#my cats after petting them absentmindedly for too long

[lemonsharks]

In summary there are two kinds of reptile keepers: the ones who have been bitten and the ones who will be bitten. Don't keep a species you aren't at peace with being bitten by.

If you said yes to the first 3 please explain in the tags what animal it was and what was the damage

[onlyswan]

summary: in which you don’t want to give up on jungkook (even when he gave you reasons to, even if they give you reasons to).

> idol!jungkook x reader, angst, fluff / word count: 7k

> warnings: tears overflowing </3 mentions of cheating (but again no one did it ok !!), heh judgemental family members amirite, is giving lipstick marks a warning ?

> in which masterlist!

note: anniversary reveal! and more of oc’s pov :( in the aftermath of in which jungkook is giving up on you but you have so much left to give !! it’s up to u which one to read first if u haven’t. the in which series is a puzzle 😭 i’d love to hear your thoughts after reading <3 hugs and kisses <3

—

“i feel like this shouldn’t be taking this long.” jungkook jokingly remarks as he pushes the shopping cart with folded arms, tiptoeing and tracing your steps as your eyes wander around the entire shelf of feline necessities.

“leave me alone. there’s too many options.” a huff escapes your mouth as your index finger underlines the flavors of cat treats, aiding you in reading the small words.

he pulls back the cart before it could collide with your hip, resting his chin on top of his arms as he impatiently waits for you to pick out a small gift for your friend’s cat, who you will be catsitting tomorrow.

“just pick the one with the happiest looking cat. that should make it easy, right?”

“jungkook!”

entertained by his own humor, his bright giggles harmonize with yours. eventually, you’re forced to sit on your toes so you can scan the other products shoved in the lowermost shelf.

“surprisingly, many of them don’t look that happy.” you mutter absentmindedly to yourself.

“baby?”

“yes?”

“i’m getting bored.” jungkook pouts sulkily, bouncing his leg. in the midst of spacing out, he spits out the first question that pops in his mind. “what crime would you get arrested for?”

“arson,” you answer with a shrug, perhaps a little too quickly. the most adorable packaging you’ve seen so far steals your attention, and it’s almost as if you’re being beckoned by the colorful jars of cat cookies.

tuna? salmon? or chicken?

“oh?” he perks up in intrigue, mouth gaping in surprise. “why didn’t i expect that? why arson?“

“i mean, nothing special. it just sounds efficient? it takes little work but creates colossal damage.”

his face lights up when you stand back on your feet, relieved that grocery shopping is almost over. you place the jar of your chosen flavor, tuna, in an unoccupied space in the shopping cart.

“but realistically? i’d probably burn down my building with my forgetfulness and then get framed for it. i imagine that sometimes when i cook.”

“who would frame you?! tell me, baby.“ he angrily yells in a whisper, a cheeky smile growing on his face. “i’ll investigate and take care of them. that’s what i will get arrested for.”

“damn, how romantic.” you reply teasingly, granting his lips a loving peck. afterwards, you whisper to him as if you’re trading a well-kept secret, hushed voice and squinted eyes. “later. i’ll show you which of my neighbors i suspect.”

—

“baby?” jungkook chirps the pet name one more time, seizing your hand and putting it under his so that he’s pushing the cart while holding hands with you.

you hum in acknowledgement, sparing him a short glance as you look around, just incase you find something else you need while you’re on your way to the counter.

“have you thought of anything you want for our second anniversary?” he asks with sparkling eyes, his excitement uncontainable as more days get crossed out from the calendar. “a gift? and where you want to go?”

and that’s when your calmness completely shifts into chaos. his questions are giant buckets filled with ice, callously dunked over your head without any sign or warning. your walking pace gradually slows down as his words sink in, and you drown in the tornado swirling violently in your chest.

“our… anniversary?” you choke out.

your evident confusion is met by jungkook’s disappointment, halting on his tracks as to not leave you behind. “yes, february 25. that’s in three months… have you forgotten?”

“excuse me-”

a middle-aged woman rudely pushes your back, and you apologize in panic as you face your boyfriend to provide her the space to pass through. your heart drops to your stomach when you notice his stoic expression, hurt and distant, before you allow yourself to be whisked away from the center of the aisles.

“babe, please don’t be mad. i swear, i didn’t forget!” you cling to his muscular arm, hugging it to your chest as you stand behind a long line of overflowing shopping carts. “i literally have all the 25th marked in my calendar. how could i forget?”

“ugh, you tell me.” he frowns at you, lightly bumping his head against yours.

“i just didn’t realize it’s that near already.” the half-lie, half-truth tastes bitter on your tongue. “have you ever thought that time moves too fast when you’re happy and having fun? that’s exactly how i feel when i’m with you.”

yes, jungkook have thought of it a million times.

“fuck, alright, i’m not mad. you’re pretty good at this, huh?”

your sweet smile is pleasantly contagious. a flushed-face jungkook unconsciously copies you. he becomes pliant as you raise his arm to wrap it around you, stealing his body warmth this chilly november afternoon.

“i want to see a waterfalls with you. can we go there?”

he presses a kiss to your temple, unmoving for seconds, before he pulls away with a distinct smooching sound that fills your stomach with butterflies. “mhmm, niagara?”

you fail to hold back an amused snort, covering your mouth to prevent unwanted attention from strangers. “be serious. think local! we barely even go out of town!”

“but i’m serious.” he blinks at you. “we can just take pictures, have a dinner date, then go home!”

“you do know that it’s at the other side of the pacific, right?”

—

the cold breeze engulfs you in a big embrace as soon as you step out of the grocery store, carefree and unaware of its thorns prickling your skin. hand in hand, you and jungkook walk to his car parked two blocks away, carrying a plastic bag while he took the heavier two.

after putting out the small fire, your tumultuous emotions clamber to the surface, and it becomes increasingly difficult to hold them down the longer he’s around. the clouds are dark gray, as if they’re writing in pencil beforehand, my tears are about to fall. you feel stupidly envious of their ability to weep anytime they need to, in the face of the casualties. how nice would it be if you allowed yourself to be the same?

“this wasn’t here before. when did they open? let’s go inside for a bit.”

distracted by your stream of thoughts, you are guided inside an establishment with you only noticing belatedly. jungkook lets go of your hand to marvel at the collection of sunglasses displayed in extended rows. you stay idle by his side, watching him check himself out in the mirror as he tries them on one by one.

“that one looks good on you.” the praise automatically slips from your mouth when he wears a rectangle-shaped brown frame, more on the bigger side. as expected from your extremely handsome boyfriend, he makes it appear more stylish than it originally looked on the shelf.

“really? should i buy it?” he wears a radiant beam, repeatedly lifting it up and down as he inspects your face with and without the filtered lens.

“hm, i think so.” you skip over the grocery bags on the floor, squeezing in yourself in the small mirror. “here, look here again.”

jungkook rests his head on yours as he smiles at your reflections, tight-lipped, bringing out the most endearing set of dimples you’ve ever seen.

“why are you acting cute today?”

“i was just born this way.” he grins proudly. “and i guess i missed you.”

the ever-present sincerity in his voice adds weight to the heaviness chained to your heart, and you reward a kiss on his cheek to conceal your uneasiness, leaving a conspicuous lipstick mark in your wake.

“yah!” he lightheartedly scolds you with a chuckle, pushing up the sunglasses over his hair to examine his face.

you reflexively seize his wrist with an offended gasp. “hello? are you about to wipe off my kiss?”

“you can give me a thousand more in the car.“

“but that defeats the purpose.” you defeatedly answer as you let him go, witnessing your lipstick turn into a faint blush that compliments his honey skin. “oh, fine! i guess i’ll go window shopping over there.”

“where’s ‘over there’?”

he whips his head around to discover that you’ve disappeared.

—

you don’t flinch when you feel someone hold your waist. maybe you know it’s jungkook. maybe you know jungkook will die before he lets anyone else touch you in his presence.

“are you sure you won’t get anything?”

“i won’t. i just saw the hot air balloon two months ago.” you timidly shake your head as you return the sixth eyeglasses you tried on. “are we going home?”

your boyfriend responds by intertwining your fingers together.

“let me take this again then.” you reclaim the grocery bag you were with earlier, taking it upon yourself to hold the paper bag of his new sunnies as well, just to lighten his load. how the hell did he manage to carry everything in one hand?

your eyelids briefly flutter shut when he kisses your cheek. “thank you.”

when jungkook pushes the door open do you only hear the raindrops crashing on the pavement, splashes of cold water staining your denim pants as you stand under the canopy roof.

“shit, it’s so cold.” he shivers with a laugh as you simultaneously pull your hoods over your heads. “carry the bags on your other side.”

“why?” you ask innocently, but you do as he says anyway, not seeing any reason not to.

“just because.” he transfers to your right, capturing your free hand to put it inside the front pocket of his hoodie along with his. “let’s go!”

and you know the probability of you buying cold medicine for two in twenty-four hours is high, but this moment feels like it could last forever — running under the rain with him and feeling overwhelmingly alive, heart and soul; realizing halfway that he switched positions so he’d be the one closer to the busy and slippery road. they have wild similarities: nature and jungkook. a breath of fresh air. stars. the candied scent of flowers. dulcet sounds. warmth. home. resourcefulness. whimsical. unstoppable force. they devastate you catastrophically without meaning to. sometimes you overthink that they do. sometimes you know them and sometimes you don’t. you’re part of the problem but it’s hard to admit.

jungkook drives ten times more carefully. the rain is pouring harder as the seconds fly by, giving the radio speakers of his car a run for their money. the twenty-five minute drive to your apartment is nothing short of torturous, tinted windows too blurry and too reminiscent of memories you’ve been trying to push into the recesses of your mind. but they’re out of control, ceaselessly replaying in your head, and you can still see his tear-stained face even when you close your eyes. the windshield wipers are working hard but the sky is remorseless.

“we should end this… i think it’s for the best, before we get drained.”

“i think that i’m just wasting your time, that this isn’t- it’s not going anywhere.”

he’s wrong. you so strongly wish that he’s wrong.

you swallow the lump in your throat, chewing your bottom lip harshly, but the thread you’ve been hanging on has been snipped. you begin to cry silently, curled up on the passenger seat and face hidden by the hood you haven’t taken off. you pretend to be asleep as jungkook softly hums the tune of the songs playing in the radio. you feel so fucking suffocated. you hate this car. you hate the rain. you hate that you’re being this way. you feel guilty that your boyfriend is excited for your second anniversary while you’re stuck up in the past. you feel ashamed of feeling, almost.

you don’t know how to tell him that you’re sad because you love him. and even sadder when he thoughtfully wraps you in a blanket in the middle of a red light, stroking your back as he whispers. “my baby must be so tired.”

—

the rain has become a clement drizzle by the time you arrive at your destination. standing before your apartment unit, jungkook sets down the grocery bags on the floor to take off the wax cord necklace hidden underneath his clothing. he uses the pendant, his copy of your house key, to unlock the front door.

you slip off the loose sneakers on your feet by the floor mat before heading straight to the bedroom. you hang your boyfriend’s backpack on your study chair and place his paper bag on top of your desk. he enters the room when you’re already pulling the thick hoodie over your head, leaving you in a navy blue body-hugging top.

“love, are you okay?” he asks as he brings out fresh clothes from his backpack, looking over your sprawled out figure on the bed, eyes shut and breathing heavy.

“i’m alright.” you force yourself to sit up, sliding off the bed to stand on your feet. your head is pounding and you want to puke your guts out. is it normal to experience such heartache that you feel physically sick? “i’ll put away the groceries.”

“okay. i’ll be there to start cooking dinner!”

you merely nod, brushing past him.

—

you begin with restocking the fridge. meat, eggs, yogurt, almond milk, fruits, and the like. jungkook arrives when you’re already unpacking the second bag, and his first instinct is to affectionately hug you from behind. after too many days physically apart, he’ll be damned if he’ll allow even an inch of distance between your bodies.

your actions are put on halt when his palm presses on your neck, and then the back of it. “why do you feel so warm? don’t you feel sick?”

it was the final blow. to be honest, it’s been long overdue. you’re frozen in place, defeated as one by one, the tears finally drip from your damp eyelashes. they roll down your cheeks, some crashing on the table and seeping into the wood to form tiny circles of a darker shade of brown. the rest of them rolls down to the hand that is checking your temperature. you sniffle before he can question the new sensation on his skin.

“hey- hey, what’s wrong? are you crying?“ he moves to your side for a better view of your face, but you shake your head in denial. “what happened? baby?”

“nothing.” you mutter, brushing him off.

you gather the bottles of soy sauce and vinegar, wiggling out his hold to place them in the shelf above the stove. you return to the table to pick up the stuff that goes in the cabinets, but jungkook catches your wrist, removing the pack of sliced bread from your hand.

“i thought we’re not supposed to shut each other out.” he whispers, pulling you closer and guiding your arms around his waist. “it breaks my heart when you cry, baby.”

his doe eyes are pleading as he tilts up your chin to meet his gaze, thumb softly drawing circles on the apple of your cheek. you feel so utterly lost, overwhelmed by his gestures of kindness and affection. and yet you cry, because if he loved you that much, how did breaking up became an option he was willing to choose?

“our anniversary…” you trail off, ripping apart at the seams. “it still counts.”

neither of you knows if it’s a statement or a question.

“it still counts.” he nods slowly, repeating your words. “sh-should it not?”

his heart races in his chest as fear creeps up on him, dreading your answer. did he fuck up again? but your response only leaves him with more questions floating above his head.

“if we only had a pause- does that mean you… didn’t try looking for someone else? right? you didn’t sleep with anyone? while we were…”

for a moment, jungkook forgets how to speak as silence reigns over. his forehead creases in confusion, a sharp pang digging in his heart like a dagger as you wait with bated breath.

“no. why would you ev- no. no, i didn’t. where is this coming from?” his round, agitated eyes search for a clue in your expression but you don’t allow him that privilege, impassive as you withdraw from the close proximity between you.

“it doesn’t matter, that’s all i needed. thank you for answering.” you sigh heavily, turning on your heel to head to the bathroom. “i’m going to wash up.“

“____, come on. don’t walk away from me.” he almost begs out of desperation as his fingers curl around your arm, itching to embrace you because serrated trepidation is gnawing at his insides. he’s not losing you. he’s not losing you. he’s not losing you. he won’t let you slip away.

you sigh. “let go, jungkook.”

“how can i let you walk away after learning that you think i cheated on you?” he frustratedly blurts out, the words revolting on his tongue. this was never supposed to happen. he was supposed to be a partner who never gave you any reason to question his faithfulness. “that doesn’t matter?”

“it doesn’t.” you assert firmly.

jungkook is scared. he doesn’t understand how you can look at him like this, pretend you’re not wounded and bleeding. he doesn’t know if you’re giving him a pass or if you’re punishing him.

“either way, you broke up with me, jungkook… i would hate it, but it wouldn’t have been cheating.”

“it is to me.” his hauntingly angelic voice shatters, along with your fragile hearts as he says- “i didn’t love you any less and you know that.”

sorrow seeps into the silence, permeating the cold air, thick with heartache and tension. you walk away from him wordlessly, and jungkook is taken aback, vision blurred and unfocused as his hand drops to his side, devastatingly dejected.

“____!” your name fades into a muffled noise.

the doorknob clicks when you lock it. numb as your feet carry you to the sink, numb as you twist the faucet until you can’t anymore. the strong pressure of the water hitting the porcelain echoes throughout the dimly-lit bathroom. you tightly grip the edge of the sink as you fall apart disastrously, like a wave blazing past the shore and destroying everything in its path with ferociousness — because it’s the only thing left it knows how to do. your endless tears turn the cold tap water into saltwater. it inevitably overflows, spilling over the edges and soaking your trembling hands.

when he broke up with you, it opened the door to many other possibilities that hurts you to think about. you thought you knew, too. but the seed of doubt was planted in your mind when you were forsaken, and it kept growing as a wildflower even when he came back and laid beside you after not reaching out for weeks.

the last time you cried like this, you begged him to allow you to keep loving him.

your weak knees give in to the pull of gravity, heedless of nasty bruises as you cover your mouth to restrain your afflicted sobbing, nails scratching the porcelain as your lone hand insists on holding you up. sometimes love is not a warm comforting embrace. sometimes love is teeth. sometimes love is biting and perversely holding on. were you not worth fighting for? this time around, can he sacrifice something else instead of you? does that make you sound selfish? what if you don’t care that it does? and you wonder if it’s alright for two people to be in a relationship despite having different ideas of what loving means. you wonder if you’ve truly changed his mind.

outside, jungkook anxiously paces back and forth. the piercing sob that tears itself from your throat and crawls through the small cracks of the door is a direct, forceful punch to his gut. he swallows thickly, wiping away the tears brimming his eyes. he can’t cry, not right now. four months have passed, but it isn’t time’s job to heal all wounds. it’s his.

—

“what are you making?”

jungkook’s bubble pops when he hears your voice. he didn’t even realize when the shower stopped running, too absorbed in the kitchen so that he won’t intrude into your boundaries despite his restlessness. he takes you in, clad in your silk pajamas, before looking back at the bowl of dark brown batter he’s been tirelessly stirring and folding to incorporate the ingredients together.

“brownies.”

“all of a sudden? thought you were going to make dinner.” you leave no space between the two of you as you dip in the tip of your pinky finger for a taste.

that was the original plan, but he knows that you like to consume sweets when you’re feeling down.

“i’m about to. are you hungry?“ he speaks in a subdued voice, gingerly rubbing your lower back. “i’m putting this in the oven now.“

“can i help?”

jungkook dies a little inside when your eyes meet and he notices that yours are swollen, yet still gleaming with affection.

“you can, uhm, peel the potatoes?”

you curiously look back to see the ingredients for gamjatang, pork bone soup, laid out on the dining table. “okay.”

as you begin to diligently do the task you were assigned, he transfers the batter to the pan covered with parchment paper before pushing it inside the pre-heated oven. the faint pitter-patter of the rain fills the apartment as the clouds squall once more. he occupies the seat next to you, entire body facing you as his arm rests on top of the backrest of your chair.

“don’t you want to talk about it?”

you frown, briefly pausing as you ponder so you won’t cut yourself. “no, i want to… i just needed time to think.”

he grows quiet, biting at his nails as he watches your hands smoothly peel off the skin of a potato using a paring knife.

“it matters to me.” he’s been dying to say. “____, you know that i love you, right?”

you thought you had no tears left in you, but your face is feeling hot yet again.

“i know.”

“i did a shitty job at showing it because i was stupid, but it never stopped being true.” he says, steady and sure, doe eyes longing to read your mind. “i love you so much, hm…? i love you.”

“i know. that’s why i’m giving you the benefit of the doubt.”

a small bitter smile appears on your face as you pick up another potato to peel.

