'

‘Well the banquets tonight, hopefully you wont be bored there.'

The banquet had slipped your mind. It was a fancy dinner for corporate directors of companies around the country. Of course, you and your family had been invited. You knew your mom was hoping for you to meet some handsome rich man; she was always asking when you were ever going to get with anyone.

It was dumb you thought, constantly thinking of the man from the patisserie. You knew nothing about him, just his name and where he worked. Other than that, his whole existence was an enigma. That’s why it hurt when he stopped visiting, because you couldn’t even call him to ask what was up, or visit his home to check in.

He was a mystery man.

Then why did you care so much?

---

The truth was, Seungcheol wasn’t allowed to come see you. As he walked into his house, munching on the chocolate tart you had so carefully handed him, he couldn’t wait to tell you how good it was.

'Are you actually being serious?' his younger brother had said to him as he walked over to the fridge.

'What is it?' he turned around, chocolate circling his mouth.

'That’s from THEIR bakery... oh you are in so much trouble when I tell dad.' His brother ran off in the direction of their fathers study.

Dumbfounded, Seungcheol wondered. What was wrong with the bakery? It was just a local joint, surely no place his father would have any issue with.

However, as he turned the brown bag around to see the logo adorned on the front, he nearly dropped the tart.

There was no way.

No way he had fallen for someone he couldnt have.

----

So when you saw your parents disgusted faces as they looked at the family on the opposite side of the banquet hall, and your eyes fell upon a disgruntled Seungcheol, you had to stop your jaw from falling open.

It suddenly made sense, why he had seemingly ghosted you for weeks. His family mustve found out about him seeing you at the bakery.

His eyes met yours as you sat down at your table, and you swore you saw them light up.

You weren’t going to give up on this mystery man just because of your parents.

-

So fast forward to now, nearly 2 years later, where you were sat on your kitchen counter, the now not so mystery man in front of you.

Over the years, you and Cheol had been secretly hanging out without your parents' knowledge. You thought it was dumb, how the two of you, both adults with stable jobs and social lives, were meeting up in secret like teenagers hiding a relationship. Yet you knew if either of your families were made aware of this, they would do anything to stop it.

‘I’m sorry.' The man breathed out with a heavy sigh, his eyes suddenly glistening with the type of glow you hated to see. 'It’s okay.' You replied with a soft smile, patting the top of his head. You were used to this, Cheol getting too ahead of himself and apologising like a child getting caught stealing sweets.

It wasnt like he had never felt you before, the hotness of your skin against his hands as he ran them down your arms, your spine, your legs was something he knew well.

He had had all of you: apart from one place. Your lips.

You knew if your lips ever grazed upon his, you could never go back. And as much as you wanted it, as much as your body was craving it, you knew of its consequences.

'I’ll get going now.' He whispered, pushing himself away from the counter and picking up his suit jacket from the sofa.

-

You leant against the corridor doorway, watching the man pull on his dress shoes.

'See you tomorrow then? I’ve got some new cupcakes coming in that I think you’ll like.'

His ears shot up at the sound of sweets, and you giggled.

Some things never change.

He kissed the top of your head before opening your front door.

'See you tomorrow muffin.' he smiled, before walking out and closing the door behind him.

