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lisired · 1 month ago

Text

love jones

pairing: photographer!haechan x (f) reader

genre/warnings: smut, angst, strangers to lovers, hollywood!au, photographer!haechan, model!reader, unprotected sex (don't be silly wr- [gets hit by a car])

summary: After breaking off your engagement to your fiance, you move to Los Angeles to pursue a modeling career. There in the fairytale land where stars go to shine you meet Haechan, an aspiring photographer with a penchant for mischief and flirtation.

word count: 13.1k (/25.5k)

a/n: inspired by love jones; the song by leon thomas featuring ty dolla $ign and the movie by theodore witcher. this is the second/last installment of a repost; it is also the prequel to supermodel, which you do not have to read. installment one can be found here. as always, feedback is appreciated!

When you completed all of your errands, you had the taxi drop you off at Haechan’s place and bid Chaewon goodbye. According to your new beau, he should have been there waiting for you. Plus you saw his sleek, black motorbike parked out front. No doubt he was somewhere inside.

You took a couple of deep breaths before ringing his doorbell.

Haechan was quick to announce he was on the way, and the sound of his voice on the opposite end of the door tempted your lips into a smile. He opened it with hastiness, flashing his teeth when he saw you. “Hi, baby. Come on in.”

You matched his radiant smile and stepped inside, letting him lock the door behind you. Meanwhile, Haechan was subtly checking you out. You were dolled up, compared to this morning. How you were so beautiful at both your morning glory and when you dressed up was something he would never comprehend.

To say nothing of himself. You loved the image of his naked back that was permanently etched behind your eyelids, but your mouth also watered at the sight of him in his signature ripped jeans and leather jacket.

“This way,” Haechan said, shaking the thought of you out of his head.

You followed him upstairs, briefly scanning his place. Not a speck of dirt anywhere. Either he was very tidy or he was definitely trying to be impressive.

Within a couple of seconds, you were led through a doorway that was obviously the entrance to his bedroom. You took a little scan. He had posters for days, to say nothing of the vinyls mounted on his wall. There was a shelf full of photo albums just shy of his desk and you were curious to look through them.

“Not bad,” you told him after realizing you’d been silently gazing about.

“Thanks,” Haechan replied, removing one of his Michael Jackson vinyls from the wall with extreme caution.

You watched him retrieve it with a respectable amount of vigilance and hand it to you. Though you were way too glad to finally have it in your hands, you couldn’t shake the thought that something wasn’t right, even though you’d earned it fair and square.

You met his eyes. “Why are you giving me this?”

Haechan arched his brow, surprised, but whispered, “Because I told you I would give it to you if you went on a date with me and I’m a man of my word.”

You shook your head. That couldn’t be all. “Yeah, but there’s no way you wanted to go out with a girl you barely know so bad you were willing to trade a signed Michael Jackson vinyl. These don’t come a dime a dozen.”

Haechan didn’t miss a beat. “Neither do girls like you.”

Your heart was doing somersaults and you didn’t appreciate the effect he had on you. Too much too soon. You could think of approximately a million reasons why this was a terrible idea, but the good outweighed the bad somewhere.

A smile gracing your lips, you opted to reply, “Well, in that case, thank you, handsome.”

Handsome. That was a first. Usually, you’d just roll your eyes.

“Glad to be of service,” Haechan chirped.

With a chortle, you shifted your attention to his desk. There was a camera sitting there and you picked it up in favor of momentarily forgetting the signed vinyl you’d been gifted. Haechan watched you with curious eyes, wondering what in the hell you were doing.

Rather than linger on the thought, Haechan began to strike some silly poses that were guaranteed to send you into a fit of giggles. He was terribly good at making you laugh and it made you sick.

Then, a mischievous thought struck you. “Take off your clothes.”

Haechan was baffled. “What?”

“Take off your clothes.”

Haechan laughed incredulously. Then, he realized you were serious, watching him expectantly.

His hesitation made you roll your eyes. “I’ve already seen everything. You weren’t shy about showing off last night.”

That was true. You had literally sucked his dick and given him the most mind-numbing blowjob of his lifetime. More than once. So, he gave in, putting on his model face while he unzipped his leather jacket in no hurry. As if he was giving a strip tease.

While he was shredding the layers of his clothes, you were snapping photo after photo, heat stirring in your thighs the closer he came to nakedness. He was a little too sexy for your liking. It wasn’t good for your health.

Now in nothing but his boxers as he threw his tee over his head, Haechan decided you’d had your fun and called it quits. “Okay, that’s enough of the camera.”

You frowned, though set the camera down respectfully. “Why - you don’t trust me?”

For whatever reason, Haechan didn’t answer you verbally, instead opting to sit at his desk and gesturing for you to approach him with his fingers. Of course, you came to him obediently, straddling his lap as if he were a motorbike. With how bare he was, it wasn’t difficult to feel your warmth on his body and it drove Haechan absolutely mad. You had no business being this fine. Cute, too. You made his head spin.

“You are the most dazzling thing I’ve ever seen,” Haechan whispered darkly under his breath. “Shouldn’t I be taking pictures of you and not the other way around?”

Leaning into his ear, you purred, “You can take all the pictures you want of me.”

Your true intentions were too obvious and Haechan chuckled a little, because he knew exactly what you meant by that. Out of nowhere, he swallowed your lips in a heated kiss, hands flying to your blouse while you both made out. You could feel the room heating up with every second, degree by degree. Haechan was like fire to the touch, your palm flat on his naked chest. Your little pants were making his dick stiffen in his boxers and you could feel it calling your name.

Not a minute later, you were just as naked as Haechan, sitting on his desk with your legs thrown open and his head between your thighs. You grinded into his mouth, muscles flexing with want. Fuck, you were jonesing for him.

Haechan brought you to tears of climax over and over again for no other reason than him being downright smitten with you and it was maddening. You screamed more than once. Like you wanted the whole world to give him his flowers. Fuck, he could eat pussy. A little too good. I will never get used to this.

Months went by at the speed of light. The more you hung out with Haechan, the more you became smitten. A part of you thought this would be a one-and-done situation, but you and your new beau were joined at the hip and displayed no signs of wanting to be unjointed.

Every now and then, he would invite you to get-togethers with his clique too. Sometimes Chaewon would tag along, more than mingling with Mark. The eight of you combined were a vivid splash of personalities, but for the most part, you’d locked eyes on Haechan.

He started taking you on actual dates. You went to bury your feet in the sand at beaches or meander along boardwalks. You had informal photoshoots, mainly where you were his muse, or took pictures of the blazing city. You hooked up in between but never took the next step of penetration, like you were saving it for a special moment.

Haechan liked snapping photos of you on your dates and by now he was probably due for another photo album. There were so many memories being made that it made your head spin. Pictures of you painted in frosting. Of you embarrassedly walking back to your seat after not striking a single bowling pin. Every now and then you snuck an off-guard photo of Haechan when he wasn’t looking.

There was a knock at your door. You paused dead in your tracks, surprised, because you weren’t expecting anyone. Your brain immediately wondered if it was Haechan there to take you on an impromptu date, and, giddy with excitement, you sprung up to answer the door.

Your smile dropped when you saw who was there. “Jaehyun,” you greeted forbiddingly.

Jaehyun stood there holding a bouquet of your favorite flowers. “Hey, baby.”

Now your mood was officially spoiled and you were exasperated. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Shh, baby. Listen, I just want to talk,” Jaehyun said, flashing a smile. “I just want to talk.”

“We have nothing to talk about together,” you hissed, shutting the door, but Jaehyun stopped it with his foot.

Jaehyun grabbed the doorknob and met your gaze with those honey brown eyes you’d fallen for once upon a time. And they served as the perfect distraction from his lips. No wonder you never noticed that his lips didn’t tell the truth. “Baby, please,” he said. “Give me five minutes.”

You gave him a look, crossing your arms. “Five minutes.”

“I swear.”

After a couple of seconds of mulling it over, you made what was regrettably the largest mistake of your life. You sighed and let him come inside.

Jaehyun grinned triumphantly and set the bouquet on your table, shutting the door behind himself. You had no idea how he found you and you were somewhat terrified of asking.

Before he could open his mouth, you pointed your fingers at him and declared, “Listen to me, if you’re trying to win me back, I’m insulted that you think I’m as easy as some fucking flowers.”

“I don’t think you’re easy, babe,” Jaehyun whispered in his velvety voice. “You’re hard and I love that about you.”

You rolled your eyes and barked irritably, “I’m hard and you couldn’t handle that, so you went and stuck your penis in some easy whore.”

When you stood and walked into the kitchen, Jaehyun followed behind you desperately. “Oh, c’mon. Look, baby, I know I fucked up and I’m sorry. It was a mistake. I just...”

Arms folded, you watched him expectantly, gesturing for him to continue.

“Shit. You know that I’m not good with words,” Jaehyun sighed, pulling something out of the inside of his suit. “Look.”

You narrowed your eyes. “And what is that?”

“It’s a boarding pass. I want you to come back to New York with me so that we can be together.”

“You had all of that and more, and you didn’t know what to do with it, Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun was persistent. “Well, I want it again.”

You shook your head, maddened. You couldn’t believe him. You snapped, “I don’t understand why you think you can just waltz on up in here trying to woo me with flowers and shit and whisk me away to New York. The world doesn’t revolve around you, Jaehyun - mine sure as hell doesn’t anymore. That’s your problem, you know. You think everything is about you!”

Your ex-fiancÃ© groaned, “What - are you seeing somebody else? Did you find a job?”

“Your five minutes are up,” you snarled, glancing at your wrist.

“Well, I have to go anyway. I’m meeting my mother for lunch,” Jaehyun said, setting the boarding pass down on your table.

“Tell I her I said, ‘Hello.’”

Jaehyun nodded, fixed on you. You didn’t meet his stare, too busy feigning indifference, but you could feel him burning holes through your body. He tapped the counter. “Think about it.”

“Leave, Jaehyun.”

Your ex heaved a breath, then begrudgingly walked outside your front door.

On Saturday, Haechan came over to help you set up your album shelf because he’d sweetly volunteered a couple of days ago. Which was very kind of him. Truth be told, you knew nothing about putting pieces together and reading manuals made your poor brain hurt.

For about half an hour you both were hard at work, constructing and organizing while sparing time for kisses and giggles in between. When it was finally done, you couldn’t believe your eyes. The vinyls were arranged specifically in the order you wanted them to be without a single one missing.

A tear slipped down your cheek and you turned away from Haechan to hide yourself. Still, Haechan noticed immediately and swung his arms open for you. “Hey, come here.”

You crept into his arms without a second thought, letting him cradle you there. Though you wanted to chide yourself for tearing up in front of him, his arms felt like a safe place. Where you belonged.

“Thank you,” you whispered to him, drying your eyes with the back of your hand.

“What for? This is all you, baby. It takes a lot of commitment to do something like this. I respect the hell out of your dedication.”

You chuckled and slipped away, sitting at your bed, but pat the spot beside you. Haechan took the invite and crashed at your side, lowering his head into your lap and staring into your eyes. You threaded your fingers through his hair, just meeting his stare and matching his affection.

Then, Haechan asked the dreaded question, “What made you want to start a record collection anyways?”

That made you stiffen. Haechan instantly noticed something was off and parted his lips to apologize, but you were quicker. “I didn’t start it. It was my grandfather’s.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Leukemia.”

“Shit. My bad,” Haechan apologized.

You brushed him off, though there were a lot of emotions stirring inside your chest as you spoke. “It’s fine. It was years ago. He had a whole list of vinyls he specifically wanted. I’m just finishing what he started.”

In spite of your attempts to be nonchalant, Haechan could tell you were heavily affected by your grandfather’s passing. “That’s really sweet,” he told you sincerely. “I know he’s really proud of you.”

I hope so, you thought to yourself, wistful. “Yeah. Enough about me, though. What’s the deal with you and motorcycles?”

Haechan started laughing, probably at good memories, because you knew the feeling. It was your only option when it came to outweighing all the negative feelings. “My mom is a photographer and my dad is a reformed biker. She always got these cool shots of him on his bike. Growing up peeking at them through the garage door, I think it was just kinda natural I developed a passion for both.”

“Sounds like a happy family.” No envy was present in your tone, just genuine curiosity.

Haechan bobbed his head, then leapt up to grab his photo album and crossed his legs. “These are a couple of the shots my mom took of my dad.”

You watched him flip the pages, photos of him as a boy flickering past until he stopped at the pictures of his dad on his motorbike taken by Mrs. Lee. Many of them were taken in different settings, but the most eye-catching of them all was the one of his dad in the city, helmet catching in the neon lights.

It was like you were instantly enamored. The shots were beautiful. His mother had a great eye and you could clearly see who he got it from.

“Wow. These are one of a kind,” you gasped.

Haechan bobbed his head. “Yeah. You should meet them. I think they’d like you.”

Your heart started beating so fast you nearly had a heart attack. “You sure don’t waste any time.”

“I mean, not right this second,” he added, realizing he was moving at a quick speed. “I was just suggesting it for some time in the future.”

Meet his parents, huh? That meant he must’ve really planned on sticking around.

Rather than reply, you acknowledged his response with a pat and grabbed his photobook, carefully dropping it on your desk. You reached for his shoulders and straddled him, brushing your lips against his ears before asking, “How many hearts have you broken?”

“One,” Haechan replied, planting one hand at your waist and steering the other to your ass.

“Honesty.” That surprised you a little. Though Haechan had been nothing but honest with you.

Haechan shook his head. He was tempted to kiss you, but he would settle for feeling your warmth on his lap. For now, at least. “It wasn’t like that,” he said. “I broke her heart, she broke mine. We’re even.”

You weren’t jealous, but your curiosity got the best of you. “Do you still talk?”

Haechan immediately snorted. As if. “Nope.”

“Hm.” You were looking at his dumb handsome face, wanting to kiss him, but wanting to be stronger.

You had Haechan’s undivided attention, because he was studying you, hands rubbing you up and down. Your breath picked up in speed the longer he continued and he fought a stupid smile. “Have you ever been bad for someone and they were bad for you?”

With a frown, you gave him a nod. That hit a little too close to home. “Mutually bad? Yeah. Been there. Done that.”

Haechan was sobering, getting a little vulnerable with you for once. “It’s true, what they say. Two wrongs don’t make a right. That’s why it didn’t work out. Both trying to make something right while both being wrong as hell. We took turns being at fault.”

“Sounds toxic,” you replied with a grimace.

“You don’t know the half of it,” he said, snickering. “What about you - bad history?”

You shifted a little. It was a reminder that you had spoken nothing of Jaehyun to Haechan. Why would you anyways? He was history. Thanks to all those months with Haechan, you’d forgotten all about Jaehyun until he randomly entered your life again. Never in a million years did you once imagine you’d go so long without your ex-fiancÃ© back then, but Haechan made you forget.

The feeling of Haechan’s body warmth gave you a little push. Playing nonchalant, you replied totally deadpan, “Oh, you know. Nothing crazy. He was sweet in the beginning and talked about getting married and having kids. Then, we started arguing, but he would always make up for it and I would forget. Then I found him balls deep in another girl.”

Haechan winced. “Damn.” He pointed over to your desk. “That ring from your mystery lover?”

You quickly frowned. For whatever reason, Jaehyun never demanded it back, and you didn’t know what to do with it. Though Chaewon had been very adamant you throw it off a mountain never to be seen again. You cloaked your melancholy with humor, “Nothing gets past you.”

“So, you were engaged.”

“Not when you hit on me,” you said, knowing immediately what he was referring to. That night at the bar. You almost laughed. Oh, how the tables turn. “So I guess you were right about my vibes.”

Haechan chuckled, but he was a little in his head now. Your engagement had to be recent, he realized. It made a lot of sense.

Temporarily discarding those thoughts, Haechan reached for his camera with his hand coiled around your waist, making you furrow your brows at him. “What are you doing now?”

He pointed it at you. “For the photobook. One more before it’s full.”

“Should I pose?”

“Just be sexy.”

You scoffed, “I’m always sexy.”

“Exactly, baby,” Haechan replied, back hitting the mattress while your legs were still draped over either side of him.

When Haechan pointed his camera at you, you smiled for the picture. It printed out the polaroid immediately, which Haechan took and handed to you for approval. You looked it over and beamed with acceptance. Your smile was different there. Not one of those forced model smiles. It was like you were smiling at Haechan rather than the camera.

“Your photo album is complete,” you announced, leaning over to kiss his neck.

Haechan quickly tossed everything to the side in favor of clasping your hips in his hands again, because it felt natural to hold them. Your breath tickled his neck, not to mention your lips on his throat.

He grinned wildly and whispered, “Thanks for being the finishing piece.”

You giggled and finally kissed his lips, having exhausted all of your self-restraint. Haechan kissed you back just as feverishly, as if you’d both been waiting for each other to snap but didn’t want to forfeit.

First it was just harmless kissing and touching, until your bodies became restless. Haechan tested the waters, so to speak, nimble fingers unbuttoning your blouse until it fell. He made short work of your bra, unclasping it and tossing it aside.

You were exposed to him, though he’d already seen everything you had to offer. Many, many times. But there was something different about the way he looked into your eyes and how your heart raced when his fingers brushed against you.

