#planned an event and you and another officer are planning one right now. like ok??

[saltinesinsoup]

oughhhhhhh

[asahicore]

how to get back at your ex - lhs (m)

this work contains smut - minors please do not interact

pairing. heeseung x fem!reader

synopsis. When you catch your boyfriend of four years cheating on you on the day of your anniversary, your first reflex is to get black-out drunk by yourself at a bar near your place. There, you run into your colleague and close friend Heeseung, and together, you come up with a plan to get back at Sunghoon for what he did. But as you carry out your pranks with Heeseung, you realize that maybe, what they say about love is true - sometimes, it is right there in front of you, patiently waiting for you to recognize to it.

genre. f2l, coworkers au, mainly fluff and smut but also some angst, heeseung is crazy about reader and sunghoon is the asshole cheating ex

word count. 19.9k

a/n. you’re probably thinking why the hell is there a cat pic between the 2 heeseungs… just read further and it’ll make sense 😇 hello everyone and welcome back to another repost from my old blog bc i currently have no time to write something new.. maybe next week will be the first fic of the 100 kisses event! but no promises 🥰 anyways i really enjoyed going over this again so i hope y’all like it and as always pls lmk what u think ok bye love ya

Park Sunghoon, that fucking bastard. You were going to kill him. If your hangover didn’t kill you first, that is.

You wake up with a pounding head and an unquenchable thirst, groaning at the awful sensations you knew you wouldn’t be able to get rid of for the whole day. But worse than the dry mouth and the ringing in your ears, you had a broken heart, and to your disappointment, the alcohol hadn’t managed to glue it back together. If anything, it had only deepened the cracks and made you drown in self-pity. You felt terrible physically but you also felt sorry for yourself: what had made you think drinking four bottles of soju to yourself and probably double as many cans of beer would help you get over your asshole of a now ex-boyfriend Park Sunghoon?

You manage to sit up on your bed, eyes half-open from the bright sunlight that your thin curtains failed to keep from entering the room. You realize you’re completely naked, which doesn’t surprise you as you have a habit of completely undressing and collapsing in bed after a night out, never bothered enough to put on some pajamas or take your makeup off. Your room looks the same as always, but there’s a scent in your bed which you can’t quite put your finger on. It’s familiar, yet it feels odd, smelling it here. You turn your head towards your bedside table and notice a watch that clearly isn’t yours lying there. You pick it up and examine it more closely: you’ve definitely seen it before, but on who?

You manage to sit up on your bed, eyes half-open from the bright sunlight that your thin curtains failed to keep from entering the room. You realize you’re completely naked, which doesn’t surprise you as you have a habit of completely undressing and collapsing in bed after a night out, never bothered enough to put on some pajamas or take your makeup off. Your room looks the same as always, but there’s a scent in your bed which you can’t quite put your finger on. It’s familiar, yet it feels odd, smelling it here. You turn your head towards your bedside table and notice a watch that clearly isn’t yours lying there. You pick it up and examine it more closely: you’ve definitely seen it before, but on who?

The small clockarms of the watch let you know it’s 7:46 a.m. - you have no time to give any more thought to who might be the owner of this watch. You scramble out of bed, not wanting to be any more late for work than you already are. As you wash your face and brush your teeth, you curse yourself for drinking yourself into oblivion on a Tuesday, of all nights. Now you were going to have to face the whole office with one of the worst hangovers you’d ever had in your seven years of legal drinking.

As you enter the office and walk to your desk, you feel your colleagues’ stares and pitiful looks. You check the time on your phone: you weren’t late, had somehow gotten lucky enough to arrive at 8:30 on the dot, so why were they looking at you like that? Was it the sunglasses? You’d worn them in hopes of hiding your tired, puffy eyes, but they were probably just making you more noticeable.

You sit down at your desk and hold your head in your hands for a few seconds, catching your breath from having run all the way from the bus stop to your office building, and mentally preparing yourself for the day ahead. When you raise your head, two of your colleagues are standing next to you, looking at you with sympathy in their eyes. Your eyebrows perk at the sight of them, and you’re wary of what they might be about to say.

One of them, Miyeon, sighs, and starts speaking first. “Y/N…” she sighs again. “We just wanted to let you know that we’re here for you. We’ve heard about… you know,” she says. You slowly nod and turn your head away from them. The realization that everyone knows about your breakup with Sunghoon hits you, and no matter how nice your coworkers are, right now, you just want to get as far away from them and their unwelcome pity as possible.

“What he did,” the other one, Yuqi, picks up, “is really terrible. You know how rumors travel fast here, and, well, we’ve all decided we wouldn’t talk to him unless it was work-related,” she says, and you try not to scoff. As if work wasn’t the only thing they talked to him about anyway. Still, you know it’s coming from a good place, so you muster a smile and thank them, saying you appreciate it. You hope they’re done and will leave, but they hover around your desk, so you turn your gaze back to them with a questioning look.

Miyeon puts her hand on your shoulder. “You know… this happened to me too, a few years back. I know how shit it feels, to have someone you love and you thought loved you cheat on you. If you ever need anything, I’m here,” she says, and you give her a small but genuine smile this time.

“Yeah, anything,” Yuqi chimes. “Whether you wanna talk about it, or get drunk,” and you try not to visibly cringe at the idea of alcohol, “or punch him, just call Miyeon or me. Or both of us. We’re menaces together,” she says, and the three of you laugh.

“Thanks, guys. I’m glad you’re here.”

As you watch them head back to their respective desks, you feel somebody else staring at you. When you meet eyes with Heeseung, his face perks up and he gives you a shy wave. You’ve known Heeseung for ages, having joined the company as interns and getting promoted to full-time employees at around the same time. You’ve seen that face and that smile almost everyday for the past four years now, yet today it feels different. He’s never waved shyly at you, as if he was excited yet embarrassed to see you. You don’t mean to frown at him, but you’re so confused about the sudden change in how you see him that you can’t help it. His hand drops and he awkwardly turns his gaze back to his computer. You keep staring at him, trying to recall something that might explain this shift in his behavior. It was fine yesterday at the office… Could it have happened after work?

You try to go through the events of the previous day one-by-one in your head. Wanting to prepare something special for your four-year anniversary with Sunghoon, you’d gotten off work a bit early, a skip in your step. But when you came face-to-face with him kissing another woman in one of the stairwells, you halted straight in your tracks. You’d just stared at each other for thirty seconds, one surprised they’d been caught, the other trying to figure out whether their eyes were deceiving them or not. Sure, your relationship with Sunghoon wasn’t always perfect, but you hadn’t thought it was so bad he’d need to go stuff his tongue down somebody’s else throat - and that at your shared workplace, too. It’s like he wasn’t even trying to hide it, like he wanted you to find out. The embarrassment and humiliation were almost worst than the pain and betrayal.

“Y/N…” he started, making you snap out of it and realize that yes, this was your boyfriend of four years you had just seen kissing another woman. You took a step back as he moved towards you, shaking your head in disbelief.

“Y/N,” he repeats, “I’m- Listen, this isn’t- Let me just explain-” he scrambled for an excuse, but nothing came out. There was no justification for this.

“Save it, Sunghoon,” you spat. “Whatever you have to say for yourself, I don’t wanna hear it.” You continued past him down the stairwell, ignoring his pleas for you to stay and hear him out.

“Y/N, please, just give me a minute to-”

“No, Sunghoon!” you almost screamed out, turning around to face him. “You can go fuck yourself.” You hadn’t let yourself cry in front of him, not wanting to appear more pitiful than you already felt. As soon as you got in your car, you burst into tears, gripping the steering wheel as you sobbed like a baby.

You shake your head at the fresh and painful memory, not wanting to dwell on it any further. You’ll probably feel like shit for the upcoming weeks or months, so you’ll have plenty of time to rehash the painful memory later on.

After that, everything is a bit of a blur. You remember managing to get yourself home without crashing your car despite your tear-induced fuzzy vision, then throwing your bag and coat somewhere on the floor and immediately opening a bottle of wine, gulping most of it down in a pathetically short amount of time. And that’s about it.

The overwhelming emotions you were feeling along with the fact that you hadn’t eaten anything since lunch that day made the alcohol go straight to your head, and you were drunk very quickly. Foggy bits of your night flash in your mind: picking up your stuff and heading out, sitting at the counter at the nearby bar, chatting animatedly with someone else. The memories are hazy and nothing is coming back to you precisely, no matter how hard you try to focus.

You realize you had been frowning at Heeseung the whole time you were recalling the evening’s events. He looks up at you and returns your frown, seemingly upset at the look you were giving him. You suddenly see his face in your mind, except the Heeseung you picture then is different from the one you see everyday. He’s still in his work clothes, but the tie has been discarded and the top buttons have been opened. He’s smiling lopsidedly at you, as if he too has a few drinks in his system.

That’s when it hits you: you were with Heeseung yesterday night. Your frown turns into a suspicious gaze, which he imitates, tilting his head to the side as he peers at you. You text him to meet you in the break room in five, hoping he could fill in the blanks. You desperately needed a coffee anyway.

In the break room, you gulp down a bottle of water while you wait for the coffee to be ready. Heeseung struts in a minute later, a smirk you’ve never seen before on his face. He’s heading straight towards you, and your eyes widen when he doesn’t stop at an appropriate distance from you, just keeps walking until he’s towering over you. He’s definitely acting weird today.

“Miss me already?” he says as he leans in close to you, making the small of your back hit the counter behind you. The sudden proximity with your friend makes your eyes go even wider. He’d never been so close before and you could smell his cologne on him, an oddly familiar scent.

“W-what?” you stutter out. Registering your confused face, Heeseung takes a quick step back and starts fiddling with his thumbs, avoiding your gaze. His demeanor is a total 180 from the one just a second ago, and the change gives you whiplash.

“Sorry, I just- I thought since last night, you know, you would maybe want me to, I don’t know- I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me…” he trips over his words, still not looking at you. You open your mouth to say something but nothing comes out, trying to make sense of the situation. You look down at his nervous hands and notice he’s not wearing the watch he usually has on everyday.

The watch, his scent, his strange awkward yet flirty behavior, the fact that you’d remembered seeing him last night… Everything is starting to piece together. You gesture between the two of you. “Last night… did we…?” you ask tentatively, hoping he’d get the message.

He looks up at you. “Do you not- do you not remember?” he says, disappointment in his voice.

You cover your mouth with both of your hands as you gasp in shock. How could you have hooked up with your friend and colleague of five years and not even remember it?

Heeseung’s head drops and he lets out a dejected scoff. “Guess you don’t.”

You take a step towards him as you raise your hands, trying to defend yourself. “No, no, I do, a little bit. It’s just all… very fuzzy,” you say, hoping it’ll make things a bit better. You clear your throat. “Could you, um, tell me what happened exactly last night? Might help me fill in the gaps.” You smile at him but he doesn’t return it; he just sighs.

“Sure,” he says, and you breathe out a sigh of relief. “You know Jake and Jay?” he asks, and you nod. You’d met Heeseung’s friends at a few parties he’d hosted. “Well, we were out drinking last night ‘cause Jay got promoted. When we got to this bar, I saw you drinking by yourself at the counter so I invited you to come and sit with us, and you said yes. You looked really upset, but you got so excited as soon as you saw us.”

A scene suddenly flashes in your mind. You were losing yourself in your thoughts as you sat alone at the bar, two empty bottles of soju in front of you. Your head that had been resting in your palm was about to slip and hit the counter when you felt a hand clasp your shoulder.

“Y/N!” a familiar voice shouted excitedly, and you turned your head to find Heeseung grinning at you. The sight of him brought an immediate smile to your face, and you got up to engulf him in a hug.

“Hey!” he called out again, and you said ‘hey’ back, your voice muffled from having your face buried in his neck. Had he always smelled this good?

You took a step back and greeted Jay and Jake, who waved back at you, smiling. “What are you doing here all alone?” Heeseung asked, and the alcohol stopped you from coming up with a lie.

“Sunghoon cheated on me,” you answered, pouting. Now that you weren’t sitting and didn’t have Heeseung to lean on, you were swaying a bit. The three boys looked between each other with shocked expressions on their faces, not expecting this to be the reason you were solo-drinking.

Jay and Jake looked at you with sad smiles, saying they were sorry you had to go through that. Heeseung, on the other hand, looked angry. A deep frown made his eyebrows crease as he shook his head. “What an asshole! He has no idea what he just lost,” he exclaimed. Then, putting his arm around you and leading you to another table, he added, “Let’s go, Y/N! Come and drink with us.”

You look at Heeseung standing in front of you in the break room and nod slowly. “Okay, I remember that. Then what?”

“Then we just talked and drank. Jay and Jake left around midnight, but we stayed until the bar closed. I don’t remember myself that well what we talked about, but we definitely talked about Sunghoon, that jerk.”

You cringe at the mention of your ex. “God,” you sigh, “I hope I didn’t cry or wallow or something embarrassing like that.”

“Nothing like that,” Heeseung says, a smile teasing his lips. “If anything, you were cursing his name. You told me about all the shit he did that annoyed you, like how he would always forget to buy the milk or how he got overly mad at you for putting the pots back in the wrong cupboard. You were absolutely enraged. And so was I, to be honest. Look,” he says, pulling out his phone, “we made a list of ways to get back at him.”

He hands you his phone, the Notes app open. You read it out loud.

“How to get back at Y/N’s ex, He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Disclaimer: none of this can back-fire against Y/N, so they must be small things that will mess up his everyday life but can’t be traced back to her, i.e. no keying his car or TPing his place, as satisfying as those things would be.”

You let out a chuckle. “We really thought this through, didn’t we?”

Heeseung laughs as well. “Yeah, I’m not sure how we did that considering how drunk we were.”

You start reading the list, all of its boxes left unticked. “Go into his office and mess up his paperwork. Buy a bunch of keys on Amazon, write his phone number on them and lose them all over town. Change the labels on his shower products and hide his TV remote when Y/N hands him back his stuff. Make him regret what he did.”

You look up at Heeseung. “These are pretty good ideas, actually. He always needs everything to be super organized, so he would definitely freak out at some of these. And the keys one would just make anyone go insane,” you say with a chuckle.

Heeseung smiles at you. “I know we were drunk when we made this list, but I promised you I would help you get revenge on him. So, if you still want to do it, I’m down. I can’t lie, I really want to see him suffer the consequences for what he did.” You stare at Heeseung for a bit, grateful that he’s willing to help but perplexed as to why he would do it. What would he get from getting back at Sunghoon?

He watches as you stare at him, the left corner of his mouth lifting into a small smirk. The action is simple, but it makes your stomach flip. You blame it on the hangover.

“Let’s do it,” you say, trying to make the tension in the air dissipate. “Let’s make his life hell. For a short while at least. Just until I feel better.”

“Yeah?” Heeseung asks, raising his eyebrows in an amused manner.

“Yeah.” You guys high-five, laughing at the childishness of your plan.

His eyes don’t leave yours for a second and you don't think Heeseung’s ever held eye contact with you for such a long time - the way it makes you feel is too unfamiliar and you have to look away. After a small pause, you timidly ask, “By the way, did we- last night, did we actually, you know…”

“We didn’t,” he says, making you look up at him. “We almost did, but we were both so drunk that we kinda just… fell asleep mid-way.” You slowly nod your head, memories slowly coming back to you for what feels like the hundredth time today. “We made out. Naked. But we didn’t actually have sex,” he finishes, finally averting his gaze from yours.

You remember kissing Heeseung in front of the bar and then running with him to your building, laughing like teenagers, and heatedly making out in the elevator all the way to your apartment, then to your bedroom. You remember bursting into fits of laughter every now and then, the both of you so drunk that you couldn’t take what you were doing seriously. Everything made you laugh: the lipstick stain on his lips because of you, your mismatched underwear, how either of you could barely walk straight and fell on top of each other on your bed. You remember falling asleep, your face buried in the crook of his neck, both of his arms protectively wrapped around your waist.

“How come you weren’t there when I woke up?” you suddenly ask, remembering your empty bed that morning.

“I woke up really early, but you were sleeping so peacefully, I didn’t want to wake you up. I would’ve left a note but I couldn’t find a pen anywhere, so I just… left. Sorry about that,” he apologizes, his hand coming up to the nape of his neck.

“That’s alright,” you say, but you couldn’t help wondering what it would’ve felt like to wake up next to Heeseung. Probably better than what you woke up to this morning, you think.

You’re about to say something when you hear the door open, and Heeseung’s piercing gaze towards the person who just entered tells who it is before you’d even seen him. You turn around to find Sunghoon staring right at you, his eyes already pleading with you.

“Y/N,” he starts, but you cut him off immediately.

“I’ve already told you I don’t want to hear it, Sunghoon. You can save your breath.”

“Can you at least let me apologize, please?” he asks. You look at him, and you’d be lying if you said this didn’t hurt like a thousand little papercuts. You hadn’t let yourself feel anything since last night, preemptively drowning your emotions in alcohol. Now that your ex stands in front of you, trying to apologize, his betrayal and the end of your relationship hits you like a ton of bricks. And it doesn’t feel very nice.

“Did you not hear her? She said she doesn’t wanna hear it,” Heeseung steps in, but you take his wrist, not wanting the two of them to get into a fight at the office. Heeseung and Sunghoon had never liked each other, your friend deeming Sunghoon wasn’t good enough for you, and your boyfriend judging Heeseung and you were too close for friends.

“It’s alright, Heeseung. Just go back to work, I’ll see you later.” He stares at Sunghoon for another second and turns to you, clearly not wanting to leave you alone with him. You mouth a ‘please’, and he reluctantly walks away. Before he can leave the room, though, he turns back around and says, “Oh, by the way, I think I left my watch at your place. Could you give it to me tomorrow?”

You pivot towards him with wide eyes, cursing him for mentioning it in front of Sunghoon, but he’s not even looking at you. He’s staring right at your ex-boyfriend, clearly having said this just to rile him up. You stutter out a ‘yes’ and Sunghoon starts towards him but you stop him before he can get to Heeseung. The latter finally leaves, a victorious smirk on his face.

Sunghoon’s eyes, who were apologetic just a minute ago, are now burning with anger. “What the hell, Y/N?! Is this your way of getting back at me or something? Getting into bed with the first guy who throws himself at you?”

You glare at Sunghoon, in absolute disbelief at his words. You want to scream, pull out his hair, kick him in the shins, but above all that, you want him to apologize - even though you have no intention of accepting his apology whatsoever. So you close your eyes, breathe out through your nose, and say, “I thought you were here to apologize, Sunghoon.” You open your eyes to see him still visibly angry but trying to stay calm like you. When he doesn’t say anything for a few moments, you add, “For your information, Heeseung and I did not have sex. And even if we did, you lost the right to get mad at me when you slept with somebody else while in a relationship with me. Just say you’re sorry, and leave me the hell alone.”

Sunghoon looks at you, appearing somewhat baffled by how calmly you’re taking things. You were usually sensitive and reacted emotionally and your serenity was throwing him off. He had always been the cool and collected one in your relationship, not you. He doesn’t like this sudden shift in your attitude, and he doesn’t like the fact that Heeseung thinks he can have you now. “You know what? I was going to apologize, because I know what I did was wrong, but I don’t want to anymore. I guess Heeseung was glad you were rid of me so he could finally fuck you, huh?” You flinched at his loud voice and prayed no one else could hear your conversation.

“I just told you we didn’t have sex!” you whisper-shout back. Thankfully, he takes on the same volume as you.

“Then why is his fucking watch at your place?”

“That’s none of your fucking business anymore!”

Sunghoon and you just stare at each other for a few moments, and you fight back the tears pooling in your eyes. You’ve cried a hundred times in front of Sunghoon, and you want him to feel bad for how much he hurt you, but for some reason, it feels like crying in front of him would be giving in. It would be saying, You wanted to hurt me and you did. You wanted me to hate you and now I do.

“Just leave, Sunghoon, please,” you say, voice weak. It takes all you have not to fall to your knees and bawl your eyes out in this break room. Sunghoon calls out your name, and his voice is much softer than it was seconds ago, as if he finally realised just how much he’d fucked up.

You look up at him and a single tear rolls down your cheek. “Please, Sunghoon. Leave.” He opens his mouth and closes it again twice, lost as to what to say anymore. Finally, he just leaves silently, and you’re immensely disappointed but not in the least surprised. You’d always fought for your relationship, fixed things when they had gone wrong, apologized first after a fight even when it wasn’t your fault, and Sunghoonhad never returned your commitment more than half-heartedly. You’d foolishly hoped that maybe, this time, after such a big mess, he’d want to make things better.

You watch him walk away, taking a moment to gather yourself in the break room. When you finally muster the courage to leave the room and go back to your desk, you almost walk past Heeseung who had been waiting right outside the room this entire time. A worried look in his eyes, he asks if you’re okay.

“Let’s ruin this asshole’s life,” you say, and Heeseung grins at you.

—

That day at lunch, you and Heeseung start scheming. Hunched over your pasta salad, you discuss the first step of your evil plan, namely, ‘go into his office and mess up his paperwork.’

“Easy. We sneak in there when everybody’s left, and we fuck his shit up,” Heeseung says, stealing some of your lunch.

“What if somebody is working late?” you ask, nudging his fork away with your own.

“Well we’re not gonna barge in there. We’ll check that the room is empty.”

You hum. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”

Heeseung looks up at you, registering your hesitant expression. “What? Already deflating?” he asks, a grin on his face. “C’mon, Y/N. It’ll be harmless fun… mainly.”

You meet his eyes and let yourself be convinced again. You lean in a bit closer, and he mirrors your action. “If we do this, we have to be subtle about it. We can’t just throw his papers all over the place, that’ll be too obvious and he’ll probably figure out I did it.” Heeseung nods his head, urging you to go on. “We need to put some files in the wrong folders, hide his color-coded post-its, exchange the lids on his pens, that kind of stuff. It’ll make him go crazy.” You bite down on your lip, trying to suppress your excited grin, but you can’t help it. All these years, you’d been subjected to Sunghoon’s obsession with having things neat and in order, no matter how tedious it was. The idea of him freaking out over a stapler in the bottom drawer instead of the top one brings a smile to your face, even though you know how petty such a prank was.

Some colleagues join you at the table, and you spend the rest of lunch chatting about work and making small talk. All throughout the afternoon, Heeseung and you exchange sneaky glances and giggle at the eye contact, both filled with childish excitement for your evening plans.

Eventually, your colleagues start trickling out, and by 7 p.m., only you and Heeseung are left. He joins you at your desk and tries to distract you from your work for half an hour, making stupid jokes and pointing at non-existent faults in your files. You think he must be starting to be bored out of his mind when he starts humming to ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’, so you pack away your stuff, shut your computer and announce it is time for the prank. He jumps up from his seat with a huge grin, shouting out, ‘Let’s go!’ before marching out of the office. You watch him go with an endeared smile, shaking your head at his antics.

You walk side by side towards Sunghoon’s office, looking around to make sure you don’t walk past anyone on your way there. The whole floor seems to be empty, and you get there without being noticed. You enter his office, the both of you tip-toeing to Sunghoon’s desk for dramatic effect, but quickly burst into a fit of giggles when you realize how stupid you must look. Lucky for you, everybody’s already left: every seat is empty and the lights are off, the whole office basking in the glow of the moon.

Heeseung lets out a low whistle upon seeing Sunghoon’s desk. As you’d described, it is very neatly arranged, to a point that it seems almost obsessive. Every load of paper is stacked so perfectly into place that if you peered at it from above it would look like there was only one sheet of paper, each pencil has been freshly sharpened, and he’s got three to-do lists (a daily one, a weekly one and a monthly one) on color-coded post-its. There isn’t a thing out of place.

“God, was he as much of a control freak in your relationship as he is at work?” Heeseung muses, peering in horror at your ex’s desk.

You can’t help but laugh at the comment, even though the truth behind it almost makes you wince. “Yeah, he kinda was. He would decide on every little thing we did, whether it was what we ate that night or how I should organize the cutlery drawer in my apartment.”

Without missing a beat, he deadpans, “How could he. Everyone knows you should never mess with someone’s cutlery drawer.”

You look at each other for a second, and you weren’t sure whether he was being serious or not; but when you see a small smile appearing on his face, the both of you dissolve into laughter at his stupid joke. Maybe the adrenaline of what you’re doing is also part of the reason why it takes you a few moments to calm down, but when you do, it hits you that you haven't laughed so much in a long time. Heeseung and you have been good friends for a while, and you’ve always known he was funny; but spending more time with him makes you realize just how giggly he makes you.

The realization fills your heart with warmth but you don’t want him to notice the growing blush on your cheeks, so you turn towards the desk, pretending to analyze its contents some more. You take a long look at it and decide where you should start.

You pick up the sheet of paper at the top of the neat stack on the desk and place it randomly somewhere in the pile. Heeseung snorts at the seemingly insignificant action and you can’t help but think it’s ridiculous as well, but you know it’ll strike a nerve in Sunghoon.

He joins you closer to the desk and starts picking up random objects only to move them by an inch or placing them in one of the drawers. You do all the things you said you would: exchange the pen lids so that he’d take a red pen thinking it was a black one, stick his post-its underneath the desk like schoolkids do with used chewing-gums, and slightly mess up his files. Neither of you can stop laughing at how ridiculous you’re both being; you thought you had this great idea for a prank, but here you are, hiding a pencil sharpener. When Heeseung simply flips over Sunghoon’s pencils so that they are eraser-up rather than tip-up, you hit your limit of stupid things you could do. You burst out laughing, bent over and clutching your stomach. Heeseung can’t help but follow you in your laughter, loving how much you’re enjoying this prank.

You’re barely catching your breath when you see the light from a flashlight appear at the door and you hurriedly grab Heeseung’s wrists, bringing him down with you to hide underneath the desk. You hear footsteps approaching, soon followed by a booming voice: “Hello? Is anyone here?”

It’s the security guard - either he’s doing his regular night rounds, or he’s heard the ruckus you and Heeseung are causing. You hear him mutter something under his breath, but quickly enough, he walks away. When you hear the door close behind him, you release a breath you’d been holding for way too long, and the feeling of your nervousness dissipating all at once makes you let out a laugh. You meet Heeseung’s eyes only to find him staring back at you with wide eyes, and that’s when the reality of the position you’re currently in hits you.

You’ve still got a tight grasp on his wrists and you’re holding them up to your chest, so that the two of you are sitting face-to-face, crammed close together under the desk. You realize just how close he is when he releases a shaky breath and you can feel it fan on your lips. Your heart starts to pound at the proximity, and with how close he is you’re scared he might hear it. His eyes drift down to your lips and you feel panic bubbling inside of you: what if he actually tried to kiss you?

You hastily release his wrists and try to get up from under the desk, but you’re so distraught that your head hits it, making you yelp out in pain.

“Y/N! Are you okay?” Heeseung asks, emergency in his tone, and he immediately wraps his arms around your shoulders to stabilize you.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, it was just a small whack,” you say, even though you feel a bit dizzy, which you prefer to think is because you hit your head rather than because of Heeseung’s gaze mere moments ago.

“That sounded like more than a small whack. C’mon, let’s go get something cold for that, you’ll get a bump on your head otherwise.” He gets up and extends his hand out to you to help you do the same, and you stupidly stare at it for a few seconds before finally taking it. He guides you to the elevator, and there he lets go of your hand to put an arm around you. You don’t have the heart to tell him you can stand up on your own. You garner a few weird looks from the security staff as you leave the office building, but ignore them and hurriedly walk to the convenience store across the street.

“Sit down here, I’ll go get something for your head.” He sits you down on the little stairs in front of the store and puts his jacket over your shoulders, heading inside before you can protest. He’s back in less than five minutes, a pack of frozen peas and two ice cream cones in his hand.

“I saw these next to the peas and I couldn’t help myself,” he says with a sheepish smile. “Chocolate or vanilla?”

He was holding up the two cones in front of his face, waiting for you to choose. Your heart skips a beat at the simple but sweet gesture; when buying food, Sunghoon would never ask for your preferences, assuming you’d want the same as him.

You take the frozen peas and the vanilla ice cream, thanking him in a small voice. The cold of the peas immediately appeases the pain and the ice cream tastes sweeter than usual. The two of you sit in silence for a while, occasionally humming and swinging in rhythm to the music playing in the convenience store. In this moment, you feel oddly peaceful.

