#proper drabble incoming soon

[galgenwerk]

why does she feel horrible all of a sudden?

[aquaquadrant]

Thinking about what kinds of foods Timmy and Tango could reasonably have access to: As well as rotten flesh and spider eyes, a mob farm set up for player kills would also occasionally drop carrots and potatoes. In addition, it would occasionally spawn chicken jockeys. If they have access to moss and moss-replaceable-blocks, they would also have access to wheat and seeds (so chicken + eggs eventually), plus sticks for fishing rods, and if they had access to any water sources that means fish

OHHH… this is so fun to think about. there’s a lot of little nuances to hels that make survival difficult (ramble incoming)

so a mob farm would be a great source of food- if a player can gather enough resources and space to build one, and it’s left undisturbed long enough to actually be used. for tango and timmy, who can’t stay in one place for very long, it’s not really an option.

in fact, for most of hels, mob farms are a tall order. lots of hels players will grief one as soon as they see it; it’s like an anarchy server that way. the only way to make one is to be part of a relatively structured community that enforces rules on its citizens, such as new helington, or to go so far into the wilds of hels that no one else disturbs you (and i’m talking like, HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of blocks away from spawn).

water is a bit tricky. hels isn’t the nether in that water still exists and can be placed down, but natural sources of water are scarce. rivers and lakes tend to be lava more often than not, and oceans are extremely rare. but hels players can fish from them! tango and timmy have fish in the little drabble i did. the issue is that in hels, fish will not spawn in an artificially-created water source. so if you filled a bunch of buckets up with water and made an artificial pond somewhere else, it wouldn’t spawn fish. this makes the few oceans a hotspot for activity, which is quite dangerous (as tango and timmy found out).

now, crops. crops can technically grow in hels, like in the nether, but they don’t grow very well. the soil has a tendency to revert back to dirt and even with water nearby, growth is extremely slow. hels is a pretty hostile environment to plants (all the grass and trees are kinda brown and wilted, except for crimson and warped forests which thrive). it’s more complicated than tilling some dirt next to water; in order to create the right conditions for crops to grow, you need a well-controlled greenhouse- which again, isn’t an option for many players.

building off that, grass has an extremely rare chance of dropping seeds when broken, due to the poor nutritional value of the dirt. beetroot is basically extinct (not that it’s a huge loss). moss is a great source for those who can find some, but- unsurprisingly- lush caves are rare, too. tango and timmy certainly haven’t come across one.

and finally, the animal problem. you know how in the life series, the players would kill all the animals on day one, and then no more animals would ever spawn? i think it has something to do with chunk loading, and that applies in hels, too. there are so many players in hels (it’s an infinite world that gains new players frequently and no one ever really leaves) so the chunks clustered around spawn are always being loaded by someone. players have to go to very distant unloaded chunks to find animals, and it’s risky to bring any back; there’s a high chance of them being killed by fire, lava, fall damage, hostile mobs, and even other players out of spite- if they can’t be easily stolen.

CHICKEN JOCKEYS. SMART. if you have a player-kill mob farm operated by someone actually paying attention, you could successfully extract the chicken and, after a few eggs are laid, have a proper chicken farm. i’m sure new helington has one of those set up, as does any other community that’s able to have a mob farm.

in a nutshell, i’m sure there are a few successful farms (mob, crop, and animal) located way, waaaaaay out there in hels, created by players that fled to the less populated chunks. but for the majority of the population, who are more concentrated around the spawn chunks, the options are limited to hostile mob drops (cause hostile mobs still spawn everywhere) or having a secure food supply from someone powerful in an organized community (ie. new helington gets its main food supply from hels!vintage beef, who works with alisker in return for protection for his cow herd).

PHEW. thanks for the chance to ramble B)

[flowerwrites06]

break my mind’s eye V — jjk

Plot: Jungkook thinks marriage is the only way to seal a deal.

Pairing(s): Druglord!Jungkook x Fashion Designer!OC (Name: Belle)

Rating: G | PG | M | R 18+

Type: Drabble | Oneshot | Two Parter | Series

Parts: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Special 

Word Count: 9k+

Genre: Mafia | Angst/Smut/Fluff

Tags & Warnings (for entire series): drug dealing, marriage through trickery, explicit smut, drug use, dubious consent, prostitution, miscarriage, lots of manipulation, impregnation through manipulation 

The new routine of embedding her older brother into their lives again became somewhat casual in a fortnight. Though the presence of their ‘guest’ now created a significant rift between the new couple especially when it came to certain less than elegant activities. Not that they did not try of course.

One week into the modified living condition, Jungkook and Belle had been chatting at the bar which now mysteriously had an abnormally good stock of fruit juice compared to actual alcohol. A few instances where the drug lord would pull out a glass of cloudy apple juice creating some suspicious looks from his clients. Apparently Master Jeon was now going on a cleanse from alcohol for a while to prolong his rule over the empire.

The innocent conversation turned to absentminded touches, fingers intertwining and standing dangerously close together so Jungkook could smell her coconut shampoo. One peck turned to a deeper kiss and completely by mistake, Belle jumped on the counter with her now slightly favourite crime lord between her legs, his rough hand sneaking underneath her skirt and his lips nibbling on her neck.

Of course this was the perfect time for Taehyung to decide for a walk finding a criminal fooling around with his little sister while she giggled.

Belle practically flew off the counter almost twisting Jungkooks’ hand and simply put, the two decided to keep it more on the down low next time.

Another week passed and the cartel had been going through some brewing tension with the authorities after a new mayor was elected. Which meant Jungkook barely showed up in the bedroom to sleep and when he did come to the bedroom, it was to work more at the study table.

Belle on the other hand now sat in the designing level of Madame Saito with her large glasses, a red sweater dress to match the confusing mixture of cool and warm. Long hair tied up in a loose bun that lobbed to the side a little when she lowered her head to focus on the little details of the blue hydrangea pattern across white silk.

She approved Seokjins’ offer of becoming his designer for the Sangria House so they could conjoin the Spring Line with the angels’ attire. As much as it ignited a tiny hint of suspicion on the owners’ intentions, Saito advised that it was a powerful business decision. Being a designer of one of the biggest establishments in the city could boost her reputation as a sole businesswoman. Instead of just being Jeon Jungkooks’ fiancée or Saitos’ protégé.

Most of the Spring Line designs were already displayed on mannequins behind her, few of them approved for the runway while others still needed more detailing.

Her thumb already pricked a few times but she grew a good resistance for it at this point carefully creating gradients on the embroidered flowers. Belle quickly learned the importance of clothes in the Sangria House. Even though it was kind of ironic considering the type of establishment.

Angels wearing white fabric were meant to be the ones still in ‘training’, red meant available for entertainment both casual or carnal, lavender represented angels who were trained in more daring acts for entertainment especially ones that were erotic. Then there were the gold angels; extremely qualified in all kinds of entertainment but were already ‘taken’. They were married to someone but still had to entertain customers for a living income. If a customer wanted to spend more intimate time with this angel, it would take the price of a mansion which only one or two clients have ever really paid.

After hearing all this, Belle felt a little silly just calling it a brothel considering how much detail went into orchestrating the whole system down to their clothes.

“Belle!”

Her hand immediately stilled staring up at the figure in a vibrant yellow pantsuit walking towards the working table.

Saitos’ eyes flickered down to the sewing pattern, a smile creeping on her red lips. “I thought you said you weren’t good at embroidery.”

The younger female chuckled nervously poking the needle into the fabric. “Not as good as how you do it.”

“I was forced to sew since I was seven.” She laughed. “Don’t let my younger self being oppressed by toxic femininity stop you from believing you can’t do it now.” She joked, patting her shoulder lightly with her gaze focused on the pattern. “All you need to do is just cut out little loose threads.” Finger gently pointed towards the little threads poking out of the design. “Always make sure it’s smooth. Sometimes when a few parts are imperfect, you can add little extra pieces over top that match the shade of the embroidery design.”

Belle nodded, eyes following wherever Saitos’ finger moved.

Then the senior designer stopped herself. “Oh! Mrs. Jeon is waiting downstairs, she has some news about your engagement.” She straightened up, fixing her blazer before gesturing over to the stairs.

Her words took a moment to sink into her mind before she pulled the hair band out of her bun and tried to make it look presentable again. Glasses placed carefully on the table while the work in progress now supervised by Saito.

Almost rushing down the stairs, Belle came face to face with the woman who wore a body hugging lavender midi skirt and a matching blazer. A smile quickly stretched across her red lips as Boyoung held onto her hands excitedly.

“I’m sorry to disturb you during work but I got too excited.” She giggled, holding up her left hand to admire the ring wrapped around it as if she had never seen it before. “It’s about the wedding.”

Heart raced against her ribcages but Belle tried to keep her expressions calm. “What—what about the wedding?”

“The date, of course!” Boyoung laughed, swinging their arms again. “See we have been saving for Jungkooks’ wedding since his nineteenth birthday. Twenty one is the traditional age to marry in our family.”

Explained the constant suitors Jungkook had to tolerate. Something Belle could relate to. Her parents had been talking about her marriage since she was thirteen because it was a good way for them to gain money. Or to get rid of her. Either way she found herself having one big thing in common with the man. “That’s very nice of you.” Nice was not the proper word Belle wanted to use but Boyoung had proved to the nicest person she met in this new world. She was not going to ruin that safety.

She nodded in acknowledgement. “Since we have more than enough money saved up for the event. I wanted to tell you that we could have the wedding in a month.”

Blood chilled in her whole body struggling to keep her smile up to such a point where it was just her lips curled up while her eyes widened a little. “A month?” She chuckled nervously.

“I know it seems a little quick…” Boyoung admitted while lowering her head for a split second.

Quick was one way to describe a thousand crates dropping right on top of you while you were just working on a pretty dress.

“But it’s good to keep up with tradition.” She nodded mostly to herself, quickly giving her a bright smile like she forced it out of her after a mental pep talk. “And you two already love for each other so it shouldn’t be too hard to fathom.”

Love.

That fucking word again. Everything just came crashing back to her as the ring felt like it was suffocating her finger until it fell off. This wasn’t real, this wasn’t real… those three words swirled around in her mind as she watched the joyful smile adorn Jungkooks’ aunt. It was a game…a deal to protect her family and her own life.

Strange how the two were thinking about the same thing but one had a grey cloud and the other had sunshine.

“Of course.” Belle smiled again a little weakly but the older females’ excitement seemed to mask any suspicion. Admittedly, sparks of interest did fly between the fresh new pair but truthfully it never moved deeper than a sexual attraction. They stopped being rude to each other and grew quite successful in pretending to be a happy engaged couple. Behind closed doors, there were smiles, maybe a little flutter in her belly whenever she saw him but—love?

No.

Love was sacrificing her entire chance at a proper relationship with a happy marriage and children so she could protect Taehyung. What Belle and Jungkook had was not love itself but a consequence of loving someone far too much to lose them.

With that thought, her pounding heart hardened. This was all for the best. The deal is simple. Marry Jungkook and be the perfect wife while Taehyung is given all the resources to recover back to a better version of himself again. What was the point of worrying so much about marriage anyway? Her career showed so much potential, Belle probably would have ended up a single business woman like Saito.

To put it more accurately, this deal was perfect. No one pressured her about marriage, Taehyung was healing and her career moved smoothly.

“So we’ll do it at my mansion then, yes?”

Boyoungs’ voice breaking into the barrier of her thoughts pulled Belle back into reality and she instinctively gave the older another grin. “Yes…your mansion is beautiful, Mrs. Jeon.” She nodded. “It’s the—perfect place for a wedding.” Perfection seemed to be all she could gain at this point.

“You’ve made a desperate aunt very happy.” She joked, patting her cheek. “Now I’ve kept you away from work long enough, we’ll talk soon.”

Belle led the woman across the boutique to the exit where her car awaited, allowing the cool air to ease some of her slightly heated anxiety.

She stood politely in front of the vehicle watching Boyoung climb inside before the driver closed it gently. Though her attention flickered over to something moving on the other side of the street where the park was. Usually filled with children running around, people jogging but her focus directed more towards the bushes fencing the area.

For a quick moment a more sensible side assumed it may have been an animal of some sort merely rustling between the branches.

Though the side that was fully aware of the new gaze on her after the engagement knew better. Animals did not wear black coats neither did they hold cameras pointing right in her direction while trying to look inconspicuous in nature.

At some point Belle suspected the photographer saw her looking into the camera because she saw the figure rush to keep themselves hidden again.

Sighing, the girl gave one quick smile to Boyoung before the car drove away and she tried to fix her attention on her work again.

-

Coffee stained papers flipped and dropped either on the other side of the crowded table or on the floor. Phone rung at some corner constantly while not a single employee had a minute without running around somewhere leaving Namjoon s’ head spinning. On his right were a pile of cases he should be doing according to the captain who insisted that vandals and petty theft was more his specialty. Granted the man could not blame her considering his biggest undercover case went downhill with no leads whatsoever leaving him to be the runt of his precinct for the past year.

He kept a decent aura of respect however, no one really wanted to piss off someone who had been personally trained to cut off important parts in a body.

Taking a sip of his possible fifth cup of coffee, his pile of useless cases forgotten on the side while he stared at the recent pictures sent to him. A few years had already passed with this growing ambition towards finding out how to expose the mystery that was the Jeon Cartel. Apparently each associate took some kind of tight fucking oath which prevented anyone from uttering a single secret about them.

The infamous Jeon Jungkook was a master of words. The golden elite of their city. Contributed to around half of the buildings in the city and factories overseas. Donated near millions of dollars to medical and disaster care.

Namjoon had to admit he was good at what he did. That is until the first drug scandal. One of the factories that Jungkook owned was caught manufacturing cocaine and distributing it to Osaka and Hong Kong. Though quickly swept under the rug when the man had two hospitals built under the guise that it was Jungkooks’ personal apology to the city. His undercover mission which he worked on for months destroyed in two days.

Now the man was left with looking at any recent changes. Anything that so much as leaned the slightest towards suspicion caused his ears to prick up and his eyes peeled.

“You know Pornhub exists, right?” Yoongi spoke in his usual gruff tone, sipping on his espresso while watching over Namjoon s’ shoulder at the pictures he was looking at.

The younger male rolled his eyes continuing to observe the photos taken three days ago. A woman wearing a striking red dress conversing and smiling with the second most powerful lady in the city. “It’s Kim Belle.” Namjoon remembered the name on the newspaper article in front of him. “Seems Jeon Jungkook is getting engaged.” He sighed, brows furrowing slightly.

“Okay…” He nodded walking over to his desk right in front of Namjoon s’ desk. “And that’s our problem because…”

“Well it doesn’t make sense.”

“It’s marriage, it almost never makes sense.” Yoongi leaned back on his chair.

Namjoon moved in to try and keep his voice down since anyone who so much as heard him talk about Jungkook started writing out complaints to the captain. “But why now? He’s been an eligible bachelor for years and all of a sudden, an engagement?”

The older male tried to suppress rolling his eyes. “Probably an arranged marriage then.” He shrugged.

“To a fashion designer?” He winced. “What the hell is he going to gain by marrying a fashion designer?”

“Free suits for a life time?” Yoongi smirked but immediately sighed seeing the warning look on Namjoon s’ face. The man had clearly dedicated his entire livelihood to exposing Jungkook which was something he could never understand. He spent most of his days going undercover and being damn good at it too, exposing all kinds of rings. The Jeon Cartel, on the other hand was a hard ice wall to crack. “Look…you’ve been at this for a long time. At this point if you so much as mention Jungkook, the captains’ just going to let you go on the grounds of insanity.”

“But something isn’t right.” Namjoon emphasized desperately wanting anyone to see under that perfect young man façade Jungkook harbored. “You don’t just get engaged to some random girl, that’s social suicide.”

“Social suicide? This isn’t fucking high school.”

“You know what I mean.”

The two men stayed silent letting the ambient noise plunge through their personal atmosphere.

Yoongi mulled over his thoughts for a moment, watching Namjoon look down at the pictures with a defeated sigh. He understood the passion behind exposing someone who was doing a harmful thing under the guise of righteousness. So many powerful heads still needed to be exposed, unfortunately Jungkook was only a newer one. “Let me see the file.” He curled his fingers in and took the thick file onto his own desk when Namjoon handed it to him.

His gaze fixated on the picture of the woman, who looked around about Jungkooks’ age except with a softness to her as opposed to the other mans’ mischief. There were a couple of news articles that Namjoon collected with that same face plastered all over. A couple of them were positive while others were out to scandalize one way or another no matter how stupid it sounded. “So you’ve never seen her with him before?”

Namjoon shook his head. “Not until a little too recently. It’s like she just appeared out of thin air.”

Flipping through the photos, Yoongi came across one where she wore a brown-ish bodycon dress walking into an establishment. “This is a rehabilitation clinic.” His brows furrowed, interest now piqued a little too much for his own liking.

“You think she’s an addict?”

“Hard to tell. Could be anything.” He muttered, eyes on the picture as he took a sip of his now cooled down espresso. “Maybe she’s visiting.”

“There has to be something weird about this, right?” Namjoon gestured towards the file.

Crime lords taking in beautiful, young wives for no reason was not an uncommon trait but usually those leaders would have a reputation of that sort. Jungkook had been a bachelor from what they knew and rarely found himself in any kind of sex or romantic scandal. Something was going on but much like everything else with this man, it was hard to tell what exactly. “Okay don’t tell anyone I said this.” Yoongi almost whispered now leaning in. “But we have a possible drug bust…thanks to our new mayor, we’ve been getting orders left and right to fish out dens.” He stopped himself for a moment letting a trainee walk past them before speaking again. “The one we’re looking at tonight—few of us suspect that it could belong to Jeon.”

Namjoon shifted in his seat as his heart leaped right up to his throat. Finally those words were coming out of someone else’s mouth instead him saying the same thing like a broken record. More people were seeing the truth. “Where is it?”

Yoongi gave him a warning look now. “Joon…”

“Come on, I’m not gonna follow you.”

“Yeah but this is still a secret bust, alright? Even some of the seniors don’t know about it.” His eyes flickered over to the sides where the older officers were sipping coffee at their desks looking at their computer. About two of them actually reading cases while others watching porn. “The mayor wants a full clean-up.” Yoongi whispered again. “And I mean—full.”

“Meaning…” He pointed to his desk but referred to the whole precinct and Yoongi nodded.

“All our jobs are on the line.” He muttered. “Even the captain…but—this could help us be on the mayor’s good side since they’re trusting us already.”

A light hint of excitement tingled down his spine knowing there was a lead now. While Namjoon would have wanted to accompany the team, the older male had the right idea. The captain did not trust him in this mission. He needed to be subtle if he was ever going to feel the satisfaction of seeing Jeon Jungkook behind bars.

-

Golden rays peeked through the curtains as Belle walked to the vanity with nothing but a crème silk slip and a white robe over top.

The couple along with Taehyung were invited to the Sangria House to celebrate their new business partnership. Apparently the best angels would be readied for their entertainment in the night. Something Belle was not sure she was going to enjoy.

Either way it was always good to look as presentable as possible. The dress code stated that white, red, lavender or gold were not allowed in the establishment for obvious reasons Belle understood now. So with the thought in mind she opted for a deep green velvet dress, a slit for one of her thighs to peek through and one loose strap sleeve that hung off her shoulder smoothly.

The gorgeous dress lay neatly on the large ottoman in the center of the walk-in wardrobe while the woman curled a few undone pieces of her hair.

Deep peach lips and a simple terracotta shaded eye look, Belle briskly made her way downstairs to see how Taehyung was doing with getting ready.

Her older brother had been extremely reluctant in coming to the event but she suggested it would be good to do something other than sitting around. Maybe getting his mind off of any messiness even for a few hours. Still hesitant he silently agreed but Belle had a nagging feeling he was still napping.

Down the stairs as her curls bounced a little in the process, Nana smiled and rushed over to her.

“He’s fine, mistress.” She quickly reassured as they both stopped near the entrance archway.

Belle let out light sigh before chuckling, head lowered for a moment. “Is the suit okay?”

“Very handsome.” She nodded in acknowledgement. “You should be dressed too.”

The younger female hummed before hearing a few voices back and forth as if in argument. Brows furrowed, Belle walked to the other side of the mansion where the second living room was while Nana continued on with her work.

The area was empty but she still heard angered voices coming from the left room. The second living room led two areas. It had a similar design to the first one except instead of a bar, there was another fireplace. Past the couches in the center led to an open archway towards the kitchen on the right while the left was closed; Jungkooks’ home office.

