#situations & i was supporting my phone with my pinky finger and when i was done there was literally an imprint of the phone on my finger

[ronanlynchbf]

this CANNOT continue 😐👎 (waking up crying every second morning or so)

[wh6res]

taeil — part of the my bloody valentine collection.

prompt. soulmates are connected by a red string.

synopsis. taeil thinks the whole system is bullshit. he needs to take matters into his own hands.

warnings. tread cautiously. swearing, mentions of death, blood, mentions of kidnapping, violence, turning a 'lil dubcon near the end, severe stockholm syndrome, manipulation 

disclaimer. a friendly reminder that i do not, under any circumstance, condone or support any acts like this. this is not love and this is not how a normal relationship should be like. the things i write are all fiction and should be treated as such and if you don’t like it, please do not read it and waste your time hating on it. the 9 members of nct 127 do not act like this in real life and shouldn’t act like this in real life. 

thank you to. sexeh sam @yukwonghei, cutie charlie @dundun-baby, and baby rina @greenish-taro for beta-reading!

since he was a kid, he’s fantasized about meeting his soulmate. creating scenario after scenario of how he’d meet ‘the one’ as he had cheesily addressed and had absolutely freaked when he finally saw the red string tied around his right wrist on his 20th birthday—courtesy of the soulmate rules of the universe, where one will finally be able to see the string tied around their body once they’ve come of age. 

for years before he met that other soul who’s destined to be with him, taeil would stare at the red thread lying across the floor, disappearing under the gap of his door and out to the world unknown. he’d be so distracted, so aloof and in his own world as he anticipates the long-awaited day until his professor calls him out—“moon! do yourself a favor and stop daydreaming!”

until his friends snap him out of it—“thinking of them again? really?”

until his parents shake him out of his thoughts—“don’t worry, i bet they’ll love you!”

sometimes he just loved staring at the string, it was something so measly as a bunch of threads intricately woven together yet it held such a symbol in today’s world. call him lovesick or stupid but was it really wrong to feel excited? taeil’s even betting the person on the other side of this string is just as excited as he was, if not more. 

in the man’s eyes, the strings are a symbol of something more than love—it symbolized the person the universe has created especially for him and no one else. 

taeil can’t even imagine a world without these strings. how difficult it would be, to love and invest in someone who will only end up breaking your heart? no, the strings also meant reassurance. 

assurance that he won’t get hurt. 

an assurance of faithfulness. 

he had only been a wide-eyed fresh grad looking for some place to intern when it happened. like a scene right out of a cheesy romance movie—he felt the persistent tugs of the string before finally meeting his soulmate. well, using the word meet to describe the whole ordeal is a huge stretch because it was more of a holy shit, is that my soulmate? rather than a hi, i'm your soulmate, taeil!

he merely saw the back of her poised figure but taeil’s heart felt like it wanted to explode, his emotions a mess and feeling everything to the extremes. nervous. scared. anxiety. happiness. excitement—it was all coming at him like bullets. 

as taeil stared at her back, walking away, johnny kept shoving him forward, encouraging him to finally approach the person he’s been waiting for ever since that soulmate string appeared around his pinky. 

but he couldn’t—not because he was so anxious he’d accidentally vomit the 4-cheese whopper he had for lunch but due to the line of people trailing behind his soulmate like a bunch of baby ducks to their mom. the thought of coming up to his soulmate and introducing himself in front of all those people?

romantic, maybe, but taeil doesn’t have the stomach to do that. 

he remembers how much johnny had wolf whistled, unbelieving of the fact his friend managed to snag the possible heir to the company they’re attending an interview in as his soulmate. 

“lucky little asshole,” johnny muttered. 

taeil had been experiencing the post-effects of seeing his soulmate that he just weakly punched johnny’s arm for the heck of it. he probably didn’t even hear the name his younger friend had called him. taeil’s mind is clouding over, no thoughts in his head but the white polo shirt she wore, sleeves neatly rolled up, and the black pencil skirt hugging her legs and making her ass look so plump. 

focus. he needs to focus on the interview right now or else he won’t even have the chance to work here and officially meet her. everything the interviewer asked passed through his head like paper planes in a classroom, shamelessly asking the woman sitting before him to repeat the question, too busy reveling about how their soulmate story would be the cliché office-love. not that taeil minds, he’d love going to work together—

two weeks later, johnny receives an email of acceptance. taeil doesn’t.

the man nearly threw his laptop away out of sheer disbelief and anger. okay, sure, maybe he could’ve done better in the interview but he graduated with latin honors in college! and from a prestigious college at that. he shouldn’t even be applying as a mere intern with the skill set he had yet he went with it because he’d always dreamed of working there. 

and now knowing his soulmate is possibly someone who holds a high position in the company? everything just kept getting better and better for moon taeil. 

except for that fucking email—pft, or lack thereof. how can they not accept him when he’s more capable than johnny, anyway? for fuck’s sake! taeil doesn’t even ask that guy for rent and he’s so thick-skinned that he stayed up to this day and freeloaded off taeil’s food and shelter. 

the absolute unfairness of the situation makes taeil’s blood reach a fever point. he’s completely lossed it, leading him to spit “get the fuck out!” to the other male occupant in the apartment with eyes glaring and lips pulled into a nasty sneer. 

johnny’s never seen taeil this upset before and decided that he’d be better off abiding by the older man’s wishes instead of contradicting it. 

no. no. no. this can’t be happening. if taeil doesn’t work there, with her, all his sweet fantasies won’t come true and god forbid she ends up falling for another person in the company. 

anyone would be naturally drawn to taeil’s soulmate. in his eyes, she’s a goddess in the flesh. taeil doesn’t even need to see her face, from the few seconds he saw a glimpse of her, her presence and allure in itself is already eye-catching. the way her low ponytail swished from side to side as she walked, her back straight and head held high. 

taeil needs to see her again. maybe if she finds out he’s her soulmate she’ll put a good word in and he’ll get hired. 

yeah. yeah, that’s a good plan. 

“please get out of my office or i’ll call security.”

or not.

“no, wait. but i just said i’m your soulmate!” to further prove his point, he even raises up his pinky and sure enough the other end of the string is tied around hers. the incessant pull is there and if not for her sharp cold eyes anchoring him to the ground, taeil would’ve long been soaring high in cloud nine. 

“and i said i don’t care,” she snaps just as her fingers sneakily pressed a button in her phone. “i have a fiancé. the whole soulmate bullshit doesn’t apply to rich people. so for the fucking last time, get out of my office.”

“but—”

the double doors of the vice president’s office bounces off the walls when two burly guards barge in. dressed in a white long sleeves and those heavy tinted shades of glasses that taeil hates. the two men waste no time in hooking their arms underneath the smaller, frail man as he thrashes against their arms. 

“how can you not care about your soulmate?!” taeil can feel the beginning licks of the flames eating up his whole world as everything comes crashing down before his very eyes. “i’ve been—i’ve been waiting my whole life for you and this is how you treat me?!” 

he doesn’t know what hurts more, the scratch in his throat as he screamed with all his might or the stoic look written on her face as the guards haul him away. 

when johnny heard the news he’d never felt so sorry for his friend. rumors that initially circulated only between the executive board members had spread and trickled down to the common folk on the lower levels. johnny making it a mission to find out, had extracted himself from his usual cheery and extroverted self to blend in with the background. taeil has yet to talk to him after he got kicked out, so asking his friend—or ex-friend?—about what happened is out of the question. 

but like any other breed of rumor, the tale of their vice president’s soulmate barging in her office is ever changing through each mouth that tells the story. johnny doesn't know what to believe in. he’s been trying to put off a meeting with the older man ever since he started crashing in taeyong’s apartment instead. not that taeil himself even tried reaching out to johnny, anyway. 

so why should he, when he doesn’t even know what he did wrong?

but there’s a nagging voice at the back of johnny’s head. his conscience isn’t too loud but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s there and it doesn’t need excessive volumes to be heard. all it takes is a second of distraction from the paperwork he does, attention straying from the task at hand, and his body will automatically be wracked with guilt. 

knowing how much taeil had waited for his soulmate to come to his life, knowing how taeil can readily give everything up for his soulmate without even meeting them yet… and now knowing taeil just got the worst ever rejection in his entire life?

johnny can’t possibly imagine the pain he’s going through. is he really going to choose now out of all times to be petty because taeil kicked him out when he didn’t even bother asking johnny for anything in return during his stay in the apartment?

so when taeil finally contacted him, the sketchyness of what he had asked for flew right over johnny’s head. rational thoughts flying out the window because taeil needs him, he should his friend after everything taeil did for him—

“hey, uhm… i need insider’s information, can you do that for me?”

you shook your head at the long story johnny told you. tuffs of your hair have escaped the intricate pigtails taeil has put your hair up in earlier before he left for work. he’s always hated having your hair messy, but at the moment you couldn’t find yourself to care. 

“i wouldn’t put it past taeil’s original soulmate…” you think aloud, mouth speaking before you can stop yourself as you stare disdainfully at the dulled string wrapped around your pinky—it lost its divine red glow after your captor had cut it off on the same day he whisked you away.

ironic, how easy it was to destroy something so important.

you backtracked, realizing the gravity of what you said before looking up at your captor’s friend. johnny doesn’t look all too impressed and he sighs at the pleading look in your eyes. please, don’t tell him.

“i guess you’re somewhat right…” he gives in, coursing his fingers through his hair. “taeil had been… very passionate on finding his soulmate. but i mean, come on, why’d you even marry someone who isn’t your soulmate? i don’t blame taeil for doing what he did to them.”

johnny ignores the way your breath hitches and your body halts all movement. “what—what did he do?”

“paid them a ‘lil visit after gathering enough resources from someone on the inside,” his face stoic, voice monotone. johnny doesn’t like talking about this one. “he studied their schedules, where they live, where they work, how they get to work, what time they sleep, what time they wake. then just one day…” 

he drags a finger across his neck.

“oh.” 

pathetically, it was all you can say. why did you even bother to ask, anyway? if taeil had been willing to exert force just to keep you in line, then he has the stomach for whatever gruesome deaths he subjected his soulmate and her fiancé to.

you nibble on your lip as you stare at the knot of thread lying on the floor. you don’t see the need to wear the collar wrapped around your neck when that knot is good enough a reminder that you’re now bound to taeil. that he’s fucked around with your destiny and decided he’ll have you out of all people. 

its hard to believe taeil once almost worshipped the soulmate bonds, not when all he’s ever done is look at it like it's the bane of his existence and calling it a curse to humanity.

“do you know that you’re—”

“that i’m the 5th? yeah, i know. i saw all the knots on his string.” you defeatedly say, a vivid image of the knots spaced across his string like tophies. “taeil doesn’t like me staring at them, though.”

and you yourself didn’t like staring at them. you never thought something so small and insignificant can mean something so sinister. the knots on his string acting like a body counter. will he get sick of you one day and you’ll just be another knot on his string?

“you’re nothing like his soulmate—i’m not insulting you or anything, i’m just saying the truth. the past girls all had at least something in common with her but you… nothing. not even your hair shines like hers, and that’s even after taeil has taken good care of you.”

this doesn’t soothe you in any sense and before you can open your mouth to retort, the familiar beeping of the code getting punched into the keypad cuts you off. 

taeil stood in the entrance as he shrugged off his coat, his polo crinkled at some areas and pieces of his hair had escaped that slicked back hairstyle. 

“you’re home early…”

your blood runs cold when he doesn’t even offer you a glance, skipping you out and immediately addressing johnny. “i thought i told you to go home already after delivering the food.”

you admire the way johnny’s eyes roll. must be nice not to be so fucking terrified of the man. “yeah, but your current sweetheart here was lonely and practically begged me to stay.”

the sting of betrayal never grows familiar. 

“i never said anything—”

“you did, have you forgotten already?” you hate the show of lust clouding in johnny’s eyes as he stares you down. this can’t be happening right now. “have you forgotten how you even came unto me? whined like a bitch about how taeil doesn’t even fuck you hard enough and you had to fake orgasms all the time?”

“that’s not true!” your frustration manifests as tears. they sting your eyes as you look at taeil. “i never said anything—”

but you pale when you realize they’re not even listening to you, the two guys fist bumping in the foyer and exchanging a few words like “thanks for telling me,” and “no problem, bro,” were heard before taeil is heatedly storming up to you. 

you feel numb as you look over taeil’s shoulder at the little smirk johnny shoots at you. have fun, he mouths mockingly and then he’s out the door, extracting himself from the mess he created. 

when taeil wordlessly drags you across the hallway, you thought he’ll make a right turn and into the bedroom but imagine your surprise when he pulls you instead towards the bathroom. he wastes no time throwing you against the cold hard tiles as he tells you only one thing. 

“strip.”

“taeil…”

“you don’t want to be replaced.” it doesn’t take a genius to know taeil had hit the nail on the head. all your movements come to a halt, looking up at him with an unreadable look in your face. “that’s your fear, isn’t it? that if you die, if i kill you, i can just look for another girl and you’d be forgotten at the snap of a finger. i’m right, aren’t i?”

you gulp, his words stinging even if he didn’t mean for it to sting. or maybe he did. taeil takes a step closer to you, studying your appearance as he brings a hand up to caress your tear-stained face. 

spots in your clothes are wet due to the splashes of water on the tiles, and the clips in your hair that once looked neat and perfect are now hanging in disarray, falling off in some places. 

“i’m sorry,” you sob. “i’m sorry, john—johnny’s lying. you—you have to—to believe me. please don’t replace me… i’ll be good, i promise…”

truly, there’s no better motivator than fear. and there’s no better way to mess with someone’s head than using their weakness against them. 

“you say you’ll be good but i tell you to strip and you couldn’t even do that?” 

taeil could never imagine replacing you. he finds it stupid, whatever that brought in this fear of yours, but it doesn’t mean he won’t be extracting every little bit he can get out of this.

he can only stare in awe when you start wiggling your way out of your pretty pink clothes, eyes drinking every bit of your skin slowly being exposed to him as he reaches behind you to open the running water, slowly filling the bathtub.

“get in,” he instructs and you waste no time. 

as he sheds his own clothes, he can practically feel the want radiating off you. he knew johnny’s lying, but he humored his friend still. there’s no way you can fake the noises you always make. plus, taeil has seen one too many times the cum dribbling out of your cunt after he’s fucked you into oblivion. he scoffs. harder? then he’ll be breaking you in half already. 

taeil swats your hand away as it reaches for his cock and he hopes you don’t notice it twitching before you when you let out a cute whine. 

“you want it?”

you nod urgently, salavitating at the thought. taeil was more of a giver to his partners, it’s rare for him to take his pleasure first but you’re far from complaining. 

“oh, i don’t know…” he pouts, fisting himself in front of you before giving it a few testing pumps. he swallows the hiss threatening to spill from his lips, chuckling instead at the intense look in your eyes as it follows his hand movements. 

you were by far the most compliant girl he’s ever had, someone who’d rather stay than escape. his methods of forcing someone into submission worked extremely well with you. so really, how can he let go of his glorified little pet?

“you’re not lying to me, aren’t you? i got hurt, you know, with what johnny said… i guess i was doing something wrong.”

“no!” your reply is immediate. “no, that’s not true—”

hands wrap around your throat like a vice. “how about you prove it to me, love? tell me everything i want to hear.”

now, this is easy. you’ve practically memorized everything you need to tell him to boost his ego. it doesn’t even take much of an effort. 

“i love your cock so much that my body hurts. it hits all the right places inside of me and i will never even dream of wanting another man because they won’t be able to fuck me like you do.”

you feel giddy when he smiles that satisfied smile, your toes curling in anticipation as he leans in to give his obedient darling a kiss—

until he shoves your face down the water. 

it doesn’t take much effort to wrestle your limbs down and insert himself into you, groaning at the feeling of your lush and moist walls sucking him in. you’re always so damn wet when he fucks you, oh how much he loves it. loves how tighter your cunt wraps around him as you squirm and fight him to get to the surface of the half-filled tub.

it was only after a few deep thrusts did he relent and pull you up, the few hair clips in your hair floating in the water around as you gasp greedy amounts of air. one look at taeil’s face pulled in ecstasy is enough for you to know it was well worth it.

maybe being rejected by his soulmate was a blessing in disguise. maybe the disobedience of every girl he took before you had been deliberately well-planned. or else he’d never would’ve met you. 

taeil was right. all the soulmate and soulmark shit is utterly useless and stupid. because you are by no means his soulmate, but fuck he’ll never let you go.

not when your destiny is to lay there underneath him, taking whatever it is that he gave you like a good little whore. 

[ushiwakatrash]

Payback is a bad bitch

Pairing: Ushijima x f!reader, Tendou x f!reader

Warnings: Making out, Cheating, cursing, slight angst

Word count: 1.7k

So I came across this idea when I was scrolling through my fyp on Tiktok and I wanted to write about it so bad. The idea belongs to rand0m.p0vz_anime on Tiktok! I hope you all enjoy reading ♥

School was going pretty normally and (Y/n) was striding down the halls of the glorious Shiratorizawa to go pick up her best friend from his class. 

She spotted the crazy red head and called for him. Tendou immediately grabbed his things and said his farewells to his classmates. Since their first year, they had always been together but this year’s class ranking separated them.

Tendou couldn’t keep up his balance of sports and school which resulted to his grades dropping just a wee bit. (Y/n), despite being the strategist of the girl’s volleyball team had no hard time in excelling in both the academic and athletic field. 

Her dedication to the sport and her talent managed to get her a boyfriend, who by the way, was the captain of her best friend’s team. And because even the demon coach Washijo himself had acknowledged her smarts, she had often paid trips to the men’s gym-- where Ushijima had laid eyes on her.

Wakatoshi and (Y/n) got together during their second year. The stoic and intimidating captain had a blush on his face when he asked the girl out. The proposal had a bouquet of flowers and small pricey chocolate to add to the romance. 

People who saw the cooed at how a girl could melt the captain’s coldness and things went uphill from there. Tendou was of course happy for both of his best friends but he couldn’t help but feel a small tingle in his chest every time he’s reminded of it all.

Speaking of Ushijima, they were on the way to his class when (Y/n)’s phone vibrated. The captain just sent a message saying that he had a meeting with the captain of the girl’s volleyball club and he couldn’t eat with them. 

(Y/n) did not like the sound of a meeting with that smug faced bitch but what could she do, right? The duo went to the cafeteria to grab food and sat at their usual table. The seats around them slowly got occupied by other members of the men’s vball team and only the captain was missing.

You had gotten close to the team having spent time with the others during practice as well. At first the members were just curious what kind of genius you are to add to their curiosity, what kind of girl could easily catch the captain’s heart?

Their curiosity then bloomed into an unexpected friendship where you all became one heck of a family. “Oh right (Y/n), where’s the captain?” (Y/n) frowned a little before answering. “He said he had a meeting with the girl’s volleyball team’s captain, Semi-Semi.”

The setter’s face scrunched as he sent an accusing glare towards a smirking Tendou. “Stop teaching her shit you jackass!” “But Semi-Semi is fun to tease!” The others laughed but a few noticed your stiff mood.

“You alright, (Y/n)? Looks like something’s ticking you off” “No I’m good. Thanks for asking, Yamagata-san” A small smile was sent to the libero’s way and he shrugged it off and kept on with his meal.

Of course being the bestest best friend he is, Tendou already knew what was wrong and it only took a glance from him to tell her that he knew. (Y/n) just shook her head slightly to acknowledge that what he thought was right.

(Y/n) stood up from her seat and said her goodbyes to the team as break period was almost over. Tendou followed and walked her to her class. “You know Satori, being a guess monster must be quite the reputation, huh? You can even read me” you giggle at your statement and he follows suit. “I think I’ve known you for long enough to figure out how your mind works”

“Yeah yeah. See you later at practice Satori. I’ll come pick you up again.” “See ya (Y/n)-chan! I’ll be waiting!” with your last waves, you both went to your respective classes.

--

The last bell finally rung and it was about time for everyone to release the sighs they’ve been keeping in the past hours. You took your time in stretching before getting up and packing your stuff.

“Any longer and weeds might start growing from where I stand, (Y/n)-chan!” Oh you knew that voice all too well. “Satori, I thought I told you I’ll come pick you up instead?” Tendou entered your classroom, took your bag and swung it over his shoulder. “Let’s go shorty, Coach Washijo might make me run laps again if we’re late”

“Oh, I forgot how strict the old man was with you, he’s so nice and gentle with me” You stuck out a tongue at him and he made faces in return. “Have you talked to Toshi today? He wasn’t answering my texts.” That’s when Tendou began to think. “Now that you mention it, I haven’t heard from him either.”

As they made their way to the men’s gym, a familiar back could be seen from where they were standing. Even if she only saw a glimpse, (Y/n) knew well that it was her lover’s back. What she didn’t expect was another pair of feet just a few inches away from Ushijima’s.

With trembling hands (Y/n) quietly went near with Tendou trailing not far behind. With the right view of the angle, it was clear as a day that the captains of the girl and boy’s volleyball team were locking lips.

Tendou could feel the rage seeping from his best friend and for once, he was scared of her. The guess monster couldn’t tell what his captain was thinking and why would he waste the girl he’s always wanted? He was all for supporting the captain whenever he could but things may start to change today.

(Y/n) calmed herself and took deep breaths. Making a scene would do nothing but harm her reputation. So instead of throwing a fit, she let out a loud chuckle. “Oh hey, ‘sup?”

The two captains were caught by surprised but Ushijima was quick to recover. Before (Y/n) or Tendou could say anything, Ushijima spoke first. “It was just a kiss, (Y/n), no need to be dramatic.”

If Tendou could beat the shit out of the olive haired man in front of him, he would but it wasn’t his call to make. A nonchalant expression painted (Y/n)’s face before she swiftly placed her arms around Satori’s neck to pull him down for a kiss.

“(Y/n), what the FUCK do you think you’re doing?!” The captain’s voice had a mix of jealousy, anger and nervousness in his tone. Tendou had wide eyes but quickly melted into the kiss he has been dreaming for so long, even if it was in a situation like this.

To fuel the fire, (Y/n) reached to tug on the red head’s roots and deepened the kiss by sliding her tongue to explore Tendou’s mouth. Small grunts were made by both parties and by the time their lips parted, a small string of saliva could be seen.

Ushijima did not take his eyes off his girl. She used to do that with him, she would give the best kisses, be it soft or heated ones just like what he witnessed in front of him. Everything he had slipped out of his grasp because of his own stupidness.

“Calm down Ushijima, it was just a kiss, no need to be dramatic.” His words backfired on him and now his mind was a complete mess. “Damn Wakatoshi-kun, I didn’t know your girl could kiss that good. If I knew, then I would have snagged her a long time ago” Tendou didn’t mean what he said, or maybe that’s what he wanted himself to believe.

“I gotta admit Satori, you’re kinda tasty, I couldn’t resist myself. I mean after all, it’s just a kiss. Nothing to get worked up about” She walked towards Ushijima with her head held high. She tilted her head and inched it towards his as if she was going to indulge him with a kiss.

A few inches before their lips could meet, she let out a small sarcastic smile “Oh sorry I almost forgot how dirty your lips became!” (Y/n) cocked her head to the side to take a good look at the captain of the girl’s volleyball team who was quiet all through out the encounter. “Oh and you, enjoy my sloppy seconds! Enjoy him all you want ‘cause he’s all yours now!” She smiled sweetly before turning around.

Wakatoshi couldn’t bear but grab her hand to stop her from leaving. She just gave a confused look “Huh, are you dense or are you just fucking dumb? We’re over fuckface. Oh sorry, I meant Ushijima”.

The captain cringed at the word and for once hated his family name. “It’s Wakatoshi. Please wait, let me explain!” His hand gripped hers even tighter and for Tendou, it was the last straw. 

“Hey cap, hands off. She’s not your girl anymore” “Wow, you really want me to spell it out for you, huh Ushijima-san? We’re done. I’m breaking up with you. I’m not your girlfriend anymore. There, what else should I say? God, you’re so fucking dumb!”

Tendou slung an arm around your shoulder and you gave a last glance to your now ex, back still facing him. “I quit being the strategist for both teams. Thet’s final. We gotta go. I hope I don’t see your faces around!” (Y/n) fully turned around and held up a hand to sign a goodbye.

“Thanks Satori, sorry about kissing you without asking you first. It was nice though” Tendou smiled at this, his friend was far stronger than he had ever imagined. 

It was not a good time but he still had to shoot his shot. “S-say (Y/n), wanna hang in my place. We can maybe uh... continue where we left off a while ago, or somethin” It was rare to see Tendou flustered and the look on his face right now was priceless.

A genuine hearty chuckle sang from (Y/n)’s mouth. “You sure you can handle me, big boy?” She teasingly traced his jaw with her finger. They linked pinkies and headed towards the Tendou household.

A bitter taste was left in Ushijima’s mouth. It was real, he really lost everything. His team would also be greatly affected by it. The worst part of it all, your pained, hurt face was sure to haunt him. He was the biggest idiot indeed. 

After losing their best strategist, they lost to Karasuno. On a brighter note, Tendou won something far better than anyone ever could. 

He found his paradise.

--

𝕄𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥

[bangtanbetchfics]

friction: iv - finale | knj (m)

genre: office au, romance, smut rating: explicit // 18+ pairing: kim namjoon x reader word count: 8.6k suggested listening: different - woodz | strangers - taemin | handle it - twice | amnesia - kai | last piece - got7 | playlist warnings: m/f, m/m, explicit language, explicit/casual sex, masturbation, enemies to lovers summary: your pesky and overworked assistants meddle in your relationship with your sexy rival -- kim namjoon -- and find themselves caught in the crosshairs of love and all-out war. notes: the final chapter! thanks everyone for all of the notes and support on this one. for more fun insights on this story, please visit my ao3, linked below. navigation: ch. i | ch. ii | ch. iii | finale | m.list | ao3

Namjoon: “All I know right now is that I want you,” He says, tilting his head. “And that I’d never hurt you.”

You: “I’m afraid, Jin,” You confess in his ear, and he rests his chin on your shoulder. “That he’ll break my heart.”

Jin: “Someone’s feelings are ultimately going to get hurt.”

✹✹✹

“We have like...fifteen minutes before they’re both back,” Taehyung whispers to Jimin, both of their bodies pressing against each other in a minuscule phone room.

“I can’t even move right now,” Taehyung laments, moving the chair near him as close to the door as he can, enabling Jimin to straddle him.

“Well...this was the only room I could find, Tae. It’s busy season.” This makes Taehyung frown as he grabs Jimin’s waist to steady him. “We’re lucky we even got this.”

Jimin slides to the bottom of Taehyung’s legs near his knees, and the edge of the desk behind him digs into his back.

“Ow, fuck.” Jimin sucks air in through his teeth, refocusing his mind before he looks down at Taehyung’s crotch. Taehyung’s cock is somehow rock hard, and Jimin rubs his palm over the significant bulge. “It’s amazing how you can still get hard in these situations.”

The comment makes Taehyung frown before he spreads his legs open to evenly distribute Jimin’s weight across him.

“We haven’t fucked because we’re always so tired from work, so yeah, I’m hard. Really fucking hard.” Taehyung pulls Jimin in for a few sloppy kisses, his hand firm on the other man’s slim waist. He rubs Jimin’s back and his hands glide to Jimin’s plush ass before he gives it a squeeze.

Jimin bites his lip at the grab -- grinning and moving further up Taehyung’s legs to straddle his crotch. “It’s been too long since I’ve done that.” Taehyung chuckles, licking his lips.

Taehyung sighs lightly at the warmth covering him, and he uses his massive hands to glide Jimin’s ass over his crotch -- making the both of them breathe in unison. Jimin loosens two buttons of his own crisp white shirt, Taehyung moving to lick his exposed collarbones before nibbling at his clavicle.

Faint moans slip from Jimin’s lips as he reaches into Taehyung’s pants, and pulls out his fully erect cock. He salivates at his girth, and a wad of spit leaves his mouth before landing on Taehyung’s firm cock.

The sensation causes Taehyung’s back to press into the chair, the thick line of spit rolling down the sensitive skin. He sighs as Jimin’s smooth hand rubs up and down his shaft and he groans, feeling himself grow even harder.

Jimin leans back to get his elbows on the desk for support and shimmies to tilt his pelvis up toward the ceiling.

Taehyung then pulls Jimin’s soft, thick cock from his pants. His thumb moves to glide over the soft tip, expecting a drizzle of precum to follow. It does, and Taehyung smears the droplet of arousal over the prominent head. Jimin hisses at the feeling, grinding his hips into Taehyung’s firm grip. His hand was firm without even trying, and Jimin gives Taehyung a firm squeeze in return, making the other man hiss through his teeth.

The two are soon jerking each other off in unison, the slick sounds of their pleasure filling in the room.

“Motherfuck-“ Taehyung groans, his cum sliding down Jimin’s fist. “Already?” Jimin gasps and follows in response, his cum flowing down over Taehyung’s fingers.

“Well, fuck.” Jimin reaches behind him and cleans the two of them up before zipping both of their pants. He balls the napkins up in his hand, maneuvering to toss them in the trash below the desk.

“Ah, fuck...this is miserable.” Jimin pouts, rolling his eyes into the back of his head. He grabs Taehyung’s shoulders before mumbling into the fabric there. “We have to figure out a gameplan to get our bosses back together.”

Jimin lifts from Taehyung’s lap and looks at his watch as he buttons his shirt back up: 6:56 P.M.

“Let’s hurry and get back.” Jimin says, tapping Taehyung’s shoulder to get up.

✹✹✹

A sigh leaves your lips and you move to pull a bouquet slotted in a vase closer to your face. The fresh scent hits your nose as bury your face in the silkiness of the petals.

“Ya!” Jin yells, breaking you from your lovesick stupor. “It looks like a florist took up shop in here!” He looks around, observing the bouquets sitting in every corner of your office.

Taehyung looks over and chuckles, laughing to himself at Namjoon’s failed attempt to get you back.