Haechan kneaded your breasts, resulting in you having to suck in your breath. Your soft sounds made his dick twitch in his pants. He could feel that the air was thicker too, the two of you suffocating beneath the weight of your own desire.

You’d had enough of being teased by him and pulled his lips back onto yours by his collar, throwing his shirt above his head all the while. All you wanted to do was kiss and taste him. And maybe fuck him.

Scratch that. You definitely wanted to fuck him and your body wanted him even more. “Haechan,” you grumbled, clawing at his jeans. “Take it off.”

There would be no need to tell him twice. Haechan gently steered you off of his lap and sat up to remove his jeans, leaving him in his boxers, but you were quick to take care of that situation. You didn’t waste any time freeing his hard cock from his boxers, much to his amusement.

“I want you,” you told him, finding his eyes with a fixed stare. “Inside.”

Well, that left no room for misunderstanding. Haechan’s brain shut down at the thought of being inside of you, though he played it cool. “How do you want me?”

Bringing your hand under your skirt, you tugged your panties past your ankles and threw your legs open, smiling coyly. “Come and get me.”

Haechan growled, “Woman, you drive me crazy.”

You giggled, but the noise faded out when Haechan crawled over you, kissing you again. Neither of you could stand to be apart from each other for three seconds. All you wanted was to feel him so deep inside you that he could never leave.

Haechan realized something and pulled back with a groan. “I don’t have a condom.”

You arched a brow, stifling a laugh. It was very unlike him. You’d seen the inside of Haechan’s wallet more than once and he kept a condom, though he hadn’t brought it with him. Probably because he wasn’t expecting to need anything. “I have an IUD,” you said.

The realization on Haechan’s face was laughable. “You mean?”

“Yes.”

“Fuck, you really want me toâ€¦”

“Yes, Haechan,” you repeated with a groan. “I’m not about to beg you to cum inside me.”

“Maybe you should,” Haechan suggested, the grin back on his plush lips.

You rolled your eyes. Then, a thought struck you, and you half-joked, “You’re not a bastard that’s stuck your dick inside half the girls in the city, right?”

“If you wanted to know my body count, all you had to do was ask,” Haechan retorted.

“You haven’t asked about my body count.”

Haechan kissed the corner of your lips and told you frankly, “Baby, I couldn’t give less of a damn what your body count is.”

Well, that was good to know. There were a couple of guys you’d been with that would freak out if they knew you’d hooked up with more than a couple of boys.

“Unless you’re a serial killer,” Haechan added lightheartedly.

You were caught off guard and snickered, corners of your lips upturned. No matter the time, Haechan could be counted on to make you laugh. “I’m not a serial killer.”

“Good.”

You peered up at him and joked, “Promise not to give me chlamydia?”

Haechan snorted. “You’d be the first girl I’ve hit raw.”

You believed him, but it surprised you when Haechan held out his pinky. You rolled your eyes, prompting a laugh out of him, but intertwined your pinky with his. It was kinda cute.

The mood completely shifted from that moment on. His dick lined up at your entrance, the tip teasing your hole. All you wanted was to feel every inch of him buried inside of you. He was slow and steady, taking his time to fill you, inch by fucking inch.

Some noises left each of you when you’d swallowed his length whole and he slinked down against your velvet walls. His hands left your waist in favor of your hands and he slipped his fingers through yours affectionately, squeezing them as he wondered why you hadn’t done this sooner.

The same thought was heavy on your mind, though you had no regrets. Neither did Haechan. For whatever reason, it felt a billion times more special now compared to if you would have hooked up earlier.

It felt like you were making love.

“Haechan,” you cried out, all the heat in your body gathering at your core. It felt like he was stretching you open.

“I’m right here, baby. I’m not going anywhere. I promise,” Haechan sighed, eyes fluttering closed. “Shit, baby. You’re so damn perfect.”

Haechan was so deep that you could feel him in the pit of your stomach, keeping the butterflies that had made a home out of your gut company. You felt at ease with your hand in his and his warmth enveloping you from head to toe.

It was over when Haechan started to set that steady, comfortable pace. It wasn’t too slow, but he thankfully wasn’t jack-hammering you either. The rhythm was just right. He glanced down at you, a weight on his eyelids, and asked sweetly, “Is this okay?”

“It’s perfect,” you whispered, lips twitching into a smile. You grabbed his face and smashed your lips against his, desperate to feel him everywhere. You could taste yourself on his tongue and inexplicably, it made you feel a different breed of insatiable.

Haechan kissed you back even harder in between grunts and curses, typically followed by your name more often than they were not. You were making him dizzy. You were making him entirely dependent on you, as if there was no him without you in his arms.

Sweat stuck to your skin, little beads of moisture dripping down your back and breasts in numbers. Your whole body was alive, craving him like no other. Your thighs tensed, heat spasming in your palms. Your hips moved to their own accord, trying to match Haechan’s thrusts because you wanted to feel the euphoria to the max. All the pleasure turned you into a madwoman.

Haechan pulled back, the heat of you reworking the wires in his brain, and asked, “Do you mind if I take pictures of you?”

The question did a little more than catch you off-guard, though the more you mulled it over, the more your thighs tightened with want and arousal. You were entertained by the idea, that was for sure. It was like nothing you had over done before, in spite of the fact that you modeled for a living. Maybe it was the heat getting to your head, but you were inclined to agree.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Haechan said, noticing your hesitation.

You shook your head, grinning at him with tiny little stars in your eyes. “I want to.”

Haechan’s lips twisted into a beaming smile of their own and he plucked the camera from wherever he had tossed it to, pointing at you once more. Rather than getting a shot of your face, he was snapping photos of your heaving chest.

Then, it was your stomach, the print of his dick visible against your tummy. Followed by your neck and collarbone, decorated by the necklace he’d gotten you a couple of weeks in advance.

“You’re so beautiful,” Haechan hissed, lowering his head to kiss your breasts. You sighed softly at the feeling, content.

Your breath caught in your throat when he handed you back the polaroids for self-approval, pussy tightening around his stiff dick. Which he couldn’t help but notice and grinned slyly.

You tapped his forearm and asked, “Can I see the camera?”

“Sure,” Haechan said, handing it to you.

You knew maybe a thing or two about how to work a camera, courtesy of your industry, and navigated to the self-timer without any need for his assistance. Then, you sat it down, and pulled his lips onto yours by his hair again.

As if he hadn’t already known, that single-handedly confirmed that you were the one.

You were getting closer by the minute. All of the kissing, touching and sucking (and photo-snapping) was making short work of the both of you. Haechan had internally worried about busting too quick when you permitted him to go bareback, but you weren’t far behind.

All of it was making you mad with lust. The heat and the sounds and the pressure. Your whole body was overloaded, writhing with pleasure.

Haechan was whispering sweet praises in your ear partially to get you off just in case, because he was going to unravel any moment now. His finger thumbed your clit, and with just a look at your face tense with bliss, he was getting closer.

“I’m gonnaâ€¦ Haechan, fuck,” you moaned, barely coherent. It was hard to speak with him strumming you to climax, and the weight of him on top of you. It was game over.

You’d come to notice the signs of Haechan’s impending orgasm and they were all staring you down right now, so when he let out that final, high-pitched moan of your name preceded by a string of curses, it wasn’t even somewhat shocking when you felt his fingers find yours and tighten around them again, his release painting your walls.

That was all it took to break you, his hot cum spilling inside the tightness of your cunt. It was a wordless orgasm, but an intense one, looking into his eyes with all the pleasure and wanting in the world as you shuddered with climax.

For a long minute, the two of you just took a while to gather your bearings. Then, you took one look at each other, and burst into a fit of giggles. Your heart was taut with something bittersweet.

A couple of hours (and rounds) later, Haechan was still at your house. You both took a long, hot shower together with the excuse of saving water and walked back inside your room.

You sat on your chair while Haechan took the bed, just staring at each other for a minute. “I’ve really been having a good time these past couple of months.”

“Glad to be of service,” Haechan chirped, a bottle of beer in hand.

You chuckled.

Haechan could feel a shift in the air and it was somewhat unnerving. He asked, “Why do I get the feeling that there’s about to be a really strong but here?”

Your laughter turned nervous. Which was noticed. After a while, Haechan started to pick up even the slightest of changes with you. That was what he did. “I’m, um, going to NYC next week for a little bit.”

And there it was. “Oh, yeah?” Haechan hummed, nonchalant. “For how long?”

“Just a couple of weeks, I think. I don’t know. Probably just a couple of weeks, if not less,” you said, avoiding eye contact.

“Well, what’s going on in New York?”

“I’m justâ€¦,” you trailed off, fighting the nerves in your gut. “I’m just poking around, you know? Looking for some gigs. And I also have someâ€¦ unfinished business to take care of.”

Your response was vague as ever, which told Haechan everything that he needed to know. “Your ex.”

You frowned. Haechan was many, many things, but he wasn’t an idiot. There was no way that you could play him for a fool. “Haechan, the only reason I’m telling you this is because I really care about you, and I’m not trying to hurt you.”

There was a moment spent in silence as Haechan processed your words. “Well, I appreciate your honesty,” he said after a moment. “But aren’t we just kickin’ it?”

Your eyes flickered. “So, you’re not mad?”

“Pfft. Hell no,” Haechan said, feigning indifference very skillfully. “I’m not your man. I don’t have a ring on your finger or anything like that. Go on to New York and do whatever you gotta do. I mean, we’re just friends, right?”

“Right,” you mumbled, but there was something dark lingering in your chest. “Well, I’d like for you to meet me at the airport next week, if you want. Kiss me goodbye maybe.”

Haechan chuckled lightly. “Is it goodbye or see you later?”

“See you later,” you replied sheepishly. “I’ll call you when I’m back.”

“I’ll stay by my phone.”

You smiled thinly.

Then, the night came for you to fly to New York.

“Because if he knew what he was doing, what the hell am I doing in the picture then?”

Jaemin nodded. “Riddle me that.”

Haechan continued, “Why am I hitting it?”

Jaemin acknowledged Haechan with a raise of his drink.

Lifting his own drink, Haechan scoffed. He’d been in out of his head and was realizing that he might have been a fool for you. He was conflicted. First of all, you’d started acting a little distant a couple of weeks before when up until then, things had been sailing smoothly.

He figured you were stressed from work and didn’t press you about anything, until the other night revealed your true feelings. You were going back to the man who’d disrespected you and your relationship and he couldn’t understand why.

But it wasn’t for him to understand, so he was going to pretend as if he didn’t care about you. If you wanted to run off to New York City and get fucked over by a dickhead again, that was your decision. Why the fuck should I care? He grumbled to himself.

On the one hand, he’d made countless memories with you all in the span of two months and thoughts of a future with you were like a whirlwind in his mind. He thought you felt the same, but on the other hand, he realized he was nothing but a pit-stop along the way. Like he was in the backseat of the joy ride and none of it mattered because it was harmless fun.

“Let me tell you the real deal,” Haechan began, settling down his drink. “The real deal is I don’t think she can handle it.”

Jaemin chuckled.

Haechan threw his head back. “Jaem, I put it on her. Boom.”

“And now she’s gone.”

“Now she’s fucking gone.”

“I feel you, man,” Jaemin said, dispatching messages from his girlfriend before turning his phone screen-side down. “But wait a minute. I thought you two were justâ€¦ you know, umâ€¦ kickin’ it.”

“That’s not the point, Jaemin,” Haechan groaned, running his fingers through his hair.

“So, what’s the point, my friend?”

Haechan bristled. “I’ll tell you the point. Have you been listening? I’m gonna tell you the point. Matter of fact, I’m gonna feed you the point. The point isâ€¦”

Jaemin cocked his head, glancing at Haechan expectantly with a wry smile on his face.

“Man, fuck this, that’s the point,” Haechan barked irritably. “I’m gonna find me a fine ass woman and we’re gonna have some fine ass sex on this fine ass night.”

Jaemin retorted, “You’re gonna wake up with a fine ass hangover and get a fine ass ass-whooping.”

“Whatever, man. You should get laid, too. Tell Winter I said what’s up,” was all Haechan said before marching over to the bar.

He got another drink and sat there for a while, completely in his thoughts. Most of them about you, obviously. No matter what, he couldn’t get you out of his head. He’d obviously fallen hard in spite of whatever bullshit he fed his friends, because you were all he could think about.

Distractions, distractions, I need a fucking distraction, Haechan hissed to himself. Then, he turned around, and briefly made eye contact with a woman who’d been fucking him with her eyes.

If you wanted to play, Haechan was down for the game. And he had plenty.

All the while, you were across town. Walking around the airport, you were nothing short of antsy. For good reason.

Are you coming?

Sent two hours ago. There was no telling if Haechan had seen the message, considering his read receipts were off. Maybe he was just ignoring you. That could have been it. He told you he’d let you know if he could make it tonight or not, but the last time you heard from him was the night you’d dropped the news.

An instagram notification popped on your phone and you accidentally clicked it, being taken to Jaemin’s story. And you frowned when you saw a picture of him and the boys - all of them - out drinking.

Then, your flight was called, and rather than wallow in all of the bad feelings, you sucked it up and got on that plane.

Days passed. Nothing from Haechan. All coming back to New York did was remind you why you left in the first place. First of all, Jaehyun was adamant that you didn’t pursue any of the gigs you’d come there for. Something about him being a provider and some other bullshit you weren’t exactly keen on hearing.

When you instead ventured around the city, meeting up with some old friends and the like, it only made things worse. You walked by all the places Jaehyun used to visit with you once upon a time, before each of your worlds clashed and you realized it wouldn’t work.

Maybe a couple of months ago, it would have made you sad. Now, you just wanted to get the fuck out of here. You felt like you were wallowing in memories you had no intention of ever bringing up again. This just wasn’t your home anymore.

Sharing a bed with your ex-fiancÃ© at night didn’t help, because all you did was dream of zipping through Los Angeles at night on the back of Haechan’s motorbike. You imagined speed and restlessness. You could feel the wind whipping through your hair and his hands on your waist.

“I’m home,” you grumbled one day, kicking off your shoes at the front door.

Nothing. Much to your surprise, Jaehyun didn’t say a word. Almost like he wasn’t even there. Which was strange, because his car was parked out front and according to his schedule, he should have been back by now.

You were getting flashbacks. Being home earlier than expected, slipping inside the house unheard like a thief in the night. He had the audacity to have you sleep in the same bed he’d probably fucked countless other girls in.

Fighting off the thought, you heard a noise in the kitchen and followed the sound. Jaehyun was looking through the cabinet, seemingly not noticing your presence until you tapped on the counter and greeted, “Hey.”

“Hey,” Jaehyun repeated, then pointed to the cabinet. “Where are my Frosted Flakes?”

“Oh, I finished the box this morning.”

Jaehyun groaned, “Oh, you couldn’t just eat the damn Cinnamon Toast Crunch?”

“Oh, brother.” You rolled your eyes, setting your purse down on the counter.

Jaehyun was bristling. “Look, I’m sorry I had a bad day today.”

“Well, I had a bad day, too,” you retorted, taking off your coat.

“So, you wanna tell me about it?”

“No,” you hissed, hanging your coat on the coat rack in the living room.

“Baby,” Jaehyun called out behind you, following you to the couch. “I hate to see you, you knowâ€¦”

“Wasting my time,” you interrupted.

Jaehyun gave you a little nudge, fixing you a stare. “You know that’s not what I meant. All I’m saying is that I can provide for the both of us. I don’t want you to deal withâ€¦”

“Getting a job?”

“Rejection,” Jaehyun hissed. “And stop finishing my sentences.”

You laughed humorlessly, turning away, and blew out a sigh. “I don’t even know why I’m here.”

“What?”

You raised your voice, “I don’t even know why I’m here.”

“No, I heard you,” Jaehyun said, clearly upset now. Again. “After all these years together, you don’t know why you’re here?”

Now, you were getting irritated. Because this was how it always went. You looked him in the eyes again and exclaimed, “No, I don’t, Jaehyun. And you wanna know why? Because even after all these years together, we still don’t know how to make this work, and it never fucking will.”

Jaehyun couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of your mouth. Rather than try to hash things out with you, he stood up and said, “I’m going out for some fucking Frosted Flakes. You’ve lost it.”

Then, he left. Like he always did.

You heaved a breath, irritated. All these years, he said. All those years wasted. All those years that you could have spent on something worthwhile and yet he’d stolen time from you. You just couldn’t put up with this bullshit anymore.

That night, you slipped your engagement ring on his pinky finger and crept outside of the bedroom to dial a number.

“Hey, I know it’s late, but can I stay the night? I need to book a flight.”

As soon as the next day, you were back. Again in the Los Angeles air, you felt like you could breathe again. That suffocating feeling that you got after Jaehyun popped up in your life out of nowhere completely dissipated. It felt more like those two months of relentless happiness you’d felt prior to his unannounced appearance.

Months of happiness thanks to Haechan. Something about the thought of him made butterflies flitter about in your belly, but an acute pain spread throughout your chest like wildfire. You hadn’t called him like you said you would. And you didn’t really know why.

You just couldn’t stop thinking about that night and how he wasn’t there. You didn’t see his message until after you got off the plane, a thoughtless response. Couldn’t get out of plans. Sorry. Ttyl.