From your side view, you notice Heeseung turning his head to look at you. You mirror his action and find an amused glint in his eyes. “Are you satisfied with our work?” he asks.

You look ahead of you, thinking for a small moment. The adrenaline of doing the prank has worn off, and you try to see how you feel now that it’s over. “Yeah. I think I am,” you say, turning to look at him again. You’re no stranger to Heeseung’s features: you’ve seen him almost everyday for the past four years of your life. When you close your eyes, you can easily picture his face, his eyes, his smile in your mind. Not that you’ve made particular notes of his habits, but you know how his eyes crease at the corners when he laughs really hard and how he seems to unconsciously raise one of his eyebrows when he talks about something he’s interested in.

But tonight, he looks different. You don’t know if it’s because of the way he’s looking at you or if it’s how the LED lights of the store sign are hitting him perfectly, making him look like he comes straight from a rom-com, but somehow, right now, you’re not looking at your colleague Heeseung. You’re looking at your friend Heeseung, the one who agreed to help you get revenge on your ex, the one who got you a pack of frozen peas for your insignificant injury, the one who shivered at your touch and looked at your lips not fifteen minutes ago. You find yourself wondering what it would’ve been like if he’d actually leaned in to kiss you. Would his lips be as soft as they look?

You shake your head, trying to rid your mind of such thoughts: your break-up was not even a week ago and you were in no state to get back into a relationship so quickly. It wouldn’t end well for either of you. So you turned away from him, escaping his gaze that made you feel too many things you didn’t have the strength to understand.

Heeseung nudges your shoulder with his. “I hope it makes you feel better knowing that he’ll get to the office with an unorganized desk tomorrow morning.”

You chuckle, but the mention of Sunghoon still makes your heart sting. Nothing you do will ever be enough to hurt him like he hurt you, but you don’t see much point trying to do that, anyway. Making his life a bit worse for a while will have to do. “It does,” you simply say, not wanting to dive into complicated emotional territory. You were thankful enough that Heeseung had helped you out tonight, you didn’t want to put your baggage on his shoulders as well.

When you’re both done with your ice creams and your head feels better, you decide to call it a night and head to the building parking lot together. Your cars aren’t parked on the same level, but Heeseung insists on walking you to yours first. You hug him goodbye, and you intend it to be a short hug, but he snakes his arms around your waist, bringing you close to him. You’re a bit taken aback at first, but his scent is comforting and you wrap your arms around his neck, grateful for the warm hug.

“Thanks for tonight, Heeseung. Really,” you say, voice a bit muffled from having your face buried in his shoulder.

“Of course, Y/N, anytime.” You don’t really want to pull away, but you also don’t want things to get awkward if the hug lasts too long, so you lean back, hiding your disappointment at the loss of warmth. You fumble around your bag for your keys and hold them up with an embarrassed chuckle when you finally find them. Heeseung is looking at you with a sweet smile and you curse your damn heart for pounding so foolishly, body and brain at odds with each other. With a last quick ‘bye’, you get into your car, wave him goodbye, and drive away, releasing a shaky breath.

You see Heeseung in your rearview mirror, hands in his pockets, looking at his feet as he kicks a pebble on the ground, and you think you even see a grin on his face.

You smile the whole way home.

—

Heeseung pours himself a cold, well-deserved beer as soon as he gets home. He flops down on an armchair in his living room, not even bothering to turn the lights on; the faint glow of the streetlights outside will have to suffice. He unbuttons the top of his shirt and undoes his belt, getting himself more comfortable.

You haven’t been off his mind for a second since you parted ways half an hour ago. To be fair, you haven’t been off his mind much since you too met way back when. He can still picture you, four years ago, as a fellow fresh intern, your curious eyes and polite manners he’d found so endearing. The both of you were often tasked to work on projects together, and he’d admired your drive, hard work and attention to detail since the beginning. But then he’d started to notice other things than your professionalism, like how you’d frown when you really liked the food you were eating or how your lips would form a straight line when you tried to not laugh at his stupid jokes. He’d quickly started to make those jokes just in hopes of seeing your cute attempt at hiding a smile or, even better, hearing your laugh. He’d ignored the swelling in his heart and the sweat in his palms every time he saw you as long as he could, until he realized he shouldn’t have ignored them. He’d convinced himself he wasn’t jealous of the way your whole face perked up whenever Sunghoon entered the room, but when you told him you were officially dating that asshole, and how completely smitten with him you looked, he couldn’t deny it anymore. Heeseung had the stupidest, fattest, most unachievable crush on you.

He’d had to see you experience your highest highs and your lowest lows with Sunghoon, even though he knew you always tried to keep your relationship problems at home and not bring them in the office. He’d tried to be as good a friend as he could, never letting onto his feelings for you. If he couldn’t have you the way he wanted, he’d settle for being what you wanted him to be.

When he found out what Sunghoon had done, he was angry beyond words. He wanted to punch that jerk, but more than that, he wanted to make you feel better. So that night, he let you drink as much as you needed, he made you laugh as hard as he could, he agreed to your revenge plan, and when, outside of the bar, you drunkenly pressed your lips to his, he let you. He let you take him home, and take off his shirt, and he’d be lying if he said he was only doing it for you; he has dreamt of your hands on him for the longest time now, but he didn’t want for it to happen like this. So he easily got you to stop and fall asleep before you could do anything you’d regret the next morning.

When he woke up next to you, he felt his heart longing for something that is so close and yet so far out of reach. He softly tucked a few strands of hair behind your ear, making you whimper in your sleep, and it took everything in him not to hold you in his arms as hard as he could right there and then. But he didn’t want to wake you up, and he didn’t think he wanted to be there when you woke up either; he wouldn't know what to say, how to explain his presence. He wanted a few hours to think and talk to you in the office later.

We all know what happened after that.

Now, he doesn’t know whether he’s inching towards his goal or he’s fucked everything up. He can tell you’re behaving differently around him; he’s noted everything about you, so of course he’d notice as soon as something changes with you. He hoped it wasn't creepy that he complimented your haircuts every time you got one without you telling him first.

He thought everything between you might have been ruined when you banged your head on the desk in shock when he looked at your lips, but your little moment in front of the convenience store and in the parking lot made him hopeful that your friendship might shift into something more. He knows you’ve too recently broken up with Sunghoon to be ready for a new relationship, and he’s waited four years, so he can wait a few months more; but he also wants to make sure you won’t go anywhere else now that he has a chance. He doesn’t think he could forgive himself if he let you go again.

—

The next day at work, you hear gossip going around the office about an apparent ‘tantrum’ that Sunghoon threw upon arriving at his desk. He was going on and on about his post-its being gone, his pens and pencils being all messed up and his files being disorganized. Everybody thought he was crazy, though, because his desk looked just as neat as usual. You and Heeseung exchange a knowing look, and you’re quite proud that it had the effect you had hoped for.

You don’t talk about doing another prank until the next Friday; you do want to do another one, but you think it’s best to not have them too close together, and you’re not sure if Heeseung wants to help you with it. You make a note to mention it to him after the weekend.

As you’re about to leave work, Miyeon and Yuqi enthusiastically step towards you, wide grins on their faces. “Y/N!” Yuqi calls out, making you stop in your tracks.

“Hey, guys! What’s up?” you said, sensing what was coming. They exchange a look before looking back at you.

“Come get drinks with us, please!” Miyeon says, and before you can protest, she adds, “we know you’ve had a tough week, but we think it’d be a good idea for you to get your mind off of things!”

You smile a bit sadly at them, genuinely appreciating their concern but wanting to spend a nice, quiet evening alone.

“No. Nope, don’t give us that look, it means you want to say no,” Yuqi scolds.

You sigh and say, “I’m really sorry, guys. Thank you so much for the offer, and I promise we’ll go out together soon, but I don’t think I can tonight.”

They sigh as well and take turns hugging you, Miyeon saying, “That’s alright, we did expect it a bit.” They start walking out of the office, but not without Miyeon pointing at you with her finger, adding, “But you better keep that promise!”

“I will!” you reply, watching them leave with a smile. You follow soon after and drive back home, looking forward to a tranquil night in.

And it is, until you hear a knock on your front door around 8 p.m. You haven’t ordered any takeout, so who could it be? You’re only wearing a tiny tank top and pair of shorts, so you quickly grab a sweatshirt to cover your figure and open the door. Heeseung is standing there, holding up an Amazon delivery packet in one hand and a bottle of white wine in the other.

“Evening!” he beams down at you.

“H-heeseung? What are you doing here?” you ask, stepping to the side so he can come in.

He hands you his things as he enters, then takes off his shoes and jacket. “Well, I overheard at the office earlier that you weren’t going out tonight, and I thought it’d be nice to keep you company.” He notices your surprised face and immediately his eyes widen, stammering, “Oh God, that’s so rude of me, I just completely invited myself over, I’m so sorry, Y/N, I’ll leave-”

He tries to take back the packet and the bottle from you but you just giggle at his antics, reassuring him that it’s fine and that he’s more welcome to stay. “I said no to the girls because as sweet as they are, it’d be socially draining to spend the evening with them. It’ll be fine with you,” you said, not realizing how true the words were until they were out of your mouth. Being around Heeseung was effortless, you could just be yourself without having to worry about the clever thing to say or tip-toe around certain subjects.

He grins at you and you try to ignore how pretty his smile is. “I’m glad to know that.”

You tell Heeseung to go sit down in the living room while you go get two wine glasses. When you see him sitting on your sofa, something weird but not entirely uncomfortable settles in your chest. He’s been to your apartment a few times before, for office party after-drinks or for projects with other colleagues, but he’s never been by himself (well, except for Tuesday, but that doesn’t count, you tell yourself), and you’re not unaware of the implications of having an attractive man alone at your place and drinking wine with him.

“What’s in the Amazon bag?” you ask as you put the glasses on the coffee table and start pouring you both a drink.

“Something you’ll be very happy to see,” he says with a wiggle of his eyebrows. He opens up the packet to reveal a plastic bag full of keys with a “Ta-da!”. Each key has an unmarked keychain tied to it, and you remember your plan: buy a bunch of keys on Amazon, put his phone number on them and lose them all over town.

You start nodding fervently, a huge smile on your face. “Yes! Part two of the plan shall commence,” you say, and you hand him his glass so you can clink them together. But before that, he raises his hand, looking at you solemnly.

“I’d like to propose a toast,” he starts, making you snort at his fake pompous tone, “to you, Y/N, for not letting that asshole bring you down and still being the coolest person I know.”

You giggle as you clink your glasses with a cheers. You’re surprisingly touched by his words, but you don’t wanna turn the atmosphere all emotional and mushy, so instead, you tease, “I’m the coolest person you know? The people you hang out with must not be very cool then.” You look up at him from your drink with a mischievous smirk, and if you had any idea of the way that look made him feel, you’d probably be blushing hard.

“They are cool,” he insists, “just not as cool as you.” He stares back at you with that glint you can never figure out in his eyes, and it’s too much after five seconds so you look away with a huff.

“Whatever, let’s just get to work.” You go get two pens and plop back down in front of Heeseung, letting the keys spill from the bag onto the couch. The two of you chat and sip on wine while you write down Sunghoon’s phone number on a hundred keys each. He tells you about how he met Jay and Jake in freshman year of college and how they’ve somehow stuck together all this time no matter their differences, and you tell him about your childhood friends you only see when you go home from time to time but often keep in contact with. He brags about his karaoke skills and you make him promise to show you one day; he agrees in an instant. You say you’ve been thinking about getting a cat now that Sunghoon’s not around to complain about his allergy and ‘the mess it would make anyway,’ and Heeseung offers to come and choose one with you at the pet shelter. It’s such a nice thing to do, you think, and you try not to suffocate as your heart grows three times its size.

“Thanks, Heeseung. I’d really like that, actually,” you say, and if he notices that your eyes have teared up a bit, he doesn’t say anything.

“How are you, by the way?” he asks after a few moments of silence. “And don’t give me that bullshit you give everyone at the office. Tell me how you’ve been, really.”

You sigh deeply, willing your heart to get back to its normal size. “I tell everyone I’m fine because it’s so much easier and faster than the truth. I’m not sure how I am, to be honest.” You look up at him and his eyes softly tell you to keep going. “Sometimes I feel like there’s been a weight lifted off my chest and sometimes I feel like I’m gonna crumble under it all. I knew my relationship with Sunghoon was bound to end; we were both obviously getting tired of each other. This might be TMI, but we only had sex like once or twice a month towards the end, like an old married couple,” you say, chuckling a bit awkwardly. You could just blame it on the alcohol. Heeseung lowers his head so you wouldn’t see the blush creeping on his cheeks at the idea of sex with you.

“I think we lost feelings for each other a while ago, but it was easier staying in a fading relationship until we actually had a tangible reason to break up. Guess he provided that for us,” you say with a dry chuckle. “But in a way I’m happy it ended badly, because if we’d broken up amicably, I’m scared I might have had moments where I doubted whether it was the right decision or not. Now I know I’ll never go back to him.”

You wouldn’t go back to Sunghoon - Heeseung hopes you don’t hear his shaky intake of breath at that news. He doesn’t say anything, so you keep going.

“I think I’ve realized that ifI’m upset, it’s because of how humiliating what happened is, not because it actually happened. Does that make sense?” you ask, looking up at Heeseung.

He nods. “Yeah, I think it does. It’s just cowardly, isn’t it? If he wanted a reason to break up, there are a thousand more respectful ways to do it. Talking about it, for one.”

“Exactly. Which I think is why I want to do all this,” you gesture at the keys in front of you, “if I was actually sad because I lost him, I’d just be a crying mess right now. But I just want to piss him off, make him feel some kind of repercussions for what he did. He’s not a suspicious person originally, but I’d love it if this made him think he was being punished by the Gods or something.”

As Heeseung and you continue talking, you both keep shifting in your seats so that you end up cross-legged, facing each other and knees touching. You try not to pay it too much mind but it feels like all the heat in your body has gone to the spot you’re touching and you wonder if it would feel this warm if you touched him anywhere else.

After another thirty minutes, you’re done filling in all the keys and put them back in the bag to spread all over town the next day. Heeseung agrees to a movie, so you prepare some snacks as he gets the movie ready on your TV. When you come back in the living room, he’s got a blanket wrapped around him, lifting it and tapping the seat next to him when he sees you. Your heart melts like ice cream in the sun at the sight, and you curse it for doing so many weird things tonight.

The movie is a rom-com you’ve seen a thousand times, so you use that excuse to focus your attention on the man next to you rather than what’s playing on the TV. You’re scooted close enough to him so that your sides are touching, and your theory from earlier turns out to be true: it feels hot in all the spots your bodies come into contact. You want to fall into him because somehow, you trust him enough to catch you. You settle for resting your head on his shoulder, and his arm comes immediately around you as if he’d been waiting for you to make a move. He starts to rub gentle circles on your shoulder with his thumb and your whole body relaxes under his touch.

You turn your body towards his, and you hesitate for a few minutes because you’re afraid he might hate it but his soft caresses tell you it’s okay, so you shyly put your legs over his lap, your arms coming up to wrap themselves around his neck. “Is this too much?,” you mumble and he tries not to shiver at the feeling of your lips moving against his neck. You’ve been longing to have someone close for months now, but all your attempts at giving Sunghoon your love had been turned down so coldly that you were fearful to try it with anyone else.

“No, no, not at all. You could never be too much, Y/N,” he mumbles into your hair, and your heart races (because it just won’t settle down, tonight) at his words. You don’t think too much about it, though, otherwise your brain might short-circuit.

When you feel your eyelids getting heavy, you gather the strength to say, “I‘m getting sleepy, Hee,” the nickname leaving your lips before you can stop it.

“That’s alright, you can fall asleep,” he whispers back, and drifting off to sleep wrapped up in his arms feels like being in a cloud.

—

The next morning, the sunrise drowns your living room in warm yellow light, and the brightness wakes you up. Your eyes flutter open and you find yourself pressed to Heeseung’s chest. You can feel his heart quietly beating against your cheek and the sound of his soft snores fills the silence in the room. So this is what it feels like to wake up next to Heeseung, you think, and you really like it.

You lean back very slightly to raise your head and get a better look at him. His mouth is wide open, and there’s a small pool of saliva at the corner of his lips, but you’ve never found him more adorable. You suppress a giggle at his cute state and bury your head back into his chest, hugging him a bit tighter. You’re not sure whether you should do this or jump away from him, but the first option feels right. Plus, if you fell asleep like this, he surely wouldn’t mind waking up the same way, right?

Heeseung feels so warm in your arms. Now that you’re awake, you’re having a bit of a hard time staying still. You hike your body up his a little bit, intertwining your legs even more, and engulf your face in the crook of his neck. You take in his scent and it’s almost dizzying. His cologne has practically worn off even though hints of it are still there, but it’s the smell of his skin that makes your mind cloud. It should feel odd, being in such an intimate position with someone you’ve considered a friend and colleague for so many years, but it’s somehow comforting. You smile into his neck, nuzzling your nose a bit further into it.

He squirms a little in his sleep, and he tightens his grip around your waist so that instead of having his arms loosely wrapped around you, he’s now holding you closer to him. He lets out a low hum as he slowly stirs from his sleep and the sound makes your stomach flip. You sigh into his neck and feel him shiver at the feeling. You start rubbing his back and he hums again. “Are you awake?” you murmur softly, lips moving against his skin.

“Mh-hm,” he sleepily replies, slipping his warm hands underneath your shirt. Goosebumps appear where he touches you but your skin is on fire. As your breath gets quicker, you feel something you haven’t felt in a long time bubble in your stomach: need. Right now, you need Heeseung. His hands on you and the proximity of your bodies are intoxicating, but you need more.

The feeling is overwhelming and you don’t know what to do with it; you feel it in the tips of your toes and the palms of your hands, and it makes your head spin. You bring yourself somehow even closer to him and you bury your whole face in his neck, desperate for something, anything, and you hope he gets what you’re trying to convey.

His hands that were resting on the low of your back ride up against your shirt, exposing your back to the cold air. You exhale at his touch, squirming and biting back a whimper when his hands trace the line of your waist, making you arch your back and bringing your chest closer to his. He likes how sensitive you are and caresses you along your sides so he can hear you whine because of him. He’s just touching your back, but it’s sending you into a frenzy, and you can feel wetness pool between your legs and the knot in your stomach get tighter. You hear his breath hitch when you press a soft kiss right underneath his jaw.

“Y/N…” he breathes out, and the thought that he might want you as much as you want him right now makes you double down on your ministrations. Oh, if only you knew. If only you knew how long he’d been waiting for this, and how he thought he might be dreaming it all, not believing that he was actually holding you right now and that he could feel your lips on him.

Your soft kisses turn hungrier and sloppier, and soon you’re leaving wet marks all over his neck and jaw. His hands snake down to your ass, grabbing it tightly as he brings your crotch down onto his, and the friction makes you mewl. You untangle your leg from between his to hook it over his hips so you can feel his growing erection against you even more. As you grind against each other, you’re both breathing and moaning loudly, and his needy whimpers make your brain draw a blank. Keeping one hand on your ass, the other comes up to cup your jaw, making you look up at him, and he kisses you ravenously, tongues meeting in a desperate clash. You moan into the kiss as your hips rock together, his erection rubbing perfectly against your core. You pull back to catch your breath, but keep your lips close together so that you’re breathing each other’s air, making you feel dizzy with pleasure and want. You rake your hands through his hair, tugging at the strands, and he breathes out a curse at the feeling. He dips his hand under your shirt, tracing the outline of your breast with the knob of one of his fingers before playing with your nipple, softly twisting it between his digits.

“Fuck, Heeseung,” you moan, “that feels so good.” Your mind is completely blank, overwhelmed with the intense pleasure you’re feeling, and you feel like you might cum without him even touching you down there at all. “How does it feel so good?”

“I don’t know, Y/N. I don’t know either,” he purrs in your ear. “I think I might cum in my pants like a fucking fifteen year old,” he says, and you choke out a laugh.

“Me too. It just feels so fucking good.” As you utter those words, the knot in your stomach starts to get tighter and tighter, and you feel it might break apart anytime now. “Fuck, Heeseung, I think I’m gonna cum. I can’t cum like this, fuck, it just feels too good.”

Heeseung presses his fingers into your hips, surely leaving marks for you to find later there, bringing you even harder down even harder against his clothed cock, and you whine out at the feeling. “Please, please cum for me, Y/N. It’s okay. Please cum for me,” he begs, and his words send you over the edge. The knot breaks as your orgasm ripples through you, making you moan out a string of curses and Heeseung’s name. He doesn’t stop for a second, desperately chasing his own high and slightly overstimulating you.

“Say my name again, please.”

“Hee- fuck, Heeseung, you cum too, baby,” you stutter, unable to bite back the moans that escape your lips as he continues rutting into you. He brings his forehead to yours, resting them against each other. You kiss him all over his face. “Heeseung, fuck, baby, cum for me.” With one final thrust, his movements still, pleasure written all over his face as he shoots out his release, making a mess all over himself. You kiss him softly on the lips as he comes down from his high, the both of you catching your breaths.

You meet his gaze and burst into a fit of laughter, him following soon after. “Fuck, what was that?” you ask between giggles.

He rakes a hand through his hair then covers his eyes with forearm, grinning from ear to ear. “I don’t know, but it was fucking amazing.”

The two of you stay there for a few moments, arms around each other, basking in the sensation of your orgasms, and you can’t stop smiling. After a few minutes, Heeseung breaks the comfortable silence.

“As much as I’d love to stay like this for hours, I’m really sticky now,” he says with a laugh. “Shall we go get cleaned up?” he asks, a tempting glint in his eyes.

“Sure,” you reply, smiling at him. “Head first, I’ll join you in a minute.”

Heeseung nods, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead before heading off to the bathroom. You lay there, closing your eyes as you try to make sense of what just happened. You and Heeseung had just gotten off on each other, and it had felt damn good. You wanted more of him; all of the cells in your body were screaming at you to get up and follow him into the shower. But it was also so confusing: you broke up with Sunghoon just a couple weeks ago, and here you were, lusting after your co-worker and friend. You aren’t blind, you’ve always known that Heeseung is an attractive man, but the sudden change in the way you see him these past few days makes you dizzy. Whatever this is, you don’t want it to be because you suddenly feel free and jump at the first man in sight or because you need someone to fill a Sunghoon-shaped hole in your heart. You don’t think it is, but you also don’t fully trust yourself to have your head screwed on right at the moment. All you know is Heeseung deserves better than being someone’s rebound, and you’re scared you won’t be able to give him what he should have.

The sound of the shower turning on wakes you from your thoughts and you get up from the couch, joining Heeseung in the bathroom. Your breath hitches in your throat at the sight of him in all his naked glory. He’s standing back to you as he lets the water run over his head and down his toned back, and you try not to gawk at the muscles there. You want to trace the outline of them with your fingers, you want to feel his shoulder blades move underneath your hands, you want to press kisses down along his spine, you want to see goosebumps on his soft skin at your touch. You want him. But you also don’t want to hurt him.

So for now, you take your clothes off and join him under the hot water that’s already started to fog up the mirror and the glass walls of the shower. He lets out a soft gasp when you place your hands on his waist and he turns around to look at you. He looks just as perfect from the front as he does from behind.

“Hi,” he says quietly, smiling down at you.

“Hi,” you say back, roaming your thumbs over his sides. He leans down to trap your lips in a kiss, and you let him, even wrapping your arms around his neck to bring him closer. You open your mouth for him when he traces your bottom lip with his tongue, and you only pull away when the both of you are breathless.

You look down to see that he’s gotten hard again and you both laugh at the sight. “Sorry. Can’t really help it,” he says, grinning. You shake your head and give him a peck on the lips. He could probably slip right in, with how wet you were, but there was a line between you two that you were a step away from crossing, and you didn’t know if you should or not.

“Heeseung,” you call, holding his face in your hands. He hums in response, closing his eyes and leaning into your touch, and your heart feels heavy with unexplainable emotions.

“I’m scared,” you say honestly. He opens his eyes again at your words and his hands come up to cover yours, intertwining your fingers together as he brings your arms down so that they’re hanging at your sides.

“Of what?”

“Of this. Of all the things you’re making me feel that I shouldn’t be feeling right now.” You drop your head, not wanting to see the potential disappointment on his face, but he takes your chin in his hand to bring it back up. The look he gives you makes you feel more naked than your actual lack of clothes.

“Why shouldn’t you be feeling them?” he asks, eyebrows slightly furrowed. You get the sense that he’s not upset at you, however, just genuinely confused. “Because you just got out of a relationship?” he asks, and you nod. “But didn’t you say you lost feelings for him months ago?”

“I did, but it’s still a shock, breaking up after four years of being with someone. I don’t wanna string you along.”

“Y/N, you could drag me through dirt and I’d thank you. I’ll take anything you give me if it means I get to be around you,” he says, and his words pierce right into the deepest crevices of your heart, filling them to the brim. “I mean it. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m desperately in love with you. I haven’t particularly tried to hide it, especially this past week, and I’m sorry, I should’ve realized you’d need time before getting into another relationship. That is, if you’d even want to be with me.” His eyes never leave yours as he confesses his feelings for you. All you feel now are his hands around your waist, the water hitting your skin long forgotten.

“You- You’re in love with me?” you stutter, shocked by the sudden news.

“Yes, but that’s not what’s important here. If it’s time that you need, I’ll give it to you. I’ve been waiting for almost five years now, I can handle another few months.”

“Heeseung…” you start, but all you can do is hug him close to you and bury your face in his neck. Words aren’t enough to express how grateful you are for him.

“I’m sorry if I’ve pressured you. I just think I finally saw a chance and jumped on it, but the last thing I want is to make you uncomfortable.”

“You’re not,” you say into his neck, “you’re not. You could never. Thank you for understanding and being patient.”

“Of course,” he says, keeping an arm around your waist and the other one coming up to stroke your hair. You lean back to take a look at him. How did you not realize how perfect he was all these years?

“I’m sorry. You deserve better than someone who makes you wait while they get their shit together.”

He shakes his head. “Don’t apologize. I’m happy you’re even looking my way at all. Don’t even get me started on how ecstatic I am to be in a shower with you right now,” he says, making you both laugh. You bring your lips to his and he kisses you back like it’s second nature. Before it can get heated again, you pull away and smile at him. He looks at you like you hung the moon in the night sky.

You should feel shy being completely naked in front of Heeseung, but for some reason, it doesn’t faze you at all. The love in his eyes makes you feel like there’s nothing to be shy or embarrassed about. It’s worlds away from Sunghoon’s cold gaze you had gotten used to.

You press some body wash in your hand and lather it all over his torso and back, letting your hands roam down to his butt with a giggle. He does the same thing for you and your heart pounds as you feel his hand all over you. You try not to moan when his palm brushes over your sensitive nipple.

“You’re so pretty, I could eat you right up,” he says as his eyes rake your body up and down, voice lower and eyes darker than they were moments ago. When his gaze meets yours, his face however immediately softens. “But I’ll wait before I do that,” he adds, pressing a soft kiss to the tip of your nose.

Later, you get out of the shower and dry off, then get ready for the day ahead. You spend it going around the city hand-in-hand with Heeseung. Even though the goal is to spread the keys all over town, it just feels like one day-long date. You let your footsteps take you in any direction, through paved alleys, over bridges and along tramway tracks, making sure to drop keys here and there, sometimes leaving them out in the open or hiding them behind flowerpots, so that they’d be found either in the next hour or in a year.

When you start getting hungry, you buy sandwiches and sodas from a convenience store and sit down by the pond in the park, enjoying the sun on your skin and each other’s presence. You can talk freely about anything with Heeseung without feeling judged in the slightest, and even when you’re rambling on about a show you watched or your latest random obsession, he listens to you like you’re telling him the solution to world peace. He laughs at your jokes and makes you blush with compliments and you don’t even think for a second about the reason you’re doing this in the first place. That is, until you run head-first into him.

You spent another few hours walking around and dropping keys, but got too tired and decided to get an early dinner in a bar-restaurant in the center of town as a reward for your hard work. It’s one of Sunghoon’s favorite places, and you were hesitant to go there at first, but decided that it was time to make new memories and replace bad ones with good ones. The restaurant hadn’t done anything to you, so there was no reason to avoid it. Except that the chances of running into your ex here are somewhat bigger, and of course, he had to be there now of all times.

