#respectfully I’d like to bite those shoulders

[ab4eva]

Day 17: I’m looking respectfully

@slowsweetlove

[thinkingofchishiya]

Shy, suguru?

Fluff x Smut

plot: fem!reader taking niragi home to clean him up after finding him during the alley scene but it leads to more

warnings: long, mentions of bullying, minor mention of injury and blood, virginity loss, dom!reader x sub!niragi (both are slight switches,this comes into play at the end), dynamic shift, praise and degradation, it’s niragi so i’d say dead dove do not eat but he’s not bad in this at it’s obviously pre!borderlands, afab! reader, characters are 18+ in their college year at school

word count: over 4500

“hey asshole watch where your going!” you groan and rub your shoulder as a group of boys from your year rushed past, one of them barging past in the process almost knocking you off your feet.

“sorry sexy!” the boys all laugh still running and you visibly recoil your face in disgust. It was after school and you were walking home to your dorm block after a long day, that is until you heard the faint sound of sniffling in the alley you passed every day on your way to and from the school.

Curiosity killing the cat as you decide to take a look, it was niragi suguru. You shared a few classes but barely spoke, you were fairly popular at the school and well to put it simply, niragi was the opposite. Shy, nerdy and quiet you barely interacted unless it was for the work. Still you had never been mean to him and resented the treatment he got from others. He was a sweet socially awkward boy that could barely even make eye contact with your classmates half the time, but he kept to himself and didn’t do anything to deserve the relentless, torturous bullying his classmates inflicted upon him.

Niragi was on the ground, crying quietly and with a damaged and bloody nose, desperately searching for his glasses, that from what you could see were surprisingly not broken. His vision wasn’t the best without them and as you took footsteps towards him he looked up in fear. “Please!…please stop-” he pleaded while scrambling to reach for the glasses.

The sight broke your heart. Leaning down next to him and reaching for the glasses, you carefully put them back over his eyes. “it’s ok niragi it's me, y/n. We have history and math together”

His eyes widen with shock and temporary relief as he recognises your soft voice. “y/n..?” He looks up at you, sniffling, his nose still throbbing in pain. “You...you saw?” His voice trembles, a mix of vulnerability and embarrassment obvious.

“no but i saw them running off and had a gut feeling, fucking asshole almost knocked me off my feet…hey your bleeding” , you touch his arm softly urging him to stand. He flinches at the contact at first, but then relaxes when he realises that you don’t want to hurt him, instead fetching tissues from your tiny bag to give to him.

“i know...they always do this” he speaks low as he wipes the blood from his nose. “Thank you for helping me...”

“that’s okay sweetie but your cut needs care. Come with me, my dorm is only right there please let me clean you up,” you point at your apartment block.

His eyes dart towards the dorms, then back to you, a look of uncertainty crossing his face. “I...I don't know...” He bites his lip clearly torn. “I don't want to trouble you..”

“you’d only trouble me by not letting me help you, if you don’t i’ll be up all night worrying, come on honey”, you take his hand softly and he feels a pang against his heart at the unfamiliar feeling of care that your showing him.

His cheeks turn a faint shade of pink at the contact, his first time holding hands with a girl. “y/n...thank you” He takes a deep breath, letting you lead him towards the dormitories. “Thank you......I owe you so much”

“nonsense, come inside with me honey i'll look after you, i hate those assholes so much…” you enter your keycard pin and begin walking up the stairs with him trailing behind you. Your skirt reveals the back of your soft thighs like this and he looks away respectfully, the last thing he would want you to think is that he’s a pervert. He almost let’s out a breath of relief when you reach your floor.

He follows you into the dormitory, casting furtive glances around him as if expecting someone to jump out and yell at him until you softly take his hand again leading him further than the front door. Your apartment smells good, like vanilla and women’s perfume, he places it as your perfume that he was familiar with from math class, the little pink bottle you would leave on your desk every lesson.

“i don't know what I'd do without you right now...” His voice is barely a whisper, filled with a gratitude that borders on worship.

His praise does something to you and you begin to wonder if niragi has ever even had a girl be nice let alone touch him before. “it's okay i'm gonna clean you up, you can stay here as long as you need too i’ll make dinner afterwards i’d love for you to at least eat with me tonight”

His eyes light up at the offer, a hopeful smile playing on his lips. “Really? l'd like that. Thank you...” He murmurs, turning to face you with an expression of pure adoration.

“come with me… sit-” you point at your bed as you disappear into the bathroom to retrieve a first aid kit. He nods, his eyes fixed on you as you exit the room, a soft "okay" escaping his lips. Once you've left he cautiously approaches the bed, perching on the edge and taking in his surroundings.

Your room was a reflection of you, pink and cutesy with an edge of passion. The bed was adorned with pink covers and a matching fluffy blanket on the end, but as he looked around the rest of your room he noticed other things- stuff you were interested in. Posters, collectors stuff, even funko pops and books. This causes him to smile to himself, who would’ve thought one of the most popular girls he knew was so into her niche interests, it reminded him of his own room.

You return from the bathroom holding the first aid kit and niragi shifts nervously, he knew you would have to touch him. “it’s okay i’ll be gentle…”, however you then do the last thing niragi expects as you plant yourself down on his lap. Digging through the box to retrieve sterilising wipes the affect you have on niragi at the current moment goes unnoticed, his face flushed with shy surprise as he struggles to think of something to say.

“okay just be still for me…” you wipe the drying blood from his nose “good boy”. His breathing hitches at your words and touch, the warmth of your other hand cupping against his face making him blush even deeper. He bites his lip nervously trying to slow his breathing, trying not to move as you tend to his wound.

“that's it your doing so good for me, now let me just grab…” the rest of what your saying as you dig through the box is now lost on niragi, your choice of words sending blood pumping in places he wanted to keep under control while you were on his lap.

He watches you intently, taking in the gentleness and care that you are giving him in order to try and control his situation. Singing softly as you rub an ointment on his cut, a soft smile tugs at the corners of his lips, a rare show of happiness from the shy and timid boy. You lock eyes with him and smile in return when you notice, “you have a cute smile you know.”

His eyes widen at your words, his smile faltering for a moment before a deeper, more genuine one replaces it. He blushes a vibrant pink, ducking his head in embarrassment. “I-I.th-thank you...” His voice is soft, barely above a whisper as he stutters. “-no one's ever…”

“complimented you before?” you frown slightly while screwing the cap back on the ointment and putting it back in the box. He shakes his head, looking down at his hands in his lap. The blush on his cheeks deepens, if possible. “…no, no one's ever said anything like that to me before. It’s nice…” His voice is small, barely audible and you put the first aid kit on the bed next to you before placing your hands on his face to make him look up at you “well i notice”

A soft gasp slips from his lips as he feels your hands on his face, heating under your touch. “you do?”

“yep, i think your really cute actually” i move a strand of hair from his face “you don't try too hard- not like those other guys at school, i like that in a guy”, niragi can't believe the sudden outpouring of your words, it’s too good to be true. In his eyes you were a princess, but he knew all too well guys like him never got girls like you.

“yeah, why what do you think? that i like assholes like those guys from school?” Niragi shakes his head firmly, “N-no! Not at all! I-I mean, I know they're popular and all, but...” He swallows hard, his voice dropping to a whisper, “they're mean and arrogant”

“yeah exactly, and your sweet and so smart. I still remember when mrs park told you to tutor me” He nods, a smile lighting up his features at the memory. His grip on your arms relaxes as he recalls her praise. “Yeah, i remember too...you were struggling with calculus.” A blush creeps up his cheeks again.

“and i still do,” you let out a giggle “but the point is you always helped me and was so nice, you never got snappy when i kept getting questions wrong. You were patient with me and never made me feel bad or dumb about it”

His eyes sparkle at the praise and he chuckles softly, shaking his head. “no, I could never get angry at you and anyways I enjoyed helping you, seeing the smile on your face when you finally understand something...” he goes quite in fear of proffessing his love for you, “mmh and i only understood because of you” you smile at the boy once more.

The smile on his face grows wider, his chest puffing up slightly with pride. “really?” He blushes again, looking down at the floor.

“mhm and i never got to properly thank you” you lift his head slightly to make eye contact with him, his eyes meet yours and he gazes at you, his heart thudding in his chest. He gulps, his hand reaching up to gently brush some hair out of your face, the gesture sweet like him. “Y-you don't have to thank me, l enjoyed it...”

“i still want to, can i kiss you niragi?” His eyes widen in shock, and the butterflies in his body start rapidly going wild, “you? want to kiss,me?…yes...I-I mean, if you want to..” you laugh at his awkwardness, “ i wouldn't ask if i didn't want to”

His face turns even redder if possible as you lean closer to him. His hands instinctively move to your waist, pulling you as close as he dare before your lips meet each others. The kiss is soft and slow, so sweet it could put a jar of candy to shame. His eyes fluttering shut as he melts into your touch. His hands grips your waist, pulling you even closer as he returns the kiss, his lips soft and tentative. As the kiss deepens, he makes a small needy noise that goes straight to your core, making you involuntarily buck your hips into his as you makeout.

Feeling your hips buck against his, a small moan escapes niragi’s lips as he grinds back against you without thinking. His mind is in a haze as he focuses on the feeling of your lips and core on his. Until you break the kiss panting.

“baby your hard”, his eyes snap open staring at you in surprise as you break the kiss. He looks down and realizes his hard on is pressing against your thigh. He stammers apologies and blushes profusely, “fuck…i’m sorry i’m-” he tries to lift you so he can cover his erection but you push him back down and kiss him again, sitting closer on his lap now covering his erection with your heat.

A small smile forms on his lips as you heatedly makeout. When he was being beaten did he die and go to heaven? Suguru can’t believe his luck.Your warmth covering his hard on sends a shiver down his spine, and he bites back a moan.

“we don't have to do anything you don't want to, i know it’s your first time, but if you do want to then just tell me okay don’t be shy” you kiss his neck softly.

He feels embarrassment at your remark about knowing he was a virgin, but it quickly passes as you begin to suck on his neck leaving a mark. One of the most desired girls in the school was sitting on loser suguru niragi’s cock, marking his neck. In that moment he knew he was winning, “y/n i want you”.

“are you sure?” you pull away for a moment just to be positive that Niragi was ready. He nods, his face slightly flushed as he looks at you with a mix of desire and a little bit of nervousness. “, please y/n”

you let him kiss you for a little while more before pulling away “,ok what do you want baby?

He pulls back from the kiss, his chest heaving as he looks up at you with a shy but intense gaze. “I-I want….” He swallows hard, his voice barely above a whisper. “I want to feel your hands on me. all over me...”

“That can be done,” i give him feathery kisses all over his face “,can i take off your clothes?”

He nods slowly, biting his lip as he reaches up to start unbuttoning his shirt, his hands shaking slightly. “s'okay let me,” i kiss him on the lips gently and take control of undoing his buttons as i move his shaky hands out of the way “,need you to relax for me niragi”

He takes a deep breath as you take control undressing him, “will taking off mine aswel make you feel better?” His eyes light up at the suggestion and he nods eagerly. “Y-yes, please...” He helps you take off your clothes, his hands trembling in anticipation slightly as he watches you pull your shirt off. He feels his breath catch in his throat, “you are so beautiful..”

He reaches up to caress your cheek, “May... may I touch you as well?” you feel yourself get wet at this, compared to other guys you’ve been with niragi was giving you good signs that he cared for your consent and pleasure aswel as much as his own. “of course you can touch me ragi”. He smiles at the nickname and hesitates for a moment before closing the distance between you, his hand tentatively reaching out to touch your skin.. He explores your body with gentle fingers, tracing the outline of your waist and the curve of your breasts. “You're so warm... and soft..”

you giggle at this “,you like that?” He blushes at your laugh,his eyes sparkling with a mix of shyness and delight. Niragi would remember this as the best day of his life, the events that transpired to him even being here in your apartment now long forgotten.

He leans in closer, his lips brushing against your neck and collarbones as he continues to explore your body, his touch growing bolder but still gentle. “that’s it baby keep touching me” you grind over his budge slightly, his trousers and your skirt still on.

He moans softly, his hands roaming over your body with increased urgency. “y/n..want you,” His trousers strain against his growing arousal, the fabric a thin barrier between you until you stand up abruptly riding yourself of your skirt and he takes the initiative to remove his trousers aswel.

when you make your way back over to him he is staring at your now exposed thighs and pink g string thong. “do you like my panties niragi? you wiggle in his lap to show them off and his cheeks flush a deep pink at the sight, his mouth falling open slightly. “Y-yes... They're very pretty...” He stammers, his hands gripping onto your hips a little tighter. “wanna touch them?,” he nods and reaches out to gently brush his fingertips against the fabric and you moan as his fingertips graze against your clothed clit.

His eyes widen in surprise at the sound of your moan, his movements becoming more confident as he rubs his fingers against you. “does that... does that feel good?”

“it’s perfect, keep touching me there ragi just like that in circles, mhhh that's it” you roll your hips over his fingers. They move in small, gentle circles over your clit, his thumb rubbing in soft, figure-eight patterns. He watches transfixed as your face contorts with pleasure,

“like that pretty boy your doing so good,” you sigh with pleasure and his face lights up with a soft smile at your words, a blush creeping up his cheeks.

“You feel amazing...” this causes you to almost scoff with a slight bemused smirk “,you haven't even felt me yet”. A curious expression crosses his face, his cheeks flushed. He hesitates for a moment betore slipping his fingers under your panties and fingering you gently. You bite your lip with a spark of pleasure at the misunderstanding “oh fuck! niragi-“ He gasps softly as he discovers your arousal. “You're so wet...” His touch becomes more deliberate, pumping two fingers in and out of you at a steady pace. “S-so tight... is this okay?,” you almost ignore him as you barely manage to nod in reply with your head thrown back in white hot pleasure. His ego swells at your response, and he starts to move his fingers faster.

“You're making me so hard..,” he murmurs in awe. This causes you to snap back down before you cum, “can i fuck you are you ready now?” you make eye contact with him as you ask and notice how his widen at the sudden boldness of your words, a mix of shock and arousal flashing across his face but he nods eagerly. Pulling off his pants, revealing his hard and throbbing cock, his cheeks flush with embarrassment as he struggles to find the right words. “You can fuck me now... please…”

“fuck that's hot,” you push him back on the bed by his chest. He lands on the bed with a soft thud, his heart racing at your dominant gesture. He lies there, legs spread open, his cock twitching with anticipation.

“what position do you want?,” He swallows hard, his mind racing with possibilities. “Umm.… w-would you... f-fit on top?,” his face flushes at the thought of you straddling him, your hips moving against his. “is that what you imagine when you touch yourself?”

He looks away too embarrassed to meet your gaze as he answers “yes, ma'am... I... I've always imagined you like that... and sometimes I imagine you tying me up and... doing things to me...”

“your such a little whore” i degrade him but arousal practically drips down my legs at the lewd confession, His stammering voice is now a breathless whimper “fuck... I-I'm not” , his objections are cut off by the sight of you touching yourself above him. “no? then why did you let me take you home hmm? you wanted me to fuck you senseless didn't you, little dirty slut” i tease him while playing with my tits. He can't even form a coherent response anymore, loosing self control completely as he grabs your hips and thrusts into you, immediately bottoming out.

He cries out, his back arching off the bed at the feeling and you cry out in shock, “fuck niragi! you fucking slut i didn’t tell you to-”

Your cut off as he begins impaling you on his cock, the sudden intensity overwhelming both of your senses. “Ah! y/n... s-so deep-...” His eyes fly open when a hand wraps around his neck, pupils dilated with pleasure as he looks up at you, your weight pressing him into the mattress.

“what's a quiete little nerd like you doing walking around with such a monster cock for hmm?” you begin to move your hips taking back control. His breath hitches as you move, the combination of friction and praise making him even harder. “mhh other girls would be lucky to bounce on dick like this, and it's all mine” you gyrate your hips perfectly causing him to whimper.

His eyes roll back, lost in the ecstasy of your movements as he whimpers and moans. “Y-yes, ma'am... a-all yours…..” He wraps his arms around your waist, holding on for dear life as you ride him with expert precision, his body trembling with each thrust.

“do i fuck good baby? better than you imagined?” , He nods frantically, tears of pleasure welling up in his eyes. “Y-yes, ma'am... b-better than I ever imagined….” He gasps as you slam down onto him, his cock throbbing inside of you. “S-so good!”

He gasps as you continue to move on top of him, his body quivering with pleasure and so close to release, “lucky i'm even touching you” you throw your head back with your harsh words, and his eyes follow the movement, a mix of awe and adoration in his gaze despite the things you say to him.

“Y-yes, ma'am... I'm grateful for every moment you give me...” He thrusts his hips upwards, increasing the contact between the both of you. “mmh that's it niragi fuck me!” His eyes roll back, a look of ecstasy on his face as he listens to your demand.

“yes ma'am... I'll fuck you... I'll make you cum on my cock...” He starts to move beneath you with increased urgency, his hips thrusting upwards to meet your downward strokes.

“that's it take control ragi, fuck me!” His cock twitches with excitement at the use of his nickname and the sudden switch in dominance. He reaches around to grab your hips, helping you move faster on top of him. “Fuck, you're so tight and wet...” “destroy this pussy niragi don't stop!” your crying now as his hips begin to buck wildly, his cock plunging deeper into you. “won't stop until you scream my name and cum all over me...”

“fuck me from behind i want vou as deep as possible can you do that?” He nods quickly pulling out from under you and helps you get on all fours before positioning himself back inside you, thrusting deeply. He grips your hips tightly, his thrusts becoming more urgent as he pounds into you from behind. “Yes... I can feel how much you like it... so fucking tight and wet…I'm going to make you cum so hard y/n!”

“splitting me open ragi... so deep” you whimper, he can't get enough of seeing you in this new submissive light, and it only urges him on as he plunges his cock deeper into you. “That's right... you're practically begging me to split you open, aren't you?”

“shit shit shit, keep talking to me like that”, i reach down and play with my clit and he pounds me from behind. He leans over to whisper in your ear as he continues to pound into you, his breath hot against your skin.

He chuckles softly, clearly enjoying your embarrassment as much as your pleasure. “Shhh, it's okay princess... I'll keep your dirty little secret...i never imagined you were this much of a whore y/n” suddenly he spits between your bodies for more lube and quickens his pace brutally “FUCK NIRAGI!”

He grins wickedly at your outburst, “That's right, scream for me... let everyone know who's fucking you senseless” He groans in pleasure as you tighten around him, his own release fast approaching. “Fuck... I'm so close come for me, little slut... show me how much you love being fucked like this...”

withought much more persuading you cum all over niragi's cock, so hard that it makes a mess everywhere and milks him of his own orgasm. He watches in awe as you cum, your juices squirting all over his cock and dripping down his balls. He grunts, his own orgasm rippling through him. He collapses beside you, panting heavily as he tries to catch his breath.

“That….. was incredible…. I've never felt anything like that before...” He glances at you shyly, a faint blush returning on his cheeks. “Did I do okay? I mean... was it good for you?”

“more than good-fuck..” you can barely catch your breath. He smiles shyly, a sense of pride filling him as he hears your words. “I'm glad...”

He leans over and places a gentle kiss on your lips, his fingers tracing patterns on your stomach. “We should probably clean up...”

“it's okay don’t rush i'm not gonna kick you out” you chuckle and he laughs too, a warm and genuine sound that fills the room. “Thank you...” He kisses you once more before getting up and grabbing some tissues, helping you clean up before using them himself “Maybe we can do this again sometime...”

“of course, iv never had a fuck like that before if you think you can just live your life normally after that one your wrong niragi ” He chuckles. a hint of nervousness still in his voice. “I-I'll keep that in mind...” He looks at you sheepishly before leaning in for another kiss, one you return softly with a smile.

“i know i can get a little mean in the bedroom but i did it for you, i knew you was capable of taking controll of me. Stop letting those pricks be so horrible to you niragi, start standing up for yourself okay?” you kiss him tenderly again

He nods, his eyes sparkling with gratitude and affection. “I'll try...” He kisses you back, his hands resting on your hips as he pulls you closer. “You make me feel... invincible.”

“i'm glad” you straddle him once more and pepper feather light kisses all over his face.

He melts under your kisses, his eyes fluttering closed as he savors the gentle touch. “Mmm, that feels nice...” His hands slide up your back, gently caressing your skin as he returns your affection, his lips tracing soft kisses along your jawline.

“do you want to stay the night?” you walk over to the bathroom turning on the shower.

He nods eagerly, his eyes lighting up with excitement. “yes!,” He stands up and walks towards the bathroom, watching as you turn on the shower.

A mischievous grin spreads across his face. you raise an enquisitive eyebrow at his expression and pull the bathroom door shut with both of you inside.

A/N: OK THIS WAS MY FIRST EVER SMUT ATTEMPT HOW DID I DO🌚

[jokerislandgirl32]

Ziolet Songs: Day Four

October 4th - Sparks Fly

Get me with those green eyes, baby As the lights go down Gimme something that'll haunt me when you're not around 'Cause I see sparks fly, whenever you smile

My mind forgets to remind me you're a bad idea You touch me once and it's really something You find I'm even better than you imagined I would be I'm on my guard for the rest of the world But with you, I know it's no good And I could wait patiently But I really wish you would

Posting this a day late, but oh well!

Since yesterday was my birthday I decided to include a fic excerpt from one of Violet’s birthdays! It’s either her 19th or 20th birthday, I haven’t decided yet. But I hope you all enjoy it! Putting it below the cut due to length and mentions of alcohol consumption, a few crude comments, and references to a toxic relationship.

I had barely opened the menu when the sound of people singing happy birthday caught my attention. I looked into the restaurant, and saw the girl I was looking for: my Violet. 

Violet’s long hair was pulled back in a braid, and she was dressed in a simple off-the-shoulder, lilac sundress with a black apron around her waist. She smiled and blushed as her family and the patrons of the restaurant sang happy birthday to her.

The waitress in front of me huffed and rolled her eyes. I sensed she did not like Violet very much, and I was more than ready to get rid of her, “I know what I want,” I announced. 

She pulled out a notepad and looked at me expectantly, I fished out my wallet and produced a $20 bill, “I want the birthday girl to serve me, here’s something for your time.”

The girl’s brown eyes widened, and she stuffed the bill into her apron pocket, “of course, thank you, I’ll go get her!”

VvvvvvVvvvvvV

I was busy thanking everyone for the impromptu birthday song when Nicole ran up to me out of breath, “I’ve got a customer for you, he’s a very good tipper, he just gave me 20 dollars to seat him, and he requested you!”

Nicole usually did not speak to me because she claimed I’d stolen Travis from her, which was far from the truth. I figured she was setting me up for embarrassment, but part of me was hopeful that there really was a customer who wanted me to be their waitress. 

I smiled and said, “okay, here’s to hoping he tips me well too!”

“Yeah, you can treat yourself to a nice birthday present,” my cousin Paige winked at me, having overheard the conversation. 

“I guess,” I whispered, fixing my hair and going to the table where the gentleman was seated. 

When I arrived he sat holding the menu up, covering his face, “good evening sir, can I start you off with something to drink?”

He responded in a gruff, hateful sounding voice, “do you recommend anything? I usually prefer alcohol, but there’s none listed. What type of an island restaurant is this if you can’t get alcohol?”

I felt taken aback by his comment, “I apologize sir, but it is the preference of the owner of the restaurant to not serve alcohol.”

“Why’s that? Is she a prude?” He snickered and something about his voice was oddly familiar. I stood on my toes to peer over the menu covering his face, but he held it closer to him and raised it slightly.

I tried to bite my tongue, but it was no use, I would not stand for whoever this was insulting the aunt who had practically raised me, “Sir, I respectfully disagree with you, the owner is my aunt, and she prefers to host a restaurant where good food and fun can be had without the negative impacts that result from alcoholic consumption. If that is a problem with you, you can go to a neighboring restaurant or bar that does serve alcohol.”

“Ohhh, that’s a bold statement, but I should expect it coming from a sexy little minx such as yourself,” I could hear the laugh in his voice, and I’d had enough. It was one thing for Travis to make crude comments about me, but this man was a stranger, this was unexceptable. 

“Sir, I am sorry, but I do not appreciate your comments. They are making me very uncomfortable. If you cannot refrain from saying such things, I will have to ask you to leave.”

“Awww, come on, you can’t ask your friend to leave,” he pouted, lowering the menu enough for me to see jet black hair. 

The gears in my mind started turning, who did I know with black hair? And before I could stop myself, I asked, “who are you?”

The man lowered the menu and took off a pair of triangular sunglasses at the same time, his voice returning to normal, to a voice I'd wanted to hear for so long, “happy birthday, Vi.”

I felt a few tears fall from my eyes as I looked at his smiling face. I approached him and he stood up quickly, gathering me into a hug without me initiating it. I threw my arms around his neck as his head fell to the crook of my neck, “I’m so happy to see you, Zach,” I whispered.

[hannahssimblr]

“Is that everything? Any petrol or diesel?”

“No... Actually, do you’ve something for bug bites?”

“Like, that insect repellent stuff or some kind of topical cream?”

“The repellent, please.”

“I think we have it,” the woman at the till goes to the shelves behind her while I lean across to watch as she rummages through rows of suncream and painkillers. 

“It’s the midges,” I say conversationally, “They eat me alive, see I think I’ve really delicious blood.”

“They’re annoying alright,” she scans a bottle of Jungle Formula and packs it into a plastic bag along with all of the junk food I’ve just bought. “That it?”

I scan the shelves quickly, “oh, actually, can I have a box of those too?”

She glances over her shoulder, “Condoms?”

“Yeah, please.”

She eyes me up, “Are you seventeen?”

“Yep.”

“I’m not sure you are.”

“Do I have a right to buy them?”

“I have a right to refuse if I don’t think that you’re the age of consent.”

“Respectfully I’m going to get them from somewhere whether you refuse or not,” she narrows her eyes to slits but I give her a big smile so that she can’t be angry, “Or if you want I’ll just not use protection and it’ll be your fault my life is ruined.”

“Do you have ID?”

“Why would I have ID? I’m seventeen.”

She snatches and tosses a box across the counter at me, “Fine, there you go, because I know well that you’d stand here all day and hold up the queue just by the look of you, you cheeky bollox. That’ll be Twenty three thirty altogether.”

“Yeah, no issue,” I slot my dad’s credit card into the machine and stab in his digits. I see her watching it, a weighted, black metal platinum visa, and it’s definitely obvious that it isn’t mine, but she doesn’t know my circumstances, and anyway I know that my dad would have given me money if I had felt like talking to him today, but I didn’t. Borrowing from his wallet is the same thing. 

I glance at the shopkeeper one last time before leaving, “What are the chances you’d score me a pack of cigarettes?”

“Get lost.”

I’m checking my text messages on the way out of the shop, so I don’t see the man walking in the opposite direction. We bump shoulders in the doorway and I mutter an apology before looking up and realising who I have just collided with. 

His nostrils flare as he looks me up and down, and as I stand and look cooly back at him I wonder if he gets off, like genuinely gets off on the idea of how threatening he thinks he is. 

“You’re a friend of Clóda?” He says.

“Yeah, and you are?”

“Her father.”

“Oh right, yeah. I guess I never made the connection.” I thought you were just some weirdo glaring over at us in the Boat Club, is what I want to add but I’m not sure I’m feeling entirely suicidal today. 