Curiosity and slight concern seeping through her entire body, Belle walked towards the door which in mere minutes opened harshly. A clear air of smoke flowed out into the second living room touching her nostrils and making her wince.

The once angry looking men immediately stopped in their tracks for a moment before waving off the smoke and bowing. “Excuse us, mistress.” One of the older ones acknowledged as they took turns walking past her to the exit. Jongho and another guard led them properly to the door but the womans’ gaze was more on the figure sitting at the chair, rubbing his face.

Entering the office, she closed the door behind her.

His slightly reddened eyes flickered to meet her gaze before lowering his head. “Belle—” Jungkook sniffled, fingers running through messy hair. White shirt a little crumpled, almost half unbuttoned and sleeves rolled up to his elbows. It became a usual sight for the man ever since this new election. “Sorry…I don’t usually yell.” He sighed attempting to messily fix up the papers.

Staying silent, feet padded closer to the table and gently took the paperwork in her hands, stacking them neatly with a tap on the edge before placing them back on the surface. “I know. You haven’t slept.”

“Park Chul clearly isn’t planning on sleeping.” Jungkook almost seethed just mentioning the mayors’ name.

Belle moved to stand behind him, hands on his shoulders lightly squeezed the knotted muscles. “That doesn’t mean you stop taking care of yourself.”

He let out a drawling hum, throwing his head back. “You can take care of me.” A soft smile tugged at his lips as her vanilla scented perfume graced his nostrils. For hours Jungkook had been forced to tolerate the tobacco, weed and alcohol, it felt nice to have someone pleasant around him again.

“What if I’m not here?” Another million dollar question that silenced them both for a few minutes. Even the woman grew uncomfortable at how heavy those words were. Their deal was perfect. But what about twenty years from now? Fifty years? What if Jungkook being married didn’t matter anymore?

“You’ll always be here…won’t you?” He stared up at her.

Belle stopped massaging him at this point, mind crowding with unwanted thoughts and unanswered questions. Too much to think about in such little time. “I made a promise.” She smiled. “I’m gonna keep it.” Seemed the best reply in the pile of things she truly wanted to say to him except there was no time to worry themselves over delicate details.

Jungkook chuckled a little under his breath as the vanilla scented goddess now moved to sit on the table in front of him. “Shouldn’t you be dressed by now?”

“I could ask you the same question, Mr. Jeon.” Her eyes flickered up and down his body.

Fingers accidentally pushed her robe aside to let those soft thighs peek out in display, the feeling of it under his pads allowed for a sense of relief to wash any stress down. All she had to do was sit here and Jungkook felt instantly revived. Even the scent of alcohol and tobacco faded away with her presence bringing him nothing but light bliss. “I like this outfit.” He smirked, hand tracing down her leg so it sat on the arm rest, slightly caging him in much to his pleasure.

Belle smiled placing her other leg on the left arm rest giving him a small peek of her satin black panties. “Do you want me to wear this outfit?” She purposely softened her voice.

The sweet sound tingled down his spine, head turning to kiss the inside of her thigh.

Eyes closed feeling each kiss lurking closer to the thin barrier hiding the womans’ core. Leaning back a little, she buried her fingers gently in his thick hair. Grip tightened when Jungkooks’ lips finally pressed against her panties. “We don’t have time for that.” She spoke breathlessly.

“We’ll make time.” His voice rasped.

She felt her panties being pushed to the side, exposing her core to his hot breath before his tongue licked a stripe up from her slit to her little nub. Legs jerked a little almost locking her thighs together but one of his hands kept one of them still. Tongue lapped on her throbbing clit making it hard to keep herself steady without knocking over the desktop computer behind her; light moans melted out of her like a long unsung melody. A little hesitant but she had to sing it regardless. “Dai—”

Her voice made his heart flutter immediately concealed with a light groan that vibrated against her core. Lips wrapped around the sweet bundle of sensitivity and suckled, relishing in the feeling her plump thighs pressing against his ears.

Belle almost lost her balance as she pushed the keyboard away to the side. The familiar warmth constricted around her lower belly now welcomed itself, moans fading into desperate whimpers to reach her orgasm.

Feeling her hips jerk against his mouth, Jungkook breathed out through his nose not leaving a single break as he pushed her to her release. Clit throbbing between his lips, he shook his head.

The rough pressure torturing her bud as she drowned in the warm explosion seeping through every vein, body trembled in bliss. When Belle felt his tongue still moving causing her to jump a little from the sensivity as she pushed his face away softly. “No more.” She giggled, still trying to catch her breath.

Jungkook kissed it once more with a cheeky smile before standing up.

She wiped off the glisten on his chin with the fabric of her robe and pressed a light kiss on his lips. “What about you?” Her hands pulling at his belt but he held onto them.

“It’s okay.” He whispered, giving her a reassuring smile. “I just needed a little treat.”

Belle slapped his chest softly not able to get rid of the blissful smile gracing her features. “We should get dressed now.” She muttered even though their hands were still slowly caressing each other.

“We should.” Jungkook pushed away the loose curl over her eye.

Whether it was the ecstasy still flowing through her or a genuine feeling from within, the woman found herself in complete comfort under his touch. Maybe something more than just sexual attraction. Not that it could ever be anyway, there was no real use in true feelings for something false. Despite the thought in mind Belle smiled up at her clever captor turned fiancée and felt tingles run down her spine at a mere kiss on her cheek.

-

Sangria House reeked of luxury from its royal purple and gold tapestries, crystal lamps with warm lighting, scent of wine mixed into vanilla while the inside adorned with colorful angels entertaining their patrons. Since the house colors were not allowed to be worn by visitors, many of them opted for the classic black which made Belles’ deep green velvet dress stand out a lot more than she expected.

Arm hooked onto Jungkooks’ while Taehyung walked with them on her left, the three were welcomed by an angel with white attire. She bowed, smile gracing her features before leading them past the main lobby of entertainment where a few angels in white played instruments on the small stage.

Upon observing, a lot of the members in the lobby only wore white while some red ones sat in a few corners.

Belle assumed the higher ranking ones would have more private sessions or maybe there were certain times where each angel arrived. So many things still left unanswered for the workings of the Sangria House but it did not change the fact, it was a quick profit hungry establishment exploiting vulnerable young people who were desperate for a living.

The young angel slid open a door to an empty private room. Table full of light snacks and three cushions for them to sit on. “Mistress Angel and Master Jimin will see you shortly.” She bowed again until her knees touched the floor waiting for them to enter the room so she could leave respectfully.

Jungkook sat in the middle while Belle and Taehyung took each side waiting patiently in a small period of silence.

“Was bringing me to a brothel really necessary?” He glared more at Jungkook even though Belle was the one who received the invitation and accepted it for the business deal.

“If it were the brothel, I would’ve been groped at least a good three times by now.” The woman replied simply knowing this establishment in particular had extremely strict rules and a different crowd of clients.

The comment silenced her brother almost instantly.

Mere minutes passed and the door slid open again bursting with bright colors. A woman with long brown hair wearing a gold georgette dress with a matching overcoat giving her the look of royalty. In a similar fashion, a grey haired male stood beside her wearing a similar design except silk lavender. Walking closer to the table, they both bowed down to their patrons adorning those award winning smiles.

Taehyung felt like something clipped his tongue when saw the angels. The ones in white were pretty but this house owner had some real gems hidden under his sleeve. Especially the lady in gold who perched herself next to him, smiling like a princess from a fairytale that the man seemed rude smile a little back.

“Welcome to the Sangria House. On behalf of Mr. Kim, we’d like to thank you for accepting this momentous partnership, Madame Belle.” She smiled at her and gave a little bow of acknowledgement. “Jimin and I will be your hosts for this evening.”

Jungkook smiled kindly and the chatting began quite smoothly since the angels were extremely talented in holding an air of entertainment. Especially these ones. Getting a lavender and a gold coated angel were not regular feats and only done if the patron was an important one to impress. The last time he saw two of these angels together in one room was when he was first anointed leader of the Cartel but it was all paid by his father and mother. Belle checked that box without any aid. He would be jealous but a jolt of pride burst through him without knowing.

“Your name is Angel?” Taehyung asked, expression softened so much he could resemble a cloud.

Angel giggled under her breath while serving his tea. “It’s a little strange.” She placed the teapot down glancing over at Jimin who was chatting along with Belle while Jungkook listened to her. “We were called faeries before but—Mr. Kim changed it after I was given the gold coat.” She gestured to her outfit.

Taehyungs’ brows furrowed looking down at her dress hoping the princess would explain why the change in her outfit was so important. Instead the criminal sitting in the middle began speaking.

“When an angel is given the gold coat, it signifies that she’s take—” Jungkook cleared his throat. “Apologies…she’s married.”

The princess nodded with a reassuring smile.

“Married.” Taehyung breathed out, feeling like a grey cloud engulfed him into a cold hug. Of all the things…of all the angels he had to melt in front of the one who was married.

Belles’ smile disappeared hearing Jungkooks’ correction. The smallest tiniest detail managed to snap a nerve that had been long hidden with her own pride and stubborn strength. He was wrong. Angel was taken. No real, true spouse would continue to let their wife be used as a sensual commodity for extra cash and this gold angel definitely brought in a lot from what she learnt. No real, true husband would manipulate someone and threaten her family just to keep up a good appearance as a married elite. This was far from being married. Marriage was something else entirely and these suited pigs would not ever understand the meaning. It was a business transaction. Her body deflated a little feeling that nudge of anxiety once again bubbling up but she quickly gave Jimin a kind smile.

Jimin knew fake smiles from a mile away but it did not take an expert to realize Mr. Jeons’ comment changed something in the gorgeous designer. Though he had to admit, she was good at holding one like she had been giving conveniently fake smiles for a while. He did not know if he should be impressed or terrified. Either way it seemed the perfect to initiate the next stage of the evening that Seokjin planned out for them. He gently touched Angels’ arm to give her the signal before speaking once everything was quiet. “Mr. Kim has private sessions booked for each of you. I will be taking Madame Belle to another room and Mr. Jeon is expected in a meeting with Mr. Kim.”

It might have sounded like Jungkook was forced to work while relaxing but he never really delved into the antics of the Sangria House. When he was a bit younger and curious, he did book a red angel occasionally but now nothing really compared to what he already had. Though something he did not like was Jimin offering his hand to Belle. “You don’t have to do that.” He muttered to the woman.

“It’s okay.” Belle spoke a little coldly, accepting Jimins’ hand as they walked out of the room.

Another angel wearing white walked into the room to escort Jungkook to wherever he needed to go but Taehyung did not really care where. All he could focus on was the fact he could now be alone with the gold princess. “Can I ask who you’re…married to?”

Angel smiled. “No one really asks. They like keeping my truth as far away from the confines of this room to make their evening more enjoyable.”

“What if I don’t want to do that?”

“Then you’d be the first.” She took a polite sip of her tea. “Is there something in particular you wanted me to do?”

“No!” Taehyung cleared his throat, cheeks heating up. “Uh—no, I—Talking is fine. I haven’t…spoken to anyone new in a long time.” He chuckled mostly to himself. Most of the friends he had left him in the dust the more he found his comfort in other things. He talked to Hoseok a lot but only when a transaction was involved, the nurses were anything but just highly paid nannies and Belle had a life of her own to lead. Sitting in this room now with the soft-spoken princess, he quickly felt how lonely he truly was.

“Am I doing a good job?” She giggled seeing the little sags under his eyes that resembled she saw in the mirror this morning.

He nodded without hesitation. Her mere presence seemed to bring a warmth in his belly, reassuring him that he was not lonely. That everything was okay even just for a moment.

-

The room Belle was escorted into had a similar structure to the previous one except instead of plain walls, there were cherry blossom designs giving the area a subtle pinkish hue. She walked inside and sat down on the cushion this time sitting in the middle while Jimin perched himself on the other side so they faced each other. “So…why the private session?”

Jimins’ eyes flickered up to the female while he served the tea before smiling. “Mr. Kim wanted each of you to fully enjoy the services we can provide.”

Her heart bounced a little at his words. “Ser—Services?” She breathed out a small chuckle. “What kind of services?”

The lavender adorned male could not help but giggle at her adorable reaction. “Don’t worry. I won’t do anything unless you ask me to.”

“What if you don’t want to do what I ask?” Belle tilted her head. Not on her life would she ask Jimin or anyone to do anything disgusting for her own benefit but she was curious just how put together this establishment actually was.

He smiled. “It is my job to make you happy, Madame Belle.”

Clearly not that put together. “It would make me happy if you just called me Belle. ‘Madame’ is only used for senior designers.”

Jimin bowed. “Apologies—Belle. I looked at the designs you sent in for the House…you could be a senior designer if you wanted.”

Belle giggled lightly trying not to look too proud of herself since as Jimin said, it was his job to make her happy. “Thank you. Let me know if you want me to change anything.”

“That’s not really my decision but I think it’s perfect just the way it is.” He shrugged. A small moment of comfortable silence passed through them before Jimin spoke again with a careful thought. “Forgive me for asking, Belle…but–I saw you were very upset hearing Mr. Jeons’ comment.” Every word sounded so carefully calculated Belle wished she could speak like that in front of strangers. “Part of the responsibilities in Sangria House is to detect signs of…domestic disturbances. Our patrons tend be loose tongued which helps us find out if there is anyone who needs help getting away from something like that.”

“Oh—” She tried her best to hide how much her heart almost cracked her ribcages when it leaped in both fear and a strange excitement. “You don’t have to worry about all that.” Belle shook her head with a smile. Though a small lump still grew in her throat at how Jimin spoke his concerns despite barely knowing her. “Sangria House tracks domestic disturbances?”

Jimin nodded, smile softly adorning his ethereal features. “Most of our angels are from toxic environments.” He took a breath to say something as he glanced behind him. Then he leaned in with a smaller voice. “Angel…the golden lady used to be the mistress of a powerful club owner. I—I was the one who found the signs after a private session.”

Belle swallowed down the painful lump. “Who did she marry then?”

He sighed. “Since the man was so influential, he wouldn’t just let anyone marry her.” Jimin shook his head. “So—Mr. Kim offered his hand. Well…Angel trained five times as intense compared to the other angels so her status as a gold member would be valid.”

What little hope Belle had of the Sangria House being somewhere of help quickly dwindled down back to her original opinion. Angel moved from one controlling person to another. Maybe Seokjin was not an abuser of any sort but it did not change the fact she became a commodity just so she could be free from abuse. A ‘better’ life but did that make it a good life?

Though Jimin looked quite convinced that this was a righteous path for the House.

He could not exactly be miserable about it like she was since he had to actually live through all these routines and schemes.

Same way Belle couldn’t be upset about her deal with Jungkook otherwise it could make her insane with misery. Every time the small hint of reality hit her, she felt like her whole body was drowning in it all. Something so wrong damaged the entire structure of her future. If soulmates existed Belles’ would be left waiting or they would run to someone else they were not truly meant for.

“I’m sorry…I was supposed to entertain you, not make you feel awful.” Jimin chuckled nervously, shifting in his seat.

“No, no—” She shook her head smiling at him more genuinely this time. Her hand unintentionally slid closer to his as a way to comfort the angel. “Please, I—like talking about these things sometimes. It feels—real.” Her genuine smile faded into something a little sad but it still rang with truth. “I need a lot of real in my life right now.”

Jimin hummed in acknowledgement, one of his fingers lightly tapping against her hand. “Well if you ever want to visit again this House will always be open to you.”

Regardless of what she thought about this place, that was the first time anyone ever gave her words of comfort since the ‘engagement’. “Thank you, Jimin.”

-

“We’ve been in casual dealings for a long time now, Mr. Jeon.” Seokjin walked towards his desk after bringing out a wooden box from his shelf and placing it on the dark wooden surface. The lighting in the office had been a lot more dim with rarely any heavy decorations save for a few plants. This place clearly was only meant for business. “But I feel this new project may be able to solidify a stronger partnership between the two of our entities.” He tapped the closed box.

Jungkook sat on the chair in front of the desk, eyes fixated on the box before flickering up to the older male. “We don’t—share the same supplies, I’m afraid, Mr. Kim.” He shook his head a smirk lightly playing on his lips.

Seokjin chuckled settling down on the chair. He flicked the gold latches on the box and pushed the lid open before sliding it towards the young lord. “I believe you do share a similar interest for this kind of product.”

Giving the house owner a look of apprehension, he slowly leaned in and peeked into the box where he saw an indigo shaded stick almost resembling a cinnamon stick. On the left was a small bag of the same colored powder and then a liquid version in a vial. “What is this supposed to be?”

“There isn’t a name for it yet.” He shrugged. “But from I’ve asked a few of my white coats to try this product out and see the effects.”

Jungkook picked up the liquified version to examine it closer, little pink glitters seemed to shine through in the light making it look like some potion from the ancient times. “And? What were the results?”

“At first the usual, loss of inhibition maybe a little sense—then…we have increased sex drive, high performance and concentration ability, pain relief and for some people, a serious case of the giggles.” Seokjin rested his elbows on the table with his fingers intertwined with one another.

“Side effects?” He met the older males’ gaze, placing the vial back in the box.

“Didn’t think you were kind of man to worry about that.” He smirked.

“I didn’t get this kind of success by selling bad drugs, Seokjin.” Jungkook smiled with a slight bitter hint.

Seokjin sighed before nodding. “Of course—unfortunately, this drug is new and not exactly made by creators of your Cartels’ stature. Side effects included heavy addiction, loss of coordination, extreme mood swings, excessive coughing with blood traces, insomnia, sensitivity to light and cold and nightmares.”

“So nothing then?” He joked, raising a brow. “It’s going to take work to ensure at least lessening those side effects by half.”

“I take it that’s a yes on the partnership.” The corner of his lip twitched up a little.

Many club owners usually turned to him and his manufacturers for new and improved drugs that surpassed the traditional ones. Though in Jungkooks’ opinion, the originals always sold the most because they were effective for years. Except brothel or teahouse owners never really dabbled into the interest of his line of work. “Why the interest in this new field?”

Seokjin smiled leaning back on his chair. “I’m a businessman, Jungkook. There’s no field I don’t want to get into. It has been an interest of mine for years since many herbs and substances have yet to be discovered. Don’t you ever wonder if there was something out there in the world that could bring you more profit…more glory than your predecessor?”

Jungkook sat silent as the question lingered in the air for a few moments. Being so young and handed the cartel without his fathers’ death caused a disagreement amongst many associates. Despite the fear harbored by whoever crossed his path, the young man was always on the path to better himself in proving that he was the most capable and most influential. There was no room to be soft or complacent in this business.

“Also the lack of knowledge for this product may prevent any…mishaps from our new beloved mayor.”

Those clever words made his ears prick up quicker than he liked. A substance with similar effects to the originals but the look of none of them. If they succeed in perfecting it then maybe it would make being discreet that much easier. “I’ll talk about it with my manufacturers.” He spoke trying to be as emotionless as possible. But the prospect of his vulnerable mess of a cartel getting some security was soothing.

-

The sessions and a productive meeting flowed through deep into the dark night until the three were escorted back to their car.

Belle kept her eyes out on the window feeling a light emptiness gut after an angel walked into the room and told their session came to an end. Perhaps it was Jimins’ immense talent in luring his patrons. Whatever it was she had no interest in talking to the men in the car. She felt like her whole being was ripped apart, now she needed a few moments of deep silence to stitch herself back up.

Truthfully the girl did not say anything too detailed to the lavender angel but she never needed to. Somehow he had the talent of seeing her story with a few hints. That alone made her even more reluctant to uttering a single word to her brother or her makeshift fiancée.

Jungkook peeked from the rearview mirror at the woman looking out the window wondering what happened in the private session. Even as they met again in the lobby, Belle had a cold sheet over her to a point where he could feel the chill.

-

When they arrived to the mansion, Taehyung shyly suggested that they should visit the house more often which Belle agreed to with a slightly exhausted smile.

“You looked beautiful tonight.” Jungkook commented watching Belle take off her earrings and necklace, placing them in a black box.

“Thank you.” She replied under her breath, unpinning some parts of her hair relieving the light headache that ensued. Stop acting miserable, Belle told herself. It would only make it worse—her chest could not clench all her life. Her gaze still focused on the vanity, she pushed all her curls over her shoulder. “Could you unzip me?” Belle asked coyly. The woman had all capabilities of unzipping her own dress.