You faced reality and accepted that it wasn’t that he couldn’t be there. He just didn’t want to be.

And then the unthinkable happened. Sitting in the corner of the cafe sketching, you glanced up when you heard the jingle of the bells announcing that somebody had walked in. You didn’t notice whoever walked inside, your eyes fixed out the window you’d accidentally brought your attention towards.

All you could feel was a burning when you saw Haechan holding hands with some girl that was leaning against him, hanging on his every word. You didn’t even realize you were on the verge of breaking your pen until a friend you’d been there to meet tapped your shoulder, cocking you a worried look.

It was a full-blown war.

Not many days later, you were in the park, snapping pictures of the scenery. If Haechan wasn’t there to take you out on dates, you would take your damn self. Like hell you needed him to do anything.

Then, you heard somebody call out your name, and spun around. “Oh, hey, Jeno.”

Jeno dug his hands into his sweatpants pockets, shooting you a grin. “Whatcha doing?”

“These are flowers. This is a camera. I’m photographing the flowers,” you deadpanned, obviously not in the best mood. Then again, that was just your usual bitchy attitude.

“Ah.” Jeno crept closer, eyes giving you a quick scan. Not too close, but not too distant. “You like savoring the beautiful things in life?”

You snorted. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

When you least expected the action, Jeno gently took the camera out of your hands, earning a half baffled and half curious glance from your part. You hid your face when he pointed the camera at you.

Your voice was muffled. “Jeno, what are you doing?”

“Savoring the beautiful things in life,” Jeno replied smoothly, just giving you that angelic smile of his as he continued to snap photos of you.

Jeno pulled your hands away from your face and brushed a stray hair out of the way, looking at you with the gentlest touch but the least subtle eyes. “You are incredibly gorgeous,” he purred in the deepest tone.

Though you were tempted to roll your eyes, you had a moment of realization. There was a flash of rage that shot through your body like lightning. All you could see was those memories of Haechan’s endless flirtation playing back in your mind and it made you bristle.

Rather than beat him, you joined Jeno, lashes fluttering. “You think so?”

“My eyes never deceive me,” Jeno said, looking you up and down with obvious want.

“What about Haechan?”

Jeno seemed almost irritated at the mention of his friend’s name, gently pulling you just a bit closer to him. “He might have found you, but where I’m from, we play for keeps.”

You met his bold stare. “And you wanna keep me?”

“To say the least.”

You snickered.

“Do you like steak?”

“I love steak.”

“That’s perfect, because I know a place. Five stars,” Jeno whispered huskily. “I’d like to take you out to dinner Friday night. What do you say?”

You pretended to mull it over, when in reality you’d been thinking about it for the past five minutes at length. Jeno had never been subtle with his flirty quips from the day he met you, in spite of the fact that you were Haechan’s date. Apparently there was no brotherly code.

That, or he had absolutely zero regard for whatever it was.

You chirped, “It’s a date.”

Even more days passed. Nothing from you. Haechan figured you were still in New York searching for work and whatnot, and, knowing how passionate you were about your job, didn’t dare disturb you.

Though he would be lying if he said he didn’t miss you.

“She’s back,” Jaemin said, sitting down at the table.

Haechan furrowed his brows, asking, “Who?”

“Your girl, man,” Jaemin replied. “She’s back in town and she’s been going out with Jeno.”

Mark winced from across the table. “Damn.”

Haechan’s voice was low, almost like a mumble, “She didn’t tell me she was back.”

Jaemin patted him on the back. “I just thought you deserved to know, man.”

“You move too fast, dickhead. You probably scared the poor girl away,” Ryujin shot without looking away from her phone, playing a heated round of cup pong with Mark via iMessage games.

“She’s kinda right,” Jaemin agreed. “Slow and steady wins the race.”

Haechan took a much needed shot of liquor and grumbled, “Oh, shut the fuck up, Jaem. The whole reason Winter rejected your ass was because you were doing too much too fast.”

“And I revised my plan and made her mine. Isn’t that right, baby?” Jaemin asked, gaze flitting over to Winter.

Winter giggled, leaning into his touch. “Right, baby.”

“You two make me sick.”

Winter quipped, “Jealous much?”

“Never in a million years.” Haechan grimaced. “I’m not drunk enough to put up with this right now.”

Ryujin exclaimed out of nowhere, “You limp dick bastard!”

Mark was in the midst of a fit of giggles, laughing his ass off. “It’s one thing to suck at cup pong in real life, but you suck online, too?”

“I’m this close to deporting you back to Canada,” Ryujin hissed.

Everybody froze when Jeno walked up to the table, taking a seat in front of Haechan. The whole spot was quiet. “What’s up, Haechan?” he asked.

Haechan cocked his head. “What’s up, J? You been doing anything lately?”

“Fuck, yeah, man. I been doing a whole lot,” Jeno replied offhandedly.

“Oh, yeah?” Haechan questioned. “Like what?”

Jeno shrugged, acting nonchalant. “Oh, you know. I’ve been out in the sun and shit. Getting things wet. Wallowing in the heat. Got a new boat.”

Winter grimaced.

“Really?”

“Really,” Jeno repeated, locking eyes with Haechan. “See, I’ve been riding the wave lately.”

Haechan set his jaw, but played it cool. “That so?”

“You bet it is. Just beenâ€¦ cruising.”

“I think I test drove that model,” Haechan said with a little nod, picking up his glass. “Took it for a spin and all.”

Jeno narrowed his eyes. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. A couple of times.”

The tension at the table was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Jaemin and Winter got up to dismiss themselves with the excuse of wanting to be alone, while Mark and Ryujin sat there quietly, exchanging thoughts telepathically. Then, Jeno’s phone started to beep countless times.

“I tell you, I hate when this happens,” Jeno sighed, taking out his phone and grinning slyly when he looked at the screen. “You know?”

Haechan quipped, “Mom keeps texting you, huh?”

“Not this time,” Jeno retorted. “This is one of my boating buddies.”

“Mm,” Haechan hummed, bristling at the thought. His whole body was cloaked in heat, a bite to his next words. “Well, I hope you don’t get thrown overboard. You’ve never been good at staying anchored.”

Jeno retaliated darkly, “You’d know a lot about that, wouldn’t you, Hyuck?”

Haechan lifted his shoulders. “Nah, you know me. I’m the captain. I invite the passengers on-board and I dismiss them. You tend to step on unfamiliar territory and get walked off the plank.”

Mark and Ryujin exchanged identical glances. What the fuck are they talking about?

“But it’s okay. You can’t help it,” Haechan added, setting down his drink and rising to his feet. “Yo, Mark, Ryu, I’ll get with you guys another time. Later.”

Jeno chuckled.

Ryujin cocked him a glance. “Aren’t you a little too old to be fighting over some babe?”

“Never, Ryu,” Jeno replied, laughing a little. “Plus, I can’t help it if I’m the chosen one.”

“Chosen one, my fucking ass.”

Mark shook his head in disapproval. “You know you’re foul, right?”

Jeno groaned. “Foul for what, man?”

“Dude, come on. That girl shouldn’t even be anywhere on your radar. It’s like you were waiting for Haechan to slip up,” Mark replied with obvious disdain.

“Whatever, man,” Jeno scoffed. “She chose me, alright? Take that up with god.”

Mark and Ryujin exchanged looks.

A few dates with Jeno to forget the gaping hole Haechan had left in your heart ultimately came back with a bite. Jeno was sweet and all but you couldn’t feel a connection with him, something Haechan had made you feel within moments of your first date together. But you were still bitter.

With that in mind, you kept up the act, all the while wondering if it was torture for him as much as it was for you.

It wasn’t that you didn’t like Jeno. The dinners gave a nice first impression and he had an interesting personality. But no matter how much there was to like about Jeno’s indulgences and mesmerizing looks, he wasn’t Haechan.

After a couple of weeks of dating, Jeno invited you to a party on a whim without much specifics and you spent the rest of your Thursday afternoon choosing an outfit. Maybe you wanted to look extra cute in case you made a special appearance in somebody’s Insta story and Haechan happened to see.

It never crossed your mind that he might’ve physically been there.

You locked arms with Jeno as you stepped into the party, allowing him to guide you throughout the house, weaving in and out of crowds of people.

“‘Sup, guys,” Jeno greeted his clique when you both walked up to them.

You counted four faces and every single last one fell at the sight of you, their incessant chatter instantly ceasing. The lack of Haechan was very noticeable, but at the time, you were more concerned with how apparent it was that absolutely none of them knew you’d been invited.

Clearing your throat in humiliation, you asked, “Um, where’s your bathroom?”

“Upstairs to the left,” Ryujin answered, but her face had yet to shift from that grim look.

You thanked her and excused yourself, quickly fleeing up the steps and wishing some kind of chasm would open between them, swallowing you whole.

Jeno glanced at Mark. “What up, Minhyung?”

Mark shook his head in disapproval. “Like I said. Foul.”

“Man, come the fuck on. Give me a break,” Jeno grumbled, irritated. This conversation was exhausting and it didn’t help the more it was had.

Jaemin was wearing a reproachful frown, chastising, “That’s some fucked up shit, man. And you know what you’re doing is fucked up.”

“Pfft. Whatever.”

Jaemin narrowed his eyes and stood up straight. “Whatever?”

“Don’t,” Winter said swiftly, putting her hands on Jaemin’s chest.

Ryujin crossed her arms, wearing the most withering scowl known to mankind. Her eyes cut at Jeno. “I’m disappointed in you.”

In that same second, Haechan stumbled from around the corner with a victorious smile that fell instantly once he caught a sight of Jeno.

Mark scratched his head. Awkward, he mouthed to Ryujin.

She blew out a breath.

Jeno scanned Haechan, smirking at him. “Yo, Donghyuck.”

Haechan mumbled a greeting, glancing away from Jeno.

As if this whole ordeal didn’t already make you want to chew glass, it went from worse to worst the second you skipped down those stairs and stood next to Jeno, making eye contact with Haechan whose brows furrowed in shock. Your heart raced. This was without a doubt the most embarrassing moment of your life.

You tapped Jeno on the arm. “You and me. Outside. Right now.” You brushed past him without waiting, immediately heading for the door. You couldn’t bear to be there for another second. Not like this.

Jeno eventually came outside the front door, calling out your name behind you as you ran down the stairs.

“Take me home now,” you demanded, pointing to his car parked right out front.

Jeno caught up to you, having the audacity to pretend to be confused, and asked, “Come on. What’s wrong?”

You gave him an incredulous look. Like you couldn’t believe he had the nerve to play dumb. “You just made a fucking fool out of me and I don’t like that shit. If you and Haechan wanna have a dick measuring contest, I want no parts.”

“Baby, I’m sorry,” Jeno apologized, reaching out to console you.

You snatched your arm away from him. “Don’t touch me. Just grab your keys and take me home.”

Jeno switched on a dime, hissing, “Like you didn’t think for one damn second that he was going to be here.”

You snapped, “No, because you gave me all of two seconds in advance to prepare and didn't have the decency to give me details!”

“And that’s my fucking problem how?”

“Jeno,” you snarled, taking a deep breath. He was really testing the last of your patience. “Are you gonna take me home or what?”

Jeno scoffed, “Hell the fuck no.”

“Un-fucking-believable,” you said, turning on your heels and stomping down the sidewalk. You were disappointed, but not surprised.

“Walk!” Jeno exclaimed, turning around and heading back inside the house.

Haechan glanced around when Jeno walked back over without you, baffled. “Where is she?”

Jeno exhaled a breath, stuffing a hand inside his pockets. “I don’t know,” he lied.

Jaemin gave Jeno the utmost repulsive look. “You just left the woman outside? Don’t you know what kind of freaks walk around at night?”

Haechan didn’t bother to interrogate Jeno in spite of his questionably stupid actions, because even after all the weird shit going on between you two lately, he still had the decency to want to make sure you got home safe. He grabbed his coat and made a break for the door.

Winter and Jaemin were shooting Jeno matching scowls. She grabbed her boyfriend’s hand and pulled him away wordlessly. Meanwhile, Ryujin had her arms folded snugly across her chest, clearly not pleased either.

Jeno glanced down at her and barked, “What? You got something to say to me, Ryujin?”

“I don’t have a damn thing to say to you,” Ryujin hissed, following behind the couple.

Which left Mark and Jeno. “You’re an asshole, dude,” Mark said.

“Fuck you, man.”

Ryujin came back to grab Mark, leaving again this time with him in tow.

All the while, Haechan was chasing you down the sidewalk, jogging to catch up to you. It was chilly outside, and he saw you wrap your arms around yourself to shield your bare skin from the nipping cold.

Haechan called out your name. You could hear his footsteps just behind you. “Slow down.”

“I’m not in the mood to chat, Haechan,” you said, not glancing back. You couldn’t look into his eyes again. It nearly killed you the first time.

“If you slow down, I can call you an Uber or something,” Haechan insisted.

All of your emotions hit you tenfold in that moment and you whipped around, exclaiming, “What do you want?”

“First of all, calm down. I know and you know that you don’t wanna be outside this late in this cold ass weather stomping down the street like somebody stole your fucking bike,” Haechan said even louder than you.

You scoffed, tightening your arms around your body.

“Look,” he started, leaving a good distance between your bodies. “All I wanna do is get you home safely. No extra shit. I’ll call you an Uber and then it’ll be over.”

You couldn’t exactly argue with that. For fuck’s sake, Jeno - who had been your ride - left you in the cold to die and you didn’t know your way around this area of town. With that in mind, you begrudgingly agreed.

It was silent for a good while after Haechan called you an Uber. Neither of you said a word to each other, and you both stubbornly made sure that was extra space between your bodies while you waited. His leather jacket now being draped over your shoulders didn’t bother you in the slightest.

Well, maybe that was a lie. You were bristling with sudden longing. Obviously, it smelled exactly like him. You were breathing him in even though he was what felt like worlds away from you.

Haechan tried to resist his temper, but the dam ultimately broke and he snapped, “What the hell are you doing going out with Jeno? First you take flight to New York to see some dude, and then you’re fucking on one of my boys?”

The mention of New York and Jeno only fueled your flames and you shot back, “All you had to do was tell me that you were seeing somebody.”

“What are you talking about? I’m not seeing no one.”

“I saw you with her outside the fucking cafe next to the record store.”

“I’m always by the fucking record store,” Haechan exclaimed, throwing up his hands. “What are you talking about?”

You rolled your eyes. You had enough of men playing dumb with you for one night. Thankfully, the Uber pulled up just in time, and you sneered just as you got in the backseat, “You know what the hell I’m talking about.”

Haechan watched you get driven off, puzzled. Like you were speaking an entirely different language. And then it hit him. “Ryujin’s friend. Shit. God-fucking-dammit.”

He took out his phone and opened your text messages. Fuck, he hadn’t texted you in forever and a half. At least text me when you get back home so I know you’re safe.

Haechan shoved his phone into his pockets, doubting you would reply. Imagine his surprise when his phone buzzed only a couple of moments later. Okay.

Sure, it was one word, but he would take it. One was better than nothing. Right now, he had to think of a way to salvage this relationship.

The first thing you did when you were safely back inside your condo was text Haechan that you were back home safe and block Jeno’s number. Then, you took off all your makeup and prepared to take a long, scalding shower. You didn’t even realize Haechan hadn’t asked for his jacket back until you went to undress yourself.

Many thoughts were weighing on your mind as the hot water hit your skin. You felt like an idiot. For going to see Jaehyun, for entertaining Jeno’s fuckboy tendencies. But worst of all, for wishing your feelings for Haechan would go down the drain.

You had finally come to terms with the fact that your heart wanted Haechan, even if it took a long time to accept and even if you were in denial that you couldn’t have him. You worried that you had already fucked things up too much. And you worried that you never had a chance to begin with.

There was very little room for misunderstanding in the fact that you were easily replaceable. It was borderline offensive how quick Haechan was to pop out with a new chick while you were away. Like all of those months together meant nothing to him. Your biggest fear was that they were only special to you.

You cried yourself to sleep that night. You’d lost the game. Again. Maybe you were just bad at love. You figured you would probably do everyone and yourself a huge favor if you stopped involving your heart and focused on your career like you always wanted.

So, you decided that that was what you were going to do.

Neither you or Haechan spoke to each for weeks. Sitting on your bed, you wondered if he was thinking about you and what went wrong. If he was as fucked up and heartbroken as you were. Maybe you did it to yourself. Something told you not to fool around with Haechan too much, after all, but you still kept him close because you were human and you wanted to be loved.

All you knew was that you couldn’t stay here, sitting in ruins over a boy you couldn’t have. When Jaehyun cheated on you, you felt dirty and lacked the strength to rouse out of bed in the mornings. You couldn’t let yourself steep to that point of misery over something you couldn’t even call a break-up.

You glanced at your phone. Should you have called him? Maybe you should have at least texted him, since you didn’t do either when you came back from New York.

Almost worlds away from you, Haechan was sitting by his phone with the same thoughts wearing him thin. You were wearing him thin. He wanted to call you, but if you thought you were stubborn, Haechan gave you a run for your money.

You said you’d let him know when you were back and Haechan waited and waited. You never called. Not one fucking time. So why should he have called you?