“the other day, your aunt told me you went on dates… she even showed me old pictures of you and the girl together then apologized to me-” you resist the urge to roll your eyes. “for setting you up, because she thought i got what i wanted from you and finally backed off. but none of your friends ever mentioned this person to me… or you… that’s why i couldn’t- i couldn’t… it was embarrassing.”

it’s hilarious, really, how you were scared shitless of jungkook’s parents not approving of you, but you failed to consider his relatives. you can’t shake off the subtle looks indicating that you were dirt on her shoe, the honeyed condescending tone that made you feel small and hollow as you sat with her at the bus stop, completely clueless as she rambled. you wanted to laugh, cry, and curse up a storm. and you would’ve chased after her when she went to ride the bus without giving you the opportunity to stand up for yourself, but you had to remind yourself that your actions might taint people’s perception of jungkook, and you couldn’t risk that.

“baby- baby, look at me. please.”

he carefully pries away the potato and the knife from your hands, cupping your face in his big palms. you gaze at him wide-eyed as you ground yourself by clutching onto his wrist. your loud heartbeat pounds in your ears because it’s not always that you can look at each other like this, meeting halfway, seeing more than feeling.

his eyebrows are closely knitted, nose scrunching and barely blinking as he sets the record straight.

“it was one time. she’s been trying to set us up since forever, then… then she planned a date during the time we weren’t talking without even confirming with me… it was a place outside the company, so i just went to say it was a misunderstanding and i’m taken! i felt embarrassed because it’s a family friend. nothing more…” he caresses you tenderly, feeling a pinch in his chest as he tries to put himself in your shoes. “i promise, love, i left after like two minutes. why would i go on dates when i was losing my mind, hm? i was missing you like crazy.”

you melt into him when he crosses the short distance between you, pressing his soft lips on yours for a kiss that makes the whole world quiet. your noses brush each other before he withdraws.

“she left out that part, didn’t she?” he rhetorically asks with venom stirred in his otherwise dulcet voice.

you purse your lips into a thin line.

“seriously, this- this is ridiculous… this is bullshit. she really did it this time. ah, i’m angry! does this even make sense? what’s the point of all that?” jungkook huffs with a sarcastic chuckle as he runs his fingers through his hair, squeezing and tugging to release his growing frustration somehow.

this is why his lover has been doubtful of his devotion? he has known his aunt since he learned how to recognize faces, and he knows that it takes a whole lot for you to reach this breaking point. he can only imagine the interaction that took place, and it makes him feel sick to his stomach.

you’ve seen the good and the bad, and you focus on the good, and you stay with him despite despite despite.

he takes a deep breath to compose himself, and then his tongue prods the inside of his cheek as his determined eyes search for his phone. he quickly snatches it from the table and stands up, the screen coming to life as he unlocks it with his thumb’s fingerprint. “i’ll be right back, baby.”

“jungkook,” you call out his name as a warning, grasping his wrist before he can go too far. “don’t act rashly.”

“i’m not! i’d go to busan but i’ll put that off because i’d rather spend my day-off with you.”

you don’t know what you were expecting his reaction would be, but it’s not a great leap to say that he is furious, pending to explode.

“i’ve been nothing but polite even though she was fucking badgering me non-stop, but i won’t let her think that it’s okay to treat you like that… she doesn’t have the right to meddle with my life, and she can’t disrespect the most important person to me. i-i-” he pauses to breathe, chest heaving with the weight of his emotions. “i won’t allow it.”

you are his calmness and he is the storm.

his voice wavers by the end of his sentence, doe eyes turning glassy as he sincerely confesses, which is probably why this isn’t the right time for you to smile like a lovesick highschooler with a crush. this is exactly what you tried to avoid, making a mess and a series of uncomfortable holidays, so why does it have to feel good to hear him say that?

you nod with understanding as you free his wrist. “okay. don’t take too long.”

jungkook heads to the front door before his anger can be erased by his adoration for you, so endearing as you peel small potatoes like you had all the time in the world.

as he steps outside, the raucous rain rings in your ears and its distinct smell mixed with the soil enters the apartment.

you cluelessly blink at the ingredients surrounding you as you mutter to yourself. “how many of these am i supposed to peel again?”

—

jungkook returns after a phone call that went longer than planned, but not before wiping the wet floor from both sides of your front door to avoid accidents. he discovers you squatting infront of the unlocked kitchen oven.

“what are you doing?” he asks with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“it’s baked…” you raise the toothpick you poked the brownie with, tilting your head to the side. “right?“

“oh, it is! let’s take it out.”

he rushes to the counter to wear oven mitts, and you stand aside so he can carry out the pan from the oven. you follow him as he places it on top of the wooden table mat on the table, tugging at the hem of his t-shirt to gain his attention.

“what happened?” you interrogate him worriedly as he pulls off the oven mitts from his hands.

“huh?” you’re coaxed to move closer when he caresses your nape, sliding down to the smooth expanse of your back. “my mom will call you soon.”

“what? why?!”

“she wants to cook for you. to apologize for what her son and her sister did.” he scrunches his nose with a guilty chuckle, scratching his head. “let’s go home for dinner one of these days, okay? we’ll cook your favorites.”

“but i thought…” you chew on your bottom lip, hand balling in a fist and crumpling the fabric of your boyfriend’s t-shirt. “did you call your mom too? i don’t want to cause trouble.”

“what do you mean? you’re doing nothing of the sort.” he gives you a disapproving look, gently squeezing your tense hand to quell your worries. “and it just turns out she was listening the whole time i was talking. they’re hanging out together. uh, besides, she would’ve found out one way or the other.”

“but they can’t be fighting, right?”

“aigoo, don’t worry about it anymore. stop hurting your brain. it’s mean.” he strokes your head lovingly with a small smile that suggests an answer to your question. “your mother-in-law loves you. everything’s okay. it’s cold so let’s just eat our dinner then cuddle in bed, hm, baby?”

oh. your mother-in-law?

“you’re so annoying.” you mutter half-heartedly, burying your face in your hands as the tears surge in once more.

god, you feel so relieved.

you crash against jungkook’s body when he tugs you closer to envelope you in his arms. maybe, just maybe, if he does it long enough, you will be pieced back together. even though he, himself, breaks when you weakly pound at his chest with clenched fists.

“i hate you. i hate you. i hate you.” you chant like a broken record in between sobs, glitching in cracks and pauses and stutters. the more you say the same three words, the more they lose their meaning.

he squeezes his eyes shut, enduring the heart-splitting pain and embracing you tighter. “i know- i know.” he repeats your words from earlier.

he hates himself, too. he needs to get his shit together. he understands — he has to grow up if he wants to keep you.

“but i love you, and i’m scared you’ll leave again and i won’t beg you anymore.” you ramble without thinking, brain on auto-pilot mode. “i’m not that kind of person, jungkook. that’s not me. i don’t have to prove it, do i?”

you feel so utterly exposed, disgustingly vulnerable. nevertheless, before jungkook is anything else, he is your best friend.

“t-they think i’m using you.” you hiccup, forearm covering your stinging eyes. you taste the salt in your own tears as you speak. “but that’s unfair, so unfair. i only accept what i’m given. i barely ask you for anything. it was only one time, o-only one time. i asked you to come back, because i missed you. i want to be with you because you make me happy.”

jungkook’s jaw clenches in anger, no longer able to withhold his tears. he sniffles, wiping his wet cheek on his shoulder. you’ve suffered more than enough because of him. if anything, he should be the one getting the lashings from his side and yours. this is wrong. this is all wrong.

“shh- shhh. breathe, baby.” he coos as he pushes down your arm, brushing away the tears on your face. “come here.”

you whimper when he swoops you off your feet, carrying you bridal style to the living room. he sits on the sofa, and he sits you on his lap. you slide off him, just a tiny bit for your back to reach the armrest, pulling him along with you.

“hug me,” you demand quietly.

he fails to defy the urge to smile, abruptly pulling you in for a passionate kiss that steals the air from your lungs. your eyelids flutter shut, tense body relaxing into him as your lips follow his lead in this delicate dance of enigmatic intimacy. your fingers graze his jaw shakily, afraid it might cut you and you’ll be awoken from this enduring dream. they desperately tangle themselves with his hair, digging to keep him glued onto you.

“i won’t leave again. no matter how hard you push me away, i will stay within your reach.”

he makes a whispered promise carved into the walls of your apartment, sealed by his lips pressing to your knuckles, and you’re left to wonder forever if he kissed your left ring finger on purpose.

jungkook is soft-spoken, slow and careful with his words that could make or break you.

“i’m so sorry that i hurt you. and i’m sorry that you have to go through this because of me. i’m sorry for everything. i’m sorry. but…” he inhales, and exhales, licking his lips. “the noise might never stop. i know it’s not as easy to say, but i hope we don’t let them get into our heads. just because we can hear them, doesn’t mean we have to listen, you know?”

and as much as it kills him to admit-

“we’re fragile right now, so i want to protect what we have.”

you profusely nod your head, and his thumbs sweep over your cheeks to catch your teardrops.

“let’s be happy, and love each other for a very long time, hm…? i know you’re not that kind of person, so you can ask me for anything. or you can even take them without asking me. i don’t care. what about it?” he says with passion and conviction, galaxy-filled eyes expanding as he shakes his head. “but never me, or my love. you shouldn’t feel like you have to ask for it. do you know why?”

you arch an eyebrow at him, still switching between fiddling with his long and slender fingers and tracing the veins running along his arms. “why?”

“because i’m yours. every single second of everyday. i love you. you deserve all the love i can give. that’s my number one responsibility as your boyfriend… but i failed you. i know you forgive me but… but i-i want to love you better. i won’t get tired of fighting for us, and showing you that i mean everything i say.”

“don’t say things like that.” at last, you crack a genuine smile, giggling as you lightly hit his chest. “i’ll become greedy.”

“good. that’s what i want.” he retorts with a chuckle, but he means it wholeheartedly.

he wants to be inconvenienced by you. he wants to make impulsively confrontational phone calls he will overthink before bed. he wants you to wake him up in the middle of the night clawing for snuggles. he wants you to jump on his back when you’re exhausted of walking. he wants to charm the owner of your favorite restaurant into cooking one more meal before closing because you always ask him to make a quick stop when he visits you. he wants his life to be influenced by yours in every possible way, two different colors mixed in a palette to create a new one that matches the sky.

“thank you.” you smile sheepishly. “and i’m sorry too, for everything. i don’t handle these things well… i’m still learning.”

“mhmm-hmm.” he shakes his head in disagreement, before leaning in to pepper your face with kisses. “i love you.” he smells like romance and comfort, sugar and cocoa from the brownies — the cure to your nausea. you still taste a hint of the sweet flavor when your tongue darts out to lick your dry lips, traces from your taste test and his.

“babe?” you whisper after minutes that felt like hours, drowsy and cozy cuddled up with your boyfriend in the corner of your sofa.

he hums in question, sleepily nuzzling his face on your neck.

“i’m so hungry. i think i’m going to die.”

“ah, yes. i can hear that.”

—

“should i slice the onions next?” you question in a sing-song voice as you enter the kitchen, immediately regaining possession of knife.

“stay away from them. i don’t want you to cry again.”

you pout, clicking your tongue. “you’re right. then what else can i do…? why do you look scared?”

you study jungkook’s wary stance in amusement, taking a glance at your hand where his shaking pupils are trained.

he playfully puts up his arms in surrender, laughter laced with nervousness. “baby, stop waving the knife around.”

“i’m not!”

“yes, you are! just put it down. i’ll do everything, okay?”

you place it back on the table with a scoff, slumping on the chair and crossing your arms. “and then what?”

“then have the brownies for appetizer.” with a self-satisfied grin, he cuts out a slice of brownie that has cooled down during the time it was left unattended.

“i don’t think this is how it works.”

“shhh, baby.“ he menacingly hushes you with his pointer finger over his lips. “don’t say anything. just taste it first. ahhh-“

you take a small bite from the piece that he’s holding out for you, and then another after deeming it too small.

“how is it?” he gulps as he anticipates your reply.

“yummy!”

“really?” he giggles when you chomp on the remaining dessert and accidentally bite his poor fingers.

“don’t know what makes a good brownie exactly, but it’s perfect to me.” you nod your head enthusiastically, somewhat feeling better with the prospect of having your stomach filled with more of your boyfriend’s cooking.

your jaw slacks open in offense when he slaps your hand in the middle of your attempt to pick up the knife, teeth sinking into his bottom lip as he threateningly looks at you.

“what was that for? i just want more brownies!” you cry out, lightly kicking his shin from under the table.

“oh- ow!” he cracks up in hearty laughter, corners of his eyes crinkling as he rubs the affected area. “sorry, i’m sorry for my fault! they’re all yours! please forgive me! i’m sorry!”

you send him a scowl before pouring all your focus into slicing the rest of the dessert into bite-sized squares.

he bends down to your eye-level, cutely tilting his head to the side as he speaks lowly. “i’ll cook dinner now. just wait a little more… maybe two hours?”

“please tell me you’re joking.”

—

not long after, you hop on the vacant counter space with the brownies for a better view of the kitchen scene. you leisurely swing your legs as you watch jungkook freely move around your kitchen, occasionally getting lost as he converses with himself. if your calculations are correct, he has asked himself the questions “oing? what was i supposed to do again? what did i come here for?” twice so far. it’s a good thing he talks to himself out loud so you can remember things for him.

he stirs the pot of stew, leaves to gather more ingredients, then comes back to dump them in. the cycle ends with nods of satisfaction, before he waddles over to your spot for a snack break. straight away, you greet his parted lips with the chocolate-y goodness that was reaped from his sweat and tears.

as he chews on the brownie, he turns his face to the other direction and pokes his cheek for another request. with your thighs caging his hips and your hands grasping his collar, you tug him closer to your body. your plushy lips plant gentle but full kisses on his cheek, trailing down to his defined jaw and neck when you run out of space. the tingling sensation shooting up his spine prompts his fingers to dig into the soft flesh of your thighs, breathing gradually getting heavier with your every electrifying touch. the final kiss is granted to his adam’s apple, more prominent as he swallows.

you straighten back up while fixing your hair, and jungkook’s starry eyes follow your red lips in a hypnotized daze. there’s no one else who can make his heart flutter quite like you do. your breathy giggles are music to his ears as you take in the sight of both his cheeks adorned with scattered lipstick marks, appearing like watercolor on paper.

“what’s that for?” he eyed you suspiciously while you were painting your lips, but it’s him who kept coming back to you for more although you were already happy with one.

“you look so funny.”

but if this arrangement goes: he can make you laugh by granting you the permission to leave marks where your lips have been, he will happily live with that.

“can i take a picture?”

but you don’t even have to ask. your phone is still charging in the bedroom, so he proposes his for your convenience.

“here. just airdrop them to yourself.” he hands it to you with a cool shrug, nonchalant on the surface but giddy inside.

—

taglist in the reblogs! send a message/ask if you want to be added (or removed) :D

—

[ventingv]

Hi hi!

So, loving the Dragon papa posts, and I was hoping to provide my own request pertaining to that (though if you find it tiring you don't have to!)

Basically Zhongli and Neivilette go out to run some errands and get some supplies for the kiddies, and when they return home from their outing, they find the reader cuddled up with the hatchling(s) either snoozing, or just holding them as the bebes sleep.

Again, you don't have to do this if you're feeling tired of these requests, just an idea!

I’m fine don’t worry, this is actually the only request in my inbox right now. Might do come headcanons about Geo and Hydro dragons later on.

Also Zhongli calls reader qīn ài de, it’s supposed the nickname in Chinese for dear/darling.

Zhongli

Coming back from running some errands he smiled at the scene in front of him of you sitting on the couch with the hatchling curled on your lap like a cat.

You were petting them like one too, absentmindedly while reading a book with your other hand.

Seeing this he couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped him, causing you to startle from where you sat and causing the hatchling to wake up.

The hatchling would chirp in annoyance of being woken from its nap till you smooth them and causing them to fall back asleep.

Zhongli still had the smile on his face as he walked to the kitchen and put the groceries away before walking to where you were looking down at the book on the floor that fell when you were startled and picked it up before joining you on the couch with the hatchling.

“Which page were you on, I’ll read this to you, qīn ài de.”

Neuvillette

While walking into the house, Neuvillette almost tripped on you laying on the floor, the hatchlings curled up in a pile on you stomach.

When he stops staring at the bizarre sight he ask you if you need help which you refuse as you don’t want to wake the hatchlings.

After putting the groceries away he’ll come over with a kamera and take a few pictures before lay on the floor next to you.

He’s learned to just roll with your shenanigans by now and has come to accept it.

“Hm, the floor is surprisingly comfortable. Hm? My suit will get wrinkled? Ah don’t worry I don’t mind if it is as long as I’m spending time with you and the hatchlings.”

[brineoffire]

Next day of my schedule is a fic update! BTW I'll pin my posting schedule after my poll finishes!

Chapter 3 of Wings and Wires!

Previous chapter link

vvv

Around you many of his guests stare and you all but ignore all of them. You keep your chin up, staring at the rafters once again. Do exactly what you were trained to do. Grit and bare the looks you get and the hands of your owner that trail over your knee and thigh absentmindedly. You've dealt with this over and over again, and you'll continue to deal with it as long as you're here. As long as you belong to Alphonso.

The worst part of it all was still when he allowed his associates to touch you. When he let them line up to get their hands on you. Greedy hands brushing through the fur on your wings and tail. Those closer to him he allows more intimate touches. Those more important guests are able to see you as you strip off your fancy silks and satins. Left in nothing but your tight underwear, lacy tank top and short briefs that lay low on your waist.

He usually leads them, pulling you down to your knees by the chains on your muzzle or collar. Keeping you between his legs he allows them to run their hands over your exposed body. They rub over where scales meet flesh, too many fingers tangling in the streak of fur that follows your spine. A select few would slide eager fingers over and into the edges of your underwear. Those touches still sent a chill down your spine and the sting of bile up the back of your throat.

It's easy to recall the time you first fell into Alphonso's hands. The first few months he kept you all to himself, breaking you in as you fought back. Heavy chains and straps always kept him just out of reach of your claws. In those times he kept your mouth fully covered with muzzles made fully of steels and metals, your teeth would snap behind them uselessly. For two months you fought him, each time your punishments getting worse and worse.

Bindings tightened. Dark rooms where he kept you isolated and hungry. When your fits had been at their worst he'd have you pinned down, your limbs immovable. He knew the slowest and most painful way to remove scales, claws, and fangs. Always pulling from the same spot after they'd regrow, relishing in your extra pain from the fresh growth. It broke you down after the third month. Three months of blood and tears. Three months of sobbing and anger. Three months of being forced into a mold to become the perfect pet for the mafia head.

