#might turn reblogs on later if people behave who knows | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

wishesunderthestars · 4 years ago

Text

Eunoia // Ch. 12

eunoia (noun): beautiful thinking, the possession of a well-balanced mind, which exhibits goodwill and kindness

Pairings: Hybrid! BTS x reader

Summary: You are a world famous director and you have dedicated your life to your job.You have everything you could ever dream of; wealth, recognition, talent, your friends and family. But loneliness ins’t cured by success. So what happens when you somehow rescue seven hybrids? Can they fill the void?

Genre: Angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, eventual smut

Word Count: 18.1k+

Warnings: Abuse and violence, mentions of past sexual abuse, mentions of putting down hybrids, discussion of insomnia caused by a traumatic event, panic attacks, derogetory language

Masterlist

Chapter 1, Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11

Phew, that was long one. Please comment and reblog it really motivates me to keep writing. And I always love receiving asks so don’t be shy ;)

"I can't believe this is happening! Why can't I receive good news for once?" After the initial shock, you were fuming. "Work of months has been destroyed and for what? Because someone decided not to take the proper safety measures to save some money. People could have been hurt in there! Seriously hurt. And it would have been on our heads!"

Namjoon was holding your phone, the email you had received opened on the screen. "You didn't know they hadn't taken the necessary precautions. It wouldn't have been on your head."

"Can you imagine what would have happened if we had been filming? If the actors and the crew were inside and the building collapsed on us?" The chair scraped against the floor as you raised to your feet. You couldn't stay sitting anymore. "I don't even want to think about that. How many people... If we would even get out of there alive. And it isn't only us. What if the earthquake hadn't hit at night? And the workers were still inside? What then? This is wrong on so many levels I can't even begin to count."

Five point six Richter. That was the magnitude of the earthquake that had hit Virginia. It had been felt in Washington. They said it had affected a radius of two hundred kilometers around the center of the earthquake. No one had expected it and no one had been prepared. In the email there was a detailed description of how the earthquake had caused the sets for The Raven Cycle to collapse in on themselves, because the respective protection measures hadn't been taken. The earthquake had hit at night, waking up everyone in the area and causing panic as people flooded the streets. They had discovered the ruined sets in the morning.

Protection measures were of utmost important in every environment and you were baffled that a film studio with such prestige would disregard them so easily. You had half a mind to storm into the building you had just returned from and make a scene in front of everyone. They had put everyone in danger, not only the actors and the crew and all the people working there but also the passersby who could have had metal rods falling on their heads.

How could they allow this? How could they be so careless? It wasn't a building made for only a couple of days of use with light materials. Filming would take place there for the better part of the summer. In a few months you would have been there. You could have been there.

"And now you have to leave?" Namjoon asked, jaw tense. "Can't you wait a few days and go later?" You knew what he was thinking. You didn't want to leave either. It was the worst time possible for you to leave. The two hybrids in the guestroom, the injuries you had to tend to, Jimin and Jungkook, Jimin's past. But it wasn't your decision to make.

"I can't, they have already planned the whole trip. It isn't like I have a choice. The message is clear, I will be flying to Virginia in two days. As the director and showrunner, I have to be there. They have called everyone important in the project and I am one of the lucky ones. And it isn't like I can refuse unless I have a very important reason. And I can't exactly tell them I am nursing to health a stray hybrid until he and his friend can live on their own again, instead of reporting them to the hybrid services."

Namjoon's face scrunched up at the mention of the services. They were anything but kind to hybrids. They thought they could do anything to them if they were strays before they had to give them to a center. The times he and his small pack had to run away from them weren't few. It disgusted you, the way some people behaved.

You landed back on your chair with a huff, tired of pacing. Namjoon must have got a headache from the way his eyes were following you. "This is just what I didn't need. I thought we wouldn't have to go to Virginia until summer!"

You felt like banging your head on the wall but you settled for laying you head on the desk. It collided with a dull thud.

It wasn't only the destroyed set and what that meant for the show. Slowing down of the production, a larger budget needed (oh, the irony) and the bad press you would get if it got out.

People in the area must have suffered. Flashes of collapsed buildings, shattered windows and cracks in the streets ran through your mind. No, it couldn't be that bad. You prayed it wasn't that bad.

Namjoon frowned. "What are you supposed to do there? You aren't going to help rebuild the sets. What do they need you for?" You could see the worry in his eyes. His instincts calling him to protect you, to not let you leave. You appreciated the fact he was fighting it.

With your cheek squished against the desk you said, "No, I'm not going to rebuild the sets, but they need me there nonetheless. There is a legal part of this whole thing I have to be there for. And me being there might help the ones doing the rebuilding."

Namjoon sighed, giving up on trying to keep you here. "Will John come with you?"

"Most likely," you said, raising your head from the desk and sitting back on the chair. Your back hurt from the awkward angle you had bent your body in. "I will ask him but I'm pretty sure he will say yes. He always comes with me when I'm working out of California. He has toured half of the world being my bodyguard. And this time.... This time I don't think he would let me go without him."

"It seems you do tend to travel a lot," Namjoon noted. There wasn't any judgment or disdain in his voice, he was simply stating a fact. If anything he looked at the cream and gold world globe on your desk with longing. He had told you he had never left California, created and bred in Los Angeles. You didn't like how he said "created" but you couldn't correct him. "It must be nice seeing all those places."

The gold of the globe caught the light, distorted figures moving on the polished surface. "It's nice when it's properly planned and when I actually want to go. And there aren't any natural disasters involved. I can't say that's true this time. It's the furthest it could be from the truth." You groaned. "What am I going to do now? I can't leave like this. There are so many things going on."

Namjoon was too close to what he looked like talking to you about the ending of the Book Thief. "How long will you be gone?"

"A week?" The email didn't specify. A week was how long most work trips that didn't include filming lasted, but this wasn't a normal work trip. This had never happened to you or to anyone you knew before. You had heard of disasters but nothing like this.

Your fingers had subconsciously started drumming a tune on the desk. A tune that had comforted you once. A tune he used to hum long before he turned it into a song. You stilled your hand.

An earthquake. Five point six Richter. Shaking buildings, rattling shelves, trembling chandeliers, cupboards opening and dishes and glasses falling to the floor. The kind of thing you see on the TV. The kind of thing you don't ever expect to witness. No one expects a disaster like that to strike out of the blue, but that's the way it is. There is no one to warn you, no one who can.

You didn't go to dinner. You told Namjoon not to wait for you, you would eat later. Climbing down the stairs, you stopped in front of the door and knocked. The reply was the same and Yoongi opened the door like every time.

Every room had a medical kit in the bathroom, the one in this had to be restocked twice in the past few days.

Hoseok gave you a small smile and extended his broken arm. Sitting on the edge of the bed, you started telling him of the time you had spent in the Caribbean Sea. You had stayed there for a few months and had spent most of that time in Jamaica and Puerto Rico. The sandy beaches, the endless turquoise sea and the colorful houses didn't fail to bring a smile to your face. The people had been welcoming and kind, eager to help with any problems production faced. They invited you to nights full of dancing and music and included you in everything like you belonged there.

The movie you had filmed wasn't one of your biggest hits. It wasn't nominated for an Oscar and although it did earn much recognition and was played at multiple international film festivals, it wasn't as successful as your other films. But it was the most fun you had had filming. The actors were incredible both at their job and out of it. You had spent some of the best nights of your life there.

As you fastened the splint in place around Hoseok's arm, you told him of the night they had lit large bonfires along the beach and all the people in the area had gathered around to have a few drinks and dance. Your mind, however, wasn't on the story. A fractured arm and a rib wasn't something you should be treating at home. It didn't matter how many first aid classes you had attended, a lot of things could go wrong. But it was either this or nothing. When you had suggested taking Hoseok to the hospital, Yoongi had almost bitten your head off.

Hoseok was laying back against the pillows with his eyes clothes when you were done. He was doing better. Having regular meals and being able to wash made the improvement more evident. He didn't complain when you were treating him but you could see his eyes clenching shut when you were applying salve to the most tender spots. The stories helped. They distracted him and you could work easier. He rarely spoke but lately he had been brave enough to voice any questions he had and you had readily answered him. Progress. Progress you hoped wouldn't halt now.

"This is it for today," you said, rubbing your hands together and getting up. "In a few days you won't have any trouble moving around on your own. Not anything too strenuous, though, no running or jumping around."

"Thank you." Hoseok spoke softly, like being any louder would break an unspoken rule. Like it would get him punished.

Yoongi was sitting on the chaise lounge by the glass wall, facing away from you. The fire pits were lit all the way along the balconies, flames licking up the darkness of the night. He didn't look at you while you were there, only stealing glances when he thought you weren't looking. When his eyes met yours he would scowl and look away.

"There is something I wanted to tell you," you started. You didn't know how else to say it so you jumped in head first. "I was called to Virginia for work. I'll be leaving the day after tomorrow." Yoongi's back stiffened, his tail stilling in the air. Hoseok's eyes turned impossibly wide. "I don't know yet how long I will stay there but it will be some time before I can come back. I thought you should know because I won't be able to treat you."

Yoongi huffed. "Who will be our caretaker then?"

You paused by the door. "Do you think you need one?"

"Is this a joke?" Yoongi's fists clenched. There was no blood on them anymore.

It wasn’t a secret that hybrids were treated like pets, that included having someone babysit them when the owner was gone. You had been through it before when you had left for New York shortly after you had adopted Namjoon, Jimin and Jungkook. Everyone had expected you to ask someone to take care of them. You hadn’t. They could take care of themselves and each other just fine.

It was the same now.

“If you think you need a caretaker I can hire one for you, but I doubt you do,” you said. “I think you can survive in the Castle without me for a few days. If I’m gone for longer than a week, Helen my housekeeper will come over to do some cleaning. She usually comes over a few times a week. And the gardener comes by quite often. ”

Yoongi looked stunned but schooled his features quickly. Hoseok’s ears were pinned against his head. You closed the door behind you.

Why did your work’s timing had to always be that bad?

An earthquake. A fucking earthquake.

In the kitchen, the table was served. The mouthwatering smell of the food drifted in the air. Jimin, Namjoon and Jin were sitting around the table, Jungkook absent once again. No one had touched their plates.

“You didn’t have to wait for me,” you said taking your seat. Your plate was filled with a generous slice of meat pie and fresh salad. Your stomach grumbled. You hadn’t noticed you were that hungry.

“We wanted to wait for you.” Jimin’s smile didn’t reach his eyes, it hadn’t since the day he had come running to you, begging you to take him with you to work. Jungkook spent most of his time at the atelier and he slept in Jin’s room at night. Every time he didn’t show up for meals, the light in Jimin’s eyes dimmed further.

You picked up your fork and knife and cut into the pie. The taste was heavenly, not that you had expected anything else from Jin. You told him so and delighted in the way he got flushed and tried to cover it by a terrible joke he must have come up with on the spot. While you ate, you didn’t speak much, thinking about the best way to bring up the news crawling up your throat. Namjoon squeezed your hand under the table.

When your plates were empty and Jimin was laying his head on Jin’s shoulder, you decided it was time. You put your fork aside. You started by the email, the email that had looked so inconspicuous at first because you received emails like that all the time. An email labeled “important” was often not as important as the people sending it thought it was. You couldn’t have guessed what it contained inside. You hadn’t been prepared.

Your leg was moving up and down on the metal foothold of the stool, mimicking your racing heartbeat. An earthquake had struck Virginia at night. You repeated the dry words of the email, of someone who hadn’t felt the terror of the earth shaking underneath their feet. Five point six Richter, strong enough to knock down the sets they had been building for months. You were required to be there in two days.

Jimin’s bottom lip was trembling. “How long will you stay?”

You shook your head. It was the same question you were asking and had no answers for. Even if you called someone in the company they wouldn’t have anything but speculations for you. “I hope no more than a week.”

“Isn’t it dangerous?” Jin asked. “What if there are aftershocks, or if it was a warning for a larger one coming?”

Jin’s question brought an dreadful shine to Jimin’s eyes. You had thought of that as well but your mind was troubled already as it was. Questions of your safety would take this too far. For once, you didn’t trust the company you were working with to keep you safe. You would have to do research before you left and take all the necessary precautions. You wouldn’t risk it like they had.

Namjoon wrapped his hand around his glass but didn’t bring it to his lips. “John will be with her. They will be alright.” It didn’t calm down Jimin who hugged himself tightly, dropping his head to his chest.

You couldn’t watch him suffering anymore. Getting up, you walked to him and hugged his from behind, prying his hands away so they were over yours instead. “I promise I’ll call you every day and we will text. It’s like when I was in New York and you texted me every day about what you got up to and what you were thinking. Your texts made me forget all about work and how tired I was.” Jimin sniffled but his cheeks remained dry. “It’s only a few days. They’ll be over soon. You won’t be alone here.”

Jin ruffled Jimin’s hair and the cat hybrid wrapped one arm around the oldest, pulling him into the hug. You placed a kiss on both their head, making Jin flush again. He wasn’t used to physical attention the way Jimin was but he craved it too and you were trying to make sure he felt as loved as he was.

Namjoon held Jimin while you and Jin cleaned the table. He grabbed Jimin’s thighs lifting him up and carried him to the living room. The younger laughed all the way there, telling him to put him down. His tight hold around Namjoon’s neck told him a very different thing.

But you weren’t done yet. You had one more person to tell.

The atelier’s door was half open. You knocked once on the wood before opening it all the way. The room could be described as an organized mess. Two canvases were set up in the middle of the room and three half-finished ones stood against the cabinets. The floor was covered in newspapers splattered with all the colors of the rainbow and paint tubes were lined on the tables in no particular order.

“I finished dinner, you can take it,” he said, gesturing to the tray on one of the tables with the hand not holding a brush.

“That isn’t why I’m here.” One of his ears perked up as you walked closer. The canvas he was working on now was a blend of shades of purple, orange and yellow with no definitive details. “What are you painting.”

He shrugged. “Don’t know yet.” Moving forward with no destination. You knew how that felt.

Jungkook hadn’t distanced himself just from Jimin but from everyone. He didn’t run to you to hug you and scent you when you came back like he used to do. He didn’t come up to the living room to watch TV and talk until you were too exhausted to keep your eyes open. He didn’t show you his progress on the paintings. He didn’t annoy Jin while he cooked (the oldest liked it even if complained). He didn’t come to meals. Meals were family time.

Being in the atelier now was different to any other time. It was the stifling feeling of an empty page, which used to be ecstasy. It was wrong, something missing.

“I have to leave for Virginia the day after tomorrow,” you said, ripping the band-aid off. The times you had said it today were too many. Surprised doe eyes turned to you. You explained the story once again and waited.

Jungkook seemed to be bracing himself for something. “Can you take me with you?”

“Take you with me?” you repeated, dumbfounded.

He nodded. The brush he had been holding had fallen to the floor at some point painting the newspapers in a shock of deep purple. Neither of you had noticed. “I won’t bother you. I’ll listen to everything you say. You can leave me at the hotel. I won’t cause any trouble, no one will know I’m there.” He lowered his head. “I need to be away from here.”

“Jungkook…” Your hand touched his cheek and you felt the way he clenched his jaw under the touch. “If this is-”

“Don’t,” he begged, pulling away. A pained desperation coloring his voice. “You don’t know what I did. If you did-” He took a sharp breath. “Can I come with you? Please.”

Stifling. You hadn’t considered taking any of the hybrids with you now. You had planned on inviting them along when you would go there for filming, a much more fun part of your job. This would be a busy trip and most likely far from enjoyable. It could be dangerous. But Jungkook’s eyes were begging you. He was fading away locked up in the atelier avoiding everyone.

“Okay. If you really want to, you can come with me. I’ll help you pack the essentials,” you said. Jungkook visibly relaxed. Maybe you should have pressed more. Insisted on him speaking with Jimin before you left or after you came back. But you were exhausted and a headache was brewing behind your temples.

Jungkook glanced at a canvas covered with a white sheet at a corner. You’d let it go for now.

When Jimin sneaked into your room late into the night, you didn’t say anything pulling up the covers in a silent invitation. Jimin crawled underneath and hid in your arms. Against every expectation you fell asleep. Orange bottle untouched in the bathroom cabinet.

The days leading up to your departure were every kind of hectic. Panic had taken over the studios and the atmosphere was tense in every meeting. No one wanted to admit the colossal mistake that could have cost the lives of so many people. The press was another matter entirely. The project could get a bad reputation before it was aired. It was emotionally exhausting, your brain working in overdrive, coming up with solutions to problems that may or may not arise. You had to be prepared for the worst.

At home it wasn’t much better. You had started packing for the weird end-of-spring weather in Virginia. The Raven Cycle books and a little research had provided you with enough information about what to expect. Dry, warm and with a possibility of thunderstorms. It could also get cold at night so you made sure to pack a few sweatshirts.

You helped Jungkook pack his things in a similar way. He had a habit of wearing long sleeves even when it was hot so you packed a few more sweatshirts and hoodies for him. He continued not talking much but he looked calmer now that you were leaving. All you wanted to do was hug him and tell him everything was going to be alright. But you didn’t think that would be welcome.

Jimin had timidly offered to take care of Hoseok’s injuries while you were gone. You hesitated at first. While they had been here Jimin and Yoongi hadn’t interacted much. You had expected they would talk, figure out the strange tension between them, but they had kept to themselves. You gave in in the end. The worst had come and passed and you trusted Jimin to provide the basic care Hoseok needed.

He came with you to their room before dinner and you explained to him what you were doing. Hoseok was a little more withdrawn than usual but he didn’t protest, smiling at Jimin.

You had a long talk with Namjoon in your office the night before the day you were scheduled to leave. There were a lot of things to talk about and you tried to get everything out. All your worries and all the things you thought he should know. When you were spent and his reassurances were buried deep in your chest, he brought you close to him, rubbing his face in your neck. He places light kissed on your skin, his lips trailing up until they were touching yours.

The house was silent. You opened your eyes blearily, staring at your phone. The ringing of the alarm had stopped, leaving large numbers reading the time on the screen. The blinds were closed hiding the morning from you.

There was a weight on your chest. You looked down to find tired eyes staring up at you. Jimin made a small sound in the back of his throat and nuzzled against you. His blond hair was soft against your fingers as you combed through it. A loud purr escaped him as you scratched the base of his cat ears. He held on to you tighter but the alarm was clear, you needed to get up and get ready. You had a flight to catch.

“No, don’t go,” Jimin whined.

You massaged his head down to his neck. “I have to get up. I’ll miss the plane if I’m late.”

In the shadows of the room you could see the pout on his full lips. “What if you miss it?”

“If I miss it, I’ll get in trouble. And I’d rather not get in trouble.” Jimin snuggled closer to you and you could smell the vanilla shampoo he loved. Mia had said in the early days that she had smelt vanilla and muffins on you and you had guessed that was Jimin’s scent. The shampoo must serve to accentuate his natural scent.

His cat ears lowered as his tail wrapped around your bare leg. You suppressed a shudder at the feeling of the soft fur against your skin. “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“I know, that’s why I have to go.” You untangled yourself from the hybrid and pressed the button for the blinds to retreat. The morning light spilled into the room. It caught on Jimin’s curls painting them golden. You had an urge to capture the moment with your camera, the way he looked so soft, hair mussed and eyes still dreaming. Carving the image in your memory, you walked to the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for the day.

Getting dressed for a flight was different than getting dressed for any other work day. You liked to wear something comfortable that wouldn’t look too bad on camera. You weren’t the kind of celebrity to get mobbed every time you went out but sometimes paparazzi could get wind of where you were going and show up at the airport. When you were traveling for premieres or events, fans and paparazzi would fill the place.

The previous night you had set aside a pair of loose black pants and a red top. You would also take your leather jacket with you because it could get chilly on the plane.

Jimin, wearing his stripped white and blue pajamas with the little pink hearts, clung to you like a koala all the way to breakfast. He only let go of you when you placed your large black bag on the floor and took a seat at the kitchen island. Jin was finishing up with cooking, taking the pots off the stove. Breakfast was almost ready.

John would be coming later to drive you to the airport. The black SUV had turned into a sign you would be traveling. Because of the sheer volume of the luggage you always ended up with, a large car was needed to drive you to and from the airport. This time you had packed two suitcases and your handbag. You had been tempted to fill a sac-voyage as well but you quickly abandoned the thought.

Namjoon arrived, looking wide awake. The opposite of Jimin and his drooping eyes. Only one was missing. And you weren’t compromising today.

“Jungkook?” you asked. The others exchanged a glance. It told you enough. “I’m going to go get him. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Their gazes followed you as you left. They probably didn’t believe you could get him to come up. And any other day that could have been the case.

The door of the atelier was closed but you were sure Jungkook was inside. The amount of time he had been spending in there was unhealthy but you were the last person who could judge him, having spent the majority of your so called break in your office. You knocked three times before opening the door.

Jungkook was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room, lost in a place that used to scream comfort. Did it still? You couldn’t feel it anymore. The canvases were all in their places and the paints and brushes had been tidied up. Sitting on the paint splattered newspapers in his completely black clothes, Jungkook looked lost.

“We’re having breakfast upstairs,” you said.

Jungkook’s eyes cleared, just enough for most of the fog to disappear. One bunny ear drooped down and he swiped it away from his face. “Can’t Jin bring it to me?”

You shook your head. “Jin isn’t bringing anything to you. You will be coming to breakfast and eat with us like you used to.”

He lowered his head, both ears falling in his face. “I can’t.”

“You very much can and you will.” You tried to be gentle but you were firm on this. “You will come up and we will all eat breakfast together. We are leaving in a few hours for the other side of the United States and I have no idea when we will be back. You aren’t doing anything here and everyone wants to see you and spend some time together.”

“Not everyone.” It was so low he probably hadn’t meant for you to hear.

“Everyone,” you said, kneeling by his side. “Everyone wants to see you.” You brushed his bangs off his face, petting his ears in the process. He didn’t relax the way he usually did, melting in your hands, but he did lean into the touch. “One breakfast. That’s all I’m asking for. You said you’d listen to me if I took you with me to Virginia.”

He couldn’t disagree with that and when you offered him your hand he took it.

Jungkook and Jimin had had a special bond. That first night you had seen it in the way Jimin cried begging you to help Jungkook, to heal him. You had seen it in the way Jungkook, beat up and having trouble breathing, was asking Jimin if he was injured, if he needed to be treated first and Jimin had cried every time Jungkook flinched but smiled and squeezed his hand to ease the pain. Nothing had changed the longer you spent with them, the way they loved and cared for each other only becoming more apparent.

Jungkook had gone to Namjoon crying, saying he had hurt Jimin but you couldn’t imagine him doing anything but loving him. Misunderstandings preyed on everyone and they were hungry for those who loved each other. They would get through it, you assured yourself. They were strong and they cared too much to continue hurting each other like this. You cared too much too, you wouldn’t let this get out of hand.

They needed a break, that’s what it was. Jungkook had been right, the trip would help put some distance between them to think clearer. You would make sure when you returned they would be ready to face whatever had happened between them.

Jimin lit up at seeing Jungkook but the light dimmed when the younger didn’t even glance his way. You sighed into your orange juice.

After breakfast Jungkook carried up his suitcase while you went to another room. Three knocks and a question of who it was. It had become routine. Hoseok smiled at you, he had been doing that more and more.

You sat down at the side of the bed, Yoongi watching you from the chaise lounge, his ears standing alert. “I’m just here to check on you one last time before I go. Jimin will take over after this.”

Hoseok was sitting with his back against the headboard. He hadn’t been able to do that without hurting the first days. “When will you be leaving?”

Touching his arm to inspect it, you said, “John will be here in about thirty minutes but the flight isn’t for another two hours. We have to be early at the airport because the process to get on the plane takes a long time. Do you want to hear about the first time I got on a plane? That’s a funny story.”

Hoseok nodded enthusiastically so you started recounting the time you were sixteen and you had to take a plane to get to the film festival that was held in France. The short film you had directed would be played there. The only problem was that you had never been on a plane before and the prospect of flying wasn’t appealing to you in the least. It just happened that the flight was far from calm.

The check up was finished halfway through the story but Hoseok touched your arm, wordlessly asking you to finish it. At your arrival in France Hoseok’s smile dissolved.

“I have to get going, John will be here soon,” you said getting up. Hoseok had met John only after you had told him of the time both of you had gotten lost in London. John had been insisting he knew what he was doing leading you deeper into the maze of streets. Because of that a few more stories the bodyguard had guest-starred in, the fox hybrid hadn’t looked as terrified as some people did at the side of the giant of a bodyguard.

“Thank you for,” he gestured to himself “this. And the stories. Thank you for the stories.”

You stopped by the door. “It was my pleasure.”

John was at the Castle right on time, parking the SUV close to the front door. He helped you carry everything to the car, which meant he carried the three suitcases while Jungkook insisted he could help. The bunny hybrid did help but only because John took pity on him and let him help with putting the suitcases in the trunk.

You lowered your sunglasses. No wind and no cloud in sight. You would have a calm trip.

You hugged all the hybrids, letting them scent you. Jimin’s eyes were growing misty and you hugged him extra hard assuring him you would be back soon. You rubbed your forehead against Jin’s and kissed his cheek in goodbye, his skin warming up under your lips. Goodbyes were hard and you’d thought you’d gotten used to them. Saying goodbye to Taylor and Zayn before tours, to your aunt the rare times you could visit her, to your friends, to the actors and the crew.

And yet your chest was tight.

Namjoon was talking with John by the car and you heard him asking John to take care of you and Jungkook. John replied he would protect you with his life. John was your bodyguard but this had been more than a job to him for a long time.

From the corner of your eye you saw Jimin approach Jungkook. He reached to touch him, hug him. Jungkook flinched. Jimin’s hand hovered in the air before going limp. He backed away, his chin dropping to his chest and jaw trembling.

You bit the inside of your cheek. A hand landed on your shoulder and you turned to find Namjoon standing next to you. You weren’t the only one who had watched the youngests’ exchange. You hid in his arms, forgetting about the world for a moment. The two hybrids who loved each other too much, the trip you had to take, production being halted, that godforsaken earthquake. He nosed along your neck, his warm breath tingling your skin.

Jungkook got into the car first, an escape, and you followed soon after, a necessity. The house got smaller and smaller behind you as the car drove away. The Castle fading in the distance. Another trip. Different reasons, a different disaster, but familiar territory. Once you used to be excited about these trips, exploring a new place and living new experiences. Where had that part of yourself gone?

But you weren’t alone this time. Jungkook was looking out of the window, his head laying against the glass. You would take him to that yogurt shop you had liked so much and you would show him the park you wanted to film at and take him to that endearing small cinema. Yeah, you would do that.

♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩

The hotel towered over the rest of the buildings in the area. It wasn’t the same one you had stayed on your first visit last year, more grand and definitely more expensive. The company had gone all out. An admirable attempt to quell your anger, yet it continued simmering underbeath your skin. A young man was waiting for you outside, taking the suitcases from the car and leading you to the lobby.

Jungkook looked around with wide eyes and an open mouth. There was so much glass and marble, almost everything was made using these two materials.

The receptionist smiled at you wide, her teeth white and straight like her uniform. She welcomed you to the hotel and handed you two key cards, white with a gold line on front and the room numbers in cursive. Two cards.

“I was sure I’d forgotten something,” you muttered.

The receptionist’s smile faltered. “Is something not to your liking, miss?”

Two cards. One for your room and one for John’s. You had notified the company about Jungkook accompanying you but you hadn’t requested another room. Granted, you had thought they would come to the conclusion on their own. One more room would have cost them a lot, though. Easy way out. But you couldn’t exactly blame them. At hotels, owners rarely bothered to spend money on a room for their hybrids.

You held the cards like a magician ready to do a trick, showing them to John.

“Shouldn’t there be one more?” he asked.

The woman behind the desk blinked a few times. “More? Two rooms were booked in the name Y/N Y/L/N. Is there a problem?”

You sighed. “No, I guess there isn’t. Or there wasn’t supposed to be.” Jungkook watched the exchange shifting from foot to foot. His black hoodie was a size too big and he was drowning in it. “Do you have any available rooms in the same floor.”

“I’m afraid we don’t, miss. The rooms on the top floor are all booked for the night.”

“Great.” You couldn’t think of another solution, you would have to make do. “Thank you. We’ll be going now.”

“Have a nice stay,” the receptionist said.

The elevator was as luxurious as the lobby, a glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling. John had your black bag slung over his shoulder. The man with your suitcases was already gone, you would find them in your rooms when you arrived. There was a mirror to your left and leaning your back against the wall your gazed at your reflection. With your black circles hidden with concealer and carefully applied makeup, you looked just a little tired from the flight. You had brushed your hair on the plane and it fell in waves over your shoulders, curling at the tips.

Jungkook hadn’t been to a hotel before and it showed as he tried to take everything in. The lights that were on even in the afternoon, the golds and whites, the mirrors and glass and the velvet seats. It was wonderful but still it wasn’t the best hotel you had stayed at.

The elevator’s doors opened with a ding and you walked into the well-lit corridors. Doors were on either side with a sitting area at the front. You had stayed in many hotels over the years but they were nothing more than a place for rest. Sleep and shower, that’s all you did in your room. And sometimes breakfast or dinner if you didn’t feel like going out.

Stopping in front of a white door, you checked the numbers on the cards again. The two rooms were very close, only a few meters distance from each other.

Two rooms. Right.

You handed John his key card. “So, we’ve got two rooms…” Jungkook looked at you curiously. “I hope you don’t mind staying in my room with me for now. Unless you would prefer staying with John and his snoring.”

John pointed a finger at you. “Hey, I don’t snore.”

You hummed. “Sure you don’t. What I have been hearing all those years must be the pigs outside.”

Jungkook was trying to hide his laughter behind his hand and doing a poor job of it.

John dropped your bag by your feet. “Do you hear her? No respect for me. That’s what I get for listening to your every whim for years. I’ll go to my room now and snore in peace.”

You giggled as John struggled to swipe the key card right. With an ‘aha’, he managed to open the door and get inside. You swiped your own card, the door clicking open at the first try. Both of you had been doing it for years but John was more of a fan of traditional keys.

The company had booked a suite for you, which you guessed was one of the best in the hotel. The door opened to a grand living room with white velvet couches and armchairs and a 75 inch TV. You took off your sneakers before stepping on the wool carpet, it was white with veins of gold running through it.

You fell on the couch, taking off your backpack and placing it on the floor. “I’m sorry for this, I thought they would book three rooms for us.”

Jungkook looked at you from where he was still standing by the door, his hands pulling at the straps of his backpack. “Why would they book three rooms?” There was a gap here. Hybrids stayed with their owners, that was the norm. You realized that was what he had expected.