Shrugging the soft shirt off his shoulders, Jungkook padded towards the beauty and stood behind her. Eyes flickered to her reflection in the mirror watching her glow in the golden lights of the vanity. Hands carefully held onto the zip and pulled down tantalizing slow, wanting to stand this close to her as long as possible. The scent of her perfume blessed his nostrils, he had to lean down and nudge his nose against her hair.

Belle couldn’t help but close her eyes, chest rising and falling. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. Why did something fake feel so good then? His slightly rough fingers sneaking through the slit of her unzipped dress tracing up her back making her shiver a little. She shrugged off the one sleeve keeping her clothing hanging, nipples now peeking out from the green velvet.

Jungkook kept his gaze on the reflection as his hand reached out to push down the fabric so her gorgeous breasts could be full display. Fingers brushed up her chest before wrapping around her neck and turning her head up, lips devouring hers. Tongue pushed through her teeth not wasting any time exploring every corner of her mouth.

She sneaked through the slit of her dress and rolled her panties down to her thighs. Sneaking her hand behind her, Belle palmed the tightening bulge in his pants feeling him groan into her mouth which only made her moan back. Nothing fake should ever feel this good.

Losing all his sense and patience, he pulled her dress to see her beautiful ass in bare display as she bent over slightly on the table. Jungkook unbuckled his belt and pulled his pants down watching Belle cheekily sway that gorgeous peach. No one should be this irresistible. One little tiny move from the woman had his head floating in the clouds. Nails dug into her skin, fingers wrapping around his cock before teasing her slit.

As much as Belle loved his tongue, feeling his hardened tip had her body tingling for more. Heated arousal leaked out of her awaiting core while she pressed her ass against his member silently asking to hurry.

“Did Jimin see this?” He slapped his cock against one ass cheek making the woman hum.

She shook her head looking at him through the mirror. “Only you.” Voice came in a whisper that leaked of a little desperation.

“Only me.” Jungkook muttered, giving her an almost borderline sinister smirk. Hands grabbed at her hips as he stuffed his cock into her pussy without a single warning.

Belle lightly groaned under her breath, nails scratching against the surface of the table. Her wet core swallowed his entire member with a light ache but it quickly faded into a warm filling that she craved for too long.

“Say it again.” He demanded.

She glanced over her shoulder for a second trying to hide the small smile tugging at her lips. “Only you.” A harsh thrust from behind had Belle’s body trembling in the best way possible.

“Again.” His voice grew breathless, each thrust snapping with rough need.

“Only you.” Belle moaned out feeling the tip of his cock rubbing against the sweet spot. Arms around her body, chest pressing against her back making his shaft hit deeper and slower pushing through his deprived orgasm. “Only—” She gasped when she felt her sensitive spot get tortured, her legs momentarily losing balance from the sensation.

“Fuck, baby—” He cursed in a breathy mumble, face buried in her hair as his orgasm raced closer.

“Master Jeon!” A yell echoed upstairs but Jungkook merely groaned at the horrible timing.

Pushing Belle down further, he rammed into her like an animal. All the makeup and skincare products stumbled and fell over the shaking table.

“Master Jeon!”

Each time the yell echoed, his thrusts grew more vicious. Her skin burned from the friction against the table surface while her limbs lost all ability to have any control of their own. Belle still could not control the small smile on her face. The feeling of her body completely submitting to the beast fucking her from behind brought a new rush of adrenaline.

Jungkook grabbed onto a chunk of her hair relishing in her little moans being drowned out by the impact against the contents of the table.

Loud knocking on their bedroom door interrupted their heated air for a second.

“Baby, don’t stop please…” Belle whimpered feeling her release reach tipping point.

That nickname again made his thrusts sloppy as the warm heaviness in his lower belly reached its uncontrollable, quickly pulling out of her. Juice spluttered all over her ass and back making her look like a sinful piece of art.

Her legs felt like pure jelly as the jolt of overwhelming pleasure clouded every other thought ever constructed in her mind. When she almost stumbled, Jungkook held her gently.

“Master Jeon! It’s an emergency!”

Jungkook groaned under her breath.

“It’s okay, go.” She whispered patting his arm.

Reluctantly letting go of the beauty and zipping himself back up, he stomped towards the door and almost pulled it off its hinges. Much to his increased frustration one of his sweaty associates stood on the other side of the door. “What could possibly be so important that you had to disturb my private time?” He glanced back at the walk-in wardrobe to see Belle completely getting rid of her clothing.

“S-sir the—” He stammered giving Jungkook the urge to strangle him right there and then.

“Speak or I cut your throat.”

“The den, sir.” He shivered. “One of our dens...police did a raid, we lost of our twenty percent supplies…sir.”

Jungkook narrowed his gaze at the older male feeling the deep warm bliss now cut through by his harsh reality. They actually fucking did it. Ever since that scandal, not a single soul in the police force dared to take them down but now suddenly someone decided to play hero in front of this new mayor. “You’re the one who supposed to keep the den under guard.”

The male gulped down hard. “I—I had to get out of there.”

“You should’ve died with it.”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

“Sorry…” God he fucking hated that word. What did it ever solve? Jungkook nodded, rubbing the back of his neck walking over to the study table. Pulling out his gun he pointed it at the mans’ left leg and took a shot. Then another on his right leg.

He limped down screaming in agony while the drug lord merely stared him down in disgust.

“Jungkook!” Belle called out, heart jumping to her throat at the sound of gunshots. Her body now adorned a thick robe which she hugged close to herself. He looked back over his shoulder to meet her gaze, eyes reddened once again with anger and maybe a hint of distress. “Don’t…”

His entire body wanted to melt into hers for the rest of the night. Maybe it would make him forget all his problems for a while but he couldn’t. The mayor worked day and night trying to get one step ahead of him and now they were. Jungkook couldn’t let this happen. He had to send a message. A damn good one. “Go to sleep, okay? Close your ears if you have to.” He whispered.

Belle took a breath to say something but nothing came out so she sucked in her bottom lip, watching him close the door so all she could do was hear it all. The man screamed, sounds something crashing and choking. Feet backed away until her body plopped down sitting on the edge of the bed. This was his job, she knew that. But it all went back to what Jungkook was truly capable of. Why taking his deals were so important. Every sound reminded Belle of how it could be Taehyung going through the same fate. Maybe one day when the drug-lord grew tired of the same face, she would be on her knees allowing him to seal her fate just as he took control of it.

So she took his advice and pressed her hands against her ears tightly hoping to block the reality she was trying so hard to suppress.

<< PREV CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >> 

[strandsofgold]

a/n: remember when i said i'd finish that one fic about how dutch and hosea met within the next two weeks? yeah, well, literally the day after that i start writing this, simply because i can't get it out of my head.

rating: general audiences.

warnings: none, it's just fluff and humor with the slightest hint of angst.

a short drabble on how to earn the trust of a young, nearly-hanged boy

No Tricks (870 words)

"Hello, son."

The kid doesn't answer, just glares at him from behind his knees, all boxed-off and hostile. Dutch doesn't know how old John is, but thinks he can't be more than ten years old, all scrawny and precarious and pitiful. Then again, he'd thought the same thing about Arthur when they picked him up, and he'd turned out to be fourteen.

John is like a starved cat, cold and calculating but desperate to cling onto any scraps of food thrown his way, even if he acts all timid, an air of stubbornness about him when he refuses to eat what's put in front of him with the rest of them, only to slink away later and eat alone with an urgency that betrays his fear and doubt.

It's as though he refuses to admit to his needs in front of them, like he's scared divulging his weaknesses – not being all sharp and cold like the blade of a dagger – will lead to his demise. As if Dutch and Hosea and Arthur will turn to vultures and rip him apart the second he softens even in the slightest.

As it is now, he hasn't spoken in days, not since yelling and kicking and giving away his name on that very first day they picked him up. Every part of him screams that he's not in the mood for conversation, stiff and tense as he sits there on the ground a bit away from the campfire.

Naturally, Dutch sits down beside him and starts talking.

"You know, me and Arthur are going hunting in a bit, and old Hosea's skills ain't what they used to be. We could use an extra pair of hands to keep camp safe."

John finally looks at him, proper, turns his head fully to stare with eyes little more than slits, distrust palpable in the brown of his iris. However, when Dutch pulls out his holstered cattleman revolver, throws it into the air, and grabs the barrel, pointing the handle towards John, a silent invitation to take it, his eyes widen. The disbelief, bright and clear on his face, only stays for a few seconds, wide open eyes soon turning slit once again, suspicious.

Dutch doesn't blame him. Anyone would think him stupid to give a kid they barely even know a gun. But Dutch doesn't care about what anyone thinks.

"Take it," he says, and, when John does nothing, just stares with a skeptic frown tensing his lips, puts the revolver down between them an offer John can choose to accept if he wants to. "No tricks."

Dutch stands, brushes off the back of his pants, and leaves John alone.

"I heard that, you know," Hosea says, approaching Dutch .

"Whatever are you talking about?" Dutch says, feigning innocence.

Hosea stares at him, deadpan, arms crossed over his chest, and Dutch laughs, loud and boisterous, a sound that makes Arthur look up from where he's playing with Copper. His attention only lays on the two of them for a few seconds before he's inevitably pulled back into his and Copper's game by a sharp bark and a wagging tail.

It's all fine and dandy, calm even, for a few minutes, Dutch and Hosea talking amongst themselves and letting the kids – Arthur may be 22, but he's still a kid to Dutch, dammit – just do whatever they feel like.

Then, however, a gun goes off, the shot lashing through the air like a whip.

Hosea, Dutch, and Arthur all have knee-jerk reactions, hands going to grasp at their own weapons and bodies swirling to face the incoming enemy.

Except, there is no enemy, just John sitting where he's been sitting the entire day, watching with some befuddlement the way smoke starts curling out of the gun in his hands. In turn, Dutch, Hosea, and Arthur all sag, thankful that the only casualty tonight seems to be one of their sitting logs, a freshly fired bullet wedged into the wood.

John looks like he can't believe there are actual, real bullets in the cattleman Dutch gave him, turning his head, ever so slowly, to the direction where Hosea and Dutch stand, and stares at Dutch like he's a madman.

"Get used to it, kid!" Hosea yells, hand cupped around the side of his mouth to amplify his voice. "This man's about as crazy as they come!"

Dutch shrugs. "I've been called worse."

"I know."

But, despite the corners of his mouth tipping upwards in an exasperated grin, Hosea looks concerned, worry etched into the furrow of his brow.

He airs his concerns though, asks in a hushed voice, "You really think it's a good idea to give him a gun?"

"Not a good one, but a necessary one." Dutch claps him on the back and grips his shoulder, fingers digging into the fabric of his jacket, firm and steady. "Look at him Hosea, the kid's more frightened than anything else. What he needs is reassurance that he can protect himself. And reassurance that we're willing to give that privilege to him."

"And what makes you think he won't just shoot us in the middle of the night?"

Dutch shakes his head.

"Have some faith Hosea – in me and John."

[calm-and-wine]

(I’ll give you) the best years

part I (moodboard)

Hello lovely people! Here is the start of a little drabble series about Nulu’s future (you can catch up on Down the line here). The biggest thank you to Anna @silverrank​ for editing and giving the best tips. Please come talk to me about those two anytime of day or night!

April 2022

“My mum’s been busting my ass with questions about the wedding. She’d love to help us plan things,” Niall said between bites of his breakfast.

They were in his house in LA, Niall had been putting finishing touches on his new album, while Lucy had a week off before going to Europe for clay season.

“Umm sure, I mean I’d love to have her help, but it’s not like we have a date set or anything. We haven’t even really talked about what we want it to be like.”

They had been engaged for a few months, but had yet to breach the topic of their wedding at all. Lucy quite enjoyed this phase of their relationship. Of course she wanted to take the relationship to the next level - hence the engagement - but after Australian Open, they hadn't spent more than two weeks together. The worst part of it was that those two weeks hadn't even been consecutive, thanks to Niall being busy recording his album and Lucy with playing.

“I know. But I think she’s just excited. And she assured me she doesn’t want to make decisions for us, just help with the organisation, since we’re both busy.”

“She’s honestly the sweetest soul. I love your mum.” Lucy sighed longingly, because she really did; Maura was an angel who had welcomed Lucy into the family with open arms, even when they hadn’t been dating that long. Because of that, she made a mental note to call her, as it’d been too long since their last chat. “Well, how about September next year? I could probably take a bit of a time off after US Open, skip a couple tournaments. I mean, it’s the end of the season anyway…”

“I’m gonna be done with touring by the end of July, so yeah, that’d work. Did you have a location in mind?”

“London,” Lucy said without a second of hesitation

“Really?” Niall looked at her surprised. “No destination wedding? Like a beach or something?”

“Nope,” she said, shaking her head. “London’s home and I’d love to do it somewhere there. Would you prefer somewhere abroad?”

“No, London’s good. I would be okay with a destination wedding, but it would be a pain in the ass with all the guests flying in and stuff. And some people wouldn’t come, so that would be a shame. Look at us, we already have a venue and a date!” Niall said with a big smile on his face. Apparently planning a wedding wasn’t that hard, all you had to do is have a chat with your partner and voila, everything was set!

Lucy laughed. “We do not have a date and a venue, we have a month and a whole city area.”

“Okay, party pooper.” Niall stuck his tongue out at her. “What about people? How many are you thinking?”

“I don’t know, about a hundred?”

A concentrated frown made Niall’s eyebrows scrunch together. “A hundred people for each of us? I guess I could make it work…”

Lucy made a face. “I meant a hundred altogether, actually.”

Niall looked at her with surprise. “Wait, what? A hundred people total?”

“Well, yeah. How many were you thinking?” Now Lucy was the one confused.

“I don’t know, around three hundred or something,” Niall mumbled, picking at his food like he was embarrassed.

“Are you serious? I wouldn’t know even half of them!” Lucy raised her brows and waited for Niall to raise his head, but when he did, he just shrugged. Lucy sighed. “And you wouldn’t even have enough time to talk to three hundred people.”

“So you want a small wedding, then?” he said after a minute.

“Yeah,” she admitted. “I mean, I’d rather have fun with the people that are closest to us than spend half the night wondering if I talked to everyone and if no one feels left out or annoyed I’m not giving them attention.”

Niall hummed, but stayed silent for a moment, thinking it over. “Maybe you’re right. I think we should start making a list, see how many people we come up with.” He had his phone in his hand in a second, ready to type. “What?” he asked, when he looked up at Lucy only to see a wide smile and bright eyes.

She shook her head slightly, but the smile wouldn't leave her face. “It just kinda hit me that we’re really doing this. We’re actually getting married.”

“Are you regretting it already?” he asked with raised brows, but with a smile that matched hers.

“No, but I might, if you actually want to invite three hundred people.”

Niall’s laughter filled the place and she joined him, thinking that she might even endure a night in the company of three hundred people or more, if it meant hearing that laugh and making a man she loved happy.

February 2023

Lucy went dress shopping with her mum, Niall’s mum, Laura, Mia and Natalia. The latter was Mia’s girlfriend of almost a year. Lucy always had limited time in London, so instead of going to a variety of different stores, she looked through an online catalogue of the one they were in, now presenting the five dresses she’d chosen. The first one had gotten mixed reactions from her company, so it was a no. The second was beautiful, but Lucy found the narrow, mermaid style bottom of the dress a little too constricting.

The minute she put on the third dress, Lucy knew her mum wouldn’t like it. And she was proved right as soon as the dressing room’s door opened.

“Oh no, this one brings too much attention to your arms and shoulders and you don’t want that, honey,” said Megan right away.

Lucy didn’t even bother making her way to the mirror in the room, nor did she grace her mum with a response. They’d been through similar situations so many times she’d lost count. The rest of her help committee was rendered silent and she didn’t want to make the atmosphere even more awkward, so she just went and changed into dress number four, losing hope of actually finding one everyone would like, herself especially.

Two out of the pre-picked dresses were nice, the first and fourth one, but none was amazing. Not one made Lucy go, ‘Wow’. Maybe she just expected too much, she always thought that she would just know, she would try it on and just feel that it’s the right one. She wanted to fall in love with her wedding dress; was that too much to ask?

“Let’s maybe look around for a bit? Maybe something will catch your eye, it’s always a bit different than browsing online.” Mia stood up as soon as she saw her cousin’s disheartened expression after looking at her reflection in the last dress.

Lucy smiled with gratitude before stepping down and heading towards the racks full of all types of wedding dresses. The other women joined them, spreading around the room to look through the garments. The group worked quietly, the main sound in the room being the scraping of hangers and background music. Lucy’s attention was brought to whoever called her name to show her one of the dresses, but she mostly replied with a shake of her head. Diana, the shop assistant, was observing the scene, ready to bring whatever was needed or take a dress to wait for Lucy in the changing room.

“What about this one?” Natalia spoke up for the first time since they started looking. Lucy looked up, and she felt her eyes instantly starting to sparkle when she looked at the dress in Natalia’s hands. It was so beautiful and delicate, breathtaking, yet not too much, all at once. She was scared to like it too much right away, before even trying it on, but the thought that this dress might be the one made her heart do a little jump.