He stares me down until I feel my skin prickle, and when his eyes find my bag of shopping, including the Durex box pressing label-out through the translucent plastic his face turns a ferocious shade of puce. “How old are you?”

“Sixteen.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

“And who are your parents?”

“Christopher and Colette, who are yours?”

“None of your business,” He splutters, “Are you one of those young fellas who hangs about in the caravan parks?”

“So what if I was?”

“Well my daughter is a hard worker, she’s busy at her job and I’d rather she wasn’t being distracted or having any of her time wasted.”

“Yeah, fine.”

“So if you wouldn’t mind steering clear of the Boat Club when she’s working, I’d rather you not hanging about and causing complaints from the customers.”

“Oh the customers complain about me, do they?”

He wrinkles his nose, “We prefer to uphold a certain standard at the club.”

My skin prickles, “So basically you don’t want anyone who looks like they stay in the caravan parks hanging around and making it look cheap.”

“That’s not an unreasonable request, especially since you don’t exactly dine with us, do you?”

I’m walking away already, “Yeah, fine, whatever.”

“I’m glad you understand.”

“Yep.”

On the shortcut through a holiday park I furiously kick a stone out of my way. Then a piece of rubbish. Then I spot a ceramic flower pot by the entrance to the communal showers and I kick that too, knocking it to the side and splitting it in two, and the soil spills out and the plant slumps to the tarmac. It looks pathetic so I kick it again. 

Suddenly a tennis ball comes from nowhere and whacks me in the back with a thunk. I whirl around, “Hey!”

“Hey yourself!” Kelly grabs another ball and flings it at me, and I duck as it wallops into the wall behind me. I grab and fling it back, “What’s your problem, Kelly?”

“What’s my problem?” She shrieks as she dodges it, “What’s your problem?”

“What is it with you and your brother throwing tennis balls at me, huh? What did I do now?”

She hurls another, “What are you doing here?”

“Ugh! Walking!”

“Well stay out of my caravan park. Go the long way around.”

“Your caravan park? Kelly, if this is about the frog in your hair-”

“The frog? Fuck your frog,” she lets out a tiny squeal as she jumps out of the path of the ball I’ve flung back, “and fuck you, by the way.”

“Fuck me? Fuck you Kelly, I’m not in the mood for this shit.”

“Shut up.”

“You shut up.”

“Suck my dick!” She spins on her heel and stalks away and I watch her for a minute, bewildered, until she disappears between a couple of mobile homes and then, when she’s fully gone and I am alone with the broken flower pot again, I pick up my overturned bag of goodies and shake my head. 

“Little weirdo.”

Beginning // Prev // Next

[sometimesanalice]

MARY!! 💚💚 You’re such a real one for this! Your commentary has me wheezing!!

More for you!

All except for Rooster, who can’t seem to look at you at all. -he feels so guilty i cannot. baby i get it but ITS NOT YOUR FAULT its not like you did it on purpose just go talk to her — that boy is having a whole existential CRISIS. He is full blown spiral! Bless him, it was an accident!

“Hey, book worm,” he grinned as he popped it into his mouth, “How’s my favorite girl doing?” -his favourite girl omg i might DIE alexa youre killing me if he ever called me his favourite girl i would just crumble to nothingness tbh- I WOULD SIMPLY CEASE TO EXIST! And that cheeky smirk of him as he chews that stolen bite of watermelon? Dead. I’d be RIP in the sand just pulling it over me like leave me here I’m done.

“That’s so sweet of you, Bob-” you’d started. “Yeah, so sweet-” Bradley grumbled under his breath.- PLEASE he is SO done all he wants is for her to rub some sun screen into his skin and shes such a minx i cannot. i want the sunscreen i want the sunscreen hello hello idc if you might die if you touch him darling go slather sunscreen on those broad shoulders!!!!!! i want this! i need this!- he is so grumpy and I am so amused by it! He’s totally stewing like “you’re MY favorite girl” he was fully planning on flexing for her like a precious little peacock. And she is so cheeky with that little book wiggle!

You’d just lobbed the ball to Javy before darting around Nat when a big, solid body collided with you. Hard. i mean. we all know that big, solid, hard body. dont we. we allllllllllllllllllllllllllll know it. - just look for the man who wants the earth to swallow him whole

“Woah, buddy, what are you doing?”-she has killed him omg. she has shot him in his tiny fragile heart and he is deceased. buddy omg i cant i know its an instinct i know its a reflex i know i know i know but PLEASE bradley cant handle this - not the “buddy”!! Miss Ma’am is so flustered and embarrassed by all the wrong kind of attention, she’s also out there fighting for her life. And you KNOW he just wanted to shrivel up into the sand when she hit him with that. Jealous precious boy.

And now you are and it’s nothing like you’ve imagined, because there isn’t anything sweet or swoon-worthy about how you ended up in them. You’re his duty, you’re not his desire. respectfully shut the fuck up. he's SO into you shut uppppppppp i get this i totally get this you have every reason to cry miss girl!!! but i swear to god bradley would carry you over the fucking threshold of your bedroom in a bridal dress if he could i will SCREAM— omg this why where you had me wheezing! He’s like first step: hospital, second step: matrimony. This pancakes are a proposal for marriage in their own right!

“And then you’ll kiss me?”

“And then I’ll kiss you,” he promises, offering you a crooked pinky finger. You beam and you wrap your own around his.—alexa oh my fucking god i NEED this kiss i NEED these two to kiss i will die!!! i will seriously die i need them to make out i need them to finally touch each other! theyve put it all out there, theyve finally found the situation and the courage to tell each other and to admit it and theyve done it with so much goddamn tension and i need RELIEF i need tension relief they need tension relief we all need tension relief!!!! alexa!!!!!!! i swear!!! this was perfection omg

Mary! Mary!!! I’m so thrilled you liked this one! Thank goodness they figured it out! There might be pancakes in the future! I’m not against revisiting them! We got to make sure they both come out of that hospital in one piece!

Bedside Manner

Summary: You were expecting the perfect summer afternoon with the Daggers, but when a game of dogfight football takes a turn for the worse, you’re left with a bleeding head and an aching heart. And it’s up to Bradley to show you his bedside manner.

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

Length: 8K

Warnings: A little angst, a little pining, and two idiots in love.

It’s a perfect summer afternoon. Well, almost.

The sun is high in the sky and the steady salt kissed ocean breeze keeps it from being too uncomfortably hot. The coolers are filled with beers and sodas and a few pink cans of rosé that Coyote had brought. And the beach blankets were littered with open half-eaten family sized bags of chips and cubes of bright pink watermelon and containers of various dips and ziplocs with sun warmed and mostly melted chocolate chip cookies.

“You guys, really, I’m fine,” you state as adamantly as you can given the circumstances.

Sure, you have Jake’s t-shirt pressed against your throbbing, bleeding head. Sure, you are a little afraid to put your full weight on your left ankle and already dreading the long walk back to your car.

But it’s fine, you’re fine. Everything is…peachy. Or it will be as soon as they all stop looking at you like you’re about to crumple to the ground like some 1920’s silent film starlet from on the silver screen.

Nat has that deep pinch between her sharp brown eyes. Jake’s lips are pressed together in a firm white line. The rest of the team stands hovering around you in a misshapen semicircle, all sandy and sweaty, and wearing the concern painted across their faces.

All except for Rooster, who can��t seem to look at you at all.

“Clearly, you’re not,” Phoenix says flatly, clearly unamused by your attempts to minimize the situation. And you wish that just this once she could have let this go and follow your lead. But then she wouldn’t be Natasha Trace.

Your best friend since middle school had always been the most capable and sharpest person in the room and you loved that about her.

Normally.

But not so much when her keen assessment of you keeps you from being able to slink away quietly without fuss. 

“No, seriously. It’s just a little scratch. It’s not a big deal.” It sounds feeble even to your own ears. Trying to hold back a wince when the way you shake your head makes starbursts bloom behind your eyes.

You could have dealt with the pounding in your head if it weren’t for the relentless burning of your ankle that was only making things worse. One or the other would have been easier to manage, but both vying for your attention as the pain pulses with every heartbeat was miserable.

The sun was too hot, the kids frolicking the ocean were too loud, the sunscreen on your skin felt too greasy. All you wanted was a shower and your bed and to forget this whole day even happened.

You look around the group trying to gauge how successful your efforts are, but it’s clear that no one seems to be buying your brand of poorly performed bullshit. You wanted to crawl into yourself like a hermit crab, protected by your own shell, as six pairs of eyes all looked on at you sympathetically, while the pretty brown ones you wanted to see the most were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses and trained down at the ground.

It was supposed to be a fun day.

You’d woken up that morning absolutely giddy about trading spreadsheets for sand and sunburns and sea salt tangled hair. Your cheery, new swimsuit already laid out and waiting for you from the night before.

There was something thrilling about hooky on a Friday with all of your favorite people that made you feel all kinds of young and free. Well, hooky for you. They’d been given the day off after a month of intensive training and testing of some new defensive software. They all deserved the break and you were more than happy to tag along.

You were always the good kid in school, never skipping, never missing a class. You’d felt like a rebellious teen as you crafted your ‘out of office’ email, a smug grin on your face like you were getting away with something. Even though you’d earned the right to use that PTO whichever way you wanted.

The anticipation of a snow day from your childhood school days had nothing on the intoxicating promise of a beach day on a golden summer Friday.

The team must have felt the same way too because the group chat the night before had been chaotically amusing. The excitement was palpable enough that you’d almost think you all lived in some landlocked state rather than San Diego, where it felt like all roads led to the beach whether you wanted them to or not.

Somewhere between the string of all capitalized sentences and exclamation points with a few well-chosen emojis scattered throughout, Natasha had managed to wrangle everyone in enough into sorting out who was responsible for bringing what. There wouldn’t be another veggie platter incident, not on her watch.

You’d felt bright and effervescent as you’d pulled into the parking lot, your eyes reflexively seeking out a blue Bronco that hadn’t arrived yet. With a beach chair over one shoulder and a beach bag over the other and a packed cooler bag in your hand, you’d made towards the multicolored sprawl of blankets and the striped peaks of the umbrellas, where you were met with the smiling faces of shiny happy people.

Some of the boys had rushed over to help you carry your things and added your offerings to the communal pile of snacks and sunscreen and bottles of water. It had been easy to fall into conversation with everyone as you set up your own little patch of paradise and shimmied out of your frayed cut-offs. Natasha had given you a wolf whistle and you’d laughed as you give her the finger.

And hour and a half later with an easy grin on his face, carrying a case of beer and two big Ziploc bags stuffed with what you learned later were homemade cookies balanced on top, was Rooster.

You’ve had plenty of beach days with them but every time you saw him in those damn denim shorts he always seemed determined to wear, regardless of how impractical they were, your mind still went a little fizzy as you took in just how well they clung to his thighs.

He’d taken the ribbing from his squad in stride as he unboxed the beers and added them to the collection already chilling in Bob’s bright yellow cooler. You were trying- and failing- to read your worn paperback book when he’d surprised you by plopping his things next to yours on your oversized towel and stole a chunk of juicy watermelon off of the plate balanced on your lap.

“Hey, book worm,” he grinned as he popped it into his mouth, “How’s my favorite girl doing?” That smile of his getting bigger when you rolled your eyes at him.

“Hi, Rooster,” you’d said looking at him from over the top of your sunglasses with an amused smirk.

And if your cheeks felt warm, it was from the sun and not the teasing tone of his raspy voice.

When he’d shrugged off his shirt to apply the sunscreen you’d brought with him in mind, the wink he’d shot you went straight to your head like champagne. The sun highlighting his impressive abs and sculpted shoulders didn’t help either as he took great efforts to cover his chest and stomach with the lotion. He had to be doing it on purpose, because he’d kept rubbing it in well past when the white hue faded. But who were you to complain? Melanoma was no joke.

“You wanna help me out?” he’d asked turning his back to you, looking over his shoulder. You’re pretty sure that he’d been flexing because he’d looked impossibly broad, every defined muscle standing out for eyes to map out and explore.

You’d been at war with yourself, because while your eager hands were desperate to touch him, you also knew that once you ran your hands along his solid frame that you’d never want to stop. That you wouldn’t be content until your fingertips had traced every inch of him.

You had been blessedly and devastatingly spared the choice.

“I got you, Rooster. My hands are already all sunscreen-y,” chimed in Bob, who had just finished rubbing his own freshly applied layer. “Wouldn’t want it to get on her book.”

You were only half relieved to be off the hook, while Bradley on the other hand was still looking at you expectantly, almost hopefully, still with the white and yellow bottle of sunscreen partly extended towards you.

“That’s so sweet of you, Bob-” you’d started.

“Yeah, so sweet-” Bradley grumbled under his breath.

“I appreciate you sparing my pages the sunscreen grease,” you’d said shooting Bob a smile, choosing to ignore Bradley’s comment completely. “Plus, your hands are bigger than mine. You’ll have him covered in no time.”  

Bradley looked between you and Bob before he passed the bottle to the other man, shaking his head a little in defeat. You’d giggled to yourself as you wiggled your book at an openly brooding Bradley, and then leaned back on your elbows to observe the way the attentive WSO made sure to carefully and thoroughly cover Bradley’s entire back.

Respectfully, of course.

Behind your sunglasses you’d admired all of Bradley’s bulk compared to Bob’s lithe grace. But in your defense, they were standing right in front of you and you’d already reread your book at least five times in the past, so it wasn’t nearly as interesting as the scene in front of you had been.

“You look awfully comfortable over there,” Rooster called out with a raised eyebrow.

“Just taking in the view,” you’d teased back.

“Yeah, I bet you are,” he huffed as Bob finished up, giving him a thanks, man before tossing you back the bottle of sunscreen. He’d nudged his sunglasses down his nose and pinned you with his gaze, “Let me know if you want me to get your back. My hands are just as capable as his.” Even in the high heat of summer, the way he’d looked at you sent chills running along your arms.

You felt the way his keen eyes traveled from your face, down the deep-v of your swimsuit and along the swells of your breasts, and down your legs to your freshly painted toes. His mouth had ticked up in the corner then left you reeling and your heart pounding away in your chest as he’d strut off to go join Fanboy and Coyote by the mountain of snacks.

And that was the thing about Bradley Bradshaw. You never knew if he was just flirt-y or flirt-ing.

You hadn’t had a crush in ages, but when Nat had introduced you to her team five months ago, the man with the sunkissed curls and surprisingly attractive mustache had immediately caught your eye.

And as you’d gotten to know him, it had only gotten worse.

Not only was he very nice to look at and could make you laugh until your sides ached, but he also he had depth about him in a way that most men your age didn’t. You liked talking to him and listening to his stories. You liked learning his perspective on things. You liked being around him.

He made you feel interesting and special and funny and seen. You’ve never felt as comfortable in your own skin as you did when you were around him.

Rooster would send you flirty winks, give you less than subtle once overs, and could flash you such devastating slow grins that they’d have you trying to catch the butterflies they released in your stomach for hours after you went home.

But he’s never made a move.

If only he wouldn’t play hide and seek with his true intentions.

You felt like you were still waiting on some small clue whether he was serious or not. You didn’t know if he was just having fun with you or if he was into you and it was more than just friendly banter. It would be so much easier if he’d straight up tell you one way or another.

Needless to say, you’d let Nat be the one to help you with your sunscreen a little bit later. The idea of Bradley’s big hands on you, gliding along your sun-warmed skin and under the crisscross straps of your swimsuit, was too much for your hummingbird heart.

The sun climbed higher into the sky as the butter yellow midmorning transformed into a Midas-touched golden afternoon.

The squad had been able to reserve a fire pit and the plan had been to stay until the sunset. An endless summer day stretching out before them like a cat. They had nothing but time.

Clusters of people came together and split apart like a kaleidoscope as some went to take a dip in the ocean or raid the cooler and snack spread or go for a walk along the shore. Changing and shifting with the direction of the wind, going where the mood took them.

And for a peaceful moment, it had been you with your book and a napping Bradley sprawled out next to you on your towel with his arm flung over his eyes. Close enough that you could feel his warmth, almost but not quite touching. The sound of his soft breaths and the waves their own kind of lullaby as you contentedly read your book, turning your pages quietly to not disturb the man next to you, as the droplets of the Pacific dried on your skin.  

You still don’t know how you got roped into playing a round of dogfight football with the Navy’s best and brightest. You were more of a corn hole or ladder toss kind of girl, but Coyote had all but thrown you over his shoulder and dragged you out before you’d agreed to participate, conceding your defeat.

You were on a team with Hangman, Coyote, Fanboy against Nat, Rooster, Payback, and Bob. A few plays in and you had been getting the hang of it. They’d all been making sure to take care to go easy on you even in the chaos of two teams playing offensively and defensively at the same time. You were more than a little out of breath, but you were having fun.

Before the next snap, Mickey gave the most impassioned pep talk you’d ever heard, “Fuck luck, we don’t need luck. We gotta fucking win.” You had been about to laugh, but then you’d seen the looks on Jake and Javy’s faces and decided against it. Curious about the other team, you’d glanced over only to see Rooster looking back at you.

The calls had been made, the blur of plays in motion as people whirled and dodged and sprinted.

You’d just lobbed the ball to Javy before darting around Nat when a big, solid body collided with you. Hard. You’d felt the twinge of your ankle twisting in the sand right before the force sent you flying in the opposite direction you’d been headed.

The impact had been jarring. The air knocked from your lungs.

Where you should have been met with a mouthful of gritty sand, instead your head had connected with the rough surface of a partially buried rock. The low, thick thud reverberating throughout your whole body.

You’d been so stunned that you didn’t even register you were even on the ground until you heard the chorus of oh fucks and holy shits and goddamns and jesus christs over the ringing in your ears.

The game coming to an immediate and conclusive end.

For how many empty bottles and cans were sitting collected in a trash bag off to the side of your beach set up, they had been surprisingly quick to act as you blinked blankly, trying to clear the spots from your vision.

It was a silent ballet of efficiency as they instinctively fell into their roles, much like you imagined they did the sky. Everyone stepping up and then stepping back as they did their part, like the ebb and flow of waves.

Nat had carefully poured some fresh water from a bottle on your face to remove the sand that clung to the sweat and sunscreen on your skin. Then Jake had wordlessly passed her his clean spare shirt he’d jogged of to get to help stop the bleeding after Javy checked on your pupils to make sure they were the same size. While Bob stood off to the side holding your warped sunglasses in his hands, as if he was hopeful they could still be salvaged. Mickey and Reuben had been waiting in the wings giving you space, ready to help if they were needed, but not wanting to not crowd in.

And from the corner of your eye, you’d caught Rooster standing a couple feet away with his hands in his hair looking absolutely wrecked.

“Bradley?” you’d tried, even though his name stuck to your teeth. But he’d just shook his head at you before turning away slightly, like he couldn’t look at you, which made your heart sting as well.

They only allowed you to move to sit up after they were content with the answer to their questions- What day is it? Friday. Where are you? San Diego. What else hurts? My ankle and my pride.

It wasn’t until someone hauled you up from underneath your armpits that the throbbing and stinging and aching settled over you. The pain seeping and spreading through muscle and bone like an inky oil spill.

It’s still an almost perfect summer afternoon except for the fact you hate everything about this.

You hate the way they’re gathered around you with too many pairs of assessing eyes pinned on you. You hate that you’re the reason the game of dogfight football came to a definitive and abrupt end. You hate that you’re the reason their carefree and fun afternoon off has turned into this.

There’s a pressure building behind your eyes, the hot tears of hurt and frustration and embarrassment are clamoring to be released. You have to bite your lower lip to keep it from trembling.

And it doesn’t help that you’re the type who’d rather lick your wounds in peace.

You just need to get back to your car and you can figure things out on your own from there. You just need a moment to yourself.

As you open your mouth to argue your case again, Jake puts his hand up and stops you before you’ve even had a chance to start, “I hate to break it to you, sugar, but you’re not fooling any of us.” He says it gently, but gives you a pointed look at the way you’re leaning heavily on your right leg to keep the pressure off of your left ankle.

“That head wound is not a little scratch. Just like your ankle isn’t just a little puffy, when it’s twice the size it should be. You need to go to the Emergency Room,” Nat says, final and resolute. A lifetime of friendship has taught you not to argue when she has that look in her eyes, the one that says try me, I dare you.

They all talk over you as they figure out who is the most sober of the group after your suggestion to call yourself an Uber is immediately shot down. Drinks are being counted on fingers, and memories are searched to make sure every sip and bottle and can is accounted for.

Your eyes drift over to the man who is still actively avoiding looking at you, even as he talks to everyone else on the team. You aren’t paying too close attention to what he is saying, but you can hear the short, clipped staccato of his words.

Bradley’s shoulders are tinged a little pink even though you know for a fact that you had purposely passed him the 65 SPF. His eyes are hidden behind his dark green tinted sunglasses, but you don’t need to see them when you can read his body language better than any book.

His arms are crossed firmly over his chest, the tendons in his forearms flexing and shifting, like he is squeezing and releasing his fists from where they’re tucked under his biceps. Everything in his body looks coiled tight and strained, so at odds with the easy going and loose-limbed man you know him to be.

You don’t realize just how much you’ve zoned out until Natasha has to say your name a couple time before you pull your gaze away from Bradley and back to her.

“Ok, it’s settled,” Nat informs you, “Rooster’s going to take you.” You barely nod your head in acknowledgement when she tells you, because it feels like you’ve been punched in the stomach now too.

“It’s the least he can do,” Jake drawls.

“That’s not fair-” you start, defensively.

“Fuck off, Bagman-” Rooster snaps.

The rage in his voice shocks you, you’ve never heard that much heat from him before. There’s none of the teasing tone that usually underscores their banter. Jake puts both of his hands up placatingly like my bad, folks and Javy just shakes his head and sighs.

And this time when you look at Bradley, he is finally looking back at you with a deep furrow in his brow. His jaw is clenched tight, that muscle ticking and jumping, as he takes in the way you have Jake’s t-shirt pressed against your forehead.

Not exactly the way you’d hoped he’d be looking at you when you put on your new blue and white striped swimsuit this morning.

The one you’d bought because you wanted to make him look.

Just not like this.

With everything sorted the rest of the team trickles away a smattering of take cares and get better soons and let us know if you need anythings. But not before Mickey hands Rooster his stuff and passes Nat your bag and sandals. He gives you the gentlest of squeezes on your shoulder before he leaves to join everyone else back on little part of the beach you all had claimed before things went to shit.

Your group of eight now downsized to a trio.

Bradley is quick to roughly pull on his tank and shirt, and Nat fishes out your car keys from your bag as she waits for him to slip his shoes on. When he’s ready she passes it to him and he silently slides it over his arm.

Nat bends down to help gingerly glide your feet into your sandals, “I’ll grab the rest your things and drop them off at your place and then one of the boys will drop off your car later. We’ve got it all covered, ok?”

“Thanks, Nat,” you say quietly, trying to hold back a wince as she slips the left one on, your ankle pulsing in tempo with your heartbeat.

“Best friends don’t say thank you, they just do,” she says matter-of-factly as she stands. It’s the same thing you’d told her after you’d dumped a carton of strawberry milk on Carly Radke for outing Natasha your freshman year in high school. It was only time you’d ever gotten detention, but it had been worth it.

“They just do,” you repeat with a small smile.

You’re so grateful that your friendship with her is one that has spanned years. That you’ve been able seen one another grow and change and come into their own, but that you haven’t outgrown each other. She’s the person you want by your side and having your back. There is no one quite like Natasha Trace.

She turns to Bradley and you watch him stand a little taller under her sharp eyes, your straw tote still dangling from his forearm.

“You good?” Nat asks him with a look in her eye that you can’t place. And you’re reminded that even though she’s your best friend, that he has also earned a spot as one of her closest friends. Their relationship built over years and experiences that you could never fully understand. Different, but just as deep.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got her. I’ll take care of her,” Rooster promises with a stiff nod, as he gives her his word. It might have made your heart beat a little faster if you didn’t feel like such a burden. That it’s simply a twist of fate and three less drinks than everyone else for the reason that he’s the one to look after you. That he’s the one stuck with you.

“I know you will,” she says softer now, patting his shoulder, “Keep me posted.” Nat presses a kiss to your cheek and gives you an encouraging smile then heads off to go rejoin everyone else.

You watch her go with longing. The cheerful beach set up with its colorful blankets and umbrellas looks more like a desert mirage now. The sweet coconut scented potential of what the day could have been now forever out of reach.

And then it’s just you and Bradley and the sound of the waves and cries of seagulls.

The two of you silent and motionless.

You feel one wrong move and the fragile attempt of the stiff upper lip you’ve cocooned yourself in will crack open and all the soft parts of you will seep out into the sand beneath your feet.

His expression is shuttered closed as he bends a bit like he is going to pick you up.

“Woah, buddy, what are you doing?” You’re squinting into the sun as you look at him. You’d step into his shadow to block it, since you’re now in need of a new pair of sunglasses, but that would mean moving to the left which isn’t an option with your ankle.

“Buddy,” he grunts under his breath, slipping off his sunglasses and carefully putting them on your face, being mindful of stinging scrapes and wad of soft cotton you’re holding to your head. “They’re definitely going to have to run concussion protocol on you,” he mutters more to himself than to you, “I’m taking you to the Bronco and then we’re going the ER, remember?”

“Yeah, I know, Rooster,” you grit out, even rolling your eyes hurts, “But I don’t need you to carry me.”

Everything about this was excruciating and embarrassing enough without him being the Clark Gable to your Vivian Leigh. Maybe you could lean on him and hop over to his car? Like a six-foot-one pair of crutches with good hair.

“Take a step without wincing and I’ll think about it,” he says firmly, pointedly calling your bluff. There’s an expectant look of go on then, whenever you’re ready on his face. Because he knows he’s right, and you do too.

You don’t even bother to make a move, but the way your lower lips wobbles speaks volumes.

“That’s what I thought,” he says quietly, almost like pains him to be right.

He bends a little to hook his arms around your knees and back to lift you up, and this time you let him. Your free arm automatically wrapping around the back of his neck. And he starts off towards the winking windshields of the parking lot.

You’ve thought about what it would be like to be wrapped up in Bradley’s arms, how good it would feel to be pressed closed against him. And now you are and it’s nothing like you’ve imagined, because there isn’t anything sweet or swoon-worthy about how you ended up in them. You’re his duty, you’re not his desire.

All your sandcastle hopes have been washed away by the tide.

You’re so frustrated. You’re frustrated by the day, by yourself, by him.

This time you can’t blink back the tears that well up in your eyes. They flood through your tear ducts carving hot trails down your sun-tinged cheeks.

You want the Bradley from earlier. 

The one who stole your watermelon with warmth in his eyes.

The one who dozed next to you in the sun like a cat, his features soft free of the tension he now holds in his shoulders.

You want your Bradley.

The one who’d whispered cheeky comments in your ear whenever the team got into lighthearted tequila fueled arguments about things like whether a hot dog was a sandwich.

The one who’d always go up to the bar with you on busy nights at the Hard Deck and make sure you didn’t get bumped into on the way back to your friends with your freshly refilled drinks.

You’re aching, aching. Everywhere.

