#songs from the big chair era

[acupofbritishearlgrey]

Tears for Fears Interview

[onemorecupofcoffee]

happy (late) anniversary to songs from the big chair!!

[waitingonher]

ELECTRIC TOUCH — [jason grace dating headcanons]

author's note: i need 2024 to be THE year. 2023 did me soooo dirty. im praying

dating JASON GRACE would be like dating someone from a regency era romance novel…he’s just SUCH a hopeless romantic but he would rather die than admit it.

in the initial first few weeks of dating, jason was sosososooooo shy about pda/physical touch. it’s not that he was uncomfortable, he LOVES physical touch, but he had just gone so long without it that he wasn’t used to it. but eventually, he warms up to it…and now he can’t go without having at least one part of him touching you 😭 

when it came to things like hugs, kisses, handholding, etc. jason would always wait for you to initiate it because he was so anxious about making you uncomfortable ?? fjsldfjs 

but when you communicated that he didn’t need to ask/wait for you all the time, jason started initiating things more. even still, he occasionally gets nervous to even hold your hand? like wdym you’ve been dating for over six months and you still get nervous doing simple couple things 😭 it’s very endearing though 

chivalry is NOT dead,, and it’s because of jason LMAO. he’s the type to swap shoes with you even though you’re wearing heels that are 3x too small for him, but hey, at least your feet don’t hurt anymore!

jason’s also hellbent on carrying things for you, opening doors for you, pulling out/pushing in chairs for you, etc… GOD HE’S SO CUTE. 

since dating him, you don’t think you’ve ever touched a single door or car handle when he’s with you. 

jason is NOT afraid to advocate or stand up for you, especially if you’re more on the quiet & non-confrontational side. if you’re in a group setting and someone interrupts you, he’s making sure you get your chance to say what you wanted to say. and he doesn’t do it in a way that leaves you embarrassed, he’s very very classy with it! 

if you’re a big music person, jason will literally learn your favorite artist’s entire discography so you guys have another thing to talk about. 

you guys also have a shared playlist of “your songs” and he’s so serious about it 😭 if jason hears a song that even remotely reminds him of you, he’s going to the ends of the earth to figure out what it’s called. 

rip to anyone around him if shazam doesn’t work! he’s gonna send voice messages to your big group chat humming the tune, but he’s so tone deaf that no one knows the song…and his search history is just variations of “song that goes du du ooh du ooh du du ooh” a for effort though babes…

jason’s love languages are definitely acts of service and quality time. over the years and throughout the many battles he’s fought, he’s come to realize that all he wants to do when he comes home is just spend time with his loved ones. 

after a busy day, you’ll come home to find your laundry folded, bed sheets washed & freshly made, along with a sweet little note from jason <3 

your guys’ thing are writing notes to each other. considering his and your busy schedule, you’ll write and leave tiny notes around the house for each other to find. it’s one of the many reasons why jason gets up in the morning. 

he loves coming home to you after a long day to simply melt in your arms. there’s just something so soothing about cuddling with you after a busy day. 

it does not matter where you are, you guys could literally be cleaning the camp toilets and he’d still be able to find the fun in it. you’re his home, and he’d follow you wherever you go. 

if you play sports, you already know he’s showing up to ALL your games. it doesn’t matter if it’s pouring rain or if it’s hours away, he’s absolutely determined to show his support. jason even makes posters with your jersey number and when you have big tournaments he’ll show up with posters of your face 😭 the refs are SO tired of jason help

i feel like if he really tried, jason would be a good cook. 

one day you sent him a recipe you saw online saying you wanted to make it with him, but then he decided to make it himself to surprise you. and it was actually so good??? 

JASON IN A “KISS THE COOK” APRON OMFG. that’s what you got him for his birthday and every single time without fail, he’ll wear it when he’s cooking. 

one of his hidden talents is that he’s super good at origami. he originally picked it up because he heard it was a good stress reliever, but now he also does it for you <3 

he loves your reaction when he gives you little paper rings or an origami version of your favorite animal! 

this guy DREAMS of domesticity. he’s always been the type to date to marry, and that’s just what he intends to do with you! even though you guys are still young, he’s been planning your proposal sfjfls

tell me why he already knows what kind of ring he wants to get you… omg. 

he really wants to just settle down with you in new rome. but honestly, he’s willing to do anything as long as you’re at his side. 

expect flowers from jason at least once a month! he even keeps one flower so he knows when it’s time to get you a new bouquet. and if he’s away, he’ll get one of his friends to deliver it! 

i have this headcanon that the aphrodite cabin teams up with the hephaestus cabin to throw a really elaborate party, essentially like prom. anyways, jason would go all out for your promposal jfdsls i feel like he would either do a super funny poster/proposal like y’know that one guy who did that medieval promposal 😭 yeah well jason would do something like that but like...more roman... LMFAO him pulling up to your place in a chariot 

or he would do something super super intricate and planned out…like a fancy picnic and then he’d have the fauns arrange fireflies to spell out “prom?” when it’s dark out. 

ugh! jason grace the man that you are… <3 best bf ever,, i can confirm btw

[mcondance]

lovely

“You say things with your mouth, cobwebs and flies come out / I hear a second voice behind your tongue somehow / Luckily, I can read your mind, flies and cobwebs unwind / They will not take you down, They will not cast you out”

Or, you’re fine. And whatever other words hide behind those four letters. Spencer sees what a piece of you wants to hide from him.

notes fluff (mcondance writes fluff??) but still MDNI, reader is neurodivergent this is for my baby girls (audhd spencer reid kissers), inspired by those lyrics from lovely by twenty øne piløts, do not listen while you read. this is what having a dual tøp-spencer reid era does to a writer. gif from pinterest. also guys please i’ve been experimenting with layouts for my works for like… months now if this layout is ugly just ignore it please please. mcondance capitalizes ?!

word count 1.1k+ (closer to 1.2k hello i am proud)

You lie still on your back in the middle of the bed as you watch Spencer close the door and set his cardigan down on the chair by the dresser. He floats through the dim room, momentarily lit up by the interludes of soft moonlight wafting through the windows. He takes his place beside the bed. Your music pauses.

“You okay?” He asks quietly.

“I’m fine.”

You’re lying. Spencer knows you’re lying; it wouldn’t take a genius to deduce that. It’s in your voice, most obviously. But it’s in the other details that only Spencer would notice, too. Not because he’s a genius, but because he’s your Spencer. 

The room is dark. Which wouldn’t be much of a problem, if you didn’t sound so bleak and tired when you spoke. You have your big headphones on, which, again, wouldn’t be so bad if you’d have pulled one back when he walked in, or even just told him that the song’s almost at the good part, and then after it hits you’ll take them off.

The room is bathed in moonlight. The moon, and your Spencer. Two shoulders for you to lean on. Three, actually, with the music you were just listening to. 

But all of the shoulders just aren’t enough to block out the bad feelings you’re having right now.

Overwhelmed. Sad. A little depressed. Whatever. 

“I don't think so, honey,” Spencer speaks softly from where he stands in a split of moonlight, hands in his pockets as he shrugs.

He glows in a silver streak. You sniffle. Fuck.

He allows silence to ensue, obviously giving you time to get your thoughts together. The bed dips to the left as he sits down beside you and props his leg up. A part of you wants to laugh at the common knowledge that if you had the will to look down you’d see an interesting sock and a Converse, but you don’t have the energy to do anything but what you’ve been doing since you let your playlist roll into its fifth run— lay down and alternate between staring out into the blackness of your room and the backs of your eyelids.

“It’s nothing,” you obfuscate. But it’s obviously not nothing.

Again, he lets his silence give you comfort instead of pushing you to talk. You take it gratefully, as it gives you the time you need to collect yourself and try to put words to what’s going on in your head and all under your skin.

You breathe in.

“I'm just… irritated.”

You breathe out.

A bit of weight lifts off of your chest at your short admission, but the elephant in the room continues to perch tall and proud on you, crushing you and leaving very little room for you to exist.

Still, Spencer is silent. The quiet puffs of his breath and the dip in the mattress are enough. Anything else would be too much, and he knows that. So he lets you lead him into the dark with you, he stays still and lets you guide him into the cavernous deep of all that you feel right now.

The fan whirs and cars pass outside the window. The stillness of the night almost laughs at the chaos ensuing in you.

Another breath, deeper this time as you gather the courage to try to express what it is you’re feeling.

“I don't know,” you blurt. “Everything's just too loud and my friends are all annoying and nothing on YouTube is interesting and I feel like I'm gonna explode and crumble all at the same time.” Those tears are bubbling up under the surface of your skin again and threatening to spill out of your eyes. 

And now that you’ve spoken and some of the tension in the air has dissipated, Spencer feels it’s appropriate for him to talk.

“It’s okay, baby. You’ve been working a lot lately without many breaks and now you’ve run out of steam, and that’s okay. It happens. You’re just burnt out.”

Horribly, his sweet words inflame a mean, hot part of you. You scoff, finding the strength to wipe a stray tear as it falls. Spencer knows you don’t mean it, that something up in your brain has just had enough and is now denying you of any feeling but solitary petrification.

Burnout. You hate that word. You wish it didn’t happen to you. You wish that you were normal and being stressed didn’t mean paralysis and staring at the ceiling like it’ll change and morph into an answer or a semblance of comfort. 

In the dark, you strain your eyes at his form. You can just barely make out the wisps of hair flying in all directions away from his face. His posture is terrible. You can tell he’s looking off to the side of you so you won’t feel overwhelmed under his eyes. Perhaps he was made for you.

The air softens, and you do too. The facade of anger slips away as quickly as it reared its ugly head. You take a shuddering breath and let your head fall towards him.

He moves closer and a beam of moonlight illuminates him as he takes you in with warmth etched onto the comfort of his face.

Something up in your brain has just had enough and is now denying you of any feeling but solitary petrification. 

Fortunately, Spencer won’t let that happen. 

How grateful you are for this man who won’t let you get the aloneness that some tired part of you craves. He’ll stick beside you and sit in silence for hours upon hours if it meant you wouldn’t feel alone. He has done that before. He’d do it again in a heartbeat.

With him smiling softly at you even in your cocoon of darkness, that sweet quirk of his lips that is ever-present when he’s looking at you, you feel a little better. Now, he can touch you. Before that thought even registers, he reaches out for your knee and rests his hand there, rubbing his thumb up and down over your skin.

It doesn’t cross the line of overstimulation, and it doesn’t feel like not enough. It’s just enough. Spencer can read you as well as the surplus of books he reads daily. There’s no push to get up, to take your headphones off or turn the light on.

Spencer wants only for you to breathe, and to know that he is here. When he hears your breathing become easy again, and he feels just a bit more of the discord you’re swathed in slip off of you, he knows you know.

His hand on your knee won’t nurse you back to your functioning form. And it’s not what he’s striving to do. 

And as you look through the darkness into his moon-bathed eyes, you know you’ll have him here with you every step of the way, by some divine power that put him in your life. And that’s okay. You won’t be okay for a while, but you have him to lean on. You’ll always have him to lean on. You feel the love he has for you radiating off of him, pushing into your skin as he caresses it slowly.

Getting out of bed sometime later sounds a little easier, now.

[samwinchesterswifu]

You're All I Need to Get By (Sam Winchester x Reader) Fluff

Early Seasons Era

Song Inspo: "You're All I need to Get By" by Aretha Franklin

Warnings: none

MINORS DNI

A/N: okay okay okay. This is just a cute silly lil fluff I got out of my system, enjoy <3

Word Count: 985

Summary: A small look into how she takes care of her boys.

Sunshine began to bleed through the worn out curtains of the current motel they were propped up in. Stirring awake, she grins at the realization of the position she was in. Sam’s lanky arm draped over her side with her pulled against Sam’s chest tightly. She places a kiss on his bicep as she begins to struggle out of his grasp to get up for the day. Finally breaking through, she sits on the edge of the bed. Looking over at Dean’s side of the bed doing him a once over to make sure he was alright.

Grabbing a fresh pair of jeans and a clean plain t-shirt from her duffle, she makes her way over to the bathroom to change. Coming out, she grabs Sam’s discarded flannel that laid over the dining table chair and slips on her shoes. Sam’s wallet and the keys to the Impala laid on the same table so she swiftly collects them and makes her way outside.

She liked morning like this, being a morning person like Sam it helped them have little routines even when on the road. She typically woke before either boy did so she was always able to do something nice for them.

Driving towards one of the local diners, she orders breakfast for the three of them to go. Making sure to grab a black coffee for Dean since he never liked starting his mornings with out it. Also ordering a slice of whatever the daily special pie was for said place so Dean could have it later.

Arriving back at the motel, she tries her best to be quiet when unlocking the door with the bags of food in her hands. Upon entering, she notices Sam was no longer in bed, but in the bathroom with the shower running. She sets down the bags and begins to grabs plates from the make-shift kitchen. With her back turned to the bathroom door, she begins to make the boys their plate. Just as she places the plates on the table a warm arm wraps around her waist and she feels a kiss on the side of her head.

“Good morning,” Sam’s gruff morning voice says above her.

Turning around and smiles up at him.

“Good shower?” She asks, earning a soft ‘mhm’ from Sam.

Sam pulls her in a quick hug before taking a look at the table.

“Looks good,” he says sitting down preparing to eat.

She grabs the warm coffee for Dean and makes her way over to his bed. Before she could even open her mouth to awake him, Dean’s hand shot out from his blanket making a grabbing motion.

“Here you go you big baby,” she laughs. Handing the coffee over before making her way back over to join Sam.

Dean join them at the table shortly after. Smiling down at his plate lined with pancakes and bacon. She lets out a small laugh as he begins to stuff his face, smiling up at her.

“Good?” She asks in between bites and Dean nods exaggeratedly.

“Extremely, thanks sweetheart.” Dean says with a mouth full.

“There’s pie in the fridge,” she mentions causally watching as Dean’s eyes light up.

“It’s apple.” She mentions, Dean groans in delight.

“God Sam, you picked a good one.” Dean says waving his fork towards his brother.

Sam laughs echoes the room making her smile between bites.

They make casual small talk about the current case they’re working on as they finish up breakfast. More and more it sounds like a run of the mill vengeful ghost. Dean finishes his food and makes his way towards the shower. Leaving her and Sam to clean up.

They begin to tag-team the dishes. Sam washing down with her drying next to him. She stands there with a deep smile forming on her face, thinking about how lucky she is to have found the brothers, and Sam takes note of the forming smile.

“What’s on your mind?” Sam questions as he continues away at his task.

“Just thinking about how lucky I am to have you,” she replies.

“Oh yeah?” Sam asks, turning to face her as he finishes the final utensil, place it on her pile.

“Mhm,” she responds, taking in a quick breath.

“Just a year ago, I was hunting on my own, getting myself in a lot of trouble. One call from Bobby and here you are in my life. I couldn’t ask for anything different,” she says, grabbing the same utensil Sam had placed on her pile a moment ago.

Finally finished with the morning chore, she places everything back in their respective drawer or cabinet and faces him. Arms crossing against her chest she looks up at her lover. Doing a quick once-over of his features. A blush forms on her cheeks as Sam sheepishly rubs the back of his neck at her roaming eyes.

Their eyes meet each other. Sam grabs her elbow as he pulls her close. She wraps her arms around his neck and leans up to steal a kiss. Sam’s hands rest on the dips of her hips, holding her steady. But, was rudely interrupted by the sound of the bathroom door opening.

Dean enters the room already dressed in his FBI suit.

“Well, come on you two, we have victims to interview.” Dean retorts, grabbing his tie from his duffle.

She groans, looking back at Sam with a shy smile. Sam gives her hips a squeeze and breaks away from their embrace. He grabs his suit and makes his way to bathroom while Dean makes his way outside to the Impala leaving her “alone” in the room.

She shakes her head and begins to make her way back towards the shared bed. Grabbing her pencil skirt and blouse from her bag. Incredibly grateful to have Sam in her life.

[dreamwritesimagines]

Garden of Secrets - Epilogue

A.N: Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback and support throughout the story my darlings! I hope you enjoy the epilogue as well, ILYSM! ❤️

Warnings: Regency era society and social rules, some gender specific language and terms, mentions of sex.

Thank you to @theskytraveler for helping me with the story and the chapter!

Series Masterlist

3 YEARS LATER

“And this flower right here is called a mock orange, any idea why?”

The cheerful babbling was the only answer you got and you felt yourself smiling wide, turning to look at her better. Camellia was the cutest baby you’d ever seen and you were pretty sure it wasn’t just because she was the most perfect combination of you and Benedict. The only person in your life that remembered you as a baby was Josie, and she swore up and down that she looked more like you than Benedict but you weren’t so sure.

“Very good!” you said. “Because it looks like an orange flower!”

Camellia clapped her hands excitedly, as if congratulating herself for guessing right, kicking her legs back and forth in her high chair, accidentally dropping one of the many pencils on the table in front of her but she didn’t even notice.

“And what about this one?”

“Fwo?”

“Flower, yes,” you said, nodding fervently and she gave you a huge grin. You went to pick her up from the chair and approached the table in the middle of the huge greenhouse.

 “This is your flower my sweet, see? Middlemist Red Camellia.”

She gasped when she heard her name. “Me!”

“Mm hm, the most beautiful and precious flower in the entire world!” you said, tickling her stomach while kissing her cheeks, making her happy giggles echo in the greenhouse. You fixed her hair, still smiling bright and took a look at the paper she was drawing on before, full of different colored squiggly lines.

“Perhaps your papa is right, you are to be a big artist,” you said as you walked to the glass door. “A painter like him hm?”

“Papa!”

“And your aunt Lottie says you will be a writer and your uncle Teddy says you’ll be a sculptor…” you said as you stepped out of the greenhouse into the huge garden, the sunlight falling upon you. You grabbed the little hat by the door and placed it upon Camellia’s head while she held onto you, playing with your necklace.

“So many ideas!” you told her as you passed by the winter garden, enjoying the chirping of the birds. A couple of butterflies flew by you, no doubt because you were very close to the butterfly garden and Camellia held her breath, pointing at the blue butterfly.

“Mama!”

“I can see that my love,” you said, pressing a kiss on her small chubby hand, and walked past the orangery. “They’re very beautiful, are they not?”

She nodded fervently, making grabby hand motions as if trying to call the butterflies to her.

“Anyway, as I was saying,” you said, still walking through the main garden. “They all think like that but do you want to know what I think?”

She nodded her head again, still listening to you very intently.

“I think you might just become the biggest botanist in the world,” you whispered. “I mean it only makes sense, no? You already know so many flowers!”

Camellia pointed at the pear tree and turned to you. “Mine? Mine?”

“Let’s get you one then,” you said with a small laugh, reaching up to grab and pick the pear off the branch. You dusted it off, then gave it to Camellia who made a happy cooing sound, trying to dig into it. You raised your head to look up at the house, a warmth spreading through you as your gaze fell upon the window of Benedict’s studio, then you turned to Camellia.

“Let’s go see papa, hm?” you asked her, then made your way to the house to enter the foyer. You hummed a song and climbed up the stairs, then put Camellia down when you entered the hallway leading to Benedict’s studio.

“Go ahead.”

“Papa?” Camellia called out, running as fast as her tiny legs allowed her, reminding you of a duck. She was still holding the pear tight in her fist, and you walked right behind her to make sure you would be able to catch her if she fell. “Papa!”

You let out a laugh as you heard Benedict’s footsteps and he stepped out of the studio, his jaw dropping as he saw her and he immediately leaned down to catch her before she could smash herself against his legs.

“Oh here’s my sweet!” he said as he hoisted her up into his arms, smothering her in kisses, making her giggle happily before he turned to you, that fond look crossing his eyes, a soft smile curling his lips.

“Hello my love.”

You smiled, and stood on your tiptoes to kiss him. “Hello to you too,” you said, letting out a small laugh as he stole another kiss from you. “I figured you needed a break or so.”

“And you were right,” he said, winking at you before turning to Camellia. “How is she always right, do you know?”

Camellia offered him the pear she was holding and Benedict gasped.

“For me?”

“More like it was for her but she’s willing to share,” you said and Benedict grinned.

“Come on,” he nodded in the direction of the studio and walked inside with Camellia in his arms, and you followed them.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing,” you sang in a teasing manner, pulling the hat off Camellia’s head and Benedict shot you a mischievous look.

“Mm, what am I doing?”

“You think you can turn her into an artist if she spends enough time here.”

“I can’t help if she’s naturally talented,” Benedict defended himself. “I mean have you seen her work?”

“The…the squiggly lines?”

“The squiggly lines!” Benedict nodded, rocking Camellia. “She’s a genius artist even as a one-year-old.”

“I still support my botanist theory.”

“Maybe she’ll be both?”

“As you can see my sweet, no high expectations whatsoever,” you told Camellia who was listening to both of you as if she could understand everything you were saying.

“You can be anything you want to be,” Benedict told her as she rested her head on his shoulder, yawning. “Including an artist. Just saying.”

You walked closer to the canvas to see that the background was almost done, and tilted your head.

“What’s this going to be?”

Benedict shot you a grin and pressed his lips on top of Camellia’s hair. You checked the clock on the wall, then rang the bell.

“That one is going to be her,” Benedict said, softly rocking her and you smiled.

“Aw,” you said gently, and walked to caress her soft cheek with your finger. “Did you hear that my sweet? Your own portrait?”

Camellia sucked on her thumb, her eyes closing slowly.

“Is she sleeping?” Benedict whispered and you nodded.

“She is,” you murmured, rubbing her back and turned your head when someone knocked on the door.

“Ma’am,” Paula said. “Mr. Bridgerton. Would you like me to take her for her nap?”

“That would be good Paula, thank you.”

She smiled and took Camellia from Benedict, careful not to wake her.

“I’ll be right there,” you told her and pressed a kiss on Camellia’s head before Paula walked out of the room with her. You turned to Benedict and he entwined his fingers with yours, pulling you into his arms.

“Hey,” you said as he buried his nose into your hair. “Is everything alright?”

“Mm hm, now that you’re here.”

You smiled softly and squeezed his arm. “Are you still tense about the gala?”

He heaved a sigh and you pulled back a little to look up at him.

“Ben, that painting got auctioned and sold in two minutes because everyone was outbidding each other,” you reminded him. “People are talking about you the same way you used to talk about Gordon, everyone agrees that you’re a genius artist, the whole ton—”

“Yeah but it’s different,” he mumbled. “Tonight, it’s only friends and family.”

“Shouldn’t that be comforting?”

“Technically yes but…” he trailed off and shook his head slightly. “Never mind.”

You cupped his cheek, raising your brows. “Tell me.”

“It’s easier when it’s just strangers,” he said with a small chuckle. “Museum owners and Academy directors and such. It’s different when it’s family and friends, and I’d hate it if they thought all those other people exaggerated—”

“Everyone in the Academy and countless artists and museum owners who were on the verge of a fight to get your painting, they all exaggerated?” you asked with a small smile. “All of those people at the same time?”

Benedict thought for a moment. “When you say it like that…”

You let out a laugh and stood on your tiptoes to brush your lips against his, and he heaved a sigh when you pulled back, resting his forehead against yours, his fingers caressing the sensitive skin of your neck.

“Tonight is going to be amazing,” you assured him. “I promise you.”

He shot you a mischievous grin, then leaned down hoisted you up into his arms, making you squeal.

“Benedict!”

“There’s no harm in starting the amazing night a bit early,” he said as he carried you to the sofa and you let out a laugh.

“Scandalous behavior!” you joked and he winked at you, then leaned in to kiss you.