“We are three people. I thought you would want your own room. I told them you would be coming with me for the tickets but they didn’t change the rooms they had booked.” You threw your head back and closed your eyes. “Everything is going so well already.”

There a shuffling of feet from the door. “I thought… I can stay with John if he doesn’t mind or… I can…”

You opened your eyes. Jungkook was looking at the floor, his ears drooped at the sides of his head. “What are you talking about?”

Jungkook hugged himself. “I don’t want to bother you.”

And it clicked. You got up from the couch. “Oh, bunny. You aren’t bothering me. I only wanted one more room because I thought that’s what you wanted, that you wanted your own space.” You didn’t touch him, remembering him flinching and pulling away, but you stayed close to show him you were there for him.

“Oh, I-” He flushed, not knowing what to say. You had been past that stage and it was unfortunate to see the shyness and hesitance come back.

“Come on, take off your shoes,” you said, motioning for him to come further into the room. “I desperately need a shower. Then we can rest. I don’t have to do anything until late tonight. Do you want to go in first?”

Jungkook sat down gingerly on the couch. “No, no, you can go in first. I think I’ll sleep a little.”

You stopped him before he could lay down. “Here?”

Confused, he looked around at the furniture. “Should I take the smaller couch?”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” you said. “But there is a huge bed in the bedroom. If you feel uncomfortable though, I could take the couch.”

Jungkook shot up at that. “No, no way. You have work, you should sleep in the bed.” The redness creeped into his cheeks again. “I would like… I would like to share, if that’s alright.”

You gave him a smile. “That’s more than alright. Come in, then.”

You were planning to make the most out of this trip.

♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩

Jimin had memorized everything you had said about checking and treating Hoseok’s injuries. He had memorized the pills he was taking, the salves you used and the times you checked on him during the day. Before you left, he had even looked up all the injuries Hoseok had on Google and read all the information he could find. You had told him Hoseok was well on his way to recovery and he didn’t have to worry much. But he was worried. He was very worried.

He had thought he had been ready, that he could do this. But standing outside their door, second thoughts were smothering him.

What if he did something wrong and he hurt him? What if he made everything worse? If he pressed too hard, if he used the wrong cream, if he wrapped the bandages wrong…

Seokjin would have been much better at this. He took care of them like a parent, he would have been a better choice than Jimin. But Seokjin was the one to cook all their meals, he had enough on his plate. Yoongi could have done it but… He had only glared at you and sneered something that sounded very much like a refusal.

Yoongi…

He hadn’t talked to him since the day he had chased him to the alleyway. The older didn’t leave the room he shared with Hoseok unless it was absolutely necessary. Jimin didn’t know what he had expected, but it wasn’t this… This stasis they were trapped in. He had expected someone yelling, accusing. Sharp words, that didn’t match the soft voice he had been used to. There had been none of that. Nothing at all. He wasn’t sure what he preferred.

Hoseok smiled a little at him when he walked into the room. He was sitting up in his bed with his reddish tail in his lap. Yoongi, laying in his own bed, didn’t acknowledge him but his dark eyes were burning Jimin’s skin when he wasn’t looking.

Hoseok patted the bed with the hand that wasn’t in a cast. His smile was smaller than it had been in the morning. Your absence wasn’t affecting only them. Jimin had heard you telling stories to Hoseok, you had done the same with Jungkook. But he had no stories to tell, nothing worth sharing. He hadn’t traveled the world, he didn’t have interesting and famous friends, he didn’t have a job or childhood memories by the beach.

Silence spread, only broken by his apologies every time Hoseok winced. He was holding back for his sake and it made his stomach clench. He left the room like there were hell-hounds on his heels.

The second day you were gone everyone woke up early in the morning, like all the days they had to be up early to see you before leaving for work. You might not be there but his body demanded he wake up and drag his feet upstairs for breakfast. A book was laying cover up on the table. One of the leather-bound classics you kept on the top shelves of the library. Namjoon read it at night before going to sleep.

Seokjin placed a plate of pancakes in front of Jimin. Pancakes were his favorite.

Belly full, he trudged to the second level.

“Good morning,” he greeted, coming through the door.

Hoseok’s fox ears twitched. “Good morning,” he said with a small smile. Yoongi remained silent, standing by the glass wall.

Jimin fetched the medical kit from the bathroom. Everything he would need was in there. “Did you sleep well?” He tried to make conversation. It wasn’t easy when he felt like he could erupt at any moment with Yoongi’s gaze on him. If he hurt Hoseok, Yoongi would never look at him again. Or he could do so much worse. But Jimin had already lost him years ago.

“Yeah,” Hoseok replied, fumbling with the blanket he was sitting on. “I had a weird dream. About being at the lake. There was a statue there and he was talking… It was good, though.”

There was a small Greek style statue on the half-empty shelves of the room, a Kouros you had explained to him. “It must be because of that.” Jimin motioned to the shelves. “There are pieces of ancient Greece all over the house. The first show Y/N directed was about Persephone and Hades, the Greek god of the dead. Greek mythology has a special place for her.”

“She talked to me about Greece a little but she didn’t say anything about the show,” Hoseok said.

Jimin opened the medical kit, remembering watching the episodes one after the next, hanging from every word the characters said. “The show is so good! I couldn’t stop watching it, I didn’t want to get out of the cinema room for anything. The characters were perfect, Persephone was so sweet and kind but she-” He stopped himself, cutting off his rambling. The cream in his hand was getting warm.

Hoseok sat up straighter to help his work. “But what? Why did you stop?”

Jimin startled. He could at least do this, he could speak about the show. He had watched the episodes multiple times and he had asked you so many questions, some of which you hadn’t talked your way around. Hoseok didn’t wince as much as the first time and maybe Jimin go a little carried away, but he didn’t make any mistakes and Hoseok even asked questions and talked with him.

The cat hybrid had to suppress the shivers the eyes on his back sent down his spine.

♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩

Greek gods, fantasy, romance and mysteries. That’s what made you rich. That’s what got you this huge house and more money than anyone would ever see in their lives. The Castle. Yoongi scoffed. What a pretentious name for an even more pretentious house, but that was the way it worked.

Yoongi disliked rich people on principle. Privileged, arrogant and self-entitled were only a few of the adjectives he would use to describe them. They thought they could control anyone because they had money and money made the world go round. Money could get you everything and that’s what they wanted. Everything. In long coats and designer sunglasses looking for entertainment in the most dubious places, feeding off the struggle of the others. Watching enraptured as others fought for their lives.

All of them were the same. It didn’t matter if they were hiding behind smiling masks or surface philanthropic acts. They were the same. And you were just like them. He refused to believe anything else. Despite how hard it was getting. But every time he was slipping, he would remember the pleads and rough hands. His resolve didn’t crack.

He heard all the stories you told Hoseok. Not that he wanted to but there wasn’t a chance he would leave him alone with you. Most of them were funny and although he didn’t want to admit, there were parts the corners of his mouth had lifted up without his permission. He was grateful for those stories, they made Hoseok forget. One rare time, when you were telling him about a disaster on set that involved three spoons, a maraca and a lost script, Hoseok had giggled and Yoongi’s heart had come close to bursting out.

Every morning and every night you would have a different story for him and it made Yoongi wonder if they were all true or if you were coming up with them on the spot. Not that it mattered, it made Hoseok smile and that was enough. Yoongi had found himself waiting for the times you would come into their room and start talking. You had a way with words.

And now you were gone, leaving them alone in the house, alone with no one watching over them like a guard dog (except that damned wolf hybrid, but that was another case entirely). There were a few things he knew about the world and one of them was that hybrids weren’t left alone in a house that cost more than his handlers would make in their whole lives. He didn’t like surprises and he hated how full of them you were.

Jimin had been the one to take over and you must have been somewhere in Virginia laughing at Yoongi’s expense. The younger looked good, his cheeks were full and there was a certain glow on his soft skin. Jimin had always looked beautiful but now he was ethereal. He couldn’t keep his eyes away.

Hoseok pressed a few buttons on the TV remote and groaned. After Jimin’s excitement about the show in the morning, he had decided he would watch the show. Jimin had showed him how to put it on but Hoseok was having some trouble.

“Give that to me,” Yoongi grumbled, taking the remote. He searched for the title among the options (there were too many of them).

Hoseok pointed at one of the pictures. “That’s it! That’s it! “Land of the Gods”.”

A girl wearing a flower crown was gazing at him from the screen. He clicked on the picture and the synopsis and the episode list appeared. “Are you seriously going to watch that?”

“It must be good if Jimin was so excited about it. He was so excited he got me excited.” A smile stretched his lips. Yoongi was weak.

“What do you know about Greek mythology?”

Hoseok shrugged. “Not much but I don’t think I need to. The show has to be good if it got her where she is now. I’m sure she must have been great at her job to be this successful.”

If anything, there was no doubt you were successful. He could see it everywhere he looked. One night he had been watching the news, Hoseok long asleep, and they had talked about your newest project set to start filming in May. One of the greatest directors of our generation, they had called you, predicting high ratings and large audiences. But success didn’t necessarily mean talent and Yoongi told himself he didn’t care enough to see if you had it.

Contemplating, he sat on the bed by Hoseok’s side. “We should discuss when we are leaving.”

Hoseok’s eyes widened, his tail fluffing up. “Leaving?”

“Yeah, leaving. You’re better, aren’t you? We should be gone before she comes back.” Yoongi threw the remote on the bed.

“Oh.” Hoseok’s fox ears lowered. “I wanted to thank her, it feels wrong to leave like this.”

Yoongi sighed. He could understand Hoseok, he didn’t want to leave either. He wasn’t stupid. Having a warm meal three times a day was more than they could dream of in the streets. It was more than they could dream of when they had a roof over their heads and murky water on their tongues. These few days Yoongi had eaten and slept more than he had in three years but it had to end. It was nothing more than a polished dream. He didn’t want your pity and he wouldn’t have accepted to come here if it hadn’t been for Hoseok.

“I think she would appreciate us leaving more than a thank you,” Yoongi said. “We don’t know how long she will be gone and we have already overstayed our welcome.”

“We… yeah.” Hoseok gave in. “But you should talk to Jimin before we go.” Yoongi stiffened. “I have seen the way you look at him, you know. I heard you that first day. He is the only reason we are here now. I can connect the dots. I don’t ask you about your past because I know it hurts you but I ask you this. Talk to him before we go. Jimin… Jimin looks like a part of your past that shouldn’t hurt this much.”

Yoongi clenched his jaw. Because Jimin was the most painful part of his past. Everything that had happened to him, everything he had been through didn’t hold anything to the pain he felt when thinking about Jimin and his delicate features. Nothing hurt more than the images of that night ingrained in his brain. He didn’t deserve to forget, he didn’t even try.

“I can’t talk to him.”

Hoseok scooted closer and Yoongi reached to steady him. The fox hybrid would laugh at him, he had the all clear to move on his own and he didn’t need help with something as simple as this, but he didn’t push him away. “Why not?

“I just can’t.” Hoseok raised his eyebrows at him. “Hobi, just let it go. Jimin wouldn’t want to talk to me, there is too much you don’t know.”

Hoseok turned his head away. “Yes, because you don’t tell me.”

“Hobi…” Yoongi placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing comforting circles, there were no bruises there. “What happened, it’s better if you don’t know. I don’t want any more people being haunted by what I did.”

Hoseok’s eyes softened, taking Yoongi’s hands in his own. Every touch from Hoseok was like a brush with the sun. “If you think anything you say could change my opinion of you, you don’t know me at all. You saved me, Yoongi. You saved me when I thought I was done for, when I thought I wouldn’t live to see another day. If you weren’t there, if I didn’t have you…” A shaky breath fell past his lips. He squeezed Yoongi’s hands in his and Yoongi squeezed back. “I would have never gotten out without you. You are all I have.”

Yoongi touched Hoseok’s cheek, nosing against his neck and breathing in the scent of cinnamon. “And you’re all I have.”

The first episode of “Land of the Gods” played as Yoongi laid next to Hoseok with the younger’s head on his chest.

♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩

The workers kept looking at you like children who had been caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar and it wasn’t even their fault. They had been following instructions and using the materials the company had sent. The one who had decided to forgo the safety measures because they were too expensive had yet to admit to anything, but a storm was brewing and you would watch until the end. They could say whatever they wanted about you but no one’s life was at risk on your watch.

You hadn’t been alone in the sentiment, most of your co-workers siding with you and calling meetings after meetings on the matter. You had taken it up to yourself to send a lengthy email to the president and were waiting for a reply that wouldn’t take long to come.

In the meantime, you were stuck with damage control. The meticulously designed sets had turned into ruins and rubble. A lot of expensive equipment had been destroyed and the replacements had yet to arrive. The first night you had a short meeting at a building the company was renting and then drove to the set to survey the damage. You had gritted your teeth at the sight of broken blocks like legos. There was nothing more to see.

You came back with heavy limbs and dust on your jeans. The air-conditioning was on and Jungkook was sitting on the couch watching a superhero movie. It wasn’t one you recognized, an older one than those you usually watched. You changed into your pajamas after taking a shower for the third time in a day (your skin barrier was set to be destroyed soon) and joined him in the living room. Neither of you had had dinner so you ordered food from the first place you found on the web. The delivery was fast and you settled on the couch, eating pizza and watching an old Samuel L. Jackson film.

Fortunately, the earthquake hadn’t caused any major disasters but you had heard that a couple of people had been injured. The most damage in the area had been to the TV show sets. That was alright, you could work on that.

Your schedule wasn’t much different from usual. You woke up early, the sun peaking over the horizon and showering the room in its morning glow through the thin curtains. Reaching for your phone, you turned off the alarm before it could start ringing. You woke up earlier but you scheduled it every night regardless of that. Jungkook blinked his eyes open as soon as you moved a little, he was used to waking up early too.

At breakfast it was only the two of you, John and the hotel staff. It was way too early for anyone else. Jungkook didn’t leave the hotel and you spent most of the day outside. The first days were the most crucial and therefore the most busy. Go there, take this, fill this out, talk to him/her. An endless task list. And there were a lot of things you had to figure out yourself.

“You should come with me today,” you said, digging your spoon into the bowl of yogurt. You ate a generous breakfast to propel through the morning.

“T-to work?” Jungkook stuttered, his hand loosening around the spoon. He was eating pancakes with maple syrup and you had a feeling about who he was thinking of.

You rolled the spoon between your fingers. “Well, you don’t have to come to work with me. We could drop you off at a coffee shop or a park if you want to. You can’t stay cooped up in the hotel room all day.”

John nodded in agreement. “I think it’s a good idea. You need some fresh air, staying in three rooms can’t be good for you.”

Jungkook dropped his head to hide his flushed cheeks. “I’m alright here, you don’t have to worry about me. Really.”

“But that’s what I’ll do at work if you stay in here for one more day,” you said. “You can go anywhere, there is a whole city to explore. And if I have any breaks I can call and I’ll come find you.”

Jungkook looked down at the pancakes. “I don’t think I should be out alone.”

“Of course you can. You can wear a collar and no one will say anything. We packed a few didn’t-?” Wearing a collar would protect him from the hybrid services, especially with your name and number engraved in the back of a charm. But you realized it wasn’t hybrid services he was afraid of. A hybrid alone in the streets could be an easy target, Jimin and Jungkook had been together that night and still… But it was broad daylight. “John could come with you,” you offered.

“No, no, he should be with you,” Jungkook protested weakly.

You exchanged a look with John, after years you were perfect at reading each other. “I actually think John would have a much better time with you. The only thing he does with me is follow me around and wait for the day to end. And it’s not like I’m in any danger there, I’m surrounded by a lot of people and some of the places have security so…”

“Or she’s trying to get rid of me,” John said, taking a bite of his sandwich. “Not that I’m complaining, waiting outside of those meetings gets very boring very quickly. Who will drive you?”

“It won’t be hard to find someone. I’ll catch a ride with Will, he has plenty of space in his car.” Will was the assistant director and he had been dragged to Virginia with you. When you worked it was rare to find one without the other. He had been with you for a few years and he was your right hand on set, he could get everything you asked done in a matter of seconds and often better than you could have done them yourself.

Satisfied, John finished his sandwich. “It’s settled then, I’ll go with the guy while you run around like a mad woman.”

“It isn’t so much running around today,” you mumbled. In comparison to other days, that was.

Jungkook picked up his fork again, his nose twitching. “Thank you, but I really don’t know where to go.”

You smiled. “That’s the most exciting part. There are so many places you can choose from. John knows the area a little, he knows a few places worth visiting.” John saluted with two fingers on his temple. “Is there something you want to do?”

Jungkook shrugged. “The park maybe? I would like to walk a little if that’s alright.”

“Fine by me,” John said. “Let’s reconnect with Mother Nature a little.”

You shook your head. “As if the sets aren’t in the middle of nowhere. They’re like thirty to forty minutes from the city, I spend most of my day in a car.”

“Stop complaining. It’s partly your fault,” John reminded you, which only caused you to complain more.

Jungkook let out a cute giggle at your bickering. He looked small in his oversized hoodie, it was a gray one this time with design of black swirls interwining and forming a heart. He would have to change before going out. He would melt otherwise.

They dropped you off at the set, having spent most of the thirty minute drive (John was a fast driver, always following the speed limit though) listening to music and talking about whatever came to mind. Jungkook had insisted on coming with when John dropped you off instead of waiting at the hotel for John to come back. He didn’t care that the drive would be more than an hour for him. You stepped out of the car, adjusted your backpack with all the papers and files inside and sent flying kisses to them while John rolled his eyes.

It was one of the good days, everyone was in a relatively good mood, they were listening to you and the conversations about the problems you were facing rolled smoothly. Will had taken over some of the most tiring tasks ignoring your protests so you were left to do most of the talking and the moral support part.

They worked quickly but there was no doubt that the sets wouldn’t be ready for filming to start on the initial date you had set, you would have to rely more on the sets in Los Angeles and film some scenes earlier than planned. Time was precious and you couldn’t waste it sitting around doing nothing.

Will was more than happy to give you a ride back to the city, you had many things to discuss on the way. You hadn’t been at this park before. It wasn’t the one you were considering for filming but it was just as nice. John had texted you where they were and you had typed the address in Will’s GPS. It was way past lunch and you wondered if they hadn’t left the park since the morning. That was a lot of hours spent in a park.

You followed the cobblestone path, tall trees framing the way adorned with green leaves and tiny flowers. Sending a quick message to John asking him about more specific directions, you stopped at a bridge arching over a small river and rested your elbows on the railing waiting for the reply.

You missed home in a way you hadn’t before. Home hadn’t always been Los Angeles, it had taken a long time for you to see it that way. It had been your hometown at first and that would always remain a part of you but it had been years since you had stayed there for more than two weeks. Home had been a suitcase and a vague idea of belonging for the most of your adult life. Being at a new place every few months, often more than that, you traveled and met people, you explored new places and learnt their secrets and culture. Los Angeles was just the base you returned to before you were gone again.

And then you had met Taylor and Zayn and suddenly you had a reason to come back other than necessity. They had become your closest friends and you held a new appreciation for the city because that’s where you spent time with them, strolling through the streets and going to the beach or staying inside watching movies or baking.

And through Zayn you had met Jacob and Los Angeles became more and more to you. The two of you had decided to build your life there together. That was gone now but the City of Angels had sneaked into your heart and made a home for itself there. Yet you hadn’t missed it like this before.

Texts and calls were fine for some time but not nearly enough. Jungkook was withdrawn while you talked to the other hybrids and Jimin’s voice got smaller and smaller every time the youngest refused to speak with him until he stopped trying. Namjoon and Jin tried to comfort him but the only person who could help was the one shutting him out. On top of that, Jimin tended to Hoseok’s wounds, the two hybrids were still at the Castle and you hoped they wouldn’t leave until you got back. You wanted to check in with Hoseok one more time before they were gone, back to the streets.

The streets… Those damn streets. Where Hoseok had been beat up, where Jimin and Jungkook had been attacked, where they didn’t know which day would be their last, starving or being beaten to death. You had done all you could, when they refused any more help, but it wasn’t enough. It couldn’t be enough.

A whistle made you turn around.

“Are you going to stand there all day?” John called to you.

“Me?” you called back. “How long have you been here? Did you eat lunch?”

“We went to a restaurant nearby, John ordered the best from the menu. I told him to wait for you but he said you would be late,” Jungkook said.

You ruffled his hair and he shuffled closer to you. “Late… I’m not late, I didn’t say I would be back for lunch.”

Jungkook chuckled. “When are you back for lunch?”

You gasped. “You have been spending too much time with John. He’s corrupting you!”

On the other side of the bridge, the path opened up to a large expanse of grass with a few trees sprinkled in. Jungkook had his sketchpad with him and sat down against a tree with pieces of black charcoal, a method he had been experimenting with.

Next to him, you pulled out a notebook from your backpack, it was your personal space where you could write anything and everything. Drawing faint thick lines on the paper, Jungkook told you excitedly about his day with John, who was sitting at a bench talking on the phone with his family.

A shine you hadn’t seen in a while was back in Jungkook’s eyes. You took photos and sent them to the hybrids at home and rolled around in the grass. He pointed at the clouds and what each of them looked like. There was turtle, an elephant and a vase, although you insisted it looked more like an Egyptian cat.

Jungkook came with you to work later and although he was shy and stayed away from everyone else, trailing behind you like a lost puppy, he was smiling. Fascinated, he listened to your conversations about the show and the sets and admired the designs. Your co-workers cooed at the cute bunny hybrid and he flushed hiding behind you.

When the day was over and you were back at the hotel, you realized it was the most fun you’d had since coming to Virginia. Freshly showered with his wet hair sticking to his forehead, Jungkook slipped into the bed next to you.

“Did you have a good time?” you asked. In the quiet of the night it felt wrong for your voice to be louder than a whisper. “You can be honest with me. I won’t take it personally.”

A small smile simmered on Jungkook’s lips as he turned on his side to look at you. In the lights of the city coming through the window, his chocolate brown eyes seemed black. “I had the best of times. Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me. It was nice having you there, it was… different. A good different. You should come again tomorrow, to the sets outside the city this time.”

“I would like that,” he whispered.

“Okay.”

“Okay,” Jungkook repeated in a breath.

It would be nice to have him with you. He wasn’t distracting you, on the contrary you were more focused because you knew he was there watching you, you wanted to show him the best of you. This was far from the most exciting part of the process of making a film but it was necessary. Well, it wouldn’t have been necessary if someone hadn’t decided to purposely forget all about the safety measures but you had already dedicated too much of your energy being angry about it.

Once the actual filming had started you would take Jungkook with you and show him the behind the scenes of how a TV show was made. If he was fascinated with this part then he would love filming. The actors were incredible and they had found their connections to the characters, channeling them at the table readings, it would be even better when they were in the costumes on set.

“I liked it,” Jungkook said. “I really liked seeing you work.”

You smiled at the bunny. “You used to see me work every day at the Castle.”

“But it wasn’t the same.” Jungkook laid his head on his hand. “You looked different there,” he said. “You looked powerful, like you could do anything. Everyone looked at you like you had all the answers.”

“It was a good day, I guess. It isn’t always like that. I might look confident and like I have everything under control all the time but that’s far from the truth.”

For all of your fame and the praise you received, you did make mistakes, you got stuck and felt helpless against some problems. Not everyone listened to you and you got into arguments with the executive producers sometimes. And you weren’t always the one who was right.

“Looking confident is half of the job, even when you don’t feel like it. It’s one of those situations where ‘fake it till you make it’ is a requirement. When you want to be heard you have to look and act like you are sure of what you’re doing, especially when you are a young woman at an important position. If you don’t, people begin to doubt you and if they doubt you, they will begin to talk over you and disregard your opinions. That was the first lesson I learnt on this job.”

At seventeen, you had been in charge of directing “Land of the Gods” and it wasn’t all smooth sailing, much less at the beginning. You were young, too young for most of them. You couldn’t direct such a project they said. They questioned your every move and decision, every correction you made and everything you said to the actors during a scene. They didn’t take you seriously until halfway through filming and even then they didn’t hesitate to question your authority. A constant battle of wills.

But it had gotten you here. You couldn’t complain.

“You’ve done so many things,” Jungkook said as if in awe. “All those shows and movies. And they are all so good. You are so talented. I could have never achieved what you have even if I wasn’t…” He left the sentence hanging.

You adjusted your position, laying on your forearm. “I don’t believe that, I think you would be marvelous at whatever you did. You have the dedication and that’s half of the job done. About me…” You let out a small chuckle. “I was very young when I started, I’m still young considering my profession, and I had so many ideas. I still have so many of them.” Or you used to, before the buzz in your brain became just noise. “And I don’t want to wait so long the industry gets tired of me, I have to take advantage of the light as long as it’s on me.”

“I don’t think they can get tired of you, not when your movies and shows are… like that. I couldn’t get tired of them,” Jungkook said. “It’s just- I’m not-” Frustrated, he cut himself off. “You work too much. I’m just… When was the last time you had a break? An actual break without working in any form.”

You opened your mouth to answer and closed it again. It certainly wasn’t this year and it wasn’t last year either. When you had taken a break to buy and decorate the house, you had been answering calls about work when you had been choosing the paints for the walls and writing scripts while you discussed floor plans. Break for you wasn’t a time you didn’t work but rather a time they couldn’t call you to the offices or the set.

“It’s been a while,” you said in the end. “I’ve got a lot of things going on, I don’t really have the time to take a break. I can’t leave them hanging, they rely on me.”

“Maybe they shouldn’t. Not so much.”

But that’s how it has always been for as long as you could remember. You were involved in every single part of the process, in every decision, from the scripts, to casting, to the set and costume design, to the actual filming, the post-production and the editing. Supervising and making sure that everything was right. That was your charm, that was one of the reasons you were one of the most sought-after directors in Hollywood. Each project was a part of yourself. If you let those responsibilities go, what would that mean for you? What would they say about you?

The air-conditioning made a small sound as the room reached the desired temperature. The setting wasn’t too low, a pleasant coolness replacing the stifling heat. The thick walls of the hotel kept the heat of the day trapped inside, something that would be very beneficial in winter but a lot less so in spring nearing summer.

“Anyway, I think we’ll be done in a few days,” you said. “We’ll probably be home by the end of the week. The new plans have been drawn and there is only one more meeting I have to attend and that’s more for appearances’ sake than anything else. The rest is up to the crew here.”

Jungkook’s smile wavered. “So soon? Don’t you have any more work? The people here seemed to need you.”

“They don’t need me, there is nothing more I can offer them. My place right now is in Los Angeles, that’s where they need me.” You nudged his foot with yours, your knees were close enough to touch every time you moved. “But that’s not what you’re nervous about, is it?”

Jungkook shook his head, hiding half of his face in the pillow. “I don’t want to go back.”

“Kookie…” You nudged his foot again until your legs were intertwined underneath the thin sheets. “Staying here won’t help anyone. You have to talk to him.”

Jungkook closed his eyes as if the conversation pained him. “He shouldn’t want to talk to me.”

“But he does. You know he has been asking for you,” you said.

“He stopped.”

“Because you never replied. Doing this, pulling away and ignoring him, you’re hurting him more than whatever you feel guilty for. You didn’t see how sad he was every time you didn’t show up for a meal or when he called for you and you ignored him. You’re hurting him and I know that isn’t what you want so why do you keep doing it?”

A sob clawed out of Jungkook’s throat and he tried to muffle it with his fist. Your eyes widened at the sound, instinctively pulling the younger boy into your arms. He didn’t fight you, holding on to you like you were the only thing keeping his afloat, hiding his face in your neck as the sobs he couldn’t suppress fell from his lips.

“What… What I did to him was h-horibble. I-I took adva-advantage of him,” Jungkook chocked out as his tears dampened your skin. “And I know, I know he’s going to forgive me. But I don’t want him to. He shouldn’t. He shouldn’t forgive-” A sob cut him off. “I don’t deserve forgiveness.”

You run your hands through his hair, scratching gently at the base of his bunny ears, something that used to calm him down. “Baby… You should let him have that choice, you can’t take it away from him.”

“I can’t forgive myself,” he muttered, desperation and heartbreak seeping into his voice like water through the cracks of a dam until it breaks.

“If Jimin can forgive you then you can work towards forgiving yourself. All I know is that you love each other too much to continue like this.”

♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩

It was the fifth day you were gone. Seokjin had been keeping track, the equivalent of another line engraved on the wall of a cell. He had been going to sleep and waking up alone in a bed that felt too large for one person. He had added more blankets and stuffed animals decorating embellishing his nest but it did nothing for the feeling of emptiness covering it like a veil.

You called every day and texted them religiously, it was more than he could have expected but much less than what he craved. Jungkook sent photos of the hotel suite and of every place he visited with short captions. Seokjin smiled as his heart constricted.

It was the fifth day you were gone and he was sitting at the large table in the back garden, drinking tea at the time he would have been bringing yours before you had to go back to work. Jin didn’t consider himself a clingy person. He was loyal and protective of the people he loved, he obeyed his past owners and he took care of them. But this was new. It had been five days, the number didn’t change but Jin felt like it had been much longer than that. When his past owners left it wasn’t for long, less than two weeks, he didn’t have the time to miss them. He hadn’t missed them. Two weeks. Five days.

Jungkook would be nagging at him by now, tugging his arm or foot or whatever part of him he could get and if Jin didn’t give in the bunny hybrid would sprawl himself next to the older with his head in his lap. Despite Seokjin warnings about getting splashed with tea or coffee in the face, Jungkook stayed there.

If you were back from work, a rare occurrence, you would insist you all spent that time together. Like a family.

Family. Such a peculiar word. It was one of those words Seokjin couldn’t grasp the real meaning of. He was a hybrid, he didn’t have parents, the one who had given birth to him had delivered him to the scientists earning a large amount of money for her services. His first owners had trained him harsher than a pet and treated him like a servant or a living piece of decor. It didn’t matter if he’d thought of them as his family to feel better for himself, they owned him and they didn’t let him forget.

He didn’t know what having a family felt like. But he guessed it felt a lot like the mornings before you left for work and Jungkook was bickering with Jimin about how much he could eat while Namjoon was smirking into his coffee.

“A penny for your thoughts?”

Seokjin startled, the mug trembling dangerously in his hands. Another hand enveloped his to steady it. “How do you do that? I almost had a heart attack.”

Namjoon smiled sheepishly. “You aren’t the first one to say that, about the heart attack. I’ll try to make more noise next time.”

There was only a tiny bit of tea left at the bottom of the mug so Seokjin placed it on the table to avoid any more surprises that could threaten its survival. “Are you going somewhere?” he asked, looking at the black backpack Namjoon was wearing.

