#not to mention both sets of wide bambi best boy eyes looking at you..... enough

[yuwuta]

would yuuji and yuuta go down on reader at the same time??

i keep trying to answer this ask coherently but every time i look at it i start barking like this is so beyond sick and twisted i cannot stop to think about this for more than a few seconds without blacking out what the fuck what the fuck wsaht the fvck

[chemicalpink]

Pairing: Jungkook x Female reader

Words: 4.7k

Genre: smut, angst, fluff if you squint really hard, childhood friends to lovers AU

Warnings: unprotected sex, bathroom sex, infidelity, JK is a heartthrob that is bad at feelings, YN realises she’s been in love with JK all along.

A/N: this is me trying to write longer fics, I liked how this one came out yayyy. This goes out to the @thebtswritersclub​ monthly prompt _____ to lovers, in this case it’s childhood friends to lovers. I just- I really liked how it came out, I’m so excited to know what you guys think of it.

Summary: Falling in love is such a curious thing in life, Jungkook would know best, after pinning over you for years on end, only to have his best friend take away his opportunity, or does he?

The sun was shining brightly over the park as you made your way down the slide, hot skin scorching at the contact with the yellow plastic, although you couldn’t bring yourself to care as much as your mother would, meeting Sungho at the end of it, who was covering his eyes as best as his arms would allow him to do, summer was almost coming to an end and you two had decided to spend every single second of it together, much to both of your mothers’ dismay who had long decided to take turns to tire both of you out by the neighbourhood park, nothing too exciting, if it weren’t for your young imaginative minds combined, which turned you into the closest a six year old could get to being a menace.

As you smiled brightly at your friend, you couldn’t help but turn your head towards an almost inaudible whimper coming from the shaded side of the park, finding a kid around your age plopped down by the tree, desperately drying his eyes with the back of his hand, small sobs coming out of his lips as three other kids, which you knew to be a little older than you and quite disrespectful at that, kept laughing at the boy, so really, what else were you supposed to do if not come in to save the day. “Come on Y/N they’ll make fun of us too” Sungho said as he tried to tug you away, only to have you stand your ground firmly

“If they make fun of me, I won’t cry” you crossed your arms stubbornly over your chest

“Y/N let’s just go”

“You go, Sungho” Sungho was always the type of kid that your mother kept reminding you to be more like, always righteous, never picking fights like you were known to do, but you really couldn’t stand watching the mysterious kid crying by himself while no one else did anything in the slightest. So you stood between him and the three kids that were still making fun of him, head high, fists up by your sides in a superhero pose “You shouldn’t make fun of others”

“Why don’t we make fun of both of you then, Y/N?”

“At least I can put my shirt shirt when I’m dressing myself, Areum” the girl looked down for half a second before staring you down, full of rage before huffing and turning around in true mean girl fashion.

You turn back to find a pair of bambi eyes staring at you, sobs silenced, although his chest still showed him trying to fully catch his breath. You extend your hand for him to take it so that he could stand up “I’m Y/N what’s your name?”

“I’m Jungkook” you were quick to grab his arm and pull him to where Sungho had watched the whole scene with Areum, now staring at the way you dragged the slightly shorter boy towards him

“Well Jungkook, this is Sungho and I just decided that all of us three are going to be best friends forever” the small boy smiled at that, bunny teeth showing in the process, eyes sparkly with wonder and pure appreciation, contrasting the look on Sungho’s face.

“Y/N I think you need to have girl friends to have these sleepovers with, Jungkook and I are boys” Sungho says as soon as you pass him the mirror and he is left staring at his reflection with a ton of glitter eyeshadow on his face, you turn to look at Jungkook, who is currently sprawled out playing with his nintendo, a set of pigtails adoring his head along with the hottest pink lipstick you could find

“I don’t mind it” he stuffed his mouth with chips as he continued to play on his console, not sparing any of you a look, although you smiled at him fondly, grateful to have him play along whenever Sungho didn’t feel like it, which seemed to be more and more as all of you grew older.