And everytime you saw his back in front of you, you hoped it wouldn’t be the last.

~~~~

a/n: ahhhh this is my first ever fic on here so if anyone reads this- which honestly im not expecting much- i hope you enjoyed, heres to many more xo

[deobienthusiast]

greatest blessings

• pairing: lee jangjun (golden child) x female reader

• word count: 8,902 words

• genre: mafia!au, gang member!au, angst, fluff

• rating: PG-13

• warnings: mentions of kidnapping, mentions of murder, gun violence, curse words, mentions of blood ⚠️IF ANY OF THIS MAY BOTHER YOU PLEASE DO NOT ENGAGE!!⚠️

• notes: (yall the this the longest fic i’ve ever written) also the is going to say joochan, but i remember you messaging to change it to jangjun🖤

• requested: yes | no by anon

For as long as you could remember, you were thrown into the world of danger. Your father, a notorious mafia leader, was the most respected, feared, and wanted man in South Korea. There was never a moment where you and your mother weren’t a target of some type of hostile fallout between your father and some other mafia members. Because of this, you never saw much of your father during your childhood. He kept his distance to keep you and your mother safe. In his place, he left his right hand guard, Dongwoo.

Dongwoo kept close watch of your mother and you, while training a young protégé. A boy named Jangjun. His father was a mafia guard and wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. Of course, Jangjun ended up having a huge falling out with his father, as he turned to Dongwoo as his father figure. You grew to like Jangjun. He was a lively boy with a giant personality. He lived to make people smile or laugh. Jangjun was always joking or yelling at the top of his lungs. When he needed to be serious, however, his temperament switched. Jangjun followed orders. He never shied away from a job. 

As he got older, he grew into a devilishly handsome and incredibly talented man. And you took notice, big time. Jangjun truly blossomed, and in his eyes, so did you. You weren’t the quiet little girl that constantly ran to mommy with every tiny taunt made towards your giant thick-rimmed glasses. Instead, you grew into yourself. Thickened your skin, and became your father’s daughter. Every taunt Jangjun made now was met with a snarky remark that made his lips turn up into a smile. He thought you were beautiful. 

You two were well aware of your feelings, but too stubborn to admit it. Jangjun because he didn’t want to believe in fate, and you because your father didn’t want you to be with someone that was a part of the mafia, a part of this life. A life full of danger and uncertainty. Unfortunately for him, your heart had other plans. You and Jangjun came clean with your feelings, and fell in love. As cheesy as it sounds, Jangjun was your other half. His personality never changed, and his love for you grew. Jangjun, himself, grew into a very powerful man. He became part of a mafia gang of his own which further fueled your father’s anger at your relationship. 

Much to his dismay, you both got married. A small ceremony just on the outskirts of town. The only people present were your mother, Dongwoo, and Jangjun’s members. Your father being too bitter and self absorbed to show up. Not that you minded. Nothing, not even your father would ruin that day for you and Jangjun. You never bothered to get in touch with him after the wedding. Only opting to find out how he was through your mother. That’s how your father found out the news of the birth of your daughter, Mina. 

If people thought Jangjun was head over heels for you, you would always tell them to watch how he acted with your daughter. Jangjun took being a dad to a whole other level. His senses heightened, and he took every precaution necessary to keep you and Mina safe. His whole world became about that little girl. A spitting image of her father, she had his bright smile, boisterous personality, and dark brown eyes. She was a crowd favorite, especially to Jangjun’s members like Bomin and Donghyun. When the members were around, they were the first two she ran too. Jangjun would always joke and say his daughter loved them more than she loved him. No one could be fooled though. No one would take her father’s place. 

“Daddy!” You heard Mina yell as you folded up clean laundry in your bedroom.

Your husband’s laugh filled the large house you lived in as he made his way into your shared bedroom, your daughter perched in his arms. Identical facial expressions of crescent moon eyes and wide smiles made their way towards you as you gave both of them an amused look. 

“Guess who I found hiding under daddy’s desk in his office?” Jangjun asked with a smile.

Your eyes went to the little girl who now had an innocent smile on her face, one she definitely learned from her father. “Office? Mina, you know daddy’s office is off limits.”

The little girl pouted, resembling her father through and through as she spoke in her little voice. “I was playing hide and seek with Joochan-ie.”

You and Jangjun laughed as he muttered. “Of course it was Joochan. Who else would let her get away with anything.”

Giving him a pointed look, you spoke. “Perhaps her father?”

Jangjun smiled at you before tickling the little girl’s stomach making her laugh. He set Mina down before kissing her forehead. 

“Now, go play. With Bomin this time, since he’s the only one that listens.” Jangjun told her as her little legs carried her out of the room.

Just as she got past the threshold, you sighed. “You have to remind them not to let her into your office.”

Jangjun pulled you into his arms as he hummed, kissing your forehead. “I will.”

Kissing you softly, he pulled you even closer as you laid your hands on his chest. “I’m serious, Jun.”

Your husband pecked your lips once more. “I know you are. I’ll tell them. I promise.”

You nodded, feeling a little better at the situation. It wasn’t the area itself you were worried about, but rather the objects occupying the area. Jangjun kept all his weaponry in a locked closet in his office, but one pistol stayed perched under his desk in case of emergency. Your daughter’s knack of exploring (which she also got from Jangjun) worried you sometimes. You didn’t want her to ever find that weapon. She was too young to know any of the business her father was in, and you two planned to keep it that way for as long as possible.

Jangjun laid another soft peck, this time to your forehead before getting a notification on his phone, letting him know someone was here. 

“Daeyeol?” You questioned, making your husband nod as his grip around your waist loosened. 

He sighed before giving you a small smile and heading downstairs. You finished up with the laundry, putting things away where they were supposed to, stopping in Mina’s room to put her things away, before making your way downstairs. Passing by Jangjun’s closed office door, you stopped momentarily, wanting to sneak a listen, but remembered the talk your father had given you when he first caught you doing it when you were five. It scared the living daylights out of you, and since then you hadn’t done it. You never let your curiosity get the best of you. 

You walked through the living room before landing in the kitchen, you looked over to the dining room and smiled. Your daughter sat on Bomin’s lap, coloring in a coloring book the boy must have pulled out as he watched. Upon hearing your footsteps, he looked up, giving you a smile. You returned it as you entered the kitchen, still watching the two. Bomin was on the newer side of this whole mafia thing. Being only 20 years old, he was raised in a mafia family, but much like your daughter, he was shielded away from it all. Bomin was tall, slim, and just looked like a baby. Sporting a very youthful look, it surprised people to hear his voice as it didn’t match his look at all. Bomin was on the quieter side, he opened up to the others, but to you he remained quiet. Very respectful and only speaking when spoken too. Mina loved the boy and managed to pull a more playful side out of him. This prompted Jangjun’s leader, Daeyeol, and Jangjun himself to have Bomin be in charge of the little girl. 

“Hungry, Bomin?” You asked softly, making the boy lift his head from the very secretive conversation he was having with your daughter. 

With a shake of his head, he spoke. “No thank you, noona. I appreciate the offer, though.”

You watched him bring his attention back to the little girl on his lap. One arm was wrapped protectively around her little body, holding her close to him as she continued to color and point out the different colors. Despite the boy politely turning down your offer, you still made him something to eat, along with the others. Once finished with all the meals, you moved towards the table. Neither your daughter nor Bomin stirred at the movement as you sat down, getting a closer look.

“Look at my picture mommy! Bomin-ie helped me.” Mina exclaimed, holding up the picture decorated in various colors like purple, black, brown, pink, and orange.

You smiled as you gently took it from her. “This is beautiful Mina! Truly a work of art. It’s good to know that you at least got something from me.”

Bomin chuckled at your underlying dig towards your husband as you stood to hang it on the fridge with her other colorful pictures. Just as you finished, you heard a door slam from upstairs as your husband came down the stairs, looking rather frustrated. Taking one last quick peak at Bomin and Mina, you walked towards him. 

“Hey, is everything okay?” You asked, laying a hand on his cheek.

Jangjun physically relaxed as he leaned into your touch. “Daeyeol wants me to leave town for two days with him and Tag.”

“Leave? You haven’t left town since Mina was born.” You said, your hand dropping back to your side.

“I know. I told Daeyeol that I’m not comfortable leaving you two alone, but he insisted that there isn’t any other way for this job to work unless I leave with him.” Jangjun softly spoke, looking over your shoulder to eye Bomin and Mina.

“Jangjun, we weren’t finished talking.” You heard Daeyeol’s soft, yet stern voice resonate through the house as he made his way down the stairs. 

With him came seven other guys as they watched the encounter. Jangjun’s frustration bubbled over again as he grunted, heading for the kitchen.

“Jangjun, you have to come with us.” Tag spoke softly.

Your husband shook his head. “I’m not leaving them.”

His hand raised as he gestured towards you and Mina. 

“And I’m not giving you a choice. You’re our best gunman, you’re needed for this job. Besides the guys will be here to watch over the house and the girls.” Daeyeol told him, hoping to ease his nerves more.

This time, Jangjun’s emotions got the better of him as he slammed his fist down on the marble countertop. The loud noise caused you to jump and Mina to quiet as her head snapped towards the kitchen. Bomin quietly watched as well. You looked at Donghyun as he nodded at you.

“Bomin, take Mina upstairs.” Donghyun said as the boy stood up. 

Mina wrapped her arms around the boy’s neck, hugging tightly to him as he headed for the staircase.

“Go with them.” You whispered to Donghyun as he obeyed almost immediately.

You waited for the three to disappear before speaking. “Jangjun, if you’re really needed for this then you have to go.”

His head shot towards you. “No I don’t. I’m not leaving you and Mina here alone.”

“We won’t be alone, and you know that.” You told him softly.

He let out a sigh of frustration as you and Daeyeol proceeded to try and ease him into the job. After a few minutes of consolation, Jangjun finally gave up his fight and headed upstairs to pack.

Daeyeol watched him before looking at you. “You know I wouldn’t pull him away from you if I didn’t have to.”

“I know. That’s why I helped you convince him. He’ll probably still complain, but it won’t be as bad.” You said making Daeyeol chuckle. 

Jangjun came back downstairs, this time with your daughter in his arms as he walked over to you. Tag and Daeyeol took his bags.

“We’ll be in the car.” Tag said as he headed out the door. 

Mina watched the two guys before noticing the bags in their hands. 

“Are you leaving daddy?” She asked softly.

Jangjun set her down as he kneeled in front of her. “Yeah, I am baby. I won’t be gone long though, okay.”

She didn’t bother giving him an answer, rather she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, giving him a hug. They pulled apart as she gave him a kiss on the nose, making your husband smile.

“I love you, daddy.” Mina said as Bomin picked her up. 

Jangjun poked her little nose as he whispered back to her. “I love you more, mini me.”

Bomin took Mina back upstairs as Jangjun turned to you. “And you, how am I going to be able to leave my adoring wife?”

Rolling your eyes, you laid your hands on his chest. “I’m sure you’ll manage.”

Jangjun kissed you as you whispered so only he would hear you. “Be careful and please come back to us.”

He nodded his head, pecking your lips once more before speaking. “I promise. I love you.”

You uttered those words back to him as he headed for the door. He gave you one last smile before speaking to Y who stood by the door.

“Take good care of them.” He more than ordered as the older male nodded.

Y closed the door, locking it behind him as you let out a sigh and prepared for the next two days.

Though it felt like years, hours had passed since Jangjun had left and you were feeling the full effects. Jangjun hadn’t left town in three years, vowing to never leave you or Mina by yourselves. You knew, however, that if duty called, Daeyeol would look to him first. 

You started to prepare dinner, knowing that eventually you’d get complaints about seven men plus a three year old toddler being hungry. As you cooked, you heard someone enter the kitchen.

“Kimchi fried rice,” You heard Y say. “Why am I not surprised?”

You looked over your shoulder. “As if Mina will eat anything else.”

He smiled. “Like father, like daughter.”

You nodded to yourself as you heard the metal legs of the barstools scrape across the tile floor. 

“I’ve gotta give you credit.” Y started. “Jangjun is much more grounded with you around.”

You grinned. “Is that a good thing?”

He nodded without hesitation. “Absolutely. Some people think that mafia members can’t handle family and work, but Jangjun is a prime example that both can work together.”

You thought about what Y had said as he continued to talk. Jangjun always made sure to make time for you and your daughter. He was an exceptional father. He never missed a birthday or anniversary. Any special occasion, Jangjun was there. Jangjun literally did everything to keep you and Mina safe. 

“He’s definitely a hard worker. He’s also the best father. Mina adores her dad.” You quietly replied.

Y smiled to himself as you spoke again. “Do you ever want to have kids someday?”

He looked at you for a moment before bringing his gaze down to the marble countertop, tracing his fingers over the pattern. “I want to. It’s hard though. Finding someone that accepts my lifestyle.”

“That’s what you’re doing wrong. You don’t find someone that accepts your lifestyle. You find someone that accepts you.” You told him.

“Is that what you did with Jangjun?” Y asked.

Just hearing his name made you smile. “You could say that.”

“Hyung,” Someone said from behind Y as you both turned to the voice.

“Seungmin, what is it?” Y asked him.

“It’s Mina.” He said barely above a whisper as you dropped the spoon you were holding. 

Racing up the stairs, you pushed past the two boys with your daughter as you dropped to your knees in front of her. She held a tight grip to the doll she was playing with as you checked her.

“You’re okay? You’re not hurt?” You asked quickly.

“Of course I am, Mommy.” Mina said with a giggle.

“But Seungmin said,” You started turning towards the boy as he interrupted you.

“She’s fine. It’s-it’s what she said.” Seungmin counter softly.

Y looked at the boy. “What do you mean? What’d she say?”

“I mentioned reading her a story so she could go to sleep. She kept saying she was tired, but she said that when her daddy reads her a story, her friend is with her too. Her friend in the backyard.” Bomin spoke up.

You turned to your daughter as she smiled. “In the backyard? Baby, our backyard is gated, there’s no one in the backyard.”

Mina’s little head nodded quickly. “Yes there is mommy. A man. He’s the same size as Bomin-ie. He comes every time daddy reads me a story. He visited me last night.”

Your eyes doubled in size as you looked towards Donghyun and Bomin. “What is she talking about? Is she talking about Daeyeol?”

Donghyun shrugged. “She said the man always wore a mask and a black hat.”

“He says he knows daddy, and that he knows me too. He even knows my name. He knows you too.” Mina said excitedly. 

You pulled Mina into your arms as Y and Donghyun made their way towards her window. The large window made for a view of the entire backyard. Picking Mina up from the floor, you held her tightly in her arms as the two men kept looking out the window. They talked amongst themselves as you felt your daughter shift in your arms.

“Mommy, am I in trouble?” Mina asked quietly, almost too afraid to speak.

“You’re not in trouble, Mina.” Bomin spoke up before you could as Mina’s dark brown eyes trailed from your face to his.

“You promise?” She asked again.

Bomin nodded with a small smile. “I promise.”

“Mina should sleep with you tonight. We’ll put Joochan and Y outside your bedroom door. The rest of us will keep watch at every corner of the house that we can. If this guy comes back, we’ll be waiting.” Donghyun told you as you nodded.

Heading for your bedroom, you grabbed Mina’s favorite teddy bear and a pair of pajamas. You kept a close eye on her as you fed and then bathed her. As she fell asleep, there was a knock on the door. You opened it as Donghyun gave you a small smile.

“Is Mina asleep?” He asked softly.

You nodded. “She fell asleep about ten minutes ago.”

As if sensing the uncertainty in your tone, Donghyun spoke. “Hey, don’t worry. We aren’t going to let anything happen to Mina, or you. Jangjun would have our heads if we did.”

You laughed slightly as you nodded, agreeing with him. 

“Just get some sleep.” He reassured as you thanked him. 

As you closed the door, you took precautions and locked it behind you as you sighed, crawling into bed. You laid a kiss to your little girl’s head before laying your head on your pillow and drifting off to sleep. 

You awoke to a sound just outside your door as you rubbed the sleep from your eyes. Looking at the digital clock on the nightstand, you let out a sigh, getting up to go to the bathroom. When you opened the door, Y and Joochan had moved to the bottom of the stairs surveying the perimeter of the house. You took the opportunity to use the bathroom, bumping into Bomin on the way. He gave you a soft smile as you spoke.

“Will you watch over Mina really quick? I still don’t want to leave her alone.” You asked softly.

Bomin nodded as he headed for your bedroom. You quietly slipped into the bathroom as you looked over your reflection in the mirror. Running a hand through your hair, you turned on the faucet, running your hand under the cold water. Splashing some water on your face, you turned the water off and wiped off your face. You let out a sigh before opening the door. As you headed back for your bedroom, you quietly opened the door and jumped at the tall figure in the corner. 

“Oh, Bomin you scared me.” You whispered out as the figure just stood.

“Bomin,” You whisper out again as the figure spoke.

“Not Bomin, my dear. Your friend is right there, by the door.” The voice spoke, prompting you to look at the ground.

Sure enough, Bomin’s body lay limp against the wall as you dropped next to him.

“Bomin, Bomin, hey can you hear me?” You leaned your head next to his chest, checking for a heart beat.

“Your friend is fine. I didn’t kill him. Not yet at least.” The man spoke.

You shook your head. “Don’t hurt him. He’s just a child.”

The man nodded. “I won’t hurt him, so long as you give me what I want.”

You looked at the open bedroom door before hearing the man tsk.

“Nuh uh. Close the door quietly. Don’t let anyone know I’m here.” He started.

You reached up for the doorknob, closing the door slowly as the figure made its way towards your bed, carefully sitting on the edge. You breath hitched in your throat as the body leaned over your daughter. 

“Boss was right. She looks just like her father.” The man said.

“You’re the man my daughter’s been seeing. You’ve been watching her.” You told him with a fearful tone.

“Well of course. The boss wanted to make sure you didn’t leave town with Jangjun.” He told you.

You shivered at the way your husband’s name sounded on his tongue. “What do you want from me?” 

Even in the darkness, you could make out the grim smile that was now perched on his face. “You, my dear are going to take your daughter and come with me. You two are very valuable, and it will help us get what we want from your husband.  We’ll take your friend, too. Just for extra insurance.” 

You felt a tear roll down your face as you watched another man crawl through your window. “We set up a diversion in the backyard. We’re all clear.”

Busting open the door, you scream. “Help! They’re in here!” 

A pair of arms wrapped around your core as they pulled you back into the room, sticking a cloth over your mouth and nose. You struggled before falling limp, as everything went black.

When you came to, you were in a room blocked entirely in cement. The floor was cold underneath your body as you let your eyes adjust to the one single hanging light. It was bright enough to illuminate almost all of the room as you sat up. A pounding feeling took over your head as you groaned. 

You looked around before spotting a chair in front of you with a boy tied up. You squinted to get a better look and gasped as you scrambled to your feet.

“Bomin! Bomin, hey, I’m right here. Look at me.” You lifted his hanging head, taking in the swollen eyes and busted lip. 

The rope surrounding his hands and ankles were chafing the skin, rubbing it completely raw as the rope was starting to turn an orangish-red color. Bomin’s unconscious body stayed pinned to the chair as you continued to check him before stopping as you heard a lock rattle. A large door opened behind you as you kept your hands on Bomin’s legs, not bothering to turn around.

“I see you’ve noticed the work we did on your friend. He put up a good fight, but not good enough. Perhaps this life isn’t cut out for him.” A man said as you turned around.

The man looked familiar. Almost as if you had seen him before, but you couldn’t remember. His onyx colored eyes made you shiver as he spoke again.

“I’m surprised you don’t recognize me. I’ve only known you your entire life. I’m a former acquaintance of your father’s.” He told you.

You shook your head. “I haven’t spoken to my father in years. I don’t even know if he’s still alive.” 

The man chuckled. “He is. Oh he is. And he owes me something. You see, your father and I made a deal 20 or so years ago. A deal that required me getting a larger amount of money. As you know, your father is a very powerful man. The most notorious mafia leader. He’s worth a lot, and he has a lot. In exchange for what I gave him, he gave me two billion dollars. Just a mere quarter of what he has in total.”

You looked back at Bomin, feeling him stir slightly as you spoke. “What did you give him.”

The man leaned forward, his face being hit with the light as your eyes widened. “My son.”

You let out a gasp as it all hit you. Jangjun had never had the best relationship with his father. He never truly wanted to be in this life, so he never forgave his father for just leaving him with some strange family. Though he always said he’d have to thank him some day for it allowed him to meet you. You had a feeling that thank you was never going to come now.

“I haven’t talked to my son in almost two decades.” The man said.

“Jangjun cutting ties with you had nothing to do with me.” You told the taller male.

“Yes, but you were a big influence. You don’t talk to your own father. No wonder he decided not to talk to me. Had he decided to, this whole thing would’ve been taken care of. I wouldn’t have had to kidnap you, Jangjun and I would still have a good relationship.” He started.

You scoffed. “You still never told me why I was kidnapped. And where’s my daughter?”

“Mina is fine. She’s asleep in the main house with my wife. I wouldn’t dare hurt my granddaughter.” He told you.

“No, just your daughter-in-law. Right?” You countered.

He shrugged. “You don’t seem to understand. You are worth a lot of money. In fact you and your daughter are worth the exact amount I’m owed by your father. So if he won’t give me my money, then I’ll use you two to get it myself.”

“Killing us won’t get you your money.” You whispered.

“But selling you will. Shipping girls off to other countries for, we’ll say “work”, pays a lot. And people know who you are and who your father is. I’ve had people lined up to pay me even more than your father offered just to have you two. However, I choose not to be too greedy.” He told you with a smile.

The resemblance between Jangjun and his father was uncanny. Each time the man smiled it reminded you of your husband. The dark eyes and slightly raspy voice were also similar to Jangjun. 

Bomin jerked slightly under your touch as you turned back to him. “Bomin, hey. You’re okay.”

“I’ll leave you to think about what I said. I’d get comfortable though. It might be awhile.” The man said as he headed for the door. 

He opened it before peeking back in and throwing two rags and chemical cleaner towards you. “You can untie your friend. He shows no danger. You can also clean up the mess his blood made on my floor. I don’t want a stain.”

The door slammed shut behind him as you heard Bomin groan before mumbling out. “I’m sorry.”

“What?” You asked quietly, not quite hearing him.

“I’m sorry. This is my fault.” He repeated louder this time.

You immediately shook your head, grabbing one of the rags to wipe at the blood on his face. “No. Bomin, no. This isn’t your fault. None of this is your fault.”

“They took Mina.” He whisper-cried with a sniffle.

“Mina’s fine. He told me she’s fine.” You whispered back.

He shook his head, drool and sweat mixed with blood fell from his face and mouth. “They’re gonna kill her.”

You froze at his words. “W-what?”

“I said, they’re going to kill her.” Bomin repeated, huffing out a groan at the way the muscles in his stomach contracted.

“How do you know?” You asked softly.

He attempted to lift his head, getting a look at your eyes as you gently held onto his face, keeping his head up. Your eyes pleading for him to continue. 

“I came to in the van while they were driving us here. They were talking about you and your inheritance. You, you're worth a lot of money, but Mina isn’t. She’s not because,” You interrupted him.

“Jangjun is her father.” You whispered.

Your eyes had cast down to the suit pants he was wearing that were now battered in dried blood and dirt stains. You felt him nod in your hands.

“Mina is worth nothing to them. When your father dies, you get his estate, all his money. He left everything to you. Mina nor your mother are mentioned. Once they had sold you overseas, they were going to kill her.” Bomin breathed out.

Your hands started to shake as you lifted your head to meet his tired eyes. He coughed before speaking.

“You have to find a way to get out of here and get Mina.” He told you, making you shake your head.

“I’m not going to leave you. If we survive this, Mina would kill me.” You joked, making the boy crack a small smile. “We’re gonna get out here.”

Jangjun’s head hung low as he sat at the dark wood dinner table that sat in the middle of your dining room. In front of him was a picture taken on your wedding day. The look in your eyes that you were giving him made him feel at home and so so loved. He knew of course from the moment you agreed to go on a date with him that he was completed smitten over you. Jangjun didn’t want anybody else. He vowed to do anything to keep you safe. He did the same when Mina was born. Now, here he sat. Alone in his big house, after finding out the terrible news.

“How did this happen?” Jangjun asked calmly, scaring the others to no end.

Joochan gulped as he watched Jangjun’s fingers trace the cool black exterior of the picture frame holding your wedding picture. The guys noticed the way he ran his finger over your stomach in the picture. You were pregnant during the time you got married. 

“I told you to watch over them.” Jangjun said.

All the guys nodded, but only one knew it was meant for him.

“I was. I-I did. We just,” Y started.

“You just what?” Jangjun countered, looking at him.

His face was stone cold. Eyes darker than usual. It made Y shiver.

“I, there was a small scrap in the backyard. They must have created a diversion. We headed to help Jibeom and Seungmin. It was all a set up though. When we checked upstairs, they had already left with Bomin and the girls.” Y said softly.

Jangjun stood up, making Y take a step back before Daeyeol came through the door.

“There’s someone at the gate.” Daeyeol said, walking through the front door. “They really want to speak with you. They said it’s urgent.”

“Who is it?” Jangjun asked, not taking his eyes of Y. 

“Your father-in-law.” Daeyeol spoke, making Jangjun turn to him.

Jangjun nodded as Daeyeol opened the front door allowing Tag to enter with a man Jangjun had seen briefly in his lifetime, but still recognized.

“Mr. Choi, funny seeing you here.” Jangjun said.

Your father held a few inches on Jangjun as he looked around the large house taking in the other men with him. His eyes landed on your husband as his booming voice spoke.

“Lee Jangjun, nice to see you. I see you're doing well for yourself.” Mr. Choi said.

Jangjun scoffed. “I know you’re not here for small talk. What do you want?”

“More like what I have. I know my daughter and granddaughter were kidnapped under your guards supervision. I also know that you are unsure of who took them and where they are. Well I know.” He finished, catching Jangjun’s attention.

“You do? Where are they?” Jangjun asked, dark eyes wide with anticipation.

“Son, I’d sit down for this. Because it’s a lot.” Mr. Choi told him.

Jangjun listened, sitting in the chair he was previously preoccupying. His hand landed on the wedding photo, holding it down protectively. 

“Where are they?” Jangjun asked again. 

Your father shook his head. “When you were brought to me to be trained when you were younger, your relationship was already strained. You didn’t want this life, and you were forced into it. That being said, you grew into it. Your hatred led you to become the man you are today.” 

Jangjun shook his head. “Your daughter did. Can we just get to the point please.”

“They were kidnapped by your father.” Mr. Choi said.

“W-what? No! There’s no way my father is even still alive. He had too many enemies!” Jangjun reasoned.

“No. It was your father. He is still alive. You see, you ended up in my care, being trained by Dongwoo and I because your father wanted you to become a mafia leader of your own. In exchange for giving you to me, I was going to give your father a lot of money. I saw a lot of potential in you, and promised your father you would be a huge success,” Your father stopped to look around the house again. “I was clearly right. However, a dangerous enemy had made his way into Seoul, and I had to leave the country. I never got the chance to pay your father his money. Now he’s taking the girls.”

Jangjun looked at him confused. “What will that solve?”

“Because they’re worth something.” Jibeom spoke up.