For a brief moment, as you swipe at your tears, you’re happy for the throbbing in your head and ankle, so that way you don’t have to think about the stinging in your heart.

“I know, I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I know you’re hurting,” Rooster says gentle and low as you sniffle, but you can hear the thickness of the words in his throat. The term of endearment is the sweetest of nothings, making your tears come faster. Where it should ease the heartache, all it does is make you angry at yourself for giving your emotions away. “We’re almost to the Bronco. It’s ok, we’re gonna get you taken care of, I promise.”

We.

You wanted that with him.

You want to press both of your hands to his cheeks to make him look you in the eyes to ask him is it going to be you and me together?  You’ve been a fool for love before, but you didn’t know if could take another hit-and-run with your heart.

The salt of your tears makes your cheeks feel tight and itchy as the summer breeze dries them on your skin.

Bradley carries you like you weigh nothing, but cradles you like you’re the most precious things he’s ever held. He’s mindful of any dips in the sand and gives wide berth around the college kids playing volleyball close to the entry back to the parking lot.

When he reaches the Bronco, he sets you down gently, making sure both of your feet are planted on the asphalt before letting go of you to unlock his car. He tells you to wait a moment when you move to open the passenger side door.

“I never know when I might get called up for an emergency deployment, so I like to have some extra clothes just in case,” he explains as he digs around in the backseat, pulling out a pair of gray athletic shorts.

“Oh.” And you realize you’re still just clad in your striped swimsuit. “Thank you for sparing me from the hospital germs,” you say lightly, an attempt at a joke to break the ice. One that doesn’t land, since instead of cracking a grin he just presses his lips together in a firm line and nods.

Bradley crouches low in front of you and you put a hand on his shoulder for balance as you lean against the Bronco, still trying to keep as much pressure off your left ankle as possible as you step into them. He’s looking up at you and even through his sunglasses perched on your nose, you swear his brown eyes get a shade darker as he eases the shorts up your legs. You’re touched by the effort as he ties the strings in a lopsided bow, even if things are feeling tense between the two of you.

“Think this’ll be easier,” he mumbles shrugging off his light blue button up. You’ve always liked this one, with its soft pastel pink and minty green watercolor prints of net fishermen and hula girls and palm trees.

He holds it open for you, helping you thread your arm through it, and then takes over holding Jake’s now ruined shirt to your head so that you can get your other arm past the sleeve. It smells like him, citrus and amber. Your fingers brush against each other when you reclaim the makeshift bandage, and he adjusts his shirt so that it hangs over your shoulders just right.

It’s an awkward kind silent as Rooster helps lift you into the Bronco with his strong hands around your hips. He is all smooth efficiency as he buckles you in with a click. You pass him back his sunglasses the same moment he hands you your tote bag, and it almost feels like a hostage exchange.

He says nothing as he hauls himself into the driver’s side. The car rumbles to life when he turns the key in the ignition and a cheery song from the 80’s station on the radio comes on. Bradley quick to turn the volume down low. His thumb brushing your shoulder as he sets his hand on the back of your seat to look behind him as he carefully backs out of the spot.

It’s never felt this strained with him before.

It’s so painfully obvious that the two of you are walking on eggshells around each other. You can almost feel the wall that’s gone up around him. The white noise of the radio drowned out by the hum of the road as he drives in near silence.

Your day has been most effectively ruined by a chunk of sedimentary rock, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t still recoup what’s left of it.

He could still have the perfect summer afternoon.

He could still go back to your friends and their perfect beach set up and laugh with them as Coyote keeps accidentally setting marshmallows on fire. He could still catch the bold oranges and soft pinks of the sunset with all the satisfied contentment he deserved to experience.

“You can leave me and go back, you know. I’ll be ok if you just want drop me off and then head back to the beach,” you say looking down at your fingers as you trace the stitching of his leather seats.

When he doesn’t answer right away, you glance over at him. The vein in his neck is standing out boldly against the column of his throat.

“Do I seem like the kind of guy who would leave someone at the ER alone?” he asks, his voice rougher than sandpaper.

“No. No, of course not,” you say emphatically, “That’s why I’m giving you permission.”

“Permission?” he scoffs with a shake of his head.

“Yes, permission,” you say, clipped.

You’re giving him an out, why doesn’t he get that?

He heaves a big sigh and grunts. “Is it… Would you rather have Bob- with his big hands- here instead?” Bradley asks, frustration leaking out around the edges of his words.

“Bob with his big hands?” you repeat baffled, “What does Bob have to do with anything about this?”

“That’s what you said earlier, sweetheart. I’m just citing the source. Or I can call Phoenix? Or…” he pauses glancing at the t-shirt pressed to your head, “Or even Seresin. Once we get you checked in I can call any of them an Uber or something, and they can be there with you, if you don’t want me.”

“No, Rooster, I don’t want anyone else.” You wince at the implication and hope it doesn’t read into it further than the current situation to two of you are wading through like quick sand.

“Ok, good,” he grumbles.

“Great,” you lob back.

His hand tightens on the steering wheel, the knuckles turning white, “Then where is this even coming from?” The action makes his thick forearm flex in this most delicious of ways that you’d appreciate more if you didn’t feel the anger simmering low in your stomach.

“It’s pretty damn clear that you’d rather be back there, Rooster. Or literally anywhere else right now.” You flip down the sun visor with more force than it deserves, regretting that you gave him his sunglasses back when the bright California sun in your eyes turns your headache into a full-blown migraine.

“Of course, I’d rather be anywhere else!” he says hotly, tossing his sunglasses back in your lap, “Do you think I like that you’re hurt and that we’re on our way to the hospital?” You shove them on your face with an angry huff.

A car speeds by blaring their horn as they pass by.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fuck off,” he grunts but speed of the Bronco doesn’t change, “Asshole.”

Bradley’s driving five miles under the posted limit, and you know for a fact he religiously drives at least ten miles over. And his turns have been smoother than butter, as if he is trying not to jostle you anymore than you’d already been today.

You are so tired of this hot and cold thing that he’s doing. His words and his deeds weren’t going hand in hand. He keeps giving you the cold shoulder, but is also so in tune with your every movement and need.

Gingerly, you angle yourself in your seat to look at him better, resting your tired left arm on the back of your seat and taking in his strong profile.

“Why are you being like this?” you demand, waving your free hand in a vaguely in his general direction.

“Like what? I’m not being like anything,” he retorts, making the same vague hand gesture as you did a moment earlier.

And oh, if that doesn’t fill your chest with hot indignation. That low simmering anger has turned into a full roiling boil as you shift in your seat trying to get your ankle in a position where it doesn’t hurt.

“Seriously, Rooster? I can feel tension rolling off of you in waves. You’ve been like this since everything turned to complete shit on the beach. I didn’t mean to ruin your day, I’m just trying to figure out how to make things better,” you bite out unable to keep things bottled up anymore.

He sucks in a sharp breath, “Are you kidding me right now? You think you ruined my day?” He glances from the road to you and back again, his brown eyes wide and searching.

“Yes?” Or so you’d thought until you’d seen the shock written all over his face, but now you weren’t so sure. It’s like you’ve dumped ice water on him instead of simply calling him out. “I feel like you’re taking it out on me and I don’t know why.”

“Jesus Christ,” Rooster swears under his breath, shaking his head. “I’m so damn sorry, sweetheart. I’m mad at myself, because I ruined your day.  I should have been more careful, I should have been looking out for you. It’s not like you’re hard to miss in that swimsuit.” Your cheeks heat up at the comment, but you choose to ignore it.

Misery drips from his words like spilled ink off a page. You knew he was upset, but you didn’t realize he was upset about that. That he’s shouldering this fluke of fate as if it is his burden to bear. Some of the anger you’ve been feeling leaves your body like the tide washing out back out to sea. You’re still upset at him for how he has been acting up until this point, but you’re not mad at him about that.

“Bradley, no. It was an accident.”

“Yeah, an accident I’m responsible for,” he says hoarsely, rubbing roughly at his forehead. “God, I can still hear the sound it made when you hit that rock and it makes me feel sick. I would give anything to undo that moment. I need you to know that.”

He is being so hard on himself and your heart squeezes, this time in sympathy rather than hurt. He didn’t place that rock in the sand, the both of you were victims of circumstance.

“It could have happened to anyone. It could have been anyone,” you press delicately, trying to get him to hear you, shifting in your seat again still uncomfortable.

The sunshine bounces off of his slumped shoulders as he sighs raggedly.

“But it happened to you and it’s my fault. You’re bleeding, you’re in pain, and you’ve been crying. And it’s because of me.” He reaches down with his right hand and lifts up your leg so that you can rest it on his thigh, some of the ache alleviating immediately. He asks quietly, “That better?”

“Yes, thank you,” you murmur. He looks so upset, and all you want to do is curl into his lap. You want to hold him and you want to be held by him. “You know I don’t blame you, right?”

You expect him to move his hand back to the steering wheel, but he keeps it on your leg. His thumb stroking your still slightly sandy shin. Your cheery toenail polish at odds with the color blooming around your ankle.

Bradley’s throat bobs as he swallows hard, “Yeah, I do. I know that. But I still blame myself.”

The Bronco rolls to a soft stop at the light. There’s enough traffic that you know you’ll be here for a bit, and so does he since he turns in his seat to look fully at you. You take his sunglasses off, tucking them into the pocket of his shirt that rests above your heart, so nothing stands between his brown eyes and yours.

“So, you’re going to keep beating yourself up over it and icing me out? Making me feel worse? For what, Bradley? Because you’re a glutton for punishment? That’s not fair to me or to you.”

“Shit,” he mutters, his left hand running through his curls. “You’re right and I’m so sorry. I’ve been in my head feeling so damn guilty that I’ve been such an asshole. Can you forgive me?”

You’re about to answer him that when a horn startles you, making you jump in the leather seat. You see the light is green, the car that had been in front of you is gliding through the intersection passing under a blue sign pointing the way to the hospital.

“Bradley, the light.”

The car behind the two of you honks their horn again.

“They can wait. This is important, you are important. Do you forgive me?” There’s an underscore of need that punctuates his question.

“Yes, of course,” you say easily and sincerely. There’s so much remorse in his eyes, you would have forgiven him with that look alone.

“Thank you,” he breathes out in relief. And then he smiles at you for the first time since the beach and that ache in your heart is completely soothed, bandaged by that soft way he is looking at you.

Atlas no longer, he can simply be Bradley.

He takes his foot off the brake and by some miracle he’s able to make it through the light before it turns red again. You can see the tall structure of the parking lot near the hospital poking out above the line of the treetops.

The destination is closer than ever, but there are still things on your mind.

“And you aren’t an asshole, Bradley. But your bedside manner could definitely use some work,” you tease with a smile of your own.

“Baby, I’ve been trying to show you my bedside manner, but you keep holding me at arm’s length,” he groans dramatically.

The idea of experiencing Bradley Bradshaw’s bedside manner makes you feel all kinds of weak in the knees, even as you’re seated in his Bronco with your leg propped up in his lap, his big hand skating up and down along your shin comfortingly.

“How can you even say that with a straight face? You’ve never made a move!” you exclaim incredulously, “I was even the one to ask for your phone number, if you remember.”

“What the hell are you talking about? I hit on you all the time,” he argues with your favorite brand of Bradshaw banter, “I’ve been waiting for you to give me the green light, sweetheart.”

“I thought you were supposed to be pretty and smart,” you smirk.

He barks a laugh and the last tendrils of all the tension and all the pressure that had been swirling around you like a marine layer evaporates.

“You saying I’ve had the green light this whole time?” He looks over at you with a boyish smile, you like the way you feel when he looks at you like this.

“What I’m saying, Bradley, is if you’d have actually asked me out I would have said yes.” You press your toes into the muscle of his thick thigh and immediately regret it, wincing as pain ripples around your ankle.

He makes a sympathetic sound deep in his chest, “Sounds like I’ve been an idiot.”

“A very pretty one,” you allow, leaning your aching head back against the back seat.

“At least there’s that,” he concedes good-naturedly as he pulls into the parking lot, turning on his blinker for a spot opening up near the entrance to the Emergency Room by some twist of fate, one that’s in your favor this time.

Bradley pulls into the empty spot and kills the engine turning to you. He gently eases your foot back down onto the sandy floormat of the Bronco and leans into unbuckle your seatbelt.

He’s so close now looking up at you from under his eyelashes, and your breath catches in your throat. He moves closer, you can see the bits of hazel that surround his pupils. Your eyes flutter close and you tilt your head up, lips parting at the anticipation of his kiss.

There’s no holding back the noise of dissatisfaction you make when his lips press a tender kiss to your cheek. You lean into him wanting to feel, wanting him to give you more. His warm breath coasts over your skin as he chuckles. You can feel the way his lips are pulled up into a smile.

“I’m a gentleman, sweetheart,” he says as he pulls away, his eyes lingering on your lips. “My mom raised me not to go for the kiss on the first date. Or ones with head wounds and potential concussions.”

“Some first date,” you lament jokingly, looking in at the fluorescent lights awaiting you inside the hospital. You’d rather skip over this part entirely, but you’re ready to be done with holding Jake’s shirt to your head. “Nothing like insurance cards and scrubs to really set the mood.”

“Mmm. How about this, after we’re done here, I’ll take you through whatever drive-thru you want-”

“In-N-Out,” you cut in without a second thought. The novelty of it still hasn’t worn off on you, even if the fries are terrible.

“Ok,” he grins, “I’ll take you through in In-N-Out and get you your number two combo with mustard and grilled onions with a vanilla shake.” He pauses waiting for your nod of approval, looking more than pleased with himself when you acknowledge he got your order right.

“I like the sound of this so far,” you hum.

“Well that’s good. Since it’ll be our first date, I want to set that bar high,” he says giving you a wink. And there are those butterflies again, this time you don’t try to catch them with a net. They’re free to flutter around as they wish.

“If you really want to impress me, you’ll also take me through the McDonald’s drive-thru for their fries,” you muse.

“Done.”

“I was kidding,” you laugh, shaking your head at him disbelievingly and thoroughly charmed.

“Well, I wasn’t. So after we get you fed, give or take some fries, I will bring you home. I’ll get you whatever you need, I want to make sure you’re comfortable. Think you might be on crutches for a bit, sweetheart,” he says softly, playing with the ends of your hair. “And then in the morning, if you’re up for it, I’ll take you out for breakfast. Or bring you breakfast. Whatever you want. We can call that date number two.”

“And then you’ll kiss me?”

“And then I’ll kiss you,” he promises, offering you a crooked pinky finger. You beam and you wrap your own around his.

He slips out of the driver’s seat leaving you to contemplate the terms of his offer as he rounds the front of the Bronco. The nurses are going to get an eyeful of him in only those snug jean shorts and thin white tank. You make a mental note to avoid looking at him if they have to connect you to a heart rate monitor, he doesn’t need to know the effect he has on you. Not yet anyways.

“I have counteroffer,” you announce turning your body towards him as he opens your door for you.

“Let’s hear it, baby,” he says with a grin that almost makes you forget how bad your head and ankle hurt, “Shoot.”

“We still go to In-N-Out, but then in the morning you make me breakfast in bed with some of those famous Bradshaw pancakes I’ve heard about,” you say, as he steps in between your legs, “Seems like a good way to work on that bedside manner of yours.”

“I think you’re going to like my bedside manner, sweetheart,” he murmurs, stroking his thumb over your cheek.

You tilt your head at him, taking in the sunkissed strands in his hair and the affection in his eyes, “I guess we’ll have to find out.”

“Guess we will,” he rasps.

Rooster drops another sweet kiss to your cheek, whispering for you to stay put, and then he struts off towards the automatic doors of the Emergency Room. Leaving you alone with the butterflies in your stomach and the hope in your heart.

You dig your phone out of your straw tote and check the time, doing the math in your head.

There are a few messages from Nat and other people on the team already checking in, but you know you’ll have time to reply to them later as you wait with Bradley sitting by your side.

You look up and see he’s got a wheelchair now and is making his way back to you, wearing a soft smile on his face just for you.

Only seventeen more hours until you get to kiss Bradley Bradshaw and you can’t wait.

You’ve got that forever feeling about him.

Oh, oh, oh.

Thank you for reading! Rock on. Oh that joke was schist, I'll see myself out.

This was written as part of @roosterforme's Rocktober Playlist! You can check out all the other great submissions here!

The song that inspired this story was Paula Abdul's "Straight Up"

Taglist:

@gretagerwigsmuse @sehnsuchts-trunken @notroosterbradshaw @tongue-like-a-razor @laracrofted @bradshawsbitch @starryeyedstories @top-hhun-main @startrekfangirl2233 @callsign-viper @teacupsandtopgun @shanimallina87 @angelbabyange @oneelleandaneye @mizzzpink @cornishkat @alana4610 @20th-centu-fairy-girl @pono-pura-vida @donttouchmycarrots @eg-dr3amer3 @whaledots-blog @a-beaverhausen @hangmanscoming @mandolin22 @theweekndhistorybook @lilpeekabooze @high-bi-imgonnacry @ahintofkiwistrawberry @ruewrote @spiderman-stilinski @jayniebop @my-soulmate-is-mycroft @imaginecrushes @keyrani @chicomonks @artemissunn @mayempress @eddiemunsonreader

[luimagines]

Hi! First of all, I wanted to let you know that your writing makes my heart melt! All of your works are as funny as they are incredible, and I couldn’t help but fall in love with your blog!

If it’s okay to request, could you write something about the boys having to dance with the reader? And when they do, they start to catch feelings for the reader but don’t realize it? If it’s okay, of course ♡ have a good day!! And please, take all the time you need if you write it!

Masterlist

If I had a nickel for every time some one requested a detailed scenario where you can dance with Link, I'd have two nickels.

Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

I should have known there were those who yearn. (And I listened to the song you referenced anon, and it's nice but I personally like Sam Smith's version better.)

But yes, I'll see what I can do.

Part 1 will include Warrior, Sky and Four

Content under the cut!

Warrior

Warrior wasn’t sure why the princess thought that throwing a party for the hero was considered a good thing.

Or at least not without warning them about it first.

He supposed she was just excited to invite heroes of the ears into her home and wanted them to feel that at least their efforts were appreciated.

But he hated this.

And Link knew he wasn’t the only one to think so if the looks of his companions were anything to go by.

But even as he makes his rounds amongst the elite, the fake and the genuine, he tried to make sure that his friends were at least have a comfortable time. He wanted them to know that they didn’t have to keep a face like he did amongst this group so if they wanted to have fun and dance and eat then they could.

They were guests in his home as well.

But no matter where he looked and no matter how many rounds he made, he noticed that were nowhere to be found.

Confused, he ventured outside the venue.

And as he looking for you, he just sees a silhouette against the moon light on top of one of the decorative rocks out in the middle of the rose bush maze.

There was no one else around and then again the guards and people were too drunk and joyful to notice someone breaking the ground rules of conduct or if they noticed, they simply did not care.

He makes his way toward the shadow and stalls for a moment when you look his way.

The way the light hit your frame seemed delicate and ethereal with an otherworldly glow to your hair and skin. The royal purple garb they gave you as a gift for not having anything suitable to wear to the party hugged your curves and angles in all the right ways. Someone must have offered you some jewelry to go with it because he doesn’t remember you having the gold necklace and matching head piece that pulls your hair back into a crown of curls tat frame your face in a divine manner.

Link found himself unable to breath for a second.

You smile and say, “I’m just taking in some air.”

“Not enjoying the party?” He blurts, worried for a moment that you’ve been uncomfortable this entire time... by yourself.... away from everyone.... just sitting in the darkness with the sounds of music and laughter in the background.

“It felt weird to be at a heroes party when I myself- am not a hero.” You shrug and lean back casually on the rock. “Here to drag me back Capitan?”

Warrior blinks and registers the change of pace in the music and will deny to the end of his life where he found the nerve to do what he does next.

He smoothly places the his cup of lightly bubbled alcohol on one of the lower rocks and holds out his hand to you. “Dance with me. Just once.”

You blink and also tune into the music behind the two of you.

It’s a slow dance.

You gradually smile and reach out to him, pulling yourself from the rocks surface and into his arms. “Just one dance.”

Warrior tries to hide the gulp that threatens to noticeably bob his Adam’s apple and places his hands on your waist and holds your hand respectfully. “Have you danced before?”

“Technically.” You answer and place your own hands in his and on his shoulder, pulling yourself closer to him. “I while I know how to dance with the elite, it’s just never been my scene.”

“I know how you feel.” Warrior takes the leads and guides you through the steps of the song. He’s been through countless hours of training for battle- and not those that end in bloodshed- but those that take place in the ball room with the nobles and high end society that would have one looked at him scorn and distaste.

He doesn’t blame you for wanting to get away.

But he does want you to enjoy yourself... if only a little bit.

The steps come naturally to him and he takes a moment to spin you around before you trip over your own feet.

A small giggle escapes your lips as you twirl and send the fabric billowing around you.

Warrior is struck stupid by the sight and almost steps off beat with the music. He’s quick to correct himself but he seemed to have your laughter on his mind on repeat.

“I’d stay out here with you if I could.” He admits as he repositions himself against you, trying to lead you away from the rose thorns and the maze itself so neither of you get caught up in it. “But unfortunately my disappearance won’t go unnoticed for long.”

“Oh...” You blink and look up into his eyes. “I suppose you really only have time for one dance, huh?”

He’s unprepared by how disappointed you sound and it would appear so are you with how quick you try to cover it up.

“It’s fine! You’re an important figure here, I guess it’s only natural that every one would want your attention. I hope you enjoy the party though. Unlike me, you deserve the recognition.” You smile genuinely but your eyes look like they’re trying to get some unknown message across.

“If I can somehow get away again-” Warrior rushes to keep your smile there and to include you in the collective joy the party was supposed to bring. “-Will you save another dance for me?”

You hum and tap you finger to you chin in thought. “It hasn’t been that bad being out here by myself...”

Warrior really hopes that you let him dance with you again even when you pull apart to the end of the music. 

But you grin and reach up to boop his nose with the same finger. “Alright soldier boy, since you asked so nicely I’ll save the last dance just for you.” 

Warrior laughs a little breathlessly and has to force himself to step away from you. He hopes to any and all who can hear them that’s he’s not actually blushing right now. “Ok. I’ll be back then.”

“I’ll be waiting.” 

Sky

Sky was sure that every one was having a great time. 

The music was loud and energetic and his friends were all off doing their own thing while the festival was in full motion.

It was a celebration for the people’s loftwings since it was usually the time of the year that they left their rider’s side- presumably to go lay their eggs for the next generation of riders.

But it was all fun and games for everyone involved.

Wind and Four seemed to be in a highly competitive match of toss the sack with Twilight being the point keeper on the other end. Wild and Hyrule were busy enjoying the food and no doubt collecting the recipes (Sky was hoping that Wild would make the food so he was no way inclined to stop him). Time and Warrior were off in a corner, talking to each other with a cup in each of their hands. Legend stood next to them without a cup but he seemed to be more interested in the décor and loftwings themselves.

But you...

Sky stopped walking along the ribbon perimeter and looked over to you.

You were by yourself... You didn’t particularly happy..

And that just won’t stand.

With subtle determination, he marches over to you and taps your shoulder.

You seem to blink back into the present and raise an eyebrow to him in return.

He can see the question on your lips just as you’re about to say it so he juts his head into he direction of the dance area with a simple hand out in your direction.

He hopes his intentions are clear.

You eye his hand and snap your mouth shut with a soft click. Sky gulps  suddenly, a strange bout of nervousness attempting to choke his system as you take your time to think about his offer.

Sky would never force you to do something that you don’t want to do but really (and he has no idea where this urge comes from) wants to dance with you.

Just once.

Just once to see you smile and enjoy yourself.

To see you happy.

You place your hand in his, soft and small and so much different than his own. “Lead the way, Boy Wonder.”

You smile and he returns your gesture, gently pulling you toward the open area as the next song starts. It’s light and airy and it’s enough to keep you moving even if you both stall for a minute to just sway side to side in each others arms.

Sky didn’t know that he’d feel so whole and accomplished by just holding you.

Emboldened by the tune of the events, Sky takes a step back and twirls you around as the music flows up and down again just in time to bring you back into his arms.

You laugh. “Perfect timing.”

“I do try.” Sky winks.

You giggle to yourself with a small shake of your head but you keep swaying with Sky across the dance floor.

The music comes to an end and Sky does his best gentleman’s bow as he lets go of you completely- even if he finds that he doesn’t want to. “An absolute honor to dance with you.”

The music starts up again in a similar tune but all he would have to settle for is just one dance. It’s all he’s comfortable with asking from you. 

“Sky wait.” You blurt.

He turns around to see that... well you seemed to have startled yourself as well.

“I um..” You bite your lip and vaguely gesture to the musicians in the distance. “They’re not done.”

Sky smirks a little. “But the song is.”

“I uh... Just one more dance?” You hold your hand out to him this time and he stares in shock.

Not for long though.

He’s quick to place his hand in your and pull himself back to you. “I’d love to.”

Four

Four was excited to show everyone around the Festival of Fools. It was his favorite time of the year where everyone got to be silly and destress and play and eat and dance.

Four had always run around trying to do what he could never get away with on a typical day but right now he had to make sure his traveling companion didn’t actually burn the town down.

He loved them but he’d lying if he said that he wasn’t just the tiniest concerned over their facial expressions when he said that anything goes really- no laws but those of the people apply today.

Which made him the temporary babysitter for some of the more rowdy ones.

But he had lost sight of you a while ago.

Not that he was concerned or anything but... He did want to spend time with you.

The festival doesn’t happen everyday and he knew that there would only be so many days left that he’d be able to spend with the group and even less so that they’d be given a chance to relax and unwind.

That thought urged him forward to find you.

If only to make sure that you were having a good time.

He had found you by the food court where you munched on a meat stick and watched as the people came and go.

You looked bored.

Now Four knew that parties weren’t entirely your scene and you weren’t the kind of person to go and throw yourself into the middle of it all.

That being said it still rubbed him the wrong way when you looked like you would rather be anywhere but there.

 He oughta do something about it.

Just across the street a band had begun playing music for the people to dance to, now that they’ve usually had their fill for lunch.

Four saw you look over and smile, basking in the edges of their amplified joy and amusement.

He grinned and ran over to you, tugging your hand into his own and pulling you close to him. “Dance with me!”

“Wha- Four? Where’d you come from?” You dropped the finished stick in shock and followed him as he dragged you to the open space just beyond the food cart.

“I live here.” He laughed and spun you around. “Just one dance!”

“I- but- Four!” You dug your heels into the dirt and stopped the both of you from reach the destination. “I can’t dance! I- I’ve never danced.”

Four turns to look at you and smiles encouragingly. “Just let loose, it’s easy. There’s no right way to move, you just do. Just feel the music and my lead.”

You bite your lip and Four takes the moment of hesitation to pull you forward again. you let him and soon find yourself on a dirt arena with lively music and people all around you.

“Don’t let go of my hand ok?” Four grins.

You find yourself grinning as well and soon you’re both spinning and jumping and leaping and twirling around each other to the beat of music.

It’s fast and fun and within moments on simply holding onto Four you find yourself laughing uncontrollably as he throws you around like a rag doll in which ever way he likes.

He’s stronger than you imagined him to be but then again... He’s a blacksmith.

It shouldn’t be all that surprising.