“Well I’m going to take this off” he said as he ran into the bathroom to wash his face. Good luck trying to get rid of glitter.

You huffed out a sigh at how boring it was getting if Sungho didn’t like to play your games, along with Jungkook being stuck inside his own little world. “This is so boriiiing”

“It was your idea Y/N”

“Yeah but you guys are no fun”

Jungkook pauses his game to turn to look at you “We can watch a movie if you’d like”

If someone were to tell 6 year old you that twelve years later, the kid that used to make fun of you would turn into your best friend, you would have probably laughed in their face, although as years went by, Areum had finally gotten better in terms of personality, up to the point where she had a full on talk with you before you decided to give it a try, even more so as she now took it as her job to protect you in high school, seeing as she was a year older than you.

“Jungkook has changed” the brunette said while taking a seat next to you inside the cozy smoothie shop, crumpling up her receipt inside her bag distractedly as you just stared at her, not knowing what had prompted her to talk about your best friend, Jungkook wasn’t exactly what one would consider popular, especially amongst the higher grades, especially not given the bickering grudge he held against Areum after all those years.

“What do you mean?”

“Just- seems like before summer he was this scrawny little thing, deer eyes, soft smiles” you looked at her intently, Jungkook had gone on vacation with his family for weeks as soon as finals were over, leaving with the promise of hanging out for the few days before school started again, similar to how you were now hanging out with Areum, her having arrived back a few hours before Jungkook “Now- well”

There were a million thoughts running inside your mind, some seemingly more plausible than others, tow hich yopu found yourself asking “Areum, did you fuck Jungkook?”

“I mean- we were both staying at the same hotel Y/N” Areum sipped on heir smoothie as a way to act coy about it, wide eyes turned the other way at the prospect of having said out loud that her latest conquest was none other than little Jungkook, the guy she had always made fun of for one or another reason

“Oh god you slept with Jungkookie” and you really tried to picture her, accepted into college, beautiful Areum, long lean legs, model faced Areum, flirt queen that always seemed to go for older guys Areum, paired up with sweet Jungkookie, sure, your best friend was cute, handsome even, there was no denying it, he was just not- Areum level handsome, Areum liked going out to party, let men shower her in drinks while Jungkook absolutely loved staying home battling Sungho in the newest video game that was around “I-I have no words”

“Y/N- Y/N don’t judge until you’ve tapped it” your friend seemed to space out for a second, as if looking back at her time with Jungkook, dreamily. “The guy got buff”

And sure he did, not only did Jungkook was now full of muscle, he also apparently had renewed his wardrobe, bought a motorcycle and apparently had even grown a few centimeters taller, or at least that much was said by Sungho as you three met up for lunch the day before classes started again, trying to catch up as you did every year when the three of you didn’t get a chance to hang out much.

“So are we getting that newly released game Kook?” Sungho mentioned in what appeared to be the background, your eyes completely fixated on whomever the man sitting in front of you was, definitely not your best friend Jungkook.

“Nah dude, I sold all my consoles and games to buy my bike” your eyes widened at the confession, probably mirroring the uttermost shocked look that Sunho was also sporting. Jeon Jungkook selling his videogames was definitely a sign of the apocalypse. You were about to make a comment before you heard a very familiar voice behind you, making you turn your head towards it.

“Jungkookie, you wanted me to come over?” her eyes had that sparkle in them which you have come to recognise as her being infatuated by someone, even if she didn’t really talked about it openly, you turned towards Jungkook in disbelief

“Yeah, Areum, lose my number”

You consciously close your mouth at the exchange as Areum backed away from the table muttering an ‘oh..okay’ as Jungkook smiled daily at her, your eyes lock in surprise with Sungho’s, both of you silently agreeing that this Jungkook was certainly a new side neither of you could yet guess whether or not you would continue to be able to befriend, although the history between the three of you spoke volumes.