You had no one to get back to after all. Your family would be the first ones to pay the price if you ever actually escaped. There was no love lost there, but you understood what happened. Understood the bleakness of all of your futures if Alphonso didn't get exactly what he wanted. So you played the role he forced you into. Became his attack dog, his lap cat. Followed every order to the letter ro win his praise.

Now here you are, sitting in his lap like the pet you've become. Answering every one of his demands no matter how outrageous just to avoid his wrath. It's easier now to ignore the eyes, the hands, the cold voices talking about you like an animal. You've spent so long tuning it all out while he totted you around, just like you do now, staring up at the rafters as if they were bars to the cage your life has become.

When everything from your sleep to your exercise has been dictated it's easy to fall into an autopilot. You've gotten to a point where you can tune out all voices but his, can focus only on his scent, but today is different. Somewhere on the edge of your consciousness you feel a pull. A little tug that threatens to pull your focus back to your surroundings and onto something other than Alphonso’s call. More than a scent, or a voice, it's something that tugs on your mind itself, pulling you to look in the direction of the other dragon and his harpy.

Your vision comes back into focus and you can't help but slowly glance that way. When your eyes finally settle on them again it confuses you to see concern from the bigger man, his brow furrowed even more as he watches you carefully. The harpy conceals it well, no one else would notice, but you see anger, though it's not directed at you. Following the line of his vision you know he's looking past you, at Alphonso. You know that sense is somehow coming from both of them, and you're about to give into it, about to turn to look at them directly, when Alphonso clears his throat and has your full attention.

Your eyes shift back to his face as you watch him talk. He thanks the crowd for attending and rattles on about his plans. Letting them know a vague outline of his manufacturing, subtle details and hints mean those who know the plans are reassured and those who shouldn't are kept in the dark. He has your full attention as he talks yet you feel that same odd sense again. That same pulling desire to give your attention to the two men across the dining room. For now you keep yourself in line and focused on Alphonso.

His speech finishes and the crowd claps lightly. In your peripherals you catch a blur of movement, and you know exactly what it is. Snapping your head towards the source you react in a split second. Launching yourself off the seat, using your wings to lift your weight off Alphonso before springing into action. A gunman rushes forward, shotgun in hand as they sprint to get a good shot.

You’re used to these attempts by now, though what you’re not used to is a smaller blur of movement. The gunner stumbles forward, their speed broken as one of their knees buckles forward, a gasp of surprise leaving their mouth as you continue to bound towards them. Grabbing the gun’s barrel you knock it upwards, kicking at its wielder's chest with enough force to drop them backwards. They cling onto their weapon desperately but you slam the butt of their gun into their face hard enough for them to lose their grip.

As they fall you press a knee to their chest, your wings flaring backwards as you drive your weight into them. Your clawed hands dig into their shoulders and they cry out in pain as your thumbs dig into their neck hard enough to draw blood. You hear Alphonso laughing loudly and clapping as you glare down at the would-be assassin.

“Well now ladies and gentlemen! Isn't this nice? Dinner and a show!” You hear mummers mixed with a few chuckles around you as your focus stays on your quarry. They struggle in vain under you, calloused hands gripping at your wrists as they squirm fruitlessly. Out of the corner of your eye you catch something falling from behind the leg they stumbled on. Something thin and pointed, made up of several brown shades with a slight glint of red.

Behind you Alphonso's footfalls ring out as he gets closer to you, his hand falling on your head, patting you.

“Good boy.” He raises his arm, a signal for his regular guards to approach as he laughs again.

“You fucking idiots never learn do you?” Your grip only loosens once the guards have their shoulders, yanking them to their feet roughly. Your tail subtly slides over what you now see is a feather. While the attention is on the assassin you deftly slide it under a scale on your tail, hiding it just under your fur. You can almost feel its owners' eyes boring into you, but you keep your focus on the task at hand.

[i-am-hungry-24-7]

Cat reader headcanons - TF141/König*Reader

my cat café AU hcs makes me wonder what will happens if reader is cat and TF141&König is your owner.

I love cats.

Price

• use snacks as a reward or enticement to you

• buys a lot of cat apparel and clothes, if you let him put those on you you can get extra snacks 

• knows which spot you like to be pet/scratch the most

• talks to you with that low and alluring tone, bait you to come near him, and you won’t be let go by him for the next few hours

• loves to whisper pet names to you whenever he gets the chance, if you bump your head gently at him, he will laugh and hug you into his arms

• no matter whether you sleep with him in human form or cat form, you need to tell him if you need to go to the toilet during the night, or he will drag you back into his arms even if he’s still half in dreams

Soap

• makes “pss pss” noises to call you

• you will have 100+ nicknames named by him, and some of them are long as hell, but he will write them down

• can’t help but take pictures every second he’s with you, and forces others to see them and ramble about how cute you are all day

• you sit on his table when he’s sketching (even if you don’t want to he will beg you to), watching him draw the 1000th sketches of you (including your cat form and human form)

• if you sleep with him in cat form, he will put you on his chest; if you sleep with him in human form, tucks your head close to his chest too, he just loves to have his most important person (cat?) stays near to his heart

Gaz

• can’t reject you if you look at him with bright eyes and demanding for snacks

• searching what trending among cat owners every day, glad that he’s wealthy because he will buy everything he thinks will be good for you

• his social media used to be his selfies or life recordings, after he adopted you, it’s flooded with your photos

• gets a locket necklace with your name and photos, wears it 24/7 (and it’s more convenient for him to show you off too, like “Hey this is my honey” and opens the locket)

• you are his best cheerer when he's gaming, grabs you and kisses you when he wins

• he falls asleep fast, but he likes to knead your cat beans (paws) and caress your belly first, he sleeps peacefully because he knows when he wakes up, he will see you turn into human form and squeeze your cheeks near his

Ghost

• if he’s chilling on the sofa, he will snatch you into his lap, and stroke you absentmindedly while watching TV

• unaware of himself is covered by your fur from head to toe until someone points out

• has a photo of you in his wallet so he can see you whenever he misses you

• use your fluffy cat belly as a sleep mask when he’s napping

• On those nights he can’t sleep, he will tell you stories or what he's thinking while you respond with meows or purrs, when he feels better and starts feeling sleepy, he will tell you to turn into human form so he can big spoon you

König

• unsure of how to take care of a cat first, so when he found out that you can shift into human form, he heaved a sigh of relief because you are able to tell him what you need

• goes to the pet shop, stares at the shelf full of toys and clothes, imagining which will fit you the most, and eventually buys all of them because he’s unable to choose the best one

• buries his face into your fur and inhales deeply, this is how he relief his stress

• will put away knives or sharp objects because he doesn’t want you to get hurt when you’re running in the house

• likes to sleep with you, but he prefers you sleep with him in human form because he’s afraid that he will crush you accidentally. If you sleep with him in cat form, he will put a cat bed beside his pillow; if you sleep in human form, he will inhale your scent as a sleep remedy.

[tired-fandom-ndn]

thoughts on oisin purring?

MY THOUGHTS ARE YES

Oh my god though, I think for dragonborns, purring is very much something hatchlings do. Past a certain age, it's just considered very childish; older dragonborns can growl and snarl, roar if they've got the lungs for it, even make little happy chuffing noises, but purring? No. That's baby shit.

I've seen the headcanon that Oisin was the runt of his clutch, small and scrawny compared to his dragonborn siblings and cousins and MINISCULE compared to his more distant dragon cousins, and I LOVE it. I'm imagining this scrawny little dragonborn with glasses too big for his face and a tail he keeps tripping over, hiding under the massive wings of his grandmother or having one of his parents picking at his scales, purring up a storm.

The first time he purrs as a teen (or adult, whatever works for you) is after he gets together with Adaine and they're cuddling and she absentmindedly digs her fingers in behind his fins (because she's used to petting her sister's many, many cats) and his pleased little chuffs immediately turn into just a rumbling purr. There's a long moment where they both stop and stare at each other in stunned silence, Adaine frozen from surprise (and DELIGHT) and Oisin from just sheer embarrassment. After that though, he purrs near constantly whenever they're cuddling and even does it once or twice in front of their friends (with the understanding that Adaine will put them in the fucking ground if they make a single joke).

He only purrs for her though. Everyone else gets chuffs at best. Ivy will not admit to ANYONE that she's a bit disappointed about that.

[jungwonswife]

heyy!! I haven’t seen many &team imagines lately, I’m not sure if you write for them still… may I request &team when they get jealous (cutely) over something small..?

thank you in advance!! 🫶🏻

I feel really bad that I just never really got around to writing the whole thing bc I didn't have the motivation and kinda forgot about it once school started but I got part of it done and I promise I'll get the other members out eventually 😭

Nicho

Nicholas had brought you to a fairly small gathering. The members of &team were there, as well as some of the staff that worked with them. "If you decide you want to go home, just tell me, ok?" He had whispered earlier in the evening. The event was held in the Hybe building, celebrating the boys' success with their first comeback. Nicholas had spent the whole day pestering you to be there with him. "Baby I won't survive if you don't go," or "I promise you'll have fun," he'd said. After enough of his whining, you gave in, to his delight. Now you were here standing awkwardly, not quite sure what to do. "What's your name?" One of their stylists came up to you, in an attempt to strike up a conversation. "My name is y/n," you happily obliged, not wanting to seem rude. He was friendly, and you were feeling a little more comfortable now that you had someone to talk to. What you didn't notice, however, was how your boyfriend was watching from across the room, eyeing the two of you. He wasn't oblivious to the way the stylist inched closer occasionally, or how he seemed to be complimenting you a little too much. He let you talk to the stylist for a few more minutes before deciding to come over. He walked towards you and casually put his arm around your shoulder. "Hey guys," he greeted, flashing a smile. He felt a sense of accomplishment once he noticed that the stylist seemed bothered by his presence. "Hi!" You seemed to perk up a little bit once Nicholas was there. Nicholas glared at the stylist, almost daring him to continue his advances. The latter quickly excused himself, and you were a little disappointed as the first person to approach you left. "He was really nice." You said while looking at Nicholas. "Of course he was nice, baby. He was flirting with you." Nicholas responded. You seemed slightly taken aback at his words. He just shook his head, looking at you lovingly. "Let's go home now, unless you want to stay?" He suggested. "I'm ready to go whenever you are." You said in response as you smiled at him. He brought you with him to say goodbye to his friends and everyone else before you both got in the car to go back home.

Jo

You were watching Jo play basketball at the park when a male friend of yours noticed you and came over. You were talking to your friend for a couple of minutes before Jo looked over and noticed. He felt a little jealous, seeing you laughing with your friend. He wasn't sure how to react, so he walked over to the two of you, and you noticed he seemed a little dejected. "Hey Jo!" You said as he was approaching. He said hi quietly as he stopped in front of you, holding the basketball against his side. He continued to have a slight pout, and you took notice of this before introducing the two. "Jo, this is my friend." You said before introducing the two to each other. After a few minutes of talking, he was a little more at ease. Your friend explained that he had to leave after another minute or two and said goodbye. Once he was out of earshot, you teased Jo about seeming jealous. He shyly admitted that he actually was jealous, and you reassured him that he was the only one for you.

Harua

You had taken Harua to a little cat café that you found through a friend. The two of you were chatting and playing with the cats together. After a couple minutes, a new gray kitty walked up to you, meowing. You immediately turned your attention from Harua, who was absentmindedly petting the long haired black cat beside him. The cat beside you started rubbing its head on your hand, asking for more. You started giving the cat your full attention, and he noticed immediately. At first, he didn't think much of it, simply watching. After a few minutes though, he started liking the situation less. As he watched you coo at the cat, he began sulking. He watched you petting the cat for a couple more minutes before narrowing his eyes at you and huffing. When that didn't get your attention, he started cooing at the black cat. Once you turned to him, trying to say something, he didn't look away from the cat in front of him. You immediately knew what he was doing and why. You jokingly tried to get his attention by cooing at him instead, and he gave you a disbelieving look. "Aw Harua, did I make you jealous?" You teased him. He scoffed and tried to seem offended, but it was clear that he was enjoying the fact that you turned your attention to him. "No," he said. "Okay, sure." You responded. "I'll pretend to believe that."

[captain-lessship]

The Cobains Pt. 2

Soft strumming of a guitar sounded through the home as Kurt played, trying to perfect the sound for his new song. Then the sound of crying stopped him, he sat the guitar down and stood up. As he walked from the office room door, Turnip, now a slightly older cat followed him. 

He rounded the corner to the room that was beside yours and his shared room, he opened the door to the beautiful nursery.

The walls were painted a soft blue and decorated to look like a forest. Yours and his hand prints were used as the varying colors of leaves on the trees and a band of tiny forest bunnies hopping and dancing a dividing the wall. Under the bunnies, it was a soft pale green, a beautiful complimentary color. 

His voice was soothing as he walked to the bassinet, “Hey, Shh, Shh, I’m here.”

He peered over the side of it to see his precious little boy, Erin, whose tears were falling down his face. Kurt tenderly picked him up, “Are you hungry? It’s about time. I was getting a little worried about you, little man.” 

Kurt had been staying home with him while you were working so he knew Erin’s schedule and was keen to keep it. You stayed home with Erin from birth to three months and had worked out with your employer a schedule that would allow you to be home more. 

Kurt had been writing songs and performing closer to home during the first three months of his sons life, now trading out with you, for a almost full time Dad deal.  After Erin’s first birthday, he would be back in the Nirvana front man position.

As he warmed the bottle, Erin watched his fathers actions intently. Kurt noticed.

“You’re so smart, you know that?” He said.

Erin let out a giggle, “Of course you do.” He pressed a kiss to his head. 

Then a jingling caught Kurt’s attention, a wide smile came to his face, “I think she’s home!” 

Turnip ran to the door, egging Kurt to follow him. Kurt checked the bottle to make sure it wasn’t too cold or too hot for his boy before letting his baby begin drinking the milk. He walked into the hallway, just as you closed the door behind you.

“All of my boys!” You exclaimed as you say your bag down, giving a quick pet before moving to Kurt and Erin, who was enjoying his bottle.

You pressed a kiss to Erin’s head, cooing at him, “Hi sweet boy, did you miss me?” 

There was no response. You huffed, “Nine months and eight and a half hour labor for you to prefer your dad.” 

“Oh come on, he’s just hungry. He loves you.” 

“We all have a favorite parent,” you kissed him before laying your head on his free shoulder, your loving gaze fell to Erin. “Almost six months. He’s so precious.”

“It’s crazy how quick he’s growing.” 

You quickly got changed into more comfortable clothes and demanded to hold you baby boy, who you missed all day. 

You were comfortably laying outside on the porch swing, Erin carefully putting his little hands in your hair, gripping it ever so often. 

The sun was beginning to go down and you were enjoying the remainder dark streaks of orange that stained the sky. 

Kurt, who had your legs in his lap, was absentmindedly practicing finger positioning for guitar notes on them. You knew he missed his band and a part of you felt an element of guilt. 

“Kurt?” 

He hummed in response, head turning to look at you.

“I know you’re wanting to play again. Am I right?”

Kurt always was honest but for the first time in a long time, he found himself not wanting to be. He loved you and he loved Erin but he missed playing. He played better when he was happy and now he was. He was so happy, he didn’t know what to do with it but play.

“You are. But are you two going to be okay if go back to playing?” 

“Let’s see,” you tapped your chin with your pointer finger, “Staying home, not having to deal with costumers, taking care of the cutest kid in the world… I think I’d be fine.”

“What about him?” Kurt asked, hand going to Erin’s back, rubbing it gently.

“As for him, I think he’ll be okay. Just no skipping holidays and birthdays. But,” you looked at the very sleepy baby, “Promise me that he’ll come first, even before me. Promise me that before I say a full yes.”

Kurt thought about it until the sky was a cold dark blue and stars began to twinkle, “I promise.” 

You kissed Erin’s cheek repeatedly, getting a laugh out him as you carefully dressed him in his fox pajamas. You smiled brightly at him as you lifted him up and began to rock him, hoping to at least get him half asleep before you put him in the bassinet.

Kurt was watching from the door way, admiring how easily you got him to fall asleep. Kurt chalked it up to Erin enjoying your heartbeat more.

You carefully pulled the door almost closed, leaving about three inches open. Kurt immediately looped his arms around you, letting his head rest on your shoulder. “Let’s go to bed.” He whispered and you tiredly obliged.

The big comfortable bed seemed to swallow you as you laid down and Kurt pulled the quilt over you. You rolled over to face him.

“Hello pretty lady.” He said, voice softly lulling you closer to sleep.

His fingers gently carded through your hair, gracing your scalp with faint scratches. “I love you.” You mumbled out before sleep over took you.

“I love you too.”

[tummymoth]

Of (Tattoo) Guns N’ Roses [4]

Chapter 4: Paradise City (read on Ao3 here)

Chapter Summary: Amidst Mu Qing and Feng Xin taking turns playing caretaker for a recovering Xie Lian, he remembers that he has a delivery to fulfill.

Additional Info: florist!Xie Lian, strong language, slice of life,

Word Count: 5,978

<<Beginning <Previous Next>

The swelling in his ankle had been curtailed a significant amount by the time next week rolled around, in no small thanks to Mu Qing’s henlike tendencies.

“You work long hours and you’re on your feet during all of them,” Xie Lian had tried reasoning with his roommate. “I can’t ask you to come in on your one day off to help me with something I should be able to manage by myself.” 

“You’re right,” Mu Qing retorted with crossed arms. Feng Xin just left for the night after a dozen or so spirited rounds of Smash—during which it was apparent that all of Xie Lian’s practice was for naught—which left just the two of them to unwind for the night. “I’m offering, so there was no way you could ask in the first place.” 

“No, that’s not—” the florist fumbled for a rebuttal before sighing. “Please? I’ll feel bad. You already work so hard.”

Mu Qing remained unmoved.

“You don’t ordain what I do with my time,” he said as he grabbed a book off the coffee table and flipped to whichever page he left off on. “If you’re going to use that as an excuse, then I suggest you find another one.” 

“Ah well…” Xie Lian’s mouth hung open as he tried to find another retort before he resigned himself to picking at a stray thread of the couch’s seams.

“Nothing to say?” Mu Qing looked over the pages of his book at him with an expression that would be described as haughty by anyone who didn’t know him. “Then it looks like you’re burdened with the unbearable millstone that is accepting help.” 

Xie Lian wasn’t sure if the look he extended to Mu Qing was a smile or a grimace. How lucky he was to encounter people who were so aggressive in offering a kindness he couldn’t possibly repay them for. 

“Well, thank you all the same. I really do appreciate it.”

His roommate waved his hand dismissively and turned a page. “If you end up injuring yourself again, I won’t have anyone that can keep up their portion of the bills.” 