Because you love her, hissed the voice in his head that made Haechan roll his eyes in annoyance. He was past denying the truth, but he was terrified of confronting it. Loving you made his blood chill with fear. It wasn’t a question of whether or not you loved him back. It was if you loved him enough to make it work.

His emotions were all over the place. First of all, he was spiteful and wanted to hate you. He was angry. For fuck’s sake, you went out with Jeno for what - to make him jealous?

But on the other hand, all those memories you’d made with each other weren’t simple to forget. Every time Haechan closed his eyes, he saw you. Your gorgeous smile and twinkling eyes. He could taste your chapstick on his tongue and feel your warmth in his arms, as if you were some lingering ghost that was haunting him in spirit. He could hear your laughter ringing in his ears as he told you a stupid joke solely to make you laugh.

Jesus fucking Christ. Haechan had been in love, but never like this. Your love was mind-numbing. No girl had ever made him feel this many emotions all at once. You made him want to scream and shout, but you made him want to smile. You made a void ache in his chest.

Haechan’s phone started to ring. He scolded himself for immediately hoping that it was you finally calling him like you should have weeks ago, but was disappointed when he saw it was Chaewon. But his curiosity got the best of him and he brought the phone to his ear, answering, “Hello?”

“Hey, Haechan,” Chaewon greeted somewhat somberly.

Haechan could immediately tell that something was off. He could hear it in her tone. “What’s up, Chaewon?”

“It’s about your girl,” Chaewon said, sullen. She was obviously very worried. “She’s going away for a few months. She got a deal out of state and they’re flying her out.”

Haechan set his jaw. You were leaving - again. And he had to find out about your whereabouts through somebody else. Again. “Oh. Good for her, I guess,” he replied indifferently.

Chaewon snapped, “Don’t give me that nonchalant bullshit, Haechan. You know and I know that you both care about each other. Now, listen. She’s my best friend and the love of my life, but I understand that she hasn’t been making the best decisions lately.”

Haechan interjected, “So what? I should go clean up her mess? I’m not her man and I’m damn sure not her fucking daddy, Chaewon.”

“Don’t start getting an attitude with me,” Chaewon hissed. “If you’d let me finish, I was going to say that her flight leaves today at four. I just thought you deserved to know that. It’s not your job to finish what she started, but if you still want to, you know where to find her.”

Haechan heaved a breath.

Chaewon added, “It’s up to you. I think you two could set things straight if you communicated with each other for once. But if you don’t want that, then forget I said anything. I just thought with how adamant you were on pursuing her that you would be the last person to give up on her. Maybe I was wrong.”

Haechan sighed. Again. His head was throbbing. “I’ll think about it,” he finally exhaled after a moment or two.

“Okay. Bye, Haechan.”

Haechan spent all of three hours debating whether or not he should have come to see you. He was still bitter over the lack of communication, but after a moment of pondering in silence, realized that was why you two were in this predicament in the first place.

If he would have been honest about how he felt about you going to New York, maybe none of this would have happened. Maybe you would’ve never left. Never entertained Jeno. You would’ve stayed in his arms where you rightfully belonged.

After all this time, he realized something. His open arms would still be waiting for you when you were ready to come back to them. Fear corrupted Haechan when he had a thought. The fear of you never coming back. What if you went away for months and met a different guy that you liked? What if you never came back?

He wasn’t ready to lose you, he quickly realized. He wasn’t ready to give you away either. The first thing he thought when you told him about your ex was that that guy was a dumbass for kicking you to the curb.

And if Haechan thought he was stubborn, his heart was going to put both of you to shame.

Haechan grabbed his keys and burst out the front door like lightning, immediately mounting his bike. Even the damn bike reminded him of you as he probably broke the law with how quickly he was speeding. On a motorcycle, we get to dodge all the traffic.

He looked everywhere for you. Every corner he turned, there were people living their day-to-day lives, giving the guy running through the airport like he was playing Subway Surfers a brief, baffled look. Haechan didn’t care. He didn’t give a flying fuck who thought what about him, unabashedly in love with you. He would shout it out in front of all of these strangers if that was what it took.

Finally, he saw you, closing in on your terminal. He shouted your name loud enough to disturb some people and earn a couple of disdainful glances from onlookers.

You turned around, recognizing that voice before you saw his face.

Your heart raced when you saw Haechan jogging over to you and for a moment you were pleased to see him, but then you remembered how ruined you were because of him. You pretended not to care and sneered, “If you’re here to get your jacket back, you’re out of luck. I already checked in and I don’t have my luggage.”

“Damn that jacket,” Haechan hissed, his blood pumping a billion times per second. Only half it was because of how fast he ran. “I can’t let you leave like this. Not when we have so much unfinished business to work through.”

You barked, “Me and you are nothing. We have nothing.”

“Really?” Haechan asked, staring at you in disbelief. “All those months together meant nothing to you?”

Those words reminded you of that night at Jaehyun’s place, as well as the fact that Haechan couldn’t have cared about you, which only made you bristle. You lied through your teeth, “Nothing.”

Haechan switched on a diming, changing tactics, and hissed, “Bull-fucking-shit. I spent so many nights waiting for you to call. You never did. I could have got at least a fucking text or something. But you know what I got instead? Nothing. A whole lotta nothing! I had to find out from somebody else that you’re back and then you go out with Jeno.”

All you could do was give him an ugly scowl. How dare he march up in here to shout in your face? Like you were the villain. “I waited for you to show up. You never did! You said you were busy, but you were at the fucking club. Don’t even lie because I saw Jaemin’s story.”

Fuck, you saw that? “So, I go out and have a couple of drinks and you decide you want to fuck Jeno?”

“Are you fucking serious right now?” you seethed. “All I wanted was for you to kiss me goodbye, but you stood me up so that you could drink and get laid. I saw you outside the cafe with the girl. That’s why I didn’t call you.”

Haechan softened in realization, understanding that he had fucked up more than he thought. Still, he kept riling you up. It was the only way you both would get answers.

“You went off to New York to fuck your ex,” Haechan reminded. “I don’t see why it’s a big deal that I got laid too.”

You exclaimed, “I didn’t want to go to New York!”

“Then, why the fuck did you?”

You ran your fingers through your hair. He was just so good at getting under your skin. You confessed morosely, “Because when I had sex with you, it felt like we were making love. I was in denial about loving you, because I didn’t want to take the risk of getting my heart broken again.”

Haechan wasn’t sure what he was expecting you to say, but it wasn’t that. He was positively stunned to silence.

“Jaehyun asked me a couple of weeks before that to come to New York. And I wasn’t going to, but I was conflicted. And you acted like you didn’t care, so,” you explained yourself rapidly. “I went there to see if I still loved him, but all I harbored when I got there was resentment.”

God, I am a fucking idiot, Haechan hissed to himself. He swore he wasn’t going to fuck this one up.

“Then, I started going out with Jeno, thinking I could get back at you while also proving to myself that I wasn’t in love,” you whispered. “But he wasn’t you. That was when I knew you’ve ruined me.”

“You’ve ruined me too,” Haechan said softly, approaching you a little further. “She’s not you. I want you to know that. I only hooked up with her because I was upset and I wanted to distract myself from you.”

You were silent. His words weren’t exactly comforting, but you were both finally being honest with each other. And yourselves.

Haechan grabbed your hand in his, locking eyes with yours. “I fucked up. I should’ve been here the first time, but I wasn’t.”

Your eyes watered and no matter how hard you blinked, you couldn’t battle the tears. “Why didn’t you tell me how you felt about me going to New York? It would have mattered.”

“Because I didn’t want to seem like I was trying to control you,” Haechan replied, a well of regret and self-loathing. “I was trying to respect your decision.”

You chortled through your tears. “A gentleman to your core.”

Haechan shook his head, frowning. “In retrospect, there are so many things I could have done better. Maybe I was moving too fast for you, baby, and I’m sorry. I get a little overzealous.”

“Trust me, Haechan. You’re just the right amount of zealous.”

Haechan snickered. Leave it to you to make him laugh even during a moment like this.

Now that you both had cleared the air, you felt like there was a weight off your chest. You could understand each other and rationalize the other’s actions. You should have just talked a long time ago.

“I didn’t fuck Jeno,” you blurted. “Or my ex.”

Haechan hung his head. “I’m sorry for accusing you of that. And for not being honest about my feelings.”

“I forgive you,” you spoke softly. “I’m sorry for not calling you and for going out with your friend.”

“He’s not my friend,” Haechan said like he was repulsed. “You helped me see that, so I forgive you.”

Your lips broke into a grin when he wiped a tear from your eyes.

Haechan’s expression suddenly turned sober and he declared, “I wanna start over.”

“Haechanâ€¦,” you started.

He shushed you. “I’m not the easiest person to get to know but half of it is because nobody ever gives me a chance. People look at me and see what they want to see. They think they’ve got me all figured out.”

That was true. You knew it, because you had been one of those people. You got your heart broken by a fuckboy once and Haechan made it way too easy to assume he was the same.

“Even if I broke your heart, I wanna put it back together again,” Haechan continued. “Will you let me do that?”

God, your whole being was consumed by. The love you had for this boy was all-consuming. You just wanted to be with him for the rest of your life. “Yes. You already know I will.”

Haechan smiled triumphantly. All he knew was you. If he couldn’t have you, he didn’t know what he would do with himself.

“But I’m literally leaving for three months,” you reminded him, a frown on your face.

The reminder jolted Haechan back into reality, but he knew better than to ask you to stay. He knew you loved your work and he wouldn’t dare come between that bond. “You remember what I told you on our first date? About dating long distance?”

Your frown got bigger. “Yeah. That you didn’t know if you could make it work for me, but you would at least try.”

“I changed my mind,” Haechan told you, looking at you with all the love in the universe. “I don’t give a fuck what I have to do to make it work. I don’t care how hard I have to try. I love you and I’m willing to sacrifice everything for us.”

All you could do was stare into his eyes. Those three words made your head spin. He loved you. “Really?”

Haechan bobbed his head. “I’ll call you every day. I’ll text you good morning when I wake up and goodnight before I go to bed. But you have to meet me halfway.”

“I’ll meet you in the middle,” you said in a heartbeat. “I’ll text you every time I think about you. We can watch stupid romcoms then talk about them over the phone. I’ll call you and tell you how my days are going.”

“I want to hear all of it. The good days and the bad ones too. I wanna be there for you,” Haechan whispered tenderly.

“You can do all of that.”

“You promise?”

You nodded. “It’s gonna take some effort, butâ€¦ I know we can make us work. You just have to accept that I need space sometimes and I don’t always make sense.”

Haechan snorted. Like he didn’t already know that. “No offense, but I think we just had a crash course on that, baby.”

You rolled your eyes, but you couldn’t fight it anymore and smashed your lips against his, bringing him in for a kiss. They called for passengers to board. Haechan’s hands were quick to grab your waist, holding you tight like he didn’t want to let you get on that plane. But he once heard that if you love someone, you’ll let them go. So, that was what he was going to do.

When you pulled back, Haechan said, “Promise when you get back we’re gonna watch a really cheesy movie together and dance to MJ.”

You chuckled, slipping your fingers through his and squeezing. “I’ll save the date.”

Haechan smiled, letting out a breath. “Bye, baby.”

“See you later,” you whispered, almost like you didn’t want to go. But you knew you would regret not getting on that plane. “I mean it this time.”

Haechan snorted. Finally, after exchanging one last kiss, he let you go.

He watched you slip away. There was a familiar feeling taut around his heart, but he toughed it out. You’re gone again, but that’s okay. Because this time, I know you’ll come back.

“I’ll wait for you,” Haechan whispered to himself, turning away once you were out of his sight.

#haechan smut #nct 127 smut #nct dream smut #nct smut #haechan x reader #nct imagines #haechan imagines #lee haechan smut #nct x reader #nct #nct scenarios

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zepskies · 5 months ago

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August Fic Recs

Hey, friends!

I got inspired by the awesome monthly rec posts that @winchestergirl2 and @deanwinchesterswitch put together, and decided to try this out. I might not do this every month, but we'll see! lol I now realize how much time and effort this takes, so to you guys who do this on the regular, I salute you! 🫡 😂

Note: If the author provided a summary, I'll include it. If not, and if it's untitled, I'll include the first line of the story. If it's a series and the author provided a series masterlist link in the chapter post, I'll also include it. MINORS BEWARE: a lot of this is 18+ content!

Supernatural

Dean Winchester x Reader:

@mxltifxnd0m -

Cute Glasses

Boyfriend Headcanons

@dewwinchester -

Stitches Summary: Dean texts you for help, and you drop everything for him.

@dean-winchester-is-a-warrior -

Things Learned and Unlearned | Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15 Summary: Y/N has spent her life trying to outrun her mother's reputation. When she meets the rich and successful playboy, Dean Winchester, how quickly can he get her to stop running?

Every Fucking Time Summary: You want to help Dean, but he knows you can't.

@talltalesandbedtimestories -

Just a Little Spice Summary: Dean likes to spice things up, but it would be nice if he didn’t have to put his life in danger in the process.

@luci-in-trenchcoats -

Oh, Baby Summary: When Dean is cursed on a hunt and turned into a baby, the reader has to take care of him along with Sam. Dean however, is a bit more adult than they might realize…

A Shirtless Winchester

Imagine...Breaking Dean Out of Jail

@zeppelinlvr -

"Better?" "Much" Summary: waking up next to Dean and getting ready with him.

@ohsc -

Help You

@rizlowwritessortof -

Sweet Escape - Part 1, Part 2 Summary: What happens when a friend jokingly does a spell at your birthday party to bring your cardboard standup of Dean Winchester to life?

@deans-queen -

Stolen Moments Summary: Y/N finds herself unable to resist capturing a rare, peaceful moment of Dean Winchester sleeping in a motel room. But when Dean wakes up and catches her in the act, what starts as an innocent photo op quickly turns into an intimate encounter.

Sweet Distractions Summary: Reader (Y/N) is at the bunker, working on an essay for her Child Development class. When Dean comes to check on her, his bad-boy charm quickly becomes a distraction she can’t resist, no matter how hard she tries.

@tofics -

Let There Be Light Summary: You, Dean and Sam are fighting America's monsters together. Coming from a long line of hunters, you fit right in with the Winchester boys, despite having been raised entirely different from the two. Where you were brought up with love and care, John raised Sam and Dean with rules and obedience. Seeing what Dean does for the world, you decide it's time that he gets his own share of love...

@jackles010378 -

A Sweet Treat Summary: Dean gets a little excited when Y/N makes his favourite treat.

Dean Winchester x OC:

@rizlowwritessortof -

Remember Me - Part 4

@spnbabe67 -

Girls, Girls, Girls Summary: While on a witch hunt Dean gets hit with a spell. Later at the hotel, Dean feels the effects of the spell and Tori has to help him through it.

It Takes Two Summary: Dean and Tori get roped into doing a pregnancy yoga session and he reminisces on how he found out she was pregnant. (Dean's POV)

Comfortember Day 7: Sick As A Dog Summary: When Dean wakes up sick, it's up to Tori to make him feel better again.

Comfortember 2023 Master List

The Broken Heart Trilogy Master List

Sam Winchester x Reader:

@ohsc -

Delicate

Untitled Drabble - "She wouldn't stop giggling."

The Boys

Soldier Boy x Reader:

@kaleldobrev -

Yes Ma'am (Soldier Boy x Plus-size!Reader) Summary: Macho Man Ben never thought he’d ever take orders from a woman; but now he does so with a smile (aka Ben is whipped and he doesn’t care).

After Everything Summary: You and Ben have a heart-to-heart.

@artyandink -

The Art of Heresy - Prequel, Chapter 1, Chapter 2 Summary: Modern day, 2022, and you have no clue what’s going on. You knew what you went through. You knew it was real, but why were there people trying to convince you that everything that happened to you wasn’t real. Hell, you called bullshit. But you get your chance to fight back when you get a call at your door.

Billy Butcher x Reader:

@lady-z-writes -

Untitled Drabble - "Butcher stumbles in the office. Haggard, nothing new."

Tracker

Russell Shaw x Reader:

@impala-dreamer -

Don't Mention It

@luci-in-trenchcoats -

M.I.A. Summary: When Colter Shaw calls the reader for help on a job, she thinks nothing of helping out. Only he never shows up and Colter may have just become the latest disappearance in this small town. It’s up to her and Russell to work together to find him before his case goes cold like all the others before…

Jacklesverse

Various characters portrayed by Jensen Ackles and/or crossovers:

@deanbrainrotwritings -

Jacklesverse Bingo 2023 Masterlist

@justagirlinafandomworld -

Stranded - SPN/The Boys crossover: Soldier Boy & Reader, with a mention of Dean.

@lamentationsofalonelypotato -

It's Not a Big Deal - SPN/The Boys crossover: Soldier Boy x Reader, with a side helping of Dean. Summary: Dean's in for a rude awakening when he finds out exactly what you did when you got stranded in another universe.

@artyandink -

Nature's Beauty Summary: You have stretch marks. How would the boys react to that?

Chicago Med

Will Halstead x Reader:

@deanstead -

5 Times You Held Back + 1 Time You Didn't Have To Summary: Five times you held back, and the one time you didn’t have to.