Somehow in the midst of it, he throws you in the air and over his head, catching you in a spin and letting you catch your breath and the music dies down and another begins.

“You ok?” Four asks, a little breathless himself. He doesn’t think he’s heard you laugh so hard or for so long.

It’s nice.

“That was fun!” You managed to say in between your giggles.

Four’s grin widened and even if he knows it’s not your style.... and he only asked for one, he holds his hand out again just in time for the next crescendo to begin.

You look up and look at him and his hand...

You don’t hesitate to put your hand in his and he pulls you close to him again.

You spin and laugh and jump and twirl well into the night, completely forgetting about the others until you have to turn in for the night.

Four’s feet hurt by the end of it and he’s exhausted but to see and hear you smile and laugh and enjoy yourself in what is arguably his favorite time of year was completely worth it.

He hopes that he can spend more time with you... He hopes for just one more dance before it all ends.

Part 2

[xo-cuteplosion-xo]

Midnight ball | Chuuya x reader |

Midnight Ball | Chuuya x reader | (female reader)

I feel like I'm doing Chuuya dirty with this one-

Warnings- references to some NSFW themes, inferred attempted rape, mentions of drug use.

(really hesitant on actually posting this... nothing happens, but I don't wanna make people too uncomfortable)

Undercover missions were normal in the port mafia. Every once in a while they would come up. You went on a lot of these missions. Even the ones you didn’t care for.

The air was brisk, not too cold, but not a comfortable warmth either. It wasn’t every day you were called in on what should have been your day off. The clouds covered the noon sun, keeping its warmth tucked away. It felt as if it may rain. Maybe snow would fall with how cold the air was. The trees were bare of their leaves and the grass slowly warping to brown. The winter flowers, in full bloom. You shivered tugging the scarf closer as you walked towards the black buildings. Stepping inside was bliss, the air warm and welcoming. You walked slowly towards the elevator stepping inside as it carried you to the level Mori’s office was.

Making your way into the office, your eyes landed on the short male you had become close to. Running a hand through your hair you looked to Mori. “Ya know it’s my day off right? This better be important.” you had guts talking to your boss like this. Elise snickered from the corner of the large room, drawing a picture. Most likely something rather disturbing, as she tended to do.

You hadn’t noticed it before, but Chuuya’s face was contorted in both disgust and anger. Whatever this was, gave him quite displeasure. “He’s having us go undercover. Instead of picking another female… he’s making me wear a fucking dress.” his eyes narrowed in Mori's direction.

“Well, you work well with (y/n). I carefully considered members like Kouyou, but none of them matched what I needed for the minor mission." Mori grinned as Chuuya huffed, crossing his arms.

You tried to imagine him in a dress, but the only thing that you could think of was Kouyou, considering they did both have ginger hair. Shrugging you grabbed Chuuya’s hand, tugging him away. You figured he could brief you on the mission later.

~

As the sun fell under the horizon, and the moon took its place in night's embrace, the two of you settled inside the limo. Chuuya’s arms were crossed as he tugged on the dress. His eyes set in heavy glares. His hair happened to be up in a neat bun. It had taken a lot of fighting and shouting that could have deafened somebody. He was even dolled up with light specks of makeup. The red dress suited his form, his height made it ideal for heels. He already had a feminine figure, so there wasn’t much you needed to do to pass him as a female. He kept squirming around glaring at you. “How the fuck do girls wear these dreaded things.” he hissed, referring to the corset hidden beneath the silk he wore.

Snickering you shrugged leaning back. “They say beauty is pain,” you hummed, leaning back in your seat. This wasn’t ideal for you either. You much preferred to be slightly dressed down from this. Looking as fancy as you did now wasn’t modest, and it sure wasn’t something you liked to wear. You were sucking it up so why couldn’t Chuuya? Could he really be all that uncomfortable? “I could loosen it a bit.” you offered, but Chuuya shook his head staring at himself. He had mastered heals within a handful of moments so you weren’t worried about him tripping. The real challenge would be flirting with the target.

This was a two-person job due to the size of the party and the security around the target. One of you would distract the guards while the other smooth-talked their way into a private area with the target. They would either get the extent of the information this person had managed to take early this morning or silence him. You two hadn’t decided who would be doing what. It was more one of those whoever gets there first situations. The car pulled up to the entrance just as your thoughts finished. Stepping onto the ground you waited for Chuuya. The clunk of his heels on the pavement were steady and even. You went to remind him about his expression, but he rolled his eyes. “I know, no scowling, glaring, or yelling.”

You smiled gripping the edge of the dress, pulling it up so you could walk the stairs without tripping on the (f/c) fabric. Your hair was down but pinned in specific places. “Don’t forget, no swearing. We have to act ladylike Chu.” clicking his tongue, he pinched the fabric of his dress and walked up after you. Entering the large mansion you were escorted to the ballroom. Standing at the railing that overlooked the floor you smiled. Never in your life had you been to one of these. You truly wanted to participate at least a little.

Chuuya noticed the excited glimmer of your eyes and grabbed your hand. Tonight, you both were trying to pass as two female teenage siblings whose parents wanted a night alone. Without a boyfriend, the two of you showed up alone. A naive action when it came to noble parties. These were incredible to get into. You had to have power and money somewhere. He pulled you down the stairs, flashing you a small smile. He wouldn’t admit but this wasn’t that bad. He didn’t mind the corset or the way the dress flowed in the wind. He minded the hair since he always wore it in one specific style. He’d done this once before with Dazai but doing this with you was different. Probably because he wasn’t being forced to be the fiance this time. “We might as well try to enjoy ourselves.” he was surprisingly skilled at keeping his voice higher in pitch. There were a few occasional slips, but he sounded somewhat feminine.

Smirking you pulled him to the food table. “I’d say you're actually enjoying yourself Chu.” his eyes narrowed for a second before playfully hitting your shoulder.

“Sure I am.” he huffed looking over the table of snacks. He grabbed one of the tea-sandwiches and took small bites. Despite how he tried to enjoy himself, he was focused on the mission. There was still no sign of the target. Two older-looking gentlemen came up to the pair of you, holding their hands out.

“Would you two care for a dance?” Chuuya’s mouth twitched to snarl, but he quickly put on a smile despite how much he wanted to string profanities. You glanced at him, inhaling softly, you tapped his shoulder as if to reassure him.

“Depends~ how old do you think we are?” you two had decided on your roles already. To spare Chuuya some dignity you would try to be the more seductive while he played the part of the shyer, more innocent twin. Since he was a boy playing a girl, he matched the innocent child-like stereotype well, considering he didn’t have breasts.

One of the men standing in front of you chuckled lightly. “Teens, though it’s not like we're hitting on you. We simply wish to take you for a dance. You appear lonely.” Chuuya was sick to his stomach already. The last time he’d done this he didn’t have to deal with these situations because Dazai had been there. Yet, as he looked to you, he tilted his head. Your hand grabbed the man's as you looked back to Chuuya.

“Trust me, it’ll be fun. There aren't any men our age, so trust me.” the act flew softly off your lips. There was a hidden motion when you flicked your ankle. It would have passed as your feet were slightly sore to anybody else. Chuuya glanced to the railing, spotting the target. He nodded, faking a smile as the two of you entered the dance floor.

With every pulse of the music, you got closer and closer to the edge. Your eyes tracing for the amount of guards. Though based on what you were observing you had both already found them. It was a widely known fact your target had a thing for younger females. Not young like Elise but teenagers who appear frail. You and Chuuya most definitely looked the part tonight. Dipping you back your eyes met Chuuya's, a smirk crossing both of your expressions. When you returned to the normal position you switched partners.

Things started going slightly south from there. While you two had managed to keep your dancing rather close to one another, you were starting to drift apart now. Chuuya moved closer to the stairwell, while you made your way towards the back doors. Despite how you tried to move back towards him, your dance partner kept you moving in that direction. Eventually, you noted what was going on. Occasionally these types of missions had unexpected twists. This was one of those twists. You hadn’t thought to watch for other predators. Trying to rip your hands from his you glared. “I ought to get back to my sister.” you wove innocence into your voice, but he paid no mind as if he had not heard you. As the music ended, the rough grip that had succeeded in pulling the two of you apart let go. A silent satisfactory smirk placed over his lips. Walking from you he headed back to find another dancing partner.

Walking around you began to search for Chuuya among the crowd. Innocently asking couples and other women if they had seen a short, rather young-looking female ginger dressed in red. They had shaken their heads but one couple pointed towards the stairs. You curtsied respectfully, racing to the stairs only to be stopped by the two men you had previously been dancing with. Batting your eyelashes you explained somebody had seen your sister walk up these stairs not too long ago.

You couldn’t help but feel worried despite knowing Chuuya could handle himself with the utmost care. He was strong both physically and ability-wise. You bit the inside of your cheek figuring, they probably weren't idiots. If they had separated the two of you they had to think you already knew something was up. You'd probably made that worse when you tried pulling away in the dance. The high-heels were beginning to get rather annoying. They were difficult to run in, jumping would probably result in a twisted ankle if you don't land perfectly. You made sure to blend away into the crowd. Losing their eyes you slipped through doors until you made it into a hallway. Laying out the map of the building in your head you walked the halls trying to find the staircase leading upstairs. You had to dodge behind corners to avoid security. It took you close to ten minutes to finally reach the stairs. There were so many rooms it would be difficult to find which one to enter. You narrowed it down to two in your head. The others would be a waste of time, the two you had narrowed it to were close to the ballroom, small, and were bar areas. Off-limits to party-goers as well. There would be no interruptions to their perverted actions.

You looked around, spotting a guard, you gripped the edge of your glove with your teeth. Walking up as if you were scared you began to stumble purposely over words. “I-i think I’m lost. I needed the ladies room and I couldn't find my sis or the ballroom.” faking tears as you got closer, the security officer's eyes softened as you approached. Taking you as a younger female instead of an adult, he offered out his hand. You gripped it before smirking as your ability activated. Moving your hand away, you tilted your head. “Sleep,” you commanded them. They fell to the floor with a thud. Grabbing the gun from their belt you checked that the safety was on. Assured it was you stashed it in your dress. Walking to the first room you burst inside finding no sign anybody had been there, you closed the door.

Making your way to the next option you pressed an ear to the door. Whispers and the sound of metal sent you to a light panic. Glaring at the door you pulled the gun out and switched the safety off. Entering the room you pointed the gun only to hear clicks follow. Your eyes darted to the sound. “So there were four.” snarling you entered and shut the door with your heel. Your mind began thinking of every way to get away from this situation. You lowered your gun with a defeated sigh. Letting it drop to the floor, one of the guns pressed to your head. Their hand grabbed your wrist as you looked to the mop of passed-out ginger.

“Damn idiot,” you hissed knowing this was probably the result of drugging. There was no way in hell he’d be beaten by mere ability-less scum. Shoved to the floor you glared. Your hands were pulled above you. Looking to the side you snickered at the poor idiot who touched your skin. “Kill your boss,” you commanded and their body dropped you and turned to the person whose hands were on your love interest. When the next guy pointed the gun at you, you swept them off their feet, whistled, and pointed. “Shoot them.” with another fire, two of three were dead. “Now shoot yourself.” and so they ended up three of three. Tossing off the heels you made your way over to Chuuya. Checking his pulse you rolled your eyes.

You lifted him in your arms before leaving the bloody scene. Your dress was now stained with splatters of crimson. Jumping from the window, then to a tree, and down, you placed Chuuya in the limo. Grabbing a bottle of water you opened his mouth and poured it down his throat. He stirred a bit, his head falling on your shoulder. Blushing lightly you found the back of his dress was open and the corset already loosened. “Got there just in time.” you sighed as the limo pulled to your small apartment. Lifting him you carried him inside. Dropping him to the bed you sat on the opposite side of the bed.

It took three hours before his eyes fluttered open. Holding his head, he glanced at you. “Why the fuck are you here?” of course his first words would be aggressive. He could hide it all he wanted by the shiver of his body and the way his hands moved to his back made it clear. Finding the strings and ribbon undone as well as torn his eyes widened for a fraction.

“Sorry, I wasn’t expecting to be separated like that.” you played around with your gloves looking back at him you pulled a thing of makeup wipes from the side table. Tossing it to him, you sighed. “I hope you don’t mind, I had Dazai lock pick your door and get you your usual clothes.” he couldn’t even be mad at you for letting that bastard into his house. His mind was still focused on recollecting what had happened. He was beyond humiliated. He should have seen it coming. “I should have gotten there faster. They shouldn’t have been able to even get that close. I’m so sorry Chuuya! I’ll talk to Mori about not putting you on these types of missions. I know you're mad but please… say something.” you twirled a strand of your hair on your finger.

“I should have been prepared.” he looked away from you before feeling your arms around his body. Your head laid in the crook of his neck as you shook your head violently. He felt something wet soil, the shoulder of his dress. Turning so he could pick your head up, he blinked, startled to see the water dripping from your eyes. “You’re crying?” he sounded baffled, confused even.

“I should have let you be yourself! If I hadn’t pushed you to act like an innocent defenseless child, that situation would have been different.'' Chuuya gripped your shoulders laughing lightly as he shook his head. “You didn’t even have a good time! You hated being there.”

“No, no, (y/n)... I... Fuck!” he was bad at words, so as he tried forming the correct words he kept shaking his head. “I enjoyed spending time with you! I’d prefer to accompany you as a man next time. Neither of us are at fault. Missions go south. Nobody got hurt, sure I feel like an idiot, I’m utterly humiliated that I let my guard down and got drugged up, but nothing happened.” he pressed his forehead against yours, his thumb wiping away the tears on your cheeks.

This was out of character for him, but it was a side only you gotta see. He hated seeing you break down or get upset over things you had no control over. His hands wrapped around your ungloved ones. Your skin touches him with a small shyness. “Can I?” he asked watching you nod as his lips passed over yours.

“We both deserve a break from work. How about we tell Mori we are taking two days off?” you hummed looking into his eyes. He smirked and nodded. His lips pressing back to yours in a heated kiss. You pressed him underneath you with a smirk. His face went red as he glared.

“You’re a fucking pervert.” he hissed watching you snicker.

“Wow Chu, I'm so offended.” you leaned back into a kiss as his cheeks turned a brighter shade of red. “Think this makes us a real couple.” he rolled his eyes as you rolled to lay next to him.

“Yeah, I guess.”

[donutloverxo]

Smooth

Note - This is a birthday gift for my babie🥺🥺 Amber aka @sweater-daddiesdumbdork. I'm sorry Steve's as hairless as a seal😔 at least you have Ari Mike and Colin!

Summary - You're surprised to find just how smooth Steve is.

Pairing - Steve Rogers x reader

Warnings - smut, unprotected sex, loss of virginity, name calling, captain kink, rip steves pubes lol.

Word count - 2.6k

Masterlist is linked in the bio!

“What the fuck do you mean you haven’t done it yet?!” You cringed pushing your palms on your ears to block out Ella’s screeching. Maybe it was a mistake to tell her that you still hadn’t hit that supersoilder-golden-boy-next-door.

“We’re just waiting for the right moment you know?” You murmured. You couldn’t tell her the real reason. That Steve had never been intimate with anyone. Even if she was your best friend that was Steve’s secret to tell, not yours.

“When will the right moment come” She shook her head “I’m disappointed in you. You get to date that hunk of a man, and how long has it been a year?”

“Six months!” You defended yourself.

“As if that makes a difference” She scoffed.

“We will do it soon when we’re both ready.” You said ironing out the wrinkles on your dress which you were showing her.

“Alright I just want you to be happy” She rolled her eyes finally giving in “but why're you dressed as a nun?” She looked you up and down confused.

“I’m not a nun! I’m supposed to be snow white. Steve will be my prince.” You couldn’t help the love-struck grin that appeared on your face. You really were living out your best fairy tale with him.

“Wouldn’t you rather wear something traditional” She suggested.

“Hm?” You asked looking at your reflection in your dressing table mirror. You were covered head to toe. Your hair done up like that of snow white with a red headband. “How is this not traditional?” You wondered. It seemed like an okay, albeit cheesy but you were a cheesy couple, costume for Halloween.

“I meant traditional for our generation.” She snickered. She would never say it in front of Steve, but she loved making fun of you for dating someone who was old enough to be your grandpa and how you liked older men. “like a slutty snow White” she continued.

“Nope” You said popping the p and going back into your closet to take off the uncomfortable and restricting dress. You had no idea how you will spend an entire night in that thing. “I don’t want to ruin Disney Princesses for him. He likes them a lot” you shouted so she could hear you. It was so cute how he liked to hum or even sing along with the musicals sometimes. He appreciated the art and the vibrant colors. The idealistic happy endings appealed to the romantic in him.

You came out of your closet taking in deep breathes of fresh air, your torso no longer restricted “That doesn’t mean you can’t still be slutty” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at you.

“What do you have in mind?” You were curious. You were excited to be Steve’s princess. But you would trade that if you what you truly wanted.

Steve groaned looking at himself all done up in his 'prince' costume. Yeah it was his idea to be Snow White and her prince but you were the one who suggested doing a costume together! He couldn’t say no when you looked at him so expectedly. When you gushed so much about this being your favorite holiday.

He looked... ridiculous. There was no other way to put it. From the neck up he was fine, his clean shaven face and golden yellow hair pushed back. He looked like his normal self. But then his pale blue shirt with the balloon sleeves, the dark vest over it and his huge black boots, all topped with a sword strapped to his hip. It reminded him of his army days, when he was nothing more than a monkey.

He contemplated all the teasing he would probably have to endure from his friends the whole night. It would be absolutely worth it to make you happy. With his mind made up he left his apartment and headed towards yours, just across the hallway, to pick you up for the party at the tower. He did lose the sword. That was just too over the top.

He knocked on your door, giddy with excitement to see you in your snow white dress. He made sure to treat you like a princess, how you deserve to be treated by everyone, but to actually see you dressed as one would be something else.

His jaw dropped on the floor as you opened the door and he got a good look at you. You were dressed in... lingerie? You were a white lacy bodysuit that hugged your curves in all the right places. Leaving your legs completely bare. If that wasn’t enough you were wearing a tiara attached to a veil.

He couldn’t stifle the damn near animalistic growl that escaped his throat. He averted his gaze from your pushed up titts to your face. Your make up all done up, from the neck up you almost looked like a bride. “What the hell are you wearing doll?” he grumbled.

“Oh you don’t like it?” you clucked your tongue and looked down at your sexy costume “What a shame. It only costs like 500 dollars” Yeah maybe you were an idiot to spend so much money on a costume but if it worked you’d be seeing stars tonight so it'd be worth it.

“What happened to being snow white? What are you even supposed to be?” You moved to the side so you could let him into your apartment. He ran his hand through his hair plopping down on your couch, his eyes never leaving your body.

“I’m a slutty bride” You twirled in front of him to give him a nice view of your, barley covered, ass.

“That’s lingerie doll. You can’t go out dressed like that” He raised his hand to touch your ass, maybe give it a little squeeze but you quickly turned around.

Your hands on your hips you asked “Why not?”

“Because” He paused pulling you into him by grabbing at your hips “only I get to see you like this” His hand reached at your backside and he groaned squeezing your ass before giving it a light swat. He chuckle as you yelped from the sudden slap.

“Well then what do you suggest I do with this?” You asked nonchalantly playing with your veil “Are you saying I don’t look pretty?” You gave him your best mock puppy eyes. You could clearly see just how much he liked that on you. But you needed him to say it and to do something about it.

“You know that’s not true” You yelped as he flipped you into the couch, trapping you under him.

“I don’t know Steve. You don’t seem to be a huge fan of it. I thought you’d like me being your slut.” You brought out the big guns, jutting your bottom lip out. You knew he’d melt on the spot.

“Fine. You can be my slut.” He couldn’t believe he actually said that word. His mother raised him in a certain way. To respect women and to never ever use those words to address a woman. And he did respect all women and you. But she also taught him to be passionate and give his all to everything he did. So it would only be fair that he fucked you, respectfully, with everything he has got and gave you everything you asked for.

He grabbed your hair and pulled your head back. Biting and sucking on your neck and then trailing down your clavicle. Making sure to leave bruises so everyone could see who you belonged to. He kissed your throat and revelled in the vibrations caused by your moans. Your hands in clutching onto his head and completely messing up his well done hair. He finally let up and admired his work. The white and red marks that would soon turn a dark shade of violet.

He hauled you over his shoulder walking towards your bedroom. As you squirmed and then laughed in his hold.

He had to struggle a lot to off his clothes. They were so intricate, with the buttons and buckles, reminded him of his stealth suit. He pulled off his boots and crawled onto the bed, kneeling between your legs only in his tight black boxer briefs.

He looked at your face and frowned at the puzzled expression it held as you stared at his nude body. He suddenly felt self conscious. All the insecurities, from back when he was the little guy came back to him. He thought women liked him now. Even you were so entranced and attracted to his bulky figure. Which he couldn’t help but be proud of.

But right now, for some reason you didn’t look impressed. He sanked back to sit on his calves. He had completely given himself to you. What if you rejected him? He had no idea how he would deal with that blow.

“Oh!” You exclaimed as you noticed Steve’s defeated state. In your ogling and processing you didn’t realise that you might’ve hurt his feelings. “Stevie?” You knelt before him caressing his cheek. “I’m just taken aback a bit okay?” you tried to reassure him.

“Why?” He finally met your gaze looking into your guys.

“I mean...” You trailed off running your hand down the smooth and vast expanse of his chest. “You’re so smooth? You don’t have any hair.” You struggled to get the sentence out. Suddenly realises just how ridiculous it sounded.

“I – yeah that’s how I’ve always been. I thought that’s what women wanted” He murmured cutely tilting his head “You don’t like it?” His voice wavering with nervousness.

“Steve. What kinda question is that?” And you cringed as he reminded you that you did the same thing just moments ago. “I was kidding! Steve there is nothing about you that’s not to like. Yeah I do like a bit of fuzz but I’d love you just as much even if you were bald.” You said and he looked as if he was processing your words. “You are my dream guy. My prince.” You beamed trailing kisses down his flushed torso. “How about I show you?” You didn’t wait for his answer, taking off your veil and your tiara with it. You rolled his briefs down his hips and he helped you take them off. You looked in shock at his beautiful rosy cock, which was almost hard, and his lack of hair....

You quickly whipped your head up knowing he would assume the worst “Steve! It’s the most beautiful cock I’ve ever seen” You said stroking his length and licking the tip, which was oozing with precum, to prove it. “It’s just unexpected. That’s all.” You took him in your mouth. Just as you anticipated, he was too big, you could barely fit his tip in your mouth.

“Well you know the...” He bunched your hair in his fist, struggling to keep from pushing you down further.

“What?” You asked as he slipped out of you.

“I thought that’s what people did nowadays” He was turning redder every second “I didn’t... In the pornography...and I thought tonight you and me..”

You snorted and out a hand on your mouth to keep from laughing. “Steve! Porn isn’t real. You can do whatever you want with your body. But you’re in for a rude awakening.”

“What do you mean?” he asked trying his best to ignore his aching cock and your wet swollen lips.

“Just wait till it grows back” You grimaced “it’s gonna itch like crazy. That’s why I uh... never you know do it. Just warning you” You chuckled nervously.

“Enough talking” He groaned at the thought of your wet pussy and how much he had been fantasizing about it for the last several months. He pushed you on your back and quickly worked on removing your bodysuit. When you laid completely bare in front of him. He swore you were the more beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on.

He trailed down your body settling his broad shoulders between your legs. He groaned at the sight in front of him. You weren’t lying and he indeed preferred this. He dove right in licking and sucking to see what you like best. He had never ate a woman out before but he had been doing his research. Porn was too gratuitous and was clearly only made for the male gaze, reading women’s magazines and some more ‘sex for dummies' books he bought as discreetly as he could.

Which is where he got the stupid idea that everyone liked shaved dicks now. Which was only backed up by his friends and the locker room talk about ‘manscaping'. Tony and Clint were classic over sharers. He wouldn’t be surprised if they purposely misled him. He didn’t have much hair on his balls to begin with, but he expected to give himself to you tonight, so he carefully put the razor on his balls and shaved it all off. The things he would do for you and the lengths he would go for you.

From your moans and the way you were pushing his head harder into your core, he could tell that he was doing a good job. You thrashed and squirmed as he held you down by pushing down on your stomach. You came gushing all over his face and he made sure to drink it all up, not wasting a single drop.

He loomed over you, his cock nudging at your entrance. You both moaned in unison as he sinked into you, groaning into the crook of your neck as he bottomed out.

His hands greedily squeezed your hips, your breasts, your ass, whatever they could get a hold of as he slowly rocked his hips against yours. He knew if he went any faster he would blow his load right then and there.

“I’m gonna cum Steve.” You wailed and if he didn’t know any better he would think that you were in pain.

“You gonna cum? Go ahead” He harshly shaved his cock into you “Be a good slut. Cum all over your captains cock.” He felt his own release not far behind, not with your tight wet cunt milking him for all he’s got. He gasped when you raked your nails into his shoulders, crying loudly in his ear. He lost his rhythm. Lifting your hips up to fuck him like the animal you’ve turned him into. His hips stuttered as he came deep inside you.

He stayed inside you and on top of you for a minute. Catching his breathe he finally pulled out of you and laid down beside you, pulling you into his chest.

“I’m on the pill.” You mumbled into his chest. Not wanting him to worry about that. You smiled against his chest laying a kiss over his soft nipple. There were plenty of benefits to being so smooth and hairless. You could trace those hard abs of his with your tongue for hours. You changed your mind. You liked them smooth and silky now. Or maybe because he was so hairless. You didn’t know and it didn’t matter.

“I think I like seeing you as a bride.” He said his fingers idly playing with your hair, curling a strand of it.

You only muttered something as a response. Probably too far gone into slumber. He traced your smooth skin for a while before joining you in it. Completely forgetting about the party you were both supposed to be at.

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[the-crows-typist]

Thank you for you patience on this, here is the first installment of the Valentine’s event with Jade and the word ‘Chocolate’ which was requested by  @takumipineapplexd. Enjoy.

CW: For potential OOC and Slowburn with small bits of Angst

Word count: 6378

A Heart from Me to You

“Welcome to the Sweet Tooth, may I take your order?” Deuce says as the customers enter the café in an excited hurry. From your position behind him, you couldn’t help but smile at their reactions to the confectionary seen within your shop; they were your creations, after all.

“I’ll have the lovers’ bite with some black coffee…Oh, and a tuna sandwich with some extra chips.”

“Alright, please take a seat and your order will be with you shortly.” The young man motions them to a nearby table with comfortable chairs and when they giggled to themselves, Deuce got to work on the order given to him. Just as the loud clatter overtook your hearing, you looked away, drowning the voices out to concentrate on the batch of brownies that had been cooking in the oven, the smell of chocolate wafting through the air and mingling with the smell of roasting coffee. You were proud of your achievements and you were proud of the atmosphere you’ve cultivated through your hard work.

“Ah, come on. Let me pay this time!”

“No, let me. I was the one who took you out on a date.”

“That’s not fair! Why don’t we pay half?”

“Eh, but—?”

But through your hard work, you ended up skipping on the life most people your age have. While you created beautiful pieces of art with sugar and meat, couples young and old enjoyed them. While you went out to get supplies, others spent time with people they wish to build a life together with. You couldn’t be angry at them, they deserved the happiness they found, but there was always that pang of jealousy and longing of what might have been had you just looked away from your work for one second.