Mr. Choi nodded. “Technically, my daughter is. Mina isn’t. At least not yet. My will leaves everything to my daughter. That’s the money I owe your father plus more. I’ve had overseas enemies that have been dying to get their hands on her. With her in your father’s custody, they are probably swarming the phones in negotiations.”

“What about Mina?” Jangjun asked.

You father let out a sigh. “If she’s no value to them, then your father will kill her.”

Jangjun felt his heart stop at the mere thought of someone hurting his daughter or you. He wouldn’t be able to live without the two of you. 

“Okay. So we go get them.” Jangjun quickly said as the members nodded, getting ready to prepare themselves.

Mr. Choi spoke up. “Hold on. You don’t need to be going to get her.”

Jangjun looked at him with fire in his eyes. “And why the hell not?”

“Because you’re the reason she got kidnapped.” Your father said.

Jangjun was fuming at his words as he yelled, venom dripping from every word. “No. You’re the reason they got kidnapped. Not me. I didn’t make a deal with my father, you did. I didn’t promise him money then fall back on my word, you did. You’re to blame for all of this. So if you think I’m going to entrust my wife and daughter into your hands, you are surely fucking mistaken.”

No one had ever talked to your father in the manner Jangjun just did. He was too feared, too respected for people to disrespect him. He wasn’t used to someone not falling to their knees begging for his mercy. Jangjun gave him one last look before him and Daeyeol started throwing out orders. All the guys prepared, Jangjun yelling out things to grab and ordered people around on a plan before everyone stopped and looked at Mr. Choi.

“Where are they?” Jangjun asked again. 

Your father cowered slightly at Jangjun’s tone before speaking. “At least let me go with you. So I know that they are okay.”

Jangjun looked at Daeyeol who sent a shrug his way as he sighed. “Fine. But stay out of the way.”

The man nodded as they all headed for the door. They got into separate cars, Jangjun opting for the one your father got into as they drove off the property. Jangjun’s head perched against the window watching the buildings fly by as he messed with the cool, black metal on his left ring finger. He brought his ring-clad hand up to his mouth, kissing the metal gently as he whispered to himself.

“I’m coming for you baby.”

You felt around the walls of the room you were in, hoping to find some type of fault in its build as Bomin watched you. The swelling in his eyes had gone down only slightly, but was still very prominent. The feeling was starting to get back to his hands and arms as he would lift them every so often to rub at his legs. He would grunt each time his hands ran across his torso or the cuts and bruises on his face. 

“Bomin, just stay still. Moving isn’t going to help.” You chastised.

The younger boy nodded as he spoke. “Did you figure out a way out of here?”

Shaking your head, you spoke. “The door opens from the outside. It’s like it molds into the walls because I can’t even find a pattern where the door would be.”

Bomin lifted his head, looking around the room before his eyes landed on the light fixture hanging from the ceiling. “The light.”

You turned to look at him. “What about it?”

“How much of the room is it lighting up? Do we have another light source?” Bomin asked.

There were no windows, and with no signs of a door, you wouldn’t be able to know if there was an exit. “As far as I know it is.”

“You need to pull it from the ceiling.” Bomin said.

Tilting your head, you gave him a confused look. “I don’t understand.”

“The light fixture. The surrounding area around the part hooked to the ceiling, that could be your way out.” Bomin breathed out.

You walked towards the light, looking up at it before reaching up for it. The low hanging light was just out of your reach. 

“I can’t reach it.” You said before jumping.

Your hand wrapped around the cord, pulling at the light fixture slightly.

“Harder,” Bomin prompted.

You yanked at the cord, hearing a tear from above you as your feet could finally fully lay flat on the ground. Bomin’s head lifted to look at the fixture before nodding to himself.

“Again.” He instructed. 

You pulled on the cord a third time, this time harder than the rest as it dropped almost three feet down, pulling the wiring from the ceiling with it. Pieces of cracked cement lay by your shoes as you looked at the boy.

“Unscrew the bulb.” Bomin said. “Then break off the leg of that chair. Make sure to break it at an angle, you want a sharp end.”

Nodding, you unscrewed the fluorescent bulb, cursing silently at the temp of it as you carefully set it down in Bomin’s lap before reaching for the old chair. You looked back at Bomin as he mustered up enough energy to move his legs. 

“You gotta break the chair.” He repeated.

“Bomin, I can’t,” He stopped you.

“Throw the damn chair at the wall. Hard! Then grab the sharpest piece from the rubble and hand it to me.” Bomin spoke again.

You nodded as you got a good grip on the chair. Lifting it up, you took some steps back before getting a running start. You threw the chair with everything you had at the wall. It landed with a crash, falling to the floor in pieces as you scrambled to find one. A piece from the top of the chair stuck out as it had snapped in half, providing a point at the tip. You quickly grabbed it, handing it to Bomin as you heard something unlatch.

Bomin tossed you the lightbulb as he whispered. “It’s going to hurt, but at the first chance run up to the guy and bust it in his face.”

You nodded preparing yourself as the door was pushed open. You went to read your arm back before recognizing the person who opened the door. 

“Daeyeol,” You called out, making Bomin’s head snap towards the opened door. 

Daeyeol’s face began to soften in relief before he noticed Bomin. “You guys are okay. Thank god you guys are okay. Jangjun, I found them!”

Daeyeol quickly checked over you before you pushed him away. “Check Bomin. Check him first, I’m fine I promise.”

Daeyeol didn’t hesitate to listen, dropping to his knees to check on the youngest member. It was no surprise to you as Daeyeol had always been more protective over Bomin. You headed for the door before stopping, immediately. Your eyes met those of your father’s making you take a step back before hearing a familiar voice.

“Daeyeol, where are you,” Jangjun stopped, making you let out a sigh of relief.

Feeling your feet take off before you could process it, you ran right into his arms. Your weight hit Jangjun like a truck making him grunt, but he didn’t lose his footing as he lifted you off the ground. Pulling you closer into him, he let his head fall into the crook of your neck as you wrapped your fingers into his dark locks, tugging at them slightly.

“Oh thank god! I thought I was going to lose you. I’m so glad to have you back in my arms.” Jangjun brought your feet back to the ground as he pulled you in for a deep kiss. 

You kissed back before pulling away. “They still have Mina.”

“They got through all the guards in the house. Your father barricaded himself in a room with Mina. He’s not coming out.” Tag said as he jogged over to the two of you.

You looked past him at your father’s lingering stance before speaking. 

“Daeyeol is probably going to need help with Bomin. He needs medical attention.” You told Y. 

He nodded, heading back inside the bunker-type building as Jangjun grabbed your hand. 

“Come on.” He started to pull you away from the building as he stopped in front of your father.

Your grip on Jangjun’s hand tightened as you looked at the man.

“I’m so glad you’re safe.” He told you.

You didn’t look at him as you spoke. “I want to find my baby.”

Your father nodded as he turned towards the main house. He led you and Jangjun into the house as you were met with Seungmin. 

“He locked himself in the master bedroom on the second floor. Mina’s in there with him. We aren’t firing any shots.” Seungmin said.

Seungmin led the way upstairs before stopping. Joochan and Donghyun were waiting by the double doors as your husband spoke.

Jangjun nodded. “We gotta break the door down.”

Joochan and Donghyun nodded as they took a step back. They both lifted a leg before kicking open the double doors to the master bedroom. When they fell open, you were met with your daughter and Jangjun’s father. He held Mina in his arms as everyone stopped.

“Jangjun. My, my, look at you. My only son. Look at the man you’ve grown into.” Jangjun’s father said.

Jangjun spoke lowly. “Give me my daughter. Now.”

You watched his grip on Mina tighten as she reached out towards you and Jangjun.

“Daddy.” She whined slightly, wriggling in his father’s grip.

Your father stepped past the both of you, making you look at him.

“Please, let her go. I’m the one that owes you something. Not them. This little girl, my daughter. They are innocent in this.” Your father pleaded.

Jangjun’s father chuckled. “You think I want anything to do with this child. She’s worthless. Take her.”

He set Mina down as she took off through the broken doors, immediately running to Jangjun. He picked her up, holding her close as she wrapped her little arms around his neck.

He kissed her forehead before handing her off to Donghyun. “Both of you, go to the car. Stay with her.”

They nodded as Jangjun waited until the two guys got downstairs before turning to your father.

He nodded as he spoke. “I’m here to give you the money I owe you, Lee.”

Jangjun’s father shook his head. “I don’t want your damn money. I want her.”

A slim, boney finger raised up to point at you as Jangjun’s wrapped a protective arm around your waist.

“She is worth more than anything. I gave you your child back, so you give me her.” Jangjun’s father continued.

Your father spoke up. “That wasn’t our deal.”

“You broke our agreement years ago. Time for new negotiations. Don’t you think?” Jangjun’s father said before Jangjun looked at you.

He gave you a tender smile before whispering. “Don’t look.”

You nodded, wrapping an arm around his torso and hiding your face in the crook of his neck. You felt him move slightly before hearing the click of a gun. Shutting your eyes, you jumped as two shots were fired off. Lifting your head, Jangjun looked at you as he pecked your forehead. You heard groaning behind you as you turned. Jangjun’s father lay on the floor clutching his leg as he let out another painful groan.

“Let this be a lesson to you.” Your father told him.

Jangjun kept his hand around your waist as he led you to the staircase before stopping. He turned back around, heading towards his father with his gun in hand before stopping in front of him, pointing the barrel right at his head.

“Don’t you ever come near me, my wife, or daughter ever again, or next time, I’ll put a bullet through your fucking head.” Jangjun told him, earning a look of fear from his father as he tucked the gun back into the waistband of his pants.

He walked back over to you, as you headed down the stairs and outside of the house. Jangjun kept his grip on you as you, him, and your father got into a car.

“Daeyeol took Bomin to the hospital. I told him we’d meet him there.” Jangjun spoke softly, as to not spook you.

“Where’s Mina?” You asked.

He turned to point at the car through the back windshield as he countered. “She’s with Joochan and Donghyun. They’re going to follow us.”

You nodded, leaning into Jangjun as he pecked the top of your forehead. Your father sat up front as Y drove, watching the two of you through the rear view mirror. He sighed to himself as he collected his thoughts throughout the drive. 

As the car pulled into the drive of the hospital, you and Jangjun were the first two to jump out and head into the hospital. Daeyeol spotted the two of you as he walked up to you. The rest of the crew had joined inside the emergency room as he spoke.

“They took him back and admitted him.” Daeyeol said softly.

Jangjun nodded. “How bad is he?”

Daeyeol sighed. “Three broken ribs, a fractured orbital bone, a cracked nose, lacerations around his wrists and ankles. Surprisingly, he had no internal bleeding or head trauma. They said he’ll be fine.”

Donghyun was the last to enter the hospital, Mina perched on his hip as he walked up to you. You smiled, thanking him quietly as you took her from his arms. You held her close, laying a hand on the side of her head as you kissed her temple. Jangjun pulled you into him, gently pulling Mina down to kiss her forehead as he whispered to you.

“I’m so glad you both are okay. I would’ve been lost without you.” Jangjun said quietly.

You smiled, pecking his lips lightly before hearing a door open. A nice looking lady came out, wrapped in a long white coat as she spoke.

“Are you Choi Bomin’s party?” She asked, making all of you nod. “Great. Well as I told Mr. Lee before, Bomin is going to be just fine. He just needs a lot of rest and time for healing. He’s very lucky. Though his injuries were serious, they weren’t severe.”

“Can we see him?” You asked softly.

The doctor smiled. “Of course. Try not to overwhelm him though, okay?”

You all nodded as Daeyeol looked at everyone. “Jangjun, you can go first if you’d like?”

Jangjun inhaled slightly before nodding as he looked at you and Mina. “Do you want to come with me?”

You nodded as the three of you headed for the room. Jangjun opened the door gently before ushering the both of you in behind him. He closed it behind him as you walked over to the side of Bomin’s bed. Mina’s head lifted slightly, taking in who was laying on the small bed as she spoke.

“Bomin-ie.” She called out faintly.

It was loud enough for the boy to hear as he opened his eyes slightly turning to look at you. Bomin smiled as his brown eyes looked at Mina. She kicked slightly in your hold, letting you know she wanted to be put down. You sat her on the side of Bomin’s hospital bed as you whispered.

“This is where you have to sit right now, okay?” You asked her.

Her little head nodded as she spoke. “Are you sick Bomin-ie?”

The three of you laughed slightly as Bomin nodded gingerly. “I’m okay, mini me. Just a little down and out. I’ll be here for a little while.”

Mina pouted slightly. “But what about our tea party?”

Jangjun gasped slightly. “Oh no, not the tea party.”

You rolled your eyes at your husband as Bomin smiled. “Have Donghyun fill in for me, okay? I’ll be back soon though. I promise.”

He lifted his hand to hold out his pinky as Mina linked her tiny finger around his.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Bomin.” Jangjun said, looking at the younger boy.

Bomin smiled as Jangjun spoke again. “Thank you for keeping them safe. You risked your life for them.”

“When you put me in charge of Mina after her first birthday, I promised you I’d take a bullet for this little girl. I’d never go back on my word. You know that.” Bomin told him.

Jangjun nodded with a smile. “Thank you.”

Bomin grinned before speaking. “Just make sure I’m not in here for months. I hate hospitals.”

The three of you laughed before someone spoke. “You’ll be out of here in no time. I made sure that you got the absolute best care and best doctors and nurses working on you.”

Bomin’s eyes took in the man at the foot of his bed as he spoke in a confused tone. “Thank you.”

“Bomin, this is my father.” You said without looking at the man. 

Bomin nodded as he relaxed slightly. 

“Thank you for doing your absolute best to protect my daughter and granddaughter.” He told Bomin.

Your father turned to Jangjun as you rounded the bed. to stand next to him. Jangjun wrapped his arm around your waist, squeezing slightly in a sign of affection.

“Jangjun, I underestimated you. I never gave you a chance when my ex-wife told me that you and my daughter were getting married. Then she told me about Mina, and I knew I needed to get past my own reservations. You make my daughter very happy. You've both created a beautiful little girl who I must say looks, just like her father. Family is a person's greatest blessing. I know you have your own little family, but if it’s not too much to ask, I’d like to be a part of it.” Your father said, making you and Jangjun look at each other.

Jangjun gave you a look that meant he was letting you decide as you smiled at him. You turned to your father as you spoke. 

“It’s going to take some time, for us to move past everything and this, of course. But, I know Mina would enjoy getting to know her grandfather.” You told your father, watching a smile grow on his face.

He thanked you as Jangjun exhaled. “Well, I think it’s time to go home. What do you think?”

You giggled slightly, sparking a small smile from your husband as you nodded. “Just as long as you’ll be there.”

“Oh, absolutely. I’m never letting you out of my sight again. That was the worst day of my life. Now, time for us to go home and for me to never let go of you and Mina. Like, ever.” Jangjun told you, making you laugh.

He picked up Mina, who instantly cuddled into him as he pecked your forehead. 

“My greatest blessings, that’s what you two are.” Jangjun whispered as he led the two of you back to your home, where he cuddled and held you close the entire night.

[candy-and-writing]

But With Three Of Us, Honey, It’s A Side Show

Summary: You and Bucky have a unique. . . friends with benefits relationship. He told you when you started that he didn’t date, that he didn’t do relationships. But you start to fall for him, anyway.

Warnings: 18+, smut, explicit smut, angst, oral sex (f), fingering, slight Steve x reader, mention of oral sex (m), soft! Bucky, dom! Bucky, mention of alcohol use and abuse, mention of substance abuse, Steve is a sweetheart

A/n: so this is for @p8tn0lish​ ‘s Sweet 200 Challenge.It was due like two weeks ago, but I suck, so :P

The one sex scene is loosely based off that one Endings, Beginnings scene with Seb in the kitchen (you know the one I’m talking about)

Feel free to leave comments and likes to let me know how you liked it! Enjoy!

I am NOT responsible for your media content consumption. This work is not intended for those under the age of 18 due to explicit sexual content and/or dark themes. By reading this work you agree that you are at least 18 years of age. I do not consent to have my work posted on any third party app or website; if you are seeing this work anywhere other than tumblr and archiveofourown, it has been reposted without my permission.

You still weren't quite sure how you ended up in this predicament, laying on your stomach with your ass up in the air as Bucky pounded into you ruthlessly, fucking away the stress of the latest mission.

He palmed your ass with his hand, squeezing your flesh before giving it a quick slap, causing you to yelp into the mattress. It amazed you how much you both needed this—how much you needed Bucky to be in control just as much as he needed it, how much you needed to relinquish power over your choices, to just let someone choose for you.

Bucky was the one who came to you with the proposal, after a drunken night of fucking until you were both sweating vodka. You thought it would be a good idea—no strings attached. Just a friend to come to when one of you needed to forget.

Now, though, as he pounds into you with his fingers locked against your throat, growling filthy things and calling you a good girl, you think you would've been better off taking a Xanax and drinking some of Tony's expensive whiskey until the combination knocked you out cold.

With a feral growl, Bucky came, tightening his grip on your throat until the edges of your vision turned black. He pulled out of you, the slightest whimper escaping your lips as he stood from the bed, taking off the condom and marching into the bathroom. You rolled over onto your side, catching your breath.

Bucky came back into your room, his boxers on, and handed you a damp rag.

"Here." You pushed his hand away with a grunt, Bucky chuckling as you closed your eyes. "That good, huh?"

You hummed in response. Sleep shrouded you, calling your name and you just wanted Bucky to lay down next to you. Cracking your eyes open, you saw Bucky pull his shirt down his torso. He brushed a strand of hair away from your face, whispering goodnight to you.

"Stay," you muttered, keeping his hand in place on your head.

Bucky huffed out a laugh. "I don't do cuddling, doll."

"It's only cuddling if you make it cuddling," you retorted, a snarky smile spreading your lips. "C'mon, you can sneak out in the morning. Please?"

He seemed to be considering your proposal, deep in thought as he sighed, pulling his wrist out of your grasp. "Another time. Get some sleep, doll."

You tried to hide your disappointment as Bucky walked out of your room. You ran your hand through your sweat-soaked hair, turning on your back as you stared at the ceiling until sleep took over.

--

Bucky came to you again the next night.

You had barely cracked your door open before he barreled in, slamming it shut behind him and pulling you into a bruising kiss. You let him, melting into him almost too easily. He pushed you back until your legs hit the bed, forcing you down.

"Bucky," you breathed, grabbing at his hands as he tugged at your nightshirt. He ignored you, nibbling at your neck. "Buck. Bucky, wait. Stop."

Bucky pulled away reluctantly, his eyes dark as he scowled at you. "What?" he growled.

"Talk to me," you said quietly. You could read him like a book—the way his shoulders tensed, the crease of his eyebrows, the way his jaw ticked when the words left your mouth.

Bucky sighed. "It's nothing, doll, really. It just. . . it hasn't been a good day."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He chuckled humorlessly. "If I wanted to talk, I'd go to Steve. I don't want to talk—I want to forget."

"Whatever you need." Because that was the truth. You'd give him whatever he needed, and if that meant he needed you to lay down so he could pound into you until you lost consciousness, then that was exactly what you'd do.

Bucky kissed you then, hot and heavy and desperate. He shoved you down onto your back, his knees on either side of your waist.

"Safeword?" he asked you.

You swallowed, the breath leaving your lungs. "Brooklyn."

He smirked. "Good girl."

--

Things between you and Bucky only escalated. He came to your door almost nightly—sometimes after a nightmare, other times it was just after the last waking Avenger went to bed.

You hated it. You hated the way he worshipped your body, how he whispered filthy promises into your ear, how he called you 'doll' in that husky tone that sent shivers down your spine. You hated the power he had over you.

You just finished a mission in Prague with Steve and Bucky, some HYDRA lackies dealing illegal weapons across the borders. You were hot, sweaty, and you hadn't taken a shower in over four days. What seemed to bother you most is that Bucky hasn't touched you in those four days. You couldn't, not with Steve there. It was too risky.

Bucky was ready to jump you by the time the quinjet landed, speeding past you with a knowing look. Bedroom. Now.

Debrief was in an hour, which gave you and Bucky plenty of time to. . . wind down. You scurried to your room, finding Bucking already standing by your bed.

"Took you long enough," he huffed, his brow creased. "What'd you do, stop for ice cream?"

"Ha, ha," you snorted, smiling as you dropped your duffle bag onto your desk. You jumped when you felt Bucky's hand brush your hair over your shoulder, the tips of his fingers skimming against the nape of your neck. Shivers danced down your spine, his lips caressing your neck as you inhaled a shaky breath.

"M'gonna take you right here," he whispered hotly in your ear. "Then we're gonna take a shower."

You nodded eagerly, eyes closed as you relished in his heat. You gasped as he tugged at your tac suit.

"God, I missed you."

You melted into his touch, leaning against his chest as he nibbled at your exposed shoulder. He pulled the zipper down to your naval, yanking the fabric down your torso and leaving your top half bare. 

"Missed ya so much," he muttered huskily in your ear, more to himself than to you. But you heard it. It sent a shudder down your spine and made your knees weak. 

You spun on your toes and kissed him, your hands reaching up to cup his face. His fingers dug into your ass and pulled you up, your legs wrapping around his slim waist. He took a step forward and swept an arm over your desk, knocking your duffel bag and several stacks of papers off the surface before he set you down.

He kissed his way down your neck, his hands working on shedding you of your uniform. As he pulled the fabric down your legs, he dropped to his knees. He tore your underwear down quickly before he looked up at you, his eyelashes fluttering. You sucked in a shaky breath, watching him as he dived in.

Your head fell back against the wall as Bucky devoured you with his mouth, his tongue zeroing in on your clit until you were squirming, your body tensing as your legs wrapped his head. 

Bucky hummed against your flesh, sending vibrations up through your clit before continuing his ministrations until you thought you would explode. His tongue stayed focused on your folds, working you with his mouth until you were burning, hotter and hotter with each passing second.

You moaned as he inserted two fingers into you, pushing closer to the precipice. The pads of his fingers pushed up against your soft spot, causing you to preen. He continued to press against that trigger inside you, kept you balanced on the peak between his fingers and his tongue until you couldn't breathe; until you thought you would pass out.

He drew his fingers back then, fucking you with his tongue and you cried out, the pressure shattering in your gut and you came, fingers clutched in his hair as he lapped up your juices. You whined as you slumped back against the wall, weakly pushing his head away from your center, oversensitive.

Bucky pulled back, a sly smirk on his face as your juices soaked his beard. He stood, bringing you in for a sloppy kiss, all tongue and teeth and you could taste yourself on his lips. It was intoxicating. 

"Let's take a shower," he whispered.

--

You both were late for the debriefing. Steve had given you both a disappointed look but didn't ask why. Throughout the entire meeting, Bucky kept stealing glances at you when Steve wasn't looking, distracting you when you were trying to present your part of the review.

Suffice to say, the debrief was messy. But Steve had gotten what he needed to write the report, so he let the two of you go. Bucky left with a short nod to his friend, not even sparing you a glance. You followed him out, your shoulders dropping when he continued to ignore you.

You stopped when you heard Steve call your name. You turned, watching as Steve jogged to catch up with you.

"What's up, Cap?"

"Uh, nothing, I—" He suddenly looked very uncomfortable. He scratched the back of his neck as you watched him. "I was just wondering if you were free tomorrow night?"

You let out a small chuckle. "I am. Why?"

Steve felt his cheeks heat up. "Would you wanna get dinner? With me?"

You raised your eyebrows in shock. "Oh."

"It's fine if you don't," Steve said. "Just forget I said anything—"

"No!" you interjected quickly. "No, I mean, I. . . ." You thought about Bucky for a second, your relationship and your feelings towards him. It was stupid to think he would ever feel the same, but going out with his best friend? "I'd love to, Steve."

Steve felt a weight lift off his chest. "Good. Great! You been to that new Italian place in the city yet?"

You shook your head.

"Good, I'll pick you up at eight?"

You smiled. "It's a date."

Steve smiled down at you. His phone buzzed. "I've gotta take this, I'll see you around."

"Bye." You watched him walk away, beaming to yourself like you were a girl with a highschool crush. You smiled the rest of the way to your room. The smile went away, however, when you found Bucky sitting on your bed.

"What'd Steve wanna talk to you about?" he asked, not looking up from the book he was reading.

"Nothing," you lied. You kicked your shoes off and looked at him. "Uh—I need to talk to you."

Bucky looked at you. "What's up?"

You swallowed thickly, your nerves jumping in your throat. "I think we need to end this—us." You motioned between you and him. Bucky frowned at you.

"What're you talking about, doll?"

"Don't—" you took a breath, "don't call me that—you know what I'm talking about."

Bucky stood, walking up to you. "What did Steve talk to you about?"

"It doesn't matter," you said. "Just. . . just listen to me—"

He had you pinned against the wall. "So let me get this straight: not two hours ago you had my dick in your mouth and now you want to end things? I think I at least deserve an explanation, doll."

"Because this isn't healthy," you spat. "What we're doing isn't healthy. We fuck each other silly instead of talking about our problems and you barely even look at me during the day. I mean, do you even like me?"

"Of course I like you. We're friends."

"We're not just friends and you fucking know it!" You shoved him off of you. "You want to know why I want to end things? Because Steve asked me out. And I think he might actually like me. I can't go out with him if I'm fucking his best friend, and I couldn't tell him 'no' because then I'd have to explain why!"

Bucky stared at you, perplexed. "Steve asked you out?"

You scoffed. "Don't act like you care. I don't even know why you wanted to do this with me in the first place, I mean, it's not like you—"

His lips were on yours, then, swiftly silencing you. The desperation rolled off of him in waves as he kissed you, his hands cupping your cheeks. It took you a moment to gain your senses, to push him off in mere confusion. You stared at him, dumbfounded. He was breathless, eyelids hooded as he stared at your lips.

"If you really want to end things," Bucky muttered, "if that's what you really want, then I won't stop you."

You swallowed thickly, nodding. "It is."

His shoulders slumped and you swore you saw Bucky's face fall. "Okay."

And just like that, he was gone.

[fucnhg-slee-p]

Hard times

Robert Pattinson x liza

prompt: something stupid leads to something epic

___


This was it, the stupidest idea you’ve ever had.

“We can call it... uh, No cum december”

“What? That’s the worst name ever!” Rob laughed.

You and robert were having game night and having the oh so normal conversation about how you’ve never actually participated in no nut november and for some god forsaken reason, wanted to try it out.

This conversation would have been quite weird with anyone else but you’re known robert your whole life, and when college came around ended up being roommates, the luck was unbelievable. He was your closest and practically only friend so of course you could talk about things like this without it being weird.

“Okay, well I’d like to see you come up with something better then!” You retorted, laughing.

“Uh...well I don’t know, no cum December is fine i guess” he said chuckling, obviously not being able to come up with a better name

“Ha! Uno!” You said putting your last card down.

“What! That’s not fair, you definitely cheated” rob said jokingly

“Yeah yeah whatever you say.” You laughed while putting the cards away and pull out another game.

—-

By now the games were put away and the two of you were watching tv, cuddling.

“Hey! It’s almost 12. In 20 minutes you wont be able to cum for 31 days” you stated, pointing at the time on your phone. Robert looked away from the tv in order to look at you. “In that case ill be right back..” he quickly got up and you both laughed. “I guess I should take advantage of it too”

