#sigh. anyways i am really looking forward to the new life sims coming out!!!

[medicasino]

i literally cannot wait until there is actually other life sim games like the sims that are actually publicly available to play!!! like Tiny Life is out now and i do definitely want to play it but... come 2024 we might have Life by You and perhaps Vivaland in our hands... also i am Really Really awaiting Paralives as well i am PRAYING for a release date to be announced. like i will exercise as much patience as i can but tbh ts4 is depriving me (i only have base game + my first pet stuff + desert luxe kit so i dont have 95% of the gameplay i want .) and i would love to just be able to have something else to play too??

[archived-kin]

simeon with a himbo boyfriend

note from kin: once again i am writing for the boys because this fandom doesn’t have nearly enough content for them, especially for Big and Beefy Men. let them be in dating sim fandoms too!!!!!! give them more content!!!!!

anyway i’ve made you an angel since i don’t want to have to think about the deeper repercussions of what simeon dating a human would be (i mean we all know what happened to lilith when she tried it)

fandom: obey me!

character(s): male!reader, simeon, luke, belphegor, beelzebub, asmodeus, satan, leviathan, mammon, lucifer, barbatos, diavolo, solomon

pairing(s): simeon/reader but it accidentally becomes everyone/simeon’s boyfriend at some point whoops (this ended up as a pretty big block of text as a result so please let me know if you have difficulty reading it so that i can try to format it better!)

warning(s): nope!

genre: fluff!!!! fluff everywhere!!!!!!!!!

simeon thinks you’re the cutest goddamn thing in all three realms

you may be six foot four inches of muscle but to him that is six foot four inches of ADORABLE

you’re very strong so he likes to just run and jump up at you from behind and wrap his arms around your neck because he knows you won’t be fazed by it (physically anyways, emotionally is another story)

the other angels always gasp when he does this in public because it’s so far from his usual ‘poised and elegant’ thing but how is simeon NOT supposed to climb all over you like a koala when you’re so big and huggable???

simeon just really loves jumping at you like that okay

because every time he does you’ll just pause for a second and look very confused as to why your back has suddenly gotten heavier, and then you’ll turn your head, and your smile and excited little ‘simeon!!’ is to DIE for

he has to be incredibly upfront with you about what he wants because otherwise you will not understand

he has to say, word for word, “i want to sleep in the same bed as you every day” before you actually realise that that’s what he meant

the whole exchange kind of went like this:

simeon, being sappy at like seven in the morning: “i want to wake up like this all the time from now on”

you: “??? do you want me to come lie down next to you before you wake up tomorrow morning?”

simeon: “no, for the whole night”

you: “you want to wake up like this for the whole night??”

simeon: [sighs]

he also often has to be the one taking charge when it comes to physical affection  

like you’re always willing to give him hugs and carry him around and let him sleep sprawled out on your chest like a starfish and give him kisses but half the time simeon has to ask you because for some reason you just won’t do it on your own???

at one point simeon starts getting a little insecure that you don’t actually really like physical affection and are just going along with it for him

because he’s a sensible angel, he brings this up with you before jumping to conclusions

he was not prepared for you to reply that you always wait for him to confirm that he wants affection because you’re afraid that you’ll accidentally hurt him with your strength if you go for it by yourself

simeon doesn’t cry a lot but dear god did he come close that day

after that it’s just hand holding and hugs and forehead kisses galore from you and simeon couldn’t be happier

now, it’s time for a bit of backstory

you were created purely to fight during the big celestial war, which is why you are so Beefy and Stupid

the beefy is because they needed you to be both strong and intimidating, while the stupid is because they didn’t create you with anything but fist fighting in mind

during the war you were a force to be reckoned with because you could just run at and headbutt a demon and they’d immediately be flung straight out of the skies and back into the devildom

and, even better, this meant that you didn’t have to kill anyone! you could just punt them so hard that they’d be flung out of the realm where the battle’s taking place entirely

once the war was over though they didn’t really know what to do with you

you were basically just this giant baby who didn’t know how to do anything but war

so they just dumped you in a garden and told you to take care of the flowers

which was how simeon originally met you! he was taking a walk around the gardens and saw you crying over a tree that you accidentally snapped in half with your big clumsy hands

now, simeon wasn’t one to believe in love at first sight, but HOLY FUCK

if he hadn’t already been an angel in the celestial realm he’d have thought you were some divine being from the heavens

anyway long story short simeon consoled you and started helping you take care of the garden, taught you how to live a life in times of peace, spent entire nights just lying awake and thinking about your smile and your laugh and how warm your hands look to hold and how it would feel to hug you, and finally managed to confess to you without you misconstruing it as just a Friendly Act of Kindness, and now you two are the proud holders of the title Cutest Couple in The Universe

granted only asmo calls you two that but you’ll take it

speaking of asmo allow me to segue this to the rad exchange programme era

you get so sad when simeon tells you he’ll have to leave for a year

your face falls when he breaks the news and your voice is all lost and quiet when you ask, ‘does that mean i can’t see you?’

simeon is absolutely devastated

it’s like a thousand puppies and kittens are being murdered right in front of him

he nearly cries (when i say nearly i mean he does)

but he can’t back out of the exchange program now, and one year isn’t THAT much for beings that live for possibly forever, so in the end, giving you a giant hug and about a million kisses to make up for the ones you’ll miss over the coming year, simeon leaves for the devildom

he makes it about a month and a half without you before he starts getting all mopey

and you’re not doing much better up in the celestial realm

michael actually has to message simeon and ask him how to deal with you because you spend every day dejectedly shuffling around the gardens that you take care of and it’s making everyone sad just looking at you

simeon reads that message and immediately decides that either he’s going back to the celestial realm or you’re coming down to the devildom

the authorities are a little cautious about it because you’re one of the purest angels they have and they really don’t want you getting corrupted by demons

but simeon assures them that the few demons that you’ll actually be having contact with wouldn’t do that, and you’ll be under both his and lord diavolo’s protection

so you end up being allowed to join simeon in the devildom for his exchange year!!!

honestly with the way the two of you react when you see each other again you’d think you hadn’t seen each other in years

simeon runs up to you and jumps straight into your arms and you spin him around in a big hug and ahhhhhhhh it’s like a teen romance movie but with an actually compelling relationship

and so you move into his bedroom (because of course you’re still going to share one down here) and take up a temporary position as a gardener to take up time since you can’t really do school

pros: simeon now gets to see you every day again and you look very cute bustling around the devildom’s fancy gardens with a watering can and wheelbarrow. also he gets to watch you lift an entire shed and it’s the best thing he’s ever seen

cons: the others are all basically in love with you now as well

simeon’s torn between ‘why wouldn’t they be, he’s literally the most perfect being ever’ and ‘what the fuck, that’s MY boyfriend’

belphie likes you because you are similar to beel and you’re also warm and big and strong so he can take naps on you and you won’t be bothered in the slightest

one day simeon sees belphie just jump onto your back and start sleeping there while you’re crouched in the garden doing some weeding and he’s so stunned by the sheer audacity that he forgets to be mad about it

honestly you don’t really notice that belphie is sleeping on you until you go to get up and feel something move on your back

and then, being the dumb precious idiot you are, you just lie face first there on the lawn so that he can carry on sleeping without being disturbed

consequence: simeon nearly cries at your sweetness but is also incredibly jealous and belphie is now having Feelings that he didn’t sign up for

beel meanwhile isn’t sure how to feel about you at first because he kind of feels like you’re stealing his twin all the time, but then you make him your special candied fruits (from produce that you grew yourself) and he loves you from that point forward

also PLEASE share your workout routine with him he wants to know your secret

it turns out that you don’t really have a workout routine?? you were just made like that

though the constant exercise and heavy lifting and stuff you do as part of your daily garden-care routine (you take care of basically all of the gardens back in the celestial realm) helps as well

he’s a bit disappointed but he does like that you can pick him up without any effort

one time he asked if you were capable of it and without missing a beat you went ‘let’s find out!’ and straight up swept him off his feet

beel was fucking screaming on the inside but no can’t feel feelings that’s simeon’s boyfriend

meanwhile asmo… okay we all know the way asmo is

boy took one look at you and immediately started drooling (figuratively anyway. physically his jaw just dropped)

kudos to him though, he backs off with the flirting as soon as simeon informs everyone that you’re his partner

asmo may be the avatar of lust but he is no home wrecker (he still finds an excuse to hug you every time he sees you though because awooga, muscles)

(he does know his boundaries so simeon doesn’t mind too much)

asmo also very likes the fact that you have such a green thumb because it means you can grow the prettiest flowers and you’re always willing to trim him a few to use as accessories

at some point simeon accidentally eavesdrops in on a conversation between the two of you where you’re just gushing about what kind of flowers he likes and how you’re going to plant them everywhere in the devildom because you like it when he smiles when he sees them

CRITICAL HIT!!!!!

simeon is pretty sure he combusts on the spot, while asmo is just squealing

thus was the origin of the title ‘Cutest Couple in the Universe’

satan on the other hand is mostly disinterested in you at first

the two of you live in pretty different worlds even if you live within the a five minutes’ walk of each other. he prefers to stay locked up in his room or the library and just curl up with a good book or ten for hours on end, while you’re always outside, digging flower beds and pruning bushes and cleaning fences and walls and basically doing every other little bit of manual labour that none of the brothers could be bothered to do before

he does note that you’re pretty good at what you do but that’s about it

until one day

you’re just pottering about in the garden outside the house of lamentation doing your angelic gardener thing when the stray cat that satan’s secretly been feeding for the past month or so comes by for its usual afternoon meal

satan has the window overlooking the garden so he quickly spots its ginger fur as well as you staring directly at it, and he immediately panics because what if you scare it away with your intimidating stature???

(yes, part of the reason satan doesn’t acknowledge you before this is because he was kind of scared of you and your muscles that he heard could punt beings out of entire realms back in your hey-day)

so he quickly dumps his book (though not without carefully bookmarking his place first) and rushes down to the garden in hopes of salvaging the situation, only to find you lying face first on the grass once again, though this time it’s not his little brother on your back

it’s the cat, who is purring like a little motor and aggressively kneading its paws against your back

satan can’t even see your face in this moment but he still basically gets cupid-shot in the heart because this is the cutest thing he’s ever seen

he has to force himself to calm down for a bit before he approaches lest he get overexcited and accidentally incur simeon’s wrath in the process

anyway after that satan makes a beeline for you every time he sees you and learns that you are an Absolute Idiot, but it just makes him like you even more

if satan was intimidated by you at first though, levi is downright terrified

you look like you could snap him in half with a single punch

he doesn’t try to talk to you at all for the first few weeks because how could he possibly find common ground to talk to you about?? you probably hunt dragons and eat rocks or something in your spare time

it isn’t until satan brings you up one day and mentions that you are incredibly dumb of the ass and probably couldn’t hurt a fly even if you tried that levi even entertains the idea of befriending you

he’s still not making the first move though

but it turns out that he doesn’t have to! one day you just show up at his bedroom door holding a giant crate of his latest akuzon haul

turns it got dropped off at the local post office after traffic problems and you volunteered to go pick it up and bring it back

anyway levi thanks you and starts unpacking his stuff, expecting you to leave in silence, but then he looks over and sees you just standing in front of his tv and staring at it

he’d been playing some battle platformer to pass the time before you showed up, and while levi himself doesn’t consider it particularly remarkable, you’re absolutely fascinated

being a gardener in the celestial realm you’ve never really had experience with this kind of thing, and you’re even more tech-illiterate than simeon, so what you’re seeing is basically like magic to you

so levi takes it upon himself to teach you as much about the art of gaming as he can in the short span of the next four hours before simeon gets home from a meeting of some kind and you inevitably immediately run off to greet him

you learn the basics relatively quickly but you’re still pretty awful at it

levi loses count of the amount of times you’ve accidentally run right off the end of the platform and fallen to your death once it reaches thirty two

it’s pretty much the most he’s laughed in, like, forever

congratulations! you have gained a new member in your party! levi will now follow you to the ends of the earth because you are the first person he feels like he can just be totally at ease around without being judged at all and just have fun with

(once, after you leave another gaming session to go cuddle with your boyfriend in the garden, levi catches himself thinking that ‘it isn’t fair that simeon gets to date him’ and has to do some serious self assessment)

mammon meanwhile has none of the reverence for you that his brother does

the amount of times he’s tried to rope you into his money-making schemes (which never work because he fails to realise that you are incapable of doing anything malicious in the slightest) is honestly just embarrassing at this point

simeon has to step in more than a couple of times because honestly mammon could ask you for your wallet and you’d probably just give it to him without another thought

that being said your wallet wouldn’t be much use because you never have any money

you just don’t understand the concept of exchanging money for goods and/or services so you never see any need for it

that being said, simeon does give you some money every time you go out into town on your own because something will inevitably catch your eye and you’ll suddenly realise that you just cannot live without it

the thing is simeon spoils you ridiculously so he always gives you way more money than would be considered a reasonable allowance

which means all mammon has to do is tag along and ask you nicely and you’ll probably buy him anything he wants

he does this a couple of times but then stops because he actually starts feeling bad about it

something just doesn’t sit right with him when he’s walking around with a bunch of shiny new things you’ve bought him with money that was meant to be spent on you while the only thing you’ve bought of your own volition is a pack of chocolate lollipops shaped like rabbits to share with simeon and luke

he may be the demonic avatar of greed but even he has a line that he won’t cross

he makes up for it by buying you things instead

nothing too expensive (he’s still mammon after all), just little things like sweets or bulbs for flowers you haven’t tried planting yet or food colouring for you to use for your candied fruits

speaking of those candied fruits, guess who loves and would probably kill a man for them?

lucifer

man may not seem like it but he has a hell of a sweet tooth

there was a bit of tension between the two of you when you first met (well there was tension from lucifer anyway) because he’d never met you like he had simeon and luke and had no idea what you were like

plus he’d heard about how you’re everyone’s favourite now back in the celestial realm and the little piece of him that still misses his life as an angel is a little petty about it

but then he interacts with you more and he realises that that favouritism is absolutely deserved

he will not admit it but he has wondered what being carried by you would feel like on multiple occasions

figures out how to read you really well which isn’t much of an achievement when you wear every single feeling you have on your sleeve but it still brings him a bit of satisfaction when he notices something that simeon doesn’t

he may be a pridey mcprideface but he is willing to give up a bit of that pride by pretending he can’t carry something heavy so that he can watch you do it

simeon acts like he doesn’t notice this but he absolutely does and he doesn’t know if he should tease lucifer about it or whack him over the head with a newspaper for it

all that aside though, much like simeon,  lucifer also thinks you’re just the cutest

he comes across you building a pillow fortress in the middle of the house of lamentation’s living room one day and is understandably like “what are you doing in my house and what are you doing with those pillows”

you explain very seriously that satan asked you for help in an apparently pre-arranged pillow fight with mammon and that every warrior needs a well-protected base of operations and offer to show him all the optimised battle features somehow recreated from nothing but cushions and blankets and chairs 

lucifer’s heart goes d o k i  d o k i

he also has experience with Big and Dumb men from dealing with both beel and diavolo (when the three of you are together it’s just himbo3) so the stupid doesn’t bother him much

speaking of diavolo (wow i am nailing all of these transitions from character to character look at me go)

this man is basically just a grown up golden retriever boy and you are a big gentle st. bernard so the two of you get along like a house on fire

you’ve seen how much this man gushes about lucifer. now imagine that times a thousand

that is how he talks about you

honestly sometimes you’d think HE’S the one dating you

simeon would probably get defensive if he didn’t get so much whiplash from their conversations about you

diavolo: “i must say, i never would have pinned [name] as being your type”

simeon, ready to Fucking Brawl: “excuse me?”

diavolo: “though i don’t blame you, have you seen his page in that book about the celestial war? the illustration does his true beauty no justice, of course, but it’s enchanting in and of itself. to be honest i’d have loved to have seen him in action during the war, i imagine it would have been quite breath-taking to see”

simeon: “…what”

barbatos is usually just there in the background during half of these exchanges and he has to seriously stiffen up his poker face to resist just bursting into laughter

the other half of the time the conversation is just simeon and diavolo going back and forth gushing about you

barbatos honestly dislikes you a bit at first

not for any personal faults of your own! it’s just that all your garden work + your very forgetful mind means that you’re often tracking dirt everywhere

it doesn’t help that diavolo keeps inviting you over to the castle for tea and a chat and half the time you leave these big footprints on the floor and he wants to cry because he just spent four hours mopping that

he mentions it to diavolo in passing at one point, who then passes the message on to simeon

barbatos kind of gets concerned for himself because he knows simeon does not take well to you being insulted (one time a demon at the r.a.d. called you an ‘unintelligent buffoon’ and he was ready to start a fist fight right then and there)

not that it was an insult, but you never know how love can blind you to reason

but simeon just assures him not to worry and tells you to remember to clean your shoes as well as changing clothes after doing some gardening

normally you’d forget being told these things within a few hours but simeon offers to give you a kiss every time you remember to do this so now you remember every single time you’re about to enter a building after doing some gardening

after that barbatos holds no ill will to you at all

he teaches you how to bake and is honestly so endeared by how clumsy you get in the kitchen

you knock an entire container of salt into the cake mix by accident because your hands are too big and you moved too fast and barbatos is just like 🥺

he low-key babies you even though he’s like an entire two heads shorter than you

you don’t mind though because getting babied by barbatos means you get given all sorts of cakes and sweets all the time

simeon isn’t sure how to feel about it but it doesn’t seem to be the patronising kind of babying (it’s more of an affectionate doting) so he lets it happen

what he doesn’t let happen is solomon’s relentless attempts to feed you his food

you are both too dumb and too nice to realise just how bad his cooking is, but simeon knows you have a sensitive stomach and are actually a pretty fussy eater - you just tend to stay quiet when something isn’t to your liking because you don’t want to complain

having had a sample of solomon’s food himself in the past, he knows that you’ll probably get sick eating it, and he doesn’t want you to be uncomfy so he refuses to let you try even a bite

it’s like he has a radar in his head that goes off every time solomon approaches you will a bowl of ‘noodle soup’ that looks more like something he’s fished out of a nuclear waste tank

solomon, when he’s not trying to indirectly poison you, is probably the guy you spend the most time with apart from simeon and luke

he’ll just hang around nearby with a spell book while you do your gardening and show you some neat little magic tricks every now and then

he tries to help with the gardening but he’s not exactly physically strong and he nearly breaks his back trying to lift a giant bag of compost

so he decides it’s probably better for him to just watch from afar

kind of wants to conduct an experiment to see just how much weight you can lift before you start getting tired

one time he sees you cut down a whole tree with one hard swat of your hand and just walk off carrying it over your shoulder and he has to take several deep breaths

luke knew you already, so not much changes while you’re in the devildom

he really wants to learn to make candied fruits the same way you do but he can never get the hang of boiling the sugar mixture to the right heat and consistency (plus he’s kind of scared of how hot it gets)

you like to just carry him around on your shoulders and while luke would normally bristle at being treated like a child, you act like this with nearly everyone

(once he sees you running around the garden with diavolo of all people perched on your shoulders, arms raised in the air like he’s on a rollercoaster ride, and he nearly passes out on the spot)

he seriously adores you and acts like a guard dog whenever he feels like any of the others are trying to take advantage of your dim-witted naïveté because NO demons are allowed to harm his big brother like that

he will also chase them off with a stick if he has to if they get too close because no being is allowed to even remotely try to disrupt your relationship with simeon 

simeon himself is no fool, and he’s well aware of the effect you have on pretty much everyone you come across, but he trusts them because they’re his friends

besides (and he isn’t being cocky or anything), it’s not like the relationship you have with them even holds a candle to what you have with him

they’ve all known you for less than a year, he’s loved you for nearly two millennia

they might be allowed take naps on your back while you work or be carried about on your shoulders, but do they get to spend every night snuggled up in your arms, feeling your chest rise and fall with every breath you take? no, he doesn’t think so

in conclusion: one day himbos like you will probably take over the world with their big muscles and unwavering loyalty and clueless grins that could make anyone’s heart skip a beat, and simeon’s pretty sure he’d be okay with it

[postalenha]

on and off % jake

pairing: playboybf!jake x reader genre: angst, fluff, lovers to exes, exes to lovers idek word count: 1.89k words requested: yes / prompt 14, “we called it off again last night.” / 18, “it’s been you all along.” / 19, “for the first time, i had something to lose.” synopsis: immaturity isn't needed in a relationship, but that seems to be jake's and your's specialty. warnings: curse words, mentions of drinking, throwing up, su!cide, toxic relationship, making out

"i thought you're going with jake today?" sunghoon asked as you hop into his car.

you rolled your eyes at the thought of riding in the same vehicle as the boy, "no, we called it off again last night."

"again?!" the boy exclaimed, "y/n, that's probably the nth time you guys called it off." he sighed in disbelief, "that's not how relationships work." he commented.

judgingly looking at his way, "yeah? like you know any better?"

"shut up." he started the engine, "this isn't about my love life."

"whatever." you blurt out, "i guess being bad at handling relationship runs in our blood." you jokingly said, as your cousin laugh.

he tilt his head smiling, "damn, of all things that can be passed down, that's what we got."

"well, at least we got good looks. that works as a payoff." he added. you agreed at him with a nod, "anyway." you changed the subject.

"i'm planning on ending it with jake." you stated. he looked at you, "no shit, you sure?" he assured, "to be honest, whatever makes you happy." he added, looking like he wanted to say something but he decided not to.

"don't apologize." you led before he could even say sorry for insisting that you should date his best friend, sim jaeyun.

"i'm not- okay whatever." he almost want to deny the urge but he saw you looking at him with a teasing face, "i just feel a little responsible for all the stress this relationship have caused you." he scratch the back of his head, as you slap his arm.

"shut up, dating him was my decision. you don't have to blame yourself for all the bad decisions i made for myself. i'm an adult now." you told him.

parking his car he nod his head, "okay. just remember i'm here if things are bad, okay?"

"okay." you said, before going out of his car. walking at the corridor of your building, trying to see if jake arrived earlier than you today.

and he certainly did. there he is on his designated seat beside the window, silently watching as the wilted leaves fall down from the tree.

the clock ticks time faster than you expected and your professor came in, not able to call out for jake's name to even talk to him.

sitting down to a chair, you told yourself that you'll talk to him later. and here you are, in front of jake sim at the rooftop of your university's main building.

it might be your lucky day for no one else is here but the two of you. this place is usually cramped with so many people and miraculously today isn't one of those days.

this may be one of the many signs sent from above that this relationship should end as it wasn't right from the beginning.

your blood boils as your cousin sunghoon pushes you into the table of his friend group, "come on! you wouldn't lose anything! he just want to talk to you." he shouts.

"then tell him i don't want to!" you shout back a little annoyed. the last thing you want to do tonight is talk to the famous serial dater, jake sim. "for i know, he just wants the best out of me!"

"come on! jake's not like that!" he defended his friend. to be honest, sunghoon is the last person you should be ranting to. for he is just like his friend, they play with girl's hearts for fun.

you rolled your eyes as you reach the table of ego. the decision of naming that wasn't yours, but the other students. they called this the table of ego because everyone in here got some solid ego. heeseung, jay, sunghoon, jake. all of them.

"y/n! you actually came!" heeseung cheered as soon as he saw you, he scooted a little bit on his right to leave some space between him and jake, "come sit!"

sitting beside him was probably one of the decisions you will forever regret in your life. the memory of that night was a blur. you barely recall anything that happened then.

the only thing that you remember was when jake was reaching for a kiss, you accidentally threw up on him before passing out.

the next day, he told you to be his girlfriend to compensate with the mess you gave his brand new shirt. you said yes just so he could shut up, telling yourself you'll break up with him after a day or two.

two months then passed and you are just breaking everything now. well, it's better late than never. you just didn't expect that he would actually be a good boyfriend.

he's mostly good, not until everything gets complicated even with nothing. you fight over the smallest thing like, not being able to respond to each other's text to someone getting jealous.

it wasn't the best relationship you've been in but it was a good experience. you learned so much and now, it's time to move on.

"what is it that you wanted to say?" jake impatiently snapped you back into reality. you swallowed a good amount of saliva before saying, "let's break up."

it was better to say it forward than beating around the bush. with this, more time and energy will be saved. because even if you give him an explanation he probably won't listen.

he slowly blinked and sighed, looking away he said "okay. if that's what you want." see. he wouldn't even bother asking you why.

well, if you get things easy. they would also go easily, "okay. it was fun meeting you." you head out, leaving him there.

he most probably would not be so upset that he might think of jumping off the building, but you still prayed that he wont.

and he didn't. you can guarantee that as you see that three weeks later jake sim is with a woman walking the same isle as you are. the chances of you seeing him here at this huge mall was small, but never impossible.

you grabbed your friend's hand trying to hide from the sight of the man, "what are you doing-"

"shut up, jake is here." you told here looking at their way, walking into a clothing store. you hurriedly go and sit at a restaurant far from them and ordered food when your friend speak up.

"y/n, what's the point of hiding now when you guys already broke up?" she patheticly looked at you who's trying to hide from a menu list.

putting the menu list down on the table, you crossed your arms, "i am not hiding from him. i simply don't want to involve myself with anything that has to do with him."

"yeah, like seeing him in a shopping mall involves you with him." she said with full sarcasm. "you have no idea how pathetic that sounded."

not listening to anything she said, you started eating your pasta. almost choking when you saw a familliar figure walk in the restaurant.

trying your best to lean down and not get noticed you hear your friend call, "jake!" you kick her feet under the table as you see jake wave back and walks closer.

"what the fuck did you just do?" you whispered at her, she just smiles like an idiot as jake reach your table.

"hello, jia." he greeted your friend, "hi, y'n."

flashing a fake smile, you said "hi." satisfied with how annoyed you are, jia announced "you guys can join us! we got two extra seats here."

"we don't want to intrude-" you cut him off, "yes, there are a lot of vacant tables. they sure can find their own, right?"

serving a glass of wine, a waiter says "oh, we're fully booked, ma'am. so if you want to eat here, you have to wait for another hour or so." he said pouring some on your glass. "if you'll excuse me."

"it would be rude if we don't invite you right? so join!" your friend cheered as the girl jake's with sit next to you.

taking a sip of your wine whenever jake helps the girl cut her steak, you became unaware of how drunk you are. "so, when did you meet jake?" you asked the girl.

to be frank, she was quiet the whole time. just sitting there, not saying a thing but a "thanks." whenever jake helps her with anything.

"you can't answer that? well can you tell me if you are able to use your hands to their purpose? like cutting off a steak or puring your own glass of wine?"

"y/n-" your friend tried to stop you. but you didn't listen. you just continued to blabber nonsense until jake grabbed your wrist to the bathroom.

shaking your hand off his grip you screamed at him asking, "why did you bring me here?!"

"y/n why are you being so rude?" he calmly asked you.

you sarcastically laughed, "i'm being rude? who's more rude when you're out here eating at the same table as your ex-girlfriend and your current girlfriend?"

"current girlfriend- y/n that's my cousin!" he tried to calm himself by breathing slowly, pushing the side of his mouth using his tounge "do you really think i could replace you that fast?"

the sudden question made you feel like someone cut off your tounge. because you mostly have answer for everything but this. his question caught you off guard.

"when you broke up with me, i never asked why. i knew you were tired and i don't want to exhaust you more." you hear his voice shake as he speak. "i was also tired and we both needed a break."

you looked straight at his eyes that are sparkling from moist done by the tears that he have been trying so hard to hold back, "but as time pass by, i felt more and more empty. there is a big mark of you in my heart that ever since you left, no one has ever filled."

"nobody could ever fit in, but you." cupping your face he also wipe your tears away. "i never felt that way before. it's like, for the first time, i had something to lose."

"jake, i-" it was as if you forgot how to compose a word. you never knew he felt the same way you did when you broke up with him.

maybe sunghoon was more of your cousin than he is jake's friend. because if jake only knew how many times you told sunghoon that you miss him, he would've came back faster than this.

he smiled pulling you into a hug, "it's fine if you don't feel the same way anymore. i understand that. but i just want you to know that i am not the douchebag you think i am."

pulling away from the hug, you see his eyes were bloodshot "sorry, the last thing i want to do is make you cry-" you pulled him into a kiss not letting another word out of his mouth.

running out of breath, you seperated his lips from yours. you widely smiled at him, "it’s been you all along."

kissing outside a three star restaurant's restroom isn't as ideal as other comeback stories, but you wouldn't ask for anything else. as long as you have jake in your arms, your heart is content.

[lightsovermonaco]

His Good Sweater: Chapter 13

Masterlist

Thanks to @acollectionofficsandshit​ for being my bestie and beta reading! This would have never happened without her ❤ Make sure you read Roman Profile, set in the same universe!

Word Count: 6.7k

Recommended song: "Cupid’s Chokehold/Breakfast in America” by Gym Class Heroes

"I have to go."

"Can't you stay five more minutes?"

"I wish."

"Come on, just a few more minutes to cuddle." Pierre flings back the fluffy duvet and holds out a hand. "Please?"

"I have an exam," you say with a sigh but bend to press a kiss to his upturned palm. "I can't skip."