You shrug your shoulders, hearing the timer ring. Then again, things wouldn’t have been any different.

“Deuce, can you clean up table 3 for me after you deliver the orders? I’ll be preparing the brownies.”

He smiled and nodded his head enthusiastically “I’ll go right to it.” and got to work. You were grateful to have him by your side, though you often felt guilty for the times you asked him to work alone during the days you needed to restock and resupply. Despite his insistence that he was fine, you could see the small tinge of exhaustion in his eyes.

You let the brownies cool on the counter and watch the small business thrive on the love of your heart. You are happy to see it flourish but you couldn’t help the biting bitterness of a love you yearned in return. Shaking the feelings away, you go back to work and grabbing a bar of chocolate, some milk, and hot water. The brownies aren’t gonna garnish themselves.

The next day was relatively quiet, the two of you replenishing the stock of your products and making small talk between each other. Deuce talked about his family while you gave your own opinions and listened. It wasn’t until near completion that customers rolled around. Two tall waltzed into the café, both of them wearing apparel far too expensive for a visit to a small establishment.

“Welcome to the Sweet Tooth, may I take your order?” You took to the counter prompting Deuce to continue the restocking by himself. They looked like identical twins, only distinguished by their eyes and blank hair strands against messy and neat teal hair.

“Let’s see.” The one to your left said, his hand coming to his chin to think as he browses the menu. “I’d like a chocolate lava cake, the hamburger steak set…and some mint tea. What about you, Floyd?” He turned to his twin who had messier hair and droopy eyes. A small hum and he shrugged his shoulders. “I’ll have…french-fries. Ah, there’s flavors available, right?” Floyd leaned down and his towering figure making you falter but only for a while.  

“Yes, we currently have cheese and sour cream at the moment.”

“I’ll take the cheese, then.”

With a motion of your hand, you guided them to one of your plush seats. “Please have a seat and wait for your order, thank you.” As they went, you look to Deuce who had the same expression of fear and surprise on his face. The two of you congregate together while working on the orders. “I could feel my heart leap outta my chest, they look so scary.” He whispered to you.

“Shh, don’t say it too loud.” You chided, bumping his shoulder lightly. “But you have a point.”

Deuce pulled out the fries from the fryer and let it cool just as you began setting up the hamburger set carefully and slowly heated the lava cake. “I don’t know what business fancy-looking guys have with our café but…Profit is profit. Are the fries ready?”

“Just gonna put the cheese powder. The water for the tea is ready.”

“Good. Clean up the area, I’ll be the one to deliver the order.”

“Sorry for the wait. Here’s the hamburger set, a chocolate lava cake, mint tea, and cheese fries.” You set the food down onto their table and set two small pieces of chocolate. “We have a special promo today that if you order a certain amount of food, you get one of our premium chocolates.”

“That’s wonderful, thank you.” The neater looking twin said just as his brother began eating the fries. You nod your head and gave him a polite smile. “Please enjoy the meal.”

The twins ate quietly, their eyes looking over your creations with healthy scrutiny. Floyd’s tongue slipped out of his mouth as he ate his fries and Jade took a bite from his hamburger. They both hummed, looking at each other as if communicating through their thoughts.

“My, such flavor.”

“Does that mean Jade likes the food?” Floyd leaned closer to his brother with a giggle. “We’ll have to see. Let’s finish this up, shall we? Would you like to split the cake, Floyd?”

Floyd stuck out his tongue towards his brother again and grabbed a fork. “Okay~. It looks pretty yummy too.”

The small cake was split between them and the aroma of chocolate hitting their noses.

“Jade, this is…”

“Indeed. Let’s finish up this meal and report to Azul, shall we?”

“I believe this will cover the payment.” Jade offered a card to you, allowing you to input the amount. “May I ask, do you create all the food you here?” As you give the device to him for his card number, you nod your head. “I do. Well, except for the core ingredients and bread I make everything I sell by hand with help from Deuce.”

“Just the two of you?” The receipt prints out and he takes his card.

“Yes, just the two of us. We are a small café, after all, so we don’t expect a long line of customers compared to more corporate and well-known shops.” You let out a small laugh, a hand to your cheek. “Though I wouldn’t mind a small line one in a while.”

Jade laughs along with you, his voice soft and calm yet smile so practiced. “I hope that it would one day happen.” He slips his card back into his wallet then produces another card, handing it to you carefully and respectfully. “I am Jade Leech and this is my brother Floyd, thank you for the wonderful meal.”

You take the card from him and he gives you one last smile before he leaves with Floyd waiting for him by the door. “We’ll come by and visit again one of these days.” Jade gives you one last smile and both you and Deuce were left alone in the empty café.

“The Octanivelle Co.” You read the card out. “Have you heard of this, Deuce?”

He drew a little closer and hummed. “No, not really.”

The two of you walked to the table the twins ate on and found the plates were empty save for a few crumbs of cake and cheese powder. The two of you exchanged looks and couldn’t help but smile. “Looks like they enjoyed the food.”

The door’s bell rings suddenly and an old couple looks at them from the counter. “Can we order some tea and cookies?” One of them asked with uncertainty and you quickly let go of Deuce and walk towards them. “Of course, what kind of tea would you like?”

Deuce looked at you with a smile, seeing your face now vibrant and happy. Just as he went back to his duties, he took the card into this hands and looked at the name. Jade Leech. Octanivelle Co. Why does it sound so familiar?

“We’re back!” Floyd announced just as he entered through the apartment door with Jade following close behind. Azul Ashengrotto had been reading some papers by the coffee table before hearing the two come in. He got up from his chair with a smile, a warm blanket over his shoulders, and clothes baggy and drooping. He looked quite tired. “Welcome back. How was the small trip around town? Did you find anything interesting?” Jade hands him a single piece of paper, a flyer. The young man’s eyes arched.

“The Sweet Tooth?”

Jade’s smile remained pleasant while Floyd plopped onto one of the comfortably plush chairs. “While we did go to the restaurants you asked us to sample, we chanced upon a small café with a wonderful array of pastries and confectionery. I had a nice chat with the owner who makes all their products from scratch.”

Azul brought a finger to his chin in thought. “And what of the food?”

Floyd leaned back on the chair with a hum. “I took a look at them while cooking. They’re pretty careful with food prep and had the right equipment on them.” He looked to the side, remembering how he stared at the owner as a way to look beyond what was allowed to be shown to him. “The assistant reminded me of a mackerel, always flopping around but pretty strong when it comes to it.”

“While I enjoyed the flavor, I think it would be best that you have a taste of it yourself, Azul. Perhaps The Sweet Tooth’s menu is exactly what we’re looking for.”

Azul looked at the flyer again. Its design was basic and borrowed and printing style, it was not at par with those used by more popular cafes. “I’ll take your word for it, thank you. Let’s schedule this for the end of the week.” The smallest of the three set the flyer down on the coffee table.

“Here’s your order of assorted chocolates, a cream and strawberry cake, and some black coffee.” Deuce put all the food into a plastic bag and set it for the customer to take. “Thank you for shopping at The Sweet Tooth, please come again soon.” Sighing, the boy leaned against the counter to stretch his stiff neck. With the last customer on the line gone, the shop was now silent; a cold object hit his elbow and you smiled at him, handing him the cold soda. “You look like you need some refreshments.”

He gratefully took the can from you and popped it open to take a swig. “I’m just happy that I got everyone’s orders to them on time. I know we can handle it but boy does my arms hurt.” You stood next to him and shrugged your shoulders. “Cakes can be deceiving, can’t they?” He nods his head and continued to drink the soda. “But now that it’s the end of the week, I can surmise that we’ll get a few more customers.” You whisper to yourself then look over to Deuce. “Why don’t you take a break? I’m sure you’re tired.”

“But…”

“It's fine a good ten minute rest won’t hurt, right?”

Just as Deuce was about to say something, the bell rang as the door opened, three people entered your establishment. Two familiar and one not. He wore clothes that both fit and hid his figure, his hair neatly styled and white, his blue eyes scanned the quaint shop he just entered. “What a lovely aroma.” He commented. “Is that chocolate?”

Nodding your head, you took your position by the register. “Indeed, sir. Ah, I think I remember serving your friends a few days ago.” You turned to the one with slightly messy hair. “Mister Jade Leech, right?” The three of them chuckle and Floyd pointed to his brother next to him. “Wrong Leech.”

“It’s quite alright. The two of them have told me about your shop and I’ve decided to try some of your food out. I’ve heard nothing but praise from the two of them.” Your cheeks flushed and your heartbeat was sudden, a smile formed on your lips. “Ah, I’m so happy you think that!” you exclaimed but quickly clear your throat when the twins chuckled at your reaction. “Might I suggest our roast beef sandwich? Oh, and a nice slice of chocolate cake??”

The small man nods his head. “As well as some tea, for three please? Mint will do.”

“Understood. Please take a seat while we prepare your order.”

“Thanks for waiting.” You set down the order on the table along with the tea and three cups. Azul lets out a hum of approval when he smells the food. “It’s as Jade says, it smells very good.” The other twin, Jade, chuckles. “They used their spices quite well, don’t they? I have to doubt in my mind that it will be an enjoyable meal.”

“Ah, shucks, I don’t deserve such high praises. I’m just following the recipe.” You say sheepishly, scratching the back of your head as Azul took a bite of the sandwich. “Recipe? Did you get all these outta some cookbook?” Floyd wondered. “Most of the food here is my Uncle’s. Ah, but, the sweets are mine.”

“Are you a family business?”

“Yup. The business went to me after my Aunt retired, I’ve been running it ever since with Deuce.”

Azul swallowed his food and licked his lips. “Interesting. This Deuce person is your assistant, correct? Is he a recent hire?”

“No, he’s my cousin. We’ve been working together since the business was passed down. As for assistant…Honestly, we’re each other’s assistants, sir.”

Jade leaned back against the plush seating, his long legs splaying out. He looked like a model with his clothes on, the way his dark turtle neck defined his face and his light-colored long coat accented his look further. Oh geez, you felt yourself staring and decided to look to Azul. You could hear him chuckle at your movements and you felt this petty frustration boil in you.

“That’s all we wanted to know, thank you,” Azul said to you and catching himself. “Ah, where are my manners? Please, call me Azul. Might I ask for some extra water for the tea?”

“Of course!” You take the teapot from the table. “One moment. Please enjoy your meal.”

Once you were out of sight, Azul took a bite into the cake and his eyes went wide.

“What do you think?” Asked Jade while Azul continued to eat.

“I think we found it.”

“The meal was lovely, thank you.” Azul reached into his pocket and produces some bills. “I’m surprised you don’t have customers coming to you in groves.” Shrugging your shoulders, you input the amount and slip in the bills. “I wish for that to happen but I don’t think Deuce and I can handle it with how we are now.”

You hand Azul the receipt and he looks through it, quiet for one moment. “Say, do you do catering?”

“Not at the moment, no.”

“Shame.” He pouted but moved to take a card out of his pocket. Azul Ashengrotto. Octanivelle Co. Your eyes widened at the familiar name. Was this Azul working with Jade and Floyd? “Come along, you two.” Just as the two walked out, the resting area’s door burst open with Deuce clutching his phone to his chest and face full of surprise. “You gotta see this! I can’t believe—!”

The trio left as Deuce approached you quickly. “I searched for Octanivelle Co. Look at all this! Their brands, the events!!” He pushed the phone to your face which you swatted in surprise. “The CEO’s name is Azul! That was him, right? Azul Ashengrotto?! He ate here!”

You moved quickly and ran outside the shop in your uniform, chocolate stained apron and all, to find the three. Oh, you should have known! You should have known!! You turned the corner to the nearby train station and soon as you moved to turn another side, your eyes collided with a dark-colored wall.

“Oops.” Said the person you bumped into, a pair of hand-holding your shoulders lightly. “Are you alright—Hm, aren’t you…?”

Jade Leech tilted his head down at you and you pulled yourself away. His shocked expression turned into a knowing smile. “Ah, I see.” He says and you’re sure you’re starting to feel the strong urge to pinch this man’s cheek…If you only you could reach him. “Azul, someone is looking for you.” He said to someone behind him as he let go of your shoulders.

“It’s you. What a pleasant surprise.” Azul’s smile was just as conniving as Jade’s but you could save the petty anger for later. “You asked about catering, right? I’ll do it.” You breathed in again. “But I need to know what you’ll need first.”

Azul’s back was straight and head held high as if he was triumphant in battle. “We need your food for my sister’s wedding.”

The shop was closed for the day as per the suggestion of Azul, the two of you using the time to discuss and plan, to add and remove, to agree and disagree. “Okay,” Azul began, tapping his pencil on the table. “My sister loves strawberry shortcake so that will be the flavor of the wedding cake. The other finger foods will be the smaller version of the—.”

Deuce stood by the counter away from the two and watching Jade and Floyd rummaging through the kitchen and adjusting themselves to the environment. “When will the wedding be?” he asked, looking to one of the twins. Floyd pulled out a can of condensed milk before looking at him. “In few months, three or four, I think. Enough time to get the order done.”

Jade sets down some cups of tea and tea leaves. “When Azul sees something he likes, he won’t stop at anything until he gets what he wants.” He pours some water into a prepared teapot and added the leaves. “He has enough resources to make his vision a reality.”

“But with just the two of us…” Deuce’s words trail off as Azul continued his speech.

“I’ll have Jade and Floyd help you with your preparations.” Your eyes widened and you looked to the two twins standing at the ready, Jade smiling at you while Floyd waved. “They are fast learners and have been trained in many culinary techniques, just show them the ropes of your establishment and they’ll do the rest.”

You could feel yourself flush at the sudden act of kindness. “T-thank you very much, Mister Ashengrotto. I won’t let you down.”

“I’ll leave you to it, then.” He leans to look at the twins, nodding his head. “Jade, Floyd. Be here first thing tomorrow morning, you’ll be learning The Sweet Tooth’s recipes to perfection.”

“Understood.”

“Got it.”

The twins smile in unison, your heart feeling the heavy pressure of the responsibility put onto you while Jade poured each one a cup of calming tea.

Training the twins and running the shop took a bit of time to get used to. You made sure the schedules lined up and two people were always available at the counter at any given time. In the kitchen, you stayed with each twin and made sure they understood the recipe.

Floyd was a natural but often very flimsy when something different catches his attention. You often had to pat his back and tell him to be careful with adding ingredients. “Add the sugar in little by little. Good. Now mix until you’re to make ribbons easily.” You say, guiding his hand by holding his wrist.

“This takes a lot of work…My wrist is starting to hurt.” He complains and you pat his back. “The molds are the fun part. Just a little more and we’ll get to that, okay?”

Just as you move away from Floyd, Jade had just come out of the walk-in freezer with his mold in hand. “Ready for the testing?” You asked as he carefully set down the flimsy material and turning it over to let the pieces carefully slip out. Jade’s work was the polar opposite of his brother with actions precise and instructions followed to the tee.

“As I’ll ever be.” He says, handing a piece to you.

As you chewed, you felt the burst of chocolate hit your tongue and you let out a small noise of approval but there was something in his creations that unnerved you. It was perfect. Too perfect. “It’s good…But it lacks.” You say and Jade’s eyes widen a small bit. “I do remember adding all the ingredients as per the recipe.”

“No, no. It’s not about that. Your handling of the ingredients was perfect and precise but…” You take another bite of his chocolate and continue to chew the piece yet feeling nothing in it. You backtrack a little bit, scratching the back of your head knowing that your next explanation was going to sound stupid to those who don’t understand the concept. “Ah, how do I explain this? It isn’t just the balance of sweet and bitter, you need to put your feelings into it.”

The silence that followed was nerve-wracking and you couldn’t help but cough into your hand. “I-if that made any sense.”

Jade’s smile was what brought you a small ounce of relief and his hand on his chest. “I understand,” He says. “I’ll improve on that as we work together.”

“Hey, chef, can you taste this for me?” Floyd called out to you from behind. “I can’t get the balance right.” You turned around and hurried over to him with a spoon. “Let’s have a taste—Ack, it’s so sweet! What did you put in this?”

Jade’s hand never left his chest, his palm feeling the steady and soft beat of his pusher. “My feelings, huh?”

“It’s quite festive outside.”

Deuce grunted, setting down a box full of milk and following Jade’s eyes to the crowds of people gathering and walking outside. “Ah, yeah. The town has a special night market that pops up once a month. Even people from outside of town come here to check it out.” Jade begins piping the cream covered cake and carefully decorating its top. “Really?”

“Yup. They like it since it’s a nice time to relax but recently, it’s become a place where people like to have dates.”

Jade laughs and begins adding the strawberries on top and sprinkling powdered sugar. “I’m sure the two of you have had your fair share of dates then?” Deuce scratches his chin, remembering his dates. “I have a few times.”

He looks to his cousin, watching them laugh with customers. “But I get guilty having to leave the store to them while I’m out having fun.” He hands a carton to Jade which he stores overhead. “They keep saying they’re fine but I can tell they get tired. They’re not very good at hiding it.” Deuce sighs and takes the box again and moves to the freezer. “They always put the shop first and I’m happy it’s still up and running. I just wish they knew that it was okay to have fun.”

The air was cool and the roads silent, you took a deep breath in after staying in the café for so long. Just as you were about to take the in the signboard, a pop of color and voice of awe distracted you from your activity. Fireworks colored the sky with bright colors, the wind blow again and offered you comfort after a long day. To your left, a couple held hands as they watched and you forced yourself to look away and begin to take the signboard from the ground.

“Good work out there.”

Something cold touched your cheek and Jade stood over you with a glass of water. “Thanks for helping out too. You and Floyd were a big help.” He took a sip of water just as more fireworks flew into the sky. “Do they always do this?” He asks and you shake your head. “Not often. But it’s beautiful to look at, huh? It’s been a while since I’ve seen the fireworks.”

Jade looks to you just as another rocket soared into the sky, the colors of pink and blue, red and green, illuminated the sky in a grand finale. Its colors reflected in your eyes, the shine of the light against your skin that cast a different glow to your sweaty face, he blinks then looks back to the people with their loved ones clapping their hands.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

You look down at your cup of water and chuckle bitterly. “It is.”

“You didn’t have to accompany me on a supply run, y’know?” You say as Jade helps load butter and sugar into a basket. “I would but your cousin was worried about you being tired so I decided to tag along.” He smiles at you in the most cryptic way imaginable, you couldn’t tell if he was making this all up or Deuce was trying to set you up.

“Besides, we’ll be working together for a while so it’s only right that I get used to the routine.” He took another look at the list and reached for the fruits too high up for you to take. While his height had been a bane, it was also a kind of blessing for reaching high places. “Now, what should we get next?” You look through your list and nod your head. “That’s all of it. We can grab a quick bite to eat before heading back.”

Once leaving the store will all the bags in tow, the two of you walked the streets. “How come you didn’t go to the night market yesterday?” He asked, your eyes looking to him. “You let Deuce go but he eventually came back to help.” Shrugging your shoulders, you look away with a pout. “Someone needs to look after the shop, that’s all. Can’t have the business suddenly tanking because of monthly market.”

“Besides…” Jade’s eyes widened slightly, seeing such an embittered grin on your face. It seemed that you had been hurt by this before. Your brows furrowed and eyes closed in a weary smile. “With all I’ve done, I don’t think I have time for that anymore.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—.”

“It’s fine, it’s just personal experience on my part. Let’s go back to the shop, Floyd and Deuce are probably wondering where we are.”

Jade continued to walk beside you but his eyes never watching as the bitter smile relax to one of content and nostalgia. He looks forward, thinking of something to say yet wondering if he should say anything at all.

“And that should be the last piece.” You say, popping the last chocolate strawberry into the container and sealing it. Floyd takes the box and chucks it into the freezer. “This warrants a celebration, don’t you think?” Deuce nudges Jade’s arm. “I hope you got everything prepared.”

“Of course. It’s only your company that’s needed.”

Your confused expression is what prompts Jade to motion you to follow him to the back. “Follow me.” The four of you walk deeper into the shop and you begin to smell a charcoal grill and hear the crackling of a fire. A small party area had been made. A clay grill and some meat laid out to be cooked.

Floyd let out a noise of happiness and you looked to Jade. “Surprised? Good. Let’s enjoy the meal.”

The four of you were merry as you ate your fill of meat and assorted vegetables, Deuce and Floyd sharing their own stories while you and Jade listened. At first, you didn’t think the two would get along but seeing them be so comfortable with each other made you smile.

“Will I see you at the party?”

Jade had poured himself a cup of tea and looking at you expectantly; your stunned silence was what prompted him to explain a bit more. “It is only right that you attend, you did agree to supply delicious food for the wedding.”

“Oh, uh…I suppose I can go. I might need to get a wardrobe check first.” You took a bite of the meat and chewed. “Though, parties like that tend to get wild as the night progresses right? It’d be nice to see you getting wild.” He took your tease in stride and chuckled. “My, is this an excuse not to see you at play as well? I’m certain your hand and eye coordination in sweets making will extend to your ability to dance.”

You hit his shoulder slightly, cheeks flushed yet smile wide. Your dancing skills weren’t anything to be proud of but you could keep a beat. You swear on that!

Jade laughs, his brows furrowed and shoulders shaking. “What I mean is, you’ve worked all this time. It’s time for you to have fun.”

Fun. Your shoulders hunch over with a smile on your face. Jade sets down pieces of meat on the grill while you think. You had spent so much time at The Sweet Tooth making things from the bottom of your heart. You had spent so much time skimping and ignoring what could have interested you for so long that it made you question if you deserved it? The fun most people you know have, the happiness they found and cultivated.

“Ah, I almost forgot.” Jade reaches down and pulls a box. “You did say that my work lacked a certain something so I’ve been practicing with the help of Deuce and Floyd.” Opening it, the smell of chocolate hit your nose. “I think I’ve perfected it.”

You pop a piece into your mouth, the sweetness and bitterness mingled and taste whole and honest. As you chewed, you tasted the memories and the conversations you had with Jade up until this point. His teasing remarks and his honest comments. It was perfect.

His look was expectant. “Well?”

You swallowed the sweet morsel and smiled at him, nodding your head “Well done.”

The wedding was beautiful, the ceremony was solemn and the dance floor was filled with people dancing together. You were dressed in your best attire and nursing a drink in your hands. “There you are.” Azul’s voice pushed through the noise, behind him was his newlywed sister. “This is the owner of The Sweet Tooth, they’re the ones who made all the sweets,” Azul said with the bride, his sister, next to him. “Your sweets are the best. Everyone loves them!” She says, taking your hands in hers. “Your strawberry cake is delicious, I couldn’t stop myself from taking another slice.”

“I’m glad you liked it.” You say, smiling at the infectious sweetness of the newlywed bride’s smile. “Please, enjoy the food to your heart’s content.”

She nods, shaking your hands. “Enjoy the party! You’re welcome to dance with us if you’d like.” Azul chuckled as his sister ran to entertain the guests. “That girl, always too excited for her own good but I’m glad she’s happy. Thank you for helping, I really appreciate it.” You laugh, shaking your head. “It’s not a problem, Mr. Azul. Just seeing people happily eat my creations is enough for me.”

Nodding his head, he moves to step away. “Do enjoy the party.”

The music shifted to a slow beat and you couldn’t help but chuckle at the sudden shift of mood as the guest scrambled to dance with their respective partners. Your loneliness wouldn't sit for long when Jade took to your side. In his hand was a plate of strawberry cake.

“Enjoying the food?”

“I’d be lying if I wasn’t.”

He continues to eat while you watch the people dance in the center, the bride and her groom waltzing it away in the center with foreheads connected and smile wide. “Would you like to dance?” Jade looked down at you, his hand at the ready. You hesitated for a moment before taking it and walking with him to the dance floor.

The music was slow and so were your movements. Jade’s held your hand as you spun around slowly, the distance between you and him growing smaller and smaller. “Having fun?” He asked just as the lights dimmed to match the mood of the floor. “You always ask lots of questions, Jade.” You said, leaning your head to his chest. “I can’t help but be very curious, that’s all. I only want to make sure everything I do is satisfactory.”

You spun again, changing sides. “So you’ll only act if the person likes it, then?” He chuckles, eyes furrowed and sharp-looking teeth showing. You never admitted to it but, seeing him this way made him look so cute. “When you say it that way, you’re making me up to be some kind of boot licker.”

“Ah, c’mon. There’s no harm in making people happy. But you gotta think for yourself.”

“How ironic of you to say that.”

You stuck out your tongue at him in defiance and he laughed again just as the song shifted to one more intimate. “But…If I were to have things go my way.” He pulled your hands a little closer and letting go to let them settle on your waist, rocking you side to side. “I would want you to stay a bit longer.”

Your foreheads connecting and your noses almost touching. “That’s what I want.”

The hands on his chest bundle into fists, your cheeks quite warm. “I-if…If that’s what your heart desires.” Did you really deserve this kind of happiness? You asked yourself that millions of times yet never thought to answer it yourself. Did you deserve the singing feeling in your heart after ignoring it for so long?

“Then, will you dance with me again?” He asked, your body shivering as he held you close to him,

“Yes.”

The wedding ended and the guests began to leave. You stood at the edge just as the taxi you flagged down came to a crawling stop. Jade stood behind you with his hand holding yours. “Well,” You say, turning to him with a smile. “This is goodbye, then. The wedding is done and the customers are happy with the food. A perfect run, don’t you think?”

“Indeed.”

The two of you stood together for a while before you spoke to break the silence. “Thank you for tonight, Jade. I had lots of fun.”

Your heart soared remembering the dances you had with him but it soon plummeted to your stomach knowing it would probably be the last you’d do that with him. “I’m glad.” That was all he could say, “I’m glad you had fun.”

Nodding your head, you turned around and opened the car door. “Yeah. Real fun. Goodnight, Jade.” He nodded his head and your hand slipped out of his hand you. He put his hands behind his back and watching you speed off home, his tall figure growing smaller and smaller as the distance between you grew.

“Where to?” Asked the taxi driver.

You sniffle, looking away with a sigh. The moment of happiness you felt became a distant memory to come back to. The answer to the question you’ve always asked yourself was all too clear to ignore. You spared no second in answering.

“Baker’s Street.”

The new day had started and you thought it couldn’t get any worse. You had slept through your alarm and Deuce was nowhere to be seen. Hastily donning your uniform, you sprinted your way to the shop only to see loads of boxes being hauled in. Deuce watched by the door.

“Deuce, why didn’t you wake me up? What’s going on here??”

Your cousin gave you a questioning look that turned into realization. “Didn’t Azul tell you? He was planning a visit after the wedding.” Azul and his sister, as if on cue, walked out of the store. “Good morning, sorry for the mess we’ve caused.”

“N-no, it’s not a problem really but what are you doing here?”

“Everyone loved your foods last night and thought to have breakfast here before leaving. Deuce told us you were short on hands so I had the twins help out.” Deuce chuckled and scratched his head. “You looked so tired that I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“Azul, everything’s ready.

