#n i was like oh i may check it out. i read a tiny bit and retained none of it LOL

[winterarmyy]

Welcome Home, Daddy

The aftermath of when Bucky accidentally relapsed into the Winter Soldier.

Summary: Bucky was over the moon when he discovered that Y/N was pregnant with his child. But, when the danger that lurks in dark threatened to steal his family away, a fellow soldier decided to come home.

Note: Highly recommend to read 《 Welcome Home... Soldat? 》 for backstory. But, you can also read this as a stand alone (though you might miss some call backs on the soldat's behaviour if you skip)

Pairing: winter soldier!bucky x female!reader

Words: 7.1k++ (bare with me, please)

Warnings: graphic violence, torture, blood, gore, deaths, dark undertones, sudden fluff, tiny bit of angst, google translated russian, and just so much detained anger exploding around, soldat is just deadly yet adorable in this one (i can't even handle it, and i'm the author), this event takes place far in the future after what happened in 《 Welcome Home...Soldat? 》

A/N: Looks like we have the winner for the poll 👀 Who's ready for our lovely soldat to make his appearance again? I know I'm not, but here we are. So, strap in and let's do this!

P/S: Also, I might as well make this as my submission for the seven writing event hosted by @nickfowlerrr 💌 Check out the event masterlist and support the writers by reading and reblogging their stories!

Read my other works here: Masterlist

They say the wrath of a fighter may threatened a heinous war but the wrath of a lover will let the earth drenched in bloody gore. And if a fool was daft enough to tore a lover from his other half, then they might just court themselves right into the hands of death.

And this couldn't be more true, especially if we consider the crime that the soldat was currently committing. Surely, the blood pooling on the floor will forever leave a grim mark that'll haunt the people who ever witness it.

"Where is she?" the soldat prompted the frail woman, limping on the chained chair. Despite the horrid situation, he sounded rather calm when he spoke.

How unfortunate it was for Elle to be associated with Hydra yet to also be so exposed to the dangers of the ghost himself, the Winter Soldier. Hydra may have their suspicion about the soldat making a move, but she didn't expect that she would be involved in the mess of this ordeal.

The cold metal of the soldat's vibranium fingers, particularly his index and thumb, latched themselves on another one of her nails. Her mouth slacked open but no sound was able to be formed when the soldat mercilessly ripped her nail right off her finger.

And oh, the pain was beyond any kind of injury that she had ever experienced, not a even a bullet through her flesh could be compared to this agony of a torture.

He harshly grabbed Elle by the back of her neck, forcing her to watch the blood leaking from the reddened flesh of her fingers, "I asked you a simple question, су́ка (bitch). Where the fuck is she?" The soldat's patience had been running thin and rage had clouded his judgements.

He needed to find her. His precious Родная (darling).

No matter whose neck he needed to slay or whose blood that have to be shed dry. He had to bring his darling home; no matter what it takes.

Unfortunately, it had been almost a month since he lost her.

And no one saw it coming.

Who would've thought that the old Hydra compound that the team raided were meant to be a part of a plan to weaken the Avengers. It was just a distraction filled with unexpected traps and triggers. By the time they flew home, the team were already tired and injured as the result of the raid.

So imagine the desperate struggle and utter panic that Bucky had to go through the moment he stepped his foot into the comfort of their home and had to witness Y/N's exhausted figure fighting for her life.

Hers and the baby's inside.

After hitting the 2 months mark of pregnancy, Bucky decided that Y/N shouldn't be involved in any high stake mission anymore. At first, she only laughed to his statement, thinking he was surely joking but when his stern expression didn't flatter, that was when she reliazed Bucky was not open for negotiation.

Y/N knew it was way too early to settle into her maternal leave but after having a long conversation with Bucky, they both agreed to keep her missions strictly on low-risk stakeouts and desk works at the tower.

It was supposedly be some kind of a precaution for her, to keep her and the baby safe, away from any type harm that might come their way. But, that certainly back fired.

When Bucky's burning anger had pumped him full with high stream of adrenaline, it was as if he went into an auto pilot; a murderous one at that. And soon enough he managed to take down half of Hydra's best agents that joined the mission of collecting Y/N from the tower.

For a moment, it seemed like luck was on their side, at least it felt like it.

It lasted only until Bucky saw how harsh the kick of the enemy landed on Y/N's hip, and how she managed to shield her stomach seconds before her body slammed down to the ground.

That was when fear crawled into his pumping nerves and the roots of it ran extremely cold.

And that was all it takes for Hydra to distract Bucky then immobilize him on the spot with a replica of the Sonic Taser developed by Stark Industries a few years back.

Bucky grunted painfully in protest of the high pitched sonic frequency from the device that overloads his nervous system. His body couldn't help but to slowly paralyzed its movements as his skin turned pale and the strain in his blood vessels became visible.

On the opposite side, Y/N could be seen being forcefully dragged away by a few of the Hydra agents that was left. There were couple of nasty injuries torn all over her body yet she was still stubborn on fighting back.

While she was being pulled farther away from him, she shouted his name loud and desprete, "Bucky!" Hot tears broke from the corner of her eyes as she desperately reach out her hand.

It felt as if she was right there when Bucky's hand was reaching back towards her. Like, a little bit of a push would've been enough to catch her but alas fate was not planning to be merciful.

Bucky's menancing eyes never left her wavering ones as Hydra tortured Bucky by stealing a part of his soul from him; and no one really knew how his heart clenched and torn to the fact that he was helplessly useless when Y/N needed him the most.

And when he only managed to scream back Y/N's name, he was forced to watch her wailed as she was unwillingly being taken away.

The moment when Bucky drowned himself in regret and rage, that was when the Winter Soldier took over his consciousness.

Unfortunately for the soldat, his mortal body was already worn out from all the intense fight that happened prior; he was knocked out right after he took over the body.

But in those few seconds before the darkness consumed him, the soldat managed to catch a glimpse of his darling. He saw the image of her; teary and bruised in the hands of those who created him. The very same monsters who uses him for despicable things.

That was all that he needed to see in order to break those chains around the dark pandora residing deep within his being.

The team was absolutely not ready to deal with the soldat again, this time without Y/N to tame him. Especially when his demands were unrealistic for them to fulfill.

It's been nearly 3 weeks since the incident and they had failed to locate Y/N; repeatedly. Even if they did manage to get some kind of an intel, all the of bases they had raided were basically bunch of abandoned spaces that Hydra used to occupy.

So of course the soldat was agitated. He had every right to be, more so when he thought of the increasing risk of his darling getting hurt in the hands of Hydra. And at this point, those scumbags were just messing with their minds. Especially with his.

"Listen, we're doing our best here, soldat." Steve tried to reason with him but it only fueled the burning flames within the soldat, "ты делаешь недостаточно! (You're not doing enough!)" He spat harshly that he didn't even noticed that he uses Russian language. It seemed like the unkempt irritation had conquered the chaos of his mind.

So that very night, the soldat decided to do this on his own; thus he ran away from the tower in search for his darling. He had to. Especially when he knew precisely why the Avenger was not able to find Y/N as quickly as they should be.

It was because they were the good guys. They were the heros, they were the light. And the soldat was not. In fact, he was the very opposite.

Unlike the Avengers, the soldat was not planning to play  nice and soon enough he managed to find a lead.

Which bring us to this very moment in which he successfully snuck into a Hydra agent's home to interrogate her.

But, in contrast of those Hydra troops that attack the Avengers Tower a few weeks ago, Elle was not even involved in the mission of retrieving Y/N. She was actually on a solo mission to infiltrate a certain high school to collect informations on Peter Parker. Hydra suspected that he might be involved with the new hero appearing in Queens.

However, even if she was not a part of the team mission, she knew bits and pieces of the overall plan, especially the whereabout of the main character herself, Y/N.

However, the appearance of the Winter Soldier in her temporary house was completely unexpected.

It felt like it was just few moments ago that the intel on Y/N's location reached her ears. Then, she distinctly remember the glimpse of those murderous eyes glaring into her soul. Next thing she knew was everything went pitch black.

Even if it was temporary, however it felt so surreal.

The darkness surrounding her.

The bone rattling cold.

It felt like death itself.

But unfortunately for her, the soldat was far from stopping.

Elle was fraying at the edges while the soldat crouch to her level. Even if she could barely reconstruct the unclear and blurry images through her dazed eyes, however, that didn't stop the soldat from maiming the dying woman's soul through his unforgiving gaze.

"Wake up..." he growled as he yanked her face upwards, "...we're not done yet."

It took a while for Elle to finally adjust to the light, after being in the dark for – how she felt like – so long.

After the light hits her vision, the striking pain came next. The pulsing pain surrounding of her right eye, her broken nose, her busted lips, her bleeding skin; neck, chest, arms, and almost every part of her limbs.

Everything were – slowly but surely, in each cuts and bruises on her skin – blooming its pain into existence.

How can she skipped all of this when she lost her consciousness?

Perhaps that was how she managed to stay alive as long as she had. By running away from the misery; from her reality.

Elle whined in pain but her voice suggested that she might already torn her throat apart when it sounded more like a broken grunt. Her disoriented gaze fell into her aching fingers, each were missing its nail; the tips of them was where the icky blood trickled from and had shaped a pool of blood on the floor where she rested.

The dim lighting from the room reflected on the surface of the deep-red puddle, revealing the resemblance of it to a mirror. And the blurry image looking back, was the soldat, with a sinister expression on his face.

This game, that they're playing.

It hardly seems fair to one of them. To be tortured if not speaking the truth? That's simply unjust; but if we're talking about fairness, then none of those injuries could ever be compared to the pain Y/N might be going through at this very moment. Every second of Elle's useless stubbornness was costing Y/N's safety.

And the soldat didn't like that. Not one bit.

"You mentioned Spain? Where exactly?" In one swift, harsh motion, the soldat thrust his knife through her thighs, "FUCK!"

The loud scream of pain that tore from Elle's throat was probably the last coherent word that she uttered as the torture continued.

The soldat pulled the knife out and stabbing it into the open wound, he listened to Elle's gasp for a moment, relishing her breathless pleading and the tears now openly streaming down her face.

He stabbed again, twice, each was quick and deep, not caring about the blood that spurted out across his face.

At this point Elle was just a puddle of blabbering mess; streams of saliva pouring out her mouth, sobbing, gasping for air; mixture of grunts, moans and whispers of curses and pleas were all spouted incoherently.

Anger.

Frustration.

Rage.

Wrath.

Even hatred.

The soldat was feeling it all.

It was consuming him, devouring any sanity that was left of Bucky's moral values. The eerie glint in the soldat eyes suggested that he was not planning to stop until she gave him what he wants.

God, if it wasn't for chilling atmosphere around her, Elle might just mistook that she was actually in hell.

"Pyrenees!" She cried out. The soldat instantly stopped when she confessed. He waited for an answer and right on cue, she spoke again, breathless and almost silent as the fear that engulfed her prior refused to release her from its haunting grip. And truthfully she doubt that it will ever let her go, "T-there a secret base n-near the Irati forest."

She exhaled a shaky breath as she pleaded, "S-so please. Please stop this." The was tired of the pain and the numbness that came after. And the soldat knows it.

The room was left silent momentarily, as if he was actually considering her plea but alas he already had plans for her all along, "Shame. You should've killed yourself before I came here."

As he finished the last word, the soldat viciously plunged his knife deep into her neck, digging the sharpness of it through the delicate flesh until it reach the base of the blade.

Elle gasped in response, her hands scrabbling around in effort to break free, to stop all of this. But considering the situation she was in, there was nothing she could do about it other than to take it as it was given to her.

When the motion finally stopped, the soldat simply walked away from the scene as if it was a complete norm for him to behave as he was. He didn't even thought of cleaning the mess he left behind. Or hide the corpse somewhere.

Isn't he afraid that he might leave his tracks for the police to find?

Why would he?

This has been his life for decades on end. His sole purpose of living was to kill. So best believe that the authorities will never be able to link the soldat or Bucky to this crime.

Not today, not ever.

Through the days that Y/N was locked deep within Hydra's base, she hadn't been treated the worst. In fact, the sick and twisted agents and residents in the facility was more than willing to care for her.

This was all because they wanted her baby.

It was always sickening to hear them referring her child as merely a tool for their success. And the way they worship Y/N like she was a gift from God to fulfill their purpose, was beyond insanity.

"Oh, to have the privilage of bearing the offspring of the Winter Soldier. To be able to create the perfect weapon, unlike the father. It is just honorable."

It made her stomach churned with pure disgust whenever she heard those types of comments floating around her.

Besides the eerily digusting behaviour of the agents, there was also the regular check-ups and the lab tests that she needed to attend. Out of all the things she had to endure these past few weeks, the medical check-up has always dreaded her the most.

There was this constant debate within her troubled mind; of the possibility of Hydra manipulating her baby's health and genes by inserting unknown substance into her.

"Come on, mama. On the bed." The doctor said as he patted his rubber gloved hand on the surface of the rigid single bed.

She always found it vile that the people here calling her by that nickname. It tickled her throat in a way that she wanted to puke all the tasteless gunk that they had fed her with.

As she laid on the bed and let the process went on as it usually do, the doctor suddenly stopped everything that he was doing. At first she was weirded out by the irregular act of the man, but when she felt the vibration on the ground and the rushing footsteps from the floor above her, she knew exactly why the doctor suddenly froze on his spot.

And the emergency siren that shortly blared after, had only confirmed her speculation.

But mostly, it was the panic in the doctor's eyes that gave him away; then when Y/N noticed the man scrambled to search the drawers from one of the cabinet, she knew that he was up to no good.

The second that the doctor's hurried his steps towards her with a syringe in his hand, Y/N's body immediately recoiled. She quickly stopped him by grabbing his wrist and twisted it back until the syringe dropped from his hold.

The man cursed under his breath and decided to take her by force when he grabbed a handful of her hair, almost dragging her out of the bed. Y/N shrieked painfully while her hands blindly grabbing the silver tray by the bed next to her.

She then slammed it hard against his head, and watched the contents on the tray fell and scatter onto her. She took quick skim over all the tools and saw a potential weapon for her defence; a scissor.

"Stay still, mama. Or the baby will get hurt." The doctor foolishly threatened.

Maybe it was her defence mechanism or maybe it was just her motherly instinct kicking in but something just snapped inside of her when he said those words. There was this incredibly strong urge to either fight or take flight.

Of course she could easily slipped away and make a run for it but she just couldn't risk it. Especially when her baby's life was currently at stake. So, after a short moment of hesitation, she swiftly grabbed the scissors and surge it through his ribs. The man wailed in pain as he staggered off the bed and fell onto the floor.

You'd thought a single yet firm stab through the guts was enough to quench Y/N's need of fighting back but no. Apparently, the haywire of her nerves had drove her feral and she needed him to be soulless by the time she walk out the room.

That had forced her to nearly jumped on him like a predator pinning on a meek prey and the lack of struggling on the victim's side had only gave her full control to dominate him.

Then all of the sudden, the doctor felt another strike of the pain, digging into the flesh of his chest.

He woefully cried in extreme pain while Y/N did not utter a single word or let out any sound, she stayed silent as she thrusts the scissor in and out his flesh.

Each surge was vicious than the previous. Each stab was gradually speeding up as the motion increases it's number of repetition.

She completely let her emotions took over her sanity.

Until what's left in the room was only the sloshing and splashing sound of blood seeping through every thrust, as she continued to violate the body of the corpse.

Until the calm puddle of blood on floor rippled as the tears that broke from her eyes dropped on it's surface.

And when she realized that the doctor was long dead, that broke Y/N out from her feral state. Realizing what she had done; she shakily loosen her grip on the scissors and scrambled off from the lifeless body.

Her breath was near erratic; it was a chaos of unsteady rhythm as her words was lost at the tip of her tongue. She jolted in shock when the commotion in the facility got louder than before, reminding her that Bucky was there to save her.

Y/N felt a sob choking in her throat as her hands searched her stomach to coax the child in her womb, "It's okay sweet bean, daddy's here for us."

Have you ever heard how ear-ringingly loud it is when it's hailing? How the sounds of the frozen raindrops hitting – the top of your car or the roof of the shades of an outdoor café table – can completely mute your words for anyone to hear?

That has nothing compared to the thundering sounds that echoed throughout the whole facility. The shots were fired from multiple range of stolen guns, all were coming from one moving figure.

The once clean grey and white painted walls of the hallways, were now stained and splattered with the color of crimson. The usually empty hallways, were occupied by the dead bodies of fallen Hydra agents. And the distinct scent of well-kept lair, were effortlessly replaced by the unpleasant and pungent smell; a mixture of blood and sweat.

It was a clear trail of the Winter Soldier's deeds.

This place was supposed to be pristine, but now feels more like how it should be; hell.

While the enemies were roaring into their death, the soldat on the other hand was very much the opposite.

Unlike his foe, it took him very little work from the tips of his tongue and much more on the tips of his gun. When the enemies barked like a dog, the soldat pounced like a wolf; silent and resilient.

By nature, the soldat had never been a patient man, especially when it comes to people harming his darling.

Sure, maybe he can tolerate and play along with people who messed with him, but if one were to touch even a strand of hair of his beloved, then they practically reserving themselves a first class ticket of a one-way trip to hell.

And that unhinged tendencies of his only worsen when wrath was the one reigning his mind while hatred was its ruler. His mind was nothing but a chaos of rampage and vengeance. Seeking nothing but blood and death of his foolish foe.

At this point of time, with the amount of life he had taken from the moment he step foot into the gate of the base, to the very stairs he was currently climbing, one could probably matched his heart rate with the rhythm of the shots formed by the bullets he shot.

Magazine upon magazine he reloaded his gun and waste no less than zero bullet as every shot made was accurately deadly and terrifying fatal to his prey.

As the soldat's feet reached half way up the stairs, a Hydra agent's voice spoke from the lower level, "She's on the LG2, we need a team to come and collect her as soon as poss--" A bullet went straight through the top of his head before he could finish his sentence.

And that was the soldat's last ammo.

While he mentally took note on the intel, his feet was quick to jumped into action and made his way down to LG2. As he entered the hallway, his wild eyes wondered around to steal another gun from a dead man's body.

But he rose into a stand, he felt a tip of a cold steel nudged at the back of his head.

Some would call out the soldat's mistake for letting his guard down in the middle of a battle, but another would definitely ridicule the stupidity of that fool's guts for even thinking that the soldat couldn't counter-attack his weak threats.

However, none of the two man managed to made any move towards each other when there was a faster, more accurate trigger was pulled from someone else, from across the hallway.

And that action left an aftermath of the fool's body to drop flat on the floor, quickly finding it's perfect spot with between the other pile of corpses scattered around.

When the soldat turned around, the sharp of his gaze softened almost immediately.

There she was standing there, in the pastel blue of her 'prison' attire. Her hair was a bit messy even if it was tied, and her complexion looked slightly pale with fatigue but to the soldat, she was glowing like angel; despite the blood on her clothes or the gun in her hand.

She was right there.

His heart.

His love.

His darling.

Her eyes were red and puffy, as if she had been crying for days. Her pouty lips trembled when the soldat stepped closer and closer towards her, tears threatening to fall as if she haven't done that during all the weeks that she had been here.

The soldat's steps grew faster.

So does Y/N's.

Tap taping until they were almost running towards each other.

Until the moment they reunited in the middle.

Catching each other's lips in a desperate and insatiable kiss, the soldat pulled her body tight around the waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Both whimpered in a yearning moan, both still had their guns hanging on one of their hands.

So many feelings at once, relief and grief, with each of them had a different story to tell.

The couple kept breaking and mending the kiss ever-so-passionately as if they weren't in the middle of the grave-less cemetery; as if they weren't in the center of the piling corpses.

Briefly opening his eyes, the soldat could see a shadow running towards them. When Y/N heard the footsteps from her back, she knew they need to pull away, but the soldat was firm and stubborn with his hold.

So instead of letting her break the kiss, he groaned in disapproval and pulled her lips back to his. An angry growl vibrated against her lips as he continued to explore her wet and warm mouth.

Caught off-guard she melted to his silent demand, almost forgot that the enemy was right behind her. But, she should've know better when the soldat loosen one of his arms from the embrace and pointed his gun towards the target.

His finger pulled the trigger almost as easily as his teeth tugging into the bottom of her lips. And suddenly the sound of a body collapsing behind didn't matter anymore.

When the soldat felt that he had enough of the sweetness of her kiss, he finally pulled away, at least for now. He whispered dearly, "Родная (darling)..." he cupped her face in his large hands and rested his forehead on hers.

She thought she heard it wrong, but did he just called her darling? It took her a few second to piece it together and realized that this man was not Bucky, that he had relapsed into the Winter Soldier again, "Soldat?"

The soldat smiled and leaned forward to steal a chaste kiss on her lips, "Yes, it's me, мое Родная (my darling)" he cooed as he swept her by her feet, off the bloody ground and carried her in his arm, "I got you, Куколка (little one). You can rest now."

"We're just wanted make sure she's alright."

"You can follow us if you want so just please--"

"Soldat! You're going to hurt her."

The familiar voices leaked through Y/N's ears as she was drifting through her dreamless slumber. Soon enough, the loud commotion of her surrounding woke her up from the deep sleep.

The words that the Avengers were yelling out became clearer as she gained her consciousness, and the ever-changing movements of the soldat, evading every step the Avengers made to get closer to him, made her aware of the way she was resting in his arms; perfectly cocooned in a form of a bridal carry style.

The soldat halted on his spot when Y/N opened her eyes to see what was going on, "Soldat?" She blinked multiple times as she adjusted to the lights. The menacing frown of the soldat melted into a much softer expression, "Родная(darling), you shouldn't be awake yet." He craddled her closer to him as he cooed.

Where is she? How long was she out? When did she changed her clothes?

"What is happening?" She asked as she peered over his shoulder to see Natasha sighing in relief, "Sweetheart, thank god you're awake."

Y/N then looked over to Steve, "You've been gone for weeks, y/n. We got news about your rescue yesterday, and you guys just arrived home. Now, if we could just to take you to the medbay and get you check-up, that'll be great." He briefly explained.

"Yeah, that's all we want isn't it? But, someone just had to be sappy and refuse to let anyone touch you. You know, how it is with the soldier." Tony quickly intercepted.

The soldat didn't pay them any attention now that his darling was awake. He was merely focusing on whispering the sweetest things as he traces delicate trails of kisses on her forehead, her nose, her cheek, basically all over her face.

Sam took it as opportunity to get closer when the soldat was distracted on suffocating Y/N with kisses. But he should learn by now how alert and agile the soldat can be, especially when he have Y/N close to his proximity.

So, when Sam took a step closer, the soldat recoiled almost immediately, putting quite of a distance between them.

"Man, if Bucky has a staring problem, then the winter soldier over here has a hogging problem." Sam accusingly pointed at the soldat, only getting grunts as a reply.

Looking at the current situation, Y/N pondered for awhile. As much as she wanted to get herself check-up, it was also wise to not pressure the soldat to give her away.

Considering what she witnessed at the Hydra base, Y/N knew the risk that comes when we let the soldat dwell in anger for too long.

So she consulted the rest of the team to back down for now, and let the soldat do what he wants. Y/N promised them that she will conviced the soldat to let her get a check-up as soon as possible. But for now, they really need to trust her words.

At first every one of them was reluctant to let her go but in the end they agreed to her suggestion.

When the team spread out and gave some space for the soldat, he didn't waste any time and marched straight to where their bedroom supposed to be. As soon as they arrived at their safe space, the soldat almost threw Y/N onto the bed and swiftly drew a knife from the holster of his thigh as his predatory eyes searched the room.

He refused to move even an inch away from where he stood and remained close to Y/N; shielding her figure with his own.

It was very faint, but the soldat could sensed that they weren't the only ones in the room.

Y/N eyed him curiously, wondering why the soldat was still on edge when he wasn't supposed to. So, she hopped off from the bed and stood on her feet before reaching out to hug the soldat from behind.

"You can put the knife down, soldat. It's just us here." She coaxed but the soldat refused to believe her. He pulled her by the arms, breaking her hug in the process and hold her close to his chest, "There's someone else here."

His actions was rather rougher than he intended it to be; even Y/N was startled by the sudden movement, "Oooff, careful there, soldat. You might give the little one a fright." She chuckled softly as she give her belly a loving rub.

And suddenly his attention was completely focused on Y/N now. Usually his frown symbolized irritation, but this time there was a clear confusion in his eyes. The amount of appalled blinking of his eyes increases when the puzzle pieces in his head started to merge.

The soldat knew that he heard a third heartbeat in the room; that was why he was on alert for threats but apparently he had been closer to the source than he thought was.

In fact, it was right his arms. Or maybe a little bit lower, somewhere around his torso.

Y/N didn't say anything, she simply nodded and smiled up to him as she continued to rub her belly.

When the conclusion finally hits him, the soldat dropped the knife in his hand at the same time he fell on his knees. His gaze never broke from hers, not even a split second, until he was face to face with her tummy.

The soldat leaned one side of his ear closer to her and the thumping sound of the third heartbeat got louder. The discovery had caused him to jolt away as shock decorated his features. He titled his head upwards to Y/N with the same wide, confused look in his blue eyes.

"It's okay, love." She giggled amusingly when the soldat repeated his previous actions. He leaned in and jolted back again as if he couldn't believe what he just heard was real, "Is it... his?" The soldat asked as he implied his existance to be separated from Bucky.

There was a hint of sadness in Y/N's expression when he said it like that. There's been many long conversations that she and Bucky had about the soldat after his first relapse.

Though Bucky was still unsure of his own dissociating self, Y/N on other hand believed that the soldat, this particular man whose drenched the earth with blood just to save her, the same man whose currently on his knees to hear a heartbeat of an unborn child; he deserved a little kindness in his life.

"Yes..." Y/N answered truthfully before she continued, "...and he's yours too."

And that surely knocked the air out of the soldat's lungs, he couldn't tell if she was telling him the truth or was just trying to kill him; either way the butterflies in his chest was suffocating him from the inside.

The soldat couldn't speak a single word; because he didn't know what to say. But there was this beam on his features, light in his eyes, softness on his smile when he dreamily stared at her growing belly.

Y/N took him by his flesh hand and place his palm on her stomach, then she spoke tenderly to the baby inside her, "Wanna say hi to daddy, sweet bean? Say, 'Welcome home, daddy.' "

She knew it was silly, because obviously the child in her womb shouldn't be able to speak, and he was not yet developed enough to be kicking his feet. Hell, they don't even know his gender yet.

But how could she not say it when the soldat looked so damn happy when she did. He looked so peaceful and has this daze and some of those twinkling hearts in those steel-blue eyes of. The soldat sighed in pure joy before he leaned to kiss her stomach.

And as it turns out that was all she needed to do to persuade the soldat to letting her see the doctors. He was there through the whole process, refusing to let go of her hand. It was such a good news to hear that the baby was healthy and there wasn't any foreign substance that might contaminated her during her times in Hydra.

After getting proper medical care and some food in her system, the soldat immediately carry her back to their room to settle down. While she laid on the bed, making up for the lost time to finally get the mental rest she desperately needed, the soldat on the other hand, had made himself comfortable by lying his head on her stomach.

He just couldn't stop; as if he was hypnotised by the melody of the baby's heartbeat. His hand snuck under her shirt, lifting the fabric up to reveal the belly where their miracle resides.

Y/N's droopy eyes followed his actions as she watched how carefully the soldat approached her. Out of habit, her hands absentmindedly rake through the softness of his hair as she held him by the head.

The soldat dotingly caressed the child's sleeping chambers as he leaned closer to it, "...Hi there, little one." he greeted with a quiet and loving whisper.

Immediately, a smile beamed brightly on Y/N's face when the soldat proceed to pamper her belly with countless of tender kisses, "...it's daddy." he introduced himself, as if the baby was able to understand him.

The silence that came after was so sweet and comfortable. And Y/N knew she wouldn't be able to have this without the soldat. She tucked a piece of his loose strand of hair behind his ear when she spoke gently, "Thank you for saving me, soldat."

He briefly lifted his head and smiled up at her, "You know I can't live without you Родная (darling). I will always need you." He declared a truthful confession before turning his attention away. His lips grazed on the skin of her belly as he mumbled against it, "And you too, little one."

Y/N could burst into tears just from this interaction alone but she try not to. She doesn't want to look back at this moment and remember how much she wept, so she blinked her tears away while she watched the soldat spoiled the little buddle of joy inside her with so much endearments.

Even though it was always a happy memory for the soldat when he spend time with his darling, but this... this was rare. And he wanted to cherish it for as long as he could.

The soldat laid on his ears again when he peered from where he had his head rested, his deep gaze captured her attention, "Has he been taking care of you good, darling?" He asked.

The soldat probably had no idea how Bucky adored her; if anyone paid enough attention they might even caught him worshipping the very ground she stepped on.

A breathy chuckle escaped from her mouth as nodded with a drunken grin, "He's the best." She hummed approvingly, "Best husband, and best daddy too." She exclaimed brightly as she glanced at the ring on her finger; it was barely visible through the thick of the soldat's hair.

Surprisingly, the soldat didn't react negatively to her remarks, instead, a proud smile curved on his lips as the pride in his chest overflowed and leaked all through his very being, "Good." He simply said.

The smile lines on the corner of his eyes didn't flatten even when he closed his eyes. For a moment, he tried to silenced everything else around him and focused on the fluttering sounds of the baby's tiny heart.

It might have been the thick haze of lavender smoke in their head or the swarming butterflies in their chest, that they didn't even notice the fatigue that had been slowly taking over them, until the tenderness of their caresses were barely moving.

When the heaviness of her eyes weighted the lids, she sleepily asked the soldat, "Will you still be here when I wake up?" Truth to be told, she was afraid that all of this was just a dream; an escape from reality of the cruel captivity.

The soldat briefly opened his own tired eyes and cooed softly, "I'm always with you, Родная (darling)." And Y/N took it as a promise for her desprete soul to cling on; a ray of hope for her to hold onto, if she ever wakes up in that cell again.

Not long after, both of them lost to the lure of somnolent and their soul quickly drifted into the peaceful dreamland. Soft snores were filling the quiet of the room as their mortal body continued to entangled themselves with each other.

It was safe to say that if Steve would ever barge into the room, he'd probably maxed the storage of his phone with photos of the soldat smushing his face on Y/N's belly as she perfectly curled around him.

Maybe it was the sunlight leaking through the window or maybe it was the intense gaze she felt burning on the skin of her face. Eitherway, it certainly disturbed her from her sleep.

When her body stirred, Y/N realized that she didn't need to open her eyes to know that last night was not a dream, especially when she can feel a pair of familiar arms wrapping around her waist under her shirt.

Y/N slowly peeled her eyes open to see a recognizable ceiling. Her eyes then trailed to her side and met a pair of blue of eyes staring back at her. Her gaze searched for the soul within him and found the semblance of Bucky reflected in his eyes.

Still dazed from sleep, she continued to watch him blinking at her, slowly and silently, like a cat declaring their love to their human. But even then, he couldn't hide the afterglow of the tears on his face.

"Bucky, honey. Have you been crying?" Her voice rasped from lack of use, yet her tender fingers find themselves crawling across his wet cheeks. 

