#pointed face? check. expressive eyes? check. beautiful smile? check. straight nose? also check. would probably look good with light hair?

[hangekitty]

Hange x f!Reader Oneshot

Summary: Squad leader Hange is a very busy scientist, so having Moblit and Y/N on their team is a great benefit to their work; so much so that Y/N finishes Hange’s work so that they get time off! Little do they know that the socially awkward Y/N has a passion for astrology, so one night she works up the courage to take Hange star gazing!

Genre: Fluff, Smut 18+

Warnings: spanking, cunnilingus, fingering, swearing, 69-ing, this oneshot is GOOFY af

Universe: canonverse

Word count: 3.9k

A/N: This oneshot is based on the song Space Girl by Frances Forever, I love this wlw song so much I just had to. In this one shot Hange’s pronouns are she/they but I mostly use they/them pronouns! Although in the song the singer refers to her space girl as a ‘cancer’ (astrological sign) I have left the reader’s sign ambiguous so you can insert yourself in! Also I don’t know how advanced the canonverse is with astrology, especially with astrological stories behind the constellations but we won’t focus on that its just a cute (probably inaccurate) oneshot. AFAB!Hange. I am so sorry it’s so long for a oneshot!! I just love them so much 🥺

When squad leader Hange Zoe is in the zone, they will work throughout the day and throughout night with no breaks and no signs of stopping; unless they quite literally pass out. If ever they got in that position of dropping at any moment, you and Moblit would be there to either complete the work or to catch Hange before they fall. You had always admired Hange’s determination and stamina, that alongside their eccentric personality, had you weak at the knees.

If you were honest with yourself, you had quite fallen head over heels for Hange the moment you saw them, their smile felt like a kick in the heart and a thousand butterflies in your stomach. It wasn’t until you helped Levi bathe Hange did you realise your feelings towards them, desperately looking away from their body with great embarrassment. Levi always rolled his eyes at your actions, but he’d usually have a faint smirk on his face as you try and wash them whilst attempting to keep your eyes closed. You and Levi were quite close, despite his quiet (and rather passive aggressive demeanour), a friendship with him was meaningful and he definitely cared more than he’d let on. He, alongside Moblit were the only ones that knew of your passions with astrology and space; he’d always say something like “it’s quite fitting, you’re head is either in the clouds or up Hange’s ass”. The funny little bastard.

Your captain would tease you regularly, especially when he noticed your longing stares; whether it be out on expeditions or back at HQ. He’d reach for your head and shake it, waking you up from your day dream. “Your obsessive pining will get you killed, scout” and “Keep it together space girl” were a regular thing Levi would say. You couldn’t help it, Hange was your moon and all the stars in the sky, all things you’d happily gaze at forever.

As mentioned, the bathing sessions were a great opportunity to get advice (and teased) from Levi. One bathing session he told you that he’s pissed off that you hadn’t revealed your feelings yet. How could you? Hange probably didn’t feel the same way, and neither did they have time for it! Changing the subject slightly, you would say “Poor Hange, always working so hard!”

Its true, Levi would usually have to knock them out to bathe them because they worked so much; you suppose the only ick that bothered you about Hange was their lack of hygiene - they just can’t help it. All of that energy dedicated to work, they rarely had any spare time to do anything else; but you were determined to make today different.

You heard of a meteor shower that was expected around 11pm that night, a spectacle you were adamant not to miss. You decided that if any time was the perfect moment to reveal yourself to Hange, tonight is the night. You day dreamed the whole day, picturing the two of you under the stars. Between paperwork, you would check regularly and calculate the time and position of the moon whilst the meteor shower happened; it had to be perfect.

“A waxing crescent” You whispered to yourself

“A what what?” Hange fluttered over to your table making you jump, you attempted to hide the paperwork of calculations; absolutely nothing must be revealed otherwise the surprise will be ruined.

“Squad leader H-H-Hange! I uhhh nothing!!” You stuttered, looking to their perfect, smiling face. You wanted to both die and dance at the same time, to grab them by their collar and kiss them passionately. Hange leans on your desk, looking at you with a cheeky grin.

“I do hope you’re doing your work scout! You don’t want to be working for 2 days straight like last time!”

“That won’t be the case tonight Hange!”

“Oh?”

“I recon if I work solidly for the next 2 hours I will be completely finished!”

“Really? Ugh I technically have like 4 hours left of paperwork too do, I don’t really even have time to scold you on how obviously distracted you are Y/N” Hange sighed, lifting their goggles up to pinch the bridge of their nose. Your eyes light up, seeing their face without goggles was just...

“Well if you give me part of your work, we will be both finished in 3 hours. Anything else that needs doing I will do!” You offered, Hange darts their eyes at you, an excited expression on their face. Without any warning they grab your hands into theirs and puts their face mere inches away from yours. Your face heats up, staring at their lips, you hold everything back from just leaning in to kiss them.

“You’d do that?? For me?? Well aren’t I lucky to have such a kind assistant!!!” Hange exclaimed

“If you both give me some of your work, I am happy to complete whatever’s left” you hear Moblit say across the table. Your eyes turn to him as he gives you a knowing wink. Gods bless Moblit. “That way you two get to leave early tonight, I hear there is some kind of astrological event on tonight”

Your face dropped, as much as Moblit was helping you, he must have looked at your notes as he walked past; nosy dickhead. Hange placed a hand under their chin and thought for a moment, before they had the chance to say anything about it (worrying they’d say its stupid or something) You stood up in your seat.

“Squad leader Hange! We can watch it tonight together if you’d like!!!” You blurted out, sounding more authoritative than you’d wanted. Hange’s eyes widen and observe your shaking body.

“But what about work?? I am sure after this paperwork needs doing they’ll be-”

“I’ll do it! Even if it means I work into the morning. It’s something that Y/N is passionate about so please!! I can always get Nifa or Abel or both to help me out!” You could hear the panic in Moblit’s voice. You take what you thought about him being a dickhead back, he’s doing you such a favour. The both of you look at each other and then back to Hange, trying to gage what their response will be.

A roar of laughter fills the room, followed by a long sigh. “As long as you are sure Moblit, that is real sweet” Hange turns to you and grabs your hand again. “Tonight’s a date then, what time and where?”

‘A DATE???’ You panic to yourself, did they really call this a date. You scream in your mind, wanting to just faint there and then. You collect your emotions and take your hand away from theirs, coughing into a fist. “10:15, walk south from the back entrance of HQ and head towards some bushes and the oak tree. I will meet you there” You said, you wanted to be far enough from HQ so you wouldn’t be disturbed.

“Sounds perfect! Now, lets get some work done!” Hange exclaims, sitting back at their desk and scribbling even faster than before.

The three of you continued to work, you were the first to finish and left the office to get changed into your casual gear. You pull out some perfume that you saved months up for from the market, it was a beautiful scent that you only used on special occasions. You looked in the mirror and hyped yourself up, “come on Y/N you are a lover and a fighter. Titan killer in the streets, pussy killer in the sheets” You slap yourself for saying something so embarrassing out loud.

Once dressed, you head out to the spot with blankets, pillows and a couple of lanterns; if you were to be there a while, you wanted to be comfortable. Once everything is laid out, all you had to do was wait. You felt the nerves building up, as time passed and drew near to Hange’s arrival, you had looked at all of your notes over and over. You lined star charts up and spotted all sorts of constellations to point out to Hange when they were there, you looked at the notes with all the stories behind the constellations and tried to identity any planets that were visible. You kicked yourself, wishing you’d be able to afford a telescope; apparently Saturn is aligned with Mars and that would have been an incredible sight to see.

You hear a noise behind you, oh lord here they come! You scramble at your notes, looking at the more complicated details and stuffing them into your bag.

“Y/N I could do with a little bit of help!!!” You hear Hange yell out, clear struggle in their voice. You stand up to see them behind the bush holding a very large telescope. You rush to their side and help carry it in front of the blankets.

“Hange! Where did you get this telescope from??” You exclaim with delight, Hange’s face blushes at your excitement and rubs their neck.

“Well after Moblit told me that you’re passionate about astrology, I took a deep dive into what is so special about tonight. A meteor shower right? And the planets Mars and Saturn?? Well so I uh....spent my savings on this baby to see it” Hange said awkwardly, your mouth agape and eyes wide, they spent all of their money on a telescope just for this?

You lunge forward and give Hange a massive hug with excited giggles. “Hange thank you so much!! It’s going to be so amazing I promise you!!!!”

Hange blushes wildly, resisting the urge to kiss you. “Well, it’s nice to see someone so excited over science just as I am, makes me feel a little less weird”

“Oh trust me, in school when we were taught about astrology I seemed to be the only person interested! I would spend hours just researching the constellations and zodiac signs! No one really wanted to be my friend, so uhhhh well I suppose I shifted my focus on Titan fighting and work with you and your science squad. It’s not space, sure, but I too felt lonely in my hobbies!” You explained, Hange’s heartstrings felt a tug, picturing you as a kid is just too cute.

The two of you carried on with conversation, you pointed to the sky and explained the stories behind the constellations. No matter how complicated the story or science, Hange seemed to want to know more and more; you even had to pull out your notes to answer their questions. In Hange’s mind, they had spoke about the science of titans for years and never bothered to ask you where your true passions lie. They questioned why they never asked, perhaps they were too nervous? Hange always put on a mask of being this optimistic, eccentric scientist and even acted cocky in front of you, but secretly they were just as insecure and shy towards you. They wanted to get to know you, but of course the element of dying at any point worried them; if they got too attached, especially romantically, it would hurt more. However, since the two of you are out there, looking at the telescope and talking so much, Hange’s fears lifted, even if it was for an evening.

Using the telescope, you pointed it in the direction of Mars and Saturn, both planets basically next to each other, a wonderful view to see. They weren’t super clear of course, the telescope wasn’t that powerful, but you could clearly see Saturns rings; something Hange got super excited over, asking you millions of questions. It wasn’t until the both of you sat down, waiting for the showers to come did you gulp and turn to Hange.

“Hange, I hope you don’t mind but I really would like to talk to you” You began, nervously fumbling with your fingers

“We’ve been talking all night??”

“AHH no I mean I have to say something okay. Please don’t say anything until I uhh finish because I just kinda wanna blurt it all out okay??” You really are stuttering and slipping up on your words, Hange gives a reassuring smile and nods. “Okay, I uhh...” You were interrupted by the meteors shooting across the sky. Mesmerised, you didn’t move your face away from Hange, just your eyes, they took this opportunity to lean in and kiss you. Your eyes widen in shock, what are they doing?? They’re going to miss the meteor shower! Despite this, you relax and close your eyes, leaning into them and deepening the kiss.

“Hange...”

“As you were sooo distracted, your turn has been cancelled. I’ll go first. Y/N I really like you, I have done for a while, and I know you and Levi bathe me together, and sometimes...sometimes I hear you”

“Ahhhh!!!!” You yell out in embarrassment, Hange lifts a finger to your mouth

“Ah ah ah, I am not finished yet! I find you breath taking, I even get so overwhelmed by the way you just stand there! It makes me want to work harder, so much so I would purposefully knock myself out so you could bathe me...oh gods that sounds bad. Not in that way I JUST REALLY ENJOY HEARING YOUR CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CAPTAIN!!!” Hange is now the one getting all flustered, waving their hands erratically. They didn’t want it to sound weird, but they aren’t exactly experienced in expressing their feelings.

“Hey no I get it, sort of...but yeah I really like you too and I guess I’ve never...I UGH words” You pathetically confess, earning a laugh from Hange.

“We’re not very good at this are we, space girl?” Hange moves their arm around you and pulls you in to a hug. Your eyes light up at your little nickname, they definitely do listen to yours and Levi’s conversations. You take this opportunity to kiss Hange, feeling their soft lips on yours.

“You’ve showered haven’t you?” You smirk into the kiss, Hange looks at you, confused and a little insulted.

“How ... whaaaa?”

“You smell delicious” you say boldly, in fact Hange did shower before meeting you tonight, for the first time in ages. They of course laugh at you, and confess. You both sit there for a moment, watching the rest of the meteor showers, colours of gold and silver shooting across the sky.

“How beautiful” You whispered to yourself, Hange looks at you and smiles

“Not as be-”

“Nope. That’s so cringey” you joke, Hange slaps your legs earning a weird moan/yelp from your lips. You cover your mouth in embarrassment. Hange looks at you with curiosity, what a response to just a playful slap. Hange’s face confidently smirks, taking your chin in their hands.

“What was that?” Hange asked seductively, walking two fingers up your thigh. You shiver at how foreword your squad leader is being.

“Nothing...”

“Do you think I’ll be able to get another noise like that out of you?” Hange moves their face forward, practically whispering next to your ear

“I uh...oh look the meteors! They are still going!” You panic, the air is thick, your heart fluttering at how close they are getting. Not that you wouldn’t want to...it’s just moving so fast that you couldn’t barely keep up.

“The meteors can wait”

“I mean technically...” you’re words at cut off by Hange kissing your neck, testing the waters a little before going right ahead. You softly moan out Hange’s name, heaving a little bit at the intensity. So long have you envisioned yourself in this position, being kissed by your squad leader; you’ve thought about it and you’ve touched yourself to it. You may be feeling a little awkward now, but you shiver with anticipation to see how far this could go.

“Are you okay?” Hange asks, looking at you with a little concern, they can feel you tensing under their touch, even shaking a little. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable”

“No! No definitely I’m okay I’m just inexperienced. I mean I’m not but it’s different when it’s you because I...I like you and I want to do this but, can we start off slow?” You ask nervously, Hange gives you a tender kiss on your forehead and holds you close.

“If you ever want to stop, please tell me okay?” Hange asks, you nod at them eagerly before pulling them close in for a confident kiss. You lean back onto a pillow, allowing Hange to hover above you, lips still connected. What a feeling this is, never would you imagine getting this close to them; you savour every moment. Hange sits up and takes off their shirt, revealing a binder underneath before taking that off too, your eyes fall to the exposed skin; a lump in your throat. There Hange is, straddling you and pinning you down, half naked and stunning.

“Gods...” You whisper under your breath, Hange snickers at your cute expression before attacking your neck. They plant several erratic kisses all of you, earning a mixture of moaning and giggling.

“What happened to going slow?” You chuckle out, Hange stops immediately and changes their expression.

“I can slo-”

Hange’s words are cut short as you flip them over underneath you, their eyes wide and breaths manic, that is until you sloppily kiss their lips. Hungry noises leave either of your throats as you fight for dominance; you suppose the issue here is that the both of you are so eager, so keen to please that you clash - but in the best possible way. One final flip and you find yourself locked onto the floor under a very horny squad leader. And by locked, it means having Hange gripping your jaw with one hand and the other being intertwined with yours.

“Be my good little space girl, let me see you” Hange unbuttons your shirt, one button at a time, almost painfully slowly. 1...2..3...4...and suddenly your chest is on full view. You attempt to cover yourself, but too late, Hange is already kissing every bit of skin they can see, uncapping your breast from your bra like a hungry animal and latching their mouth onto a free nipple. They graze their teeth and tongue over your sensitive bud, sucking slightly. You reach a hand up to their head and grip their hair slightly, enjoying the sensation. Whilst you are so distracted, Hange reaches a hand down to your trousers, you don’t even notice them unbuttoning them; it was only until their hand was ghosting over your underwear did you look down. They then press a finger against your clothed pussy, feeling your growing excitement.

“Wet already?” Hange scoffs against your breast, you can’t even answer; either from embarrassment or your panting. Hange thinks back to your little yelp, they would love to hear you make such a noise again. “Over my knee sweet pea” Hange ordered, without hesitation you stood up and allowed Hange to sit down, here you bend over their knee, raising your ass into the air to give them all the access they need. After pulling down your trousers to your ankles, they take extra time to look at you; you’re hot and bothered, shaking a little in anticipation. Hange looks to your perfect ass, stroking and groping it slightly, thinking about all the little red hand prints they will leave on you.

“Such a good girl” Hange mewed before landing a harsh slap across your cheek, you yelp out in a mixture of pain and pleasure. Enjoying the noise so much, Hange slaps your ass over and over, allowing little to no breaks between each hit - you knew this isn’t quite how spanking works but it feels good and Hange definitely was enjoying watching your ass jiggle with each slap.

“Ow!” You yell out, that last hit was a little too hard; Hange, feeling sorry kisses your now extremely red behind.

“I’m sorry, I got a bit carried away; here...” Hange moves their hand over to your underwear again and slips under the fabric to stroke your aching clit. Whatever pain you felt had all disappeared to the sudden wave of pleasure that is Hange. They spread your pussy a little, allowing their middle finger to trace your folds and stop at your clit; here, Hange uses their middle and index finger to rub the sensitive nub, interchanging their technique from circling to a forward to back motion. You could feel the knot build up in your lower abdomen, imaging yourself cumming onto Hange’s fingers. That was until they pulled their fingers away, you let out a disappointed moan and looked to your squad leader with pleading eyes.

Without word or warning, Hange lowers themself down and repositions you over their face. You were now suddenly close to Hange’s pussy, unfortunately still clothed, as you fumble at their belt you could feel Hange lift your ass up a little and look down to see what you’re doing. They smirk, hands leaving you and helping you pull down their trousers and underwear; much better.

You wasted no time but to dip your head at their entrance and lapped up their juices, hands either side of their propped up legs and making sure to be especially rough on their clit. Hange moans out painfully, how long had it been since they were in this position? Your ass is forcefully lowered onto Hange’s face, you feel them lick and suck at your clit, feeling your knot tighten one more. Your legs begin to shake, you won’t be lasting long and Hange can just sense it.

“Y/N look! The meteors are going again!” Hange yells out, you stop licking and look immediately up to the sky; but this was a trick because Hange pulls you down further, inserting 2 fingers into you and eats you out rougher than before, earning an eruption inside you, bursting and almost painful as you cum hard onto their mouth and fingers.

“Venus~!” You strangled out, shaking heavily above Hange who cocks their head to the side.

“Venus?”

“Uh..yeah sorry I don’t know why I do that...” you breathlessly panted out

“Don’t apologise, its cute” Hange strokes your ass, giggling at their little space weirdo. You position yourself above Hange, taking them by surprise as you cup their pussy with your hand.

“Got you” Was all you could say before inserting two of your fingers inside your squad leader. You arch your fingers inside of them, using your thumb to draw circles over their clit as they pant and whine under you. Using your free hand you grab both their wrists and hold them above their head, giving you full view of their body. As you finger fuck them, you reach down and kiss them, moving your lips from theirs to over their neck, sucking hard; making sure to leave a dark mark. That was it for Hange, their whole body trembles and cums undone; what you didn’t expect was the flood that left their body, squirting all over you.

“Globular Cluster!!!” Hange screams out, they were a hot mess, melting into the blanket. You crawl next to them and snuggle into their chest. They begin to stroke your hair, leaving forehead kisses.

“Globular cluster?” You ask cheekily, Hange laughs and pats your back.

“Listen, if you are going to scream out space words during sex instead of my name, I might as well do it too!”

“That is too adorable”

“As are you Y/N, do you think my space girl could love an earth...ehhh girl?”

“There is a gender neutral word for that you know, earthling” You giggle, Hange huffs a little, cheeks dusted with a pink blush.

“But yes, this space girl loves her earthling” you say, kissing their head. The both of you spent the rest of the evening just staring at the stars, Hange continuously asking questions including “What’s my zodiac sign?” and “Is yours compatible with a Virgo?” - not that it particularly matters whether you are astrologically compatible with Hange, you already knew you were.

[jeontaehui]

 TAEHEE WITH SUPERM

baekhyun baekhee

there was this tension at the start. you wouldn’t notice it at first glance but when you really pay attention to how the both of them act around each other ,,, you’ll just wonder how they are off-cam.

taehee mentioned during wgu era baekhyun was one of her role models when it came to the entertainment industry ,, so some fans wondered maybe there was still this senior-junior relationship between them while the rest were getting close with her.

but baekhyun hates awkward. luckily, they were roommates when they came to the states for their debut. 

he figured he could get closer to taehee by making her laugh a lot, and he succeeded !!! it was easy since they basically shared the same humor.

he also took her out to eat when they came back to korea ,, discovered her love for playing video games and that they had a lot more in common

taehee enjoys playing hard to get when it comes to baekhyun.

(superm midterm exam ep. 1) “but you said i was your role model!!!” “when it came to being funny, yes...?” “W H A T !!!!”

as much as possible, baekhyun wants taehee to show off or be given attention to. whether that came to lines on the script or bragging about what she can do, not only does he do this as a leader but as someone who wants to show that taehee is as capable as them.

(200913 vlive) taehee comes up to the camera and nervously laughs, “yah, how do i do this?!” she turns around to face the rest of the boys who have challenged her into doing taemin’s killing part in the ‘criminal’ mv. “just do it like you would usually do!” baekhyun encourages cheerfully. “don’t act shy! you know you can do it.”

iconic moment (mtopia ep. 11-2) "whoever competes with baekhyun hyung is likely to lose,” kai says, watching as the eldest prep himself for the game. hearing this, taehee instantly shot up from her seat and moved to the red square opposite of baekhyun. though determined, she lets out a casual remark, “i’ll fight him,” and the others laugh. 

ever since the first game of the night, baekhyun and taehee teased each other back and forth, trying to get the other off their game. the scoreboard between the two of them was currently 2:1, with taehee having won the paper cup game and the team game with mark and the others. baekhyun glances to the side nervously, until an idea pops in his head. 

he lights up her candle shortly and hands it to her, “here.” taehee accepts the candle without protest as she sat down, until kai says, “he gave you the weaker candle.” her head snaps up to see baekhyun dead set on making his flame stronger than hers, his fierce expression making all of them crack up. “oppa!” taehee complains but she laughs. “yah, baekhyun hyung, that’s unfair!” taeyong backs the maknae up, well aware of the feeling of losing quickly to their leader. “jeon taehee, you better win this,” taeyong tells her, his tone was laced with seriousness yet his pout said otherwise. “avenge me,” and taehee gives him a salute and a wink in return. 

not sooner than later, their match begins. their hot battle keeping the members on their toes, they too were aware of their rivalry from earlier. “jeon taehee, let’s go!” mark cheers. although taehee could barely see with the water getting in her eyes and hair, she moved her candle in all directions in defense to her opponent’s shooting (at this point, taehee figured baekhyun was just trying to shoot at her face but she’s not complaining... that much). with a sharp aim, taehee was able to distinguish baekhyun’s candle in just less than a minute. 

“i think water went into my nose,” taehee giggles as she lowers her candle down, removing any excess water from her eyes once her other hand was free. meanwhile baekhyun looked shell-shocked, taemin and the others laughing more at the result. “hyung, you looked like you won!” kai teases him further. “i won,” baekhyun jokingly seethes, “I WON!”

taehee laughs, “알았어, loser.” the team breaks off into a louder fit while baekhyun smiles in disbelief. taehee sure was different. 

song falling by trevor daniel

taemin 2tae

despite both of them being the most quiet during the first meeting, the both of them got closer the quickest !!!!

first day they were like ‘hi hello annyeong’. next day, they’re sharing recipes, having inside jokes, mini-handshake (courtesy of taehee), play-fighting, making funny faces at each other whenever they make eye contact during dance practices ....

dance prodigies !!! amazing, talented, remarkable dance prodigies !!! aces at everything !!!! their stage presence !!!!

(superm reveal which member has the best hair and who is the funniest of the group | billboard) “these two,” taeyong gestures to taehee and to taemin, “how do i say this? they look immoral on stage.” the others chuckle at his bluntness, “i think that would be the best term for it.”

taehee finds taemin very cute and would willingly watch his aegyo.

(’one’ dance practice behind) “hyung, you are honestly so cute,” taehee centers the camera to taemin, “times like these, i wish you were my younger brother.” he laughs. 

meanwhile, taemin finds himself laughing at taehee’s antics most of the time (totally didn’t expect the chaotic energy coming from this one).

taehee always manages to find her place next to taemin somehow, and when taemin turns to find out she was beside him this whole time, he’d smile at her and pat the top of her head. 

taemin became one of taehee’s comfort people !!!! from having a senior-junior relationship to being one of taehee’s most trusted friends, they grew really close after time and related well with each other.

iconic moment (’one’ dance practice behind) “woah, oppa you look really pretty from this angle,” taehee tilts the camera to the sides until taemin starts doing aegyo, causing laughter to bubble from the girl. “hey! hyung, why are you seriously so cute?”

taemin recalls the other day he and taehee hung out together, and he sits up straight before telling the story. “you know what taehee did the other day?” his lips break into a wide smile, his tone piquing interest from ten and mark. “what did she say?” mark said. 

“she said, ‘hyung, it think it would be nice if you were my dongsaeng.’ and i haven’t said anything yet and she said, ‘yaja time? start. taeminnie, what do you want to do?’”

mark and ten burst out laughing, taehee feigns ignorance. “what? when was that? i don’t remember that.”

taemin chuckles, “taehee is really so precious.”

song it’s tricky by run d.m.c

kai kaihee

kai was a bit awkward with taehee too at first.

he was very cautious around her, even if it was just standing close to her during photoshoots.

kai, keeping his distance: “is this okay?”

director: “closer!!!!”

kai: fuck

but now he teases the hell out of her you’d probably mistake them for being friends for a long time.

(superm on knowing bros) “baekhyun hyung? baekhyun . hyung???? you seriously find him the most attractive out of all of us?????” “BEAUTY IS IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER!!!!!!” “YOU NEED TO GET YOUR EYES CHECKED THEN”

he makes fun of her accent (jokingly ofc) but also loves it.

“how do you say ‘귤’ in english?” “tangerine” “ahh you are so cute !!!!!!”

also teases her by wrapping his arm around her shoulders and proceeding to shake her aggressively.

before superm, kai already found taehee super cool .... he was probably intimidated by her.

when kai is not teasing taehee, they’re both teasing mark.

in the end, there is an i-will-tease-the-heck-out-of-you-until-your-ears-turn-red kai and a im-her-father-no-one-touch-her kai

iconic moment (mtopia ep. 11-1) “i feel like taehee would get this though,” baekhyun says and the others agree with him, taehee’s agile. they all watch as she puts her hands on each side of the toaster, preparing herself by biting on thin air. “okay, i’ll start now!”

using her left thumb, she pushed the press handle down and released. but instead of catching the piece of bread, she caught her tongue in between her teeth. she immediately pulled back and brought her hands to her mouth, walking away the pain as the members pointed out she wasn’t able to succeed. kai was the first to notice her, “what’s wrong, taehee?”

“i bit my tongue and it hurts so much,” she winces. kai cackles, “바보! taehee!”

“it was an accident!” she exclaims. “i know but you don’t put your tongue out like that!”

taehee grumbles at kai’s remark as she sat beside him. the latter pulls her close by the shoulder and ruffles her hair, laughing as she poked her cheek. “you want to eat bread?” kai smiles at her, already reaching out for the plate of extras. 

“i’m gonna eat bread.”

song mambo no. 5 (a little bit of ....) by lou bega

taeyong yonghee

taehee’s all up for the ‘taeyong babie’ agenda since it’s so cute to see the older members tease and baby taeyong.

knowing that baekhyun likes to poke the fun out of these two, taeyong and taehee would team up against him.

(superm mtopia ep. 1) “taehee, let’s make baekhyun hyung out,” taeyong tells her, taehee mirroring the determined look on his face. “we got this.”

taeyong hypes taehee up like a stage dad or something lol he’d go like, “WOOOO!!! THAT’S MY BABY,” and taehee would find herself smiling before resuming to whatever she was doing. 

taehee had to stop herself from clowning taeyong when they went surfing for mtopia and instead gave him tips and all. of course, she tries to bite her lip from laughing while doing so.

(mtopia ep. 3) taehee goes to sit beside a nervous taeyong on the dock as he waits for his turn. chuckling, she says, “hyung, just pace yourself, alright? don’t rush—“ but then kai cuts her off, also noticing the scared look on the rapper’s expression, “you won’t die anyways.” taehee whips her head back to glare at kai, though it was clear she was trying to hold in her laughs. “HEY!”

iconic moment (mtopia ep. 2) taehee was the first to pick out of the eight of them. whether she’ll start shedding tears or not, her fate relies on the fifth sushi she had chosen, hoping that it wasn’t the one with wasabi. “it’s the one. she lost it,” baekhyun says as he tries to throw taehee off guard. “it’s not,” she replies, though her eyes said otherwise.

once she grabs the piece of sushi in between her chopsticks, she takes a tentative glance towards the staff and keeps her eyes on them as she took it in whole. taehee knew she was doomed on the first chew, the spiciness of the paste burns her tongue and brings tears to her face. she laughs dryly as a few tears slipped down her face and sniffs, “i never knew wasabi was this spicy.” the boys behind her laugh at the crack in her voice, the staff handing her a tissue as she staggered back to her place beside taeyong who immediately wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. “taehee can’t handle spicy foods well,” taeyong chuckles, “are you okay?”

“yeah, my mouth just feels like it’s burning!,” taehee exclaims, her wild gestures adding humor to her expression. taeyong lets out a hearty laugh as he gave her water, “have this.” he watches her down the water in one go, though there were still tears in her eyes, “taehee, you are too cute. i’m serious.” taehee laughs as she wiped her eyes, and they continue with the game. 

song train wreck by james arthur

ten tnt

they are literal geniuses !!!! but... they have their moments.

(200930 live) “he’s the main character in ‘aladdin’, right?,” and with knowing smiles, the others nod at ten’s question. clueless, ten decides to ask more, “what was his name? a whole new world~” and baekhyun and mark tell him he’s right, but ten has literally no clue. chuckling at his cuteness, taehee speaks up, “hyung! he’s the main character in ‘aladdin’! aladdin!” mark and kai laugh loudly at her hint, she was already giving him an answer. kai notices that, like ten, taehee hadn’t got her question correct yet with all the obvious hints they were giving her, and so he laughs harder. “taehee! don’t act like you’ve got you’re question correct!,” the said girl shrugs exaggeratedly, bringing her hands up in the air as if to question the heavens. “you told me he was powerful! so is he like a superhero or something? thor?,” she exclaims, and the others began laughing at her guess, the maknae unaware of the large ‘LEE SOOMAN’ on her cap. “who is it?!”

their banter that goes back and forth are one of the things that make the members’ stomachs hurt from laughing. 

(superm: ready to fly in la) “the three maknaes are my babies,” ten tells the camera, tilting his head to look taehee into the eye before continuing, “but then you’d be my least favorite.”

taehee knows that ten secretly has her as the favorite loves her too, so she always makes it a point to call him cute or something to throw him off guard. 

iconic moment (superm as we wish ep. 1) it was very obvious how taehee felt about ten’s drama. she tried to hold back her smiles but ten was just too cute, it made her heart run in circles. when his drama ended, the boys praised ten’s performance, but baekhyun noticed how much taehee liked it. he calls her out,  “taehee-ssi, you seem to like this very much.” 

a surprised ‘really?’ comes from ten while taehee spoke. “ten oppa just looked so.... natural while doing it,” taehee says, her words and expressions assuring ten he really did a great job. “my heart is doing flips right now?”

the boys laughed, “did you fall for him?” and before taehee got to answer their leader’s question, ten said, “i’ll date you based on your performance.”

“i didn’t even say yes!”

song positions by ariana grande

lucas luhee

lucas took one look at him, mark, and taehee and just went, “you know if someone took a look at us, they’d think taehee was the oldest.” (taehee had punched him on the shoulder while mark hit the table, laughing)

but then he clarified that it was just because taehee had this motherly aura around her and that she takes care of him and mark really well. 

from then on, lucas would accidentally call taehee ‘noona’; sometimes, he would call her that intentionally when asking for the snacks that were kept in her bag, or teasing her.

(superm as we wish ep. 2) “unnie,” they hear taehee say from the monitor. while the boys accompanied each other in different work environments, taehee went alone to a little café to try out the experience herself. she found herself well acquainted with one of the staff members that had showed her around, and she found herself asking, “how old are you?” the boys erupted into choruses of ‘ooh’s’ when they heard her, baekhyun jokingly asking if she was there to find a date. taehee shakes her head shyly, but she busts out laughing when lucas shouts, “NOONA, FIGHTING!”

we see more of taehee being a baby with lucas in superm :(

he’d give her piggyback rides or ask her if she’s eaten yet, and if she says no, lucas would be like, “come on, man! the last time i saw you eat was breakfast but you only ate a sandwich. wait for me here, i’ll get you a plate.”

iconic moment (mtopia ep. 11-2) as mark and kai shoot each other’s candles out with their water guns, taehee leans into lucas’ side as she laughs with her head buried into his shoulder. it was an endearing sight to see them comparing hand sizes, both of their eyes widening at the size difference. “you’re hand is so small!,” lucas says. “well, duh. your hand is like the size of my face!”

song rather be by clean bandit (ft. jess glynne)

mark markhee

taehee knows so well that superm mark lee is a different breed

(the story of ‘jopping’) “you look so handsome these days,” taehee said to mark as she took in his appearance, causing the latter to become shy and flustered, “really?”

but mark caught onto it this year and ‘complained’ that taehee had favoritism .... to superm mark

“you’re cute in 127 and dream!!!! you’re different here, what’s wrong with that?”

taehee LOVED ‘talk about’. she posted a video of her jamming to it in her manager’s car on twitter.

in mtopia, taehee literally took a glance at mark’s quiz in the first episode and said, “ahh you should get this one the first try, it’s easy.” cue a pouty mark

during games, mark knows taehee in and out so it comes off as an advantage to him and a disadvantage to her. 

(mtopia ep. 6) “it’s taehee. taehee is the liar.”

mark and taehee are roommates most of the time and their nightly routines just consist of putting face masks on each other and listening to music while waiting!

iconic moment (mtopia ep. 11-2) “sleepover!!!!,” taehee says excitedly as she sat on the bed with mark. she had just finished brushing her teeth while mark brought out facemasks from his bag. “you wanna put them on each other?,” mark asks, tearing one of the packets open already. 

he turns his head to his right and giggles. taehee had her bangs tied up in a short ponytail, her eyebrows arched in a cheery smile. “you look like 뚱이!,” mark laughs, “dude, seriously. you’re so cute.”

“whatever, just put it on,” taehee rolls her eyes playfully as she hit mark’s shoulder. she closes her eyes but hears mark chuckle again. opening only her left eye, she says, “what’s wrong?”

“you’re really cute,” mark repeats, both of taehee’s eyes now wide open at his compliment. she goes to say something but chooses against it, closing her eyes back again when mark begins putting the mask on her face. 

song until the last falling star by matthew perryman jones

[alighieri-sparda]

A stinky devil and bath thoughts | Vergil x M!Reader

Summary: Vergil is all yours again. You decide to give him a relaxing bath to ease his mind — and get rid of that stinky smell of demonic creatures after a few months in Hell.

Masterlist | Rules | A simple gift for @mooshs-crack-headcanons

Happy birthday! And this time, with the real gift. xD I hope you enjoy this fluffy piece I wrote for you. I wish I could give you something better, but that’s what I got :’D You deserve only the best, Paul. You know it.~

It’s important to mention that I got the most of inspiration for this work from the ‘Washing a Devil’ series by Chrome, specially from this particular chapter. So, please, if you guys haven’t read it yet, please do! It’s really lovely.

Lots of a passionate Vergil under the cut. 

- - - - - -

Vergil is finally back. Back to the place he could always call home, the safest spot in the world for him: your gentle and comfortable arms. Vergil is finally back. Back to the place he could always call home, the safest spot in the world for him: your gentle and comfortable arms. 

When he crossed the front door of your house, the first thing you did before saying anything was holding him closely, kissing those soft lips of his you missed after several months without his presence. Vergil is your safe spot as much as you are his, and now you both feel complete.

However, something started to bother both of you when you separated the kiss: the smell of demon guts and sweat was not the most welcoming in the world. You didn’t mention it at first, but Vergil quickly realized how unfortunate this condition would be for you both and suggested to take a bath before doing anything else.

“Let me wash you then.” You smiled, your words sounded so pure and heartwarming to the half demon’s ears that he couldn’t help smiling as well.

[...]

You slide your hands down Vergil’s strong arms, taking the collar of his coat as a starting point to make his black piece of cloth fall on the floor. Then, you go to his buttoned shirt, unfastening it at a gentle pace. Your eyes gradually catch the sight of his torso as the shirt is unbuttoned, and you can’t stop admiring how gorgeous this man looks even so stinky and dirty.  

The man under your touch observes your actions in a calm state of mind which he hadn’t seen himself feeling in years. You had been waiting for him for months straight, and yet you don’t hesitate in slowing things down just to admire his presence, enjoying every inch of his body and every spectrum of his personality. A tranquil gaze rests on his eyes because he knows he’s safe with you. There’s no need to rush things.

Once the last button is finally unclasped, you let it fall over his arms, letting it join his coat on the floor. Vergil looks almost ashamed of looking like that; his torso is all grimy, even supposedly protected by his layers of clothes. You, on the other hand, don’t mind at all. The smile that draws onto your lips evidences your actual enjoyment of that situation. 

“How can you smile at this filthy situation of mine?” Vergil chuckles when he notices the happy tilt of your lips.

“Because I’m about to have a lot of fun washing you.” You explain, visibly excited for what is going to happen next. 

Vergil sighs as he watches your hands go to his belt and undo it in a blink of an eye, throwing it out of his waistband just as rapidly as you ease the grip of his pants around his hips. You welcome his relieved reactions with a kiss on his cheek.

“You’re enjoying it, aren’t you?” He asks, smirking at your playful expression.

“How couldn’t I enjoy you, Vergil?” You say as your fingers hook the waistband of his pants and his underwear at the same time, pulling them down in one single movement. He suddenly gets exposed, and it scares him a little bit. Even if it’s under your sight.

Instead of grinning back at Vergil’s perceptible shudder, however, you only smile softly, comforting him.

“Now let’s get you cleaned.”

Then you kiss his cheek again, encouraging him to keep going with that. It isn’t like he wasn’t enjoying it though.

In a few steps, Vergil sits in the bathtub previously prepared by you with a medium warm water level. He lets a heavy breath out of his lungs when he starts feeling cleansed after months stinking like demonic corpses. The smell is really not good, but you ignore it as much as you can. It’s not his fault anyway.

You turn the faucet that indicates hot water while bringing the bottle of shampoo and soap closer to your reach with your other hand. The sound of water falling and mixing with the one already in the bathtub fills the bathroom. When the water level rises enough, you turn off the faucet.

In the meantime, Vergil has closed his eyes, taking the opportunity to relax his muscles and enjoy being under your care again. The sweet smell of the soap and shampoo already enters his nostrils; he exhales at the good sensation being intensified by his temporary privation of sight. Then, he groans satisfied when the hot water suddenly falls on his scalp. Vergil wasn’t really paying much attention to the sounds around him.

Once you sit beside the bathtub, you pay attention to his head and face firstly. You let the water do the primary and simpler work as you gently rub your fingertips all over his face, cleansing the dirt stuck to his skin and some thin lines of dried blood all over his cheeks, jawline, and nose bridge. He leans his head back at your personal touch, sighing quietly.