Jade came out, his apron stained with oil and hair slicked back. The two of you alock eyes with one another for a split second. “Right. Let’s have a nice meal, shall we?” He and his sister went back in and leaving you alone. Deuce was quiet with his exit, only letting out a small laugh as he left you alone with Jade.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning.” You scratched your cheek with a small laugh. “I didn’t expect to see you again so suddenly.” He drew closer, taking your hand in his. “That’s not a bad thing, is it?” In your hand was a piece of chocolate, the very first thing you taught him to make.

“I just wanted to make sure everything is perfect.”

You popped it into your mouth and chewed. The morsel was not too sweet and not too bitter, the memories of the both of you making your heart soar to the heavens. “What do you think?” The hold on his hand never left yours.

“I think you’ll know what I say.”

He chuckles, moving with you to enter the shop. The bittersweet taste lingering on your tongue for longer than it should. Your fingers intertwined as you turned the sign over, signaling a new day of business at your shop. This was your happiness.

[uglypastels]

Z first off...you are amazing and I am too shy to actually ask but I would love to be friends!! For the Spotify themed blurb could you do a smut with Tom and Mr. Brightside? I love you sm!!

Nooo don’t be shy, you can come to talk to me any time. I’m sorry this took so long to respond, but I try to get through my requests in the order that I get them and there are just so many haha, I didn’t want to lose the request either. I hope you enjoy this :). This is some kind of au but who knows which one.

> There will be smut under the cut, 18+ < (this is filthy cheating, oral (f receiving), unprotected sex - please use protection!) 

> catching up on my Spotify Blurbs

Song: #18 - Mr Brightside by the Killers __________________________________

It made Tom sick to see you standing there, at his side. He didn’t know what you saw in the guy, let alone what made you want to marry him? Probably money, and in that case, he admired your endurance. Because, as he saw you from the other side of the room, your waist tightly pulled into his side with his sleazy arm around you, he could see from the distance how miserable you looked. 

It pained Tom to see you because he knew how much better he himself could be for you. And you knew it too. You turned your head and locked eyes, pleading for Tom to help you escape, just for a moment. He nodded as he took a sip of his drink and made his way through the banquet hall. 

“Phillip,” Tom smiled to him, “y/n,” when he looked at you, his smile finally reached his eyes. 

“Thomas,” you answered respectfully. Your husband took out the cigar from his mouth, at least blowing the smoke away from your face this time, before greeting Tom. They made polite small talk before Tom made said his goodbyes, but not before kissing your hand as a farewell. And a sign. You knew what to do. 

“I have to powder my nose if you’ll excuse me, darling.” You smiled to the man you lost all affection to and hoped he would let his grip on you go. He did, but not before squeezing your ass harshly. You jumped up surprised and tried to laugh along to the echo of howling that came from your husband's entourage. You turned away and made your way out of the hall, making a corner into a smaller hallway to the bathroom, passing those doors and walking into a door that was overlooked by most people visiting the building. 

Down the stairs you went, your heart beating faster and faster at the thought of being alone with Tom again. You were still young, but any day spend with Phillip seemed to be taking away double the time and energy out of you. Not Tom, he made you feel anything but that. With him you were yourself, if not better, not just some pretty arm accessory. 

You pushed open the door of the supply closet. The dim light was on, illuminating your lover’s features. You could see his smile as your eyes locked once again. You didn’t waste a minute in making your way over to him. Your arms found their way around his neck, and his were on your hips as your lips crashed into a passionate kiss of need. 

He had already loosened his tie before you came in, as well as opened his leather belt. When he took the zipper off your dress and pulled it down, you thanked him with a moan. The material pooled around your legs, and you stepped out of it, kicking it to the side with your heel. 

“You’re so gorgeous,” he said. “Too fucking gorgeous for him.” He liked to remind you this any time you met, and still, you weren’t sure if you could accept that compliment. It felt so far out there. But no matter how fantastical, Tom made it feel true. For the short moment that you could be together, you were in your own little world. 

Your hands reached for his trousers, helping them make their way down to the ground as well, together with his underwear. The task was slightly more difficult since Tom had already grown hard at your sight and the anticipation of what was to come. You really drove the man insane.  

Another moan escaped you when you felt his fingers over your heat. Sliding through your wetness as his thumb drew circles over your clit. You took a step forward, he followed and clashed with his back against the wall. The next second, he pulled you closer and spun you around so you were the one locked in. His lips were now on your neck and his moved down, his fingers had now pulled away from your panties to the side, giving him the full access and ability to give you the pleasure that your husband never could. 

You watched as Tom’s head moved down, leaving a trail of kisses over your body. He held up your leg to put over his shoulder, before leaving one final kiss to your clit. With his fingers now pumping in and out of you in a steady rhythm, he had the freedom to give every part of your the attention it needed. You had to hold in your screams of pleasure, for fear of being heard and found, as he continued. 

“Fuck, Tom,” you slipped past your lips while grabbing his hair in your hand. Tom replied with a humming sound that directly vibrated through your body. The one leg you still used for ground support was shaking, your chest heaving heavily. You could feel yourself reaching the end as Tom didn’t even think of stopping. Not now. Preferably, not ever. He loved it. He loved making you feel this good. He loved bringing you to your climax and tasting you. 

But eventually, the overwhelming sensation of the orgasm was coming down and you needed that one moment, just a second, to rest. You tapped his shoulder lightly and he pulled away. His pink lips glistening in your juices. As you took some deep breaths, Tom continued to pepper kisses on your thighs, but he made his way back up to kiss you again. You could taste yourself on him. It was a funny feeling, but nothing you didn’t enjoy. 

You were about to move down on to your knees but Tom stopped you. 

“What do you think you’re doing, dove?” he asked, cupping your face in his hand. 

“Why, repaying you the favour, of course.” you giggled. 

“It was no favour, it was the best gift I could ask for.” He kissed you again quickly before continuing, “You taste divine.” One more kiss, “besides, if you had to repay anything, which would be ridiculous, I’d much rather have your tight pussy around me.” 

“Oh, so now my mouth is not good enough for you?” you joked. 

“If only we had the time,” he brushed his lips against your ear, so his next whispers send shivers all through you, “Then I could correct that little attitude of yours.”

You whimpered in response, it only you had the chance. 

“You know I fucking adore whatever you do, but I think we both much more prefer if I fill you up right now.” 

All you could do was nod. When you looked down you could see how hard he was, tip already red, practically ready to burst. Tom helped you up so you could wrap yourself around him as he pinned you against the wall. Slowly, making sure you could adjust to the feeling, he trusted into you. Of course, his previous words were right, you needed him inside you, filling you completely, stretching your walls, hitting that spot that sent you over the edge- over and over again. It was a wonderful feeling, not only the physical side of it, but do be treated like this with the intention of showing care and adoration, that alone was amazing. Tom’s cock pounding into, that was only a bonus. 

He kept going. The kisses as sweet as they were, were now mostly a way to soften the loud sounds coming from your mouths. But if it wasn’t for the moans, someone might have just as well heard the noises of the shelves in the room rattling as your bodies moved together. Tom’s hips moved faster, deeper, harder. You wanted to scream so badly. You wished everyone could know who made you feel this good, but all you could do was bite his shoulder to muffle yourself. 

“Fuck,” Tom groaned. He never said it, but you knew he enjoyed it. 

Eventually, he had to slow down, his moves turned irregular, he was close, and so were you. So close. 

“Come for me baby, c’mon,” he encouraged you. But it was that one final thrust, hitting your deepest point, that made you roll your eyes back as the release of tension in your body flooded over you. Your entire body was shaking but Tom helped you through it. He held you close, kissing every inch of your skin he could reach in the position until you could get back up on your own two feet.

He also helped you get back in your dress. One final farewell kiss sealed the end of your secret rendezvous. You slipped out of the room, making sure no one else was there. Tom would leave a few minutes later, just to be safe. 

He came back to the banquet hall and was walking by, just close enough to hear you choke out your made-up alibi. He smiled into his new glass of champagne, thinking if you could feel his cum drip down your legs as you lied to your good-for-nothing husband. 

[bangtae-sohotddaeng]

we’ll be counting stars | k.th. | 3

(^ gif cred: ON THE VOYAGE | pinterest)

pairing: idol!Taehyung x publisher!Reader

rating: nc-17 (for language and themes)

summary: You’d sworn off love and relationships forever. You were here to do your job - work with the biggest boyband of the world. Not forge friendships and...and whatever it was that you and Taehyung were building up with these sneaky glances. It was, to be very fair, your Chief Editor’s fault that you’d landed in this mess. Maybe you should quit your job? Maybe you should quit life -

Oh, he was staring again, and did he freaking lick his lips?

warnings: swearing (reader’s got a potty mouth) + this is set like 5 years in the future + reader has emotional issues, she's a relationship phobe + mentions of weed

genre: so much ANGST ugh + fluff + comedy + some crack

words: 5 k

note: hey, y'all. so last month i went on a new year's trip to my boyfriend's city (yes, covid has forced us into an ldr, fml) and got too occupied in all the celebrations and reunions, and this got delayed. also, you might have noticed how the chapters progressively grow wordier, lmao i'd been confused. but i think i've found the perfectly comfortable number now. expect this length from now on. thank you for reading~💜

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gimme feedback, much much appreciated!

You were, to be very honest, a complete mess at this point.

You hadn’t been quite certain as to what to expect when you’d picked Jungkook’s name out of the bowl in your office, but you could say with certainty that it hadn’t been even close to this. 

This boy was brimming with ideas! You hadn’t been able to get a single sentence in the midst of his own enthusiastic chatter, with words and ideas folding and layering all over each other. All you had done was nod, mumble words of agreement and appreciation—that you were pretty sure he didn’t even hear—and type it all. Freaking typing. So much typing.

So basically, the entirety of yesterday spent fussing over the repertoires to ensure that the list of tasks for the first set of three weeks were well-constructed had led to this—not being able to so much as tell him about the questions your team had so meticulously framed! You felt irked, amused, exasperated, exhausted, and at the same time, really fucking lost. 

How were you supposed to interrupt him without disrespecting him? You didn’t have a great amount of tact and usually just cut to the chase. Which was generally an appreciated quality in your profession, because no writer wanted to be just lathered with compliments to later find out his work was actually bullshit that no one wanted to read. But this situation was different. You felt pressured, nervous and out of your element. Because you really had no idea how to respectfully stop this guy from making a mess of all your hard work.

He was Jeon freaking Jungkook of BTS, for God’s sake!

How could you shut him up?

You were both in Jungkook’s personal studio in the BTS dorm. The boy was seated on a couch across the coffee table from your own, literally swimming in a trillion size bigger t-shirt and some loose sweatpants. His hair floof-ed all over the place as he spoke, bubbling and bursting with enthusiasm. Which he was doing a lot of. Speaking, that is.

For the better part of two hours now, you’d been listening to him go on and on about what all he wanted to include in the book. Your fingers were nearly cramping with all the typing, but you’d promised the guys no recorders and you didn’t wanna miss anything he said. But it was freaking difficult with the speed he was going at! 

And also with the mess and reluctance in your own head. You were used to pulling the reins with writers. This situation was making you feel incompetent.

You hadn’t even touched your list, yet. What would your teammates think of you if their very team leader failed to finish with the assigned data collection and messed up the team’s hard work? Ugh!

Currently, Jungkook was having you make a list of all the people he needed to talk about in the book.

“And there was this boy my age, Ji-Hyun, he was so much better than me at everything! It is him, truly, that I credit my overachieving traits to. I had to work so, so hard—oh! Please also note down Mun-Hee’s name! She was the best dancer in my entire school. So… wait, where was I?” He looked up at you with wide big, round eyes.

You opened your mouth to speak—was this when you asked him to shut up? It had to be, right, because this was the first time he’d actually prompted you to speak. 

You meant to take your shot, but then stopped. You blinked. Looked back at your laptop. Blinked again. 

You were so confused, right now. “Uh, Ji-Hyun was better than you—”

“Oh yes!” Jungkook exclaimed, launching off into a detailed story about how and in what respects, exactly, this guy was better than Jungkook.

You shut your eyes. This had gone beyond “taking notes” and was quickly turning into Jungkook enthusiastically reminiscing his childhood and freaking telling you tales about it. And he seemed to be enjoying himself so thoroughly, looking so adorable, that it felt very wrong to ask him to stop even when you tried to avoid the added pressure of him being a whole ass idol.

But you had actual work to do. And you were leading a team. You couldn’t act so unprofessionally.

In hindsight, maybe you shouldn’t have told the boys that this was going to be like “making friends.” Jungkook seemed to have taken it too literally.

Biting down on your lip, you cleared your throat. He didn’t acknowledge it. Sighing, you shut your laptop. “Jungkook?”

This time, he stopped mid-word, looking at you with his lips rounded in a pout, sparkling eyes turning into saucers. 

Now, you were in no way attracted to the guy, but you really could not deny how freaking cute he looked in the moment. 

“All okay?” he asked, looking at you and then the shut laptop on your lap.

You took a deep breath, winced a little, and then shook your head. “No, Jungkook. We need to pause…” You had to stop speaking when his face crumpled. “Whoa…um?”

Jungkook slumped in his place, shoulders sinking. “I’ve been giving horrible ideas, haven’t I?”

Your eyes widened. “What? No! Absolutely not! That isn’t the case, I was…”

He wiped his face with both his hands before looking at you with really sad eyes, all enthusiasm from some time ago washed away. “Then what? You can tell me, it’s okay.”

Now. You prided yourself to be a practical human being who strived to be as straightforward in her life as possible. But right now, you really could not stop yourself from lying your way out of this one. You decided to blame it on the fear of upsetting a client, and not the impossible-to-control empathy that Jungkook’s doe eyes seemed to naturally draw out of people. 

“I just need a coffee. It’s been a while, my hands need a break. And my brain’s kinda overwhelmed, too,” you expertly lied, relaxing when Jungkook’s eyebrows lifted.

“We’ve been sitting here for long, haven’t we?” he said in an almost guilty tone before standing up. “And I didn’t even show you around the dorm!”

You tried to tell him how it was really not necessary, not to mention a bit too personal and…not what you were here for? But he was already moving towards the door and beckoning you along.

“Come on, let’s drop by the kitchen and then we’ll take a walk around the property!” he enthusiastically announced.

You stood up and followed him out of the room, awkwardly trying to ignore the two bodyguards that had stood as still as mannequins while you were in the room and then started to follow Jungkook wordlessly as you left.

The walk to the kitchen was a short one, and the place was, unsurprisingly, not empty.

Your team members along with their partnered BTS members had been assigned one particular space in the dorm, each. According to the email you received last evening, the kitchen was supposed to be used by Simon and— 

“Taehyungie-hyung! Are those chicken burgers?” Jungkook excitedly rounded the kitchen island to peek into the paper bag Taehyung was fiddling with. “They smell so good…”

You looked from Jungkook’s face that was awash with childlike excitement to Taehyung’s, and your breath caught when you found his eyes already trained on you. While you struggled to formulate a coherent thought at the intensity his eyes seemed to be emanating, yet again, his lips slipped into an easy smile.

“Hello!” he greeted you cheerily, bowing his head.

You, dazedly, bowed back and dragged your feet up to the island, standing across from the two guys. “Hey,” you mumbled in English.

His smile widened further to show his teeth. “Food?” he asked you in English, nodding at the burger Jungkook was pulling out of the bag.

You shook your head. “No, coffee,” you responded in Korean, earning raised eyebrows from him.

“I hate coffee.”

You smiled, this time. “You’re missing out.”

“Can I call you by your name?” he asked out of the blue, and you did a double take.

“Uh…yes?” you stammered. “Yes, of course Taehyung-ssi.”

“You should call me Tae.”

You swallowed, continually nodding your head like a damn puppet. “Yes. Tae. Sure.”

“I’m bac—boss?” 

You twisted on your heels at the familiar squeak. “Simon, hi,” you mumbled, professionalism slipping over you in the blink of an eye at having a member of your team in your vicinity. “Where did you wander off to?”

Simon seemed to be sweating a bit, and you really couldn’t really tell why. You’d just asked a simple question. 

Maybe you’d become too scary…

“Just the loo,” Simon responded with a forced giggle. 

You nodded, giving him a long look and observing how his smile grew progressively weirder. Then you turned back to the island. And nearly choked.

Taehyung’s fringe hung over his eyes, making his eyes look that much more hooded. His lips were twisted up as he watched you.

Oh, dear God, did this guy have a crush on you or something? But how? Why? 

He was a bonafide Greek God, and you were…well. Not.  

And needless to say, he was literally not allowed to have a crush on you. Or anybody else, for that matter. It was against BigHit’s policies. According to what you’d read, the boys were to wait out one more year, as of now, before indulging in any sort of romance.

You were, by contract, also bound to not encourage any such advancements. Not that smiling at you could be considered one, to be honest. He could very well be trying to make friends, and you could be reading too much into it.

You decided to stop thinking so much.

“You want to eat something?” Jungkook asked as he handed you a cup of brew.

You smiled and shook your head. “I don’t eat at work. None of us do.” You eyed Simon and he nodded with his gaze wide. “Disturbs the momentum.”

“Hey, you shouldn’t consider this strictly work,” Taehyung spoke up in that deep ass voice of his, startling you. “We’re also making friends, here. This is also not your office, but our home.”

And then he grinned at you with all of his teeth. You felt your cheeks heating up.

This was not going according to plan. 

You were panicking.

Flashing Taehyung a close-lipped smile, you stepped away from the counter. “Um, Jungkook?” you mumbled. “D’you guys have a pool in the house?” 

Jungkook looked surprised but as enthusiastic as ever. He nodded, his hair bouncing all over. “Come on!”

Throughout your walk around the house, you had tried to slip in ideas from your first three week’s layout to Jungkook that would fascinate him enough to make him at least want to hear them out. And, you’d proudly like to claim, it had worked.

Jungkook had heard your plans and had even asked you to pull the list up on your laptop to have a look at it. And henceforth, you’d made tremendous progress.

And now, at nearly nine o’clock of the night, you and your team were taking your leave for the day. 

You had exchanged brief words with all the members to see how they found their partners. Currently, you were conversing with Yoongi.

“ARMYs know a lot about all of that,” the guy said, referring to his life before BTS. “But there’s still a lot that they don’t. I talked to Nathan about all of it, we made notes. I’m really excited about the book.”

You gave him a professional grin. “I couldn’t be happier! Nathan’s got a really innovative mind. I’m sure he’ll make this a good experience for you.”

Nodding, Yoongi wished you a good night and bowed. You bowed back, moving away from the building and towards the vans waiting to drive you back to your hotel.

Jimin flashed you a wide grin as you got into the car. “Have a good night,” he wished you, shutting the door like a gentleman. Then he peeked and waved at Areum, your team member assigned to him. “See you tomorrow, Areum-ssi!”

Namjoon followed suit with a hand forwarded through the window for you to shake. “How did today go for you?” he asked you in English, causing Hoseok to elbow Jungkook, probably asking the younger to eavesdrop. Jungkook’s eyes met yours, though, and the two of you shared a covert giggle. “Did we meet your expectations?”

You smiled, formally. “It was… a good introduction of sorts, I’d say. Highly informative. Moderately productive. And we didn’t have any expectations, per se, but my team really loved you guys. We’re super excited to be working with you.”

You looked around yourself, prompting the three team members seated with you to nod in agreement. “Likewise!” Namjoon nodded at you, his smile turning his eyes to crescent moons.

“Thank you. How was your experience with Sana?” you asked him, nudging the girl sitting next to you.

Namjoon grinned with his teeth. “Amazing! She’s really compassionate and driven. Today’s session was interesting and felt comfortable. I’m eagerly looking forward to more.”

You secretly exhaled in relief. Sana had been the one person on your team that you’d been the most worried about. It was good to learn that she’d managed to impress Namjoon despite her initial nerves.

Next to you, she gave a short, very professional chuckle, and leant by you to nod at Namjoon. “Thank you, Namjoon-ssi.”

“Have a safe journey and a good night,” Namjoon wished you before peeking into the car. “Bye, Sana! See you tomorrow!”

You waved at the boys and their manager as your van started to move. You looked behind to check that the other one, carrying the remaining three members of your team, was following closely behind.

“What a day!” Simon exclaimed from his seat opposite you.

“You can say that again,” you mumbled, massaging your temples. “And what was up with you? You looked really wound up when I saw you in the kitchen.”

Simon took his glasses off and rested his head against the back of the van’s seat. “Let’s just wait it out, boss. I’ll tell you later if I absolutely have to. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

You frowned, but let him be. 

Today was just the first day. If you stuck to your schedule, you would have a hundred and twenty five more of these before this project was done.

You could do it.

Right?

You, as it turned out by the end of the first week, could do it. The same couldn’t be said about Simon, though.

On Saturday night, barely an hour after you’d all retired to your rooms after dinner, Simon sent an SOS to the group chat. The six of you were in his room within a minute.

“You look physically okay,” Nathan, the only other guy on the team, mumbled as he squinted at the bespectacled nervous wreck. “What’s up?”

“I can’t do this anymore!” Simon blurted out.

All eyes immediately landed on you.

You did a double take. “Come again? You can’t do what anymore?”

He sighed, shrinking into himself as Riya, another member of your team, sleepily sat on one corner of his bed. “You can’t quit the project, Si,” she mumbled, patting his shoulder. “You signed a contract.”

Simon’s wide eyes met yours. You raised your eyebrows.

“Then—then I need a different partner.”

Sana clicked her tongue. “No can do. We’ve all worked on our homeworks. No one’s gonna sacrifice theirs for you.”

You agreed, so you stayed quiet when Simon looked at you in hopes of a counter.

“I can’t go into another week, please! It’s…” Simon trailed off with a helpless expression on his face.

You sighed. “Everyone, out.”

Your team trickled out of the room, tossing curious glances and hushed whispers your way.

“What is it?” you questioned Simon when it was just the two of you.

“He’s too intense. I have a huge crush on him.”

Your jaw fell open. “Dude… I… what? You have a fiance!”

He exhaled. “Yeah, he cheated on me.”

You drew a sharp breath, shocked. “Oh. Oh, my God, what? What the hell’s been going on with you, I’m so sorry, Simon. Are you…okay? When did you find out?”

“I’d been suspicious for a whole week, hoping it’d turn out to be a lie.” He sighed. “Guess not. But, don’t worry.” He waved a dismissive hand. “I’ll deal with it, no big deal. It’s happened before. I’ve done it before, too, that’s not the issue. The problem is that, right now, this is all making me wanna kiss Taheyung. What the fuck do I do, boss?”

You sympathised with the guy and felt responsible, in a way. After all, you’d been the one that forced him to propose to his boyfriend so that you could bring him with you on this project. If only you knew what kind of a toxic pair these two were! Goddammit. 

But, this guy was really telling you he couldn’t focus on work properly because he wanted to kiss Taehyung? For real?

What a guy.

“Get a fucking grip, Simon, what else?” you exclaimed, throwing your arms up. 

“No, I can’t. Don’t you think I have tried, already? Please take me off this project before I fuck things up for all of us and the company.” He shut his eyes, rubbing his face with both his palms. “And I’ve also, technically, broken the contract, so… Ask Boss to send someone else in.”

Was this happening for real? You were caught between wanting to smash the glass vase kept next to you over Simon’s head, and hurling yourself over the balcony.

You inhaled deeply, then exhaled. You could, realistically, do neither of the above. So you thought clinically and professionally, and made the sound decision to burden your boss with this mess instead of trying to sweep it under the rug by yourself.

“Fine.” You cleared your throat. “Take a break tomorrow. I’ll have a word with Manager Woo, he’ll talk to Taehyung. Tomorrow’s a Sunday, so I’ll be calling Boss for the first weekly check-in. I’ll ask her if something can be done to replace you on the team.”

Simon nodded with a grimace, which may have been his attempt at trying to smile.

You retired to your room on heavy feet. How could things go south in a week? You had barely begun and a buckload of bullshit was on you already.

Exhaling, you opened your laptop to leave a mail for Manager Woo. Quoting a personal emergency, you drafted an apologetic letter stating Simon’s absence tomorrow and asked the man to forward your apologies to Taehyung as well. At the same time, you were also mentally seasoning yourself for a possible confrontation with Taehyung when you went in tomorrow. 

You’d just put your laptop away when your phone rang. Frowning, you lifted it up, only to silent the ring with a groan.

Ever since you landed in Seoul, your best-friend cum roommate back at home had taken to giving you a call every single night. Even when you didn’t pick up. Ever.

Every morning you would text him an apology, and every night he would call again. It’d been a week to this pattern, now.

Why was he doing this? You’d made it abundantly clear that you weren’t going to get roped into any kind of affair with him—emotional or physical. What did he want, now?

For a second, you wondered if he was maybe only just concerned about your well-being in a foreign country? But then you dismissed it, immediately. Why would he? What had you ever done to deserve his—or anyone’s, really—concern? You were a bitch to the majority of people in your life, without trying and even meaning to. Why would anyone give a fuck about you without ulterior motives, right? 

Lying back on your pillows, you looked at the ceiling.

You’d been absolutely horrible at treating people with compassion and care for the majority of your life. You were always labelled either too prudish, too selfish, too career-oriented, or plainly, too narcissistic by people around you.

And, strangely enough, it never bothered you. 

But that didn’t mean you had not cared about anyone, ever. You had. Too much too, once upon a time. But what had that left you with? Expectations and hurt. 

So then, wasn’t it better to not care at all, and not expect at all? You never got hurt, this way.

Sighing, you rolled over to your side, tugging the covers up to your chin. Lifting up your phone from the nightstand, you turned it to silent.

An unread message was displayed on the locked screen:

Looks like you went to bed early again, lol. Hope you’re safe, warm and relaxed. Have a good day at work tomorrow xo

You sighed, yet again. You did not need anyone’s hugs and kisses for your day to be good. Why couldn’t people take a hint?

Shutting your eyes, you tried to get some sleep.

You were absolutely not surprised when, barely an hour into a fierce discussion about his school life, you and Jungkook were disturbed by a knock on the door. But Jungkook was, and jumped at the loud rapping, his wide eyes flashing to the door.

Your back being to the doorway, you looked at the boy expectantly to inform you of the intruder. Not that you didn’t already know.

Jungkook didn’t say anything, though, and simply kept looking behind you with raised eyebrows and rounded eyes. You sat very tightly wound up, contemplating whether to peek around the sofa’s high back or to stand up, when a deep, heavy voice enunciated your name. 

You stood up, slowly, pulling on a professional frown of very minute concern on your face. You willed yourself to act surprised when your eyes met a timid looking Taehyung’s. And, you actually slightly were, too. Why did he seem so shifty and nervous?

“Hello, Tae,” you wished, formally bowing to greet him.

He bowed back, licking his lips as he stood back straight up. “May I please borrow you for a few minutes?”

You twisted on your heels to look at Jungkook. It took him a few seconds to focus on your stare and recognise the question. “Oh! Sure! Of course! I’ll be here, I’ll wait.”

Nodding in gratitude, you stepped out of the studio to join Taehyung in the lounge area attached to the kitchen.

“I know what you would ask—”

“Have I not been cooperating well with Simon?” Taehyung cut you off with a question you were not expecting.

You frowned. “What makes you say that? He had a personal emergency today, Tae, that’s all! I’m sure he must be having a great time working with you.”

Taehyung sighed. “You think, or you know?”