“Yeah, I kinda love it.” She gave Nat a wide smile before turning to Diana. “Do you have my size?”

~~~~

After the visit in the bridal shop, Lucy, her mum, Maura and Mia went to lunch. Laura had a meeting about one of her new work projects, while Natalia had a photoshoot location to look at. It was nice to actually spend time with her family and friends and Lucy was relieved that most of their conversation topics weren’t about her wedding. Obviously she was excited about the whole thing, but she had been the centre of attention all morning and it was nice to get away from the spotlight a bit.

After lunch she had a session with her psychologist. They’d been working together for a few years now to make sure she had the right mentality on court, as well as helping with general mental health. As soon as the appointment was over, she had a proper training session with her coach scheduled.

It had been a good day, but when evening came, she was more than happy to be back home, enjoying a quiet evening with a steaming mug of tea and catching up on some tv shows. And when her phone finally rang with an incoming facetime call, she didn’t even try to contain her growing smile. She loved being back in London, but it was always a bit bittersweet if Niall wasn’t around. It didn’t feel completely like home.

“Hi, love.” Niall’s smiling face filled her screen and her heart instantly warmed.

“Hey. Are you leaving for the venue soon?” She could see he was still in his hotel room, shirtless as always and it looked like his hair was wet. He had a show tonight, though - in Chicago if she remembered correctly - so he should be heading out soon.

“Yeah, but I wanted to chat with you for a bit before. Did you have a good day?” He was lounging on his bed, his attention focused solely on Lucy. It was one of the things she loved most about him, especially because sometimes he found it quite hard to focus on one thing, but never when he talked to her.

“Really nice day. It was so good to see everyone and spend time together. I do miss you, though.” She pouted, an action Niall mirrored.

“I miss you, too, Lulu. I’m counting down the days for that week and a half together before clay.” He smiled sadly. They had a few small visits planned, but it was usually for two or three days; they had to wait until the beginning of April for a longer visit.

“48 days,” she said with a smile; she had an app counting the days.

As if to change the subject before the mood became too sad, Niall asked, “How was the dress-hunt?”

“Terrible, at first,” Lucy laughed. “But it got better.”

“I heard your mum made some comments…” Niall said, a bit tentatively.

“Did Maura tell you that?” Lucy asked, at which he nodded. “Yeah, she hates my arms and shoulders, but what else is new. Well, those arms and shoulders got me a spot in the top 10 best female servers for a few years now, so I really don’t care if my mum thinks they’re not feminine enough.”

“I love you, Lulu,” Niall said with a fond look in his eyes. She was appreciative that those were the words that left his mouth, not that she was beautiful; somehow it made her feel better and it was like he knew she didn’t really need that boost of confidence.

“I love you too, baby.” They stared at each other through the screen for a while, giving each other gentle smiles and supporting looks. “I hope Maura didn’t have a terrible time today.” She had to ask... well, indirectly, because she always had this creeping fear that maybe people didn’t enjoy her company as much as she enjoyed theirs. And with her mum making it awkward for a bit and the dress search taking longer than expected, she’d hate to think that maybe Niall’s mum became irritated at some point or would rather spend her time differently.

“Don’t be silly,” Niall said instantly. “She called me today as soon as I’d woken up and wouldn’t shut up about how great you are and how lucky I am to be marrying you, like I didn’t know already. You know she adores you and she felt very honored that you wanted her there. I’m pretty sure she actually texted me the minute you invited her.”

Lucy laughed. “That woman is so cute. Did she tell you about the dress?”

“Oh, you found the dress?” Something in Niall's tone made Lucy raise her eyebrows. A beat of silence followed, before Niall broke it with a sigh. “Well, she didn’t say much, refused to give me even the smallest description, but she did say you look absolutely stunning in it. She also said I’m gonna be completely speechless when I see you in it. I might not be able to say ‘I do’ if that’s the case. Do you think a nod will do?”

Lucy looked at him very unamused, while he cackled to himself. “Why, oh why, have I agreed to marry an idiot?” she asked.

“Oh please, you love my jokes. You think I’m hilarious.”

“I don’t think there’s a person on this planet who’d ever use that word to describe you,” she retorted, though without heat or malice.

They just leveled each other with a daring look until Lucy broke and started laughing, with Niall following suit.

“I really can’t wait to marry you, Lulu,” he said when they calmed down, with smiles still painted on both their faces. “Why haven’t we decided to elope?”

She snickered at that. “May I remind you that not so long ago, you actually wanted a wedding for three hundred people?” She raised her brow daringly, at which he laughed and shook his head.

“Well, good thing I’m marrying such a smart woman; at least she’ll always get my head on straight.”

Lucy let out a soft chuckle and silence engulfed them for a split moment before another thought hit her. “Oh, I told Mia we’re gonna come do the tasting in the week after Wimbledon, she said Monday would be best, cause they’re closed then, so they’d just come in for a few hours for us. You’ll be back then, right?”

Mia was a sous chef at one of the best restaurants in London, so of course they wanted to hire that team for their wedding. Obviously Mia herself wouldn’t be working as she was the maid of honour, but her colleagues would be just fine without her watchful eye.

“Yup, I’m flying back Sunday afternoon, shouldn’t be home too late, so Monday works for me.” Lucy nodded while Niall took a minute to consider something before speaking again. “I’m going to sound like a dick, I know, but is it extremely awful that I kinda hope you won’t become a Wimbledon champion this year?” he asked sheepishly.

She wasn’t offended at all, just looked at him softly, with a little tilt of her head. It just so happened that he was playing this tour’s last concert the day of the women's final at Wimbledon.

“Well, a part of me is kinda hoping I’ll lose early on, so I can come see you at least for the last show,” she said. “Maybe even a couple, if I lose in the first week.”

They shared a look with which they tried to transpire an unspoken message of ‘I miss you’ and ‘I love you’. This was their normal, not being able to experience all of the big moments together, having to make tough choices, knowing when you could be selfish and when to put the relationship first. Some may think that was too much trouble, but through their years together they learned to navigate it somehow. Sure, they still made mistakes and were torn between decisions, but as cliche as it sounded, communication was the key. And neither of them would ever exchange their relationship for something easier. After all, Lucy was a firm believer of working hard on things to truly earn them. And working on her partnership with Niall might actually be the most pleasurable work ever.

September 2023

“Man, you’re actually getting married, that’s so wild!” said Mully clasping a hand on Niall’s shoulder with a big smile on his face. “I mean, it feels like you two has been together forever, so no one really had a doubt that you’d be endgame, but just… You’re actually settling down, that’s crazy.”

“You’re one to talk… Should I remind you that you proposed to Jordan three months ago?”

“Touché,” Sean laughed.

“Can you go see how everything's going out there? And get me some water, please,” Niall said to his childhood friend, mostly because he wanted a minute to talk to his father.

“I’m on it.” Mully gave a salute and left the room with a laugh.

The rest of his groomsmen were out there as well, making sure their partners and plus ones didn’t feel abandoned and giving Niall a moment to breathe.

“Why are you so nervous, son? I thought you were a million percent sure she’s the one,” said Bobby, noticing Niall’s bouncing knee and unfocused gaze.

“I am, I mean I’ve never even been in love like that. I want to spend my life with Lulu, of course I do, but, like, what if things don’t work out? What if we actually won’t last? How can I know that?” he asked.

He loved Lucy with his whole heart and soul, he’d never been more sure about anything, and he knew she felt the same way about him. But some part of him was worried, because sometimes things just didn’t work out, right? Things happened and feelings could change. He was sure his parents were in love when they got married, yet their marriage didn’t last. And so did so many others. Maybe love wasn’t everything and marriage wasn’t the road they should take? Just thinking about losing Lulu was making his insides churn and if he focused on it for too long, he might just throw up his breakfast. 

“Niall.” Bobby came closer and looked at him with a soft, but sure look. “There are simply no guarantees. That’s just life. But let me tell you that I don’t think I’ve ever seen a relationship as strong as yours, or two people so determined to make it work, just because of the love they have for each other. Sure, life will throw all kinds of troubles at you, but I think you’ve worked through a lot of the hurdles already. As long as you’ll stay like this, honest and open and wanting to make it work, you’ll be fine. I’m pretty sure of this.”

Niall looked at him with glazed eyes. His father wasn’t one for inspirational speeches like that, which made it even more meaningful.

“And I hope you know how proud we are of you, me and your mum. For everything you’ve done and what a beautiful life you’ve built.”

“Thanks, dad,” he said, enveloping Bobby in a tight hug.

He didn’t doubt Lucy and their love, he doubted life and happy endings. He doubted just how much goodness and happiness one could get from the universe. His life had thrown so many good things his way already, there was so much luck involved in all of his successes, and he just felt that someday it’d have to turn around and some gloom would take over. And maybe not seeing Lucy since yesterday and spending the night without her brought a bit of self-consciousness and worry. After all, she was usually his voice of reason. They lifted each other up. And deep down he knew it’d always be like that. They wouldn’t let each other fall, and together they wouldn’t hit the ground, because there would always be one to hold the other up.

~~

“I need to see Niall,” Lucy said, when her hair was finally perfectly arranged and she was left in a room with her and Niall’s mums, Mia, Natalia and Laura, who were her bridal party.

“What?” asked Megan, brows drawn together in confusion. 

It was less than an hour until the start of the ceremony. Lucy hadn’t seen her soon to be husband since late afternoon yesterday, as they’d decided to follow that bit of tradition and spend the night apart, with him staying at home, while she was at the hotel with her parents and Mia. She was very much regretting that decision now. They’d texted and talked on the phone before falling asleep, but she still missed him, it was different knowing he was so close, yet they weren’t together. It didn’t feel right. And now, when she was so stressed, not about the whole marrying him thing, but just about the whole ceremony and having all eyes on her throughout the day. At least she was glad that they’ve managed to wrap up the guest list just under hundred and fifty people.

Her and Niall were not supposed to see each other before the big walk down the aisle, but she needed his presence to calm her nerves.

“Can you please ask him to come meet me?” she asked Maura.

She looked at her a bit surprised, but nodded and brought a small smile to her face, even though her eyes looked a little worried. “Of course, sweetheart.”

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad, I just need to see him,” Lucy assured before Maura left the room.

“We’ll give you a moment,” said Mia, squeezing Lucy’s shoulder as she passed, ushering everyone out of the room. Megan gave her an unnerved look, but left the room.

While waiting, she looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing her perfect dress, her hair was done just the way she wanted, part of it pinned up and part left down in soft curls, her face adorned by quite delicate makeup. Everything was just the way she imagined, even better.

There was a quick knock on her door followed by a nervous, “Lulu?”.

She took a deep breath before saying “come in”.

Hearing that Lucy wanted to see him and then standing outside her door, Niall thought his heart might just beat out of his chest. But when he walked in and saw her, standing there, a mirror behind her, a soft glow coming from the window and lighting up all of her best features, he felt like his heart just left his chest. He felt nervous and suddenly calm at the same time. His mum had been right - he was very much speechless, because Lucy looked like a vision.

“Is, um, is everything alright?” he asked, searching for any signs of distress in her eyes.

“Yes, of course. I’m about to marry the most wonderful man in the whole world. I’m a bit nervous, though, and just needed to see you,” she said a little sheepishly. She hadn’t really thought about how it might look to Niall when his mum showed up and said his fiancée wanted to see him, hadn’t considered how panicked he might get.

He took a step closer, not being able to stand the distance between them any longer, especially since he was sure she wasn’t about to call the wedding off or anything like that. When he was close enough, he noticed her hands were shaking and instantly engulfed them in both of his.

“Nothing to be nervous about. It’s just people we know out there. And I’m gonna be there, waiting for you at the altar and then be by your side the whole time. Plus, I have to say, just… wow. You look so incredibly beautiful, Lulu. I knew you would, you always do, but this... this is just a different level. And knowing you’re gonna become my wife today, somehow it just makes you even more stunning.”

When she finally looked at him, her eyes were already starting to water. “You look incredibly handsome as well.” His face finally lit up with a big smile and she almost launched herself into his arms. “Can we share our vows now?” she asked quietly into his ear.

Out there, in front of everyone, they’d decided to go with the traditional vows, to try and not make each other cry. But they both wanted to do their own, special ones. It was agreed to exchange them sometime later, probably late at night, when the wedding festivities were over, but she didn’t want to wait. As they were standing in this small room, both ready, wrapped up in each other, she wanted to be his already. Even if it wouldn’t be officiated, she wanted to have that promise between them already. She wanted to walk down the aisle with his vows playing in her head. She needed the confidence that his words would give her, the reminder of his love and devotion.

“Of course, whatever you want, love,” he whispered. “Do you want me to start?” Even though he didn’t see her because of their embrace, he could feel her nod. He planted a soft kiss on her cheek, right by her ear, before slowly pulling away, but keeping his hands around her waist.

Lucy felt like her heart was about to beat out of her chest. It was fluttering around her ribcage, when she looked at the man in front of her, ready to soak up his every word. Even though her heartbeat might say differently, she wasn’t nervous.

“My Lulu,” Niall started, looking straight into her eyes. He’d use her full name out there for their proper vows, so now, as it was just the two of them, he really wanted to call her by his favourite nickname. “I promise to love and to cherish you every second of every day, no matter what’s going on or where we are, together or apart. I promise to not let you lose yourself, especially not in my own life and dreams. I promise to always be your number one fan and supporter, to always believe in you, always let you shine and remind you how bright you are. But most of all, I promise to be your partner, through thick and thin, no matter what life throws at us, to stand by your side, hold you tight and lift you up. I love you, Lulu and I promise to try to be the best husband possible.”

About halfway through his speech, Lucy’s eyes not only sparkled, but full on watered, tears eventually spilling down her cheeks. Niall quickly wiped them away with a soft smile and a look that said he’ll always be there to do just that. He didn’t even need to say it out loud, she already knew.

Before she started speaking, Lucy reached up on her tiptoes and planted a kiss right on his lips. “Niall, baby, I knew I should have gone first, cause you’re better at words than I am,” she started, at which he chuckled and squeezed her waist encouragingly. “I promise to always make sure you know how much I love you, through words and gestures, to always make you feel secure and confident, just like you do for me. I promise to always have your back, cause we are a team and together we can do anything. I promise to always try to understand you and consider your feelings. I promise to be open and honest, just like you want me to. I promise to never lose sight of how amazing you are and not let you to, either. I promise not to let you sacrifice yourself too much for me, even if you want to. I promise to make you laugh, just like you do with your stupid jokes, and to play with your hair and rub your back when you’re tired or can’t sleep. And I promise to always strive to be exactly what you need. Even though I can’t promise to be the perfect wife, I promise to try my hardest and always be the best for you.”

Just as she was saying the last sentence, a tear rolled down Niall’s left cheek, which she wiped with the tip of her finger, just like he’d done to her a few minutes earlier. She’d barely finished, when he pulled her closer and enveloped her in a tight hug while planting kisses all over her face and neck. This moment was just so blissful, they both wanted to stay in it forever.

Neither of them could even say how long they’d spent alone, after their vows they just stayed in each others’ embrace, sharing kisses every other second, inhaling one another, swaying back and forth on their feet, even though there was no music playing. They were wrapped up in their little bubble of love and excitement. Until there was a knock on the door.

“Please stop mingling in there, you’re supposed to get married in twenty minutes. I can’t believe you couldn’t even keep your hands off each other for one day.” Mia’s voice was slightly muffled through the doors, but her words were still clear. Niall and Lucy shared a shocked look, not even thinking of what anyone might think they were doing (they truly didn’t care), before erupting in laughter.

~~~~

When Lucy was coming back from the toilet, someone pulled her hand before she reached the main room. She turned her head to see it was her husband. He had a wicked smile on his face and put a finger to his lips as a signal to keep quiet, even though she was pretty sure no one would hear them over the loud music coming from the dancefloor anyway. He laced their fingers and led them into a corner of the hallway passed the kitchen.

Niall propped her against the wall, but put a hand around her waist to soften the hit.

“I’ve missed you,” he said, quietly bringing his body closer and leaning in to kiss her cheek before moving on to her neck.

Lucy let out a lovely laugh. It was a sound that he wanted to hear for the rest of his life. “We got married today, baby, we’ve been around each other for hours.” Despite her words, he kinda had a point. Sure, they were always together, holding hands or wrapping an arm around the waist to keep the other by their sides, but they were constantly around other people, listening to congratulations, well wishes and just making conversations with their guests. It was lovely, it was a part of the whole wedding ordeal, and it was their family and friends, who they were so happy to share this moment with, but she did want a minute alone with her husband as well.

“Yes, but I want you just for myself for a moment. You’ve been my wife for hours now and I’ve barely even kissed you. It’s a bit outrageous, don’t you think?” He whispered it all straight into her ear, nibbling on a skin once he was done.

She hummed. “Very much so” she agreed. She grabbed the back of his hair to pull him away from her neck and finally bring him in for a proper kiss. Both of them were hungry for it, their mouths working hurriedly, like anyone could interrupt them at any given moment, which was kind of true in this situation. Niall’s hands were rummaging around her dress, sneaking from around her ribcage to her waist and then travelling down and in this moment Lucy was both glad and mad at herself that her wedding gown was floor length, because she missed the warmth of his skin on her, even though this definitely wasn't the time and place to be doing that. She wanted to do nothing more but rake her fingers through his soft hair, but it was still perfectly styled and she didn’t want to ruin it, especially since it would probably create quite a buzz between the guests.

“Man, I can’t wait until the party’s over” he sighed, throwing his head back, when Lucy pulled away with a groan to force them both to catch their breath. “Is it really awful that I’m saying that about my own wedding?”

“Nah, I kinda feel the same right now,” she admitted with a giggle. At this moment, when they were sneaking around the party for a bit of a make out session, she felt like a teenager with butterflies in her stomach, not an adult with a husband. But there was a certain beauty in that, how Niall could make her feel giddy and excited with the simplest things, no matter how long they’d been together.

“Should we sneak off to the bathroom or something?” he asked with a glint in his eyes.

Lucy chuckled, knowing, well, hoping at least, that he wasn’t actually being serious. There was no way she was having sex with her husband for the first time in some filthy bathroom at their own wedding. Well, maybe not filthy, cause the whole place was very nice, but the sentiment was very much the same. It was not the place (nor time) to engage in marital sex. She and Niall had slept together too many times to count, but both of them wondered if this next time would be different, because of the official commitment marriage brought, if anything would change in their connection. Lucy had a gut feeling it’d be better than any time before and that they’d feel close and connected like never before, although that’d never been an issue for them. Their intimacy always brought not only their bodies, but also their minds and souls as close together as possible.

“Absolutely not,” she said, planting a kiss on his lips to soften the blow. “But we should get back. Theo looked pretty sleepy and I promised him another dance. Also, Harry made me swear to save one for him as well.” She smiled at the memory of sharing a dance with Niall’s ten year old godson not even an hour ago, and at the conversation they’d had with his former bandmates, which involved a lot of teasing of her husband.

“No,” Niall whined languidly. “Why do I have to share you? I’m fine with Theo, he’s a good kid, but Harry can suck it, he has his own girl.” He pouted to emphasize his words, at which Lucy laughed and reached her hand to smooth his features.

“Well, you could dance with Meave or another of the boys’ girls and then we can swap to get back together. I’m the bride, baby, a hot commodity, nothing we can do about it.” She shrugged her shoulders with a smile.

He sighed and pulled her closer to hide in the space between her neck and shoulder, which might just be his favourite spot on her body. “Okay, let’s go, I want to get it over with,” he said after a minute, standing straighter up. The smile on his face and the kiss he gave her before pulling away and lacing their fingers to head back to their party told her what she already knew, that he wasn’t actually grumpy and he did enjoy the night, even if it meant sharing her the whole night. Because in the end, she was his and he was hers and they had a whole lifetime together ahead of them.

Right before they entered the room where most of the guests were gathered, he pulled her to her chest once more and whispered a simple sentence right into her ear, but that few words sent a thrilled chill across her whole body: “Can’t wait for our honeymoon.”

[madamhatter]

ACT ???. BACKSTAGE your name is.....

Note: headcanon dump. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  several smaller ones drafted, decided against spam, and then bunched some together. 

got only another thing, a drabble, which it’ll come out soon enough..! had it for ~3 days and isn’t as long as this post. 

plumeria.

“And a good morning to you too.” Before the sun greeted the sky, Sophie Hatter had been minding herself to conversation with a newly made friend. Her hand briskly brushes against their cool form to then patting it affectionately. Turns out that her friend was much taller than her, which is quite a shock for how younger they were. Not surprising when she was talking to a blossoming plumeria tree. 

After the events in ACT I, SCENE I, and a great amount of guilt (which she easily crumbles under), Sophie ended up using a good portion of her earned bits from that week to purchase the plumeria she enchanted. The tree has been reserved to live comfortably on top of the apartment complex she lives in, which makes it an interesting sight. 

She has already constructed a large box (3.5 feet width), filled it with dirt, and transferred the tree into its happy new home. She thankfully did as her magic is, in simple terms, is very reactive. Not needing direct commands, or specific words/chants to use it, her own vocals can impact quite a bit. In this case, it’s the fact that the tree that had once fit in a pot was now already taking on a healthier size. It is has quite visible around the block as it’s already ~6 ft and can grow up to 20 ft. At this rate, it may happen exponentially. 

If it sounds like the tree is alone, don’t worry! One of the major projects Sophie had when she (recently) moved into her apartment was to create A) a reliable source of food and B) connections. So, there is a community garden on the rooftop as well, not taking up the entirety of the space (but could, depending on what’s wanted by the complex residents). She acts as the head gardener and spends a good portion up there to tend to vegetables, flowers, and the tree. Anyone in the apartment complex may freely tend to the garden (and take from it).

consumption/charity.

With her only stable income coming from her work as the Vermilion Detective Agency’s housekeeper, and her past history of her family’s ‘bread winner,’ she has spent scrupulous time organizing and budgeting out most weeks in advance. Considering Simeon’s work, which is high risk and high reward, that is not usually counted. She anticipates that there’ll be 'dry periods’ when there might not be available work or she’ll be decommissioned due to injuries sustained from her last job. In her opinion, it’s best to work in assuming conditions are worst than they are, which mean certain sacrifices are made.

For this headcanon, we’ll focus on food consumption. Sophie has notoriously bad health concerns when it comes to herself. This includes missing out on meals and not keeping track of what she has eaten. She is an avid baker and cook from being her family’s provider, but this doesn’t mean she makes things for herself. Honestly, the shame of her skills is that even if she could create as much, she A) can’t enjoy it/rationalizes that isn’t for her pleasure/source, and, in the case of food, B) not able to indulge. Sophie has a major case of “food intolerances” because of the limited availability (and variety) of foods in her childhood. 

All this in mind, Sophie tends to have extra ingredients available or a selection of them that she wouldn’t normally eat. (or can’t eat). There’s the fear that it’ll expire and she would’ve wasted money, so she pretty much returned to old habits: assume a bigger household. 

Sophie, essentially, has cooked larger meals and offered them out in her apartment. It originally didn’t start like this. She already offered meals already to those in the apartment complex out of compassion. She comes from a relatively small community and it’s always been integral to participate and support those around you; they can be as much as family to you, if you decide to make them so. But, back to topic. Considering how little she’s actually using, she isn’t wanting anything to go to waste

Want a plate in Sophie’s apartment? The first step would be you’d need to live close to her district, or in her district, and heard it by word of mouth (or from the source herself). She can’t go the extra mile and create new locations to serve food. Maybe in local spots, but she is still someone who’s living in poverty. The second step would be to know when. The best way to know? See if the plumeria tree is blossomed. 

It blossoms and closes according to when visits the garden. Its a part of her obligations to visit the roof-top garden everyday for about 1~4 times (when she wakes up, when she leaves, when she returns, and when she’s retiring for the day). It can be more times. Again, her speech leaves impact, and given how she speaks to the tree, the flower scan either be opened or closed. If it’s opened, she’s been at the apartment and hasn’t left. If they’re closed, she’s either (trying) to sleep or she’s left the apartment. The flowers aren’t always opened, which doesn’t necessarily reflect that she hasn’t visited. She’s possibly busy/stressed about something, rushing to get things done, or isn’t in the particular mood. 