It was as if her voice was a trigger, and tears quickly reformed in Bucky's eyes again. Y/N gently pulled him to her chest, one hand threading his hair and another rubbing his back as he sobbed in her arms, "It's okay, Bucky. We're okay." She continued to coax him lovingly.

They spend most of the early morning holding each other close and dear. Then when the tears started to lessen, Bucky finally pulled himself away from her. Y/N wiped the excess tears on his cheeks but he caught her hand underneath his; he relished in the relief of her presence when he sighed to her touch.

Bucky's gaze wobbled in the pool of tears in his eyes but he was still determined to speak his mind  "I'm so sorry, doll." He apologized, "I couldn't stop them. Even with this damned serum in me, I still couldn't protect you; both of you." If his defeated voice didn't convey his truth, then the tremble of his touch should be enough.

And Y/N's heart simply shattered for him; what did he meant by that? He did save her though. The winter soldier or Bucky. It didn't matter who but she was here now because of him. She was safe; they both were, "But you saved me, did you not?"

"But, I didn't. The sol--" Before Bucky could even finish his sentence, Y/N quickly cuts in, "The soldat is always going to be a part of you, Bucky. And if he saved me, that means you saved me too." She reassured him.

Seeing the hesitation in his eyes, she continued to persuade him, "And if I could speak for our child, which I absolutely can because I'm his mother, then he would say that he is proud that his strong daddy managed to beat the absolute shit out of those bad guys."

Bucky blurted out a hearty laugh, "I don't think it's good to teach our baby to curse when he is still in your womb, mama." His laugh gradually reduced to a chuckle when he wiped the remaining tears from his eyes.

Y/N simply shrugged to his suggestion, "It's not like he wouldn remember this anyway." She smirked playfully.

Another chuckle managed to slip through Bucky's lips before he lowered his face to her tummy, "And you? How's your play date with Winter, hmm sweet bean?" He mumbled as his lips planted on her skin.

Besides the heartbeat of his child, he could also hear the tiny twitching of the baby's limbs moving ever-so-slightly, "Yeah, I bet he spoiled you with lots of kisses and cuddles, huh? Like he did your mommy?" He continued to coo against her belly, unaware of the shock on his wife's face.

"Winter?" A small smile cracked from the corner of her lips. Yes, she was shocked but that doesn't mean she wasn't pleasantly surprised by it.

Bucky didn't even bother to look up at Y/N's face as he was busy blowing raspberries on her stomach, "If he's going to keep popping up in our lives then we might as well call him something else other than 'soldat', don't you think?" He simply said, marking one last kiss on the small growing bulge on her belly, before working his way back up to her face.

Y/N's heart swelled to his gesture and when he laid his head next to hers, she carefully took him by his cheeks, pulling him in for a gentle kiss, "I think he'd love that, Bucky." She whispered against his lips, feeling his smile in return.

Bucky nudges forward to catch her lips again; kissing her slow and sweet as if his whole world has been waiting for this moment. And when the kiss naturally broke, he tempted her with something he knew she couldn't resist, "Now, how about we grab you both something to bite, hmm?"

End.

Read my other works here: Masterlist

A/N: The use of the title in the fic is suprisingly wholesome despite the insinuation of it, don't you think? Lol. Btw, thank you so much for stopping by and read my work. Leave your thoughts behind for me, I'd love to hear from you!

[simpxxstan]

lunch

pairing: elementary school teachers lee seokmin x f.reader

genre: fluff, fluff and some more fluff. a tiny pinch of angst.

summary: as a veteran at sebong elementary school, you don't let any of your juniors get too close to you. the new science teacher, lee seokmin, doesn't seem to get the note, though.

word count: 9.6k words

rating: pg 13 

warnings: use of a few profanities, mention of alcohol and illegal gambling. reader is a bit cold in the beginning. slight age gap.

a/n: SO MUCH FLUFF my body hurts but it was so nice to just write good guy dokyeom after all that angst for wonwoo. i'm sorry to any hyungwon fans who may be reading this though T_T

would love to hear feedback!! reblogs and comments are so so much appreciated <3

this is part of the boys over flowers series featuring booseoksoon + chan! this is the first instalment in that series.

It was a day of much ruckus and excitement. The teachers and students were all waiting eagerly to meet the four new teachers who were joining Sebong Elementary School that day. Children with bright cherub faces peeped from their classroom windows, some crowded in the corridors, and teachers whispered loudly, as they all waited to see the four faces of the new teachers emerge from the Principal’s office. And when they finally did, a loud, collective gasp was heard rippling through every room and corner of Sebong Elementary School. And then the bubble broke, as loud whispers and giggling overtook every other noise, as the four men smiled at the kids and adults gathered through the school. They shone brighter than the tubelights on the ceiling-

“Okay, I think you’re exaggerating, Sohee. I’m sure they don’t have 1000 watt smiles.”

“Oh, Y/N, but they do! Even an ice queen like you is going to melt when you see them. They just exude warmth, kindness, and handsomeness. They look like idols, really!” 

“Now you’re definitely exaggerating. Park carefully, and don’t daydream please. I’ve been nervous from the moment I let you drive my car.”

“It’s a third-hand car. I should, in fact, smash it, so that you can buy something better. The government’s just moments away from declaring it as junk.”

“This is all I can afford, Sohee.”

“Car loans exist!”

“Bankruptcy exists!”

Sohee huffs, and you meticulously check the rear view mirror to ensure she parks neatly. Once done, (read, once Sohee has finished touching up her lipstick and her mascara, and put a few cute hairclips in her long brown hair, cute by her metrics), you both step out of the car. The heat has become harsher, and you’re a little taken aback by the sting of sunlight on your skin. But it feels good to be out again after that stupid bout of fever which had kept you away from school, and consequently, your life. 

You meet several students getting out from the bus in front of the school, some smiling and already chattering with their friends, others shyly holding on to the fingers of their parents. Some of them wave hi to you, others loudly squeal their welcome backs. Your morning grumpiness is slowly wearing away, and you can feel energy bubbling in. It’s barely been the start of the year, and the little ones are very, very gradually warming up to the idea of being away from home for longer than three hours. It’s a trying time for their teachers, and you’re grateful that you don’t teach the youngest class. 

On the short walk from the parking area to the school, and it’s such a miracle that Sohee doesn’t start talking about the four new teachers, because you’re frankly tired of hearing about them. It feels like they don’t exist, and even if they do, they’re going to be massive letdowns compared to Sohee’s descriptions. Sohee does have the habit of hyperbole. 

But you fall headfirst into it as you slide open the door to the staffroom. Everyone stands up and greets you, as you’re one of the earliest members of the staff. You’d like to think that their greetings are out of affection, and not just respect, but you don’t mind. Majority of the staff is quite young, and people look up to you as the sunbae, and it’s a position of respect you crave and enjoy. It’s not like you’re great at showing how you love them either. You can just hope that they get to know about it from time to time, and don’t hate you for not being too affectionate.

As everyone stands up, you bow to the general crowd, and greet them back, but you’re also welcomed by four unknown faces. 

Oh. They must be the new teachers. 

Well, Sohee wasn’t really wrong-

Sohee immediately sparks up and begins talking about how you had really high fever, and every evening she found you lying inside your bed, covered in blankets like a burrito, messy in snot and sweat-

“Okay, that’s enough. Sohee, please spare them the details of my ugly illness.” You’re embarrassed and quite red all over, and out of the corner of your eye, you’re watching the reactions of the four new men. Sure, you may not care much about what other people think, but it’s your first impression after all. Everyone is quite vehemently cooing at you now, and the four men have confused, but concerned expressions on their faces. 

Minseo comes to the rescue, when she diverts the topic to introduce the new faces to you, and you’re grateful for the first time to hear about these new teachers. 

“This is our sunbae, Y/L/N Y/N! She’s one of the first teachers at Sebong Elementary School.” “Aaah, Minseo-yah! You make it sound like she’s old!” Sohee scolds, but you don’t mind. You sure feel old after the way that fever broke your immunity like a twig.

“Aah, sorry. And Y/N Unnie, these are our new joinees this year!” She gestures towards the men, and they bow. You bow in return, and take a full look at them, smiling back at them. 

“Hello! I’m Lee Chan, I’m a ‘99 liner! I’ll work hard and show my best side to you, sunbae!” “Good morning! I’m Boo Seungkwan. Nice to meet you!” “Oh, sunbae, hello! I’m Kwon Soonyoung, I’m also glad to meet you Y/N-ssi!” “And I’m Lee Seokmin! I’ll work hard, please take good care of me, sunbae!” They shake your hands like dominos, and your eyes linger a second too long on the last one, the tall one with the brightest smile. 1000 watt seems about right? “I’m happy to meet you too! Let’s work hard for a long time!” You smile back, and there’s a collective Fighting! through the room, before the school bell rings, and the cacophony of kids entering their classrooms breaks the silence of the school building. 

_

It’s lunchtime, and you’ve already forgotten their names. Sohee insists that you sit with them at the same table for lunch, but you’re not hungry enough to take lunch. It’s been a tiring day, and you just want to sip your iced americano and finish the pending work on your desk in the staffroom. Missing a week of school is as burdensome for teachers as it is for students. There are piles of things left to be done, and you assign yourself the task of finishing filling in the register with the names of the students for that lunch break. The staffroom is empty, and you’re happy to work in peace. 

You’re so focused on your work that you don’t even notice when a tall man walks into the staffroom sometime in the middle of the lunch break, peeps at you from his desk at the other corner of the room, and then leaves. 

_

It’s finally Friday, and that’s how you’ve spent the last four lunch breaks. You’re finally getting through the pile of work at a steady pace. On top of it all, the Principal has promoted you to the Head Teacher of Science Department, as the previous head’s tenure is over, and that means all the science teachers have to approve their lesson plans for this term through you and you’re also in charge of allotting field trips for scientific experiments. 

That’s why Lee Seokmin ambushes you when you’re about to leave at the end of the school day. “Sunbae, I was wondering if you could perhaps look at my lesson plan once? Maybe you could go over it during the weekend?”

You halt your actions of packing your bag, and carefully take the folder from the outstretched hand of the tall man towering over your desk. “Umm, I could look through it now.”

“No, I mean! I’m sorry I didn’t know how to approach you earlier, Sunbae. I’m sorry, I don’t want to keep you from heading home, I’m really sorry-”

“Please stop apologising, Seokmin-ssi. It’s not a big deal. It’s better for me to go through it now in your presence, rather than take it home. I’ll be able to discuss it more smoothly with you then, in case any changes are needed.” 

His puppy brown eyes become tiny slits as he smiles wide. You realise that his hair is draping over his forehead in black curls, and the white shirt he’s wearing reveals the column of his neck very elegantly. He does look good enough to be an idol, you think. 

“Seokmin-ssi, come take a seat here. I won’t bite, in spite of what you may have heard-”

“Oh no! The kids are all praise for you. I’m so thankful to be succeeding you in the classes, because you’ve set such a strong foundation for the students. You’ve made my job a cakewalk, truly.”

“I’m just thankful that you deal with the younger ones now. I enjoy teaching them, but sometimes they can…” You smile lopsidedly, and Seokmin grins. “I’ve heard that I have a lot of patience, sunbae…” “And you have a lot of fighting spirit that we tend to have when we’ve just joined the school. You’ll manage.”

And then the conversation halts. It flows in bits and pieces, as you flip through his lesson plan and discuss changes with him, speaking from experience of having taught these same classes six years more than him. His lesson plan book is very colourful, filled with stickers from cartoons, and brightly drawn smiley flowers. Something in you makes you think that maybe he’s not just doing this as a show for the kids, but also because he likes to do it. He’s very animated in every statement he makes, hand gestures all over his face, but he quietens down when he realises you’re no longer looking at his face, and would rather just get through the work quickly. You’re not annoyed at him, no. It’s just a little overwhelming to see all this energy being thrown at you, and it makes you tired, wondering how to reciprocate it. So you just silently finish your task, and bid him goodbye. He offers to drop you home, but then you say you have your own car, so he gives you another smile and with a natural ease, hops on to his electric bicycle and rides off into the road. 

_

Seokmin-ssi, you realise, doesn’t want reciprocation. He greets you cheerfully every morning, whenever you see him in the campus, whenever you’re making eye contact before leaving for the day, and whenever you both arrive at the same time at school. He doesn’t just say hello, but he also asks if you had a good weekend, if you had a good sleep, if you ate breakfast, if you’ve recovered fully from your cold, if you’re taking your vitamins. It makes you more uncomfortable than before, confusing you whether he’s just buttering you up as a sunbae or whether he’s genuinely this nice. It’s also a little worrying because it makes you feel like he’s trying too hard to be close and you don’t want to be a bother for him, so you hope he takes the hint. But he obviously doesn’t, because the next time you walk into the staffroom determined not to leave your desk, and instead enjoy the peaceful solitude of the staffroom to recharge your battery, you notice a very neat lunch tray sitting on your desk with a note attached on top, “Sunbae, please don’t skip your meals!” It takes you aback, and you stare at it for a good four minutes. Finally you realise you’re too flustered to eat it, and you just keep it aside and get back at your work. 

When Seokmin comes back from his lunch break, he makes the mistake of looking at your desk to see if you’ve eaten, and there. He makes eye contact with your razor sharp eyes looking at him from above your reading glasses. He walks up to your desk and says, “You didn’t eat, sunbae?”

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“I- I- just wanted to-”

“Firstly, Seokmin-ssi, I’m not skipping meals. Secondly, I don’t know if this is normal for you, but I’d appreciate it if we could be harmonious as colleagues. I don’t need you to be my mother for me and feed me. I’m an adult and I know when to eat.”

You can see him gulp and fumble, and for a second, you think you’ve been too harsh. You almost backtrack and apologise, scared that the little light in his eyes is going to go out, but he speaks faster, “I just don’t want you to fall sick again, sunbae. I’m sorry if I was too presumptuous. I’ll do better from now on.” And without another second, he turns and walks out of the room, leaving you speechless. The light in his eyes may not have gone out, but you sure were too mean. Afterall, he was just being nice to you, wasn’t he?”

_

So, the next week, when you’re finally on track and completed all your pending work, you walk into the cafeteria looking to take a lunch break. And you spot Seokmin sitting with Chan on one table on the teacher’s side of the cafeteria. Chan is a sweet boy, and you want to make amends with Seokmin, so you carefully walk across the room to their table and ask, “Can I have lunch with you?” You ask them both, and Chan instantly begins to clear space for you to sit down, but you’re distracted by how wide Seokmin smiles, and you know the ice has melted. He’s forgiven you, so you gently sit down next to him.

It’s a mistake. You hadn’t accounted for how broad he is, and how much he moves his body while speaking. His thighs inch closer to yours with every movement, although very much unconsciously. Even though you’re both sitting, he’s still taller than you, and it makes you shy.

You’re thankful when Soonyoung joins you across the table and you can distract yourself by speaking to him. “Sunbae, it’s so nice to see you in the cafeteria! We rarely ever see you outside the staffroom.” You smile as wide as you can, your mouth full of food. Chan joins in, “Yes, sunbae! Seokmin hyung’s been so-” “We’ve all been worried,” Seokmin interjects, and you’re hit by a pang of guilt. It is pretty natural for coworkers to care about each other. Especially since you’re their senior and they must be looking to make a good impression. 

“I’ve been a little busy with all pending work. The start of the year can be stressful for us senior teachers.”

“I hear Seungkwan hyung is being put in charge of the after-school creche duty?”

“You’ve heard right, Chan. He did apply for it, and given his congenial personality, I think he’d do well if he joined the creche roster.”

“A roster? That means he won’t have duty every day?” Soonyoung asks you.

“Yes, there will be two teachers alternating from Monday to Friday.”

“Oh! Someone lucky gets two days only!”

“We try to ensure even distribution through the month,” you say. “Plus, of course, there can be others volunteering from time to time. So for example, next month, there’s a storytelling week at the creche. Sohee and I will be volunteering for that week as storytellers- that way, the ones responsible for the creche can have a week’s leave from the extra duty.”

Soonyoung and Chan nod in understanding, but you’ve noticed Seokmin is extra quiet, uncharacteristically even. “Do you enjoy the cafeteria food, Seokmin-ssi?” you ask him, speaking softer so that Chan and Soonyoung can’t hear you. It must surprise him, because he looks up at you with wide, boba eyes, and he looks more like a puppy than ever. “I do! The variety is good.” “I’m glad. The caterers recently got changed. The previous ones were seriously falling behind on quality.” Seokmin smiles and eats a big bite of rice and soup, and you chuckle at the comical way his mouth fills up. 

_

You didn’t even think Seokmin would remember. In fact, you’d forgotten that you’d mentioned it yourself. 

But he does. He doesn’t just remember, but he also brings a bag full of old picture books.

You swear your heart stops the moment he enters the hall where the after-school creche is organized and hands you the bag. “These were books my mother had kept for ages even after I’d finished reading them a million times. Thought I’d use them somehow, instead of just letting them gather dust on shelves,” he says as he smiles that pretty, wide smile again. It’s been long enough into the new semester now for you to get used to both Seokmin’s smiles, so you can bask in it. The children bask in it too. Most of the tiny members of the creche know him from the class where he’s teaching about animals, and they squeal in excitement. “Aah, Seokmin-ah, you really didn’t have to. You could’ve gone home and rested for the weekend.” His smile drops, and you mentally slap yourself. You really should take care of your words better, so you rephrase it, “What I meant is… you don’t have to do this out of your way.” “I’m not… going out of my way. I just thought I’d come and watch you, sunbae. I want to learn how to handle little children even better.” 

So he sits in a corner of the hall, Byul and Jiwon sitting on his lap, while his eyes are fixed on you. You’ve taken the storytelling class two days this week, and this is your third day, so you really shouldn’t be so slippery, but something about how he’s looking at you so intently is making you stumble and fall over your words, and your pronunciation often comes out as jumbled as the three year olds sitting in front of you. You’re made even more aware of Seokmin’s presence when snack time arrives, and the kids are too distracted with the picture books to pay attention to their food and eat. Thankfully, Seokmin uses his charm and somehow gathers everyone to sit in a circle around the table. The children have incessant questions, some about the characters they met in the story, and some random questions too, like Are you married, Teacher Seokmin? It doesn’t matter that you pause in your movements to hear his response, a wide-eyed Minhyun looking confusedly at you, wondering why your hand holding his candy is stuck mid-air. It also doesn’t matter that your heart paces up when you see Seokmin glance in your direction before loudly proclaiming that he’s not married. 

The parents arrive soon after that, and then there’s only a crying Byul left, who’s wrapped in Seokmin’s arms as you three wait for her father to arrive. You wonder for a second, how did you ever handle kids, because when you see how Seokmin handles them, you think you’ve done it all wrong for years. He holds her two tiny hands in his own, places her in between his legs and quietly brushes her hair while whispering more imaginary stories about the elephant Byul saw earlier in the picture book. You feel unwanted in this perfect scene, Byul going perfectly silent as she listens to Seokmin talk. But then, honestly, who wouldn’t be in rapture of this beautiful young man?

Byul’s father arrives twenty minutes later, and Byul gives Seokmin a little peck on his cheek before she leaves his arms and goes off with her dad. 

“Sunbae, thank you for letting me be here! I had so much fun, and I also learnt so much from you.” You laugh, “I doubt, though. You’re such a natural with children.” He smiles, “That’s just because I have a lot of cousins. But it’s different handling kids at school. I always have to be extra-careful with them because I’m a complete stranger and not a relative.” “You’re right, and that shows in your care too, Seokmin-ah.” He blushes, and you smile as you lock up the hall and finally make your way to leave the campus. Your back hurts from sitting on the floor for so long and you’re surely glad to go home.

“Sunbae, did you bring your car?”

“Aah, no. Today was Sohee’s carpooling turn, she left early. I’ll just take the bus.”

“Let me drop you home, sunbae! It’s late already.”

You pause, and turn to look at him. His hopeful face, still radiant after the long day. And you feel that same overwhelming feeling take over you. Till now, Seokmin has only given and given, never expecting anything in return. He’s extended a helping hand without you asking for it, he’s reminded you for meals even when you’ve ignored him, he’s been nothing but kind to you. And if he’s doing this even after three whole months of him joining the school, then it can’t be just buttering tactics. 

“I don’t want to get you late, Seokmin-ah.”

“I won’t, sunbae. It’s not a worry, honestly.” He bites his lower lip, his eyebrows furrowed as he asks you again, “Please let me drop you, sunbae.”

It’s been years since a man has been this kind to you. Kind enough without coming off as a creep. A part of you is wary, but something in Seokmin’s eyes makes you feel guilty for ever mistrusting his intentions. 

“Alright, Seokmin-ah. Noona owes you one.” 

You can see the stutter in his eyes even before you hear it in his voice. 

“N-noona? Oh. Noona! I’ll drive you safely!”

And he does. Diligent, puppy-like, kind Seokmin drives you home quickly and safely. For the first time in years, you sleep with a smile on your face.

_

You enter the Principal’s office to find a very nervous-looking Seokmin standing next to the Principal. “Good Morning, Mr. Han. Is something wrong?” “Yes, good morning Y/N. I’ve just received a complaint from a parent, and as the head of science teachers, I’d like you to look into it once.” “Of course.”

Then you turn towards Seokmin, who is standing very upright, but you can see him nervously twitching his feet. “Seokmin-ssi, is the parent here in school, or have you received a written complaint?” Seokmin’s voice is barely audible the first time he speaks, so you take a couple of steps to be closer to him. “Don’t be so nervous. Please tell me everything so that I can help resolve this.” He looks at you, his eyes still wide, and the tension obvious in his face. But he takes a deep breath and says, “They’re here, in my science classroom.” “And can you tell me the gist of the matter?” “I… I… I had asked her daughter to not draw with crayons on the walls of the science classroom. And one time… I’d asked her daughter to bring more nutritious food to class instead of chips every single day.” He says softly, his eyes focused on the blue linoleum tiles on the floor. You take a deep breath. As you’ve grown more senior, you’ve eventually detached yourself from the classes of the youngest students, those below four years of age. So naturally, you’d not gotten into messes like this for a long time. But with your experience, you know just how to deal with such cases. 

So you excuse yourself from the office and walk down to Seokmin’s homeroom, gesturing him to enter as you both walk into the classroom. It is deserted, except for a very grim-looking gigantic woman standing next to a tiny girl with even tinier braids. “Good morning. I’m Y/L/N Y/N, Head of the Science Department.” “Yes, well, I’m hoping you’d be more competent about it all rather than Mr. Lee here.” 

You forcefully smile tightly and ask, “Please let me know the details of the matter.” “Where do I begin! Mr. Lee has been… very dictatorial with my daughter. First he forbids her from colouring, and then he forces her to starve herself! It’s absolutely ridiculous that a teacher can do such things!” Out of the corner of your eye, you see Seokmin shrink further away into the corner, his eyes wide. 

“Based on how well I know Mr. Lee, I can’t imagine him forcing a child to starve themselves. Correct me if I’m wrong, but did he ask her to bring a different set of food for lunch, rather than chips?” “Yes, but-” “And that was purely based on nutritional concerns, Ma’am. As teachers at Sebong Elementary School, we want to ensure our students receive proper nutrition at their growing age. And I can assure you that chips are not the most nutritious food your daughter can eat every day.” “I’m a working mother-” “I’m sure you can buy a fruit or toast a single slice of bread along with a slice of cheese along with the chips, if you’re so busy.” 

 The woman in front of you stands speechless for a second, before continuing in her boisterous tone, “But who are you to dictate what I feed my child?” “Nobody, truly. But Mr. Lee is a kindhearted man, who cares for every child in this school, and even his colleagues and peers like me. As a teacher, he has the best interest of his students in mind, you see.” “Certainly can’t be more than that of her mother.” “Of course, which is why I’d advise you too, as would any other paediatrician, that only chips is not the diet a four-year old child should be exposed to on a daily basis.” 

The woman takes a step back. Her grip on her daughter’s fingers loosen, and the child takes a step forward. “Miss, I really like the grapes Mr. Lee gave me the other day! That’s why I’ve stopped eating Eomma’s lunch!” She smiles at you, and you bend down on your knee to meet her at eye level. “Is that so? But darling, you should always eat what your mummy’s giving you. Good girls don’t skip meals, understood?” She nods her little head very seriously, so you pat her once on her head. Then you stand up again and look at her mother. “I see your daughter does enjoy eating grapes. Perhaps you could buy her some fruits for lunch.”

She tilts her head a little bit, looking fully like a kid who’s been punished for being too outspoken, and honestly you’re glad to have made that effect. Some people can be so entitled and so rude, and it leaves such a harsh impression on softer teachers like Seokmin. Which is exactly what you see when the parent does leave with her child a few minutes later, as the man, who hasn’t spoken a single word since entering the room, comes up to you gingerly. 

“Noona, thank you so much. I was so- so scared.” You smile at him as warmly as you can, “Please don’t be. It wasn’t your fault at all that some parents can misunderstand even the best intentions of teachers. It’s pretty common- as time goes on, people will just find more flaws, whether it be in your teaching skills or your child-handling skills. You just need to be less nervous when things like this happen. If you ever need help in these things, of course I’m always here… as are your other seniors. But it’s best if you learn to handle these things without taking them too much to your heart, unless you see there is genuine room for improvement for you.” He nods throughout, and his eyes have become round like a puppy’s eyes again. “I will introspect, Noona.” He laughs a bit, “This honestly isn’t the first time someone’s misunderstanding my intentions. But I will try harder to be more clear and not … not be presumptuous,” he says, looking deep into your eyes, before he bows and leaves the room.

As you stand there in the classroom, alone you realise that the situation oddly reminds you of a similar conversation you had with him at the beginning of the semester. When you’d asked him to keep his distance and not interfere … all while, he was just trying to be kind. Oh god. You’d been just as rude as the parent had been today, hadn’t you? Oh dear god. No wonder he’d looked so downcast and rejected after that.

_

Sohee’s thousand-day anniversary at the school is coming up so Minseo’s put on a surprise party at her house. It’s not a surprise to just Sohee, but also to you. “Oh, why didn’t you let me know earlier, Minseo-yah?” “We would, but you’ve just been so busy with the end of term reports and grades that we didn’t want to bother you.” “Well, that’s not something only I’m doing. I’m sure you all were busy too.” “But none of us are head of departments, you know?” She giggles, and you know it’s not a jibe. But it still feels bad to not be able to contribute when everyone is contributing in some way or the other. 

So you order a six-pound blueberry cheesecake for the party, knowing blueberry to be Sohee’s favourite flavour. And, as expected, it’s a party hit. It turns out to be the favourite flavour of a lot of people, even Seokmin, who helps himself to three slices, and you’re just glad to see them all enjoying it. There’s drinks, pizza and music playing in the background. And although the teacher community at Sebong Elementary School is not too big, you’re a lot of twenty-six people, and you’re thankful that Minseo comes from a rich family that has a big house. And yet, it feels cosy and familiar. You barely attend parties or social gatherings,  and unless it’s family occasions, having been out of the dating scene for years. But this type of party seems fun to you- perhaps it’s you growing old, perhaps it’s you no longer finding staying up late exciting, perhaps it’s you realising that getting wasted is not as interesting as you used to think it was in college. So you settle for being the woman who’s dressed in a sweater although it’s barely autumn, already mentally classified as a spinster for almost everyone you meet, thirty and with no life outside of work, and you’re happy. You’re happy right now, sipping a cocktail and eating the fried chicken Minseo’s airfrying and constantly supplying to the party, celebrating your closest friend, Sohee. You know that although Sohee’s a couple of months younger than you, and definitely has a more active love life, she’s just like you at heart, and she’s the sister you’ve never had. As she gets drunk (you can tell it’s the first time in a long time by the way she’s getting tipsy even faster than she usually does), she leans over to smooch you loudly on the cheek, and you laugh and give in to her. It creates a loud wave of cheers across the room, but it’s such a warm moment. She clinks her glass with yours and rests her head on your shoulder, while raising a toast to the teachers at Sebong Elementary School. There’s another round of cheers, and then your phone reminds you it’s ten pm, and you should be heading home because it’s a school day tomorrow. The buzz feels good, and you want to stay longer, but you’re not drunk enough to forget your responsibilities. And so the party gradually disperses. You hug Minseo and thank her for organising the wonderful party, and somehow Sohee manages to stand up on her feet steadily. Seungkwan takes the duty to drop Sohee home as he lives near her house, and before you can say anything, Seokmin takes on the responsibility of dropping you home. 

“I don’t want to impose-” “But I insist, Y/N Noona.” “Why do you always insist, Seokmin? I feel like I’m a burdensome sunbae, not a nice sunbae.” You try not to pout when he leads you to where his car is parked and opens the door for you. He giggles, his face red with the dopamine (and drinks) from the party. “You’re just fishing for compliments, Noona. You know I never think of taking care of you as a burden.” 

Perhaps drinking that third cocktail was a mistake. 

But you did drink it, so you lean over the centre console of the car and say, with a soft giggle, “If you say things like that, Seokmin-ah, people are going to misunderstand and think you like like me.”

“But I do like like you, Noona.” 

You almost miss his words while waving goodbye to the other teachers standing on the pavement in front of Minseo’s house, waiting for their rides. 

Almost. 

“What?” You spin your head so fast it gives you whiplash, and you feel like you’re instantly sober, the way you become alert instantly. Seokmin’s looking at the road as he drives into the main road, his eyes bright by reflecting the street lights. “I do, Noona.”

“No- no, you can’t. Are you serious, Seokmin-ah? Because if you are, you can’t.” 

“Why?” 

There’s a red light, and he’s looking at you, the street lights shining on his face and the gentle handsomeness of his features are glowing in their full glory. This isn’t the first time you’ve found him awe-strikingly beautiful, but right now, he looks positively angelic. His eyelashes form delicate shadows on his cheeks, and the way his hair gets swayed by the wind coming in from the open car windows makes him seem even prettier. 

“Because… you’re so… young. And fresh, and beautiful. And I’m thirty, I spend my days working and my nights reading romantic classics, and I’m so boring a-and you deserve better.”

His mouth twists bitterly, and he says, “But none of that is true, Noona.”

“It is, Seokmin-ah. You barely know me.”

“But I want to. I’m just asking for a chance.”

You stay silent for a long time. In the sparse traffic of the night, you’re reach your house quicker than you’d thought. 

“I don’t want you to make a mistake, Seokmin-ah. I shouldn’t be someone you like more than simply as a sunbae.”

He pauses, then replies, “If you don’t want to give me a chance, that’s okay Noona. I can make peace with it. But you can’t ask me to stop liking you, Noona. My feelings are mine.” 

You don’t say anything on the rest of the journey. You don’t have anything else to say. You can’t even be harsh to him because what he’s saying is logical. You cannot take away his right to like you, even if you don’t think it’s the right choice for him. You’re an adult, he’s an adult, you both have your own opinions and choices. 

It’s only when the car does reach your house that you attempt to say something. 

“I feel sorry for making you come all the way to my house to drop me. Do you want to come in to eat something? I had some dakgalbi made for tonight’s dinner before I got to know about the party.”

He looks at you for a long time. You can see the wheels turn in his head, before he says, “Okay.” 