How were you supposed to answer that? You bit your lip, trying to read Taehyung’s eyes, but the collar-bones peeking above the wide neckline of his oversized, brown t-shirt kept distracting you. On some level, you could understand what Simon must have been facing. But! You were all supposed to be professional adults and quell any unprofessional thoughts and not foster them!

You turned your face to your feet, not missing the wide-legged, knee-length shorts Taehyung wore. You mentally cursed yourself.

His sigh floated over to you. “I hope it isn’t something I did. I know I can seem a bit overwhelming sometimes and uninterested at other times, but… I am excited for this project and I really want to give it my best, too.” His eyes looked pained when you met them again. You softened. “Please tell me the truth.”

You drew in a breath. “It’s just as I told you, Tae. Simon has to sort some issues out in his personal life. And what makes you think you’re too overwhelming or uninterested? Did Simon say something?”

“No, no!” Taehyung immediately shook his head. “I just…speak from previous experiences. I don’t collaborate with people that well. I tire them out. And Simon… I don’t think we like each other’s approach very much. I feel like he doesn’t really agree with my ideas, just goes along out of courtesy.”

Your lips turned downwards. “I’m sure it’s none of that, Tae. Absolutely positive. And if worse comes to worst and the two of you actually aren’t able to work together, we will arrange for a switch-up so that you’re able to work comfortably.”

Taehyung seemed to perk up at that. “Switch-up? Will you work with me?”

You narrowed your eyes. He seemed a bit too keen about wanting to work with you, didn’t he? You could very clearly recall your first meeting and how he’d seemed to wane when you told him you were paired up with Jungkook.

Curious.

“We’ll see how it unfolds. But as of now, I am partnered up with Jungkook and you’re fretting over nothing. Simon will be back tomorrow, and things will get back on track. I promise.”

You hoped.

Taehyung nodded, excusing himself to visit the kitchen and you took your leave and came back to an eagerly waiting Jungkook.

He stood up the moment you entered the room. “Is everything okay? Hyung looked sad.”

You honestly had zero idea as to what to tell Jungkook. Pursing your lips, you slowly nodded in contemplation as you made your way to your seat. “He’s not working well with Simon,” you honestly told him.

“Oh.” Jungkook’s lips rounded, forming an adorable pout. “Taehyung hyung has a very artistic soul,” he said, taking you by surprise. You leant forward to listen in with interest. “He tends to get awkward and insecure about his ideas and conceptualizations. They’re usually off-beat and hard to work with, but they’re amazingly creative if you look at them like an artist. Not everybody has the right vision for those things, though. Maybe that is why Simon is…” Jungkook trailed off with a shrug.

You bit your lip in consideration. Taehyung’s words echoed in your head. 

‘I don’t think we like each other’s approach very much.’

Maybe they really were mismatched, outside of Simon’s immature, unprofessional, god-awful behaviour, too.

“Hey, could we add him to our group?” Jungkook suddenly asked, confusing you.

“Huh?” you very eloquently responded. 

He gave a small giggle. “Hyung. Could he work with us? We have been pretty efficient, and you certainly seem to have an artistic vision.”

You smiled. “Thank you, Jungkook, that’s really flattering. But also, no, I don’t think we can do that. The contract we’ve all drawn has a couple of strict clauses and one-on-one sessions is one of them.”

Frowning, Jungkook nodded in acceptance.

The two of you resumed your discussions from before, but the vigour and drive was now lessened to a great extent. You, especially, couldn’t stop worrying. You were the leader of the team, after all.

Sunday night brought in the awaited conference call with your boss. 

Looking at her excited, smiling face on your computer screen, you couldn’t help but dread the news you were about to break to her.

“So. How is it going?” Your boss rubbed her hands together, wiggling her eyebrows. “How is Sana doing? You were quite wound up about her, if I remember correctly.”

“You do remember correctly. There’s good news and bad news,” you responded with a grimace. “Which one first?”

Your boss pursed her lips. “Don’t wanna immediately spoil my mood, so, the good one please.”

“Sana has been doing fantastic. She’s been nothing short of professional, and according to what I’ve seen and heard, Namjoon is really pleased with her,” you relayed, smiling when your boss sighed in relief.

“Okay, so that’s out of the way. What’s wrong?”

You sighed. Better rip the band-aid straight off. “Simon has a huge crush on Taehyung and feels like he broke the contract. He wants to leave.”

You watched quietly as your boss choked on an inhale, coughed, had some water, and sat back down to blink at you with a blank face. “These words must not leave your room. Or Simon’s. None of the BigHit staff must catch a wind of it.”

You groaned. “Please don’t ask me to work through this, boss, please—”

“Work through it, Y/N!” your boss cruelly cut you off. “This is such a tiny, little, manageable thing! Resolve it.”

You gawked. “You literally just choked—how is this little, boss?”

“Counsel Simon. Ask him to push through. Threaten his employment with us, if necessary.”

It was your turn to blink at her, owlishly. “And? That’s it?”

Your boss shrugged. “And if it doesn’t work out, swap him with someone else on your team.”

You sighed. “This is all such high school, teen flick bullshit. What the hell.”

“I know, hun. Which is why I’m asking you to manage it. And I know you can. You’re my favourite, Y/N.” Your boss nodded at you with a solemn look. “I have believed in your capabilities since day one. It’s time to make them shine.”

You nodded, dumbly. The back of your mind was hinting at an inkling that you were being manipulated by flattery, but the forefront was basking in all the praise and could really not be bothered.

All you had to do was keep the whole thing hush-hush from the BigHit people and keep Simon in line, right? You could manage that.

Bidding your boss goodbye, you rung up Simon.

“Hey, boss.”

“You’re coming with us tomorrow and you’re gonna be a fucking professional like you’re supposed to!” you barked into the phone. “Bottle up your feelings, or eat them—I don’t care. You’ll do the job you were here for, and you’ll do it right.”

There was a long, suspended silence at the other end. And then a sigh escaped Simon. “I don’t think I have a choice. Fine, I’ll try.”

You put your phone to silent and shut your eyes, knowing you’d receive another call tonight and that you won’t pick up tonight, either.

You lay back in the bed, gearing up for tomorrow.

If worse actually did come to worst, and Simon sent everything down the rabbit hole, who would you make him swap places with? All of you had built really amazing rapports with your assigned partners in just a week. No one would be willing to start over.

If it came to it, would you have to? Would you be able to?

You could maintain professionalism a hundred times better than Simon, that much was certain. But you and Jungkook had been working so well! And who was to say Simon wouldn’t cause trouble with Jungkook, too? 

You let out a whine, beyond mad at the situation this guy had landed you in.

But you’d have to navigate out of it, somehow. This was the biggest project of your life so far—the first ever you were heading. You would ensure everything worked out at the end.

You would tie all the loose ends and make it all work. You would.

(You literally had no choice.)

gimme feedback, much much appreciated!

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series masterlist

Tags: @tangledsparkles​ @hoefortaeshands​ @getmemyfries

[blackberry-gingham]

hello! 💕 i love your writing so much, your imagines are always so well done. and i was wondering if you could do an imagine abt the boys finding out and comforting you abt your self harm (it’s always been kind of a touchy subject to me and i’d love to see how you think they’d react) much love 💕✌🏻

TW: Mentions of Self Harm/Cutting and Blood

Hm, well I can try... I'm going to be honest, this is a little gritty for me and I don't really have much experience with this topic aside from personal stories from those around me, but I'll do my best.

These imagines are going to focus basically 100% on the boys reactions and how they'd care for you, so it won't be like super in depth on the actual self injury.

Oh and one last thing, I don't think I could be comfortable posting this without giving the reader the ending they deserve for a scenario as serious as this, so if you notice the endings are a bit repetitive, just know that's intentional.

---

George

The first thing he smells is the blood

He was on his way to relieve himself, when the stench of it flooded his nostrils, even from down the hall

Immediately George jumps into fight or flight mode, his heart beating in his ears

The only other person in the flat is you

He calls your name, urgently, but not yelling just yet

The door is on a crack when George arrives

You did it on purpose. You know you want to be found, but you don't know what to say...

George knocks gently and calls your name again, "Is everything alright?"

All this time you've been trying to pull yourself together, but the concern in his voice breaks you

"G-george...", You trail off sobbing bitterly

It's all the permission to enter he needs

You're curled up into yourself, sitting in the tub. It's empty, but George's razor is laying on the side

Sobs wrack your half naked body and all George can think to do is hold you

He climbs into the tub with you, paying no mind as the drops of blood stain his dress pants

"I'm here, I'm here..."

George holds you in a tight hug and lets you cry into his shirt

He notices the open cuts along your flesh and suddenly he puts two and two together

However, he doesn't say anything about it, instead he waits until you've calmed down a bit

Once you're ready he helps you up and sits you on the toilet

As gently and respectfully as he can, he asks what's going on

George gives you time, and you work up the courage to talk to him about it as he dresses your wounds

He listens to everything you have to say, and when you're all cleaned up, he does everything he can to make sure you're taken care of and as relaxed as can be

Once you're asleep, George shoots John a call and asks for advice on how to best help you

John advises that he should've taken you to a doctor if the wounds were that bad, but George promises to try and ask you to go in the morning

It takes a lot of courage from you, but you agree to get your injuries seen

Once at the doctor, they recommend some therapists for you

George encourages you to get the treatment you deserve, and does anything at all that he can to support you through the process

John

It's the end of a long day, and John has just freshened up for bed

But first, he's off to take his medication and grab a cup of water, just like every night

He approaches the kitchen, then slows down to listen

There's a distinct hissing and grunting coming from around the corner

At first he's just confused

He knows it must be you, but what on earth are you up to?

John turns the corner and flips on the light, and that's when his heart drops

You're leaning against the counter and the utensil drawer is open

In your hand is a steel steak knife

It's dripping blood

You're entire arm is covered in gashes, and you don't look very well

John doesn't waste a minute on words, instead he jumps right to action

He restraints you in a bear hug, pinning your arms to your side

Probably not the best reaction he could've picked, but he simply can't risk you doing anything that might make you lose more blood

You drop the knife and scream, your knees buckling under you

You're hurting

Ashamed

Frustrated

Afraid...

You burst into a violent fit of sobs, shaking so badly, John has to readjust his grip

He sinks slowly to the floor with you and you lean against him limply

John does his best to give you some reasurance, and tell you that everything will be alright, but he knows you can't stay here

In a flash, he grabs his boots, wallet, and keys and takes you to the hospital

You lose consciousness on the way there, but luckily with some fluids and a blood transfusion, you pull through

John waits a few days until you're healed to talk about that night with you

He's gentle and careful about his words, but he implores you to give therapy a try

You absolutely deserve it after all

He recommends the one he sees, but of course you can have anyone you wish

John does everything he can to support you in your healing journey and helps you see it though

Paul

After a day of recording Paul comes home on the look for you

He's got a nice little evening planned, maybe a movie and some takeaway to unwind

What he wasn't expecting, was to hear you sobbing and screaming behind a locked bedroom door

He calls your name, and pounds on the door, terrified that someone is in there with you, hurting you

You don't respond, only continuing to cry

Paul can't wait any longer, you need him now

His first instinct is to try and break the door down

He give a few shoulder charges, but to his frantic frustration, it doesn't seem to be doing much

"Paul, stop!"

At last you speak and Paul obeys

Tears are already streaming down his eyes, he's so scared and confused for you

Hesitantly, you unlock the door, terrified and ashamed to reveal your secret

There's a bit of blood coming from your scalp, and little patches of your hair are missing

More blood can be found under your nails, and that's when Paul notices the scratches on your arms

You don't say anything, instead more tears escape you as you quietly cry

But you don't have to say a word, Paul figures out what he needs to himself

He takes you in his arms and consoles you until you know you're safe

Paul's spent enough time hearing about John's therapy sessions to have a decent education on things of this sort

He asks if he can take you to a doctor, just to make sure nothing gets infected and that your injuries can be properly treated

You agree and get taken care of, but before you're cleared to go home, you and Paul discuss therapy options with the doctor

There's plenty of options for you to take a route to healing that you're most comfortable with, and Paul is proud of you every day and every step, for being strong enough to get the help you deserve

Ringo

All Ringo can see is how terrified and in pain you are

He doesn't notice the cuts and the blood until after

And by that point, he feels hysterical with anxiety

He's so overwhelmed with both the desperate desire to help you, and the crushing confusion of what to do that he's frozen

After a moment, he snaps out of it and rushes to your side

He's crying nearly as much as you are, which understandably only makes you twice as upset

Ringo asks you what he can do, desperate for some sort of guidance

But you can't respond, you're too overwhelmed yourself

For now, he resorts to just holding you

It's the only thing he can do to try and calm himself and not upset you any more then he already has

Once he's had some time to collect himself and think, he does his best to help with your wounds

He's already ruined his shirt with blood, so screw it

He takes it off and tears it into bandages, administering them where needed and talking to you all the while

It takes longer then you'd have liked, but eventually you're able to calm down, even after the stress Ringo unintentionally put on you

"There now", Ringo's voice is shaking, but he's doing all he can to keep it together for you

He's finished apply his shirt bandages, "You need a proper doctor love... Do you think you can do that?"

You bite your lip, trying to hold back another bout of tears, but you nod

That's all Ringo needs to hear

He helps you up and takes you straight to the doctor

While you're being treated, he calls the lads, whoever will listen, and tries to get reasurance that he did this right

John scolds him for upsetting you, but otherwise tells him he was right to get you a proper doctor

Before he hangs up, he strongly advises Ringo to, gently, ask you about seeing a therapist

Ringo swears it, and holds to his word, making sure to stay calm and be respectful of your emotional state when he asks

You decide that that is what you want, and the two of you discuss local practicioners with the doctor

All the while that you're on your healing journey, Ringo does everything he can to educate himself on anxiety, depression, and triggers in order to be more helpful for you along the way and in the future

[tailorvizsla]

I’m recalling a very short convo we had on a post where I said I’d “climb Paz like a tree.” But I neglected to mention that I’m six feet tall, so there isn’t much climbing required. I always see headcanons about big guys with their tiny SOs. Do you have any thoughts about Paz with a tall lady? (Btw I adore your writing. Please never stop.)

Title: Paz Vizsla x Tall SO Pairing: Paz Vizsla x tall F!Reader Wordcount: ~1000ish Rating: NC-17 (duh) Warnings: Smut, nothing too filthy. Author’s Note: For the lovely Meredith-is-here, who happens to be quite tall! I hope you enjoy this, darling! :) Also...thank you so much, I really appreciate your kind words.

For more dirtiness, please see:

📚 My Master List 📚

Paz Vizsla is a very tall warrior, so he is used to towering over people. The instant he sees a Mandalorian woman as tall and fierce as you? Instant heart eyes. Paz is used to tilting his head all the way down to look into someone’s visor. But you? He finds it delightful that he doesn’t have to strain his neck or alter his posture in an uncomfortable way to be able to speak to you respectfully. (Listen, this man is overjoyed when he meets you, okay? At around 6 feet tall, you are still shorter than he is, but damn, he loves knowing that he’s not the only person who has to bend over to use the shower!)

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Fun Stuff Below the Cut 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Let’s just get right to business, alright? We all know Paz is respectful, polite, and will never cross your boundaries. He is an excellent partner and will treat you with the respect and consideration you deserve. He is truly a gem in big blue armor.

That being said…that man is not shy when it comes to sex.

You? His height? Great for wall sex. He doesn’t have to bend over awkwardly to fuck you, nor does he have to physically hold you up. Paz is strong, but he will eventually get tired if he’s got to hold someone up. With a tall partner, all he has do is lift your leg up around his waist and slide home with one deep, satisfying thrust. He can take his time with you up against the wall, grind his hips up into yours in that way that makes you dig your nails into his shoulders.

If your calf happens to cramp, that is fine, too. That man has a nice, big, sturdy desk. He will wrap both hands around your waist and push you over onto the soft, buttery wood. He especially loves the way you spread your feet a bit and arch your back, presenting your cunt to him. It drives Paz absolutely bonkers knowing that you want him as badly as he wants you, so he does not hesitate. He pushes right back into you, moaning something about how being balls-deep in you is his favorite place in the galaxy.

Paz Vizsla isn’t as young as he used to be, so he has learned how to make each shot count. He is a bit of an outlier, though. When he comes? He comes copiously. If you’re willing to let him finish in you, he is not going to give you two or three tiny little drips of cum. Oh, no. That man is going to make a Mess™. Even if you’re both on a contraceptive and actively avoiding pregnancy, that man’s mind is going to be focused on making the next generation of warriors. (Paz can get sort of possessive at times. He likes the idea of knowing you’re walking around, filled to the brim with his spend.)

If you don’t let him finish in you? That’s absolutely fine, too! He will pull out and finish all over your thighs, ass, and lower back. He likes the idea of finishing on you, too. Coating you in a thick, warm layer of his spend makes him feel like he is somehow marking you as his own. (Like before, he can get a bit possessive. And knowing you’re wearing him on your soft, pretty skin? Makes him Stoopid AF.)

Once he’s finished fucking you on the desk, it will take a while before he’s able to reload. He likes seeing you spread out on the desk, ass up in the air, pussy wet and glistening (and maybe dribbling a bit of his spend, if you let him?). So, since he rarely takes his helmet off, he’ll leap at the opportunity you’re presenting to him. He’ll ask real nicely if he can eat you out and tidy up his mess. If you let him, he’ll spread your lips apart and dive right in to clean you up.

He will use his tongue – long, flat, broad licks – to clean up the bulk of the mess. Then he will use the tip of his tongue to tease your blushed, fluttering entrance. Each squeeze of your walls is going to push a little more of his mess to tidy up. He is going to tell you all about how you taste so good, how your cries of pleasure sounds like music to his ears, and how much he loves the feel of your body under his.

Paz is a patient man, so he will take as long as he needs to lick out every last drop of his cum, even if it means he has to kiss you through multiple orgasms. He is going to drink you up, like you’re an oasis in the desert, his eyes closed in bliss as your slick spreads across his tongue and fills his mouth. When he has had his fill, Paz will take you to the bedroom.

There, he is going to spread you out on the covers. He’s already had the privilege of watching your ass bounce with each thrust, so now he wants to watch your titties do the same. Once he has your hips on a pillow, he’s going to slide in nice and slow so he can watch your face contort with pleasure. You’ve often told him his cock is just right – long enough to reach all those needy spots inside you. Just thick enough to make your inner walls protest when he pulls out. Satisfying as fuck and never fails to get you to the finish line.

Now, since you’re close to his height, Paz can wedge his cock into you before folding over your body, resting his weight on one elbow and grabbing a tit with the other hand. He can kiss you comfortably without having to bend awkwardly or stop what he is doing. When he has you on his back, he can get nice and deep to wrench those noises from your throat and make your eyes roll back up. (He loves that look you get on your face, when you bite your lip and whine like you’re on the verge of falling apart.)

When he has gotten you off again (who knows how many times he made you come while he was tidying up his mess?), he’ll take you to the shower, where the two of you can cram yourselves into the minuscule cubicle and argue over who gets the first turn under the too-low shower head. (Another bonus to having a tall partner? Towels look tiny on your longer body, and if you accidentally flash him on purpose, he’ll have no choice but to have you right then and there on the bathroom counter. 🤷)

[lovely-angst]

secret child pt. 2

part 1 here. this story got a lot more attention than i thought it would get

also i didnt know how to put this together lol idk where this is going

“Hibiki, I cannot believe you went out and got yourself suspended,” you scolded as you had him help out with some yard work, specifically sweeping away the leaves and branches away. “I specifically told you not to do anything rash, but you went out looking for a fight. I understand that you don’t have the greatest relationship with your biological father, but that doesn’t mean you can just try to fight him.” 

Sighing, Hibiki stopped his sweeping as he turned to look at you busy at work. “I’m sorry mom,” he stated guiltily. Hibiki never meant to disappoint you—disappointing you was one of the things he hated most. Seeing you move heavy stones around, Hibiki quickly walked towards your side, taking the large stones from your hands, “I got it, where do you want it?” 

“Thank you, Hibiki. You can just place it with the pile over there, I’ll deal with those later,” you state as Hibiki walked away with the stone with ease. 

Standing up, you dust the dirt off your apron before walking over to your baby. “Thank you for always thinking of me, but this isn’t your battle to fight, okay?” Looking up at him, you give him a small smile before he responds with one of his own. “Okay.”

“A week of suspension means a week I get to spend with you,” you coo as you wrap your arms around your not-so-small baby. “I’m just glad they were sparing enough to allow you to stay as a demon slayer. You worked so hard for this,” you say, pulling away from the hug as the two of you slowly make your way inside the small house. “I’ll cut some apples for you, thank you for helping me with the yard.” 

Gently slicing the apples, you could faintly hear Hibiki training in the yard as he awaited his apples. “Hibiki always eats so many slices,” you quietly mumbled to yourself as you pulled out two more apples, “three should be just fine. It’ll keep him busy.” 

As you were just about finished preparing the apples, you heard Hibiki angrily shouting from the yard, causing you to suddenly become worried. “Hibiki? Are you okay?” Walking over towards the open door, your eyes focus on Hibiki, his back facing you as he seemed to be yelling at someone. “Hibiki?”

It seemed as if hearing your voice triggered something in him, his head immediately shooting towards you, eyes wide. “Mom, please go back inside,” he tries, but you already made your way outside, placing a hand on his back gently. “Hibiki, what is going on?” you ask before you catch a figure in the corner of your eyes. 

Turning your head gently, your eyes widen as they meet those familiar blue ones from all those years ago. Hibiki raises his sword back at the man, “I’m asking you to leave,” he growls.

Tomioka glances over at you before focusing back on Hibiki, “I’m here because of your suspension,” he informs politely and Hibiki frowns, lowering his sword. “Your suspension was partially my fault; I decided to come train you for the next week as compensation.”

“I don’t want your help,” Hibiki quickly responds, but you place a gentle hand on his arm, “Hibiki, I think this could really benefit you,” you start, but Hibiki scrunches his face at you in disagreement. “I know you’re upset with him, but as a demon slayer, this is an opportunity like no other—Tomioka-san is an excellent swordsman, and you know that too.”

Giving him a warm smile, you continued on gently, “Don’t worry about me. Take this opportunity to grow.” Hibiki was conflicted, of course he wanted to train and become a better demon slayer, but it had to be with the man who caused you all this trouble. 

Gritting his teeth, Hibiki dropped his sword, “Fine, I am under your supervision for this next week,” bowing politely to Tomioka, you glance over at him before respectfully bowing yourself. “Please take care of Hibiki well.”

-

The two had been out training for the past five hours since Hibiki had agreed to allow Tomioka to train him. You were cooking up some dinner so that by the time Hibiki was done, he would have food waiting for him after all of his hard work. 

“I’m back,” Hibiki muttered out tiredly as he walked into the house exhaustedly. You watched in awe at how tired your baby looked after one day of training, how much did Tomioka push him? “Go take a bath. Dinner is already on the table for you,” you state, Hibiki groaning in response before he disappeared into the hallway. 

Slipping on your sandals, you took a step outside, looking around until you noticed Tomioka’s figure training alone beside the tree. “Tomioka-san,” you started as you walked over to the man. Turning around to face you, you gave him a small smile before bowing politely once more, “Thank you for giving up your time to help train Hibiki.” 

“He’s a bit of a trouble maker, but I hope you can overlook that,” Tomioka responds with a smile. “It’s fine, he has a lot of potential,” Tomioka starts, gently resting the wooden sword against the tree. “It’s getting late. I must be going back to my estate. I’ll be back tomorrow to train Hibiki,” 

“If it’s not too much trouble for you, we have a spare tatami room you could stay in for the time being,” stepping aside, you gesture towards the house, “It’s the least I can do for helping out Hibiki.” 

“I wouldn’t want to trouble the two of you, Hibiki doesn’t seem fond of me,” you chuckle at his statement before giving him a shrug, “No, not really, but if he wants to become a better demon slayer, he’s going to have to learn.” Taking a step towards the house, you glance back over your shoulder towards the man, “I have dinner ready, why don’t you join us?” 

-

A couple of days passed as Tomioka continued to train Hibiki to the core. They worked on their breathing techniques along with the proper techniques to wielding their nichirin blades. And though you were very happy for Hibiki, you felt for your baby when he would always come home sore and tired. His hands filled with callouses from the intense training. 

Walking out towards the engawa, you placed a tray of sliced apples down before taking a seat, watching the two train. “That’s enough, go ahead and take a quick break,” Tomioka states before Hibiki complies with a nod, jogging over to steal some apples. 

“Hey mom, what are you doing out here?” he asks, munching on an apple as you pick one up yourself. “I thought I’d share some apples with the two of you before I continue to work on my garden, it’s a beautiful day out,” you state, biting into the apple. 

“The two of us?” Hibiki questions before turning to glance over at Tomioka from over his shoulder. “Be nice and offer him some apples as well,” you say before standing up to walk back into the house. Grumbling, Hibiki takes the tray before walking over to Tomioka. “Here, apples.”

Walking over towards the garden, you busied yourself again as you planted your flowers and herbs with the background noise of the two training—it kept you at ease. 

Humming gently to yourself, you had finally finished planting everything, you just had to move all the stone back to make your garden more decorative and please to the eye. Bending over, you grab the heavy stone before shuffling it over towards it’s location. “This would be so much easier with Hibiki,” you thought to yourself as you move back to the pile. 

“Here, let me help,” Turning around, you see Tomioka bending down to take the large stone from you, “Where would you like this?” Glancing away, you point toward your previous stone, “Over there please.” As Tomioka began to set each stone nicely, you were busy patting away at the ground to even it around your flowers. “Are you done training?” you questioned, glancing back over at where Tomioka was previously. “We’re taking a quick break, I thought I’d help you move these stones,” he answered, you let out a hum in response. 

“Thank you for the apples,” Tomioka suddenly continued after the quiet silence. Turning to look up at him, you gave him a small smile, “It’s nothing. Hibiki really enjoys apples and I thought you could enjoy some from all this training.” 

Squatting down beside you, Tomioka turned to watch your movements and you could feel the heat rising in your cheeks as you tried to focus on your work. “Hibiki’s a great kid, I can tell he really loves you.” Stopping your movements, you turn to look at him, his blue eyes staring straight into your own, “You raised him well.” 

Before you could respond, you jumped back to reality when you heard Hibiki shouting in the back, “Hey! Are you going to continue training me or what!” Standing from his spot, Tomioka walked back over towards the young boy as you stared at your flowers in shock. 

Shaking your head, you tried to ignore Tomioka’s words. He was just trying to lure you back into his trap! You’re not the same girl you were before, you’re a mother now, you have a child, you’ve learned from your mistakes. 

But you know deep down your feelings have never gone away.

The following day, Tomioka took Hibiki up to the mountain to train for the day. Training was always a pain, but if it could help him better as a demon slayer, then it would pay off in the end. 

Sitting on an empty tree stump, Hibiki pulled out his bento that you had made for him before beginning to snack on some nashi, glancing down at a village visible from the mountain. 

“Your mom really takes care of you,” Tomioka stated as he watched Hibiki munch on his nashi. Glancing over at Tomioka, Hibiki gives him a frown, “What does it matter. Stop talking about my mom,” Hibiki grumbles, picking another slice with his toothpick. 

Hibiki hated to think about the fact that this man was his father. It was an odd concept to him, not having a father figure his whole life and suddenly, his father who he had recently fought, is here training him. 