Both of you were very open with each other so mentioning that you were going to masturbate wasnt really that weird. the only issue was that right now all you could think about was him.. for most of your life you’ve been in love with him, you’ve been in other relationships but it never felt as good as being around robert so of course none of them lasted. It felt wrong to think of him while you were doing this but you couldn’t help it, especially when you knew what he was doing in the next room.

——

11:59

by now you were both back in the living room as if nothing had happened, talking about how dumb this episode of fresh prince was.

12:00

“It’s twelve now, if either of us fail we have to tell each other” robert said, reaching for the popcorn on the coffee table and eating some. “Yeah we have to be honest about it, no cheating” you replied, taking the bowl from him, leaving robert with just a handful. “Hey!” He exclaimed, mockingly upset that you took his popcorn, he threw his handful at you, laughing.

You retaliated by dumping the bowl on his head, “alright, thats it” robert said moving from his spot on the couch to get closer to you, he put his hands on your waist and started tickling you until you had tears in your eyes from laughing too much and begging him to stop. He was laying above you laughing from how cute you looked.

———

It’s been 6 days and you feel like you’re going crazy, everything he does is the hottest thing you’ve ever seen. You feel like hes doing it on purpose, what an asshole.

After a long day (or week) of studying going from class to class, you just needed to relax but you were constantly on edge and robert was making it much worse. Right now he was just standing by the fridge drinking water but it was somehow the most sexual thing you’d ever seen

“Robert?” You sounded kinda pissed off but you really didn’t mean to

“Yeah?” He took a deep breath after completely finishing the bottle, with some water dripping down to his shirt, what the fuck

“What the fuck are you doing?” You were done with his bullshit, yeah it had only been a week but it was torture especially with the way he was acting

“I’m.. drinking water..” he answered with a confused expression, throwing the empty bottle away and walking towards your spot on the couch

“Ok well stop being annoying” you looked back at your notebook to continue with your studies. “Hey! I didn’t even do anything,” he laughed “i think someone needs to get laid, you’re getting a little frustrated huh?” He teased, only making it worse.

“No im completely fine” you lied “I’m just frustrated with all this shit” you said gesturing to your pile of books. you put your head in your hands “god this is just so hard” you were talking about both situations but if you were being honest the main reason for how stressed you felt was because of this stupid challenge it wasnt even for money or some prize, its literally for no reason.

“I’m sorry Liz, i can help out if you want”

“What?” You quickly looked up at him with a slightly shocked expression that you’re sure he didn’t notice “if you need help with your classes and stuff I’m here for you”

“Oh.” you sighed in both relief and disappointment “no its okay”

“Well if you need me I’m here” he put his hand on your shoulder and it sent a spark through your whole body. “How are you doing with this challenge anyway?” You changed the subject back to the only thing you could think about

“I’m okay, it was really hard for the first few days but now its kinda fun, especially when you think about how it’ll feel at the end of the month, you know? Waiting so long and then finally-“ “ok shut up!” You cut him off, this was all too much. He laughed “uh, do you wanna play Mario kart?” He asked softly, rubbing your back “yeah sure, i think i need a break from this anyway” you smiled at him, making sure not to stare too long.

——

After about 2 hours of playing and him winning almost every time, you ordered pizza and played uno while you waited. The whole time you were stuck on the way his hands moved and how his arms looked so good in the shirt he was wearing, he knew you were half zoned out but he figured you were just stuck thinking about school again.

The knock at the door pulled you from your haze “ill get it, you put the cards away” you said getting up to open the door.

You both ate in a comfortable silence for a while, little did you know he was suffering just as much or worse than you were. At this point you were both shamelessly staring at each other without the other even realizing.

Eventually you realized he was looking you up and down as if you were the only girl in the world and hes been waiting his whole life to have you, you slowly looked away as not to startle him or let him realize you were staring too, or even caught into the fact that he was looking at you with such hunger, which by the way was extremely painful to see from how hot it was.

the tv was quietly playing avatar “if you had a flying bison what would you name it?” You broke the silence

“Hm? Uh.. I don’t know, maybe Bryan”

“That’s an ugly name” you laughed

“Okay well what would you name a flying bison?”

“I would name it robert” you said, forgetting that you were talking to robert

he smiled “aw you’d name him after me?”

your eyes widened subtly “no.. i would just name him robert”

“Yeah ok” he joked, his hand brushed your outer thigh, for a little too long

You inhaled sharply at the sensation. It was only a short moment but it felt like forever and as wild as your thoughts were running it was much much worse now.

You don’t think he even realized how intense that was for you, it must’ve been all in your head, you need to calm down.

———

Now it’d been 10 days, you’re surprised you lasted more than 24 hours, really. But god these last few days have been hell, you’re sure roberts teasing you on purpose, trying to see how long you’ll last when he ‘bumps’ into you or takes his shirt off because ‘it’s too hot’ even though it was freezing. If one more thing happened you were done. You were at the library, trying to catch a break from the stress, listening to music and reading a short novel that caught your attention, sitting in the library always made you feel good. After a few hours of being there you decided it was time to head back to your dorm, on the way there you got a hot tea from the local bakery.

Walking into your dorm you were greeted by robert, sitting on the couch watching some documentary about something stupid. “Hey, i got you a muffin” you said putting your stuff down and taking your coat off. “God its so cold out there”. You handed him the muffen and sat next to him, silently watching the documentary and drinking your tea, figuring out it was about aliens. Without your knowledge he wasnt watching the tv, he was intently watching the way you drank the tea, the way your lips wrapped around the cup was addictive to him. And then it happened, he stretched and you glanced at him from the sudden movement, right then you knew it was over, you took a second look and you could’ve died, his stomach was peaking out from the hem of his shirt and his head was tossed back, showing off his collarbone, and his arms stretched above his head showing off his muscles. You were done. You were completely lost in a trance, staring at him for far too long

“What?” He asked sounding worried.

“I cant do this anymore” you let out a breath you didn’t know you we’re holding. Your eyes trailed down to his lips for a moment and he realized what you meant.

“You need me, don’t you?” You almost whined when he said that, he knew exactly how badly you wanted him, there was no denying it.

You both leaned in slowly, testing the waters before your lips finally crashed together, your whole body felt electric, you were on fire.

Pulling away for a moment, you felt dizzy. Resting your forehead on his to let your lungs catch a break. All you could do was smile “you don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that” you said leaning in to kiss him again. It felt just as intense as the first time, he pulled you into his lap without breaking the kiss, your hands gripping into his hair while his hands roamed over your whole body.

He pulled on your bottom lip with his teeth and deepened the kiss, if that was even possible. He rubbed his hands up and down your thighs taking his time to get where you wanted him. “Please” you groaned, desperate for more

Obliging, he started to rub his fingers over your underwear delicately, gradually building pressure “mmh fuck” you moaned into his neck. “I’m already so close”

Suddenly he stopped and pulled away to look into your eyes. “Wake up”

“What?” You asked, voice laced with confusion

“I said, wake up” he said more aggressively this time, reaching to pinch you.

Your eyes opened and you were in bed, out of breath and covered in sweat. “What the fuck” you rubbed the sleep out of your eyes and got dressed quickly.

Walking into your shared living area you grabbed a snack and headed out to class — you were running late so you kind of rushed out. On your way there you texted robert, making movie night plans for when you both got back to your dorm.

Every time you closed your eyes you could see everything from your dream so clearly. You were barely hanging on at this point

—

Walking back home was dreadful for a number of reasons, one, it was freezing, two, youd have to see robert and be the way you always are with each other and not accidentally let your feelings slip out

Your phone buzzed

You got a text from robert

“I got Wendy’s, get home asap! I’m gonna eat your food >:)”

Smiling to yourself you sent a quick response warning him not to and started walking faster. Forgetting how hard it was to keep your feelings down, you were just excited to hang out with your best friend for the night, even though you spent most nights together, you were never tired of each other

—

You opened the front door and walked inside “Robert! You better not have ate my food” you yelled through the small apartment

Robert walked out of his room half naked, his only covering being the towel wrapped around his waist. clearly he’d just gotten out of the shower. “Dont worry i waited” he laughed. There’s no way this wasnt on purpose.

“Go put clothes on so we can eat and watch our movie!”

“Why am i distracting you” he smirked, his tone changing drastically. Still standing by the front door He walked up to you caging you between the wall and his body “is it hard for you to focus when I’m practically naked?”

It felt as though all of the air left your body, you closed your eyes for a minute to try to keep your cool— “liza?”

You opened your eyes again and robert was standing in front of you, at a normal distance — fully clothed

“You okay?”

“Yeah sorry, just stressed. Everything’s fine”

These daydreams are fucking brutal

You both ate in a peaceful silence and watched Scott pilgrim. After it was over you were having a regular conversation on the couch

“I think I’m gonna head to bed, its getting late” you said, about to get up.

“Wait” rob stopped you, “i have to tell you something”

He said nothing, just stared at you while trying to figure out the best way to get the words out. “You failed didnt you?” You teased, knowing whatever he had to say was more serious than the stupid bet “no no, thats not it” he chuckled, getting lost in your eyes

He moved a strand of hair out of your face and kept his hand on your cheek. Both of you just staring, too scared to make the first move. “Rob?” He hummed in response, eyes flickering to you lips “what did you want to tell me?”

He leaned in and softly kissed you. Before he could pull away you held onto his face.

“I have a crush on you” he whispered into the kiss, deepening it.

You moaned in response, climbing into his lap “is this real?” You said with desperation. “I hope so” he said putting his lips back into yours, pulling himself off the couch and walking into his room with you in his arms, not breaking the kiss

he gently laid you on his bed and held himself above you, moving his lips down your neck and sucking on a sensitive spot. He tugged at the bottom of your shirt, you sat up to help him get it off and he continued kissing down your body, stopping here and there until he made it to the waistline of your pants, he looked up at you while slowly pulling them down “please” as much as you loved how gentle he was being it was torture to go this slow “patience baby girl” he said kissing over your panties softly, moving them to the side he swiped his fingers through your folds then bringing them to his mouth, licking them clean “so wet already, how long have you wanted this to happen huh?” He said putting his fingers on you again. “Too long” you moaned.

Stopping his movements he pulled his ring off and put it on your finger, then continued his work, sliding his fingers inside of you now, slowly pumping them. “faster please” you cried out, grabbing into his hair. He thankfully started going faster, and faster and holy shit “fuck I’m so close don’t stop” your words were slurring together and you could hardly concentrate on anything going on beside the way his fingers felt “pleasepleaseplease” at this point the only thing coming out of your mouth was a string of cursing and pleas to keep going, and finally after two weeks of barely hanging on you felt so good it almost hurt, but he didnt stop there. He kept going, keeping up with his fast pace and now licking and sucking on your clit, you felt so sensitive it hardly took much to fall over the edge again and he still didnt stop until your third time and you couldn’t feel your legs.

“Holy shit” you said out of breath as he moved up your body to kiss you softly “did i hurt you?” You shook your head in response, moving your hand down his body, “no, you don’t have to”

“I want to”

He stayed hovering over you as you stroked him at an agonizingly slow pace. After a while you pushed him down to lay beside you and you continued to take your time. It felt so intimate. “I love you” you whispered onto his lips as you kissed him. “I love you too” he said with so much admiration in his eyes. You moved your lips down his body and kissed his tip gently “I’m close” he pushed his head into the pillow and squeezed his eyes shut “please. Faster”

You obliged, moving you hand faster and taking him in your mouth, matching the pace of your hand. “Liza” he moaned quietly. You hummed around him in response. “I love you so much”. With a few more strokes he finished and you pulled off oh him, “i love you too” you said laying down on his chest “i cant feel my legs”

“Good” he said, wrapping is arms around you.

[scottfuckingreed]

No - Montgomery De La Cruz

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ANONYMOUS SAID: “can u write a Monty imagine where the reader is friends with all the boys like Jeff, Justin and them & she is warning Montgomery about Bryce after a comment he makes? xxx’

-

Warnings!: Swearing, sexual talk and Bryce being Bryce (yuck)

-

Summary: although it is unknown to their friends, you and Monty are in a committed relationship. Things take a turn when you and Bryce are left alone at his house

-

“You’re such a dickhead!” Jeff shouts towards Justin and throws a chip at him over the table. This kind of sums up most of our lunches. It’s a routine almost. We sit in the exact same places, talk about pretty much the same things, and act the way we always do. It’s only ever subtle changes that happen. A hand lands on the patch of bare skin just above my thigh, but I don’t even flinch. No one can see it. Monty and I are very low key. It’s better this way. I know he’s mine, and he knows that if he looks anywhere else I’ll cut his dick off. So we’re VERY much on the same page about everything. No one else has to know, just as long as we do.

I drive myself to Bryce’s house for a typical hand out with the usuals. I see them all sprawled out across his room, smoking all the shit in the bong. Everyone has their eyes fixed on the game going on the tv between Zach and Justin. It may sound boring, but the shit - and it is utter shit - that comes out of these boys when they’re playing is too funny to miss. I lay eyes on Monty. I’d love to go and cuddle with him OBVIOUSLY but that can’t happen. I don’t know why it can’t, but I know it can’t. We lock eyes. It feels like minutes before we look away, but I know it’s only a split second before he blinks away. “I’m getting a drink, anyone want one?” He asks as he pushes himself out of the bright blue bean bag. Almost half the boys say ‘ah yeah’, which is perfect for me really. “Jesus Christ guys I’m not a fucking God y’know!” I grunts at the response. I mean... I personally disagree but I’d never tell him that. “I’ll help you,” I laugh.

We get to Bryce’s kitchen, and I get lifted onto the counter almost instantly. Our lips connect and I pull him as close to me as I possibly can. My legs wrap fully around him. I imagine they look pretzel shaped if you looked from behind. Unfortunately his kitchen is very open and we’d get caught very easily. A little make out wasn’t enough, but I guess it’ll do for now. “I missed you,” he mumbles before placing one last peck on my lips. If he said any of the shit he says to me in front of any the boys he would get SLAUGHTERED - let alone Bryce. It makes these moments even more special. I know he’s only like this with me. “Tell me about it,” he pulls away fully and goes towards the fridge. Monty comes back with four beers and places them in my lap. “That’s cold,” I moan and hurry them onto the counter. I see a smirk form in the corner of my eye. “What’s that for Cruz?” I lightly tap him with my foot. He pauses, before coming over to me with his four cans. Leaning in towards my ear, he begins to whisper. “I just think you should save that moaning for later.” Fuck.

“Honestly... Fuck you!” I shout as Jeff absolutely obliterates me. “I’m on your team!” I add as I lift my leg to kick him. He grabs my leg with his right hand and twists me playfully. I scream, which makes him do it more. I suddenly start to feel eyes burning in the side of my head. I continue messing around with Jeff because I’m probably over reacting, but I hear a cough behind me. “I think I’m gonna take off,” Monty stands up. Jeff stops, allowing me to sit up and look at him. I feel restricted from saying anything in case it makes it obvious. “Come on Cruz, it’s only 8!” Bryce throws a screwed up empty can of beer at him. “Sorry man, I’ll see you tomorrow.” And he leaves.

Running after Monty would just scream desperate and relationship so I don’t bother, but know that it’s all I wanted to do. If I wasn’t such good friends with these guys it would’ve been a no brainer. The stupid gaming goes on for hours, which causes both arguments and physical fights. I think everyone knew that it was time to finish. As people start leaving, it feels more and more calm and normal. It always feels like there’s hundred of us, although it’s 12 people at the most. Sometimes it’s nice to just be at 0. Not 100.

Pretty soon after people start leaving it’s just me and Bryce. We’ve known each other for what seems like forever, but we were never really ‘close’ until maybe a year or two ago. I feel like I know him, but he’s always been a closed book. But maybe that’s just me. Either way, I don’t think we’ve ever hung out just the two of us. “When do your parents come back?” I ask as I help clean up all the mess. “Tomorrow maybe. Who knows?” He laughs. I go into the kitchen to throw the cans in the bin, but when I turn around Bryce is right in front of my face. “Woah,” I laugh uncomfortably. My hand goes to his chest to push him back slightly to get past. “Y/N,” he says calmly. I say nothing and just turn back around. His energy is a lot different to how I’ve ever experienced it, so I’m unsure of what to do. I watch as he takes steps towards me, and the vibe I get from the situation is just... I can’t really describe it. It’s just negative.

One second he’s across the kitchen, next there’s hardly any space between us. I desperately want to move, but my back lays flat against the back wall. The feeling is indescribable. I don’t know why I feel so... weird..? about this whole thing. I’ve never seen him like this before. His hand lifts, making me stiffen up as he brings it to brush a piece of hair behind my ear. ‘I’m with Monty’ wouldn’t even come out of my mouth even if I wanted it do. “Bryce I-“ a fingertip that slightly circles the outside of my thigh silences me. “No I-“ and he doesn’t acknowledge, just continues. He’s stronger than me. He’s bigger than me. I begin to go into panic mode - but that just comes across as a frozen statue. “Don’t kid yourself Y/N,” he leans down and whispers in my right ear. Every hair across my skins stands tall. “Bryce- no- I.” I try forming a sentence in my brain, but they come out jumbled. His lips lower to my neck as I feel his finger slip up my shorts. I dont know where this strength comes from, but I push as hard as I can. He falls onto the ground, almost hitting his head on some cabinets. Almost. “Fuck Y/N!” I rush to grab my jacket, wanting to literally crawl up and die right about now. “You act as if you haven’t fucked half the baseball team.” I hear as I open the door. And a final “SLUT” as I slam it.

I drive out of his ground. Feeling completely numb, I stop driving pretty much as soon as I’m away. Words I’ve heard other girls scream about Bryce just rush through my head. I ignored those girls. I never thought twice about Bryce’s character, but I should have! The vile and sickening shit things they had to say about him was true... and I didn’t do anything about it. All I want to do is call Monty, so I do exactly that. It rings and it rings and it rings. I try at least 5 times but he cuts it short. I slam my hands on the wheel in frustration. Why didn’t I just leave when he did?

The next day

Guilty. The last feeling I thought I’d feel this morning. I feel guilty that I didn’t run after Monty. I feel guilty that I now have to tell Monty about what happened. I even feel fucking guilty about what Bryce did. He didn’t understand no. He assaulted me, and I feel guilty. Fuck feeling guilty. But it’s all I feel. Other wise I’m numb. Completely numb. I didn’t sleep last night, just cried and stared at my ceiling. Then the wall. Even out the window. I kept telling myself that it could’ve been worse. And it could’ve been! But playing last night through in my head on loop just made it sound worse, and then better, but it’s not getting better. I found myself making excuses for him, that maybe I gave him the wrong message. Maybe I did. Did I flirt with him? Did I give him a look?

I roll over to my phone which was centimetres from my head. My silenced phone must’ve been buzzing. Me and my running brain did hear a thing. I see two missed calls and a text from Monty. The text reads ‘Sorry I was in the shower, is everything okay?’ with a heart on the end. Part of me wants to be angry with him for not being there and leaving me. How can I though? I should’ve left with him. I should’ve ran after him.

It’s actually only 7:30 so unfortunately I haven’t missed any of school at all. Nowhere near. I don’t wanna go. I don’t think I can. I don’t know how to act. Just as I roll over and bury myself under the covers, I hear a car door slam. God I hope that’s not for me.

Minutes after there’s a knock at my door. I turn to face it only to see Monty’s head peak through the crack. Seeing his face actually makes me forget for a second. Happiness fills me, and as soppy as it sounds, I think he’s actually a cure to my sadness. He smiles massively at me before closing the door behind him and jumps onto my bed. “Jesus Christ Monty, you’ll break the bed,” I laugh, and as soon as I speak I can sense somethings coming. “Well I’ve done it before,” I push his face slightly, but I start to smooth his cheek instead. His eyes stay locked on mine. “Im sorry about yesterday by the way, I shouldn’t have left like that,” for a minute or two I completely forgot. I feel my smile just sink off my face, and I look down away from his gaze. This is Monty’s best friend. “How was it anyway?” He throws his arm around my shoulder. I lift my knees and lay my head on them to try and hide to fact that I’m slowly breaking. Fuck. This is so hard to rat him out. “Y/N...” he says quietly. My arms wrap themselves around my legs. I honestly feel so small. “What happened?” I’m not sure if it’s anger I hear in his voice, but something sounds different. “Uhm...” I sniff and wipe my glistening eyes into my covered knees. Turning my head, I look into his eyes again. “It was good until-“ “Until?” I can sense his whole being start to tense up. He’s sat up pretty much up straight and stretches to intertwine his fingers with mine. “Until everyone else left.”

It was almost as if he knew what I was gonna say. “Everyone meaning... you and Bryce were just left alone.” He takes his hand away from mine. “No it wasnt anything like that.” I panic and reach up to the cheek to comfort him. The discomfort on his face was so apparent and so disheartening. “I honestly swear.” I pause and take a breath. “He just... got a bit forward,” still, even with Bryce being an absolute dickhead, I find myself not wanting to hurt Monty by telling him this. He stands up in a rush. Pacing my bedroom floor, his fingers brush through his hair in frustration. “I swear to fucking god if you’re about to say what I think you’re going to!” I just lose it. Seeing how angry he already is just insane. Tears start to spill slowly but steadily. I can’t imagine what he’s thinking. I shake my head at him while I wipe my eyes. “I don’t want you to be angry with me,” my voice breaks. He kneels at the side of the bed, taking both of my hands in his. “Just tell me everything.”

So I do. I start with how it was normal. How it was nothing out of the ordinary. His eyes stay focussed on mine throughout my slow explanation. I wish I could just scream how much of ass he was, but Monty is his best friend. I’m so scared it’s gonna back fire on me. What if he takes his side? What if Monty isn’t the guy I thought? “He started getting really close and just weird,” I breathe my words out as clearly as I can. All I’ve heard leave my mouth is mumbles and blabber, so I have no idea how Monty’s understood any of it. But I can see him understanding every word. Fluently. “I just- I moved away. I really tried...” breathe. “I tried to ignore the fact that he was being off.” This was the bit. This part was make or break. “I can’t describe what I saw in his eyes but it wasn’t what I knew, yknow.” Every word that exited my mouth flowed into Monty’s brain. I could see it. He was calm. He was calm until the final part. The neck kissing. The thigh touching. I actually think he was mad at me until I made it very clear. I kept saying no.

He was up and out. I hardly saw him move. One second he was holding my hands, next he was leaving my house. I grab my closest clothing item, which - funnily enough - was one of Monty’s hoodies, and run after him. I catch him just as he turns on the engine. “Montgomery,” I sigh as I get in the passengers seat. He doesn’t even look in my direction. A wet patch on the right cuff spreads. “I knew you’d be pissed at me,” I huff in a whisper, but it was evidently loud enough for him to hear. He punches both hands against the steering wheel. “Why the fuck would I be mad at you?!” He starts the car.

The car ride is silent. Im unsure of where he’s actually driving to, but the ride is very drawn out with the tension. My thoughts are running away. I just find myself looking over at Monty in the corner of my eye. His face was blank. It was as if he was thinking of nothing at all. Like he was literally empty. “Monty,” I let out in a whisper. He doesn’t react at first, so I don’t think he hears me, but he then grabs my hand. “I wasn’t a slut was I?” He eyes widen, and I think a smile starts to form. “How would you be a slut if you’ve only fucked one other guy?” It comes out in a some sort of laugh, which is honestly so relieving. “I must give off that vibe then,” I sigh and gaze out the window. His hand goes back on the wheel as he turns up to a too familiar house. My eyes widen. “Monty...” he turns off the engine. “I’ve got something to get quick, you can drive on the way back,” he hands me his keys with a warm smile.

I shuffle myself across to the drivers seat. This feels a bit odd. To going from him being ‘angry’, and now going to see Bryce. Did he have to get it now? I’m just a bit confused. Like are we fine? I honestly have no idea. Just as I get comfy, I see Monty run down the driveway and rush into the car. The door opens, and the first thing I see is the red blood-like colour all over his hand. Oh shit. That’s actually blood. “Shit Y/N drive!” Bryce comes out his house with what looks like a bat?! I drive literally seconds away before asking the obvious question. “What the fuck did you do?” I ask, but as I finish it comes out in a bit of a laugh. “I only punched him.”

He sits at my kitchen table while I get the first aid kit. “This might sting,” I warn him before I clean it with alcohol. He hisses but only for a moment. “What did you actually do?” I ask. ‘I only punched him’ was absolute bullshit and I knew it as soon as I saw his hand. I can see literal pieces of glass at the surface. “I didn’t go in to- no I did go in to punch him- but I saw his face,” He shakes his head. “I just knew that he’d brag about it to me if he got the chance.” “So what did you say?” With tweezers I pull the pieces of glass out his knuckles, apologising as soon as I realise I didn’t warn him. “I couldn’t say much. I missed when I swung for him first and killed the mirror instead. I went for him again and just - dunno... might’ve broke his nose.” He shrugs, which makes me burst out laughing. “Im glad you find this funny,” a massive smile forms on his face, dragging me forwards to straddle him. I place a kiss on his lips. “Breaking a mirror is like 7 years bad luck,” I can’t help but feel so happy and over the moon. His left and absolutely fine hand goes to my ass, squeezing it slightly before whispering, “You know I love you right?”

[skyholding]

FFXIV A’onisya One-Shot // She Lit a Fire

So it’s been... a minute. But I had some free time on my hands recently and wanted to finish this short (with the intent to keep going). Picking up from where we last saw A’onisya, this is the beginning of her friendship/relationship with @naihtan-jinjahl, a story I’ve wanted to write for a long time! Please enjoy!

I have been trying to find her want to give what I got She lit a fire, but now she's in my every thought

Song: She Lit A Fire by Lord Huron

---

"Enjoying the view?"

A'on jumped, nearly tumbling backward off the stone wall she’d been sitting on until a light shove from behind pushed her forward. Balance regained, A'on turned more fully towards the perpetrator, a Keeper miqo'te around her own age and also a member of the Ataraxia free company. “Aiko--!”

"Guilty as charged," Aiko Gakunin said, sweeping into a bow so low that her ears nearly graced the ground. 

A'on's freckles blended into the blush across her face. "I-I'm just watching them train," she muttered. 

"For the third time this week?" Aiko's grin widened when A'on's blush deepened. She peered over A'on's shoulder at the two figures sparring with the striking dummy in the XIA yard. 

"You can always just talk to him, y'know."

"T-talk, to...?"

"My cousin."

"Ooh, I don't know," A'on stammered. "I wouldn't want to--Naih'tan's always busy training, and he's really serious about it, I'm sure he has better things to - " She stopped short as two impossibly large seafoam green eyes filled her vision.

"A'on." Aiko set her hands on A'on's shoulders. "Listen. My cousin is the. Biggest. Nerd. In. Eorzea."