“You look so beautiful.” You whisper unconsciously. 

Vergil doesn’t seem to notice your compliment. His eyes are still closed and his chest slowly moves up and down. You can tell he’s enjoying it.

After you’re done cleaning his face, your hands now reach his neck and shoulders. This time, instead of just rubbing only your fingertips on his skin, you use your entire palm to massage and cleanse the superficial dirt at the same time. Vergil’s muscles get a little tensioned when you first touch them, but he quickly relaxes them again against your gentle touch. Another satisfied groan says it all.

“I thought you wouldn’t accept me back, [Name].” He suddenly says, blinking slowly his eyes and looking at you after some time. “When Dante and I came back, I’ve already started to think that I would have to live with my brother. And I almost locked myself back in Hell again.”

You chuckle while you don’t stop the movements on his shoulders.

“I’d never let you do it to yourself, Vergil,” You giggle. Now, you take the shampoo bottle in your hands and squeeze it, letting a generous amount of shampoo fall on Vergil’s hair. Putting it back in place, your fingers finally run through his strands of hair, massaging and scouring his scalp. “Besides, being stuck in Hell wasn’t your fault. It’d be unfair not accepting you back.”

“Well… It actually was.” He answers in a more serious tone. “The Qliphoth only raised under my command, due to my uncontrollable pursuit of power. I don’t even deserve to be here, to begin with.”

Your fingers stop the massage for a while. One of your hands now touches the back of his neck as the other one gently fondles his cheek.

“But now it is in the past. You’ve certainly made mistakes through your path, everyone does at some point, but you’re here with me now. And that’s the only thing that matters.” You whisper. Unlike the past two times, now you prefer to kiss his soft lips instead of his cheek. A comforting peck to remind him how important he is to you. To remember he’s safe now.

You slide your hands over his damp skin, putting them back on his scalp once more. Vergil just sighs, clearly affected by your lovely words.

The grunts of satisfaction that Vergil lets out while you clean his hair make you want to stay that way forever, just listening to the sounds of his satisfaction as you enjoy the caress that you know he likes best, but you have more work to do.

That being said, you finally wash the shampoo away from his scalp, still massaging it to be sure you cleaned it completely. While your hands do the cleansing part, you observe Vergil’s expression again: he’s just like he was before talking to you, eyes closed and relaxed face. Another unconscious smile draws onto your lips. 

Your intention with all this is not only to clean him but also make him relax as much as you can. Because of that, you soap your hands and massage the skin of his face, neck, and shoulders with the soap that remains on your palms instead of scrubbing it directly on his body. Vergil visibly appreciates your action, taking a short breath as he feels the good smell of the soap purifying his body.

“[Name],” He mumbles your name suddenly. Probably asking for your attention.

“Hm?”

“Do you recall a tattooed man knocking on your door sometime before the incident?”

You can’t help but smile when you listen to his words. His point is already clear for you.

“Yeah, I do.” You answer as you keep your hand movements. Your fingers are now finishing up his shoulders area, just taking the opportunity to relieve the tension that remains in his muscles. “I almost couldn’t believe it when he said he was you.”

“But I knew you would do so.” A gentle smile crossed his face. “Besides thinking about my family, when I saw myself that incomplete, another important thought crossed my mind: checking if you were doing well. If my lack of presence didn’t put you into any dangerous situations.”

He searched one of your soaped hands, kissing the back of it. 

“I wanted to kiss you so much on that day. But you would fairly refuse my request.”

“Thanks for being aware of it,” You chuckle, embracing his shoulders even outside of the bathtub. “But I need to confess that seeing you as a smaller and more fragile man than me was a lovely sight.”

“Oh, you think so?” This time, the smile on his lips gets a more teasing tone. “How cute. But, honestly, I prefer to see you like the pretty fragile man here.”

“I know that.” You giggle in response. Then, you leave the embrace to catch the soap once more while you move your gaze all around the bathtub, looking for a good spot to position yourself for the next step of the bath. “Now I need to wash the rest of your body, but I can’t find any good position to do it.”

“Allow me to facilitate the things for you then.”

When Vergil says this, you first think that he would reposition his body in the bathtub to make your work easier somehow — and he did move, but not with the intentions you thought he would have. There is no time for you to react: in the blink of an eye, Vergil pulls you into the bathtub. You would be impressed, but Vergil is a half-demon after all. He always has at least a little bit of strength guarded in case he needs it.

“Hey--!” You even try to scold him, but it is in vain. When you come to your senses, you’re sitting on his lap, and your clothes are now sticking to your skin due to their soaking. When did he get that cheeky?

“So, is it better for you now?” You haven’t seen that playful grin in months. Although the situation is not the most satisfying in the world now — soaked clothes are not comfortable at all ��, you can’t complain about it. It only shows you how much he missed your presence. 

“You…!” The laugh that comes up to your throat can’t be helped at all. “Jeez, you could have asked me for a shared bath before!” You didn’t mean to have one, but if that’s what he wants, now you have no choice but to give it to him. 

“Stop complaining and take off these soaked clothes.”

He didn’t even need to ask you this, to begin with. You don’t get out of the bathtub to take them off, just getting rid of them quickly and then throwing them to the same point where Vergil’s clothes were left before. 

Once you are completely bare, Vergil gives you no time to react again: he kisses your lips passionately as he lets his hands explore your body freely; his smooth yet audacious hands make your body shiver in surprise, feeling his fingertips reach your chest, back and then your waist, the place he rests his arms around when you separate the kiss.

“I missed you.” He whispers against your lips, holding you even closer as you embrace his shoulders once more, but this time it feels a lot better. Vergil has never been this talkative before, even with you, so this sentence of his is already proved to you due to his previous attitudes. 

You whisper as sincerely as he did: “I missed you too.” 

Vergil slowly puts himself back in his previous position, forcing you to break that embrace. His gaze follows your body up and down as he comforts your legs across his lap.

“Now you can finish your work.” He smiles at you softly.

The next couple of minutes are all about you doing to his chest, back and arms the same as you did previously, gently removing the superficial dirt with your fingers, letting the water help you with that. Your touches keep the intimate intention by massaging his muscles and cleansing them with the soap in your palms as a happy smile crosses your face every time you hear a satisfied or relaxed hum coming from him.

Although the relaxation you provided him during this whole process, you notice that Vergil is still awake when you announce that you’re done with his bath. He blinks slowly after minutes straight with his eyes closed, looking directly at you again. 

Before he can say anything, it’s now your turn to surprise him with a kiss. Vergil looks so adorable under your care, with his guard completely off and heart opened, just for you.

“You smell so good now.” You giggle against his lips after this last kiss.

“Thanks to you, of course.” He winks.

“Listen, I could stay like that with you all night long, but I prefer our bedroom to do so.” You slowly get out of the bathtub, taking the towel in your hands on your way. “You can get up now. I’ll just get some dry and clean clothes for us both.”

Once you’re standing beside the bathtub and move your body to go to your bedroom, a strong hand grabs your wrist, stopping you where you are.

“I surely can leave the bathtub. But I need to do something before wearing any clothes.”

Your night is far away from finishing there because Vergil did miss you. In all of your ways.

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

The Perfect Bad Boy (Pt. 13 of 18)

Pairing: Billy Hargrove X Reader

Word count: 3 K

Summary: Working as a lifeguard in the Hawkins Community Pool, you try to fit in after moving from New York. Things were going pretty well when you notice you've been under someone's stare. Billy Hargrove, Hawkins' bad boy, has been staring at you since day one. You never intended to have anything to do with him, judging by the reputation he has. But Billy won't leave you alone, determined to show you his feelings are different this time...

As if your heart flooding you with confusing feelings wasn't enough, there are weird, strange animals lurking in the woods... But those have to be just part of the wild live of the woods surrounding Hawkins... Right?

<- Previous part (12)

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{Stranger Things Masterlist}

×

Demodogs

The funfair is everything you thought it would be, and even more. The colorful lights, the music, the games, the kids running around. It's inebriating, beautiful, mesmerizing... You only wish you could forget what you saw on the road... What you saw a while ago and what James told you he saw. Four beasts so far, if you assume those were all different animals. It probably means there are more, right? Nobody was attacked yet, or else you'd know. News travel fast through Hawkins. But even so, the cops need to know, and whatever it is, it has to be controlled. But what you really need is to know what that is. You think you'll feel better once you know the species, so you can do some research and have some peace of mind.

“(Y/N)? Are you there?” Monica shakes your shoulder lightly, dragging you out of your thoughts. “You look a little pale. Are you feeling alright?”

“Yup. I was just thinking.” You all give a few steps forward when the line for the ferris wheel move.

“I know who you were thinking about,” Christopher says, his arm around Monica's shoulders. “He's coming, by the way.” He tilts his head towards something behind you, and you immediately turn on your heels, and the familiar burning on your stomach hits.

You can't help but smile to see him, walking among the sea of people, eyes fixed on you. It's ok to look now, right? You're dating, you're living together. And Billy looks so... Gorgeous. Hot. Awesome. He's wearing his black leather jacket and a dark blue shirt underneath, which is unbuttoned.

“Hey, princess.” His smile makes your legs weak as he pulls you into a kiss.

“Hey, handsome,” you mutter when you pull away, a hand on the exposed part of his chest. “Haven't you ever heard of buttons, Hargrove?”

“Yeah, but I don't think they're necessary.” He winks and you bite your lip.

“I think I agree,” you whisper before finally turning back to your friends. And, of course, they're all staring with wide eyes. Monica is the only one who knows you're dating. “So, guys... Billy and I.” You mutter, blushing lightly and moving again. You're next in line.

“I knew it!” Jason exclaims, high-fiving Monica. “I knew it, from the beginning.”

“I didn't. I mean... Billy is... Or was...” Christopher struggles with the words, gesturing at Billy and you. “Well it doesn't matter, does it? Congratulations.”

“Careful, Chris. Remember what happened to David last time.” Monica warns him, a smirk on her face.

“Next.” The old man calls and you move.

“Couples first,” Monica says, pulling you and Billy ahead of the others. The car only fits two, so you and Billy go alone.

As you move up, you look down, taking in the amazing view the ferris wheel provides. Billy has an arm around your shoulders, and you lay your head on his shoulder.

“You're quiet. What happened? You sounded very excited about the fair.” Billy asks, placing a kiss on your hair.

You don't want to tell him why you're restless, not today. “I was. I am.” You stutter a little, clearing your throat.

“Are you afraid of heights?”

“No.” You breathe out, cursing yourself for worrying him. “I'm happy, I truly am and this is... This is beautiful and being here with you just makes everything better.” Looking up, you pull him into a kiss, taking in his amazing scent, from the cologne you love so much. “I'm alright, trust me,” you reassure him when we break the kiss.

“(Y/N), you were very, very loud earlier. You literally threw water on me. You can't possibly think I wouldn't notice you acting weird.” Billy keeps his index finger on your chin, forcing you to look into his eyes.

You really wish he could let it go because you don't want to ruin the night, but don't want to lie either. “I just saw something in the woods, but I'm sure it's nothing.” You try hard to keep the fear away from your voice, to keep it casual.

“Was it the same thing you saw the other time?” He asks, the expression on his face changing. It seems that you don't need to ask Billy to believe on what you saw. He does. You have no idea why or how, but it looks like he does. “The same thing James said he saw?”

“Yeah... Two of them. Running, keeping up with the car.” Your voice cracks by the end, as the image comes back to your mind. It's almost surreal that you're so scared of what's probably just some kind of animal. “It's stupid. I'm a big city girl, I'm not used to living this close to the woods.”

“It's not stupid.” He assures you, pecking your lips. “We'll check it out tomorrow, ok?”

“We should tell the police. What if it starts attacking people in the daylight?”

“It won't,” Billy states, not a single hint of doubt in his voice.

“What do you mean it won't? Do you know what it is? Is it nocturnal?” The words come out fast. If he knows what it is, why didn't he tell you on the first time? Billy looks away, taking a deep breath. “Billy?”

“I'll need you to trust me in this, (Y/N).” His voice is different, urgent, deep. Of course you trust him, how could you not?

“I do,” you say in a low voice. “You know I do. Is something going on that I don't know about?” As you speak, your time is over and you're back on the ground. Billy takes your hand and start walking away from the ferris wheel.

“I promise I'll tell you everything. But not here, and not today.” You both stop, and Billy cups your face. “For now, let's us just... Enjoy the moment. How does that sound?”

Taking a deep breath, you nod. It was the plan from the beginning, so you might as well stick to it. “Alright.”

“Come, I'll introduce you to my friends.”

Billy guides you through the fair, holding your hand. His friends are on the Northside, where parking is exclusive for the employees. But you don't think they care. You only know Tommy and Carol, the other two guys and the girl you only know from afar. When they recognize Billy, Tommy raises his hand and waves.

“You'll hate them.” Billy warns.

“Let me be the judge of that,” you whisper as you approach the guys.

“What's up, Billy,” Tommy says, smiling. “...And who's that?”

Of cours they're staring at you. Why would you even hope otherwise? You're not only the new girl, but now you're also the one who actually got Billy Hargrove. People won't just look. They'll stare. “This is (Y/N), my girlfriend,” Billy says and you wave at them. “(Y/N), these are Tommy, Carol, Ryan, Buck, and Emily.”

“Hi. It's nice to meet you, guys.” You simply say, involuntary moving closer to Billy when you notice Ryan's eyes lingering on you.

“Girlfriend? Are you kidding me?” Carol asks, giggling. “I knew you two were hanging out but dating? I must admit I didn't see that coming.”

“Why didn't you introduce her to us earlier, Billy?” Ryan mutters, taking a sip from his can. “Is she too... Pure to hang out with us?”

“Actually, yes,”

“And have you started corrupting her already?" Ryan flashes a smile, and it makes you feel uncomfortable. You can see when his eyes move through your body, up and down, his smile only widening. “Why don't you give me your number, sweetie? I can call when Billy boy here is done with you.”

“Don't you–”

“Do you happen to have Billy's number?” You ask, raising your voice and placing a hand on Billy's chest to stop him from moving. Ryan raises an eyebrow and nods, a big interrogation on his face. “Good. Then you already have my number.”

He bursts into a laugh, furrowing his eyebrows. “Nice one. You could just say no, though.”

“It's not a joke.” Smiling, you feel Billy's arms encircling your waist.

“Wait. Are you two living together or something?” Emily gestures at you and then at Billy, and you feel when he nods. “Shit, it's true then. You're pregnant.” She stands up straight, wide eyes.

“I knew it.” Tommy states.

“That again.” Rolling your eyes, you shake your head lightly. “I'm not pregnant. We're just–”

“Living together,” Billy states, his voice making it clear there will be no further explanation.

Everyone, basically at the same time, gasps, giggles, and Ryan spits out his drink. “Holy shit, Billy. Can't believe you're keeping this one. But this whole innocent act she has going on is very alluring, I must admit.”

“Want me to beat him up a little?” Billy whispers in your ear, and you can hear the anger building up. And you didn't like what Ryan said anyway.

“I did say I wouldn't stop you on the next time so be my guest,” you whisper back, shrugging your shoulders. Who are you to intervene if Billy wants to use his friend as a punching bag?

You give a step back when Billy moves, straight towards Ryan who has the decency of raising both his hands in defeat. “C'mon, Billy. You wouldn't hurt me because of one of your cows, would you? She's just–” Ryan is cut short by a hard punch on his stomach, which makes him bend over and forces the air out of his lungs.

“I would just–” Billy pulls him up again by the collar of his shirt, his fist then connecting to his jaw. “–warn you but–” A kick this time, on the ribs. “–you just can't keep your damn mouth shut, can you?” Billy pushes him violently, and Ryan stumbles down, blood all over his nose and mouth. “I believe my point is made.” He turns to look at the others and you do the same, just now noticing your eyes were fixed on the fight. If you can even call this a fight.

“No screwing with your girl,” Tommy states, exchanging a wide-eyed glance with Carol. “Got it.”

“Let's go, (Y/N).” Billy fixes his jacket and takes your hand. “Want some cotton candy?”

He is acting as if he didn't just leave a bleeding Ryan lying on the ground. “Yeah,” you mumble, raising an eyebrow at his smirk. Billy starts walking, not bothering to wave goodbye at his friends. “Just because I didn't like them it doesn't mean you can't hang out with them. I want to make this very clear.” You have to say it. In a relationship, a person shouldn't try to control who the other hangs out with.

“You're an angel, you know that? The other girls had me for one night and already wanted to control what I–” He stops talking suddenly, shaking his head slightly.

“What? You can say it, I made peace with whatever you did before.” As you speak, you start pulling him on a different direction. This parking lot is outside of the fair, so you're near the back of the attractions. A place gets your attention. It's a bit dark, but there's this blue and purple light, enough to illuminate it just a little bit.

“I know, but I shouldn't compare you to–. Where are you going?”

Not bothering to answer, you just start pulling him harder. “There.”

“I might like where this is going.”

“Jerk,” you mumble, smiling to find that whatever attraction this is, the back is shaped like an L, which gives you a perfect corner to hide. So you move to the very back of it. “Thank you again,” you say, turning around and walking backwards until your back hits the metal wall.

“For what?”

“For defending my honor. It's the second time and now I can thank you better than I did on the first time.” Of course, he already has that smirk on his face. The one you used to hate, that you used to be scared of because it made you feel... Weird. “I–”

The words get caught in your throat when Billy picks you up suddenly, both his hands grabbing your legs and placing them around his waist. You immediately wrap your arms around his neck to steady yourself, giggling. “For the height issue.”

“The height is not an issue,” you tell him, the blue and purple lights illuminating his face enough for you to take in his features. They're already memorized, burned in your brain, but you still like to look. “It's good to be on the same level though.”

“Mhm.” He mumbles and you close your eyes when you feel his lips brushing on yours.

You're used to the burning sensation, the sweet butterflies on your stomach as the anticipation kicks in.

On the moment his lips connect with yours, the amazing, breathtaking sensation is clouded by a groan. A... Growl. Billy pulls away immediately, letting you down. “What was that?” you ask, suddenly aware of the woods across the parking lot.

“Stay here, I–” Another snarl, low and guttural, and then you see it.

The thing comes from behind a large truck, some feet away. You're frozen at the sight. Now you can see it, clearly. And it's not an animal.

It has no fur, just blue, wet skin... And no face. You were right. James was right...

“(Y/N),” Billy calls, but you don't move. “(Y/N), c'mon.”

The thing moves slowly, and you have no idea how, but it knows you're here. It's looking straight at you and Billy, despite having no eyes. You're trying to make your body move, to send any signals to your legs, but it's useless.

Its face starts moving, all of it. You feel Billy grabbing your hand, a distant, numb feeling. Then, the animal's head opens up, and an unnatural growl emerges from its throat at the same moment you're pulled. You don't know how but your legs start working, and you're suddenly running, as fast as you can, back inside the fair. But you feel hunted, pursued. You're among the people again, but Billy keeps running, you don't know where. You can't think. Maybe you're going crazy, but you're pretty sure Billy saw it too. He wouldn't be running if he didn't, right?

“(Y/N),” Billy cups your face, and only then you notice you stopped. The sea of people move around you, but you can't really see it. “Listen. I need you to help me find Maxine. Or any of her friends. Ok?”

You simply nod, taking a deep breath and trying to get yourself back together. “Maxine,” you repeat, clenching your fists. “Or the boys. Alright. But n-no separating to look.” You burst out the last part, holding the collar of his jacket.

“No, we'll stay together. I just need you to–”

“Billy!” A low yell almost lost among the noises reaches you. You both turn your heads at the same time to find Max running, pushing people out of her way. She's with the boys, and someone older. “We gotta go. Now.” She says once she's close.

“We–”

“The Demodogs are back.” Dustin cuts Billy off, his voice getting all funny again. But you don't laugh this time. You're too scared to laugh.

“(Y/N)? Are you ok?” Max asks, and you don't know what to say.

You're feeling sick. There are too many people here, and that thing is out there... What if it starts attacking? There are kids here, toddlers... You feel your body failing, and a strong arm encircles your waist.

“My place. Everyone. Now.” Billy commands as you struggle to stand up, hiding your face on his chest.

Is there any possibility you're having a nightmare?

Because these... These things don't just happen. It doesn't exist, not in real life. It belongs only to sci-fi or horror movies.

Billy has a hand on your knee as you ride shotgun in his car, not listening to whatever Max, Lucas, and Dustin are talking about on the backseat. You're waiting to wake up, you think. Trying to shake the image of that thing's head opening up like it's been sliced apart. You feel how your hands are shaking when you touch your face, trying hard no cry out of desperation.

“Hey,” Billy says in a low voice. “Remember when I told you to trust me?”

Nodding, you dry off the stubborn tears before looking at him. “We'll fix this. I promise you.”

“How? How do we–”

“We'll tell you everything,” Lucas says, cutting in. “I mean, she saw it. She has to know, right?”

“Right. But your brain may explode, so be prepared.” Max touches your shoulder, but you can't understand why they seem so... Calm about this. They're worried, but not deadly, ultimately scared. How in the hell is that possible that you're the only one here on the verge of losing your damn mind?

“Let's get inside,” Billy says when we stop by his place. “And wait for the others.”

You can barely feel your body as you walk to the house. Billy remains by your side on the couch as the boys stay in the kitchen. The low chattering is unlistenable.

“How are you feeling, princess?”

“I don't know how to answer that. I just say a very weird dog cracking its head open.” Running a hand through your hair, you close your eyes shut. “It's about that lab, isn't it? This whole thing smells like some screwed up experiment that went wrong.”

“The truth is actually a lot worse than that.” As he speaks, the door opens and you jump back to your feet, breathing out relieved when you see it's just the rest of the guys. And three more people, about your age.

Everyone gathers around in the living room and you go back to your place beside Billy. It's creepy the way they all keep staring at you, exchanging glances.

“(Y/N), these are Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan. They're part of our party when it comes to... This.” Max starts, and the three of them nod and give you a little wave. “There are also Robin, Hopper, the chief of police and Joy, Will's mom, but they won't get here in time so... Let's just do this.”

Maxine takes the deepest breath, but when you think she'll start speaking, she doesn't.

“I swear to God I'll lose my freaking mind if one of you don't start explaining to me what the hell is going on here because I just saw some–some sick, zombie, dead dog with no face and the head just opened up like one of those carnivorous plants and I'm sure something is very, very wrong and–”

“Alright, I'll do it.” Eleven speaks up, stepping forward and gesturing for Billy to stand up. She takes his place, looking down at her hands before looking at you. “Ready for the strangest story you'll ever hear?”

×

@chloe-skywalker @dpaccione @dreamin-of-dacre @funeral-7 @uncookspaget @youhavemyfantasticbeasts @halloweenbitch2764 @redlovett @multific @shinydixon @nikkixostan @clockworkballerina

[radiantroope]

Heart of Gold || Rafe Cameron

pairing: rafe x reader

requested: no

summary: your mental health is slipping and your boyfriend will do anything to help you.

warnings: swearing, depression, implied suicidal thoughts, mentions of drug use/abuse, fluff; if any of these are triggering please read with caution

word count: 1.6k+

author’s note:  rafe is not a murderer in this fic. i love non-canon rafe. i wrote this as a vent the other day when i was having a hard time. i’m good now though<3 also, i suck at summaries so i’m sorry.

masterlist | add yourself to my tag list

You felt numb. Completely and utterly numb. The hollow feeling in your chest only felt to grow with each hour. The soft fabric of your pale yellow duvet cocooned you in the bed you wished to never leave. You stared blankly at the wall in front of you.

You stopped crying hours ago. Remnants of tears stained your flushed cheeks. The tip of your nose had turned a rosy color and your eyes that were once so full of life were puffy and bloodshot. Your arms tightened around your legs as the daunting thoughts loomed inside of your head.

Rafe Cameron was no stranger to your inner demons. He had his own as well and that’s what brought you two together. Shared traumas of being berated for everything you did. Feeling unaccomplished no matter what you did. Feeling unloved by the very people who were supposed to take care of you the moment you took your first breath.

Rafe knew you needed your space sometimes. He knew you had to work out your thoughts and emotions on your own and he was okay with that. You had it way harder than he did, being a Pogue — someone he never could have imagined falling so hard for. Though, when he hadn’t heard from you in three days, he started to grow worried. He sent you a good morning text, an “I love you” text in the afternoon, and a goodnight text before he went to bed each day. Despite the state you were in, he always got a reply. When this time he didn’t, his mind went into overdrive.

The Kook knew your parents spent all day on the mainland every Wednesday so he hopped in his truck and made his way to the South side of the island. He just needed to see you and make sure you were okay. He knew the longer you isolated yourself, the darker the thoughts in your head would get. He wasn’t going to risk you doing something stupid in a moment of weakness like he’d done before.

“I don’t know what else you want from me dad! I try so damn hard, but nothing is good enough for you!” you shouted at your father from the other side of the living room.

This had been going on for almost two hours. For a while, you sat in silence as your father called you every name in the book. He told you how he raised you better than this. He compared you to your older sister who had gotten a full ride scholarship to Julliard. You barely skimmed the surface in school. Not seeing the point since it was rare for anyone to actually make it out of The Cut.

“I want you to do better. I want you to stop treating this house like a god damn hotel! You come here to eat our food, use our shit, and sleep one night a week! You may as well move the fuck out at this point!” your father’s voice got louder with each sentence, face turning red in rage. “Go move in with your perfect little Kook boyfriend in his big perfect house and mooch off him! You’re worthless, Y/N! I’ve lost all the faith I had in you.”

The fight happened three days ago, but you couldn’t get your father’s words out of your head. They kept spinning there, along with every other hurtful thing he’d said from the moment you turned sixteen.

You’re worthless. You’re lazy. You’re stupid. You can’t do anything right. Who would ever love you?

You didn’t hear the front door or the footsteps walking down the hall. You didn’t hear your bedroom door open and gently shut seconds later. The voices in your head were far too loud.

Rafe’s heart dropped at the sight of you curled under the blanket. Your knotted hair was splayed out on the pillows. He almost couldn’t even see the rise and fall of the blanket due to your shallow breathing. He walked around the bed and let out a soft breath. The emotionless expression on your otherwise beautiful face caused a tightness in his chest.

The blue eyed boy crouched down by your head and gently brushed your hair away from your eyes. He watched your eyelids flutter and your gazes met. It was like you were looking through him, a sad smile spreading across his lips. He whispered, “Hi, sugar.”

As your brain registered your boyfriend was the person in front you, the floodgates in your eyes reopened. A small cry left your lips as you released your legs and reached out of the covers for the boy. He didn’t hesitate to climb straight into the bed with you. His muscular arms enveloped you, pulling you tightly into his chest. You couldn’t control the sobs that wracked your body.

“Oh, baby,” Rafe breathed, feeling tears burn in his own eyes. Seeing you in such a state was never easy and he had trouble keeping his own emotions at bay.

He buried his nose in your hair and closed his eyes. One of his large hands rubbed up and down your spine, trying to consol you. He quietly cooed, “I’ve got you. You’re okay.”

The sandy haired boy held you in his embrace until your harsh sobs turned into small whimpers. You sniffled every so often and your body still trembled against him. He brought one of his hands up to your hair and worked his large fingers through the knots. He knew you probably needed a good shower but he was going to wait until you’d calmed some more before he moved you. He placed a soft kiss to your forehead right at your hairline, causing you to look up at him.

“Why do you love me, Rafe?” your voice was barely even a whisper. He definitely wouldn’t have heard you if you weren’t pressed chest to chest. “I can’t do anything right. I’m a waste of space. You deserve someone better.”

A deep frown pulled at the Cameron boy’s face. He knew you were only saying it because your parents had embedded it in you. They’d said things like that to you so many times that you started to believe them. He always did everything in his power to remind you that you were incredible and so loved — even if it was only by him.

Rafe brought his hand up and cupped your cheek, thumb brushing down the flushed skin and over your jaw. His tone was stern but his voice was soft as he said, “Don’t talk about yourself like that.”

“I love you because you’re a strong woman with a heart of gold. You go through hell and still wear a smile on your face to everyone on this island. You go out of your way to help people when they need it, even if you get nothing in return. You defend your friends and I even when we don’t deserve it.”

The Kook’s heart leapt when he saw the corners of your mouth twitch. His thumb brushed over your bottom lip. His bright, ocean blue eyes stared into yours with complete adoration.

“Remember when I was an addict?”

How could you forget? It was two years ago, early in your relationship when you learned of his addiction. You remember every sleepless night staying up making sure he didn’t choke on his own vomit when he was going through withdrawals. You remember having to help him shower when he was too weak to stand on his own. You remember having to change the sheets once a day when they were covered in his sweat. You remember taking the angry outbursts when he desperately wanted a fix and couldn’t get it.

You remember the three times he relapsed and you had to start the process all over again.

You remember the one time he overdosed — and you almost lost him forever. That’s when he finally realized he was killing himself and checked into a rehabilitation center. Topper and Kelce cleaned up their acts along with him. None of them wanted to die over an overpriced white powder that gave them a temporary high to numb their pain.

“You visited me everyday in rehab, even when I gave you every chance to walk away. You never gave up on me,” Rafe’s thumb made its way back up your cheek and over the protruding bone. “I’m not giving up on you, baby. I will spend everyday, for the rest of my life, reminding you that you deserve the world. That you are smart, beautiful and the absolute love of my life.”

Your lips turned up in a smile. It wasn’t a big one, but it was something, and Rafe had never been so happy to see it. He tilted his head down and captured your lips in a sweet kiss. Your hands that had been gripping the front of his polo slid around his back. When he pulled away, you rested your head on his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart.

“Move in with me,” Rafe said after a moment of silence.

Your head lifted immediately, nearly knocking his chin as you stared wide eyed at him. He chuckled at your shocked expression and tucked your hair behind your ear.

“I’ve got some money put away. We can get an apartment and it’ll cover a few months. We can get jobs and I’ll go to school,” Rafe’s fingers trailed over your arm, leaving goosebumps in their wake. “What do you say, princess? Wanna start our own life?”

You couldn’t stop the grin that enveloped your face as you thought about what he was suggesting. You wouldn’t have to be criticized by your parents anymore. You’d be free to do whatever you wanted with your life, and you’d have the man of your dreams by your side. So you nodded, bending in and pressing your lips to Rafe’s passionately.

“Let’s do it, baby,” you whispered against his lips, squealing softly as he pulled you on top of him and attacked your face with kisses. 

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[youreacowgirllikeme]

Blind Date

 

Note: just an idea I had, hope you like it. some soft fluffiness, but also smut bc I’m still h word for Jake, especially after how he looked tonight on tv.

Pairing: Jake Tapper x reader

 Warnings: smut, NSFW

 

(sorry for eventual typos, I wrote this in a bit of a frenzy)

enjoy

 

“You look horrible. “Abby stated matter-of-factly as she sat down in the restaurant chair across from you.

 “I missed you too, great to see you, thanks. “you responded, not even bothering to argue with her.

Abby was your best friend since college, if she said you looked horrible it was either a joke or a fact. Considering the way she was looking at you, probably the latter.

“Hard week at work?”

 You let out a tired huff.

“You have no idea. We got this new client who booked us for a nation-wide tv ad, and they’re so incredibly demanding. I’ve been working overtime for three weeks straight, it’s a miracle they didn’t call me in today.”

Your monthly Saturday brunch with Abby was sacred, work be damned.

Your friend was giving you a worried look across the table. “Well, I’m glad they didn’t, you deserve a day off.”

 “Enough of my sad life, how is it going over at Fake News?” you joked.

 “Amazing actually. You won’t believe it, but I’ve heard through the grapevine that they’re thinking about offering me John’s Sunday spot on Inside Politics. Can you imagine, my own hour, as an actual anchor. It’s nothing official yet, but I’m so excited.”

 “Oh my god, Abby, that’s awesome. I’m so proud of you. We should celebrate.” you exclaimed, beckoning a waiter to order two glasses of champagne.

 Abby gave you a warm smile.
“Thank you, babe. But let me be honest, I’m worried about you. You look exhausted, even your voice sounds tired. When was the last time you did something actually relaxing?”

 “I’ve watched a movie, like, a week ago. And I do yoga, at least sometimes.” You tried to argue, not entirely sure if you wanted to convince Abby or yourself.

 A smirk settled over your friend’s face, and she looked at you like she just had the most brilliant idea ever. You did not like that look at all, it usually meant trouble.

 “Well todays your lucky day, because I know just what you need to de-stress a bit.”

 You just raised an eyebrow at her. 
“Care to elaborate, genius?”

 “You, my friend, need to get laid.”

You snorted. “Fun times, Abbs, you almost got me,”


“I’m serious, Y/N, when was the last time you had sex?”

“Okay, it’s been a while, but I’m fine. I don’t need a man to interfere with the little free time I have. And it’s not like the streets are full of men chasing me. I don’t have time to date, and, like I said, I’m totally fine with the way things are at the moment.” You tried your very best not to sound defensive. 

The expression on Abby’s face told you everything you needed to know. She didn’t buy a single word coming out of your mouth.
“Y/N, trust me when I tell you, blowing off a little steam would do wonders for your stress level. And maybe you’d even meet someone nice. And, lucky for you, I know just the guy. He’s someone I work with, and I think you’d get along perfectly.”

 “You’re not actually suggesting setting me up on a blind date.” You couldn’t believe your friend. The last thing you needed was an evening full of awkward small talk with some boring, sleek CNN guy.

 “Come on, Y/N, take a leap of faith. What’s the worst thing that could happen?”

+++

 (One week later)

 “I can’t believe I actually agreed.” You murmured to yourself as you rummaged through your closet, looking for an outfit to wear on that damned date Abby bullied you into.

You thought about the peaceful evening you could have had, curled up on the sofa with a glass of wine, maybe getting some work done.

But it was too late to back down now.

 “Let’s just get this over with” you told yourself, applying some lipstick as if it was war paint. “Let’s hope that the guy is at least good-looking.”

 The restaurant Abby sent you to was nice enough, a small and intimate place, perfect for a date. You couldn’t wait to have your first glass of wine, because you could feel your nervousness increasing with each passing minute.

You entered the restaurant, looking for the third table on the window side that Abby had described to you…and directly turned around, practically fleeing through the door again as soon as you set eyes on the man sitting there.

 Back outside, you took your phone out of your bag and furiously dialed Abby’s number. She picked up right away, but you were shouting at her before she could even say a word.

“You better tell me that you did not set me up with Jake fucking Tapper.”

Was she out of her mind? This was the Jake Tapper, the face of CNN, hell, the face of the media in this country. What the fuck were you supposed to talk to him about.

But your friend just chuckled at you through the phone.
“When you saw him on TV some months ago, you said he was your type. Plus, he’s intelligent, funny, and single. Perfect for you. And now stop making a fool out of yourself and go in there. You got this, girl. Love you, bye.”
And with that, she hung up.

 You took a deep breath and tried to calm your nerves. You could not just leave now, and stand up Mr. Breaking News himself. So you pocketed your phone again, squared your shoulders and went back into the restaurant.

You made your way over to the table, coming to a stop in front of it. The man sitting there looked up to you and smiled. And wow, what a beautiful smile it was, sincere, warm and inviting, taking over his entire face.

“Hi.” You said, trying to sound confident.

“I’m Y/N, Abby’s friend.”

 

“It’s so nice to meet you, I’m Jake. I’m working with Abby, but she probably already told you that much.”

“She did, but I’ll be honest, I know you, of course. Big fan of your show.”

God, why did you just say that. He was probably going to think you were some kind of crazy fangirl now.

 But he just continued to smile his open, friendly smile at you.
“Always happy to hear that.” He chuckled, pointing to the opposite chair. “Do you want to sit down?”

 “Yes, of course, sorry.” You said, feeling silly because you totally forgot that you were still standing. You quickly sat down and tried your best to appear calm and collected, even if your insides were in turmoil.

 “Would you care for some wine? They have a pretty impressive list, I could pick one for us if you don’t mind.” Jake asked.

 “Wine sounds fantastic. I love it, but I’m not really an expert, so go ahead.”

 Jake took some reading glasses out of the pocket of his suit jacket and put them on his nose. 
While he was studying the wine list, you took your time to study him instead. He appeared to be in his late forties, so there was an age difference of probably 15 to 20 years. You didn’t mind that at all, older men had always been more your type.

He had a really handsome face, kind eyes that looked even better when he had those glasses on, and you loved his salt-and-pepper hair. He was wearing a light blue dress shirt with a dark grey suit jacket. You caught your mind wandering to how he might look underneath his clothes and gave yourself a mental slap on the wrist. This was your first date, no need to get ahead of yourself.

“Everything alright over there?”

 Shit, he had caught you staring.

 “Yes, sorry, I zoned off for a moment. I had a stressful week at work.”

“Oh, yes, Abby told me you’re working in advertising. Any interesting projects at the moment?”

You went on and chatted about work a bit. You were fascinated by what he was doing, and taken aback by the confident, yet humble way he was talking about it. This was absolutely not the behavior you were expecting from the leading anchorman of the nations most renowned network. He wasn’t arrogant or self-centered at all and you were definitely charmed.

The wine Jake ordered arrived with your starters, and soon after you had your first few sips you felt some of the initial nervousness fading away.

Soon, the conversation was flowing freely, and you discovered that Abby was right, you really did get along perfectly. Jake was incredibly funny in a dry and witty way and his sarcastic remarks made you laugh more than once. You also discovered your shared interest in graphic novels and argued a while about weather DC or Marvel was the superior comic universe.

Jake showed you one of his own cartoons on his phone, and with each moment you found yourself more drawn to the man in front of you.
At some point his hand started to lightly brush against yours on the table, and each touch sent a warm feeling through your chest.

You talked some more over dessert, had some more wine and overall, a really good time.

The alcohol gave you a pleasant, fuzzy feeling, and the desire to just get up and crawl on Jakes lap grew with each look he gave you.

 “Excuse me, Ma’am, Sir, were closing up now.” A passing waiter told you and put the check on the table.

 “Let me take care of that, please.” Jake said, taking out his wallet. You just thanked him and enjoyed the view of him putting on his glasses again to read the check.

 He really was a perfect gentleman, you thought to yourself, as he got up to hold your coat and then the door for you on your way out.


“I really had a wonderful evening.” you said softly, as the both of you were standing on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. Jake shot you another one of his brilliant smiles, and you could feel your heart beating faster.
“Me too.” He replied. “I really enjoyed spending time with you, and I’d like to see you again.”

Now your heart was almost jumping out of your chest, and you could feel your own smile taking over your face.
“I’d love that.”

 Jake took one step closer, now standing so close you could almost feel the warmth radiating off his body. One of his hands came up to tuck a lock of hair behind your ear, his thumb slowly stroking over your jaw. His touch sent goosebumps all over your skin, and you slightly parted your lips, looking him directly in the eyes. They were warm, and dark, and you felt like you could get lost in them. And then he leaned down and pressed a kiss to your mouth.

It felt incredible, a kind of warmth that was totally unrelated to the wine spreading through your body, your skin prickling where his hand was still on your face.

You put your hands on his arms and kissed him back, enjoying the feeling of his soft lips against yours. He still tasted slightly like red wine, and you wanted nothing more than to explore the rest of his body with your mouth just as thoroughly.