Contrary to his flippant tone, Mu Qing was steadfast in ensuring that Xie Lian stayed off of his feet. He needed to run errands? Mu Qing acquired what he needed on his way home from work (he paid him back, of course). It was time for Ruoye’s walk? Mu Qing obliged with only a grumbled complaint or two about how combative the cat was when he tried to slip on his harness. 

Orders at the shop showed no signs of stopping? Mu Qing came in on his day off to help run it, with Feng Xin doing the same a couple of days later. The latter even went so far as to send Xie Lian a regimen of gentle stretches to ensure that his ankle was healing the way it should.

 “Oh this looks lovely, Feng Xin,” Xie Lian praised as he practically leaned across the table from his seat to admire his friend’s work. 

“Looks pretty bad compared to the ones you have out front,” the personal trainer replied as he withdrew from the table to assess it. He crossed his arms over the black florist’s apron Xie Lian lent him for the day (he had an extra in a bin hidden in one of the corners of the workshop) as his brows furrowed in thought, absentmindedly petting Ruoye’s ears from where he sat on the windowsill. 

A bouquet of Oxford blue salvias blended with violet-hued sweet peas and some white lilies. It was a rather bittersweet and somber piece if Xie Lian stopped to think about it for too long, even more so when he recalled the customer who ordered it. 

He was a man with an aged voice that carried uncertainty that was easy to hear over the phone. After a short conversation and exchange of pleasantries, he shared that the first anniversary of the passing of his late wife—“my gem,” he called her—was approaching. He wanted to bring her flowers during the visit to her grave. So, they talked a few minutes more while the florist made note of what blooms would work best for the occasion. 

“That’s not a fair comparison. I do this every day,” Xie Lian argued. “But you do wonderful work, I’m happy you’re here helping today.” 

“Was Mu Qing that bad?” 

“Well…” He sputtered. The number of times his roommate had nearly cut his fingers open a couple of days before while trying to trim stems was… Significantly higher than zero. 

For all his experience plating beautiful dishes at the hotel restaurant, it seemed that he had met his match in the form of plants. Xie Lian chose to omit that fact.

“He was really helpful on the phone! And the floor is spotless thanks to him.”

Feng Xin cackled and set the finished bouquet aside after nimbly securing a ribbon around the stems. “We’ve always known that he makes for a great custodian. Tell me something I don’t know—ack!”

The florist reached up from his seat to swat Feng Xin in the back of the head. 

“Be nice,” he admonished, not unkindly. “You’re a lot ruder to customers than he is on the phone.”

“I’m not rude—”

“You both have your strengths and you both have weaknesses. So be nice.”

Feng Xin mumbled something unintelligible in response to the reprimand, his tone disgruntled.

“Besides, you’ve done this before,” Xie Lian laughed. “He hasn’t.”

Xie Lian always had an interest in trades that his parents considered “unstable.” After all, in a progressing world where technology is increasingly used for daily life, things like bookbinding, literature, or calligraphy become more and more outmoded. Floral arrangement was a hobby that came along later in his adolescence amidst a time full of… Unpleasant memories. But he adored it all the same. 

As friends since practically birth, he hauled Feng Xin along with him on each new endeavor. He never saw the appeal in reading old books, but he was always keen to lend another set of hands when it came to binding copies of said old books or arranging flowers, much to Xie Lian’s delight. It had been a while since the personal trainer had last done something that requires fine motor skills instead of brute strength. 

Still, it was easy to tell that his hands operated on muscle memory alone from the speed with which he trimmed stems, dethorned roses, and carefully gathered blooms to sit in a vase. 

“Yeah, and I’m not even that good. I can’t even imagine how much of a disaster—”

“Nonsense, it’s been a while. This one only needs to be adjusted a tiny bit…” Xie Lian was halfway out of his seat to fix the angle of a stray stem (or three) when two strong hands firmly pushed him back into his seat. 

“You’re staying right there. Mu Qing will skin me alive and use it for his next dish if he catches wind of me letting you be on your feet.” 

“I’m a fully grown man, not a baby,” he reminded him. “And my ankle is pretty much all better! Look.” He flexed his ankle a few times, his foot drawing circles in the air as he did so. Only a jolt of pain or two shot up his leg as opposed to the constant dull throbbing from over the weekend. “You know as well as me that the human body has to be exercised during the healing process. Aren’t you a professional?”

“You’re right.” 

“Thank you, so that means I can start walking—”

“You’re not a baby. Babies have a better sense of self-preservation,” the personal trainer snorted before bringing the bouquet closer to Xie Lian’s side of the table so he could fuss over it to his heart’s content. 

Blue salvias in particular mean, “I think of you,” while sweet peas are a sign of thanks for a lovely time. Salvias grow in spires of tubular, hooded petals with a striking resemblance to lavender flowers. The oddity of their shape flowed nicely with the fanned-out form of dusty violet sweet peas. The white lilies—a flower for mourning—placed strategically throughout the bouquet were a pleasant and much-needed contrast to its cool tones. 

He carefully untied the ribbon Feng Xin had labored over and replaced it with brown florist’s twine to give the piece an earthy feel. This was to be left in front of a gravestone, after all. 

Once it was secured, he opened a nearby drawer that contained a number of stones and rummaged about until he was able to produce a small, oblong stone that was mostly rust-orange in color. Its splotches of orange and dark green-yellow resembled the very flower it was named after—poppies. Seeing as they were a flower closely associated with peace and death, he thought it was fitting.

Feng Xin’s fingers may be unexpectedly deft given his occupation, but it was Xie Lian who had an eye for these kinds of things. 

As the florist busied himself with making sure the stone was properly secured to the stems of the flower with twine, Feng Xin looked at one of the other invoice tickets. 

“I don’t get why you don’t go electronic with these,” he waved the paper slip around with one hand as he turned toward the buckets of flowers mounted on a nearby rack to find the necessary blooms for the next arrangement. “It would save you the trouble of having to buy brand new ones every time you’re running low.” 

“It’s too much work to program,” Xie Lian murmured in reply, his concentration devoted to finishing up the bouquet and wrapping it in brown paper. “And I don’t have a computer. What if it glitches and then I lose all the data? I’d rather have a hard copy to avoid that headache.” 

“But it would make your life so much easier! If you lose the ticket, you’ll have it digitized.” Feng Xin gathered the appropriate amount and kinds of flowers and set them in a  bucket with water in it close to Xie Lian before taking the newly finished bouquet to put it in its own water-filled vessel.

“Do me a favor, could you put that in the fridge over there?” He took a look at the flowers as well as the invoice, gesturing vaguely at the unit specifically used to store the flowers before sale. 

“Sure.” 

They worked like this in relative quiet aside from the phone calls and orders Feng Xin received. For all his protests about having his friends come in to help him, Xie Lian couldn’t deny that having an extra set of hands or two helped streamline the process. 

“Feng Xin?” His tone was absent as he adjusted the flowers to be just right. It was a horizontal arrangement, and it required floral foam. He would usually try to avoid using it, as it made changing the water difficult for customers, and the flowers never lasted as long, but this was meant to be used in a banquet setting of sorts. The flowers needed to be at the perfect angle and they needed to stay. 

“Mn.” 

A glance across the table left Xie Lian with the comical sight of his friend hunched over a small pile of roses as he worked on dethorning them. A furrow had found itself between his brows. 

“How much do I owe you today for your time?” 

“Fuck I look like, letting you pay me when I’m just helping?” He waved one of the roses around as if to prove his point. “What am I, a prostitute?” 

Xie Lian choked and turned to the side, trying to disguise it as a cough while Feng Xin continued working at the roses, seemingly unaware that his childhood friend was fighting for breath. 

“It’s your day off, though?”

Feng Xin glared at him, his expression asking, “are you fuckin’ serious??” 

“Don’t be dumb. I’m not losing any money, and I didn’t have any plans today. Don’t worry about it,” he replied with an emphatic pull of the thorn stripper. 

“Well—”

“You wanna pay someone so bad to help you run the shop?” He set down a rose and got started on another. They were in high demand no matter the season, so Xie Lian always had an excess of them that needed trimming for walk-in clients—mostly new customers who were unaware of the other options available. “Hire someone. I’m sure there are people around the city who are interested. There’s always someone who needs a job.” 

Xie Lian’s hands paused in their work as he gave the idea some serious thought. 

“Actually, you have a point—”

brrIIING!

Feng Xin hurriedly wiped wet hands on his apron and grabbed Xie Lian’s phone beside him to answer it, only to pause in confusion.

“Ah.” 

“Hm?”

“It’s your alarm.” He spun the phone to face Xie Lian. Against the backdrop of his screensaver—an endearing photo of Ruoye in what the florist affectionately called “attack mode” with pupils dilated enough to reduce his irises to thin rings of blue—were bold letters that read “LEAVE FOR DELIVERY!!!” 

“I didn’t know you delivered. Did you hire a driver or something?” 

Xie Lian sprang to his feet, making Feng Xin jump, and hastily wiped his hands on his apron while scrambling to untie it. “I completely forgot!” 

“What, did you leave the oven on?”

The florist paused and turned in confusion. “Wha- No. I told a customer I’d get these to him today.” 

He was already halfway across the room and yanking the refrigerator door open. On the middlemost shelf sat five arrangements sporting moody tones of burgundy, cool browns, and dark greens. The space was quite crowded. If the volume of orders being placed didn’t thin out soon, he’d have to invest in a bigger fridge; preferably one with more shelf space.

“Could you help me out and watch the shop for a bit?” He carefully transferred the flowers to a medium-sized bucket with a few inches or so of cold water—just enough to keep the flowers hydrated on the way there. Each arrangement was secured with a few rubber bands, so there was no need to reorganize them upon arrival. 

“The walk isn’t that far. It won't be much longer than 30 minutes, I promise.”

“And I promised Mu Qing that I’d make sure you weren’t overexerting yourself like you always do.” Feng Xin trailed after Xie Lian as he made his way over to the front of the shop and set the bucket on the counter. 

Xie Lian’s hands were a flurry of movement as he looked for the invoice he had written. 

He really should have clipped it to one of the buckets the flowers were in before he put them away to store. Then he wouldn’t have to rifle through the various pieces of stationery and discarded tickets. The counter wasn’t normally this messy; where could he have possibly put it—ah, there it was. 

Between a sizable pile of pens and sticky notes in one of the drawers. 

He grabbed the ticket and put it in his wallet before removing his coat—a lovely gift to him from his mother before he left home—and scarf from a nearby rack. 

Hopefully, the biting temperature outside wouldn’t cause issues with the flowers like premature wilting. They would only be exposed for a little bit, but the flowers in this set of arrangements weren’t exactly the hardiest. If only flowers could wear sweaters… He disregarded the thought and wrapped his scarf around his neck.

“What’s there to overexert? The swelling is practically gone, and I can walk just fine.” 

“Yeah, until you roll your ankle and injure it even more on the way there. You need another week of minimal activity at least,” Feng Xin griped as he grabbed the bucket. “I’ll call a cab for you. Just don’t go anywhere.”

“Ah, but…”

“Mu Qing will actually kill me if you end up walking the whole way. Letting you go in the first place is bad enough,” he said as both men exited the store to stand on the sidewalk. Xie Lian was immediately hit by a gust of chilly wind accompanied by the sound of leaves skittering along the pavement. Perhaps he should offer to take the bucket, if only to have something to shield him from the draft.

“You want me to die at the hands of the chef with a stick constantly up his ass?” Feng Xin continued. “I’d have to hide my face in shame in the afterlife.” 

“I said be nice!” Xie Lian laughed despite himself. “I won’t tell him if you don’t.”

Not long after, a cab was successfully hailed. 

Feng Xin carefully put the bucket on the seat farthest from the open door and moved so Xie Lian could take a seat himself. With a quick and earnest thanks to Feng Xin, he shut the door and gave the address to the driver.

Luckily, the cabbie brought him to his destination with no issues aside from the stop-and-go midday traffic. As it turned out, it wasn’t too far from his shop. The drive didn’t take more than 15 minutes into the city center, where low-rise buildings gave way to the mid and high-rise structures more archetypal of a bustling metropolis.  

Once he paid the fare, Xie Lian clambered out of the taxi and onto the sidewalk with his bucket of arrangements in hand. The sidewalk was inundated with people brusquely walking to wherever it was that they needed to go. In the sea of navy blue, black, and grey business attire, he couldn’t help but feel underdressed.

Had he misremembered the address? He didn’t know art studios were located in the business district. He wasn’t well-versed in the world of art to begin with, but this location wasn’t what he had in mind.

 He quickly scanned the buildings that lined the street, looking for the studio. Most of them were smooth, with blue-green glass windows spanning their entirety. Some were so tall he needed to crane his neck to even see the top. 

Two minutes of walking and reading the storefront signs of major banking corporations and realtor groups alike passed before he came across a building made of black brick with tall, expansive windows that were tinted dark enough to prevent passersby from peering in. Despite not sharing the near-skyscraper heights of its neighbors, it was still a substantial structure with 30 stories or so. Silver-painted mouldings lined the windows in an ornamental fashion along each tier of the building as it became narrower and narrower toward the top. 

It was the very picture of tasteful opulence. 

If it weren’t for the fact that the building number was an exact match to the address He Xuan gave him, he could’ve mistaken it for a hotel. What an interesting exterior for an art studio. 

Xie Lian readjusted his hold on the bucket and walked under an awning with “Ghost Tower” printed on it in an elegant white font. Two glass doors reinforced with silver metal that seamlessly connected to a large circular window automatically parted to let him in. It brought the image of a moon gate to mind.

He was immediately struck by the sheer size of the reception area. It was empty, making the space seem that much bigger. 

The flooring consisted of black marble tiles that led to smooth, dark brown walls stretching up to a high ceiling. From it hung an installation of delicate silver pieces. Scattered amidst clusters of large lanterns hung at various heights, they gently swayed from the strings tethering them and twinkled as they caught both the orange-red light of the lanterns and the natural light streaming in.

Past the lobby, there were three wide, arching entryways that led to the rest of the building, the one in the center much wider than the other two. Silver letters that read “Crimson Elysium” followed the arc of dark brown wooden framing, with slats and beams of the same material coming together to form geometric shapes and gridlines. 

Beyond that were rows of room dividers reminiscent of the rice paper screens in Xie Lian’s childhood home, except they were gunmetal and frosted glass instead of the traditional wood and paper. Rectangular floor lanterns were stationed at each divider, emitting a soft red glow.

The low din of conversation and a rhythmic buzzing he couldn’t quite place echoed throughout.

Where could he possibly find He Xuan in all of this? Xie Lian debated the merits of wandering the premises until he happened to cross paths with him. No. An establishment like this had security, and it was beyond obvious that he didn’t belong here. He didn’t want to be accused of trespassing and kicked out before he even had a chance to deliver the flowers. 

A black reception desk with a silver trim—he was beginning to sense a pattern in the overall theme of the space—sat to the left of the entrance. On it sat one of the arrangements from the last order he had fulfilled, and behind it sat a receptionist wearing a black face mask. Black hair fell neatly past his shoulders, almost blending in with the nondescript, long-sleeve shirt he wore. 

If it weren’t for the fact that he was talking, Xie Lian would have missed him entirely and mistaken him as an extension of the desk. 

He made his way over in hopes that the young man would know where he could find He Xuan and let him know there was a delivery for him. As he approached, however, he saw that he was on the phone. He couldn’t fully make out what was being said, but the furrow in his brow and the urgency in his tone probably meant the call he was taking was important. 

Xie Lian gingerly set the bucket down on a nearby coffee table and took a seat, resigning himself to sitting in the waiting room until the receptionist was available. It was best not to interrupt. He still had time. 

Instead of the standard set of magazines lobbies typically had, there was a small stack of booklets with black covers and silver spines next to where he put the bucket. Xie Lian opened one of them. 

The cover page held nothing but a scrawled signature spanning most of it and the letters H.C. printed at the bottom. The strokes were brush-like, but hardly legible with its jagged lines and unintelligible loops. It was chaotic and aggressive, leading Xie Lian to surmise that the signer had either never held a brush in their life before, or they detested the idea of calligraphy as a whole and decided to desecrate the paper by way of retribution. 

He gently leafed through the pages, revealing designs that were much more pleasant than the introductory page. They were geometric, fine line drawings with no shortage of floral motifs, all done in black and red ink. The flowers drawn were strikingly accurate, drawn with great care and attention to detail while still retaining a painterly quality. Some drawings were hyperreal, while others emphasized clean, graphic linework. 

Whoever was behind this portfolio of work clearly had a wide range of subjects, as well as the skill to back it up. 

As he perused the booklet’s contents, the straight lines and perfect angles eventually gave way to thicker lines, grayscale washes with red interspersed throughout, and depictions of demonic figures. One such illustration was composed of a river of yuan coins artfully streaming down the page and slowly morphing into a scene of tormented souls burning in fire. 

As he set the booklet down, footsteps echoed throughout the room.

“Xie Lian, thank you for coming all this way,” He Xuan said as he entered. He was clad in his usual jet-black attire: a vest worn over a turtleneck, smartly tucked into a pair of slacks that fell right above a pair of dress shoes. As always, the ensemble was accentuated by a belt and a simple gold chain around his neck. 

The only differences of note were that his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing two twin tattoos crawling down his arms, and a gold wedding band. 

Xie Lian would be hard-pressed to discern any specific details from where he was sitting, but he could vaguely make out elegant black lines flowing around the man’s forearms like ink dispersing through water.

“I’ll be with you in just a moment.”

“Take your time,” Xie Lian insisted, “I’m in no hurry.”

He Xuan nodded at him in thanks before making his way behind the desk.  

“I’m still deciding if I should fire you for calling me down here or thank you for giving me an excuse to start my lunch break early,” he murmured as he looked down at the receptionist. His lowered tone bounced off the walls and reverberated around the room. 

“I’m already up to my neck in the paperwork he doesn’t want to deal with. It’s not my job to receive petty grievances over the phone, Yin Yu. That's what I hired you for.” 

Suddenly, Xie Lian was fascinated with his bucket of flowers. Who knew that eucalyptus leaves could be so… Leafy? He took care to pay attention to anything but the two individuals behind the desk. Yes, that’s what good guests do when they’re waiting for their client to finish with their business. He would not be nosy.

There was a dull click as the receptionist—Yin Yu, as Xie Lian has now learned—pressed the mute button. “I know,” he said with a hand raised in surrender to placate He Xuan. “But I’ve been on the phone with them for the better part of an hour, and they’re not budging until they talk to either you or one of the people higher up.”

“I’m a business partner. The only other ‘higher up’ is—” He Xuan took a moment to center himself and huffed. He stuck his hand out. “Just give me the phone.” 

“But—”

He Xuan stared at him with an expression bordering on bellicose. 

Yin Yu unmuted the phone and handed him the receiver.

“This is He Xuan of Crimson Elysium,” he said. His voice was nothing short of professional as he braced a hand on the desk and leaned on it. “What seems to be the issue?” 