“I’m going for a walk in the forest. Would you like to join me?”

“Like this?” he gestured to his casual attire.

“Maybe you should wear different shoes,” he said referring to the slippers he was wearing.

Seokjin was tempted to say no, sugar gliders might be native to forests but he didn’t have the same ease among trees. But he was tired of being in his own company and something inside him was screaming to go and be with his pack. After all, it was impossible to not give into Namjoon’s dimples.

“Okay, I’ll come with you. Just don’t lead us so far away we won’t be able to come back.”

Namjoon’s smile widened as Jin left to change his shoes. His sneakers were in a box under his bed. He had worn them only once because he preferred wearing his slippers in the house or the gardens. These sneakers were the ones he had on when you had gone to the lake before you had to go back to work and be away for most of the day.

The wolf hybrid was waiting in the back garden for him by the curtain of vines with the purple blooms. The mug was nowhere in sight.

“Ready?” Namjoon asked him.

“Ready,” Seokjin said, not paying any mind to the fluttering in his stomach.

Namjoon pulled the curtain of vines aside, the path stretching ahead. The forest was alive in spring, trees green and tall, creating shade for the small creatures roaming around to hide from the sun. And when a few sun-rays slipped through the spaces between the branches and the leaves, they looked like a touch from the gods.

Namjoon navigated the forest with practiced ease and Seokjin had a feeling the wolf hybrid knew exactly where they were going. He just hoped Jimin wouldn’t look for them while they were gone, but knowing Namjoon he had probably already told Jimin. Or Jimin could call them. Seokjin wasn’t used to having his own phone and often he forgot he had the device.

Staying close to Namjoon, he kept his eyes on the ground. A poor attempt to keep his tripping to the minimal. But the forest was conspiring against him. Roots, stones, sticks, everything he could trip over was in his path.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

Namjoon stopped, turning to look at him. He smirked. “It’s a surprise.”

“No, I prefer no surprises,” Jin said. Rock. He stepped over it, avoiding a possible humiliating fall. “Tell me where we’re going. Is it far?”

“Not too far.” Not too far for Namjoon could be totally different from Seokjin’s idea of not too far. “I swear to you we aren’t getting lost today. I know this part of the forest like the back of hand and I have a good sense of direction. See?” He pointed to the direction of a large tree on his right. “That’s north,” he pointed to the opposite direction, “and that-”

Before he could finish, Seokjin had tripped over a protruding root. He hadn’t seen it, being too focused on Namjoon. He let a shriek as he tumbled to the ground, scratching his hands as they came in contact with the ground fist.

Namjoon called his name but he hadn’t been fast enough. He grasped Seokjin’s elbows pulling him up so he was sitting instead of laying face down on the dirt.

“Are you alright?” Namjoon asked, kneeling next to him, and Seokjin felt heat travel to his face and his chest tightening. He had an urge to flee and forget that had happened. Namjoon didn’t give him the chance though. He took his hands in his, turning them over and inspecting the damage. Dirt was clinging on the flesh and Namjoon blew on them to make some it go away. “We need to clean this.” He pulled out a water bottle from his backpack and poured water on his hands. It did sting a little but Seokjin was used to much worse than this.

Thin lines were etched on his palm, none of them bleeding. His hands had taken most of the burnt of the fall. The pride he had been piecing back together hurt more than his body did.

“We should go back,” Namjoon said, letting his hands go. Seokjin mourned the loss then reprimanded himself for it. “Maybe coming here wasn’t a good idea.”

“I’m fine,” he said. He didn’t like the frown on Namjoon’s face. “We don’t have to go back. I don’t want to go back.” He cleared his throat. His face, neck and ears felt impossibly hot.

Namjoon regarded him with careful eyes. “Are you sure? Does it hurt anywhere?”

“Really, I’m fine,” he repeated. He put one hand on the ground to steady himself and get back on his feet. It didn’t work very well because as soon as Namjoon saw him moving he was helping him up supporting most of his weight. “It wasn’t painful, more embarrassing than anything else,” Seokjin muttered. Despite the low tone, Namjoon heard him and his face smoothed. “Let’s go. We will never get to that place you want before nightfall at this rate.”

Namjoon chuckled shaking his head. “If you say so.” Seokjin expected him to start walking but instead he laced their fingers together. “Is this okay? I don’t want you falling again. If you trip again I’ll keep you up or at least we’ll fall together.”

Seokjin huffed out a laugh, lightheaded. Namjoon wasn’t distant but he wasn’t open with his affection like Jimin or Jungkook or even you and feeling his hand in his had ignited something inside him he was struggling to bury.

They held hands all the way to the secret destination. Seokjin tripped a couple more times, the rocks and the roots were still there and Namjoon was too distracting, but he kept his balance. Namjoon held on his hand tighter whenever he lost his footing and he allowed himself to consider it for a moment before banishing the idea.

The walk wasn’t too long and as the trees thinned out a little, a few large rocks emerged from the ground. They had climbed higher than the level of the house, the forest and the lake stretching under them. On the side the Castle peeked between the trees and the road leading to the city.

Namjoon helped him up the rock while he complained for the sake of it. They sat down to rest and Namjoon offered him the bottle of water he had used before, plenty of water was left inside. Seokjin insisted they shared it, he had already used half of it on him anyway.

“You like being outside so much, you have walked through most of the forest. You go on walks every day. Why don’t you go out with Y/N? Or around the neighborhood?” he asked. Namjoon wasn’t someone who could be contained in a house, he needed to be outside, and the forest looked too small for him.

Namjoon crossed his hands over his bent knee. “Being in the forest is easier. I can’t explain it but it’s familiar territory. Outside the forest, outside the house, that’s different. I know the streets of Los Angeles, I’ve spent more time on them than I would have liked. And now things are different but those streets are the same. I don’t think I’m ready to go back there alone.”

Seokjin’s heart constricted at the reminder of what the three hybrids he held so dearly had been through. He was spoiled, he couldn’t have survived a life in the streets. But if he was with them… If he was with them maybe it would would have been worth it.

It was a dangerous world for lone hybrids, people were eager to take advantage of them and hybrid services were always lurking in large cities like Los Angeles. Going outside alone could be an invitation for harassment from a few sick people who thought they were entitled to hybrids’ lives because humans created them, who thought they were lesser. Seokjin hadn’t been allowed to be alone outside, his owners believed it was indecent and disrespectful for hybrids to walk alone or stay alone.

“Do you want to go outside in the city?” Namjoon asked.

Seokjin hugged his knees. “I wouldn’t know where to go or what to do. I’ve never been out alone.”

Namjoon nodded. “That’s alright. It was nice being out for Spring Cleaning, I saw the city in a different light.”

Seokjin smiled, for him it hadn’t been only the city he had seen in a different light. “I would like to go out one day.”

“I would like that too,” Namjoon said softly.

But Seokjin didn’t think of going alone. He thought of being with Namjoon holding his hand so they wouldn’t lose each other or an excited Jungkook hopping around with Jimin chasing him.

Namjoon’s phone beeped with a message and he pulled it out of his backpack to read it. A smile spread on his face at whatever he was seeing. Seokjin wanted to lean closer and look at what was making him smile but he held himself back. There were only three people it could be from.

“Jungkook is playing her assistant,” Namjoon said, turning the screen so Seokjin could take a look at the photo. Jungkook was looking to the side, probably at someone talking to him, carrying two folders and a few loose papers. Seokjin’s heart softened at the sight, Jungkook looked content there. Excited and a little confused.

Seokjin took the phone in his hands. “I’m sure he insisted on carrying them for her. Doesn’t she have an assistant?”

Namjoon nodded. “Yeah, Will. But I’m not sure he’s that kind of assistant.”

“Maybe she should keep Jungkook on set, he could carry anything she wanted,” he joked. Their bunny could pick up all of them without getting tired, Seokjin had been his victim enough times to know that.

Jungkook had been doing better, his messages were more frequent and he talked more on the phone. He had been doing better but Seokjin was missing him a lot. But he couldn’t be selfish with this, going away had been good for him and if it hurt a little that he needed to be away from them, Seokjin didn’t utter a word. He had heard him sniffling at night, covering his mouth to muffle the sounds. Seokjin didn’t know how to comfort him so he just held him tighter.

Namjoon sighed, taking his phone back and hiding it in the backpack. He sighed. “Jimin is hiding away again. He barely spoke to me before locking himself in the cinema room. I don’t understand what is going on between them. Jungkook had to travel to the other side of the States to get away. I can’t get a word about what happened from either of them. Jungkook says he did something horrible to him and Jimin doesn’t want to say anything about it. And every time Jungkook pulls back from him I can see how much it hurts them both and I can’t do anything about it.”

“They don’t want us to do anything about it but they need us next to them,” Seokjin said, looking ahead at the sun slowly descending in the sky.

Namjoon let the silence stretch before speaking, “I’m grateful you’re with us, that you chose to stay. I don’t like to think about how it would have been without you.”

Seokjin turned his head away. “I didn’t do anything special. I am not that important.”

A hand touched his cheek, leading him gently until he was face to face with Namjoon looking into his hazel, almost golden, eyes. “Listen to me when I say this; you are important to us. You are pack and your place is with us here. I’ll be honest, I was weary at first but you fit right in like you were always meant to be with us. You belong with us and we’ll never let you go or get tired of you. You give so much without even realizing it.” His thumb rubbed small circles on his skin leaving burning trails behind. A heavy cloud had covered everything around him and all he could see was hazel eyes. “All I ask you is to let us take care of you, too.”

And before his doubts could stop him he surged forward. Namjoon caught him in his arms, cradling the oldest’s neck as he hid his face in his neck breathing in his scent. Time was meaningless there.

♬��♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩

You were taking a short break. John had delivered your second cup of coffee for the day and a smoothie for Jungkook who disliked the bitter taste of coffee with passion. It was a mostly practical day that didn’t require a lot of moving around. You had been meeting up with people since the crack of dawn and discussing the best ways to cover up the disaster in a way that wouldn’t turn the public against the show or the studios. So far, you had been holding off any reporters from including the overlooked safety measures when publishing the news about the collapsed sets.

After being inside all day, you had decided to take a stroll around the block. Jungkook was walking next to you sipping his smoothie. He was wearing a simple black chocker with a silver charm.

He was telling you about a video he had seen on YouTube when your phone started ringing. Your nickname for Taylor was displayed across the screen with a photo of her pulling out a tray of cookies from the over.

“Hey, Tay,” you said.

“I called at the right time, didn’t I?”

“Just the perfect time, I have around twenty minutes before I have to go back. Work has been kicking my ass.”

Taylor laughed. “I’m sure you’ve been kicking its ass too. And better.”

You had told her around what time you would be taking your break. You hadn’t talked on the phone since coming to Virginia and you had missed her voice.

You stopped at a bench and Jungkook pulled out his phone. You felt a little bad for talking on the phone when it was the two of you but you had really missed Taylor and it wouldn’t take long anyway. She had been busy with Astrid, getting to know her better and helping her adapt to the new environment. When you had visited the hybrid had looked enamored with Taylor, you knew your friend would be amazing at taking care of a hybrid.

The conversation soon turned to you but you didn’t have much to share. Work was the same regardless the disaster but Taylor was more interested in other things.

“It has been almost a year since you and Jacob broke up. Don’t you have your sight on anyone? Any flirts? It isn’t like you lost the one and only,” she said.

Jacob had been far from the one and only. And when she asked, your mind went to dangerous places.

“Just because you found your man doesn’t mean we are all that lucky,” you said. “And how am I supposed to find anyone? I’m too busy.” From the corner of your eye you saw Jungkook turning to look at you with an unreadable expression.

Taylor continued, “Aren’t there any cute boys on set? At work? There has to be someone. Don’t bury yourself in work and forget to live. I’m not saying you need a man to be happy or complete, but don’t you miss going on dates? Getting to know someone like that?”

The answer came to you unbidden but it wasn’t something you were ready to say. “Maybe after the TV show, for now I really have to focus. After that is done and I don’t have to worry about anymore earthquakes, I’ll see where I’ll end up.”

You knew Taylor cared for you and she worried about how deep you threw yourself into work. Maybe there was also a small part that was still uncertain about the way you and Jacob had broken off things and the way you had avoided the topic like the plague for the first months. Like you and Jacob had never happened. But looking at boys and dating had been the last thing on your mind.

Ending the call with Taylor promising to text her when you got off work, you patted the small of Jungkook’s back. It was time to walk back. The smoothie was half-finished, the way it had been before, like he hadn’t taken a sip since sitting down.

You asked him if there was something wrong but he replied that everything was alright. It didn’t look like that was the case. He stayed close to you all day, more clingy than he had been the whole time you had been in Virginia, wary of the men who talked to you.

♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩

The blue sky and fluffy clouds reflected on the lake, a huge mirror creating another sky on its surface, a more vibrant but precise copy. No boats cut through the water, it was like there was a part of the sky that had made its home on the ground. Trees extended on every side of the lake, so many of them one next to the other with no end in sight.

The grass tickled Jimin’s palms swaying in the gentle wind. He breathed in the fresh morning.

“One day we’ll go on a boat ride.” Jungkook was sitting next to him, his long bangs falling at the sides of his face. “We’ll see every part of the lake, not just this. We’ll go everywhere.”

Flowers bloomed all around them, white and blue petunias, chrysanthemums and lilies. Jimin wanted to cut the most beautiful one and tuck it behind Jungkook’s ear. He turned to tell him but hands were holding the back of his neck and lips devouring his. He gripped Jungkook’s arms to steady himself from the force of the kiss. The sweet aroma of the flowers filled him up, engulfing every part of his being, the deepest crevices and the smallest of cracks.

Jungkook pushed him back so he was laying on the grass and Jimin let him, too drunk off the flowers and soft lips. Touches on his cheeks and his sides, caresses under his shirt. He was burning.

It didn’t take long for the panic to set in. With weak arms, he pushed Jungkook away. The air wouldn’t reach his lungs. The scent of the flowers turned stale and bitter.

“We can’t,” he tried to say but his voice wasn’t coming out right, sticking in his throat and refusing to flow.

Jungkook pulled back. His eyes were darker than before. “Is this it? Am I too common for his highness? You didn’t have any reservations about the panther hybrid, did you? Are you attracted to power, Jiminie? Or do you open your legs only for him?”

There were sharp blades piercing Jimin’s chest. How did he know? Who had told him? No one was supposed to know.

Two figures were hiding between the trees in the darkness the day couldn’t chase away. Your hands were crossed in front of your chest and Yoongi was standing right behind you.

Jimin took a step back colliding with the fountain at the entrance of the Castle. The house was looming over him, ominous and tall as if it could touch the sky. His clothes were torn, dirt and blood staining them. They were the clothes he had been wearing the day you had found them.

“I’m sorry but you can’t stay here anymore,” you said. You knew what he had done, you knew his dirty secret and he was paying for it again. He would be paying for it his whole life. A pain so powerful he felt like he was dying bloomed in his chest as rivers of tears rolled down his cheeks. His knees were weak. He couldn’t stand.

He searched in the faces of his pack, of the people he loved so much he thought his heart would burst. Nothing but sneers and gazes of pity. Whore, they whispered. Slut. Worthless.

Jimin crumbled to his knees. He was dying. He was sure he was dying. Spasms wrecked his body as he sobbed. He had nowhere to go, he had no one but them. He couldn’t live without them.

And when he thought it was over, that it was the last breath he was taking. He opened his eyes. His chest was heaving, his heart beating like a wild animal scratching at the bars of its cage. He was in their room, the glass wall looking out at the forest. Only the moonlight fought the darkness.

The sheets were restricting him and pushing him down, tangled around his body. Frantic movements born out of desperation took over his body and he stumbled over the edge of the bed, falling hard on the floor with the sheets wrapped around his legs.

And it overflowed.

The sobs and tears. He pulled at his hair and scratched his skin. They couldn’t know. No, they could never know. You would never look at him the same way. He would lose the only home he has ever known.

He wanted to scream. Scream until his lungs were empty and his body stopped shaking. Scream until he didn’t feel worthless and used like an old toy forgotten in a corner of the attic.

There were arms around him, prying his hands away from his hair and skin. He tried to pull away but they only held tighter until he gave in and sunk into their warmth. Blood was rushing to his ears and he only made out his name falling from the other person’s lips. He rocked in his arms, cursing himself and the world. Weak. He was so weak.

Fucking pathetic.

He gripped the hands holding him. He focused on the voice speaking although he couldn’t understand what it was saying. He choked on the bile in his throat, his body shaking with his sobs.

“Jiminie, breath. Just breath,” the voice said and Jimin tried to listen to it. He did. But it felt like he hadn’t been able to breath for a while. “Just like this. Breath with me. That’s right, like this. Breath. You’re doing so well, Minie.”

Spent, Jimin fell on the chest behind him, shaky breaths leaving his lips. One of the hands rubbed his stomach over his nightshirt.

“There. You’re alright. You’re alright.”

Jimin swallowed with difficulty down his scratchy throat. “Joonie?”

“I’m here. I’m here, Minie,” the other said. Jimin didn’t have the energy to look at him, laying his head on the older’s shoulder. “I’m right here.”

His breathing stuttered. Another tear escaping from his eyes, he thought he’d run out of them. “I’m sorry.”

“Shhh, don’t say that. Please don’t say that.” Namjoon’s voice was unsteady and it hurt Jimin knowing he had been the cause of it. “You’re alright. I’m always here for you but I can’t protect you from your head.”

Jimin’s tail wrapped around one of Namjoon’s arms as Jimin sniffled. “I don’t want to be alone. Please, please don’t let me go. Don’t make me leave.”

“Never. I’ll never leave you. We’ll never leave you. I’d do anything in this world to keep you safe.” Namjoon caressed his arm, moving upwards and pressing his fingers against Jimin’s left scent gland. Jimin’s whole body trembled, shivers overtaking him. Namjoon rubbed his nose against the other side of his neck, leaving kisses behind. Purring, Jimin arched his neck.

“I love you,” Jimin whispered, unable to stop the tears from falling.

Namjoon kissed over his scent gland and Jimin felt it everywhere. “I love you, Minie. So much.”

#bts #bts hybrid au #btscreatorscorner #bts x reader #jungkook x reader #jimin x reader #namjoon x reader #seokjin x reader #yoongi x reader #hoseok x reader #taehyung x reader #poly!bts x reader #poly!bts #bts fanfic #jikook #sope #bts scenarios #bts angst #bts fluff

2K notes · View notes

nerdzzone · 3 years ago

Text

Only For A Moment: August

Summary: A series of shorter one shots from Chris and Whitney’s life together throughout the pandemic. Some happy times, some harder times, some fluff and some things a little more sexy - they work through it all as they try to get settled in their new and blossoming relationship.

Chris Evans x OFC

Part of the Once Bitten/More Hearts series

Only For A Moment: July

Note: I’ve had a super busy day, but I wanted to get this posted so I edited it really quickly. Please forgive me if there’s any little mistakes!

Thank you to everyone who has liked, reblogged and commented! Hearing your thoughts really makes my day!

-----

August 2020

I think you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who actually enjoys moving - especially if that move involves a three year old who feels the need to be very involved in the packing, but is also incredibly easily distracted. And even more so when that child's father is almost just as distractible and, despite his insistence that he'd stay focused, does more to hinder the whole operation than help.

That was the situation that I found myself in at the end of the first summer of the pandemic because we were moving in with Chris.

While I was hesitant at first, it made the most sense and neither Grayson nor I were particularly eager to return to our tiny little apartment. I still felt that it was pretty early in our relationship for us to be living together, but we'd survived so far and moving back seemed like it would do more harm than good. Grayson had settled in nicely at Chris' house and another big change - like making him go back to having two homes - seemed like it would be very disruptive.

But moving came with it's own challenges.

After our conversation a few months earlier, Chris had told all of his most trusted friends about our change in relationship status. That came in handy as a few of his buddies - who had trucks - had volunteered to help us move things the last weekend of August, but packing had me feeling overwhelmed. I'd managed to give most of the furniture away - between our friends and Chris' family - but we still had way too much stuff.

It was on that Saturday morning that I found myself sitting in the middle of Grayson's old bedroom almost in tears. I'd packed up his mountain of toys the night before only to find Chris and Grayson unpacking several boxes the next morning while I was trying to finish up in the living room. Apparently, Grayson had wanted a certain toy that I'd already packed and instead of telling him to wait because he had several other things to play with that weren't boxed up, Chris helped him look for it.

He was trying to be helpful, thinking that repacking a few things would be easier to deal with than a meltdown from Grayson, but it had been a long, tiring week as I tried to get everything organized and their actions almost pushed me to my breaking point. I scolded them both and banished them to the little playground just outside the building while I set to work cleaning up their mess.

Almost twenty minutes later, I heard a knock on the front door as it creaked open. I poked my head out of the room I was in - ready to send the boys straight back outside - only to see Chris' oldest and closest friend, Tara. She was masked up for safety and knowing how sweet and helpful she was, she was a refreshing sight. I'd met her several times, mostly when Grayson was a baby and I lived with Chris, and she'd been a calming and encouraging presence back then so I was definitely relieved to see her during another time of high stress.

"Hey," I smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"I brought supplies," she informed me, holding up a tray of iced coffees. "Chris called and said that he thought you could use some help."

"You're a lifesaver," I groaned with pleasure as she put down the tray and handed me one of the drinks. "I need this, thank you so much."

"You're welcome," she returned my smile. "How's the packing going?"

"Not bad now that the boys are outside," I laughed. "It's pretty much all done, I think. You never realize how much junk you have until you have to pack it all up."

"Oh my god, I know. We moved last year and it felt like the piles of things we had to take was never ending."

"It's crazy," I agreed. "Especially with all Gray's stuff. I thought we did a good job of not spoiling him, but he has an insane amount of toys."

"I can imagine," she cringed. "But I have no plans all day so just tell me what you need help with and I'm all yours."

I thought for a moment as I sipped the coffee she'd brought me until I had an idea.

"Actually..." I started, feeling a bit sheepish. "Would you be willing to take Grayson for a bit? I know it's a big ask, especially while he's so excited, so feel free to say no."

"Are you kidding? I'd love to take him!"

I let out a breath of relief as I felt my body relax.

"Thank you so much. I really need Chris to help me carry these boxes and he's been so preoccupied with Grayson that he's been no use at all," I explained. "It's a big change and he's worried about him being freaked out by it all, which I totally get, but I need him to focus a bit too."

Tara laughed and shook her head.

"I get it, don't worry. I know what he can be like," she assured me. "I'll go down and get Gray now and send Chris up here."

"Thank you. You're the best, Tara."

She waved off my gratitude and insisted it was no problem before leaving me to turn my attention back to what I'd been doing before she arrived.

Once Grayson was in the safe care of Tara, Chris was much more useful. We were packing things with impressive speed and when it was almost time for his friends to show up with their trucks, we started moving things down to the lobby of the building to make the loading process quicker.

I was a tad nervous about the whole situation as I hadn't spent much time with most of Chris' friends and I didn't really know what they thought of me. I hoped they'd be understanding of our situation and give me a chance, but if he really had been pining away for me all these years - thinking that I didn't want to be with him - I worried that they'd think I was selfish and heartless.

Those worries, combined with my stress about getting everything organized, had me still feeling rather on edge. It didn't help that the creepy maintenance man that I'd warned Chris about was watching us like a hawk. I could feel his eyes on me every time I stepped foot in the lobby and the sensation made my skin crawl. I just wanted to get it all done and over with as fast as possible so we could get away from him, but Chris had clearly noticed him too and I could feel his annoyance rising as well.

He held it together until our last trip down when our spectator really crossed a line. I was bending over to place some boxes on the ground when I could have sworn I heard a groan of pleasure from behind me. I snapped back up to standing and looked over my shoulder to see the man with a smirk on his face and his eyes fixed on me. It made my stomach churn, but Chris was immediately by my side, his arm sliding around my waist. Before I could even question what he was doing, he pulled down his mask and then my own, cupped my jaw with his hand and pulled me in for a kiss.

It was a rather passionate embrace and I was surprised as he usually wasn't one for public displays of affection. Then it hit me why he was doing it and I felt a flash of annoyance run through me as he pulled away. There was a smirk on his face as he rested his forehead against mine, but all I could muster was a frown.

"Do you think he got the hint?"

I scoffed at his question.

"I think he got enough pictures to pay his bills for the next few months," I huffed, keeping my voice low so we wouldn't be overheard. "Are you done marking your territory now?"

Chris looked taken aback by my harsh tone and I sighed as I slipped out of his grasp and headed to the door. I wanted to see if his friends had arrived yet and get away from the creep, but Chris followed and wasn't prepared to let our conversation drop.

"What, so I'm not allowed to kiss you in public in case someone sees?" He asked once we got outside, his own annoyance coming through. "I thought you didn't care if people found out about us?"

I stopped walking and spun around to face him.

"I don't care," I snapped. "But I'd rather not give some pervert the chance to profit off of us just to save your wounded pride."

Even with his mask pulled back up, I could see Chris' jaw clench with frustration.

"He was being disrespectful. I was standing right there and he moans while staring at your ass? C'mon, he's a fuckin' asshole."

Another flare of anger washed over me as I fought to keep myself calm enough to explain to him why what he'd just said was almost as frustrating as the actions of the man who'd been ogling me.

"He was being disrespectful," I agreed, my voice steady despite my rising temper. "But to me, not to you! It doesn't matter if I have a boyfriend or not, he shouldn't behave like that towards any woman! I don't deserve to be respected because of you, I deserve to be respected because I'm a human being who has a right to feel safe in their own apartment building."

Chris' shoulders dropped as he took in my words and visibly calmed down, but I was still feeling wound up.

"Shit, Winnie, you're right," he relented. "I don't want anyone to treat you like that ever, not just because you're my girlfriend. It just pissed me off that he had the balls to do that even in front of me."

"So kissing me like that to send him a message was the best solution you could think of? Like, 'don't touch this one, she's mine'. It made me feel gross. I don't need you claiming me in public to scare off creeps, thanks."

"I didn't mean it like that," Chris insisted, looking slightly wounded by my scolding. "I'm sorry, I was being an idiot."

"Okay," I shrugged, somewhat blowing off his apology. "We should go to the parking lot. Your friends might be here."

"Are we good, Win?" He asked, clearly not as eager to let the subject drop. "I want to make this right if you're upset..."

"I'm fine," I sighed, knowing that was only half true. It was only half his fault though, the stress of the day overall was more to blame and, at that point, I just wanted it to be over so I could have a nice big glass of wine. "Let's just go see where your friends are."

He didn't argue as I walked off and when we turned the corner into the parking lot, his friends were all there lined up in the visitor's spots. I forced a smile despite the fact that it was hidden by my mask and waved as we walked over.

"Hey!" I greeted them. "Thanks so much for doing this. We really appreciate it."

"Ah, no worries!" Jon assured me. "But, are you really sure you want to move in with this guy?"

"Yeah, we were just talking," Zach continued. "And it feels a bit Stockholm syndrome-y. He confines you to a house and suddenly you fall in love? Seems a bit suspicious."

"Wow, guys, glad you're on my side," Chris laughed. "I wouldn't have asked you to help out if I knew you'd try and change her mind!"

"We just want to make sure we're not committing any crimes here," Luke insisted. "I don't want to be an accomplice to anything and we're all scratching our heads about what she could see in you."

Chris shook his head at their teasing and I tried to push our earlier discussion from my mind as I giggled and slid my hand into his. I felt him tense up in surprise at the gesture, but he relaxed as I squeezed it and leaned against his arm.

"There's no Stockholm syndrome here," I assured them. "It just took a pandemic and the constant threat of impending doom for me to come to my senses. I'm just lucky Chris was silly enough to wait for me."

Chris chuckled and leaned over to place a kiss on the top of my head as his friends rolled their eyes.

We quickly went over the game plan for the day once the initial greeting was over and as soon as his friends turned to head towards the building, I dropped my hand from Chris'. I knew I was being petty and sulky and from the sigh that fell from Chris' lips, he did too, but I couldn't help it - I needed some space to work through my cranky mood on my own. Luckily, Chris seemed to figure that out pretty fast and left me to my brooding as we followed his friends and got to work.

It didn't take us as long as I expected to load all the boxes into the trucks, but that was probably the benefit to having a team of strong men helping you move. Once it was all unloaded into the spare bedroom at Chris' place where I had been sleeping at the start of the pandemic, Chris broke out a few beers for his friends and fired up the grill while we waited for Tara and Gray to arrive. It was a beautiful, warm evening and perfect for an impromptu barbecue to thank all Chris' friends and it was a great opportunity for me to bond a bit more with some of the most important people in Chris' life.

Grayson knew them all better than I did, but we had some concerns that the lack of socialization would make him nervous around the now somewhat unfamiliar faces. But he put those worries to bed almost as soon as he arrived as he was the life of the party. He was thrilled to see the three men who were sitting in the lawn chairs dotted around our yard - in an effort to keep everyone somewhat distant from each other - and the cheer they let out as soon as they saw him made me think they were just as excited. They seemed to really adore him and he thrived on the attention. It warmed my heart to see the genuine care they all had for Grayson - it was wonderful to know he had so many people in his corner - and I was relieved when that care was extended to me.

Any doubts that I'd had about them accepting me were quickly pushed from my mind as they seemed to be just as eager to get to know me as I was to get to know them. They were all lovely, kind people and I wondered why I ever expected anything else from the people in Chris' inner circle.

They left as soon as Grayson's bedtime rolled around - partially because we were all tired from our long day of moving boxes and partially because we all knew there was no way that Gray was going to agree to go to bed while the party was still going. Once they were gone, he demanded Chris tuck him in so I tidied up in the kitchen while he handled bedtime.

As soon as I'd finished putting the last few dishes in the dishwasher, I felt his arms around my waist.

"Hey," he whispered in my ear, his chin resting on my shoulder. "Thanks for cleaning up."

"You don't need to thank me," I smiled, turning in his arms so we were face to face. "It's my house to keep clean too now, even if that's still weird to think about."

"Weird in a good way?"

"Definitely," I nodded. "It's felt like home here for a while now. It would have been awful to go back to that little apartment."

"It would have been weird for me too," Chris agreed. "I can't imagine being in this big house without you guys anymore."

"You'd have to move all your friends in," I teased, using it as a segue. "Who, by the way, are all very nice."

"Yeah?" Chris grinned. "You think so?"

"I do. I was a bit nervous about it," I admitted. "In case they resented me for how our relationship unfolded, but they're great."

"They never resented you at all," Chris chuckled. "Pretty much everyone who knows about our first night together was on your side about that and they've been pushing me to make a move ever since."

"Well, that's good to know."

Chris nodded and continued.