_

Your flat is on the third floor, so you’re patiently climbing the stairs. Seokmin makes light conversation, breaking the ice, and you actively try to respond. You don’t want him to feel dejected, but you also don’t want to feel like you’re taking him to your house because you pity him after you outright rejected him. 

Your efforts go to waste when you see a figure sitting on the floor in front of the door to your apartment. 

“Hyungwon?” 

Seokmin pauses behind you, as you stand stunned on the last staircase before the landing, and the man you addressed looks up at the two of you. Even in the dim light of the single bulb lighting up the stairwell, you can see that he’s very wasted. “Y/N-ah! I- I’ve been waiting for you.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh, you haven’t changed, have you? Straight to the point. No hellos, no-”

“Yes, Hyungwon. What are you doing here?”

He sighs as he stands up. “I missed you.” 

Your head starts to spin. It’s like you’ve been transported back to 2022, when Hyungwon had confessed to you that he’d gambled away all your money, and that he’d been doing so for the last seven months, and that was where he was spending all his evenings at instead of the evening college you’d enrolled him into and whose fees you thought you’d been paying.

Your head spins again, and you’re stumbling back until someone catches you midway before you tumble down the stairs. 

“Noona!” that someone whispers in alarm in your ear, and you realise it’s Seokmin. 

Fuck. 

Fuck, fuck, fuck, not Seokmin. 

Why does Seokmin, out of all people, have to see this?

“Seokmin-ah, leave-”

“Ooh, who’s that?” Hyungwon takes a step closer, and takes a drink out of a soju bottle he’s holding in his left hand. “Boyfriend? You’re still into pretty boys, aren’t you?”

Seokmin pulls you closer to him, your back nearly touching his chest. “Who are you?”

“I’m Hyungwon, Y/N’s first love. You better get out of here, kid.”

“What do you want, Hyungwon? Don’t bullshit with me about missing me. No apology, no regrets, and now you’re suddenly at my doorstep?” You carefully break away from Seokmin’s gentle clasp, and walk towards your ex-boyfriend. “You want my money again.” The lanky man in front of you grins, that fucking lazy, pretty grin you’d fallen so hard for in college. 

“Y/N, where’s the love gone, jagi? Why are we talking about money?”

“Fuck off, Hyungwon. The love was gone long before I even broke up with you.”

He lifts his free hand and tries to reach out to you. “Jagiya-”

“I’m not your jagiya! Hyungwon, I’m not giving you anymore money, so you should just leave! And stop coming to me every time you want money, for god’s sake! We’re done, Hyungwon.” 

The man in front of you falls to his knees, “Please, I’m begging you, Y/N-ah! I’ll get into serious trouble if I don’t repay this debt by the end of this month! Y/N, for the sake of old times-”

“Hyungwon, please don’t! I’m not giving you any of my money, no matter how much you beg.”

His hand wraps around your leg, “Y/N-ah, please, just hear me out once! I am sorry for everything I did, and I’m so willing to amend my ways-”

“Please leave, Hyungwon-ssi, you’re making Noona uncomfortable.” Seokmin suddenly says from behind you, and you walk backward down the stairs until you’re again close enough to him that you can feel his body heat on your back. It makes you feel oddly safe.

“Who are you to say anything about Y/N, huh? You don’t even know her for long, I bet! Y/N and I dated for seven years!”

“It doesn’t matter how long I’ve known her, Hyungwon-ssi. What matters is that right now, she feels safe with me, and not around you. So please leave, Hyungwon-ssi.” You don’t even realise when his hands have come to wrap gently around you, not quite touching your body, but caging you away from the man who’s looking at you both with frantic and desperate eyes. You don’t know he knows that you’re feeling safe around him, but you’re so grateful. “If you don’t leave now, I’ll have to call the police, Hyungwon-ssi.”

The man in front of you gulps. “Fuck! I’ll be back, Y/N-ah. And then I’ll see where this boyfriend of yours will be!” And he storms down the stairs, cursing under his breath, and you’re still shaking in Seokmin’s grip. 

Five minutes pass before he asks you, gently whispering in your ear, “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” You slowly turn around and face him. You’re awfully close to him, and as you stand on the higher staircase, you’re eye-to-eye with him. “I’m so sorry you had to see that, Seokmin-ah.”

“No, Noona. I’m just upset thinking of what would happen if I hadn’t come up with you here tonight.”

“No, don’t be. He’s… harmless. He’s all talk and no action.”

“Has he been here before?”

You bite your lip. You don’t want to tell him things which will involve him deeper into this. He doesn’t know anything, he’s a complete stranger to it all, and yet, he is right, you do feel safe around him. But that doesn’t mean you burden him any further.

“Seokmin-ah, I don’t want you to get worried about this. I can take care of myself, it’s just Hyungwon. Like I said, he’s only bark and no bite.”

“Noona-”

“I’ll be fine, honestly! I’m sorry you had to see all this happen.” 

He opens his mouth to say something, but then he becomes silent again. 

“Do you want to come in-”

“No, Noona. I’ll just leave. I won’t take any more of your time. Have a good night, Noona.”

“Seokmin-ah, pl-”

“Goodnight, Noona. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

And then he walks away, and you’re left there, unarmed, uneasy and all alone, swimming in your own thoughts. You feel like you should run after him like in the movies, and stop him from leaving, but your legs feel like lead. There’s a sinking feeling in your heart and a sense of emergency, and it’s not because your ex-boyfriend came up to your door asking for money to waste again.

_

You don’t go to school the next day. The day after that is a Saturday, thankfully a holiday, and you can spend a day moping in regret, stuffing popcorn into your face and pretending like you’re not an adult anymore and you can live without worrying about responsibilities and keep time standing still. 

It doesn’t work. 

Sohee arrives to your door on Sunday morning, sunglasses perched on her head. “Where have you been, sweetie?” She doesn’t wait for you to respond and shoves herself into your flat. 

“Nowhere, Sohee.”

“You’re pouting, your bed isn’t made, and I can smell caramel popcorn. Something’s up. Tell me, baby.”

She sits down on the couch, pulling you down next to her, and taps twice on your shoulder prompting you to spill. So you do spill. 

You tell her every thought that has crossed your mind these last 48 hours. How Seokmin confessed that he likes you. How you’d turned him down instantly. How Hyungwon had turned up at your door and ruined the night after the party. How you’d practically shooed Seokmin away although he’d been nothing but protective and helpful to you. How you’d wallowed in regrets since then, having realised that you’re such a coward. 

“Yeah, you are a coward. In what right mind would you turn down Seokmin when you’re so down bad for him?”

“Huh?”

“Dummy. You can’t even realise your own feelings, and you act like you’re so mature. Age is truly just a number,” she sighs before digging into your bowl of popcorn. 

“I don’t… I don’t have feelings for Seokmin.”

“What makes you think so?”

“He’s… he’s just a hoobae.”

“So are Chan and Soonyoung and Seungkwan. Why do you always blush when you talk to Seokmin, even if it’s over something as mundane as lunch? Why do you so often go to his classroom and aid him in his lessons during your free periods, even though he doesn’t necessarily ask for it? Why do you talk more to him than to your other hoobaes?”

You stay silent for a second. 

“Y/N-ah, think carefully about this.”

“I shouldn’t think of him in this light… he’s so much younger.”

“You’re just three years older than him, Y/N! Stop acting like you’re so old!”

“But…”

“Oh fuck, this isn’t about age, is it? You feel like you’re going to be to him what Hyungwon became to you? Predatory?”

You’re left silent again. Sohee understands from your (lack of) actions, and jumps across the couch to hug you. “Oh, Y/N-ah. Stop beating yourself up for that. It’s been so, so long. Stop blaming yourself for something that’s not even your fault.” 

“But Seokmin deserves better, don’t you think?”

“And you deserve better than beating yourself over an ex like Hyungwon. You deserve a second chance at love too, baby.” She hugs you tightly, and you don’t know when tears have started rolling down your cheek.“I’m a coward, Sohee. I can’t get the courage to even accept my feelings.” “Then let Seokmin help you. Honestly, with the way he always looks at you like you spin his earth and you’re his god, I don’t think he’ll have any issues waiting for you to realise your feelings.” You blush and hide your face in her neck at her sly words. She’s too outspoken for her own good. 

“What if it’s just a crush for him, that’ll pass soon? There’s not much about me that will keep him interested in me after a few months.”

“You’ve got to stop being so pessimistic. Again, just because one guy was stupid and decided to rip off your hard-earned money and your blind trust in him, doesn’t mean another guy will! I’ll say it again, you deserve a second chance!”

The doorbell rings right then. You get up to open the door, to find a letter on the doormat. 

“It’s from the local police station.” You pick it up and show Sohee, who’s equally confounded as you are. “Well, open it, girl!” 

It’s a letter stating a level one restraining order has been requested for your protection against Chae Hyungwon, who has repeatedly disturbed you while drunk, and demanded money for illegal gambling purposes. 

And the request has been made from Lee Seokmin.

“So you just have to sign it and that’s it? Hyungwon out from your life forever?”

You nod, unable to reply, you’re still shocked by the letter. So is Sohee, it seems. Because all she can manage is, “Wow. Y/N, you’ve gotta marry him.”

“Who?!”

“Seokmin, of course. If this is his level of devotion-”

“You don’t think this was unnecessary?”

“Y/N, are you for real? He’s literally looking out for you and doing what you should’ve done ages back, and you think he’s overstepping boundaries? He’s one gem of a person seeing that he’s doing all this without even you prompting him and even after you literally rejected his confession.”

You take a deep breath. She’s right. She’s so right that your heart hurts and you want to bend down on your knees because your body feels limp. How much more does Seokmin have to give you for you to be able to start giving back to him? One voice in your head chastises you. Love isn’t quid pro quo! You fight back. Fair. But at least you’ve started admitting it is love. The voice laughs at you, leaving you vulnerable. 

“Well, he said yes.”

“What?” You spin your head to look at Sohee who’s holding your phone in her hand. 

“Seokmin. He said he’ll meet you at the park near school. In about an hour.”

“Did you just text him from my phone?”

“I did, for your own good. Because if it were up to you, you would have overthought yourself into a hole you’d dig for yourself and not made a move at all even when he’s literally played all his cards and proved his commitment.”

“Aishh, you’re so annoying,” you playfully shove her. 

“Your annoying friend just wants to see you happy,” she pouts cutely, and you laugh at the face she’s making. 

“Okay, now go get dressed. You have to finish this game now, Y/N. I’ll drop you to the park.”

_

When Sohee drops you a little far away from the park, kissing your forehead and wishing you fighting!, you find Seokmin already sitting on a bench on a relatively empty side of the park. He looks up at you as you get closer, and you wave at him. You feel so timid, so nervous, just walking up to him, his handsomeness hitting you with full force as you see him in more casual clothes than ever before, knowing that this man, this beautiful man likes you. And he wants you, and he’s proved how far he can go to care for you, even when you’ve rejected his care.

“Noona, how are you? We were worried after you called your day off on Friday.”

“I’m sorry… I wasn’t sick or anything.” You laugh awkwardly. “Just, taking some time to ponder over things myself.”

“Oh.” He sits down on the bench, the loose end of his checked shirt gently swaying in the breeze. 

“And I regret how I acted that night. I’m sorry for being so harsh-” he starts to say something, but you gently put a finger on his hand, and that makes him shush. “I’m not just talking about Thursday night. I’ve been harsh to you ever since the beginning of the year. You’ve been nothing but kind and generous to me. But… time has made me unnaturally wary and I find it so hard to accept attention or even kindness easily. Thus, time and again I’ve pushed you away, yet you’ve kept coming back. It’s true that I didn’t realise your intentions earlier, but I know, deep down in my heart, that I’ve liked you too for quite some time.”

His eyes are wide, and you move an inch closer to him on the bench.

“I thought it was silly, to have a crush on a man so obviously young like you. I’m thirty now, turning thirty-one in a few weeks. I’ll always be older than you, less energetic, more boring and to be honest, I think it’s not even age but just experience which has made me like this. And I denied myself your attention because I thought you deserved better. And I still do. You sent a restraining request to the police on my ex-boyfriend on my behalf. You… you’ve gone out of your way so many times, even when I’ve been so harsh with you. You’re the one who’s precious, you’re made out of stardust. I’m just a broccoli that’s stacked in the corner of the fridge because no one wanted to eat me when I was fresh and no one should eat me now because now I’m stale.”

“That’s a ridiculous comparison. Even Soonyoung comparing himself to a tiger is better than you comparing yourself to a broccoli.” He finally says, and you laugh before you realise it. 

“Stop calling yourself old, Noona. Three years of an age difference isn’t a big deal. If the reason you’re holding yourself back is Hyungwon-ssi…”

“It is, I won’t lie. Hyungwon and I started dating when we were in college. We were so good, for so long. Until the pandemic came and took his job. That’s when he started getting into these bad habits. He took to gambling, and to stop him, I enrolled him into an evening college, hoping he’d get more productive and use the time we were stuck at home to get himself more educated and get a better job soon. It turned out he was wasting all my money on gambling, again. Every fees I’d paid to him had actually gone down the drain at a local club. And he even had the audacity to refuse me when I told him I want to break up with him.”

“Well, but he eventually did. That didn’t stop him from coming to my doorstep ever three or four months, asking for cash. Sometimes I’d drive him away, sometimes I’d give in if I was too tired to argue with him and if he was sober and dangerous.”

“Would you have given him money that night… had I not been there?”

You look down at your hands in shame. “I may have. I don’t know.”

“Do you still have feelings for him, Noona? It’s okay if you do have feelings, you know.”

“God, no. I don’t have feelings for him. It’s just that… we were together for seven years. We’ve grown up together. Seeing him in a pitiful state like that makes me sad. And I hope each time, that this will be the last time he’s at my door asking for money.” You look away, too ashamed to look at Seokmin. But he uses a hand to gently grip your chin and turn your head towards him. 

“You’re too kind for your own good, Noona.” You blush at the proximity, and the gentle way he’s touching your face. “This is why I like you. Because you’re so human in a world where everyone is plastic. I don’t like you because you’re a sunbae I want to impress. I don’t like you because boys like me find older women hot. Well, I do find you hot-”

“Seokmin!” You haven’t heard someone call you hot in so long, and it makes your skin burn. 

He giggles, and slowly flattens his palm to cup your cheek. 

“I think the restraining order should do the trick, then. He’ll not harass you any longer.”

“Thank you. You’ve been brave when I’ve been a coward.”

“That’s what makes us a good team, Noona.” 

You finally make eye contact with him, gazing into his doe-like brown eyes which are crinkled at the edges with a hint of a smile and wide with hope. 

“Your eyes are so pretty, Seokmin-ah. Just like the rest of you. Especially your heart.”

“It’s pretty because it belongs to you, Noona.”

You blush harder, and turn your face away from him. “I’ll not like you any more if you’re cheesy like this.”

“But it feels good to make you blush like this. How dare you compare yourself to a broccoli, huh? You have no idea what you do to me- when you enter any room, you light it up with your aura, you make it so much warmer, so much brighter. And then a fucking broccoli?”

“Stop! I didn’t mean it to be so deep. It’s just what I ate for lunch because that’s all I had in my fridge.” He giggles again, and you giggle along with him. You realise you’ve both moved closer to each other on the bench, until your thighs are touching. 

“Then you’ve got to have lunch again. No one should exist by eating just broccoli.” 

“With you?”

“If you’d like that.” He cups your other cheek with another hand, and you can feel your skin on fire. His eyes are gently inching towards your lips so you slowly close your eyes. “If you’re going to kiss me, know that I don’t have much experience in that. I’ll be your hoobae in that regard, sunbae.” You hear a soft giggle, and the kiss doesn’t arrive, so you open your eyes again, just to see him blush all over. “God, you’re so pretty, Noona. I could look at you all day.”

“How about you tell me when you started liking me?”

“Umm, I think that time you came to eat lunch with us for the first time? I think it all started with me just trying to get you to eat meals on time. Good girls don’t skip meals, as I heard someone once say,” you playfully hit his chest lightly, and he laughs. “I don’t know, maybe it was before that. But that afternoon, I realised my crush on you was so serious. I was getting tingly all over every time our shoulders touched.”

“Oh! Well, thank goodness it wasn’t just me.”

“Really? From so long ago? Oh, Noona, if you’d just told me earlier…”

“Shh!” You giggle, “I didn’t even realise anything. I was just desperate to get you to forgive me.”

“But I was never angry at you. I could never be.”

You smile again, and he pulls you closer until your entire body is touching him. “So are you giving me a chance, Noona?” 

“Yes. I like you, Lee Seokmin, and I’m still shocked that you like me, after everything you’ve had to see.”

“Well, I do. I like you so much that I might be seeing stars over your head every time you come into my line of sight.”

You giggle again, your insides turning to mush. “Will you be my girlfriend, Y/N Noona?” His voice is, oh, so soft, like a melody. And his eyes so earnest, like an autumn leaf. “I’d be very honoured to, Seokmin-ah.” “May I kiss you?” You feel yourself getting red with anticipation as you quietly nod your consent. 

And so he kisses you. Like your very own Prince Charming, he kisses you, one hand on the back of your neck, and the other cupping onto your cheek, first gentle and slow, and then a little more passionate, as you pull him closer by holding on to his slender waist. “Fuck, Noona. You taste so sweet,” he says while taking a breath, and then attacks your face all over by placing tiny pecks all over your nose, cheeks and forehead. “I like you so much, I think I might die from it.” You laugh once again at his words, unable to say anything else because he’s effectively shut you up through his incessant kisses. When he finally moves his face away from yours, his 1000 watt signature smile bright on his face, you say to him, “Not before we have lunch together, though.”

a/n: read the stories of the other three boys here! lmk your thoughts <3

tagging: kokoiinuts

[revasserium]

hiii i'm a new follower and i love your writing so much

ik u said no requests in ur bio but i just finished reading ur sanji fic.. so even if ur still not taking requests i'd just like to throw in an idea that u may or may not feel like using in the future, up to you (i'm requesting this with opla sanji in mind but if u wanna use it for zoro that's cool too)

k so imagine reader being invited to a friend's wedding, & being excited to go until they find out their ex is coming too (with their partner of some amt of yrs). so now reader is pressured to bring someone w/ them & ends up asking their best friend sanji bc they don't want others thinking they're still hung up on the past.

wedding dress

opla!sanji; 6,544 words, pining with a happy ending, fluff and a tad of angst, flirting, lovesick!sanji, whipped!!!!sanji, no "y/n", zeff is a whole mood, confessions, sanji-appropriate nickname usage, modern!au?

summary: you invite sanji to be your plus 1 at a wedding

a/n: im so sorry this took so long. but. better late than? never? also, there is a tiny bit of rehashing for ep 6 of the live action for sanji and zeff's relationship so... spoilers?

It’s a chilly, overcast kind of day when the call comes in. And in retrospect, Sanji thinks he should’ve known better when he’d seen your name on the caller ID. He’d hesitated, because by god if it wasn’t his New Year's Resolution to get the hell over you this year, but it’s almost December again and he still can’t help the way his heart races at the sound of your voice.

“Hey sweetheart — long time no talk!” he answers after a brief moment of contemplating his entire life, dusting his flour-covered hands on his apron.

“Hey! Sorry for calling so… out of the blue…” your voice is still as sweet as ever, and the way his stomach twists at the tinkle of your nervous laughter makes him want to kick himself. Still, he forces himself to stay calm, clearing his throat as he checks the oven — it’s almost done pre-heating.

“Now you know what I said about actin’ a stranger — just because you moved halfway across the entire world doesn’t mean we ain’t best friends anymore, right?”

It’s what you’d said when he’d been standing at the airport, three seconds from dropping to his knees and begging you not to go. But he hadn’t, because he knew how hard you’d worked for this — for this opportunity abroad, to study art in the birthplace of the Renaissance itself, in the heart of Italy.

“And… you might be able to come visit me, right?” you’d said, rocking on the balls of your feet, your eyes full of what Sanji could only call false hope — which is always, always the worst and most painful kind.

Sanji had swallowed and nodded and said something or other about Europe and fine dining, but there’s a terrible, prickling heat eating up the back of his neck and a voice that’s screaming at him to pull you to him and kiss you. He doesn’t. And he regrets it to this day.

“Ah — right… I’m actually calling because… I’ll be in the area in about a week and…”

Your voice pulls him out of his reverie and he clears his throat, hitches a smile to his face that he knows you can’t see but he’s sure you can hear.

“Oh! That’s great, darling! You’ve gotta come for a drink, I’ll whip up all your favorites — we can make a night —”

“It’s actually for a wedding.”

There are a few moments in everyone’s lives when they learn the true meaning of a thing for the very first time — elation, pride, stomach-twisting guilt, and… fear. True fear, the kind of fear that shakes the muscle from your bones and sends them tingling, threatens to overwhelm you with numbness. Fear, that pushes adrenaline through you like a drug, forces the world into a terrifying, all-consuming focus.

Sanji feels the fear coursing through him, wild and contentious at your words.

A wedding.

Your wedding? Perhaps?

He can’t bear to think of it; he’s so terrified he can barely breathe.

Then comes the moment after, the wave of everything else that the fear had washed away — confusion, anger, guilt (always guilt, for some reason), because isn’t he supposed to be happy for you? For you, the person he loves most in this entire world, to find love, to know happiness. He should. He should.

“Oh.”

Sanji sags back against the hard, metal counter. Almost mindlessly, he reaches into his pockets with shaking hands, digging around for a smoke.

Your breath is soft in his ear, too far across the phone line and a thousand miles of ocean.

“I originally wasn’t even planning on going — she’s not a very close friend — we had like one class together but —”

And within the span of a minute, Sanji also learns relief. The kind that melts the world around you into sizzling butter and champagne bubbles. The kind that makes you want to lie down on the ground and scream.

“— it was so close to your restaurant so I said yes but I didn’t know he was gonna be there and —”

You’re still talking, rambling like you do. And it takes nearly everything inside Sanji to pull himself back to the conversation.

“Sorry, love, who did you say was gonna be there?”

“My ex — you know the one —”

Sanji grimaces, flicking on his lighter with still-shaking fingers.

“Mm, yeah I do. The tall, dark-haired bastard who —”

“Yeah well — he’s gonna be there too and I just —” he hears you swallow hard and take a long, steadying breath. An unnameable something is calcifying in the depths of his stomach as he waits for you to collect yourself.

Curiosity? Why had you called like this, so suddenly, about a wedding where your ex was going to be? Concern? Were you thinking of going back to him?

But slowly, as you stutter through your next few words, the unnameable thing obtains a name — dread.

“— I just don’t think I could do it myself, y’know? And — and you were the one who got me out of it wh-when I decided to break it off with him so…”

Sanji takes a long drag of his cigarette and casts his eyes up at the high, white-slabbed ceiling of the kitchen, scored with long strips of bright, fluorescent lighting that floods the entire room in a direct, unforgiving glow.

He closes his eyes and counts to three.

“Course I’ll come with you, darlin’. It —” he wets his lips, taps off a bit of ash from his cigarette, and sucks in through his nose, clearing his throat of the words still lodged there, “— it’d be my honor.”

Relief — he hears it in your voice, and by gods he can almost see it — the way your whole face would light up, washed as if by the setting sun, your eyes wide and dark, your cheeks flushing his favorite fucking shade of pink and —

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I really owe you for this one —”

Sanji makes a valiant effort at a nonchalant chuckle; it comes out sounding like a dog with a bit of bone stuck in its throat instead.

“Nonsense — what are best friends for, anyway?”

There’s a tiny pause where Sanji can feel the words best friend scraping along the insides of his mouth, barbed and harsh, leaving his tongue feeling raw and metallic.

“You really are the best friend anyone could ask for,” your voice is soft and honest and Sanji wants nothing more than to chuck his phone into the industrial blender.

You tell him that you’ll send him the details, that you can’t wait to see him soon, that you’ve got a world and a half of catching up to do, that you’ll buy him so, so many drinks, and that you’ll come bearing presents. He laughs at the right times, makes soft noises of consent and agreement, and when finally, finally you tell him goodbye, he clicks off the phone and takes another long drag of his smoke.

And then, he whips his hand back and throws the cigarette butt into the large sink, where it tinks against the metal and sizzles sadly in the murky dishwater.

“Real sucker for punishment, aren’tcha, lil’ eggplant?”

Sanji groans, turning around to find Zeff with his arms folded, the hip to his bad leg propped against a counter.

“Will you fuck kindly off — can’t you see I’m going through a thing here?”

Zeff snorts, clunking unevenly towards him.

“You been going through that thing for the last year and a half since you chickened outta askin’ her to stay so —”

“I didn’t chicken out — I — it was her dream to go to Florence and study —”

“And what was your dream then, ey?”

Sanji bangs his palm against the counter and sighs, “It’s not like I could leave you here with —”

“With what? A thriving restaurant business that I started? A guest list out the door and round the corner —”

“I — I helped!”

Zeff rolls his eyes, “Ah sure ya did, but I never asked you to, did I?”

Sanji huffs, pressing his tongue to the roof of his mouth to stop the torrent of horrible, sad, acrid things he could say and could never mean, so he swallows them back down. When he looks up next, Zeff is still standing there, but there’s a softness around his eyes.

He opens his mouth a few times, but eventually, all he says is, “The oven’s over heatin’.”

Sanji swears and jumps up to tug open the oven door. A wave of hot air whooshes out and nearly catches him in the face. Behind him, he can hear Zeff’s dark, gravelly chuckle, and the dull clunk of his wooden leg.

“You burn the kitchen down, you pay for it.”

And then he’s gone again, leaving the door swinging behind him, and Sanji very much alone with the too-hot oven and a counter full of things he can’t really remember the recipes for anymore.

Nearly a week later, Sanji finds himself standing at the airport, rocking on the balls of his feet, nearly in the exact same place as he’d been a year and a half prior. Except this time, you’re not walking away from him. You’re walking back towards him. He wonders if there’s a name for deja-vu in reverse and comes to the realization that that’s just called… a memory.

And memory seems to work in strange ways now, images superimposing themselves on top of one another — the flicker of a film lens, the bat of an eyelash, the shadow of a smile crimping the corner of your lips. All of this, he sees in the here and now, but he sees it in the air around you too, shimmering and mirage-like — all his memories and dreams of you layered over the shape of you. Your memory like a ghost of itself, trailing behind you as you walk towards him, a shy smile on your face, your cheeks flushed from travel and the cold and —

He doesn’t let himself hope. Not this time.

“Hey!” your voice is just as bell-like as he remembers it, pitched a little higher than it usually is, probably out of nervousness. But it still feels like a kick to the guts. Sanji forces himself to smile.

“Hi, love,” he says, leaning down as you reach him, but the motion aborts halfway because — is it still appropriate to hug you like he’d always done? To press his lips to your cheek or your hairline and revel in the bright citrus of your shampoo, to soak in the butter and cream of your skin like he used to?

There’s an awkward half-second pause before you’re standing up on tip-toe and Sanji’s heart nearly drops out of his ass as you lean in. But then — your lips skim by his cheek and your arms are around him, and stupid, stupid, stupid heart — thundering in his chest like horses or hooves or fists or thumping rabbit’s feet — leaping into his throat and pattering against the base of his tongue as he wraps his arms around you and holds you close. But it’s not close enough. It’s never close enough.

He breathes and distantly, a part of him notes that you still use the same shampoo.

“Hi…” your voice is warm by his ear, a bit muffled, but he can’t help the way it makes him shiver, “It’s… so good to see you.”

He nods, not trusting his own voice to do the normal thing and, oh, you know — work.

“I’ve — I’ve missed you.”

He makes a noise somewhere between a laugh and a cough as he nods again. He feels your arms slackening around him and a fierce, terrifying thing is flapping its wings in his stomach, screeching at him not to let you go. But he does — like he did before.

“I — I missed you too,” he says, though his voice sounds flat and scratchy and he clears his throat again.

A dozen different expressions flicker across the lovely planes of your face and finally, it settles on endeared exasperation.

“Please don’t tell me you still work through like three packs of smokes a day.”

Sanji laughs then, shaking his head as he reaches over for your luggage, “Nah — well, maybe not three but —”

You whack him softly on the arm.

“I actually tried to quit right after you left.”

“You did?”

Sanji shrugs as the pair of you start to make for the exit. He feels your gaze go slanted and shrewd.

“How long’d that last?”

He smirks, “Few hours.”

You whack him again and this time, he dodges out of the way just to bask in the bright spark of your laughter as you chase after him.

“Seriously though, you know how terrible they are for you!”

“Sure do,” he says, tugging one out of his pocket as soon as he clears the airport doors, pivoting left towards the parking garage. You have to jog to keep up with his longer strides, your breaths misting the air between you in silvery puffs.

He makes no move to light it as he helps toss your luggage into the trunk of his car, sliding into the driver’s seat. You huff as you wiggle into the passenger’s side.

“Then why —”

Sanji waits patiently for you to buckle your seatbelt before pulling out of the parking space, one hand on the steering wheel, the other resting soft against the middle console. He slates you a glance.

“Cause,” he says, fixing his eyes back on the road, an easy smirk twisting his lips, “it’s a metaphor.”

You groan, sinking into the seat, “Just because you read John Green one time —”

“Oi, I’ll have you know I read his entire bibliography after you showed him to me.”

“Ugh, whatever you manic-pixie-dreamgirl-loving ass.”

“Yeah, whatever — you actual manic pixie dreamgirl.”

You smile and Sanji allows himself the brief and aching delusion that the past year and a half didn’t happen, that you never left, and that you’d never leave. That you’d always be here, warm and laughing and just within reach.

The rest of the car ride is spent in mundane conversation, in how was your flight and tell me about Florence and how’s Zeff doing these days and I wanna know about your latest dish. It’s light and easy, and Sanji lets it warm the air around him. By the time he pulls into the front of your hotel, all the unsaid words from the past year and a half have soaked through his socks and into his shoes. It sloshes out onto the pale pavement as he opens the car door.

He helps you roll your luggage up into the lobby and tells you he’ll be here at 3PM to pick you up tomorrow. The venue’s just three blocks away.

“Yeah, I’ll see you then,” you say, pursing your lips, waving as he backpedals towards the automatic doors.

“You’ve still gotta send me pictures of the dress you’re wearing — I gotta find a matching tie.”

You laugh, a bit embarrassed, “Right — and here I thought I might surprise you.”

Sanji freezes, eyes wide.

“O-oh! Er — well, you can just — just tell me what color or —” he waves vaguely, “send a picture of a corner of the dress — just so I have something to color match against —”

You nod, eyes glittering, eager once more, “Oh! That’s a good idea — I’ll do that.”

“Great,” Sanji says.

“Great!” you echo, perhaps a bit too chipper.

He gives you one last smile before turning and striding from the hotel, firing up the engine as calmly as he can, forcing himself not to turn and check if you’re still watching him through the brightly lit, sliding glass doors. He allows himself a glance through the rear-view mirror as he pulls away from the drive and his heart skips a beat when he realizes you’re still standing there, right in the middle of the lobby, fingers wrapped around the handle of your suitcase, your eyes fixed on the shadow of his retreating car.