 First date, you reminded yourself, and broke free from the kiss before your lust-clouded brain could make you do something you might regret later. You glanced up at Jake, who looked at you with an unreadable expression. Then, after what felt like forever, he finally spoke.

“Could I maybe have your number?”

 

“Of course.” You said, with maybe a bit much enthusiasm, but Jake didn’t seem to mind. You quickly typed your number into his phone, and just as you were finished, the cab you had called earlier was arriving.

Jake held the door open for you, and shot you one last, beautiful smile. “Good night, Y/N, get home safe.”

“Thank you for the wonderful evening, Jake. Good night.”

 You closed the door and the taxi drove off. You already missed his face as soon as he was out of sight, and you turned around to watch his receding figure through the rear window of the taxi.

Great, you were already down bad after one date. The man really got to you, and you desperately hoped that you would hear from him soon.

 As soon as you were home, you really felt the effects of the wine, so you quickly went to bed to get some sleep. Just before you were nodding off, you sent Abby a quick message.

 

You were right, he is perfect. THANKS xxxx

 

When Abby answered five minutes later, you were already asleep.

 Told you so ;) xxxx

+++

 When you woke up the next morning, there was a new message from an unknown number on your phone. Your heart made a flip in your chest, and you opened it as fast as you could.

 

Hi, this is Jake. It’s probably way too soon to text you, but I just wanted to let you know, again, what a great time I had yesterday. If you’d be up to it, I’d really like to see you again soon. Let me know if that would be alright with you. And have a nice Saturday :)

 

He had already texted you. That meant he didn’t think that you were crazy, or awkward, and that he wasn’t just acting nice, he genuinely wanted to see you again. You were filled with a giddy sort of happiness, and decided to answer him right away, there was no need to play any games here. Leap of faith, just like Abby said.

 

Good Morning Jake, I really enjoyed yesterday as well. I’d love to spend some more time together; would tomorrow evening be too spontaneous? I could make dinner, to return the favor since you paid yesterday ;) my place at eight?

 

As soon as you hit the send button you started getting anxious again. What if tomorrow was too soon? What if he thought you were being too eager?

“Stop it, Y/N!” you said out loud to interrupt your mental spiral. You wouldn’t make a fool out of yourself for this man, even if he was handsome, and intelligent, and funny. No way.

 But as you were standing in the kitchen five minutes later and heard your phone chiming from the other room, you were there in the matter of seconds to read the new message.

 

Tomorrow sounds perfect, just text me the address. I’ll bring the wine. xx Jake

 

You clutched your phone to your chest, the biggest, goofy smile on your face.

 You spent the remaining day extensively cleaning your flat, stressing out, going grocery shopping and stressing out some more. You face-timed Abby and bullied her into helping you pick out an outfit, since she technically was the one who got you into this mess in the first place.

Jake was occupying your mind whatever you did, and when you finally got into your bed that night, all you could think about was how his lips had felt against yours. Those thoughts sent a hot, burning feeling down between your legs and when you finally touched your pussy, you were already so wet and aroused that it only took you minutes until you reached your peak, Jakes name falling from your lips.

+++

To say you were a nervous wreck the next day would be an understatement. When you woke up, you decided to watch some TV to get yourself a bit of distraction. An ad was currently playing, and so you decided to check your mails first.

 

“Good Morning from Washington, where the State of our Union is in turmoil over the latest…”

 

Your head snapped up at the sound of the familiar voice coming from your TV, the voice that occupied your mind ever since your blind date on Friday. You had totally forgotten that Sunday morning meant Jake Tapper time on CNN, because usually you were either asleep or at work at 9 am. But now you took your time to really appreciate the man on your TV.

He looked way more serious than the Jake you got to know, no smile, just a stern expression and a dark suit and tie. Which didn’t mean that he wasn’t looking totally hot, and his intelligent and sharp remarks did nothing to calm your fluttering heart or the heat in your lower abdomen. You definitely wanted him, bad.


This is getting ridiculous, you thought to yourself, and turned the TV off to take a very long shower.

Afterwards, you spent the whole day pacing around your flat and annoying Abby with numerous text messages and another two face time calls. She assured you multiple times that everything would be just fine and by the time it was 7:45 p.m. the food was in the oven and you sat on your couch, waiting for the doorbell to ring.

When it finally did, you all but ran to the door only to stop and force yourself to take a couple of calming breaths before opening it. Jake stood outside, a bottle of red wine in his hand. He looked amazing with his white dress shirt and dark grey slacks, but again it was his smile that got your attention, he looked just as happy to see you as you were feeling.

Out of a sudden impulse, you surged forward and threw your arms around the man, hugging him and burying your head in his chest. He seemed surprised, but still put his free arm around you, embracing you.

“Hi.” You whispered, suddenly shy, but as you looked up to meet Jakes eyes you could see nothing but warmth in them. “Hi.” He replied, pressing a kiss to your hair. “It’s good to see you.”

 You slowly let go of him so he could actually enter your apartment. He followed you inside and you fetched some glasses for the wine. You talked about everything and anything over dinner, family, football, the book Jake was working on. You listened closely, and so did he as you told him about your passion for art and music. He even asked you to put some of your favorite records on as you moved over to the couch after dinner.

You were still talking animatedly but having Jake in closer physical proximity made it increasingly hard to focus on what he was saying.

Instead, your eyes and mind wandered to his hands. Without thinking, you reached out and put one of your hands into his, He stopped speaking, and looked at you. You could see the kind look in his eyes being replaced by something darker, more passionate.

 He spoke again, voice lower this time. “I’ve been thinking about you and our kiss without a break since yesterday. And just as long I’ve wanted to kiss you again, touch you again.”

He reached out, cupped your jaw with one of his hands and slowly ran his thumb over your bottom lip. It took every willpower you had not to suck his thumb into your mouth. This man had you hot and aching for him with just a single touch and a couple of words.

“Is that something you want me to do, Y/L?” his voice was only a low rumble now.

 

“Oh my god yes. Yes please.” You whispered, not really trusting your own voice to come out steady enough. 
The hand on your face slid to the back of your head and you uttered a surprised gasp as Jake just grabbed a fist of your hair and pulled you close, until your faces were only inches apart.

“You are beautiful.” He said, looking you deep in the eyes.

And then he kissed you again. And as soon as his mouth connected with yours, you realized just how much you had missed the feeling of his lips, the warmth of his body. But that was where the resemblance to the kiss you shared last night ended. Because this one was more.

More passion, more lust. Jake softly bit your bottom lip and used your surprised gasp as an opportunity to slide his tongue into your mouth. The kiss deepened and you could feel small sparks of arousal all over your body with every touch of tongue and every time he lightly tugged on the hair in the nape of your neck.

Your hands found their way around Jakes shoulders, roaming up and down his back. You were really glad he was not wearing his full State Of The Union Outfit, even if it had looked extremely hot, because as soon as you could feel the solid muscle through his thin dress shirt, you knew that those clothes had to come off at some point.

You lightly tugged on the hem of his shirt to pull it out of his pants and spread your hands over the warm skin underneath. Jake broke the kiss as soon as he could feel what you did, just to tilt back your head and kiss your exposed neck.

You couldn’t stifle a moan as he lightly sucked on your pulse point.

The feeling of his mouth on your skin made heat coil between your legs, and you tried to shift even closer to him, until you were almost sitting on his lap.

Jake continued to kiss your neck, while his other hand crept under your shirt to palm your breast through your bra. He lightly squeezed it and you moaned again, you nails raking softly over his back, making him groan against your skin.

“You like that?” he asked, and pinched one of your nipples through the thin fabric of your bra, and you could feel your panties getting soaked with arousal.

You decided that it was time to get rid of some clothing and started to quickly unbutton Jakes dress shirt, revealing more and more skin with each button undone. As soon as you were finished, he pulled the shirt of his shoulders and the view of his body made your mouth water. You ran your hands over his muscled chest, and you could see the way his eyes darkened again.

“I can’t wait to touch you everywhere.” He said in a husky voice and pulled your shirt over your head in a swift motion, and instantly his lips were on yours again, his hands roaming over your back, unclasping your bra. When your nipples came in contact with the skin of his chest, you couldn’t contain yourself anymore.

“Jake, please. Touch me, kiss me, anything. I need to feel you.” You pleaded, your voice slightly breathless.

 

“Take the rest of your clothes off, now.” Jake said, his commanding tone sending another surge of wetness between your legs.

 You got up from the sofa and stood in front of Jake. Slowly, you opened the zipper of your jeans and pulled them down, leaving you only in your black lace panties.

Jake was watching you, his intense stare burning on your skin.

“Everything. Off.” He said, never breaking eye contact.

Having the undivided attention of this man was so hot, you almost got lightheaded.

You slowly dragged your underwear down your legs, and as you were looking up again, you saw that Jake was palming the bulge that had begun to form in his pants. You wanted to touch him so bad.

“You are gorgeous. Amazing. Beautiful. Stunning.” Jake said, taking in the sight of your naked body. His voice was strained, this was clearly affecting him.

A light flush was beginning to form on your skin, you weren’t sure if it was because of arousal or embarrassment, but you definitely knew that you needed Jake to get his hands on your body, now.

You made your way over to him again and leaned down to open the fly of his trousers. His briefs were already tented by his erection, and you palmed him through his underwear, making him groan.

“Those need to come off.” You whispered, smiling at Jake, who just nodded and lifted his pelvis so you could pull down his trousers along with his underwear.

Finally, he was naked in front of you. He grabbed you by your waist and pulled you down on the sofa, lying on top of you. The feeling of his warm skin against yours was thrilling, you tried to get your hands on every part of his body you could reach, stroking his back, pulling his hair. Finally, you wrapped your hand around the base of his hard cock, giving it some light strokes.

“You feel so good, Y/N, I’ve been thinking about doing this since I first laid my eyes on you. I’ve been in a state since we kissed, and now” he whispered against your neck „I can’t wait to finally have that sweet pussy of yours.”

You couldn’t believe the words coming out of Jakes mouth, hearing him say filthy things like that was turning you on more than you could’ve ever imagined. Obviously, your thoughts were written all over your face.

“You like it when I talk like that, don’t you, sweetheart.” He said, pinching one of your nipples as he did.

“I…Oh shit, yes, yes I do. Please.” You whimpered, almost going you crazy with the need to finally feel him. 

He had mercy on you, reaching out between your legs. When he touched your pussy for the first time, you felt like the pent-up tension could make you faint any moment.
“God, you’re so wet, Y/N.” He thrust two of his long fingers into you without warning, and you almost screamed.
“And so tight.”

“I need you, please Jake, fuck me.” You were begging now, way beyond caring about any sort of decorum as his digits touched that sweet spot inside of you again and again.

 He withdrew his fingers and shifted on top of you before he put his hands on your tights, spreading your legs. You couldn’t even begin to complain about the loss of his fingers, he was already lining up his cock with your entrance, and pushed in, slowly, filling you inch by inch until he bottomed out with a deep groan. His length stretched you in the most delicious way, and you cried out as he was starting to thrust in and out of you, leaving you almost no time to adjust to his size.

You couldn’t talk coherently anymore, you were just chanting his name over and over as he was fucking you into the sofa. Your nails clawed into his back as he was leaning over you, his hair falling into his face. Just as you thought you couldn’t feel any more pleasure, he grabbed one of your legs and probed it onto his shoulder, the new angle making you see stars with every move of his hips.

“You feel incredible, so tight and warm around me, you are amazing.” He looked down on you, taking in your face, squinted with pleasure, his name falling from your lips over and over again.

He reached between your legs and started rubbing your clit, never slowing down his relentless, hard thrusts. The combined stimulation was almost too much for you and your orgasm was approaching fast.

“Don’t stop, please, just don’t stop.” You cried out, the pleasure running through your body like a wildfire.

“Look at me when you come, I want to see you. Look at me!” Jake growled, breathing hard as he sped up even more.

You hit your peak with a cry, sparks dancing over your skin as your walls clenched around Jakes cock. Your eyes were fixed on his, and he looked at you like you were the only person on the entire planet.

Seeing you come undone beneath him, Jake only lasted for another few deep thrusts before he came, shouting your name and spilling his hot release inside of you.

 He laid on top of you afterwards, his face on your shoulder, breathing deeply. You pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, and he turned his head to look at you.

“Hi” you said.

“Hi” he replied, your favorite smile spreading across his face again.

 “I liked that very much.” You said, pressing another kiss to his lips. He chuckled and propped himself up onto his arms with a small sight, rolling off you. Luckily, your sofa was large enough so you could comfortably lie next to each other.

“Me too, that was fantastic.” He replied and pulled you closer, putting his arm around you. You buried your face into his chest, soaking up the heat of his body and his wonderful smell.

 “Maybe you should come over more often.” You suggested, sounding a bit nervous again. You didn’t want to appear clingy. But this man had just rocked your world, and you couldn’t just act like nothing happened.

“I’ll come over whenever you want me to, sweetheart. Consider me at your beck and call.”

 “Stay the night?” you asked in a hopeful voice. You had work in the morning, but you just couldn’t imagine letting him go anywhere now.

He just nodded, smiled, and kissed you again. That soft, tingly feeling in your chest increased even more, and you just happily snuggled up to him.

 Later, as Jake was already asleep next to you, you took up your phone and sent a quick text message to Abby.

Next brunch is my treat! I owe you xxxx

[lasting-inkpressions]

I Put A Spell On You (Because You’re Mine) [5/11]

Summary: Denali is in love with her very much straight best friend, but a break up later and one drunken night together changes everything.

Note: Again, this is definitely NSFW. (:

Prefer reading it on AO3?

It was the morning of their second day at the lake house when Rosé rolled out of the bed she had been sleeping in, rubbing her eyes as she squinted at how bright the room was from the sunlight pouring in. She looked over to the bed next to her and noticed that it was empty, meaning that Denali was already up and about.

Yawning, she grabbed her toiletries and headed to the ensuite bathroom to freshen up for the day. 20 minutes later, she was out of the room, trying to gauge where everyone was. She had already figured out that Mik and Symone were outside with Kandy, from the sounds of Kandy hollering instructions at the two on what they needed to load into the boat that they were going to be taking out later that day. Checking the clock on the wall as she walked past it, she saw that it was just past 9am, meaning that the rest were probably up as well, and even if they weren’t, Kandy’s voice would have woken them up. Her nose twitched as she smelled the scent of bacon and toast, the smell leading her to the kitchen where she saw Denali wielding a pan in one hand and a spatula in the other, her dark hair up in a messy bun and an apron tied around her waist. Rosé smiled at the domestic scene and walked over to Denali.

“Good morning, angel.”

Denali whirled around, grinning when she spotted the older girl. “Good morning sleepyhead! Sorry I didn’t wake you earlier, figured you’d appreciate the sleep.”

Rosé smiled appreciatively at Denali. “Thanks. Do you need any help that doesn’t involve me burning the place down?” Denali laughed, clearly remembering the time when Rosé had somehow managed to scorch a pot of water. “Yes please! Could you help me set up eight plates on the table and distribute that plate of toast over there? I’m almost done with the bacon, and just have the eggs left do.”

“That I can do.”

Rosé busied herself with grabbing the plates from the cupboard and placing them on the table, then distributed the pile of toast, two per person. She moved back over to Denali who passed her the finished bacon while she started cracking a dozen eggs into a large bowl and whisking them. After making sure every plate had an even amount of bacon, she hopped onto the countertop and watched as Denali added milk and shredded cheese to the eggs.

Watching the other girl cook was one of her favourite things to do. Denali always had this little crease between her brows when she was cooking, her tongue poking out as she concentrated with the task at hand. She always put so much love and care into whatever she did, which was how her food always ended up tasting so good. Rosé remembered that one time when she had moaned about wanting to eat chicken pot pie after seeing it on her Instagram feed and that same evening, Denali had whipped up a batch for their dinner. Despite Denali saying that it was her first time baking the dish, it had been so good that they had somehow managed to finish it all, not leaving behind a single crumb.

That was the thing with Denali, she was someone that was so big hearted and loving, always giving and never asking for anything in return. It was the thing that Rosé loved the most about her, and also something that made her protective of her best friend. She had seen her fair share of Denali having her heart broken after she had given too much to her partners, only to have been taken advantage of and tossed aside once they were done with her.

At that very thought, Rosé felt her insides clench with shame, thinking back to the nights when she had slept with Denali.

Rosé didn’t want to admit that there was anything going on between the two of them. She knew that the sex had made their friendship more complicated than it needed to be. Each night when she slept, each time she woke up from those dreams about her best friend, she felt the guilt in her growing stronger and stronger, slowly eating away at her. Their sexual chemistry was mind-blowing, and Denali was always so willing and pliant under her. She had always been such a loving and kind person, so affectionate and filled with life and love. She knew that the younger woman always found it hard to say no to anyone, and that was what was killing Rosé, the fact that Denali never seemed to say no to her.

Rosé knew that she had taken advantage of that aspect of her giving nature, and that she was just taking and taking and taking, but she couldn’t help herself.

And she didn’t want to stop long enough to ask herself why.

She felt a finger poke her cheek, and shook herself out of her thoughts, meeting Denali’s laughing eyes.

“You looked like you were a million miles away.”

“Oh sorry, did you say something?” Denali held up a spoon of eggs to Rosé. “Taste this and let me know if it needs more salt?” The older girl nodded, and was about to taste it when Denali pulled the spoon back. “Hold on, let me cool it for you.” Denali blew at the spoonful of eggs, and Rosé couldn’t help but stare at Denali’s pursed lips with a lump in her throat.

The urge to kiss Denali then was strong.

Satisfied with the eggs being cooled enough, Denali held the spoon out to Rosé again, who stiffly took a bite. She nodded in approval at the taste, giving Denali a thumbs up, who grinned in response.

“Great! I’ll just add the chives, and it’s done! Can you help me round up the rest while I dish out the eggs?”

Not trusting herself to speak, Rosé nodded again and began looking for the rest after Denali had pointed out where everyone was. Minutes later, the dining table was filled with the sound of everyone eating and chattering away.

Rosé was sitting across from Denali, subtly watching her as she ate her toast, the younger girl nodding and smiling to whatever Symone was telling her, who was next to Denali sitting closer than necessary. Rosé didn’t know what it was, but she knew that she didn’t like the way that Symone had been eyeing Denali since yesterday morning at the diner.

She took a bite of her eggs, watching the way Denali was blushing at something Symone said, and she scowled down at her plate.

No, Rosé didn’t like it at all.

———————

It was close to noon when the boat was finally anchored. Kandy had commandeered the boat closer to the shore opposite of the lake house where there was nothing but lush greenery and, from what she had heard from her family, a waterfall that was a short walk away.

As soon as they were safely anchored, Mik had been the first to strip down to his trunks and jump into the water with a shout, followed closely by Olivia, Utica, Joey then Kandy. Symone, Denali and Rosé had watched them in amusement and chose to stay on the boat instead of getting into the water.

Denali was sitting at the edge of the boat, swinging her legs back and forth as she watched the others laughing and splashing about in the water. They had beckoned at her to join them in the water, but she declined, not really wanting to take off the shirt that she was wearing. She was a little conscious of the fact that Olivia had pointed out the faint marks that Rosé had left on her, and she didn’t really want to risk the others asking her questions if they saw them, especially with the older girl in their presence.

Leaning her chin on the railing, she heard footsteps and a familiar pair of legs slid into her view as Symone sat next to her.

“Hey beautiful.”

Denali stifled a laugh. She wasn’t sure why, but Symone had been showering her with compliments lately. It was odd, but Denali had thought nothing of it, chalking it up to just Symone being Symone.

“Hey pretty girl, why aren’t you down there?” The other girl shrugged, scooting closer to her as she replied. “Well, maybe because you’re up here and not down there.”

“Oh.” Denali frowned, feeling bad that she was possibly holding Symone back. “Are you alright? I thought you were looking forward to swimming in the lake.” Symone asked, tapping her fingers on the railing.

“I was! I mean, I am. I just- Maybe later.”

Symone quirked a brow. “You sure? You know, if you’re afraid of drowning, I’ll make sure to save you. I’d even give you a little mouth to mouth resuscitation. Heck, we can practice it now if you don’t believe me.”

Denali stared at Symone, stunned at her bold advances, before coughing, her cheeks flushing a bright red. “It’s okay, I believe you.” Symone laughed at Denali’s expression and poked at her cheek. “I’m kidding babe. Well, half kidding.”

“And which half are you kidding about?”

“Whichever half you want to believe.” Symone winked before getting up. “Listen doll, I’m going to head into the water. Just come in whenever you want to, okay?” Denali smiled at Symone and shooed her off, giggling as the ebony girl blew a kiss in her direction before jumping into the water to join the rest.

Denali huffed and stood up, fanning herself in the heat. Deciding that it was safe enough to take her shirt off, she pulled it off and tossed it to the side, leaving her in just her white string bikini. Denali sighed in relief, feeling the soft breeze on her skin as turned to join Rosé. She froze for a bit when she saw the older girl looking at her from the other side, an unreadable expression on her face.

“What?”

Rosé shrugged, silent as she looked away.

Denali frowned. Rosé had been acting weird all morning since breakfast. She had been cold and quiet, not really engaging with anyone, as if she was on autopilot, and Denali was worried. Rosé was usually only quiet when something was bothering her. She took a step closer to her, reaching out to her wrap fingers around her wrist in an attempt to connect with her.

“Rosie?”

There was a flash of a predatory look in her eyes that disappeared after a second, and Denali blinked. It was probably just the sun playing tricks on her. Rosé smiled innocently at her, then without warning picked Denali up in her arms, causing the younger girl to squeal.

“ROSIE! What are you dong? Put me down!”

Rosé grinned as she walked over to the edge of the boat, towards their friends in the water. “Are you sure you want me to put you down?” Rosé asked innocently. Gasping Denali narrowed her eyes. “You wouldn’t dare. If you drop me, I swear that I will never ever bake those stupid butterscotch blondies that you love so much ever again.” Rosé stopped just a few steps away from the edge of the boat. “Fine, I won’t drop you then.”

Denali smiled triumphantly at Rosé, thinking she had won, but realised her mistake as soon as Rosé took another step towards the edge.

“No, don’t you even think about it.”

“Think about what?” Rosé said innocently, taking another big step.

“Rosé McCorkell, if you take one more step, I will scream.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time I made you scream.” Denali sputtered, her face turning red.

“Not another step!”

“Fine, then I’ll just have to jump.” Denali’s eyes widened at that, before she could say anything Rosé jumped forwards with Denali held tightly in her arms, and they both ended up in the water with a huge splash, much to the delight of their friends. In the chaos of it, Denali broke through the surface, spitting out water as she gasped for air. She turned towards the sound of familiar laughter and splashed in the direction where she hoped Rosé was while trying to wipe the water from her eyes.

“You’re an idiot Rosé.” Rosé had simply smiled back at her and smacked a wet kiss against Denali’s cheek.

“That’s why you love me.” Denali’s heart thumped at that as she bit the inside of her cheek.

Rosé had no idea.

———————

Hours later, the group had made their way to the opposite shore. Half of them choosing to sunbathe on their towels while Symone, Mik, Rosé and Denali attempted to play a game of frisbee, attempting being the keyword.

Rosé couldn’t stop glaring at Symone every time the ebony girl moved closer to Denali, which was happening more and more over the course of the day. It irked her how Symone was constantly flirting with the other girl, and instead of walking away or rebuffing her, Denali had just played along with an adorable blush on her face.

Why was Denali even blushing?

“Baby that’s not how you throw a frisbee. Come here, let me show you how it’s done.” Rosé’s jaw clenched when she heard Denali’s giggle in response and watched as the other girl went over to Denali and proceeded to show her how.

Rosé had to force herself not to shove her way between the two of them or pull the Alaskan girl away from Symone as she watched Symone guiding Denali with the frisbee in an attempt to show her how to throw it. The touching was completely unnecessary too with how Symone was lined up close to Denali, especially when the girl had left her shirt discarded on the boat, leaving Denali in just her bikini. Symone was arm to arm with her as she held on to Denali’s wrist to show her how to “flick it like so”.

“Careful Rosé, you don’t want the others to get the wrong idea with how you’re glaring at them, do you?”

Rosé was jerked out of her thoughts and she turned to face Mik, who was watching her with a knowing look in his eye.

“The wrong idea? What do you mean?”

“That you’re acting like a jealous girlfriend.”

Rosé stilled at that comment. “She’s not my girlfriend.”

“I know.”

“I don’t even like girls.”

“Okay.”

“And besides, she’s just my best friend.”

“Got it. Denali’s just your female best friend that you do not have the hots for.”

Rosé glared at Mik, who was looking back at her, a smirk on his face. After a moment Mik sighed, the smirk falling off his face and was replaced with a careful one. “Rosé, there’s nothing wrong if you do happen to have feelings for Denali, you know that right?” Choosing to remain silent, Rosé turned away and walked off, not wanting to hear another word from Mik, nor did she want to even look at Denali or Symone right now.

Not if she wanted to maintain her composure and avoid doing something that she knew she would ultimately regret.

———————

“Rosé!”

Denali frowned and looked over when she heard Mik yelling and caught sight of Rosé’s retreating back.

Where on earth was she going?

Excusing herself from Symone, she approached Mik, wanting to figure out what was wrong with her best friend. “Mik, what happened? Where’s Rosé going?” She grew suspicious when Mik stiffened. “Nothing. She just wanted to go for a walk?”

Denali looked at Mik, noticing how he was fidgeting under her stare. “Are you asking me or are you telling me?”

“I’m just saying. Look, why don’t you go after her? Maybe she’ll need the company.” She stared at Mik for another beat, making the boy fidget even more under her gaze, before turning and jogging after the older girl, not noticing how Mik had let out a sigh of relief. She pushed past the trees and bushes, trying to make out the pink hair that was quickly disappearing from view.

“Rosie, wait for me! Where are you going?”

Denali picked up the pace, chasing after her, ignoring the little nicks that her bare legs surely bore now from the low hanging branches before emerging before a small spring with a waterfall. She gasped in awe at the sight, taking it in. She knew that Kandy mentioned that there was a waterfall somewhere, but she didn’t think that she’d see it today. It looks so peaceful and tranquil, the perfect thinking spot.

Suddenly remembering Rosé, she looked around trying to locate her and spotted her sitting on one of the large rocks near the lip of the body of water. The older looked upset, her face drawn into a frown, and Denali didn’t like to see her like that. It worried her to see Rosé upset and not know what the cause was. She cautiously walked over and sat next to the older girl.

“Hey, what’s up? You got out of there pretty quick.”

Rosé turned to look at her, her face guarded. Denali didn’t like it. Usually Rosé was open with her, though the past few weeks hadn’t really been the case.

“Nothing, just a little tired out from earlier.”

“Don’t lie to me Rosé. You may be able to convince everyone else, but I can see right through you.”

Rosé drew her knees to her chin as she kept her eyes trained on the waterfall, not wanting to reply Denali. The younger girl sighed, not really sure of what to do. There wasn’t anything that she could do if Rosé didn’t want to open up to her, and a small part of her felt hurt at that. She just knew that she couldn’t leave the other girl alone. Tapping an off beat rhythm on her knee, she was stopped when Rosé rested her hand on top of hers. She looked at Rosé’s hand, then looked back up at the girl. This time, she had a look of determination on her face, as if she had figured something out.

“Denali, can I try something with you?”

Denali blinked, then nodded. She wasn’t sure what Rosé wanted to try, but she trusted the other girl. She knew Rosé wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.

The older girl scooted closer to Denali and cupped her face with both hands, thumbs softly stroking her cheeks. Denali stopped breathing, not really sure what was happening.

“...Rosé?”

The older girl’s thumbs stilled, eyes sweeping across Denali’s face, from her wide brown eyes to her sun kissed cheeks, then landing on her full lips. Staring at her lips for a brief moment, Rosé finally pulled the girl towards her, pressing their lips together.

For Denali, it was like time had stopped and she couldn’t move. Her mind blanked out, and all she could register was the sounds of splashing water, the smell of vanilla and the feel of plush lips against her own.

What was happening? Why was Rosé kissing her when there was no alcohol involved at all?

Pulling away in surprise, Denali squeaked when Rosé pulled her back in for a deeper kiss, and this time she couldn’t help the moan that she let out. She felt Rosé’s tongue sweep into her mouth, causing tingles to run up her spine. Not wanting to question it anymore, Denali let herself fall into it, felt Rosé’s hands slide from her cheeks down to her waist, pulling her even closer. She shivered as the pads of Rosé’s thumbs circled her skin and Denali tangled her fingers into the older girl’s pastel pink hair, her nails scratching her scalp, causing Rosé to groan in response.

The older girl pulled away and started to nip at her jaw, down the length of her neck and all the while all Denali could do was breathe in a daze, getting lost in the sensation of Rosé’s mouth drawing lazy patterns across her skin. There was a faint thought that the rest would notice the fresh marks that Rosé was leaving behind, but that disappeared once she felt a tug at her bikini top. She looked down, and the sight of Rosé with the undone strap of her top between her teeth caused her to whimper.

Rosé pushed Denali down onto the rock, careful not to let the younger girl get hurt in the process, and began to tug her top off of her. Before Denali could even protest, Rosé pulled a nipple into her mouth, both hands holding herself steady as she began to tease Denali.

It was happening again, and this time there was no alcohol involved, no excuses to hide behind, and Denali couldn’t think. All she could do was feel. Feel the way Rosé was showering her chest with attention, felt the way her tongue traced patterns and gasp when she nipped at her sensitive buds. Denali knew she was getting wetter and feeling hotter by the second. So lost was she in the physical sensations that she didn’t realise how one of Rosé’s hands had snuck down till it was pressed against her heated core.

Without warning, she felt a finger enter her, and she hissed at the sudden intrusion, reaching down immediately in a bid to stop Rosé’s wandering hand, but was stopped by the older girl’s heated gaze. Her pupils were blown, and Denali was sure that hers were too, lips parted as she dove back in, swallowing Denali’s moans as she inserted a second finger, stroking her walls, twisting and curling her digits inside her. She cried out when she felt the fingers scissor inside her, the sensation causing her to buck her hips against Rosé’s and she heard the older girl moan in response.

Pulling away, Rosé continued to suck bruises into the skin of Denali’s collarbone as she continued to stroke the younger woman with her fingers, intermittently circling the bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs, seeming to savour every gasp and moan that she pulled from her. It wasn’t long before Denali reached her peak, gasping as she felt her climax take over her and Rosé kissed her through it, holding her body tightly to hers as Denali whimpered, feeling spent and exhausted. Rolling over, Rosé tugged Denali’s body to hers, holding her in the cradle of her arms.

After a few moments of letting the younger woman recover from her climax, Rosé carefully picked her up and carried her over to the water. There she washed any traces of their love making from Denali’s skin, fingers lingering on the fresh love bites across her chest. Undoubtedly, there would be questions about those if the others saw them. Without hesitation, Rosé took off the shirt that she was wearing and after securing Denali’s discarded bikini top back on her, she pulled her shirt over Denali to hide most of the bruises on her skin.

The younger woman, still in a daze, let herself be piggybacked back to the boat, faintly registering familiar voices of concern and Rosé reassuring them that Denali was just tired, before she found herself back on the boat and bundled onto Rosé’s lap. Sighing as she felt familiar hands carding their fingers through her hair, Denali felt herself drifting off to the sound of Rosé humming her to sleep.

———————

Clearly there must be something wrong with my mind. This chapter got away from me and kind of went off script, but not so much that it derailed the whole plan. But yeah, we're at just about the halfway point, and it's gonna get interesting.

[dustofinsanity]

𝑆𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝟙

ㅤㅤ

Jinyoung / ReaderㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤGang AUㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤWords count: 3k

Summary: Even if he was supposed to be nothing more than a friend with benefits, Jinyoung was your first and only one love. But he broke your heart and made you become the cold woman you are now. Seven years later, you meet him again.

Content/Warning: Angst, Strong language, Violence/Blood, Romance/Fluff

Author’s note: Thanks to my dear @prettywordsyouleft​, the Daechelle to my Naguk, for correcting this series. Thank you, thank you, thank you! 💜

Next part

Your heart was pounding in your chest, echoing in your temples, sounding like a battery from a metal concert. Even if sometimes you liked this music style, now wasn't the time to headbang or dance like a possessed girl. You had to stay focused on what your friends were saying even if they already repeated their words a thousand times. It was obvious they were more stressed than you, asking every five minutes, if not less, if the draft-beer system was working or if there were enough bottles when they weren't looking at the chairs and the stools to check if everything was alright.

They knew this night had to be perfect, not only because it meant a lot to the four of you, but mostly because they knew you dreamed of opening your own pub since you were able to make sounds. They knew the Bad Company wasn't just a bar or a dream, it was your baby, your precious baby. That was why they wanted the opening of the place to be special, perfect.

However, seeing them stressing like that didn't help you to relax, especially when you had other worries in mind. But that was pretty your fault. You were the one who wanted to open a bar in one of the most dangerous districts of the city. Well, okay, you didn't want to open the Bad Company here but you had no choice. All the other places were too expensive and you couldn't imagine a pub like the one you were about to open in the middle of Gangnam. Definitely not.

Rubbing the top of your nose, a loud sigh parting your lips, you asked them to stop running all around, adding on that everything would be alright.

"If you have any problems with a customer, just t-" one of your best friends, Joohyuk, started to say when, silently, you grabbed the baseball bat hidden behind the counter and put it on your shoulder, looking at him with a brow raised. "Yeah, I know, you can take care of yourself but it would be preferable if no head ends totally smashed on the ground for the opening."

"You're not funny," you fakely pouted, putting back the weapon at its place before pouring yourself a beer.

"And you're fucking crazy," Dohwan, another friend chuckled, grabbing your head and kissing it softly.

"That's her only one charm," Kangjoon, the third one, smirked, giving you a playful wink.

"I'll kill you first," you laughed, grabbing back the bat and pointing at him.

As always, you earned no fear, just laughs from them since they knew you would never hurt them, your love for those three handsome idiots being stronger than anything else. They also knew you were pretty impressive with a baseball bat in your hands, they had seen you in action a few times. You might be the only girl in your friend group, and the tiniest one, but you were definitely the toughest.

The opening went better than the four of you expected and the Bad Company was quickly full of customers who, most of all, came by curiously. A young woman, who was probably the most beautiful one you have even seen in many years, asked you who was Destroy.

"I saw on the door that, if people fight, you will let Destroy calm them down," she continued, looking at Joohyuk like if he was the Eighth Wonder of the World.

"He's not Destroy," you chuckled, serving her another Cosmopolitan. "He could be but he's not dangerous enough. None of us is Destroy. If people fight, you will see," you added, winking at her, a smirk on your lips.

Actually, Destroy wasn't a person, it was your baseball bat. You named it like that three years ago when someone broke into your apartment at night and tried to assault you while you were sleeping. Too bad for him, you always slept with your weapon hidden between your bed and nightstand. You would always remember the cops' faces when they came into your apartment and saw your "aggressor"'s state.

The night was going pretty good when the front door opened and seven young men entered the pub, looking like they were about to turn everything upside down. You knew there would be customers like them, the district was well known for its gangs but strangely, you imagined them a bit older. They sat at a table, or rather, people gave them a table, and one of the group, the prettiest one to be honest, came to the counter and looked straight at you, a slight smirk across his lips.

"Seven beers?" you guessed when he was about to order. Licking his lower lip slowly, he nodded silently without taking his eyes off of you while you were pouring the drink in the glasses.

"Who's the boss, here?" he asked, looking at your friends, probably finding Dohwan a bit too impressive; after all, he was.

"The boss is in front of you," you calmly answered, chuckling slightly when you saw his eyes widening slowly.

His smirk coming back onto his lips, he whispered a low "Interesting" and, with the help of one of his friends, brought the beers to the table, freezing in the way when the door opened again and another group of seven men appeared.

Immediately, they all glared at each other and, leaning a bit over to the gorgeous girl you talked with before, you softly put your hand on her and said she might see Destroy sooner than expected. With a smile on your mouth, you stood up slowly and looked at the new customers, your eyes widening when you saw him, looking at you the same way.

From all the people in this crazy city, he had to be here.

You never forgot that man, much as you never forgot the way you loved him and the words he threw at your face the last time you saw him. He was the reason why you didn't want to date any man for seven years, sleeping and having sex with strangers some times but never wanting to start a serious relationship. He was the catalyst to why you had become so cold with men who showed an interest in you and why you always rejected them the bitchiest way possible.

Yes, you never forgot Park Jinyoung, your first and last love.

You met him when you were a student, at a party held by one of your classmates, and it was obvious there was more than just a simple attraction between the both of you, everyone could see it. Every time you were looking at each other, you both wanted only one thing, spending time in bed together, craving for each other's touch and skin.

And you both got what you wanted.

You never dated, both agreeing to just enjoy nights together without feelings involved. But that wasn't how things turned and, inevitably, you ended having feelings for your friend with benefits. Even if Jinyoung never told you, you were pretty sure he shared them, spending more time with you and even acting like a real boyfriend when you were with your friends.

But the truth was far from what you thought and one night, seven years ago, he just dumped you, saying you were nothing but a toy, a bet he made with one of his friends, and he would never waste his time dating someone like you, adding no smart man actually would. All of this with his eyes boring straight into yours. After a year of trying to heal yourself, your heart was still shattered and you never let anyone pick up the pieces, too afraid to suffer again. You knew it was stupid but it also was to safest way.

Clenching your teeth, you looked at Jinyoung and his friends sitting at a table at the other side of the pub and saw him saying something to the others before noticing them eyeing you. So he recognized you too.

"You're shaking, rascal," Kangjoon whispered in your ear, using your nickname, a warm hand on your lower back. "Everything's alright?"

"Everything's fine," you coldly answered, glaring at Jinyoung, an eyebrow slightly raised. "But, now, I can't promise no head will end smashed on the counter," you added, noticing the surprised, but also a bit afraid, expression across the woman's face. "Don't worry, honey, I can be very sweet too."

Immediately, her cheeks turned red and she slightly moved on her seat, letting you know your words and the tone of your voice had their little effect, which made you smirk again.

You weren't interested in women but you loved playing with them and making them think you were able to make them scream your name the whole night. Moreover, it was a kind of game with your best friends. When you noticed a girl staring at them, you flirted with her, making her fall into your trap, and at the end of the night, one of the boys comforted her since you coldly made her understand she had no chance to end up in your bed. It was mean, worse even, but the cold-hearted woman you were didn't care.

"Don't pay attention to her," Kangjoon said, pulling the beauty in front of you out of her probably naughty thoughts. "She's a player."

"But a very good one," you smirked again, licking and biting your lower lip.

The three of you laughed and, trying not to look at Jinyoung the most you could, you kept serving the other customers, flirting with some of them.

You knew it wasn't a good idea to flirt with people, especially men, from this district. There was a chance out of two they were gangsters, but recklessly you didn't care. You had lived dangerously for the last six years and didn't want to change it, enjoying the adrenaline this kind of life gave you. Moreover, you already slept with really bad guys and, until now, none of them had tried to kill you, even if you dumped them like a real bitch.