"They all really like you. Jon gave me clear instructions to not fuck it up."

I laughed at that, but felt a wave of relief.

"I appreciate their support."

"Well, you definitely have it."

Chris leaned down to press his lips against mine and I melted into his body, feeling the exhaustion from the stress of the day start to hit me. We stayed like that, just holding each other for a few minutes until Chris broke the silence around us.

"Can we talk about earlier?"

My stomach churned with embarrassment at the memory, but I nodded.

"Of course, we can. I'll start by saying that I'm sorry."

Chris leaned back slightly, just enough to look down at me with his confusion written all over his face.

"You're sorry? Why are you sorry?" He asked. "I brought it up so that I could apologize to you."

"You don't need to," I assured him. "I get why you did what you did. I just don't deal with stress very well and the whole day was overwhelming me. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

"You don't deal with stress very well? I never would have known!" His words were laced with sarcasm as he smiled down at me and I laughed, gently smacking his chest in protest. "But seriously, I deserved a good scolding. You were absolutely right with what you said, I shouldn't have handled the situation like that."

"I appreciate that you can see where I was coming from," I sighed. "But there is no perfect way to handle a situation like that, really. It's best just to ignore it, but then it feels like you're letting the gross guy win."

"Well, if we're ever in a situation like that again, I'll follow your lead," he insisted. "But I can't say that I'll just ignore it. I might just punch the guy out for being a creep."

I laughed again before shaking my head.

"And then whoever is watching will have a different kind of picture to sell to the trashy magazines."

Chris cringed at that comment.

"I'm sorry. Do you really think he took pictures?"

"I don't know," I shrugged. "But if he recognized you then I'd be surprised if he didn't."

Chris nodded, clearly getting lost in thought for a moment before he spoke again.

"And you really don't care if proof gets out that we're together?"

"I don't," I insisted. "I don't like the idea of some pervert making money off of us, but I don't care if people know we're together. It might be good for people to get used to the idea now, when we're hiding at home all the time anyway. By the time we can go outside again, no one will care enough to take pictures of us."

"That might be wishful thinking," Chris smiled. "But I'll do my best to keep you out of the spotlight."

I matched his smile and stretched up to place a kiss on his lips.

"I'm sure it'll be fine."

As I predicted, the creepy maintenance man did take pictures of us and he did sell them to some trashy magazine. The internet was horrified, the hearts of fangirls all over the world were broken and I was called every cruel name under the sun. There were rumours that I trapped him with another baby and rumours that I was a gold digger - just using Chris for his money so I didn't have to work during the pandemic. The general reception to the forced confirmation of our relationship was pretty abysmal, but nothing worse than we expected and at the end of the day we didn't care.

All the people who truly cared about us were happy for us and that was the most important thing.

September

Tags: @maggotzombie @moonlacebeam @mizzzpink @zaylaugh @flowery-mess @flowerjewels @njrronaldo7 @hockeychick10 @partypoison00 @theladybiers @sidepieces @firoozehmoon @patzammit @sparkledfirecracker @mytbel0st @chvntelle-99

#chris evans #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans fanfic #chris evans fan fiction #once bitten/more hearts #only for a moment

82 notes · View notes

penaltbox · 4 years ago

Text

two can play - roman ahcan

this fic belongs to @puckyess just as much as it does to me, if not more! if you like it you have to make sure you tell her thank you just as much as you tell me, which we both really need you guys to tell us what you think because this one was an absolute gem to write and create for you guys. if you like it, reblog it, let us know. thank you!!

word count: 14k (uh holy shit lol)

The bar is busy when you get there, but you manage to get in and get your drink. What you don’t understand is how you ended up flirting with this cute boy that’s all smiles and curls. He seems completely enamored with you and you even notice his friends checking on him every now and again. It’s one of those friends that catches your attention even more than the boy vying for your attention though.

You keep looking over at the other brunette, exchanging glances that feel like you’re getting away with something. It’s almost like a challenge to the other boy. He’s getting to look at you and exchange flirty smiles and smirks all while his friend has no idea it’s going on. It seems like a fun game to you and you let it continue the rest of your night. The friend you’d gotten to entertain in the meantime is plenty cute enough though so when the curly haired boy, Owen as you’d found out, had asked for your number you had no reason to tell him no. In fact, you gladly agreed.

You exchange numbers, thinking you’ll probably never see the cute boy whose attention you managed to hold while never exchanging a word, but oh would you be wrong. You’d be so wrong and it would turn into a game that almost ruined things for you between multiple boys. The initial realization that things were trouble comes when Owen invites you over to his apartment a few days later to hang out.

Unbeknownst to you, Owen had been raving to his roommate about how interested in you he was. Roman knows Owen is oblivious to what happened that night and he has no reason to pop the younger boy’s bubble, so he lets him ramble on. Roman gets annoyed, wishing he’d talked to you even a little bit that night, but he hadn’t so now he had to sit and listen to his friend have the time of his life with you. He really thought he’d missed his chance at you, but oh would he be wrong.

Roman had done the bare minimum that night and he kicked himself for it now as Owen showed him pictures on your Instagram. He’d honestly thought you’d maybe come talk to him after all the glances that had been exchanged that night but you were apparently just as stubborn as him. You’d also found him on Instagram through Owen and you’d be a liar if you said you hadn’t looked through his pictures a few times just to see that sly little smirk again.

As you get to Owen’s apartment the last thing on your mind is the possibility of his cute teammate being there. Owen practically breaks an ankle getting to the door when he hears a knock and Roman is two seconds from chirping him when he catches sight of you. You lean in to hug Owen and Roman immediately smiles at the sight of you. When Owen steps out of the way you two make eye contact instantly and he sees how your eyes go wide, but you match his smirk once again. The energy picks back up right where you two had left it at the bar. Owen offers a polite introduction of the two of you before offering to grab you a drink.

He leads you over to the couch and pats it before heading off into the other room. You mind your own business, thinking Roman was in the other room with Owen, when two hands press into the couch on either side of your shoulders. Roman leans down, his lips hovering near your ear when he lowers his voice so only you can hear.

“So you like to play games, huh?”

Your jaw drops for a second, skin practically buzzing at how close he was to you. You can feel the heat radiating off him, but you quickly pick up your jaw, turning to look at him with a proud little smile, “I sure do and I absolutely hate losing.”

Your response makes his blood boil with the anticipation of a good challenge. He had expected you to back down. He doesn’t get the chance to shoot back though because Owen comes back into the room with impeccable timing.

“What’d I miss? Are you two playing nice in here?” he asks, completely oblivious, but his question couldn’t be more fitting.

Roman laughs and it’s a sound you think you could drown in. He’d pulled away so fast you swore you felt a breeze and you can see him chewing on the inside of his cheek from across the room. Owen is all smiles as he sits next to you, handing you a bottle of water. Roman sticks around the entire time you hang out, continuing to steal looks and heated glances with you. He made no effort to hide when he’d check you out and something about it only fueled whatever it was the two of you had started.

He behaves, more or less, the rest of the night otherwise and Owen seems none the wiser. He slips up slightly when Owen slips an arm around your shoulders and he lets out a cough, but he quickly covers it by claiming he needed a drink of his own. Owen gives you a confused look and mentions that he found it weird, but he doesn’t bring it up any further than that. By the time you’re set to leave you can’t even look at Roman for fear of breaking into a grin so he gives you a simple nod when you get up to go but you know he watches you on the way out.

You’re left with a constant thread of thoughts that involve Roman once you leave rather than the boy who had initially invited you to hang out. You get home despite the daze you’re in and get ready for bed. When you crawl under your covers that night there’s a notification from Instagram and then suddenly another. You have a new follower notification, but more than that, you have a message waiting in your DMs.

‘Game on. I don’t play fair.’

You roll over and press your face into your pillow, letting out a little scream. You can’t wipe the smile off of your face from those five words and you know right then that Roman Ahcan really might be the death of you. He already knew the power he held over you so you leave him on read to send him a message that two can play this game.

It haunts Roman for the next three days that you leave him on read. He thinks about it constantly and the couple times he’s seen you are like an endless movie reel that plays in his brain. He’s pretty sure Owen has no idea, which he’s thankful for, because even at practice you manage to find a way to distract his thoughts. He was guilty of taking the frustration of trying to chase someone else’s interest out by checking his teammates a little too hard, but he had to do something to calm his mind down. He makes a note to himself after their last practice of the week to push the game along that weekend at the party. He knew you’d be coming but you, and Owen, had no clue what Roman had planned for the two of you.

When you show up to their apartment again that Saturday you feel his eyes on you the moment you step inside. You find him in the sea of people first, eyes meeting as usual, and smirking at each other. It was almost routine at this point even with the party in full swing. You throw him a wink and move your attention elsewhere, needing to find the boy you’d actually shown up to see. It worries you a bit when you have to actively look for Owen after so easily finding Roman in the busy space.

You manage to find Owen eventually and you give him a big hug. He really was a sweet boy and you had a lot of fun whenever you were with him. You get introduced to his teammates that are around and he easily hooks an arm over your shoulders to pull you into his side. Roman tries to shake his thoughts off as he realizes he’d been watching the door most of the night until you got there. When did he get like this?

He decides to try and distract himself by flirting hard with the first girl that comes up to him, but he finds himself looking over at you when he leans down to hear the girl talk. You’re already staring at him and you raise your eyebrows at his actions. You shake your head and quickly turn your attention back to the conversation you’d been in. He was bold, that was for sure. You were sitting on Owen’s lap, playing with his curls, and Roman still had the guts to try and get you worked up. Unfortunately, it worked too. Roman almost instantly lets the girl go once he loses your attention though, claiming he needs another drink despite his being half full.

He catches you out of the corner of his eye as he pretends to dig through the fridge, watching as you head for the bathroom. He follows you, waiting until you’re opening the door to back you up and shut the door behind you two. You’re surprised, but you recognize what he’s doing right away. He knew he had to catch you off guard and honestly, you gave him credit. This gave you both a bit of privacy for a second without seeming suspicious.

“Uh, personal space?”

He smirks, of course, at your question and pins you against the counter. It’s instantly much closer than he’s ever been, but his only question is “so what are the rules for this game?”

“Rule #1 is you can look but you can’t touch,” you say glancing down to where his chest is practically touching yours. You take your finger and poke his chest, pushing him away from you and trying to move around him in the small place.

He pouts as you poke his chest but steps back. You don’t expect him to give in so easily and you smile, thinking you’d earned another leg up on him. That is until he leans back against the door, blocking you in once again.

“I don’t really like that rule,” he shrugs, “so good luck getting out of here with that one.”

You’d never backed down from a challenger before and you weren’t going to start now, even if you should so you cross your arms and say fine and sit yourself on the edge of the tub scrolling through your phone as if you weren’t completely bothered by his presence. He’s shocked when you just sit on the tub and act so nonchalant. He’s supposed to be making you more fired up so he can win.

He frowns for a second but flips the lock on the door handle and walks over to you, “what if I break the rules? I don’t lose technically because one of us has to give up to lose, right?”

You’re lucky he has to turn his back to flip the lock on the door handle so that he doesn’t see you swallow hard when he does it. Just being in a small space like that with him had you on high alert but ready to give him back whatever attitude he was dealing out. It was an addicting feeling to have around him. He doesn’t hesitate to hover close to you after he asks the question and you pretend to think about it.

That is, until he picks a spot on the floor that’s dangerously close to your thigh to stop, but finally you say, “Actually, I believe you’re the one who can look but not touch, but there’s no rule saying that I can’t touch, right Ro?”

You stand despite the extreme lack of space between the two of you still and start to comb your fingers through his hair. You watch his jaw tense when you all but press against him and run your hand through his hair. As hard as it is to tear your eyes from the muscle twitching in his jaw, it’s totally worth it when you bring your eyes up to meet his and you see the fire that’s there. You have to play it cool because he looks so good when he does it, but you lose your composure when he grabs your wrist and tugs you the rest of the way against him.

“Remember when you said you don’t play fair? I think I may have to take that line and borrow it. Your rule then is that you can’t kiss Owen in front of me.”

When he grabs your wrist, you’re thankful to have somewhere else to look for fear that you might lose it right there in that bathroom. He manages to leave you speechless and walks out the door like he didn’t just rock your world. You have half a mind to storm right after him but that would mean he was winning and you couldn’t have him thinking that. Instead you walk right back out there and announce to Owen that it was probably time for you to go. When you see Roman catch your eye, you add “back to my place” just loud enough for him to hear.

Roman’s glad he’s thrown you off enough and he can tell you’re flustered when you finally come make your announcement about leaving for the night. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t enjoy spending time with Owen and (most of) his friends, but you were all out of sorts after the bathroom incident and you needed to clear your head. Owen is surprised to hear you say that and when he falters for just a second Roman steps in.

“I can walk you home and make sure you get back safe. I was just about to head out too” he smiles nicely and you feel like your eyes are about to pop out of your head.

Owen happily, to your chagrin, obliges, “oh perfect! I was just about to start a game of fortnite here otherwise I’d take you so this works for everyone.”

And yeah technically it did but now you and Roman were about to really be alone for once. Your thoughts are already racing as you look between these two boys. The options weren’t bad really, but could you survive this? Was it worth finding out who was better? Maybe you could see a relationship with Owen, he was sweet, funny, smart. Maybe you could see it if Roman and his big ego wasn’t in your way. You’re completely unsure at the moment, though you know there’s a little extra something when it comes to Roman, and you catch the eye of the older boy and his seemingly permanent smirk is turned on you.

Roman can tell he’s got you right where he wants you when you demand to leave. Admittedly, he thinks you’re inviting Owen back with you when you first say it and he starts to panic that he pushed you in the wrong direction so he’d stepped up with the offer to walk you, and only you, home. You have no reason to be mad at Owen, he has no idea what’s going on between you two, but your irritation with Roman shows in your tone when you snap a “fine” to Owen.

Walking out the door without a goodbye leaves him confused, but he figures maybe something is wrong since you’re leaving so suddenly. Roman has to move quick to leave when you suddenly do but he’s hot on your heels. You barely glance over your shoulder to see where he’s at but when you have to wait for the elevator he stands next to you as close as possible.

“You better behave,” you tell him, looking up at him.

“Scout’s honor” Roman says holding up his hand, but with that smirk you know there is definitely no honor there.

When you step in the elevator you expect him to stand as close as he possibly can without touching you like he did in the bathroom, but instead he leans his back on the opposite wall, seemingly collected and cool while your blood runs hot. The stare down he gives you is intense and makes you wish that he actually was close enough to run your hand through his hair again. You hate how easily he can cloud your judgement after being around him so few times. You weren’t sure how the connection between you two was so strong, but it had a way of getting to you before you even realized it.

“Are you undressing me in your head?” He crudely questions you.

Before you can argue back Owen shoots you a ‘let me know you get home safe’ because of course he’s sweet like that. It throws you off for a second before you scoff at Roman’s question in the small space but you do let yourself look, “you’re awfully bold, you know that?”

“That’s not a no,” he boasts, and almost on purpose you swear, runs a hand through his hair. He has no problem telling you, “but I definitely have undressed you in my head. I prefer to do it in front of your boy though.”

Owen’s text gets a second glance as you roll your eyes and try disregarding his comment. You figured Roman was done, but when he realizes he’s being ignored and seeing you smile at your phone, who he presumes to be Owen, that’s when Roman kicks it up a notch and puts the emphasis of his last sentence on “your boy”. You shrug, trying to not let him see how much it affected you, how much you wanted it… or him?

“Well I guess that does follow the rules....and here I thought you were a rule breaker, Ahcan.”

The elevator doors open for you to waltz out of, karma on your side for the moment. You can’t help but feel like you won that round despite him seeming to have it taken care of with his out of pocket comment. He’d noticed you let out a little laugh at the phrase he called Owen though and that lets him know you and Owen were definitely still getting to know each other and nothing close to official.

“I break rules at the right times though,” he follows you closely, tucking right against your side as you walk, “when it helps me win.”

You give him a confused look but head for your apartment. He breaks his one and only rule when you open the door to the complex and he lays his hand on the small of your back as he holds the door open with an arm over your head. His remark about winning has you starting to think about what exactly it would mean to “win” but don’t have much time to give it more thought because the feeling of his hand is burned into your back and the act of holding the door is also not lost on you. The touch gives you a little shiver that he doesn’t miss but he behaves the rest of the way to your apartment. When you put the key in the lock though he speaks up, “aren’t you going to invite me in?”

You’re not sure whether to laugh or cry at his question. You could either send him on his way with a ‘try again next time’ or you could go against your better judgement and let him in, surprising yourself and him. It would practically be a crime to shut the fun down after he walked you all the way back so a simple “if you swear you’ll behave” and a smirk as you walk into your place and leave the door open is what you give him.

He had hoped you’d say yes, but he hadn’t actually thought you’d agree so when you do he’s a little puppy scurrying beside you before you change your mind. You try to go about your business as if he wasn’t there, changing out of your party clothes into sweats and throwing your hair up. Padding into the kitchen, you grab a glass and turn around to see him standing in the middle of the room watching you. He looks totally out of his element now that he’s on your territory. He had just kind of tapped away on his phone as you went about what you were doing but you don’t miss the softer smile he gives you when he sees you come back to the kitchen in your comfy clothes.

“Are you planning on staying a while or?” You ask motioning to him with another glass in your hand.

“I think you already know the answer to that,” he says with a smirk. He’s slick though, so he grabs his glass and comes around the counter to stand much closer to you.

You snort a little at his response but pour the wine into his glass anyway and set it on the counter for him to retrieve it. You boost yourself up on the counter and watch as he leans his hand next to your thigh and decides that’s the best place to start a conversation.

Your brain speaks for your heart though when you suddenly have an idea, “I have another rule. For both of us this time though. No one gets hurt. We can be all fun and games with this, but you don’t hurt me and I won’t hurt you. Deal?”

He tried to busy himself and figure out what the heck he was doing here. Yeah he wanted you, he had already made that clear but what was his end game and what was he going to do now that he had you all to himself tonight? His proximity is so close you don’t know how he’s not touching you and the weight of your request hangs heavily between you two. It feels both natural and charged to have him this close, but he knows if anything, he’ll make sure to keep you safe no matter what. When you state that rule, all of his cockiness from before dissolves and it’s a surprise to you.

“I would never hurt you” he promises.

You’re probably a fool to believe him but the way he looks at you, you do. He feels comfortable though so you trust him, and how close he is, even with the added alcohol. Things only get more flirty and before you realize it he’s standing between your legs to talk to you, free hand on your thigh as his thumbs rub circles.

“So really, you would pick Owen over me? I mean he’s nice and all but I’m way more fun,” he says, and the smile he has is so genuine that you’re both starting to forget the game that was at stake.

You hadn’t exactly given in but you’d let him a whole lot closer than he was expecting to get already. You were both just tipsy enough to know exactly what you were doing and also not give a damn. His question, from what it’s asking, to the way he words it to the tone of his voice is intriguing. The smile is genuine, there’s no smirk. The way he chews his lip after he asks lets you know he’s a little nervous about what you might say. You said he couldn’t hurt you and he was pretty sure you wouldn’t hurt him but he didn’t want to be made a fool of either. It’s almost like he’s staying it as a fact, but there’s a slight waver to his voice, something in his tone that lends itself toward insecurity- truly wanting to know if you would pick Owen over him.

Does he think about what your answer could lead to? No. Do you have to think, even a minute before you respond? No.

“It doesn’t matter who I’d pick, the real question is would you pick me?”

You both knew there was an imaginary line drawn and both were working on seeing how far they could push that line. Roman has to take a minute to think of his response, but he’s sure of it.

“I would pick you, but maybe not the same way Owen would.”

You swallow hard realizing your request to not get hurt may be more difficult for him than you originally thought. In his mind, he stayed true to the rule of not hurting you by being as honest as he could in his answer. When he watches the way you swallow hard and sees the flicker of hope in your eyes vanish, replaced by a mischievous gleam he knows he’s in for it. You had to think quickly to defend your heart. He’s suddenly more defensive of his own heart than he thought when he sees the quickness of your shift in emotions. He swears it’s because he doesn’t want to lose, but there’s also a small part of him that could see you two together. He has to squash that down though or he’ll be in too deep, too fast.

You know you have to protect yourself so you go on the offensive, “I guess I just really need to step it up then. After all, you’re the one with the no touching rule you can’t follow.”

He frowns, wondering what you mean before you down the last of your wine and put the glass down. You turn your attention to him and slip your arms around his shoulders and start to play with the ends of his curls as you pull him closer. The fact that he has to chant “win the game” in his head to stay focused should be a good indicator that there’s more to it than that. You have to protect yourself because he had already warned you that he doesn’t play fair and his admission that his intentions were far from the warmth and safety that Owen provided was proof of that.

The frown on his face shifts into a look of content as he leans into your touch. Your fingers continue their movements as you still pull him closer and closer, gauging his reaction. You can see his mind working overtime trying to figure out his next move.

“What’re you doing?” He mumbles, not making any move to halt your actions. Instead of answering his question you lean in so close your lips are almost touching, his eyes fluttering closed.

You give him credit for not closing the millimeter of distance, “do you think you could handle sleeping in the same bed without touching me, baby?”

You’re both in deep trouble and you’re well aware of it but there’s also no chance either of you give in yet. It’s nice to have the chase though, the attention so solely focused on you. You have to watch it when you start to think how easy it feels to be so wrapped up and close with him even if your stomach hasn’t stopped flipping since he stood between your legs. He immediately opens his eyes at the question and you realize how close you two are suddenly. It makes your cheeks burn hot and the smirk on his face doesn’t help.

“Aw, do you need me to stay and make sure you’re safe? Or is this your way or getting me into bed with you on day one?”

You refused to lose and he shared that same mentality. You told yourself the contact was to get him worked up but was that really true when you felt your own heart race with every inch being closed between the two of you? Your cheeks were already flushed and you were 100% blaming it on the wine and not the devilish smirk he was giving you.

“Funny, I don’t recall actually asking you into my bed? Just if you could handle it, but I guess we both know the answer to that one. Now, why don’t you see yourself out.”

He raises an eyebrow at you, shocked at the move you’d managed to pull on him, “oh yeah?”

“I have a date with Owen in the morning” you smirk. Your eyes automatically flick to where, as you predicted, his jaw was clenched.

“Well then”, he says pushing himself from you, “I’ll be sure to remind him of that when I get back to my place.”

He wastes no time heading for the exit and he’s closing your door maybe a little harder than necessary without so much as a goodbye. Without him in your space you can finally breathe for what feels like the first time that night, but you suddenly feel lonely. You reach for your phone and finally respond to Owen’s text from when you first left and ask him if he wants to get brunch with you in the morning since now you had to make good on your lie.

The whole way home Roman curses himself for not just taking you up on your offer of sleeping with you, even if he couldn’t touch you. Who knows when he would get that chance again? He never let his guard down like that and got walked over but you’d done it so easily. He considers going back to your door but he can’t. Not the first time anyways. He gets to breathe too when he’s not all wrapped up in you with your hands in his hair.

Owen almost too easily agrees to brunch and you find yourself missing the fight that Ro puts up. You try and talk yourself out of it but it’s pretty obvious who has your attention now. In your haste to get to bed to end the previous day you had left your’s and Roman’s wine glasses on the counter. Owen seems to find them almost immediately upon arriving before your impromptu brunch date.

“Did you have someone over last night?” Owen asks you, his brows knit together.

You were in your room still trying to make yourself not look like last night had ever happened when you heard his question from the kitchen. You pretend to not hear him and pray that he doesn’t repeat it. What were you supposed to say? ‘Yeah, I almost slept with your roommate? And then invited you to brunch because I wanted to make him mad’? You had made Roman promise to not hurt you but you begin to realize Owen could be a big piece of collateral damage and there needs to be another rule about keeping him safe, too.

Owen brushes the second glass off, thinking it’s probably your roommate who had it. As you walk to brunch, he takes your hand and smiles over at you, “Roman got you home safe then last night?”

You keep your eyes on the ground as a little wave of panic runs over you but you manage a response somehow, “yeah he made sure I got here. Dropped me off at the elevator and headed out.”

Owen buys it when you give him a little smile. He seems happy knowing his friend did what he assumed was a good thing. At hearing your response though he starts to think maybe he should take that next step and ask you to officially be his girlfriend. You seemed to fit in his life nicely and he liked you enough that he couldn’t imagine you being with someone else. You make a mental note of mentioning that new rule to Roman and you wonder why it even has to be a rule at all. Why can’t you just let Owen go, harm free why were you still holding onto him?

Roman is so worked up that he manages to avoid you for the entire week but once again, there’s a party that next Saturday and you’re stuck locking eyes with him as soon as you walk through the door. The night is a shit show, to say the least. He’s got a girl trying to hold his attention and he gives it to her once he sees you. It makes your blood boil but you retreat to Owen’s side. It’s full of those loaded looks and his games are working, why couldn’t he pick less obnoxious girls at least? But he chose the ones with tiny waists and loud voices, ones that draped themselves all over him, their fake nails raking over his arms, gripping his thigh and running through the same head of hair that yours had been in last weekend.

Well, two could play that game. You made sure to be sitting on Owen’s lap and twirling the ends of his hair again, like you had with Roman’s. You even went as far as pretending to be cold so that he’d offer his sweatshirt, the one with his number branded across the sleeve. While you could tell Roman noticed, his eyes hardly left you all night even though he pretended not to care, he still made no move.

You wait for him to acknowledge you at all, or even talk to you, but it never comes. You’re one of the last people there when you make up your mind about your next move.

“I should probably head home now.”

You know he hears it and you leave it as an offer for him to repeat his actions from the last week, hoping he’ll step up again. When even your announcement to leave has no effect you take what’s left of your dignity and get up to go home. Owen pulls you back down for a kiss and as if on instinct you immediately turn your head to the side, his lips making contact with your cheek. ‘You can’t kiss Owen in front of me’ rang through your head. You feel bad as you stand up and see the hurt look on Owen’s face, his hands falling from your waist.

“I’ll, uhm,” he clears his throat, “I’ll walk you home.”

You don’t offer him any explanation for your behavior; you just nod, not catching Roman’s expression as you turn for the door. Your walk home is silent. O drops you off at your door, his hands hesitantly come up to brush the hair off your face from the wind.

“I’m not sure if I did something to upset you tonight, but if I did I’m sorry,” he tells you with a frown.

Your heart squeezes and you know how in the wrong you are. You shake your head, sighing. “you didn’t do anything, O. It’s me. I’m just having a night and I’m tired. Can we talk about this tomorrow?”

Of course he agrees because he’s Owen and you’re thankful that he’s so patient with you. He, again, is hesitant as he leans down to place a kiss on your forehead this time before he leaves. You give him a smile and he waits to hear you get inside and lock your door before heading back to his own apartment. You head right for your room and fall onto your bed, completely frustrated with everything when you hear a knock on your door.

You hesitate for a second at the noise, wondering if you were hearing things. There’s no way it was him. He doesn’t say anything when you first open the door either. Just leans against the frame and gives you that same small smile he’d given you the first night when you changed out of your party clothes.

You almost debate not opening the door at all, knowing nothing good can from him being here this late, but you know him well enough to know that he’d wake your neighbors in his pursuit before he gave up that easily. Your annoyance with him that night disappears the second you see the expression on his face. He’s grateful you open the door and don't curse him out the second you see him, he deserved it. Your stomach gets butterflies just seeing him there and instead of saying anything either you hold your hand out and let him take it before pulling him inside.

He grips your hand, well aware that it could be breaking rule #1, but he just doesn’t care. Right now he needed your touch and the fact that you were offering it after the way he acted tonight was reason enough for him to let go of the rules and give in. You lead him to the couch, not a word yet to be spoken between the two of you. You study him curiously, he’s chewing on his lip a sign that something was on his mind. You’re also aware of the way he takes you in as well. You were tired he could tell, but you also looked serene. Your body was facing his, your arm resting along the back of the couch like his, fingers tracing patterns on the back of his hand. He takes note of the fact that you’re still in Owen’s sweatshirt and makes a comment on it.

“Ya know, 13 would look a hell of a lot better on you” he says and immediately your fingers stop tracing and you pull away. ‘Fuck,’ he thinks ‘why did he start with that.’ He sighs running a hand over his face.

“You-”

“I know, I know; that was uncalled for,” he says, cutting you off, “I didn’t come here to start anything.”

You swallow the rest of your retort, not expecting an apology, “why are you here, Ro?”

You’re a liar if you said you’d rather wear the 18 on the sweatshirt you had on versus wearing Ro’s. You had a feeling it would just fit right like he seemed to on your couch with you. He’s so quiet when you ask that and it starts to make you nervous. Why ask that? There was no rhyme or reason to anything that was going on between the two of you. It was all based on feelings rather than any sort of logic. He turns to look at you then, wasn’t that the million dollar question? What was he doing here? His brain immediately goes to what he’d heard in practice earlier in the week and he remembers why he had to chase you down and get more time with you.

“I mean,” you start to ramble, “it’s so late. You could have just gone home. I know you were plenty busy tonight so there had to be someone who would have gone with you. Why end up here? Why are we even still doing this?”

“Owen is about to ask you to be his.”

Your heart sinks at his words and the pained look on his face is even worse. He can’t look at you when he says it and he’s back to chewing on his lip.

“He’s what?” You whisper, but you both know exactly what he’d said. Your mind starts to race over it. You had no reason to tell Owen no. He was sweet, thoughtful, and always asked you to hang out.

“You can say yes to him. We’ll have to call off the game but I don’t want to get in the way of you being happy,” Roman shrugs, though you can easily tell it’s hard for him to say as you watch his jaw clench immediately. It was a tell that you’d learned already about him that showed you easily that he was frustrated.

“I don’t know if I want Owen,” you tell him honestly.

Owen’s gut tells him not to wait apparently and he ends up bringing up that he wants to ask you to be his in the locker room one day. The words make Roman’s heart drop even though he doesn’t show it and it puts a panic into him. You two had just started the game. It couldn’t be over already. But he still didn’t know what it meant to win and neither did you, so should he really be interfering with you being happy?

Owen doesn’t want to make you wait but he also wants to make it perfect so he thinks maybe after the road trip next weekend he’ll do it. Roman’s head snaps up from his skates, but luckily doesn’t draw the eyes of anyone. That means he had about a week to figure his shit out. His mind kept going back to the night that he had mentioned Owen as your boy and the little laugh you let out. You didn’t seem serious about it then, were you now? Were you happy with Owen?

Maybe it was the fact that you’d thought the same thing about 13 looking much better on you, or maybe it was the fact that Owen’s sweatshirt just didn’t feel right suddenly you needed to take it off. Based on his demeanor toward you at the party this was the last place you expected him to be and his confession had you reeling. His words, the look on his face, the prospect of what Owen was offering, it was all too much. You went from tired to completely wired.