And just like that, enough to get whiplash from it, Jungkook’s lazy uninterested eyes were replaced by the squinty smile you had learned to adore over the years, bunny teeth showing as his laugh resonated in the restaurant “Oh god you guys should have seen your faces!”

Your eyes travelled along the expanse of the space you three were in, looking at Sungho for a clue to pick up about what was happening, coming up empty handed as he spoke first “Dude I almost had a heart attack, I thought you had sold your games!”

“Oh no that I did” Jungkook took a sip out of his drink calmly

You tried not to show how nothing made sense in your mind “And that thing with...Areum?”

He placed his cup down, looking at you with wide eyes humming softly “Yeah that was a thing too, she’s been texting me non stop after we hooked up. I’m just glad I’m back with you guys”

So Jungkook had changed, that much was true, just not as much as he let people believe. Sure enough, the guy was now pure muscle, rode a bike everywhere, and made it his lifeplan to conquer as many girls as his schedule allowed him too; he also made a few other friends outside of your friends' circle, enough for rumours to go around about him being involved in shady business, or him hooking up with somebody’s mum. Either way, if you were to turn a blind eye to his social persona, Jungkook was still your and Sungho’s little Jungkookie, bambi wide eyes that teared up whenever it was movie night and you picked some chick flick, bunny teeth and loud giggles as he played a prank on Sungho, even though you could tell his heart just wasn’t in it as it was before.

“I’m gonna ask Y/N out” Sungho has asked Jungkook to meet him outside of campus on the first weeks of college as all three of you decided to attend together, uninterested on whatever it was that he was about to tell him, but trying to keep up his fractured friendship with the man (and you) he had shown up, even so a little fashionably late to make his point clear.

“And you’re telling me this because..”

“I don’t want to make it awkward, Jeon” Jungkook scoffs before rolling his eyes at Sungho “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you little boy crush on her for years”

“What I think you haven’t noticed is that I don’t do feelings” Jungkook retorts as he approaches him “And although I find Y/N to be quite fuckable if you ask me, I appreciate her enough not to put her in a weird place like you’re about to do, asshole”

Once weeks rolled around, things kept on being as the were after that fateful summer where Jungkook completely reinvented himself, even as semesters came and went, Jungkook grew a bit more separate from both Sungho and yourself, although it became a little harder to discern whether it was because of Jungkook or due to the fact that Sungho and you had started dating during the first semester of college. Sungho had no real answer to give you when asked about it, saying that outside of the scheduled movie night you three kept on sharing, he barely even texted Jungkook on his own.

“I heard your girl is getting married” his friend said as he handed him an opened beer, taking his place back against his bike in the middle of the night after some race they had gone to near the outskirts of Seoul.

Jungkook took a swing out of the bottle, squinting at the questionable choice in alcohol “I don’t have a girl Jihoon”

“Oh? Then what’s Y/N?'' he felt the blood draining from his face, heart heavy, breath hitching inside his throat as soon as your name left his lips. Of fucking course Sungho would try to marry you before you graduated. That bastard.

It was quite funny really, Jungkook knew from the very start, back when all three of you had 6 years old and you had saved him from a set of mean kids in the park, that Sungho was never fond of him, or rather, of the relationship you had developed with him, sure, the two men had bonded over a few shared interests as they grew up, but the only thing that kept them together was you. Sometimes Jungkook guesses it could have been him instead of Sungho, asking you out, sharing nights together, even being about to get married. But those thoughts were only wishful thinking, he had long ago decided that you deserved so much more than what he could give you, what with his eternal fear and inability to give himself up to others. So he had let you go, never thinking about the possibility of Sungho taking a place he wasn't worthy of either.