He lights the smoke the second he turns the corner, your shadow no longer in his rear-view mirror.

That night, Sanji dreams in fits and leaps, flashing images and long, sticky streams of could-have-beens —

He dreams of your laughter in a white-tiled kitchen, of powdered sugar and eggshells cracked and leaking on an exposed wood counter, chopsticks clinking against a thick glass mixing bowl. He dreams of your voice echoing off the shower tiles as you sing off-key, the way you used to when you’d sneak into his college dorm for movie night and a midnight snack. He dreams of coffee mugs and errant rose petals and dandelion seeds blowing in the wind. He dreams of dancing with you in his arms in a darkened dorm room that morphs into a bigger room with a softer carpet, one that he’d never seen before but he knows implicitly (like bodies know) is his home — it has pictures on the walls, trinkets lining the far bookshelf, your favorite scarf draped over the back of the well-worn sofa.

In the dream, you pull your head back from where it's pillowed against his shoulder and smile up at him. He leans down to kiss you, his lips hovering half an inch from yours.

Sanji jerks awake to the sound of his alarm, fingers fumbling for his phone, groaning as he smashes the orange snooze button and flips over to bury his face back into his lumpy pillow.

“Ah… fuck.”

It’s not the first time he’s had that dream, and he knows it won’t be the last. But it’d been so real that night, real enough to make him wonder if it just might come true.

He rubs at his sleep-crusted eyes and peers blearily at all the notifications on his screen. There’s a text from you with a picture attached. He clicks it open to find a short message attached to the picture — I really did want to surprise you…

He blinks for three seconds at what looks like a blurry picture of studded black silk before he remembers —

“Send me a picture of a corner of the dress — just so I have something to color match against.”

He allows himself a laugh, swinging his feet out of bed even as he types back — you coulda just told me it was black…

He watches the three little dots appear and disappear a few times, chewing on his bottom lip, before the text appears — well there are different shades of black, right???

Sanji laughs, shaking his head.

sure there are.

A string of tongue-out emojis, followed by an equally long string of middle-finger emojis.

He spends the rest of the morning fussing over which specific black tie to wear before settling on one that he’s quite sure is the exact same shade of black as your dress (and yes, he does have quite the collection of black ties), before tugging his best suit out to press.

It shouldn’t feel so easy, slipping back into the rhythm of things, of texting and smiling and hearing your voice in his head when he reads your texts. It shouldn’t feel so easy to forget the months of radio silence and guilt, the oppressive, resonant weight of what might have been if either of you had done a single thing different that day at the airport — he wonders if he should’ve reached for your hand, he wonders if you’d ever looked back.

He hadn’t. He couldn’t let himself.

He is waiting for you in the lobby at 2:45, wearing a hole into the plush Persian carpet, collecting strained looks from the concierge who had assured him three times in the last four minutes that he’d already rung up to your room and that you’d said you were on your way.

“Wow, you’re early — sorry I took a while — I couldn’t figure out what to do with my hair and —“

Sanji lifts his head and thinks distantly that all those rom-com cliches of a guy looking up, time itself slackening, the room smearing sideways around him, the music going slow, the lighting soft — all of it is painfully, startlingly true after all.

Because there you are, walking towards him, still saying something, but he can’t make out the words anymore because time isn’t really a thing anymore, is it? He can’t focus on that and also the dark glimmer of your dress, the way the neckline skates just beneath your collarbones, barely skimming the skin there before it slips down along the slope of your shoulders in a way that makes his breath unspool inside his chest like loose threads.

And in the slanted, ethereal light of the winter afternoon, your dress looks like it’s cut from a swath of darkest midnight, moonless and scattered with stars.

You blush as Sanji attempts to pick his jaw up off the floor and hitch his lips into something resembling a smile.

“W-wow… you look…”

Your smile is shy as you press your palms against the dress, looking down, “Thanks… you don’t think it’s… too much?”

Sanji shakes his head, feeling dazed.

“No! I mean — it’s —“ his mouth is dry, drier than he ever remembers it being, and suddenly it’s very hard to swallow and Sanji isn’t even sure the muscles in his neck know how to perform the action, let alone force words out alongside it. He struggles for another few seconds, his jaw working furiously as his eyes skitter down and back up the shape of you.

“You look… perfect,” he says, finally, because the word has been ricocheting around his chest like a stray bullet and he had to let it out somehow.

“Thanks — you don’t look so bad yourself,” you say, your voice breathy in a way that makes Sanji’s stomach squeeze.

He offers you his arm, and you glide forward to take it.

He drives the three blocks to the wedding venue in a daze, his mind spinning slow and off-axis, tilted so by the gentle waft of your perfume, the lullaby of your voice as you chatter nervously about this and that and the weather, I mean, can you believe it’s gonna be an outdoor wedding in the winter? He wonders briefly why you’re so nervous, and then he’s reminded of the reason he’s even here at all — your ex will be here. Ah. Right.

“Ready?” he asks, offering you his arm again as the both of you follow the meandering stream of arriving guests toward the paved outdoor garden area where the ceremony is due to take place.

“No, but… you’re here so…” you let out a breath and for a second, Sanji almost thinks he hears the hint of an ache in your voice. An ache like an old scab picked at too many times, like unrequited love, perhaps. It’s an ache with which Sanji is so intimately familiar that he immediately tamps it down and vows not to think about it again for the rest of the night.

There are stiff-backed waiters wandering around with plates of hors d’oeuvres and thin flutes of bubbling pink champagne.

Sanji grabs two glasses and hands you one.

“Cheers, then.”

“Bottoms up,” you say, tossing back the entire flute in one.

Sanji cocks his eyebrows, grinning as he follows suit, smacking his lips.

“Alright then, I guess if that’s how you’re playin’ —”

Your laughter is light, if a little strained, but he remembers how quickly bubbly drinks tend to go to your head and makes a concerted effort to slow down. You make it all the way through the actual ceremony without bumping into your ex, though you do lean over and grab Sanji’s hand as the bride and groom exchange vows — something about love being a choice, one that they promise to make every morning of every day for the rest of their lives — and he looks over to find you misty-eyed, bottom lip caught beneath your teeth.

“Sap,” he whispers, leaning over. It earns him a choked laugh and a half-hearted elbow in the ribs, but it’s worth it to see the tension melt from your shoulders.

Sanji turns back towards the bride and groom, exchanging rings now, and unbidden comes the images of you and him standing where they are — you in a dazzling white gown, him still in a dark suit, but one perhaps of more expensive material and much better tailoring. He thinks about all the things he might promise you, wonders at what you might promise him in return —

“I promise to love and cherish you —” you might say.

“I promise to make all your favorite foods,” he might say.

“I promise not to touch your emotional support le creuset pans.”

“I promise not to make you taste all my experimental dishes —”

“Okay, but what if I want to —”

He imagines the way the crowd would titter, how the officiator would affectionately clear his throat. He imagines Zeff’s warm, well-worn laughter, rough and a little torn at the edges because he’s just as sentimental as the next guy behind all the beard and gruffness. He imagines the crowd smiling up at the pair of you, the way you’d squeeze his hands to get the both of you back on track —

He jerks out of his reverie as you tug your hand away from his to clap, and it takes him a beat to realize that everyone else is clapping and cheering too. He blinks — the bride and groom are kissing, pulling apart as the music swells around them and they link hands to walk back down the aisle.

Sanji clears his throat and hurriedly gets up to clap as well, his eyes trailing the radiant smiles on both the newlyweds’ faces. Another sharp ache sings through him but he feels your hand in his again and he can’t tell if he wants to grip you tighter or pull away. They’d both hurt just as much, wouldn’t they?

“C’mon, let’s get inside — I wanna judge the catering with you,” you whisper, your breath tickling his cheek, and he knows without having to look that you’re standing on your tiptoes, your chin almost propped on his shoulder.

He fights down a bout of shivers and smiles, “My favorite part of any formal event, honestly.”

You laugh, “I know — me too.”

So you spend the entire dinner service whispering to each other about the food —

“God, this steak is so well done I think it just might dislocate my jaw —”

“What’s in this sauce?”

Sanji chews thoughtfully before making a face, “Dunno, but it’s got oregano.”

“Oh the cake looks good though.”

“Yeah, but we both know how much sugar and butter goes into that right?”

You nudge him with an elbow, “Weird, cause I’m pretty sure happiness is also made of sugar and butter.”

“Well for me, it’s always been…” but Sanji trails off, biting his tongue. No. He can’t say that — not now. Not here.

Because for him, happiness has always just been you.

So instead, he swallows passed his own mouthful of regrets and attempts a lopsided grin. And thankfully, your attention is drawn elsewhere by a loud peal of laughter before he has to make a shitty joke about happiness being a well-lit kitchen and a gas-lit stove.

You’re both at least a bottle of champagne deep when it finally happens, inevitable as a summer storm — your ex saunters up to you on the dance floor, sporting a grease-slick grin, eyeing you up and down like a piece of well-cut meat. Sanji is at the bar, grabbing more drinks and you’re catching a breath of fresh air just outside the dance hall.

“Well, well, well — look who it is.”

Sanji turns sharply at the sound of the voice, his eyes narrowing — Asshat. Fantastic. The bartender is putting the finishing touches on two custom cocktails but blinks, confused, as Sanji swipes both drinks out from the bar and casts him a hurried grin.

“Thanks mate, these look great,” Sanji raises the cocktail glasses at the bewildered bartender before hurrying off, slowing ever so slightly as he reaches you, straightening his spine and smoothing out his shoulders.

“Here, got them special-made for you,” he says, pressing the cocktail into your hand, cutting into something that Asshat is saying.

“Oh! Thanks — oh wow, this looks so good!” you beam up at him, taking a sip.

“Oh wow, didn’t know you were still hangin’ out with this guy,” Asshat says, hooking his thumbs into his belt-hoops and jutting out his chin.

You frown, pressing your lips, “Excuse me?”

Asshat scoffs, posturing, “I mean, when we broke up, it was cause o’him right? So I just thought you might’ve realized what a mistake that was and —”

Sanji barely has the time to feel offended before Asshat is gasping and stumbling back. You’d tossed the remainder of your drink straight into his face.

“What the —” Asshat sputters, his fists clenching, but quick as anything, Sanji swipes out a leg that catches him right in the shins and makes him stumble. In one fluid movement, Sanji pushes his own drink into your hand before reaching out the other arm to steady the now flailing Asshat, catching him around the shoulders.

“Whoa there! Seems like you’ve had a bit too much to drink, my friend!” he says, loud enough for the people around you to hear. He thumps Asshat on the back in a would-be kind gesture before tugging him close, still coughing, and hissing in his ear —

“Listen here, you asswipe — you’re gonna turn around and walk away and stay the fuck away from us for the rest of this wedding, you understand? I’ve got plenty more o’this for ya if you don’t, got it?”

Sanji scuffs his foot along the gravel-covered ground in a motion that could easily be mistaken as fidgeting, but you know better. And so, it seems, does Asshat, who scoffs and shoves Sanji off him with a glare, but after another second, straightens his drink-soaked jacket, turns, and stalks away.

You let out a long breath, swallowing hard.

“Hey darlin’… you alright?” Sanji turns and bends down to level his eyes with yours.

“Y-yeah — thanks — you didn’t need to —”

“Nah. Course I did — it’s why you invited me, right?” he allows himself a lopsided grin that borders on self-deprecating and you look up, eyes wide.

“No! I — that’s not —”

“It’s okay, love — I promise I’m not offended —” Sanji’s babbling, he knows he is — but he has to, because the alternative of letting you speak, of letting you confirm what he already knows to be true (that you’ve only ever seen him as a best friend, that you love him in all the ways except for the one way he wants you to, in the one way he loves you) is too much. He tucks his hands in his pockets and shrugs up his shoulders, pulling them up towards his ears like armor.

And then you lean in and kiss him, and every single word he’s ever thought of saying just to fill the silence turns to mist and mornings on his tongue. His mind turns blissfully blank and when he regains consciousness (or has he? Because isn’t this the dream he’s dreamt every waking moment of his life for the past… however many years?), he thanks every god he can name that he feels his fingers in your hair, his other hand cupping the soft curve of your jaw. He tastes your uncertainty against his lips and presses in, hoping, praying that if he just kissed you hard enough you might understand.

When you pull away, he can’t help the satisfied purr that curls up his chest at the pinkness in your cheeks and the slightly glazed-over look in your eyes.

“O-oh — sorry I —”

Sanji shakes his head, leaning in to push his forehead against yours.

“Nah, nah, nah — if you tell me that was a mistake now I might just turn around and never speak to you ever again — because don’t you dare —”

You let out a helpless laugh, shaking your head as you reach up to cover his hands with yours. It’s only then that he realizes they’d been shaking. He swallows and he thinks he can taste every single morning after for the rest of his goddamn life in the whisper of your breath.

“It — it’s not, I wasn’t —” you close your eyes and Sanji holds you still, foreheads still pressed. Distantly, Sanji is aware that people are cheering, that more drinks are being poured, that the dance floor is probably a mess. But he doesn’t care. He doesn’t think he’ll care about anything else ever again — why would he? Now that he’s got you.

“Shh… take your time, love… we’ve got all the time in the world.”

He feels the relief take you, and then you’re falling into him, burying your face in the lapel of his suit jacket, probably smearing it with your foundation. Vaguely, Sanji considers framing it when he gets home.

“I’m… I’m sorry it took so long — I’m sorry I didn’t — that I wasn’t…” you curl your fist into the material of his shirt and thump him lightly on the chest, even as he laughs and wraps his arms around you.

“I know, darlin’… I know.” Sanji presses his lips into your hair and can’t help a smile.

Finally. Finally.

Your hair smells like citrus shampoo.

Finally.

“I thought about you every single day,” you admit, your voice small when you finally pull back to look at him again. He thinks there might be tears in your eyes, or maybe it’s just the starlight caught in the thick night sky of your lashes.

“Did you now?” he asks, fumbling for some semblance of normalcy amidst this night of revelations.

You nod, fervently, and god he wants to kiss you again. Briefly, he wonders if he should, if he’s allowed to now. Instead, he smiles and cocks his head.

“So? What changed?” and he can’t help the tiny note of hurt out of his voice, the slightest shiver of disbelief. After all, cynicism is a hard habit to break.

Especially after so many years of practice.

You shrug, sighing, “Nothing — everything. I mean — I’d always… but then I thought — you had your career as a chef and I didn’t even know what I wanted to do with my life. But it —” you lick your lips, and Sanji nearly breaks when you tear your eyes away from his. He wants to force you back, to soak in the dark and bright of your gaze till he can see the world exactly as you see it.

“It’s always been you…” you say.

At this, Sanji does break. He tips your face towards him with a thumb and a forefinger and leans in, waiting for you to pull back, bracing for it. But you don’t — instead, you press in and close the space between you again, and again, and then again.

He wants to tell you — he needs to tell you that it’s always been you too, that there’s never been anyone else. From the moment he first laid eyes on you, he’s known, even though both of you were children back then, and neither of you had any idea what “love” actually meant. He knew then, too.

“Love…” his voice trails off, but you smile, and he knows you know, knows that you can hear it in the rawness behind his voice, in the softness of his breath, in the way it shakes.

You make to kiss him again. But your lips hover half an inch from his and you stop. Sanji sighs.

“What — why’d you stop?”

Your smile is sweet and sharp, honey glinting on a razor’s edge, and he knows that he has you. And maybe that he’s always had you and was just too blind, too terrified, to see it.

“Haven’t you heard? It’s a metaphor.”

Sanji groans, “Fuck your metaphors.”

You bat your lashes, pulling an expression of mock affront onto your face.

“Well at least wine me and dine me first —”

Sanji licks his lips, “What’dyou think I’ve been trying to do for the last ten years?”

Your breath catches.

“Oh.”

Sanji smirks and kisses you again, slowly this time, languid and deep. Unhurried. He luxuriates in the way you go soft in his arms, in the way he can feel the gentle hitch of your breath as he runs his tongue along the edges of your teeth, coaxing you towards him, closer and closer and closer.

The hardest, angriest part of him wants to swallow you whole, bite down just to hear you hiss, to taste your blood on his tongue. To make you feel even a sliver of the pain he’d felt. He tamps it back down — there’s time for that later.

Instead, he forces himself to pull back and allows himself the satisfaction of watching you chase him, pursing your own lips with a bashful look away, your cheeks dark.

“So,” Sanji takes half a step back, puffing out his chest in the best imitation of a fuckboy at a wedding party, “wanna get outta here?”

You let out a helpless laugh, falling into his side. He lets the sound ring through him like so many silver bells.

“Yeah, I’d love that.”

He chuckles, looping an arm around your middle and leaning towards your ear.

“Your place, or mine?”

You roll your eyes, “I’m pretty sure I still have a toothbrush at your place.”

Sanji hums, “You still have a whole drawer at my place.”

You smile up at him, open and happy and sincere, “Then… I guess that’s your answer then.”

[silentcryracha]

❍ ‗ Diamond (Yang Jeongin) ‗ ❍

Pairing : Yang Jeongin x f reader

Summary : The newly 23 year old gets a special gift from his leader and roommate for his birthday.

Genre/ Warnings : skz are idols but it's not connected, reader is an escort and a bit older (2-3 years, not specified), there's some build up to it, smut (18+) MINORS DNI, virgin!Jeongin, masturbation (both receiving), fingering (f receiving), oral (both receiving), penetrative sex (protected), a tiny bit of food play, praise/guidance, loss of virginity (m), it's not going to be 100% smooth because it's his first time yk

Word count : 8.50 K

A/n : I just saw from my notes this was meant to be an 'early gift' for Innie..meaning it's literally here from january..my bro was NOT going to see the light. + VERY new addition about the dorms?? Jeongchan did it for the plot specifically yep

ps: There could be grammar errors. Do NOT repost on other socials. Leave feedback if you feel like it, otherwise enjoy! ♡︎

masterlist

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

The started with a Bang. Literally. As In Chan Bang literally jumping head first into Jeongin's bed.

"Heya there birthday boy!" He yelled as he ruffled the younger boy's ginger hair.

"Mmmh hyung-" he whined as he tried to slip back under the duvet to cover himself from Chan's attack.

"Is our baby ready for his big day? Twenty three already? Oh my gosh" the aussie kept talking, but had finally stopped his hands so Jeongin could breathe again.

"Yeah" he replied, still with sleep in his voice. Chan made a 'woah' noise.

"Even the baby's voice became so much deeper. Yah, I feel thrice as old now." Jeongin shook his head in humor.

"Well then, what time is it, old man? I would've gladly slept it off today" he sighed. Chan made a stank face at the words 'old man' and then checked his phone.

"Don't say that. It's Seungmin's line." He replied, "We still have about fourty minutes before the team comes pick us up. Wanna eat?"

Jeongin nodded with a yawn, as Chan jumped out of bed, fresh as a bird.

"I'm not gonna tell you now, just know that I prepared a surprise for tonight!" He sang-talked as he speed out of the youngest' room. Jeongin didn't even have the time to ask him what he had planned before he disappeared.

To be quite honest, he was so tired and underwhelmed at the idea of going practice that he barely cared.

-

The day went on almost like any other practice day. Dancing practice, some vocal lessons, lunch break. Everyone, from his members to other idols and staff, wished him a happy birthday. He politely smiled, bowed and thanked them all.

From the members tho he got extra hugs, pick ups, piggy backs, kisses and hair ruffling. He was truly the toy of the day. But he loved them nonetheless.

As the final schedule of the day, he actually had to do an hour long livestream, to spend some of his birthday with the fans, like tradition.

He actually enjoyed having a bit of relaxed fun, just eating some cake, reading a few comments and unboxing a couple of unserious presents that his manager selected for him.

After he said bye to the fans, it was around eight pm, and he knew that the members wanted to take him out for dinner and drinks. So he thanked the staff one last time, picked up his stuff and headed out with the group in two cars.

They drove to a nice place, nothing too fancy, it may have been his birthday but they were still supposed to be lowkey. And besides, everyone was kinda tired from practice. It was a typical Korean hotpot place, where they had a whole room booked for them, with a nice view of the Han river. It was raining and cold outside.

"I propose a toast for our maknae. Our baby, our fennec fox, our baby bread. Our amazing Jeongin, who grew up so well and worked so hard." Hyunjin raised a bottle of soju, and the others followed suit.

"Happy birthday our Yenah!" Changbin cheered, maybe a bit too loudly, which made Jisung slap his bicep and the others laugh as they joined in the cheering.

"Thank you, thank you." the ginger boy raised a hand to stop them, "Thank you for the meal, and for being the best coworkers I could've asked for. For being my brothers"

The whole table cooed and awed, some reaching out for a cheek pinch, some for a hug. He did truly feel so lucky.

-

When they finally decided to go home, it was about eleven pm. Not that late for a friend's night out, but they we're going clubbing. Half of them was barely standing up.

Jeongin was helping Jisung walk out to the car, hopefully not drawing too much attention on them. Then Jeongin went in the car with his roommate Chan of course, and two drunk idiots Felix and Seungmin behind.

Chan, who was completely sober, drove them safely to their apartment and made sure that they got in safe before coming back behind the wheel.

"Thank you again for the dinner and the bracelet, hyung" he bowed slightly, with a shy smile. The oldest nodded, with a small smile himself.

"It's nothing." He replied, "But you still remember what I said this morning right?"

Jeongin frowned for a second, rethinking it, and then answering.

"Wasn't the bracelet the surprise?" The genuine confusion in his voice amused Chan, which chuckled a bit.

"Nope."

"Oh" the brown haired man gazed at him quickly before going back to look at the road.

"I'm going to tell you. Promise not to overreact." Those words worried the younger man a bit, but at the end of the day, it was still Chan hyung he was talking to. Surely he wouldn't put him in some shit.

So he stayed silent and nodded. Slowly, he started to actually notice that he wasn't driving towards their apartment, but elsewhere.

"I booked a special night for you. With a woman." Jeongin's eyes went wide, but before he could open his mouth, Chan raised a single finger stopping him.

"It's a very safe and professional place. I know the girl in question, which is how I know you'll have a good time." He explained.

"But why? How do you know her?" The younger one asked. Chan shook his head slightly.

"It doesn't matter. Right now we are driving to luxury hotel, which offers this type of service, but it's very secretive. You can decide to do it or not, but I want you to know that you'll be safe." He kept going, "I did it because I feel like it could be a fun experience, and also because I'm quite tired to hear you get off in two seconds through the wall. Might as well put all that sex drive somewhere right?" He teased, making Jeongin choke on his own saliva, making him hide his flushed face in between his hands.

"I didn't know you could hear! I'm sorry!" He apologized, embarassed. Chan laughed.

"I mean it's normal! Walls are thin and all that. But you're a young man with needs, it's normal. I'm just saying, maybe this could give you a bit of confidence to explore this." He shrugged.

Just at that point he drove to the front of an enormous building, and told him to get off the car. He exited the vehicle too and a staff member was ready to greet them, then take Chan's car keys to actually park it.

Chan put an encouraging hand behind Jeongin's back, both of them still wearing the sporty caps to keep lowkey. They walked to the reception, and a young man greeted them.

"Good evening, yes. I have a reservation with this ID." Chan didn't say either of their names, he just showed a document on his phone to the guy.

He checked, took a quick look on the computer, then nodded.

"Yes, there is. I'll get your keys in a moment, sirs. Would you like some refreshments from the bar? It will be closed soon." He offered politely. Both of the young men shook their heads, and the receptionist bowed before going to get the keys.

He came back with two magnetic cards, and vaguely instructed them to take the elevator to the floor indicated on the card, then added a few formalities about the utilities of the hotel, before finally letting them go.

Chan and Jeongin walked towards the elevators, where two staff members were standing by each side. One of them, a professionally and meticulously styled woman, gave them a polite smile, pushing the buttons for them.

"Good evening sirs" she spoke, "May I see your cards, so I can give you directions at best of my abilities?"

Chan didn't speak and just handed over the two cards. She took them and looked at the golden one first, which was Chan's, and then at the silver one which was Jeongin's.

She quickly gave them a look, then put back on the polite smile, giving back the cards to them.

"Thank you, sirs. I will ride with you and drop you off at the correct floors." She bows slightly, exactly at the moment in which the elevator doors open next to her.

She opens her arms, directing them politely towards the entrance. The two men get on, and she does too, standing in front of them, commanding the buttons.

She pushes the tenth floor, but before the elevator does anything, a side light flashes for a second, and the woman presses her card to it. A small 'bip' signaled approval, and only then the elevator steadily sped upwards.

Jeongin in the meantime was getting more and more anxious. He literally thought anything but this. If he's being honest, yes he was horny. Yes, he wanted to try sex. But was he willing to do this to get it? Would it be that wrong, if he did? He's not forcing anyone at the end of the day. But what would his ego think about this?

Before his mind could go even more on a tangent, the elevator stopped and the doors opened again. This time it showed a long corridor, but it did have something different.

The spacing between the doors was huge but there were actually only five rooms. Each of them had a shape of a heart made in different materials. Expensive looking ones, and each one different. They looked like... expensive gemstones?

But what caught the eye first were definitely the two big beefy men standing right at the start of said corridor. Like guards. Which soon enough, Jeongin learned to actually be security.

"Good evening" the lady said to one of them. He gave her a small nod.

"Good evening." He replied professionally, "May I have your card?" He then spoke directly to Jeongin. He looked down at his silver card, then back up at the man. He gave it to him.

He pulled out a small phone from his elegant jacket's inner pocket, turned around and most probably checked the information. Then put it back inside, and gave the card back to Jeongin.

"You are verified. But I need the other gentleman to leave before I give further instructions, please." Chan nodded with a small smile, giving Jeongin a couple of reassuring pats on the back.

"See you tomorrow, bro. Should you need me for anything, I'm on room 2060, floor twelfth, alright?" He made sure the younger boy looked at him, "But I'm sure you'll be fine."

Then he got closer one last time, whispering 'have fun' with a hint of teasing in his tone. After that both him and the lady disappeared back into the elevator.

"You may go, sir. Your room is number five, the diamond. Just at the very bottom of the corridor." The security guard's voice startled him a bit when he turned around.

"When you get there you will have to ring a bell. When the light goes from red to green, the door will be opened. Enjoy your evening, sir."

Jeongin listened carefully as he was given back the card. Without really saying anything, he gave both men a quick nod and then slowly walked towards the diamond room.

The young man looked at every single room as he walked: from left to right, numbers one to four. Opal, Blue Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald and last but not least, Diamond.

Jeongin arrived in front of his assigned door, looking around for the bell they told him about. He wasn't seeing anything, until he understood that they didn't mean an actual bell, but a small white button. With sweaty hands he pressed it, and it became red.

After a minute the button turned green, and the door opened. As soon as he looked up, he found in front of himself a stunning woman. Girl. Definitely a bit older, maybe around his hyungs' ages.

She had some essential and very classy make up, her hair were loose on her shoulders perfectly styled, and she was wearing a silk, opaque silver, dress which fit her perfectly, the draping adorning her bosom and falling on her hips like a statue.

It wasn't just the package that was beautiful though, he knew it as soon as he managed to take a look at her face. She was truly beautiful, so elegant and feminine.

"Good evening. You are Fox, correct?" It took him a couple of seconds to let sink in what she had asked, her voice smooth like butter.

He slightly shook his head to get a grip, then just nodded. He didn't know why she was calling him 'fox' but he assumed that that's the nickname Chan picked to protect his identity.

She smiled politely, as she invited him in. He was so charmed by now that it seemed like his body was moving on his own. Maybe Chan was right, maybe he desperately needed to get laid if that's the reaction he had simply seeing a beautiful woman up close.

She closed the door behind him, pushing another button, which turned blue. Then after a few seconds, white again. Well Chan certainly wasn't kidding when he told him to not sorry about privacy or safety.

He took a moment to look at his surroundings: it was a medium sized room, not too wide. It had a large king sized bed in the center, perfectly made with cream and white bedding and pillows. By its right and left there were two small bedside tables, above them each had a very small lamp attached to the walls.

The ground had a perfectly clean and intact grey moquette. There was a small room on the right, which he assumed was a private bathroom, while on the left, lining with the bed, there was a huge window that had a beautiful scenery of the night city. They were partially covered with half pulled heavy cream colored curtains.

Then, on the left but at the opposite end of the room, near the entrance door, there was a small and essential open wardrobe, with a couple of empty hangers, some extra white towels, and a safe.

A safe on which the woman was putting a passcode. He assumed to take something out, but it turns out that whatever she had to take, was already on the small round table at his left. Right near the big window.

On the small transparent table there were some papers, a small bottle of champagne and a bottle of water in an ice bucket, two empty glasses, and a single big triangle shaped piece of cake. It looked like strawberry and cream. Two small forks on the side of the dish.

"Welcome, nice to meet you, Fox." She stood in front of him, a few feet away. She had perfect posture, he noticed.

"Thank You" he managed to croak out, then clearing his voice a bit, "What's your name?"

She smiled politely, but with a hint of humor.

"My name is Diamond." he scoffed a bit, with the faintest laugh. He was so nervous he felt lightheaded.

"I'm sure" her small smile didn't disappear, instead, she just tilted her head for the side.

"Well, that's the best I can offer you tonight", she paused, "Fox." He immediately picked up on the irony in her voice, which made him shake his head a bit.

"I didn't pick it. I actually didn't even chose to come here." his voice held confusion, like he truly couldn't believe where he actually was and for what reason.

Her expression softened, leaving behind the humor. She took a couple steps forward. She watched the boy's reaction carefully, but he didn't flinch. That's good.

"I know. That's how I'm going to Introduce the contract, so then after you can decide what you wanna do." she started, reaching her arm out to pick up the papers. There were three-four pages at maximum.

"I'm going to give you the essential summary, but if you want to read it by yourself you can." The woman looked at each page, explaining to Jeongin the contents.

"On the first page is essentially a copy of the info we were sent beforehand when the reservation was made. So your 'name'" she air quoted the word, "Your ID code, a personal emergency number, and the technical details about the reservation. A part of them is hidden specifically by request of the payer, which was not you." She continued.

"And here you have to put the first signature to confirm these info. On page two it's just some rules, like if you break you pay, you are mutually required to respect my privacy as I do yours, you take responsibility of any intentional harm done to me and vice versa, then consent for intimacy, and there's an empty line of you have to add any boundaries that I have to keep in mind. The another signature." She explained, pretty bored.

"Then there's page three which is basically a bunch of copy paste privacy, security and legal terms in case something happens. Page four Is just the last bit of page three, and at the bottom there's finally the last signature." She paused, "If you agree and sign all the papers, then I can co-sign them too and put them in the safe so that they will be archived correctly. Got it?"

Jeongin sighed, slumping his shoulders a bit.

"That sounds like a lot"

"It really isn't, if you really think about it. Unless you have any intention of causing harm or disruption. Which I don't think you do, am I correct?" She smirked a little. The young man shook his head with conviction.

"Alright then, I'll leave you a moment to take care of it." She nudged her head towards the papers and pen. Jeongin walked up and took a quick read, mainly the highlighted stuff, then was about to sign, but hesitated.

He kept his head down, a bit embarassed, as he spoke.