“Well you can’t have us both, and he’s giving you no reason to not say yes” he says. His nice guy act was coming at the worst time.

“I don't get you, ya know? One minute you’re doing everything you can to win my attention and steal me away from your friend and the second you actually have my attention and the opportunity you’re trying to push me into his arms again. This really is all a game to you isn’t it?”

Roman thought about whether you’d say yes to Owen more times during that week than he wanted to admit. He replays the night at your place even more often and he knows he’s fucked no matter what you choose.It seemed to consume him. How exactly had you managed to have a hold on him like this when he really only had one short lived weekend with you? He can hear how frustrated you’re getting with him and he hates it. He liked the flirty and playful way you two usually were, but he knew there wasn’t much time left for that with Owen making up his mind so fast.

“It is a game, but it’s not. It started as one but now it’s real and it got real so fucking fast. I’m not pushing you back to him. That’s the last thing I want to see happen but I don’t know if I can be what you want either. I don’t think I’m cut out to be a boyfriend or something,” he defends himself. You scoff because of course this was how it was going.

“You just come along and mess with my feelings then run away, huh? Must be nice to get out of this so easily without getting hurt,” you say, suddenly feeling too close to him.

You stand up quickly and head towards the kitchen just to try and get some distance between him and all the thoughts swimming in your head. Roman is damned if you say yes, he barely handles seeing you with Owen as it is, but he’s damned if you say no too because what would that mean for the two of you then without Owen in the way?

He shoots up after you knowing this was just the beginning of the conversation that so desperately needed to happen in that moment.

“Now wait just one fucking minute. You think this is easy for me huh? Always watching you with one of my friends?” he questions, moving closer and closer despite you trying to keep space between you both, “What about you coming along and messing with my feelings? and then going on dates with someone else? I haven’t had anyone else this whole time, but you, how do you think it makes me feel knowing you’re in the room next door kissing my best friend? Or showing up in my apartment unannounced, knowing you’re there for someone else? Or knowing I only get your attention when it’s part of a game? If you think I’m getting out of this easily and I’m not hurting well you’re wrong.”

You feel your confidence waver as he backs you against the counters but still keeps a few steps of space. You’re not sure if you’d rather have him completely in your face or across the room but something in you wants to pull him closer.

“Roman, I-“ you mumble, trying to figure out how to digest it all at once. You really thought it was all a game to him but the tone of his voice tells you he’s serious.

“You what? You get it now? You see what it’s like from my side?” He says, his voice dropping lower than it had been.

“What am I supposed to do now? If I drop him then what? Are you going to seriously go for me or are you done once the game is?” You ask, looking him up and down.

He sighs and moves closer, leaning his hands on the counter on either side of you. “Who do you want?” He whispers.

It makes your head spin and your stomach flip with the way he’s boxing you in but still giving you an out. You most definitely wanted to pull him closer and show with your lips the words that you couldn't get your brain to form. The thought of losing him if you picked Owen hurt you more than you wanted to admit, but the idea of looking like an idiot by following your heart and taking the chance on Roman just for him to decide it wasn’t as fun as the chase was warring in your head.

“I want-“ you hesitate, and it’s a moment too long because he cuts you off before you have a chance to say his name.

“Well,” he says, again pushing himself off the counter like he had last weekend “if you have to think about it, then there’s my answer”.

You feel defeated as you whisper his name but he’d already retreated into himself.

“No, it’s fine,” he says, stepping back. He blinks like he’s awoken from the stupor he was in yet he still looks lost, “I don't know what i’m doing here anyway”

He shakes his head and you don't miss the frustration and wholehearted truth in his voice. Whether he was talking about physically being at your place or his lack of control of the situation, you weren’t really sure.

“I’ll see ya around I guess”, he mumbles before he heads for the door.

Having Roman close felt right, that much you were sure of. You feel safe and excited and it feels the way you think it would with someone you trust, but he’s so quick to pull away sometimes and it stresses you out because you don’t want to be the one reaching but you want the comfort that having him close causes. You knew Owen wasn’t who you wanted. You’d pick Roman if you had to. Ro knows too but he won’t push you one way or another so when he walks away you freeze, but a little cry bubbles out when the door closes. You rush over and open it, looking for him.

“Wait!” You call, thinking he’s farther but he’s smugly leaning against the wall next to your door.

“Yes?” He asks, a little smirk on his face. He knew you’d come after him, or at least, he hoped.

Good Lord this boy was dangerous, but he also held some kind of home in him for you too. You knew you needed to swallow your pride and go after him, to save everyone the pain, but your confession disappears from your lips as soon as you see the smug look on his face.

Nope, you shouldn't do this, you really shouldn't and yet the words tumble from your mouth “Tell Owen I said yes.”

The smirk falls from his face immediately and so does his heart when he hears you say those five words. You had to be bluffing.

“You think I believe that? You wouldn’t even kiss him tonight because I told you not to. You’re not fooling me, honey”, he sneers.

You try not to grimace, remembering the exact reason you had dodged Owen’s lips tonight. By now he had pushed himself from his position on the wall, invading your space once again.

He leans down and in a low voice that sends shivers down your spine he says, “you’re all mine.”

It takes everything in you to not grab a hold of his shirt and shove him back against the wall. Instead you grab a fistful of his shirt and pull him down so that he’s face to face with you.

“Try me” you challenge him, holding his gaze a second too long.

Before he even realizes it, you shove him back, slamming the door in his stunned face. That would be one message he would not be delivering. Roman can’t help but laugh at the way you sent him off. He’s not even mad that you slammed a door in his face because the energy between you two was back and that gives him hope. He’s fired up, but in a good way this time. He felt like himself again, this was his element.

You, on the other hand, were still trying to process what the hell just happened. Everything from how close you had been to just giving in, the tone of his voice, those three words would never leave your mind, you were sure of it. You had to lean on the door and get your bearings back though after the way everything had gone. Your emotions were a mess and your thoughts were even messier.

You see him only a few days later too when you’re over at Owen’s and he comes barging into the apartment. The smirk he throws you when he sees you is enough to get you worked up and he’s well aware of it. At this point he shouldn’t be surprised to see you, parked on his couch and his stomach shouldn’t be doing flips either. But he’s excited all the same. He tries to play things off as friendly when he comes and sits next to you on the couch, thigh right against yours, but he turns his attention to Owen.

“What did you think of that last drill at practice?” He asks, looking across you to Owen and the slight turn of the corner of his lips lets you know he’s ignoring you on purpose.

“Oh you mean the drill where Coach said no contact and you cross checked me into Robbie? It was so much fun,” Owen says, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

You raise an accusatory eyebrow at Roman who just holds his hands up in defense.

“Cole pushed me into you, and you could’ve, I don't know, been a little stronger in front of the net and stayed on your feet.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it. Now my back hurts,” Owen pouts.

Roman just shrugs, examining his nails like he’s suddenly bored with the conversation. You, however, see the perfect opportunity in front of you.

“Awh, O. Why don't you take off your sweatshirt? I’ll massage you and then we’ll get you the heating pad,” you offer with a sweet smile.

Owen accepts easily, smiling as he slides off his sweatshirt and laying face down on the floor, “that would be amazing, you’re the best.”

You smirk as you straddle his hips and lock eyes with Roman, “I know”.

Roman just shakes his head at you, you knew exactly what you were doing. You frown as your eyes catch the long horizontal bruise that was already forming across Owen’s back. He wasn’t kidding when he said Roman roughed him up. You’re careful to press around the bruise, forgetting for a second about the man sitting feet away watching you as you felt Owen’s muscles flex beneath your touch. Roman on the other hand was completely focused on you and the way your hands were touching his teammate. When Owen lets out what’s pretty close to a moan along with an ‘oh my god’, you shift your gaze back to Roman with a smirk.

“That feel good, baby?” you ask, staring at Roman.

At this point he was chewing on his cheek so hard he was surprised he couldn’t taste blood. He was so fucked.

“So fucking good,” Owen breathes out, oblivious to the exchange going on above him.

Roman can’t take anymore of this show and he’s way too turned on. You swear you hear him growl when he pushes himself off the couch and storms past you.

Apparently Owen hears it too because he lifts his head to ask, “what’s his problem?”

You just laugh and shake your head, “no clue.”

Your eyes follow him to his room, amused that your spur of the moment idea had worked so well. Later on as you’re in the kitchen, about to start doing dishes with Owen, Roman takes an opportunity to pounce when the younger boy mentions he needs to plug his phone in as it dies from playing music through the bluetooth speaker. You roll your eyes as you see him approach, popping the last bite of your dinner in your mouth before shuffling around the counter to put the plate in the sink.

“You really came to play today, huh?” he smirks leaning on his elbows on the counter across from you.

His question, well not so much the question itself but the way he says it and looks at you has you choking on your food.

His smirk grows as he slinks around the counter to stand close behind you. “Ya know”, he breathes, his lips finding your ear, “that’s one of the few times I’ve made you speechless,” his arm snaking up your front until his hand is just hovering around your throat, “want to see if another way works just as well?”

He’s got you all worked up he knows it, forcing you to drop the news, “you better behave because I’m spending the night and he doesn’t need to find out.”

“I’m not breaking any rules here, am I?” He challenges.

You hate that he’s not, that you can feel him just barely touching you, but can’t actually feel his hand around your throat.

You can’t help but laugh a little, your senses working on overdrive with how close he is, “kinda wish you would but I don’t think O would appreciate that.”

He gives in, wrapping his hand around your neck and leaning as close as he can, “just remember whose you really are.”

You gasp at the feeling of his hand on your throat and just as fast as he’d shown up, he’s gone. Your cheeks are bright red and Owen gives you a concerned look as he comes back into the room.

“Are you okay? You look really warm. Maybe you should go sit down and I’ll finish cleaning up.”

You nod, giving him a tight smile, and head for the couch. Luckily Roman stays in his own room for the rest of the night but you do bump into him as he’s leaving the bathroom and you’re heading in. He’s changed into some shorts for bed and nothing more, giving you plenty to look at. He leans against the doorframe, keeping you from going in and you make no effort to move him.

“It’s rude to stare,” he smirks, “but you’re welcome for the show.”

“Oh get over yourself,” you say, but the playful eye roll you give him makes him smile. You, maybe on purpose, bump into him as you walk past each other in opposite directions. You knew you’d be thinking about how good he looked later despite sharing a different bed in that apartment.

You both lay there that night, thinking about each other without being any wiser of the other’s thoughts.

You, of the feeling of his hand, the warmth of his body even as you just bumped into him and the little “show” he’d put on just for you.

Him, of the sight of his hand around your throat and the way your eyes instantly fluttered closed at his grip, the way you took him in when he stopped you from entering the bathroom, and the playful eye roll that still brought a smile to his lips even was he lay in bed with you in the next room sleeping with his teammate.

It’s the middle of the night when you swear you hear your name. Owen is sound asleep next to you but you hear it again and this time it’s accompanied with a “please don’t go” and it sounds so distressed. The tone of it makes you nervous and you pick your head up, trying desperately to hear it better. You thought you knew who it was but you swear you must be wrong.

You get up and figure out that it is, in fact, coming from Ro’s room next door. You open his door and are so taken aback by the glow of the stars being thrown across his ceiling from the light projector on his dresser. It catches you off guard, making you look all across the room. Something about it makes your heart tug in a way it hadn’t before with him.

You almost forget why you were in there until he whimpers again, the words “don’t leave me” and your name again tumbling from his lips. You make your way towards his bed to try and wake him from his nightmare, making sure to shut the door behind you. You didn’t need Owen stumbling in on whatever would happen next.

“Ro, baby, wake up,” you whisper, trying to shake him awake without startling him.

He finally comes to with a jolt, reaching out and gripping onto your arms for dear life. The wild, terrified look in his eyes shifts to relief when he sees that you’re really there with him unlike in his dream and he starts to relax. He swallows hard and focuses finally, looking up at you.

“You’re here,” he whispers and pulls you onto the bed with him.

You instantly crawl into him, wanting nothing more than to comfort him. The same as it was on the couch other nights, he just fits his body with yours seamlessly. You end up holding him, your fingers brushing his hair off his forehead that was covered in a thin layer of sweat. His chest was still heaving up and down, breathless from whatever it was that had him so distressed.

“Shhhh, it was just a nightmare, Ro. I’m here,” you whisper to him.

He sighs into your chest and mumbles, “not for long.”

You wonder if he can feel the way his words make your chest squeeze.

“Do you want to talk about it?” You ask him gently. You feel him shake his head against your chest, still tucked in against you.

“I just want you to stay with me” he says softly, peering up at you and who are you to say no to that?

“Whatever you want, Ro”, you reassure him, and when you think he’s finally asleep from you rubbing his back you add “I’m all yours.”

It’s easy for you to end up falling asleep and you’re completely alarmed when you wake up in his room. He’s not there next to you though and you hate that you automatically frown. Last night was well past the standard of how the game had been going and it had to break every rule you’d both set out. When you go into the kitchen though, there’s already coffee and a bagel waiting on the counter for you along with a very sheepish looking Roman.

“I, uhm, figured you might want this since I kept you up last night,” he says rubbing the back of his neck. He looks slightly embarrassed and you have to admit it looks cute on him.

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” you mutter under your breath, trying to bite back a grin, or at least you think you do.

He chuckles and a smirk forms on his face, “and it won’t be the last.”

He winks at you when you glance over at him, making you nearly choke on your bagel just as Owen emerges from his bedroom.He eyes the coffee and bagel suspiciously but Roman has a lie ready and waiting.

“I got sick last night and she stayed up with me,” he explains, looking over at you with a soft smile. You can’t look at him or you know you’ll start blushing so you opt for a sip of your coffee.

“Oh okay,” Owen says but you all know he doesn’t believe it.

Your nerves start to kick in that he’s going to call you out but instead he kisses your cheek and asks if you want to hang out longer or go back to your place. The question seems loaded. If you go back to your place and Roman leaves for any reason then you’ll both seem guilty. If you stay then you’re still subject to being around him and with the way he was pushing boundaries with Owen only a room away was getting dangerous.

You pretend to think about it for a second before deciding you probably needed some fresh air, “I’ll probably head out in a few minutes. I have some cleaning I need to do at home.”

The answer seems to tide Owen over more than you expected and when he turns to grab a water from the fridge Ro shoots you a wicked grin. For once you credit Roman’s quick thinking, though since Owen doesn’t even bother asking how Roman’s feeling now, you can tell he doesn’t buy it. It’s the second time he’s ever had that gut feeling and both times it’s been associated with you, but you wouldn’t actually stand here in his kitchen and lie to him, so he brushes it off. You do the, obviously, mature thing and stick your tongue out at Ro and it’s so playful that he breaks out into a real smile, one that makes your heart skip a beat. Owen turns back to you and asks if you want him to walk you home to which you accept.

“Yeah, I'd like that,” you say, hoping on the way he’ll charm you out of thinking about the boy whose smile has fallen behind him.

Roman wants to kick himself when you and Owen leave. He’s stuck watching someone else get you when he’s trying so hard to win you over. His mind keeps flashing back to you waking him up from the nightmare and he can’t shake how good it felt to have you there when he needed you. He swears he can still feel your fingers brushing the hair off his forehead and he hates that he couldn’t just pull you into his arms again that morning.

You always left him in a whirlwind. One second he’d be throwing some flirty line at you for sake of the game and the next thing he knows he’s thinking about waking up in your arms while you walk out on him with someone else, just like in his dream. You had shown no judgement of him and it was like you already knew him so well when you didn’t push him to talk about it. You were so gentle with him, so comforting.He figures he has to give it one last effort. He hated losing and there was a lot more than usual on the line with this one.

Owen holds your hand the whole way back to your apartment and even holds the doors open. You want it to have the same effect as when Roman did it, but it just didn’t. You let out a big sigh in the elevator, making Owen give you a worried look.

“Everything okay? I’m sorry you didn’t get much sleep last night,” he says, an admittedly adorable smile crossing his face.

You return the smile and shrug, “I’m okay, just tired. I think I’ll probably take a nap before I get going on some stuff.”

“Did you need someone to stay and keep you company?” He asks, his smile turning to a smirk and really you had no reason to say no.

Except this nagging voice in the back of your head that sounded exactly like a boy you’d just spent the night with. It sounded so similar to Roman asking ‘do you need me to stay and make sure you’re safe?’ except this time there was no ‘or is this your way or getting me into bed with you on day one’ attached to the end. He really had a hold on you. Maybe Owen had just what you needed to shake that, even though you doubted it.

“You better behave,” you tell him, pulling him inside.

You hate that that line is recycled too and it just doesn’t feel right when it’s directed at the wrong boy. When Owen doesn't return home from the 8 minute walk back from your place right away Roman starts to worry. That would mean he’s still with you, at your place. Had you just wanted to get away from him he wondered? No, you seemed just fine before you left. But he had crossed a line last night, had he gone too far? It was eating away at him. What if Owen chose to skip ahead in his plan and ask you to be his now instead of waiting until after the road trip this weekend instead of after? His heart was racing as he began to think of that possibility.

Against his better judgement, he pulled up your contact and hit call. Your phone ringing has Owen pausing his pursuit of leaving marks all over your neck and you whine, pulling him back to you.

“Just hit ignore” you groan and he agrees, reaching for your phone.

He hovers over you again with a weird look on his face, “Uhm, why is Roman calling you?”

You want to hide even though you don't know why he's calling, but you do know that Owen is close enough to hear whatever he’s about to say to you as you pick up the phone.

“Uhh, Ro?” you answer nervously.

He sucks in a breath when you answer with his nickname. You also sound out of breath and he tries to make his mind dance away from whatever the possibility is for the reason behind that.

“Hi,” he says and you swear you can see the smirk on his face. You have to stop yourself from smiling as Owen watches you closely.

“What does he want?” Owen mouths to you, getting annoyed.

“Did you need something?” you ask him.

Shit. In his haste he hadn’t even thought about what he was going to say, but he bluffs enough to make something up, “yeah, uhm, I just wanted to know if Owen was with you?”

You can tell that there was more to that question but you can't get into it with Owen right there so you hand the phone over.

“Are you serious, dude? I'm kind of in the middle of something. Can you just check the schedule or call Ty or something?” he snaps and he hangs up. You curiously raise your eyebrows at him, you’d rarely seen him snippy like that.

“He literally wanted to know what time we leave for Minny tomorrow. Like, I don’t know. We got the schedule last week, go check it. Why is he calling you of all people to ask about the schedule? He’s been acting so weird lately,” Owen huffs.

But you had a feeling as to why he called. To let you know that time was just about up.

Your stomach sinks when you realize how close things were to you having to make a decision. Sure the game was still going but you still had a rule of not letting Owen get hurt and that was starting to seem harder and harder. You suddenly feel too overwhelmed by having him there and when he leans down to kiss you again you press your hands to his chest.

He freezes and gives you a weird look, “one phone call and you’re not in the mood anymore?”

“Owen...” you sigh, not wanting to argue.

“No, it’s okay. I won’t make you, you know that,” he rolls off you and sits on the edge of the bed. His head hangs a little and you sit up next to him, rubbing his back gently.

“Good luck in Minnesota, by the way. I know you guys can win those games,” you try and reassure him of at least one thing in his life.

He looks over at you with a little smile, “thanks. If we sweep them I promise I’ll take you to a nice dinner. Or I’ll take you either way. How does that sound?”

You know exactly what that dinner would be for and you have a feeling he wouldn’t be getting the answer he wanted to hear.

You nod in agreement though, “that sounds really nice.”

He leans over and presses a kiss to your lips before standing up, “okay I should go. I have to pack for tomorrow and you had stuff to do. I’ll see you later.”

You walk him to the door and say your goodbyes, wishing him luck one more time. You lock your apartment after he leaves and go on a deep cleaning spree to keep your mind as busy as possible.

Owen was obviously frustrated as he left, but not with you. He never was and that, in some sick way, seemed to be your problem. His mood instantly picked up with your good luck wish, realizing how close he is to asking you to actually be his. He had the feeling now more than ever that he needed to be quick to officially lock you down. His head was swimming with thoughts as he made the short walk back to his place. That was weird for Roman to call you, right? Did he actually need to know what time the plane leaves? Then there was what he thinks was a lie from this morning. He was finally starting to put it all together.

He walks in to find Roman flipping through channels on the tv and he eyes him suspiciously. “Did you figure it out?” he asks.

Roman doesn't move his eyes from the screen, “figure what out?”

“The plane, jeez. That conversation was all of 10 minutes ago,” Owen says rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, uh, I did. Thanks,” Roman answers absentmindedly.

“So what time do we have to be there?” Owen asks, taking a drink of his water and leaning against the counter.

Roman struggles to come up with any kind of time to give him and Owen curses under his breath. He hated being right in that moment.

“She’s pretty great huh?” he says trying to be as nonchalant as possible. It works and Roman finally meets the eyes of his friend, “I knew you didn’t give a damn about the plane time. I don’t know what you think you’ve got going with her, Ahcan, but she’s mine.”

Owen’s tone lets Roman know that it’s a threat and it catches him by surprise. Even though hearing those words terrifies him, Roman doesn't back down.

“Right, right because which one of us did she spend last night with? And who did she send back home after one phone call? She may not be mine, but she’s definitely not yours.”

Hearing the confirmation of his suspicions does shake his confidence a bit, but Owen sticks to the one thing he has on Roman, “she’s a good girl and she doesn’t need you fucking her up. So go ahead, play your games and have your fun, but when she’s mine, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

You keep rolling from one project to the next until your whole day has flown by somehow. With pajamas on and a glass of wine next to you, the couch gets your attention before bed. Or it did until a knock on your door startles you. Confused, you check the peephole and see Roman on the other side.

You open the door and shake your head at him, “this can’t be good. It’s awfully late and you leave early tomorrow.”

He has a serious look on his face though that levels you almost immediately. “I needed to see you before we left. I can’t get last night out of my head and I can’t get you out ever anymore. I don’t want to win the game if it means I lose you.”

You’re so shocked when Roman stands there in front of you, his confession still scrambling your thoughts. He carefully steps forward, taking in your blank stare.

“Please say something,” he whispers, his gut twisting over the possibility he could be too late to tell you how he felt.

“I, uh...” you stutter, feeling all thrown off.

He knows he’s not good at any of this and when you’re silent he panics even more than he already was but he’s trying not to show it. What if Owen had somehow gotten to you before he had the chance to come over? What if he was too late and your mind was already made up.

You need to ground yourself so you reach for him and he immediately grabs your hand. A little squeeze and a deep breath help you think straight again. Even in your overwhelmed state, you took note of the fact that you reached for Roman for comfort. It was kind of funny how you both went to each other when things got to be too much.

“The couch,” you say, “we should probably talk.”

He nods, closing the door and following you back to where you had been starting to relax. That was thrown out the window now however. You let go of his hand as you sit down and he frowns at the loss of contact. When you turn towards him though, legs pulled up under you, and get in his space on the couch, he relaxes. It’s easy for him to reach over and rest a hand on your thigh, and you’d be lying if you said it didn’t calm you down a bit.

“Owen knows I’m going after you,” he says, giving you yet another shock.

As soon as you feel his hand on your thigh you feel so much better. And then his confession sends you right back over the edge.

“What- what do you mean he knows? You’re going after me?”

Your head was spinning. Like you always seem to do, you pull a smile from Roman.

“What do you think I’ve been doing this whole time? Of course I’m going after you.”

“But do you really want me, Roman? Or do you just want to win?” You held your breath waiting for your world to come crashing down around you.

“I want you.”

“Ro, you can’t lie to me right now. You realize that right? The rule is you don’t hurt me since you never have listened to that first one about no touching,” you laugh a little.

You’re so worried he’ll break your heart but you know you’ll pick him over Owen. You just need him to be honest and get you to trust him.

“I stopped caring about the game after last night. Sure it’s fun but... I don’t know how to explain it even. Something about you being there when I woke up just changed things,” he admits, feeling a little embarrassed about it.

He’s pretty sure you feel the same so he just lets it out. You soften at his confession, realizing he really had been worked up when you woke him.

“So does this mean we both win or what?” You ask, needing to turn the mood up.

You could deal with Owen later. Knowing you and Roman were on the same page was priority number one at the moment. He laughs at your question, because of course you were worried about the game.

“I’ll lose if it means we don’t keep beating around the bush about what we want here,” he smiles, a blush taking over his cheeks.

You shrug, not actually minding either, “I think we both win. It’s not like we’re actually losing anything here.”

“You have a point there. But what about Owen?”

“Well, I have until you guys get back to really make something happen,” you say, “especially if he already knows. He’s pretty smart so he’ll probably figure it out.”

Roman agrees, something he finds far too easy to do with you. He checks the time and realizes he came over much later than he thought. He sighs and gives you a rueful smile.

“I should probably go. I have to get stuff packed up still before tomorrow,” he stands slowly, reaching a hand out to pull you with him.

You easily follow him, not ready to let him go after the revelation you’d both come to. He stops at the door and turns around, pulling you close as he wrapped his arms around you. You feel your cheeks heat up as you hold on tight to his waist and smile up at him.

“You behave while I’m gone, okay?” he asks, a hint of a smile dancing on his lips.

“Mmm,” you pretend to think, tapping your chin, “I guess if you asked nicely.”

He laughs and grabs your chin, “If you please behave I’ll make you an offer you can’t resist when I get back.”

You’re ready to argue back somehow when he leans down, gently kissing your forehead. Your breath catches in your throat and you swear your heart begins to hammer twice as fast as it should. Roman offers the most polite goodbye you’ve ever heard from him before he lets you go, leaving you with a whole weekend to get your life back together from the mess he’d made in it.

It’s only a few hours into their road trip that you get a snap from Roman letting you know they’d landed safely in Minnesota. You don’t wipe the grin off your face for a few hours after as he keeps up a bit of conversation going.

You get the contrary from Owen the next morning as he holds a wrist up in his snap to you, showing off a big bruise with the comment ‘tell your boy to stop being a dick during practice so I don’t get hurt so much’. Your jaw drops a little at the sight of the nasty purple and blue bump that had taken over on his skin. You know you should probably say something to Roman, but you leave it. There were some things they’d just have to sort out themselves.

You’re practically falling asleep Saturday after watching their game when your phone lights up with a FaceTime call. You see Roman’s contact pop up and sit up quickly, answering as fast as you can manage. You hardly expected the call but you didn’t mind one bit.

“Hi,” he says, the smile on his face contagious as you match it.

“And to what do I owe this honor?” you ask, trying to play it cool. You knew him so when did you get so excited to talk to him? You try and take a deep breath to calm down, but it hardly works.

He shifts in his seat, angling the phone towards the wall of the airport they were waiting in, “just wanted to check in with you. Did you watch the game?”

“I did. Someone on the team had a pretty good weekend, too. Maybe he’ll still hang out with me after he gets back,” you tease, knowing he’d played really well during both games.

“Ah yeah, he might have some time. I don’t know. He could be busy,” he pretends to think about it, looking around the room before looking back at his screen, “I’m just kidding. I’ll be there as soon as you want me over.”

You soften up, “good because if you showed up right away I wouldn’t even mind.”

“Someone else definitely wants to talk to you first and I’m okay with that. We all know you’re all mine anyways,” he smirks, giving you a wink.

He has to hang up much sooner than you’d like but you’re left knowing he’s on his way back and there were things for the two of you to catch up on when he returned.

You nervously play with your fingers, pacing around your apartment. Owen had sent you a text asking if he could stop over and talk. You were pretty sure your stomach had wound around itself ten times over in the time it was taking him to get to your place. When he finally does knock you jump, scuttling over and pulling the door open with a bashful smile.He returns the smile and you know it’s not a full one.

He doesn’t attempt to step in and instead starts off heavy, “you like him, huh?”

The words sit heavy on your chest as you try to figure out how to word things. Eventually you settle for a simple answer, “I do. I’m sorry.”

“I kind of figured,” he shrugs, “I can’t say I’m happy with it but I can’t really hold it against you either. Everyone deserves to be happy, right?”

“Owen, I’m really sorry. You deserve the whole world and then some,” you apologize, starting to feel guilty suddenly.

“Look at me,” he says, putting his hands on your shoulders, “does he make you happy?”

You nod, not able to meet his gaze, but he puts a finger under your chin to make you look at him. You give him a more certain nod and he hugs you suddenly. It’s warm and it’s tight, but it doesn’t feel like a goodbye. It’s more like a truce and you hug him back just as hard.

“Just make sure he treats you right otherwise I have no problem kicking his ass.”

You laugh, swearing he’ll be the first to know if Roman makes any such mistakes. He gives you a kiss on the head before letting you go and heading back the way he’d come from. You watch him all the way until he gets into the elevator, exchanging a little wave as the doors close. Your heart feels so much lighter and you go back to your couch with a whole new set of issues on your mind. Did Roman still want you? Did he know Owen was already there to see you? What if he’d changed his mind in the time it took them to get home and then through the day? You close your eyes and try to pull it all together when a loud knock on the door startles you.

You mumble under your breath about reprimanding everyone you knew for constantly scaring the shit out of you with the way they came over to your place but the anger dissipates when you see who’s waiting. You open the door and smile, about to ask what he’d been waiting for, when he interrupts by stepping in and shutting the door behind him right away.

“Remember when I said I break rules at the right times? When it helps me win?” He asks you.

You’re ready to claim some sort of win from the game, but right before you can, his hands come up on either side of your face as he smashes his lips against yours for the first time. It takes your breath away and you grab onto him like your life depends on it. He lifts you up, your legs wrapping around his waist as he heads for the kitchen. He sets you on the counter before finally pulling away as the two of you smile at each other like idiots.

When you finally manage to catch your breath all you can manage to say is, “all I remember is you saying you don’t play fair.”

“And I remember you telling me that two could play this game so as far as I’m concerned we’re even here. Time to make some new rules though because this is a whole different game now, and you and I are one game I don’t ever plan on losing.”

#roman ahcan #wisconsin hockey #mine #my writing #hockey writing #hockey fic #college hockey fic #owen lindmark

128 notes · View notes

picturejasper20 · 4 years ago

Text

Debunking common misconceptions about the Ben 10 Reboot.

A mutual of mine asked me if could write a post debuking common critiques people have of the Ben 10 Reboot. Some of these critiques are based of misconceptions and misinformation about the show while others are more subjective, meaning there are a matter of personal opinions.

I’m going to divide this post in different sections. In each section i’m going to try debunking a misconception and explain why i think this isn’t correct. If anyone wants to give their opinion on the subject, feel free to reblog the post or leave a comment.

I’m going to add a ¨Read More¨ since it’s going to be a long post.