Wow, I read a lot this month! 😂 I hope you enjoy these lovely writers and their stories as much as I did. 💜

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aquariusmiller · 1 month ago

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cowboy like me

Prequel: Black Widow

Pairing: Jackson!Joel x f!reader

Chapter Summary: There’s a fine line between survival and cruelty. Have you crossed it?

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: cheating, murder, brief gore, panic, dark!reader, m!oc, implied dubcon, trauma, flashbacks, big dose of guilt

A/N: Oops, this chapter got real dark real quick. Here's the promised backstory. I'm really excited to make a reader who's almost as dark as Joel was! I know it will be less popular since there's no Joel in this one, but I'm proud of it and any feedback would be appreciated! And thank you so much for the love on my previous chapters! By the way, pic in the middle is not a face claim, it just matched the vibes. Enjoy! :)

masterlist

You never saw this coming.

You, your boyfriend Nick and the friends you two have met along the road, Layla, Paul and Jenny, had set up a “camp” of sorts. You’ve found an old suburban neighborhood, checked through the abandoned houses for danger, and when you’ve cleared them up, you decided to settle in three houses for a while before you’ve scavenged enough supplies to keep going. Where? God knows where. You were wanderers like most survivors out of the QZ and life pushed you together because, as Nick was trying to convince you, “There was strength in numbers”. But when Layla and you came back from a scavenging trip and you came into the cozy blue suburban house you’ve lived with Nick, he was nowhere to be found. He didn’t tell you he was going anywhere. Worried for him, you knocked on the door of the neighboring house Jenny resided in. The door was locked. You had a bad feeling. You knocked harder and when the door didn’t open, you looked through the window, but all you saw was a hand closing the curtain... A male hand. You shouted through the door desperately.

“I’m gonna break the windows if you don’t open up!”

You put your ear to the door and heard hushed whispers. What the hell was happening? Then the thought finally popped into your head. The thing you were so afraid of, you didn’t even let yourself think about it until then. “Innocent until proven guilty”, you repeated to yourself in your head. Sure enough, the door opened up and it was Nick and Jenny. Alone. In a locked house. You had an awful feeling in your gut akin to butterflies. You looked at Nick and he had a guilty expression on his face. You’re sure you were pleading in your head for it all to be a dream.

You looked at Nick, already anticipating the disappointment. “Nick... Let’s talk at home, huh?”

He nodded, his shoulders slumped. “Yeah, let’s.”

He came out of Jenny’s house and walked with you to yours. You opened the door and came in, him following silently. You closed the door and went to the kitchen, distraught, tears pooling in your eyes. The bright interior of the hallway, with white walls, a silly rainbow welcome mat and plants, wilted but appreciated, looked dimmer than usual. He sat down on the kitchen chair and leaned his arm on the back of it, guilt and dread of the conversation coming up written all over him.

You turned to him, disbelief and shock still written all over your face. “Nick... What was that?”

He could just stare at you in silence with a guilty expression.

You pleaded “Say something.”

He shook his head, debating on what to say and settling with a weak lie, not even sure he wants to keep hiding this. “I was just visiting Jenny. I was bored while you were out.”

You looked at him with a disbelieving face. “Alone? In a locked house? Nick, do you think of me as a fool?”

He looked at you for a long moment before deciding to speak in an impatient tone. “You want me to say what was going on there?”

You were getting angry at his tone. “Yes!”

“I was... With Jenny.”

You looked at him, feeling like the air was knocked out of your lungs as he confirmed your suspicions. “How long?”

He admitted, almost looking annoyed at himself for getting caught. “Three weeks.”

“Three weeks? Wait a minute... Every time I went out on a supply run for three weeks... And Jenny was there... You were banging her?” You had to let out a disbelieving and biting laugh at the thought.

He just nodded hesitantly, afraid of how you’d react if he acted smug.

You stared at him for a moment, anger building up inside you. You knew one thing. Cheating was the end of a relationship for you. Especially when it happens like this. “Let me get one thing straight. You cheated on me as soon as you got the damn chance.”

He kept quiet for a few seconds, scared of how you’d react. He knew you were a skilled fighter and someone not to be messed with. Yet, he didn’t appreciate the accusatory tone of your voice. “Listen... I don’t want to hurt you, but I’ve been spending time with her while you were out. Jenny’s... She’s warm, caring, easygoing. I just... I like her. A lot.” He was holding back a faint smile while he was talking about her, hiding the depth of his growing feelings for her.

Warm, caring, easygoing. Unlike you, you thought. You looked at him in shock and said in a deadpan tone. “Yeah? So you decided the best course of action was cheating on me?”

He was getting mad and defensive. “Listen, we never made a strong commitment. We met on the road and I liked you-“

You cut him off. “So I was there when there was no better option?” You were sporting a biting grin you’re sure he wanted to punch off your face.

He was getting frustrated with you not letting him speak. “No, I cared about you. I wouldn’t have done everything that I’ve done for you if I didn’t.”

You looked at him as you recalled the things he did do for you. The way he’d always shield you from danger, wrapping his arm around you as you were hiding behind short walls and bushes. The way he’d make sure you ate, even if it meant less food for him. The way you walked backwards in front of him as he was walking straight, talking and laughing with him like a teenager. And it’s as if you feel a stab in your heart when you remember it’s not going to be like that ever again.

“I... I just can’t believe it. I trusted you! I loved- love you! Still do! And... You don’t even look sorry!” You huff.

He looked at you sadly and said your name softly. “You know I am... I’m sorry I hurt you.” He stopped and thought about what he was going to say before he continued. “I care about you too, but Jenny... She’s really special to me. I just wanted to be with her. Any way that I could.”

“So what now?” You raised your voice as he kept quiet. “Huh?” Tears streamed down your face as you accepted the finality of your relationship.

He looked at you sadly. “I’m really sorry... I shouldn’t have done it like this.”

You looked at him, almost softening. Hearing the regret in his voice, but refusing to budge. You shouted desperately as tears streamed down your face. “How could you? How could you do this to me?!”

Your sadness quickly turned to rage. Because... Here he is, leaving you high and dry, after trusting him not to. You decided not to let him see how he’s affected you. Not to let him see your world breaking in two. Not to let him see the true you anymore. You let yourself cry though and faked pleading back for him.

“Listen... Nick, we can’t end it like this. Okay? I can’t live without you! Please, please... Just... Break up with her. Promise you won’t do it again and I’ll take you back!”

He was wary of your change in attitude, having expected to be thoroughly dragged through the mud by you, but he brushed it off and looked at you sadly and almost feeling sorry for you as he said “I can’t. I love her.”

And that’s when it dawned on you. He said he cared about you, but said he loved her. He never said that to you. Never said it back. You were seeing red at this point. Because after years of closing yourself off, you opened up for him. Gave him all of you. Gave up on the way you used to live because you loved him. And he had the gall to not just cheat on you, but practically tell you he never loved you and that he loves another woman. You just... weren’t enough?

You had made up your mind in that moment. You ran to your bedroom, crying to lure him in, moving next to the backpack under your desk, taking out the thing you swore you’d never use on someone you traveled with again; a syringe with an anesthetic. You kept crying while you were staring at the syringe, both at the revelation and at what you’re going to have to do, and sat down next to the doorway. He came in to check on you and you quickly rose to your feet and put him in a headlock, injecting the syringe into his arm. You moved him to the bed and laid him down, and as he was losing consciousness, he had a panicked and pleading look in his eyes.

He whispered, his mouth moving slower as he was losing consciousness “Don’t do it...”

You took out your pocket knife, moving to kneel on the bed next to him. You looked at him as he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore, closing them. For the first time in forever, you hesitated as you looked at the sleeping form of the man you love. Tears were streaming down your face and it took a lot of willpower not to break down at the very moment. You closed your eyes, trying to get yourself together. You opened them again and looked at him, thinking you can’t do it. You can’t, not to him. Looking at his unconscious form, you knew that you still care about him. You always will.

You almost broke down, when the ugly thought reared its head again. You imagined him with Jenny in bed, telling her he loves her with no regards for you. You felt like you were nothing. Nothing to him, nothing to anyone, like you didn’t even exist. You couldn’t stand that feeling. You’d do anything not to feel it. So you leaned in and did it. You slit his throat, blood gushing out of his neck and splashing your face and hand. It was soaking the white sheets of the bed as you looked at it in an almost hypnotized shock. Your hand was shaking as you lightly pressed on his pulse point and felt his pulse slowing down. You panicked. Because when it stops, that’s it. Guilt was threatening to consume you, but you fought against it. Then his pulse stopped and you’re sure your face went pale. What have you done?

You instinctively grabbed your backpack and packed the little clothes that you have in it, your full backpack straining against the guns, canned food and clothes. You rushed to the kitchen and took a plastic bag out of it, packing up the remaining ammo and canned food you gathered on scavenging runs over the last month. You were acting without thinking at this point, unable to face the reality staring down at you like a ticking time bomb. You came back into the bedroom and, without looking at what you’ve done on that bed, took his backpack too, stealing his supplies. He won’t need them anymore, after all. You put your backpack on your shoulders, carrying Nick’s backpack and the plastic bag of supplies, then ran out of the house towards the black Toyota you Nick and you had found and restored. You put everything in the trunk of the car, Jenny running out of her house as she heard the commotion, shouting “What are you doing?!”

You shouted with a feigned worried expression. “We have to move, go check on Nick, he’s not well!”

She looked at you angry and in shock, knowing you’ve done something but her worry for Nick overriding the anger, running into the house. You took the chance and got into the car as quickly as you could, pulling out of the driveway and driving fast down the road. Jenny’s screams were growing fainter as you made distance.

After a few hours of driving... You couldn’t keep it together anymore. You pulled over on an empty field and started crying inconsolably, punching the steering wheel. You came out of the car and sat down on the dirty grass next to it, putting your head in your hands. He’s... God, you killed him. He’s dead and it’s all your fault. You screamed into the empty filed and sobbed. The only sound you heard as you were staring into the open grass field, the sky growing darker as night set in, was your echo in the distance.

You’re not a saint, that’s clear as day. Nick never knew what you did to get by before him and you liked it that way, not sure he could ever even look at you the same way if he did. You... You used to find men just like him, spontaneous and easygoing. You’d lure them in with a promise of sex, of doing whatever they wanted whenever they wanted, of pleasure, of an adventure. When you’d feel them getting bored and distant, you’d... You’d kill them. Steal their supplies after using them to protect you, rinse and repeat.

What were you supposed to do? You escaped the QZ at twenty eight, alone so as not to put your cousins taking care of you in danger. You wanted freedom. You wanted an out from the corrupted and controlling guards you couldn’t even look at anymore. To live life on your own terms. But you soon realized life outside the walls is tough and unforgiving, especially for a woman.

With your first boyfriend on the road, you realized... As a woman, you have a bargaining chip, and if you use it right, you can get men to do the dirty work for you.

You didn’t have a lot of regret about it. You were completely numb, your feelings buried deeply inside you. No matter how easy feelings are to bury though, they keep trying to fight their way back in. When they do after a long time of numbness, after all the horrible things you’ve done with no regard to anyone but yourself... You feel like you can’t take them. You remembered the faces of the boyfriends you’ve killed. Their desperate and pleading expressions before the deed. Your body was shaking from the guilt.

The worst part is... The lines in your head were blurred. They weren’t relationships, not to you, but you’re human. You had moments when you’d find yourself caring about those men. When they’d do something nice for you, when you’d talk and laugh for hours. There were moments when you thought you were in love. You know now it was merely infatuation. Maybe caring for them as people.

You felt used in these arrangements. Dirty and used. Because the guys you were with knew you relied on them for shelter and supplies. They weren’t the most moral of men. They took advantage of you the same way you took advantage of them, and part of you doesn’t regret killing them just for that fact.

You could have survived without doing that. You could have found work around the QZ or a real partner, but you didn’t want to be alone, and you didn’t want to trust. So you lived in these fake relationships and left a trail of blood in your wake. Admitting that to yourself is... Horrifying.

You found Nick and you swore you’d never do it again, but you did, and you feel like... A woman like you doesn’t even deserve to live. Yet, you decide you will. After what you’ve been through, survival is all you have left.

#joel miller #joel miller fic #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller tlou #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel tlou #the last of us fanfiction #dark!reader #x reader #m!oc #jackson!joel #jackson!joel miller #tlou fic #tlou fanfiction #joel x female reader #female reader #backstory

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qatheauthoress74 · 4 months ago

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Transformers One Spoiler Review

There are so many spoliers in this review. I am not kidding when I say go watch the film (five times at least) before reading this. Okay? Good.

I’m gonna be honest here. Growing up I wasn’t all that invested in the Transformers franchise as other kids were. I ocasionally watched a random episode of Transformers Animated or Prime whenever they were on TV back in the day but I wasn’t what you’d call a fan. All that changed after I watched Bumblebee (2018) on a whim and it changed my brain chemistry in the best way. Seriously, that film is still one of my comfort movies and I love it so much that I even began to write fanfiction again with several TF fics, including my Riding A Sunset story (https://archiveofourown.org/works/17648414/chapters/41617823).

But before Bumblebee, theatrical Live Action Transformer films had the infamous status of being bad to downright terrible for overusing bland human characters over the Autobots or Decepticons as well as being very inconsistent with their own established continuity. Not to mention making some characters act very out of character. Seeing a film like Bumblebee helped me believe that filmmakers are capable of telling a story that not only respects the lore but also genuinely cares about substance over spectacle outside of the well-made fight scenes. That was why I wanted to give Rise of the Beasts a chance when it came out but I was sadly a little underwhelmed. It is still better than any of the Transformer films Micheal Bay directed, but personally, that’s like saying the Eukrea 7 film “Pocket Full of Rainbows” is better than E7: Ao and the follow-up film trilogy, which isn’t saying much. Again, that’s just me and my biased opinion. Which is the whole point of this review.

But believe me when I say I did want to give Transformers One a chance. I was hopeful after learning it was going to be fully animated and would actually focus on the Transformers instead of some random humans. So, what kind of plot would the film be about it’s a prequel set on Cybertron?

Well…

Plot: The premise is the origin of the mighty leaders of the Autobots and Decepticons, Optimus Prime and Megatron, and how the two factions would eventually fight over control of their home planet, Cybertron. Both started as lowly miners unable to transform into vehicles like the other half of their race can and so are forced to work day in and day out in their underground home of Iacon City to collect the fuel source known as Energon. The reason they need to do so is because 50 cycles before the events of the story the leaders of Cybertron, The Primes, died in a war against an alien race called the Quintessons. After they were killed an important relic known as the Matrix of Leadership disappeared and it led to the Energon dwindling until it could only be found deep under the planet’s surface. Without Energon, the Cybertronians would perish, which is why Orion Pax (Optimus Prime’s identity before he became a Prime) wants to find out what happened to the Matrix of Leadership. The current leader of the Cybertronians, Sentinel Prime, is trying to find it out on the surface but has been unable to do so. D-16 (Megatron’s original name) would rather keep his head down but constantly gets dragged into whatever zany scheme Orion has come up with at the moment. Thanks to unintentionally antagonizing a Cybertronian named Darkwing the two get dumped into the lowest place imaginable and meet an overly talkative but friendly bot called B-127 (aka Bumblebee). There they discover a warped message from one of the fallen Primes, Alpha Trion, calling for aid. Orion sees this as an opportunity to find a clue to where the Matrix might be and convinces D and Bee to help him reach the surface and inadvertently brings along Elita-1, Pax and D’s former boss, who recently lost her job thanks to them breaking protocol to save another miner’s life. The four bots end up discovering Alpha Trion’s unconscious body and manage to wake him up. He reveals to them that Sentinel is not what he seems and tells them a horrible truth:

Sentinel was never a Prime and was the one responsible for killing the original Primes with help from the Quintessons.

And all of the Energon the Cybertronians have been mining was being given to the Quintessons by Sentinel as a form of hush money to keep them from revealing his true colors to the Cybertronians. The heroes later learn that he was also the one responsible for taking their cogs as newborns so they could never have the freedom to be anything else but miners. The story then goes to show how Orion, Elita, and Bee want to bring Sentinel to justice while D (who gets slowly consumed by his deeply suppressed anger) wants to seek vengeance against Sentinel for what he has done and kill him for his crimes. The story gradually unfolds as lines are drawn, and tragically, the beautiful friendship between Orion and D ends with them becoming bitter enemies under their new personas, Optimus and Megatron. The movie ends bittersweetly with Optimus inspiring his former fellow miners into becoming Autobots and bringing Energon back to the planet as soon as he was given the Matrix after he sacrificed himself trying to save Sentinel from D/Megatron’s wrath. He also gave the miners their T-Cogs back, restoring their freedom and autonomy. Optimus then sends a message to the Quintessons, telling them he and the Autobots will be ready to face them when they return. Meanwhile, Megatron forms a new faction consisting of the previous members of the dead Primes' High Guard and calls them Decepticons to remind themselves to never be deceived by anyone again.

Damn.