                                                *

Of course the night of the gala went perfectly, as you knew it would. Both your family and Benedict’s had been so excited and were very proud of him, and you could see it melted away the last insecurity that had been gnawing at him before tonight.

His speech that he dedicated the painting -and his inspiration- to you was enough to bring tears into your eyes but you managed to hide it by burying your face into his arm, earning an “aww” from the crowd. After the speech, people scattered along in the gallery to talk to each other, and if you said so yourself, everyone seemed to be having fun. Benedict was talking to Gordon, Henry, Margery and Lucy by the corner, Anthony and Lottie looked like they were in their own world while Colin kept whispering things to Penelope’s ear, making her giggle. Eloise seemed to be in a deep conversation with Simon while Daphne watched them with a small smile, and you smiled at Lady Bridgerton and Lady Danbury as Teddy wheezed past you.

“Teddy don’t run!” you called out and he stopped for a moment.

“But I’m being very careful!” he assured you and returned to chasing Hyacinth and Gregory. Your aunt held up her hands, gesturing surrender as she gave him a fond look and your uncle chuckled.

“If he changes his mind about being a sculptor…”

“He can become a professional runner,” you joked and turned to Josie and Bess.

“So yes, we’re going to Paris before the season,” you told them. “Around like a month before, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Andrew will give you a list of things to bring from there, just so you know,” Bess said said and you let out a laugh.

“I’m alright with that. Wait, where is he anyway?”

Josie cleared her throat. “I think he and Felix are in the orangery—”

“The moon garden, my love,” Bess corrected her and you raised your brows, stifling a laugh.

“Of course they are,” you muttered and heard someone calling your name. You turned your head to see who it was, then made your way to Lottie and Anthony.

“Hello you two.”

“Y/N,” she said with a huge smile, still holding Anthony’s hand. “We already said goodnight to Benedict, we didn’t want to leave before saying goodnight to you.”

You tilted your head. “You’re leaving already?” you asked. “Is everything alright? Is Edmund—”

“Oh Edmund is fine!” she assured you quickly and Anthony nodded.

“He’s probably asleep already.”

“It’s just—I tire very easily nowadays,” Lottie said, making you pull your brows together. Anthony and Lottie exchanged smiles and Lottie bounced on the balls of her feet in an excited manner, making your frown deepen for a moment before the thought dawned on you and your jaw dropped.

“Are you serious?!” you whispered and Lottie giggled, nodding fervently.

“You’re the first to know,” she whispered and you let out a laugh, then pulled her into a hug.

“Congratulations!”

“Thank you!”

“To both of you obviously—” you said with a laugh, then hugged Anthony as well, making him chuckle as he hugged you back.

“We haven’t told Benedict yet,” he told you as you pulled back. “You know with the gala and everything.”

“Oh he will be very happy for you!” you said and Lottie bit on her lip.

“I wish to be the one to tell him if that’s alright.”

“Absolutely!” you said, waving your hands. “Go on then, go home and rest. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“You’d better,” Lottie joked and squeezed your hand, then they both walked out of the gallery. You looked around, then took a step towards Eloise but someone touched the small of your back, making you look up.

“Well if it isn’t the genius artist,” you teased Benedict and he shot you a happy grin.

“Come with me?”

“As long as we’re not going to the moon garden because if I walk in on them again…” you muttered and he tilted his head.

“Hm?”

“Nothing,” you said and let him pull you out of the gallery. You both passed through the foyer and he led you outside, still holding your hand.

“Ben, where are we going?” you asked with a laugh and he stopped by the main garden, moonlight falling upon you both, showering the gardens in silver. Even though it was the thousandth time you were seeing this gorgeous view, it still managed to take your breath away.

Speaking of things that managed to take your breath away…

You looked up at Benedict, his handsome face under the moonlight, your heart skipping a beat before you giggled.

“Are we sneaking out of your own gala then?”

Benedict shot you a mischievous smile, then shook his head.

“No I merely…I wanted a moment with you,” he said. “Just you.”

You bit down on your lip as he pulled you closer, his fingers stroking over your hair. Your eyes fluttered close when he brushed his lips against yours and you smiled into the kiss, grazing your nails over the nape of his neck, making him heave a sigh.

“Congratulations Mr. Bridgerton,” you whispered. “Your gala seems to be a success.”

He smiled softly, pressing his lips on your temple. “Seems to be, Mrs. Bridgerton.”

You hummed. “Is it too early to say I told you so?”

He chuckled. “I don’t think so.”

“Well then, I told you so,” you said, sticking your nose up in the air. “And you should listen to me all the time because to be honest, so far I’ve—”

“I love you,” he said, and your eyes snapped up to his, a smile warming your face. You let out a giggle and pulled him down so that you could kiss him.

“I love you too,” you whispered and entwined your fingers with his, then took a step towards the house.

“Come on,” you said. “It is your gala my love. Let’s go and enjoy it.”

The End.

[writersblockiskillingme]

Can you please do a Damiano fell in love with his long time friend/band mate (reader) who is the backup singer (bc their voices complement each others perfectly) and writes a song about her and sings it to her on stage, confessing his love. (the other band mates know abt it).

I’m in my delusional era

Only Angel | Damiano David

Pairing: Damiano David x fem!reader (Måneskin bandmate)

Summary: You were in love with him for a very long time, but you didn't know that he loved you back. Until he decided to do something about it.

Warning/s: pet name (angel), just a little bit of good all angst, smut +18, degradation, teasing, prising, dom/sub, few curse words, mentions of alcohol and weed, cigarettes, mentions of one night stands, grammar and spelling mistakes, Google translated Italian (sorry, please tell me in the comments if I made any mistakes so I can fix them)

Author's note: This one's been a long time coming, but enjoy!

I saw this angel

I really saw an angel

Open up your eyes, shut your mouth and see

That I'm still the only one who's been in love with me

I'm just happy getting you stuck in between my teeth

And there's nothing I can do about it

Damiano could still remember the first time he met her.

She was the first singer that Måneskin (Back then just Victoria and Thomas) recruited for the band. He could remember it as if it was yesterday.

His hands were sweating as hell as he walked through the hallway of a "made up", improved studio that belongs to the future, back-then-still-in-making, rock band Måneskin. He remembered how nervous he was, but that nervousness compared to the one he experienced as he walked into the studio was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not a big deal at all.

As he reached his stop, he looked up and saw a guy with blonde hair messing with his guitar, and he saw a blonde haired girl standing next to him, watching him. They didn't notice him just yet.

Damiano turned his head away from them and decided to focus his gaze on a girl sitting in a chair with a pen and journal in her hands, ashtray sitting on the armrest of the chair. She was lightly gripping the pen as she wrote and crossed and scrambled the words on a piece of paper in the journal. Her (h/l) (h/c) covered her eyes slightly. He could clearly see her red lips moving, even tho she had a half finished cigarette in her mouth. She was probably mumbling the word of the, what was probably, a song she was writing.

She was mumbling so quietly, but somehow he could still hear her voice. It was beautiful, he felt like he was falling into a trans. He felt himself freezing like a deer in headlights when he saw her look up at him.

Her face steached into a smile, cigarette no longer lingering on her lips as she reached out and placed it on an ashtray. Her (e/c) shining like the sun, her hair no longer covering them from him. She stood up and started to walk up to him. That's the moment when Vic and Thomas noticed him, too.

He noticed the grace she was carrying herself with. It was as if she was floating. It was a sight to behold for sure.

"Ciao! Tu devi essere Damiano David." [Hi! You must be Damiano David.] She said and he felt like his breath was knocked out of his lungs when he heard her angelic voice speak to him.

"SÌ. Quello... sono io." [Yes. That's me.] He stuttered for a bit and that shocked him to his core. He never stuttered before, it felt weird. He didn't like that.

"Sorprendente. Io sono (Y/N) e loro sono Thomas e Victoria." [Amazing. I'm (Y/N) and this is Thomas and Victoria.] She introduced herself, Thomas and Vic.

And so, after a few quick hellos were exchanged, they pulled him in front of the mic and they preformed one song with him and one where he had to sing alone. It turned out that (Y/N) and he sing together perfectly. Their voices simply sound so good together. However, since that day something followed Damiano. Something that he couldn't quite place for a little bit.

Broke a finger knocking on your bedroom door

I got splinters in my knuckles crawling across the floor

Couldn't take you home to mother in a skirt that short

But I think that's what I like about it

She's an angel

Only angel

She's an angel

My only angel

Over the years Damiano and (Y/N) started to get closer and closer to each other.

At first it was innocent, truly. The two of them would talk with each other more than they would with Vic, Thomas or Ethan. Everyone soon noticed how close they were. They started to become very good friends. They had a lot of thing in common. They liked the same music, the same artists, everything! They somehow never ran out of topics to have a conversation about. It was amazing, really.

They would go out to get coffee, pizza, they went to bars and local parties together. They would come to each other's houses and just watch TV and get drunk or, sometimes even, high. They would drink some shitty wine that they would find in some shitty liquor store and would fall asleep on top of each other on the couch.

They would write and sing songs with each other. They liked each other's voices, but most of all, they liked how they sounded together. A match made in heaven, indeed.

However, over the years something changed. As they grew, the band did, too and so did their feelings for one another. Damiano watched everything she did whenever she was in his presence. He practically adored the ground she was walking on. It was amazing to experience. And to watch, too.

Vic was the first one to notice, of course. She would easily notice the longing glances that they would send each other while they thought that nobody was looking. She tried to talk to them about it. They would just brush it off.

"She is just my best friend, come on, Vic!"

"He's just a friend to me. Nothing more!"

Of course, Vic wasn't stupid, and neither were Thomas and Ethan. They soon figured what was up, too. The three musicians really tried everything in their power to get them to know what the other was feeling, but it felt like it was impossible to do that.

The problem was that Damiano and (Y/N) thought that the other didn't like them like that. And so from one problem, another one was born.

One night stands.

They both thought that if they see other people they could push their feelings away. However, when did that work out?

Damiano could still remember it. He walked down the hallway of the hotel that they were staying in because of their performance in New York. He watched her and some random guy practically eat each other's faces as she started to push him into her hotel room.

The last thing that he saw were the stains of red lipstick before he started doing it two.

I must admit I thought I'd like to make you mine

As I went about my business through the warning signs

End up meeting in the hallway every single time

And there's nothing we can do about it

Damiano had officially had enough. Watching her bringing guy after guy in her hotel room, him bringing girl after girl. It was too much. He couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't just stand aside as he watched and heard everything those guys did when it should be him doing it to his angel.

So one night he gathered his courage and knocked on her door so hard he almost got splinters in his knuckles from the wooden door. The moment she opened the door he spilled his feelings to her and so this is how they ended up there.

Damiano was quick to notice a bruise in the corner of her neck. Her pathetic attempt to cover it with her hair was not doing it. He felt anger fill his body to the brim. He knew that he had no reason to be angry, she wasn't his. Perhaps that was what angered him.

"You seem angry." (Y/N) was quick to point it out, her face forming a concerned look. "Why are you mad?"

"I'm not mad." Damiano spat out, proving her point. "I just think that you can choose better people to share spit with, angel. That's all."

"Excuse me?!" (Y/N) couldn't help but to yell in his face in the middle of the hallway. "What the hell is wrong with you, Damiano?"

"Was it worth it?" He asked her, his voice dangerously low. It send shivers down her spine.

"Is you hating me right now your new personality trait?"

She knew that that wasn't justified. She knew how bold of her that was. She knew that he didn't actually hate her, at least she hoped that he didn't. The truth was that she grew nervous under his gaze. His gaze, his tone, sudden realization of what he was talking about... it made her nervous as hell. She didn't know what to do.

"Was it worth it?" He kept his voice low and she knew that she couldn't avoid the topic any longer as much as she wanted to.

"I don't know what to say, Damiano."

"Oh, don't bullshit me, (Y/N)!" Damiano's voice rang in the hallway of the huge hotel in the middle of New York. He didn't give a flying fuck that it was night. That her "neighbors" were probably asleep. He didn't care about anything but his angel.

"Watcing you with so many guys who can't give you what I can... it draw me crazy." He finally confessed as he watched her in science of the hallway, frozen, confused. "You still don't get it, do you? It's because I love you."

"Now I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't feel the same way." Damiano told her as he pinned her against the door of her bedroom. Her breath getting stuck in her throat as she listened to his rough voice speak. "Just then I will leave you alone."

"I can't." She whispered, feeling so small compared to him right now.

"And why is that, angel."

"Because... I'm not even gonna lie, I'm just so fucking obsessed with you, you have no idea."

That's all he needed.

Told it to her brother and she told it to me

That she's gonna be an angel, just you wait and see

When it turns out she's a devil in between the sheets

And there's nothing she can do about it

Hey, hey

His lips felt so familiar yet so unknown to her. His breathing had become more strained.

"Damn it all to hell, if I don't get to have you tonight then I'm never going to be able to have you."

"Who says it has to be that way." (Y/N) said as she gasped in pleasure as he started to suck the skin on her neck.

His muscles tensed with every thrust. She finally allowed herself to sink into the mattress, into her pillow. She finally allowed herself to have him and for him to have her. She felt his hands flattering against her spine as he drew her closer to him as if that was physically possible.

"Arch your back for me, angel."

She felt herself gasping in pleasure as she did what he asked her to do. It was hard for him to contain his own sounds, too, as he pumped his thick throbbing cock into her at a constant pace.

"Please..." she was getting overwhelmed with him continuously hitting the right spot deep inside of her.

He grabbed her ankles and lifted her ankles to place them around his waist. She was practically screaming as he continued to split her wet pussy at rapid speed. She continued to shudder as he sped up his pace.

"Bet you they don't make you sound like that, do they, angel?"

"Ah- I-"

"Do they!?"

"NOO!" She barely gasped. "They don't... only you can do- ahh- this to mee!"

She openly moaned, screaming as Damiano's cock started swelling and stretching her tight pussy even more then before. And as her orgasm hit, she began to cry. He didn't care, he continued to thrust repeatedly, no signs of stopping or at least slowing down.

"I want you to remember everything fucking seconds of this."

She was overstimulated, but the tears of pleasure continued to flow.

He suddenly pulled out, erotic sound of cum mixed together filled the deafening silence in her room. He's fiery kisses started to trail down to her soaked pussy. Soon he started to suck her clit, but he moved away when he felt your hands on his head. He removed his tongue as he repositioned himself near your ass.

"Mhh!" (Y/N) tried to gain her voice back so she could speak again. "Don't! Too much!"

"Shhh... my beautiful angel." He cooed to her. "I'm sure that you've got one more in you. Will you be a good little angel and take what I have to give you?" His words were mocking and teasing at the same time as she nodded her head as much as she could before she pushed herself further into her pillow.

"Good girl."

He slowly began to enter her again, he was lubricated by her dripping juices. The thrusts began to increase again as she screamed his name, shaking. However, soon she found herself moving to meet his rough, pleasurable thrusts, which synchronized.

She was drowning in pleasure, she couldn't comprehend what was happening anymore. However she knew one thing, every time that fat cock hit her cervix, she got closer and closer to her much needed release.

She's an angel

Only angel

She's an angel

My only angel

She's an angel

Only angel

She's an angel

My only angel

Wanna die, wanna die, wanna die tonight

Wanna die, wanna die, wanna die tonight

Wanna die, wanna die, wanna die tonight

The stadium was big. The light were truly blinging (Y/N). The adrenaline was pumping through your veins. She was so happy, so full of euphoria even tho her throat felt so sore from all the singing and her muscles were hurting her.

On the other hand Damiano felt like he was going to faint. Yes, he was euphoric and happy, too. He was so happy and excited for the even bigger future of Måneskin, but he felt nervous.

For years he was in love with this girl. He always gave his best to express it as best as he possibly could. But nothing felt good enough. His angel deserved the world, even more so. He loved her so much the fraze "to the moon and back" simply couldn't cut it.

So he decided to express his love for her in a way that he did best. He wrote her a song. And so with a deep breath, and Victoria's pep talk before he went on the stage, he stepped forward.

"How are we feeling tonight, LA!?" Damiano shouted and his shout was followed by screaming and clapping of the fans.

"So tonight you are going to hear a song you have never heard before!! You excited!!??"

Damiano had to cover his ears a little because the screaming of the fans became a little bit too much. Still he found himself laughing with excitement. Like he always did. He looked a little to the side where (Y/N) was standing so he could take a little peak at her face. Confused was not a good enough word to explain the look on her face when she heard what Damiano had said and Vic, Thomas nor Ethan didn't say anything. He wrote a song? Without me? (Y/N) though to herself.

"This song I will sing alone." Damiano said and (Y/N) got even more confused.

"You see, I met this girl a long time ago and I felt like I loved her the moment I saw her. I wanted to express my love to her and to the entire world so I wrote this song for her." Damiano continued.

The crowd was already loosing their minds as Damiano stepped took the microphone form it's stand, but when Damiano said the next words and started singing all hell broke loose.

"This song is for you, (Y/N). My only angel."

She's an angel

Only angel

She's an angel

My only angel

She's an angel

My only angel

She's an angel

My-my-my only angel

->

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TAGLIST

@opal-rugger

[starrihan]

Masquerade (Leehan Fic)

Plot -> Your parent's 25th wedding anniversary is coming up and to celebrate, they are hosting a masquerade ball at your manor. You still have to prepare and learn the dances for the ball, so how do you end up falling for your dance partner's servant?

Genre -> fluff, smut, renaissance AU, dialogue heavy, servant! Leehan x Lady! Reader, older brother! Taesan, lord! Sungho, afab! reader, kissing, fingering, piv sex, no protection (wrap it up!)

Warnings -> mentions of dead family members

Word Count -> 14,075

Notes: This is my first fic on here and I didn't expect it to be 14k words long 😭I proofread this like 3 times but its long so there may still be some mistakes. This is historically inaccurate, I only use noble titles that were prominent during the renaissance era. I took inspo from this song and a some inspo from Bridgerton. I hope you guys enjoy this~

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

“Hiding behind a disguise, can you feel me watching you?”

Awoken by the bright rays of sunshine that flooded your room, you remembered how tired you were that you forgot to shut the blinds and draw in the curtains before falling asleep last night. With the masquerade ball, in celebration of your parent’s 25th wedding anniversary, coming up in just about a week, preparations were brutal. 

This was the first masquerade ball that you would actually participate in. You’d attended many when you were younger, playing around with the other kids there that were your age but you were never expected to dance or had any role in them. Now that this ball was in celebration of your parents, your family, you were expected to be a great host. Not to mention that this was big for you, as wedding season was coming up. You had talked to your parents for a while about not wanting to be married so early so they never forced you, but being at that age, you knew that many families were looking to marry their sons. 

Your father, Lord L/N, had accomplished so much in the short time that he was one, giving your family a huge name in the town. You were sought after by many families. This ball would be your formal introduction to the town as an adult and would garner many suitors for you. You shrugged off the thought for now and went to brush your teeth and bathe, getting yourself ready for the day. 

You go downstairs and see a familiar figure sitting in the dining room, eating the breakfast that was prepared by the lovely maids that ran your parents’ manor. You take a seat across from him, grabbing a plate of freshly cut fruits. 

“You woke up late, you know,” he says, chuckling. 

You shoot him a mocking smile, taking a bite of an apple slice. 

“We had a busy day yesterday. The tailor used the wrong measurements for my dress and now I have to wait 3 days before I can go back to pick it up. I’m stressed out about learning the dances since there’s only a week left before the ball and we’ve barely even started. My dance partner isn’t that good and I’m worried I won’t be good enough. Forgive me if I took an extra hour to sleep in,” you poured out to him. 

Your brother, Dongmin, was older than you by just a year. He stood up from his chair and patted your head. 

“It's gonna be okay Y/N. I’m taking you to practice later today at the Park residence. Their son, Sungho, is going to be your dance partner. I know he was interested in you so I arranged for his instructor to help you practice with him.” 

“Thank you Dongmin. I’m sorry I’m so stressed. I appreciate you setting this up for me! I owe you one,” you smile up at him, getting up to ready for the practice. 

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

You’re taken to the Park residence, accompanied by Dongmin. Because he is your older brother, he sees you to all of your affairs since your father is always busy. And because he is your father’s son, he has to learn the roles of a lord should something happen to your father. Dongmin did, at one point, find someone who he had loved and wished to marry, but things fell through and he set aside his own feelings about marriage until he’s older, wanting to learn everything there is to know about lordship first. 

Waiting for your arrival, the Duke and Duchess of the Park house wait outside. You greet them with a deep bow and courtesy of your dress. To their right, you spot their son, Sungho. You had seen him at previous balls throughout the years, but you guys had never formally met. ‘He’s really handsome,’ you thought to yourself, before turning to greet him as well. 

“We meet again, Duke and Duchess. Thank you for having us,” Dongmin greets with a smile and a bow. 

“What a pleasure it is to meet you, Duke and Duchess. It is an honor to be allowed here. Thank you for letting me practice here with your son,” you say. 

They exchange smiles with each other before looking back at you and Dongmin. They formally allow you into their home and show you around. 

A couple minutes into the tour Sungho says, “I can show them around and then take Lord Dongmin and Lady Y/N to the practice hall.” He smiles at the both of you before leading the tour himself. 

He continues to show you guys around, occasionally talking about the history of the house and some specific details about the wallpaper and architectural workings of the house. You can’t help but be mesmerized at everything he is talking about. Finally, he takes you to the room that you’ll be practicing in. There seems to be a couple more people in the room making you sigh in relief that you weren’t the only one that needed practice. 

“I have other matters to attend to. I will be taking my leave. Thank you again for letting Y/N practice here. I shall come to get her in a couple of hours,” Dongmin bows at Sungho before leaving, informing the Duke and Duchess of the arrangement. 

You smile at your brother before he leaves, assuring him that you’ll be alright. 

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

You step into the practice room and a seat. As you’re changing your shoes, you catch one of the servants in the room looking at you. He’s tall and lean, his almost shoulder length brown hair catching your eyes. He’s very handsome and he shoots you a small smile as he looks away. Your cheeks dust a faint pink before looking away from him, unsure of the feeling you just felt in your stomach. 

The practice goes on and you’re constantly stepping on Sungho’s shoes. He lets out small chuckles whenever you do, never getting frustrated at you, which you appreciated. From the short time you’ve been practicing with him you could tell he was very sweet and gentle. He was able to guide you and keep you on track fairly well considering your efforts. 

You’re given a short break from the practice in which you figure that you need to use the bathroom. You were okay to find it by yourself, but since this wasn’t your house, you look to enlist the help of Sungho. When you turn to look for him you realize he’s not in the room. You meet the eye of the same servant from earlier and he could sense that you needed some help. He makes his way over to you and bows,

“How can I be of assistance Lady Y/N?”

Your breath caught in your throat. He was, quite literally, breathtaking. And his voice was so deep and soothing. You almost forget that you needed help finding the bathroom. You bow back at him.

“Where is the restroom?”

Your voice comes out small at first, almost as if you’re too shy to talk to him. He stands in front of you while he directs you to the closest restroom that just so happened to be down the hall. 

“I shall wait for you out here until you finish. Then I can take you back to the practice room. Please let me know if there is anything you may need.” 

You enter the bathroom and try to calm yourself down. What was this feeling? Why was him talking to you making you feel this way? You wash your hands, touching up your makeup before stepping back to look at yourself in the mirror. After fixing your hair as well, you go back outside where you find the servant waiting for you. 

“Thank you so much… uhm… What is your name sir?” 