You’re almost done eating when you see him. Or rather, you hear him. He’s screaming at the TV that’s playing a baseball game and apparently, the team he’s rooting for is losing. At first, you think the sound you hear is a fragment of your imagination: Sunghoon doesn’t get drunk and scream at TVs, especially in public places. Hell, he doesn’t even keep up with baseball. You think it’s just someone who sounds eerily like him, but you turn your head and find him hunched over the bar counter, four empty pints of beer in front of him. Sunghoon doesn’t drink beer, you think.

You gawk at him, in disbelief of his behavior, and soon enough he turns his head and sees you as well. He squints his eyes as if he’s having trouble figuring out whether that’s you or not he’s seeing, and when he confirms it, his eyes go wide and he immediately gets up, heading towards you like a drunk bull towards a red cloth. He’s teetering and you think he might fall down when he gets to your table, holding onto it for dear life.

“H-hey, Y/N,” he says, eyes looking at you but not quite focussed. He doesn’t even spare a glance at Heeseung. This isn’t the man you were dating for four years, you think. This cannot be the same man that organizes his desk maniacally or considers one glass of wine heavy drinking. But it is, and it’s a side of him you’d practically never seen before because he keeps it in the deepest corners of himself. It’s the side of him that lets go of any control, that finally doesn’t care about anything. It’s probably the side of him he hates most.

“Hi, Sunghoon.”

“Wha-what are you doing here?”

“I’m having dinner,” you curtly reply, nodding towards Heeseung. Sunghoon takes a look at the man in front of you, eyes widening then squinting again.

“Heeseung? Seriously?” he says as he clearly tries to suppress burps, slurring his words. “God, I should’ve seen this coming. You always made googly eyes at my girlfriend.”

“I’m not your girlfriend, Sunghoon. Not since you cheated on me,” you say, staring hard at him. His head falls and he drops to a squat, still holding onto the table. He looks back up at you and does something you’ve almost never seen him do before, and definitely never for you.

He cries.

His eyes are red and already puffy from the alcohol, but now tears swell in them as a tear rolls down his cheek and his lips start to quiver. Then all of a sudden, he’s full on sobbing in the restaurant, garnering curious looks from other customers.

“Oh, God,” you say under your breath, holding your head in your hands. There have been so many times he could’ve done this, showed you that he actually cared, but he just had to choose now. When he takes your hand in his and brings it to his face, Heeseung seems to hit his limit. He gets up and you think he’s going to manhandle Sunghoon out of the restaurant, and he does do that, but only after paying for the unfinished meal. When he comes back from the till, he takes Sunghoon up by the armpits and makes him walk to the outside of the restaurant, you following close behind.

The chilly night air hits your face, calming you down slightly. It’s still infuriating to see Sunghoon acting this way, and it takes everything in you not to just punch him in the face when he starts towards you again, trying to take you in his arms.

“I’m sorry, Y/N, I really am, please just give me another chance. Or at least let me talk to you! I promise I’ll be better,” he screams out between sobs as Heeseung holds him back from you. You just cross your arms and stare coldly at him, willing the tears forming in your eyes to not fall. If there’s one thing you don’t want him or Heeseung to think, it’s how sad this is making you. Your tears are angry, frustrated ones; not heartbroken ones.

“You’re drunk, Sunghoon, I don’t wanna talk to you right now. Actually, I don’t want to talk to you, ever.”

“I’m not- I’m not drunk, I swear,” he says just before tripping over his own feet, almost face-planting on the pavement had Heeseung not been holding him steady. “I just had a really bad day, people kee- people keep calling me about keys, and I miss you so goddamn much, Y/N. I’m sorry. Plea-please, come back to me.” His words all sound meshed together and it takes effort understanding what the hell he’s saying.

“Why don’t you go to whoever you cheated on me with?”

“She doesn’t- she’s no match for you, Y/N. Please. I miss- I miss you.” You just roll your eyes in response.

He continues begging and making false promises, and you order an Uber after two minutes, not able to take any of this anymore. You sit him down in front of the restaurant, telling him to stay put, then take Heeseung’s hand and start walking away. You don’t even bother checking that he got in the Uber safely; he’s not your responsibility anymore.

You walk in the direction of your apartment. It’s silent for a few minutes until Heeseung speaks up, softly asking you if you’re alright. “I’m fine, just pissed off,” you reply colder than you mean to. You don’t want to take your anger out on Heeseung, but you feel like you’re going to explode if you bottle it in. He tries to get more out of you, to get a glimpse of how you’re feeling, but you’ve spent the last four years not talking about emotions because Sunghoon considered them a nuisance and you don’t have the strength to unlearn that behavior right now. You find yourself snapping at Heeseung when he asks you questions, and he quickly figures out that now is not the best time to talk to you.

You spend the rest of the walk in silence, Heeseung’s presence next to you the only thing keeping you from hitting a wall or screaming into the night. When you get to your apartment building, you’ve calmed down, and you apologize for acting that way towards him.

“I’ve just never seen him like that before, and it makes me so angry that he does this now. The sheer audacity of this man to cheat on me and then make a scene in front of everyone. He’ll never go to that place again, I’m sure,” you say with a dry chuckle.

Heeseung takes you in his arms, resting his chin on top of your head and slowly rubbing your back. “I’m sorry about him. All I can think to explain his behavior is that he has nothing to hold onto now, so he comes back running to you. I can’t lie, I really wanted to punch some sense into him, but I didn’t wanna make anything worse.”

You take a step towards him and nuzzle your face in his chest, warmth spreading all over you. “I had such a good day as well. I’m mad it had to end that way.”

“I know, me too,” he sighs into your hair.

You lean back to look at him and he brushes some hair out of your face. “Thank you so much for today, Heeseung. I had an amazing time. And I’m glad to hear he’s already been bothered about the keys,” you say with a laugh.

“Anytime, Y/N,” he says, placing a kiss at the top of your head.

“I think I want to be alone tonight. Just to think a little bit.”

“Of course. I’ll see you Monday at work, then?” he asks with a smile, which you return.

“See you Monday, Hee.”

He kisses your head a second time and walks away, and you already miss him. You call out to him when he’s a few yards away, and he pivots, still smiling at you.

“What’s the next thing on the list?”

—

The next day, Sunghoon sends you a text thanking you for the Uber and apologizing for his behavior but still asking to meet up so you can talk. You tell him you’ll drop his stuff off at some point after work this week. Then you block his number.

—

Being at work feels different now that you know about Heeseung’s feelings for you. You like to catch him staring at you then tease him about it during your breaks. You have lunch together, laughing hunched over your tupperwares, and if you weren’t so engrossed in each other, you might notice the knowing look Yuqi and Miyeon exchange whenever they see you acting like highschoolers. Now that he doesn’t have to hide how he feels, he gets you coffee every morning and gives you little notes that never fail to make you smile. In the evenings, he texts you about random stuff, and then apologizes about how he might be coming off too strong. You tell him that it’s fine and that you like it a lot; more than you should, probably, but you don’t say that. The two of you aren’t even properly together, yet you’ve never felt so cared for by anyone in your life.

On a Thursday night, you decide to go to Sunghoon’s and drop his stuff off together. At first, you say you should probably go alone, but Heeseung insists on accompanying you.

“I don’t want you going over there by yourself, what if he’s as drunk as last time? Plus, it says it right here that I need to be there for the prank to work,” he argues, and you agree that it’d be reassuring to have him with you. You re-read the list you’d drunkenly made together: Change the labels on his shower products and hide his TV remote when Y/N hands him back his stuff. This is a two-man job, after all.

Once at your apartment, Heeseung loads the trunk of his car with the two boxes of things Sunghoon had left behind and that you’d already gotten ready while you mess around with his shower products. You exchange the shampoo and conditioner labels and empty the bottle of body wash, replacing it with shaving cream. Sure, he’ll quickly figure out what happened and know you’re the one behind it, but you don’t care about that anymore. It didn’t matter that he knew what you were up to; this was the last prank, anyway.

Heeseung drives the both of you to Sunghoon’s apartment. When your ex-boyfriend opens the door, he seems taken aback to see the both of you there but quickly masks it, his poker face back on. Now that’s the Sunghoon I know, you think.

“Hi, Y/N. Heeseung,” he curtly greets, stepping aside so the two of you can come in. “I’m guessing you’re here to return my things?”

“Yes,” you say, looking around the familiar apartment. Nothing’s changed: it’s still as white and tidy and squeaky clean as it’s always been.

“Right. Just put them over there then, that’s fine.” Heeseung puts them down where Sunghoon points, then there’s a silence for a few seconds.

“Well, if that’s it, then…” you start and head for the door, not wanting to be around Sunghoon for longer than you needed to.

“Wait!” he suddenly calls out, making you and Heeseung look at him expectantly. “Y/N, can I uh, can we talk for a minute? Alone?” he asks, poker face suddenly crumbling.

“Um, fine, sure,” you say, and follow him into the kitchen. When his back is turned, you gesture at Heeseung to go into the living room and hide the remote as per the plan. He gives you a thumbs up as you enter the kitchen.

Once you’re in there, you cross your arms, waiting for a clearly struggling Sunghoon to start. “Right. You know I’m bad at stuff like this, so I’ll just make it short,” he says, and you try not to scoff. “I’m sorry, Y/N. I really am, for how things ended, and for getting drunk and being embarrassing like that the other night.” He shivers at the memory. “I said a lot of things I know I shouldn’t have said, and even though I kinda meant them, I should’ve kept them to myself.

“I don’t have a great excuse for what I did, and I don’t think you want to hear a made-up one. Things between us hadn’t been great for a while, had they?” he asks, and you shake your head in agreement. “It was painfully obvious that neither of us wanted to stay in the relationship, but… you weren’t saying anything, and I didn’t know how to bring it up…”

“So you found a way to end things without having to talk to me about it?” you say, unable to keep the emotion out of your voice. You know it’s hard for Sunghoon to talk to you like this, but you wish this had been the way you broke up. It would’ve saved you a lot of pain.

Sunghoon lets his head hang. “Yeah, I guess. If I could do things differently, I would. I’m sorry, Y/N.”

“Yeah, well… Nothing we can do about it now.” You both stand there in silence for a while, avoiding the other’s gaze. You don’t know what to say next but it feels weird leaving now, like there’s still something unsaid.

He breaks the silence first. “So. What’s um, what’s with you and Heeseung?”

You look at him, surprised by his question. “I’m not sure. We’re figuring things out,” you reply cautiously. He nods his head slowly, taking the information in.

“So, he’s not like a rebound or anything?”

You scoff and roll your eyes at him. “No, Sunghoon, he’s not a rebound. If I needed a rebound, I’d have gotten one months ago.”

“But we would've been together then…?”

“So? That didn’t stop you,” you say coldly. “Anyway, I think this conversation’s over. Thanks for apologizing, I guess.”

Sunghoon doesn’t try to stop you, and you try not to be disappointed. It would’ve been a nice ego stroke.

Walking back to Heeseung’s car, you nod and exhale through your nose when he asks you if you’re alright. You ask him where he hid the TV remote, and he says he stashed it between towels in a cupboard in the bathroom: “There’s no way he’ll find it there anytime soon. You guys were talking a while, so I also changed some books’ places on his shelves in the living room.”

In the car, Heeseung gives you silence, which you’re grateful for. You need some time to think about what just happened, and what will happen now. Your talk with Sunghoon could’ve gone somewhat better, but you shouldn’t have expected that much from him; him sincerely, soberly apologizing already makes you feel better. You think about the final thing from the list: Make him regret what he did.

“Hey, Heeseung?” you call out, and he hums in response, turning his head slightly towards you but keeping his eyes on the road.

“About the last thing on the list. I guess that’s already done, no? I don’t think there’s anything else we can do that’ll make him regret what he did more, is there?”

He seems to think for a minute, pouting his lips in reflection. “I guess not. I’d say he seems pretty regretful as well. How did your talk with him go?”

“It was alright,” you sigh. “At least he wasn’t drunk, this time. I’m happy he knows what he did was wrong, and I’m glad he found it in him to apologize. In all our years together, that must’ve been the third or fourth time.”

“Wow,” Heeseung breathes out. You turn to look at him and see that he’s clenching his jaw. He notices your stare and chuckles, explaining: “It’s just frustrating knowing you had to go through that for such a long time. I could already tell you weren’t happy with him, but I didn’t know how bad it was. If I had, I think I would’ve had a savior moment and tried to rescue you from there.”

You laugh with him, and contentment suddenly fills you. It’s so easy, being around Heeseung. It’s easy, and it feels good. “Well, you’re here now, aren’t you?”

He stops at a red light and turns to look at you, his eyes trapping you in. “Yeah, I am.”

Another comfortable silence settles in the car as you face the window, hiding the blush creeping on your cheeks. Heeseung takes one of your hands from your lap, holding it on your thigh as he keeps his other hand on the steering wheel. He doesn’t let go of it until he parks in front of your apartment, turning to you with a smile.

“So, what now?” you ask, feeling giddy under his gaze.

He giggles at you and brings his hand up to pat your hair. “Whatever you want.”

You’re not used to being given the right to make decisions, and the fact that Heeseung so easily gives you the reins takes you aback. You try to figure out what you want, but it’s a bit hard; there’s nothing you want to do that jumps out at you, and so you tell Heeseung that.

“That’s alright. Do you know if you want to be by yourself? Or should I stay with you?”

You take another moment to ponder, checking the time. Your phone screen blinks back 8:03 p.m. “I think… it’s already quite late, I think I want to go to bed early. By myself, if that’s okay.”

“Of course,” he says, smiling at you. “I’ll let you go, then.”

You kiss his cheek goodbye, then head to the entrance of your building, waving at him when you reach it. He gestures for you to get in, and you like that he waits for you to be inside before driving away.

—

Heeseung is so patient. He doesn’t make you feel bad for not giving him a straightforward answer after a month, he just keeps on smiling at you, making you laugh, and doing sweet gestures. He reminds you everyday that he’s there through his actions but never pressures you. As promised, he comes with you to the pet shelter, and together you choose an orange tabby that you’d fallen in love at first sight with.

One day after you’ve gone out for drinks with Yuqi and Miyeon and you’re not thinking very straight, you call him in drunk tears, apologizing for making him wait and saying you don’t want him to be upset with you.

“I could never be upset with you, Y/N. I’ll wait however long you need, and I’m happy as long as you are too.” His words stick with you and they echo in your mind whenever your gazes meet.

One Friday night, Miyeon invites everyone in the office out to celebrate her recent promotion. Heeseung sits next to you and holds your hand under the table. You find yourself wishing you didn’t feel the need to hide your intertwined hands from your colleagues. You turn your face towards Heeseung who’s engrossed in a conversation with your manager, and you love how his face lights up and how animatedly he’s talking. He looks so beautiful and you hold his hand a bit tighter. He turns to you for a second with a smile on his face, squeezing your hand before turning back to the manager, and it’s all you need to know you’re ready for him.

You and your colleagues close the bar, and Heeseung and you stand outside for half an hour, making sure everyone gets safely into a taxi. Heeseung had said he didn’t feel like drinking that night, and you had stopped as soon as the realization had hit you, wanting a clear head.

When everybody’s left, you and Heeseung shyly avoid each other’s gaze, kicking small pebbles on the ground, bursting into a fit of giggles when your eyes meet.

“So…” he starts.

“So…” you repeat, looking up at him with a grin.

“I live quite close to here, if you’d like to come over,” he offers, voice quiet.

“I’d love that.” He looks at you, a hopeful glint in his eyes.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” You both laugh again, and you think it’s crazy how he manages to make you feel fifteen again. He takes your hand in his, swaying it back and forth the whole way to his apartment. He opens the door for you, grandly gesturing for you to go in. You’ve been here before for after-drinks with him and your colleagues, but just like when he had come over at yours a few weeks prior, being here now by yourself feels different. Heeseung’s apartment is cozy, inviting and very him. Old books stand on the same shelf next to the latest PS5 releases, he’s got framed pictures of him and his family next to his TV; there’s even a few which you’re in. A colorful knitted throw covers the brown leather couch, and he shyly explains that he’s found a new hobby these past few months.

“It started out when my niece was born, I wanted to knit her a small hat…” he says, and you want to squish his cheeks with how adorable he is.

You take another look around the living room before your eyes settle on him. He hopes you can’t hear how loud his heart is beating right now. He clears his throat. “What do you, um, what do you want to do?” he asks nervously.

You know what you want to do. You feel it burning inside you, but you don’t know how to put it into words. You take a step towards him, your eyes never leaving his.

“Do you want a glass of wine?” You shake your head. “Water?” You shake it again, taking another step closer to him. He closes his eyes and releases a shaky breath when you’re standing right in front of him, mere centimeters separating your bodies.

“Heeseung?” you say, and he hums at the sound of his name but keeps his eyes closed. “Thank you for waiting.” You wrap your arms around his neck, pressing the side of your face into his chest. His arms immediately come around your waist, hugging you closer to his body.

“Of course.”

“I don’t want to make you wait anymore,” you say quietly, and when he doesn’t answer after a few moments, you think he might have not even heard you. He leans back to look at you, and you swear his eyes have gotten a shade darker.

“Are you sure?” he asks, eyes trained on your lips.

“Yes. Kiss me, please,” you say, and he doesn’t need to be told twice before pressing his mouth to yours.

You find release in his lips. The kiss starts out slow and careful at first, as if he’s scared you might go back on your word at any moment, but he’s quickly reassured that you won’t when you tilt your head to deepen the kiss, your hands finding purchase in the soft strands of his hair. You can feel all those years he’s waited to do this in his kiss, all of his desire and need and desperation. You hope the way you kiss him back makes him understand how happy and safe he’s made you feel these past weeks.

He bends down and picks you up, making you yelp in surprise at the sudden action, then carries you bridal-style to his bedroom, laying you down gently on the mattress. He places feather-like kisses all over your face, ears and neck, making you giggle at the ticklish sensation. You grab his face to bring his lips back down onto yours, and he gladly reciprocates the kiss, the both of you smiling into it. The shots of soju you had hours ago have nothing to do with how light-headed you feel.

You untuck his button-up from his trousers, dipping your hands underneath it to feel the warm skin there. He shivers at your touch and kisses you more hungrily, his tongue asking for permission inside your mouth. Your hands come from his lower back to his chest and you start to unbutton his shirt from the top down, marveling at the sight of his toned chest and abs once the shirt is off. You push down on his shoulders so that he lays on his back as you straddle his hips. You dip your head down to press warm kisses down his shoulder and between his collarbones, your hand caressing his stomach and feeling him squirm at your touch.

When his hands come to hold you at the sides, you sit up and let him take your top off, laughing together when it gets a bit stuck around your head. His big hands brush against your stomach and come up to cup your breasts over your bra, which you quickly unclasp. He breathes out a ‘wow’ at the sight of you half-naked on top of him, and you think there’s no way you’ll ever get tired of that look of admiration in his eyes.

He leans in and wraps his soft lips around your nipple, licking and nipping at the sensitive bud, making you moan and arch your back in pleasure. He keeps one arm around your waist and uses his second hand to tend to your other breast, making sure they both get attention. You graze your fingers through his locks, tugging at them when it feels particularly good. His actions make a fire burn in your core, and you’re so desperate for any kind of friction that you start rubbing yourself over his growing erection, making him moan around your nipple.

He kisses from your breasts back up to your lips, trapping them ravenously as his hands snake underneath your skirt to grab at your ass, bringing you down even further onto him. You let your arms hang around his head as you bury your face in the crook of his neck and he continues pressing kisses in your hair.

“Want you inside me, Hee,” you croak out, voice weak.

“Hmm. You have no idea how much I want that baby, but I want to take it slow with you. Make you know how much I love you,” he says, his words sending shivers down your spine.

His arms come around you as he lays you down on your back again and hovers over you. “L-love me?,” you ask quietly.

He kisses you once on the lips and looks you in the eyes. “Yes, love you. So much.” He starts kissing down your body, sucking a mark right underneath your collarbone. “More than you could ever know.” He sucks a second mark in the same spot, and you look down to see that he’s formed a heart with his love bites.

He hooks his fingers under your skirt and looks up at you, asking for permission. You nod your head and he pulls your skirt and underwear down your legs, discarding them somewhere on the floor next to the bed. He rakes his fingers up and down your sides, remembering from last time how sensitive you are there. “You’re so goddamn beautiful, Y/N. I can’t believe I get to see you like this,” he says as he openly stares at your naked body in front of him.

He sits up at the end of his bed, undoing his belt and taking his trousers off so that he’s left in his boxers, the fabric stretching around his hard member. Your mouth waters at the sight, and you reach out a hand, laying it in his chest. “Please, Hee. I need you.”

He smiles softly at you, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “I’ve waited so long for this. Do you think you could be patient for me tonight? I promise I’ll give you what you want. I just want to take my time,” he asks and you nod fervently, eyebrows furrowed. He’s right; you’ve made him wait for such a long time, the least you could do is let him go slow tonight.

He hovers down your body, taking your left foot in his hand and placing a soft kiss on top of it. He kisses all the way up from your foot to your thighs, gently biting the soft flesh there. “You’re so pretty, all spread out like this for me. Do you know how pretty you are? Hm?”

You can only hum in response, mind too clouded with pleasure when he’s barely touched you yet. “Please,” you breathe out.

“Please what?” he asks, still nipping at your thighs, making them shake in anticipation. There was a fire between your legs and you didn’t know how long you could take it. “Use your words so I know what you want, baby.”

“Plea-please touch me, Hee.”

“Touch you where, baby? Here?” he says as his thumb strokes up your folds, already soaking wet, making you moan at the sensation.

“Fuck, yes, right here, please,” you whine, bucking your hips up, craving more of his touch.

Heeseung could cum at the sight in front of him, of you so needy for him, of you begging for more. He feels like he’s dreaming, but your moans and your grip on his arm remind him that this is real, this is actually happening. “You have no idea what you do to me, beautiful,” he breathes out before diving into your core, his tongue lapping up all of your juices, licking stripes up your folds and sucking at your clit. He eats you out like he hasn’t had a meal in ages, and you feel a knot forming in your stomach much sooner than you’d like to admit. You tug at his hair and claw at his shoulders, not wanting to hurt him but needing something to hold onto.

You’re a blubbering mess underneath him, and it only gets worse when he slips a finger inside you, quickly adding a second one when he sees how wet and accommodating you are around his fingers. Not even a minute later, you’re moaning out his name like it’s the only thing you know to say and bucking your hips into his face and hand as your orgasm comes crashing down on you, taking your breath away for a few seconds. You hold for dear life onto his shoulders as he helps you ride out your high, then kisses all the way back up to your lips, letting you taste yourself on his tongue.

He lets you catch your breath for a moment, kissing your face softly and telling you how well you did, how pretty you are. When you’re rested, you grab his face, kissing him with all the desire in your body. Your hand snakes down to palm him over his boxers and you see him swallow, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, and you can’t help but kiss him there over and over again. You help him out of his boxers, letting his erection spring free as it slaps against his stomach. You take him in your hand, spreading the pre-cum all over him as you bite at his neck and earlobe, reveling in the sounds he’s making for you.

“Need more of you, Hee,” you whisper in his ear.

“Mhm. Anything for you, beautiful. How do you want to do this?” he asks, looking at you with hooded eyes.

“I think… I want to ride you. I want to look at you.” He nods and sits up back against the headboard, taking you in his arms with him and sitting you in his lap. Feeling him against you is enough to make your mind draw a blank. He reaches for his drawer, saying, “Let me put a condom on first,” but you stop him.

“I’m on the pill. Want to feel you without anything, if that’s okay.”

He lets out a shaky breath and nods. “That’s more than okay,” he says with a smile.

You raise yourself on your knees, taking him in your hand and rubbing his tip between your folds a few times before finally sinking down onto his cock, the both of you releasing heavy breaths at the feeling. You sit there for a minute or two, chests pressed together, letting yourself adjust to his size as he grazes his fingernails up and down your back.

“Take your time, baby. You’ve already done so well. And you feel so good just like this.”

“Mmh. Feels good for me too, Hee,” you murmur in his neck.

“Yeah? I’m glad,” he says, letting his hands roam down your back to your ass and behind your thighs. Feeling ready, you move a little bit in his lap, tentatively rolling your hips over his, and the sensation takes over your whole body. You both moan at the same time, and when you pick your pace up, Heeseung can’t stop muttering curses under his breath.

“Fuck, just like that, Y/N. That feels amazing. You’re so perfect.”

He hands grab at your ass, massaging the soft flesh. You then start raising your hips and slamming them back down onto his and he bucks his up to meet yours, repeatedly hitting your g-spot. You try to keep up a quick pace, desperately chasing your high, but soon enough your thighs start to tire and you don’t have the strength to go as fast.

“Heeseung… Need help…” you breathe out, collapsing on top of him.

Without a word, he places a hand between your shoulder blades, pressing you close to him and making you raise your hips. He then digs his fingers into the sides of your hips and starts pounding into you at a much quicker pace than you could ride him, the sound of flesh hitting flesh and your gradually louder moans filling the room. “I’m gonna cum, Hee,” you warn, voice breathy and high-pitched.

“Fuck. Me too, baby.” You’re a moaning mess on top of him, and you can feel his thrusts getting sloppier as he approaches his own high. He grips his fingers tighter in your skin as his orgasm hits him, curses and moans escaping his lips. The sinful sounds he’s making and the feeling of him shooting his seed inside you are enough to send you over the edge, and you cum all over his dick, muttering his name over and over again.

You stay locked against each other for a few moments as you regain consciousness, feeling him getting softer inside you. He pulls out, making you hiss slightly, and rests his head against the wall behind him, looking at you with a cheeky grin and heavy eyelids, his thumb rubbing gentle circles on your hips.

You lay down on the bed, body feeling heavy, and rest your head on his thigh, your hand coming up to caress his other one. You place a kiss on the inside of his thigh, then another one of his hip bone, and wrap your arms around his waist, closing your eyes and letting his hand in your hair lull you to sleep.

“Hey, lovebug, don’t fall asleep on me. Let’s get you cleaned up first,” he says, and you let out a low hum, letting him unwrap your arms from around him, get up and help you to the bathroom. “I’ll go and draw us a bath, okay?” he asks softly, placing a kiss on the top of your head.

When you’re back from the toilet, the bath is all filled up with water and he’s laying in it, arms resting against the sides of the tub. He opens his eyes when he hears you coming and he sits up a little bit, gesturing for you to get in with him. You settle yourself between his legs, his arms wrapping themselves around you and rest your head against his chest. You hum at the feeling of the warm water enveloping the both of you and of him against you.

“I think I could stay like this forever,” you say, hands coming to cover his on your stomach.

He lets out a small laugh. “Me too, only if it meant we didn’t get pruny fingers and feet.”

“Ew,” you laugh with him. The two of you chat for another twenty minutes, talking about this and that until the water gets cold and it’d feel cozier being under the sheets together rather than in the tub. He helps you out of it, drying the both of you off with one towel, making you laugh when he wraps it around you two.

You get into bed naked together, and you breathe in the scent of his skin that’s already become so familiar and comforting. Before you can drift off to sleep, you call out his name softly.

“Yes, love?”

“You won’t hurt me, right?”

He feels his heart ache for you, for how right you deserve to be treated and for all the love he wishes he could’ve given you this whole time. “Never in a million years, Y/N.” That’s all you need to hear to fall asleep peacefully.

—

You wake up in the same position you had all these weeks ago, your back to Heeseung’s chest and his arm lazily over your waist, and it's the most perfect way to start off your day. Your mouth feels dry so you sit up, reaching for the bottle of water on the nightstand, but Heeseung’s arm around you tightens as he sleepily mumbles, “Stay here.”

You turn around to face him and press a kiss on the tip of his nose. “I just need some water, Hee.” He lets out a small groan but lets you go, and you gulp the water down.

“Should I go make us breakfast?” you ask even though you already know the answer.

“No,” he says, drawing out the vowel, “stay here. Come here.” He opens his arms wide, inviting you in his hold. You bury your face in the crook of his neck and you feel at home.

“Good morning, Y/N,” he says, hugging you tight to him.

“Good morning, Heeseung.”