Characters/Voices: The film leans heavily on established lore from pretty much all of the comics, the Aligned Continuity, some Live Action stuff, and Transformers Animated. I wasn’t bothered by the celebrity voice cast. Don’t get me wrong, I will always choose professional VAs over celebrities anytime, but I genuinely thought everyone did a great job, especially Chris Hemsworth as Orion/Optimus and Brian Tyree Henry as D-16/Megatron. Henry said in interviews he was using his experience as an activist in college as inspiration for how resentful and angry D-16/Megatron sounded in wanting to change things and I say he succeeded. Hemsworth had done his homework by consulting with THE Optimus Prime himself, Peter Cullen. I personally like to believe Cullen shared his “how I became Optimus Prime story” which is summed up by how Optimus should “Be Strong Enough To Be Gentle.” The reason I think that is because I felt it in Hemsworth’s performance, especially at the end of the film. I loved how they gradually sounded more like Optimus and Megatron as the story progressed. Which is both amazing and heartbreaking at the same time because you could see from the start how close Orion and D-16 were to each other before learning about the truth. It gave me the same feelings after seeing other great friendships/sibling bonds like Vi/Power/Jynx and Moses/Ramses fall apart in Arcane and The Prince of Egypt. Also, was anyone else reminded of that scene from The Fox and The Hound Todd and Copper's promise of staying friends after seeing Optimus' flashback of his first meeting with D-16? );

Other standouts include Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion. He gave the Prime a grand presence that almost reminds me of James Earl Jones as Mufasa from The Lion King. RIP.

Scarlett Johansen was great as Elita-1, but I already had zero doubts since she had experienced voice acting before this film.

Vanessa Liguori did a great job of giving Airachnid a sinister personality.

And I have no idea who this “Jon Bailey” is, but he certainly gave Soundwave an “Epic” voice that I liked. ;)

Steven Buscemi as Starscream was a delightful surprise, even if I learned way more about Starscream’s kinks in this film than I would like, but hey, if he likes getting hit and choked, I won’t kink shame him.

Jon Hamm made me hate Sentinel so much. Give him an Oscar, please.

Now, the one actor who I was a bit wary of was Keegan-Michael Key as B-127/Bee. Bee has quickly become one of my favorite Transformers thanks to Bumblebee (2018), and I was worried Key would make him unbearable to sit through. But as I said earlier, the script (and possibly the voice director) made Bee come off as annoying in a “doesn’t know better” kind of way that almost leans to obnoxious but more akin to a hyperactive young adult who’s happy to have friends. Heck, the film even knows his voice could get annoying and made several funny jokes surrounding it. Also, the film knew to only have Bee talk too much during scenes that were supposed to be funny. When it came to the more quiet moments Bee was able to take things seriously as well as the rest of the characters.

And yes, I noticed Steve Blum was the racer announcer and archive guard. He did amazing as per usual. No notes.

Animation: I can’t stress enough how beautiful the animation for this film is. Industrial Light & Magic did an excellent job with the animation and I hope to see them do another Transformers film like this again. I loved the way Iacon City was designed.

The director, Josh Cooley, said the filmmakers were inspired by the Art Deco movement and you can see it from how the buildings look. It gives off a Metropolis meets Blade Runner in the best way. I also liked the way the roads and rail tracks would “magically” appear when someone was driving on them. And the way the planet’s mountains moved was also nice to look at.

And this is something that my mom liked while she watched the film was how Alpha Trion used sand to show the past and what happened to the Primes. (Who knew Alpha Trion was an Earthbender? XD)

One touch that I really like was when after the quartet learns of Sentinel’s alliance when the Quintessons you can see D-16 is sitting further away from the others and has his back facing them. A subtle sign showing the growing distance between him and the heroes. And the way his optics gradually changed from gold, orange, and finally to red was done very well.

Also, when Orion reunited with the miners he made sure to kneel so he wasn’t towering over them. It’s a nice way that show how humble he truly is compared to Sentinel and later Megatron.

And another thing was when D-16 shot Orion his left arm got destroyed. D-16 originally ad the Megatronus Prime decal Orion gifted him at the beginning of the film on his right arm, too. It truly feels like D-16 is destroying his old self in that moment.

Did anyone else notice that Shockwave and Soundwave initially had yellow optics and visors, but they were changed to red in the post-credit scene? They must've did it to match their new leader, which I'm sure Starscream was very "happy" about since he was originally leader of the High Guard and had red optics before Megatron. XD

I didn’t expect this film to get violent, but the shot of Megatron killing Sentinel by pulling him apart was brutal. The film did not kid around with its PG rating.

Nitpicks:

If I could complain about a few things I would say that I wished the film had a slightly longer runtime. At least 10-15 more minutes in the third act. I would’ve loved to see more of the final battle with the miners fighting Sentinel’s soldiers and Optimus vs. Megatron. I did mean it when I said Hemsworth and Henry killed it as Optimus and Megatron. But hey, if their performances were that good it definitely convinced me to go see the next film with them in it.

I would’ve liked to have seen other animals on Cybertron’s surface besides those metal deer but that’s just me.

Also, this is just a me thing again, but I kinda wished the miner characters (or minors XD) had more distinct voices. It’s just that since the Generation 1 cartoon, all of the Autobots were known for having unique accents like Ironhide’s southern drawl, Wheeljack’s Brooklyn accent, or Jazz’s smooth way of speaking. I mean, if the High Guard/Decepticons were allowed to have voices based on their original counterparts the Autobots should’ve had the same thing, ya know?

And how dare they tease me with namedropping “Medic Ratchet” but not actually have him appear in the film. I want my grumpy doc-bot. And Drift. I don’t think I saw Deadlock with the High Guard. Did anyone? I think I mostly just saw Seekers and Coneheads in the crowd shots.

HC/Theories:

The reason mining Energon was so dangerous had to do with Primus himself deliberately trying to halt it as much as possible. Think about it, Primus sent the Matrix of Leadership away before Sentinel could use it. I bet Primus didn’t want Sentinel to give Energon to the Quintessons which Sentinel ended up doing by making Cybertronians mine for it. Primus also probably made the mountains move while the group was on the train because we later learn it was full of Energon and not waste like Elita initially thought. Primus has been trying to undermine Sentinel’s plans all this time but probably couldn’t do too much damage as he didn’t want to hurt innocent Cybertronians in the process. And another thing to add is the fact that it looks like the planet itself is moving after Orion was dropped by D-16/Megatron so that Primus himself would bring him to the planet’s core and bring him to life as Optimus Prime because he knew the young miner was worthy of the Matrix.

I’m pretty sure Jazz became one of the first Autobots because he wanted to show his appreciation to Optimus for saving his life earlier in the film.

I like to think the reason why B talked so much in One was probably to make up for the fact that he barely talked at all in previous TF films. Though, there is another theory going around that in the next movie, the filmmakers are planning to make him mute which is why he talks alot in One. I seriously hope that WON’T happen because I’m sick and tired of Bee losing his voice so often. I know some later shows have avoided this, namely Robots in Disguise (2015) and EarthSpark, but I would seriously love the films to follow the same example.

Overall:

I love this movie a lot. I’m pretty sure if this was my first time seeing it instead of Bumblebee (2018) I think this would’ve altered my brain chemistry as much as that film did. If you haven’t seen this movie go watch it and if you have, go see it again. I WANT this movie to do well in theaters and not be a failure. The fact that it took us this long to get a film that captures the Spark of Transformers and be something both fans and newcomers can enjoy is nothing short of a miracle. We need Hasbro and Paramount to know this and Bumblebee are the kind of content we want to keep seeing and not the same movie with “Bayhem” over and over again.

Thank you. I’m already writing another blog about this movie soon. It’s going to be about why TF: One is a better Wish movie than Wish (2023). Trust me, it’ll make sense once I post it. XD

Keep on Writin’ and Rockin’

#maccadam #maccadams #transformers #transformers one #tf one #transformers one spoilers #tf one spoilers #transformers one review #tf one review

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hornyfor-redacted-onmain · 1 year ago

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Bangchan: Feelings

In Your Past - Chapter 1

Stray Kids OT8 x reader, Soulmate AU

Living in a world where soulmates are real, and everyone deals with it differently. Prequel to 'Pieces of My Heart'; how each member dealt with their soul marks, and first meetings.

Masterlist | Pieces Of My Heart

The first time Chris experienced his soul mark, it was a month after his 18th birthday.

When he turned 18 and nothing changed, he hadn’t been that worried. He did wonder if maybe he had to wait for his soulmate to turn 18 for his soul mark to develop (like with teleporting or shared dreams), or perhaps his soul mark wouldn’t be known until he met his soulmate (like with body glow, or touch marks). He even considered, for a brief moment of weakness early in the morning the day after his close friend decided to leave the company, that maybe he didn’t have a soulmate.

Maybe he was always meant to be alone.

But then he was waking up to a rush of emotions so intense it left him gasping, a sense of excitement and disbelief that he didn’t understand. And then he realized those weren’t his feelings.

And after that moment, he found himself getting very good at discerning his own feelings from those of his soulmate. The disgust in the middle of lunch when he was eating his favorite food, the burst of energy in the middle of an all-nighter, the sense of confusion as he walked down the street. He also got very good at understanding his own emotions in an attempt to understand those of his soulmate.

Chris loved the excitement, the amusement, the love that would rush through him randomly throughout his life. He didn’t like the negative emotions as much.

Anger was a feeling he was very familiar with. When his soulmate was angry, it was usually mixed with disappointment or hurt, the kind of feeling that made him feel like he was going to cry from how intense it was. His own anger was a lot dryer, harsh and hot that made him want to scream. He wasn’t sure whose anger he preferred.

Annoyance was common for a period of time, something in his soulmate’s life giving them frequent flashes of being annoyed. Thankfully, that one became less and less common, to the point that it only came around every once in a while in a way that was much more expected in the average person’s life.

But the worst was the sadness. It was horrible knowing that his soulmate was out there, suffering through a horrible sense of helplessness, overwhelmed or alone, and knowing that he couldn’t help them. Chris hated it, sitting there unable to do nothing more than just feel the feelings with them. If he was lucky, he would get the sadness in the middle of the night where he could process them. If he was unlucky, it would hit him during the day, where he had to pretend he was okay, even when the pressure in his chest made it hard to breathe, because there was nothing he could do, and he couldn’t afford to end practice just because of it.

When he debuted, things got harder before they got better.

His own feelings started to mix with his soulmates. The good with good made him feel like he was on a high, the good with bad made his confused and disoriented. The bad with bad made him spiral, throwing himself into his work in hopes of blocking out both his soulmates feelings, and his own. He couldn’t help them, and he couldn’t help himself.

The day he collapsed was the day that the other members finally put a stop to his bad habits.

And then things started to get better. He learned to talk about his soulmates feelings, encouraged to take a break when they weren’t doing well, allowed to enjoy the happiness his soulmate would send his way, and his members were quick to adapt. And slowly, it became easier to talk about his own feelings with them, and they accepted that just as easily.

But the days that the feelings would overwhelm him weren’t very common. Most feelings weren’t even strong enough for his to process, like a boredom on a random Saturday morning, or a quick flash of amusement, and sometimes he didn’t even think about it.

So when the feeling of panic flew through him, he brushed it off at first. Maybe his soulmate dropped their phone, or forgot to turn in a homework assignment. It was normal. The anticipation came next, small wonder at first but slowly growing to a buzz that he could feel under his skin.

Chris stopped his scrolling through TikTok when he was hit with a stronger sense of panic, wondering if maybe something serious was going on. Changbin, who was scrolling from his own bed, noticed something was wrong.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

He was about to answer, when the relief rolled through, then the spark. It was like every single moment of happiness that he had ever experienced hitting him all at once, and he was sitting up so quickly it made his head spin.

“Hyung?”

“My soulmate is … feeling something.”

“Good or bad?” Changbin wondered.

“I’m not sure.”

Seungmin sent a message to the group chat then, asking if anybody wanted snacks from the convenience store. Everybody answered pretty quickly, except for Jeongin. Since Minho and Seungmin weren’t the kind to wait for a response before leaving, Chan decided to call him to ask him directly.

And then the youngest was gushing to him about how he had met his soulmate, and how he was so excited and Chris found himself smiling down into the phone. He relayed the message over to Changbin, who insisted he wanted to meet them. Jeongin was the first one to meet their soulmate, it was inevitable that the others would be excited to meet them.

His soulmate’s nervousness was only in the back of his mind as he sent a message to the others about the good news.

It wasn’t until the text came telling them they could come to Jeongin’s room that the anxiety really spiked, and Chris started to get worried.

Was the nervousness his soulmates, or his?

The moment the door opened, Changin was pulling Jeongin into a hug and congratulating him, and Chris took the opportunity to slip past the two and make his way into the room. His first impression of the person sitting on the bed was that they were beautiful, and that his maknae was a lucky man.

“Oh, hey! You must be Jeongin’s soulmate. It’s so nice to meet you. My name’s Christopher, you can call me Chris.”

They hesitated to shake his hand, and his chest began to ache with worry. He couldn’t stop his own worry from showing on his face, even as they scrambled to grab his hand. His soulmate was going through a roller coaster of emotions right now. Were they okay?

When Jeongin’s soulmate realized they were still shaking his hand, they immediately pulled away in embarrassment.

The feeling was mutual.

It was then that the took a second to truly think over what he was feeling, the way his heart was beating a little too fast, the buzz of energy that was growing under his skin, the way Jeongin’s soulmate raised their head and their eyes met his.

“Ah, Jeongin’s soulmate!”

Changbin interrupted before he could question it. Jeongin let out a whine, complaining that Changbin was going to crush his soulmate, and the rapper was quick to end his sudden hug. He apologized for getting a little too excited, but the smile that he gave them as he turned around was downright wicked.

“Man, you got lucky. Your soulmates hot.”

“Yah!”

“Changbin!”

“Hurry up! I need to see, I can’t believe it!” Jisung yelled as he ran into the room, skidding to a stop before he could barrel into them. He spotted Jeongin’s soulmate and pointed at them with a gasp.

“Ah, it’s true! Jeongin really found his soulmate?!”

“Hey, be quiet. Do you want the whole world to hear?” Felix complained, walking in with Hyunjin at a much more normal pace.

When Hyunjin bowed to Jeongin’s soulmate, Felix followed out of habit, but his fellow Aussie was always a much more physical person. When he decided the best introduction was a hug, it wasn’t anything abnormal. Then Chris felt the sudden onslaught of emotions that made him stumble back, drawing Changbin’s attention in confusion. Happiness, excitement, anxiety, nervousness. Felix was stumbling back, apologies falling from his lips as he turned to Jeongin in worry. All it took was Jeongin’s reassurance to process in his head before he was moving, realizing that Jeongin’s soulmate wasn’t breathing.

His soulmate wasn’t breathing.

He gripped their shoulder by the time the others began to realize something was wrong, leaning down to whisper in their ear.

“Breathe, sweetheart. Breathe.”

And for the first time in his life, he finally felt like he could do something to help. He didn’t need to process the fact that he was touching his soulmate, the way his stomach was doing flips, and he was already falling for a person he had just met. All he could think about was that the panic was subsiding. He turned their face so he could look at them properly, meet their eyes with new understanding. And he reassured them because he was there now.

Everything was going to be okay.

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drawcupidsbow · 23 days ago

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Hi i made a post on instagram about the top five games i played for the first time this year and thought id share it here! none of these are in any particular order. except the last one. my favorit....

first up is oneshot! it took me wayyyy too long to play this game. oneshot feels kinda like one of the staple rpg maker games, yet i went into it pretty much completely blind, "finished it" in one sitting, found out there was over half the game left, played the rest, and cried real hard. such a good game that breaks the fourth wall in really interesting ways. and also it has niko who doesnt love little fella niko

♡

second is halope! this is a game i had never heard of before my friend ángel (@raccoonlover333) told me to play it and i feel like i still dont really see people talk about it? it has a very unique style i think and each of the areas have their own atmosphere and feel to them (aside from the fact that all of them have distinct color palettes lol). very lovely game i enjoyed it a lot. also one of the first times i played a game with multiple endings and felt satisfied not going out of my way getting any i missed ? i enjoyed what it had to offer and didnt feel the need to pry for more (good thing)

♡

hard shift from story based rpgmaker games but next is webfishing. webfishing is good. its so good youve probably heard a lot of people say this by now but its just so fun and calming to sit around with friends and fish for hours. theres something special about the kinds of online games where theres a physical space you share with people, especially those you havent met in person. makes you feel like youre there with them. and also you can get a man i love fishing shirt whats not to love

♡

o yea baby farming sim. this game is so charming and has a lot of quality of life features that i feel are missed in other farming sims. it is still in early access so i cant be too harsh on it, but i will admit that the characters feel a bit too flat currently. a lot of nothing burger dialogue which isnt always a bad thing but when 20 characters tell you Hey this weather huh? must be good for farming! its hard to differentiate their personalities in your mind lol. im sure thatll be added to in the future though like i said its still ea and only has enough content to last you about a year in game. what it does have is very fun though and i would recommend it

♡

You knew it was coming be honest. where do i even start. technically i Did play isat for the first time last year, however, it was for like one hour and then i didnt pick it up again for half a year. so it counts to me. and also i take any excuse i can to talk about this game

in stars and time is a game that portrays characters and relationships in such a realistic light to a degree ive never seen in any other game. it makes it so easy to immediately become attached to this group of friends despite knowing them for less than ten minutes. its a very emotion heavy game. and who can forget the time loop Ohhh yes the time loop. siffrins slow decent into hopelessness and anguish after failing to escape time and time again is something rarely shown in time loop media i feel. at least to this degree. madoka magica comes pretty damn close though lol. also looping in time and zoning out through dialogue (and doing so having consequences) is such a cool game mechanic

while im talking about isat im slipping its prequel game in too, start again start again start again a prologue (or just start again). this one, though much shorter and more of a proof of concept, feels much more harrowing in the ways it pulls it off, especially without a certain characters presence. but i wont say more than that as to not spoil it teehee

this game changed my life for the better. and has been causing me psychic damage every day for 8 months. heart ♡

♡

and thats some of my favorite games i played this year! there were more but not enough for it to be 10 and 5 was a nicer number than like 7 lol. happy new year! i hope this year treats you all well and i cant wait to draw one million fanarts as i have been doing for the past 5 years. Yayyy

#oneshot game #halope #webfishing #fields of mistria #in stars and time #start again: a prologue #callie chatter #honorable mentions are hades and ultrakill

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septembersghost · 2 years ago

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BCS anon (you can call me Ru, btw) back! :) Do you think that, if those circumstances hadn't happened, Jimmy and Kim would still have gotten married eventually? And if you think so, who would have asked whom? Would their wedding have been more or less the same as the one we saw or would it have been more "romantic"?