You ask, realizing that you never got his name. He’s about to speak when Sungho spots you from down the hall. 

“Lady Y/N! So this is where you have been? I am sorry I left for a minute, I had to take care of something. Is everything alright?” 

He looks at both of you and smiles. 

“Yes, everything is alright. I was just taking Lady Y/N to the restroom. I insisted I wait for her so she does not get lost on the way back,” the tall man says while bowing at Sungho. “I apologize for not informing you beforehand.” 

“Do not apologize, I wasn’t around for you to tell me. I’m glad that you took her and that she is okay. Shall we all head back to the practice room?” 

And with that, you all head back, making small conversation on the way there. You walk behind Sungho and walk in line with the servant. His hand slightly brushes yours, to which you both apologize. He takes to walking behind you, forming a line. He doesn’t miss the slight blush adorning your cheeks after your hands brushed. 

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

After the practice is over, you sit down on one of the sofas by the window. You sigh out a breath of relief and relax a bit, tired after the hours of dancing. 

“For your first time practicing, you did a good job,” Sungho says, offering you water. You thank him and drink the water a little bit faster than what would be considered lady-like. “Thank you so much. For the water and the practice, thank you for everything.” You’re about to put the cup of water down on the floor when the servant from earlier walks up to you. 

“Allow me,” he says, grabbing your cup and taking it away from you. Sungho doesn’t miss the way you look at him, staring for a bit too long for it to be normal. “Thank you,” you say to him now, not being able to look him in the eyes. He walks away without another word, bowing to you before he does. 

As you get ready to leave, you receive word from Sungho that Dongmin can no longer come pick you up. You look at him, not knowing what to do now as you had no way back home. 

“I can take her back. If you so let me, sir,” the servant chimes up. Having walked back with you and Sungho you realized that the tall male was Sungho’s personal servant. 

“Could you please? I would do it myself but I have a lot of work to catch up on tonight.” He turns to face you, “Lady Y/N,” he reaches for your hand and plants the gentlest kiss on the back of it. 

“I shall see you tomorrow for another practice session. Have a wonderful night m’lady,” he bows to you and you bow back. “Thank you again, I shall see you tomorrow.” 

“Are you ready to go, lady Y/N?” 

“Yes.” 

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

After saying your goodbyes to the Duke and Duchess as well as everyone else in the home, you go outside to meet him. 

“Forgive me for the carriage we have right now is a bit small.” He says apologetically. The carriage, while smaller than other ones, was beautifully crafted. One of the finest carriages you have ever seen. Its black body and gold fixtures, perfect for a sleek entry and getaway and the windows big enough to comfortably peer out of on long rides. 

“It is quite magnificent. Not too small at all, just perfect,” you say softly looking at the carriage in awe. He gives you his hand to help you into the carriage before closing the door and securing the lock. He hops into the front and gets the horses ready to move. 

“The ride back will take about 45 minutes,” he informs you. As the horses start to move you look out the window, thinking back on the things you have yet to do. With only 6 days left you realize that there’s still so much you have to learn when it comes to the dance. As well as learning the names of all your guests and picking up your dress and mask from the tailor’s… 

“I’m sorry m’lady?” 

A deep voice pulls you out of your thoughts.

“I’m sorry! I seem to have gotten distracted by my thoughts. You were saying…?”

“Oh, no worries at all. I was only asking how you were feeling about all this? I heard it is the first masquerade ball that you’ll be attending as a hostess.” 

“Well, if I'm being honest, I am quite nervous. Like you said, I am a hostess. There seems to be so many little things I must take care of throughout the night. Not to mention that I still am learning how to dance. I am very grateful for the Duke and Duchess letting me practice in their home, along with their son.” You feel a small weight lift off your shoulders, this being the first time you talked about your apprehensions towards the coming event with someone other than your brother. 

“I was watching the practice, you seem to be learning fairly well. On par with the others also learning the dances. And Sungho is a good dancer, never nervous and he never falters. I heard he took interest in you, he has great taste.” 

The last comment causing a small smile to form on your lips. 

“He is very well-mannered and a fine man indeed. When I heard he took interest in me I was surprised. We had barely spoken in the past so him reaching out to my older brother was a shock. He is very handsome and indeed a gentleman.” 

You couldn’t see it, but a slight frown had made it up to his face. He couldn’t figure out what caused him to have that reaction. He was happy for Sungho that he had found a potential wife, wasn’t he? He should be happy that someone was speaking about his lord in such a way. 

The way you spoke about him could convince anyone that you have an attraction for him. But as much as he seemed so perfect, he hadn’t managed to make you feel anything other than a friendship towards him. It has only been a day but, if he was really interested in you, so much as to go as far as relaying his interest for you to your parents and older brother, surely he would have made his intentions more clear.

“Sungho is a fine gentleman, he would be lucky to have a lady like you, as you would be to have a lord like him.” 

The rest of the carriage ride is spent exchanging small talk and a couple of laughs heard here and there. Once you arrive at your house, he steps out of the carriage and walks to your side and offers his hand to you. You take it, slowly stepping down, out of the carriage.

“Thank you so much for taking me back home… I still never got your name sir,” you say, remembering that last time you asked, Sungho had cut you off.

“Please, call me Donghyun. It was my pleasure bringing you home, Lady Y/N. Enjoy the rest of your night. I have been informed that I will come to get you in the morning.” He bows to you and bids you farewell, as you watch him ride off. 

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

“It's magic that I’m lost in your spell, but you don’t even have a clue…” 

The next few days follow the same routine. Donghyun picks you up and drops you off for the next couple of days when you need to practice. The conversations you guys shared were always light-hearted and casual, as you told him to drop honorifics since you found out you were the same age. There was a sense of familiarity you got when speaking to Donghyun, like he was the person that could listen to you talk forever and never get tired of hearing your stories. 

There were sometimes conversations that got a little too deep, much more than you would discuss with a mere acquaintance or in this case, the servant of your maybe-future-husband. You had never really spent time with Sungho outside of dance practice. Sometimes he’d take you to the courtyard of his house during breaks and on days where you had more time before practices. But things felt more intimate with Donghyun and you felt that you could let your guard down more when talking to him. 

You always knew he was staring at you specifically during the practices. Always coming up to you first before asking any of the other guests if they needed anything. At first, you thought it was because he was Sungho’s servant and by extension, yours as well. But you didn’t see him that way. You always treated him with as much grace as you would a lord, unlike how you’ve seen others treat servants. 

What neither of you knew though, was that Sungho had picked up on the subtle glances you’d shoot towards Donghyun, or the obvious stares he would give you. The way he would come up to you first, not even him. Or the way that you’d shyly tell him if you needed anything, always trying to hide a small smile on your face whenever he’d walk away. As much as he wanted to ask you to go out with him and get to know each other more, he believed it would be best for him to just help you with dance for now. 

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

Today, you go to tailors with your mother and Dongmin. You hope that this will be the last time you have to go there for a while, praying that the dress and mask fit perfectly. 

“How does this look? There was a lot of extra fabric I had to take in but I managed to size it without messing up the design,” the seamstress explained, looking at you for your approval. 

You look in the mirror, marveled by the stunning shape and flow of the long, dark green dress. The beautiful off-the-shoulder dress enhancing your collarbones and complimenting your figure perfectly. The lace trimmings were exactly how you pictured in your head.

“It’s absolutely marvelous!” You exclaim. “This is just what I had in mind— even better in fact!” One thing about you, when you think something is perfect or well done, you become extra bubbly, contrary to your, usually, very calm demeanor.

Your mother and Dongmin both look at you in excitement, glad that you love the dress and that you had one less stressor to worry about. 

“You look absolutely stunning darling. I’m sure Sungho will think so too,” your mother says, Dongmin agreeing with her. You couldn’t help but to think of what Donghyun would think of your dress if he ever saw it. 

“My little sister, all grown up,” he exaggerates, “you look really beautiful. I’m happy you love your dress,” he says with the utmost sincerity. You’re beaming ear to ear, happy that everyone loves your dress. 

“We’re gonna go pay for it upfront while you change back into your clothes. We’ll be waiting for you outside the carriage,” your mother says before walking away with your brother.  

“You look magnificent. Like a princess.”

Your breath caught in your throat, making you speechless for a moment. You recognize the voice, turning around with a shy smile on your face. 

“Donghyun! It’s lovely seeing you today! What brings you here?” 

Today was a break from practicing. The tailors you went to were two towns away, making for a 6 hour carriage ride to and back. You didn’t expect to see Donghyun here, as normally he mentions to you on the carriage rides to the Park’s residence what duties he has for that day and the days following. He never once mentioned going to the tailors, especially not the one you went to considering there were a few in your town. 

“I had to pick up some last minute items for Sungho. He’s been busy sorting his family affairs so he sent me here in his place,” he explained. 

The truth is, Sungho knew you’d be here today. He didn’t really have anything that he needed but he knew that the chances of something happening between the two of you were slim. He picked up on yours and Donghyun’s mutual attraction towards each other, choosing to stay out of it and hopes that you two would kindle something of your own. 

“Of course, he must have a lot to attend to as the Marquess. I’m sure he would’ve come here on his own if he could,” you begin, “but thank you, for the compliment,” you look down at your dress, glad that he also took a liking to it. 

“Will you be attending the ball?” You asked, hopeful of his answer. 

“I unfortunately will not be in attendance. The whole family will be at your masquerade ball and therefore I must look after the house along with the others.” He sees you visibly sigh, smiling to himself at the thought of you missing him at the ball. 

“That is very unfortunate, I was hoping to see you there.” You don't know what got you to be so forward with him, but you saw the slight smirk tug on his face as you said it. Realizing the implications of what you just said, you look away in embarrassment, but part of you hoping that he would miss not being there too. 

The silence between you two is a little awkward now, not knowing what to say to each other. Donghyun clears his throat, remembering that he had something to tell you. 

“I was going to tell you this tomorrow on the carriage ride over but Sungho will not be here for tomorrow’s practice.”

“Oh, who will my dance partner be then?” 

“Me.” 

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

The whole way home, you’re thinking you can’t wait for tomorrow to come. While Sungho is a really good dance partner, you were excited to be able to dance with Donghyun. The thought of being in such close proximity to him had you grinning like a fool. 

“Who are you thinking about that has you so giddy?” 

Dongmin’s question breaks you out of your thoughts, heat rushing to your cheeks as you’ve been caught thinking about Donghyun. You hesitate for a moment before starting to speak, only to be cut off by him.

“I bet it’s Sungho, right? You’ve been without him for one day and you’re already missing him. Mayhaps you are in love?” 

You pause what you’re about to say, thinking about his words carefully. Is this what that is? Are you in love with Donghyun? You bite the bullet, asking Dongmin a serious question.

“If I miss him and can’t stop thinking about him, does that mean I am in love? If I want to be closer to him when we are together, does that mean I’m in love? If the little things and small interactions make my cheeks flush red, does that mean I’m in love?”

You’re rethinking all the interactions you’ve had with Donghyun so far. The little glances and stares you take at one another. The brushes of your hands when walking with each other. The wanting to hold his hand longer when he helps you in and out of the carriage. 

“I’ve felt that before. I would say yes, that would mean that you are in love.” 

Dongmin had a lady who he was going to marry about a year ago. You can tell he had loved her dearly. When it was found that father had fallen ill, her family had moved back to where they were originally from. While the relationship was short-lived, only lasting about a month, you could tell that he had been in love just by the way he looked at her. 

“So this is what being in love feels like…” you trailed off.

Of course, he didn’t know that it wasn’t Sungho that you were talking about. You had thought about telling him, knowing that he would understand and support you no matter who you loved. But you believed that now wasn’t the best time, not knowing yourself what your actual feelings were. 

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

Upon arriving home, you’re given some news by your father. 

“You will be staying overnight at the Park residence tomorrow. I have already spoken to them, and they have so graciously agreed to keep you for the night. You still need practice but there will not be anyone here tomorrow as they will be thoroughly cleaning the manor for the ball in 3 days.  Please go pack your stuff before they get here.” 

You eagerly pack your overnight items. Making sure you have everything properly packed you sit in your room until it is time to go. You hear a soft knock on your door. 

“Come in!” You shout, knowing it’s Dongmin on the other side. 

“Are you all packed up and ready to go?” 

“Yes, I just double-checked and made sure I had all of the stuff I will be needing. What brings you in here?”

While Dongmin was a great brother, he wasn’t exactly known to you for being the one to make sure you were all packed and ready for your own affairs. 

“It is Sungho that you were talking about in the carriage, right?” He bites his lower lip, looking up at you, waiting for your response.

Your eyes meet his as you look at him in genuine shock. You didn’t know if it was because you were surprised that he would ask you such a thing, or if it was because you were shocked that he knew that it wasn’t Sungho that you were talking about earlier.

“Of course I was talking about Sungho. Who else could I be referring to?” 

You ask with as much confidence as you can muster up in the moment. You hoped he wouldn’t press the situation further, but you knew your brother. 

“If it really were Sungho, you would be talking about it more often, not just thinking about him silently in carriage rides.” He raises a good point. 

“On top of that, if he was as eager to be with you as much as you think about him, he would be the one coming to get you personally.” You hated when he could see right through you. 

“You can tell me honestly, who you were talking about. You know I’m on your side no matter what.” 

You would be lying if you said that the idea of you telling your parents the truth hadn’t crossed your mind. But you were worried about what it would do to your family. How it would look if the first daughter of the Lord was to marry the servant of the son of the Duke?  You didn’t care as long as you were happy with him, but you know it would be a big deal to your parents and big deal to the Duke and Duchess as well. 

You didn’t  realize how overwhelming the situation actually is until you felt a couple tears rolling down your face. Dongmin’s gaze on you softens when he realizes that he was right. Pulling you in for a hug he reassures you that it will be alright, but you need to talk to him so he could talk to your parents for you. 

“His name is Donghyun. He is the personal servant to Sungho. He is the one who brings me there and back everyday. I don’t know how it happened but it just did.” You start from the beginning.

“He was always at the dance practices but he caught my eye the minute I saw him. He was really handsome and super sweet. I was thinking about him in the carriage today because I saw him at the tailors while you and mother were paying the expenses of my dress and mask. He said I looked magnificent, like a princess.” 

You wiped the tears from your face slowly, recalling the precious moment, laughing a bit as you realized that holding in that information weighed heavy on your mind. Relieved, you look up at Dongmin who is smiling from ear to ear. 

“My baby sister is in love.” Is all he says before pulling you in for another hug. 

“I’ve spoken with him a few times while we waited for you to finish getting ready. He seems like a fine gentleman. And he makes you happy, which is what’s truly important.” He laughs before helping you bring your stuff down. 

You look up at him and smile, feeling pure bliss as you were able to come clean about it all, and from being able to have Dongmin’s full support. While your parents’ opinions were important, Dongmin’s opinion mattered more. He was the closest person to you, your best friend. 

“I am excited to be there for the night. And tomorrow, Donghyun is going to be my dance partner.” 

He looks at you with a mischievous grin, almost scary. 

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Expecting you to slap his arm, he preemptively runs away, escaping your wrath at his rather crass comment. You can only giggle a bit before following him downstairs. 

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

With all your stuff loaded into the same carriage as the first night, you bid your farewells to your parents and brother. You enter the carriage with Donghyun’s help, eagerly awaiting your arrival to the Park’s residence. You feel the cool air blow past your face as the slightly chilly autumn weather provides a beautiful scene for you to look at. 

“It is quite breezy outside Lady Y/N. Are you sure you want to keep the window open? Wouldn’t want you to catch a cold now,” Donghyun remarks, concerned about your well-being.

“Actually it feels quite nice. Being in these clothes all day can get a little warm. Plus, it’s nice to get the fresh air in here.” You appreciate his concern. 

A couple minutes of silence go by as you think about earlier in the day when he said you looked like a princess in your dress. You can feel a blush coming on remembering the look on his face when he saw you. 

Donghyun was surprised when Sungho said he had forgotten that he needed some things in preparation for the ball. Sungho was usually on top of his belongings. He always knew what he needed to do, when to do it and what he would be needing for any events. Of course, Donghyun would never question him in that way, and instead just did as he was told. He was completely unaware that you would be there. He knew that you were going to pick up your dress that day but he didn’t know where you would be. When he entered the tailors he immediately went to someone, asking for Sungho’s things. There weren’t many other people in the shop at the time, since it was pretty early in the day. He had just finished paying for everything when he heard your familiar voice. He looked around for you until he spotted you, a couple feet away from the changing room. Without thinking he went up to you, 

“You look magnificent. Like a princess.” 

The words playing over and over again in your head.

He didn’t know where he had gotten the courage to say that to you, but your reaction was priceless. He knew when he had first seen you at the practice room that he had an attraction to you, but seeing you in your dress, a shocked yet shy expression on your face, he knew that he had fallen for you. His face held a soft expression, reflecting pure awe and fondness at the sight of you in front of him. He felt a little swell of confidence when you looked away all bashful. 

Replaying the whole incident in your head over and over you failed to realize, again, that Donghyun was asking you a question. 

“Are you lost in your thoughts again, m’lady?” 

“I thought I told you to drop the formalities? We're the same age and you are not my servant. I shall provide you the same grace and respect as if you were my own colleague.” You chuckle, finding it cute that he was still being formal with you.

“I appreciate the offer but you are still a lady. The daughter of the lord, might I add. It would be dishonorable of me to refer to you as anything other than a lady.” 

It was his respectful manner that drew you into him more. You found it very attractive that he stuck to his morals, deciding to drop the conversation of formalities. 

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

Shortly after the conversation, you arrived at the Park residence. Donghyun had helped you out of the carriage and grabbed your belongings for you. 

“Allow me to show you to your room, Lady Y/N.” 

You follow behind him quietly, greeting the Duke and Duchess and everyone else along the way. He set your belongings down onto the ottoman in the room you were given. 

The room was painted a soft, baby blue. Beautiful crown moldings adorned the lining of the ceiling and floor. There were two big windows beside a big bay window. Across from the canopy bed in the middle of the room was a vanity complete with a big mirror and all the makeup products you would ever need. Next to the bed was a door that led to your own personal bathroom, fully stocked with everything you would need in there. 

“I want to apologize sincerely on behalf of the Duke and Duchess and Lord Sungho. We have assigned a lady’s maid to you but she will not be here until the morning. Again, my deepest apologies,” Donghyun says, bowing to you for longer than normal. 

“Because Lord Sungho is not here tonight, I shall see to it that I handle your requests personally. Please let me know if you need anything.” 

He stood close to the doorway, awaiting your response. 

“That is completely alright. I understand that because the Duchess is the only lady of the house, it makes sense that there are not many ladies around. I appreciate you and your efforts.” 

You bow back to him, smiling as you look around the room again. You touch the bed frame, the baby blue curtains of the canopy matching the walls of the room perfectly. You sit on the bed, sinking into the soft mattress. You look at Donghyun,

“This room is so perfect. Who should I thank for setting it up so perfectly?” 

A small blush creeps onto his face as he looks away.

“I was the one who prepared the room for you. I asked them if I could be the one to do it…” 

You look at him in awe, the familiar feeling of your heart racing once again at the thought of Donghyun doing this specifically for you. You walk up to him and smile. You grab his hand and look into his eyes.

“Thank you so much for setting this up for me, Donghyun.” 

He felt like he never wanted you to let go of his hands. The tips of his ears becoming red at your close proximity, feeling like his heart was going to beat out of his chest. He had never been drawn to someone in his life, especially not like this. There was something about you that made him want more. Fighting the urge to hold your face in his hands, he looks away from you. 

“There is no need to thank me. I am glad you like the room. I will leave you to do your nightly routine as it is getting quite late. I shall see you in the morning.” 

Normally, servants weren’t supposed to kiss the hands of the people that they serve, but he couldn’t resist this time. He turned over your hands, placing gentle kisses onto both of them. 

“Have a goodnight, m’lady.”

Your eyes plead with him, not wanting him to leave, but you know he has to. As he leaves the room, you feel a wave of sadness hit you, already missing his presence. Feeling rather hot from the intimate interaction, you head to the restroom and draw yourself a bath, getting ready for bed as you knew you had a whole day of practicing ahead of you. 

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

You woke up the next morning to a knock on your door. Opening it up, you realize it was the lady’s maid that was assigned to you. You both exchange greetings and bows before she helps you get ready for the day. Drawing your bath for you and setting aside the makeup that she will be doing on you for the day. She even had a dress pressed, steamed, and ready for you to wear for practice today. 

Because the ball was only 2 days away, you had to wear dresses that were of similar style to the one that you had picked out in order to better dance in your actual dress. The first couple days were practiced in more casual, everyday dresses to help you learn the steps first. 

You go down to the practice room eagerly. You already know your way around the manor by now but your maid accompanied you anyways. You step in and immediately take notice of Donghyun standing where Sungho normally does. You’re more excited seeing his face and rush to stand across from him. 

“Good morning Lady Y/N.”

“Good morning Donghyun.”

Normally, you would feel anxious and nervous before starting. At this point, you barely stepped on Sungho’s shoes when you practiced with him but you still had trouble following the beat and got the timing of the moves wrong every now and again. As you get into position to start the dance, you notice that you’re not nervous. It was as if Donghyun’s presence instantly had a calming effect on you. You place one hand on his shoulder and he places a hand on your waist, your other hands interlocked as that is how the dance starts. 

During your other practice sessions, Donghyun would solely focus his attention onto you. This meant that he knew at what points during the songs you falter. He knew the very beats that caused you to step on Sungho’s shoes every time. He used his knowledge to help you not mess up. He would match your pace before correcting it and therefore made you feel more at ease. Not once did you step on Donghyun’s shoes. 

As the end of the practice session drew near, you felt sad knowing that you wouldn’t be dancing with Donghyun at the ball. You felt bad for Sungho, knowing that he was assigned to be your dance partner, and that you would likely spend most of the night dancing with only him, only for you to not want him. Part of you wished you liked Sungho as much as you liked Donghyun, but you knew you couldn’t control your feelings. 

“You did amazing today m’lady. You have come very far.”

“It is all thanks to you. Not once did I step on your shoes like I normally do to Lord Sungho. I feel a lot better about the ball, but I am still apprehensive.”

“I could understand feeling that way. But I am sure you will be great that night. This is the last practice we are having. I am glad that I could help you perfect your dance.” 

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

“It’s tragic ‘cuz after tonight, my heart will never be the same…”

You freshen up after dance practice. It’s now around 4 in the evening and you leave the room to find Sungho waiting for you. He greets you with a bow and kisses the back of your hand. 

“My apologies for not being able to practice with you today, Lady Y/N. I heard from Donghyun that you did well today.” 

He says, smiling at you, catching the light blush that appears on your face at the mention of Donghyun’s name and his compliment towards you. 

“It is alright, I understand you have other matters you must attend to. I think the practice went alright. I’m a bit nervous since the ball is 2 days away but I’m sure when the time comes we will be great.” 

You smile back at him. 

“You’ve been practicing all morning and afternoon. I can imagine that you are hungry. I came here to tell you that dinner will be ready in about an hour. For now, would you like to accompany me to the park nearby? It's quite lovely outside today.”

“I would love to.” 

And with that, you both walked out to the park, you holding onto his arm. What you didn’t notice was Donghyun had watched you leave with Sungho. 

He knew that there wasn’t a way for you two to be together, but why was he so jealous that you were with Sungho? He knew that Sungho had taken interest in you and he knew that it would make sense for you to want to be with him. Part of him felt like you were going to pursue your relationship with Sungho because you had no reason not to. He could only assume that your interactions between you and himself were regular for a lady to a servant but he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more behind your actions. 