Pierre groans and slings an arm over his eyes. "What am I supposed to do all day?"

"I don't have a sim but I have an old PlayStation you're more than welcome to use. I think I still have one or two games."

"That won't keep me busy."

"I'm sure you'll find something. Just stay out of trouble okay? I'd like to get my security deposit back when I finally move out of this hellhole."

"Okay," Pierre grumbles, sitting up to give you a quick kiss. "What time are you getting back?"

"Four. We can go out to dinner or something." You smooth a hand over his hair, smiling lightly. "Or we can go for a picnic and take a walk through Saint James Park."

"Sounds like a plan." He turns his head to kiss your palm. "I'll be counting down the minutes."

You roll your eyes but your smile contradicts the sass. "I'll be home before you know it. Love you, champion."

"I love you too, mon coeur."

He was endlessly grateful for how easily the two of you had fallen back into each other. When he had shown up at your doorstep he had expected there to be awkward pauses and minutes of tense silence, but there had been blissfully little of either. As the days bleed into each other, your relationship only gets steadier, closer and closer to what it used to be. Maybe it was because you had been the one to break the silence or maybe it was because he had thrown himself into his career into someone's bed- whatever the reason, it didn’t matter. He was simply grateful to be welcomed back into your life. He didn't plan on leaving any time soon.

Pierre allows himself a half hour of lounging in bed before forcing himself to get up and shower. Off weeks were hard; all he wanted to do was rest and recharge but he still had to follow his workout regimen and sleep schedule or he risked falling out of the habit, making it that much harder to get back in the groove come race week.

First order of business: clean the clutter you had shoved in closets and the spare room prior to his arrival the day before. Folding the three baskets of clean laundry took an hour, washing dishes another thirty minutes, and vacuuming the entire flat took twenty. Once the counters are spotless and there isn’t a stray sock to be found, he takes stock of your pantry and notes what staples you were running low on.

Two hours later he trudges back up the three flights of stairs to your apartment, arms laden with reusable bags packed to the gills with food. His legs burn and he's slightly winded from the excursion; at least that could count as his work out for the day.

He's just about to start slicing vegetables for dinner when his phone chimes with a text from his PR agent, Sylvie.

You're supposed to be in an interview now. Where are you?

"Oh shit." He scrambles for his laptop which of course was dead. He manages to plug it in at the dining room table and angle it so the background is mostly neutral, just a band poster framed behind him. He checks his hair before logging into the interview.

"There's the star," the interviewer says, far too chipper to be entirely genuine.

"Sorry, I was having connection issues." He queues up his signature sweetheart smile that gets him out of any squabbles. It works, the woman's irritation melting into a more easy expression.

"Let's just get right into it. Since we're low on time I'll jump right in, if you don't mind."

Pierre leans back. He had an inkling where this was headed. "By all means, please."

"We just saw news of your deal with Christian Horner- if you take seventh in this year's drivers championship, it looks like you're at Red Bull Racing next year. How does that feel after being publicly demoted mid-season in 2019?"

A smirk tugs at Pierre's lips. He had known this exact question was coming. He had debated how to answer it without starting waves and still remaining truthful. If there was one thing he prided himself on, it was his ability to be diplomatic when others may have let their egos get in the way.

"Obviously I'm grateful that Red Bull has recognized the hard work I've been putting in at Alpha Tauri," he starts. "I think I've been able to push the car as far as I can but I still have pace in me, personally. So moving into the Red Bull would let me loose, so to speak, and give me a chance to prove that Red Bull is where I belong."

"Right, you have had quite a spectacular season so far with a race win under your belt and a few podiums for good measure. What do you attribute that success to? Why is it so different now in an Alpha Tauri versus that coveted second Red Bull seat?"

Pierre purses his lips. The answer he was expected to give wasn't one he was willing to voice. Instead he opts for neutral. "I've been able to focus and hone my driving this season. I've found a groove that works for me and with it has come an insane amount of confidence, which is something I struggled with for awhile after going back to Torro Rosso. I think it's really just that I'm finally comfortable in the car and with my team and that makes a huge difference."

"Thank you for that," the journalist says and Pierre nods. "Shifting gears, I have a few questions about your personal life if you don't mind."

This was the part he always dreads. Questions were often prying and he had to subtly skirt around them in a way that offered a satisfying answer without giving away too much. It was an art he liked to think he had perfected over the years but still didn't enjoy.

"As long as you don't mind me staying silent if I don't want to answer."

The woman laughs, the sound sharp and grating. "Of course. Unless I can bribe you into giving me an exclusive."

"Likely not. But you ask the right questions and we'll see."

"You've been seen hanging around a certain London neighborhood lately- that wouldn't have anything to do with you and your lovely lady, would it?"

He had been waiting for that one, too. When the two of you had returned from Red Bull headquarters he had noticed the man taking pictures across the street. He hadn't said anything to you at the time because really, there was no point in getting you worked up when he had a plan to handle it.

The question played right into his hand, in fact. 

Pierre sits forward, folding his hands in front of him. "Actually yes. We recently got back together and if you'll let me, I would like to make a request."

The woman leans back and checks her notes. "Well it's not quite what I had planned but please," she gives a flourish with a hand, "you have the floor."

"I know driver's personal lives are something that a lot of people are interested in and that's great. I don't mind sharing things with my fans or letting them get the inside scoop, but there's some things I would rather be left alone. My relationship is one of them. I know you all took note that she hasn't been around the past couple months and if I'm being honest, it's because of comments and press coverage that invaded her privacy. I think some people forgot she was more than just a name on a screen."

Pen poised to take notes, the interviewer prompts, "You said you had a request?"

He doesn’t stop to assess the damage he had already undoubtedly done. Sylvie was probably already on the phone doing damage control with every news outlet she could get her hands on, if her muted and black square at the bottom of the screen was an indication. 

"All I'm asking is that you leave her alone. If you have questions or comments you have to make, just direct them at me. Don't follow her around asking about me. Don't comment on her posts unless you're capable of being a decent human. Just… let her live her life in peace."

Maybe he was a love sick fool, but honestly he didn't care if he lost some support from fans. If they had such strong opinions on his personal life, he would be better off without them anyway. And his team could cut him and even if he was unable to secure a seat in Formula 1 after next season, he would survive. 

But if he lost you again, he would be broken. It had taken being apart from you for him to realize it and he'd be damned if he was ever disconnected from you like that again.

"That's quite the speech."

Pierre shrugs. "It was. She's the most important thing in my life, right up there with racing.” Now that he had started down the road of truth, he found it impossible to hold his tongue. “I lost her once because people couldn't be bothered to remember that their words have consequences. I won't let it happen again."

"So you see yourself with her for a long time then?" The woman's eyes glitter with the potential of getting an even juicer tidbit from him.

Pierre’s jaw sets, muscles feathering. "That's not something I'm prepared to discuss."

The woman purses her lips and tips her head to the side. There was clearly more she wanted to say. "Well, I have to thank you for what you've given me here. My boss is gonna love the exclusive. I won't push any further. Thanks for your comments, Pierre."

"Thanks for actually being respectful."

“We aren’t all monsters.” The woman shrugs. “I can’t say I haven’t had my moments but I try to be straightforward.”

“Right, yeah. I get that you have a job to do.”

“Anyway. I look forward to seeing what you can do the rest of this season. Good luck.”

He signs off and instantly anxiety washes over him. If she twisted his words he was screwed. Sylvie would be on the phone as soon as the article was printed, no doubt trying to soothe sponsors and investors. She'd give him an earful about being respectful and not poking the bear but he'd tune it out like he always did.

The sooner he got away from Red Bull, the better.

Instead of dwelling on it he busies himself with cooking. It was one of his guilty pleasures. He always requested a full kitchen when he was staying anywhere more than a few days so that if he had the chance to make a home-cooked meal, he had the option. For tonight he had selected his favorite recipe. Parmesan-Cesar chicken wasn't normally something you would ever touch with a ten foot pole but as long as he was making it, Pierre knew you'd at least give it a try.

Music blasting in the background, Pierre sings along quietly as he unpacks the rest of the ingredients and gets to work. He does a little spin between the island and the sink, rinsing the dishes and putting them right in the dishwasher as he uses them. A clean kitchen is the mark of a great chef, his mom had told him, drilling the phrase into him when he was young.

In the middle of cutting potatoes Pierre gets a call. He only has an hour until you're home so he doesn't bother stopping, just puts it on speaker and continues measuring spices.

"Hey Daniel."

"Heard you're in London," Daniel says, Australian accent thick. "And a little birdie told me you and your lady got back together."

"We did," Pierre says, a smile splitting his face. "Finally."

"Thank god, now I don't have to listen to your drunk woe-is-me rambling anymore."

Pierre laughs and sets aside the measuring spoons. "It's not that bad."

"Oh please." Pierre could practically hear the eyes rolling. "The number of times I had to send an uber to a bar after a grand prix is insane. Charles and I should be entitled to financial compensation with the amount of babysitting we've been doing."

"I can handle myself!"

"Not after a martini you can't."

He was right there. "Is there a point to this conversation?"

"Oh right- I'm actually in town today too, got some stuff to shoot for McLaren before we head to Austria for the race next week. You guys wanna come out with us tonight? We're heading to a bar or two."

"I actually had something planned-"

"She already said she's coming!" Dan's girlfriend shouts in the background.

“Well then why even ask me?”

“To be polite,” Daniel offers with a laugh. “We’re meeting at the rooftop bar at the Trafalgar hotel at seven. That give you enough time to do whatever you had planned that’s apparently more important than seeing your best mates?”

“We’ll be there,” Pierre says and hangs up. He finishes seasoning the potatoes and pops them in the oven, finally getting a chance to sit while they cook alongside the main course.

He's on his feet a few minutes later, decluttering the last bits of mess around your flat. It was clear it hadn't had a decent cleaning in quite awhile- hopefully you'd keep it tidy now that the effort had been made. The guys would tease him endlessly if they found out he was acting like a housewife.

You arrive home just as he’s setting the table. “God, it smells amazing in here.”

“Salut, mon amour.” Hands full with hot dishes, he settles for a kiss to your cheek. “I made dinner.”

“And you cleaned,” you observe. “You were a busy boy.”

“Pyry would kill me if he found out I was laying around all day. I had to do something.” 

You hang your backpack on the hook behind the door and take a seat at the table. “Well remind me to thank him again when I see him. This looks delicious.”

Pierre grins over his shoulder at you. “Me or the food?”

You throw your head back and laugh, loud and unrestrained. “The food, you goof.”

Pierre quirks a brow. "Is that the honest answer?"

"Okay, maybe both." 

The meal is filled with your ramblings about your exam and your new hobby- this month it was hiking. You went into detail about all the few trails in the city you’d been on as well as the more challenging ones that dotted the countryside. Pierre just nods along as you talk, already planning on staying up late to learn what he could about the topic so he could be a better conversation partner.

The pair of you work together to tidy the kitchen and put away any leftovers. “Did you bring something semi nice to wear tonight or do we have to make a quick trip to the store?”

“I’ve got some Tauri stuff I can wear. And not just team gear,” he adds when you groan. “You know that cream sweater you love? The one with the logo debossed on the front? I’ve got that.”

“Oh,” you say before biting your lip. Your eyes trail down his frame and back up like you’re imagining it on him. A tingle travels up his spine under your assessing gaze. If you kept that up, neither of you would make it out of the apartment tonight. “My favorite. Yeah, wear that. It’ll be on my floor by the end of the night.”

Pierre places his hands on your waist and grins. “Will it? And what will be on the floor from your closet, hm?”

“Your favorite dress.”

“The orange one?” He realizes half a second too late that you would never know how much he adored that dress from the gala. It had hugged your curves in all the right places and left your back exposed, which would leave him free to trace patterns on your soft skin whenever he pleased. He had missed out on worshipping you in it that night and he wouldn’t mind the opportunity to do so now.

You roll your eyes. “I can’t wear that to a bar.”

“Says who?” Pierre nuzzles his face against your neck, breathing you in. A light undercurrent of sweat from your walk home from classes mingles with the usual bright scent of you, only serving to rile him up further. Never in a million years would he have guessed that a simple scent could do him in, and yet here he was, completely wrapped up in yours. 

“Says me.” You sigh, tipping your head to the side when Pierre’s nose grazes your skin.

His lips follow until he reaches your jaw before he pulls back. “What one are you wearing then?”

“Does it matter?” You cross your arms, the smirk playing on your kissable lips tempting him.

“I have to mentally prepare myself.” And if whatever you chose was too sexy, he would need to get his handsiness out of his system before the pair of you met up with Daniel and his girlfriend. The last thing he needed was to be on the front of some seedy gossip column when his plan was to ease back into it. 

You smile up at him, broad and unrestrained as if knowing your answer would affect him greatly. “The cobalt blue one that makes you stutter.”

The dress in question was just as form fitting as the orange one, but shorter and decidedly more distracting. It fell mid thigh and the spaghetti straps left your shoulders exposed, which coupled with the low back displayed a downright sinful amount of skin. You had worn it at a Torro Rosso event a couple years back and he had scarcely been able to get a full sentence out around you all night. 

“That one’s a close second.” He follows you to your room, leaving you to hunt through the closet while he digs through his suitcase, thankful that he had the foresight to check out of his hotel on the way back from Red Bull and bring his things here.

Because there was no way in hell he was missing a second of being by your side while he was in town. Every moment had to count when he had no idea when he would be able to sleep next to you again, not when the season was nearly over and there were two double headers between now and winter break. When so many variables stood between him and you, he had no problem prioritizing you over a routine workout or a full night’s rest.

Pierre changes into the sweater and a pair of dark skinny jeans well before you emerge from the bathroom. He doesn’t bother responding to Dan’s text that includes an address and reminds him to be on time, instead opting to scroll through his instagram feed. He likes a handful of posts from his fellow drivers, including one of Max actually smiling at something off camera.

“Well?”

Pierre’s head snaps up at the sound of your voice. The phone falls from his hand when he drags his eyes over your body, head to toe and back again. 

Oh, he was so fucked. 

Maybe it was selfish, but with your hair done like that, the barest brush of makeup lining your eyes and in that stunningly blue dress, he didn’t want any other man to have the privilege of laying their eyes on you. 

No, you were all his.

The moment you’re within reach, Pierre places his hands on the back of your thighs, just beneath the curve of your barely covered ass. You chuckle and tap your fingers under his chin. “Close your mouth; you’ll catch flies.”

“Just so you know, if you wear that dress I can’t be held liable for my actions.” Up to and including scaring off anyone that wasn’t Daniel or his girlfriend. No one else deserved to be blessed with your radiance. Hell, he didn’t deserve it, and yet here you stood. 

“We’ll see about that.”

**********

Daniel and his girlfriend had already made their way through a round of drinks by the time you arrive. It wasn’t Pierre’s fault he couldn’t keep his hands off you and wound up getting distracted on the drive over.

"Late as always," she greets, kissing your cheek. "Dan got us here fifteen minutes early because he wanted the table with the best view."

"Like our names wouldn't have gotten us the table if we asked," Pierre says, wrapping Daniel in a one-armed hug before kissing his girl’s cheek in a traditional French greeting. "The view is pretty great though."

You were already leaning on the glass partition, hands curled over the edge and undoubtedly leaving behind fingerprints on the pristine surface, completely unfazed by the fact that the other patrons were staring. You had eyes only for the London skyline and Trafalgar square lit up below. The bar with its white marble tabletops and strict dress code was absolutely not a place that you should be standing on your tiptoes for a better view, but there was no way he could condemn you when your face lit up like that.

Pierre just places a hand on the small of your back and shoots a look at the bartender currently glaring in your direction, daring the smartly dressed man to say anything. He only raises a brow and resumes filling drink orders.

"You guys know how to pick a place," you say, "I could stand here all night."

"Right," Daniel's girlfriend says, rolling her eyes at Pierre who shrugs as if to say what do you want me to do? He was powerless to deny you anything that brought you a semblance of joy; your smile was everything to him. “Love, why don’t you come tell us about uni? You’re the only one of us currently enrolled, and I’m sure the boys would love to hear about all the drama.”

You and Pierre share a secret grin. You shake your head but allow him to guide you back to the cocktail table. “Drama? I’m an engineering major. The closest thing we have to drama is someone grossly miscalculating a structural load.”

Dan shoots Pierre a mischievous grin. “I heard Stroll might be moving next year-”

Both you and Daniel’s girlfriend groan at the same time. “No racing talk when we’re around tonight,” she says. “I’ve heard enough lately.”

“What’s new in the publishing world?” You ask, leaning into Pierre when he wraps an arm around you. He only half listens to her explain the so-called “top secret” project she’s currently working on, instead opting to get drunk on you. 

The light breeze filtering through the surrounding buildings ruffles your hair. You lift a hand absentmindedly to tuck it behind your ear in an attempt to keep it out of your face. Everything you do is amazing to him, snagging his attention even when he should be listening to whatever it was his friends were saying. Your gravity was simply too strong to bother resisting.

“Enough talk,” Daniel’s girlfriend says, waving a hand. “You need a drink, and I want to dance. Let’s go.” Before Pierre can protest, she’s dragging you away to the glass top bar. You throw an apologetic glance over your shoulder and Pierre just winks. He was fine watching you from afar for now.

Pierre’s gaze drops to your perky ass when you lean in to let the bartender know what you want, likely shouting to be heard over the music, your dress riding up a bit with the movement. For having such a strict dress code, this place sure did feel like an upper class club.

You hook your thumb over a shoulder, the bartender’s gaze darting to Pierre before the man nods. The only explanation you offer is a wink, followed by a note on a cocktail napkin and a beer delivered a few minutes later by a server.

This is supposed to be the best beer they have. Just try it.

Leave it to you to constantly push him outside his comfort zone. Pierre tentatively sniffs the foamy glass and shrugs before taking a sip. Not bad, but he still preferred his usual whiskey. 

Setting the glass down, Pierre turns back to Daniel. “Congrats on extending your contract with McLaren by the way. Should give you a decent shot at keeping up with the big boys and landing some serious points.”

“Seems like most of us are moving around, doesn’t it? Sainz to Ferrari, Seb to Aston Martin... The only one with any sort of long term commitment is Max and now me I guess.”

“And Charles,” Pierre adds. “He’s stuck in that red monstrosity for the foreseeable future.”

Daniel laughs, taking a swig from his glass. “And you’re moving too, huh? Austria should be interesting,” Daniel remarks, watching the girls at the bar nursing their own drinks. “What with the news of your new contract breaking and all.”

“Potential contract,” Pierre corrects. “Not for sure yet.”

Daniel scoffs. “Come on mate. You won’t have any problem getting up to seventh by the end of the season. Perez is slipping and the news that his seat is in jeopardy will only help your cause.”

Pierre takes a sip of his amber beer and nods. “I’m sure Perez doesn’t appreciate it, but he’s always been a good sport.” You catch Pierre’s eye and lift your fresh flute of champagne in a mock salute. Dan’s girlfriend drags you out on the dancefloor and immediately spins you. Your laugh is nearly audible, the memory of it fresh in Pierre’s mind as he watches you.

“Mate, have you been listening to a word I’ve said?”

“I’m sorry, what?”

Daniel shakes his head and drains his drink. “I really don’t know how it took you two this long to come together. You’ve been dancing around each other for years but neither of you would admit it.”

“I could say the same about you two.”

Daniel shrugs. “Fair point. At least we got it all worked out in a weekend though.”

Pierre rolls his eyes and shoves his friend’s shoulder. “Whatever. Not all of us can have a perfect love story.” 

The grin Daniel shoots Pierre is pure sunshine. “How long are you planning on waiting before you ask her to marry you?”

“What?” Pierre sputters, nearly choking on air. “Who said anything about marriage?”

“Oh come on,” Dan says, rolling his eyes. “We all know it’s coming eventually.”

Pierre would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about it. But he wasn’t sure if it was the time for a proposal, not when you had just gotten back together. The last thing he wanted to do was go through the pain of losing you again because he was too forward.

“One day at a time,” Pierre says finally, dragging himself back to earth. “I just got her back a few days ago. I don't want to scare her off by proposing just yet.”

“Right. Well you might want to get a ring on that hand sooner rather than later,” Daniel notes, gesturing to the two men who had approached the girls. “How long are we gonna let that go on before we step in?” Neither of you paid the men any attention, instead enjoying each other’s company, but the men’s eyes roaming over your body sets Pierre on edge.

“They can handle themselves,” Pierre remarks, shifting on his feet. The weak attempt at self assurance didn’t do much to negate the red tinting his vision. “They’re fine.”

“Her sharp tongue will hold them at bay,” Daniel says, winking at his girlfriend. “For a while at least.” Props to Daniel for possessing inhuman amounts of restraint, but Pierre’s muscles were coiled and ready to interject at the first sign of trouble. 

He has to pause to remind himself he doesn't own you. You could make your own decisions about who you spoke with and who you entertained as long as he was the one to take you home. He didn't care if you wanted to flirt; he knew it meant nothing and if you got a free drink out if it then so be it. But those were the rules: flirting, no touching. He'd step in if need be if someone took it too far.

But that didn't mean he had to enjoy it.

Pierre watches tight lipped as you politely chat with the man, your body language closed off and dismissive. Pierre hates that you even speak a word to him. He knows it shouldn’t bother him because he trusts you, but the stranger is a wild card. Pierre watches like a hawk as the man inches ever closer, slowly interesting himself into your personal space. He waits for you to take a step back, to grant him that silent permission to come over and insert himself in the conversation and get his hands on you, this proving you weren't on the market.

One of the men shouts something at you over the music and you leer back at him, clearly disgusted at whatever he had said. Whirling on him, you open your mouth, likely to snap out a profanity lined retort, when his hand latches onto your arm.

"Oh, fuck no."

Half a second later, Pierre is stalking across the dance floor, no thoughts other than teaching the asshole a lesson. His hands are already curled into fists, ready to swing if the man hadn't moved by the time he arrived. Tolerating someone hitting on you was one thing, but blatantly ignoring the clear dismissals and laying a hand on you? No way in hell was he standing by and letting that happen.

The resounding crack of your open hand hitting the man’s face has pride swelling in Pierre’s chest. That’s my girl. You’d solved the problem before he’d even arrived. You jab a finger in the man’s face, Daniel’s girlfriend right there with you to back you up.

“Fuck off,” you were saying as Pierre approached, “or do you need to go back to kindergarten and learn to keep your hands to yourself? Maybe next time you’ll think twice before laying a hand on a taken woman- or any woman, for that matter.”

Driving your point home, Pierre slips an arm around your waist and pulls you in until your back is flush to his chest. You crane your neck up, the tense muscles beneath his fingertips and the fury contorting your features confirming just how rattled you are.

The lines creasing your brow are soothed away when you realize who holds you. You open your mouth to say something but Pierre places a hand on your throat, thumb and forefinger framing your jaw as he cuts you off with a kiss, his eyes locked on the guy still standing off to the side holding his cheek. 

You taste like the champagne you’d been sipping all night. It’s the only thought in his head outside of the jealousy licking through his veins like wildfire as he claims you then and there in front of the crowd. Mine, his heart sings. He flexes his fingers, taking advantage of your surprised gasp to slide his tongue against yours. Mine, mine, mine.

Pierre lets you be the one to break away, lips curling in a smug, kiss-swollen smile as you address the men. “In case you still don’t get the picture, I’m not interested. And neither is she.” You jerk your chin, indicating your friend and Daniel, who had indeed followed Pierre and since mirrored his possessive stance, one arm wrapped tightly around his own girlfriend.

The two men reluctantly slink away after mumbling something unintelligible but undoubtedly indecent. It had been a week and a half since he had been on track and he had plenty of pent up aggression to get out. He didn’t normally opt for using someone’s face as a punching back as a stress reliever, but rulers were made to be broken. Your hand splayed on Pierre’s chest is all that stops him from following and asking them to repeat themselves.

“Just let me hit him,” Pierre says, voice far more level and put together than he had expected it to be. “Just one punch. That’s all I would need.” His knuckles smart like he had already connected them to the man’s face. 

“And let you throw away your contract? I don’t think so. The last thing you need is a blurry photo of you knocking someone’s teeth in hitting the front page of every gossip mag in the country. I’m fine, so you can cut the bravado.”

“Yeah, I hear you.” 

“I was wondering how long you were gonna leave us out here,” you say, trying to regain Pierre’s attention. When it doesn’t work, you grasp his stubbled chin and force him to look at you. “I didn’t expect to be stranded for so long.”

The eye contact is what finally calms his racing thoughts. Seeing the trust reflected in your face is enough to have his grip on your waist loosening to allow you to face him. “Someone convinced me you could fend for yourself. And while it seems that’s true, I couldn’t stand it anymore.” 

Your satisfied hum is swallowed by the pounding bass but Pierre feels it rumble in his chest. “Sometimes even a queen needs saving.”

Though his point had long since been proven, Pierre’s hand slides down your back to rest on your ass nonetheless. “I knew you going out looking like this would cause trouble.”

You tip your head to the side, feigning innocence as you press your hips to his. You grin, noticing the hard on that had been bothering him all night. “Looking like what?”

“Drop dead fucking gorgeous,” he says, accentuating his point by sliding his hand up your thigh and under the hem of your dress. “You know I’m tearing this off you the second we get home, right?”

“Why do you think I wore it?”

The sound that escapes him is primal and possessive. The presence of bystanders does nothing to prevent him from palming your ass and kneading the flesh. He presses his lips to your neck and mumbles between kisses, “To torture me.”

You push lightly at his chest, laughing although your eyes dart around the space in search of cameras. Old habits were hard to break. “That may have been part of my motivation. But you’ll have to wait. I haven’t seen Dan in forever and I would actually like to have a conversation with him before we sneak off somewhere.”

At least you knew he wouldn’t be able to wait until you got home to get between your legs. “Fine,” he grumbles, hands settling on your hips. “Only because I love you.”

You beam up at him. “Love you too.”

Arm still slung around your waist, Pierre nods at Daniel and follows the other couple back to the table.

After two more drinks, you and Daniel's girlfriend are singing along to the music in lilting, off key voices, simply enjoying the night air. A stray breeze catches your hair just as you turn to look at Pierre and his heart damn near leaps out of his chest.

To his credit, Pierre’s cheeks are rosy from more than just the charged glances you throw at him as the night wears on. He was on his fourth beer, far more than he usually drank these days, and the buzzing in his head was becoming increasingly hard to ignore. When he has to squint to tell the time on his watch, he figured that was enough.

"I should probably get going mate," Pierre says, turning to Daniel. "Early flight."

Daniel laughs and beacons for the girls. He kisses his girlfriend's cheek when she returns with you in tow. "Are we leaving already?" You pout, and Pierre had half a mind to stay simply have your smile make an encore appearance.

"Car coming," he murmurs, dipping his head to give you a proper kiss. God, you were stunning in that dress- he might not be able to string together words coherently, but he knew that much. 

"Fine." You cross your arms for a split second to convey your feelings on the matter before wrapping your friends in a hug and saying your goodbyes.

Pierre's hand is already on your ass before you're in the uber. Get a few drinks in the boy and he let his guard down. You laugh and pull out of his embrace to usher him into the sleek black suv. If he had been coherent, he probably would have chatted with the driver about the specs of the engine or maybe even racing if he was a fan. Instead the ride is filled with stolen touches and sloppy, wet kisses to your neck.

"I can't wait till we're home," he mumbles. "You're gorgeous. How did I snag you? You're so far out of my league. No way should you be with me."

"I have a thing for guys that go fast in circles on the weekends." 

"Really?" Pierre frowns. "Should I be worried?"

"No. You're the only one I have eyes for." His head is fuzzier than when you left the bar but your laugh breaks through, his stomach flipping at the melody of it. "And we are home."

Pierre blinks, realizing he does indeed stand in your kitchen, with no recollection of climbing the three flights of stairs between the street and your flat. "Oh. When did that happen?"

"After I half dragged you up the stairs." You bend over to undo the straps of your heels, giving him the perfect view. He lets out a whistle that ends in a hiccup.

"Take me to bed, lover," he says in what he thinks is a husky voice. It should be impossible for you to resist.

You roll your eyes and wrap an arm around his middle. "That's the plan. I'll take you to bed, strip you out of that sweater, and you'll be asleep before your head hits the pillow."

"Nnnnnno," he protests, hand sliding down your exposed back to settle at the base of your spine. "I wanna make the most of tonight. I leave tomorrow."

"You don't leave until noon," you point out. "Plenty of time to nurse your hangover and have fun before then, after you drink some water and get some sleep."

"But baby-"

"No buts. Do as I say or I'll send you off tomorrow without a goodbye kiss."

Even in his half drunken state he knew it was a swiss cheese lie, spotted with holes and completely stale. You'd never let him leave without a kiss goodbye because neither of you knew if it would be the last time. He was a race car driver after all, and that came with risks. 

But he sighs anyways and slips off the cream sweater, letting it fall to the floor. At least one of you kept their promises. 

After confirming he was settled into bed, you retreat to the bathroom. His heart aches at the absence, even though you're mere feet away with nothing but a thin door separating the two of you. He registers the sound of the tap turning on and your soft, off key humming of the last song he remembered hearing before getting out of the uber.