Then again, if someone crashed in and is ridiculously malnourished or mentions they haven’t eaten (or lies about it), she will rush into that kitchen faster than they can blink. It’s always been a part of her character to be a ‘people-pleaser’ to some angle, usually seen as compassion. ..Add in the fact that her guilt can be used against her effectively and the person might not even be trying. 

rambling below. wasn’t proof-read. just me going. 

..Now that I think about it, this act itself is coping to the internalized and externalized exile she’s facing. She’s completely removed from her family unit (sisters), the one thing that kept her going, and her home and history has been destroyed. It’s already of her to genuinely fear loneliness and the inevitable ‘uselessness’ she will be because all she’s worked for has always been to benefit/aid her sisters. 

She believes the worth she actually feels good about ( read: the one time feels happy when she’s being used/taken advantage of) will expire as soon as her sisters don’t need her anymore. She spent her life being used and gotten used to it because she, as a child, *agreed/accepted* her shit fate in lieu that she’d be used to help/nurture/do everything for her sisters’ happiness/stability/etc. That is literally the reason why she rolls with it. Just for them. 

In her eyes, she’s *very* close to the point where her life is going to really have no purpose because she has reconstructed herself for her sisters-. and there’s the fact that if she successfully raised them and ensured them everything they need, they wouldn’t need her. she’ll be obsolete and she knows that. and it’s just a countdown until she’s truly useless, which then means she’ll be lonely because there’s no desirability/use to her. in her head, that’s how relationships work with her and has been the standard since she was a kid. 

providing to people is her life’s obligation because of how she’s been molded to see herself as.

This is a way to get some company and placate the terror of isolation she believes she is fated for. She might’ve reconstructed and gained control of her fate. But, there are certain things your life is barred to because what you perceive to happen/it to be. Basically, self-fulfillment prophecy. 

She still has that gap because of her own internalization, repression, and other co-morbid beliefs, trauma, etc.. She hasn’t gotten to that point, or is she avoiding it? She can physically and emotionally adapt well, but mental adaptation is the harder thing to do. 

It doesn’t help this is the idiot who doesn’t ask for help or admit to these things. Then there’s the problem of her not wanting to be alone, but she pushes relationships away because her feelings towards them are ‘this isn’t going to last and I shouldn’t get comfortable’ and ‘my relationships exist only for exchange in that I need to give and the person has to receive, or else something’s wrong.’  

this can go on, but, nah - this is going to get too off-topic.

tldr: she’s a dumbass who craves intimacy and company like everyone else but rejects most human desires/wants because she wasn’t treated like a proper human and normalized it for herself. sophie believes her relationships are based on ulterior motive + her needing to provide because that what she thought is normal for her. 

budgeting ( + peek into psyche )

Financial stability hadn’t been a staple of Sophie’s life. Emptied pockets and urgency had been, however, persistent conditions by which she coordinated herself and handling between the family shop and her family’s needs. Electricity was all too new in the valley, running water was a commodity that could’ve been easily revoked and it was harder to regain, warmth was at an all-time best whenever the Hatter sisters trio huddled together, and food was as much of a surprise for Sophie with each passing day. As she’s gotten older, she saw less of these impending fears, if only because she placed herself immediately into the workforce. No pay she made was her own, her stepmother pocketed it, but it was thankfully used for the family....with what little was left after Fanny did whatever she wanted with it.

However, those yesterdays were swallowed by a veil of smoke and ember, far too thick to navigate and too hard to breathe in. Instead of a family of the five remaining Hatters, all it was now in Sophie’s estranged life was herself in Topaxi. Her sisters were fortunately in apprenticeships in the empire and Fanny was recently remarried to some rich man -- to whom she never met properly as they gotten engaged and eloped during her disappearance. Even if she spent countless days in a cramped apartment, watching the paint chip away on her ceiling and only in the company of flowers and hats, she was still stubborn to fall on her oldest habit. Every pinch of money she made in her numerous jobs were budgeted with such precision that more than 60% of the funds were mailed out and sent to her sisters at the end of every month.

With the legally questionable yet financially beneficial jobs, it made things much easier to support her family. Her own safety, sanity, and security, however, weren’t priorities. Not that they did matter, anyways, since the importance of a job was customer satisfaction and a successful transaction.

Simeon stirs from their momentary silence, shaking their head at the sound of talk before them. It’d been another arrangement to do another one of those jobs, and it was becoming a routine that they weren’t at all fond of. Morals and better judgement rallied to put a stop in engaging and profiting from this field of world, but those wouldn’t produce anything worthy for her sisters to live off on. It didn’t matter what the self thought and wanted, what mattered was the others.

“Uhuh.” Don’t act as if you were originally listening.

misc.

Given her origins in [REDACTED], particular the location in the country, much of the advancements in Topaxi and in many countries weren’t available for her. She hasn’t ever needed to own a phone (or had one in her house home). There are certain things that are needing to get used to. One of the major points for this is that Sophie’s inadequacy with technology (even if it’s not ‘modern’ to our standards) does impact her. This does include a vehement dislike towards cars, which didn’t exist in the valley where she grew up in. She will pretty much refuse to enter one and would prefer handling foot traffic and relying on her knowledge to find barely-traveled routes. It isn’t necessarily labeled as a phobia, but she does have a great unease inside cars and tends to shimmy to the side, gripping the seat cushion. She would continue conversation but her inputs are not as verbose. She will not look out of the windows and try to keep herself distracted.   The only other time this reaction can be invoked if she’s shoved into any medical facility -- which spikes her anxiety. But, in that particular case, her hostility will appear and it’s not something that really, really comes out easily. 

Knowledge in obscure, if not concerning, topics happens to be ever true in this version than in her usual incarnation. Outside of what her canon establishes in understanding demonology, curses, and contracting, there is the additional compact of her understanding human anatomy. It’s, admittedly, something that doesn’t come out normally and this is mainly discussing the different systems that govern the body. She will share her techniques and skills when it comes to tending/first aid, and the information will out come, but it’s much more friendlier for normal people. It can easily have its tune changed.  Genuinely speaking, the application of this knowledge goes into explaining the limitations of the body and reactions that the body will have if certain bones, organs, etc. are damaged, removed, etc. If we need to go further in, this does include things like dissection and such.  Example of how it’ll be approached, here:   “Here.” Sophie tapped her finger to an image dedicated to the spinal cord as the image listed off the nerves associated with the system, injuries one could get, the name of each vertebrate, etc. “Theoretically,” she turned to Natsume, assuming he was paying attention and not returning to the devil spawns he called his cats.  “If you look at the top, you have the cervical vertebrae.” Sophie gently poked  Natsume’s spine with the tip of her scarred fingertips. “C6 is one of the points where you’d need to get in order to start the process. An injury here could be as harmless as you could expect but there’ll be paralysis from the neck downwards. It is very vital. Something like a hairline fracture could work if the person isn’t looking.” Just imagine it to get into more uncomfortable detail. Why does she know this? Good question.

Sophie’s been formerly cursed as an old woman like in canon. and, weirdly, embraced it faster than any person should’ve. It still impacts her in ways, but spoilers :). The main point is that she falls into the habit of speaking much older than she is. Doesn’t matter if you’re two years older, twice her age, or the one responsible for making the universe, she will refer to you as ‘young,’ among other things, and use titles of endearment.  As a reminder, she is 20 years old, physically that age and actually that age. It is weird but we’re rolling with it. 

Sophie can most likely outdrink you. 

Can make you a sweater. a cap too. 

Can lift quite well! Listen, she’s not ripped, but she can pick up above her weight (in terms of people). If she can’t completely pick you, she’ll drag you. 

ACHIEVEMENT: end notes. ☆ Read over one of Sophie’s extras.

UNLOCKED: ☆ encyclopedic oddity - Shorter GCD for ‘encyclopedic oddity,’ ability in which Sophie spills out strange and off-hand facts/accounts. May also ask her for facts please don’t ☆ the cratchit to your scrooge - sophie may be hired to take on accounting/budgeting work. just as the title suggests, she can also be paid horribly for this job.  ☆ home is where your favorite plate is - chance encounter to gain ‘full stomach’ buff when entering (or barging into) sophie’s apartment. the first question i ask is, how did you manage- ☆ you’re out of touch - sophie gains debuff, ‘you’re out of touch,’ and has lowered resistance to electronics and certain forms of technology.

[fire-emblem-drabbles]

Okey can i ask a drabble when the summoner got kidnapped and Her knight (zelgius hehehehehehehe) Côme To save her *-*

Sure thing! I’m altering the events of when you first meet Helbendi hehe, so that this story fits around it. Rip our poor Summoner, caught without Breidablik… Good thing she has her jet black knight! Also, why do I always end up writing the most for Zelgius? this is just under 2000 word

“Oh come on…” You groaned, being tossed unceremoniously on the ground was never all that fun. “Care to be a little more gentle, ass hole?” You managed to get into a sitting position (having both your hands and feet bound made doing so kinda hard) but once sitting, you were able to glare at your captor, Helbendi.

“Care to be a little quieter, Summoner? I have no problem delivering you to Surtur dead.” He growled out, not even paying attention to you. Instead, he looked past you, to a smaller form behind you. “And you, brat. Don’t even think about untying her.” Helbendi warned. You looked back, to a young girl behind you, dressed in clothing from Nifl. But why would the enemy captor a little girl…? Presumably, Helbendi left after that, no doubt to hold off the incoming Askr forces. With you gone, they must have been desperate. Quietly, you looked the girl up and down. She looked familiar, for whatever reason.

“Are you really the Summoner?” She gaped, walking around you a bit in the single cell the two of you shared.

“The one and only…” You mumbled out. “Just call me _____, okay? I’m not really much now without Breidablik right now…” How stupid could you have been to leave, alone, without it? “I just wanted a moment by myself and now my whole army is probably falling to shambles looking for me…” You closed your eyes and shook your head a little. The little girl eyed you curiously.

“Well… I’m Ylgr, youngest Princess of Nifl, Summoner _____!” She smiled, despite the situation. “I’ve been here a while… but Helbendi has been pretty nice to me…” She wondered allowed.

“Good to know the enemy has a soft spot for children…” You hummed, looking for some way to untie your bindings.

“Oh here, let me!” Yglr came over and untied your wrists, allowing you to untie your ankles as well. Seemed she had no qualms not listening to mister Helbendi, then.

“Thanks… If your Nifl Royalty, you must be Fjorm’s sister.” You stood to your full height, scanning the little cell for any lapse of security. Ylgr nodded happily.

“Yeah! Have you seen her?” She saw you scanning the area. “Oh…we’re… pretty much stuck here.” She admitted, with a sigh. “I’ve been here for a little while, and I wasn’t even small enough to fit through the bars.” She frowned a little though.

“Yeah I have but… this is bad, but I would be so much less jittery if I just had Breidablik with me….” You felt like some sort of drug addict, who know you would get worse separation anxiety with a glowing gun than your phone? “At least the enemy can’t get to it if its still with my army… maybe this is for the better.”

“Um, are you just going to talk to yourself the whole time?” Ylgr asked, pouting a bit.

“Oh, uh, sorry Ylgr… I guess I just do that when I’m nervous.”

~*~

Zelgius knew, the moment he saw that Breidablik was still here, and you were not, that there was something wrong. The tactical leader of their army (and his lover) was now missing and needed immediate replacement. Zelgius was no stranger to leading an army, and with his beloved captured by the enemy now, there was no time to lose. Just upon seeing his smug face, Zelgius knew it was Helbendi who captured you. But Helbendi was a smart man, and didn’t let that fact out in the open. Still, every moment away from you, spent fighting Muspell’s forces, worried him. Were they hurting you, would you be okay with him, or even any other hero to protect you? Were you even alive?

But the glow of Breidablik gave him hope; it was tied to you, in whatever strange way. He was certain its glow would only cease after you did.

Other heroes had been unwillingly made to fight as well; and as much as Zelguis wanted to break through their ranks without caring about casualties of the enemies, he knew better than that. If you were to hear that enemy heroes had been killed your absence (due to his sheer terror of losing you) no doubt you would be upset. But the time taken in a proper fight was costly; time spent making sure they were broke of their contract was more time he was separated from you.

First it was a young cavalier; then it was a power mage woman. And then a dancer. The two prior made powerful foes, and with the support of the dancer, it was hard to make forward progress. But still, even without you here, your tactics played out well. And perhaps, knowing your absence, heroes worked harder. It wasn’t a great situation, but your army under Zelgius’s pushed the enemy back to their final line, where finally the Heroes and Helbendi stood, ready to defend their final line.

~*~

“Hey, Summoner, brat.” You glared at Helbendi as he appeared once more, this time with two armed soldiers by his side. He opened the cell door “Its time for you to march to the capitol; big guy is waiting for you. I have to go fight.” Your heart swelled, knowing your allies were close. You gripped Ylgr’s hand tightly. You didn’t have anything to say to him, but she did.

“Why do you listen to a man like that?” She asked. “Why point is there?” Helbeni frowned.

“I’ll die if I don’t. Or I’ll die if I lose. The only way to move up is to win. I have people I need to protect.” Was all he said.

“…Like a little sister?” She smiled coyly.

“Just take them and move to the Capitol. And watch out for the Summoner, she’s desperate.” He growled, neither confirming or denying Ylgr’s statement. The cell door was opened and you were roughly grabbed by the arm, but you didn’t let go of Ylgr’s hand. The other solider guided her out more gently, thank goodness.

“Really, afraid of me when I’m defenseless? That’s cute.” You laughed, being taken a different direction than the one Helbendi went. Ylgr’s eyes followed him, frowning a bit.

“That’s not very fair…” She pouted. You frowned at her, and let out a little sigh.

“Some things are, Ylgr. Like…” And you hated to say this, especially being dragged off by his orders, but… “Sometimes, good people are forced to do bad things.”

“I… think I understand.” She nodded a bit. The Soldiers, if they even heard you talking to her, didn’t seem to care.

“Be on your guard, okay little one?” You warned her.

“Always.” She winked back, and you smiled. The two of you were sure to get out of this.

Helbendi didn’t really care about the Summoner, hell once you were dead, his life would be much easier, but… It felt wrong to let Ylgr go to Surtur. Still, he had a job to do, and that damn Order of Heroes made quick work of all of his men. Soon, he was out facing the opposing army. There, leading them was not the white-cloaked Summoner, as he had been told before, but a man is jet black armor, with a deep-set frown set on his face.

“You finally made it you pieces of Flith!” He let a grin fall on his face, gripping the handle of his axe tighter. “This ain’t all of you, is it? Fine, I’ll just take my axe and chop all your necks.” He chuckled. Fjorm spoke as Zelgius continued his glare.

“Our heroes are as powerful as a whole squad of your men, Helbendi. You fall here!” Everyone took that as their chance to attack; Zelgius had no hesitation.

A soldier here, heroes under contract, even Helbendi himself; Zelgius was sure no one stood in his path to you, he was ready to strike down everyone. And when the time came that he did have Helbendi under his blade, the man chuckled.

“Tell me, where is the Summoner?” His voice was nearly a growl. Helbendi only chuckled.

“She’s being taken to the capital by my men.” Zelgius didn’t even care after that, all he hoped was that you hadn’t gotten far, that maybe you weren’t even farther into enemy territory. It hadn’t even been a full day since your capture, but still he felt crazy knowing you were unsafe. Being unable to protect you like this was hell.

Helbendi was thrown to the ground (very similar as he had done to you; perhaps karma at work), and Zelgius entered the small fortress. The cells were empty, but the back entrance was hastily left open.

~*~

Some how, you had pulled the sword off the man that was guiding Ylgr; and even more amazingly, had convinced the enemy you knew how to wield it. With both of them fleeing with mutters of “I didn’t want to fight anyways” and “fuck this I didn’t sign up to watch prisoners”. Thus, you and Ylgr walked back to the fort Helbendi guarded. From the setting sun in the smoldering sky, your forces should have taken it back by now anyway.

The walk back was short, and straightforward, so soon you saw the fort in sight. With hope, Ylgr and you would be able to hold up in there if the fighting was still going on. But, to your amazement (and his as well by the look on his face) Zelgius was standing at the back door now, frozen as he watched you calmly walk up with Ylgr.

“Do you know him?” Ylgr asked, doubting perhaps that you could take him on in a fight. She was right, though.

“Zelgius! Its so good to see you!” You called back, waving. “Come on Ylgr, our allies have made it!” You grinned, having her run with you as you made it back.

“_____…” Zelgius met you half way and caught you in his arms, pulling you into a tight hug. His armor hurt a bit, but you were so happy to see him you didn’t even mind. He pulled only so he could speak again. “I’m so sorry I let this happen. I failed to protect you…” He shook his head.

“Hey, its okay. I’m fine. Its my fault for being so careless.” You held his cheek and smiled. “Besides, I made a new friend.” You stood back to let Ylgr be in view. Other people were at the back entrance now, including Fjorm who gasped.

“Ylgr?” Said child burst into a grin and ran towards Fjorm.

“Fjorm!” Ylgr jumped into her sister’s arms, simply happy to see her.

“They’re sisters” You smiled, but Zelgius shook his head.

“I only care about you. I was…” He hesitated but spoke anyway. “I was scared to lose you, _____.” he admitted.

“I… I understand.” You nodded. “It was stupid to go out alone, especially without Breidablik…” You shook your head. Speaking of said gun Zelgius pulled it out.

“I thought you might miss it.” He placed it in your hands, and you smiled.

“You wouldn’t believe how nervous I was without it.” You put it on its holster on your belt. “I feel weird without it, now. But.. thank you, for everything. I have no doubt you did everything in your power to get here in a speedy time.”

“Anything for you.” His gloved hand held your cheek, and you placed your own over it. “I’m just glad I’ll be able to protect you again.”

[daebakinc]

Finding His Princess

Pairing: Johnny x Female OC

Genre: Royal!AU, Angst, Romance

Summary: A servant and a prince can never be. Or is there some truth to the tale of Cinderella?

Wordcount: 2.7K

A/N: This was just supposed to be a drabble... until it wasn’t. OTL Inspired by this post by @hyuckio.

If anyone else looked at this room, they would doubtlessly be caught up in the splendor.

The warm mahogany panels of the walls and floor, polished daily, covered by hand-sewn Persian rugs and oil paintings in gilded frames alike. The four-poster bed with its one-of-a-kind blanket filled with the softest down in the land and embroidered with real gold. The heavy silver inkstand on the desk that’s worth more than most people’s yearly income.

           But, having grown up surrounded by such wealth, you are blind to it. You only see the hints of the room’s owner.

           The piano in the corner whose keys have edges rounded by love and practice, but he won’t replace. The stacks of CDs and albums organized by affection rather than alphabet or genre, so he can find them according to his mood. The old white whale doll with mismatched eyes tucked safely beneath the pillow.

           Your eyes burn with the pain growing and spreading in your chest as you take it all in for one last time. You wish you could see his smile one more time, hear one more of those stupid jokes he loves to tell. One last chance to look at the man you love and can never have.

           For how can a servant girl, a part time one at that, marry a prince, even in these modern times?

           Easy answer: you can’t.

There’s only one task left to do. One task left before you leave him and the palace behind to try to reconstruct your heart into the resemblance of a working one. A heart that does not belong entirely and forever to the heir to the throne, Johnny.

Yet you cannot force your fingers to place the cerulean hoodie in its proper place in the dresser drawer. Instead, they tighten around the fabric, bring it to your face. The smell of him surrounds you and summons memories like a beautiful, taunting demon.

When Johnny hugged you to chase away your tears after you skinned your knee in the days you were both younger and so innocent as to believe you could be friends forever. When you held him as he cried the night after his mother’s funeral, alone in the shadows of her favorite rose garden. When your head rested on his shoulder while the two of you—

The bedroom door slams shut and you guiltily drop the hoodie. Johnny leans against the door, eyes shut. He looks so handsome in his official uniform of a navy-blue military jacket with gold trims and epaulets, fitted white pants, and tall black boots. A true prince.

But the gold crown nestled in his dark hair seems to weigh down on him, pushing his forehead so it creases in exhaustion. Johnny sighs, long and hard, and rubs his temples. You ache to replace his fingers with yours, but you stay still. He isn’t yours to touch, let alone desire.