The way you would speak to him so softly and the way your eyes always scanned the room for him first. When you asked him if he would be attending the ball and your visible upset expression when he said no. Or the way you let him kiss your hands last night and he swears he saw you lean in and pout your lips when he left. Did that all mean nothing? Was he just making things up in his head? 

He walked away after seeing you with him, needing to clear his head. How had you gotten him feeling like this in just a week’s time? 

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

Your stroll in the park with Sungho was very peaceful. You guys walked around, making small conversation here and there about the autumn weather and the upcoming ball. You were able to talk with him freely, feeling like you guys were akin to close friends. But that’s all you felt with Sungho, friendship. You found a bench underneath a tree that you decided to stop at. You smoothed out your dress before sitting down.

“The weather is just lovely today. Not too cold yet.” 

There was a slight breeze here and there but the weather itself was warm enough to wear you didn’t need an overcoat. 

“It is really wonderful. I hear the weather is supposed to be good all weekend. A perfect time to have the ball. I am actually really excited for the ball. I can’t wait to dance with you.” 

You felt a pang of guilt hit you. Sungho had feelings for you that you were upset you couldn’t reciprocate. He spoke up again, 

“I hope you're excited to dance with me too but… I have a feeling that you’re not.” 

You looked at him like a deer in headlights. You tilt your head and feign confusion. 

“What do you mean, my Lord? Of course I am excited to dance with you.” 

He had a knowing look in his eyes and his expression softened when he realized you must’ve been nervous at his question. 

“I mean that I know you don’t feel for me how I feel for you. You made it a little obvious.” 

You look away from him, lost for words. 

“I’m sorry. You’re right, I do not feel for you in the way you have for me. I’m sorry for not telling you earlier…” 

Your voice trails off, wanting to say more but not wanting to expose yourself in the process of explanation. 

“I know you have feelings for my servant, Donghyun.” 

You look at him yet again, but this time with a shocked look on your face. 

“How did you…” 

“Again, you made it pretty obvious. So did he. I noticed since the first day of practice that you two would exchange glances at each other. I had to remind you to keep eye contact with me.” He chuckled.

“I also figured when he offered to take you home the first night as well. Donghyun has a fear of driving a carriage after a minor accident he had years ago. We never make him do it, so I was surprised when he asked. I had a feeling then that something was going on. After that point, I had arranged for him to come get you because I knew it would make him happy. I also didn’t need the items I had him pick up for me at the tailor but I knew you’d be there so I sent him. I didn’t tell him that you’d be there but he started talking about his encounter with you when he came back. He could not wipe the smile off of his face.” 

You looked at Sungho in awe that he would do that for his servant. 

“After that, I knew for sure that he was harboring feelings for you. And when you came here to stay the night, I had heard from your brother that you were excited to stay over and that you didn’t once mess up while dancing with Donghyun like you had with me for the last 4 days.” 

You sigh, relieved to know that Donghyun had truly felt the same way about you that you had about him. 

“You don’t think it’s wrong that we have an attraction to each other? Surely this wouldn’t go over well with the Duke and Duchess.” 

“I could handle them,  and besides, I have other women that have reached out about their interest for me.” 

He says laughing, trying to lighten the mood a bit. 

“I feel that we have gotten close like friends over this past week. I would be more than happy to know that you would make Donghyun happy.” 

Looking up at him you smile.

“That makes me feel so relieved. Thank you for understanding and being so kind about it. I was so nervous about having to turn you down. And while I do appreciate you thinking I could make Donghyun happy, I don’t even know how I would go about seeing him again after this. He won’t even be at the ball.” 

Sungho takes your hand in his, soothing it. 

“You will find a way. There is always a way.” 

He says almost cynically. He had a plan. You give him a hug and you two take to walking back, as it was nearing dinner time. 

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

After dinner you head back to your room to pack up your belongings. You hear a knock on your door.

“It’s Donghyun. May I come in, Lady Y/N?”

You smile and almost run to the door to open it in excitement. 

“Hello Donghyun, what brings you in here?” 

You ask while inviting him inside and closing the door behind you. 

“Sorry, it’s a bit of a mess in here. I was just packing up my belongings.” 

You say apologizing for the messy state of the room. 

“It’s no worries at all. I was coming around to ask if you needed any help with packing or if you needed anything. I will be bringing you back so take your time, there is no need to rush.”

You can only look up into his eyes, suddenly becoming very aware of your height difference and how close he actually was to you. The tension in the room was palpable, like you could cut through it with a knife. 

Everything Sungho told you at the park was replaying in your mind. You kept thinking about how he kissed your hands the night prior and the feeling it left in the pit of your stomach. 

Your eyes were looking all across his face. His eyes that were big and sparkly and how you could get lost in them for hours. How perfectly his nose was shaped. His thick lips that looked so plump and kissable. His hair that was styled so perfectly, its length helping sharpen the look of his jawline. He truly did look like a work of art. 

Unbeknownst to you, he was staring right back at you. Taking in all your features. His eyes looked first at your hair, then your nose, your cheeks, your forehead, your eyes, then your lips. They lingered at your lips for a while before looking back into your eyes. 

“Lady Y/N…” 

He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to ruin the moment between you two but he didn’t want to do anything either of you would regret. 

“Can I kiss you?” 

You place your hands on his shoulders and lean up to kiss him. His hands go straight to your waist, stabilizing you while he reaches down to meet your lips. It's like a flame lit between your bodies, not wanting to part from each other. You both start off slow. You take your time navigating through the kiss, your hands wrapping around his neck, pulling him in closer. Donghyun’s hands are roaming your body, wanting to feel as much of you as he can, respectfully. He’s aware of the implications that this kiss holds, but remembers that you’re a lady, and fights off any other naughty thoughts that are running around his mind. He doesn’t know that you’re thinking similar naughty thoughts. You both continue like this for a bit before pulling away, needing to catch your breath. You’re left breathless and needy, an unfamiliar feeling bubbling in your stomach, wanting more. 

You're both looking into each other's eyes, the magnitude of your actions hitting you almost instantly. You pull away from each other slightly and take a deep breath. 

“That was my first kiss.” 

You say to break the silence. 

“Mine too.”

He says and you giggle a bit. He starts laughing too, lightening the mood. 

“I’m sorry for asking to kiss you. I realize how inappropriate that was.” 

He looks away shamefully only for his attention to be pulled back to you when you speak up. 

“Don’t apologize. It was more inappropriate for me to have just pulled you in like that. But I did enjoy it. I enjoy being around you, Donghyun.”

It’s his turn to blush, not being able to stop the bright smile from appearing in his face, his eyes smiling just as big. 

“I enjoy being around you as well.” 

“I know. Lord Sungho told me all of your efforts to come pick me up and drop me off were because of your feelings for me. If it wasn’t obvious by now I have feelings for you as well.” 

You sit down on the bed and pat the seat next to you for him to sit down as well. You take his hands into yours before continuing to speak. 

“Lord Sungho was telling me about your feelings for me. He told me he could sense that I didn’t have feelings for him because I was constantly looking at and searching for you.” You confess.

“He told me that he supports us figuring out whatever this may be between us.” 

“But how? I am merely his servant and you’re the daughter of Lord L/N. I don’t know how this could work between us.” 

He looks down sheepishly, realizing that there was no way he would be allowed to be with you. You take his face in your hands, caressing his cheek with your thumb. 

“If the worry is about my parents, leave it to me. Do not worry about that. You would need to talk to Lord Sungho and your family.” 

“That wouldn’t be too hard, I don’t have any other family. My parents were poor and could barely afford to live. We were taken in by the former Duke and Duchess and my parents worked for them. I grew up with Lord Sungho and we are best friends, but I am also his servant. My parents died a while ago, so really, it’s just me.” 

He talked so calmly and openly about his past, as if he was telling you just another regular story. He smiles at you, melting into your touch.

“I’m so sorry for your loss, that must have been really hard.” You stare into his eyes, your expression softening at his confession of his parents’ passing. 

“Thank you. Now let’s get you back. You have a ball to prepare for.” 

He helped you bring your stuff out. It was to both of your surprises that Sungho was standing outside waiting for you by the carriage. 

“I hope you’re okay with me bringing you back, Lady Y/N. I cleared my schedule for tonight.” Even though you really wanted Donghyun to drop you back, you knew that you would see him again eventually. You nod to Sungho before bowing to Donghyun and parting ways, Sungho helping you into the carriage. You see Donghyun smiling wide at you, waving you off. 

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

The carriage ride began quietly. You couldn’t help the goofy smile that splayed across your face thinking about your kiss with Donghyun. The way his hands held you so firmly at first, like he was scared to grip you any harder. Then after getting into it for a bit, the way he squeezed your figure like he never wanted to let you go. The heat you felt between your bodies, like it was meant to happen for the two of you to be together. 

“You’re not usually this quiet on carriage rides with Donghyun, are you?” 

Sungho giggles, breaking you out of your thoughts. You blush at the thoughts you were having.

“No, but, I have a lot on my mind.”

He can hear the smile through your voice.

“Is it the ball? Or something else?”

“It is the ball amongst other things. I’m scared but also excited. I know I was dreading it at first but I think I’m going to be sad when it's all over.”

You respond honestly, albeit, leaving out the biggest piece of information you were just thinking about. 

“Now that all makes sense. But tell me really, what were you ACTUALLY thinking about? Thinking about the ball would not make you smile and giggle like you just did. Does it have something to do with Donghyun? Did something finally happen between you two” Sungho is glad you can’t see the smirk on his face.

“Lord Sungho! How dare you ask such a question!” 

You can’t help the chuckle that leaves your lips, flabbergasted at his boldness.

“Oh come on Lady Y/N. You have already rejected me as a possible future husband. The least we can do is remain friends. I feel that we have become very close throughout this whole process. Not to mention that I have basically played the part of cupid in your relationship with Donghyun, whatever that may come of it.” He has a point. 

“Fine. I suppose we can stay friends,” you say sarcastically, but actually you're really fond of the relationship you’ve grown to have with Sungho. It seems that your relationship has grown to be closer to that of a sibling relationship. 

“But, we drop the formalities when we’re alone! Being called Lady Y/N by you feels too proper now that we are on a friend-to-friend basis.”

“Alright fine, I will drop formalities with you, but you still have to call me Lord Sungho,” He says, joking but he swears he can hear you roll your eyes at his comment. 

“But okay, okay! Tell me what happened. I know Donghyun went into your room before you left.”

“It wasn’t anything much! We talked for a bit…”

“Aaannddddd?”

“And we kissed”

You hide your face in your hands, embarrassed after having said it out loud. Sungho bursts out laughing and then apologizes afterwards for laughing. 

“That’s it? I’ll have to have a talk with him when I get back.”

“That’s not all! We talked after about what would come of this. We both obviously want to be together but he was worried about what my family would say since he’s your servant and I’m me. We don’t even know how we would be able to meet, especially once I tell my family that you and I are not going to pursue a relationship together.” 

“Don’t tell your parents that we will not be together, yet. If you say that we do want to pursue a relationship together, that would make it easier for you to see Donghyun at our manor.”

“But what about you? I don’t want to hold you back from pursuing someone else because of this.”

“Well, unless you plan on hiding this relationship for years, I won’t be missing out on much if it is only for a few months.”

He laughs and you sigh. You feel so grateful for Sungho and his willingness to do this for you, even though you never asked him to. It shows how much he cares for both you and Donghyun. 

“Plus, this is the least I can do for Donghyun. He has done so much for me, I owe him at least this much.”

You love how humble Sungho is. He never took for granted what he had and how he was so selfless, always looking out for others. Your respect for him only grew more. 

“I could never ask you to do this for me, but thank you so much. I will owe you after this as well.” 

There’s a shared silence between you two for a bit before you break it again,

“What did you mean when you said you would need to talk to Donghyun when you get back?”

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

When Sungho brought you home, you felt it inappropriate to let him leave with anything other than a hug, which surprised both your parents and Dongmin. 

“I will see you at the ball, Lady Y/N. Have a great night.”

He kissed your hand and left. You walked into your house, not missing the confused smile on Dongmin’s face. He helped you take your bags back to your room where he shut the door. You immediately knew that he was going to want to talk about that hug.

“I thought you liked his servant? Why are you hugging him in front of our parents?” 

You sighed, explaining everything to him, even the kiss you shared with Donghyun. He felt like he could tear up at your confession.

“You’re being so dramatic Dongmin.” You slapped his arm and he could tell you were being serious about this. 

“So he really offered to do that for you, huh? What a good man he is. Good luck explaining all this to mom and dad in a few months.” The both of you shared a laugh at his statement, not wanting to think about what that moment would look like. 

After telling him all of the information from your stay, he leaves you to yourself, where you ponder what the next two days will hold. The whole time you prepare for sleep, you’re thinking about Donghyun. About his hands, his face, his eyes, his lips. You miss the feeling of his lips on yours. You think about when the next time you’re going to see him will be. You hope that Sungho will invite you back to his house after the ball so you could see him. 

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

“Who are you? What is your name? This is a two-faced game…”

The day of the masquerade ball arrives, and you’re as nervous as ever. The setup in the ballroom at your house was complete. The tables were beautifully decorated with gorgeous centerpieces and plates of hors d'oeuvres. There were plenty of drinks ranging from water, to juice to alcohol. The dance floor was polished to perfection, so much so that you could see your reflection if you looked down at it. The only thing left was for you to calm your nerves. 

You looked around, thinking about all the events leading up to this day. How you didn’t know how to dance prior to this. How nervous you were when you kept stepping on Sungho’s shoes. How your attention flew to Donghyun the moment you stepped into the practice room. How you met Sungho and ended up falling in love with his servant. 

Shaking your head, you focus now on greeting the guests as they enter the ballroom, remembering that this day was to celebrate your parents and your family. Everyone had masks on, so you were worried about not being able to recognize some people at first. You put on a smile, and it grew a 100x bigger when you saw Sungho and his parents. Of course if there was someone you’d recognize, it would be him. He greets you like normal and walks in, admiring the way everything was set up. He decides to stand next to you while you greet people, talking to him in between the guests’ arrivals. He whispers in your ear,

“Donghyun was right, you do, look beautiful,” he says, smiling at you and admiring the dress. 

You blush at the thought of his name, and the fact that he was gushing to Sungho that you looked beautiful in your dress. 

“Thank you.”

You could feel eyes on you. Even through the masks, you knew that people were staring at you. You assumed that you’d get stares from other potential suitors, but you didn’t think the feeling would be this overwhelming. You were still nervous but having Sungho by your side helped you a little. After about an hour of walking around, greeting and talking to guests, you decide to check in on your brother and parents. 

“How is everything going over here?”

“Hey Y/N! Everything is good around here. How are you holding up? There’s been a lot of suitors coming up to talk to us about you.” Dongmin responds.

“Have there? I’ve been feeling a lot of people staring at me and it's overwhelming, honestly. I didn’t expect there to be so many people wanting to get to know me.”

He wraps an arm around you and pulls you into a hug, assuring you that it’s going to be alright and that it's only for one day. You congratulate your parents on their anniversary and the big success of the party before you head back to the dance floor with him.  Before the main dance of the ball starts, there were a couple of slow songs that people took to the dance floor to do. You knew these, as they were not that hard, but you had a line of suitors waiting to dance with you. You dance with them one by one, silently wishing it was over after every dance. During a break session you head to a table to grab a snack. You spot Sungho at a table by himself. You walk up to him and let out a deep breath that you were holding. Sungho can sense your tension. 

“It’s that bad, huh?”

“They’re all very nice. But I have no interest in them. And I’m worried about the actual masquerade dance. Practicing with you was amazing and I thank you, truly, but I cannot hide the fact that I am nervous.”

“I know, but you will do amazing, I promise.”He sounded too sure, like he was plotting something. Your break was short-lived however, as a couple minutes later they called for everyone to join the dance floor for the fabled masquerade dance. Your heart beat sped up as you got into position with Sungho by your side.

Panic set in once the music started playing. Things were going smoothly at first, the music slow enough for you to keep up. You focused on not stepping on Sungho’s shoes, like you often did during the practice sessions. He could sense your nervousness and gave you a small smile. 

“Hey, look at me. You’re doing great. Just keep looking up at me and let your body move on its own, don’t think about it too much.”

He was always good at calming you down, settling your nerves during practices, but it wasn’t helping now, not after you practiced with Donghyun. You wished you were dancing with him. He was able to calm your nerves in an instant. You didn’t once mess up during your practice with him.

Sungho was nice, he danced well and he was undeniably handsome. He was perfect in every way. You wished he could calm you down like Donghyun could. You look up at him and smile, trying to calm yourself and focus but the only thing on your mind was him. Keeping up for a bit, you were doing better but your blood ran cold at the next announcement:

“Let’s switch it up tonight! Everyone, please take a step to your left and meet your new partner!” 

You take a step back and part with Sungho, watching as he spins with his new partner. He mouths to you, ‘heads up,’ before spinning away. You looked around frantically, confused. You were at the edge of the dance floor. Everyone seemed to have been able to find their partners except for you. You proceed with the steps by yourself, trying to keep up with the now quickened pace. 

Suddenly, you spin and someone interlocks their hands with yours. 

“May I have this dance?” 

You can instantly recognize the almost shoulder-length brown hair, the thick lips and the eyes that still glimmer even through his mask. His voice is especially unmistakable. You felt a wave of relief wash over you. 

“Donghyun!?”

You whisper-yell back at him. You focus for a second, straightening yourself out and talking to him during the parts of the dance that you guys are close enough to hear each other.

“I mean this in the nicest way possible but, what are you doing here? I thought you couldn’t attend?” 

Really, you were having more trouble hiding your excitement. You no longer felt panic but confidence. Donghyun was always able to make you dance better.

“It was Lord Sungho’s idea! He wanted us to be together tonight!”

You hold in your laughter at his child-like glee. His smile making it impossible for you not to smile back at him. With your new found confidence, you are able to finish the dance without making any mistakes. The dance ends with Donghyun’s hand caressing your face before you two part ways for dramatic effect. After the dance, you both look for Sungho to thank him but he already beat you to it, walking up to you and Donghyun.

“I know I'm the best, no need to thank me.” he says all cocky. 

“Well I was going to thank you but nevermind.” you playfully roll your eyes at him, not being able to conceal your smile. 

Donghyun laughs at your interaction, Sungho having already told him about how you two agreed to drop formalities whenever possible and act more like friends than failed partners. 

“I’m kidding. You guys did beautifully. I’m so happy for you guys!” 

Sungho and Donghyun exchange knowing looks, laughing together afterwards. With the main dance being over you were able to relax for a bit. The party was still very lively and busy, with everyone now settling down to eat and mostly drink for the rest of the night. After talking with a couple more people and congratulating your parents once again, you tell them you will be going to lie down in your room for a bit. With their approval, you take it as the perfect opportunity to slip away from everyone with Donghyun, into your room. 

“I’m so happy you were able to come! It truly was the best part of the night!”

You say to him after closing the door, giving him a hug. He sighs into your embrace, nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck, inhaling your scent and letting out a contented sigh. 

“You look even more beautiful today. I didn’t think it was possible. And you did great out there. I'm so proud.”

You blush at his words and pull out of the hug, planting a soft kiss on his cheek.

“You look very handsome. I don’t ever want to stop looking at you. And thank you, it was all because of you I was able to relax and do well tonight. No offense to Sungho but I was praying that I could’ve been dancing with you from the start.” 

He smiles at your words before tilting your head up towards his, leaning down to give you a kiss. This one felt different to the one you shared at the Park’s residence. That one was more needy and sloppy, both of you not knowing how to deal with the emotions that had built up and were coursing through your veins. This one was more slow, emotions flowing steady through the way your lips parted and met each other yet again. Donghyun was taking his time kissing you, slowly moving down your face to your jaw, then your neck and to your exposed collarbones. 

You let out pleasured sighs at his actions, not wanting him to stop. 

“I think I know what's going to happen, but I’ve never done anything like this before…”

You admitted shyly. He stopped his kisses on your neck before stepping back to look at you.

“I understand. I have never done anything like this before either. But if you allow me, I know I can make you feel good. Do you trust me to do that for you, Lady Y/N?”

If the way his eyes were pleading with yours to say yes wasn’t enough, it was his hands holding your so softly and the way that he wanted to take care of you that did. 

“I trust you Donghyun.”

He smiles at you before kissing your lips softly, hands going behind your dress to unzip it. After slipping out of it, you were left in a short, white slip-on dress. He walks you both to your bed where he has you straddle him. He runs his hands up your exposed thighs gently squeezing them a bit. 

“If you want to stop at any point, just tell me and I’ll stop, okay?”

You nod your head eagerly as you pull him in for a kiss this time. He repeats his actions from earlier, kissing you for a bit before moving down to kiss your neck. You moan as he leaves wet kisses on your collarbone. He runs his hands up your arms before placing them on your waist, moving towards your chest. He puts his hand over your clothed breast, giving it a playful squeeze, wanting you to be okay with it before doing more. Upon hearing you moan again, he takes it as a green light before squeezing it more, rubbing his thumb over your covered nipple. 

Your face is hot and you know that you’re blushing out of embarrassment but you don’t want him to stop. You pull the straps of your slip off, fully exposing your chest to him. You look away in embarrassment, not wanting to see the look on his face.

“You’re so beautiful, and so perfect.” 

He grabs your jaw making you look at him again before connecting your lips. He lifts you both up off of the bed only to lay you down softly, never leaving your lips. He takes off his dark green overcoat, which he picked out to match with you when Sungho told him he would also be attending. He unbuttons his shirt and, to his surprise, you’re staring right at him. His toned and lean body makes his slight abs visible, even in the darkness of your bedroom. He smirks,

“Do you like what you see?”

He says playfully to which you feel your cheeks burn for the 100th time. He fully takes his shirt off, throwing it on the floor before making his way down your body. He runs his large hands up and down your legs before pausing to ask you a question: “Have you ever touched yourself before?” 

He looked up at you with those big sparkly eyes that crinkled in the corner when a slight smile made its way onto your face. 

“It’s quite embarrassing to admit, but yes I have, but not much.”

“That’s not embarrassing to admit, I appreciate your honesty, but please guide me, so I can make you feel as good as I can.”

He gives you the sweetest smile before slipping your dress up a little, now face-to-face with panties that have a clear wet spot around them.

“I didn’t know I made you this excited so quickly,”

He didn’t seem like the type, but his words were cocky, chuckling as he ghosted his fingers over the wet patch. You played into it,

“They were like this after our first kiss too. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, about you,”

You whispered to him which only spurred him on. He slowly slipped your panties off, discarding them next to his shirt, before rising a little to meet your lips. He guided two of his fingers down and hovered them above your clit. 

“Tell me how this feels…”

He gently rubs your clit in circles, barely applying any pressure at first. He takes your slight whimper as a good sign and adds a little more pressure, kissing your neck as well. You grab onto his arm, clutching it as the pleasure in your core builds. You allow yourself to make some noises, the music outside loud enough to drown out your moans. You absentmindedly grind into his fingers, wanting more. Taking that as his sign, he moves his fingers away from your clit and slips them up and down your wet folds, collecting your slick. 

“Let me know if it becomes too much”

He slips one finger in slowly. They were a lot longer than yours were and a lot thicker too. You nod your head at him to move and he slowly pushes a finger in before dragging it back out. 

“F-Feels so good.” 

He added another finger after a bit, making sure you were ready to take him. You buck your hips up into his fingers when he hits your sweet spot.