"Mon amour," he croons when you re-emerge in a set of silk pajamas. He reaches out his hands for you and you slide under the covers, immediately slotting your body against his. A leg hitches over his hip, tugging him closer until your middles touch.

"Mmm," he mumbles, nuzzling into your neck. "Je t'aime. Tu es l'amour de ma vie et nous vivons d'amour et d'eau fraîche."

"I have no idea what you're saying," you whisper, running your fingers through his hair. "But I like it. Feel free to keep going."

"Tes baisers sont du feu et je fond à ton toucher." He presses his lips to your neck before resuming his mumbled French. "Je pense toujours à toi. Je veux être avec toi pour toujours. Tu as mon cœur et je ne voudrais pas qu'il en soit autrement."

"I like the sound of that." You press a soft, sweet kiss to his forehead. God, that tenderness was why he loved you. That, and your personality, and your eyes, and your… everything. "Dormir, my love. I'll be here to listen to your pretty words in the morning."

The single word of his mother tongue on your lips has him smiling. "Oui, tu le feras. Parce que tu es à moi et je suis à toi."

@seasidetom @flashcal @limp-wrist-max​ @sunshinesewis @lifeofzoemichael @ninuffi @perfectfantasies22 @lamboleglerg @ladyperceval @0forgottenparadise0 @evie-pr @avsensio @ninuffi @lu-morningstar @ggaslyp1 @swiftyhowlz

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[voiceless-terror]

Recognition

@aspecarchivesweek Day Five: Something New

Jonathan Sims/Martin Blackwood, Season One

In which Jon and Martin are more alike than they thought.

Jon, in spite of himself, was starting to get used to Martin living in the Archives.

Offering him shelter had been almost instinctual- after listening to his story, who wouldn’t? Terrorized for almost two weeks and no one, no one noticed. There was also the matter of Jon’s guilt; Martin thought he needed to put himself in danger to be thorough, to please Jon, and now he was homeless. Jon owed him this at the very least. No matter how much Elias disapproved of the situation.

And despite the occasional trouser-less wanderings, his presence was...appreciated. Late nights in the Archives were wearing him down: the statements were getting to him, and the unshakeable feeling of being watched when he knew he was alone was putting him on edge. Now he can blame that feeling on Martin, who he’d caught staring on more than one occasion. Jon was not surprised; he hadn’t been looking or feeling his best, highly unprofessional with his three-day stubble and rumpled clothes. Not a good look.

He’d be lying to himself if he didn’t enjoy the cup of tea when Martin joined him in his worst bouts of insomnia. He would sit on the tiny couch in his office, nursing his own mug and chattering away in a low tone that Jon was starting to find soothing instead of irritating. At first Jon clammed up, uncomfortable with the sudden intrusion on his late night routine, but he soon found Martin didn’t expect him to respond or contribute, save the occasional grunt of acknowledgement. Sometimes Jon even craved the company, the familiar rhythms of Martin’s voice had become an unconscious comfort. 

Tonight he was looking particularly exhausted, slumped in his seat with deep purple bags under his eyes. It sent an unwelcome pang through Jon’s chest; Martin should be sleeping, not entertaining him because he chose to stay late. He said as much.

“You don’t have to stay up on my part.”

“Hm?” Martin looked up from his lap, eyes finding Jon’s. “Oh, no. It’s fine. I like the company, to be honest. Unless…?”

“I don’t mind,” Jon assured him. Shockingly, he found he meant it. Still, it didn’t ease his guilt. Martin was always here, never leaving the Archives for more than an hour to get food or other necessities. He considered his next words. “That being said, I hope you know you’re allowed to have a life outside of the institute. I won’t judge if you want to have a...late night, or go out. It’s not my business what you do in your free time.”

Martin squinted his eyes as if he didn’t understand the words Jon spoke. Christ, do I really seem that out of touch? He knew he could be severe and well, a bit of an ass at times. The stress of the job got to him more than he cared to admit. But he didn’t want his assistants to think they should follow his example. He was Head Archivist, it fell on his shoulders to get this place in some semblance of order. 

“I’m not really one for nights out, Jon,” Martin gave that familiar, self-deprecating laugh as he leaned back in his chair, an almost defeated-like set to his shoulders. “Well, besides the occasional drink with Tim and Sasha. And even those are sort of...I don’t know. They have their own thing going, and I feel like-”

“A bit of an outsider,” Jon provided before he could activate his ‘word to mouth’ filter. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply-”

“No,” Martin cut him off. “You’re right. Feels like I’m intruding.”

“Their banter can be overwhelming for the, ah, uninitiated.” On the few times he’d gone out with them in research, he’d felt more lonely than included. His awkward attempts at interjecting could make a conversation fall flat and he felt the need to accept every drink they handed in him the hopes of ‘loosening up.’ It never worked. They were never mean about it, no- or at least had the decency not to do it in his presence. 

“Tell me about it.” Martin gave Jon a tiny little smirk that sent his heart stuttering in his chest for no particular reason. “I’m used to it, is all. This isn’t much of a change in routine, worms notwithstanding.”

“You, er, don’t have friends you can meet up with? Or maybe a partner?” Christ, why am I prying? What’s gotten into me? Jon felt curious, the man practically lived with him and yet he barely knew him.

The bark of laughter he got in reply was sudden and more than self-deprecating. “A partner? Are you kidding me?” Martin’s tone threw him off-balance; it was jaded, bitter, not like him at all.

“I didn’t mean to pry-”

“No, it’s- to be frank, I don’t think I’m cut out for all that.” Martin toyed with the mug in his hands, gazing into it like it held the answers he needed. “I’ve uh, tried to go on a few dates, meet people, that sort of thing. But they all expect something at the end and it just never feels right, I can’t explain it. Like there’s something missing. ”

Jon paused; the words and their sentiment were not unfamiliar to him. In fact, they resonated quite deeply, if Martin meant what Jon thought he did.

“It’s always been that way- I get a crush, I get to know them, they want to, y’know, and I-I don’t know what's wrong with me, but I can’t-” He cut himself off, sitting up straighter as if suddenly remembering where he was and who he was talking to. “God, I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m telling you this-”

“It’s fine.” And it was. Martin looked at his hands and Jon recognized the sadness in the set of his shoulders, the lines etched in his face. He never thought the two of them would have much in common but that- that was a feeling Jon knew all too well. “I think I understand what you’re getting at.”

Martin somehow managed to deflate even further, curling up as if trying to disappear. “Yeah, well- I think it’s time to admit that I’m going to be alone for the rest of my life.”

The words hit Jon harder than expected. His fists tightened in his lap; he was sixteen again, wondering why the kiss he stole in a backroom felt more invasive than intimate. He was reading romance novels, understanding the words but not the feelings they were supposed to invoke. He was in college, being called a ‘tease’ or a ‘prude’ when he pulled away at the end of the night. And it was all accompanied by that deep, crushing fear that he’d never be enough. 

No, you’re not that kid anymore. 

And Martin shouldn’t have to be either.

“What’s that look for?”

He was drawn from his thoughts at Martin’s words, looking up from the scratched wood of his desk. “Sorry?”

“You’ve- you’ve got that look on your face, like you’re const- like you’re thinking really hard.”

Jon tried to think of a way to word his query delicately, but ‘delicacy’ had never been his strong suit, according to Georgie. Come to think of it, it was never hers either. “Have you ever considered that maybe- that you’re- you’re of the persuasion, that is-”

Martin shot him a deadpan look, unimpressed. “Yeah, I know I’m gay, Jon.”

“That’s not-” He sighed in frustration, fuming at his inability to communicate. “It’s okay to not feel that way. I never have. It’s normal.”

Martin blinked. “Sorry?”

“Asexuality, that is,” he said, finally managing to get out the words. “I was...in a similar position, I guess you could say. I didn’t feel the way you were ‘supposed’ to feel, like how all the books and TV shows describe it. Zero interest in anything sexual, and I thought...well, I thought something was wrong with me.” Jon felt a lump building in his throat, much to his horror. “But being able to put a name to it, an identity, it just felt right.” Martin’s face was unreadable- had he spoken out of turn? Did he have this all wrong? 

He tried to clarify. “What I’m trying to say is that I know what it’s like, that...feeling you described. But it doesn’t mean you’re not cut out for love. You...you shouldn’t have to feel that way about yourself. You’ll find people who accept you. You’re not doomed to be lonely.” Now you’re just getting sentimental. Jon wasn’t one to dole out advice. He attempted to reign it in, get himself back on solid, familiar ground. “Maybe don’t take me for an example, though. I assure you, my isolation is very much self-imposed.”

Martin didn’t laugh. For a brief, panicky moment Jon thought he might have offended him, assumed the wrong thing, taken him out of context. But Martin met his eyes and Jon saw it- a look of dawning understanding, of comprehension and knowing and as much as Jon wanted to look away he couldn’t, because for the first time in a while he thought he might have said the right thing. 

_____

He watched as Martin puttered about in the break room and took a deep breath, straightening his shoulders. Martin hadn’t said much after their conversation, just thanked him in a choked voice and mumbled some excuse about going off to bed. Jon felt a bit conflicted- he now had time to ruminate on the conversation, pick it apart and wonder if he said anything wrong. He didn’t think he had, but his instincts had been proven wrong before.

Still, the thought of helping one person, sparing them from that crippling self-doubt and inadequacy, made any embarrassment or awkwardness well worth it. So here he was, shuffling his feet and holding a stack of paper, stapled and neat and in some cases, annotated. He cleared his throat and Martin turned away from the sink to face him.

“Oh, g-good morning, Jon.” He wiped his hands on a dish towel, throwing it lightly on the counter. “Did you sleep well?”

He’d gotten two hours tops on the lumpy couch in his office. I need to invest in another cot. But he nodded anyway, walking forward and thrusting the pile out for Martin to take. Martin looked down at it quizzically but took it all the same, his face softening as he flipped through the pages.

“I, um- I printed out some articles that I thought might be of interest,” Jon rambled, feeling more awkward by the second. Was this too forward of me? “I’ve always found it easier to read on paper instead of the screen. For ah, concentration purposes. This- this isn’t required reading, or anything. Just might be helpful for, uh, figuring things out.”

Martin didn’t look up from the pages in his hand, instead zeroing in on them with a more intense stare. When he finally spoke, his voice was tight with sincerity. “Thanks. It uh, it means a lot.”

“Yes,” Jon replied nonsensically, having no response to the emotion in Martin’s words. “You- you don’t need to talk to me about this, if you’d rather not. But I’m available if you’d like to.” He paused. Best to keep this somewhat professional- it was almost nine. “Outside of normal working hours, of course.”

“Of course,” Martin echoed, the ghost of a smile on his lips as he finally met Jon’s eyes. He fought down the urge to smile back, instead muttering an excuse and turning to flee the room. I think I’ve filled my emotional quota for the week. 

They don’t talk about it again, but a few days later a sticky note appears on his desk. Thanks- MB. Underneath the clear script he’d doodled a small flag- black, grey, white, and purple. 

Jon puts it in his right-hand drawer next to an old polaroid of the Admiral, where it stays.

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28782318

[aspenflower17]

Finding You (Part 16 of ??)

Hello metal husband and readers! Welcome to another update to Finding You! What’s on tap today you ask? Well, just keep reading and find out! New here and don’t want to spoil the story? Just hop on over to Part One through this link, and you can read through!

Word Count: 3,558

Tags for the Tagged: @simpingforsatan @naimena @hachimochi @wrathandgreed @magi-minminxiii @rensphilia @a-dream-at-night @chloelikesobeyme @getbehindme-satan @theuglypugling @oofthelazyweeb @solomonismyman (If you want to be added to my tags list, just say the word down below in a comment or a message, and I will get you added to the list :D)

Trigger warnings: One character’s a total douche, talk of war and death

Mc twirled the pencil she had been sketching with debating if she should ask the question she had been thinking about. Her and Michael were the only ones in the room and no one would be coming in for quite awhile. This was probably the best time she’d get to ask, "Hey, Michael. Can I ask you a question?"

He looked up from his book, "Yes? What is it?"

"Well, I was reading a book the other day, and I came across something odd. It… it was about the Avatar's Fall," Mc couldn't look at Michael, so she just continued, "Eyewitness accounts say there were eight angels that fell that day. So, I was wondering: Was there an eighth angel who fell that day?"

The silence was heavy, threatening to crush Mc. After a long moment, Michael's voice sounded lowly, "And just why were you reading about something like that?"

"Meeting them in person got me curious."

"And you would believe an eyewitness account over the teachings of the Celestial Realm?"

"Well, not necessarily. I just was curious since I'd never heard of there being another angel who Fell."

There was silence, and Mc still couldn't make herself look over, "I suppose just because some of them have paid attention to you makes you think you know all about demons.”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then what is it then? If you haven’t forgotten, demons will lie about anything. Sinning comes naturally to them. In fact, the seven you keep coming into contact with are the embodiment of some of the most damaging sins. The lower demons are even worse.”

“I just want the most information possible. If there was another angel who fell that day, shouldn’t we tell everyone?”

“You forget your place, Mc. You may have luxuries other angels do not possess, but that does not raise your station.  Questioning Father’s teachings. To believe something a demon wrote about another demon-"

"I'm not really questioning. I was just confused because-"

"And now you interrupt me? Just who do you think you are? I am an archangel, and the only reason you've been allowed down here. You are a simple angel that we have allowed to express her talents throughout the three realms. Do not make me wonder if it was the right decision."

Mc flinched at the door closing. Though he hadn't slammed it, nor had he raised his voice, she had felt the waves of displeasure rolling off of him. The threat about sending her back to the Celestial Realm had her really nervous. Before she was aware of what she was doing, the message had been sent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I could’ve come to the castle.”

“Hmmm… I don’t think that would be for the best right now.”

Satan cocked his head, “Did something happen?”

“Kind of. Anyway, thanks for meeting me here.”

“Of course. Is there anything in particular you’d like to do?”

“Well, I kinda thought, since I have an invitation and all, that you could show me around the House of Lamentation.”

“I… I mean, if you want to. I’m warning you now, it’s almost never calm there. My brothers are… a handful.”

“Sounds great!”

Satan looked over in shock, “Seriously?”

Mc nodded her head, “I grew up with calm. I want some excitement.”

“Well, be careful what you wish for.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

“GIVE ME BACK MY LIMITED DIAMOND EDITION SUCREY FRENZY SIGNED POSTER MAMMON! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT’S WORTH!”

“Course I know what it’s worth! Why’d ya think I took it in the firs’ place?”

“SO YOU DID TAKE IT!!!”

“Oh. Whoops! Forget I said anythin’.”

“MAMMON!”

A blur of demon shot past Mc and Satan. All Mc could make out was white and brown, before Leviathan went past, considerably slower than Mammon, but still fast for a demon. At least, Mc thought it might be Leviathan. The shy purple haired demon was now in all black, with black horns and a snake-like tail. He also looked like he was going to rip apart his brother.

Satan sighed, continuing forward, hands in his pockets, “Welcome to the House of Lamentation.”

“Shouldn’t we do something?”

“Hmm? Oh, about them? I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“Ah. I see…”

“We should probably get you out of the immediate vicinity though. There’s no telling what those two idiots might do.”

“Where should we go then?”

“Hmmm… Well, since we’re close, I guess we could start with the kitchen.”

“Sounds good to me!”

As they walked, Mc looked around her. Though the decorations were both a tad macabre and extremely grand, she found herself… comfortable. The candle light cast everything in an almost cheery glow, and the atmosphere, while a little daunting, made her feel like she was…

“... Home.”

Satan stopped dead in his tracks, and turned slowly towards her, “W-wait… Hwat did you say?”

“Oh, did I say that outloud? Sorry. That probably sounded really weird,” when Satan didn’t answer, Mc continued a bit awkwardly, “It’s just… This is the most comfortable I’ve been in a brand new place in a long time. I thought maybe my attraction to the Devildom was just because of how novel it all is to an angel. But… Being in this house, it just makes everything feel more like… Home,” Mc looked up to see Satan looking at her with a very tender but sad look, “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah. Let’s keep going.”

When they got to the kitchen, Belphegor and Beelzebub were there, former hiding his head in his arms and the latter consuming a concerning amount of food in a very short time. He stopped when Satan and Mc entered the room.

“Burfy! Wrok hus herr!”

“Hmmm? What? Who is it?”

“Ots Emm Fee!”

Belphegor lifted his head tiredly, but smiled when he saw Satan and Mc, “So, you took us up on the invitation?”

“Yup. Satan’s showing me around.”

“Do you guys want some food?” Beelzebub asked, mouth cleared for a second.

“Well, I-"

"Here. You can have this," Beel said, grabbing her hand and dropping what looked to be a kind of sweet bun in it. He gazed at it for a second then looked at her and grinned before walking back to his food pile. 

"You should eat it," Satan said quietly, " He doesn't share his food with just anybody."

"Oh. Okay," Mc said, looking at the sweet. She took a small bite and then her eyes grew wide before eating the whole thing.

"Thought you'd like it," the Avatar of Gluttony smiled.

"It was absolutely delicious! What was it?"

"An orange roll. It's a human word treat."

"I'm going to have to have Luke make it later."

"Did he come with you?" Beel's eyes were shining. 

"Ummm… Not this time."

"Oh."

"I'll make sure to let him know next time I'm coming."

"Please do," Beel said, smiling again. 

"Well, I'm going to continue our tour if that's alright."

"Yes, please do," Mc smiled, turning back to him.

"Have fun you two," Belphie said, dropping his head back onto his arm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mc and Satan progressed through the house. The feeling of familiarity just kept growing as they went. There was a room off the kitchen that Mc felt very drawn to. Satan said it was just an unused bedroom, nothing of note, but it did nothing to curb her interest. In fact, it made her want to see what was inside even more.

When they got to the library, they had to stop because Mc was so excited. No matter how many library’s she saw, personal or otherwise, they never failed to excite her. The fact it was the personal library of the Fallen was not lost on her.

“Do you want to stop here for a bit?” Satan chuckled.

Mc turned to him with wide eyes, “Can we?”

“Of course. Spending time with books is always time well spent. Anything in particular you’d like to look for?”

“Ummm… Do you just want to give me a tour?”

“Of the library?... Hmm… I suppose I could do that. Lucifer does like it organized a certain way. And, of course, if there’s a book that catches your eye, all you have to do is say the word and we can stop to read.”

“Oh, that’s what you’re really after,” Mc teased.

“Well, can you blame me? Reading with someone in companionable silence is one of life’s greatest joys.”

“Well, I suppose it is nice to just sit and read with Sim, though he’s probably the only one I’ve read with.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Most other angels don’t just sit and read very often. Unless it’s scripture.”

“Sounds about right,” Satan said, rolling his eyes and starting to climb the stairs that lead to the second story of the library.

The “certain way” Lucifer liked the books to be organized was by genre, then alphabetically by author.If an author had multiple books, they were to be then sorted alphabetically by title, any series sorted by the first book’s title then in order. Many of the books were old though in impeccable condition. Mc was impressed by the breadth of selection available, and she could sense some spacial magic at work which housed more books than what was visible to the naked eye. While browsing, Mc found a book that looked interesting, and carried it until the tour was over. Satan happened to have a book in a hidden pocket in his jacket so they decided to sit and read awhile. Instead of the ground floor, Satan knew of a little nook on the second story which had a cushioned window seat and two plush reading chairs, so they went and sat there.

Though the story was interesting, she just couldn’t get into the book she’d grabbed. Her mind kept wandering back to her earlier conversation with Michael. She didn’t know how she could have brought up the subject in a way where he wouldn’t have gotten so upset with her. He’d reprimanded her before, but never had he been so dismissive and final about it.

“Are you alright?” Satan’s voice cut through her thoughts. She looked over to see him watching her.

She suddenly felt embarrassed, and averted her eyes, “It’s… Well, I got reprimanded by Michael.”

“Why?”

So Mc told him about her search for information, how Barbatos had told her to ask Michael and his rebuke. When she finished, Satan’s face was impossible to read. He was silent for long enough, she was concerned she had offended him somehow. Finally he spoke, “Lilith. Her name was Lilith. If you want some answers about what happened, I think Lucifer would be the best person to give them to you. I would suggest Beel, but he has enough trauma about what happened as it is. I don’t even know if he remembers, or if he’s blocked it…”

“Blocked what?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Satan knocked on a bookshelf on the ground floor. A deep voice sounded from behind it, “Enter.” At the word, the bookshelf sung open to reveal a secret room. Despite wondering what was going on, Mc was both delighted and intrigued.

“You guys actually have a secret room behind a bookcase?!”

Satan shrugged, “Yeah. The house has a lot more secrets too. It would’ve been my room had I not lost a bet with Lucifer. Now it’s his office,” and with that, he walked in.

The whole room was a lot cozier than Mc would’ve expected. Austere and imposing yes, but there was a level of warmth and comfort to the room Mc would never have expected.

“Satan, what is it?” Lucifer sat at his desk, quill scratching across some paperwork. He hadn’t looked up.

“Mc has a question for you.”

This got him to look up, “Ah Mc. How can I help you?”

“Oh, if I’m interrupting something I can come back later.”

“I could use a break anyway. Please continue,” Lucifer sat there expectantly.

“Okay. Umm…” the memory of Michael flashed through Mc’s mind, and she winced a bit, but continued on with her story. Lucifer’s eyes darkened the further into the story she got. When she got to Michael’s chastisement, Lucifer got up from his chair abruptly, and went over to his window, back to Satan and Mc. Mc faltered in her story, watching as his clothes changed, horns pushing up and out from his head.

“I told her you’d be the one to ask,” Satan intervened, coming to stand behind Mc.

“Why? You know everything. You were there,” Lucifer asked, back still turned.

“You know the whole story,” Satan shrugged, eyes on the black clad figure.

Lucifer was silent and unmoving for quite awhile. Mc’s tension was on high alert for quite awhile, not seeing the horns retreating, until he finally spoke, “Before I begin, I feel I must warn you. You are going to hear things you probably won’t like or agree with. You are not to interrupt me. There will be a chance for me to answer your questions at the end, but only at the end. I will not explain my actions. The only person I answer to is Lord Diavolo. Whether you believe them correct or not, I am not embellishing the truth nor am I trying to hide from it. Knowing all of that, do you want me to continue?”

“... Yes. I would like to know the truth,” Mc answered confidently, though the fact he was still angry put her on edge. She knew he wasn’t angry at her at least.

The eldest, having calmed down enough to revert out of his demon form, came over and sat behind his desk. Satan came and sat next to her, earning a look from Lucifer, “You’re going to stay?”

“She is my guest.”

Lucifer raised his eyebrows, but said nothing, turning his attention back to Mc, “Have you heard about the Great Celestial War?” Mc nodded, and he continued, “No doubt you’ve heard their version of what happened. Probably talks about me and my brothers rampaging around the Celestial Realm until they finally cast us out?” Lucifer looked to her for confirmation.

“More or less,” Mc conceded.

“I am sure they make me out to be a villain in every way?”

“They say before you became angry, you were the model angel.”

“That is… interesting to know. Thank you for that. Now, where to begin?... Do you know anything about our sister?” Mc shook her head no, and Lucifer sighed angrily, “To think they just… Lilith came into my little makeshift family with Beel and Belphie. They were almost triplets in a sense of the word. Beel was the sun, Belphie the moon and Lilith the stars, though I would argue she shined the most brightly out of them. She was... angelic. They should really point to her as the model angel. She was everything an angel should and could be. Though they were all very close, once Beel made himself my bodyguard, Belphie and Lilith spent a lot of time together. Belphie had a habit of going off the the human realm whenever he could, which was not seen as a good thing, though he knew how to keep himself unattached to the humans he happened to meet, so no one could really do much more than grumble. That is, until Lilith started going down him.

Her heart was so pure and full of love, she ended up falling in love with one of the humans she met. Belphie tried to talk her out of it, but it was no use. When the rumors started, I asked both of them what was going on. From what they both said, it was love at first sight. Though I was furious, I went down myself to meet the man in question, and found myself unable to criticize her. He was everything I could have wanted for my sister. 

Unfortunately, he was mortal and he came down with a serious illness. Lilith was devastated. We all tried to tell her this was a good thing. He was a good enough person he would probably join us in the Celestial Realm. I even spoke with my father and got permission for her to lead him to the Celestial Realm when he passed. She wouldn’t listen however. He had told her all about his dreams for the future and she couldn’t let his life end. SO she concocted a plan. I wish she would’ve told me about it earlier, but I only found out about it after the deed had been done. She took a Tarel fruit and fed it to him,” Mc gasped despite herself. That fruit was precious. Michael himself wasn’t allowed any unless Father approved of it. Lucifer didn’t even acknowledge the outburst, “He recovered, obviously, but the damage was irreversible. As punishment for her sins, my father decided she would be put on trial, though we all knew the outcome, “ as did Mc. Either death or complete exile. They were essentially one-and-the-same.

“I had… many issues with the Celestial Realm and how it was run. How it probably still is. I was able to put those all aside however for the sake of my family and my position. This however,” and Mc could see the rage that still filled his eyes, “I could never forgive. Not if it meant the death of our dear baby sister. All my brothers felt the same way, especially Beel and Belphie. We all decided we were going to do something about it. Despite what anyone might say, I did try to go the “correct way” in the beginning. Supplications to my father. Speaking to others that might listen. I think we even tried a petition at one point. Very few would listen. I think there was a level of envy from most of the other angels. They saw in Lilith all their shortcomings, and so they had latched onto the one “bad” thing anyone could ever remember her doing.

“Tensions came to a head one day when I told my father and Michael I would do everything in my power to keep Lilith safe. Michael then looked me dead in the eyes and told me my sister was going to be punished, even if he had to do it himself. I left that meeting trembling with rage, and that’s when I knew I would wage war against anyone who tried to hurt my family, even if that meant fighting my father myself. I flew into the sky that day and sent my declaration of war over the entire Celestial Realm.

“Some came to our aid, but most sat on the opposing side. The war was long and bloody. Many that had flocked to our aid perished, low ranked angels who didn’t stand a chance against the likes of Michael and his bow. On what would come to be known as the last day of the war, we had so few left, my precious family had to be put near the front of the battle. Everything was going fine, and we were actually winning when I saw Michael emerge from the enemy forces. He had spotted Lilith, standing with Beel and Belphie, and I could see his intentions before anyone else. I tried my hardest to reach the three youngest, but a large crowd of angels came to attack me. Whether it was his plan all along to keep me tied up with so many, I don’t know. All I do know is that by the time I had fought off all my attackers it was too late. He had strung three arrows pointing them at my family. They all knew it was coming too, and I watched the panic set in to all three of them, with Beel in the middle. He chose to save Belphie. Lilith went down with an arrow to the wing, which was then followed by three more arrows shot by others, one to her other wing, one to the stomach, and then one to the chest. She looked over to me as she started falling and I…” Lucifer’s voice broke and he had to take a second to compose himself, “Well, let’s just say I will never forget it. After the shock had worn off, I flew after her as she fell. I tried to shoot down as fast as I could hoping to grab her, but it was no use. She crashed into the Devildom, wings singed body broken.

“I didn’t tell anyone about that day for a long time. Eventually I did tell Barbatos and Lord Diavolo who Lilith’s murderer was, which is why Barbatos knew who to send you to for answers. The fact Michael wouldn’t come clean about the whole thing, and that they’ve essentially erased her from history… It makes my blood boil. To see Diavolo acting so chummy with my sister’s murderer…” Mc could see, through the film of tears blocking her vision, Lucifer’s horns starting to emerge again.

Without thinking, she crossed over to him and hugged him, openly weeping. The thought was appalling. Whenever people spoke about the Great Celestial War, they always spoke of Michael’s brilliant  tactical genius. They spoke of how he’d helped crush the rebellion, though they had never gone into detail. She now knew why. Lucifer was taken aback for a second by the behavior, but eventually hugged her back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, yeah. That happened.

Likes, shares and comments all vm appreciated. 

If y’all got the reference in the beginning, I applaud you and offer the chance to quote her magnificence in the comments or you could send me asks and I will reply with another quote (please take me up on this!)

Part Seventeen

[squeeneyart]

Breathe in the Salt - Chapter 17

AO3

Beta reader as always is @thesnadger!

Phone calls will have to do.

Martin has an uneventful Friday night.

“Just- what am I supposed to do, wait for you all to save up for a holiday?”

Martin felt silly, pacing back and forth on the beach and yelling into his phone. A whole day spent too nervous to say anything in that horrible building and there was no keeping it down now, even for his mother. So there he was, outside and cold and freaking out a bit.

Tim sighed. “Look, we’re working on it, but when we got back here we had a mountain of work waiting for us. It’s not the first time this has happened, but if I were the paranoid one I’d say Elias is trying to keep us busy.” 

Pinching the skin between his eyes, Martin said, “I know, I know, it’s not your fault.” Except for all of the stress they’d caused him, all of it for nothing- “Where does it all leave me, though? What can I do?”