So, there wasn't any reason for you to stop. Even less when the cute one from the first group sat at the counter, his eyes wandering all over you intensely.

"Thirsty, cupcake?" you asked, making him open his eyes in surprise at the pet name.

"More than you can imagine," he grinned with satisfaction, his eyes running all over your curves once again before coming back to your face. "Look, I saw your reaction when these bastards came in," he added, gesturing to Jinyoung's group with a movement of his head. "Need help with them?"

"Do I look like I need help?" you replied with an eyebrow raised. "I can take care of myself but-" you paused, your eyes landing on Jinyoung, noticing the way he was staring at the both of you, teeth clenched. He seemed angry, and you were enjoying this view. Then, you slowly leaned over the counter, the neck of your t-shirt showing a bit of your lacy red bra. "But I'm sure you can help me with a lot of other things," you purred, licking and biting your lower lip the same way you did to the woman an hour before, your eyes sinking into his.

"Gladly," he breathed, grabbing the phone you were handing him and saved his number. "Call me whenever you want, sugar."

You nodded, internally grimacing at the pet name, and gave your attention to another customer, not even checking the name of the one you just flirted with on your phone. You didn't actually care, he would just end up as another name on the list of your hookups.

For another hour, you did your job, serving people and thanking some of them who congratulated you on the aesthetic of Bad Company. Every time, you surprised them, saying you always dreamed of opening a place that looked like a grungy version of a tea house. So, when they said you had done a great job, a wide and sincere smile adorned your lips.

Around midnight, Dohwan came behind you, his hands landing on your hips and his mouth a few inches away from your ear.

"Take a break, rascal," he whispered, his breath brushing the skin of your neck.

"With you?" you asked, turning to him, your lips almost touching his.

"Don't tempt me," he smirked, kissing the side of your head and softly slapping your butt.

You chuckled, loving the fact you could flirt with any of your best friends, especially Dohwan, knowing full well it was nothing but a game and it wouldn't lead to anything. Moreover, like you often said, you loved these three men too much to fuck them. Pretty vulgar but actually true.

You quickly grabbed your leather jacket in the backroom and went outside, immediately lighting a cigarette. You always found funny, and surprising, how many hours you could spend without smoking if you were busy but as soon as you had nothing to do, you almost could smoke a whole pack in less than two hours.

Back against the wall, eyes wandering through the street, you slightly smirked when you felt someone stop next to you, settling themselves in the same position. There was no need to check who it was, you already knew.

"It's been a while," you said, blowing out a large cloud of smoke. "So you're sadly still alive."

"You shouldn't talk to him," he simply replied, preferring not to pay attention to your last words.

A chuckle parted your lips and you tilted your head, finally looking at Jinyoung who was frowning at you. Even if seven years had passed since the last time you saw him, he hadn’t changed, still looking as cold as ice, something you always found really attractive about him, by the way.

"I forgot how funny you can be sometimes."

"I'm serious, Y/n. Stay away from that guy, he won't bring you anything good," he warned you, his eyes looking straight into yours. "He will hurt you."

"Awww, that's so sweet of you," you cooed, a fake touched expression across your face and a hand on your chest. "But, don't worry," you added, slowly nodding your head and moving your hand to his shoulder, "he can't hurt me or break my poor little heart. A fucking bastard smashed it seven years ago and I live far better with an empty chest now."

This time, Jinyoung's expression changed, his eyes opening wide at the violence of your words, his serious expression giving space to surprise, to shock.

As soon as he entered Bad Company and saw you behind the counter, Jinyoung knew you weren't the sweet and almost angelic woman he knew seven years before anymore. It wasn't the fact you were wearing makeup, when you didn't when you were a student, or that you traded your simple but always cute outfits for darker and sexier ones. People's tastes always changed with time and for him, you still were the beautiful Y/n he spent so many nights with.

It was your eyes, or rather the coldness in them.

Although you were slightly smiling when Jinyoung saw you, he immediately noticed how much you changed inside while the memories of every moment you both shared, and the never forgotten sensation of your skin under his fingertips, came right back into his mind, making his heart ache in his chest. But this pain was nothing compared to the one he felt when your eyes met his, a hint of disgust quickly darkening yours.

You'd changed, you became a cold-hearted woman and you clearly hated him more than anybody else. And he was the only one to blame for that.

"You know, I should thank you, actually," you said, pulling Jinyoung out of his thoughts.

"Thank me?" he repeated, blinking, caught off guard.

"Yes, for being the worst monster I've ever met," you replied with a twisted grin adorning your lips. "Thanks to you, I was able to get rid of my heart and I spent so many nights with men whose names I don't remember. If you didn't stomp on my feelings and dignity that night, I probably would stay the innocent, naive and stupid Y/n I was."

"Y/n, I-" Jinyoung sighed, lowering his head, taking every of your words as a stab in his heart.

But you didn't let him finish and, even if you hated him, softly cupped his face in your hands and locked your lips on his.

You would be lying if you said you didn't miss the softness of his lips, or the way they seemed to be shaped perfectly to have yours on them, but the woman you had become was too proud to admit it, even internally. You were too proud to admit you still madly wanted him, every cell of your being craving for his touch.

Slightly pulling away, your hands still holding his face, you put your forehead against his, a sad smile stretching your lips.

"I wish you nothing but the worst, Park Jinyoung, you awful monster, the reason why I became a whore, the first and last love of my life," you then whispered, eyes closed. "I hope someone will make you suffer as much as you did to me. From the bottom of my heart, I hope you'll never find happiness, in this life and the others."

Slowly, you lifted your head up and stood on your tiptoes to put a tender kiss on his forehead, finally opening your eyes and noticing he kept his closed, a painful expression slightly tearing his beautiful face.

Silently, you let go of him and walked back into Bad Company, feeling some tears threatening behind your eyes. But you held them back; you wouldn't cry tonight, or ever again, even less for Park Jinyoung.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤ ⁓•⁓ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ Thank you for reading! 💜 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ⁓•⁓

[itsuki-minamy]

“K - THE FIRST STORY”

CHAPTER 5: THE LINK (Complete)

* K - The First Story (List of Chapters) * Projects & Chapters

Translation: Naru-kun Raws: Ridia

For Misaki Yata, friends were the most important thing.

Since he was a child, he was good with people and was able to confirm his existence by trusting someone.

When he was young, he felt something like the importance of his existence by protecting his mother, who raised him as a single mother. Since his mother had only him, he had a strong determination to be strong in his childhood.

As he got older, his general temperament grew stronger and he came to think it was more fun to do it. He would cut the wind on his shoulder, and if someone messed it up, he would fly and wave his fist.

However, in the end his mother remarried and she had a new child with her new husband, and her mother was no longer the one he had to protect. He went on to do things like "use" instead of "trust."

Leading friends and doing stupid things together, eating alone was irrational and boring. Even if he was having fun, he couldn't laugh alone. However, Yata silently built up his prowess because he did not have the skill and finesse to match others by force, and he could not accept loneliness.

He met a boy and spent several years with him, but when he remembers him, he gets angry, so he erases it from his memory.

For Yata, it was a man named "Suoh Mikoto" who changed his world.

The "King" with overwhelming power that destroys Yata's prowess.

He was cool and he got addicted to all of it.

Yata took Suoh's hand and befriended the followers of the "King".

Friends became the most important thing to Yata. It doesn't matter if it was used, regardless of everything, he just looks at Suoh's back and follows him, and if Suoh says "Burn them.", he becomes a flame with his friends and will do his best to do so.

This place where he can hang out with friends, is the absolute only place to live in Yata.

(Totsuka. Somehow...)

Remember that while he was shedding blood, as if trying to reassure Yata, Totsuka's face tried to laugh somehow.

Two people, Yata and Kusanagi, rushed in after receiving the news of Totsuka's shooting. Fallen on the rooftop, at midnight in December, it was Yata who lifted Totsuka's cold body that was still bleeding. Totsuka touched Yata's tearful cheek and tried to smile, but in the end his hand fell limp and left a mark of blood on Yata's cheek.

(I'm sorry.)

That was Totsuka's last word.

He was a man who always laughed. He was good at finding fun and was in the center of his friends and made everyone laugh a lot. He was an executive of "Homura", an old friend of Suoh, a weak but fluid person, who took care of his friends. For Yata, he was a person whom he sometimes considered a kind brother, and other times a good friend.

That person was killed.

The criminal is now in this school.

"Hey, hurry up, get a PDA!"

However, when he saw a couple of boys walking through that area, he grabbed their chests and they were terrified, the boys made a pitiful voice.

It's nice that Anna's skill revealed the criminal's whereabouts, but it seems like they have to go through a locked door to enter the school premises. Yata and Kamamoto knew they needed a school designated PDA for that purpose, and they were harassing the boys to get the pass.

"I'll give it to you! I'll give it to you, so please forgive me!"

"You should have been this honest from the beginning."

Yata exhaled through his nose and played with the PDA he had obtained.

"Can I come through with this? Sorry to copy you."

Yata turned his harsh gaze towards Kamamoto.

"Let's go."

"Yes."

Yata, along with Kamamoto, headed back to Gakuenjima's gate. Among them, there is a person who broke something important in Yata.

Yata stepped forward with a burning killing intent that was stronger than anger.

++++++++++

After being taken by Neko and returning to the classroom, the boy feels that the situation is strange.

Kuro quickly moved the needle and sewed the costume, looking at the boy.

The boy sits alone in the back seat of the classroom, gazing vaguely out the window. The expression is clearly shaded and the outward-facing eyes are out of focus to show that his heart is not here.

He's a nice guy so he's okay to float more when he found his alibi, but the glow was gone immediately after finding that in his room. Of course, the situation has not been resolved, so it would be a problem if that were discovered, but it is a strange time to put a serious face.

Currently, Kuro's comment about the boy was trying to settle down to the point that "I don't trust him, but he doesn't seem like a bad guy." He seems to be a person who loves this school and his friends.

"Kuro-kun is amazing! The seams are straight and very tight, although the sewing is very fast."

Kukuri looked at Kuro's hand and made his eyes shine. She is a very good, hard-working and kind girl. She was the type of person that Kuro respected.

"This is natural as Ichigen-sama's disciple."

"Kuro-kun, do you have a teacher? A sewing teacher?"

"No. Ichigen-sama was a swordsman and a master of life. Ichigen-sama was not only a kind and thoughtful person, but also a wonderful person who was familiar with all things. I am a swordsman because of Ichigen-sama. I learned various things like sumo wrestling, horseback riding, car, bicycle, helicopter, boat, etc., and studying for licenses, cooking, sewing, cleaning, tea ceremony, flower trail, fishing, dancing, and investment in dance. He faced me with one thing seriously and always led me harshly with a calm heart. Ichigen-sama's beautiful heart and profound culture are reflected in the haikus that Ichigen-sama sang, and I impregnate my heart with that. It is my Favorite moment listening to his haikus. Not only is the phrase wonderful, but the depth of his voice is exceptional as well."

When it comes to Miwa Ichigen, he gets a fever. The boy said something rude, like "annoyed", but Kukuri asked him with a smile. The student next door has a stern look, but Kuro decided that he couldn't hide his surprise from her because she was so versatile.

"Kuro-kun is interesting. I'm glad that Shiro-kun has a friend like Kuro-kun."

Unable to grasp the intention of Kukuri's words, Kuro bowed his head. In the first place, Kuro was not friends with the boy, and although he did not have a single life, the boy seemed like a person with many friends.

Kukuri lowered her eyebrows and laughed, pointing her eyes at the boy sitting vaguely in the distance.

"Shiro-kun is good friends with anyone, but it seems that no one can enter deep places, so I feel like one day he will go to some fluffy place alone, and I'm a bit worried. But Kuro-kun seems to enter Shiro-kun, and I'm relieved that you don't lose sight of Shiro-kun."

Kuro was confused by the words he heard. He was surprised by the boy's reputation, and "they" were not the friends he expected, on the contrary, in some cases he felt guilty for having to kill the boy.

"Kukuri! I have you!"

Before Kuro said anything, Neko hugged Kukuri from behind.

"Oh, that's right. Kukuri-san, let's give you a special super spicy rice cake."

Kukuri laughs and walks away from Kuro with Neko. When he saw his back and sighed, he turned to his hand. He cuts the thread with which he has sewn.

He folded the finished costume, he stood up and lined it up with the other costumes.

"Are they all costumes? Okay, then check yours and report immediately if the size doesn't fit."

When it comes to manpower, he looks at the group doing other work.

"What is the progress of the decoration?"

"A little more…"

"Okay. I'll join. There are other things I can do..."

Looking around, Kuro noticed a thread extending from Kukuri's sleeve trying to open the rice cake for Neko. As he walks silently, Kukuri mysteriously raises her face from him.

"What? Kuro-kun…"

"There is a tear in the elbow of the uniform."

"Oh, really. I wonder if I ripped it somewhere."

"By the way. I'll sew it up. Don't move from where you are."

When he pulled out his own needle and thread that he had been using earlier, he repaired a small tear around Kukuri's elbow. Looking at Kukuri that she got stuck while she was holding a bag of rice cake, Neko seems to be dissatisfied.

While sticking a needle into Kukuri's sleeve, Kuro again snooped towards the boy by the window.

Surrounded by sunlight, the boy looked strangely dreamy. He felt that he would melt into the light just as he was, and when he was poisoned by Kukuri's story, he changed his mind and retreated lightly.

"Isana Yashiro! How long will you be like this!"

"Shiro, he got mad!"

Neko was happy, probably because she wasn't really mad at his voice. Kukuri said to Kuro, who turned his attention from her to the boy, with the needle stuck in her sleeve, "Ah, Kuro-kun, please don't look away now!"

She raised a terrified voice.

The boy clears the look of disgust, changes his face and turns to them.

"Sorry. Well, what should I do?"

"Let's eat Senbe together!"

"I'm telling you to work!"

"Oh, Kuro-kun, please..."

After making a discordant voice, Kukuri suddenly changed her face.

"Oh, that's right. Shiro-kun, if you don't have anything to do, can I ask you a favor?"

Kukuri's request was a small purchase, primarily for the purchase of additional fireworks.

"Will you use them again?"

"Don't complain! Generally, when Shiro-kun was working yesterday, he missed some fireworks, right?"

The lost fireworks were probably used by the boy to evade the attackers from him. The boy seemed to have no words to answer, and he was cheating and laughing.

After her sleeve was repaired, Kukuri laughed happily "Thank you." and turned to everyone.

"Everyone! Shiro-kun will take care of it, tell him what you need!"

"Oh Shiro saved us! I'm running out of nail polish, so buy it!"

"Shiro-kun, can you buy me two purple threads?"

"I want potatoes! Consomme flavored!"

"I want chocolate and cookies! In a large bag of individually wrapped packages for everyone to share!"

"I want to eat ice cream!"

"The ice will melt!"

"Then bring me wool!"

"Take a receipt!"

"Wait, wait, I'll take a note now!"

Surrounded by colleagues, the boy writes on a piece of paper. The laughing boy in the middle of the crowd doesn't seem to disappear one bit, but something is trapped in Kuro's heart.

"Be careful, Shiro-kun. Please come back early!"

Kukuri laughed cheerfully and pushed the boy back, entrusting him with a general shopping mission.

When they accompanied the boy without a PDA and left the school by the back route without going through the gate, Kuro, the boy and Neko walked together across the connecting bridge. Neko was cheerful wanting to walk. As for the clothes, she put on the school girls uniform that she had worn in the morning, and when Neko ran, the hem of the short skirt fluttered.

Neko, who was walking while her interests changed from here to there, jumped onto the railing of the connecting bridge and happily looked at the landscape from there.

Kuro and the boy also stop.

The sea reflected the light and shone.

When he arrived, he ran down the street without looking around his due to his anger and his sense of mission, but when he looked at it like that, it was a truly beautiful sight.

As Kuro and the boy follow Neko and approach the parapet, the sea breeze blows gently and makes his hair flutter.

Looking at the calm and beautiful landscape side by side, he felt calm after a long time.

When he thinks about it, peace hasn't come to Kuro's heart since Miwa got sick. Miwa's death pushed Kuro into deep pain and a feeling of loneliness. Even so, the reason he stayed was because he made a promise to Miwa before he died. Defeat the evil "King". Determination to fulfill that last mission made him walk straight even after Miwa's death.

However, on the way, he was preparing for the festival with boys and girls of the same age, and relaxing with a mysterious boy, and Neko, looking out to sea.

"It’s beautiful."

He leaked from his mouth inadvertently. The boy leaning against the parapet looks at Kuro and laughs softly.

"Right? I also really like the view from here."

"Glitter killer!"

Following the boy, Neko said happily and took a deep breath.

"Shiro, let's finish soon and go home early!"

Neko laughs with her whole face. The boy also looked towards Gakuenjima with a warm smile somewhere in the shadow.

"Yes. Let's go home early. Kukuri is waiting for us."

++++++++++

For Fushimi Saruhiko, the moment his heart moved was extremely rare.

Most of the time, his emotions only move in the direction of irritation or disgust, and he has lived by cutting off most of the joy and sadness from him. He does what he is supposed to do, but most things are lazy and annoying. Additional involvement with others is the worst of all. He is not thrilled by his daily life.

It was partly due to the quirks of Fushimi's growing environment, because he stopped waiting for others early on, and because he left most of the world.

He met one of them and spent a few years with him, but in the end he broke it into pieces with his own hands, so he is not going to tell anyone.

Tatara Totsuka was killed, and the members of "Homura" who are angry are looking for the criminal, but Fushimi was still unmoved and participated in the search for the criminal, because that is Fushimi's job.

"Scepter 4" is different from "Homura", and adapts to Fushimi's character as he is. It wasn't a hassle to get the job done quickly without getting used to it.

However, situations where easy tasks cannot be accomplished quickly, and situations where incompetence becomes a silly obstacle and makes work difficult, is purely painful.

"I am very sorry for the sudden request, but I would appreciate your cooperation. I want to reiterate; we will not cause problems at your school."

"That's right, but... given the current age, revealing students' personal information is not correct."

In the reception room of Ashinaka School, the incompetent-looking headmaster and vice-headmaster give a clear answer as they get confused over Awashima's request.

Fushimi was taken by Awashima to the Ashinaka school, also known as Gakuenjima, which the "Yoshii" system identified as the criminal's hideout. Awashima's job was to persuade the directors, and Fushimi was waiting standing behind Awashima's chair, but he was tired of listening to the careless exchanges.

"I would like you to understand that we are willing to pass through the hands of the judiciary if necessary."

"No, that's…!"

"Yes. I don't want to complicate things as much as possible, so I would like to have voluntary cooperation."

"However, when it comes to searching for a student without knowing his name or class from all the students, it is not realistic to do it right now..."

Awashima's voice also begins to sharpen with irritation. However, the director kept trying to escape with an errant word, he wanted to avoid making a decision here. It was getting harder and harder to hear the silly conversations, and Fushimi looked out the window, letting their voices flow like a distant noise. The wind is strong, he watches the clouds slide and flow.

"Are you sure? This investigation is already a decision. If your school does not have the investigation capacity, we will do it for you."

"Are you going to do it? It's too overbearing."

"I don't want to be misunderstood, but I am not convincing them. I am explaining the situation to them and telling them to take appropriate action."

In Fushimi, this whole situation became irrelevant.

Fushimi turns his back on the exchange between the headmaster and Awashima, who was making noise.

Fushimi quietly escaped from the reception room when he looked at Akiyama and Benzai, who were lined up in a polite manner, and he touched Akiyama's shoulder with the intention of pushing the rest away. Awashima didn't even look at Fushimi, although she did notice.

He walked into a quiet hall with a light humor. Unlike the area where students walk, this building for teachers and foreigners is quiet. Fushimi took out the PDA and slid his finger from it to call the spokesperson for this school. He took a quick look and discovered that the student council room is the right place to fulfill his purpose. The student council room was located in the building across the courtyard from here.

As they exited the building, the soft light of the winter afternoon sun fell on Fushimi.

Contrary to Fushimi's mood, as he walks under the clear blue sky, Fushimi feels the area around his lips twitch and he notices the quiet irritation within himself.

The death of Tatara Totsuka. Suoh Mikoto's selfishness. The Weissman deviation of the "Red King". The "Colorless King" killing a member of the clan. The revenge of "Homura". The "King" who wants to invite the slaughter. Possible consequences.

Maybe Izumo Kusanagi understands it and is on the way, and Anna Kushina knows it. But the others would not know anything. Especially that boy.

Fushimi clicked his tongue and sped up.

When he got to the student council room, he opened the door a little and looked inside the room, there was only one student. A mature woman with braided hair tied next to her head.

Fushimi thought about what to do for a moment, but it became problematic to use an indirect hand and chose a direct means.

He closed the door again, knocked gently and moved his body to hide behind the door.

The door opened and the student appeared. Fushimi presses a medicine-soaked cloth against the student's mouth from behind her. The student who took the medicine lost consciousness and was bent over.

Fushimi lifted the student's body with minimal physical contact and carried her to the student council room. If he borrows her fingerprint to unlock the computer, he will have access to all the students' data. He connects his PDA with a cable and starts hacking.

Once he has full access rights to the campus network using the student council computer as a springboard, he can begin to match the faces of all students, teachers, secretaries, and all the people who belong to this school with the face of the criminal.

Fushimi also felt irritation burning inside his chest, looking at the automatic compilation work. Like static electricity, it is annoying and disturbs Fushimi's thinking.

When he sighed sharply, an electronic sound was heard and the screen showed a screen informing her that the job was finished and the result.

Looking at the screen, Fushimi raises his eyebrows and lifts his back from the back of the chair he was sitting on.

At that moment, he heard a familiar voice far away, outside the window.

"Look closely, don't look away, fool!"

The voice yelling at someone, as soon as it enters Fushimi's ears, it turns into something that bristles his skin and spreads all over his body.

Fushimi stood up, stuck his finger into the hole in the blind that covered the window, and looked outside.

The figure immediately jumped into Fushimi's eyes.

A student intertwines with two male students and is listening to their destiny. A boy with a skateboard under his arm and a beanie that would be more appropriate for a young man, a boy with a boyish look who is lifting a tight fit.

He can understand why they are there and what they are doing without asking. He remains straightforward and can only see what is in front of him.

He remembered irresistibility and destiny.

For Fushimi Saruhiko, the moment when his heart moves are extremely rare.

But now, Fushimi twisted his mouth into a smile, feeling shaken after a long time, as if to repaint the annoyance and little irritation he had felt a while ago.

++++++++++

It was okay to invade the school, but the Ashinaka school was so big that he thought it was stupid.

It is far from Yata's school image, which he thought was at best about the school building, the gymnasium, and the school grounds. Here is a clock tower, cafes, shops like supermarkets, fashionable open spaces, etc. It could be said that it was already a town.

Of course, there is not just one school building, but several school buildings are built in a relaxed way using a sprawling site, and there are other buildings such as a research building, a teacher building, a clubroom building, a dormitory room student, etc. There is greenery between them, a mysterious fashionable bronze statue and an arch with stained glass on the ceiling. It seems that the school festival is near and preparations for the festival are underway here and there.

Yata was stressed while he wandered around such a place while he listened to the murmurs.

"Hey, don't you know this guy?"

"Don't you know where this guy is?"

"Do you know this guy?!"

He asked randomly as he showed the photo of the criminal that he put on the PDA, but he never got a good reaction. They always shook their heads if they didn't know about it, or they were scared of Yata and ran away, and he couldn't find any clues.

As he bit the impatience and irritation with his back teeth, Yata searched for the next student to listen to him, and his footsteps became wild and steady.

"Please wait, Yata-san!"

Kamamoto, who had been left behind before he knew it, shook the giant body and reached for it. Yata clicked his tongue.

"Idiot! Go shopping and eating after asking."

"Yata-san, have you eaten? Did you rest? Since that day..."

He tried to tell him not to change the story, but Kamamoto's eyes on the back of the sunglasses seemed to be more serious than he expected, and Yata was a bit confused and then smiled.

"It's okay."

He has little awareness of whether he is eating or resting properly. If he is hungry, he will put something in his mouth, and if he is sleepy, he will sleep. But since that day, he certainly has felt less hungry and sleepy. He is addicted to the excitement of anger.

The sight of that cold ceiling revives in his mind. Blood spilled onto the concrete and the eyes lost light. Totsuka will never return.

He remembers the back of a man whom Yata respects more than anyone, stretching out his hands before the Blues and being captured without resistance. There is no way Yata knows what Suoh is doing now and what he thinks he is.

With that in mind, he doesn't really care about food or rest.

Yata turned his back on Kamamoto and started walking. He heard a small sigh behind him, but Kamamoto followed Yata without saying anything else.

The inside of his chest is noisy, and Yata searches for the next person to ask as he walks fast as if he's looking for a place to hit his feelings with nowhere to go.

Yata, who was impatient, kept asking with astonishing tenacity, but the results did not improve after all. When he wandered around the big school and asked in a half lost state because he did not know where he was, he felt like a small boat that had gone out in search of a sunken ship and was in danger.

"Hey, you guys! Look at this picture! Do you know this guy?"

When they found a couple of boys behind the school building and he hit the PDA screen like he was hitting the pent-up frustration, they made an openly scared face. Yata clicked his tongue, saying this guy will scare people just by talking to them.

"I do not know..."

The boy said backing away, but it was clear that he was looking for an escape route and not looking directly at the screen.

"Look carefully!"

When Yata asks, the boys' eyes escape even more.

"You've averted your eyes right now, huh? Oh! Do you know this guy?"

"I do not know!"

"I do not know..."

Faced with the guys trying to escape at any moment, "Where is he?" Yata asked, and put his hand on his shoulder from behind.

Kamamoto grabbed Yata by the shoulder and shook his head.

Yata clicked his tongue and turned away from the student, who was leaning forward with his forehead down. Seeing Yata settled, the two boys fled as if rolling.

"Is it a dead end again? I'm angry."

"Yata-san, you can't help it. This place seems to be huge."

"Shut up!"

Biting Kamamoto, who makes a terrifying voice, Yata takes off from the front and starts walking.

"I don't want to delay another second. I will avenge Totsuka-san's death."

Yata told him to ask in a lower voice. At that moment, he heard a small woman cry.

When he rolled his eyes, he saw two schoolgirls, looking at Yata and Kamamoto standing in a way that was clearly inappropriate for this school, and huddled together.

Yata was openly scared.

He may be strong against men, but he is not good at dealing with women. A woman is a different creature from a man, who hurts himself quickly and he does not know what she is thinking. He's not good at knowing what kind of attitude he should have. Yes, he is not good at understanding it, but he is aware of women and gets nervous. Yata insisted on his heart.

"Ah, you there! Come here for a moment. I have something to ask you!"

Ignoring Yata's feelings, Kamamoto called out to the two schoolgirls with a lot of pressure. Being called out by a standing giant with blonde hair, a beard and glasses, the schoolgirls get more and more scared.

"No, oh, that..."

"Ah? What is this? I'm just saying there is something I want to ask you..."

Without saying anything until the end, Yata hit Kamamoto's head with a fist. Kamamoto makes a plaintive voice.

"Hey, don't scare the girls like that! I'll punish you."

He was so upset that his voice changed. Yata turned to the girls with a flushed face.

"Hey, sorry, that was wrong..."

He intended to act like a gentleman to the best of his ability, but when Yata screamed, the female students finally fled with a frightened voice that they could not bear.

Yata lets them go, and then slams Kamamoto's head next to him to shake off the awkwardness.

"Gya! Please forgive me, Yata-san."

"Shut up! I always tell you not to threaten a woman!"

"No, I haven't raised my hand... First of all, Yata-san, you've only asked the boys all this time."

"To find a boy you must ask other boys!"

When Yata said that, Kamamoto made an exaggerated gesture. When Yata clenched his fist again to hit him again, a voice that touched the most sensitive part of his nerve slipped into Yata's ear.

"It feels like the virgin is exposed as usual."

The moment he recognized that voice, Yata's head turned white.

It was a very familiar voice and, at the same time, very distant.

Yata slowly shakes his head and looks back at the sight that he feels like he's shaking.

First, the toes of the boots came into view. Looking up, he saw an abominable blue uniform and a saber with a blue scabbard at the waist. AND…

"Damn..."

A face with a murmuring smile. From the other side of the black-rimmed glasses, his familiar eyes stare at Yata.

"Saruhiko!"

Fushimi Saruhiko, a man who is now a member of "Scepter 4" and was once Yata's partner, was there.

A voice containing rumors flows from Fushimi's thin lips, which form an undistorted smile, and entwines with Yata.

"It's a strange situation. How is this? Ah, Anna. But Kusanagi-san can't let you listen to this recklessly. Misaki lost control without permission? Seriously, as always."

Perhaps by the way, he said the first name of him and of Yata's close friends. Throwing those friends, their spirits, into messing with them was annoying.

"Shut up! Don't call me casually! Don't feel free to talk about my friends! Traitor!"

Fushimi laughed deep in his throat.

"It couldn't be helped. After all, I am of a different race than Misaki and the others. It was inevitable to leave."

"Ah! You are not wrong about that. You are different from us!"

"Yata-san...! If you make noise in a place like this..."

Kamamoto inserts a frustrated voice between Yata and Fushimi, who are filled with tingly air. However, Fushimi behaved as if he hadn't seen Kamamoto's existence.

"By the way, Misaki. How did you sneak in here?"

"Ah? It's none of your business."

"The security level here is high. Where is your pass? Show me, Misaki."

"It's none of your business! Don't call me by my name, you make me sick!"

Fushimi also makes a catchy laugh.

"Oh, that's right, you hate being called by that name right?"

Fushimi locked eyes at Yata. His lips move slowly as in slow motion and a moist, sweet, audible voice is exhaled.

"Mi... sa... ki..."

Something snapped in Yata's head.

A fiery red light seeps from Yata's body as if anger is overflowing with a physical form.

"You asked for it..."

Fushimi lifted the edge of his mouth.

"Yata-san! This is not good! Remember what Kusanagi-san said, don't let Mikoto-san have been captured in vain! What good would fighting that monkey do?"

The word "Mikoto-san" affects the feelings and power of Yata, which he is about to attack. Yata managed to restrain his furious fist with desperate self-control.

"Mikoto-san, huh?"

The tone of Fushimi's voice becomes lower and the laugh becomes darker. It was a voice that lurked with malicious intent, and Fushimi's sheer irritation.

"He seems to have lost his bearing on him, right? After all, he decided to give himself up. I guess it means he has matured. You should learn from him, Mi… sa… ki…"

Yata was filled with an icy rage, which was the exact opposite of the rage that had blood on his head, making him feel cold and icy.

Insult Suoh. Fushimi's mouth said it, no one else.

Yata took a deep breath and threw down the skateboard he was holding. The skateboard turns vertically and falls into a position waiting for Yata to get on. He didn't want to take anything anymore. He hears Kamamoto's impatient voice in the distance, "Yata-san!"

"Saru... You are going to die!"

Yata barked.

Fushimi laughs and touches the handle of the sword.

"Fushimi, ready for an emergency battle."

As Fushimi drew his sword, Yata put one foot on the skateboard and kicked the ground. The red light that overflows from his body turns into a flame and is directed towards Fushimi.

Fushimi lightly avoided Yata's rush with a laugh. Yata spins his skateboard without killing the momentum with which he jumped, increasing the output of the flame.

The flame that rises from the body swirls and becomes a bright red pillar that stretches to the heavens. At his feet, the wheels of the skateboard with the power of Yata sandwiched the tiles on the surface of the street.

Yata, who turned into a swirling pillar on fire, approaches Fushimi again. Fushimi turned the sword with a smile and inserted it into the swirling flame with the tip of the blue light.

As the blade was soft and flexible and entered the column of flame, Fushimi took a deep breath. The power of the blue poured from Fushimi's body onto the sword in one go, scraping away Yata's flame and scattering it.

Yata and Fushimi's eyes were intertwined as the red and blue colors mixed and danced. Fushimi's eyes seemed to be a mixture of pleasure and murder, and some emotions that Yata couldn't read.

Yata jerked it off him, focused the flames on his hardened fist and struck him down. Fushimi avoids Yata's fist with his sword, grabs his arm with a blue barrier, and stops him.

Fushimi is familiar with Yata's movements and fighting style. It was uncomfortable to realize that, and Yata enthusiastically jumped up on his skateboard and launched a nosedive attack. Fushimi received the bottom of Yata's skateboard with the sword from him.

Yata's skateboard and Fushimi's sword fight each other, and Fushimi raises the sword, deflecting the trajectory of Yata's power. However, just before being played, the skateboard wheel scraped off Fushimi's sword. His glasses flew off.

Fushimi, who exposed his true face, narrowed his eyes and looked at Yata, narrowing the distance with the lightness of taking steps, and extended his sword.

Yata jumped to avoid the sword. He flips high as he is, and at the same time he lands, he attacks again.

A fist like a bullet of fire. Kicking with the body on fire. If it's just a knife, it can be defeated, but there is also Fushimi's sword, which uses the power of blue that also serves as a barrier.

Fushimi attacked Yata. A blue light like fluttering phosphorescence. Yata leaped like a small animal and withdrew as he avoided a gentle but violent push, and used the skateboard as a folding shield.

The eyes of the two meet.

When they looked at each other they felt something emotional, and Yata kicked Fushimi down as if to shake him, and he too jumped on the skateboard and came down from behind.

"Ke, you're not as good as before, Saru!"

Fushimi laughed at Yata's provocation with just a sigh. He slowly lifts the glasses that have fallen to the ground and puts them back on.

"No... I'm stronger. Much stronger than before."

"Silly stuff!"

Yata kicks the ground again. He coiled the flames all over his body, kicked the back of the skateboard with his left foot, and jumped high.

Fushimi catches Yata attacking from above with his sword.

After taking action for a short time, Yata jumps once with Fushimi's sword power that can be repelled, regains his position, and charges immediately.

He remembered that he was rushing too much when he was next to Fushimi. However, stupid or not, Yata's haste has set in motion what is in front of him. Fushimi used to follow Yata running aside, but that is no longer necessary. Yata has both power and stamina. He doesn't need to be smart. He will push everything with just force.

He engulfed him with a fist engulfed in flames. Fushimi dodged Yata's attack or defended himself with the power of blue, but his legs slowly fell back.

Yata laughed at Fushimi, who was being pushed passively.

"What's the matter, Saru?"

Suddenly, Fushimi's mouth made a smile.

Fushimi flashes his left hand from the position where Yata becomes a blind spot. He sees a flying red light.

Yata opens his eyes to the red color that Fushimi gives off, and the reaction is delayed. The red light from "Homura" ignited Fushimi's knife that pierced Yata's shoulder.

The first thing he felt was heat, not pain.

When he realized it was a sensation of fire, Yata hit and rolled on the ground. He hears Kamamoto's impatient voice saying "Yata-san!"

Frowning, Yata grasps the right shoulder from which the knife is sticking out.

The burning pain from the wound pulses according to the heartbeat.

Yata removed the knife from his shoulder and gritted his teeth.

This knife is familiar to Yata. Originally, Fushimi was darker. Fushimi mainly used to throw knives as a weapon when he was in "Homura". Yata looked closely many times as if this knife had the power of red.

But now, Yata was completely surprised that Fushimi used a knife with the same red power that he used back then. He can tell that he was scared.

Distorted by anger and the feeling of wanting to cry for some reason, Yata crawls across the ground and covers himself.

Fushimi looked at Yata with a smile.

"Didn't I tell you? I left Suoh and got stronger. This is the test!"

The sword from "Scepter 4" that houses blue light and the knife he used in the "Homura" era that houses red light.

Looking at Fushimi, who is holding both colors, Yata's head was boiling.

"Ah, two colors?"

Kamamoto said in a frustrated voice and stepped out, perhaps trying to protect the fallen Yata.

However, the foot stops in one step. A bright red Fushimi knife flew in and stabbed into Kamamoto's feet. At that moment, the red power in the knife explodes and the column of fire rises. Kamamoto falls on his butt.

"Stay out of the way, I'm not interested in small fish!"

Yata staggered to his feet, staring at Fushimi's profile, who screamed at the impulse to change his voice.

"Saru is right… Stay out of this."

He grabs the knife stuck in his shoulder. Fushimi's red power burned Yata's palm. Regardless of the burning pain, he pulled the knife out hard and threw it.

The flames that were once shared as a partner are hurting Yata. Attacks of the same color are difficult to defend. Even if the blue power can be blocked by the red power, the same red power cannot be well noticed. It is the power of friends, not the ones that originally clashed.

Yata was unable to forgive Fushimi, who used that power as a tool while he was wearing a blue uniform. The more he felt the pain in his shoulder and the more aware he was of the heat of the blood flowing from him, the more his fighting spirit burned.

"Saru, don't get excited just because you have those powers. Do you intend to conquer this country?"

"I'm not interested in the vulgar things in the world. I'm interested i ..."

Fushimi distorted his face. His pupil opens behind his glasses.

"Blood and flesh."

Yata clasped his hands into his fists and screamed from the bottom of his stomach. He blew up a flame to squeeze all the power from the core of the body.

He looked directly at Fushimi. If he hits all the power he has now and knocks him down, that's all Yata has, and he can't see other scenarios.

Looking at Yata, Fushimi laughed with satisfaction.

Fushimi holds the sword. Yata, who has turned into a mass of flames, kicks the ground to hit Fushimi.

He didn't care if he died or killed.

At that moment, a cold, sharp blue wind blew and tore between the hot Yata and Fushimi.

"That's!"

I heard the anger of a woman.

When he looked, a woman dressed in blue was standing there with her two subordinates. Seeing her holding a sword in her right hand, he knows that blue breeze was a power cut from hers blue hers.

The wind it produced scattered the flames of Yata and the hot air between them.

Seri Awashima, a lieutenant from "Scepter 4", a blue-clad woman with an outstretched back, declared it again and sent an attentive glance at Fushimi.

"Fushimi, put your sword away, what are you doing? Where do you think you are?"

Awashima's cut seemed to have dissipated the damp heat that Fushimi was wearing, and Fushimi turned around with a fake smile on his face.

Awashima lowered her eyebrows, but she did not repeat any more words to Fushimi and turned her eyes to Yata.

"Misaki Yata, a member under the command of the "Red King". The captain of the "Homura" team who controls the skateboard, and you answer to the name of Yatagarasu."

He didn't feel bad about being called by two of his favorite names, and Yata snorted and laughed.

"I know you too. Seri Awashima, the right arm of the "Blue King". Call me a ruthless woman."

Awashima had an indescribable look, as if she was angry and stunned.

"I think that name was probably said by the owner of the bar, right?"

"Eh?"

"Anyway, it is a fact that I cannot ignore that you are here, but unfortunately it is too great a disadvantage to be here now. What if you guys postpone the meeting?"

"He was the one who started it."

"Yes? Maybe I was not clear. You are going to postpone a meeting, understood? Is that better?"

Yata looked wryly at Awashima, who was like a teacher, with only one corner of his mouth raised.

"I have no intention of obeying a Blue."

"Yata-san!"