“Right there, it feels so good!” 

You arch your back more, feeling immense pleasure build up within you. Suddenly, he takes out both fingers, to which you whine. He removes his pants and boxers before climbing back onto the bed and pressing a soft kiss to your forehead.

“I want you to finish on me. Are you ready, Lady Y/N?” 

You nod your head quickly, wanting nothing more than for him to already be in you, but you’re nervous. 

“Please be careful, and go slow. I’ve never done this before…” 

“Don’t worry, I will make sure you are alright.” 

He lines himself up with your entrance, biting back a groan as he slowly pushes himself in. You hiss a little at the intrusion, the foreign feeling causing you slight pain. His face morphs to one of worry to which you quickly reassure him that you’re okay. 

“I’m okay, you can go ahead and move…”

His thrusts are painfully slow, not wanting to hurt you anymore. He can feel you squeezing his biceps, a little pride swelling in his chest. He takes this chance to dip down into your neck, leaving open-mouthed kisses but making sure not to leave any marks. 

Your moans grow loud and are more frequent, a result of him speeding up his pace. You sit up slightly causing him to hit into you deeper. He groans in your ear, 

“You feel so good around me, I don’t think I’ll be able to last much longer,” 

The feeling in your stomach is familiar, similar to the one Donghyun had caused earlier when he was fingering you. You assumed this is what it meant to be close, feeling the pleasure tighten and about to burst. 

“I feel it, please don’t stop Donghyun!” 

You let yourself be a little louder that time, knowing it would fuel him to go faster— and he did. Moments later you’re coming all over him. He thrusts a few more times before pulling out and using his hand to finish himself off, cumming all over it. 

Your breathing is shallow and quick, your throat dry from all the moaning and kissing. Donghyun runs to the bathroom connected to your room and washes his hands before grabbing a towel to clean you up. You wince at the process, still sensitive from before. 

“Thank you for cleaning me up, Donghyun. That was amazing.” 

“You were amazing. I didn’t know I could feel that good. I didn’t go too hard, did I?” 

You shook your head before pulling him in for another kiss. You thought about what he had said before when you first kissed. How he hadn’t kissed anyone before either. 

“No, it was just perfect. But I have a question for you. Last time, you said you never kissed anyone before. So how were you so good at what you just did?” 

It was Donghyun’s turn to blush and avoid your gaze. 

“That night that we kissed, Lord Sungho had asked to speak to me after he got back. He asked about what had happened and then he asked me if I knew what to do afterwards. When I told him that I had never done that before, he explained to me what the next process would be like…” 

“Oh my, I’m sure that was embarrassing for you, having to talk to him about such an intimate thing?”

“Not really. We practically grew up together, besides the fact that I am his servant, he doesn’t treat me like one. We’re like brothers.” 

He smiles to himself at the thought of Sungho treating him more like a brother than a servant. 

“Of course we have to act very formal when others are around, but when we’re by ourselves, it’s like the class gap doesn’t exist.” 

“That’s so beautiful. I’m glad he doesn’t make you feel like you’re just a servant. You’re so much more than that.” 

You get up, wincing slightly at the ache between your legs, suddenly aware that you were still very naked. You look back to see Donghyun staring at you with a bright smile, eyes disappearing because he was smiling so wide. You say playfully,

“Stop looking at me! I’m naked!”

“I know, I’m the reason why.” 

You laugh at his joke while slapping his arm. 

“You’re cheeky”

“Maybe just a little bit.”

He laughs and gets up, putting his clothes back on and helping you back into your dress.

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

“Welcome to my Masquerade…”

You could still hear the music outside, and the faint voices of people over it. Slowly, you both slip out of your room, you first and Donghyun leaving a few minutes later. You catch the eye of Sungho and Dongmin as you enter the ballroom. Dongmin says something first,

“You’ve been gone for a while! I was looking for you, where have you been? There were many people asking to speak to you.”

You hope they don’t catch the way your breath hitches before answering,

“After the dance, I told mom and dad that I would go to my room to lie down for a bit…” 

Now it was Sungho’s turn to speak,

“If you were lying down, why are you a little sweaty and your hair is messed up?” 

Before you could answer, Donghyun walks into the ballroom, walking up to the three of you. 

“How is everyone’s night going so far?” 

Donghyun says, adjusting his mask. Dongmin and Sungho exchange knowing looks, Sungho smirking up at Donghyun. 

“It’s going fine. We were looking for Y/N because there were many people wanting to talk to her but we couldn’t find her. I was going to ask you to help us find her but you disappeared too.” 

Sungho tilted his head to the side, waiting for Donghyun’s explanation. He had never lied to Sungho before, but he was quick on his feet.

“Oh, I’m sorry I couldn’t help you look, I was in the restroom. But I see that you have found her and I’m sure there are plenty of people still waiting to talk to her now.” 

You look up at him in disbelief, holding back a laugh as you feign seriousness. Dongmin tongues his cheek, also holding back a laugh. He grabs your arm, guiding you to the next person that wants to talk to you, whispering to Donghyun,

“I know what you guys did, fix your shirt,”

Donghyun looks down, realizing that his shirt was sticking out from underneath his overcoat, not tucked into his pants. He looks up at Sungho, who's already shaking his head at him. 

“If you guys are gonna be sneaking around like this, at least get better at being aware of your state afterwards… but then again, I am proud of you. Did you do everything I told you to do?” 

Donghyun smirks, fixing his shirt before answering,

“Have I ever not done something you’ve told me to do?” 

Both men share a laugh as they watch you struggle to hide your disgust at the next suitor you’re talking to. You make eye contact with Donghyun for a second, to which he winks at you, mouthing a  ‘good luck’ before shooting you a thumbs up. 

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

After the ball ends, you and your family see the guests off, saying your goodbye’s. The last family to leave is Sungho’s. By now, your family lets you see him off without them needing to be there, so they say their goodbyes before heading back inside. Sungho’s parents give you the same courtesy, waiting in the carriage for Sungho and Donghyun, who drove the carriage here. Dongmin insisted he stay outside with you. 

“Well, I’ve had a lovely evening, Lord Dongmin, Lady Y/N. I hope to see you soon at our manor. I’m sure someone else would like to see you there as well.” 

Sungho brings your hand up to his lips. 

“Next time you come over, be sure to bring Lord Dongmin with you, we have much to discuss.” 

Dongmin and Sungho exchange hugs and talk amongst themselves while Donghyun comes up to you. 

“I have also had a lovely evening with you, Lady Y/N. I hope to see you soon.” 

Donghyun kneels before you, placing a kiss onto the backs of both your hands, the grandest request of courtship. 

“I wish to court you from here on. Please think of me until we see each other again.” 

You tear up a little at his confession, placing a soft kiss on his cheek, hoping that Sungho’s parents weren’t looking out the carriage, wondering what’s taking them so long. 

“I will be sure to visit very soon. And I promise, I’ll think of you everyday.” 

With that, the four of you bid each other farewell, you and Dongmin making your way back inside. 

“That was so risky, even for you. You’re lucky nobody caught on.”

“I was nervous the whole time but it just felt right. I hope you’re not mad at me, big brother.” 

“Why would I be mad? My little sister is happy! And I’m so happy for you. Not to mention how me and Sungho have built quite the friendship over this past week, especially tonight.” 

“Thank you Dongmin. I really like him. I’m glad you do too! I hope you guys can build a good friendship as well.” 

He pulls you into a hug and you finally feel at ease, after the preparation, the practice, talking to so many people and the actual ball itself. Not to mention that your and Donghyun’s earlier affairs had your legs slightly shaking the rest of the night. You feel yourself relaxing into Dongmin’s arms, the exhaustion from the entire week finally catching up to you. 

“Let’s get you to bed. I know you must be tired.” 

Dongmin scoffs before picking you up, carrying you to your bed. 

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

I know this is so long but I hope you guys enjoyed reading! Again, its my first fic on here so please be nice! my asks are open so if you have any questions feel free to ask!

[missmorize]

My Personal Alastor Headcanons

Not because I'm a simp or anything ahahahah.... All SFW aside from some cursing of course. :)

I am sleep deprived and stupid so some of these maybe shit and have terrible spelling errors. My mind is running at 3% and some of these were spontaneously made up because that's how my mind works. Enjoy.

📻 Viv let us play with Alastor's sexuality and so I hc he is demisexual (totally not me projecting and basing it off my own experiences, nahhhh...) and he rarely falls for anyone, but when he does he falls HARD.

• That being said, the flirtation begins. He is terrible at it... He respects boundaries and is incredibly respectful but he 100% butchers pickup lines because he genuinely thinks our generation likes those.

- "If you were a vegetable you would be a cucumber."

- "Do you have an extra heart? Mine was stolen."

- Can demons have strokes? That's probably what you are saying

- Angel Dust hears and DIES. Surprisingly gives some solid advice.

- "Stop with the pick-up lines. Just be yourself and it'll work, trust me, ya weirdo..."

- So he does. AKA secretly follows you, will randomly spawn to open doors for you or pull out chairs, chivalry isn't dead, dear! Also tells you about his grizzly murders in his lifetime, if anyone disrespects you prepare for your knight in shoulder pads, will be slick and dedicates one of his radio shows to you and plays an old song from his day. Makes you SWOON. Angel is proud.

- Also likes dates to Cannibal Town and introduces you to Rosie. She thinks you are the cutest thing in the world, prepared to be coddled by both.

📻 He likes to play dress up with you if you let him. Picking out your wardrobe is SO fun for him.

📻 Is a top tier cook. Usually prefers meat and will cook that for you, but if he finds out you are a vegan/pescitarian/etc he will do that. Gets excited when you compliment his cooking.

📻 HE HAS A SECRET TAIL HE IS ASHAMED OF AND I WILL NOT HIDE IT. I LOVE WHEN POWERFUL CHARACTERS HAVE A MILD INCONVENIENCE THAT MAKES THEM LESS SCARY.

📻 He learns words and if it's not from Rosie... Be prepared because it gets bad and gets cringe.

- "Ah! Darling, I heard some demons today as I was on a stroll, they were from your era. What is a mee-mee?"

- "I see... I see. They also said the word "gyatt" to a woman, I assume that is a compliment, so my dear, you have a-"

- You stop him right there, explains what that means and he short circuits. He walks over to the corner and just places his head against it. "I would like to be alone for a while..."

- "If mama knew I said this she would beat my ass to next Tuesday..."

📻 I know it says he's not big on touch but I HC he really doesn't care. He never seems to show any recoil from it, but maybe its just if its strangers?

📻 Will educate you on everything he knows on the macabre and morbid.

📻 Will FORCE you to sit down and check out vintage stuff. Watching TV? Not anymore, there is a microphone cane through it. Charlie has bought you like six phones now...

📻 He is overall an attention seeking puppy.

📻 Does things that get him praise. He WANTS his ego boost and knows you'll give it to him.

📻 Gossips with you about everyone and anything, listens to you rant and will give some genuinely good advice unless its like about an ex or something.

- "Simple, dear! Just kill them."

📻 Jokingly (?) tries to get you to sell your soul to him.

- "All in jest, don't worry! I think the look on your face is HILARIOUS!"

📻 If he sees you upset he tries to make you smile.

📻 If you are short he will put things on the top shelf and stifle a laugh as he watches you try to get it. Bless Husk and Angel for getting it for you.

📻 Angel is the only male he doesn't really have a problem with, hence when he hears about Valentino he has a bit of anger, also just because he thinks hes gross and perverse. Someone like that doesn't deserve to be breathing.

📻 Whiskey is his forte. VERY picky with his drinks, he doesn't like the cheap stuff like Husk does. A lot of people say he drinks wine but I imagine he only likes the hard stuff.

📻 He is the type of man to leave the toilet seat up. Vaggie has voiced her opinions on it.

📻 When he got Niffty out of that toilet he probably waited until the bubbles almost stopped. He's a little bit of an asshole.

📻 Actively pranks Husk. Someone save the cat-man...

- Switches his alcohol with non-alcoholic and sees how long it takes him to realize or get drunk even though he's not.

- Plays poker against him but will actively cheat to make sure he wins 100% of the time.

- Puts cucumbers down to scare the shit out of him.

📻 Since he is a deer demon (a Stag at that) he is VERY territorial, especially of the Hotel. This is HIS home. Will never admit it though.

📻 ✨Sweet Southern Boy✨ (Not really a HC I just wanted to say that, nor is he really sweet)

📻 He hides his accent. It will come out though when he is extremely extremely angry or when he is extremely relaxed.

📻 Will wake you up by staring in your face, you may or not have screamed once.

📻 Bullies Sir Pentious. He's still pissed about him ripping his tailcoat and he holds a grudge.

📻 Also not a headcanon but doesn't mind personal space, will come into the bathroom as you shower for conversation and draw on the steamed mirror. If you ask him to stop he will and completely understands.

📻 Sits and stares at a wall sometime.

📻 Gets everyone to taste his coffee, it is mostly coffee grounds.

📻 Has ate a dog demon on more than one occasion. Unapologetically.

📻 You know those compilations of like people getting hurt on youtube? If he used the internet that shit would be the funniest thing in the world to him.

📻 Uses 1920s slang to confuse everyone.

📻 Jealous.

- Plationic: Um... He's your best friend, right? Why are you giving attention to others when he is RIGHT THERE. Oh? They can do that, well he can do it ten times better. Watch what else he can do! Yeah, he's the coolest, right?

- Romantically: Time to butt heads and flex every possible way. Will RUIN the person's confidence, the psychological warfare begins. He is the better one and he must make it known. If they start flirting with you, blood will be spilled.

📻 When people try and lecture him it goes in one ear and out the other.

📻 His hair tufts are his ears, that may actually be canon, not sure.

- If he gets comfortable enough and you scratch behind they he MELTS. It scared him at first but once he first fell asleep it was nice.

📻 Will tell you about his mother constantly. Bases a lot of his morals and being a gentleman off how his mother taught him and treats women like ✨queens✨

📻 I HC one of his biggest problems with Lucifer and why they had tha number was because he was absent in Charlie's life so much and since his dad left him and his mother he believes absent fathers are the worst. He believes you have an obligation AS A FATHER to be the best you can be and raise your child.

- Absent father? Will bully so hard. He hates them to a fault, even if it wasn't their fault. He refuses to take criticism on it and its one of the things he is most stubborn about. Man got some daddy issues he doesn't want to talk about.

📻 His daddy issues lead to abandonment issues.

📻 His mom passing away will make him be extra attentive if someone he cares about is sick.

- Will check in and only really care if it's the girls.

- Will probably tell the guys to suck it up. Rip.

📻 Touch and affection starved and just doesn't show it. I don't care if it's not in character, let me project my issues in peace.

📻 Says the most out of pocket shit just for shock value.

📻 Rosie teaches him things he isn't allowed to say.

📻 His favorite body part to eat is the heart. He thinks it's poetic.

📻 Owns a record player because of course he does.

- If you want him to try modern day music, you best be getting vinyls.

- If you pull up Spotify he will feel betrayed.

- "So... My radio show isn't good enough? You need some... Application to play music for you?"

- Will guilt trip you and not feel bad. You already use phones and social media, like... Will only indulge if you play HIS type of music, and even then he will bitch about how it sounds better on the record player and how he play it on his show instead.

- I clearly know nothing about how radio shows work and I don't care.

⚠️Mildly suggestive depending on who you are:

📻 Likes boobs, he just likes sleeping on them. He was a mama's boy and he probably rested his head on his mother's chest all the time growing up.

[lucajayms]

i sincerely apologize for the rant

pre bullets gerard plsplsplspls!!!! they have an office crush at cartoon network then she moves away without telling anyone and they replace her (CUBICLES BEST SONG EVER) so then he just keeps wondering what may have happened, until mcr are playing like in another city during revenge era then mikey sees her in the crowd before a show and he goes to gerard right before going onstage and its like hey gerard remember that girl you talked about 24/7 in 2001, shes here tonight. and gee just freaks out while trying to play down the whole performance becase hes scared she wont like the whole fake blood/gay/screaming thing. then they finish the performance and he goes to find her and shes like all happy bc she knew he was gonna do much better things than to work at a shitty office. and shes a big comic book artist and does really weid like blood and vampire stuff so shes so happy that gerard also does weird blood vampire stuff. and then theyre happy and then the umbrella academy happens and yea

yea youre free to ignore this, i just have too much free time to imagine shit like this 👍

HELP I LOVE THIS SO SO MUCH!

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CUBICLES

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gerard way x reader she/her used use of y/n

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masterlist

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warnings: swearing!

-

"Maybe you could draw her more like this to bring out the background more so she's not just stiff," I instructed him. Gerard is a very talented artist, he just has a little bit of trouble deciding what to put where.

"But I feel like if she was a little different, due to her design, she'd go flat," Gerard argues, putting his pencil where he was describing.

I sigh as I place my hand delicately to my chin, trying to see what he's talking about. The deadline is soon and he's not done pitching these characters. "Honestly, Gerard? Whatever feels right. You'll get her."

"You sure?" He asks, seeking confirmation in my words.

I smile, nodding my head, "Yeah. Deadline is tomorrow, just do whatever feels right!" I say before I'm off to my cubicle to continue my project.

I knew he was looking at me. For weeks now, it had become a pattern—one I could almost draw if I could figure out how to capture that lingering gaze in ink. He thought he was subtle, keeping his distance and asking me barely relevant questions about some “project” or “character design” he’d been working on. Gerard was charming, though; there was no denying that. Quiet, a little too good at staring at his desk, and adorably oblivious to how easy it was to read him.

“Hey, uh, (Y/N)?” I looked up from my sketchbook, where I’d been mindlessly drawing a graveyard scene—something I had an odd fascination with lately. Gerard was standing there, hands stuffed in his pockets, wearing that awkward half-smile that looked better on him than it should.

“Gerard,” I said, glancing up with a smirk. “To what do I owe the honor?”

He chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. “I…uh…just wanted to see what you were working on.”

I flipped my sketchbook shut, even though I knew he was dying to see what I’d been drawing. “Just some stuff. You’d probably think it’s too creepy.”

“Try me.”

Maybe it was because I wanted to test him, see how he’d react to what was under the surface, but I opened the book back up and turned it to face him. His eyes widened as he took in the vampires, blood, and dark cemeteries I’d sprawled across the pages.

“You…actually drew all of this?”

I shrugged, trying to keep my cool. “It’s not much. Just whatever’s in my head.”

He laughed, this soft, surprised sound. “Whatever’s in your head is amazing.” He paused, his eyes lingering a second too long.

I grinned, leaning back in my chair. “Well maybe not everything, Way.” I tossed my pen onto my desk, feigning nonchalance. “Can’t have too many weirdos like me around. Bad for the office’s reputation.”

And that's why I left.

Maybe I should’ve told him I was leaving. I hated the idea of going without a goodbye, but part of me figured I’d see him again. He’d get over it. Life had a way of carrying people in different directions, and honestly? I couldn’t stand the thought of another month behind that desk. I needed to be somewhere I could let these ideas out, somewhere that didn’t expect me to keep my weirdness behind a closed sketchbook.

The day I left, I watched the office fade from my rearview mirror, fingers tapping the steering wheel as a familiar guilt crept in. I didn’t leave him my number or my address or even a hint of where I’d gone. Some part of me hoped he’d figure it out. But after that, there was just silence.

Gerard

She left without a word. Just…gone. I tried to keep going like I didn’t notice, told myself it wasn’t a big deal. But the absence gnawed at me, creeping into every sketch and unfinished character. (Y/N) was gone, and I had no clue where she’d gone or why. I stopped asking questions after a while, but I couldn’t stop thinking about her. The thought became like an echo in my mind, constant and inescapable, pushing me to drown it out with anything I could find.

And I did.

One show after another, one drink, one line, whatever I could find to keep the silence at bay. The stage helped a little—at least there, I had the lights in my eyes and the noise blocking out the mess in my head. I’d stand in front of the crowd, hands dripping with fake blood, trying to exorcise whatever pieces of myself felt missing. But then the high would fade, and I’d be left in a dark room, trying to ignore the question that refused to die.

Where did she go?

I kept the band going, kept pretending it didn’t matter, kept letting the weight build. It wasn’t like I had any choice. The shows were packed, and the screams of the crowd felt like both a relief and a punishment. They had no idea. No idea that some days, it felt like I’d never get off this damn ride, that maybe I’d crash and burn right here. But something shifted in 2004. I couldn’t explain it—maybe it was seeing my friends’ faces or feeling the burn of another empty night. But I knew that if I kept going like this, I’d lose everything. I’d lose myself.

I finally made the decision to clean up, and in August 2004, I was clean. Free. My body hated me for it, and my brain wasn’t much friendlier, but I had to get clean. I couldn’t keep living on the edge of destruction. Every day after that, it felt like I was shedding pieces of the person I’d become just to survive. By the time I left, I was…well, I was alive. And that had to be enough.

It had been nearly a year since I’d gotten clean, and for the first time, it felt like I could really breathe on stage again. I could look out at the faces in the crowd and see them. Really see them, not just the blur of movement and lights I’d been numbing myself to. This was what I’d always wanted. This was where I wanted to be.

"MANHATTAN!" I scream into the mic and the crowd before more goes wild. "We are going to FUCK SOME SHIT UP TONIGH!"

And as I say that, Mikey plays the beginning of Give Em' Hell Kid. The set goes without hiccups, the crowd is perfect, and the most I've seen in a few weeks. Right as we leave the stage before the encore, Frank grabs me by my collar.

"Holy shit, Gee," He starts, and concern bubbles in my stomach. Did I do something wrong?

"What? What is it?"

He shakes his head vigorously, "I don't know if I'm tripping, but I swear to God I saw the girl you keep drawing in the crowd."

Fuck.

"What?!" I exclaim.

"Thirty seconds to encore!" One of the stagehands yells.

"Frank, where did you see her?" I ask, frantic. There's no possible way she could be here tonight. Why would she be here tonight.

"Our left, by the barricade. I think?" He explains, looking up to recount exactly where he saw her. My heart thuds against my ribcage as Frank’s words sink in, and I feel my throat tighten. (Y/N)? Here? After all these years?

"Ten seconds!" the stagehand yells, clapping his hands. Mikey shoots me a quick look, and Frank gives me a small, reassuring nod. There’s no time to think or even process—I’m barely holding onto the last traces of composure as we rush back on stage. I grab the mic, trying to get my focus back on the crowd, but every nerve in me is lit up, wondering if (Y/N) is really here tonight.

“MANHATTAN!” I shout again, forcing energy into my voice, hoping it’s enough to cover the wild surge of emotions that’s slamming through me. “YOU READY FOR ONE LAST ROUND?”

The crowd screams, and the band jumps into Helena, the encore I should be ready to pour my soul into. But all I can think about is her—her face, the way she used to sketch, her laugh. The lights are blinding, and I try to keep my focus on the crowd, but my eyes keep searching, desperate to find a glimpse of her. I don’t know if I’m imagining it, but by the end of the song, I swear I see her—a flash of her hair, bright eyes, her face half-turned away in the crush of people, but unmistakably her.

The song ends, and we give a final shout before exiting the stage. As soon as we’re out of sight of the crowd, I turn to Frank, breathless.

“You’re absolutely sure it was her?” I ask, gripping his shoulder.

“Fuck, I don't know how accurate your drawings are,” he says, his voice serious. “Bit it was her, Gee. I’m sure of it.”

“Holy shit,” I breathe, running a hand through my hair as the adrenaline surges through me again. "Where do I even start looking?"