You grab your coat and shrug it on before you carefully navigate your way around the bouquets and out of your office.

Jin notices how quiet you are -- the two of you waiting in the empty elevator bank. This was a state he was worried about you being in, and he made sure to pick you up from work when you were like this. He nudges you and his arm hooks into yours, but you’re barely able to acknowledge it.

“Anything you wanna talk about?” You lean your head on his arm and shake your head. He leans his head down to meet the top of yours in a quiet understanding before the two of you enter a crowded elevator car.

The elevator beeps as it navigates each floor, and you squeeze your eyes shut -- praying that it doesn’t land on the 61st floor. You knew that was Namjoon’s floor and he was one hundred percent the absolute last person you wanted to see right now -- especially after your impulsive encounter earlier that afternoon.

61.

Of course. The universe always had to mess with you.

The elevator doors open and Namjoon’s eyes search around the car. You look up, and his gaze locks with yours. It feels like the two of you are frozen in time for a moment, and other employees brush past him to enter the car.

You can tell he’s worn from the long hours of work by the dark bags sitting underneath his eyes. In the moment he looks to you for some sort of relief -- some sort of resolve -- but you don’t lend it to him. Jin notices and glares him down, and Namjoon’s crestfallen gaze lifts from yours to meet Jin’s leer.

You quickly look down and swallow a lump of nerves down your throat, and Namjoon slowly enters the car. Your hand trembles as you grip the strap of your purse -- the piece of leather feeling like a lifeline -- like a sweet, temporary escape from the situation at hand.

The car reaches the lobby and employees spill from the elevator, scattering in a rat race out of the building. You grip Jin’s arm closer to you as you watch the back of Namjoon exit the car.

“Is that the guy?” Jin cranes his neck down to your ear. You don’t respond, and Jin takes it as a confirmation. You and Jin take a left as you leave the building, and Namjoon takes a right, but you can’t help but listen for the sound of Namjoon’s shoes to dissipate.

“You see? I knew you’d get hurt.” Jin laments, moving his arm over your shoulder to tug you closer. The sound of Namjoon’s shoes halts as he overhears, and he turns around to look at the both of you walking down the street. He takes a deep inhale, the breath exhuming a deep regret from his body.

✹✹✹

Light snowflakes fall from the sky, starting to coat the city below them in a white, glistening blanket. Your eyes glide toward the view of the city through the floor-to-ceiling length windows, and you watch cars -- now rendered to tiny, glittering lights this high up -- float by in the pulse of the dark evening.

Your foot extends to meet the cool edge of a clawfoot tub, the rest of your body enveloped in the warmth of the water around you. The movement of your foot around the white ceramic edge makes a squeaking noise, the sound bouncing off the quiet halls of your apartment.

You sink further into the water and blow bubbles into it before submerging your head fully for a few seconds. You gasp as you emerge, the cool air creating goosebumps all over your exposed skin. Your hand moves to slick your hair back, and you rest your head on the back edge of the tub.

All you can hear in the darkness are the droplets of water dripping from the edges of the tub.

The space in your apartment was now somber -- no longer filled with your buoyant giggles or throaty moans of being deeply taken. No tinkering sounds of Namjoon making his morning coffee, or the deep, needy exclamations of your name tumbling from his lips.

Thinking of him somehow made a desire tinder inside of you, and you feel your nipples harden under the thought -- only exacerbated by the cool air in the room. You close your eyes, surrendering to your thoughts; your mind racing through the various scenarios and encounters with Namjoon.

At this moment you were grateful that the nerves in the human body retained memories, for you suspire as your fingertips start to trace your skin just as Namjoon would.

You inhale as a wet thumb glides over your erect nipple, sending sensations of pleasure through your body. Your hand moves to grip the soft flesh of your other breast, your fingers kneading the sensitive skin in your hand. Your teeth bite your bottom lip as you imagine the person touching you is Namjoon instead.

A mewl leaves your lips as two fingers meet inside of your core, easily slipping inside. The tightness of the two fingers makes you writhe -- your breath coming loose from your throat.

Your pointer and pinky finger become affixed to either side of your lips, giving you leverage to pump your fingers faster inside of you. Your back arches as you move faster, the sounds of moving water growing louder in the space. The recollection of Namjoon’s desire from earlier that day is somehow still singed to your skin, and you pant as you recall.

Cries leaves your lips as your fingers curl up to meet your engorged g-spot, and your eyes squeeze shut as your fingers glide back and forth over the pleasurable spot.

Burning sensations rip through your body and you squeal, feeling your core clench around your fingers. You moan out loud, biting your lip from the guilt of conjuring a memory before a final drag over the swollen spot courses a delectable pleasure through your veins.

A sigh leaves your lips in your comedown, and you heave while you wonder how a kiss in a fervid moment got you here: alone, and without a promotion you’d been waiting to achieve your entire life.

You lift your body upright and rest your arms on either side of the tub, looking back out at the cityscape.

✹✹✹

Snow crunches under Namjoon’s feet while his fingers clench to a paper cup in his hand. He’s grateful for the hot sear on his fingertips to keep both his fingers and body warm, and he looks down, watching his feet sink into the fresh snow with every step he takes.

Hoseok squints at the sunlight peeking through the snow-coated limbs of the trees above, and he notices Namjoon’s spaced-out expression beside him. He nudges his friend and Namjoon comes to -- looking over to Hoseok and feigning a smile.

“You alright, bro?” Hoseok’s tone is concerned, and Namjoon smiles again and shakes his head.

“See this?” He points down at the fresh snow. “My life used to be like this. Just new and...fresh with her.” He then nods his head over at the dirty, white slosh in the street as they approach a corner to cross. “Now it’s more like that.”

Hoseok covers his mouth, and he can’t help but giggle at Namjoon’s humor, even in such a low moment.

“Sorry...but you kinda brought that one on yourself.” Hoseok chuckles through his response. “I mean, who ties their lover to their bed and then leaves them there? I’d be kinda mad, too. Even if I did get a couple of orgasms out of it.” Hoseok chortles, taking a sip of his own coffee.

“When I think about it...I just wanted the promotion at any cost. You know how my mom is.” Namjoon’s fingers squeeze dents into the cup in his hand, and Hoseok stops in his tracks. He reaches a hand out to grab Namjoon’s arm to stop him as well.

Namjoon’s throat tightens and he avoids eye contact with Hoseok, still looking down at the ground. He hated looking into Hoseok’s wide, earnest eyes. He always told him what he didn’t want to hear, but the advice was always right.

“Hey. Look at me.” Hoseok is calm, and he shakes Namjoon to look up at him. “You’ve gotta start living for yourself, man. This...this ruthless mentality is really fucking with you and your relationships. The tactics you use at work don’t necessarily reap the same benefits in love.”

Namjoon sucks air up his nostrils, frustrated with Hoseok -- but he understands he’s right. He shakes his head before looking up into Hoseok’s eyes, his own eyes glossy with tears.

“I really fucked this one up, Hobi, I-” Namjoon shakes his head again.

“Apologize. Start there.” Hoseok starts, and Namjoon interjects. “But I already-“

“If you really care about her, do it as many times as it takes.” Both eyebrows raise on Hoseok’s face as he cuts Namjoon off.

“Also, know you love and respect your mom...but like, you can’t let her dictate the way you live your life anymore.” Hoseok squeezes Namjoon’s arm in assurance. “No disrespect, but you gotta do you, bro.” He smacks Namjoon’s arm.

“I’ll see you later!” Hoseok shouts, running to make it across the street before the light changes.

Namjoon shakes his head as he looks down, his hand balling into a tight fist.

✹✹✹

The cool winter wind curls through Namjoon’s hair, and he sighs as he looks at the ground coated white below him.

The plastic of the bouquet in his arms crunches as he kneels down, and he sets the flowers to the side.

He takes a deep pause before he wipes a few inches of snow from a gravestone labeled KIM. He sits there, hands on his knees as two silent tears fall down his cheeks. He quickly wipes them with his gloves as they almost freeze on his face.

“I-I’m...I’m on my way, Dad. The position is pretty much mine.” Namjoon starts, his voice trembling.

“Is that what you would’ve wanted?” He asks, unwrapping the flowers from their plastic and slotting them into a cement holder above the grave.

“But your work nearly...no, did. Your work did put you here, right?” He laments, his head falling into his palms, still frigid even through the thick gloves.

“Or...would you have wanted me to be happy?” Namjoon tilts his head, a heaviness on his chest as he lets out the words.

“There’s this woman you see...” He continues, looking down at the engravings in the stone below him once more.

Namjoon squeezes his eyes shut and a final crest of tears leave his eyes. He stands up, walking to the edge of the bluff he’s on before looking out at the frozen landscape.

✹✹✹

You sit on your couch, curled up by a neon fire crackling in a glass display in front of you. Your toes curl up as they fill with heat, and you polish off the rest of the wine in your glass.

Somehow, you were undeniably tipsy and had finished off half a bottle of the sweet, tart liquid. Your hand slides over the glass coffee table to the side of you, and the glass screeches as you place the cup down. You let out the beginnings of a yawn before you hear your doorbell ring -- making you jolt up out of your seat.

“Can I help you?” You press a button on a digital intercom labeled ‘lobby’ and you hear a voice ring out on the other end.

“Yes, there’s a gift for you, ma’am?” A male voice answers back, and your hand drops from the button. You roll your eyes before you hit the button to speak again.

“Fine, bring it up.”

✹✹✹

Your doorbell rings, and you take your time to stand -- slowly walking toward the door. You release the lock on the door and swing it open before leaning back on it.

“It’s from...” The man starts, before looking down in his phone again. “Ah. It’s from one Kim Namjoon. Sent with the utmost urgency, ma’am.” He nods, tipping his hat down before he hands you a huge black box.

You groan at the weight, closing the door shut with your foot.

You lug the box over to your coffee table, and place it down before your hand meets your hips. Air blows from your lips as you ponder whether or not you should even open the box. The indifference develops into a sigh while you massage your temples, moving and scooting closer to the table to take in the outside of the box.

You place your hand on top of the lid and sigh again, your fingers lifting it off before you set the top to the side.

You gasp and stand up, taking in what’s before you.

Thirty-six light purple roses are carefully arranged in a circular box inside, and the warm, rosy scent travels up your nose.

Neatly tucked inside is a shiny gold envelope, and you move to pull it out. You break the seal with your fingernail, pulling out a piece of light pink cardstock.

To: The Woman I’m Not Sure I Can Live Without

There’s a thin line between love and hate...but I can only hope that you keep your faith in love.

“Love means to commit oneself without guarantee, to give oneself completely in the hope that our love will produce love in the loved person. Love is an act of faith, and whoever is of little faith is also of little love.”

The florists told me that the roses carefully arranged in this box for you are forever, but I hope our love outlasts every single one.

Hoping this message reaches you in the depths of your heart -- in a little corner of light -- where I hope you’ll be able to find a place to believe in me again.

-Lovingly, Kim Namjoon

Your hands tremble and you drop the letter -- your head falling into your palms. You collapse to the couch and softly sob out of frustration, more confused than ever.

✹✹✹

The next morning, you sigh as a bunch of people crowd next to you after you board an elevator car. You definitely didn’t get any sleep the night before, and you study the back of the woman’s head in front of you. Your gaze lifts and your eyes widen as you see Namjoon run to board the front of the crowded car. His eyes widen in response to seeing you, and your eyes swiftly meet the ground.

The elevator stops at the next available floor, and a few people cycle out of the car -- Namjoon being one of the first out.

A dozen more people wait outside of the car to enter, and Namjoon’s only choice is to move further into the back of the car near you. He crushes his lips together before he gathers the courage to stand next to you as the car fills back up. Someone squeezes near him -- and his arm pushes into yours.

“Sorry.” He whispers, keeping his sight focused ahead of him.

You become rattled at how close he is to you, a heat rising up your throat and into your cheeks.

He’s so close you can smell his cologne, and you subtly inhale it -- reveling in the brief moment of nostalgia. You follow it by swallowing a breath down -- your best attempt to cool your nerves. You blow relief from your lips as the elevator reaches his floor, and he files out of the car.

You’re able to steal a glance of Namjoon before the elevator shuts, and his eyes grow wide again in response.

✹✹✹

“Almost ready for dinner?” Taehyung asks you, powering his computer down. He takes a quick glance at his watch before looking over at your office.

You use a large, fluffy brush to swipe blush across your cheeks and you smile slightly to make the apples more prominent.

“How do I look?” You ask Taehyung, taking a slow turn. A creamy white dress is affixed to your curves, and a transparent chiffon choker floats around your neck.

“It’ll be nice to get out for dinner for once.” You mention as you pin twinkling diamond earrings to each of your ears.

✹✹✹

“How are you adjusting to the new workload?” You ask Taehyung, slicing through a piece of chicken below you. You take a bite, watching him formulate an answer.

“It’s a lot to take on...but I know in the long run it’ll pay off.” Taehyung shrugs. “Or...at least I hope it does.” He says, loading a few green peas onto his fork as he looks at you before shaking his silver locks from his eyes.

“Good mindset to have,” Your fork points at him, before you polish the food down your throat. “But. You don’t want to end up old and grey like me. And with no one to share it with.”

“You’re not old. Or gray!” Taehyung exclaims before clutching his belly in laughter. You join him in laughing, the wine spinning glee through your veins.

“Thanks for doing this, Tae.” You mention, tapping the back of Taehyung’s hand and watching a smile curl up on his lips.

“You deserve it. Truly-” Mid-response, he jolts as the watch on his wrist buzzes:

[Jiminie]: 7:58 P.M. Now.

He smirks a bit as he sees the message, but his brows furrow before he looks up at you.

“I have to take this.” His voice is asking for permission, and you nod in response -- waving him off.

✹✹✹

You look at your watch, noticing that thirty-five minutes have lapsed since Taehyung left you at the table. You lift the device to your mouth: “Call Taehyung.” The device rings for half a second before you’re served Taehyung’s voicemail.

The kick to voicemail brings your brows together on your head, and you try the sequence once more. Another fail. You sigh, slightly worried by the lack of response.

A sliver of fear causes you to rise from your seat to take a walk around the space. Decadent crystal chandeliers light up the space, but they’re dimmed to give ambiance to most of the couples huddled up in the restaurant for the evening.

You admit to yourself that you’re jealous, as one half of those couples could’ve easily been you a few weeks before everything went down between you and Namjoon. You sigh, rubbing your arms to relieve yourself from the pockets of wind coming through the front door each time it opens. Your eyes scan the restaurant, but nothing unusual sticks out to you -- and you still don’t see Taehyung.

“Did he leave me here?” You whisper under your breath before heading back to your seat. You admit you’re lightly pissed off, but you calmly sit back down at your table.

“So, how was everything?” A waitress arrives, and she starts collecting items from the table. “It was amazing...except for...well.” Your voice trails off as you look over to the other side of the table. “I’ve really gotta find him.” You mumble, pulling out your wallet. The waitress grimaces, collecting the last fork and placing it on her tray.

“Anyway...could I have the receipt, please?” You ask, looking up at the woman. She looks back at you, confused, and you return the look. “The bill’s already been paid, ma’am.”

“By whom?” You tilt your head, and the woman points over her shoulder before she steps to the side.

It’s Namjoon.

Namjoon walks toward you, a hand in the pocket of his white pants. A cream dress shirt hugs his frame in the right places, but it's tucked in to accentuate his slim waist. A white wool coat adorns his frame and reaches just below his knees, and his hips sexily cut side-to-side before he lands to stand above you.

“May I?” He asks, his deep voice rippling through your ears, goosebumps traveling through your skin.

You’re at a loss for words as you take his divine form in from head-to-toe, and he gestures toward the empty chair.

Shockwaves zip through your body, and you can only manage a nod in response.

Taehyung and Jimin grin at each other from a well-hidden corner of the restaurant as they watch the two of you -- their pinkies linked tightly together.

✹✹✹

Namjoon marvels at you as he sits, his hand loosening from his pocket. His eyes triangulate around your face, and you can tell he’s at a loss for words himself. He takes a deep breath in, looking down at the table.

How handsome he looks under the candlelight is something you can’t help but notice -- his tan skin twinkling under the flicker of the flames. You lower your eyes so you don’t get sucked too far into his charms, subtly shaking your head until you come to.

The both of you sit in silence for a few moments before he reaches for your hand.

“Joon-“ You gasp as the warmth radiating from him courses through your veins. He squeezes your hand before speaking.

“I’ve been selfish,” He starts, his soft brown eyes raising to meet yours. “It’s just that you’ve never been apart of the grand plan I had laid out for my life...” He sighs, and you can tell his thoughts are trailing off.

“I...I told you kissing me that night wasn’t a good idea.” Your chest starts to heave, and your hand begins to tremble in his. “You said you wouldn’t hurt me then. And now we’re here.”

“I know...I know...” His voice turns into a woeful plea, and tears gather at the edges of your eyes. “I’m so, so sorry.”

His head hangs down and he squeezes your hand again. You loosen your hand from his and he looks up in shock, watching as you look down to reach into your bag.

“I want you back,” He pulls his hands into a prayer near his lips, his thumbs tucked under his chin as he looks at you. You flare your nostrils to hold in your tears as you listen to him.

“If you have it in your heart...please forgive me.” He continues, tears gathering in his own eyes.

“I really liked you, Joon.” You get choked up, tears flooding down your face. You suck in air to calm yourself, using the handkerchief you pulled from your bag to dab at your tears.

Namjoon reaches across the table to wipe the fresh wave of tears falling from your eyes with his thumbs, and he looks directly at you.

“I have something to tell you.” His tone is serious, and you grab ahold of his wrist. He takes your hand and holds it again, massaging the back of it.

“I told Yoongi...” You can tell whatever he’s about to say is hard for him, and his eyes widen before he looks down. “I told Yoongi that he should give the CEO position to you. That you could lead it with more grace than I ever could. And that’s something that I’ve always admired about you.” His warm lips meet the palm of your hand, and a tear falls from one of his eyes.

“No, I-“ A hot tear shoots from one of your eyes, and you shake your head. He shakes his head in assurance, placing your hand on his cheek.

“You can’t do this on my behalf.” You gasp out, more tears pooling in your eyes. “You really wanted this.”

“So did you. And yes, I can.” He starts. “But why? Tell me why. You wanted nothing more.”

“It’s simple, really.” Namjoon releases your hand, sitting back in his chair.

“I was chasing a dream that wasn’t my own to make the people I loved happy. I’ve always done what my family’s wanted -- no matter the cost. But I was never happy. Not until I met you.” He says, his eyes focused on you. His eyes grow even warmer under the candlelight as he admires your features.

“The only thing I’ve ever truly dreamed about was falling in love.” He sits back up, taking your hand in his again. Your fingers slide in between his and your palms meet in a firm clasp.

“I’m guilty of it too, I guess.” You respond, searching his eyes. “I think I’ve always used work as an excuse not to go too deep...to not to fall in love too hard. But you broke all of my walls down, and then you left me.” You chuckle softly, drawing one out of him as well. “But now you’re here again. In front of me.” You shoulder raises and then falls, and you look at him.

“I guess it was fate that pushed us together like this.” Namjoon kisses your hand warmly, and you sigh at the comfort of the familiar feeling. His eyes scan yours, and you can feel more words are at the tip of his tongue. The words seem to dissipate from his lips, and he releases your hand.

“I guess...I guess I’ll see you at work tomorrow?” You give him a slow nod as you watch him stand up, and you chew at the inside of your lip. He starts to leave the table, and you grab his wrist.

“Wait. Would you...would you mind taking me home?” There’s a lilt of desire in your voice, and he looks back at you.

✹✹✹

“Sorry, no heat in here -- don’t ask.” A cab driver mentions as the two of you hop in the backseat. You cross your legs and look out of the window as the car pulls off.

There’s still a marked silence between the two of you.

After a few minutes you can hear the whisper of wind coming through the car door, and the cool air makes you shiver. You ball your hand into a fist as your fingers and toes grow cold, and you rub your arms to gather warmth in your body.

You knew Namjoon was probably warm, but you were stubborn and you refused to give into him that easily.

Namjoon turns and looks at you coolly as you look out the window, and he taps your shoulder. You turn to face him, and your lips are a hair away from each other in the small car.

He looks down and your eyes follow his as he hooks his arm into yours before pulling you closer to him. His warmth surges through you, causing your body to melt into his. Your cheek meets his shoulder, and you warm your hand by rubbing one of his thighs. You squeeze the hard muscle and he can feel himself getting hard. You slow the rubbing as you notice him fidgeting, simply resting your palm on his leg. His racing heartbeat becomes apparent as your head slides down to his chest, and you smirk to yourself that you still had this affect on him.

“This is you, ma’am.” The driver mentions, looking back at the two of you. “Who’s payin’?” He asks, pulling up to a curb.

The car pulls up outside of your house, and you look up at Namjoon -- your lips close once again. A desire knots in between your legs, and you squeeze them to dissipate the sensation -- gasping at the sudden intensity of your lust.

“Um...um I guess this is me.” You say softly, looking from his lips up to his eyes. He returns the look, and you quickly break eye contact and get out of the car.

Namjoon whips his credit card into the reader before handing the driver fifty dollars in cash.

“Can you give me a few minutes?” He taps the man’s shoulders, and the driver looks at Namjoon through the rearview mirror.

“Good luck, man.” The driver nods, watching Namjoon exit.

✹✹✹

Namjoon catches you before you start to walk away from the vehicle, and he comes to stand tall in front of you. He looks down at you for a few moments, and neither of you break eye contact. The wind starts to chill your lips and fingertips, and Namjoon moves a step closer toward you.

He’s hesitant as he approaches, not sure how you’ll react. He places a hand on your shoulder, and it moves up your neck and toward your cheek. Your head naturally falls into his large palm, and his other hand moves to do the same. Both of his thumbs massage the skin underneath your chin -- both of your lips only a breath away from each other.

“I forgive you.” You whisper, looking into his eyes. His eyes fall in relief, and your fingers hook into the belt cinching his coat around his waist to pull him closer to you.

Both of your lips gently meet, the warmth melting your frigid lips.

Snow starts to fall, and each flake that meets your skin is no match for the heat rising from your cheeks. You relish in each others warmth, one always pulling the other closer -- your fingers embedded in the smooth fabric of his coat.

Namjoon taps the cab for it to leave, and you press your lips further into his as his soft thumbs rub up and down the column of your throat.

“It rained the first night we kissed.” Namjoon pulls his lips from yours and you giggle. He presses back into your lips halfway through another giggle leaving your mouth.

“Is that a sign?” You mumble into his lips, nipping at the lush bottom one. You dive back into him with your tongue as a familiar, insatiable thirst overtakes you -- his head tilting to the side to gain more leverage in the kiss.

✹✹✹

A trail of clothing lines the floor to the couch in your living room, and you’re perched atop Namjoon’s lap. His tongue dives into the silky fabric of your cream-colored slip, the moisture embedding the fabric against your nipple. You gasp, your hands rummaging around his hair as he does the same to your other nipple before lightly nibbling at it. The silk begins to stick to your form, the heat from the fireplace causing your body to collect small droplets of sweat.

You breathe into each other’s mouths as you slowly unbutton Namjoon’s shirt, his hands roaming underneath your slip and over your ass. He slides his fingers underneath the suspenders that hold up your stockings, and then moves to squeeze the cheeks of your ass firmly before slapping it.

You bite your lip -- gasping into his mouth before diving back into his lips. Something about his grip on your ass made you distinctly feral, and you grind into his crotch below.

“How did I get so lucky?” He gasps, only allowing you a small wind of his hips, and you bite into his bottom lip. He growls and pulls your panties to the side, feeling the slick heat between your lips.

“Fuck. You still get so wet for me.” His fingers continue to rub you and you whine, attempting to grab his wrist. You were on fire by now, and you run your hands over his hard, exposed chest before diving back into his lips, the only part of his body he was allowing you access to.

The length of his finger suddenly slips inside of you and you firmly moan into his lips. He pumps his finger inside of you and you squirm, hearing the slick sounds of your juices coating his finger. He slips a second finger in, using the two of them to stretch you.

“Ah...Namjoon...” A pert moan drops from your mouth, his fingers moving to pump into you again.

You relish in the sweet stretch of his fingers, his mouth moving to suck on your breast through the fabric. You grab his head as his drags his tongue from your breast -- up your neck and back to your lips. Need -- a deep aching need -- emanates from your lips as you make contact again, and he pulls his fingers from inside of you.

“Let me taste you.” He growls into your lips, and you gasp as he throws you on your back. He pulls you closer to him on the couch before dragging your soaked lace panties to the side. He immediately suckles at your drenched lips below, moaning into the sensitive skin. He swiftly burrows his face inside of you, his tongue flicking deep inside of your core. He rotates his head around your core, his masterful tongue dragging with it. You squeal as he growls into you, and you grip him at the roots of his hair.

“Namjoon, fuck-“ You feel yourself drip, throwing your head back over the edge of the couch. The feeling of his tongue was more intense than usual, the sounds of him eating you out sending electric zaps through you like a livewire.

He gives you a dark look -- lightly pulling at your lips as you watch him below, moving to trail cum-drenched kisses up your abdomen. He meets your lips with his, and you moan as you taste yourself on his tongue.

Namjoon’s now positioned above you and you reach below, massaging his shaft through his boxers. He groans, almost as if in pain, from how much he wanted you. He gasps as you pull out his weighty length, and sit up to tuck it into your warm mouth.

Your tongue slips over the wet head before you take him in as far as you can. He groans as you pull out and precum gathers on the tip. You hum at the liquid before you dig your tongue into the slit its pouring from -- devouring him again and again.

You release him from your mouth after a few moments, the entirety of his shaft glistening with saliva. You lay back on the couch and he parts your legs, looking up at you. He drives his shaft up and down your lips before he enters you -- and you wince as his firm head pierces you. He pulls back out briefly, blowing air out so he doesn’t fill you whole in one go. You line him up with your entrance, and you push him in -- gasping at the furious stretch. He groans in return, beginning to pump slowly in and out of you. You whine, placing a hand on his abdomen to slow his pace. Both of your breathing picks up, and he props himself up over you -- his lips joining with yours.

His hips start to wave into yours, and you whimper in pleasure as his pace increases.

“Does that feel good?” His length pulls in and out of you, the subtle difference in size from his pronounced head to his shaft intensely massaging your walls. You nod, so deeply concentrated on the pleasure.

“Faster?” He asks through a few labored breaths, his eyes intense on yours. You wrap your arms around his neck, your lips meeting the wet heat collecting on his skin.

“Fuck...yeah.” You can only mewl out into his ear as he picks up his pace, his cock growing larger inside of you.

“Motherfuck-“ You whine, your legs moving to hook onto his shoulders. He fills you deeper, and the slosh of your bodies meeting below filling the room. How wet you are turns you on further and you tap his back, indicating for him to take his thrusts a tick faster. And so he does, his skin slapping hard into yours as you gasp, whining as you’re taken the deepest you’ve ever been. Your fingernails clamp into the rippling muscles on his back, and your senses explode as you clench around him, nearing your release.

You gasp as he pulls out and flips you over onto your stomach, positioning your ass in the air. He pushes your slip up, and takes hold of the white garter belt affixed to your nude fishnet stockings. You squeal as he enters you from behind, his grip tightening on your belt to drive deeper inside of you.

“Faster.” Grits through your teeth, the end of the word ending in a whine. Something about not having him for weeks ignited a deep desire inside of you -- and you moan as his free hand digs into your waist. His large hand slides down to grip the back of your neck while he bucks into you madly, lewd moans repeatedly slipping through your lips.

“Namjoon I’m gonna-“ You squeal as he slams harder into you -- the neurons in your body exploding in euphoria. The pleasure radiates from your core and through the rest of your nerves as you still pulse around him -- your eyes rolling into the back of your head.

“Fuck!” Namjoon exclaims, his warm load releasing inside of you, and your head hangs down as you catch your breath. He pulls from the tight fit, a popping noise echoing in the air as he does so.

“God, I missed you.” He says softly, before he positions you on your back, laying himself back on top of you. He dives into your lips once more and you grab his jaw, relishing in his weight on your body. He luxuriates in your softness and warmth as he fixes his hard frame on top of yours, and you pull a leg up to wrap around his waist. He caresses you from the curve of your ass down to the back of your knee, looking at you with adoration in his eyes.

“Why are you here with me again? After everything?” There’s wonder in his whisper -- a need for some sort of unspoken assurance -- and you seal your lips to his. Your thumb glides over his cheek, and you pull back to look at his features.

“I’m only human. I can’t control how I feel.” You breathe in, stroking his soft locks. He glides his nose over yours, his lips still roving over your skin. He places a hot, opened mouthed kiss on your neck as he squeezes your waist, and you softly moan into his ear.

Namjoon lifts his head up, looking from your lips to your eyes. His toasty chestnut eyes grow larger, and he looks at you.

“I love you.” He says softly, and your chest heaves up and down before you kiss him again.

“I love you, too.” Coming up for air, you look at him -- still feeling as if you haven’t indulged enough in his plush lips. You kiss him feverishly, soaking in his confession.

Both of your swollen lips vibrate against one another as you look at each other, gasping for air as you pull away.

“What are we gonna tell Yoongi?” He sighs into your mouth, looking at you.

“The truth.”

✹✹✹

“Maybe I should take the position. Because then I’d be your boss.” You mention, pushing Namjoon down into his chair. You grip the arms of the chair, leaning down to kiss him. He pulls you onto his lap, smacking your ass.

“Are we really gonna do this first thing in the morning?” He growls into your lips, and you giggle. “We have like...an hour before people start arriving. So yeah. We’re doing this.” You grip the back of his neck and weave your neck to access his lips as his head moves from side-to-side.

“Maybe I don’t want to, Boss.” He teases through a growl, and you bite your lip -- pressing your forehead to his.

“Well...then...you’re fired.” You whisper, your tongue slipping past his lips and into his mouth. He sucks your bottom lip as he pulls away, studying your eyes.