“Stay put and do what you’ve been doing. We’ll work things out on our end, but if Evan is… missing, then it’s best you keep your head down. Maybe that’s what he’s doing now that Peter’s back.” Tim paused. “I suppose taking a quick holiday isn’t in the cards?”

“No, not really. Besides, I’d like to still be there in case, I dunno, something happens? Be the man on the ground?”

Tim snorted. “Well, ‘man on the ground’, do your best to stay there. We still don’t know what all that Fairchild business was about, either.” 

“Right. Yeah.” Martin took a moment to tilt his head up at the sky, almost entirely dark. “So, you’ll be the one to contact if things start going sideways?” 

“Seems like it, though I’ll see if we can set up a group text or something. We used to have one for the three of us, but for reasons I will not explore here it was unjustly deemed ‘superfluous’.” Tim seemed to cover the receiver for a moment. “I stand corrected. According to Sasha, it was ‘a gratuitous distraction that only served to flood our notifications with garbage’.”

“...Was it?”

“Oh, absolutely.” Tim’s grin was so audible to be infectious.

Martin laughed a little. “That’ll work. Just in case you can’t be reached.”

“I’ll let you go for the night and give you the details on that once I’m done with all this homework.” There was an exaggerated sound of papers rustling. “Really, I can’t describe the amount of work he’s piled on us. It almost loops back around to Elias being normal Elias.”

“Sure. Good luck.”

“Same to you. And sorry again for the raincheck on dinner!”

“It’s fine. Nothing you could’ve done.”

Click.

Pocketing his mobile, Martin rubbed his face with both hands and willed himself to calm down. It was unfair to be angry at them for needing to do their actual jobs, but if rent needed to be paid then they shouldn’t have promised anything. All he had at that moment was the hope that eventually, long after he was thrown in with Evan, one of them would have the courtesy to come back and record the event for posterity.

“Statement of Ms. Blackwood, regarding the disappearance of her son at his place of employment,” Martin mumbled, kicking at some stones on the ground. “Ugh, that’s morbid.”

Martin looked out over the dark sea, but all that served was to sting his eyes and push his mood down even further. What a horrible habit. Look from the lighthouse, look out to sea, for there is no-

Best to keep his eyes down for the foreseeable future. Unless he’s high up, at which point he’ll keep his eyes anywhere but down. And if he’s stuck in some secret, impossible room, well, he won’t remember which way to look anyway.

--

He was at the table, microwave steamed vegetables and some leftover something or other plated in front of him. Across the table his mother ate in silence save for the dull chewing sounds no one could possibly help. At that moment they were making Martin’s teeth grind. 

A quiet meal could be so aggravating with the wrong person. The tiniest sounds, chewing, breathing, sighing, a cacophony of what should be inoffensive signs of life grating on the ears. 

He’d often heard about the bad effects television during meals could have on family. There had never been one visible from the kitchen, but he could think of many reasons why having one would’ve been a blessing in that house. Even if the one they had could be heard from the other room, there was still nothing to look at but his own plate, the terrible window view, and his mother.

“Is it a porch night?” Martin asked, poking at a sad-looking slice of carrot with his fork. “It’s gotten colder, and darker. Before long it’ll be dark before I get home each day.”

His mother took another bite, a sigh escaping her lips. “Yes.”

“We can’t stay out long,” he warned.

One of her nostrils twitched, but she said nothing. 

“I mean it. You never cover your face.”

“I know what’s best for myself.”

“So do I. It stings my eyes.”

“You won’t outgrow that sensitivity by avoiding it.”

Martin scoffed. “I don’t avoid it.”

This earned him a dainty sniff. “If that were true it wouldn’t sting anymore.”

“Would you-”

“Go get tea started. You’ve let your mouth run enough for one night.”

Martin stood with a sudden force that made him feel like an incensed child who hadn’t gotten his way. He bit his tongue and did as he was told, leaving her to finish her meal. 

The filled kettle was placed gently onto the stove with shaking hands. After switching the stovetop dial, Martin stood with his back to the rest of the kitchen. Tea was made and served in quiet, the tremor still clinging to his hands. The warmth of the cup did nothing to quell the shakes, but if it was noticeable she made no remarks.

Now it was the low sound of her blowing on her tea. The loud sipping noise as she tested the taste. Lip smacking, fingers tapping, everything dragged at the back of his skull, why do people make such noise when they do things?

Finally, he was able to take the cups, his own almost entirely full, and fill the room with clattering and the rush of water out of the sink. It would be enough to rinse for the moment. There would be plenty of time to wash things at any other time.

When the time came, her hand just barely touching his arm, they prepared themselves and went outside. Her breaths were long and loud, in and out through her nose. Though Martin covered his face as best he could, his eyes watered all the same. 

How could she enjoy this?

The walk back indoors, the removal of shoes, the slow movement to her room. Martin just barely stopped himself from slamming her door behind him after getting her to bed, though he had no doubt she’d make a comment on his impatience the next day. There was nothing left but to turn in early himself. What else could he do?

The staircase towered before him, each step upon it harder than the last despite his long legs, but he didn’t look up. Martin could learn from his mistakes if he tried, and he was trying. 

Could she hear him taking his sweet time? Did every creak of the steps set her teeth on edge as she tried to fall asleep?

Martin made it upstairs eventually, and to his bedroom after, though by that point he knew sleep wasn’t coming for him just yet. Checking his phone, he found no new messages or calls, as if he hadn’t kept the thing on vibrate to be alerted of anything new. He dropped the thing on his bedside table after flipping his alarm off. There was work to be done the next day, but he didn’t owe Peter an early start on a Saturday.

As Martin sat on the edge of his bed, the day washed over him and he slumped forward, forearms pressed against knees. He gently tugged his hair out of its elastic, not that it had been all that held back by the end. Running fingers through it, brushing it back and scratching at his scalp, Martin let himself sulk for one more horrible minute.

If they’d stayed, he probably wouldn’t have been able to go out to dinner with them anyway. Irresponsible to have thought otherwise, really. Now there was no reason to worry about it.

Apparently this was what the evening would be: Martin Blackwood feeling snappish and awful.

He would apologize the next day, he thought. His mother, while not helpful, hadn’t actually done anything to make him cross besides exist nearby, and Tim certainly didn’t deserve to be on the receiving end of Martin’s panic and frustration. Only one person deserved that, but chewing out Peter was a sure way to get himself disappeared. So, the options were limited.

He was lucky Jon wasn’t the one who had to call him. How was he not supposed to be angry after Jon worked harder than anyone to convince him that things would work out? The man had outright promised to help Evan even though they had no real plan on how to do that. Sure, it had been heartfelt and sweet, and determination did nice things to his face-

Martin groaned, pulling down at his cheeks. No, anything but that. He wanted to be angry and petty and upset about his possible upcoming death, not disappointed that his one-sided thing was even more doomed than before. Sure, after a bit he would get over it, but it had been a while since he’d fancied someone a little. It was a nice feeling. 

It was even better writing material. Perhaps that would help, writing. At the very least it could prevent another weird scene at the dinner table. What was that line that popped into his head earlier? Could be the start of something cathartic, even if it ended up being complete rubbish.

Reaching down to his nightstand, Martin jumped at the sound of his phone buzzing against wood. From his hunched position he could see an unknown number. He grimaced. Of course he’d get a weird spam call during all this. He let it ring and grabbed his notebook and pencil. There had been a thought earlier, some lines that had a nice cadence despite being off the cuff. A bit boring, but perhaps they could be worked with. Look from the lighthouse-

“Hello, Martin. I’m calling- right, this is Jonathan Sims? From the Magnus Institute? I had Tim give me your number but I’m realizing now that he might not have told you yet. I-”

Scrambling for the phone, Martin dropped the notebook right onto his toes. “Shit-” 

“-wanted to discuss some things with you. Let me know if-”

Finally, Martin managed to press the right button and answer the call. “Sorry, hi, it’s Martin. I didn’t-”

“Oh- yes, hi. Am I interrupting, or-”

Quickly, Martin said, “No, no, I just don’t usually answer unknown numbers, so-” 

“Right, right, I thought that might be the case. Glad I caught you, then.” Jon cleared his throat. “So, how are you, ah, holding up?”

He thought he could sense an attempt in Jon’s tone to be casual. Martin’s mouth quirked downward. “Fine, I guess. Still here.”

“Good. Tim said you’d had some concerns, so-”

“Not much anyone can do about them, is there?” Jesus, could he not be snippy at someone for five minutes? “Sorry, it’s… it’s been a long day. Tim told you, then?”

“Yes, he did. We’ll do our best to get at least one of us back there soon, if not the whole team. Elias wasted no time getting us back to work. For now, phones will have to do.” 

Martin waited for a few seconds, but there was nothing after. “So… is that what you called for? To go over what Tim and I talked about?” 

“What? No. I thought we could... Well, we have some other business that would be best kept between us. Establishing contact felt like the best next step on that front.” Again, there was a strangely long pause, but before Martin could think of anything to say, Jon continued. “And because the goodbyes were relatively abrupt this morning, I didn’t have the opportunity to apologize.”

Sighing, Martin rubbed his eyes. “Well, you didn’t say it for twenty-four hours, so I suppose you get half credit?”

Jon huffed. “I misread the situation and Elias. I hadn’t expected him to downright deny us an extension without discussion, and I certainly never pegged him as the type to have us pack up and leave with barely any notice. We were as shocked as you this morning.”

Not likely. “So, what now? How long do you think…”

“Honestly, I don’t know yet. I want to keep an eye on Elias after all of this strange business, but of course he’s not here.” Martin could feel the scowl on Jon’s face. “It may take some time for any of us to make a trip out there outside of work. I’m afraid you’ll be on your own for the next couple of weeks.”

“Oh.” Closing his eyes, Martin let himself fall back onto the bed. “Okay.”

Quickly, Jon said, “Not much longer than that, I hope. I tend to work on my days off which should cover the extra assignments more quickly, and Sasha or Tim may be able to make a trip out there sooner than I could.” At the end, Jon’s reassuring tone dropped into an irritated grumble. 

Martin smiled a little and fought back a yawn. “Worried they’ll fix things up before you get here?”

“That’s not- I wouldn’t say- I’m sure they’re capable of doing so, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to enjoy sitting on my hands while real work needs to be done,” Jon said, recovering from his indignant sputtering. “I’ve only looked at some of the new assignments, but most of them are guaranteed to be either misunderstandings or blatant lies.”

“You can’t know that just by skimming them.”

“You haven’t had to read some of these things,” Jon said with a tinge of disdain. “No, people love to waste my time and keep me both from my personal research and more pressing situations like your own.”

Martin looked up at his window. “Okay, but mine would probably sound fake on paper though, right? ‘Oh, the lighthouse I work at is tall and makes me dizzy, also I think an old classmate is trapped in the walls?’, or something like that. I wouldn’t believe it.”

“But it’s demonstrable,” Jon said. “And if you’d chosen to put more time and effort into it, you’d have put in the more compelling details. Not that we don’t get statements like that. Some read like a trite pitch for the script someone is workshopping rather than a true paranormal experience.”

“And that’s what’s keeping you busy now.”

“I’m sure you’re glad to hear that important things are happening while you wait. If by the time we return you’ve already been trapped in an impossible lighthouse prison, we’ll have plenty of entertaining material to refill your vocabulary.” A silent, awkward moment passed between them. “Right, okay, not funny.”

“Not really, no.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s… fine.” It really wasn’t, but Martin wasn’t in a state to argue anymore that day. “What kind of fake stuff is it, then? That’s so important you just had to be back?”

Jon groaned. “Don’t get me started. There’s one from a man who claimed to be seeing the same strange fellow at the park everyday, as if he doesn’t also visit that park everyday and by his own logic could be a supernatural creature himself.”

In a way that Martin felt must’ve been some breach of confidentiality, Jon proceeded to lay before him complaints of monsters (“Particularly loud raccoons”), doppelgangers (“Plenty of people look like other people”), and other phenomena that Jon found particularly ridiculous. They were so unconvincing that Martin had to wonder whether Jon was leaving out the spookier details. 

But that was fine, Martin found. Why would he want to hear about anything other than people in ordinary circumstances when his own were decidedly not? And if Jon was happy to talk Martin’s ear off about frivolous things, it worked out well enough for both of them. 

Like before, it didn’t take much to keep the man going. In the middle of a peculiar story of shifting room layouts, Martin asked, “Okay, but there could’ve been something weird about the building, right? Probably not, but-”

“Well, we gave her the benefit of the doubt and Sasha looked into it. It turned out the woman had confused her own flat with the one next to it and unwittingly trespassed through an unlocked door. She was happy enough to drop the whole thing in embarrassment.”

Pushing his glasses up, Martin pressed a hand over his eyes. “Oh God, I would’ve died on the spot.”

“Ultimately she was happy to not have wandered into an alternate universe. I believe Sasha also saw to it that the neighbors practiced proper lock safety without giving the whole thing away.” 

“Happy ending, then.”

“For now. Can’t say it won’t happen again, but it won’t be our problem.” From the other end, Martin heard a muffled voice.  “Sorry, hold on.” 

“Sure.” The call was put on hold, and Martin checked his screen.

Oh god, they’d been on the call for over an hour. When had that happened? Had he been loud enough for his mother to hear him this whole time? What had he even said for that long? He must’ve been saying something. 

Jon’s voice came through again. “Sorry, I’m staying late tonight to get a head start on things. It seems Elias is back, so I’m going to have to let you go. Thank you for your understanding earlier.”

Internally, Martin let out a thankful sigh. “It’s no problem, really. Thanks for checking in.”

“And about the other issue. If there are any questions-”

“It’s fine. We’re all fine here.”

Jon cleared his throat again. “Good. Good night, Martin.”

“Night.”

The call ended, and Martin found himself in the weird place of adding a new contact and staring at the slightly longer list of names. 

Jon had asked for his number. 

For the purpose of talking about Martin’s mother, obviously, but that had only come up two times. The rest of the conversation had been primarily an outlet for Jon’s work frustrations. It hadn’t exactly been a professional call, had it?

No, no, no, that was enough and he was going to bed immediately.

[anxiously-going]

I made it worse. Possibly better? I dunno. I rewrote the prompt from one @beauty-grace-outer-space

"Then hit me," Jim answered coolly. Len went rigid at his words, and at the edge, barely noticable, to his voice. "Just take a swing. It'll make you feel better and I can take it."

"Jim-" he started softly, but Jim cut him off.

"It's better than you staying mad. So hit me, get it out of your system. I'll be fine."

"No-"

"Just get it over with!" Jim shouted.

Len stumbled back few steps when Jim shoved him hard in the chest. "Just hit me so we can be done with this!"

Leonard reached out a careful hand. "I'm not gonna hit you. Jim, I'm never going to hit you. That's not how this is gonna work."

"Then what?" Jim demanded, keeping his body rigid, and staring with hard eyes, trying to pretend he wasn't trembling.

"I don't know. But I'm not gonna hit you, not now, not ever. I can't."

"Why not?" His voice came out harsher than he meant it. But this was new territory to him, and whether he wanted to admit it or not it frightened him. "Nobody else seems to have a problem with it. So why not you too?"

Leonard let out a sigh. "I was seven. The first time my mother hit me. I don't even remember why, but I was upset, I was crying and even though she wanted me to, I couldn't get myself to stop. So she backhanded me. Her ring caught me, left a little cut. When my dad came home, I was afraid to get in trouble, I was afraid she would hit him too. So I lied about it. I told him I cut my cheek looking for my ball under a bush. Lies got harder to come up with as I got older, but by the time Jocelyn started taking swings at me I had dermal regen hidden in my office. It wasn't ever anything more than being slapped, but blood vessels in the face tend to be close to the surface, like your scalp, that's why head wounds bleed so much, and two hefty swings can leave a visible bruise. I know...it wasn't anything compared to what some people go through. But it was enough. I can't hit you. It's not I won't, I can't. I've been on the other side of that hand almost my whole life, and I can't do that to someone else. I- I can't."

Jim let out a heavy sigh and seemed to deflate. Leonard stepped forward to catch him. "I'm sorry," Jim said quietly. "This whole thing- I'm sorry."

Leonard nodded. "It's ok. I am too."

"No, I- I was the one-"

"Jim-"

"I'm sorry I shoved you."

"I forgive you, kid. Look. This is new to both of us. We're gonna screw up sometimes. We're gonna get mad and argue. But we're gonna have each other's backs too. We're gonna figure each other out, and...we're gonna get better. We're gonna have to if we're going through with this stupid three year plan of yours."

Jim's head snapped up. "We?"

"I'm gonna have to do some summer courses, a little extra work here and there, but I'm already licensed. I can make this work."

"Bones, I-" he shook his head in disbelief. "But you hate flying."

"I'm starting CBT therapy for that next week. I'll work my way up to exposure therapy from there. I need to anyway. With my luck, even if I found a ground position I'm sure some bizarre emergency situation would get me up there anyway. Might as well go with a friend," he shrugged.

"I- I honestly don't know what to say," Jim chuckled, almost giddy.

"Wow. James T. Kirk is speechless. This is a momentous occasion," Len teased with a grin.

"You really consider me a friend?"

"Yeah. I do." Jim stared blankly, trying to fully take in Len's words. The doctor rolled his eyes. "Come 'ere, kid." He pulled Jim into a sloppy hug and patted his back. He almost took a step back when he felt Jim's head rest against his shoulder.

"Thank you. For...all of this," Jim mumbled.

"You're welcome, kid."

Jim took a deep breath and stepped back. "I'm really sorry about- you didn't have to tell me all that."

"I needed you to understand though. I'm far from perfect, but that is one promise, I won't ever go back on. I don't know what kind of crap you've been through," he raised his hands, "that's your business and it's yours to decide who you talk to and when, that said, I will listen, I am here for you if you want. I don't know what you've been through, I need you to know that you are safe with me. I'm not going to ever raise a hand to you, Jim, I promise you. I know what it feels like to not be sure of someone, to not know, and I don't want you to ever have to question that. Not because of me."

"I believe you," Jim replied, not knowing what else to say.

"Good. Now. I don't know about you, but I'm wiped out. You up to grabbing dinner?"

"Yeah," Jim chuckled. "Yeah, sounds good. Hey, maybe after we can drop by the shuttle sims."

"Don't push it, kid," Bones warned as they walked from the dorm together.

[msjr0119]

The Greatest Show

Never Enough - Part 1

A new series- all chapters are based on each song from ‘The Greatest Showman’

Characters belong to Pixelberry except MC - Amber Smith-Beaumont

Warnings: Swearing, sarcasm 😉, smut

Tags - using combined tagged list, if you want to be removed please let me know 👍🏼

@annekebbphotography @burnsoslow @drakesensworld @ladyangel70 @kingliam2019 @bbrandy2002 @butindeed @bascmve01 @drakewalker04 @pedudley @captain-kingliamsqueen @duchessemersynwalker @insideamirage @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @kozabaji @texaskitten30 @ibldw-main @kimmiedoo5 @nikkis1983 @dangerouseggseagleartisan @gnatbrain @walker7519 @lodberg @cmestrella @hopefulmoonobject @addictedtodrakefanfic @angi15h @liamxs-world @rafasgirl23415 @notoriouscs @yukinagato2012 @dcbbw @qammh-blog @nz1091 @beardedoafdonutwagon @cordonianroyalty @custaroonie @indiacater @seriouslybadchoices @rainbowsinthestorm @princess-geek @jared2612 @desiree-0816

******

“Hi Brett.” Maxwell could tell she was nervous, hoping that she was strong enough to stand her ground and dump the man that had made her life miserable. No one should have to go through what she had been through. She was petrified of the man- afraid to leave him incase he actually killed her next time. Thinking back to the last incident- he had wished that himself and Bertrand had just dragged her out of the States.

Arriving at the hospital, the two brothers had heard from their cousins friend Daniel - a concerned phone call made them immediately catch a flight to New York. Keeping Amber’s identity hidden from those in Cordonia- it didn’t help them at all. If they had informed the royal family about their family member needing their support they had hoped that they would have allowed them to use the royal jet in these types of circumstances. However they chose not to.

“Hey Daniel, thanks for letting us know? Where is she? Is she okay? Where’s that arsehole?”

“Maxwell calm down. Speaking like that isn’t going to help the situation.” Bertrand was furious- but knew how to keep an stoic expression.

“He became jealous, and broke her arm. Left her in the street- witnesses said she screamed ‘you’ve broken my arm- I need to get to hospital.’ He apparently called her stupid- and that she was attention seeking. The two women who brought her in stayed with her and contacted me. When I arrived the staff said that she was shaken up- petrified, they tried to fix her arm by forcing it back into place but it wouldn’t work. She had surgery immediately and it’s fine.”

“Well it’s not too bad then.”

“Bertrand are you fucking crazy? That bastard broke her arm!”

“What I meant to say, it’s not as bad as it was the last time we was here when she was admitted with a traumatic brain injury. It could have been worse. He could have potentially killed her. What have the police said?”

“That’s the bad news. She is refusing to press charges. He has this hold over her, it’s so frustrating. No one can get through to her. We’ve all tried.” Daniel explained sadly, the two brothers knew Amber’s friends were all trying their best to keep her safe. Walking into her room, she looked as if she had seen two ghosts.

“Wh-What are you doing here? I’m fine!”

“Of course you are Amber. When are you going to wake up? He’s dangerous. You need to come back with us.”

“I... I can’t. He said if I ever left him....”

“If you left him what? He should be in prison. Why the fuck aren’t you pressing charges?”

“He said if I ever left him he would hurt those close to me. I’m scared Max, I’m so scared. But I’ve made my bed- I’ve forgiven him time after time.”

“Cut with the crap! You leave him, stay with us at Ramsford- your friends can get an injunction put out against him. We can look after you. You need to think about yourself- who knows you may find someone else who will love you the way you deserve to be loved.”

“I’m collateral damage. Who the fuck would touch me? I always choose arseholes, I think I’m just destined to live that way.”

Overhearing Brett shouting down the phone, Maxwell snatched the phone off her- putting it on loudspeaker, forgetting about the other people in the cabin.

“What is your issue you arsehole? Think you’re all big and hard talking to a lady like that?”

“Who the fuck is this?”

“This is your worse nightmare buddy! Amber just wants to say au reviour, adios, ciao. Come near her again and I’ll break your fucking neck!”

“Amber are you fucking this douche behind my back?”

“No he’s my fucking cousin! You and I are over Brett. I’ve forgiven you so many times, all the promises about changing, loving me. They were all lies.”

“Amber baby.”

“Don’t Amber baby me. You had your chance and you blew it.”

“No one splits up with Brett Parker! Get your fat ugly body back to New York now! Or I’ll come and collect you myself.”

“She is not fucking fat nor ugly you dipshit. She is beautiful. You just couldn’t see that you had a fucking diamond in front of you. Someone else will grab her with both hands and treat her like the fucking god damn goddess she is!”

“Who the fuck do you think you are! No one talks to me like that!”

“Goodbye wanker.”

“Amber, I know where you are. Watch your back! You are mine.”

“No. I am my own person, I don’t belong to anyone. Go and search the whole of Canada for me then. You are in my past, and I am looking forward to my future without you in it! You thought you could really make me moan, I had better sex all alone. See, I don't know why I liked you so much. I gave you all, of my trust. I told you, I loved you, now that's all down the drain. You put me through pain, I want to let you know how I feel. Fuck you, I don’t want you back.” Abruptly hanging up the call, Amber was surprised with herself- feeling relieved. Maxwell whispered I’m so proud of you- you are a true Beaumont. ‘High fiving’ her he held her tight comforting her.

*****

Olivia overheard the phone call, gesturing for the others to become mute- they all listened gobsmacked. Mainly due to the anger that Maxwell had released, he was always the happy lord, the dopey one- they had never heard him react this way before never mind hearing him swear so much without breathing for air.

“Shit! Who is she on the phone to?”

“Her boyfriend!”

“She has a boyfriend?” Leo asked surprised.

“Not anymore by the sounds of it. Shh. Act normal!” Olivia suggested, wanting more gossip from Amber- she knew she would have to wait as it could be raw. Focusing her gaze towards Drake, she raised her eyebrow. Noticing the look, he wanted to know what was going through the duchesses mind.

“Just spit it out Liv, I know you’re wanting to say something.”

“Funny. She kisses you. Then she dumps her mystery boyfriend. Are you a home wrecker Walker? Are you going to swoop her into your arms now she’s free and single?”

“No I am not going to do that. He’s a wanker towards her. She doesn’t deserve that!”

“Okay, whatever. Keep that denial inside that commoner heart of yours. What are the sleeping arrangements anyway?”

“Well I thought you and Amber share my bed, Liam and Leo take the spare bed and myself and Maxwell will share the sofa. I’ve drawn the short straw so you should all be grateful.”

“No.”

“Excuse me?”

“I shall be sleeping with Liam in the spare bed. Whilst we are behind closed doors away from the other bitches I shall be taking this opportunity to stay with Liam. You guys decide what you are doing between you all.”

“Well I agree with you Liv. But I also vote that I share the sofa with Maxwell, ohhh that leaves Drake and Amber in his bed. Great plan guys.” Olivia and Liam spat their drinks out, laughing at Drakes reaction to Leo’s suggestion. No need to thank me Walker, Leo said whilst winking.

*****

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me you’re family. I love you. And right now I am so fucking proud of you! We need to celebrate with the others.”

“First things first.” Maxwell looked confused at Amber, before watching her remove the SIM card, snapping it in half- and throwing it away in the trash bin. “Now I’m ready to celebrate.” Kissing her on the forehead, he now knew her future was bright and she could come alive. Walking back into the room, Amber and Maxwell witnessed Drake and Leo sat down covering their ears.

“HEY! WHY ARE YOU GUYS DOING THAT?” Maxwell shouted.

“LIAM AND OLIVIA THEY’VE ONLY BEEN UPSTAIRS TWO MINUTES.” Amber burst out laughing, ignoring the two love birds she blanked the repetitive moans that echoed through the walls. Eventually there was silence.

“Guys, you can remove your hands. I think there will be a new crown prince or princess on their way sooner rather than later.”

“Thank fuck for that. At least when we are in Lythikos tomorrow their rooms will be miles away from ours. Max I’m started to feel tired, what about you?”

“I’m fine me buddy. I’ve had an unexpected adrenaline rush!”

“Really you look tired?” Maxwell looked confused before seeing Leo tilt his head towards Drake then to Amber. Ohhh he’s trying to set them two up- good thinking playboy.

“Oh actually I am feeling tired. What’s the sleeping arrangements?”

“Drake and Amber are taking his bed.”

“No we aren’t. Amber is taking my bed. I am staying with you two.” Amber began to feel awkward, mainly due to Drake giving up his bed for her- but also due to tweedle Dee and tweedle dum setting them up.

“What do you think about this Amber?”

“Erm... I’ll sleep on the sofa... with Max... it’ll be like good old days. You and Drake share his bed.”

“No thank you. I’d rather sleep in the lake.”

“See ya then.” Drake smirked, knowing matchmaker Leo wouldn’t succeed with his plan.

“Amber just take my bed. To shut them up. Please. I’ll bring your bag up for you.” Not wanting to argue, she just nodded. Walking up to the bed room, she smelt Drakes scent- immediately feeling intoxicated. Shortly after Drake arrived with her bag.

“Are you okay? We overheard your conversation on the phone. I’m not being nosey, I just want to know that you are okay?”

“I’m fine. Better than fine. I feel relieved and free.” She sighed. “I’m going to go back to New York once the social season has ended, get my belongings and move into Ramsford.”

“Erm, why did you split up with him? Liv blamed me. I don’t want you getting hurt because of me. It was just a kiss.” Just a kiss, he regrets it.

“I’ve wanted to split up with him for years, just never had the guts to do it. It was just a kiss?” The last sentence she questioned, as a rhetorical question- not really wanting to know the answer.

“You deserve so much better, I’m glad Maxwell had your back. It was just a kiss, I shouldn’t have allowed you to kiss me.”

“I know I do- I was just blind to see it before. That kiss meant something to me, even if it didn’t to you. I can’t stop thinking about you- maybe you was part of the reason for me splitting up with him. I now understand how much of an idiot I’ve been.” Shit, she wanted that kiss as much as I did.

“Do you mean that? You are not an idiot- don’t think like that.”

“I meant every word.” Closing the distance, Brett was already forgotten- she desperately wanted Drake in her arms. Drake cupped her cheeks, resting his forehead against hers. Feeling his hot whiskey breath linger against her, she felt as if her heart was skipping beats. Drake had decided to make the first move this time, placing his lips onto hers- the kiss was gentle and loving. Wrapping her arms around his bare skin- she was lost in his soft touch. Breaking the kiss, they held onto each other- fixating their eyes on each other’s.

“Just another kiss huh?” Amber asked in a sarcastic manner.

“Another fantastic kiss, from a beautiful girl.”

“Another fantastic kiss, from a handsome commoner.”

“This ‘handsome’ commoner, must leave the sleeping beauty to gain her beauty sleep.”

“Why?”

“Because, Leo’s suggestion would become a reality. I don’t think I could stop myself from touching you- hugging you, kissing you.”

“What’s so wrong about that?”