"After I sign this...can I-, I mean, can I still change my mind?" The woman was a little surprised to see him so hesitant. She tried to put even more sincerity in her response.

"Yes, of course. You can change your mind before and during. I'd say after, but well, once it's done, it's done." She chuckled. Surprisingly, he smiled too.

"Yeah" he agreed, finally signing the papers one by one. He then gathered them, passing them in Diamond's hands. She smiled, bowed a bit and thanked him, before putting the documents back in the safe.

"Alright!" She exclaimed with a smile, "I couldn't offer it unless we settled that stuff first, but, would you like something to drink? As you can see we have plain water or, for the occasion, some Champagne."

The ginger haired boy waved his hand to refuse.

"Not for now, thank you. I had dinner not too long ago." She nodded, suddenly lighting up.

"Ah, yes, happy birthday by the way" she winked. Jeongin bowed his head as a thank you, visibly more relaxed. Still not a hundred percent, but he doesn't want to necessarily combust anymore.

"Thanks. You were told this prior? How does it work?" He asked curiously.

"Let's get comfortable first, alright? Take off your shoes, jacket. Whatever you feel like. Also, I'm sure you saw it, but there's a bathroom if you need to freshen up." She invited as she gently helped the young man take off his puffer jacket.

"Yes, I was told that it was going to be a birthday gift. That, plus your nickname and the fact that you didn't have much experience. Everything was optional except if you were intimate before. It's a yes or no question, to give a hint more than anything." She explained, as Jeongin got comfortable.

He did as she suggested, being left with just his jeans, underwear, a tank top and a lightweight hoodie on top. He sat on the bed, leaning back a bit to relax.

He nodded, understanding. He didn't really know what to say, but he was starting to feel at ease, so the woman took the initiative. She went to get the small plate with the birthday cake on it, then sat beside him on the bed.

"I don't know about you, but this cake does smell delicious. Does the birthday boy want a bite?" She smiled, looking at him with a flirty look. He blushed slightly, nodding.

"You can tell me a bit about your past experiences, if you have any. What you'd like to do, basically anything." She cut a piece of cake with the dessert fork, guiding it to his lips, which he gently opened.

"I did very little...making out, some touches and humping above the clothes." He shrugged as he chewed. His eyes lit up at how good it it was, and it was so obvious that it made the woman chuckle.

"I see. Do you have a girlfriend?" She gave him another bite. He frowned and shook his head vigorously at the question.

"Cha-" he stops himself before saying his friend's full name, " My friend wouldn't have set this up if I had. I wouldn't have accepted either." He explained. She nodded in agreement, satisfied.

"Good. I hate cheaters." The boy couldn't help but give her an unintentional look. She noticed and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, look, I think you noticed this place has certain standards. I speak for myself here, I don't go with busy men. If they are and they don't lie about it, I turn them down. I pick who to..." She paused for a second, trying to find the right word, "- work with."

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to seem rude." The ginger haired boy apologized, taking another small bite of cake. Half of it was gone already.

"No, I get it. It's okay. You don't look mean, anyway." She gave him a lopsided smile, "Didn't find the right person yet?"

"I guess? I'm very...busy. it's a bit complicated. I'm not really sure why it didn't happen yet. I had crushes but that's it. Not now though, I don't like anyone." He shrugged. He didn't feel uncomfortable talking to her, but he was careful about oversharing. He didn't even fully know if she recognized him or not.

"It's normal. You're young, and if you're here, you're probably in a special situation." She raised an eyebrow, not elaborating further but hinting at the fact that if he didn't have a shit ton of money and need for privacy, maybe he'd be in a random alley and not an extremely expensive luxury hotel.

"In any case, I hope you'll find someone soon. I'm sure you're not gonna have issues, you're really handsome." Her compliment made Jeongin blush, squinting his eyes shut for a second.

"Thank you" he responded timidly. She struggled to contain a smile. He was so cute.

"Well, in any case, tonight you're free to enjoy yourself however you want." She looked at him through her lashes, which sent a shiver down his spine. And maybe somewhere else.

Jeongin cleared his throat a bit, nodding absentmindedly.

"You didn't eat any?" He asks, suddenly realizing she's been feeding him the whole time without taking a single bite.

She tilted her head to the side slightly, shaking her head.

"Nope. But this big strawberry looks really delicious, if you want we can share it." She smiled, seemingly innocently. The boy nodded eagerly, so concentrated on wanting to share his cake that his mind didn't go where hers went.

"Alright, open up" he parted his lips, waiting for her to once again feed him the food.

And so she did, but this time she picked up the whole strawberry with two fingers, barely grazing his lips and chin with the tips as he held the fruit with his front teeth.

Suddenly, he started to catch up. His own fingers gripped the soft sheets slightly, eagerly waiting for her next move.

"I'm going to take a bite..." She stated, lowly, almost whispering, as she slowly leaned forward. Her eyes were looking at his lips, while his were looking at hers.

Then, she parted her mouth enough to bite in half the fruit, at the same time delicately touching Jeongin's pink lips. The movement was extremely delicate, and not too fast, but for him it was. He was already craving for more touch, almost in a daze.

Diamond leaned back nonchalantly, chewing the bite, but her gaze never left Jeongin's dark eyes. After a couple of seconds, she swallowed, licking her lips instinctively.

"Mhm. So delicious." The nonchalant tone mixed with the obvious intent was probably what made the boy lose his mind. So much so, that he reached out his pointer finger, picking up some whipped cream from the plate, then slowly raising it up.

"The cream is sweet too" his voice was deeper now as well. The older girl smirked a bit, parting her lips slightly.

Jeongin took it as permission, so he brought his finger to her full lips, which she wrapped around up to the first knuckle. Very delicately sucking, then licking the cream, cleaning the younger's finger.

She hummed in appreciation, letting his finger go. She decided to step it a bit further, noticing the young man was starting to get excited.

"It is indeed" she scooted closer on the bed, raising her hand and slowly sliding it up from his, still clothed, bicep to his shoulder.

"You have some on your face" she commented. Which was actually true, but it was a very tiny dot near his bottom lip. Which was more than enough.

"Can I clean it up?" The guy, which at this point was barely even blinking, nodded, gulping.

"Yes, please"

She didn't wait any longer, cupping his right cheek and getting closer to his face, then slowing down just enough to get out the tip of her tongue, picking up the tiny spot of whipped cream.

As soon as Jeongin felt her wet tongue graze his lips, he parted his own, effectively starting a proper kiss.

One of his hands cupped her cheek, while the other landed on her hip, grabbing the silk dress slightly.

At that point the make out continued, including tongue, soft lip pulling and biting, until he instinctively pulled her closer, hinting at the fact that he wanted her to straddle him.

She got it right away and complied, straddling his sitting figure, but not quite getting comfortable on him right away. Instead, as she wrapped her arms around his neck, her hips started to rock back and forth sensually, giving Jeongin's growing crotch enough contact to turn him on but not enough to actually hump his jeans.

The young man started to pant in between kisses, fully aware of the newly added sensation, and enjoying every second of it. His hands both grabbed at her hips a bit more forcefully, following her movements, while his mouth started to travel back and forth between her neck, jaw, collarbone area, then slowly more and more down, almost on her breasts.

She sighed pleasurably, giving him a kiss on the head before gently stopping him. Jeongin, with his ginger hair already a bit messy, his cheeks flushed and eyes glossy, looked up at her with some confusion.

"Let's get you more comfortable, baby" her voice a bit hoarse from the excitement. He nodded absentmindedly as he raised both arms up, allowing the girl to slide off his hoodie.

"Can I get this off too?" She asked gently, referring to the tank top. He nodded again, clearing his throat, waking up a bit from his daze and deciding to help her.

He ended up taking the tank top off himself, while she unbuttoned his heavy baggy jeans, getting off of his lap to take them off.

She left them to the side, and before she knew it, he was also sliding her spaghetti straps off her shoulders, immediately making the silk dress pool at her feet.

His hands rested on her waist as he took in her body, still barely covered by a lace set of white lingerie. His eyes lingered on her legs, thighs, chest

He was brought back to reality when the girl's hand rested on his cheek again. He looked up, blinking a few times.

"You're beautiful" he complimented her, in awe. She smiled a bit, gently pushing him back more to the top of the bed.

"You look great too" she crawled back up on the bed, stopping to his side.

"What would you like to do?" she asked, caressing his hip and lower belly, making both his cock and stomach twitch slightly.

"I..." he looked to the side, getting too shy to speak his wish out loud. The girl nodded in understanding, with a smirk.

"When you're ready just tell me what you want to do, okay? In the meantime, trust me" he swallowed, trying to get his throat a bit wet, nodding.

The girl gently grabbed his boxers, sliding them down his toned legs and throwing them on top of his pants. His cock sprung free, fully hard, slightly hovering above his lower belly.

She scooted further on the bed so she could lower a bit more near his crotch.

Deciding to have mercy on the boy, she let some spit pool in her right palm, then taking Jeongin's cock, stroking him up and down, not too fast.

As soon as she touched him his whole body spasmed involuntarily, and he moaned. At the first lick along the side of his shaft, she noticed him squinting his eyes shut, breathing out deeply.

"Don't hold back" she said, capturing his attention immediately, "You're not hiding in your room. I promise your partner will enjoy hearing you very much"

The poor guy didn't even have a chance to reply, because she got immediately back to work, taking his cock on her mouth. She went down a bit more every time, from the tip, then to more than halfway.

His cock was pretty pale, like the rest of his skin, with a couple of not too prominent veins blending in, it was medium in thickness, but oh my gosh was it longer than average. Not a whole monster, but definitely a bit above average.

"Fuck" he groaned, still struggling to fully let himself go, biting his bottom lip and frowning. The girl noticed his left hand firmly gripping the sheets, while the other one seemed to kind of twitch and be restless.

"You can touch me" she half moaned, taking a small break from the mouth work. He looked down at her, frowning.

"W-what?" He panted. The girl reached out, taking his nearest hand and bringing it to her head.

"You can touch. You can do whatever you want as long as you're gentle. If you want to get rougher, ask consent" she explained, her hand still stroking him.

Jeongin was having a bit of a hard time focusing on two things at once, listening to her and not cumming embarrassingly fast, but he did understand what she meant.

She was trying to encourage him to let himself go, but it just wouldn't come natural to him, even though he was definitely enjoying himself. It was true.

He was used to shut himself up and be as quiet as possible getting off, since he didn't live alone. And even when he was alone, he'd still find himself double checking that the door was locked before getting down to business.

"I want to eat you out" he blurted out, surprising the older girl who kind of stopped her movements to check in what he said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah" he nodded, propping himself up with his elbows.

"Don't you want to come first?" She double checked. He shook his head.

"Not right away. Please?" The girl chuckled, gently releasing his, still hard and leaking, cock.

"You decide. How do you want me?" Between the sultry teasing tone and the way she leaned back, essentially offering herself, Jeongin thought he could've came right then and there without being touched.

He moved, getting on his knees on the bed, and reaching out to pick on the bra straps.

"I need to see you so bad" he whispered. The girl nodded, unclasping the bra from behind her back and then throwing it on the growing pile of clothes on the ground.

The boy unintentionally released a deep sigh, which made the girl smile, but she made sure to not laugh at him. Instead, she brought his big but slender hands to her breasts, which he cupped instantly.

Then she decided to give him some more time, occupying her hands and mouth by caressing him and leaving kisses on his neck and chest, a few on his mouth.

The boy was groping her breasts, toying with her hard nipples with his fingers in the meantime.

"On your back" he managed to choke out, his chest going up and down from laboured breathing.

"Mmh, alright pretty boy" she said in between kisses, which made Jeongin breathe out a small chuckle.

The girl moved, getting on her back with her head on the pillow, as he asked. She bent her knees, spreading her legs as he positioned himself in between them.

He then realized he was too high up, shifting back and on his belly, right in front of her crotch.

"Can I?" He asked, picking at the sides of her lace panties. She smirked, nodding.

Jeongin slid the panties off, setting them to the side, not being able to get his eyes away from her glistening pussy. He felt like a feral animal, cock painfully hard and twitching against the bed, but at the same time, he froze.

The girl propped herself up with her elbows, looking down between her legs at the younger boy.

"What's wrong?"

He hesitated, looking down to the side, realizing he was staring, and also from embrassement.

"How..h-how do I.." he stuttered. The girl blinked a couple of times.

"Don't tell you've never watched porn?" There was no judgement in her voice, just genuine questioning. He half nodded and half shook his head, confusing himself at this point.

"Yes of course I do.. I'm not a saint, okay? I just- I don't really know how to start I guess" he admitted. She let out a small breathy laugh, reaching out her hand to cup his cheek.

"Ah I see. Don't worry, alright? Let's go slow" she reassured him, which actually did work.

"You can start by building up to it. Kiss around the pubic area, the thighs, legs, belly, whatever. Then you can use your hands, both to caress and touch directly on it." She explained gently.

"Don't be rough. Like don't just start inserting fingers out of nowhere or rub it like some sort of dough, okay?" He laughed a bit at the examples, but nodded, both in agreement and to build up some courage.

"The main goal here is to get the vagina wet so when you touch it it doesn't hurt. Just like I did with you before. Don't worry about the rest, I'm going to tell you as you go" she added, and Jeongin nodded again, starting to put his hands to work by caressing her legs and thighs.

"Okay, good boy" she said nonchalantly, as if she said 'hello', but they way his ears got red and his cock jumped quite literally said the opposite.

Regardless, he tried to remain focused, and started to pepper the girl's lower body with wet kisses and licks. She brought a hand up to her breast, starting to play with herself as she moaned softly.

Jeongin's ego boosted at that, as he tried to remember a few of the couple porn he watched. He decided to slowly start licking directly on her pussy, which actually made her gasp out of surprise.

His gaze shoot up, to check if he was okay to continue, and by the way she had her eyes closed and mouth parted, he took it as a yes.

The boy delighted in her taste, so new but so intoxicating at the same time. He used his tongue flat, up and down, slowly from her clit to her entrance, which was becoming wetter by the second.

As a sweet background there were the older girl's sighs and moans. Yeah, he thought, she definitely had a point when she said that his partner would be enjoying the noises. He sure as fuck was.

That's what actually gave him the confidence to start touching her with his fingers. He started to gently rub his finger and middle fingers around her pussy, getting them wet as he kept sucking and licking her. She moaned a bit louder, suddenly opening her eyes and looking down.

"Here" she breathed, reaching out her own hand and placing his fingers on her clit, guiding the circling motion until he did it by himself. Her back arched slightly, as her fingers intertwined with his reddish hair.

"Yes, just like that" she sighed, "Touch yourself, baby"

He shook his head slightly, unintentionally, actually causing her to choke out a moan and make her grip on his hair tighter. She looked down.

"Why not?"

"Don't wanna come now" he mumbled in between licks. He was enjoying himself a bit too much, like a kid with a pacifier or a desert. Hilarious how in the span of two hours he became a pussy addict.

"Yes, come now. Trust me. There's- ah," she arched her back interrupting herself with a gasp of pleasure, "There's time. Listen to me."

He looked up at her, keeping his hands attached to her pussy. Her cheeks were flushed, eyes glossy and an almost invisible layer of sweat covered her forehead.

After that masterpiece of a view, cumming was not going to be hard for Jeongin, which slid his free hand under his body, reaching his cock and stroking it fast.

"Yeah, just like that, good" she moaned, "Fuck- oh, yes, keep touching my clit a bit faster, you're doing amazing" her voice a bit high, just like the high she was about to reach.

"You gonna cum?" He slurred as he upped both his fingers and tongue's pace. The dirty talk must've had an effect on her too, because she released a loud moan, arching her back and pushing Jeongin's face even further to her pussy.

"Fuck- fuck- yes" She cried out. At that exact moment Jeongin felt some wetness hit his chin, so he knew she came. He just made a woman come for the first time in his life. Damn.

Which, surprise to none, made him cum in return. The boy stiffened up a bit, groaning into the woman's pussy which made her squeal and jump back a bit, as she was too sensitive now.

Jeongin gave the last few, harsh, strokes to his cock, to ride his own high. He was taking deep breaths, trying to ground himself, but for some reason he struggled to keep his eyes open.

He forgot about Diamond for a second, until she sat up near him, her hands on his face, and a gentle expression on her face.

"Hey, pretty boy, are you alright?" She asked softly. His eyes blinked in a messy way, almost like he was passing out. He used one of her palms as a pillow and then closed his eyes completely.

-

Jeongin woke up on the bed, a pillow under his head and a heavy duvet covering him. He was exactly where he last remembers, on the left bottom side of the bed.

Did he actually fell asleep after having an orgasm? Oh God..what a fucking loser. But wait, where was-

And before he could ask himself the question, he saw her standing in front of the window, an equally heavy duvet around her shoulders, as she sipped some water.

"Hey, what happened?" as soon as she heard Jeongin's voice, the girl turned her head. She offered him a sweet smile.

"You passed out for some time. Not long, about twenty minutes. Did you have a long day today?" She asked sweetly as she walked back to the bed, sitting next to him.

"Yeah, actually" he woke up early, had practice, did the live, then went out again. And then he ended up here. And he came so fucking hard, too. How to forget. Actually-

"I'm sorry that I kinda fucked up at the end, I was out of if" he apologized. The girl shook her head, gently getting a few strands of hair out of his face.

"You didn't ruin anything. You made me cum. Making a woman cum on your first time is pretty impressive, you know." She nudged his shoulder with hers. He smiled shyly.

"You still sleepy?" He shook his head.

"I don't think so. I didn't need to sleep, I was probably letting some stress go." She nodded.

"I'm glad you did." She paused, "What do you want to do now?"

He thought about it for a second, leaning his head on her shoulder.

"I definitely want to finish what we started. You down?" She chuckled softly, leaning her own head on his.

"Sure" they looked at each other for a while, until he kissed her. More softly than before, as they needed to start building up again.

This time around Jeongin felt more confident in his actions, so he took another initiative. He slid the duvet down her shoulder, and she let her grip on it go too, so it fell on the ground and she was naked again.

At the same time he freed himself from his own, joining her in her nakedness. They started to properly get back on the bed, kissing, toying with their tongues, and making out. This time Jeongin guided her directly to lay on her back, head against the pillow.

He didn't immediately get in between her legs, instead he took his time licking, sucking and grazing her soft breasts with his teeth. She sighed softly, both hands in his hair as she enjoyed the attention.

Jeongin's cock, which was slowly getting hard again, was rubbing on the outside of her thigh. She took the hint and licked her palm before starting to stroke his shaft, sometimes grazing his tip with her thumb, which made him shiver every time.

Almost at the same time, Jeongin reached his own hand in between her legs, starting to circle her clit like she had taught him before. The girl whined, opening her legs to allow him more access.

They went on like that for a while, until he was fully hard and she was dripping wet.

"Put one, the two fingers inside" she whispered to his ear, "Get me ready for you" her teeth grazed his lobe, which made his cock twitch in her hand. She smiled at the reaction, continuing to lick and kiss his shoulders and collarbones.

It was so intimate, so arousing, that they didn't feel the need to rush anything. It was dazing.

The girl gasped softly when Jeongin put the first finger inside, pumping it in and out slowly, sometimes twisting it, touching around her insides to try and find her g spot. And at a squeeze of his cock in her hand, he knew he found it. He choked on a moan himself, laughing a bit.

"Alright, I think we're ready" he said with a hint of humor. She chuckled, nodding.

"Let me just-" she gently released his erect cock and stretched to get to the bedside table's small drawer, where she fished out a small bottle of lube and two condoms.

"Do you know how to put it on or do you want me to help?" She asked kindly.

"I'd prefer some help, please. I don't want to fuck up." He admitted. She nodded and asked him to sit back on his feet. She kneeled in front of him, opening the package with her fingers, pulling it out.

"Alright, hold yourself up for me" he took his cock in one hand, as she asked. Then she placed the condom on the tip, carefully sliding it down his shaft.

"Now I'm going to get ready on my back. I am wet enough now, but just as a demonstration, I'm gonna put a few drops of water based lube on me so everything can go smoothly." She explained as she positioned herself, squirting a few drops of lube on her fingers and then spreading it around a bit.

Jeongin was watching everything, to learn. And also because her pussy aroused him, and couldn't wait to get inside her, okay? Oh God, he prayed he would last more than two seconds.

"C'mere" she invited him between her legs. The young man positioned himself, lining his length with her wet hole. Then quickly looked back to her.

"You can go. Gently, remember." She smiled sweetly at him, and he reciprocated. Then his focus shifted back down, he grabbed himself and slowly entered her.

They both sighed, and she reached out to take his hand, intertwining it with hers. Jeongin bottomed out and stood still for a minute, squinting his eyes and trying not to cum right away.

Condom or no condom, pussy feels amazing. The texture, the slickness, the warmth. He needed to calm down.

"Start moving slowly, baby" she encouraged, "Back and forth, don't completely pull out or get all the way in. Okay?" He nodded, his head hunched down to look at where their bodies connected.

He started to move as he was told, and it felt good, but he knew that if he went faster, it would feel even better. That's why she told him to start slow.

He huffed, as his hips rocked back and forth, his abs contracted. Jeongin started to play around a bit. Firstly by pulling out almost completely and then slamming back all the way in, feeling her cervix.

She moaned, then gasped and tightened her legs around his body.

Then he reprised his old movement, but with a faster pace. She suddenly loosened their fingers and placed his palm flat on her lower belly, just above the pubic bone.

"Add some pressure here" her breathy voice turning him on. He actually felt like he was coming closer to his orgasm, so he wanted to do everything he could do bring her with him.

He did as he was told, and in addition sped up a bit, reaching a slightly deeper point inside her.

"Touch yourself" this time it was his turn to say it to her. Her dazed expression seemed positively surprised, so, smirking, she brought her fingers to her clit.

Not too much later both started to pant and whine in a messy manner, getting closer to their high.

"I- I'm close ho- how, mmh fuck, how about you?" Jeongin struggled to talk coherently.

"Y-yes, keep going, baby, let go" she encouraged him, and with that and a few harsher thrusts he came inside her. Safely thanks to the condom.

He kept going, gradually slower so he could ride out his orgasm and he could still try to get her to get hers.

He bowed down, attaching his lips to her nipples to add even more stimulation, and that's what got her.

The older girl gasped, then moaned and kept touching herself slowly to properly ride out her orgasm. After a while though she pushed Jeongin's abs because it had gotten sensitive. He got the hint and leaned back on the bed, sliding outside of her.

They both stood still, breathing heavily, for a couple of minutes. The first to move was Diamond, which simply got off the bed, reaching out to safely take off the condom and throw it away.

Then she went into the bathroom, coming out already wearing a bathrobe, and bringing one for him as well.

"Thank you" he said, even more tired than before. But also hungry.

"I don't know if I want to sleep or eat more" he joked. She gave him a half smile.

"Whichever it will be, it can't be here" she broke the news to him as gently as possible.

Jeongin was taken aback for a second, until he remembered the situation he was actually in. She was paid to do this, not to sleep and cuddle. It left a bitter taste in his mouth, but he understood.

"Of course" he stood up from the bed, wrapped around in his bathrobe.

"Should I redress myself-" he started, but she interrupted him.

"No, no. There is another private room booked for you, to rest and freshen up. It's written on the card. You can relax, take a bath and order some food. Even at three am." She smiled a bit, "Don't worry about the clothes. I will personally make sure that they're delivered fresh to your doorstep tomorrow morning."

Jeongin nodded, not really looking at her. He felt so stupid and childish for feeling like this but he kinda couldn't help it.

He spent some intimate time with someone and now he had to leave them, pretty normal no?

If anything now he fully understands the emotional package that comes with exposing yourself with someone else. It will serve him in the future, he knows it.

He walked towards the door, with on his bathrobe and hotel slippers, and his silver card. His room was on the same floor as Chan.

"Well, again happy birthday. I hope the experience was nice. I had a nice time too, so thank you." She smiled politely. He nodded, trying to get a grip and not look like a kicked puppy.

"Yes, yes, absolutely. Thank you for having patience with me." He wanted to fucking bad to end it there, he was screaming in his head 'shut the fuck up Jeongin', and instead he added "Maybe I could come back sometime."

The girl's gaze softened, a hint of pity in her eyes. She reached out a hand and cupped his cheek.

"I hope not, Foxie. I hope that as soon as you walk out of here you find a beautiful, sweet girl that will give you this out of love, like you deserve." Her smile was comforting. He nodded, feeling a bit like a kid.

"But..." He looked up again at the word, "If between a busy day and the other you still don't find someone else, and you need to let off some steam..then why not." She winked. He smiled, bowed his head to her in respect and then wished her goodnight as he exited the room.

As soon as she closed the door behind him, she relaxed her face, and huffed, pretty tired after the whole ordeal. She started a warm bath, and picked up her phone from the safe to bring it with her.

- to : Xs <3

3.24 am - Your little one has just gone up

The answer came back almost immediately.

- from : Xs <3

3.25 am - he just texted me lol

3.25 am - you definitely left an impression

3.26 am - not that I had any doubts ~

3.26 am - wyd

She smirked, writing back

- to : Xs <3

3.27 am - Was just about to relax in the tub then sleep

3.28 am - Wanna join? ~

Before she could even put down the phone, it ding'ed back.

- from : Xs <3

3.28 am - Omw down ;)

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

N/A: Xs = Chris

Oop.. Little plot twist? Anyway, this was a long one hope you enjoyed!

[hypnagogics]

going to the library with girlfriend ellie.

☆: another random, self indulgent af blurb. i love libraries, and ellie, and drabbles, and writing fluffy things for y'all. this one's definitely not my best work, but i really wanted to put a little something out anyway. there's something so healing about writing fluff.

trek, trek, you hear behind you, as you race through the endless sea of tall shelves, the musty scent of old paper filling your nose. like a machine you scan the aisles, picking up book after book excitedly. you open it, read and decide, yes, this one too! the peace of libraries has always brought you comfort, and hallucinating whilst staring at a dead tree reading has always been your favorite activity. but you’ve run out of things to read which warranted yet another trip to the greatest place on earth. unfortunately for her, you've tasked ellie to be the carrier of all the novels.

"baaaaabe, do you really need this many??" she whines and pouts, as she trails behind you and struggles to keep up.

you turn back to look at her, almost stumbling with a huge stack in her arms which is almost taller than her, it's honestly unbelievable how she hasn't toppled over yet. she frowns at you, earning a chuckle on your part. she's so cute.

"just a little more! you agreed to come with me, els, you knew what you were signing up for. and yes i do need that many, books are my life. books and you, of course."

"but my arms are gonna fall off..." she steadies herself and huffs. "fine, but let's sit down in a few minutes, 'kay?"

grinning widely and and nodding, you take a few of the books from the top to ease the weight, then you skip off happily once more to peruse the shelves, searching for something to grasp your attention, and vaguely convinced you heard ellie tsk-ing behind you. after a bit she goes to sit down on the armchairs in a little corner with a cozy lamp, slumps into the cushions with a grunt, and is relieved she can finally set down the stack she was carrying. you're too absorbed in walking around to notice, but ellie is watching you with a smile from her seat, wondering how in the world she got lucky to have such a curious minded, smart, and loving girlfriend. you meant the world to her. as you scampered around, collecting more and more books, you catch her eye and wave, and her heart just about jumps out of her chest then and there.

when returning to your tired girlfriend, she's keeping herself occupied by checking out the synopses on all the books, with genuine interest.

"i'm back!" you say in a cheery tone, cheeks warming as you add, "may have gone a bit overboard this time, sorry for making you carry it all."

"hey! no, no, i love doing this with you. honest." she smiles warmly back at you, taking half the stack you're carrying in her arms, dividing the entire haul between the two of you. the two of you begin to walk to the desk to check out, until her emerald eyes light up and she remembers, "do they carry comics here?"

"uh, i think so.."

"BE RIGHT BACK-"

she suddenly dashes off with no warning, leaving you with the sighing librarian as she has to take a look to see what they've got.

this little outing turned out better than you had expected. next stop, a hole in the wall cafe for some lunch.

☆: not sure how i feel about this one honestly, but wanted to write a little something. hope y'all still like it! oh also, does the tiny text bother y'all? lemme know and i'll use the regular one, this one's aesthetically pleasing to me, but could be annoying. ellie n her comics own my heart.

[chaimilkshake]

Pink Carnations - Worst Logan x reader

summary - Logan still thinks about the you from his universe, so what happens when he meets the you from this universe?

word count - 1.7k

warnings - none!

song - we’re in love by boygenius

a/n - this is much more my writing style, but still trying to figure out tumblr’s formatting so forgive me

The smell of freshly bloomed flowers and spring air filled Logan’s nose.

There you were, knelt in the garden, like always. Tending to your favorite flowers. Those pretty, pink carnations that came about every May, without fail.

A soft breeze pushed your hair back from your shoulders, revealing your face to him, as pretty as ever. He couldn’t do anything but stand there and stare. You looked so beautiful.

You turned your head as you noticed him, that familiar smile dawning upon your face, joy spreading to your eyes. “Hi, honey.”

The sweet sound of your voice rang through his ears, bringing a warm feeling to his chest. He let out a breath, finding himself unable to respond.

You sat back on your haunches, patting the dirt off your gloves. “Do you wanna help me?” You asked, gazing up at him.

“Logan?”

He couldn’t do anything but stare. Stare at your beautiful face, feel the spring breeze, smell the fresh flowers, hear your sweet voice.

“Logan, help me.”

Your voice adopted a concerned tone, looking at him now with panic in your eyes.

“Logan, help me! Logan!”

“Logan! Rise and shine, peanut!”

Wade’s voice shook Logan from his dream, causing him to come back to reality. The man stood over the couch, looking down at him.

“Good morning, sleepy head! Sleep well? I know I did. You’d think sleeping with an old blind woman would be disturbing, but she’s quite the cuddler,” the man went on as he rounded the couch, lifting Logan’s legs to sit down, allowing them to rest across his lap.

Logan pulled his legs away, sitting up with a sigh. He ran a hand over his face, convincing his conscious to come back to reality. “Slept fine,” he grumbled eventually.

“Great!” Wade said, patting Logan’s leg. “Then you’ll be ecstatic to know, it’s a very special day, my friend. You know Vanessa.”

Logan couldn’t help scoffing lightly at that. “Yes, I know Vanessa.”

“Well. It’s our anniversary. And I’m nothing if not a romantic. So, I’ve got an errand for you!”

Logan groaned, head leaning back against the couch. “I’m not running all around the city for you, asshole. She’s your girlfriend, you can do the heavy lifting.”

“Oh I will be. While I’m out on the town with my lovely lady friend, you will be back here, setting up for the after party.” Wade delivers a perfectly timed wink that says more than words had to.

Logan contemplates for a moment before sitting his head back up. “Fine.”

Wade gasped excitedly at that, clapping. “I knew you had it in you, Wolvie! I’ve already written you this lovely list of preparations.”

The man handed him a slip of paper, messily scribbled on, including doodles. The list read:

• Those tiny candles for mood setting ;)

• Wham! Make It Big CD

• Rose petal trail

Logan read over the list, having to squint a little to see the words correctly. The items seemed easy enough, and it gave him something to do with his day. “When do you need these?” He asked, watching Wade get up from the couch.