Kamamoto called out in a voice trying to stop him, but he ignored it and continued proudly. He thought that retreating just because these Blues appeared would make "Homura" look bad.

"Your king…"

Suddenly, Awashima's voice seemed to be soft. Yata's shoulder shuddered at the words.

"All he does is complain about the food, but he finishes it and goes to sleep. I'm totally blown away."

He felt him being pushed hard in the chest.

Suoh seems to be Suoh and he's fine. He was so relieved that he wanted to cry over that fact, and he felt his strength gradually increase.

"Mikoto-san..."

Awashima smiled at Yata when he accidentally muttered. At that face, he suddenly felt uncomfortable when he remembered that Awashima, whom he had only thought of as an "enemy", was a woman.

"Let's go."

He turns around to hide his flushed face from her and starts walking with Kamamoto.

As he walked, Yata looked back just once. Fushimi kept his sword down and turned, not even looking at Yata. Yata clicks his tongue bitterly and turns to the front.

His injured right shoulder was annoying.

++++++++++

"Do you have something to say?"

Awashima said in a very calm and simple voice.

"I'm sorry."

Fushimi made an apology, but it was neither an apologetic voice nor an apologetic tone.

However, Awashima forgave Fushimi's attitude as if it didn't matter.

"So how did it go?"

Awashima asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb. You accessed the school's data anyway, right?"

Fushimi was struck by the void for a moment and blinked, realizing that he was discovered.

His thoughts and actions were read by Awashima, it made him feel a bit interesting and he evaluated.

His head went cold because he faced Yata, and his emotions that trembled after a long time settled in the original place, and his head switched to working mode.

"How is he? Is that boy a student from here?"

The result of the collection of data from school officials hacked from the computer in the student’s council room revives in Fushimi's mind.

"No."

No applicable person.

After matching with the photo of the criminal's face, the system concluded that.

"The suspect is not enrolled in this school."

++++++++++

Yata thought it was done.

It was Yata who insisted, "I'll just ask one more person!", shaking Kamamoto, who was persuaded to go home after first aid treatment for the wound on his right shoulder that was stabbed with a knife.

He was wondering if he could go home empty-handed, and he was so upset that he had that conversation with Fushimi that he didn't feel like coming home, and he was worried about Yata. It was also because Kamamoto is stubborn, he would tell Yata to go home as if he was trying to calm his son down.

Yata then stopped a group of students passing by without even looking at the other person's face before being stopped by Kamamoto.

"Yes?"

However, in that group, it was a female student who stopped in response to Yata's voice. The skirt of the Ashinaka high school uniform fluttered, and the hair cut with an ornament on the side swayed.

He stopped a woman. Yata was afraid to notice. On the other hand, the student who stopped didn't seem to be scared of Yata and tilted her head with a clean face.

He can't run away, Yata averted his eyes from her so as not to make eye contact with her, but pushed forward the image of the criminal boy that was displayed on the PDA.

"I'm looking for... this guy... have you seen him?"

The schoolgirl looks at the boy in the picture.

"Kukuri! We will get ahead of ourselves!"

A student who seems to be friends with her spoke to her from a distance. The girl named Kukuri looked at her friend, replied "Oh, yeah!", and then turned to Yata.

"I'm sorry."

Kukuri said with an apologetic bow.

"Do not know him."

[iwantitiwriteit]

Slow Burn: Act I - Part 6

The Museum

Pairing: Chris Evans x Famous!Reader

Summary: You and Chris enjoy a day at the museum as the first act of your newfound clean slate.

Warnings: pure Fluff for once, the usual silly antics

Notes: Back to our regularly scheduled fanfic-ing. Hope y’all didn’t mid that mid-series break; I literally forgot how to write. But it was fun getting back in the groove of fluff! P.S. I miss museums. Read the previous part here and check this part’s moodboard + music.

Chris’ pace is quick as he walks the city sidewalk, evading puddles in his path. Sprinkling now, he doesn’t want to test his luck walking leisurely as he normally would. Normally, he’d take the time to gawk at the beauty and bustle of his city. But not today.

Today is a rainy Monday in Boston, perfect for your indoor date. Except, this is not a date. That’s what Chris told himself. That’s what he told his friend and brother… then himself again, especially now as a reminder to slow down his increasingly speeding heartbeat with each step. He’s only late for a friendly hang out with you, not for a date. 

“Chris! Slow down!” Chris’ mother yelled from behind him. Oh yeah, and Ma. He stopped momentarily for Lisa to catch up. With a smile, he offered his mother his arm to take, and they walked together at a more acceptable pace to their destination. “Well somebody’s eager to see a certain somebody else,” Lisa teased, her son’s nervous and excited energy not going unnoticed by her maternal eye.

“Just… just don’t want to miss any part of the tour, is all,” he says, ears tipped red.

“Uh-huh…”

A few more paces, and the mother-son pair arrived at the MassArt Art Museum. Inside, they’re greeted by high ceilings and white walls like blank canvases. Grandiose, multi textured sculptures add a plethora of color to the space, some stand tall from the floors, others hang low and ceilings. The bright colors and lights could easily make you forget the dreary Fall day outside, the inside of the museum matching the inside of Chris’ chest.

Chris is shrugging off his raincoat when his mother goes to check them in. “She’s probably already in the crowd over there,” she points in the direction of a large group. “Go ahead and look for her; I’ll find you in a bit.”

The tour group with a median age of about 78 is already eagerly gathered in the lobby around a museum tour guide. Chris scans the crowd, large than he anticipated, probably about 100 if he were to guess, but can’t seem to spot you. He decides to remain in the back of the group, figuring he’ll find you once the tour gets moving. Chris tunes into the addressing tour guide for the time being.

“Once we’re in the exhibit, I want everyone to remember…”

“On your left.”

Chris side-glances down to his left side to be met by your profile staring straight ahead in the same direction he was just a moment ago. He took in your kinky-curly fro, a little shrunken and and slightly frizzed than usual because of the humidity, but it worked for you. Your face is fresh and free of makeup, a look you seemed to like to sport, and he thinks to himself that he likes it on you, too. After a moment of no response from Chris, your eyes flutter up to him. He’s met with your smirking face, but you then turn your attention back to the tour guide. You both pretend to listen.

“Really? ‘On your left?’” Chris finally says.

“What’s the matter? Captain Amer—“

“Shhshsh!” Chris hovers his thick pointer fingers, over yours and his mouths to signal you to stop your thought.

You brought your chin all the way into your neck as a natural instinct to retreat the offending phalange in your face. You push his hand out of the way before harshly whispering. “You gotta not!”

“YOU gotta not!” He harshly whispers back. You quirk your brow and slightly roll your neck at him. In a less anxious whisper he says, “Keeping a low profile, thank you.” Then it all makes sense. The cap, the hoodie, the shrunken stature and a standing in the back.

“Oh… my bad.” You deflate, once again returning your gaze to the speaking tour guide. You truly hadn’t thought of the repercussions of mentioning his Marvel movie moniker.

You’ve not had to deal with that level of notoriety… not yet, anyway. The level where a blown cover in public could mean the dissension of fans and paps alike. The level where you needed a cover in the first place. Sure, you get recognized every now and again, but you’re by no means at mega star, shades and hoodies, constantly looking over your shoulder status.

And you loved that. You could sympathize with Chris. You’ve seen how crazy it can get, and it definitely is worth protecting yourself from.

Chris has been trying to keep his attention ahead, but he glances at you every few seconds. He senses the air around you change. There’s a ballet of expressions dancing across your face. You knitted your brows together, released and raised them, with your eyes and lips following suit in similarly stressed movements and shapes. You’re deep in thought.

“You alright over there? Museum guidelines aren’t that moving.”

“I really didn’t mean anything by it. I just was trying to poke fun at you, not blow up your spot.”

Chris sighs and smiles at your sentiment. “It’s alright,” He bumps your shoulder when he sees you’re still distraught. He gets a smile out of you. “Hey, you know what would help? If you stopped staring at me. Would draw less attention.”

“Uh, puh-lease! You wish I was staring. Nice try at projecting, though.”

Chris quirked a confused brow, turning to you. “What do you mean?”

“I mean what took you so long to answer me a minute ago?” Shit, Chris thought. “That’s what I thought,” you sassed.

“I wasn’t staring at you per say. There’s a lil somethin’ in your hair…”

“What? What is it?!” You delicately touch around your curls searching for the offending object.

“Here lemme help,” Chris says as he stands to his full height over you. You look up at him with those darling eyes of yours, and he looks down at you, breath caught in his throat. Just a second later, he comes back to earth as he’s plucking something weightless from your hair. He slowly brings his hand down from your head to show you what he’s retrieved. “It’s just a little… piece… of stupid,” and he boops your nose.

“You know what!” You say in a loud whisper while you enjoy hitting his arm as retaliation.

Chris feigns hurt with a gasp. “That was mean,” he’s pouting trying to suppress his smile. He pokes out his elbow towards you. “Kiss it, make it better.”

“Ugh!” You shove him away, turning your head away from him, biting back your smile. You're failing miserably when you look back to him, and he’s wearing a boyish grin himself. “You are absolutely—“

“SHHHHH!!!!” You jump and Chris clutches his chest, both of you wide-eyed and taken aback by an old man that’s turned around to shush you two.“If you two are gonna flirt, do it quietly!”

You and Chris start to stumble over your words while talking over each other.

“No, whaaa? Flirt… Huh?”

“We weren’t, like…”

“Yeah, that’s not— um…”

“Totally not what’s—“

“Not like this is a date,” Chris blurts out with a nervous chuckle then freezes in place. It’s one of those *unfortunate* moments when his mouth moved faster than his brain. He stares straight ahead, not daring to look at you. If he had, he would have seen you had a matching stunned look from his blab.

“They’re sorry, Mr. Abara,” you both feel a hand on your shoulders as Lisa comes up behind you to intervene.“They’ll be on their best behavior from here on out, right?” She nods in a prompting manner, you and Chris following her lead.

“We’re sorry,” You mumble.

“It was her fault…” Chris says, earning him smack on the shoulder from his mom. “What?! It was!”

Mr. Abara turns around with a ‘hmph’, causing you and Chris giggle like teenagers at the grumpy old man. Lisa clears her throat and you and Chris straighten up.

“You two can’t help but draw attention to yourselves, huh?”

Before either of you could refute, the tour guide is ushering your group to the showroom for your day at the museum to really begin.

——————————————————————————

The exhibition was amazing to say the least. You’d never heard of the artist before, but you were astounded by her unique use of color, texture, and light in her work. And she was a sista? You were definitely going to keep her in mind for upcoming projects you had.

However incredible the artwork was, you’re not too sure how it compared to the entertainment that was the social show.

Your trio strolled together, taking in the majesty of the first few pieces. After a while Chris starts to linger behind you and Lisa for a bit. He admires the way you and his mom get along, walking arm-in-arm looking at the art.

The tour guide has everyone gather around a specific piece. “This one is my absolute favorite! It’s called ‘Mother Earth’. Do be shy; you can get close, but do not touch.”

When you step up to the piece, Chris is also does from the other side. He smiles and offers a quaint wave as if it’s your first time meeting. You reciprocate, and both proceed to lean in to the art for inspection.

“Wow,” you say as you marvel at the depth of blackness that outlines gaps for open air to breeze through. The piece has incredible curvature that makes the inanimate object look as if it were ready to continue dancing any minute now. All it needed was the right song or magic words to bring it back to life. You move around the pedestal to look at it’s other sides, Chris moving at the same rate across from you, equally as intrigued. There’s glints of gold, silver, emerald, and jade that add to its enchantment. “You ever see something so mysterious and beautiful and wonder, ‘Where did you come from?’”

“Yeah,” you move slightly, and your now eye to eye with Chris through one of the spaces within the sculpture. His Cerulean orbs pierce through to you thoughtfully, endearingly, making you wonder what he is thinking. “Yeah, I have.” Surely he’s not talking about…

“Alright people!” The tour guide shouts with a clap. “Let’s keep it moving!”

You stand up straight, while Chris glides over to you, hands his pockets, bouncing on his toes. You both have found the ground to be particularly interesting as you walk alongside each other to view the next piece of art. Standing before it, there’s not much of intellect input you can give with Chris’ presence fuzzing your brain. The silence is kind of enjoyable between you two, though. The pressure to fill the air with witty quips is at bay at this moment, and it's nice.

After a while, you both tentatively turn towards each other. Chris goes to say something, you’re sure it’ll be his analysis of what the artist’s intent is, but he doesn’t start his thought. Instead, his arm is being linked by some elderly woman.

“Uh, hello?”

“Hiya, Handsome,” she purrs, causing Chris to chuckle and rub the back of his neck. She leans her head on his shoulder and places her free, wrinkly hand on his chest. “So tell me what you think of this piece?” She says coyly.

“Umm…” Chris looks at you for help, but you are none. You just smirk and motion your head towards the art, urging him to answer her question. “Well, I think it’s speaking to the unique experience and intersectionality of being both black and a woman in the Diaspora. There are nods to the many hardships, horror, and passed down trauma that black women have and continue to endure, yet it so often turn into the most beautiful fruit, works worthy of high regard and praise by graceful, powerful women who are also deserving of such, tenfold.”

“Wow…” you and the ogling old-timer say simultaneously. He shyly looks at the ground and you shake off the spell of his summation. I’m not REALLY about to give this man points for stating basic YET ignored facts, am I? I’ll put a pin in this, but damn will I look at him differently.

“Y’know,” Chris’ amorous aged arm-candy starts, “I love a man who knows some BIG words and is not afraid to use ‘em!” she punctuates with a growl.

It takes everything in you not to laugh at Chris’ bugged out eyes and rosy face. You think you might’ve even seen a drop of sweat form on his brow. “Oh, okay…” he says as he tries to subtly pry the woman off of him. He looks to you for salvation again, but you’re already making your way to the next piece, waving at Chris over your shoulder, “I’ll leave y’all to it,” you laugh.

——————————————————————————

The tour’s come to an end and museum goers are starting to trickle out, some staying for the cheap hors d’oeuvres that are laid out. Chris managed to get his new lady friend off of him (might or might not have taken a few minutes of hiding in the bathroom), and he’s now flicking through his pictures of the day on his phone. There’s some of you and his mom smiling nicely at one another, him taking selfies with some of the work he considers posting later to shout out the artist, and some blurry ones of you, Chris, and Lisa, taken by a shakey hand museum goer.

The pictures that stop his swift swiping are of you admiring paintings on the wall. There’s nothing particularly special about these paintings; they were in the Baroque hall outside of the featured exhibit. You however, are thee something special. He can’t quite put his finger on it, but the way you fill the frame and effortlessly draw him in is magical to him. His favorite one from the set is the one with your back to the camera. Your silhouette has become iconic to him; standing out amongst the tired and basic. Holding your own in his brain.

“Just go talk to her. It’s better— less creepy— than staring at her picture.” Chris looks to his side to find Mr. Abara walking by extremely slowly passed.

“Oh, hey, Mr. Abara. Like I said before, it’s not—“

“What’re you scared, son?”

“Um… no, it’s… it’s just not like that.”

“Not like what?”

“Not… not like that,”

Mr. Abara nods slowly. “Sure it’s not.” Chris is thinks he hears Mr. Abara mumble something about not being born yesterday, but he’s already walking in your direction at the snack table.

When he arrives, you’re picking through the repulsive options. “Why the hell would they find this acceptable to give to old people?” You mumble under your breath. “I get their on they’re way out, but—”

“Talking to ourselves, are we?” Chris speaks up, causing you to yelp and jump out of your skin. His booming laugh and your screech cause some of the older museum goers to give you to the stank eye. “Oops, might’ve given some of ‘em a heart attack.”

“Might’ve given me a heart attack!”

“I realized something,” Chris changes the subject, picking up a grape to eat.

You sigh as your heart rate comes down. “What’s that?”

“That this is the first time we’re seeing each other in the daytime and without alcohol in our systems.”

You ponder on it for a second, “Really?” you question him and he nods.

“Huh, that’s… that’s a damn shame,” you laugh a little, and he does too.

“Sure is,” he agrees, popping another grape into his mouth.

“So, how do you like me sober and in natural lighting?” You jokingly ask him, motioning down your figure for added dramatics.

He sizes you up, eyes languidly travelling up your frame. The heat rises to your face just as his gaze does. He locks in on your eyes for just as second longer than what would be deemed an innocent look before saying, “Eh, you’re alright I guess,” nonchalantly, while going for another grape.

You shake your head at him slowly, a smug smile creeping on to your lips. “You just don’t wanna give me my props, huh? Whatever.”

The two of you laugh and chat for a while while waiting for Lisa. You’re interrupted by someone calling Chris’ name in the distance. You thought it was Lisa at first, relieved that you could call it day because your stomach was growling. However when you and Chris looked in the voice’s direction, you were more interested in staying a little while longer.

“Ooooh Handsome!!” Chris’ aged admirer chirped across the room. She must’ve been looking for him because her eyes were squinted and she moved her head from left to right in search of her unrequited beau.

“He’s right—”

“Don’t you dare!” Chris chides, his firm tone fluttering your stomach just a little. “We gotta go!”

He’s panicking over a lustful lady twice his age and you’re amused greatly, but you had no time to appreciate it as Chris put his hand on your lower back to lead you out of the museum. “Wait, what about your mom?” You tried to protest.

“She’ll find her way!”

“There you are!” Chris’ Boomer bugaboo exclaims.

“Go! Go! Go!”

——————————————————————————

“Well, this is my stop!” Lisa says as you all pull up to the youth theater where she works. She turns to you in the backseat. “Thank you for joining me today! Next time I’ll leave my son at home since he thinks he can leave me in the museum.”

“Hey! You didn’t see the look in that woman’s eyes! You would’ve ran like hell, too,” Chris exclaims from the driver’s seat.

“My poor baby,” Lisa pinches his cheeks as  she facetiously dotes and Chris rolls his eyes, eliciting a giggle from you. She pulls him close to her mouth to whisper something you can’t hear. You turn to look outside your window, your way of giving them privacy. 

“Are you threatening me, Ma?” You hear Chris humorously say.

“Threatening, mothering. Tomato, tahmato. Just do it. I’ll see you later, honey,” and with that Lisa leaves for work.

Chris drops his head, shaking it and laughing to himself.

“What is it?” You ask.

“Uh… my mom wants me to ask if you’d like to get some lunch. Since that museum food was shit and all.”

You arch a brow and contemplate the offer. You still weren’t so sure about hanging out with him solo. But I mean, I COULD eat.

Sensing your hesitation, Chris says, “It’s cool if… you don’t want to, I get it—“

“Sure,” you cut him off, unbuckling your seatbelt to climb over the front console to the passenger seat. You sit with a huff, and adjust your clothes. You looked over at him, and he’s got a look of slight disbelief. Unsure if it’s from you saying ‘yes’ or climbing into his front seat, you ask, “What?”

“Nothing, nothing…” he smiles at you. You look down at your lap, unable to meet his eyes. He lets his eyes linger on your shy form for a few seconds before clearing his throat, and asking, “So, uh, what kinda food do you want?”

“I’m down for anything.”

Chris amusedly huffs.“You women always say that, then when we men try to stick it in—“

“WOW, really?!” You swat at his arm and realize how buff he is because he didn’t even flinch. You try not to give in to your urge to laugh, but it’s hard when Chris is failing miserably and holding in his. You shouldn’t find it funny, but you kind of do. You let out a small laugh and roll your eyes at him. “You are absolutely childish.”

“No, not absolutely. I think I’ve prove to have some level of intellect today.” 

“If you’re talking about your dissertation earlier, verdicts still out on if you get a cookie.”

“S’long as there’s a trial,” he says with a heartwarming smile that you mirror. “And I was kidding, by the way, with the-- I don’t want you to think I’m some kind of pervert. You set it up for the joke, and I —”

“You don’t have to explain. I can take a joke.”

“Ok…cool.”

“Ok, cool,” you mimic him. “So what are we gonna eat?”

“You like pizza?”

“Who doesn’t like pizza?” you retort.

“True. Well, there’s this place, a true local staple ‘cos it’s the BEST pizza in Boston! Probably the whole world!” Gushes about this place.

“Not in the whole world!” you mock him. “Do they have vegan options?” He blinks at you. “What now?” you ask with a shrug.

“Are you fucking kidding me? You’re a vegan? Uggghhh!!!” Chris dramatically puts his head on the steering wheel.

You laugh at his antics. “Is that a deal breaker for you?”

He scoffs, then looks out his window, trying to avoid you seeing his cheeks turn red. You smirk to yourself knowing damn well you just made him blush. Still looking out his window at the rainy Boston day, “No real pizza place is gonna have ‘vegan options’,” he finishes with a Valley girl accent.

“First of all, it’s scary how good you are at that voice, and secondly, I beg to differ! You’ve clearly never been to Mellow Mushroom. Best pizza there is, AND there’s vegan options. I mean what did you get up to when you were in Atlanta?”

“Oh sweethaht,” he stresses his Boston accent, “you’re not ready for those stories…” he chuckles looking at you sideways through his lashes with a smirk, hoping you’d get the joke. He finds you trying to suppress a laugh, shaking your head then turning to look out the windshield, make him laugh in that mischievous way you’ve come to be fond of

“I know a place we could go to eat” you offer.

“Yeah? What kind of food?”

“Um… I don’t think I’ll tell you. It’s a surprise.”

“You’re lucky I’m in a ‘surprise’ kind of mood.”

You put the address in his car’s built in GPS, and you guys are on your way to lunch. But just before he pulls off, he looks at you with that boyish smile of his and sparkling blue eyes. You were re-applying your lip gloss in his overhead mirror. You turned mid-gloss glide, the wand still on your bottom lip. “What now?!”

Chris' gaze lingers on your lips before he looks up to your own sparkling eyes. “Nothing…” he said though you knew it was something; your heart didn’t flutter delightfully for no reason. “Nothing at all.”

Part 7 coming soon! What’d you think?

[nearlymanaged]

19. Insufferable Smartass and The Plan

Curiously, it was Sirius who suggested that him and Remus should bring their homework to Hogsmeade. When Remus pointed out that they might as well just enjoy the little daytrip with their friends and work later, Sirius started talking about how important school was and how procrastination was ‘the grave in which opportunity is buried’. In fact, he seemed eerily set on working on their Transfiguration essays together. In the end, regardless of what kind of Confundus spell had been cast on Sirius, Remus had no objections to the plan so they ran upstairs after breakfast to gather their stuff. 

When they came back down to the Entrance Hall, they cut in line (one of the perks of being sixth years) and headed straight to where James, Peter, and Lily, among some other friendly faces, were waiting for Filch to check their permission slips.

“Didn’t you two have a study date today?” James smirked at them and - with full, wholehearted, giggly approval of none other than Lily - ruffled his hair. Remus made a mental note to mention this very moment in his speech at James and Lily’s wedding, which, all of a sudden he was sure, was going to happen one day.

“Multitasking,” he nodded knowledgeably, “we’ll be drinking butterbeer while writing about the dangers of poorly executed human transfiguration.”

“I’m sure drinking butterbeer is somewhere there on the list of things not to do while you transfigure yourself,” Sirius added with the same gravitas.

“Well, if you get anything written at all, I’ll copy some of it later,” James looked at him while buttoning his jacket up.

“Why would you even suggest such a thing!?” Sirius exclaimed but Remus also caught him winking.

It just so happened that it was a beautiful spring day. Most of the students had no interest in hanging out at Three Broomsticks, or any other little shops and cafes of Hogsmeade, for more than five minutes. Remus and Sirius decided to get their homework out of the way first, so they headed for the pub, with the promise of meeting up with the rest of their friends at Honeydukes later.

Sirius insisted on paying for their butterbeers, which Remus accepted, albeit reluctantly. “I’ll get you something at Honeydukes,” he bobbed his head as Sirius followed him to one of the booths with two glasses in his hands. He also just so happened to sit down on the same side of their table, right next to Remus. But, of course, it made sense, because they were going to do homework together…

“Nah, just let me treat you to this.”

“Alright, what did you do?” Remus’ mouth split into a tentative, yet mischievous grin.

“What do you mean?” Sirius propped his elbow against the backrest of his seat and turned sideways, resting his right ankle on his left knee, to face Remus.

“Are you in a lot of trouble?”

“You’re deducting this from me buying you a drink?” Sirius smiled brightly, curiosity etched into his beaming eyes.

“Mixed with the fact that you’ve been set on getting away from our other friends. Are you trying to get out of detention? Look, before I casually confide in Dumbledore that I couldn’t bear to keep going if not for my best friends always there, always right at my side, I’d like to know what it is that you did to deserve a significant enough punishment that you actually want to get out of it,” Remus finished with a smirk.

“I--” Sirius frowned momentarily. “D’you know what… I think I do do that, don’t it?” He barked out a laugh. “You’re right!”

“It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out…”

“Fuck, you are bloody amazing, you are,” Sirius gazed at him, nothing short of starry-eyed. 

“I am?..” Remus chuckled.

“But you’re wrong this time.”

“I am!?”

“I haven’t done anything. I just want to treat you to a drink, that’s it.”

“Oh…” First, Remus gaped at Sirius dumbfounded, and then a melodious laugh erupted from him. He felt giddy all of a sudden. “Alright then…”

At first, they successfully dove into their essays. Remus was pleasantly surprised to see that Sirius had, in fact, already written a few paragraphs. But then, the more they sat there in that booth, their thighs and knees always touching; the more times Sirius leaned in so very close to glance at his essay, the more his black wavy hair tickled the side of Remus’ face -- the harder it was to focus on writing about Mirabella Plunkett and whether she was or wasn’t an animagus.

“Can I ask you something?” Sirius spoke up out of the blue a while later.

“When have you ever needed permission for that?” Remus mumbled as his quill traced the last couple of words of the sentence.

“Did you ever manage to conjure a corporeal Patronus?”

“Uh…” Remus tore his gaze off his essay and met Sirius’ grey eyes.

“My question has nothing to do with what we’re currently doing, by the way,” Sirius grinned.

“I’ve gathered.”

“So?”

“I don’t know… Kind of...”

“Kind of? So yes or no?”

“Yes.”

“What was it?”

Remus pursed his lips and his eyebrows dipped in contemplation. He knows!? “Some kind of an animal,” he answered slowly. 

“Some kind of an animal?”

“Mhm.”

“It wasn’t a dog, was it?” Sirius smirked and Remus cleared his throat and ran his fingers through his hair, shuffling his gaze back down onto his homework and biting the inside of his cheeks to keep from grinning.

“I don’t know,” he mumbled nonchalantly. “I’ll have to think about it. We should finish this in the meantime.”

“And then you’ll tell me?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright.”

Remus couldn’t have said whether it was a minute or ten that he spent pretending to read his textbook while mentally rolling his eyes at himself for getting so flustered and giddy. Finally, after another round of butterbeers paid for by Sirius, they were both done with their essays.

“I did borrow a couple of your ideas, but I changed the wording and everything,” Sirius knit his eyebrows together as he looked down at his homework.

“Let’s see…” Remus started proofreading it. He spoke again after a couple of minutes, “you wrote the same exact sentence twice here. Is there a particular reason for that or..?” He slid the essay closer to Sirius and pointed at the lines he was talking about.

“I did?” Sirius grabbed the parchment and pulled it closer to himself. “Well it’s obviously your fault. You’re distracting me.”

“I’m distracting you?” Remus’ eyebrows shot up in an amused expression when Sirius lifted his eyes from the essay.

“Yes… Did you know you’ve got ink on your nose?” Sirius’ face instantly broke out into a smile.

“I do?..” Remus tried to use a napkin dispenser as a mirror but its once shiny surface was far too dusty and scuffed up to reflect anything.

“Let me…” Sirius grabbed a napkin, touched his wand to it, and conjured a tiny bit of water to get it damp. He then reached over - although him and Remus were sitting so close that there wasn’t much reaching to do - and wiped the blue smudge off the tips of his nose.

“Thanks…” Remus touched his nose absently. Now that he thought about it, Sirius would have probably made fun of Peter for having ink on his nose and would have let James walk around with a blue stain on his face without telling him at all, just for the heck of it. 

“No worries,” Sirius sat back with a newfound cheeky smirk on his face. Remus was very much aware that his ears must have gone red and Sirius evidently felt emboldened by it. “So what’s your Patronus?”

“Didn’t you say it was a dog?” Remus mirrored his expression. “Aren’t you going to fix your essay?”

“Later… So it is a dog then?”

“It is.”

“Any dog we know or…”

Remus bit the tip of his tongue as he tried to tone his admittedly idiotic grin down at least a little bit. Clearly, Sirius knew exactly what his Patronus was, and by the looks of it, he seemed to be pretty pleased by it. Remus started loading his parchment and ink into his bag as he shrugged in response to the question. “I think you know. Now, if we’re done with Transfiguration, why don’t we go find the others?” He got up and swung the strap of his bag over his shoulder.

“The...others?.. Wait, no!” Sirius grabbed his things and recklessly stuffed them into his bag, probably breaking his quill in the process. By the time he got up to his feet, Remus was at the door, holding it open for a pair of old ladies walking into Three Broomsticks, before he dove into the sunshine and crisp breeze outside.

“Oi, Lupin!” 

“Black?” Remus scrunched his nose at Sirius once the latter caught up with him.

“Remus! What is wrong with you?”

“So many things, where do I even begin…” The boy smiled sheepishly.

“Do you not like me? Am I just making it up?”

“What…”

“Haven’t you noticed that I’ve been…” Sirius shrugged animatedly, causing some passers by to cast dirty glances at them. “...swooning over you for months!? I mean, what is wrong with you?! Why won’t you see that I’m in love with you?”

A long silence wrapped around these words as they echoed in Remus’ head, and he simply stared at Sirius’ face. And it dawned on him, slowly, gradually, the meaning that Sirius’ voice carried. “I thought I was supposed to be the swooning type?” He said with a smirk springing to his lips.

“Bloody Merlin… Am I making it--”

“Can we talk? Not here?” Remus motioned at the entire length of High Street filled with people.

“Shit. Well,” Sirius mumbled as colour drained from his face. “Not like I didn’t know this was a possibility… But I will respect whatever you say. And, just so we’re clear, I don’t think this should get in the way of our friendship…”

“Sirius.”

“...because I don’t want to not know you ever again. I’m fine with being your friend…”

“Sirius, I…”

“...if that’s what you want. I just need an answer so I can move--”

Remus sighed to himself with a roll of his eyes - he couldn’t believe he was about to do this - he closed the gap between the two of them in one smooth stride, and, drowning his fingers in the black mane, pressed his lips to Sirius’, effectively cutting him off.

He had spent what felt like every waking moment of the past couple of days replaying that Truth or Dare kiss in his head, sinking deeper and deeper into the fantasy of getting to snog Sirius again. And yet - a fleeting thought flickered in his head - he wasn’t prepared for this. He couldn’t have known how dizzying it would be to feel Sirius’ arms snake around his waist, pulling him closer. He couldn’t have known how positively drunk with happiness he would feel when they pulled apart.

“I’m sorry, so rude of me to cut you off,” Remus’ lips formed a giddy grin while Sirius stared at him, seemingly dumbstruck, still holding him close. “What was it that you were saying?”

“I…” He blinked rather comically and gave the tiniest shake of his head. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that. Could you, please, repeat what you just did?”

Remus felt his heart quite literally expand in his chest as they kissed again, happy smiles permanently stuck on their faces.

* * *

“So you’ve been swooning over me?” Remus beamed sheepishly as he fiddled with the lapels of Sirius’ leather jacket.

“Very much so,” Sirius nodded stoically, making a mental note to perhaps one day tell Moony about what Amortentia smelled of to him - not just yet though. 

“No, you haven’t!”

“Yes, I have,” Sirius gave another nod of his head, feeling like his own exhilarated grin could barely fit on his face. He could hardly believe what had just happened. “Ask anyone we know.”

“What?..”

“Yep, everyone knows I fancy you.”

“W-what?”

“Oh yeah. James knows, Peter knows, I’m pretty sure Lily knows, and probably all her friends. Definitely Marlene and Mary. Everyone who’s seen us snog the other night knows. I’ve a feeling McGonagall knows too. Dumbledore probably knows as well, seeing as he keeps such a close eye on you. Madam Pomfrey? Ten galleons says she knows. The house elves know it, I think. Regulus shouted a weird insult at me the other day that suggests that he knows as well. Speaking of Slytherins, I wouldn’t be surprised if Snivellus knew. Who else?..” Sirius stared off into the distance, scratching his chin as he did.

“What…are you talking about...” Remus was squinting at him now.

“Oh yeah, everyone knows. Honestly, I thought you’d have figured it out by now yourself.”

Remus’ face split into a sunny smile all of a sudden. “Would have been easier if you had told me.”

“Last I checked, you snogged the living hell out of me so I’m hardly the one to take all the blame. Besides, I’ve tried telling you.”

“No, you haven’t,” Remus shook his head with an ever present smirk.

“I have too. Numerous times.”

“When?!”

“I don’t know, every day for the last couple of months,” Sirius shrugged, only vaguely aware of the hairs on the back of his neck standing up in some kind of electric excitement. He must have looked like an idiot too, he was sure, gazing at Moony the way he did. But he couldn’t help himself. Nothing had ever felt so unequivocally good and right, and if Sirius didn’t know better, he could have sworn he was dreaming. 

“What?” Remus scrunched up his nose, causing Sirius to chuckle.

“You,” he answered with an unabashed dreaminess permeating his voice.

“I know,” Moony’s lips formed a smug little smile. “You’ve been swooning over a disfigured werewolf with a compulsive need to correct people’s grammar - it must be tough.”

“Those are two of my favourite things about you. Always have been. That hasn’t changed.” Sirius rebutted without missing a beat, leapt over to Remus’ side, and took his hand, lacing their fingers together, which elicited a chuckle from the boy. “What?” Sirius nudged him with his shoulder.

“Nothing,” Remus shrugged and looked down at their linked hands. “I’m just really excited, I suppose.”

“I’ve never seen you laugh out of excitement before.” 

“Maybe I’ve never been this excited before, then.”

“I know I haven’t,” Sirius said and, only allowing himself a split second’s hesitation, lifted his free hand to cup Remus’ face and drew him into another kiss.

When their lips broke apart, their foreheads remained glued together, resting against each other for another moment. “Please tell me you didn’t write that Valentine’s day poem...”

A tickled laugh erupted from Sirius. “That was absolutely my own fault for allowing too much creative liberties…”

“As in, you actually hired that dwarf?” Remus arched his eyebrows as they fell into step side by side.

“I did. I also made a heart in your porridge that morning but you called it a butt, you uncultured troll.”

“That’s ‘uncultured troll that you’ve been swooning over’, excuse you.”

Sirius stopped dead in his tracks and when Moony - who also stopped, since they were holding hands - peered at him curiously, Sirius tugged him a little closer. “I am so into you,” he spoke barely above a whisper.

“Even though I fold my socks?” Remus attempted a nonchalant chuckle but his blushing ears gave him away.

“Even though you fold your socks.”

“Even though I’m a monster?”

“For the millionth time, Moony, shut the fuck up,” Sirius frowned momentarily. 

“Calling it something else only increases--”

“Yeah, I know, says Dumbledore. Whatever. I’d still rather call you ‘honey’ or ‘love’ or ‘handsome’-- or ‘nerd’, really,” he flashed Moony a charming grin before pointedly averting his eyes. “Or ‘my boyfriend’, if that’s alright with you…”

“Well, seeing as I’ve fancied you since about fourth year…”

“What?! Where was I?!”

“Fourth year?..” Remus stared off into the distance, squinting slightly, scratching his chin as he did. “If I remember correctly, you had a crush on that one sixth year Slytherin girl.”

“Unbelievable…”

“In fact, I think you went through a phase that year where you were only interested in older girls, so...”

“No, I mean… What was wrong with me?”

“Well, just off the top of my head--”

“It’s a rhetorical question, you insufferable smartass,” Sirius’ eyes glistened mischievously and then he planted a kiss on Remus’ lips - because he could, finally, after all those months.

“And you’re absolutely sure you want to be romantically affiliated with an insufferable smartass?” Remus sounded slightly out of breath when he spoke, a giddy smile painted across his face.

“More than anything, quite literally.”

Remus laughed - giggled - again, and Sirius felt like his feet were about to leave the ground; he was that full of love and of dizzying happiness. And that was his new favourite sound all of a sudden - one that he knew was for him only. 

“That summer after our fourth year...” He slid his hands into Remus’ jacket pockets - either for lack of knowing what to do with his hands or for a reason to touch his boyfriend Remus. “...was the summer when we talked on the phone a lot.”

“It was.” Moony gave a nod of his head and one of his trademark inquisitive looks.

“It was a bit romantic, wasn’t it?”

“I suppose so,” Remus chuckled lightly. 

“I’d really missed that this last summer. You’ll have to come visit this summer break!”

“Will I have to sleep on the floor of your bedroom this time?” Remus teased.

“I think I prefer the bed, but whatever you say. We can do the floor, we can do it wherever,” Sirius went on with exaggerated coyness etched into his features. “I’ll do it any place and any way you want.” 

“You say all these facetious, idiotic things,” Remus mumbled low, slowly bringing his hands up to Sirius’ face, squinting at him ever so slightly, “and you wear these dangly earrings and this dung eating grin, and I simply can’t…” Without finishing the sentence, Remus kissed Sirius senseless. 

Finally, Sirius snaked his arm around Moony’s waist and they started down the street again. They chatted as they walked, exchanging flirtatious lines and smiles, and Sirius caught his imagination painting an exciting picture of everyone finding out about him and Remus. A part of him could hardly wait for it. It was the same part that wanted to get atop the Astronomy Tower just to shout to the world about his boyfriend Remus, just to share his amazing luck with everyone. 

But at the core of his being, as he gazed into those beaming green eyes, Sirius wanted nothing more than to see Moony smile the way that he was smiling at him then - every day, for as long as they lived.  

The two of them slowly made their way to Honeydukes. It turned out to be the busiest shop in town, crawling with Hogwarts students. They stopped a few feet away from the entrance, allowing two small gaggles of third years to cross their path.

“D’you think...do you reckon it’s going to be strange? For James and Peter...” Remus smiled at Sirius sheepishly, his eyebrows dipping in dubiety. 

“Oh,” Sirius burst out laughing, his eyes glistening as he cupped Remus’ face with both of his hands, gently brushing his fingertips against the freckled skin, “oh, my love! They’re going to be relieved, trust me.”

“Are they?” Moony’s face slowly mimicked Sirius’ grin.

Before too long, the two boys went into Honeydukes where Remus, standing on his toes, located their friends huddled at the far end of the shop. Sirius started weaving his way through the sea of people, holding Remus’ hand in his - as they had done before when in crowded places. But this time, it felt different, far more exhilarating, Sirius thought.

By the time they crossed the room, however, they realised that their friends had gone. “Oh, there they are...and they just walked outside,” Remus followed them out with his gaze.

The two of them turned around, joking about, still holding hands, and Sirius led the way towards the exit. When they were almost at the door, they heard a familiar voice, speaking just outside, just out of sight.