“That’s retaliation.” His dimples pop into his cheeks mischievously, and you place kisses on his neck -- feeling him grow hard underneath you.

“Mmm...well he seems to disagree.” You mention, and Namjoon gasps, grinding up into your throbbing core.

“Fuck.” You mutter, feeling yourself get wet the more he grinds into you.

Footsteps start to float down the hall, and you hop from Namjoon’s lap. You look around the room for a place to hide -- but there’s nowhere to be found in a glass office. You decide to burrow underneath his desk, and Namjoon quickly pulls his chair into his desk after you do.

“Hey, Mr. Kim! How are things going this morning?” Namjoon nervously puts his elbow down on the table and picks up a pen.

“Oh, you know. It’s going.” He chuckles, his eyes subtly widening at the janitor.

“I feel ya, man. It’s real crazy-“ The janitor starts.

“Yeah, um, I’ve got work to get back to if you don’t mind.” Namjoon uses the pen to point around the office. “You know, before everyone starts filing in.” He nods, satisfied with the lie.

“Oh! Yeah. Sorry, man. I just get so caught up.” The janitor responds, sweeping a few specks from the floor.

You sigh in relief as you hear the janitor’s footsteps leave the room, but Namjoon looks down at you and shakes his head.

“Mr. Kim! Good morning -- you’re here early!” Jimin exclaims, dropping his briefcase off at his own desk. He notices Namjoon looks bright and glowy as he rolls into his office, and he smiles at him.

“How was your night? Anything interesting happen?” Jimin pries, his hand on his hip as he scours Namjoon’s face for an answer.

“You could say that, I guess.” Namjoon chuckles, twirling the pen in his hand around his fingers. You circle Namjoon’s knee with your pointer finger, and you feel his body stiffen.

“Mind if I brief you now?” Jimin asks, looking him over -- and Namjoon tilts his head. “It’s...just that I want to knock out the rest of the work you gave me before the end of the day.”

Namjoon chuckles; of course this was the one day everyone was early, and of course Jimin wanted to brief him now.

Right now.

Your palm glides over Namjoon’s cock, and you slide your fingers over his shaft through his pants. You cover your mouth with a hand, holding back a snicker.

“Um, sure.” Namjoon’s voice comes out in a tremble before he sucks in air. “I know. I know it’s an intense, stressful schedule you’ve got coming up.”

Namjoon fidgets in his chair as you pull his cock from his pants, wiggling it to observe its satisfying weight.

“First thing’s first. Min has said that overall, it’s been a challenging fiscal year, but that your product and the CMO’s complimentary marketing pulled us into the black.” He says.

“A real Hail Mary.” Jimin continues, swiping the screen of his iPad to the next slide.

“Fuck!” Namjoon exclaims as you take his shaft whole into your mouth. “I mean...that’s really great news.” He corrects himself, and Jimin crunches his eyebrows together in confusion.

Namjoon leans his neck to the side, his hand balling into a fist to try and contain himself. He gasps, your tongue quietly swirling around his length.

A light, satisfied moan escapes your lips as you pull his cock from your mouth, licking its length.

“So-“ Jimin pauses and looks up, his eyes locking with Namjoon’s. “What was that?”

“What was what?” Namjoon asks, biting his lip -- praying Jimin didn’t hear you. “I think that’s enough for today?” Namjoon raises the statement like a question, and Jimin raises an eyebrow at him.

“Just wait..one more thing.” Jimin says, reaching to hand Namjoon a portfolio. “It’s the paperwork.”

You flatten your tongue and take Namjoon’s length in whole again, and he leans forward in his chair for relief. His hips subtly buck up to get deeper in your throat, and he twitches in your mouth. His load spurts into the back of your throat and you try to hold yourself back from choking.

The thick, sticky cum drizzles from your mouth and lands on your white blouse, and you scrunch your face, mouthing “Fuck.” to yourself.

“To be honest, I can’t remember the last time we got through a brief uninterrupted.” Jimin comments. “But to each his own.”

“I won’t be needing this.” Namjoon sighs in relief after his release, picking the portfolio back up and handing it to Jimin.

“But it’s for your promotion.” Jimin tilts his head in confusion.

“I’ll explain later.” Namjoon responds, shaking his head.

✹✹✹

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” You lament, dripping water from a faucet onto your shirt. You pick up a Tide pen from the counter, frantically rubbing it into the fabric.

You came to the unfortunate resolution at this moment that Tide pens didn’t get cum out of shirts.

You blow at the stain and then dab it with a napkin before accepting defeat.

You toss the damp napkins into the trash and exit the bathroom.

You quickly shuffle down the hall, attempting to make it to the staircase before anyone sees you on Namjoon’s floor.

Jimin walks down the hall, catching sight of the back of your body as you run into the stairwell.

He smirks in relief, shaking his head.

✹✹✹

Both you and Namjoon sit across from Yoongi’s desk, awaiting his return to his office. You dig your fingers into the free spaces where Namjoon’s fingers rest on the edge of his chair, and you look up at him.

“I truly hope Yoongi takes this well.” You whisper, both of your lips embracing in a quick peck.

Yoongi returns, quietly sitting at his desk and observing the two of you.

You look at Namjoon and Namjoon looks at you, the both of you searching each other’s eyes to see who should speak first.

“To clear the very big elephant in the room...do you think I didn’t know about you two?” Yoongi asks, folding his hands together on the desk.

“You...know?” You ask, your eyes widening as you squeeze Namjoon’s hand.

Yoongi leaps back in his chair, laughing out loud -- the satisfied laugh nearly sinister. Yoongi swipes a tear from the edge of his eye, holding his chest to calm his laughter.

“You two are so obvious. Not subtle at all.” He gasps out, still trying to calm his breaths. “I should fire you both for violating company policy.”

Yoongi bursts into laughter again as he sees your worried expressions, and he wags his finger through the tears.

“Luckily. L-Luckily, I own the company.” He heaves. “And I’m giving you a pass.” He blows out air.

“Well...well that was part of the news.” You say, squeezing Namjoon’s hand. “We’ve always wanted to start something that was our very own.” You continue, looking over at Namjoon, and he nods. Your lips open cautiously: “We’re both resigning as of today, our last day fully effective in two weeks.”

“You’re totally fucking with me, right?” Yoongi asks before he stands up. You shake your head in response, and Yoongi collapses back into his chair.

“I have to admit...I’ve never seen the two of you happier, if I’m being honest.” His head drops into his hands as he falls into processing the dire reveal. “You both came in here young. Bright-eyed and bushy tailed. But...I saw you both fade in real time as you became hard-nosed execs on behalf of my company.”

Yoongi motions over his face. “It’s like the all light went out from your eyes.” He admits, looking up to study the both of you.

“You were both pivotal in the success of this company over the years, and I can only thank you for that. If being with each other is what brings you happiness, that’s the least I can give you in return.” Yoongi’s voice trembles a bit, and he clears his throat out of embarrassment; he wasn’t one to be choked up.

“Just don’t leave and become my competitor.” He chuckles, coming around to the front of his desk. “Now get out of my office.” He motions, shooing the two of you.

You giggle at Namjoon, and the two of you rise up from your chairs. You approach Yoongi slowly, looking at him as he tries to hide his forlorn eyes.

“Can I hug you?” You ask, and before he objects you collapse into his arms. Yoongi protests as Namjoon comes around to hug him as well, and Yoongi laughs as he melts into the embrace.

✹✹✹

“Well, well, well. Now we’re both the boss. How do you suppose we have hot hate sex now?” You ask, your fingers twiddling through Namjoon’s hair as you’re nested on his lap.

Floor-to-ceiling windows line the walls as far as you can see, and Namjoon wraps his hands around your waist.

The two of you are in a new, empty office space, and your eyes rove over to the desks and offices waiting to be filled.

“The money from that Blackjack game you beat me in while we were in Vegas came in handy for this new building.” He whispers in your ear before he places a kiss on your neck.

“But still kinda mad at you for beating my ass in that.” He chuckles, his voice vibrating in your ear.

“Seriously gonna hate fuck you again remembering that.” He growls. You giggle as he tries to put his hand up your skirt, and you lightly elbow him in the abdomen.

“Stop being naughty. They’ll be here any minute.” You pull your skirt back down, standing up and leaning on the front of Namjoon’s new desk.

Jimin and Taehyung both walk through the door of Namjoon’s new office, and you smile at the both of them.

“Well, if it isn’t our pesky love fairies.” You cross your arms, and Namjoon circles to the front of the desk with his hands in his pockets.

“Are you two ready to start work?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Taehyung responds first, giving you a subtle bow.

“We already dropped our things off at our desks and fired up our laptops.”

“Can we get you anything?” Jimin inquires, his brows raising as he awaits an answer. “Coffee? Tea?”

“Neither.” You respond, and Namjoon reaches behind him to pick up two silver nameplates. He gestures for the two to approach, and he hands them the pieces of metal.

“Associate…” The title doesn’t register until he reads it again, his brows coming together in disbelief. “Associate?” Taehyung asks, his voice rising up.

You laugh as the two jump up and down together, glee spreading across their faces.

“You’ve both worked hard...in more ways than one.” You giggle, hooking your arm in Namjoon’s. He lays his head on top of yours to affirm your statement.

“Just to show you both that all of the late nights...and plotting was worth it.”

All of you laugh in unison.

The four of you link your arms over each others shoulders and giggle as you approach the large windows — admiring the dazzling view of the city below.

navigation: ch. i | ch. ii | ch. iii | finale | m.list | ao3

[aceofspadegrass]

Today Is A Wonderful Day

Characters: Arisu Ryohei, Karube Daikichi, Chota Segawa

Genre: General. Arisu is entering his own strange Wonderland.

5.2k words

Well, here it is, my self indulgent fic! I honestly had a great time just getting this out. Will I continue this storyline? Who knows, we'll have to see, won't we? Five hours of typing, my poor pinky~✨

Apologies if anyone seems off in characterization, this is again more self indulgence and a bare string of consistency.

The sun was bright, today. Perfect for a picnic, or to swing, or gardening.

It was such a shame he didn’t like going out much when he could spend all his days at his chair, headphones slipped over his ears, his grip around worn but well-loved plastic. Thumbs flick this way and that in accordance to what he needed to do with the avatar moving across the screen.

It was easier to not have to think about the outside right now. His father was always looking at him with disappointment that he wasn’t the son he wanted, but then again, was he ever the son he wanted? There was his brother anyways, the model of a smart, well adjusted man. Ever since they were young his father’s eyes weren’t on him, the first child.

But he shouldn’t complain, he did this to himself, being practically useless and not up to the standards he should have been able to achieve. He wasn’t worth his father’s attention, even if he wanted even a little bit, just for a fraction of his acceptance and pride to be for him.

But it wasn’t like he was alone in life. He had friends, two of them, and they were supportive of him, and he was supportive in return. He couldn’t ask for better friends, really. The tallest of the three, Karube, was a bartender, and willing to let his friends in to sit at the counter and chat their hours away, even if he was mindful of any alcohol they consumed. The shortest, Chota, worked in IT, although he tended to skip in order to come join them in their little adventures and hangouts, or to indulge in his own whims.

At the moment they were both busy, so he couldn’t meet up with them out on this beautiful day. It would be fun, maybe, spending their hours at the park, or maybe heading down to the arcade. A smile works its way up to chapped lips, and he instinctively licks at them when the skin tugs the wrong way, to alleviate the feeling. Yeah, that sounds great. Hanging together with them is great, being around them is such a wonderful feeling for him.

The screen flickers with a 1st place banner, and he quietly cheers, shaking his controller in his hand as a burst of achievement hits him, washed through his chest and makes him straighten his posture after who knew how long. It sinks back to a more relaxed posture as he starts a new game, and he starts all over again.

Hours pass, and the sun is lower in the sky, and Arisu remembers he hasn’t eaten since yesterday.He gets up, groaning a little as his muscles remember how to stand again, and he shuffles over to the kitchen. There was a note on the fridge. He glances at it, eyes flickering over the neat scrawl.

‘ Will be home late. Buy groceries. - Dad ’

Figured. Arisu opens the fridge, just to see if there was anything remotely edible before he would have to inevitably head out to refill the fridge again so that they could eat all week. There was only condiments, a half bottle of orange juice, and some other bits here and there that Arisu wouldn’t have the slightest clue what to do with. Shoulders slump, and he shuts the door and shuffles towards his bedroom door to get changed to head out for the day. It wasn’t an outfit worth taking time to pick, as it was only a grocery run. He grabs some simple jeans, comfortable and stretchy, as well as a t-shirt, light blue with the picture of a dog printed just behind the pocket on the left side of his chest, an illusion of it sitting there.

There was money on the table when he heads back out on the table he didn’t notice before, with another note on it, simply labeling it as grocery money. Arisu pockets the money into his jeans as well as his phone, and with a goodbye to an empty house, he leaves and heads into the open, warm world.

The walk to the grocery wasn’t long, but it still took some time, so Arisu was left to his own devices, in his own thoughts. They were simple thoughts, like how sunny it was, how people were walking by with their own lives in motion, how he wished he could hang out with Karube and Chota. He could always text them, they’d respond to him, but he didn’t want to bother them because he was being too selfish. So his phone remains heavy in his pocket as he strolls along the street, glancing around every so often to make sure he was going the right way.

There was a ping on his phone, and he pulls it out, staring at the new message. It was an unknown number, Arisu frowning a little at the text.

‘ Would you like to see something Wonderful? ’

It was a strange text, and way too ominous. Arisu ignores it, and he slips it in his pocket and looks back up, his stride never faltering as he continues onwards.

The text never left his mind though. As he stands in the aisle of the store, trying to find a decent box of cereal to put into the trolley cart, the thought filters back to him as he picks up a box, turning it in his head. Just what was that? It must’ve been a prank, or perhaps a text bot. Maybe even a sex bot, there were way too many of those, and he wasn’t interested in getting duped. But this one, for reasons Arisu couldn’t explain, this one felt…. different, somehow.

A ping startles him out of his thought. He looks down, and his hand trails back to his phone, stopping just before he pulls it out, fingers on glass and fabric. What if the number texted again? Arisu bites the inside of his lip. He was curious, that much was sure.

What did it want with him?

Arisu takes a slow, deep breath. He couldn’t do anything if he didn’t know. The phone slides out of his pocket and held in front of him, just high enough for the screen to register him and turn on.

Just as he thought, it was the same mysterious number again.

‘ Have you ever wanted to experience something out of this reality? ’

It was….. strange. Confused eyes flicker through the text — once, then twice. There wasn’t a sign of an attachment, where usually there could be a picture attached, trying to get an interested soul piqued. That, and there was no hint of a clickbait to be seen. His other hand, which had been on the handle of the cart, tightens around the cool plastic bar.

To be fair, he always wondered, just a little, if life was different. If he would ever see something, experience something, that wasn’t only contained in digital formation. He would joke about it with Chota and Karube, sometimes, thinking about fictional situations and what they would be achieving. But that was it, it was fictional, and nothing more.

The rest of the shopping leaves that text floating around in his brain, a puzzle that Arisu was itching to figure out what it held, all the way to him paying and making his way back. The trip was ordinary, only letting it gently warm underneath the sun, baking slowly and rising until it overtook any other kind of thought. “ I’m home.” He said, to an empty house. He slips out of his shoes and makes his way inside, dropping the bags of groceries down by the kitchen, planning to get to them later. At the moment though, he needed to get this thought out or else it would bother him for a while. He pulls a chair out and takes a seat, taking his phone out of his pocket in the same motion, and opens his messaging. The little notification for that mysterious number lingers, but he ignores it in favour for the group chat that he shared with his two friends.

Arisu: i have a question

He didn’t have to wait long for a response, as he watches the grey bubbles appear.

Karube: what’s up

Arisu: i got this really weird text

Arisu: and i dunno what to do

Karube: what does it say?

Arisu’s fingers lull above the keypad. Was it worth telling them? They’d probably share the thoughts of it being some sort of bot or perhaps some odd pranks. It was natural, something explainable.

But this was eating at him, and Arisu needed other thoughts.

Arisu: they were talking about seeing something wonderful and out of reality

Karube: definitely sounds weird

Karube: did it link anything?

Arisu: no

Arisu: its just the messages nothing attached

Chota: Maybe its a dick pic

That earns a small snort, Arisu rolling his eyes. He would hope not. Karube: wouldn’t they have attached it anyways then???

Chota: Ah yeah true

Chota: Maybe they’re asking permission?

Arisu: why though

Karube: dunno dude

Karube: just ignore it

Arisu: its been on my mind for a while

Karube: srsly?

Karube: hmm…….

Arisu stares as his screen as the bubbles flicker in and out. He didn’t know what he’d do. His phone pings again, and the notification slides in from above. It was the number again.

‘ Come experience the greatest encounters of your life! ‘

Arisu frowns, and he quickly exits the chat and stares at the tab for this strange number. Now that he looks at it, the number itself looked odd. At first glance it was numbers in a format of a normal phone, but now that he looked closely, it looked a digit too long for a Japanese phone number, much less did he recognize the area code.

He wasn’t all that much of a phone number whiz though, so he could be mistaken.

There was a new text from Karube, and he opens the chat again.

Karube: if it’s really bothering you, no harm in playing along right? just see what it is and then back out

Karube: no hamr done

No harm done, huh?

Arisu sits there, finger hovering above the option to text back, as he thought through his options. He could always just delete it, or send a text telling whoever this was that he wasn’t interested. He could follow Karube’s idea of playing along, finding what this was before leaving it behind, free of his insatiable curiosity.

The notification pings with another text again, and it was three simple words:

‘ Do you accept? ‘

Arisu bites his lips, and he sets his phone down, screen down as he approaches the grocery bags. He needs to think about this.

The familiar feeling of his phone in his hand was comforting yet so stifling at the same time, Arisu staring at the now opened chat log. The strange texts were there, without a single response from him. There was no links, no images, no anything to reveal their intents. Hell, the log didn’t even start with those cheesy greetings of a hello, diving straight into its offer of something ‘Wonderful’. What even was the meaning of that? The capitalization of that one world made it even stranger. The other texts that followed only built onto this strange, supposedly otherworldly thing, whatever it was. It was persistent and curious, and Arisu didn’t know why he was so interested in figuring it out.

His fingers hover over the bar, worrying the inside of his lip with his teeth. Is it really worth contacting it back? All for his curious mind to stop thinking? What if it was nothing to even worry about, and he just got himself fooled into some weird scheme for his credit card or his location?

Who even was this strange, unknown identity?

Arisu blinks, and he nearly drops his phone when he sees the bubble on the right side, his side, already pasted into the log.

Arisu: who are you

He…. didn’t remember writing that. His fingers move to delete it, but a response comes before he could press the trash icon.

Unknown: Who I am doesn’t matter! Are you interested in seeing something out of this reality?

Arisu stills, and he accepts his fate. No harm in finding out what this was. Worse case scenario, he has fun playing along and he can push this to the back of his mind, so it can’t be that terrible.

Arisu: that depends

Unknown: So you ARE interested! That’s wonderful!

Unknown: Are you willing to see something Wonderful?

Arisu: what even is it?

Arisu silently watches the bubbles, which appear, the disappear, as if there was really a person behind this odd number, this strange offer of something far too vague. But it was that kind of thing that still pulled him in, curious like a child watching something fantastical in front of their young eyes.

Unknown: Something only you have only thought couldn’t exist before! Something that will catch you and bring you along on a journey you would never experience any time elsewhere in your short life!

Unknown: Don’t you want something more than what you have at hand now?

Arisu freezes. Did it know….? He shakes his head. No, it couldn’t have, this was just some elaborate thing. There was no way it could have the slightest idea of how listless his life was going. It was a blanket sentence, something to catch a large group without pinpointing a singular person without it becoming a case of stalking.

That doesn’t stop Arisu from quickly glancing around his room before he slowly slides underneath his blanket, hiding from the world for just a little.

Arisu: why do you ask?

Unknown: It’s an opportunity of a lifetime! All you have to do is say yes, and you’ll see something Wonderful.

Arisu: and if I say no?

Unknown: That would be sad, but you can do whatever you want. You can continue on with your life, and see where that takes you.

Unknown: But you’re getting the offer that most people never are given the chance to take.

Unknown: Just say yes, and you’ll see something Wonderful, experience something Wonderful.

Unknown: What do you say?

Arisu knows, in the back of his mind, that this was a horrible idea. These were kidnapper words, words that parents and teachers and everyone tells others not to listen to because it only means bad things. These were way too odd to take seriously, and any rational mind would back out now, delete the log and continue on with their lives and talk about the strange encounter in the future, as if were nothing more than a funny story.

Rationally, Arisu should have said no. He should have said no, went back to doing nothing all day but play games on the computer, on his phone, on the television. He should have said no and went back to being practically shunned by his family, to only really hanging out with his two friends, to merely existing and drifting through life.

He should have just walked away and said no. He should have walked away like any other person would.

But his fingers slowly type out his answer, and he seals the deal in only a few words.

Arisu: alright.

Arisu stares at the screen, his breath held in his throat as the bubbles pop out, squeezing his poor phone as his thoughts flood in, regret and confusion and a tingling in his head and in his arms and in his everything.

Unknown: Wonderful♥️ Welcome to Wonderland, Alice.

Arisu takes a deep, shuddering breath, darkness in his vision. It’s hot, it’s stuffy, it’s-

He frantically sits up, and his racing thoughts get ahead of him as he looks around, chest heaving. It’s dark, where was he? What happened? He tries to take deep breaths, and he squeezes his eyes shut as the ringing in his ears dissolves until it was only quiet whirs of what might be the air conditioner running. He counts as he inhales, holds, counts as he exhales, holds, repeats.

His body returns to him after a while, and he opens his eyes to his room. It was just his room, with nothing out of place, with the AC slowly whirring in the background. Everything was okay, nothing happened to him. Arisu presses a hand to his chest, faintly registering the blanket. It was over his head, his brain supplies to him once he was calmer, that’s why it was so stuffy. He didn’t remember falling asleep, or what…..

The text.

Arisu searches around for his phone, hands swiping over the bed until it hits a solid object, and he fumbles as he picks it up, turning it on. There was no new texts, just the screen he was used to seeing. He clutches it anyways, swiping. It was only to prove it wasn’t just some dream. Arisu opens the messaging app, and his breath catches once more when he sees the text, that text with the heart attached, the number that was clearly not from a strange dream. He doesn’t open the log, the sight of it enough for him as it stares back at him.

He really said yes. To what exactly, he couldn’t say. It was far too vague and fantastical to explain, but something in him made him agree. Fingers brush against the edge of his phone, and Arisu wonders if he made a mistake.

The thought was making him feel strange, and he needed a distraction. Karube and Chota were probably asleep at this time, so that was out. He goes to one of his puzzle games instead, the shiny colours staring back at him. He starts, and his attention becomes absorbed in swiping that box left and up and right, zoning out his thoughts.

Sunlight peeking through his curtains was the only thing that pulls him out, and Arisu faintly realizes he was playing his game for hours. He rubs his eye as he sets his phone down to stare at the partially sealed window, and he sighs, flopping and covering his eyes with an arm. No use sleeping now.

Arisu gets out of bed, and he stretches a little as he trods to the bathroom. He doesn’t know what time it is right now, but it was probably early. Maybe too early, as when he gets out he gets a whiff of coffee, and the sound of someone else awake. It was far from the bathroom though, so Arisu continues on his way to brush his teeth and use the toilet. As mint hits his tongue Arisu remembers he forgot to eat, and he grumbles lightly under his breath. He completely forgot. Arisu leans over the sink and spits the foam out his mouth. No matter, he can eat breakfast and he’ll be fine. Being home didn’t expend that much energy anyways, and he could survive with a skipped meal or two.

Arisu walks out to the kitchen, and he gets a glimpse of his father and brother making their way to the front door, donned in suits. He waves as they leave, but he gets nothing in return, his hand dropping to his side. Figures, they wouldn’t bother looking to say goodbye to him when Arisu wasn’t consistent with waking up as they left like this. Still he could say that he made an effort. Arisu turns his attention to the fridge, and he opens it, grabbing some random item and popping it into the microwave for breakfast. He stands there as he waits, watching the thing spin. Once it was finished, he pops open the door and actually checks what he even put in there. It appeared to be some instant breakfast sandwich still nestled safely in its partially opened package, Arisu sliding it out of its rectangular prison and onto the counter to cool a little before he even attempts.

When it was, he slips it from its nest and held it in his hands, the only covering now being a paper towel as he eats, grabbing a bottle of water on his way as he wanders a little around his house. Just like always, there was nothing of importance for him to attend to, his only plan being gaming all day and perhaps texting his friends.

His body moves towards the window, and he takes in the outside as he sips his water, the sun shining in the sky, undeterred as always. It was such a beautiful day outside, and yet it was such a shame he didn’t have any reason to-

Arisu’s attention catches on something, and he pauses, lowering the bottle as he squints to something in the distance. It was faint, but it was there, disappearing out of sight as soon as he focused on it. Something white, but also pink in colour, disappearing into the trees.

Arisu blinks, and then he remembers he doesn’t really live anywhere close to a park.

So why were there trees?

His grip tightens around his sandwich and his bottle of water, and something tickles at the back of his mind that he should go down there. Eyes narrow, and then the memory of yesterday comes back to him, and they widen once more. Suddenly he’s rushing back to his room, scarfing down the sandwich. The burst of energy was new, as was this sense of urgency, and Arisu didn’t know what to make of it just yet.

What he did know is that this was it. He chugs the rest of his water, and he’s slipping on some comfortable pants and shirt and rushing out of the house, only barely remembering to lock up behind him. The only thing he had on him was his phone and the spare house key, but that didn’t matter right now.That urge to follow that white and pink something, to see if that strange bunch of trees that he didn’t remember before was that out of reality experience.

Why he was convinced to go along, even he didn’t know. There was nothing stopping him from this, from finding out if it was really real, and so shoes pound against ground as he runs towards where he swears he saw the trees.

When he gets there, it only answers him with green foliage and deep brown bark. The trees were real, and Arisu was standing in front of them, the smell of wood and something natural amongst the scent of artificial manmade livelihood. He looks around him, people continuing on their daily lives, packs and individual alike, and nobody paid the trees in front any mind.

Arisu looks back at the trees, and his chest pangs with what he faintly recognizes as excitement, as a rush of something else that he can’t put the words to at the moment. Trepidation, perhaps. But he wasn’t afraid, not in the least.

He takes his phone back out, and he texts something to the group chat.

Arisu: lets see where it takes me then

With one definitive, solidifying breath, he tucks his phone into his pocket and walks into the forest. The smell hits him stronger once he crossed the supposed threshold. The ground was still the same pavement as he was used to seeing, but the area around him was definitely new to him. Trees lined the road, and it seemed to only go in one direction. Clearly sketchy, but curiosity overtook him, and Arisu lets his feet carry him onwards, deeper.

It didn’t seem to end, he realizes as he watches the trees pass by him. It was fairly quiet, with faint sounds that at least told him he wasn’t alone, not completely. With how long he’s been going forward, he wouldn’t be surprised if he’s walked through a building if this was any more real. The path was far too strange, far too simple and peaceful. The only reason he hasn’t given up now was the fact that it was so strange, and something kept beckoning him to continue forward on this peculiar path.

Come to think of it, he didn’t even feel tired, despite all this walking. His feet didn’t ache, his legs didn’t give up, his breathing was completely normal. Arisu was aware he wasn’t much of a healthy person and likely would’ve at the very least needed a break and a bit of water at this point, but Arisu only rationalized it being a side effect of this odd experience.

He doesn’t know how much time passed, but he finally stops when the path finally turns into dirt, dark and healthy. It didn’t look that well stepped on, and there were grey stones embedded in it, a natural rendition of the slate grey concrete stones Arisu had been walking across. Arisu stands there, and finally looks back, staring far into trees and the singular pathway. He squints, trying to see if he could see the way back into the city, but it was nothing more than a pinprick into nothing, and he turns back around to spot a glimpse of white and pink. He gasps, and from where he was, now upon more even, closer grounds, he could make out a human running away. “ W-Wait! Hold on, where’re you going?!” Arisu yells, and he pushes onwards, his feet racing across dirt and stones in an attempt to reach this mysterious figure. The white and pink remains in his visions, although far, and it was calling to him without uttering a single word. Words weren’t important here, just the urge that tugged at his chest that called him forwards, allowing him to run after this faraway figure. Arisu barely registers the lack of fatigue that should have taken to his body, strain from not getting nearly enough exercise to even make it this far. His attention was on that figure, which continued to run away from him, and he wanted to know who else was here with him, on this tree and dirt lined path.

Why was he so intent? Arisu didn’t know, but he continues until the pink and white gets closer. Only when he can make out the person clearly does he realize how odd the silhouette of this person was. Their hair was cut in a bob, and they wore a pink windbreaker with a white rabbit printed on the back, along with simple pants that looked rather easy to move in. From the back view, Arisu realized that it was a young woman, or at the very least had a slim and fit figure. Normal things, really.

It was the ears that caught him off guard, long and white and on the top of her head, bouncing as the same rate she she was running. Rabbit ears, just like the ones on her jacket, except she was definitely human. Maybe it was a headband, but her hair flowed and swayed freely, and Arisu didn’t think he could see any hint of any headband on her head. It was strange, and Arisu tries to pick up his pace.

“ Wait! Hold on, can I talk to you?” Arisu shouts at her as he chases the rabbit, and finally he catches her attention. Her runs slow to a jog, and Arisu slows in a less smooth manner, until they were both at a halt, the girl still meters away. “ Can we talk? Can I ask where I am?” Arisu asks, and he’s mildly surprised when his chest doesn’t heave like he expects, although he was breathing a little deeper as he expected.

The girl slowly turns around, and her eyes were a little confused yet calm as they lock with Arisu’s. She blinks, and she looks around, then back at Arisu.