Frank raises an eyebrow. “I’d start by getting your ass back out there before she disappears again. You just finished the show. You’ve got maybe five minutes before the crowd starts spilling out.”

I don’t waste another second. I dart down the steps, half-running, half-pushing past crew members as I head toward the audience exit. It feels like the longest, most insane few minutes of my life, weaving through the backstage area until finally, I’m in the thick of the crowd, scanning every face I can. And then—I see her.

She’s lingering by the side of the barricade, glancing around, half-smiling to herself like she might leave at any moment. She’s a little older, a little different, but I’d know her anywhere. I take a deep breath, feeling my hands start to shake, and then I call out, loud enough to cut through the noise.

“(Y/N)!”

She turns, her eyes finding mine, and for a moment, it’s like everything around us goes still. Her face lights up, and I swear I feel that same electricity that ran between us in the office all those years ago.

"Oh my god, you guys did so good!" She laughed, too, shaking her head. “Gee, look at you! Rockstar Gerard. I always knew you’d end up doing something wild, but I never expected…” She gestured at my blood-stained shirt and smeared makeup. “This.”

I rubbed the back of my neck, heat creeping up my face. “Yeah, well, it’s, uh, a little different from Cartoon Network, that’s for sure. But I never thought I’d see you at a show.”

“Oh, please,” she grinned, giving me a playful nudge. “I knew you’d be doing something big. You were always too talented to be stuck behind a desk, remember?”

I laughed, surprised by the surge of relief that came with her words. “Guess it’s been a while since anyone told me that.”

She softened, and something flickered across her face. “I'm sorry I disappeared. I had to move, and things got in the way, and…” Her voice trailed off, and she shrugged, a little awkwardly. “I never thought we’d run into each other again.”

“Same here,” I admitted, looking down. “But I’m glad we did. Even if it’s, uh…” I glanced at my blood-streaked hands, shaking my head. “Like this.”

She laughed, a bright, genuine sound, and I felt my nerves ease a little. “Honestly, I kind of love it. I’m doing comics, Gee. Lots of, you know…gory, bloody, vampire stuff. Seems like we’re both into weird stuff now.”

“Every time I go into a comicbook store, I look for your name.” I say, feeling a familiar spark of admiration light up in my chest.

“Yeah, well,” she shrugged, but her smile told me she was proud. “I kept drawing, kept pushing for it, and here we are. I got some stuff out that's been somewhat successful, but you—you’re the one really living the dream.”

It felt surreal, standing there with her, years and miles from where we’d left off. She was still (Y/N)—the girl who got me, who somehow saw through everything. But she was different, too. Confident, sharp, like she’d grown in ways I never got to see. And she was right here.

We fell into silence, the crowd thinning around us. Finally, I took a deep breath. “You know, after you left…I wasn’t great, to be honest.”

Her brow furrowed, and she gave me a sympathetic look. “I figured,” she said quietly. “It was a pretty messed-up time for both of us.”

I nodded, knowing she got it. “Yeah, I got pretty lost for a while. It took me…a lot to get back on track, but I’m good now. Clean, you know? And I’m just trying to keep my head on straight, one show at a time.”

She smiled, reaching out to squeeze my shoulder. “Good,” she said, her voice full of warmth. “That’s what you deserve, Gerard. You don’t need anything dragging you down.”

I felt something click into place then—a kind of peace I hadn’t felt in years. “Thanks, (Y/N). Really.”

She grinned, glancing around like she was taking in the whole scene again. “Hey, I think we’re due for a major coffee catch-up. I want to hear everything.”

I chuckled, feeling that old sense of ease wash over me. “Deal,” I said, grinning back. “But only if you show me your sketchbooks. I wanna see all the vampire blood and gore.”

She laughed, rolling her eyes. “You got it. Only fair, since I’ve got a feeling you’ve been drawing me for years anyway.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, and together, we walked out into the night, talking like no time had passed at all. And this time, I knew she wasn’t going anywhere.

(Y/N)

What a fucking life. Leaving Gerard like that in 2001 did something to me, you know? Fucked me up. I felt really fucking bad.

But it's okay. We're good. And by good? I mean my boyfriend is the fucking lead singer of My Chemical Romance. Like, who gets to say that?!

After their final tour ended, Gerard was bugging me more and more about his comic that he was writing and that he desperately wanted me to illustrate for it. Apparently, he had been working on it for around three years, and he wasn't getting anywhere by himself.

"I don't know, baby. I got deadlines," I always say, but God, who could say know to that pretty face of his.

And so I finally agreed to illustrate The Umbrella Academy.

And boy, did that change my life.

[hutahuta]

Subtle things he do when he in love with you with pavia?

P.AGE OO.3— 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐔𝐌 & NOBILITY : 交 ✦ ⏱

GN!Reader — // wjajqksjwjs ilysm anon you're such a sweetheart !!! (*´▽`*)ﾉｼ

request more !! they're so fun.

i hope this is okay,, i'm not sure if I did good with this jwkskwkskk

Subtle? Ha. What's subtle about this man? ( *ᴗˬᴗ)⁾

But maybe. — it is possible.

Midnight Intimacy — Hear me out, I don't think Pavia would really sing in front of you. ( Or he might, it depends really. It might be really exaggerated since he does really want to hear your laughs. ) But he definitely hums a quiet melody, maybe even sings the words a little then and there under his thick accent as he holds your tender body close to him, rocking back and forth as if the both of you are sitting on one of those rocking chairs. Familiar songs that were popular dated back to the 1990's.

An era where music hit its prime with vinyl records and static radios with its rocking music blasting away at the seams, what's not to love about such things? I'd imagine it's something he finds quite joyous about life, given the only music he'd ever hear was the taps of water draining on the ground and the mice squeaking in quiet unison with one another. Silence was all he'd ever hear so hearing something so uplifting with words that strung out together so perfectly in mesh with the instrumentals; must've made him feel like music is the reason life has any meaning at all. And he wants to share that with you. Even if it's something so small as singing and dancing in that moment.

Spoiling you. — Wallets and leftover items that he'd pick up from his prey definitely meant that he'd get a chance of spoiling you with jewellery as a advantage to trap your attention. Even if you aren't keen on receiving lavish gifts, it doesn't matter. Because you're definitely given the necklace of a man's wife that he took it upon himself to grace you with. Maybe even a new watch plucked out of someone's wrist, which Pavia's ever so refined fingers had strangled the last, paled words out of his prey's throat before he had stolen the goods inside.

I'd imagine that as much of a passionate man he is, Pavia isn't keen on sharing much of his collections with strangers. But he is quite big on exhibiting his beautiful cabinet if it's with you, full of his draped stolen jewellery that can be given and devoted to you. New rings and chains to adorn your perfect clothes. Bby wants to impress you. Maybe a pair of earrings that would suit you quite nicely. His way of showing his love to you may vary from physical touch or spoiling you with his gifts.

Which does bring another factor into play.

Physical Touch. — Nearby, he may trail a hand down your thigh whenever you two chatter amongst each other. His hands graze your arms softly, trying to pay attention to your words as he can't help but linger his fingertips through your back. His hand stays a little too long on your waist. Eyes dance back and forth from your nose to your hands. Your clothes, your facial expressions and movements.. everything. His eyes may linger on you for longer periods of time,,

Don't take this as 'psychopath' behaviour. He just wants to get a feel of his beloved. What's not to love about you anyways? You're perfect in his eyes. All for him to keep too? Feels like the universe finally rewarded him with something so great in his life after his entire childhood was spent being greased and rotted away in a basement under the neglectful back of his Aunt.

Scent. — I suppose you can somewhat see it, right?

He enjoys the thought you wearing his clothes. His perfumes, his scents, he wants to make it rubbed entirely upon your body. He may get too close, nudging your shoulder with his chest. Maybe leaning into your ear for too long as you can feel his hands gripping and kneading the soft material of your clothing. He undoubtedly has the mindset that having you embroider his aroma may make others think that you are somewhat affiliated with Pavia. In more ways than one.

Historians may tell others that you two were only the bestest of friends.

[acupofbritishearlgrey]

Tears for Fears - Mothers Talk (Flashlights, 15.09.1984)

[salemshotspot]

HOW DOLLS SHOULD BE TREATED

Shawn Michaels x Reader

Kind Of A Song Fic If You Squint?

WORD COUNT: 2.6k

DESC: Shawn helps the reader out when she can’t record to moans for his song as well as he knows she can

Female Reader [She/Her]

WARNINGS: SMUT 18+ MDNI//Slight Choking//Implied Possessive Behaviour//Age Gap//Not Proof Read

RED >> Song lyrics

A/N >> NOT GREAT BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOY

TAGS: @dilfs-4life

Enjoy!

——————————————————————————

Y/n couldn’t believe her luck, she had grown up both watching and loving wrestling. Y/n was a semi-successful vocalist who was mostly well known for her work with the wwe; remastering a great deal of wrestler's theme songs with a contemporary twist

Y/n was having an uneventful day, it was her first day off work in a while, although it was uneventful she appreciated being able to rest after a busy few weeks. However this rest did not last long, y/n’s phone mockingly lit up with an email notification causing y/n to sigh as she realised it was from no other than the head of the creative team at the wwe; y/n's boss.

‘Hey y/n,

I’m writing to inform you we are remastering a song for a wrestler’s return [who cannot be revealed as of yet as his return has not been released to the public] and he has requested you by name to work on the song. Your vocals will only be backing vocals compared to your usual main track vocals so please come to my office before the end of the day in order to discuss if you’d want the role and what it would entail both job and pay wise.

-the wwe creative team.’

Y/n stares at her phone in disbelief, not only was a big time wrestler returning, causing her to become excited as a long time fan of the sport, but they paid enough attention to her work that they wanted her out of everyone to work on their song? Although she was determined to enjoy her day off, y/n practically jumped out of her seat and began getting ready to go into work, even if she didn’t want the job there was no harm in turning up and hearing them out right? Worst case scenario she doesn’t take the job but finds out which wrestler is returning to the sport.

Once y/n makes her way into work her boss spotted her and pulled her into their office and invited her to sit down and began explaining what they had already said in the email but they began sensing the idea of disinterest towards the job from y/n which is confirmed when she began speaking.

‘I’ll be straight with you boss' she begins ‘in not sure this job is right for me, I’ve only just gotten time off and I want to take advantage of tha-‘ but her boss cuts her off with a devilish smile.

'Before you say no to the job’ they say picking up the phone and telling somebody on the line to ‘send him in’ ‘at least hear the man out who so desperately wanted you for the job.’

Y/n’s mind began to race theorising who could be coming in, could it be a beloved wrestler from the attitude era like Steve Austin, wanting to have a final run, wanting to add vocals to his song to appeal to fans or could it be a more modern wrestler who had been out due to injury for a while like CM Punk, finally ready for his return?

It was while she was theorising as to which wrestler it could possibly be that none other than Shawn Michaels, The Heartbreak Kid, entered the room and sat down in the chair opposite y/n. Once y/n locked eyes with Shawn her eyes widened as she was flooded with emotions; starstruck didn’t even begin to cover it.

Shawn cleared his throat, pulling y/n out of her trance; ‘it’s great to finally meet you y/n’ he says smiling warmly, ‘I was really looking forward working with you, I was thinking we could go into the recording room and have a practice run.’ Y/n began to protest as a wave of unexpected anxiety washed over her being face to face with a wrestler she grew up watching, she grew up fantasising about- ‘y/n?’ Shawn questioned, causing y/n to blush softly.

Y/n took a deep breath to compose herself and smiled at the man across from her, ‘ok, sure, we can have a test run but I’m not promising anything’ she says in an anxious yet teasing manner as both herself and Shawn made their way to the recording room after promising the creative director they will both be back in the office within the hour with y/n's answer about whether or not she is going to take the job.

Shawn closed the soundproof door of the recording room gently behind the two of them and motioned for the younger woman to sit down in one of the many chairs in the room. As y/n took her seat Shawn began pacing a small area of the room as he spoke; not before apologising to y/n for his pacing, claiming 'moving around helps me get my words out properly' he pauses for a second, 'I'm not too good with articulation you see' he says with a chuckle to mask his insecurity. Y/n assured him that he didn't need to apologise, causing a sense of relief to wash over Shawn as he continued speaking.

As he continued speaking y/n's mind began to wander as Shawn spoke; her heart began to race as the realisation set in, as she realised exactly what parts of the song she would be running through for Shawn to judge if she's the 'right fit' for the job. As Shawn noticed the woman growing increasingly more nervous he placed his large, rugged hand on the woman's lap, gently grazing his thumb over her leg, bringing y/n's focus back to the conversation before he continued vocalising his idea.

'The lovely creative director back in there has informed me that you're familiar with my song, so I was thinking we run through it as it is then if the stars align for me and you want to work on the rewrite we can go from there' he says almost excitedly.

'Sounds good' y/n replied sheepishly with as she went onto one of the computers in the recording room to prepare a backing track as the computers had all of the wrestling backing tracks saved onto them for the creative team when necessary. While she was preparing the track Shawn also requested that y/n also recorded the process of them practicing the vocals so they could listen back to it and see if either of the two have any improvements or changes in min; Y/n hums in agreement and pulls up a recording software.

Once each piece of software was in place and the recording had begun Shawn gave y/n a nod to begin, the young woman took a deep breath and closed her eyes thinking if she couldn't see Shawn she'd be less embarrassed and in turn be able to perform better.

'Oh.. Oh.. Shawn' Y/n attempted to moan out like the original version of the man's song but she was barely able to mutter the words, let alone confidently moan them how she needed to. 'Great' y/n thought to herself, not only was she completely ruining her chance at the job but more so she was embarrassing herself in front of Shawn Michaels of all people, she was expecting to open her eyes to find Shawn laughing at her pathetic attempt to mimic his iconic song. However to y/n's surprise when she opened her eyes she was greeted by the older man's eyes filled with patience, there wasn't an ounce of mockery in the man's eyes.

'I'm sorry' y/n began, but before she could continue Shawn cut her off, almost parroting back the words she said to him before 'you don't need to apologise sweetheart' he reassured her in a low register 'why don't you give it another go, imagine you're going at it with your dream man' he teased making y/n flustered. Y/n jokingly nodded and agreed to try again with Shawn's 'expert advice' in mind.

Y/n closed her eyes once again and despite her best efforts to not imagine Shawn, trying her hardest to fantasise about anything other than the older man making her a quivering shaking mess using nothing but his fingers- y/n gulped at the idea, feeling herself grow increasingly wet merely at the thought.

Biting her lip, y/n completely missed her cue, only realising once Shawn asked her through a smirk 'is there something on your mind doll?' causing y/n to to immediately begin apologising and attempting to explain away her making a complete fool of herself before Shawn stood up and stepped closer to the seated woman, towering over her.

'I think my suggestion worked a little too well sweetheart' he jokes 'who are you thinking of in that mind of yours? A little boyfriend?' He questions, emphasising the 'boy', seemingly mocking the age of anybody y/n could possibly be dating.

'I don't have 'a little boyfriend' actually' y/n replies, causing one of Shawn's eyebrow to raise in a curious manner at the woman; without missing a beat, Shawn questions back in a curious tone 'who was making your mind wander so much you missed your cue then?' Seeing the woman's doe-like eyes widen as if starving for light as she assures Shawn it was 'no one in particular' was all the conformation Shawn needed, he's been around enough women to know when one was enamoured with him.

Craning his neck downwards so his face was inches from the woman's, Shawn asks in a seductive whisper 'do you trust me doll?' To which y/n responded with a simple nod. With that, Shawn moved over to the woman's ear and instructed her to press record on the computer as he nipped as the skin on her neck teasingly, causing y/n to let out a desperate whine.

Shawn swiftly moved from the woman's neck, not wanting to leave any visible marks on the woman, Shawn liked to see himself as a gentleman and didn't want people seeing the young woman leaving the room covered in markings, people can be cruel and Shawn has the rest of his life to mark the woman's pretty little neck, this what he was doing now was simply business.

Shawn made sure he let his hands graze down y/n's body as he gracefully falls to his knees, once on his knees he effortless pulled the woman's loose fitting jeans down to her ankles exposing her panties, already soaked from the way Shawn had been lightly touching her. Shawn's eyes grew lustful with hunger at the sight. With an uncharacteristically demanding tone Shawn began speaking to the woman; 'be a good doll and make sure you’re practicing your vocals’ he demanded as he softly pulled the woman’s cotton panties aside, the softness of the fabric had nothing on the softness of y/n’s skin as Shawn firmly gripped onto the woman’s thighs, spreading them to the side to gain better access to the heat between the woman’s legs.

With a cockiness to him Shawn dramatically allowed his tongue to fall out of his mouth, practically gasping for y/n like a dehydrated dog, Shawn took his tongue and painfully slowly glided it over the heat between y/n’s legs until he found himself at her clit. He hovered over the aching ball of nerves, his hit breathe being the only sensation pulsing through y/n causing her to desperately push her hips upwards in an attempt to bring her clit and Shawn’s mouth into contact.

‘Tut-Tut-Tut’ Shawn mocks ‘you’re so desperate for Shawn to make you feel good aren’t you darling' he continues as he uses his fingers to open y/n's folds, revealing her wet hole, desperately pulsating at the thought of being filled. With his free hand Shawn gently pries the young woman's plump untouched lips open and slid two fingers into her mouth and just like it was second nature y/n began to coyly suck on his long, thick digits.

Shawn’s eyes glaze over at the sight of the young woman enveloping his fingers in her mouth so easily; ‘now how about we see if you’re this good at swallowing my fingers elsewhere hmm?’ Shawn states as he pulls his fingers from y/n’s mouth still connected by a string of saliva. With ease Shawn slides his fingers coated in y/n’s spit into the gasping hole between her legs, walls immediately clamping down on him in fear of the empty feeling it’ll be left with if Shawn dares removes his fingers from y/n. Once y/n had adjusted to the feeling of Shawn’s fingers beautifully stretching her in a delicate way which she had never experienced before Shawn began slowly pumping his fingers in and out of y/n, in his mind claiming her as his own.

As y/n let out a soft moan Shawn snakes his hand around her throat and applied soft pressure, not enough to hurt her but enough to get her attention, in a smug and condescending tone Shawn utters ‘I don’t hear you practicing those vocals darlin’ I bet you can do so good for ol’ Shawn if you try.’ This praise was enough to have y/n melting into his touch, eager to please the man who had her falling apart in his hands.

Once again y/n attempts the dreaded vocals, but as she opens her mouth Shawn’s fingers pick up their pace, causing unimaginable waves of pleasure to course through the woman; 'Oh.. Oh.. Shawn' she practically screams as Shawn praises her efforts ‘good girl, you’re doing so well for me.’

Although Shawn had all the vocal samples he needed he continued pumping his fingers in and out of the woman until he felt her walls clamp down on him, until the woman’s delicate hands gripped at his forearm; with a smirk Shawn removed his fingers become y/n reached her climax, completely playing into the persona which his song encompasses he stands up and almost cockily says ‘hands off the merchandise’ expecting a laugh or at least a smile from his y/n, however upon seeing her pouting at him for denying her of her first real orgasm; that being an orgasm from a man who knew exactly how to send a woman over the edge, Shawn grinned and whispered into her ear; ‘don’t get short with me darlin' if we get through this meeting with the creative director then I want to take you back to my place and show you what all the fuss about the heartbreak kid really is’ he teasingly nibbled on her ear and continued ‘what kind of a gentleman would I be if I let a doll like you climax in an office hmm? Let me show you how dolls should be treated.’

Y/n blushed, unaccustomed to this kind of treatment, in response Shawn grabbed her hand, helped her back into her pants and led her back to the creative director to tell them that y/n had agreed to take the job after all.

Shawn wouldn’t admit this to anybody but his heart welled with excitement through the entire meeting fantasising about showing y/n what a real man can do, he was excited to have her desperately pleading for him because he’s the only man that can make her feel good, but more than anything he was excited to make her his, after all, who better to look after such a sweet little doll than the wrestler whose gimmick was love?

——————————————————————————

A/N >> Would anyone want a part 2 to this fic? Drop suggestions/requests if you have any

[ladylaviniya]

The Negatives of Shooting People

Chapter 2 || MasterList || Chapter 4

Chapter Summary: A new job creates a new problem for August who decides he needs to remind you of his power. You let Lloyd inside, and he has an offer to make.

Chapter Warnings: 18+ Dead Dove Do Not Eat, Masturbation, Referenced Non-Con Events, Implied Illegal Weapon Arms Trading, Threats, Manipulation, Stalking Journalism.

Pairing: Kingpin!August Walker X F!reader

Word Count: 9.4k

Author Notes: in my mind and casting, Jude Driver is played by Adam Driver. Wesley Gibson is played by James McAvoy. Brandon Sullivan is played by Michael Fassbender. Katarina Vikander is played by Alicia Vikander.

Inspiring Song: "Woman." by Ke$ha.

10:23am Thursday 8th August 2024, Brisbane CBD.

“These photos Miss Y/L/N, they’re magnificent. I haven’t seen quality this good since…well…never really…When can you start?”

You grinned, sitting across from the head editor of one of the smaller local newpapers.

You knew you had to find a job quickly…you were sick of the employment agency and their unhelpful attitude. You knew if you were going to remain safe and take down the billionaire asshole, you needed to be the best version of yourself.

It had been a three days since you first met that monster... August Walker. And he had seemingly invaded your every thought. He was there in the back and front of your mind haunting and taunting you with his smirking lips and roguishly deep voice.

The gentleman who sat in front of you had no idea. That was something you were okay with, how could anyone know? No one knew. You hadn’t called or replied to any text messages Lloyd had sent.

You made a resume portfolio of your best photos you’d taken since your first camera your dad ever bought you. Both Polaroid and electronic. You still hadn’t forgotten that August had stolen one of your father’s cameras from the day he forced you to cum on the recliner chair.

You knew you were inexperienced in journalism…but your photography was a master skill unlike any other.

Your successful interview, you put it up to a great sense of confidence, as well.

“Right now if you’ll have me,” you winked. He was an older man of an older generation. Clearly he knew and was a deep fan of Australian banter that borderlines the aesthetics of flirtation. You were a young woman and he was an older man, the math was simple. Bat your lashes, pretend to be coy and then slide in with a sarcastic remark or sexual innuendo.

He laughed and leant over his desk. You shook your new bosses hand.

He liked that very much. ‘Of course he would, he’s practically old enough to be someone’s perverted uncle.’

“Oh most definitely…” he said biting his bottom lip, he was milking the banter.

He was a handsome even for a classic perverted elder fellow. John Luther was a grey fox so the ladies might say. You were sure that from now on never to truly trust a man…so when he winked back and looked down your shirt- at your chest, you smiled wider, ‘predictable men…he is going to be easy to manipulate…’

You had to thank August one day…if he hadn’t hurt and humiliated you the way he did…you would never have felt the rage of all women and the desire to use your assets to get what you wanted in this Man’s World.

You sat back a lit and lifted your chest as you gave a big happy sigh while watching Mr Luther continuously ogle your chest.

It sent a shiver even down your spine thinking about it…entering a villainess era…a femme fatale story….a tale of revenge and justice.

“I admire a woman with confidence,” he said sucking his teeth, his right hand slide down beneath his desk out of view. You had half a mind to assume he was palming his dick in his trousers.

“So how about I assign you your first assignment? See how you go? I’ll even let you choose…”

“Choose?” you asked with a faux coyness, fluttering your lashes.