“Hm, don’t call me Heeseung,” he whines. “Call me Hee. Like you did last night. I like it more.” You laugh at his cute behavior, making him whine even more. “Hey! Don’t laugh at me!” He starts tickling your sides and you laugh even more.

“Sorry! Sorry!” you say, trying to catch your breath. “Sorry, Hee.” He hums appreciatively and stops tickling you, kissing your forehead.

“Better?” you ask teasingly.

“Better,” he says just as his stomach starts growling, making you snort.

You give him a small tap on his butt, and, ignoring his whines, say, “C’mon, let’s have breakfast.” You manage to escape his grasp and rummage around his drawers, finding a t-shirt and pair of boxers of his for you to wear. He watches you get dressed with a lazy smile.

“Are you trying to get me hard again, baby?”

“No, I’m trying to make you get up so we can eat.”

“I can just eat you.” You grab a pillow from his bed to throw over his face, making him laugh. “Sorry, sorry,” he says between giggles, and gets up, grabbing clean clothes for himself.

You spend the day lazing around his apartment, fueling up on snacks and kisses from each other. You can barely keep your hands off of him; his skin is warm under your hands and you feel at peace when you can feel him against you. Sunghoon had never much liked skinship, and you’d always had to stop yourself from reaching out and touching him. But Heeseung melts under your touch every single time; he kisses your palm when you cup his cheek and caresses your hands when you wrap your arms around his middle from behind and strokes your hair when you rest your head against his shoulder. His moans and whimpers are the prettiest sounds you’ve ever heard; you go down on him while you’re watching a movie and then again in the shower just to hear them over and over again. He eats you out like you’re dessert, telling you you’re the sweetest thing he’s ever tasted. When he spoons you on the couch, neither of you can keep it innocent for long before you ask him to cockwarm you, and he readily obliges, burying himself deep inside you.

“Y/N?” he calls out when you’re in that position, watching the nth movie of the weekend.

“Yes, Hee?”

“I’ve been thinking about that list. You know how ‘make him regret what he did’ is the last thing on the list?”

“Yeah, and we said that was already done, didn’t we?” you say, not really wanting to talk about anything related to Sunghoon anymore.

“Yeah. But I was thinking, the only way he’ll really regret it is when he sees how happy you are without him, don’t you think?”

“I guess…” you reply, curious as to what he’s getting at.

“Would you let me do that? Make you happy?”

You let out a small ‘oh’ at his words, and immediately feel tears welling in your eyes. It’s hard, wrapping your head around the fact that someone wants to be there for you and look after your happiness without asking for anything in return. “You already make me so happy, Hee.”

He giggles, burying his face in the crook of your neck and leaving a kiss there. “I do?” he asks, and you don’t know how he doesn’t see it.

“So much. And I want to make you happy, too.”

“You do that just by being here, lovebug. You don’t need to do anything else.” You take your hand up to your mouth and kiss him all over his fingers and palm.

“What should we tell people at work?” you ask, gently biting his knuckle to annoy him, but he just lets you, biting your neck in return.

“About what?”

“About us.”

“Us?”

“Yes?”

“Well, I think everybody already knows I’m in love with you. I was, well, still am, pretty obvious about it, so I’m not sure how you never saw it.”

“Sorry,” you say, kissing his knuckle in apology.

“It’s okay. What do you want to tell them?”

“I don’t know. Should we let them figure it out without saying anything?”

“Figure what out?”

“That we’re together.”

“We’re together?!”

“Of course we are!” you laugh, gently tapping his hand.

“You didn’t tell me that!”

“I thought it was obvious!”

He joins in your laughter. “We need to stop thinking we’re being obvious and just tell each other how we feel.”

“I agree. How do you feel?”

“I love you. How do you feel?”

You pause for a second, and because it feels right, and because it feels like the truth, you say, “I love you too.”

—

It takes Yuqi and Miyeon approximately two days to figure out that Heeseung and you are together. And once these two know, everybody in the office knows. To be fair, the two of you do try to keep things professional; it's not your fault that Yuqi walked in just as you placed a quick peck on Heeseung's cheek in the break room, or that he spends more time at your desk than usual, always pretending there's nothing he needs to talk to you about.

“The two of you are like Jim and Pam,” your manager complains jokingly when he walks past you.

Heeseung and you just exchange a knowing glance, trying not to burst into laughter in the middle of the office. You look at him and he looks at you, and you’ve never been happier.

permanent taglist: @k-ingzo @bbujiikseu @sunghoonmybeloved @sd211 @lalalalawon @w

© asahicore on tumblr, 2023. please do not repost, translate or plagiarize my works. reblogs and feedback are always appreciated!

[emsgwenstan]

Holding onto our family pt.2.

{Larissa Weems x fem niece reader} pt.1 here

Thank you to you guys who recommended I do a p2 I wasn’t going to I was just gonna leave it as a one shot, sorry if this isn’t up to your expectations so in advance I’m sorry :/

Words: 4K? Idk.

Warnings: alcohol, swearing.

Note/summary: everything is strictly platonic! Just these two babies.

Still standing in the door way with shock plastered to your features, tears rolling down your face and the smallest smile tugging at the corner of your lips, Larissa grasped your shoulders and pushed you back slowly into her office closing the door behind her. You couldn’t stop staring at her and smelling her perfume, the same one she’s used since you saved up and brought a bottle when you were 10 for Mother’s Day one year.

“I know it’s a lot to take in darling… are you ok?” She asked taking your chin between her fingers making you stare into her eyes. “Yeah…” you croaked. She’s here… She’s home. “Come on beautiful, a tea should calm those nerves.” She whispered placing another kiss to your forehead and taking your hand pulling you towards her quarters. “Lissa… I’m going to need something far stronger than tea.” You said trailing behind her. “Wine or whiskey my dear?” She asked with a chuckle. “Whiskey.” You said knowingly due to the extremity of this situation. She led you to the small kitchenette and let go of your hand to open the overhead cabinet retrieving two tumblers and a crystal decanter full of high end alcohol.

She was silent while she poured the liquid into the glasses, you wrapped your arms around her waist from behind and buried your head into her shoulder. Larissa let out a small ‘oof’ at the force of your hold giggling a little spinning around in your grasp. “Oh little one, it’s alright.” She cooed softly. She was right of course it was ok, she’s here, she’s home. You tug down on her waist like a child and drag her to the floor, your knees giving way the second you bent them. Larissa followed your lead and gracefully fell down with you, wrapping her own arms around your shoulders pressing you into her chest.

“Don’t you dare leave me again.” You mumbled. Larissa sighed and stroked your hair. “My darling girl… I never really left, I’m not going anywhere.” She hummed. “What happened? Where were you? How are you here? Lissa are you…you know…you?” You asked quickly sitting up a bit to examine her with a slight glare. “Yes honey I’m me…and…before you ask, you accidentally put red socks in with your uniform and it turned your pristine white blouses pink.” You smiled widely at her words, when you left school you made sure to plan a safety question in case you ever came across another shapeshifter with bad intentions. “But what happened to you?” You asked.

Larissa slouched against the base cupboard and raised her arms to pick up the glasses resting on the counter above her head, she gave one to you and looked as though she didn’t want to talk about it, but you didn’t care, you needed answers. She put the glass to her ruby lips and threw back the alcohol in one go. “Well… I was poisoned, I’m sure you know that by now, and I died… for a few minutes anyway.” She said unfazed staring blankly behind you. “Oh my god.” You breathed taking a sip of liquor. “Mmmm.” She agreed nodding.

“How are you here?” You asked less frantically. She sighed again “When I woke, I was on the floor of the observatory alone… it took me a while to get myself out of there, my legs were numb and I could hardly move, I almost fainted a few times but I managed to make it into my office and collect a few things, I was far to weak to help the students and once I knew that everything that happened was over and they were safe, I left town for a while and laid low in Burlington.” She said pouring another whisky for herself, topping up yours while she was at it.

“You must have been fucking terrified.” You say letting the events soak in. Larissa expectedly gave you a look before you both said the word ‘language’ in unison, it brought a smile to her face at how predictable you know she is. “But…you’re right, It was fucking terrifying, now I have to explain to hundreds of people that I’m still alive and completely fit to continue as headmistress.” She muttered downing the second glass yet again. You giggled a little at her explicit response and instant visible relief when she drank. “You are fit, you’re the only person who can manage this school, I’ll do everything I can to make sure it stays that way.” You said fully serious, because you were, there is no way anyone can handle what she does, many can’t even comprehend what she does, you know that she makes difficult and somewhat uncomfortable decisions for the sake of the school’s expense and reputation, you think everyone else would be to selfish to put nevermore before themselves, besides this was out of her hands she’s the victim after all, not the instigator.

Larissa only smiled in response as well as stroking from the top of your head to the side of your cheek giving her best toothy grin, yet you still see right through her, the damage that Mari- Laurel gates caused, you see it with Enid too, her poor scars from defending Wednesday, you never bring it up because you don’t think she wants a reminder that her skin is tainted with the memories of that horrific night. Just like that tears welled in your eyes again, you try blinking them away but they continue to fall stinging from the previous path they followed. “Oh sweetheart, what’s wrong?” She asked placing her cup on the floor. “You were gone. You were taken from me. I-…you were dead and I had nothing!” you sobbed breathlessly breaking down In front of her.

Larissa’s own tears fell into her lap and the crease between her brows deepened. “I’m sorry, little one.” She whispered wholeheartedly tracing the shapes of your face gently. “I never meant to frighten you dear.” She smiled but it quickly faded when your body wreaked with more uncontrollable sobs. “You’re all I have, you are the only important person to me and you were gone, a piece of me was ripped away.” You squeak using your hands to help explain better. “I know.” She cried. “You’re not my aunt Larissa. You’re my mother….You. Are. My. Mum.” You punctuated to make sure your statement made some kind of impact.

Larissa smiled and nodded, she sniffed and wiped her eyes smudging mascara across her faint crows feet. “I never thought of you as my niece y/n, not my brother’s child, not ever a burden… you’ve always been my daughter, my special little girl.” She whispered cupping your cheeks and pressing her forehead to yours. It feels like everything is going to be ok, it feels like everything is as it was, but different in a way, it feels like everything is in its rightful place as it should be, because she’s here, she’s home.

“What happens now?” You asked. “What do you mean, honey?” She wondered. “Like, what’s the plan from here?” She looked puzzled and wasn’t sure herself. “Right now? I don’t care. All I want is to be with you my sweet, ok? That’s all that matters we can figure the rest of the mess out tomorrow.” She stated. The buzz from the alcohol started to warm up your body, absentmindedly you curl up into her lap wanting to be completely engulfed by her. “Can I sleep with you tonight?” You asked quietly, it’s been years since you did, the last time you stayed in the same bed was when you had a series of nightmares for a month when you were still a student at nevermore, the other option is to go hunt for a vacant dormitory, that would definitely raise questions though.

“You don’t even need to ask that, little one.” She whispered into your hair. You moved back and stood up slowly offering a hand to Larissa, she placed her hands in yours and rose with a few pops of her joints and groans from sitting on the floor. It’s nearing 1:00am and it’s still hard to distinguish if this is really happening or if it’s my mind deluding me from pain. “I could use a shower…” she says softly, removing a piece of hair out of your eyes that had fallen from the thrown up bun. “No you deserve a bath, let me run it for you!” You said energetically, leaving her to go to the bathroom. “Ooo wait!- lavender, rose or bergamot?… for essential oils?” You ask excitedly happy to be able to do something for her again.

“What ever you please darling.” She giggled, her brows raise and a grin finds its way to her lips, Larissa knows that if you want to do something there’s no room for argument, to the point you will have an essay in your brain of all the pros and cons to list for her. The whole time you were in the bathroom Larissa downed 3 more glasses of whiskey before placing it back on the top shelf, She walked over to her bed that’s left unmade because it’s been occupied by you and ran her hands over the luxurious silk sheets, she all but twirled around the room happy to be home, alive and with her 23 year old not so baby girl.

Happy with your job, you exited the bathroom and Larissa was no where in site. Panic set in your bones. No, she’s here. The room felt like it was expanding and you were the only person in the world, searching for her in the closet, on her balcony and possibly on the other side of the bed on the floor she wasn’t there. “Are you ok my sweet?” Her voice rang from behind you and relief spread back through your body, you turned to face her, she was closing the door to her office baring a bottle of wine. “Jesus don’t do that!” You exclaimed. “Do what?” She questioned pacing slowly towards you. “Leave… especially without telling me.” You warned giving her a playful but sincere glare.

You turned off the lights in the bathroom and lit candles around the tub, bubbles filled all around the top of the bath and it smelled heavenly, the rose scent is what you opted with. “It’s done lissa!” You called out turning off the water. Larissa made her way into the bathroom and thanked you quietly, you stepped back out into the room and walked over to the kitchenette again to pull down two wine glasses and walk back to the bathroom door and knock. “You decent enough?” You asked. “Yes darling.” She said.

You opened the door and closed it behind yourself. Larissa was sitting in the water with bubbles shielding all of her body apart from her shoulders and collar bones. “Do mind if I sit with you for a while?” You asked, placing the glasses on the tile floor, sitting down on the mat and opening the bottle. “Of course you can.” She cooed. You were both silent for a while taking turns sipping the slightly bitter velvet liquid. Larissa had her head resting on the porcelain rim and the wine glass dangling from her fingertips, she’s free from make up now and her hair is taken out spilling over the tub’s edge. “Your hair’s longer.” You said rolling the glass into your chest to lean forward and run your fingers through her platinum tresses. “So is yours dear.” She replied lulling her head to the side facing your amber licked skin from candle light.

“It’s been two years…” you remarked sadly feeling guilty for the length of time you hadn’t seen her physically. “Far too long.” She mumbled. “Well it’s not going to happen again I can assure that.” You stated sternly. “Don’t dwell on it y/n, we’re here now.” She replied. Silence fell over the two of you again and you busied yourself by fiddling your hands picking lint of Larissa’s clothes and tossing them back into the washing hamper. “Can I ask why you didn’t contact me?” You whispered looking at her waiting for an answer.

Larissa licked her lips and thought of a response. “I didn’t think you knew what happened, i didn’t believe that anyone would have known to get in contact with you, so I planned on telling you about this whole situation when I somehow found a way to reveal myself back to school society, but clearly that didn’t work. I came back tonight to see if I could get back into my office without being seen, that’s when I heard you talking with Melanie, your voice… I knew, I couldn’t run from you and leave you alone with no explanation.” You nodded along with her words and understood what she meant.

“Why did you run?” You asked. She sat up a bit, placed her glass on the floor and swallowed thickly. “I had to mourn my own “death” and take a little bit of time to rest, recover, process it, come to terms with the fact that things are going to be different. Imagine what the sheriffs going to say when I magically waltz my way back into society… I had you to protect as well. I couldn’t be reckless to get you involved in such appalling circumstances.” She said dipping her finger in water collecting bubbles and tapping the tip of your nose in a humorous, lighthearted manner. You couldn’t help the small giggle that erupted from your throat as you wiped the bubbles away feigning disgust.

You rested you head on the edge of the bath and let down your wavy blond hair finding comfort in having her so close. Larissa stroked your hair behind your ears and hummed in delight. “I remember when you loved me playing with your hair… when you were very small, I’d sit you on my lap and put in these hair ties in that had these iridescent plastic balls on them, you had a blue one and purple one, and they hardly stayed in your hair but you insisted to have them in… you had little white ringlets on either side of your head because you would throw a fit if I didn’t do it like that.” She reminisced playing with soft hair around your neck.

“I remember that, I see you still have the hair clips too, I also remember when your hair was short, reaching to you jaw and how I would mess it up all the time…but you would just shift it to look tidy again and that infuriated me.” You laughed. Larissa giggled and looked at you like you hung the stars. After a while and when the water turned lukewarm you left her alone and went and snuggled into bed. For the rest of the night you lay on her chest hearing her heart beating and listening to her soft humming. The last thing you remember before succumbing to sleep were the words I love you.

The next morning you made her breakfast in bed and started to work out a plan for ‘her return’ Larissa was a bundle of nervous energy, she stumbled over her words and spaced out a few times during the conversation but ultimately the plan was going to be set in motion. The day just consisted of the two of you lounging around her rooms and talking and talking and more talking, it’s always been like that, you can go a while without speaking and pick up like you saw each other just the day prior. Luckily nobody caught on to anything, Enid burst into her office at one point to show you her new blog post about one of the couples in nevermore. You kindly reprimanded her for not knocking but was able to usher her back out before Larissa walked out unaware of her presence.

The day has finally come for Larissa to make her entrance and the both of you felt nervous to say the least, poor thing could hardly move. “Will you let me do your make up lissa?” You asked hopefully. Larissa stared at you blankly before eventually nodding. She was still in her emerald green night slip bare of any added detail, her lashes a brilliant blond, skin pale and shoulders freckled. You envy her natural beauty, although you are both similar in appearance you can’t beat the original. You situated her on the floor near the vanity while you took the stool, her legs crossed, hands politely intertwined in her lap and posture perfectly straight, apart from her rigid shoulders.

She sat still for 45 minutes not moving a muscle, you took your time perfectly applying each layer of make up from coating every lash in a deep blue mascara, to laying on the best eyeliner you’ve ever done, to lining and painting her lips with your shade of lipstick, which is only a few shades of red darker then her own. You smiled down at your work and started the process of her hair, she turned her back towards you and lulled it to the side letting you do a large braid from her temple almost down to the nape of her neck, her side part was meticulously crafted and pulled back into a low pony tail with the braid wrapping around it, you opted for this hairstyle because you remembered seeing it in a photograph from when she was a teen, it was still beautiful and suited her very well, something different, but also full circle in a way.

Next was her outfit, that was a tough one. “Really… I can just throw something together darling.” She said in the door way of the closet. “No I’m picking.” You pouted up at her sternly. She laughed and joined you in the room, after painstakingly picking each article of clothing you chose a suit, something she doesn’t wear often if at all, something different which makes a statement, it’s a plum colour with very small, thin, green and gold stripes a vintage channel line from the 60’s. And the most important part, matching plumb coloured heels.

You left her alone to get dressed and once she stepped out your breath was stolen from you lungs at how gorgeous she looked, close to 50 years old and yet still remarkably beautiful and very glamorous, the only thing she lacked now was confidence. “You looked incredible!” You said enthusiastically. “I actually feel beautiful… it’s been a while since I’ve worn this.” She said softly. “Are you ready?” You asked hoping for a yes. “I think so my darling…” she replied. “One more thing...” you quickly walked back into her closet to pull down her box containing all of her personal trinkets and walked back out.

Larissa stood curiously watching as you flit about the room before b-lining back to her with something in your hands. You reached for her arm and put your old hair tie with those plastic beads on around her wrist then put her sleeve over the top of it and opened her blazer putting your old pink polkadot hair clip over the waist band of her trousers. “I know it’s silly… but because I’m not physically going to be there, doesn’t mean I’m not going to be with you.” You said buttoning her blazer back up and flipping her hair over her shoulder.

Larissa wrapped her arms around you and pulled you tightly into her embrace. “I love you.” She whispered. “I love you more mum.” You could hear her heart beat quicken at the word. “Now, go… call me if you need anything.” Larissa smirked as she pulled away. “Yes little boss…” she chuckled. “you’re so grown up precious girl, I can’t believe the wonderful woman you’ve grown up to be.” She pulled back and just like that she straightened her posture and a spark of confidence was alight yet again. She walked out the door and blew you a kiss leaving with an ‘I’ll be back soon’ wink.

You might be proud of her, you might love her so much, but Larissa will infinitely be more proud of you and far more envious of her little gift, her beautiful niece, her stubborn yet perfect miracle and her darling bestowed daughter. It’s going to get a whole lot better, because she’s here and she’s home.

@barbarasstar @giogwensversion @yourgaeyisshowing @maxfanartfan @anonymous-zakmo @sabraaabra

[irisintheafterglow]

More Than It Seams (Chapter 1)

summary: you're a hero costume tech working for one of the biggest fashion companies in quirk society, and the days until the most important fashion event of the year are dwindling fast. if you weren't stressed enough, a certain half-and-half hero keeps appearing with rips in his suit. (pro!todoroki x reader)

word count: 3k

cw/tags: swearing, mentions of needles, probably inaccurate fashion design vocabulary, strangers to lovers, no specified pronouns for reader

note: aaaaa ok first chapter of my first series. hope you enjoy!! i'm planning on this to be five chapters, and the second chapter I'm planning to release this friday. i <3 shoto todoroki

likes/reblogs/feedback are always appreciated!!!

She couldn’t be serious. You shake your head as if to reset your eyeballs and read over the two scribbled cursive sentences over and over until the reality of your situation set in. 

Hey, not gonna be in starting today for maternity leave. Don’t disappoint me. Xo, M 

You counted the days on your fingers and groaned, dragging a palm down the front of your face. 7:00 A.M was too early to find out you had to run a multi-million dollar business that wouldn’t hesitate to fire you if you disappointed at the most important fashion event of the year. The coffee maker beeped its readiness right on cue, and you debated making two cups instead of just one. You settled for one but left out a cup with your name on it for a possible second, and plopped down at your station. The sun was just starting to shine through the glass walls of the building you called your office, an odd combination of exposed brick walls and floor-to-ceiling windows. Crooked rows of work tables lined up on one side of the expansive area, with several dozen mannequins and rolls of fabric occupying the other side. A long counter separated the work area from the sitting area, where clients waited for their fittings on plush couches and sipped on complimentary sparkling drinks that M paid for instead of giving her workers a raise. 

“G’morning!” The other designer for the company swung open the gate allowing access between the work area and the sitting area, deflating when he saw you throw your head down on your desk in frustration and slam it a few times for good measure. “Or not…” A loud gasp of shock indicated to you that he had read the note, and a long string of expletives left his mouth as you lifted your head and nodded. “She has to be joking.”

You clicked your tongue in agreement. “She is not.” 

“HB’s in two weeks, and she decides now is a good time to have her baby?”

“If it were up to me, she wouldn’t even be the head of this place, or having another baby. God knows we don’t need any more of her.” Your coworker scoffs in disbelief, throwing his bag down on his desk and wheeling over a mannequin. “Hey, did you finish working up that fabric design for Cellophane’s suit? He’s supposed to come in on Friday and I think it’d be smart to have a sample of the fabric ready so he can tell us if he doesn’t like it.” 

“Yep, I’ll have that over to you ASAP. You don’t need to remind me what happened last year with Dynamight two days before the Ball.” 

You cringed at the memory of the Number Two Hero burning your work to ashes right in front of you and telling you to get a color that matched his eyes better. To be fair, the color that his stylist had chosen clashed with his skin tone and you respected Bakugo for recognizing that, but he could have given you back the suit to use as scrap fabric. “It’s the price of working with the best.” 

“You mean for the best,” he corrects, giving you a grouchy look before switching on his machine and beginning to hem the miles of fabric for Creati’s dress. You’d asked him if he wanted you to hem the fabric since your quirk would have it done by lunch, but he declined and said that you should focus on designing the remaining heroes’ pieces. The rest of your seamstresses trickled in as the morning progressed, filing into their stations with a polite “good morning” and picking up their scissors. Soon, the office milled with the familiar sounds of cutting fabric, sewing machines, and rolling mannequins, and you spaced out as you sketched your idea for Pinky’s updated costume. 

At 11:30, your receptionist sitting at the counter slammed down the phone in alarm, startling the entire room into silence. Her face was nothing short of panic, and you rose quickly from your station to pull her into a corner and figure out why she looked like she had received a bomb threat. 

“What’s going on?”

“Shoto is here.”

“Who?”

“Shoto. The pro hero. Is here,” she hisses at you through her teeth, her hands shaking with uncontrollable anxiety. 

You blinked at her. “Okay… and?” Pros showing up to the office themselves rather than sending assistants was uncommon but had been done numerous times before. Deku and Creati tended to visit a few times a month, and Pinky liked to stop by on Fridays to treat her favorite staff to ice cream. It was Shoto’s first time appearing in person, as he usually sent an assistant to drop off what was essentially his laundry; you’d always assumed that being a top-ranked hero controlling large sums of inheritance was just too busy to worry about his costume. Still, a customer visiting the office in person, no matter how attractive they were, was the least of your laundry list of problems.  

Your receptionist stares at you like you’ve sprouted three heads, and addresses you with an attitude that would have had her fired if M was in office. “What the hell do you mean ‘and’? It’s Shoto… the Number Three Hero. ProMagazine’s #1 ranked hottie.” 

“I’m aware,” you state a little impatiently, annoyed by her insistence that this was much more significant than it actually was. “I’m struggling to understand the fuss over just another client–” 

A chorus of shocked excitement washed over your staff as the elevator doors dinged and a lean, well-dressed silhouette entered the office. Several of your seamstresses had stood from their chairs and huddled together for moral support, whispering to each other about the stranger who had exited the elevator. Your receptionist’s eyes widen to the size of dollar coins, her hands coming up to your shoulders to push you toward the counter as she disappeared behind rolls of fabric. You rolled your eyes and took a breath, adjusting the measuring tape around your neck and meeting Shoto as he approached the vacant receptionist’s computer. His voice was polite and soft when he spoke, and you swear you hear your workers swooning behind you. 

“Hello, I’m here to drop these items off for repair,” he states, gently placing a small stack of folded fabric on the counter in front of you. You couldn’t help but notice how pretty his hands were, and how one ran through his two-toned hair, combing it with elegant fingers. His eyes were each an enchanting shade of blue and grey, and you found it hard to break eye contact with him. ProMagazine was definitely correct.

“Great, I’ll, uh, have this ready in just a bit,” you reply, gesturing towards the waiting area and encouraging Shoto to have a seat. Taking a deep breath in and out and shooting your staff a stern look to get back to work, you unfold the tattered costume on a nearby station behind the counter. His suit wasn’t in the worst condition, but the tears on the arms and chest area posed a significant safety hazard, especially if they continued to open. As hot as it would be to have muscle windows in Shoto’s suit, it’d reflect badly on you if you’d refused to repair the costume for the sake of professionally shot ab photos. 

After another steadying breath, you visualize a sewing machine dial in your mind, picking up a spool of strong nylon thread and running your thumb over the torn pieces of fabric; like clockwork, it repaired itself with a neat straight stitch wherever you touched. Your quirk is why M hired you in the first place since you could assemble three pieces in the time it took a machine to do one. You couldn’t send sheets of fabric flying like Best Jeanist, but your ability to telekinetically manipulate thread into stitches proved useful for a career in fashion design. With a few more reinforcement stitches to some worn edges and a quick polish of the suit’s buckles, Shoto’s costume was good as new. 

“Here you go; you’re all set.” He turns to look at you, surprised and preoccupied with examining the large posters of costumes M’s company had designed. Frames of initial sketches for his first professional costume were flanked by life-size prints of Pinky, Deku, and Red Riot’s attire. A plaque engraved with Creati’s endorsement message for the company hung in the center, surrounded by fabric swatches and Post-It notes scribbled with measurements. It looked like he had just finished reading through Creati’s statement when you informed him that his suit was ready. “I went ahead and cleaned off some of the grime from the suit’s hardware and sprayed it with anti-rust so it shouldn’t be tarnishing any time soon.” 

Shoto looks at you with an expression that you can’t read, gazes down at the repaired suit in front of him, and then back up at you. “Oh. That’s it?”

You release a slightly nervous chuckle to try to ease some of the awkwardness that had settled between you two. “Uh, yep. That’s it.” After another painfully quiet beat, your customer service persona finally kicks back into gear. “Is there anything else I can assist you with today?” 

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, it was a pleasure working with you today–”

“How does your quirk work?” His question arrives completely out of left field, and your brain short-circuits at his genuine expression of interest in your abilities. 

“Well, um, I can manipulate thread to follow certain stitch patterns, like the stitch selection on a sewing machine. See, like, here.” You point at one of the newly repaired tears in his costume, running a finger over the fresh seam. You’re keenly aware of how his eyes follow your finger and you attempt to keep your voice even. “I mended this panel of fabric torn down the middle with a straight stitch, which is the sturdiest stitch I can create.” 

“So you wave your hands and the threads start moving?” The boyish cluelessness on his face makes your heart flutter. A smile breaks its way into your expression. 

“I wish, but I actually have to be touching the fabric.” 