"Good for her"

It wasn't long after learning that you were engaged, that the invitation arrived to his apartment, just a few days after graduation. It wasn't really a surprise anymore, even back when he first heard the news, it wasn't that surprising, he guessed it was the years of knowing both you and Sungho, learning your patterns, that he had somehow seen it coming. It didn't make it any less hard to wish you weren't about to walk down the aisle to a man that wasn't him though. But he kept repeating to himself to stop being selfish, he had lost his chance, not that he ever had one to begin with, but as long as you were happy, he would be too.

And you really did seem happy, so he was willing to just ignore the way that his chest seemed to constrict every time your eyes locked on his from across the room as the rehearsal dinner, you were sporting a gorgeous emerald dress, the same colour as when you two first met eighteen years back, his mind spinning with impossible scenarios as each minute that passed really just turned out to be a minute closer to watch you walk down the aisle to another man, one that was supposed to be his best friend at that.

“Bride’s or groom’s” A sweet female voice called him as he sipped on his fifth? sixth? champagne flute, finding a woman staring at him with what he has come to recognise as lust.

“Eh.. you could say both”

A glimpse of recognition could be seen in her eyes before she spoke again “You must be Jungkook then, the overseeked bachelor”

“In the flesh” He smirked at her as she took a hold of his hand, guiding him upstairs to where you and your soon to be husband had booked bridesmaids and groomsmen alike for the night. Not that the blonde had anything to do with how utterly horrible he was feeling about the whole wedding situation but perhaps fucking his frustrations out would help just a little.

Jeon Jungkook was never the one to stick around until morning, that much was true, and although he might be known for a varying of unspeakable things, nothing could have prepared him for what he had to witness at ungodly hours.

He picked up the rest of his clothing after half dressing himself, not even sparing a second glance at the woman that was laying on her bed peacefully, careful not to make more sounds than the inherently necessary, his curiosity is peaked as he hears faintly moaning and skin slapping skin coming from the room next door, seeing the door barely open, and against his better judgement he peeks inside only to feel his heart pounding against his chest, blood rushing inside his ears as he can’t seem to look away from the image presented to him. Sungho, your soon to be husband, the one that he used to consider his best friend for years on end, the oh so righteous Sungho, ever morally correct Sungho, bending your other so-called best friend and maid of honour, Areum, over the comforter as he fucked into her. A few hours before he got married to you. After everything that he had put him through, making him believe that it was in your best interest top let you go, that he should have handed you over to him, that he was the best option out of the two of you to build a life with.

Jungkook sees red and doesn’t quite remember anything other than Areum running out of the room as he punches Sungho in the face, receiving some punches back.

“You absolutely disgust me”

The bastard has the guts to laugh at him “You know, Jeon” he goes to inspect his face in the mirror “If you burst Y/N’s bubble, you’ll forever be remembered as the stupid little boy that was jealous enough on her wedding day to ruin her life”

Jungkook clenches his fists by his side before deciding to turn his heels and leave the room, vision still blurry in anger, breathing ragged, a small trickle of blood making its way down from his eyebrow as he almost automatically walked himself to the other side of the hostel where he knew you must have been resting, taking a few too many second to decide to knock on the door.

“Jungkook? What are you- oh god” sleep seems to leave you as soon as your eyes lock on his beat up face, him smiling at you in a futile attempt to have you not worry that much about his well being, but of course you were already searching for a first aid kit as he took a seat on your bed “Jungkookie, what happened?”

And perhaps he didn’t think it through that much, but he couldn’t let you walk yourself into a marriage blinded by the persona Sungho had always made you believe he was. “Y/N” he took your hands in his, stopping you from rubbing any more antiseptic into his cut “You’ll hear,a nd probably have already heard, too much shit about me”

His eyes beg you to stare at him intently, and although the whole scenario had you giggling out of nervousness, it soon died down “Kook, what are you talking about?”