“...

“Mn. I see. Actually, I’m glad I have the opportunity to speak with you regarding your shipping policies. ” 

Now, Xie Lian knew He Xuan to be a generally standoffish person, but the tone of his voice at the moment was enough to reduce the temperature of the room by several degrees. 

“Is there any particular reason why we have yet to receive the order we placed for needle cartridges?” 

There was a pregnant pause as he waited for the poor soul on the other side of the line to speak.

“I understand you don’t offer express shipping, but that’s not what I’m asking. What I’m asking is why it still hasn’t arrived three weeks after the supposed delivery date you gave us. Is this how you’re to run a business? Because the way you operate is certainly not helping us run ours.

“...

“Excuse me for interrupting.” Xie Lian chanced a glance across the room to see him smiling—or perhaps it was more accurate to say that he was gritting his teeth. 

“How does the reputation of our establishment impact your ability to make sure your clients receive your goods in a timely manner? This is a team of dozens of artists. There’s no way they can…” 

Xie Lian quickly reimmersed himself in the details of one of his arrangements as displeasure made itself known in He Xuan’s voice. The petals of the chocolate cosmos he had chosen for this arrangement were so velvety. They reflected the light coming in from the window, giving the illusion of blue streaks contrasting with the deep, rich red. What a wonder nature is! 

“...if we can’t rely on you to supply what we paid for due to something as fragile and petty as reputation, then I have no business to conduct with you.” 

Xie Lian felt a chill sweep through the room. He Xuan’s disposition had definitely reached sub-zero. 

“I trust that you can reimburse us for the items we never received within the next five business days. We will be reaching out to other providers in the meantime.” With that, he hung up with a resounding click! and rubbed at his temples. 

He shot Yin Yu a look that said, “now was that so hard?”

If Yin Yu was a braver soul, he would’ve responded, “yes, very much so.”

He Xuan turned to Xie Lian. “My apologies for having you wait through that.” He was back to his vaguely detached, polite mannerisms as he approached the florist to look at the newest order. 

Xie Lian stood to shake his hand. “Again there’s no need to worry. I have the flowers,” he cheerfully supplied, as if it wasn’t obvious.

“Thank you.” 

“I didn’t think to bring a card machine or anything with me, so I can just start a tab for you and you can pay it off the next time you stop by. I know you’re good for the money.” 

“It’s no problem. We can pay in cash.” He Xuan was already making his way to the reception desk with Xie Lian in tow. “Timely transactions are important for both parties,” he said as he opened the register and shot a pointed look at Yin Yu. 

Xie Lian produced the invoice from his wallet detailing the cost for each of the arrangements. Taking it and reading it over, He Xuan raised a brow. 

“There’s no delivery fee listed.” 

“Ah, well I don’t normally do deliveries, so I don’t have a standard fee. It wouldn’t be fair of me to charge you for something I haven’t even decided the price of. Consider it a favor from your local florist.” 

“You aren’t charging me. This isn’t coming out of my wallet.” 

“Ah, well…”

“This is to compensate you for your time and the inconvenience,” He Xuan said as he handed Xie Lian an envelope stuffed with cash. It was enough to cover the cost of the arrangements, a generous tip, and then some. “Please, take it. He set this aside in advance.” 

The florist balked at the amount and opened his mouth to protest but quickly thought better of it. It wouldn’t do to negotiate and argue with someone who wasn’t even here, especially not in front of his subordinates. With a heartfelt thanks, he put the envelope in the inner pocket of his coat.

“So, this is where you and your boss work?” 

“Boss?” Both men’s heads turned toward Yin Yu as he asked the question. 

He Xuan shot him a look that could freeze hell before replying to Xie Lian. “Yes, he founded the studio on this floor. The building belongs to him.”

The florist tried to keep his eyes from popping out of his head. “The whole building? When you said ‘studio,’ I thought you meant an artist’s loft,” he laughed awkwardly. He would have to reexamine his personal biases.

“Ghost Tower is a multi-use building,” the taller man explained. “Higher floors are leased off as office spaces for some financial groups, and the topmost floors are apartments and condos.”

“What a busy life it must be, to be an artist and a successful businessman,” Xie Lian mused, mostly to himself. “I don’t suppose you have the vases from last time on hand? I can switch the flowers out for you.” 

“I’d greatly appreciate that.” He Xuan removed the arrangement from the desk and disappeared into the restroom before emerging with a vase with newly replaced water in one hand and flowers with still-dripping stems in the other. “Yin Yu, bring the other ones here.” 

The receptionist scurried past the entryway to the rest of the studio to retrieve the other four arrangements.

Once all five previous vessels were on the table with a fresh water change, Xie Lian removed the rubber bands securing each bouquet in turn and went about making sure they were situated properly in their vases. As he worked, he stole a glance at the old flowers and was pleased to see that there was only slight wilting at the edges of the petals, even after two weeks.

“They still look great. Whoever is in charge of upkeep does a fine job. It’s really rewarding to see my work being well-taken care of after it leaves the shop,” he said as he dried his hands and turned to He Xuan. 

“That would be my boss. He sees to them himself.” 

“Well, I guess that makes sense. Presentation is important when your business is art.”

He Xuan regarded him for a moment before shrugging. “He’s extremely particular with them. He uses your arrangements for reference, so no one is allowed to handle them unless he’s away. Then, the responsibility falls to me.”

“I see… Well, since they’re wilting a little bit, I can take them back with me. They’re good for compost.” 

“That won’t be necessary. He dries them for a personal project he’s been working on.” 

“Oh!” The florist couldn’t help but preen. 

Flowers—as with most other aspects of nature—are fleeting and temporary compared to something like a sculpture or a painting. To know that someone liked his work enough to care for it during and after its prime made his heart smile. 

“That would explain why the flowers are so precise,” Xie Lian said as he opened one of the booklets he didn’t touch and thumbed through the pages. “His drawings are really beautiful.” 

On one of them, abstract brushstrokes swept down the page in winding, convoluted arcs. Ghostly faces—vague impressions of two eyes, a mouth, and sometimes a nose—were tugged into the maelstrom of ink with varied looks of abject terror and fear. Sometimes they were incorporated into the larger brush strokes in pustule-like clusters, while others made up the ink splotches.

It was a beguiling, greyscale mix of horror and elegance.

“Is he in today?” Xie Lian looked up at He Xuan again with a hopeful smile. “If he’s using my flowers in his work, I could have a chat with him to see what arrangements I can supply that would make for interesting subjects.” 

Middlemist Red Camellias would be in season in the coming months. Maybe he could put in an early order for them. 

“Unfortunately, he’s occupied with another business that needs his attention today, otherwise I would call him down for you.” 

“That’s fine. Just be sure to tell him I’ve stopped by and that I’d be more than happy to meet with him.” Xie Lian beamed at He Xuan as he hoisted his bucket—now empty of water, courtesy of Yin Yu—and headed toward the exit. 

“I’ll see you next time, He Xuan, he called over his shoulder. “Thank you for your help, Yin Yu!”

Xie Lian left the building, the double doors sliding shut behind him.

“So…” Yin Yu quietly inquired. “He’s your boss, now?” 

He Xuan turned on him. “I don’t remember listing ‘ask questions’ as part of your job description.” Though his voice had plenty of bite to it, there was little to no underlying threat. Maybe.

The receptionist raised his hands in surrender and suppressed a smile. “Whatever you say.” 

He Xuan opened his mouth to berate him again when the glass doors slid open once more. Sharp clicks echoed against marble in time with the lilting sound of tinkling metal.

“Yin Yu.” 

Shit. 

The receptionist stiffly turned toward the newcomer and pasted a smile on his face. “Hua Cheng,” he carefully acknowledged. “Welcome back from your trip.” 

<<Beginning <Previous Next>

A/N: The man of the hour is finally mentioned by name >:DD

[fanfictionatic]

Just something cats like to do

Pairing: catboy!Joseph x gender neutral!reader

Description: You take in the cat that keeps getting into fights behind your house and discover something shocking

Warnings: Animal aggression I guess. Other than that this is just fluff. I wrote this at 2:00am.

You groan as you pull the pillow over your head and try to go back to sleep. This was the fifth time this week that they had kept you up. Every single night there had been loud yowling, barking, and small angry noises coming from outside your window. Getting rest was starting to feel like a lost cause and you were wondering if you would ever get your sleep schedule back.

You hear the sound of something crashing and you sigh, finally getting up and putting on some clothes. Enough was enough. You couldn’t take anymore of this. It ended tonight.

You step out through your backdoor and finally get a good look at what’s been causing you so much trouble. In the streetlight you can make out one brown fluffy looking maine coon hissing and swatting at three dogs. Was it really the same cat every night picking fights like this?

Carefully making your way over, you wave your hands at the dogs, shooing them away. You aren’t sure if it’ll work or not, but it’s worth a try. Sure enough, it does. They must be intimidated by humans.

“Are you ok little guy?” You stare down at the big cat and look it over for any injuries, sighing in relief when you notice that it’s fine. It seems to be much more friendly than the dogs were, because it starts purring and rubbing up against you immediately. You smile and pick it up. “How about I get you some food and a nice place to sleep?”

You carry the cat inside and go to your fridge, looking around for something that would be good to feed your new friend. You manage to find some leftover chicken and put it on a plate, setting it down with some water off to the side. The cat starts eating the chicken immediately and you watch, laughing a little bit at the way its shakes each piece.

After its done eating and sipping at the water, you walk back to your bed and the cat follows behind you, jumping up onto it after you lay down. You absentmindedly run your fingers through it’s soft fur as it purrs again. Was this someone’s pet? You would probably need to check in in the morning to be sure. Strays usually weren’t this friendly.

You must have zoned out for too long, because you suddenly feel a sharp pain on your hand and look down to see that the cat has decided to bite you while it’s still purring. It must have lured you into a false sense of security because it somehow looks really smug about the whole thing.

You curse and get up, going to wash the wound. Luckily there wasn’t any blood or anything and it had been pretty light. You supposed that it was normal for this to be happening. This was just something cats did sometimes.

You slip back into bed and turn out the light, feeling a light plop as the cat flops down and curls up next to you to go to sleep. You whisper a “Good night” before closing your eyes and drifting off.

When you start to wake up, you can feel the weird sensation of something warm wrapped around you and pressed against you. You make a confused noise before opening your eyes. Instead of the cute fluffy cat you found earlier sleeping next to you, there is now a huge man with the ears and tail of the same cat cuddled up to you and pulling you against his chest.

You panic and grab your pillow, lightly whacking him with it. “What are you doing in my bed?!”

The man hisses and lets go of you quickly moving away with his ears pointing downwards. “That’s no way to treat someone you let into your house and fed last night!”

You lower your pillow and look at him carefully. You had heard about cat hybrids. They were people with cat like features that could turn into the furry animals any time they wanted. They were supposed to be a myth, but it looked like that was in fact what you were staring at.

“I’m sorry. You just scared me and I didn’t expect you to be an actual cat hybrid. My name is y/n.”

He moves closer to you again, relaxing and doing the same rubbing/purring that he did in his actual cat form. You don’t really try to stop him though. Instead you just pet his ears on instinct, not really knowing what else to do.

“I’m Joseph and it’s a pleasure to meet you y/n. I’m lucky that someone as stunning as you brought me in. Those dogs are always fun to mess with but it can get old.”

You roll your eyes and laugh. “I preferred it when you didn’t talk.”

He does a fake pout and you jokingly boop him on the nose.

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

It had been a few weeks now. You let Joseph stay with you because he apparently didn’t actually have a place to go. You felt kind of bad and really, you would be lying if you said his flirting didn’t get to you. Even if he was smug about it, it was also kind of charming and funny in a way?

You step into your house and look around. “Joseph I’m home!”

You notice him laying down on the couch, which seems to have a few new scratch marks. “Did you bring the food I wanted?”

You nod and set your stuff down. “Hey, just because my couch was a mess before you got here doesn’t mean you can wreck it even more.”

“Oh? And how are you going to stop me y/n?”

“Well....I guess I can’t. But I brought some other things home that you might like.” You reach in your bag and pull out a laser pointer that you had bought at the store. You press the button and point it onto the floor in front of where Joseph is laying down, moving the little red dot slightly from side to side.

He seems to immediately sit up, crouching and staring at the dot intently. His pupils are really big and his long furry tail is swishing. You quickly make it dart away and he jumps off the couch, pouncing and trying to catch it. He ends up almost falling flat on his ass and you come over to offer him a hand, turning the button off.

“I think you caught it. I don’t see it anymore.”

Instead of pulling himself up, Joseph pulls you down and onto his lap, pressing his lips to yours and pulling you into a kiss. You close your eyes and return it, draping your arms around his shoulders.

“It looks like I caught something better.”

[obey-only-me]

MC Turns into a Cat By: Akuzondelivery

It doesn’t seem to matter how many times magick goes wrong for you. You seem to always find a way to get caught up as someone’s guinea pig or just succumb to curiosity. However this time the outcome was a lot less horrific.

A pair of cat ears on top of your head had replaced your normal ones and a long tail now tickled your ankles. No one said this would happen??

Frantically you looked over your notes, what could have gone wrong? Ah...too much of everything; measuring, your biggest weakness. Well...looks like you should get some help before whatever is going on gets worse. Luckily you were able to spot one of the brothers alone in the hallway!

Lucifer:

- “Are you a cat now?” Though it was a question it sounded more like a statement.

- “I’m sorry...” you frowned and looked away. You felt bad for once again making him help you.

- Regretted his tone immediately and walked you to the library. Assuring you it was no problem and easy to fix.

- Thought how your ears moved with your emotions was cute.

- “Your ears suit you.” Lucifer gave you a smile.

- You melted a little, but pouted in hopes that he wouldn’t tease you too much.

- He did manage to pull your tail at least once before turning you back.

- “I’ll have to collar you next time, but I hope you see that more as a treat than a punishment.”

Mammon:

- Freezes after you get his attention and ask for help.

- Laughs hysterically but pushes you back into your room. He didn’t want Levi or especially Satan to see you and steal you away.

- Takes pictures of you from different angles and asks you to try on different outfits. (You choose if you oblige or not.)

- Says he’s going to sell them to his brothers, but he’s actually keeping them for himself in a private folder.

- When he’s done plotting he sees your actually worried you might turn into a cat.

- You look so adorable with your flustered face and perky ears.

- Takes you to Lucifer to undo the spell since he doesn’t want to make it worse.

- “You were so cute with those ears and that tail...but I like ya this way the most.”

Levi:

- With those ears on top of your head you look like Ruri-Chan from the newest OVA.

- Takes you to his room where he can use his computer to look the spell up. But is secretly watching you from the corner of his eye, your tail swaying as you walked.

- Secretly wished you would curl up in his lap and fall asleep.

- You were reading several different spell books on your stomach when he accidentally stepped on your tail.

- Feels absolutely terrible and ends up hugging you to comfort himself you.

- Once he’s done sobbing and apologizing he asks a favor.

- “P-please dress up Ruri-Chan! I have some other things for you to try too!” There are literal stars in his eyes.

- You obliged and like Mammon he took tons of pictures for...scientific and magical purposes.

Satan:

- Let’s face it, this is one of his fantasies come true. Does not hesitate to indulge.

- Immediately takes you to his room...for protection? He tries to rationalize, but he’s so excited.

- Gushes for like an hour about how cute you are, he will play with your ears until you couldn’t take it anymore.

- Bonus points if they’re sensitive. Satan can’t resist teasing them if they make you squirm.

- “I mean you can just...stay like this.”

- Satan cuddles are amazing, even more so when he pets and plays with your hair.

- Once he figures out how to reverse the enchantment he makes you meow for it.

- “C’mon kitten...you can do it.”

Asmo:

- “MC~” he would look at you with excitement and worry. “What have you done?”

- You explain what happened and he thinks it’s best to consult Solomon.

- After a quick call to Solomon, it turns out it’ll wear off on its own.

- Also doesn’t want you to be stolen away so takes you to your room.

- Takes cute selfies with you and grooms your tail. Which feels extra nice with all the softening products he used.

- “Aaaaah MC! Come curl up next to me!”

- Pets your ears while he reads a magazine, you fall asleep with a little purr and he almost cries.

- “MC~ Just stay my little pet, hm?”

Beel:

- His eyes widened, why do you keep messing with strange magick?

- Absolutely does not hear you asking for help, just absentmindedly watched your fluffy ears twitch.

- “Beel? ...Beel.” His big hands grab your ears a little too roughly. “Beel!!”

- Once he snaps out of it he apologizes profusely. “You’re just so cute and fluffy.”

- Takes you to Belphie. Beel is sure he will love this new form of yours.

- He does! Belphie gently strokes your tail while Beel plays with your ears.

- The whole thing was very over stimulating and exhausting. You all end up falling asleep, kitten squished in the middle.

- During the night, the weak magick you cast disappeared and by morning were normal again!

Belphie:

- Laughed at how adorable you looked. Definitely teases you for being too dumb to do magick.

- Tells you not to worry and takes you to the attic.

- It’s the highest place in the house and cats like heights?

- Pulls your tail hard when it starts whipping around.

- Puts a blanket down in front of the window and because cat instincts you wound up laying there.

- He fell asleep next to you, tugging at your ears as you slept.

- Thought the faces you made while you slept were the best.

- When you wake up Belphie’s hands are still tangled in your hair but the ears are gone!

[justreadingfics]

It’s a Deal (Chapter 11)

Chapter Summary: Bucky is ready for commitment.  

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Words: 4.6k

Warnings: fluff. Bucky is so smitten.

A/N: It’s been 84 years, but I hope you have fun! Thank you, @lesqui, for reading it over and helping me out with English and everything. The link to my masterlist, where you can find the other chapters, is on my description. Feedback is highly appreciated.

Tag list for this story is closed.  

  Placing your hands on each side of your hips, you smirk at the popped-up screen in your office. Another project you just nailed. Ever since the promotion, your productivity has increased tenfold and you feel as motivated as ever, your creativity on a top level. Also, the last few weeks, after you decided you needed some time alone, you did set more focus on yourself and your own projects. Work being one of them.

It’s weird to say the least… you’ve been busier than ever and yet, it seems like you actually have much more time to yourself now. You’ve been reading books you’ve bought but never really got to read them, eating ice-cream at 3am as you watch The Return of the King for the millionth time, your drawers are finally organized and so is your precious DVD collection. You got to explore a great number of parks and spots you’ve never been before, even living in New York for so long. You’ve been going out a lot and catching up with friends and family. 

It was a good decision. You remember in your relationship with Eddie there were always obstacles for you to hang out with people outside the small inner circle of you as a couple. Sometimes the obstacles were subtle, and not always brought solely by Eddie, but also by you who let yourself get involved in that dynamic. You had no idea how much you missed people that were yours only, and not yours and Eddie’s.