“I suppose it’s very useful for a fashion designer, then.” His face is carefully put together, but the tiniest hint of sarcasm bleeds its way into his voice. Was he… joking with you? 

“Definitely. I’m essentially a human sewing machine but without needles sprouting from my thumbs.” Your thumb pops up on its own accord for added effect, but then you realize what you just said and shove your hand back in an apron pocket. It was meant as a joke, but the macabre nature of your last quip slips your mind and a part of you dies inside when Shoto physically cringes at the grotesque image. Before you have the chance to apologize for such a distressing remark, he politely nods his head in farewell and gives you a soft “thank you” before returning to the elevator. 

Releasing a frustrated noise from your throat at the fact that you just scared off Todoroki Shoto, you lay your forehead on the counter between your elbows. The elevator button dings, and to your horror, you realize that he hadn’t left the office yet. Instead, he was looking at you amusedly over his toned shoulder. The corner of his mouth quirks up the tiniest bit as he watches your burning face attempt to regain its composure, and then he’s gone. 

“That was a shit show,” your other designer mutters under his breath, handing you another cup of coffee. 

Tuesday morning at 11:30 on the dot, Shoto visits again and catches your receptionist off guard, reducing her to a puddle of “How can I help you?” and “Can I get you a sparkling drink?” With your back turned to the doors, you don’t notice him immediately as you concentrate on draping expensive maroon fabric around Creati’s mannequin. Eyebrows drawn in concentration and holding a pin between your teeth, your hands work meticulously to create perfect pleats under the waistline of the bodice. It isn’t until your receptionist nervously calls out your name that you abruptly drop the fabric, Shoto’s mouth twitching as he watches you hurriedly place your box of pins on a nearby station and approach the counter. You lightly tap your receptionist’s shoulder, snapping her out of her daze to find Shoto a drink that you knew was out of stock and leaving you two alone again. 

“Shoto, it’s a pleasure to see you.” You try to mask the unease in your voice with a forced smile. “What can I help you with today?”

His face is blank, but his eyes shine like he’s analyzing you. “I ripped the suit again.”

Your face falls in comical disbelief. “Again?”

He shrugs. “I guess I need stronger stitches.” His heterochromatic eyes stare into yours, and you meet his challenge with a slight squint. 

“Guess you do.” You take the folded suit from his hands and drop the volume of your voice. “Or maybe you need to stop tearing my work.”

He huffs out a breath that sounds like a choked laugh and you smile innocently at him, hoping this interaction replaced the awkwardness of yesterday. Your hand gestures to the seating area again, but he shakes his head, instead crossing his muscular arms and watching you intently as you work. The damage to his suit could barely be considered a tear, and you don’t even bother using your quirk to repair it. You feel him staring at you as you easily patch up the suit with a backstitch, and you swear you could hear him hum thoughtfully behind you. Minutes after he entered the office, you slide the garment back to him with a satisfied smile. 

He does that thing again, looking at you, down at his suit, then back at you. “You didn’t use your quirk.” 

It was your turn to shrug. “Didn’t need to.” As entertaining as his presence was, it would have taken longer to repair it with your quirk, and you had three mannequins of patterns demanding your immediate attention. “Is there anything else I can assist you with today?”

Shoto dodges your question, instead scanning the seamstresses at their work areas trying not to stare at him. “You’re awfully good at getting people in and out.” One eyebrow quirks in question. He’s testing you, silently asking whether you were trying to get rid of him quickly. 

“With all due respect, a rip on a Pro’s suit is the least of my worries right now.” 

“What are the most of your worries?” You direct his attention to the three mannequins behind you, covered in multi-colored pins and beige pattern panels. “Red Riot, Pinky, and Cellophane’s Ball outfits. Need to have them done by next Friday, and I was just in the middle of pleating the skirt of Momo’s dress. It’s taking a lot longer than expected because I tragically only have two hands.” 

Shoto’s mouth opens in an ah of realization, taking in the elaborate construction plan of the layered asymmetrical gown. You couldn’t have predicted his reply to save your life. 

“May I help you?”

Your mind halts the production of coherent thoughts. “Oh, no, really. It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” 

“Why not?”

“It’s not your job.”

“But there is something I can help with.”

“I mean, yes, but–”

“Then please, show me what to do.” You decide that it would be pointless to fight his stubborn determination, so you try not to notice the gasps from your staff as Shoto pushes open the gate into the work area and stands beside Creati’s mannequin. You knelt into the same position as before, sitting back on your heels as you searched for the last pleat you made. 

“So I just need you to hold the fabric in place so that it doesn’t unfold, like this,” you direct, scrunching the edge into a carefully measured fold. He watches you diligently, allowing you to reposition his hands so that you could effectively create a seam. His hands were soft beneath your fingers as you brushed veins and lean muscle. You push away the thought of what else he could do with his hands, refocusing on your work and delicately rotating the mannequin as you made your way around its waist. To your surprise, Shoto made soft conversation with you, asking about other Pros’ looks and the design inspiration behind them. Small talk flowed easily as you worked, and he proved to be much more witty than interviews captured. 

When you finished, Shoto ran his finger over the pleats you had just made in admiration. A glance at the rest of the mannequins leads to his expression becoming puzzled. “Where is mine?” He offers an open hand to you as you rise from the floor, and you revel in the cool touch of his palm against your tired thumb. 

You open your mouth to reply, but no words come out. The truth was, his stylist had ordered a simple black suit for him, barely different than the suit he wore the previous year and all of the years prior. Shoto’s media reputation had him notorious for attending as few public events as possible, and donning safe solid-colored suits when he did appear. His eyebrows rise in anticipation of your answer, still holding your hand, and you finally conjure up an explanation. “Well, technically, your look is already finished. It was one of the first looks we finished because of its simplicity.” 

“Simplicity?” He releases your hand, flexing his fingers like he was squeezing a stress ball. Shit, were your hands sweaty?

“Yeah, your stylist tends to request subdued designs for public appearances.”

A low hum is all you receive in acknowledgment, and a look of deep thought washes over his handsome expression. 

“Maybe I will aim for a different design this year, then.” 

And just the same as Monday, he nods farewell before heading back to the elevator, leaving you frozen by the mannequin. A split second before the doors slide open, he gives you a mischievous look and a single thumbs-up, a reminder of the embarrassing interaction from the day before. You roll your eyes at him and are delighted to see the corner of his mouth turn up again.   

The elevator doors shut, and you can’t help hoping he creates another tear in his suit for tomorrow.

[sinsandsweetness]

Assurance (sex and zombies- chapter 17)

pairing- (Rick x fem!reader)

summary- you want this.

warnings- canon typical gore. Nothing crazy tho. No smut in this chapter.

notes- (this is immediately following chapter 15)

*only 2-3 more chapters left for this work. I have just drafted the final chapter and love the way it ends <3

Feedback/comments are always appreciated!

You made sure to sneak away early in the morning. The sun had only just started to rise, making the bedroom fill with a gorgeous, orange hue. It wasn't that you didn’t enjoy waking up next to Ricks pretty face and an arm draped over your waist. But you weren’t exactly sure how he’d feel about last nights events, now that you’d both gotten a few orgasms out of the way. You figured maybe he’d be thinking more clearly. Not that you were. In fact, it had made things so much worse. All you could feel were his hands wrapped around your waist and his warm lips against yours.

So you took a quick shower and made your way to the infirmary. Wanting to subtly find out if there were any morning after pills hanging around. If not, then well, you’d definetly need to go on a run today. With little Judith babbling around and Maggie planning a pregnancy, you definitely didn’t need or want a baby. Right now, anyway.

Thankfully, Pete wasn’t in the office yet. So you were able to sneak in and look around. Inspecting the medications that had been organized so meticulously.

No luck.

In a cabinet above the sink, you found a bunch of weed though. Surprised and amused, you grabbed a couple joints and a baggy and tied them up. Stuffing them into your pocket. The door opened behind you and a blonde lady with glasses apologized quickly. You’d clearly startled her.

“Oh hey, sorry,” you smiled and put your hands up. Like you got caught. You did, though she didn’t seem to realize that.

“That’s ok… I’m Denise,” she stayed at the door holding a clipboard.

“Ok…”

“I’m the other doctor here. Sorry,” she was very awkward. You stuck a hand out and told her your name. “This might be a little weird, but I was wondering if you guys had any.. um… morning after pills...”

“Unfortunately we don’t. At least not that have been turned into the infirmary. I can ask around-“

“No that’s okay…um maybe we can just keep this, like between us?” You tell her.

She laughs. “Yes sorry,” she fumbled with her pen. “There is a drugstore. Not that far from here and I think if anywhere would have some, it would be there,” she started. “Actually I’ve been telling Deanna we need to have someone go looking for some stuff anyway. I have a list…” she held up her clipboard.

“Maybe I can take the lead on that then.” You tell her, and she smiles at you.

“One’s enough for you?”

You give her a look, not fully understanding the question.

“Like one kid,” she clarifies, “Obviously you’re not planning for another..?”

“Uh... I don’t have a kid…”

“Oh,” She looked confused.

“Wait why do you-”

“Well the baby, I thought… sorry, I thought she was yours.”

“She’s Ricks.” You tell her, thinking that had been made clear to everyone in Alexandria already.

“Yes I know that… I just figured… sorry I’m- I just figured you… uh. Yeah.”

Some strange part of you wanted to smile. A complete stranger thought you and Rick were together. Together with a baby. Did it seem that way? To everyone else at least?

“No, um Rick was married…before,” you tell her. She nodded, and looked down at the floor in discomfort.

“Look I’m gonna go talk to Deanna, see if I can take a car and maybe find some stuff on that list? Anything urgent?” You ask her. Switching the topic back to why you were actually here.

“Oh! Yeah that would be amazing! Um, just some regular stuff, I doubt you’ll find any of these,” she pointed to a few bullet points on her list. “Nothing urgent… I mean, definitely your pill. More if you can find them. Just any contraceptives. Antibiotics, anti inflammatories, cough meds. Anything over the counter. We can use it all. “

You nod and grab the list from her. “Thanks Denise. And the pill…um… just between us right?”

“Yes absolutely,” she nodded intently, “Lips are sealed.”

-

You were packing your bag on the kitchen island when Rick walked down the stairs, rubbing at his eyes with his knuckle. The collared button up and tie he wore, made you squeeze your legs together. Fuck. You really thought he was going to be at Tobins for the day. Doing construction shit or whatever it was he was helping with.

“Hey,” he said walking to the cupboard.

“Hi.” You responded shyly. Memories of the night before, flooding into your brain.

“Why'd you run off this morning?” He glanced over at you, grabbing a tall glass of water from the tap, and downing it all in one.

“I didn’t run-”

"You did." He turned to face you.

"I did not-"

"Don’t lie.”

“Ok," You gulped. "I did- I... it was more of a jog...” You tried lightening the mood. He just rolled his eyes. He actually seemed irritated.

“Should we talk about last night? About us?” He asked, leaning up against the counter.

You pursed your lips. Seemed like a really heavy conversation for being so early in the morning.

“Alright then… can I ask you something?” He asked instead, the frustration evident in his tone.

You sighed. Knowing he would ask regardless of your answer. He came up to you, grabbing your face with his calloused hand, rubbing a thumb along your jaw. His touch making your knees all weak.

“What you said last night, about making you mine... Is that something you still want?" He sighed, and licked his lips. "Before, at the prison, I know we talked about it. But I- I just want to be sure... after everything... Were you just sayin’ that, in the moment?”

He didn’t like your hesitation and spoke again before you could even really process what he was asking.

“I can’t tell sometimes, with you- you just- you've been so closed off lately. I know we've been going through something, and I haven't always been the best... " he stopped himself, shaking his head. "I'm not perfect, I know that. But you haven't talked to me. You won't. And it's making me think that maybe- I don’t know… ” You weren’t fully understanding his question. He could tell. His stare burning right into you.

“Just- God dammit- do you want this? You and me? Do you want… this?” He squeezed your jaw slightly. Just enough to get his point across.

His baby blue eyes were locked on yours. The tiniest hint of worry flickered through them. Worried you were going to say no. Worried you had changed your mind after all the events between the prison and now.

You placed your hand on his wrist and nodded into his hand. Chewing on your inner lip nervously. You did want this. You’d wanted it back at the farm. You’d wanted it at the prison. At the church, and every awful and amazing moment in between. You’d wanted him. To be with him. And the way he was standing in front of you now, demanding clarification, was giving you all the reassurance that he wanted it too, just as much.

“Then quit running.” He whispered, letting his hand fall. You nodded, letting him know you understood. That you'd do whatever he asked. Whatever he wanted, if it meant you were his. Actually his. Officially.

He gave you a weak smile before turning back around and heading for the fridge to fix himself something to eat.

-

“Heyyy…” you sneak up behind Daryl, who was filling up his bike with gas.

“What’s up?”

“Found something fun… you want it?” You asked hiding the gift behind your back. Giving him a little grin.

“What is it?” He seemed intrigued, turning around. You lean up against his bike and feel the strap of your tank fall down your shoulder. Twirling the little baggie in your hand you show Daryl your prize.

“No way,” he smiled and you couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Mhm. They’re yours if you want em’.” He went to grab the bag from you but you snapped your hand back. “But I’d really like if you shared.”

He smiledd and grabbed the bag. Stuffing it into his pocket.

“I’m going on a run, wanna join?” You asked. You needed backup. And maybe some company.

“I’m actually going off with Aaron today. Sorry.”

You smiled softly, “That’s alright, I’ll find someone else. Be safe.”

You did find another group to go out with you. Glenn was willing to give Nick another chance after their last fuck up of a supply run. There was five of you. Nick, Glenn, yourself and two others that claimed to be experienced with outside the walls.

Turns out they weren't. At least not in the way you and Glenn were.

You did get the supplies you needed. Cleared the pharmacy pretty easily. Secretly took your plan B in the bathroom with a swig of warm, blue gatorade from the store. It was the way back home that went wrong. The car broke down. So you guys had to walk. Trying all the vehicles that you'd stumbled across, but nothing was working. And soon enough, while helping Glenn try and jumpstart an old Buick, there was a scream. A rather small cluster of walkers approaching you all, and somehow, one had bit one of your group members. On the arm, close to his wrist. Screaming and crying, the young man stumbled back, holding the bloody mess of his forearm as you and Glenn rushed over. Taking care of the walkers and quickly realizing what you'd have to do.

"Hold this" Glenn tightened the belt around the kids arm, above the bite. The kid was thrashing and screaming and making everything a lot harder. Nick yelling at you both telling you that it was gonna kill him.

It didn't.

No one died. But there was still an amputation. Having to carry the one boy back, passed out from pain. Draped over both of your shoulders as you walked towards the gate. The blood from his arm coating the majority of your torso.

-

“What the hell happened to you?"

Rick looked worried at the blood coating your torso. The kid getting taken off to the infirmary immediately, as Glenn and Nick started to argue at the fence. A bunch of your own group running to stop it. To calm everyone down.

“The kid got bit. These people are idiots, Rick. They can't even pay simple attention to their surroundings.” You told him as he grabbed your jaw, inspecting your face. Looking you up and down for injury. You could feel Nick looking over at you with a scowl.

“Are you ok? You hurt or anything?”

“I’m fine.” You grab his wrist gently, pulling it away. There was a guy missing an arm, and all Rick was focused on was you. Making sure you were ok. The realization sending a twinge of affirmation through your gut. And though you liked how much he cared, you also didn’t need taken care of right now. Even though he would clearly jump at the chance.

“Go get cleaned up. I’ll talk with Deanna. Supper is at the other house ok?”

In the shower you scrubbed the blood of your chest and ran cold water all over your shirt, in a sad attempt to save it.

You put on a camisole and some soft little sleep shorts, and headed downstairs, over to the house next door. Delicious smells of whatever casserole Carol had come up with, wafting through the air.

“Bedtime already?” Rick came up beside you, leaning his forearms on the counter you were sitting at.

You give him a side eye and a little scowl.

“Are you okay? Really?” He asked, referring to your day. He plucked at the edge of your tank top, trying to lengthen it.

"Yeah. Used to it. I'm just glad the kids alive." You told him.

"It has been a while since you've gone out there. You did good. Quick thinking."

"Well I learned from the best." You looked up at him, turning to see his face. Trying to contain his smile by biting the inside of his cheek.

"The best, huh?"

You let out a little huff. "Don't let it get to your head." You rolled your eyes, spooning another bite of dinner into your mouth.

His hand was now brushing lightly on your lower back. Everyone else was talking and eating, paying you two absolutely no mind. You liked it that he was doing this in front of them. Touching you. Not hiding whatever was between you. Something the both of you had been doing since the prison.

“I won't."

He paused, and you could tell something was on his mind.

"What?"

"Just thinking'," He shook his head.

Turning on the barstool, to see his slight bashfulness, your knees brush his own legs.

“About what?”

"You." He answered. He seemed a little surprised that he'd said it out loud. You could feel your cheeks turn warm. You grabbed his hand and dragged it up the smooth skin on your leg, fingertips brushing the seam of your shorts.

He whispered your name, firm like a warning. But his hand didn’t move after you let yours fall. Still feeling your leg, thumb brushing over your scar.

“Yeah?” You whisper back innocently. As if you had no idea what your touch was doing to him. How soft you knew you felt underneath his rough hands. Looking up at him through long eyelashes. He gave you a glance. Playful, but stern.

Voice still low but no longer a whisper he pulls his hand back from your trance, “Look I got some business tonight. Gotta meet with Tobin about the expansion. I'll uh... I'll see you later?”

You nod at him. Knowing exactly what that question actually meant.

He tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. Internally debating wether or not to lean in for a kiss, and you wish he had.

“Don’t stay up too late,” his thumb rubbed over your cheekbone before he dropped his hand and walked away, giving you a little glance from the living room as he kissed Judiths forehead and whispered something to Carl. Slipping quietly out the front door.

You couldn't help the smile on your face or the butterflies swarming around in your stomach as you ate the rest of your meal.

See you later, Rick.

[sunshine-overload]

[BSTS] April Fool’s 2024 ‘The Hero, Reincarnated in Another World’ Event Story - Final

Part 2

Chapter 14

-starless hallway-

haseyama: So we've finally reached the Demon King's castle huh... You call this place a castle? It's just the store isn't it?

strongest sorcerer (lico): The store?

haseyama: Never mind. So, where's the Demon King?

strongest sorcerer: Who knows. He's probably chilling in a large room somewhere right?

warrior (kokuyou): Let's try that room. I'm sensing something is in there.

-starless restaurant area-

warrior: Hm? Is that a treasure chest over there?

haseyama: A chest in the Demon King's castle you say? Allow me to open it... Oh? What's this? Gold?

strongest sorcerer: Ooh, I knew loot from this castle would be good. That's a gold pendant...

-kokuyou runs in front of them-

warrior: —Get down, quick!!

haseyama: Woah!?

-zakuro attacks kokuyou-

??? (zakuro): My oh my, I did not calculate that you would be able to predict my attack. The Hero party's strength is no lie.

haseyama: Who are you?

-taiga appears-

poison fang of the north (taiga): That's my automaton. It's being controlled by my puppeteer magic. Sorry for ruining your fun after you just arrived, but you'll be becoming my creation’s prey.

strongest sorcerer: It's a doll? Is that why it's moving in such a creepily unnatural way?

??? (zakuro): My my, there is no need to address me in such a rude manner.

poison fang of the north: Just ignore them. Now go, HAK=T=M! Defeat the Hero!

HAK=T=M (zakuro): Indeed, indeed!

-zakuro attacks-

warrior: How annoying, don't get any closer.

-kokuyou fights back-

HAK=T=M: Ough!! I-indeed... indee... indedededede...de...zzzt...

-zakuro shuts down-

haseyama: What's this? It only took one hit to take it out?

poison fang of the north: H-HAK=T=M~!!

warrior: Well then, looks like it's your turn to get punched in the face.

poison fang of the north: Ah, no, I surrender. Please let me join your side.

haseyama: What?

poison fang of the north: I stand no chance in a 3v1. My motto is 'if you can't beat them, join them'. I don't actually care about being one of the Demon King's great leaders or whatever.

strongest sorcerer: Wow, this guy really just threw his weapon down without hesitation. Does he have no pride?

poison fang of the north: Anyways, that warrior you've got on your team is real strong. I respect his ability. Is it ok if I refer to you as 'big bro'? I want to work for you.

warrior: Sure thing.

poison fang of the north: Thanks! Here, I'll cast some buffing spells on you.

warrior: Do whatever you want.

poison fang of the north: —No, by God Keep rolling Feel it in my bones...

strongest sorcerer: Huh? That spell... Watch out!!

haseyama: ...!? What do you mean!?

poison fang of the north: —No exit!

-spell is cast-

warrior: ...!?

-room explodes-

-starless hallway-

strongest sorcerer: Shit that was close, he used explosion magic. If I'd been caught up in that I'd be dead! I'm done with this dangerous mission, I'm leaving!

-cut back to restaurant area, place is destroyed-

warrior: ...Fuck that hurt. That wasn't a buff, you asshole.

poison fang of the north: What!? You're alive...? How is that possible!?

warrior: Kuku, you wanted to call me big bro right? Well as your big brother how about I correct that rebellious behaviour of yours? Come with me.

poison fang of the north: Ky-kyaahhh!? Where do you plan on taking me...!?

-kokuyou drags taiga away-

—end

*HAK=T=M - reference to the song hakuchuumu/daydream

-

Chapter 15

-starless hallway-

haseyama: (coughing) ...Godammit. Was that explosion just now caused by magic or something? The path I came in from has caved in... Oi, is anyone there!?

haseyama: .......

haseyama: ...So they all ditched me in the final stretch huh? Those damn brats! Well, it can't be helped I guess... I'll just have to do something about this myself. Hah, reminds me of when I was a kid. I'd rush into raids all on my own...

-haseyama's office-

haseyama: Come on out, Demon King! Where are you at? Show yourself already!

-takami appears-

??? (takami): Welcome, Hero. So you've made it this far.

haseyama: Hah, you're the Demon King then? I see, I'm gonna wipe that smug smile off your face.

??? (unei): W-wait! He's not the Demon King, I am!!

haseyama: ...What!? You? Aren't you just Unei!?

??? (unei): (clears throat) Indeed... I am the one who soars in the sky decorated with white stars, the king of everlasting darkness who reigns over the demon world from my throne— It is I, The Demon King of the White Star Realm! The strongest, most fearsome Demon King who rules over this land!

haseyama: That's one lame name you've given yourself.

demon king (unei): Come, Hawklook, destroy the Hero!

hawklook (takami): Yes, my lord.

saki: Wait, p-please stop this!

haseyama: So the princess really was you after all, young lady.

demon king: It is fine, princess. I shall defeat the Hero, so watch closely.

saki: (Nothing about this is fine though...)

hawklook: Let us fight. I'll make you bow before the Demon King, dear Hero.

haseyama: Uwah!? He's so fast!

mob class demon: Allow me to help you, Hawklook-sama~! There's no way the Hero can win against our numbers~!

haseyama: Huh!? I have to deal with those weak ass mobs too?

hawklook: Is this really the time to take your eyes off me?

haseyama: Guh... Ah, shut up!

mob class demon: The Hero is backed into a corner! We're sure to win at this rate~!

demon king: Kukuku... I wouldn't count the Hero out yet. You agree, don't you princess?

saki: Um... Could you stop fighting now...?

demon king: Of course not, its almost time for my debut! Watch me, princess! It's showtime!

haseyama: ...!?

demon king: 'White Wish'... Assemble the darkness, Starry Love!

-unei casts magic-

haseyama: Uwah... Aaghhhhh!!

-screen goes white-

—end

-

Chapter 16

-haseyama's office-

-screen flashes red-

haseyama: Sh..it...

demon king: Haahahahahah!! The Hero is no more~!!

haseyama: Being done in by Unei... How could something like this... happen...?

-haseyama collapses-

-white screen, kei appears-

king (kei): Hah, how unsightly.

haseyama: You...! Kei you damn... Wait no, you were that unreasonable king right?

king: So in the end this is how much a man like you could achieve. You were truly nothing but a disgraceful man who was only a hero in name.

haseyama: Excuse me!?

king: Even though it was faint, I was a fool for expecting anything great from you. Giving you that legendary sword was a grave mistake. There was no way you could've become a hero.

haseyama: You're the asshole who summoned me here in the first place! Quit talking crap and just return me to my world already!

king: Oh? So you still have the strength to snap back at me? In that case, stand back up, Hero. Use the true power of that blade, the 'Stein Schwartz'... Show them the skill of legend—

haseyama: What...!?

-haseyama's office-

hawklook: What would you like me to do, Demon King-sama? Shall I finish him off with a stab to the heart?

demon king: Uhh, I don't think we need to go that far... While he's still unconscious let's just dump him outside the castle...

mob class demon: Leave throwing him outside to me~!

saki: Um, so the fighting is done now?

haseyama: ...Ah... Damn it...

mob class demon: Oh, Demon King-sama, the Hero seems to have awoken.

demon king: What? Then whack him unconscious again—!

haseyama: Tch, I just have to win huh?

hawklook: Oh my, you can still stand?

demon king: Huh, you're gonna fight again? I'd really wish you'd just surrender already though...

haseyama: ...Unei, I think it's about time I put you back in your place!

demon king: Whaaat!?

-flash of light-

demon king: W-what's that? The Hero's sword is glowing...!?

haseyama: It's shining with my ultimate skill! Blow them away— Scarlet Desire!!

-screen goes white-

mob class demon: Aaaahhh~! He's got us~!!

-kasumi disappears-

hawklook: Guh...! So this is the Hero's ultimate skill...! This is where I withdraw.

-takami disappears-

demon king: Aaaahhhh... Uwaaaahhhhhhh~!!

-credits roll-

—end

-

Chapter 17

-starless office-

saki: (waking up) Mm... Hm? This is...

unei: Ah, are you awake, Saki-san? You'll catch a cold if you sleep in here!

saki: Oh... Please excuse me.

saki: (I fell asleep... So was all of that just a dream?)

unei: So um, by the way, how was it?

saki: Hm? How was what...?

unei: Whaat, did you not even read it? I'm talking about the novel I wrote about myself being a hero!

saki: Oh.

saki: (That's right, I vaguely remember I had been reading a fantasy novel that Unei-san wrote.)

unei: Was it no good...? I tried my best at drawing the map of the world as well...

saki: Ah, no, I didn't mean to imply that. I thought it was a very interesting novel.

unei: Really? I'm so glad, thank you! I thought the same when I tried designing those outfits, but creating something yourself is really fun. Since I ended up writing so much I'm going to publish it on a web novel site.

saki: That sounds like a good idea.

unei: I want to keep challenging myself by trying new things. Because I'd be happy if any of those skills end up becoming beneficial for the store!

saki: Fufu, do your best.

unei: Ah... Oh right! I had to discuss something with Yakou-san. I have to step out for a bit, you can stay in the office however long you need to, Saki-san!

saki: Thank you. 

-unei leaves-

-aogiri walks in-

aogiri: Hello, Saki-san. I see you're awake now.

saki: Yes, sorry about that. I accidentally dozed off.

aogiri: It's no trouble at all. Were you reading that book? It was an interesting story, wasn't it? Though, I did find Unei-san being the Demon King to be a little unbelievable.

saki: That's true— No, wait, but I'm pretty sure Unei-san was the hero in the novel...

aogiri: Fufu. The truth is… I'm also capable of casting some magic. Whether you want to believe it or not is up to you.

—end

[aziraphales-library]

ok so im not sure if this will make any sense, but i was wondering if you had any recs for like,,,big fics

an example would be "the time before" or "a memory of eden"

fics that are multi chapter, have a long over arching plot, preferably ones that involve the whole season 1 gang (anathema, newton, the them etc.)

sorry if that made no sense!!

(oh also any sort of relationship between aziraphale and crowley is fine. i dont mind. maybe preferably fics with no smut but it doesn't matter really)

thanks!!

You’ll want to check our #long fic and #apocalypse buddies tags for more fics like this. You didn’t specify if you wanted to avoid AUs or not (because there are loads of those), so I’ve stuck to canon-compliant. Here you go...