“...and then they won’t be able to wriggle their way out of it!” Peter exclaimed triumphantly.

“Sirius won’t,” James spoke up next, “but who knows what lie Remus will come up with. The boy’s a bloody master at denial and dodging questions.”

At these words, both Sirius and Remus looked at each other, the same curiosity reflected in their faces. But before they could make the decision to either remain hidden or join their friends outside, Lily’s voice carried: “Trust me, it’ll work. They’ll be in each other’s arms by the end of it.”

“Or are you just saying that because you actually want to pretend to be on a date with me?”

Sirius and Remus both frowned and then almost broke out laughing at the same time in response to James’ words. 

“You wish, Potter!” Lily let out a melodious laugh and then spoke again, more sternly this time. “It’ll work. They fancy each other, but they’re both too stupid to make the first move. We just need to nudge them a little in the right direction. Don’t tell me this isn’t a brilliant plan?”

“Fine, it is. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t want to pretend to be on a date with me, does it?”

“Give it a rest, will ya, lad?” Peter’s exasperated, yet absolutely defeated voice caused Sirius to slap his hand over his own mouth to keep from laughing, while Remus clutched his chest, wheezing soundlessly. “I think the plan’s brilliant. And frankly, I’m tired of the whining and sighing.”

“Whose whining and sighing?” Remus whispered at Sirius but he just bit back a grin and shushed him.

“Peer pressure is a powerful weapon,” James quipped, making Lily and Peter chuckle outside. 

“Oh, I can’t wait!” Lily squealed.

“But what if they get together before then, on their own?” Peter asked and, after several silent seconds, during which they probably exchanged looks, the three Gryffindors burst out laughing.

“Good one, Wormy!” Lily cackled, to Sirius’ deep surprise.

“But seriously,” James spoke quieter now, “to be able to do this for two of my best friends is an honour. You know, I think it’s a privilege to be a part of it…”

“Gosh, you sound like they just asked you to be the best man…”

“Well, Sirius certainly will, won’t he?!”

“See,” Sirius turned to Remus and whispered with a playful smile, “I wasn’t exaggerating when I said that everyone knows.”

“I can’t believe this…” Remus shook his head slowly, staring blankly into space. “I can’t believe they’re plotting like that, behind our backs.”

“It’s interesting how confident they all are that you fancy me.”

Remus looked over to Sirius’ face again and was met with a cheeky smirk. “I know, it is interesting,” he played dumb, although not very successfully. “Is it bad that I kind of want to go along with their plan just to see what would happen?”

“But it wouldn’t make any sense if-- Wait…” Sirius’ smile faded. “You mean, pretend that we didn’t just snog multiple times and go along with their plan?”

“Well, when you put it like that…”

An outraged gasp erupted from Sirius as he shot Remus a dirty look. “Are you ashamed of me?!”

“Yes… Yes, you got me,” the boy uttered in a monotone.

“I’m just yanking your wand, Moony,” Sirius barked out a laugh at his boyfriend’s sarcasm. “Naturally, we have to do it.”

“Who are we if we don’t do it?”

“Certainly not Marauders.”

“A disappointment to ourselves, really.”

“And to all future generations of delinquents.”

“Besides, who are we to deny James the opportunity to go on a fake date with Lily?”

“Nothing but scoundrels if we get in the way of it.”

“Well, shall we?” Remus nodded his head in the direction of the exit.

Sirius quickly scooped up both of Moony’s hands and pulled him a little closer. “You make me so happy - always - but especially today.”

And they kissed, again, just inside Honeydukes, feeling like no one else was there, like no one could see them, even though it was brimming with people.

“Ah, there you are, we were looking for you,” Sirius drawled, a giddy smile permanently plastered all over his face, as he and Remus walked outside - no longer holding hands.

“We were looking for you!” James leapt over to the two boys and hooked his arms around their shoulders.

“Did you get your chocolate supply?” Lily looked over at Remus.

“Believe it or not, I’m still stocked from last time.”

“Oh? That is a little worrisome. How’s your blood sugar level?” She grinned.

“It’ll get me through the day.”

“What’s going on?” Peter, seemingly completely uninterested in the conversation, looked at Sirius curiously.

“What do you mean?” He shrugged with his hands buried in his pockets, fully aware that he must have looked nothing short of drunk - because that was close to how he felt.

“You two look awfully happy…” Peter shuffled his gaze onto Remus.

“We do?” Sirius asked brightly. “Moony, what do you think? How come we look so awfully happy?”

“Oh, that would be the euphoria of having finished our homework, Padfoot,” he answered with a radiant smile.

[syrinxsilenus]

You’re Mine

Summary: Ryoma and Sakuno are dating for three years. Everything seems going well and they're going strong until a transfer student from America suddenly appeared and shake their relationship foundation. "So you drunkenly set me up with some girl when I was four? How can you be so crazy oyaji!"

You're Mine

Written by: SyrinxSilenus

Chapter 1: Ryoma has a fiancee?

Sakuno couldn't believe that it had been three years since she and Ryoma had started dating. Sometimes she couldn't help but still questioned herself if everything that had happened was real or she had been trapped in a very realistic dream for so long.

Who would even think that Ryuzaki Sakuno, a plain, clumsy, and directionally challenged girl would have the Prince of Tennis, Echizen Ryoma's interest?

Four years ago…

She couldn't understand the significance of Ryoma giving her his red tennis racket before he left for America in their first year in middle school.

Sakuno had been confused because she knew the racket was precious to Ryoma and that he didn't just let anyone touch it. At the same time, she felt exhilarated, like wild butterflies were fluttering inside her belly.

Sending Ryoma off to America for the second time hadn't lessened the ache in her heart, but Sakuno knew that the world needed to discover Ryoma's tennis. She believed with all her heart that he would be number one.

Sakuno was still depressed even a week after Ryoma's departure. Not seeing him in the court felt as if a big part of her had been ripped off. So imagine her surprise when she had suddenly received a letter from Ryoma containing his current address in America.

Overwhelmed with happiness, Sakuno had squealed and jumped in delight and muttered about things that she wanted to write to him in a daze.

She had sent him letters every week since then. Informing him of everything that happened to the senpais and her life. To her surprise, Ryoma actually wrote back whenever he could. Although his letters were short and direct to the point, Sakuno didn't care at all. She was just happy that he had bothered to reply.

Exchanging letters with him made her feel like he hadn't really left and that they finally had some sort of connection. A year passed by so quickly and she was finally entering her final year in middle school. That was when he returned.

One morning, when she was hurrying out of the house to go to school, she almost had a heart attack when she saw him leaning casually beside their door with his hands tucked inside his pockets. A tennis bag on his shoulder and his signature fila hat on his head.

Sakuno had gaped at him like he had grown three heads before he finally looked at her.

"Yo, Ryuzaki," he had greeted her as if he hadn't been gone for more than a year.

She didn't know what possessed her, but the next thing she knew, she was already wrapping her arms around his neck as she cried happy tears. She hadn't imagined that from then on, the two of them would be inseparable.

She couldn't remember how it started, but they slowly transitioned from mere acquaintance to close friends.

She, a dense idiot like no other, hadn't thought much of it until one of their schoolmates tried to ask her out on a date and Ryoma had launched a deadly twist serve towards the boy's face.

He spat out a spew of angry words that she couldn't remember aside from: "She's mine. Don't touch her."

Utterly flabbergasted, Sakuno just stood there, mouth wide open like a fish out of the water until Ryoma grabbed her hand and dragged her to the rooftop.

When she came to, Ryoma had already trapped her with her back on the wall, his arms on either side of her head as he leaned his forehead on hers, demanding her to go out with him.

Still reeling from everything that happened, all Sakuno could do was to nod frantically with her eyes as wide as dinner plates.

She squeaked a high-pitched, "Yes!" and Ryoma smirked in satisfaction.

It took her the whole day before everything sank through her and she ran inside her grandmother's room to scream, "Ryoma-kun asked me to go out with him! And I said, yes! Hoeeee!"

Sumire laughed at her, saying, "Took you long enough to realize that? You're staring at Ryoma in a daze since the tennis practice started and he even walked you home, holding hands."

Sakuno let out another squeak, sounding like a dying rat as her face shifted to different shades of red. That night she hadn't had much sleep as Ryoma invaded her thoughts until morning came.

That confession happened three years ago.

Now, here she was, staring at the blackboard as their homeroom teacher blabbered about a transfer student from America.

Sakuno blinked as Tomoka kicked her desk lightly, pulling her out of the memory lane.

"Psst, Sakuno, Nami said that she saw a blonde girl in the registration office earlier and that she's so pretty like a supermodel. Looks like she's our new classmate," Tomoka whispered beside her.

Blinking twice in confusion, Sakuno tilted her head to the side, "We have a transfer student?"

Tomoka looked at her in disbelief just as someone started chuckling behind her.

Sakuno blushed in embarrassment and Tomoka rolled her eyes while the person behind her lightly tugged one of her braids.

"Neh, off to dreamland again?" She could practically hear his smirk.

She ducked her head to hide her flustered expression. "Mou, stop teasing me, Ryoma-kun."

"Heh, whatever do you mean, Sakuno?" Ryoma replied, amusement was clear in his voice while he continued to twirl her braid in his hand.

She wondered what kind of obsession Ryoma had with her hair when he told her a long time ago that it was too long. Also, he loved to bury his nose on the crook of her neck or the top of her head. He was so weird sometimes.

She heard Tomoka giggling beside her and she pouted.

"Yu-san, please come in and introduce yourself."

Their attention was brought back to the front as a beautiful girl entered their class. Her straight blond hair danced gracefully as she walked with model-like strides. The beauty smiled charmingly, earning murmurs from the class

'So pretty…' Sakuno thought as she observed the new transfer student.

The girl had a pair of beautiful forest green eyes, a cute pointed nose, and red lips – obviously painted with lipstick. Her eyelashes weren't as long as Sakuno's, but they were long enough to enhance her big eyes. Her eyeliner was thick and obvious, but they made the green in her eyes even more prominent. Her school uniform looked so fitting that her beautiful curves were shown so clearly along with her perfectly shaped legs.

Sakuno squashed the sudden urge to check her own legs.

'Tomo-chan said mine are to die for, but she's probably just trying to cheer me up. Mou…'

Sakuno liked to observe beautiful girls in general, not because she was envious, but it was because of Tomoka's habit of pointing out their looks. Though in Sakuno's part, she focused more on the beauty they tried to conceal or seemed unnoticed by others.

She had always been down to earth, always looking for the best in people. That was why Tomoka always scolded her for her naivety, but she couldn't just change her views in one night. So it was a shock to her when she suddenly felt a twinge of envy towards the transfer student.

"Oh my god, Sakuno! She's staring at Ryoma-sama!"

Especially when Tomoka hissed that beside her.

Ryoma continued to twirl Sakuno's braids as their homeroom teacher rambled on and on. His girlfriend's attention was back to the front but his mind was elsewhere. He just wanted for lunch break to come faster so that he could spend a private moment with Sakuno.

He was getting bored again and sleep was starting to draw him in. He yawned as he rested his cheek on his desk, putting one of Sakuno's braids on his nose like a mustache for him to smell.

'Strawberry.' He really liked Sakuno's shampoo, although it lacked another one of her natural scent – vanilla – it still didn't fail to lull him to sleep all the time.

'Is homeroom not over yet?' A yawn escaped his lips for the second time.

'It's so quiet here...wait, quiet? Since when did my classmates learn to shut up?'

Suddenly awake, he slowly lifted his head to check his surroundings only to find all of his classmates staring at him.

Ryoma raised an eyebrow as they started murmuring while flickering their gazes from him and to the blackboard.

Utterly irritated, he followed their gazes only to blink in confusion as an unfamiliar girl stared back at him with so much intensity Ryoma was tempted to glare back at her.

"Psst, Echizen, do you know this chick?" Horio whispered beside him.

"No," Ryoma smoothly replied with his forehead creasing.

"She's looking so intensely at you, as if she's stripping you off your clothes," Horio added, snickering.

Ryoma glared. "Shut up."

"Umm, Yu-san. You have to introduce yourself," Ms. Kanagawa reluctantly stated, shifting her eyes nervously between her and Ryoma.

The girl eyed their homeroom teacher for a second before she returned her gaze back at him, fluttering her eyelashes.

Ryoma cringed internally. He hated girls like that.

"I'm Yu Reina, 17 years old. I'm a Japanese-American and we just moved here from Los Angeles yesterday. Please take care of me," the girl introduced herself, bowing politely.

'Yu Reina? Why did that sound familiar?' Ryoma thought as he scratched his head. The girl was still staring at him which unnerved him so he laid back his head on the desk and put Sakuno's braid on his closed eyes.

"Why did you move to Japan?" Ryoma heard one of his male classmates asked.

"I returned here to claim my fiancé since it's due time we meet each other again."

Gasps echoed around the room, but Ryoma was back to being sleepy.

'Sakuno's hair really smells so good.'

"Is your fiancé here in our class?"

'What bento did Sakuno cook for us today?'

"Of course."

Ryoma could vaguely hear the murmurings intensifying around him, but he was so close to succumbing to unconsciousness that he just ignored them.

"WHO IS HE!" Horio's annoying voice jolted him out of his drowsiness and Ryoma raised his head to glare at his loud teammate.

He lifted his foot to kick Horio's desk when someone suddenly stood in front of him, blocking his view of Horio.

Annoyed, Ryoma glared at the person who interrupted his little revenge when the smiling face of the transfer student greeted him.

Ryoma glared at her. "Oi, move out of the way," he demanded but the girl appeared not to hear him as she just continued to smile at him.

The classroom turned eerily quiet. Ryoma shifted his gaze to his girlfriend only to find her staring at the transferee in disbelief.

"Ryo-kun, it's been a long time," the unknown girl said.

Ryoma narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell are you?"

The girl giggled. "Don't be like that. We spent a lot of time together when we were little, you can't possibly have forgotten about me."

His annoyance increased. "No. I seriously don't know you. Now move out of the way," he demanded.

"Ryoma-kun…" he heard Sakuno murmur. There was something in her voice, something that he didn't like and made him feel alarmed.

"Sakuno?" He asked and was about to touch her shoulder when Sakuno's loud-mouthed best friend suddenly stood up.

"Are you saying that Ryoma-sama is your fiancé!? Don't kid us! Ryoma-sama is already dating someone!" Osakada screamed, looking red in anger.

His eyes grew three sizes larger and he immediately backed away from the girl as if she was carrying a deadly contagious disease.

The transferee frowned. "That can't be right Ryo-kun. Our engagement has long been arranged. You can't have any other girl but me," she said, staring at him in accusation.

He didn't like the way she was looking at him. No, it's not just that. He simply didn't like her ever since he saw her earlier.

"Shut up. I don't know you nor am I engaged to anyone yet," Ryoma stated firmly, eyeing Sakuno who was staring down at her lap.

"But Ryo-kun, I'm not lying! We were always together when we were kids–"

"Tennis," he interjected, making the girl stop in her sentence.

"Tennis is what I have done since I was a kid. I didn't have time to play around with toddlers so quit your nonsense."

"No! I'm your fiancé! Ask your parents! They know about it," the girl insisted.

Ryoma was about to spat something nasty when their homeroom teacher cleared her throat.

"Yu-chan, Echizen-kun. You should talk about personal matters after school. We should all calm down and sit now."

The transfer student stared at him in frustration before she huffed and crossed her arms.

"We're not done yet," she declared before she marched towards the empty seat in front.

Ms. Kanagawa cleared her throat again. "I'll be checking your attendance now," she said as she started calling out names.

Ryoma barely paid attention to her. He was focused on his girlfriend who was facing the front, neither looking nor saying anything to him.

Somehow, Ryoma was engulfed with a sudden feeling of fear. He didn't do anything wrong, but with what happened, he was worried that Sakuno would…

He suddenly stood up. "Sakuno's not feeling well, Ms. Kanagawa. Let me bring her to the clinic."

Sakuno jolted. "W-What?" she blurted out, blinking at him in confusion.

Ms. Kanagawa gazed at Sakuno worriedly. "You look pale, Ryuzaki-chan. Very well Echizen-kun, make sure she doesn't collapse on your way there," she said as she pushed her eyeglasses up her nose.

Ryoma inclined his head before he gripped Sakuno's hand and stared hard at her, demanding her to just go with the flow.

His girlfriend sighed as she stood up and let him guide her out of the class. He could feel everyone's eyes staring at their backs, but Ryoma couldn't care less.

Sakuno was quiet as they walked, even when he guided her to the opposite direction of the clinic and led her to the rooftop instead. Ryoma squeezed her hand as he felt his heart start to beat faster.

'Is she mad?'

He and Sakuno rarely argued since they started dating. She was always so understanding that sometimes, he was the one who felt guilty whenever he did something wrong.

The only time she got mad at him was when he stubbornly insisted to attend tennis practice even though he had a fever. It was the first time Sakuno yelled at him. Ryoma hadn't felt that kind of fear since his mother caught him skipping classes with Momo and Kikumaru-senpai once.

Since then, he was cautious of making Sakuno mad, but she was too kind that she would just stay quiet and let him scold her whenever they had a disagreement.

Now though, this was a different matter. Ryoma knew that Sakuno had low self-esteem and was extremely selfless, so he was afraid that she would...break up with him just because some girl claimed to be his childhood sweetheart. He was afraid that Sakuno wouldn't fight for him and just surrender to the other girl.

He shut the door of the rooftop as they arrived and faced his still quiet girlfriend who was looking down on her feet.

"Sakuno…" He didn't know what to say.

He was getting frustrated when his phone rang and he answered it without looking at the caller's ID.

"What?" he spat out.

"Oooh, you don't sound so happy seishounen." His perverted father's singsong voice greeted him, making

his irritation skyrocketed.

He eyed Sakuno, not letting go of her hand as he answered his father. "Oyaji, what do you want? I'm busy–"

"This is about Yu Reina, you brat! She might go to your school to–"

"Too late, she's here. She invaded my class and caused me a lot of trouble. What is she spouting about, some stupid engagement?" He noticed Sakuno looked up at him. Their eyes met.

He squeezed her hand one more time before he shifted the phone to loudspeaker.

"Ah… that. It happened when you were still four. Mr. Yu and I are buddies, y'know. So we joked around about marrying you and Reina-chan together since she was always following you around, and ah...we were kinda drunk and things just happened..."

"And?" Ryoma prompted, his temper rising by a minute.

"So...we signed a written agreement..."

Ryoma heard his father's nervous laugh on the other line and his grip on the phone tightened.

"So you drunkenly set me up with some girl when I was four!? How can you be so crazy oyaji—Oi, Sakuno! D-Don't cry." He frantically let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around his girlfriend, rubbing her back as tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"Oops, so Sakuno-chan's there. Hehe, sorry seishounen. I think there's a misunderstanding about this agreement so you should bring Sakuno-chan here and we can discuss this properly later. For now, you should...comfort your girlfriend or you'll end up being sing–"

Ryoma dropped the call and returned his phone to his pocket as he lifted Sakuno's face up to meet his eyes. Her nose was turning red now; he hated it when she cried.

"Sakuno, I–"

"A-Are you g-going to b-b-break up–" He didn't let her finish her stupid question as he abruptly claimed her mouth in a searing kiss.

Sakuno clutched on his uniform as he gripped her hips tightly, backing her up to the wall.

"R-Ryoma," she murmured against his lips as he heatedly kissed her, making her whimper. Reluctantly, he moved away from her to gaze deeply into her brown eyes.

"Don't start spouting nonsense. We're not breaking up. You hear me?" Ryoma firmly stated, eyes never wavering from Sakuno's.

"B-But what about y-your engagement? Nanjiroh-san said that they signed an agreement and–"

Ryoma shushed her frantic mumblings with another kiss that ended in three seconds. Kissing her was the best way to shut her up whenever she started to babble.

"Don't worry about unimportant things. I'll have my idiot father fix his own stupidity. There's something wrong with that agreement. If you're going to insist about that stupid engagement, I'm hauling you to Hong Kong to get married," he seriously said, causing Sakuno's cheeks to redden.

"Mou, Ryoma-kun, stop joking about something like this, I–"

"I'm not joking," he scowled at her, feeling insulted, "I will definitely marry you if they force me to be with that girl, and not even Ryuzaki-sensei can stop me."

Sakuno blinked at him in surprise as her grip tightened on his shirt. "Y-You won't leave me f-for her?"

Ryoma leaned his forehead against her, looking straight at her brown eyes. "Never."

A single tear rolled down her cheeks and he wiped it with his thumb as he slowly descended to kiss her again. Gentler this time. The familiar fluttering in his stomach returned full force as Sakuno's soft lips brought him to a sea of explicable sensations that made his instinct take over his body.

'Like hell we're breaking up!' Ryoma was a selfish person. He was aware of that all this time. If he wanted something, he would have it. Ryuzaki Sakuno was no exception. 'She's mine!'

His hand expertly unbraided her hair, letting it cascade like a waterfall on her back as he weaved his fingers through her silky strands.

His mind shut down as the smell of vanilla and strawberry invaded his senses, making him forget about their problem, where they were, or his own name.

He softly nipped on her lower lip before slowly releasing them, panting slightly while his fingers ran down her side. He felt her shudder from his touch as her grip tightened around his neck, but her fingers on his hair were gentle, lightly combing through his dark tresses.

"W-What are we going to do n-now?" Sakuno muttered, looking straight into his eyes with a worried frown on her cute face.

The redness on her cheeks looked darker than before and her eyes looked a bit glassy. She was definitely quite frazzled. It was a wonder she still managed to ask him a question.

Ryoma rested his forehead on her as he let out a deep sigh. "We need to talk with my father first."

His girlfriend nodded slowly. "I-I don't want to get back to class," she murmured.

He grinned and chuckled a little in response.

"What?" She asked with a pout.

"This is the first time I hear you suggest we skip class," he said between chuckles.

Sakuno hit him lightly on the chest. "It's not funny! It's just...just–"

Ryoma buried his face in the hollow between her neck and shoulder whispering, "Okay" under his breath.

He sat down and leaned his back on the wall with Sakuno sitting on his lap, resting her head on his chest as he placed his cheek on top of her head.

The wind blew softly, rustling their clothes and Sakuno's hair as the smell of vanilla and strawberry wafted through the air, lulling Ryoma to sleep as his arms tightened around her petite body.

That was where they spent their time until lunch arrived.

To Be Continued...

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13871251/1/You-re-Mine

[dickgraysonisnothereforthis]

I Didn’t Mistake Your Finger for the Moon, I Just Chose to Look at You Instead

Tim Drake x Reader Oneshot

The title comes from zen buddhism (maybe chinese? i’m sorry I don’t know), the idea is I am pointing my finger at the moon to show you the moon don’t look at my pointed finger, look where I’m pointing.

Heavily inspired by the play Frankie and Johnnie in the Claire de Lune

***

You can’t believe it’s only 8:30pm, just two hours into the night and you’re already bored out of your skull. Around you, the huge ballroom swirls with sparkling socialites keeping themselves busy by incessantly talking shit and guzzling Bruce Wayne’s alcohol. Everybody has their lips to someone’s ear and a glass in their hand, except for you, which is quite stupid on your part. But that’s why you’re at the bar. 

Behind you, the positively charming laughs of the Wayne Gala’s guests dot the conversations that spill out through the room in concentric circles, rippling over each other in waves that ebb and flow right up until they reach you. Then they stop short, leaving you alone and trying to order a drink from a bartender who seems to be too busy to chat you up out of pity.

Not that you’d do anything with her, obviously. But still. Some attention would be nice.

Christ, you were so shit at knowing what to do with yourself at these parties. You’d think you’d have them figured out by now, but no such luck. Your funeral.

“Hey, have you seen Tim?”

You turn to face the speaker and your eyes fall on Dick Grayson, dressed gorgeous in a sharp suit complete with a dark blue bow tie. He looks incredible, but then again, he usually does. And miracle of miracles, the folks around you are now eyeing you up, trying to figure out if it’s worth skydiving into your conversation to get in a word with Bruce Wayne’s heir. Dick does that to people, has the sort of happy, positive demeanor that makes folks want desperately to talk to him, to be part of his group. You’ll probably never get used to it. Or to how beautiful he is.

“Yeah.” Yeah, you know where Tim is. You resist the urge to point across the ballroom, motioning with your chin instead. “He’s over there, schmoozing with some LexCorp folks.”

“Schmoozing? With LexCorp?” Dick’s face takes on a slightly disgusted hue in the light of the chandeliers.

You shrug. “Schmoozing, making thinly veiled threats, planting the seeds for some light corporate espionage, but not the sort anyone can prove. You know Tim.”

Dick chuckles at that. “I guess I do.” He takes a step away from you, then doubles back. “Are you all right, over here? You look a bit...”

“You can say lonely, Dick, it’s okay,” you say with a bit of bite, too many teeth in your voice, but he’s not wrong. “I’m fine, you don’t need to babysit me.”

His eyebrows raise. “Jeez, y/n, I didn’t mean--”

You cut him off. “No, it’s fine Dick, I shouldn’t have said that, I’m sorry.” You press a hand to the bridge of your nose and try to take deep breaths. Starting a fight with your boyfriend’s oldest brother is not exactly on your to-do list for the evening. “I am a bit lonely, but it’s cool, I get Tim back in...” you check your watch, a cheap analogue that clashes something awful with your cheesed-up attire. “Eight in a half minutes. Then he’s mine for at least an hour.”

Dick quirks his lips in a half-smile. “You guys time how long he spends doing W.E. business at these galas? That’s--”

“Adorable? Or just anal?” Try as you might, you can’t keep the cynicism from spreading thick over your tone.

“I was actually going to say very Tim,” he says back warmly. You grin at him, bad mood abandoning you for the moment. “It was his idea. Wouldn’t be much of a date if we didn’t spend any time together.”

Dick laughs again. “No, I suppose it wouldn’t.” Across the room, Tim turns away from the circle of business harpies and shoots you an apologetic smile. Dick must’ve clocked it as well. “Maybe Tim’ll turn knight-in-shining-armor and rescue you,” he suggests.

You wrinkle your nose. “I doubt it. As much as I don’t like it, the business stuff needs to get done.”

Dick eyes Tim’s back. “Yeah, something tells me you’d be the one doing the rescuing.” He clears his throat. “Well, I hate to be rude, but I gotta skip out on you.” Dick’s down-to-earth manner of speaking always surprises you, especially because he manages to get away with it at these swanky events. When you do it everyone seems to look at you sideways. “Need to go find Damian,” Dick explains further. “If he’s not antagonizing your boyfriend, he may be up to something worse.”

You nod in agreement. “Go get ‘em, Tiger.”

He sighs. “Yeah, wish me luck.” And then Dick makes his exit, leaving you with seven and a half minutes to wallow before Tim comes back.

You chide yourself a bit, picking up the Gin and Tonic that the bartender had just placed in front of you. Were you seriously going to wallow in self pity at a gala half of Gotham would kill to attend? With Tim Drake as your date? Hundreds of girls and quite a few boys probably daydream about being in your place, especially after he made the Forbes Thirty under Thirty list last month. Still, his spot on the list doesn’t change the fact that exactly no one at this party, striking Dick and the bartender, has said a single word to you.

You stifle a sigh. It isn’t your fault Gotham’s socialites always prove to be uninterested in Timothy Drake’s thoroughly middle-class girlfriend. They had found you just fascinating when the relationship was new and Tim’s move of dating so far below his class had actually made headlines. But, six months later, your novelty had worn clean off. God, you wished you had someone to talk to. You were feeling so small.

Swallowing a sip of G&T, you think back to your first gala at the Manor. The glitter and glamour of the evening had left you breathless, whereas now it’s making you sick. Some parts of the evening never seem to go stale, though. You still love playing dress up in gorgeous clothes and parading around with your boyfriend, who was also dressed up in gorgeous clothes. Tim usually bought your dresses for these events, since there was no way on the planet you could afford them. You’d gotten used to Tim being stupid rich early in your relationship, and it doesn’t bother you that you can never match him in the money department. 

Occasionally, Tim likes to spoil you, although neither of you are too keen on outrageous gifts that are ultimately useless. He tends to avoid getting you things that are overpriced and unnecessary. (Cheap and unnecessary is where you operate. The two of you are currently having a competition over who could get the other the smallest, most useless gift for under two dollars. Your last gift to him had been a yellow plastic shovel that fits in the palm of your hand)

Tim doesn’t like buying expensive, frivolous things on principle, and you don’t like receiving them, also on principle. But if you’re going to attend these galas, you need an expensive dress point-blank, otherwise you’ll stick out like a sore thumb. And you want to attend, you want to be Tim’s girlfriend, public appearances and all. So Tim just has to buy you the dresses, which you secretly love because they’re gorgeous, and you have to accept them, because you can’t attend the gala without them. It’s a neat way for Tim to give you something expensive and make sure you’ll have a need for it. Plus, you know he loves seeing you wear the clothes he’s bought you.

Tonight, however, you’re not wearing one of Tim’s Vera Wang’s or Alexander McQueen’s. You’ve opted instead on something you’d bought yourself, a bridesmaid’s dress you’d worn to a friend’s wedding earlier this year. It just about fits in with everyone else’s attire, and besides, the dress was expensive. You wanted to wear it at least twice. A great plan, except it isn’t as beautiful as some of the other dresses in the room tonight. You’ve recognized more than one from a runway fashion account you follow on Instagram. Nice as your dress may be, it can’t compare with any of those, and every time you see an exceptionally beautiful gown you wonder what you were thinking, wearing a dress like this.

The negative buzzing in your ears dissipates as you catch Tim’s eye again. He’s got the same stupid look on his face he’d worn when he picked you up this evening. Like he’d been punched but he didn’t exactly mind.

“Are you sure you’re my date for tonight?” he’d whispered, after doing a cartoonish double-take at the door of your apartment, because he really is a good boyfriend. “I’m not sure other people will believe it.”

“Of course they will,” you’d scoffed, cheeks glowing at the compliment. “We look good together. You’re pretty stunning yourself.”

He’d look down at his own clothes with a worried expression. “Really?” Following your advice and urging, Tim had stepped out of his comfort zone tonight and was sporting a patterned tux. It’s a dark blue checked with thin black stripes, waistcoat and bow-tie to match. “I think I look like Al Capone.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you look very dapper.” You had taken his hand, then, smiling up at him and leading him out of your apartment. “Charming, even.”

“If Jason’s there he’ll make fun of me. Damian definitely will.”

“They were going to do that anyway. And besides, who cares? I think you look great.”

“I guess you’re the only one that matters.”

“Damn straight.”

He really does look incredible tonight, you think to yourself as you check him out from your position at the bar. Nothing short of beautiful, with the long lines of the tux sitting pretty on his sinuous, willowy limbs and gorgeous frame. His shoulders are holding strong under the fine material of his jacket, and presiding over everything are his sharp cheekbones and even sharper eyes. Which, you note in satisfaction, are now fixed on you as Tim extricates himself from the suits and makes his way to the bar.

“Is this seat taken?” he asks, plopping down next to you and casually hooking a foot around your ankle.

“Nope,” you smile happily, thrilled to be spending time with him again. “I was saving it for you, and as you can see, I had to really fight to keep it free.” You motion around yourself to the people ignoring you. 

Tim winces. “I’m sorry, y/n, if I could do anything--”

“Stop, stop,” you wave him silent. “Don’t worry about it. You’re here now, it’s okay,” you reassure him.

“I don’t like that you end up spending so much time alone at these things,” he says, wrapping an arm around you. “If you even think I’m going to let you come to this thing by yourself,” you say, shaking your head. “Some of the other ones, maybe, but if I don’t make an appearance at The Wayne Gala, capital T, W, and G, the public will think I’m out of the picture.”

“Defending your territory, huh?” Tim grins sidelong at you. “Keeping the society pages off my back, more like.” You shift in your seat, sensing an opportunity. “But maybe I am defending my territory, hmm?” You give him an obvious once over, let lust show in your gaze. “Maybe you’re too pretty to let out of my sight.”

He flushes, color overrunning his cheeks and spilling down his neck and making him look even more edible. You let out a breath. “God, Tim, I could just...” you lean over, easily catching his lips with yours. Holding him there for a just a second, you run your tongue quick over his bottom lip and then pull back, spending a few moments just looking at him, with him looking back. 

You wait for some of the sparkling energy to fade before you speak again. “It’s important to me that you know I’m here to support you as acting CEO.”

He laughs at that, spell broken. “I know sweetheart.” He turns from you to order a drink. “I’m very proud of you,” you say to his back. He rolls his eyes at you over his shoulder.

The bartender makes the drink inside of twenty seconds, because Tim Drake asked for it, and then your boyfriend spends a few more moments staring at you, taking the glass in his hand and eyeing you over the rim.

You meet his gaze. “What are you thinking?” He presses a finger to his ear. “Going off comms,” he murmurs, then surreptitiously fishes the device out of his ear and stows it in his pocket. If you hadn’t known what to look for you would swear he was just running his fingers through his hair and then brushing some lint off of his suit.

“If I’m honest, I’ve spent the last twenty minutes fantasizing about eating you out.”

...what?

It takes a moment for his words to connect to your brain. Then--

“Tim!” you squawk, eyes darting around to make sure no one had overheard you. “You can’t just say that to me in public!”

His eyes meet yours, he looks unimpressed. Tim never has any patience for your prudishness whenever he brings up sex with other people around. “What can I say? The LexCorp people were boring,” and now he’s the one looking you over, eyes slowly working up and down your form. You shiver under his attention. “That’s a very pretty dress you’re wearing, y/n, I think it would look great bunched up around your hips.”

God, confidence is such an irresistible look on him. Despite your better judgment, you decide to play along. Leaning closer, you let one hand ghost over his crotch, cupping him for half a moment as you say “and how do you think the dress will look on your bedroom floor?”

He gasps when you touch him, then smiles brilliantly, eyes shining. You really, really shouldn’t be encouraging him, but you can’t help it. You love him like this, you love the unrelenting force of his desire. You love how much he wants you. 

With Tim, you’ve found that once the idea of sex gets into his head and he sees that you’re game, he’s like a dog with a bone, gnawing and gnawing at you. There’s no stopping him in pursuit to get you into his bed, or car, or the nearest supply closet. And you always find yourself indulging him, because the sex is usually good, but the man himself is even better. You delight in seeing Tim aroused, because as soon as that switch is flipped, the self-control that Tim rigidly keeps in place disappears, and he becomes hypnotically impulsive with his emotions. It took some time for him to get the barriers down, for him to let loose around you, but now he allows himself to be everything all at once. An aroused Tim is playful, awkward, confident, shy, ridiculous, and enthusiastic. You never know what you’re going to get with him, and sometimes he flits from one affect to the other between moments, leaving you breathless.

And you’re more than happy to provide an arena for Tim to let loose, because the only time your boyfriend allows himself to be anything less than perfect is when he’s in your arms. Control rules Tim’s life in the form of some probably unhealthy idolatrous god. As he’s explained to you several times, yes, he actually does need to be this tightly wound, because if he makes a mistake he’ll lose clout at WE. Or he’ll be too slow at night. People will die (he will die.) Insert answer here. 

Which is all true, but it doesn’t mean Tim can’t take a fucking break once in a while. And that’s where you come in. Your boyfriend spends his whole life striving for perfection and punishing himself when he doesn’t reach it, but when he’s with you, he can be anything he wants. 

And one of the wonderful things about sleeping with Tim is so often you get to see everything he wants. Once he’s finally lost control, once you’ve convinced him to put the walls down, he’s like a kid in a candy store. He can do anything, and so he usually does everything.

“Christ,” he breathes in your ear, head still in your fleeting touch, one arm coming to rest on your back. “I think you’ve given me a semi.”

“That,” you say in a sing-song voice, absolutely delighted, “sounds like a ‘you’ problem.” You turn and pretend to walk away, but Tim catches hold of your arm, reeling you back towards him. “You can’t leave now, y/n,” he pleads, eyes dancing. “People are going to look at my crotch and see I’ve got a hard-on, and I can’t endure Cass making fun of me again. C’mon, y/n,” he pouts at you. “I’m your damsel in distress. Save me from the bullies. Dance with me so no one will see.”

You roll your eyes, but come to stand in front of him nonetheless, letting him lead you to the center for the room with his hands on your waist. This isn’t the first time a gala has bored Tim to sexual frustration. “People will still be able to see your crotch,” you argue. “We’ll just dance really, really close together.” As if to prove his point, he suddenly jerks your hips to his, and you all but fall against him. “The song is too fast for this kind of slow-dancing,” you say into his neck, false protests muffled by his suit.

He leans back to make eye contact with you as the two of you start swaying. “That doesn’t matter. We’re young lovers, y/n,” he reminds you seriously. “They’ll forgive us.”

“Young lovers, hmm?” You’re struck again by his confidence tonight, how alluring it is. It’s rare that he’s this sure of himself, but he wears it so well when he is.

“That’s right.” The two of you are silent for a moment, and you contemplate leaning your head against his chest. “You really do look beautiful in that dress, y/n,” Tim says quietly, all joking gone from his tone.

Your cheeks heat at the compliment. “Thank you.” And then, because you’re immature, too, and because Tim isn’t the only one who can flash his sex drive in public, you impulsively say “I bet you can’t guess what I’m wearing underneath.”

This is probably a mistake, but what the hell. You want your boyfriend just as much as he wants you, maybe more.

Tim doesn’t even wait two full seconds before responding. “See, I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and I bet I can.” You weren’t expecting him to be so quick on the uptake, your mistake for thinking his boredom hadn’t already driven him to tackle this particular problem.

“It’s warm enough out that you’re not wearing any tights or pantyhose, so the suspender sets are out.”

“The suspender sets are out,” you repeat solemnly, already excited by this new game you’re playing. “Well, hang on, maybe I just wore a set without the suspenders.”

Tim is quick to shake his head. “No, you hate doing that, you’d rather just wear separate set altogether. It’s a set without the suspenders.”

You let out a low whistle. “Got me pegged there, detective.” You see an opportunity, and waggle your eyebrows. “Maybe I’ll have you pegged, later.”

He falters in the slow waltz he’s leading you through. “Really not helping with the semi here, y/n” he complains, and he’s right, you can feel it pressing lightly against you. You roll your eyes. “Fine, let’s go back to you guessing what lingerie I’m wearing.”

He nods, only half joking. Tim loves a puzzle. “Thank you. So none of the suspenders.”

“So none of the suspenders,” you repeat again, and offer him a winning smile when he glares at you over it.

Explanatory monologue in full swing, he says “You normally like to match your dress, but this one’s black, which isn’t very helpful.” All of a sudden his attention shifts and comes to rest on your face. “Are you going to tell me if I get it right, or will I just have to wait and see?”

“What would make it better for you, baby?” you ask, voice sultry as you slide your hips against his.

“I have absolutely no idea. Is it the red one?” 

“Nope!”

“Damn. I love the red one.”

“I know you do, sweetheart.”