It’s been great to be single. Really, really single for the first time in your adult life. No boyfriends or fiancées, no booty-calls or deals. Completely single… A title and state of mind you didn’t really get to enjoy in the first months of being broken up, being too heartbroken to even think of everything you could do with your life then.

Deciding to be alone for a while…It was a great and reasonable decision.

You have to admit something to yourself, though.

Sometimes you just wanna throw “great” and “reasonable” out of the window. Because you do miss him… A lot.

Finding out how he’s changed his mind and predisposition towards your relationship has messed quite a bit with your mind… and heart. You weren’t expecting that at all and now you don’t really know what to do with the chaos that’s bringing upon your feelings. And what’s making it even messier is the other guy who also changed his mind and predisposition towards your relationship… you weren’t expecting that either… however, that particular change of heart hasn’t been making your own heart jump each time you think of it…

Squeaky little yells and an animated chattering sound of female voices catch your attention to outside your office. Your previous smirk turns into a smile while you shake your head to yourself. That type of commotion only ensues when a certain someone drops by the Tech Department.  

With a wave of your hand, you shut down the screen you’ve been working on, before moving towards the sound. What you come to find a few stops outside your office, at the Department’s common area, is a little circle of your female coworkers around a Super Soldier. He’s always a hit among your coworkers, but today it seems like they’re even in a bigger frenzy, fussing around something that he seems to be holding in his arms. You attempt to catch an eye of it, but the bodies in front of you make it quite hard.

He spots you as you approach them and opens a huge grin at your sight.

You smile back at him just as widely and after you come closer and some of the girls make room, your eyes widen and a small little gasp slips out of you when you finally find out what the fuss is all about. They are all cooing and marveling at a beautiful cat on Bucky’s arms, white as snow on a mountain peak, standing there like royalty, staring back like they’re nothing but proud of being where they are.

“Hey,” Bucky greets, prompting your eyes to focus back on him.

“Hi, there,” you answer back while your gaze carries an amused question mark at him.

He lifts a hard drive with his free hand to your vision field, “We collected this last mission, it’s some alien stuff,” he offers you the drive, keeping his eyes on yours.

As you gaze at each other, you reach for the little device. His fingers brush against yours and that’s precisely when the chattering around both of you becomes nothing but a distant and vague noise that barely reaches your senses… until a loud clear of throat sound stands out.

“Alright, girls, let’s get back to our desks and let these two, ahm… work,” Camilla, your closest friend there, gives you a pointed look and a discrete curve curls the corner of her lips as she leads the group - which looks far from happy about it - away.  

When your gaze meets Bucky again, he’s got that shit-eating grin of his that tells you the little interaction between you and your friend didn’t quite skip from his attention.

You bite your lip and are about to say something when he beats you to it, “Sorry, I had to bring her with me.” He looks down at the cat on his arm and gives it a gentle shake, grinning down at her while she looks up at him before her incredibly blue eyes shut in what looks like sheer contentment, “This little girl right here started whining at the door when I was leaving… she just can’t leave my side anymore.” Bucky shrugs and ticks his tongue, before winking at you.

You chuckle, finding the surprising scene before you nothing less than adorable. The fact that you enjoy being in the presence of his charm again doesn’t go unnoticed by you, but you say nothing about it, “It’s ok, of course. I love cats. What’s her name?”

“Y/N, this is Alpine. Alpine this is Y/N,” he introduces you two with pride lacing his voice.

“Oh, hello, Alp-” your attempt of petting the cat comes to an abrupt halt with you withdrawing your hand at the loud hiss the animal aims at you.

Your eyes snap at Bucky to see his jaw dropping and his eyes widening with a mix of shock and fluster, “Fucking Christ,” he gasps, before looking down at the cat who now licks its paws absentmindedly, “What the hell, missy? Apologize. Apologize now,” he scolds, gaining absolutely no reaction in response.

He scoffs, looking back at you with incredulous lifted eyebrows.

You laugh, mainly at his attempt of making Alpine apologize, “Don’t worry…” You wave him off, “How did that happen, though? I don’t remember you having a cat.” You narrow your eyes just when your head tilts.

He bites his lower lip before an almost cringing smile forms on his lips, “Oh well…”

 A FEW WEEKS BEFORE…

 “Weren’t the Skrulls, like, actually good guys?” Bucky frowns, shoving one of his post-missions Oreos in his mouth and crossing his ankles over the spaceship’s dash.

“Every bunch has its bad apple, I guess,” from the pilot’s seat Natasha shrugs, eyeing the apple in question from over her shoulder.

“You’ll regret this,” threatens the prisoner, who’s actually a Skrull slaver named Gragnon and has his hands and feet securely tied up, stuck on a sit at the back of the ship. Still, he tries to get up and advance towards the front, but a shield of red mist surges in front of him, making him fall back on the chair again with a growl.

Wanda, the third member of the party on that mission, smirks from her seat right behind Nat’s.

Nat rolls her eyes, “What a douche… Talos has been leading a search for him for years now, he’d be thankful we’re taking him to them. Feet off the dash, please.” 

Bucky quickly obeys, pulling down his legs to the floor as Wanda snickers.  

“In fact… we should thank the success of this mission to a certain someone, who came up with a device to break alien codes.” The cheeky smile on Wanda’s face as she started speaking only fades so she can shoot a glare back at the prisoner, who’s now revolved by a red mist dome.

“Damn right.” A dreamy little curl pulls Bucky’s lips as he swings on his seat and passes the bag of Oreos to Wanda.

“Jesus,” Nat scoffs, setting the ship on autopilot, before swirling her chair to see both Bucky and Wanda, “Could you ever imagine this could be possible? That this guy would someday be that smitten over someone?” she questions Wanda.

“Not in a million years. I don’t know Y/N that well, but I bow to her.” Wanda mimics the gesture before shoving a cookie in her mouth.

Bucky doesn’t even drop the dreaminess of his smile. He is smitten… completely… utterly… and fuck if that doesn’t feel damn good. He always thought that kind of feeling would be a pain in the ass, boring and painful. It is not. He feels like singing, dancing, hugging every human being and alien he comes across. Fuck, he would hug the Gragnon dude if it didn’t mean to get a kick in the ass from Natasha. It’s been ages that he doesn’t really get high on anything, but that feeling… he’s definitely hooked on it.  There’s not a doubt inside him anymore and he’s in love with being in love with you.

“So, spill it,” Nat crosses her legs, swinging on her chair “You really went to her place and poured your heart out to her? Right after her ex proposed to her?” She questions, “What did she say?”

“Well, first she thought I was kidding and laughed her ass off…” He shakes his head with the same dreamy little smile on his lips, “Then, when she realized I was not, she started crying and, of course, so did I.” He shrugs, ignoring when Nat and Wanda exchange looks, “She wasn’t expecting that from me at all, and, we can’t really blame her can we?” 

“Definitely not.”

“Nope.”

Bucky chuckles at the unison response from her friends before leaning over and snatching the bag of cookies from Wanda, before giving them the details of his talk with you, having their undivided attention.  “And she said she needs some time alone, being single, I mean, to sort her feelings out… Also, it seems like she doesn’t think I can’t deal with the kind of commitment that being in love requires,” he says with a mouthful.

“Oh, honey…” Nat tilts her head.

He notices the sympathy on hers and Wanda’s expressions and waves his hand to brush her worries off, “No, no. None of that. All in all, it went pretty well. As much as I wished it would be different, I think her decision is fair. At least she didn’t say yes to the jackass with the ring,” he huffs, “I wasn’t really expecting her to throw herself in my arms. At least, not just yet.” He smirks.

“What?” Natasha shoots a look at Wanda before turning to him, “You’re not stepping aside?”

Bucky snorts at the question, “Are you kidding me? The first broad I ever fall in love with and you think I’ll leave the path free for that short little clown who thinks ten years matter?” He lets out an exaggeratedly loud laugh, “I’ve lived more than one hundred of them. Ten years mean nothing to me, and soon enough she’ll realize it doesn’t have to mean much to her, either.” A small smile rises on his face, “Of course she can have the time for herself she wants, find out what’s like being single. She deserves that. And she can think and figure out all she needs… have her fun... It’s all good…” He nods, “But in the meanwhile? I’ll be around romancing the shit out of that woman,” he states, right before tossing another cookie in his mouth.

“Holy shit,” Wanda addresses Natasha, with both eyebrows high on her forehead.

“I know…” Nat answers with an equally dumbfounded look on her face, before turning to Bucky, “Listen,” she sighs and tilts her head, “I hate to be such a killjoy here, but… I get you’re in love, and I know this is new and exciting for you.” She’s smiling before her lips tighten, “Having said that… I think she might have a point about you not being ready for commitment Bucky, you never wanted that. I’m gonna be honest here, I’m the one who set what you two had up because I thought it wouldn’t lead to this…” She waves all around him, “Feelings, I mean… and I would hate myself if you two ended up hurt because of it.” She focuses an apprehensive gaze on him while Wanda also rests her attention on him, looking like she agrees with her friend.

Bucky takes a good look between the two of them before putting into words the answer that’s so clear on his head now, “I know it may sound weird and uncharacteristic of me. Trust me, I know that.” He nods at Natasha, taking a moment to silently communicate with her in the way that has been always so easy for the two of them, “You’re right, I’ve never wanted that. Settling down to just one person, commit to a long term relationship…But with her,” he sighs and the corner of his lips curl up without further notice, “I want her and I want all of that with her, the whole package. I’m ready. I’m not afraid. I think the reason I didn’t want all of that before is because I hadn’t met her yet. That’s it. Simple as that. I know it’s not going to be easy, but to hell with easy. I want her. And I want her hard.”

Wanda already has a huge grin on her face when a satisfied little smirk twists Nat’s lips, “That’s what Amanda said.”

Bucky’s eyes widen before he squints at her, “What’ve you been up to?”

Nat puts on a nonchalant face and reaches forward to grab a cookie from the package. She takes a bite and shrugs, “Poor girl… needed some comfort after being let down by your buddy down there.”

Bucky lets out an outraged scoff and throws a cookie on her way, from which she dodges easily as she laughs, “I bet you were of great help in consoling her… Jesus… Amanda and you? The world isn’t ready.” He shakes his head.

Natasha sports a smug smile on her face when she nods her agreement, “You’re not wrong.”

“Alright, as much as I want to hear all about this Amanda girl, we’re getting close to the Skrull base now and we need you to land us, Nat,” Wanda nods towards the dash.

“Copy that,” Natasha makes a military salute at her, before shifting her seat and taking control of the ship again.

“And as for you,” Wanda turns to Bucky, “I don’t need to read what’s on your mind to know you’re telling us the truth. You’re ready for commitment,” she offers him a soft smile, which he reciprocates, “And if you really wanna show her that, I may have an idea.” Her smile turns into a devious little smirk and that’s enough to pique Bucky’s interest.

~~~

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Bucky asks, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walks alongside Wanda through the busy sidewalks of Manhattan, “I mean… I know I said yes, but it is one hell of a commitment, what if it’s not for me?”

“Don’t worry, Bucky,” she smiles, “We’re just gonna take a look around, feel the vibe, and then see what happens. You don’t have to decide anything just yet,” she assures, wrapping an arm around his elbow as he looks down at her, “I just think it’s a good idea for you to get to know a bit more of this sudden inclination to commit…to experiment, I guess,” Wanda shrugs, “Besides, a dear friend of mine runs the shelter and the girl knows her stuff. If she feels like you’re not ready, she won’t allow you to get out of there with one of her babies.”

Bucky lets out a laugh. Feeling a little lighter about the subject, he places his hand over the one Wanda has wrapped around his arm, “Alright… I’m not opposed to the idea of having a dog, I guess. I always loved Labradors…” he frowns, “I would have to switch apartments, though…”

“Look at you.” Wanda nudges her shoulder on him, “Already making plans for your child…”

“Child…” Bucky can’t help but snort. He had agreed to Wanda’s idea of going to an animal shelter because he thought it would be a good way to show you he’s ready for commitment and, like he said, he’s always been fond of dogs and he’s sure if he ends up taking one home he’ll treat them well. But he also never understood how some people could be so attached to an animal to the point of considering them a child, or family…“I don’t know… I’m definitely not taking a pet home today. I agree with you, I shouldn’t decide anything just yet.”

As they walk past a small alleyway, Wanda halts, forcing him to stop with her.

“What?” Bucky frowns down at her.

“Shhh,” she brings a finger to her lips, staring towards the alleyway, “Listen.”

That’s when Bucky’s enhanced hearing catches the thin and shaky little sound coming through the trash cans.

“Come on,” Wanda pulls him to the alley and towards the cans.

What they find behind one of the containers, among all the filth around is a ball of white fur. Curled up and shaking just like the meows they heard seconds ago. A cat, a young adult white cat looks up and a pair of baby blue eyes meets Bucky’s and he just can’t look away from the plea on them and it’s just when something clicks inside his chest.

“Oh, no, look,” Wanda points at the tail, that has an evident injury on it, but when she leans down to examine it further, the animal flinches and rushes towards Bucky’s legs, letting out another trembling and weak meow. Bucky freezes as it starts climbing up his calves. 

Given the poor coordination on their back little legs – probably from the damage on the tail- it can go much higher,  but keeps trying. After the initial surprise, Bucky can’t help but to smile at the little fighter, who seems to reach out at him for protection. Next thing he knows, he’s leaning down and picks it up with all the caution he can muster.

“Hello, little lady… what happened there, huh?” He coos, nodding towards the small injury, which looks like a bite, having the cat meowing while bumping and rubbing the head against his chest.

“Is it a female?” Wanda tilts her head, an amused and questioning expression on her face.

Bucky smirks, not taking his eyes away from the animal, who is now quiet and seems much calmer, but digging her little claws on Bucky’s shirt, “I know a beautiful lady when I see one. Don’t I, gorgeous?”

A purring sound comes out of the now contented animal, the small injury on her tail apparently not being a problem anymore while she climbs higher and practically hugs Bucky with her little paws, whose fur is smudged by dirt, making his heart take a flip in his chest. Damn his heart nowadays…

“Aww, Bucky…” Wanda smiles, placing her hand over her heart, “What are we going to do? Should we take her to the shelter?” Wanda offers, with a bit of tentativeness on her voice.

Bucky’s eyes widen largely, before they snap to her friend. A protective tightness laces his hold on Alpine, who lets out another weak meow. Shit… Alpine? When the hell did he even come up with a name? Fuck if he knows, all he knows he’s done for and can’t possibly think of parting from that white furry little thing, who seems to have gone through a lot in her life already and probably has never met with human kindness before.

He doesn’t need to say anything as understanding falls upon Wanda’s face. He would even guess there’s a bit of pride adorning the smile on her lips now, “Alright, alright… we do need to take Alpine to the vet, though, Mr. I’m not gonna take a pet home today.” She winks.

~~~

PRESENT DAY…

“Oh well…” Bucky scratches the back of his neck while you keep your beautiful interested eyes on him, “I found this beauty on the street… she had an injured tail, poor thing… probably bitten by a dog. But she’s fine now, aren’t you, sweetie?” He coos, putting on the new tone of voice that belongs to Alpine now and loving the sound of your chuckle, “You know… I’m fully committed to taking care of her. I’m a cat dad now.” He says, putting some effort to highlight the word “committed”.

“I can see that…” you comment, nodding with a glimmer of fondness in your gaze at where Alpine is cuddled against him with eyes closed, completely relaxed.

Bucky looks down and smiles. That one is too cute for her own good, but he’s definitely having a talk with her later, for hissing at you like that, like he hadn’t given her a lecture about good behavior and how incredible you were before they left home.  

“So, it’s been a while, huh? How’re you doing?” He asks softly, boring his eyes on you and holding back every ounce of him to not pull you to his arms and shower you with all the intense love he’s gathering in his chest at your sight in front of him. If it was up to him, he wouldn’t have spent those long weeks apart from you, but he met with missions and an Alpine in the way. Also, as much as he’s resolved to show you he’s the one for you, he understands you needed time for yourself. But, hell, he missed you so much.

“Oh, I’m good, I’m good… pretty good,” you ramble, brushing a finger behind your ear, that thing you do when you become a bit self-conscious, which happens often when he places his gaze so intently on you.

He can’t help but smile, his chest impossibly swelled with his feelings for you, because that woman who becomes all flustered with his attention is the same woman who whined to suck his dick while shitfaced after a party. Damn, he’s so in love with you.

“That’s great...Are you free tonight?” He asks, smoothly, “Wanda and Sam will make hamburgers, they’re one hell of a team in the kitchen, you’ll be welcome to come if you want to.”

“Oh… I…” You falter.

“I’m not trying anything, I promise,” He’s quick to add with a chuckle and raises his free hand up, noticing the trepidation in your voice. “Everyone’s gonna be there. We’re just gonna eat and hangout.” He shrugs.

“Oh… no, it’s not that, it’s just…” You tighten your lips “I’ve got plans.” Something Bucky guesses to be disappointment or something like that sweeps into your voice. As for him, he holds his breath, bracing himself for the news that you’re going out with that douche of an ex, “I’m gonna meet some friends from college tonight. I got a reservation for us for dinner and then we’re gonna go dance…”

Bucky lets out a breath and the smile that grows in his face is wide when he says, “Oh, alright. That sounds like fun.” Really, really fun, especially if that jackass isn’t involved. He’s not disappointed. Far from it.  

You smile back at him, matching his mood. It doesn’t slip from his attention that you seem a bit surprised by his reaction at you declining an invitation from him in favor to hang out with your friends, but he says nothing of it.

“Yeah… I’ve been getting reacquainted with them lately,” you say, excitement plastered on the little curve of your lips and the glint in your eyes, “It’s been fun. I’d love to get to know Wanda and Sam’s talent in the kitchen, though….Maybe some other time?” You offer.

“Sounds perfect, sweetheart.”

The term of endearment brings the effect he was aiming for when you promptly does that thing with your finger on your ear again, but it was also noticed by the other girl in the room and currently in his arm, who seems to wake up from her comfort slumber against his chest to hiss at you again.

You look at each other in widened eyes.