“Well, we have a very interesting story idea in regards to the Woolloongabba Doggy Day care that just moved to East Brisbane, rumour has it that the business is understaffed for the amount of dogs they keep in care. And they only use half of the required sanitization required. A spread of kennel cough and many dogs having their ears ripped off by other larger dogs belonging to rich clients the owner of the doggy day care refuses to lose business towards.”

Oh dear, you noted, that sounded tragic….it’s a good thing you never had a pet as a kid. It would hurt too much to be in that position. Hearing a pet dog had its ear ripped off by savage untrained dogs.

“...And the other case?” You sweetly chirped.

His smile fell, “There’s a certain gentleman that’s running around allegedly smuggling drugs and arm deals…” he repeated, “’Allegedly’…”

He rolled back in his chair to reach for a folder on his bookshelf, flicking through it.

Your craning neck had time to catch the outline of his prick beneath his pants. ‘Oh yes...this man is putty in my hands.’ When he swivelled back, you dashed your eyes back to his desk trinkets and smiled at him.

“A bloke named August Walker selling to or buying from an old money American philanthropist Brandon Sullivan…”

‘No fucking way’….just your luck…

You were going to fucking take it no matter what….

Luther grimaced, “It’s a big task so I won’t judge you for not taking it. I’m just hoping to catch the sons of bitches at it. It would be a huge story for media not even those wankers at seven, nine or ten news could think to report.”

You reached over his desk to steal his pen and stick note pad. You took down the name he mentioned on a sticky note- Brandon Sullivan...you made sure to memorise it well.

“How about we even make those conniving morons at sky news jealous, sir?” You smirked and watched as the rockets soared in his eyes with his white tooth grin.

He laughed hard.

He wiped his hand down his chin, “I love a girl with ambition Miss Y/L/N. I’m sure you won’t disappoint me! The dead line for photos is in a week, he’s having some soiree on next Friday or something so it’s got to be before then because you’re never gonna be able to enter those clubs, chicky. Respectfully.”

You smile and shake his hand again, “Mr Luther, I swear…I’ll give you the best goddamn shots you’ve ever seen of that criminal.”

Now your man hunt had truly commenced, you smiled to yourself. Who knew that revenge could come so easily and quickly…

Luther gave you your own cubicle to work in. A place to hang and edit your photos. A place to file your evidence. He may have mentioned that the work they did in his agency was on par with the police but by no means legally police work. So if the cops arrived, you stayed hidden and kept your fucking mouth shut....

You had a job and began researching the bastards name again on your laptop, compiling the sources from Google and the notes from Luther’s folder files.

You discovered the following about August J. Walker.

He was born in New Jersey. He was twice your age and almost as old as your father. He had a plethora of connections in businesses from alcohol distillery to Chinese restaurant vendings. Actually you were confident that a restaurant he help partnership over had a familiar logo. You tapped your lip and wondered briefly if your father ever delivered there as a truck driver.

August was a fan of European and Asian based foods and sold it at his clubs. He owned over fifteen around the world. One of his biggest in Australia was The Lions Lounge, it was on the edge of Fortitude Valley. It was for the richest social elites of the country. The price of food alone was almost your weeks rent.

On the website of his club you could see information regarding the tightship of his security. It seemed supreme so there wasn’t a chance of you going to his club without a fat purse and invitation.

A party was coming up, a celebration for the ten year anniversary of its opening. A soiree with a “The roaring 1920s.” Theme. You scoffed at the cliché.

It was exclusively invite only, it was only on the website so that those who received a invitation could reply a rsvp. And with you fresh out of luck of an invite like Luther even said, there was little to no chance of clawing your way inside.

So...that’s when you had to resort to extra creativity. You held up the sticky note and smiled.

09:07am Wednesday 14th August 2024, Robertson Brisbane.

August Walker was a man with a craving to remain in power. He had fought tooth and nail to get where he was and for now he felt incredibly comfortable…he had enough money to buy the fucking country...he had the power to make politicians kneel and kiss his shoes if he demanded it. To the police, with his legal team, he was currently untouchable.

He could literally have any woman he wanted…but he wanted you. Since that night he first saw your photo, he starved. He had given you time to mourn. Now you were alone and he righteously believed you needed him.

Yet to his surprised pleasure, he liked the fight and push you tried to dish out on him. Your guts to go to the police sent blood to his cock. He hadn’t expected it. He believed you’d roll over and cry only. He never predicted you’d immediately leave the apartment before he could wish you a good morning or afternoon after leaving you drugged up. He snooped for hours in your father’s bedroom and yours. He’d flicked through your old school reports and photos. He tried tidying your mess and clutter, washing your vomit covered duvet and even had cigarette to pass the time.

So when he received that call from the police requesting his presence, instead of anger, he felt surprise. Not many could surprise him. But you did...

He pushed away from his desk and rubbed his eyes chuckling,  you were definitely a tasty little thing.

It made his dick hard when he remembered you crying beneath him. He loved to fantasise your pathetic excuses and spitfire words. He only wished you’d push the boundary more. The more you fought, the sweeter the submission.

He pulled out his ‘other’ phone. His ‘business’ phone. The phone no police would ever know or see. He swiped his thumb across the screen and groaned at the sweet nude thing he took photos of the night you’d both met. Oh how pitifully adorable you were with your desperate pleas and confusion as the pill quickly broke down into your blood stream.

He wished he had a video of it. How he teased your phone away from you. How he mocked you. Half of it he imagined you probably didn’t remember. After all it wasn’t long that you were totally out of it, limp and softly snoring.

He liked how much control he had over you. Laying the strips over your hairy body and tearing it away to be baby smooth as he liked it. How delicate you looked as he rubbed the baby oil into your skin to settle any potential irritation. Perhaps it was sick of him to prefer you like this. He sighed, licking his bottom lip, staring at the photo he took of your freshly waxed pussy.

He had done sicker things to other people. But you were someone who didn’t deserve this. That is where the guilt lied. You didn’t deserve this and August Walker fucking new it deep in his bones.

He wasn’t shy of hurting innocence but your situation was different. This was personal.

So really could he hold it against you for going to the police? No... And besides...his false alibi had been solid... especially after the rape kit evidence had been tampered with, concluding as inconclusive...

Something about the thought of making you submit but never fully breaking, constantly challenging him- turned him on so much, he found it impossible to work. He slapped his phone down and chewed the inside of his cheek while he considered calling up Natalie, one of his go to escorts. His payable whores. She was expensive but she knew how to suck him off to completion quickly and he wanted to focus on work and finalising the details of his party in two days, not on you.

As fate would have it….he wouldn’t have a choice…the phone rang on his desk.

He pressed the reviewer to his ear and turned to look out the window.

“Walker.”

“It’s Gibson.”

He smiled and leaned back in his rolling chair, “Ah Wesley, yes, how are you mate?”

“You’ve got a little problem, sir,” he heard his public relation specialist sigh, “A tail.”

“Oh?”

“I’m sending the email now,” the click clack typing of the keyboard echoed in the headset Wesley wore,” It seems the paper has started to find better journalists…”

The email notification came in quickly. The ping from his monitor forced August to spin around in his chair. He pursed his lips and scrolled to click the link.

He hovered the mouse arrow down and noticed the collection of photos taken of him in the high class restaurants talking with a old underworld buddy of his. Some of the images however were incredibly exposing. His hand was shaking Brandons in one when he made a export deal with him, another photo showed August’s fingers touching a contract, his eyes looking at a phone Brandon was holding with images of guns. This was not good at all…

“What the fuck…” his hand pressed to his lips, he mused, “The photographer was smart, he knows how to pick a decent angle, Jesus what camera took this?” He clicked another photo, “These details…you can practically see every pore on Brandon’s bloody face…”

His mouth felt dry. He knew he needed to hire Natalie’s services now, the stressed building up had him tense. His erection had vanished, now it was a matter of pain in his shoulders and back.

He scrolled further and stared at the headlines jumping out. “Playboy or Pathological Criminal.”, “Party King or King Pin.”, “Australia’s own insider terrorist.”

His eyes widened at seeing the publishing office. John Fucking Luther & Co. News.

His jaw cracked with the tightness he clenched. No. He didn’t have time for this shit.

“She, sir,” The lackey corrected, “Newest of Luther’s flock. His word usually isn’t credible but this? This is going to be hard, expensive press to erase or cover up. Other news outlets are fighting over the rites.”

She...

He picked up a pen and clicked the button. Why was it even that important.

She...

She? His eyes sharpened. He looked closer at the photos on his screen. Something about the photo style reminded him of something earlier he had seen the previous week. So many….on a wall…beside a bed…filled with a captivating woman he defiled…but surely not you? Surely not you...

“What did you say?”

“Sir the cost to-”

He shook his head and sighed into the phone, cutting of the agent, “No, no, I meant the photographer. You said ‘she’? Luther? Are you sure this is real? His lot are the worst, always blurry or grainy if they’re lucky…who the fuck is this new photographer or editor or whoever the fuck is getting these images.”

“We can only assume,” Wesley mumbled, “You’ve had this little thing on your tail for the passed few days, she tries to be sneaky we’ve noted. We didn’t expect her to release decent pictures…we followed her back to the Luther office. The angles fit the locations we have caught her in.”

His thumb pressed hard against the pen.

“Show me this bitch,” he growled under his breath.

Another email ping and a link later, your face filled the computer screen. Your eyes burned him right back…you were in a few photos. Some where you hid among a roof top, another you were hiding in a corner at the restaurant, and finally one where you were just in a park looking down at your camera probably going over the shots you’d taken.

“Want us to deal with her, sir?” he suddenly heard Wesley ask. Deal with her...Destroy her reputation...beat her up…sell her…or kill her....no…no...not his new puppy.

He blinked with bewilderment and hummed, “No...” He cleared his throat, “No, no thankyou, Wesley. I know this kid; don’t worry…” he smirked, “This is just a simple misunderstanding…bit of…play. Trust me.”

Oh how he could’ve whipped the skin from your back raw for this if you were anyone else...

“Sir, if you can’t get her to stop, if she’s going to keep doing this…” Gibson warned, “Anything more in depth- you’ll wind up in court or prison at the worst, the pigs aren’t taking the pay like they used to…”

August shook his head and sighed, “It wouldn’t be the first time Wesley. Ignore her. I’ll deal with it. She’s my responsibility.”

His public relations officer seemed to pause for a moment. As if he had something else to say but he knew better than to total talk back to August Walker.

“Alright sir, have a good evening,” August heard before he slapped the phone, hanging up.

He scooted closer to the screen and scrolled back at the photos you’d taken. He bit his lip and chuckled, shaking his head at your profiling photo, “You little-...you want to play this game? Fine, now it’s my turn.”

He began dialling up a new phone number. He held it back up to his ear and waited for the receiver to pick up.

“Jude mate, I’m gonna need you to develop some photos for me...oh yes,” he replied pinching the pen in his hand, “Red room style.”

06:19pm Wednesday 14th August 2024, Woolloongabba, Brisbane.

“Who needs a man? Huh!” You said to yourself testing out the new bolts and chain locks you installed on the front door. They rattled and locked. They didn’t budge when you jiggled the handle and pulled. You still had three more you planned to drill in.

You wiped the sweat off your forehead and grinned proudly. This is something your dad should have taught you how to do. Thankfully with the help of a YouTube tutorial and a bit of bravery you managed to take full control and ownership of your front door.

If your new landlord wanted to charge you for damages to his door, so be it, as long as this kept you protected from him while you slept at night that was all that mattered. He’d either have to pick every complicated lock, guess or, he’d have to hire the damn firefighting crew to use a battering ram.

When you opened the door again to test it a second time, a squeak of surprised popped from your lips. You clenched your dad’s power tool tightly.

A man in a black suit and black sunglasses stood outside the door with an large yellow envelope in his hand. He held it out to you silently. He looked ominous and familiar, he wore leather gloves…your eye widened, he was August’s driver.

You glanced between him and his hands. Every second was a risk you weren’t sure you could keep taking. You hesitantly pinched the bottom of his flat package and he let go. He pulled the edge of his sunglasses down his face, looking at the plethora of door locks.

‘What was his name again? Judea, Judas?’

He said quietly, “It might be better if you open it inside...” his eyes glanced at the door again before smirking, “Nice locks...pretty crappy if you think it’s going to stop him though.”

‘Him...August Walker...’

You stood still in shock. He gracefully spun on his heel and left. Your tongue caught in your throat…what the fuck was this?

The package was as thick as your hand.

You had to know it was from August…I mean who else could it be from? Especially since you speculated it was his driver that delivered it…especially since there was a massive cursive ‘A.J.W’ on the tab of the envelope.

You held your breath and walked hurriedly backwards inside.

Your teeth caught your upper lip. You slammed the door shut and locked all the locks before going to the couch, disposing the drill on the coffee table, and tearing open the envelope.

You pinched the top wide open and hovered your eyes inside. There was a white papery page ripped out from a note book. You pulled it out and unfolded it to read his handwritten warning.

“Careful Puppy, you’re lucky my men didn’t bite when they sniffed you out, sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. I think you need a break from your little hobby. So I’m going to remind you...I have copies of these. Scratch me again and I’ll bite back. Stay down or I will put you down.”

Your mouth became dry as your eyes raced over that one last line again.

‘Stay down or I will put you down.’

When you ‘put down’ an animal, it usually means death…your insides grew cold. You were confident this was a strict warning, not a threat but a promise, August walker was telling you to stop investigating or he would kill you…

Your hands shook uncontrollably. You wanted them to stop. Your body felt the reeling anxiety. You dumped the rest of the envelope over the counter. All the content spilled across the entire floor. A camera came clattering out. Your father’s camera in fact.

Inside were photos of you. A photo of you working in the editor office. A photo of you walking in the deli section at the underground Woolworths grocery store and photos of you sitting at the Queen street bus station, even the bus numbers showed up. The bus 200 via Carindale. Then at the bottom of the spread out deck of photos were the shots from the night he forced you to cum on the recliner and the night he had drugged you, naked on his bed.

Your teeth clenched hard.

You felt your eyes grow hot quickly with tears. You didn’t like how pathetic and helpless you appeared, covered in tape, and totally lost in the bliss of his sexual torture. You didn’t realise how sweaty it had made you until noticing the intense wet shimmer over your body in the photo, the hot light of the camera shone reflectively from your skin.

You closed your eyes and choked on a sob. He made his point loud and clear but it wasn’t fair. Why could he get away with all of this? You wanted to tear all the photos up one by one until they were tiny papers the size of your pinky nail.

But they sat in a piled collection on your coffee table.

Your hand cupped your mouth as you fought your wails. You clenched your teeth and stomped your foot.

You kept rereading his note. Memorising his handwriting. His Y’s had a straight tail that didn’t curve upward. It made you hate him twice as much as irrational that detail was.

August hadn’t come back since then. He had not made any personal contact since he cornered you in your father’s bedroom. It wasn’t the last time you saw him though…you saw him almost daily, but you confidently were sure he never saw you until now. You were gathering all the evidence possible to put him in the doghouse...

You pressed yourself against the wall and slid down it on your back until your bottom hit the floor.

Now what would you do? Take photos and write about abused animals instead? Always worrying about August coming into your home to take his revenge for the humiliation and defamation you brought to his name?

You settled your hands into your lap. Your heart was pounding. You could hear every awful thud.

Your phone came to life. Lloyds number ran across your screen.

‘Oh god, Lloyd. Sweet, wonderful Lloyd. Maybe he could help me.’

Hitting the green button, you picked up the phone and cleared your throat, “Hey, how are you?”

His voice was a cool balm, “I’m getting on alright. I thought I’d call and check up on you. You haven’t been very chatty over text is all. I still think you should move Y/N.”

Lloyd kept you as updated as he could. He said he interviewed August a few days ago and the excuse was laughable. August had lied about being at his club during the time he had been with you. He had staff members who could vouch for him, Lloyd suggested they’d been paid off and supposedly security footage, all which Lloyd assured must’ve been edited. It was comforting knowing out of everyone, Lloyd stayed true in his belief that you were a victim.

Another tear rolled down your face, your voice became shaky, “Yea...I think you’re right. Lloyd...things have been happening...and...can you- can you just come over please?”

You were breaking down hard and couldn’t stop the wave of anguish coming over you. The detective was compassionate and said softly, “Of course. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

When the phone disconnected you rubbed your face and flared your nostrils. Seeing the photos made you feel dirty, unclean. You decided a quick shower before Lloyd arrived might help you relax and calm down from the absolute panic attack creeping under your skin. You stood under the hot spray and tried to control your breathing.

And under the water your thoughts persisted to race. A particular question shot through you.

‘Why would he even send those to me?’ Your eyes shut. ‘Why’? If you were just some women, he liked to fuck and humiliate... ‘Then why didn’t he just come in and do it in person?’

It was like a pin had dropped. Your eyes flashed wide open, and you turned off the water. You scrubbed your face and got out of the shower, rushing to put your pyjamas on. You almost slipped on the tiles and hard wood.

You crashed to your knees at the coffee table and spread the photos around trying to find that one.

The one where you were sitting inside the editor building at your cubicle. It had been taken from a low angle on the street. A small laugh escaped you. If he sent you an image of you at the office he knew where you worked, and who you worked for…he had read your articles...a light laugh escaped your parting lips. Tears dripped from your eyes, not from grief or fear, oh no, it was relief. Now it made sense.

'Of course!' August had read your articles...and they- you chuckled; they frightened him!!! Yes, maybe not to the extent of full fear, but enough that he felt it fit and necessary to send these too you. He felt threatened. The articles were piling up on speculation against him now in the paper. You were walking a thin line between defamation and creative liberties in alleged speculations, but Mr Luther assured it was legal in the laws of journalism and gossip.

If August had copies of your lewd rape photos, if he published them…you didn’t care...what was the point in caring about that?

You knew humans could be animals. It didn’t matter what was seen. Anyone can masturbate to anything, even just a selfie – so an image of you cumming on the recliner chair was really nothing at the end of the day…sure you might lose your job but the confidence to get you there would be used in the future again. And it would be all worth it just to watch the cuffs slap over August’s wrist. Because even if he’d never go away, locked up for your abuse, you could at least drag him further down with as many criminal activity charges as possible.

You glanced at the note he wrote…maybe he didn’t even write this. If he really wanted you dead, you were sure you would be. This wasn’t a threat, this was a game. He was toying with you, clearly trying to scare you into stopping any investigations of his hidden underground work.

Little did he know, he had no idea that your rage and hunger for revenge was greater than your fear of him.

You pinched a photo to the light and smirked. If only a week ago, this poor defenceless girl knew how her life would change for good...her eyes the mirror of yours. You slapped it flat in the table and pinched your eyes. August was definitely no talent in taking photos.

You smiled recalling how Luther reacted to the first photo you brought him the third day of working...

02:36pm Thursday 8th August 2024, Brisbane CBD.

On the sticky note you’d written down a name Mr Luther had shared. You looked up that name, Brandon Sullivan, with deep dive searches and found very little of him…however he did have a single photo up on his Facebook, he was holding a gorgeous woman.

Once you had reversed search the woman’s face, Katarina Vikander, you could have peed with excitement. She was some Swedish ballet dancer and super model. She was Brandons girlfriend. And she was happy to share a dozen photos over all her social media platforms…and yes, Brandon clearly wasn’t a fan of his personal paparazzi, but there were hiccups in his cover ups.

Katarina had taken a selfie on a balcony; her sunglasses reflected her phone and Brandon coming out of their hotel bathroom.

Behind Katarina was a marina in the background. That area was very rich and popular and easy to find. You recognised the area only by chance. The were staying at the JW Marriot Gold Coast Resort and Spa. You could see the JW Marriot logo on a bath robe in a previous photo while she wore a creamy face mask with cucumber slices over her eyes.

Katarina seemed to have this obsession with a Americana aesthetic, her favourite artist was in her saved Instagram stories, Lana del Rey.

The caption of her post with Brandon hidden in the background under a broad brim hat said, “Sunny and happy with my love, he doesn’t like the seafood here, he wants ‘real truffles.’ **eyeroll emoji**”

You remembered how you sat back after seeing that and searched every restaurant in the area of the Gold Coast region and only one sold authentic truffle dishes…men are fickle and usually won’t try new things…he was clearly a man set in his ways if he wouldn’t let her post photos of him. or at least that was your theory and assumption about the almost non-existent Brandon Sullivan.

You went back and searched August. He had a decent amount of information, he was very private however, no named girlfriends or family. He was very business oriented….and what did you know? Two years ago on his LinkedIn profile you could see August had been at the opening of the same little truffle restaurant nearby where Katrina and Brandon were staying. You scrolled.

‘Looks like he was or still is an investor.’

It wasn’t solid evidence, and you didn’t know if August would be there to meet with them…so all it took, was a simple phone call…and the great skill of confidence with a stride of lying.

As the phone dialed, you selected a fake name. Your co-worker had a F.R.I.E.N.D.S coffee mug, and you stared at the dark drink stain…it’s dark colour making a perfect name.

When a staff member of the restaurant answered you hurriedly got through your plotted lie, “Hello? Yes, my name is…Jennifer Brown, I’m Mr August Walkers new assistant…listen his last employee was quite begrudged and threw out all the known appointments Mr Walker was to attend in the next three months. I’m pretty sure he has a table booked for your restaurant?”

The administrator paused. You hoped he wouldn’t ask you to repeat yourself or question you further, so you sarcastically joked, “He will murder me if I can’t find out, it’s very important.”

You prayed he’d bite the banter.

The administration clerk had a boyish tone, “Of course! Would you like me to look up the time and date of his reservation?”

You smirked and held back a cackle, you feigned a sweet joyful cry, “I would be grateful if you could be a dear, thank you so much!”

And that was how you found out the schedule and exact location of August Walker and his criminal associate.

09:45am Friday 9th August 2024, Coomera, Gold Coast.

Getting inside the restaurant wasn’t too hard. It had an open-door area with French doors. You made sure to wear a large sun hat and a plain dress. Your dad owned a small camera, about the size of an apple. You put it on a timer and leant to the floor, aiming the view finder at their table.

The entire time you swore you were sweating bullets. If August had seen you and confronted you, you probably would be chained to a pipe laying naked on a dirty mattress…maybe with those missing women you heard about on the news, Rachel, Stephanie, and Alison.

‘Why didn’t he keep me then? We did he return me back home? Did he kill those other girls?’ the more you thought too deeply on the topic, it made your skin crawl.

You clenched one of the forks, staring at the kingpin in the reflection. He looked to smug for a man that got off on harming women. You wished you could stab out his eyes with the prongs. And when the waiter came around to ask what you wanted to order, you held up the fork and requested a new one, apologising for “dropping it”.

You determined the camera had taken enough footage. You knew you’d need to make your escape when the waiter left to find you a new fork. Afterall- who can afford to pay for a cut of salmon with rocket leaves and white sauce for a hundred and thirteen fucking dollars?

You went straight home on the train and bus. You developed the photos in the bathroom sink. Hanging it up on the shower rails to set.

Those were the first photos you gave Mr. Luther.

The other times you took photos of Brandon and August were harder, a little more risky.

06:23am Saturday 10th August 2024, Coomera, Gold Coast.

You had staked outside of the hotel where Brandon stayed. Waiting across the street in a side street. It was cold and miserable. But you knew August would be down here. Darling Katarina had posted a photo of her shoes in an elevator, beside her feet were Brandons shoes, but his had a shine. You could see the blur of Augusts moustached face. Maybe it was a reach, except when the caption said, “Lions Lounge anyone? Don’t my heels look incredible! **love heart eyes emoji**”

You were dressed in rags, you clenched a juul stick you bought that morning, gagging on the watermelon flavour while you practiced your “Eshay” accent. You stared up at the windows trying to guess which room the three were in with the help of the ex-ballerinas photos.