He pouts at you, but quickly perks up again. “Here, hang on, I’m going to risk exposing my erection so I can get a better view of your back,” and suddenly you’re spinning, once, twice, three times, before Tim pulls you back to his chest and dips you as the song ends. You’re panting a bit in surprise, and from your position suspended in his strong arms, you can feel one of his hands pawing around at your hip, smoothing over the fabric of your dress.

He pulls you upright as another song begins, a grimace on his handsome face. You reach up to brush some of his hair out of his eyes. “That was inconclusive,” he mutters.

You glance over his shoulder. “I think Bruce definitely got a good look at what’s going on down south.” Your boyfriend’s father is looking rather pointedly at the ground, a pained look on his face.

“I could barely see the lines of the set through your dress,” Tim complains, and then adds “Bruce’ll get over it. Or he won’t. Whatever,” he says dismissively. “Last week I walked in on Selina blowing him under his desk, so now we’re even. What’s way more important is that I couldn’t see anything, why couldn’t I see anything?”

“Aww, poor baby,” you tease.

“Shut up,” he mumbles, before brightening a bit. “I mean, it wasn’t a total loss. I did get a great view of your ass. It still looks fantastic, by the way.”

“Thanks for the update.”

He keeps going. “I didn’t see the lines, but I did get a good feel of your underwear at your hip.” He plants his tongue between his teeth, eyes closed in concentration as you sway delicately to the new song. “I didn’t feel a strap, so I can rule out some of the thongs.” You hum in agreement, arms coming up to wrap securely around his torso in an extended embrace. “It isn’t either of the black ones, or the nice blue one, is it?”

“No, sweetheart, it’s not.”

“Hn.” He shifts his arms, and you feel his slight hand flitting about at your hip again. He soon gives up, discouraged. “The material of your dress is too thick, I can’t feel anything through it.”

You decide to throw him a bone. “I’ll give you a hint: I’m actually wearing another color besides black, and the set matches it.”

Tim frowns, stepping back from you for a moment to look down at your feet. “Your shoes are black too, what are you talking about?”

You raise an eyebrow. “Do you want me to ruin it for you?”

“No, let me think,” Tim says, and goes silent, eyes shut. You study him as the actual detective comes out to play. His eyes snap open again, and you clock his gaze going for your throat and ears. No necklace, but you are wearing gold earrings. Tim ignores them and takes your hand in his, examining your rings. He knows you too well to ask whether the set is gold or silver, that isn’t your style. He’s getting much closer with the rings though, and then his sharp exhale is ghosting through your fingers and his eyes are meeting yours again. You give him a proud smile.

“Good solve, Timmy.” He kisses the pad of your index finger. “Nail polish, y/n?”

“Nail polish,” you confirm.

“Why?”

You pretend to think it over, letting your eyes go wide. “Well, I just thought it would look nice, you know? My hand right over the panties, maybe even inside them, if you wanted me to do any of the work on my own.”

His eyes just about bug out of his head at that, and then he shakes his smile back and forth, impressed. Your answering grin is knife sharp. “You’ve got me right where you want me, don’t you, y/n? What am I going to do with you?”

“Anything you want,” you whisper, winding your arms around his neck. “That’s sort of the point. We can get out of here right now.”

“You know I would love, love, to do that,” Tim says, running his hands down your back, “but there’s supposedly a deal going down at 9:30 that I kind of need to be there for.”

“Well, then,” you murmur, “you’ll just have to suffer for another twenty minutes.”

“Fan-fucking-tastic,” he says drily. The two of you sway in silence for a few minutes before he speaks again. “Hold on, y/n, something just occurred to me.”

“Yes, Tim?”

“Your nail polish is purple, but you don’t own any sets that color. What gives?”

You raise your eyebrows at him. He looks at you for a few moments before his face smooths out again. “You really have it in for me tonight, don’t you? It’s a new set?”

“It’s a new set,” you confirm.

“And I bet you look just stellar in purple,” he says to himself, a desperate edge to his voice. 

“You know very well I look good in everything.” You glance downwards. “How are you doing there, Timmy?”

“Fuck off,” he says happily. “Is it lace?”

“Tim, sweetheart, of course it’s lace.”

Your boyfriend groans, then freezes in place. You look at him questioningly. “I’m running a cost/benefit analysis on me skipping out on this deal.”

“Give it to Tam,” you suggest.

“Give it to Tam,” he agrees. “Yeah, alright, let’s get the fuck out of here.”

You let out a delighted laugh, following him in the direction of his old bedroom in the manor. Behind you, you dimly hear the orchestra finish their song. There are a few moments of silence while you make your way to the exit, and then you hear a few forlorn notes on the piano that have you turning around and calling out “Tim!”

“Whoa, y/n, where are you--”

“Tim! Tim it’s Claire de Lune, they’re playing Claire de Lune, we have to stay!” You drag him back to the dance floor.

“But,” he tries to argue, “but y/n, we were going to--”

“Tim.” You stand your ground. “It’s Claire de Lune. Please?”

He mumbles under his breath but takes you back into his arms regardless, like the good boyfriend that he is. You adore the Claire de Lune, and he’s probably reasoned to himself that no amount of arguing or pleading could tear you from the melody spinning lazily through the room.

He’s still going to complain about it, though. “Claire de Lune, huh? I can’t believe I lived to see Twilight cock-blocking me again.”

You poke him in the side. “Some of us first heard Debussy at the Gotham Philharmonic and some of us read about him in Stephanie Meyers’ blockbuster paranormal romance and googled Claire de Lune on the family computer in their Dad’s office, okay? The important thing is we’re both here, and we can both appreciate it, so shut up.”

Tim shuts up. You smile at him, and let your eyes fall closed. The slow melody envelops you like mist and settles on your skin, resting easy in your inner ear. A small part of you anticipates the notes before the pianist actually plays them, and you find yourself nodding when they finally escape from her fingers. Her performance is perfect, she isn’t messing around trying to improve Debussy’s masterwork, just picking her way through it, measure by measure. You take deep, even breaths as a sense of calm permeates your system. Eyes still closed, you let the music relax you, content to wade dreamily in its cool comfort. 

After about a minute, Tim clears his throat. “Y/n,” he says gently, “look.” You open your eyes and follow Tim’s pointed finger to one of the floor-length windows, gasping out loud when you see the stunning full moon. It sits in an overcast sky, fog and smog and clouds pressing against it like an embrace. The thin ropey clouds that drift across its slouched figure are reflecting its yellow light and giving it a warm, pearly corona, a halo. You stare at it openly for a few seconds, admiring the bone moon in its sky armchair.

Your attention drifts back to Tim’s finger, arm still hanging loosely in front of you, and then to the man himself. The ballroom lights are low enough that you can imagine the moonlight reflecting off of Tim, too, that he too is catching some of its cotton shine on his face. You’re awfully lucky to be with someone who takes the time to point out a particular moon among of a string of nights with particular moons, and you tell him so. Tim’s smile is quiet, but he presses his forehead to yours, where it stays for the rest of the song.

When it ends Tim leans back to smile at you again. You smile back, feeling filled up with the moon and the music and him. Catching his hand in your own, you start in the direction of the grand staircase that leads up to his old bedroom. Tim stops you by pulling on your arm lightly, before turning and walking towards the doors that will take you outside.

You look at him quizzically. “Can we go to your apartment?” he murmurs. “We’ve been in my world this whole night, now I want to be in yours.”

You smile softly before leaning up to kiss him, quick and light. He squeezes your hand as he leads you through the room, and then suddenly you’re outside, breathing cool, almost autumn air while you wait for Tim to get a car sorted out. You turn your eyes upward to meet the moon again, the ghost of Claire de Lune still drifting through your head.

Tim breaks your reverie by calling your name, and you follow him into the back of a car. After directing the driver to your apartment, Tim hands you an earbud. You put it in your left ear while Tim puts the other in his right, and together you listen to Claire de Lune again as the car makes it’s way through a Gotham that’s soft and shiny with moonlight. Three repetitions of Debussy later you’re standing in front of your apartment, Tim wrapping his arms around you as you fiddle with your keys, unlock your door, and lead him to your bedroom.

Later, after you’re spent twice over and Tim has made good on his fantasy of opening you up with his mouth, Tim shifts in the bed and slides himself around you, lips at your ear.

“Can I tell you a secret?”

You sigh happily. “Mmm.”

“I asked the orchestra to play Clair de Lune.”

You raise yourself up on your elbows at that, leaning over him with a meaningful look into his starry eyes. You’re sure there are stars in yours, too. 

“Yeah?”

He nods. “Yeah.”

You lie back down. “Thank you.”

His hand comes up to stroke your hair. “Mmm.”

[nightbts]

it’s time (park jimin + bts)

pairing: father! jimin + mother! reader 

genre: tooth-rotting fluff, humor + parent! au + olf! au

word count: 1.8k 

warnings: none

author’s note: I was rereading mess and found a request by @jojo-suga​ and thought it would be absolutely adorable to write, so here it is :)

Eighteen-year old Park Jieun got asked out on a date and appa Jimin doesn’t know how to handle it. 

“A what?!” Jimin exclaimed. Putting the book he was reading down on his lap, he removed his reading glasses and pushed them over his head.

“A d-date...” Jieun trailed off softly as she stared down at the ground, glancing up occasionally to catch a look at her dad’s reaction.

Sitting beside Jimin on the couch, you peered over your laptop screen, eyes carefully watching the exchange happen in front of you as an amused smile graced your face. After all, this wasn’t news to you. The both of you already had a discussion about this days ago, and you couldn’t have been happier. Of course, convincing Jimin was a whole other story.

“What do you mean a date? Someone asked you out?!” Jimin asked incredulously, to which earned him a smack on the arm.

“What does that mean? Why would someone not ask Jieunnie on a date?” you scowled, giving him a soft glare.

Jieun smiled softly, her gaze falling back onto the ground as she shyly teetered back and forth in front of you and Jimin.

“That’s not what I meant! Who wouldn’t like Jieun? People would be stupid for not liking my baby girl.” Jimin huffed, crossing his arms across his chest as he fell against the back of the couch.

“Does that mean I can go?” a small voice asked, making you and Jimin look back up at Jieun as she stared at Jimin with expectant eyes.

Scowling, Jimin narrowed his eyes at Jieun, wagging his finger at her, “Don’t look at me like that, I know what you’re doing.”

Pouting, Jieun blinked innocently, “Doing what?”

Letting out a strangled cry of frustration, Jimin fell dramatically into your side as you stifled a laugh.

“Is the thought of her going on a date that horrifying for you?” you whispered, as you felt him nod against your side. Looking up at you, his own lips in a pout, mimicking Jieun, he protested, “No boy is worth our Jieun.”

Carefully removing his glasses from the top of his head, you smoothed down his hair before replying softly, “You don’t know that, you have to give him a chance first. After all, you might end up liking him more than you know.”

At that, Jimin lept up from the couch, pointing an accused finger at you, “What does that mean? Y-You know who it is, don’t you?! That’s why you’re so calm about this!”

Motioning Jieun to come sit down next to you, she snuggled up to you as you held your daughter close to your side. With a slight shrug, you replied, “Well, you’re not wrong. Jieun told me, like, last week.”

Placing his hand over his heart, he balled his shirt up into his fist as Jimin feigned a hurt expression on his face, “I can’t believe this betrayal.”

“Come on, Appa. Even I knew about it.” a voice piped up from across the room, as Jaehyun leaned against the door frame, a smirk on his face.

Throwing his hands up in the air, Jimin exclaimed, “Are all of you serious right now?!”

//

Grumbling to himself, Jimin looked up at the clock.

“He’s still not here,” he muttered with a slight edge to his voice, causing you to shoot him an annoyed look.

Glancing over at Jieun, you noticed how nervous your daughter looked, both for her first date but also getting over the obstacle of having him meet her dad. Dressed in a plain white tee and a flowy midi skirt, she repeatedly meddled with the buttons on the sleeves of her denim jacket.

Pulling her phone out of her purse, checking it for any texts, Jieun let out a nervous chuckle as she pulled at the bottom of her loose curls, “H-He’s probably stuck in traffic—”

Eyes narrowing at her, Jimin questioned, “I thought you said he lived down the street?”

“Foot traffic?” Jieun tried reasoning, yet the uncertainty in her voice betrayed her; even she realized that wasn't a logical excuse.

“Right.” Jimin deadpanned, still sporting a grouchy look on his face as his eyes remained focused on the front door.

“Will you just get the act over with already?” you said in a hushed voice to your husband, making sure Jieun couldn’t here you.

“What act?!” Jimin retorted. “I’m still mad that the both of you hid this from me for so long, and on top of that wouldn’t tell me who the boy even was.”

Pressing a hand on his chest, you chuckled softly, a twinkle in your eye, “Trust me, you’re going to love him.”

“Doubt it.”

Just then you heard the sound of someone knocking on your front door, catching all of your attention. Eyes flickering from her dad to the door, Jieun started to make her way to open it when Jimin cleared his throat, motioning her to step away.

Rolling your eyes, you followed your husband to the front of the house, standing beside Jieun who looked like she was about to pass out any second.

Rubbing her back in reassurance, you watched as Jimin peered through the peephole, before muttering under his breath, “I can’t even see him because his whole head is covered by all the flowers in his hands.”

“Flowers?” Jieun squeaked, eyes widening in surprise as her cheeks flushed a soft shade of pink.

Finally, Jimin unlocked the front door, swinging it open revealing a boy, whose eyes peered nervously over the bouquet he held in his hand. Looking up, Jimin immediately frowned as he noticed that the boy before him was taller than him.

This was unacceptable.

However, it didn’t take long for Jimin to see a sense of familiarity in the boy’s eyes. As he moved the flowers away from his face, the boy grinned at Jimin, his deep brown eyes sparkling as a box-shaped smile appeared on his face.

Blinking at him in surprise, Jimin felt his shoulders automatically relax at the sight. Shaking his head in amusement, he chuckled, “Kim Taewoo, you brat. I should’ve known.”

“Good Evening Mr. Park. I hope you're doing well." he grinned widely. His gaze slowly wandered past Jimin's shoulders, searching until they fell on Jieun, his gaze softening at the sight of her.

She looked beautiful.

"May I come inside?" Taewoo asked Jimin, although his eyes refused to leave Jieun's. Stepping aside, Jimin motioned for Taewoo to come in. As he followed him in and closed the front door, Jimin caught you gazing at him before you shot him a cheeky smile, one that he merely rolled his eyes at.

"Don't tell me your dad put you up to this, Kim Taewoo," Jimin asked as he walked up to stand beside you. He attempted to sound serious, however, nobody failed to notice the genuine smile that graced Jimin's face.

Kim Taewoo. With deep brown eyes that held a hint of mischief in them and a box-shaped smile that resembled his father too well, Taewoo was an exact copy of Kim Taehyung, Jimin’s closest friend in the entire world.

Surrendering his hands up in the air, bouquet still in one hand, Taewoo shook his head, "Definitely not." Opening his mouth again, a gentle blush appearing on his cheeks, he added softly, "I'm afraid, this was all me."

Turning to look at Jieun, he scratched the back of his head before handing her the bouquet, his lips tilting upwards into a shy smile, "This is for you. I'm sorry I was a bit late."

Shaking her head, she averted her gaze from his before mumbling a soft thank you, but loud enough for Taewoo to hear.

Walking over to Jieun, you gently grabbed the flowers from her hand and held them up to your nose, the scent of the fresh flowers reminding you of the very ones Jimin got you on your first date. “These are beautiful, Taewoo.” Gesturing over to the kitchen, you added, “I’ll keep then in a vase for you Jieun.”

At that, Jimin cleared his throat, immediately catching the attention of both Taewoo and Jieun as they turned to face him, bodies stiff and backs straight.

Holding Taewoo’s gaze with his own, Jimin hummed lightly until he finally spoke, “Alright, 10 pm. No later than that, or else I’m calling your father.”

Taewoo’s nervous smile shifted into a wide grin, eyes lighting up almost immediately, “You got it! I’ll bring her back safe and sound, Mr. Park.”

Nodding, Jimin quickly shooed them away with his hands, motioning for them to head on out before he could have any second regrets.

Standing next to Jimin at the door, you felt your husband wrap his arms around your waist as he pulled you close to him, your head automatically resting on his chest.

As you watched Taewoo slowly grab Jieun’s hand in his own, their fingers interlacing together, you felt your heart swell at the sight. The two of them made their way towards Taewoo's car, sharing looks and small smiles on their way there. Reaching the side of the passenger seat, Taewoo opened the car door for Jieun and as she started to make her way in, you noticed a slight hesitation. A pause.

Turning around, Jieun looked at both you and Jimin before raising her hand and giving you a small wave, her lips forming a wide smile, as her face shined with joy.

"I told ya you'd have nothing to worry about," you said softly, waving back at your daughter. Letting out a small but content sigh, Jimin smiled as he waved too, "Yea, you were right."

//

Going back inside the house, you gushed out loud, "This is so exciting, isn't it?!"

Walking past you, Jimin plopped down on the couch before letting out a big yawn, "Easy for you to say. I was so worried about who the boy even was before I could even feel excited for my baby."

Laughing, you admitted, "I guess that's true. Imagine my face when she told me it was Taewoo. I was simultaneously shocked but relieved." Sighing in content, you continued, "After all, we all guessed it would happen sooner or later."

Humming in acceptance, Jimin's eyes fluttered close when you suddenly noticed his lips tilt downwards into a frown.

And then he yelled, "Jaehyun!"

Startled, you blinked at him in surprise at the sudden outburst that came out of Jimin, who had appeared calm just seconds ago.

Poking his head out of his doorway, his headphones dangling from his neck, Jaehyun replied, "What?!"

Narrowing his eyes at the boy, Jimin pointed at him, "What about you huh? Got a crush or girlfriend I should know about mister?"

Eyes going wide, you saw Jaehyun gulp slowly before he quickly shook his head, laughing nervously, "W-Why would you ask that? You're crazy, girls are, like, gross. Ew!" And with that, he shut his door close, disappearing back into his room.

Raising a brow, Jimin turned to look at you, a mischievous look in his eyes.  

Smirking in return, both of you got up from the couch giving each other a quick high-five before walking towards your new mission of the day.

[7to3sorcerer]

Of Waltzes and Sugar Plum Fairies

rating: explicit hehe

word count: 11.5k i am so sorry

warnings: fluff! angst! daddy!kink if you squint, loss of virginity, uhhhh sexy times? porn WITH plot because i can. this is truly filthy and totally self indulgent, enjoy at your own risk.

a/n: ok so first fic on here, yay! also, i recommend visiting this page to give you some context about Arkanians if you don’t know about them. idk if the nutcracker exists in star wars, so just go with it. listen to this if you wanna get immersed in the sounds of the dance scene.

ao3 link here

-

Din Djarin knew exactly what he was doing bringing her to Chandrila in the winter.

His princess - a literal one at that - from Arkanis, had missed the taste of home. Not in so many words, but he could tell by the wistful look on her face whenever they passed a shop with dancing gear or a music store.

He also knew that Life Day was her favorite holiday.

“It’s perfect,” she had said one day in the cockpit, her eyes starry as she watched the planets fly by. “You just spend the day with your family, dancing and eating and celebrating. Some cultures even give presents.”

He didn’t know what to say to that then, just gave a grunt and kept his eyes on the nav chart.

But since that day, he’s thought of what that would be like, spending a Life Day with his foundling and his crewmate who he wished would be so much more.

Ever since she dropped everything and ran off with him and the child, his life has been so much...brighter. Full of color when she skips around the ship, the child in her arms as they play dress up with her seemingly endless wardrobe (Din still doesn’t how she manages to keep her quarters clean). It’s full of sound when she plays her holorecords from her favorite ballets, the child following behind her as she does allégros and arabesques.

When she agreed to join his crew to take care of the child and give her extensive knowledge of cultures and history that she gleaned from university, he also made a pact: he would give her firsthand experiences of the galaxy that her life as a royal had robbed her of. 

Her first wish was to visit a cantina, a wish that was fulfilled within her first three days aboard the Razor Crest. Though the dingy, thin clothes she bought from a merchant blended her in well, her stark white hair, white eyes, and ethereal beauty caused a bar fight, one that may or may not have ended with Din breaking a man’s arm, simply because he looked at her suggestively.

In the year that she’d been traveling with him, he’d tried to accommodate her wishes as best as he could, but with the Empire constantly on their trail, their time had mostly been devoted to tracking down the child’s people. But it seemed that the galaxy was on his side for once.

Life Day was rapidly approaching, and Din was scrambling to try and make it special for her, and with the information that Bo-Katan had given them about Ahsoka Tano, Din was torn about what to do. That was, until he charted a path to Corvus and realized it sent them right by Chandrila - the dance capital of the galaxy. A couple of holonet searches later, and he found a showing of The Nutcracker.

He knew it’d make his princess happy, he just didn’t know how to tell her that there weren’t anymore tickets left. He wasn’t surprised really, after all, it was already Life Day Eve, and he knew The Nutcracker was wildly popular, even though it was a Wookiee ballet that was centuries old.

The rapid beeping of the proximity indicator dragged him out of his thoughts. He disengaged and the ship lurched into real time, the blue streaks of stars fading into black mottled with blinking white. He made up his mind in that moment. Squaring his shoulders, Din set the ship on autopilot and made his way down to the cargo hold.

Stopping in front of her room, he could hear giggles and her soft voice as she spoke to the child.

“...and then he transforms into a handsome prince, and leads Masha away into the forest!”

He hears the child giggle again, and can only assume they’re playing with the wooden toys she had crafted once while bored when Din was on a hunt.

Steeling himself, Din knocks.

“Hey, we’re landing...put on something...nice,” he says through the door. He moves to return to the cockpit when the door whooshes open, revealing the princess’s glowing smile.

“Why?” She asks, her eyes wide.

His hand itches to brush the wisps of hair that got displaced from her bun when the door opened.

“I um, I have a surprise,” he says tentatively, suddenly feeling unsure of himself. He shifts his weight as she turns to the child.

“You hear that? Daddy has a surprise for us!” She coos, sweeping him up into her arms as he laughs. She turns back to Din.

His stomach does flips hearing that word come out of her mouth, no matter how innocent the context.

“Well, what is it?”

“That kind of ruins the point of the surprise, don’t you think?” He says, a hint of humor in his modulated voice. He finally gives in to his urges and gently tucks he hair behind her slightly pointed ear.

Din’s heart feels as though it might burst out of his chestplate as she tries to hide her blush behind the baby’s ear, playing it off as though she’s giving him kisses. She hums before looking back up at Din.

“Okay, well what should I wear?”

“I don’t know, something nice.” It comes out a little rough, and Din mentally kicks himself, seeing her face turn into a slight frown.

“Din, I’m a...” she pauses, covering the child’s ears before continuing. “I’m a fucking princess, Din. You can’t just say ‘wear something nice’ expect me to know exactly what you mean by that.”

He huffs. “Move.”

She complies, and he enters her small quarters, stepping over the various toys that litter the floor. He opens her closet, running his gloved fingers along the plethora of lush fabrics inside.

Life Day, Life Day, Life Day, he thinks to himself. What colors go with Life Day?

He pauses on a silky green gown, thinking about how good it would contrast with her skin tone. He hesitates a moment before removing it from the hanger and holding it out to her.

“Here.”

She sets the child down before taking it from him and examining it, a slightly confused look on her face. 

“Din, this is...this is one of my nicer ones. Are we doing something quite fancy?”

He says nothing for a moment, watching the way her milky eyes scan the dress before deciding on his answer.

“I just think...that it’ll look good on you,” he says, so quietly that the modulator barely picks it up.

Her head shoots up to stare him straight in the visor, the very faint grey of her irises making her expression unreadable. Everyone likes to think he’s intimidating, but they’ve obviously never never made eye contact with an Arkanian. Arkanians that belong to the oldest bloodlines have pure white eyes, but if you catch them in the right light, you can barely make out grey irises and darker grey pupils.

Experiencing second thoughts, Din quickly exits her room without another word and the door whooshes shut again.

He leans on the wall next to the ladder leading up to the cockpit feeling like he’s just run a marathon. His heart races as he begins to worry that he was too forward.

“Fuck...” he mutters, leaning his head on the wall behind him. “Too late now I guess.”

Sitting back down in the cockpit, he guides the Crest into the docking bay that air traffic control instructed him to, and sets the ship down as gently as possible, not wanting to disturb anything the princess may be doing to get ready.

If she’s even getting ready at all, his conscious supplies. She’s probably gonna bolt as soon as the cabin depressurizes. 

But as he descends back into the hold, he’s pleased to hear her puttering around in her room. He checks the time on his chrono.

“Hey, I’m going out for a few. I should be back in a bit...make sure you’re ready by then, okay?” He calls out, holstering his gun and attaching his jet pack.

Something in her room clatters to the floor, causing her so let out a string of curses. He hears her give the child an apology, who just giggles in return before he himself gets a response.

“Yeah! Sure, sure, yeah I’ll be ready!” She says from behind the door, but her voice is unsteady, like she knows she won’t be ready in time.

Din just huffs out a slight laugh before exiting the ship.

...

He returns to find her heels click clacking back and forth between the ‘fresher and where the child sits perched on a box, wiping his face down with a rag and the spots of food on his clothes. She turns to Din, who stands just inside the ship, a dumbfounded look on his hidden face.

Her hair is in a low, loose bun with a few pieces of hair framing her face that he can only assume came out while she was getting the child ready. The matte maroon lipstick she wears gives the allusion that she’s much older than 23, but the subtle blush and highlight adorning her cheeks and nose do well to bring back her youthfulness.

“I tried to get him cleaned up as best as I could. I also fashioned this little hat to fit his head as best I could. I don’t want him to be spotted, and I know it’s cold out there,” she rushes out breathlessly, running back into her room and grabbing the beanie and smushing it on the child’s head. “I know it’s not perfect, but I just want us to be able to have one night where we’re not constantly looking over our shoulders.”

She runs back into her room and returns with a small scarf, wrapping it around the child’s neck. Din wants to reassure her that everything’s okay, but he’s speechless, admiring the way the silk hangs on her body, accentuating her curves. His eyes are first drawn to the slit that exposes her leg almost to her hip when she bends down to pick up a toy the child dropped.

She speaks again, but he still can’t answer. He’s transfixed by the way the neckline plunges down her sternum, just shy of where her ribs start. Her tits are unbound, supported by the fabric that stretches up and over her shoulders, turning into yards of thinner fabric that cinch the dress up across her back.  The straps criss cross her exposed back and end in a bow just below the dimples of her lower back, highlighting the expanse of tight muscles that she’s earned in her tenure as a crewmate, and from her earlier days as a dancer.

He watches as that enticing triangle of missing fabric on her chest gets closer and closer until it’s right in front of him.

“Hey, laser brain! Are you listening to me?” She says, waving her hand in front of his visor and snapping him out of his trance.

“What?” He asks, his voice cracking and making it sound like he hasn’t had anything to drink in days.

She huffs, before saying “I was asking if you were ready to go.”

“Oh,” he coughs out. “Y-yeah, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

“Are we taking the pod, or just carrying him?” She asks, holding the child on her hip.

He thinks a moment before saying “The pod.”

The princess sets him in his pod before slipping on a long black coat and following Din out of the ship. They head out into the busy streets, the child floating in between the two of them.

“Soooooo,” she drawls out, clasping her hands and giving Din doe eyes. “Where are we headed?”

“Uh uh,” he tuts. “Don’t even try that on me. That’s cheating.”

“Why?” She asks, jutting her lip out. “Because it works every time?”

“Yes,” he sighs. “Because it does work every time.”

She just hmphs and says nothing else as they walk along the sidewalks dusted with a light covering of snow. The streetlamps above cast an orangey-yellow glow on the pedestrians that pass them, many of them carrying parcels covered in paper, or large sacks filled with delicious smelling food.

The child makes grabby hands at some of them and the princess chuckles. Din glances over at her and sees the corners of her eyes crinkle as she laughs. They make eye contact for a brief moment before she looks at something above his head and her eyes go wide.

Din flinches, looking up for the threat, but all he sees is snowflakes beginning to fall from the sky. He looks back down at the princess and watches her stick out her tongue to catch a snowflake. They make eye contact again, but this time, she doesn’t look away. She keeps her tongue out until a small fleck of snow lands on it, then she pulls it back into her mouth. She throws him a sideways grin and then looks away, facing her eyes forward.

Din feels his hands get clammy as blood starts to flow south. Fuck, nononononononono, he thinks, balling his hands into fists and trying to think of literally anything else besides they way that snow looked on her tongue. He grits his teeth and looks around, hoping they’re close to the theatre. Thank the Maker.

Just ahead across the street sits the theatre, its twinkling lights and marquee sign dazzling in the white snow. He peeks at the princess without turning his head, and comes away satisfied when she doesn’t seem to notice it yet. He quickly grabs her elbow and pulls her into an alleyway on their right, covering her mouth with his gloved hand when she lets out a yelp.

“Do you trust me?” He breathes out, his chest mere inches away from hers. She nods her head and he lets go of her mouth. He looks down and presses some buttons on his vambrace, quickly recalibrating the child’s pod before shutting its hatch. “Hold onto me.”

She arches her eyebrows before stepping forward and pressing her chest against his, hissing at the frigidness of his beskar against her clavicle. She wraps her arms around his neck as he hooks an arm just below her ass.

“Din...” she warns, not sure where this is going.

“Just be quiet and hang on.” He commands, and with that, they shoot up and into the sky, the baby’s pod going up with them. He feels the princess bury her face into his cape and groan. In his excitement about the surprise, he forgot she doesn’t care for heights.

They land on the rooftop of the theatre, his knees and his back protesting from the extra weight that he’s not used to. Din gently sets the princess down and opens the child’s pod to make sure he’s okay. He smiles up at Din, who waggles a finger in his face.

The princess still hasn’t let go of Din, and Din still hasn’t entirely let go of the princess.

“Hey,” he says softly, and she pulls her head back from his shoulder but keeps her eyes squeezed shut. “It’s okay, we’re done with the flying.”

She exhales a breath he didn’t know she was holding and lets go, opening her eyes. Din reluctantly lets go of her and she takes a step back, looking at their surroundings. The faint sound of instruments taking their final warmups can be heard through the duracrete below them, and the princess finally puts two and two together.

“Din,” she gasps, shaking her head and covering her mouth with her hands. “You didn’t...that’s like, impossible. These are impossible to get. There’s no way...”

He grimaces behind his helmet and sighs. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I couldn’t. But I came by earlier and figured out another way for us to get insi-oof.”

He’s cut off when the princess envelops him in a hug so tight, he feels his back creak in objection.

“I thought you forgot a-about Life Day,” she says into his neck. “You didn’t have to do all this. N-no one’s ever-”

This time, it’s his turn to cut her off. He gently pulls her back until he can see her face, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“You can thank me later...it’s cold out here, and we don’t wanna miss the show.”

She nods and sniffles, dabbing under her eyes and motioning to the roof access. “Lead the way then, captain.” She says with a blinding smile.

A wall of warmth greets them as Din slices the door open. He glances around to make sure no crew members are up this high before motioning the princess in. The door zips shut behind the three of them and they’re sheathed in darkness, save the warm glow coming from the theatre below them. Catwalks stretch out in either direction, one going across the crowd, the other going adjacent to it toward the stage. They have to be at least 20 meters above the crowd.

The princess rushes toward the railing on the catwalk above the crowd and peaks down and Din finds himself surprised she’s not fainted yet. She answers his question before he asks it.

“This, I’m fine with. What I’m not fine with is careening up 100 feet into the air and 60 miles an hour with no warning and no seatbelt,” she says, fixing him with a glare that could cut durasteel.

This time, he doesn’t hide his chuckle, moving to stand next to her as she removes her coat and drapes it over the guardrail. He leans against the railing, the child floating just to his left, the princess on his right.

“You’re sure no one will see us up here?” She asks, lowering her voice as the lights begin to dim and the music starts.

“Would you be looking up to the rafters during this show?” 

“Fair point, but I meant the dancers...”

“No, I think we’ll be fine, it’s dark up here.” 

She just nods in return and keeps her focus on the stage as the curtains draw up and reveal the setting of Act I.

Din looks down at the child whose eyes light up at the glimmering tree on the stage. Underneath it sit huge presents wrapped in patterns of paper that Din couldn’t even think up. Multicolored garland hangs from the windows on the backdrop. Fairy lights dangle from the ceiling, bathing the stage in a magical light. He sees the children on stage laughing with each other as their parents dance to the music and suddenly feels the urge to cry,

His heart sinks at the thought that he could’ve had all this if the Separatists hadn’t invaded Aq Vetina that fateful day - and maybe he did have all of this, he just doesn’t remember. Did he have brothers and sisters? He hardly even remembers what his parents look like, just blurry features, sad eyes as they locked him away in that cellar to save him. What did he used ask for for Life Day? Did his parents dance with each other like that? 

Resentment burns so hot inside of him that he has to tear his eyes away from the ballet and stare down at the crowd below. He grits his teeth and wills the tears threating to fall away. His bitterness flares briefly toward the princess as he catches the gleam in her eyes, the joy on her face as she looks on with glee as the act progresses. But it fades as quickly as it grew, his features softening under his helmet.

Who am I to be spiteful toward her for something I had no control over?

He looks down at the stage again, having not even noticed that Act II began. The music crescendos as the Nutcracker, having just turned into the Prince, begins to dance with Masha. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the chlid giggle in delight.

Just because I don’t have happy memories of my parents, doesn’t mean he can’t. Woah shit wait fuck. No, Din, shut the fuck up and don’t overthink the weight of that. 

Carefully, Din removes both of his gloves and tucks them into his belt before gently resting his hand on the princess’s lower back.

He feels her gasp before she melts into his touch. She looks over her shoulder at him, the light from below causing her features to look sharp and dangerously beautiful. He leans forward so that his helmet is right next to her ear.

“Show me how you’d dance...if that were you on that stage down there,” he whispers, and this time the modulator doesn’t pick it up, so all she hears is his raw, unfiltered voice.

The princess looks up at his visor and smiles before nodding enthusiastically and backing away. She leans down and ties her dress in a knot at her knees before unbuckling her heels.

Din finds himself thinking that she wanted this all along, that she was made for this. His little wild fairy, stripping herself of the titles and the pageantry, barefooted and relaxed with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.   

She hasn’t taught him much, but he’s tried to listen as best as he could when she’d be doing a routine on the ship.

That’s a pirouette...I think. Okay, okay, plié. That’s first position? No...? Okay, yes, that was first position because this is second position, and now she’s in third.

Din finds himself swaying back and forth and nodding his head to the sweeping instrumentals, and the princess seems to smile when she notices this. She completes an attitude devant before slowing and giggling at him.

“What?” He asks, not quite laughing, but the smile in his voice is evident.

She just shakes her head, her own brilliant smile still plastered on her face before holding out her hand.

“Come on...look, he wants you to,” she says, pointing at the child who has long forgotten the ballet below, instead focusing on the ballerina in front of him.

Din watches the child for a moment more before pushing himself off the railing and taking her outstretched hand. He would be lying if he said this wasn’t the outcome he was hoping for, but when she pulls him into position, he realizes he’s in way over his head. 

“I...I really don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing...” he murmurs, trailing off when she places his hand on her waist, his fingertips meeting the bare skin of her back. She grabs his other hand and holds it up at a 90° angle and it completely swallows her own. He watches her eye their conjoined hands for a moment, an almost awestruck look on her face.

“I’ve never...I’ve never touched you before,” she whispers, looking into his visor where his eyes are. “Like this at least. Your skin.”

He leans in closer to her before whispering “Would you like this to be the last time?”

She slowly shakes her head, keeping her eyes trained on his visor.

“Me neither,” he breathes out. “Now show me what to do.”

She inhales as if falling out of a haze. Clearing her throat, she adjusts Din’s legs by tapping them with her feet before getting into her own position.

“Okay, now I’m not going to tell you it’s simple but you are a fast learner, so I expect you to excel, unless you have two left feet,” she chuckles, straightening her back. “But I’ve seen you in a fight, and fighting and dancing are actually more similar than you’d think. Just like in fighting, if you’re not doing a practiced routine, you have to predict your partner’s moves, and for you, this isn’t a routine.”

“Mmm, cocky are we?” He teases, her reassurance easing a bit of his tension.

“For good reason,” she purrs, giving him a smirk. He doesn’t have time for a smartass reply because she’s already moved on. “Now, the music should be at a good tempo for us to start at any moment if I remember correctly. We’ll take it slow, just remember, feel me, okay? Anticipate my movements, and you’ll be fine. Nothing fancy for now until you get the footwork down.”

She taps her foot and looks out over the balcony, and Din swears he can see the notes swimming in her brain. He notices that in this light, he can see her irises better than he ever has before. But again, before he can complete the thought, she begins moving.

He follows her feet, feeling the way her muscles tense and flex underneath the tips of his fingers. Her eyes move back to his visor from their position over his shoulder and it’s like it clicks for him. If he weren’t going to sound crazy, he’d say it was like she transferred her consciousness to his.

They glide together like that across the catwalk, the child’s giggles following them as the pod, still connected to his vambrace, moves with them. The princess moves to twirl them around and Din’s foot catches a little, but he quickly corrects himself, getting back into step with her. 

She suppresses a laugh before asking “Ready to step it up a notch?”

He just nods and she - seemingly reluctantly - lets go of her grip on his hand and twists so that her back is facing his chest. He readjusts so his grip is on her opposite hip, and she guides him to take her other hand.

“Same steps as before...yeah, good job,” she instructs, and it kindles a fire in his stomach that he thought he had quelled about an hour previous. “Okay, when I tell you to, keep stepping but lift me as you do a 180°, got it?”

His heart stutters, mostly out of fear of his poor, abused back. At 37, he shouldn’t be groaning every time he gets out of bed. But when he glances over at the kid, who is excitedly clapping his hands, he decides he’ll do it.

“Sure, but you’re gonna have to give me a few bacta patches on my shoulders later,” he says, slight amusement in his voice.

“I’ll do whatever you want...now!”

He falters for a moment, his brain short-circuiting like a C-1 series astromech before he realizes she means the lift is now, not...everything else that he wants. She pushes off of her right foot and he lifts her into the air, spinning counter clockwise before setting her down just as the music crescendos and finishes with a loud clash of cymbals and flutes.

They’re both breathing heavily as she turns in his arms to face him, and neither one of them go to move away. The tension is palpable at this point, with Din wanting to just bend her over and take her right there. His helmet tilts down to where her chest heaves and he swears he can see her heart beat in the pulse point on her neck. The thought of sinking his teeth into it and marking up her skin is suddenly overwhelming.

It’s only when the child squeals in delight that they’re snapped back to reality.

“I...I think we should go,” he says, catching his breath and tightening his grip on her waist. “Y’know, because the show’s over and crewmembers are gonna be up here any minute.”

She nods.

“Do you wanna take the elevator this time?” He asks her, hesitantly removing his grasp on her.

Again she shakes her head. “No,” she says hastily, donning her coat and looking like a ball of nervous energy. “Just do whatever gets us to the ship faster.”

They exit the way they came in, the princess clinging to Din, but he notices she’s not nearly as stiff as she was on the short flight up. They land near the same alleyway as before. The princess immediately exits the alley, setting course for the ship as Din struggles to keep up with her brisk pace.