Johnny opens his eyes. He takes a step further into the room, removing the crown. His frown deepens as he looks at it. His arm raises as if to toss it onto the bed, but hurriedly returns to his side when he notices you.

An earnest grin springs onto his face. “_____. I didn’t see you.”

“Crown Prince Johnny,” you reply, bobbing a curtsy and using the movement to hide your closing the drawer. “I’m sorry, I was about to leave.”

“Crown Prince?” His smile incrementally fades. “Since when have you bothered with that title when we’re alone? We’re still friends, aren’t we?”

Friends. How much pain that word brings your heart. You attempt a smile. “We are, but since you’ve begun looking for a bride, it isn’t very proper to do so, Your Highness.”

Johnny’s smile disappears entirely. “Proper.”

“Has your search for your missing princess been successful?” you ask, even though your heart twinges. You already know the answer.

“Only in finding a number of charlatans and gold-diggers.” He sighs again and crosses the room to slump in the overstuffed, velvet chair. “I’m ready to give up and accept the princess my father chose, ______. His deadline is only a few days away and I can’t find the girl from the ball. I thought we had something, but why would she have run away if that was true? Why wouldn’t she have come back? Maybe I and everyone else at the ball was hallucinating and she never existed.”

Your body moves out of habit before you realize what you’re doing. Coming beside him, you turn on the small stereo and select the playlist that Johnny always listens to when he needs soothing. As his father nears retirement, those times are becoming more and more frequent. You ignore the emerald dragon mask also sitting on the desk, its empty eyes watching you accusingly.

“I hope you find your happiness,” you say.

When he doesn’t answer, you glance to the door. You want so badly to lay a reassuring hand on his shoulder, to run your fingers through his hair. You should probably leave before you give in.

But again, your body betrays you, your mouth blurting out, “I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“Leaving?” Johnny’s head comes up from where it had dropped to his hands. The concern on his face is genuine and all the more meaningful for it. “Is your mother sick again?”

“She was fine during my last call home, thank you. I’m leaving the palace for good.”

His features, so normally schooled to control every emotion, betray his alarm with his widened eyes and deepened frown. “Just like that? Why? Did something happen? Did someone do something to you?”

“No, nothing like that. It’s just… time for me to move on.” You try to give him a true smile as you back away from him. “Thank you for all your kindness over the years, Your Highness. I will… miss you.”

You turn away to go before your courage fails you, but Johnny’s hand snakes out to grab yours. “Wait!”

He says nothing else. You risk a look over your shoulder and find him staring at your joined hands. The electric tingle winding up your arm starts your heart stuttering. It tap-dances in your ears as your cheeks heat. You need to get out, run away, but you’re frozen.

“Johnny,” you murmur.

He meets your eyes at his name. After another beat, he lets go of you and picks up the soft hairbrush sitting on his desk. “Could you help me fix my hair, please? I have to meet with the interior ministers soon.”

“Surely your manservant would—”

“_____, please.”

Although you aren’t looking in his eyes, you cannot deny him nor yourself such a small thing. You accept the brush from him. He turns in his chair for you.

As you pass the brush through his hair, Johnny’s shoulders loosen, relax under your steady strokes. You smile to yourself. Johnny’s mother use to brush his hair when he was a child before he went to bed. Even now, the motions calm him like no other. He was surely meant to be born a big cat, like a puma, and only became a human by mistake.

Even after his hair is returned to its perfect appearance, you continue brushing. You cannot help the small indulgence. It will be the last time you are with him so.

The thought jars your practical side back into place. This is foolishness. Abruptly, you put the brush back down on the desk. “I think you’re done, Your Highness.”

Johnny doesn’t look back. Lifting his crown from his lap, he says, “Put this on for me, please. From the front so you’re sure it looks alright.”

With slow steps, you circle the chair and take the crown from him. You cautiously place it back on his head, avoiding his eyes that you feel so intently on you. You know if you look, your resolve may crumble in the face of the entire world he holds there. Your world.

Satisfied with your work, you lower your hands and say, “You look like a true prince.”

Johnny stiffens. “Strawberries,” he murmurs.

“What?” His sudden comment forces your eyes down to his in surprise.

“You smell like strawberries,” Johnny repeats.

He lurches to his feet, so you stumble backwards against the desk. Your heart thumps hard, once, twice, as Johnny’s probing gaze commands yours. It purposefully roams your face until you’re afraid he can see your every thought.

“Hug me,” he says.

“Wh—what?”

“Hug me.”

You remain frozen, mind racing to comprehend. You take too long.

Johnny steps closer and sweeps you up against him. You should break away, run away. Run before you give in to your heart’s desire and stay by his side.

Your bodies fit together like puzzle pieces lost and reunited. His arms hold you tenderly, fiercely. His cheek presses against yours, breath on your neck raising goosebumps on your skin.

A shaking breath escapes you. You close your eyes and let your head rest against his chest. Just for one moment, you can be weak. Soak it, him, in to create a precious memory to lock away in your heart.

Johnny lifts his head. Again, you can’t look away when his eyes find yours.

He studies you a breath longer. Softly, his words a puff of air against your mouth, he says, “It’s you, isn’t it?”

All the warmth flees your body. Your heart stops and drops to your feet. How…? Of course, you should have known. Beneath Johnny’s carefree manners lies a quick and observant mind.

You shouldn’t have let him get this close. You hadn’t meant for it to go this far.

All the kingdom had been invited to Johnny’s birthday ball. Nobles and commoners rubbed elbows and traded jokes from behind masks that rendered them all equals for the night. You had just wanted to go to the ball, experience the glitter and elegance for yourself. In a dress borrowed from the royal castoffs and a mask borrowed from the royal theater troupe, you watched from the sides.

Then, Johnny was in front of you. Even with his face hidden behind a black panther’s snarling face, you knew him. Dressed in all black, sleek as the creature of his disguise, he held out his hand. And, with no other choice, you took it.

It seemed a dream, a marvelous, sparkling, floating dream. The colors and sounds fading into the background until only you and Johnny existed in the whole world. Johnny’s strong arm at your back, his large hand cradling yours like a delicate bird. His eyes gazing into yours with a kind of wonder that left you breathless.

When he led you into a secluded section of the garden, away from curious whispers, Johnny’s eyes shone even brighter with the moonlight. Somehow, it made his words sultrier, more adoring as well as he whispered them.

When he kissed you, you were lost, completely and deeply. That secret love you had held for Johnny for so long burst into life like the full bloomed roses surrounding you. His kiss was more perfect than you could have ever imagined.

Above you, the bell in the clock tower tolled. The brassy tones shattered the spell like a brick does stained glass.

With a gasp, you pulled away. This was Johnny Seo, Crown Prince and future king. He was meant for someone greater than you, a nameless face in the sea of palace servants.

Ignoring his cry, you fled. You felt him reach for you, grasping. He tripped and the knotted ribbon holding your mask in place pulled, then broke. You ran faster, face in your hands to hide both it and the tears flowing down your cheeks.

He would never know it was you, but now… you have nowhere to hide.

Johnny plucks the mask from behind you, keeping one arm wrapped around you. You stop breathing as he settles it on your face.

“It is you,” Johnny says again, his voice barely above a whisper. “Tell me what I said to you in the garden.”

The thought to lie and deny him still dies in your throat. Your voice trembles as you cling tighter to his coat. “You said… that you felt that our hearts are connected under the same sky.”

You have a second to glimpse the blinding smile on Johnny’s face before his mouth swoops down to yours. His kiss is jubilant, eager. With that kiss, he takes your heart, your body, your everything. If you weren’t caught between him and the desk, you would assuredly be a melted heap on the floor.

When he at last allows you a breath, you can’t help but stare up at him. All words and thoughts robbed from your mind. Johnny strokes his thumb across your cheek, down to the swollen pout of your lips. He kisses you again, softer, but still as soul-claiming as the first.

“Johnny, we can’t,” you protest weakly. The bright crown on his head catches your eye, reminds you of his duties. “You’re supposed to marry a princess, preserve the integrity of royal line—”

“Whoever marries me will become a princess, royal blood or not,” he interrupts. Johnny cups your face in his hands, confidence and stubbornness shining in his eyes. “This is modern day, not the Dark Ages. My father gave me his word; you heard him. If I found the girl from the ball, I could marry her.”

Hearing the word ‘marry’ makes you almost as dizzy as Johnny’s kiss. To be able to be with him as best friend, lover, wife… only yesterday you would have thought it impossible.

“But why me?” you ask in a daze.

Of all things, Johnny laughs. He kisses the tip of your nose. “Because I love you.”

“You love that girl from the ball.”

“Who was also you. I was just too stupid to realize.”

“Johnny.”

He refuses to let you turn away. “No. I love you, _____. Does that really seem so unlikely to you? You were a vision at the ball, an angel I thought had sprung from my mind and one I saw slip through my fingers. But you are the angel who’s been by my side and who’s in front of me now.”

Tears spring from the corners of your eyes. How could any of what he’s saying be true. You grew up together and not once did he show you more affection or consideration than any other. Or were you blind to his affections too?

“_____, do you know how crazy I was when you went away to university?” he asks. “Every day I missed you, and I told myself it was because you were, are, one of my dearest friends. When you came back, I made sure you got this job, so I could see you every once in a while, if not every day.”

You stare back at him, speechless.

“Marrying anyone wasn’t in my head at that point. Then my father brought it up and started parading all those possible matches in front of me like some twisted fashion show and… I don’t know. I got lost, I guess. I didn’t want to get married yet.”

“So you don’t want to get married at all?”

Johnny winces. “That didn’t come out right. I didn’t want to get married to any of them. I didn’t feel anything for them. I don’t want a marriage of convenience or alliance. Politics doesn’t create and keep a family. That’s not what I want with my life. With you, it wouldn’t be that way. It’d be…”

“It would be what?” you murmur when he doesn’t continue.

“Do you know what my father once told me?” he offers instead.

You shake your head.

“He told me that sometimes, the treasure you seek is lying right beneath your nose.” Johnny smiles. “And he was right. I want to spend the rest of my life rediscovering it. Do you forgive this fool for taking so long to see you?”

You lick your lips. Presented with the opportunity for such happiness, especially a happiness you never thought possible, could you refuse? Looking into Johnny’s eyes, all the worries and reasons you two could never be vanish like shadows in the sun.

Reaching up, you adjust his crown. Then, meeting his eyes, you shyly nod. “I think I could if you kiss me again.”

And he does.

[shingeki-no-scenarios]

Title: Her Love

Characters: Random issa surprise

Genre: Angst, Drama

Warnings: Manga spoilers, mentions of sexual content

Summary: A drabble collection showcasing a mother’s love.

A/N: Happy Mothers’ Day to all you mothers/mother figures/mom friends out there!!💜💜💜

one The little girl let out soft whimpers and occasional hisses as her mother stood above her, patiently smoothing out the knots and kinks in her long, jet-black hair with a fine-toothed comb. The younger of the pair merely sighed, knowing that she only had herself to blame; had she listened to her mother and kept her hair braided, it would not have gotten tangled while she jumped and rolled about with her playmates the entire afternoon.

“We’ll really have to cut your short if you can’t keep it neat, Mika.” the elder tutted, resorting to using her fingers to detangle a particularly large knot. Upon successfully undoing the knot, the woman smiled softly and ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair, making sure that she didn’t miss anything, as well as check for any head lice she might have gotten from her playmates.

“I don’t want to!” the girl neither meant to raise her voice at her mother, nor did she mean to disrespect her by crossing her arms and frowning deeply. Almost immediately, she regretted acting as such upon sensing how the elder woman froze and remained silent, as if she were calculating how long she should make the younger stand in the corner. “I... I mean... I don’t want to have short hair.” her tone was now softer and regretful, hoping that it would do something to change her mother’s mind.

To her surprise, the woman chuckled heartily and took the young girl into her embrace, muttering promises of how she was just joking as she pressed kisses onto the crown of the younger’s head, obviously not able to resist how adorable her daughter looked.

two Thud.

"One, two... three.” the woman muttered under her breath; counting to three had become her ritual after her customers had left– it was just something that gave her assurance that the nightmare was over, and that she was free to act like nothing ever happened.

Sniffing and sitting up, she fought the ache in her thighs and hastily gathered her clothes (or at least, what remained of it). The sickening thought of what had just happened was starting to weigh in on her, and she knew that she had to leave this place as soon as possible. That way, she could hop into the bath and scrub the filth– their filth– off her skin.

Time and again, she told herself that she was going to quit tomorrow and leave it all behind, but that tomorrow soon turned into next week, as next week turned into next month, that eventually turned to next year. Holding back her tears, she blankly stared at the crumpled bills strewn across the bed; prior to it being scattered on the bed, the money had been haphazardly thrown at her face as the man snickered at how pathetic she looked. She couldn’t blame him, though, as it was true– she was willing to be reduced to a pathetic, lowly being just to have a source of income.

‘It’s much better than having him starve.’ she thought as she gathered the cash, trying her best to count and recount it even if her hands shook violently while she made attempts to comfort herself. Upon seeing that she had actually been given extra, her shaking stopped and she let out a deep sigh of relief and joy, knowing that she’ll be able to surprise her beloved son with a special meal at the end of the week. It was the least she could do after practically leaving him alone for the past week, after all. “I have to provide.” she chanted, feeling her vivacious self break through the bruised, lifeless woman she was just a couple seconds ago.

Composing herself and making sure she looked presentable, she dashed out of the hellhole she called a workplace as quickly as she could, knowing that Levi was probably waiting for her to read him a bed time story.

three Though sleep was starting to tug at her eyelids, the woman did her best to stay awake and responsive; there was no way in hell that she could sleep comfortably knowing that a dear comrade of hers would spend the night crying her eyes out.

“I quit.” the redhead sobbed, desperately burying her face into the brunette’s lap as she clutched onto her thighs as if her life depended on it. “I quit, Hanji. I can’t take it.” she stuttered out, attempting to speak in between suffocating sobs.

“No, no... No, Petra.” Hanji said in a rather jumpy response, feeling her energy return immediately upon hearing how hurt and tired the other was. With a sigh, she soothingly rubbed the other’s back in an attempt to calm her down; she couldn’t deny that she felt her heart chip away with each sob she heard. “If I let you quit now, you’re going to hate me for the rest of your life.” she added, moving her hand up from the petite woman’s back and into her hair, softly massaging her head.

“The deaths... The uncertainty...” Petra whimpered out, sniffing as she felt her sobs slow and eventually come to a halt. “There’s so much more I wanna do, Hanji. I know that I’m not meant to spend my whole life living like this.” she mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut as she felt another round of waterworks coming.

Gently, Hanji helped Petra sit up in order for her to give the redhead a proper hug. At this point, the brunette had run out of words to say although she completely understood how the other felt, and from the way her hug was reciprocated by a tight squeeze, the other desperately needed to be in someone’s embrace. Slowly, she rocked from side to side as one would do with an infant– it was a common calming method appropriate for all ages, after all.

“We’re not quitting, okay? Quitting is not an option. We’re strong.” Hanji’s tone was hushed, as if she was disclosing a precious secret. “We’ll be okay. Always.”

four “When I grow up to be a lady, I’ll be a queen A lovely queen!”

Despite the young girl being a bit off key, Frieda was genuinely impressed response at how clear and concise her enunciation had become, as well as with how much her confidence has improved. In response, she clapped so enthusiastically that she swore her hands could have broken off. With a light blush painting her cheeks, Historia curtsied in gratitude as she muttered out a shy “thank you.” Chuckling in adoration, the brunette stretched her arms wide, prompting the blonde to run into her embrace.

“Will you be a lovely queen?” she asked in mock curiosity, pressing a kiss to the top of the younger’s head before rocking her back and forth. With no hesitation, Historia responded with an enthusiastic, excited nod, her little heart bubbling with desire thanks to the encouragement the other had given her. “Oh, I just know you will!” Frieda cooed in adoration, squeezing the petite girl tighter in her arms before pressing a loving kiss on her cheek.

Happy and content, Historia giggled at how warm the affection made her feel– it was rare for her to receive such treatment, after all. With sincere love in her heart, she wriggled out of the elder’s arms and stood up to match the brunette’s eye level before enveloping her in a bone-crushing embrace of her own. Though her young mind already knew that this was all temporary, she decided to bask in the heaven-sent moment she was in.

five The two women awkwardly stared at each other for what seemed like ages, while their sons looked at each other with such rage, as if their eyes could pop out of its sockets and engage in a fist fight.

“Well.” Carla, breaking the silence before giving the young boy beside her a gentle nudge to prompt him to sit up straight. “Is there anything you’d like to say to Jean and Mrs. Kirschstein, Eren?” she asked as she shot the turquoise-eyed boy a dangerous, threatening look.

“Sorry.” the boy merely muttered in response, glumly looking down at his hands to avoid his mother’s terrifying gaze. Just when he thought she was satisfied, she gave him a sharp pinch on his side as she urged him in mutters to speak properly. With the pain on his skin and the horrid threat of how his dad could do worse ringing through his ears, Eren immediately blurted out a proper apology. “I’m sorry for pushing you and punching you in the eye, Jean.” his voice was clearer and he even lifted his head to look at his fre-nemy in the eye, resisting the urge to laugh and make a mockery out of the swollen, black and blue eye the other had. 

“No, you’re not.” Jean’s response was defiant and snarky, making the two women present gasp in shock as Eren frowned deeply, ignoring the sharp stings emitting from the cuts around his forehead as he attempted to kick the other under the table.

“Jean-bo!” the plump, brown-haired woman seated beside Jean exclaimed, giving his arm a moderate yet threatening slap that warranted a sharp “ow!” from the boy. “You acknowledge his apology and apologize, too!” she exclaimed, immediately backing down and stuttering out apologies upon realizing how disrespectful her son was in front of Mrs. Jaeger.

“Fine.” the two-toned hair boy huffed before facing the brunette seated in front of him. “I’m sorry for calling you stupid and for trying to scratch your eyes out, Eren.” he mumbled, hanging his head in shame afterwards. Looking to his mom for approval, the elder merely nodded and muttered a “that’s better”.

[sevenpabosandabunchoffans]

A Look Into the Future

Characters: Kim Seokjin, Kim Namjoon, Min Yoongi, Jung Hoseok, Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung, Jeon Jungkook, Original Characters, Park Chanyeol

Words: 3339

Genre: Parents!Namjin, Preschool Director!Jin, Daddy!Yoongi, Orchestra Conductor!Yoongi, Computer Repairman!Hoseok, College Student!Jimin, College Student!Taehyung, College Student!Jungkook

Warnings: lots of fluff

Summary: “What do they end up doing with their life? Like what does Jungkook decide to do for a job?”; “I need to know how Jimin has been in college. What is he studying?”; “Like I LOVE and ADORE your fic so fucking much it would always be a delight to read new things about and especially about Hoseok’s future? Or at least an update of course! And even more what they all look like in the future BUT DAMN I WOULD READ EVERYTHING ANYTIME”; A look into what the boys choose to study in college and what they choose as a career; Time Period - Jungkook’s first day of college; Ages: Jin - 40, Namjoon - 39, Chanyeol - 23, Yoongi - 23, Sophia - 23, Hoseok - 22, Jimin - 20, Taehyung - 20, Jungkook - 18, Gabriella - 18, Sammie - 4, Chloe - 2 months

A/N: A lot of people were really interested in what each of the boys ended up doing with their lives, so here you go! I’ve also updated the masterlist with the name of another upcoming drabble. Hope you enjoy! <3

“And you’re doing okay down there with your brothers? I don’t need to come pack you up and bring you back home?” Namjoon playfully rolled his eyes as he shifted in the bed next to Jin, his phone resting in between the two as they spoke to Jungkook the night before his first day of college.

“Dad, it’s literally only been five days, I am fine.” Jungkook’s voice rang through the speaker, attempting to calm and assure Jin. “I gotta go, Jimin’s boyfriend made dinner for us. It’s Mexican night!”

Both Jin and Namjoon couldn’t help but to smile at how excited their youngest child sounded for food. “Alright, Kookie, I’ll call you tomorrow to see how your first day went.” In response, the couple heard the voices of their three youngest exclaiming into the phone that they missed them. “We miss you too!” Jin and Namjoon said one final goodbye before finally hanging up the phone. Jin sighed deeply, making Namjoon look at him. “What do we do now?” Jin looked at him sadly. “All of our babies are grown up and moved off.”