“ You actually followed me.” She said, and Arisu nods in response. He didn’t know why she was so confused that he followed, there was only this one path after all. Was it because he ran after her? He looks at the ground in embarrassment. Hopefully she didn’t think he was weird for chasing her-

“ Hey, it’s alright. I was surprised you did.” Her voice was closer, and he jerks his head back up, and she’s closer. He sucks in a quiet breath when one of the ears twitches, his eyes locked on the white lagomorph ear. His staring was clearly evident though, as she gestures with a hand for his attention to get off, Arisu looking back at the girl’s face and bowing his head.

“ Ah- Sorry-“ He sputters, and her lip twitches upward.

“ No, it’s alright, I understand. It’s real, trust me. This is your first time, right?” She says, and Arisu nods. The girl copies him, as if to take that in, and her small smile drops into a thoughtful look, dark eyes scanning him briefly. “ What’s your name?” “ Ah- My name is Arisu Ryohei, it’s nice to meet you-“ Arisu bows again, this time in greeting, and she lightly chuckles.

“ It’s very nice to meet you then, Arisu.” She greets, and she bows a little in return. “ My name is Usagi.” Arisu looks at her again, eyes wide. Her name was Rabbit? A little on the nose, but Arisu wasn’t about to judge. After all, his own name was the same pronunciation as Alice. “ So….. where am I?” Arisu asks again, and Usagi looks to him.

“ This place has no real name, but if you want, people before you have called this Wonderland. Although… we’re not in the one you immediately think of.” She says, and she jerks her head to signal to him to walk with her, Usagi taking simple strides. Arisu matches her pace, and he nods.

“ Alright. Fair enough.”

The walk was just as peaceful as it was before Arisu even met Usagi, but it was just as comfortable as it was beforehand, if not a little awkward knowing he now had company. His gaze couldn’t help but occasionally look towards the lapin ears, curious. His hand comes up before he realizes what his brain unconsciously did, and they brush against soft fur. Usagi steps away in surprise, looking up at him as her ear twitches. Arisu backs away in return, and he feels his face heating up.

“ A-Ah- Sorry-“

Usagi frowns a little, but it wasn’t one that was really sad, just annoyed. Arisu can only bow his head and apologize again, and she lets out a soft sigh. “ Next time just ask, okay?” Arisu nods, and they continue onwards, Arisu holding his hands into his pockets to prevent another strange incident. At the very least he now knew that they were 100% real, and that she could feel them.

“ Where are we heading towards?” He asks after a particularly long stretch of silence and walking along the dirt and stone path. Usagi glances up at him, Arisu looking down at her and tilting his head slightly.

She looks straight once more, and she points to something Arisu doesn’t see. “ Somewhere you have never seen before, something that you won’t forget for the rest of your life, Arisu. Are you ready?” Arisu nods. He’s already made it this far after all, and she nods once, and she starts into a jog. Arisu blinks, and he picks up his pace, and he can’t help but smile a little, hoping what she said, what that strange text, really meant it.

He wanted to see this Wonderland for himself.

[mermaidsneedwater]

you’re drunk

⇒ jaebeom

“Pew pew!” You narrate the sound effects from your finger guns “Jae! I’m shooting love bullets at you, are you falling for me?”

“Baby how much did you have to drink?” Jaebeom laughed.

That was a very valid question, your best friend was getting married and you had been put in charge of throwing the most epic bachelorette party complete with penis straws, strippers, and alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol.

You had taken your duties so seriously that Jaebeom had to come pick you up from your wild night out, quite literally. He carried you bridal style out of the bar and walked you to his car a few blocks away.

“Just alottle.” You jumbled the words.

“Okay, that’s not even a word.” Jaebeom scoffed, “You’re gonna have the worst hangover tomorrow.”

“Oh man, Jaebeom is gonna be so pissed at me.” You said, forgetting that he was the one carrying you. “Hey! Don’t be a snitch and tell him. Sometimes he’s a little uptight about these things”

Jaebeom held back a laugh as you continued. “You got it.”

“All in all,” you yawned, “he’s a pretty good boyfriend, I’d give him a 4.7 rating on Uber.”

As he reached his car, Jaebeom was thankful he’d been the one to get you. He secretly loved taking care of you, but he’d never let you know that.

“Hey am I spinning or what?” You commented.

And with that, Jaebeom knew he was in for a long night.

⇒ mark

It was 3:24 am when Mark finally woke up. He’d heard his phone ringing, but couldn’t find the will to get up and answer it. Laying in bed, he contemplated the possibility of you calling, so when the phone rang a third time, Mark leaned over and picked up the call.

“Hello?” His voice still groggy.

“Mark Tuannnnnnnnnnnn!” You answered gleefully. “I need you.”

“What’s going on? Are you drunk?” He sat up in bed at the sound of your voice.

“I- uh just had a little bit, it was my friend’s birthday. Anyway, I can’t get a car home and my friends are about to leave so–“

“Stay with one of your friends and text me your location. I’m coming to get you.” Mark instructed. “And Y/N? Please don’t do anything stupid.”

“Aye aye captain!” You responded with a laugh.

Hanging up the phone, Mark rushed to get dressed faster than he’d planned. You were without doubt, 100% wasted.

At 3:47 am Mark arrived at the address you’d texted, which turned out to be a diner. He found you sitting alone in a booth, sipping on a vanilla milkshake and eating some French fries.

“Where’s your friend?” He asked, his voice concerned. “She just left you here?!”

“Relax, she just left 5 minutes ago. Why’d you take so long?” You asked, dunking a french fry in your shake.

“Sorry, I’m usually not up at three in the morning!” Mark snapped. “Next time call someone else when your chauffeur can’t make it on time.”

Placing a hand over his across the table, you spoke, “I’m sorry baby, but thank you for coming.”

His expression softened as you thanked him, how could he be mad at you when you were so cute? For the amount of stress you gave him, Mark couldn’t admit to himself that he loved the fact that you called him first for any situation.

“Well now that I’m here, do you mind sharing that shake and fries?”

⇒ jackson

“Swell, swell, well” you slurred. “Lookie who it is!”

You’d gone for a well deserved girls night out, having fun with your girlfriends. That was before you tried stripping and dancing on top of the bar, prompting your friends to call some backup.

“Y/N, is that my jacket?” Jackson asked as he walked to the bar, sober as ever.

“Whattttt? Pft, no!” You looked at Jackson’s jacket hanging off your shoulders, “Ohh wait...”

As the realization dawned on you that you were in fact wearing his jacket, you looked at him with a devilish smile. “Do you want it back?”

“I mean no–“

“Shots! Shots! Shots!” You yelled happily, “Bartender! Shots for everybody! I want everyone here to have a glass in their hand, I’m paying tonight baby!”

The crowd in the bar cheered as you made your announcement.

“Yeah! Let’s have shots!” A random guy yelled.

The bartender locked eyes with Jackson who quickly mouthed no. Nodding, he served two shots, one for you and one for Jackson.

“Princess, can you get down from the bar stool? You’re going to fall.” He calmly asked.

Complying with his request you attempted to get down. Holding his shoulder for support, you were taken aback, “woah, when did you become so buff?”

In the dim lighting of the bar, nobody could tell that Jackson was blushing, and nobody would ever know. Because you were the only one who could make him do cheesy things like that.

“Ready baby? One, two, three!” Giving him a quick ‘cheers’, you downed what must’ve been your sixth shot that night.

Jackson on the other hand had thrown his shot over his shoulder, acting as designated driver meant he couldn’t enjoy the high with you.

“Wooohooo!” You laughed. “Okay, let’s talk.”

“What do you wanna talk about?” Jackson asked, curious about what this truth serum might bring out in you.

“When we’re... you know... doing things, am I bad?” You tilted your head, genuinely concerned.

“W-woah, I was not expecting that” Jackson coughed and laughed at the same time. Truly, he didn’t think that was what you were thinking about.

“Come on!” You whined. “It’s so unfair, you get to be a successful K-pop person, and you’ve probably fucked so many people!”

Jackson brought your stool closer to his and leaned into your ear.

“Trust me babygirl, you’re very, very good at... doing things” He whispered, his voice husky.

“Um, can we go home...” you told him, a little flustered from his confession.

“Why?” He asked. “Are ya going to take advantage of me?”

He winked and stood up, walking towards the front door.

“Jackson Wang get back here!” You yelled after him.

⇒ jinyoung

Jinyoung knew he’d find you on the balcony.

Mark had thrown an apartment warming party for his new place and had invited everyone. Of course with Mark, he always made sure everyone was drinking except him. Jinyoung made a mental note to scold the host for getting his girlfriend so drunk.

Stepping out into the evening air, he took off his jacket and wrapped it around your shoulders.

Noticing he was there you smiled at him lovingly. “Cigarette?” You offered the vice to him.

Groaning, he took it out of your hands and straight to his lips. “You need to quit.” He said.

“Hypocrite,” You rolled your eyes at him, “besides I only do this socially.”

“Still,” Jinyoung said. Exhaling a puff of smoke, he put out the cigarette and threw the stub over the balcony. Mocking a baseball swing, he watched the foul thing fall down the stories of Mark’s new building.

“Hey!” You pouted. “I wasn’t done with that.”

“Now you are.” Jinyoung smirked. “Look at this view.”

“I know, it’s so magical.” You sighed. You pulled your bottle of tequila from the balcony floor and took a big swig.

“What the–“ Jinyoung started. He couldn’t contain his laughter when he saw the bottle pop up from nowhere.

“I’m not sharing, after what you did to my cigarette.” You held the bottle away from him “I know you’re gonna drain this.”

“Okay, okay,” he held his hands up in defeat, “I won’t try and drain it.”

“Promise?” You asked. “Pinky swear.”

You held out your pinky like a five year-old. Shaking his head and chuckling, Jinyoung attached his pinky to yours.

“I don’t know how I’m so in love with you.” Jinyoung looked out of the balcony. It took him mere seconds to register what he was saying when he turned to you. “I mean-“

“You love me!” You squealed. “I knew you were going to say it first!”

Turning to him, you wrapped your arms around his neck. “Don’t even try to deny it Jinyoung, you’re stuck with me.”

“I guess I am.” Jinyoung complied, wrapping his arms around your waist. “But you know, you’re so drunk sweetheart, you’re going to forget I said it in the morning.”

“Mr. Park, this is not the kind of thing one forgets” You stated. Leaning into his chest you placed your head over his heart, mumbling “I knew you were going to say it first.”

⇒ youngjae

Youngjae was eating his words as he watched you down shot after shot. He’d teased you before going out that you never let loose, and while he was right, he’d now come to regret the decision encouraging you to drink.

“Kiss me!” You clung to your boyfriend.

“Woah, woah, woah,” he managed to dodge your lips as they landed on his jaw.

“Come on, I know you can do it,” you insisted. “Just one kiss.”

“Y/N, darling, you’re beyond drunk.” Youngjae tried to reason with you. “We can’t.”

“I knew it! You’re going to break up with me.” You began to cry.

Oh crap, you were one of those emotional drunks.

As the tears flowed down from your eyes, Youngjae struggled to find the words to make it better.

“Why would you think that?” He asked

“Because you’re avoiding me and you won’t kiss me!” You cried.

“Yeobo, please. I would love to kiss you right now. A lot actually. But I can’t, we can’t. It’s not right.” He explained.

“Can’t or won’t?” You pushed him. You took another sip of your drink and he cringed.

“Alright, alright!” Youngjae brought your forehead to his lips, and lightly pecked it. “Happy?”

“What was that? That was the kind of kiss my grandpa would give. Kiss me like you mean it.” You insisted.

“Alright, point to where you want me to kiss you.”

You pointed to your eyes and Youngjae’s lips followed, then each cheek, your nose, and finally your lips.

As Youngjae leaned in, he pivoted and kissed the corner of your mouth.

“You’re the worst!” You exclaimed. “Don’t be such a tease.”

“Sober up and then we’ll talk,” Youngjae replied with a laugh.

⇒ bambam

Unlocking the door to your apartment, Bambam helped you in.

“Woaah” you said almost falling in your heels. “The air up here really is that good!”

“Y/N, you’re at most 5’8 in those heels, there’s no difference of air quality with a couple of inches.”

“Let me have this okay!” You hollered.

“Alright, come on,” Bambam ushered you into the bedroom, “let’s get you ready for bed.”

You plopped yourself on the bed as he knelt down and took off your heels. He worked his way up, removing your skirt and top, leaving you in your bra and underwear.

“Hey, hey, hey! Buy a girl dinner first.” You covered yourself up, “are trying to get me naked?”

At the mention of this Bambam lost it, chuckling he replied “Baby, trust me, that’s like the last thing on my mind right now.”

“Oh, so you think I’m ugly!” You retorted.

“No, I just wouldn’t take advantage of you when you’re like this.” Bambam replied calmly.

“Damn you and your manners!” You responded “if you’re not trying to get me naked then I want you to turn around while I change.”

“Y/N are you serious? You’ll take forever, just let me do it. It’s not like I haven’t seen you before” Your boyfriend insisted.

“Turn around!”

Seeing as he wouldn’t win the argument, Bambam turned around and waited for your signal to turn back. He waited ten whole minutes before you were finished.

“Okay, you can turn around.”

And what a sight awaited him, you’d managed to get your pajamas bottoms on correctly, but the shirt was on backwards. Stifling a laugh he headed over to you, “May I?” He asked.

Shrugging you sat on the bed again as he helped turn your shirt towards the front. When he finished he noticed you were sleeping in your sitting position.

She’s in for a rough morning tomorrow.

Tucking you into bed he kissed your forehead, and got ready for bed himself. “I love you, you crazy girl” he whispered.

⇒ yugyeom

For someone dating an excellent dancer, you yourself had two left feet. Usually you shied away from showing this trait off but when you were drunk? Let’s just say you certainly thought you were good.

“Jagiya, why do you always have to be drunk to dance with me?” Yugyeom laughed.

You were too busy busting out what you thought was the Lullaby choreography, but actually looked like you were a grandma with hip problems.

“Less talking more dancing!” You called out happily.

Sometimes you and Yugyeom did this, when there was nothing to do, you’d order a pizza and get drunk. It was a great way to relieve the stress of the week, but always ended up in a splitting headache for one of you. Today, it seemed like you would be the one waking up with a massive hangover.

As the song ended, Yugyeom changed the playlist and let a slow song play.

“May I have this dance?” He asked, bowing down.

“I guess.” You said jokingly.

Looking fake hurt, Yugyeom pulled you close and you swayed to the music.

“Woah,” you said, breaking the tension, “so awkward.”

“This isn’t awkward Y/N, it’s romantic.” He insisted. “We’re keeping the spark alive.” 

“Ugh, that sounds like something an old person would say,” you groaned. “I don’t wanna be old.”

“Unfortunately for you, everyone grows old.” Yugyeom said, resting his chin on top of your head. “But it’s okay.”

“Is it?” You asked, looking up from his shoulder.

“Absolutely.” He nodded.

“Since when do you say such profound things Yugy?” You asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Since always, you just don’t listen.” He stuck his tongue out at you playfully.

“Ah you’re right, everything you say goes in one ear and out the other.” You teased.

“Oh that was a low blow,” Yugyeom tickled your sides, “you’re going to get it!”

return to masterlist

[be-ready-when-i-say-go]

Silver Fox

Calum’s been a dad too long, all alone. But Anahera wants her dad to take the leap. 18+ Content, (it’s a smut fic)

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Anahera was not oblivious to the way people looked at her dad. She was however worried. Women had approached him, unabashedly, in front of her, about "going for coffee" or "meeting up for dinner". He always responded the same way, if she was present, with one arm slung over her shoulders, 'It's just me and my girl right now.' It's not that Anahera disliked hanging out with her dad. But she worried. Why did he always turn down these offers? She was nearly sixteen at his point. For the last sixteen years, it had just been him and his girl. He could stand to care for himself just a little.

This Saturday starts no different than the others. Calum wakes first, an hour after dawn. He starts a load of laundry, takes the dogs out for the morning. After watching the morning news, he messes around just a little with his bass and guitars and then finally decides he should cook breakfast. It's only the smell of sausage that wakes her and she shuffles down to the kitchen. She mumbles a good morning and happily accepts the plate loaded up with waffles and sausage.

Calum watches her shuffle back to the living room and plop onto the couch. One of the dogs, it's usually Tammy, the corgi mix that, climbs into her side on the couch and they watch cartoons. Calum walks in after her, settling into the cushions as well. "I gotta go to the library," Anahera mentions around a mouthful of waffle.

It's the second time this week. He knows there some sort of project for her literature class. "Should I hang out or just drop you off?"

"Just need to grab a book."

Calum nods, rubbing the top of Jake's head. He's a gentle giant and the eldest of the dogs. Anahera picked him out of the shelter. She was three, staring up at the big Great Dane with such adoration. Calum was terrified that he and Tammy wouldn't get along or Tammy would get hurt. But he was so gentle around Anahera that during the ride home with him, Calum figured he'd be the same way around other dogs.

With plates cleared, Anahera looks over to his father. His curls are now salted with some gray but are still mostly black. His smile lines have worn ever so slightly on his face. She sees her grandmother in his face. So much of her grandmother. "So, like, is dating completely off the table for you?"

Calum shakes his head, a sigh falling from his lips. "It's not your job to worry about me."

"I'm your kid. Of course, I worry about you."

"You don't have to worry."

"That doesn't answer my question, Dad."

It's not that Calum has actively given up on dating. He just hasn't actively tried to date anyone. It's hard. It's just been him and Anahera. It's just been him taking care of his kid. Her mother left. Some bullshit reason that it wasn't the baby that drove her away, she just needed time. But it's been a little over fourteen years since she's actually seen Anahera in person. So how much time she needed, Calum's not sure. "No one wants to date someone with a kid," Cal answers.

"So you've gone on dates?"

God, he really wishes she'd drop this. Dating is meaningless. No one ever sticks around. He's getting older and he's tired. His patience hardly exists for dating. He exhales, the sigh and pursed lips tell her not to push it. But she goes for it one last time. "I just want you happy. That's all."

"And do you think me unhappy right now?"

She's an idealist. She knows it. "No, but do you want to grow old with somebody?"

Calum wants to be truthful. He can see the hope burning behind her eyes, the way she consumes the rom-coms, the novels she reads. Calum wonders for a fleeting moment if she wants this. If Anahera so deeply desires him to find love, so there's not a hole missing. He knows Mali does what she can, but she's not her mother. "Do you miss your mum?" He's not really sure how to ask. He could try 'Do you wish you had your mum?' but that feels too direct and too cold-hearted.

On the one hand, how can she miss something she's never really had. But on the other, the ache, the hole left behind reminds her she can miss something she's never had. She can long for it. "I don't know if I miss her or just want someone to fill that void."

"I'm sorry," Calum whispers, pulling her into his side. Her curls tickle his nose, but he doesn't dare move as she clutches his shirt. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart." He curses his cynical heart. No matter how many times he tells her that he loves her, it's never quite the same as having a mother.

His mother urged him to find somebody, scared that without a mother Anahera would be troubled. But she too was not blind to the pain Calum had endured, so over the years, she dropped the subject. The pair was generally happy, Anahera knew her father was always there. She knew no matter what happened, Calum would never falter.

Calum didn't want to leave Anahera without a mother, but did that mean he had subjected himself to suffering? What the hell did he do here?

___

Calum doesn't push the library or schoolwork. After breakfast, she went to her room. Her music started up and not her usually pop favorites. It's heavy guitar and scornful cries and he knew not to push it. As morning rolls into early afternoon, he decides to see if she wants lunch. The music has since quieted when he reaches her door. Two soft knocks are all he dares try.

"Yeah?" Her voice floats in from the other side of the white door. Paws clicking on the hardwood floors also sound from the other side. It must be Jake. Tammy already at his feet. He hears the creak of her bed. This reminds him to look into a new bed frame for her. He waits until the door opens.

He gives a soft smile, noting her change from pjs. She's done that much, so things are looking good. "Hungry?"

"A little." A little, code for yes, she just hasn't gotten hungry enough to the point where she storms out of room to find food.

"Your favorite?"

She grins with a nod. "I can go for a Killer stromboli right now. Can I drive?"

Calum resists the urge to roll his eyes. Her permit is almost burning a hole in her wallet. "Later. In an empty parking lot."

"Pinky swear?"

Locking his pinky around her, he nods. "Pinky swear." She slides into shoes close to her door and grabs her wallet.

The car ride is almost deafening in the silence. Anahera messes with her phone, not even attempting to overtake the radio as usual. "Sorry," she whispers. "You hurt too. After all, that's happened."

"You hurt too. And I'm sorry. I didn't mean to create a situation like this for you."

"You didn't know she'd leave."

"But I never want you to think that I am purposefully putting you here. Or that I'm ignoring your concerns. It's just...difficult."

Difficult is an understatement. Calum's terrified and angry and tired. He can trust no one. No one ever. It's not lost on Calum that he could have whatever or whomever he wanted. It's not lost on him that even if he didn't want a relationship that he could have other things, but he doesn't want to set that example for Anahera. So he chooses to not deal with that part at all.

Maybe that was a mistake. Maybe he should still give it a go. But to be so vulnerable, to bear his entire soul requires too much. It will force him to deal with things rather than just burying them. Ignoring, burial, denial—it's so much easier when he's got a kid, two dogs, and a job. There's no room for dealing with the mess of his emotions.

Finding a seat at the local Italian restaurant is not difficult, however. Tucked away in a both, Calum knows Anahera will not need anytime to debate what she wants. The hostess that seats them warns that their server will be shortly. It's a couple of minutes before their waitress arrives and when she does, Anahera gaps. "Miss Bee?"

"Hey, Anahera. How are you? How's the project coming along?" Calum looks over her face and it takes a moment for it to register. It's the librarian. The one Ana always talks to her if she's at the desk.

"Good."

"A long way from those bookshelves," Calum teases. He's talked to her a couple of times. Bee is nice. He had no clue however that she worked outside the library.

"Got a kid in college. Tuition ain't cheap," she returns. "What can I get you guys?"

Anahera lists off her order. But Calum is too caught up in her previous statement. He had no clue she had a kid. Much less one in college. There's nothing to suggest it. Not wrinkle on her brown skin or a gray hair on her head. He can't even tell she's had a kid, not physically at least under the gray t-shirt and jeans. He hadn't put her anywhere near his age. He wonders if she's older.

"Dad!" Anahera's voice cuts through his thoughts. "God, hello. Earth to Dad."'

"I'm here. I promise."

"So will you be having the same as her or something different?" Bee asks with a grin tugging at her lips.

Calum rattles off his order. It's his standard order, the chicken Parmesan. She smiles with a nod. "I'll put that right in for you." When she turns, Calum watches. Anahera's talked about going to school. It's not the money that worries Calum. It's the how does she choose, how to apply, where should she be looking that worries Calum.

"God, if you were going to check out her butt at least do it discreetly."

Calum sputters, he wasn't even thinking about that. But his gaze does drop for half a second before he finally turns back to his daughter. "I wasn't even—"

"Yeah you were," she laughs. He sees so much of himself in her. The same nose, same smile. Her hair's dark too. Just a little bit straighter than his.

"Totally was not."

Bee returns with their waters and utensils, alerting them that their orders are already put in and will be done shortly. Then she's off again, tending to other tables. Anahera snaps her fingers. "Forgot to ask her if they even have that book. But I doubt that she would know right now at least." And before Calum can respond, she's back to her phone, pulling up some new video that she wants to show him.

He sits and watches, but wonders if Bee could give him any pointers. So after a moment, he excuses himself to the restroom. He finds her leaning against the bar. Maybe now's got a good time. Maybe he should wait. She turns, smiling. "Something wrong?"

"No, no." Calum shakes his head. "I just—I had a question. Anahera's a couple of years out from university. And that world is completely lost on me. I was wondering if you had any pointers."

"Uh, that really relies on what she wants to do, ya know? But there's plenty of great schools. Besides, Anahera's a bright girl. She'll get in anywhere."

Calum can't help the smile that overtakes his face. He's proud of her. He might not have enjoyed school, but he can see her passion for it. The way she lights up when he asks about what she's learned if it's anything she enjoys. Currently, she's taken a big liking to her physics class. She enjoys Literature too, mostly reading it though, not analyzing it. "Thank you," he grins.

"Of course. You're welcome. If it helps, I'll gather up some literature on overall good schools. Hand it off to her or something."

His hands shake just a little and he's glad there's tucked into the pockets of his pants. It's the way she says or something. Calum knows that small smirk, he knows the glint in her eyes. He would be all over it in his twenties. Hell in his twenties, it would've have been this sly. "How about over coffee?" He suggests.

"Sounds good to me," she pauses, here is where she would have used his name. But she doesn't know it, she realizes.

"Calum."

She grins. "Sounds good to me, Calum. I'm Bee. Really it's Brynna. But I like Bee."

They agree on a day during the week at a local shop and Calum returns to the table. Anahera wiggles her eyebrows, a teasing laugh falling from her lips. "Still got your game?"

"Never lost it," he snorts. Lunch goes by smoothly and Anahera finds her book easily in the library. Thanks to Bee making a quick call so it's already at the desk for her.

Calum pulls into the school's parking lot. It's completely empty and hands the keys over Anahera. "Ready?"

With a dazzling grin, she takes the keys. "Born ready."

___

As Calum enters the shop, he peels the shades up, into his hair. His boots make a soft click on the floor. He searches the room, waiting to spot black hair with caramel-colored highlights. She's not sitting so he finds an open table, facing the door and settles down. Calum's really not sure what happened in that restaurant, what overtook him to suggest this.

But his nerves are at a 10. What the hell is he even doing here? But as Bee walks in, eyes flickering over the shop. He remembers. It's not that he didn't think she was attractive, but he was also preoccupied. It was always about what did he have to do next, where he needed to go if Anahera was okay.

When Bee walks up to the table, Calum stands, noting the folder in her hand. "Thank you. For doing this for me."

"Never a problem." The conversation has a natural flow. As they wait in line, Calum asks about her kid to find out they're a freshman at university. A son, Terence, plays basketball. So she works two jobs to help with the commuting she does to his games when she can. She used to work the weekday dinner shifts. But started taking on the weekend shifts here and there. The father's in the picture, only for the kid. The best-case scenario for the two of them.

Bee hums, listening as Calum skirts around the fact that Anahera's mother is not in the picture. "Don't talk too much about yourself," she notes, sipping at the green tea still steaming in her cup.

"Never know what to say. And really not used to it."

"Even with all those songs, you write?" He stutters, the cup hitting the saucer with a sharp clank.  Bee laughs, tucking a curl back behind her ear. "I'm a librarian. I do my research. I will say. I took a listen to some songs. Quite enjoy Talk Fast. Granted, haven't step foot into a bar in nearly twenty-some years now."

"What are you saying then? Kind of hoping forever?"

She shakes her head. "More like I'll take what I can get from you. Besides, I ruin all my relationships. The only one I didn't fuck up was the one with my kid by a fucking miracle. I'm too old to play games."

Calum can feel his cheeks lifting as he shakes his head, starting down into the coffee cup. His fingers spin it around. He's twenty again, it feels. Except instead of it being exciting, his heart feels like it's in his stomach. He recognizes the feeling of nerves. They've never gone away even in all his years of performing on stage.

It's not like she's gonna run around and destroy his name. They're in the same boat. "How far away from here are you?" Calum asks, finally lifting his gaze. His stomach guts as he asks the question.

"Literally a seven-minute walk."

He's impressed that she knows the time. "You're a librarian," he laughs. "Didn't think that included timing things."

"It's a complex job. You've got to be a person of many talents."

"So let's test those talents. If you know it's a seven-minute walk, do you happen to know how long of a drive?"

"I'd guess a minute, minute and a half."

Calum pulls his keys from his pocket, sitting them on the counter. She's grinning behind the cup of tea. "Is that including the time it takes to finish the coffee and walk to my truck?"

"It's not. But I'm in no rush if you aren't."

He doesn't want to rush this. But he's also afraid if he draws this out too much longer, he'll find some sort of reason to chicken out. He only has a few sips left. So he polishes off his drink, putting the dishes up and by the time he turns around, hanging from the tips of her fingers are his keys, holding them out to him.

"Didn't want you to forget."

Calum plucks the folder off the table as well. "Trust me, I wasn't." As they start for the door, Bee rattles off the directions and true to her calculations it only takes a minute and a half to her place. It's a small condo. "I know. What am I do lighting a check on fire by renting? I wonder the same thing," she laughs stepping out of the trunk.

"I mean it makes sense. Just you and your son."

"And the cat, Jewels."

"And the cat, Jewels," Calum corrects, standing behind her as she unlocks the door. "More of a dog person."

"I'm aware." As the lights turn up, Calum sees the dark wood and teal decorating her living room. There are some metal pieces thrown in as well, giving way to a rustic modern look.

"Anahera talks about them a lot doesn't she?"

Bee steps into him, eyeing his chest. He suddenly worries that he hasn't made it to the gym in a couple of weeks. Everything is so much harder to maintain now. It takes twice as long to lose weight, but nearly no time to gain it. She pulls at something on his shirt, holding out an orange-colored strand of fur to Calum. "That gave it away."

He laughs, looking over the gray t-shirt and seeing Tammy's fur coating him. "My corgi mix. She wasn't happy with me as I left, so I gave her extra cuddles. Guess I didn't think to double-check for fur."

"Much better than my morning routine. Jewels sat on my face and decided 5 am was a great time to screech to the cat gods."

It's only as the silence settles that they both realize just how close they are to each other. At this distance, Calum notices the moles decorating her nose and cheeks and Bee notes a small scruff on his jaw. Her eyes have a few spots around the white. It's a crazy thing to note, but he only notes it because she hasn't quite met his gaze.

Bee sees that tattoos decorating his wrist and left arm. With a soft touch, she turns it over to read the word Alive inked across the top of his wrist. His right-hand finds her cheek, fingers brushing over the skin before his palm cups it. "It's crazy to think we're still alive," she breathes. "You'd think we'd give up by now."

"Got too much to live for, more so now than ever."