“Hey,” he says, grabbing her arm. “You okay?”

She huffs air out of her nose before crossing her arms and shifting her weight. The snow has picked up since they entered the theatre, big enough now to cling to her hair and eyelashes. He watches as she leans over and snaps the child’s pod shut.

“I don’t know how to say this...” she begins, and Din’s heart sinks.

Dank farrik, I’ve gone and fucked this up, he thinks, his thoughts so loud that he only catches onto the last part of her sentence.

“...a virgin because of tradition on Arkanis, but I’ve wanted you to fuck me on every surface of the Crest since you asked me to join you. And I know this is forward, and maybe too brash, but I can’t stand it anymore and I just think that...I think I lo-”

“Woah, woah, woah. Slow down. I...” he licks his lips under his helmet and lets his brain catch up. “You want to...you want to have sex with me?”

She fixes him with a look that says “duh, weren’t you listening, dumbass?”

He sighs before responding. “Okay, look, I want this too, I have since the first time Karga, Dune, and I saw you at that library on Coruscant. But listen, if you’re...if you’re a virgin, then this is something I don’t want you to just decide to do on a whim, you understand me? That’s something that should be done with s-someone you care about.”

“Is that how your first time went?” She questions, narrowing her eyes. It’s a low blow because he revealed the answer to her one night while they were both drinking up in the cockpit. In this light, he can’t see her irises at all, and it’s extremely intimidating.

“I, well, no, but you’re missing the point-”

“Am I? I care about you, Din. Do you care about me?”

There’s no trepidation in his voice when he answers this time. “Yes.”

“Then what’s the holdup, hm?”

“Because I don’t want to hurt you!” He shouts, earning furtive glances from the few last minute shoppers out and about. He sighs. “I’m not a prince, okay? I’m not some nutcracker that turns into a handsome prince and runs away with you into the forest. I’m not what you were taught to look for in your happily ever after. I’m not supposed to be your forever. I’m not even supposed to be the kid’s forever...”

The princess glares at the sky, clenching her jaw, and Din can tell from past experiences with the cauterizer that she���s trying not to cry.

“And don’t even try to tell me that it’s not about that. I know you. You crave connection, you feed off of it. You just deserve someone better than me. After I find his people, I’m gonna go back to the only thing I was ever any good at: killing.”

She sniffles and he suddenly, selfishly wishes he hadn’t been honest with her. That he would’ve just lied and whisked her back into the ship so he could fuck her every day until he inevitably broke her heart.

She looks back down, and the placid look on her face terrifies him more than the thought of someone ripping his helmet off (though his faith in the Creed is becoming increasingly shaky). She just sets her jaw and nods, turning on her heel and getting back to her brisk pace from before. It’s then that Din realizes he’s turned the sexual tension into the need for a nasty, ugly fight, having denied his feelings for so long that he’s used to feeling anger and frustration after a close encounter with her.

“Since when are you one to run away like a Corellian hellhound with your tail tucked between your legs, huh?” He says, grabbing her elbow again once he’s caught up with her.

She yanks her arm out of his grip and faces him with a scowl on her face. “Since you decided you were so unlovable, that’s when. You think you’re this horrific, terrible person. Well, Din, I’ve got news for you; plenty of people all over this galaxy do what you do for a living, and then go home and eat dinner with their partners and kids. It’s you,” she says, jabbing a finger into his chest. “That has decided you’re so unlovable. Not this galaxy, not your profession, you. You can’t even call your son yours because you’re so afraid of what? Commitment? Someone giving a damn? And guess what? Even more bad news; you’ve failed so fucking miserably at that, because he loves you. You’re his father, Din, and he loves you. I love you. And you’re not doing yourself any favors by ignoring those two blatantly obvious facts.”

The unshed tears in her eyes start to fall and Din wants to rip his helmet off right there and kiss them off her face, but he doesn’t even know what to say except that she’s right. She’s exactly right and oh, Maker, he’s a dumbass.

“To have you sit here and say that you even might possibly feel the same way about me but in the same breath say that you’re afraid of breaking my heart is...well it’s fucking stupid!” She exclaims, tossing her hands up in the air. “I’d be stupid not to love you, I would know, I literally have three degrees, Din. You risked your life to save your son, you’ve risked your life to save me, Karga, and Dune on multiple occasions. You’re trekking halfway across the galaxy to find some fabled wizard, all for your kid to be reunited with his people. You are one of the most selfless people I’ve ever met, and the only person you’re convincing that you’re some bad guy is you. You’re the good guy...that much is true.”

“I’ve done...I’ve done bad things, sweetheart. I can’t even begin to name them all...” he mutters, looking over at the child’s closed bassinet.

“Okay? We all have. My parents were grooming me to be a politician for fucks sake. What could possibly be worse than that?”

She turns and walks away then again, while he sits there staring at her before his brain, reliable as ever, finally does the mental math. “Oh, Maker, I insulted you, didn’t I?” He calls out.

“Yes!” She barks without turning around, stomping through the snow that builds up on the sidewalk. “If you got me a present for Life Day, I’ll consider it forgiven. Come on, it’s cold, we can talk in the ship...after you’ve fixed that.”

Things Din Djarin needs to stop forgetting: 1) don’t ever insult an Arkanian, or you’ll spend your whole life savings trying to get back in their good graces.

...

They don’t speak a word until they get back to the ship, and even then, words spoken aren’t to each other, only the child. The princess gets him fed and tucked in for the night before disappearing into the ‘fresher. Din fiddles around, unsure if he wants to keep going on their journey or stay on Chandrila for the night. Eventually, he decides to keep going, knowing that the temperatures will drop too much overnight on Chandrila to keep the engine off.

He hears her emerge from the ‘fresher just as the ship lurches into hyperspace, and he reaches over and grabs a parcel from underneath the control panel before heading down into the hold. He gets a strange sense of déja vu, except this time, he knows where he stands.

She’s in her quarters, but the door isn’t shut, so he takes that as an invitation to enter. He sits on her bed, watching her wrestle a chunky knit sweater over her wet hair.

“That’s more like it,” he says, and she turns to face him, a quizzical look on her face. She spots the parcel in his hands, but says nothing of it, just looks at him expectantly. “Your look, I mean. You looked, incredible tonight, but this feels more authentic, more you. You look freer.”

She just nods and bends down to slip on some socks. He holds the parcel out to her when she’s finished and she takes it without a word, sitting down next to him and unwrapping it.

The paper reveals a box. Even though her irritation at his earlier behavior rolls off of her in waves, he can almost feel her excitement piquing.

She opens the box to reveal a pair of pointe shoes in a blush pink color, delicately wrapped in red and green paper.

“...does this make up for me being a fucking idiot?”

She holds the shoes up to the light to inspect them, a revered look upon her face.

“I...I don’t even know what to say.” She whispers.

“Well, you could start with ‘thanks’.” He says, which earns him a light punch on his pauldron. 

“I hope you know it’s customary to give the present on Life Day, not the night before, so don’t think this means you get yours tonight. But how did you know?” She asks, finally turning to look at him.

“Well you only drool all over the sidewalk every time we pass a store that sells them, so I picked some up a few rotations ago when we stopped to fuel up.” He answers softly.

She smiles bashfully and tucks her hands into her lap, suddenly finding a spot on the floor very interesting. Din gently takes her chin in between his pointer finger and thumb, guiding her to look at him again.

“I’m sorry...for everything I said. I’m not used to this, any of it. I didn’t mean to insult you in anyway, but you understand that you and I come from completely different worlds, different realities...” he trails off, trying to find the right words to say. “The truth is...I’m scared, terrified of you leaving me. Everyone I’ve ever loved has...has, well, left. I know the kid is gonna have to leave at some point...I don’t want you to, too.

“After we left Nevarro, before we came here, I wanted nothing more than to take off my helmet and tell you...tell you how I love you face to face, and I’ve wanted to do it so many times tonight, but I don’t think I’m ready yet...to take off the helmet, that is. I-I don’t want you to think less of me for that, but I do love you.”

The princess, his princess, cocks her head to the side.

“I knew what I was signing up for, silly. I never expected you to take it off in front of me, not now and maybe not ever. That doesn’t make it any less meaningful.” She tells him with a smile, resting her hand where his cheek would be. “Even though I would really like to kiss you right now.”

“Well, that I can make an exception for.” He says, and removes his hand from her chin, moving it to the lip of his helmet and pulling up slightly.

He knows she’s staring at his bronzed skin and three day old stubble when he says “Well, kiss me then.”

It’s awkward at first when their lips meet, the angle of the helmet meaning that she has to tilt her head almost sideways to avoid a large gash on her nose from the sharp edge, but after a second or two, it’s like magic. They move in sync, chapped lips moving against perfectly moisturized ones. After a moment, Din takes the lead and deepens the kiss, keeping one hand on the helmet and moving the other to the back of her neck. He tentatively pushes his tongue into her mouth, but his eyes almost pop out of their sockets when she starts to suck on it. He groans and she moves her hands up to the sides of his neck.

“How’d you get so good at this?” He asks as they both pause to take a breath.

“Just because I’m a virgin doesn’t mean I wasn’t a horny teenager once. I spent plenty of summers at the Young Senators Retreat and-”

“Yeah, okay I get the picture,” Din huffs.

She laughs a full bellied laugh, the kind that crinkles the skin around her eyes and shows her teeth.

“Aw, is someone jealous?” She teases, poking the sliver of his cheek that was revealed to her.

He slips the helmet down and moves to stand up, and she does the same.

“Wait I didn’t mean to-”

“Sit down. I’ll be right back.”

He exits her room and takes a deep breath. He’s wanted this for so long, to be touched by another...to touch another. To touch her.

He returns moments later with a strip of thick black cloth in his hand and shuts the door behind him.

“As much as I want to see the look in your eyes when I make you come, I’d much rather be able to see the pretty little expressions you make when I eat you out.” He says moving to kneel on the edge of the bed. Her mouth drops into an “o” shape, her face flushing as bright red as it possibly can.

She clears her throat as he ties the cloth around her head, sheathing her in darkness. “You’re, um, good at complimenting.”

He laughs darkly, removing his helmet all the way and setting it on the floor at the foot of the bed before placing his lips next to her ear. “I think you mean dirty talk, angel.”

If it was possible for her to flush anymore, she would’ve, he thinks. He suddenly stops when a thought flashes across his mind that maybe she’s just doing this because he wants to.

“Hey, is this okay? I don’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable with or not ready for, so if you want me to turn off the lights, or we can just stop altogether, just-”

“Din,” she whispers, reaching her hand out until she finds purchase on his knee. “It’s okay. Please, just touch me before I melt into a puddle of goo.”

Din just hums and stands, beginning to remove his armor. The pieces clank to the floor by the edge of the bed one by one, and he swears her face gets redder and redder from the anticipation. Finally, he’s left only in his underwear. He reaches out and grabs her hand, pulling her to stand. His fingertips move down to brush against the hem of her heavy sweater.

“Is this okay?” He asks, tapping his finger over her stomach and he feels her muscles flutter. She nods her head and he tries again.

“No, you have to use your words, sweet girl. Is this okay?” This time, his tone is more firm.

“Yes,” she replies breathlessly. “Please, Din.”

“Please what? What do you want?”

At this point, he knows he’s just riling her up, making the tension palpable before she snaps. He hears a whine in the back of her throat before she responds.

“I-I want you t-to do what you said you’d d-do to me earlier.” She mumbles, looking down at the ground as if to avoid his gaze, even though she can’t see anything.

“Mmm,” he tuts, stepping closer to her and leaning down to nuzzle his nose against the pulse point in her neck. “Which was?”

She huffs. “I want you to eat my pussy until I cry, and then pin me down and fuck me however you want.”

He pulls back at her sudden forwardness, not expecting her to be baited by his teasing. Her hands are balled into fists at her sides and her chest heaves. She huffs again and starts pulling at her clothes.

When her sweater comes off, Din’s cock gets ten times harder at the sight of her bare chest. He’s so caught up in the way her nipples harden and her chest flushes that he doesn’t realize she completely naked until she gingerly steps back toward the bed and flops down.

“Are you even still alive?”

When Din catches a glimpse of wet slick in between her legs, he decides that he’s not.

“N-no, I’m still here...you’re just. Looks like you were sculpted by the Maker himself. I’m not ever gonna to be able to keep my hands to myself around you.” He murmurs, stepping in between her legs and drawing a finger up her calf.

“You haven’t even hardly done that yet.” She grumbles, twitching as his hand trails behind her knee.

“Mmm, that may be true, but I’m never gonna want to leave this room ever again.”

She smirks and he leans over her to plant a kiss on her mouth, his body not yet touching hers. She wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him in closer, winding her legs around his torso. When Din feels her wet heat touch the skin just below his bellybutton, his patience thins. He deepens the kiss, carding his hands through her hair and holding her flush to him. She lets a soft moan out and he thinks he might explode.

He pulls away and moves down her body, leaving wet kisses in his wake that have her shivering. He licks a long stripe with the tip of his tongue from just above her clit to her navel and she claps a hand over her mouth.

He stops himself from drowning in her cunt and reaches up to pull her hand away from her mouth. “I shouldn’t have to tell you that I wanna hear you, sweet girl.”

As soon as she says okay, he dives in, immediately attaching his lips to her clit and sucking gently. Her hands fly to his hair and tug, which makes him groan at an ungodly loud volume into her pussy. He releases her clit and licks figure 8′s on her fluttering hole and back up to her clit. 

She squeals and brings her thighs up to cage his head, and Din resolves that if he dies, this is how he wants to go; devouring her pussy and soaking up the cute little noises she makes, getting his head squeezed by her thighs and his hair pulled by her tiny hands.

He sucks on her clit again and she lets out a long moan.

“Din, please, s-something put something-”

He cuts her off by slowly wedging his pointer finger into her and starting to thrust. Her back arches off the bed and she lets out an even longer moan than before.

He lets go of her clit and asks “Is this what you wanted, angel? My thick fingers? Or just my mouth?”

She hums before shaking her head. “I-Is both an option? I w-want both, please.”

“Good job using your manners. And yes, both is an option.” He says before diving back in.

This time, instead of hearing her moans, he’s not even sure he can hear her breathing. He inserts a second finger and she exhales, letting go of his hair to fist the sheets. His dick jumps at the loud squelching sound his fingers make in her pussy as he picks up the pace.

“Ohh,” she groans out, and his eyes flick up to see her tits moving slightly with the force of his fingers. “Din, that feels so good.”

“Mhm, I’m gonna have to give you one more finger, sweet girl. Do you think you can take one more?” He asks, his voice muffled as he keeps slurping on her clit.

“One more? B-But it already feels so...so...” she trails off into a whine when he curls his fingers up and gives her the ‘come here’ motion.

“Tight? Yeah, angel, I know. But I’ve gotta do one more if you wanna be able to take it.”

Her pelvic floor contracts at his words and she squirms, bringing her hands back up to his hair and tugging.

He slowly gives her a third finger and watches her face to control his pace. It scrunches up into a frown that wrinkles her nose, but relaxes when he uses his tongue to lick a flat stripe across her clit. She uses her purchase on his hair to guide him to suck her clit again, and shortly after that, she’s moaning again.

He scissors his fingers on every thrust, trying to get her as relaxed as possible for the real thing. He curls his fingers up one more time and she’s inhaling loudly, her thighs shaking around his head and her fingers tightening around his locks. She screams as she meets her release, the sound coming out rough and scratchy. She curls in around his head, refusing to let go of his hair as he continues to suck on her clit.

She finally lets go and Din keeps thrusting as she exhales and it turns into a whimper. He slowly removes his fingers and crawls back up her body, pushing her legs back up to his torso as he goes. Her chest is still heaving from her orgasm as he leans down to give her a thorough kiss.

“Suck,” he gently commands, bringing the three fingers that were just inside of her to her lips. She hesitates a moment before opening her mouth and doing as he says. He groans as her tongue slips in between each digit and she licks off her come.

Din feels his heart stutter as he watches her.

“You look so perfect like this, all open for me, being a good girl.”

She hums around his fingers and he removes them, shucking his underwear off and fisting his cock with her spit.

“Are you on the implant?” He questions.

“Yeah, it’s against the law not to be on Arkanis...is it going to hurt?” She asks softly, clutching her hands to her chest.

“I think I’ve got you pretty wet and worked open, but we’ll go slow. It might hurt a little,” he answers, rubbing his thumb on the inside of her thigh while his hand spreads her spit around the head of his dick. “Are you ready?”

“Mhm,” she says, nodding her head, but she replies again, seemingly remembering his warning from earlier. “Yes.”

He adjusts her legs so that her calves are resting on his hipbones. He brings his thumb back to her clit and rubs gently as he starts to push the head in.

Now, Din is a cocky bastard by any means, but he’s not surprised when she starts to scrunch her face up and hold her breath when his cock gets about an inch in.

“Uh-ooh uh Din...Din it’s thick. Let me...can I feel...” he slows his movements as she trails off, grabbing her hand and bringing it down to the rest of his length that isn’t inside of her yet.

“H-how is the rest of this supposed to fit in me, what the fuck?” She asks incredulously, barely able to wrap her hand around the diameter.

Din laughs lightly, reaching up and grabbing one of her pillows before lifting her hips up and sticking it under her.

“This might help. Just relax, the more relaxed you are, the quicker you’ll adjust.” He tells her, leaning down to give her a lingering kiss. He stays there, hovering over her as he gently pushes in some more, kissing her again when her face scrunches.

He gets about halfway in before she finally relaxes and Din’s cock doesn’t feel like it’s being strangled. He sits back up and watches as her pussy swallows the rest of his length.

“Oh, sweet girl you’re doing such a good job already. I wish you could see how good your little pussy takes this dick.” He tells her, choking on his words when her muscles flex and squeeze his dick. He pulls out a fraction of an inch before pushing in again and she mewls. “It’s like you were made for me.”

She brings her arms up to drape over her already covered eyes.

“I-it feels good...go faster, please, I want it.” She whines and Din can’t help but run a hand up her stomach and to one of her tits, pinching her nipple lightly before pulling back and giving her what she wants.

“I love it when you beg,” he breathes out, enunciating each word with a thrust that’s not too hard, but just hard enough to redden her chest and make her tits bounce. “Look at you, I’ve got a little princess speared on my cock, hardly able to even talk. Have you thought about this? Huh? Thought about how my cock would feel? I knew you were wearing those tight little leggings and those little tank tops with no bra on for a reason. Dancing around my ship like I didn’t want to bend you over a crate and take you right there.”

She moans, long and loud, and he picks up his pace, lifting up her legs and holding them against his chest.

“K-keep talking, please, please, ple-” Her voice turns into a whine when he angles his hips up and hits a spot inside of her that has her legs locking up and her ankles tightening behind his head. He has to grit his teeth to stop himself from coming too soon because of how much tighter her velvet heat gets.

“Yeah, you like that? This pussy feels so good, baby. I-I wanna spend the rest of my life just fucking you.” He grunts out, emphasizing his last few words with a hard thrust.

She lets out an absolutely pornographic moan when he does that, but it turns into a whine when Din abruptly pulls out. He pulls away to grab his helmet and slip it back on before plopping down on the bed next to her and pulling her hips up and over so she’s straddling his. He reaches up and yanks off the blindfold, causing her to reflexively cover her eyes.

“I have the helmet on, it’s fine,” he tells her, watching her shoulders deflate. “I want you to watch the way I fuck you, angel. Uncover your eyes.”

She tentatively does as he asks and when she looks down at his cock that rests on his stomach, her eyes bulge. When she takes it in her small hand, Din wants to burn the image into his brain. She looks back up at him with a look of amazement.

“There’s no way this was in me...” she trails off, lightly stroking it.

“Mm, yeah, well you can have it back in you if you’d stop talking. I like it more when you beg.”

He watches as the look of amazement turns to mischief, similar to the look she gave him earlier at the theatre. Her milky eyes pierce his visor as she licks her hand and then rubs her pussy, dragging her other hand up her body to grab a handful of her tit.

“Then why don’t you put it back in and keep fucking me?” She asks, looking down at him through her lashes.

“Every fucking day you’re full of surprises, angel,” he groans, grabbing his cock and teasing her clit with it before pushing up and into her. She throws her head back and Din suddenly wishes she had the blindfold back on so he could fulfill his earlier wishes of marking her up.

He grabs her hips and pulls her down to meet his thrusts.

“Look,” he barks, causing her to jerk her head down to the place they meet. “Look at how this cock stretches you. Look at how well you’re doing, such a good girl. Always such a good girl for me, doing what I ask you to.”

He rambles as his thrusts get harder and faster and the princess starts to clench around him again.

“Are you gonna come for me? Gonna come all over this cock? One of these days, I’m gonna make you squirt all over my armor and then I’m-I’m not even gonna clean it, I’m just g-gonna go pick up a bounty.”

The princess lets out a laugh at that, clapping a hand over her mouth as she does and Din slows his pace.

“I’m sorry this feels really good still, but that was just funny. Hot, but also funny. I-I think it was just your delivery,” she giggles, removing her hand from her mouth and placing it on his chest.

Din’s heart skips a beat at the sight of his girl straddling his cock with a smile on her face, looking at him so lovingly. It’s a gaze he hasn’t been on the receiving side of in a long time. He finds himself thankful for once that the helmet is on because of the tears that spring to his eyes. Crying during sex? Not Din Djarin.

He sits up then, holding onto her back and folding his knees under him, hearing them protest as he does. He pushes her shoulders down so that he’s bottomed out inside her pussy and she groans.

“Please don’t ever leave me,” he pleads, looking up and fixing his visor on her face. “Him and I, we need you.”

“I-wh-where did that come from? Are you okay?” She asks, placing her hands on either side of his helmet and looking concerned.

He ignores her question, opting to bury his helmet into her chest and hug her tight while starting to thrust back into her.

“Din...” she warns, but hugs him back anyway.

They stay like that for a few minutes, just slowly moving back and forth together until Din’s patience breaks and he can’t help but start thrusting harder and faster. His hand snakes down her front to rub at her clit and he can feel her start to come undone. Her cunt clenches around him as she’s quickly and quietly tipped over the edge, her thighs and back spasming. She says nothing, just pants heavily above him, clutching his shoulders and brushing the strands of hair at the back of his neck that have escaped his helmet.

“Can I-can I come inside? Please-”

“Yes,” she cuts him off breathlessly. “Please, Maker, yes.”

He thrusts in a few more times before speaking again.

“Tell me you-mmm. Tell me you love me, cyare.”

“Oh, Din, I love you so much. You’re so special, you’re such a special man. I loveyouIloveyouIloveyou.”

He comes inside of her with a long groan, burying his face further into her chest as she repeats herself over and over.

Eventually, Din flops back onto her bed and she follows. He notices she takes extra care to make sure his cock doesn’t slip out of her.

“Wanted to keep all that come in there, huh?” He jokes lightly, giving her a soft pat on the butt.

“Shut up,” she huffs with a laugh into his neck. “I’m gonna have to get up eventually though to turn off the light. Are you...will you stay with me? If the lights are off?”

He rubs his hands up and down her back before exhaling deeply and responding.

“I would sleep in all of my armor just for the honor of falling asleep next to you.”

“Mmm,” she hums, tracing her finger along his collarbone. “Well lucky for you, I have a strict ‘no armor’ policy in my bed. It reads like this: ‘No beskar? No problem.’.”

-

Din awakes with a start to a loud thwump, thwump, thwump from somewhere in the ship. Immediately fearing the worst, he throws his undershirt and pants on and rushes into the hold.

There she sits, his princess, in one of his long-sleeve tunics and a pair of his underwear that fit her like shorts, banging the absolute shit out of one of her pointe shoes. The child, his son, he reminds himself, sits across from her holding the other shoe, trying to mimic her and bobbing his head along to the music playing softly in the background.

He calms his racing heartbeat as he goes to take a seat on the floor next to them.

“Happy Life Day,” she says, leaning over to place a kiss where his cheek would be.

“Happy Life Day to you, too,” he responds tenderly, booping her nose. She looks down to return to her work and Din turns to his son. “Happy Life Day, buddy.”

He babbles in delight, holding up the shoe to show Din all the work he’s (not) done on it.

“Sorry if I woke you up...actually, no I’m not. He told me to,” she says without looking up, nodding her head toward the child who just laughs. “He wants his presents, daddy.”

Din clears his throat and stands back up while the princess just smirks, knowing exactly what she does to him.

“Oh, and while you’re at it, there’s one for you underneath my bed.” She calls out to him as he leaves to go retrieve the Life Day presents.

“Alright, but next time I sit down, I’m not getting back up for at least 20 minutes.” He calls back from the ladder.

When he returns, he sees that they’ve switched shoes.

“So what does that do anyway?” He asks, setting the presents on the floor in between them. The child immediately makes grabby hands.

“Oh, it just breaks them in, but trust me, you’re not gonna want to see my feet for at least a week once you see what pointe shoes do to them,” she laughs.

Din’s helmet tilts, trying to gauge if he should have even bought them.

“Hey,” she says softly, placing a warm hand on his shoulder. “Thank you. They’re perfect. You have to do this with all of them, I promise.”

He just nods and pats her hand before reaching over and handing the child his present.

“This one’s mine?” He asks, holding up a large box wrapped in purple paper with a silver bow on top.

“Mhm,” she responds with a smile, tossing the shoe aside to pull his son into her lap and help him unwrap his present. “There’s a few things in there, but I could only do one box because the paper tax on Vardos was high.”

“That’s rich coming from the princess,” he teases, gently tearing into the paper.

“Hey! You know I don’t like using my parents’ capitalist credits,” she frowns.

He laughs, the modulator making it sound raspy. Their attention is grabbed by the child, who finally gets the box open and squeals in delight at the objects inside.

“Show dad what you got!” She tells him.

Din ignores his own present for a moment to watch as his son shows him a red shirt and black pants.

“Wow! That’s cool! Do you like them?” He asks.

The child babbles and Din looks at the princess. “Where’d you find something that small?”

“A maternity store,” she responds with a shrug, still looking down at the child. “Show him the next one!”

Din’s thoughts are swimming with the idea of her walking around a maternity store when the kid shows him his next present. The mental image has his blood rushing south until he reminds himself where he is and what he’s doing.

He clears his throat for the second time that morning because of explicit thoughts. “Oh, that’s neat!”

His son holds a tukka doll close to his chest with bright eyes and a beaming smile that shows his little teeth.

“Tell your dad to open his present,” the princess leans down and tells him, giving him a scratch on the head. When he babbles at Din again, his heart melts.

“Okay, okay, I’m on it hang on,” he responds, gently peeling open the cardboard.

In the box sits a camera, a photo, a cushion of some sort, and a folded piece of deep red fabric. The first thing he pulls out of the box is the photo. It takes him approximately ten seconds to realize that it’s a picture of him, smiling, as a boy. Next to him sits a girl, about four years older than him, and behind them stand his parents. There’s a tree with lights and ornaments decorating it in the background.

“Do you like it?” She softly asks him, placing a hand on his knee.

“I...how?” Is all he can muster.

“Well, I did some digging...a lot, actually. I found this on the holonet on an Aq Vetina tribute page,” she says, scratching the back of her neck and looking away. “It’s sad how many of those there are. Anyways, I saw your last name, your family’s last name, and figured it had to be you guys. I, uh, had it printed out because having to boot up a piece of technology every time you want to see that seems silly.”

“Is that...did I have a sister?” He whispers, drawing his finger over her picture.

“Seems that way. I could probably do some more digging if you’d like...maybe teach you how to use the holonet while I’m at it, old man.” She softly teases, squeezing his knee.

He’s scared that he broke something when he practically tackles her in a hug. His son hoots in delight, crawling his way up her front to be in the middle of the embrace.

“Thank you...so much,” he whispers in her ear, this time doing nothing to stop the tears that roll down his cheeks and catch on the lining of his helmet.

“It’s the least I could do,” she replies, giving him a soft smile when he pulls away. “If you need a moment, we can take a break before you-”

“No, no it’s okay. I’m fine,” he reassures her, the barest hint of a smile in his voice. “I’m right here where I want to be.”

He pulls the camera out of the box and inspects this.

“This is an older model,” he comments, looking through the viewfinder. “This must’ve been hard to find.”

“Yeah, but I wanted one that prints the photos out so you can keep them on you,” she responds.

“What’s this?” He asks, holding up the cushion.

She laughs. “It’s for your butt. For your chair in the cockpit. It’s supposed to help with back pain.”

He gently pops her on the head with it and she giggles. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

“Mhm...pull out the last one.” She tells him, nodding to the box.

He removes the fabric from the box and it unfolds as he holds it up.

“It’s a new cape. I got it so you guys could match.”

The smile on Din’s face threatens to break his helmet in half. “Hey, buddy, look...we’re matching.” He says, holding the cape out to his son.

The child giggles and wraps it around himself like a cape, and goes parading around the little half circle they’ve formed.

“This is...this is nice,” Din compliments, scooting over and slinging his arm over the princess’s shoulder. “All we need now is a tree.”

She leans her head into the crook of his arm and sighs contentedly. “Yeah, well they don’t survive in extended periods of hyperspace...trust me, I already thought about it.”

“I feel bad I only got you the one present,” he remarks, a tinge of disappointment in his voice.

“Mm, I’ve got everything I want right here,” she singsongs, poking him in his side. “Now lets get all this paper cleaned up so we can eat.”

She holds her hands out and he follows her up.

“What if we...uh, can we recreate that picture? The one of my parents?” He asks tentatively once he’s fully standing.

“Like...with the three of us?” She inquires, her eyes widening.

“Yeah.”

“Of course,” she answers with a soft smile. “It’d be best to do it after breakfast before his nap though.”

He watches for a moment as she starts cleaning up the multicolored wrapping paper, thinking about how peaceful and domestic this moment seems. He almost brings up getting their implants removed and having a few more monsters running around the ship, but he decides that maybe that’s a conversation for next Life Day, where hopefully they won’t have to live in the ship anymore or be on the run.

Even if there aren’t any more kids in the picture, or if we never settle down somewhere, this is more than enough, he thinks before joining his princess and his son in the kitchenette for a Life Day feast.

And for a day, all is well with the Mudhorn Clan.

[helloalycia]

never fell out of love // rory gilmore

summary: you and Rory broke up, but that doesn't stop you from teasing her and wishing you could still be together.

warning/s: none.

masterlist | wattpad

I walked into Luke's, not bothering to look around, and approached the till where Luke was writing something down on his notepad.

"Hey, Luke, please can I get two cheeseburgers to go?" I asked with a smile.

"You want fries?" he asked, finally looking up from his notepad.

"Please," I replied, taking a seat at the counter.

He nodded and gave the order to Caesar in the back. I was prepared to wait for my food, until I suddenly heard someone call my name.

"Y/N!"

"Mom, no..."

I turned and saw Rory sat at the table near the window with her mum, Lorelai. Lorelai seemed confused as Rory tried to avert her gaze from me.

I merely smirked and approached the table. "Hey, Lorelai." Lorelai smiled in return as I looked to Rory with a teasing smile. "Rory."

Rory, who was trying her best to not look at me, forced a smile and waved a hand.

"Did I miss something here?" Lorelai got straight to the point, pointing between us. "Last time I checked, you guys were friends."

I chuckled. "Same, Lorelai." I looked to Rory with an amused expression. "Do you need to catch me up on something, Rory?"

Rory, going a deep shade of red by now, finally looked up and flickered her bright blue eyes to mine. "Hey, Y/N. Yes, we're still friends. You doing good?"

I grinned. "Perfect, darling, and you?"

Rory couldn't hold my gaze for long, as she slowly looked elsewhere. "Awesome."

Lorelai looked at her daughter with a puzzled expression.

"I should go wait for my food, but it was nice seeing you," I said, mostly to Lorelai, with a friendly smile. "Enjoy your lunch."

Lorelai nodded and waved. "Bye, sweetie."

I headed back to the counter and took a seat, feeling those familiar butterflies tugging in my gut. What can I say? Rory's presence did that, and she knew it all too well, hence her ignoring me. Or trying to.

As I waited for my food, I realised I kinda wanted a drink now.

"Hey, Luke, can I get a coke? I'll pay now too," I called for the diner-owner as he made some coffee.

Luke nodded and got me the drink. After paying for it, he went to check on my food. I waited and suddenly felt a presence beside me. When I looked up, I saw Rory had approached the counter and was purposely staying silent, despite being fully aware of my presence. She was obviously waiting for Luke to return.

"You should make it less obvious that you hate me, your mum is starting to suspect otherwise," I teased her, hoping to get a response.

She pursed her lips and glanced at me. "You know I don't hate you."

I breathed out, still smiling at her. "I know. It's just fun seeing you squirm."

She rolled her eyes and leaned onto the counter, impatiently drumming her fingers. I admired her appearance today – her long hair half pulled back into an up-do style, her bangs covering her forehead and making her eyes stand out that extra big more, her white blouse rolled up to her elbows and left untucked, only accentuating her figure. She was stunning and I wasn't sure if she even knew what she was doing to me.

"Two cheeseburgers with fries," Luke finally returned, holding out a takeaway bag. "Enjoy."

I smiled and accepted the bag. "Cheers."

"Can I get a cup of coffee, Luke?" Rory asked, relieved he had returned.

Luke nodded and moved to fill her a cup. I stood up straight, bag in hand, and turned to leave, but decided to do one more thing before I left. I pretended to grab some napkins so I could lean next to Rory and get close to her ear.

"You look really beautiful today," I whispered, before grabbing a napkin and stepping back.

Rory clenched her jaw and glanced my way, her eyes soft and questioning. I merely smiled and went on my way.

As fun as teasing Rory was, I did wish I could say all of this to her face. As a couple. The reason she was giving me the cold shoulder was because she wasn't ready to be official with me. We'd been together, though on the down low about it, for a few months, but she decided to break it off when she admitted she was too afraid to come out about us to everyone. Of course I couldn't stop her, but I never fell out of love with her. And I know she still felt something for me.

Leaving Luke's that day left me with a hollow feeling inside, as I realised I probably wouldn't ever be able to say how I felt about Rory out loud.

–

Of course Stars Hollow – or should I say Taylor Doose, town mayor – would find some reason to celebrate and throw some kind of party. At this point, I didn't even know what holiday we were celebrating, I just knew that somehow, Taylor managed to convince pretty much everyone in Stars Hollow to party in the centre of town.

"Taylor did a good job, I must say," Lane commented, looking around.

"Yeah, it sure does look pretty," I agreed, taking everything in.

The gazebo had fairy lights strung all around, matching the ones lighting up the surrounding town stores. It was nighttime, so they shone like little stars. There was also balloons tied around and little streamers hanging about.

"God, this song is awesome." Lane grinned, bopping her head to the song Kirk was playing on the speakers they'd hooked up. "Wanna dance?"

Half the town was dancing like it was their school prom all over again and it was actually really lovely if it weren't amusing.

"Sure, why not?" I shrugged and followed Lane onto the 'dance floor'.

The two of us laughed as we danced around like fools. Nobody cared because everyone was bad as each other.

When the song ended, Lane and I stuck to swaying to the music for a bit, tired out from all the jumping around.

"How isn't your mum scouring the seven seas to find you right now?" I asked Lane, curious to why she hadn't been dragged home.

Lane smirked. "I am currently at Jessie Davis's house reading the Bible."

I quirked an eyebrow. "Who is Jessie Davis?"

Lane tapped her nose and I laughed at her antics. She had her ways, as usual. A pro at deception.

"Hey, there's Rory– Rory! Over here!" she shouted behind me.

I turned and a playful smile fell upon my lips when Rory's expression turned from a grin to a frown. She sucked up a breath and approached Lane and I, a forced smile on her lips.

"Hey, how long have you been here? I tried looking for you earlier," Lane said, still dancing to the music.

Rory waved her hand dismissively. "Not long. Did I miss much?"

Lane laughed. "Just Y/N and I dancing terribly. Not much."

Rory suppressed a smile as she spared me a glance. I almost forgot to breathe because of how adorable she looked.

"Gosh, Kirk actually has a decent playlist tonight," Lane complimented, obviously impressed as yet another good song played. "I'm gonna go check it out."

Lane left to go check out Kirk at his place by the gazebo, leaving Rory and I stood surrounded by terrible dancers.

"Wanna dance?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow hopefully.

Rory crossed her arms nervously. "Erm..."

"Nobody will suspect anything. We're friends. Friends can dance," I reassured her, dropping all hints of playfulness for the moment.

She sighed and nodded, a real smile tugging at her lips. We both began to dance, joining in with the horrible dancing around us. It was lovely to be able to just mess around with her without having to worry what anyone else was thinking – nobody was paying us attention. Plus, she was laughing and I hadn't heard or seen that in a while. Not since we broke up.

Eventually, Kirk slowed down with the upbeat songs and put on a somewhat slow song. Not awkwardly romantic, but something anyone could dance to. So, of course, as Rory tried to pull away and leave, I grabbed her hand and pulled her right back.

"One more dance and I'll leave you alone for the rest of the night," I promised, nodding at her. "If you want me to that is."

Rory said nothing, but rested her hand on my waist and the other in my hand. I smiled and we both slow-danced around the gazebo, not drawing any suspicion because tons of 'friends' were doing the same, some even doing it for a laugh. But nothing was funny to me about the fact that Rory was closer than she'd ever been to me since we broke up, and her eyes wouldn't leave mine.

She was wearing a lovely purple dress tonight, her hair left out and curled, framing her face. I wondered if she was thinking about us. I knew I was. I missed her the longer she was with me, strangely enough.

I leaned forward, making her nervous and tense up a little. But I only glanced around before moving my mouth to her ear.

"I really want to kiss you right now."

I pulled back and acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. As we twirled around Miss Patty, smiling as she waved at us, I made sure to act the part. Though, Rory staring at me like I'd said the worst thing ever did make me regret it a little.

Finally, the song ended and everyone clapped for Kirk, who was unsure how to react to people actually thinking he'd done a good job at something. I pulled away from Rory and took a step back, sensing her discomfort. I hated that when I looked at her, I felt the urge to kiss her still.

"I'll go," I said.

She stared at me, her expression unreadable, until suddenly, she stepped forward and pressed her lips against mine. I was surprised, wondering why she would kiss me in such a public place. But I didn't get much time to think about it because I soon found myself kissing her back, missing the taste of her lips and the warmth of her skin.

She pulled away when we ran out of breath, but her hands were clutching my waist tightly. Her eyes darted from my lips to my eyes and I saw that she was still a little confused, but she was smiling.

"Erm, you know you just kissed me, right?" I asked her to be sure.

She nodded.

"Okay, just checking," I said. "You also know people saw, right?"

Already, bystanders were talking between themselves, pointing conspicuously at Rory and I. No going back now.

"I love you," she said, grabbing my hands.

I felt my heart rate speed up. "You do?"

She nodded, eyes flickering down to my lips again. "I'm ready."

I bit my lip to contain my grin. "Rory... I love you, too."

She grinned, pressing a small kiss to my lips before pulling me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her close, smiling into her shoulder.

I was glad to finally be hers for real now.