“Y/N- Sungho is not the man he’s made us think he is” your eyes scan his face for any more clues on what he’s saying a syou feel a beeping sound closing in on your ears, overwhelmed by the situation “And he’ll probably say this is me just being a jealous asshole after being in love with you for more than half of my living years but-”

You stare at him in horror as your hands remove themselves from his hold as if he was burning, standing up from where you were seated next to him, feeling your whole world being crushed down a few hours before what was supposed to be the happiest day of your life “No” you take a step back as you hold your chest, feeling hot tears welling up in your eyes “Jungkook please don’t do this shit to me”

“Y/N just- don’t marry Sungho” somehow he had willed his voice to remain calm

Your head shook fervently at him, as if somehow the action would make him retreat his words “Sungho loves me, Jungkook”

His eyes were ice cold at your words “He loves you enough to fuck Areum a few hours before making you his wife”

He really didn’t mean the bite on his words as he said them, this had nothing to do with you and everything to do with that asshole you called finacé, so he could completely understand when through your tears, chest heavy with rage and head spinning you asked “Please leave”

And he did.

Everything seemed like a fever dream. The words that Jungkook had said, the implication that it had. And really, if it weren’t for the fact that Jungkook was gone from the whole ordeal, you could have sworn your life that it was nothing other than a nightmare, Areum was as bubbly as ever, helping you get ready. Sungho’s good morning text still found its way into your inbox. Jungkook had not only accused you fiancé of cheating, but had said he had always been in love with you, no further proof to his words, so you decided to go as planned, yet you found yourself hyper aware of every move Sungho made, especially when they involved Areum.

You stood in your pristine white dress in front of a couple dozens of guests as traditional words were spoken, your mind a thousand miles away as you kept on looking towards the door, hoping that maybe, just maybe, they would open up, Jungkook would show up and stop you from making what could potentially be the worst mistake of your life.

"If anyone objects to the marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace." your eyes trail to the soor, yearning to hear Jungkook’s voice amidst the otherwise silent chapel, but it never came.

“Hey, Y/N come dance with us,” one of your bridesmaids say as the night progresses after dinner, some loud beat taking over the venue at the reception, making everyone stand up to dance, including your now-husband as you find yourself sulking sitting on your designated table.

“I’m fine, you go” you try to flash her the biggest smile you can as she goes, leaving you once again with your thoughts. Thoughts that mainly involved Jungkook, figuring that after all these years, life had managed to finally separate you, heart yearning to have him close to you, the more you became aware of your current life path, the more you realised what a humongous mistake you had made. You had always thought that marrying Sungho would give you a sense of utter happiness, of fulfillment, whether what Jungkook said was true or not, as you watched your husband having the time of his life without you. If he were Jungkook, he would be seated right by your side.

Jeon Jungkook, as deviated as he appeared to be to everyone, as much as he slept around, he had demonstrated to be the most loyal human being by your side up until the last second of your friendship, unlike Sungho, he had always been interested in what you wanted to do, had always let your voice be heard, had helped you through rough times when Sungho was nowhere to be seen, perhaps you had chosen the wrong best friend to fall in love with a few years ago, the wrong man in your life to marry. It had been Jungkook all along. It could have been Jungkook all along.

Your eyes fixate on the way that Sungho whispers something on Areum’s ear and you feel your blood boil, more out of self-pity and annoyance at letting such a man manipulate you rather than jealousy as you stand up to make your way to the bathroom, in hopes of freshening up before coming up with a plan to fix this mistake.

You sigh as you hold yourself up by the sink, looking at yourself in the mirror, pondering just how deep you’ll have to dig to come out of the mess when you hear an all too familiar deep chuckle behind you “So you realised”

You turn your back to the mirror to face Jungkook “That Sungho was an asshole or that I’m in love with you?”

His eyes turn into those deeply surprised deer shape you remember from when he was younger for a split second before they’re filled with something else between lust and deep appreciation as he backs you up further against the sink, a tattooed hand coming up to your chin “Does that mean I get to kiss you with no regrets now?”