"Such a poet," she teases. He's a good head taller than her, so it takes a moment as she stretches up to brush her lips over his. His lips are bitter and hers are sweet. Calum thinks for a moment he should've grabbed a mint from his car, something because he knows the taste of coffee must be strong.

He gets caught up though on the way her fingers gently trace up his arm. As she pulls back, he pulls her in. His skin feels hot, electric as she touches him. It's been so long. Too long without a touch like this for him. He finds her waist, a little doughy beneath his grip and slides his arm around her. Bee buckles, knees, and legs quaking when he squeezes her.

"Okay?" He asks with a soft smile on his face, eyes not fully opened from their kiss.

She should be embarrassed. She should be downright mortified by her own body's reaction to just being held. But she be damned if she finds any amount of shame in it. She can't remember her own name at the moment, but all she wants is to mark his skin. Rather than answers verbally, she winds her arms around his neck and kisses down his jaw, and then up and over the small moles decorating his cheek.

As she kisses down he throat, taking just a small lick at his Adam's apple, she feels the deep shake as Calum groans. It's deep from his throat. She wants to hear it again and bites down just a little, nothing crazy, just a tiny nibble at his skin and he groans again. "You like to tease I see," Calum huffs, breath coming out in tufts.

Holding her thumb and forefinger a few centimeters apart, she laughs. "Just a little bit." She takes a step backward and Calum follows closely behind.

Shoes are toed off. His shirt is shed first. She rakes his fingers down his chest, carefully tracing the tattoos on his chest. There's a tiny footprint that decorating the ends of a feather, or maybe some sort of plant. She's not sure. But she has a guess who's footprint it is. Close to his heart too.

Her kisses are light on his chest and Calum drops his head, holding himself above her. Bee knows he holds a lot inside him. A lot of love, but also a timid-ness and pain. She doesn't fault him.

Calum finally gets her shirt off, eyes dancing over the chest tattoo, reds, yellows, and purples dazzling against her skin. It's a bouquet of flowers, right in the center of her chest, some of the foliage spilling over to the swell of her breasts. He kisses over the ink, gently running his fingers over her stomach to the back of her bra. With his teeth, he pulls the straps down one at a time while his finger unlatches the clamps. "Never said you had ink too."

"Now tell me would it have made a difference?"

"Not in the slightest."

As the bra is discarded, he brings a nipple into his mouth, drinking in the sounds of her pleasure-filled whines. She hums before bringing his head up and kissing him again. They climb up higher onto the mattress. They wiggle themselves out of their jeans. Calum notices the stretch marks. More ink decorates her hip, he can see the black line work and two little footprints rest on top of right one.

"Guess I'm not the only one," Calum teases, tapping the tatted foot.

"No, it would appear not."

Bee watches him climb over her, the silver chains that tap his chest, the small streaks of gray decorating his black hair. His fingers dance over her hips before they brush over a thin tough line hidden by the band of her panties. Calum doesn't waste a moment to kiss down her stomach, over the tiny pouch left behind. As the thin cloth material is peeled away from her body, Bee wonders a moment if this is the end of the line, if the scar is too much.

Her stomach twists into knots, waiting for the pullback, the rushed and excused exit. Instead, Calum kisses over the scar and continues on fingers brushing over her core. But just a brush. "Who likes to tease now?" Bee huffs, holding herself up on her elbows.

"Still you," he laughs, squeezing at her thighs and trailing a finger up from the entrance to clit. Her head falls back and he takes his time, slipping two fingers into her heat. He kisses over her. Her fingers tangle into his hair, trying to urge him just an inch down on her.

He knows what she wants, but he takes her wrist, threading his fingers through hers and kisses down her inner thighs, slowly working her with those two fingers. She squeezes at his hand, that warmth in the pit of her stomach growing warmer. She mashes her lips together, whines falling over her throat anyway.

Finally, he brings his mouth to her core, sucking at her clit. "Fuck," she cries out. Her breathing is ragged. Calum wraps his arms around her legs, holding her still as she begins to squirm. There's a spark of pride to know he's still got it. That he hasn't lost his touch just yet.

He continues to work over her, sucking, licking, fingers a constant pull at her. She unravels rather quickly, thighs shaking just a little. But the cry of his name over her lips is more than just fuel to the fire. Calum kisses over her inner thighs, a groan falling over his lips. "God, my name sounds good from your lips."

Sitting up, Bee slides out from beneath him. Her chest falls rapidly. Her brain still feels foggy in the post-orgasm haze. But something about this—something about Calum, keeps her going. She pats the bed and Calum lays back, falling into space she once occupied. She slides a hand over his cock through the boxer briefs. "You know what will sound even better?" She quips.

"Tell me."

"My name from your lips." The end of the sentence is punctuated by her pulling down his own underwear. She wraps one hand around the base, licking a strip up to the head and sucking on it lightly.

Calum's whole body tenses, there's no hesitation on her part. Either. "Bee," he hums, reaching for her head. She moans, the vibrations shooting a tingle up his spine. She definitely knows what she's doing, working for another sound, working for another groan, another hum of her name.

She takes him as far as she can into her throat and holds it there, slowly twisting her hand that's wrapped around the rest. As she pulls back away from him there's a line of saliva from her mouth to his cock and the sight lights his gut on fire.

"Come here." His voice is low, demanding. All but a growl and Bee doesn't dare disobey. She keeps one hand on him, pumping as she stretches upwards and he cups her face. They share a searing kiss, exhales tickling over their faces, moans being swallowed.

The apartment was cool, a nice airy feel to it, but now the bedroom is thick with heat and sweat. Bee's a little shocked. She didn't think it would turn out like this. Didn't think she would be so hungry to please somebody. But even as they kiss, she wants him to be weak with pleasure. She wants him to cave to every carnal desire that plagues him.

Calum pulls her hand off him, kissing down her neck. "Thought you were too old to play games," he breathes into her ear.

"How dare?" The words fall with a tuft of laughter, but she pulls away, reaching into her bedside table. She finds a foil packet and opens it. "May I?"

"Be my guest."

Her touch is light as she rolls the latex down his length. Calum notes the snake tattoo on her left hip. The way her skin still glows and still has a rich warmth to the dark brown. The way her cheeks are still full, but the cheekbone and brow bone are strong. A small groan leaves him as she settles on his length.

They rest chest to chest as Bee rocks her hips. He kisses at her shoulder, arms wrapping around her waist. Soft sighs escape them. The room is nothing but an echo of their bodies. Her pace isn't slow, but methodical. She knows there's no rush. Calum leaves a reddening spot on her neck. He would apologize, but she works one onto his chest as well. So now they are even.

Bee feels that sting in her right hip, the pain of a tightening muscle and stills. A hiss leaving her lips. "Sorry. Just an old injury."

"No, no, don't apologize." An awkward shuffle ensues, Bee having to climb off and Calum kneeling next to her. He helps stretch out the muscle. "Our bodies aren't what they used to be. I get it," he utters in a soft tone.

"Let me guess. Football. And I'm not talking American either."

Calum nods. "Your guess would be correct."

"It's the slight accent you still have."

"Tell me more. Something else gave it away."

"Your physique. And it might've come up during my google search, but that's neither here nor there."

Calum releases a small laugh, palm still rubbing deep at her muscle. "So you're no psychic, just a good reader, huh?"

"What can I say? It's my job."

"You're very good at it from what I can see." Bee grabs his hands, mentioning for him to come down. He does so and she cups his face, kissing his soft lips. The kisses grow deeper, more desperate. Calum settles between her legs, thumbs caressing her right hip. "You okay now?"

She nods, lips brushing over his. "Yeah, I'm good." His necklaces are no longer cold, but as they brush over the valley between her breast, a shiver runs down her spine.

Calum is careful as he re-enters her, taking it slow. She holds onto his biceps and smiles, though a moan falls over her lips. Calum buries his face into her neck, hips a ready pace. "Feel like heaven," he whispers into the hickeys he's put there.

Bee can't help the giggle. "Never heard that one before." Calum huffs at her comment, the start of his own orgasm building. Grabbing the back of her thighs, he pushes her hips up just a little.

Her mouth falls open, a groan falling over her lips. "Shit, Calum."

"That's more like it." He leans back, thumb rubbing over her clit. One hand reaches out for him, holding onto his wrist, the other falls to the sheet, grabbing a tight fistful. Her second orgasm hits fast and she cries out, no real words in particular, just a deep guttural sound ripping over her throat. "Oh, what a beautiful sound," he encourages, still slowly circling her clit.

Her whole body shutters and Calum knows he's done for. He spills over into the condom. But bends over to kiss over the column of her throat. The haze is heavier this time. It takes longer to reconnect to her head but she manages to direct Calum to the bathroom before rolling over to her side.

Finished with his business, Calum opens the door and right on the other side is a black cat. Bright green eyes staring up at him. "Nice to meet you Jewels," he greets. She meows and then continues on to the bedroom. It sounds a little aggressive, but he takes it in stride.

She enters the room first and Calum finds his boxers, watching the cat jump onto the bed and then climbing onto Bee's shoulder. "Yes, Jewels?" Another meow. "Uh-huh. But you weren't rude were you? Did you at least say hi." Another meow. "Good," she coos, holding out her arms. The cat leaps back down to the bed.

Bee gapes. "I don't get a hug, nothing." She sighs as Jewels saunters out of the room. "I feed you, you know. Me."

Calum laughs as she walks to the bathroom next. "This is why I'm more a dog person."

Spinning around, she levels a finger at him. "She does love me. She's just acting out because there is a strange man in the house."

"Should've greeted her at the door, huh? How rude of me."

"Nah, she's a little skittish and probably hid. Which is why she hasn't made herself known until now." Once Bee exits, Jewels comes back standing at the door. Calum only notices after pulling the t-shirt back over his body. Nothing is said. But he does squat down, holding a hand. He wonders if she'll come closer.

She looks at his hand then back to his face before sticking her paw out. He chuckles and Bee walks up behind her. "Oh, she's sassing you. Gotta watch out."

"This is her house. So it's okay."

Bee picks her up and walks into the room kissing her head. "We talked about this. No sassing guests, Jewels. Do you need anything? Water?"

Calum stands, with a shake of his head. "Thank you though." Bee nods. He finishes getting dressed. It's not awkward when he heads out. Though something is different. She does hand him her number.

"Call me. Doesn't have to be for sex. Just whatever."

He smiles softly at her leaning forward and kissing her cheek. As he walks back to his call, stares down at the numbers. Just whatever, he thinks. Could be about anything. Inside the truck, he programs her number into his phone and sends a quick text with his name.

___

When Anahera climbs into the truck after school, she immediately launches herself into a spill about a fight that happened at school. It didn't get worse, but it did disturb the lunch schedule. Which wasn't fun and made her ten minutes late to a class. Calum listens, nodding along, paying attention to traffic. "Do you know why the fight started?" He asks.

"No, I heard it was over some girl. But then someone else said it might've been a drug thing. I'm not really sure."

"Drugs?"

"It was two seniors fighting. I figured one of them might've owed the other."

He's not too pleased to know that if it were a drug issue that she's so close to it. But Calum also knows that the in life she'll be exposed to things like that. That he can't protect her from everything. "Is there anything—," Calum starts.

Anahera rolls her eyes. "I can't. No Dad. I don't do drugs. I hate the smell of weed anyway."

He nods, it's not a pleasant smell. "I'm not asking to punish you. Just curious. Because if you did, I'd rather you be smart about where you're getting it from."

She laughs. "Making sure I do it legally."

"Well, yeah. Or at least with people you're safe around."

"I appreciate that. But sometimes I wonder why you don't freak out."

"If I panicked over everything, you'd never tell me anything. You're okay to tell me things. You should feel safe around me."

"I do. What I don't feel safe around is this Lit essay."

Calum laughs. "You've got it, sweetheart. You're smart."

"Can you read over it? I just feel like I have a bunch of word vomit on the page and it's not making any sense."

"Sure thing." As they pull into the driveway, Calum takes her backpack, slinging it over his shoulder. Anahera grabs her jacket and closes the door behind her. She watches a mark, dark on the small sliver of skin that's exposed due to the pull of her bag, but thinks nothing of it.

Calum looks over what he has in the fridge, trying to put together what to make for dinner while she prints off her essay. He knows he wasn't a good student, but he does what he can to help her out. Luke usually gets the math-related questions though those are rare. He takes the Lit stuff.

Calum lets the dogs out and Anahera comes back with her essay. It's only three pages right now and she brought the prompt along with her. He stands in the backyard, reading and pacing. Anahera watches him from the steps of the deck. She looks at that dark spot again and it's clear it's something new. Her eyes widen and she jumps up. "Is that a hickey?"

Calum looks down his heart racing. "What? No!"

Hooking her finger into the seam of the neck, she pulls it back. "That's totally a hickey and you have multiple!"

"How do you even know what a hickey is?" He counters. He feels like a teenager again, caught by their parent. This time he is the parent. "What a second? I'm the parent! Why does it matter?"

"Since when did you get a girlfriend?"

"She's—she's just a friend!"

"That's one heck of a friend, then." Truth be told, she's a little giddy. Maybe her dad's finally getting back out there into the dating world. It's one hell of a way to jump back into the pool. But who is she to judge that. "Do I know them?"

Calum turns back to the essay. He's trying not to give it away. He knows she'll figure it out. "Wait!" She exclaims. "It's not Miss Bee is it?" Calum can feel his cheeks growing hot. He stares harder at the paper in his hand. "Oh my god! Dad! I like Miss Bee! No!"

"She just helped me with some university stuff for you in the future."

"Dad, I'm not even done with my sophomore year. I still have like a year and a half left."

"I just wanted to be prepared, that's all. I didn't even graduate secondary. I have no clue what to do or where to be looking for you. I just asked her for some help."

"Oh and you got help alright, too," she mutters. When he lands a stern eyebrow raised at her she apologizes.

"Apology accepted. But no, she agreed to put together some information for me and we talked over coffee."

Anahera sees the small grin that overtakes his face. She holds her hands up in surrender. "If things go poorly, I just don't want her to hate me for it. I still need to get into university, Dad. Miss Bee is literally the only librarian that goes like out of her way to help us at the public library. She knows that place like the back of her hand and she has connections. I need her. Don't blow this, Dad."

"Oh, c'mon. Have a little faith in me."

"She's not even your girlfriend. You called her a friend. You're rusty!"

An incredulous tuft of laughter falls from him. "What do you know about being rusty? You haven't dated anyone that I'm aware of."

"Did you get her number? Please tell me you got at least that."

"As a matter of fact, she gave it to me."

"Did you text her? How long has it been?"

Okay, now he can admit he is rusty about that. After he left Bee's he went into the studio until it was time to Anahera from school. "Phone's inside," he says quietly. Ana screeches and runs inside. She finds his phone right where it usually is, right under the key rack. She looks over the notifications and sees Bee. The last message was at 10:42 AM. Oh my god, she chants to herself. They had to have met soon after she got on the bus.

She knows his passcode; he gave it in case of emergencies. He has her passcode too. Calum never goes through her phone. Doesn't even think to touch it in all honestly unless she's left it behind and only then does he grab it to pass it along. "Dad! It's nearly 4. Please text her back."

"What did she say?"

"I'm not reading your messages. What if I read something too impure for my virgin eyes? You'll have scarred your precious daughter for life."

Calum sighs, handing her the essay and taking his phone. He reads over the text message. "She just said she hoped my day goes well."

"Dude! You still have to reply. Say thanks at least."

"I know that."

"I'll leave you to that." Stepping inside, Jake right at her side. She watches through the back door as he types away at his screen.

"I can see you watching me," he calls through the glass. It's muffled, but still clear enough to make it out. Anahera bolts from the door to be room, laughing as she goes.

[severetimetravelnerd]

Hatred and Love (ft.G Dragon) Mafia AU

Part 10 

You make a tough decision.

(I don’t own any of the images used. All credit goes to the original owners.)

Taglist:

@unabashedturkeytreeslime​

@happiestgirlontheeastcoast​

@kwonnansi​

@aarfyie​

@suhappysuho​

If there is anyone else who would like to be tagged, you can comment or leave me a message :))

I only write on this blog on tumblr, so if you see my work on any other platform, please let me know immediately.

Okay, so here, the war against EXO intensifies even more. It has appearances from Daesung, Taeyang, TOP, Mino, Hanbin and EXO (mostly Kai). This continues with the EXO storyline, but again, I have nothing against EXO :)) I love them, but I had to use someone for the plot.

I just hit 100 followers guys!!!! Thank you so much for all your support!!! I’ll try my level best to keep writing :))) Please do keep supporting me and I’m always open to feedback :))))

Warnings: Violence, Death(not main character), Injury, Blood, Eventual smut, Abduction, Guns and Knives, language, emotional breakdown. Slight symptoms of PTSD(nightmares), one mention of the word rape.

————————————————————————–

Jiyong’s mind started racing. There were so many things that could have gone wrong with your plan. How long ago did you leave? Could you even shoot properly? What if they kept both you and Hanbin? What if they tortured you? Oh god. What if those were his last words to you? He shook his head. His voice hoarse and weak, he called for Youngbae. Youngbae walked in a few minutes later, wondering why Jiyong would want him there in the middle of trying to make up with his girlfriend, but the moment he say Jiyong sitting on the edge on the bed, his eyes red and his head in his hands, he knew you had left. For the first time in his life, Jiyong’s voice sounded shaky. 

“Youngbae, she left to go get Hanbin back. She left because of what I said.” 

Youngbae leaned against the wall, thinking. He couldn’t lie to Jiyong. What he said probably did make you leave, but he didn’t know how to comfort Jiyong for that. This was the lowest he had ever seen Jiyong. Jiyong was always calm and collected, with a plan, but the man who sat in front of him was a shaking mess, unable to wrap his head around what happened.  Youngbae sighed. 

“Jiyong, get ready. We’re going to go get them back here in one piece so that your sorry ass can apologise to your girlfriend.”

Jiyong blindly obeyed Youngbae, taking orders like that for the first time in his life. Youngbae had called Seunghyun, Daesung and Mino. They were also getting ready. Youngbae was just coordinating some details for the plan, so Jiyong walked out. He wasn’t thinking straight. He needed some fresh air. He walked out of the house and stared at the sky, laughing at how no matter what was happening on the earth below, the skies always remained aloof and uninterested. He had just taken out a cigarette when he froze, hearing footsteps. Out of reflex, he took out his gun and aimed with one hand and shone the torch in the direction of the footsteps with the other. He was about to shoot when he realised it was Hanbin, with someone with him. He didn’t notice that EXO’S Jongin was in their headquarters. He just noticed that Hanbin was carrying an unconscious you.

 Jongin and Hanbin had gotten you out of his house alright, Hanbin carrying you and Jongin focussing on defence. Jongin had to shoot a few more of Joonmyeon’s men in their feet, but overall, there wasn’t too much damage. Jongin drove following Hanbin’s instructions to get to the headquarters. Jongin was terrified. Jiyong was the enemy after all, but he knew that at the same time, he was his best bet. They reached the house, Hanbin getting out of the car and running while carrying you, wanting to get you to a bed and a doctor. He also paused when he was stopped by the flashing of a torch in his face and the sound of a gun being pulled out. When the suddenness of the light faded away, he looked up and realised it was Jiyong.

Jiyong slowly put down the gun. For the first time in his life, he sounded broken. 

“Hanbin, wh-what happened to her? Why is she unconscious?”

 Hanbin ignored his question. 

“Hyung, I’m taking her up to her room. Jongin is with us. He helped us a lot. We have to offer him protection for a while.”

 Jiyong just nodded, staring weakly at your limp body in Hanbin’s arms and wanting nothing more than to just kill himself for putting you in a situation like that. Hanbin moved past Jiyong and ran up the stairs, not bothering to look back. Jongin still had his gun out, and was about to follow Hanbin, but he stopped and stared at Jiyong for a while. Jiyong was just frozen, looking absolutely desolate and broken beyond measure. Jongin felt some pity for him. He softly said, 

“Why are you standing here? Follow Hanbin.” 

Jiyong blankly looked at Jongin and nodded. He should be there with you. He needed to be there with you.

 Jiyong numbly walked up the stairs and into his room. Hanbin had laid you down on the bed and was checking your temperature.

 “Hyung, she’s burning up. Call Hyorin noona. We need a doctor here.”

 Jiyong nodded and opened his phone, but his vision was getting hazy. He wasn’t able to think straight. Jongin took one look at him and sighed.

 “Hanbin, he isn’t going to be able to call anyone right now. He’s in shock. Find Youngbae.”

 Hanbin nodded, his eyes never leaving you. He called Youngbae hyung, grateful that he answered his phone on the first ring. 

“Hanbin? Where are you? How are you calling me right now? What happened to Y/N? How’d you escape from Jongin?”

 Hanbin cut him off. 

“Hyung, I’ll explain later, but call Hyorin noona. We need a doctor here for Y/N. Jongin, Jiyong hyung, Y/N and I are in hyung’s room.” 

Hanbin jumped up, turning around and glaring at Jiyong. His voice dangerously low and angry, he said,

 “Hyung, what did you say to her? Why the fuck would you send her alone? What would you have done is something had happened to her?”

 Jiyong was still numb. He couldn’t take his eyes off your unconscious body. He turned to Hanbin, still numb, and in a disconcerted voice, said, 

“I told her that she was the reason we lost you and that I don’t know why we aren’t giving in to EXO’s demands.” 

Hanbin stared at him in shock.

 “Hyung, you told her you didn’t know why you weren’t giving her up to EXO?” 

Jiyong nodded, looking paler by the second. Jongin just scoffed. 

“Wow, good job of keeping her happy and safe.”

 Jiyong couldn’t even defend himself.

 “Jiyong hyung, you know she came with a high fever, right? That didn’t go down because I couldn’t get the medicine to her? Yeah. You should also know she collapsed from shock today, after killing someone for the first time.”

 Hanbin took a step closer. 

“You said you’d keep her safe. You said you’d never be the mafia boss around her. What happened to that, huh? God, hyung.” 

Hanbin could barely even look at him. 

“You disgust me.”

 It was at that moment that Youngbae and Hyorin walked in. Raising an eyebrow at what happened, Youngbae walked between Jiyong and Hanbin and held Hanbin’s shoulder, his voice soft but firm when he said,

 “Hanbin, that’s enough. You can’t talk to your boss that way.” 

Hanbin stepped back and looked away, fuming. Hyorin stepped closer to you and began checking your condition. Jiyong turned numb to everything around him, just waiting, praying, internally begging Hyorin to say that you were fine.

 Hyorin took some time checking up on you. She slowly stood up straight and turned around. She decided to address Hanbin.

 “Hanbin, she’s got a fever of 103. It might progress into a heat stroke if it doesn’t go down by tomorrow. Someone will have to stay with her all night and try and bring her body temperature down.”

 Hanbin jumped up, nodding tensely.

 “I’ll do it.” 

He was just about to walk over to you when suddenly he swayed and fell to the ground, world around him spinning. Jongin pulled him up, sighing.

 “Hanbin, you haven’t slept or eaten in a while. You can’t stay up looking after her in this condition.” 

Hanbin wanted to protest, but he didn’t have the energy to. Hyorin nodded at Jongin.

 “He’s right Hanbin. Go home and rest for a while.” 

For the first time in a while, Jiyong spoke. His voice was weak when he opened his mouth to say, 

“I’ll stay with her.”

 Everyone turned to stare at him, each assessing him in their own way. Hanbin was about to scoff at him, but Jongin gripped his arm, silently shaking his head. Youngbae tried to smooth things over. 

“Okay, guys, then we’ll all get going? Jongin, you’ll need a room, right? Here, come with me. There’s a spare-” 

Hanbin cut Youngbae off, glaring at him no matter how weak he was.

 “Hyung, I know you’re basically just going to keep Jongin prisoner if you take him with you. No way. He helped us escape. He’s a friend. He’s coming with me. He can stay with me.”

After they all left, Jiyong went and got a bowl of cold water. He soaked a cloth in it and folded it neatly, putting it on your forehead, gently brushing your hair back. He stared at you, flushed and asleep, desperately trying to convey how sorry he was. He wanted to just hold you in his arms, but you needed your body temperature to go down. He went and got out a light slip from your cupboard, gently holding you up with one hand and changed you out of the uncomfortable clothes you were wearing. He sighed when he saw the knife strapped to your thigh and he gently slipped it off, folding it away, his eyes pained because he hated that you had to use it. He stroked your hair, leaning down and burying his face in it. His body slowly started to shake with sobs. Your hair became damp. 

“Y/N, I’m so sorry. I am so so sorry. You don’t deserve this. I allowed this to happen. I should have kept my promise. I’m so fucking sorry.” 

He mumbled this into your hair, sobs getting harsher by the word. He got up, replaced the cloth and sat back down, eyes still red. Hands weak, he held your hand and took your pinky finger. He knew how important pinky promises were to you. He wrapped his own pinky finger around it and said, 

“Y/N, I promise I will keep you safe. Never again.”

 He leaned down to kiss your forehead. 

“I love you. I always will.”

 Joonmyeon was holding Jiyong at knifepoint. You were in a cold sweat. You knew Joonmyeon would kill him without any hesitation, but you had to do something. You rushed forward to try and pull Jiyong away when Joonmyeon pulled the knife. You could just see the start of the blood when you opened your eyes, panting. It was a dream. Thank god. Everything was still hazy. You weren’t thinking straight and you head hurt, but most of all, you were scared because of what you dreamt. Forgetting everything that Jiyong had said and done, you just wanted him to be safe. You turned to your left, surprised to find Jiyong sitting there, dozing off, hand still holding yours. You smiled and kissed his hand.

 “I love you Jiyong.” 

You wanted to kiss him, but you were too tired, and you fell asleep again.

 Jiyong looked up wearily when he heard Hanbin and Jongin enter the next morning. He was exhausted. He hadn’t slept properly in days and he was stressed, but he wouldn’t sleep until you were fine. He cracked a half-hearted smile at them. 

“Her fever’s gone down. She’s better now.”

 Hanbin ignored him, simply going and sitting next to you to check on you himself. Jongin nodded at Jiyong, feeling bad for him. Hanbin slowly ran his fingers through your hair, watching you carefully. You started tossing around, Jiyong instantly getting more attentive to you, worried. You started trembling, crying in your sleep. Jiyong looked shocked beyond measure. His eyebrows shot up. Why were you crying in your sleep? He got out his phone to call Hyorin, terrified that something had happened to you, when Hanbin just glared at him and made him put his phone away.

 “Hyung, how do you not know that Y/N gets nightmares?”

 He scoffed and turned towards you, gently pulling you closer and hugging you, patting your back to calm you down. Jiyong looked shocked.

 “Why does she have nightmares?” 

Hanbin looked at him like he was dumb.

 “Hyung, we abducted her. We tortured her. Joongi nearly raped her. You shot her. And then, to top it all off, she killed someone yesterday. Why wouldn’t she have nightmares?” 

Jiyong went numb. How did he not know these things about you? Hanbin glared at him and muttered,

 “You would have realised had you spent more time with her.”

 Jiyong’s head fell. God, he barely spent any time with you, and now, he didn’t know how much time he had left with you. You deserved better than him. So much better than him. But he was selfish. He wanted to keep you by his side. He wanted to be with you. Always. Looking at your pale face flinching in your sleep, he realised that maybe he shouldn’t have been that selfish. You needed a safer, better life.

You blinked a little when you woke up a few hours later, trying to get used to the harsh light. You slowly adjusted and looked around at the people sitting there with you. You saw Hanbin holding your hand and Jongin standing around there, but you didn’t see Jiyong. Your heart fell. You looked around again, still not able to see him. You were about to give up when you heard his voice, softly saying, 

“Don’t move around too much, my love. You’re still a little weak.” 

You looked up. You realised that what you thought was your pillow was his lap. He was looking down at you lovingly, hands gently detangling your hair. You took one last moment to memorise everything about him. his beautiful eyes, his adorable smile, that damn tattoo and his soft hair. You took a deep breath and you got up, moving away from him. The way his face fell broke your heart, but it still didn’t hurt as much as you having to make the decision of moving away from him when you wanted nothing more to be there with him, in his arms. Hanbin and Jongin immediately jumped up, wanting to check if you were okay, but one look at your face and they knew to stay where they were. You cleared your throat. Your voice was weak when you spoke.

 “Jiyong, I need this to end. I can’t live like this anymore. I need to get away from all of this. From you. I can’t live being treated as a tradable good between the two gangs. I don’t want to be your excuse to fight anymore. I never asked for this and it’s not fair that I have to be punished for it. I just want life to go back to normal.”

 You paused, hating yourself for making him, the infamous Kwon Jiyong, look like a kicked puppy. You hated it. You wanted him to stop you. You wanted him to say something asking you to stay. You didn’t want to leave him. You just wanted to stop being treated the way you were. As much as you didn’t want to admit it, you needed him too. But your heart broke even more when you saw him nodding along to what you were saying, not trying to stop you, although you could see in his eyes that he wanted to. You continued. 

“I can’t stay here anymore, but I’m not stupid. I’ll go back to my normal life when things go back to normal.”

 You turned to Hanbin. 

“Hanbin, can I stay with you for now?”

 Hanbin looked between you and Jiyong, not knowing whether this would help you or just make things worse. He finally decided to just give in to you. 

“Of course Y/N.”

[captainjimothycarter]

How about a Steggy drabble for the "stormy day" prompt in that October prompt list you posted? (Only if you feel like it of course!) :D

This is so not what you wanted. *insert Modern Day Steggy* I don’t know where I was going with this.

--

The fact that his apartment complex or fuck the whole neighborhood had been plunged into darkness during a heavy, stormy night didn’t surprise Steve. He sat in the sudden darkness on his couch, phone in hand as he listened to the lightning and thunder clash outside, like two Gods in battle. He listened to the heavy wind and rain threaten to burst down his apartment and flood everything away. Lightning streaked once more and when he thought the coat stand in the far corner of the room, Steve sighed and figured he’d better get a flashlight or two.