A month ago, you would’ve thought doing something like this was insane and frankly unhealthy. But you a month ago had not been humiliated and manipulated, God knows what a woman will do once you’ve pissed her off…was it obsession? Most definitely, for revenge, for justice, for all the girls who fell for August and harmed by his reputation.

You waited…and you were right. Brandon and August walking out together. The sweet young woman was clinging to Brandon’s side with a wide girlish smile and love heart shaped sunglasses. Funnily enough, the car that picked them up just so happened to be driven by the same dark headed driver in the same black car that August took you in. You took a snapshot of the license plate and watched it drive through the somewhat slow traffic down the street. You walked and walked, keeping your eyes set on the license plate. While traffic rolled, you turned and noted there were a few empty taxis.

You took off the jumper that you cut a bunch of holes in and dumped it in a garbage bin before bending down and tapping on one of the taxi windows.

“Hey! Are you available to drive me?” You called to one of the taxi drivers that hadn’t noticed you until that second...his eyes widened with surprise before nodding, “quickly, traffic is slow, hop in!”

You slid directly into the passenger side, which on a normal day you’d never dare.

But today wasn’t a normal day. You sat up in your seat and scrolled the area with your eyes.

“So where are we headed today, ma’am?” The driver asked.

You pointed ahead with a cheeky smile, “See that black car? The fancy one.”

“The tesla?” He asked.

“My friends are in that car, so please follow it. They know the way.”

He peered at you curiously, you knew it was stupid. If you had friends rich enough for a tesla, they’d never leave you to find a taxi. But hey…money is money, the driver wouldn’t argue. He started the timer and to your satisfaction traffic picked up. When they zoomed through the street the taxi tried to keep up. They were driving to a quieter street with Western Europeanised cafe’s.

As they stopped and hoped out you quickly requested to the driver, “Do you mind going around the corner? I’m a little embarrassed.”

God, you hated to say it but you had to play the suddenly snobby cunt.

He didn’t care either way to your relief and parked around the corner, metres away from the two men.

You paid the driver handsomely with cash you managed to find in your old piggy bank back home and slid out of the cab. Your face carefully looked around the corner and you skirted back. August, Brandon and Katarina had decided to sit outside in the warm morning sunlight. It was just your luck! Quickly, you crossed the street away from the cafe. The more distance the better.

To your luck it was a block of units across from the cafe. You walked around the building and kept your head down. You came up behind in an alley and smiled at the long spiral stairs that went up to the roof top. The adrenaline extinguished all fear of heights and pushed you up until you stood out on a flat roof. You crossed the way and looked over the side.

‘Fuck’, you thought to yourself. ‘Would a police officer ever do this? Would Lloyd ever have the guts to do this?’

Probably not, there was lots of red tape involved in police investigations...but you were just a reporter...You were a photographic investigator and you amazed yourself at the lengths you were taking. You were eager to get these shots. This evidence.

You saw the pair of businessmen receiving a cup of tea and breakfast meals from the waitress. Getting down onto your tummy, you grabbed your camera and leant over the ledge to zoom in on the two.

The pumping blood roaring in your vein filled you with a mixture of fear, excitement and surprisingly…arousal.

Those were the photos that made it to the papers first.

06:35pm Wednesday 14th August 2024, Woolloongabba Brisbane.

As you reminisced on the evidential demise of August Walker, a knock at the door designed a bigger grin across your face. Lloyd had arrived. And no longer standing in a fit of sobs you welcome him cheerfully at the door.

He was wearing a black turtleneck and black slacks, totally out of uniform. Below his eye was a reddish spot. It was shining against his pale face. It wouldn’t surprise you if it was a bruise.

‘Many police are brutal and cruel but there’s no way Lloyd is one. He isn’t one of those cops...he must’ve been attacked by some bogan eshay or crackhead.’

His smile turned your knees to warm jelly. You felt shy like some first year highschooler being noticed by the seniors. He just had this glow around him.

“Hi Lloyd.”

“Hello there,” he said softly, his head cocked to the side, “Do you mind letting me in?” He asked.

‘Oh right.’

“Come- come in.”

You felt your face grow warm. You opened the door wider and looked out and down the hall. You held your breath and stood aside. The tall man slid passed you inside to your lounge room.

You took a massive breath in and exhaled. No one was waiting behind a corner or ready to catch you with the officer. You knew there were no security cameras and you doubted August would ever add any with his reputation.

Lloyd removed his leather shoes and placed them beside the door. His black socks glided over the hardwood.

You bit your lip…you looked back at the coffee table and quickly shut the door, bolting the locks after the detective entered your flat.

If August knew you were letting a detective inside, continuing to talk to one he could-…’Well, hold on...how would he know? He wouldn’t.’

“Woah, locked me in, what are you doing?” Lloyd gasped as he glanced over the metal mechanisms of your door. His eyes widened when you twisted the locks and shifted the small chains.

“I just...um. August Walker.... he’s kinda now...my new landlord and he probably will be getting keys soon and I....” your breath wavered. You paused and took a deep breath, “I needed to talk to you privately in person I think....”

His eyes didn’t grow any wider, but his pupils shrank. He pinched his dark pink lips. Sucking his teeth loudly he nodded slowly.

“That’s definitely a pickle you’ve been put into then, huh?”

You nodded back, pressing yourself against the door, sighing softly, “That’s not even the half of it Lloyd...”

His eyes raked up and down your body in surprise. You weren’t wearing your bra and your nipples were rock hard. Your pyjama bottoms were very short and little did you realise how much they were riding up your thighs.

You walked around him timidly to the coffee table.

“I got a new job, as a photographer journalist, no real experience required just my luck honestly,” you awkwardly laughed, “August um, he’s supposedly up to no good and I thought I could have a jab at him from a professional angle…”

You sat yourself in the recliner, while you invited him to sit opposite of you on the couch where he’d be able to properly look at all the photos.

He looked frightfully tired. His hair was dishevelled, and his shirt was stain with sweat. He had a nasty purple bruise on his knuckles that also matched the one under his eye.

You lifted your knees to your chest and worried about how much trouble this man was getting into as well as you. You wondered if it was like television shows where detectives mostly focus on the darkside of the force.

You gestured to the photos. You weren’t sure how he would react. He sat on the couch and peered across the coffee table, glancing over the images. It took him a few seconds before a gasp of shock ripped from his throat.

You tapped on the photos where you’d been stalked and seen taking photos of August, “Well, it shows he’s not one to have his photos taken...”

He was shaking his head. He couldn’t stop staring at the nude photos. And for a few seconds you relived that feeling of embarrassed humiliation.

You could see how his throat bobbed and his eyes flutter.

He leant forward on his knees and licked his lips.

“I...and here I had called you to check up on you and I was going to ask you for help Y/N, but god I don’t know if that’s gonna work now,” he sighed.

The detective ran a finger across your face in the lewd photos.

Your eyes narrowed, “Wh-what do you mean?”

There was a lengthy pause.

He chewed the inside of his cheek before asking, “How much do you hate what August did to you?”

You didn’t hesitate, “I’d kill him for what he’s done if I knew I wouldn’t go to prison…” you briefly looked down, “He…he came back like you said...”

Lloyd eyes glanced down too and he sighed, “Thought as much…let me guess…he threatened you?”

Your eyes fluttered closed, August had done more than just threaten you.

You nodded slowly, “He…he did…but he…is possessive, he kept saying I was his and I belong to him.” You pointed to the photo of you taped up on the recliner.

His brows pressed together, his eyes saddened. He clear his throat, “How long ago was that?”

Your mouth grew dry. You felt embarrassed telling Lloyd.

“The day of the report, after you brought me home.”

His eyes widened, his hand rubbed his parted lips, “So he ugh…he was here already?”

You nodded again, “The call you made… he was standing right here with a knife in his hand.”

“That’s why you have those deadbolts huh?” The officer rubbed his eyes and groaned, “Fuck. I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you call me after he left? I could’ve moved you, you could’ve stayed with me at least until I could put you into witness protection. Fuck!”

His swearing sent a shiver down your spine.

Your looked at your feet, you knew he wasn’t victim blaming, he just didn’t understand. You told Lloyd everything…confessed like he was your priest. You told him what August did with the vibrator despite it bringing you to tears again. You told him he was the new landlord and that’s why you installed the extra locks. You told him about your new job and you told him about the photos and how you were going to help however you could to put the bastard away.

You sat off the recliner and slid the photos back into the envelope.

“You’re very brave Y/N,” Lloyd whispered, he reached out and laid his warm hand on top of yours.

Your belly felt warm at the praise. You let him hold your fingers in his and rubbed his thumb over your skin. You stared at his blonde moustache and those bright clue eyes of his. You imagined his mouth scratching your lip if you only leant in closer...he was still as handsome as the day he patiently listened to you in the report.

Lloyd smiled softly.

God if you were a cat you would’ve been feral and in heat with how creative your imagination was getting.

Your eyes fluttered as your entire body warmed up.

“Y-You said you needed help with something?”

He smirked, letting go of your hand.

He claimed, “After what you’ve told me I’m confident you can do it...but you might not like it…”

“Try me,” you huffed, falling victim to his contagious grin.

“I have two tickets to August’s little Soiree at his club The Lions Lounge,” He started off, “My other sources have confirmed there is going to be some form of arms deal with some unsavoury company, illegal, unregistered weapons. August Walker is very good at knowing the law and requesting a warrant… but the sources I have are not substantial to the board to guarantee a warrant by that night and by that time Walker would’ve moved the weapons and sold them in a different location.”

You pieced it bit by bit.

“So you need to get inside the party, find the deal going down and bust them?”

“Exactly, that’s right! However the moment a single man waltzes to the front door it looks suspicious. I need a lady on the arm…and better yet…I need a distraction for Walker, if he sees me head on, I could be as good a shark chow.”

Your eyes lit up, it didn’t take a genius to realise he meant you. You would be the distraction. And you’d be damned before you put yourself in real danger again especially after the threat August had given you...your photos were taken in public, this would be in private. Anything could happen to you.

“No… that is too dangerous, Lloyd,” You stood up and paced the floor in front of Lloyd who was now also rising to follow you in your pacing. You walked around your kitchen and Lloyd put his hands on the bench beside you.

“Y/N…” he bent close in a whisper. You wouldn’t look at the detective. Fear was buzzing inside of you. You felt stupid about saying you’d do anything to take August Walker down now. You really wanted to just humiliate the man and call him up in prison one day and rub it in his face. But this? This was a game of cat and mouse and you didn’t want to be backed up into a corner again.

“I wouldn’t be asking you if this unless I had to...”

You bit back the whimper in your throat as Lloyd touched your shoulder gently.

“He let you live…he has a soft spot for you.”

‘He threatened to put me down.’

He turned you around and squeezed your arms while he pitched the plan, “What’ll happen is we enter the club, I find the dealers and you find Walker because he will be hosting the party, he will want to know why you’re there and you are going to tell him that…you wanted to see him.”

You rubbed your eyes angrily, “Why the fuck would I want to see him?!” your fingers felt moist, you’d been compelled to tears.

The kind eyed detective sucked his teeth, “I don’t know, make it up. Kiss him. Men don’t care about a thing once a pretty thing is kissing them.”

You rolled your eyes and shook your head. No, this wasn’t the Lloyd you had imagined.

“Oh,” you chuckled sourly, “So you’re pimping me out then?”

He gave you a dumbfounded look, “Call it whatever you want…you’ll be paid good money for your service and he’ll be arrested, in prison, unable to touch you. You can run away and move to wherever you want then.”

Your breath was shaky as you dared to ask, “How much?”

His left brow rose.

“How much would I be paid by the Queensland police or Australian defence department or whoever this is through?”

He sighed and gently laid a hand on your shoulder, “Around fifteen grand.”

Your breath escaped you. From near negatives to fifteen grand overnight? That much? For this job?! You were stunned…not sure if it was worth your life…but if it meant he only humiliate you one more time and you walked away with that much money…you’d do it.

You shook your head, “Fine, it’s this Friday night yea? His club is high-class and I don’t have clothes for that type of event.”

The tall man stood back and chuckled as he tug into his back pocket and retrieved his wallet. He pinched a wad of cash and slapped it in the benchtop. Your eyes widened, holy fuck it was a month or two in rent alone…

“Go buy some. But you have got to be ready. At Seven o’clock I’ll pick you up an hour before the event and we can refresh what we know before we line up.”

You glanced between him and the money and nodded….”Alright, let’s…let’s do this.”

He laughed and clapped his hand excitedly, he leant in and gave you a fat kiss on the cheek. Nothing romantic, just pure joy.

“Thankyou so much Y/N you are going to be hailed a hero, a legend in my books!” He marched back to the couch and grabbed his blazer.

“You are a special person and I’m honoured to have met you! Really honoured!” He said as he unlocked all your bolts. He swung the door open and slammed it behind him.

You sighed and fell back against your cold fridge.

You weren’t sure you could pull this off….but as your eyes looked over the cash, the corner of your lips lifted.

You shut your eyes and sighed…all that money, it made your blood pulse. You returned to the lounge room and sat in the recliner. You laid back, staring at the ceiling. Your hands crawled down, passed the waist band of your pyjama shorts and underwear. You touched yourself and sighed.

Your fingers rubbed delicately against your clit while you leant against the kitchen bench.

You tried to imagine someone...Lloyd…the detective. He had a warmth his face. Lloyd would never rape you though, he was good, he was honest…

You moaned softly, imagining his warm hands groping your skin and his lips kissing your skin.

Fingering yourself, in and out, in and out.

You were imagining Lloyd speaking to you. He was currently the most attractive man you’d made contact with in weeks...other than August who essentially raped you.

What kind words would Lloyd say? “I washed our clothes, finished the dishes, now come here and let me fuck you.” ‘Oh yea that’s fucking hot.’

You imagined he would be gentle and soft before using more strength in his hips. His lips would be soft and hot. He would protect you and play sexy policeman. You might not have been a fan of the justice system but you were confident Lloyd would fill in a police uniform very well.

So why did your body start to dry up?

You didn’t know what you were doing wrong. You were riding your fingers and teasing your clit…why couldn’t you cum? You felt weird doing this now. It was strange to think before you met August you could cum very easily, after your dad- well you hadn’t touched yourself because you weren’t thinking about sex for a while until the millionaire stepped into your life.

After the third time of unsuccessful release, you punched the arm of the chair and started searching sex toys on your phone.

You weren’t totally sure if the prices were worth it for a piece of painted pink silicone. And there were strange shapes you were amazed were even designed to fit into a human….‘a whole fist? Surely that’s satire,’ you thought, ‘it shouldn’t be possible. It would be like reverse birth?’

You settled on buying a “rabbit dildo with thrusting pleasure.” You rolled your eyes at the name. You slapped your phone down and sighed, rubbing your eyes.

The hour was late.

Your first paycheck would be coming in soon. It was the smell of a small victory.

10:33am Friday 16th August 2024, Queen Street Westfield Shopping centre, Brisbane.

“What should I wear…” you hummed as you flipped through the dresses. Some of these dresses cost the amount of a new iPhone. You bit your lip. ‘Maybe I can return them tomorrow and give Lloyd his money back?’

A sales clerk came up, “Need some help?” She was blonde, curvy and tall. A supermodel compared to your body. You blushed.

“I’m looking to wear something to one of the high end clubs like The Lion Lounge, he’s having a nineteen twenties theme soiree this evening?”

Her lips widened, “Well, we do have many suitable gowns and even pantsuits for that social class, what designer were you thinking?”

You balked and worried that she would see you sweat, “Oh…I um…I’ll be super frank…I have not a clue what I’m doing…it is my first time to something so spectacular.”

The clerk’s eyes softened, her lips pursed, “Well! Let me help you then! These gowns you’re looking at are definitely not old twenties glam worthy! Right this way!”

Your cheeks buzzed as you were led into a dressing room and made to try on multiple styles, designers and colours of dresses.

She asked if you were getting your nails done and gasped when you said you hadn’t thought about it.

She was like a fairy godmother. She went the extra mile to call up the other stores in the mall to book appointments. You hadn’t felt so pretty ever in your life until then

She appeared stunned by the cash you laid on her counter.

Your nails were french tips with a holographic clear coat. You received a quick arm and leg wax and eyebrow shaping. The makeup matched the entire outfit. Your dress clung to your best assets and shaped your body with a clutch purse and low heels to match. Your hair was gelled and hairsprayed down into finger waves. And a lather of pearls circled around your throat and wrists.

The long finger of your dress tickled your calfs down to your small kitten heels.

You looked incredible, it took your breath away to see the glow up….

Lloyd thought so too.

HELPLINES:

If you are a victim of sexual abuse, assault or domestic violence or know someone who is please reach out to these links that share helpline services, phone numbers or emails. Consent and respect is important in every relationship whether between friends, family or even strangers. .

Australian Helpline Services

UK Helpline Services

American Helpline Services

India Helpline Services.

[roo-bastmoon]

To the Sockpuppets in my Asks

"Jimin is so private! What does he have to hide?"

*Flashbacks to Jimin's mail being "omitted" four times and his national ID and address being leaked online, which the press sat on until his OST With You dropped, or, years prior, when folks accused him of whoring and doing coke because he... [checks notes] played a forehead-flicking game at a pub restaurant in Paris*

"Jimin keeps saying he's all alone!"

*Jimin is seen at work, at the gym, taking trips for work and vacation, posting photos on Insta, and appearing on shows and in dance challenges*

"Jimin never goes out anywhere!"

*Yet another idol scandal is in the news, this time involving illegal drugs, yet somehow, Jimin's photo at the official Nike dinner with Joon gets circulated as him "out clubbing"*

"Jimin and Jungkook never show that they hang out! They are never together any more!"

*South Korea enacts  Article 92-6*

Look, conspiracy theories are bullshit, but ALSO:

Jimin and Jungkook are both cooking big, big feasts for us before service and they are focused on that right now. There's still plenty of evidence they see each other and are on great terms, if you actually listen to them, so stop flooding my ask box under sockpuppet accounts, crowing that Jimin is all alone and Jungkook doesn't care about him.

Look, puppykitties...

I cannot tell you Jikook are dating. I do not live in their cupboards and watch them 24/7.

Yes, JK has been hanging out with 97 line friends these days and yes, Jimin and Yoongi (and Hobi) have all gotten super duper close (or are at least more comfy talking openly about how close they've always been) in solo era. And yes:

Jikook don't talk about Jikook these days.

But what ISN'T being said sounds so loud that half this fandom froths at the mouth every other day.

Jimin has two gaming chairs in his apartment--including one chair that really looks similar to the one Jungkook had.

Jimin traveled half-way around the world to be with Jungkook during his debut and we still have no idea what they were doing at the restaurant or on the boat. Let's wait patiently.

There's been some highly suspect photos in the past of a guy in a white bucket hat with JK via CCTV at a quick mart (illegal, won't be posting) or of suspiciously similar-looking hands during game nights on JK's brother's Insta (family stuff, won't be posting). There's also video of someone who looks eerily similar to Jimin in expensive designer clothing at the arrivals terminal of the airport when JK got back from the World Cup--and later, just beyond the airport, footage of JK's car pulling away from another company car with fans screaming "Jimin!" to the riders inside (unofficial content, won't be posting).

Jungkook knows every single lyric in Jimin's songs, and his choreo, AND what he says, word for word, on his interviews.

Jimin took up boxing and has showed us he has a punching bag in house.

Jungkook muttered that Jimin moved his lamp.

Jimin went to the airport sporting what looked like a big dog scratch.

Vminkook went to a cafe in Jeju. K-Army said they spotted Jikook there well before Tae posted about it.

Jimin and Jungkook both watched the same random anime series recently.

Jimin ran up to Jungkook to cutely say "periri" so often that Jungkook was afraid he'd accidentally say it on stage.

JK quietly stopped by Jimin's docu-live, and Jimin lit up like a Christmas tree and then grabbed his moob.

AGAIN: I. CANNOT. TELL. YOU. THEY. ARE. DATING.

But don't come here with that "Jimin is always alone" and "JK only cares about his career, not Jimin" nonsense.

Please make better use of your time by watching JUNGKOOK'S GOLDEN PREVIEW and JIMIN'S SPECIAL TALK LIVE and then go watch YOONGI'S SUCHWITA WITH 2MIN for good measure!

And next time you come to my blog, if you can't say something nice...

Okay?

Okay.

*hugs* Love, Roo

[livviewritess]

☔it's not so bad. ☔

Summary: you wrote down he lyrics to your favourite song before the world ended, and Daryl happens to stumble across it, memorising it for your next encounter.

Era: Hershel's Farm.

Fandom: The Walking Dead

Daryl hadn't taken a great liking to Hershel's Farm. Although, he took a liking for one of his girls.

Y/n Greene.

She was sweet. Quiet, reserved. Much like Beth, but more.. lively. She loved pretty bows, books and found peace in singing and music. Before the end of the world, y/n made a little scrapbook with all of her favourite songs, like she predicted that the world was gonna shit itself into a coma.

Daryl was wondering around the Greenes shared farm, and stumbled across Y/n's room in search for a safe spot. The pink, laminated name tag on the door obviously pointed out that it was hers.

He peered through the cracked open door, pushing it open with his foot to get a better view. It was a nice room. Hanging vines from the back wall, a frilly, beige canopy over her single bed that seemed to match everything. The books on the bookshelf varied from autobiographies about the animal kingdom to books about medical processing. The desk was neat, with a single messy book and pen, and stickers dotted around the sides of the chair.

He picked up the book, reading the neat cursive writing engraved on the book. 'Property of Y/N Greene,' with a little bow as a page holder wedged in-between the middle of the journal.

He opened it to that page, scanning over the words. He was confused, because the words didn't really sound like ones that Y/N would write herself, more like somebody else had written them. Then it clicked.

It was a lyric book, listing 6-7 songs, but this one was marked, with a star. He assumed it was her favourite song, judging by the doodle in the corner of the doggy flap.

He read it again, and finally understood the song. 'Thank You' by 'Dido.' he hadn't really listened to it much before the apocalypse, but it played on the radio in his motorbike shop every night at 7, so he had at least memorized the beat. he snuck the book into his back pocket, just praying and hoping to the gods above, you wouldn't notice it was missing because if the lack of sleep. He steps out of your room, closing the door to the way it was left, picked up his crossbow, and continued his search.

Later on that day, he'd spend most og his night memorising the words, enough so he could write them down himself. He'd find time to get the journal back to your desk without you even knowing he had taken it in the first place.

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It was a sunny day, and y/n was busy picking the non poisonous berries to cook a pie for the group that had arrived not long ago.

You where scanning the forest, looking for a good bush, singing your favourite song.

"My teas gone cold, I'm wondering why, I got out of bed at all." You plucked the berries in beat to the pauses between the lyrics.

"the morning rain clouds up my window, and I can't see at all,"

"but even if I could, it'd all be gray, put your picture on my wall.." a gruff voice spoke. Daryl. You looked back, and he was voicing the lyrics too. You smiled, carrying on.

"it reminds me, that it's not so bad.." you sang. Daryl spoke up once again, your voices making an unforgettable melody. You both looked out at the river and the prison, surrounded by flowers, the big blue sky clear.

"It's not so bad."

Authors note: thank you so much for the 30+ notes on the last post! It's my first time writing/publishing on here. I do suggestions, minor smut but not smut smut. Bye now!