“ASAP, babycakes! But preferably by 5 PM, sharp!” He explained as he sauntered back down the hallway to their bathroom for a shower.

Logan grumbled at that, tossing the list on the coffee table for the time being. He had some time to go back to sleep for a bit.

It was around three o’clock, and Logan was almost done with Wade’s stupid errands. He’d collected the candles and the CD (after checking three different music stores), and now all that was left was the rose petals.

He’d heard about this local florist just by the apartment that was cheaper than any grocery store, and had incredibly good quality flowers. So, on his way back, Logan stopped for the rose petals.

He stepped in, welcomed by a shop with white tile floors and light green walls. Plants stood in every corner of the place, and a pleasant aroma hung in the air. It wasn’t until he saw you that everything clicked in place.

“Hi, welcome in! How can I help you?”

The familiar sound of your voice stuck in his head, his feet glued in their spot. Of course there’d be another you. This was another universe, after all. And you worked at a flower shop. Every piece of the puzzle was snapping together.

“Do you think we’re together in every universe?” You asked, cuddled into his side one cold, winter night. The fireplace was warm, but he was warmer. He wrapped an arm around you as you tucked into him.

He chuckled at your words. “I think that’s an interesting idea.”

“Promise me that we are? That you’d find me, in the next and the next?”

“I promise, my love.”

He had been standing and staring for a good minute now, and you were clearly getting creeped out.

“Uh, sir? Is there something I can help you with?” You asked again, leaning against the front counter.

Logan cleared his throat, looking down to the counter to avoid your gaze. “Yes, sorry. Do you, uh, do you guys sell rose petals? Or just roses I can take the petals off of?”

You hummed at that, nodding and moving to your display of roses. “Of course. We have red, white, pink, yell-“

“Red is fine.”

You stopped abruptly when he interrupted you, watching him for a second before nodding. “Alright. I can take those petals off for you and package them up. Wouldn’t want you to end up with a thorn in your thumb,” you hum as you pick a couple roses up from the bin.

Logan watches as you pluck each petal off the flower carefully, creating a pile. You always worked with such precision. That much hasn’t changed.

He took the pack of rose petals, fishing out his wallet. “How much?”

“That’d be $7.” You say, plugging it into the computer.

“That’s it?” Logan says before he can stop himself, looking up at you. He shook his head, pulling out a 20 and handing it over. “Keep the change.”

You looked between the 20 and him, shaking your head. “No, sir, I couldn’t possibly-“

“Please,” he pleaded, letting out a defeated sigh. “Just take it.”

You hesitate another second before taking the 20 from him and making the change. “Thank you…”

He nods, quickly exiting the shop before you could say anything else. He trekked back to the apartment, bags gripped tightly in his hands.

When he got home, Al was in the middle of leaving.

“I may be blind, but ain’t deaf. I sure as hell won’t be sticking around there for when they come home,” she protested as she walked towards the elevator.

Logan watched her go, sighing as he let himself in. His interaction with you was still lingering in his mind. It had never really occurred to him that there would be another you here. He still wasn’t really sure what to do about it, if anything.

Once it turned 4:30, Logan set up everything. Trailing the rose petals into Wade’s room, setting and lighting the candles, and putting the CD into the player.

As soon as he was done, he also set out for the night. He had no idea where he was going to go, but he would figure it out.

He wandered for a while, past bars and restaurants and clubs. But none of them appealed to him. Being around a bunch of young people, desperate for some kind of escape from their everyday lives didn’t sound appealing to him.

Soon, he found a smaller bar restaurant with a much calmer atmosphere. As he walked in, he was able to seat himself at the bar, immediately ordering a drink.

You were out to drink with a couple friends you hadn’t seen in a while when you saw him. The man who gave you the $13 tip earlier. Of course, it wasn’t much, but as a tip? Probably the biggest one you’ve received.

“I’ll be right back,” you say to your friends, taking your glass and sliding into the seat next to the man. “Hey,” you say, smiling over at him.

The older man looked up, face going white as soon as he saw you, as if he’d seen a ghost.

“I just wanted to thank you for the tip. You’ve bought me…about two drinks,” you joke, raising your glass slightly. “That was very generous of you.”

The man cleared his throat, looking back down at his own drink and nodding. “Don’t mention it,” he grumbled.

You hesitated, but continued. “I haven’t been able to go out with friends for a while. Haven’t had the money. But here I am,” you explain. Something about the man drew you in. You weren’t sure what, but he was…comfortable.

The man hummed, downing the rest of his drink while you watched. “I never caught your name,” you say, not backing off, despite him being uninterested.

“Logan,” he let out, finally moving to face you now.

“Logan,” you repeated, smiling. “It’s nice to meet you.”

As the night progressed, the two of you talked and talked. After the last call, you decided the conversation couldn’t end. “Walk me home?” You ask, sliding your jacket over your outfit.

“Course,” Logan assured you, holding the door open as you left the bar.

“So. You’re a florist,” he says, sliding his hands in his pockets while you walk.

“How’d you know?” You tease, smiling up at him.

He chuckled, looking down at his feet. Likely the first time that night you’d seen him laugh. “Do you have a favorite flower?” He asks, and you can tell he held his breath while he waited for the answer.

“Probably pink carnations,” you reply easily.

Although, nothing about the way Logan received that information was easy. In his world, he had let you down. Betrayed you to the highest degree. While the woman standing beside him was you, it wasn’t you. He knew he could never save you, but this was his chance to keep his promise.

In every universe.

[miyukisu]

Ain't I Fallen In Love .ᐟ

❤︎ | he doesn't realize it yet, but he's kind of clingy ╰ feat. miyuki kazuya (dna)

tags - clingy miyuki, hint of pro player!miyuki, fluff and more fluff, i love him, it's his birthday tomorrow yay

a/n - based on the song Sweet Dreams, TN by the Last Shadow Puppets (pls listen to it!)

MEGA MASTERLIST

Kazuya thinks he isn't the clingy type of boyfriend. There was just no way.

Yet, it seems as if he's addicted to your presence. His words may betray him, but his actions certainly don't.

You see it in the way he aimlessly follows you around your shared space, talking your ear off as you busy yourself with chores. He doesn't even realize how talkative he becomes around you—that's when he's the happiest.

He goes on and on about some random thing he stumbled upon recently, until he realizes he had been talking for a solid 10 minutes or so. He stops, shrinks, and backtracks most of the time. You know the face he makes when it dawns on him that he had been yapping nonstop. It makes you laugh—it makes you smile really wide. Kazuya gets flustered when you have to reassure him that it's alright. But he insists that he isn't clingy.

I just sort of always feel sick without you baby I ain't got anything to lick without you, baby Nothing seems to stick without you, baby

At least, he isn't the guy who can't hang out with his friends anymore once he got a girlfriend. Kazuya meets up with his buddies every once in a while to catch up about life.

They talk about all sorts of things, from the mundane all the way to the extraordinaire. But somehow—somehow Kazuya manages to weave you in every thought he spews.

You'd think it's impossible, but it's true.

"Oh yeah. She was just talking about that the other day."

"I'm sure she'd love to hear about this."

His friends find it funny, how whipped this man was—how you got a man like him wrapped around your tiny little finger. They didn't have to meet you to like you; they just knew right away that you were something else to be able to turn Kazuya into this.

Cue the relentless teasing—Kazuya will lean back with a huff. Again, insisting that wasn't the case. Nevertheless, everyone saw that sparkle in his eyes whenever he'd get to bring you up. But he continues to insist that he isn't clingy—his friends were just jealous.

And all my pals will tell me is that I'm crazy You bet I'm loopy alright And I just don't recognize this fool That you have made me

His feet always lead him to where you were. He could be watching a good game of baseball on the living room TV. But, as soon as he realizes you were in the bedroom, he'll promptly shut it off and opt to watch the game on his phone instead. It hardly mattered to him that he'd have to squint and maybe lower the volume for you.

He sees you wrapped under the covers, silently reading that book you were telling him about the other day. Slowly, he'll approach, phone in hand. Kazuya would slide under the covers, shoving his arm beneath you and pulling you close. For a few minutes, he tries to remain engrossed in the unfolding match. It was he 9th inning; it was getting interesting.

But the arm that held his phone wanted nothing else but to drape over you—finally engulfing you in an embrace. So, he turns his phone off too, chucking he device somewhere off to the side of the bed.

When he pulled you in, he felt content in every way. He could always check the score of the match later. But to touch you like this feels like the first time every time. But, still, he insists that he isn't clingy.

And as you're shrinking figure blows a kiss I catch and smash it on my lips Darling, I can't seem to quit Completely falling to bits

They do say that the heart grows fonder with absence. He thinks he's at his wit's end without you—his anchor—by his side.

He sits alone, off to the side away from his teammates who were busy soaking up the adrenaline from their recent away game. Kazuya becomes restless almost immediately, just 5 minutes after sending the text, telling you that they had won. Rather than thinking about the victory, he wonders what kind of face you'd make upon reading the text or how you'd greet him once he comes home.

He glances down at his wrist where a hair tie of yours had found its way there. When did he start wearing that? Ah. It was his lucky charm all long. It made him smile, only inwardly though.

Closing his eyes, he thinks about you and in a moment of self-awareness... he reevaluates things.

Maybe he is a bit clingy.

Love like an ache in the jaw You're the first day of spring with a septum piercing Little Miss Sweet Dreams

©miyukisu do not repost/reupload/translate any of my works on other platforms

╰ author's note ohhh clingy Miyuki... you will always have my heart

[sketchedboba]

"A Green Queen" AU

Chapter IV

A week had passed.

Luigi was getting sick of looking out from his small window at the ocean and the emptiness of his chambers only made the silence unbearable. Medicine from Bowser's castle was taken on board and he was able to treat his arm well. Kamek reassured him that the scar would heal before his monthly visit, but the scar would be noticeable.

Despite that, Bowser hadn't let him out of his room since, and he was beginning to think he'd rot in here if the few Koopa that visited him for his meals didn't keep him company. He'd befriended the cleaning Koopa named Spotty, a bit on the nose -literally- , but he was genuinely happy anytime they were the one serving him.

"Your majesty, lunch is ready."

"Oh... You can leave it on the bed.."

The Koopa set it down as they closed the door, "M-May I ask something, your majesty?"

Luigi turned to them and raised an eyebrow. He noticed the hopeful smile and nodded.

"Thank you, your majesty! I just... You've been here for more than a week and I was hoping that maybe, i-if you'd have me...", They began. "I could be your personal guard? I-I understand if you say no!"

He looked a bit shocked by the request then thought about it, "Does...". He wanted to ask about Bowser, but didn't want to have the Koopa shake in fear. "Do most royals have their own entourage?"

"Oh! Well, mainly for Junior or the Koopalings I suppose.. N-Not to say you're weak, you're majesty!", They sweated

Luigi shook his head and walked over from the window to them, only making the Koopa stiffen. "Well, I'd like that. I'm not sure if I have the authority to raise certain ranks, but I see no harm in having a guard!", he smiled.

Spotty smiled and their face flush a bit. They got on one knee and bowed their head, almost losing a bit of their balance. "I pledge my allegiance to you, your majesty."

The Queen just stood there and cleared his throat, "do I...um...."

"What are your orders?"

"None at the..moment?", He pondered. An idea struck him as he reached for his sandwich. "Oh! I'd like to send a letter to the idiot. Could you fetch me something to write with and on?"

"Of course!", They exclaimed excitedly. Spotty stood up and headed towards the door, "Before I go, thank you.."

With a goofy grin, Luigi tipped his crown, trying to emulate his iconic hat. "My pleasure!"

The Koopa looked shocked, a little smile creeping onto their lips as they headed out. The guards stationed at the doors have one another a glance as Spotty headed out.

"Should we report this?"

"I'll tell the Captain once he checks for daily reports."

"Good because my shift is almost over.."

Bowser, settled on his soft sheets, nuzzled his pillow as he yawned. Not having to worry if a tiny foot or small spike would poke him awake.

As he inhaled the ocean breeze his eyes opened slightly and he rumbled. "Mm..."

Looking at his claws, a flash of light brown stained them, yet once he blinked again there was nothing there.

'Dry blood..'

Despite a clear conscience, he remembered Kamek pointing out his insecurity and huffed. "I'm not lonely... The kids.."

He shut his eyes and tried to block out any more annoying thoughts. "Whatever.."

A few minutes later, a small knock on the door interrupted him. Bowser tried to ignore it but the knock only returned louder, he lifted his head slowly and grumbled, "What is it?!"

"A-A..L-Letter your highness.."

"From the Princess!?", His eyebrows lifted. Clear little thumps coming from his tail.

"N-No, the Queen..."

Bowser rolled his eyes, "Read it."

"oh...um. Do you want me to come inside and-"

"Oh, of course! My apologies!", He gritted sarcastically.

Unable to hear his sarcasm, the soldier reluctantly stepped in. As he did Bowser exhausted his flames, burning the Koopa to bare bones. He blinked as Bowser's growling rose, a bit amused by the interaction.

"Read it."

"R-Right.."

'Dear Bowser,

I'm tired of being locked in my room for a week, so by the time this letter reaches you, I would have taken a clown car down to visit DK. We were passing the jungle anyways and I'm sick of being inside.

Your LOVELY Queen,

Luigi'

Bowser took a deep breath, "How far are we from the Kongs?"

"About... 2 hours...."

"And when did you get this letter?"

"W-Well I was told to wait an hour.. and then I forgot about thirty minutes after getting it.. and y-your chambers are so far apart.."

Bowser's eyes gleaned in anger, "Two...HOURS!". Flames escaped sides of his jaw as he charged at the Dry Bones. It toppled over as he went through it, "GUAR-"

He fully opened his doors only to look down to see Luigi with a full look of smug delight. Bowser blinked as he stared at him for a minute.

"In a hurry?"

".........Get back to your room."

"I thought you were going somewhere, I even have a guard with me."

Bowser looked at Spotty standing cowardly beside Luigi, a spear in claw. The King's eyes filled with rage as his claws reached out wanting to crush the small plumber, but shook vigorously as he knew the consequences.

Luigi was a bit shaken up from the sudden jolt, the claws were so close, he could see little scars on them. "M-My penmanship is a bit shaky, but then again I'm using my left hand.."

"I don't care.... WHY ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR ROOM?! WHAT'S WITH THIS FLIMSY NOTE?!"

"It's not flimsy! It's penmanship and I'm bored..."

The large Koopa was taken aback by the statement, "That's not my problem, there aren't any urgent matters to attend to at the moment. Kamek is in his study and we won't reach Sarasaland for another week."

"Isn't it neighboring the Mushroom Kingdom?"

"We weren't there a week ago. The Darklands have many territories and-"

"And because we were at your castle, we could either pass through and risk getting spotted by your enemies or take the back route and avoid Kong spies."

Bowser's eyebrows rose, "..... We're not avoiding... How did you.."

"Kamek left me a map to study and the ocean view from my window....", He scratched behind his neck. "It caught my attention when I didn't see anything but water.."

'He has a good eye...'

Bowser shook the thought away and looked over at the intrigued Koopa, "Since when did I give you permission to change the ranks in my army and staff?"

"I don't need your permission.. also since you put them in my care."

"I never-"

Luigi raised up a note, it was a torn page from "Royal Licensing™"

"Once a Queen has been authorized and placed into leadership, they are given the right to choose their court to serve under them. A King may only interfere if the Queen's choices disrupt the ranks or cause immediate turmoil in the kingdom."

He sighed, "Fine, you can have your pet."

"Excuse you?! They're not a pet! They are my personal guard and have been really sweet to me for the past week and a half! I'm actually surprised that you have such kind and understanding subjects that you just push around!"

As the rant continued, Bowser tuned out every word coming out of him and just looked down at the Queen.

'He talks so damned much. He's supposed to be the quiet green one, I bet I could just eat him. I wonder if he even tastes good... Human...'

"You can't go treating citizens like this! How'd you even get this many supporters?! Are they really that scared of you? You're not even that smart! I mean, handsome, but looks can only get you so far."

'I can't eat him.. wait did he call me handsome? I mean... It's true but still. What a weird one. Maybe if I pick him up he'll shut up.'

Bowser proceeded to grip the collar of Luigi's shirt like a kitten's scruff. Luigi stayed quiet, but tried to fold his arms. "You done?"

Luigi shrugged.

"I just wanted to sleep for the whole day, not hear your talk of peace and love. Quite frankly, we don't operate like that around here. Get it through your head that you're in MY kingdom. What I say goes. Now, when I put you down, you're going to go back to your room and I'm going to finish my nap."

Luigi rolled his eyes.

"Don't take that tone with me!"

Spotty's face looked baffled at this half verbal conversation. Luigi looked down and nodded.

"Finally.", Bowser rumbled. He set him down and slowly pushed the pile of bones out, "And take him with you, he's your responsibility now."

Luigi jumped when he saw the Dry Bones and shivered, " How do I..."

"Deal with it, shrimpie.", Bowser yawned.

"I'M NOT-"

His doors slammed shut as he walked in ready to lay on his bed, a breath of relief leaving his nostrils.

Before he could lay down, he felt something inching up on his tail. He tried to turn to see, but just from the mushroom smell he was furious.

As he curled up on the ground and lifted his tail, he could see Luigi struggling to stay on, actively avoiding his spikes.

Bowser tapped the cool stone floor with his claw and watched him dangle for a bit until their eyes met. His glare becoming fairly noticed as Luigi froze.

"Uh..hehehe... How's it hanging?"

"Why are you on my tail?"

"I was going to ask you something but you slammed the door!"

"I knew I should've just eaten you..", he mumbled.

"What?!"

"Im treatin' you nicely right now. You're welcome."

"That doesn't make any se-"

"WHAT do you want?"

"I don't know what to do with the... skeleton outside."

"Torture it, experiment it to your heart desire. Have Kamek wipe his memory. I. Don't. CARE. Just get out!", He roared as he whipped his tail, accidentally flinging Luigi out the window.

Luigi's shrilled scream echoed as he was falling rapidly to his death. He looked around for anything to latch onto, but could only see the castle getting further away.

Bowser blinked at the silence, not hearing a thud.

"Greenie?"

He stood on all fours and circled a bit.

"Hey! Come out here now or I'll-"

He turned his attention towards his window and tumbled over. He could see a flailing Luigi, getting smaller as the distant scream reached his ears.

"Shit."

"Ok ok, that one was on me.", Bowser apologized, sorta.

Luigi attempted to ring water out of his shirt as Spotty started pulling a Cheep Cheep off his noggin. His muffled chatter was cut off as he took a breath of fresh air.

"Sure... THAT was an accident."

Bowser grunted, "It was! No one told you to let go!"

"My arm slipped, on account of being INJURED!"

"Will you let it go?!"

The tall man just sighed as he frustratingly looked down at his wet clothes. "Why are you...so...". He gestured at his whole body. "Like this?"

The King looked confused, "What?!"

"Defensive? Brutish? Impulsive?!"

Bowser mimicked him as Luigi's back was turned and once he noticed the laughing guards, Luigi turned to him furious and red in the face, "Immature!"

The large King rolled his eyes with a small grin and laid down with a claw under his chin, "Is that really all you've got? I know what I am, and I know the princess would love to be with someone with such leading qualities."

"Is that why she ended up switching with me?", Luigi retorted smugly.

Bowser growled as he snatched him up, causing Luigi to wince from the sting in his arm, "She was just- just getting premarital jitters! It happens to the best of us! Right?!". He gestured towards his guards as they nodded agreeably.

"Right, because a princess that's ruled a kingdom most of her life is frightened by marriage to you... I can see that."

Bowser smirked, "See! Simple nerves!"

"I mean can see why she was so afraid she'd leave."

"You little!", His grip got tighter.

Luigi began to tear up, his arm just started to heal and if it reopened his clothes would reek of blood.

"Sire!", Kamek rushed over. Seeing the pain in Luigi's eyes, he quickly used his wand to remove the Queen from Bowser's claws. "I came quickly once I heard his majesty went overboard.. only to see you're trying to injure him!"

"He started it!"

"I can't leave you two alone, can I ? Nevermind the argument. I know it's your day off your highness, but we need you both ready for negotiations in Sarasaland. You both need to come with me and we'll get you started on training and the paperwork.", Kamek hummed.

Bowser sighed, "fine..."

"Splendid! Now let's go to the throne room to go over your entrance!"

"One, two, three, four. One, two-"

"oof!"

Kamek sighed, "Your majesty, try and keep up... When they announce your arrival you need to enter together!"

Luigi started to pick himself off the ground, but collapsed onto his side in defeat, "We've been at this for an hour! He's tripped me at least five times..."

Bowser snorted, "As if you could even keep up anyways."

Luigi glared at him and stood up slowly, "Fine.. one more time Kamek!"

The MagiKoopa smiled a bit, "All right, well do this again then get into the territory and resources negotiations. From the top!"

The two walked back to the base of Bowser's staircase, he extended his claw out for Luigi to place his hand on.

Luigi's heart clenched each time he felt the heated palm of the King on his hand, and as he took a deep breath Kamek began the introduction.

"Presenting! His Highness, The King and Queen of the Koopas!"

The two started to walk down the velvety carpet as Luigi held his head high, and hurriedly kept up with the scaly King.

"Y-You can breathe, your majesty..", Kamek said worriedly.

Bowser glanced down to see Luigi's puffed up cheeks as he went red in the face from holding up his chest. He snorted at the sight causing Luigi to clench his eyes shut.

Luigi let out a breath,opened his eyes, and apologized as they passed him.

Once they reached the door, Luigi's hand slowly slid down the ripples of scars and bumpy scales before he removed his hand from Bowser's claw. "Did these hurt..?"

"......."

"You two did good! A few more practices over the next week and you'll be set! Now we'll finish off with the paperwork and break for the evening!"

Bowser nodded and as he held his claw near his chest, he stared at the scars before walking out.

"Does he..."

"Fight? Often, b-but I'll let him tell those.", Kamek smiled. "Now enough mopping, let's go!".

The small Koopa poked Luigi's back, trying to lighten the mood a bit as he pushed him out of the room.

The two trailed behind the silent King, the more Luigi stared at his shell and scales, he could see small cracks and wounds.

'Who'd be stupid enough to fight him?'

Luigi thought a bit more before remembering the countless times his brother had mentioned having to save the Princess from Bowser. His eyes widened as he remembered a certain story where Mario nearly cracked the shell in half. Luigi's steps quickened and as he made his way to Bowser's side, he could see a cracked hole as big as his hand on the side of the shell. He tried to reach out and touch it, but was immediately swatted by Bowser's tail.

He held on and felt the Koopa's tail shake a bit before setting him down. Kamek gave a small smile at their interaction, but Luigi could only see Bowser's eyes glare at him and wince before turning forward to walk again.

"Sorry..."

"Don't touch me."

[cyxnidx]

TURN IT DOWN !

characters: scaramouche , kazuha , pantalone & tartaglia

summary: you love music, but sometimes it’s just a little too loud.

a/n: as a fellow music lover and addict, i love my music loud. It’s the closest im getting to it being in my veins.

!! SCARAMOUCHE

walking anywhere into your vicinity scared scaramouche. especially when you have your headphones — no, specifically when you have your headphones. he’d never seen anyone who wanted such loud music, and brought multiple headphones just to see which was louder, and therefore better. it confused him as well — how did you still manage to keep your hearing? was this some unknown sorcery? ironically, he stopped questioning you and your antics after asking one simple question.

“might i ask what makes you feel necessary to have your music so loud?” he asked you, removing one of your headphones once again in order to have a conversation with you. “to drown out the voices in my head, of course.” you replied sarcastically, though it seems as though scaramouche took it a bit more serious. sitting down quietly, he uttered a quiet ‘oh’ and continued reading, leaving you to your music.

!! KAZUHA

honestly didnt mind. while it did sometimes worry him with the volume and what not, he knew how much you loved music from the start. all he asked was that you took care of yourself. trying to make sure you don’t fall asleep with them, make sure you’re not consistently listening to it or too much. he’d even offer to listen to music with you occasionally, willing to find some new songs to add to his own playlist. though — there was one question that usually roamed his mind. why exactly do you usually listen to music while doing something productive?

“love,” he began, catching your attention as you were about to connect your headphones to listen to music. you planned to get a bit of cleaning done today. “why is it that everytime you listen to music, it’s to do something productive?”

you were surprised by his question. it was hard to believe you did. “guess it just keeps me concentrated..” you shrugged. “keeps all other thoughts calm.” you explained briefly. “understandable. do you mind?” he asked, pointing at your AirPod case. shrugging, you allowed him to take the other.

“what song is this?” kazuha asked, turning to you from sweeping. together, you were cleaning while listening to music. it honestly added to the mood, and added a tiny bit more peacefulness to the environment. “a new one i found..” you said, telling him the title. he hummed, smiling. “i like it.”

!! PANTALONE

gently waking you from your unconscious state, pantalone could only sigh as he saw your headphones stranded on the other side of the bed. collecting them, he placed it on the bedside table. “may i ask how on earth you sleep with such loud music in your ears?” he asked softly. sitting up, you shrugged. “hell of a lot better than hearing Ajax yell for somebody to fight him because he’s bored.” you replied sassily. you always were a blunt one. pantalone chuckled at your honesty and nodded. “yes, well, you have a point.” he agreed.

you looked at the bedside table where your headphones rested. you bet they’re dead, but you would like to check. though, you knew pantalone wouldn’t let you. you’ve had enough of music for the past 6-7 hours or so, or however long you might’ve been asleep. “no, hon.” he sighed, following your eye sight. “even if they still had a bit of battery, wouldn’t you let them charge to listen more later?” he persuaded. it made sense, and then you could finally have peace. “okay,” you smiled, allowing your husband to lead you elsewhere to let your headphones charge.

!! TARTAGLIA

quite frankly, he’s scared to disturb you. he knows you’re coming when he hears music, or the tune of your favorite song. he’s become adapted to telling your mood through your music. he’s also learned not to pause your Bluetooth while you’re taking a shower with music. never did he ever think you could beat him with a shower head..but you did it. though, you did have to buy a new shower head. serves him right though. who does he think he is pausing one of your favorite songs? he must have a death wish.

“you still love me..right?” ajax asked quietly, sad about how you sprayed and beat him with a shower head. again. you sighed, looking at him with soaking clothes. “if you would’ve just learned your lesson the first time.” he tilted his head. what was that supposed to mean? “yes, i still love you. but leave me alone! and you’re sleeping on the couch.” you scolded. he could only hum happily. “I’ll still come in bed later ~”

[zorkaya-moved]

me @ tumblr rpc: YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO PLOT WITH OCs and it shows.

And you know what? That happens. Plotting is hard. Honestly? Hate plotting so much if I don't know a person these days because I just feel overly anxious and ramble. So yeah, anyhow... Let me share some personal thoughts! THIS DOES NOT TOUCH ON PEOPLE WHO TAKE THEIR TIME, PLEASE TAKE YOUR TIME IN PLOTTING AND PLEASE DO EVERYTHING ON YOUR OWN PACE! THIS IS A HOBBY AND THIS IS SOMETHING WE DO FOR FUN! This is based solely on some of my own experiences with SOME plotting (not all ofc!) as a woman oc writer in 2022-2023. I've had fantabulous experience with plotting and not so much. Please know you're valid, Ily, thank you for bearing with my burnt out ass in plottings. Mwah. Stay winning.

We all suffer from the collective dead brain cell syndrome when it comes to plotting any interaction, but do you know what kind of sucks and makes little ol' me tinsy bit bitter at the end of 2023 after going through countless people who just ignored my plotting proposals when I gave a ton of ideas? And what I'm going to call out just a tiny bit as a woman oc writer?

You can get into wikipedia and seek out information about a canon character to figure out some ideas on plots if you don't know the fandom, but do you do the same for OCs? 'Cuz OCs are sure as hell the very same 'canons from fandoms I don't know' type of situation.

Do you reach out to the CREATOR who can answer all your questions no matter how miniscule they can be? We, OC writers, are ready to give you the deep lore if you ask.

Do you check out about pages or headcanon pages? Hell, some of us have DETAILED NAVIGATION PAGES FOR VERSES! Is your OC or Canon from there? Check it out! Read! Find what interests YOU or if you didn't find something? Just ask the WRITER! Simple, innit? God, Imma be real, some of y'all gonna get my DMs like 'Listen, I can't find if you have this hc, could you please link it to me?' because I want info for plot ideas and if you do the same to me? I kiss u platonically.

Lemme give you a Done For You plotting thoughts you can use on how to plot with OCs, ladies and gents and nonbinary folks!

Do you have a specific dynamic you WANT for your character? Perhaps, you see a villain OC and want smth toxic to try out - ASK. Or you see an OC that might be a fun friend or neighbor or any other more positive dynamic - ASK. Inquire each other about what DYNAMICS you're open to. Oh you open to all? Sick. PUT DOWN YOUR BOUNDARIES FIRST. BOTH SIDES. SPEAK YOUR BOUNDARIES.

Do you have verses both of your characters are in? Be it OC & OC or Canon & OC? Noice, discuss all possible connections your characters might have! Offer ideas! Offer thoughts! The worst thing another can say is 'no'. And if so? COUNTLESS POSSIBILITIES. Yummy possibilities. Friends, childhood friends, childhood rivals, exes, rivals, co-workers, fight on sight, live next to each other, see each other in the same fucking cafe your muse goes at 2 pm specifically and ALWAYS sees another muse there... Countless. I'm telling you.

JUST DO THE FIRST STEP TOO WHEN YOU INTERACT WITH OCS, I'M ON MY KNEES BEGGING.

OFFER. IDEAS. The vaguest ones will do ok too. I cannot stress this enough but as an OC writer, I've had instances where I just... Gave 5 ideas only to have someone just drop me. Fully and completely. Not the 'I'll reach out to you later I need to think about this' but just full on 'wow this is too much plotting and I don't want to invest that much time' like it sucks. It sucks being the only person offering possible dynamics, ideas, even funny ones in some cases! I'm so burnt out from plotting dynamics because I keep. Offering. Ideas. But I don't have the same feedback loop. More like I have 0 feedback in the instances I dive into possibilities which burnt me out from plotting altogether, closing plotting possibilities with those who may actually be the same kind of insane as I am. And it sucks. Bless you all who give vague ideas or not vague ideas. Love you. You're fucking champions.

BE OPEN TO ASKING QUESTIONS, PLEASE ASK QUESTIONS, HOLY SHIT, PLEASE. Please never forget to ask "Hey, how would you feel about this scenario?" or "Would your character be in this kind of situation? Maybe that's how they met and started hanging out?" or "Oh, how about us trying out this type of dynamic and see where it goes?" or anything, really.

Anyways, this is just my 2 am psa because yeah why not. December sucks ass so why not speak out my thoughts at the end of 2023 to enter 2024 with sunglasses and cool Women OCs Propaganda I will continue preaching. You're all welcome to reblog this.

[cower-before-power]

Sweet Tooth

Summary: Needing a break from the absolute drag that is your bitchy cousin's wedding, you slip outside for some air. Luckily for you, a cute waiter and a stolen bottle of champagne are ready and waiting to sweeten your night considerably.