1) ¨The reboot only has fart jokes as humor¨

I’m not sure from where people got this idea that the only type of humor the Reboot has are toilet and fart jokes. Does it has some jokes that are based on this? Yes! But Reboot’s humor has more variety than that.

Many of the jokes come from the characters´ reactions to certain events, how silly some situations are and from the dialogue. For example: Episodes focused on Xingo as the antagonist have tons of slaptick and old cartoon humor.

Since the series doesn’t take itself too seriously, it uses this to its advantage to make fun of tropes, franchises and popular culture. It also has many references to current trends such as youtube and social media, things that the new generation is more familiar with.

If these jokes land or not is up to debate but to say the Reboot only has fart jokes is a bit of a stretch.

2) ¨The Reboot has no plot or worldbuliding¨

This is one of the weirdest arguments for me because if you watch the show you’ll know this isn’t the case. The show has a main arc as well as some subplots.

I think people get this idea due to how the show is mainly episodic in season 1 unlike the rest of the seasons. The thing is that even season 1 has continuity that is quite important if you want to understand the rest of the series. It introduces villains as well as secondary characters that become important in future episodes. It also has tons of character development for the main protagonists, so, skipping this season would mean missing out their character growth.

By the end of season 1, Ben gets a new Alien called Gax which is the same species as the original Vilgax. It turns out this alien was half of Vilgax’s original power and Vilgax was trying to get it back. The finale is has interesting surprises and plot twists that change the status quo of the series in some ways.

In season 2 is mainly about Vilgax teaming up with other villains to steal the Omnitrix from Ben. These episodes are quite entertaining and help to develop the main characters. What’s more is that Ben gets a new alien called Shock rock and isn’t able to transform into Upgrade, which becomes important in the season finale.

I could talk about Kevin’s character arc, Charmcaster, Glitch, the Forever Knight’s arc, Animo subplot and tons of other stuff. My point is that saying that ¨the Reboot has not plot¨ would be a huge misconception about the show. It would make more sense if someone complained about how its episodic structure hurts and distracts from the main story arc and it would have helped the series to not have so many episodes centered around the characters going on random adventures.

3) ¨Shock Rock is a cheap copy of Ghostfreak¨

When i first heard about this complain it suprised me a bit. Look, i get why a person could think that "Shock Rock is just Reboot's Ghostfreak" since they share similar stories.

However there are a few differences between the two:

Ghostfreak was possesed by an evil entity, Zs'Skayr, who later escaped from the Omnitrix and did terrible things. This was so horryfing for Ben that for a long time he didn't turn into ghostfreak out of fear of their conection with Zs'Skayr.

In the original series it wasn't really explained how Zs'Skayr got inside the Omnitrix and for how long he was concious about being trapped.

Shock Rock was introduced as a result of a terrible glitch caused by the Omnitrix being rebooted. They replaced Upgrade's DNA pod and allowed Ben to give the aliens stronger versions of themselves.

Shock Rock isn't completely evil and never really tries to escape from the Omnitrix. All that they did was to build that tower to send a signal to the Fulmini. Once the protagonists reboot the Omnitrix again, Ben was able to transform into Shock Rock without any problem.

Both aliens are a bit similar but on a deeper analysis they have different execution in their respective series.

4) "Glitch is a copy of Ship".

This is one i get why people complain about it. Glitch and Ship have many parallels in common. (Both being mechamorphs, they are both sidekicks)

The main difference is that Ship acts like a pet and is able to transform into many electronic devices. On the other hand, Glitch lives inside the kart and can't transform in the same way that Ship does. (However he can in the future, years after developing his powers).

Their backstories and origins differ. Ship was born from a mechamorph that needed help after he crashed his own ship. Glitch was the result of Ben using Upgrade to reboot the Omnitrix in the season 1 finale which forced Upgrade to fuse with Ben's DNA to survive.

Another point i want to add (based on speculation) is that Glitch resembling is Ship seems to be very intentional. I think the creators wanted to Ship to appear again in the Reboot. So they decided to create Glitch.

Keep in mind that the Reboot makes tons of references to the original series and its sequels. It wouldn't be suprising if Glitch is a reference to Ship.

5) "Max is not clever/ is dumb"

I don't really got the impression of reboot Max being "dumbed down". He is one of the characters that acts almost exactly as he does in the original series.

I think this complain come from Max being less serious in this series: He isn't so strict with the kids and gives them more freedom to do what they want. He is also more open minded and has less "black and white" mentality that he had in the original series.

He is still almost the same character, just more easy going and down to earth in comparison. He still acts as a guide for Ben and Gwen. He still has a few arguments with Ben for not listening to him in some episodes.

@theangrycomet made a post a few weeks back about Reboot Max. I think people should check their post because they explain many things that i mention here in more detail.

Here is a link to their post: X

6) "They cancelled Omniverse because of the reboot"

This one is a somewhat old argument. Again, i don't know where people got this idea that reboot was the main reason they cancelled Omniverse.

I have been trying to find an article that could explain the reason behind its cancellation. All i was able to find were fans talking about how it ended because of the low number of toys getting sold. Nothing about the reboot.

It could one of the things lead to Omniverse being cancelled but not the only main factor.

If anyone has more information about this feel free to leave a link in the comment section or by reblog.

7) "Ben is out of character in the reboot"

This something i don't really get at all. Reboot Ben behaves pretty much the same way he does in the OS. He is still cocky, stubborn, competitive, impacient and gets into a trouble.

Is it because he appears to be nicer in this series? If it is because of that then i personally like this change. I found Ben to be more likable in this version. As well as capable of regretting his actions and learning his lessons.

Reboot Ben is a complex character. It has so much development that i would find it difficult for me to sum it up in just one post.

I think fans get this impression since they are more used to Alien Force Ben than OS Ben. That's why they believe Reboot Ben is acting OOC when in reality is he isn't much different from the OS Ben.

If anyone has a better explanation, please leave it in the comments section/reblog.

-----

Okay, those are the most common misconceptions i found after talking with some mutuals. While a few things are a matter of doing fact checking, others are based on my perspective on the series.

Keep in mind that i don't think the Reboot is perfect by any means. It has its issues like slow pacing in the first season or characters that are annoying.

However, if someone wants to give a serious critique, they should try doing a bit of research and fact-check to see if their points are valid. Otherwise,they might look misinformed at best and making bad faith arguments at worse. That's all.

#ben 10 reboot #ben 10 2016 #ben 10 shock rock #ben 10 reboot vilgax #ben tennyson reboot #glitch ben 10

62 notes · View notes

hufflautia · 4 years ago

Text

A Hidden Darkness

A/N: I wish I had thought of this idea in time for Halloween.

Warnings: This story is a little creepy and has something to do with the supernatural. If you are not comfortable with that kind of stuff, avoid this fic.

Dedicated to @sophiexteresa; thank you for helping me out with British slang :’)

Summary: Slytherin notices that Hufflepuff is acting strange...a little too strange.

Boom!

Ravenclaw immediately drew back from the table, laughing as he pointed at Slytherin; the mini-explosion singed the edges of his hair.

“Bloody hell,” Slytherin grumbled, gingerly rubbing his slightly-burned face. “This game is a load of bollocks.”

He raised an eyebrow as he gathered the remaining cards. “Mate, you were the one who wanted to play Exploding Snap.”

“Yeah, because I wanted the cards to explode in your face.”

Ravenclaw rolled his eyes and grabbed a handful of popcorn, chucking it at him.

Slytherin managed to block the attack with his hand, but some landed on his shoulder. As he brushed the popcorn off, he suddenly felt something prodding at the back of his neck. It felt like someone was...sniffing his hair?

He turned around and saw Hufflepuff standing there, her face so close to his that he could feel her breath. “Hey,” he smiled, not registering the fact that it was likely she who just sniffed him. “Alright?”

Hufflepuff gave him a blinding smile and grabbed his hand. “I need you,” she replied, tugging him out of his chair.

“But I’m—”

“Playing cards with Ravenclaw? You can do that later.”

As she led him out of the Great Hall, Slytherin wondered how she knew what he was gonna say. He brushed it off quickly; she could clearly see what they were doing. However, something was definitely strange about her. Hufflepuff would usually greet Ravenclaw kindly if she saw him, but she barely spared him a second glance.

Hufflepuff came to a stop after they passed through the entrance of the Great Hall and turned to face him. “I need to ask you something.”

“Why couldn’t you just ask me before?”

“Because Ravenclaw was there.”

He frowned and said, “But you’ve never had a problem with him before.”

She made a face at him. “He’s an ickle know-it-all. Should’ve socked him in the face, I should.”

He was taken aback—Hufflepuff never behaved like this. She was always sweet and kind, but she was the complete opposite now.

“What’s up with you,” he asked. “You’re acting like a completely different person. And ickle? You’ve never said that before.”

She glared at him. “People change, Slytherin. Besides, I didn’t bring you out there just for you to berate me.” Her tone was calm, but Slytherin could sense the repressed hostility hidden beneath her words.

She seemed to realize that he was staring at her strangely because, in the next moment, she suddenly straightened up and smiled at him widely. "But no reason to fuss about it any longer," she cooed in an oily voice, pinching his cheek. "You're here now, and that's all that matters."

Slytherin studied her face and immediately picked up on the fact that her smile was forced. "Right then," he said slowly, still put off by her demeanor. "What was it you wanted to ask?"

Her expression immediately darkened, and she stepped forward. He fought the urge to take a step back. What was going on with him? This was his girlfriend he was dealing with. She never meant any harm...so why did he feel so uneasy? Her next words sent chills down his spine.

"Would you be able to tell if someone—no, if something were to possess my body?"

Slytherin stared at her, hoping that she would crack a smile and burst out laughing, saying that it was just a prank and she successfully fooled him.

However, she did no such thing. Instead, she stared at him with those dark eyes that he usually found endearing, but there was a coldness to them. An emptiness.

"I..." He trailed off, unsure of what to say. What could he say? A feeling of discomfort festered within him, and he spoke again. “Uh, maybe? I think it'd be obvious if you started climbing on the walls or something.”

Nodding, Hufflepuff seemed to mull over his answer before her face broke into a huge smile. “Alrighty then.” She suddenly plucked a piece of popcorn that had been lying in the collar of his shirt and popped it in her mouth. “Can I watch you play Exploding Snap with Ravenclunk?”

“I thought you didn’t like Ravenclunk.”

“I wanna see the cards explode in his face,” she shrugged.

Slytherin hummed a laugh, momentarily forgetting how unusual she was acting, and began leading her back into the Great Hall. He felt a tug at his hand and turned back, only for Hufflepuff to smash her face onto his.

The kiss was rough and sloppy, an alarming contrast to how they normally kissed. Drawing his bottom lip between her teeth, she bit down hard enough to make him pull away abruptly. He gingerly touched his lip and found his fingers to be stained with blood. He looked back up at her, shocked.

A bit of his blood smeared across her teeth, she smiled coyly. “Sorry,” she said, not sounding sorry in the slightest bit. “You know I get carried away sometimes…”

Slytherin didn’t respond and simply stood there like a statue, face awash with horror as he stared at her.

“I’ve gotta go now. I have lots to do today.” With that, she ambled away, leaving Slytherin standing there and looking as if he had just seen a ghost.

Hufflepuff wandered through the corridors, letting her hands brush against the cobblestone wall as she inhaled the sweet smell drifting from the Kitchens.

I have to admit, the voice cackled. This is quite luxurious. It’s interesting to be human for once. Smell, taste, touch. I have much to explore.

Please, Hufflepuff begged, trapped within the confines of her body against her own will. Let me go!

Peeves laughed gleefully inside her mind.

But I’m having so much fun.

FIN.

Check out my masterlist! | Kind comments and reblogs are most appreciated :)

Author’s note:

This may be my least favorite fic out of all that I have written. Last night, when I was writing it, I didn’t feel happy and a part of me wanted to discard what I wrote so far because I was like “jessica this is so dumb” but I didn’t wanna throw out what I wrote so far. I’m not even sure if Peeves is able to possess someone’s body, and after I finished writing, I thought “well what if I keep it ambiguous and it’s just some random demon?”. However, I had done some research on how Peeves talks, hence the “ickly”, and I didn’t wanna take out the hints of Hufflepuff not really being Hufflepuff. In addition, it doesn’t seem very hogwarts-like or harry potter related if it were just a random demon. That’s why I thought Filch to be the best option. I thought of this idea yesterday when my sister was acting creepy while we were in the bathroom in the morning. I was brushing my teeth and she was on the toilet, and she straightup looked at me with dead eyes and asked “Would you be able to tell if a demon possessed me?” and I was like

She was twitching and everything, and as I was walking out of the bathroom, she came up right behind me and SNIFFED MY HAIR. Yea, so that was my inspiration for this fic. My initial idea for the ending was that as Hufflepuff walks back with Slytherin to the table, her eyes glow a little and she smiles wickedly. However, I was like hmmmm what if she bits his lips and he bleeds a little?.. Yea, don’t ask me why I thought that. I don’t think I would ever write a fic that includes that bit because slytherpuff doesn’t have that rough-love type of vibe, so I just thought, oh whatever might as well do that now when I have the chance.

In other news, happy March! This is gonna be the month in which I get the rest of my college results and I am a little nervous. Also, I’m going to go on a hiatus because I feel myself going down a spiral right now and it’s likely because my period is coming😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀What fun, am I right??? I get bad PMS, so I’m just gonna leave and focus on my own wellbeing for some time because I tend to get depressed during my period. I might write a bunch of stories and then come out from the dark and then post consistently. I think I am kind of posting consistently already; I have never posted as many fics as I had in February, which is interesting and hopefully not a once-in-a-lifetime thing because I’m done with the college process but now I also have to deal with my own issues in terms of mental health and stuff. It sucks but I will get better.

I hope you enjoyed reading this fic. Let me know what you think!

Tags: slytherpuff-shenanigans @axieleration @sunnniiee @just--another--bean @determinedpines @zenobiagrace @asterinflower @cinnamon-roll-unicorn @mossy-axolotl @dumbbitch11 @hitchhiker-of-the-galaxy @notsowiseravenclaw @arianatorpotterhead @eatacrackerandstop @luciferswife16 @walkinganomaly @asunshinepuff @lewispoolerpayton @adreameratdawn @thewitcheswords @oncergleekpotterhead @princessstoopid @stardustzainy @flvrqnce @multi-fandom-nutjob @eunnieah @iamahufflepuff @1hufflepuff @introvertedrae @princessstoopid @jasminedayz @magnoliamermaid @HOPEFUL-HUFFLEPUFF-PEEVES @peanut-in-the-goal @pufflehuff929 @sophiexteresa @da-fox-rangerrr @dawinehouse @shipping-book-keeper @xxavaloraxx @silverhetdanes @im-a-solanum-lycopersicum @elegantcroissantplaidpony @theoriginaljohnwatsonsblog @theoriginalsherlockholmesblog @vickeyunicorn @arianatorpotterhead @hmilkwhoney @simpering-simpleton @grandcyclecreation @sweetinvisiblewriter @marvelenthusiast10 @mvlpksvthisht @qiaopa @beardedhumanoid @jadefox05 @justanotherperson @inkedintothepaper @minty-malfoy @trippy-morgan @fangirlgeekandfreak @boilyourteeth @absentmindeduniverse @colettedelaurel @halfelven1 @happy-puff @coloring-bud @in-love-with-remus-lupin @autumnpleaves @crakencc @flyme--tothemoon @hedgepuffgirl @littleemotionalpanda @pancakes-and-sugar @korra4321 @aquietkindofthunder @qixnsriess @porksoba @thatfann @hellounicorn @i-have-a-bad-feeling @aasa2102 @zuko-28 @annie-mcl @clementines-x @writtenfoxscreams @randomwriter23 @cryingabtwandavision @coolninjavoid @urfaveslytherin @malfoys-demigod @tumlbr-trasher @violayaxley @wolfpack-arts-industries99 @zainieees-stuff @milk-leaves @priii @capt-sparrow @blueberry-9-pancakes @stressy-depressy

74 notes · View notes

itshardcandy · 4 years ago

Text

Strawberry Flavour Part Two

Pairing: Kim Seokjin x Reader, Min Yoongi x Reader, Park Jimin x Reader

6915 Words

Genre: Fluff, Idiots Friends to lovers, crack

Warnings: Use of some swearwords, (Still) an unhealthy obsession for Jimin’s cakes, flirting, A Kithhh possibly?!👀 Excessive use of the word booth, Introduction of Arch-Nemesis, Rivalry in more than one case, Exo Baekyhun and WayV Lucas make an appearance (if you think I should add something to this list let me know)

Part one is here !

dedicated to my peeps @the--world--behind--my--wall and @a-noona-mous who encouraged and motivated me to keep going 💖💖

If you like it pls don't hesitate to Like and reblog, send me an ask or message me! 🥺💖

-------

The first day of the festival was finally here and you felt even more excited than you had throughout the days leading up to it. The thought of having all of your friends around you made you feel all fluffy and warm inside and you couldn’t wait for them to come and meet you and Jimin at the booth.

Jin had to cancel at the last minute but with the help of Namjoon, the booth was set up in no time. You could finally start assembling all your tools and materials around the very limited workspace in the back, while Jimin worked on the perfect presentation of the already prepared cakes, pastries and other treats.

Namjoon helped himself to a few of those before either of you could tell him no.

The official festival kick-off was still an hour or so away, so you and Jimin had some time to yourselves, before all the visitors would be arriving. Namjoon had excused himself for now but he would re-join you later in the evening with the others.

You still needed to change into your cute bakery uniform and it would probably make sense to prepare a few other things beforehand but right now, you wanted to admire your own work. You stood behind the display cases, eyeing every little cake in the selection carefully and making sure they were all still presentable after the journey,

“You need to stop worrying, everything will be fine.”

Jimin stepped behind you and tried to reassure you,

“The display looks good, the booth is holding up, we didn’t forget anything in the shop... We're prepared for today, ok?”

He put a reassuring hand on your shoulder, easing your worries. You took a deep breath,

“I know, I know I just… I don’t know, I can’t help feeling like we forgot something important, you know?”

He smiled and rolled his eyes,

“I know. But I also know, that we planned this for so long, there is no possible way we forgot anything. We brought back-up dough for the back-up dough; I think we’re good”

You pouted slightly, realising how ridiculous you were behaving,

“But how do you know?”

You asked and you heard Jimin sigh before he gently turned you around to face him, with both of his hands resting on your shoulders,

“Because I know you”

He stated matter-of-factly,

“And I know that you’ll do your best, just like me”

With your big, round, innocent eyes looking up at him, how could he not want to encourage and reassure you? All he wanted was for you to feel confident in your abilities.

Suddenly, you took his hands in yours and wrapped them around yourself, then you circled his middle with your own arms, hugging him tightly to you. Neither of you spoke for a few seconds. Jimin was too bamboozled to say anything until he felt you take a deep breath,

“Thank you”

You mumbled into his chest and he felt a tingling warmth spread through his chest. He’s never gotten to hug you like this before. It felt way more intimate than it should, when he let his head rest on top of yours,

“No need to thank me”

Could you feel the way his heart almost beat through his chest right now? He hoped not because that would be awkward. You pulled away and smiled before you could get any more emotional than you already were,

“Ughh, I don’t know what’s going on with me, I hate being so emotional”

You said and immediately punched Jimin’s shoulder to kill the mood. He tumbled backwards a little, acting cute,

“You? Emotional? Who said that? They won’t be getting any rice cakes today!”

Jimin aggressively pushed up his sleeves and made you laugh again,

“No need to involve the cakes, Jimin”

“With me, the cakes are always involved”

“I should have known”

“You love my cakes, though, right?”

It was definitely true, you did love his cakes, especially the ones that weren’t for sale. He didn’t need to know that, though.

Maybe it was time you changed into your uniform and got ready for the official opening of the festival. Jimin had already put on his, so you should probably get to it now.

You left him in the front of the booth and changed in the back, neatly folding your clothes and stowing them away for later.

A few of the other vendors and shop owners, who had some attractions set up, came by and checked out your little corner and wished you a successful day before they returned to their own spots.

To your surprise, Yoongi showed up early to the festival and greeted you and Jimin in the booth while some other people were already eyeing the display carefully,

“Yoongi, what are you already doing here?”

You smiled when he casually strolled up to you and Jimin, hands in his pockets, as usual,

“I know, I know, I’m early”

He said, as he walked up and let his eyes roam over the decorations and the cakes on display,

“But practice finished early today and I thought you might want some company or needed some help, or whatever…”

He looked cool and nonchalant but you saw right through him. Cutie that he was, he thought you could need help and he knew what a big deal this festival was to you and he wanted to be there for you. And Jimin. But mostly you,

“Thank you for coming, that’s really nice of you”

You said and went around the front so you wouldn’t have to talk over the display,

“Yeah, thanks for coming but we’re all set up already”

Jimin added and nervously wiped his hands on his apron. Yoongi looked a little discouraged at Jimin’s statement,

“Oh, well… then I- “

“Let me show you around a little, hm?”

You excitedly grabbed onto his arm and pulled him away to the other shops. That wasn’t what Yoongi had planned when he got here but he could never say no to you, anyway.

He wasn’t really a people person but he would gladly wade through a crowd of scolding parents and screaming toddlers if it meant he could spend a few hours with you after the festival ended. Even if it was just to help you and Jimin pack up and close the shop for the night.

For now, he let you pull him from shop to shop and from attraction to attraction and introduce him to everyone who would listen.

____

“And this one is my favourite! Well, except for our own”

You said excitedly and pulled Yoongi to stand in front of the last shop and greet the owner,

“Hoseok, are you in? I want to introduce you to my friend!”

As you looked around the small space, a young man appeared from behind a shelf and greeted you with a bright smile,

“YN, you’re here already! I just finished setting up”

He walked up to you and put down a few more flyers and pamphlets around the open spaces,

“This is my friend Yoongi, the one who plays piano”

You introduced Yoongi to the guy in front of him and he shyly held out his hand,

“Hey, nice to meet you”

He said, trying to sound cool,

“You, too. I’m Hoseok, I work at the local animal shelter”

He shook his hand, sporting a radiant, charming smile and Yoongi immediately felt like he’d known him forever,

“Oh, the one near the park?”

He asked and Hoseok nodded,

“That’s the one. I met YN when she came in for Snuggle Sunday the first time a few months ago”

He explained and Yoongi mentally aah’d, remembering how you had called him a while ago, screaming unintelligible nonsense into the phone about how you were going to steal all the puppies and lil kitties, while some birds screeched in the background. He had to hold the phone away from his ear because you were so excited,

“Ah, yes, I remember. She told me all about the puppies”

Yoongi said and turned to you, smiling gently,

“Seemed like she had a really great time”,

Hoseok laughed and nodded,

“I’ve never seen someone cry so hard over a baby chameleon”

He said and you playfully hit his shoulder,

“Hoseok! You swore you wouldn’t tell anyone!”,

“I’m sorry but it was just so funny”,

“You’re unbelievable…”

You sounded stern but you smiled anyway,

“It’s a miracle you still have a girlfriend”

You said jokingly and started to wrap your hands around Yoongi’s arm again,

“Oh, by the way, she asked if you could save her some rice cakes, if there are any left tonight?”

Hoseok asks, as you already turn to walk away,

“Sure, come by later, I’ll pack some for her”

You answered and then waved your hand at him to signal him goodbye, so Yoongi did the same,

“Where to now?”

He asked you, after you had walked a few steps together,

“Well, that was everyone I wanted you to meet, for now. And I should get back, the festival’s about to start”

You said and Yoongi hummed in agreement. He escorted you back to the booth, where Jimin was already pacing back and forth, looking like he was anxiously anticipating your return,

“Ah you’re back, finally!”

Jimin exclaimed excitedly and walked up to you, as soon as you and Yoongi came back in view,

“I just saw Fluffy Clouds walk by and apparently they have a completely new concept cooked up for the festival!”

He reported and you immediately looked around you, trying to spot the booth of your arch nemesis,

“Where are they set up? What concept?”

You asked and Yoongi also started looking around, confused as to what you and Jimin are talking about,

“What are we looking for, here?”

He leaned in and asked you,

“Fluffy Clouds is the other bakery down the street I told you about. They’re basically, our arch nemesis”,

You explained while keeping an eye on your surroundings in case that smug bastard Byun Baekhyun was anywhere near and dared to come close to your booth again,

“They’ve been trying to steal our customers from the start”

Jimin chimed in and Yoongi raised his brows in surprise. Apparently, this small town did have some exciting drama going on after all,

“They always set up their advertisements in front of our shop and lead all the nice old ladies away when they know Jimin isn’t in”

Yoongi chuckled,

“Why only then when he’s away?”

He asked for clarification,

“Have you seen Jimin? He looks like an adult baby. Old ladies eat that shit up”

You turned to Yoongi, the disbelief at his serious question clear on your face,

“Yeah, have you seen me? I look like- wait-”

Jimin stuttered but you were already walking off, searching for the Fluffy Fools, as you and Jimin had (un-)lovingly dubbed them,

“Hey, wait!”

He called after you and pulled Yoongi with him to go after you,

“What are you doing? The festival is about to start”,

“I just want to have a look at their display, real quick…”

You mumbled,

“Just a friendly visit to our rivals on this fine day, that could very well decide the fate of our business, you know?”,

“She doesn’t look like she’s going for friendly”

Yoongi mumbled to Jimin from behind.

The look on your face was scary. It got even scarier when you spotted Baekhyun and Lucas setting up some decorations in their display case.

The fake customer service smile, that etched its way onto your lips and the lifeless stare in your eyes could make a grown man cry with terror if you set your mind to it and the two men in question had definitely been on the receiving end more than once. However, they still didn’t let you continue your business in peace.

You confidently walked up to them, chest puffed and fists balled at your sides,

“Hi guys! Wow the booth looks amazing!”

Both of the guys inside the little tent looked up at the sound of your voice.

You sounded so incredibly threatening that even Yoongi felt a chill go down his spine. When he looked at Jimin, the boy was obviously bracing for a storm; pressing his lips together, squinting and not daring to look at you directly. Yoongi chose to observe quietly for now,

“Thanks, YN! We worked really hard on it!”,

says the taller of the two, a bright, oblivious, dopey smile on his face,

“Yeah, it took a lot of planning and custom work”

The other one adds and sets a pretty bouquet of flowers on the counter

“Unlike your train wreck of a booth”

He mumbled under his breath and you immediately caught it,

“Sorry Baekhyun, what was that? I didn’t quite catch your snarky, hateful comment towards Jimin’s and my booth, would you care to repeat it?”

You retorted and slightly leaned forward, pretending to listen more closely

“I said yours looks wonderful, too, YN”

Baekhyun mocked and you took a deep breath,

“Anyway…” you started to say,

“I just wanted to wish you good luck and I hope you sell lots of pastries during the festival”

You clasped your hands in front of you and smiled,

“Aww, thanks, YN! That’s so nice!”

Lucas was genuinely happy to receive nice words from you, for a change,

“Maybe then you’ll finally be able to afford to stop blocking our door and window with your signs and advertising, hm? Maybe acquire some of your own customers for a change”

You added and the mans face immediately fell and he looked to his older friend for emotional support,

“Nice try, YN”

Baekhyun sneered and looked between you, Jimin and Yoongi,

“Now, if you would be so nice as to collect your puppies and bring them back before they wet themselves, hm? They look a little lost”

God, you hated him so much,

“Rot in hell, Byun”

You yelled and turned on your heels, pulling Jimin and Yoongi with you to walk back to your base.

Yoongi had always known you were passionate about the business you led with Jimin and now he knew just how passionate,

“Dang… that was hard to watch”

He said while you trotted back,

“This was one of the more civil encounters we’ve had, actually…”

Jimin mumbled and you breathed deeply,

“They just make me so angry”

Well, it was actually just Baekhyun who made you google inconspicuous ways of disposing of a body late at night. His partner Lucas was really not the issue here. Baekhyun was the brain behind all their operations and Lucas was the muscle. Muscle, that was nice to look at, admittedly, although that didn’t really help his case. The yeast in the bread he baked day to day worked harder than Lucas’ brain and that was just a sad fact of life,

“If Baekhyun comes anywhere close to the booth again, I want you to throw the waffle iron as hard and as accurately at his head as you can, ok?”

You said to Jimin, who just sighed and mumbled a silent ‘yes…’

It was useless to try and convince you to try and find non-lethal solutions to the problem.

Yoongi checked his watch absentmindedly,

“It’s almost time”

He announced calmly and you composed yourself with a few centered breaths. The festival goers didn’t need to see you like this if you wanted to sell some cakes today,

“I’ll let you get back to it and meet you later, ok?”

Yoongi said and waved you and Jimin goodbye before he casually strolled away over the festival area.

-------

Time flew by as the customers kept coming and you and Jimin did your best to brighten up their day with your delicious treats. Some of them even decided to leave with your business cards in hand and it made you incredibly happy to know that people appreciated your hard work and dedication to your craft,

“Jimin, quick! Hand me the frosting!”,

“Where is it? I can’t see!”

Jimin was frantically rubbing his eyes, trying to clear the powdered sugar out of his vision,

“Shit, I have so much flour up my nose, if security sees me like this, they’ll tackle me on sight”,

“Tough it out and put the next batch in the steamer, we can’t afford to lose this group of pre-schoolers!”

So far, things were going better than expected and soon, after the initial onslaught of customers had retreated, you could take a few minutes to yourself to breathe and sit down.

Jimin put the ‘back in 10 minutes’ sign up in the front and you retreated to the back for a much-needed break. Both of you let out a long, exhausted sigh and plopped onto the camping chairs,

“To be honest, I didn’t think it would be this exhausting”

You slurred with your eyes half closed,

“I can’t feel my legs”

Jimin replied,

“And also my chubby, pinchable cheeks… these sweet old ladies really are relentless”

He carefully rubbed his reddened cheeks and huffed,

“But we almost sold out completely in such a short time! We’ve never had so much business before”

He was right,

“Let’s just hope it takes off” you mumbled, leaned back and tried to apply every quick relaxation method known to man all at once. It wasn’t working particularly well,

“It’s almost time for all the sellers to close down for the day, anyway”

Jimin said after a quick look at his phone,

“When we closed up, we could check out the other attractions, maybe ride the-“ “Strawberry Flavor, are you in?” Jin’s voice suddenly disturbed Jimin in his attempt to score a Ferris Wheel date with you later,

“I’m done with my shift for today so I came straight here”

Surprised at Jin’s sudden appearance, you mustered up all your strength and got up,

“We’re in the back, you need to go around” you called and went to the tent flap in the back to hold it open. When Jin stepped in he was holding a few delicious smelling paper bags,

“I brought you some food, I thought you might need some sustenance”

He smiled brightly and handed you the bags. You ripped them open immediately and found some sandwiches and a variety of sides inside. The smell was hitting you right in the face and made your stomach rumble with impatience,

“Are you serious? Thank you, this is amazing, you’re my hero”

Your face lit up and Jin waved it off like it was nothing,

“Jimin, look! Food!”