“Amber.... you’ve just split up with your boyfriend.”

“He doesn’t deserve that title. It’s fine Drake. I’ll just go to sleep. Goodnight.”

*****

The morning after, Liam and Olivia headed downstairs- she needed to make her way over to Lythikos before all her guests arrived. Leo was sat drowning black coffee to keep him awake- he could kill his little brother for keeping them awake.

“Where’s Walker? Amber?”

“They went for a walk before. Drake slept with us- the couch was already crowded enough. I swear I could hear you two up all night fucking each other in my subconscious.”

“It must have been your subconscious, because we only had sex once we had gone upstairs. Little Liam became too tired much to my disappointment and wouldn’t cooperate.” They all looked at each other- all wondering the same. Drake and Amber returned from their walk to a silent welcoming.

“Shouldn’t you be in Lythikos?” Drake questioned.

“Did you enjoy sleeping on the couch Drake?”

“It was very uncomfortable.”

“Hmm, you see Leo believes that myself and Liam was having sex but it wasn’t us. Do you have ghosts in this cabin or could you provide us with an answer for that?”

Amber and Drake looked at each other, that look provided the friends with the answer that they were all impatiently waiting for.

“He doesn’t deserve that title. It’s fine Drake. I’ll just go to sleep. Goodnight.”

“Amber, I’ll make a deal with you.”

“Go on...”

“I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep.”

“I’d like that. I feel safe with you.” Drake smiled, knowing he wanted to hold her- call her his, he would have to compromise and resist temptation. Drake led her to the bed, sliding into it- she soon joined him. It wasn’t the first time for either of them- but the silence between them showed that they were both nervous sharing a bed. Both laying down facing each other, locking eyes with each other for a slight moment- both feeling content. Amber snuggled into his embrace- placing one hand on his bare chest. Her eyes gave him permission to wrap his arms around her holding her protectively as their skin touched.

“Thank you Drake, goodnight.”

“What for?”

“For being you.” Shaking his head he laughed, kissing her on the forehead he had hoped that she would fall asleep soon as his cock wouldn’t control itself. Believing that she looked sexy even in his shirt- he couldn’t quite believe that a girl like her was in his bed.

“Night.” Pulling him towards her, she decided to kiss him- he was her drug and she was intoxicated. Unlike the previous kisses, this kiss began gentle but soon turned demanding- their tongues entwined in a kiss. Breaking the kiss, Amber rolled on top him- both breathing fast their heartbeat increasing with every movement. Drake reached up, running his fingers through her loose curls. Pulling her down onto him, he crashed his lips back on to hers- natural instinct led his hands touching her back under the shirt.

“You are beautiful... Amber...” Rolling her to the side, he hovered over her as her head sunk into the pillow- hearing her moan made him want her more and more.

“Drake... I....”

“What?”

“I’m falling for you. When the ladies were talking about you at the Derby I felt jealous- I don’t know why? Ever since I met you, I wanted to kiss you. To feel you. To be in your arms. I know I was with Brett- but he isn’t like you. You’re amazing. I’m so lucky to have met you. I crave more of you every time I’m with you. I’ve always thought I was collateral damage because of him- that I’d never move on and love anyone.” Sighing, she wasn’t sure if he wanted this. Sure he had kissed her, but was it just heat of the moment. “What I’m saying is, I want you to touch me- if you don’t want that.. I’d rather know now so I don’t make a huge fool of myself.” Caressing her cheeks, he smiled at her softly.

“You are not collateral damage! He was the one with the issue- he is a jerk. I was jealous when Liam kissed you at the lawn party. Do you want to know something else? It’s pretty embarrassing.” Amber nodded, not knowing what he was going to say. “The first night we met... I was thinking about you whilst wanking.”

“What was you thinking about?” She asked seductively. Drake thought she would kill him for admitting that- laying next to her, facing her- he took a deep breath.

“I was thinking about how beautiful you are, picturing that gorgeous smile of yours. Imagining what you looked like naked even though you gave me a preview, imagining my hands cupping your breasts- kissing your whole body. Believing that it was your hands on my cock.”

“Like this?” Rubbing his bulge- he moaned as it became more erect. Smirking at him, she sat up and removed her shirt discarding it onto the floor. Guiding his hands towards her bra- he gulped.

“Is it what you imagined?” She had always felt low self esteem regarding her body due to Brett.

“No better. You are so beautiful. I’m falling for you too. You are too damn irresistible.”

“Don’t resist then. I want to feel loved. I want you Drake.” Without responding to her, he kissed her neck tentatively- removing her bra, kissing every inch of her breasts before sucking her nipples.

“Remove your trousers Walker.”

“Yes ma’am. Only if you remove those panties.” Standing up, she bit her lip as he did what she had commanded. Standing up- before they knew it they were both naked admiring each other’s bodies. Jumping into his arms, he caught her holding her tight- not breaking the kiss, he carried her over to the desk sitting her on the edge. His hand roamed up her thigh- before his thumb circled her clit in a tantalising rhythm, making her become instantly damp. “Drake...” she moaned, smirking he slipped two fingers inside her- beginning slow, his speed soon increased. Feeling already weak at her knees, she hadn’t felt this way in years- reminding herself to thank her cousins in the morning for bringing her here. Feeling her juices leak onto his fingers- he decided to replace his newly coated fingers with his tongue. “Holy shit. Drake! That feels.... so..... good.” After plunging his tongue in deep, he came back to her level- licking his lips. “You tasted so good baby.” He whispered in her ear. “Is little walker ready for a treat?”

“Damn right he is, but you don’t have to.”

“Oh I remember you have two hands right?” Winking at him, she didn’t give him the opportunity to respond. Slowly rubbing his hard cock, she was impressed with his package. Wrapping her fingers around his shaft- she rubbed up and down. Changing the rhythm every so often, he moaned her name, coming out of his trance- Amber removed herself off the desk. Kneeling on the floor, she decided to suck and lick his testicles before moving towards the tip of his cock, she used her tongue and deepthroated him, his cock was now all wet and slippery. Increasing her speed, she felt him pulsate inside her mouth- knowing she was pleasing him as he did her, she didn’t want anyone else in her life.

“That feels amazing. Amber...get on the bed. I can’t keep this in any longer.” Standing up, he carried her over to the bed- laying her down gently, he admired her.

“Do you want me to get a condom?”

“I’m on the pill.” Searching her eyes for reassurance- she guided him towards her entrance. Rubbing his manhood gently against it- he eventually entered her slowly. Holding his position, allowing her to time to get used to him, their eyes fixated on each other.

“Oh Drake.” Slowly thrusting in and out of her, he wanted to make her feel loved. Arching her back, he increased the speed- neither of them able to contain the pleasure and moans.

“Amber, you feel so good. Damn, you’re incredible. I don’t know how long I’ll last.”

“I don’t care, I’m about to cum.” Ambers body began to jerk, shudder in response to her climax- making Drake feel close himself. Feeling the rush of his sperm racing through him- he growled holding her as he released. As Amber felt the warmth of his seed, she softly smiled at him as he collapsed next to her. He turned around to her as they laid next to each other panting- both attempting to catch their breath. Pulling her on to his chest, he kissed her on the forehead.

“Amber..”

“Yes.” She looked up towards him as she fluttered her eyelashes.

“That was... wow. Incredible. I’m so glad Max and Bertrand brought you here.”

“I’m glad too.” Sharing another kiss they both feel asleep- content in each other’s arm.

“So you slept together then? I heard you two? That’s a relief, I thought I was going crazy!” Drake pulled Amber into his embrace, looking at her adorably. He couldn’t foresee what his future would look like- but this girl had given him hope.

“What you see in him Amber I will never understand. Has he got a big cock or something?”

“That is something that only I will know Duchess. I don’t kiss and tell.”

“Liv, I don’t know what Liam sees in you. But hey, I never questioned it.”

“Touché Walker. Amber do you want to come to Lythikos with me? Leave these lot alone.” Amber looked at Maxwell, who nodded.

“I’ll explain to B. Don’t worry. We’ll see you up there. Liv take her to the boutique when you arrive.” Drake escorted her to the bedroom, he wanted to give her a goodbye kiss away from prying eyes.

“I guess I’ll see you at the ice queens duchy then.”

“Damn right you will.” Kissing her on the lips, he left it lingering- wanting to saviour every second.

“So erm... I’ve been thinking... once the social season is up. How would you feel about going on a date?”

“You want to date me? Let’s avoid fishing though.”

“I Lo- I like you a lot Amber. Deal, no fishing.” Feeling herself blush, she needed to meet Olivia- not that she wanted to after their night together.

“I like you too Drake Walker. See you soon. Don’t keep me waiting.”

******

Continue here

[that1girloverthere]

The Changing

Chapter 11

My arms are weak and my legs ache by the end of our scheduled training, and my heart and ribs only hurt worse knowing that I have another hour of this hell to go. While the other initiates pack up the few things they’ve brought with them I take a seat on one of the mats, looking at my boots as they sway back and forth.

“Hey uh, Asher right?” I look up at the sound of my name, spoken by an unknown voice.

“Yeah,” I say, now recognizing the speaker. “Colt, right?” He nods.

“So I don’t want to bore you but I just wanted to say that you’re really good at knife throwing.” He says point at the wall full of people shaped targets. Only three of the twelve targets have noticeable knives sticking out of them, all either surrounding or hitting dead center.

“Thanks,” I say offering up a smile. “You did amazing too. Where did you learn that technique from?”

“Erudite lets you study anything you want, i happened to be interested in knife throwing, and fighting.” He returns a smile.

“Ahh makes sense now.” I say nodding.

“And how about you? How did you become so Dauntless so quick?”

“I’m forced to stay an hour after each day. Once or twice Eric couldn’t make it so me and Uriah, a friend of mine, threw some knives around.”

“Cool.” He says, shuffling his water bottle and thin jacket in his hand. “Anyways, I’ll talk to you later?”

“Sounds good.” I say, watching his back as he walks away. He has blond hair and blue eyes, not too different from Eric’s, but his build is similar to Four’s. Lean but still deadly.

“Hey!” Eric calls from behind me. I turn, sighing at the realization that I have to work for an extra hour.

“Yeah?” I question.

“Start lifting weights. Then get ready to fight.” I sigh, but agree anyways. In the few weeks I’ve known Eric he has yet to be outright rude to me, only criticizing me logistically, trying to make me better, however I’d be dunce if I didn’t recognize his other persona. The cruel Dauntless leader, hanging people over the chasm for fun, able to kill a man with just a stare. Bryn continues to warn me of my closeness to him, only she doesn’t see my side of him, what I hope is the real side, or at least close to it.

“Stop!” He calls out from the other side of the room, walking towards me. I sit down the weights but cast him a confused glare.

“You just told me to start like two minutes ago.”

“I know, but now I want you to stop.” I roll my eyes at his bluntness, clearly not caring that this makes no sense. “I have a deal for you.” He begins.

I nod, now intrigued. “You win this fight, and I’ll give you a present.”

“What’s the present?”

“Ah, now you see that’s where the surprise comes in.” He says pointing at me. I debate my options in my head and decide that even if I did say no to the bet I will most likely still have to fight.

“Okay, fine. Who am I up against?” I question, looking around the room to see if I can spot my opponent.

“Mhmm yet another surprise.” He says walking to the door, he pulls in a man, tall and muscular, but he looks to be my age.

“Met Tristan, Dauntless born initiate.” He greats me with a hand shake and I return the introduction.

“Hi.” I say.

“Hey, So uh, you ready?” He asks, clearly eager to get this over with. I hum in agreement and begin my walk to the ring. I do a quick mental check over my body, seeing if I can think of any weak spots. I still have a large bruise on my ribs but with the new medication that Erudite is pumping into me any kind of internal damage has been healed. I have my tattoo which is still a bit sensitive but I can’t see that being a big problem.

When I reach the ring, I turn to face my newly made rival, looking for a weakness, any weakness will do. He has chin length hair, but with him placing it into a bun now that won’t be much help. He sports arm tattoos and... bingo! A small nose ring, wrapping around his right nostril. I smile internally.

Tristan steps onto the mat and I do the same.

“Rules?” He asks, not taking his eyes off of me.

“Fight till first drawn blood, but god damn it no scratching or biting.” He says this looking at me. I give him a fake hurt look, placing my hand over my heart.

“Now why do you think I would ever do that?”

“Oh I don’t know. Maybe because Uriah now has a scar on his arm from you scratching the hell out of him last week.” He replies, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Oh yeah. That did happen huh?” I say, laughing slightly. “Okay. I promise, no scratching.”

I take my fighting stance, and Tristan takes his as well. I try and remember all the little bits of information that Eric and Four have taught me throughout these last two weeks.

Watch the opponent, see the weaknesses, find the tells.

Fight hard, but keep your head clear. Anger is your enemy when in the ring.

Hit first and dodge.

Quit being such a damn Stiff and just hurt someone already... Okay that one was definitely Eric’s.

Me and Tristan circle each other for a moment. He lunges forward, aiming for my exposed rib, but I manage to dodge his blow. While his arm I’m down I punch his jaw, making his head whip to the side, but he recovers quick. I put my hand up, blocking my face, it’ll be the first place to bleed when punched.

He takes another shot at my stomach, and then kicks me in the side, sending me falling to the floor. I grunt with the impact. He is on me in seconds, pining my arms under his knees and attempting an assault on my face. I dodge the first few blows but he ends up hitting me in the jaw, nearly in the same spot I hit him earlier. Pain explodes over my head, my eyes blurring over for a moment. I struggle against the restrain put on my hands and manage to free my left side, soon enough to block the next blow. I try and roll my body, using his weight against him, and pin him under me, switching our positions completely. I jab him in the throat causing him to make a choking sound. I send a furry of punches down on his face but DAMN IT THE MAN JUST WONT BLEED.

He pushes me off of him, sending me flying to the other side of the mat. My head hits the ground with a sickening echo but I’m up in seconds. He uppercuts me, causing me to grind my teeth, another pain erupts through me. I kick him in the side, then jab him in the throat once more. When he is defenseless I reach with sweaty hands for his nose piercing. I grab ahold and he does the rest of the work for me, pulling is head back reflexively, and yanking the silver ring clean out of his nose. He gives a yelp when he realizes what his just taken place, and drops of blood begin to fall onto his shirt. He reaches a hand up and touches his nose, staring at his hand intensely when it comes away covered.

I smile and cheer, far more happy than I have ever been in my life. I hold the piercing in the air like a trophy. I jump off the mat and land hard on the ground, my bare feet making a slapping sound when I land. I do a small dance and then realize that everyone is staring at me. I put my hand down and lower my head. “Sorry.” I say, feeling ashamed that I celebrated someone else’s pain.

Laughing erupts from the two guys in the room and I whip my head up quickly, shocked at the sudden change. Tristan gets off the mat and Eric claps him on the back.

“Fucking told you not to get that piercing till fear sims didn’t I?”

Tristan chuckles, still holding his nose in hopes to stop the bleeding. “Yeah you did, however I didn’t expect a transfer to be the one to rip it out.”

I give a sheepish smile, handing him back his blood covered ring. “Sorry, again.” I say as I place it into his open palm.

He shakes his head. “You’re fine. Frankly I’m impressed.” He gives me a Well meaning smile and I do my best to return it.

“You should get to the infirmary.” Eric said, once again patting him on the back.

“Yeah I should.” He says walking away, placing his piercing him his pocket. “See you around Asher.” He calls back to me before he exits the training room.

“See ya!” I call back.

Once we’re alone, a big smile breaks out across Eric’s face, the first one of its kind I’ve ever seen. When I look in his eyes I see pride, even (dare I say) real happiness.

“That was sick!” He says giving me a high five. My smile grows larger, loving any praise I can get. “I have to say I didn’t think you would beat him.” He says.

“What?!” I yell, playfully hitting his arm.

“Hey don’t look at me like that you’re from Abnegation, I figured you’d hate to draw the blood of a stranger. However,” he says pausing, grabbing his jacket from behind him. “You won.”

“Exactly.” I say. “ I won and now,” I pause for dramatic effect. “You sir owe me a present.”

He shakes his head. “That I do. Follow me.” He says walking towards the doors.

•••

Hope you guys enjoyed!! Thank you all for the AMAZING support. Let me know if you want tagged in the next chapters!

[moocha-muses]

Tales from Apocalypse Desiderata: John Mole Meets his Match

I may not be playing the Apocalypse Desiderata hood ever again (and Owl Creek and I are pretty serious these days), but there are still a few stories about it rattling around in my head. So I’ve decided to share.

This first one is, predictably enough, about John Mole. It’s longer than I thought it would be (behold the great wall of text), and I haven’t really edited it, but @holleyberry pretty much dared me so this is really her fault.

Anyway.

This is a story about new life, and vanity projects, and maybe even true love.

And if you miss my Apocalypse even a little, this one’s for us both:

*ahem*

Summer was almost heavy in Desiderata Valley.

           In the first few days after "The Day", Ginger Newson had expected the new world to be much quieter than the old one.

           She had been wrong. Sure, there were no more radios and televisions, no more cars driving noisily down the road, but other sounds had gotten louder to compensate (or at least the vacuum left by noise pollution made it seem that way.) There was always someone humming or chopping wood or a bird thrilling loudly through the ever-growing woods.

           The world was still hot, and loud, and still alive.

           And today, since it was Gavin’s turn to watch the twins, she had work to do.

           Ginger tied her hair up and whistled a little as she strolled through the summer sunshine. Violet Jocque trudged much less cheerfully along beside her. "Why am I here again?"

           "Please," Ginger gave her hair a final tug. "You begged to come."

           "No, I said I wanted to ask Mr. Aspir for a lesson in first aid."        

           "You begged me with your eyes," Ginger corrected. "I know lovesick longing when I see it. Oh, please Ginger, let me come along with you so I can swoon over John Mole while he gets all shirtless and sweaty in his backyard."

           Violet blushed. "I am never bringing breakfast over to your place again."

           Ginger laughed. "Please! Your mom is such a soft touch." She stopped. "We're here!” She waggled her eyebrows. “You need a minute to pretty yourself up?"

           "Shut up," Violet hissed. "Just knock on the door already."

           Ginger gave the door exactly one perfunctory knock before she barged right in. "Mr. Mole? It's Ginger! I brought Violet Jocque with me, I hope that's okay!"

           John Mole emerged from the bathroom, wiping his hands on a damp rag. He had a smear of oil near one ear and a toothy grin splitting his face. Neither girl had ever seen him look so excited. "About time! Come on!"

           He ducked behind both girls, making little shooing motions towards the back door.

           Ginger looked back at him, eyes wide. She broke into a matching grin. "Did you finally finish your big secret project?"

           "Today's the day," John confessed.

           "All right!" Ginger grabbed Violet's hand and started dragging her along. "Come on! I've been waiting ages for this!"

           "What secret project?" Violet asked. "Hi, Mr. Mole."

           "Morning, Vi." John cut them off at the door and flung it dramatically open. Violet blinked. It was John's same old backyard, with its scraggly vegetable plot, and its pool, and the usual collection of salvaged car parts and old microwaves and . . . something under a sheet.

           Ginger dropped Violet's hand and scampered forward, dancing around whatever it was John had covered. "Come on! Show me, show me, show me!"

           John cleared his throat. "May I present-" he jerked the sheet away with a flourish, "- Desiderata's newest future resident!"

           Both girls make appropriate noises - Violet was surprised, and Ginger was more than impressed. She was delighted.

           It was a Servo. A slightly junky, thrown together,homemade Servo. But it was a real, honest-to-Watcher, Servo.

           "This is amazing!" Ginger exclaimed. She dropped to the cement for a closer look. "Can I touch it?"

           "Sure," John said. "Better do it now before the A.I. kicks on and it develops a sense of personal space."

           Ginger lifted on arm and checked the joints. "It's so smooth. I could never build something like this." She sighed. "I wish I could have gone to super-secret-spy-school."

           John sighed. "It wasn't a spy school, I just went to normal - whatever, cheer up. You built pretty much that whole watering bot last week, didn't you?"

           Ginger brightened. "I guess I am getting pretty skilled. But this is a whole other level, Mr. Mole. Is it really going to work? I mean, this isn't just a shell, is it?"

           "I hope not." John shrugged. "I'm pretty sure it'll function. I mean, I didn't have the whole factory shell to install everything in so there’s a lot of improvisation in the parts, but I had the servos and the A.I. chip and the battery and the solar back-up system. So long as I installed everything correctly (which is a pretty big assumption), it ought to boot up just fine."

           "This is way more amazing than a few solar panels," Violet gushed. She looked embarrassed. "Not that the solar panels aren't great! I mean - "

           "I just hope this guy will be as useful as solar panels. But I couldn't figure out how to re-purpose the battery for anything, and we weren't exactly short on raw materials for the body, so I figured, what the hell?"

           Ginger sighed. "I wish you had let me work on it with you."

           "Oh no, Newson," John smoothed a loving hand over the Servo's head. "This was my baby. You have your own projects."

           "Fine," Ginger pouted. She brightened almost instantly. "But I get to help with the next one!"

           "Hey," John patted her on the shoulder, "if you find another A.I. chip and the right moving parts, you have my permission to take charge of the whole build."

           "You never know," Ginger said cheerfully. "So are we gonna initialize this thing or what?"

           "That is why we're out here." John pulled a screwdriver from his pocket, stooped, and paused. "Do you wanna do it?"

           "Me?" Ginger looked surprised. "I thought this was your baby."

           "Yeah, well," John fiddled idly with his goggles. "I'm not sure I want it to imprint on me. I mean, it'll be living here, so that could get kind of weird. Right?"

           Ginger had gotten to know John Mole pretty well in the past few months. She thought she maybe knew a thing or two about him that he hadn't realized himself. So she looked from him, to the Servo, and then to her awkward, flushing friend and an evil little grin flashed across her face. "I think Violet should do it."

           John looked up. "Well, if you don't want to, Newson, I guess I don't see why not. You're a hard worker, right Vi?"

           "Me?" Violet squeaked. She took one look at Ginger's expression and turned bright pink. "Oh, no no no no no, not me!" she stammered. She turned pinker and took a deep breath. "I mean," Violet went on, trying her hardest to stop blushing, "you should get Natasha to do it. Or Sharon Wirth, or Tara Kat. . ."

           John shook his head emphatically and rolled his eyes. "The last thing I need in my life is a second Natasha Una," he said darkly. He gave Violet a friendly pat on the arm. "Look, I've got the plate off for you. Go on, kid. Give it a go."

           Violet shot Ginger a glare. Ginger shrugged and grinned. "Well, if you insist," She knelt on the discarded sheet. "Um, which button is it?"

           "The red one."

           "Here goes nothing!" She pushed the red button.

           All three Sims watched in silence for a moment, and just when John was about to sigh and get the drawing board back out, there was a *Whir* and a *Clank* and the Servo sprang upward on its carefully oiled legs.

           Its mechanical eyelids slid up and its yellow eyes homed right in on its Creator. With a single fluid, astonishing motion, the Servo tilted forward and pressed its metal faceplate gently against John's lips.

           Ginger burst into laughter.

           The servo leaned back. "Who. Are. You?" it asked. It blinked. There was a loud whirring sound and the servo's flat metal brows tilted into a puzzled position. "Who - who. Am. I?"

           Ginger gasped for air. "Did you see that? I can't believe it. It really kissed him!"

           John's cheeks had gone slightly red, and he touched his lips without seeming to notice.  "I, er, forgot about names," he answered. Violet barely heard him over Ginger's giggling.

           Ginger choked. "You never came up with a name? You've been working on this for months!"

           John shrugged. "I got distracted. How about . . . how about Lucy?"

           Ginger snorted and punched him lightly in the side. "Believe me, Mr. Mole, you do not want to name this bot after your mom. That'll get real weird, real fast." She thought for a minute. "Well, Violet is like its mom, right? What about a flower name? Rose? Lily? Edelweiss?"

           Violet's nose wrinkled. "Ugh. It's a robot, not a Sim. It should have a robot name." She turned to the Servo, who was still staring at John. “So,” she said, “Are you a boy or a girl?”

           "Boy?" The servo tilted its head and its eyebrows did that thing again. "Girl?"

           "You don't have to be one or the other," Violet assured it. "How about we call you . . . um . . . Gear?"

           The Servo blinked. "Geeeaar," it said slowly. "Gear," it repeated. "Gear Gear Gear Gear Gear Gear Gear Gear Geeeeeaaaaar." Its hinged jaw moved slowly up and down as it tasted the sound. "I like . . . Gear? I like. Gear." It looked at John. "Do you? Like Gear?"

           John still looked very flustered. "Uh, sure? So long as you do."

           The Servo nodded. Its metal eyelids flickered. "My name. Is Gear. What is your. Name?"

           "John. Um, John Mole." John laughed, sudden, loud and happy. "I'm really pleased to meet you!"

 Two Weeks Later:

             Violet glared at the Servo that had shown up on her doorstep. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not your mom!"

           Gear shook their metal head. "You named me. You initiated me. You are. The closest thing I. Have. I need instruction in . . . many. Things." They cocked their head to one side like an appealing puppy. "Please?"

           "You've got John."

           "John." The Servo issued a series of whirs and stutters that sounded, at least to Violet, a little like a longing sigh. "John Mole is  . . . not a parental figure."

           A sudden rush of empathy squashed most of Violet's irritation. "All right, Gear. Come on in. I guess you can't eat breakfast." Suddenly she grinned.

           "Hey, Gear. Have you got anything in your data-banks about a game called 'soccer'?"

[mojavejourneys]

Maxie and Matsu were relaxing in bed and they’d flicked on the news.

‘Good morning Bridgeport! Gail Storm here with the latest in weather. Today it’s going to be overcast with some sunny spells, so we advise all our vampire residents to be extra cautious if they need to head out during the daytime. And now onto our breaking news segment.

Hey hey, it’s Awl Knight here! If you stay up late then you’ll know me from Insomnia News but here I am now! The rumour mill has been running HOT with celebrity gossip, most notably around the circumstances of the new child that has been seen with the Tanaka household. And considering all the evidence? There’s only one explanation for this. Maximilian Tanaka has been cheating on his husband! Again! Harmless flirting indeed. Does harmless flirting get you an illegitimate child? I didn’t think so. Needless to say that the press are putting out a full report right now because the actions of this cheating scumbag can’t be excused any longer. Already there have been talks to say that they are no longer accepting any of Matsubusa’s disputes... so sorry Matsubusa, you have to face the truth and accept that your husband is a cheater. Just break up with him already. And now we go onto---”

The broadcast cut out with the sound of smashing glass and something smoking as Maxie threw the remote against the TV with considerable force, breaking it. He got up off the bed and let out a loud frustrated scream, pounding against the wall. Matsu wanted to reach out and calm him but figured it would be better to let him vent it out. And he was angry too.

“The fucking NERVE! This is absolutely fucking ridiculous as shit.” Matsu stood up and punched the wall behind him with enough force to leave an indentation and crack the painted plaster. “I’m not going to break my life partner’s heart because of a fucking news broadcaster!”

Maxie sank down to the floor, looking up at the broken TV before curling up into a ball, sobbing quietly. He couldn’t say anything at first but he looked up when Matsu stroked his back. “What’s the fucking point of this?! This is the biggest steaming crock of bullshit! Why do they fucking DO this to us?!”

Matsu could only hug Maxie close at that point, trying to find the words. He gently rubbed over his life partner’s back again. “I wish I knew. I really wish I did. But... I don’t. Is it because we haven’t been seen in public so much? Is this their way of forcing us to make a public appearance?” He sighed in frustration. “Why didn’t they just send one of their paparazzi around instead of starting another false rumour?!”

“I dunno. But they’re all dicks, the lot of ‘em. I just... I can’t keep taking this sorta shit. It ain’t good for me...”

“It’s not good for either of us. And it could make things turn sour for Jun as well. Alright. We’re going to have to make a public appearance.”

“Um, sorry about---”

“It’s fine. The TV can be fixed. One of us was going to smash it anyway, considering how much bullshit that was.” Matsu kissed Maxie gently. “Let’s get ready, I suppose. Better put this shit to rest. Again.”

Maxie and Matsu had headed to the outdoor bar they often frequented. Several Sims were pointing at Maxie and booing him. He simply clung to Matsu and tried not to look at anyone. One Sim even tried to ask Matsu when the divorce papers were being filed, but he shut that down with a glare that would have frozen the toes off a Yeti.

“You wanted us to make a public appearance? Well here we fucking are.” Matsu’s tone was incredibly bitter. “But you had to go and drag us through the mud again, didn’t you? How very fucking dare you. Will you believe anything said on the news?”

Nobody spoke then, although one was trying to get Matsu’s attention. When he was addressed, he stared at the two. “Well maybe if you just broke up with the fucking cheater, we mightn’t be in this position!”

Maxie felt the rage rising again and he stood forward, glaring at everyone. “Well fucking guess what?! Your rumours don’t mean jack shit! ‘Cause Matsu knows I’d never cheat and you’re all fucking stupid for believing everything you read on the goddamn news!”

“Doesn’t explain how there’s a child though. A fairy child no less! And considering you’re the only other fairy in this town...”