Pairing: Modern AU Connie Springer x F!Reader

Word Count: 2,684

Warnings: Swearing, alcohol consumption, drinking at work, dub-con (because Reader and Connie are tipsy), implied/referenced sexual content (including unprotected sex, outdoor sex, sex with someone you barely know, oral sex/cum eating), horrible horrible sex puns involving food, rusty writing.

A/N: HEY LOOK MA, I WROTE SOMETHING!! I started this fic ages ago, but only had the motivation to finish it recently thanks to joining The Coffee Corner discord server. This is for their Slice of Life collab, I hope you enjoy some funny Modern AU adult Connie, thank you for reading, likes and (especially) reblogs are greatly appreciated ❤️.

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You breathe a sigh of relief as you slip outside into the refreshing evening air. The thumping of music and sounds of people talking dull as the door clicks shut behind you. 

It wasn’t that you didn’t like weddings. It was just that you didn’t like this wedding.

Your cousin had always been a spoiled brat, a pouty, whiney thing that threw tantrums whenever something didn’t exactly go her way. They two of you had never gotten along, and you knew your parents did not exactly like that side of the family. But they wanted to avoid being reamed out for the next 20 years, so when the invitations arrived, your dad checked off “Yes” with a what could only be described as a world-weary sigh. 

You knew she didn’t actually want you there. It was a chance to show off, to show how wealthy her poor (and dumb) husband was and how lavish of a wedding she could throw. If there was one thing that stayed constant, it was her need to always be the center of attention.

“Need a light?”

You whirl around, hand clutching your chest as you come face to face with bright eyes and a toothy grin. Your heart does a strange ga-lump that has nothing to do with being startled; it’s him.

The guy you’ve had your eye on all night, one of the only bright spots in this whole wretched affair. You’ve dubbed him Cute Waiter in your mind, his boyishly charming good looks and happy-go-lucky demeanor like a beam of sunshine through the gloom. He wasn’t assigned to your table, sadly, and you’d been wondering how you would be able to strike up a conversation with him.

Seems like something good may be coming out of this night after all.

“I-I don’t smoke,” you shake your head, frantically trying to reclaim a tiny bit of composure. “Just out for some fresh air.”

“Oh, my bad,” he says cheerfully, stowing the lighter he’d been holding out back into his uniform pocket. “It is kind of stuffy in there, isn’t it?”

You sigh in agreement. “And loud. And mentally exhausting. If my cousin rubs it in my face one more time that she’s married and I’m still “hopelessly inept” at finding love, I’m not responsible for what will happen next.”

Cute Waiter laughs, loud and jolly like he’s auditioning for the role of Santa in a school play. It’s surprisingly adorable. “Yeah, because love is totally in the air tonight.”

You giggle at his words. “She claims it’s love, but trust me; their marriage came to be because of money and the fact my dear cousin does not take no for an answer.”

Cute Waiter leans against the wall of the venue, hands tucked into his pockets as he continues to flash that mega-watt grin. “Yeah, I got the vibe. Wanna make bets about how awkward their night’s gonna be later?”

You snort. “I’m certain she’s just been laying back and thinking of platinum credit cards and shopping sprees for the last two years, and that poor bastard has no idea. He’ll probably be convinced it’s a night of romance while she’s planning the layout of their new mansion in her head.”

Cute Waiter shakes his head, chuckling. “Damn, are we sure they have a chance? Maybe I’ll be serving food at their divorce party. Or his funeral after she murders him for the dough.”

Your face hurts from how much you’re smiling. “Is it bad to say I hope so? The food is very good.”

“Niccolo is quite the whiz in the kitchen,” Cute Waiter agrees genially. “You can’t get much better around here.”

Almost in slow motion, you see your opening being laid out before you. Bolstered no doubt by the two glasses of wine at dinner, and encouraged by the fact he was just so cute and funny, you make your move.

“Of course, I also hope it would mean I’d see a certain man I’ve dubbed Cute Waiter again.”

The man in front of you blinks, eyebrows raising as his face morphs into an strange expression of surprise and amusement. “Cute Waiter, you say?”

“Yes,” you nod, determined to see this through now that it’s underway. “I’ve been wondering how I could get a chance to talk with him all night, but he’s been very busy.” You feel your face warming under his hazel stare. “Imagine my delight to find he’s not only cheerful and good looking, but extremely funny and easy to talk to as well.”

Cute Waiter’s cheeks bloom a lovely shade of pink. “That’s-wow. The prettiest girl at this wedding just-do you really-I mean, thank you,” he stutters out, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m Connie.”

You duck your head shyly at his compliment, your own name murmured softly as you try to calm your thrumming heart. “Hello, Connie.” You stick out your hand out, heat now racing down your neck as you inwardly cringe at your own awkwardness.

Connie grins, taking your proffered hand in a gentle grip. You try not to think of how warm his hand is as his fingers curl around yours. “I think I liked Cute Waiter better.”

You could probably cook an egg on your face at this point. “Well, it’s still a true sentiment anyways.”

Connie chuckles. “You’re good for my ego.” His gaze drops to your still clasped hands. You stammer out an apology, attempting to snatch your misbehaving limb back, but to your surprise (and excitement), he grips your hand tighter.

“Wanna get out of here?”

Your eyes widen as your heart gives an excited thump. “What? Right now?”

Connie nods, eagerness rolling off him in waves. “I’m thinking you, me, and that massive bottle of expensive champagne I saw on the gift table deserve to get to know each other a little bit better. Preferably away from the god-awful vibes this place is giving off.”

You raise an eyebrow at him, but there’s no denying the thrum of excitement beneath your skin.

“You wanna skip out of work, steal someone else’s booze and run off with a girl you’ve known for all of 10 minutes?”

Connie grins. “If that girl is you, then hell yes.”

Laughter bubbles up from your chest like fizz in a soda can. “Then lead the way, Cute Waiter.”

And that’s how you find yourself down by the lake, sprawled out on a stolen tablecloth, tipsy giggles escaping the both of you as the champagne bottle is passed between you. Your animated chatter fills the twilight hour, talking about anything and everything. Connie is easy to talk to, open and free with what feels like a genuine interest in what you have to say. It’s nice. You don’t want it to end.

“This stuff is horrible,” Connie hiccups, shaking his head as he hands you the bottle. “Why do rich people have such garbage taste in alcohol?”

“I like it,” you grab the bottle from him, hugging it to your chest as if it was a beloved teddy bear. “It tastes like sunlight in a bottle. Maybe I’ll serve it at my wedding. If I ever get one.”

“You will,” Connie states matter-of-factly. “You’re super smart, pretty, funny, and nice. The only thing that sucks about you is your choice of drink. This shit is worse than pond water.”

You gasp in mock offense, your stomach doing somersaults at his compliments. “Okay, you are not invited to my hypothetical wedding, Mr. Meanie! How dare you insult the nectar of the gods?”

“Nectar- sweet mother of mercy,” Connie snorts, wrinkling his nose as you take another sip. “You’re too drunk to think straight, next thing you know you’ll be telling me you loved that horrible monstrosity your dear cousin calls a wedding dress.”

“I’m not drunk,” you giggle, “just a little tipsy. And no way am I ever wearing a dress like that. She looked like an over frosted cupcake-and that’s being nice.”

“Mmmmm cupcakes,” Connie sighs, rubbing a hand over his stomach. “Damn it, should’ve nicked some food, I’m hungry now.”

“Oh! I can help, one sec,” You wiggle around so you can reach your handbag, rummaging around until you find what you’re looking for. “Tada! Emergency Twinkies. I stashed some in case the food here was garbage, thankfully it wasn’t at all but you never can be too careful.” You nod sagely at the boy beside you.

“Shit, are you an angel?” Connie breaths, eyes going big and dopey as he takes the proffered treats. “Twinkies? A bunch of Twinkies in your bag. Just in case.”

“I always carry one at least,” you feel your heart going all gooey at his starry-eyed amazement. “You never know when you’re going to need a snack.”

Connie groans, low and deep in his throat, and you squirm at the sudden heat pricking at you. “You are literally the most fucking perfect girl. I am so glad I picked up this shift.”

“I’m glad I came too,” your smile is threatening to break your face in half, but you just can’t help it. There’s just something about Connie that makes you feel  warm and blissful, like the first sip of perfectly prepared coffee as it bursts on your tongue. 

You stare at each other, silly grins and hazy eyes and all the hope of youthful infatuation.

You don’t know who moves first.

What you do know, is that Connie kisses like he laughs; full, deep and with purpose. His mouth is warm and sweet with lingering champagne, and you whine as he cups the back of your neck to push you even closer to him. 

Maybe it’s the buzz of the alcohol, or the sweet song of the crickets, or the thudding of your heart when Connie licks into your mouth like he’s going die if he doesn’t taste every inch. It could be the thrill of being desired, the delicate bloom of two young hearts connecting as if you were in some sort of sappy fairytale. You don’t really know, nor do you really care.

But you let Connie lay you down on the tablecloth, let him ruck your fancy dress up, let him touch you until you’re trembling like the leaves in the warm spring breeze. 

“This ok?” He’s got one hand beside your head, the other stroking your inner thigh gently. “I uh-this wasn’t my intention, not right away anyways, but like, you’re so fucking cool and hot and I really really like you and-”

“Yes, ohmygosh yes,” you interrupt his rambling, clutching at his shoulders desperately. “I’m good. Fantastic. Wonderful. And very horny, so please hurry up.”

Connie huffs a laugh, leaning down to kiss you as you help him free himself from the confines of his pants. After that, only the soft light of the nearly set sun is the witness to your bodies meeting, your groans and sighs carried away on the gentle summer breeze as you let yourself drown in pleasure. 

When you’re both spent you lay beside each other, panting and grinning as your heartbeats slowly return to normal. You feel floaty, fizzy with satisfaction, like you’ve downed that whole damn bottle of champagne in one gulp. You can’t remember the last time you felt so good at the hands of another, and you can feel yourself itching to grab the man beside you and have him do it again.

Suddenly, a thought niggles it’s way into your fuzzy brain, and you snicker loudly.

“I hope that’s not in response to my performance,” Connie reaches over to pinch your cheek affectionately.

“No,” you titter tipsily, swatting his hand away. “I was just thinking….now I’m a Twinkie.”

Connie scrunches his eyebrows. “What?”

A snort leaves you. “I’m a Twinkie….because now I’m filled with cream.”

You dissolve into fits of giggles as his mouth drops open in surprise.

“Ugh, no fair!! You can’t make jokes like that!” Connie digs his fingers into your ribs, grinning as you shriek in surprise. “Not unless you want me to fall in love with you!”

You squirm away from his questing fingers. “Slow your roll there, cowboy,” you warn, but your heart is light and your skin is tingling. “At least take me on a date first!”

“I suppose,” Connie sighs dramatically. “But you better reign in that charm! One more stashed snack or raunchy joke and you might never get rid of me.”

The thought isn’t unpleasant. “You better not come home with me and look inside my bedside drawer then.”

“Oh?” Connie waggles his brows suggestively. “Whatcha got in there, hmmm? Some Skittles and flavoured lube? Fuzzy Peaches and fuzzy handcuffs? Edible candy panties? Please say edible candy panties.”

You laugh as you sit up, feeling for your bag. “Why don’t you come over after work and see? Assuming you still have a job, that is. I don’t think you’re supposed to drink and have sex on the clock.” You shimmy in triumph as you fish out your phone. “Here, give me your number, Cute Waiter Who Is Also Pretty Good At Sex.”

Connie smirks, grabbing your phone as he sits and pulls his own out of his pocket. You take it eagerly. “Don’t worry, I’m still employed. Niccolo owes me like a million favors, considering I’m the reason he and his fiancé, aka my best friend, are even together. That’s why I even have this job.” He winks, handing your phone back.  “Ah, the joys of nepotism.”

“Sexy,” you giggle as you swap phones. You smile when you see what he’s saved his contact as: Cute Waiter Who Is Also Pretty Good At Sex. Part of you feels a sense of disbelief; did you really just hook up with a hot, sweet, funny guy at your cousin’s wedding? And now you’re getting his phone number? After all the shit you got tonight for being the lonely single loser?

Take that, you frigid bitch.

Connie looks at his phone. He groans loudly as he reads what you’ve typed in. “You saved yourself as Twinkie ❤? Damn, woman! I’m never gonna be able to eat those delectable golden treats without popping a stiffy now. I’m rising to half mast right now just looking at this.”

You reach over and toss him the forgotten package, rolling your eyes playfully as it smacks him in face. “Down, boy. Eat your treat like you originally planned.”

Connie tosses the snack away, and you shiver as a hungry look flits across his genial face. “Yeah, these are not gonna cut it anymore. I wanna stuff my face with a different Twinkie now.”

Your insides twist violently, molten heat trickling down your spine at the implication of his words. 

“Ohmygosh,” you groan, already whipping your phone back out to text your parents you’re heading home. “Fuck the rest of this, we’re going to my place. Now.”

Connie pumps his fist in the air as he jumps to his feet. “Hell yes! Do I have a horseshoe up my ass today or what?” He makes a show of trying to look behind himself, as if his behind might actually be sporting one.

Your face feels like it will break in two from the force of your smile. “Just order us a damn Uber, you goof.”

Connie salutes and begins typing rapidly on his phone. You stand, adjusting yourself to contain the mess that’s currently trying to drip down your legs. “Damn. Should have grabbed napkins along with that booze. I’m leaking like a broken facet over here.”

Connie’s phone is already in his pocket, and your heart thumps happily at the warmth of his hand as it slides into your own.

“I’m all the cleanup you need, babe,” he winks, tugging you gently into his chest. You look up at him, all smiles and flushed cheeks, mischief dancing in his adoring gaze. You don't know if you've ever felt so alive, so free, so ready for wherever he takes you.

“After all," he lowers his mouth to brush teasingly against yours, "the cream is the best part of a Twinkie.”

[karimac]

...in the details, Part 13

A/N: Warning for this series: 18+ audience (minors DNI), some cinematic level violence, some fluff and angst. Doubt that smut will be involved, but it may be implied. I’ll make sure that is noted clearly if it pops up.

All relationships, at this point in the story, are platonic, but there is romance in the cards for Kari and Bucky.

Please do not repost or translate my work. Likes, comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated.

Taglist is open! Please send an ask, and I will gladly add you to the list. If I have added you and you do not wish to be on the list, please let me know, and I’ll take you off the list.

Word count: 5.3k, give or take a word. Not beta read. All mistakes are my own.

Masterlist

It was the morning after the final battle with the Flag Smashers, and all you wanted to do was sleep and not talk to anyone, but here you were, in your kitchen, frosting cupcakes.

Sarah Wilson had been on the phone with you earlier talking about the party she was organizing to celebrate Sam’s accepting the mantle of Captain America, and while you were not planning to actually go to the party, you decided to drop off some cupcakes for the event. And maybe that cake Sam and Bucky drooled over when they last visited your bakery. The one with the Oreo cookies all over the top.

You were not about to tell Sarah that you had gotten your clock cleaned during that fight last night. Oh no. Never admit stuff like that, even if your body was still a long way from being fully healed.

“Why do I do this to myself, Hickory?” you asked your cat as he sat on the floor near the kitchen window, the streams of light from this early Brooklyn morning splashing their sunny glow over his orange fur. “I really am a pushover. But her boys were so sweet, and I couldn’t let them not have good desserts for the party, could I?”

Hickory was a cat of many words most of the time, so his tiny mewls this morning seemed a bit off. He must have been as exhausted as you felt at the moment.

“I’ll be fine, Hickenboogie,” you said as you watched the orange tabby roll over to let the sun warm his belly. “Even if I’m making, what? A hundred cupcakes?”

As you went to set your bowl of frosting to the side, there was loud rapping at your apartment door. Someone had gotten into the building without being buzzed in. Fantastic! Just what you needed.

“Kari? Are you in there? Sarah called and asked me to check on you.”

Bucky. For crying out loud, what was he doing here? You really doubted Sarah asked him to do anything. He was likely just being nosy after last night.

“James, would you just leave me alone! I am not going to Delacroix. Just go down and have a good time. Sarah knows I’m not going to be there. I’d only be a fifth wheel anyway. I saw you flirting with her. She seems like a really nice person, and even if Sam kicks up a fuss, I think you should go for it.”

You never called Bucky by his first name. Ever. OK, maybe once in 1943. And here he was, standing outside the front door of your apartment, suddenly developing the ability to get under your skin.

“I flirt with everybody. Just ask Sam!” Bucky said a bit too loudly for your liking. The funny thing was, you remembered when Bucky flirted with everybody. That was not what he was doing now. He was trying to see if he still knew how to flirt with everyone. Very different concept, and you fully understood why he needed to be able to do it on his own terms. You also wished he were flirting with you, but you really had no one to blame for this mess except yourself.

“What exactly are you afraid of this time? I’m sure Bruce and Wong can live without seeing you for another 24 hours, or was Darcy bugging you again? You do not need to go out on some speed dating thing with her. She means well, but, you know, she doesn’t really understand how big it is for both of us,” he explained as you heard him fidgeting with the door handle. Master assassin and lock picker? Of course he’d have that skill set, but he seemed to be nothing more than antsy at the moment. Then he hit you with the question you didn’t want to hear.

“Was it what happened after Sam’s speech?”

“You mean when Walker decided to be my new best buddy and make sure I was OK?” you replied in a very fake chipper tone. “Or when you decided to start asking too many questions about my health? You don’t want me in your head. Fine. I get it. I don’t need you babysitting me. I just get tired sometimes. Especially if my empathic filtering goes off the charts. The kids in that tour bus were terrified. I drank in a lot of their pain to keep them calm. It isn’t exactly fun, Buck. And I left myself open. I am only human. I do make mistakes.”

While you did your best not to think about what happened, your mind raced as you remembered the group of grade schoolers from Cottonwood, Arizona, all scared beyond words as Flag Smashers boarded their bus. Those poor kids witnessed their driver being tossed out the door and one of their teachers being knocked out before you could even get into the bus. You had to pull out all the stops to keep them calm, even if it meant you falling apart by the end of the night.

“Can I at least come in? Your neighbors might not appreciate me playing 20 Questions outside your do…”

You flicked your hand and opened the door just as Bucky leaned into it a tad. He wasn’t expecting it, so he stumbled slightly as it opened. “Sorry. I’m kind of busy making cupcakes. I’ll get them to Sarah by tomorrow morning. And that cake you and Sam liked. The Oreo cookie one. I thought Cass and AJ might enjoy it, too.”

“You are dodging. Again,” Bucky said as he sat down on a stool near your kitchen counter. “Whoa, sorry, Hickory,” he added as the orange tabby looked up at him but then went back to sleep. “What are you trying to avoid now?”

“Buck, please. You haven’t wanted to share every memory you have, and for good reason. Some of the things that happened since we started working together, they remind me a bit too much of when my husbands died. I don’t exactly want to relive all that.”

That was only a fraction of what was going on in your life at the moment, but you were not about to drop that ton of bricks in Bucky’s lap, even if it meant you had to keep up some stupid façade and lie as if your life depended on it.

“You had two, right? Husbands,” Bucky asked as you nodded. “Can I help frost or something?”

“Yes, Galen and Thomas,” you said as you put a tray of cupcakes in front of Bucky and got him a bowl of frosting, a spatula and a knife. “Pick your instrument of choice for the frosting,” you added before you looked at Bucky’s clothes and shook your head. “Want an apron? Don’t want you messing up your Henley.”

“What does it say? The apron, I mean?” he asked as you grabbed him a plain blue one. “Oh. No jokes on it?”

“Not everything is a joke, Buck. Not for me. Not for anyone,” you sniffed as you tried to hold back a stray tear before you got another pan of cupcakes and a bowl of frosting. You were still not fully pain free from what happened to those kids or to yourself. “Once the frosting sets, we can put these little shields on top of the cupcakes. I know. Cheesy. But the kids should love them.”

“Hmmm…” Bucky said as he tried to slather the frosting on his first cupcake without using too much. “I’m not exactly good at this…”

“You will be fine. It takes practice,” you whispered as you set down another frosted cupcake. “Thanks for helping. What else do you want to know about me?” Your hands shook slightly, and you flexed them a bit to get yourself centered again. “Lingering issues after that mess on the bus. I couldn’t go in sword swinging, so I had to take a different tack. It was a spell Wong told me about. Got the kids off the bus and me onto it just in time to take out that fool. It switches people’s locations. Nice one to keep in my back pocket. Just wish I had seen that other lunatic behind the driver’s seat.”

“Yeah, I saw the kids appear on the sidewalk before you blasted that guy out the doors of the bus,” Bucky noted as he kept frosting more cupcakes. “Kids. Did you ever have them? I mean, you like them. You get along great with Cass and AJ. And again, sorry if I got stupid on the docks. Joke fell really flat.”

You were not about to go back to the talk about that mess on the docks. Not today anyway. “Sadly, no. I’ve never had children.”

That wasn’t true. Not exactly anyway. But there was no way you could explain everything without looking like a lunatic. Saying “Well, a part of me that lives in another universe has about five of them last time I counted. I can list them all from all the timelines. I was tasked with birthing an army. No one ever said how…”

Yeah, that sounded so very sane and normal.

“Not that I don’t want them still,” you continued as you found some patriotic sprinkles in your cupboard. “It just never worked out for me. And I didn’t want to adopt a child on my own just to have me die and leave them alone. That would be cruel. And what agency would let someone like me adopt a child? It just isn’t very realistic to think it is even possible.”

You wanted nothing more than to change the topic, but you said Bucky could ask you questions, so in this quagmire you would stay for the moment.

“That day Steve and Sam had me in that vice,” Bucky started but stopped just as he finished another cupcake. “Why the hell did you do what you did to prove who you were? I knew who you were. Steve knew. You didn’t need to sing that song…”

“I needed to prove who I was because, let’s face it, who in their right mind—besides you and Steve, I guess—would believe my story? And Sam. Bless his heart, he doesn’t think I escaped Bellevue.” Bucky chuckled at the name of the most famous psychiatric hospital in New York City. “Was my singing that bad? I did flub some of the words, I know, but I didn’t think I was that bad.”

“Your singing was never an issue,” Bucky chuckled as a bit of frosting slid off one cupcake. “And the way you did that thing with the drinks was great. I remember that from the Whip and Fiddle. But you didn’t need to put on a show. Not for us anyway.”

“It’s always an issue, Bucky,” you said quietly as you noticed the vanilla frosting you had been using was running low, so you got out the ingredients to make more. “I always need to prove myself. I…did Steve ever tell you about what happened during the five years you were gone? Not my most shining hours.”

“The thing that scared everyone? Yeah, he told me, but I didn’t want to broadcast it to anyone. I don’t understand what makes you you,” Bucky said as he set down his knife and cupcake, “and I was not about to dredge up what happened. You were trying to get us back. Steve said you kind of lost it when it didn’t work. And Tony…”

“Tony wanted to lock me away in a padded cell, but Thor told him to stop, because he understood my grief. And Bruce told Tony to give it a rest because I was trying things that none of them could. Steve took me to the infirmary so I could heal when it all came crashing down. I was weaker than I realized. He saved my life. IV fluids can work wonders when you push yourself too much.”

“Wait, what? What did you do?” Bucky was suddenly very agitated, and you were not fully focused on his tone and body language at first. He was truly freaked out.

“What?” you asked as your eyes bugged out a little bit when it finally hit you. “Oh! No. I wasn’t doing…”

It took you much too long to realize Bucky was worried you had done some odd, old and draining blood spell. You had done them long, long ago, but that was back before electricity was the norm.

“It was a very old spell, one my Mamo used when I was a baby when she wanted to talk to the deceased members of our clan. Sorry. My grandmother. Mamo is the Irish word for grandma. It just takes a toll on your spirit, and I tried it a few times before Bruce saw me naked as a jay bird in the gardens they had at the facility. Yeah, that is part of the spell too, as is doing it on Samhain. Halloween. But there was no one there to talk to, so continuing to do it made it worse. As I said, not my finest hour. It broke me when I couldn’t find your spirit…”

Now it was Bucky’s turn to look at you with saucer-like eyes.

“Well, I couldn’t try to zero in on a million different people, so I picked you. I tried Sam, too, but it was like you guys never existed. If I were to do the spell this year, I’d be able to see any number of people across the veil. My family. Your family. Natasha and Tony. Loki. That night? I saw no one except my siblings, and while I love them, I knew they would be there. That failure sent me reeling. I didn’t talk for days. And we both know that could not be normal.”

“For two minutes, could you please stop with the put downs? Some of us don’t like to hear them. Me. Sam. Sarah. The boys…”

“I am so used to people just working around them that I don’t…” you started to say before you set down everything and just pulled up a stool next to the one Bucky was sitting on. “I don’t realize how it affects everyone else. Sorry.”

Bucky started to chuckle, and then he let out a loud laugh. “Your hair. Frosting,” he said as he pointed to a few wisps that were now very sticky from the vanilla frosting making a few spikes on the tips.

“Didn’t catch it all in the hairband. Again,” you muttered as you started to laugh along with Bucky. “Why did you really show up today, Buck? It can’t be because your inner baker was screaming to come out and play.”

“Last night was scary. You zoned out, and that scared me and Sam. We thought you were dying. We have no idea how this all works with you, and I’ve been afraid to ask. Steve was, too, I guess, and Sam, when you guys were in hiding.”

“Why are you remembering all this nonsense about me?” That was the only thing you could say as you looked Bucky in the eye and prayed something from your past was not trying to catch up with you again. “Or better yet worrying so much about me?”

“And why do you remember things about me?” he asked with an equally deadpan expression. “We are both old. We’re both likely going to outlive most of the people around us now, at least for a little while. Being connected is…nice. Now, back to last night. What happened?”

“After I helped those kids, I did exactly what you said. I zoned when I cracked my head on that building. I can go into a fugue state and start connecting in weird ways to the world around me. I knew you were there, but my brain wasn’t connecting all the dots. If that makes sense.”

That last part you hated. You wanted nothing more than to tell Bucky everything about your life. How the person he saw was only a tiny part of everything you were. That at this very moment there was another Kari dancing with another Bucky at something called the Hellfire Gala in a world where a group called The X-Men were protectors alongside The Avengers. She was thanking him for an assist a very long time ago on the steps of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, if killing her was truly an assist. Yes, that Kari was reborn thanks to the bladed excellence of The Winter Soldier, but this part of Kari could not tell Bucky all that. Not yet anyway.

“Do you want some coffee? A beer? I should have asked when you got here,” you said as you looked down to see Hickory had finally decided to get up and go eat his kibble while you chatted with Bucky.

“Beer, thanks. I just wanted to convince you to come down to Delacroix, mostly so everyone can see for themselves that you are OK. I know once Wong and Bruce get involved, it may take weeks until we see you again. And Parker. That trip of his for school.”

“Look, Sarge,” you started to say as you handed Bucky the beer. His eyes lit up, so the nickname seemed to be a good choice. “If it will make you feel better, then down to Delacroix I’ll go. But you and I can go together. I am going to need help hauling these cupcakes. But I may not stay the whole time. Does that work for you?”

“Yup,” Bucky said as he drank his beer. “And the Sarah thing…”

“Look, if you and Sarah hit it off, well, that is beautiful. You deserve happiness, Buck. I am not going to stand in the way of your happiness. Ever.”

{{Even if it would make me happier being with you}} you thought as you smiled at Bucky again.

“And yes, I know Sam is likely sticking his oar into the water and messing it up for you guys. Having eight brothers taught me a lot, and I am betting you might have played the part yourself back in the day, right? Maybe I can help there, if you need me to? Your call.”

“Whatever happens, well, happens,” Bucky noted as he looked at the tray of tiny shields again. “I think we all want the day to be about Sam. That’s what really matters.”

“Agreed,” you said as you looked at all the cupcakes and smiled. “Now, want to learn how to make that cake? Care to smash up some cookies for me to mix in the batter?”

The rest of the baking session with Bucky went well enough, and you were able to box everything and have it ready to portal to Delacroix the next morning when he made it back to your place. You made sure your portal was near the house but around the back so no one could get spooked by it. You just wished the rest of the team could have been there, but there was technically no team at the moment anyway.

You smiled as you watched Bucky run over to the table where Sam, Sarah and the boys were sitting, with Cass and AJ trying to get Bucky into some sort of play fight as he brought over the cake.

“So, this is the famous cake?” Sarah asked as you pulled a small red wagon full of cupcakes behind you. “Sam has talked about this cake for weeks. Thanks for making it.”

“Hey, anything for our new Cap and his family!” you replied as a group of kids came over to check out the wagon’s load of goodies. “There are plenty of these to go around, but I think you guys better eat your lunches first.”

“Are you going to show us any magic?” Cass asked as you sat down at the table with everyone.

“Guys, what did we talk about?” Sam said as you looked at everyone there and realized this was not going to be a simple picnic event for Sam.

“We can talk about that later. Maybe when everyone else heads home,” you said quietly as you looked at the boys and then Sarah. “And only if your Mom is OK with it. Her house. Her rules. Always.”

You really had not been planning on any sort of show today, but letting Sarah have the final call was likely the easiest way to keep this sort of thing away from prying eyes. Not everyone liked magic, and that was no exception for this part of Louisiana. The preternatural might have been more accepted here, but it was still not a thing everyone loved or fully understood.

The conversation, thankfully, turned to much more mundane things, and you were very happy it did when you saw Bucky and Sarah chatting as the boys and their friends tried to hang off Bucky’s arm. It looked right. He looked stress-free and happy for the first time in ages.

“And is that what you were hoping for?” Sam asked as he, too, watched his nephews hanging off Bucky’s arm. “That cyborg and my sister would hit it off? I thought you two were, you know, getting closer? Beer?”

You looked at the bottle in Sam’s hand. Crimson Voodoo. A local favorite indeed.

“Thanks,” you said as you took the bottle from his hand and tried to convince yourself and Sam that this is what you wanted. “Sam, Bucky deserves a family. He deserves peace and happiness. Your sister deserves someone who thinks the world of her and can take care of her and the boys. It’s a win-win. My life is too messed up for anyone to feel at peace with me. Someday I’ll try to explain everything, but today is not that day. Today is your day.”

As it started to get dark outside, no one seemed to be heading home, and the kids were a bit upset that there were no fireworks set up to cap off the night.

“Guess I need to take care of this,” you said under your breath as you got to your feet and walked toward Sarah and the boys. “Sarah, I can fix this, but as I said before, your house, your rules.”

“You have fireworks in your bag?” Sarah chuckled as she shook her head. “Wait. You aren’t kidding.”

“Nope, I’m not,” you replied as you walked to the end of the pier where the kids were all looking pretty forlorn. “Sam, a gift for you and your family and friends here today,” you said as you turned to look at everyone there. Sparks started to dance on your fingertips, and soon the night sky filled with magically-created fireworks. “A gift from the Tara Mount and from Asgard,” you added as more pyrotechnics danced above the crowd. “Frigga and Loki showed me this trick long ago. It’s only fitting to share it tonight.”

“What the hell is that on your back?” Sarah asked as you slowly lifted off the ground.

“I forgot you’ve never seen these,” you said to Sarah as your raven wings unfurled. “I need to get a bit of lift before I do the next part.”