Your eyes went glossy and Jimin smiled when he saw how happy you were after taking the first bite out of your sandwich,

“Ugh, this is so good, I can literally feel my body soak up the energy”

You mumbled while chewing and Jimin grabbed one, too, when you handed him the bag. When he wanted to hand it back to Seokjin, the man declined,

“Oh no, I had plenty back at the hotel. They miscalculated how many guests would be there for lunch and prepared way too much food”,

“Thank you for thinking of us”

Jimin said politely and finally took a bite, too.

You were happily munching away at the food when Jin started looking around,

“Woow, it looks like you almost sold out!” he commented and you nodded

“It went better than expected!”

You answered proudly in between bites,

“I’m sure we’ll sell the rest, too, until closing time”,

“People are going crazy for your cakes, huh?”

Jin asks jokingly and it makes you chuckle,

“You only notice that now? YN’s cakes have always been amazing”

Jimin added and Jin looked up, sensing a little more than innocent cake-talk,

“I wasn’t implying anything different. I’ve always thought they were the best cakes I’ve ever seen”

He said and Jimin squinted at him suspiciously,

“I’m just making sure they get the appreciation they deserve”,

“I wouldn’t expect anything else from an avid cake-lover such as yourself”

Jin raised his brows expectantly and Jimin felt the need to puff up his chest a little bit.

Meanwhile you were completely oblivious to the intense staredown between the two men and focused on the sandwich in your hands.

Silence fell over the three of you and soon your break was up and you needed to get back into the thick of it. It was Jimin’s turn to man the selling position in the front now, while you took care of preparation in the back. Jin decided to hang around a little longer and watch you guys at work, partly to help out if you needed him and also because you looked cute enough to eat in your uniform.

He couldn’t help you set up because he got called into work on short notice but he was glad Namjoon was there to help you. Now, he was here and ready to take on anything you threw at him, even if it was only verbal abuse,

“Jin, you need to move! Your shoulders may be broad but they don’t need to take up the whole space in here”,

“Relax, Strawberry Flavour, I’m just getting acquainted with the workspace”,

“Sure, why don’t you have some coffee and a rice cake while you’re at it, hm?”,

“Do you have coffee back here?”,

“Jin!”

He laughed at your desperation and got to work on rearranging the baking forms for you.

------

“Here you go! Thank you, please enjoy them”

Jimin handed the cakes to the last customer for today and let out a satisfied sigh. He was proud to say that every last rice cake you planned to sell today had gone over the counter and found a new, happy owner. Working the booth had been exhausting, to say the least, however, Jimin felt more energized than ever when he turned around and saw your happy smile directed at him,

“We did it!”

You said and held up both of your hands for a high five, which he gladly put his back into. He didn’t let go and intertwined your fingers while your hands fell into the space between your bodies,

“It was one hell of a day but we did it!”

You repeated and Jimin felt his heart warm up at the relief in your voice,

“I never doubted it”

He said and you pulled him into a quick hug. Without warning Jin slung his long arms around both of you,

“Ah, don’t thank me for doing all the work, it was my pleasure”

He boasted and you wrangled yourself free from his embrace,

“You are so shameless, it’s ridiculous”

His high-pitched laugh sounded through the tent and Jimin also brought some distance between himself and the older man again. As much as he was intimidated by him, he also couldn’t deny the effortless charm the guy possessed and he would lie if he said he wasn’t jealous of the way he could make you laugh so easily. He knew Seokjin was important to you, so he did his best to make friends with him. Or at least be polite to him,

“What? Are you going to deny the essential part I played in selling all those cakes?”,

“You rearranged the forms and then blocked me every time I turned around!”,

“And it made you even more determined to work harder, didn’t it? Case closed”,

“I swear to god, Seokjin-“,

“Hey losers, we sold twice the normal amount of pastries today! Suck on that!” Baekhyun’s voice suddenly cut through the banter and you all turned around to catch him and Lucas waving wads of cash in your direction,

“Maybe we’ll consider buying your shack and finally turn it into a successful business, how’s that sound?”

Jin’s brows raised in confusion,

“Who are these clowns?”

He asked and watched the two men dance around while pretending to make it rain,

“Just the bane of our existence”

Jimin answered and crossed his arms in front of his chest,

“They’re the owners of the bakery down the street from ours. The fools I told you about”

You explained and Jin just huffed out a ‘Huh…’,

You turned to them and angrily pointed your finger,

“You better get the hell out of here before I shove my whisk up your-“,

“Ok, that’s enough of that”

Jimin pulled you away from the front and he and Jin watched a smiling Baekhyun and Lucas disappear in the distance,

“I hate them so much”,

You struggled to say through clenched teeth,

“Let’s just move on and forget about them”

Jimin patted your shoulder gently and Jin pulled out his phone,

“Namjoon just texted me, they’re on their way here”,

“See, our friends are here to distract you”

Jimin happily announced and you breathed in deep to relax again,

“You’re right, let’s clean up and get going”

------

The thing about these kinds of festivals, fun fairs, or whatever people liked to call them, was that, unless you brought your family along, they possessed an inherently romantic atmosphere. Which was now becoming more and more obvious, even to you, as you strolled along the attractions and rides, which lit up the night sky like new year’s fireworks.

Jin and Jimin, 2 out of 3 of your best bois were accompanying you on the way to find the rest of your friends at the festival’s exit area. It was on the way to the beach, where your friends had planned to end the night with a bonfire and some drinks.

The way there, however, was not linear and Jin and Jimin made a show of vying for your attention at every possible moment. You were being pulled from mini game to mini game, watching the boys taking turns at winning toys and stuffed animals for you. Carrying all of it would be a challenge but that was the least important thing on your mind as you watched Jimin throw darts at the small balloons on the wall. Clearly, accurately throwing tiny, beat-up, plastic darts at miniature balloons was not one of his secret talents but at least he was determined,

“YN, look! I almost got one this time!”

He yelled proudly and smiled so wide that his eyes disappeared,

“Careful, don’t do too well, or the owner will have to file for bankruptcy”

You said jokingly, trying to motivate Jimin a little,

“I don’t think we have to worry about that”

Jin observed, giving Jimin the side-eye,

“Don’t be mean”

You murmured to him and lightly shoved him with your elbow,

“I’m just being realistic, Jimin might be the king of cakes but he sucks at balloon dart”

He commented and held up his hands in defense,

“Like you could do it any better. Literally every time Manager asks you to throw him the keys, they land in the pond in the hotel lobby instead of his hands!”

It was important to bring Jin back down to earth sometimes,

“Not every time…”

He mumbled a little embarrassed,

“How do you even do that? Last time we were standing in the kitchen and somehow, they still ended up in there”,

“Are you shaming me for my bad eyesight? You know I wear contacts!”,

“I’m shaming you for your non-existent hand-eye coordination!”

You snickered and Jin shook his head, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and pulling you close,

“Yah! You want me to throw you in there next time?”

He tried to sound threatening but you just giggled like a child when he gently bumped you with his shoulders,

“You’re welcome to try! I control the chicken so I would think twice before messing with me”

You knew this would hit Jin right in the feels and immediately he clasped his hands together in an apologetic gesture, bowing his head a little,

“Ah, I apologise deeply, Chicken-Overlord! I’ll be good from now on!”

He lamented and you went along with it,

“It’s forgiven. For now” you booped his nose and directed your attention back to Jimin, who just won a tiny, pink, plastic rose and made his way back to you and Jin,

“Look! I won something!”

He happily presented the flower to you,

“Woow, Jiminah, you’re so good at this game! Let’s get some candy cotton, hyung will pay!”

Jin grabbed Jimin by the shoulders and praised him some more while you couldn’t contain your laughter,

“Really?”

Jimin asked, smiling sheepishly and Jin nodded,

“Would I lie about that? Only the best players deserve cotton candy, come on!”

Jin looked at you and winked like the absolute smug clown he was and you smiled back at him,

“Thank you for being nice”

You mouthed and followed the boys to the nearest self-operating candy cotton machine.

-----

Satisfied with your gifted plastic rose and happily munching away on your cotton candy, you and the boys finally reached the others at the beach.

They already prepared one the of the fire pits and had a nice flame going, while they passed around drinks and snacks.

From the distance you could see Yoongi talking animatedly to Namjoon and next to them, Hoseok annoying his girlfriend with stupid faces. Taehyung, one of your regular produce supply guys from the hotel and his little brother Jungkook busied themselves with making smores over the fire and poking it with sticks. This bunch of weirdos always brought a smile to your face,

“Hey guys, we finally made it!”

You announced as you got closer to them and they all turned to greet you, handing you each a bottle and a bag of something fried to go along with it,

“Hey guys, I hope the booth didn’t collapse”

Namjoon said and held up his bottle to clink it with yours,

“I’m usually not the best at handling literally any kind of tool so I hope everything held together and no one got killed in an ugly accident”

He added and smiled hopefully,

“Don’t worry, we lived and the booth did too”

You answered and Namjoon wiped the metaphorical sweat off his brow,

“I’m glad you could help. I would have done it myself but they called me in to help with the shift”

Jin mentioned and Joon waved him off,

“Don’t worry about it! I wouldn’t have come tonight if you hadn’t asked me to help so I’m happy it worked out this way. I desperately needed to socialise…”

He took a long, relatable sip of his drink and Yoongi joined your conversation,

“Almost seems like it was fate”

He said,

“I didn’t know you guys knew Joon. We met in university and haven’t seen each other in a long time”

He explained and Joon smiled fondly,

“Kinda lost touch”

Yoongi awkwardly scratched the back of his head,

“Yeah, we’ve got some catching up to do…”

He mumbled and you sensed there was more to it. Not wanting to pry,

you let them continue their conversation and made your way around the fire to Hoseok and his girlfriend, telling her the rice cakes were all sold out but you would set some aside first thing tomorrow. She was the cutest lil’ bean and you could see how they adored each other. It was a healing relationship to witness and you definitely needed their energy in your life.

Behind you, on the other side of the fire, Jin and Jimin stood side by side, awkwardly trying to maintain a conversation while they were both aware of each other’s attention being focused on something(-one) else.

They rarely spent so much time together and it was clear that, even though they were part of the same circle of friends, they didn’t really have much in common, except their shared infatuation with you.

And they both knew it, which made this situation a little difficult.

They both watched you talk to the couple for a little while and kept some light small talk going while Taehyung and Jungkook kept them fed with smores, freshly melted over the fire.

As it was getting later, the drinks were starting to affect some (Hoseok) more than the others and soon, Hoseok’s girlfriend and Jungkook were trying to keep him from taking his clothes off and go skinny dipping in the ocean. It was a very entertaining sight and you may or may not have encouraged his shenanigans with some passive comments.

Drama was in your nature, sorry not sorry.

You had noticed that Namjoon and Yoongi had found a spot on the beach a little farther away from the group and were still engaged in deep conversation. You were relieved to see, that your friend was having a good time and that he got to reconnect with Joon, whatever that meant. He had never mentioned him to you before but judging by the looks of it, they had been pretty close.

Since you sometimes felt a little lost in the grand scheme of things, it felt good to see other people were finding new things and meeting people that gave them more reasons to be happier and feel connected.

It wasn’t like you didn’t feel happy; in fact, since moving to this quaint little town, you’ve felt the happiest and most fulfilled since you could remember. However, seeing Hoseok and his girlfriend, Yoongi and Namjoon, or even the random couples at the festival, sharing food and being cutesy with each other… it reminded you, that there was something like that missing in your life.

Or was there? You would say that a lack of companionship or human connection in general was not the problem per se.

Romance and relationships had never been at the top of your list of priorities but as you were getting older, you felt the slowly-growing need for something other than friendship in your life.

Or maybe that was just the liquor and the third-wheeling talking.

Meanwhile, Jin and Jimin had formed a delicate connection over their shared love for sweet foods, treats and definitely alcohol. They were probably responsible for the majority of the empty bottles that now lined the lukewarm cooler, and they were still going strong. They even laughed at the occasional joke together.

No one could resist Jimin’s natural baby charm forever, not even stoic Seokjin. It was clear, that they were finally warming up to each other.

You only noticed after Jimin had called you over, pouting and complaining about being tired and wanting to go home. He got a little whiney when he was drunk and it was better to just give him what he wanted.

It was fine anyway. It was getting late and you both needed to be up early again for the next day of the festival so you decided to leave soon and say goodbye to your friends until tomorrow night. Taking Jimin home before he turned into an even more whiney little baby was the top priority mission right now.

Hoseok barely registered when you said goodbye and you guessed he would tap out soon, too. You refrained from disturbing Joon and Yoongi and said bye to Taehyung and Jungkook before leaving with Jimin tucked into your side. Jin accompanied you for a little while and promised to swing by again tomorrow before you parted ways and he went home, as well.

From then on, it wasn’t long before you and Jimin reached home. Jimin sighed tiredly as the shop came into view and a last surge of drunken energy sped up his step. He skipped ahead, wanting to unlock the door but stopped short as he reached the glass façade.

What was that paper taped to the door? He ripped it off and found it to be a folded piece of paper that your shop’s name written on it,

“Huh?”

He whispered to himself and turned it around in his hands before opening it.

On the inside he found a crude drawing of you and him in the booth today at the fair. There was nothing unusual about it, except for the sign above the booth, that, instead of the cute rice cake logo and writing you had printed on it, now showed a generously sized, disturbingly detailed, pile of-

“What the absolute shit?”

Jimin jumped at your voice, spinning around and trying to hide the paper behind his back and you tried to reach around him to steal it,

“YN! Don’t look!”

He wiggled out of your grasp and ran to the closest trash bin to dispose of the drawing,

“Jimin, what the heck? Was that taped to our door?” you came running after him. Jimin needed a second to regain his balance. Running around while still drunk was not the best idea. When his eyes were able to focus on your face again, he nodded,

“Yeah…”

He mumbled and watched your shoulders slump,

“Do you think it was the fluffy fools again?”

He asked carefully,

“Who else?”

You replied, turning around and walking back to the shop. Jimin followed you. Without a word you opened the door and both of you went inside, taking the stairs up to the apartment. While standing in the narrow hallway, only illuminated by the light of the street lamps outside, you turned around to face Jimin,

“I don’t understand what their problem is. Sure, we’re kind of a similar shop but it’s not like we’re monopolising the bakery business! We sell so many different things! They didn’t even think of selling pastries like we did and now they act like they’re the big ballers in the game? Like we’re stealing their customers? Ugh…”

Usually when you ranted about the fools, you sounded angry and agitated. However, even drunk Jimin noticed that now you just sounded exhausted and sad,

“YN… don’t overthink it. They’re just acting like dickheads because they’re threatened by us”,

“But why couldn’t they just come and talk to us like adults? This is all so childish…”

Jimin wrapped an arm around your shoulders,

“I know”

He knew that there were few things he could say to make you feel better right now but he still wanted to try,

“Sometimes people need to feel better about themselves and they have to put other people down to get there. It’s not right and it’s not fair. But we’re good at what we do and they clearly know it. Don’t let it get to you, Rice Cake”

Hugging his side, you let out an exasperated breath,

“I know you’re right but I’m just so tired of it”

You mumbled. Jimin let go of you to gently place both of his hands on your shoulders,

“We’ll get some rest now and it’ll all be better in the morning, ok? Maybe I can go and talk to them; try and find some sort of common ground” he sounded so sure of it, that you could only nod in agreement,

“Really?”

You whispered and smiled at him,

“Of course. I’ll do anything for you and our shop”

Jimin answered and took in your hopeful eyes and slight pout and felt his throat close up at the sight. You looked so small and cute and Jimin suddenly felt even more drunk than before. He didn’t even notice that he had moved his hands up to cup your cheeks in his hands until he felt the soft skin under his fingertips.

Goosebumps rose on your skin at his touch and you weren’t sure if this moment was still about a friend comforting another friend as they were feeling upset. Seeing Jimin’s glossy eyes, his slightly parted lips and messy, fluffy hair in the soft lighting from the street lamps had you feeling like the mood had suddenly changed,

“Jimin, what-“

You didn’t get to ask the full question, as Jimin had already pressed his lips to yours in a gentle kiss. Plush lips moulding to yours with careful movements and shy pecks until you ran out of breath and needed to pull away. Lightly pushing at his chest, you brought some distance between the two of you. Your heart was beating a mile a minute and Jimin seemed to be equally out of breath.

Even though there had definitely been some kind of atmosphere surrounding you just moments before, this was the last thing you expected to happen. You needed to sort through your brain and find the ability to speak before the silence grew too awkward. Jimin just kissed you, you were sure he expected at least some kind of response.

You brought a hand to your forehead, combing through some of the hair in the front and trying to find the right words.

Jimin on the other hand was too starstruck too even realise your inner turmoil. He was having a hard time just coming to terms with the fact, that he had just kissed you without any warning or build-up and that he was still drunk as heck. His brain was working overtime right now, trying to process all the different feelings and experiences that had occurred in the last thirty seconds. He could still feel your skin under his fingers, could still feel his lips tingle from the way they moved against yours and the taste you left on them. It was a lot,

“Umm… I- I need to go”

You stammered and suddenly turned around to flee to your room, leaving a perplexed Jimin standing in the hallway.

Shutting the door behind you a little too forcefully you took a deep breath. What the hell just happened?

-------

Thank you so much for reading!!

Part Three is not yet here

#hardcandywriting #itshardcandy #bts fanfic #kim seokjin x you #kim seokjin x reader #park jimin x you #park jimin x reader #min yoongi x you #Min Yoongi x reader #bts #I love Jin #also Jimin #and Yoongi??#kim seokjin #Park Jimin #Min Yoongi

25 notes · View notes

fallenhero-rebirth · 4 years ago

Text

Brain update

First, let me say that this isn't about what anybody has done. My reactions are not in proportion to anything that has happened, and might be considered odd, weird and sensitive to people involved.

So let me explain.

I'm an Aspie (what we call ourselves in Sweden), on the autism spectrum. Yeah, might have guessed that from the story I'm writing, Sidestep is not the only one trying to figure out how people work.

Over the years I have built up an arsenal of knowledge and analysis to be able to pretend to be neurotypical, something that I can manage alright most days, but which breaks down once you get to know me better. I'm open with this at my current job, and luckily both my bosses seem to be okay dealing with open communication and just telling me what I need to do.

It was not always like this, and that is one of the reasons why I had a breakdown and needed to get off discord/tumblr.

Back in the late nineties, I had finally got my dream job. I was a product developer in the food industry, part of a rather small department of middle-class academics. I was the new hire, everyone else had worked there for years, and things were going well. Or so I assumed. I got cool projects, got along well with one of the sales people, and well, my boss was weird but bosses always are.

Three years later. Our parent company wanted to sell us off, everyone was starting to get worried about their job. We tried to expand into things were weren't equipped to do (you don't bring spices into a fruit jam line, will be hell to clean) and while I did the projects, I also raised an (in retrospect) too big stink about the fact that we were wasting time developing things we couldn't produce without expanding. My boss (who I had learned was a devout christian) started to get really weird, I got called in and he wondered if I was a member of a cult (I was often wearing a headscarf at the time because pressure on my head is good for stress relief). I also got told off for wearing army boots to work (we had lab shoes in the lab), because (I kid you not) if we had danish visitors to the lab (we didn't have visitors) they could be offended since they had once been occupied by Nazis. Yes, at the time I was an Antifa metalhead/satanist, it was a very volatile time in sweden and nazis were everywhere. Now they're a political party, go figure.

It all came to a head when I was confronted with a folder one of the secretaries of the department had where she had written down every odd and strange thing that I did, and there were a lot of accusations of things I quite frankly blocked out. Around this time I was suffering from bad burnout, had memory loss, my hair was falling out and I lost two bikes because I forgot where I parked them. All because of workplace hostility.

So for the first time ever, I went to the company doctor, who immediately sent me on a one month sick leave, and gave a reference to a therapist. When I went and told my boss, his reaction was "It can't be anything at work," in a dismissive tone. I wrote my resignation right then and there, left the building, snuck back a Saturday to clean out my stuff so I didn't have to meet anyone. Luckily I was backed up by my union, so I got unemployment despite quitting, and the therapist helped me get back on my feet and hook me up with some antidepressants.

Still, I was a wreck for years.

At the time, I had NO idea I was an Aspie. It weren't talked about, the only thing I knew about Autism, was from the various portrayals in movies, and well, in the nineties you can guess. Rainman pretty much was it.

What destroyed me the most was not that people disliked me, I didn't like them either, we didn't have anything in common, and middle-class people always scared me. No, what broke me was the fact that my system failed.

See, I had built up myself over ten years into someone I wanted to be. Smart. Capable. Metalhead. Researcher. Activist. I thought I knew the rules. How to interact.

It turned out I knew nothing. People had been talking behind my back for years, and I didn't know. Getting annoyed by my ticks, and I had no idea. Nobody ever brought anything up to my face until it exploded one day out of the blue. This is why I have ranted about anons on this tumblr. This is why I have been so openly against passive aggressive posts and bullying, especially the anonymous kind, because it destroys people and I don't think the people who does it knows the impact they can have. I hope they don't.

I have never gone back to the lab. I can't. I'm having heart palpitations just thinking about it when I'm writing this. I retrained. Became a machinist. Back to the working class I came from. Eventually started writing.

And this is exactly what these last months have felt like.

I thought I understood things. I was pretty open with being old, an Aspie, not understanding memes, or humor, or tik tok, or certain aspects of people's behavior like jealousy, but the problem with joking about this is that it's so easy to take as just a joke. That I'm just making fun of myself (oh it's that too). I got advice from some of you, which I ignored, because I thought that I could be different. That there was no danger in getting close. That I could be just another voice in the crowd. An occasionally evil avocado. That this couldn't blow up in my face, that everything was cool.

And then it did. And I was wrong. And the talking started, and things were coming out that I had no idea that was going on. That I was being held responsible for. Opinions that were spoken in my name. Events I was supposed to have been aware of and supported. All of a sudden I was omniscient, aware of the true passive aggressive meaning of every reblog, aware of every post in every room in the discord I wasn't even running. Wasn't even a mod on. All of a sudden I had power, and I had used it to hurt people. The people I cared about. Everything I wrote was taken in the worst possible way, twisted into things I never meant, and the more I tried to talk to people, the worse it went.

Look. I know this was at heart a war between people that just doesn't like each other and the things they do/the ways they behave. I'm still not entirely sure who's been involved, and I'm not interested in finding out. I tried to build a supportive space, reblog everyone's art and fics, encourage people to make their own things, get a kofi, get some money, make some friends.

And herein lies my problem.

I thought I understood how to be, and now I don't. I have no idea who hates my guts and who doesn't (well, except some who has very vocally let me know). I can't trust anything. I can't trust anyone. And it sucks. Someone I trusted stabbed be in the back because they were convinced I stabbed them in the back and that sucks more than I can describe. Every time I make a comment on AO3 or twitter it's after psyching myself up for half an hour, and I'm usually a wreck afterwards, because my brain doesn't know if they hate me too, and if I am imposing on them and making their day bad.

So yeah. I need to figure out how to be. How not to have a nausea attack every time I accidentally click open tumblr from pure reflex, looking away from the screen just not to see how may messages I have.

I never wanted to be the aloof author, but maybe I have to be. The question is if I can. I have been told I can't comment on pics or fics, because then I have favorites. And that makes people jealous. And it makes people think I take sides. I have been told I can't be on the discord, because then I will be held responsible for what the mods do there, and everything that's said even when I'm not around. I should apparently have someone manage the tumblr, it's not something that I, an author should do.

I now understand the authors who just stay away and remain distant, because people give themselves the power to write the narrative for you.

Part of me wants to tell people what I've told my current bosses, don't assume, just talk to me. I don't pick up/do passive aggression, I don't understand hints, I have trouble with nuance, I don't listen to gossip, I don't interact enough to know anything that's going on. Just ask before assuming.

Except that right now I can't. I can't talk about any of this. It's too close. It sets me off. It's getting better, sure, I'm on medication again, but the smallest thing still can ruin my entire day. I have no idea how long it will take me to recover and come back to some semblance of normality. I'm not posting this myself (my partner does). Writing is going well, because it lets me not be myself. I need those walls again. The therapy of writing about pain.

I'll rebuild them. I'm not entirely sure who I'll be on the other end of it. We'll see.

I have consciously not spoken about any details because those could be misunderstood, this is not a passive aggressive callout to anybody. I have no hard feelings towards anyone, I am not angry or upset, just confused and sad. I am truly so very, very, very sorry that I've hurt people, both by action and inaction. It was never my intention. I will do my best to do better in the future.

Still working on how to do that.

#personal

370 notes · View notes

lemonsandstrawberries · 4 years ago

Text

A Better Captain America

fandom: Stony (Steve x Tony), Superfamily (Tony and Steve adopt Peter Parker as their son)

summary: Halloween this year doesn't go as planned, neither for Tony and Steve and their son, Peter. But it all works out in the end. requested on tumblr.

length: 1 658 words

a/n: Happy Halloween! Stay safe and have fun! fic based on this prompt. feedback, reblogs and likes are welcomed and needed :D

—————

A Better Captain America

"That was a disaster."

"It wasn't so bad."

"You fell asleep half way through the movie!"

Steve grinned innocently, pressing a button to call the elevator down.

"Well, the music was nap friendly."

"It was a horror movie and you snored! I had to elbow you like five times."

"Do you want me to kiss your elbow better?" Steve asked, looking at his husband who started to resemble a puffed-out, angry cat. Adorable. "In all honesty, babe, Peter warned us that that movie had bad reviews."

Tony scoffed, raising his arms dramatically. "Bad reviews! Do you know who writes those bad reviews? Bored kids like Peter."

Steve decided to not say anything more, only kept a gentle smile on his face as he let his pouting husband first into the elevator and followed selecting their penthouse. Their date night, coinciding with Halloween, something Tony might have matched earlier, was kind of a disaster. All movies in the theaters were horrors and modern horrors were not what he remembered from when he was growing up. The stories were repeatable, movie effects were tacky and the acting was horrible. To add to the offense, the restaurant they wanted to have dinner in, had an emergency and was closed for the day. Tony was irritated and hungry and just wanted to go home, order pizza and spend the rest of Halloween on the couch, eating miniature sized candy bars. Maybe watch some movies from Peter's childhood, because watching Peter roll in his blanket and rompers and babbling happily always cheered him up and Peter's embarrassed groans were a bonus.

"You think that Peter will be mad that we are crashing his Halloween party?" Steve asked, watching Tony rolling his eyes.

"Nah. He should be relieved. Now he can go out with his friends and throw eggs at passersby or something. I am kidding!" Tony added, seeing Steve opening his mouth to deny that no son of his would behave like that. "Also, what party? He invited two friends over."

"Because you didn't allow him to invite more friends," Steve reminded, remembering Peter's offended outburst when Tony had stomped his foot and didn't agree to a wild Halloween party filled with teenage hormones under his roof.

"Which kid needs more than two friends?" Tony asked, not waiting for an answer. "I had one friend growing up, you had one friend, we both turned out fine," Tony rambled, and Steve felt a little soft, planting a kiss into his husband's fluffy hair. Steve understood the concern but still felt a bit bad for Peter who had an adamant curfew and didn't participate in typical high school parties too often, forbade by both of them. Being Captain America and Iron Man's son wasn't easy and both Tony and Steve always had this thought at the back of their heads that Peter might get used by fake friends, people who want to take advantage of his status. Tony and Steve met two of Peter's friends, Ned and Michelle, Ned being a computer enthusiast and Michelle, more commonly known as MJ, a girl with a sarcastic, guarded demeanor who was slowly opening up. Neither Tony and Steve were blind and could see the affectionate looks measured both by Peter and MJ at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking and it had all the potential to turn into something more meaningful with time.

The elevator stopped on their floor and Tony and Steve went out, hearing familiar voices. Two laughs and... a booming, stern voice, belonging to their son.

" - I am the Captain of the Avengers! When I swing my shield, no crook can feel safe!"

Tony and Steve suddenly stopped, but it was the only thing they had in common. Tony's previous grumpy attitude was immediately gone, replaced by a huge smile. Steve just stared, eyes wide in shock.

Wearing Steve's Captain America suit, swinging a toy replica of Steve's shield, was Peter. The suit hung on his smaller frame, but it wasn't enough of a hint and Peter still wrapped himself in it, doing an impression of Steve on the battlefield, poorly flailing the toy shield around in front of Ned and MJ, who was basically dying from laughter.

The laughter was gone when they noticed the two people standing behind Peter. Ned looked absolutely mortified, and MJ curled in herself, just to hold her laughter in better.

"Um, Peter - " Ned, being the good friend he was, tried to get Peter's attention, which was difficult as Peter started to march and sing.

"Who's strong and brave here to save the American Waaaay? Who's vows to fight like a man for what's right, night and daaay?" Peter sang, loud and proud, squaring his shoulders and raising knees high with every step.

"Hey, CAPTAIN AMERICA!"

Peter froze. It couldn't be… He slowly turned around, a cold shiver running all over him in panic.

"P-pops!" Peter called, dropping the toy shield down as if he never was holding it. He looked for a blanket, a pillow, anything to cover himself up, and hide the suit, but it was pretty pointless.

Again, Tony and Steve sported two different kinds of attitudes. Steve, crossed arms, square jaw, eyes narrowed and reprimanding. Tony, hands on his knees and bent in half and wheezing in laughter.

"Tony," Steve said coldly, needing his husband's support on this one.

"Um, sohhahary," Tony giggled, straightening up and trying to mirror his husband's look. He couldn't and just curled in laughter again after a few seconds.

"Hi, Mr. and Mr. Stark-Rogers!" MJ called, waving to them and just then Ned got out of shock and said his hello, still a bit intimidated by the superhero couple.

Tony waved back and walked to the teenagers and patted his son on the shoulder on his way. He sat on the couch, just right between MJ and Ned. "So, how it is going?" he asked friendly, feeling that Steve could hand the Peter problem on his own.

"Peter, what's the meaning of this?" Steve asked, voice quiet and demanding.

"Um, pops, I just -"

"You think you can be a better Captain America than I am?" Steve asked, some growl making its way in his voice. Just there was no real anger in it. More like some playfulness mixed with a challenge.

Peter just stood there, not understanding. He could hear his dad, talking to MJ and Ned, and he felt that if Steve would lecture him in front of his friends, MJ would never allow him to forget about this.