“Oh fuck off! You got some real fucking guts for this.”

One Sim threw her glass at Maxie and it smashed against his side, causing him to reel backwards. “You should be ashamed of yourself, cheater!”

Matsu tried to quieten the crowd. “Alright. Everyone! Down! That’s ENOUGH! Anyone else wants to try and throw this false rumour about my life partner around, you answer to me!” Even he was getting heckled now. “Anyone who’s fallen for this rumor should be ashamed! You don’t even KNOW us!”

A woman with a bright purple Mohawk waved to them and went over to Matsu. “Look, I can help you. But you gotta come with me, now.”

Maxie growled and lobbed some fairy dust at the small gaggle of Sims that were trying to mob him, causing them all to sneeze, then another spell later and they were all chased by buzzing insects. “Stop fucking pissing with me. Keep believing that crock of bullshit but it won’t earn you any fucking favours. Next time I’ll do worse.”

The woman waved. “Come on! Both of you!”

Matsu quickly grabbed Maxie’s arm and led him out. “Don’t waste your fairy power on these idiots. Come on.” He could feel that Maxie was a little weak but they eventually cleared the crowd and stopped just before the road. Then Matsu was eyeing the woman who had led them away. “What’s this about? And who are you?”

“Just call me Sombra. That’s all you gotta know. Now get to my car and I’ll explain.” Sombra led the two to her car and they all piled in. She stamped her foot on the accelerator and they were off. “I’ve been following your stories for a while. Actually, everyone’s stories. And I know that that’s a whole load of shit.”

“Um... thanks, Sombra. So, where are we going?” Maxie looked at the scenery as the town centre got further and further away.

“You’ll see. But we gotta hurry there.” Sombra glanced at the side mirror and saw a blurred figure rushing in the same direction as she was. Uttering a curse in Spanish, she kept driving. “Great. We’re being followed by a vampire. Just what we don’t need.”

Matsu peered out of the window. “It’s alright. She’s a friend.” Even through the blur he could make out the face of his friend Morrigan. “She’d back us up. Nothing to be worried about.”

“You’d better introduce me to her then.” As Sombra turned another corner, she looked out the rear view mirror. “Okay. We’re clear. Other than your friend, nobody is following us. That’s good.”

Maxie looked out the window again. “Wow. We are... real far out. You live out here?”

“Not exactly. But for what we need to go and do, this place is perfect.”

[dramallamadingdang]

Now that I’ve dumped stuff in the queue, time for...

REPLIES! :D

For @kayleigh-83, @jellybeanery, @clericalrodent, @acquiresimoleons, @dunne-ias. @sim-boo, @didilysims, @twofingerswhiskey, @penig, @nanashi-sims, @eulaliasims, @zoragraves, @taylors-simblr, annnnnnd @nerianasims...

kayleigh-83 replied to your photo “Steven’s grave got struck by lightning, so he popped out for a daytime...”

What the frick, I have catching up to do! I didn't know Steven died. :(

He did. Came home with a cold one day, went to work the next, and died on the sidewalk when he came home. So sad. Ah, RealSickness... Usually, I like it to hit later, when I’ve got a larger population that’s actually in need of culling. I’m just glad it didn’t kill the whole household, like it sometimes does, because otherwise there’d only be Sharon and Gwen’s daughter Amelia to spawn the third born-in-game generation...

kayleigh-83 replied to your photoset “Up-Front Confession: I am knowingly breaking the creator’s terms of...”

I'm absolutely DYING over their grinning faces in the last picture HAHAHAH

It’s a thing of beauty, isn’t it? :D Although I don’t know why Cyd’s grinning, since he’s got Julien’s face impaling his abdomen. That just can’t be comfortable...

jellybeanery replied to your post “jellybeanery: @dramallamadingdang Do you still have the high-res...”

CuriousB's desert terrain works for me, so I don't think it's the chipset.

Hmmm...Well, I had a look at the uploaded file, and it appears to be the right one. :\ I have no idea what’s going on. Give me a day or two and I’ll make a new file and maybe also make a high-res one, and then you can see if one or the other will work...

clericalrodent replied to your post “Civilization V”

Thought I'd ask - would you like some tips that aren't in the in-game tutorial? Nothing absolutely necessary, but might make your life a bit easier.

Sure! I still haven’t installed the game, but I probably will this weekend since we have no plans and it’s too darn hot around here to do much of anything outside. Maybe send me an ask or whatever with tips?

acquiresimoleons replied to your photoset “Up-Front Confession: I am knowingly breaking the creator’s terms of...”

Omg. This is awesome, thank you, my sci fi hood is gonna get a swingers club now ����

Well, it’s certainly a perfect object for that! :) There’ll be other stuff you’ll probably be interested in for such a club, too. I just need the time to make it...

dunne-ias replied to your photoset “Up-Front Confession: I am knowingly breaking the creator’s terms of...”

I both want this and also would be scared about what would happen if I put this on a commercial lot in my story hood. I have the original, but honestly I think I only used it once, in a Bacc household full of romance sims because I had a rule against TV and well, what else would they do on their days off?

HAH! Sex is better than TV by a mile, so... :) Anyway, the advertising on the thing is set so that if you use this on a community lot Sims don’t get overly obsessed with it so long as there are other fun things of equally-strong advertising around. That’s how I wanted it to be because it’s basically going to be an avenue for Sims to meet people in this wacko neighborhood, but I do want them to do other things when they’re on the lot where this will be, too. 

But yeah, I suppose it has the potential to screw up stories. But it also might give you ideas, too. If you keep the characters for whom you have planned storylines away, others in the population might do interesting things to spark some ideas.

sim-boo replied to your photoset “Will took his boatload of scholarships and headed off to join boring...”

Lol personally id consider it a blessing to not be related to goopy gilscarbo ;)

Heathen! Nah, I kid. I know he’s an acquired taste. You have to like Romance Sims, and a lot of players seem to not like Romance Sims. You also have to like Sims who aren’t conventionally beautiful. I like Romance Sims (They’re my faves, actually), and I like “ugly” but not deformed-looking Sims. So he’s totally win-win for me! :) I do change his outfit, though, because that pixel-man has very questionable fashion sense. :)

I also like Ben Long a lot, but he’s a Knowledge Sim and I find them rather boring in general, so when I play him, I have to do terrible things to him to make him interesting. :)

didilysims replied to your post “Civilization V”

Never tried it myself, though from what little I've seen, it looks like something I could get interested in. All friends who have played it said Civ IV was better though. :P

I still haven’t installed it because there’s stuff for TS2 that I want to get done, and I know I’ll get distracted. But I’m really looking forward to trying it out. And as for the version...Well, Civ V is what was there at the shop. :) And for $5, even if I ultimately don’t like it it’s not like I’m really out much.

didilysims replied to your photo “I just noticed that the binoculars that Sims use to birdwatch have red...”

They always looked like nebulae to me. I figured they were really powerful lenses.

SO POWERFUL THEY REFLECT THE LIGHT OF THE ORION NEBULA!! Yeah, that should be the advertising slogan on those puppies. :)

twofingerswhiskey replied to your post “jellybeanery: @dramallamadingdang Do you still have the high-res...”

could be they have graphics chipsets that are defaulting to the maxis terrain due to inability to store it effectively in the graphics memory?

Apparently not in Jellybeanery’s case. :\ I’m still at a loss. If you’ve got any ideas about what else it might be, I’m all ears. Or eyes, as the case may be. :)

penig replied to your photo “I just noticed that the binoculars that Sims use to birdwatch have red...”

I think it's the light glaring off the lenses.

The light from the red district? :) No, you’re probably right, but...Geez, what color is the sun supposed to be in SimWorld? :)

nanashi-sims replied to your post “@bunsblr asked for a tutorial about how to do this a while back and I...”

Wow this is fabulous! So many objects that need to be recloned, but so worth it!

Yeah, there’s a lot of Maxis stuff that’s used outdoors that ought to be neighborhood-visible but isn’t. Especially when it comes to outdoor-type seating. And I don’t think the telescopes are neighborhood-visible, either, now that I think about it. Once you get used to doing it, though, it goes quickly.

eulaliasims replied to your photo “Steven came home from work the next day and….Oh, dear. Well. That’s...”

Steven! No! D:

I KNOW! I was bummed. Frankly, I could stand to lose Arcadia, but I was hoping Steven would spawn some more, if nothing else. I need more population that “counts,” and he had that convenient Family aspiration... 

sim-boo replied to your photoset “Arcadia and Aaron, as the only two non-infant people in the household...”

usually they cry for sims they have memories of. like if the dead sim taught them to walk/talk, i've seen before that they cry sometimes even if theres no blood relation.

I’ve never seen that happen in my game. In this case, I know Steven taught Will to talk, at least. But, no mourning from him. Now I’m wondering if I’ve got a mod that’s interfering. Hmmm.....

didilysims replied to your post “Aww you almost had the Aristocats in your game <3”

A lot of Disney is overrated. Emperor's New Groove? Seriously underrated. But I got The Aristocats for my birthday as a kid and watched it probably 100 times at least, so it's near and dear to my heart.

I really don’t know why I never saw The Aristocats. I mean, I was a kid when it was made and all, but I only ever saw the older Disney movies from the 40s or so. (Fantasia is another favorite.) I saw the later Disney movies from the 90s and 2000s because I had kids then, so we saw them in the theater, and I got them when they came out on video, and they watched them ad nauseum. (And The Lion King is one of Ethan’s favorite movies; it resonates with him because he lost his dad at an age when he really needed one. So, we watch that one a lot and I bristle because of all the hyena maligning.) But I don’t think I’ve seen any Disney movie from the 70s in its entirety,

Now as for Emperor’s New Groove: I will argue (and HAVE argued) that it’s the best buddy movie ever made. Kronk and Eartha Kitt’s scenery-chewing (She did it SO well, always did) is just bonus. 

zoragraves replied to your post “So, um....”

Now I want to know what those objects are, at the very least :D

Ohhhhh, you probably really don’t. *laugh*

taylors-simblr replied to your post “@bunsblr asked for a tutorial about how to do this a while back and I...”

Thank you so much for this, I might give it a go tonight! I surrounded my campsite with nengi's bigger bourgainvillas and it's been driving me crazy that they are invisible from any other lot ^__^

Good luck with it! I thought those bougainvilleas were already neighborhood-visible, though...Or maybe I made them so. I don’t remember... Anyway, let me know if you have any trouble!

nerianasims replied to your post “re. StarTrek Multi-PT: I'm pretty sure I remember someone creating the...”

What is this Enterprise show you mention? I am sure it does not exist.

I dunno, I heard a rumor about it. Something about a prequel sort of thing, only done way after the other shows were produced. Seems like kind of a dumb idea... 

(Seriously, I really wanted to like Enterprise. I really, really like Scott Bakula. Quantum Leap is one of my favorite shows. And while I enjoyed a few of the episodes, the writers just didn’t seem to know what to do with any of the characters, especially the poor helmsman dude, which is sad because he was a very pretty black man. I mean, I don’t even remember his name... And of course they had to sex up the female Vulcan. *sigh* They get points for destroying Florida, though. No, I’m kidding. Well, sort of...)

[tgwltw]

Again.

So I finally got my exam results yesterday afternoon and I am happy with what I got! Now I can look forward to my vacation as well as my Summer Break! I also started playing The Sims 4 again and picked up a couple books to read through. (I have a lot of things I really want to try and finish before Summer Break ends!)

Anyways, that aside, wrote this short piece. Hoping for it to be fluffy but I honestly think I may be bad at trying to come off as fluffy.

Words: 804

Bruce frowns as soon as he wakes up and shivers from the cold when he realizes his source of warmth is no longer beside him. He rarely ever wears a shirt to bed, hasn't been wearing one since he had been a teen and even when he had gotten together with you, you always seem to appreciate it a lot whenever he had gone on without his shirt. Bruce thrives off of the warmth your body has to offer and seeing as he is currently shivering from the cold because all he has right now is just the thin covers; he wonders where you might have gone off to. 

Bruce lets out a yawn before turning to gaze at the clock beside him. 6:09AM blinks back and the frown on his face deepens. Considering the activities, the both of you had done for the entire night, this is far too early for the both of you to be awake. On a Sunday too, nonetheless!

Bruce grumbles to himself before he decides to leave the bed in favour of looking for you. He knows he probably would not be able to fall back to sleep despite wanting to, without having you in his arms. Your presence in not just his life but his bed too has spoiled him entirely. 

Deciding it is best to put a sweater on, Bruce trudges around the room looking for the one he had been wearing the day before. If he remembered it correctly, he had carelessly thrown it in the direction of the vanity mirror but he could not find it. Bruce scratches his stomach lazily as he runs a hand through his hair, ruffling it slightly. 

Sighing in defeat, Bruce leaves the room to search for you instead. He should probably just go about without the shirt. It is not like anyone except for you and Alfred would be awake at this hour either. 

Bruce finds you curled up on the sofa, reading through a book - it must be one of the books Damian has recommended to you, he finds joy to see that the two of you are getting along wonderfully - with a blanket draped around your lap. Bruce pads over to where you are sitting and carefully slides down beside you. 

Bruce leans down to press a soft kiss atop your head before wrapping an arm around your shoulders. You immediately melt against him. "Y/N, why are you awake this early?" He asks sleepily. 

You shiver the tiniest bit when Bruce's lips brushes against your ear. You close your book after making sure to place your bookmark correctly and set it aside before turning to look at him. You give him a small smile. "I couldn't sleep is all." 

You shiver when cold air washes over you and you snuggle closer to Bruce's warmth, giggling to yourself when he lets out a shudder because of cold your nose is. 

Bruce pulls the blanket from your lap before wrapping it around the both of you. He is grateful that most of the blankets in the manor are huge and comfortable. Once the two of you are comfortable, Bruce buries his nose on to your hair.

"Aren't you tired? After what we did last night." He murmurs in to your hair. 

You shake your head as you bask in his warmth. Everything about Bruce is pleasantly warm and you are grateful for it. He probably woke up because you weren't in bed too. 

Only when you wrap your arms around Bruce does he finally realise something. Bruce tilts his head slightly and a small, teasing smile appears on his face. 

"Y/N, are you wearing my sweater?" Bruce raises one of his eyebrows. This is probably your fourth or fifth - he had stopped counting after the first two times - time you had 'borrowed' his sweaters. 

You snuggle closer to him, pressing a kiss on his shoulders. You can feel Bruce shivering again. "I couldn't find my shirt so I just grabbed yours instead." You defended yourself. "It's so comfy too."

"At the rate you are borrowing my sweaters, Y/N, I might even have to get some new ones." Bruce tells you pointedly but you knew he didn't mean a thing what he had said. You also knew for a fact that Bruce actually likes seeing you in his clothes - you initially thought it was probably a men thing, but you have come to learn that it really was just a Bruce thing. Not that you minded because you like riling him up sometimes. 

You smile against his shoulders. "Meanie."

Bruce tightens his arms around you cozily. The two of you stayed together like that until later that morning when Damian stumbled upon the two of you, still wrapped in each other's arms, sleeping soundly. 

[gothxmsirxns-blog]

The Great Barrier Reef

Pairing:  Kaldur’ahm x reader

Relationship: Friends then relationship

Request: Nope

Plot:  Reader is Poseidon's child and is introduced to Kaldur through Cassie and Kaldur learns reader had never actually gone swimming in the ocean despite wanting to because of overbearing mother and promises to show them the beauties of the ocean. Set post-invasion so Kaldur and reader are twenty one years old.

Key: [Y/N] = your name, [E/C] = eye colour, [H/C] = hair colour, [H/L] = hair length, [H/N] = hero name, [F/M/A] = favourite marine animal.

Words: 3,011 [I really didn’t mean for this to be that long. I got out of hand]

A/N: I wanna tag @memento-scribet because they said they wanted some Kaldur! Hope you all enjoy it. This is also my first time not using female pronouns, I’m trying to be a lot more neutral with my writing so I’m sorry if I messed up. 

They could remember the day their life was turned upside down, they had known something was off when their mother had set them down on the sofa with a worried look on their face and how they wrung their hands together in nervousness and scratched at their skin, a nervous habit that they had picked up when living with her ex-husband when he questioned her and shouted at her. [Y/N] remembered the shock that spread through their body and how they froze as they processed what was being said.

But, they remembered being happy. Happy that they were finally learning the truth about their father and who they were, why they could do things that other people couldn’t and happy that they weren’t as much as a freak, but rather a demi-god.

At first it had been hard to wrap their head around, it was hard to process that their mother, their mother who was as simple and as normal as they came, working a nine to five job to provide for the two of them and who had a love for the mundane things in life like gardening or spending the day in the day reading a good book, had fallen in love with the Greek God of the Sea (they also found it hard to process that God’s, plural, were real) and had a child with him, that they were said child.

But all that shock was thrown out the window and replaced with new shock and confusion when Wonder Woman walked into the living room from the kitchen, accompanied by who [Y/N] recognised as Wonder Girl, having been there the entire time and the reason their mother had decided to come clean after almost twenty two years.

Apparently they had just found out about them as well and Wonder Girl was technically their cousin, with her being the daughter of Zeus and everything. It had been a lot to process as a lot of information had been given to the young adult in the save of less than an hour.

But apparently, they wouldn’t have time to process everything because Wonder Woman said that she needed to leave her home and leave her mother behind because enemies of the League had learned of [Y/N]’s existence and her potential as a child of a God and they might use them in an attempt to bring down government or the Justice League and because of this they had to leave, or else their mother would be in danger.

So they agreed, haphazardly and with a few reservations of course because they didn’t know what was in store for them when the left. What they were told, however, was that they would receive training with the Young Justice team and eventually join their ranks as a member to protect the world, like Cassie had, however, unlike Cassie, they would be training under Aqualad and Aquaman instead of under Wonder Woman as their powers would be similar.

_____

They day had finally come where [Y/N] would be introduced to the Young Justice team, their team and ‘new family’ in the words of Cassie. It had been about a week since [Y/N] had left home and moved into the Young Justice Base, but they had yet to meet anyone as they were all on a long mission out of the country that was taking up their time, but they had Cassie and found that the pair got along quite well with one another, forming a friendship together.

When [Y/N] arrived through the zeta tube to the watch tower, they were greeted with a crowd of heroes that were already greeting their bubbly cousin with smiles and hugs. So, they stayed back, allowing the team to catch up. But Cassie wasn’t having this, so she moved toward the young person and linked arms with them and practically dragged them towards the team as they tucked a [H/C] strand of their [H/C] behind their ear and bit down on their lip as a nervous reaction.

They didn’t know what they were nervous for, they were greeted with smiles, mostly (Superboy remained stoic as he greeted them and introduced himself), and warm words of welcome to the team.

Each member of the team had introduced themselves, but one. The leader of the team had stayed back and watched as his team interacted with the new comer, a small smile on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. He was happy to see them getting along, for now anyway, he didn’t know what would happen in the future, but for now the team seemed well matched with one another.

When it seemed to calm and the team was now simply chatting, instead of talking over each other trying to greet the newest member, he walked forward and stood in front of them his hands falling from his chest and his smile spreading slightly into a warm and welcoming one as he knew he would be spending a lot of time with this person as he was to train them. “I am Kaldur’ahm. But you may call me Kaldur, or Aqualad, whichever you feel most comfortable with. I am the leader of this team and your trainer it seems.”

Looking at the man in front of them, a small blush rose to [Y/N]’s cheeks, simply because he was attractive and they couldn’t deny that, and a smile spread to their lips as they offered their hand to the man to shake, which he took. “I’m [Y/N], thank you for having me.”

After that, everything seemed to move quickly as the team moved from the Watch Tower to their own base after reporting on the mission and being sent away. The team went to the lounge and spread themselves around, but [Y/N] stayed back and watched from the sidelines with a small smile on their face. The team seemed so close to one another and they didn’t want to intrude on them.

[Y/N] felt a presence beside her and she glanced at who it was from the corner of her eyes, it was Kaldur. “Are you not going to join them?” Shaking their head slightly, [Y/N] licked her lips and looked to the ground for a second before looking back up at the group ahead of her, “I don’t want to intrude.”

A smirk made it’s way onto Kaldur’s lips, “You won’t be intruding. This is your team now too.” A small chuckle past through [Y/N]’s lips as they now turned their head so they could look at the dark skinned man beside them, “That may be, but, I’m still getting used to all this. I haven’t even been in the ocean yet.”

Kaldur looked shocked as his eyes widened, “You’ve never been in the ocean?” [Y/N] shook her head and shrugged her shoulder, “No. I’ve been to pools but never the ocean, mom always stayed away from the beach. Said she had a fear of large bodies of water and wouldn’t let me go with my friends.”

“But you’re father is the God of the ocean, is he not?” A puff of air left [Y/N]’s mouth before they let out a sigh and ran their hands through their hair, “He is. But, my mom didn’t want me to know about him or what I was. She just wanted to keep me safe.”

Kaldur nodded and cleared his throat, “Would you like to see it?” A smile spread to [Y/N]’s face as she thought about the water, how it might feel on her skin and how she always felt more at home when she was simming. “I would love to. When I was younger, I would sit on the roof of our house, usually when James was shouting at my mom, and I would stare out at the water, we had a pretty good view of the marina from her home, and I would wonder what it would be like to go there and to swim for as long as I could. I always felt like the ocean called to me.”

A warmth filled Kaldur’s eyes as he looked at the person before him, and his heart felt like it was starting to swell a little as he learned a little about the person behind the name and behind the powers. “Well, I could always show you it.” [Y/N] looked up to Kaldur, with an eyebrow raised and a question in their eyes, “The ocean. I could take you out, show you how beautiful it is and how beautiful the wildlife is.”

Nodding their head slightly a warm and friendly sigh left [Y/N]’s mouth as they brought their hands behind their back and clasped their hands together, leaning forward slightly as joy filled them, “I would like that.”  

_____

The next day,Kaldur took [Y/N] out and they learned that [Y/N] could breath underwater, which meant they could spend longer under the water and longer exploring. This also allowed for them to test [Y/N]’s stamina and see if they needed to improve on that with training.

That day, Kaldur had shown [Y/N] the reef that surrounded the beach and cliffs where they were and introduced [Y/N] to a [F/M/A], which made [Y/N] overjoyed,and they played with them a little before heading back to base for some training.

The next time the pair went out, it was a few days later after training, [Y/N] was learning quickly and it shocked Kaldur somewhat. That day they had learned that [Y/N] could bend water at her will, hydrokinesis they learned it was called, and use it as a weapon much like Kaldur did. On this journey into the ocean, the two journey further away from the beach and into deeper waters where more secrets lay. They found more marine life,and while they journey further from the beach, they remained relatively close to the cliffs and followed them meaning they discovered hidden coves that were lost to the tide and to nature.

They ended up spending some time in one of the coves, eventually taking a seat on some rocks above the water to rest and this allowed the two to talk and get to know one another on a deeper level than they had before. They had managed to lose track of time while talking and discovering new things about one another, forming a deep friendship that rivaled the friendship that [Y/N] had formed with her cousin over the three weeks she had known her.

This became routine for the two, they would journey out in the ocean after training and Kaldur would show [Y/N] everything he could without getting too far from the main base of the team in case of an emergency and towards the end of their adventure they would rest in the cove and talk. They never seemed to run out of things to talk about, and always had something new to discuss with one another.

Eventually, the time came for [Y/N] to join the team on a mission and Kaldur was quite hesitant to allow this, not because he didn’t believe in their abilities but because he was sure he was developing feelings for them that were beyond friendship and he did not want to see them get hurt or in a dangerous situation. Nevertheless, they went, and proved to work very well with the team they had gotten to know over the weeks through simple chat and through sparring with each member in an attempt to get a feel for what they could do and how they fought.

After the mission the duo took to their regular routine of going for a swim together, this time they journeyed out a little further than normal and Kaldur watched in amazement as the wounds that [Y/N] had received closed up and healed in the water, a perk of being a demi-goddess he guessed. But it seemed to even shock [Y/N] as they had stopped once they realised their injuries were closing over.

“This is new.” Were the words that came from [Y/N]’s mouth as she looked to Kaldur, “But not unwelcome.” They would never admit it to the man they was swimming with, but [Y/N] was in pain, their injuries hurt like a bitch and they was hesitant to even go swimming with him because of how much they hurt, but they knew he would fuss and want to make sure they were rested and it would have been a while before they were able to go out together again, and they didn’t want that.

They were attached to Kaldur, no it was more than that. They were romantically attracted to him and the feelings had been growing from their first interaction, and now they made [Y/N] feel like their heart was going to beat out of their chest anytime they were with him. Luckily, he didn’t have super hearing.

However, M’Gann and Artemis had picked up on [Y/N]’s feelings for Kaldur and actively encouraged them to pursue the relationship, constantly claiming that he felt the same and just didn’t want to make a move after what had happened with Tula in the past, both with her relationship with Garth and her death, but [Y/N] brushed it off and claimed that Kaldur only thought of them as a friend. How wrong they were.

In the coming weeks, with mission after mission the pair were finding it hard to be able to get out and swim because they were either away and too tired to swim after a mission or training to improve both of their skills. They still talked, but things seemed tense and the other members of the team were beginning to pick up why with Artemis claiming that you could ‘cut their sexual tension with a knife’ when the pair were out of earshot and the others seemed to agree.

So they came up with a plan, alongside Aquaman who the team had managed to convince that it needed to happen. Arthur called the two to Atlantis for a mission, with L’Gann faking illness so he wouldn’t have to go and M’Gann claiming that she would have to stay in the bioship while they dealt with the situation, thus leaving the two alone. But of course, there was no mission and Arthur simply sent the two of them to the Great Barrier Reef because apparently someone was out there causing harm to it and it’s visitors.

But that wasn’t true. He sent them there to get them alone in one of the most beautiful places in the ocean in hopes that the two would confront their feelings for one another. When they arrived, they quickly realised that there was nothing wrong, however, they stayed and  [Y/N] was amazed at how beautiful it was and they swam around with a childlike glee and Kaldur watched with a smile as they seemed to be enjoying themselves. But upon noticing dying coral, their heart broke and they reached out to touch it and when they did, they were able to feel it.

Every [Y/N] came to life when they touched the coral, and it seemed the coral came back to life as well as a light that had started to swirl around the arms of the young hero moved down and around the coral beds as light and vibrancy was brought back to it, essentially bringing it back to life.

Kaldur was amazed, but that wasn’t new. Almost everything [Y/N] did amazed the young hero, and as he watched his heart began to swell, much like the time they had first meet, but this time it swole with an emotion he was all too familiar with, love. When [Y/N] turned to look at Kaldur, their eyes were wide and a look of shock was on their face as they weren’t expecting to be able to do that.

Kaldur swam towards them, until he was behind them, and he watched with a smile as they turned back and watched the light spread over the reef. “That was amazing.” Kaldur’s voice was soft and warm as he turned his eyes to look at the light as well, “You’re amazing [Y/N].”

[Y/N] now turned to face Kaldur, their heart beating at what felt like a million miles a minute and the butterflies in their stomach making them feel like they were on a roller coaster on it’s way up to it’s peak. “[Y/N], I -,” Kaldur was lost for words as he looked at them, and [Y/N] was silent while they waited for him to continue his sentence, which he didn’t do.

When [Y/N] realised Kaldur wasn’t going to finish his sentence, they went to speak but they were stopped when a pair of lips pressed down against their own and webbed hands wrapped gently around their lower back, pulling their body closer to Kaldurs.

They were slightly shocked, but enough that they waiting in kissing the man back. [Y/N]’s hands moved to wrap around the neck of the man as their lips moved in sync together. The kiss was soft, but it was filled with emotions that they had both been trying to hold back for a long time. When they pulled back, Kaldur placed his forehead against [Y/N]’s and they both took deep breaths, their lungs betraying them slightly as the stung from not breathing during the kiss.

“I’m apologise for not doing that sooner.” A giggle left [Y/N]’s lips as Kaldur leaned down to kiss them again. The two were so wrapped up in their moment together that they didn’t notice M’Gann in the background, silently watching them and making sure to mentally record everything to share with Artemis and Karen when they returned.

[jimlingss]

Rent-a-Boyfriend™

Words: 12k Genre: Extreme fluff for all you bitter people out there (me being included) Read the sequel drabble: here Read more at Service Series 

Cr.

Are YOU lonely? Need someone to cuddle at night? Do you want love?

If you said ‘yes’ to any of the questions previously mentioned then we have a service for you!

Don’t be alone for this Valentine’s Day!

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(terms and conditions may apply. we are not responsible for any emotional or sentimental damages. please take caution with rent-a-boyfriend).

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” His voice blares over the phone and you move away, wincing.

“What the fuck Hoseok? Do you even know what time it is over here?” You groan, rubbing the sleep from your eyes.

“Honestly? No.” He laughs. “The time zones over here are pretty different. What? It’s like nine am?”

“Yes. Fuck.” You moan, scratching your bedhead. “I wanted to sleep in.”

“But it’s your birthday!” He whines.

“Exactly. I’ve been busting my ass at work these past few days. Just let me sleep.” You sigh. “Even when you’re half across the ocean, you’re still annoying me.”