Send you a hug <3

hi Ru!!! ooooh this is a great question and opinions would probably vary, it's honestly hard to say because the situation was such an intense and specific one for them (the most insane "either we break up or we get married" scene of all-time!). kim did that furious at him and yet also with the desperation to keep them together (with jimmy practically breaking down and begging her to let him work it out), and i'm not sure how she felt about marriage as a partnership or institution before that moment. i tend to suspect she was neutral about it and she's a non-traditionalist in many ways - when jimmy says to her at the courthouse that it's probably not the wedding she imagined as a child, i think he's more illuminating something about himself. similarly with the house, jimmy craved that security, and jimmy would probably always have wanted to marry her, where kim didn't necessarily need a document to prove the depth of their love for one another.

that said, kim is such a guarded person that i also believe part of her sincerely wanted to marry him, and that the legal arrangement aspect gave her an excuse to express it. if their circumstances had been different, and jimmy had proposed to her in a "romantic"/sweet way, she might have tried to approach it logically, but i don't think she ultimately would've said no to him. perhaps this is because i am also a romantic (and so is rhea!!!), but part of her would've been happy to have that with him no matter what. and if kim had proposed first for any other reason, there's no universe where jimmy, ultimate wife guy, would've said no to her!

jimmy seems more like the one with the dream of a ceremony and a fancy suit and white dress, kim would've always preferred something lower key and intimate between them imo. i can still see them getting married at city hall, but maybe a little more dressed up and joyous than what they had - you see it all in their eyes in that scene, when the pretense falls away and there's such depth of love there, despite everything it still ends up being a beautiful and romantic moment between them, so in a less anxious scenario, that would've been even more true and easier for them to celebrate. my hopeless romantic little heart believes they would've always found their way to each other and a union in their lives. just like they always had to find their way back to each other.

sending you hugs back! ❤

#anonymous #ru #letterbox #what was my tag for bcs being a love story?!...i'm so sad i can't remember!#bcs #mcwexler #oh! it was #love is found in the breaking bad prequel!

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fandom-friday · 11 months ago

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Thank you so much to everyone that submitted recommendations this week! A comprehensive list of this week’s submissions can be found under the cut! Recommendations are organized by show/media, and any main pairings will be listed after the title.

🌊 = 18+ content

Fics:

The Clone Wars: Someday (Commander Cody x gn!Reader) by @dystopicjumpsuit Do Over by @toomanyteefs Like Suns Rise and Stars Fall by @varpusvaras 🌊 One Step at a Time by @wild-karrde Wrap-Around by helpivefallenandicantgetup (AO3)

The Bad Batch: 🌊 Fantasy Falls into Reality (Tech x f!Reader) by @eyeluvmusic21 Mayday, Mayday by @apocalyp-tech-a Confrontation by @eclec-tech

Star Wars Prequel Trilogy: Palo's Sketchbook (Padmé Amidala x Palo) by @findswoman

Batman: Breaking What is Already Fragile by FishFromMars (AO3) Last Wishes by a_rainbow_girl_detective (AO3) To Love What is Mortal by a_rainbow_girl_detective (AO3) Stolen Silk by a_rainbow_girl_detective (AO3) They Open Their Wings So Easily, And Fly by a_rainbow_girl_detective (AO3) Is Dick Grayson the Asshole? by clapclapwatchyourback (AO3) The Hearts of Gotham by @schrijverr Throughout Infinity by flumen (AO3) He's Ours Now by Lulu_Rythmea (AO3) Undercover by InvalidStuff (AO3) Patchwork Siblings by @raberbagirl Thursday's Child by @syntactition Not Unloved Anymore by @paper-sunflower-lane A Father's Wish by @alone77

The Murderbot Diaries: Via Solitude by FlipSpring (AO3) Abandoned Unit by Skits (AO3)

Fire Emblem: Three Houses The Winter Lady of Fraldarius (Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd x My Unit/Byleth) by @teecupangel

Crossover AUs: Of Snuggles and Ice Cream (Batman x Pokemon Crossover) by Shadeseeker44 (AO3) Greedy Bastards are Fox's Specialty (Star Wars x The Hobbit Crossover) by ByteMe (something_generic) (AO3)

Art:

The Clone Wars: Commander Fox Art by @rexxdjarin Captain Rex Art by @rexxdjarin Captain Rex Art by @peanuttoffee Rex has a New Workout Buddy by @omaano Breakfast is Ready by @pinkiemme Commander Thire Art by @wyvernsrus Commander Wolffe Art by @itzmoonstar

The Bad Batch: They Were Never Good with Words by @thattoothpick Captain Baja Blast by @blairaptor Hunter Art by @mesvi

Rebels: With a Look that Says "I Love You Too" by @tyquu

The Mandalorian: Din Djarin Art by @eggdrawsthings

Percy Jackson: Percy x Annabeth Art by @abreca Percy x Annabeth Art by @alexcopeman

Baldur's Gate 3: 🌊 An Embrace by @cleric4vampire

Crescent City Series: Perry Ravenscroft Art by elizianna.the.one (Instagram) So the Day falls in love with the Night by gabsgabx (Instagram)

A Court of Thorns and Roses Series: Azriel Art by luxury_banshee (Instagram) Elriel as Anakin and Padme (Azriel x Elain) by gessueter (Instagram)

#ff weekly summary

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littlespacereader · 3 months ago

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To say I’m obsessed with The Bad Batch and the Clone Wars is an understatement guys…I AM OBSESSED! I live and breathe it!! So please, if any of you guys are fans of the prequels, The Bad Batch, The Clone Wars or of Star Wars in general, SEND ME THOSE REQUESTS!

In other news, I’ve been thinking about Echo and what it would’ve been like for him joining the Bad Batch as a flip (both cg and little). This fic focuses on that Caregiver side of him with Little Crosshair. There will be a Little Echo story coming very soon!

Please enjoy this brain rot story I whipped up! Love you guys!💞💞

Still Right Beside You💙

Caregiver! Echo & Little! Crosshair with Caregiver! Tech and Hunter & Little! Wrecker

Tags-hurt/comfort, discovery, cuddles, hand holding

The dynamic in the batch started to change. It had always been the four of them, Hunter, Tech, Wrecker and Crosshair. But now? Now Echo joined their squad.

Everyone was more than happy to have Echo join, happy to have another clone feel at home in their group of misfits. But what they didn’t realize was how their dynamics would change.

Hunter and Tech are the team’s Caregiver and Crosshair and Wrecker the teams Littles. It’s always been even, two and two. But now with Echo being an added Caregiver and Little. That changed things.

They had a big talk about it, the clones gathering and having dinner together, when Tech brought up the subject.

“Echo, now that you’re a part of this squad I must ask you, I understand you’re classified as a Flip. Do you still wish to be one?”

Echo paused eating his food and really thought about his question. He knew right away Wrecker and Crosshair were the Littles of the group but… ”I haven’t been one in years…I don’t know if I’d be any good anymore.”

“Why don’t we start with your Caregiver side first then work your way up to regressing again, alright?” Hunter suggested.

Echo nods, “Yeah, that would be great actually.”

Before his accident at the Citadel, Echo had been the Caregiver to Fives, his rambunctious Little. It’s been so long since he cared for a Little, he wonder if he still could?

“I was thinking maybe we could do a couple of trial runs. See how you feel after and decide from there.” Hunter suggests.

Wrecker seemed to be excited at the idea of it all. Crosshair, on the other hand, remained hard to read. Keeping his head down, trying not to look at anyone.

“Sounds good to me.” Echo smiles.

A couple of days later they were off their mission and had a day to decompress and relax. As per usual, the two Littles would regress and the two Caregivers would take care of them.

Today, Echo has a shot at it.

Wrecker regressed right away, being a Little with a big kid headspace. He immediately went over to Echo, insisting on playing every game they had on the Marauder.

Echo found himself slipping back into that Caregiver part of himself, a part he was happy to see he still had. He played a board game with Wrecker, helped him with a video game level he was stuck on, and even read a chapter of Wrecker’s favorite book to him.

Crosshair, on the other hand, refused to regress like Wrecker. He begrudgingly sat in his bunk and cleaned his sniper.

Tech and Hunter tried their luck to getting him to relax and regress. But Crosshair is nothing if not stubborn. He refused, keeping a close eye on Echo as he did. It didn’t escape Echo’s eyes that Crosshair was refusing to regress, especially with him around.

Eventually the Hunter and Tech managed to get the Crosshair to regress, but it was only alone with Hunter.

The three Caregivers of the group tried again, two separate times to get Crosshair to regress around Echo, but it appeared the stubborn sniper wasn’t going to do it.

One late night in the cockpit of the Marauder, Echo and Tech got a moment alone to talk. Tech was wrapping up some last minute reports on his datapad while Echo was just staring into space, lost in thought.

“Hunter and I have a plan.” Tech spoke, breaking the silence.

“For the next mission?” Echo sat up.

“For Crosshair.” Tech replied casually.

“Tech…” he sighs, “I don’t think you should bother anymore. He’s made his point. I don’t think he wants me to join in and be another Caregiver to him and that’s perfectly fine.”

Tech goes quiet for a moment, “Is it?”

For some reason…that cut deeper than Echo would like to admit. “It’s not about me.”

“No, It is about you. It’s because you’re a reg Echo.”

Echo felt a piece inside of him start to crumble hearing that. “I figured….”

He knew they did exactly care for regular clones, especially because they had been bullied for years from them. He didn’t blame Crosshair for his hatred of him.

But he didn’t see himself as a reg anymore. He didn’t see himself as the 501st clone trooper he used to be. But he didn’t know exactly know what he saw himself as anymore.

“You see Echo, you’re not just a reg, you’re a ARC trooper. And when Crosshair was the age he was when he regresses, he was obsessed with the ARC Troopers. He would never admit it, but he wanted to be one more than anything.” Sits back and explains as he types away on his datapad.

“He once got lost from us on Kamino around the same age he regresses to. We didn’t find him, but an ARC trooper did and brought him back to us. From the little he’s told me and what I assessed, the trooper was kind to him and it impacted him greatly.” Echo paused for a moment both in shock and just processing the story. He nods his head as if connecting the pieces slowly but surely.

Tech looks up from his datapad before he continues. “He trust you to be a part of this team and to be on missions with us. You’re a defective clone like us, he sees you as one of our own. But when it comes to his regression it’s simply that he’s stubborn and more than anything shy around you.”

Echo sits there, in disbelief. “It’s because I’m an ARC trooper…and he’s…he’s shy?”

“Precisely.”

“So if that’s the case…what’s this plan of Hunter’s and yours?”

“It’s going to begin when we finish this mission and arrive back Kamino…” Tech starts to rambling the plan away. The more he goes on, the more Echo realizes, this could actually work.

~~~

The Batch all sat around their big barracks on Kamino. The mission was over and now they could finally rest and relax the stress away.

Wrecker sat playing with his plush Lula, making an elaborate story for her. Meanwhile Crosshair was trying desperately not to regress, sitting in his bed cleaning his weapons once again.

Echo and Hunter sat together at the table in the center of the room. Echo looked nervous, “Hunter, are you sure this is going to work?”

“No idea. But I know this is the only way to see.” Hunter tries to reassure. He looked at the time and then back to Echo, “Ready?”

Echo nods, “As I’ll ever be.”

Hunter nods before he stands, looking to the two Littles. “After our last mission we need to do a supply run. Wrecker, you, Tech and I will start packing the Marauder for the next mission. Echo you’re in charge. You’ll stay here with Crosshair.”

“What?!” Crosshair chimed in, standing from his bunk.

“Problem Crosshair?” Hunter asked.

“Why am I staying back? Surely Echo can take care of himself.”

“You’re both staying back. We won’t be long.” Hunter said firmly, “That’s an order.”

“Hunter-!”

Before Hunter can reply, all heads turned to Tech as entered the barracks pulling a crate behind him. He pulled it over to Echo bunk and dropped it there. “Here you go Echo, just like you ask.”

Tech didn’t explain more, and Crosshair couldn’t help but steal a glance or two to the new crate.

“What’s that?” Wrecker asked, standing up and walking over to the group.

“That is a crate of Echo’s old belongings.” Tech said, being vague for once. He walked over to the group. “Ready Hunter?”

“Ready.” Hunter looks to Crosshair, “Be good for Echo.”

Crosshair crosses his arms, but there’s a hint of something aside from his stubbornness, a hint of something else…….shyness?

The three go to leave, Hunter patting Echo’s shoulder and giving him another a small smile.

Then it was just the two of them.

The two stand there, staring at the door for a moment as if sinking it all in.

Then they look at each other.

Crosshair keeps his arms crossed as he looks over at Echo. When he meets his eyes, he quickly looks away, going back to his bunk and cleaning his weapons again.

Echo sighs. Looking as the sniper clean his weapons, he could see how he was on the cusp of regressing, how he was barley hanging on. This is his moment with Crosshair and he knew now’s the time to step up.

He walked from the table to his bunk and, more specifically, to the newly dropped off crate infront of it. He took a seat on his bed and started fiddling with the locks.

“Crosshair could you help me-.”

“No.” His replay came quick and immediate. Echo doesn’t need to look up to know Crosshair is probably glaring back.

He starts uncliping the latches on the crate, each one he does loud and deliberate. And with each one, he can see it starts to peak the interest of the sniper.

“Sure you can’t help me with this?” Echo asks again.

Crosshair’s reply comes a bit slower this time, as if thinking about it. But his stubbornness wins over again. “…no.”

Remembers back to Fives, his best friend, fellow arc trooper, and Flip best of all. He remembers when he would regress and be stubborn on occasion. A small smile crests his face at the memory. But with it, he remembers how he managed to break him out of it.

With a big and dramatic *sad sigh* “Okay…guess I’ll have to look at all my old Arc Trooper gear all by myself. And here I thought I could have someone to help me….oh well.” And with that he flipped the last latch and opened the crate.

He pulled the top open and with it, all the memories of his days with the 501st came flooding back to him. First he picks up a holopicture of the team. How young they all looked, how he missed them all so much, especially how he missed Fives.

He put that down, and instead grabbed his old helmet. He looked into the front of it, seeing the damage it sustained during the battle at the Citadel. They never found him or his armor, but they found his helmet.

Guilty plagued him for a moment, thinking back to Fives, what he did without him all those years, thinking he was dead, then what happened to him….

“Is that your helmet?”

Echo jumped, looking over at Crosshair who leaned against the wall next to him. When did he walk over?! But looking into the sniper’s sharp eyes, he could see he was on the track to regressing.

“Yeah, it’s my old helmet. Not much to it is there?” He joked, smiling back to Crosshair.

“Did you create the design on the top of it?” He asked, looking at the blue paint.

“I did. It closely resembles my brother Fives’. Our helmets looked similar.” He pats the bed next to him and scoots over, inviting him over. “Here, come sit.”

Crosshair looked a bit shy at first, trying to hold himself back. But Echo’s smile and reassurance starts to bring him out of his shell. He sits next to him, looking at the helmet in Echo’s hands.

“Here,” he holds his helmets out, “you can hold it.”

Crosshair carefully takes the helmet from him, looking at it in awe. He moves it around, looking at every detail. “What happened to it?”

“There was an explosion at the Citadel. I was trying to protect the soldiers and people in my party but I didn’t realize there was a bomb on the shuttle.” He explains a bit sad.

“Do you remember anything about it?” Crosshair ask softly.

“No. I don’t remember anything after it. I just remember the Citadel and then I remember you guys saving me on Skako Minor. But nothing in between.” Echo explains.

“I…I didn’t believe you were even there, I didn’t believe Rex when he kept saying you were alive……..I’m sorry,” Crosshair looks back up to Echo.

“No apology necessary. I don’t know if I would’ve believed it myself if I was in your shoes.” Echo smiles, patting his shoulder, “But I’m honored to be here, honored to be a part of this squad.”

The two go on to look at the rest of his armor. His original armor got destroyed in his accident at the Citadel but most clones troopers always has a back up set.

He showed Crosshair his gauntlets, his blasters, his kamas, and more. All while Crosshair looked in awe, Echo’s helmet by his side, making comment here and there, asking questions about everything.

The more they looked at things, the more Crosshair started to regress and get closer to Echo. Eventually they were shoulder to shoulder with each other, Crosshair leaning against Echo’s side.

“Alright,” Echo looked back to Crosshair and smiled, “I saved the best for last.”

He lean forward and unwrapped his chest plate. He lifted it up and looked to Crosshair with a smile. The blue hand print on the chest plate and the arc trooper blue pauldrons. It was hard not to recognize the unique design.

Crosshair froze looking at the chest plate. His eyes widened as his hands ghosted along the blue hand print on the front.

He looked back to Echo, a small blush on his face. “It was you…” he said softly, looking at Echo in shock and awe. “You’re the ARC trooper that found me.”

Echo is a generation 1 clone, one of the first clones ever made. Crosshair and the rest of the batch are one of the newer generations.

“I don’t remember a lot of moments of my life before, but I remember you, the small silver haired cadet.” He smiles, wrapping his arm around him. “I saw you in the hallway. And the two of us spend the afternoon trying to find your brothers. Remember? Remember the game we played?”

“We played scout mission.” He says softly, still reeling from the shock of this.

“That’s right, you and I were trying to scout out Kamino as we looked for your brothers.”

Crosshair looked at Echo is utter shock and awe. “I remember that day. I remember ever moment. I…” he starts to blush, “I wanted to be like you.”

“You’re better than I could ever be Crosshair, your shooting skills and abilities are something so beyond any ARC trooper’s capabilities. I couldn’t be more proud of the clone you turned out to be.”

There was a hint of tears in Crosshair’s eyes as he looked back to Echo. He looked as though the wanted to reach out and hug him but was shy to do so.

Echo closed the distance, wrapping his arm and scoop around Crosshair, brining the Little close. Crosshair cuddles close, resting his head against Echo’s shoulder like he did all those cycles ago.

“I’ve got you Crosshair, I’ve got you. I protected you back then, and I’m going to protect you now.” Echo adds softly, a hand rubbing up and down his back.

The two stay like that for a moment. Echo just holding the Little sniper close to him, protecting him, all these years later.