"Wait… seriously?" A'on burst out laughing, causing Colson and Naih'tan to glance over from their training. Aiko waved wildly back. Naih'tan returned a small smile, pausing to watch them a moment before the roegadyn called his attention back.

Aiko leaned in so her lips were almost touching A'on's ear. "Seriously," she whispered. She gave an exaggerated wink, leapt lightly over the wall, and disappeared out of sight into the free company house.

***

"Everything all right, cousin?"

Naih'tan was sure he levitated off the floor as he nearly dropped his freshly steeped tea. "Aiko! Why are you always so sneaky? Have you been training with Tavarius?" he demanded. Aiko, smirking, curled her way out of the shadows of the library stacks.

"What's the point of training if I'm not the one lucky enough to have cute girls watching me?" she mused, flopping down in the seat across from Naih'tan. 

"What?"

"Nothing, never mind." Aiko rifled through the stacks of notes Naih'tan had arranged on the desk with disinterest and ignored his continued glare.

"While you're putting my papers into complete disarray, mind telling me what you've done with my book?"

"Book? What book?"

"I was gone five minutes to make tea. I return and the book I was currently preoccupied with has vanished. Miraculously, I find my dear cousin in the very room said book lay, innocent and unwitting. Surely this dear cousin of mine witnessed the book pick itself up and walk off, and would like to tell me where it's got to."

Aiko winked. "You'd be right." She pointed over Naih'tan's shoulder. He turned, and found himself looking directly at an open window in the corner of the library. There, poised neatly on the narrow ledge, was a topaz carbuncle, with a familiar tome clutched in its mouth.

"Nugget!" Naih'tan roared, striding to the window. The carbuncle allowed him two steps before it spun and leaped outside, leaving only gold sparkles in its wake on the windowsill. "Library books are not to be removed from free company premises, you thief!” Nah’tan yelled uselessly.

"I don't think shouting is typically allowed, either," Aiko commented, but Naih’tan was already out the door. He caught only her laughter echoing behind him as he bolted after the summon.

***

The day was perfect for training, really, with a fresh almost dreamlike air warmed by the late morning sun. But Colson and Naih'tan weren't sparring by the training dummy, so A'onisya had instead settled on another perfect activity for such a spring day - a bit of an adventure.

From the top of Gullperch Tower, the blue of the water and sky stretched so far that they embraced one another at the far-out horizon. She was so high that even the waves were silent; the only sounds were the occasional cry of a seagull and the gentle ocean breeze on her ears. A'onisya had walked past Gullperch many times, but the presence of Maelstrom officers usually shooed her away. Today, however, was her chance - for today, Gullperch Tower stood oddly empty on the edge of Bloodshore beach.

An endless amount of stairs that stretched as far as the horizon later, and - "We sure lucked out, eh? Well worth the climb, yeah?" A'on had gasped to her carbuncle when they finally reached the top. She leaned back against the warm white stone, staring out at that endless blue, admiring the view, and must have dozed off... She awoke with a start and stood with a yawn. Shielding her eyes, she peered up at the sun. Peaking just past noon. Should be heading back soon, I s'pose.

"Y'know, Nugget, I dunno what Aiko was implying the other day," she thought aloud, stretching her arms upward. "She had that same look in her eyes Jewel has sometimes when he wants to cause trouble, you know, buddy?" Hearing no response from her carbuncle, A'on craned her head around to see if he was asleep. Nowhere in sight. She jogged a lap around the top of the tower, but he was gone. "Nugget?" she called down the stairwell, but received no answer except her own voice echoing back to her. "Nu - !"

"Nugget!"

A'onisya stopped for a moment, confused. "Wait, that wasn't me, was it?" Cupping her hands to her mouth, she yelled once more, "Nuggeeeettttt - oh! Hello." A flash of gold turned the corner, and her topaz carbuncle reappeared, its three tails wriggling with delight. "Where in Azeyma's name did you run off to?" A'onisya demanded. "And what's that you've got in your mouth, you little thief?"

As she knelt to take the tome from Nugget's mouth, she heard that second voice again. "A'onisya! Where are you?"

"Uuh - up here?" A'on replied, looking this way and that for the speaker. Finally, after running around the tower, she saw a familiar miqo'te far, far below her, looking wildly this way and that at the foot of the tower.  "Oh - Naih'tan! Hello! We're up here!"  She waved until he looked up.

"A'onisya?! What in Eorzea are you doing up there?"

"Just - you know - having a look around!" A'onisya called. "Were you looking for Nugget?"

"Yes! One moment, please, I shall be there posthaste." Ten minutes later, A'on was wondering if she shouldn't start her way down the steps in case Naih'tan had collapsed halfway, but finally he staggered up the last flight and sat in a heap on the stone floor. "That is - quite - quite a few - stairs," he managed.

"Need some water?" A'on asked, offering Naih'tan her jug. As he gulped between gasps, she said, "View's well worth it, though. I always wanted to come up here!"

"I must admit, I had never really - considered it, myself," he replied. He returned her now-empty flask and grasped her outstretched hand, standing with a grunt. "I'm rather embarrassed to say I've actually never ventured to the coast up this way - not until Nugget there led me on a wild chase."

"Never?!" A'on gaped. She pulled him towards the side of the tower and gestured outward. "But Costa del Sol is beautiful! There's no place in the world with a bluer sky, I'd wager!"

"It is a lovely view," Naih'tan agreed. He had to keep himself looking firmly towards the horizon, as his vision swam if he looked down. He found himself focusing on the touch of her hand in his, as her grip was a steadying comfort. "I just never thought to come up here by myself, I suppose. I'm... glad I finally did." If A'onisya noticed Naih'tan clutching her hand, she said nothing. They stood for a long moment in silence, admiring the sparkling water and cloudless sky. Finally Naih'tan burst out "oh but you're probably - " while A'on said "I'm assuming you're just here because Nugget - "

They stopped simultaneously, then laughed.

"Sorry, go ahead," A'onisya giggled.

"No, no, my apologies. I shouldn't take more of your time," Naih'tan said. Realizing he was still holding her hand, he pulled back quickly and stepped away from the edge. "I was in the library studying when Nugget made off with one of my books, and I simply came to retrieve it from the - "

" - little thief," A'on finished, rolling her eyes. "I'm sorry about that. I've no idea what possessed him to run off and cause trouble." She knelt down and beckoned to the topaz carbuncle, who happily waddled forward and dropped his prize into her outstretched hands. "Maybe Jewel is rubbing off on him." She stood and held out the tome to Naih'tan, but as his hand closed around the binding, she suddenly snatched it back. Her eyes scanned the runes and illustrations across the pages.

"Wait a sec! I recognize this. It's Transmuting and Transfiguring. Guildmaster Thubyrgeim assigned this to me not long ago," she exclaimed. 

Her eyes were wide as she peered over its pages to look at Naih'tan. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Naih'tan, have you - "

"A'on, please, I promise it's not - "

" - been watching me - "

" - it's nothing untoward, I swear - "

" - study and now you - "

" - the book looked quite intrig - "

" - want to become an arcanist?!"

Naih'tan stammered, "I, ah - that is to say, well - I mean, I have perhaps taken - an interest in the field - "

"Really?" A'on moved closer so now only the book, clutched in her hands, separated them. 

Naih'tan swallowed and chuckled, eyes darting everywhere but her. "That, that is to say - "

"Cause I could totally introduce you to the guildmaster! She'd be delighted to have another arcanist. You've such a knack for studying, I bet you'd catch up to me in no time. Then we could even train together!"

"A'on, I - " Naih'tan paused. "I have a knack for studying?"

"I see the piles of books you leave in the library," A'on said. "They're all huge, and I don't recognize even half the symbols on the covers. So you've got more've a knack than I do, at least."

"You've been studying the arcane for awhile now, though, right? I'm certain you could read those books if you wanted," he replied.

"Yeah, if I had a hundred years!" A'on groaned, leaning on the stone rail to peer down at the beach. "You can probably polish off ten of your tomes in the time it takes me to read one of these." She tapped her finger on the cover of Transmuting and Transfiguring.

Naih'tan shrugged. "Personally, I find the fact that you are working your way through through your arcane stuides despite not having a scholarly background far more impressive," he said.

"Not that I always get very far," A'on lamented. "I kinda... stopped halfway through Transmuting. I just couldn't follow it. I know the guildmaster will be disappointed, but what's the point of reading what I don't understand? Sometimes I can work through those blocks, and sometimes..." She sighed.

"If you'd like, I felt I was getting a fairly good grasp on it, myself. Perhaps I could be of assistance?" Naih'tan had asked the question before he realized what he was saying. He bit his cheek, cursing his thoughtless tongue - first he complimented her studies, only to then insult her with needing help! If she was offended, he admonished himself, she certainly had every right to - 

"You'd do that?" A'on's voice was soft, but cut through Naih'tan's swirling thoughts like a shock. "I couldn't possibly ask you! To have that on your plate along with your own studies, and all your training - "

"It's no trouble at all," he blurted out. "Why, it - it would be my pleasure! To spend time with - that is, to help you advance, I mean - not that you are not fully capable on your own accord, of course, but - if I could be of some help - perhaps it might - it might be nice, I think?"

A'on allowed Naih'tan to finish his rambling before her smile burst into a full-on grin. "Yeah, I think that sounds great!" she exclaimed. "When d'you wanna start?"

Naih'tan squinted up at the sky. It was early yet, and the air was still clean and fresh. As a gentle breeze rolled up from the ocean, he realized how much more pleasant it was sitting in a tower that felt yalms away from the world than in the increasingly stuffy library. "We could begin now, if you'd like," he said.

Nugget curled up in a corner of the tower, tucking its paws neatly beneath it. A'on sat so she was leaning against its fluff, and motioned to Naih'tan. He hesitated, but she was already opening the book eagerly; Nugget stretched out its tails in an open invitation. Its dark eyes watching him intently, a comically stern contrast to A'on's eager expression. Naih'tan laughed in acquiescence, and curled up against the carbuncle so he and A'on were shoulder-to-shoulder, hunched over the very beginning of chapter one. 

Afternoon turned to evening, and it wasn't until their stomachs rumbled hungrily and the sun had slanted well past the top of the tower that they realized how late the hour had become. They had just started to gather their things when a voice made them both jump. "Ho - you there! What're you two kits doin' up here, eh?!" A gruff midlander wearing the distinct red of the Maelstrom had come up the steps, his face as shocked as theirs.

"Quick - make a break for it!" A'on screeched, and they raced down the steps before the officer could yell after them. They ran down the dirt road, Nugget lagging only several feet behind, until they finally burst through the front gates of the Mist. Seeing the Maelstrom officer at the entrance was enough to set them off again, and they collapsed in an undignified laughing heap until they finally caught their breath. As they stumbled their way down to the Ataraxia free company house, they were watched by a young Keeper miqo'te with seafoam eyes at the beach. She smiled, hearing their excited chatting on the wind, before running up the steps to meet them for dinner.

[the-magic-lava-lamp]

The ‘I hate Tony Stark’ Club

Chapter 2  

Summary: Bucky & Steve, childhood best friends, have been living together for a while now after being separated at the end of high-school. Together again, they’ve been maneuvering through their twenties. And through new relationships when Steve found his way to Tony Stark, another old classmate.  

While making some changes to his room, Bucky discovers a box of middle school memories. The old photos are hilarious but the real amazing finds are the old notebooks he and Steve used to pass around during class.

It’s time they rediscover being the founding members of the good ol’ ‘I hate Tony Stark’ club during their sixth grade year.

Ships: Stony, Sambucky

Word Count: 3,739

“Eat your fries.” Sam glanced up from the notebook Bucky had gladly handed over only to find the man anxiously picking at his nails. He tried to give him a kind smile but sometimes he just didn’t know how the man would react to that. He was...a character, that guy. His large doe eyes gave the impression that he was actually a hell of a lot sweeter than he was to Sam. He’d been through some kind of car wreck that cost him an arm just shortly after he’d fallen out with Steve but he was now up to the point where he could laugh about it. Bucky was a nocturnal, interesting and irritating old soul that could have jumped straight from the pages of a Stephen King book. Though Sam hadn’t even finished one book by the guy, he felt that it was accurate nonetheless. Finding out he was that kind of kid in middle school who growled...well, that was just plain fitting for the puzzle that Bucky was. 

“I paid good money for those and I doubt you’ve eaten more than crappy snacks today so at least get some hot food in you...” He waved his hand and flicked to another page. 

Wordlessly, Bucky flipped the foam lid up and started in on the fries. 

“Tony got mad because of this?” Sam quirked his brow and set the journal down and watched as his friend tried to speak before swallowing, he could be such a pig. “Close your mouth.” His nose scrunched up and he regretted that in an instant because it was always those reactions that only spurred Bucky on. 

Bucky opened his mouth wide in hopes that Sam got a nice peak of the now creamy sweet potato. 

“Your disgusting.” Sam felt like gagging but the sight of the guy triumphantly licking his lips and swallowing...that calmed him a little. 

“Anyway, Tony was mad because of something else. He actually loved the notebook.” Bucky stood on his tip-toes as if he wasn’t already tall enough to lean over and look. 

“Wouldn’t put it past him.” Sam scoffed and went about digging some more through the bin. Tony was a whole other mess of a character. Sam claims the normalcy of their little group (no matter what Natasha or Bucky had to say about it). He picked up a small pile of photos and started leisurely flicking through them while Bucky stuffed his face some more. “Oh man.” 

“What?” Bucky’s attention was pulled away from the delicious food to find another picture of his moody young self. “That was...let me see...” He waved his hand and Sam handed the photo over. “Eighth grade. Can tell because I was really trying to grow my hair out that year.” He grinned. 

“But were you washing it because...?” Sam widened his eyes and playfully slapped Bucky when the man had the audacity to pinch his arm. “And it was covering your eyes, man. Those steel blue eyes are one of your best traits.” He squinted at the photo and didn’t catch the way Bucky rolled his eyes. 

“Shut-up.” He took a selfishly long drink of his water and sat on the stool next to Sam instead of awkwardly leaning over from the other side. “I wasn’t aware that I had best traits.” He put air-quotes around ‘best’ and went reaching into the gold-mine for himself. 

“Ahh, modesty. That’s another one of them.” Sam clicked his fingers extremely close to Bucky’s face and enjoyed the look of annoyance. 

“Moving on.” Bucky scowled and started a tiny pile of the photos he’d like to keep out. “Tony...well.” He struggled to find his words for a second or two but picked up when Sam gently nudged him a little. “He found out or...ok well, I told him but only because I thought he already knew-” 

“Get to the point, Barnes.” 

Bucky seemed to appreciate whenever Sam was a little blunt. “Steve and I kinda spread a rumor about him in the sixth grade. It had a bigger effect than we thought it would.” Bucky glanced at him with his sad doe eyes and Sam felt heat in the pit of his stomach. 

“Which was...?” 

“We told people that he was gay.” Bucky shrugged but Sam knew that he was currently killing himself over it just by looking at his face. “And it followed him up to high-school.” He scratched behind his ear and pushed his hair back, a nervous tick. 

“That is cold.” Sam nodded and Bucky took that in with a knowing look. He was about to speak again but Bucky was quick to interrupt. 

“I never would have spread it if...” He bit his lip and rolled his eyes when he thought about his eleven year self. “I didn’t know what gay meant.” He admitted, feeling a little dumb. 

Sam couldn't help but break his posture to sigh into an amused but fond smile. “Perfectly understandable considering you were a stupid little sixth grader.” He could tell that Bucky got a lot of comfort out of that comment. 

“And if I had known at that time...I wouldn’t have thought that was funny at all.” He widened his eyes as if that comment shocked him too but he was in fact, very casual about this. Sam leaned forward. “Because, y’know, I would’ve finally had the word for what I was.” He chuckled but still looked incredibly guilty. The way he spoke about it heavily implied that he thought Sam knew this fact which was far from the truth. 

Sam felt like an idiot. How had he missed the fact that Bucky was actually gay? He always thought his flirting was missed on the guy because he was just straight. 

“That wasn’t even the rumor I wanted to spread.” He wiggled his finger and drew Sam’s full attention again. He was good at that. 

“And what did you wanna spread?” Sam crossed his arms. 

“Only the classic reputation crushing sixth grade rumor.” He genuinely smiled for the first time since Sam walked in. “That he still slept with a teddy-bear.” 

He shrugged and went for another fry when Sam started to laugh. Boy, he really adored this guy. 

“I tried to...” Bucky waved his hand out but let it fall when the words wouldn’t come to him.

Sam decided he’d buy the guy some time with a little distraction and went through another stack of photos. He’d been expecting more of the middle school stuff but he’d pulled out something entirely different. 

“Oh, that’s gotta be....near the end of Freshman year.” Bucky gladly took the bait and leaned over Sam’s shoulder. 

“What the hell happened to you?” Sam could hardly hold in his shock. Sure, he’d been aware that both Bucky and Steve had to have their growth spurts and all that puberty junk at some point but...the change (at least in the photos) was abrupt. 

“Football and Baseball, mostly.” Bucky’s eyes narrowed, trying to place the memory. 

The photo was obviously candid considering the odd angle and general relaxed expression on Bucky’s face. Someone, his best guess was Steve, had taken the photo after what looked like a successful baseball game. Bucky had his bat slung across his shoulders with his arms loosely hooked around it. His sleeves were pushed to the crook of his elbows and the red fabric was tight around his skin. The sun was setting behind him and for an old photo, the moisture of the raindrops was pretty clear on his face. It must’ve just begun to sprinkle. 

“I’m guessing, you got really popular, huh?” Sam nudged his arm gently.    

Bucky glanced at his lap and shuffled in his seat, it took Sam all but a week into their friendship to realize the guy did not know how to take compliments to save his life. But that never stopped him from throwing them at him constantly. In fact, it only encouraged Sam. “Steve was better suited for it but...” He shrugged. 

“There’s that modesty again.” Sam rolled his eyes. 

“What were you like in high-school?” Bucky wondered out-loud and Sam crossed his arms in thought. 

“I was...” He paused, glancing at Bucky. “I did very well.” He threw him a smug smile. 

“Oh, alright.” Bucky rolled his eyes and went for another fry. 

“Definitely wouldn’t have been your friend in middle school.” Sam scoffed and slid another picture to him. “Would’ve avoided you at all costs.” He shook his head at the image of the moody eleven year old. 

“Can’t blame ya for that.” Bucky clicked his tongue. “I did growl at people...” His face turned to that amused yet grumpy expression that Sam really liked. He took the high-school photo from Sam and sighed. “High School’s when I tried to...control Tony’s rumor.” Bucky finally got out what he’d been hoping to explain. 

“Control?” 

“Yeah. I would...tell people that he was straight cause I’d seen him with girl and I would just make stuff like that up in the hopes that people would...lay off of him.” Bucky pursed his lips. “Once I’d figured myself out...I felt horrible.” 

“I’m guessing, you guys didn’t come out in High-School?” Sam found himself wondering. In College, Steve had kept his dating life private. In fact, Sam never really saw him flirt with anybody let alone date. There’d been fleeting moments where he’d mention how attractive some guy was but that was it. The first few times it happened, Steve sounded as if he were testing the waters to see how Sam would react...and maybe even how he’d react to himself. 

“No.” Bucky shook his head and scooted a bit closer. “Steve had two girlfriends, I think.” He shrugged. “I didn’t even know he was gay until we found each other again. Same for him with me. But I mean, the signs were all there, weren’t they?” He shoved the notebook over to Sam with a roll of his eyes. 

“I tell ya, it was a lot for Steve to take in. He found out I was gay and that I’d lost my arm in the span of like two seconds after we met up again.” Bucky laughed.

“But anyway, around Sophomore year, we both figured ourselves out. Just never said anything about it.” And he continued to speak with his mouth full. It was as if he’d never been scolded for it. It was endearing and...

“That’s still disgusting Bucky, close your damn mouth.” That was the second time he’d told him now. Bucky only grinned. 

“You know, you shouldn’t beat yourself up for this.” Sam tapped the spot on the table next to Bucky’s hand. “You were kids. It was an honest mistake that just got...bigger than you.” 

Bucky took his words into consideration but still looked incredibly moody. “Tony probably hates me...even more than before.” He sighed, running his hand through his hair. “Steve’s gonna be pissed cause we already barely got along.” He fell back into his chair and resembled a pouting child. “But maybe that won’t even matter cause I broke them up, anyway.” He threw his arms out. 

Sam rolled his eyes. “Your a big baby, anyone ever tell you that?” He gently bumped their arms again and Bucky looked up at him with a scowl. “You can apologize to Tony first thing tomorrow.” He got up to throw away the empty foam container. “But for now, you’re gonna wipe that pout off your face and enjoy my company.” Sam hopped off his chair and made himself comfortable on Bucky’s couch. 

“That’d be a first.” Bucky, as charming as ever, followed him and nearly shook the couch as he thumped down next to him. Heat filled the pit of Sam’s stomach when he realized this was one of the few times he and Bucky would be alone together...and maybe without insulting each other (as much).  

                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What part of ‘don’t follow me’, was missed on you?” Tony narrowed his eyes but allowed Steve to pace the length of his living room. It occured to him that he wasn’t really enforcing the idea of ‘get out of my house’ to the best of his ability but part of him liked the show. 

“Tony, did you honestly think I would just let you leave when you were that angry? I have to explain, I have to-” 

“Make excuses? You already did that.” Tony clicked his tongue and flicked his hand, fully aware that he was treading very close to bitchiness. But he was definitely going to allow it this time. 

Between the two of them there was a large couch, two love seats and a coffee table that was covered in papers but Tony wanted more space. He was in the mood for some healthy isolation. He decided to fidget with the designs he’d been working on in his kitchen while Steve tried to explain. He’d left some mock-ups on his counter that morning to tinker with later and now was the perfect time. 

“Tony...” Steve’s voice was small as he approached the counter, slowly. But his boyfriend merely raised a brow as he examined some of his notes. “Can you at least look at me?” His voice got way too small for Tony’s comfort and he couldn’t help but give the blonde what he wanted and found his eye-line. Brown met blue and Tony waited for his apology. 

“I just don’t see why this is such a big deal.” 

Tony slammed his papers down and went to his fridge just so he wouldn’t have to look at Steve in that moment. 

“Wait Tony, I didn’t mean it like that. I just.” Steve took a deep breath to steady himself. “I really, really liked you and it terrified me-” He couldn’t help but vividly feel those same feelings he had in the sixth grade. All that mixed up shit of always wanting to be Tony’s project partner yet not wanting to admit that he even liked him as a friend. He’d only heard the term ‘gay’ a few times in their class and never in good context....it had been horrifying to attach himself to a word that their classmates whispered in disgust. So he’d pinned it on Tony... before anyone could pin it on him. 

“I know that, Steve. I get it.” Tony twirled back to him with an unreadable expression. “But you got to have that great High-School experience. A Football player, popular and chicks dug you.” Tony winked but it wasn’t with his usual charm and it made Steve’s stomach drop. 

“Maybe my chances of having that weren’t that great for me anyway, being that I was a...” He paused “Dork, though I prefer the word intellectual, who had nothing but a snarky attitude to his name but...” he shrugged. “That rumor completely wrecked my experience. At least you got to figure yourself out in peace. I was being called names before I even understood my gay thoughts.” 

Tony let his expressive hands fall and Steve stepped back. For a moment, they were eerily silent. 

“Tony I-” 

“I just want to....” He gestured absentmindedly to his papers. “Get some work done. You should go home.” He nodded. He didn’t sound all that angry anymore and that was terrifying. 

Steve wasn’t about to let their relationship end because of this. Not when they were finally getting serious. This couldn’t have come at a worse time. In fact, they’d been planning on moving in together in just a short time and been hoping to bring up the idea of Sam taking his place as Bucky’s roommate in the next few days. Either that or Tony’s plan was to just start moving Steve out and moving Sam in without blatantly mentioning it to Bucky at all, which honestly probably would have worked flawlessly. 

“This isn’t...-I mean, you’re not....?” Steve couldn’t finish his questions, nerves bubbling from his stomach to his throat. 

Tony rolled back on the heels of his feet and let his arms swing, deep in thought. “I’m not sure. What I do know is-” He took a deep breath. “This...” He waved his hand between them and Steve followed the motion with watery blue eyes. “Will be put on hold. A break, if you will?” He scratched the base of his throat. “Just a little breather.” It almost sounded as if the last sentence was meant to reassure Steve. 

Steve’s chest suddenly felt too constricting for his heart, which was beating abnormally fast. “Tony, let’s keep talking, please. I want to fix this so that we can get back to where we were. I didn’t-” He took in some more air to steady himself. “We’re coming up on the big stuff.” He sounded pathetic and maybe a little childish with the phrasing but all his life, Steve just wanted to settle down and start his life with a partner. And they were nearly there. 

“And it’s been a great trip but every once in a while, you gotta take a piss at the rest-stop before you go again.” Tony’s nose scrunched up at the end “Not my best analogy but we’ll take it.” He nodded to himself, chin to the floor. “I’ll see you when I see you. But for now, it’s best you go home.” And with that, Tony turned and went for his bedroom. He trusted Steve to show himself out. 

And eventually, Steve did. 

                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam was stealing the tiniest glances at Bucky while the man fought to stay awake. His chin dipped every few seconds and his eyes would flutter close before shooting open at a loud sound effect from the TV. 

He was tempted to smack the hand out from under the man’s chin when he started to drift again, it was something they’d done to each other over twenty times in their ‘friendship’ already. But Sam was finding that he didn’t have the heart to interrupt the peaceful moment. 

Thankfully, he didn’t. Steve’s loud door slamming is what woke Bucky permanently. 

Bucky shuffled out of his lazy position and crawled to the edge of the couch, hand gripping tightly onto the arm. “Steve-?” 

Steve didn’t look mad, however, absolutely devastated was a good word for it. “We’re taking a break.” He clicked his tongue and shrugged. He looked as if he was fresh from a fight, feeling utter defeat. Bucky felt his stomach drop at the sight. This was completely his fault. 

Sam must’ve felt his quick drop and patted Bucky’s thigh before standing to face Steve. It somehow felt odd that it was a friendly touch instead of their usual playful fighting kind. “Tony’s gonna come around, Steve. What’s in the past, is in the past. It sucked but...” He shrugged, stealing a small glance at Bucky who looked just as heartbroken as Steve. “You were just kids.” 

“That’s what I tried to say.” He gently sat himself on the chair next to the couch and sighed. “This whole thing is just a mess.” He rubbed his hand against his forehead. 

“I’m sorry, Steve. I didn't mean to start this. I honestly thought he knew about that.” Bucky was uncharacteristically nervous and almost vulnerable, Sam hadn’t ever seen him like that. But he supposed that was because they weren’t very close, at least not like Bucky was with Steve. 

He waited for Steve to give him a reply, eyes wide and curious. 

“It’s fine. You’re fine. I just-” Steve waved his hand and Sam could tell there was some lingering angry feelings towards Bucky that he refused to voice. Steve was always careful with his friends feelings, an endearing though irritating trait, that went double with Bucky. 

“If you’re mad, I get it-” 

“I’m not mad.” 

“But Steve-”

“Bucky, It’s fine.” Steve gave a firm answer and Sam could see where this was heading and it wasn’t good. 

“Alright. Everybody simmer down.” Sam held out his hands. 

“I said, I’m not mad.” Steve let out a frustrated sigh and decided to give up on friendly chat, he wasn’t in the mood. He heaved himself up and went straight for his room, shutting the door behind him. 