Sure, Sam and Bucky had seen you fly. But the dance you were about to do was not anything you had done since, well, the day your cousin Rhys got married to his beautiful bride Alice back in the 1850s! Oh, that was a bit of craic! Well, it would have been more fun if Rhys’ sister Rhiannon had not fed that dragon wedding cake and Champagne on top of Westminster.

“I usually don’t do this for anyone but family, but if you all are Captain America’s extended family, then that is good enough for me,” you said as your wings slowly transformed to something akin to gossamer and glitter, the light of the fireworks dancing off the delicate lacework of the fairy wings you now sported on your back. “My grandmother, Siofra O’Cathain MacOrish, was called the Black Faerie of the battlefield. Tonight I wear these wings to thank her for making it possible to be here with you today.”

As you hovered in mid-air, you started to dart over the water, well clear of the shore and the boats anchored there. The sky lit up with a multicolored display that at times looked like ribbons of red, white and blue and at others like the giant bursts of color in the event that Macy’s held each July 4th on the East or Hudson Rivers in New York City. The shrieks of delight from the children made it all worthwhile as you finally landed back on the dock after about 15 minutes of flash and sizzle.

Maybe it was the music that helped make it special? No one could tell exactly where it was coming from because it was all around them. A bit of remembered sound from your cousin’s wedding night and a snatch of air current, and suddenly the air was full of a song played long ago on a starry night for your tribe back then, the lovely lot you called The Avalonians.

The flight was glorious, and you wondered why you did not do it more often over the years.

The way you did not stick the landing, on the other hand, was annoying. Especially when Sam, Sarah and Bucky ran over. The lift of raven-like angel’s wings was one thing in battle, but the faerie wings on your back now were another thing entirely. The fact you had not called them out in over 100 years meant you had forgotten much about maneuvering in them once you got back to Terra Firma.

“I am fine!” you protested as you finally pulled back your wings and flexed your arms a bit. “Just didn’t time the footfall properly. I am not Simone Biles by any means. She would have aced it.”

“No more jokes. You could have gotten hurt,” Bucky said as he reached out his hand to you, but you pulled back slightly as he did. Muscle memory was a bitch at times, and a tiny part of you could not help but remember Katowice, St. Petersburg, Budapest and several other places where you and Bucky did more bodily harm to each other than you had let on to anyone else. Even Steve never knew the full extent of the battles you and his best friend were part of over the years. It was probably better that way.

“It’s nothing that a good night’s sleep won’t fix. I’m still not right after that mess with the bus,” you answered as Sarah shot you the mother of all looks. “Even old warriors like me need time to heal.”

“You could have said something,” Sarah said as she just kept looking at you, concern and pain mixed in equal measure in her eyes. “You did not have to bring all that food, and you did not need to do all that fireworks stuff. These two said you’d pull some crazy stunt eventually...”

“And they were right,” you replied, tucking your hands behind your back so the slight tremor you felt was not visible to everyone else. “Because, well, this is how I was raised. Never say no when your help is needed. Always take care of family, even if you are dead on your feet. Leave a place better than you found it if at all possible…”

“Kari, did your fireworks have a finale you didn’t mention?” Bucky asked as he pointed behind you, a multicolored fissure opening above the bayou waters.

“That isn’t me!” you shouted as the raven wings of your office appeared, along with your armor, sword and shield. “Get everyone to safety! Now!”

“Wait. Is that a Quinjet?” Sam shouted as he worked to get everyone off the dock as quickly as possible as a plane maneuvered through the fissure.

“No, that’s the Zephyr…” you said as you stood with our mouth open. “SHIELD ship that vanished a few years ago. Fury was never able to track it down.”

The jet landed on the shore away from several houses, and you, Bucky and Sam made your way to the landing site. By now, thanks to some quick thinking by Cass and AJ, Sam had his shield at the ready, but you prayed he would not have to use it.

“SHIELD ship Zephyr One. Damn,” you muttered under your breath as you got to the now lowered ramp. “I thought you were dead! And so does Fury!” you said as two men made their way to the top of the ramp.

Standing in front of you were Phil Coulson and Daniel Sousa.

“Nice to see you again, Chief,” Coulson said as Sousa gave him an odd look. “One of my trainers back in the day.”

“And Peggy Carter’s best friend in mine,” Sousa added the duo was soon joined by Melinda May.

“She never told you? Either of you? She was the original 0-8-4,” May noted as she walked down the ramp.

“No, I helped Howard Stark coin the term,” you growled as you looked at May. “The world knows full well where I am from and how long I have walked this ground. I’m just a hell of a lot older than I look.”

“Oh my God, we are home,” Daisy Johnson said as she walked up next to Sousa, his arm snaking around her waist, leaving no question about their status as a couple. You had heard about the Inhuman’s encounters with some preternatural allies, and you wanted to hear more about that, as well as how Sousa was actually there with them now.

“Home?” Bucky whispered in your ear as Sam leaned in to hear his comments.

“If you weren’t home, where were you?” you asked Coulson as the rest of his team filtered off the ship. You vaguely knew them by physical attributes, but not all the names were clicking in your mind at the moment.

“I was hoping you might be able to tell us,” he said as you looked at him, and you could tell already this was not the Phil Coulson you knew. Not totally anyway. “From our calculations, we’ve been gone about five years.”

“The blip,” Sam said as you shook your head. “Oh, tá sé seo ach iontach. I mean, this is just great,” you said as you rolled your eyes. “You lot like cupcakes, right? Please say you like cupcakes. And beer.”

You grabbed Bucky’s hand without thinking and prayed he could actually hear the words you were thinking in that crazy link of Wanda’s. {{I wanted this to be a happy day for Sam. Not one where his family would be in the middle of this nonsense. I’ll get them all out of here fast. Just…could you please help me figure this out?}}

A brief nod let you know Bucky heard at least some of your request.

“Sarah, I’ll get these folks out of here and back to New York ASAP. I just hope I can find Maria Hill or Nick Fury. How do I explain that their world is about to get turned upside down again?”

My wonderful tag crew--thank you!: @historygeekfics, @arrthurpendragon, @starryeyes2000, @chickensarentcheap

And up to lucky Part 14—What in the world do you do with Agents of SHIELD if there is no more SHIELD? And how will the surviving OG Avengers feel when they learn Phil Coulson is not quite as dead as Nick Fury lead them to believe?

[rouge-the-bat]

(homestuck) i diagnose you knight of heart... sorry if u have no clue what this means

i indeed do not have a clue what that means but it sounds very me core so thank u :3 ♡

[moonbyunniee]

in sickness and in health (to love and to cherish)

description ➵ how the genshin characters take care of you when you've fallen sick

characters ➵ childe, albedo, venti, xiao

cw ➵ fluff

a/n ➵ i used a spinny wheel for the characters this time ehehe hope you enjoy! i'll also hopefully make something special for halloween!!🎃🎃 remember my asks box is always open for...literally anything you want to send, reqs or just spam lol - i love you all so much, take care of yourselves🤍🌷

childe - 达达利亚 ➵

tartaglia is definitely a family man who has all sorts of tricks up his sleeve for when you're feeling under the weather!

he will know that you're sick even before you realise it yourself

he gets teased for being so observant by you, i don't make the rules

despite you telling him that you're going to be completely fine, childe has never been one to listen

and he immediately ushers you into bed, pulling the covers up to your chin if you're cold, taking them off again if you're cold

"oh...i think you're running a fever, y/n my prince/princess..."

well if you weren't running a fever before you certainly are now because of that pet name

other than letting you rest in bed the whole time, childe will come over every now and then to check that you're doing okay

he'll make a lot of comfort food, and basically just any food that will make you feel better

if you tell him that you're fine and you don't need his help, he instead contents himself with sulking and moping around the house

poking his head around the corner of the bedroom door every few minutes

and asking if you're okay and if you need anything else

"y/n...do you want me to get anything from outside for you? maybe some nice food? or...or some heated and weighted blankets?"

albedo - 阿贝多 ➵

when he realises you're sick, albedo basically transforms into your personal nurse

he barely ever gets sick, since he's...well he's just built different and no you may not ask questions

albedo is not the type to fuss over people that much

with the exception of you, of course <3

"y/n, are you okay? do you want me to make something to eat for you? or do you want a blanket?"

albedo will also, of course, be sure to whip up some kind of special medicine for you

he’ll be by your side 24/7, and he’ll bring his work beside your bed so that he’s absolutely sure he’s always with you <3

he’s a little tiny bit overprotective sometimes, but it’s just in his nature to do things like writing up charts and graphs displaying your state of wellbeing

just so he knows that you’re feeling okay

he’ll sit by your bed at night or when you’re asleep, quietly reading

or, yk, quietly watching you breathe (this sounds lowkey stalkerish but like who wouldn’t want to be watched asleep by albedo)

he’ll also give you loads and loads of forehead kisses because he knows how much you love them

and he’ll refuse to leave you alone so much that he’ll climb into bed with you, snuggling you into him to “share body heat” because it’s “scientifically proven to make you feel better”

“hmmm…y/n, i think you’re doing better than you were before…but just to make sure, we should stay like this a bit longer…”

venti - 温迪 ➵

mondstadt’s favourite bard is always seen as a cheerful, friendly and easygoing person

but of course, he also has a protective and stubborn side

which comes out to play very rarely

one of these instances is when you get sick

he’ll make you stay in bed 24/7, coming into the room every few minutes to check in on you

he’ll also open a window and let in some refreshing breeze if it’s nice enough outside

“ahhhh…y/n, once you get better we’re gonna go for another adventure! the breeze feels so nice on my face…i could write a song about it, ehehe…”

venti will also attempt to make something to eat for you, since he’s heard around the streets of mondstadt time and time again that certain special recipes can be followed to make foods especially to cure sickness, like the flu, etc.

so he does follow these recipes…

…but they don’t turn out like what either of you expected

you’d better swallow it all down anyway, because he’s going to cry if you don’t

other than trying to be a good nurse for you, venti will grab his lyre and sit beside your bed all day

gently fingering the bright teal strings and humming along with them

he’ll also let you braid his hair since you’ve always wanted to <3

“c’mon y/n…hurry up and get better so we can go wind gliding again! ehehe…pretty please?”

xiao - 魈 ➵

xiao doesn't have time to get sick - he's always out battling demons and stuff like that

so when you get sick, it takes him some time to understand that he needs to take care of you in ways other than warding off evil spirits

he'll insist on staying by your side 24/7, but at the same time he needs to be out fighting literally every second as well

"y/n...i'm...i'm sorry i can't be here the whole time, but if you ever need me, just call out my name. adeptus xiao. i will be here when you call."

you don't call him at all, really, since you don't want to take him away from his important business...

...but either way, get used to xiao randomly appearing in your room every fifteen minutes or so, his eyes wide and alert as he scans the area, panic setting into his eyes until he finally finds you lying in bed, smiling at him with a slightly amused expression

when he comes back home every quarter hour or so, he'll spend the next five minutes by your side

even if he definitely has the blood of enemies all over him and is panting like crazy, he'll sit by your side, taking your hand tenderly in his and kissing your knuckles

whispering words of comfort into your ear and leaving gentle kisses everywhere

"if you need anything...just call me. i'm right here. always and forever, i'm right by your side, even if you can't see me."

[elusivewildflower]

Take My Last Name | Sgt. Jerry Wooters x Reader

Pairing: Sgt. Jerry Wooters x F! Reader

Summary: You begrudgingly leave Jerry’s bed and arrive back home at the wrong time, just as your uncle has realized that his mansion has been bugged by cops. You’ve been out and about more often the last month, and he believes you may have something to do with ratting him out. He places his hands on you, and when you are freed, you run right back to Jerry. 

Warnings: cursing, mentions of sex, abuse/violence (reader being strangled for a brief bit) 

Word Count: 1.8k

A/N: I don’t know how many people will read this, as I tried to find other Jerry Wooters fics last night and found none on this site, but I hope those of you that do will enjoy it! You can’t go wrong with any of Ryan Gosling’s characters, and I’m obsessed with all of them. Thank you so much to @truesblue​ for being my beta for this!! 

“Sweetie, don’t go.” 

“I have to, Jer. He’s gonna wonder where I am.” 

“Then let him wonder.” 

“I’ve gotta go.” 

Those were the last words you had spoken to Jerry before you weaseled your way out of his arms and made the drive back home to your uncle’s. You checked up your makeup in a tiny pocket mirror, wanting to look put-together and not like you’d been up all night rolling around in the sheets, before stepping out of the car and entering the mansion. You despised calling it home, really wishing you had let Jerry convince you to stay. 

As you ventured further, the sounds of a commotion coming from the small living room prickled your attention. The distinct crash of glass shattering, heavy objects being tossed about, and of course, the angry shouts of your uncle filled your ears from where you halted across. You saw movement in the corner of your eye, and turned to find the maid shooing Grace, your uncle’s girl, out of the house. Lucky, you thought. She at least has a family to run to. Your parents had been murdered a few years back in retaliation of something your uncle had done. You’d never been given specifics, but someone had targeted Mickey’s only living family, which had been your father, mother, and you, to hurt him. Thankfully, you had accepted a last minute invitation to go out with friends, and you weren’t at home when the attack happened. Otherwise, you’d be six feet underground like your parents. Your uncle Mickey took you in when that had happened, vowing to find those responsible and keep you safe. If only you had known back then it was him that you really needed to be saved from. 

“You!” Mickey snarled, effectively shaking you from your thoughts. When your eyes met his figure, his arm was raised and finger pointed directly at you. Oh. This can’t be good.

A chill ran down your spine as he closed the distance between you, your fear rooting you in place when you probably should’ve run. “Where the hell have you been?” He questioned harshly, his finger now wagging in your face. 

“Out with Connie and Peggy. It was a girl’s night.” You lied right through your teeth. 

He stepped closer towards you, his form crowding around you as your back pressed against the wall. You hadn’t realized you had been backing away from him until that moment. “Don’t lie to me!” He shouted in your face. 

You shook your head vigorously, opening your mouth to object when he continued on. 

“You’ve been out an awful lot lately, and someone has been ratting me out.” He spoke in an accusatory tone. 

You shook your head once more. “I’ve been going out with the girls, just like I used to do before mom and dad died.” 

In an instant, Mickey’s hands were wrapped around your throat. His pure strength he had as a retired boxer showed as he lifted you from the ground with his hold. “Then why did one of my men see you chatting up a cop the other night?” 

You gasped for air as he throttled you, your fingers trying desperately to pry his hands away from your neck. You were unsuccessful, and tears began brimming in your eyes. “Cops aren’t my type,” you wheezed out quickly, “I let him down easy.” It was another lie, but you hoped it would be enough to get him to let go. Instead, he only tightened his grip. Your lungs felt as if they were on fire, your last bit of air used to answer him. Tears trailed down your cheeks as your heart hammered in your ears. The corners of your vision were beginning to grow dark as you struggled to breathe.

You could barely see as your uncle regarded you for a few moments, seemingly pondering over whether or not you were telling the truth. Or at least, that’s what you hoped he was pondering, and not whether or not he actually wanted to kill his niece. When he finally released his hold, you crumpled to the floor, your legs unable to hold your weight. Your hands flew to your neck to soothe the pain as you gasped for air, only to immediately break out in a coughing fit. Slowly, you regained your vision, watching as your uncle retreated back into the living room, shouting for his men to find the bug within his home. 

When you felt the coast was clear, and you had enough strength back in your body, you staggered to your feet and made a run for your car. You didn’t bother to look back as you threw her in drive and sped off to the only place you could think of. Jerry’s. 

More tears rolled down your cheeks on the drive over. Pulling into his driveway, you decided to check your reflection in your pocket mirror. What greeted you when you flipped the mirror open made you grimace. Your eyes were red and bleary, streaks of your tears mixed with mascara stained your cheeks, and when you caught a glimpse of the bruising your uncle’s hands left behind….You snapped the mirror shut.  

You rapped on Jerry’s front door, hoping that it wouldn’t take him long to answer. You hoped no one else would have to see you like this, and it was broad daylight afterall. Within moments the door is swung open, revealing the man you had been sleeping with for the past few weeks. He was dressed in gray slacks, but a simple white undershirt. His blue eyes quickly take in your appearance, his expression shifting from one of worry to anger in seconds. 

“Sweetie, what the hell happened to you?! Who did this?” He questioned, his hands reaching out to grasp your arms and pull you closer to him. You didn’t object to his touch, but you didn’t feel like answering his questions right now. You just wanted to be wrapped up in his arms, the only place that you ever felt safe. You shake your head and bury your face into his chest, fresh tears falling down your face. 

He gently guides you further into the house, shutting and locking the door behind him. Now that you were safe behind closed doors, he wrapped his muscular arms around you tightly and held you there for a good while. Your tears soaked through his thin shirt, but he didn’t seem to care. One of his hands rose to rub your back soothingly as he pressed his lips to the top of your head. After your sobs settle into sniffles, he pulls back slightly to place a finger under your chin. He then prompts you to lift your head, and you do so willingly. His free hand ghosts over the handprints that are now bruised into your skin, and he closes his eyes, sucking in a deep, calming, breath. He lowers his forehead to press against yours. 

“Who did this?” He asked once more, this time in a much softer voice.

You sucked in a shaky breath. “Mickey.” 

Jerry’s jaw clenched tightly. “I’ll kill him, I swear to God I’ll kill him.” He moves to take a step away from you as his body shakes with anger. 

You shake your head and reach back out for him, desperate to pull him close again. “No, Jerry, no. Please…I don’t have anywhere to go.” You begged. 

He allowed you to pull him back right where you wanted him. His intense blue eyes stared directly into yours. “You’ll stay right here.” 

“He’ll come after me.” You protested. 

It was Jerry’s turn to shake his head. “No. I’ll protect you. I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again.” His words held so much conviction that you had to believe him, even if his promise seemed impossible. “We’ve got a plan.” 

He was referring to the gangster squad, the ones that planted the bug your uncle had just found out about. You looked a bit unsure of him for a moment. Sure, the gangster squad had done well in thwarting your uncle’s business plans, but as far as you knew, most of their tactics weren’t actually planned out very well. They had mostly been lucky. 

“Even if your squad is successful,” you began. “I’ll always be a target. His enemies, hell even his men that survive, they’ll come after me just because I have his name.” 

Jerry fell quiet for a few moments. His eyes dropped from yours as he seemed to be mulling something over. You searched his face for any inkling of what it may be, but his expression changed to a blank look before you could piece anything together. Your brows furrowed together in worry. “What?” You questioned, not liking the silence he had created. 

His eyes met yours again as he gave a shrug. “Marry me.” 

You blinked a few times as your brain tried to understand what he had said so nonchalantly. He wanted to marry you? You had only known each other for a little over a month. “What?” You asked yet again as your eyes searched for any hint that this may be a joke. 

“Marry me.” He repeats himself. “You won’t have his name anymore, you’ll take mine.” He paused for a beat. “Mrs. (Y/N) Wooters.” He tilts his head to the side as he regards you, a small smile pulling at his lips. “I kinda like the sound of that.” A brow raises as he waits for your response. “What do you say?” 

Your thoughts feel as if they’re traveling through your mind a mile a minute. You hadn’t known this man for long, but already he made you happier than any other man in your life. This might be a rash decision, but maybe, just maybe, he’d keep his promise of keeping you safe. You’d finally be free of your uncle. 

A smile spreads across your face, “Yes.” 

“Yes?” He echoed, sounding as if he was unsure of your response. 

You nodded, “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.” 

His smile broke out into a grin as he quickly pressed his lips to yours. It was gentle, as if he was afraid of applying too much pressure due to your injury, but still passionate. His large arms wrapped around your waist and yours wrapped around his neck, ignoring the throbbing pain in your throat. You were just happy to be in his arms, something you’d now get to be in for the rest of your life. 

Jerry broke the kiss first, pulling away from you. “Wait here,” he instructed before disappearing into his home. 

You glanced around at the place you’d now get to call your home as you patiently awaited him to return. When he did return, he had a small box in his hand. You eyed it over curiously as he brought it closer for your inspection. Not giving you a chance to question what it was, he popped it open, revealing an ornate diamond ring. 

“It was my mother’s,” he explained, removing it from the box and taking your left hand in his. He slid it onto your ring finger slowly. It was a perfect fit. 

“Now, it’s yours.” 

[harryssunflowerbread]

Coffee Shop

a/n: My first one-shot on here!! I'm excited for this :)) Please do give any feedback, it would be much appreciated! I love to read y'alls thoughts. Also remember yall, the reblog button is right next to the like! Not proof read, all mistakes are mine. Requests are open!! Love you guys 🥰

Pairing: Coffee Shop!Harry x Y/N (oh and Niall makes an appearance)

Warnings: fluff- just two idiots in love, drinking, tiny bit of swearing (Italics mark as flashbacks)

Summary: Harry works at the coffee shop, and Y/N's a regular customer.

Word Count: a little over 2.4k

“Iced Americano for Lydia!”

The coffee shop was bustling with energy- there was always a person occupying every single seat, and the noises of the coffee machines and staff always added to the liveliness of this shop. The dings of the door opening and closing indicated a new person entering, and the orders being taken place were just another ingredient to the mix.

Deja Brew, as they had named it, was the busiest and most known coffee shop within the city. People would come in here for the morning runs before work, they would simply sit at a table while typing away at their computer, or they would be here with friends. Everyone loved this tiny area- all the things about it screamed home.

What Harry loved most about it, however, was one specific customer- mocha and blueberry muffin girl. He had developed a little crush only a while ago… but he had been seeing her ever since he had started working here.

“Hey, how may I help you?” Another one of his coworkers took her order. Aiden was in the back during his break time. He was looking down at her phone as he had nothing better to do.

“Hi! I’d like a mocha and a blueberry muffin please,” she said. Harry looked up to see the most beautiful person he had ever seen to date. She already had her card out and was ready to pay.

“Will that be all?” She smiled up at his coworker, the small wrinkles by the side of her light brown eyes showing.

“Yes, please.”

He thought he would never see her again. He thought he would get over that “love at first sight”. What he didn't know was she was a regular. Ever since then, he observed that she always ordered the same thing off the menu. Every. Single. Day.

Only a few days after taking her order, Harry had gotten her mocha and blueberry muffin ready before she came into the shop. He wanted her to pay and leave so she wouldn't have to wait to continue her day. All of this but he didn't even know her name.

People had crushes on others without knowing their names, right? He wasn't crazy, right?

It did bother Harry a little bit, but that was okay. He got to see her everyday, and that was enough. And it wasn't like she was ever going to notice him anyways.

He was broken from his daydream when his coworker, Niall tapped Harry on his shoulder.

“Wondering when your lover will walk through the door?” Niall teased him.

“Oh for fuck's sake, Niall. She's not my ‘lover’,” Harry sighed and checked his watch for the fifth time. ‘She should be here any moment’, he thought. He had her order packed fresh and ready.

“Haha, biggest joke of the year. I’ve seen the way you admire her. If you aren't gonna make a move, I might just make one,” Niall rolled his eyes. Harry could tell Niall was only joking. He wouldn't do that to his friend… hopefully not.

“Hey,” Harry dragged out. “Don't you dare.” Just like any other day, she walked into the shop at the same time as before. He quickly shooed Niall away as he laughed, and Harry grabbed the blueberry muffin and mocha and made his way to her. This would be the day he would finally give her the order.

“Hi, blueberry muffin and mocha?” Harry asked her even though he already knew the answer. She looked as pretty as ever, and his crush was only growing.

“Oh, yes,” her voice was sweet and light. That made Harry wonder even more what she would be like if he got to know her.

“Your name?” he asked. To be honest, he didn't even need her name. Her order was sitting on the side counter. All he had to do was pick it up and hand it to her. But he wanted to know for the sake of not feeling weird of having a middle school crush on her and not knowing her name.

“Y/N,” she said while digging something out from her purse. Y/N. A name as soft and beautiful as the person shown outside. He found himself staring at her, and as soon as she looked up, they locked eyes. Now it felt like eternity for Harry, but it was only a few seconds that they held their stare. Y/N broke it by offering him a smile, only for him to swoon all over it mentally.

“Alright, your total will be $6.30.” She quickly paid, said thanks, and left. A short conversation but a worthy one nonetheless. He finally got to know her name after two weeks of crushing on her. Niall came up to Harry and stood behind him, trying to find where Harry was staring off to.

“Oh lord. Now what happened?” Niall asked.

“Y/N,” Harry breathed out. “That's her name.”

“Oh wow, you know her name now. Good for you,” Niall said. Harry just rolled his eyes and continued to work, with Y/N in his mind for the rest of the day.

It had been a few weeks since Y/N had told Harry her name… and their “relationship” had gotten better. When she came into the shop everyday, she always waved to him on her way in or out.

And he smiled and waved back.

In those few weeks, that crush had developed into something more, since he got to see her everyday. He wanted to be able to hang out with her, take her on dates, and just talk to her about life. But he didn't want her to think that he was creepy or a stalker- definitely not a stalker.

It was around 7 in the evening, and Y/N was seated in a dimly lit corner booth with someone. ‘Why was she here so late?’ he thought. The guy she was with was wearing a white knit sweater and glasses, and his black hair was styled in a quiff. He was talking to Y/N but she was looking around the shop. The guy was quite engrossed in his story- Harry could tell by the way he was moving his hands… he was also the only person talking.

Y/N was sipping her coffee and nodding her head every once in a while, but Harry could tell she wasn't really paying attention. She set her coffee down on the table and fiddled with her rings. Meanwhile, the guy moved closer to her while she moved farther away. She was already at the very edge of the seat.

Suddenly the guy's phone rang. He walked out of the booth, immediately picked up the phone, and started talking.

“Yes, mum. I’ll be there,” he replied to the phone. He quickly said something to her and walked through the door of the shop. Y/N sighed and made her way to the counter to pay for whatever the guy and she ordered.

“You ok?” Harry asked. She looked tired and ready to go home. “Looks like he just walked out on you.”

“Oh yeah, he's a treat,” she said sarcastically. “Apparently his mother called him. Good thing he left because I couldn't stand a minute more of him. ” Both of them shared a laugh, but then Harry asked the question that was on his mind the entire night.

“So is he your…” He didn't want to finish that so he wouldn't be assuming anything. The last thing he wanted to do was offend Y/N.

“Oh no, he was just a guy I met off of an online dating site. Not really sure how I matched up with him though, all he talked about was the movie series that he's obsessed with.”

“Sounds pretty boring to me. ”

“Trust me, that's an understatement. Even if I were to get with him… I’d just rather not.”

“So then? Who would you like?” Harry wondered. He’d wanted to know for a long time. He was hoping for something along the lines of him, but he knew that was a long shot. He always kept hoping for something that was out of reach for him. He had a tendency to do that.

“I don't know, maybe someone nice and simple? I want our relationship to be a two way street, and not like how this so-called ‘date’ went. Again, I’m not really sure how I got set up with him,” she rolled her eyes. Harry noticed how she also used her hands while talking to express herself.

“I can imagine. Once I got matched with someone and when we were out, she had this guy on her arm the entire time. They even started making out in front of me while we were having coffee,” Harry shuddered at the memory. That’s one reason why he will never go on Tinder dates again.

“Oh my god,” she laughed. He could never get tired of that laugh. “That must've been so awkward. Third-wheeling the entire time.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m pretty sure that was her ex and got back with him.”

Y/N gasped at the fact, “Seriously?” Harry nodded his head while she raised her eyebrows and shook her head. “Oh wow. People are so extraordinary.”

Y/N was a living example of that. Harry could listen to her all the time and still kiss the ground she walked on. Only having known her for not a long time, he couldn't wait to get to know more about her.

Changing the topic of dating, she asked, “Wanna go somewhere to drink? It’s a Friday.” She looked at him with hopeful eyes, and he knew that she wanted a distraction from her shitty night. Drinking isn’t all that fun alone. So he had no other option to agree. He had no right to decline an offer from Y/N herself.

It was around midnight, and the two of them had had one too many glasses of alcohol to drink. They were sitting in a booth in the corner of a random bar they found down the street, and the music playing on the T.V. added a livelihood to the place. They had done a couple shots. Then some lighter drinks to continue the night. Neither of them wanted this night to end.

Y/N was sipping on her pink drink that Harry didn't know the name of, and he himself settled for a beer. They were both all giggly, and the cuddly side of Y/N came out halfway through the night. Her head rested on his shoulder, and his head was on her head. She had completely let go and Harry was glad to see her like this, dating and work definitely was a hassle. He knew from experience.

Y/N had told Harry a lot of stuff about her life, from her childhood embarrassments to her graduating.

“I was jumping on the bouncy house, when my mouth got stuck on the side net. My tooth fell out! I couldn't find it, so all the people around the bouncy house started looking for it with me.”

Harry, on the contrary, had let her speak. Sure, he pitched in with a few of his stories from time to time, but he wanted her to enjoy it. He also wanted to hear her voice more.

He watched her fingers as they fiddled with her rings and how she gasped in between her stories when she remembered another. Call him smitten, but it was something Harry enjoyed and found comfort in. Had he mentioned that he could do this all day?

Suddenly Y/N sat up with attention and sat her drink down on the table. She turned her body to face him and started, “You know why I come into your coffee shop everyday?” She didn't even let him answer. “It’s to see someone… and do you know who that is? It's you! It was my first time coming into the shop when I first saw you. But then I knew that I had to see you more,” she said.

Harry was too stunned to speak. She came everyday to see him? She was spilling secrets that Harry wasn't sure she was aware of. Although, she wasn’t drunk, but also not not tipsy.

She grabbed his face in her hands and squeezed his cheeks together. “You’re so cute, Harry. Your eyes are to die for.”

“Oh- thank you. You aren't so bad yourself, Y/N.”

“So tell me… are you dating anyone? Any girlfriend? Boyfriend?” She lets her hands drop from his cheeks and back to her side.

“Not yet. But I mean, the spot’s always open if you ever wanna fill it in.” She let out a loud giggle and responded back almost immediately.

“I’ll sleep on it, get back to you tomorrow morning.” Her smile was brighter than the shining moon, and her cheeks were strawberry red. It was a sight to behold. He took out his phone and open the camera. He took a quick picture.

“What was that for?” Y/N asked.

“Just a photo to remember the beautiful person in front of me.”

“Oh please, Harry. You’re too much,” she said. She stood up and dragged them both in front of their booth.

“Dance with me,” she whispered to him.

She put her hand on his shoulders, and his on her waist. They slowly swayed in their spots to the soft music in the background, and they held eye contact for some time.

The pink neon light from the window sign was lighting up Y/N’s face, and that made her look even more adorable.

How was it possible for someone to be this gorgeous?

Y/N leaned in to rest her forehead on Harry’s and their noses softly rubbed against each other. Her lopsided smile was still quite big, and Harry had the same on his face.

It felt like eternity to him when they leaned in, and neither of them knew who did it first. Her lips were placed onto his in a matter of seconds. It was a soft and cute kiss, but it was enough for Harry. Her lips felt like heaven.

They pulled away and Y/N giggled. Harry stole another kiss, and then gave a tiny peck to her nose.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of kissing you, darling.”

She ducked her face into his neck, where she placed another light kiss.

“Take me home, Harry. You can kiss me all you want there.”