“I just feel bad that you’re spending your birthday alone.”

“Who said I’m spending it alone?”

“Well...what are your plans then?”

Netflix. Wine. In your pajamas on the couch all day. “None of your business.” You sharply answer and he giggles.

“Are you planning to just order pizza and catch up on some TV?”

“Hey!” You shout defensively. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing.” You can practically envision his wide grin. “It’s just I got you a birthday gift. It should be arriving any second now.”

“Wha-” Right on cue, the doorbell rings and you groan. “Give me a second!” You shout, staggering to your feet and pulling a cardigan over your pajamas. “What the hell did you get me Hoseok?” You mutter and he only laughs in response.

The moment you open the door, you’re met with a taller, blonde boy standing in front of you. He’s looking at you expectantly, suppressing a huge smile with lips upturned. Without a doubt, he’s cute; dashing to say the least and outwardly handsome, even a blind person would agree. But you were too tired to ogle him for long and you were already popping your head out the doorway, darting your eyes around. Where was the package?

“Hello.” The delivery man grins and you look back at him, wondering why he was wearing a fancy, black suit.

“Hi…” You grumble out with your sleepy voice. “Do you have something for me?”

“Have something for you…?” He tilts his head, a bit confused. “Oh! Should I have gotten you flowers?”

“What?”

“I’ll keep a mental note to get you flowers next time.” He beams at you. “What kind of flowers do you like?”

“Wait….” Your frown deepens and your temples begin pulsing. Hoseok giggles on the phone. “I’m going to have to call you back.” You mumble, quickly hanging up. The stranger blinks with a charming smile. “Who are you?”

“Oh!” He jumps. “I haven’t introduced myself at all, huh? I deeply apologize! My name is Kim Taehyung!”

“And…?”

“And I’m your boyfriend!”

You freeze, hand still on your doorknob and mouth drawing open. Maybe this is some sort of dream; you’ve been single for so long, so your subconscious drew up some kind of fantasy of a cute stranger appearing at your doorstep, calling himself your boyfriend. That must be it. There’s no other way.

You’re gawking at him dumbfounded, words repeating slowly in your head as the gears begin to crank in your brain.

‘I’m your boyfriend!’

The last time you checked, you didn’t have a boyfriend.

He grins, looking more adorable than ever at your confusion.

“WHAT?!”

//

Are YOU lonely? Need someone to cuddle at night? Are your parents or family members pestering you? Have aunts that won’t leave you alone? Are you going to a wedding without a plus one? Do you have someone you need to show off to? Have someone who won’t leave you alone?

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You reach for the remote, shutting off the television before the commercial can even finish. The flashes and neon lights of the advertisement still burn to the back of your eyes.

“Do you get it now?” Taehyung’s eyes twinkle as he grins at you.

You’re baffled, not knowing how to cope when everything was unravelling so quickly in your hands. “Uhhhhh……” He waits patiently for your response, sitting on the edge of your couch. “Just...give me a second. I need to make a phone call…”

You grab your phone off the table, beginning to retreat backwards into your bedroom. “Okay.” He quips with the tilt of his head.

You bolt to your room, shutting the door.

“What the hell Hoseok?” You immediately speak the moment the call goes through.

He laughs over the phone. “I guess he came?”

“Yeah, he showed up all right. The fuck is all this? What were you thinking?! Are you insane?!”

“Hey, hey, loosen up, will you? I thought it was a fun idea. You know it’ll help you relax and chill out. You’re always stressed out anyways.”

You sigh, ruffling your bird’s nest hair. “It’s as sketchy as hell.”

“No it’s not.” He whines in a half grumble. “My cousin used it during her sister’s wedding. They’re legit! You don’t have to worry about your house getting robbed or anything like that.”

“I even personally picked out the guy for you!” Hoseok adds on and your frown only deepens, especially when you’re trying to untangle the knots in your hair.

“What? What did you even say?”

“Well...I requested a fun-loving guy that’s energetic and cute. Your type right?”

“Hoseok. That’s my fucking opposite type.” You run a hand over your face in exasperation. “You know I like chill people! Mellow and not exhausting to be around!”

He laughs again and if he wasn’t across the ocean, you probably would’ve tried strangling him. “At least he’s cute right? I mean, they sent me a bunch of pictures and I picked him.” You groan. “Hey, just think of it as getting a massage or paying for a simple service to just wind down at the end of the day...like an escort?”

“...I’m going to kill you when you come back here.”

“That’s in two months Y/N~”

“I fucking hate you and your shit and the shit you put me through.”

“Trust me, this is good. Have I ever, ever made you do something that wasn’t good?”

“You made me fucking hike up that mountain.”

“And it was fun! Right? …...Aside from the part where you broke your ankle...but everything turned out fine!”

You sigh. “I’m leaving. He’s still waiting.”

“Don’t leave your new boyfriend waiting Y/N~ Bye!”

“Bye bitch.” You hang up a minute later, finally getting yourself up from your unmade bed to the door.

Maybe he’s right, you begin to think to yourself. Your life hadn’t been that exciting in the past few months, especially in the romance area and maybe this is what you needed all along. Maybe a pretend boyfriend will be good practice to somehow reel you into the right path again.

You’re nodding to yourself, walking back into your living room. But the moment you turn your head, he’s still waiting and sitting on the edge of your couch with a huge grin, like a puppy.

That’s when you realize….

You can’t do this.

What kind of person has a fake boyfriend to play pretend?! This is a human life, not the sims game! It’s not like you were even lonely in the first place! You don’t need a man to be happy! Fuck Hoseok and what he thinks is good for you or fun. He can go eat your dirty socks.

“Get out.” You hitch your thumb at your main door.

Taehyung’s eyes widen and his lips fall. He leans forward, blinking once. “W-what?”

“Go away. I don’t need your service. Thanks but no thanks.” You cross your arms. “I’m not interested.”

“W-wait..hold on.”

You eject the cd of the commercial, slapping it into his hands while dragging his arm up and to the door. “D-do you still not understand how this works?”

“Oh. I understand all right. Please leave.” You open the door, ready to shove him out, but he still stands at the doorway, foot blocking so that you can’t slam it in his face.

“Wait! Wait! Your friend already prepaid an entire month!?!!” He’s looking more confused as ever, desperate and shocked.

A fucking month? Holy sh-

“You gotta be kidding me.” You raise your hand to your forehead. “NO! Just get out!”

“Did I do something wrong?!”

The both of you are struggling at the door, you trying to push him out but him trying to push inside. “No! You didn’t do anything wrong! It’s just too fucking weird!”

“I literally can’t go! It’s already prepaid! I’m going to get yelled at and get fired!”

“Can’t you just return his deposit?!”

“No we can’t!”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know why! It’s just policy!”

“Then take the money!” You shout bitterly, still struggling.

“I can’t leave in good moral conscience!” He grits his teeth and finally wins when you take a step back, too exhausted and the door crashes against the wall. You glare at him, huffing tiredly, and he’s breathless too. “I’ll treat..you...well…” He manages. “It’s just...for a...month.”

You’re defeated.

‘It’s a fun idea.’

‘It’ll help you relax.’

‘Think of it as a service.’ ‘Think of it as a service.’ ‘Think of it as a service.’

Hoseok’s voice rings over and over and over inside your head. You scream, whipping your arms to get rid of his chirpy laughter. Maybe you really do have a few loose screws inside your head. Maybe you’re really just losing it.

You stare at Taehyung for a long time, breathing heavily with tired eyes.

“Fine.”

“What?”

“I said fine!” You scream, not believing what was falling from your lips.

His eyes twinkle and he grins. “So I can be your boyfriend?”

“What the fuck did I just get myself into?” You mutter under your breath. You nod before you can take anything back. “Yes. Yes you can.”

The stranger, Taehyung takes your hands suddenly, spinning you in a circle while he giggles. “This is going to be great! You won’t regret it!”

You sigh tiredly.

You really better not regret this.

//

He clears his throat. “So to recap…” You lean your chin in your hand, elbow to your kitchen counter. “We’re going to do everything that is romantic but no physically touching aside from hugs or cuddles, no kisses and nothing sexual or else the contract is nullified?”

Taehyung nods a bit too enthusiastically. For a moment you think he might break his own neck. “Yup! We’ll go on dates and I’ll give you texts and calls too!”

“Uh huh…Great.”

“Do you have any preferences?” He bats his lashes eagerly.

You frown. “...preferences?”

“Dating preferences!” He smiles. “Do you like the caring type? The bad boy type? The cold type? Where do you want to go on dates? Do you like being pampered with gifts?”

“No. No.” You wave your hand exhaustingly. “Anything’s fine. Just be yourself.”

He tilts his head, a slight knot between his brows. “...be myself?”

“Yeah. Just be yourself.”

It seems to take a few seconds before the request registers in his head, as if he’s never heard it before in his career. “Okay…” He nods to himself with pouted lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow then!” He smiles perfectly with a nod.

“Tomorrow?”

“Our first date! A dinner date!”

“Okay.” You sigh. “Sounds good.”

“I’ll pick you up at six!” You nod slightly when he’s at the doorway, flashing one big smile. “See you tomorrow Y/N!”

“Bye Taehyung.”

“Bye!”

“Uh huh. Bye.” You finally shut the door, sliding down the surface and wondering what the hell you just got yourself into.

…...

....

..

You just got a boyfriend, that’s what.

//

It’s a Friday night when you’re lying on your couch, thankful that the weekend is finally here. You’ve poured yourself a glass of wine, watching netflix with half-lidded eyes, dozing off slowly. You’re about to give it to the seduction of sleep, catch up on the many hours that you’ve missed for work but then your phone violently vibrates on the table (scaring the shit out of you).

Unknown number: I’ll be there in ten minutes! ~^.^~

“What the f-” You frown, rubbing your eyes. It only takes you a second before you’re suddenly wide awake again. “Oh my god.”

You rush to your bathroom, looking at the mess of makeup that was still on your face from the workday. You’re absolutely frantic, running to your closet to pull out clothes but that’s when it hits you….who cares?

It’s not like this was an actual date. It’s not like you have an actual boyfriend.

He was probably going to take you out to a burger joint anyways.

You sigh tiredly, slowing down and taking more of your time. You throw a sweater on top of your pajama top, swapping sweatpants for comfortable leggings instead, like the true lazy lifestyle you live. Then you wipe off all your makeup, splashing your face with cold water. The rest of the time, you sit back down on the couch to finish the episode that you were watching, downing the rest of the wine in your glass.

As promised, he arrives….in a fucking suit. “Good evening Y/N!” He exclaims with a grin and you nod reluctantly.

“Hey.” You look at the bouquet of red roses in his hands. “Is that for me?”

He looks down for a moment before meeting your eyes again, handing it to you. “Oh! Yes they are! They reminded me of you because they are so beautiful. And speaking of which, you do look lovely today.”

Was this guy serious? You looked like you were ready to walk to the convenience store and straight back home. “....thanks. Want to come in?”

He smiles as he steps inside your abode, watching as you place the flowers on the counter of your kitchen. “I’ve made dinner reservations at seven.”

“Sounds good.” You sigh. “You should’ve texted me when you got here though. You didn’t need to come all the way up.”

“It’s no big deal. I really don’t mind at all. I’d do anything for you.”

You turn on your heel, glaring at him. “Are you always this perfect?”

“What?”

“Nevermind.” You huff out, waving your hand. “We should get going though, right? You said the reservations were at seven?”

“Oh yes!” He practically jumps.

You usher him out of the house, locking up before the both of you head down the elevators. Like the gentleman he acts like, he opens the car door for you and guides you in. As he drives, you lean to look out the window.

“So...where are we going?”

“To a restaurant.” He smiles, sitting upright while still looking out the road.

“Uh huh…”

“How was your day today?” He asks eagerly.

“Tiring.” You add. “People can be hard to deal with.” He hums in agreement. “How was yours?”

“Me? It was good. It’s even better now that I’m with you.”

You frown at him, scoffing. “Are you being serious? You barely know me.”

He scoffs...or at least that’s what you think he did because then he suddenly turns it into a cough a second later after realizing how unchivalrous the action was. “I mean...I don’t need to know you to know what a wonderful person you are. Don’t worry though. I will get to know you well.”

He adds. “You’re my girlfriend after all.”

You’re about to object but in a way….you guess you were his girlfriend. He was technically your boyfriend.

You arrive at the restaurant soon after, Taehyung quickly exiting the car and making his way around to open your door, despite your protests. He even opens the doors of the restaurant for you and the waitress leads you to the table according to the reservations.

You’re baffled and this time - it’s not because of him.

“Taehyung.” You whisper, lowering the menu from your face. “What the hell.”

“What’s wrong?” He frowns with worry.

“You didn’t tell me that it was a fancy restaurant!” You dart your eyes around at the luxurious tables, windows draped with red curtains, the soft chandelier lights and the people dressed like it’s their wedding. The waiters and waitresses are quiet, dressed in white and sauntering around with trays in one hand. It’s the type of restaurant that people would propose at and it’s as if you were thrown into a James Bond movie.

He laughs. “Where did you think we were going to go?”

You’re still gaping at him. “I don’t know. A fast food restaurant? Somewhere to grab fries and a burger?”

His mouth is still drawn into a huge grin, one of amusement. “Why would I do that?”

“The prices here are outrageous!” You point to the steaks on the menu, costing more than two hours of your pay.

“It’s our first date. I’m not just going to bring you anywhere.” He winks and you roll your eyes. “I need to impress you.”

“And I’m so under dressed.” You look down at your leggings and sweater, your pajama shirt peeking out at the bottom. Your hair is barely put together and your face is completely bare. You can’t help but feel inferior and self-conscious to the beautiful women who strut to their seats, gown sweeping the floor.

“You look beautiful, don’t worry.” He smiles gently.

Before you can respond in curses, the waiter returns with a huge smile, looking like a stiff mannequin. “Here is your sparkling cider.” He pours it in both your glasses. “Are you ready to order?”

Taehyung looks at you and you nod. “I’ll take the chicken marsala.” It’s the cheapest thing on the menu yet it still hurts when you look at the price.

He looks over to Taehyung. “I’ll have the roasted rack of lamb.”

“Okay.” He happily takes both your menus. “I’ll get that going for you two. Please do call me if you would like anything more.”

You watch as the waiter leaves before you turn to Taehyung. You stare at him emotionlessly, and he stares back with enthusiasm. “What’s wrong?”

“From now on, don’t be cheesy.” You tell him, unfolding your napkin to sit on your lap. “I hate cheesy lines.”

He nods with thought. “Okay.”

“Just be natural. Be yourself.”

//

The both of you enjoy dinner in somewhat silence, broken by Taehyung’s nosy questions and charming one liners. You both talk about your likes and dislikes in between mouthfuls before you’re both finished. When the cheque comes, he insists that he pays and you two sit around arguing for a bit.

“I’m a working grown lady! I can pay for my own food! I probably make even more money than you!”

“It doesn’t matter! Just let me.”

“I don’t need your courtesy!”

“Don’t worry about it!”

You finally give up, and he pays, somewhat of a distraught expression on his face despite his words.

As Taehyung drives you home, you talk about Hoseok and how annoying he is even when you met him back in high school. He goes on a long rant about how dogs are better than cats and then you talk about your hobbies (netflix and wine obviously). You contemplate for a moment that it was actually a nice change of pace for once.

“You want to come in?” You ask when you’re both standing in front of your door.

“No I’m okay.” He grins. “It’s the first date so…”

You scoff with a smile. “Suit yourself.” He shifts from one foot to the other and you’re both lingering awkwardly. “Well…” You clear your throat. “I enjoyed myself today.”

His eyes widen, twinkling. “Really?!”

“Yeah...I did actually.” You admit in a smaller voice, more to yourself than him.

“That’s good.” His lips widen even more. “I’m glad. So we’ll do this again?”

“Well…” You hum out. “I’ll think about it.”

“We have a month together left…” He reminds you.

“I’ll think about it.” You repeat back and he laughs.

“I’ll text you. Goodnight Y/N.” Without a moment to think, he leans down and pecks your cheek with his soft lips, only for a mere split-second.

You’re shocked, taken back but before you can say anything, he turns and walks down the hallway. You laugh to yourself, finally entering your abode.

Maybe a boyfriend wasn’t so bad after all.

//

Taehyung texts you several times through your work day. He says good morning, if you’ve eaten lunch yet, what you were doing and a good night every single day. He even goes forth and sends selfies of himself in bed with bed hair to a picture of him drinking his morning coffee to even a dog on the street.

When you don’t respond, message after message, he calls.

“What do you want?” You draw out tiredly.

“You didn’t respond to my texts!” He whines. “I was worried! Are you busy?”

You sigh tiredly, exaggeratedly so that he can hear. “Taehyung.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t text me unless you need to.”

There’s a long drawn out silence. “Am I being too clingy for you?”

“Yes.” You immediately feel guilt, beginning to retrace your words. “I don’t mind. It’s nice actually…..” You admit. “but just less, please. A little less.”

“Okay.” You can already imagine him smiling.

“I have to get back to work now…”

“Y/N?”

“Hm?”

“Let’s go on a date tonight!”

“Date?” You frown.

“Are you busy?”

You contemplate if you should answer ‘yes’. You were tired, wanting to catch up on more tv and hit the sack earlier but you couldn’t help but feel a little bit guilty if you lied to him. Whether you wanted to admit it or not, you did enjoy yourself last time. “....no. I’m not busy.”

“Great! I’ll pick you up at eight! Let’s go to the movies! So pick which one you want! Bye Y/N!” He hangs up before you can say otherwise.

You sigh yet again.

“Your boyfriend?” A co-worker beside you chirps up in interest. She was probably eavesdropping but you don’t particularly mind, it’s not like you haven’t done it before yourself and work was going dreadfully slow today.

You manage a stiff smile and a nod. “Something like that…”

//

He picks you up from your apartment again but this time you’re already outside, so he doesn’t have to make the trip all the way to your door. Seeing you out, he profusely apologizes and asks if you were waiting for long but you answer him with a cold glare and your hand holding your phone, showing the time.

7:50 pm.

He was already ten minutes early.

“You don’t need to apologize. I wanted to wait out here.”

He nods, taking back at how you weren’t receiving all of his bullshit today.

You were just tired, from work and him. He was a bit...no he was too much.

“Are you serious?” You look at him when the both of you are in the car, a bouquet of flowers in your lap.

“Don’t you like flowers?”

“I don’t need them every single time! That’s too much!”

There’s a small, mischievous smile that appears on his lips for a split-second before it disappears. He clears his throat, becoming serious again. “Should I get you chocolates instead? Do you like jewelry?”

“No! No. I don’t want gifts. I don’t need anything.”

He bolts his head over at you with a frown, staring at you in horror.

You were completely different from all his other ‘girlfriend’ clients before who wanted him to act a certain way, give them immense affection and shower them with endless gifts. You were odd. Very odd.

Has there ever been someone like you?

“WATCH THE ROAD!” You shout, pointing out the windshield, and he breaks out of his trance, slightly swerving the car when he regains focus again. “Are you trying to kill us?!”

“Sorry.” He mumbles.

“There’s no sorries when I’m dead.” You pout, crossing your arms. “Thanks so much boyfriend.”

He laughs, genuinely this time and a bit obnoxiously too, ringing in your ears. It’s different from his polite one. You like it better. A lot better.

“So what do you want to watch?” You ask him as the both of you stare at the screen flashing movie titles.

He glances at you. “You can pick.”

“It really doesn’t matter to me.” You huff out. “Hurry up and pick one.”

He hums for a really long moment. “Marley and me?”

“Oh...it’s an old film. Guess they’re replaying it?” You turn to him. “Are you sure?”

He frowns. “Why, do you not want to? We can change it if you want! We can watch whatever! Do you want to see something else instead?”

“Calm down.” You put out your hands. “I’m fine with anything.”

“Okay.” He smiles. “I like dogs anyways.”

“Oh...this movie’s going to be so great for you then.” You smirk, already having an idea what was going to happen. You hadn’t ever sat down and watched the film before but you had an idea of how it ended.

Nonetheless, you bought the tickets this time and the both of you sat down smack dab in the middle of the theater.

You thought he was going to pull some greasy moves like throwing an arm over your seat to slowly and smoothly pull you in or hold your hand or at least whisper seductively into your ear but not at all. He’s transfixed the entire time, eyes glued to the screen and hand burying inside the bag of popcorn to stuff his mouth barbarically. He’s transfixed the entire time, like a child incredibly invested in the movie. It’s like he forgot you were even there.

Not that you particularly mind, if anything you liked it better that way. He wasn’t trying to act as your perfect boyfriend but instead, genuinely enjoying himself.

You find yourself glancing over and smiling several times.

//

“What...the hell was that?” Taehyung chokes out, still sobbing. His eyes are completely swollen red, saliva escaping his mouth and snot dripping down from his nose. You can’t help but laugh a bit, only quickly covering it up as a cough when he shoots you a glare.

As you exit the theater, people are shooting you odd looks. “Taehyung….people are going to think that I bullied you.” You lean over to him, whispering as he’s choking back his wails, still weeping.

“Is that all you care about?” He croaks out at you.

You smile widely at him, taking his arm. “I’m just saying that you should calm down. Are you okay?”

“I don’t know.” He answers honestly, sniffling back.

“Will you be okay?”

“Maybe….probably.”

The both of you decide to take a walk at the small park from across the street since the night weather was rather nice and Taehyung was in no condition to drive.

You both walk for a bit before settling down on a bench together. He’s no longer crying, only cheeks and the tip of his nose tinted rouge, largely from the cool air. He glances at you once he notices you're staring and his eyes almost immediately light up.

“Oh!” Taehyung begins peeling off his jacket. “You must be cold.”

You laugh, stopping his hands. “Calm down kid. I’m not cold. I have a thicker jacket than you do.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

He smiles sheepishly, shrugging his jacket back on and zipping it all the way up. The both of you bask in the silence, cars zooming past, trees rustling and the distant music of the movie theater seeping into the air. Taehyung’s presence seems to comfort you and that only puts you more on edge, alarming you even further.

“So…..how many clients do you have?”

He turns to you, looking taken back. “Clients?”

“Girlfriends.” You add. “People like me.”

“Uhhhhhhh……………………” He frowns in disbelief, almost as if you had uttered it in parseltongue.

You smile, tilting your head. “I’m just curious that’s all. You don’t have to look so afraid. If it’s too personal, you don’t need to answer.”

“No.” He shakes his head. “It’s just that...no one’s ever asked.” No one, especially the clients themselves, want to know how many people he’s seeing aside from them. If anything, they’ve all avoided the topic like the black plague. He shifts, inhaling a breath. “Probably thirty clients?”

“Thirty? Wow.” You jut out your bottom lip in thought, nodding.

“Thirty to forty. Some of them are only a one time thing like to a wedding.” He glances at you to catch any signs of jealousy but you’re a brick wall, showing no emotion but amusement. “I’ve been working there for about a year so it’s an average amount.”

There’s a thought that churns inside your head, making you feel turmoil and unease. You know you shouldn’t ask, that you really don’t want to know but you can’t shake off the question. It lingers and attaches to you. Just ask! Just ask him! Ask him and you’ll know!

“Other than me, are you working for any clients right now?” You stare deep into his eyes, trying to sound light.

There was no reason for you to feel jealous. It was illogical. This was his job after all, he was a boyfriend to countless girls before and you were just one of many. But the past never mattered, you wanted to know right now. While he went on dates with you, did he call someone else afterwards? Did he hold hands with another girl after texting and calling you? You wanted to know if you were the only one. Right. Now.

Taehyung smiles, lifting his hand to show his fingers. “Two.” Is all he says. “Two other clients and you.”

“Ah. I see.”

You can’t answer much, instead ripping your gaze off of him to stare at the lightpost.

You don’t have a reason to be jealous.

So what?

You’ve been on only two dates after all.

He wasn’t really your boyfriend.

Two other girls?

Why doesn’t it even matter?

Somehow you can’t help but feel nauseated. Taehyung is too close for comfort and it feels like he’s suffocating you, smothering you. You suddenly feel disgusted with him, with yourself; anxiety and insecurities swirling in the pits of your stomach. You aren’t good enough for someone like him, for anyone for that matter; you couldn't even get yourself a real boyfriend. And at that same time, you can’t help but feel lied to. All the affections and one liners Taehyung ever spared was because it was his job, not because he genuinely meant it.

You’re on the verge of tears, wanting to burst like a pressurized capsule. You want to demand answers to why you aren’t good enough to slapping him - one or the other, maybe both for good measure.

“Are you okay?” He asks after five minutes of silence.

You bolt your head to him, about to open your mouth to call it off completely but then suddenly his eyes shoot past you, widening in horror. “We need to leave.” He tugs on your arm, making you stand next to him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Taehyung answers quickly, pulling you along and almost jogging. “We just need to leave. Now.”

You glance behind yourself to see what’s wrong and you catch a woman, jogging behind you two. “Taehyung! Taehyung!” She shouts tiredly, looking haggard and desperate.

“I think she’s calling for you?” You huff out. “Who is she?”

“Taehyung! Tae..hyung..” The strange lady falters, falling to the ground in a sob.

You turn around once more, stopping in your tracks. “Wait. Wait!”

But he’s relentless and after one second, sparing a glance filled with pity, he continues pulling you along. The both of you trudge down the street all the way to his car. “Wait Taehyung! Who was that?”

“She’s an old client.” He huffs out. “I have a restraining order on her.”

“Wait what? An old client? A restraining order?” Your voice moves up several pitches, eyes almost bulging out.

He ruffles his hair tiredly. “We only went out on four dates and that was it, but then she kept on following me around once the contract had expired.” He manages a smile. “Sorry. I hope that it didn’t ruin our date.”

“No...no..” You shift your hand away from his.

You can’t help but feel sorry for the girl. She was in a rugged mess, crying and chasing after him, only to collapse on the ground. All he did was shoot her a pitiful look and then leave. You can’t help but think - what if that was you? What if it will be you?

After everything, will he just look at you in disdain? Will he act like you’re strangers, that the time you spent together was nothing when it meant so much to you?

“What’s wrong?” He asks with a frown at your prolonged silence.

“I don’t think I can do this anymore.”

“What?”

“I’m just going to go home….don’t call me again.” You turn to leave but he grabs your arm.

“Y/N. You’re not making any sense. I thought we went over this.” He pleads, half frustrated and the other half just desperate.

You turn to him, burrowing eyes deep into his skin. “I don’t care about the deposit okay?! I don’t care about the one month!”

“Why are you acting like this?!” He asks, matching your loud tone. “I thought we were having a good time! Was it because of that old client? I already apologized for that Y/N!”

“No, that’s not it!”

“What is it then?” He sighs out frustratedly but then quickly covers it with a strained smile, voice lowering to a normal pitch again. “Our first argument isn’t scheduled for two more weeks Y/N. Don’t be like this. I’m sorry, okay?”

“No! No! This is the exact reason why I can’t do this anymore!” You shove his hand off. “I don’t want some fake ass boyfriend or fake ass cheesy lines! I don’t want a whirlwind romance or to be showered in gifts or compliments! I don’t want to go on perfect dates! I don’t want someone who treats me perfectly or someone who is perfect! I want something real!” You’re rambling, face rising with red and your lips tumble before you can process remotely anything that you’re saying.

“I want the real you! I want you Taehyung!”

He’s absolutely stunned, flabbergasted. His hand drops to his side.

You’re huffing breaths, chest heaving as you gasp for air after your angry tangent. “Y/N..”

“Nope.” You turn on your heel, stomping away. “Bye Taehyung.”

“Wait!” He calls after you. “How are you getting home?”

“Taxi! Bus! I don’t care. You shouldn’t either!” You shout back.

He watches as you tread away, people shooting you odd looks, and he can’t help but grin. He’s never been screamed at by one of his clients. He’s never been told to stop being the perfect boyfriend when it was his job to be. You’re definitely one in a million.

He can’t help but love it.

//

Three days pass without a word from Taehyung and life returns to normal, to you on the couch with netflix and wine, a shirt that reads ‘who needs men anyways’.

The flowers he got you have longed been trashed and thrown into the dumpster. You’re tempted to delete his contact but you keep it anyways, for reasons that you just can’t bring yourself to delete him completely. In those nights where you can’t sleep, you find yourself going to the messages, only to see that he hasn’t texted or said anything at all.

It’s not that you’re disappointed or anything. You are the one who told him to screw off and never call again. You can’t even blame him.

You’re probably as crazy as that other lady who chased him down the street.

Three days pass and on the fourth day, there’s a knock at your door.

You grunt out tiredly, wondering if it was the pizza guy but you can’t even recall if you even ordered pizza. The wine is really making you tipsy.

Setting down the glass, you pause your episode and tread to the door as the bell rings a second time. “I’m coming! Jeez.”

And when you open it, you’re met with a tall blonde boy, smiling and leaning against the doorframe. This time he’s not wearing a suit but just a hoodie with some light stains and black sweatpants. You’ll admit he looks good. He could probably be a homeless bum and still look good.

“What do you want Taehyung?” You scowl at him.

He crosses his arms with still a smug smile on his lips. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to apologize or to give you flowers.”