Bucky rolled over from where he’d been sitting and tipped his chin back to sigh. “This is gonna be a fun night.” He practically growled but then his eyes lit up almost as soon as they met Sam’s. 

“What?” He felt the need to step back, a little nervous under Bucky’s sudden stare. 

“You should stay over! At least until Steve’s had dinner.” Bucky was suddenly crawling back towards the end of the couch and Sam was willing himself to move but he couldn’t. The man stopped at the edge and slowly raised himself, Sam could feel Bucky’s breath pass his stomach as he moved to met his eyes. “As a buffer. You could be my Adam Cunningham.” 

“Am I supposed to know who that is?” Sam was completely thrown. 

“He was some kid that Steve would pal around with whenever I pissed him off. Y’know, to get back at me.” Bucky waved his hands around. 

Man, that guy could be so oblivious to how his thoughts sound to other people. Sam was amazed at how many people Bucky managed to accidentally piss off. And he’d been one of those people plenty of times before, so he tried not to take too much offense.  

Sam rolled his eyes. “Thanks, that’s a real nice way to look at me comforting you for the last hour.” 

Bucky chuckled. “I know we’re not...the closest.” He shrugged and Sam gave him a look that implied he was correct. “But you were nice to hang-out with today and I really don’t want to be alone with Steve.” 

Sam sighed, wondering how bad it could be. He’d be right in the middle of their tension and that would be torture. But, hanging with Bucky could be fun. They’d never hung out alone together before. Sam had tried to flirt with the idea before but Bucky never really got the clue, maybe it was all the teasing. 

“Yeah, Alright. But, I wanna hear more embarrassing school stories.” Sam gave in and made his way around to the other side of the couch. 

“You got more college stories?” 

“About Steve? Tons.” Sam proceeded to launch into some of his favorite embarrassing Steve stories. 

It was a nice end to the day until he started to convince himself that he was just a pawn in some spiteful game that Bucky was playing on Steve. 

[brianc521]

His Bookworm, Her Rockstar

Being on tour with him was so exciting. You loved traveling, especially with him. He was so much fun to be with on the road.

This was one of the nights that you guys were sleeping on the bus, driving to the next state so he could perform the next night.

Everyone had retreated to their bunks early, being that they all performed that night and were exhausted.

You though, were in the middle of a really good book and had your little lamp on so you could read in your bunk.

iMessage from Shawn<3: I love you.

You giggle and grab your phone, hearing him shuffle from the book across from yours.

iMessage to Shawn<3: I love you too.

His phone dings and you chuckle when you hear him mutter ‘shit’ turning his sound off.

iMessage from Shawn<3: How’s your book?

iMessage to Shawn<3: How did you know I was reading?

iMessage from Shawn<3: Babe… I know you.

iMessage to Shawn<3: It’s good, thanks for asking.

iMessage to Shawn<3: You should be asleep, you perform tomorrow.

iMessage from Shawn<3: I miss you, you’re too far away.

You giggle and shift in your bunk. You stick your hand out of the curtain. You look out your curtain a little and can see his is pulled closed. You lean over and stick your hand inside his. You continue reaching until you hit something in his bunk. He moves under your touch and chuckles.

He takes you hand and you roll back, dragging his hand to hold yours between both of your bunks.

iMessage from Shawn<3: If someone went to the bathroom right now we would totally trip them

iMessage to Shawn<3: Do you not want to hold my hand?

iMessage from Shawn<3: No I do! Don’t let go!

It’s then that you can feel that he is holding your hand tighter.

You continue reading, letting go of his hand to flip the page, connecting your hands again and then letting go to flip the page.

He’s laying in his bunk, but every time he would start to doze off you would let go and he would be wide awake waiting to be holding your hand again.

“Fuck it.” He mumbles crawling out of his bunk. He pushes your curtain back, meeting your wide eyes.

“Shawn what are you doing?” You hiss at him, he crawls into your bunk, pushing you to the wall.

His bunk can barely fit him, had to be modified for his long ass legs. Now he’s trying to fit his big ass into your bunk with you.

“Shawn what are you doing?” You ask again, as he tries to close the curtain.

“You keep letting go.” He whines.

“To flip the page, you know I’m reading.”

“I know you are, but holding your hand isn’t enough.”

You look over at him and notice the bags under his eyes. He watches as you look down at your book, reading the page number so  you can close your book. He catches a glimpse, 192.

You close your book, turning so you can curl into him.

“Go to sleep.”

“Can you play with my hair? It always makes me sleepy.” He slurs, eyes closing. You giggle, reaching up and combing through his curls, scratching his scalp.

“You did good tonight.”

“I forgot the words again.” He says, eyes still closed but his eyebrows come together.

“So, you played it off.”

“But I shouldn’t be forgetting the words. It’s so disrespectful to the fans.”

“What? Baby it is not disrespectful to the fans. They love it, I was watching Instagram tonight and they love your slip up. Honestly, I do too.”

“You do?” He asks, one eye peaking open.

“Yeah, shows that you aren’t perfect. That you can make mistakes.” You kiss his neck, getting a hum in pleasure from him.

You switch your lamp off and cuddle into him further, ready to sleep.

“You can keep reading baby, I just wanted to hold you for a second. I can go back to my bunk.” He says starting to roll away.

“No.” You protest, grabbing him and pulling him back. “Stay, I sleep better when you hold me.”

“I do too.” He sighs, sinking further against you.

You don’t know how you do it, but you two make it through the night. Cramped inside your tiny bunk, his feet hanging out. But it worked. You were cuddled up into his chest, his face nuzzled into the crook of your neck, inhaling your scent.

When you wake up, it’s because you hear a loud bang and curse words. Shawn jumped when he heard it, looking over to you worried.

“Are you okay?” He asks you.

“I’m fine.”

“I’m not.” Geoff groans. Shawn turns and opens the curtain, looking at Geoff on the ground rubbing his knee.

“What are you doing?” Shawn asks, making Geoff look up with a glare.

“Didn’t realize you moved bunks, your big ass feet tripped me and I fell.” He says getting up and huffing off to the front. Shawn snickers and closes the curtain.

“Should we go see if he is okay?”

“No.” Shawn says going back to laying the way he was.

“But.”

“Shh, just lay with me.” He says into your ear. You nod, wrapping your arms around his waist, holding him.

“Morning.” You mumble into his chest. He grins against your skin and kisses your cheek.

“Morning Baby.” He nuzzles into your neck and within minutes he’s sleeping again. You just lay in his arms, knowing that he just wants to hold you. He just wants to be in his safe place.

About an hour and a half later you really need to go to bathroom, and are starving. You kiss his chest and move so he isn’t so wrapped around you.

“Shawn.” You whisper into his ear.

“What?” He grumbles trying to go back to where he was.

“Let me out.” You say softly.

“No, hold me.” He whines.

“I need to pee.” You protest. “I’ve needed to pee for like an hour.”

“Oh I’m sorry Baby.” He says letting go of you.

“Can I have your shirt?”

“Why?” He asks chuckling.

“I’m cold.”

He shuffles, wiggling out of his shirt putting it over your head. You somehow manage to slide out, crawling over him. You step out, loosing your footing and stumbling.

His arms reach out and catch you before you can fall.

“Thanks.” You say once you are standing up.

“I’ve got you Baby.” He mumbles from inside the bunk.

You start to walk to the bathroom, giggling at his feet that are sticking out of your bunk.

**

You are sitting at the little table with Andrew and Geoff, sipping on a cup of coffee.

“Look there’s the bunk hopper.” Geoff says when Shawn appears in the doorway, now sporting a new shirt. You turn around and look at him. He’s blushing and shrugging. He looks at you and walks over to you.

He’s picking you up and sitting where you are, setting you in his lap. He’s setting your book down on the table, taking your cup to take a sip.

“You never came back.” He whines when you take your cup back.

“I figured you went back to sleep, and I was in the need for coffee.”

“My plan was to steal you back when you came for your book, but you never came for it.”

“Because I knew you would pull me back into the bunk.” You giggle. He smiles and then looks back at his friends. 

“Why the fuck did you move bunks?” Geoff asks still pissed off about tripping.

“Why do you care?” Shawn asks and you nudge him.

“Well it resulted in me eating shit this morning.”

“I just wanted to hold my girl, is there a problem with that?” He says with his sassy self. Geoff rolls his eyes and goes back to talking with Andrew.

The three of them start talking about the show and you are getting rather bored with the conversation so you open your book, forgetting what page you ended on before you were interrupted with a needy boyfriend. You sigh and start flipping through pages.

“192.” Shawn whispers into your ear. You turn and look at him.

“What?”

“You were on page 192.”

“Oh, thanks.” You smile turning back to your book, turning to page 192 and picking up where you left off.

You were completely oblivious to them now, in your own world. You become more aware when Shawn points at three words in your book. You giggle and lean back into him. He kisses your cheek and you point at the four words under it.

The boys stop talking when Shawn turns your head to he can kiss you properly. You giggle as he connects your lips with his, feeling his grin.

“You guys could wait to do that when we aren’t around.” Geoff grumbles.

“Well you give me shit if I do it in front of you and you give me shit if I do it in private, like say in a bunk.” Shawn says when he pulls away. “And I shouldn’t have to hide my relationship, if I wanna kiss my girl then I will.”

You blush and look back at the words you both had just pointed out to each other.

“I love you.” He says

“I love you more.” She smiles at him.

**

You were almost finished with your book but you were scared to read that last chapter. You didn’t want it to end in a bad way and make you sad.

“Baby? You okay?” Shawn asked catching your look.

“I don’t know if I want to finish this book. I think the author is gonna kill off the girl.”

“Awe Baby I’m sorry.” He says buttoning up the shirt he was gonna wear for Q&A.

“But what if she doesn’t kill of my favorite character, how will I know?”

“Here.” He says taking the book from your hands. He looks at the page. “I’ll read it for you and then I’ll tell you if you want to read it or not, even though we both know you are going to read it.”

“Okay, thanks Shawn.”

“Anything for my girl.” He says leaning down and pecking your lips.

His team was fixing his shirt and hair while he read the last few pages. When he closes the book he looks at you, you trying to read his face.

“Don’t read it without me here.” He says handing you your book.

“Okay now I have to know what happens, how much longer do I have you.”

“Shawn you have to go.” Matt says walking in the room.

“But,” You start but then realize you can’t be selfish with him right now. He’s at work and you can’t be his priority. “Sorry, never mind.”

“How fast can you read it?” He asks looking at you.

“No, go.” You say pointing at the door. “I’ll wait.”

“Give me 10 minutes.” He says to Matt, who is waiting for him. Matt nods and walks away.

“Read.” He says pulling you down into his lap. He holds you while you read the last few pages.

“Awe.” You cry when you finish the book. He kisses your cheek and wipes the tear away. “I can’t believe they both died.”

“At least they are still together.”

“Yeah, that was so sweet.”

You sit a few minutes longer, him enjoying you being in his arms.

“Shawn, you seriously have to go.” Matt says peaking in the door.

“Right, go.” You say getting up.

“You’re good?”

“I’m fine, it’s just a book.”

“I know you don’t mean that but I don’t have time to argue.” He says kissing your lip quickly.

**

“Shawn why were you late?” Someone asks. He laughs and then catches your gaze, you standing off to the side.

“Y/n, she was reading a book and I read the end to see if it was gonna be sad or not. When I had finished I had to leave, but she wanted to finish the book. So I stayed with her for a few extra minutes so I could hold her while she finished the book.”

They all ‘awe’ at him and you laugh, rolling your eyes.

“Did she ask you to stay?”

“No, she would never ask. I decided to stay and hold her because I knew it would help her. Thought it would make up for last night. I needed her last night and she set her book down to hold me. That girl always has a book, and I have only ever seen her put a book down when she’s with me. It’s actually how I know she loves me.” He winks at you.

“Is she here?”

“Yeah.”

“Can she come out?”

You walk out and sit on the table.

“How do you know Shawn loves you?”

“He puts his guitar down for me.” You say looking at Shawn.

“I’d hang it up for good if you asked me too.” He whispers into your ear.

“Would never ask you too.”

“I know, just like I would never ask you to put a book down.”

“Still would.” You smile.

**

“Oh hey Babe.” Shawn says before he runs on stage for the show.

“Yeah?”

“I got you another book, the next book in that one series you were reading. Anyway here.” Hes says pulling it out of his back pocket.

“I love you.” You gush taking the book.

“I love you more.”

“Go be a Rockstar.”

“As long as I’m your Rockstar.” He grins.

“And I’m your bookworm.” You say kissing him one last time before he runs off onstage.

[marvelous-avengers]

Summer Nights

summary: steve loves summer nights

pairing: steve rogers x reader

warnings: fluff, steve being cute as heck, smut if you squint 

a/n: another little thing i had to get out of my system. enjoy y’all i love you. 

Summer nights were something else.

When it was a hot day but cool enough to have all the windows open and let the air flow freely through the space, the orange and pink hues just licking the blue skies as the sun starts to set, a warm glow just layered over everything. The setting sun meant that everything was turning in to rest for the night, to charge for the day and heat that would surely come tomorrow.

He’s sprawled out on your couch, a book in his hands as he looks out the window. He sees the orange tone to the world, feels the slight breeze filtering through the curtains and lets out a sigh. There’s music playing from your computer on the coffee table, something fun and soothing as the washer runs through its cycle. He looks over and sees you standing over the stove, something sizzling in the pan you’re concentrating on.

You had spent the day just out and about doing some small errands, a relaxing break away from your usually hectic schedules before heading back to your apartment so you could do laundry and clean a little. Sundays were special for you, for the two of you, because it was the one day you both had completely off from work and other priorities. It was your one day to relax, get your life together and be yourself for a full twenty-four hours before the work week started up again. Today you two had slept in, stopped by a bookstore, went grocery shopping before making your way back so you could clean and do laundry.

He takes his time as he admires you from his spot on the couch, and you are completely unaware of his gaze. You’re braless in a loose tank top and some boxers, half of your hair tied up. You may be focused on the task at hand but he knows that you are completely relaxed. He can see spots of the early summer sun and your walk home on your skin, can feel it in the air around them. You’re barefoot, of course, and discarded all your jewelry as well. In a sense, you are completely bare before him, the usual persona you put up for everyone else completely dissipated. Here, in your home, you are comfortable and letting him see a very intimate part of you, letting him peak into your soul.

The machine dings and he watches as you open it, still unaware of his gaze. You start to remove your sheets from the washing machine, pulling them all the way out and shaking them out a little before placing them in the dryer because that’s how my mother taught me how to do it. He knows this and watches you, completely lost in you. You finish moving the sheets and close the door, fixing the settings and turning the machine on. That’s when you finally sees him staring, giving him a small smile.

“Whatcha staring at, babe?” you tease, sauntering over to the couch. When you’re close enough, he reaches out and grabs your hips to place you perched on his lap, his book long forgotten.

He hooks his fingers underneath your tank top and holds your hips, his thumbs moving back and forth against your soft skin, his eyes never leaving yours. “You.”

You smile and scrunch your nose up before leaning down to kiss his lips. It was meant to be a soft peck, but you linger there for a second and he moves one hand to thread it through the hair at the base of your neck, keeping you in place. You cup his cheek with one hand and place the other on his chest for support as he deepens the kiss.

You pull away after a moment, cheeks flushed as you sit up. You bite your lip as you smile, and he feels himself grinning, letting his hands loose as you get up to return to the kitchen. He watches you again from his spot, and a warmth spreads through his chest.

This girl, this sunkissed and carefree girl before him is all his, completely baring her soul to him without even knowing or trying. He has seen her like this countless hundreds of times before, been with her like this before, for a while, but something feels different, feels special, feels more intimate. The warmth in his chest bubbled up until it was too much, the love and adoration overflowing and spreading throughout his entire body.

He sits up as you come back to the couch with a plate of food in each hand, placing one in front of him. You sit cross-legged on the couch and pauses the music on your laptop to pull up something on Netflix. He places a hand on your thigh and gives it a squeeze, kissing your cheek as you both settle against the furniture.

You had just finished your food when the dryer goes off, signaling the end of the cycle. You grab your plates and put them in the sink before going to the dryer to retrieve your things. You smile as you reach inside, grasping at the warm and fresh linens. Steve smiles himself, as he knows that you love the simple things in life and thinks again about how lucky he is. You shake the pale pink sheet and opens it as wide as your arms will let you, basically disappearing behind it, trying to keep the edges from touching the floor. It makes Steve chuckle and he hears, “Ya wanna give me a hand, love?”

He gets up from his spot and grasps the bottom ends of the sheet so they can start folding it. He brings his ends up to your outstretched hands, but instead of letting go, takes both edges from your hands and wraps you up in the sheet. He smirks down at your innocent face as a giggle escapes you. “Steve, what’re you doin’”?

He gives you a peck and there’s a glint in his eyes as he starts to walk backwards and says, “I was thinking that maybe we could do somethin’ else.”

Before you can open her mouth and ask what, you are plopped down on the couch face to face. You giggle as his arms tighten around you and he starts to pepper your neck with kisses. “Oh yeah?”

“Mhmmm.” It’s long and drawn out and sounds more of a purr. You sigh and close your eyes, letting Steve shift you around until he’s situated on top of you and the sheet is beneath you. He trails his kisses over your collarbone, up your neck and places one last one on your forehead. You hum a sound of contentment and he trails his nose lightly against the path he had just made with his lips. His lips ghost over yours, barely touching, before he pulls away. When you open your eyes, he’s staring down at you, almost dreamily, and your heart nearly bursts in your chest with all the love and adoration you feels from his gaze. The feeling that spreads through your own body is happy and warm and makes you heart feel like it grows twice its size.

Ever since he had come into your life, you have known nothing but love and happiness. You both knew that it was a commitment, that relationships were work, and you recognized that you were adults and had separate lives. But you were addicted to each other, and to you, he was like the sun. Always warm and bright, always spreading that light and warmth between them. If he was the sun then you would happily be the earth and bask in him all day and night.

You smile and reach up to cup his cheeks, and he turns his head to kiss your palm, his gaze never leaving yours. “I love you.”

He grins wide and lays his body completely against you, his arms bent and on either side of your head. His lips ghost over yours and that dreamy look is still in his eyes as he says, “I love you, too,” and presses his lips against yours.

The kiss is soft but conveys all the emotion behind it as his hands move to cradle your face entirely, essentially trapping you in his arms. You breathe out another sigh through your nose and shift, moving one leg to wrap around his waist. He presses himself harder against you in response, moving one hand from your face to trail under your loose tank. Piece by piece your clothes are shed and kisses are shared, skin pressed to skin as you are wrapped up in the bliss that is Steve and you. Hands reaching and caressing, squeezing and digging as your bodies move together in perfect sync. There is a need to be so much closer that is conveyed as you dig your heels into his backside, almost as if you two could mold into one, and hold tight onto each other. Kisses capture sighs and moans and Steve swears he’s never heard anything more beautiful than his repeated name as it leaves your swollen lips. He isn’t far behind you and as he climbs up and over that mountain you kiss any part of him you can reach, trying to even your own breathing. He buries his head in the crook of your neck and breathes, taking in your scent. You wrap your arms around his shoulders and keep him there, and as his heart calms down he places another kiss against your slick skin.

You two lay there for a while and run your fingers through his hair, and a cool breeze floats through the apartment. The apartment is aglow with a dimming orange light from outside, a lovely match to the mood and post-coital bliss surrounding you. You press a kiss to Steve’s forehead and his arms tighten around you, enjoying the warmth surrounding you as you watch the fading light spread out around you. 

[sleeplesswritersaito]

Reckless (Jungkook, you)

"Thank Kronos the weekend is finally here," you said, stretching your arms over your head, bending left and right as you walked, relieving the tension in your back. They had given you Thursday and Friday off to train and prepare so, even though it was only Wednesday, it was the weekend in your book.

The sports festival was just around the corner and everyone had ardently been preparing for it every day now for almost a month. It was a school tradition and a highly anticipated day where a lot of sports and events would take place, and all classes were cancelled. Each program would compete against each other for a department paid three days and two nights outing. The students who weren't participating in the activities would form organisation committees and cheering teams.

Because some departments were smaller than others or had less willing participants, the contemporary dance and architecture departments had wound up together, which allowed both Jimin and you to be on the same team. He would be participating in the archery event, while you had volunteered to do be part of the hurdles team. You had been on the track and field team during your high school years, but had decided joining the university team was too much to handle with your architecture projects. However, you were still active, going for a run twice a week, every weekend and whenever Jimin wanted to. "I think we did a good job," Jimin replied, looking around as he packed his bag, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything on the field. You had just finished your individual practice after helping out your joint departments' decoration committee. They had decided last minute on making a cold drink and snack stand for people to cool off at, except they had to design, assemble and decorate it all in days left before the event. The group had been short on hands so the two of you had joined them for a few hours after class.  

"One last lap and then we go?" You asked once you had both packed your bags. It was a quarter past seven pm but the sun was still up, an advantage of spring arriving.

"How about a race?" He asked, tying his shoe laces in anticipation.

"You're on," you replied, dropping your bag near his, walking up to crouch down beside him, on the right side of the soccer field.

"The first one to the goalpost wins," you said, pointing to the soccer net at the end of the field.

"On three, two, one, go," he counted down and you both started running, building up speed and reaching peak speed near the middle of the field.

As you often did when you ran full speed, you felt like you were flying, the wind brushing against your cheeks, running through your hair. However, that moment was suddenly cut short, sending you stumbling on the track. You went down with a yelp and, ahead of you, you saw Jimin slow down and stop at the noise, coming back towards you when he saw you crouched down.

"What happened?" He asked once he reached you, crouching beside you to have a look at your ankle, which you were currently holding.

"I think I sprained it," you said as you looked down, uncovering it. "I tripped on my laces and my ankle went wayside trying to keep me balanced. It's a pretty stupid way to have an injury."

"And to boot, it happens five days before the sports festival," Jimin said. "Can you stand?" He asked, offering you his arm.

"Yeah, I'm good," you said, standing up as you both started walking. 

"Liar," he said, calling you out on your limp.

"Am not," you said, leaving his side and trying to walk on your own. Two steps and a couple of winces later, he stepped up to you, putting your arm around his shoulder so he could support the most of your body weight.

"Are too."

"It'll be fine after I rest," you defended as he looked at you with a raised eyebrow.

"You know what," he said. "You're exactly like my other friend. Always so stubborn and lying that he's fine when he isn't. I should set you up together so you guys can finally realize how infuriating you both are."

"You know I'm free," you said with a wink. Being close, you often joked about setting each other up, occasionally actually setting each other up, though the resulting relationships weren't always as ideal as imagined.

"I'll make sure to get you guys in contact then," he said with a chuckle. "Don't be surprised if he texts you this weekend. You can even meet after the festival, if you and your ankle are up to it."

"I'll be fine if I rest over the weekend," you said with a light shove. "Don't worry about the festival. I'll make sure to come in first place." ---

"You won't be running," Jimin said decisively, arms crossed over his chest. "I'll tell Wendy to run for you."

"I'm fine," you said, shrugging his comment off. "The race starts in five minutes anyway, and she's part of the cheering squad. We can't just drop a bomb on her like that."

"Sure we can," he replied. "She did some sports before, I'm sure she'll be fine and I'm sure she won't mind." 

"I'll run, Jimin," you said. "Stop worrying. It's not even 100m of hurdling; I'll be fine."

"I don't trust you will," he answered, pointing the ankle brace peaking out from over the top of your running shoe. "When you told me it'd heal over the weekend I didn't believe you and with reason. I'm no doctor but the bruising was already pretty bad by the time I brought you home. I'm not going to let you run on an injured ankle."

"It's fine," you said although you knew it wasn't. You had tested it out yesterday and, while you would walk, jumping strained your ankle and it jammed when you overworked it too much. However, you weren't the type to let yourself be bested by an occasionally aching joint.

"Here, I'll even take it off to run," you said, bending down to take off your shoe and ankle brace. "Just to prove I don't need it to win a medal."

"If you need it don't take it off," Jimin exclaimed in concern as you threw it at him, putting your shoe back on. "If you're going to run injured at least run safely." 

"It was for extra measure," you said. "I don't really need it and I'm not letting you stop me from running my race, Park."

Before he could retort, a pair of students came up to the both of you to tell you that you had to get ready for your respective events. The hurdles athletes had to go warm up and get ready, while the archery team had a practice period of thirty minutes before their competition started. They had trained after school for it and Jimin had been chosen as a member, scoring in the eight to ten points on average.

"See you later," you said, waving as you left him there, your ankle brace in hand, to thoughtlessly follow his fellow student to the designated practice area. "Make sure to win!" 

---

"Hey Kook!" Someone called out to him in a voice he recognized as Taehyung's.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked between pants, wiping the sweat off his brow as he lay in the cool grass, the breeze doing wonders to cool down his burning forehead. He had a headache forming and it was probably due to the empty stomach he was running on. He hadn't had much sleep over the weekend and has trained late into the night yesterday to make sure he was ready for today. Also, he had maybe, just maybe, overdone it by putting in too much effort during his activities today. Plus, he hadn't had any time to eat, not that he was very hungry at the moment. Really, there were probably more reasons to it than he would have liked to admit. 

"I was going to as you a favor, but seeing the state you're in, I think I better thinking twice about it," the brunet said, sitting down beside his friend, who sat up to meet him, blinking away the black spots in his vision.

"I'm good," the younger male replied. "What can I do for you? Run your race?"

"How did you know?" Taehyung asked, face morphing into a mask of surprise. 

"I remember you telling me about your bad knees during class some time ago," he replied. "You said they wouldn't stop you from becoming a firefighter, but that your joints ached from time to time. I’m guessing they blocked after our dance?" 

"Oooh," his friend said, half in awe half teasing. "That's police officer Jeon Jungkook and his amazing memory and deduction skills for you."

"Shove off," he replied with a grin. His upper-classmen, friends and fellow classmates always teased him for it. "When's your race?" 

"Forget about it," Taehyung said. "You aren't in good enough shape to do it. You've probably overworked yourself. Again. What events did you do this morning? Your own sprint followed by our department morning dance event and now you want to run? With no break in between? You're crazy to think I'd let you run. Or more like I was crazy enough to think of asking you. You look like you need to inhale an entire oxygen tank. You're looking pretty pale and you're sweating buckets."