“What the hell,” Bucky scolds down at the cat, glancing at you briefly, catching your now amused expression, before addressing Alpine again in a whispery voice, “We’re gonna have a talk back home, young lady.”

~~~

“What a number you put out there, huh?” His voice is gentle despite the reprimanding intention in his words while Bucky crouches and fills her little plate with the special food the vet recommended.

With her crystal-clear eyes glued on the plate, Alpine doesn’t really acknowledge his half attempt of admonishing her before digging in.

Bucky chuckles, “She’s cute, isn’t she? But so are you,” He scratches the back of her ear and she stops eating for a moment to brush her head against his hand, “You don’t have to be jealous, doll. You’re so cute, you’re my girl, too, you know?” he coos, still petting her, “But you gotta help me out there buddy. Ok? She’s really special and I know you’ll love her, too.”

Alpine lets out a weak meow before getting back to her plate and Bucky swears to God he sometimes wonders if the cat is some sort of shapeshifter in disguise, understanding every little thing he says.  

Letting her out to eat, he stands up, “Hey, Friday,” he calls.

“Yes, Bucky?”

“Could you search for a table reservation in the name of Y/N Y/L/N tonight? I need the address of the place.”

A small silence ensues before the A.I speaks again, “Isn’t it a bit creepy?”

He sighs, placing his hands on his hips, “Friday… babe…” He smiles at the giggles that resound in his kitchen, before bringing a hand to his heart, “I’m in love, ok? I’m not gonna ruin her night…If anything, I’m just going to make her night out with her friends more… interesting.”

“Alright, you know I can’t say no to you,” the A.I concedes, “You can find the address in your phone’s map. Good luck, handsome.”

“Thanks, babe,” Bucky grins, before turning to Alpine, who’s now about done with her food, sprawled on the floor busy with cleaning out her paws, “And you?” He calls, catching her attention before he points at her, “You’ll have burgers with your aunt Wanda. I have plans for tonight.”  

~~~

To be continued...

[13uswntimagines]

Works Like a Charm (USWNT x Baby!Reader)

Request: reader with the team where r falls asleep any and everywhere and on everyone? just super cute friendship and stuff

Authors’s note: Special thanks to @literaryhedgehog​ cause without her this would not have happened! I hope you enjoy and totally feel free to hit me up with comments and questions or if you just wanna say Hi!

You were the baby of the team, and being the baby came with very special privileges. The team knew of your sleeping issues, and the various methods you and your therapist had implemented (including scheduling yourself to avoid all blue light sources for hours before bed and sleeping with a stuffed animal (the famed stuffed Triceratops, Roary) each night,) to help fall asleep and stay asleep at night. But it had only been a week since you had actually looked for help, so it was too early to expect results, as you told them (and yourself) repeatedly. 

More often than not you found yourself sitting on a couch, Roary cuddled close to your chest, watching the rerun of whatever game had been on, desperately waiting for your brain to turn off so you could sleep. That was the exact scene Ashlyn had stumbled upon. She glanced at the clock, wincing at the bold 2:15 that blinked back at her as she rubbed her eyes. 

“What are you doing awake kid? Thought you weren’t supposed to do blue light after 9?” She asked softly, plopping down beside you, throwing an arm over your shoulder. You shrugged, leaning further into her side. You closed your eyes, burying your head into her warm arm.

“I literally laid awake for three hours. I tried not to focus on anything, or to focus on breathing, but I kept replaying the game in my head. So I thought I would watch it, see if rewatching the ending would help my thoughts, Idk, end too?” You moved so that your head was on her lap and you looked up at her. “Did anything I just said make sense out of my head?”

She nodded sadly down at you, her hands, stroking your hair slowly. You closed your eyes again, enjoying the feeling. You always wanted to be a cat when you were little. Your thoughts became slightly fuzzier, interrupted slightly when Ashlyn spoke. 

“Don’t fall asleep here kid. Ali will kill us both if we sleep on the couch,” The blond keeper 

“Just a few more minutes please?” You asked softly, cracking your eyes open. 

“Alright. Just a few,” she nodded. 

Coincidentally that’s exactly where Ali would find you the next morning. Cuddled into Ashlyn's stomach, snoring softly. From that moment, it became a team rule. It didn’t matter where you slept, as long as you were sleeping. 

*****

You were never going to live this down. Emily took a stealthy photo of you slumped against Alex’s arm, the climax of Black Panther’s fight taking place in the background. Kelley guarded your other side like a pitbull, just daring anyone to try and mess with you. 

“How did you get her to fall asleep Alex? She was so hyped up when we got here!” Emily said way too loudly, shrinking slightly when the veterans shushed her. 

“I literally just wrapped my arms around her while Kelley braided with her hair,” Alex whispered, glancing down to see that you weren’t moving before she continued, “she kept moving too much for Kelley to get the braid straight, so I just held her still like I do with my niece for family pictures. Once she stopped struggling, it was instant.” 

“Works like a charm every time. Who knew the world’s most feared striker could be turned into a puppy with some cuddles and pets?”  Megan laughed softly. 

“Yeah, yeah, it’s hilarious. Now shush and watch the movie,” Kelley said, flicking Megan playfully. More softly she added, “you’ll wake her.”

That shut the group up quickly. No one wanted to get in trouble for interrupting the little amount of sleep you got. 

****

You were sitting next to Alyssa on the bench during practice, bouncing your leg you waited for your turn to run. It had been a stressful week. Everyone was preparing for the first real game of the season and even the usual pre-practice locker room chat had been tenser than usual. 

Stress usually meant one thing for you. No sleep. It was like your brain had a death wish and just wanted to make itself more miserable. The dark circles didn’t go unnoticed by your teammates, hence why you had been regulated to the bench with the keeper when you weren’t running drills. 

Alyssa started humming absentmindedly. You looked over at her. She was biting the edge of her lip, watching Becky run drills. She stopped and looked over, seemingly realizing that she was making noise. 

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly.

“No, it’s really pretty! Please don’t stop on my account,” You said smiling and looking back towards the team as Alyssa started singing under her breath. “MmmhummmM, mmmhummM, So this is love. So this is what makes life Divine.” 

You swayed to the tune, closing your eyes, once. You opened them again, more slowly. Then you felt yourself blink twice more, more slowly this time. It took slightly more effort to open them again. You stared hard at the field, not noticing Alyssa scootch closer to you on the bench. Then you blinked again. 

 “Alright Naeher, you’re up,” AD called jogging over to the bench from where the rest of the keepers were practicing. She stopped short at the glare Alyssa sent her way. 

“Don’t think I’m going to be practicing PK’s today,” She said softly, gesturing to you with her free arm. The other arm was wrapped around you, keeping you from falling off the bench like you had almost done when you fell asleep. AD smiled, but then ran back to the group, unwilling to disturb you either. 

Maybe the pitch wasn’t the best place to fall asleep, but with the soft looks the team was sending you, they all knew it wouldn’t be the last time. Your health was important and they would help however they could. 

*****

It was like a rule on the bus. One didn’t fall asleep unless they wanted to get mustaches drawn on their face, or their cleats stolen. The bus ride to the practice field was long and supposed to be a time for team bonding, though it almost always ended up with Alex and Kelley sharing earbuds to listen to Hosier or Haley Kiyoko, Krashlyn watching some weird reality show, Megan Christen and Tobin discussing Re-ink stuff and the youngins causing havoc on the back, while Becky and Alyssa did their crosswords and Carli watched the road, trying not to get car sick. 

You and Sam had seats across the aisle from each other but would sit next to each other on trips like these, playing hangman or Super Mario bros on switch. Today was one of those days where you slid across the aisle, pen in hand, looking for entertainment to keep the boredom away. 

“That’s not fair. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is not an acceptable word to describe winning the World Cup,” Sam snorted, shaking her head as you finished the hangman. 

“You’re one to talk. Last time you gave me “jazzy” as a word to describe how it would feel to meet Mia Hamm. You realize that J and Z are like, some of the least commonly used letters in the alphabet?” You exclaimed, your hands waving wildly as you tried to prove your point. 

“It was a response to the fact that you picked a word that doesn’t exist,” Sam rolled her eyes. 

“Wacknut is totally a word,” you huffed crossing your arms. 

“You know what ducky, I think,”  Sam paused, covering her mouth as a giant yawn split her face, “You’re a wacknut.” She finished, exhaling and wiping a tear from one of her eyes. 

“Stop that, I didn’t sleep last night,” you said, yawning unintentionally yourself.

“Told you not to watch that last episode of Game of Thrones,” Sam said, stretching her arms slightly in front of her. 

“You were right, it was a terrible ending, and a disgrace to television, but I had to know” You mumbled, your voice growing soft, and trailing off towards the end.  

“I know, we were all let down by that one,” Sam said, leaning her head on top of yours, comfortingly. “I should take my own advice more often, 6 hours of sleep is just not enough.”

“Hmm, I know why they call you the tower of power, you’re soooo warm,” You nuzzled into her shoulder, her heartbeat soothing you. 

“Did anyone ever tell you the story of how I got that name?” Sam asked, stifling another yawn.

“No,” you echoed her yawn. 

“Good, they never tell it right. Once upon a time, there was a badass named me. The end.”

“Hmm,”

****

“So I know that we’re never supposed to wake Y/N up unless there’s an emergency, but we have practice and there aren’t any rules pertaining to Sammy,” Emily said too loudly, staring at where you were cuddled into Sam’s chest. The bus had stopped a few minutes ago and had slowly unloaded. 

“Yeah, they’re kind of impossible to separate without waking both of them up,” Lindsey nodded, showing Alex a picture she had gotten from above you. Not only was Sam’s head on you, the two of you were holding hands in your sleep, and your other hand was tangled on the end of her shirt like your dreaming mind had mistaken it for a blanket and tried to pull it up. 

“I have no problem carrying ducky, but I’m not tall enough to get Sam too,” Kelley said, scratching her head. 

Behind them, Dawn walked back onto the bus. “What’s the holdup people? We have a practice to get to! I’m not defending you to Vlatko if you’re late again Sonnett.”

You jumped at the noise, jostling Sam awake too. You blinked at the woman, eyes wide and suddenly alert, searching for danger. “What happened!” 

“Whoa, slow down killer. You fell asleep on Sam and she fell asleep on you,” Emily smirked as your cheeks turned blood red. 

“We just arrived to practice. You’re not late yet,” Lindsey said, punching Sam lightly in the shoulder and turning to grab her bag. “You’re lucky Sam that you had a sleeping meep meep to protect you, otherwise you totally would have been pranked for napping on the bus. 

“There’s no way in hell that meep meep fell asleep before our favorite tower of power.” Emily bantered back, shoving Lindsey off of the bus. 

“We better go,” You said softly, playing with the hand that was still intertwined with Sams. 

“Yeah, probably. Remind me to sleep with you again sometime. That was the best nap I had in ages,” Sam said absentmindedly stretching her neck to each side. Your eyes went wide. Then she froze, realizing what she had said. “Wait. That came out wrong.”

“It’s fine Sammie, I know what you meant, and I’d love that,” you bumped her shoulder with yours, then grabbed your bag. “Race you to the pitch!” 

Sam shook her head as if to clear it as you launched yourself off the bus. Then she grabbed her bag and followed you, sprinting to try and catch up. 

 Yep, the team would do everything they could to make sure their little meep meep got the best sleep she could. 

[emeren]

unorthodox - armin arlert (1)

pairing: armin arlert x fem!reader

word count: 1.8k

content warnings: none <3

chapter notes: the first chapter is a little boring, but bear with me! it just gets better from here ;)

CHAPTER SUMMARY: reader does a favor for her shy roommate, causing her to meet a cute and familiar florist who’s words have a bigger impact than intended. 

“shit!” you breathed, squinting up at the sky. the feeling of warm, sticky droplets of water began to pepper your skin, dark clouds looming above. you were in an absolutely foul mood, bringing your free hand up to shield your face. 

“what’s the matter?” your roommate’s voice rang out through the phone, oblivious to the plight you were enduring on her behalf. you glanced around, the unfamiliar street and buildings only adding to your annoyance. 

“it’s fucking raining,” you cursed, looking for an awning to stand under as the rain grew harder. it was trickling down your face, seeping through your shirt. “okay, where is this place?” 

“like i said, it should be on the corner of 53rd,” her voice was muffled, indicating that she was nervously chewing on her finger nails. you rolled your eyes, trying to read the street sign through the rain droplets flying towards the ground. “thank you so much for doing this.”

you sighed, thinking about how desperately she’d begged you to pick up and drop off the bouquet of flowers. “right, it’s no problem. corner of 53rd you said?” 

“erm, yeah? i think so,” she responded softly. you had no idea where you were, hopping off the subway at an unfamiliar stop. by the looks of it, there was no 53rd in sight. there was, however, a promising looking building on the corner. 

“sash, what’s the place called?” you prompted, trying to blink away the water dripping down your face. your roommate was utterly incapable when it came to boys, especially the one she’d quote on quote ‘fallen head over heels’ for. he’d rendered her a social mess, hardly able to form a sentence let alone drop off a bouquet of anonymous flowers. that left the job up to you, the ever dependable friend. 

sasha shuffled around on the other line, your legs carrying you towards the green building. “i think it’s like ackerman flowers or something along those lines.”

low and behold, the building had a large beige sign that promptly read out ackerman flowers in pretty writing. you thanked your lucky stars that you wouldn’t have to wander around in the pouring rain much longer, attempting to wipe your face dry before stepping inside. 

“alright, i’m here sash,” you sighed, getting ready to hang up. 

“wait!” she cried out, voice seemingly hesitant. you rolled your eyes, wanting nothing more than to be out of the rain. “could you, um - could you put a note in it?”

“a note?” you asked, dumbfounded. you stepped to the side as an older man left the shop, umbrella in hand. 

“yeah,” sasha muttered, voice growing quiet. “like a love note or something. but don’t sign my name!”

you involuntarily laughed, phone nearly slipping from your wet hand. “sorry, um, yeah. i can do that.” 

“thank you so much,” with that, you ended the call, slipping your phone into your pocket. 

the rain lightened as you eyed the outside of the building. it was painted a deep forest green, a small metal table sitting out front. there was one large window, filled with all sorts of differently colored flowers and plants. the building looked homey, or maybe that was because you were desperate to get out of the rain.

a bell dinged as you pushed the door open, greeted by a gush of warm, humid air. the small shop smelled like greenery and jasmine tea, filled to the brim with flowers. it looked like a scene from a movie, the window allowing the grey toned light to wash over the plants. you breathed out in awe, eyes scanning the dark brown desk for an employee, but were met with a fat, fluffy cat. 

it was a light yellow color, lounging comfortably on the desk as if it were a bed. you slowly made your way over to it, the creature blinking up at you bemusedly with a pair of large, glassy eyes. you smiled at it, scratching behind its ear as you waited for an employee to show up. 

“oh, i’m sorry,” you were startled from the cat by a surprised voice, eyes snapping up to land on a boy about your age wearing a dark green apron. there was something oddly familiar about him; blonde fluffy hair and light blue eyes. his features were rounded yet pronounced, an apologetic look on his face. “i didn’t hear you come in, i was in the back.” 

“that’s alright,” you smiled, trying to pinpoint exactly where you’d seen him before. his gaze followed your hand to the cat, a small grin on his face.

“i see you’ve met erwin,” he said softly, wiping his dirt covered hands on his apron. you quirked a brow, silently asking him to elaborate. who names a cat erwin? “he’s the owner’s. i think he was named after an old friend of sorts.” 

“oh, that’s such a weird name for a cat,” you scrunched your nose, looking back down to the fluffy beast. the boy nodded, leaning on the front desk.

“levi’s not very personal, so i never got a backstory,” his long fingers reached up to glide down the cat’s back, scratching right at the base of his tail. he sighed before standing again, folding his hands on the counter. you gave the cat one last pet, noticing the boy’s confused stare. “is it raining outside?” 

“huh?” you frowned, realization dawning on you as your hand came up to pat your wet head. “oh, yeah. it started pouring right when i got here.” 

the boy’s mouth formed an ‘o’, the light glinting off of his name tag. you squinted slightly, making out the name armin. odd, you thought. never heard that one before. 

“well, cat and rain aside, what can i help you with?” he asked. you couldn’t help the slight embarrassment you felt when you considered how you were dripping water onto the ground, a small puddle forming by your feet. armin didn’t seem to notice, or if he did, he didn’t say anything about it. 

you let out a breath, giving him a smile. “right. i’m looking for a flower arrangement that is simple yet, uh, romantic?” you quoted sasha, watching as armin took in the information. 

he nodded his head, a contemplative look in his eyes. “i think i might have a good idea.” 

your eyes followed him as he slipped past the counter, walking up to one of the bundles of baby’s breath. you took a moment to glance him up and down, a light blue crew neck and dark jeans underneath his green apron. you’d be lying if you said he wasn’t attractive; a slim, muscular physique and broad shoulders.

armin flitted around the small space, grabbing some of this and some of that, absentmindedly muttering to himself. you leaned against the counter as he came up, a beautiful selection of flowers in his hands. 

“how about this?” he beamed, walking behind the counter to grab wrapping for the stems. you had to give it to him, the arrangement was gorgeous: flowers of various lavender and baby blue tones. it was soft and sweet, just what sasha wanted. “or, if you’d rather, i can go for the more romantic rose approach.” 

he was leaning forward on the desk, looking up at you through his brows. something about his stare made your face burn. “no, these are perfect!” 

armin chuckled lightly, his own cheeks a light shade of red. “i’m glad you think so. do you want ‘em wrapped up?” 

“yes, please,” you replied, watching as his long fingers placed the bouquet in a light brown paper wrapping. he carefully folded it, tying it off with a piece of twine. something about the situation was sweet, armin giving you a small smile as he handed you the wrapped flowers. 

it felt cliche, his hand grazing yours as you grabbed it from him. you looked down, trying to avoid eye contact as you fished through your pocket for the fifty dollar bill sasha had given you. 

suddenly you remembered her odd request, eyeing armin as he got your change. you certainly didn’t know how to write a love note, and knew that sasha would be no help. swallowing the small amount of embarrassment you felt, you decided to ask anyway. 

“hey, armin?” he looked up from the cash register, face slightly surprised. 

“how do you... oh,” he blushed, looking down briefly. “name tag. what is it?” 

you glanced at erwin the cat, swallowing your pride. “this is kinda weird, but would you be willing to write a love note? anonymous of course.” 

armin’s brows raised in shock, mouth forming a little ‘o’. you quickly tried to fix the odd question. 

“it’s just - i don’t know how to write one and i’m a little stumped,” you explained. armin gave you a small smile, grabbing a pen from the cup beside the card reader. 

“well, lucky for you, i’m majoring in literature,” he gave you a lopsided grin, quickly scribbling something down on the paper. once he was done, he leaned forward, placing it amongst the petals. “there you go. oh, and here’s your change.” 