Earthbound Creatures by IneffableToreshi (T)

In burning Agnes Nutter's second book of prophecies, Anathema and Newt discover a mysterious page that refuses to go up in flame. Atop it is written a poem which neither, at that time, can hope to understand.

Something is happening, wheels are turning, and neither Heaven nor Hell are wont to forgive and forget. An Angel and a Demon are very much in danger of losing one another.

Keep Yourself Alive by Jlocked & The_Lady_of_Purpletown (T)

The Apocalypse didn’t happen, and Aziraphale and Crowley's respective Offices have been dealt with. For now. This should be a time for celebration and enjoying their life on Earth. But it seems Heaven has a different Plan for Aziraphale, and Crowley might not be able to solve this.

Meditations on Domestic Bliss by wordsphoenix (NR)

Everyone is alive. Time for an angel and a demon to start doing some living. Preferably in close proximity and with deeper significance than the friendship previously mentioned, since feelings are very much allowed now that Aziraphale and Crowley are aligned with emotionally-driven creatures, and, more importantly, each other.

Good Endings by WyvernQuill (T)

A Narrative of Certain Events following the Ending of the World (Except Not Quite), as vaguely hinted at in The Slapdash and Not Very Helpful Prophetic Tidbit of Agnes Nutter, Witch (And Matchmaker.)

"Their lives are in horrible, terrible danger that only we can save them from!" Anathema held up the Prophetic Tidbit. "It says so. Right here." Madame Tracy peered at the page. Raised a meaningful eyebrow. "Dearie, as a woman of, well, considerable experience, I really don't think that's what 'the lyttle Deathe' means in this context..."

"Huh." Anathema squinted. Flipped the page. Read another bit. "....huh."

(Or, alternatively: Eight - give or take - matchmakers trying really, really hard, honest; two clueless ethereal/occult beings mutually pining their endless days away; and one witch, who can't leave well enough alone when it comes to matters of the heart, no matter how many centuries ago she died.)

Time is the Longest Distance by Beckers522 (M)

Six months had passed since the world hadn't ended and life was good. Life was more than good. It was more than nice. Life on Earth, here in his little corner of London, here with Crowley by his side was absolutely wonderful. Until the day that it wasn't. Until Aziraphale walked into Crowley's flat to find his best friend mysteriously discorporated with both Heaven and Hell staying silent on the matter. With Crowley trapped in Hell and Aziraphale unable to reach him, the pair set off to find their way back to each other. They will have to fight against Heaven, Hell, and Time itself to make their way back into each others arms once more.

This is a full-length story based off the comic by the wonderfully talented Lei_sam. If you have not seen it yet, you need to go check it out. Link in the notes section.

Love is a Temporary Madness by Beckers522 (T)

"They'll leave us alone, for a bit. If you ask me, both sides are going to use this as breathing space, before the big one." "I thought that was the big one." "No. For my money, the really big one is going to be all of us against all of them." "What? Heaven and Hell against...humanity?"

The Apocalypse has come and gone, but Heaven and Hell aren't satisfied. They'd tried and failed to enact their revenge once. Perhaps it is time to try a different strategy.

And the two you mentioned (I assume--please include authors and/or links as well as titles!)...

A Memory of Eden by ImprobableDreams900 (M)

When Crowley gets captured by angels and dragged up to Heaven, Aziraphale knows he has to rescue him—no matter the consequences.

The Time Before by M4R4N14MH (G)

The Apocalypse is not long over and Aziraphale is looking forward to a life free of Heaven and Hell and, most importantly, full of a certain Anthony J. Crowley. That is, until reality attempts to set in again. Now Angels and Demons are being murdered, Heaven and Hell are in disarray, and Aziraphale reunites with a friend older than God Herself. Alpha Centauri has never looked so welcoming, in Crowley’s opinion.

- Mod D

[presidentkamala]

Ok im being SO brave and chugging a mug of peppermint tea before i suit up and GO ON A WALK and get my steps in but uhhhh emotional personal word vomit below that is too cringe and immature to share publicly probably lmao

Yesterday things were going really well, i brought my parents some of my muffins and two of the new farmers market apples and part of the brie wheel, and bc its a religious holiday one of my mom's friends invited us to a party in virginia.

But then i found out that my dad didn't plan on going (i also didn't plan on going at ALL and in fact i was going to do something completely separate) and my mom decided that she can't drive at night and she was like inviting me and hoping i would go partly so i could drive. And like we as a family don't have any kind of social life lmao and i also didn't want my mom to have to uber so i was like hey i can drop you off! TRYNGGGGG to do a nice & thoughtful thing to make up for why i wasn't going. And the main reason i wasn't going is bc this auntie LOVES to rub her hugely successful lawyer daughter married to a PARTNER in her firm (interesting if you ask me) with three children in my face and im like not in a place to uhhh recieve that energy rn (like along the lines of "[paragraph about how challenging parenting is and how successful her daughter is], turning to look at me and asking me how i "fill my days" and being intensely patronizing and smug about what a professional and academic failure i am, fake compassion, bringing up her daughter's 250k signing bonus completely out of nowhere, the works).

Well of course when i drop her off my mom's like no it would be rude not to come in and say hi so i do that with as much grace as i can muster and start driving to THE OFFICE on a saturday night because when i said hello this auntie was like no we'll be done with the ritual and dinner in 2 hours max and it wasn't worth it going back to my parents' and then back to auntie's place in under two hours

Except on the way to the office im like wait im in VA why don't i hang out in alexandria? And went down king street which has HUGELY recovered from when i lived there during the pandemic and was full of people and HAPPY COUPLES and FRIENDS ENJOYING DINNER and then Me with my whole foods loaf of brioche so i could get free parking like sitting on a park bench listening to a VERY poor rendition of hotel california

And after a couple hourse of walking along the waterfront, king street, etc, i texted my mom to see if she was ready to go and was met with TOTAL silence for. ANOTHER ENTIRE HOUR AND HALF and at that point i was just. Trapped in alexandria sitting there waiting to be called by my mom to pick her up from an event i was too ashamed to attend, filled with people who spent the last 10 years of my life gleefully asking me why i wasnt getting a masters or a law degree or being hugely devaluing of government jobs &work, who clearly have a different understanding about what's acceptable to prioritize, especially right now, especially in this moment, who i will NEVER be able to impress and who i will NEVER be able to give a reason good enough for them to treat me like a first class citizen

And reader i fucking lost it

Year after year after year i have to humble myself and apologize to everyone for not being this or doing that. Yes I'm still in [Agency] no im not engaged no i don't own a home no i'm not working towards a hugely lucrative shift to consulting. Yes my mom is parading me around like a child with nothing better or more important to do with my time. Yes i still remember every offhand remark and every backhanded compliment and every cutting remark. No i haven't radically moved forward in my life in a way you would respect

And the thing is i DID have plans last night!! And if i was more secure or more successful, i probably would have had no issues cancelling and coming to the function by myself. But im so behind in everything, and im getting old, and slower, and my chances of catching up keep slipping away

It all hit me so deeply - it felt like an attack, it felt like im being punished by my mom and everyone else for continuing to put off these things that are my duty, marriage and family or barring that career success on an astronomical level

It got worse when my mom finally DID say she was ready to go almost 2 hrs after the initial estimate. She immediately launched into transports over another guest who "isn't much older" than me and who was a DIPLOMAT and is now MARRIED TO A FRENCH DIPLOMAT and now they OWN A FARM IN POTOMAC WITH 10 COWS and it was the way she said it, so specific, so insistent about her. I don't know if im just paranoid but it felt like she was rubbing it in, i felt the walls closing in again and kind of shut down and i just said "sorry im struggling to regulate my emotions" bc its unfair to put all this paranoid shame on other people and she just looked so annoyed and disappointed and i felt completely overwhelmed by the need to just get away and be somewhere safe from judgment and disappointment and shame

Im not proud to say i relapsed into some self harming later when that interminable drive was finally over and we came home

And then today one of my OTHER cousins just announced their engagement like im SO.

I keep being made to pay the price for being single and for not being a dr or a lawyer.

It's getting old. Im getting old. There are bigger things happening in the world. Im a data analyst im a fucking unit chief i volunteer and i advocate and i work to see change like im not sitting on my hands doing NOTHING but i will NEVER be treated with respect in this family/community until i do get married or become a billionaire.

[aajjks]

mommy issues!JK

the story of nara and jungkook is just like the classic cliché stories of the pretty girl getting with the nerdy boy except they don’t end up together in the end and the “pretty girl” is the villain of this story.

like in the books, these ‘arranged marriages’ are supposed to influence him to see the good in nara. maybe there’s a hobby she has that he can relate to or maybe her personality meshes with his but in reality, nara was nothing like the stories read in books.

nara is a rude, selfish, and arrogant woman born with a spoon made from the richest-most expensive gold with a personality that’s as humble as expired milk. the jang’s were looking for someone to humble their spoiled brat of a daughter while the jeon’s were looking for someone to toughen up their son but most of all, they were looking for money.

everything was planned out. the wedding, their finances, their jobs, everything. but it all came to an abrupt halt when jungkook stopped turning up to meet with the jang’s and a certain baby boy entered the picture.

to keep from slandering their expensive names, jungkook’s one-night mistake was sealed and kept hidden from both the public and their young daughter, nara, who assumed that jungkook has simply chickened out. young and in love, nara waited for the day to see her beloved again. despite her horrible personality, she believes jungkook is the water to her fire and when the opportunity presented itself to be close she had to take it.

but there’s one problem or rather two:

a 5 year-old boy and a 26 year-old you who jungkook is dating. as nara listens to jungkook brag about ‘his girlfriend’ and blocking her number, she doesn’t try to hide her irritation.

“acting all tough, huh? aren’t you forgetting what happened to you the last time you tried to step to me?”

the cuts…the tears…the blood…

“block me and you’re fired, jungkook. i called you in here because i need a date for a charity event this week and it’s going to be you” nara pauses. “if you don’t come with me as my date, i’ll inform your son’s school that you’re having an inappropriate relationship with his teacher. which is also your, quote, “girlfriend”

~🫧

Jungkook scoffs.

Does she still think that she can control him? Hurting him physically hurting herself physically doesn’t really bother him anymore.. once she mentions telling the school about your so-called inappropriate relationship? Jungkook immediately shuts his mouth.

How does she always manage to Find a way to manipulate him and blackmail him?

“So you know about my son? Good. Another reason why we cannot be together. And my girlfriend… I can do anything for her- I can do anything for my son and girlfriend. I love them the most in the world and you know I’ll come to dinner with you as your date.” 

Jungkook is glaring at Nara. “you know what you’re good at? It’s ruining peoples life. If you hurt me, I’ll hurt you back worse. Stay away from my girlfriend and everything will be OK. And most importantly stay away from my Son.”

Then Jungkook just tries to gain his composure- no don’t get angry right now.

His anger is dangerous.

“I’m leaving.” He scoffs again before leaving to his office.

_____

Jungkooks not having a good day at all. The day in the office is as hectic as it can be. But eunwoo tries to make his day a little better.

6 hours pass by and he’s coming back from the office after trying his best to ignore his stupid boss. Just the thought of her makes his blood boil so much that is driving recklessly right now.

he can’t be together with you anymore. She will ruin your job. you will hate him forever for this-all of his dreams are ruined forever.

Soon he parks his car to the school parking and he goes inside, he needs to stay away from you until he figures something out and maybe this is gonna break your heart, but he’s just trying to protect you

He knows how passionate you are and he doesn’t want to rob his son, of this experience with you so you can’t be his girlfriend right now.

“Hi baby.” he greets his son who is standing in the schools hallway with you holding his finger. “ I hope he was good today and did not trouble you.” He asks you what is my face because you’re his dream that’s just been crushed right in front of his eyes

“OK sweetie come on. We have to go home now. Daddy has a lot of work to do.” Seol always reluctant to leave your side, but.. he obeys his daddy and so they’re both leaving the school and he doesn’t say anything to you.

It’s way better this way.

“Goodbye Ms yn.”

[dragon30125]

Hey I haven’t been here in a LOOOONG time, but I need somewhere to just vent where there isn’t really much chance of a pity party or me freaking out some people.

It’s just, really fucking hard right now. This year has ducking sucked, hell most of my life sucks. Some of these are my own fault, some are no ones. Imma just list shit and bare my feelings cos like I need to get things off my chest.

The year started and I was working my ass off, then I got run off the road riding an EScooter and broke my hand, I was able to get 2 days off then back to work I went, I got punched by a customer that was beating the shit out of another customer when I intervened (With my broken hand btw) then I got sick, then my friend died, then I didn’t get to properly celebrate my 30th birthday with my friends cause they all had these plans come up, so I only really had 2 friends actually like celebrate with me (which hey better than my 19th or 22nd birthday when no one came to my party’s right?) then I worked for like 40 days straight then my grandma died, and hey straight off to the Gold Coast whilst my Dad, Aung and Uncle all fought over the Fucked up shit my Uncle did that came to light. Then work got busy and I still couldn’t get time off, even now it’s just a constant fucking fight to have an hour to myself, then dating opht.

So I’m 30, and despite all the different ways I have tried I just cannot succeed at any version of the partners/dating/boyfriend/girlfriend game. I’ve gone to bars, clubs, out with friends, out alone, OkCupid, Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, Feeld and a slew of other apps. Paid for some of them at some point just to see and try but have come up empty. I’ve gotten dates! Not a lot of them, and even less second ones. I’ve never had a third. It fucking sucks. NOTE I don’t blame anyone for this, no one owes me a date or anything if the sort, and the only common factor to these dates is me so it’s obviously something I fuck up. But damn does it hurt. I bloomed late, got comfy with being bi, but just can’t get out of the gate.

And it’s just, the older I get the more I run into the question on these sites “Would you date someone who has never had a relationship?” And Goddamn does it hurt to see more and more people in the pool of people I could date answer more and more “No” to that every year. Again no one owes me anything but like I think I’m allowed to feel sadness that people won’t even give me a chance because of that, can’t I?

Then there’s the whole gender thing. Like the more and more that time goes on the more and more convinced I become that in probably a Trans woman, but then I still have those days that I feel like Andrew again. And then I see all the stuff that Andrew did and does and I don’t think Andi fits into those spaces or with those people even though all of me loves those spaces. Hell even work doesn’t seem like it will be ok to do there. And it just adds to this feeling of defeat that seems to be my daily life now.

I lost all this weight back in 2014/2015 and then I just slowly put it all back on again because I just lost interest in it and now every time I try to start again it feels like it just can’t happen and then that makes me give up even faster.

And I know I KNOW that I’m depressed and that actually going to see a therapist or a counselled or a psychiatrist would help but I literally cannot afford one, and I can’t find one that will take me and actually have me at an office cos I know I can’t do it online, at my apartment where I just want to let go and hide away.

Hell even work sucks for all of these reasons, I keep wanting to go do stuff and have me time, go to events and party’s that I know people at and where I know I can find some release and relief and just some fleeting happiness yet I just can’t get away from there for even 2 hours, having to cover peoples shifts because they’re sick when I’m also sick and it’s just ARGH.

I just don’t know what to do at this point, how to get out of this hole and all I can do is keep walking up this steep path, trudging along whilst finding the bodies of friends who couldn’t fight more, trying to take them with me even though they’re gone, whist some asshole keeps putting more and more arrows of shit into my back, so much that I just have to keep walking though, and just yeah

Look if you read all this thanks, again I don’t want any pity or anything I just needed somewhere to vent to just I dunno put out into the world and see if the universe will just give me a tiny break somewhere. So hopefully it does. I’ll be ok, I’m always ok, every now and then I just need to like pull out those arrows I mentioned so I can keep going so yeah thanks

[lifewithparanormal]

Butterfly effect

Chapter 5: Puzzle of distrusts

Index

Previous chapter

Next chapter

''Gang…..we have to get out of here NOW!'' Navarro alarmed, face turned to his interlocutors.

''Wh…why?!'' Mary asked promptly.

"It's an elemental, and judging by how we don't see it, I'm guessing an air elemental!'' the leader warned, showing the remote.

Harold just looked at the netherrealm's sky, indeed, there was nothing more than green and white dots, with some colors moving around.

''So we have to escape something we don't see? In supernatural terms I call that bull-''

All the rocky area started moving quickly and horizontally like a rocket, making everyone move and fumble under the winds. Hal, still caught up in his line he was about to finish before all this event, began to change his vocals into a scream.

''-SH-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!'' he finished.

Everyone was flown away while holding hard to their gadgets and looking for something on the ground to grasp: the only thing that was without surveillance was the second soul collector, who flew and hit right on Inspector Kenneth's head, rendering him unconscious because of how hard the shot went. The offensive weapon ended its course by falling out of the zone, into eternal emptyness.

''O-O-O-OF-BLBL-BLFICER!'' Mary's lips flapped under the air flow.

And it was only until the big rocky area was struck into another rock that the former started to fissure itself.

''QUICK, ALL ON THE SAME SIDE BEFORE IT BREAKS IN TWO!'' Navarro screamed with assurance.

Harold rolled his vacuum to Navarro while Mary passed the morph box to Willard. The latter hurried himself to Navarro while Hal and Mary transported Officer Kenneth's uncounscious body.

On the other side, Shadowcop Wibbly just looked at the PIs trying to wake up the officer.

''Well….it seems this elemental will do the hard job for me. Thanks for the challenge though, this was fun! But I value my own life over a possible demotion!'' Wibbly thanked without remorse.

With a sign of salute, once Matzarathulu's house rock broke in two separate bits, the new jelly then jumped out of the surface, under the PIs's looks of bitterness.

''A jerk, but he's right, we have no chance, specially not against something we can't see!'' Hal said.

Mary used her telepathy to try to follow the signal of the air elemental. While it was not close yet, it was coming fast.

''RUN!'' she shouted in a panic.

Running as fast as she could towards the throne room, everyone followed her still holding their weapon. Harold put Kenneth on the Vacuum Ormal and teleported himself along with the two things by touching the handle of the gadget.

Once again all hiding behind the throne, they tried to discuss about a plan, but it was really more stressful than last time.

''OK, we NEED to get out of here, but we're very far away from the portal we've been through and there's no telling if there's any more close! This place is too big!'' Felix said.

''But we have to at least TRY fighting that thing!'' Will argued.

''Willard, we found Fred's father and got rid of what got in our way, we have nothing to do here anymore, the most important thing right now is saving him and ourselves while we have the chance!'' Felix counterattacked.

''OK then, Sherlock, how do you propose we do that? Luck seems to not be in our favor right now and we don't have time to mimick a big fight to open an existing nethergate!'' Will debated, impassible.

Mary stayed silent, hoping to calm down the adrenaline by holding Navarro and Will's hands with her two own ones.

''I……..I think I can tempt something I trained a few times over, but we all need to hold hands!'' Mary suggested.

''But, what are you think-''

''The longer I explain the more you probably won't be conscious to know the rest, just DO IT!'' Mary interrupted Harold really harshly, as never seen before.

''All right all right!'' Hal panicked, picking Navarro's other hand.

''Alright, keep your hands held together! Concentrate very hard and fill your head with your WILL to get out of this place!'' Mary ordered, eyes closed.

Everyone mimicked her moves by closing their eyes as well, telepathic waves went out of Mary's head, focused on what seemed to be the whole place. For some time, nothing seemed to happen.

''Come on…come on, I can feel that elemental coming closer!'' Mary spoke with despair.

Willard started grimacing as he started to turn his head towards the open space behind him. Suddendly letting go of Mary's hand, he stood up. Hearing the footsteps, Hal opened his eyes.

''Uh, what do you think you're doing?!'' the latter asked.

''Trying to hold the elemental off.'' Will just dryly answered.

''Stop trying to play the hero all by yourself! Elemental beings are too strong even for your power reflecting!'' Hal shouted, desperate from Willard's hot-headedness.

''You prefer to perish and not getting all smooshy with your girlfriend anymore?'' Willard scoffed, still waking away while hugging himself as a sign of mockery.

''What?! You idi-''

''HAL STOP! I agree with you about Will, but if anything, it's going to buy us time and you can teleport to save him anyway! We still haven't went through with my attempt. Keep focusing!'' Mary angrily ordered.

Seeing that Navarro, the leader, was not saying anything, trusting her and Willard even if he agreed with the duo's opinion about the lone wolf PI, Hal complied with bitterness. Closing his eyes and clenching his teeth, holding Navarro's hand, he kept focusing.

Meanwhile, Will Plowright got out in the open.

''Yeah, I'm one of Matzarathulu's party invites who keep disturbing the neighborhood, what are you gonna do? Mess up my hair?!'' Willard provoked, waiting for the unseen.

He heard an increasing growling, like the entity was getting closer. As soon as Willard felt even the slightiest change in the force of the wind, he surrounded his arms with aura, lifted them so the palms faced the front and bended his knees.

The invisible elemental pushed him with a strong wind , which only made Willard's shoes drag backwards on the ground, as he struggled to keep his balance while redirecting some of the wind in several directions. He even tried to push some of the wind forward with his hands but how could it even hit an element present everywhere?

Back on the PI trio's side, Mary started to smile while keeping her eyes closed.

''Yes….yes….I can feel….a portal opening!'' she cheered.

Everyone opened their eyes, like Mary said, a portal started to manifest.

''How….it really worked!'' Hal said, like he was dreaming.

''These two worlds share more psychic links than you think, you would be surprised what our combined wills and determination can do!'' Mary boasted, tapping Hal's back.

''Yeah, well done, but something tells me that portal is not going to be open long.'' Navarro worried himself.

Mary took Kenneth's body on her shoulders and immediately went through the portal, Navarro and Harold turned around to Willard, still busy.

''WILLARD, THE PORTAL IS OPEN, COME BACK!'' Navarro shouted as loud as he could. ''ALRI-''

Willard got immediately interrupted by a stronger force of wind. This time, even the power reflecting was not strong enough for him to redirect, his feet lifted from the ground while being pushed as a big speed close to the edge of the rock.

''WILLARD!'' Navarro shouted.

Harold, holding the vacuum despites it not working, teleported himself with it towards the edge of the ''cliff'' , where he was ready to receive Willard. The latter was so quick to be projected that he almost fell in the abyss, but his friend took his hand just in time before he could fall.

Sensing a change of force in the wind, Harold used his other hand to place the vacuum vertically behind him to be protected by the blast happening 1 second after.

''Gn……hold on, I'll teleport us all with our shield close to the portal!'' Hal shushed to Will.

Unfortunately, one split second before they disappeared, the direction of the wind struck them from the left, they almost directly fall but thankfully, Hal's team teleportation worked. He and Will, along with the broken vacuum, appeared close to Navarro and the portal, though not without rolling on the ground a little due to the gravity.

''Good, everyone's here, now OUT!'' Navarro shouted

Willard got back up and rolled the vacuum, Navarro followed him, but stopped himself. He noticed that Harold didn't get back up yet. He looked at a sheet of paper in a bag flying in the air.

Distressed, Harold ransacked his pockets: the sheet of paper covered in orange stuff he hid on him way earlier after entering the netherrealm, unknown to his team, was not here anymore. And looking at the various colors on the sheet flying right now, no doubt in his mind: it was the same!

For an unknown reason, Harold got progressively more hesitant, angry even, as he looked at his parachute backpack he had on himself all this time. Then, looking at Navarro, the portal, all the netherrealm, then back at the sheet of paper, He stood up, not even facing his teammate.

''Hal…wh-wh....what are you-'' Felix stuttered

Without saying anything, the glassy PI teleported away.

''HAROLD!'' Navarro screamed, mixed with worry and anger.

He noticed that Harold appeared right in the air side to the flying sheet of paper, he catched it, and as he was about to fall in the void. He remembered the parachute on his backpack he was still wearing, he opened it to not miss the dry land. But he almost forgot about the air elemental who pushed him far away, and because of the parachute, he even gained altitude.

''NO!'' Navarro shouted, while running.

''WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! WE MUST GO!'' Willard suddendly appeared, taking Navarro by the arm.

Despites Navarro's protests, Willard cleared his memory that their teammate could teleport anytime, even if it did calm him a little, after all, a good leader is worried about all his team getting safe.

Finally getting through the other side of the portal, the two PIs ended on the grass of an unknown location, where Mary was waiting for them, trying to wake up officer Kenneth. All the gadgets were scattered around.

''W-….Where's Harold?!'' Mary worrily asked to the two panting PIs.

Taking some time to catch a breath, Navarro and Willard then stood up. Willard looked at the portal with a gloomy look, trying to hold back any commentary, Navarro rejoined him, also looking at the portal, getting worried.

Mary was the most distressed of the trio, trying hard to hold back tears, just looking at the empty portal getting smaller and smaller.

...

...

...

But suddendly, at the last second, Harold went through the portal, without his backpack. He fumbled on the ground but softened his fall with his hand, breathing heavily.

''Ha….Harold! Thanks the spirits!'' Mary exclaimed.

Navarro had a severe look, but he was really pleased that his best friend came back alive. He and Mary stood him up and gave him a big hug.

''Don't ever attempt something like this again without warning us. ¿Lo entendiste?'' Navarro ordered, looking at him with an harsh but fair tone.

''Promise!'' Hal just said, though he side-eyed a little.

Willard scoffed from almost disgust.

''So once again, the imbecile just gets a slap on the wrist due to the years of friendship!''

What Willard said to Harold, was met with a cold silence, the trio of PIs changed their expression of relief for surprised looks, all turning at Willard.

The silence could've went on forever, but more vocal noise resumed.

''Are you THIS dense about saving any atom of this UNIVERSE that you're ready to risk your LIFE for an INEPT object?!'' Willard lifted his voice, pointing at Harold.

''Wh-This is the thanks I get for saving you?….You're giving me LESSONS about sometimes doing my own thing?'' Harold went of Mary and Navarro's grip, walking towards Willard. ''YOU, who stands aside during all of our missions and didn't bother once to help people except for THAT PARTICULAR CASE?'' his voice rose up as well.

Mary almost pulled her hair out of despair, Navarro scratched his head. Another argue between these two that easily? What was happening? Not so long ago, everyone seemed happy, and to him, Willard seemed to improve himself even if there were some easy slips. After all, it takes time to really change.

Confused, Willard put his hands on his temples before energically moving them away.

''Wh-What do you even try to imply?'' Willard stammered lightly.

''If you have nothing to blame yourself for, than why what I just said is getting to you?!'' Harold reprimanded, crossing his arms.

He leaned himself towards Harold, he was not just confused, he didn't even UNDERSTAND what he implied with his vague arguments.

''Which amount of breath I stole from your mouth for you to have this much of a problem with me, man?'' Will spat out.

Navarro went along and separated the two, really frowning and annoyed.

''Look, I swear to both of you we'll find the time to talk about this, but right now, look at the situation.'' the phantom leader called order.

Willard and Harold looked at the environnement….the place was unknown to them. Just a grass and a freeway, gadgets scattered around, an unconscious cop. Mary tried to call hitchhike with her thumb, close to the route.

''Right now, we must figure out how we're going to get back to our destination.'' Felix curtly proposed.

''Oh….sorry about that.'' Mary said, her thumb still out. ''The idea of combining wills to make our own nethergate appear worked. But it's not perfect, I can't control the destination!''

''…..Yeah, at least the mission is accomplished.'' Hal reassured.

Willard chuffed, abstraining himself for any more commentary. Everyone lifted their thumb, hoping for someone to take them.

It took some time, but a big car finally stopped. Though the single short-haired black woman with earrings in there was confused seeing the situation, she let everyone get in, including the gadgets and the ''asleep'' inspector.

Driving to the destination of the adress of Omega Alpha Pi Navarro told her to go, she glanced a few stares at the policeman sitting behind.

''But hey….isn't that the missing guy I saw spreading on the news?'' the driver said.

A long silence, to the point that the motor of the car was the only thing heard.

''You four, if you don't want to get in trouble, you better explain yourself now!'' the woman in her middle-30s warned.

''It-It's nothing….it's just that we saw the cop in trouble from abductors. We followed them and managed to make them go away, we saved him.'' Felix awkwardly excused.

''And now….he has a son to see, a son who he dearly misses!'' Mary added, more confident.

''Well….he sure looks saved to me.'' the car driver remarked, glancing at the unconscious policemen through the interior mirror. ''Well, you better wake him up before we get here, and I do mean before!''