"Come on man, I'll be fine. It's just a little bit of running. I won't allow us to get less than a gold medal for the relay race," Jungkook argued, playfully shoving his friend. "You know our departments are always first. I just need to drink a bit of water and I'll be fine." 

"It's okay to break tradition once in a while," the elder replied, getting up. "I'll ask Hyunsik to run for me." 

"No offense to him," Jungkook said, grabbing his friends' arm to get on his feet, coughing a few times when his breath caught in his chest. "But I'm faster."

---

"I knew this was going to happen," Taehyung said as he jogged alongside the stretcher two ER students were moving. The event managers had asked the medical students to be on standby for injuries or other things gone wrong, like students overestimating themselves. This situation was a prime example of the latter. 

"Hey, are you still alive over there?" He asked over the male students' shoulder, limping along as one of his knees jammed. He was the one closest to him, the girl at the feet of the stretcher in front.

"He's going to be fine in a bit," the student answered as passed through the university's main doors, making a beeline for the closest door to the infirmary.

Taehyung arrived a few minutes later because of his knee, but when he got there, people were already bustling about, a few surrounding his childhood friend. Two were massaging his limbs -arms and legs-, the other was fanning him, another was bringing over an actual metal fan from the other side of the room to cool him down, and the last was feeding Jungkook oxygen through a mask.

"Maybe it'd be better to take some layers off if he's too hot," Taehyung said, taking support at the base of the bed.

His friend had been faint-headed because of the heat and all the moving around, or so he had heard. They also suspected lack of nutrients. Although he had left later than his friend this morning, since they shared a residence, he also knew Jungkook had come back later than he had fallen asleep, which had been pretty late seeing as he had been up playing video games.

When the younger feebly protested to the tug of his clothes, Taehyung said; "I know you have a lava hot body, don't try to hide it. Your date isn't even in the room right now, so fret not, friend. I have you covered. We just need to cool you down."

When his friend kept insisting on keeping his clothes on, Taehyung let the subject go. "Fine, your socks and your shirt are your pride. I get it. I told you not to run," he said more seriously. "I should've insisted more than that."

"We won first though," Jungkook joked, though his voice sounded thin and his breath was labored. 

"Is that really what's important right now?" Taehyung asked, slapping his friends' shin. "You're always overexerting yourself. It's time to rest a bit, look back and reconsider your attitude. I know you always give it your all, but have you ever considered that maybe, sometime's it's better to live life moderately rather than at its fullest?"

"You've become a philosopher now?" Jungkook mocked through the oxygen mask as the med students sat him up, actively massaging his nape to insure good blood circulation to the brain.

"Shut up and rest," Taehyung spat back, massaging his own knee, hoping to alleviate its tension. He looked behind him and sat down at the free bed, so as to not overwork his other knee. "I'm leaving once they tell me you're good. Someone needs to go claim that medal." 

---

Hey, I don't think I'll be able to meet you on time, you typed as you walked, using the wall as support. I've been held back a bit.

You received a message a few seconds later, your phone vibrating in your hand: Same here. I injured myself and I think I might have to rain check. Sorry.

The day after having sprained your ankle, you had woken up to a text message from an unknown number, saying they had gotten your number from a friend that said you would be a good match. Just like Jimin had predicted. You both had kept texting throughout the day, as you went about your daily activities, and had ended up texting late into the night.

You had woken up the next morning, slightly regretful, but had continued to talk like you didn't mind. Because of conflicting schedules, you hadn't been able to meet up, but you had talked every day, answering when you weren't busy. He was nice to talk to, you came to realize.

Is it serious? You texted back, biting your nail anxiously, leaning against the wall. You always had been one to concern yourself more about others than yourself. 

Him: Not really..? I'm resting in the infirmary. My friend just left. 

You: You don't seem sure haha Where are you? I'm on my way

Him: Trying to make up for our missed first date already? ;) 

You snickered at the answer, texting it was because of an injury, before making your way to the nurse's desk. 

"Can I have an ice pack to go please?" You asked. "It's for a sprained ankle." 

"Are you sure you're good to go?" She asked, going in the back room to get one, handing you the bag of ice as she came out. "You came in limping and I heard from a friend that it wasn't an easy fall and that I should keep you here for a while."

"It's alright," you said, scratching the back of your neck in embarrassment. Had news really travelled that fast? 

You knew it hadn't been a good idea to run the race, even more so without your ankle brace, but you had stubbornly thrown that at Jimin and it had been too late to back down and you were too prideful to take it back. You had given the race your all, ignoring the throb in your ankle as you jumped over the hurdles, not once making them topple over. However, your mind and body had different thoughts and, near the end of the race, as you landed after your last hurdle, your ankle gave out from under you, sending you tumbling and ultimately sprawling over the finish line.

As your friends rushed over to you to check up on you and to congratulate you on your miraculous third place, you had scratched your head sheepishly, asking one of them to help you up. After seeing your purple and progressively swelling ankle, one of your friends hurried to give you a piggy back ride and rush you to the infirmary. You had told Jackson to leave you at the elevator door, saying you didn't want to be a more of a bother and had ushered them back out on the field, telling him to claim your medal in your stead and to stop worrying.

"Oh, you must be Jackson's nurse friend. I think he mentioned you a few times. I told him not to make a fuss," you said with a sheepish smile. "Sorry if he was a bother."

"Oh no," she replied. "He's like a little brother to me, its alright. He wasn't more annoying than usual. Still, you should stay around for a while."

"I'll take advantage of one of your beds then. Thanks for the ice pack," you said, slowly inching away as you nodded as thanks.

"It's nothing," she replied with a smile. "The infirmary was supposed to be empty all day, in the best of cases, but a handful of you ended up here. If ever you need something else, don't hesitate to come back to the front desk."

"Will do," you said with a nod, heading towards the spot he had texted you.

"Hello?" You asked cautiously, peeking through the alleys of beds as you limped your way to the south end of the nurse's office.

"I'm here," someone said from behind the curtains. A hand appeared at the end of the bed you were conveniently in front of, pulling the curtain away to reveal a boy your age. He was lying down on the bed, a towel over his forehead, an IV bag hanging overhead on his right. 

"You said it wasn't serious, but you receiving IV fluids says otherwise" you said, putting the bag of ice on the bedside table and then looking for a chair to sit on. You didn't want to selfishly hog an entire bed for a single ankle. 

"It's looks more serious than it actually is," he replied, removing the towel from his forehead and propping himself up on the bed, extending a hand. "Since this is the first time we meet in person, let's properly introduce ourselves. I'm Jungkook Jeon from the police department." 

"Y/N Y/LN, architecture," you said, shaking his hand and then pointing to the right program name of the two embroided on the sleeve of your shirt. The university had made custom shirts for each team, with colors and designs on the back fit for each program, last names printed over the heart. Yours was yellow with a ribbon wrapped cube surrounded by a ring, his was dark blue with a police badge printed on the front, under his name. 

"What's up with the ankle?" He asked as you set your leg up on the foot of his bed, the chair situated near his torso. In the five days you had had to virtually acquaint yourselves to each other, you had mentally become quite close, comfortable even. "Is it the injury you mentioned? No offense, but it looks pretty bad."

"None taken," you said as you dropped the ice bag on your ankle, hissing as the cold dug its way through your skin. "And it looks worse than I thought. My injuries aren't usually this bad."

"You say that as if you usually get injured," he said, wordlessly bending over to put the towel he had kept on his forehead under the ice pack to help counter the cold.

You leaned back into the chair before replying. "Jimin says I push myself too hard and that's why I get injuries. Most of the time it's a few bruises or a sprain that leaves after a good night's sleep, not week long sprains." 

"Shouldn't you be more careful? Ankles are more fragile than you think and they're pretty useful for day to day life. It'd suck to have them permanently injured." 

"You're sounding like Jimin," you teased. "And I don't always injure my ankles. What about you mister IV? What are you here for?" 

"Low blow," he chuckled, though he replied once you raised your eyebrow at him. "Slight dehydration and lack of food."

"And you dare say that isn't serious?" You exclaimed, slapping his arm before crossing them over your chest again. "What kind of policeman doesn't look after himself? I thought you were eating between your training sessions."

"Hey, it just slipped my mind," he tried justifying. "I ate all week, I just forgot to eat breakfast before leaving this morning."

"And then you say I should take better care of myself," you laughed. "Speak for yourself, officer."

“Yes ma’am,” he replied with a laugh that brightened the room.

---

"Hey, is Y/N still in the infirmary?" Jimin asked the nurse breathlessly, hands on his knees as he tried finding his breath again. He had run up the two flights of stairs in a hurry, too impatient to wait for the elevator, and had then sprinted down a hallway, full speed ahead.

"Pardon, who?" She said, looking up from her desk.

"Y/N," he repeated. "I heard she came in with a sprained ankle, something like -he checked his phone- two hours ago."

"Oh, her," the girl said, eyes lighting up in recognition. "Yes, she should still be here. I saw her head towards the South side, near the windows overlooking the field."

"Alright thank you," the blond said, waving her thanks as he headed in the direction she had indicated.

After his own archery event, he had been too busy celebrating his silver medal with his friends that he hadn't checked his phone. It wasn't until he had seen Jackson on stage receiving Y/N's medal beside him that he had known something was wrong. As they had descended the stage, Jackson asked him if he had seen his message yet. When Jimin replied that he hadn't, Jackson had briefed him in a hurry and the shorter male had sprinted to the infirmary.

"I'm so sorry I'm late are you-" he said, the words dying down as he took in the scene.

"Shh," you said, a finger over your lips as you ushered him with the other. "Did Jackson give you my medal?"

"Yeah," he trailed off in a daze, searching through his pockets to hand it to you.

"Nice," you commented as you got it, looking over it on both sides, fingers tracing through the curves and indents of the smooth metal. Although you had held a medal at a race not too long ago, it was nice to feel the weight of one in your hand again.

"Should I be asking questions?" Jimin finally asked, pointing to your other hand as he sat down on the bed beside her.

"You can ask but I wouldn't be able to answer," you replied, also looking down at you and Jungkook's intertwined hands. "I don't know if it's a sleeping habit of his or if this is him being sly, but this happened after he fell asleep."

"I'm sure it did," Jimin said with a knowing look as he sat down beside you, nudging you with his shoulder.

"What are you trying to imply," you asked, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "Are you saying there has to be an ulterior motive to holding hands with someone?"

"I wouldn't dare," he said, raising his arms in mock surrender. " Pretend as though I said nothing"

"Good."

"Here, switch places with me," he told you, motioning for you to take the bed. "Take a nap; I'll even hold his hand if you want. You must be tired from your injury and not having been able to rest."

"It's okay," you declined politely.

Jungkook had fallen asleep during a talking break and you had just let him be, occasionally rearranging the ice pack on your foot, completely discarding it when it had melted too much. Before you had the chance to get up to get another one, his hand had found your wrist and then your hand, tugging it towards him. You had turned back to check if he had woken up, but when you had found his eyes still closed and his chest rising at the same speed as before, you had simply sat back down, taking out your phone to play some games.

"I don't mind holding hands with him. I'll just sleep when I get home later."

"Alright," he said, a smile making his way to his face as he saw, behind you, Jungkook biting down on his lips to keep a neutral face. "I'll let the couple-to-be be lovey dovey."

You hit his bicep with your arm. "Shut up! Don't you have other things to do except spout nonsense. What about your event? How did it go?"

"I won silver," he said, keeping your attention on him as Jungkook opened his eyes to look over you fondly. "As promised."

The End

A/N: And that’s another wrap! I think this is the fastest I’ve ever writing a story so far. It took something like a week? A week and a half? Anyways, that’s really quick for me, so I’m really happy I was able to release a story I’m proud of in such a short amount of time. Anyway, seeing Jungkook in that Burn the Stage episode hurt my heart. I understand where he’s coming from though, since I’m a bit similar, so I projected his ambition and recklessness into a story. I hope you enjoyed :) I also hope he takes better care of his body and health and the six other boys too!

[ssimagines]

Reid’s Monster 1|| Spencer Reid

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader 

Word Count: 1216

Summary: Spencer Reid AU where Reid creates a Monster

Warnings: Halloween Oriented triggers, Frankenstein triggers, HALLOWEEN THEMES, scars

Note:  Just so you know I know halloween can be triggering, please don’t read if you have a problem with halloween or scars. 

This is sorta based off an imagine series for Andy Biersack that I read two years ago and I would like to credit the author so thank you No-love-for-the-sick. This is a variation on your idea, but I am trying to put my own spin on it. 

Will be a multi-parter all posted the days before Halloween in succession please enjoy and stay tuned.

Part 2    Part 3    Part 4    Part 5   Part 6   Part 7     Epilogue

Masterlist

Doctor Spencer Reid pulled a needle rhythmically through over and over again. He finished off the last few stitches before stepping back to admire his work. He stood a few paces back looking at his handy work with pride. 

On the cool metal table, Doctor Spencer Reid’s most astonishing creation lay. It was a girl that looked to be in her early to mid-20s. She was absolutely beautiful and perfect except for the stitches that marred nearly every joint of her body.

Spencer Reid cringed as he looked at the poorly stitches limbs. He did the best that he could, but the stitches were uneven and crude. He took a deep breath as he looked over the body he had assembled.

Reid had taken the time to pick out each piece of the girl in front of him. It took him weeks to find every part of her. He had scowered morgues and funerals and even a few crematoriums to find the perfect pieces. Sure, he felt bad about taking pieces of other’s dead loved ones, but he couldn’t change the fact that he needed these pieces to make her.

And he found them. There was a hand from a girl in her early twenties who was killed in a bicycle accident, and a calf was from a girl who was a senior in high school who drunk herself to death. Spencer Reid had save her torso from being cremated. He never got the story behind that piece.

Over the past two months he had been able to accumulate all the pieces he needed. To preserve them, he had actually frozen them. There was a bit of flesh that he had to shave off to make the older pieces useable, but he had taken extra for that reason. Now as he stood there admiring his work, he looked over every part of his and all the hard work it took to get his dream become a reality.

Spencer Reid had always dreamed of having a family, but he was approaching his forties now, and he was awkward man which made it hard for him to meet anyone. He had made the decision to take matters into his own hand.

For the past year and a half, Spencer has been taking time off work to travel the world and learn as much as he could about the science of life, the magic of necromancy, and everything in between. He had formulated a plan to create a life and now. He was finally able to proceed.

Taking a deep breath, Spencer step closer to the body and connected all the wires to her. Slowly, he backed away toward a small switch. He stared at the beautiful face that was marred slightly with stitches and cuts. The small jagged line that cut across her whole face was the one he knew would hurt the most. He needed her eyes to be right.

As his hand hovered over the switch he hesitated. Was this the right decision? Would he be able to handle this? Was this the best way to get the life that he wanted? He knew that the answer to all that was no. That there was a better way to go about it. Everyone he knew had told him time after time to give it time. That everything would work out for the best in the end, but it had been nearly half a decade since he had even looked at anyone with the intention of a relationship. No one had peaked his fancy, but she. She would be perfect. That’s what she was created for. Perfection.

A deep exhale and the circuit was live. A soft hum was heard as energy flowed into the seemingly lifeless body. There was a large movement lifting the body off the table and Spencer flipped the switch off. He ran to her hoping that he would find her alive. To find that it had worked.

But all his hopes were dashed when he was that the stitched mass was just as it had been before. Cold and lifeless.

Spencer Reid let out a long sigh before turning towards the door. He dragged his feet along the ground as he made his way out of the room. He closed the door behind him and made his way into the kitchen of his cozy three bedroom. He started his coffee machine on brewing a pot of coffee and settled down at the table to look over all his work. There must have been something that went wrong and he was determined to figure out what it was.

In preparation for this adventure, Spencer had tested his process out on quite a few different things. There was a dead skunk, a squirrel, the dog from across the street that had died of cancer. He even had tried it on a couple of rats. He was sure that it was the best that it could be.  It had worked so many times, but when it mattered most the rituals and the procedures he had performed had failed him.

Maybe it was the fact that this time, he had used a human. This time it wasn’t just some animal. It had been a smart complex person. Maybe his error wasn’t in the procedure at all, but in the anatomy of the body. He was so sure that that would be the easy part, but maybe there was something that he hadn’t accounted for in the body parts that he had collected. That had to be it.

Doctor Reid rushed into the room he had converted into his library to search for the anatomy book that he had left in there earlier that day. He found lying right where he had left it in the middle of the desk. He picked it up joyous turning to return to his coffee in the kitchen when he heard a thud sound for the room next to him.

The sound startled the brilliant man causing him to actually jump. He dropped the book and rushed into the room he had been in before. The one with the body of the woman he had created to love.

The first thing that he noticed was the bare table. The body that he had taken the time so carefully to create and sow together was no longer laying there. He moved around the room in a panic to see the body lying on the ground. Confused, he made his way over to it.

“unnhff,” a mumble filled the room. It had come from the body. Reid took a moment to register what had happened before rushing over to check on the woman that he could clearly tell was alive now.

“Y/N,” he said touching her shoulder when he reached her.

Though his hand was meet with rather cold skin he could feel her heart beating. He turned her over and pulled her on to his lap. Her head rested there. Her eyes were closed and (your hair color) hair fanned out around her face.  

“Y/N,” Reid repeated again. Another groan echoed from her lips. Her eyes opened to me his. The beautiful (eye color) that he so desperately looked for stared back at him. He had done it. He had created you.  

[broomballkraken]

Title: Summer Lovin’

Fandom: Fire Emblem: Three Houses/Fire Emblem Heroes

Pairing(s): Sylvain/Lorenz, Dorothea/Ingrid

Word count: 5550

Warnings: N/A

Summary: College AU. With the spring semester of his first year of college finally over, Sylvain is excited to have a fun and relaxing summer, especially since his busy schedule had kept him from spending an adequate amount of time with his boyfriend, Lorenz. During a double-date at the beach on perfectly hot and sunny day, Sylvain realizes that he really does feel something special for his once insufferable roommate.

The harsh rays of the summer sun beat down on Sylvain, and he lifted his hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the blinding light. Normally he’d hate this kind of heat, having been raised in a rather cold climate, but that was not the case today. He stood on a beautiful sandy beach, and he couldn’t wait to take a dip in the crystal-clear water. Sylvain had a feeling that this was going to be a perfect day for an overdue date with his boyfriend.

“Hey, Sylvain!”

“Where’s your man at?”

Er, well, it was a double-date, actually.

Sylvain turned and waved as Ingrid and Dorothea walked hand-in-hand up to him. They were already in their bathing suits, and carried a couple of beach bags as well as a beach umbrella with them. Sylvain shrugged as he slung his own bag over one shoulder. “He’s getting changed. He should be out soon.”

As if on cue, the tell-tale squeaking of the changing room door opening hit Sylvain’s ears, and he turned to find a blushing Lorenz taking a nervous step out of the room. Sylvain’s eyes widened with surprise as he peaked over his sunglasses to take in the tantalizing view of his boyfriend’s unusually exposed body. Huh, he never would have guessed that Lorenz was the kind of person to don a speedo of all things, but the color perfectly matched his striking purple hair, and the red rose printed on it was rather fitting. Lorenz self-consciously tugged at his shirt, which also had a rose pinned on it, and that made Sylvain smile; his boyfriend’s affinity for roses had always been incredibly endearing, but that didn’t stop Sylvain from wanting to tease him a bit.

“Damn Lorenz, I didn’t take you for a speedo guy at all.”

“D-Do I really not pull it off?” Lorenz’s brow furrowed as he scoffed. “Oh, and I thought the colors complimented my hair and style perfectly when I picked it out-”

“Whoa, hold up there, I never said that.” Sylvain chuckled as he grabbed one of Lorenz’s hands, entwining their fingers together. “It looks sexy on you, babe. I personally love the roses.” He sealed the deal by placing a kiss on Lorenz’s cheek, and Sylvain snickered when Lorenz’s face flushed a deep red.

"And I won't even ask if you like my swimsuit, I'll just say... you're welcome." Sylvain winked as Lorenz just let out an exasperated groan.

“Do you always have to be so...insufferably cocky?” Lorenz asked, and Sylvain chuckled as he waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“But of course! It fits me, as someone who has such a huge c-”

“Ugh, get a room already!” Dorothea interrupted, rolling her eyes, but Sylvain caught a knowing smirk tugging at the corners of her lips as she turned and began walking down the beach with a chuckling Ingrid. “I know a really nice spot that’s usually not too crowded. Try to keep up, boys.” Lorenz and Sylvain shared a glance and smiled before following the girls, their hands clasped tightly together.

Sylvain knew that they were an odd couple, he and Lorenz, and if someone would have told him when they first met that they would eventually end up together, Sylvain would have laughed in their face. It was still a bit surreal, having fallen for his roommate that he didn’t get along with for almost the entire first semester of their college careers. They clashed in many ways; Sylvain was a typical, flirty jock on the surface, who majored in kinesiology, played hockey, and flitted from one girl to the next as he breezed through his first semester classes with ease. Lorenz was also a shameless flirt, but that seemed like the only thing Sylvain had in common with the history/political science major who loved horseback riding, collecting and drinking exotic teas, and writing flowery poetry.

As that first semester came to a close, however, Sylvain and Lorenz had learned a lot about each other, and realized that they did have more in common than they both initially realized. Mainly, they both had some pretty heavy family issues that stemmed from some serious homophobia. Lorenz had been immediately kicked out by his dad when he was sixteen after being caught kissing another boy, while a 12-year-old Sylvain watched as his trans brother, soon after coming out to their parents, was also kicked out and never heard from again, leading to Sylvain desperately trying to deny his attraction to men out of fear of the same thing happening to him. After a night of deep conversation and passing a bottle of strong whiskey between them, they had moved on from a mutual dislike of each other to the beginning of a strong friendship.

“Here we are! Oh, and it looks like we’re the only ones on this section of the beach,” Dorothea said, a satisfied grin crossing her face as she set down her bag and helped Ingrid set up their umbrella.

“This is a really nice spot, how’d you find this place, Doro?” Sylvain asked as he and Lorenz began setting up their spot.

Dorothea giggled and winked as she shook her head. “Oh no, my dear Sylvain. A lady never reveals her secrets.” Sylvain let out a defeated sigh and shrugged.

“Fine, fine, keep your secrets.”

“I always do.”

The group finished unpacking their things, and eventually Dorothea and Ingrid were sunbathing on their beach chairs, while Sylvain sprawled out on a towel and Lorenz settled down next to him, but in the shade of their umbrella.

“You don’t wanna lay in the sun, babe?” Sylvain asked, raising an eyebrow as he lay back with his arms crossed over his head. Lorenz shrugged as he pulled out a notebook.

“Not really. I burn very easily,” Lorenz said, and Sylvain rolled his eyes and sat up. He rummaged around in his bag for a moment and pulled out some sunscreen.

“Well, let me help you out with that. A little bit of vitamin D is good for you,” Sylvain said, squirting a decent amount onto his hand, “Plus, a little color might make you look less like a ghost.”

Sylvain laughed when Lorenz glared and pouted at him, but he did not resist when Sylvain moved behind him and slipped Lorenz’s shirt from his shoulders. “I guess I could use some sun. I don’t tan very well, though.”

“Hmm, I think you’d look pretty sexy with a nice tan.” Sylvain snickered when Lorenz sputtered in response; Sylvain thought it was adorable how easy it was to fluster his normally very prim-and-proper boyfriend. He decided to ease up on the teasing (at least for now) as he rubbed a generous amount of sunscreen over Lorenz’s back and shoulders, and a smile crossed his face when Lorenz sighed and Sylvain felt him relax.

It had been a busy and difficult spring semester for the both of them, and thus they hadn’t had much time to relax and spend time together as a couple for the first few months of their relationship. Sure, they were roommates, but between Sylvain traveling a lot for hockey and both of them spending late nights in the library with different study groups, they counted themselves lucky the few times that they weren’t too exhausted for brief moments of intimacy. But with summer break finally here, Sylvain was looking forward to many fun dates like this one.

After Lorenz took a turn rubbing sunscreen on Sylvain, they fell into a comfortable silence as Sylvain basked in the sun, while Lorenz stayed in the shade and wrote in his notebook. As Sylvain listened to the calming sound of Lorenz’s pen scraping across the paper, his curiosity at what Lorenz was writing was growing and growing. Cracking one eye open, Sylvain watched Lorenz’s face. His eyebrows were furrowed thoughtfully, and he would sometimes chew on his lower lip or poke his tongue out as his concentration deepened. Sylvain thought it was the cutest thing ever.

Eventually, Sylvain’s curiosity got the better of him, and he sat up, his elbows propping up on his knees as his chin fell to rest in his hands. “What’cha writing?”

Lorenz seemed startled by his voice, and Sylvain raised an eyebrow when his boyfriend almost dropped his pen as he flailed slightly. “Er, uh, it’s really nothing…”

“Bullshit.” A devious grin crossed his face as he snatched the notebook from Lorenz with lightning speed. “I bet you’re writing something lewd.”

“S-Sylvian, please!” Lorenz tried reaching over to take the book back, but Sylvain placed a hand over his face, effectively keeping Lorenz away as he held the book in his free hand.

Clearing his throat, Sylvain fought back the urge to laugh at the mortified look on Lorenz’s face as he began to read from the book. “Ahem, ‘To find the analogue of your beauty in nature, I look only to the anemone.’” Sylvain barely managed to get the words out before he burst out laughing so hard that tears started falling down his face. When he recovered from his laughing fit, he looked up to find a pouting, red-faced Lorenz glaring at him, who quickly snatched the book out of Sylvain’s hands.

“I am well aware that it’s terrible, thank you,” Lorenz grumbled as he stuffed the book back into his bag before crossing his arms over his chest.

Sylvain laughed and wrapped his arms around his moody boyfriend, pulling him onto his lap. “C’mon, babe, I’m just teasing you. Anemone’s are pretty cool to look at.” Lorenz averted his gaze and huffed, and Sylvain placed a quick kiss on his cheek.

“Besides, the rest of your poetry is fucking fantastic,” Sylvain added, and he grinned when a sheepish smile crossed Lorenz’s face. Sylvain certainly wasn’t lying about that; Lorenz was a phenomenal writer. Sylvain had been skeptical, at first, when he found out that his roommate, who, in addition to his double-major, was also getting a minor in creative writing of all things. Sylvain’s skepticism was replaced with sheer awe when he had snuck a curious peek at Lorenz’s writing while he was in the bathroom.