It was supposed to do this all week, with very little breaks in between. They were expecting over seven inches of rain, if not more, not that those measurements meant anything to him. With the power out, his job of working as a comic book artist and finally putting some fresh ideas to paper was useless.

It was cold in the apartment now without power and the blonde was fully aware as he pulled out his trunk of emergency flashlights, camper burners, candles, etc. that he remembered someone had moved in just next door. He doubted they had prepared for this either. 

The past few storms had taught him that his neighbors had all prepared for this, after going through every other home and giving out flashlights and candles to be sure they had something to see by. No idea how long this outage will last.

Hopefully not long, because Mr. Jensen upstairs needed his oxygen, but his wife assured him that they had a generator. That was just her text coming in again to confirm they were okay.

How do you even go to your next-door-neighbor? Hi, I’m Steve? The power is out and I’m not trying to be creepy or have some Hallmark moment, I just didn’t know if you had flashlights or a charger for your phone. 

“Mother-fuck-get off!”

Steve’s heart lurched into his throat at the shouting, the worst ideas coming to mind. He didn’t even think. He jerked the door open and pointed the bright beam of light at the figure on the floor, eyes wide.

“What the hell?!”

She was...his neighbor. The brunette with the chocolate brown eyes, pretty red lips, and a flare for the dramatics with a spark of stubborn energy that never seemed to die. He’s seen her around the lobby, the cafe down the street. Never had the courage to talk to her.

“I-I-I-I…” Steve swallowed the stutter and dropped the box, reaching a hand down to pull her to her feet. “You...shouted, I overreacted.”

“Damn right you overreacted, breaking into my home. What gives you that right?” She growled, her accent doing nothing to help Steve and his muddled brain.

“None, ma’am, but...I thought you were in trouble and reacted. I…” The light fell to her feet, where a pale blue and yellow baby blanket was wrapped around her leg.

“Unless you’re here to save me from my son’s baby blanket, then I think I could handle it.” The anger melted from her face as she read Steve’s expression. “I can’t be too mad, can I? You heard me screaming, luckily I didn’t wake the baby up. I’m sorry. I’m frustrated with these cheap lights and this storm. Michael can’t sleep without his nightlight, I was going to fix him a bottle.”

As if right on cue, there were heavy screams of an infant who’d woken up in a confused and dark setting didn’t like to be. 

“Excuse me, Steve, was it? I better go get him.”

“Yeah, it was...I…”

By the time Peggy came back, an infant in one arm curled up against her chest. His hand was no larger than Steve’s pinkie. And oh, oh he must just be less than a week old.

Peggy looked up from cradling the sniffling baby and frowned at Steve holding a bottle and a steaming cup of ginger tea as if it was a peace offering. He’d placed several lights around them, some battery-powered and stuck to the walls to give the living room some space. He’d even fixed the couch so she could lay back with the baby.

“You didn’t have to do this,” she whispered as she sat on the couch and adjusted Michael in her arms to get him to take the bottle. There came that sigh of relief when he latched on instantly. “I’m Peggy by the way, I...diddidn’ introduce myself before. Your neighbor, Mrs. Jensen upstairs talks about you all the time. She helped me move in last week.”

“I wish I was here, I could’ve helped. I was in D.C.,” Steve sighed, sitting on the edge of the couch and adjusting a blanket so it covered Peggy’s cold feet. It was odd, being in a stranger’s home that was clearly halfway unpacked with boxes, moving blankets, half put together furniture, but it felt more like home than his four walls did. 

“Doing a presentation on your comic, right? She told me all about your comics and how you’ve donated so much money to various organizations when you could’ve lived comfortably by now and how you even purchased her husband’s generator.” The pride in Peggy’s voice made Steve’s throat tighten. He found himself looking down at his hands where she nudged him with her foot. “I think it’s awfully nice of you. You do more for these people in this lil, ole apartment than you do for yourself. Is that why you came here - to my apartment?”

“Y-yeah, yeah. I just knew you had moved in and didn’t think you were prepared for this storm. I didn’t know you had a son, Mrs. Jensen didn’t mention it.” He wanted to ask the obvious, where’s the father. Partner? There was no ring on her finger, but it didn’t mean she wasn’t taken. He didn’t want to overstep but so far, it didn’t seem like he was. 

“No, I doubt she knew. I had already had Michael’s stuff moved in before I even moved here. I doubt many know since I haven’t been out much. When I have, it’s without him, my friend and his wife come to babysit while I run errands. He’s so small and I’m terrified of something happening when I don’t know the streets so well, I…”

The human fear of being a first-time parent was there. Steve didn’t know that fear well but he’s grown up around it with his ma being a nurse. His hand slowly moved to close around Peggy’s calf, giving a tender squeeze. 

“You’re human,” he tells her in the softest tone he can manage. It still manages to rumble from his chest like a dragon about to blow flames. “You’re a first-time mother, it seems and a single-parent if I have to guess. This terror you’re feeling is new. Michael looks like how I did - premie?” At her nod, he smiled. “You’re doing great, Peggy. I don’t have kids, but I...can help. My ma is a nurse. I’m sure she can offer some advice.”

--

That’s how at nearing midnight, Steve found himself putting together a rocking-chair thanks to a video on YouTube. Following the rocking-chair was a changing table, dresser, and even Peggy’s bed. She’d been sleeping on the couch with the bassinet beside her. He made a call to his mother to ask about Michael’s medication and introduced over video Sarah and Peggy and unsurprisingly the pair hit it off.

And in private, Sarah warned Steve he better not mess around, not that he was the type. Peggy needed someone to depend on in this scary time but she was glad it was her son. 

“Okay,” Steve sighed, taking the plastic that had been around the mattress and tossing it down the recycling chute with a grin. “I think that’s done. Is there anything else?”

Peggy still laid on the couch, bottle and tea empty, cradling her son close. She nodded and sat up, nodding at Steve to sit. When he sat further away from her, she came closer and slowly eased Michael into his arms.

Steve froze because for his vast size and despite his mother’s knowledge, he’s never held a child before. Oh, he was so small and warm. And full of life. Wrapped up in a tight bundle of duckie-themed blankets. 

“Shh. There we go, just support his head. See, you’re a natural.” She laid her head on his shoulder, the smell of her lavender shampoo flooding Steve’s nose. “I wanted you to...hold him. He hasn’t been held by many others. Oh, he likes you.”

The smile on the infant’s face did warm Steve’s heart, enough to slowly rub his fingertip over the infant’s nose.

“No, I think that just means he passed gas.” Steve’s nose wrinkled up at the smell but he, like Peggy found himself on caring as she snuggled into him. “If you don’t mind me asking - what does bring you all the way here and with an infant?”

“Work,” she yawned, picking up a heavy blanket to wrap around both of them. The storm was still going on outside and given the notifications on their phones, it was expected to go on for a while. “I start teaching at Brooklyn University in a week. They paid me to move here and to settle, even with my son. The hardest part was leaving him in NICU until he was strong enough to fly. But my...friends, Mr. Jarvis and his wife were able to care for him in there while I was gone. I felt like a terrible mother.”

“You are no such thing. You had no choice, Pegs. Come here.” It took some adjusting before Michael was situated in her arms and she was in his. He didn’t understand this - how did they get so close like this? He was just here to offer a flashlight and maybe rescue her from a baby blanket, now he was holding a tired mother in his arms.

“Pegs, from all that you’ve told me...from moving, losing your family, to...having to close estates and do paperwork back overseas, all after giving birth and leaving your son behind to be in the care of your friends, it shows how strong you are. You came back. You’re here now. He still loves you. No one judges you for that.”

Well, he could think of a few of those snobby nurses but hopefully, he thought she didn’t have to deal with them. 

“You’re here now,” he continued. “You’re making a life for the two of you.”

How was it that this was happening? That Steve found himself nodding off with a single mother and infant in his lap while a storm raged on around them? When the sun would later stream through the window, he’d find Peggy in the kitchen, unpacking the last of the pots and pans. His flashlights were piled back into his box, and the baby, sleeping in his bassinet again.

The blanket fell from Steve as he got to his feet and slowly crossed over to the kitchen, not wanting to wake the baby, just watching Peggy. 

She smiled as she turned around to hand him a cup of coffee, sipping on her own. “You looked so peaceful asleep, I didn’t want to wake you. The storm finally stopped.”

With no storm between them, it almost felt awkward with last night’s memory. The cuddling, the closeness, the sense of home, it felt foolish. Had he just imagined it all? 

“It did,” Steve mused, looking out the window. “I can help you unpack later, I have to go into the office and submit some new drafts. Would you...like to come with me? I think Michael could use a little bit of sun. His stroller is together, I worked on it last night while you changed him and the...the car seat. I have a Jeep we can use.”

The flush on the blonde’s cheeks told Peggy everything she wanted to know, the stumbling words were just added details. He wanted more time with her, with her son, and so did she. “To your place of work? Isn’t that a bit scandalous, Mr. Rogers? What would they say?” To Steve’s ears turning red, Peggy laughed. “I’d love to. We could make a day of errands. Do you mind - of course? It’s your vehicle after all.”

“If I minded, I wouldn’t ask.” Setting the mug aside, Steve reached around her to pick up a box of dishes before they started to fall to the floor. “Good. We’ll make a day of it, grab some breakfast.”

And maybe with luck, Steve could learn more about his new neighbor. Of course, when he’s not rescuing her from tangling baby blankets.

[mywrittingwonderland]

She Comes First P.2 (Sophia x Shawn)

Hello pretty people, it has been a while, but hope you like it. There will be a part 3 soon to wrap it up :) Word count: 1,962 Warnings: Mentions of PR and anxiety. Part 1 Part 3

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Shawn never felt so nervous over a flight in his entire life. He tried calling Sophia again, even though he knew she would have turned off her phone after asking him to stay away for one week. But, Shawn didn't even after giving her his word he would do it. He was sweating over the cold air of the private airplane, and he was so anxious that he didn't even know where he was gathering the strength to stay calm any longer. He just kept reminding himself over and over that she would be okay, she would be mad with him first, but they would be okay. And she would be okay too, and he would be there in a few hours, making sure she was okay.

He didn't notice he was crying until his vision blurred, and he couldn't really see clearly from the windows again. He closed his eyes and tried to retrieve some memories of when nothing of this was on their way. Of course, he was blaming himself, but at the same time, he could listen to her gentle voice telling him, "You shouldn't really put this one on yourself, we weren't dating when you accepted it." Those were her words when he first told her that, yep. She didn't scream, nor fought with him, nor tried to break up. She was just supportive, even if that meant fucking up her life for a while. Shawn would give anything to have denied doing it, he would have paid the money in the contract without a blink even if that meant delaying a bunch of stuff, he would have done it. Of course, Sophia was never going to try to interfere with his dreams. Still, he was interfering with her life, her stability, her mental health, and she was trying to keep him out of it so he could still be focusing on his dreams. But the thing is 100% of his dreams had her on them now, and she was happy in them. He got distracted from his thoughts by a call from his sister.

"Hi Liyah, did something happened?" He asked, trying to sound like he was okay.

"Brian called me." She said, making his eyes fill with more tears.

"Oh."

"How are you?" She asked with evident concern in her voice.

"I feel like I just ruined the most important thing in my life." He said sincerely.

"She called me, you know, after she talked with you."

"She did?" He asked with a teary voice.

"Yes, she was feeling guilty because she broke down over the phone. But she said she really tried to hold on longer, but she needed some time because a lot was going on in her life now. I probably shouldn't be telling you this, because I promised her I wouldn't unless it was a life-death situation. But I feel like since you decided to go to her, you should know it before." He took a deep breath focusing his entire attention on his sister now.

"Okay, thank you, sis."

"Of course, so there is no easy way for it. And I wish she had talked with me before, but she didn't even with Connor, at least that is what she said. Anyway, her dog died like one week after your birthday."

"What? No! Flake died?" Flake was Sophia's first dog with her brother, he stayed in London living with their parents when they both moved out since he was already too old to travel."

"Yes, and her grandfather is very sick, Shawn."

"Fuck! I didn't know that" He said, feeling even more guilty because he should have insisted on knowing more. He should have known she was not okay.

"Yeah, neither did I. But I think she just really needed to talk, and she spilled everything in 20 minutes straight after you talked, I suppose. She will probably tell you once you get there, but I just want to prepare you a little bit so you can be there for her."

"Yes, right. Is there more?"

"She declined all her college applications because they were in Toronto, and she couldn't be there when classes were supposed to start."

"Fuck, no, no, no. I completely forgot to ask her if she had gotten any responses to it. I am a terrible boyfriend. I can't believe she did that for me." Sophia took 2 gap years to write. Still, she also wanted to try university and major in Cinema, she was fascinated with scripts. They did talk about it before she applied because she wanted to make sure he wanted to stay in Canada and not move to LA. He remembers himself telling her that she could choose any university she wanted, and he would go for it. And they could talk after she graduated about where they should live, yes they did talk about the future for an enormous amount of time.

"You are not a terrible boyfriend, just this PR stuff needs to go." He heard his sister saying.

"I know, I am already making that happen." He said he still needed to talk with Andrew a little further about the matter, but he needed to speak with her before.

"I believe she should tell you the rest of it, but just knows that she really loves you."

"I really love her, too" He sighed, "Thanks for calling me and telling me this." He said before turning off the phone.

He felt like he had done so many things wrong the past months that he didn't know how she could forgive him for those. He not only interfered with her life but also made her believe she shouldn't tell him any of what was happening in hers.

Once he got to the airport, he made sure to pass security and enter the heliport zone directly. He decided to fly to the farm; that way, there would be less chance of people seeing him. He stopped at the city near the farm, where he finally got a car and drove 30 minutes more. Once he got to the gate, the housekeeper immediately recognized him and opened. He parked and waited in the car for a few seconds before walking to the main house front door and knocking on it.

Sophia's grandmother opened the door, she smelled like the fresh baked cookies she had just pulled out of the oven. She promptly smushed him in a hug depriving him of air for a few seconds.

"Hi Grandy Lisa, is Sophia home?" He asked, getting ready to take off his shoes even though he knew they didn't really do that on the farm with visits.

"Oh! Hi dear, come along. Have you eaten so far? I don't think they really give you time for that in that singing place every day, right? Wait here I will grab you a plate…" She said already starting to go to the kitchen

"Thank you so much, Grandy Lisa, but can I maybe talk to Phi before? It is really important." Shawn said, trying to not be rude.

"Oh, of course. My mind, you haven't seen each other for a long time. I think she could really use some Shawn time now. She is with Pinky at the stables. Shawn dear, please make her real smile come back? I think she believes she knows how to fake it for me, but she doesn't really," She said, making Shawn's heart break a little. "But go ahead, I bet she just really misses you." She completed, and he gave her a smile before going out again.

"… You know P, I think I don't even know who I am anymore. That is really scary." He heard her stating as soon as he reached the stables, she was bruising her Horse Pinky with a turquoise brush Shawn had gotten as Pinky's Christmas present. "I am also a terrible girlfriend because I know I shouldn't be keeping the bad stuff from him. But he has so much going on, and he is so far away from his family now that it just doesn't seem fair to throw my problems on top of everything, I wish I could just delete my mind now, I feel trapped." She said, stopping to just focus on the brushing again, that was when Shawn gently hugged from behind, and she jumped a little because he scared her.

"Hi," He whispered into her ears. "Please don't be mad." He asked, turning her around and kissing her forehead.

"Shawn, what are you doing here? I told you to not come! I said I was going to be okay, remember?" She said a little desperate. She really didn't want him there while she was not okay; at the same time, she loved, he was there.

"Yeah, I am here to help you be okay." He said calmly, noticing that she was trying to not break down in front of him.

"You have Studio, though." She said walking two-steps backward toward the wall

"Yeah, but I…" He tried one step forward, but she once again steps backward, her breathing picking up a little.

"Shawn, you need to go back, I don't wanna make you late and…" She said, interrupting him and walking a little more backward again.

"Stop talking for a little bit, I know I will miss the sessions, and I don't care," He said, picking her hands and stoping her from walking away from him.

"But…"

"Shhhh, hey, stop. Do not blame yourself for this one. It was entirely my decision, and you told me to stay, remember?" He asked, holding her face with both of his hands, "Exactly so not your fault at all," He said, giving a peck in her nose.

"I just really need some time, like alone?" She said, backing away from him again and holding back her tears, treating to fall.

"Yeah, I know. I am sorry I didn't respect that, I am so sorry really. But I can't let you hurt in the other hemisphere alone." He said, stepping forward again.

"But I… I don't want mess things up…" She said, breathing hard and letting a tear slip.

"Hey, listen, you are not messing up anything," Shawn sighed, bringing his fingers up to catch the tear.

"I am not?" She asked, finally looking at him, and letting him get closer.

"You are not." He said, hugging her close and letting her cry on his chest. "I really missed you, and you need me now, and that is okay. You don't have to be alone in this one Sophia, I want to be here for you." He said, rubbing her back in circles and trying to soothe her. It took a while for her to start to actually calm down. As much as Shawn hated the fact she was crying, he also knew she needed to cry at that moment, so he let her. He didn't try to speed her up, or to make her stop, he let her cry for as long as she needed until there were only sniffs and deep breaths left.

"Did your sister called you, was that why you came?" She asked once she was a little bit calmer.

"No, I mean yes she called, she told me some things. But I was already on the airplane coming here when she did." He said, moving her hair away from her face and tucking it behind her ears.

"Are you sure you don't need to go back?" She asked again, biting her lip. He smiled at that and brushed his lips in hers, feeling the salty taste of her tears still there before giving her a gentle kiss.

"I just got back home, and I am not going anywhere."

- - - - - - - Shawn x Sophia Taglist: @shawn-youth  General Taglist: @arypesanchez @turtoix @ivegotparticulartaste

[crushedbyhyperbole]

Promises - Chapter Six

Chapter Summary: Rules and red tape.  Bucky and Izzy make the agreement that will redefine their friendship from then on out.  Bucky thinks this is singularly the best and the worst idea he’s ever agreed to.  It’s not like there’s a chance something will go wrong further down the line, right?  Right?

A/N: Ok so I toyed with abbreviated text speak for the [text messages] but it annoys me so much I can’t bring myself to put it in there, authenticity be damned.  Yes, I’m anally retentive, it IS a big problem, and no, I’m not currently seeking help ;)

I’m just going to apologise that this chapter is mainly dialogue, and probably not all that good dialogue either, but it sets everything up for Bucky and Izzy’s friends with benefits relationship.  The next couple of chapters after this are going to be smut central so you have been warned.

Warnings:  Tiny bit of angst - Bucky is feeling the stress. Mostly just fluff and talking.

PROMISES MASTERLIST  |  MAIN MASTERLIST  |  MOBILE MASTERLIST

Belated Prologue Part Five - The Rules

At a little after lunch time the next day, Bucky’s phone buzzed to life.

  [Izzy]  Morning Buckinator!  This is your next morning sobriety text! X

So much for her forgetting, he thought ruefully.  I guess I’m really gonna have to consider the options, now.  Fuck!

  [Buck]  Good morning.  You feeling rough? x

  [Izzy]  I feel like I licked the inside of a trash can.  What did you give me to drink?  Booty juice? X

  [Buck]  Hey, you asked for it x

  [Izzy]  I remember asking for something else too… so how about it? ;)

Euphoria.  Fear.  Anticipation.  Dread.  He felt them all and more each time he thought about the predicament that Izzy was putting him in.  He made a promise to himself that he’d keep his feelings under wraps, and do whatever he could to keep her in his life.  She was offering him something that he never thought he’d ever have but it was only half of what he wanted and it could ruin them if things went badly.

Rules were a good idea, they would help keep things in check and set boundaries.   There were only a few things that Bucky really wanted out of this arrangement and that was to safeguard their friendship and for it not to be a drunken booty call thing.  Oh, and safe sex.

  [Buck]  I dunno Iz we got a lot to lose if this goes bad x

  [Izzy]  It won’t.  Pinky promise. XX

She had to go and say fucking ‘pinky promise’.

  [Buck]  What got you started on this idea?

  [Izzy]  Honestly?  I’m horny and every guy I meet either comes with some amount of bullshit that I just don’t have the time or energy for right now.  I need a friend, someone who understands and will share this with me.  Guys I meet for 1 night are just there to get themselves off.  I want a bit more respect than that. X

  [Buck]  And your 1st thought was me? xx

  [Izzy]  Actually no, my first thought was paying for an escort but that doesn’t get you over the awkwardness of sex with a stranger. X

  [Buck]  I dunno that can be fun :p

  [Izzy]  Fun but not what I’m looking for. X

  [Buck]  Fair enough.  Why me? xx

  [Izzy]  Of all of the people I know who would probably sleep with me, you’re the safest option.  I can’t ask Steve, he’d die of embarrassment lol. X

Steve would probably drop down dead if Izzy had asked him.  As it was, Bucky wasn’t doing much better.  His mouth was dry and he was almost shaking with nerves, skin pale and clammy.  Panic was growing in his chest and all he could think about was losing her if this all went tits up.  He registered somewhere in the back of his mind that Izzy had put him on the list of people who would maybe want to sleep with her.  He didn’t know if that said more about her or him, and didn’t know if he should be offended or not.  He let it slide.

  [Buck]  I’m pretty much dying over here too xx

  [Izzy]  You can say no, Bucky. I’ll not be upset or anything. XXX

  [Buck]  true story? x

  [Izzy]  True story.  Listen, are you free in an hour? X

  [Buck]  Yep, I work at 6 though x

  [Izzy]  Come round to mine, we’ll talk ok? XX

  [Buck]  Ok doll xx

Jesus what was he doing?  This had to be the worst and the best idea of all time.  He was torn between protecting what he had and seizing this new opportunity.  He might actually get the chance to sleep with Izzy, more than once too, and have it not ruin their friendship

 Izzy answered the door in lounge wear; black leggings, novelty slippers and a huge white rolling stones t-shirt.  There was no big showy seduction going down here which made him feel more at ease.  He was usually confident when it came to sleeping with women but this was one of his best and oldest friends.  There was a history there that he cherished as much as he cherished her.

“Drink?”  She offered, shuffling off to the kitchen in her slippers.

“Soda, coffee, whatever.  I’m easy.”

“Well I had heard that about you but I didn’t want to believe the gossip.”  She quipped.

“I see my reputation precedes me.  I presume that’s why I’m here.”  It was half a joke and half serious.

He was curious as to whether Izzy had chosen to ask him because he slept around a little and had no problem with no strings sex.  The problem was, with her, there were so many strings it was a tenuously strung web of feelings and memories.  No part of this was going to be easy for him, but she had asked, and he would give her anything.

She passed him a chilled can of diet Pepsi before slouching on the sofa.  She seemed comfortable with him, even in this awkward situation.

“I wouldn’t say it preceded you but I’m aware of it.”  She smirked lightly.

“I do come with recommendations.”  Bucky raised a sarcastic eyebrow.

She nodded, distracted, distant.  The missed opportunity for a ‘your mom’ joke betrayed her nerves.

“Look, you can say no.  I understand it’s not ideal.  I just need someone reliable who gets me and won’t hurt me.  Someone I connect with but who won’t make demands on my time or dictate to me how to live my life.  You’re one of the most laid back guys I know and you’ve always looked after me, Bucky.  I just need someone I can be with without any drama, you know, without any bullshit.”

Bucky felt like he was watching the scene from somewhere deep in his skull, too far behind his own eyes for him to actually be in control of his own mouth at this point.  What she was asking for was virtually everything he wanted but he wanted love too.  She was willing to give him almost everything he wanted other than a full-on relationship.

He decided it was as close as he was ever going to get and who knew, maybe the feelings would come for her later, just maybe she could learn to love him like he loved her.  Or even part way to that and he’d be ok with it.

“I know I can, Iz, it’s just that I really cherish what we have and if this thing that we’re talking about here doesn’t work, and if it ruins our friendship I don’t know what I’d do.  You and Steve, you’re everything to me.  I can’t lose you, not for a few tumbles in the sack.”  He was being as honest as he could without breaking his promise to himself.

“Then that’ll be one of the rules.”  She said, regarding him carefully.

Bucky licked his lips absently as he thought about it.  It could work, if they absolutely promised each other that their friendship came first, no matter what.

“Okay.”  He said, blowing an unsteady breath out through pursed lips.

“Okay?”  She jumped with anticipation.

“Yeah.”  Bucky sighed right before Izzy threw herself forward to hug him.

“You’re awesome!”  She breathed against his neck.

She felt different, all of a sudden.  The giddy thrill of holding her with his feelings kept hidden had been replaced with the deep burn of longing.  He had permission to want her now, permission to touch her more than he ever had, but yet he didn’t.  They needed to set boundaries.

Pulling away, he stood up, turning his back to her as he collected himself.

“I have requirements.”  Bucky said, after a few long moments of silence where they both just existed in the space, contemplating how everything was going to be different for them both after this.

“Okay,” she pulled out her phone.  “Rule 1.”

“Protection.  The sex always has to be safe.”

“Okay, yeah, good.”  She typed quickly.  “Rule 2.”

“Respect.”  Bucky crossed his arms across his chest and frowned slightly as he searched for the right words.  “No drunken booty calls, or making the other person feel shit for saying ‘no’.  We respect each other as we always have and respect our other friends too.”

“Okay, got it.”  She smiled softly.

“You do one or I’ll feel like I’m dictating.”

“Rule 3.  No catching feelings.”  She said after a long pause.  “If it’s just sex it should be just sex.  One person falling for the other will probably end in disaster so no feels and no jealousy.”

That was her first rule, no falling in love with him?  Did it matter that he had already fallen for her?  She said ‘no catching feelings’ but his were already caught.  No matter how he looked at it, it still hurt to hear.

“Ok, in that case rule 4 should be no displays of affection.  No kissing, no cuddling, no holding hands romantically, no gifts other than maybe the standard shit we’ve always done at Christmas or birthdays.”  He clenched his jaw slightly.  This was more difficult than he’d thought it would be.  “Rule 4 supports rule 3.  If there’s to be no chance of one of us catching feelings then avoiding the little things like that will help.”

“Right.”  Her fingers tapped frantically over her phone screen. “Rule 5.  We both have to get off.  I’m about done with guys and their panda antics.”  She said with a frustrated sigh.

“Panda antics?”

“You know.  That joke?  Why is a man like a panda?  Because he eats, shoots and leaves.”

“Ohhhh, that’s witty.”  Bucky smothered his smirk.  “You know I’d never do that to you, right?”

“Let’s call this insurance.”

“What if I want to get you off but not myself?”  He couldn’t believe he was even discussing this stuff with her.

“I suppose that’s your call.”  She bit her lip thoughtfully.  “Okay, so we both have to be willing to make sure we both get off, unless we choose otherwise for ourselves.”

“Okay, deal.  Rule 6.”  Bucky sat back down beside Izzy, the warmth of her leg against his was both comforting and alluring.  “We only do this while we’re both single.  And we’re up front about the people we’re seeing.”  He wanted to know in advance if there was to be someone else on the scene.

“As soon as we think we might like someone we press pause.”  Izzy was concentrating on getting it all down on her phone as Bucky watched her.  The way she chewed the inside of her mouth, her minuscule frown.  He couldn’t believe he was this close to having her.

“Rule 7?”

“Rule 7.”  She mused.  “We have to keep it secret.”

“Yeah, Steve would freak the fuck out!”

“Imagine the lectures?  Oh god!”  She laughed.

“No one is gonna understand this whole thing so yeah, keeping it to ourselves is a good call.”  Bucky could do that.  The only person either of them would have an issue keeping a secret from was actually Steve.  It would be interesting to see if he could tell there was something going on.

“Rule 8.  Just sex, no making love.”  She sat back against the cushions as she wrote.  “No sleepovers in the same bed either.  And we should probably avoid using the word ‘love’ at all too.”  She tapped her phone against her thigh as she mentally weighed the idea.  “If we never say it, even to describe something, then it can never be misconstrued.  Rule 3, remember?”

“Sure.”  He said in absent agreement.  “Define making love.”

“Oh, you know, slow and passionate, with kissing and holding each other.  Staring lovingly into each other’s eyes, that sort of thing.”

“Right.”  He had a significant downward turn to his excitement now.  All these rules put in place just to stop either of them from catching feelings.  Knowing when you were breaking rule 8 might be difficult but he supposed that if you left out the kissing and eye contact then some slow sex might get past unnoticed.  “Rule 9?”

“No nudes.”

“Seriously?”  Disappointment didn’t cut it.

“Seriously!”  She chastised.  “There’s no way I’m letting naked pictures of myself anywhere near your phone, that any one of your friends might see… Hell no!”

“What if I wanted to send but not receive?”

“You wouldn’t want to receive?”

“Well, yeah I would, but…”

“No nudes, Bucky.”

“Ahh come on, you’re breaking my balls here.”

“What would you want them for anyway?”

“You have to ask.”  He laughed.

Izzy just shook her head with a bemused smile.  She knew, of course she did.  All guys liked to keep something to get them going with their personal time.

“Okay then, rule 10?”

The pair of them pondered in silence for a few moments.

“I got nothing.”  Bucky shrugged.

“Ooooh!”  Izzy twitched.  “Rule 10 should be the all-encompassing friendship rule.  Our friendship comes first, no matter what.”

How could he have forgotten that one?  It was the thing that was most important to him.  The first thing he’d said before they even started concocting rules and boundaries.

“That’s the most important thing to me, Izzy, I mean it.”

“Me too.”  She smiled and squeezed his hand.

After a long pause, she read through the 10 rules they had drawn up.  There were a few things that weren’t covered but they could go on for days creating red tape for themselves.

Red tape, hmm, I wonder. 

“So is there anything you don’t like, or won’t try?  Anything that’s a total turn off?”  Bucky wanted to get some insight into the territory he’d be traversing.

“Honestly, I don’t know.  I guess we just talk about it?  Do the respect thing, no forcing each other and no guilt trips if one of us says no.”

“Sounds fair.”  Bucky nodded.  “And when exactly are you thinking we start this arrangement?”