The woman then drove us back to our car after a long, silent, painful hour of roadtrip. We took the gadgets with us, thanked her and let her drive the cop to Omega Alpha Pi to meet back his coworkers searching for him.

….We were really fatigued, night was falling, we spent an entire day non-stop on this case. Whatever was the resolve with Frederik and his father…..and for Omega Alpha Pi, we would've learnt the following morning anyway. But for now…….I had to resolve an important conflict…….

It didn't escalate how I wanted.

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

To Mary's attic, Mary and Navarro sat down on the couch, taking some time to breathe. Willard was standing up and moping around while Harold laid on the bed, the most tired of them all.

''Don't you know it's rude to lay on the owner's bed?'' Will sassed.

''Really now? It bothers me when you act like this: trying to clown away from the subject like it's no big deal.'' Harold expressed with acidity, lifting his head up.

''What do you want me to do? Exorcise the spirit of indiscipline out of you to show what you just did was selfish?'' Willard almost laughed while saying that. ''Clearly you don't seem to care due to your social status with these two here.'' he pursued, nonchalently waving his left arm.

''Willard!'' Navarro named.

Both ignoring him, Harold agressivly jumped out of the bed.

''I'M the selfish one?! Do I need to bring back up your huge CV of solitary actions during all our cases? Anyway, with my teleporation, I was never in danger.'' Harold excused with confidence. ''And my friends were not ready to make this much of a case about it since I made it safe and sound! You're the one taking this personally!'' he pointed.

''You just don't understand how narciss-''

''You're right!'' Harold interrupted Willard, getting closer. ''I don't understand! We all dont! One day you're like this, today you act the opposite, and just when we think that you're apte to improve yourself, you revert back to that mysterious not-telling-anything attitude that gets on my nerves!''

Navarro stood up, as well as Mary.

"You two…'' Mary warned.

She said that, but she was mostly looking at Harold, almost like she was anticipating why he was mad.

''Almost THREE YEARS you joined that club slash PI job, and we have NO IDEA what's going on with you despites what you told us! I really try to understand, to avoid any conflicts between this team, but you're not helping yourself!'' Hal verbally overflowed to his subject of conflict, kneeling and pointing his chest with his ten fingers.

Willard shook his head, crossed his arms and grinned from almost-laughter. Navarro and Mary got more defensive and prepared.

''My childhood was fine, poindexter! And admit it: you're never gonna be satisfied no matter the number of times my powers saved you, right? Especially you!'' Willard accused to Hal with a lot of bitter.

''That's not what I said!'' the accused denied.

''OK, you two, that's starting to be enou-'' Felix started.

''OH COME ON, you both saw it too right?'' Willard waved his arms, turning to the two other PIs. ''Ever since I started getting more open he took every chance to be bitter with me, rejecting harshly all my propositions and ideas.'' he looked at Navarro. ''You, Navarro, you always want to go with the most optimal plans, don't make me believe you didn't see it.''

Navarro hesitated, which left Mary to interject.

''…To be honest..It's kind of true Harold….'' Mary started.

Harold turned to Mary with surprise, almost disappointed not only for Mary thinking like that, but with himself….for deceiving her.

''Look, It's just that….there's something that was on my mind since a while, I didn't want to believe it…'' Hal started.

He gazed at Mary while saying that, quietly, she was shaking her head without speaking, gacing intensly at her friend at the same time.

Stuterring, Harold started getting the sheet he found at the netherrealm out of his pocket.

''If-if you would just list-''

Daemona's future grandfather got his arm suddendly grasped by Willard.

''Whatever crack theory you've got, I've had it! Give me that sheet!'' Plowright struggled with force.

''Gn…let-let me go!'' Mr. Prune pulled to get the sheet out of Willard's other hand.

Navarro shouted as the struggle degenerated into a fight with Will and Harold getting on the ground, both too tired to even use their powers. Mary followed and helped her friend separating the two.

''OK, ENOUGH! You're in MY attic!'' Mary imposed, blocking Willard's road.

"And I won't condone any personnal physical fights between teammates in here! It's the straw that breaks the camel's back!'' Navarro harshly reprimanded, blocking Hal's road.

''Please, like I need to listen to mama's baby boy-''

Willard's spiteful remark was immediately interrupted by a strong stomp on the ground stopping everyone's movements, it coming from Navarro's foot. Turning at Willard slowly, he intensly glared at him, with an anger never seen from his friends before.

This time, he would not accept it!

''Siéntate, ahora!'' Navarro ordered, pointing at Willard and Harold with a lot of contempt.

Harold and Willard both sit on the couch, in silence. Standing in front of them, Navarro shook his head.

''Willard, Harold is right on one thing: you don't get to be arrogant just because of the sympathy we had for your past at Omega Alpha Pi! Standing aside and alone is one thing, completly disrespecting the efforts of teamwork and what we've built? No! And you can't expect us to magically forget all the attitude you had in only one case! Do I make myself clear?!'' Felix seriously asked, never more serious in his life.

Not even speaking and side-eying Harold, Willard just nodded. Navarro turned to Harold, this time more disappointed than angry.

''And you, Hal, I can't say I liked what you risked! You almost didn't make it back in the human world, and for what? Some evidence with 50% chance to have nothing to do with the case?'' Navarro paused, shaking his head from how baffled he was about that whole situation. ''Also, do you really think antagonising Willard at every turn is gonna make things easier? It isn't like you! His powers have been a great addition to the team despites of the way he used them, I need you to respect that and whatever problem you have with him, keep that outside of our cases from now on! Got it?!''

They were not arguing often, so Harold was able to see when his best friend was serious. …….But something on his mind….pushed him to talk back slowly, despites Mary grabbing his arm, begging him by telepathy.

''If….If I can just tell you something I saw-''

''What. did. I. just. said?!'' Felix emphasised without even lifting up his tone.

''….C….Clear!'' Hal stuttered.

Sitting on the couch, rubbing his forehead with his fingers, Navarro sighed.

''Look! This has been a rough day, and we honestly need a good night's sleep. ……Once we get up, we regroup with gadgets to Omega Alpha Pi where the cops will probably be gone and pick up the loose ends with Matzarathulu…..this time, we finish him!'' the dark blue lavender-hair leader proposed.

He then stood up, looking harshly at both Hal and Will.

''If you two really care about this team and why we built it, I expect you to be here tomorrow.'' he finished, getting away, under Mary's worried look, Harold and Willard didn't even dare to look at him.

….It can happen to anyone, tense days like this, but never have I got to assert my leadership like that, specially not at any of your grandparents, Daemona.

…Maybe, in better circumstances….if we were not tired by that whole case…..things would have gone differently!

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

The next morning, a familiar car drove on the street, a male english-latino accent voice was heard on the inside.

''So, how things are going with your father Frederik? …………………Really? …………..Well….sorry about his head…..but maybe it's best he doesn't remember the argue or what he witnessed at the netherrealm………………………….What? Doesn't remember why he went to the fraternity either? The place will not be closed for hazing scandals? …………………………………….Well, at least he remembers his family and profession.''

The voice continued as the car parked itself to a place not so far from Omega Alpha Pi. On the inside, it was revealed to be Navarro talking on a phone linked close to the clutch of the car.

''Well….hope you two will have a good future together, also, don't lose anymore self-respect to any kind of club, OK? ….Good….adiós!'' Navarro hanged up.

Putting the telephone back in the base in the car, the leader sighed from relief. It's not always an easy activity being a PI. On the front seat, Harold looked at him.

''Hey……we'll get Matzarathulu….alright?'' the aforementioned PI reassured to Felix.

Both male PIs present at the moment looked at each other, with a sly smile.

……Nothing needed to be said, they were friends since the start of middle school, they had other small strains to their friendship. Getting though sadder, Navarro looked through the mirror at the backseat…..where only Mary Beyer was present. His two other friends could only sympathise with him.

…….What needed to be said more? ….A choice was made.

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

Same parking place at last time, the three PIs made some detour to not be noticed by some members of the fraternity. They peeked at the back of the house, but something surprised awaited them.

''N…How is that possible?'' Hal started.

Compared to last day, no orange cement was there, there wasn't even a trail leading to the forest. The team was really confused.

''It just…magically disappeared?!'' Navarro theorised.

''……Something in my head is bothering me….can we go to where that portal appeared?'' Mary proposed slowly.

-...-

And that's what they did. Getting to the pavement where it all started: where Frederik once argued with his father; where the PIs entered in the netherrealm.

Experts at their job, and following Mary's weird suggestion, they tried everything: mimicking a big fight, insulting each other with generic words! All the negative energy possible to make the nethergate open.

….But to no avail.

''….If it opened so easily last time, why do we have so much difficulty to make it appear now?!'' Navarro seeked, desperate.

''You're losing your time!'' a voice manifested in all their ears.

Everyone looked at each other, some signs of head were told that nobody here talked……they turned behind them, and to their surprise: Willard was here. ……In his same disguise he had to not be noticed by Omega Alpha Pi yesterday, but still here. Harold was impassible, but Mary and Navarro were more than satisfied to see him. Even despites all the name-calling from yesterday.

''Wi…Willard! You came back in the end!'' Navarro got closer to his teammate, smiling.

''Yeah yeah, I took some time to think.'' Will brushed off, avoiding a hug. ''Listen, let me refresh your memory: why are nethergates initially created?''

It's true that in the heat of the moment, some things could not be mentally retained, the three PIs took some time to think.

''They are created by their respective monster, to try to influence our world or to build a passageway for their objective! ….Yeah, for this case: Matzarathulu created it like I said yesterday!'' Mary retold.

''…..But if a portal can be created by a monster, it can be erased by that same one, you're OK with that line of logic so far?!'' the disguised PI informed.

''But wait, usually these gates are erased in two ways: if we neutralise its owner; or if it sees the errors of its ways!'' Hal politely argued.

Navarro turned around the area where the nethergate was not so long ago. Getting more and more worried.

''No….there could be another way!'' he started.

''I see we're thinking the same.'' Will remarked.

''Yeah, what if……Matzarathulu accomplished his objective!'' Navarro walked around. ''He judged he has enough source of energy: humiliation! Then, by some way we don't know, he erased any of his traces before getting back to the portal he created, then, once he entered from the inside, he closed it!''

Mary snickered at the thought of one thing.

''He must have had a good surprise now that he has no home at all!'' she remarked.

''……He would really go back to the netherrealm after getting more power? And without harming anyone like he said he would do? What amount of energy did he need to consider it ''full power'' ? How did he acquire humiliation energy with a swarm of cops invading the fraternity without being seen? That theory seems a little farfetched.'' Harold expressed his opinion.

To the leader, Hal was making very good points. Hand on his chin, he reflected on carefully, walking around.

''Unless…….yeah! Too much public force was present at the fraternity, close where he remained hidden, and Matzarathulu's not dumb! With his energy not at full capacity, he wouldn't DARE to manifest himself in public.'' Felix Navarro interpreted, then resumed. ''In the knowledge we were going back from him, he prefered to return to his own dimension once everything calmed down, erasing his traces….and now, he'll probably wait for another opportunity to attack!''

As he explained, Navarro got more and more discouraged.

''We….we weren't fast enough!'' he then finished, clenching his fist.

Tapping Navarro's shoulder, Mary reassured him.

"Don't worry, we will prepare ourselves for Matzarathulu, we will survey every of his movements….and when he comes back, we'll be ready!'' she said, full of hope.

''Yeah, I don't doubt it….but I honestly think we should inspect the fraternity one last time….to be sure not any members of the fraternity has disappeared.'' Navarro suggested, chest lifted up, walking with determination.

He went side to Willard while passing, hand on his shoulder.

"Bienvenido de nuevo al equipo.'' the latino-heritage leader cheered quietly.

Mary followed Navarro with energy, meanwhile, Will and Harold started at each other from afar, the former full of resentment, head looking away…….

….Lots of things were said between these two….and it was going to take time before even talking to each other normally….specially if Hal could not explain what went on in his mind...in the end, he chose to ignore it, for the benefit of the team.

Chuffing a small noise with his teeth, Will turned his back on his teammate and went away, following the two other ones. Harold dragged his feet while rejoining the team, taking some time to be at peace.

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

Back in present times, Daemona, Jericho, Kira and Casey were really shocked by what was told to them….imagining all this time how the things have gone in the argue, like they were here to witness it.

''Wow…my grandfather really didn't like Willard didn't he?!'' Daemona theorised.

''He was able to accept him, but his first impressions of him didn't quite leave his mind unlike me and your grandmother! However, he always was careful to not cross the line when no conflict was present.'' Navarro explained.

The now-mentor then got more bleak, looking aside.

''Back then….I had no idea why he crossed that line during that case….if only I….''

He couldn't even finish his sentence. Raising his hand to have permission to speak like he was at school, Casey started once everyone noticed him.

''So I take it that you didn't manage to capture Matzarathulu? Since we're the ones who got rid of him in the end!'' Casey revealed.

Navarro stood up, while starting to search something inside the collar of his red-brown jacket and blue shirt.

''Exactly, and I think you're already aware of why this case was cut short.'' Navarro then showed something attached around his neck, who was hidden in his clothes all this time.

A weird necklace manifested out, Navarro was always wearing it, and the children were already aware of it. Their breath was almost lacking when they realised what was already known.

''That cursed day…..how could I ever forget it? It happened one month after that case!'' Felix revealed.

All small portions of ''that day'' flashed in their head…..and it was not pretty, specially for Navarro, who knew all the details!

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

July 1958, in Mary's attic. Navarro, Harold and Mary were kneeled at the table, looking at the map trying to see sections of where Matzarathulu could strike.

On the couch, Willard was on his own, fist on his chin, looking away for some time. But as he started to bend his back at a straight stature…..he started smiling………gloomily, menacingly. He then got several spasms in all his body. His growls got everyone's attention.

''Wi…Willard?!'' Navarro interjected.

-…-

The three same PIs threw everything they could at Willard, who was now completly changed. He wasn't even human anymore, instead, he was a big, furry, winged, green vampire with sharp teeth, face like a prune, and ready to attack them!

''He…..How….We must try to resonate with him!'' Navarro said, stopping to throw stuff.

''Do you really think he'll give us that chance?! It's him or us, Felix!'' Mary ansered roughly, keeping throwing stuff.

-…-

''We….we'll try to keep him away for some time, in the hope we find a solution, Mary, think you can do what we did in the netherrealm again?!'' Navarro panically proposed.

Without even answering, Mary took both Navarro and Harold's hands.

-…-

Navarro and Harold were pushing the corrupted Willard together, getting closer and closer to the portal. However, Willard pushed away the two PIs with his elbows, turning himself torwards them.

Without even talking, he took Navarro's arm and dragged him with a great force towards his zone, both persons were now very close to each other. Navarro struggling to get out of Willard's grip.

''N-no!'' Mary rushed towards the vampire.

But she wasn't quick enough, before anyone could do anything about it. Willard bited Navarro's neck. The latter's scream was so loud it froze Hal and Mary's movements, processing what just happened.

''……..You….WRETCHED…..''

Harold couldn't even finish his sentence because of the deep rage he had inside him. Taking another rush towards Willard, he pushed him, all by himself. This time, the fury somehow gave Daemona's grandfather great force, as Willard was completly ejected despites his size, and he let Navarro go under the shock.

While the nethergate got hold of Willard, vacuuming him inside under a piercing scream, Navarro felt on the ground behind Harold. He was shivering, eyes closed, his male best friend was to first to kneel towards him, holding his pulse. Mary rushed in, while looking at the portal closing.

Once she got sure there was not any danger, her gaze shifted towards the two remaining Phantom Investigators, gasping with her two hands covering her mouth.

''He…he didn't do what I think!'' Mary almost hyperventilated.

''C-…..Call an ambulance right now!'' Harold ordered, too distressed to hold his calm

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

That day…..the many times it was in Navarro's mind, how the PIs from the present sympathised with their mentor. They knew about what happened in a nutshell, but not what was said, and Felix didn't currently revealed anything to them, why? The story was pratically done….

''Right….that day where right after you stayed the same for 45 years! Still not digging that!'' Kira said.

''But that's the truth isn't it? …….Hal and Mary were so much scared that day! The…the struggle it took to find me when I unfortunately changed into…..that! The great ends they had to reach just to control this new curse! Building a totem of spirit control….searching me, eering in the streets, the week it took.'' the mentor stacked.

There was a long silence, enough for leaving the heavy dust fall over quietly. But something was on Casey's mind….Daemona noticed it too.

''OK, ….that was a pretty good story for what it was worth! We get a lot of situations, like why you know so much tricks, knowing exactly what we need to vanquish the supernatural…'' Casey started.

''….Yeah, but it's weird! …..What you described about your team, it doesn't fit!'' Monie dared to say.

Navarro didn't even interject to that, he was calm and attentive. Hands on his hips, he let Daemona reveal the bottom of her thoughts.

''Last time you revealed your past to us….clearly you had a big desire of vengeance towards Willard!'' Daemona opined.

''I mean yeah, even I think that's weird. Clearly in this case you didn't hold that much of yang towards Willard despites how he acted. In fact, he was helpful when he wanted to! Nothing to do with the Willard who wanted us to perish, made alliances, and how you were determined to sent him back to where he belonged!'' Jericho said.

''And anyway, this has nothing to do with our argue. I fail to see it, why you were so insitent of telling us that story?'' Kira Williams asked, pretty curious.

Navarro nodded, hesitating for some time before speaking.

''I'll just say this to you, Phantom Investigators: Willard was part of our club and became our friend for a good reason.'' he started.

Lifting his gaze towards the ceiling, arms crossed, he then dropped the bomb that made the PIs think a lot.

''……….If I knew about what I know now earlier than that fatidical day, he would have been thrown away from the team without hesitation!'' Felix hinted.

''And serves him right, …………….wait, what?'' Daemona jumped from confusion.

Felix gazed at the ground, taking a deep breath, tremolos in his voice.

''When Willard manifested as a vampire that….day….we all initially thought he was possessed!'' Navarro dropped.

''Wh-….WHAAAAAAT?!'' All the PIs said at the same time, almost having to back away from the shock.

''T-Tell me that's not true, not after what you initially told us about Willard! How he was easy prey from……..no!'' Daemona denied.

''And what I think and know about him now is still true, but I did say that everything happened for a reason, right?!''

While Navarro said that, Kira closed her eyes and used her powers to read the head of Navarro.

What she saw inside her head..…..she was in a room, on a bed…..from her point of view: Daemona's grandparents were standing in front of the bed, looking disgusted and not even daring to look in the direction of Kira.

''I….never wanted to believe it….but…..'' Mary's presence gloomily said.

Gasping, opening her eyes, Kira was so shocked by what she saw that she couldn't finish the mind read. But she had enough experience to know that…..that scene…..why Daemona's grandparents were there…what she saw inside….was Navarro's mind, and she was in her place in the bed, she was sure of it!

Standing herself up, she glanced straight at her mentor.

''Professor Navarro! …..There's something more about that story am I wrong? And it's something that became difficult to accept?!'' Kira theorised.

''I can't fool your telepathy can't I?'' Felix smirked with some bitterness, not directed towards the student. ''….But yes….there was more! Both to that cursed day, and to the past case I told you about!''

Navarro paused, looking at the students who started to exchange quietly between each other.

''Honestly….you seem to already get the big picture, am I wrong? What I expected from sharp investigators….'' he commented.

....And how different would it have been if I wasn't so naive...

To be continued

[hamsterclaw]

Lonely - a Vows prequel

Yoongi finds a weakness he plans to exploit to the fullest. Another prequel to the events of Vows. Read the rest here.

Pairing: Yoongi x F! reader

Rating: 18+

Word count: 2.6k

Genre: Arranged marriage AU, smut

Warnings: Sex, swearing, bereavement

Yoongi buries his face in your pillow when he’d rather bury it in your neck and breathe in the scent of your skin. 

Your hand leaves his back, and you turn on your side, away from him. 

Yoongi lifts his head to check on you. 

‘You ok?’ he asks.

You don’t even turn to look at him. 

‘I’m fine.’ 

Yoongi’s got his own cum drying on his cock, he knows he needs to get up, clean himself off, but he doesn’t want to go just yet. 

‘You can stay if you want,’ you say, still facing away from him. 

‘I should get cleaned up,’ Yoongi says. 

Too late he realises it sounds like he doesn’t want to stay, when that wasn’t what he’d meant. 

‘Suit yourself,’ you reply. Your voice is flat. 

‘Aren’t you going to even look at me?’ Yoongi asks. It comes out too sharp, he realises as soon as the words leave his lips. 

You turn over to face him. 

‘What’s your problem, Yoongi?’ you ask, your tone frosty. 

Yoongi’s sitting up, but you’re not done yet. 

‘Did you want cuddles too?’ 

There’s so much venom in your voice Yoongi’s taken aback. 

You’re still not done. 

‘I hate flowers,’ you say, wrathful. 

You’re referring to the bouquet of lilies Yoongi sent you a few days ago, he doesn’t even know what possessed him to send them apart from that he’d had a realisation he’s never given you flowers before. 

In that moment Yoongi vows to send you flowers every day, just to piss you off. 

It’s petty and ridiculous, but then, so is he, when it comes to you.

***

There’s a commotion in the hallway, Yoongi can hear your voice. 

A moment later the door to his study slams open, and you’re standing in his doorway. 

‘Husband,’ you say, in the tone one might use to say, ‘cockroach’, ‘was I not clear when I told you that I hate flowers?’ 

Yoongi keeps his expression carefully blank. 

‘You hate flowers?’ he asks, innocently. 

You’re glaring at him so hard Yoongi can feel the heat of your gaze from where you’re standing. 

‘I told you that after we fucked last week,’ you assert. ‘And funnily enough, you’ve sent me flowers every day since.’

You round his desk and get right up in his face. 

‘Stop. Sending. Me. Flowers.’

The words come out staccato, and at the end of your sentence you poke him in the chest.

Yoongi looks down at your hand, surprised.

The words come out before he knows he’s spoken. 

‘No.’ 

The look on your face almost makes him laugh.

Your eyebrows are raised so high they’re practically in your hairline, your lips in an ‘o’. 

‘What did you say?’ you ask.

‘I said ‘no’,’ Yoongi replies. ‘Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to get done.’

You let out a strangled cry and stomp out of his office. 

You kick childishly at his house slippers on the way and nearly trip yourself up.

Yoongi’s half-risen from his seat, arm out like he could catch you from here.

You rally and stomp out, slamming the door behind you.

Yoongi rubs a hand over his chest, thinking of how you poked him. 

He decides he likes you when you’re angry.

***

Yoongi looks, bemused, at the huge tents sitting right in the middle of the front lawn of the house, the crowd of people milling around.

They hadn’t been there when he left for work this morning.

He approaches the front of the tents, and is greeted by a bespectacled woman with pink streaks in her hair. 

‘Good evening, are you here to support the event?’ she asks, pleasantly.

Yoongi raises an eyebrow. 

‘You’re using my front lawn as the venue, so yes, you could say that,’ he says, mildly.

Her expression brightens. ‘Ah, you must be Mr Min! Your wife said you were a staunch supporter of our work. Please, have a seat, the dinner’s about to start!’

Yoongi allows himself to be led to a table near the front. To his surprise, Seokjin’s waiting at the table. 

‘What’s going on, Min?’ Seokjin asks. ‘Y/N said you wanted me to come over tonight.’

Yoongi snorts. ‘And you believed her?’

Seokjin, to his credit, looks shamefaced at being so easily hoodwinked. 

‘She has an innocent face,’ Seokjin says. 

Yoongi rolls his eyes. ‘Please tell me you know what’s going on.’

Seokjin passes him a leaflet. ‘I believe we’re raising money for a domestic violence charity.’

‘At least it’s a worthy cause.’ Yoongi looks around the tent, searching for your familiar head.

‘Where is my beloved wife?’ he asks Seokjin.

Seokjin nods, sagely. ‘It’s safer when you have a visual on her,’ he agrees. He tilts his head. ‘Incoming, three o clock.’

Yoongi turns, and as always, the sight of you makes his heart race and his blood pressure spike.

You’re accompanied by a gorgeous man with intense eyes and floppy hair.

‘Hi, Yoongi,’ you say cheerfully. Yoongi notices how you carefully stay out of arm’s reach. ‘This is Taehyung, he’s agreed to sing for us tonight.’

Yoongi very much dislikes how close you and Taehyung are standing. 

‘Pleasure to meet you,’ he says, shaking Taehyung’s hand, squeezing a little harder than necessary.

‘It’s a pleasure to be here,’ Taehyung replies, his voice a smooth baritone that makes Yoongi feel like dropping his own voice a register to match. 

‘Yuna will take you to get set up. Thanks again, Tae,’ you say. 

Tae?

Yoongi realises he’s grinding his teeth and makes a conscious effort to loosen his jaw. 

Seokjin’s grinning at him like a traitorous devil. ‘Is that the Kim Taehyung? I’ve heard great things about his music.’

‘We went to school together,’ you say. ‘He’s always been talented.’

‘How long have you been planning this fundraiser?’ Yoongi asks. 

A waiter materialises with a tray of champagne. Yoongi takes a glass, handing it to you automatically. 

You gulp it down so quickly you have time to grab another glass before the waiter leaves.

‘Just the last week,’ you say, shrugging. There’s a gleam in your eye. ‘It was all the flowers that gave me the idea, actually. I’ve been donating them to a women’s shelter and it struck me that I could do more than giving flowers.’

You fix Yoongi with a look he can’t quite decipher. ‘I was glad the lilies were going to people who would get enjoyment out of them.’

‘Do you dislike all flowers, or just lilies?’ Seokjin asks. 

You give Yoongi a sideways look. ‘Ah, let’s sit, they’re about to serve dinner.’

After dinner, Taehyung takes the small stage. As much as Yoongi hates to admit it, the man has a beautiful voice, and incredible charisma. 

The summer night is warm, balmy, and there’s a gorgeous glow to your skin in the fairy lights strung along the tent.

The smoke of Taehyung’s voice in the romantic ballad he’s singing is the perfect backdrop to what turned out to be an enjoyable evening. 

Yoongi leans back against his seat, arm propped on your seat. He can see the way you’re looking at the people swaying to the music on the makeshift dancefloor. 

‘Would you like to dance?’ he asks.

Your eyes light up. 

‘Yes,’ you reply.

Yoongi feels that familiar pulse of affection for you, the reason he thinks that maybe you and he have a chance of making this arranged marriage work. 

He holds out his hand, and you stare at it for a moment before putting your hand in his.

Yoongi doesn’t think of himself as much of a dancer, but it’s easy enough to pull you close.

You lean against his chest, and Yoongi thinks to himself that he really couldn’t ask for anything more than this. 

Then your arms slide around his waist, and you turn your head slightly into him. Your lips press against his chest for an instant. 

In this moment Yoongi thinks that he would forgive you anything.

‘I donated on our behalf, in my mother’s name, I hope that’s ok,’ you tell him.

Yoongi nods. ‘Of course that’s ok. It’s our money.’

‘I was going to ask —‘ you stop. 

Yoongi waits. 

‘It’s the anniversary of her death tomorrow. Will you come with me to visit her?’

Yoongi’s saddened that you’re asking like he might say no. 

‘Of course,’ he says, gently. ‘I’m honoured that you want me to go with you.’

You’re not looking at him, staring at his shoulder. ‘Thanks, Yoongi.’

Yoongi feels an unfamiliar squeeze in his chest. ‘You don’t have to worry about asking me for things,’ he tells you.

You look up at him, worry in your eyes. 

‘I hid all your left shoes,’ you tell him.

‘I thought it was you,’ Yoongi says, mildly. ‘Luckily I have spare shoes at the office.’

‘I’ll bring them back tonight.’

‘Nah,’ Yoongi replies. ‘You’re sleeping with me tonight.’

The smile you give him is mischievous.

‘Ok,’ you say, nonchalant.

***

Yoongi’s lips have kissed every inch of you, he thinks. 

His hands have learned the shape of you and he hopes that you’ve learned the feel of his touch. 

Yoongi plans on reminding you what he feels like every chance he gets.

His cock throbs inside you. You’re pinned underneath him, making little movements of your hips, sending tendrils of pleasure through him, making his balls tighten until they ache.

Your hands are fluttering along his back like you can’t decide where you want to touch most. 

‘Please Yoongi,’ you plead. Tears are pooled at the corners of your eyes, the skin of your face and chest burning against his.