“Would you kiss a married woman, Jungkook?” you ask playfully, matching the brattiness in his tone

“Only the ones whose husbands are assholes” and so his lips capture yours in a sweet quick kiss that has you wrapping your arms around his neck, leaning in once again, escalating from a very much due kiss filled with words that are unable to be said, into a fiery pit in the low of your stomach at the prospect of kissing Jungkook while still being in your wedding dress, just a few hours married and kissing another man.

Jungkook’s hands have abandoned their place on your figure in favour of trying to undo the little buttons on the back of your dress, breaking the kiss to complain “God just how many buttons does this dress have?”

Soon enough your dress lays forgotten on the floor, matching lingerie covering your body as Jungkook has most of your body up against the mirror, panties aside in favour of having him fingering you, arms almost failing to keep you upright as he mouths at your skin, moans escaping your lips regularly as he pumps and curls his fingers inside you, lewd noises taking reverbating on the small bathroom’s walls, a faint trail of bass coming in from the party “God you’re so perfect Y/N” he grunted as you heard his zipper coming down before feeling the tip of his cock teasing your entrance, his hand coming up to grip your hair making you face the mirror, makeup completely wrecked, the sight almost unrecognisable to you, a slight burning but pleasurable sensation on your scalp “I bet that bastard Sungho wouldn’t be able to wreck you like this” without further notice entering you from behind, your walls clenching against him as you felt him slowly but firmly making his way in and out of you at a building rapidly pace, a moan slipping past your lips and Jungkook shushing you in exchange as he increases his speed and you bit your lip to forbid any noises from coming out, afraid of being heard even when you knew it would be almost impossible to do so over the loud party noises, this bathroom being so far away from it.

Jungkook had placed your right leg up the sink, hitting an even deeper spot that had you building your orgasm at an incredible speed, throwing your head back in pleasure, feeling him completely inside you as heat pooled in your lower belly.

“K-Kook I’m gonna-ah! I’m gonna cum” a few flicks on your clit with his expert fingers as he helped you keep yourself upright did the trick as Jungkook made sure to somehow thrust even deeper, a loud moan scaping you as he spilled his warm seed inside you, quickly adjusting back his boxers and trousers as one of his fingers collected some cum that was dripping down your thigh to push it back in, letting go of you to hold yourself up against the sink, pulling your panties back in place.

“Think that counts as a wedding gift?” he turns to leave the bathroom, leaving you heaving to haphazardly step inside your dress as you trail behind him, finding him resting against a wall, his bike roaring a few meters away as he smiles your way knowingly as he puts on his helmet, throwing another one your way "So.. all ready to leave that asshole of a husband now or should I wait another 15 years?"

[whumpingcrow]

Giovanni and Salem - Music Store Snippet

Have a little comfort while I work on the next chapter :))

CW: bbu and everything in relation to that, drug use, nervous whumpee, conditioning/training mention, whip mention, shock collar mention, previous abuse/torture mention, brief death mention, mostly just Salem trying his best to make Gio feel better :) (Let me know if I missed anything!)

The music store was the best place to be on days like these. The roads were icy and snowy, the wind was weak but bitterly cold, and the sun was barely shining through the thick gray clouds. Salem knew in the car ride over that customers today would be few and far between, and he was grateful for that because he wasn't sure how he would handle looking after Gio on a busy day. He wasn't even positive he could handle it today either, but it was a little too late to change his mind.

Giovanni seemed afraid in the car, sitting with his spine straight and his shaking hands set neatly in his lap, like he had a gun to his head and would be shot dead if he moved a single muscle. He was staring down at his fingers, and Salem wondered why he would look out the window like it was his favorite past time at the house, but not in the car.

Once they were back on solid ground and in the warmth of the store, he looked less pale and shaking. He followed on Salem's heels as they passed shelves of CD's and vinyls and books, taking in all the bright colors and the mesmerizing patterns all around him.