“thanks,” you beamed, pulling the bouquet close to your chest. armin nodded, happy to be praised. “have a good day.” 

you turned to leave, giving erwin one last pet before making your way towards the door. armin gave you a small wave as you left the shop, disappearing from view. 

the rain had let up, sun peaking through the clouds. you smiled, quickly making your way towards the subway station, excited to get home. 

you’d decided not to pry when sasha’d asked you to pick up the bouquet and drop it off at niccolo’s dorm room. she’d been embarrassed, clearly way too shy to do it herself. you hadn’t asked questions; just decided to get the flowers and drop them off without further discussion. 

as you sat on the hard, plastic subway chair, you could feel that utter indifference starting to melt away. maybe it was because of the sweet florist, or maybe it was because of the way that the love note bounced tauntingly among the flowers. your fingers itched to read it, silently cursing yourself as you lifted it with your pointer and thumb. 

armin’s handwriting was neat; a soft mix of cursive and regular lettering. you glanced around the train car, making sure there was no one else there. it was paranoid, but something about it felt embarrassing nonetheless. 

after making sure there was no one else there, you looked back to the small note. your heart stopped as you read over his words. 

there’s something simple about feelings like these - they remind me of an early morning sunrise; fresh and familiar. warms my heart and soul just thinking of you. 

something about his corny words made your stomach flip, the sight of his soft face flashing in your mind. yup, you thought. i’m definitely embarrassed. 

why am i feeling this way?

<3 <3 <3

[kimistorm]

Late Night Shenanigans [Minho x Reader]

Fandom: Stray Kids

Pairing: Lee Minho x GN! Reader

Warnings: mentions of really drunk people

When Lee Minho invited you to the house party on Friday night, you didn’t expect it to end up with you staring in shock as he absolutely teared up the dance floor. Which, when looking at the grand scheme of things, was an underwhelming patio in the backyard surrounded by drunk people shouting with excitement. You watched in awe as he executed sharp moves that matched perfectly with the beat. Never over-dancing and always looking clean and awesome. When he started bodyrolling you had to put a hand up to your face to hide the blush (not that anybody was looking at you).

The song ended and with a raucous cheer and an epic final pose, he sidled away from the crowd, finding his way next to you. “How long have you been hiding that?” you asked as you gave him a light punch with the hand that wasn’t holding the cup full of dubious liquid.

“Hiding what?” he questioned easily as he leaned against the wall next to you. He didn’t even break a sweat, not that it was easy to tell from the feeble porchlight several feet away.

“Your sick dancing skills?” you gestured to him wildly.

He had a devious smirk on his face as he looked at you, “you thought they were sick?”

“I mean yeah,” you busied yourself with taking a sip of your drink, “that was amazing.”

His smile softened and he shyly ducked his head like one of his cats that he adored, “thanks. Not many people think so.”

You choked on your drink, “what?” you wiped some of the liquid from your drink and let out a couple coughs, “who am I beating up?”

He let out a laugh, “with your scrawny arms?”

“Hey!” you shouted in protest and tried to tackle him into a head lock, “these scrawny arms are gonna drag you back home!”

He continued laughing as he easily batted your arms away, “you can hardly lift your backpack half of the time!”

“Shut up!” your cup was sitting abandoned on the table next to you as you tried to tackle your friend. Key word being try.

Eventually you gave up and you fell into a comfortable silence as you watched a guy in a horse mask attempt some kind of noodle-arm wave in the center of the dance floor. Most of the crowd was too wasted to even notice how bad his dancing was as they excitedly cheered him on. “Hey,” you poked Minho’s side and he immediately flinched back with a light squeak, “when was the last time you drank water?”

“When was the last time you drank water?” he countered.

“You’re the one who just had a dance session over there,” you jerked your head to the rowdy ‘dance floor.’

He sighed and pushed himself off from the wall, “all right. I’ll find some water,” he glared down at the liquid in your cup, “don’t drink that. I’ll get you some water too.”

“Thanks,” you smiled as he left your side and you put down the sketchy cup. He did have a point, it was not a good-tasting drink, but you wanted something to do with your hands. You watched the party rage on in silence. The sky was dark and the lights from the porch drowned out most of the stars. The last time you checked, the party inside was getting a little out-of-control as people started chugging beer and throwing the empty (and not empty) bottles around. You decided to save yourself from a potential injury, you’d flee outside.

“Heyyy,” you cringed as a drunk fellow made themself comfortable in the place where Minho was standing, pushing themself closer into your personal space.

“No thanks,” you replied and inched towards the light. You’d brave returning into the house if that got you away from this creep.

“Aww come on,” you could literally smell the alcohol on their breath, “you’re alone. I’m alone. How about we do something fun.”

Now you were taking actual steps back towards the house, “not interested.” You told him as forcefully as you could.

“Your boyfriend,” you felt a hand grab your wrist and your heart rate jumped. You twisted your hand around and used the flat side with your pinky as leverage to force his hand off of yours, “he doesn’t need to know.” You had to give him credit for being able to finish his sentence, but a lunge towards you made you leap back in fear.

“Too late for you,” you turned and felt security wash over you as you saw Minho standing by your side with two sealed waterbottles in his grasp, “because he already does.” Upon seeing Minho’s dark glare the drunk person scampered away.

“Thanks,” you replied with relief as he handed you a waterbottle.

“Do you want to head out now?” he asked as he jerked a thumb in the direction of the front door.

“If you’re ready.” You shrugged non committedly, not wanting to take the fun out of his night, especially since he was the one who invited you.

He gave a nod, “let’s go.” The two of you made your way through the house out the front door, waving goodbye to friends (Seungmin seemed to be the only sober one left out of all your friends) and stepping carefully away from fallen cups, cans, and people. “Thanks for coming with me,” he smiled as the two of you walked through the streets back to your homes.

You smiled, “thanks for inviting me! It was fun!” He fixed you with a disbelieving look, “okay, the most fun part was watching you dance.” You finally conceded.

“Are you okay with crashing at my place for the night?” he suddenly asked and it was your turn to fix him with a concerned look, “it’s closer.” He offered, and after a second of you contemplating it he added, “Soonie, Doongie, and Dori miss you.”

You couldn’t help the squeal from your lips as you thought about his three cats, “aww, I miss them too!”

A hand slipped into your own and the two of you carelessly swung your hands around, enjoying the quiet night and the calm, dark atmosphere. It wasn’t long until you arrived at his apartment and he quickly unlocked it, the click of the deadbolt almost echoing down the hall.

As to be expected of cats, when the two of you entered his home, they were nowhere to be seen. Making you doubt Minho’s statement that they missed you. “Do you want to shower first?” he offered after the two of you ditched your shoes at the rack near the door, “I’ll find you a towel and you can borrow some of my clothes.”

“Are you sure?” you were nervous about feeling like you were intruding and he took a moment to fix you with a deadpanned look.

“Why else would I offer?”

You ducked your head in embarrassment, “okay. Thank you.”

He let out a sound that was somewhere between the click of a tongue and an adoring coo as he pulled you in for a hug, “don’t worry about it. You’re not a bother.” You comfortably wrapped your arms around him, burying your face in his hoodie that only slightly smelled like sweat. “Now go take a shower,” he gave you a light shove in the direction of the bathroom, “I’ll find the towel and clothes and put it outside the door.” It wasn’t your first time in Minho’s apartment, so you easily found your way to the bathroom, and as you shut the door behind you, you could’ve sworn you heard him mumbling things under his breath.

You quickly changed out of your clothes and hopped into the shower, wanting to go quick so Minho didn’t have to wait as long. The warm water felt nice, it washed away the chaos and sweat from the day and the bodywash you used felt like a warm hug. Probably because it smelled like Minho and he reminded you of warm hugs.

When you emerged from the warm stream of water and into the foggy room, you found he had already slipped in a small stack of fabrics with a toothbrush on top. The shower curtain was opaque, so you didn’t worry he saw anything. Plus, the way it was crumpled made it look like he shoved it in without looking at what products it knocked off the sink.

You quickly finished cleaning up and came out of the shower wearing one of Minho’s hoodies and sweatpants. You found him preparing the sofa with some pillows and blankets, while Dori supervised. “Hey there,” you smiled as you made a beeline for the gray cat and began running your hand over Dori’s soft fur.

“Told you they missed you,” he gave you a soft, somewhat tired smile as he watched you play with one of his babies.

“Where are the other two?” you asked as Dori purred in your hands and you couldn’t help but smile and coo at the youngest cat.

“Soonie’s asleep over there,” he pointed to the scratching post with a little house perched on top in the corner of the room, “Doongie’s eating food.” He vaguely pointed towards the kitchen, where the cat food also had a permanent spot. “Jisung is going to show up at some point.” He explained as he got off the sofa to take a shower

Ah, that explained why he set up the pillows and blankets, “what’s wrong?” you asked as you curiously tilted your head to the side.

“Something about being scared of the dark and Chan not having enough sofas.” He shrugged before disappearing into the bathroom. You planted yourself on the sofa with one hand still absentmindedly petting Dori before turning on your phone and browsed through the chat messages from the group chat.

There was an annoyed meow from Dori before the gray cat scampered away, probably upset from you removing your hand to send the text. “Doongie!” you called out into the apartment, getting off of the couch to find the ginger and white cat. Just like Minho mentioned, you found the cat by the food, eating some of the dry pellets. “Hey there,” you smiled as you rubbed the striped cat, who happily nuzzled into your hand.

Your attention was broken by a knock on the door and you quickly headed over to retrieve your drunk friend. When you opened it, you saw Chan looking bedraggled as Jisung clung to his side. “At this point maybe you should let Felix crash here.” You frowned as you took note of how tightly Jisung was holding onto Chan.

“He’s passed out in my car,” the dark haired man explained, “I don’t know how he’ll take waking up to a place he didn’t expect to be in.”

You gave a shrug, “I mean, he’s been here before.”

“Are you telling me I dragged his butt up here only for you to tell me to get the other kid?” Chan joked as he shook his arm that was captured by Jisung.

You laughed, “no, I won’t make you do that. Hey, Ji,” you tried to shake Jisung awake as Chan led him through the apartment to the sofa. The dark haired boy grumbled a bit and clung to Chan’s arm as he tried to pry him off.

You sniggered at the situation and tried to help with the situation, “I’m glad I won’t be Jisung in the morning.”

Chan let out a sigh as he finally got himself free by replacing his arm with one of the pillows, “me too.” Jisung let out another groan and buried himself into the corner of the sofa as you took the blanket and pulled it over him. “Thanks for taking him.” Chan mentioned as you walked him back to the door.

You shrugged, “it was really Minho. Good night Chan.” You gave him a quick hug in farewell.

He gave you a little wave as he headed back down to his car, “night (y/n)!”

The door to the bathroom opened the same time you locked the door to the apartment and you turned to see Minho smirking at Jisung, “he called me rhino.”

“It was more like ree no.” You disagreed as you went to the kitchen to fetch a cup of water and a pain killer. Chances are you and Minho would wake up before Jisung woke up, but you decided it’d be easier if he didn’t have to scrabble around the kitchen.

“How much do you want to bet that we’ll be woken up by something breaking?” Minho asked as you filled up a cup with water and he rattled a bottle of pills around to get out a couple.

“Let’s not entertain that thought.” You muttered as you switched off the tap, “I got a plastic cup for a reason.”

“Okay, then it’ll be the sound of him falling off the couch.” Minho snickered after the two of you placed the items onto the coffee table and headed farther in the apartment to his bedroom.

“That I believe.” You laughed as the two of you crawled into his bed.

Minho let out a content hum as he wrapped his arms around you, “good night (y/n).”

You smiled and tried to burrow into his hug, happy to be in his warm embrace, “night Minho.”

Shoutout to hanniiesuckle17 for helping me find an app for the text posts!

Masterlist

[simpsiren]

Drunken guest and a tail

lee jeno x reader

description. you headed over to your comfort space which is Jeno’s apartment, only to have a unexpected guest tagging along with you as you spent the night there.

genre. PURE FLUFF

word count. 1.6k~

warnings. nonees

a/n. i suddenly had the thought of jeno being allargic to cats then i figured how about write a short story about itt

20th December 2020.

You etched this date in your brain as you made your way to the bar. You looked down on your phone, feeling vibrations from it as you see Mark calling you for the fifth time. You were this close to switching off your phone completely if he called you one more time.

A lot went through your head while you walked down the dimly lit streets, trying to get your mind off everything by watching cars pass by or looking at the street lamps that flickered every few seconds. Yet, it wasn’t working.

The thought of your two year relationship with Mark ended in the blink of an eye the moment you saw him with another girl. To be honest, you knew it was going to happen someday when you realise him not contacting you as often, and your dates with him became less and less, moments away till it dissolves into nothing.

Knowing you’re going to have a long night ahead of you, you decided to call Jeno. Your only close friend that you could trust at this point. After hearing Jeno pick up, you gulped and looked up to the sky. “What?” You heard Jeno say in his usual monotone flat voice which he uses whenever he picked up any of your calls.

“Don’t lock the door tonight. I’m going through some shit and I might come to your house.” You heaved a sigh as you bit your bottom lip.

“Why? Did something happen-”

You hung up, way too tired to explain your situation with hope that Jeno would be asleep by the time you got home so he wouldn’t see you in your wrecked state.

You finally arrived at the bar. To your surprise, it wasn’t crowded. You scanned your eyes over your surroundings but decided to just take a seat in front of the bar.

“Vodka, please. And keep it coming.” You said lazily as the bartender appeared in front of you to take your order. Moments later your shot of vodka came. You wasted no time to down it all in one go.

You knew you were very resistant to alcohol but with all these emotions filling up your mind, you bet you wouldn’t even realise anything if you’ve exceeded your limit. But at this point, you didn’t care, wanting to desperately drink your sorrows away for just one night.

You felt your phone vibrating beside you. Not even wondering who called, you switched your phone off immediately.

“Miss, you seem drunk. Do you have anyone I can call to take you home?” You suddenly hear the bartender speak. You looked up with eyes that were half opened. One thing you didn’t notice till now was that he looked extremely good looking. You did a double take before clearing your throat and running a hand through your hair.

“I can go home myself.” You muttered as you rose from your seat, coughing as the alcohol that kicked in moments ago start to settle in with your head spinning and a mind that wasn’t in the right space.

You tried making your way to the front door, staggering your way there as your vision was just slightly beginning to go bad. You felt the bartender hold your arm to assist you, but you quickly pushed it off once you arrived at the door.

“And you cutie...” You said as you tapped a finger on the bartender’s shoulder. “Have a great night. Unlike mine when it got ruined in seconds.”

You pushed the door open and tripped on your way out. You suspire in despair, not even knowing what time it was. You started to walk, to who knows where. You wanted to go anywhere but home, wanting to feel the night breeze against your face as you walked down the streets at are now peacefully empty.

Absentmindedly, you somehow ended up in front of Jeno’s apartment. You squinted your eyes and tilted your head as you tried to read the number on the door. Yup, you were definitely at Jeno’s apartment. This was surely not the first time you’ve done this.

Whenever you have gone through a hard time, you would be standing outside Jeno’s apartment, not even knowing why. You could only assume that it was your feet that unconsciously walked you here. It was weird to feel comfort from just looking at the door of Jeno’s apartment from the first floor, but that became your habit ever since you became friends with Jeno. 

Running a hand down your face, you push the door open and entered, taking off your shoes and throwing them to the side. 

“Hey, I tried calling you so many times why didn’t you reply? Oi-” Jeno instantly got cut off when you pushed him aside and made your way to the living room. Before you could drop yourself onto the couch, you hear Jeno calling out your name.

Irritated, you spun around and glared at Jeno. “The fuck you want? I’m tired.” You growled, dropping your purse on the floor and letting out a whine. 

Jeno narrowed his eyes down on you and pointed down to the floor. You looked down at the direction he was pointing at, suddenly seeing a cat roaming around Jeno. 

“What’s a feline doing here? Did it follow you home?” Jeno asked with the raise of a brow. You huffed and scratched your head. “Does it look like I know?”

The two of you stared at the cat that was rubbing its head against Jeno’s leg for a long minute, not sure what to do with it since it just suddenly somehow showed up. “You wanted to adopt a cat, right? Keep it or something...” You mumbled before finally sitting down on the couch, taking a pillow and getting yourself comfortable while closing your eyes to let them rest.

Jeno glanced at your drunken tired state before fixing his eyes onto the cat once again. “How did you follow her here, cutie?” He whispered under his breath. Though it whisper was louder than he thought, making you open your eyes to see Jeno squatting down beside it and petting its head.

“What are you gonna do with it?” You asked, resting your chin on the palm of your hand as you leaned your body against the arm of the couch. “You tell me.” Jeno stood up and walked to the kitchen, filling a small bowl with water and going back to the cat, placing the bowl in front of it which resulted it to drink almost immediately. 

“Do you think I have the brain power to think?” I asked, shaking my head as I shrugged my shoulders and letting your body sink into the soft couch. 

Jeno sighed and placed a hand on his forehead as he stared down at the cat. The two of heard the cat meowing while it looked up at Jeno with big eyes. Of course, Jeno couldn’t resist, picking it up and holding it in his arms. He made his way over to the couch and sat down beside you, placing the cat on his lap. 

“It doesn’t look like a stray...” Jeno said as he inspected the cat thoroughly. You did the same, noticing how it had beautiful brown fur and big round brown eyes. It didn’t have a name tag or any sign of ownership either. “We can take care of it?” You puckered your lips as the cat moved into your lap, getting comfortable in it and rubbing its head on your hand. You smiled to yourself softly as you started to pet it, running your hand down its body. 

“We?” Jeno asked in confusion. 

You slowly laid your head on Jeno’s shoulder, moving your head around till you found a comfortable spot in the crook of Jeno’s neck. “I broke up with Mark.”

You didn’t hear a reply, only breathing could be heard. You didn’t bother looking up to Jeno to see his reaction to your words, only wanting to keep your eyes on the mysterious cat that seemed to like your presence. You didn’t mind since you felt comfortable with it as well. 

You suddenly felt Jeno’s hand creep up your head, running his hand down to caress your hair and run his fingers through it, untangling small strands of hair here and there. “I already told you to break up with him when you told me about the red flags, didn’t I?” Jeno replied with a light scoff. 

“Stop making me feel worse than I already am.” You begged, your voice muffled from the fact that you had your lips brushing above Jeno’s skin. 

You heard him sigh, placing a light kiss on the crown of your head before whispering, “Move in with me. She can move in as well.” Jeno jerked his head towards the cat that was already sleeping peacefully in your lap.

You didn’t know what came over you. Without you realising, you had your lips on Jeno’s. It was probably the alcohol that controlled you, but maybe perhaps your underlining feelings for Jeno as well.

Not recieving a response, you wanted to pull back, only to have Jeno’s hand cupping your cheek before pulling you back in, kissing you nice and slow. You tried not to move so as to not disturb the cat. Before the kiss could get heated, you were first to pull away, breathing heavily.

“Aren’t you allergic to cat fur?” 

Jeno only shrugged. “I’ll make it work.” He mumbled before connecting his lips with yours once again as the two of you kissed in silence with the cat sitting comfortably on your lap, Jeno unconsciously connected his hand with your that laid lightly on the cat, interlocking his fingers with yours as you allowed him to kiss your sadness and worries away.