What bothered him most was that he did resemble Tomioka a bit too, but they were nothing alike. 

As the day slowly came to a close, Tomioka decided to take Hibiki through town before heading back towards the house, “A reward,” as Tomioka stated. Hibiki had bought a few snacks for himself, but also a few items for you that you had been reminding yourself to get.

As the two reached the house, you were outside waiting for them before you ran to hug Hibiki. “Mom,” he whined, but you just smiled in response. “I just missed you,” you chuckle before he showed you the items he had gotten for you. “How kind of you, Hibiki! I set the bath for you, why don’t you go ahead and use it ?” Nodding, Hibiki steps inside and just as you were about to follow, Tomioka suddenly stops you. 

“(Name),” he calls out softly. Turning around, your eyes focused on the small bag Tomioka was holding out towards you. “Oh, what’s this?” you reply before he set the bag in your hands. “We were walking through town and I found something I thought would suit you,” 

Your eyes widened before you gently reached inside the bag to pull out a beautiful hairclip that glowed with the setting sun. “Oh, it’s beautiful! But you didn’t have to-”

“I wanted to say thank you,” Tomioka replied, a smile across his lips as your cheeks flushed. “Let me,” reaching over to pick up the clip, he stepped closer before gently placing it in your hair. 

“Does it look okay?” you ask with a shy smile, Tomioka quiet as he looked at you. “You look lovely.”

Watching the two from the hallway, Hibiki knitted his brows together frustratedly before walking into the bathroom. This was not supposed to happen. 

-

Sitting at the dinner table, Hibiki frowned as he watched the two of you gently chat away. It had only been six days since Tomioka had gotten here, but the two of you had been getting along well. 

Why were you not angry at the man? He left you! He threw you out, but here you are, welcoming him into your house and acting like he has never hurt you! 

Angrily pouting, Hibiki played with his food, his appetite disappearing. He hated Tomioka and still does. He respects him as a teacher, but outside of that, Tomioka was nothing to him. And to make matters worse,

Tomioka was getting close to his mom.

Thankfully dinner passed by in a flash and Tomioka was outside with his crow while Hibiki was inside helping you clean up. “Hibiki? Are you feeling alright?” you questioned as you turned to look at him, his back facing towards you. “You didn’t eat much at dinner, I’m a little worried for you. Did something happen?” 

Sighing, Hibiki turned around towards you, an upset frown on his lips. “Mom, you’re beginning to fall in love with Tomioka.” he suddenly states and your eyes widen. “Hibiki, what are you-”

“And I think Tomioka is falling in love with you too.”

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

Talk

Prompt: Hi are you still doing Merlin prompts? If so, I’d love to see some bonding with Gwaine and Arthur? You write amazingly and I know you usually focus on Merlin, but I’d love to see those two learn to get along. Maybe they’re on a duo quest to find Merlin and slowly grow together over it? Thank you and no pressure if you’d prefer not to write it!

Thanks for the prompt!

Read on Ao3

Warnings: None

Pairings: none, although you can read it as whatever you’d like, Merthur, Gwaine/Merlin, don’t mind 

Word Count: 2876

Arthur’s not exactly sure why Merlin has a habit of disappearing during the day, but he does know the tavern bill isn’t nearly as high as it should be if that’s where Merlin was always going. Gaius may always say—well, not say, more like heavily imply until Arthur puts that together for himself—that Merlin’s there, but Arthur knows better.

Which means Merlin’s just flat-out missing.

Great.

“Arthur,” Guinevere calls as she hustles down the steps, “you’re not going alone, are you?”

“If that’s what it takes, then I will.”

“But you know you can’t go alone, what if you—“

“Guinevere,” Arthur says gently, stepping back to cup her hands in his, “you know I have to go.”

“I’m not saying you can’t, I’m saying you should bring someone with you.”

“He’s not going alone,” calls another voice.

They both look around to see Gwaine already mounted, riding into the square. He tips Guinevere a deep nod and raises an eyebrow at Arthur.

“Well? You going to get your royal arse onto the horse or not?”

Arthur rolls his eyes. “I’ll be back.”

“You’d better.”

“About time,” Gwaine calls cheerfully as they start out of the gate, “you’d think you’d show a little more enthusiasm.”

“We’re here to find Merlin,” Arthur says as firmly as he can, “so let’s get started.”

He urges Hallariel into a gallop, racing through the fields until they reach the deeper woods. To his dismay, Gwaine easily keeps pace. If anything, the knight looks more comfortable on the horse than Arthur feels. He grits his teeth and keeps on.

The forest is empty, no sign of Merlin. They ride on. Gwaine is surprisingly quiet as they search, finally noticing a scrap of Merlin’s neck kerchief heading south.

They slow, giving the horses a break, until Gwaine digs out a scrap of the dries meat and tears into it.

Arthur rolls his eyes. “Can’t wait until we’re stopped, can you?”

Gwaine shrugs. “‘M hungry. Aren’t you?”

Arthur is, but he’ll be damned if he’s just going to tell Gwaine that.

“Look, you wanna sit there and not eat, that’s fine with me.”

“Given how much you eat, I’m surprised you still get hungry.”

“Well, when you’re not sure how long you’ll have food or when you’ll get it next, you eat when you’re hungry.”

The blasé way Gwaine says it gives Arthur pause. He twists around to see Gwaine still eating, glancing around to find more trace of Merlin. He looks at the knight.

Gwaine is strong, not as strong as Percival—though who is?—but a strong knight. He sits a horse well, he fights with great skill, and he’s incredibly adept at handling himself.

He catches Arthur looking and raises an eyebrow. “Something wrong?”

Arthur blinks and shakes his head.

“There’s a tavern not too far from here. We can stay the night there.”

“Don’t want to camp out in the woods?”

“You can afford it.”

The tavern is small. Modest, even. The innkeeper smiles wide when they come in the door, respectfully asking to stay the night. She bows low and shows them to their rooms, telling them when dinner will be served and that if they need anything, absolutely anything, not to hesitate to ask.

“Just make sure you’ve plenty of food,” Arthur warns with a smile, “my friend here has quite the appetite.”

She smiles and leaves. Arthur turns around to see Gwaine turning the scrap of fabric over and over in his fingers.

“You alright?”

“Never better,” Gwaine says cheerfully—too cheerfully—as he stows the fabric away, “you have a plan on where to head next?”

“There’s another pass further south,” Arthur says, still frowning a little, “we can ask if anyone’s seen him heading there.”

“Merlin didn’t say anything, by any chance, did he?”

“No.”

Gwaine hums thoughtfully. “And you haven’t been…talking or worrying about anything with him, have you?”

Arthur glares. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Have you?”

“I don’t see why it’s any of your business what I talk about with Merlin.”

“Given he’s missing and you’re the one he talks the most to, I think it is.”

“I think you should trust my judgment,” Arthur says firmly, “and that I shall choose what to share appropriately.”

Something flickers across Gwaine’s face too quickly for Arthur to name. The knight smiles and claps him on the shoulder. “Let’s see what’s for dinner here, shall we?”

They sit downstairs as the innkeeper bustles back over with their food. She bobbles a curtsy and goes to the other guests. As Arthur glances around the mostly full room, he sees the amount of food on their plates is significantly more than the food on the others.

Gwaine, of course, is already eating, although he sees the knight perform the same glance. Within no time, their plates are empty, Arthur’s belly pleasantly full.

“How was it,” the innkeeper asks anxiously, worrying her hands into her apron, “was it to your liking, m’lords?”

“It was wonderful, Hilda,” Gwaine says before Arthur can say anything, “and I couldn’t eat another bite.”

Arthur frowns at him as Hilda pays him no mind.

“Oh, well, thank you, m’lord, I can only hope the rest of my cooking will be good enough.”

“I’m sure it will be.” Gwaine smiles and takes two gold coins out of his purse. “For your troubles.”

“Oh, m’lord, I can’t accept this, it’s too much! And the food is already included with your room and board, m’lord, I—“

“Please.” He puts the money into her hands. “Allow me.”

“Thank you, m’lord, I—thank you.”

She bows and hurries away.

Gwaine turns to Arthur. “You planning on catching flies like that?”

“What the bloody hell was that?”

“It’s called ‘paying,’ Princess, surely you’re familiar.”

“But you—you’re—the food—“

“Was excellent,” Gwaine says firmly with a tone that reminds him vaguely of Merlin, “and very generous.”

“What is going on,” Arthur hisses, “and what game are you playing?”

Gwaine raises an eyebrow. “You want to have this conversation here?”

With a tact that Gwaine does not employ often, let alone any time Arthur’s actually seen, the knight moves them back upstairs to their beds. He takes a seat as Arthur starts to pace.

“What’s got your pretty little head so worried?”

“You’ve never turned down more food as long as I’ve known you. And you certainly haven’t voluntarily paid for it.”

“Camelot is a kingdom that has more food than any one person could hope to eat,” Gwaine replies, propping his hand up on his knee, “and it comes from the castle kitchens. This place is an inn, run by the people, for the people, with none of the luxuries of Camelot’s heart.”

Gwaine motions around. “These people do their best. Their best should be rewarded, shouldn’t it?”

Arthur stares hard at Gwaine.

Gwaine meets his gaze easily, raising his eyebrow. “You don’t actually think all this is as easy as everyone makes it out to be, do you?”

“What?”

“You’ve never farmed,” Gwaine says, “never known the fear of what happens if your harvest goes bad. You have the security of the castle, of the city. These people don’t. And you’ve never had to worry about coin in your pretty little life.”

And here’s the thing, Arthur knows that. He knows he doesn’t know a lot about what life is like for the people he rules. He knows that.

But he doesn’t know that.

Gwaine seems to take his silence as whatever answer he’s looking for. The knight turns on his side and starts to take his heavy armor off.

“Merlin’s heading south, you think?”

Arthur nods. “I’m not sure what else is out that way. This is probably the last town we’ll come across for a while.”

“Then it’s a good thing we stopped, isn’t it?”

“…yes, I suppose it is.”

Gwaine falls asleep quickly. Arthur stays awake a little longer, looking at the ceiling.

Huh.

In the morning, Gwaine gives the innkeeper another few gold coins after breakfast, as does Arthur. They both insist she takes them, that their stay has been truly lovely. They ask if anyone’s seen Merlin, a skinny, dark-haired man heading through here.

“Aye,” an older man speaks up, “I seen him. Heading toward the pass, he was, said something about a cave system.”

“Cave system?” Gwaine glances at Arthur. “Rung any bells?”

Arthur pays the man for the information and saddles up before Gwaine can ask any more questions. It lasts until the tavern is out of sight.

“Alright,” Gwaine says without any preamble, “now tell me.”

“There’s nothing to tell.”

“Bollocks. Your pretty pampered face went two shades whiter when that man said something about the caves. Now tell me what’s happened with Merlin.”

“It’s none of your concern.”

“Unless it’s very much escaped your notice, Sire, I’m out here looking for my friend. Not your servant, not a servant of Camelot, Merlin,” Gwaine says in a low, dangerous voice, “and if you do not tell me the truth, I will be performing the rest of this search myself.”

It takes Arthur aback, that’s for sure. He looks at Gwaine, who looks as serious as Arthur’s ever seen him, and pulls Hallariel to a halt.

“Threatening a king is treason, Sir Gwaine.”

“Withholding information is worse.”

“I thought I asked you to trust me.”

Gwaine stares down at Arthur. It’s funny, he never noticed that Gwaine is…taller.

“You really don’t know a damn thing,” Gwaine growls, “do you?”

Before Arthur can answer, Gwaine wheels his horse around and starts moving toward the pass again. Arthur has to urge Hallariel to a trot to keep up. For the next few hours, they don’t speak. The tense silence feels like a weight on Arthur’s armor.

He knows Gwaine and Merlin are close. He knows Gwaine cares for Merlin.

What he doesn’t understand is this.

If…if Gwaine cares for Merlin, then he must want Merlin found, right? If Arthur knows how to find him, he has to trust Arthur, right?

Then why isn’t he doing that?

“Here.” Gwaine swings off his horse and ties it to the stump he lands on. “We’ll camp here.”

Arthur wants to say that he’s the king, thank you very much, so he’ll decide where they stay, but he doesn’t.

“I’ll collect the firewood.”

“Since when do you know how to collect firewood?” And Gwaine’s gone.

Well, he has a point.

Arthur gets their bedrolls set up instead and digs a fire pit. By the time Gwaine gets back, everything’s ready except for the food. Gain sets the wire and proceeds his flint and steel. The fire lights. It’s not as warm as it should be.

They sit in silence.

“…how did you learn how to do all this,” Arthur says quietly after a while, “if you grew up as a noble?”

Gwaine stiffens. “Who told you that?”

“I know you fake it,” Arthur says, “how clumsy you make yourself out to be. But you fight like a noble.”

“What’s that mean?”

Arthur allows himself a small smile. “Like you’ve been trained by someone who’s not cheap.”

It makes Gwaine snort, at any rate. The camp lapses back into silence, but it’s not as heavy as before.

“Nobles are,” Gwaine starts, “an interesting group of people. All talk, most of the time, when they remember how.”

Arthur stays quiet.

“They don’t understand things,” Gwaine continues, his voice growing heavy, “they don’t see things as well as they should. And people get hurt because of that.”

That Arthur knows all too well.

“The common people are the ones who suffer when the lords play their games,” Gwaine says, “they lie and they scheme and they grab for power and they forget why they’re supposed to have it in the first place.”

“To care for the people,” Arthur says quietly, “and so what they can’t do for themselves.”

Gwaine looks at him. In the flickering light, Gwaine looks—well, he looks like he suits the fine robes as well as Arthur.

“I was never very good at their games,” he settles on finally, “but I was good at people. So I left.”

“And you became one of them.”

“Put your faith in systems and you’ll always end up disappointed. Put it in people and you’ll always be surprised.”

“The world isn’t that…easy,” Arthur decides on eventually, “it’s not designed to be.”

“No.” Gwaine looks back into the fire. “I’m sure you’ve been told that, right? That most people will never make a difference, no matter how hard they try? That the world’s just too big?”

“My father—“ Gwaine makes a noise— “he always demanded that we keep the systems intact, that it was the best course of action, that change would be worse.”

“Do you believe him?”

“Not anymore.”

Gwaine sits back. “It’s true to a certain extent, I suppose. That most people won’t ever make a big enough difference.”

“Gwaine—“

“Come on,” Gwaine says with a smile, a sad smile, “you know that. Hilda back there, for example, you can’t tell me that she’ll change the world, can you?”

“…no.”

“But,” Gwaine says, “because we gave her those coins, she can have her inn fixed up. So she can host more guests and take care of her daughter. Then maybe her daughter won’t have to get married young and sell the inn.”

Arthur’s head tilts.

“They may never change the world,” Gwaine says, “but it makes a difference for them.”

Oh.

Oh.

“Thank you,” Arthur murmurs, “thank you, Gwaine.”

Gwaine waves him off. “Merlin’s not here to beat things into your head, guess someone has to.”

Arthur huffs. “You’re here for Merlin, aren’t you?”

“What, here in this forest or as a knight of Camelot?”

“Both?”

“Both,” Gwaine nods, fixing Arthur with a look, “is that a problem?”

Is it?

“Considering I’m in a very similar position,” Arthur admits, with far more honesty than he’d like, “no, not at all.”

Gwaine raises his water skin. Arthur raises his. They toast to Merlin.

“Let’s get some sleep,” Gwaine says after they’ve eaten their fill, “the next day’s a hard ride.”

“Is that near where the caves are?”

“It should be.” As they bed down for the night, Gwaine looks at him. “Will you tell me where we’re going tomorrow?”

“Yes, I will.”

“Good.”

The morning is cool. A light mist settles over the air as they mount up and get rid of the camp. Gwaine rides in front, pointing out the tricky parts and slopes as they pick their way toward the pass.

“So,” he calls over his shoulder, “what are we looking for?”

“There’s a cave,” Arthur says, “of legend. Rumor has it that when the moon turns dark and the rivers run dry, something happens.”

“Sounds maudlin.”

“You’re telling me.”

“So why’s Merlin out here?”

“Remember when the wells all stopped working?”

“A week before we left?”

“Merlin came to me that morning, worried.”

Gwaine’s shoulders tense. “Was he alright?”

“Physically,” Arthur says, “I couldn’t find any injuries, but he—he seemed anxious.”

Gwaine snorts. “Merlin’s anxious a lot. Bears listening to.”

“Which is why I asked.”

The next question is colored with something that might be approval. “What’d he tell you?”

“What I just told you about the cave. Said it merited looking into.”

“Were you planning on it?”

“Yes.” Gwaine twists around. “I was!”

“Then why is Merlin out here alone?”

“Because the idiot decided to run off in the middle of the night instead of waiting for me.”

Gwaine chuckles as he turns back around. “Yep, that sounds like Merlin.”

“He’s going to get himself killed doing that one day,” Arthur grumbles, mostly to himself, “if he keeps waltzing off with no armor and no one to protect him.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing he’s got us, isn’t it?”

“…yes, yes it is.”

“I’ll tell you,” Gwaine says as they round the corner to the pass, “I’m tempted to tell him off when we do find him.”

“You’ll have to get in line.”

“You think you can beat me, Princess?”

“I think you’re going to try and beat me.”

“You’re on.”

Merlin, when they finally find him, walking out of a cave with a suspicious singe to his tunic, just looks like a confused doe when Gwaine and Arthur start scolding him like two parents. And if he’s even more confused when the two of them seem to get along on the way back—with Merlin riding in the middle of them, thank you very much, you’re not vanishing on us again, Merlin—then he keeps his questions to himself until they’re back in Camelot.

And if Arthur starts going to the tavern, well…

Now he’s really curious where Merlin’s going, because he’s sure as hell not here.

[purpleyellow]

When my love blooms

BTS 8th member

Sunny’s masterlist

“Sunny's expeciences during When Our Love Blooms”

a/n: JUST FYI, Jinyoung plays a dude named Jaehyun and Sunny plays the character named Jisoo.  Your opinion is very important for me, send feedback and requests anytime 💜 Also, don’t be shy and interact a little, ask box is always open

DAY 1

Looking at herself in the mirror, Sunny fixed her now brown hair and snapped a quick picture. Sending it to the BTS group chat with an “I should have bangs more often :p” she quickly locked her phone and put it away, leaving the small changing trailer the stylists had led her to.

“Sunny, let’s go this way so you can do a table reading before we start shooting” One of the producers called her to one big room where most of the staff were already seated in a big table.

Looking for her name tag, she saw her empty spot next to Got7’s Jinyoung, who was already seated playing on his phone. The few times Sunny had met him before, they never really interacted that much, since she usually stuck to talking to Bambam because they’ve known each other since trainees. Bowing respectfully, she sat down next to him trying not to stay too close.

“Excited to start shooting?” Jinyoung tried to make the atmosphere less awkward, turning towards her as he took a sip of his coffee.

“Yes, a little nervous as well” Sunny nodded, suddenly trying to remember all of the acting classes she had taken the week prior.

“You’ll be fine, table readings are a great way to get used to the storyline and build confidence in your character” he smiled sweetly at her.

Smiling a thanks to him, she paid attention as the director and producers started giving out tips to the actors and fully explaining the storyline to every little detail. “It’s important all of you get in sync with the ages you’ll be interpreting” was a sentence heavily repeated, since the story would be set in two different times.

After about two hours, when the meeting ended, the two idols stood up and grabbed their stuff from the table. “Your character is really in love with mine” Jinyoung nudged her with his elbow smirking.

“He’ll be just as whipped for her in less than two episodes” Rolling her eyes, Sunny joked back and started walking side by side. 

Looking around to see if anyone was paying attention, she decided to share one of her worries with him. “I know this might seem out of nowhere, but I’m dating Sehun from EXO. And by what they said a few minutes ago there will be a lot of kissing involved. Do you think I should tell him about it?” 

With wide eyes at the sudden confession, Jinyoung assessed the situation before speaking “Does he know you’re acting and I’m the love interest?” After Sunny confirmed he shrug his shoulder, face back to its relaxed state “Then it’s implied. Mentioning it to him would only make it look like it’s a bigger deal than it actually is”

Still a bit unsure about it, Sunny tried to assure herself it would be fine, Sehun had never been the jealous type and he looked very excited when she told him about the project. Sensing her uncertainty, Jinyoung placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Look, seventy percent of the shots will be manipulating camera angles and lighting, we’ll just need to stand very close to each other” She rose an eyebrow at the last part and he sighed “I swear everything will be strictly platonic, just try to look like you’re in love with me when the cameras are rolling” With a breathy laugh, Sunny calmed down a little.

DAY4

Stepping out of the fake bedroom, the girl grabbed a tissue handed by a staff member and started to dry a few tears. Waiting for the director to tell her what to do next, she looked around and found a very excited boy jumping and waving her way. 

“Okay everyone, that’s enough for today” The middle-aged man shouted and Sunny took off towards J-Hope. 

Engulfing her in a hug, he patted the top of her head and smiled brightly “I missed you so much. You’ve been working a lot lately, we barely see each other on the dorms since you always leave way too early and come home very late”

“It’ll only be for a couple of weeks. Here let’s go to catering, I haven’t eaten yet” Sunny grabbed his arm and took him to a bunch of trailers parked. 

After she got her lunch, they sat down in a table and she started eating with him stealing a couple of bites here and there. “Jungkook said he will pay you a visit as well, he’s trying to set a date with Yugyeom so they can come together”

“He’s really tight with his 97 friends huh? I wonder if he would come at all if Jinyoung wasn’t in this” Sunny rolled her eyes remembering the many times she had to repeat what she had said because Jungkook was too absorbed in his group chat to pay attention.

“Let’s just be happy he’s making friends” Hobi smiled and Sunny laughed “I’m being serious, you were very quick to befriend other idols and do your thing, I thought Kookie would never leave our side” 

“But he did talk to other people” Sunny tried to reason with him.

“Yeah, only when V or Jimin was around, the boy took introverted to another level” he looked around and reverted his gaze to her. “And you, have you made more friends here?”

“I talk with a few actors and the staff are nice I guess” Sunny shrug her shoulders “You just said I made friends easily, why so worried out of nowhere?”

“Because I know you” Hobi smiled gently at her “You probably spend most of your day worrying about doing a good job and studying the script. Not trying to break this to you, but I don’t think you’ll ever get the chance to do this again, do you really  want to let the experience pass instead of making connections and having the time of your life?”

Sighing, Sunny placed her arms on the table and looked around as well “It’s just, people here are always working. I know that seems like heaven for me, but it gets tiring only talking about techniques and obsessing over the storyline. Also, I don’t think other people are interested in talking with an idol. I’m like a choir kid who wanted to try out the drama club”

J Hope laughed at her comparison “I’m glad you’re not leaving Bangtan to become an actress then” He smirked and she rolled her eyes with a small smile “How about the other actors? I guess Jinyoung’s on the same boat as you”

“I guess so. We talk in between shots sometimes, he’s probably the closest I have to a friend” as she said that the boy raised his arms in victory.

DAY6 (yes, it was on purpose)

“Okay, cut” The director yelled and Jinyoung retreated his lips from the corner of Sunny’s mouth “Please don’t leave the phonebooth, I’m going to check if we need to do that once again”

With the amount of space restricted, Sunny rested her back on the glass and the Got7 member tried to back away as much as possible, but it wasn’t enough to be a respectable space. 

“I’m sorry if this is awkward,”  Jinyoung said looking everywhere but at her. Not that Sunny knew because she was literally doing the same. “I’d open the door, but I’m sure he’d yell at me for doing so”

The girl didn’t have time to respond back, as someone yelled they were done for the day. Finally breathing properly, she stepped out of the small place and saw Yugyeom and Jungkook on the back watching the staff work. 

Looking at Sunny with wide eyes, her groupmate walked very fast towards her and dragged her somewhere more secluded. “Do you know how intimate that looked?” he said like he was scared making the girl laugh.

“Well, it is a romantic drama. I’m sure it was supposed to look like that” she said shrugging her shoulders and leaving to get out of her costume.

Grabbing her arm again, Jungkook prevented her from moving “Still, it’s awkward. Aren’t you uncomfortable with it? We can talk to your manager and get them to change the script or something”

“Are you crazy?” Sunny put her hands on his shoulders and shook him a little, getting him out of his shock “They signed me to play their character, I’m sure they would straight up fire me if I did anything even remotely close to changing the scenes”

“Well… I-I’m uncomfortable with it” He stuttered a bit but ended up crossing his arms and fixing his posture as if he was some kind of authority, all Sunny did was raise an eyebrow at him “Sehun Hyung won’t like this either. Plus you’re like a child, isn’t this like, illegal?”

“I’m literally a year younger than you” she reminded him,

“Well, it’s legal then” He nodded “But, Sehun? Does he know this?”

“Of course, I’m not going to lie to him about where I spend most of my day”

“I’m not talking about that” it was Jungkook’s turn to raise an eyebrow, making Sunny sigh.

“I haven’t told him about the kisses, if that’s even what they are, but he does know I have a love interest” She linked arms with him and started walking towards a trailer, she desperately wanted to get out of those clothes and go home “I’m scared if I talk too much about it it’s going to seem like I care too much about what’s going on”

“But if you don’t it might seem like you’re trying to hide something” Jungkook pointed out being led by her “If it were me I’d want to know. I would probably become petty though”

“Yeah, you would” Sunny smiled at his personality.

“What do you mean by those not being kisses by the way?”

“Oh. Fake kisses are so boring, like, lips aren’t even fully touching. Plus, the real feeling of-”

“That’s enough” He cut her off flustered “ I already know that I don’t know why I needed for you to say it. Please forget I even asked”

DAY 7

“So, that’s what has been going on” Sunny said to her phone. Pacing from one side to the other on the empty makeup trailer.

“Okay” She heard Sehun’s muffled laugh on the other side “I already know you would be doing stuff like that. It does worry me a little that something made you feel like you had to tell me this now”

“I had talked with Jinyoung about this and he told me it wasn’t a big deal, but Jungkook came yesterday and said it would be better if you were aware”

“Oh, so you asked your fake boyfriend what to do about your real boyfriend?” Sunny could feel him smirking through the phone and unconsciously rolled her eyes.

“This really isn’t going to become a problem right?” She stopped pacing and faced her brunette figure in the mirror.

“Trust me it isn’t. You’re going to give me double the kisses to make up though” Sunny smiled at his silliness “I have to go right now. I love you”

“I love you too” she blew a kiss and he hung up.

Leaving the trailer, she saw Jinyoung also walking towards the set she was going to. “Hey, settled everything with the boyfriend?” 

“Yeah, and he said he already expected it” Sunny started walking with him, the space between them enough to fit another person.

“I told you, you should have trusted Sunbae” Jinyoung smiled at her, using his nickname from the drama, and Sunny rolled her eyes once again.

“Keep talking like that, and I’ll have to start calling you Jaehyun” she spoke with a mischievous grin and it was his turn to roll his eyes.

“Aah Jisoo, your friendship means the world to me”

2 Months later

Sunny was laying on her bed while scrolling through social media and checking out people’s reviews on the latest episode when her notification bar rolled down showing a new message from Sehun 

“Come to my place, we need to talk”

(please don’t kill me, pt 2 will be coming soon)