“Whenever you’re ready.”  She said calmly, like this wasn’t the most nerve racking thing he’d done since leaving the army.

Bucky just blinked.  Was he ready?

Continue to chapter seven >>>

[juju-on-that-yeet]

Choke

Prompt: Whumptober Day 19, Ashyxiation

Summary: MarkBop is mugged on his way to the skatepark by a person willing to kill to steal from him.

Warnings: Strangulation, mugging (no death tho)

Tagging: @peribloke​ (ask to be tagged!)

Read on AO3 (Full Whumptober Series)

Enjoy!

~

MarkBop rather likes walking to the skatepark alone. Not that he dislikes walking with Bing, but it’s nice to be out in the sunshine, listening to music, peacefully walking along instead of trying to keep up with Bing’s excited speed-walking. Bing is already at the park today, and he has been since early morning. Bop was too tired to go with him after spending half the night trying to record a cover, but now that he’s had enough sleep, he’s already texted him and let him know that he’s coming to join him. So he walks along, enjoying the warm LA sun and the new album he’s listening to through his airpods.

He’s been warned, though, not to listen to music while he’s walking in the city. 

Mostly by Dr. Iplier, who’s the one who gives him icepacks when he gets too engrossed in his tunes and walks into poles or trips over something he didn’t see. But by Oliver, too, who worries that some unsavory character might take advantage of Bop’s absentmindedness to attack him. Bop admits he doesn’t like the thought of that, but it hasn’t ever happened, and it’s broad, bright daylight right now, so he doubts he has anything to worry about.

But it turns out there’s a first time for everything, and Bop is suddenly grabbed by his arm and pulled into the alley he’s passing by.

“Don’t speak,” orders the assailant, a brick wall of a man in a nondescript black hoodie, “Just give me your wallet.”

Bop is stunned. He opens his mouth and closes it again. His heart races and his breathing picks up. Worse than the situation he’s found himself in is the fact that he has nothing to offer: No wallet, and no money. Most of the other egos don’t have money, either. The ones who do provide for the ones who don’t, and most don’t have a need to carry much around. Bop hardly ever carries money, and he isn’t carrying any today.

“I don’t…” he manages, beginning to tremble as the other man holds his arm in a vice grip, “I don’t…”

“What, you have no money?” The man scoffs. “Explain those fucking things in your ears, then.”

Oh, right. Bop’s airpods. Granted, he’s not the only ego who got them; a few of them asked for them when they came out, and they got so obnoxious about it (it was Bing and Bim, mostly) that Dark finally relented and got airpods for everyone who wanted them. Bing lost his pretty much immediately, of course, but Bop still has his own.

“G-Gift,” Bop manages. It’s not an incorrect statement.

“Likely story,” the man mutters. He snatches them out of Bop’s ears anyway and shoves them into his pocket. “Gimme your phone, too, and don’t tell me you don’t have one.”

Bop does have his phone, but he doesn’t want to give it up. No, he can’t. The other egos’s phone numbers are on it, not to mention Mark’s, and letting that information fall into the hands of some random human would be a dangerous disaster for Dark to clean up. Bop hears people nearby walking past the alley he’s in, and decides to take a chance.

“Hel–!”

Not enough, not enough, it’s as if the man can see what Bop’s planning before he does it. Both his hands grab Bop by the throat, squeezing it so fast it makes Bop cough. But the cough has nowhere to go, and it stays trapped in his chest, making it burn. He struggles, trying to push the man’s hands away, but that only makes him force Bop to the ground so he can straddle him, trying to keep him still.

“You should’ve fucking known not to yell,” the man growls, tightening his grip on Bop’s throat until he gags.