Yoongi tightens his grip on your wrist. ‘A little more, baby,’ he coaxes. ‘I promise it’ll feel good.’

He pulls out an inch, two, and enters you again, filling you to the brim, relishing your desperate moan.

He can feel your thighs trembling, his hips between them as he takes his time working you up. 

Your eyes fall closed, and Yoongi squeezes your wrist. 

‘Hey. Look at me when I’m fucking you.’

‘It’s too much,’ you cry, ‘I can’t hold it, I’m gonna —-‘

Yoongi can already feel you pulsing around him, tightening around his cock for the second time. 

He doesn’t know if you’re aware how you wrap your whole body around him when you come, your legs around his hips, your arms around his neck, your lips pressed to his. 

He doesn’t know if you’re aware how it drives him crazy, the way you surrender to him completely, trust him to take care of you in this way. 

Yoongi slows his movements, holds himself still within you until you come back down.

Your grip on him loosens. 

‘You’re still hard,’ you murmur. ‘Still so hard.’

You’re slipping onto your knees on the floor in front of him, hand around his cock. 

‘Where do you want to cum, Yoongi?’ you ask, quiet, pliant in a way you never are outside the bedroom. 

You kiss the head of his cock, hand wrapping around him, stroking in the way you’ve learned he likes.

You moan as you lick up his cock. Your spare hand reaches to touch his balls, tugging just enough that Yoongi groans.

He’s aware he hasn’t answered your question.

‘I want to cum inside you,’ he says.

Your eyes darken. ‘Here?’ you ask, and you’re climbing up over him to sit in his lap. 

‘Why do you want to cum inside, Yoongi?’ you ask, voice silken. ‘Wanna fill me up? Wanna put your baby in me?’

‘Fuck,’ Yoongi swears, hands gripping your hips as you ride him. ‘Why does that sound so hot?’

‘I want it,’ you moan, hips working, one hand behind you, balancing so he can watch the way you writhe on his cock. ‘I want your cum, give it to me, Yoongi.’

The pleasure’s building so fast Yoongi just has time to grunt a warning before he’s spilling, cock buried deep inside you. You’re so tight around his cock Yoongi can barely move. 

‘Good girl,’ he praises, voice raspy. ‘Take it all, baby.’

He pulls out, and you moan as he squeezes your hip. ‘Don’t waste it,’ he says. ‘I’m going to the bathroom and when I come back I’m gonna check if you’ve been a good girl and kept it all inside, ok?’

You’re looking at him. ‘Gonna try,’ you say, so serious Yoongi’s both amused and somewhat aroused.

When he gets back you’re still in the same position he left you in.

Yoongi taps your warm thigh. ‘Let me see.’

He watches a trickle of white slide down between your legs and tsks. ‘You said you were going to be a good girl and keep it all, baby.’

You look at him, petulant. ‘It was too much,’ you protest. 

Yoongi can’t believe his ears. ‘Don’t be a brat,’ he says, sternly. ‘Say sorry and I’ll give you more.’

Your lips clamp shut and your eyes flash.

Yoongi reaches between your legs, strokes a thumb over your clit, making your hips dance.

You never do say you’re sorry, but Yoongi gives you more of his cum anyway.

***

Yoongi’s sitting next to you in the back of the car, a bouquet of lilies between you, one of the dozens he’s had sent to you over the last week.

You turn away from the window you’ve been staring out of for the last half hour. 

‘My father will meet us there,’ you tell him.

Yoongi nods. 

Your hand rests on the bouquet, and Yoongi has a sudden urge to put his hand over yours. 

Instead he strokes his thumb over the faint mark he made gripping your wrist yesterday. 

‘Sorry about this,’ he says.

You glance at it like you’ve forgotten it. ‘Oh it’s fine.’ Your lips curve. ‘I enjoyed it.’

Yoongi glances out the window. ‘We’re here.’

Your father is smartly dressed like every other time Yoongi’s seen him. 

Like you, he’s holding a bouquet of lilies. 

He mistakes Yoongi’s expression for one of curiosity. ‘Lilies were her favourite,’ he says.

Yoongi looks at you, stricken.

You’re not looking at him.

The grave of your mother is simple, unostentatious, apart from the bunches of lilies placed in front of it. 

You place your own flowers down, gentle. 

Yoongi bows his head respectfully. He’ll wait with you as long as you need him to.

***

This time, when you’re back in the car and put your hand on the seat between you, Yoongi covers it with his own.

‘I’m sorry,’ he tells you. ‘I didn’t know.’

The look you give him goes a long way towards assuaging the guilt he feels.

‘I didn’t think you did,’ you say, brisk.

‘If you’d said —‘ Yoongi breaks off and starts again.

‘I like making you angry,’ he tells you, honestly, ‘but I would never hurt you on purpose, not like this.’

‘I could have just told you all those lilies were making me sad,’ you reply. ‘Instead of yelling at you, hiding your shoes,’ you pause, wincing slightly, ‘and donating your tickets to that basketball game next week to charity.’

Yoongi blinks. ‘How’d you even know—-‘ he cuts himself off, shaking his head. ‘Seokjin.’

‘Not sure why he still trusts me,’ you say, shrugging.

‘He won’t for much longer,’ Yoongi muses. ‘He doesn’t like bratty behaviour.’

‘Not like you do?’ you ask, feigning innocence.

Yoongi laughs before he can stop himself. 

You look at him for a moment, expression unreadable. ‘I don’t want to hurt you either, Yoongi.’

You turn to look out the window again.

It’s only when the car pulls into your driveway that Yoongi realises he’s held your hand all the way home. 

©hamsterclaw 2022

[bitchubby]

farmer!bakugou x chubby reader

N.A: I couldn't stand it and tried to write something about it. I hope you like it and sorry for anything, I'm still getting the hang of things around here.

N.A.2: Some parts were based on real events 💀💀💀

Imagine our chubby reader who, tired of city life, decides to move to the countryside.

As in stardew valley, we can say that she received the farm as an inheritance and had no better opportunity to leave everything in the city and go towards the quiet life she needed.

She really thought life would be calmer, but things didn't start off too well.

How she did everything on the spur of the moment, didn't plan much or even research about the city or how to plant something lmao

She just went. very impulsive, so to speak.

It all started to go wrong when she was late at the bus station to find the bus and ended up missing it.

And the break was 4 hours because the fleet was ridiculously small 💀💀💀

(I know a lot about this, my journey is at least 2 hours and the fleet I use only has 3 buses 🗣️🗣️🗣️)

The poor was moldying at the station.

When she arrived in the city, the dirt floor was obviously very rough and unstable.

And she had 2 huge suitcases 💀💀💀

The sun hitting her head and the poor thing just "ok, I can do it. I've faced worse in that motherfucker's office."

Another 30 minutes of walking, long puffs and a lot of dripping sweat. Any vestige of "beauty" at that moment was already blown away.

There is no base that can hold a 39° sun on her head.

When she finally sees the end of the dirt road and the farms starting to appear, chaos ensues.

Halfway there she sees 3 cows and thinks "ok, cows. This is a rural place, obviously there would be cows somewhere." And she keeps walking.

But the path was rather narrow and two of them occupied the passage.

She stops and watches, wondering what to do. With two large, heavy suitcases.

She decides to go through the bush with one and then another. And it initially worked.

She walks past them with the first one without making much of a fuss. And she passes with the second.

"God is always good." She thinks.

When she doesn't even walk 200 meters, she hears a very loud moo in the distance, where she had come from and when she looks back...

A horse. Unruly and crazy. Simply running.

The cows start running towards our reader and she ???what now???

Just drop your bags and run.

"There won't be any Dior foundation to use if you die." She thinks.

There comes a time when she realizes that there is nothing else to do but throw herself in the woods and she doesn't think too much beforehand.

She hears another trot and suddenly her field of vision is filled with muscular arms twirling a rope, wild dirty sandy blonde hair and a face with not very friendly expressions.

Eyes as sharp as a katana look at her there, lying on the ground and overgrown in places that only God knows, and a clear sneer is heard.

She doesn't know if she feels horny, ashamed or angry.

Horny over your not-so-innocent initial thoughts, shame over your current state, and anger for the same reason.

Ensnared, the horse finally stops running, but the cows follow the horizon.

"Is that horse yours?" You ask as you get up and try to get the grass out of your clothes.a.

Mas bakugou não responde.

Ele está muito ocupado amarrando seu cavalo a uma árvore e se perguntando se vale a pena gastar sua saliva com mais um turista idiota que decide se aventurar no campo.

"God, maybe the horse was right to run away." You exclaim heading towards the disaster that left your suitcase.

"What did you say?" His thick voice sends a shiver up his spine.

"Apparently, besides being rude, he's deaf." You bite.

Oh, sweetie. For what?

"Bull"kugou, as many call it, is known as the biggest bitch in town. Always grumpy and stressed out about everything and everyone. Nothing escapes. Animals, people, plants. He's always kind of hard to deal with, especially for tourists.

imagine you hope to find peace in the countryside and suddenly comes a blonde hurricane?

It is no wonder that he is responsible for scaring so many people away and is constantly taking calls from the mayor for affecting the local economy with his outbursts of humor.

But you had a shitty day.

And since you were in hell, why not sit on the devil's lap soon?

and there is none better than a devilish blonde.

"Listen here, little girl." He starts and you soon cut to the chaotic state your clothes are in.

"Listen here you! Look what your crazy animal did? My bags, my clothes, my things!" You start poking and gathering your stuff on the floor, all dirty and/or broken. "Your fault."

Bakugou gets close to his stuff and kicks a book with a shirtless man's cover.

"Junk and more junk." He keeps poking at his stuff with his foot. "Are you going to some kind of 5-star ranch or has the shit in town gotten to your head?"

"For your information, I'm coming to live here." You respond by throwing your stuff into the destroyed suitcase.

"You? I doubt it." He raises his eyebrows and crosses his arms, making the hard-worked muscles increasingly bulge and visible. "Must be just another city snoop who pet an animal and thinks he's become a farmer."

"How about you go fuck yourself?" You answer and watch him duck.

"Alone is no fun." He sees your bra and directs his hand to grab it, but is stopped by a slap from you. "What the fuck is that?"

"Don't touch my stuff."

"But I was just going to help you." he laughs. "Who would have thought that these little hands would have this strength, you can work on my ranch now."

"Thank you so much for the offer, but I'm not interested in anything coming from you."

As you watched what you could salvage from your stuff, bakugou stared at you with a shitty face. You thought he was just a country troublemaker, after all, you were used to dealing with a few in the city. Being a big girl there wasn't easy, and as much as they said that in inner cities was different and that girls like you were really appreciated there, you doubted it a little. Life is not a fairy tale for a girl like you.

But you didn't let things like that get you down. When they came with one stone, you came back with three.

On the other hand, Bakugou was really wondering if it was worth scaring you like he was used to doing with the other unwanted visitors. After all, you weren't that undesirable to him. You was pretty, plump and had that acidic tongue he liked so much. Even a little messy and with grass in your hair, he thought you were pretty.

Even more so when you had that expression ready to throw whatever came your way at him.

People didn't usually have the guts to stand up to a guy as well built like him, let alone curse him like you did.

If anyone who knew him was afraid. Guess who doesn't?

He was mildly shocked when you told him to go fuck himself right off the bat, but he managed to disguise it and get around it just fine.

"You're going to have to improve your manners." He talks loving seeing your face contort in disbelief. "Around here people are solicitous anyway."

"I hope you're not including yourself."

"You'll have to get used to one man poking his nose into other people's stuff too. Small town stuff, you know how it is, right?"

"Are you still talking?"

"Your attitude too, you'll have to improve." He gets up and starts walking away. "Well, anyway, it's going to be a pleasure."

"What?"

"to be able to tame one more animal by the reins." He laughs walking away. "I'm not just rude and deaf, you know? I'm also a great tamer."

"A-ANIMAL?!"

[swanimagines]

i read through your rules for requests and really tried to listen but it this isn’t ok for you i’m super sorry please feel free to delete my request! I was hoping for a kaz x heartrender!reader who is one of the crows, and after a mission that triggered kaz a lot she helps him by using her powers to help him feel her heartbeat? if that makes sense??? like helping him sense it to assure him that she’s alive he’s alive without touching him.

FREDDY EVENT, send in requests for any of Freddy Carter's characters (NOT the man himself (= no Freddy Carter (the real person) x readers), only his characters)!! The event means that requests I get for his characters during it's on are my top priority. The event will be on for an indefinite time, if you're unsure, see if the event post is pinned. If it is, then it's still on. (Other requests are open too, but their schedule is unknown, I'm planning to slowly start filling them too asap though as I feel slightly better)

Warnings: Kaz gets a panic attack, mentions of death.

Word count: 1.2k

THE FINAL PAYMENT

A job had gone horribly wrong. A young member of the Grinning Cats had seen you sneaking around the palace, and had ran to warn the highly secured building on that moment. And now you and Kaz had been dragged into the leader's office, him sitting there with his legs up and turning his head at Kaz the moment they brought him in.

"Kaz Brekker," Hein Middelesch stood up from his chair, taking his cigar out of his mouth. "What a pleasure to see you here, trapped for once. Did you really think you would be able to fight against my gang?"

His men laughed, and the Cat holding you dragged you toward Middelesch.

"And who is this lovely lady?"

Nobody spoke for a moment, you fought against your will to execute Middelesch right there and you knew that Kaz wouldn't say anything either.

But then one of Middelesch's goons spoke up. '"She's a heartrender, boss."

"A heartrender?" Middelesch raised his eyebrows and smirked as you struggled against the bulky man holding you. "Really? I didn't think we had any in town. Brekker, what a gift did you bring me."

You heard Kaz's heart rate picking up and knew he was fighting to control himself. You scoffed at the Grinning Cats leader.

"I'm not a gift, I'm here to secure my boss."

The man laughed, tapping his cigar and pointing at you. "Doing a poor job at it, aren't ya?" He leaned forward on his desk, and took another drag off his cigar. "Letting you two get caught like that... oh dear..."

Kaz cut into the silence, speaking up through gritted teeth.

"If you won't let us go right now, I'll make sure every single person in this room gets killed."

Middelesch sighed. "Well, that changes things. Neither of you will leave this room alive."

He turned around, lazily pulling his desk drawer open and taking a gun out of it. A small-caliber pistol with black grips, only big enough for a few bullets at most.

"It's my favorite pistol," he said proudly, turning back to face Kaz and you. "The bullet has such a kick to it that even if I shoot someone right between the eyes, they don't die immediately. But don't worry, they will die eventually - a slow and painful death. It's still a shame to waste a good bullet on someone like you, Brekker. Maybe I'll kill your heartrender girlfriend first, so you can watch as she suffers."

He lifted his gun up and pointed the barrel towards your head. You stared straight into his eyes and held your breath.

"Now, do you have any last words?"

Kaz's heartbeat was getting louder by the second, his heart rate quickening even further, and his breathing became ragged. You heard some shuffling, and knew he was held in place by someone much stronger than him.

"You're a piece of shit," you spat. "I hope you get shot in the dick and you die in agonizing pain."

Middelesch raised an eyebrow at you. "Well, that's not nice. Hm. Is that all? Well, then."

But just before he pulled a trigger, a blast went off, filling the room in thick smoke. Jesper emerged from the cloud, pulling you and Kaz with him and guiding you through the door. Wylan was waiting outside, taking a hold of you as Jesper held Kaz up, who was clearly in a middle of a panic attack. Jesper touching him right now was making it worse, but there was no other options on that moment, he couldn't walk on his own during an intense panic attack like that. Inej stepped out from the shadows, nodding at Jesper as she took out her knives and made her way to the smoke-filled room.

Kaz stumbled the stairs down, barely being held up by Jesper. "You know, your coat is awfully heavy, Kaz." Jesper tried to joke to distract his friend, but it was no use.

You made it out from the building, and into a dim back alley just behind the Dreg border. Jesper quickly made Kaz sit down on the ground, and you dropped on your knees in front of him.

"Kaz, Kaz, look at me," you urged, fighting your will to cup his face. "Look into my eyes. Breathe."

Kaz shook his head and clutched his chest. "No, no, I can't..."

"You can, I'm here. I promise I'll always be here for you. I'm alive, listen." You made a few quick motions with your hands, and concentrated hard. Temporarily transferring your Grisha ability to a non-Grisha was a skill not many handled, and you weren't too sure with succeeding either. But after a moment, Kaz's heartbeat started to even out, and he started to get control of his breathing too and you figured you had succeeded. You let out a sigh of relief, slumping to sit against the opposite wall.

Jesper came and sat next to you. "That was... close," he said, panting. "I think we got away from them cleanly."

Kaz nodded, swiping sweaty hair out of his face. He swallowed and took a deep breath. "What happened in there?"

Jesper smirked. "We did a pretty solid plan quickly and without you. Nina put the guards at the door into sleep, Wylan threw some smoke bombs in there and distracted the goons. Then Inej took them out so they wouldn't follow us. We could have used Matthias and his muscles, but we didn't want him to ruin it all by coughing his lungs out."

"An average plan at most, but at least it worked." Kaz grunted, earning a smile from you and an annoyed glare from Jesper.

Inej appeared to the alleyway, holding Kaz's cane. She didn't have a drop of blood on her, but you all knew she had killed everyone in that room. She handed Kaz his cane, and he slowly stood up using it.

"Let's go back to the Slat. Now that the Cats are out, we have to claim their territory before anyone else does."

Kaz was back in again like nothing had happened. You all knew he got a major scare there, and yet he acted as if everything was fine. But you knew that what he needed right now was knowing his friends were there for him, even when he didn't say it out loud. 

The only person he had admitted to care about was you. You, who was the first person who held hands with him and who he occasionally gave feather-light kisses on top of your head when he thought you were sleeping. You knew about his past, why he was being so weird in a room full of people. You had learned to notice when he needed to get out, but the panic attack he had had at that alleyway was by far the worst yet. You hoped you wouldn't have to be in such a situation ever again, but you would never give up helping Kaz however you could.

And once the word about what happened to the Cats would spread, no one would dare to cross Kaz like that in a long while - if ever again.

---

Tags: @scandalous-chaos @brekkers-desigirl @bb-skyrunner @ellora-brekker @animalistic0 @voidranboo // send in an ask to be added, and specify which of Freddy's characters do you want to be tagged on! (This taglist is for Freddy event only, I won't take character taglists for anyone else than Freddy's characters. And note: after the event, Kaz pieces will get the full SaB taglist again, this taglist applies only during this event) ALSO IF YOU WON’T INTERACT BEYOND LIKING, I’LL EVENTUALLY TAKE YOU OFF THE LIST!!

[skytressmc]

Almost Kiss

A/N: this was requested by my good friend @frazzleboop for the fix bingo thing I reblogged a bit ago. Hope you enjoy!

‘I can do this’ Sun thinks to himself. ‘I can do this!’

‘Your just going to chicken out like before’

“Moon! Don’t be mean! A-Also! I didn’t chicken out! I just didn’t think it was the right moment to do it!” Sun argues.

‘Uh huh, sure.’

Sun chooses to ignore his counterparts mockery. He wanted this moment to be perfect. Everything had to be perfect! Just like you.

‘Sun its a kiss, not marriage.’

“B-But it’s our first kiss! I want it to be right!” He whines. He could practically hear Moon roll his eyes in their head.

‘You worrying isn’t going to help. Just, go with the flow. [Y/N] is going to like it no matter what. That’s just how they are.’

“Y-Your right. Thanks Moon.” Sun smiles. Moon huffs before mumbling a “Your welcome.”

“Alright! Let’s do this!”

Nothing was going according to plan. Sun tried multiple times to get you alone, but something always came up.

First it was the children. They came into the daycare a little earlier then he expected. But he couldn’t blame them. No, no. He could always find another time to be alone with you.

Then it was the Glamrocks, they made a surprise visit to the daycare for the little ones. Any other time he would just as excited as the kids. But he only felt annoyance as your attention was turned to the band instead of him.

Then is was Vanessa. Sun was so close! He had you cuddled up against him in a bean bag chair. Sun brought your attention to him, cupping your cheek gently.

“Sun?” You asked quietly. He mad a audible gulp noise with his voice box as he started down at you, his eyes glancing at your lips every so often. They looked so soft.

“I-I’ve been wanting to ask you something.” He stutters. You smile and nuzzle against his hand.

“Of course, I’m all ears.”

If Sun had a heart, it would be beating a mile a minute. Taking a artificial shaky breath and finally asks.

“C-Can we kiss you?” Your eyes widen for a moment, before a large smile graces your face. You let out the cutest giggle, the sound making his rays flutter.

“Yes, I would like that.”

Sun wasn’t sure what kind of noise left his voice box, all he know was it was a noise of excitement at your answer. Lifting his other hand, he cups your face completely. You let out a soft sigh at the warm of them.

Sun licks his lips nervously, before slowly leaning down closer to your face. You close your eyes, waiting for him to press his lips against yours. Sun was so close too, his lips barely brushing against yours. He could feel your breath on his own lips.

But as soon as he was about to close the distance, your walkie on the security desk goes off.

“[Y/N]? It’s Vanessa. I need you to come to my office for a sec.”

You pull back quickly, scrambling off Sun’s lap and running to the desk. You quickly answer the walkie, letting her know you were on your way.

You turn to Sun, he sat there in shock. You give him a sheepish smile.

“I’ll be right back! I promise!” You then ran out the daycare. Sun sat there for a moment, the whole event going through his mind before he let out a loud growl.

“OH COME ON!” He shouts to know one in particular.

‘I have to agree, this is getting ridiculous.’ Moon chimes in. Sun whines, flopping back into the bean bag. Would he ever get the chance to kiss you?

‘Let me try. If they see the lights are out, no one will bother us.’

Sun hated the idea, but he was right. No one came into the daycare when the lights are out. He groans rubbing the heel of his palms into his eyes.

“Fine, fine. But! As soon as you do it, let me out ok?”

‘Of course.’ Moon agrees. Sun gets up and goes to the light switch.

“Let’s hope this works.” He mumbles, flicking the switch and plunging the daycare into darkness. Sun doesn’t fight as Moon takes over, letting his counterpart take full control. It hurts less that way.

Moon stretches once in full control, letting his joints pop. “Now all we have to do is wait for our Starlight.” He rasps.

It was only took 15 minutes for you to return to the daycare. Though in Moon’s opinion, 15 minutes was forever.

He watched as you looked around the dark daycare confused. “Sun? Moon? Did the power go out again?” You ask as you look around.

Moon moves from where he was hiding. “No starlight, just wanted to come out as see you~” He purrs.

You jump letting out a squeak “Moon! Don’t sneak up on me like that!” Moon snickers, moving closer and wrapping his around you as he hunches over you.

“I’m sorry my dear, but you are just so easy to scare. It’s quite cute.” He coos. He feels pride in his chest as your cheeks turn a pretty pink. You clear your throat and look away.

“A-Anyway, um not that I’m happy to see you, really I am! But why are the lights off?” You ask. Moon hums, moving his face closer to yours.

“Well my dear starlight, we kept being interrupted. So we thought having the lights off may help.” He can see your gulp with how close he was. Seeing you this flustered delighted him in so many ways.

“I-I see” You stutter. Moon lets out a raspy chuckle before pressing his forehead against yours.

“Shall we continue where Sun left off?” You nod, slowly closing your eyes. Moon glances down at your lips and leans in. He places a hand on the back of your hair as he tilts his head. He could feel your breath on his face. His fans went into over drive, blaring loudly through out the daycare.

Your lips brushes against him, your about to fully press yours against his lips when suddenly the lights turn on.You both jumped back startled.

Moon groans as he switches to Sun. He wants to fight it, but stops as not to hurt Sun or him.

“You good [Y/N]?!” a new security guard is by the light switch. “ Saw the lights off and got worried!”

Sun stomps his foot on the daycare floor “YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!” he shierks. You couldn't help but laugh.

[cognitosclowns]

Can I request a fake-dating thing with Gigi? Maybe she needs a date for some big event and asks Reader to be her fake date, but ends up really liking their company? Thanks!!

OH FUCK IM GONNA EXPLODE. LIKE ACTUALLY START RICOCHETING OFF THE WALLS. THIS IS THE BEST TROPE TYSM

sfw!! just cuteness. It got long im sorry MSNDMSND

Ok usually she has a System (tm) for events, because when your schedule is as tight as hers, you need to have all your ducks in a row.

Usually she has a Shortlist of people she can ask in case she needs a Plus One!!

 Andre, Brett, Glenn, Myc (if she can convince him not to be too much fo a brat smdns) It's all platonic, usually one of those four can be bribed into an event with the promise of Alcohol and Free Food (and Brett does it Just To Be Helpful,, because,, it's Brett MSNDMS)

and yet, somehow, all four of these ungrateful little bastards can't pull through on this night.

And she can't go alone, for several reasons. In the circles she frequents (read : rich and judgemental) its essential to bring a Plus One, because everyone else is gonna have one, and if she doesn't she's gonna stick out.

Keeping up appearances is essential in her line of work, and she really doesn't need ppl starting a gossip train right now.

(and aside from that, it dissuades creeps so that's a plus)

AND THAT'S WHERE YOU COME IN BABEY!!!

you are her last hope lmao.

SHE SPOTS YOU FROM HER OFFICE AS SHE'S PACING AND IS LIKE 'you're my date now :)’

AND I MEAN,,, DID YOU REALLY HAVE ANYTHING BETTER TO DO? NO OFC NOT

She only vaguely knows you, but tbh she just needs someone to fill the slot. A beach-ball with a smiley face drawn on it ANYONE.

She even offers you 400$ to sweeten the pot!! Plus the usual promise of free food and rich people to laugh at.

Don't worry about getting an outfit, she works in media. She IS media lmao I have no doubt she's has plenty of experience in fashion, she can absolutely help you throw together an outfit and be out the door in like,, 10 minutes flat.

She isn't expecting much but?? It actually goes way smoother than planned??

It surprises her that you treat it like,, an actual date.

Like you ask questions? good questions?? Not just boring Rich People 'I-Don't-Actually-Care-I-Just-Need-To-Pretend-I'm-A-Person-And-Not-A-Walking-Bank-Account' questions??

You ask her about her ambitions? What was her favorite childhood memory? You two get into a 40 minute conversation about a bakery she misses from her hometown that closed down before she could get their cheesecake recipe??

and FUCK IF THAT ISN'T A BREATH OF FRESH AIR SMDNS

Like oh god you cannot imagine how mind numbing rich people are. Harder than the conspiracies and media scandals and weird social rules is trying to pretend to give a shit about Rich Boy #307's New Golf Course MSNDMS

She literally forgets to mingle.

You mention something about the Gardens and before she can even remember that yes, there was a goal behind her coming to this event, you two are giggling like teenagers running along the pavillion <33

YOU TWO BOLT THROUGH THE SPRINKLERS ITS SUPER FUN.

Occasionally it’ll strike her that she’s supposed to be inside, shmoozing, but she just convinces herself that oh well, she can just do that later.

It doesn't even strike her until her alarm goes off that she's spent the entire night just,, talking with you. 

(the ringtone, ofc, being the sound of someone calling her, so that she has a convenient excuse to get out of whatever she's doing and go home)

She decides Fuck It. You two talk for another forty minutes, laying back on the freshly-trimmed grass before a butler eventually comes out to shoo you off the property MNSDMSN

She drives you home!! Well, her chauffeur drives you home, but she sits with you in the back!!

(She specifically asks her chauffeur to take a slightly longer route, so you two can finish your convo about the musical conventions in Sweeney Todd, because she hasn’t gotten to talk about that shit in YEARS SHES NOT PASSING UP THIS OPPORTUNITY)

She still offers you that 400$, because it's the least she could do for you helping her out w/ something so last minute, not to mention having you stay way later than expected, but you turn it down.

You said something about how ‘getting to get to know a woman as sweet as her was payment enough <3′ and just. left.

it leaves her so completely stunned that she doesn’t hear her driver when they ask if she’d like to be dropped off at home. 

She literally just sits there staring at the spot where you were sitting, holding 400$, feeling absolutely dazed. She’s smiling like an idiot and she doesn’t even CARE THAT WAS SO CUTE OF YOU-

She calls you two weeks later for another event, and you say yes without hesitation <3