"I have to go take care of a few things before I open," Salem said to him, "you can go look around, if you want." Giovanni nodded quickly, but he didn't make any move to leave Salem, and even kept following him as he walked through the store to make sure everything was in good shape. Salem didn't mind the company, but it was kind of saddening how Giovanni couldn't even stomach the idea of being alone for five minutes while Salem worked.

Giovanni stayed close to Salem and watched him as he turned all the lights on, unlocked doors, and opened cases. Gio was high still, so bad that when Salem spoke to him he couldn't really understand what he was saying, just saw his mouth moving and heard his voice. He was relying a little too heavily on his training, nodding when it felt like a reflex, looking ready and aware, even though he really didn't know what what was going on. All he really knew was that he was in some strange place with Salem, and that Salem was the safest person to be close to at the moment. He'd given him hot chocolate and warm soft clothes and ointment and had been so kind to him, even though he didn't have to be, even though Gio wasn't even his to take care of, and Giovanni was more than comfortable trailing behind him and saying nothing, if only it meant he would keep treating him so nicely.

But then Salem was walking through a small corridor, where he pushed back a curtain to display a room, lined floor to ceiling and wall to wall with instruments. Guitars, mostly, like the one that Salem had in his room, but there were other instruments, too, shiny ones and and huge ones and ones that Gio couldn't even imagine what they could possibly be used for.

Seeing all the guitars made Gio's stomach hurt. If Salem's room had given him a headache, this place would put him into a coma. He could feel the ghosts of the hands that had hurt him so terribly in training on him already, he could hear his own faraway begging and screaming. Despite the phantom pain, though, he stepped further into the room, eyes wide as he took all of it in. Each time his foot fell closer to the display of guitars in front of him, he felt more and more uneasy.

And yet, he just couldn't turn away.

This was punishable, he knew it, even if he couldn't remember why. At some point, his trainers made him well aware that these guitars were bad, touching them and being around them and even looking at them was punishable by fists or whips or the shock collar they sometimes put him in. Reflexively, his hands flew up to grab his throat, try to tear away the collar that sent an excruciating jolt through him when he spoke or cried or just took a breath the wrong way, but it wasn't there.

Salem was pretending he wasn't watching Giovanni approach the guitars as he turned on the lights to the display cases. The kid looked terrified still, and Salem almost wanted to take him back home, call into work and spend the day in his bedroom making Gio not scared anymore. Instead, he stayed silent and observed him.

Once he was close enough to them, Gio froze for a second, simply staring wide eyed at the one directly in front of him. It was dark blue, with silver strings that caught the light in every direction. Then, maybe because he was high and not thinking straight, he reached out and plucked one of the strings. It made a small sound, it would've been barely audible if the room hadn't been silent right then, and yet Gio flinched at it, ducking his head and biting back a whimper. The sound hurt, and not just because his mind associated it with training, but it also burned his chest with...longing. Like he missed hearing it. It must've been from his old life, then. Before he was a boxboy. Now, he cried out because of the thought, shuffling backward to get away from the guitar. Anything from before was bad bad bad, and Giovanni had to be good or he would be sent back. And he would rather die than be sent back.

"What's wrong?" Salem asked him, coming up to him with concern written into every detail of his face. Gio shook his head, looking away from Salem altogether. He was shaking again, his shoulders gave away his panicked breathing, and Salem was quick to loop an arm around his small frame and guide him out of the room. "It's ok," he assured him as they walked, "I've got you, Gio. You're ok."

Salem led him into a room at the back of the store, one with a desk and a chair with wheels and a carpet that looked like an animal or two might've been killed to make it. Gio was still shaking, looking over his shoulder every now and then like he was afraid someone was following them. Then the door was shut tightly and he looked up at Salem, looking sort of lost and confused.

"This is my office." Salem explained, walking past Gio to the desk and sitting down in the chair. It squeaked underneath him when he swiveled around and opened up a laptop that lit his face up blue. Giovanni watched him press on a few of the keys, then he stood a little straighter when Salem spoke to him. "Here, come here, I wanna show you something." He waved Gio over without looking, and then went bright red when he turned and saw him down on his knees next to the chair, looking up at him through his huge, drugged-out Bambi eyes. "Uh...Can I...?" Salem held up a pair of headphones toward him questioningly, unable to finish the sentence.