Bop continues to struggle, clawing at the man’s hands as his chest and throat burn. His mouth is frozen wide open, helplessly gaping, searching for air. His vision starts to fade out, but before it does, he feels something in his throat crackle, give, sending shooting pain down his neck. The burst of adrenaline-fueled panic it causes lets him arch his back off the ground enough to jostle his assailant. But it’s not enough to make him stop. He bears down, leaning more weight into his hands, and Bop loses the ability to think. It’s only no air, no air, no air, no air, no strength, no fight, no movement, no sight, no light, nothing.

~~~

“Bop! Bop!! Please baby, wake up, come on!!”

Bop comes back in an instant.

His first instinct is to cough, and cough he does. Someone – Bing, who else – helps him sit up. Bop can’t look at Bing for coughing, but he grabs for him helplessly, looking for support. Bing huddles closer to him and rubs his back as Bop tries to breathe. Even without the man’s hands on his neck, he still feels pressure, still feels something wrong. His throat feels rough, raspy, cracked, and pain shoots all the way down to his chest with every cough. Finally, after what feels like forever, he gets his breathing under control and the coughing stops. Bing wipes tears of exertion from Bop’s eyes, staring at him with barely-disguised fear and completely-undisguised relief.

“Oh, Boppy, you’re alright,” Bing gasps. He pauses. “I mean, you’re not really okay…” He glances at Bop’s neck and winces, and Bop has no doubt that his neck has an ugly ring of bruises around it. “But you’re alive,” Bing continues, “I was so worried when I saw that guy strangling you–”

“How–” Bop rasps, coughing as he tries to make words come out his abused throat, “How’d you know?”

Bing’s face falls at that.

“You butt-dialed me. When you were getting strangled.” His voice trembles. “I didn’t know what it was at first, but then I heard the guy tell you you shouldn’t have yelled, and I knew something bad was happening. But, hey,” Bing adds, pulling something out of his pocket and trying to smile. “I got these back for you.”

It’s Bop’s airpods, no worse for wear.

“How?” Bop asks, his voice so raspy it’s nearly unintelligible. Bing’s expression changes again, this time becoming solemn.

“Punched the guy in the face,” he says as Bop puts his airpods into his pocket. “Broke his nose, told him I’d break the rest of him if he didn’t give up whatever he took from you.” He cups Bop’s face in his hands, pinky fingers bending down to trail over the topmost edge of the bruising on Bop’s neck. “I would’ve done it, too. After how bad he hurt you.” He leans forward and kisses Bop, and Bop melts into it as exhaustion catches up to him. The sigh he lets out is raspy and quiet.

“C’mon,” Bing says, “Let’s go home. Doc’s gotta look at your throat.”

Yeah, Bop tries to say, but nothing comes out but a rumbly puff of breath. His eyes widen.

My voice, he thinks, oh no, my voice!

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Bing murmurs, putting together Bop’s distress, “Doc’ll give your something for your throat and you’ll be able to talk in no time.” He scoops Bop up, carrying him effortlessly. “Just relax, I’ll get us home.”

It’s easier said than done, but Bop snuggles against Bing and tries to calm his beating heart, thumping in time to the pain pulsing in his throat.

[kamino-ink]

Behind The Mask | Lee Felix

✧ Genre: Spiderman!au, fluff, angst

✧ Summary: You’ve started to notice how your friend has begun to show up to class absolutely exhausted, always falling asleep - he claims it’s just his schoolwork and his internship, but what you don’t know is that his so-called “internship” is actually his duty to serve the people of Queens as Spiderman.

✧ Word Count: 3.2k

✧ Check out my masterlist!

                                         ✧

 “So, class, as you can clearly see on the board, there are about four key reasons why water is so vitally important to us, as human beings, and the planet itself-”

 “Do you think this is how he dirty talks to his husband in bed?” Jisung whispered to you across the lab table, leaning dangerously close to a stray beaker on the edge of the desk.

 “Dude, I didn't need that image in my mind. Thanks a lot.” You groan sarcastically to the amused boy, discretely reaching over to slide the beaker closer to the middle of the table so the clumsy kid would (hopefully) not somehow manage to break it.

 Jisung sticks his tongue out at you before turning his attention to a very dazed looking blonde beside you. “Come on, it was funny - right, Lix…? Felix? Hellooo?”

 You tilt your head slightly in curiosity as to why the boy next to you wasn’t answering his other friend, your gaze drifting over to his slumped over form. He was just barely holding his head up with his chin resting on the palms of his hands, though his legs drooped down to the floor, the bottoms of his shoes swaying above the ground. His black turtleneck was covered up by the plaid shirt draped over it’s material, though spots of the coal colored cloth was made visible by the odd tears in the overlapping shirt.

 Lately, you’ve begun to notice something... off, about your close friend. He was mostly quiet, unless he was with you or Jisung, choosing to crack stupid jokes around the two of you instead of trying to amuse a larger crowd. That hadn’t changed, really, but Felix was starting to make weird excuses to not hang out with either of you after school some days - this didn’t happen every single day, of course. Though, whenever you saw him again either at school or outside of it, the teenage boy would be covered in spots of dark bruises or little cuts protected from the outside air by bandages (usually Star Wars or Hello Kitty ones, curtesy of his aunt.)

 Needless to say, you were starting to wonder if maybe Felix had somehow managed to have a run in with a bad crowd - perhaps he had been influenced by them, hence the cuts and bruises.

 “Yo Felix, wake up,” you grunt, noticing how your teacher had paused for a split second in his lecture to send a heated glare to the dozing boy, “what’s up with you? This is the third time you’ve nearly fallen asleep in class just today. It’s not even eleven.”

The blonde slowly adjusted his position on the stool, now choosing to let out a whine as he let his tired body lead him to lean on your shoulder for support - mostly for his head. “s’ the Stark Internship, Y/N, I already told you guys like a miiiilion times.”

 “I am going to personally beat Tony fucking Stark up if he keeps making you work so hard. Does the man have his head so far up his ass that he can’t see how exhausted you are?”

 “Look, I swear he isn’t overworking me. I’ll be on a break soon, promise.”

 “Pinky promise?”

 He lets out a soft sigh, begrudgingly bringing up one of his hands from his lap to link his pinky finger with your own.

 “Pinky promise.”

 “Fuck me!” Felix screamed into his pillow, completely ignoring a smirking, amused Jisung sat at his own desk just a mere few feet away.

 “Eh, I think I’ll pass,” the cheeky teen snickers, dodging a pillow that the younger had thrown violently at him from his spot on the bottom bunk, “you kind of did this to yourself, Lix. You pinky promised Y/N that you wouldn’t let Stark overwork you-”

 “But it isn’t Mr. Stark telling me to do all these jobs, Jisung! I’m the one who keeps putting myself in these shitty situations.” The blonde shot back almost too quickly in his hero’s defense, throwing his legs over the edge of his bed so he could properly sit up and face his friend.

 An entire week had since passed the day in chemistry class where you had made Felix pinky promise to take a real break from his “internship.” What you obviously didn’t know was that Tony Stark had little to no time to direct Felix’s superhero antics each and every day or night; it was all him, for the most part. In fact, you weren’t even aware of Felix’s superhero alter ego - Spiderman. Only Jisung was aware of his otherwise secret identity, not including the amazing scientist himself. Sure, he sort of felt guilty about not telling you of his secret, especially since he knew you would support him through thick and thin, no matter what - the only thing that might change or, well, increase is your babying of him. You already worried enough about his consistent injures, why should he put that burden of knowledge on your head?

 But now, the injures had gotten worse - he had a run in with some ragtag gang of robbers at a convenience store a couple nights ago, and one of the bastards had managed to slash through his suit deep enough to leave a mark on his arm. The following day, he had neglected to wear longer sleeves, which meant that his bandaged wound was open for anyone to see - and boy had you seen it.

 “Felix, what the fuck happened to you?” The burning question had been on the tip of your tongue the entire day at school, only you had decided to wait to confront Felix about it until you both began to walk home.

 “I uh - nothing, I swear - I just got... mugged?” He lied to you through gritted teeth, the following laugh stained with awkwardness.

 “How the fuck were you mugged in broad daylight?”

 “Well, um it was actually like... around eleven, I guess?”

 “What - Lix, why in the world were you out so late? There is no way in hell May would’ve let you out at that time for no reason.” You whirled around on him now in the middle of the otherwise deserted sidewalk, crossing your arms over you chest impatiently.

 “S-Stark Internship? Yeah! I was supposed to get some field work done before the next morning and I forgot the other half of the day, s-so I had to finish it really late.”

 Needless to say, you had quickly snapped in a blind, chilling rage, badmouthing the multi-millionaire in front of his nervous intern, who first came to you as your best friend. You brought up the fact that Felix had promised to take a break from the exhausting internship, to which the already perplexed, panicked teenager had then snapped at you of all people, saying that this internship was basically his duty - his life. Since then, you had been silent towards the boy all week, refusing to speak to him out of pure agitation, worry, and hurt.

 “Listen, I know that this entire ‘I’m a superhero’ thing is really, really important to you. But you have to take a step back and look at the bigger picture sometimes; clearly you’re working too much, and between school and your spidey-shit, I’m honestly surprised you haven’t collapsed yet.” The brunette admitted bluntly. “This isn’t healthy like, at all. I doubt Stark would appreciate you getting hurt so often just because you feel obligated to make him proud.”

 Before Felix could even get a word of retaliation out, he heard his phone’s ringtone faintly going off somewhere on his mess of a bed. He was about to just ignore whoever was calling at such an ungodly hour, but after a sharp glare from Jisung, he tossed a pillow and curled up blanket from the corner of his bed onto the floor to reach his still ringing phone.

 A picture you had taken of all three of you huddled together during Christmas last year displayed itself on the bright screen, showcasing your bright smiles and red cheeks from the cold day last year. The time read one-thirteen in the morning.

 Why were you calling so late?

 “Hello-”

 “L-Lix?” Your voice comes out as a stuttered whisper, immediately grabbing his rapt attention as he presses a button on his phone and puts you on speaker.

 “Y/N, why are you calling?” He notices Jisung shake his head from his seat, clearly wanting you to keep talking considering the dangerously low, nervous tone you were using.

 “I fell asleep on the train and m-missed my stop a while ago. I started walking home, b-but now these two people are following me. I - I think I’m close to the bank down the street, could you - could you come get me?”

 Felix shoots out of his spot on the comfy bed, tossing his phone onto the comforter while he darts over to his closet in a hurry. “Y-yeah, of course! Just don’t stop walking, okay? And stay on the phone-”

 “-Felix!”

 The line cuts off.

 Jisung throws himself up from his seat by the desk and grabs Felix’s phone from his bed, turning his back to the boy as he starts to slide his suit onto his body in a rush. “Felix, she won’t pick up the phone now!” He says quickly, continuing to spam your contact even when they run out of the apartment - not bothering to see if May was awake or not.

 “She said that she’s by the bank, right? I’ll swing over there and take care of the creeps, you call the police and meet me there.” The superhero tells the following boy his plan, already shooting out a splatter of webs onto the side of the building so he can swing into the air.

 He knew that you wouldn’t hang up on him, especially after calling him for help. It was likely that you had already called the authorities beforehand just in case, but he was too worried that they wouldn’t be able to get to you in time. Felix had already lost too many people that he loved in his life, he wasn’t about to risk losing you too.

 The city of Queens was relatively peaceful during the darkest hours of the night, with a good handful of its otherwise lively residents choosing to stay in the comfort of their homes rather than walking around at that vulnerable time slot. While everyone was more than aware of the superhero presence in their world and, specifically for them in the case of the web-slinging hero, city, the rising danger of criminal activity pushed them to refute from stepping outside when the villains might be lurking about in the shadows. This left the city of Queens to be oddly silent during those particular hours, which is why Felix would so easily hear your desperate screaming even before he had turned the next corner that led to the closed bank.

 “Let go of me, you assholes!” You shout at the perps, your voice coming out strangled in taut pain from how the manicured nails of the woman dig into the skin of your neck, her wrist pressing down harshly onto the front of it to regulate your pained breathing. Fighting back had proven useless, as each time you even tried to swing a leg at the powerful woman she would only further intrude onto your sensitive skin, drawing copious amounts of blood that dribbled down your neck and onto your exposed shoulder, the sleeve of your shirt having been ripped in the initial struggle.

 “No one is coming to save you, angel,” the man taunts you from a few feet away, cracking his neck, “not the cops or whoever you called. They won’t be able to piece your damn body back together - you see, my sister here has an acquired taste for blood, but mostly from pretty little girls like you.”

 “-Hey now, isn’t that cannibalism or something? Cause’ let me tell you, drinking human blood is not normal. Dude, that is so messed up.”

 In sync, all three of you twist your heads to look to wherever the sudden voice had come from in the dead of the night, the nails digging into your skin in the back of your mind the second someone else had suddenly appeared.

 Perched on top of a dimly lit lamppost was a figure you never would have thought you would be able to see in person - or in a sticky situation like the one you were currently tied into.

 It was him - Spiderman.

 The young superhero casually hopped off of the lamppost and onto the sidewalk, the pads of his covered feet soundless even then - it was no wonder that none of you had heard him approaching. “Alright creepy lady, if you could let my fr- erm, my little buddy go it would be greatly appreciated. Kinda makes my job easier.” He hums nonchalantly, his bug-eyes seeming to move with his suit as he analyzes the situation at hand.

 The redhead practically strangling you lets out a growl, sounding eerily similar to a wild dog, and easily releases her grip on your neck. Your back slumps against the brick wall as you take deep breaths, your throat sore from the strong pressure, stinging pain from her long nails ringing in your head.

 “A spider, huh?”

 “Everyone has a gimmick these days.” The brother retorts sourly, twisting his neck to make it ‘pop’ again while his sister steps up beside his shorter form. “Come on, Spiderboy, I would love to dissect your organs and the girl’s!”

 “I mean, you guys totally brought this onto yourselves.” He quips, not even hesitating to sling out four splotches of his webbing onto the creepy criminals, effectively ensnaring them into the sticky substance.

 But it could never be that easy, and Felix probably should've been expecting that much.

 While he had been making his way towards your shaking body still leaning against the wall for support, he had left his back turned to the two perps. Because of his keen focus on making sure you were still, you know, breathing, he hadn't noticed that the woman had tore through the web - not until he felt an all too familiar tingling sensation run up his arms, sending his hairs flying under the tightness of his suit.

 Before he could spin around and protect the both of you, she had snagged her nails - more like claws - underneath the hem of his mask, pulling it completely over his head and slinging it to the ground. The next few seconds were like a blur to you as Spiderman turned on his heels and threw the woman back onto the concrete with a sickening thud, splaying his web all over her from head-to-toe, including her entire skull so she couldn't catch a glimpse of his exposed face.

 But it was too late - you had already seen him.

 “F-Felix?”

 Said teenage boy whips his head around the second you utter his name in a shaky, bewildered tone. He sees the confusion, hurt, and complete awe in your glazed over eyes; you had seen him, you had figured it out without even needing to try.

 Lee Felix was Spiderman.

 “... so what you’re saying is I have even more reason to beat the ever living shit out of Tony Stark?”

 The blonde hisses a word of protest at your monotone grunt, accidently pressing down a bit too hard on the gauze he was using to wrap up your bloodied neck, which made you whimper softly in pain - almost immediately the boy bandaging you up paused in his movements, the tips of his cold fingers grazing your skin midair.

 “You’re fine, Lix. Keep going.” You uttered to the cautious boy quietly, watching his every hesitant move in the reflection painted on his bathroom mirror.

 When he had heard the sound of police sirens and the frantic shouting of Jisung approaching the bank a few minutes ago, Felix had panicked and grabbed his mask, slipping it over his head before he had scooped you up into his arms and swung back to his apartment. Luckily May had been in a deep sleep, so she wasn’t there to pester you two about your shared injuries.

 Jisung was on his way back, of course, since Felix had texted him a quick sentenced summary of what had happened.

 “Are you not - how are you not angry at me right now, Y/N?” Your best friend questioned you, guilt seeping into his soft, broken voice so much that it made your heart squeeze in your chest.

 “I’ll admit, I’m kind of ticked off that Han fucking Jisung knew before me, but I suppose I can forgive you for, you know... saving my life.” You laugh weakly, blinking slowly at the reflection of the boy, still clad in his blue and red suit, carefully finishing off the bandaging on your neck. While it most certainly was not the appropriate time for your pitiful heart to start racing in your chest at his close proximity and soft breaths fanning out onto your chilly skin, you couldn't help but fall into a short-lived daze when the boy grabs onto your thighs and turns you to face him.

 “I - I did want to tell you Y/N, I swear,” he mumbles, “Jisung found out on accident, and uh, obviously Mr. Stark knows because he gave me this suit n’ all. Don’t - don’t be pissed at him for encouraging me to do this, please? I was already sort of doing this stuff before he found me.”

 “But why, Lix?” You huff a bit selfishly, looking down at the floor of his tiny bathroom. “You could seriously get hurt doing this - we’re just kids, we’re supposed to be doing stupid shit like - like falling in love, going to the arcade with friends, and going to dumbass parties just for the free food.”

 “Because I’m the friendly neighborhood Spiderman, Y/N. I want to protect the people of Queens, and outside of it - I wasn't able to save my uncle, but... I have helped so many other people doing what I’m doing. I mean... I was able to save someone else I love, for once, tonight.” He whispers to you softly, lifting your chin with a single finger so you can meet his steady gaze.

 In all your time being friends with him, you don’t recall ever seeing Lee Felix looking so serious.

 “I was actually able to save you, Y/N - god I was so fucking worried when you called because y-you sounded so scared and I wasn’t there to prevent any of it from happening. I’m so thankful that I got to you before something terrible happened.”

 “I-”

 “Please don't interrupt, for once I’m actually talking about how I feel without chickening out like I usually do,” Felix laughs quietly, watching as your lips twitch into a small smile at his truthful words, leaving him to keep speaking, “I like you - love you, so much, Y/N. S-so, if you don’t mind, could I - could I possibly kiss you?”

 You nod with no hesitation, feeling your cheeks heat up when he gulps and starts to lean in, closer and closer until you lips are brushing against each other.

 “... so should I shut the door before May inevitably wakes up and potentially sees you two kissing? It might weird her out since Spiderman is kissing her nephew’s best friend.”

 “Jisung-”

 “I’ll take that as a yes.”

                                         ✧

[holycalum]

vice (c.h.) part TWO

part one part 3 part 4

summary- post meltdown at party, cal and (y/n) get into it ya that’s it

word count- 1.9k+

warnings?- swearing, some almost smut, 

a/n- im hoping this is better than the first part i hope u like it that is all for now calum and i made time to see each other after that. we miraculously had a few free hours that overlapped, so we sat in the library friday afternoon, deciding to knock out some homework from our shared class together as i delved into the cluster-fuck of my life 

calum pushed his books to the side, and laid on his arms, looking at up me. his brown eyes were wide and puppy like, a gaze that looked foreign on him.

“yes?” i laughed, resting my cheeks in my hands, i tried to keep my voice from shaking while i talked to him. despite him looking like he could choke me out with his pinky, he was oddly gentle around me. that didn’t stop my nerves at all in the slightest, he was hot and scary; a dangerous combination i had only seen in ashton, the years prior.

“we came here to talk about your very secretive situation,” he stated, rasing his eyebrows. “and you’ve hardly said anything.”

“sorry,” i mumbled, a blush creeping up my neck. “where do you want me to start.”

he shook his head and laughed, “i’m not really sure, just go at it i guess?”

“ok so, two married couples are friends, happen to both have babies at the same time,” i start, clasping my hands together, “couples are wealthy, figure that if they married into each other, they could be double wealthy, kids grow up, parents kinda force it.”

“ok weird,” calum says,

“hey,” i defended, grinning sheepishly.

“but nothing i didn’t expect,” he sat back up, leaning in his chair. the look he gave me almost had me melting on to the floor. “continue.”

“so, david, that guy, he’s like a family friend. it’s kinda all i’ve ever known, i guess i kinda had a crush on him in the beginning, because he was the only boy to give me attention. we dated through high school, and i ended up not really liking him much at all.” i rambled, biting my thumb nail. “but, my parents have been so adamant on me just marrying him. like, i told them i didn’t want to, and they went off, and told me that it was a privilege because it meant i never really had to think for myself, i’d always be taken care of. my whole life i’ve been spoiled and taken care of by my parents, they’ve basically programmed me to have to rely on david to live.” calum’s face dropped,

he opened his mouth before speaking, “so, you’re whole life you’ve just been with him?”

“pretty much,” i flipped my pencil around, focusing my eyes on the wooden pattern on the table instead of calum’s intense eye contact. “i tried dating people in college, after we broke up after high school, really only because we’d be apart. but, it doesn’t even matter, it’s not worth being in a relationship because i’m just gonna be with him anyways.” i let out a long breath, “i don’t even know why i’ve killed myself these last three years in college, if it doesn’t even matter.” i mumbled, tears stinging my eyes. i found myself spilling more than i usually did to people, it was like calum broke the dam inside of me and the words were pouring out of my mouth involuntarily.

“maybe it’s an opportunity to get out?” calum searched for solutions in the worst place to look. my heart ached.

“it’s just,” i breathed, forcing hot tears back into my eyes, “i don’t even know if i could, that’s my family, all i’ve ever known, and not marrying him would mean i fuck up their whole thing.”

“it’s not worth it…” he spoke for me, running tattooed fingers through his curls.

“yeah,” i agreed, “i mean i’ve accepted it, i’m just not happy with it.”

“what would it take to…yanno, save you?” he asked, gesturing at me with his hands.

i laughed, “i don’t know, fall in love with someone richer by the end of the year or piss them off so much they give in.” i closed my eyes for a second, “both are un-fucking-likely.”

“maybe not.” he grinned at me, brown eyes staring into mine.

my overbearing home life often caused me to be impulsive.

one moment, calum and i were having normal small talk outside my building, and then the next we were kissing and making a b-line to his place opposed to mine.

“holy shit,” calum breathed, tanned, tattooed fingers grazing my burning skin and he lit a fire within me i haven’t felt in a long time, if ever. “fucking gorgeous.” he mumbled against my throat, fingers gripping my hips.

“hmm?” i could feel my voice vibrate against his roaming lips and a shiver went down my spine. he disconnected his plump lips from the column of my throat, giving me a chance to leave a lingering kiss on his neck instead. he groaned and threw his head back against his headboard.

“you’re dangerous, pretty girl.” he spoke, voice broken. “for both of us.” “jesus christ, (y/n).” samantha scolded me, later that night. “hanging out with calum hood? i swear you do things in spite of your parents.” i squinted at her.

“what?” i could feel my hands get clammy, 

“you’ve seen him right? your parents would absolutely flip.” she grumbled, brushing her wet hair.

“when’d you even see me?” i asked, sitting on my bed. my heart was pounding loudly in my chest, threatening to jump out and land on samantha. then she’d definitely know i’m not innocent. 

“i was at the library,” she said, running her fingers through her now knot free hair. “oh my god, your dad would burn a city down if he saw you with him.”

“he was nice to talk to…” i trailed off, blushing at the events that took place, after we spoke.

“you sure that’s why you had a good time? because he’s nice to talk to?” she asked, each question jabbing me like a knife, “or because it would piss mommy and daddy off-is that a fucking hickey?”

“why are you being so mean about it?” i questioned, avoiding her accusation of my obviously bruised neck, and i glanced at her instead of my phone for a second, slapping a hand over the mark.

“listen, (y/n).” she sighed, turning around to face me. “calum’s not the greatest guy ever, you might get hurt and i don’t even think you’re doing this for the right reasons.”

“i would’ve done this with anyone!” i argued, “you sound like you’re making excuses, you’ve never been like this.”

“anyone you found attractive,” she remarked, “don’t think you would’ve fucked just any-“

“so, i’m just supposed to end up with david. that’s it?” i cut her off, my voice faded out, cracking a bit.

she let out another breath, “well, that’s what you always say anyways. cutting it kinda close…”

“what if i don’t fucking want to,” i rolled my eyes, “you’ve been all ‘fuck david’ since you’ve met me, and now suddenly when i’m trying to get out of this…you don’t even wanna support me.”

“that was before it was all real, (y/n).” samantha spat, “unfortunately for you, you don’t have anything but david. what else are you gonna do? marry calum?”

“who knows!” i yelled,

“i thought you would’ve accepted it by now,” samantha growled, “you’ve grown up a spoiled little girl and now you don’t want it.”

i let out a grunt and threw my phone onto my bed, and buried my face into my pillow. i heard a faint ringing and i groaned, rolling over and answering my phone. “hello?” i didn’t check to see who it was.

“hey, sweetheart!” my mom’s voice chirped from the other line, it was odd to hear from her.

“hi mom,” i said, my heart racing, “what’s up?”

“so…” she started, and it only caused my body to go cold. “we think you should just..come home. now.”

“you want me to what?” i stammered, fully sitting up and staring at the floor in disbelief. they wanted me to do what?

“come home, we think you should come home.”

i sputtered gibberish, not believing what i was hearing, “and why do we think this? who is we? what?”

“well david said-“

“oh so it’s david, you’re just gonna listen to whatever david says? i’m almost done! what the hell was the point of sending me if you’re gonna try and pull me out the second david says-“

“he just mentioned you weren’t doing well,” she said softly, but i’m fuming. “he thought it might be a good idea.”

“what does david know!” i yelled, my face hot. “he’s not even done with college! is he worried i’m tainted now, that our children won’t be perfect. god.” i couldn’t stop myself from raising my voice.

“calm down, (y/n).” my mom coos, i almost gag at her tone; it was condescending and i hated it. “i’m sure you can think about it and make a decision after midterms, right?”

“whatever,” i grumbled, and hung up. one of the many nights after that, i laid beside calum, blissfully fucked out. being around him was addicting, and i couldn’t get enough of him.

i closed my eyes sleepily, “wish i could just stay here,” i murmured, my head nodding to the side to look up at calum. he had his arm underneath my head, allowing us to touch and cool off at the same time.

“what was that?” he said, a cocky smile plastered on his face.

“wish i could just stay here.” i repeated, louder this time. the grin on his face exploded into a full smile. he pulled me closer to him, making me roll over halfway on top of him. i giggled and wrapped an arm around his waist. “i have to go home in a couple weeks…”

his grip on my arm tightened, “and see him.” he gritted his teeth, and i could feel his body tense up.

“i’m scared,” i whispered into the tattoo on his collar bone.

“why’s that, pretty girl.” he asked, posture softening at my tone. “wait-hold on.” he wiggled from my grip, leaving me laying face down on the bed. he returned a few moments later, wearing a pair of sweatpants and holding a shirt and boxers. he held them out for me.

i cocked an eyebrow at him, “so we don’t have to have a conversation naked,” he clarified, and i smiled taking the clothes from him. i shimmied then on, basking in his scent all around me. he climbed back into his bed, pulling the sheets back over us.

“why are you scared?” he asked again, comforter up to his chin, eyes wide and puppy like. i almost forgot why i was sad. it was easy to talk to calum about what was happening, after the day in the library he opened up a bit, softening around me, which was not what i had expected at all. i often filled him in, figuring updating him would be a release for me, but it only wove him into my life more.

i sighed, “i’m scared he’s gone propose to me.” i looked down at calum, and i wished i could keep the moment with me forever. he was right, this was dangerous, but i couldn’t stop myself.

“what would you say?” he whispered, reaching out for my hand to pull me to lay down with him again. my heart swelled at the sight of his messy hair and golden skin.

“i guess…” i squeezed my eyes shut, and laid back down. he pulled me close to him, “i guess i’d have to say yes.” i tried to focus on calum’s skin on mine and his smell instead of the knotting in my stomach and tears burning my eyes. instead of saying anything else, he squeezed me against his chest, and pressed a kiss to my forehead, leaving his mouth there.  

a/n- hi heres some slight angst. feedback is always appreciated. love u thank u goodbye until part 3

[stevesharrlngtons]

hey.

steve harrington x reader

summary: he was such a staple piece in your life, that as a child and young teen, you never saw your life without him. late night promises and pinky swears were made in blanket forts that you two would be friends until the day the sun burned out in the sky. it was just a given that’d he be there, that you never worried about the two of you drifting apart or being separated. he promised he’d always be there, and you had believed him. you now corrected yourself, foolishly believed him.

word count: 4.8k

chapter i / ii / iii / iv / vi / vii / viii

                                                   chapter v

After much complaining and bargaining on Steve’s part, he eventually agreed to take you home. The drive back to your house was filled with silence, but it felt warm and comfortable. Steve’s fingers were laced with your own. Your hand rubbed delicate lines on the top of Steve’s, if your eyes hadn’t been adverted out the windshield, you would have seen the look of pure happiness on his face.

This was the best he had felt in years.

“So.” Steve said, putting his car in park, once you arrived at your house.

“So?” You replied, still firmly holding his hand.

“I don’t think you should be driving to school alone anymore. I mean it’s freezing cold and I know for a fact my car heats up ten times faster than yours.” Steve said smiling playfully at you.

“Oh, is that so?” You returned his expression.

“Yeah, and I mean, it will save you on gas, and it will also save your mom on the phone bill since we won’t have to talk as long at night if we get to recite our days to each other on the drive home.” He was counting the reasons on his hand that wasn’t occupied in yours.

A blissful feeling settled over you at the thought of Steve wanting to spend his nights on the phone with you.

“And I mean, let’s be real, rolling up to school in my car will help you socially, because my car is so much cooler than yours.”

As Steve spoke you were beaming at him.

“Those are some compelling points.” You nodded, pretending to consider the options.

“Would these car rides include you bringing my coffee?” You quirked an eyebrow at him.

“I could concede to bring you coffee once a week.” Steve said back.

“Okay,” You dramatically sighed, “With the coffee, and the copious amount of money I’m going to be saving with your services…”

Steve looked at you like he was hanging on your every word.

“Yes. I will agree to let you drive me to school.”

Steve smiled widely, but rolled his eyes.

“I like how you make it sound like you’re doing me a favor by letting me drive you.”

“Aren’t I?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

The next morning, you couldn’t deny that you put more effort into your appearance than usual. Yes, you liked to look nice for school, but today you took extra consideration into getting ready. You finished getting done at seven- sixteen. You had almost twenty minutes until Steve would be at your house and you couldn’t even remember the last time you had been ready for school so early.

You laid on the couch and flipped channels mindlessly, trying desperately to will away the nervous quiver in your stomach. It was just Steve. And he was just driving you to school. It was nothing major, it was so painfully casual. But you couldn’t help but look out the window every couple of minutes waiting for him.  

Last night, and to be perfectly honest, the entire weekend had changed everything between you two. Your mind was still in a constant tug of war over your emotions for Steve, but one things you definitely knew now was that you two were friends again. Real friends. Not just friendly acquaintance that would smile at each other in the halls. Not enemies that avoided each other at every cost. But real-life friends that drove to school and spent weekend together, reminiscing and playing in the pool.

The skeptical part of you questioned if this was all just a ploy on Steve’s part to make Nancy jealous, but you really had faith that that wasn’t the case.

People can surprise us.

And this was Steve surprising you. This was a good thing.

The honking of Steve’s car outside pulled you from your thoughts and you scrambled to your feet. You grabbed your bag from the hook by the door and smoothed your hair down and fussed with your make up. You wanted to make him wait a few minutes as to not seem to eager. You didn’t want him to know that you had quite literally been waiting by the door.

After an appropriate amount of time, you took a deep breath and walked outside. Like every morning, the cold attacked you and made you wrap your arms around yourself. It must have been in the low twenties this morning, which made you walk hastily towards Steve’s car. Once you opened the door and entered the vehicle, the warm air enveloped you.  You let out a breath you hadn’t even known you’d been holding.

“Good morning, gorgeous.” Steve greeted you.

You turned to return the gesture and saw he was holding a large coffee and a brown paper bag.

“Coffee and breakfast, a thank you for giving me the privilege of driving you to school… and y’know, the privilege of giving me a second chance at friendship.” He sheepishly smiled.

Your eyes darted around his face, taking in his shy expression. The corners of your mouth turned up slightly.

“Well, thank you. For breakfast and for friendship, I guess.” You let out a breathy laugh and took the food from Steve.

“No problem.” He returned and started towards school, Rosanna by Toto playing quietly around you.

You let your eyes wander towards Steve every once and a while, watching his fingers drum on the steering wheel to the beat of the song, watching his tongue dart out across his lips, watching him run a hand through his quaffed hair. He was a masterpiece. It frightened you how causally beautiful he was. Caught up in your thoughts of Steve, you didn’t have time to move your gaze away from him when he looked over to you.

“What?” He laughed, his eyes switching between you and the road.

“Nothing,” You hummed, “Your hair just looks really good today is all.”

You had looked away by the time Steve’s cheeks glazed pink and he bit back a smile.

Steve’s car arrived in the parking lot right as the start bell rang.  You moved to exit the car, but out of the corner of your eye, you saw Steve sitting still. You turned in your seat to look at him.

“Come on kid, we’re going to be late.” You motioned your head towards the building.

“Okay, I’m coming.” He said nodding, his hands still firmly on the steering wheel.

“Really? Because it seems like you aren’t leaving this car anytime soon?” You prompted.

“I just…” He trailed off, running a hand through his hair, “I don’t want to deal with people’s accusation and stares. I know everyone is going to be talking about Tina’s party and Nancy and just…”

“I get it.” You reassured.

“But staying in here isn’t going to help anything. You need to go in there, head high, and give a standard, basic answer to everyone about what happened.”

“A standard basic answer?” He turned to you.

“Yeah, think of it like a press release.” Steve laughed.

“Like, “Steve and Nancy enjoyed their time together but have indeed broken up over differences they shared. They plan to maintain a friendship and support each other in the future.”” You said in your most professional voice.

Steve smiled and shook his head, “That’s actually pretty good.”

“I know.” You shrugged and finally opened your car door to exit.

Once you were standing you leaned down to look at Steve who was still sitting.

“Come on, today is the worst of it. Give your press release then every day will get a little easier.”

This statement is what finally got Steve out of the car.

The two of you walked closely to the entrance, your arms occasionally brushing together. Once at the doors you stopped Steve and faced him, your hands on each of his shoulders.

“You got this, okay? It’s just words, nothing anyone says is going to kill you.” He nodded.

“It might feel awful but just know, in five years, none of this teenage gossip bullshit will mean anything.” You gave him a gentle squeeze.

“None of it will mean anything.” He repeated, talking more to himself than to you.

“Right.” You smiled at him and let his shoulders go. You didn’t catch the disappointed look flash across Steve’s expression when your hands dropped.

“I’ll see you at lunch.”

Steve nodded and watched you walk away in the other direction, as you didn’t have your first periods in the same building. He had to admit he had been dreading today, but with you in his corner, it all felt okay.

Unsurprisingly, Steve and Nancy were the talk of the student body. In your second period you eavesdropped on two girls saying that she had cheated on him, while some boy chimed in and said that Steve had been seeing Carol behind Nancy’s back the whole time. You honestly wondered how these ridiculous rumors even got started. During your fourth period, right before your lunch break, you heard the worst rumor of all. Somehow, you guessed, because you mostly kept to yourself in that class, the two girls gossiping around you hadn’t even noticed you were in room.

“Well I saw (Y/N) (Y/L/N) get out of his car this morning.” One girl said presumptuously.

“No shit!” The other girl replied.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was the reason he broke up with Nancy.”

“I thought (Y/N) was dating that weird Byers kid?”

“No, but I heard that Nancy may have been fucking weird Byers while she was with Steve!”

“Man, this situation is messed up. I always thought they were so clean cut, but I guess you never know what happens behind closed doors.”

“Right? Totally freaky.”

You gripped your pencil tight in your hand as you listened. You didn’t even know where to begin in examining their conversation. You felt so utterly uncomfortable, that when the bell rang, you raced out of the classroom faster than you ever had. You made your way towards the lunch room, in search of Jonathan. You two needed to catch up now on what happened this weekend. So at least the two of you knew the whole truth. But searching the hallways and your usually hangouts around school, there wasn’t a trace of him. You had seen his car in the parking lot that morning, so you knew he was somewhere. As you walked towards the library, you heard your name being called. It was Steve.

“Hey, I’ve been looking all over for you.” He said, a little out of breath.

“Have you seen Jonathan?” You asked out right.

“What?”

“I saw his car in the parking lot, but I can’t seem to find him anywhere. I need to talk to him.” Your face held a worried expression.

“Hey,” Steve said concerned reaching to rub his hands up and down your arms comfortingly, “What’s wrong? Did he do something?”

“No, it’s just,” You sighed, “I just need to talk to him as soon as possible.”

You didn’t want to tell Steve about why you needed to talk to him. If he hadn’t already heard about the possible Nancy and Jonathan relationship, you didn’t want to be the one to tell him. And by the fact that you couldn’t find Jonathan and hadn’t heard from him since Friday, that didn’t bode well for your case about him not swooping in on Nancy so soon after her and Steve’s break up.

“Okay, well how about you call him when you get home? Or drop by to see Joyce and ask her where he’s been?” His voice was so soft it made your knees weak.

You nodded, “Okay.”

“Now let’s eat, I know your starving.”

You both opted to sit in Steve’s car to eat, wanting to avoid the feeling of people’s eyes boring into you anytime you both walked the halls. You chatted about your classes and the essay you got back in English, and Steve talked about playing basketball in gym and some of the rumors people had told him about his and Nancy’s break up. To your dismay, he had heard the Jonathan rumor.

“I wouldn’t be surprised.” He sadly shrugged after he told you, “I mean they’re really close and have a lot in common and stuff… that shit last year really brought them together.”

“Yeah, but I know Jonathan. I know he wouldn’t ever be okay with Nancy cheating with him. Plus, that boy can’t keep a secret from me to save his life, he would have accidently spilled if he was doing anything with her by now.” You reassured him.

“Yeah, you’re probably right… I mean you know him better than anyone.” You nodded.

“Man, if I would have known Nancy that well, maybe I could’ve seen all this shit coming.” He looked despondent.

“Don’t beat yourself up. There’s no point in it. What happened, happened. You can’t change that. All you can do is make adjustments for the future.” You said this casually, taking a bite from you sandwich.

Steve looked at you and nodded. Every time you gave such sound advice he forgot the two of you were the same age. You always carried yourself so much older.

“I know you’re right, I just-“ Steve began, until he felt your hand grip his arm and tear him down below the view of the windshield.

“Get down!” You said in a loud whisper.

“What?” Steve asked, his eyes bulging.

You slowly crept up, your eyes peeking through the windshield and towards the school.

“Speak of the fucking devil.” You muttered, still looking forward.

“What is it?” Steve asked, popping his head up to your level.

In front of the two of you was Jonathan and Nancy, both clad in big winter coats, walking towards a bench nearby.

“Oh, my fucking god. That bitch in my science class was right.” You voice dripped with anger, but you were still whispering.

“Yeah, well we can’t change what happened, right?” Steve quoted you, his eyes following the couple.

“Yeah, I know. But I can’t believe he wouldn’t tell me. That little shit.” You hushed out.

“It’s fine.” Steve shrugged.

“No, it’s not! How are you not as upset as me?” You turned your head towards Steve with a wild questioning look on your face.

“I don’t know,” Steve was still watching Jonathan and Nancy, “I guess I’m working on keeping the past in the past and moving on.”

“But so soon? You guys broke up like four days ago!” Your eyebrows knitted together. You were so confused on why he wasn’t fuming with anger.

“Yeah, but we emotionally broke up months ago. It’s actually weird how calm I am right now.” Steve cocked his head to look at you.

“Uh, yeah it is!”

“Why are you still whispering?”

“I don’t know, it feels like what you do when you’re spying on people.”

Steve broke out in laughter at your response, and you couldn’t help but laugh along with him.

For the rest of the school day and for the rest of the night, you couldn’t let go what you saw at lunch. Jonathan was your best friend. He was your one constant through every rocky part of the last four years and had kept this huge life altering secret from you. Maybe he hadn’t been with Nancy while she was still dating Steve, but he still was now. And maybe you were over reacting, maybe they were just reconnecting like you and Steve were, but his suspicious radio silence and avid avoidance of you made it all more fishy. Since Friday you’d called him four times. Three times there was no answer and the fourth Bob had answered, telling you Jonathan was out again. He was dodging you left and right and that really wasn’t like him at all. You wanted to talk about what was happening with Steve, what was happening with him and Nancy, what was happening just with Jonathan in general, but nothing. It was all a little to reminiscent of what Steve had done to you and that made your stomach ache. You wanted to be optimistic and believe that he was just busy and wasn’t even trying to avoid you at all, but life had made you cynical and you had an itching feeling that that wasn’t the case.

You tossed and turned in bed that night, your thoughts keeping you from sleep. They kept getting darker and darker. It was like falling into an abyss without anyway of stopping it. They ranged from Steve leaving you again, to Steve using you to Jonathan leaving you and Jonathan using you.

Eventually you stopped attempting sleep and just laid, starring at the ceiling as your thoughts ate away at you. Soon after, a small sound thankfully broke you away from your toxic trance. Small taps hit your window sporadically and you curiously got up to inspect the sound. You opened your curtains to see Steve standing in your yard looking up at you. You fought off a smile and lifted the window open.

“It’s two in the morning, you know?” You said down to him.

“So?” He flashed you a toothy grin.

“You know my mom is still out of town until tomorrow, right? You didn’t have to do this whole rocks at the window thing.” You crossed your arms on the windowsill as you spoke.

“Yeah, well I forgot about that.” Steve scratched the back of his neck and you laughed.

“Can we pretend I was doing this for nostalgia’s sake, then? Which isn’t even a complete lie.” Steve called up to you.

“Yeah we can.” You bit your lip as you smiled.

“Well, are you coming with me or what?” Steve held out his arms like he was going to catch you.

You rolled your eyes playfully and stood up, leaning down briefly to say, “I’ll meet you out front.”

You both found yourselves at a gas station about a mile outside of Hawkins. Steve was just driving aimlessly before he pulled over quickly, causing you to place your hands on the window and his arm, bracing yourself for impact. He claimed he was starving and hopped out of the car like he hadn’t just almost killed the both of you.

You walked in behind Steve, the florescent lights beaming down on you. Steve broke off from you to head towards the drink aisle, and you poked around the selection of hats and sunglasses this gas station had to offer. You moved the rotating racks around with your finger, in search of the tackiest hats you could find. Your eyes fell on two and you instantly knew they were the perfect ones. You picked them both up and rushed to find Steve. You found him in one of the aisles, arms full of food. When you approached him, he turned to look at you.

“I got up both drinks, some chips and a bag of gummy worms.” He said looking down at the contents in his arms.

“A well-rounded meal.” You smirked.

“I know right?” Steve shrugged, and just now noticing that your arms were behind your back.

“Whatcha got there?”

“I got us hats.” You grinned.

“Lemme see!” Steve said excitedly.

“Okay,” You brought both hats around from behind your back, but hid the sayings for dramatic suspense.

“Do you want,” You turned the hat around, “I’m Not As Think As You Drunk I Am,” Steve laughed as you turned around the second hat, “Or FBI: Female Body Inspector?”

“FBI, definitely.” Steve said moving his head towards that hat.

“Are you sure?” You asked, moving the other hat towards him, “Because I’m pretty sure you want this one.” You said leadingly.

Steve shook his head and laughed, “So, you want FBI?”

“No! Not at all!’ You said in faux shock, “I just think you, Steve Harrington, reaalllyyy want this one.”

“Fine.” Steve smiled.

“Yes!” You pumped your arm in victory and placed the hats on both of your heads.

You both walked up to the counter and Steve placed all his food there.

“This and the hats.” Steve told the man.

The old man stared at you and Steve, both wearing giddy smiles and giggling about something or other. He sighed and pushed himself up from his seat and rang up all of the purchases. Steve payed for everything and the two of you were back on your way. But instead of driving like you had planned to do, you ended up just sitting in his car in the parking lot. The blue and pink neon advertising signs illuminating you faces in the darkness.

The chips were placed on the center consul, the gummy worms on the dashboard, and your drinks in their respective cup holders. You both sat facing each other, knees bent up on the seats. You dove your hand into the gummy worms, placing a few in your palm for easy access and popping one in your mouth.

Steve watched you with a quiet adoration. He could tell by your relaxed demeanor and smile on your face that you were comfortable with him, happy even. His fingers twitched at the place they lay on his knee. They were itching to hold you again, your hand, your body, anything. His skin had already become accustomed to the feeling of yours against it and now there was no going back. You were encased in the softest silk he’d ever felt, and it was a tragedy no one had ever treated it with the care he knew it needed. He watched your mouth chew the candy and the edges of your lips quirk up. As they moved he couldn’t help but wonder how they’d feel pressed against his own. Your eyes shown with a tinge of blue and pink. The lights didn’t dilute their beauty, only made more exquisite to look at. His repressed love for you erupted up more in him every time he looked at you.

“Turn some music on, Harrington. Too quiet in here.” You said threw your gummy worms, completely oblivious to Steve’s loving admiration.

“Aye aye.” Steve said straightening his posture and making you laugh.

Your laugh. Something, since you were children, Steve would do absolutely anything to hear.

He went to flipping channels on the radio until he found a song he enjoyed, and he was pretty sure by the shirt you had worn to school once, you did too.

You hummed out happily at Steve’s selection and you gripped your chest dramatically, “Uh, I love song.”

“Thought you might.” Steve said with a smile, settling back in his seat.

You sang silently along with International Lover by Prince, Steve being a very enthusiastic and receptive audience.

“I saw Prince last year in Indianapolis with my mom.” You said in between your performance.

“Yeah, I saw you in the tour shirt a few months ago.” Steve said, tipping the rim of his can towards you.

“Keeping tabs on me, huh?” You quirked an eyebrow playfully at the boy across from you.

“Always.” Steve said meeting your gaze.

You both looked at each other in a moment that was almost transcendent. You cursed yourself for how fast your heart was beating and how much you wanted to pull him to you. Steve’s eyes searched your face like he did that night in the pool, and you thought maybe he wanted to kiss you, too. But you wouldn’t let that happen. Not now. You two were just rebuilding your friendship and he was still trying to cope with losing Nancy. Sure, earlier that day he had talked about moving on, but that didn’t mean he was officially moved on from her. No. This couldn’t happen. At least not tonight.

“How’s my hat looking?” You asked, breaking eye contact with Steve.

A flash of hurt came over him before he repaired his expression. He put on a wide smile and said, “Not looking half bad. Did you get that hat when you were in the FBI?”

“Yes, actually. But Raegan kicked me out for talking about aliens and shit too much. And for being too good at inspecting female bodies… They gave me this hat as severance.” You pointed up to your hat.

“Well, on behalf of our nations female bodies that now remain un-inspected, we deplore the government’s decision to let you go!” Steve said saluting you.

You burst into laughter at Steve’s words. You loved just having silly conversations with him. No hang ups or awkward pauses. Just laughter and smiles.

“Thank you.” You said bowing in front of him.

You continued to chuckle to yourself and eat another gummy worm, again not aware of Steve’s expression while he looked at you. You were about to open your mouth and continue the bit you to had just started when Steve cut you off.

“Do you know there is a rumor you and me are dating?” Steve said.

You looked up from your lap at Steve in astonishment. You had heard the rumor but would have never brought it up to Steve. It made it seem like you were trying to feel out if his feelings for you were platonic or not.

Oh shit, is that what Steve was doing?

The look from the pool and now this? You felt the familiar feeling you had felt on Saturday morning raise in you again. You wished there was an escape route or a robbery, anything so you could get out of having to have this conversation.

Shit, shit, shit, (Y/N)! You’ve been quiet for way to long, your mind screamed at you, Say anything!

“Uh, yeah. I think I heard something about it.” Your words tumbled out.

“But, my favorite rumor I heard was that you were fucking Carol the whole time you were with Nancy! Like imagine you and Carol having sex! Ugh, it gives me the chills just thinking about it.” You shivered and laughed louder than intended. You were desperate to change the subject.

“It wouldn’t be so crazy, though? Right? Like, you and me or whatever.” Steve said looking at his hands.

Again, you were taken by surprise. You couldn’t even come up with a coherent response. You mind was just screaming for you to abort.

“I didn’t think I could date someone who spends more time on his hair than I do.” You said sarcastically and gave another awkward laugh.

Steve chuckled a little, but it was clear to both of you that wasn’t the response he wanted. But as of right then, it was the only response you could bring yourself to say.

After that the radio and every other noise just became static to you. You were in a full-on panic and trying desperately not to show Steve that. He couldn’t like you. He was just sad without Nancy and ready to fall into something else. He missed having someone to fawn over and kiss and look at lovingly. If any other girl was in the car with Steve right now, he would have been making the same moves on her, too. You were sure of it. You nibbled on your thumb nail anxiously but then Steve spoke again.

“With your mom gone so much,” He started, neither of you looking at the other, “do you ever get lonely? Like, does it ever feel like it’s eating you up?”

You nodded, secretly happy that the subject had changed from you two dating, “Yeah, sometimes. Sometimes it’s nice being alone. But other times, I am just so hyperaware that I’m all alone in this huge house with no one to talk to.”

“I know the feeling…” Steve sighed.

You looked up at him confused.

“What do you mean?” From what you remembered Steve’s parents were always around, bordering on helicopter parents.

“My dad is always being flown out for meeting or conferences or whatever else. And my mom… I don’t know, she either tags along or just goes on a Staycation in Indianapolis.” Steve spoke sadly.

“That’s fucked up.” You said bluntly.

Steve let out a sad chuckle, “Yeah, it is, isn’t it?”

“Well,” you said perking up in your seat, “Now that we have the band back together, we never have to be alone again.”

Steve finally looked at you. Your heart broke at the sight of his glossy eyes.

“Just like old times, okay? When our parents are gone, I’ll come over and we’ll watch movies and swim. Or you’ll come over and we’ll watch movies and I don’t know… get drunk? Build forts?” You smiled as you spoke.

Steve offered you a watery smile and nodded.

“I’d like that.”

You repositioned yourself, so your cheek was now resting on Steve’s knees. You grabbed his ankle and ran your thumb comfortingly over his skin.

“Me too.”

[joeys-piano]

A Bowl of Katsudon with You

@mypoorfaves , because I want to gift this to you and you have a cute writing style

When Viktor woke up that morning, Yuuri wasn’t next to him. His arms were bare, cold without Yuuri’s touch. Viktor eased out of bed slowly. Poking his hand over the nightstand, fishing for his phone. The time illuminated over the screen. 5:15 a.m. Viktor scratched the back of his head. The sleeve of his tank-top slipped off his shoulder. He shuffled around the bedroom, waving his arms in front of him. Squinting his eyes by the time he touched the bedroom door, felt it loosen under his grasp.

Yuuri had gone this way.

Viktor followed. Stepping over a sleeping Makkachin, but Viktor paused to scratch behind the poodle’s ear. Fingers trailing over Makkachin’s poofy back, Viktor walked forward. Brushing his shoulder against the hallway for support. Ears alert when he heard a clank. From the bathroom, but there was no light. But a bottle of pills rolled out from the doorway, smacking the tip of Viktor’s toes.

He wasn’t dreaming, right?

Viktor wasn’t in a Japanese horror film that showcased the Tokyo Crows, a pretty horrifying movie that messed with a viewer’s psychology than their gross-meter. Not that Viktor watched it or anything. But back to the topic at hand, something was in Viktor’s bathroom and Yuuri was missing. Tiptoeing closer to the bathroom, Viktor held his breath. Snuck his hand through the crack between the door, flicked the light on with his pinkie.

Ten different light bulbs flickered on at the same time. Bathing the bathroom in light, stirring a snoring-figure from the toilet. It was Yuuri! And Viktor rejoiced, enveloping his fiance into his arms. Tucking his chin onto the crook of Yuuri’s shoulder. Squishing his precious katsudon, but Yuuri nudged Viktor with his finger.

“Sweetheart, are you okay?”

“Now I am!”

Yuuri winced. Viktor whispered an apology before kissing the tip of Yuuri’s nose.

And then, he saw the problem. Well, he felt it first. There was a level of self-control involved when Viktor parted his lips off from Yuuri’s nose. Three seconds of nothing before Viktor grabbed the mouthwash bottle and took a swig. Yuuri managed a weak chuckle before he blew his nose into a very sticky, wad of tissues. Compressed because he had been holding the wad all night long.

“Baby, are you sick?”

Yuuri weakly punched Viktor on the chest. “I didn’t want to bother you this morning, so I came here by myself.”

“Turn on the lights next time.” Viktor escorted Yuuri back to the bedroom, tucking his fiance in. Keeping a fresh box of tissues right next to his love, and Yuuri thanked him.

“I’m sorry for scaring you.”

Viktor shook his head. “I’m just glad that a crow wasn’t in my bathroom.”

The two managed to laugh, even though it was too early to do so. Viktor crawled right next to Yuuri, snuggled under the same blanket. Today was Saturday, so they didn’t have to go to the rink. However, today was also their date-night and Viktor could only imagine how anxious Yuuri would be if they had to go out. So even though the Russian was underneath his blanket, cuddling with his love, Viktor hatched out a perfect plan.

He and Yuuri were going to make katsudon. The catch: Viktor was going to do all the cooking.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Yuuri mumbled, curled on a stool. Snuggled under a blanket, hugging a box of tissues as Viktor pulled out an apron from the closet. Tying it from behind before raiding the fridge.

“It’ll be perfect, Yuuri. What’s the first ingredient?”

Yuuri wiped back a tear. “Let’s make an easy version. Can you steam two cups of rice for me?”

“With the rice-cooker, right?”

Yuuri nodded.

Viktor shoveled through the cupboard, yanking out the stubborn rice bag. Measuring two cups of rice before tossing it into the rice-cooker. About to turn it on, but Yuuri managed to stop him in time.

“The rice will be tastier if you wash and soak it, dear.” Yuuri struggled off his stool, but Viktor told Yuuri that he had everything under control. Until the Russian somehow set the rice ablaze. No, that didn’t happen, but Yuuri felt very uneasy when Viktor started manhandling the rice. So Yuuri slipped off his stool anyway, came from behind, and helped to soften Viktor’s touch. The sudden cuddle peaked Viktor’s interest, and he managed to get Yuuri to laugh a few times before the rice was in the rice-cooker. Plugged and cooking.

Next was the meat and though Yuuri was ill, he didn’t exactly trust Viktor with it. So while he handled the meat, Viktor cracked some eggs into a metal bowl and started whisking with chopsticks. A bowl of flour laid to the side. Viktor occasional dusted his fiance with flour until Yuuri threatened to slap Viktor with the frying pan. Viktor kept his distance, but he still teased Yuuri. Here and there. Brought the box of tissues when Yuuri needed it the most.

Meat prepped and battered, dropped into a pan of oil. Until baked and crispy after two minutes. Yuuri moved the pork around with a huge pair of wooden chopsticks. Viktor hovered behind him, asking Yuuri when it was appropriate to flip the meat. Yuuri showed him, pointing at the golden crust before flipping over the pork slice. Yuuri passed his chopsticks to Viktor, and the Russian did his fair-share. Earning Yuuri’s seal of approval.

So while Viktor took over the meat, Yuuri prepared the vegetables and the stock. Thinly slicing some shallots before mixing in sauces into a vat of chicken stock. Swirling the contents together. Heating his shallots over another frying pan, bumping Viktor with his hip when he moved in. Cooking the shallots until they were soft before pouring in the stock, and Viktor topped it all off with the crispy pork.

The rice was about done, so Viktor shoveled divided the bounty between two bowls. All the while, Yuuri cracked three eggs and drizzled them over the golden pork. Cooked until satisfaction. Dazzling the contents over perky rice and enjoying the meal.

Freshly-made katsudon at eight. In the morning. Makkachin wagged her tail. Following after her owners until Viktor offered a piece of his cutlet bowl to the poodle.

“That isn’t good for Makkachin.”

“Let her eat while she still can,” Viktor said, rubbing his poodle’s underbelly before Makkachin could steal another crispy cutlet.

Yuuri rolled his eyes. Lounging back on the couch, trying to comprehend the situation that he was in. Sitting in the living room with his fiance, eating dinner for breakfast, and enjoying some Makkachin-time. And after breakfast, Yuuri felt a little better.