The flowery yet fitting descriptions, the way each line flowed perfectly to the next, the intensity of the imagery and emotion invoked...Sylvain had been floored by what he read. At the time, he would never have asked Lorenz outright to read his work, so Sylvain continued to occasionally sneak glances at his roommate’s writing whenever he happened to leave it out in the open.

There was one specific time that Sylvain had done this that had been a key event that eventually led to their relationship. It was after he and Lorenz had overcome their differences and finally became friends, and very shortly after Sylvain had developed a crush on him. Sylvain had just returned from a shower after a tough hockey practice and was ready to immediately pass out for the night. However, he spotted Lorenz’s notebook on his desk, left unattended again, and Sylvain couldn’t resist the familiar temptation to read it.

As his eyes skimmed over the most recent poem, Sylvain’s face had heated up and his jaw dropped with shock at the words. ‘My heart strays ever-towards a man of tangerine hair and the most beautiful, amber eyes; Alas, the unforgiving bite of longing eats away at one’s aching heart so bitterly…’ That description sounded too much like Sylvain to just be coincidence, and the very idea that Lorenz might actually feel the same way about him gave Sylvain the confidence he needed to confess his feelings only a few days later. And wouldn’t you know it, Lorenz indeed admitted to having mutual feelings, and they’ve been together ever since.

“Hey guys, come join us in the water!”

Sylvain was pulled from his trip down memory lane when Dorothea and Ingrid walked up to them, pool noodles in hand, and Sylvain nodded as he stood up.

“Alright. I was just getting a bit too hot anyway. C’mon babe.” Sylvain offered his hand to Lorenz, who smiled as he took it. They started towards the shoreline, but Lorenz suddenly stepped in front of Sylvain.

“Sylvain, dear,” Lorenz said, frowning as he lifted a hand to Sylvain’s chest, “You should probably take this off; I hate for you to lose it.”

Sylvain’s hand moved to mirror Lorenz’s, and his fingers brushed over the necklace that hung from his neck. Ah, right. He had almost forgotten about it. This necklace had been a gift from Lorenz, shortly after they had started dating. Lorenz had said that it caught his eye while he was out shopping with Hilda, and he thought that it would suit Sylvain well. Sylvain was very touched that his boyfriend had just up and gotten a gift for him out of the blue, and Sylvain had not taken off the necklace since, except for when he showered or slept.

“Ah, right. Thanks, Lorenz. Definitely don’t wanna lose one of my favorite accessories.” Sylvain grinned when Lorenz cleared his throat to try and unsuccessfully hide the blush on his face, and Sylvain safely stored the precious piece of jewelry in his bag along with his sunglasses before they rushed off to join Dorothea and Ingrid.

The two couples eagerly made their way into the water, and Sylvain shivered as his hot skin was struck by the very cold, but refreshing waves. Lorenz waded in up to his knees, and his face was scrunched up when Sylvain turned to look back at him.

“What’s up, babe?”

“It’s...really cold…”

“Aw, c’mon, it’ll be fine once you’re in!”

“B-But…”

Sylvain didn’t give Lorenz time to complain anymore, as he rushed up to him and hoisted him over his shoulder with ease. Yelping, Lorenz struggled in vain to escape his boyfriend’s hold.

“L-Let go of me, Sylvain!”

“Hehe, you better hold your breath, Lorenz!”

Lorenz’s shriek of protest fell on deaf ears, as Sylvain took a few large strides into deeper water, before sucking in a deep breath and plunging the both of them underwater. It was really cold at first, but Sylvain rather enjoyed lower temperatures, and he got used to it quickly. When he broke the surface again, Sylvain snorted before bursting out laughing when he saw the state his boyfriend was in.

“That was not funny.” If looks could kill, then Sylvain would have been dead and gone long before he knew what hit him. Lorenz was absolutely seething, his soaked hair sticking to his face as he shivered where he stood. Sylvain got his laughter under control and wrapped his arm around Lorenz before he could escape.

“Let go of me,” Lorenz grumbled, struggling against Sylvain’s hold halfheartedly, but Sylvain shook his head and tightened his grip.

“I’m sorry, babe. Let me warm you up.” Sylvain prevented Lorenz from complaining by covering his lips with his own. Sylvain didn’t know if Lorenz was starting to feel warm, but he sure was. Sylvain had kissed a lot - a lot - of people before Lorenz, but no one he had kissed before made Sylvain’s heart race and his mind go pleasantly fuzzy quite like Lorenz.

Sylvain’s heart managed to race even faster when he felt Lorenz smile against his lips, something that Sylvain had never experienced with anyone else before. It was an incredible feeling, knowing that just kissing him made Lorenz happy, and Sylvain’s lips also curled upwards.

“Hey, lover-boys! Do you really have to suck face in front of us?” Dorothea yelled, followed by an exasperated sigh from Ingrid. Sylvain laughed when he pulled away from Lorenz, who flushed a bright red as he hid his face against Sylvain’s shoulder. Chuckling, Sylvain placed a quick kiss on the top of Lorenz’s head before grabbing his hand again and they waded over to the ladies.

“C’mon, don’t be jealous now!” Sylvain grinned when Dorothea burst out laughing.

“Oh please. How could I be jealous when I’m dating the most beautiful woman around?” Dorothea said, draping an arm over Ingrid’s shoulders and placing a kiss on her cheek. Ingrid giggled as she returned the kiss, and Sylvain couldn’t help but smile. Ingrid and Dorothea had hit it off really well as soon as they met, and absolutely no one was surprised when they started dating shortly after. They really made a good-looking couple.

“So, fellas,” Dorothea said, a sly smirk crossing her face, “how about we play a little game of chicken? Losers have to go and buy drinks for the winners.”

“Oh sick! I’m totally in!” Sylvain said, grinning at Lorenz, who chuckled and confidently placed a hand on one hip.

“Well, I was never one to back down from a challenge, so I’m in too.”

“Alright, you’re on!” Ingrid said, and soon the two couples were ready for their match, with Dorothea on Ingrid’s shoulders and Lorenz on Sylvain’s, with each of them armed with a pool noodle.

“Ready...Go!” Dorothea yelled, and the game was on. Dorothea was relentless with her attacks from the start, and Lorenz had to take a defensive stance for a bit. But he was patient, and with Sylvain as a very sturdy base, Lorenz managed to get in a few good hits at Dorothea, and eventually he sent her tumbling from Ingrid’s shoulders.

“Yes! Way to go, babe!” Sylvain shouted, letting Lorenz down from his shoulder and giving him a celebratory kiss. Lorenz ran a hand through his hair and chuckled.

“But of course this should happen! Against the combined might of Sylvain Gautier and Lorenz Gloucester, no one stands a chance!”

“You got that right!”

“Alright, alright, we get it. God, you two are insufferable.” Dorothea rolled her eyes, but a smile soon crossed her face and she sighed. “I guess we’ll go and grab you some drinks after we dry off.”

After spending a bit more time in the water, the four eventually returned to shore and basked in the sun to dry off. When Dorothea left to go get the drinks, Lorenz went with her, as he was curious to see what the rest of the beach looked like. As Sylvain watched his boyfriend walk off, Ingrid sat down next to him on his towel.

“So,” she started, smiling as she raised a curious eyebrow, “How are you and Lorenz doing?” Sylvain smiled at her as he leaned back and propped himself up on his elbows.

“Great, actually. I’m...really surprised at how well everything is going,” Sylvain answered honestly. Ingrid had been his best friend for as long as he could remember. Because of that, she had been the person that he confided in when he first realized that he had feelings for Lorenz. She had been shocked, unsurprisingly, but also wholeheartedly supportive and had played a big role in giving Sylvain the confidence needed to tell Lorenz how he felt.

“That’s so awesome. I’m really happy for you!” Ingrid smiled, but it faded slightly as her brow furrowed. “Do...your parents know?”

“Oh hell no,” Sylvain blurted out immediately, his face paling slightly at the very thought. Sylvain was very thankful that his parents had never really been interested in the internet or social media, or they would have found out about his relationship rather quickly. Sylvain was also careful to block anyone who was close with his parents that also was not a trusted friend. The less they knew, for now, the better.

Ingrid winced as she placed a hand on Sylvain’s arm. “Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” Sylvain shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

“Nah, it’s cool. Just a...touchy subject.”

“Yeah…”

They were silent for a moment, before Ingrid continued. “I’m happy you guys get to finally spend some time together and go on some actual dates.”

“Same. Don’t get me wrong, the sex is great and all, but it’s always good to do some innocent couple things too.” Sylvain laughed when Ingrid groaned and smacked his arm.

“Ugh, that’s way too much information, Sylvain!”

“Heh, sorry!”

“No you’re not!”

“You’re right.” Sylvain managed to dodge Ingrid’s attempted smack this time and they both laughed. When they composed themselves, Sylvain’s expression turned oddly serious.

“Hey, Ingrid…” Sylvain said, pausing for a moment as he chewed on his bottom lip, “You...love Dorothea, right?”

“Well, yeah.” Ingrid watched Sylvain with curious eyes, and he averted his gaze as he rubbed nervously at his arms.

“When did you know that you loved her?”

“Uh…” Ingrid went quiet, her brow scrunching up in thought as she gazed down at her lap. After a moment, Ingrid looked back up at Sylvain with a bright smile on her face.

“It’s kinda hard to explain, I guess I just...felt it?” Ingrid shrugged and let out a sheepish laugh. “It was, like, three months after we started dating. We were walking home from a party, just a little bit tipsy, and we stopped to look at the stars along the river.”

Ingrid giggled, a wistful smile crossing her face as her cheeks turned pink. “Dorothea looked really pretty that night, and I dunno...I just knew then that she was even more special that I had realized. And I told her I loved her.”

“And? What did she say?”

“Well, she said she loved me too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Ingrid said, “In fact, she said that she was also thinking about saying it too, but I beat her to it.” Sylvain smiled at that, and he placed a hand on Ingrid’s shoulder.

“That’s so cute, I might just throw up.” Sylvain laughed when Ingrid rolled her eyes and flicked his nose.

“Whatever, lover-boy Why the sudden serious question, though?” Sylvain felt his face heat up as Ingrid stared at him, a knowing smile on her face that told him that she already knew the answer.

“I…” Sylvain swallowed thickly and rubbed at the back of his neck. “I think I love Lorenz. Like, I really love him.” The words felt weird to finally say, after the thought had been festering at the back of his mind for a week or so by now. Sylvain had tossed the word ‘love’ around haphazardly before, not really thinking too much about his words hurting anyone or if he even actually was in love.

This time was totally different, though. This wasn’t just throwing out the word like nothing. This was a deep feeling, one that Sylvain felt every time he gazed into Lorenz’s beautiful eyes, or held his hand in his, or cried his name during sex, or any multitude of seemingly mundane things that they did together. And that list only grew as time went on, until Sylvain was forced to consider the fact that this could be what it really felt like to be in love.

“Oh my god,” Ingrid blurted out, trying and failing to suppress the excited squeal that escaped from her, “That’s so exciting! Has Lorenz told you he loves you yet?”

“Ah, no…” Sylvain’s face fell as he worried his lip between his teeth. “Do you think it’s too soon? Should I wait for him to say it first? What if he doesn’t-”

“Sylvain.” Ingrid interrupted him, a soft smile crossing her face as she gently took his hands. “Tell him. He might say it back, or he might not be ready, but I really think that being completely honest with your feelings as soon as possible would be your best bet.” A smile slowly spread across Sylvain’s face again and he let out a relieved sigh.

“Alright...I think I can do that,” he said, and Ingrid nodded in agreement.

“Just remember, I’m always rooting for you!”

“Thanks, Ingrid.” Sylvain wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, and Ingrid gladly hugged him in return.

“We’re back!”

Sylvain let go of Ingrid as Dorothea and Lorenz returned, with some rather tasty-looking drinks in their hands. Ingrid stood up to head back to her and Dorothea’s spot, glancing briefly over her shoulder to give Sylvain a wink of encouragement, which he greatly appreciated.

“Hey, say cheese, lover-boys!” Dorothea held up her phone, and Sylvain immediately pulled Lorenz to his side, pressing a kiss to his cheek as Dorothea took a picture.

“Damn, you guys take a really cute couple’s pic.” Dorothea giggled as she showed them the picture, and Sylvain’s eyes lit up. Lorenz just looked...so happy. His face was lit up with a close-eyed, toothy smile as Sylvain’s lips touched his slightly flushed cheek. God damn, Sylvain felt like a really lucky guy right now.

“Ah, here Sylvain, they were having a special at the bar.” Lorenz said, and Sylvain shifted closer to Lorenz and placed another kiss on his cheek.

“Thanks, babe! It looks pretty good.” Sylvain took the fancy glass that Lorenz offered him and examined the contents. The green-blue liquid was pretty to look at, and the heaping scoop of ice cream that topped it off looked absolutely delicious, especially paired with the bright red edible flowers and cherries that surrounded it.

Sylvain couldn’t wait to taste it, so he brought the straw to his lips and took a sip, a pleased hum rumbling through his chest as the deliciously cool drink hit his tongue. Sylvain guessed that it was made with some kind of melon liquor, and maybe some blue raspberry schnapps? Whatever it was, Sylvain wholeheartedly approved of it.

“Damn, this is great!” Sylvain said, sucking down a few more gulps.

“Really? I guess I should try it, then.”

“Yeah, you’ll really like it-” Sylvain turned his head towards Lorenz, but the rest of his words were swallowed up when Lorenz suddenly pressed his lips to his own. Sylvain's shocked squeak was muffled, and he felt his face flush when Lorenz’s tongue shoved its way into his mouth and brushed against his own. When Lorenz pulled away, Sylvain’s jaw went slack and his brain felt a bit like it had turned to mush.

“Hmm,” Lorenz hummed as his tongue poked out and swiped over his lips, and Sylvain’s heart hammered hard in his chest at the rare, mischievous glint in his boyfriend’s eyes, “My my, this might actually be the most delicious thing that I’ve ever tasted.” Lorenz’s voice dropped low as he spoke, and Sylvain could only stare pathetically at him in response.

Chuckling softly, Lorenz gently took a hold of Sylvain’s chin and carefully examined his face. “It’s quite rare to see you so flustered, Sylvain, but it’s really a sight that I enjoy a lot.” Plucking a flower from his glass, Lorenz gently slipped it behind Sylvain’s ear, somehow causing his face to heat up even more than it already had. Sylvain finally snapped back to his senses and pouted as Lorenz laughed again.

“Geez, you’re the worst…” Sylvain grumbled, but he couldn’t help but snicker, and soon he was laughing along with Lorenz. Damn, Sylvain really did love him, huh? It was so, so obvious now.

“Hey, Lorenz, I-” Sylvain leaned over to get closer, but he accidentally bumped Lorenz’s arm that held his drink, and half of it spilled all over Lorenz.

“Whoops, sorry!” Sylvain cringed and moved to wipe up the mess with his towel. Lorenz shivered and pursed his lips.

“Eugh, I’m all sticky now…” Lorenz complained, and Sylvain snorted.

“Heh, that’s what she said.”

“Oh my god, fuck off.”

Sylvain burst out laughing as Lorenz just groaned and rolled his eyes. When Sylvain recovered, he eyed Lorenz for a moment and shrugged.

“Well, I guess I better help you clean that sticky mess off.”

“What are you-”

Lorenz was cut off as he yelped when Sylvain hoisted him over his shoulder and started sprinting off towards the water. Ignoring his startled yelling, Sylvain quickly made it to deep water and wasted no time in pulling Lorenz under with him.

The water was incredibly clear, so Sylvain easily opened his eyes so that he could locate Lorenz. When he did, he swam up beside him, trying his best not to laugh at the sour look on his face and waste his breath. Sylvain thought that he looked beautiful, with his flawless skin shimmering in the refracted light, and his purple hair floating lazily around him. Sylvain reached out and brushed his fingers gently over Lorenz’s cheek, and the smile that crossed his face made Sylvain’s heart skip a beat.

Wrapping one hand around Lorenz’s waist to pull him close, and grabbing his hand with the other, their lips met in a tender, underwater kiss. Sylvain had never kissed someone underwater before, and it was a pretty thrilling experience. Careful not to instinctively breath through his nose, Sylvain deepened the kiss, and their legs tangled together as they both clumsily tread water. Sylvain kinda wished that they could stay like this forever.

Unfortunately, both Sylvain and Lorenz could not breath underwater, so they eventually had to part and go up for air. Sylvain took a few, deep breaths when he resurfaced, and he immediately reached out to grab Lorenz and pull him close.

“Hey, Lorenz?” Sylvain asked, and he waited patiently until Lorenz had caught his breath and turned to look at him.

“Yes?” Sylvain sucked in a calming breath as he steeled himself for what he was about to say, and he brought his face close to Lorenz’s, his amber eyes staring deep into those beautiful amethyst ones.

“I...I love you, Lorenz.”

Sylvain watched with bated breath as Lorenz just stared at him for a moment, before his face flushed pink and he sputtered for a moment. Sylvain had to snort to keep from laughing outright at the sight.

“You mean-Are you-Y-You...love me?” Lorenz stammered, and Sylvain smiled softly as he nodded, bringing a hand up to cup his face.

“Yep, I really do.” Sylvain’s voice dropped to a whisper, and the bright smile that crossed Lorenz’s face took his breath away.

“I...wow,” Lorenz said, his jaw hanging open as he blinked rapidly a few times, “Oh god, I’ve never been this nervous before, I just, ah…”

“You’re a mess, babe,” Sylvain said bluntly, and he couldn’t help but laugh this time as Lorenz pouted at him.

Lorenz took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, before a serious look appeared in his eyes and they locked with Sylvain’s. “I am...really happy to hear that, Sylvain, because, well, I love you too.”

“Really?” Sylvain was honestly surprised at that; he didn’t really expect Lorenz to have fallen that fast for him. Sylvain averted his gaze for a moment as he thought back to his conversation with Ingrid.

“You don’t...have to say it if you don’t feel it yet, I just, well, wanted to be honest with you…” Sylvain mumbled, but Lorenz just laughed and shook his head. He reached over to cup Sylvain’s face, and he placed a gentle kiss on his lips, pressing his forehead against Sylvain’s when he pulled away.

“Sylvain, dear, I wouldn’t just say that to anyone,” Lorenz began, his arms falling from Sylvain’s face so that he could snake his arms around his neck, “Honestly, I have felt this way for a bit now, and I was just waiting for the right moment to tell you.”

Sylvain beamed at that; it was true that Lorenz didn’t seem like the type to just throw that powerful, four letter word about all willy-nilly, unlike he himself had done in the past. Sylvain breathed out a sigh of relief and kissed Lorenz again, and again, and a couple more times, until Lorenz was laughing against his lips.

“Geez, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so relieved before.” Sylvain smirked when Lorenz rolled his eyes.

“That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”

“Nope! I might have just up and died if you didn’t say you loved me back!”

“Ugh, you drama king.”

“Psh, you’re one to talk.”

They both burst out laughing at that, and Sylvain wrapped his arms around Lorenz, still laughing as he rest his chin on his shoulder. Lorenz returned the hug, and Sylvain closed his eyes when he felt his slender fingers running through his hair.

“I love you.” The words seemed to come so easily now, as Sylvain whispered them into Lorenz’s ear, “You really are unlike anyone I’ve ever met before. I just...god, I just love you.”

Lorenz’s arms tightened around him as he pulled away slightly, enough so that he was gazing fondly upon Sylvain’s face as he caressed his cheek with the back of his hand. “I love you too. You really are one of a kind, Sylvain.

“That’s so fucking cheesy.”

“...Shut up.”

“Hey, lover-boys! You’re gonna get wrinkly if you stay in the water for too long!”

Dorothea’s voice snapped said lover-boys out of their own little world, and they snickered as they started making their way to shore. Cheesy or not, Sylvain had never felt such an overwhelming happiness before, and it was all thanks to his once-insufferable roommate, who was quickly turning out to be the love of his life. It was quite funny how things worked out sometimes, and Sylvain was looking forward to a summer full of fun alongside the man that he loved.

[allthatwehear]

backpacking with a good gang.

I wish I was still there.

laying in the dark, envisioning there are a lot of stars above us, having difficulty getting any kind of sleep, feeling the hard pressure on my hips and some limbs falling asleep. other mornings, my morning fingers claw through my tightly zipped sleeping bag-head claustrophobically in the mornings, and I’m freaking out to get out, feel the cold air rush in all the sudden. I wish I was still fixing the beanie on my head, where it was probably covering my eyebrows, and peering sleepily over to my right to see Jon adjusting his shoes or something. he gave me an alert and attune “hi”, to which I croakily replied “hi” back, surprised that he would so chipperly goodmorning-me. I wish I was still nestling into my sleeping bag with the tent wide open, our little stove working desperately to warm our dinner-water, and laying on my back to stare at the clouds, Susy following suit. we laughed, probably too hard, at the shapes in the clouds we saw. Susy was very detailed and into the game. eventually I think we peaked Jon’s curiousity and he joined us, squeezing beside me. in another half hour, hour or so, all three of us are drifting to sleep - after climbing Big Jim mountain, a biggie, that day. I could feel the weight of Jon’s sides on me; we really were squished. soon he was heavily breathing. I never slept (do I ever?), but I was in that in-between state for awhile. I loved those simpler times: we were staring at clouds, playing games. just, staring at clouds. I don’t exactly know what happened on this trip. I wonder if Jon felt it too. some sort of strange connection, or perhaps his personality was like that of John Goodhew and frankly you couldn’t tell how he felt for someone in one moment or the next. but I wasn’t expecting him to be so attentive, or friendly, and talk and laugh at practically everything I said, so much. I didn’t picture myself wanting to get so close, and sort of be in his company. what do you do when you’re literally trying to get on your potential new-roommate’s good side, but you end up significantly bonding with their boyfriend, instead?? I hit my forehead just thinking about it; I met this (MUCH quieter), calm surfer guy sometime last winter, not yet dating Kysa, and I had no clue we would sing all the same songs, or he would finish the songs I started, or laugh at the phrases I made, or joke with me incessantly, or help me get over a fear of heights and concur a mountain, or let me wear his shoes, or take two giant bites of my ice cream.have him explain the different kinds of beers to me and agree that he liked the same kind; I didn’t imagine that at some points, I would start to lay in my sleeping bag and question Kysa and Jon’s relationship, who everybody and their mother shipped, knew of, glorified, supported, etc., and here I was, wondering if they were even good for each other, wondering if Kysa hated me because she seemed so aloof all the time, wondering if she was insecure or jealous, wondering if I would be a better fit for Jon then for her. What kind of hellish person am I? To be having some thoughts? And yet.. did Jon wonder the same? Does he think they he and Kysa are going to get married in a year, just as Kysa claimed in our housemate-zoom, to which we all squealed and gushed for her (as expected of us women when anyone says their relationship is going well.. right?). I mean, she wouldn’t tell us that without having that conversation with Jon first, right? Something just clicked on this trip, and I loved the way he laughed at me when I said stupid things. I loved how he made me feel witty, and joined in on my incessant song-singing, and laughed at my appropriate song-choices, and asked me a lot of questions about homeschooling and was so camaraderie with me. maybe this is just how he is. I’d heard, I guess, that he supposedly has some close friendships with girls? but has that changed, with how much time he has spent with Kysa...? I mean, they, according to her, had been spending nearly every day, weeks at a time alternating houses, with each other? Their love is obviously so sweet & so strong...? And yet...? Why did it feel like some sort of special attention; was he just trying to get to know me? Was Jon always the one who pushed Kysa to consider living with me? I couldn’t freaking tell: maybe it was Jon all along, and Kysa, considering her absolute infatuation for him, was sort of following what he said. These are all places my mind went. Stupid, most likely jealous, most likely imaginative and presumptuous places, maybe as a way to fantasize something I wish were true. Perhaps this is all to say that I pray that God gives me someone like Jon. Maybe this is all to say that God gave me a taste of what it feels like to be tickled by and laughed at, and how good that felt to me. To set an alarm at 2AM because I wanted to see the stars as badly as he did; he croaked “sarah”, then pause, and I said “yeah”, then, “do you want to see them?”, another pause, “yeah”, and he crept out, waking Susy and Kysa. I dont know, there was just this bond, and I am frustrated because I want to be his friend but I don’t want to develop stronger feelings because that is just wildly inappropriate and I don’t even know if Kysa likes me and maybe what her aloofness is is slight threaten by me like I don’t even freaking know, you know???? Perhaps there is a reason why Kysa mostly has friends who are couples: there is no threat there, when they each already have somebody they love. I heard her say on the hikes that sometimes she feels a pressure to follow the status-quo of marriage, that whole timeline, and I wondered if that was what she was trying so hard to follow with Jon, and I wondered if she recognized that she was sort of doing what she just admitted she was afraid to have pressure on herself about. 

But I liked Jon because he was spunky and intuitive and smart; he loved the mountains and he looked good in beanies and he’d talk in a lot of funny voices like me. He was really outgoing and liked to talk with people while we gasped for breath climbing up switchbacks. He was friendly and good at conversation. He also noticed things and he noticed you and would pipe up or have an answer for your question: you never felt judged or too silly, even. He was curious, too, and he was lively and obviously liked the big adventure stuff. He plays the banjo (lol) and he listens to bluegrass. Did he feel what I felt? Did I offend him by not giving him a hug after our adventures together? Did Kysa and him feel anything weird? What on earth is next year going to look like? 

Will God drop a cute country, mountain man in my lap who will finish the songs I sing, laugh at the ones that pop into my head, encourage me to climb mountains and push past my demons, tell me I’m brave for writing about my story, hold my grief in his hands and say we’ll get through it together? Will he give me a future that looks as beautiful (both physically) and seamless (easy, expected) as Kysa & Jon’s, as Annaliese and Austin’s? Will they be deep and soulful, and talk to me in our sleeping bags when I can’t fall asleep, and listen to me discuss all the issues of my family and not run away or hide from those topics? Will God give me a man who I don’t have to worry thinks or wrestles about porn because he’s done with it; who loves nature and will take me out in it, into the waves and on long trips with mexican blankets wrinkled in the trunk? Will we drink hot cocoa/coffee at 6am when the sun wakes us, and talk about the log cabins we hope to live in one day? See with Jon I didn’t realize a person like that was real. But he is; they are: I stared them in the face and watched the dream-husband, dream-man blosom in front of me. I realized backpacking, with Maurice the goat and two days of no sleep and cold noses in the morning and bleary-star-gazing a glimpse of the kind of man I hope God gives me. I hope he listens to folk, mandolin music and sings it to me, I hope he makes me sing with him, I hope we wear big fuzzy pullovers and read books or poetry. I hope he indulges in the simple and likes to talk about anything and everything. I hope he will tell me how beautiful he thinks I am. I hope we will raise kids who are true and honest, and free to express their feelings. I hope he is sensitive and likes to talk about his feelings. I hope he has somewhat of a past so I don’t feel so alone in my terribly broken one, and we can help with the gapes and mend with each other’s independent stitching materials. I hope he has shaggy hair that I can ruffle inbetween my fingers. I hope that he has kind of hairy arms. I hope that he is not perfect and thinks thoughtfully on his mistakes, because he feels regret and doesn’t want to make them again. I hope he will teach me to hold on and to love myself, too, and that I am worthy & a really cool person. I hope he has a soft smile or a twinkle in his eye. I hope when we’re old, he’ll still sing me the songs he did when we were kids and young and healthy and crazy, climbing physical mountains together. I hope he’ll grab my hands and slow-dance with me, like we will at our wedding. I hope he likes Ray LaMontagne and scratchy-voiced singers. 

God please grant me this man. Please grant me a gentle loving, soft, serene, pretty, feeling, tender man. Please let him be my bestfriend before my boyfriend. Please let him be real. Please let this happen. Please let me have that happy ever after ending, too -- let it not just be a reality for the “perfect” folks. Please, please let it be a reality for the broken, “imperfect” ones, too.