Gio nodded, only because he knew he had to agree, what kind of boxie would he be if he didn't? He still flinched a little when Salem slipped the headphones over his ears, making sure they were snug but not too tight. He pressed another button on the laptop, then began watching Giovanni closely.

The noise was loud, Gio jumped when it came through the headphones, but Salem was smiling softly so he didn't react anymore than that, he didn't want to make Salem stop looking so happy. After he got used to the volume, the sound that was coming through the soft pads hugging his ears was nice, comforting, and he felt himself relax a little. Something about it was familiar, but in a way that didn't make him ache, only made him feel some sense of home that felt like it'd been gone for years. With a soft sigh, he let his eyes flutter shut and simply allowed the sound to wash over him.

Salem could've cried at Gio's reaction to his music, how he relaxed after the first few chords, how he closed his eyes and, for the first time since Salem had looked at him, he seemed peaceful, unafraid. He leaned back in the office chair and watched him. But then Gio shocked him even further by leaning forward until his forehead pressed into Salem's thigh, bringing his hands up to cup the headphones closer to his ears. Then Salem really could've cried, because here was this broken boy, so afraid and high and in worse condition than Salem knew a boxie could be in, and he was cuddling up against Salem and listening to his music, really listening to it, and it was more than he could handle.

Instead of crying, and in an attempt to comfort them both, Salem dropped his hand ever so slowly to Gio's head, resting it there for a second to gauge a reaction. He was relieved when Gio didn't pull away or flinch but instead nuzzled closer to Salem's leg and pressed up into his hand, hard. So Salem pet through his hair in small, slow strokes, allowing more of his demos to play into Giovanni's ears as he did. When they were all finished, Salem could see that it had stopped playing on his laptop, Gio stayed still, and Salem thought for a moment that he'd fallen asleep. He was halfway too afraid to move, keeping his fingers tangled up in Gio's soft brown hair, until he realized that if Gio was asleep, the headphones couldn't be comfortable. He wasn't sleeping, though, and when Salem pulled the headphones off he peeled himself away from his leg and opened his eyes.

"Thank you," he whispered when Salem looked back down at him, "that was...Thank you, Salem."

Salem nodded at him, then wrapped up the headphones and set them down pointedly. "Can I ask you something?" Of course, Gio agreed instantly. Salem didn't know why he expected any different. "How come you got so upset back there? With the guitar?"

Gio blinked a few times, mostly embarrassed at how he'd reacted, but also scared that the reaction was going to earn him pain later on. But it was hard to be afraid of Salem, especially when he'd just shown him beautiful sounds and pet his hair so softly. There wasn't any threat to his voice, just genuine curiosity. So Gio answered him honestly. "When I went through training they took away everything that made me bad. It just...sometimes when I try too hard to remember the stuff they took it uh..." He trailed off, Salem could see his jaw flex as he bit down around the words that seemed too difficult to say. "It hurts, is all. Cause it's bad."

If Salem didn't already think the idea of boxies and training was evil, he definitely thought it then. Giovanni felt pain, genuine actual pain when he tried to remember who he was before training, when he looked at a guitar, and that just broke Salem to pieces. He couldn't contain his empathy, and he pushed himself off of the chair and joined Gio on the ground. He looked at him for a second, at the way he was twisting a piece of the faux fur rug in between his fingers as he looked at Salem apprehensively. Then, Salem reached forward and pulled Gio into his chest, cradling him as closely as he could. I'm so sorry that they did this to you. I wish I could go back in time and save you, Salem thought. He hoped Gio could sense the thought in Salem's arms, but it was ok even if he couldn't, even if to him it was just a comforting embrace to sink into, because even that was better than just letting him sit there in all of that pain.