"Come on, come at me. Get your toy shield and try to knock me down," Steve encouraged, gesturing for Peter to charge at him.

"What? Pops, no!" Peter denied, not needing to be smashed into the carpet in front of his friends. The conversation behind him suddenly ended and he could feel everyone looking at him.

"Come on, Pete! If you knock Steve down, I will triple your allowance!" Tony called with a huge grin, Ned and MJ cheering for Peter to do it.

Peter was very suspicious and eyed his pops wearily.

"I will go easy on you," Steve promised, taking a fight stance.

Backing down was not an option anymore. Peter was sure that neither Ned nor MJ would let him forget about this anyway, so at least he could go down with style. With a loud roar, he ran at his pops.

Running at Steve was pretty much like running into a brick wall. His pops was solid muscles, great for bear hugs, but Peter never saw anyone knocking his father down.

And today wasn't the day either.

"Hop!" Steve jumped out of the way, just when Peter got too close, sending his boy stumbling forward. He didn't let him go far, and grabbed by his arm, turning around and sending crashing into him.

Yup, exactly like a brick wall. Peter's breath got knocked out of him from the impact.

"Now, you admit that I am the true Captain America!" Steve made a show and wrapped arms around his boy's smaller frame and squeezed him, leaning forward and crushing. Just enough to let him feel it, but not strong enough to do any damage. Just one of the typical bear hugs, Steve liked to treat his son with from time to time.

"Pops! Stoop!" Peter called, the whole situation causing him to smile. It was just like when he was little and Steve used to play rough house with him all the time. Just that back then, Steve used to force him in submission either by blowing raspberries on his cheeks or tickling him, but Peter was definitely too old for this now -

- or not.

"Eeep!" Peter squeaked when strong fingers dug into his sides and prodded into the skin. "Pops noohahahahaa!"

"You know what I want to hear," Steve reminded in a cheerful voice, running his fingers over his boy's sides and belly, despite Peter squirming in his grasp.

"Get him good, honey!" Tony cheered, and turned to amused Ned and MJ, "so, anyone in the mood for pizza? Maybe we can watch some family videos if you are in the mood, Peter was the cutest chubby baby."

Peter wheezed, still trying to wriggle out from his pop's clutches. "Dahahahad! No!" he had enough of humiliation for one day and much to his horror he noticed that MJ and Ned nodded enthusiastically to Tony's offer. "Pops, stahap! Stahapstahpstahahp!" Peter jumped when somehow Steve managed to claw under his arms.

The rest of the evening was relatively calm. Peter changed into his normal clothes and came back just in time when the pizza arrived, and Tony trusted the teenagers to chose a good horror movie and later he had to admit, that it was quite decent. Maybe it wasn't the date night Tony and Steve had in mind, neither the Halloween party Peter wanted, but spending time together like that was nice too.

#stony #superfamily #halloween #peter parker #tony stark #steve rogers #ned leeds #michelle jones #mj #family fic #family fluff #fluff #humor #peter parker is ticklish #ticklish!peter #tickle fic #fanfic #fanfiction #Happy Halloween

86 notes · View notes

unholyplumpprincess · 4 years ago

Text

Tame The Beast

A commission for @broheda who wanted Wraith and a trans male reader with reader acting as a huuuuge brat in the ring just to make Wraith fuck them up later. Definitely check the warnings on this one, everyone, and tysvm for the commission! I had such a blast being able to write her!!!

Summary: In which reader decides they want their girlfriend to be a bit rougher to them. Deciding the best way to go about it is to be a brat in the ring. Patience is always Wraith's strong suit, but it quickly crumbles. Quicker than you expect when you wind up in a locker room with her kunai to your throat and pretty words promising punishment in your ear. Oops!

Reblogs > Likes. Please Reblog if you hit Like! :D

!!!Minors and ageless blogs dni or you will be blocked on sight!!!

Fandom: Apex Legends

Relationship: Wraith/Reader

Warnings: NSFT/R18+, Reader is a trans dude who has top surgery (Scars mentioned) but no bottom, however parts are referred to as cock/dick/hole, Wraith has various body mods which are mentioned, knife play, cutting off clothes, big insertions, Wraith’s infamous werewolf dildo makes a return, breeding kink mentioned, pet names such as ‘little boy, baby boy, pup, etc’ are used as well, mild derogatory language of ‘pathetic’,

Words: 6.1k

___________________

Coming into a relationship with one of the most mysterious legends hadn’t been easy.

Wraith had this way about her of avoiding things and people. There had only been three people you’d seen her interact with once you were recruited to be in the games; Natalie, who always had a way of bringing a smile to her face and laughter from her lips, something that had struck you first about Wraith when seeing her in person. Elliott, who seemed to bring out a more playful side of her, one that involved playful growling and shoving each other. And Pathfinder, who brought out something soft from her, something more open to be herself.

You’d watched, feeling a little creepy for it, as you tried to figure out the best approach.

~Rest under the cut~

You wanted to try and be friendly with your teammates all alike, though it seemed some were more willing to be friendly and some would rather hide. Elliott was friendly enough to you, a little competitive, but more on the playful side. Natalie had welcomed you in with open arms, especially when you’d snorted at one of her puns and she’d lit right up and immediately started to try to get you to laugh again.

Whilst legends like Alexander and Crypto had taken more to themselves than trying to mingle.

What you hadn’t known, in the beginning, is that you were the one being watched right back. By a pair of hauntingly white eyes in the doorway as you chatted amongst Wraith’s friends and slowly befriended them. Working your way up in her mind as someone trustworthy.

Once you’d finally been able to be in the same room with Wraith alone, you’d smiled brightly and offered your hand to introduce yourself. When she’d narrowed her eyes and told you she already knew who you were, you laughed, “Yeah, but we haven’t officially met! So, what’s your name?” All smiles and brightness around you that melted her resolve just a bit. Just a small amount enough for one corner of her lips to flicker into a smirk and for her hand to outstretch and grab yours.

“Wraith.”

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Wraith!”

It seemed she was drawn to people like you. She surrounded herself with bubbly people, people who she considered her family. You proved yourself in the arena as a worthy legend as well, without ever sacrificing your smile for it. Wraith had told herself that it was just that you were kind and friendly that she got these feelings in her chest. But it was hard to deny it when three different visions flashed behind her eyes of various different lives.

Where you were there, pressing kisses to her face, or holding her hand, or tucked against her in some fashion.

In various lives, you were her romantic path. In some, you were just a close friend, in most you were the one she ended up falling in love with. Whatever path this life was on, she wasn’t sure at first, but she did know that regardless you were to end up apart of her life in some way. And...in a way, that was a comfort for the emotions she was feeling. To know that at some point, they would have finality.

It takes a few months, but before you know it, you’re managing to get out the words of asking Wraith out on a date. When she agrees, you think you might die from joy and shock from how quick she’d been to take you up on it. Your first date consists of you two sitting in your apartment in the compound and having take-out and watching movies together. Ending with her head on your shoulder, fingers laced with yours, and your head on top of hers whilst you fell asleep with her sitting up surrounded by snacks.

You wouldn’t have asked for it any other way.

Nowadays you two were known as a couple amongst the legends, but not to the public eye. Wraith preferred things quiet, and that hadn’t been an issue for you. Though, it did lead to funny headlines on news websites if you two were on opposite teams. Wraith had a habit of wanting to track you down, and you always put up a good fight. It resulted in a more...personal kill than just a well-aimed sniper shot.

The paparazzi chalked it up to underlying sexual tension.

And really could you blame them when most of the time, those moments meant you were on your back squirming. Your girlfriend straddling your hips and pinning your hands to the ground with her knees so you couldn’t even get leverage. Her kunai, glowing and dangerous in her grasp as she leaned in close to murmur to you so comms couldn’t pick it up, “I’m starting to think you like being humiliated, baby boy.” In that playful, haunting three toned voice of hers before you felt the sharp pain in your neck and you’d wake up in the medical bay with pleasant shivers down your spine and in desperate need of a cold shower.

Yeah maybe you got off to her being a bit cruel.

It wasn’t news to you that Wraith had a small mean streak. Though, normally, she was more interested in tucking herself onto your lap or rolling her eyes at you when you said jokes. She was a much softer lover than one would expect, preferring the small dates, sleeping together, and sharing laughter with you.

You liked it, truly you did. Even in the bedroom she preferred it softer.

Wraith had explained to you before, with her fingers laced with yours and trying to open up more, that you made her feel safe. Safe enough to be able to sleep because there was no danger to worry about. Safe enough to open up and laugh, to make jokes with you.

She often spent more time at your own room at the compound. You didn’t mind in the slightest, going so far as to gather more pillows and blankets for your bed to build her a nest like she liked. Trying to make your home as homey to her as you could.

You liked to take care of her, in a way. You liked that she felt safe to be with you, to let you take care of her like this. It took forever for her to even allow you to cook something for her without her feeling guilt.

Soft and domestic is how you both liked it.

Though, sometimes...

Sometimes she got this air about her. You blame yourself for it, really. Sometimes you felt the desire to be bratty. And in turn, Wraith found that to be a challenge of some sort and she’d become less soft and more threatening to tie you down. It was, in its own right, extraordinarily hot.

It was a huge turn on to watch her threaten you where she’d yank your shirt so you’d be at her level and snarl in your face. Or if she’d pull your hair and tell you to behave. Or even the quieter ways where she’d gesture for you to get on your knees so you could beg for forgiveness.

So, what was her partner to do?

Why, tease and taunt that little side of her until she’d give in to those feelings and ‘unleash the beast’ on you, of course!

It was good for her stress relief too; She’d told you one time in an admission that made her cheeks pink. She liked being able to control you, to take the reins so to speak, because sometimes she didn’t want to think about what was too much or too harsh.

Wraith liked that you’d take whatever she offered with a cry of ‘yes please’ and ‘thank you’s and sometimes that’s something she needed. Not having to worry about if she was being too rough, or having to ask if it’s something you wanted. There were those special little words and hand motions if it was something you weren’t into. But you so rarely had to use them.

Even when she would cut your clothing off and threaten you beautifully, a blade freshly sharpened pressed to your soft spots and yet never cutting.

The memories bubble away as you come back to the present where you are on the dropship as you zone in on watching Wraith play with her kunai. Tossing it up into her hand a few times and catching it with terrific precision. Then, moving to inspecting it up close, sliding her finger across a flat edge with her glove where there must have been a speck of dust across its clean surface.

She’s your duo partner today. One on one, together. You try not to let the idea excite you, trying to focus more on the idea of being champion, of earning that title, the glory, and the little extra pay that came with it. You try to focus on anything else, but your eyes are locked onto her from across the dropship. Wraith must feel you too, because she’s shifting and adjusting herself ever so slightly. Looking up at you with a slight cock to her head as she twirls the blade between her grasp with ease and sheathes it at her thigh.

Your breath hitches.

You know Wraith can see the way you swallow from the way her lips quirk into that certain crooked smirk. Her eyes slide to the opening hatch door instead of you; Her quiet way of telling you she knew what she was doing but wouldn’t do anything about it. You lick your dry lips, huffing to yourself and irritated that such a minor thing could already have you squirming in your seat.

Come on, you have to focus. You had a match to win.

But...then again, you think to yourself as Wraith leads the drop...

She did start it.

You tell yourself it’s only a taunt, that she’s baiting you into something. However, you can’t help the feeling twisting in your stomach that has the need to try to make her mean something. To make Wraith hold that pretty blade to your throat even if you two are on the same side this time. To put her money where her mouth is.

The round is in King’s Canyon. The sun always beats down blazingly hot, especially on the black clothing you wear into the ring.

You make sure to whine about it especially loud when Wraith tells you to be quiet in a hushed voice. It sends her looking your way with a daring gleam in her eyes, but she doesn’t comment on your whining. Not yet.

Patience has always been her strong suit. Always patient with you.

But, your goal for today was to break it.

As the round continues on, you start misbehaving in small ways. If Wraith pings one location, you ping another- even if it is close by. If she says she’s looting one area and wants you to follow for backup, you offer that you’ll be close by. Then when you scoop up a hop up you know she needs right in front of her eyes; She looks at you with a furrow to her brow and a huff of irritation.

“Give it to me.”

“Make me.” You tease right back, a smile hitting your face when you see the flash in her eyes.

Wraith knew better than to get involved- especially in front of the cameras. But you can see the gears working as she processes how she’s going to get it from you. Though, in the end, you hand it over to her after teasingly holding it high above her head. You’re pretty sure she’s going to jab you in the rib cage, so you hand it over quickly as to save yourself from a pre-battle bruise.

However, the seeds were sown. Wraith knew what you were trying to do, and it was slowly working.

When you two run into another team, you wind up knocked while she wipes the duo. You get the pleasure of watching her aim down her flatline at Octane, plowing bullets into him despite his quick feet. You also get the added pleasure of watching her turn back towards you- you fully take that moment to admire her ass in her tight gear- as she huffs , ”Squad wiped.” With that little cocky, yet annoyed tone she gets whenever you got knocked on your ass.

The syringe is shoved in gently, despite knowing Wraith could have just jammed it into you. She cradles your head in one hand, the other pumping you full before throwing it to the side and yanking you to your feet. There’s a brief moment you wonder if her resolve is even shaken from earlier. But when you feel her hand drop to your nape and squeeze dangerously, you realize that this nice face she’s got going on is for the cameras.

“You’re not out of the fight yet.” Is what comes out of her mouth. Solid and encouraging, a fan favorite for the cameras.

Wraith’s eyes say an entirely different story. A flash warning, quiet, unnoticed by cameras but noticed by you. You, who is in tune with her body language and her habits. Noting just how slightly her eyes narrow, the slightest movement a threat for you to stop doing what you’re doing. Just listen to her.

Your eyes narrow ever so slightly back, working on healing yourself up and letting her loot.

You know, that she knows, that you’re quietly telling her:

You started it.

It’s enough quiet back talk to solidify what you wanted. Especially when she’s telling you to pick up your feet in a colder sounding tone. You know you’ve broken past Wraith’s patience for your antics.

You don’t know whether to be excited or scared.

You two end up being champion. Wraith with eight kills under her belt, kill leader through and through. You with four and a heavy amount of damage under your own. Honestly, you think you would have preferred to place second or third. Because after riling her up and the high that came with the title champion, you can’t help but feel the tension growing even stronger.

The dropship is near silent on your way back. You feel your breath quickening whenever your eyes lift from your boots, glancing up to see her watching you intently out of the corner of her eye. You don’t have to ask, you don’t have to speak, you know you’re in for it.

The interviewers are always hungry for something, and Wraith is always adamant about avoiding them. When the dropship touches ground, there’s excuses from you saying that you two are tired, that they can get in touch with your guys’ higher ups for interviews. Waving your hands about to try and shoo them away as you feel Wraith’s cold fingers hitch under your shirt and tug you away with her away from the flashing cameras and persistent questions.

When you two make it to the locker rooms to start changing gear, you’re thrust against the wall by her. Despite Wraith’s small frame, she’s always been strong. Proven when you go ’oomph!’ when you hit the wall. Her body is quick to press against yours, the feeling of her kunai against your throat making you freeze.

You swallow thickly.

Wraith’s eyes are bright white, her mouth set into a line and her brow furrowed. You whimper in turn, hating that you’re already soaking into your fucking pants. Your breath hitches when the blade is pressed closer to your flesh, “W-Wraith-” You whimper quietly as you squirm against the wall.

“I don’t know what you thought you were doing back there, pup.” Her voice is ice cold, chilling in its own right. The nickname only serves to make you flush all over, toes curling in your boots and your voice unable to be found. She must notice, because she’s pushing herself between your legs, her petite frame keeping you firm against the wall. Asserting dominance without needing to tell you who’s in charge.

“Is this what you wanted? I should have made an example of you in the arena. It’s probably what you really wanted. To be watched by everyone- to let everyone know who you belong to.” Her voice is a low snarl at the idea, whispered and hushed. If she were taller, maybe she’d be growling in your ear, but instead she’s pointed more towards your chin.

The thought of her height would normally make you smile, but all you can do is whine for her instead when you feel her blade pull from your throat as she steps back.

“We’re going to your room.” Wraith practically growls out, leaving no room for argument.

“Y-yes, ma’am.”

You do manage to change into civilian clothing before you two make it back to your room. All the while you do so, you feel like you’re being watched, despite being alone in the locker room. When you emerge, Wraith’s pace is brisk, leading the way all the way to your room. Each step of hers sounding louder than ever in the hall, despite you knowing it’s only your adrenaline and the anticipation causing that.

You hardly make it through the door before Wraith’s on you. You’re slammed into the door, the vague sound of the lock clicking behind you making your ears perk. You’re quickly more interested in Wraith when you hear the unsheathing of a blade and the kunai at your throat again.

“You’re going to do exactly as I say and I don’t want to hear any back talk unless you want to bleed. Am I understood?” Wraith’s voice is icy, her eyes milky white and glancing over your face; Waiting for a sign that you didn’t want this. Instead, you swallow thickly, nodding as best as you could with a blade to your throat. Only to end up squeaking when she presses harder. “Use your words, pup. I’m not playing your games tonight.”

“Yes! Y-yes, I understand, ma’am!” You manage to choke out, feeling the smallest of cuts left on your neck when she pulls back. You know it’s not an accident, she never lets anything hurt you without it serving a purpose.

Your shirt is yanked, dragging you to the bed and shoving you down. You hardly have enough time to kick off your shoes before she’s back on you. Your legs are shoved apart, making room for her. You feel a tug at the bottom of your shirt and a clean ripping sound when you realize right after that your shirt has been sliced open from the bottom of your belly all the way to the collar.

There’s only a moment where you see her pause, her hand resting on your chest briefly. She must have thought she nicked you, her thumb caressing one of your scars under your chest. You reach up gently to rest your hand on her wrist, just the quietest way of telling her you weren’t hurt. It was just a moment, just a split second, all the quiet way of saying ‘I’m okay’ to relax her.

No one would be able to see Wraith’s eyes flick up to yours in just that moment, searching briefly for any possible lie. It was so quick, quiet.

Just as she was.

“Don’t touch without permission.” She huffs, falling right back into play. Your hand falls next to you, left with your shirt torn open and split down the center to reveal your body. The fabric rests on either side of you, acting more like a left open jacket now. You feel the coldness of the air brush over your body, making your hair stand on end and nipples tighten with it.

You open your mouth to sass, but immediately shut when the point of her blade presses to your belly. Stroking downwards in one slow, clean line that makes you tremble in anticipation for a cut that never comes. “Don’t move.” She reminds you in a low voice, only serving to make you whimper when you feel the blade tuck into your sweatpants.

The first tug is sharp, cutting the threads with ease, splitting from the top of your waistband to the junction of your thigh.

Wraith’s blade is set to the side, both her hands grabbing each split open end of your pants and yanking roughly. It causes the split open seam to rip all the way down your leg, following the motion of her arms to be yanked off your body. Leaving you in your gray briefs, that unfortunately, show how soaked you are in the front with the wet spot spreading. You can feel yourself too. Slick, your cock hard and engorged underneath- it had been killer in the ring with it grinding along the seam of your pants and now you just looked downright needy.

“Aw, look at how pathetic you look.” The word is strained to make sure you hear it, burning your ears and making you whine in response. Wraith’s testing your limitations, watching for your reaction, but all you do is lift your hips up to display just how needy you are for her.

“Please-” You try to get out as her cold fingers trace up your briefs, pressing the fabric down with her thumb where your lower lips were. Her thumb nudges underneath your cock, feeling the swell of it and how you twitch at the slightest of touches. Your flutter your eyes shut at her smug expression, tossing your head to the side and crying out when her hand goes flat against you, rubbing with firm pressure.

You’re sensitive, a moan blossoming from your throat as your hips shamelessly hump up into her palm. You don’t have to see her to know she’s still got that smug expression on her face, but you can definitely hear it in her voice. “Poor little thing. Such a brat in the ring just for me to touch you? You like being treated like my toy, don’t you?”

You try to nod, but your eyes snap open when her hand moves away from you. You whine at first, only to quickly shut up when you see her blade again. It’s twirled expertly between her fingers, her head cocked and letting a few loose strands from her bun curl around her face. She looked beautifully deadly.

“Don’t move.” She reminds you, tugging your briefs just enough to give enough room for the tip of her blade to pierce the fabric deathly near your crotch. Tears fill your eyes as your body trembles, trying so hard not to move when she pulls up and in one clean slice and loud tear, your briefs are split from the bottom of your crotch, up to the waistband. Easily discarded with a tug of her blade.

You’re exposed. Clearly hard, your little cock peeking from your lower lips and glistening from slick. One pull of your mound with the palm of Wraith’s hand exposes your cock to its full potential. Flushed red, glistening and twitching. You can see her debate what she wants to do, licking her lips with a hum. You pray she’ll suck you off, desperately rolling your hips to look more appealing as her prey.

Instead, she climbs atop you. She’s still fully clothed, dressed in a tight tanktop that’s pulled up now to show her abdomen and the piercing in her navel. Tight black leggings to match and a loose unzipped purple hoodie drooping off her shoulders. One tug of her hand and she’s pulling her hair out of its confinements, shaking it free as a sigh leaves her lips.

You ache to touch her, and she allows you to, but not in the way you desperately want to. She takes your hands and guides them to her hips as she settles her weight in your lap. Your cock presses up against the swell of her ass against the fabric and you sob out her name pathetically in reply again. “Wraith, please! M-ma'am, please-”

“Well? Be a good little pup then and hump me.” Wraith speaks coolly, resting one hand on your chest to keep her balance. You sob out again, tightening your fingers on her hips as a blush spreads across your face in embarrassment. “What? Don’t you want to cum?” It’s said almost like a growl, only sending chills through your body pleasantly. Even more so when her blade comes right up to your throat again and demands your attention.

You flutter your eyes open again, breath quickening and meeting her eyes. There’s a dangerous look to them as she presses again, her voice lower. “Or would you prefer I punish you properly? Toss you out in the hall just like this and let anyone have you?” It’s a trick question. Despite your nails digging into her at the idea of just being used, watched by her, you know the answer she’s looking for.

“N-no! No I belong to you, ma’am- just you-- thank you. Thank you for le-letting me cum-” You plead out, immediately taking her up on her offer as you part your legs a bit, planting your feet on the bed to get better leverage and tugging her hips.

You start humping, at first a little shyly as you learn the motion of your hips. But when the pleasure starts to settle in, you abandon any notion that this is embarrassing. The blade is pulled from your throat at some point, you can feel sweat stinging where there must have been a small cut, but it hardly deters you.

You’re sure you’re bruising her hips at this rate, humping frantically up against her ass as your cock grinds against the swell of her flesh and the slick fabric.

Both Wraith’s hands rest on your chest, her thumbs taking the time to work your nipples over, or gently tugging and plucking one. When you cry out and clutch her hips tighter, holding her still to fuck up against her desperately, she takes that time to be cruel. Her thumb and forefinger pinching each nipple hard, pulling lightly and making a wavering sob escape your lips.

Her cruelty ends up making you cum. You’re desperate, clawing at her hips as your own hump up against her like a dog in heat, grinding your cock harder against her as you feel contractions and waves take over your body.

You’re a moaning, quivering mess. Something that must be too loud for her because two fingers are pressed into your parted lips. You waste no time in sucking, whimpering as she presses down on your tongue and presses her fingers in deeper to the knuckle.

Your eyes slide open half lidded to look at her, your eyes glassy and full of tears. Wraith’s grinding her hips down against you, subtly in slow circles, her head tilted to the side and her hair following the motion beautifully. Her fingers slide across your tongue, finger fucking your mouth casually as she murmurs, “Do you want to be a good boy now?”

It’s an opportunity. Do you want her to stay cruel and hurt you, or do you want to be obedient and get her softness?

You nod, making a soft moan of a ‘mhmm’ that makes her shoulders relax. “Good.” She speaks quietly, sliding her fingers out of your mouth and shifting off your body. Fitting between your legs, gently pushing your thighs apart to sink her fingers into you.

She pulls three more orgasms from you like that alone. Taking her time stretching you out all the way to four fingers. Your last orgasm is with four fingers spread inside of you, her rosy flushed lips wrapped around your cock with your fingers in her hair and your oversensitive body trembling harshly. She’s so cruel yet so kind to you, her pierced tongue sliding up along your cock with each gentle suckle, dipping down to lick up your mess when you’re cumming.

Her pleased moans at your taste only make you fall deeper into an obedient state of mind.

You’re so out of it, only briefly whining when Wraith moves off the bed. You only come back to the present when you hear the telltale shifting across the room and the buckles of a strap on.

You turn your head to the side to watch her, noting she’s pulled off near all of her clothing finally. Left in her black sports bra, but now you can see all her body mods. To the tattoos going up each thigh in beautiful, shadow-y forms with flowers etched into the black ink. The piercings littering her body, over her ears, her bridge piercing, her nose. The dermals in her collarbones and her navel piercing.

You sigh at the sight of her, only to let out a high-pitched noise when you see the dildo she’s picking out for tonight. “B-babe is that really necessary-”

“You were a brat earlier. Did you expect just being a dog was enough?” She cuts you off, icy eyes flickering up to you with a quirked brow as if to remind you that that was your decision to make.

You feel the words ‘You started it’ blossom in your chest, but quickly bite your tongue.

You swallow thickly, watching as she sets everything into place. Filling yourself further with anticipation as you look at it.

The dildo she’s using is bright red and werewolf themed. The knot is as thick as your fist, so that explains why she used four fingers and plenty of lubricant. It’s long, long enough for you to always feel overfilled blissfully so. And attached to her hip, tucked into the harness, is a syringe that connects a thin tube down to the base so she can pump thick white lubricant acting as cum into you.

Wraith glances over at you once everything is in place. She looks absolutely gorgeous, you think. The curtains are opened, allowing the starry sky to frame her in the background. The soft glow of a lamp making her pale skin have a healthy glow to it, outlining the body hair on her legs and underarms and the small trail she had going from her navel to between her legs. She’s tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear to keep her hair out of her face, her rosy lips parted softly before turning into a small smile when she catches your look.

“You need to keep looking scared for me to keep up this act, baby boy.” She playfully says, tightening a final strap on her thigh as she turns towards you.

You can’t help the smile that narrows your eyes as it reaches your cheeks. “Maybe if you weren’t so cute, I’d be scared.”

The playful narrow of Wraith’s eyes is a warning. You know at the drop of a dime she could switch to the same knife wielding, snarling face she had before. But instead, you flutter your lashes back at her playfully, shifting to lie back down as she approaches the bed once more.

Wraith straddles your shoulders first, and at first you’re gleefully ready to avoid the strap on to get at her cunt underneath. But, she’s quick, threading fingers into your hair and forcing your head back to stay still. You huff, only able to inhale her scent and having only gotten a flicker of how wet she was underneath. “No. If you’re still awake by the end of this, then maybe you can have a treat.” She promises, her voice smooth as her other hand guides the tapered tip of the dildo to your lips.

You obediently open up, despite your complaint about having to wait to taste her trying to bubble from your chest. The hold in your hair keeps you still as she feeds an inch at a time past your lips. There’s a gentle hold on your hair as her other hand joins in, holding you and gently fucking your face with the first few inches. You go to reach for her hips, but your hands are snatched, fingers laced with your own and held up above your head instead.

You focus on breathing through your nose when Wraith tests your limits, pressing a little deeper until the tip brushes your throat. Your body reacts at first with a small gag, your fingers tightening in her grasp, but she presses forward again and stays until you finally stop your gagging.

When she pulls her cock out, it’s plenty wet with your saliva. You know that there’s no need for it, not with her copious amounts she’d used on you earlier with both her mouth and the bottle of lubricant. But, you also know, it wasn’t just for that reason.

“Brat.” You manage to choke out playfully up at her when she moves back between your legs. Wraith’s eyes narrow at you in warning, guiding the tip to your soaked hole and pressing the first few inches in with ease.

“And you call me a brat? After the stunt you pulled in the arena?” Her voice is a threat, low and warning. Her hips keep pressing into you, adjusting to position herself lower on her knees and hands grabbing your hips to adjust you how she needed.

“You started it—AH!”

Well, you can’t say you didn’t try to stand your ground.

Wraith slams her hips home instantly, making you cry out mid accusation. The knot presses at your hole, only threatening and not entering. Her nails press into your hips, dragging down to the meat of your thighs to grip you firmer. “Oh?” Is all the thing she gives you to argue with. You know she’s waiting for you to say more, just so she has an excuse.

When you give up and shake your head, crying about how you’ll be good, she begins to fuck you properly. Grabbing one of your legs and adjusting you so you roll over onto your side, you hug onto a pillow comfortably so you can muffle your whines into it. The new angle has your leg hiked over her shoulder, her cock able to fuck into you with ease and hitting a really good angle that keeps making you sing out.

All the while she keeps murmuring out various things. ”Such a good boy.” “Funny how you don’t have any back talk now.” “What a cute little thing you are.” Praising you as one of her hands fall down to your cock, jerking you off with her thumb, index, and middle finger.

You’re so close, but it isn’t until she growls out, “Keep screaming, little boy. I’m going to breed you full of my pups so everyone knows you’re mine.” Is when you finally hit your limit. Your entire body trembles as you cum, spasming and screaming into your pillow to muffle your cries and moans of ‘thank you’ and ‘yes yes yes’.

You’re vaguely aware of her filling you full of the cum lubricant. More aware of how she’s adjusting you to lie on your back. You whine with the motion, vaguely aware of her dethatching the dildo to keep you plugged up from the thick knot.

It’s isn’t until you’re gently being guided to look up as she climbs above you do you understand. Eagerly, you reach for her thighs, letting her rest one on either side of your head as you thank her tiredly before letting your mouth be put to better use.

By the time the night is up, you find yourself cleaned off and exhausted. With a very tired girlfriend in your arms, spooned by your body as you kiss the back of her neck and thank her.

In response you get a soft, delighted noise in turn, and the pleasure of her rolling over in your arms to wind her arms around your waist, her face tucked into your chest. Protected and safe in your arms.

You may have taken a more submissive role in the bedroom, but when it came to the romantic aspect, you were more than happy to play this role for her. Loving, protecting, doting.

After all, Wraith had enough to deal with in her day to day life. Here? Here she was yours. Yours and safe.

“I love you, baby.” You murmur quietly in the dark room. Hearing the telltale soft reply of ‘mmnhhh’ against your chest and the gentle squeeze of her arms around you to let you know she felt the same way.

Beast tamed.

For now.

#Wraith #Wraith x Reader #apex legends #apex lemons #nsft #lemon #trans male reader #commissions #princess writing

23 notes · View notes