~~~

Two hours later Hunter, Tech and Wrecker walk through the hallways of Kamino, back to their room.

“What’s the percentage that this plan worked?” Hunter asks, holding a regressed Wrecker’s hand as he walked.

“87 percent.” Tech answers back.

“That’s not bad! It’s not zero!” Wrecker enthusiastically exclaims.

“Echo has a very high chance of getting through to Crosshair consider he is the ARC trooper that found him all those years ago.” Tech explains like it’s nothing.

Both Hunter and Wrecker stop, looking at the yellow goggle wearing clone shocked.

“What?!”

“That was Echo?!”

“Well…I thought it was obvious.”

“HOW WAS THAT OBVIOUS TECH?!” Wrecker yells, not out of anger but out of confusion.

“Wrecker, bring it down a notch.” Hunter squeezes his hand.

The three continue, walking down the hallway and then right into their barracks. What they find is an adorable sight. Echo is sound asleep in his bed with Crosshair cuddled on top of his chest.

The Little sniper has one of his chewable necklaces in his mouth and his arm wrapped around Echo’s chest.

The Caregiver slept with his scoop around Crosshair and his hand holding a datapad with some of Echo’s old mission logs.

“THEY LIKE EACH OTHER NOW!” Wrecker yelled, loud and happily.

“Wrecker!”

Thankfully Crosshair didn’t wake up, having been used to Wrecker’s loud voice for cycles. But Echo jumped awake.

Tech took Wrecker off to the other side of the barracks to play, while Hunter walked over to Echo and a sleeping Crosshair.

He smiles at the two before patting Echo’s shoulder, “Welcome to our family Echo.”

After Skako Minor Echo didn’t know where he fit in, what he was anymore. But in this moment he realizes. He may not be the clone he once was, but he was something better now. An ARC trooper and more importantly a Caregiver again. But best of all, he’s right where be belongs, with his family.

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itsrheasgirl · 2 years ago

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PREQUEL - DON’T LIE TO ME.

Prequel for The Forbidden Love series.

•

You and Liv have a huge argument about Rhea, Liv accuses you of something happening between you and Rhea Ripley and a argument breaks out when you denies what Liv believes to be the truth.

•

Liv is in love with the reader but hasn’t told them.

•

fem!reader - liv x reader.

mentions of Rhea Ripley.

•

@rheasbaee @you-got-me-star-lost-16 @innagnv @bittersweetastoria @chillinbri @call-me-a-simp @sithfar @rooskaya-yelena

•

“How do I look?”

Pulling your gaze from your own reflection in the full length mirror, you catch sight of Liv as she span around in a glimmer of lilac and sparkles. Her blonde curls bounced around her shoulders as she shimmied them playfully, her glossed lips curving into a soft grin.

You hadn’t expected to be attending the Hall of Fame induction ceremony when Liv invited you to Los Angeles for Wrestlemania thirty nine. You hadn’t expected to attend the event at all if you were honest but when your best friend had text you about a trip together, you’d jumped on the idea. It had been months since you’d been able to spend time with Liv.

“Well...?”

You turn on your nude pumps, giving the bubble ball of energy before you the up and down. Bringing a singular finger up to tap against your chin, you crinkle your nose and raise a brow.

“Hmmm…”

You watch as Liv’s features fall slightly, the brightness behind her eyes fading as you shook your head gently and moved over to Liv’s side before wrapping your arm around her with a soft giggle.

“I’m kidding, you look great.”

Jabbing her elbow into your side, Liv rolled her eyes playfully and stuck out her tongue. Winding her forearms around your waist, the tiny blonde pulled you close again before nuzzling into your side.

“Don’t look to bad yourself.”

The flat of Liv’s palm clapped down against your perked asscheek before she scurried away to go admire herself in the mirror, a small yelp parting your lips as you playfully swatted after her.

“Ouch.”

You huffed, your lips curving into a coy grin as you rolled your eyes and rubbed your palm against your ass. The spank from the petite female hadn’t hurt, a playful tap at most but you couldn’t help but laugh as Liv kept one watchful eye on you in the mirror’s reflection. Liv knew revenge was coming.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

The room began to fill with cheers of support and admiration as Rey Mysterio began his walk, the ring welcoming him at the end. Being initiated into the Hall of Fame was a proud moment for the Mysterio family and yet something seemed off. Your gaze panned the room as the masses rose to their feet, palms clapping in a tremendous harmony of noise for the leader of the LWO. Your eyes continued to scan the sea of proud people as Rey took the his place in the center of the ring, the crowd returning to their seats as he opened his mouth to speak.

This was definitely an odd place for you to be, surrounded by some of the WWE’s finest as you sat perfectly still. You didn’t really know what you were supposed to do, the rivalry between Dominik and his father was something you and Liv had spoken of earlier that night and no one knew what to expect tonight. You could see Dom as he sat several rows ahead of you, his scripted girlfriend Rhea Ripley sat beside him. You’d expected her to be there, when the camera was on they never left each others side. But it still made your stomach churn with nerves.

You’d been introduced to Rhea before the darkness of the judgement day had taken over and you’d immediately found yourself terrified of her presence. Not because she actually scared you, but because of how she’d made you feel.

Exhaling a shallow breath as to not alert anyone’s attention, you place your palms in your lap. Your thumbs twiddling over each other as you tried your best to focus. You didn’t even realize you’d be staring at her as she whispered sweet nothings into Dom’s ear until she’d turned to look back towards where you sat alongside Liv, her glistening crystal ocean eyes locking with yours for only a brief second. She smiled, her perfectly glossed lips twitching upwards for only a second before your vision is impaired by Liv blocking your gaze.

“You okay?”

Her question startled you— were you making a face? Your features showing signs of confusion as you spoke.

“Uh.. yeah, fine. Why?”

Liv’s slender fingers wrapped slowly around your own and it wasn’t till she was pulling your palms apart that you realized, you’d been gripping your fingers together so tight that you’d punctured several holes into the top of you hand with your fingernails.

You swallow nervously, shaking off the fact you’d made accidental eye contact with Rhea and turn slightly to look at Liv head on. Her brows were furrowed in confusion, her gaze flitting over in the direction you’d been looking and back.

You needed to change the subject, get Liv’s mind onto anything else so she wouldn’t start asking more questions and what better way than to make it about Dom, he was sat right beside Rhea after all. You could have quite easily been looking at him.

Liv’s gaze had returned to the back of Rhea’s head, her brow furrow deepening as the cogs began to turn. You knew when Liv was over thinking something, she made a face and you’d become very skilled in shutting down her thought process in the many years you’d know each other.

“Do you think they’ll cause a scene?”

Liv’s gaze returned to you as a content grin claimed your lips, as easy as that you thought to yourself as her shoulders shrugged gently. A soft giggle parting her lips as she leaned in closer so she only had to whisper for you to hear.

“I don’t know, I mean maybe. Wouldn’t you? Add a little drama to the weekend. How exciting.”

You do your best to stifle your laugh as it shot from your throat, your palm shooting up to catch your mouth attempting to stop sound from coming out.

“Don’t be so mean, she’d probably feel terrible doing it.”

“She?”

You immediately feel a lump in your throat as you let what you’d just said sink in, quickly you cough to clear it.

“Oh my god, did I say she. I meant he, Dom. It is his dad after all.”

Liv’s forearms cross over her chest, slumping back in her chair as she raised her shoulders in a shrug. Her happy go lucky expression falling as she shifted to face her gaze forward with a soft pout.

“Just thought it would be funny.”

You couldn’t tell which emotion struck Liv in such a manner but it was clear she didn’t want to talk about it any more either way. Turning your gaze forward— in just enough time to see Dom, Rhea and Damian stand, you grasp tightly at Liv’s hand without thinking. Liv’s fingers wind with your own as you simply watch the three members of The Judgement Day begin to walk up the length of the red carpet, your gaze moving between each of them until your eyes locked with Rhea’s. She shoots you a soft wink as she walked past you and Liv, your cheeks flushing a soft crimson as you pulled your palm free from Liv’s to place it in your lap. You don’t notice as Liv turns to watch The Judgement Day leave, her gaze fixated on Rhea as she disappeared.

You avoid eye contact with Liv as Rey’s speech starts up again and the night could continue, the tightness in your chest making you focus more on your breathing than the actions of your best friend. You needed to bring your heart rate down and to cool yourself off, the color in your cheeks would have to drain as the night progressed on. Right?

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

The door beeped softly as it unlocked, your palm pushing it open so that Liv can slide past you before following her inside. She’d been very quiet, too quiet in fact and you were beginning to worry, she had barely said two words since leaving the arena and you could tell something was wrong.

“You wanna open the bottle of white in the fridge?

You had already takes off the nude pumps that made your calf look great, desperate for relief from the pain they caused. Your nimble fingers already fumbling with the zipper of your dress to release your torso from its binding fit.

Liv was sat on the edge of her bed facing away from you, her lilac hat tossed onto her bed as she sat in silence. Something was definitely wrong but why was Liv being so quiet? Throwing on the loose shorts and cropped tank you had left on your bed from the morning, you move over to Liv’s bed slowly.

“Hey. What’s going on?”

You gently place your palm down onto Liv’s shoulder, a small gasp parting your lips as she swiftly slaps your hand away. Your palm clutching to your chest, you take a small step back.

“What the hell, Liv.”

She doesn’t look up, she doesn’t even move as her voice echos in the air. Your stomach churning with nerves because of Liv’s tone. She was never this short with you.

“I need you to tell me something and I need it to be the truth, do not lie to me.”

Lie to her. What could you lie to her about? What was on Liv’s mind right now that she even thought you would lie?

Remaining in place as you fidgeted with the hem of your top, you inhale a small breathe. You tried to think back to what triggered Liv’s rage— was it shutting down her idea of a little bit of weekend drama? Releasing the fabric that twitched between your fingers, you inhale another shallow breath before you spoke.

“I’d never lie to you, Livv—.”

She cuts you off mid sentence, bolting up right on her petite legs and turning to face you.

“What is going on with you and Rhea?”

Your brow furrows in confusion at the tiny blondes question, your mouth gaping slightly as you stammered over your words.

“Me and… what.. me and Rhea?”

Your forearms crossed over you abdomen as you took a step towards your best friend, one palm extending out to try and take her hand in your own.

“Nothing, Liv.”

You manage to grab her palm, but only for a brief second as she yanks it free to cross over her chest.

“There’s nothing going on with me and Rhea. What are you talking about?”

This made no sense, what was Liv even talking about. Ever since arriving in Los Angeles you hadn’t left her side. Not once and all of a sudden she was accusing you of things that were nothing but friendly exchanges between you and the fellow female.

“I said don’t lie tO ME!”

Liv’s voice raised as she took a step in your direction, your own frame stepping back to keep the distance between you. She never shouted— not around you, confutation played havoc with your anxiety.

“I’m not.”

You stated, your facial expressions become more and more perplexed as Liv continued to provoke you.

A sharp scoff vibrated from the tiny females throat as she rolled her eyes aggressively, another large step forward closing the distance as Liv stood toe to toe with you. Her glimmering eyes were dark like midnight, her usual angelic smile masked by a corse line as she shoved your finger against your chest.

“Like I believe you. I saw it, with my own eyes.”

Saw what?

“What are you talking about?”

You questioned, placing both of your palms down on Liv’s shoulders. You were able to get in a few gentle strokes of your thumbs against her skin before she brings her forearms up in between yours to push them away, her palms shoving against your chest to push you backwards.

“You’re going to act as if I didn’t see you two, with your flirty glances…”

Liv’s nostrils flared, her palms shoving against you again with a little more force.

“The way you tried to change the subject to keep me distracted…”

Again, her palms shoved against your chest repeatedly until your spine collided with the dresser by the door. Both her palms locking round it’s ledge as she held you still, not giving you space to move or get away.

“And that wink, was I supposed to just pretend that didn’t happen.”

You swallowed nervously, your spine pressing into the wood as Liv stood directly in front of you. There had to be a way you could get away, yes— Liv was shorter than you, but she was stronger. Much stronger and you wouldn’t stand a chance if this got physical.

“Liv it didn’t mean anything, it was just Rhea being Rhea. I promise, there is nothing going on.”

Liv scoffed, slamming her palm down against the dresser.

“You’re a fucking liar.”

You flinched, your entire demeanor shifting as you stood motionless. Why was Liv getting so worked up over something she’d created in her head. There was no need for any of this.

“I said don’t lie to me.”

She snapped.

“I said don’t lie and yet you did, over and over.”

Her palms slammed at the dresser ledge repeatedly.

“How could you do this to me? You’re MY best friend, you’re supposed to be here with me! ME! Not flirting with HER!”

You still didn’t understand. Whenever you got to see Liv it was always all about her, you did what she wanted to do. Attended events she wanted to attend. Hung out with who she wanted to hang out with. It was her that had introduced you to Rhea in the first place, what had she expected. That you wouldn’t form friendships with her work colleagues?

“You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”

Tears began to prickle behind your lids as Liv’s rage grew, she never spoke to you like this. Even when you were younger, arguments didn’t happen. What had changed?

“Liv.”

You choked out, a few stray tears cresting and breaking to trickle down your cheeks. You remained perfectly still as you played over the ways you could deescalate the situation, you needed to say the right thing to calm the little spitfire.

“Livvy, this is all in your head.”

You regret your words instantly, the demonic fire that burned behind Liv’s gaze erupted as her palm left it’s tight grasp on the dresser to strike. You were swift— ducking yourself out of the free space that opened up in enough time to avoid the flat of Liv’s palm, her fingers swatting at the air in front of her.

Your expression morphs into shock and fear as you back away towards the door, fumbling with the handle to get it open. Your palms were sweaty and your chest tight as you struggled with the door handle, a steady stream of tears breaking over your under eyes as you kept your gaze on Liv.

She hadn’t moved, one fist gripping tightly at the dresser as her other palm smoothed over her face. Her features had fallen, her breath was heavy and you could tell she was regretting her actions. What if she’d actually hit you?

The door handle finally cranked all the way down, without moving to far back into the room you pull open the door and slip out into the hallway. You don’t even bother closing the door as you stumble down the hallway, the image of Liv’s attempted slap playing over and over in your head. She couldn’t have meant it, she was angry. Liv wouldn’t hurt you.

Your palms began to tremor as you just kept walking, you didn’t even look back towards your room. Tears still cascading down your cheeks faster than you could wipe them away, the loose curls that fell from your messy bun sticking to your skin. You needed somewhere to go, you couldn’t go back in to your room. Not with the amount of rage Liv had just displayed.

You knew which room you needed to go to, as stupid as it was there was only one answer. The one person that had caused all the drama without even realizing it, the one person who wouldn’t harass you for answers to why you were so upset. The one person you needed to see.

The hallway seemed to stretch on for miles, the distance between your room and Rhea’s was minimal and yet it felt like you’d been walking for hours. She might not even be awake, you thought to yourself as room six fifteen came into view.

But there was only one way to find out.

Part 1

#liv morgan #gionna daddio #wwe #wwe womens wrestling #rhea ripley #demi bennett #fem!reader #forbidden love #forbidden love prequel #don’t lie to me #wwe wrestlemania 39 #wrestlemania

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