“Damn straight.”

“It’s just that…” I really couldn’t stop thinking about you, that’s what. But he’ll never say it out loud, afraid you’ll slam the door in his face from the cheesy line that’s all too genuine this time around. “I enjoyed myself particularly.”

You lift an eyebrow. “I’m serious!” He retorts with some rambunctious laughter. “And I thought you were having a good time too. I wanted to ask if you wanted to give it one more shot.”

“No thanks.” You swing the door closed but he catches it.

“I won’t be fake this time. I swear on my parent’s grave...they’re not even dead yet, I would get killed if they heard what I was saying right now.” He smiles.

“Why should I?”

“Because you want to get to know the real me right? You don’t want a fake perfect boyfriend, so I’ll give you just that.” He slyly adds, moving his brows up and down. “You’ll get to know the genuine Kim Taehyung.” He pounds his chest with his fist and you can’t help but roll your eyes with a small smile.

Since when were you so weak to him? You can’t even put up a fight if you wanted to.

“Please Y/N.” He juts out his bottom lip, widening his eyes cutely.

“You better make this damn worth my time Kim.” You flash him a dirty look, and he bursts out into a huge, wide grin. It’s infectious and within a few seconds, you’re smiling too despite wanting to keep a front.

//

“Where…” You peer out the window. “...the hell are we going Taehyung?”

It’s pitch black outside apart from the headlights of the car. The road is bumpy and uneven, making the car jump slightly. You pass trees and trees, heading to some desolate area at the outskirts of the city. For a moment, you wonder if he’s going to kill you.

You glance at him. His profile is soft with a gentle smile, hints of mischief lingering in the way he tries to repress it. “Oh~” You nod your head, making a sound of recognition as the puzzle pieces fall into place. “So this is the real you, huh? Your real intentions?”

He frowns. “What?”

“Me. You. Alone. You won’t tell me where you’re going, and we’re driving to some desolate dark area, huh?” You sigh out disappointedly. “The car’s not really ideal for getting down and dirty…..but at least I’m glad you’re being honest with your intentions now.”

“No! No!” His cheeks burn, and he glances at you once more before focusing back on the road. “God no! We’re not doing that kind of thing! Who do you think I am?!”

You laugh. “Then where are we going?”

“Farmer’s market.”

Sure enough, it’s not a lie when you see lights in the distance. There are several white canopy tents in a large cluster. Music plays, bass shaking the grassy field that it’s on. Strings of fairy lights hang between the walkways and around the poles.

“Have you ever been here?” He asks, watching your amazed reaction with a swell of pride.

You shake your head. “Why is it so far out?”

He shrugs. “Closer to the farms I guess.” The both of you walk out of the parking lot towards the mini festival, the scent of churros and sweet treats already marking the air. “Actually they have it in the morning too but I never go.”

You stare at him. “I’m not a morning person.” He adds with playfulness.

“Then why did you send me all those ‘good morning’ texts so early?”

“I had to set an alarm for that.” He rolls his eyes exaggeratedly. “Do you know how exhausted I was? I couldn’t even see the bright screen and I had to read it over four times to make sure there weren’t any spelling mistakes.”

“Oh~” You coo at him with pouted lips. “Our Taehyungie suffers so much. Having to send good morning texts when he’s sleepy.”

He laughs with you, reaching up to squeeze your nose before he throws an arm around your shoulder. You flash him a dirty look at the close contact, but he smiles and you turn away, letting him have his way this time.

Despite being far away, the market is bustling with a good crowd of people. The live music thumps loudly, ground shaking when you get closer to the stage but you and Taehyung don’t watch for long. Instead, you weave between the tents, looking at all the produce and goods.

“You know...” Taehyung speaks up as the both of you are looking at the stands of fruit. “My grandmother’s best friend owns a strawberry farm. Some summers I used to work there and wow...it is actually so much work. Do you know how hard it is to crouch down and pick each strawberry one by one? My back was aching when I came home and I made my siblings massage my back.”

“It was hard work but then I got to eat free strawberries, and we made lots of jam. I ate jam for the rest of the year in my sandwiches.” He laughs, reminiscent in thought but after a second, he looks at you. You’re staring at him inquisitively and quietly with a small smile.

“Sorry...am I talking too much?”

“No.” You shake your head. “I like it. I like when you talk about yourself and your family.”

He can’t help but grin at that and when the both of you turn to keep walking, he grabs your hand. You immediately look down at the way he intertwines his fingers into yours. “Taehyung. What did I say about forced affection? I don’t need things like that.” You frown, stopping and he swallows hard.

“It’s genuine though...I really do want to hold your hand…” His voice trails off softer and softer, embarrassed, and he looks down to the ground. “Why? Does it seem forced?”

“I just wanted to hold your hand………”

You immediately feel a wave of guilt but you’re just on edge more than usual, trying to protect yourself. You’re afraid that he’s going to get too close and hurt you without having an inch of remorse. It’s his job. But you wonder if he even realizes what he does to you.

Taehyung lets go of your hand, mumbling an apology and walking ahead. But before he gets too far, you run up to him and catch his hand within yours. He immediately shoots his head up, trying to meet your eyes but you’re staring at something ahead, avoiding his impenetrable gaze. “You don’t need to apologize. I’m just a bit tense but….Iwanttoholdyourhandtoo.” You cough out the last part, a bit too embarrassed as your cheeks heat up like lava pools flush under your skin.

Taehyung grins, tightening his grip on yours and swinging your arm back and forth.

“Do you want some?” You point with your free hand to a booth, selling beer from a keg. “Oh wait. You can’t. You have to drive us back.” You grimace.

“Don’t worry. I can’t drink beer anyways.”

“Can’t?”

“Or coffee. It’s too bitter.” He sticks out his tongue in disgust. “I like sweet things.” He leans on you, shifting his weight. “Sweet things like you.”

You scoff, pushing him off. “I hate cheesy lines.”

“But that’s just part of who I am. Actually!” He defends himself, his bottom lip jutting out and you can’t help but laugh, rolling your eyes in the process.

“Then what do you like? Aside from sweet things.”

He hums, contemplating deeply. “I like meat.” His eyes twinkle brightly.

Following his words, the both of you order hot dogs on sticks, dipped in a honey mustard. It’s delicious and you two are fixed to the side of the stand, ordering more and more as you finish each skewer. The old lady is ecstatic with bursting cheeks as she compliments your eating skills and hands you more.

Taehyung giggles in the middle of a mouthful as he watches you hold nine empty sticks in your hand. You swat your other hand at him and when you become too full, he keeps going.

“You two are making me nauseous.” The old lady quips slyly with a snicker. “How long have you been dating this lovely girl, young man? Thinking about dropping the big question anytime soon? By the looks of it, you two are perfect for each other.”

You almost choke. “Oh. We’re no-”

Taehyung’s boisterous laughter interrupts you. “Thank you, I’d like to think so myself.” He winks at you. “Don’t give her any hints though! I want to keep her on her toes.”

The old lady falls into a fit of laughter, cheeks red, and she covers her mouth with her hand. “Don’t let her get away.”

“I wouldn’t for the life of me.”

The old lady laughs again and then turns back to her grill when someone approaches to order. You shoot Taehyung a dirty look but he grins. “What? Am I wrong? I am your boyfriend.”

You scoff, not allowing the smile to show when it creeps up your face.

By the time you come back from the washroom, he’s standing in front of the stage playing music, watching intently with tight lips in a straight line. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh.” He snaps out of his daze, looking at you with a smile. “I was just listening.”

“That seriously?”

His smile widens. “I used to play saxophone when I was still in school.” You tilt your head in interest. “I was just thinking that they were pretty good.”

“Were you any good?”

“I was the best in class!” He puffs out his chest and you roll your eyes. “I’m being serious! I was the best!”

It feels like you’ve reached a milestone, a turning point. It’s as if you’ve broken a barrier or toppled a brick wall with your bare hands. The bubble of fake facade and perfection bursted in front of your eyes to show someone more or less human like you but even more beautiful with the flaws. You’ve learnt he eats a ton, he loves music, he loves family, and he has a soft spot for all animals. Yet, he is also quite childish and enthusiastic, liking pranks and making mischief.

There’s not a lot that you don’t know about him and not quite enough to say anything at all but at the same time, a feeling swells inside your rib cage, even as you watch him stare at stuffed animals blankly with snot almost dripping from his nose.

You know you want to know more.

“Why are you staring?” He asks you and you finally snap out of it.

“Oh. What? Sorry. What were you saying?” You blink.

He leans in, close; so close that your foreheads are almost touching and you can feel his breath on your lips. “Am I that handsome?”

You scoff, pushing him away and he laughs. “You’re cute.” You tease sarcastically.

“I’ll take that!” He quips with a grin and you roll your eyes.

You turn your head to the stand of plush animals, all lined up next to each other. You catch a bear sitting at the center, the same shade as Taehyung’s soft, yellow hair with a huge smile and round eyes, big and cute. “Hey doesn’t this look like you?” You hold it up for him to see but as he lays eyes on it, he frowns.

“No.” He points to a large, ferocious lion hanging off the canopy. “That looks more like me.” Then he redirects his finger to a huge rhinoceros. “Or that.”

“But this is so cute.” You shake the bear in your hand that’s small enough to sit on your palm.

“If this is a ploy for me to get it for you then I’m not doing it.” He purses his lips. “I spent all my money already.”

You scoff, setting it down. “Fine.”

“This looks like you.” He holds up a similar bear in size.

“But it’s frowning!” You whine out to him in disbelief.

He laughs. “No. It only looks like it’s frowning. Anyways, it reminds me of you.”

The bear’s lips are made in an inverse v, holding a broken heart that covers its body, reading ‘I hate love’.

“You. are. cruel.” You huff out, walking away from him.

“It’s a joke!” He calls after you in the middle of a fit of laughter.

//

Taehyung drives you back home and you tell him that you’ll think about the date and if they’ll be another one or not, much to his dismay. But with your slipping smile and a fleeting goodbye, he already has an idea of what you’ll say. And he isn’t wrong as he watches you enter your building and a few minutes later, his phone lights up with a text.

My Y/N: You did decently today.

My Y/N: I’ll allow a next time.

Taehyung can only grin widely and especially doesn’t tell you how he drives back to the market, running to the stand before it closes; purchasing the two bears that look like you and him.  

He places on his desk at home, staring and marveling at it as the both sit side by side.

//

The next date is a picnic one, courtesy of your choosing and the both of you gobble sandwiches and hot dogs while taking turns telling stories. He reminisces about his best friend Jimin and how the two got in loads of trouble together back during the school days; that he was a pushover until he started working out at the gym with Jungkook and now the two threaten to beat Taehyung up all the time. He talks about almost getting arrested for lighting a trash can on fire during college because of a dare but with a few simple apologies and his charm, they let him go with a warning. That’s when he realized he had a pretty good way with words.

You talk about your family, about Hoseok and how he was engaged to your best friend and for the longest time, they hated each other and you had to stand in the middle of it all. Then they suddenly developed crushes and you had to walk back and forth, like a peasant matchmaker; helping them out without revealing the other’s intention since you weren’t one to break promises and didn’t want to be held accountable for any mistakes.

The picnic ends when there’s a storm swirling in the sky and the both of you gather your things and duck out to a convenience store, drenched and laughing.

The next few times, you’re too lazy to go out so you invite him over and the both of you begin a new tv show. Unexpectedly, it is gripping. It’s suspenseful and half the times, you’re on the edge of your seat in jitters. You both scream together, laugh at the screen or shout curses simultaneously.

There are quick breaks in between episodes where Taehyung runs to the bathroom to relieve himself and you take out your wine, usually saved for your own down times but for one reason or another, you don’t mind sharing with him.

The both of you binge episode after episode until it’s midnight and you’ve both dozed off on the couch. “Fuck. What time is it?” You finally peel your eyes open.

“Taehyung. Taehyung.” You shake him with half open eyes and a rough voice.

“Wha-” He jolts, suddenly awake too.

“It’s one in the morning. Don’t you have to leave?” You ask him, reaching over to shut off the tv.

“I’ll just stay here.” He mumbles.

“What?” You frown, turning back to him, but he’s already passed out on the couch.

The first night Taehyung ever stays over, the both of you are drunk on wine and passed on the couch, heads on different ends and legs tangled together.

“How was your day today?” He mumbles out tiredly one night.

You’re sitting in between his legs, how you got there - you don’t even know. You don’t even question anymore how close he’s gotten or how close you’ve gotten to him. It’s as if all the warning signs and stop signs have fallen every inch he gets closer until the sirens of danger have become muted under his laughter you’ve grown to cherish so much.

“It was fine.” You yawn. “You seem pretty tired though.”

“Not as tired as you.” He smiles.

The both of you continue to watch, it’s become your show with him now. When a new episode’s released and you’re just dying to watch it, you hold back until he comes over. Or sometimes you text him that you’re going to start - only for him to call immediately and tell you that it was not okay and that you needed to wait for him.

But the day was long and so was his. Soon after, you’re dozing off on his chest which snaps him out of his own lull for a moment, and he smiles sheepishly. He lays you down beside him on the couch and pulls you closer so you won’t fall off. Unconsciously, you snuggle into him, and he nuzzles you, falling into his own sleep.

//

You’re defeated.

How is it possible that he’s instantly cuter than you without even trying or batting a single eyelash?

Taehyung is dressed in blue shorts and a simple white sweater, completely blending in with the kindergarten class that’s also peering out the fence. “Taehyung. Don’t climb it.” You scold, and he immediately darts his head around, pouting like you just destroyed his dreams.

You wonder if he’s really a six-year old or not.

You had put in extra effort in today’s date, for no important reasons really….but you were dressed in one of your summer floral dresses with knee-high leggings and you wondered with the way you were both dressed, so youthfully, if strangers thought you were still high school students.

Taehyung walks back to where you’re standing, grinning once more at the kids as they hop away with their teachers. He redirects his gaze onto you but fixes it on your lips. Time draws out and you frown. “Is there something on my mouth?” You raise your hand, but he quickly catches it before you can ruin what he’s so fixated on.

“No.” He quips with a huge smile. “It’s pretty, that’s all.”

“Oh.”

“Did you wear lipstick?” He leans in close with a shit eating grin and you push him away but his feet are rooted solid to the ground. He doesn’t even flinch.

You roll your eyes. “No I didn’t.”

It’s a lie. You did.

You step back and he steps forward. “It looks like you did though…” He hums out. “Did you want to look pretty for me?”

“You’re so full of yourself, aren’t you?”

“I’m the one who should be angry.” He says in a matter-of-fact tone, narrowing his eyes into you. “Do you know how much I want to kiss you right now?”

Your heart feels like it’s leaped up to your throat and you’re stunned, eyes growing wide. Your mouth fills with cotton and you can’t speak, cheeks staining the same shade as the flamingo’s feathers. “But that would be against the rules.” He grimaces with a sigh, admiring your flushed appearance instead.

“S-shut up.” You force your lips into a frown when the smile creeps up.

You won’t fall prey to his stupid one liners.

“What are they doing?” A little boy, up to your knee in height asks and points to you two. He holds a girl’s hand, the both of them wearing the same blue and white outfits. The both of them stare at you curiously with rosy cheeks and big eyes.

“Mae! Jeha! Let’s go!” A taller woman leading a bunch of kids calls, and they take off running.

You huff out, finally gaining composure again after being freed from Taehyung’s unwavering gaze. “C’mon let’s go.” You grab his hand, intertwining your fingers with his and dragging him away.

Today’s date was Taehyung’s idea when you both sat empty in your apartment, waiting for the next episode of your show. There was nothing to do, nothing you wanted to do since you were so emotionally damaged. But he finally managed to convince himself and drag you off from the couch to have a proper date and do something outside for once.

His idea was the zoo.

Twice in a day, you wonder if he really is a six-year-old.

It’s not like the zoo was a bad idea but it’s not much of a date when he keeps letting go of your hand to run to the enclosure and mimic whatever noises the animal he’s staring at makes. He growls at the lions, wails at the elephants, chirps to the birds and screams at the mandrill monkeys.

The train of children that you pass by again giggles.

The zookeeper politely asks him to keep it down.

You facepalm.

“What the hell is that?” You harshly whisper out when Taehyung pulls out a baggie of sliced bread.

He grins mischievously and the grizzly bear in interest or perhaps with a whiff of the snack begins trudging over. “It’s okay. I googled this before I came here.”

“You’re going to get us kicked out!” You chide, getting closer to him to hide the ziplock when some people walk past.

“I’m not going to actually feed him.” He gives you a look. “I just want to lure him to our side.”

“So he can kill us for the food?!”

“He’s not going to kill us.” Taehyung smiles in an attempt to be reassuring. “There’s like two layers of fencing.”

Your jaw drops completely. You deadpan. “Why are you like this?”

“Oh! He’s here!” Taehyung points to the bear that’s right next to you, only a few meters away and you immediately take a step back, only for him to grab your arm. “It’s okay.”

“No Taehyung it is not fucking okay. We’re going to die or get kicked out and I don-”

You don’t get to finish when he suddenly turns around, and he pulls out his phone, quickly snapping a photo of you two with the bear in the background. He taps a hundred times and falling prey to his will, you turn and smile at the last photo he snaps. The bear after a moment walks away and you’re scowling at Taehyung. “What the hell?”

“I realized that we never got to take a photo together before.” He hums out, scrolling through. “I’m going to make one of them my wallpaper.” You scoff but you can’t help leaning over to look too.

“Hey...that’s a pretty good one.” You point to the one where the both of you are smiling.

“Nah.” He scrolls to the top and finds the one where your mouth is wide open, yelling at him with a huge knot between your brows. “I like this one.”

“You’re the only one that looks good!!” You complain, smacking his arm.

“Hey.” He sets it as his lockscreen. “The bear looks good too.”

“I hate you.” You stick out your tongue, stomping away.

“Y/N! I’m just joking! You look average!”

“Shut up Taehyung!”

//

You can feel your entire body shaking from the blaring music, your ear drums threatening to burst with every dropped beat. The place is dark, only lit by the blue hued back lights of the bar, the neon signs lining the wall and the multi colored strobe lights, flashing down at the dance floor. It reeks of sweat and alcohol from the crowded tangled bodies, intoxicated and grinding down on each other without a second look.

It’s not your favourite place in the world, to say the least.

The last time you’ve ever been to a place like this was when your friends dragged you out back in your (not so) wild college days. You remember Hoseok drawing a crowd’s attention with his dancing and your other friends taking enough shots to pass out onto the floor in their own puke.

But when Taehyung begged you and whined to go, wanting to show off what he called his ‘killer dance moves’, you gave in.

You’ll admit...he’s good.

Well...most of the time.

Though his movements were smooth, and he flowed to the rhythm with ease, flashing you seductive eyes in the meanwhile, he also spun around dramatically. He whipped his arms around, hollering and you broke out into a hysterical laughter, which only urged him further. It definitely drove all the girls who had their eyes on him away, almost tripping on their heels as they ran in the opposite direction.

Taehyung spun you around and the both of you moved from the waltz to the tango.

It was the most time you’ve ever had fun in a club. Ever.

After what seemed to be like two hours, the both of you ordered some drinks while taking a break and it only took two glasses for him to begin getting oddly jittery.

He didn’t want to leave you alone, especially not in a place like this where drunk creeps ran rampant but after you saw his legs shaking and asked him what was wrong, he couldn’t deny what his body needed. He sprinted off to the bathroom as fast as he could to take a much-needed leak.

“Fancy drink you got there.” A heavy voice suddenly chimes beside you. He’s a bigger man, lifting an eyebrow at your wine glass.

You weren’t a big fan of any other drinks aside from wine. Unfortunately for you, the bar wasn’t that great with its selection and your drink had a slight bad aftertaste.

“Thanks.” You look away, glancing around for Taehyung.

“Can I buy you a drink?”

“No thanks.”

“Aw c’mon honey, you don’t have to be such a hardass.” He smirks and you send him a sharp glare. “What’s your name?”

“None of your business.”

“Nice to meet you none-of-your-business.” He cocks his head over to his side, scanning you from top to bottom in your black dress. He doesn’t seem to take a hint and it only makes you angrier. “You can call me Bang ‘cause I’d love to bang you tonight.”

You twist your face up in disgust, not even trying to hide how put off you are. “Screw off.”

“Aw...don’t be like that baby.” He steps forward.

You lean into him, boring your eyes straight into his, and he’s taken back. “Get closer to me and I will break your arms, do you hear me? I’ll make sure you’ll get arrested for sexual harassment.”   

The man is baffled, frowning with steam practically coming out from his ears. He clenches his jaw and opens his mouth to go off but then there’s suddenly a hand around your shoulders and a low voice that growls out. “Who the hell are you?”

“Who are you?!” The man screams.

“I’m her boyfriend.” Taehyung declares without his eyes wavering, clenching his teeth and his eyes bulging with anger.

“He’s my boyfriend.” You say in a matter-of-fact tone.

The man glances at you, then back to Taehyung and back to you again. It’s as if the both of you are some scary power couple, either in the mafia or in fury from sexual frustration (none of which are true...maybe only a little of the latter). He doesn’t say anything more and quickly turns, running in the opposite direction, afraid that the both of you will drag him out in the alley to give him a beating of a lifetime.

“Are you okay?” Taehyung grabs your shoulders, turning you to him.

“Yeah..yeah I’m okay.” You nod, heart beating in your stomach. “I had it handled, you know.”

He smiles. “But I am your boyfriend, it’s the least I can do.”

Maybe it’s the alcohol or the sudden tense atmosphere, but you can’t help the words that slip through your lips. “Are you though?” He blinks once, frowning. You sigh, pushing his hands off of you. “Are you really my boyfriend Taehyung?”

“Y/N…”

You sigh, wondering if you should apologize or not. You didn’t mean to say it or see the distressed expression tracing each of his features. But it’s the truth and there’s no point in retracting when the words have been heard. “Don’t say things like that….it makes me…” want you.

You smile, taking his hand and standing. “C’mon, let’s dance.”

//

They say that love and hate have no boundaries, that they’re often blended together, child’s play to step to the other side. Someone you love can quickly become someone you despise with all your heart and vise versa. They are two polar opposites with strong emotions; emotions that drive a person to do things that are not always convenient.  

You don’t know if you love Taehyung or you hate him.

On one hand, you love everything about him. The way he teases you, whines when you’re not close enough and grabs you in a tight hug enough to suffocate you, the way he grins so brightly sometimes when he stares like he’s so proud to have you; how he listened and opened up to you, making you falling deeper and deeper. How only he has that effect, able to glance at you from across the room and send your heart off on a sprint until your breath is drawn from your lips completely.

You love hi-

On the other side, you can’t love him.

He’s not yours and will never be yours. You hate how he has that effect on you. You wonder if he knows, if he’s been playing with you this entire time, altering himself to become your perfect fantasy without you even realizing. You wonder if he knows and the moment the month is up, he’ll leave you in the dust and cut off all contact. Are you just another client? Has everything only been fabricated in your mind? Was it all one-sided?

You hate him because you love him.

“Taehyung…”

“Hmm…?”

The both of you are lying on a blanket, on the cement of your rooftop building. It’s a flat roof that you two snuck up to, to watch the stars that spill over the sky. The longer you stare, the more the darkness uncovers; the more your eyes can see the twinkling lights, delving deeper and deeper. The longer you stare, the more beautiful it becomes.

“How many days are left?”

“What do you mean?”

“The one month. The one month that you’ve been my boyfriend for.”

“Y/N…” He turns to you with a scrunch between his brows.

You turn your head staring back at him. He looks even more beautiful bathing in the moonlight, blonde strands reflecting off the beams and skin smooth along the slope of his nose. Your gaze falls to his lips and when he notices, his falls to yours.

Your heartbeat pounds inside your ears, painfully as it squeezes tight, wrapping around your lungs. “Do you even love me?” You choke out in a whisper.

He looks at you once more, drawing his eyes into your orbs and suddenly you’re too afraid of what he’ll say. You’re too afraid of your broken fantasy and how he’ll step away from you, that you’ll lose everything you’ve created with him.

In an instant, you pull him in for a kiss, silencing his words.

He immediately reciprocates.

He’s leaning up with his elbow, his other hand on the back of your neck, pulling you closer and you’re on your knees, leaning downwards over his body with fistfuls of his shirt.

You don’t know how long the both of you go at it for, mouth on mouth, breathing into the kiss and the both of you each too afraid to pull away. He pulls you closer as his arm loses strength, and he falls back, the both of you still connected as he prompts you to part your lips wider. He wastes no time in exploring, ravishing you with a muffled whimper. He tastes of lemon curd and birthday cake, sweet and a little too overwhelming.

You love him.

You love him so painfully so that in the pull of desperation, with the wave of feelings crashing down on your shoulders, your tears can’t help but trickle out.

You’re the first to pull away, both your lips swollen and your lungs burning for air. He’s gasping and finally sits up, staring at you with a look you don’t understand. You don’t want to understand.

“It’s over.” You manage with a croak. “I kissed you. The contract is over. Don’t contact me again.”

“Wa..it!...Y/N!” He stands up after you but the door is slammed shut and you’re gone.

//

Ten days pass.

After that night and knocking on your door, begging to talk to you, he doesn’t come again. Just like you said, he doesn’t call or text and it’s as if his existence has completely been wiped. It’s as if the memories have completely been pure imagination or a lucid dream. There are only a few traces of him left, physically showing that he was in your life and that you weren’t just going crazy.

You throw the blanket that he used to borrow when he came over into the washer, completely ridding his scent. The second wine glass that you own, bought for him and his lips, is tucked in a box away. The movie tickets that you had kept when you went with him are pressed deep between forgotten books on your shelf.

You don’t have the heart to throw anything away.

Ten days pass and everything reverts to normal, as violently fast as ripping off a bandaid but it stings and it stings; and it stings more because it happened so fast, normal came too quickly.

“Are you okay? You haven’t been returning any of my calls.” Hoseok’s voice encloses marks of concern.

“Sorry.” You mumble.

“Are you still sleeping?” You hum in response. “Isn’t it like noon? Don’t you have work?”

“I took the day off.” Your voice barely manages to croak out.

“What’s wrong Y/N?” When Hoseok doesn’t hear an answer, there’s a long silence. “Was it the rent-a-boyfriend thing? How did it go? Badly?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“If there’s something wrong, you can tell me.”

“I know.”

Just then the doorbell rings and you grumble, wondering if it was the delivery guy here with the pizza you had ordered in bed. You lug yourself upwards, head spinning with the bird nest of your hair but you don’t give a single damn anymore. “I’ll talk to you later okay, Hoseok?”

“Feel better Y/N.”

“See you.” You hang up the phone, throwing it onto the bed before the doorbell rings again. “I’m coming.” You shout with a groggy voice while scratching your itchy head before reaching the door.

The minute you open it, wood swinging on hinges, you’re met with a taller, blonde boy standing in front of you. He’s dressed in a black suit, fitted from top to bottom. He wears a small smile on his lips, eyes softening with tenderness despite the mess you look like. Your heart squeezes again, feeling like it’s rising to your throat and you lose strength to shut the door, wanting to savour the moment. You’re afraid that it’s the last moment.

“What are you doing here Taehyung?” Your voice comes out in a weak whisper.

He holds a bouquet of flowers in his hands, raising it but you can’t take them. “What the hell?”

“I know you don’t like flowers or maybe you do, but they’re genuine this time.” He lowers his hands. After a second, he sighs. “I got fired.”

“What?” You frown.

“I got fired from my job.” He says simply.

“And you came here to tell me that?!” You practically shout at him. “You want me to compensate for you?”

He smiles. “Yes.”

‘What the fuck Taehyung? Go away.” You swing the door shut but he catches it.

“Wait listen!”

“What do you want?!”

“I got fired because I told them I was in love with my client.”

He connects his eyes with yours, lips in a straight line, voice heavy with sincerity. He swallows hard, lips turning into a soft smile as he steps forward into your home. “I got fired because I told them that I wanted to have you as a real girlfriend. I got fired because I told them I kissed you. I told them I didn’t want to be anyone else’s boyfriend.”

“I told them, I think I’ve found the person I want to marry.”

“And you want me to compensate?” You murmur out, looking up at him while your heart leaps inside your rib cage, pattering like raindrops when they fall from the heavens and onto the Earth’s ground.

He grins, lips drawing up in a box. “I want you to compensate.”

“Please Y/N, will you do me the honours of-”

“Wait.” You put your hands out before he wraps his arms around you. “Are you proposing to me?”

“No!” His mouth drops. “If I was proposing to you, do you really think I’d do it in the middle of your apartment?!”

“I’m not complaining or anything but you just went off on wanting to marry me and then you-”

“I want you to be my girlfriend. I want to date you.” He wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you close. “And we’ll see how it goes before I marry you.” He quips but you still swat a hand to his arm. “I still have to meet your parents, and we have to talk about how many kids we want because I know I want like five of them and if you aren’t down then-”

You pull him in for a kiss, silencing him, and he grins against your lips. “I better not have to rent you again.” You mumble.

“I’m not for rent anymore.” He kisses you again and again. “I’m yours.”