Namjoon scooted closer to Jin and wrapped his arm over his waist, pressing a kiss to the side of his neck. “You say that like we’ll never see them again.” Jin pouted, making Namjoon continue. “Yoongi lives just a few minutes away, and you see him almost every day when he goes to pick Sammie and Chloe up from the preschool. Hoseok lives just across town, and we both know that the twins and Jungkook plan on coming back as soon as they graduate.” Jin grumbled, obviously not wanting to admit that Namjoon was right. “Come on, we’re supposed to be happy that they all grew up to be good, responsible adults.”

Jin sighed dramatically. “I guess you’re right.” He turned to look at his husband of 15 years. “I hate when you do that.”

“Do what?” Namjoon asked, trailing a few soft kisses along Jin’s jaw.

“Get all logical with me.” Jin pouted more as Namjoon sat up.

“Looks like you need a distraction~” Before Jin could ask Namjoon what he meant, Namjoon was already maneuvering himself to fit between Jin’s legs, making Jin start to giggle as he spread his legs to accommodate him. “We still haven’t celebrated your promotion.” At the end of July, the director of the preschool notified the staff of her retirement, spending the first couple of weeks deciding who would be her successor. She eventually picked Jin, who everyone knew was the obvious choice as he had been working there the longest, and the next day would be his first official day as the director.

“That’s right, we haven’t. Someone’s slacking~” Jin teased, playfully smacking Namjoon’s shoulder before gladly welcoming his lips on his own.

“Morning, Daddy!” Sammie greeted as Yoongi entered the kitchen, still tucking his shirt in as he was running slightly behind that morning.

“Good morning, princess~” Yoongi stopped to kiss the top of his four-year old’s head before walking over to the counter to fix his own breakfast plate. Sophia was also at the counter, making a bottle for the newest addition to their family, two-month-old Chloe. “Thank you for making breakfast.” Yoongi lightly kissed his wife before tickling the bottom of Chloe’s foot. “And there’s the little noisemaker~” Chloe quirked her lips up in a toothless grin as Yoongi spoke to her. “Someone just didn’t want to sleep last night, did they?”

“I think she knows what’s coming for her today.” Sophia said as Yoongi took his plate and joined Sammie at the table to eat. Sophia was referring to how she would be taking Chloe to get her two-month shots that morning, something even she wasn’t looking forward to.

“Chloe’s a strong girl, I think she’ll be fine.” Yoongi assured Sophia as she sat down at the table with them to feed Chloe. As Yoongi finished his eggs, he noticed that Sammie was also done. “Come on, Sammie, it’s time to go brush our teeth~”

The preschool started to pout. “But it’s Bubble Guppies time!” Since they ate breakfast at home, Sophia went to the center a little later in the day with the two girls, allowing Sammie to watch an episode of her favorite show before she finished getting ready each morning.

“I know, baby, but Daddy’s gonna take you to school today, remember?” Sophia was quick to explain before Sammie could get too upset. “I gotta take baby sister to the doctor.”

“Oh yeah~” Sammie said as if she had just remembered then climbed out of her chair and followed Yoongi to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

After getting both their brushes prepared, Yoongi looked down at his daughter. “You ready?” Sammie nodded definitively and put her pink Little Mermaid toothbrush in her mouth, observing her dad closely to mimic his movements as he brushed his teeth. Each time he spit into the sink, he would then step back and pick Sammie up, so she could spit too, setting her back on the floor to continue brushing. When they were finally done, he crouched down in front of her. “Let me see those teeth~” Sammie smiled widely for her dad, who immediately began to praise. “Wow, those are the cleanest teeth I’ve seen! Any cleaner and you would blind me!” Sammie giggled as Yoongi stood back up. “Okay, go get your backpack now~” The preschooler ran off to her room while Yoongi walked into Chloe’s nursery where Sophia was changing the infant. “Please wish me luck~” Yoongi whined, wrapping his arms around Sophia from behind and burying his face in her shoulder.

“Why?” Sophia asked, turning around to face him after fastening the clean diaper and making sure Chloe wasn’t in danger of rolling over and off of the changing table.

“The beginners are playing their instruments for the first time today.” Unlike his younger brothers, who were still in college, the school year for Yoongi began the previous week (earlier if one counted his teacher work days), and after spending one week teaching the sixth graders the proper way to hold their bows and the basics of their instruments, it was time to actually begin teaching them to play.

“Oh, you poor baby~” Sophia indulged him by wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug.

“I’m serious! If I had to pick something I hated about my job, besides the lack of budget the school district gives to the orchestra program, it would be this day.”

“I know, I’m being serious, too~” Sophia failed at holding in her laughter, so she chose to lean up and press their lips together to muffle it.

“I’m ready to go!” The couple pulled away as their oldest daughter ran into the room with her backpack and shoes already on, and on the right feet.

“Look at you, putting your shoes on all by yourself!” Sophia praised as she picked Chloe up from the changing table. “Come give me and Chloe bye hugs~” The four-year-old listened and ran to her mother, accepting a kiss from her then leaning in and giving Chloe a kiss herself.

“When will you be at school?” Sammie had gotten extremely used to both her mother and grandfather teaching her class, and her four-year-old mind was worried about what would happen without her mom there.

“Don’t worry, Sammie, I’ll be there just in time to read our story.” Sophia assured her before giving her one more kiss. “Love you~” She told the girl before standing up and giving her husband a bye kiss. “And I love you~”

Yoongi responded with another kiss before taking Sammie’s hand and leading her out of the house, both of them yelling goodbyes over their shoulder.

Hoseok exited his apartment with his bag and, after checking the email on his phone one more time just to confirm he had the right address in mind, walked over to the staircase to go one floor up, still shocked that the client lived in his complex.

After graduating with his Associate Degree in Computer Information Systems Technology, Hoseok started freelancing his repair services to have some form of income as he applied for IT jobs at various places. Now two years later, he’d decided to stick with the self-employment route as he realized people were willing to pay him more than what he had been offered from the few companies that had called him in for an interview.

He finally arrived at the correct apartment and knocked on the door. The door opened and Hoseok immediately found himself feeling flustered as he forced himself to keep his gaze from falling on the young woman’s bare legs. “A-are you, uh, Gabriella?”

“Yes, you must be Hoseok, hi, come on in!” Gabriella rushed out, stepping to the side to let Hoseok into her apartment. “My laptop is right in here on the coffee table.” She directed him to sit on her couch and showed him her laptop. “It’s just been glitching and crashing on me every few minutes, which is extremely inconvenient for me because I just started classes at UACCM last week, and the second week of school is not a good time for my computer to stop working, and I was just gonna take it to best buy, but then one of my friend’s brothers, apparently he was a classmate of yours or something, recommended you to me, so I thought why not, and now I’m rambling.” Hoseok held back a chuckle at the young woman as she looked down at her legs. “And I just realized I’m not wearing any pants, excuse me for just a second.” She ran off to what Hoseok assumed to be her bedroom, and he finally did let out a small laugh, simultaneously releasing the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

While Gabriella was gone, Hoseok began playing around with the laptop in front of him, trying to find the source of the issue. When Gabriella returned, now sporting a pair of jeans, Hoseok immediately stood up and looked at her. “Just from initial observations it seems like it might take me a few days to find the issue and resolve it.” Gabriella’s face fell, and Hoseok rushed to apologize to her. “I’ll try to get it done as fast as I can, but I do have other clients, so it might take a while. If you’re okay with me taking it with me…”

“Oh, yeah, go ahead~” Gabriella nodded and gathered the power cord for him as he gently placed her laptop in his bag. “I’ll just use the computer lab on campus and try to stay ahead of my work until it’s done.”

“There is good news to this.” Hoseok offered. “I live just one floor down, so I can bring it right up as soon as it’s fixed.”

“Oh, I might not be home, though~” Gabriella said. “I also work in Morrilton when I’m not in class, so I don’t get home until late. But I can give you my number and you can call me when it’s fixed, then I can pick it up from your place when I get home.”

Hoseok nodded in agreement. “That sounds good.” He pulled a notepad and pen out of his bag and handed it to Gabriella, so she could write her number down. “I will, hopefully, talk to you in a few days.”

“Yeah, thanks, Hoseok.” Gabriella walked him to the front door and waved before closing it behind him.

Jungkook sat at the bar counter of his new apartment that he shared with his older brothers, sleepily shoveling spoonfuls of oatmeal into his mouth. He looked up when he heard someone enter the room, seeing Taehyung shuffling his way into the kitchen. “Why does my first class have to be at 8:30?” Jungkook complained, dropping his spoon back into his bowl so he could slump over the counter.

Taehyung shrugged. “You’re the one who scheduled it~” He responded as he pulled a box of mini blueberry muffins out of the cabinet.

Jungkook shook his head. “I didn’t even have the choice! It was the only time available and it’s a required class.” He picked his spoon back up but froze when he realized something. “Wait, I thought your first class wasn’t until later.”

“It’s not.” Taehyung answered, sticking one of the muffins in his mouth whole. “But I’m expecting a call and I wanted to make sure I was awake for it.” He spoke around his mouthful of food.

A few minutes later, Jimin came out with his backpack and dance bag. “See you later, guys~”

“Woah, woah, woah~” Jungkook called out, making Jimin stop. “I know you’re not planning on walking out of here without breakfast.”

Jimin turned back around to face his brothers. “Guys, don’t worry, I’m meeting Chanyeol at Louie’s for a breakfast date before my ballet class. I’m not skipping breakfast, trust me.”

“We do,” Taehyung assured him. “We were just making sure.” He picked up another muffin but dropped it as his phone started to ring. “Hey, how’d your appointment go?” He asked the second he answered it, running back to his bedroom for privacy.

“Hey, when are you having lunch?” Jimin asked Jungkook.

“I have, like, an hour break between my first two classes at around 11:30~” Jungkook answered before taking another bite of his oatmeal.

“You’ll probably get out early since it’s the first day. I’m done for the day at 10:30, and I know Taehyung gets out around 11:30 too, so just text us when you get done, then we can meet up for lunch. I’m thinking Cane’s. That sound good to you?”

“Oh, definitely~” Jungkook responded enthusiastically, already getting excited for what he had decided was his new favorite restaurant after his brothers took him to eat there for dinner the night he moved in.

“Great, see you later. Have a good first day~” Jimin walked over and ruffled the 18-year old’s hair before finally leaving the apartment.

Not much later, Jimin was sitting across from his boyfriend of nearly two years at Louie’s café as they had their orders taken. “I would like a Spanish omelet, please.”

As Jimin handed his menu to the waiter, Chanyeol stated his own order. “And I would like the number three combo with pancakes, fried eggs, and bacon.” The couple thanked the waiter as he walked off. “So, you excited for this semester?” Chanyeol took Jimin’s small hand in his own, rubbing his thumb over the smooth skin.

“Well, I finally get to start my core social work classes, so that’ll be a nice breather from all the boring gen ed classes.” Jimin answered honestly, letting himself be lulled to total relaxation from the way Chanyeol had now moved on to massaging his fingers.

“I remember a certain someone constantly gushing over their sociology classes last semester.” Chanyeol teased his younger boyfriend.

“Yeah, those were the non-boring gen ed classes.” Jimin retorted. “What about you, Mr. Almost-Done-With-My-Masters?”

Chanyeol chuckled at Jimin’s attempt at teasing him before answering, now abandoning playing with Jimin’s fingers in favor of intertwining their fingers together. “Well, I have a meeting with my professor today to review my thesis project so far, and then I was hoping to treat my adorable boyfriend to lunch and maybe a cuddle session.”

Jimin sighed. “I told Jungkook that we’d have lunch together today.” Chanyeol pouted, looking absolutely adorable in Jimin’s eyes. “Buuuuut…” Chanyeol looked hopeful at this, “…after lunch, Jungkook will be in class until 6:30, and then Taehyung has class from 2:30-4:00, so if you possibly wanted to come over for some cuddling, or even a little more…” Jimin trailed off, just looking at his boyfriend.

A smile spread across Chanyeol’s face as he leaned in to lightly press his lips to Jimin’s nose, making the 20-year-old scrunch it up. “That sounds great.”

After the couple finished their breakfast, they exited the restaurant and began the trek back to campus. Thankfully the Music & Dramatic Arts Building wasn’t too far, so Jimin didn’t worry too much about being late for his ballet class. They stopped outside the building and Jimin didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around his boyfriend’s waist. “Thank you for buying me breakfast~” He went up on his tiptoes, but Chanyeol still had to bend down for their lips to meet.

“You are most certainly welcome~” Chanyeol said as soon as they parted. “I’ll come by your apartment a little before 2:00, okay?”

Jimin nodded and leaned up for another kiss. “Bye~” He whispered against Chanyeol’s lips before molding them together again, teasing his boyfriend by allowing him to swipe his tongue against his bottom lip before pulling away fully. “Gotta go!” He said cheerfully before bounding away, knowing that Chanyeol was probably already planning on how to get back at him later.

“Hey, Taehyung~” Taehyung looked up from where he was scrolling through Twitter on his laptop and saw Alyssa, someone he remembered from freshman year. “We’re having a party this weekend, you should totally come.”

Taehyung politely smiled at her as memories from the last time the two of them were at a party together raced through his mind. “Sorry, but I can’t~”

“You haven’t been to a party since freshman year!” Alyssa exclaimed.

“Yeah, I’m kind of trying to focus on my grades right now.” Taehyung responded. “Wanna make sure I get into OT school.”

“I can respect that.” Alyssa said. “But if you ever wanna get together in some other way-“

“I’m taken now.” Taehyung cut her off.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.” She looked guilty over hitting on him.

Taehyung gave her a friendly smile. “It’s okay.”

Alyssa smiled back as she stood up to go back to where she was originally sitting before seeing Taehyung in the same class as her. “Well, I’ll see you around.”

An hour later, Taehyung was sitting at a booth at Raising Cane’s with his brothers, each of them with a chicken strip basket in front of them. “So, Jungkook, how’s your day been so far?”

“Well, I’ve only had one class, but it’s been great so far!” Jungkook picked up a French fry and dipped it in the special Cane’s sauce. “My professor right off the bat asked us to draw something simple just so he could get a feel for everyone’s style, and he complimented me on mine and even asked if he could use it as an example for the entire class. I’m hoping my other art classes today will be just as great.”

“I’m sure they will, Kookie. You’re an amazing artist!” Jimin praised his younger brother as he grabbed the ketchup bottle.

“I’m also really excited for my art history class tomorrow.” Jungkook continued on.

When there was a lull in the conversation, Jimin turned to Taehyung. “By the way, Tae, you might wanna call when you get out of class later, just to make sure it’s safe to come home.”

Taehyung groaned. “Dude, remember our rule about no sexiling!”

“I’m not sexiling you!” Jimin defended himself. “Chanyeol’s not coming over until around the time you leave for class, so you won’t even be home!”

“Just use protection,” was Jungkook’s only comment on the matter as the two 20-year olds began to bicker about the issue at hand. As they continued on, Jungkook glanced at his watch. “I gotta go to class now, see you guys later~”

The twins paused in their quarrel long enough to tell their younger brother goodbye before returning to the matter at hand. “The whole point of you calling is so that we’ll know to wrap it up before you get home!”

Taehyung huffed. “I guess I should be thankful that you warned me instead of letting me walk into it like last time.”

“You said you would be at the library until after midnight!” And thus, started a whole new argument between the two.

Request Drabbles!

[artificialqueens]

Supersonic; Valentine Special - Shadyqueenie

A/N: Valentine’s special for you, honeys! This was supposed to be posted on the 13th but at the beginning of the month I got ill, and then exams came up and I ended up being late [also, thank you G for being so supportive!] Hope you’ll still like it! Kisses! Your Duh, Shady ✨ ☆*ヾ(-∀・*)*+☆

What were the Supersonic Universe’s couples doing on Valentine’s day? Supersonic – Valentine Special is a collection of four drabbles featuring the couples that appeared in the previous chapters. It’s a sort of recap while I’m looking for new inspirations (: [I had to change some FW’s dates because I had some ideas and I needed some characters to be as far away from the City as possible… Hope you won’t mind ;)]

▶ Pearlet – Stars Are Falling and So Are You ( read the story here )

Milan, 6.47p.m. Bar Luce was the place Violet enjoyed the most while she was in Milan. Maybe it was the atmosphere, the colors – or anything in between… All that Wes Anderson allure that made her believe she was the main character in his next movie. It let her mind wander as she watched people in old fashioned clothes chatting, enjoying their drinks or simply writing their thoughts in black Moleskines. She was sat properly and played with the straw in her drink with annoyance when someone recalled her attention. “Sorry, I’m late” Matt started, sitting right in front of her “Did I make you wait for long?” he must have been running, since he was slightly painting. Violet shrugged and raised a hand to call a waiter “Almost no one makes me wait, it was awkward” Matt smirked as he was looking for a proper answer, but he was stopped by the waiter that asked with a very strong Italian accent “What can I get you?” The man didn’t even had time to think about it “Whatever she has” he replied shortly. He didn’t want to waste a single moment of that date by choosing a drink he would barely remember in the future. As the waiter went back to the bar, they both started “So…” and the next few moments where filled with side smiles and embarrassment. “You first” offered Matt. “So…” Violet repeated, her gaze was fixed on her drink while she spoke “Long time no see, mh?”

Matt remembered well the last time the saw each other. It was during New York Fashion Week in September, when Violet fall during Michelle Visage’s runway show. Since that day something clicked on Violet’s mind. It was like she realized how bitchy she must have sounded, how bad she behaved towards Matt. She thought that her fall was a sort of a karma’s payback. Violet knew she had to make up with him and it started with her writing a long message to Matt the next day, thanking him for being by her side the when she needed the most. Matt’s reply came sooner than expected and without any trace of resentments – which made Violet more willing to write him again. That day the conversation was everything they both needed, and it ended at late in the night with a “I really enjoyed talking to you. Let’s do it again, ok?” from Matt. Violet sucked her breath and threw her phone away from her – what the fucking was that feeling?!

Then it was a message every three or four day – “how are you?”, “how’s your day?” –, just low profile messages to keep in touch. Being friend with Violet wasn’t easy for Matt, it involved a series of hiding feelings and thoughts he didn’t think he could handle. They avoided on purpose some topics – like Violet’s work and, of course, Miss Fame. Violet never mentioned her and Matt wasn’t really dying for knowing what she was doing. It was a strange situation. The previous months, Matt was sure that he had to stay away from Violet as possible – but after the first message he had to rethought about it. But it was like he needed those messages. He needed to keep in touch with her and being her friend was better than nothing.

They kept on texting each other until not so long ago, when Matt mentioned the fact that he was going to Milan with Michelle for the Fashion Week, and Violet happened to be there too. “We can go out and have a drink together” wrote Violet out of the blue “Please, Matt. I’m in Milan all alone and none of the other models want to be befriend me” In all honestly, Matt couldn’t blame the other models – Violet’s attitude was well known among their world – but she proved him she was trying to change. He had to give her a shot. He didn’t hear anything else from her for days. Until their second week in Milan, when she proposed the following Tuesday and he realized it was the 14th. Panic caught him. Was it a date?

“Long time no see” agreed Matt trying to follow the conversation. It was a bad habit of him, recalculating each other moves and he knew he had to stop – Violet was far more plotter than him. The waiter came back with the same cocktail Violet was drinking and then placed the bill in a silver plate next to Violet’s one. He noticed that Violet hadn’t paid hers – and since his mother raised him as a gentleman – he took a banknote out of his wallet and said “I’m paying for both, keep the charge”. The waiter left with a small bow that made Violet smirk. “Thank you” she whispered against the straw. Matt chuckled. Violet knew he would have paid for her too, and he didn’t like the play of the innocent girl at her first date. So, he gave voice to his thoughts “Violet. Why did you wanted to see me on Valentine’s night? And don’t tell me ‘it’s a night just any others’ – because we’re both here since January and you didn’t even try to see me once”. He must have sounded harsh, but Violet had to show her hand. Violet played for a few seconds with the napkin under her cocktail before looking at him and Matt could almost hear her thoughts “Did you remember when you told me ‘Stars are falling and so are you’? In that moment, I realized you were right. I’m not the same person I used to be. I’m happy Matt, I really am. But Fame is in Paris since New Year’s Eve and I started thinking that, yes, I am happy – but not as I used to. It shouldn’t be like that” Matt nodded as if he understood everything “Am I… a sort of replacement for Fame?” “Oh God, Matt. No, no, no” Violet rushed “I just wanted to see you and tell you that I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything. I saw you in September and I could barely recognize you. You were sad – well, we kinda both were. And I know that part of that sadness was because of me. I didn’t want to end up alone this evening… And you are the only person who understands me” Matt rested his elbows on the chair back as he listened to Violet. Never in his life he thought he had the chance of hearing those words spilled from Violet’s mouth. In her unique way, she was trying to apologize. Their relationship, the break-up and his anger… They seemed so distant now “Don’t worry about it, Violet. It’s over. I’ve already forgave you” Violet let out a deep breath and for the first time since Matt arrived there a sincere smile was painted on her face. They stayed silent until Violet spoke again as she finished her drink “I think I still need you in my life, in a way or another” she whispered, trying not to sound so pathetic. “And you will” Matt replied shortly. He rested his hand on hers and they were cold because of the glass she was holding. He squeezed them in sympathy “How about another of those sugary drinks?” he proposed. “You’re paying?” she asked with her usual, coquettish tone giving him a menu. “I’m paying”

Three hours and five cocktails later, Violet was walking wobbly towards the taxi. “Are you sure you don’t want to split the taxi?” she asked once she entered “Where are you staying?” “Not away from there. No worries, I’ll walk” “Are you sure?” she asked again. “I am sure” he repeated firmly. He wasn’t used to Violet being so caring, but he liked it – he missed that lively sparkle in her eyes. “Ok, so… See you soon?” tipsy Violet was far more insecure than sober Violet. It was almost comical. He kept note he had to remember it to her – maybe the next time he’ll write her. Matt smiled in agreement and closed the taxi door for her. The night in Milan wasn’t as freezing as it was in New York. Maybe it was the alcohol. Violet’s taxi was a blurred point in the distance. Maybe it was because of her.

▶Biadore – Everyone But You ( read chapter I, II & III )

New York, 1p.m. and Milan, 7 p.m. Adore said multiple times she really (really, really) loved Valentine’s day, and during the entire month of January she gave Bianca tons of hints about it. So, when Bianca told her that she was going to spend that day (and the entire month of February) between Paris and Milan with Trinity for the Fashion Week she whined and complained like a baby girl. And, of course, tweeted about it for days. Eventually, she gave up because no one can stop Bianca from putting her work first (and Bianca couldn’t care about Twitter less). She gets it, and she couldn’t even stay mad at her for long because Bianca proposed something so cute Adore couldn’t believe it was really coming out from her mouth. A Skype date on Valentine’s day. Lunch for Adore at 1p.m. and dinner for Bianca at 7p.m. Adore almost spent the first week of February just thinking of what she should have being wearing. She wanted to make it memorable, like a real date. She didn’t expect to be so nervous when 1p.m. of February the 14th came “Adore, make her regret going at the other side of the world, or the ocean – or whatever” she repeated as she adjusted her red curls and pressed the incoming call button, the pizza box next to her was still hot and emitted smokes “You can do it”. But in the end, Adore was as nervous as their first date, and for the first time she sat properly on the chair.

“What the fuck are you wearing” stated Bianca as Adore’s webcam started working. Well, that wasn’t the reaction she was expecting from her girlfriend. On the other hand, you couldn’t have blame Bianca – Adore showed up wearing nothing but an ivory lace lingerie ensemble and her usual red lipstick. It wasn’t like Bianca wasn’t delighted by that vision, but a flute of champagne instead of a cheap beer in Adore’s hands would have had another effect. “Duh, your Valentine’s presents! Which is me, if you didn’t get it” she moved closely to the screen and inspected Bianca “What the fuck are you wearing?!” Adore pointed out as Bianca seemed to wear a black jacket with nothing underneath it “Bitch, are you even wearing a bra?!” “It’s from Moschino’s new collection, I have a party to attend later” “This is not an answer” “The answer is no. But “Bianca added and raised a finger to shush her girlfriend as she saw Adore’s mouth opening read to speak “I didn’t choose it. Trinity made me wear it” Adore jumped on her seat annoyed by the fact that Bianca has never looked so sexy and there was an ocean (literally) between them “Why do you have to look so sexy when I can’t even touch you?! Can you wear it again when you’ll be back?” Bianca’s checks slightly turned red at the request “I’ll try my best” she said after an embarrassed cough.

“So, what did you order?” Adore tried to change the subject of their conversation – she needed something to distract her from keep on staring at Bianca’s neckline. “Salmon. I’m not even going to ask you since I can see the pizza box” Adore stuck her tongue out playfully and raised her beer towards the camera in a sort of toast “I think that’s one of the best date we’ve ever had. Like, we don’t have to argue where going to eat and you can have your super pretentious white wine while…” “Well, if you call pizza and beer a date…” Bianca whispered loud enough for Adore to hear her and then raised her glass too. “But in underwear! Expensive underwear!” Bianca’s snort set Adore’s mood off “You never like my presents” Adore whined and crossed her arms. “The last time you bought me something was a bonsai because – and I quote textually – ‘it’s tiny as you!’” Bianca’s voice cracked as it reached the highest tone she could, parroting the words that Adore told her when she bought that fucking bonsai. “First – that was true. Secondly, I thought it was cute! You laughed at it too!” Adore has never been the kind of person who can guess the perfect gift. But once she saw that little tree on a window shopping, she quickly made a connection with Bianca being shorter than her and her love for plants. It didn’t sound like a bad idea, and Bianca’s face when Adore gave her the bonsai was speechless. “Yeah, you’re right” “I’m goddammit right” and by saying that Adore bite a slice of her pizza. Unfortunately, a (very large) drop of tomato sauce felt right on her bra. It was like one of those slow-motion scenes, and Adore’s face lowered to see the damage she has done. Fuck, her 200 dollars’ bra was already ruined “Bea. You don’t mind, do you?” Bianca dropped her fork and laughed “Did you just spoiled my present?!” “Well, at least I bought you something! Where is my present?!” Bianca raised an eyebrow and directed her laptop behind her “Right there, asshole” replied, showing a black bag with a pink ribbon. “Wait. You actually bought me a present? What is it?” Adore’s frame stuck out towards the screen as if that was giving her a better view. “No way. You’re seeing it when I’ll be back” “Then tell me again when you’re coming back” the red haired asked opening the second can of beer. She felt a cold drop of beer crashing against her chest but – whatever – her bra was already ruined. She knew she sounded bothered and she couldn’t help it. She missed Bianca so much it was almost surreal. Adore has never really been in a monogamous relationship before Bianca. To be precise, she has never been in a relationship before Bianca. That means that whenever she needed (or wanted, or both) she has always slept with someone. She blamed it on being young and carefree, and she enjoyed those time as much as being with Bianca in a commitment relationship. So, Bianca being away for that long – let’s face it – sucked. “March the 3rd” “You can’t be real!” Adore said out loud. “I’ve already told you like ten times” Bianca shook her head at her girlfriend’s exaggerated reactions. She loved them (most of the time) – they made Adore look like a needy girl and Bianca loved taking care of her. But in that moment, they weren’t together and a hint of vexation appeared on Bianca’s face – she has never wanted to come back home so badly before. “I always hope you’ve changed your mind. You know, seeing me like this” Adore let her hands wandering along her chest but Bianca didn’t change her expressions “You better spend the 4th with me alone. In bed, hopefully” she added bitterly. “Sleeping because of the jet lag? Probably” Bianca snapped back and left Adore dumbfounded. She enjoyed way too much making fun of Adore. Her girlfriend may hadn’t realized it yet, but she always ended up having her way with Bianca. “Don’t joke with me!” Bianca’s sarcastic laugh echoed through the laptop’s speakers until the sound of an incoming message came. Suddenly her face became serious as she looked Adore “I have to go” she emptied the glass in one swallow and stood up. “But you just touch your food” Adore mused. “Yeah but Trinity just texted me that our car has arrived. Didn’t expect it so sooner” Bianca stopped herself and moved her gaze towards Adore. It didn’t go as they planned – not at all. “That woman need to be fucked by someone. She’s stressful. When I’m going to see you again?” Adore didn’t really want to sound like a brat, but her lunch date didn’t come out as she expected and she couldn’t hide it from Bianca. She wondered for how long they’d managed to see each other for a short period before giving up. “I don’t know. But text me, ok? I’ll reply as soon as I can” Bianca softened her voice “It’s not like going to a Moschino party with Trinity is my dream date for Valentine’s day. Well, going to a Moschino party is, not the company though” she knew that Adore loved hearing those kinds of sappy and stupid things and after all that was the truth. Her smile proved Bianca she was right. “Bea?” “Yes?” Adore hold her breath as she wanted to tell her a lot of things – most of all something that usually are said on Valentine’s day like “I love you”. But even though she was sure about her feelings, she didn’t know if Bianca was feeling the same. That situation didn’t help and she didn’t want to scare the hell out of Bianca “You’ve been staying at the other side of the ocean for a month. Don’t you dare coming back with just the Valentine present ok?” Bianca chuckled “What do you want? A pair of shoes, a new clean bra…?” “A real Italian pizza!” Adore laughed seeing Bianca rolling her eyes. “Ok, let’s say I’ll try to surprise you. I really have to go now” Adore pouted her lips “Happy Valentine’s day” “Happy Valentine’s day to you too, baby girl”

▶ Shalaska – Work of Art ( read the story here )

New York, 3.15p.m. “You are so beautiful and sweet” said Sharon in a very sweet and caring tone as Alaska entered in the room. “Ooow, thank you!” she replied, feeling her cheeks getting redder at the unexpected compliment. Sharon turned towards Alaska with eyes wide open “I wasn’t talking to you” and in that moment Alaska saw her girlfriend holding Hairspray. “Do I have to be jealous of my cat too now?” she asked playing with the kimono tie that wrapped her figure. “You should. Because you’re a pretty pretty kitten, aren’t you?” Sharon raised the cat up so she could face him. On the other hand, Hairspray started feeling restless and tried to scratch the woman “Oh, ok lion, calm down” Sharon put the cat down and asked Alaska “Are you ready?” Alaska nodded and walked towards her “Tell me again why have I proposed this” “Because you love my works and you’re the supportive-girlfriend kind” Sharon replied with a grin on her face, before peaking Alaska’s lips and uniting the bow of her vest. “This is such a Titanic scene” she whispered against her lips before laying on her couch naked. “We can fuck in the car later, if you want” “Shut up and start, please”

Few days before, back in the same living room, Sharon mentioned the fact that she missed painting – with the vernissage, the art gallery and the time she spent at Alaska’s she hadn’t had a single moment for working on something new “Maybe I should just… I don’t know, hire some models and give my clients new contents. I feel like I have so much else to express” Alaska stopped working on the computer as she heard the word ‘models’ and removed her glasses in a very dramatically way “You mean… naked models?” she already knew the answer, having seen all Sharon’s works, but it was worth a shot. Sharon stayed silent and lit a cigarette instead, blowing a puff of smoke in her direction. “How many times do I have to ask not to smoke inside my house?!” Alaska sighed. “Of course I’ll be using naked models, honey… There is another way to paint people?” Sharon threw the cigarette in the can of beer she was holding as sat next to her girlfriend “They’re just bodies” she whispered in her ear “You know that I have eyes only for you” “Then use me as your model” Alaska didn’t let herself thinking properly that her mouth had already said those words. Maybe it was Sharon’s tight grip on her thigh’s fault. “I’ll think about it” Sharon replied before placing kisses in Alaska’s neck “But now, I have a better idea on how I could ‘use’ your body”

Sharon smirked at the thought as she watered the brush she was holding “Chin up, kitten” She stopped herself from preparing her tools to stare at Alaska. She thought she was so beautiful, so spontaneous, and it made her always craving from some sort of physical touch from her. Sharon loved Alaska’s body – everything about Alaska, to be honest – so why not let her being her new muse? After all, one of her deepest wish was having a moment like this one – her loved one and a blank canvas ready to capture that moment forever. Actually, Sharon was pretty impressed by her own poetic strain. The artist saw her girlfriend pushing her blonde platinum locks behind her shoulders with trembling hands – was she nervous? “Are you nervous?” Sharon asked speaking her mind. “It’s kind of I’ve just realized that I’m naked and someone else is going to see the painting. Someone who’s not you” Alaska murmured. Sometimes Sharon didn’t remember that Alaska wasn’t really into her world – one in which a naked body is just a form of art, not something that needs to be sexualized. She lifted from her position and walked towards the couch. Once she reached it, she bent over and stroke the locks that Alaska had just moved “Well, I’m the luckiest woman alive” she whispered against her ear “because I’m the only one in the world that can see you like this. At least give everyone else the chance to see a portrait of all this beauty” Over the past months Sharon learned Alaska how to loosen up a bit, and that moment wasn’t different – she suddenly saw Alaska’s shoulders relaxing and a small smile appeared in her face.

Alaska couldn’t stare at Sharon because the latter was hidden behind the large canvas. She actually couldn’t believe that such a huge object could fit in her small living room, but has always Sharon turned out to shake her little personal world and she really didn’t mind, except for one little thing “How long will it took?” “Well, it depends” replied Sharon, brushing the tool gently against the canvas “sometimes few hours, sometimes days” she smirked as she reappeared from behind her work station. “What the fuck?! My arms already hurt!” Alaska whined having her arms pins and needles. When she proposed as Sharon’s new model she didn’t know that little (yet important) detail. Like, in Titanic that scene lasted no more than five minutes – she should have done some research beforehand, not just re-watching one of her favorite movies and fantasize about it for days. “Then, next time let me use a real model. You know, one who doesn’t move every two minutes. Stay. Fucking. Still.” Sharon ordered more amused than irritated. “No way you’re gonna see another woman naked besides me” Alaska readjusted herself on her elbows. She meant it. She has found herself really jealous of everyone who was around her girlfriend and she didn’t have the slightest intention of changing it. Besides, Sharon never complained when she acted like an overly attached girlfriend “Ehy,” Alaska called Sharon’s again “can we get Chinese food for dinner?” “And then I’ll have to paint a spring rolls inflated tummy? No thanks” “I thought that after dinner we were supposed to fuck in my car” Sharon lowered the brush she was using and sighed heavily “Why don’t we have a break?”

Alaska’s kitchen was enlightened by small cinnamon scented candles, but their smell couldn’t overcome the Chinese food one’s. “Modeling is harder than I’ve ever imagined” said Alaska with her mouth full of a spring roll. She was starving and she felt tired only because she had to stay still in the same position for hours “I’m reevaluating all the work the bitches at Vanguard do during the photo shootings” “Wow, finally and after only a year you’ve found something positive about your work!” Sharon joked as her hand reached Alaska’s chin and cleaned it from a drop of soy sauce. Alaska smiled softly at Sharon’s gesture. During those past four months Sharon, has been nothing but supportive to Alaska, cheering her up after long days of work and being always ready to listen to her freak-outs. Those last weeks – with Trinity stuck between Italy and France – has been more like a honeymoon. They spent two weeks between their homes and Sharon’s gallery, and Alaska was pretty sure she could get used to it. With Sharon by her side she felt loved, and not only because she stared at her naked body all afternoon with her mouth wide open. And then something clicked on her mind between the fourth and fifth spring roll she was eating – something that was wandering in her head for weeks, and those past days (especially this day) was just the cherry on top “You know what, Sharon? I love you” she said out of the blue. Sharon turned to stone for a few seconds and accidentally let the sticks she was holding drop. She wanted to be the one who said that first. She has always been the one who said it first in the couple. But Alaska was unpredictable – from her double life at Vanguard, to her cat that was eating something that looked like soy noodles leftovers – everything about her completed the picture of a modern hero in a romance novel. And by seeing her with a spring roll half eaten in her hand and the torn mouth she usually did when she was nervous, Sharon knew that was the perfect moment “I love you too, kitten” “Just to be sure, you’re not telling it to Hairspray again, are you?” Sharon laughed and moved her seat next to Alaska’s “No, stupid. I really love you” she said before kissing her.

▶ Rajilia – Kintsugi ( read the story here )

New York, 23.49p.m. Moving back to her old apartment when she was into an almost forced vacation hasn’t been the best option. As if she had the chance to choose. That evening at the end of January she told everything to Raven – from that hideous feeling hidden in her chest to her affair with Manila. Raven was listening to her as she has always done – silent and with a cup of expensive tea in her hands. And when she told Raja that she understood her and she forgave her, that was the moment in which Raja realized she had to come back to her own home – if they kept on doing as if nothing happened (or if Raja kept on flying to another country) they would have never write the final chapter of that story. As Raja stayed silent at Raven’s forgiveness, the latter breathed “It’s over, isn’t it?” Raja lowered her glance as if she were a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar “Yeah, I think that… Yeah” That night she slept in a hotel room (the most expensive suite she could afford). She couldn’t stand the idea of coming back to her own house. The morning after she came back and packed all her stuff. She was sure that Raven was at work that time. She couldn’t face her, not now. In two hours, she packed two years of life and relationship. Two weeks later she still had her belongs in large cartons spread all over her house (that now, after years in Raven’s townhouse, it looked more like a shoe box), and Raja laid haphazardly in her sofa with her legs on her coffee table full of old magazines (mostly Vanguards’) and takeaway boxes – how she missed those comfortable armchairs in Raven’s home –, watching without too much interest a romance movie on TV. “You’ll all going to break-up, a day or another” said Raja to no one in particular as the end credits scrolled down. She placed the bottle of red wine now empty on the coffee table – how did she ever come to that? All alone and half-drank. She would have never guessed. Maybe that break-up hit her more than she wanted to admit. And she also put whatever she had with Manila on hold. Raja just gave up answering her calls and messages. The blogger was insistent at first, but after the first week of hearing nothing about Raja she eventually gave up. She gave up on her – but not on giving Raja cold glances during their working hours.

She heard a knock on her door. Who could be? She didn’t really want answer. It was 10p.m. and maybe it was just that creepy neighbor, Sam, asking the most random things in the most unusual hours of the day. She couldn’t handle him too that night – she would just curl up in her sofa pretending not to be at home. But the knock on her door became persistent and started hurting her tipsy head. “Sam, how can I help you this time…?” But that person wasn’t Sam.

It was a very drunk Manila, she must have been crying really hard since her make-up run all over her cheeks and the smell of cheap alcohol replaced her usual vanilla scent. Raja rested her body against the door frame, dumbfounded. It took her two whole minutes to realize the entire situation and before she could let out a single word Manila spoke first “Look, I know I shouldn’t be there but… Fuck, I still care. I just wanted you to know that I still care. About you – about us. And I know it’s stupid because we’ve been knowing each other for a month but… That’s what I feel” It was late and Manila’s tone of voice wasn’t appropriate for that time, Raja’s thoughts were blurred by the fair amount of wine she has been drinking. As far as she could see, that Manila in front of her could just be a project of her most secret dream. Raja didn’t know what to answer, and for Manila that seemed like a reply “Ok. I’m sorry. That’s all I wanted to tell you. Sorry for ruining your night I’ll – I’ll just go” In the exact moment in which Manila turned away, Raja grabbed her wrist tightly “I might be drunk” she admitted in a whisper “I don’t even know if you’re really here or not” “I’m here” Manila reassured her, freeing the grip on her wrist and instead taking her hands and placing them on her face “See? I’m here” “And my home is full of trash and boxes” Raja said as if Manila asked her to enter. “Boxes?” “I’ve never unpacked since… Well” she didn’t want to continue her phrase – seeing where it would have ended. She let the last words unspoken and Manila nodded. “How about that. You let me in, and we’ll start unpacking. And we’ll throw away things you’ve never used in a year” Manila answered back. She had hard time replying since Raja started caressing her face enchanted by the sparkles in the woman’s eyes. “We-we can do that” Raja agreed and moved herself from the door to let Manila enter. Seeing her in her living room and wandering towards all the boxes that where inside made Raja realize that this was the start of a new era – no more denied feelings, secrets or second lives. And, of course, no more damasked armchairs.

“What?” Manila asked as she caught Raja staring at her. She couldn’t stand still and seemed to lose balance every now and then. They stared at each other for a long minute and Raja realized that those sparkles she saw in Manila’s eyes moments before were that gold she was looking back in India – that gold that could fix her. “Nothing” Raja shook her head “I’m just sad it’s after midnight and I can’t welcome you in this pigsty with a sappy ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’” Manila smiled and moved closer to her. Not all the wine in the world could warm Raja enough as that soft smile. Manila lifted her arm and looked at her refined Cartier watch and changed the time “Well” she said showing her the watch “as far as I can see Valentine’s day isn’t over” Raja smiled at the foolishness of the gesture “Just to be sure, how much drunk you are?” Manila crossed her arms around Raja’s neck and laughed loudly “To be honest, I’m more happy than drunk”